MAKEUP TUTORIAL: Kathryn Bernardo-Inspired Makeup Tutorial

Hey ladies! Here's my second celebrity-inspired makeup tutorial. If you've been following me on YouTube since Day 1, you should know that my first one (and the most memorable, so far) was my Nicki Minaj-inspired makeup tutorial.

Today, I made a video for a special friend of mine in Germany, Athena. She's one of my friends during my modeling days and I'm so happy that we managed to remain friends though we haven't seen each other for YEARS!

Without further ado, here's the makeup tutorial. Enjoy!

SM Kids' Fashion Street Style and Dream Shoot

Hello ladies! How was your weekend? Mine's pretty busy so far. I went to SM Megamall today and brought Ethan to an even for the first time. We went to the media launch of the SM Kids' Fashion Street Style around the World and Dream Shoot, where your kid may have the chance to be SM Kids' Fashion's newest model.

I went there with Ethan and Ate Bamba. We ate and had so much fun! Good thing Ethan knows how to pose as early as now. The photographers love taking photos of Ethan. Of course, I'm one proud momma! :)

Sam Oh hosted the show. Before the show started, we bumped into her at SM Megamall and we said hi. She even said that Ethan go do some modeling stuff.Thank you Sam for those kind words.

Ava was also in the event. I took a photo of our kids. Meet Athan and Ethan.

SM Kids Fashion's theme for this season is street style. They showed us some ways on how to dress up our kids. These outfits are inspired by the fashion capitals of the world -London, Paris and New York.

Here's Ethan modeling his Garfield shorts.

If you want your kids to be one of SM Kids' newest models, then go visit SM Mega Trade Hall 2 starting tomorrow until September 1. Hope I brought some good news to everybody!

Have a lovely weekend ahead, moms!

Athletics World Championships - get into the spirit

Guest post by Catherine Lavinia

The 2013 International Association of Athletics Federations World Championships in Athletics is scheduled to take place in Moscow this August. Moscow beat candidate cities Barcelona and Brisbane to host this year's event. Moscow has previously hosted other sports events including the 1980 Summer Olympics and the 2006 IAAF World Indoor Championships.

The IAAF’s World Championships in Athletics is a separate sports event from the Olympic Games. The first competition was held in Helsinki in 1983 and over the years, the competition has grown in size, in terms of both the number of athletes taking part, the number of events included and the size of the audience watching the Championships. A notable change has been the steady addition of new women’s events to the schedule and by 2005, the schedule for men and women was almost equal.

The IAAF has long stressed its “sport for all” policy and therefore encourages sport and athletics in schools. You too can support their initiative by getting into the spirit of the Championships. How about going along to support the athletes at one of the road running events? Details of the route will be published nearer to the tournament on the IAAF website. You can also read some of the competitors’ diaries online for some exclusive insights into the minds and work-out regimes of the athletes in the run-up to the competition.

Or, if you have a knack for numbers, you can buy the IAAF World Athletics Series 2008-2011, the first digital e-book of the newest edition of the results and details of all the IAFF World Athletics Series events. And, even if you don’t have the agility, stamina or gold medal winning talent of the Championship athletes, you can really bring out your inner athlete by working out in the Adidas Originals range of stylish and ultra-comfortable work-out gear. The 2013 Championships are also going to be broadcast on national TV, so you’ll never be too far from the sporting action. Together with your new sport-ready outfit, you'll feel part of the sporting elite.

Plains and Prints x Anne Curtis: The Perfect Partnership

Fan mode on! I have always been open about how I admire Anne Curtis. I just feel like she's a living goddess in her own right. She's more than just a celebrity. She is a beauty and fashion icon. No wonder why brands really want her to represent them. Today, I bring you one of the best partnerships in the fashion industry - Plains and Prints and Anne Curtis-Smith.

With Plains and Prints' new series of another refined Pre-Fall Collection, the brand has found it's woman form in Anne Curtis. I really feel that they represent each other so well. Plains and Prints has always been about sophistication and versatility and I that's how I exactly see Anne.

I really have to say that I adore this collection from Plains and Prints. Don't get me wrong. I also love their previous collections but I have to be a little bias now that it's Anne Curtis who's endorsing the brand. Haha! I'm only human and that should explain everything.

I wish I'm still working in an office (real office) environment so I can wear them. This collection is full of pretty prints, well structured dresses and I believe this can really make a lady executive-y. If you know what I mean. It's power dressing with a modern twist. It's not boring, it's up-to-date and the designs are flattering as well. That's my main concern in buying clothes. No matter what season, no matter what year, you can wear these pieces. It's timeless and classic. I had the chance to meet the owner of Plains and Prints but was too shy to approach her (Yep! That's me!) and she is Plains and Prints - very elegant and womanly.

I guess, I should stop talking (Or should I say typing?) now. I won't keep you reading through my words. Just see it for yourself. I hereby present Plains and Prints' perfect partnership with Anne Curtis.

Happy Anniversary Tiger

I would like to dedicate this post to the one who made me feel and treats me not only like a real woman but a queen. To my husband, Tiger (as what I like to call him online), happy 2nd anniversary to us! I know it's nothing like celebrating a silver or gold anniversary but it feels like I've been with you for a thousand years... and hoping for a thousand more! Cheesy!

Let me just share a part of our love story. OMG! I'm doing this all for love, honey!

EM Cosmetics by Michelle Phan

Michelle Phan.

She's the first beauty guru I watched. I've been around YouTube since high school but I go there to watch cartoons. Way back 2008, I started my own YouTube account but it was a channel where I upload school work. I once had a dream of becoming a great film maker as I saw a tiny potential in these school works. I get A++++++s all the time. Haha!

I started this blog 2009 because of work. I had absolutely no idea how to run a fashion and beauty blog before but, when I got the hang of it, I enjoyed it a lot. Because of the stuff that I feature in this blog, I came to realize that I'm a person who loves makeup. Then, my beauty channel came to life. It was only until 2010 when I decided that I want my own beauty channel and Michelle Phan was the very very very first YouTube makeup guru who inspired me. I think I learned 50% of my makeup skills from her and the other half is a combination of experience and other beauty gurus as well.

MAKEUP PORTFOLIO: Khei's Entourage

I'm back with another makeup portfolio update. This time, I want to share with you what happened to a wedding gig with Sara. Sara was the makeup artist while I do both - hair and makeup. Firstly, I would like to congratulate Khei Sanchez for a lovely wedding. You are definitely one of the most beautiful brides I ever saw :). I did not handle the bride this time and just prettified her entire entourage.

Shall we start?

VLOG: Collective beauty haul (Chic, Avon, Etude House and more)

I've been getting the hang of vlogging again. Yey! I started my beauty channel last 2010 but things got rough so I'm just making an official come back this year. Hope you guys can show your support by subscribing to my beauty channel.

Here's my latest collective haul video. This is actually a late upload as I can't find time to upload this before. Better late than never, right? Hope you will like this video as I love watching hauls too. It's like window shopping. Haha!

Thank you for watching and see you in my next video!

Thank you

I cannot condense this happiness I'm feeling inside other than these two words - Thank you! I have been selected as one of Avon's Makeup Council and I thank everyone who voted for my entry and believed in my talent. This is the first great milestone in my career, not only as a beauty blogger but, most importantly, as a makeup artist.

You all know that I do freelance makeup artistry for photo shoots in magazines, models and even weddings, right? Makeup artistry is something I just recently discovered. I've been doing this professionally for 3 years now. It is my way of staying away from my very stressful work even for just a couple of minutes or hours when I do makeup tutorials and wedding makeup for my clients. It is something I truly enjoy and love doing. You can even ask me to do your makeup for free, seriously. I do that out of passion and it makes my heart smile whenever my clients, family and friends would tell me that they love what I did to them. I prettify people because we all deserve it. I'm no Picasso. I cannot draw but, through makeup, I get to express my artistic side. I'm a painter with my palettes, mascaras and lipsticks and the human face is my wonderful canvass.

I've been high since last week because of a great news that Avon brought me. Yours truly is now part of Avon's much awaited Makeup Council. This is the first time that Avon partnered with beauty bloggers for a project like this and it's nice to know that I am one of the pioneers. Cheers to that!

I would like to dedicate this post to each and every one of you who supported my week-long battle. I really campaigned for this within my own circle of friends because I really want it. I cannot mention every single name but you know who you are. You put me in this exact spot I wanted. Thank you!

More than the makeup, I thank you for marking a milestone in my life - as a person, as a hobbyist, and as an artist. This is what I wanted. I quit my almost 3-year career in Digital Marketing to pursue my dreams. A dream full of colors. Thank you for being with me and for helping me get to step 1. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.

To my husband and my Ethan, thank you for always inspiring me.

To my family and friends who believed in me, you are the best!

To those I don't know and believed in my talent, may the good Lord bless you more.

Saved the best for last. To You, thank you! You have been the most awesome dude I ever know.

Opportunity knocks only once. When it comes, don't hesitate. Grab it! This is for all the people who's like me. This is for that one person who strives for the best, pursues excellence and dreams and acts on it.

I will leave you with a quote from a fellow fashion blogger, Seph Cham. He said, "Work hard and let success make the noise."

To all the dreamers, let's dream the impossible and make it happen! Cheers!

Throwback Thursday: A day and a photo with Sara Geronimo

Okay! This whole Throwback Thursday is such a great idea! Whoever invented this hashtag deserves a spot in human's history, seriously.

I don't post a lot of TBT photos but, tonight, I want to share one special photo from my treasure chest. This is a photo of Sara Geronimo and I. OMG! I'm a big fan of her and I had to go through each people surrounding here just to say hi and ask her for a photo. Fan mode on! This is my negra days as I handled Nescafe Camp Hot way back 2010 and my skin just turned something closer to black. No kidding! I was super dark because of too much heat at the camp.

Back to the photo. This was during the new Sunsilk Best-Ever Product Launch at White-something-something in Makati. I cannot remember the place but it's the place near MRT Magallanes Station.

Why hello there idol! This photo made it to Stir.ph magazines in that same year. For some reason, someone from my Facebook friends stole this photo and submitted it to the publication without notifying me if I'd want my face to be in there. Oh well, there's nothing I can do with that. On second thought, I should have been paid for this photo. Girl, it's hard to have a photo with Sara G! LOL

What's your Throwback Thursday photo? Care to share?

LOOKBOOK: Celebrations

I've been digging through my photos this evening and I found this batch. I can't believe I'm just writing about this one now. As promised in my previous post about my brother's advance birthday celebration, here's what I wore in our celebration of his actual birthday.

Solo and Kikomachine x Manix Abrera

I can't believe that it's almost a year ago when I last blogged about Solo. Remember their Pupung Collection? My hubby loves their shirt and he's wearing it until today :) Solo is back with another collection and this time they partnered with Manix Abrera for Solo's comic based collection. I hereby present Kikomachine!

Let's get to know Manix Abrera in a cool way, shall we? Here's one-minute interview with the man behind Solo's latest comic based clothing collection.

Best song ever

Hello there fashionistas! Today, I'm bringing you a great news, especially to those who are One Directioners. Penshoppe is giving away a limited edition CD single of One Direction's Best Song Ever.

From August 19-31, any single receipt purchase of any amount in participating Penshoppe store allows you to purchase the CD for only Php250. Activated Penshoppe cardholders can get the CD without any purchase for the same price. Isn't this great?

I'm not a big fan of One Direction but this Best Song Ever has been playing inside my head ever since I heard in one of the vlogs I watched last week. I think the song is so cute. LSS mode! This is the first song from their third album. This song will be used in the upcoming movie This is Us, our access to One D's life on the road.

Grab a copy now!

Food Review: Xin Wang Hong Kong Cafe

Let's have a little break from beauty and fashion, shall we? The next best thing aside from clothes, accessories and makeup for me would probably be food. I love eating more than cooking but, now that I'm a mom, I should know how to do both at the same time, right? Haha!

Few weeks ago, I was reunited with old pals in the blogosphere - Az and John. I know you know them and it's fun that we get to bond over dinner some times. Wish we can do this more often as these guys are the best!

What's inside my makeup kit

As a makeup artist, it's important that you bring a complete makeup kit - from foundation down to false eyelashes. Name it and you got to have it. In my years of experience, I have learned that you don't have to bring ALL your makeup unless you want to end up with a back or shoulder ache the day after.

Makeup Artist Tip: Bring what is ONLY necessary.

So, here's a little sneak peek of my makeup collection. Here are the thing I usually bring in makeup gigs but this vary depending on my client's need. This is what I brought with me during my makeup gig for Coco and Emilton's pre-nuptial photo shoot.

My L'Oreal Professionel Korean City Style Experience

Today is indeed the era of Korean invasion! From fashion, music to beauty, Filipinos has truly embraced the Korean culture with a smile. There are countless ways to wear the Korean culture. You can wear it through clothes, wear it on your face through Korean beauty brands and, most especially, wear it using your gorgeous locks.

Few weeks ago, I had the wonderful chance to experience L'Oreal Professionel's Korean City Style Collection. I love curls and it has always been my dream to be curly. I just feel like you don't have to do a lot of effort for your hair to be gorgeous. All you need to do is wash it and then wear it. True enough, it's really like that. I curled my hair last 2010 and I've been loving it until today.

L'Oreal Professsionel's Korean City Style has three options for your tresses.

Weekend special at Fashion by Sai

Hey ladies! This will be very short but sweet. I want my blog posts during weekends to be extra special so here's what you should expect tomorrow from my blog and I:

1. My L'Oreal Professional and Tony and Jackey hair treatment experience
2. I will upload another video in my beauty channel. For now, it'll be a secret. Make sure you're subscribed to my channel to get instant updates :)
3. I will also film a hair tutorial for all of you! Yey! I think this will be the first time that I'm going to do this.
4. Aside from my hair tutorial, I'm also cooking a series of makeup tutorial and vlogs for you! Have you noticed how I enjoy producing videos now? All thanks to my new laptop and Wondershare! I just love it!

That's it! Now, I hope this somehow sparked some curiosity and interest inside your brain by now. If you have any suggestion or article (beauty or fashion problems and what not) that you'd like to me write about just let me know by leaving a comment below. I'd be so glad to take the challenge of being an actual beauty and fashion guru even here in my own space :)

Have a lovely weekend ahead, ladies! Ciao! 

Penshoppe brings Mario Maurer and Baifern Pimchanok in the Philippines

I had the opportunity for FINALLY meet Mario Maurer and Baifern Pimchanok during Penshoppe's fan conference few weeks ago. I missed my first chance during the Penshoppe Fashion Week last 2011, I believe, because of too many people at the fashion show venue and even press people like me can't go in. I had to roll my eyes few times but it couldn't do anything. Haha! Bad things happen but look at me now? I saw him in person. Let me sum it all up with three letters: "OMG!"

FOTD: Simple every day makeup look

Today's post is about the kind of makeup I wore today. More details will be up in m beauty channel soon. For now, I hope you enjoy this simple every day makeup look you can also copy. Sorry for the low quality photos as I'm only using my iPhone 5's front camera.

LOOKBOOK: Pretty In Pink Box

Hey hey! I've been blogging everyday for two weeks now! Hurray! I never have done this before so I'm putting this in one of my blogger life milestones ;)

I believe I've been posting a lot about beauty and fashion (in general) here. So, let me go back to what I love doing best (aside from playing with my makeup), posing like a rock star. LOL!

Outfit details:

Top, Forever 21

Rings, Forever 21

Shorts, Just G

Oxford shoes, Marithe Francois Girbaud

Bag, Avon

Necklace, Dress Etc

Watch, Relic (also from Dress Etc)

Here's what I wore at the Pretty in Pink Box event. I blogged about my whole experience here and I just thought of highlighting this cute outfit I came up with for the event's "pastel" outfit requirement. How do you like this OOTD?

Avon You Make It Beautiful Blogger Makeup Challenge

This is it! This is what I've been talking about in my social pages since last week. I was one of the lucky few, who were chosen as Avon's You Make It Beautiful Blogger Makeup Challenge.

Last week, I went to the Avon HQ for the challenge briefing together with my fellow contestants.

This is the first time I met most of these ladies but I'm really happy that I can talk to someone here - Say ;) I also met Clar for the first time. I checked out her YouTube channel this afternoon and it's so great! I am definitely subscribing :)

I came at the HQ with my man. He's the best husband ever! His support fuels me and my passions. I love this guy so much!

Here are the products I got for my makeup challenge.

Now, here's the part where I almost lost all my hopes. I was actually cramming as I filmed this video last Sunday. I was looking the night before for an HD cam and my good friend, Iris of Pinay Ads, lent her Nikon camera to me. I also asked for Rhea's help as she owns Il Fiore and she's willing to lend me one head piece from her collection. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to use it (or get it) since I was cramming (just like college days). But I really want to thank Rhea for being so kind. Her "yes" means a lot to me. I just wish I used it and somehow featured it in my beauty channel. I also asked for my brother's help in this first ever major (sort of) production I did for my channel. Ace is the best brother ever! He was my camera man in this video.

So here you go! A product of cramming plus love and support from my amazing friends!

Here's my final look:

I can't get a decent #selfie photo because this kiddo wants to be in my photo too. Okay fine! Let's all do a wacky pose!

And after doing this video, of course, I'm left with this beautiful mess.

Any comments? OMG! My heart is pounding so fast while I'm writing/typing this post.

Honestly, I want to win. I wouldn't join this contest if I don't have any plans to win. That's the truth but I can't do it all by myself. I need your help. I need your votes.

WHAT YOU NEED TO DO:

1. Like Avon Philippines on Facebook.

2. Click this page: https://www.facebook.com/AvonPhilippines?sk=app_422118604517529&app_data=dlt-1

3. Look for my entry. My name is Sai Montes there.

4. Click "Vote."

I will really appreciate if you can also ask your friends to vote for my entry too. I really need that.

Thank you in advance. Have a lovely day ahead!