Basic Make up Must Haves: For your First Kikay Kit

Hey guys! A couple of days ago I met up with my sister, and what was supposed to be a meet up turned into a shopping spree. Why? Cause she needed a "personalized" makeup kit for herself and what she has was a foundation that's 2 shades lighter than her skintone, plus a lipstick that makes her look like a bad impersonation of Nikki Minaj. And since I've been dabbling in make up for quite some years now, she sought for my help. Yeah. I'm pretty honored. :)

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="640"] The inside of my "Travel" makeup kit... ;)[/caption]

So for this article, I'll be saving you gals the headache of choosing among the many cosmetics today's world has to offer ,and give you the Basic Make up Must haves to consider for your first kikay kit.

PS: If you want to check out my reviews of the makeup I'll be mentioning below, just click on their photos :)



[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Awesome and affordable, this Eyebrow pencil from San San only costs around 95 Php. :)[/caption]

Brow Makeup is a very important must have, because it has been proven from my personal experience that your brows can make or break a make up look. Yes, even the full on glam ones. And if done right, eyebrow makeup can create a whole new look for you.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="640"] An angled brush and a spoolie for the brows :3[/caption]

Today, there are a LOT of choices for your brows, from Pencils to Brow Powders to Wax and gel and liquid types! But if you're a newbie to shaping your "eye frames", I would suggest that you go with the pencil types first, as it is easier to maneuver and is great for when you're in a rush.  Powder ones give a more natural finish as they are lighter, but you would also need an angled eyebrow brush, spoolie and awesome blending skills which will come with practice for this.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="640"] The brown pan below is a great find from San San- the C.Y.O Shadow in Deep earth brown at 65 Php :)[/caption]

As for color, it would depend on your hair, and the point is that you would want to look for a shade that's at least a couple of tones lighter than your hair color. Like if you have all black hair like I did, you should go for the dark brown ones, and NEVER black unless it's for costume makeup. (I learned that one the hard way. ;) )

Base Makeup: I would've put in foundation, but then again in today's age its not only foundation that is in the market, but there are also BB Creams, CC Creams, DD Creams and even up to ZZ Creams(It's true, I swear! ). There is also a whole plethora of powder foundations, from those that act as a pressed powder like J&J with a bit more coverage, to those ones that have awesomely perfect coverage. Also, liquid foundations are abundant and they also have different finishes, from matte, demi matte and dewy effect. So, what to choose?

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="427"] Save on price with this BB Cream as it only costs around 300 Php. Careline and Ever Bilena also sell BB Creams that are of low price and great color and quality :)[/caption]

 

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="640"] If you're up for splurging, this BB Cream from Benefit is the way to go as it can withstand the hot humidity in our country. The price tag of 2000Php is understandable because you are paying for the awesome quality, perfect shade (it adjusts to your skin tone btw) and great longevity.[/caption]

The point is to see which ones can match your skintone almost perfectly, and my way of swatching out testers from the department store is  try it out on your jawline or somewhere close to your neck, wait for 10-15 minutes then check it again if it changed color or if it stayed the same. Why? Because with this you can see if the foundation will "oxidize" or change it's color from what you started with.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Liquid VS Powder foundation... I have a review of the San San HD Liquid Foundation and the Loreal True Match one which can be found in this blog. The Powder compact is from a Japanese brand called Diamond Puff, review soon to follow :)[/caption]

Take note as well that the "undertone" of a foundation can do some serious damage to your look if it's not matched properly. It is different from your "skintone" which is basically the color of your skin only. There are 3 basic undertones that is known which is Pink, Olive and Yellow, and I'll be doing a different post for that soon.

Quick tip: if you got a foundation/bb cream that turned your face "grayish", a bit pale or looks kinda "off", even if it is the right color, it would mean that your base has a pink undertone and your undertone is a yellow one. Olive undertoned people can look great with either pink or yellow undertoned foundation.

Quick Tip: If you want a natural/ lighter coverage, opt for bb creams instead of foundations. And always set it with a pressed powder or translucent powder to make it last long. :)

Eyeshadow and Blush: I put them together, because a great way to save up on your makeup is to get a mini palette that has both of these.

Eyeshadows are awesome because they give the eyes dimension and create an overall classic look especially when you stick with browns, greys and for night out, a pop of blue, silver or purple smokey eye would definitely be in order. If you got a true brown matte and silver or white shade of eyeshadow, it can also double as your contour, highlighter and sometimes even brow powder as well.



Blush is also a very important part of your makeup kit because it adds color and life to your face and makes you look "blooming", "alive" and not flat. For people who are afraid that they might look like a clown when using blush (myself included when I started out with makeup), the best tip is to base the blush on your skin tone. If you have fair skin, you can get away with a pink blush, for medium to dark skinned girls, you should go for more coral or red shades or even browns to create a natural look.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="1600"] A photo of mine from WAAYYY back. This is my review of the Careline set.. ;)[/caption]

Just remember to invest in a soft and dense blush brush and throw away the free brush that comes with your blush as it is usually scratchy on your skin. Also brush the blush very lightly and slowly build up the color to make it look natural.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="640"] My second go-to eyeliner- The Nichido Liquid Eyeliner :)[/caption]

Eyeliners are a sleepy girl's best friend. Outlining the eyes makes it look more awake, and being a newbie in the makeup biz, you can opt to get a pencil eyeliner or a pen type for better control when creating that cat-eye look.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Pen eyeliner :3[/caption]

White and nude colored eyeliners are great for the waterline, especially when you want to look more awake in photos. If you feel that black is a little too strong for your peepers, you can go for brown eyeliners instead.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Gel Eyeliners by Tony Moly[/caption]


Mascara also helps in making your eyes look fuller, bigger and awesome. A mascara wand greatly affects how your lashes will look like. Fat mascara wands are for creating volume or thicker lashes, and the mascara wands that have a wider spacing of bristles are for lengthening the lashes. Oh, and if you can, choose a water resistant or waterproof mascara type to save yourself from looking like a racoon even when the rain falls down on you. ;)


For lipsticks, you would need 3 basic colors that work well with your skin tone. Red, for glamorous days or when you want to look fierce-er than usual, Nude for those smokey and colorful eye makeup looks and pink or peach for an everyday wear. And if you want to mattify a glossy or satin finish lipstick, don't fret because blotting with tissue and applying finishing powder on your lips afterwards will do the trick. ;)

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="426"] My ULTIMATE Favorite lipstick: The Colour Collection Ultimate Wear Lipstick in Temptress[/caption]

Oil Blotting Papers are a God-send to womankind, especially for us gals who have a combination of normal to oily skin, or just outright oily skin. In the middle of the day, you won't need to pile on product-just blot, blot blot! I recommend the Gatsby ones or the ones you can get from Saizen ;)

Your make up bag is also essential as you would want to keep things organized and not have things sprawled out of your universe f a bag. These can come in all shapes and sizes, and some even have compartments for brushes, tools and whatnot. :)

So, there we go! Please comment down below if you would like to see more posts like this soon... Hope this post helped you all out there! Cheers! :)