Bye-Bye, Bag at the Big Blue Run

OK, so I did say the New Balance Power Run was my last race of the year. But I changed my plans and signed up for the Ateneo Big Blue 150 Run that was held last Sunday, December 6. What happened last Sunday makes me think I should have stuck to that resolution, instead of giving in to the urge to try the BBR’s route.

The Lesson Is: Stick to the Plan

It was almost too good to resist: a new route that wound through the Ateneo campus before busting out onto Katipunan. It had never been done before, so I allowed myself to be sales-talked into singing up for it.

So I went to the Blue Eagles Gym last Saturday and paid the P500 entry fee that purchased me a singlet and a race kit with my bib number and route map. Since I’d signed up late, the only singlet sizes available were Large and Extra-Large. That probably should have clued me in to something not being quite all right about going on the run.

On race day, I got to Ateneo right before a big traffic jam started and parked very near a guard outpost. I stashed my bag out of sight on the floor and made sure my car doors were locked before I left the lot. I tucked my cellphone into my compression pants’ zippered back pocket because I was running the route for the first time and might need my cellphone in case something happened. (This is what’s called foreshadowing.)

A Beautiful Run

At the starting line, I met up with a friend who was willing to pace with me. He’s a tall and fast guy (he finished Globe Run for Home 10K in 49 minutes, 25 seconds), but he said he wasn’t aiming for a PR anyway.

So there we were, two yellow birds (we were both wearing yellow shirts, since he never wears a race’s official singlet and I used my KOTR singlet) in a convocation of Blue Eagles. The 10K start gun fired, and we were off. He stayed on my tail, but his long legs carried him forward until he remained constantly 200 to 300 meters in front of me. The Ateneo campus has small inclines and declines and even though the race map shows a road as straight, there were curves along the road which made it difficult to speed up.

I already knew I wasn’t going to make a PR when I hit Katipunan; I couldn’t get my earphones to stay in my ears properly, so I couldn’t stay pumped with my power songs. I’d also spent a lot of energy passing slower runners and trying to catch up to my friend. I knew the upcoming flyover was going to sap me even further. That Katipunan flyover is a killer! The climb up felt like it lasted more than a minute; it’s definitely tougher than Kalayaan flyover from Taguig to Makati, or Buendia flyover on Roxas Boulevard. And after the flyover, a long stretch of hilly road until the U-turn — and then we had to do it all again in backwards order.

I saw my friend take the U-turn, then he ran back towards me and went round the U-turn with me. This time he stayed by my side, keeping up a stream of positive words and updating me about what was playing on his iPod. U2’s “Beautiful Day” kicked in as we went up the flyover again, and although I couldn’t hear it, I was singing it in my head.

He made a fast dash to the finish line, while I just kept up the steady thrum-thrum of my legs until I crossed the tape too. Time elapsed? 52 minutes, 17 seconds. Good enough, considering the hilly route. We spent some time congratulating ourselves, drinking water, and then walked back to our cars which were parked in the same lot.

That Sinking Feeling

As I approached my car, I noticed that all the doors were unlocked. “Did I lock this door?” I thought to myself, but knew that I had. I rationalized that sometimes the power locks don’t work, but hoped that nothing had been taken. It had never happened before, anyway.

I opened the door, and it felt like the ground had dropped out from under me. “Oh my God! Oh my God!” I started screaming. My bag was gone! My bag, with my change of clothes, my Havaianas slippers, my house keys, MY OTHER CELLPHONE, MY WALLET, MY CAMERA! Each realization of what items were stolen hit me like wave after wave dragging me down, down, down…

And then I pulled myself together as my friend ran over to me, concerned because he thought I’d received some bad news over the phone. Thank God I’d taken one of my phones with me on the run; I used it to call my parents to tell them what happened. Then we hailed a nearby police detachment and one of the campus security guards, and I started telling them in what condition I’d left my car and bag, and how long it took me to get back to my car after I’d left it.

While the Ateneo guard took photos of my car and its doors and locks, another couple in the same parking lot discovered their trunk had been broken into, and the woman’s purse taken. There were no visible signs of a break-in: no windows broken or door jambs jacked. Our vehicles were both Mitsubishi, both manufactured in the early 1990’s, and both with no alarm systems. For an experienced thief, easy pickings. Sigh.

My friend stayed with me until my parents picked me up to drive me home. I couldn’t drive because my stolen wallet had my driver’s license in there (along with some cash and ATM cards). This was the first time I’d ever felt so helpless.

What we’ve concluded is the perpetrator was already loitering in the parking lot when people started arriving. He’d taken notice of me not setting any alarm on my car, and the woman putting her purse in her trunk. Then, when everyone else had left the lot, he’d picked our locks and walked away with the bags as if they belonged to him. Simple to do because other people were also walking around with big gym bags heading to the race’s staging area.

Ateneo security later found my bag in a restroom. As predicted, my cellphone, wallet, and camera were no longer there — but the thief had also made off with my Ateneo singlet (I’d packed it just in case) and my Havaianas flipflops!

Rebuilding

Through it all I just found myself laughing about how surreal the situation was. I was thankul that the car itself hadn’t been stolen. I didn’t really need the second cellphone anyway; it was a spare. I’ve already secured a replacement for my driver’s license and my ATM cards (I had the old cards blocked on Sunday). The flipflops were one of four pairs of Havaianas I have in the house, so no big loss. The race organizers have a new singlet set aside for me. But I really do miss my camera.

Last Sunday after the incident, my friends and family rallied around me. One of them reminded me of a verse about theft and payback.

Proverbs 6:30-31 “People do not despise a thief if he steals to satisfy himself when he is starving. Yet when he is found, he must restore sevenfold; He may have to give up all the substance of his house.”

I may not ever find out who the thief was, but I do know that God restores and provides. I can always buy a new camera. Ü

I’m just wiser and more guarded about my things, particularly on race days when there are a lot of things going on and security might not be very reliable.

Tags: Running, Race, Big Blue Run, Theft

New Balance Power Run

I was supposed to run a race on September 27. Then Ondoy hit.

New Balance Power Run

Two months later, the race finally pushed through. Instead of being my lead-up to Race for Life, the New Balance Power Run became my year-ender race — and what a race it was!

Eat my dust.

I’ve made it a habit to wake up at 3am for these races because it takes my brain and body about two hours to boot up (I’m not as efficient as my laptop). For the Power Run, though, I was unusually alert that early in the day, quickly got through my race day prep (food, dressing, packing extra clothes), and was out of the house by 4am. I arrived at the race venue in Fort at 4:30am, which was the assembly time for 21K runners. Excited much? Ü (To compare: back in July for Globe Run for Home, I arrived at Fort around 5am.)

When I got there, the stage, booths, race arches and railings, and portalets were already set up. (And I must say, that long row of portalets in the field was a beautiful sight after Fit ‘n’ Right Run’s measly 8 portalets split between men and women.) All that was left for runners to to do was wait for our turn at our assembly points, squeeze past the checkers (no bandits allowed!), and run when the gun went off!

So run I did. It was a new route around the Fort, which I appreciated, and it wasn’t as hilly as I thought it would be; thank God the revised 5K route didn’t take us into McKinley ~~Hell~~ Hill, where the 10K route looped. Water was plentiful at the strategically-positioned hydration stations on both sides of the University Parkway (no gridlocking of runners coming and going).

Everything was going along smoothly. Then I made one crucial mistake which cost me a year-end PR. I spotted a little boy, around 4 feet tall, running with his parents. He came from behind me, then overtook me, then slowed down so his parents could catch up with him. My ego was bruised; at all costs, I had to beat him to the finish line. So I picked up my pace around kilometer 2. I felt good — for 500 meters. Then the side cramp hit; it knocked the wind out of me. I could barely breathe deeply and my legs refused to stride longer. I yelled in frustration and was reduced to walking for two minutes before the cramp subsided and I could pick up the pace again.

Still, according to the unofficial results on the eXtribe website, I made it to the finish line in 24 minutes and 41 seconds. I don’t know if I made the top 20, but it was fast enough to make me one of the lucky few to get New Balance socks and a huge bar of Hershey’s dark chocolate along with the medal, bananas, water, and 100Plus drinks given as freebies right after the finish chute. Race organizers, take note: this is the best way to distribute freebies, rather than setting up a separate booth and making people line up again.

In case you missed that part, yes I got a medal! While other races this year gave out medals only to finishers of their longer-distance events (21K for instance), at the Power Run whether you finished 3, 5, 10, or 21 you got a medal, in lieu of a finisher’s certificate. I prefer a medal any day!

The best part about the race routes were the different start and finish points for the race categories. While all runners started at the same arch, the 3K and 21K runners would finish at that arch while 5K and 10K runners would make their way to a different finish arch. Logistically it must have been more complicated for race organizer eXtribe to manage, but it made for a very smooth chute experience, with no crowding at the finish line. I loved not having to sidestep slow-moving 3K walkers!

While I was pakalat-kalat (wandering around) after the race, I spotted Tessa Prieto-Valdes running by her lonesome in a fuschia pink top, black running tights — and a skirt. Not a tiny fringe around her hips, no. A flouncy, bouncy skirt. She was still sporting the skirt, with a few more furry embellishments, when she got up on the stage to host the awarding ceremony.

Oh, Tessa!

Also (still while pakalat-kalat) I spotted running coach Rio de la Cruz, who had participated in the 10K as a leisure run. I couldn’t resist getting my picture taken with him. Hey he may not be Piolo Pascual, but he’s the man who trained Piolo to run 10K in 47 minutes. (Dinaig ako ni Piolo! Hmpf!)

Question for Coach Rio: How does your hair stay puft?

Even though I didn’t beat my 5K PR, or have a hi-tech timing chip laced to my shoe, or get an award, I have to say that the Power Run is my favorite race this year because of my no-hitch experience with it (barring the two-month delay, of course). It was definitely a race worth waiting for.

Tags: New Balance, Power Run, Running, Race

Del Monte Fit’n’Right Fun Run

Fit n Right Run: the host and the warm-up

After the PIM 10K, which was held on Roxas Boulevard, my next race took me even further southwards, to the Mall Of Asia complex. My running friends and I signed up for the Del Monte Fit ‘n’ Right Fun Run after our PIM stint because we really enjoyed the camaraderie, the photos, and the eating after our run, and we wanted an event to cap off our year. At 300 pesos per entry, we thought it was a good deal for a singlet, a bib number, and a Radio Frequency ID sticker that would serve as a timing chip. Then my family, my sister, and her fiance joined in the fun as well.

After some trouble claiming the race kits (according to race organizer CEMG, the singlet supplier was late on deliveries), I finally got them the Friday before the race, except for mine. Good thing I called the CEMG office (particularly the point person Marianne Tapales) and was told they’d deliver my singlet to my doorstep. Ü

On the morning of November 22, My family and I arrived at 4:30am, the assembly time. However, when we got there, the arch hadn’t been built yet and the booths were still being set up (ahhh, assemble-y time). When we went to look for portalets, there were only eight of them — four for men, and four for women. I was thankful I was only going to run 5K, and purposely held back on hydrating myself too much before the race to avoid a Tatakbo Ka Ba running-with-a-full-bladder scenario.

I bumped into some of my co-instructors from Fitness First, and both of them were there not to run, but to perform in the race’s program. Joanne Ignacio, as last year’s winner of the Fit ‘n’ Right reality show, was one of the hosts, while Andre Sunga would lead the race participants in the warm-up.

Fitness First, represent!

Well, Andre tried to lead the participants in the warm-up (part of the program that began really late), but not everyone in the crowd were dancers (he used a modified BODYJAM warm-up). There was also poor crowd control because the 10K, 5K, and 3K runners had not been segregated. As a result, when the gun fired for 10K start, the warm-up was still ongoing and some 10K runners were unaware that their event had started.

We 5K runners moved to the front of the line, but even then there was no real countdown to the starting gun. All of a sudden everyone was running, and I wove through the slower runners to get ahead. This was when I started to enjoy my run. The route was flat, the air crisp and cool, and I was able to get my first (and only) cup of water from the hydration table. I noted that it was a short table, and true enough, from the horror stories of people post-race, there were hydration problems. The 5K and 10K routes were the same (10K runners would do two laps), and by the time the 10K runners were on their second lap, the tables were out of water.

I finished the race with a time of 24 minutes and 7 seconds, a new 5K PR for me (even beating my Race for Life time), and then waited for my friends to come through the finish chutes. I was able to stand really close to the finish line because none of the marshals were making me leave. I found out post-race that the bib checkers were crowded out by participants waiting for their friends, and this caused problems in verifying which bib numbers had crossed in what order.

The Del Monte freebie booth by that time was handing out huge sackfuls of Del Monte products, but it was located very near the finish. People standing in line were blocking the way of runners. There was a general air of frenzy in the place, and there were no safeguards to determine who had already claimed their loot bag. As a result, when our turn came, there were no more goodies. Well, at least we still had each other. Ü

Good Running Buddies = Salvaged Race Experience

I had fun with my friends, but it was only after the race that the sad faces set in. I had a hiccup with the RFID timing chip when I was recorded as coming in 3 minutes later than my actual finish time. I thought that was the biggest problem, but then I didn’t know how bad other participants’ experiences were until I checked out the comments on the Fit ‘n’ Right fan page on Facebook. Ouch!

Del Monte was quick to offer an apology and to accept responsibility.

From my point of view, CEMG, being a first-time race organizer, had miscalculated the logistics needed for the number of participants who had signed up — water, portalets, marshals, and grounds set-up. I do think they’ll learn from their mistakes, and I appreciate the way they handled the backlash — with an apologetic attitude and a promise to do better. I think they just might have bitten off more than they could chew with a big product race such as Del Monte’s (which received a lot of promotion in the tri-media). Perhaps they should have gained experience first with smaller events, like company runs with a lower number of participants.

Hopefully, next year’s Fit ‘n’ Right run will be a lot smoother. Ü Which reminds me — I can still claim my loot bag at CEMG this week.

Tag: Del Monte, Running, Race

Why I Shouldn’t Go to Bazaars…

…I end up splurging.

Loot from Moonlit Bazaar, PowerPlant Mall

It’s that time of year when bazaars make a killing out of people buying presents for their loved ones, but I made my way to PowerPlant Mall today to shop for myself.

It started when I wanted to check out a pair of shoes from Summersault: I’d seen them on Tricia and wanted to try them on, at least. They had a stall at The Moonlit Bazaar (from November 27 to 29) and I was in the area anyway for a friend’s birthday party. My inner shopaholic could not resist, even when presented with a P100 door charge (sigh).

The thing with door charges is that once I get into a bazaar, I feel like I have to purchase something to make it worth my while. I ended up getting a bag holder from Style and Carry Bags (P250), liquid leggings from Coeur (P650), and a multi-way cardigan from Decadence&Affluence; (P550). Adding my purchase of Empire macarons (P280 for a box of 9) from the Baker’s Dozen exhibit to the total amount, I spent way more than I should have for one weekend. In fact, it’s the biggest amount I’ve ever spent in the Rockwell area. (On the plus side, I didn’t get lost exiting Rockwell like I always do. Rockwell must be pleased with me.)

But this week I realized that a lot of the interesting things in my wardrobe have all been impulse buys anyway. I guess I should think of what I bought as an investment. (This is stating to sound like Confessions of a Shopaholic. Gaaah. Will stop buying clothes for now.)

Tags: Fashion, Shopping. Bazaar, Splurge

This Month in Action&Fitness Magazine

Hey everyone, before the month ends I really think you should pick up a copy of Action&Fitness; Magazine. Not just because Roxanne Guinoo is on the cover, but that could be a valid reason.

Action&Fitness; November issue

But if you do check it out for the cover, I wrote not just one, nor two, but four articles featured on the cover, plus one more inside. Here’s a sneak peek:

COVER STORY: Sweating in Style (p. 44) Keep fit while staying in style with the proper and recommended sportswear.

Six Workout Myths vs. Facts (p. 62) Fitness myths demystified.

Yogurt or No-gurt? (p. 32) It’s the latest craze in town — but read this first before you ride the fro-yo bandwagon.

Boost Your Booty (p. 70) Give your booty a natural boost with these butt-busting moves.

Tricep Toning (p. 72) Get rid of those “batwing” arms with these easy steps. (BONUS! listen to an excerpt from this article)

A&F;‘s November issue is on all major magazine stands now, so go get it!

Tags: Action&Fitness; Magazine, Roxanne Guinoo

Action&Fitness Magazine November 2009

Action&Fitness November issue

I wrote not just one, nor two, but four articles featured on the cover, plus one more inside. Here’s a sneak peek:

COVER STORY: Sweating in Style (p. 44) Keep fit while staying in style with the proper and recommended sportswear.
Six Workout Myths vs. Facts (p. 62) Fitness myths demystified.
Yogurt or No-gurt? (p. 32) It’s the latest craze in town — but read this first before you ride the fro-yo bandwagon.
Boost Your Booty (p. 70) Give your booty a natural boost with these butt-busting moves.
Tricep Toning (p. 72) Get rid of those “batwing” arms with these easy steps. (BONUS! listen to an excerpt from this article)

The November Fashion & Beauty Mega-Post

With apologies to the men who are following this blog, I’m writing another mega-post for fashion and beauty this month. There were just too many kikay developments for me not to notice. Ü

Bootie Luv

If you’re following me on Tumblr, you might have seen me reblogging posts from fashion tumblr ShoeLust, or posting photos of shoes I want to have from Virtual Mae. I was under the impression that stylish gladiator pumps and booties could only be bought from online stores and boutiques like People Are People or Janylin.

Then I dropped by SM Department Store the other day.

SM. We’ve really got it all.

I could not believe my eyes. Ankle-high booties with the correct chunkiness of heel! Studded heels! Etcetera! All that I had been dreaming of and drooling about were right there in-store. The best part was the most expensive pair were priced at P1,299. Not bad at all!

Of course, two weeks ago I told Dhon of Runway2Reality that I’d already made my last shoe purchase of the year. I’m still trying to resist the retail urge! Maybe I’ll reward myself with some awesome shoes in 2010.

DIY Event Make-up

I’ve always done my own make-up when I go out, but seeing other women have perfectly finished faces made me go research how to apply make-up for clubbing. There’s a different color palette for smoky gunmetal eyes, and I wanted to get the blending right for them.

new loot!

The make-up palette from Ever Bilena I bought a few months back is good for everyday use, but it tends to wash out when camera flashes are involved. So I picked up some e.l.f. eyeshadows (P129.75 each) because the colors are intense and don’t wear off easily even with my oily skin (bane of make-up artists). I got the Drama shades for gunmetal club eyes, and Butternut for when I want to achieve an old Hollywood bombshell look.

I’ve been using brown pencil liners to define my brows lately, reserving the black liner for rimming my eyes. Ever Bilena Color Pencils are cheap (P88), rich, don’t run, and won’t smear if set with powder. The white eyeliner in the photo is from Nichido; Tyra Banks and other celebrities tout its use on lower eyelid rims as a way to make eyes appear bigger.

For the SLIMS Retrospective, I picked up a copy of Cosmopolitan Magazine and copied a look from one of its pages.

After applying Clinique Superfit foundation (Rose Beige) with a foundation brush and patting it smooth with a make-up sponge, I used an Elianto cream concealer (Medium shade) to cover up dark circles. Then I applied the nude color from the Butternut palette all over my eyelid up to the brow. I swiped the lightest shade onto my brow bone as highlight, then used the two darkest colors to contour my lid and give it a deep-set look. Since it wasn’t dark enough not to wash out when I took test photos, I took my Drama palette and lightly brushed some black shadow to finish off the contour.

After filling in and extending my eyebrows with brown pencil, I went all around my eye with my black liner. I applied a line of white pencil beneath the black liner on my waterline, which lit up my eye area and finished the look. Blush powder from Nichido (Cool Rum and Passionate Red) and lip color from Clinique (Color Surge in Extreme Pink) added some warmth to the lower half of my face. I later attached very long false eyelashes from e.l.f. (not in photo).

I felt really confident about how I looked, and as the evening progressed, the make-up did not wear off or migrate. In the photos, the make-up was just right, not too heavy or too light. Success!

Tags: Kikay, Make-Up, Fashion, Booties

A Night at the Museum: SLIM Retrospective

SLIM Retrospective launch: Night at the Museum

While I’ve attended fashion events in the past, this is the first time I’ve ~~infiltrated~~ been invited to a society event. The SLIM Retrospective opened yesterday at the National Museum for the Filipino People, and I was blessed enough to have friends who asked me to view it with them on its first night. (The exhibit will remain until March 2010, so there’s still enough time to go see it!)

SLIM stands for Salvacion Lim Higgins, a Filipina haute couture designer. Designing from 1947 until shortly before her death in 1990, she is best remembered for dramatic silhouettes, intricate embroidery and beadwork, and reinventing the Maria Clara and terno for Manila’s high society. She also started a fashion and art school that still operates in Makati.

Her legacy was on display last night, presented by Preview and Town&Country; magazines with the support of Citibank, Nokia, and the Peninsula Manila. The museum facade was aglow with washes of colored light and decked out with a red carpet for honored guests to walk on.

Red Carpet!

Preview Magazine’s November issue features Anne Curtis on the cover and inside in a fashion editorial that pays tribute to SLIM. A number of the dresses on display in the museum were also worn by Anne in the pictorial.

what was old is new again

I saw the Project Runway Philippines regular cast, UNO Magazine’s creative director Juan Caguicla, dignitaries from foreign embassies, actors and actresses, and perhaps I failed to recognize some of Manila’s movers and shakers because I’d never seen them before (or paid attention). Gosh, I’m so middle-class — not that there’s anything wrong with that.

I fully enjoyed myself with the wines from Titania, canapes, cold cuts, and cheeses from Peninsula Manila, and was able to move around pretty well in my gown by Ryan Madamba, who had invited me to come with him to the retrospective. You don’t see it in the picture below, but that gown had a train measuring about eighteen inches. The only other woman in the place with a train was Preview editor-in-chief Pauline Juan. Not bad for an interloper like me. Ü

fashion with friends can’t go wrong

Check out my Multiply album for more photos from the SLIM Retrospective launch, or go to Stylebible.ph’s photo gallery.

Tags: Salvacion Lim, SLIM, Fashion Retrospective, Manila Society

Parvati Dessert Soiree

I’m not a dessert person, but I won’t refuse a free meal (hehe). So when I got an invitation to attend a taste-testing event, I didn’t say no.

Parvati Dessert Soiree at 55 Events Place

Parvati is an upcoming shop concept; their tagline is “where home bakers and dessert lovers meet”. While there will be a physical mortar-and-bricks shop, home bakers will be able to offer their made-to-order dessets through Parvati. Through this taste test, the collected comments and ratings on each dessert will help determine whether or not it will be offered at a Parvati shop in the future.

Got a sweet tooth?

It turns out that 500 people registered for the event, which was dubbed a “dessert soiree”. At the entrance, I registered and was given a comment sheet to review four desserts of my choice. (You can only get four desserts at a time.) I chose a slice of chocolate decadent cake, some kind of muffin, a slice of banana loaf, and a lemon square. I had some friends with me, so I probably tasted twelve desserts just by nibbling off their plates.

I’ve got my thinking cap on.

The wide array of choices overwhelmed my palate and my belly, so I ended up rating just the four desserts I had taken. The decadent cake was the best, with its moist chocolate crumb and gooey caramel sauce just melting onto the tongue. The muffin was the worst — I could only describe it as feeling and tasting like bits of cardboard. The banana loaf could have used a bit more sugar, and the lemon square a bit more moisture.

Overall, I’m excited for the day when a Parvati shop opens near me. More of that decadent cake please!

Tags: Dessert, Parvati Shop

Finding My [Clinique] Perfect Match

Clinique Perfect Match event: white rose

“Hello, Miss. This is for you.”

a rose for me? how thoughtful!

And with that gentle welcome still ringing in my ear, I breezed into the penthouse suite of Fairways Tower yesterday for the Clinique Perfect Match Foundation event.

Because I’d covered a Clinique skincare event for Kikay Exchange in May, I was invited to this sneak peek at the upcoming foundation line Clinique is releasing, formulated for Asian skin. Check out Project Vanity for Liz’s review, coming soon! The other foundations were also still available for testing.

I, like other women, love make-up

They had a computer set up with a questionnaire that would lead me to find the right kind of foundation for me. Based on my consultation at the counter, I received a whole bottle of Clinique Superfit Makeup in Rose Beige. Superfit matches skin types 2 (combination dry), 3 (combination oily, my skin type), and 4 (oily). It’s oil-free so it won’t clog pores, and it’s long-wearing so it won’t melt off my face.

Superfit Makeup in Rose Beige, SRP: P1,750

My last pot of liquid foundation from Clinique was the Perfectly Real Makeup in True Beige, which was rather thick and needed a light hand when applied. The Superfit Makeup felt lighter and spread very evenly on my face.

foundation on left side, bare skin on right side

I’m acidic, but this foundation blended very well into my natural skin color. I really like how it dried to a matte finish and covered up light splotches, redness, and dark circles. I didn’t even need to use concealer when I finished applying foundation to my whole face.

I use powder mineral foundation on most days, but when I need more coverage, I’m glad I have Clinique to turn to.

(Check out my Tumblr for photos I took at the event: slideshow 1, slideshow 2.)

Tags: Clinique, Liquid Foundation, Superfit Makeup