Beauty Picks

Tie-dye for compacts

MANILA, Philippines - Its packaging alone is already a winner. Stila Countless Color Pigments range from its summer collection looks like it belongs to a poolside beauty kit, but its versatility makes it a palette worth keeping through changing seasons. Each compact is multi-use –– you can use your fingers or a foam-tip applicator to apply the shades individually, side by side, or mixed together for a multi-shade finish. Seven different shades are available at Rustan’s.

The girl with the new fragrance deal

Rooney! Who doesn’t love her transformation? From needy/misunderstood girlfriend in The Social Network to tattooed, pierced and cozy with Daniel Craig (on screen at least), Rooney Mara’s transformed into some kind of style icon right before our eyes. Her latest gig? She’s the new face of Calvin Klein’s new fragrance Downtown. Like many Calvin Klein fragrances, the scent is not too feminine, a floral woody mix that we look forward to sniffing.

Spring for this

The word “micellar” reminds me of Buffy the Vampire Slayer –– though it has nothing to do at all with nightstalking bloodsuckers. Micellar water is a cleansing solution that contains microscopic oil particles, and it’s used to remove makeup and dirt, strip your skin of whatever’s not supposed to be there. They are less drying, more thorough and don’t leave the skin too dry or tight. Lancome has Eau Micellaire Douceur, which claims to remove makeup and deliver a burst of freshness through naturally derived ingredients like white lotus, rose de France and Japanese cedar bud. Emma Watson is a fan. Hashtag just sayin’.

Runway imitates art

Beauty trend on the Valentino fall 2013 runway: looks inspired by portraiture. Vermeer’s “Girl With a Pearl Earring” was even on the designer’s inspiration board. The look is anchored on matte, super even skin, a touch of blush and highlighter, as well as full eyebrows with defined arches, and long, loose braids secured by a headband for hair. Meanwhile, at Chanel, it was the total opposite: sci-fi princesses gone rock ‘n’ roll was what seemed to have gone down. Jumbo flecks of platinum glitter were glued on one by one on top of the lash line and lashes swiped with Le Volume de Chanel mascara made the look.