EOS Lip Balm

The first time I ever saw these cute eggs, I mean, lip balms, a part of me can't sleep.. I want, I want!! :) Good thing, Digital Traincase carries these irresistible balms, it wasn't hard for me to get my fix.


I got Honeysuckle Honeydew (Yellow Green) and Summer Fruit (Red). Both of them smell so yummy you'd be so tempted to lick and taste it. I love them both but I like Honeysuckle better, but then again, I love them both. :)

EOS stands for Evolution of Smooth. From their site it claims that:

"eos lip balm is 95% organic, 100% natural, and paraben and petrolatum free. Packed with antioxidant-rich vitamin E, soothing shea butter and jojoba oil, eos keeps your lips moist, soft and sensationally smooth."

This is how it looks like when opened:



Since it is dome shaped, it'll be easier to apply this balm on to the lips, I actually really find it so cute, and yes, it FEELS cute!

PROS:

* unique shape, almost everybody will ask what it is (if you'll say it's not an Easter egg).
* it does not have that greasy feel you get with petroleum jelly.
* great when used under lipstick as it holds the color instead of sliding it off.
* it's organic!

CONS

* a bit pricey at 280 Php, approximately more than $6.00 each.
* bulky (cute things are almost always bulky!)


This comes in 5 flavors, the three others are:
- Lemon Drop (Yellow), this one's the only variant with SPF 15.
- Sweet Mint (Green)
- Medicated Tangerine (Orange)

To sum it up, I recommend these lip balms. Not only that they are fantastic in terms of moisturizing the lips, it's also something you'll feel happy about to play with. :) hihi.

Random Things About Me (and an award!)

Thanks to Miss Fru-Gal for this award, I am so surprised! I mean this is my first Blog Award so I think you have an idea of how exciting this is to me. hihi. :)

The Blogger Luxury Award!

Seven Random Things About Me:

1. I'm scared of thunders and lightnings.

No, I'm not acting like a child here, but really, I feel so uneasy deep inside when there's lightning and thunders. It also feel so scary when lightning strikes like a giant camera flash, under a dark and gloomy sky. I'd rather bang my ears with full blast music just so I couldn't hear the roar of thunder.


2. I have a broken heart that will never heal. :(

I lost my dad months ago. He died of cardiac arrest while working abroad so I really felt betrayed. I never knew it was the last hug, last smile, last "I Love You" when we separated at the airport. During his wake, I requested for him to wear an "Americana", just like the way he and I talked about what he'll wear on my Wedding. (A Wedding he'll have to watch from above someday). And it really is very painful, like there's no word to explain the feeling. It's so hard to lose a dad when you are a daddy's girl.

3. I wear Converse at work almost all the time and I don't care if the day calls for a dress up. Meet my Converse with my trousers.

I was once warned at work to follow "appropriate shoes" during dress up days, but still, I'd sneak and wear my beloved Converse, until the time came they have all accepted they can never do anything to make me ditch it for dress up days.

4. I can take medicines (may it be a tablet or capsule) with no water and swallow it straight up.

During my younger years, I was so sickly that I had to take maintenance medicines for specific time intervals. And for those times, water is not always present! Imagine stopping for a while during computer class just to take meds. These instances made me master the skill, hehe.

5. I don't eat eggs with salt.

Here at home, when they cook eggs, they always do a separate one for me - and that's without salt.


6. I love "see-food"

Yes, you read it right, see-food. I can and would always want to eat every "food" that I "see". :)

7. I am always a victim of first impressions.

I always earn the impression of being a "suplada" (snob). People most of the time think of me at first as someone so hard to approach or someone whom you can't talk to that easy. But hey, I am friendly! hehe.. I have so many friends who thought I was a "suplada" too, but now they can attest that I'm just as crazy and cowboy as they are.


There it goes! I guess I spilled some beans here and how I'd love to award this Blogger Luxury Award to:

1. Donna
2. Charry
3. Jacenda
4. Sugar
5. SophisticatedGlam
6. Mack
7. Hera
8. GingerSnap
9. Witoxichic
10. Alyson
11. C.Angie
12. Gem
13. Nihrida
14. Dee
15. Say


RULES:

1. Link back to the person who passed you the award.
2. Share 7 random things about yourself.
3. Award 15 blogs.
4. Drop them a note and tell them about it.


I really had fun doing this, thanks for visiting! :)

More Than Just a Starbucks Paper Bag

Just this Monday, I was surprised by a friend of mine when I arrived at the office. He gave me a small Starbucks paper bag, and instantly, I got excited.. hell excited. :)

I hastened to open it up.. lo and behold.. this cute phone charm sent an immaculate smile on my face and sense of happiness throughout the whole day.

He said he gave this to me as a token of appreciation for taking time talking to him when he felt so down and inconspicuously bothered. I said, at that time, I was bothered too.. and a bothered soul only needs another bothered soul for them to share whatever in the universe is quite bothering.. and eventually run away with it with grace and profound wisdom.

It really feels so heart-warming when friends appreciate you. With or without gifts, a simple thought that they appreciate you is more like an extra pump in the heart, making your existence a little more meaningful. :)

JC, this goes out to you.. let's just fight all the negative what-so-ever-it-is.. :) Life's too short, right? Let's beat all those boo-boo's with a happy heart. :)

My Fast Forward Shampoo (Mane 'N Tail)

Let me introduce you my unsung hero, favorite and my best ever tried shampoo, Mane 'N Tail Herbal Gro.

Last year, months before my graduation, I suffered from massive hair loss. And it is indeed MASSIVE. I wake up in the morning seeing hair fall-outs on my pillow, hair falling when I brush, style and even just touch my hair. It was so abnormal me and my mom got scared, we knew I needed to see a doctor.

And we were right, I was diagnosed with Alopecia Areata, a condition thought to be an autoimmune disorder in which the body attacks its own hair follicles and suppresses or stops hair growth. An unknown environmental trigger such as stress or a pathogen is thought to combine with hereditary factors to cause the condition. Mine was caused by too much stress and I tell you, taking up Engineering in college is not that friendly, for me at least.

During the treatment, I was forced to wear wide head bands just to cover up the areas where I got bald. It was such a dreadful time for me for I was always known at school as the chinky-eyed, long-haired girl.. :( So after the drugs acted up on my hair follicles, waking up the cells to create new hair, I was relieved to see small hairs sprouting like little grass on my scalp.

But that's not the end of it. I needed to cut my hair, super short just so to lessen the pressure on my scalp. Less hair, less styling, less pressure.

Hehe, such a long introduction!! :) - to cut it short (oops, sounds familiar..) that dreadful stage was over and my follicles are now back to normal. The only thing I'm concerned about is to grow my hair long again just like before.

And this shampoo saves the day. I felt that my hair grew longer than usual, even my mom took notice of it as we both know my hair grows so slow.. slower than a sleepy snail on a sunny summer afternoon. :)

PROS:
- made my hair longer, faster.
- fresh herbal scent.
- no dandruff!

CONS:
- to some, a conditioner may be needed, but I'd rather not use one as conditioners trigger hair fall-outs.
- pricey. I can't remember the exact price but I'm sure it's more than 400 Php.

I still use this shampoo up to now (I'm on my fifth bottle) because I want to hasten up the growth and I am very much satisfied. I feel like this has been a good friend of mine whom I relied on especially during the times I needed help the most. *sniff*

hehe.. :) thanks for reading!

WHIFF OF THE MOMENT (Heiress by Paris Hilton & Vanilla Ice Cream)

I love love love smelling good. :) For me it's like a prerequisite of being beautiful. Imagine looking stunningly gorgeous but smelling like a rotten banana.. it just.. voids the beauty. Right? I really don't have that strict preference to fragrance, as long as it goes perfectly harmonious with my body chemistry, then off we go.


As of the moment, I am loving these two:


Paris Hilton Heiress Perfume by Paris Hilton



It has top notes of passion fruit, orange, peach granita, and champagne mimosa. With middle notes consisting of star jasmine, tiare flower, ylang-ylang, honeysuckle, dewberry blossom, and grenadine. Then base notes of violet leaf, vetiver, tonka, and blonde woods.

This perfume got me impressed not only by the scent (which is just so sexy in my terms), but also because of its staying power. I don't bring the bottle with me at the office, I spray just a little before I head out, but the scent lingers until I get back home after an 8-hour shift + 2 hours of traveling time.




see how pretty the bottle is.. :)


And this, I love to wear at home, or at my quick out-for-coffee times.. Zen Zest Vanilla Ice Cream. This is a part of the Sparkling Sugar Collection and I believe you can get this at almost every mall where Zen Zest is available.



Well, this one smells of vanilla and sugar, so sweetly combined together, I can't stop smelling myself. :) I don't know, but there really is something about vanilla that I find so enchanting. Even when I was a little girl, at the time where I know nothing about scents but only soap and water, I always like icings on cake.. for the taste and it's smell. And I'll never forget how it sticks to my hair too!.. oh.. those were the days.. :) Anywhoo, I like this cologne a lot. This is actually my second bottle and I'll always buy another soon as I get past less than half of this. It does only stay for quite a while but that's forgiven knowing that it's just Eau de Cologne.

Brain Damaging Habits

We almost talk about beauty and fancy in all ways possible that we sometimes forget to consider what we should be considering deep within ourselves, beyond than just skincare and make up.

I just want to share you guys what a friend emailed me one time. And believe me, most of the facts here bit me straight up my face as I've always always been the one who does this. Not to mention I always overeat. Ouch.




BRAIN DAMAGING HABITS

1.No Breakfast. People who do not take breakfast are going to have a lower blood sugar level. This leads to an insufficient supply of nutrients to the brain causing brain degeneration.

2.Overeating. It causes hardening of the brain arteries, leading to a decrease in mental power.

3.Smoking. It causes multiple brain shrinkage and may lead toAlzheimer’s disease.

4.High Sugar consumption.Too much sugar will interrupt the absorption of proteins and nutrients causing malnutrition and may interfere with brain development.

5.Air Pollution. The brain is the largest oxygen consumer in our body. Inhaling polluted air decreases the supply of oxygen to the brain, bringing about a decrease in brain efficiency.

6.Sleep Deprivation. Sleep allows our brain to rest… Long term deprivation from sleep will accelerate the death of brain cells…

7.Head covered while sleeping. Sleeping with the head covered increases the concentration of carbon dioxide and decrease concentration of oxygen that may lead to brain damaging effects.

8.Working your brain during illness. Working hard or studying with sickness may lead to a decrease in effectiveness of the brain as well as damage the brain.

9.Lacking in stimulating thoughts. Thinking is the best way to train our brain, lacking in brain stimulation thoughts may cause brain shrinkage.

10.Talking Rarely. Intellectual conversations will promote the efficiency of the brain.


THE MAIN CAUSES OF LIVER DAMAGE:

1.Sleeping too late and waking up too late are main cause.
2.Not urinating in the morning.
3.Too much eating.
4.Skipping breakfast.
5.Consuming too much medication.
6.Consuming too much preservatives, additives, food colouring, and artificial sweetener.

7.Consuming unhealthy cooking oil. As much as possible reduce cooking oil when frying, which includes even the best cooking oils like olive oil. Do not consume fried foods when you are tired, except if the body is very fit.

8.Consuming raw (overly done foods also add to the burden of liver). Veggies should be eaten raw or cooked 3-5 parts. Fried veggies should be finished in one sitting, do not store.

We should prevent this without necessarily spending more. We just have to adopt a good daily lifestyle and eating habits. Maintaining good eating habits and time condition are very important for our bodies to absorb and get rid of unnecessary chemicals according to ’schedule.’


THE TOP 5 CANCER CAUSING FOOD

1.Hot Dogs.
Because they are high in nitrates, the Cancer Prevention Coalition advises that children eat no more than 12 hot dogs a month. If you can’t live without hot dogs, buy those made without sodium nitrate.

2.Processed meats and Bacon
Also high in the same sodium nitratesfound in hot dogs, bacon, and other processed meats raise the risk of heart disease. The saturated fat in bacon also contributes to cancer.

3.Doughnuts
Doughnuts are cancer-causing double trouble. First, they are made with white flour, sugar, and hydrogenated oils, then fried at high temperatures. Doughnuts may be the worst food you can possibly eat to raise your risk of cancer.

4.French fries
Like doughnuts, French fries are made with hydrogenated oils and then fried at high temperatures. They also contain cancer- causing acryl amides which occur during the frying process. They should be called cancer fries, not French fries.

5.Chips, crackers, and cookies
All are usually made with white flour and sugar. Even the ones whose labels claim to be free of trans-fats generally contain small amounts of trans-fats.


Whew! Those are a lot! Honestly, it really is so hard, almost impossible to stay away from all these things. But I think using a little bit of moderation from these will make a difference.

NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream

From the Cherryculture Site:

It's not lipstick, nor is it lip gloss. It's like nothing you've experienced before. It's a lipstick cream that goes on silky but looks soft matte. These long-lasting lip creams come in 11 different colors that will be sure to keep your lips moisturized and colorful!

Ingredients:

Pentaerythrityl Tetraisostearate, Dimethicone, Beeswax, Glyceryl Behenate / Eicosadioate, Phenoxyethanol, Dimethicone / Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Talc, Methyl Methacrylate Crosspolymer, Silica, Aluminium Starch Octenylsuccinate, Isohexadecane, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Propylene Carbonate, Parfum. May Contain: CI77019 (Mica) / CI77891 (Titanium Dioxide), CI15850 (D&C Red 6 Na. Salt), CI15850 (D&C Red 7 Ca Lake), CI15985:1 (FD&C Yellow 6 Al Lake), CI19140:1 (FD&C Yellow 5 Al Lake), CI45410 (D&C Red 28 Al Lake), CI77491 (Iron Oxide Red), CI77492 (Iron Oxide Yellow), CI77499 (Iron Oxide Black), CI77742 (Manganese Violet), CI77891 (Titanium Dioxide).


When I first saw these online, I got very interested as the line "goes on silky but looks soft matte" caught my fancy. I love matte lipsticks but this is one gives a whole new experience as this comes in a gloss type of application rather than the usual tube type of lipstick.


The Experience:

I actually like that it comes in a tube with a sponge applicator, the sponge itself distributes the color evenly. The texture of these lip creams are somewhat like icing on cakes (and it really smells like butter cream icing, how'd ya like that, huh?). At first it applies on very smoothly with a faint hint of shine then it dries up to a nice soft matte finish which I instantly fell in love with.


Pigmentation:

The color pigmentation is good. It gives off that opaque matte finish and it even leaves a cute stain even if you've already "eaten" the lip cream. :) *burp*


Staying Power:

Staying power is 7/10. In my case, it did not come off after several coffee drinks but disappeared when I ate. But since that it leaves a stain after all, it still stays on top of regular lipsticks when it comes to staying power.


I got these in three shades, Antwerp, Milan and Addis Ababa. I equally love them all as they complement my skin tone just as lovely as I imagined when I saw them online.



Here's Antwerp:



then here's Milan:



and this is me wearing Addis Ababa on a get together with my friends. :)




Overall, I love these lip creams. I only wish NYX would include in the printing how much lip cream you got. It does not say whether how many ml's or grams of product you paid for. But it is all fine nonetheless, I love the product anyway. :)

I got this from digitaltraincase.multiply.com at 350 Php each. That site offers great NYX and other cosmetic fixations at a very reasonable price.