My (Body Shop) Dynamic Duo

Oh boy.. How I miss this thing so much.. Haven't had the time to blog for a couple of weeks. Blame it on work and the much needed time to sleep.. :)

Just this morning, my mom decided to go over my much beloved grandma's things. My lola passed away more than a year ago, and today is just the day we mustered the "strength" to once again touch her clothes and smell her perfume.. *Sigh*

Anywhooooo.. Mommy said if there's someone her jewelries had to be given to, that'll probably be me. (Proud smile). When my grandma was still alive, we'd always talk about make-up and fashion and how she'd put up with those when she was still young. She even allowed me to practice on her on how to put make-up on matured skin when I volunteered to be one of the so-called MUA's on my ate's wedding day. And now, I'm just so pleased to have what my lola had been keeping for the longest time.

** The stars up there are far more brilliant than these, Mamang. I bet you're enjoying them as much as I can imagine. I miss you so much, you know that. And I love you with all my heart. **



Today, I wanna share with you my Dynamic Duo. :)

Tadddaa!!!



The Body Shop Tea Tree Blemish Fade Night Lotion and Tea Tree Oil. I admit I have a couple of moisturizers, but these duo are the ones I reach out every time of the month my skin suffers from hormonal breakouts due to menstrual cycle related whatsoevers. I claim them highly effective, as they ease out small, red bumps and irregular texture my skin develops during "Red Alert Days".

Tea Tree Oil - I use this to clear out small pimple spots and minor blemishes, applying it directly on them after washing the face.

Tea Tree Blemish Fade Night Lotion - Used as an over-all moisturizer after using Tea Tree Oil. Avoiding the eye area is a must! I've tried spreading this on to the eye area the first time I used this and man, was it so burning, I had to cool it down with tissue wipes.

I never had irritations with these and the lotion does moisturize well, I must say. And funny to note for me these smell like freshly cut grass.. haha. I'm definitely replenishing as my dynamic duo's nearly running out. These are some essentials I'll always have around.

Have a lovely weekend, my friends! Thanks for dropping by.. :)

Hanggang Sa Muli, Daddy..

Dear Daddy,

This is the very first time I'd have to send a letter for you to an address with one word, "Heaven". It still breaks my heart like nothing else can, but don't worry, I'm trying to be strong just like the way you taught me to.

You went away with the wind without me knowing and in the next minute, I was left with nothing but to accept the truth I'll never hear your husky voice again, or even feel the warmth of your big sturdy hands.

I will never forget you Daddy. :( And I miss you so much. I can give years and years of my life in exchange of a minute with you. And in that minute, I just want you to keep silent and hear me shout in the entirety of this world how much I love you. Let me see you smile once again, please Daddy. I can go on in my whole life pleading just to see you smile.

And remember what you said before? That you'll shoot the guy who'll make me cry? I want you to take it back. I don't want you to shoot yourself coz no one, no guy has ever made me cry like I do when I think of you. I know you didn't see it coming and I blame no one for that. I know God needs you there, so He had to take you away from us.

Someday, I know, I'll get to see you again. Your handsome face, your wide smile that once brightened my life. And until that day, I will patiently wait. When that day comes, I'll sing with you there like we always did here. And we'll fly high through the clouds like how high our dreams were.

Hanggang sa muli Daddy, Happy father's day.

Prestige MultiTask Wet/Dry Powder Foundation

This week has been a nice week for me. :) I love the rain, oh yes, summer's officially over here in the Philippines! And I'm more excited about that. Hehe, I am one of those odd people who favor rainy days over sunny summer days. Oh you can't blame me, here in the Philippines, when it's hot, it means oven-hot!

Last Tuesday, I was thinking of getting In2It's Dual Powder Foundation. Normally, I can get away with just tinted moisturizer set with loose powder. But methinks I should try playing a bit with foundations since it's getting a little colder here. :) So what I did was head out to Galleria and get what I see as one of the most recommended brands, the Japanese-made In2It Powder Foundation.

I was so excited (like I always am when it comes to make-up) only to discover they don't have the shade suited for my skin tone, which is Harvest. :( And I won't buy what I know will be notches off my skin color so I decided to take a look at other brands.

My feet headed me off to Beauty Bar. Thank heavens they did. :) Beside Japonesque, the brand Prestige caught my eyes. I've always wanted to try Prestige as I have read pretty much good reviews about it so I finally settled with their powder foundation (click image to enlarge).



This is my first time to try this out and I guess I had what they call "Beginner's Luck"! After days of usage, I have nothing bad to say about what I bought. Well, for the product itself.. packaging is a different story. As you can see, the mirror is placed under the powder pan, which means you'd have to flip over back and forth during application, which for me, is not user-friendly. But other than that, I totally love this one.

PROS:

* Nice Coverage. Can be used wet or dry according to your preference. But I use this dry. Putting this after my tinted moisturizer does the job of making it stick to my skin.

* Lasts all day! It is so surprising to note that at the end of the day, though I'd have to blot the oilies once or twice, the coverage is still good.

* Usually, when a product is harsh, my skin tends to react after hours or even minutes after application. But with this one, I don't experience allergies or redness or bumps after days of usage. And if ever anything negative comes up in the long run, I'll be updating this post so I'll be crossing my fingers with this.. :)

* Never had that heavy feeling. It feels natural and light.


CONS:

* The packaging. I think it'll be nicer if they did it with the "sponge-mirror-powder" kind of thing I once saw in one of The Face Shop's powders, instead of this "powder-mirror-sponge" ensemble.

Other than that single gripe, I am loving this. :) I'd definitely repurchase once this runs out and I highly recommend this to those who want Medium Coverage that lasts all day.

Thanks for dropping by! :)

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!