Believe in B.liv's Dump Off Drawn! I do!

I was contacted by B.liv weeks ago to try out their products. I have been so lazy in applying any skin care products lately that I can already tell. I mean, I can feel how my skin lacks something & it just feels different too. It was the perfect opportunity to try out something new since I think my skin had been pretty neutral already.

So, I guess it's high time now to tell you all what I think about the products that they've sent me. It's been 2 months (i got this 2nd of May this year but I only started using it a week after that) now so I can safely tell my opinion about this compared to people who had just used this in such a short time.

I have to be honest, I don't use all of them. In fact, I am only using 2 as of the moment, the Dump Off Drawn & I'm Wrinkle Insulator. I hate piling products on my skin because it just suffocates my skin. I feel like there's a lot going on in my skin so I try to use as little as possible. I might give some thoughts on Soothe & Matte, Off With Those Heads, etc.. but I prefer to do a separate post on them in the future once I've really gone on using them.

The products that I chose are mostly anti-aging because I'm already 28 & I want to be able to prevent any fine lines & wrinkles as much as possible. With that said, it would be pretty hard for me to really show you any dramatic change in my skin because I'm a firm believer that anti-aging products should work slowly & not shock the skin into changing it. If the anti-aging products that I am using cause a dramatic change in such a short time (like Olay's claim of 7 days wonder!) I will automatically ditch it because it would be scary to see the effect if I'll be using it for such a long time.

This first post will be about my favorite anti-aging product of all~ (Yes, I'm saying that it's the best I've tried so far!) This deserved a separate post because of its awesomeness!!! I didn't even realize how visible the results are until i did the side-by-side comparison of the before & after.

In that case, Bliv is doing pretty well. Let me start by telling you about my experience...

Isn't the packaging cool?!
This ampule-like packaging is just simply the best! It's so hygienic & very easy to use too! I love it!

It makes me feel like I'm applying something formulated by genius people who have already found the solution to all skin problems.

But of course, this is just not about the packaging, right?
Let's take a look at the box description

You can take a look at the website description too. Click HERE.

Now for my verdict...
I am really trying hard to find fault in this product but I can't! It broke the image of serum that I had. I've always thought of serums as heavy & sticky, something so concentrated that it suffocates your skin. But this one doesn't!

This is just like water!

It feels so light it's really just like you applied water on your skin. It is absorbed really easily. No need to wait for minutes especially if you're on the go. I hate it when my skincare takes too long to be absorbed by my skin. It makes make-up application really hard & troublesome too. You think everything is ok then once you applied your powder on... boom! Immediate caking happens! argh!

I like how this product doesn't give that "visible results" look immediately because the effect of this is giving you more of a younger feel. It just feels like my skin is firmer within a few weeks.

Now, this stuff is not really moisturizing. I mean, if you are the type who needed additional moisture then you will need to apply your favorite moisturizer on top of it. This is applied prior to your skincare routine, as most serums usually are. So don't go thinking that this would substitute your usual moisturizer.

Very skin-friendly & easily absorbed by the skin. I can't stress enough how important that is to me since i sweat very easily. I can't abide heavy products because they make my skin sweat instantly which is just useless because my skin hasn't even absorbed it fully yet to reap the benefits & it's already on its way out.

You wouldn't really see/feel anything after a couple of days of use. I think the effect of this can just be felt over a long period of time, on which I'm just so happy that I waited until 2 months until I made this post because this is a very nice product to try.

Let the picture do the talking now...
I zoomed it in, go ahead & click to your heart's content & tell me if my skin didn't look younger with continued use of this.

I forgot to just put the word before & after but I think you know how this works... Left is before & Right is after as usual...

How awesome is this?!
It just looks (& definitely feels) younger!
-Smaller pores (seriously?!)
-Smoother skin (close to baby's butt! lol)
-Lessens redness (whoa!)
-Look at my tiny acne scar... it doesn't look as deep anymore!

This is definitely a must-have for me!
I think the picture just told you why even without me enumerating it, no?

You might ask me, are you using anything else?
I know serums are supposed to work together with another product to act as a vehicle but I know my skin & my skin produces oil almost as soon as I wipe my face dry after washing.
But nope! When I use something, I don't use anything else. No creams or even sunblocks (i know it's bad but I just can't abide it), no facial soaps or anything too because I only use Safeguard (you all know that soap, right?) for my face so any changes that you see is all because of this serum.
A-may-zing!!!

Look, no need for make-up already!
W00t! w00t!

I use it 2x a day, morning & evening only together with an eye 'cream' & that's it.
With all that, I guess the only thing to do is to tell you the pros & cons, right?

PROS:

• true to what they claim. I'm living proof!
• feels so light like you're not even applying anything at all
• cute & hygienic packaging
• fast & free shipping (they use DHL!)

CONS:

• not locally available (online only-visit their website)
• expensive ($49 each)

Will I recommend it?
I think you only need to look at the picture to tell you that I highly recommend it.

Now, one thing that you have to be aware of is that since this is available online & will be delivered straight to your house by DHL, you might have to pay customs taxes, which I did. I can't remember the exact amount but I think it's somewhere at around Php 550, I think ($12+). So just be ready to pay for any additional expenses that you might incur though.

I so love this product!
I can't wait until I finish the whole bottle!
What anti-aging products are you using?

I'll be reviewing the other Bliv products that I've tried but they're not as exciting though. This is the only one that deserved a separate post because of its awesomeness! hahaha!

Hope you all are having a great day!
Jaa ne~!
^_^

ps:
Product sent as sample. I did not receive any monetary compensation for this post. Opinion shared is personal view & is no way influenced by the company. Use at your own discretion.

Simple Life...

Hello,lovies!

I know i haven't been around for quite sometime now. I just have a lot of things to deal with recently. Isn't that sad? Just when i realized that i like blogging, then in comes life throwing you some things that needed catching & prioritizing which leads me to go on hiatus indefinitely once again...
*sigh*

Anyway, I just want to let you know that im still alive... just not blogging. hehehe
Thank you for the support that i still get on my email. Readers asking me about my whereabouts & just simply asking me about some concerns. You don't know how much you all are the fuel keeping me from finding the time to still think about my tiny space online....

Ok, enough about the drama, time for the real deal.
A lot has happened recently, one of the major change is that im not a goat-lover. hahaha!
My dad bought a pregnant mama goat a month ago & gave birth to 3 lovely kids. I'm not sure but i heard that it's not common for a goat to have 2 kids, how much more 3?! Whether that's true or not, one thing that is sure is that Mama goat hates her youngest kid, which we call as Cookie. She just simply distanced herself from her youngest kid like she was just a complete stranger. It was just heartbreaking!

So we are bottle-feeding her because we don't have a choice.
Here is my mum trying to feed Cookie, the tiny brown goat, while her siblings, Milk & Cream are just waiting for someone to give them some leaves to munch on.

I sometimes takes Cookie home with me specially when the weather is pretty bad because she doesn't have anyone to cuddle with. She is specially hyper during evening time.

I'm so behind any beauty-related news because of this but i don't mind. I like taking care of them. They are our extended family!

Speaking of family, we have another addition to our growing family.... meet Butter.

We just got her last night but she is bundle of fur & energy.
Poor doggie was so tired & dizzy from her transport she ended up throwing up. When she got here (she was brought to us by her owner) she was just feeling bad she ended up sleeping right after i cleaned her.

We have been so blessed with these animals & they are bringing joy to our lives. So pardon me if i don't get to blog. But nevertheless, i will be sharing one product line that i think is worth checking out. You have to wait for it after a week. I have been road testing it for quite sometime already & i love it!

So, i guess that would be a short update on my blog for now.
Hope you all are having a great day!
Jaa ne~
^_^

Do you use clarifying shampoo?

Have you ever had that time when you feel like your favorite shampoo had all-of-a-sudden stopped working?
Just when you found the perfect shampoo that seems to agree on your tresses, it will just stop being that friendly. I swear i've had countless of those episodes & i felt that nothing is ever gonna work with my hair. I just feel so helpless & hopeless that i eventually stopped taking care of my hair already.

But little did i know that this bottle-that-always-ignore is my saving grace!

I already know about the concept of clarifying shampoo but i didn't really paid particular attention to how important it is to actually own one until i felt the desperation of being able to really solve the root cause of my hair problems once & for all.

Now i know better...
You can't ignore things unless you have personally tried them yourselves.

You can buy other clarifying shampoos, of course. It will just work pretty much the same.
They all will strip your hair off all the oils/residues that have accumulated over time, which would mean that it will zap the hair dry. It's normal to have residues from your shampoo because most of the shampoos include oils that nourishes our hair. You have to remember that our scalp produces oil for our hair as well. Too much oil on the scalp can accumulate therefore hindering the effect of your favorite shampoo. It's important to get rid of the build up in order for it to work its charms.

When it does remove everything that it's supposed to remove then you will then use the regular products that you use. It's just like cleaning everything up so that your favorite product will be able to work well because nothing is contradicting the effect that it's supposed to give you.

I have dry hair but i still use clarifying shampoo.
You don't need to worry about it if you have dry hair. Just follow it up with a very rich conditioner or hair mask afterwards & everything will be A-OK!

If you tend to have the usual dandruff attack every now & then, this might work on you.

As for this Suave Daily Clarifying Shampoo, i bought it at SaveMore grocery for a little less than Php150 for 444ml. Hey, that's already a lot!

Last weekend, we went to Royal Subic Mall & i bought a Family Size for only $3.10!It's a whopping 665ml.
What a steal!

Have you tried clarifying shampoos?
The next time you see it, don't just ignore it until you have tried it.

Hope you are having a great day!
Jaa ne~!
^_^

Weekend Nails:3d Cartoon Nail

A short post to end the work week & to welcome the weekend~

It's been a while since i did my nails & frankly it's not on my priority list now but then i can't help myself & do  a version of it when i saw it on instagram.

How cute is that?!
It looks like drawn nails..haha!

How fun!

You just need a light colored base color, black nail art pen/acrylic, white nail art pen/acrylic & a matte top coat.

On with the picture tutorial.

I decided to use a different base because when i did it the first time i forgot to do a tutorial.

This time i used Sansan's Purple Breeze as the base. 

Just click it for a larger image..

Easy as pie,no?
I bet that you can also do this on your own.

Hope to see your version of this cute & fun nail art that is perfect for short nails~

Have a happy weekend!

Jaa ne~!
^_^

Let's talk about hair!

This is something that i have wanted to blog about ever since... hair care!
Let's take it one step at a time & i'll start it by telling you all about my hair/scalp woes...one of the major thing is dandruff!

It's so embarrassing to have little bits of flakes falling on your shoulders every single time you moved your head... which means that this is not the time to do a some headbanging. If you do, then you'll have bit of "snow" on your shoulders. That's embarrassing as hell!

Anyway, i have been constantly battling with dandruff.
I have curly/wavy hair that tends to be quite unruly (lol!). My curls are not the type that has just a precise curl on its own but it tends to just curl riotously which makes managing my hair extra hard. If you'vet seen the last pic that i've posted with my long hair (on which i just had to chop half of it away because of the heat) then you'll know what i'm saying...

Posting it here again for reference...

See that?
My major problem is that since it's curly, the oils from my scalp can't easily go down to the ends therefore making it dry at the ends...as what you can see.

Hair products meant for curly hair just doesn't work that well for me. They are either too moisturizing, which makes my dandruff worse or they're too dry, which makes the ends of my hair really stiff & brittle. So, i guess you can somehow imagine how hard it is for me to look for products that will work for me. The struggle for it is somewhat like my battle with acne. lol!

So how do i manage it after baring all the things that makes me go "ugghhh!!" about hair?

I do 3 things...
1. Trim the ends of my hair
2. Use a clarifying shampoo
3. I don't comb my hair when wet then use a paddle brush in the evening.

I'm sure you are quite familiar with the 1st ones since your hairdresser might have mentioned it once or twice. It keeps your hair healthy by keeping split ends at bay. Less split ends means better-looking hair,no?

What the heck is a clarifying shampoo?!
I'll go into details about clarifying shampoo in my next post but to just give you a bird's eye view, it completely strips the scalp of the oil & any residues that your regular shampoo might have left behind. It means that it somehow neutralizes everything so that your fave shampoo can do its work on its own without anything stopping it from giving you what it's supposed to give.

Now, im serious when i say that i don't comb my hair.
Even when i have to go out of the house. I will lightly finger-comb it but that's it. They said hair is at its weakest when wet so combing it wet is like punching someone in the face (lol!). I would recommend not wet combing your hair if you have curly hair like mine. It somehow helps make your natural curl manageable & at the same time when it dries, it's soft & bouncy.

This is how it looks like uncombed..

I love my hair the most right after air drying it!
The curls & waves seems like they have a life on its own & they are really bouncy & soft.

Have you tried NOT combing your hair after taking a bath?
Try it & you'll see what i'm talking about. It really works!

Now, how about the 100 strokes?
I don't really count how many times i brush my hair, i just brush it & let myself enjoy the feel of the bristles on my scalp soothing the tension away. It relaxes you at the same time brushing helps distribute your natural oil from the scalp going to your hair so brush away! Don't fret over the process, just enjoy the sensation...

Arararara...
Now that sounds sexy,no?
hahaha!

Anyway, this post is actually just something to jumpstart my next post about the cheap yet effective clarifying shampoo that i'm currently using.

How about you?
I'm sure you have hair issues. What are yours?

Hope you are enjoying the weekend,hunnies!
Jaa ne~!
^_^

Fresh New Start~

I have been punished by the blogga fairy...
I had neglected my blog for a while hence she had given me a slight brush-off.

I lost all my files... those i-wanna-blog-about-this-pictures that i can't seem to find the time to blog about.I sure as hell was very pissed off when i found out that all my files have been sent to the land of the unknowns. It was my fault anyway. I have been feeling uninspired to blog but i keep on taking pictures so they pile up in 10+ folders (im serious when i said that it was somewhere at around 10+) that i eventually got lazy to even dig through my pile to start blogging.

When i found out that all my files were corrupted i was just shocked but it wasn't really that big of a deal for me. But as it sinks in, i just realized how lazy i've become & regret had started to set in. I had been thinking of the swatches the made, the pictures of the products that i wanna talk about, the food pics that i wanna share with you all, the places that i've been with... but all of that will just not happen anymore.

There's no one to blame except my self though for letting that happen.
I thought that i lost all my blogging passion but this event had me thinking...
Do i want to really just stop & let all the things that i've worked hard for be left like that?
Do i really want to lose the trust that i've built from my sponsors & my readers as well?
Do i really want to be totally forgotten when all of you had been so kind showing your support by email, fb messages,comments,etc?
I don't think it's even fair to just leave you all hanging since i've been receiving a lot of "how-are-you?" mails. I wanna thank you all for still emailing me. I appreciate it.
It seems like i've been so ungrateful to you all & i'm really sorry about that.

This time, i'm promising that i'll be picking up where i left off little by little.

Taking small things at a time. Sharing the things that i feel should be shared. It's only now that i realized the enormity of how blogging had actually affected my life. I guess it was like a do or die situation. I was really at the point where i could just stop it since i lost everything but ta the same time, i realized that i love blogging & i guess i just needed that wake-up call from the blogga fairy for me to really see where i'm headed at.

Oh well,enough of that...
I'll be walking along the rocky road of blogging once more.
I want to take it like how i did when i started it.

Thank you for being with me through thick & thin.
I hope that you would still continue to support me even though i've been away for so long.

I promise to this day on to not let myself be riddled with excuses when it comes to blogging but also not to be pressured into anything that i feel you would not benefit from.

Minna-san, yoroshiku onegaishimasu~

Define your lashes without using mascaras!

Long time no blog!
hahaha!

I told you all before that i have been wanting to go back into beauty blogging but just can't find the...uhhh... interest (for the lack of term) to go back to it. Not that i haven't tried because i have been sitting & staring at my draft religiously waiting for inspiration & the words to come flowing by but to no avail.
*sigh*

I am seriously losing my blogging touch now. So sad..

Anyway, i am taking advantage of the fact that words are flowing in my mind now waiting to be typed so here i am. haha!

I have wanted to do an eye make-up post before but i don't have my weapons anymore. They are quite lacking already & frankly, i just don't want to buy them again because i think i've outgrown my love for it already. I still kept some of them here but they are sitting on my cabinet unloved. Sorry about the ranting.hehehe

Going back, i don't have any mascaras but i still have a liquid liner that i bought last month due to an emergency so i figured, why not maximize it?!

You don't think that's possible?
Well, feast your eyes on this!

That looks plenty nice without the use of mascara!
Click it for a larger image~

You can apply another coat of mascara if you want a va-va-voom look but this is already fine with me. I hate tarantula lashes! lol

The process just takes a while but it's so worth it. Why?
Because you can avoid any clumps as you work on the liner. You can go for spiky lashes if you want or even fully coat each lashes if you're up to it. You can comb your lashes after ever coat to avoid any clumps or if you are in a hurry but if you have the time, you can really do a great job.

This tip is handy especially when you ran out of mascara or if you already reached the end of your mascara life & haven't purchased one yet.

See how curled lashes sort of lifts my eye compared to the other one?
Love the difference!

I have been using liner for quite sometime now & i haven't bought mascaras anymore since i don't wear make-up that much so i think it's just a waste of money for me to buy a product that can only last for 3 months which i might not even be able to use for at least 10 times,no?

Hope that this trick will come in handy for you,ladies!
Jaa ne~
^_^

Apollo Petroleum Jelly Review + uses of it

This is one product that i actually make sure that i always have with me, unbeknownst to some. This is a product that can be used on lots of ways! It doesn't have to be confined only in your toiletries but you ought to have a few small jars here & there within an arms reach.

I have tried different brands of petroleum jelly thinking that they are just all the same. I mostly just buy  the cheapest one! hahaha! But you know what? There's a difference in terms of consistency & texture of other petroleum jellies to Apollo. But they are still one & the same though. hehe

It's just that Apollo PJ is rather heavy & more greasy so it really stays on your skin for a longer period of time. I usually apply lotion on my feet, then after it had been fully absorbed, i put petroleum jelly then i cover it with socks overnight to wake up with beautifully soft feet!

With the cheap petroleum jelly, it would just be absorbed by the socks so i can even take the socks off for a few minutes & all the PJ will be gone!
tsk tsk tsk!

Apollo on the other hand lasts even until morning already. It's still there!
It really does the job of locking in moisture!

Well,i guess that is the main difference though, but it does matter. So with that out of the way, let's get into talking about petroleum jellies in general.

I mentioned before that you can use petroleum jelly for removing make-up, but there are still some uses of it that maybe not a lot people are actually aware of.  You can check out some of the uses here

And also some practical uses HERE as well. I'll just add some of the things that are not included here that i use PJ for.

As what i said before, i mostly use it soften my feet overnight. PJ is really good in locking in the moisture on your skin so if you want an overnight remedy for skin dryness you have to apply PJ on your skin right after bathing, preferably.

I use PJ to moisturize my cuticles.
Y'all know that i love nail arts & frequent exposure to polish remover/acetone dries out my cuticles so PJ helps make my cuticles & my fingers in general to look at its best. You will notice when i am gettin lazy in applying pj when my cuticles look dry.hehehe

Then i use PJ too when i am stamping images on my nails.
It helps make cleaning it really easy later on. I apply it around the nail area before stamping & it saves me time, effort & polish remover too during clean-up time. hihihi

How about you?
How do you use petroleum jellies?

If you haven't tried out PJs before, you ought to go & buy a jar for you.
It is an all around product, not just in beauty but even as a household item!

It's already March!
Summertime is here already.

Hope you all are having a great day!
Jaa ne~!
^_^

ps:
Product sent as sample. I did not receive any monetary compensation for this post. Opinion shared is personal view & is no way influenced by the company. Use at your own discretion.

Updated Traincase

I'm really forcing myself to blog these days but to no avail so i thought that i'll share some small things here & there to get the ball rolling.

I want to start first with the project that i did 2 days ago.
I applied a full decal on my traincase so instead of it looking like a magician's box, now it looks so much cuter & girly (but not too overly girly,mind you).

Ta dah~!

I guess i can say that i'm sick & tired of my black traincase. I'm actually just thankful that i got the simplest traincase with the faux leather so i can easily stick the sheet on. Now,i can change the look of my traincase whenever i want to.

Not that i want to do it again though.
It's so freakin hard to snip the edges of it. It took me hours just trying to make sure that it looks neat.

It may not look obvious here but it's not as perfect as i want to, but it's manageable somehow.
I choose lilac as my main color because my room is actually blue right now & i think that lilac would be a better color to compliment the shade of blue that i have as opposed to pink.

Now my computer table is a match to my traincase too!

Actually i bought the decal for my computer table... hehe
Since i had more left to cover something else,i saw my traincase so i decided to just put it to good use.
Yay for my traincase looking all cute now!

If you want to get the same decal that i got, you can check out Japan Home Center for their sticker sheets.
I got mine for P88 a sheet... a little more than $2. I got so much more with my $2!
Though it takes some work applying it but you could definitely do it!
I did. Im sure you could too~

Hope you all are having a great day~
Jaa ne~!
^_^

Model for a day

I have been almost nonexistent the past couple of weeks... no, make that for the past couple of months. I have been neglecting & neglecting my blog & the main reason for that is because i do not have a decent camera. Camera + Blogging always goes together. One cannot exist without the other imo.

But now that i have a new camera, i sure will be able to update my blog every now & then. Though im sure that there will be an occasional bouts of laziness but i think that i will be able to manage blogging a lot easier now since i can easily upload my pics via wifi. Yay to technology! hahaha

It's been a while since my face graced my blog so i guess it won't be too much to share how i look like every now & then. hehehe You'll be seeing my face every once in a while now since i can go back to beauty blogging already. It's been a while since i wore make-up & yesterday, i did it. One of my closest friend volunteered to be my photographer for a day. So i'll be sharing some of the pics that she took. Forgive me for my vanity. hahaha!

The only thing that lasted was my eye make-up & brows. haha!
My foundation didn't last because it was hot & i was sweating profusely with too much walking. But i somehow think that the walk did me good.hahaha!

Originally,i wasn't planning on wearing any eye make-up.I only put it because i applied too much primer & my lids look whitish already. Good thing that i did wore eye make-up at least!

It's during this time that i can totally say & feel that i have a really long hair.

This one too!
Though i have another pic that really shows the full length of my hair but i think you'll be sick & tired of it already so i'll just be saving it for some other time for point of comparison. hehe

On a side note, i have been on a diet ever since mid-last year because of health reasons. I think i mentioned that one before. I didn't really obsessed with my weight. As long as i feel lighter then i'm totally fine with it. In fact, I haven't weighted myself since the last time i went to my doc. A lot of people have been saying that i seem to have lost weight which never fails to amuse me.. yes, amuse me. If i'll take it seriously i thin i'll start obsessing on it though.

I think this picture can safely tell me that somehow i did lost some weight since i can now see my jaw. hahaha!
I have tried taking side views but i haven't even seen a glimpse of jaw but now i can somehow see it. lol!

You can't have a photo taking session without the usual portrait shot,no?
My photographer did a great job on me. I think i look hundred times prettier already. hahaha!

On a beauty note...
I'm sure you must've seen pictures of some hollywood celebrities that have had the powder mishaps.
We all know that the culprit of that is the MUFE HD Powder. I only have the Eshiko HD Powder & i guess it's not exempted to it.

See that?
But my face doesn't have that powdery look, i guess.
The key to using HD powder is just to apply it sparingly. I would not use HD powder like how you ordinarily use a regular powder or else it would be disastrous!

Well, there you go.
This marks the first of the next posts that will be coming your way.
But i guess i have to do something about all the nail art tutorials that have been sitting on my draft.
tsk!

Hope you all have a great start for this week!
Jaa ne~!
^_^

Veet Wax Strips

I decided to go over my piles of pictures on different folders of products-to-blog about for the next couple of days. This is something that had been sitting on my draft for a long time now so i guess it's finally time to do this review. Sorry for the bad picture quality. I promise that once i started blogging about new stuff (after getting rid of those piled-up pics) the quality would be a lot better!

I have made a couple of posts regarding hair removal & i said that waxing is still my favorite form of hair removal. Cold waxing... specifically, using wax strips. It's convenient & the result is just simply amazing! I have tried other wax strips but i still go back to Veet just because i think no one beats this. But for now since i'm too lazy to go shopping (is it really me?hahaha!) & i ran out of Veet, so i am just shaving my legs.

So let's start the review....

Veet Wax Strips got 2 variants...
The pink one (which i am using) & the green one which is more for those that have sensitive skin.

These are the contents of the box...

6 wax strips (that you peel each so you'll end up having 2)
2 finishing wipes
direction for use

You can read the direction for use first if you are a first timer.
I'll give you all some tips about waxing at the end of this post so for now let's focus on the product itself.

The hair growth should be somewhat obvious to the naked eye for better result. I grew mine like that so that you'll really be able to see the before & after. hehehe. Just imagine how many days i spent wearing jeans & just staying indoors just for the sake of this review. lol!

Going back...
Most often than not, the direction of the hair growth would be downwards. When you wax, you have to go against the grain of the hair which means that when you apply the strip, you have to pull it upwards.

Once you peel the strips off, you have to rub it downwards or going with the grain of your hair so that the hairs would stick to the wax completely. Just rub it 2 or 3x times. Don't over rub it! You wouldn't want to make the wax warm because it is gonna make a mess on your skin. The wax will be left behind on your skin even after pulling the strip. It will be disastrous!

Trust me on this!
Oh & do not...i repeat DO NOT put the other strip on the other leg as you are still working your other leg. The warmth from your skin will melt the wax.

Anyway, you'll get to see the instruction on the strips so you'll never do it wrong, i'm sure.
Here is the before & after picture....

Wow!
Just look at that nice, hair-free (& exfoliated!haha) skin after just 1 pull!
Awesome,no?

Then a close-up picture of the strip (after 1 pull).

Sorry about the disgusting picture but i think you all would want to see how it clearly was able to take off all the hairs in just 1 pull!
I have tried other wax strips & only Veet can lift all the hair off my skin in just 1 pull. So that's just 1 "ouch!" unlike other strips where you would have to do it again & again, which is just simply torturous! We'd rather just do it in 1 go,right?

You can keep on using that 1 strip on your legs over & over until you feel that it's not sticking to your skin anymore.

Then to finish it off you need to use the finishing wipe.
Basically it's just a paper soaked in oil.
Oil will be able to get rid of the remaining wax left behind on your skin.

I love the scent of this!
I think it's like fruity & nutty at the same time... almond,i think.
I can't remember because i haven't used this for a while. hehe
I have to make sure that i include this on my shopping basket the next time i go shopping.

Once you're done, you can admire your hard work!
Hey, waxing is a hard work... & painful too. So you have to appreciate your smooth & hair-free legs!

Some things that you might want to remember about waxing:

• It's better to wax after showering because your skin is soft.
• Do not wet your skin after waxing
• Make sure that your skin is oil-free before waxing because you wouldn't want to let your strips go to waste because the hair doesn't stick on it.
• If you ever run out of finishing wipes, you can just use baby oil or any oil that you have on hand to clean your legs for the after-wax

One of the main reason why i like waxing is that i really notice that the hairs are growing a lot thinner with continued use. I have a really thick man-hair before but now they are considerably a lot finer compare to my pre-waxing days. So i personally believe that waxing really makes the hair finer with continued use. I am stressing the "continued" use because you won't see the result immediately after waxing once.

Now, one thing that i would also like you all to know is that waxing could cause ingrown hair.

What is it?

It is when the hair is trapped inside the skin as it grows. It is really very itchy!

I go crazy trying to restrain myself from not scratching my legs!

So you have to be wary about that. That's also one of the reason why i'm not that keen into buying wax strips once i have used it all.

As usual, i'll leave the price for you to decide if this is affordable or not.

It retails at around Php 280.

PROS:

• really works. the best strip for me so far!
• love the scent
• available locally

CONS:

• only has 2 wipes. it'll be better if it has more

Will i recommend it?

Of course! This is the best wax strip that i have used so i will recommend it for those who haven't tried it yet.

Will i buy it again?

I am a loyal user. Though i haven't bought it recently, but it made it on my products-worth-buying so i do repurchase.

Have you tried wax strips?

If not, what do you use for hair removal?

Hope you all are having a great day!

Jaa ne~!
^_^

Soap and Glory Body Butter Review

The weather has been pretty cold lately which makes using body butter a nice change for me.
I don't really use body lotions/body butter that much because i hate the sticky feeling on my skin plus it makes my skin feel suffocated. It feels so hot on my skin that i sweat after application which just makes a hot mess on my skin. But since the weather is cold, so i can now finally appreciate the warmth that butters can provide.

So, on to the Soap & Glory Body Butter

They have a tag at the side that says "the righteous butter"....
hmmm
What exactly does righteous mean here?
hehehe

I got mine on a giveaway that i won before but i don't get to use it that much. It's only now that i can get away to using it since we have a very comfortable weather.

Love the packaging!

It's pink & so girly!
Ingredients list...

On to the butter itself.
The only thing i can say about this is that it smells good!

Unfortunately,i don't know how to describe the scent just because i don't think it's flowery, nor is it fruity. the only thing that i can say is that it's like an artificial sweetener. lol!
I hate how most artificial sweet smells like but this one is something that i can tolerate & i am liking. It doesn't smell overpowering but the scent would last on your skin for a long time. I don't think i can use the word sexy to describe it (somehow) but i guess it's really more into a girly sweet smell.

I only use body butters on my feet just because they are the driest part of my body but this is the only butter that i use on my arms & legs just because it smells so nice! It's so addicting! Trust me on this.

This is like the pringles version of body butters...'once you pop, you can't stop!' lol!

I can't say anything for the moisturizing properties because i don't think it added anything on my skin. maybe it could lock moisture in your skin but i don't really know about it adding moisture though. It doesn't feel that heavy unlike other butters which is a plus for me since i hate the sticky feeling that you get when you use lotions.

I guess that's the only thing that i can say about this...
Obviously, i'm still not into full blogging mode because i can't really chatter on & on like how i used to. I wish i'll be bitten by the blogging bug once again.

Well, with that, let's make a little summary...
PROS:

• smells so good!
• the scent last for hours & hours on the skin
• you won't need a lot..a little goes a long way
• you tend to use less so you'll have more to use later on (yay!)

CONS:

• not available locally

Will i buy it?

Maybe not the butter, but the perfume.

I think they have it...don't they?

I'm not that much into body butters but the scent of this is just so addicting!

I guess you can find some online shops here in the philippines that can pre-order it for you.

If you are into scents, then you have to smell this one. The scent is just so cute & unique!

hahaha

Well, i hope you all are having a great fiday!

Have a happy day!

Jaa ne~!
^_^

random nail arts the past couple of weeks~

I've been seriously trying to get my blogging mojo back. 

In fact, I've been working at it for days now. I have been staring at my draft for like a week now but for some reason i just can't seem to write anything worth reading,i guess.

*sigh*

I know i've been on several blogging hiatus last year & i would want to at least get on back to blogging (maybe not actively) as much as i can. I just can't seem to find a way on how to pick up where i left off.

Oh, my....

I'm sure my fellow bloggers know this so tell me how you, guys, get on blogging after feeling this "blogging block"?

It's like the feeling of wanting to do something & being in the mood of actually doing it are 2 completely different things now. I feel so alien writing things.. lol!

Anyway,i figured that i'll just share with you some of the nail arts that i had done the past couple of weeks.

This one is a personal favorite~

I love the song Dango Daikazoku. It's just so cute!
So when we had the song-inspired nail art on our group,i knew that i just had to do this.
It's just so adorable! Love this to bits. hihihihi

Then to contradict the cuteness of the dango nail art, this goth nail art is perfect for that.

I'm not really into these types but i guess somehow it is a refreshing change from the usual girly nail arts that i love to do so much. hehehe!

Then another sparkly & flirty nail art that i did last week...

I did this after the goth nail art.
I just feel like i wanna see something girly & fun after the goth nail art & this was perfect!
The glitters on this nail art cheered me up instantly. hehehe

Last but not the least...
My nail art up until this morning

I just had to use Floam once more.. but this time without using glue as base coat.

And boy,was that stupid or just plain dumb? hehehe

It was the hardest glitter polish that i had ever had the experience to remove. Now i know why Floam's rating wasn't 5 star as i thought it should have been.

If you ever own this & would want to sport this polish, just do yourself a favor & use glue as base coat. It'll save you a hell of a time, polish remover & effort when you wanted to remove it already.

Well, let's hope that somehow i'll be able to go back to blogging tomorrow.
Have a great day,hunnies!

Jaa ne~!
^_^

HBC turns 20 so it's time to shop~

HBC, one of my favorite local brand, is having a sale!
Yay for sales~

Here are some more details about it:

HBC is turning 20 and to celebrate this milestone, They’re offering “Celebrate Beauty @ 20,” a SALE event wherein customers can get:

·         20% Off and up on selected HBC Beauty Exclusive brands like San San, Allue, Body Recipe, Hortaleza Professional, and Hortaleza MD.

·         Beauty x 2 Treat (Free Diamond Peel + Free Facial) customers who will purchase P600 worth of HBC products.

·         Additional 20 Points for HBC Exclusives cardholders who will purchase P500 worth of HBC products

·         Discount on nipper sharpening services

·         Freebies for every P300 purchase of HBC’s Top Picks and New Products

SALE runs from January 11, 2013 - January 31, 2013 and is available in all HBC and HBC ShopMore stores nationwide.

For SALE updates, visit www.facebook.com/myHBC


Make sure you check out some of my favorites:
Hortaleza Illuminous Facial Soap Plus
SanSan Matte Liquid Foundation
Body Recipe Hair Remover Cream
HP Color Hair Spa (that i keep on forgetting to make a review..tsk!)
SanSan Polishes too! (my fave is the cloudy gray!)


Enjoy shopping~
^_^

Papulex review

I can't believe that this is my first entry for this year.
tsk tsk tsk
I'm such a bad blogger. hehehe

Anyway, i have a valid reason for that. Holiday preparations/activities had gotten the best of me then right after it, i just wasn't feeling that well. It's only now that i get to enjoy quality tie together with my books. lol!

To jumpstart this blogging year, i wanted to do a product review.
I mentioned Papulex the last time i wrote about my acne diary entry. On which, you can check the full 6 posts HERE if you wanted to go over them one by one.

Presenting the Papulex products

Papulex products are formulated specifically to address acne... how?
Let's take a closer look at them one by one....

Starting with the Moussant

This is big, it boasts a full-to-the-brim 150ml product.
You can read the description here, just click it for a larger image.

This is a cleansing gel, which means that it is colorless.
It is a soap-free cleansing gel, which means that it won't lather. Soaps contain sulfate that makes it lather, but at the same time strips the moisture off of the skin. A soap-free product means that it is gentle to the skin, no "tight & dry feeling" after washes.

See?
^_~

As for the scent...
I notice that it smells like something like how facial washes for men are.hehehe

I prefer fragrance-free cleansers as much as possible though but if you like those manly-scents then this one is definitely for you.

Then the Oil-free Cream.

I like how this cream is really light & very easily absorbed by the skin.
Why?
Look! It's water-based!

w00t! w00t!
Another water-based products to add on our list!
I love water-based products~
It is easily absorbed by the skin. The good thing about this is that even if it is a cream, it's not too heavy unlike other creams

Then finally the Hydrating Cream

This is the one that worked really well for my brother.
I'm not a fan of the smell because i think it smells...uh..like a clinic? hahaha!
It smells like a medicine already! But then, i guess it should smell like that since this is the antibacterial.

Click it for a larger image.

Actually when my brother used all 3 of them he said that he broke out after a week, so i told him to stop using the gel & oil-free cream but to just focus on this. I won't go into details, but i'll just let the picture do the talking for you.

Did you notice the redness & swelling was gone?
Plus, it didn't result to scarring! That is the best part of it.
Scarring is the worst that could happen when a person suffers from acne. I'm just lucky that mine wasn't severe & i was able to control it before it grew out of control.

I think it's better if you take a look at the website on explanation of how it works. The only thing that i'm here for is to testify & to show you that it does work. I told my brother that he has to continue using it.

So with that said, head on over to their Facebook page for more info about it.
I kept on saying that everyone has different skin & what works for me might not work for you. But i think this brand is worth looking at.

This is already available at Mercury Drug & selected stores so you might want to drop by & get the Isocorrexion if you must (recommended for severe acne).

Hope you all are having a great day!
Jaa ne~!
^_^


ps:
Products sent as sample. I did not receive any monetary compensation for this post. Opinion shared is personal view & is no way influenced by the company. Use at your own discretion.