Manicure Monday: SanSan Nail Polish in Red Gleam

September was quite a busy month for me, and as much as I want to be able rock chic nails on a daily basis, sometimes doing my nails are too much of a hassle. Still, whenever I can, I sneak in a mani-pedi session (which is usually on my off days while watching an Grey's Anatomy or whichever series I'm currently watching.)

Last August I wore different shades of grey and though I love the classy look, I really missed wearing bold, bright colors. Hence this bottle of San San Nail Polish in Red Gleam worked her way out of my cupboards.

Product Review: Sophie Paris Fairness Peel off Mask

It's another cloudy day and I hope you guys are having a productive day like mine. Yesterday was a holiday here in the Philippines and I don't know about you guys but that was a much needed break from the craziness of the real world. On rest days, we all get the chance to find our center and balance things out - not to mention catching up on those much needed ZZZzzzs.

So today, I'd like to talk about one of my favorite products of all time: face masks. I love face masks since it makes me feel like I'm treating myself to a spa (for about a tenth of the actual cost of spas) and my face always feels refreshed and soft afterwards. I personally love mud masks and peel off masks but they do take time with all that soaking and rinsing. Sheet masks are okay by me for weeknights when I feel like my skin needs more TLC but I find that sheet masks are a lot more expensive versus mud masks and peel off masks since you can only use a sheet mask once.

Product Review: Nichido Pressed Powder (Tan)

Happy Friday everyone! Today, I'm reviewing the Nichido Pressed Powder in the shade Tan. I learned about this particular product from beauty blogger Michelle Dy. What really hooked me on this is the packaging - it doesn't look like it only costs PhP.100!

July Empties and Decluttering

A cold Tuesday afternoon when the all the world seemingly just wants to sleep and here I am, decluttering my stuff. LOL. I'm just the type of person who functions better in a clutter-free environment. Don't get me wrong - my room is messy about 90% of the time.  But on days that I want to be productive I spend a good chunk of my time cleaning up my mess.

I've always been fascinated with empties post and I meant to do one last month (which obviously didn't happen - I kept putting writing the article off and eventually, I decided if I can't make the time to write about it, it probably isn't worth the time reading). So, today's empties will be short since I did a MAJOR decluttering prior to this - just a few bits and pieces of junk and a couple that I'd be giving away to those who will be able to make a good use of it than me.

First off are a couple of lotions. I go through lotions a LOT since I have really dry skin. I've been alternating between Nivea Intense Moisture Lotion and Musk by Alyssa Ashley, both are gifts from abroad so I really can't tell you their prices. Nivea is available locally at department stores, drugstores, etc. Musk by Alyssa Ashley on the other hand, is a little hard to get hold of. I've never seen it in department stores, etc. which sucks since this is probably my favorite lotion of all time: it smells amazing and it's non-greasy but still does a great job of moisturizing my dry skin. (I'm really oily on my face but I have really dry skin for the rest of my body - I don't get it). I'm not really sure if I'd buy another bottle of the Nivea lotion for full price since their yearly sale would save me tons but I do love their lotions and I'd hoard them in next year's sale. I would buy another bottle of the Musk by Alyssa Ashley, as I've said it's my favorite lotion but a little bit on the pricey side plus I only know of one place where I can get my hands on it (stores at the Mezzanine floor at Cash n Carry) which isn't really accessible for me.

Next is The Face Shop Clean Face Mild Lotion. I got through with the toner version of this so fast (which made me sad because this is PRICEY). But I'm pretty happy with this moisturizer which I've used for roughly 3 months in my estimate, which isn't bad at all. I'd be willing to spend money on this in the future, but right now, I'm trying out a few cheaper alternatives for a face moisturizer.

Starting my make up empties is the Nichido Final Powder in So Natural. This was my favorite setting powder last year and I had quite a few months of good use out of it. This only cost me PhP.150 but there are quite a few products I'm currently testing out and since this isn't really a travel-friendly face powder, I'm still thinking if I will be repurchasing this. If I do repurchase this though, I'd go for a lighter shad than the So Natural since this is too tan for me.

Next is a tube of my holy grail mascara which is Maybelline Hypercurl. I've already repurchased this as I've said in my back-to-school haul and I think I will be purchasing a few back-ups since they are still on sale at the Watson's nearest to our place.

Lastly are four tubes of lipstick, one from Avon cosmetics, which I'm throwing away since it's been about two years since I've bought it and the life span of a lipstick is only 18 months. The one from Maybelline which is the Maybelline Colorshow Lipstick in the shade Pinkalicious broke off after only a few uses. I know there are a few tricks of life hacks that would fix broken lipsticks, but I really am giving this one up since living in a tropical country, I need to have my lipsticks melt-proof. I don't want to be constantly fixing my melted lipstick. Next is a lip butter from Revlon in the shade sugar plum. I love this. It felt like I'm just using lip balm but it was just too creamy for me. So creamy that I have a hard time putting it on since it moves and leaves lines and such. I couldn't for the life of me make this work. Lastly is a once favorite of mine which is the Wet n Wild Mega Last Matte lipstick in the shade Rosebud. I've been using this lipstick for a while and lately I've realized that the color does not match me at all. It is quite a good bright pink shade for morenas like me, but I think it doesn't go well with my lip color (I have dark colored lips). So this and the lip butter will go to my sister since the shades work well for her.

And there you have it guys, my empties and decluttering for the month of July. Follow me on instagram and twitter for more updates. xoxo

Back to School Skin Care Routine

Any beauty enthusiast would agree with me that the search for the perfect skin care routine is a constant battle. Sometimes, what worked out for you before won't work now or your skin "got used" to the product that it doesn't give a wonderful effect anymore. There are a lot of factors that causes this, your skin might be different or your hormones are acting up or your diet. Anyway, the only real solution for this is to constantly try out new skin care products. A few things to keep in mind when trying new stuff out: give a new product two weeks to work before deciding whether you like it or not, often it takes that long for something to work its full effect. Also, try rotating you holy grail products after two to three months of use so you can give your skin a rest for a while.

Today, I will be sharing with you guys the new skin care routine I've been trying out for a couple of weeks or so (basically when school started). A few weeks before I started this particular routine I've been breaking out on my forehead which is probably an allergic reaction to dust (we had a general cleaning of the house). I found that my skin care routine back then wasn't doing much for the problem. Usually when I break out it only takes a week to dry, I knew I had to change my routine after a couple of weeks without any improvement on my break outs.

Back-to-School Beauty Haul

After a few weeks of hibernating from blogging, I'm back! Hopefully, I could come up with a routine for the term and find time to blog more regularly (keeping fingers crossed). Anyway, it's weird starting school in July. Still, it's the best I could hope for given my situation and I'm so glad I can fill up my days with something worthwhile again. What better way to start a new academic year than a shopping haul?

Manicure Monday

Another month has come and gone, and I hope that 2016 has been treating you well! Personally, my year has its ups and downs but really, those are the very reasons why we all deserve a good mani-pedi session.

Top 5 Tuesday: Summer Essentials

Summer is HERE! 

Okay, it's been a few weeks since summer officially started and we can really feel the heat. This may be an unpopular opinion but summer's not my favorite time of the year and I think anyone who lives in a tropical country is of the same opinion. But still, it's the best time to go to the beach and unwind and look at the brighter side of things. 

So today I'll be sharing a few tips on how to stay cool (in the literal sense) and still enjoy summer without hurting your wallet (each product is less than PhP. 500).

Product Review: Rimmel Stay Matte Liquid Mousse Foundation, Primer and Pressed Powder

Coverage is a big deal for me and if you're a makeup enthusiast like me, you'd know how important coverage is. That's why standards are set high for products that are dedicated to this - from foundations to BB creams to CC creams to tinted moisturizers, you name it;  there's much research to perfect this make up "base". As a girl with oily skin this comes extra hard for me for I not only need to cover up, I also need to keep shine away from my face. That's why I thank the heavens for these lovely products.

RYOB Challenge 2016: March Update

The first of April is upon us and it's really amazing how another month of 2016 has gone by so fast. Anyway, in February I talked about the Read Your Own Book Challenge (read all about it here) and, as promised, I will be giving an update on the books I've crossed off my list.

Top 5 Tuesday: Top 5 Stuff (Non-Makeup) in my Bag

Happy Tuesday everybody! On today's Top 5 Tuesday, I'll be sharing with you guys the top five stuff that I always have in my bag, all the non-makeup once that is, cause let's be honest, that deserves a Top 5 Tuesday of its own.

Manicure Monday

Confession: I'm obsessed with my nails. I have been since I've watched a local celebrity confessed that the nails are the one thing that she looks at and she believes that nails are the reflection of an individual's hygiene. I'm no OCD, but I tend to be very meticulous when it comes to personal hygiene.

I know I'm not the only girl in the world with this obsession and so I am dedicating an article series on this very topic. I usually have my nails professionally done once a month and maintain them on my own (every week for my hands and every two weeks for my toes), but I always allot two to three days to let my nails "breathe" by leaving them polish-free (usually weekends whenever there are no events and such). Mondays or Sundays are the usual days that I paint my nails fresh, something to make the start of the week more bearable.

Banana Smoothie (Under 250 calories)

With the beginning of March comes the start of summer season, and even though we are still enjoying the last few days of the cold weather, I am now looking for ways to battle the summer heat. And the best way to do just that is with a healthy smoothie. 

Read My Own Book Challenge

So, I started the year by challenging myself to read more books using Popsugar's 2016 Book Challenge but as I was going through books on our "library" at home I realized that I should just ditch the reading challenge and get on with reading the books I already have at home. We do have quite a lot of titles I haven't read and there's no better time reading them than now. It felt fulfilling going through all our books at home, sorting them into piles and all the time I was thinking of the big book haul I will be doing after I get through this reading challenge (guilt-free book shopping!) I limited my list to just 40 books which gives me a book a week to read, but I wanted to be realistic (take in those busy weeks where I wouldn't be able to get my hands on any single book) and I have quite a few ebooks in my eReader that I also wanted to get through (I only counted the physical ones for this challenge). So here goes my list:

Product Review: The Face Shop Clean Face Mild Lotion and Mild Toner

Toners and moisturizers are essential parts of our skin care routine. Both are part of the basics of the basics and usually go hand in hand. I got a pair of The Face Shop's Clean Face Toner and Lotion (moisturizer) last Christmas as gift from my mom and sister. The Face Shop products are generally too pricey for me and so this is my first tome to be able to use their products. I was so excited when I received these since they contain tea tree oil which they say is very good in helping oily skin. I've been using these both as a pair and paired of with different products and I wanna share with you guys my experience with it.

Friday Favorites

Happy Friday everyone! I wanna celebrate the last work day (for most) of the week by starting a new series called Friday Favorites where I will talk about random favorites of mine and hoping I can share something that might interest you. These stuff helped me start off February with positive vibes so here goes.

Top 5 Tuesday: My Top 5 Beauty YouTubers

Today I'm gonna be starting a new series in my blog which I will call Top 5 Tuesday. I got this idea from Zoella, right before she remodeled her blog (she doesn't do it anymore). I am a lover of many pretty things and I wanna share with the world all about them. I'm gonna be sharing my top 5 of each category every first Tuesday of each month.

Why New Year's Resolutions Won't Work

Time flows by so fast and before we know it the first month of the year is almost at its end. Seems like yesterday we were celebrating another year over and declaring our vows to live life to the fullest this coming 2016. Who here has started the year with the traditional New Year's Resolutions? I know I did.