Body Shop Tea Tree Mattifying Toner.

I am not at all flawless. In fact, I am flaw-ful. So, since I was a teenager, I have tried all sorts of facial products. The years of trying has actually brought me to where I am now -- uneven skin texture and a very oily face.

I do actually have a hormonal problem which I found out during my twenties... after years of experimenting. And that was the root cause of my imperfect skin.

Now that I am in my 30s, I have made a few adjustments to my lifestyle that have made me a bit more healthy. I should've done that years ago... but it is never too late to start taking care of your health.

As for my skin, I do not try so hard anymore, accepting my fate of having an imperfect, flaw-ful skin. And then I changed work and met new people. An officemate convinced me to have another go to taking care of my skin more. I does not really hurt to take care of a part of your body... only on the pocket!

My first plunge into the beauty world was the Body Shop Tea Tree Mattifying Toner.

I use this every night, after washing my face. Body Shop recommends this to be used both in the morning and at night but I resorted to just to do a thorough cleansing at night.

The product lives up to its promise of lessening the oiliness. I have indeed been less oily especially on my T-zone. It kind of smells like medicine -- but I think that is how Tea Tree smells. After several use, I was able to get used to it.

I think I may have found the right toner for me after years of experimenting.

(Not a paid entry)

Aftermath.

2014 was all about the pregnancy and having AC. It was no surprise that shopping for self was the least thing in my mind.

It is now 2015. Just a little over the half year mark. And I just came to realize that I have busted my shoe shopping budget big time.

Here is the first of the series. Quite expensive Tory Burch so I was thinking back in January that this would be my last shoe purchase for the year.

I was doing great. No purchase since January. Then came the walking shoes which I bought at Aerosoles in May. Something that I said to myself I needed given the amount of walking I was about to do in my business trip to London.

July. Sale season. I have been wanting to purchase another Kenneth Cole as it was the only shoe my feet love dearly. I did not dare getting a pair for the longest time because they cost almost P8,000. But shoes were 50% off this month.

And last but not the least, another damage caused by the July sale season. Reason was to support the British economy through Dune. And oh, I never had any sandals for so long.

I guess things catch up pretty fast. You thought you have lost but no. A shoe shopper by heart will always be a shoe shopper. 

I must point out, though, that I never ever buy shoes that are not on sale - it just does not make sense to buy at full price.

That is it. I am done for this year - let's extend to next year.

Oops. I still need to buy one more for my sister's wedding. Shucks.

Awesome Stuff.

Isn't it great that there are so many intelligent human beings who have a passion for inventing things to make lives better?

We are waaaay past the Stone Age or the Renaissance period so we may not have a 'rock-my-world' kind of invention anymore. And we do tend to take new things for granted now... because things change so fast and life is overly complicated. So, many of the good stuff go unnoticed.

Anyway, I do have a list of awesome stuff that are extremely useful to my boring life. While I can still imagine life without them, I am still raving the fact that they exist and are very affordable to common people like me.

The 3M Command

3M describes it as "Damage-Free Hanging Solutions". And yes, it is true to its promise. The secret is actually the sticky mounting strips and a user who is willing to follow the instructions carefully. 

Our home is filled with it -- for picture frame hanging, hooks, even bathroom stuff.

It can be a bit pricey but your walls are kept intact and bathroom tiles are not damaged. If you do have heavy paintings to attach to the walls -- still best to do it the old way though.


Colored Printers, Photo Papers

At this day and age when a kid's homework involves the use of too many visuals, I am so thankful for printers and photo papers... add on the digital cameras and Google. We do not need to scramble through numerous magazines (cutting them would be heartbreaking, too), rush to a nearby Photo ID shop, or rummage the old cabinet for old photo albums.


The Bra Strap Extensions

I know this is old stuff but has been a very useful bit while pregnancy. For a mere Php50 (price of each one), I was able to manage additional pregnancy girth with this sweet little thing.

The Epilator

This is one of the best advices (if not the best) my sister has ever told me.

Gone are the days of spending too much time plucking. Gone are the days of hair ingrown and chicken skin underarm.

Hello to quick and easy hair pulling. And the best part is... hair grows back thinner!

Why didn't I find out about you years back?!

Ladies, if you don't have one... get one!


I do have some more in my list. But these are my favorites. Whoever invented them, thank you so much. You all made things easy indeed.

Number 2.

There you go... 

I now have number 2.  Isn't it lovely?

Frustrated MUA.

I have always been fascinated with make-up.  I remember watching my mom prepare for office, her sitting in front of her dresser applying make-up.  My most favorite part then was when she was putting her lipstick because it made her made up face complete.

Then, thanks to Ricky Reyes and "her" Beauty School Plus show in RPN9, I got even more interested.  I was no longer interested with the lipstick... I was hooked more on coloring the eyes.

While I was growing up, I never had money so whenever I needed to put color on my face, I would raid the collection of my Mom.  I did put into practice Mama Ricky's lessons so I do not remember having to go out with a disastrous mix of colors.

I started to work and it was just unfortunate that the world I was in is boring finance.  Boring in a sense because this part of the organization is not into make-up... unlike marketing, sales or customer service.  Make-up was, thus, not part of my budget... not even a lipstick... well, okay.. I did include a lip gloss.

Fast forward to now... weddings have become super commercialized, YouTube is here to stay and people have insisted on trying to find themselves.  Make-up is now a form of art and a source of passion.  Make-up in my budget has now more than ever been validated.


Presenting my loot.
(Plus, the Suesh Brushes from hubby.)


But no... it's not a loot of expensive make-up.  Remember, I am from Finance so I watch my budget closely.  I stick to the Maybelline/Cover Girl level.  My MACs are courtesy of my generous cousin Joy D, who is, by the way, a guru in make-up.


And, as they say, one slowly builds up her make-up loot.  So, here are my latest additions.


Make-up primer from Missha.
Another lipstick from Face Shop.
Eyeliner from Face Shop, I think.
Hello Kitty mascara by Maybelline.

My next step is to deal with my frustration.  I hope to enroll in one of the make-up courses.  I just need to find the time and save up for it since the classes are pretty darn expensive.  Who knows... I might have a second career as a make-up artist.  Loving what you do and earning from it is a very nice combination.

Christmas and Love.

Christmas is the best time to give lovely gifts.  And those lovely gifts must shout LOVE! to the special persons who will receive them.


Here is my gift to husband who worked his ass off during 2011.

Here is my gift to self... I, who sort of had a roller coaster ride in 2011.  It will seem to continue in 2012.  But what the heck... that's life... and now, I have this.

(It matches my Kate Middleton ring, by the way).

Platforms.

One of my takeaways from the Mommy Diaries expo is a pair of denim platforms.

From Digicam Shots

Got this for Php500 -- I call it my "mumu" shoes -- "mumu" for mumurahin (read: cheap).

From Digicam Shots

It's comfy, nice and makes me look tall.  I hope it lasts beyond 2011.

From Digicam Shots

New Shoes!!!

I just lost two pairs of shoes.  Sad because they served me well.

My Kenneth Cole pumps were beyond repair but she is 3 years old so I let go.  My other shoes, a Naturalizer Lifestride sandal, can still be saved but she will never be the same.

The good thing about shoes is they can be replaced.  And the process of replacing them is therapy... a great way to forget the past and move on.

It was Monday... my sandal strap broke away from the sole and an earthquake just shook Metro Manila.  Makati was jammed because practically everyone went home at the same time.

Global City was, however, wide open and so is High Street.  I could not delay the replacement anymore so off I went shoe hunting.

Here you go.

From Digicam Shots

Another Kenneth Cole.

From Digicam Shots

Light and funky.  She is good for another 3 years.

From Digicam Shots

Thank you, new shoes, for making me forget the pain of losing my reliable pumps!

From Digicam Shots

This Blog and My Birthday Gifts.

Because I have been diligent in writing the things I like in this blog, I get gifts that I need and want!

Hubby decided to rely on my Christmas wishlist.  I scored two more which ups my batting average to 7/9.

First, he got me no. 6 in my list -- an iPhone earphone + mic.

From Digicam Shots

He also got me no. 9 -- the Suesh Makeup Brushes!

From Digicam Shots

From Digicam Shots

My good friend Allan also gave me a super nice treat!  Face Shop nail polish... not just one but FIVE colors!  I love you, Allan. :)

From Iphone loads

From Iphone loads

March is hubby's month.  What to get him?  Nuninuninu... If only he has his published list...

Nail Polish.

Found a new addiction recently -- doing my own pedicure.

I am doing Pilates once every week.  Most of my Pilates-mates have their toe nails colored so I kind of felt more insecure about my unpolished nails AND fat toes.

In my crusade to better looking toes, I had to find a good set of nail polish.

I first tried the products of the suking manicurista at my hubby's hometown.  They were either Bobbie or Caress.  Lasted a week without chipping (pwede na!).  The gloss though begins to fade after around 3 days.


Then, I tried Caronia with me doing the pedicure.  Goodness, not even 3 days!  Probably, it was largely due to the applicator (read: me) but still I will not stick with the brand.


And then, Marianne told me about Sally Hansen and The Face Shop products.  They last long and easy to apply.  She added that these two brands will not make your nails yellowish.  Sally was way beyond my budget for a nail polish so I went to The Face Shop.  Got the hot pink polish and tried it on the next day...

After more than a week (approaching two actually), colors were still intact and glossy!!!

From Digicam Shots

From Digicam Shots

I got to change it very soon cause the growing (and uncolored) parts are starting to show.


Bought one more color (a pearly green shade), plus, the nail base coat.  Here they are with my hot pink one.

From Digicam Shots

No more insecure feet!

Day with the girls.

Two Saturdays ago, I was able to spend practically the whole day with my girlfriends -- does not happen that much nowadays.

We were complete and celebrated the upcoming wedding of Len.

Faye and I were lucky that the venue was High Street. It was always Trinoma and holding another gathering there is getting too old already.

Had lunch -- super late -- at Kirin. Sorry, no pics... I was extremely hungry.

While waiting for the highlight of the day, we spent the afternoon at Starbucks in Fully Booked. I was 'it'. Here was the damage.

2 Java Chip, 2 Green Tea Frappe, One caramel macchiato, Almond Roca Cheesecake (luvs), and another cake.


Standing: Len (the bride), me (covered face) Sitting: Joy, Faye


This time with Che.


The highlight of the day was our Spa treatment. It's Faye's turn to be it this time. We had one of the villas for ourselves. We all had foot massage + head and shoulder massage.

Entrance to the spa


Len and her mobile phone


All done!


PS. Sorry for the covered me... I would like to stay anonymous.

PSS. I am, by the way, nursing a week old stiff neck because of the massage. Lesson learned -- sound off asap to the massage lady if pressure is great.