Archive for February 2011

Happy Happy Happy Valentine’s Day!!!! 🙂 Today I have some family errands to do so that means no VDay date with my hubby. Actually we don’t go on dates this day anyways, as we don’t like braving the traffic. Hahaha!

Well I honestly don’t have a gift for my husband, because I bought him one as a Christmas & Valentine gift. Haha! Moreover, I have a new gift for myself. A curling iron! I have always wanted to purchase one but just keep researching on which tool to buy. There’s so many and I would like to invest in one that is of good quality and would last me a long time.

So I finally decided to get Vidal Sassoon’s 32mm (1 1/4 inch) Curling Iron!

It was P2,199.75 but I got it at 10% off!

It’s a lovely sight, I tell you.

Let’s break it down:

I got the 1 1/2 inch barrel for loose curls. The black portion stays cool even when the curling iron is turned on. This is great as support when curling.

Comfort grip

The on and off button is easy to understand. And the temperature of the curling iron can easily be adjusted to the desired heat temp. Use a lower temperature for limp and thin hair and higher for thick hair.

It has a stand. 🙂 I use this when I won’t be using the curling iron for awhile, say when I’m still styling my hair or I’m waiting for it to heat up.

Snaps for swivel cord! Super thankful for this as the cord doesn’t get tangled up while I curl.

When I bought this, it came with a free adapter. 🙂

Now here are the reasons why I chose this specific curling iron:

Vidal Sassoon Curling Iron has 2 years warranty compared to others that only have 1 year warranty.
I like its 1 1/2 inch barrel because I like loose big curls than small Goldilocks type of curls.
Very affordable. I got it for less than P2,000.
Vidal Sassoon as brand is tried and tested and it’s a very good brand used by professionals.

So far, I have only used it once and I am very impressed with the results. My curls stayed for more than 4 hours!

I used Hair Mousse and Hair Spray for this look. I believe that’s one of the reasons why my curls stayed the whole evening. I’ll give more tips as I continue using it. 🙂

I really am loving this curling iron! And I am very satisfied with the results! 🙂

I gotta purchase a heat protectant spray soon! Any suggestions?

HAPPY LOVE LOVE DAY!!! :p

One of the makeups I cannot live without is a good face primer. I have combination skin and I am acidic, which makes my skin condition even worse as my makeup turns grayish and darkens after a few hours. Plus I don’t like retouching all throughout the day. I find it very inconvenient when I’m out and irrelevant. This is where primers come into play. I find that when I use a face primer before doing my makeup, my makeup lasts longer and I rarely would need to retouch.

A thing that I look for in a good face primer is a mattifying effect. This is the property that keeps my oilies at bay and helps me not look like a frying pan. Haha! It’s so hard to find an HG when it comes to a makeup base and mattifier, isn’t it?

One of the primers that I use is Make Up Forever’s All Mat Face Primer.

The All Mat Matifying Primer formula is based on a oil-free and colorless powdered gel providing extreme comfort.
Designed to absorb the excess of sebum, it leaves the skin soft without a hint of shine.
The complexion looks healthy and fresh whatever the occasion.

Photo borrowed from: Make Up Forever’s website

This is actually my expensive primer as I use two makeup primers, one of which is Skin Hour Mattifying Day Cream (more on that next time). I use this for myself and even for my clients because I trust this product completely as a good makeup base/primer.

What I love about it:

– The velvety feel after application is really nice.

– The skin feels so soft to the touch whenever I use All Mat.

– I love that it reduces to a thin layer when applied which helps not make the makeup heavy looking and it doesn’t feel heavy at all.

– Good makeup base. My foundation whether it be cream, liquid or powder sticks very well and keeps it in place.

– I have tried using this primer and just applied powder blush and it works well also. My blush stayed intact.

– Doesn’t smell bad nor does it smell strong.

– A small amount goes a long way.

– Makes makeup look flawless! (Scroll down for a photo of me.)

What I don’t love about it:

– Even though it’s a very good makeup base because it reduces need for retouching, it still isn’t mattifying enough for me.

– Pricey.

What I normally do is to pump a little product at the back of my hand or in a mixing bowl (when I use it for myself, I just use the back of my hand but when I am doing makeup for a client, I use a bowl for sanitary purposes), and with a foundation brush, I usually use Suesh Foundation Brush because the bristles aren’t that compact and I sweep product onto the forehead, nose, and cheeks. And I brush them and spread them lightly with my foundation brush to the entire face.

Here are some FOTDs of me using All Mat as my face primer. 🙂 For details about the look, I’ll do a separate post on it.

Look at how flawless my face looks like!

Overall, I like using MUFE All Mat as a makeup base because it really keeps the makeup in its place. However, I still use a mattifying product for my oilies because I find that this product isn’t enough to control it.

When I use this on my clients, I ask about their skin type first. And if they say they have oily skin and if I know that they will be photographed a lot or they might sweat (i.e. weddings), I use MUFE All Mat over a mattifying product to be sure to get all the good benefits of the products. But for dry or normal skin clients, this is a really good product as it is! And I would use this alone prior to makeup application.

How about you? Have you tried this product yet? What do you think about it? 🙂

One of the primers that I use is Make Up Forever’s All Mat Face Primer.

The All Mat Matifying Primer formula is based on a oil-free and colorless powdered gel providing extreme comfort.

Designed to absorb the excess of sebum, it leaves the skin soft without a hint of shine.

The complexion looks healthy and fresh whatever the occasion.

Photo borrowed from: Make Up Forever’s website

What I love about it:

- The velvety feel after application is really nice.

- The skin feels so soft to the touch whenever I use All Mat.

- I love that it reduces to a thin layer when applied which helps not make the makeup heavy looking and it doesn’t feel heavy at all.

- Good makeup base. My foundation whether it be cream, liquid or powder sticks very well and keeps it in place.

- I have tried using this primer and just applied powder blush and it works well also. My blush stayed intact.

- Doesn’t smell bad nor does it smell strong.

- A small amount goes a long way.

- Makes makeup look flawless! (Scroll down for a photo of me.)

What I don’t love about it:

- Even though it’s a very good makeup base because it reduces need for retouching, it still isn’t mattifying enough for me.

- Pricey.

Here are some FOTDs of me using All Mat as my face primer. :) For details about the look, I’ll do a separate post on it.

Look at how flawless my face looks like!

How about you? Have you tried this product yet? What do you think about it? :)

Time for another Hopeless Romantic post because some of my friends have been asking me! So I will be sharing Lemuria today because Monday is Valentine’s Day and it’s one of the most romantic restaurants I have ever been!

We went to Lemuria for our 6th Anniversary to celebrate. It was another hole-in-the-wall place, very private restaurant. I remember seeing the photos of the place and it literally took my breath away. As you know, I love quaint places and this was just it!

Photos borrowed from: Lemuria’s website

As for the food, I ordered their set menu because I wanted the whole thing to be a surprise. Luckily, I’ve known H for a long time that I learned his likes and dislikes when it comes to food. Unfortunately, I didn’t take photos of the food that night and I actually forgot what we ate. I browsed through Lemuria’s website and found some pictures of the food I ordered, but not all.

Here’s a rundown:

Lemuria Homemade Bread

Mushroom & Gruyere

I remember we loved this so much!

Braised Kurobata Pork Belly, Garlic Potato Puree, served with Pink Peppercorn Sauce

This was for H.

Seabass, Poached in Saffron Olive Jus with Braised Fennel

This was my main course.

Valrhoha Chocolate Souffle Cake with Mandarin Orange Glaze

I must admit the food were good, the servers all very attentive. They even gave us free glass of wine because there was a new wine coming out. However, for the food, it wasn’t unforgettable. It was okay, but there was nothing special about them. The plating and presentation was fine, but the taste was just normal.

However, I still loved the place and the experience. There were only three tables that had clients that time so it felt more intimate.

I think this is the perfect place to propose to your girlfriend if you plan to this Valentine’s Day! 🙂

I hope this helps a little. I know it’s not such a helpful post because I forgot about our orders. And I went there ages ago, 3 years ago. So I’m sure they have upgraded and made several improvements I am not aware of. But definitely check the place out. I left the place feeling happy, full because of the high quality ingredients they use for cooking and in love!

Lemuria
5 Julieta Circle, Horseshoe Village, Quezon City
7245211 / 7222185 / 7246306
http://www.lemuria.com.ph

Apologies for lack of beauty posts recently. I’ve been swamped with events lately that I have not been able to take good photos of the products that I’m currently reviewing. I will do so very soon. I have a few products I’m testing now. By the way, I’m lemming Avon products. I’ve seen and read really good reviews and the lipsticks are to die for. Hmm, I would want to try some soon!!! But for now, I just want to share most of our adventure from my Baguio trip. 🙂

One of our favorite restaurants we went to during my Baguio trip is Pizza Volante. Thanks to my friend who researched and discovered this delicious diner!

We decided to head to Pizza Volante after our massage. Great thing Pizza Volante is open 24 hours as we got out of the spa around 12mn. I was actually already very hungry so when we got to the place I was ready to dive in!

The place didn’t have an ambiance. We stayed at the ground floor. Of course there was no aircon, because it was already very cool. I wasn’t able to take photos of the interiors. But they didn’t really have a lot of interior designing stuff. But the food was superb. So read more about it below.

Photos from Cee:

Mussels & Tomatoes in Red Wine Pasta Large P232.00

Yummy! But I’m no big fan of olive oil based sauce, I usually like red sauce. But this was really good. They gave us huge chunks of mussels. The flavor was very very delicious. The tomatoes, I loved too!

Pizza Marengo 14” P545.00

The pizza was loaded with chicken, super yummy mozzarella cheese, bell peppers, onions. All good stuff. Now, my favorite thing is the cheese and the crust. The crust was just delish! It wasn’t too hard to chew, it was cooked just right, chewy and crunchy. Haha! I liked that the it was heaven when the cheese melted on the pizza and as I chewed, I played around with the cheese. Really superb!!! I can’t really think of more descriptions on how to explain how good the pizza is. You must try it.

H even asked me if we have Pizza Volante here in Manila. Unfortunately, there’s none.

Aside from the delicious food and good customer service, the prices are so affordable. 🙂 Definitely a place to go back to!!!

Rating: