My Tony and Jackey Digiperm Experience ^^

¡Hola! How's everyone today? Me, I'm just here, stuck at home, work piling up by the hour. oooh, I badly want to go out and grab a cup of something strong ~ by that, I mean coffee okay? And something is bothering my hubby but he isn't telling. hmm, I wonder what that is.

Anyway, I just have 30 minutes to spare today and I must make this one short and quick so here it goes..

about a month ago, I was half-bullied, half-dragged by my BFF to Tony and Jackey's Festival (Alabang) Mall branch as there was an ongoing rebond/digiperm promo. The 5,000Php originally priced treatments were down to 3,000Php. She was no virgin to rebond treatments while I.. well, I'm not really into salons. Freakin' machines scare the hell out of me. BUT. we were due to a conference and my hair was a mess. So, the night before, i decided to just get a haircut.

To cut the long story short, that cute Korean hair stylist Carl (find Step 3: haircut ninja shot) got me to say yes to a digiperm. lol :D 

Okay, as you can see below, my hair is originally thin and flat and very defiant. Carl told me that it is "too thin" and he ordered digiperm for my short hair.

Again, my hair is short so this is not your usual digipermed hairstyle (long, with bangs, goldilocks curls) It got me really curious but yeah, excited. :) When he asked me what style for my haircut, I told him it's all up to him. hihi ^^ He nodded, assessed my hair then fired a couple of orders (there were two ladies ~ his assistants~ very nice and accommodating) The 3,000Php package included hair treatment, hair cut, digiperm and hair manicure. I was there for about 2 hours.

pls click for better view

To sum it up, it was a very nice experience indeed. I like Carl. He is soft spoken, knows his stuff and treated his clients nicely, even nervous, newbies like me (imagine that, and considering I own two c-section belts too! lol) His assistants were very nice and made me really comfortable. They didn't even push harder when I said no to their hair essence. 

So here below is my hair's progress from the time I stepped out of the salon up to week 2:

*Please ignore my silly grin on Day 4 photo, I was at the conference and I was having so much fun!* I came out of the salon super curly (tight curls) but after some time, the curls became bigger and looser and now, (I'm already at my first month) they are just lovely wavy curls I'm lovin' so much! Too bad my BFF came out of the salon all pouty and grumpy while I was almost too giddy to stand still. lol. Her stylist wasn't nice and a little bitchy too. She was trying to grow her hair long and she told her stylist to just cut above her bra-line but sadly, the request was ignored. She went home with a hair just above her bra strap :( Hers was rebonded, by the way. Oh well, looks like I'll be on my own next time. Yes, I'm going back. and I'll specifically ask for Carl. lol :D

As for Bang's Tony and Jackey promos, please do check their Facebook page and website from time to time. I think they are running a Christmas promo now. 

that's it! Thanks for reading! :)

#workingmy*ssoff

Random Tuesday: KFC Mac and Cheese Bites, Starbucks Ice Cream, Munchkins, Pork Floss and A Broom with Bangs.

Tons of work ahead of me today but I'm too giddy to even start one! Tomorrow is our much-awaited company convention ~ i work online [I'm with their offshore department] so this is our first ever! ~ and I'm so excited!!! ^^ I got my hair digipermed last Saturday [will blog about it soon!! really really sucky photos, and I forgot to take pictures of my new 'do with my cutie Korean stylist because I was pleasantly shocked on how he was able to make my hair nice and fluffy despite the language barrier. lol] I'm getting foot spa and mani/pedi later today [half convention-related, half favor to my feet. lol] :)

anyway, I tried KFC Mac and Cheese Bites last week and I wasn't really impressed with it. I really think it should have salsa to go with it and if it actually does then KFC staff should always remember NOT to leave it behind because the bites don't taste good without them. #justsayin'

I was craving for some Ben & Jerry's but I wasn't up for some shopping at S&R so I just looked for them in *several* regular supermarkets. I was able to find a couple of them at Shopwise-Festival Mall but those Starbucks ice cream pints made me squeal with delight! Prices are at 300Php range per pint.

..and then some more..

those Snickers and Twix pints are, i think, 145Php each and Snickers bars and M&M cookie sandwiches are 65Php a piece.

This Munchkins tin pail is sooo cute! we're using it now as a trinket pail and it's still cute. lol :D I heard they're serving red velvet Munchkins in the US. I hope they ~ those red velvets ~ come to the Philippines ^^

I'm inlove with pork floss all my life! My "angkong" [lolo in Tagalog, grandpa in English] used to bring a bag home as "pasalubong" from Binondo [they used to sell them by kilos, i'm not sure if they still do] I sometimes use it on porridge or oatmeal but I prefer eating it as is. ^^ I found a bag at a Lord Stow's branch. I think it's 180Php per bag.

I borrowed this funny looking broom from an auto parts store downstairs [the owner is a grumpy ogre. lol] *wink, wink* I had a hardtime picking up dust but I eventually got them all out. The owner said "Pwede pa yan, may bangs pa" lol :D

so that's it! wish me luck for tomorrow's event! ;)

#giddytuesday :)

Nature Republic Soothing Moisture Aloe 80% Toner Review

I meant to review this a long time ago but my camera sucks so I had to hijack my hubby's phone to be able to get better shots. ;)

This is my default toner because it is very mild and did not trigger my skin allergy. I love the smell too :)

Nature Republic Soothing Moisture Aloe 80% Toner

*lookie! it's almost gone ;)*

Okay, it doesn't do anything special but for me, its mildness is a big plus. My skin cannot stand too strong toners; I won't break out (pimple, acne etc) but as sure as the sun will come up tomorrow, hives will come out - in FULL force!

One word of caution though, people with oily skin, please be careful when using this, as I think it encourages oilies to come out (perhaps it's the moisturizing component of this toner) :( in my honest opinion - and I'm a combi -  oilies will come out in 3-4 hours after application (this is wash-tone-moisturize only). doesn't matter though if you will use it under a mattifier (that is if you prime prior to makeup application)

It's 290Php from Nature Republic Festival Mall branch

so that's it! :)

#mustbemyshortestreviewpostever.

Etude House Lip and Eye Remover Review

..aannd because I've been lazy, I now have an awesome number of blog posts in draft to deal with. lol :D

Anyway, here below is Etude House Lip and Eye Remover. Yep, that's right, lip and eye REMOVER. don't worry though, it doesn't really remove your lips and eyes but it does a superb job of removing your lip and eye makeup. Waterproof makeups are just one swipe off using this baby.

I'm quite OC when taking off my makeup. I just don't want anything left on my face before I go to sleep, no traces of anything whatsoever. and because I got more experimental with makeup lately, I knew simple face cleaning/washing won't do.

Etude House Lip and Eye Remover comes highly recommended by most beauty blogs I follow - and these are hardcore beauty gurus and some are pro MUA so I have full faith in them.

two-toned pretty ^^

"Gentle, yet highly effective, this double formulated lip and eye remover easily and instantly dissolves all traces of make-up for a soothing and moisturizing effect on the sensitive eye and lip area without any irritation."

shake, shake, shake

pH balanced, oil and alcohol free, gentle enough for all skin types but very effective in removing long-lasting and waterproof makeup.

eeww.. only BB cream on my face and look what I got!

..and here is my little "efficacy" test. From top to bottom:  Kiehls Marvelous Mineral Mascara, Tony Moly Backstage Gel Eyeliner Diva Gray, E.L.F Waterproof Eyeliner Pen Coffee, Wet N Wild: Idol Eyes 691 Midnight Black Retractable Eye Pencil

1. freshly applied eye stuff (either waterproof or long-lasting) 2. under running water 3. two drops of Etude lip and eye remover directly on makeup 4. One swipe and it's all gone!

To use, you just have to shake the bottle well then use cotton pads to apply. It works best if you don't swipe right away. Let the remover-solution dissolve the makeup first, especially if you are dealing with waterproof mascaras, then swipe. :)

It doesn't irritate my skin or trigger my allergy which is really good, if you ask me. and I don't have to rub hard   which is a nice plus too. It smells nice. It is oil-based, making my face a little oily after, so I wash my face then apply cold cream, just to make sure nothing gets left behind (see? OC talaga ^^) but judging from the tissues used for removing the cold cream, I think this last step in my makeup removing routine is really unnecessary. I'm not sure but I think I bought this for 190Php+ but surely no more than 200Php! I think, it's a steal ^^

I am very satisfied with this eye and lip makeup remover so no more trying another brand for me. for now. :)

#yesterday'spost,postedtoday.lol ^^

Why We Love Bonchon Chicken :)

It's funny how you - most of the time - fail to blog about the things that matter most right? Like it's really a part of you and that it has become really common - to you, at least - that you forget it is something worth blogging about..

Bonchon is one of them..

The first Bonchon branch we  ever  visited.  Katipunan branch.

While there was quite a buzz about Bonchon's chicken, we were in no hurry to try it. In fact, we were more interested with Manang's chicken at that time that it managed to make us be present on the first day Soderno opened its door down South. Our first taste of Manang's chicken didn't make the expected impact maybe because we were able to try Bonchon the next day and was MIGHTILY impressed by it!

Greasy, yummy Chap Chae

We were staying at my sister's place (Katipunan area) and the building facing Ateneo has Bonchon which is just a short walk from where we were so we decided to have lunch there. It was a Sunday so the place was not jampacked (I heard it can be so full Monday-Saturday that it is usually standing-room only) 

I think these are thighs. They don't look like wings.

FYI, BonChon Chicken is a Korean fried chicken restaurant that has gone semi-global as they now have branches in the US, Philippines and Thailand. Unlike your standard issue fried chicken, BonChon's is twice fried so it is crunchier. You can choose between soy garlic and hot (spicy). We always go for the soy garlic kind as the hot ones tend to be TOO hot for the whole family. :)

Take out chicken fillet, for those who hate bones ^^

We tried their chicken fillet too. While it tasted same as the wings and thighs, I would have to say, this is my least favorite as I like my fried chicken to have bones to suck on afterward. lol :D mi bebe agrees ^^ 

Take out Bonchon Wings

If you are aiming for the full BonChon experience, I would suggest you order the wings. I assure you there's nothing quite like it. This is my current "sarap-to-the-bones" chicken! 

In observance of the Lenten season, they came up with their very own Lent specials; Crispy Squid Rice is one of them.

Lent Special Crispy Squid Rice *love* :)

Still not convinced? I'll let Mr. C here convince you how good BonChon can get. lol :D

C getting his Bonchon wings fix ^^

That's his second wing, btw.

PRICES AND BRANCHES HERE: BonChon website *yey ATC branch!* ^^

#goteambonchon!kisses! :)

Nature Republic Real Flower Rose Pack Review

If you're looking for a good alternative to mask sheet, this must be the answer: Nature Republic Real Flower Rose Pack. Yep, I'm trying to wean myself off of mask sheets as I'm all for keeping waste to a minimum and I feel really guilty everytime I throw away used mask sheet knowing that it will only end up somewhere, waiting some 50+years to finally melt and disappear (if they ever disappear)

*problem is, mask sheets can be soooooooo addicting :(*

Okay, enough of my eco-rant, here is a perfectly capable product that can deliver benefits of a mask sheet and more! and yeah, I'm loving it, I'm using this twice a week for a month now. So far, this hasn't failed me even once.  It still delivers a lovely after glow.

The girly-flower shaped-pink tub may throw you off, for some reason that's quite hard to explain but you see, I almost didn't get this one just because I was hesitant of the packaging. I don't have anything against tubs as I have my handy spatula to scoop things out but.. really.. I don't know why.. hmm..

Anyway, this is not the sleeping pack as those are sold in tubes ala BB cream. This is the 15minute-rinse-off type which you should * preferably* apply when you are NOT sleeping. lol. I'm seriously considering going back for the sleeping pack, however, I have yet to finish the ones I got from Etude so..

I was really looking for some "brightening" items which were*surprise, surprise* still OOS when I was introduced to this product. Sensing my dismay, the SA quickly recommended this, putting emphasis on the "whitening" and "anti-aging" parts. It's okay, I was looking quite harassed at that time and my eyebags were occupying nearly half of my face that I had to lift the eyebags up to be able to apply my blushon. lol. just kidding ^^

Anyhoo, I didn't want to walk away empty handed so I carefully opened the tub and was greeted by the smell of roses. It was strong. Strong rose smell but not really offensive on the nose. I'm not really a fan of roses but I must admit, I like this one. I hope you see the "rose bits" in there too. ^^

I'm pasting below the product description I got from Nature Republic's website:

Moisture + Water Replenishing + Whitening


Produce by fresh rose and variety of plants. You can see the rose petal melting on your skin. Made by large quantity Bulgarian rose, 30 roses only can produce one drop essential oil. Contains many vitamins, trace elements, 17 types amino acid and Quercetrin and organic acid. Can provide comprehensive and rich nutrients to skin, promote skin blood circulation. Elimination of pigment, repair damaged cell aging and flatten wrinkles. Special natural brewing rose and plants collagen from rose extract. Has excellent whitening, moisture, anti-wrinkle and soothing functions. Can speedy water replenishing to skin, contract capillaries, regain skin elastic. Form maintenance film and lock-in nutrients and water.


How to Use :
After cleansing apply appropriate amount on whole face, avoid eyes and lip area. Rinse off with water after 15 minutes.

Here's my take, I love this Rose pack because:

• It cools on contact so really, it feels so nice when you have the pack on.
• There are rose petals that melt on skin when left for 15 minutes. It's  time to wash the face when you can no longer see the rose bits.
• Rose smell lingers even after wash. This is good actually as the smell is not that strong anymore.
• Skin indeed, feels softer and smoother after washing. (Just tap water)
• No allergic reaction. Double YAY! for this ^^

WHAT I DON'T LIKE:

• It's in a tub, which means I need to use my spatula to scoop things out.
• It's super gelatinous *think gelatin* making it harder to scoop things out :(( it's useless to use your fingers, to be honest.
• hmm.. the packaging? lol *affected much* 

One more thing, this rose pack doesn't dry up, it just gets stickier by the minute. As for me, I clock it by monitoring the rose petals *if they are already melted* and by how sticky the pack has become on my face as it can get really sticky-uncomfortable.

There. If I missed something, please let me know, my brain is not working anymore as I just finished my 10hour shift and my eyes are about to pop out of their sockets. lol :D

Oh, and it's 370Php per tub which could last approximately 6 months minimum when used twice a week. 

#must.sleep.now.

Tous Les Jours Christmas Cake

This is a very very very late post - like a month late? - but since Valentine's day is just around the corner, I thought this could be of help to lovebirds who would like to celebrate hearts day in style! lol :)

So last December, I was able to bag a free cake from Tous les Jours just by sharing their giveaway post on my Facebook wall. I wasn't really expecting something to come out of it since I am not really a lucky person when it comes to draws and contests, I just gave it a try since it didn't require much from me. yep, really lazy person, that's me.

Long story short, I was one of the lucky 5 - i think, or 6? I chose to pick up my cake from their SM North Edsa branch as this was the most convenient branch for me at that time.

SM North Edsa The Block

Just beside the supermarket - or front? lol sorry, I'm that bad with directions. ^_^

cutie breads! yumm

equally cutie cakes!  ^_^

Korean drinks and more breads. very nice!

Me and the hubby weren't expecting anything spectacular as the cake was only a freebie and hmm, let's just say, my hubby is quite allergic to cutie things, add to that the fact that he is a fierce Red Ribbon fan. So just imagine his surprise - and mine too - when we got this:

The cake is sooooo nice!!

..and it comes with a plastic cake knife, 4 skinny but tall candles and 2 pink headed matches (the matches are inside an envelope with a scratchy side) so kawaii! 

yes, the cake did not disappoint! It was moist and chocolatey, with a hint of coffee/dark chocolate which I truly love! The kids were delighted as well and we all enjoyed our little cake party :)  

My baby girl had a sweet time checking out Tous les Jous, she loves all things girly, that's why. She didn't even hesitate to pose for this picture. We're looking forward to our next visit, which is probably next week to sample some of their breads naman. :)

#lifeissweet,kisses!

The Face Shop Peeling Day White Jewel Review

Lemme just share another peeling agent that I'm using right now. Then a revitalizing ointment further down.

It was an accident when I stumbled upon this product which is now pretty much a mainstay in my skincare routine. A sorry looking tube sitting atop my sister's shower counter got me curious since it has "peeling" written on its label and obviously it was well-used by my sister. lol. I sure was not looking to buy another peeling cream/gel since I just bought Tonymoly Appletox a week before but curiosity got the better of me so i tried a small amount on my hand. Well.. the rest is history.

A tube sells for about 470Php, good for a hundred use. lol :D really, a dime-size of this is enough to cover the whole face and that tube is big enough to last you at least 6 months of 2-3times a week use. To use, apply all over the face and massage for 1-2 minutes then rinse with water. Recommended to use 2-3 times a week. Since I'm still using the Appletox, i opted to use this just once a week, every Monday morning. 

What got me hooked though was the peeling action itself. Similar to how Appletox works, you get white particles when messaged which is supposed to be the pearls sloughing off the dead skin off the face. However, Faceshop's Peeling Day "white particles" are more visible, bigger, and i do detect some brightening effect after washing. According to label, this peeling gel has pearl powder that exfoliates the skin surface and removes impurities for skin that glows like pearls. nice ^_^

cream on skin

when messaged

big chunks of.. eww..dead skin cells?

While the product claims that it is mild, well as you can see from above photo, one could doubt how mild and since, based on my weeks of use, it can be drying on skin, add to that the fact that its smell is a little strong, that is, no-delicate-flowery/fruity-scent-here kind of smell, I assume it's a little stronger than Appletox, hence my decision to use it just once a week. Then followed by a heavy moisturizer. Nowadays, I am using Dr. Jart's V7 Vitalaser from my very recent Ebay haul. 

Dr. Jart V7 Vitalaser sample size, good for 3 full-face uses

This ointment type of skin revitalizer does a good job of moisturizing. As claimed, it has 7 types of vitamins to help smooth wrinkles and at the same time brighten the face. I don't  know about the brightening part and the wrinkle smoothing part as I think that would mean using the product for a long time but I can guarantee its moisturizing effect. In fact, it can be quite heavy on skin when worn that I suspect it won't fit all types of skin, mine is a combination so there were parts of my face that were happy to be applied with the Vitalaser but the t-zone wasn't really happy about it, i could tell. It's an ointment, what to expect? I got this from an Ebay auction for 100Php. I don't think I'm going to buy this again anytime soon.

The Face Shop Raspberry Roots Collagen Eye Patch Review

It's back to back Korean beauty products as I have just applied the last eye patch - still on my eyes while blogging actually - and I don't want to do the review without the package to guide me. So I'll just make this quick and painless. lol.

I discovered this eye patch by accident. Had I known the real price, I probably wouldn't buy it - but thank God I did as this eye patch  is sooooo good! I was at The Face Shop Trinoma for their Peeling Day White Jewel after sampling my sister's tube and was impressed by its peeling action. As I was about to pay, this eye patch caught my attention

Just right on time! I was looking for an eye patch then as I noticed the skin around my eyes - particularly the dark, undereye area - was "desert dry", like there were cracks such that when you apply a cream concealer, it would crack too sometime after, leaving an embarrasing, highlighted fine line just under the eye. I was thinking that a good collagen dose would do the trick. 

A quick read through the description - with the words "hydrogel" and 'hydrates" standing out - got me asking about the price, which the salesgirl graciously answered, "..65 ma'am" so I thought, "hmm, why not? not bad a price considering there are two separate packets." Then she rang my bill, which totaled in the vicinity of 700php, I was flabbergasted! The peeling day, I was sure, should only be 400php-something. I was expecting 500ish only. I didn't want to make a scene so I just paid and quickly scanned the receipt on my way out. The eye patch costed 265php. So there.

Now that I am a proud owner of a 265php collagen eye patch, might as well have a go at it and enjoy, right? 

A packet has two lemon-slice-shaped, slimy eye patches. The semi-transparent one would be collagen patch to put undereye. The white one is for protection, I think, or for easy handling? The collagen patches come in a tray so you just have to slide out the tray, grab hold of the white, non-transparent thingy then pinch out the collagen eye patch from it. This should go straight onto your undereye. 

This I tell you, the first time that collagen eye patch laid itself on my skin, I felt heaven! No joke! It was cool and very soothing and smelled really nice, I almost heard my undereyes holler "Hallelujah!". The eye patch should be left alone for 30-40 minutes, it was so good I pushed for an hour. lol :D

Oh, and it has instant firming feel right after application which felt weird at first - remember that was my first time to try collagen eye patches so I wouldn't know if that is just normal for all other collagen patches - which stayed on  for about two days (the firming feel)

Now I'm keeping an eye for it on Ebay auctions. lol :D

outtobattleundereyewoes!

Cheers! :)