BAKED

Quite numerous cakes I made for the past two months. I enjoy baking a lot since I was in elementary. It's one of my mood lifting activities, especially when I am angry. I just bolt out the negativities that I feel in every mixing and beating and all those stuff. It's weird but I bake better when I'm upset. My goodies are much yummier. hahaha i feel myself so much. :)) Anyway, as easy baking is for me, it's quite the opposite when it comes to decorating them. I am not really artistic in nature and thus my puny learned-artistic-abilities still need to be honed. (FUN FACT: I took art classes in grade school and thought I was getting good, until my first drawing was used as a paper napkin by my cousin. He was eating doughnuts and he thought that it was just a plain paper bec my drawing was faced down. I got so frustrated and discouraged that I never bothered to draw again. Until recently. and now I'm struggling. n__n)

Cake 1 & 2:
Occasion: Nephew Xyler's 1st birthday

These are actually not cakes but a collection of cupcakes.
Wilton has these differently shaped cupcake holders which you can arrange to whatever design you want.



Green Bunnie! haha

Cake 3 & cupcakes: Strawberry cake and monster cupcakes
Occasion: Mom's arrival from Singapore/Malaysia



I didn't actually decorate this, Bunnie did.

These we collaborated with. They're weird monster cupcakes. o_o

Cake 4: ACN logo
Occasion: 3rd anniversary of our Quirino branch store

My cousin Razel helped me with the logo. Apparently, we're no experts :)) 

Cake 5: Choco Mallows cake
Occasion: Father's Day




Brother and I stayed up really late for this! Kudos to the succesful surprise :D

Cake 6: Hulk cake
Occasion: Xander's 1st birthday

I'm no good in cake decorating, I just actualize whatever's in my head. I sometimes look at cake photos in the net for inspiration but I never get to really copy them bec I never had any training, sessions, classes, or whatnot. I do wanted to take sessions since before but I always haven't had the time to do so. So let's just have our cake and eat it too, hmm? ;)

xxoo

Walking dead woman

No, this is not a ghost story, or anything relevant to that. I just feel like a zombie-- having very little sleep with very many things to do. These past 2 weeks, I was dead down with sinusitis, sore throat, cough and colds. To top it off, I had a scheduled practical exam, a gown, cake and a video to finish making, and duty was on its way.

But thank you, Almighty Father, for staying with me through all this. My practical exam went reaaallly well, despite me not being able to study that much. Thank you, thank you, ECG (and chiikang!haha) for being my lucky switch. :))

What kept me buzzing next was this:

A customer from Iligan City was celebrating her debut this week, I am so happy that she trusted me as her designer. Her gown was enormously bouffant, and it was my first time to actually put to rise a design like that. In the process of making it, I have learned and discovered so much more about voluminous gowns. Thank you, Riza.

Since we wanted to see the gown on a real person and mother fits in it, we made her wear it :)) With Puppy!:D

the back portion :)

Mummie goofin around :))

I feel such a lazy ass these days (maybe it's one of the s/sx of my illness). I don't wanna finish the video that I'm supposed to make, and instead of making my requirements, I went to the mall to chill. Well, my bunnie and I did have to go there and buy a Thor costume for Xander's upcoming birthday. Then we decided to buy our own matching Thor Tees too! Haha I am not much of a wearer of shirts but hey, anything for my godchild. The Hulk cake, I will have to include in another post. His birthday party theme was the Avengers. :))

Will post picutres of us wearing this!:*

And oh, kill me for being such an impulsive shopper. We passed by Accessorize, and that big "Buy one, get one" tarp just dragged my feet inside their shop. I just couldn't resist this swimsuit. And for only $30 for both, instead of getting the bandeau for $30 and $26 for the bikini. I know it's not summer here any longer, but hey, who says we can beach out during summers only?:D I just had to had it. 8)

It's not highwaisted, like the one that I wanted from Nudo, but the I was mainly after the nautical theme anyway.

How are you holding up these days?:)


UPDATE:

I kneeew that I had to get the suits from Accessorize! It came very handy during the celebration of the feast of San Juan. (Am I right?:)) IDK much about feasts). See mommy, I didn't buy those for nothing! haha

Celebrated San Juan @ Marco Hotel with cousins (funny how we just met there without having plans to!),
bunnie, mother and brother. OHANA <3

Lemon Toes Woes

Lemon Toes Woes

I guess I can say that I put forward my left foot first when I awoke this morning. Indeed a series of unfortunate events came cascading on me. Let me begin with how annoyed I am with my sinusitis. For those who know me personally, you would ask, “again?” Yes, I’m at it again, I don’t know why, I have gone to the doc countless times and I think I had been on a series of antibiotics for more than what’s recommended already. Sigh. So when my alarm rang at 5:30am for school, I wanted to go back to sleep and rest, but being the earlybird that I am, I pushed myself out of the bed. After bathing, I received a confirmatory good but disappointing text message from my classmate, “No class.” You get why it’s good but disappointing, right? Couldn’t have they told us the day before? I could’ve saved my already low energy (and once fresh from the shower, it’s hard for me to go back to sleep). I didn’t let this get me though. I went on my day—surfed the net, studied, played with my godchild.

Noon came and my next class was up at 13:10pm. At 12:45, I was already on my way to my classroom. Suddenly, I had to stop walking. I knew there was something off.  I begged in my mind, “No, no, don’t let it be it”. Then I looked down. The sole of one of my flats cracked open!!! Oh the horror! I hurriedly, awkwardly, went to the nearest place with very few people. I immediately texted bunnie about my situation but he said that he was somewhere far from school. My next option was my brother. He wasn’t picking up. It was 1:02 already. Third option—cousin—but I had no load in my other network to text her. daaaymn. The load I requested arrived so late, time check 13:13. Late. Fudge. I hate being late. But I was no way braving the embarrassment of walking around the campus with broken footwear. So I waited. And waited. Finally, the load arrived! Time: 13:23. I asked my cousin (who’s temporarily living in our house) to let my brother bring me a pair of flats ASAP. To my surprise, it was my brother’s friend who came from our house who brought me the package. I was like, “oh great, spread my embarrassment to another soul.” Double sigh. It was already 13:50. Now, there is a good reason why I’m sharing my monkey moment, just keep on reading (if you can still handle my rants). When I arrived at our very favourite *ehemsarcasm* 6^th floor classroom, to my other surprise, our clinical instructor was not yet there. Nor was she coming, said our classmates.  Am I being Punk’d here? Hellooo? Ashton? haihai. K I could’ve just rested at home.

At least our CI came during our 3^rd class and we were dismissed earlier than scheduled. Thank heavens for that. I went home directly and rested. I thought my infelicitous day ended there. But the cherry of the cake was that the day that I dread the most in a woman’s month came. TT___TT Unbelievable. I always experience dysmenorrhea, and it isn’t the mild one. Blah. Some series, eh?

Now as to the reason why I revealed that embarrassment? I just don’t want any of you out there to experience what I did. Or maybe some have already. But let’s prevent that from ever happening again, alright? Before going out of your house, make sure that those lovely wears that you have on won’t make you shy away from the public. Here are 4 simple and useful tips.

1.       Check the soles, straps, zippers. One good way to check the soles is to try bending (for flats) them and see if they have those cracks. If they do, you may want to put some adhesive to them. Make sure to let it dry well. Or better yet, change them.

2.       For heeled/wedged sandals, try prodding the heels/wedge.

3.       Try walking on it at your house for just a few while to ensure that it’ll last for the day.

4.       If in any case it still happens and you’re alone, don’t panic. If there’s a nearby shop that sells footwear, slowly and carefully walk over there and buy a pair. Should that not be possible (i.e., no money), stay put. Call or text someone and have him/her bring you one. If all else fail, stay calm still. Try to compose yourself while heading to the nearest place where you can ask for help.

Oh by the way, that happened to me thrice already. :)) Thanks to those moments though, my dad agreed to go on another shopping spree with me. I guess that’s the only good thing out of it. *winkwink*

`keep those umbrellas and cover ups with you all the time for it's rainy season once again. Best be in healthy fit. Load up on the fruits and vitamins! My pick-me up drink for today was a lemon juice from Thirsty. What's yours?

Did you have any embarrassing moments like mine? Don't be shy to reveal so that we can help out other ladies (and even gents!) ;)

Be a bunnie buffer ;)

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REVIEW: The Body Shop Make Up Brushes

Previously, I have conceded my thoughts about Ecotools Brush set that I recently bought. Now I'm on to professing my love for TBS make up brushes. Yes, I love them so so much!

On the price:

When a friend of my mother told her to get ourselves the set, she said, "..they are a good investment,.." and to no doubt, she is correct. (and since then, TBS flooded my make-up box.) Though they are quite pricey for brushes (for the 6pc set, Mom let loose some $115, and she said it was on sale already), they are totally worth every buck, or should I say, peso, spent. Not one regret do we have in buying it.



1 set contains blush, foundation, eyeshadow, blender, eyeliner, lip/concealer brushes.

On the design:
They all look so sleek and elegant, with their black handles and metal ferrules. Their labels, however, fade in time, but in a long time. I have had them for around 3 years and yet only little has faded. I read reviews and many complained on how bulky their handles are (they have a wide base so that it can stand on its own). But that doesn't bother me that much bec I have a big cylinder enough for their fit.

On the bristles:
I swear they are the softest on the face! Their bristles are also synthetic (like Ecotools), hurrah for green brands! A plus plus: I have never experienced any shedding from any of them.

On application:
I am not breaking down each of the brushes bec I have only one common point-- it is the best MU brush brand that I have so far tested. They pick up cosmetics very well and each application goes on very smoothly. I love love love every single one of them as they do each of their specific purposes excellently. Another bonus, their blush brush is versatile-- perfect for getting that well-contoured and -blushed cheeks.

Is your love for TBS brushes same as mine?:D

Well, if you're with me, hurry now and get yourselves one of these!:))Especially that they're on sale as they celebrate with us our 114th Philippine Independence Day (SM Branches).



REVIEW: Ecotools Make-up Brushes

My cousin, Trixie, of http://cosmeticelegance.blogspot.com/, got home from Canada recently. As much as I was so excited to see her, I was very giddy about the Ecotools Brushes I had her buy for me. Toa chie Trix ^____^


To start off, we all know how important it is to have our own personal brushes; especially for me, since I have a very sensitive skin. I needed another basic brush set for my clients and friends because I want my The Body Shop (will make a review soon) brushes to be solely for me.

Now on to the beeswax.
So why Ecotools?
Disclaimer: This review is based on my own and unbiased opinion.


I did some quick surfing and read some reviews on different brands of make up brushes, and among the rest, Ecotools stood out as the best--both in quality and price. (TIP: before buying anything, it is always good to hear/read from others first before handing out that hard-earned money). I didn't want to spend a lot for it because I am not a make up artist by profession, I just do it to help out friends. Having read positive reviews, I bought their 6pc basic set which contains 1 blush brush, 1 eye shading brush, 1 eyeliner brush, 1 lash and brow groomer, 1 conealer brush, and the cosmetic brush roll (55% hemp linen/45% cotton), and the one piece foundation brush (not found in the set).

On Design:


I like how eco-friendly-looking (obviously, from the brand ECOtools) their brushes are-- with the bamboo handles, and engraved brand name. (Unlike most, including TBS's, in which the brand names printed fade in time. But for my TBS brushes, I had them for a good 3 years or so and only a little has faded). On the other side of it, they don't label their brushes accordingly. But that's okay if you're a pro or you know your brushes too well already.

On the price:
I spent only 22.84 CAD (plus 12% tax though so that makes it 25.5808 CAD for everything. I was like. WOW. That's like one fifth of how much my mother spent for our TBS brush set, and that was on sale already (no, i'm not going against TBS, i'm just comparing). This is one very concrete example that it is not necessary for products with excellent quality to be expensive.
On the bristles:
They are very soft for the face! I could say it's not exactly as soft as TBS's (maybe bec it was still new) but it is very next to it. Also, it's synthetic, so, cruelty-free! Yay!


Breaking it down:


 Blush brush: I don't like how fluffy it is for a blush brush bec there are certain principles in applying blushes and I can't seem to achieve that with this. It is useful as a finishing/powder brush though, or for applying bronzers.

Eye shading brush: It packs eyeshadow well, however, since it was still fresh from the market, it was still a teeny bit stiff. Bec of that, I can't say a lot about it yet. I hope it softens as it is washed though.

Eyeliner brush: It is a little too thick for an eyeliner brush, you need expert hands to use it for thin linings. No other concerns.

Concealer brush: I didn't use it as such when I first tried them, I used it as an eye shading brush and it did a good job picking up the shadows. So I guess it will be fine as a concealer brush too :D

Lash and brow groomer: I didn't get to use the brow groomer, but for the lash groomer, it really helped out separate clumped lashes, but I think the teeth of the comb are too wide apart? Me thinks that it be best if it is closer :D or idk, coz I don't always use mascara as it makes my eyes feel so heavy which makes me a sleepyhead. :|

Foundation brush (not included in the set): Same with the other brushes, I was bothered at how it was still stiff, but it did do fine as a foundation brush. The bristles were a little sharp on the face though, unlike their blush brush. (will post picture soon, the one I took was too blurry :[)


Overall
I'll give it 4 stars out of 5. That's only bec I haven't used it again and haven't tested it as when it is softened through washes. I'll update on this when I can soon. :)


Have you tried ecotools brushes? What do you think about them? Don't hesitate to agree or disagree with me!;D

"Welcome to the Carribean, love" + Swimwear tips

2nd of June 2012

I had been longing to soak myself in a white-sand beach all summer long, and just right before it ended, my Bunnie and I went to one as we celebrated our 23rd monthsary, a day ahead though, bec Mom was scheduled to arrive from Singa on the 3rd.

Happy 23rd, Bunn!

It was an unplanned trip, thus, I was not able to get a hold of a new swim wear. Plus, this swim suit that I really want at Nudo is sold out. :(

photo not mine.(c) https://www.facebook.com/nudoswimwear

So I would like to ask you, my readers (if I have any, HAHA) for an opinion, would I look good on high-waisted swimsuit bottoms (refer to Nudo picture above )? Given the fact that I'm so skinny and petite (and not to mention flat-chested too. boo)? or should I just stick to my usual triangle bikinis (pic below)? I've always wanted to try something new (bandeau and high-waist) but scared to do so bec I mostly buy stuff online and I'm scared it won't suit me. :(

yuck. body is so out of shape. hahaha

According to many sources, triangle cut tops are great for flat-chested people as they lift and shape the chest area (although the one I want have horizontal lines, which they say, help in making busts look fuller). However, I am in dire want to break out from that theory and just purchase that Nudo SW when it's back in the rack. Read Cosmopolitan's tips--swimwear for body shape for more ideas on what swimsuit is best for your body type.

We did have a couple board shorts ^___^

Anyway, regardless of the swimsuit dilemma, the summer getaway was pure bliss. Just the two of us, the beach, and our endless love.

REVIEW: The Body Shop and Skin Food foundations

Ola! It's been a lil while since my last post. So many things have been going on with me, particularly with my teeth-- two rootcanals. OOOF. Anyway, that's not what I'm gonna blabber about for  now.

Today, I will be writing a review about foundations of two mid-ranged but notable brands, The Body Shop (TBS), and Skin Food (SF).

Disclaimer: This review is based on my own and unbiased opinion.

Left: TBS; Right: SF

Products:
The Body Shop: All in One Face Base 03
Skin Food: Omija Complexion Pact

On container, design, and sponge:
The TBS compact is more sleek and elegant looking, compared to SF's plastic-y appearance. I like how the cover of TBS can be used as a mirror. Also, it's sponge plate is well-engineered, I would say. For some reason, I don't like how SF's has to be flipped sideways. It's also just a thin plastic, so you got to be extra careful with it or else it might break. The sponge of TBS is very soft, compared to SF's rough texture. However, that of TBS brittles after a lot of washes.

TBS is little bulky though.

SF: woops, I haven't washed the sponge. teehee. and oooh, that in the mirror is my godchild, Xander ^___^

On the powder:

Before anything else, I would just like to make it clear that the TBS Pact is an ALL IN ONE FACE BASE-- it serves as a foundation and powder, while the SF is just plain compact powder. So I am not omparing both.

TBS: Ever since I've discovered TBS, I have been using their products (including this) and they have been such a doll to my very sensitive face. I've read a lot of reviews and many said that this particular products is too light, but it's just perfect for me. I use their 03 shade; their darkest is 06. One thing though, you have to use a primer (I use both TBS' Moisturize it and Matte it as I have combination skin--oily skin on the T-zone but normal to dry in the cheek area) to get its maximum effect. Otherwise, it will easily cake and won't last long. Also, it takes quite a few to set and using a Kabuki brush is much better than using their sponge. But I really love how it's so natural and light-weight on my face.

SF: I've considered trying this bec someone could buy it for me for a very cheap price. They say that a product has to be used for at least 3 months before we can see its full effect and make a comment about it. It's only been 2months+ and I think that's quite enough already. Anyway, here goes.

At the back of the pact, the label says that Omija Complexion Pact is:

"a pact that creates a brighter and more luminous complexon with a patent-awarded oriental herbal extract with Omija, White Mulberry Bark, and Licorice Root".

 In their website, it additionally says that it is:

"..Formulated with the Wet Process technology, this pact contains a high amount of the brightening effect ingredients. 3. Fine silica beads impart a silky matte finish and glides smoothly on for a fresh and natural-looking makeup look. 4. Containing velvet mineral powder, this pact applies smoothly and softly to create a satin complexion."

So I thought that it will brighten my skin tone, and not just brighten my skin when I have it on. You get the drift? My skin only "looks" brightened when I have the powder applied on my face, but without it, my skin not tone is just the same as prior to using it. The shade is waaaay too light for me, and SF doesn't have a lot of shades to choose from (if I'm not mistaken, only 2 shades per powder). It gave me white casts as I always use SPF. (I didn't encounter this problem with the TBS face base).  And since it contains minerals, skipping SPF does not really solve the problem. sigh. It does give you a "silky matte finish" as stated in their website, but that leads to another downer: you have to determine how much you have to put on, as little as possible, unless you want to get that photoshopped/Korean look. It looks so unnaturally white. and it's not lightweight. But it's not so bad, it just takes a lot of trial-and-error period. It has a fruity scent that I personally don't like. Some of you would want that, but since I have sensitive skin and nose, I don't want it. Hmm apart from those grouses, I like how it stays long; I don't have to keep on re-applying it, just once or, at the max, twice on a normal (not busy) day. It also gives you a full coverage, hiding dark spots.

That's me wearing TBS, no retouch done.

Even with the flash directed right at my face, I had no problems with white cast despite me looking whiter, at least all of the exposed skin is.

This is me using the SF pact. Taken with flash. If you compare the color underneath the black sheer cloth and my shoulder with my face, it's just off. My face looks so blanched.

On the price:

TBS is just a little expensive than SF, it cost me around $33. Online, the lowest price I could find for the SF Omija is $20. But I bought mine for around $30, and I thought it was supposed to be cheap.


Am I repurchasing? hmmn. I'll have to think about SF but definitely with TBS. I won't separate from it, it's good for everyday use.


What are your experiences with TBS and/or SF? Do share!;)
Soon enough, I'll make reviews on other cosmetics and other brands.


Ciao for now!;)

xxoo