July 2013 Hit Listers

Hey! I owe you guys my list of July Favorites. Fair warning though because this might be a little too Korean since four of the dramas I've been watching ended last week *sobs* and they made my July happy. Anyway, here goes my July Hit Listers! ^^

askkpop.com

 1. GLAM (Girls, Be Ambitious)
-Although I'm more of a solo Korean artist fan (read: G.Na, Ailee, IU) than a girl band fan, I can't help but loving GLAM. Zinni, Miso, Jiyeon, and Dahee have incredibly unique voices. At least in my opinion. I discovered them through Dahee (lower right) who plays Kim Nana, in the 12-episoder Monstar. They've got awesome pipes and sound. 

dramafever.org

koreandrama.org

omonatheydidnt.livejournal.com

2. Heartless/Cruel City, Shark, and I Hear Your Voice
-I wanted to put them in three separate numbers but couldn't since that would be unfair to my other favorites. ^^ They all ended during the same week. Heartless City on a Tuesday, Shark on a Tuesday too, I Hear Your Voice on Thursday and Monstar on Friday. It kinda broke my heart actually but I think out of all these K-dramas, I Hear Your Voice aired and ended the best. Although Heartless City and Shark were both dramas that made me clutch my heart and gasp for air after occasional episodes, they weren't as strong as I Hear Your Voice that is just plain crazy in terms of intense plot and story pacing. Every episode ends with a I-hope-you'll-survive-until-next-week cliffhanger.

3. Usamimi Mini Clips
-I got this from C.N.A. and I absolutely love them. I really can't wear huge usamimi clips when I go to work. I mean, I can swing the huge bows like I always do but usamimi clips just stand out. Literally. So I wear this instead. Cute but not too loud.

4. OMG in Strobe
-As you've probably read from my recent nail art works, I really like this polish. It has chunky glitters but they're not foil-like so it works as a top coat, without destroying your design. I'll put up a review on this when I can.

5. OMG Matte Potion
-First, there were matte lippies and now, it seems like matte nails are also in. I once thought of buying a couple of matte polishes but then I saw this and thought this would be less expensive since I could put on whatever polish I have and make it have a matte finish for only 18.00 bucks a bottle. To be reviewed soon.

6. Retractable Brush from Landmark
-When it comes to brushes, Landmark has really good ones. I've had this for a couple of months now but never got the chance to review it while it still looked good. Now, it has scratches all over. :( But it works great for applying powder and it's handy and oh-so-soft. ^^

7. Revlon Colorstay Whipped Creme Makeup
- As of the moment, this is the best foundation I've tried. It doesn't melt or get wiped away easily and the shade is perfect for me.

8. Maybelline Baby Lips Color in Berry Crush
-My go-to lip balm as of the moment. It gives the lips the most natural-looking color and it moisturizes, too. ^^

9. Darkness Paris Auto Eyebrow Pencil in Brown
-For 80 bucks, this is a great eyebrow pencil to keep. The color payoff is great, it stays on the whole day, and the spoolie is very helpful in keeping the eyebrow hairs in shape. ^^

10. Nescafe Cappuccino with Choco Sprinkles
-I don't mainline on caffeine but when I need my coffee fix, especially at work, I need this. It's probably the only coffee variant I really, really liked and because it foams up and has chocolate "powder" with it, I get to make an "abstract" foam art before I drink up. ^^

So that's it! What made your July happy? Shoot me a message. Cheerio!

Darkness Paris Auto Eyebrow Pencil in Brown

Hey guys! I'm sorry for not updating this blog quite as often. Doing overtime at work is making my body shut down a little earlier than usual so, I can't squeeze in doing entries like I used to during the weekdays. Nevertheless, I will try. ^^

Anyway, a couple of weeks ago, C.N.A opened their 3rd branch at the 2/F of Farmer's Plaza Cubao. (Their first two branches are in Malate and Morayta). And my sister just couldn't miss their opening, so she went there with my mom and picked up a few stuff. But, I wanted to go check it out too and so I did during the weekend and ended up buying a few hair clips and this eyebrow pencil from Darkness.

The very first item I tried from Darkness was their oil blotting paper, and it was pretty good. They actually have a lot of stuff but the one thing I needed at the moment (and for the sake of my wailing empty wallet) was an eyebrow pencil and this was only 80 bucks so I went for it.

I was actually a bit hesitant to buy this because I wasn't able to find any tester but, I went with my gut and figured this has to be the lightest brown shade they had, with all that color indicator thing on the cap.

The Verdict:
I absolutely love it! It actually lasts on me the entire day kinda like my Etude House eyebrow pencil.And the color is quite similar too. Unless you rub it quite well, it is waterproof too. Given the price, I'd say this is a great eyebrow pencil. I wish they had a lighter brown color, since I'm planning to dye my hair again. Nonetheless, it's actually perfect for those with medium to light brown hair. ^^ The spoolie was also very useful. 

The only thing that I hope they'd apply to this eyebrow pencil is the slanted tip design since it's easier to color the eyebrows that way. But still, this is a great product. Affordable too!

You can pick this up at C.N.A. Drop by one of their branches, and I'm sure you'll pick up more than just makeup. ^^

Cheerio!

Maybelline ColorSensational Moisture Extreme Lipcolor in Summer Sunset and 2nd trip to C.N.A.

Hi guys. I am back with a new yet not-so-new lipstick. =) Well, it was my mom's. It was given to her last Christmas, but since she's not a big fan of reds when it comes to lippies, I got lucky.


This one is from Maybelline. My mom is a big fan of Maybelline, one of her go-to brands from lipsticks to powders. Anyhow, I've only tried this lipstick, maybe twice? I was a red lip tint girl until my sophomore year in college, then I changed gears and went for peaches and oranges. But, it's still fun to try reds once in a while. So here's Maybelline ColorSensational Moisture Extreme Lipcolor in Summer Sunset 

After some research, I figured out that it's 299 Php

Pros:
1. Very creamy so it glides on smoothly and easily
2. Very pigmented and it's a good deep red color
3. Lasting power is long enough because even if you accidentally rub it off or something, it still leaves that deep red tint, so it's as good as long lasting
4. Classy container, which is family-color coordinated. I've seen a coral lipstick from the same line with an orange-y container
5. Doesn't dry my lips


Cons:
None really. I think Maybelline carries really good lip products. So I'm pretty satisfied with this lipstick. Price-wise, I think it's worth it.


Btw, my sister and I dropped by C.N.A. again, and this time, the place was packed! We even had our mom come along. Here's one of my purchases.

Cute huh? Haha. Anyway, have you guys tried any of the other colors from this Maybelline line?  Lemme know which ones I should check out. Cheerio!

Check This Out: C.N.A. Philippines + Our New Place

Hi. I wasn't planning on putting up an entry this weekend mainly because we just moved into a new house yesterday, so basically our home is a train-wreck. Our stuff is everywhere. We're dead-tired and our bodies are all worn out from carrying stuff, up and down the house.

But when my sister and I found an excuse to get out of the house for a few hours, we decided to drop by the famous Korean accessories shop, C.N.A. Philippines, which was housed along Malate. We found out about the recently opened shop when Erika of erikajjang posted an entry about her visit there (check out her post HERE) We used to live so far from C.N.A., but now, we're just a train-ride away. =)

After braving a new place and a whole new environment, we have finally reached the Mecca of Korean accessories. (No need to wait for so long to buy Korean-related items in Korean conventions. Haha.) But mind you, we got just a bit lost, fortunately, we were able to find the place. =) All it needed was a little bit of faith, and a whole lot of walking.

Finally! Welcome to C.N.A., which, as I found out, stands for Culture, Nature, and Art

Cool geeky glasses

Of course, the cosmetics called my attention first

The first thing my sister did was grab the socks with the frog design, only to find out they were selling Girl's Generation socks, as well. =) Then, she freaked out.

Falsies anyone?

K-pop albums

Korean facial masks! I promised to come back for these soon

I didn't get the chance to test these out but they looked really fancy. I forgot to take pictures, but there were also a couple of really cute eyeliners beside these cologne bottles

BB Creams! Haha. They also have the compact version, which cost about 700

My sister checking out the bracelets

This clip is so princess-y

Of course, the coveted K-pop idol socks

A couple of cellphone accessories

Lots of clips

Some of the cool bracelets we saw. The one with the peace sign is so adorable

More facial masks...with bee venom. Wonder if they work wonders..

 My sister awkwardly posing with the wall of socks

Lip glosses and tints

Fancy nail polishes

 Wall of cute silver earrings

More clips to-die-for

My sister with the ginormous clip

Doesn't this look like a clothes pin?

More and more clips.. =)

The Baviphat-pouches lookalikes

 These sparkly clips are party-worthy

For the fans

Some headbands and a couple of more clips

Make-up brush set. Their cosmetics mostly carry the brand Darkness. They also have a couple of make-up removers with the same brand. I don't know the brand yet though, but I'll definitely check it out, and then I'll start buying things. Haha.

Neck-bling

Their beauty essentials section is loaded with mirrors, eyelash curlers, tweezers, and a couple of cosmetic sponges

The earrings that are too adorable for words

 Our "haul": a clip, 2 metal nameplates, 2 pairs of earrings, a very cool oil-blotting paper (I'll do a review soon), and a pair of Taeyeon socks.

Most of these are my sister's, who refused to get out of the store so much that I had to drag her out. We were actually planning to go to C.N.A. on her birthday on August, but we figured we should do a little recon and check out what to buy again next time. Haha. Anyway, C.N.A. is a really cool store. The place felt very refreshing, and all. If you're a big fan of Korean items, like my sister and I, or even if you're simply an accessories-lover, you should go check out the place, but make sure that, unlike us, your wallet is very much prepared. I promise, next time, I'll drop by after payday. =)

We will definitely go back there again, now that we live just a wee bit nearer. Hope you guys had a nice weekend. Cheerio!

UPDATE (03/23/13): C.N.A. recently opened their second store in Morayta near Rex Bookstore. Haven't visited that one yet but I'm sure it's just as cute. =)

UPDATE (05/25/13): C.N.A. will soon be opening a branch around Cubao, MRT Area. ^^