Artist Studio Blending Brush

Hi guys. Here's the promised review on the blending brush I recently purchased.

A few weeks ago, I was lucky enough to see the new makeup brushes in Landmark. Landmark carries pretty cool and affordable brushes. Unfortunately, they easily disappear too. So, if you've been wanting to try one, might as well grab your brush while it's still there. =)

It's 59.75 but I bought it during Landmark's Cosmetic Fair so I got it at 10% off. Kinda affordable for a brush.

The Verdict:

I've got to say that I love this better than the first blending brush I bought because it didn't  shed nor bled. My first one unfortunately still sheds a few hairs. It's inexpensive too and the design of the brush looks sleek. It picks up product well and does a good blending job.

The only things that bothered me about this brush is first, it's length. I find it way too long and slightly uncomfortable to use. But with a slight adjustment of handling, it could work.

It could also use a few more hairs/bristles. I find that it's not too packed as I would have wanted.

Nonetheless, it's a good blending brush. I've seen the other Artist Studio brushes and they look promising. Can't wait to try their other products out. =)

Cheerio!

October 2012 Hit Listers

Hi guys. Since another month has ended, I would like to share with you the stuff I got hooked on last month.

During the end of September this year, I did a fan-girling round up and some sort of beauty products favorites. As much as I love the idea, I realized that I didn't have enough stuff or budget to share with you 10 beauty items that I love every month. Maybe in the near future I could do that. But for now, I decided to bring my fan-girling moments and love for other things into one monthly entry. So here goes! =)

Here are my 10 favorites for the month of October in no particular order. =)

1. Etude House Happy Teatime Lemon Tea Cleansing Cream
-Although I almost always hurt my eyes when I use this, I love using this as my makeup remover. This was my sister's until I asked for it because she rarely used it.

2. Kabuki Brush from Landmark
-I've had this for a while but it wasn't until a couple of weeks ago did I start using it again. It's one of the most versatile brushes I have. I use this to apply powder or a hint of powder blush.

 3. Etude House Shine Up Stick in Rose Pink

- I've reviewed it here and I just love using it as a white-ish eyeliner for my lower lashline. Totally opens up the eyes and it's creamy too.

4. E.L.F. Professional Eyeshadow Brush

-I've had this for almost 2 years and I still love it. It's my go-to eyeshadow brush and it has never shed nor bled.

5. Saizen 12-pc Sponge Wedges

- I use this for nail arts and liquid/cream products application. Despite its price, it's actually of good quality that allows me to use each piece for a long time.

And now for the non-beauty related stuff but still cool for me... =)

6. Tru Calling

-For the quite scary month of October, I started watching Tru Calling over and over again. Although it only has 1 and about a half seasons, I completely hooked.

Tru Calling is about Tru Davies (played by Eliza Dushku), an almost medical student who winds up with a job at the morgue...on the graveyard shift. Throughout her stay as a morgue attendant, Tru discovers her uncanny gift. When a dead person, who isn't supposed to die, calls for her help (the body literally tweaks and says "Help me" ever so creepily), Tru relieves the day and tries to save the person. Most of the time, the episodes are creepy but good nonetheless. Personally, I think it has one heck of a good arc and plot. I don't know why it was cancelled. =(

PHOTO FROM GOOGLE IMAGES

7. Faith

- One name: Lee Min Ho. Should I end this now? Kidding. Although I’ve only watched snippets of the episodes, I’ve read the recaps in Dramabeans. Every single recap. It’s good, at least for me. The whole time travelling never gets old for me. Plus, Lee Min Ho looks good in a soldier kind of costume, and curly hair that’s much better than his Jun Pyo curly hair.

PHOTO FROM GOOGLE IMAGES

8. Demi Lovato’s Intimate Performances

- I am and forever will be a Demi Lovato fan, and if you are too or if you just wanna check her out, go and watch her intimate performances. I don’t know how she does it but she just makes me cry when she sings. Watch and you’ll see why.

9. Ailee’s I’ll Show You

-When I caught a part of her music video “Heaven” when she debuted, I immediately thought, “Wow, she sounds so good.” There was a Western twang to her singing voice that made me love her. Her new song is about showing her former lover that she’ll be this better and prettier girl that he would want to get back to.

PHOTO FROM GOOGLE IMAGES

10. Jen of frmheadtotoe

- I make it a point to watch YouTube makeup tutorials on a regular basis. And while I can’t always watch new ones, I make sure to check out those I love. I first discovered Jen of frmheadtotoe when I was looking for a tutorial on IU’s makeup, and I then started watching all her videos. (Check her blog here and her YouTube site here) She’s really good and I loved her more on the short webseries “Away We Happened.” (Wanna watch it? Click here)

So that's it! Hope you guys had a great October. Cheerio!

Food Talk: Sausage and Bacon Sticky Noodles

Hi! Is it weird that I'll be talking about food again? Most of my new beauty stuff are having their pictorial, so I hope this would be enough for now.

When boredom strikes in our family, food experiments happen. This is one of my mom's new recipes. It all started with the Hofan noodles. They looked cool so I asked my mom to try em out. Hofan noodles are flat, translucent when uncooked, sticky noodles. My mom just then experimented with the toppings. =)

What you need: (I know because I prepared em all..haha)
- A head of garlic (or about 10 cloves). Don't smash em. Just peel off the skin. Soak them in water for easy peeling.
- A pack of bacon (or about 10 strips). Cut them as thinly and as little as you can.
- 2 large sized chorizos or sausage of your choice
- 1 pack Hofan Noodles (400 g, available in supermarkets for less than 100 bucks)
- 8 ripe tomatoes (yes 8. and they have to be really ripe). Diced
- Small onion. chopped

COOKING TIME!!! My mom doesn't have to-the-letter recipes, so these are just how she remembers the steps

1. NO OIL NEEDED. Grab a nonstick pan or any pan and fry the bacon til they're crispy. They have their own oil and that's all you need. Fry the chorizos too. I personally don't like chorizos, unless they're completely crispy.
2. Add the garlic and onions. Wait until they're cooked and add the tomatoes.
Cover your pan until the tomatoes start to release their juice.
3. Add salt and pepper to taste.
4. I would suggest to cook the noodles last because they're really sticky. They are cooked just like spaghetti noodles. After a few minutes, (they don't have to be too soft because you're gonna toss them with the sauce) put the noodles into the sauce and mix. 

This step is kind of a struggle because once out of water, the Hofan noodles become really sticky so you want to get the chance to coat every strand with the sauce.

You're done. =)

As you can see on one picture, my mom put a slice of quezo de bola on the side, just for an extra flavor. You can put cheddar cheese on top too if you like. And yes, one plate for each person. =)

Hope you liked this recipe. Cheerio!

Food Talk: Big Tummy Cupcakes

Hi guys. I've been planning to put up a food-related entry for quite a while, but I just never had the chance to do it until now. So here goes my first food entry. =)

One thing you should know about me is that I love, well, to eat. Although I'm more inclined to eat sour food more often, I have a sweet tooth too. The first freshly baked cupcake I got addicted to was Cupcakes by Sonja's carrot cupcake (I forgot what it's called...Bunny something). Since then, me and my family have been occasionally dropping by Serendra just to buy cupcakes.

Soon enough, I rewired my brain that I can't always go to Serendra just to have a cupcake fix so I scoured the malls near our place for more accessible options. I've tried the Frostings cupcakes back in Market Market, which also has a branch in Trinoma. And now this Big Tummy Cupcakes, located at the Upper Ground Floor of SM North Edsa Annex, just right in front of Wendy's.

(L) Chocolate Valrhona and (R) Carrot Cupcake

(L) Reese's Cupcake and (R) Mocha Cupcake

The three of them, except the Reese's one, cost 45 pesos each. The Reese's one is 55 bucks. 

Mine was the carrot one. At first, I was a tad disappointed with the icing because when I tasted it, it tasted like, well, icing. But, when I bit into it, with the cake, the icing taste was overpowered by the carrot cake, which was delicious. So, problem solved. I took a taste of the Reese's one, which was my sister's, and it did taste like Reese's peanut butter cups. My parents seemed relatively happy with theirs. =)

Big Tummy Cupcakes are moist, which is good. Price is okay. I just wish they had a wider selection of flavors. The only one I didn't try was the vanilla one. And maybe they could make the cupcake just a little bigger. Just a little.

What's your favorite cupcake? Lemme know. Cheerio!

Look What I Bought #4

Hi guys. Hooray for holidays! I just wanted to share with you some of the things I bought yesterday. I was trying to restock on some stuff and try new ones as well. 

I took advantage of Landmark's Cosmetic Fair (It's until October 31 so grab what you can!), and my 100-peso-off voucher in SM. Reviews would follow after testing. =)

 Group Shot =)

Landmark has a bunch of new brushes. This brand Artist Studio and the other is Julia. They both carry really sleek-looking and affordable brushes. This blending brush is priced at 59. 75, but I got it for around 53 bucks. 10% off. I've told you that I was a tad disappointed with the E.L.F one, so I'm giving this inexpensive one a try.

 I've ran out (I got one left which I don't intend to use) of my The Face Shop Sun Cream samples, so I went looking for a replacement. I got this Snoe Skin Stem Cell Sunblock Cream SPF 30. The SA from Snoe told me that this also works as a moisturizer so I could just use this and dust over some loose powder. I got sold with that. haha. This was at 20% off. So from 169, I got it for 135.00.

All of a sudden, I can't live without facial masks. =) I got this at 50% off at Tony Moly. It's their Cottony Essence Sheet Masks in Lemon and Wine. I gave the Lemon one to my sister. But if it works well, I'll be buying a couple more. The attractive packaging was too cute to resist. They're priced at 98 each, I got 'em at 49 each. 

I've never tried a foundation before, so this Maybelline Clear Smooth Aqua Gel Foundation is my first. I basically lack talent in finding my right shade in stuff like this so I asked my sister to assist me. =) She told me that this shade suited me well. Can't wait to try this, but I'll always love my BB creams. =)

This Lip Smacker Lip Balm in Cotton Candy is for my sister. I've been a fan of Bonne Belle lippies ever since, and when I found out that Watsons is carrying their famous Lip Smacker line, I was just ecstatic. They're a bit pricey, but they're too cool to resist. I'm eyeing the pink lemonade one for myself. This one is 125.00

Finally! A creamy kohl pencil. I've been looking at reviews and it seems that this mineral kohl pencil in Onyx from Nichido is one of the best bets for creamy eyeliners. I'm hoping for successful eye tight-lining sessions with this one. This was priced at 138, got it at Landmark for 124.

Any new buys this week? Lemme know. Happy long weekend guys. Cheerio!

P.S. I just watched The Net, the first one before this one. My dad came across a copy! Lucky me. =)) Sandra Bullock is so good and the movie is just wicked cool. =)

Liquid Neutrogena Pure Mild Facial Cleanser

Hi. I've shared with you guys my skin care journey with Alba Botanica's AcneDote line and how much I love their products (as shared here), I needed to find myself a mild cleanser since I'm constantly suffering from minor burns again (due to peeling and the scrub. Bad combo).

I found this Liquid Neutrogena Pure Mild Facial Cleanser and my mom immediately approved (every product I use on my skin needs to pass "mom security" because of my "sensitivity). One of my aunts practically swears by Neutrogena, or at least it seems so since most of her stuff is from Neutrogena. My mom approved because it says "mild cleanser" so I gave it a go, and I've been using it for a little more than a month.

Each bottle is 100 ml. Retails for 122.00 but I bought mine for 119 in Mercury Drugstore. Dunno why. Consistency is just like a facial cleanser.

Directions, Ingredients, and Claims

The Verdict:

It's a so-so cleanser for me. I love Cetaphil, but I hate that it's too mild that it barely seems like it cleanses. As for this one, it foams up, so I feel like more dirt is removed. It doesn't remove everything (toner cotton ball carries proof), but I still feel refreshed after using it.

Smell is fine for me. The smell is...like ordinary soap. It doesn't have an acne-fighting ingredient (at least none that I know of) so breakout control is out the window, same as oil control. I've used products like this one which helps in oil control, and unfortunately, this cleanser cannot offer that, at least to me. Made my eyes sting the first couple of times I used it.

Overall, I'll be hanging on to this cleanser, especially when I start peeling. It's actually pretty good if you're into mild cleansers, but if you're into something stronger, Neutrogena has a lot of "well-equipped" cleansers as well.

Etude House I Need You! Red Ginseng Mask

Hi guys. The month already ends in -ber but it's still so hot outside. It's supposed to feel a bit colder nowadays, but then...global warming.

Anyways, for the past few weeks, I've been trying to squeeze in putting on facial masks every week, for the sake of skin care. =)

This I Need You! Red Ginseng Mask from Etude House was given to me by my sister. I think it's a new line of facial masks.

The Verdict:

The smell of course was the first thing I noticed. It smelled like monggo beans or just beans. But then again, I've never got to smell red ginseng before, so I guess that's how red ginseng smells like. It kinda bothered me, but just a little.

The mask itself was too wet! Check out the essence left in the container. It was also a bit rounder than the other masks I've tried, which was kind of a challenge to me.

As for its effects, I was left with, how'd you say, supple skin? and it soothed some of the redness on my face. 

I'd love to try this again for maximum analysis of effects, but I'd like to try the other masks, too.

But if you're after soothing effects, I'd definitely recommend this one.

Cheerio!