Ribbon Wands - Tutorial

We'll be performing ribbon dance and I have to make some props.  Ribbon wands of course! What's a ribbon dance w/o ribbon wands?

Materials:

• Long silk ribbon
• Dowels - I bought mine from @binondopabili (Instagram account)
• Washi Tape or Masking Tape
• Scissors
• Lighter

Step 1 - I heated the ends of my ribbon to avoid having frizz mess.

Step 2 - Attach 1 end perpendicular (upright) to the end of the dowel stick.

Step 3 - Secure the end with wash tape or masking tape.

And you're done!

Socks Boot Cover Tutorial

I'll be doing a cosplay soon for an event.  I've been looking for green boots for the look of the character.  But unfortunately, the 2nd hand shoes in OLX are too big for my size, plus I'm not used to wearing boots, so I'm not sure if my feet can tolerate wearing one.

I went to 2 malls, Robinsons Magnolia & SM San Lazaro, no shoes to match the look.  There are green high heels but my feet can't tolerate them... They really HURT! How on earth do people and actresses run in those things?!

I then thought of why not boot covers? Since they're popular to cosplayers, as alternative for their shoes.  You can wear your own high heels which has been proven to be comfortable for you and plus, they're cheap and easy to make.

I asked around Facebook & online shops, how much will it cost me to have one made.  They answered Php 1500.  Expensive! I might as well buy a new pair of boots!

Anyways here is a 'cheat', on how to make boot cover:

Materials:

• A pair of thick socks
• Scissors
• Your high heels/boots

Step 1 - Insert the socks into your shoe.

Step 2 - Cut a small hole at the heel part of the shoe over your socks.

Step 3 - Slide the heel into the hole you've created.

Step 4 - Do the same with the other pair.

And you're done!

Summary:

To see the overall Poison Ivy Look: Poison Ivy Cosplay
To see the respective DIYs in the series: Poison Ivy Arm Band & Legband Tutorial, Poison Ivy Headdress Tutorial

Biore Cleansing Wipes - Review

I was intrigued that a lot of youtube Filipino makeup reviewers are loving the Biore Cleansing products.  They were amazed at how it easily cleanses and removes make-up.

I still have my Banila Co Clean it Zero, so I'm having double thoughts of purchasing the product.  Luckily Beauty MNL is selling wipes at Php 99 only.  So I purchased one to try it out.

I've tried the Watson's cleansing wipes before and comparing this to that, it glides in smoothly to my skin.  It kind of absorbs the make-up.  And the best part is that it can remove my stubborn Peri's Ink! You'll just have to rub in your lips a few times and it really removes it.  What I like about it is that it doesn't hurt my lips when I rub it, it's gentle really. Even more gentle than cotton pads.

I forgot to take before and after pictures, sorry about that.

My Lips Eat Cherry - The Face Shop Review

I'm really sad. I felt so worthless, everything I did in the surgery was wrong, and what's worse, my junior is better at assisting than me.  How can you learn to be better if you're not given chances to learn?

Anyways, someone advised me to do some blogging to take my mind of from the sadness...

Since I'm into lip tints, one of my hoards for my birthday was this, one of my interns recommended me with this tint, saying that it stays in your lips, and gives you that natural red lips.

Packaging:
It comes in bullet glass tube, block cover with attached doe foot applicator.

Color:
It comes in 3 shades, bloody red, juicy red and juicy cherry.  I bought bloody red.  It has a purple undertone to it, and is the darkest of the three. I like that it has a 'natural' look when you wear it.

Consistency: Watery

Longevity: 4-6 hours, kiss-proof, NOT food proof

Application:
Since it was watery, it has a tendency to run to the sides of your lips and go beyond your lip line.  Smooth application, slightly difficult to achieve the gradient lip vs peri's ink, mainly because of its consistency that it's watery.

This has the tendency to dry my lips.  You'll have a tightening sensation of your lips when you applied it.

Pros:

• 'Natural'-looking lips
• Easy to remove
• kiss-proof
• last fairly 4 hours

Cons:

• drying on the lips and feeling of tightening my lips
• Not food proof

Will I recommend? - Yes, if you prefer low maintenance make-up

Will I repurchase? - No, still loves the Peri's ink

Mizon Snail Repair Eye Cream - First Impressions Review

This is one of the korean skincare I bought for myself as my birthday gift for myself.  It was on sale in Beauty MNL. This will be the first time I'll have eye cream in my skincare.

Claims:

Packed with 80% snail mucin filtrate, sodium hyaluronate, and niacinamide; speeds up skin regeneration; locks in moisture; prevents inflammation and lightens hyperpigmentation; nourishes and hydrates for smoother, more supple skin

Packaging:

It comes in golden small plastic tube.  It contains 15 mL of the product. I like that it's small and very appropriate for traveling. The tube is easy to squeeze out the product, and you can control the amount of product that comes out.

Consistency:
The cream is white, with smooth, and very lightweight when applied.  It is not sticky when applied.  Although I didn't feel that it has a cooling effect on my skin.

Effect:

The cream is very moisturising the next day.  As for the other claims, we'll see once I use the product for longer time.

Althea Unboxing

Althea is in the Philippines! Actually this is the first time I've heard of it, I saw the advertisements in social media.  So what is Althea? It's an online shop that ships directly from S Korea and they carry Korean makeup at reasonable price.

So I decided to give it a try.  They're claiming that they have the best price though I think otherwise, was able to buy preorder from individual Instagram accounts at a lesser price than posted in the site. What I love about it is that it offers a wide range of brands, which is ideal since you'd love to get the best seller of different brands.  And they offer also products not typically seen in instagram accounts.

So how's my experience?

Upon 1st order, I think I had problems with my connection.  Because at first I thought I was able to check out the shopping cart and only to find out the next day through my email, from althea that it seemed that I haven't checked out yet, and I salute them for doing that! I would have a horrible experience if they didn't do what they did.

They offer excellent customer service! I was having troubles with finalizing my order and they were patient to help me out, through email.

I received confirmation of my orders last March 14, 2016 and I was able to receive the package at my doorstep at March 18, 2016.

I was so happy to get these products!!!!

Overall, I like my Althea Experience!

Happy Birthday to Me

I celebrated my birthday last March 12.  Since residency, I always celebrate my birthday in the hospital.  It's not that bad actually, because you're together with your co-residents.  I usually ask my sister or my mom to deliver food in the hospital to celebrate my birthday with my consultants.  This is the time when they get a taste of my sister's blueberry cheesecake which I really love and so far no blueberry cheesecake has won over it, and also her delicious cupcakes.

This year, I decided to celebrate differently.  Well I got not much of a choice anyways, my birthday fell on a saturday, and saturdays are what we residents call as "Bolong Day" meaning, this is the day when most of Dr Bolong's Surgeries are done.  So I was in the OR since 2pm until 7pm.  In the morning, I attended a research workshop until 12nn then I headed back to UST for the surgeries.

It was a busy day, the CD residents are worried over a toxic post-op patient.  Pay Uro residents are all in the Operating room.  I'm not expecting any special treatment or celebration.  In fact, I wasn't announcing that it was my birthday since I don't have food to offer the people.

I was thinking that no one will remember.  Who am I anyways for people to remember my birthday.  So I decided to give myself gift/s so that somehow I'll be happy and opening presents.

Korean Makeup Of Course!

But this year's birthday is full of surprises....

1. With the advent of Facebook.  I think, around more than 100 people greeted me happy birthday, which I truly appreciate.  I didn't expect them to know.
2. I was surprised also to receive tops and pillow case from my parents.
3. I was surprised to get something from my co-residents, a cake! I didn't expect that guys would remember these things.

4. The best surprised came also.... 

It was so sweet of him to surprise me with 3 purple tulips, even if he's on duty.

I felt so special on my birthday!

Craft Fail - customized WIFI skin

Learning is a process of success & failures. I think it's time I also place my failures here, so that other crafters may learn from my mistakes.

I made a customized wifi device skin last 2012(Customized WIFI Skin).With the advent of 4g and LTE internet, I bought another 4G compatible device, which did not last long since my senior resident lost it when he borrowed it.  So time to use again my old wifi device.

Now comes how the skin survived the times...

The vinyl sticker is still intact, it still protects the wifi device, but the print already melted. Probably from the heat of the battery when turned on.

Lessons learned: 

Can't use inkjet printer ink, to skins that will be placed to devices that produce heat.

Til the next craft project!

Banila Co Clean It Zero - Review

I'm really crazy with makeup right now.  I think majority of my salary is going to makeups.  I remove my make-up with Ever Bilena Eye & Makeup remover.  It's really affordable and it does its job.

While I was watching youtube, I saw this product which they're considering as their holy grail and can't live without.  So I was intrigued with how much good is this product anyways? And why spend a lot on a makeup remover?

I searched instagram and was able to find it online and on-hand.  I got mine for P860 for a 100g tub from @msbeautyaddict (Facebook: msbeautyaddict). She's very accommodating and I love how smooth the transaction went.

Let's start with the review:

Packaging:

It comes in a pink box, which is really cute and once you opened the box, you get a plastic tub with pink lid.  The packaging is really cute, simple and elegant.  It comes with a plastic spatula to scoop the product so it's more hygienic.  I'm worried though that I may lose the spatula as the time goes on.

Consistency:
It has a sherbet consistency, like a balm. But once you applied it to your face, it melts into your skin into oily consistency.

First Impressions Review:

You'll only need a very little amount probably a 25 cents size of the product. When I applied it, it felt oily in my skin, it has a very nice fruity scent. Upon application, it melt away my make-up.  But it was unable to remove my peripera lip ink.  I was worried that the oil will stay on my face and I hate the feeling of oil in my skin.  When I washed my face, I was surprised that there was no oily feeling on my skin.  My face felt smooth and soft and feeling washed with dirt and all the impurities.  It's like I had a facial treatment.

5 days after review:
I tried it for 5 consecutive days to give a better review of the product.  Everytime I use it, I feel refreshed and clean afterwards.

There's one major con though with this product which I noticed after the first day of using it... It blurs your vision for a brief moment right after rinsing the balm!!!!!! It can be a really scary experience! After a few seconds probably 30 sec to 1 min, your vision will return back to normal.

Pros:
fragrant
easy to use
leaves skin smooth, soft and clean

Cons:
gives blurred vision after rinsing for a few seconds
pricey

Overall rating: 9/10 - minus 1 for the blurring of vision
Will I recommend this? YES!
Will I buy again? Maybe? - I wanted to explore other brands first

Peripera Lip Ink Tint - First Impression Review

I've been looking for a long-lasting lip product.  After trying Philippine brand, US brands and Korean brands... finally! I've found the one that is long-lasting for me.

I'm a busy person, being a resident in a hospital demands lots of work and I don't have time to worry about my makeup.  So something long-lasting is perfect for my lifestyle.

I got my Peripera Lip Ink from Korean Cosmetics PH.  The shade I got was #1 - It Lips.  I was looking for #2 (Get the eye) but during that time, it was out of stock.  Will try to purchase the #2 in the future. It comes with a lip remover as a set.

Packaging:

It comes in a very cute ink bottle! Size is small to fit in your pouch.  It is 8 cm tall, 2 cm diameter, 2 cm width.  It is a little bulky to fit in your pocket, but it's ok to put in your pouch or bag.  The applicator is a doe foot applicator.  It was easy to control when applying to your lip.

Consistency:

It's like a liquid tint with gel consistency.

Pigmentation:

Extremely pigmented! It was neon pink, very bright, too eye-catching =D.

Longevity:

Full Lip:

Ombre Lip

Pros

•   Most long-lasting lip product I've tested.

•   Easy for the ombre look

•   Kiss-proof

•   No waxy feeling

Cons

•   Drying for the lips - need to apply lip balm on top

•   Very Difficult to remove... The lip remover doesn't work well for it.  Ever Bilena make-up remover works well to it though which in a way is good since Ever Bilena is not an expensive make-up remover

Will I purchase again? - Definitely, at different shade

Will I recommend? - Definitely

Rating: 10/10

Skin 79 Air Cushion Foundation - First Impression Review

I went to Hong Kong last week with the Section of Urology to have our team-building.  It was nice to get away from the hospital once in a while. 

Of course you have to shop in Hong Kong! I went to SaSa and hoarded tons of Korean makeup.  I was kind of looking for the Lineage or the cute Alice in Wonderland Beyond Air Cushion, or Hera Air cushion, but there was no tester in the store, and I'm not sure what shade I am... So I asked help from the saleslady and she offered me Skin 79 instead.  She told me since I'm on the younger age group, this is more appropriate for me, while the Lineage and Beyond caters to older age group, according to her. (Bubble thought, maybe she thinks I'm still in high school, I get that a lot).  

Anyways, this is my first air cushion. I've watched lots of youtube videos on how it works and the amazing science and concept behind it.  Plus, the fact that the idea came from stamping in crafting amazes me!

I got the shade 21 - Bright

This cushion foundation claims 5 in 1 multi cushion:

1  UV protection SPF 50+ PA+++

2  Whitening

3  Anti-wrinkle

4  Foundation

5  Moisture Care

Well let's see... As for the packaging...

It has a plastic pastel blue cover with mirror.  Like other air cushion, the base can be pushed to refill. It was pretty simple and decent.

Application

When I first applied it to my face, it was light coverage.  It gives you the 'natural glow' look, dewy and natural-looking.  This is perfect for your everyday make-up.  It was really light-weight.  I don't feel like I have something in my face when I used it.

Scent - none

Is it long-lasting? - Yes, it lasted a whole day with me, with no retouch.

Here are pictures of the product in comparison with bare face, 1 layer, 3 layers and after 12 hours of wearing it.

Pros

Lightweight

Natural-looking

Dewy finish

Long-lasting

Cons

Very light coverage

Recommend? - Yes

Will I buy again? - Yes, but will try other air cushions first, to find the perfect air cushion for me.