All That Glitters!

Upon dawdling around on a mid-afternoon, I saw this tiangge / flea market on the middle of the tall office buildings one Thursday afternoon. I was looking for some cute inexpensive accessories and tops when I stumbled on some cheap but attractive nail polishes. I am not the girly type who goes for noticeable, colorful polishes but then again why not. My favorite color is aqua so I got one, and peach and tan colors as well. I also got two glittery polishes.

Looks like a Korean or Chinese brand. These could also be found at 168 Mall in Quiapo. 3 colored polishes for 100 PHP and 2 glittery polishes for 100 PHP. I spent 200 PHP for all of these - how cheap!

Peach

Aqua

Tan

On my right hand: Aqua and Peach with glitters - sorry for the not so neat application :)

On my left hand: Aqua and Tan with glitters

I usually go for colors that look natural - tans, bronzes and pale pinks. At first I felt like the blue one didn't suit my skin color but after sporting this for over a day, I could say that I really like it all along, especially the glittery ones. I ended up giving these to my sister who's keen on colorful polishes. I kept the glittery ones though - these might come in handy for lull times when I want to add color to my day. :)

The Body Shop Tea Tree Oil: A Review

We were sitting on our desks in the office when I felt a slight shake on my chair, then it progressed to what I can describe as moderate bounces. It lasted for a minute or two, the strongest and longest earthquake I have ever felt, or maybe because we were on the 9th floor that's why I felt it more than those on the ground. Even the wall clock started swaying. The epicenter was on the north of the country, about 80 or so miles from Manila. Quite far from the Metro. Provinces up north were a bit shaken, literally, as featured in tonight's news. Good thing no one was hurt, no casualties were reported and everyone's safe.

Having said that, it was still burning today, a whopping 37 degrees Celsius or almost 97 degrees Fahrenheit and the hottest reported for this year. Of course, as I have oily skin, it shows up more in this kind of heat. As mentioned in my previous post, I seldom try new products for battling zits but I was influenced by a number of blog entries from beauty gurus that I often read.

Everyday, on my lunch break, I regularly visit Beauty Bar in Eastwood Mall (the perks of having a mall beside your office, I could just go shopping everyday!). I purchased two products - a matte bronzer which would be featured in the next coming posts, and the popular Tea Tree Oil. I was swayed to buy this for at that time I had three large zits on the right side of my face.

From the name itself I thought that it is fragrant, but it has, not too strong and not too faint either, well, weird smell. As you can see from the liquid it is slightly consumed. I only used this for three days cause I noticed that I began to have small pimples on the areas that I would apply Tea Tree oil, and the bigger zits doubled, not in size though but literally doubled. It's like it gave birth. Eww. So I decided that this product doesn't work for me, even the bottle says to discontinue use if irritation occurs, and so I did. On day 3.

I'm not saying that this product won't work, cause some say Tea Tree oil became the solution to their zit problems. As for me, this didn't do the job. 

Since this happened I'm now cautious in trying products out. I read every review there is before deciding to buy a product. If anything, I just stick to what I'm used to, that is, with those that don't break me out. As in life, what doesn't work won't ever will, and every experience like this you would gain knowledge not just on your skin, but to your whole body as well. :)

My Tried and Tested Skin Care Routine

Upon checking the weather today...

Yes. It's that hot, and it's evening here. Imagine eight hours ago - It. Is. Burnin'. Tssss. Weather forecast brought to you by The Fucking Weather.

In days like these, my oiliness-is-next-to-ugliness fezz is secreting twice its sebum. So I thought of sharing my beauty regimen (?) for all those who have the same problem as I do.

I see to it that I cleanse night and day, before going to bed and when I wake up first thing in the morning. I'm not one of those who uses multiple products for washing my face. I seldom use make-up remover and I don't definitely use moisturizer cause it tends to make my face more oily on a humid country such as the Philippines.

I only use these 2 products:

Celeteque facial wash and toner.

Photos are taken from Google.

Celeteque is non-comedogenic, meaning that it does not cause break outs because they do not plug the pores of the skin. Non-comedogenic doesn't guarantee an acne-free skin for some products have this in their labels. It really is based on your skin type.

I'm not promoting Celeteque, this is just one product that my skin loves for some reason. I've tried a couple of products but my face doesn't seem to like it when I experiment on different brands. Ponds, Clean and Clear, Eskinol, Neutrogena and even Cetaphil - all seem to be too harsh on my skin as I had breakouts in a matter of days. When I found Celeteque, it was love at first sight. My friend introduced it to me back in college and 5 years have passed and I still use it every day.

Since I experienced breakouts from trying different products, I just stick to what my skin feels most comfortable with and I hardly ever test other brands (though I've recently purchased a product which every blogger has raved about, will talk about it on my next post).

I have oily and acne-prone skin, so to those who have the same dilemma as me, here are some pointers to battle looking like a frying pan ready to cook on in this summer heat:

1. Wash your face regularly. Not too frequent though as your face might dry up and become flaky, and also not to impede your skin in secreting its natural oils.

2. Drink lots of water. I'm guilty of this as I don't finish my 8-10 glasses everyday but at least now I'm trying. Water keeps your skin hydrated.

3. Don't sleep with make-up on. Make-up could clog your pores, thus resulting to acne.

4. Don't constantly change products (make-up wise and even facial washes). Not all products are compatible with acne-prone skin like I have, so just stick with what you're used to. Experimenting on different products will not only break you out but also aggravate your pimples.

5. Never ever pop your pimples. It'll leave marks on your face, and some marks are even accentuated by wearing make-up. Concealing will make it show more.

6. Don't eat too much junk food. As they say, "You are what you eat.". If you eat junk, then it'll reflect on your skin.

7. Sleep. I worked on night shift for almost 2 years, and it has taken a toll on my skin. My face was all blotchy and red, and no matter what I do, zits couldn't seem to stay away. I tend to drink too much coffee or  eat more than the usual just to stay awake at work. When I switched to working on a regular schedule, that is, on the day shift, I observed that my skin became clearer. Sleeping at night is way more better than sleeping in the day.

I'm not an expert or a make-up guru, I only found these out through experience. I hope this post has been helpful. :)

This Bomb Diggity's First.

I thought of writing my first blog post yesterday, cause it's Monday and I'd like to start off my week like that. But then again I was caught up in too much work that when I got home, I immediately fell smack right into the middle of my bed, unkempt and smelling of smoke from almost an hour of commuting.

The past three months have been a bit tough on me, work-wise. I'm still struggling with my new job and I feel as if everyone on my team's pressuring me. So I took 2 days off two weeks ago just to have some R&R. Le Boyfriend and I went to his hometown, where everyday's sunny with no hints of cloud unlike here in the Metro. No, we didn't go there to see his family, but of course to visit one of Philippines' beaches.

Collibra Island, Dasol, Pangasinan

Fine, white sand and cool, deep blue water. Ahh.. This is the life! Though I have been in a number of beaches in the country, I haven't seen anything like this before. This island is called Collibra (Snake), for snakes come out during the night. Some blogs I have read even have photos of the snake skins. Eww! Lol. Good thing they're not as fond of the hot sun as I am.

Here are some more pictures:

We only have these 4 trees to shade us from the heat, so imagine how tanned we look like afterwards that no sun block could ever shield us from the scorching sun.

Le Boyfie

Of course I have to thank Nanay Precy who has been our host for the overnight stay that we had. If you want to visit the place, here is her number: 09075183062. For the whole two days she filled our bellies with fresh seafood - bangus or milk fish and squid. Yum!

For the complete directions on how to get there, click here. Grabbed these instructions from Travex Travels.

I felt somewhat relaxed after seeing these photos once more, but then again I remembered that I still have tons of work to do tomorrow. Ugh.

So there you go, I've given you a portion of my life to kick off my bomb diggity, or what we call an awesome, life of mine. I was inspired to write cause of my love of make-up and travel with a side of food, lifestyle and fashion. I'd have product reviews from time to time, instructions and maps of places I've been to and just snippets of Signorina Trina. :)