Mich and Myl Nails @ Ortigas Center

If there's one service that I always pay for, it would be pedicures and foot spas. I'm not confident to do my own nails, unfortunately. I do have some polishes at home, but I found that doing my own nails never resulted in something as neat as having it done by the pros.

I'm really delighted that two new nail salons opened up literally just across the street from where I live. I tried the one, Mich and Myl Nails because they had a promo of 30% of all services until August 31 (tomorrow).

The manicure/nail art station. It reminds me of CANS.

The pedicure/foot spa station:

This salon has a lot of materials for nail art. It has more than the average nail salon, IMO. They also do gel/acrylic nails.

I enjoyed their service. I availed of a foot spa (that comes with a pedicure). Unfortunately, though, you'll have to add P50 if you want to use OPI nail polish. I forgot the regular nail polish that they have (the name didn't really ring a bell for me). However, I just bring my own polish since I have several here at home, anyway. I also added some nail art for my big toes:

I'm sorry, I know there's a bit of hair on my foot :P Yes, I'm a hairy girl. 

The whole experience lasted a little over two hours. I have nothing bad to say about their service. Everyone was polite and accomodating. I just wish they had their own restrooms like a lot of other nail salons. I'll be trying another nail salon in the area so stay tune folks!

Mich and Myl Nails is located at Emerald Tower, along the corners of F. Ortigas Jr. and Garnet Road, Ortigas Center, Pasig City

Product Review: Maybelline the Magnum Volume Express Mascara (Waterproof)

Maybelline mascaras are people's go-to mascaras. Why? It makes sense not to spend so much money on something that has to be thrown out every three months. Maybelline mascaras have good reviews at a price that won't dent your wallet too badly. One of these is the Magnum Volume Express. It's been getting a lot of positive reviews but I haven't had a chance to try it until now.

Before you continue reading, please know that I have very, very oily lids. With the exception of fiber mascaras, I haven't tried a mascara in a long time that didn't smudge on me, even if I stayed in an airconditioned room all day and didn't sweat at all. Most of the time, I still use my Clarins Double Fix Mascara on top, and even then, I still encounter smudges sometimes. Waterproof mascaras haven't seen oily until they meet me :)

After one coat of Magnum mascara, I did get more volume and length, nothing very drastic, but good enough. I only use one coat of mascara on myself because the more I pile on, the uglier it will look when it smudges. And besides, I have long lashes already so I just want to enhance them further.

(Sorry for the messy brows. I always do my brows last)

I find that this mascara is not clumpy, and on a day when I don't sweat, I find that this one doesn't smudge or flake on me. On days that I know I'll be out in the sun or doing some walking, I still use my Clarins Double Fix Mascara as a safety measure (I don't want to take chances). This is definitely the most waterproof Maybelline Mascara I've tried to date. It's not a pain to remove, either.

Will I repurchase? YES!!

I'm Back from Cebu!

I'm back from my Cebu trip and I must say I love it there! Now I know what's so charming about it.

We stayed in the newly-opened Golden Berry Suites care of our Ensogo coupon! We paid less than P3,000 for a suite with a king-sized bed and a balcony (although the view is not good LOL)

Here's my sister at the bed. She loved it so much she didn't want to leave.

We spent our first day sight-seeing, and of course we went to the usual tourist spots. I saw something I did not expect, though, and this was in front of Sto. Nino Church:

I don't know exactly what it's called, but it's really beautiful. I never thought I could find something like this in the Philippines.

I love that Cebu is significantly cheaper than Manila. Here's a picture of a really large dessert we had from Casa Verde, known as Death by Chocolate. It's so big for P125!

Aside from cheaper food, the massages are also cheap. Thai massages are common in Cebu and they offer it for as low as P150 per hour. Sadly, though, the cab price is the same as Manila :(

A few minutes away from the city and you can go to higher ground and see the Cebu night lights! Here is Mr. A, a restaurant with a nice view!

I really enjoyed my trip! Hope to see Cebu again soon!

Will Be Jetsetting Again!

I'm sorry for not being able to update my blog. I just came from a shoot today, I'm so tired but I cannot rest because I gotta pack. I'll be leaving for Cebu tomorrow and I'll be there for three days. So I'll be signing off for tonight. See you next week!

My Favorite Way to Wear Concealer

I'm sure everyone has their favorite type of concealer. As for me, my favorite type of concealer would me mineral concealer. First of all, I don't need heavy coverage under my eyes, it doesn't have any harmful chemicals and it has some ingredients that help shield our skin from UV rays. Unfortunately, it also has a big downside: you have to apply it in very thin layers, or else it will cake. I honestly don't have the patience to do this every morning, so I apply my concealer in a different way. I combine it with my eye cream.

I just tap a little mineral concealer at the back of my hand, and then mix a small amount of eye cream with it. I end up with a sort of liquid-y concealer.

I find that this method works with most kinds of eye creams. This way, applying concealer becomes a breeze and I don't have to worry about caking. I can control the coverage with the amount of concealer I mix with my eye cream. Plus, I find that mineral concealer stays on me the whole day!

Musical Theater Review: 9 Works Theatrical's Sweet Charity

Last week, I watched 9 Works Theatrical's Production of Sweet Charity. Wanna know what I thought? Click HERE to read it in my musical blog :)

Product Review: Blinc Kiss Me Mascara

picture taken from www.sephora.com

Product description:

What it is:
The famous pioneering, tube-technology water-resistant mascara.

What it does:
Blinc Kiss Me Mascara is the original tube-technology mascara. It's invented to form tiny water-resistant "tubes" around your lashes for maximum amplification and hold, rather than painting them like conventional mascaras. Once applied, the tubes bind to your lashes and cannot run, smudge, clump, or flake, even if you cry or rub your eyes.

What else you need to know:
This mascara adds both volume and length, to give you a radiant natural look that lasts all day. Neither water nor pressure alone will remove Kiss Me Mascara. Only the combination of lots of warm water and gentle pressure (no need for harsh makeup removers) will slide the tiny tubes effortlessly off your lashes into your hand. Upon removal, you will actually see the tiny tubes slide into your hand.

Among the nominees in the 2008 Best of Sephora, Blinc Kiss Me Mascara has is clinically tested to be non-irritating, making it ideal for sensitive eyes, contact lens wearers, and active people in search of a mascara whose look, hold, and ease of removal is without compromise.

I finally gave in and purchased this when Beauty and Minerals went on sale! I've been wanting my own tube of Blinc Kiss Me Mascara for a long time, so this was the perfect chance to try it out. So after using it a few times, I'm ready to say what I think about this mascara.

First of all, I love the packaging! It comes in a tube that houses the actual mascara.

Now on to the actual mascara:

PROS

• I truly have the oiliest lids on the planet and no waterproof mascara ever works me. But this mascara, just like other fiber/tube mascara, doesn't smudge on me!
• Lengthens my lashes
• Another pro of fiber/tube mascaras is that it's easy to remove and doesn't take your real lashes with you.
• The long thin wand easily reaches my inner lashes

CONS

• Although it didn't smudge, there was a bit of flaking on my lower eyelid
• clumps my lashes a bit
• It is a wet mascara, which some people might not like. In my experience, since I have long lashes especially on my right eye, I find that while it's drying it actually touches my eyelid and smears a couple of times O.O
• If you are looking for volume, this mascara is not for you.
• A little expensive

Here's a pic of my lashes before and after I used Blinc Kiss Me:

Sorry for my eyebrows. I always do my eyebrows last, you see. Anyway, from the picture, you can see that my lashes became longer, although it clumped a bit.

Conclusion: All-in-all, I consider this to be an everyday mascara, not the type that I would wear for special occasions. I love that it didn't smudge on me, which is very rare for a mascara indeed.

Will I buy again? Maybe, but probably not at regular price. I just don't want to spend too much on mascaras because they have a short lifespan.

My Venture into Eyelash Perming @ Lavish Lashes Salon

I have been curious about eyelash perming for quite sometime now. I have long eyelashes already, so I didn't want extensions since they're a hassle to take care off. After thinking about it carefully, I decided to get my lashes permed. I thought about where to have it done, and I finally settled on Lavish Lashes Salon.

I'm not sure about other salons, but Lavish Lashes Salon is actually quite picky with their customers. They require a certain length of lashes before they agree to perform the procedure. They told me that some of my lashes on the inner corners are shot and won't curl properly. 

So I was led inside and it's actually quite cozy. I had to shut my eyes for 1 hour and 30 minutes. I didn't feel any pain during the procedure, but after one eye felt a little itchy (I have sensitive eyes). So here is the end result:

My curl looks natural! I'm happy with the result. And even though they said that my inner corners won't curl, it actually did! Sorry for the messy eyebrows. This is how it looks like without any makeup on: thick and the hairs are facing down.

Some tips:

• If you don't like to sleep, prepare a playlist to last an hour and a half because you really can't open your eyes.
• You can't wet your eyes for 24 hours after the procedure, so be prepared with some facial wipes.

Will I do this again? Probably yes. It's less hassle to take care off and I can cut curling my lashes from my makeup routine. It's supposed to last for 2-3 months. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Wallet damage: P600.