Lovin' Zumba!

This is going to be a short post. Several months ago, I availed of Metrodeal's voucher for Gold's Gym. It entitled the user to 10 Zumba classes for only P1000. It's really such a steal because it's like paying for P100 per class only. I haven't been able to use it until recently, and I must say that I am loving it. I'm not a very fit person, so I was worried that I would have a hard time keeping up. Surprisingly, Zumba is not a very high-intensity cardio workout, and I don't get drained after every workout. The pace is just right for me. I'm finding that I get excited every time I'm going to a class. Metrodeal is offering a similar deal again, and of course, I bought myself a new voucher! For those, who are interested in trying this out, head on over to Metrodeal. Hurry, though, the deal will be expiring soon!

Bargain Alert: Enza Nails and Spa Turns 4!

Oh yes, I must be one of the most feet-obsessed people out there. I very rarely do my own polish application now because I seriously can't do it the way professionals do it, and I do like the pampering time I get from my pedicure sessions! I've taken it upon myself to explore different nail spas around my area, and Enza Nails and Spa is no exception.

I spend a lot of time in Katipunan, and I remember passing by Enza but they're always fully booked! So you can imagine my excitement when they opened a new branch along Garnet Road, Ortigas! And since it's the franchise's 4th anniversary, their giving a 40% discount on all services (valid only for their Ortigas branch and their main branch, Katipunan).

Now that's a real bargain! A pedicure costs P150, but they charge an additional P40 for premium polish (which is Orly), but with a 40% discount, you save a whole lot of money. You can always bring your own polish (that's what I do) to save a little bit of money. I love that their pedicure comes with a foot soak and a short massage, and I don't even need to pay extra for french tips! I will definitely be coming back here.

Serious Talk: Why I Don't Do EOTDs Anymore

Hello everyone! I'd like to start the week with something a little bit serious. Back when I was just starting with makeup, I really didn't know anything about using eyeshadow, and I experimented eagerly with different eye looks. Eventually, as my makeup addiction heightened, I studied professional makeup. However, now, I almost never present EOTDs anymore, which may look ironic. Now that my eyeshadow skills have improved, that's when I stop posting EOTDs? I still show FOTDs sometimes, but don't focus on eye makeup anymore. That's because my eye makeup is really simple. Why? I have realized that my eyelids are extremely uneven. Actually, I only have a double lid on one eye. The other eye is a monolid. It's not just that one eye has a bigger lid than the other, one eye has no lid at all! This has frustrated me to no end, and the only way to even out my eyes with makeup is to put an absurd amount of eyeliner in one eye (putting very thick falsies also helps camouflage the problem). Of course, I don't want to to that. I've tried eyelid tape but it looks very unnatural, and I don't want to use eyelid glue because I'm afraid of the wrinkles I can get from all that tugging.

This dilemma has frustrated me to no end, which brings me to another topic: cosmetic surgery. I'm contemplating getting blepharoplasty (double eyelid surgery) in the future to correct this problem. I know my eyelids aren't as big of a deal as I'm making it, after all, we all tend to amplify our flaws. This flaw in particular really bugs me, and I might just be willing to go under the knife for this. I don't plan to get it anytime soon, but maybe in the future.

I'm still thinking about this really hard. What are your thoughts about this?

Tools for Volumized Hair: Volume Hair Base Review

Hello everyone! So now, I'm here for part two of my Tools for Volumized Hair special. Another tool to volumize hair without teasing that is getting quite popular locally is something called the volume hair base. I've seen this being sold on facebook locally, but I was finally able to get my hands on it when I went to Hong Kong last June at a cheaper price! Since I've been looking for ways to volumize my hair without teasing, I was eager to try this out.

This usually comes in sets of two. The volume hair base is a sort of velcro sponge that is placed near the crown of the head to give the illusion of more volume. One piece won't give you a beehive hairdo, but it certainly adds more volume. 

PROS

• The velcro has a good grip on my hair
• It's not hard to cover it up with my hair, because it blends in well with dark hair
• The bump doesn't look unnatural

CONS

• People with dark hair might have trouble covering this up
• For super big hairdos, teasing is still needed
• A little bit expensive for something that didn't cost much to make, but better to spend on this than damage your hair from teasing.

Conclusion: Between this and bumpits, this is definitely the winner for me!

Will I buy this again? Hopefully I won't need to if I don't lose them.
Where to buy: Online resellers for around P170-250 for one set.

Tools for Volumized Hair: Bumpits Review

This is going to be a two-part special on tools used to volumize hair. No, I'm not talking about hairspray, I'm talking about actual hair inserts. For the first part, I will be reviewing the popular Bumpits.

What the product says:


*Comfortable,leave-in, self-gripping, hidden inserts
*Create perfect volume every time!
*For classic volume in crown, try bumpits
*Instructions are included
*Easy to create dozens of styles
*Made in China

At first, this was being marketed as something that didn't require any teasing. They eventually dropped that, because if you read the instructions inside, it does require teasing.

Bumpits are available in three colors to match hair color: blonde, brunette and black. It comes with 5 pieces: One extra large one, two large ones and two small ones. I bought mine from a local reseller from Ebay. For the life of me, I really don't understand why they'd send me a blonde-colored one, knowing that Filipinas have black hair, and also the picture they had showed black bumpits. Anyway, moving on to the actual using of the product.

I find that you really have to tease a lot when using this product, or else you will create an odd bump like having a headband inside your hair. It's also pretty hard to cover up the bumpit. Even if I used a black bumpit, I imagine that the shiny plastic will still show through the hair. Maybe this will work if there are hair extensions on the top part of your head, but without them you'll have to have a LOT of hair to cover this one up.

I haven't used this going out and I probably never will as I find them difficult to use.

How about you? Do you have these? Have you used it? How do you find them. Please share your thoughts.

Stay tune as I review another tool for volumizing hair.

Great Find: Jane Iredale Purelash Extender and Conditioner

Hello everyone! I'd like to share with you a great find that I made. This came with a goodie bag that I got from skincarerx.com. It was a while before I started using this, and boy am I glad I did!

This is best used as base before putting on mascara. This coats my lashes, and in the process, helps lengthen it. The best part, though, is that when I use this, I experience absolutely no smudging at all! If you follow my blog, then you'll know that I have extremely oily lids that cause even waterproof mascaras to smudge on me. With this on, I'm much more confident that I won't have raccoon eyes at the end of the day. I find that this works even better than my Clarins Double Fix Mascara! I will definitely repurchase!

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!!