Colour Collection- temptress from Sampleroom.ph

I got first my sample package today , a colour collection temptress and tried it right away soon as i got in my room. I've read about the good comments in the sampleroom site about this lippie so I had to get one and see how it works. It was hotter than I expected. I love everything about this red lippie, it smells candy-ish, it glides effortlessly, it doesn't need lipgloss but its not too shiny, its picture perfect and its handy. I will later update this post and will include how long it lasts.

 

                               

            

In search of the most effective and affordable eye primer

I've been reading a lot of good reviews about these items so I decided it's about time for me to put them to test. Initially went to SM AURA last  Sunday to purchase just most raved and talked about Ellana minerals, specifically their eye primer. When I arrived at the Samsung Hall I went straight to their booth and asked for the primer, unfortunately i was advised that they're no longer selling eye primer and they offered me the face primer instead and their mineral loose foundation.The lady (i forgot her name) tried the hazelnut loose foundation on my face and it natural on me so I purchased  it :).

     

      

                                                       They also gave me freebies! 

They give me 2 coz i asked for a sample for a friend who's fairer than me. The primer cost me php450 and the loose foundation  for php 460.

Since i wasn't able to get an eye primer , which was originally what i need, i went to look for the next best option i saw from the blogs by other make up enthusiast. I ended up with Etude's proof 10 eye primer which only costs me Php298. 

   

                    Proof 10 works amazing when i tried it at the shop                                 

I haven't tried these new purchases, I will post a separate article once I've used all of it.

First love never dies

A good friend of mine will be tying the knot in the next couple of months and she asked if I be her make up artist for her pre nup video. Thus, it lead me to intensive research as to what are the best make up products to use and best way to apply them. This research brought me back to my old past time--  enjoying burning hours browsing the net. I've been so preoccupied with the recent turn of events in my personal life leading me to a busier weekends, which also meant that my only surfing time was just enough for me to check my mails and my  Facebook and just literally check on how my family and good friends are doing and see if there were any messages from them. I was about to delete this blog for a lot of reason.. namely: I'm busy, I have other priorities and the frustrated blogger/writer part of me went on hiatus without a warning. In the process of deleting this blog,  I saw the number of views since I started this and I'm pretty amazed it went that far :). I was just expecting 3 digits, but it went beyond that so here I am writing once again and hopefully I'd be writing for good and on a more consistent and daily basis.


P.S:

I'll try to post some of the articles I have on hand while on hiatus but never made it to this blog mainly because my energy seems to be drained by all the adult task the world has bestowed upon me. I miss you all :).

Xoxoxo, iCe

Fossil Wallet

After almost a year, here I am again, trying to revive the writer-side ( more like frustrated-writer-side). I'm seriously not planning on creating a post annually but it looks like its going that direction hahaha. A lot of things happened for that past year, so much that I wasn't able to keep tabs of each and every one of them. I'm kinda hoping that I'd be able to update my blog regularly after this post (*fingers crossed*).
Honestly, I was able to get back to writing thanks to my special someone. He's out of the country right now and I have pretty much extra time ( * peace babe *), and I have to keep myself  well rounded so I wont have to cry like a baby whenever I miss him.

This is ideally my come back post, but kinda ended up as I-love-my-boyfriend-so-much post. So if your not really in the mood for some mushy stuff , you can skip this one and head on for my next more useful post.But since your still reading this post,  I'll try my best to still make it useful as a consolation :P

I never liked buying my own wallet, I'm not sure where I heard that its luckier if another person buy's it for you, well I know its not good to be superstitious but its a hard habit to break so please cut me some slack for this ;),where was I again? ahhh the wallet. As I was saying, since...as far my memory serves I've bought a wallet for myself hahaha, Its either I ask my grams to be hers ( which I usually do, because she  has a good taste  with wallets and coin purse) or I'll ask my sister's to get me one for Christmas or my birthday.
To cut the story short, I got my new latest wallet c/o my  boyfriend( who's spoils me in a major way :* ).

 He got me this Fossil Retro clutch wallet from Market Market  Mall for half the price :) . A lot people think I'm just a shoppaholic, I'm more like the frugal shoppaholic, I enjoy shopping but I enjoy it more if I get the item half of its original price. Frugal not stingy :P.

For those are looking for authentic fossil bags and wallets for half the price. I suggest you check out their branch at MARKET MARKET mall, they're having a half price markdown whenever a new stock/collection is coming in. They're located at the ground floor,inside the department store, just before the escalator going down to the groceries.Plus another thing I like about this fossil kiosk  is that they have the nicest staff :).














Xoxoxo, iCe

Amazing Vigan

It was just a spur of the moment, I texted a friend who lives in Vigan just to check how's everything and then for some reason the conversation kinda ended up me telling him that I will probably visit next week. Then the first week of May came, and yes out of nowhere everything seem to fall into places. My 2 days vacation leave got approved,my roommate agreed to come with me,packed my bag and next thing I know where waiting for a cab going to the north bus terminal. I decided to pick PARTAS bus liner as I've read many good comments from fellow netizen. And they were almost right, except for some who said that you can sleep comfortably on the bus. The Partas bus isnt as  fabulous as i thought it would be, we paid Php 645.00 each for one way fare from Cubao to Vigan, from what i've experienced it doesn't really have anything that sets it apart from any ordinary air-conditioned bus I've ridden.It's nice and clean and quite fast,but the travelling time is what shocked and almost killed me. It was the longest 12 hrs of my life, it was no far from the travel time I spent when I went to Naga, Bicol by land. One thing I learned during the 12 hour ride is that never to travel by land again if travel time will be more than 5hrs.
We arrived at almost 12 noon, it was May 3 and the town is celebrating their annual fiesta. The place isn't as festive as I thought It would be,probably because the programs and dance parade wont be until Sunday. We stayed at my friends home in Salcedo St,they made our Vigan trip extra special and made us experience Vigan like were really are one of the locals :) ,his mom  even cooked the most famous dishes of Vigan like : Pipian, Lomo-lomo and Puki-Puki ( my favorite of all ), they also made sure that we get to taste their well known version of  EMPANADA.

The famous  VIGAN Empanada and Okoy both from IRENE's at Salcedo St in Vigan 

 Their empanada is quite different from the usual empanada i've known, their version is made up of eggs, cabbage and pork or beef or chicken, and the crust isnt the sweet crust like the ones in Manila, the crust is thin and crispy and cant really explain the taste but its delicious and worth giving it a try.













Aside from delighting ourselves with the native delicacies, my 
friend and  I hit the famous heritage village the first night  that we're in Vigan. The place made me feel like I'm in Europe, it was very classy... the old big houses..the lights... the streets...the Kalesas passing by with amazed tourist inside and It was surprising to know that in the heart of this amazing Heritage Village lies a perfect place for party goers. Im talkin about the Legacy Club, unfortunately im too tired to party its not in my to do list, so we pass on partying and moved on to see the           night at the Heritage Village.

mesmerized by the old houses and the magnificent ambience of heritage village

 As we walked around,I noticed that most of the shops in these site sells souvenirs and antiques. 

The Souvenir shops in the area sells shirts with Vigan designs , Blankets and bags from the most- talked about ABEL's,ref magnets,keychain,purses and wines that are proudly Vigan made. But as we reached the almost end part of the Heritage Village I  was thrilled to see the night market.

one of the many food stalls in the night market

Their night market is almost the same as the night markets that we have here in Manila, theres a part where you can eat ....this place reminds me of our favorite Midnight Mercato at the The Fort. Different dishes were served,some were native delicacies, they also have pasta,rice dishes and all looks really inviting and tempting. 
The best thing to do to always remind me of Vigan is get a souvenir! But I'm no fan of keychains or shirts or anything like that. I got myself a chest box lookin thingy thats perfect for keeping my blankets and bedsheets and my seasonal clothes. We had a few bottles and our pulutan from the  KUBO VILLE , Its also known as DOS MEAL.Its one of the great places where u can stay if u just wanna hang out ...chill...talk and bond with friends. We dont have a lot of days to spend in Vigan so we tried to maxime each day, the following day we went to visit the the must-see HIDDEN GARDEN. If your the type of person who loves green and food you should check out this place. Its really very romantic and relaxing in Hidden Garden and they have the most wonderful staffs.

Lunch time at Hidden Garden

My Personal list of Must Try/Do/See and Buy:


* try Vigan's empanada , they said the best empanada is the one from IRENE's at Salcedo St.
* Visit the Heritage Village
* Ride a Kalesa  for Php 150/Hr
* Hang out and bond with friends at Kubo Ville , their located in Salcedo St :)
* Visit the night market near the Heritage Village
* Drop by at the Hidden Garden and discover the place for yourself, their food is a must try!
*  For pasalubongs: 
  - I would recommend u buy shirts from the tiangge's at BALUARTE, they have the widest selection and cheapest price ranges from  Php100-160
  - Prices at night market near Heritage Village offers bigger discounts compare to the shops at Heritage      Village itself.
- Bagnet at Stall number 49 @ Vigan Public market
- Ilocos Vinegar and Chichacorn  are readily available at  an affordable price @ Vigan Public Market
- My personal fave pasalubong: Empanaditas from Sylvia's, their location: San Lorenzo Village, Pantay Fatima Vigan or u can contact them at: 09157533388.
- Basi (ilocos wine )can be bought at Heritage Village for Php60.00 for small bottle and 120 for big bottles.




If someone will ask me how will rate my visit to Vigan. I'd say its 4/5, almost perfect except for the 12 hours  travel time, but I guess the place is worth the travel time :). Will I come back again? A loud YES! ...given another perfect opportunity, I will dare to see Vigan again.






Xoxoxo, iCe

Easy, fast and affordable way to erase dark spots

Having uneven and dark spots for girls is a major NO-NO. And not all can afford to undergo treatments/medications care of our friendly dermatologist. But its not the end of the world girls, you don't have to settle for dark elbows or underarms. I've learned a quick fix for this, it maybe temporary but heyyy  it definitely works.

Whitening soaps, usually best works for girls who already have fair skin but is  frequently exposed to sunlight, so if your morena/tan dont expect for the whitening soaps to do all the work and wonders. And most of the time it takes months or even years for the whitening soap to lighten your skin color.

A friend of mine shared a very nice way to lighten your skin, I was worrying about my dark knees that time and she suggested this trick. She told me to use a bleaching powder, there's only one brand I really trust and its name is  Etta's. Last time I check in the market it only cost Php 170.00 for the powder and around Php 25.00 for the liquid solution.

Steps on how to use it:
1) Mix the powder and the solution until it looks like a melted ice cream, ideally not too thick... not too much liquid solution either.

2) Spread it on the area that you would like to lighten, you can use it on your face, underarm,knees...well technically whole body, but before you apply it on your skin, try it on at least your hands or small part of your arms just to check if your allergic to it or not.

3) After applying it, wait for it to dry up. Completely dry up, usually takes about 20 mins. You can say its completely dried up if u feel your skin tightening and it turns out looking like a powder-y texture.

4) Rinse it off, ideally with warm water and make sure to carefully rinse it off as its hard to get rid. I recommend that you use a body sponge/loofa/small towel to help you make sure that whitening solution will be completely rinsed off.

5) Use whitening soap for more effective result.It's also a must to use a whitening lotion. I recommend a kojic soap ,i think its called KOJIC .SAN ( usually cost php50.00 @ sm supermarkets/watson, the one with the geisha lookin girl on the box) or likas papaya for those with sensitive skin as kojic is a strong soap and may just irritate your skin. For lotion I highly recommend NIVEA  whitening with berry extract and licorice for frequent sun exposure.

6)Lastly, to get great results you need to do the process for 7 consecutive days and avoid sun at all cost, as base from my observation,if your undergoing this treatment and you exposed yourself to sun, your skin will darken twice as much.

7) Also a heads up, as a result of the bleaching process your body hairs like the one on your arms will turn into blond cause of the liquid solution.And be careful with buying ETTAs and likas papaya, there are imitation, I recommend that you buy from PCX or Mercury  Drugstores.

The Etta's looks like this:

    

You can do this bleaching thing whenever you feel like you need it. There are more benefits that you will get by avoiding sun rather than being exposed to it. As sun promotes premature wrinkles/aging and may cause skin cancer ( if you're always overexposed).

That's about it for now... more beauty tips and everything else that every girl ought to know ;)

Xoxoxo,
 iCe

unit 503

I've been wanting to move to a place closer to my office since my day 1 at  Chase. I started with a very odd schedule that starts at 3am and ends at the time of the day that i hated the most which happens to be 12nn. But then again I managed  the  3-4 hours travel time (back and forth) from our home to the office for officially one year. Then my priorities changed, I lost the guy i saw myself growing old with, new opportunities came in. And with Gods grace I got transferred to the department that I really want, I got the ideal boss I want, Teammates that i cant complaint anything about and a chance to go back to school and take up the course I really wanted. Because of all these blessings the advantages of moving to a place closer to the office weighted more than wasting my time on the travel hours.It was a tough choice, although I wasn't that close to my family, I always wanted to know how their doing or what they're eating or hows everybody. But decisions needs to be made.One fine morning I was on my way home when I decided to inquire on the new building that we always happen to pass by on our way home, the landlord showed me all the available rooms,amenities and perks of staying.My first impression was this is good...I take it back, this is great!. Free WiFi, spacious room and oh did I mention that our unit is on top of the building, at first it was a no-no because I would have to brave going up 5 floors everyday to get to our room but then again I didn't mind because right outside the room is a balcony, a spacious one...over viewing the city ( and our office) . I'm sharing the unit with 5 other girls, 5 of us working for the same company and then the other one working for one of our company's competitor, Bank of America ;). All the girls are cool, it may sound like there's so many of us (6) to fit in a studio type room but ironically that's not the case, because the unit is probably around 30 sq/m and we all have different schedule making it impossible to see each other everyday. It has its own bathroom and shower room and own mini kitchen, there's also a space in the middle of the room, a couch can be placed but we opt not to, because that might make the room look so crowded. We like it exactly how it is. I still miss my home, my family (which also surprises me) and my friends. Thank God there's weekends lol.... I'm so lookin forward on how things will be once the school year starts  :)


a view from the balcony,just right outside our doorstep.