How to use facial paper masks

Below are the steps on how to use these fancy facial paper masks

Step 1: before putting the mask on, I recommend you put it in the fridge for at least 30 mins to 1hr (for a cooler, more relaxing effect )

Step 2: prepare your face -wash and then use your preferred toner 

Step 3: open the packaging, put the mask on, try to lay the mask evenly on your face, avoid bubbles 

Step 4: after 10- 20 minutes ( i keep mine til 30mins ), remove the mask and dispose it properly 

Step 5: do not wash your face! Just let the sticky liquid stay on longer, for the skin to better absorb everything the pack has to offer

What you must remember:

* this facial masks are disposable,for hygienic purposes please properly dispose them after use

* the excess liquid on the packaging can be applied on you neck and hands

Please check out my other article for some of the facia masks I've tried.

Poreless and oil free face by Ellana Minerals

I haven't been doing make up for others for a quite a while now, that's why I a bit doubtful when my soon to be married friend asked me to do her make up for her prenup photo shoot. She was the very reason I started scouting for reliable ammo's. I was a bit worried about 2 factors : it'll be done outdoors and shoot starts at 3 pm on a summer time of the year like this. I've done my research and I've acquired the much raved about items in the beauty blog-sphere,now it's time to put them to test. 

From my previous article I mentioned that I asked for sample for a fairer skin type from Ellana Minerals when I bought a loose mineral powder and a primer. This where I used the freebies I got from Theresa and her friend for my friend's face as she's wayyy fairer than me. The guy who gave me the samples told me that sample are good for one session. I thought he was just exaggerating or something but during the make up session I was amazed how powerful a little amount of each little bag can do to one's face. I used their Lets make it last face primers, HD primers (for shine free proof look) powdered concealer and loose mineral foundation for the face ,Etude for eye primers, eye shadows used are mixed of brown and almost black hue from my very limited set of eye palettes and Maybelline for the red lipstick. 

This  how they look like @start of the shoot

@around 5:30-6:00Pm-ish

I don't know about you but they're faces both seemed shine free to me :) . All I can see is the spark and love in this couple's eyes. And this photos were taken  at the 3rd-4th hour since the start of the shoot.

I was still able to do some lipstick retouch here and amazingly there's no need for a foundation retouch, I just handed her some tissue and some blotting paper, the summer heat is somehow kicking in at this point but her face still looks naturally lovely.

 I wasn't able to do retouch at this point, I've been up for about 24 hrs officially and I'm too tired to bring my make up kit with us @ the location so I just left them in the car which was parked pretty far ( at the point anything more than 10 steps seemed too far..lol)

@around 9:30 to almost 10pm 

All these photos are taken by Mr Paulo Legaspi, to see his work just click on his name or manually paste this link to URL : http://www.pauloclegaspi.com.

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