Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Topaz Beauty: At my first Shiseido beauty blogger event. Ever!

Apparently, I've been using my Shiseido Ibuki all wrong. Remember my Ibuki review and I said, "Just a little product goes a long way. I've been using my Ibuki for 4 months and I'm just halfway through my bottles." Well, they're not supposed to last that long! The bottles have a pump and each pump dispenses the correct amount of product to massage into skin. If I use too little, it's not as effective. And I've only been using half a pump all this time!

All this I learned when Shiseido invited me to their beauty blogger event at Picasso Boutique Serviced Residences. It was my very first beauty blogger event, by the way! And I think I only got invited because I did the Ibuki review haha. I'm not a beauty blogger, you see, and I think you can see that from my picture above. I mean, I didn't even put on makeup or brush my hair haha.

I've been to beauty events, of course, but in my former life as a print editor. Beauty blogging events are more nerdy and take a much longer time. Why? Beauty bloggers ask so many questions! I understand this because when I read product reviews on beauty blogs, they're very detailed and comprehensive. Plus, since every blogger has to have great photos for their blog, they really go up close and shoot away, and even ask the presenter/model to do things slowly or again and again so they can get the perfect shots. Interesting!

Here are some of the bloggers at the Shiseido event:
My dear friend, Nicole Romero of Beauty & Sparkle.
From left: me, Rowena Wendy Lei of Animetric's World, Liz Lanuzo of Project Vanity, Nicole,
Tara Cabullo of Chronicles of Vanity, Kikay Trekkie, and Shiseido's Momoko Isibashi.
Shiseido's Momoko Isibashi is here in Manila for a few months to help launch Shiseido's store in SM Fashion Hall. She also gave us a few beauty tips (with the help of Donnarence Masilungan of My Lucid Intervals):
There's a proper way to remove makeup. There's even a proper way to fold the tissue so that it's efficient and clean. Anyway, always use makeup remover before cleansing. Start with pressing the tissue moistened with makeup remover on eyes and then gently wiping off. Gently wipe off the makeup on the rest of your face.

Always use a spatula when taking out product from a jar. This is to prevent bacteria from getting into your creams. I never use a spatula!

For firm and healthy skin, massage your face. This is a model's secret. They love having their faces massaged. It not only keeps their skin firm, it also helps drain the face of fluid so puffiness goes away. I wanted to show you the massage via a video but I'm not so gorgeous today so I'll just do the video when I'm pretty again haha.

Donnarence said she loved how her face felt warm after the massage. I tried it, too, and my face also felt firmer. Momoko says you can massage your face every day!

And here's Donnarence fully made up again after the facial! It's just a very light makeup that anyone can do.

If you want to know more about Shiseido skincare and makeup, get a skin consultation and free makeover, get certified beauty training and more, check out Shiseido's beauty fair this weekend at SM Megamall Atrium. Have fun!
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Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Kisses



This was all over Facebook today but I'm blogging it so I can always have it to remind me that Vince and I also were strangers when he and I met, then talked on a hotel rooftop in the chilly Baguio night, and finally melted into a kiss that sealed our fate 15 years ago.

I didn't even really know his name. When my Papa asked me if I met anyone at the writing workshop, I said, "Well, there was this guy. His name is Vince Salas or something. Basta Vince."

"Is he someone special?"

I stopped for a while, thinking of the kiss. "Yes. Yes, he is. Possibly. Not sure yet. But we finish each other's sentences. That's something, right?"

And Papa said real quietly before he said good night, "Well, you better ask him his name again. You just might end up with it."

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Monday, March 10, 2014

Jejeje


I like the red, black and white color motif.

Hehe. Yun lang p0h!

P.S. Samsung vs iPhone? Sino ang may mas magandang picture pala?

*Oscars photo from WSJ, local version from Philippine Star

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Sunday, March 09, 2014

Topaz Beauty: Unboxing my Epilady epilators!

Okay, I know it all seems to be fashion and beauty on this blog lately. And books, too. Well, I'm a stay-at-home mommy who's getting a wee bit too pregnant to roll her round self all over the city so I have nothing exciting to talk about except for my fabulous fashion and beauty finds!

Anyway, I'm super duper excited to finally get my Epilady!!!

I bought them from CashCashPinoy last week. My friend, Nicole of Beauty & Sparkle, knows I've been looking for epilators but I balked at the prices in PCX (heller, 7K!). So when I saw that CashCashPinoy had a bunch of these on sale, I snapped them up for only P3,898!
Grammar edit! Correct: "is". The subject is "payment"!

An epilator is a device that removes hair. I used to own one in the early 2000s but it conked out on me around the time I got married (one must be hairless on one's honeymoon and my honeymoon lasted almost three years so the poor device died on me!) so I've been looking for Epilady since.

I bought my first one from Watsons but they never restocked. So I've just been going to Strip for my hair-removal needs. But Strip is soooo expensive. So I can't be hairless all the time. Then hooray for online shopping!

See all those tiny tweezers? They make for super fast and painless hair removal. Well, painless for me because I only use this for my body but not for my nether areas. I hear from fellow epilator owners that that kind of pain removal is intensely painful!!! So for that sensitive area, I still prefer going to the waxing salon.


I also got a facial epilator for the imaginary hairs on my face. Yup. I must really get rid of that magnifying mirror. So now I have shopper's regret because there's really no hair on my face. I used it on my (imaginary) unibrow but I darn near pulled out all of my eyebrows.  

But I'm happy! Super happy! Now I don't have to spend a ton just to be smooth and hair-free! So freaky with waxing salons because they charge you by the body part. You know, like lower leg, whole leg, underarms, chest, tummy, forearm, whole arm. And since it's so pricey, I always just say, "Just the lower legs please."
But now with my Epilady epilators, I can do my whole body in the privacy of my own home for soooo cheap. Hooray!!!

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Friday, March 07, 2014

Dapper threads from Hugo Boss

Vince and I have been attending a lot of weddings lately. We love dressing up, especially for weddings, because it's not just a reflection of our style but a show of respect for the wedded couple and the occasion. But it's really hard to look perfect  in a a suit and a dress when you're chasing after two little boys. I just tell myself that we're going for the British look lately—stylish but disheveled.

Then I saw these at Vanity Fair's Oscar after-party.
Reese Witherspoon in a black-and-gray paillette embroidered silk dress from the new Fall/Winter 2014 BOSS runway collection. I love her hair! But if I'm to wear this (and not to a wedding hehe), I need to not eat for a month.

Adrien Brody in a perfect Hugo tux. Sigh! He reminds me of Vince! I really like skinny guys with prominent noses!

Stylish but disheveled just doesn't cut it anymore at weddings! Vince, since we're at that strange time when people are getting us to be ninong and ninang sa kasal, I think we need to go get new clothes from Hugo Boss. And leave the kids at home so we can look like movie stars!

*Images courtesy of HUGO BOSS.

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