Getting It On with Shellac

I usually don't get manicures. I feel like my fingernails grow really fast that I only get to enjoy my painted nails for a few days, because then, they will either chip or the bottom part will show because of nail growth.

My sister-in-law invited us to get our nails done at her favorite nail salon in Grand Rapids. There were four of us -- me, my niece, my sister-in-law and my mother-in-law. We all got the Shellac because of the raves we've heard.

I fancied the color City Scape. It's similar to the color of concrete. I am so into khakis and greys right now that I instinctively got that one. While soaking our feet, we were seated down the most amazing massage chairs/recliners ever. It felt like I was back in Bangkok where manang masseuse was pushing my muscles to their limits using her elbows and hands. The chair even has a remote control so you can adjust the pressure and location.

Oh em gee. I didn't want to get off that chair! I think I pouted when my nail technician asked me to go with her so she can apply shellac to my nails. Haha.

Applying shellac takes twice as long as applying ordinary nail polish. But the results are awesome. After each coat of shellac, your painted nails are exposed to UV light for about a couple of minutes, and it's instantly dry. It's so smooth that it seemed fake to me. Fake in a perfect kind of way. Haha.

Needless to say, the cost was a bit too much -- probably about $70 for both hands and feet. But everything will be expensive if you're used to $5 mani-pedis back in the Philippines.

My shellac manicure lasted about 2 weeks. Kinda gross in the end because of my mutant nail growth. But there wasn't a paint chip in sight. The shellac was still solid as it can be. I tried scraping them off with my nails, which is a major blunder in the world of gel polish. I failed miserably. In the end, I took them off the traditional way. I soaked them with acetone-filled cotton ball and wrapped each finger with aluminum foil to keep them in place, like this photo below.

Will I try it again? Not on my fingers. Maybe my toes again though.

Beauty: My Top Under Eye Coverup

For what seemed like forever, I've been trying to hide my dark under eyes. I am an evening person and I do function better at night. I have a love and hate relationship with mornings. In college, plates kept me up until the wee hours of the morning (I studied architecture). When Allie came along, I'm lucky if I get to sleep straight at night. I'm sure you guys can totally relate, especially you mommies. We are usually the last ones awake, and the first ones up, and don't even get me started with waking up multiple times at night to feed the baby.

Enter dark circles. It's so hard to hide them. I hate putting heavy concealers on, so when I saw this Covergirl and Olay Simply Ageless Eye Corrector, I couldn't wait to try it.

I got mine in the US, but I saw some at local department stores. They sell them at around P600 or maybe even less. Remember to get 230 Eye Corrector, because the other ones have similar packaging but they're concealers.

This is what it looks like inside.

Image from Covergirl

The white swirl you see is Olay Regenerist Serum, which I also use at night (I'm scared to have forks on the corners of my eyes, hehe), so having this with my under eye corrector is a bonus. The yellowish ones are specially blended pigments to cover up even extreme dark circles. You have to remember, yellow tints cover blue, so this is really good for dark circles (and bruises too). Just fyi and not totally unrelated to this post, green tints cover reddish spots like pimples and yes, hickeys (lol).

Anyway, it's so easy to use.

1. I just use my finger then blend the white and beige shade in the compact.
2. Then I dab it on my under-eye circles and on the inside corners of my eyes.
3. I usually put finishing powder afterwards because I don't want to put additional concealer anymore, but you can if you'd like.

This is probably the most effective under eye concealer I've had. Nope, this is not sponsored, so you have to trust me on this. I've converted 3 people already within my first week of use. How cool is that?

Event: The Design Deets of the Halo Event at Pink Me Up

Pink Me Up Beauty Nail and Dry Bar is a cute little nail spa in Shaw Boulevard at Mandaluyong City. The color theme is pink, grey and white. It's very girly and very dainty (it kind of reminded me of Dainty Mom, whom I met during the Halo event too).

Halo Philippines, the distributor of Halo Sleep Sacks in the country, hosted a sparty event for mommies to spread the Safe Sleep advocacy. Pink Me up is a great place to have intimate private gatherings, like birthday and bridal shower sparties.

I know you want to see the design deets now, so here you go...

The furniture are from Heima. There is also this diyable chandelier that I really want to try. 

That's Ives of Halo Philippines telling us about Safe Sleep. I posted information I learned from Ives on my blog here. Way to go Ives! I loved the way you presented. 

You can spruce up the Pink Me Up space with your own stuff to make the space custom.

You can put up a buffet area too for your guests so they won't go hungry.

I really love the place. I will surely be back!

Pink Me Up Beauty Nail and Dry Bar

2D Lee Gardens Condominium,

Shaw Boulevard corner Lee Street

Mandaluyong City, MM

0915-139-2234 * 0947-965-0507 * 02-3582412

Beauty: Shu Uemura's Cleansing Oil

A few weeks back, I ordered some Shu Uemura from Taste Central. It was my first time to get some Shu Uemura stuff. I read about it online, and was swayed into buying. Did I mention ads and good reviews work for me? Haha.

I got a couple of Shu Uemura sets. Each one has the following -- cleansing oil, UV under base mousse and tsuya skin.

Using oil to remove make-up was something I've heard of before, but you know, not in the Shu Uemura sense. When I was in high school, I tried removing my heavily made up face (it was prom) using baby oil on cotton to no avail. It was hard to remove. Of course, my face was left greasy and all. Icky. I had to wash my face with facial wash twice, maybe more. I didn't use it again.

I've tried my fair share of different makeup removers, and although I've been satisfied with a couple of them -- see my post here and here, it never stopped me to try this one.

Image from Into the Gloss

Liv Tyler uses it, and her face looks amazing.

So anyway, for you who's trying this for the first time, I am super sure you will love it. I love how my face feels after every use of this product. It leaves my skin feeling soft and radiant; I think I am hooked. I try to use it every time I wear makeup. Here's how I use it:

[1] Take about 5-8 drops, or about a shallow pool on your palm that's smaller than a penny. If you have the pump one, about 1 to 1-1/2 pumps will do. (It's recommended for you to use 4 pumps, but I find that less works well too.)

[2] Massage into your face for about a minute. Start on your cheeks and forehead. End on your eyes/lids and lashes. I swear it melts the heaviest of makeups. But be careful, although it's gentle to the eyes, the tiniest bit of oil will make your vision blurry. Easy enough to remove. Use some eye drops or contact lens solution. It works on your lips too but I'm too scared to use it there.

[3] Wet you hands and rub gently on your face. This will emulsify the oil; it will turn into a milky white substance. Continue to massage it for about 20 seconds more.

[4] Rinse with water. It really doesn't leave that greasy feeling.

[5] Dry with a soft towel.


If it's hard to follow, watch this video from Shu Uemura on how to use their cleansing oils.

I think Taste Central still has the Shu Uemura Summer Fresh set on sale here. Only P840 plus P100 shipping.

Hair: Nature's Answer to Hair Loss

My hair has always been wavy, and only a few of my closest friends when I was a kid knew I had ringlets near my nape. The ringlets are gone now, because I think I may have had subjected my hair to too much chemicals -- from rebonding to dyeing it. I try not to do it often because I feel my hair is very weak, but a few years in a stressful environment of a job I once loved brought out the worst -- white hair and falling hair.

Yes, falling hair. That has been a major problem for me during the past year. I have very fine hair strands, and seeing lots of hair strands on my hands while I shampoo is terrifying. I tried using a couple of hair fall shampoos -- the more popular ones. One particular brand I tried didn't help at all. The other one promised less hair fall and it did make my hair fall situation better. So much better that this has been my go-to brand since last year.

A week ago, I got invited to the media launch of a local product that boasts a remedy to hair loss, I happily went. My uncle swears by it, and I got curious. This was the launch of Novuhair 3-in-1 package. They used to only have topical scalp lotion and shampoo, and now, they added conditioner to their list.

Travel: The Best Looking Toiletries For Me

I've had my share of staying at hotels during my travels, most of the not so expensive ones anyway -- haha. One of the things that make an impression on me is how hotel toiletries are packaged. I usually won't book a hotel if I heard or found out their toiletries are really bad. Well, not unless the price of a nightly stay in that hotel is super sulit.

I don't know about you, but I find hotel toiletries sooo useful for travel. They can go inside your carry-ons because they are under the limit of the 3-1-1 rule of the TSA. So yes, I'm one of those people who take them home with me. But only if they look nice, and smell good, and work great. This way, I don't have to buy travel-sized toiletries from the supermarket. Besides, being a mom, I always always make sure I have liquid hand soap in my bag (and lotion too), and hotel shower gels and lotions fit the bill perfectly.

One of the nicest toiletry packaging I've found worthy of being taken home are those of the Archive brand. They can be found here in the Philippines too ... in Baguio Country Club. I love the packaging. It's so simple, it's beautiful.

Do you take home hotel toiletries like me? What's your favorite hotel toiletry brand?

Beauty: Sephora + Pantone Universe

I am a lover of energy. I am a lover of possibility. I am a lover of power. Energy, possibility and power represent emerald, the Pantone color of 2013. So it's no surprise that this is my favorite color of the year from Pantone so far.

via Pantone

Now, folks, we don't have Sephora (yet) in the Philippines. But you my lucky readers who have a Sephora near you, you get to see the wonderful Sephora + Pantone Universe collection in person.

via Sephora

Bring out the confidence in you by getting this six-piece makeup set featuring emerald colors. Although I won't be using all these all at the same time, it's good to have because using at least one will enhance your eyes, I'm sure. :-)

"This year, Sephora + Pantone Universe evolve their breakthrough partnership to forecast the color of radical modernism, where graphic shock meets the speed of modern life. Transfixing and dynamic, the Color of the Year sparks a highly charged mood for the seasons ahead. Visualize a color revolution of infinite potential—from subtle effects to saturated statements—fueled by a hunger for high-tech impact. Experience Emerald from every angle through never-before-seen formulas designed to energize the way you wear color in 2013. Connect. Charge. Power up with the Color of the Year." -Sephora

Sephora has three Color Theory Shadow Block ($26 each) under their Sephora + Pantone Universe Collection.

via Sephora

If you ask me what my favorites are, I love the Elemental and Bionic Color Theory Shadow Blocks, and these ones below.

1 Mini Graphic Effect Lacquers $18
2 Color Byte Lip Wands $24
3 Graphic Lift Liquid Eyeliner $17
4 Color Theory Sculpting Blush $24
5 Color Block Beauty Box $38

What do you think about the Sephora + Pantone Universe collection? Yay or nay?