My Take on Elizabeth Arden Visible Whitening Line

As of this moment and to help my skin get Stellar-ready (at least the skin on my face), I am using Elizabeth Arden's Visible Whitening skincare line, the newest breakthrough regimen-based skincare for whiter and brighter skin, which is already in all Elizabeth Arden counters here in Manila now. For me, who tans and swims and walks around Ortigas and Fort at high noon from errands, this helps in evening my skin tone. I really wouldn't want to call it whitening that I'll be like part of the cast of Twilight. Realistically speaking, the fairest I can go is just up to the skin on my inner arm. It's more of evening up the skin and making it look brighter and better, even without makeup.

Elizabeth Arden is a brand I'm familiar with. I've been a recipient of their makeup GWPs from relatives who would give them as gifts when I started using makeup. Also, I'm a fan of the Green Tea fragrances and I always recommend it to clients and friends who want a light, fresh, and clean scent. Aside from their familiar favorite fragrances Green Tea, Pretty, Pretty Hot, 5th Avenue, and Red Door, they are also known for skin care and even including skin care in their makeup products, such as ceramide lipsticks.

The Visible Whitening skincare line controls melanin production (melanin is what is responsible for those dark spots we get from ageing and lifestyle) while enhancing the skin's ability to reflect light. It's got licorice root, vitamin C derivatives, and SpectraBright to help control melanin production. For the instant effect of brightening like we're naturally flawless like that, pearl powder, mica, silicone, and pigment plus - get this - diamond powder reflects light giving that instant radiance boost. With or without makeup, we've got glowing skin. Glowing not like a discoball but glowing like flawless glowing.

There's a whole lot of products on this range but I will just focus on a few products, which caught my fancy. The packaging is quite pretty too right? True to the diamond powder in it.

Visible Whitening Smoothing Cleanser Php2,400 (125 mL)

Horray for this cleanser being mildly-scented and non-drying. I like how clean my skin feels without it feeling cracked and dry. I haven't tried using this to clean my sponges but a few extra drops of this on my sponge would be great.

Visible Whitening Illuminating Eye Serum Php 2,950 (15 mL)

The eye serum is light enough for the delicate, soft skin around the eyes. It also decreases puffiness and brightens undereyes. It also moisturizes the skin around the eyes for concealer to glide on so much better without cracking or going creepey. The applicator does remind you of a Star Trek gadget right? It can be used to help apply the product on the skin while giving a cooling, comforting sensation.

Visible Whitening Melanin Control Night Capsules Php 4,950 (50 capsules)

These capsules are to be used during the night, after cleansing and toning and before moisturizer. It's actually more of a treatment too, to give the skin the TLC it needs. One capsule actually holds more than enough product for the face. You can actually maximize the capsule's contents on the neck and trouble areas like elbows, knees, underarms, and back-of-knees.

Visible Whitening Smooth and Brighten Emulsion  Php 3,850 (100 mL)

This emulsion is my day and night moisturizer, and with this summer's heat, has a light and easily absorbed consistency that doesn't irritate my pores, skin, or nerves during the weather where I forgo anything that seems to suffocate me. It's just quite hard to take this with me though during travels as the pump bottle has no "lock" function but maybe what I can do for travels is to pump a small amount in a travel-size container or something.

Not to worry for our ladies who love our naturally warm sunkissed glow, with 2 weeks of usage, the skin on my face and neck isn't significantly whiter than the rest of my body. It just looks more even and smoother. I also noticed a bit of reflective particles on the emulsion at the back of my hand too. They aren't chunky like glitter but they aid in diffusing light giving the skin a more radiant appearance.

Another mentionable is the BB Cream, which is available in two shades (1 and 2) and transparent. For those who love BB cream effect on their friends but can't find that one suitable for their own skin tone might be glad to know the existence finally of a transparent BB cream, which is great for all skin tones.

Ladies and gentlemen may start using this regimen at the age of 21, and would be recommended for anyone who would want to keep their radiant glow. I've tried this also on clients and even in flash photography, they didn't leave a grayish cast. I can recommend the emulsion, eye serum, toner, to be used on brides for weddings (for weddings we might need to skip the BB cream though, because that may reflect in flash photography).

Bridal Work: Grace

Most ladies are at their happiest and prettiest come their wedding day. My pole bud Grace was all megawatt smiles and giggles come the day of her wedding. She's been really excited planning about it since she and her longtime boyfriend Eph decided to get married. This wedding was held last December at Manila. Grace and I have been pole friends and batchmates since we started poleling. I have our pole bud Tricia to thank me for  this because she was the one who insisted Grace get me for her wedding to do her makeup. I think it all started when I brought my kit to the studio and Grace was early so I asked her if I could play my tools on her. Being the very kikay girl that she is, she said yes.

Her wedding preps were as early as 4 am and I told her the night before to get some sleep. Being the excited girl that she is, she was like "Please don't get mad. I wasn't able to sleep. I tried but ang hirap talaga." She didn't look like she was super sleepy or had no sleep at all.  It was a breeze doing her makeup. She loves pink and I gave her a very fresh pink palette for her wedding with just a bit tad of smokiness. For her hair, my good friend Lorybelle gave a very soft and romantic bun for her, one of my personal favorites in bridal hair.

 Her poler self is revealed at the bridal shoes, Pleaser shoes, nonetheless next to her very girly pink bouquet.

Happy lady at the bridal car. Excited and nervous at the same time.

 Prettiness as sunshine. It was a sunshiney morning December wedding.

Crazy pole friends represent! Hannah, Rj, and me were there for her and so were two of our pole teachers Amaya and Kayleen.

As of this moment, Grace is already expecting her first baby. Yay! Congratulations! She's having a very breezy and exciting pregnancy and we can all expect nice things for her. I'll be seeing her in a few weeks as she'll be watching us in our annual recital.

[All photos are taken from Grace's personal Facebook account, a mixture of photos from her family and the official photographer of the event, iSnap Creatives]

Forever21 Opens in SM Aura Premier

Last weekend, Metro Manila was practically halted to a standstill as the newest SM Mall, SM Aura Premier opens in  Bonifacio Global City as everyone wanted to catch a glimpse of the newest lifestyle and shopping center in Metro Manila.

When everyone's favorite garment store, Forever 21 opened, the mall was packed with every fan as Forever21 opened its 7th and newest store in the Philippines. This time, it's got more than 2000 square meters of retail therapy, and it also has a second floor.

A fashion show was held featuring their trendiest items.

The store had a very organized floor plan (Yay for OC's like me). On the first floor, you can find the latest items, basics like the tees, tanks, and denims, and initmates.

 The second floor holds the shoes and accessories, Forever 21+, Forever 21 Girls, and 21 Men.

Here are some of my personal picks and those that caught my eye while I was browsing the newest store. And yep, I was doing my own shopping too.

 Grays and cool colors of blue and mint green.

 Leather, spikes, torn denim, and rock icon shirts such as Guns 'N' Roses, Rolling Stones, and Freddie Mercury caught the fancy of this little kitty who loves rock and metal. I really hope that they would have an Aerosmith tee as well soon.

 More leather, bustier, leopard prints, and bright scarlet for meowie fierceness.

Since I like solids and neutral palettes, a few chunky accessories (in black and gold) add texture while keeping my very neutral scheme.

Eye palettes, blush, and lipgloss with leopard detail in the packaging. 

My loot's theme is kitty! Black maxi dress with a tiger, metal cat shirt for the kitty who loves metal, and hello kitty socks. :)

And my kitty seems to approve of my purchase.

 On the bright side, I don't have to cross EDSA now or go all the way to Ortigas (when I'm not there) if I need an emergency nothing-to-wear outfit if I'm going somewhere the following day. Hopefully, the traffic equalizes so that I have an F21 branch that's really just 10 minutes away from my house. I wish they get to have more sportswear too as I wasn't able to see any sportswear in the racks.

Please Help Save The Manila Polo Club Cats!

To those who read my blog, I want to ask for your help here and appealing to everyone. After I got home from work yesterday, I received notifications in my Facebook account about this horrific news and I would like to ask everyone's help to save the lives of these innocent cats that have been living in the grounds of Manila Polo Club for years.

You see, cats keep grounds rodent- and roach-free making it a safer ground for the horses and stables. These cats have also been spayed and neutered thanks to CARA Welfare Philippines, hence keeping the cat population under control. These kitties are going to be caught and surrendered to the Makati City Veterinary Services Office and be adopted out. The remaining cats that would not be adopted would be euthanized (me faints at humanity's cruelty).

It just pains me that there are  people  who wouldn't even consider researching on less cruel ways on solving problems or complying with rules and regulations. So really, you would rather spend on euthanizing animals and then later on harmful pesticides, rat poisons, and other chemicals to keep the rat and roaches off the stables of the horses? How about vaccinating the cats with anti-rabies vaccine? Or sponsoring spay and neuter programs? Removing the cats from their home would introduce more un-spayed and un-neutered cats in the area and we'd all have to start from square one.

That's why I wrote this post to appeal to my readers, especially those who love and care for animals. Let us be their voice and save them from this horrible fate. We can help by signing this petition. It would only take a minute. Please click on this link, sign, and help save these cats. Cats are really sweet and helpful animals that deserve as much love as we give to our own pets. Let's all team up and help save these kitties!

Signs Of A Pole Dancer

Pole has changed my life in so many ways. I became so much stronger physically and mentally and I couldn't imagine if I went on life without plunging to my very first class two years ago. My health has never been better, my back more protected, and my confidence boosted. Sure, I walk around with a bruise or a chafed part on my skin and i've had rougher hands and back-of-knees since then, but as I keep telling everyone, these are scars I wear with pride, even that scar on my left cheek that I got recently. How I got that scar? I literally clawed my way through a cup grip shoulder mount.

Anyway, searching for pole memes online and even discussing too with my friends, I find a few things common to pole dancers, and this I would like to share with everyone, pole enthusiast or not. Maybe you can agree and find yourself chuckling and nodding your heads to a few, right? To those who don't pole but have friends, wives, girlfriends, or relatives who pole, maybe you may relate too.

We feel most comfortable in shorts.

One of my teachers pre-pole only had two shorts in her life. Now, they're where she's most comfortable in. True to that. Anything covering our legs feels weird and constricting. Even on off-pole days, there are times that I pull that pair of shorts and wear them on errands even in chilly December. Because I'll never know if there would be a post that I would like to street-pole to.

We walk around streets and look for lampposts, street posts, or any vertical and stable metal contraption and when we see one, our face suddenly lights up and we decide to mount on it: shoulder mount, flag, handspring or regular climb.

Oh yes. We may shock others when we run to a street post and do our butterfly, up-split, or even a solid boomerang. We just need a photo of it in a guerilla-style shoot and expect it to be uploaded in our Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram accounts the moment we have Internet access. Aside from pulling a trick on street posts, we do the same thing on playgrounds, monkey bars, and so on.

Sorry kids, the monkey bars are mine!

Regular bras feel weird.

They do, really. I can't explain why but they really do. Sports bras feel much more comfortable and secure now, and I wear them more that the regular clasp-at-the-back ones. If I could wear my black sports bra under the evening gown I need to wear for my friend's wedding I would. But no.

We subconsciously point our toes.

Hey class is over, but over the course of time, pointing our toes becomes second nature to us, even while waiting to get a pedicure or bench pressing (these situations actually happened in real life). It may be that our teachers constantly remind us to point our toes that the reminder echoes even in our dreams. The ironic thing, though, is that when pole class comes and it's time to point those toes, we sometimes have those lazy flexed feet when we invert (guilty).

Our rituals get simplified.

This was my shower ritual pre-pole - get that lushest, creamiest body wash you can find and work a luxurious lather on your body. Then rinse off then while the skin is damp, apply bath oil and towel off to lock that moisture. Or - get that body lotion and slather it on your skin channelling sexy pinup lady with creamy skin. Then when the moisturizer is absorbed, protect skin with SPF. At night, we add an extra layer of body cream and sleep with socks and gloves after slathering our hands and feet with petroleum jelly. Since baby-soft moisturized skin is a pole dancer's worst enemy, I have avoided lotions like the plague and switched to strong soap, which cut my prep time in half. My skin curses me for it as it can get really dry like the Sahara. Oh, and sunblock has stopped only up to my neck, when I do wear sunblock. I don't know if that's a good thing because I take less time preparing now and people don't have to wait that much for me and I got more time to chill or a bad thing because my hands and feet no longer spell "ladylike".

Our Facebook profile photos and cover photos are usually us doing a new trick.

Forget that photo during that trip to Paris or that photo of you with (insert famous celebrity). Once we nail a new trick in class, it's automatic - we get our cameras (or phones) ask our classmates to take a photo and that immediately becomes our profile photo once we get home.

My current profile photo. Not really a trick, but a recent photoshoot with  Farlet Vale. Will blog about this too, soon

Our playlists are usually dance-able tunes or music we would like to dance to.

When downloading music, I always have that thing into consideration - can I dance to it? I sometimes find myself thinking of a combo when a music is being played or dancing in my head instead of singing to the tune. If you find a pole dancing friend of yours staring into space in the middle of a conversation, he or she isn't in a trance. He or she is probably thinking of a new pole combo  (climb 2x - boomerang - gemini - recover - top hand viva - viva - holly drop to scorpio - pole sit - jade - meat hook -pike - gemini  - inverted thigh hold  -mermaid dismount) to do to a song recently downloaded.

Pole practice takes up most of our (ideal) time calendar and when if something comes up and we miss a class, all hell breaks loose and our day is ruined.

Here's a tip to never piss a pole dancer - never let him or her miss a class because that will piss them off even more. When that happens, expect a very bad mood. It must be missing the endorphin fix or the possibility of missing that time to finally nail the Titanic or Fonji, but you get what I mean. In an ideal time calendar, pole class would occupy a minimum of 2-3 times per week and there are days when we dedicate an hour or two to stretch. We do want to get that super flat jade right? Any pole dancer here getting moody after not poleling for a week or more?

In looking for a house or apartment, ceiling height and building material are one of our primary concerns.

In searching for an apartment, there's always the case of a ceiling. It has to be concrete and be high enough. Why? For the pole to be installed for home practice, whether it be conditioning or tricks. I jumped with joy when I found out that our apartment had a concrete ceiling and fit the minimum height requirements to install an X-pole. The future home must have the same requirements, and probably a bit higher ceiling for circus climbs and a bit more space to do a reverse grab.

For the ladies, in taking group photos, our formula is this - chin up, shoulders down, bellybutton in, and tiptoe. Yes, TIPTOE!

It must be wearing all those 6-inch heels while dancing, or again, the subconscious pointing of toes. But if it makes us look longer, why not?  And maybe flex that tricep a bit (or is it that just me?)

Strange or not, we love our sport and we're proud of what we do. It may be a weird sight to see a grown woman or man to run to a playground and do a boomerang but it's our way of spreading our passion wherever we go. And yes, the view is fun while upside-down.

Still curious about pole? Then try it out for yourself. :)

Happy weekend everyone!

Shiso White BB Serum : A Quick Flawless Fix for Summer.

During summer, the sun is shining and really, spending 2 hours cooped up at home doing makeup when it's just so pretty outside isn't in anyone's agenda. Besides, all that layers of makeup, moisturizer, primer, and foundation is bound to melt one way or the other. It's during the summer when I try to simplify most of my routines, making me subsist on eyebrow pencils, lipstick, bronzer, and mascara (sometimes, there's eyeliner  too). For those blessed with amazing skin and features, then congratulations, you do not need makeup during these two months of hotness. There are times when we need a bit of help, and when too much layering isn't in our agenda, we must say all hail to multipurpose magical things.

BB creams are loved by many, as they give flawless results while caring for the skin with its moisturizing properties with built-in sunblock to boot. If you're fair-skinned with a beige-y undertone you may find that BB creams work well for you, as most BB creams are this shade. Some who find it too white on them may tame things down by correcting with a darker powder or bronzer. Personally, I've had that same problem with BB creams though, but in the course of time, I've learned to adjust.

The Body Shop's newest Moisture White Shiso BB Serum meets me halfway in addressing those needs. I like the benefits BB creams and serums have but I'm kinda off with the grayish whitish case it has, as most of them seem a bit dark for me. This newest product adjusts to my tone just a tad (not exactly a complete match but it will do) so I still get the benefits I need without looking like my face is whiter than the rest of me.

Natural ingredients like Vitamin C, Licorice, shiso (an herb in the mint/basil family believed to reduce early melanin-making signals) help brighten skin. I prefer using the term "brightening" which means it just evens out skin tone and makes it less dull. There is also community trade aloe vera to help soothen and cool skin during hot summer days. There's also SPF 25 PA+++ which protects our skin from the sun.

The bottle though, if you can see is quite tiny, only 30 mL, but really, this is only the amount you need. Otherwise, it would be too much.

I think the amount here is practically less than pea size and I really spread it on my face to even out my skin. As you can see, there's a beige tint so it's like a tinted moisturizer with more coverage. It can cover redness to a certain extent while looking natural. For early mornings to work when we don't have much time, this can be our base. We don't need much makeup on ordinary days. Just on special occasions. Hey, it's summer. As our hemlines go higher, keep our makeup simpler.

It really doesn't feel sticky though, despite the fact that it's very potent. I still have to set it with powder after applying my cheek tint just to make sure things don't slide. I do a bit of contouring just to make sure that my face doesn't look white flat and to add a little warmth, to balance the brightening effect and to make the look more natural.

I can use this as an everyday base if I'm going out and want my skin to look a bit better. It's quite hard to remove though. I tried removing the swatch at the back of my hand with soap and water and there's still residue left. I guess this means I can take this with me on trips too, when I'll be doing a lot of walking.

This is a new product now available at all The Body Shop stores.

Hair Tutorial For Bombastic, Bodacious Hair

And finally, I got my blogging mojo so what does this little kitty do? I blog. Yay! Hello you all I hope you had an awesome, awesome Valentine's Day. This post today is actually a little carry-over from last week's Valentines. I do a hair tutorial! Omigod, yes. I actually am doing a hair tutorial, the girl who doesn't comb her hair. Anyway, you know me, I'm really not into the sugary saccharine pretty princessy looks for Valentines. I wanted something fierce and fab. Hence, the name of the hair tutorial - bombastic, bodacious hair. Or as I would like to call it, the bombastar hair. 

This really works well with Valentines if you want to look really sexy and sultry, or just any day of the week or year. I mean, darling, if you wanna look pretty and hot that day then GO! I might have to warn you though, this will take a lot of time though, especially if you have really long and thick hair, like me. The results, however are really pretty and worth it. So I suggest like make this hair really pretty and then I'll show you an easy way to wear your makeup so it matches your hair.

So here's what you need:

Equipment:

• four large velcro rollers
• a wide curling iron
• a hair dryer (my hair dryer has a built-in brush attachment to it, which I love, especially since I did this on my own)
• A sectioning comb with a pointy tip handle

Products

• Mousse
• Hair spray
• Light-hold Hair wax.

I'm using here all Indola products, which are really awesome in performance and quite easy to use and friendly to my hair. They're not available in drugstores though but you can get them in cosmetics fairs or salons that carry them.

Start with hair that's almost dry instead of hair that's dripping from the shower. You can do your makeup first    and then your hair or some jumping jacks too. Or you can just rough-dry first your hair with a blow dryer just to get some of the moisture out. This hairstyle works well with hair that's naturally wavy but not too curly or kinky and digipermed hair, that got quite a bit ramen-like in shape and you wanna shape it into something a bit prettier and sexier. Also, please if you want this hairstyle to work, please do not put shampoo and conditioner to your hair because the hairstyle will not stay with glossy squeaky clean hair. Dry, dirty hair works best for this. If you're the type who can't stand dirty hair, you may use strong soap to wash your hair. If your hair is fine, this can help if you want the style to hold too. 

So this is my hair. Like I told you, it's also got some wave into it, but there's quite a lot of frizzies and frizzy isn't bomba star like. 

First up, apply a dollop of mousse and spread on hair. Don't load up on the roots because that will weigh the hair down.

Then, blow dry hair smooth with a blow dryer. It doesn't have to be perfectly poker straight like the salons do it, just smooth enough to get the frizzies out. For extra beauty queen like volume, blow dry at a 90-degree angle. 

If you can see, my hair isn't poker straight after blow-drying but still quite smooth than the picture before this.

Take the three sections of hair that frame your face and set it in rollers as shown in the photo. The fourth roller may be placed at the back of the center roller for added volume.

Boo!! Scared you. 

 Next, curl the remaining hair using the curling iron. I started with the bottom section and moved up. If you want, you may set the hot curled hair with pins first and start dressing up. Walk around the house for a good 10 minutes looking like the Fat Lady in Kung Fu Hustle.

The curls have this kind of shape. It's soft and not too Goldilocks-like. 

Remove the rollers after 10 minutes. Or longer. The hair will have a slight wave.

You may go over these sections with hot curing iron if you want more shape.

Shape the hair with a comb to the style desired.

Use a bit of hair wax to tame any frizzies. Don't put too much or it would weigh hair down.

Set with hairspray.

Yay! Hair!

The best way to rock this look is to own it. You might want to change up your makeup into something a bit more dramatic. In this case, I added a bit of winged liner and hot pink lipstick for a vintagey vibe.

Own this look by feeling it when you get out of the house. There's no demure bomba star. Wear those heels, walk with fabulousness, and flash that smile. This pretty look is great for a party, a night out. Have fun!