However, relying always on machines with less to no effort makes us very lazy individuals, isn’t it? Even though we normally break a sweat whilst doing the ancient norm, it makes us healthier and tougher in practice. We always complain about being too busy to take some time off for exercise, but don’t we consider choosing stairs over shiny escalators as one to start with?

Well, these piano stairs in Stockholm will make you climb stairs. The only answer to shift someone’s behaviour is FUN!

Wow, it makes me wanna go to Sweden. Can someone pull off a Fur Elise given the limited octave? I don’t think so, but a simple Do-Re-Mi or Chopsticks would be really, really nice and “fun” nonetheless!

I believe this holds true to work or any other given chores. In order to make someone productive, you should give him/her a job which he/she considers as FUN. Revolutionize boring tasks now!

Right now, I’m heaped with beauty topic ideas to blog on. One product I dearly remember is this wash-off mask from Skinfood.

Skinfood, a Korean beauty product brand, has been making raves here in the Philippines. The Skinfood BB Cream was the first blemish balm cream available in the Philippines, as far as I’m concerned. As soon as I got ahold of one, I also tried using product samples included in my purchase.

One of which was the Skinfood Black Sugar Mask. It’s an exfoliating wash-off scrub-slash-mask that leaves skin clean and revitalized. It has this sugar bits that thoroughly sloughs off oil and grime from the skin, whilst its self-heating properties allow pores to open and allow the mask’s vitamins and minerals to be absorbed by the skin.

Using it is quite simple. After cleansing, gently scrub onto the skin; let it sit for about 10-15 minutes; and finally, wash it off with lukewarm water. Avoid over-scrubbing as the sugar/salt bits may abrade your skin, causing irritation and more skin damage. And, when I say “gentle”, I mean slowly and carefully scrubbing your skin. On the other hand, I will not recommend this product to those with sensitive skin types.

Likes

I love the exfoliating properties of Skinfood Black Sugar Mask. You can actually feel it scrubbing against your skin, and it really leaves a smooth and polished texture afterwards. I also did not experience any itching or discomfort while letting the product sit in for about 10 minutes [as a mask]. Lastly, it’s really easy to rinse off and leaves the skin squeaky clean without over-drying it. It does not leave a slippery, soap-like feel, unlike other wash-off masks.

Dislikes

The only thing I dislike about this product is the smell. It’s disturbing, IMHO. It really has a medicated scent.

Skinfood Black Sugar Mask is best used occasionally. I don’t see using it regularly, lest it may irritate my skin in the long run due to its not-so-fine sugar scrub particles. I can use it a night before a special occasion, as it delivers instant results–such as a well-polished, glowing look.

In the meantime, check some of the newest anti-aging arsenals and how to get a timeless, youthful look.

Well, anyhoos, it’s not that I give because I expect something in return. Hey, Christmas is more of giving rather than receiving. I think maturity befalls me so easily that I never ever expect a gift in return, and it’s okay. I really don’t care about the present. Rather, I appreciate the thought of giving more than anything else.

Enough gab and drama, I actually splurged one for myself. It’s a Birthday-slash-Christmas gift since I think I ought to be very selfish at times. So, I got myself an iPod Touch.

*iPod Touch is LOVE.*

This is by far the greatest thing I’ve ever bought! I super duper love it! I am not really much of a gadget freak, but if I hafta buy some gadget, I wanna make sure it’s really versatile. I’m playing with this baby more than my PSP to date.

Obviously, it plays music and videos which greatly satiate the audiophile in me. It also has wifi which lets me surf the net and download more applications. Speaking of applications, I could get as many as I can for free–may it be games, scheduler/organizer, e-books, etc.

*Yummy Shower Pick-me-uppers*

Another gift that I love: Philosophy’s The Coffee House Set. I got this from my office’s Secret Santa. It’s really nice that P, my Secret Santa, and I have the same taste and she chose this one from a myriad of stuff I indicated on my wish list. I’m a big fan of scents, so this one’s a surefire winner on my olfactory sense. More story on my other blog.

Last gift that I got was from my childhood friend. J just gave me a very beautiful scarf! I have a newfound penchant for wearing and collecting scarves and shawls, and this one really fulfills my utmost desire. It’s a pretty brownish woven scarf that’s just perfect for all occasions! I’m gonna post a picture here as soon as I got my camera cable ready.

In hindsight, of course, all gifts I received are very much appreciated! I love them all–the lingerie, bangles, monies (lol), pambahays, kikay stuff, etc. I couldn’t ask for more!

I know I just got a wee bit of ardent readers here on my personal blog. Hence, let me take you to my new beauty-slash-fashion-slash shopping blog where I dump all my beauty and fashion reviews.

Please feel free to visit Allthevanity.com. Click! Click! Click!

Thanks a bunch!

xx, R

One of my Lush favorites is Lush American Cream conditioner. It’s kinda hard to find a decent conditioner that has a long-lasting scent which stays on my locks all day long. This one proves it!

The sweet vanilla scent lingers all day long, unlike other conditioners that fade after shower. Function-wise, I think this one’s best for normal-oily hair since it hardly gives enough justice to dry hair. I had my hair treated (rebonded) twice so my tresses are somewhat dry. I think American Cream‘s formulation isn’t enough to give my hair the softness and sleekness it deserves. When it comes to having a softer and more manageable hair, I think Retread works better albeit I’m not a fan of its scent.

Here’s what Lush says about American Cream:

Sweet milkshake inspiration makes out-of-condition hair soft and shiny
American Cream is a conditioner like no other. With honey and vanilla to soften and fresh strawberries and oranges to add shine, it takes on the toughest tangles and roughest frizz, all the while smelling like a sweet honey milkshake. you’ll catch a whiff every time you turn your head and wonder where that 1950s diner is.

At first glance, it may look like a typical Philosophy knock-off, mainly because of its resembling packaging. But this Hand & Body Lotion from Body Recipes* has something more to offer. The yummy hazelnut scent makes me want to sniff it over and over again! It reminds me of my dire craving for sweets.

What makes this lotion extra special is its uber lightweight feel, which is perfect for those with oily skin tones like mine. Unlike other lotions and body butters, this never gives me a heavy feeling every time I apply it.

It’s absolutely grease-free, like you won’t feel it’s even there! Even if you try washing your hands just right after application, you won’t notice a slippery, greasy feel. Well, based on my experience.

I don’t think it’s available in the Philippines right now. I believe it’s a different brand from the local HBC’s Body Recipe skin care line. In the meantime, you can take a peek on available Body Recipes* products through eBay.

Going back, a relative from Japan gave me my first Shu blush in Amber; I already forgot which Amber shade exactly but I’m pretty sure about the base color. Anyways, trying it on didn’t fail to impress me the first time since it really delivered a rich but natural hint of color. The staying power’s so good, it almost obviated me from retouching. My skin tone’s neutral-to-warm and a bit of coral shade works best for me. A lot of people were faked by it ‘coz all they thought it was my cheeks’ natural color. It took me till College to utilize this as my favorite cheek color, until I totally emptied the pan out!

Geez, it’s been so long since I tried Shu Uemura Glow-on. I’ve been into NARS, MAC and BeneFit, but something inside calls me for a Shu Uemura addition to my loot.

Right now, it currently has over 30 shades to choose from, adding newest shades from the Paradox Mode Collection: Stoic Pink and Vicious Apricot.

Unfortunately, it costs about Php 1,800 (about $40) here in the Philippines compared to only $21 in the States, talking about a huge, overpriced price difference! So, I guess I have to try asking someone from there to buy me instead.

Take off the shine and glitter and don this ultra sophisticated hue that spells dramatic. The bevy of totally intense, lavishing colors makes me pick a lippie or two. It says that it fills lips with just one smooth stroke sans the dry, sticky and uncomfortable feeling that most matte lipsticks have. Plus, the staying power is so superb, it promises to retain its rich color for hours.

The following are the 16 available shades to choose from:

Poise – Clean yellow pink (Semi-Matte)
Composure – Neutral bronze plum (Semi-Matte)
Flattering – Beige pink (Semi-Matte)
Café Matte – Rich caramel (Semi-Matte)
Orange Dare – Bright yellow orange (Semi-Matte)
Seriously Rich – Bright pink red (Semi-Matte)
Immodest – Bright magenta (Semi-Matte)
Night Violet – Deep purple grape (Semi-Matte)
40′s Pink – Neutral mid-tone dirty pink
All Grown Up – Deep chocolate brown
Tango – Dirty coral
You Say Tomato – Tomato red
Classic Dame – Blood red
Rapturous – Deep red berry
Powersuit – Vibrant clean yellow pink
Rougette – Wine berry

Suggested Retail Price:$14.50 U.S./$17.50 CDN

Since I drool over Korean porcelain skin a lot, I’ve managed to grab one as soon as possible. I scoured Korean brands available here in the local market like The Face Shop and Skinfood but to no avail. Skinfood, however, told me that this new product of theirs would be launched soon and they’d contact me as soon as it’s available. So, I waited for the Skinfood SA’s text until last Saturday, she told me that the product has arrived and is now ready for purchase!

I was so giddy, I immediately ran to SM Megamall after work. And, finally, I got ahold of this precious Skinfood Ginkgo BB Cream! Skinfood is tad pricier than TFS, but what the heck, it’s still relatively cheaper compared to MAC.

So, I shelled out about PHP 1,150 for this baby. I got myself some freebies like the black sesame hot mask (which is worth the love[!]), 2 pcs of veggie moisturizer and a cutesy minibag. Due to my exhilaration and undue excitement, I immediately tested it the day after.

The consistency is like your regular liquid foundation although it works more as a base (or tinted moisturizer perhaps) due to its sheer color payoff. I noticed its creamy consistency as I apply it. It’s kinda comparable to your ordinary pearl cream. Anyways, my skin looks smooth and glowing after the application! It’s soo nicey! But, after a while, my skin gets oily na so I use a blot paper and MAC Blot powder to ward off the greasiness.

So, I have a super duper oily skin and I can’t say that I’m gonna recommend it those who have the same skin type as mine plus the zits. Skinfood BB Cream contains natural, herbal ingredients such as green tea, ginkgo leaf, vitamin B and lecithin which have nutritional benefits to the skin. It claims to correct skin tone and turn it into a healthy and radiantly looking one. It’s suitable for all skin types. But, the word moisturizing may alarm some since a person like me who possesses a cursed, oily skin type may find it too much for my overreacting sebaceous glands to handle. But, I am so insistent to use this regularly. I think the herbal extracts helps my skin look healthier, not dull or livid. I pair this up with Smashbox Anti-shine as a primer before slathering the bb cream to control my skin from getting oily in a jiffy.

I’ve already used it for 3-4 days or so, and so far, I didn’t notice any major breakout. My skin looks okay. Pores are much less noticeable than before (although, admittedly, they are still visible if you take a deep look at it ). I’m beginning to convince myself that this is truly a holy grail product. heh heh.

However, during the past few weeks, I was drawn and beckoned to the nearest MAC counter in my area to take a lookie on MAC Flashtronic collection. I wasn’t really a fan of eye shadows since I don’t use them that often and I’m pretty naive on how to blend them perfectly. But, to my surprise, the color payoff is really worth drooling for! I’m talking about the mineralize eye shadows.

The gorgeous MAC SA assisted me in trying these wonderful marbled piggies. Each of them has this multicolor swirls, a mixture of at most four colors, which caught my fancy. I really want to hoard all six, but each costs P 1000, which is really pricey for a piece of eye shadow. Anyways, I got three shades: mercurial, lovestone and ether. I also resolved to get a basic eyeshadow brush ‘coz I was so tempted to try my loot as soon as I arrived home.

Mercurial gave me a lilac finish with yellow gold veining. To my surpise, it apparently looked good when I blended it with chocolate brown eyeshadow I got from Physician’s Formula. Lovestone’s color may look intimidating at first. But, as soon as I applied it, it actually gave me a cute, flirty rosy pink finish. Finally, I got to try Ether a while ago. Since its colors aren’t almost homogeneously mixed, I got to try wearing aqua and blue-black separately, then blend them altogether for a smoky, dramatic look.

As mentioned earlier, I’m no eyeshadow guru. Luckily, my first ever eyeshadow blending attempt kinda paid off. At first, I thought I might end up looking a black-eyed goth girl.

To complete the sensuous, smokey look I used:
*MAC Studiofix in NC30 as base
*MAC Concealer in NC30 for a tad lemish cover-up
*MAC Blot Powder in Light-Medium
*MAC Mineralize Eyeshadow in Ether (I put aqua on the inner V and blue black on the outer v, blending them together in the middle)
*Bloom eyeshadow liner in Ebony Brown (I lined both my upper and lower lids)
*BeneFit Dandelion blush for a hint of pink
*MAC Plushglass in Ample pink ( I chose a pale pink hue to balance out the heavy e/s color)

I’m ogling to buy one nude Paint Pot, something like either Bare Study or Painterly as an e/s base. I also wanna buy more brushes in the future, preferably something high-grade like MAC’s. And oh, lastly, I think I’m gonna need some tedious tutorial.