Medium Brown

Dyed my hair again last week. I decided to go with a darker color this time. I've been missing my black hair, but I’m still enjoying having colored hair so I compromised and just went with a darker shade of brown.

This was the dye I used:

Revlon Colorsilk in Medium Brown

Some before and after picts:

Fashion 21 Liquid Eyeliner Review

A few months ago I did a review on three liquid eyeliners that I’ve tried before (Etude House, In2It and Revlon’s Colorstay).  In that entry I mentioned that I planned on getting the Etude House liquid liner because it was the one with the longest staying power out of the three.  However, when I went to the mall that weekend, it was out of stock.  I was too impatient to wait for the new stocks to arrive, so I decided to just get the In2It liner instead since I’ve tried it before and it worked fine for me.  But, when I got to Watson’s, I couldn’t find the In2It booth so I ended up getting this instead:

Fashion 21 Liquid Eyeliner (Waterproof)

The reason I decided to go with this one was because I remembered that Brinks has used this liquid liner before and she told me that she’s pretty happy with it.  It was only P120, so I decided to give it a try.

I’ve been using it for about two months now and it’s great.  It lasts the whole day without smudging, which is exactly what I want.  I did the same test I did for the other three liquid liners I reviewed earlier, and here are the results:

I applied three lines on the back of my hand.

Then I tried to rub the product off using my fingers

As you can see, there was minimal smudging.  And I was rubbing HARD!

Then I tried rubbing the product off underwater:

It faded a little but didn’t rub off completely.

Pretty good right?  It didn’t really smudge, even after trying to rub it off underwater.  I did this test this in the morning and by the end of the day I still had the three lines on the back of my hand right.  And I washed my hands a lot that day.

Some people are scared that the product stays on too long and that it’ll be too difficult to remove at the end of the day, but I found that regular eye makeup remover (I used Etude House Lip And Eye Remover) removes it easily.

The only thing I don’t like about it is the applicator/wand/brush.  It’s way too long!  It might not bother some people, but if you have extremely shaky hands like me, it makes applying the eyeliner a bit difficult.

Fashion 21′s wand/brush is almost twice as long as the Revlon Colorstay wand/brush.

Also, I found that the formula is a bit watery and takes a little longer to dry than other liquid liners I’ve tried, so I tend to get some of it on my eyelids if I open my eyes too wide after applying it.

But overall, I think the product’s great.  It does the job and for only P120.  How can you say no to that, right?  I’m definitely glad I tried it.

Nail Art : Stars and Flowers

Nail art last week. New set of stickers from Etude House, yay~

Light Golden Brown + Hair cut

My roots were starting to show again, so I picked up a box of Revlon's Colorsilk in Light Golden Brown last week. I normally get the one in Light Reddish Brown, but this is the color Aprille uses and it looks good on her, so I decided to try it this time.

The instructions said "do not use on damaged hair", which made me hesitate a bit. I got my hair relaxed about two months ago, and it left the ends of my hair a bit damaged. I know that adding more chemicals to my hair was probably a bad idea, but I couldn't stand the black roots.  I decided to go through with it anyway and just avoided applying the dye on the ends of my hair.

Before and after shot:

For some reason, the color didn't come out gold like it showed on the box. In fact, it looks pretty much the same as my previous hair color.  How disappointing.   At least the black roots are gone.

As expected, my hair didn't take too kindly to being subjected to more chemicals. The ends became frizzier and more unruly, so I decided to get them trimmed. I went to Scissors and asked the hairdresser to remove the damaged sections. He ended up cutting about 6 inches off!!! I didn't realize it at first because he worked on the back of my head in the beginning. When he started cutting the sides, that's when I noticed that he was trimming off more than I expected. By then it was already too late for me to do anything.

The last time I had my hair this short was about three years ago. The change shocked me at first, but I'm beginning to like it. It's much easier to manage and I feel fresher. Plus my hair looks so much healthier now.

It wasn't what I expected, but I'm pretty happy with the results.

Nail art : Pink Bow + White Dots

I saw this video on youtube last week and decided to try it out:

First I painted my nails black, and used my pink nail art pen to draw the bows:

Then I added the details using my black nail art pen:

After that I used my white nail art pen to add the dots.  I did two diagonal rows of white dots instead of scattering them all over my nails:

 

Ta-dah~  A bit messy but still cute in its own way XD

New clothes for Kairi (Dollmore)

When my sister graduated from college last year, my parents gave her some cash to spend as a reward.  She used the money to buy a Ha-Yarn Cho doll and doll clothes on Dollmore.net.  She named her doll Kairi.

(Old shot of Kairi taken last year)

For her birthday this year she said she wanted more clothes for Kairi.  She ordered the stuff she liked from the website (using my dad's credit card) and they arrived at our house a few weeks later.

Dollmore package which contained Kairi's new clothes.

The cardigan which Kairi wore in my 31st portrait for this year's 52 weeks.

Black tank top which she was also wearing in the picture.  It's actually designed for male dolls, so its a bit big on her.  She was also wearing these in the picture:

New boots!  She has another pair of leather boots, but they have high heels which make it hard for her to stand on her own.

Skinny jeans

Thigh-high white stockings

Black and white striped stockings

Green eyes.  The eyeballs look kinda creepy XD

Mascara (Cover Girl, Etude House, Avon) and Liquid Liner (Revlon, In2It, Etude House) Review

I've been having a problem with oily lids lately.  This plus the heat and humidity results to my makeup being a mess by the end of the day.  I've been wearing liquid eyeliner and mascara on a daily basis for over a year now, and I've never had this problem until recently.  I mean look at this:

I'm wearing my Revlon ColorStay Liquid Liner and Cover Girl Lash Blash Luxe mascara in this photo.  I've been using the liquid liner since around February and the mascara since the start of this month.  Before I started using these products, I used In2It's waterproof liquid liner and Avon's Amazing Lengths mascara, and they stayed put the whole day without any problems at all.

I had some free time today so I did a bit of "research" on the current products I'm using.  I think the main reason for the smudging is that both products aren't waterproof, which I only discovered today.  Pretty stupid of me right?  I've been using them for a while now and it never occurred to me that they weren't waterproof, tch~

I bought both the liquid liner and mascara last December during my trip to Los Angeles.  I was just so excited to try the Cover Girl Lash Blast because I've heard a lot good stuff about it.  When I saw the Lash Blast Luxe, which is newer, I got even more excited so I bought it without even bothering to check if it's waterproof.   As for the liquid liner, the word "colorstay" caught my attention and I automatically figured it was waterproof as well.  According to online reviews, the Revlon ColorStay Liquid Liner is supposed to be extremely smudge-proof.  But I guess I shouldn't believe everything I read.

Anyway, I figured I should switch back to my In2It liner and Avon mascara, until my sister suggested that I try Etude House's waterproof liner and mascara.  She's been using both products for a while now and she loves them.  Like me, she also used the In2It waterproof liner and Avon mascara in the past, but she claims that she likes the Etude House products better.  Of course I had to see for myself so I did a little test to compare them.

First the eyeliner:

So these are the products I tested:

From L-R : In2It Waterproof Liquid Liner, Revlon ColorStay Liquid Liner and Etude house Proof 10 Liquid Liner.  The In2It and Etude House liners both belong to my sister.  I've already used up my In2It liquid liner earlier this year.

The picture above shows the three liquid liners I applied on the back of my hand.  You can see that the Revlon liner tends to crack, which is another thing I don't like about it.  The Etude House liner is the darkest of the three - if there's such a thing as a "darker black".

Nail art : Gummy pink

Nail art two weeks ago :)  I still have this on right now, but some of the stickers have peeled off and its starting to chip.

Color which I concocted myself.  I mixed a light shimmery pink color, red and white (all from Etude House), and I came up with this.

Then I used my new favorite set of stickers (from Etude House again).  I really love the designs~

Then I added in black and white dots.  Amie helped me dot my right hand, that's why they're neater than usual.

Nail art : Monochrome butterfly

First time I used these stickers from Etude House.  They're the only ones I don't like so far.  The design's okay, but they're way too soft, so they rip easily.  I had a hard time peeling them off the card because they kept folding in and sticking to themselves.  When I try to unstick them, they rip or stretch.   I wasted about 3 stickers doing this, tch~

Last week's nail art : pink and purple

I was finally able to use my pink nail art pen :)

My fingers look so stubby when I cut my nails this short.

The pink flower stickers are from Etude House of course.

More Etude House goodies! (Pasalubong from Korea)

My parents arrived home yesterday from their 4-day trip to Korea, where they attended a conference for work.  Ezra and I wanted to go with them, but we couldn't afford to miss any of our classes.  Anyway, the presents they got us show how much they really know us.  We didn't ask for any of these when they left, they found them all on their own (well, mostly).

My mom got me this Dear Darling Lip Tint from Etude House, yaaaay~  I tried it today and its pretty similar to the Lip and Cheek Stain from the Body Shop.  The only thing I don't like about it is the smell.  It sorta reminds me of cough syrup.

She got this Dear Darling Lip Gloss for my sister.  This one smells really good.

My dad didn't really know what to get us, so he texted me that night to ask if we needed more BB creams since they were cheaper over there, LOL.  (I was surprised he knew what BB creams were and how much they normally cost).  I told him we still have some left, so I asked him to look for other Etude House products that we've been meaning to buy.  They went back to the shop the next day to get them for us.

He got me this Dr. Oil Solution Shine Free Finish Pact.  I saw this on my last visit to Etude House about a month ago.  I haven't read that much reviews about it since it's still fairly new (I think), but I wanted to try it.  The words "oil solution" caught my attention (I have oily skin), hehe.

Starry Night : Nail art

As soon as I got the chance, I tried out the new nail polish and french manicure tip guide I got on my last visit to Etude House.http://minimoogle.blogspot.com/2010/06/etude-house-festival-mall-mini-haul.html

Nail art materials.  (I ended up not using the black nail art pen)

Pretty silver nails :)

Used my favorite nail stickers.  They were the very first set I bought from Etude House :)

Lastly, I added black nail polish to the tips with the help of the french manicure guide.

I love the results, and it didn't take that long to do.  The silver nail polish is really pretty and the french manicure tip guide was easy to use.

Etude House Festival Mall : mini haul

I was at Festival Mall last month, so I decided to check out the Etude House that they have over there.  I've been to the Megamall branch countless times, but I've never had the chance to drop by the one in Festival Mall before.  I was surprised to see that the Festival branch was bigger than the one in Megamall.  I expected it to be smaller for some reason.

I wasn't really planning on buying anything, but the thrill of a new store got me high and I ended up getting a few stuff.    I didn't need any more makeup so I mostly bought nail art materials:

Two new bottles of nail polish.  I love how sparkly they are.

More nail art stickers.  I already have the one on the right, but in gold.  I decided to get silver this time.

French manicure tip guides.  I've tried doing French tips freehand before, but they always come out messy, so I decided to try these.

Sakura nails

A few weeks ago I realized that I have a bottle of white nail polish and some nail stickers that I've never used before, so I decided to play around with them :)

White nails look good in the picture but I think they make my hands look too dark. (That's Hyun Joong and Shin Ae in the background.  I was watching We Got Married while waiting for my nails to dry,)

Applied some pink nail polish on the tips.  It took me forever because I have extremely shaky hands.  I should have used tape to make it easier, but I wanted to prove to myself that I can do French tips free hand.

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All done! :D

I was finally able to use my pink sakura stickers from Etude House.  They were one of the very first nail stickers I bought but I never had the chance to use them until now.

I liked how it turned out, but sadly they didn't last very long.   Kurt's little sister saw my nails that night and she found the pink flowers so pretty she decided she wanted them for herself, so she peeled them off.  She looked so cute doing it, so I let her.  I only see her a few times a year anyway.

Goodbye pink sakura nails~

Hello Straight Hair!

Last Sunday I went to the parlor to get my hair straightened. It’s been over a year since I last had it done, and my hair’s been a mess these past few days, thanks to the heat and humidity. I was supposed to get it straightened last October, but I decided to have my hair dyed brown instead. Ate Cecil (my favorite stylist – she’s been doing my hair since 2002) told me that I couldn’t do both because I’d risk damaging my hair. She told me to pick one and to come back after a month (to give my hair time to rest), but I didn’t get the chance and soon forgot about it.

I was born with curly hair but as I grew older they slowly developed into waves. Normally I like wavy hair, but I have really thick strands, so even the slightest texture can make my head look enormous. Ever since I discovered the art of hair straightening, I’ve always made it a habit to get my hair done at least once year.

I’ve tried a few different salons in the past, but Metrohair has always been my favorite. I discovered it back in college when it was still fairly new. They had a lot of promos, so their prices were much lower than what others offered. I remember that other parlors charged about P500-P600 for hair straightening back then, but Metrohair only charged P440. Not a huge difference, but P60-P160 is still a lot for a student on an allowance.

Sadly, Metrohair’s prices have increased since it became more popular. A lot of students still go there because the price of haircuts and manicures didn’t change that much from when they first started, it’s mostly the chemical treatments that they charge a lot for these days. They still offer promos every now and then, but not the same as it was back then. Getting my hair straightened costs almost 10 times as much as it did in the past (to be fair, my hair’s much longer now). But even though it costs a lot more, I’m still willing to pay for it because I’ve always loved the results and it always lasts a long time. I’ve tried having my hair straightened at other parlors where they charge less, but the results aren’t that good. I’ve had cases where my hair ends up looking fried or stiff, and my wavy hair comes back in about a month. With Metrohair, the results last a long time and my hair’s always so much softer and silkier afterwards.

It took about 5 hours to get my hair done this time. My appointment was at 3pm, I left the parlor at almost 8:15pm. I actually fell asleep at one point. I planned on just closing my eyes (because the chemical fumes stung a bit), but I dozed off. I was dreaming about sandwiches when I woke up to Ate Cecil’s startled scream. She was ironing my hair at the time and my head suddenly dropped – I almost burned my face. I struggled to stay awake after that.

It was a long and boring process. They put a lot of stuff on my hair, shampooed and rinsed it a few times, flat ironed it, blowdried it and a bunch of other stuff. I also had Ate Cecil trim 3 inches off my hair since it was getting way too long. By the time they finished I had a stiff neck and I was starving, but the results were worth it.

Before and After

Rrrrrred!

I was at Watsons the other day when I suddenly remembered that it was about time for me to color my hair again, so I picked up a box of Revlon's Colorsilk Hair Color in Light Reddish Brown.  It was the same color I used on my hair last time and I liked how it turned out, so I decided to stick with it instead of trying something new.

The last time I had my hair colored, my sister applied the dye for me.  She did a good job, except she missed out some parts of my hair in the back, so they stayed black T__T  Fortunately they weren't that noticeable.  This time she wasn't around to help since she had to go somewhere with her boyfriend, so I had to apply the dye myself.  I thought it'd be hard, but it was actually pretty simple.

Ready ... Set ... COLOR!

I mainly focused on putting the dye on my roots, since the rest of my hair still looked okay.  It's been more than 3 months since I colored my hair, so my black roots are clearly visible, yuck.

before and after

RED!  The color fades to brown after a while though.

I think I did a decent job, considering it's the first time I colored my hair on my own ^___^