My Brush Collection

Happy New Year everyone! I still can't get over the fact that it's a long long holiday for most of us here in the Philippines! Wow!!! This is the longest vacation as far as I can remember! Hope your holidays are as good as mine. :)

To continue with my post, I decided to share my brushes to the world. Since I've been sharing some of the makeup and skin care I use, why not share the tools, right?

So in a glance, here are the brushes for my personal use. (Take note that I have a different set for my clients' use.)

I have Suesh 21's and some individual brushes that I'll be discussing later on.


To break them down: (This is quite a long post, so bear with me. I haven't been posting for a while. :p)

Powder brushes:
I use these when I just want to retouch or use powder for my face.


The flatter one is my smaller brush which I use for powdering the cheek pane area, and the round one I use for the whole face.


Charm Kabuki brush:
I use this brush when I want fuller coverage. I normally wear mineral makeup (specifically Dream Minerals Charlene foundation), so using a kabuki brush is quite handy. When I go out partying or go out at night, I normally use this brush.



Another foundation brush:
I got this brush from Aunt L. She bought this in Japan, if I'm not mistaken. I actually don't know what this is called (if anybody knows, do send me a shout out.) Anyway, I normally use this for my mineral foundation because it gives full coverage and the hair is really soft!



Foundation Brushes:
Suesh 21's and Elianto
I have 2 personal foundation brushes. 1 I use for my liquid or cream foundation and the other, I use for applying Skin Hour Mattifying Day Cream. I prefer using a brush when applying creams because I find it more sanitary. Foundation brushes are used for liquid and cream form of cosmetics.



Stippling brushes:
White Collection and Charm
I have 2 stippling brushes because I can't get enough of them! They give this wonderful airbrushed effect which I love love love and it's very easy to use, gives natural coverage which I like.



Retractable Kabuki Brush:
I have this in my kikay kit all the time. I don't really like using sponges, I prefer brushes. So even with a compact or pressed powder, I use this brush for touch ups.


Fan brush:
I love love love using this brush. Before, I didn't know what the fan brush is for, but after taking my makeup artistry course, I learned that this does a whole lot more than brushing the fallen pigments. I use this for contouring (sometimes), for my blush and bronzer!

I normally suggest my students to get this brush!


Angeled blush brush:
I like using an angeled blush brush for contouring my face. I try not to leave home without contouring since I have a round face. This brush helps me achieve more dimension to my face. :p


Concealer brushes:
Charm and Suesh 21's
Another must have for me! As the name goes, it's for concealing. :p I have two, because I like that I have 2 sizes, one bigger for bigger areas and one smaller for smaller areas such as the sides of the nose, etc.


Blending brushes:
Charm and Suesh 21's
Again, I like having a lot of blending brushes. This I use for blending the eye makeup color. So when browsing my eotd, when I blend, I use these brushes. Blending is the trick to perfect makeup!


Eyeliner brushes:
White Collection, Charm and Suesh 21's
I have 2 bent liners namely White Collection and Charm, and a felt tip kind by Suesh. I like having different types of eyeliner, because I love lining the eyes. Bent liners are God sent especially for those who are just starting to learn how to line properly.


I have other brushes included in the 21's set, such as eyeshadow brushes and the like, but I wasn't able to take photos of them anymore. :(

Lastly, here's another set that I have.

Charm Travel Pro:
I bring this with me when I travel, go overnights, or I have an occassion during the night, yet I have to leave the house early. Everything's there already, so this is the only thing I need to bring, this set.

So there you go... my collection of brushes. I'm pretty sure it will still grow because I love love brushes. But I really try to go for cheaper yet good quality ones than buying the branded ones. I try to research first for other alternatives to get my money's worth! :)

Almost all the brushes are available at Dream Collection. Ciao!

Pho Hoa

This is a very late post actually. :) We ate at Pho Hoa, a Vietnamese restaurant months before. I used to go to Pho Hoa more frequently way before when they had a branch in Jupiter St., Makati. Anyways, let's proceed.

Fried Spring Rolls:
It was okay. I like the other spring rolls better though. They're mini spring rolls, a small serving.


My order, Glazed Chicken:
This was okay. It tastes like Chicken Teriyaki. But it was too sweet for my taste. (I like their Sizzling Beef with Rice better. [I forgot the exact name of the dish, but it's beef on a sizzling plate. Hehe!])



V's Prawns and Grilled Pork:
I wasn't able to taste the prawns because I'm allergic, but the pork was okay. The prawns were disappointing, they were too small. The rice was just like mine, it was really yummy.


M's Hot Beef Noodles:
(Sorry I forgot the exact name of the dish, but it was spicy, and it was beef noodles.) I think this was good. Pho Hoa is known for their noodles. Plus M looked like she loved it. She even put more hot sauce! Hahaha! Talk about a HOT dish. Haha!


With my dear dear friends, M and V. Love you girls!


Pho Hoa Vietnamese Noodle House
Paseo Center, Makati City
812-5234

For other branches: http://www.munchpunch.com/restaurants/branches/521.aspx

Merry Xmas to All!

Happy Holidays to everyone!

Oiliness related to stress?

Hi everyone, here I am again trying to post another entry amidst my busy-ness. Haha! The holidays is coming and I can't wait. I can't wait to blog about the food, the gifts, the makeup, etc. :) Soon soon my love.

Anyway, I realized something during my busy schedule. I was so stressed these past few weeks, and felt that my face was much much oilier than usual. I have combination skin and very oily lids, however, these times, my face was just plain oily. :/ So I realized that indeed, it was because of stress. :( Tsk tsk! It's a sad truth people.

So because of this, I'm hoping that the next year will be better, not as stressed, not as oily. Haha! :) Also, I try to control the oil as much as I can by using these products:

1. Skin Hour Mattifying Day Cream

Biased I may seem, but this is really something that I always always use. Before I put on my makeup, I make sure that I wear day cream first. This reduces the oil from my face. (There were times I forgot to wear the day cream before applying my makeup, so I decided to forego, I ended up having really oily skin before lunch time!)


2. Skin Hour Firming & Clarifying Toner
(alternative: Clean & Clear Oil Controlling Toner)

I am an avid fan of the saying "Cleanse, Tone and Moisturize", plus I feel that my skin is a lot cleaner when I tone. Also, you instantly see that the oil is gone!



3. Dream Minerals Persephone Primer

I don't regularly use this since I'm already good with the Mattifying Day Cream. But like what I said, my skin is not normal these times, so additional primer is quite necessary. :/ I use mineral powder just so it's light and very sheer. I don't want to end up having cakey makeup and I don't want my skin to feel heavy.



4. Dream Minerals Charlene, Monave Angel and MAC Hyper Real Medium
(alternative: MAC Mineralize Foundation, Maybelline Mineral Power Natural Perfecting Powder Foundation)

These are the makeup that I use, because they're very light. Plus I also use this to retouch my face when needed.



5. Gatsby Powdered Oil Clear Paper
(Gatsby Oil Clear Sheet)

I recently bought this, because I felt that I really really need this now that my skin is really oily. I was supposed to get Gatsby Oil Clear Sheet, but I accidentally got the Powdered Oil Clear Paper. I hope it works just fine. I'll update you guys about this. I'll roadtest the sheet and post an entry. :)

So currently these are my must-haves for oiliness! Do you have other products on your mind that I might have forgotten? :)

Flea and Tick Medication & Prevention

Someone asked me what I use for flea and tick medication and prevention for my dogs. So I'd like to post my answer here just in case other dog owners would like to know as well.

I am not an expert when it comes to these things, but I am a dog owner and dog lover myself. So these are just based from my experience. :)

I have tried using different types of flea and tick medication/prevention. However, these three are the most effective ones in my opinion.

1. Frontline (http://frontline.us.merial.com)

There are two types, one is the spray and the other is spot-on. I prefer the spot-on better because I find it more effective.

Note that it is important that you apply the liquid to the skin and not just the hair/fur of your dog. Also, it is advisable to not bathe your dog for three days after applying the medication, for it spreads with the help of the oil of the hair/fur of your pet.

There are different sizes of Frontline for different sizes of dogs. (Click on the thumbnail for a larger view.)


A step by step instruction how to use the spot-on.


I give this:
3 out of 3 paws in terms of medication
3 out of 3 paws for prevention
2 out of 3 for price (It's a little bit expensive, about P300++ per tube)

2. Bansect Flea & Tick Collar (http://www.drugs.com/vet/bansect-flea-tick-collar-for-dogs.html)

I have tried this once. However, O has used this a couple of times and says it really is a good product.

Basically, it's a collar for your dog and it kills the ticks and fleas. What's good about this product is wetting it does not impair its effectiveness. So you can bathe your dog and not remove the collar. Unlike Frontline, you can bathe your dog a day after you put on the collar.

Bansect says that it's good for about 120 days, but from what we've experienced, the effects only last for about 60 days. Good enough I think, 2 months is still long considering your dog is already protected from those pests.

Btw, the collar is quite long. As seen in the photo, it can be used by big dogs. So if your dog isn't big like mine (mini schnauzer and poodle), you can cut it in half and use the other half after 2 months. Not a bad tip, right? If you have smaller dogs such as chihuahuas, you can probably cut the collar in 3. Simply use Mighty Bond to glue the ends of the remaining collar.

I give this:
2.5 out of 3 paws in terms of medication
3 out of 3 paws for prevention
3 out of 3 for price (Only P130 for a collar.)

3. Flea and Tick Powder (Pooch Park)

This is another option you might want to try especially for those budget conscious owners. (Sorry I don't have a photo of the product.)

The flea and tick powder promises to kill the pesky fleas and ticks. So if you're dog already has so much, this is the way to go!

After bathing your dog with soap/shampoo, dissolve 1 teaspoon of the flea and tick powder with 1 liter of water and stir well. Use this for the "last rinse" of your dog. And dry your dog and groom afterwards. That's it! Very simple and very quick.

For sure you won't be able to finish the whole liter of water, so you can use that to clean your dog's area. Spray some on his/her bed, clean the cage with it, etc. Disinfect with this liquid solution.

I would suggest using this every other week just so you're sure that all ticks and fleas are killed. ;)

I give this:
3 out of 3 paws in terms of medication for your dog
1 out of 3 paws for prevention for your dog
3 out of 3 paws for prevention for the dog's area
3 out of 3 for price (only P100 per sachet. It's a bargain!)

Overall, I recommend Flea and Tick Powder for cleaning and disinfecting the area of your dog. Because this will definitely prevent and kill the ticks and fleas that come near the area. Bansect collar for those dogs that just need prevention and have no fleas and ticks that much. And Frontline for those who need strong medication and prevention.

These are available at your local pet shops or at Pooch Park Doggie Day Care.

Pooch Park
J Vargas- #181 Auto Depot, Julia Vargas Ave., Pasig
910-5036 or (0922) 9663320

Metro East- Level 4 Robinsons Metro East, Marcos Highway, Pasig
6477025 or (0922) 3024566

Sorry for being MIA

Hi friends and lovers,

I have been away for some time I know. :/ Boo me! The whole November-December was a really rocky one for me and I had to continuously be on my toes to finish everything on my plate. However, hopefully after Christmas which is a few days way... I'll be down to blogging once again! I know some of my friends who have been reading S2S have been wondering what happened and why I haven't blogged for about a month!

Anyways, like what I said, Christmas is near. (So I'd still probably busy. We just wrapped up our bazaars and the last one is this weekend. But there are still a lot of shopping to do, parties to attend to, yadida yadiada.)

So how's your Christmas shopping? :)

Found this picture and fell in love with it. As you know, Boo is also a Mini Schnauzer. :) Cute, isn't it? Hehe!

(Source: http://flickr.com/photos/35516177@N00/313113128)


Well...

ADVANCE MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU ALL!

Brooklyn Pizza

A whole lot of lovin' for a whole lot of pizza!

As you read S2S, you'll find out what things I truly adore in my life, and that is my pets, food, relaxation and of course, beauty. :)

One pizza place I really like going to is Brooklyn Pizza. They offer enormous pizzas at reasonable price. Isn't that what we want? :)

Just how big is it? It might not look too big in this photo. But this can feed 6 people or more!


Plus, another great thing about this is you can choose different flavors to compose your pizza. They don't limit you to just one flavor, but you can choose 4 different flavors!

When I was younger, I could finish a family size pizza by myself (as long as I'm given time and I eat it at my own pace.) That's how much of a pizza lover I am! But now that gigantic pizzas are in, I'm already full with 2 slices of pizza. For normal people, 1 slice will already make them happy! :)

Brooklyn has several branches already and they deliver too!

Here are some of their branches: Visit the one near you! :D

Makati: 1176-C Chino Roces Ave., San Antonio Village
896-9696

Parañaque: 15 President's Ave., Tahanan Village
775-7575

Tomas Morato: 376-7676

Ortigas: City Golf Complex, Julia Vargas Ave., Ortigas
633-9999