Empties: January to March 2015

Shine Moist Keratin Treatment - used this as a regular conditioner when I don't have enough me time which is usually every single day, but when I do, I use this after my shampoo. I blot my hair dry, apply this, and cover with a shower cap for a good 15 - 30 minutes. This product mainly contains keratin - a rich protein bond ingredient that helps nourish damaged hair without irritating sensitive scalp. This can also be used as a hot oil treatment to maximize softness.

Avon Naturals Body Refreshing Shower Gel in Green Papaya and Calamansi - citrus-y! That is how I would define the experience. Formulated with green papaya and calamansi extract, this refreshing perfect-for-summer shower gel leaves skin cleansed and "electrified". ;)

Eskinol Pimple Fighting Facial Deep Cleanser - with micro cleanse anti-bacterial formula that promises to dry pimples in 3 days and lightens pimple marks. This product contains Salicylic acid, tea tree extract and Vitamin B3. Used this after washing my face before bed, to remove makeup that the cleanser and makeup remover didn't get. Since this cleanser is alcohol base, I use a gentler toner from ZA Cosmetics just to balance the pH level of my skin before ending the night with my L'oreal Revitalift Night Cream.

Human Heart Nature Avocado and Gugo Bark Intensive Hair Mask - In my search for healthier hair, Human Heart Nature never disappoints. This hair mask is effective, no harmful chemicals and smells delicious!

Cycles Sensitive Baby Lotion in pink - it's fragrance-free, hypoallergenic and paraben-free.This lotion is fast-absorbing and non-greasy - just right for the humid summer weather. It also effectively moisturizes my baby's delicate skin, removing the scaly-looking dry skin while making it supple and elastic. Contains natural emollients that soothe dry itchy skin and prevents further drying. no parabens, sulfates, dyes and added fragrance that could irritate baby's sensitive and allergy-prone skin.

Zenutrients Green Tea Lotion - I used this as a hand cream on the go. I love the leafy scent. Non-sticky and fast absorbing. Will definitely get a full size of this. Thanks sample room for my sample bottle. <3

Belo Essentials Whitening Lotion - has skin vitamins which includes pentavitin that gently moisturize and nourish skin while enclosing active ingredients for whitening skin. I don't feel the sudden whitening effect but I'm satisfied on how it feels on my skin.

Pantene Pro-V 3 Minute Miracle - know more about this here. Thank you BDJ Box and EverydayMePh for my samples!

Human Heart Nature Sunflower Beauty Oil - click here. If you wanna buy this safely online, check out Eliance Closet on FB and on IG.

Johnson's Baby Bath in Milk and Rice - this post will be incomplete without any Johnson's product. This helps complete skin nourishment for smoother and healthier skin not just for babies but for mommy's too! Definitely included on my snatch-from-the-cradle product list!

ABS Herbs Grace Pure Virgin Coconut Oil - you could swallow a spoonful if you are brave enough but as for me, I use this as a belly rub. Just after bath, my swollen tummy is thirsty for moisture and this oil (aside from my HHN Sunflower oil) is perfect. Fast-absorbing, it effectively make my skin more elastic and the light coconut scent is relaxing.

Avon Naturals Body Care Lightening Papaya and Soy Milk - promises 30 hours of moisture. It contains papaya fruit extract for skin balancing nutrients and hydrolyzed milk protein for conditioning the skin. I'm not convinced on its 30 hours moisturization but it leaves my skin a delicious sweet fruity floral scent.

Band-Aid Isoproryl Alcohol - it's disinfectant, antiseptic and with moisturizer? What more can I ask for? ;)

High Desert Clover Honey - pure, natural, unprocessed. This honey is perfect as sugar replacement, spread or as a hot concoction. I love using this as a therapy for my soar throat and to strengthen my lungs. What I do is I mix two spoonful of this in a hot water, I sometimes squirt a lemon or a calamansi whichever is available.

Revlon Photoready Perfecting Primer in pink - the smell is divine, the product works wonder on my pores. Good base before foundation. What I hate about it is that I didn't, couldn't used up all the product because of its packaging.

Dove Damage Therapy Intense Repair Conditioner - with patented micro moisture serum and fiber actives that reconstructs hair deep inside and prevents split ends and breakage. It promises of up to 9x less split ends. This product is for frizzy hair, and since mine has very fine line, my thin hair weighs heavy on my scalp and is literally sticking on my face.

High Desert Honeybee Pollen - has natural vanilla, honey and whey. The toddler liked it so much, I need to hide the bottle to make it last. More about the goodness in this on a separate post. Stay tuned!

Head & Shoulders Shampoo in Cool Menthol - all I could say is, this is perfect for summer. Wanna iced up your scalp and feel cleaned, refreshed and energized? Use this.

Celeteque DermoScience Sun Care in face and body sun defense cream - with SPF 50 and Broad Spectrum uva and uvb protection. Perfect for everyday use. Very versatile as it could be use for face and body. A bag resident for reapplication in the afternoon.

Colgate Total Charcoal Deep Clean - reduces bacteria build up by up to 90% for a superior deep clean. More about this here.

Aido Cosmetic lipstick in H - tangerine color has very good pigmentation, affordable, locally available, creamy, no weird scent, good for everyday use but the plastic packaging looks cheap and you have to reapply every now and then.

ELIZABETH: Picnic Themed Prenup (What to Bring?)

First of, you gotta think of a theme. This post is about all the things you gotta bring when, like me, you finally decided to do it outdoors - picnic, garden, park, whatever you call it. I decided to do it outdoor because I want to use natural light - the sun. Not the fake lights inside an air-conditioned no-sweat studio- where's the fun in that?

Mind you, this location aside from the A-mazing natural light means (these are the cons) we have to deal with the perfect weather, we needed to come back because the first time we've been here, it's drizzling.The picture below which is the second time - was scorching hot! Slap on that sunblock, honey!

Can you imagine myself smiling while inside I'm squirming because my dress' is too thick, lacey-itchy and sticks to my skin? No problemo, I used  Dove Underarm roll on, my sweat smells divine!

Tip: Under that wedding dress is my Converse. Do not attempt to run in heels when you're on hills. (hey, it rhymes!)

Another tip: This converse also walked down the stairs.

If you choose to add stairs on your red carpet moment, Converse is your comfort.

The grass is so deliciously green and the soil, well, yeah, some went under our toenails but no matter, I painted it anyways. So yeah, there's the cons and pros. I just state it here because I still choose to step on soil and get a little sweaty and a little dirty and have awesome photos and not complain about it because I know what to expect. So choose your location and theme wisely, brides. :)

This is one of my DIY props! hehe :)
-1 balloon stick snapped in two to make my cartonlina-art stand. Letterings here are made of good 'ole crayola and pentel pens lying on my desk somewhere...


This is also my DIY props, our most awaited date!
straws + cartolina + creativity = Art, personalized art that is. :)


And this are the props that we brought:
picnic mat
Teddy bear- 4th anniversary gift from my hubby when we're still bf and gf
basket
picnic basket
guitar
flowers
tea cup
my handbag from kimbel
sparkle wine and champagne
wine glass
chocolate pie
apple and orange fruit
french bread
plate (2 sets)
spoon, fork and knife (2 sets)
black brim hat for my hubby
straw hat for me


we also bring styro with this message..

Live, Love, Laugh,

Beth

Empties September 2013

Most of my empties for this month consist of skincare products. Unlike my previous empties, I'll skip including products that were already introduced. Let's start off with

Shiseido Bio-Performance Super Eye Contour Cream - (that I got here!) a mouthful but effective way to lessen under eye wrinkles including and most especially premature wrinkles due to squinting and tugging... It gives huge amount of moisture on to my undereye bags and I see a bit difference although I only had this tiny little tube! I might consider buying the full size when the check comes in!

Stiefel's pectraBan60- that I raved about here.

Careline Lip and Cheek Tint- this was one of my summer favorites especially during our out-of-town trips be it to the beach or pool! A small dot on both cheeks is enough for half (if you're on to water sports, or just swimming) to a day's worth of blushing cheeks.

Dove Underarm Whitening in Original Scent - has vitamin e and f, and is an antiperspirant. The mild scent of this underarm roller can last all day if you'll stay in an air conditioned room.

SkinWhite Advanced Whitening Facial Cleanser - was my savoir whenever I'm too stubborn to wash my face before slumber. what I do to reduced stinging sensation when removing eye makeup was to let the soaked cotton pad stay on my eye a little while and then keep my eyes close a little longer until I felt that the alcohol already evaporated. To avoid dryness, I use my EverBilena Whitening Sunblock Cream during so-so days and Celeteque Cream or Anew Genics when I feel the need to boost things up a little bit.

Avon's Anew Genics - my mom and I were one of the first to try this "serum" from Avon. We immediately gave this a try and weve proven that the hype about this sensation of a cream - specifically this anti-aging cream - really has a base and not just exaggerated excitement! Its so smooth, it glides on leaving face instantly smooth. I also tried using this as a base primer for foundation and its not that bad. My mom loves to use this after shower as her moisturizer. She used to hate applying anything on her face (which is why she's severely dry) but finally gave in to this because of the "beautiful" scent as she described it.

Johnsons Baby Cologne Forever Mine (Green) - is my babe's original scent. I will certainly buy this again, just right after he finished our newly opened bottle of Johnsons Baby Cologne Morning Dew (violet) that my mom used to use on me when I was little! <3

Ponds Clear Balance Clear Solution Anti-Bacterial Facial Scrub with Herbal Clay - it is infused with neem plant - a traditional herbal plants that can be found here in our backyard hehehe - effectively removes dirt, oil, stubborn makeup and fights against my periodical acne. :)

Human Heart Nature Sunflower Beauty Oil - that i talked about a few while back here.

That's it! I can't wait to unclogged my closets and drawers by emptying my hauls one bottle, tube, tub at a time! xx

Empties August 2013

Gahhh! i fully wrote this post for three times now and I always accidentally delete everything for some reason and it all went gone! I wanna punch a Janet Napoles and skin her bebe gerr alive anytime today! Now, if only she wasn't that sick?! Again, for the fourth time (Good thing this "Empties" is somewhat a let-go unwind post therapy...) here are my empties for the month of August 2013!

Last month's empties was a success! I'm so proud of myself I patted me on the back and said "thumbs up for good riddance!"

This month's empties was humongous! I'm so proud of myself I need to pat myself on the back and say "two thumbs up for good riddance! Great hobby it should be a habit!" - I was thinking of doing my empties on a monthly basis as I initially attached the month and year on my previous empties... to (1) encourage myself to consume everything I have on my vanity - so I (2) could finally say something about that something since I could have said something about it when it was still quite new - say half of it was still full but due to a hundred reasons and excuses, last drops was consumed and am still mum about it... until now! :) - hence (3) will be aware that I don't need to buy "that thing that will go perfectly with ..." "that new brand of .../line of... "and "this thing that will match, complete, complement, blah blah blah yadah yadah yadah..." since I still have some things (similar) to finish up first and lastly, I believe having my monthly "empties" is a way to personally somehow (4) cure impulse shopping and hoarding (5) avoid "things i regret buying" and (6) future resentments like credit card limit charges! #ehem All this (7) while creating a list of "holy grail products" in my head. :)

So anyways, empties included here are a mixture of our family's recent favorite products and new random finds... Starting from upper left clockwise...

Avon Naturals Whitening Face Lotion -  in rose and rose-hips. I had nothing much to say to this product except that I'd used this as my makeup remover and moisturizer wrapped in one bottle on times when I'm too lazy to clean my face out of makeup especially when it's on the wee hours of the night. As a daily moisturizer, a pea and a half-size is enough for my entire face and neck to avoid excessive oil due to hot weather just like what I would normally do in any other moisturizer out there, but when I know I'll stay on an a/c room, I slap this on whenever I remember to do so. Hint: I put this on an arm's length away. ;)

Etude House Oh M Liquid Eye Liner - that I bought using my BDJ discount coupon last year. and a random black bear eyeliner that I got from Bonchic. Now I'm stuck with an ELF Gel Liner for smokey eyes and a Maybelline Masterliner in Brown for neutral looks that I won here. :)

United Homes Calactate & Fersulfate Iron and Anlene Total - my two over-the-counter everyday maintenance. For hair loss, sleepless nights and nursing a year old infant. :) Totally, love the taste of Anlene and I'm currently trying the chocolate flavor and will go back to vanilla because I decided I'll alternately the flavors. I wish they had it in Hazel flavor as well though just like Anmum! :)

Vitress Hair Polish in Strengthening - I'm ready to try another variant from this Vitress hair polish line anytime soon! :)

GOODSKINLAB Intense Clarity + Smoothing Peptide Serum - I bid my bittersweet goodbye before chopping off its tail while repeating "Off with its head!" with the Queen of Heart's baritone. Dramatic. But seriously, scooping the last cream out of its tube? It means quality at its best! This could have been my holy grail - replacing primer and moisturizer when I'm on the go since this really holds my makeup together and silky smooth face canvass just right after application! It glides on seriously! I'm so happy I get the chance to try this product by winning it on a GSK giveaway held by The Beautinomics way way back... My hopes are still up though, that this brand will find its way back here in the Philippines just like the ZA Cosmetics everyone is talking about! :) #staypositive

Maybelline Shine Free Cake Powder - in 04 Honey with SPF25 and PA++ stays true to its promises of

• All day Shine COntrol
• UV protection
• Fairer Skin
• Conceals
• Long wear
• Smoothes
• Evens
• Non Comedogenic

The only turn off? Its formula is too brittle, it cracks and breaks easily. Guess what? I'm one of the few that got a broken cake! Just my luck! That leads me to give in and spill the beans - I really didn't used this up, it just dust my makeup kit and anything it got in-touch with it until its gone. So hey Maybelline New York, I need a refund refill! Yes a refill would suffice! ;)

ELF Healthy Glow Bronzing Powder -  in warm tan. Nostalgic. This is my first ELF makeup product after I've been swept away for face paint passion! And Michelle Phan's tutorial using shimmer bronzer as contour and eyeshadow makes me love this more. Another must-have when you're on the go and ready to run! :)

Cortizan - be it pimple, rashes, inflamation, fungi whatsoever, my family would just dab a cortizan! Its our ointment holy grail if that makes sense. Less than Php200.00 a tube.

4Life Transfer Factor Riovida Bursts - that I talked about in my last month's empties.

4Life Transfer Factor Glutamine Prime - for less than Php3300.00, you'll get 180 capsules of building blocks that'll

• help you fight stress and avoid depression
• mood stabilizer - bipolar bears are out!
• more energy reserves - if you're a mom, nursing a year old, working and at home you need to reserve all the energy you could surely use for extra extra :)
• encourages your body to produce glutathione - whitening was not my priority (although I have several whitening products) but this will make you fairer while
• protecting your liver - love your liver not your liquor
• glutathione as body's antioxidant to fight free radicals

What are you waiting for, grab a Glutamine Prime now! You need it!

Sesou Haul Empties - including Giga Baby Insect Repellent Spray, Milea Baby Baby Cleaner and Human Heart Nature Spray Sanitizer. That is actually our 2nd Milea Baby Cleaner - my best friend when water is no where!

Sunsilk Smooth and Manageable Shampoo and Conditioner - is my every month favorites, can you tell? Can't believe we used up 3 refill sachets of Sunsilk pink, I guess Sarah G.'s irresistible commercial holds true to the family. I however find that the conditioner didn't really conditioned my hair so...

Dove Hair Fall Rescue Conditioner - is my perfect match! Sunsilk pink shampoo + this Dove conditioner = good smelling tangle free hair! It's love! I skip the Dove shampoo partner 'cause it tends to make my hair oily!

Black Beauty Shampoo in Crystal - yup, I ate up my words. This is my 3rd bottle and still counting!

Avon Skin So Soft Silky Moisture replenishing lotion with argan oil -  this sounds weird but at first, the scent of this lotion reminds me of coffins and burials, of small violet flowers used to that sad occasions... but as my nose adjusted (can't resist the organ oil goodness) and so, I'm done with the first bottle and since I bought two of these, I'm down to use the next last bottle. I'm not so sure if I would go buy this SSS lotion again, I might try another brand. But the argan oil - so we never know! Argan oil is good!

Johnsons Baby Powder - in pink included in my Johnson Baby Haul

Johnsons Baby Cooling Bath and Milk Bath - Last summer, I gave my babe a treat by switching to Johnsons Baby Cooling Bath, its like minty cool and he loves it too! And, later on we return to our love at first smell - the milk bath! It reminds me of my newborn baby Clyde! P.S. our first love was the orangey no tears formula!

That's it! Hello September! I'm so happy! If you're following me on my social media then you know why! Hint: Google Nexus 7! Ow Em Ji!

Dove Beauty Moisture Facial Foam

Dove contains 1/4 moisturizing milk in all their products and this facial form moisturizes while cleansing the skin. The milk ingredient deposits and locks moisture in wet skin making it more radiant.

I find Dove Beauty Moisture Facial Foam gentle on skin, smells good and it really DOES moisturize skin! ;)

Dove Facial Wash

This is perfect for normal to dry skin because of it staying true to its promise. :)

But since I'm currently oily, the moisture in the morning lately become additional excess oil in the middle of the day. It doesn't break me out but gave me hard time wiping my face with oil control sheet and puffing in pressed powder during hot and humid days, but inside air-conditioned establishment and during my stay in Baguio it's pretty good. :)

I guess I should focus on clearing my skin from pimples before using this Dove product again because this is intended for maintaining good moisturized skin, not from fighting oil, pimples and acne.

Have you tried Dove Beauty Moisture Facial Foam before?