Joining the 'Selfie' bandwagon

Is ME!! :)

I made this picture right after our haircut over the weekend. I so love my blow-dried hair that I suddenly remembered a distant cousin who I unfollowed on IG and FB because of her excessive Selfie. I have nothing against Selfie. I understand the idea of you wanting to flaunt your asset (I hope it's your face) all over the online world. I just cannot take those who post the same shit everyday. I mean it's not enough that you only change your clothes, try changing your hairstyle and lipstick color also. I'm no fashion or beauty consultant but I'm sure it's for the best.

Ohh by the way, I made a very catchy caption for that picture -

Matry nga yung super hawi ng buhok. Tapos ipophotoshop ko din! Tapos hashtag Selfie. Ilang likes kaya? :))

As of this writing, I got 27 likes already. That's just 17 hours ago! Haha! Effective! :D


Wish me more selfie to come,
Yosh

Hair Reborn

I was born with nice hair. But for some unknown reasons, my hair started to get unruly when I was in high school. Maybe its because of the over-exposure in the sun during my COCC and CAT days. So when did I start having my hair fixed? It was when my heart was broken. I was so hurt that I wanted revenge (not good!). My idea of revenge was to make "X" say sorry he left me. I put my spectacles away and replaced it with contact lenses. Then I had my hair relaxed. That was a refreshing change. For several times, I saw that look in his eyes. Or maybe that's what I thought I saw. haha! Since then, I was always a fan of relaxing. Then of rebonding (as soon as I'm earning my own money!)

I have my own stories of the nightmares during my quest to find the best rebonding salon-
1. One salon left my hair as stiff as our house broom.
2. The other salon, despite burning my scalp with iron, transformed my hair into nothing. As in nothing changed as soon as I washed it (FYI- to those who haven't tried rebonding. Do not get awed first by your hair right after the session. It will be beautiful of course. The true test comes right after you washed it after 3 days.)
3. Then I found F-Salon in Angono Market in 2008. It was then the best rebonded hair I had. Norman can iron hair well, maybe its the advantage of being a man. He's got more force. My only problem I had was that it gave me hair breakage. But it was tolerable.
4. After a year, because I wasn't fully satisfied with F Salon, I tried Salon de Poseur in Taytay. It was my first major hair nightmare. My tolerable hair breakage worsened and my hair was still wavy. Out of fear of losing more hair, I didn't come back.
5. After less than a year, I tried another salon just across the street where my previous salon was located. It was the then newly opened Japanese Straight salon. I was so excited about the good reviews of its other branches. My hair was done by two guys. It was nice when you look at it at the mirror. The next day I cried when I touched my hair. I felt something spiky on one side of my head. It was like touching the head of a semi-kalbo. I asked my friend to check it, and I thought right. She said that it was a bunch of little hair. My guess what that he put too much meds on that particular part and left it to burn.

Since then I was too afraid to have my hair fixed. But of course I want great hair for my wedding! Last year, a month before the wedding, I asked my HMUA if I should get a rebond. She said it's up to me. But the hair may not be obedient with the styling. She advised me to get color instead to tame my look. I regret that decision. Look at my hair at the wedding -

The styling was nice, my hair was not. Noticed the unrebonded hair on top? Argh

But geesh I felt so ugly not having my hair down! So after 1 year and 3 months, and after extensive seeking online reviews, I finally decided to have my hair fixed again. My natural hair has grown long enough. According to my research, the meds should be Loreal Xtenso. Apparently, this is the best one for damaged hair. And for the salon - There's this one salon in Pasig that everyone in Girltalk is talking about - Pals Salon. The best part is it's only a ride away from my home.

So last Saturday, I had my hair done by Louie. I arrived at 10am, just in time for my appointment. We started at 10:30am with this horrifying hair -

Scary eh?

I availed of their 1,999php Loreal Xtenso Package. But that was for rebond only. They offered me additional 400 for cellophane or 500 for Powerdose or 800 for both. I said I'll take both. So gullible of me! But before ironing my hair, Louie offered me another deal - plus 500 if I wanted volume rebonding. She said my hair is too short that it will tend to have flyways because of the rebond. But I only have 3000php with me (that's my strategy so I cannot spend more than my budget). So we agreed on just the 400 for the cellophane then 500 for the volume rebond. Although I've read that their volume rebond was just ironing the hair inwards and not really like the top salon volume rebond where you will be under the digiperm machine, I still went for it. By 4:30, I was done -

with my hairstylist - Louie

After

It was nice. No spiky spots! But again the true test comes after 3 days.

Then just this morning (the 4th day), I washed it already. Look at the outcome - 

It's FLAT!

My hair is still soft and still no spiky spot (That's good news!). But it's flat. So I just wasted 500 for the volume rebond. And I noticed that there is a wavy spot. Look here -

and WAVY!

My resolution: Tuck in under the ear! Yeah yeah I know it's not right. But I'll still do it anyways. I wanted natural looking hair.

I LIKE - 

1. The people in the salon - Louie, Joyce, RR, the one who washed my hair/ the mani/pedi girl (forgot to ask her name) and even Ate Rose were all nice. They are not the more chika type which I prefer. 

2. They're not even pushy of their products. Louie just offered me what they have and then that's it. 

3. They have WiFi

4. It's cheaper than the other top salons but the quality was the same. Or even better!

I DON'T LIKE - 

1. The volume rebond ek-ek thing. Not effective!

So far, it's the best rebond my hair has experienced. Will I come back? YES! So go ahead, you can take my word for it. Just not the volume rebond. And remember - to each his own. My hair may be hiyang to them, but not yours. But it's worth the try. :)

UPDATE:

I went back 5 days after to let them see my hair, they acknowledged the remaining waves. But they only gave me a hair treatment! No retouch! Ganun ba talaga? :|

I would kill for Elie Saab creations! :))

If not for my search for the perfect entourage dresses, I would not discover my love for Elie Saab!

Actually, I haven't realized it at first. I just searched for ramdom gowns using Google Search and after putting it on a single folder i noticed that most of the filenames contains Elie Saab. wow! So I guess I found my dream designer. Oh yeah this is the weirdest dream. If I cannot afford Veluz, I surely could not afford even the simplest of Elie's gowns. But I can afford an immitation. hehe kidding. I just hope local dressmakers can make a decent version.

Anyway, take a look at some of Elie Saab's collections. For some reasons, I will not be posting my entourage gowns here. Especially my wedding gown! (let's leave some excitement for D).

santa-santita look!

All photos are from eliesaab.com

Run again :)

Last time I checked, I only have 9 months to go before my big day. So close! But I still have more pounds to shed. awwness

I already experienced the feeling of almost-sexy (not totally sexy! but it was a far cry to my usual size hehe). That was when I was preparing for D's homecoming from Saudi. Now that he's back, slowly im gaining the lost weight. waaaa

So much for slackness! Let's get back to business! :P

there's a cute guy at the back :P

thank you for the wristband Thace! :)

sweat it!

jogging with mama and chacha

the slackers! :P

the breakfast after

I'm trying to do this TThS. And then some interval do-it-at-home exercise on MWF. BTW, I'm doing this every morning before going to work (Thank God for 10am-7pm shift!) I still prefer working out in the morning when the sun can shine on me. I feel intimidated to run at BGC after work. It's so crowded with full-dressed runners! aww
I really hope I can keep this up for long. Please support me! :)

Power trip @ Power Peel Clinic

I was never a fan of group-buying sites, my friend Chelai is. Since she will be going to London for a year, she left us her vouchers.

Our first experience using it was a breeze, Diana Stalder has great costumer service, staff and facility.
But the case was completely different with Power Peel Clinic...

Chelai has 8 Power Peel Clinic's IPL vouchers. She was not sure how many were left when she gave it to us, so she instructed us to just go to the clinic and ask them since they should have a record of the vouchers.

So come saturday we drag our feet to Power Peel Clinic in Panay Avenue. I read it in some blogs that their clinic was not so good-looking. That is 100% true. What will you expect from a vanity clinic? Either a spa-like ambiance or pristine white walls, right? Then you are on for some disappointments. It is just a condo unit turned clinic in a very old building. But I kept my hopes high, their service is more important.

So we approached the front desk (i mean table), it took some time since the girl there was also manning the phone calls. She then asked us to fill up some papers (even the paper sucks! imagine public elementary school's exam paper). We again sat down and wait for our turn. BTW, we were actually on the waiting list. The girl said that their schedule is full on weekends but we can take our chance. Only two clients were there when we arrived, so where the hell are the scheduled clients? No wonder one girl blurted out 'wala naman kayo pasyente e' when the frontdesk girl asked her to don't be late next time. So going back, we were just getting comfortable to our seats when one attendant called:
Girl: Laurice?
Lara: ako po
Girl: (look up to lara first from head to toe, in her scrutinizing eyes) First time mo?
Lara: opo
Girl: (look at lara again from head to toe)
.. I wasn't able to catch what happened next because my attendant called me to the room already. Yes no scrutinizing head-to-toe look!

Then after the session, Lara and I shared experiences. I said I only had 6 shots per UA. Lara had 10 and 8 each. Very far from 22 or 35 shots we read in some blogs. She also asked me if i removed my clothes because she was just in her bra the whole session. Since I'm wearing sleeveless blouse inside, I just removed my cardigan. Towel coverups is not a fad at that clinic i guess.

About the remaining vouchers, the girl didn't have a record of the vouchers used. She said the Metrodeal personnel has it and he/she is not in the office until Monday. So she told me to leave the vouchers to her and they will just call me. Uncomfortable as I am to the setting, I just nodded.

The call came this morning. The Powerpeel girl told me that we only have 1 voucher. And since we used 2, we owe them 1 IPL session. I was stoned because we, including the voucher owner, expected 3 or 4. So I asked her to check on Chelai's records.

She called back a few hours later. She said my friend had 5 visits. So there! I said we still have 3 right? But she said I only have 1 left. I told her to give me the dates when my friend visited their clinic. She gave me: Jan 11 - 1, Jan 26 -2, Mar 6 - 2, Mar 8 - 1. So that makes it 6! I was trying to add it to her but she was insisting that maybe my friend gave the vouchers to another friend. I said I'm sure it's a no. And then I asked how come 2 vouchers were used on one session. She told me that my friend used it on UA, legs, and back (I have to confirm this one to Chelai). I asked her again: 'so anong ending nito?'. She said: 'pakisabi nga po kay mam rochel na ubos na po yung voucher nya, tapos may utang pa po kayo 1 IPL...' I stopped her. NO freaking way! I strongly believe that it was not my fault that they have a faulty record-keeping. I laid my cards in her desk. I asked her to check which vouchers were not used because my friend was not sure of the count. But they didn't have records! They will have to wait for a Metrodeal personnel to arrive at their clinic to check the vouchers. If right there and then she told me that I only have 1 voucher left, for sure Lara and I won't use a non-existing one right? (but we still strongly believe we have at least 3 left!). Then she asked: 'so hindi na po kayo pupunta dito?'. I answered: 'hindi na, e wala na pala ako gagamitin na voucher e...'. The line was cut. She dropped the phone. What the hell?! So rude!

After a few hours, she texted:

Pcnxa n po mdjo ngkaprob s line.callbk nlng aq later..pliz inform nlng ninyo ky ms rochell duco n gmit n ung 7voucher n bgay zaenyo tnx p0..powerpeel1

Do you think I bought that? With that rudeness, not-so-friendly esthetician, unorganized records, so-boring ambiance, not-so-comfortable procedure - Hell to the NO! Even if I have vouchers left, I will not go back to Power Peel Clinic. 

grabbed from Metrodeal

Disclaimer: This story was based on personal experience and has no intention to harm anyone.

Skin Care: B&B Moonlight Path

I will open this post with -- Thank You Thace!

Of the two body creams I received last Christmas, I decided to open this first. I'm a sucker for cute bottles kasi. :P

I remembered bugging Thace to give away her left-over US items to Lisa and me. BTW, Thace is my batchmate here in the office and her sister is currently living in the states. That sister is constantly sending them imported items - clothes, accessories, perfume, lotions, etc. So since we (TD Batchmates) are so makulet, we asked Thace imported Christmas presents! haha! Then a week after New Year (yes she was on vacation the whole week after New Year! talk about vacation much! :P), Thace went to my cube and dropped something. Geeee I was suprised! I wasn't expecting she will really bite to our request. We were just joking! haha. So I asked: 'Is this mine?'. She said yes. I asked again: 'Free?'. Yes again. Yes! Yes! Yes!

You know how cheapskate I am, so it is not a surprise that this is my first ever Bath & Body Body Cream. haha. But I had some B&B hand moisturizers before (given by friends who went to the States again!).

So since I am now addicted to reading fashion and beauty blogs, I will make a review ala-beauty expert. haha

PROs:

- very good scent, so fresh-smelling, so girly scent

- the scent stays on the skin for long hours (say i put it on at 8am, the scent will still be there at 11pm) yay!

- the scent is strong enough you can skip perfume

- the consistency is so thick so you'll need just a small amount to cover your whole body

- it makes my skin soft

CONs:

- since it is so thick, it takes time to dry up if you put a generous amount (for hot seasons and specially in the Philippines)

But it can be remedied by standing in front of a fan or just putting small amounts.

Well as for me, the more the better! I want soft skin on my wedding!

I hope Thace will give me Dancing Waters next. hehehe :P

Beauty magician search

as per my sisters in w@w, i should also invest on Hair and Make-Up Artist (HMUA) for my big day. oh well. what people will notice nga naman - food, your gown, your face.
hmm so the search is on..
I been hearing a lot of those famous HMUAs, but i cannot afford them. my budget is 15k max (i intend not to pay for my ento makeup, di keri ng budget e). my target is just for me, my groom and our 2 mothers.
i know.. this is going to be a hard chase.

my qualifications are:
1. she has to be a girl - im not really comfortable having my makeup done by gay (i have nothing againsts gays naman). i just felt we (especially D) will be more at ease with girls.
2. she has to be beautiful herself - of course! how can you promise to make me beautiful if you cant fix yourself in the first place. diba? :)
3. value for money

so email. email. email.
so far i super love Mayone Bakunawa. but pricey! :)

bridal fair! weee time for some free makeovers!

Makeup by Belleski
i circled the whole megatrade for like an hour before finally settling on having my trial done by Belle.
imagine D's face, he is really frowning. haha
trial time..

before

during

after

with belle

party after!

after 5 hours