September 28, 2014

RUB.

Happy weekend everyone!  Just got home from a buffet lunch (so no need for dinner) and a movie date with Kenshin (yihey) and relearn a life lesson from the movie and that is "your life is precious, give value to it".  Anyway, just a reminder to all movie goers: please respect others in the movie house and don't exchange your sweet whatever with your girlfriend or boyfriend loudly throughout the movie or chit chat about your life or tell the story of the movie...in short "shut up, can't you see I'm watching".

Going back to the happy side of the post, let's talk about RUB.


If you are in the Philippines and familiar with Racks, then you have to try RUB Ribs & BBQ because it's the cheaper but equally great version of the former.  Me and some members of the family dine in the Makati branch to celebrate my birthday.  Aside from Ribs and BBQ, they have other food to choose from that compliment BBQ.


We stick with Ribs and got two gigantic plates of Raki's BBQ Ribs Family Brunch.  Each order have 2 big and 1 small ribs and 3 side dishes.  The mashed potato is everybody's favorite (although it taste different when I have it delivered to our office, I guess better to eat it when dining in the resto) because it's creamy, just have the right buttery goodness to it and it's made of real~just cooked potatoes, second would be the potato fries with the tartar sauce (or maybe I'm just craving for "real potato fries" that week).

The ribs are flavorful and if we we're asked what else to improved, I would say marinate them a little bit longer so the marinate would really get inside the the meat and the bones...good thing there's extra bbq sauce serve but overall Raki's BBQ Ribs is really good~flavorful and tender.






































And that my friends is my nephew, covered his face with a robot to hide it's identity.  Moving on, we also ordered fish and chips...actually fries because I'm just really craving for fries.  This is great with the tartar sauce, without the sauce it's a bit on the bland side (so never ever ever forget to ask for the tartar sauce when it is not served).

I just love the arts on the wall, it's makes the place cozy and interesting despite the industrial chairs and tables.  The guard is also very welcoming he even let us enter the resto even if it's not yet open (we are an hour early) just for us to have a cool place to sit and watch tv while waiting.

Funny thing, a crew hurriedly approached us (we are already at the entrance) just to give a big bottle of choco mint mouthwash ahahaha (it doesn't sound funny here but it is when it happened).

September 27, 2014

Nature Republic Rose, Rice, Shea


"By Nature", no annoying overpowering smell, sheet is not too thick nor thin and they are affordable: readers, here I go again with sheet masks.

Nature Republic is one of the korean brands that I knew when I was just starting to blog and also when the kpop started to boom in my country.  It's one of the brands that offer skincare and make-up at an affordable price.  It's been a while since I visited one of its shop but when I do, I usually buy a tub or two of the aloe gel and masks sheets for the quality is quite good considering it's price.


With the still old packaging, rice variant always have a spot on my sheet masks world because of it's brightening promise (if you're wondering why, well I have pale skin and some brightening is quite welcome) and this one from Nature Republic didn't fail to deliver.  The milky essence have a little alcohol smell to it but I guess Nature Republic improved this area because the rose hip and shea variant almost have no trace of alcohol (but I sniff close and hard just to smell the very faint alcohol smell, but if I don't put that extra effort then I really can't tell that they have alcohol in the ingredient list).

The Rose Hip has more oily finish than the rice.  Other bloggers say that this variant whitens their skin (but I'm not a fan of whitening products and when I bought this, rose hip is making some noise so I got curious).  It does smoothen my face in the sense that it moisturizes my skin and leaves my skin with this slightly oily "film"/"layer" that fills the unevenness of my skin.  Firmness, in my opinion can be achieved after a lot of usage just like doing yoga and exercising for a period of time for the body to be toned and firm.

Lastly, the Shea Butter which seems very weird to me because it reminds me of the body butter that I apply on the driest part of my body: very heavy and sticky.  Fortunately, it's not that heavy as I expected but needs a lot of massaging and time before my skin absorbs the essence.  Moisturization is not that heavy but I don't have to apply cream or emulsion the next day so I guess it's promise of "increasing skin's moisture-retention level" is true.

September 20, 2014

Etude House Royal Jelly Plus Collagen in One


Please excuse my photo, I did everything to make it look decent and resorted to layering with geometric figures...it look fine right?

After more than a year of hoarding and being addicted to sheet masks, I finally calm my senses and stopped my vice of checking almost every masks that is or has been the talk of the town.  I'm now down to around 15 sheets individually wrap and to this one from Etude House.

Now if you are using a sheet masks on a regular basis, wouldn't it be more economical to just use buy them in bulk as in like wet wipes type?  This was my thought when I saw Etude House's sheet masks that are in this plastic box that contains 20 sheets:  it's definitely cheaper and also saves a lot of plastic wraps and excess essence.  I got Royal Jelly + Collagen variant because it's moisturizing, perfect for my dry skin (nevermind the firming part) which is I think also better than just the Royal Jelly mask that is individually wrap.


The milky essence is sticky, I won't lie and most of the time I have to splash water to my face after use of the mask to remove it's ickiness but it's really moisturizing and saves my face from becoming a Sahara dessert (here goes my exaggeration).  Another unhappiness about this product that can be remedied is of course the uneven distribution of essence so every now and then I have to turn the plastic box upside down so the top sheet wouldn't dry out.  And well, if you already tried asian sheet mask then you might already probably know the fact that the shape of the sheet mask is weird that even me who is asian have a hard time fitting it to my face but it's okay...I'm already use to it :)

Zen Zest Tea Tree Oil



Even someone with dry skin experience having large painful pimples especially on red days that like those with oily skin type, pray that they would quickly go away but pimples most of the time are clingy and wanted to stay forever.  In situation like this, I rely in the drying and antibacterial power of tea tree oil.

Mine is from ZenZest (I also thought they only sell perfume) because it's the cheapest :) yet works well enough to zit the zits in a shorter amount of time.  By cheap I mean 100 pesos (that's around $2.50) which is way cheaper than The Body Shop's!


It does kind of warm the skin when apply a small amount of the oil either on my pimples or other itchy whatevers in my skin like insect bites or scratch or bumps that just suddenly appear on my legs.  Yes it kind of became a multi-purpose oil for me but let's go back to the pimple part.

When I have a small zit, I just apply (directly on the zit and it's close sorrounding) a small amount of tea tree oil at night, sleep on it and bam! it disappears in the morning.  For bigger zits or pimples, it will take around 3 days (it will slowly shrink) before they will turn into something that can be hidden under a concealer which is not bad since before, it'll take around 5 days before my pimple "ripen" (meaning before it pops, I hope you know what I mean).

I sometimes also use this to deodorize my feet, but I make sure that I moisturize them well the day after since this oil is quite drying.  Yes, it's an oil but it is drying that is why it is effective for my pimples.


The only bummer about ZenZest's is the dispenser of the oil, I have to yank the small bottle in order for me to get a decent amount for my pimples but I guess it's better than accidentally spilling it, right?

September 14, 2014

Queen Helene Mud Pack Masque



Because of it's popularity, I always wanted to try Queen Helene's Mint Julep Masque but it's always out of stock or I'm not just fast enough to go to the store and grab one and was left with Mud Pack Masque instead which is actually not bad.

According to www.queenhelene.com"

"Mud Pack Masque is the original old-fashioned, time-tested earth facial treatment with imported natural English Clay that works wonders for your skin. It's not only an effective pore cleanser, but also helps tighten loose, sagging skin on your face and neck and relaxes tired facial muscles to soften lines and wrinkles. Our Mud Pack Masque facial helps you look your best when you're preparing to go out for an evening or helps you relax before going to bed. No matter when you use it, your complexion will have a clearer, smoother, more youthful looking appearance."

Really not bad, right?


Since it's a mud masque, it's so thick sometimes I wish that this is just in a tub instead.  I have to exert too much effort in squeezing the tube and have to rub it in between my hands first (to soften it) before applying it to my skin.  Before, I use foundation brush to evenly apply it, now I just work it in my hands and randomly slather on my face though I saw a youtube video showing how to properly apply a mud mask but who has time for that? hehehe.

This mud mask is quite effective:  I feel that my pores are squeaky clean every after use and it helps in drying out my pimples faster (I also use this around my upper back whenever I feel that there's a lot of "back-acne" going on and in some parts of my body that needs a little deep cleansing action) and when it dries it's as if it's lifting my face and pulling and tightening my pores.  The only downside for me is that it dries my skin so I make sure to moisturize! moisturize! moisturize! I even use face mask and/or sleeping mask/pack after.

Overall it's a really good mud masque for me.

Have you tried the Mint Julep one?  How was it?

September 12, 2014

Mustache, I mean Pore Strips


It's been awhile since I use pore strips since I noticed that the more I use them the more blackheads and whiteheads come back with vengeance or maybe my skin is just so clogged with dirt and hardened sebum...or maybe both?

Here are three strips that I used for the last couple of weeks, all of them are made from Korea even though the other one is a Filipino brand.


Opening the packets before hand saved me from smelling the burning scent of the TheFaceShop and Bench strips.  The It's Skin has an Eskinol smell which is more on the citrucy side.

It's Skin was the weakest remover from the three.  It didn't remove my blackheads plus whiteheads are sticking out that extra plucking is needed.  What I like about it though is that it has a bit of a cooling sensation.

According to the packaging "The Black Head Clear Nose Sheet with Charcoal and Witch Hazel extracts keep your nose skin soft and refreshed.  This product is designed to clean your noseby removing ugly black heads and cleansing clogged pores.  It also makes your skin dramatically clear and smooth"~not all true in my opinion, I'm just glad that it doesn't hurt to use this.


Next is from the TheFaceShop which I got as a freebie.  This one is the smelliest from the 3 and also the weakest that when I started to remove it from my nose it also started to tear.  This is a neutral one meaning it does remove blackheads and whiteheads but there would still be remainder to work on.  It almost have the same promise as It's Skin's but my nose is still not smooth as my forearm :P


Lastly, Bench.  This is the most effective but also the most painful to use (although very tolerable kind of pain, I'm talking pore strip stripping kind of pain here).  It did remove most of my blackheads even the big and stubborn ones and whiteheads but it's quite drying so better use moisturizer afterwards.  Like that it also has all the necessary information in the language that I can understand in its packaging and that the strip itself is made of a soft kind of material.  Like the TheFaceShop's, this also has a burning smell but more on the lighter side and again opening the packets beforehand helps in diminishing the weird scent.

Have a wonderful weekend :)

September 7, 2014

Let's Eat: Bornga!


My family loves to eat but lately, some members became a bit conscious about the food they put in their mouth and so in one of a mini family get together courtesy of one of our "elders" and her family we dine in Bornga, the one located across Columns in Makati City.

Here's some photos (because my battery run out, what a timing) and a little side notes from me about my experience with Bornga.


It just amazes me that Park Jong Won's Woo Samgyup is patented!  Below is 2/3 of the condiments/side dishes that was presented to us, yes it's a lot.  I like the red one that looks like sausage, I forgot the name but I think it's rice that is a bit spicy...I always see it in Running Man.


The very reason why we chose Bornga:  GREEN LEAVES!!!  And those are not just lettuce, there's also cabbage and other green leafy stuff that I don't know in the tray.


And some more condiments/side dish and we also ordered rice which is completely unnecessary because the green vegetables is enough plus the chapchae.


I thought that I will not like their chapchae since the ones that I tried are too sweet for my liking.  Luckily, Bornga's just have the right balance of sweetness and saltiness that we ordered another serving.


Of course we ordered pork and beef meat slices.  We thought that we're the one whose going to grill but wait, according to the mini comic strip the staffs are the one who's gonna prepare it for us.


And here's the grilled meat!  Yum, the one in the left is the beef which is best for the wrap and on the right (and someone is already snatching the meat while I'm taking a photo) is the prok which is so tasty you can also eat it with rice and would still taste flavorful.


And while we we're eating, the waiter is just there beside the griller grilling for us.  And another illustration on how to enjoy Woo Samgyup.


And TADA!!! My masterpiece, looking pretty and healthy!


Hope you enjoyed this yummy and light post :)  Keep on supporting The Certified Latebloomer!