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 :)

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Blues with a Touch of Pink and well...Brown

Here goes the bundle reviews again, this time I have four products to talk about.

Cetaphil Skin Cleanser
I hate this when I was a kid because it doesn't bubble (bubble makes a kid happy, right?) but when my skin allergy declares war, I have no choice but to use this or Dove.  Now that I'm older, I appreciate how mild and gentle this cleanses; and at the same time, soften my skin.  It's a 2 in 1 product too because I can use it on my face and body (and sometimes in my scalp too) and my skin just loves it!

Lander Foot Scrub
I saw this from one of Shayne's post of queenofallyousee.com (visit and greet her blog, it just turned 1 and Shayne is hosting a giveaway!) and because it has a peppermint on it, I got intrigued.  It's a mild foot scrub that can be use on a daily basis and the peppermint scent is just relaxing, it tricks my brain into thinking that my feet somehow feels cool.

Soap&Glory Hand Food
I sometimes hate the smell of this one but it's just mild that I can live with it and just concentrate on how well it moisturizes my hands and my feet too.  It's non-sticky and it says in the description that it has shea butter, macadamia oil and MARSHMALLOW!!!! yum yum.  I also like how it softens callus.

Bench Organics Coffee&Honey Body Scrub
Now if I get lazy making my own scrub, I reach out to this scrub.  It mildly scrubs without drying and it has honey which is a natural skin softener and has antibacterial properties.  I can't smell the coffee part and I can't tell if this can really firm and tone skin.  Aside from crushed apricot seeds though, this one has polyethylene which irritates my skin lately so I might not get a third tub.  Too bad, I really like the smell and gentleness of this scrub.

Next month, I think I'll bundle hair products for this kind of post.
p.s. for the prices and other details of the products, just click the name and it will lead you either on amazon or to the online shops of the brand or to someone else blog where I heard the product

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September 2013 Haul: A Little of Some Things

My sister commented that the buttons on my polo shirt looks like christmas lights the other day.  Can't completely relate to her statement because for me they are just golden small buttonss.  Me thinks:  "she's thinking Christmas!"

-Ber months and in less than 100 days, Christmas and holiday season na ulit!  I usually buy random stuff all year round so I don't know why I'm saying this...maybe because I spend without being guilty of spending because Christmas is just around the corner?  Anyway, here's some random stuff that I bought for the month of September.

random stuff from Etude House, Watsons, Bench and The Body Shop

Small to many maybe but this haul made another hole in my wallet.  Let's start with my lonely Etude House loot.

Moistfull Collagen Emulsion,  Apricot Stick, Styling Eye Liner

20% off! Oh yeah, thanks Etude.  Summer here in the Philippines and I'm already making my list on what to  buy on Etude House once their FB fanpage reaches 200,000 likes.  Unfortunately, summer has ended and rain drops are already falling but no sale yet and I keep on crossing the items on my list until there's none to cross.  A miracle happen though in the end days of August because the page only needs 7 likes when I checked it and almost every prince and princess of Etude House is commenting about the "momentous event".  Made a list again for the sale and again as weeks goes by, I keep on crossing and revising my list.

I posted this immediately ahahaha

Finally, I settled with a tinted lip balm, an eyeliner, wonderpore brush, cotton pads and silicone bands but replaced them with hair treatment  and masks (last minute revision) and off I went to SM Makati.  Sadly, the kiosk of Etude House there got smaller and there's no wonderpore brush which is what I'm excited about,  I'm about to walk away when I told myself, "Hey, you know what?  Just grab that emulsion for the sake of buying something and to uplift your morale.  I know it's a long story but that's the "history' of my lonely threesome Etude House haul plus of course I got a free mask.

Watsons and Bench

Hair Color pack from Glam (I hope you still remember the girl in the pic),  Evas Vitamin Hand Lotion and Bench Body Scrub are repurchases because they're cheap yet works really well.  Just a little upset with the price of the Evas hand lotion because it went up by 30 pesos in just a small span of time.  And I believe the most expensive in this group is the deodorant, can you believe that?  It caught my attention because it's made of tawas but in a stick and it's heavy (and expensive too).

from my excited sister 's viber

I was on a vacation when my sister texted me that she wanted to avail the BPI's promo of buy 1 take 1 of all the gift sets in The Body Shop.  When she vibered the photo I was like, huh? yan lang and you paid thousands?  (huh? that's it and you paid thousands).

Shea Body Whip and Olive Shower Gel

My ignorance of the different products of The Body Shop made me underestimate the price of the set because the body whip is actually pricier than regular lotions as it claims to be light and non-greasy...hmmm I think I'll reserve it for summer time next year (I still have apple lotion pa naman..teehee).

So these are the additions to my mini department store.  Have you gone shopping lately in preparation for the holidays?  I bet there would be a lot of sales and promos this coming paydays, so let's chain our wallets okay?

Thanks for reading. Till then. Bye!

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Bench Organics Moroccan Argan Oil

Seems like I'm out of energy this week that I only made one post since Monday.  The heat, lack of sleep and obesity makes me tired all day.  *sigh* I must change my habits.

Anyway, here's a product that i use from head to foot when I'm dead tired and wanted to spend a quality time with my bed.

Bench Organics Moroccan Argan Oil
Moisturizing body oil with Vitamin E
P199 for 115ml
(I blurred the pic but I didn't get the effect that I want)

Bench is a local store in the Philippines that offers mainly clothing and apparel, accessories plus snacks when I was younger but as I grow older, expands it's market and now sells wide array of other lifestyle products (you can find the website here).  I got this oils because Argan Oil is quite popular now and this one from Bench is cheap, well it's not 100% Argan Oil!

Argan Tree
photo from wsj.com

According to naturalnews.com, argan oil has an extremely high levels of Vitamin E and 80% fatty acids which is perfect which is perfect for healing healing and protecting the skin from many ailments and premature aging caused by oxidation.  It also have tissue healing, anti-inflammatory, sun protective, disinfectant, anti-oxidant, skin softening effect and can also reduce wrinkles.

Amazing!!!  But I bought the Bench Argan Oil not knowing what I just type above and I'm only thinking of trying it out and it's cheap and I didn't regret taking it home.  It's a top to toe oil for me as I use it to moisturize my hair, my face and body (kulang na lang inumin ko) without the sticky, heavy feeling even if I'm under the heat of the summer sun.  It's amazing how my skin absorbs this oil so well and the smell is really refreshing (a bit flowery) that it passed the meticulous nose of my sister.  Smoothness is a little problem at first and had to top it with a lotion or a body serum.  Since it's not 100% argan oil though, it may not achieved all the benefits of a pure one.

in seconds the oil will seep into the skin
doesn't make skin look oily

It's not 100% Argan Oil but I like how it moisturize and nourish my skin (less itchy now) and the price: it's really affordable that I'll definitely get another bottle when I run out.

here's the full ingredients plus some benefits

Are you using argan oil?

Thanks for reading. Till then. Bye!

Bench Mini Haul

A memory I remember when going to Bench when I was still a kid:  my sister would look at the clothes while she let me get rummage the sweet/food section and let me get an item to eat while waiting for her.  Now Bench doesn't only offer clothes, accessories, scents and food (and Bench also hire great endorsers like Adam Lavine and Lee Min Ho) but also some skincare products.  And look what I found, a coffee scrub and an argan oil both at a very affordable prices.

Moroccan Argan Oil P199.75
Coffee & Honey Body Scrub P149.75

just another shot

I can't choose between the two shots of my sister so I put them both :)

Very happy with the argan oil; although it's not concentrated, since they are very expensive in other stores.  I love coffee scrub. I remember using the beans from Starbucks as a body scrub and it really made my skin soft and smooth.

Thanks for reading.  Till then.  Bye!