Hi! Quarter Update

Hi!  I randomly thought that I'll do a quarter update post to break the reviews and hauls that I usually write; about although I'm not a legit writer, and also a little sneak peak with my personal life.

EVENT
January:
Work has been the highlight of my January because I'm already an official member of the company I work for but gosh I'm still not holding a firm grip with my position but it seems that I'm getting use to all the hoopla of the people around me.

Hada Labo and More

Here's the random review again but this time, some goodies are irresistible!

Zenutrients Massage Oils
I got the Eucalyptus and Peppermint and the Eucalyptus and Green Tea and I like the latter more than the former because it's more minty, more relaxing and it helps me breathe better.  These oils are not only good for massages but also for moisturizing the skin because of the coconut oil which is not greasy to use that I apply them even during daytime...good stuff I'm going to try other variants.

Watsons Green Tea Pore Minimizing Gel
If you wanted to try aloe gels for the longest time but don't want to spend 200 to 300 (around $4 to $5) pesos then this gel is a good option.  It has the same light moisturization and cooling effect for less than 100 pesos.  Not sure about the pore minimizing part because I only use this on my feet :)

The Body Shop Special Edition Blueberry
There's a thin line between this, having a childish blueberry smell with a blueberry smell that is good and okay to use in the body.  This has a thick consistency like the shea and moisturizes like the olive, not one of my favorites but for a change of smell to something almost toothy fruity is refreshing once in a while plus I got this for free, yihey!

Bath & Body Works Deep Cleansing Hand Soap
And Bath & Body Works is not joking because this hand soap have the power of deep cleansing.  The only problem is that it also washes away the moisture off my hands so I go gaga slathering lotions everytime I pee and you know what.

Hada Labo Gokujyun Lotion
Hands down to this moisturizing toner, I really wish this is readily available in Watsons Philippines.  This softens my skin to the highest level!!! and really helps in refining and moisturizing my face.  The effect is shocking after just one night of use.  I can't give a full review though because I only use it for less than a month (got to try only around 1/8 of the bottle, thanks to a friend who let me have the remaining of this stuff).
 

Tried any of these?

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and it's all Hair Products

Just a quick post with most of the stuff that I use on my hair while drinking a cup of tea and a donut, a combo that is comforting in this gloomy rainy weather (it's not summer here anymore).

Watsons Revitalizing Treatment Shampoo
I like the honey variant better mainly because of the smell:  this one has more like a baby powder scent...it's as if the shampoo is sprinkled with some powder.  I like getting these shampoos from Watsons because they are big, they works just fine and most importantly, CHEAP!

Hair Fix Hair Treatment Deep Repair
It seems like I'm sensitive with sensitive nowadays because I hate the smell of this one, it's like a pomade and it's so strong it can last two days on my hair, what a bummer.  But aside from the smell, this hair treatment is really good as it moisturizes my hair making it shiny and bouncy and I also like the fact that it's in sachet instead of tub...it means I can try other variants (this one is argan oil & aloe vera) or other hair treatments from other brands without spending too much hehehe.

Herbal Essences Hello Hydration
I remember hating Clairol products before because it makes my hair stiff, frizzy and tangled and it's a good thing that they improved a LOT!  This is probably one of my favorite conditioners to date:  it's light as if my hair absorbs it real quick, it's easy to rinse, it has a nice light smell (nothing too strong and I hope the girls who wanted to sway their hair on the train would use this instead of the overpowering flower smell (I think more overpowering than the powerpuff girls) from other conditioner brands) and gives the right amount of moisture (nothing greasy).  It hit all the necessary basics!

Loreal Total Repair Night Essence
An impulse buy cause by the sudden change of hairstyle from shoulder length to the unexpected pixie hair.  I'm thinking that if my hair is less damage, it'll grow way way faster and hair products are my desperate cry.  I'm not a fan of "leave on" hair products and this is no exception because it does nothing.  I don't feel that it's helping my hair and it just makes my hair shiny for a short period of time (I put this at night after a bath, wake up with a shiny hair and wouldn't wash it for the shininess' sake by midday, my hair feels heavy and greasy).  A waste for me, I should have just gotten a hair treatment mask...but most of the part I think it's me not use to using "leave on" products fault.

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Random Stuff Giveaway-CLOSED

To all who join the giveaway (specially those who did a good deed), thank you very much and hope you'll continue to support The Certified Latebloomer.  Funny that my sister was first randomly chosen by rafflecopter as the winner so I disqualified her and Elle G. got the prize.  I already send you an email Elle and congrats!

I just want to get this out of my head: in my mind for a some days already I am this not so girly gal who writes and play instruments for different bands without revealing who I really am (because I think it's cool).  And now that you know that, please erase it, laugh it off and here's a giveaway for you...well that is if you have a Philippine address that LBC can reach.

I'm just giving away random stuff that I have which includes 7 sheet masks from FoodAHolic and Etude House, a cute yellow pair of socks with a unicorn design, a 3W Clinic Olive Hand Cream, a 15ml Mild Sun Cream from IOPE and some sample sachets.  And if you happen to like tea then let me know :D

Using Rafflecopter for this very first giveaway of mine and is only open in the Philippines (I hope soon I can host an international giveaway).

a Rafflecopter giveaway Thanks for reading. Till then. Bye!

January 2014: Starting?

Some people say that they will start the year right.  What if the first days of the year didn't go as planned?  Don't tell me your going to wait for another year to make things right?  I know I'm exaggerating but instead of postponing, why not make THIS day right?  Better right? or this is just my simple excuse for not starting the year right?

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Hello!  January 2014 gone by really fast, I almost missed it.  Just got productive at the middle of the month by finishing some backlogs, joining communities in Google+ although I'm still that active (hello to the members of Filipino Bloggers Worldwide) cleaning, baking, a little job hunting (failed by the way) and slowly sipping a cup of tea which is very enjoyable because of the cool weather.  Does cool weather equates to having an unexplainable nice sunset sky because look what I captured with my phone's camera:

looks like a painting

the clouds and the light from the sinking sun are a great combo

This week I watched the The Secret Life of Walter Mitty and I really enjoyed it and don't know why it has a low rating.  It's a..."It's never too late", "Go for it", "Just do it", "Let it go", "Life is an adventure, "You can do it", "Nothing can stop you" kind of movie.  And did I mentioned that the soundtracks are superb?  I just love Space Oddity by David Bowie and below is what was used in the movie.

I've been jumping from one topic to another, so I'll just continue with my usual monthly thing which I've been pondering if I continue to do so.  I have some projects in mind that I hope will materialize in the next quarter like binibining dalaga which talks about different kinds of basic make-up in a beginners perspective meaning my perspective (totally new to make-up) and I'm also thinking of just doing a one time big time haul post since doing it everytime I buy some random things annoys us (it annoys me now and I know it annoys you too or I'm just assuming).  I also want to improve the context of my review by adding the links where I bought it and stuff like that plus the description on my tabs which I should have done from the very beginning (my mind is in a constant mess so my tabs and topics keep on changing).  Anyway, going back  here are my empties for this month which is not much (and I actually thinking if I should just remove this portion).

january empties

I used the Mizon Snail Recovery Gel Cream mostly in my hands now as it helps in making it plump (my hands are wrinkled) then everytime I wash my hands after doing my business in the bathroom (which is like on an hourly basis because I drink lots of water and tea) I just use the Eva Vitamin Hand because it's the cheapest hand lotion that I can find in Watsons that is quick absorbent.  The Moringa Oil helps a lot these days in keeping the dry patches in my skin less itchy and because it's so tiny I already bought another one.  And finally, I managed to empty the Watsons Repairing Treatment Shampoo in Honey after many months, you can find my post about it here.

Time for my wishlist which I'm now very excited about because my wish last December came true this January and I'm really hoping that my wishes materialize every month.

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Okay I want a laptop but not specifically the one above (I just find the photo cool).  A simple, fast and easy to use laptop (with high quality sound effect) is all I really need/want and cheap too basta within my budget.  I also want a camera and I'm already okay with Fuji X10 or if my budget permits them maybe the X20 or the X100 will also be great (man, I really need to find a high paying job).

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One of my favorites this month has been a surprised to me since I always pick a food as a favorite, this time around a wristlet is included in the league.

xoxo wristlet

celestial sleepytime herbal tea and oishi oaties milk

I love how creamy the Oishi's Oaties Milk and I am also enjoying it's introductory price.  The Celestial Sleepytime Herbal Tea keeps me warm and helps me have a deep sleep at night.  When I mix the two together, they make a really nice almost like chai tea only less sweet.

Going back to the wristlet,  I like that it's big enough to accommodate my phone, a pack of tissue, keys and some money but light enough that it's not annoying to carry it around.  It's convenient to have it when I'm wearing something without any pockets and suddenly my niece would drag me to the mall and I don't want to change, I just grab the wristlet and dumped  my stuff and I'm good to go (with bed head ahahaha).

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The first photo from this post is just so cool- the lyrics is from Franz Ferdinand's Right Action and they are my "Band of the Month".

I first heard the band when I was in college with Take Me Out which for me is like a combination of different music generations: from my parents rock and roll, to my brothers' semi-hard rock, to my sister's alternative rock and today's pop.  Well it's just my opinion.

Now they are back with Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action which is their fourth studio album and Bullet is currently on top of Jam 88.3's Weekly Top Ten (I like the Right Action more though).

To know more about the band you can just click this wikipedia link or check their site at www.franzferdinand.com.

Made it this far?  Well, thank you...I appreciate it!

Sample Sample Din Pag May Time

We like freebies right?  Even if sometimes we don't use them and because I don't use them immediately I got tons of sample at the back of my closet.  So I made some time to use half of the samples that I got from my purchases.

Here's some quick thoughts on some sample products.

all from Mizon

First batch are all from Mizon which I got from my haul from Bae Lu.  Let's start with the toner which has the same consistency as with almost all the toners that is also a little moisturizing than clear ones and almost like an essence.  It does leave my skin a bit moisturize but there's nothing really special about it (I don't know why it's expensive for a toner) plus it smells like liquid floorwax.  Next are the products derived from snail mucus:  the All In One Snail Repair Cream and Snail Repair Intensive Ampoule.  Both of the products are light and doesn't have a snail smell which is good (I don't want to smell like a snail).  I kind of expected a lot from these two because they're the first snail product that I used (also, I had these when almost everyone is hailing about the power of snail mucus) but it failed my expectation, yes they are light and provide just enough moisture but I didn't feel the "wow" factor when I used the duo.  Maybe samples sachets are not enough to prove the power of the two snail products from Mizon.  Lastly, the Returning Starfish Cream.  Odd name but I'm guessing one of the main ingredients have something to do with starfish?  Anyway , I kind of like this product because it's moisturizing enough not to let my skin dry for a long period of time even when the A/C is in full blast.  At first it gives my face a heavy feeling but after 30 seconds to a minute, it's as if I'm not wearing moisturizer yet my face is well moisturize.  I hope no starfish was harm if my guess is correct.

random stuff dominated by Skin Food

I am not a fan of Skin Food's skincare products but the Mushroom Multi Care BB Cream is a bomb for me.  It just wowed me and made me forget the ineffectivess of the skincare products from this Korean brand.  It's light and liquidy that application of this bb cream is a breeze.  It also matches my skin tone and brightens the overall look of my face.  Coverage maybe a problem because it's more on the light side (medium if applied 2 layers) but not for me since I'm always after the natural look, it just make my skin looking smooth amidst it skin imperfection (thanks to Hipstyle for giving this as a sample).  The cactus set (toner and emulsion) is just strong for my face it's like I'm applying Eskinol and Lifting Eye Serum is a plain fail for me, it didn't do anything.

Enough of the Skinfood lets move on with the Nature Republic Forever lasting Essential Emulsion (the yellow on top).  It was release I think on winter season to cater the dryness of the skin and it's really really moisturizing (no questions about that), I don't think that I can handle the cream though with the Philippine weather.  Lioele Daily Soothing Essence is such an amazing product: it's an essence that already has an SPF of 30 which is already enough for me to protect my face.  I hate applying sunblock because of the icky feeling when worn plus the white cast plus the awkward smell so I'm very liking this essence, it's just so perfect for me.  I'm also liking iWhite Aqua Moisturizing Cream which is readily available in Watsons both in sample sachet and tube.  It's light (very light that even those with oily skin can handle it) yet moisturizing and cheap too and it has sample sizes that I can bring on travels (I'm actually going to buy 1 later for my October quick out of the town).  Plus it didn't breaks me out.

another random samples from different sellers

I got these samples from GMarket, Bae Lu, bhappywithme and Kkochi Pida.  I'll start with the unfamiliar brand well for me, the V on U.  It works like other grocery type hair treatment almost have the same consistency with conditioners, overall it's okay.  It's skin Toma Jelly Cream is fun to use because I just like it's gel consistency and it's cooling on my face.  The pleasant tomato smell is awesome too.  I'm neutral with the Power 10 Formula VC Factor, I don't know what to tell about this product...maybe it's an okay product but there other serums that are far better.  Moist Steam Cream from Nature Republic  is also something that are for winter season, kinda heavy and makes my skin a little oily.  Lastly, The Innisfree Eco Natural Green tea BB Cream which I also like because it has medium coverage yet it's still look natural on my face.  Consistency is a little thicker and heavier with the Skinfood but I can still easily apply it on my skin then spray a mist to tame the heavy feeling.  The smell is a bit on a medicinal side but it's nothing to strong, my nose and I bet your nose can handle it too.

Thanks for reading. Till then. Bye!

April 2013: Ice Cream and Nostalgia

 It has been a trend in this blog that the author have so many relapses and excuses not to post and only made 12 entries for the month of April 2013.  I need to double my effort this May and I hope this blog will make it to it's first birthday.

Anyway, here are some random things and thoughts for the month of April.

fruits for summer

 I can't go to a beach or anyplace cold to relax so I settled with fruits.  Avocado which I'm craving for weeks, watermelon which is a weekly grocery staple because it's my favorite summer fruit and green mangoes freshly picked from the tree (paired it with spicy bagoong, yum yum).

coolers and they have one thing in common:  ICE CREAM

 What better way to cool down the heat than to eat ice cream.  Ice cream on my tea, ice cream on a fish shape bread???, ice cream on mochis and of course the ice cream itself.  The kesong puti (cottage cheese) and carabo's milk ice cream is really good all thanks to Magnolia and Nueva Ecija.

cookies; a dream come true

When I was a kid, I always crave for cookies but well we are poor and couldn't afford to always have cookies on the table so I couldn't resist snapping a remembrance when I baked lots of cookies and there's enough to put in a cookie jar for me to nibble for a few days...it's a dream come true.  Thanks to my sister for the cute and cool chicken timer.

Seriously GMarket, why are you tempting me?

I got dissappointed with GMarket because I still don't have my 2nd order and all they reply to my questions are just apologies with no actions.  But I can't help but to look for great finds,  look at the style of the bag in the below picture it's so cool ahahaha I almost bought it. 

cartoon bag for fun

Feeling nostalgic with music from Muse, Franz ferdinand, Garbage, Interpol and Filipino bands Eraserheads, Bamboo, and Rivermaya.  Very much into Balisong and My favorite song of Rivermaya, it's just so sad that the band went on hiatus after they hit the asian market and Rico Blanco left the band.

photos from pinoyexchange.com and myspace.com

 Thanks for reading.  Till then.  Bye!

February 2013: Random Things and Favorites

Terrarium

photo from www.maillardvillemanor.com

Terrarium simply amazes me.  I wanted to make a small one to freshen up our small room.

Chocolates

Goya Goodies Malt Crunch and Splendor with Red Peppermint Crunch

Goya is improving and introducing lots of yummy chocolates and candies.  Love the two in the pic plus Quadros which is always out of stock T_T I want one now na!

Dreaming of

A small relaxing pool like this

photo from www.slim69.com

 A cozy library like this

photo from www.apartmentmodern.com

 And a living room like this

phot from www.verticallaunch.com

Haven't search for my own room and bathroom but I am dreaming of having my own small yet easy to maintain space.  Hope this will not be a dream forever.

Kawaii

Eye Mask

I'm chubby, fluffy, fair skinned and have dark eyebags so this panda mask  is perfect for me.

Wishing

photo from sasa.com

Looking into shopping websites is so addicting that I found these Japan made products: Hada Labo and Juju.  I wish I have lots of money and going to EMS or post office is so easy so I can easily order this trio.

LSS

photo from tontora.deviantart.com
video can be found here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktvTqknDobU

LSS with Radioactive from Imagine Dragons.  I'm so glad I'm still listening to the radio (thanks Jam 88.3) if not then I could have been insane :P

Thanks for reading. Till then. Bye!

P.S. I can feel the heat of the summer!!!!