Trip to Quiapo

Went to Quiapo after work yesterday because *somebody* wanted to buy dogtags again. Ha-ha.

Not that I' m complaining. I LOVE going to Quiapo. But it was Friday- a big Church day- so traffic and the crowds were somewhat nightmarish for me.

Why do I love going to Quiapo?



Because I feel rich even when I'm almost broke when I'm there. Ha-ha! I like cutesy bits and pieces, or as we call it, "anik-anik."

The stuff:

Hello Kitty tumbler with straw:




I promised myself I'd drink more water. I don't drink nearly enough water at the office, and I noticed I drink more water when I'm sipping through a straw.

Cyleina Black Pearl Organic Soap:


I heard good things about this over at GT and wanted to try it, but didn't want to spring for shipping because it costs more than 1 bar of this soap.

Generic Brushes:

The ones in packs look like they're HQ. I have some doubts about that big pink one, but it's pink and cute, so I'm sold.

Baxi blushes. I was really happy with the eyeshadow, and I used the cheek tint before, so I wanted to try the blushes. The colors are so cute.



Bichun Nail Polish:

I like their packaging. The one in the middle is a really bright hot pink IRL, plus the cap/brush has some plastic balls inside. The one on the left matches the peach Baxi blush, and the one on the right reminds me of Tiffany & Co. Eye luv. Ha-ha!

In other news, I can't believe I went to Wellmanson's and did not buy any craft supplies at all! First time that ever happened. I guess it's just not a craft-inspired period for me. The pink brush came from there, though. I just didn't want to walk away completely empty-handed, LOL!

BTW, this is the first day of my three-day weekend. I don't have any special plans, because the weather's been lousy. It's too hot but it's been raining hard these past few days. I'm looking forward to watching a load of DVD's, but first I have to go to the supermarket to buy junk food. Yay!

Have a nice weekend!

Unsolved Mystery: Who is "The Sexiest Girl of D.M.?"

Note: This post contains Filipino language and references .

According to legend, the letter you are about to read was found in a trendy bar in Malate (the place to be at the time, if you're in the Philippines) circa mid to late 90's. The pure, unedited version (i.e. comedy gold,) has been one of the most widely circulated emails since then and although it's been more than a decade, it still never fails to make me laugh.

To Marjie,

I am not surprise or wander why Dennis leave you.

Why? What reason you can think about but you're very fat body. I'm

thought before that Dennis only use me to his toy but sooner and later

I'm realize that he really can't not beared or stomached to be with

you anymore because at first, Dennis say he could not stand you're

habit of making pakialam all his walks and always calling to their

house what time he go home or this or that and then he say he get

ashame to met you iether in school or in his family and then asking

you to exercise you're very, very, very fat body but you hate it you

thoughth you're the most prettiest girls he know about what do you

think you are "Beautiful Girl" of Jose Mari Chan even you are

beautiful face (to your think) you do not have the rigth to called me

whatsoever or else different name one time or the other for the real

purposed to insults my personality because I'm never call you names

before iether in front of Dennis or in the backs of Dennis, but if you

start already to calling me different name, I'm don't have any other

choice but to called you other different name to like you are a PIG,

FAT, OBESSED, OVERWIGHT AND UGLY SHAPE girl. Shame to you're body that

is to a BUDING. You can't not blame Dennis for exchanging you to me

because I'm am the more sexier than you when you look to us in the

mirror. I'm repeat again that you are like Ike Lozada when she is a

girl.

FROM: THE SEXIEST GIRL OF D.M.

Ps. You say that I'm the bad breathe

But who is Dennis want to kissed.

Me or you? You or me?

And the final is me.

Well-played, "Sexiest Girl." Thanks for the laughs.

Shop n' Chomp's Giveaway

Congratulations to Lisa of Shop n' Chomp for having over 100 followers!

She's celebrating by having a giveaway!

One lucky winner will receive:



Rules:

1) Must be a follower of "Shop N' Chomp" blog.

2) Comment on this post and tell me what your favorite comfort food is and why? Include your email address so I can contact you if you win.

3) For an additional entry, share this giveaway (along with the pic above) on your blog and include the link as your second comment.

Contest is open now through MIDNIGHT Sunday, September 6, 2009 PST.

Winner will be selected using Random.org and notified via email the next day.

MORE DETAILS HERE.

And check out the rest of her blog. She has the most awesome food posts and knows all the best deals and new trends in town.

Thank you, Lisa! ^^

Monday. Bleagh. + Too Much Blush Giveaway

Well, my Monday is off to a bad start. I was 31 minutes late for work. I slept through the alarm. So dumb.

I finally got to watch UP last Friday.

It only opened here last week, can you believe it? I was crying like five minutes into the movie. It was just so sweet. But don't let that keep you from watching it because you'll be laughing and smiling long after the movie ends. Which, IMO is better than certain movies which start of funny but makes you cry at the end. I HEART PIXAR MOVIES MUCHLY. I do regret watching a kiddie movie on a holiday, though because it was so noisy in the theater and there were so many disruptions. Also, the restaurant we went to afterwards was so crowded as well. I was so unhappy with the service. I did feel better after getting my favorite vanilla milkshake at DQ, though.

I watched a lot of cheesy TV shows on Saturday. I also ate balut and practiced putting on falsies.

Forgive the puffy cheeks pose.
I can't do anything about it as my cheeks are NATURALLY PUFFY. *dies

Sorry for the crappy camphone pics. Using my camera feels like such a chore lately. And besides, do you really want to look at a high res image of balut? Trust me, you don't. Haha.

Also, I have decided that I am not gonna post any large pics of myself here until I become at least a bit decent at Photoshop, or get a better camera.

I watched a nice movie on the computer on Sunday. It's a Korean movie called "Le Grand Chef."

The food looked so good, and it also made me cry. The only thing that could have made this movie better was if the bad guy were hot. WHY WASN'T THE BAD GUY HOT? AT ALL?

Can't wait for Friday.


__________________________________________________________

Too Much Blush is celebrating having over 300 Followers by giving away Jemma Kidd Goodies.

The rules-

+ I will post worldwide so there are no restrictions- anyone anywhere can enter
+ You must be a follower of my blog
+ Leave a comment telling me why you'd like to win
+ To double your chances of winning post the details of the giveaway on your blog and post the link here
+ The winner will be picked at random
+ The giveaway will end at midnight Friday 4th September 2009.

MORE HERE

Thanks EM!

More Cheap Thrills and Giveaways

Oh wow, so it's Friday again. ( I could have sworn it was only this morning that I was complaining about the long week ahead of me.) And it's a holiday for some of us in my part of the world, so hooray!.

On a personal note, the 21st of every month is really special to me, too.

Been meaning to post this:

More cheap thrills!

5 pc. Nichido Brush Set: PHP 188-
ELF Plumping Lip Glaze in Fire Coral PHP 124.75
ELF Duo Eyeshadow Cream in Mocha Swirl PHP 124.75
Ever Bilena Extreme Lipstick in I'm Yours PHP 150-

(Local Products REPREZNT. Haha.)
* USD-PHP: 1 is to 50 (sometimes more, sometimes less)

My Thoughts:

The brush set is pretty. It comes with a face brush, an eyeshadow brush, a lip brush, a spoolie and a brush/comb. I like the wooden handles but the brushes are nothing spectacular. I like the envelope thingy it came in, though. I might use it for better brushes, but I'm keeping the spoolie and comb because I think those are pretty much the same everywhere.

If you've been here before, you probably already know about my love for this stuff. I can't shut up about it. I got the second lightest color this time, and it shows up better on my lips. (Pics to follow, maybe)

The Duo Eyeshadow Cream is very cute. It was a lot of trouble choosing just one, but I wanted to try it out first. I got Mocha Swirl because I like the colors but I really should have gotten Butter Pecan because it's got the lightest shade. I can't use this as base for a lot of my eyeshadows because the colors don't match. I like the colors of this on it's own, though you just need to set it with something.

I haven't formed an opinion on the EB Extreme Lipstick yet. When I swatched the tester, I got a very pretty frosted looking pink and some gold in certain lights. I don't get the same color from my tube, so I think I need to break it in or something (like shoes.) I think it's also too moist. When you use it so there's not much staying power. I fix this problem by applying something beforehand so that it would have something to grab onto. (Clear ELF Glaze to the rescue!). Another thing I don't like about it: the weird flavor. The ELF glaze helps with that, too.

Anyway, up until recently, my local product purchases have been shots in the dark. I didn't really know what I was doing, but I have found a forum with lots of interesting recommendations. So next time I buy something, I'd be making more informed choices (unlike a few days ago, when I bought a liquid eyeliner that could double as an ice-pick. Whole other story. ) Stay tuned!

____________________________________________________

Some new giveaways for all of us to join:

From Hello Denysia:

Hello Denysia's Giveaway

So the rules are as follow:
For one entry:
1. You have to be my follower on this blog! You don't have to have a blog to be able to take part in this giveaway. I will be checking to make sure.
2. You must comment on this entry, and let me know that you are following me! Simply state, "I'm following you!"
For extra entries:
3. If you post on your blog about my giveaway, make sure you comment again to let me know! And this will count as a second entry!

More details HERE.

Thank you Denysia. ^^

____________________________________________________

From Viva Woman

To celebrate Singapore 44th National Day, Viva Woman teamed up with several sponsors to give away a prize valued at 235 USD which includes handmade jewelry, organic goodies, a tool for facial hair removal and even colored contact lenses.

But don't take my word for it. GO SEE FOR YOURSELF


Thank you Viva Woman and sponsors!

Have a nice weekend!

Cambo Soup Giveaway Entry + More Awards

The very lovely K.C/Kalmo (Cambo Soup) is having a contest to celebrate having 50 ++ followers. Hooray!

The contest is a lot of fun, and great prizes are at stake. Check out her awesome blog full of awesome things, beauty-related and otherwise.

Basic Giveaway Rules:

1. You must be a follower of my blog

2. If you have a blog, please mention my giveaway in a post and link me. TY!

3. The contest ends August 28, 2009 (11:59 p.m. Pacific Time). I will judge entries over the weekend and the winners will be announced the subsequent Monday. If it gets too hard to make a decision then a random number generator will be used. You guys have about two weeks to do this!

What You Have to Do:

1. Make an awesome outfit/collage on Polyvore (people/makeup/clothes all OK)

2. Post the outfit on your blog on the same entry where you mention my giveaway

3. Leave a comment on this entry saying you want to enter and leave the url of the post where you mentioned my giveaway/ posted your Polyvore outfit in your own blog.

4. If you do not have a blog, please take a snapshot of your Polyvore outfit on your screen and email it to me at applegrace (at) gmail (dot) com.

Click to read her post.

My Entry:

Ladylike Too by iheartkitsch featuring Miss Selfridge

I actually registered for an account at Polyvore two years ago (according to my Polyvore profile) but this was the first time I actually finished something. I like pastels and neutrals together, but I don't like to be too color coordinated. I put in some Clinique cosmetics in there because I find the simple and clean look of Clinique's packaging very attractive.

Thanks for a fun giveaway K.C.!

_____________________________________________________

K.C. also tagged me for this award. Thank you!

The Expressions of You Lemonade Stand Award was given to me by the very sweet Rhain. Check out her site for all the latest promotions and giveaways, and many other things as well.

For this award, you are supposed to nominate 12 blogs that you love to read. I love all my blogger friends but rules are rules. I nominate:

Golden (Golden's Diary)

Jing (Girl with Glasses)

KC (Cambo Soup)

Zoe (13December)

Adin (Spoiled Rotten)

Amy Naree

Thiamere (On Beauty Stuff and What Else's)

Louie (I'm Uber Feminine)

Lisa (Shop N' Chomp)

Cheysser (mszcheysser)

Aicha (If I'm Not for Myself, Who Will Be?)

Anastacia (My Makeup Mania, Non-Makeup)

I think most of you have this already, but I want to show you my appreciation, too.

Enjoy the rest of your week!

10th Picture Tag: HP-Related

* Tagged by cool-chick khaay
From my default image folder, where saved images go.


LOL. Recognize the quote? It's from the undisputed worst fanfic evar.

Amore Vintage Giveaway

Aileen of Amore Vintage is having a giveaway!

All of these goes to one lucky winner!

(Close-up)

She creates such lovely jewelry.

HOW TO ENTER:

Open to everyone!! (Yes, I will ship worldwide)

1. You must be a follower of http://amore-vintage.blogspot.com , - not a follower yet? Just click on the ''Follow'' button on the right sidebar panel. You don't need to have a blog to follow, a Google account is all you need. Leave a comment on this post using your blogger/google account user id.

2. Name the the necklace you like to most on my blog.

3. How did you come across my blog?

4. Mention about my Giveaway on your blog ( if you have one )

One entry per contestant.
The winner will be selected randomly.

END of contest: 13th September 2009 at 24:00 (GMT+ 02:00)

Enter her contest HERE

Thanks Aileen!

All Things Girly Giveaway

All Things Girly is celebrates having 100 Followers with a Giveaway!
The rules..

• You must be a follower of my blog
• You need to post a comment on this post saying ‘enter me’... or something along those lines!
• For two entries – mention this contest in one of your blog posts or on twitter and post me the link in a comment.

READ HER POST

Congratulations and thanks for the giveaway!

My Own Judge Giveaway!

Miss Yaya of My Own Judge is having a giveaway. Four readers will win (one of each) Estée Lauder TurboLash mascara, Lancôme Oscillation mascara, Lancôme Oscillation Powerbooster (primer/conditioner) mascara, and the Maybelline Pulse Perfection mascara.

How to enter:

1. Comment on this post that you'd like to win.
2. Let your friends and readers know about MOJ! I will track how many clicks I get from other blogs to mine. Make sure they click over from your page to mine.
3. Subscribe to MOJ by e-mail.

Click here to READ HER ANNOUNCEMENT

Thanks Miss Yaya!

Thoughts on GI Joe and Tags

WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS

Hello everyone! I finally watched GI Joe yesterday! I really enjoyed it. The action scenes and special effects were very good, but I'm kind of on the fence about some little things.

Like the subplots: Is everyone on 0ne side supposed to know everyone else on the other side pre-GI Joe/Cobra days like that? Duke and Baroness: ex-lovers? Duke and the Cobra Commander: friends? Cobra Commander and Baroness: brother and sister? Snake Eyes and that Stormshadow: frenemies? (okay, so this might be canon and would make sense, considering their skills) but I do dislike the other relationships. It seems so lame. (t's become such a cliche'. I blame Smallville)

I didn't watch the series as a kid (Not that I've always been such a girly-girl because I loved Thundercats! Whole other story) but cartoons are serious business with me. I can't accept anything less than canon.

I do love Snake Eyes, though. He's the coolest character hands down. And Destro seems like a really cool character. I love that they got a suitably wormy guy (Joseph Gordon-Levitt= loves) for Cobra Commander. Baroness, I think was cool until near the end, and except for the backstory.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but when I think of GI Joe, I always picture the figure of General Hawk. That would make him the main GI Joe, right? I don't care much for Duke. Or Scarlet.

Otherwise, do watch if you haven't yet. It was fun.

-------------------------------

I got tagged!


from Adin_22. She has the cutest stuff to share.



from Zoe and Amy Naree. I love their blogs so much! ^^

To everyone reading this blog, I am passing the awards on to you!

More tags soon!

A Beauty Blunder + Quick & Cheap Fixes + New Bracelet

WARNING: TMI

I had some itchy spots on my face a few days ago. When I looked at the spot, they were kinda dry and flaky so I applied this type of solution I had (which I use to dry out occasional pimples and had never had a problem with before.)It kinda stung but it realy helped relieve the itchy feeling.

I guess I must have pressed too hard or used too much because shortly after, the skin around the spot turned black! Yikes!

Since I needed a quick fix, I picked these up at the convenience store.

Maxipeel Concealing Cream

This is a product in line with a skin peeling system. I guess it's comparable to tinted moisturizer. It promises to hide flaky skin (SO I REALLY SHOULD HAVE GOTTEN THIS TO BEGIN WITH! Gah!) and has SPF, because peeling skin is highly sensitive to UV rays.

What it says on the box:
MAXIMUM BENEFITS:
* Effective CONCEALING- hides flakes in exfoliant-treated skin
* Significant Skin WHITENING- visible results in as early as 7 days
* Intense SUN-PROTECTION- packed with SPF 20
* Instant MAKE-UP BASE - for a polished on-the-go look

I guess you could call it BB Creams' poor relation.

Here's something else I picked up:

Eskinol Ice Poretherapy fluid

I got this because the cooling effect is really soothing to my chemically burned >_< skin but it promises other benefits, too. It promises to INSTANTLY minimize the appearance of a person's pores, just like the effect you'd get when you apply ice to your face.

It comes out of a squeeze tube as a gel-like substance but leaves a powdery finish when it dries on your face. It also promises to keep oil at bay for up to eight hours.

I have also heard good things (on GT) about this product's potential as a primer. I'll test that claim soon enough but for now, I'm happy with it.

UPDATE: My face is better now. All the old skin came off (Sorry for TMI). I'm surprised at how fast I healed but I'm not complaining, haha. No scars, but the new skin is a lot lighter than the rest of me.

Have you committed any beauty blunders? What was your quick fix?


In other news, I made another bracelet!

a closer look at the rose charm.

I used:
- antique gold chain
-antique gold toggle lock
-antique gold components
- AB glass crystals
-reddish brown rondelle crystals
- round glass pearls assorted colors and sizes
-cream glass seed pearls
- polymer clay rose charm

Note to self: Buy bigger chains. I ran out of ideas on what to put on each link to fill up the whole length of this chain!

5 Current Obsessions

I was tagged by the beautiful Amy Naree. Visit her blog and check out her cute pictures!

1. Chococat

I am currently in love with all things Chococat. It's frustrating that I can't seem to find any merchandise around my area. Chococat fans don't get no love from local distributors/resellers.

I can has Chococat?

I mean, I know a lot of lovelies out there are all about Hello Kitty. I adore her, too. Who wouldn't? She's a total fashion icon. But Chococat is really cute, too.

2. Alternative Medicine

Since my health scare earlier this year (don't worry, I'm fine) I have been into all kinds of treatments, like reflexology, accupuncture, moxibustion, the thingy with the magnets, the thingy with crystals and even the lesser-known kinds. I like reading about different procedures, but I haven't tried everything out there.

I have also been taking several herbal supplements for some time now. I've cut down the list considerably because herbal or not, I don't want to be popping too many pills.

I'm left with the following:
1. Cranberry pills for the kidney/urinary tract
2. Colon Cleanse
3. Apple Cider Vinegar capsules for overall health- this has a kind of appetite-suppressant effect, so I guess it's also good for weight-loss.
4. Milk Thistle Extract/ Silymarin Capsules - for the liver, to couteract all this self-medication.


I know there are some people out there who think that herbal medicine is a scam, but I disagree simply because nature has been preserving life since the dawn of time. And nothing man-made is ever better than anything made by God.

3. Period Styles

I love watching period movies because of the costumes and props. Everything seemed so elegant, glamorous and well-made. Sometimes I wish people still dressed the way they did in the past, but I guess it wouldn't be practical or suitable to today's lifestyle. I just have to be content with watching movies and the occasional chance to dress up.

4. Zooey Deschanel

I have been a big fan of Zooey Deschanel since I saw her with her sister Emily in one of my magazines before. (Elle Girl, I think.) She is such a doll and her style reminds me of the great Hollywood moviestars of the good ol' days whom I also love.

Also, she was the Dorothy Gale character in Tin Man. I'm a big Wizard of Oz fan, too!

5. Craft-y Things

I could never pass by a craft store without buying anything, even if it's just a length of ribbon. But I love beads the most. I kinda hoard them. I think I could buy a million types of beads and still want more. I also sometimes buy stuff I would never in a million years use with the types of crafts I do.

Thank you Amy!

Hope all of you reading also share your obsessions with me.

Have a nice day!

Funkiimonkee'c Funny Face Contest/Giveaway

Hello everyone! There's a really cool contest going on over at Funkiimonkee's. The prizes are totally awesome, too. You can read more about it HERE.

I was gonna join earlier but I was looking for a larger copy of the image I want to use. This is an edited version I used for something else before. Ha-ha. For some reason I like showing this every chance I get, because the reactions of people are so varied.

I have no shame. At least online.

Anyway, about the pic: It was taken around Halloween time. My sister was busy on the computer, and I was as usual bugging her. I was making Ju-On noises and making faces like I was a victim of Sadako in Ringu. We're both big fans of Asian Horror movies.

It's supposed to be scary, but it cracks me up everytime. I have a weird sense of humor. Sorry if you get nightmares. ^^

Best of luck to everyone who joined!

Kym's Epic Giveaway

bee creative is having a giveaway of EPIC PROPORTIONS
the winner will be getting goodies from all of our favorite crafty bloggers.

More here.
Thank you Kym and sponsors! ^^

Award! Yay

* from Rhain of rhaindropz and makeups. Thanks Cutie!

Don't have this, yet? It's for you! ^^

Alice in a New Wonderland's Giveaway

Lyd from Alice in a New Wonderland is having a giveaway.

win this

1. Be a follower of my blog (non-followers' comment will be deleted);
2. Comment on this post saying "enter me";
3. Refer to your friends/followers about this giveaway, with a post on your blog. Please include the url for the referal in your entering comment. This way I am sure that you're spreading the word (this is a mandatory condition in order to win)

Click for more details.

Thank you for this Lyd!

hannababeyxo's contest

So the rules are

• You must be a follower of my blog

• You must comment this blog post telling me one item you cannot live without
  

• You must also leave your email adress so i can contact you if you have won! :)

If you want 2 entrys into this contest then all you have to do is mention this contest on your blog!

Click HERE to read more!

Thank you hannababeyxo!

Funny Convo

Me talking to a teenage Korean boy about Korean pop groups:


ME: Girl bands from Korea are becoming popular around the world these days. Do you like them, too?
KOREAN BOY: Not really. But I like some of their songs.
ME: They're all so pretty.
KB: Except for 2NE1
ME: (Blinks and thinks" Wha-?")
KB: (continues)2NE1's really ugly.
ME: (trying to be diplomatic.) Aw, don't say they're ugly. They just have a different image. They don't dress sexily like the others.* But that's what makes them unique.

(*note: as far as I know. because i've only seen some videos)

KB: A member of 2NE1 is ugly.
ME: Okay, which member do you think is ugly?
KB: (deadpan) CL
ME: (dies)

No offense to the fans. Peace, guys.

Personally, I "heart" androgynous-looking hotties. For instance:

Yoo Eun Hye as Go Eun Chan in 1st Shop of Coffee Prince

Haruhi Fujioka of Ouran Host Club

Yaten Kou of Sailormoon
(I know... ancient, right? Ha-ha. ^^)

Back to the conversation. I was bent on making a gentleman out of that boy.

ME: She's not ugly. She just dresses differently, and I think it's cute! I bet you'd think she's really pretty if she fixed herself up and dressed in girly outfits. Okay?
KB: Okay.
ME: Right. So do you think you have to be good-looking to become a successful musical artist in Korea?
KB: Yes. Maybe. Unless you're really talented. Like CL.

I gave up. Boys will be boys.