I have never heard of lulur before the kind folks behind Asian Secrets clued me in. So what is lulur? There is an ancient Indonesian custom that requires future brides to apply a luxurious body scrub mix 40 days before their wedding.  The lulur is traditionally made from jasmine, ground rice, green tea, scented moisturizing oils, and yogurt. This practice of applying lulur originated from the palaces of Java, and is intended as a purifying, beautifying ritual to prepare brides-to-be for the big day.

Of course, you don't have to be a bride to reap the benefits of lulur! It's for every woman (and man, if they are so inclined) who loves having radiant, soft skin. 

Finally, lulur is here in the Philippines. The brand is called Asian Secrets - apt, if I may add, since this beauty ritual is indeed one of Indonesia's best-kept secrets. It is marketed as a luxe whitening body scrub, formulated to target dark skin areas like armpits, elbows, knees, and the singit. 

Asian Secrets is available exclusively in Watsons and Beauty by SM. 250g/P130 and 135g/P80

What I love about this product:

• It's a gentle yet effective exfoliating scrub. I hate abrasive scrubs that feel like my skin is rubbed raw! The lulur felt light but still left my skin feeling squeaky clean after I rinsed it off. 
• It's creamy and moisturizing. I didn't have to apply lotion afterwards. No kidding. This is a huge achievement for a body scrub. I scratched a fingernail on my arm and look ma, no dry white lines!

Whenever I go out I run through all the places I have to go, at what time I need to be there, plus the things I have to bring. Then I wear shoes accordingly. If I'm going to the office, I need to hurry and bring my laptop so I wear flats. If I'm going to an event, I need to look glammed up and tall, so I pick heels! But wouldn't it be nice if you can wear both flats and heels whenever and wherever you want to?

That's the dream that POSH Pocket Shoes set out to realize.

POSH Pocket Shoes are exactly what they say they are - posh shoes in a pocket! It's the size of an average kikay kit or makeup bag and could fit comfortably into shoulder and hand bags. The shoes conveniently fold halfway, fitting in a black, zip-up purse which can be converted into a bag for your heels. Ingenious eh? Now you can just take off your heels anytime you feel uncomfortable since POSH shoes are lightweight, small, and thus easy to bring.

The shoes themselves are extremely comfortable. The soles are very cushy while the inside of the shoe is lined with what feels to be soft, faux suede.

What does this photo make you think of?

Floating before my eyes are apparitions of sticky sweet pudding, icing on top of cupcakes, whipped cream, ice cream, flavored yogurt - you get the idea! Now I want dessert! Anyway, seriously now. The good-looking stuff on top can't actually be eaten (sadly) since they're for your hair.

Lorys Hair Cream just landed on the shelves of Watsons two months ago. It's big in Brazil, which is what compelled the Filipino distributors to bring it to the Philippines. They contacted me and asked me to try Lorys.

So what is it exactly? It's a product that you can use for a quick n' cheap hair spa at home. You can use it two ways: as a conditioner and as a treatment (hot oil). The five variants (Ceramidas, Duo Chocolate, Snake Oil, Shea Butter, and Fruit Cocktail) are designed to target specific hair problems. I only tried one that seemed the most applicable to my topmost hair concern -  Shea Butter, which is supposed to nourish and shine curly, dry hair.

What I love about the product

• As promised, it really moisturized my curly hair. It's more bouncy and soft to the touch.
• The texture is very creamy. Half a handful is enough for my whole head of hair.

Have you guys ever come across a fashion blog called Karla's Closet? It's amazing! I love Karla's sensible, modern style that's far from boring since she always incorporates romance, whimsy, and vintage into her looks. Aside from her fashion sense, I love her makeup! She doesn't wear that much actually. I just like her signature looks: dark blood red lips (which compelled me to get NYX Dark Cherry) and nude lips with barely there eye makeup.

This time, I saw something different on her: pale lips with smoky eyes. Nothing new but I love the whole "thrown-together", effortless feel of the makeup.

I liked it so much that I decided to cop the look. It's super easy! You can do this in less than 10 minutes. You just need two eyeshadow colors; although you can technically do with one (black) I want something a tiny bit more polished.

Are you ready? Here's what I did!

Step 1: Do the ground work. Prime your face and brows. For this look, I used: Revlon Beyond Natural concealer, Ellana Caramel Latte mineral foundation and Ellana Espresso Con Panna finishing powder.

Step 2: Pat on black matte or semi-matte eyeshadow on the lid. I used Urban Decay's Oil Slick eyeshadow.

Contouring is a neat trick to have up your sleeves. You can easily loose a couple of pounds off your face, lift it up, and just generally make you look different. Prettier too, if done right!

Now the thing about contouring is that it's quite easy. You just need to remember three things: find the right angle, use the right brush and contouring color, and then blend like mad.

Just a small note: this is a tutorial for basic, everyday contouring on the cheeks. It's not the whole deal for the face, because that's a little more complex and time-consuming.

Step 1: Finding the right angle to darken

The easiest way to do this is to just suck your cheeks in and then apply the color where the hollows are. A slightly harder (but better and more natural) way to do it is this: go under direct light, then observe where the shadows fall on your face. To illustrate -

Let's take a break from all the beauty talk, shall we? Here's a video I took of an awesome a capella performance of "Bohemian Rhapsody" by the Listerine Mouthacular players. This is just an exclusive peek of their rehearsals so they're only using ball pens as mics. Haha. Watch!

Amazing right? I was getting goosebumps the whole time they were performing. Their mall shows will officially launch today, August 27, at the Eastwood Mall Atrium. There will be two shows: one on 6:00 pm and 8:30 pm. So if you've got nothing to do tonight, grab your friends and watch this talented "mouthacular" team of musicians!

The poster containing the schedule of the shows and press release after the cut. 

Lately I'm going for darker, smokier eyeshadows. It could be the rain, I don't know. That's how I noticed that I don't have a kickass nude lipstick! Striking eyes should always be matched with lighter lips to avoid overdoing the look. Easy enough to say, but I know that Pinays find it difficult to wear a nude lippie that doesn't wash us out. Sure we have fab smokey cat-lined eyes but our tacky nude lips can make it all look like a great Halloween idea!

Enter Wet n Wild's Bare It All.

I am absolutely in love with the shade. It's a light brown-pink color that's just right for my light/medium skin. It's only P299 too!

What I love about it 

• Creamy texture, semi-matte finish. 
• Wet n Wild promises that this should last for four hours. It will, provided you don't eat. Drinking is okay. If you eat though most of it will go, just leaving a slight stain.
• Pigmented and opaque.
• Generous amount of product.

I've already shared my first impressions on Pond's latest offerings, the White Beauty Facial Foam and the Flawless White UV Cream. This is my in-depth review of the products after using them for around three weeks.

Pond's White Beauty

Its main ingredient is activated carbon, which is a form of processed carbon that is designed to absorb and neutralize impurities. It is used in different fields - medical, industrial, environmental, and now, beauty. Just 1 gram of the stuff has a surface area of 500 square meters, which according to Wikipedia is 1/10 the size of a football field!

What activated carbon looks like

Left glass contains water purified with activated carbon while the right glass is untouched The dirty water (beaker behind) both passed through a filter.

The product itself is a pearl gray color

Wet n Wild is now in Beauty by SM! I read the news in Phoebe's post. I admit, I was a bit lukewarm to the brand - I thought it was just another so-so drugstore business. But hey, never say never! When I got the chance to drop by SM Makati, I immediately honed in to the Wet n Wild stall.

photo grabbed from Phoebe

I swatched almost everything they had, except the foundations. First impression? They're good! The eyeshadows, pencils, and lipsticks were very pigmented. I love the prices too since there was nothing above P500.

I received a lot of inquiries about the "mystery store" that carries the dress that I earlier gushed about. It's not much of a mystery, since it seems that even though it was the first time I heard about it, the store is already popular! The name, ladies and gents, is COEXIST.

I wouldn't have spotted it inside the huge department store of Robinson's Midtown if Kira didn't go to the rest room. Coexist is right beside it, but don't worry, it's all classily set-up. It's along this area called the Runway, where fashionable and non-mainstream brands are displayed.

This is the first dress that caught my eye:

Lovely! And then comes the price tag:

It's far above what I would normally spend for a single dress, to be honest with you. The thing about Coexist though is that the fabric is really nice (the Wendy dress is made of fabric similar to the ones used in the Kamiseta x Liberty collaboration last May) plus the pieces are well-made. You'll know when you touch and wear them! Just a bit of caution though - not all the stuff in the store are worth their prices.

There's definitely more hits than misses! 

You know those days when you've tried every single outfit you can think of and still end up unhappy with the results? May be your mood, may be the pre-period bloating, may be a nasty offhand comment someone gave you. In any case you just stop trying. When I have those days, this is my go-to dress.

Thrifted ruffled dress/ Necklace from Robinson's Dept Store/ Shoes from Charles & Keith

Check out the necklace I wore! Bought it from the Rob Midtown Department Store for only P139. More details after the jump.

I snagged these mary jane platforms from Charles & Keith as soon as I saw them. No second thoughts and no wringing of hands, which is what I usually do when I buy shoes. When I go shoe shopping I first sweep the whole mall to see everything and then decide afterwards. Is the shoe the right color? The right height? Does it have a unique yet versatile style? Is it comfortable? These are my usual considerations when buying a pair.

I think these shoes fit the bill perfectly. The arch of the heel is very low, at less than an inch, which means that they're super comfy. The height of the wooden heel itself is 3.5 inches. So I've got an extra height boost - without having to walk it.

I love the muted taupe shade; I can see it working with different clothing styles and colors. The faux snake-skin details and stitching also adds a lot of character to an otherwise typical pair of mary janes.

It was a lazy Sunday morning a few months back. My mom was slung over the sofa while talking to her amiga over the phone. They went through their usual office chismis - who's fatter, who will get demoted or promoted, who's being a bitch - the works. I love eavesdropping on their conversations. There's so much drama!

After the gossiping, my mom's friend seemed to ask advice about her dating problem. She's a single mom who's nearing her 50s (yes I know the whole saga of her life) so she feels that she needs to step up. My mom then started talking about her moisturizing regimen, how she uses the stuff religiously everyday, and how much her skin has improved. I quite agree with her; her face is whiter and more even now.

Wanna know what she swears by? The Anew 360° White Protective and Vitalizing Creams.

I've tried the Protective Cream some months back since I forgot to bring an SPF face product to the province. It was the only thing my mom had in her vanity table so I had no choice - better have something than nothing! I hate being exposed to direct sunlight with zero SPF on my face at least.

I like that this has SPF20 and has a texture that is lighter than the average drugstore sunblock. It's also beautifully packaged, with a bit of heft on it. The glass jar doesn't feel cheap at all! Makes me feel like a goddess with a secret jar of youth and beauty, lol.

I believe in love and happiness, because if they don't exist, what else is there that's worth striving for? Money, fame, success, Facebook fans? I have found the love of my life and I am happy with what I do. I will always want more, but I've got the bases covered pretty well.

That said, I'd like to announce that folks from Levi's will be sponsoring a contest for Project Vanity readers! Up for grabs are three Levi's gift certificates worth P1,000 each. That's a huge discount if you're planning to get a new pair of Levi's (I highly recommend their ID Curve jeans. Love em).

So what do you have to do? Simple.

Do you love window shopping? I do! I feel happy when I see beautiful things. Satiating my aesthetic appetites aside, I also window shop because it's necessary for me to be updated on what's new in the real world. Being informed on what people are actually buying and wearing is crucial to my roles as fashion/beauty editor, businesswoman, and blogger. Purely online window shopping and research doesn't cut it.

That's why I was excited to visit Robinsons Midtown again. I haven't been there in ages! I used to frequent it during my college days, since UP Manila is just next door. It's a shopper's paradise - the high-end brands are there, not to mention the fact that the department store is actually well-stocked and updated. 

Did I mention a free wifi lounge, with comfy seats and clean tables? Midtown is a must-visit if you're in the area!

The fashion bloggers were also encouraged to invite a reader to the event. I asked Kira to go with me, since she's been reading my blog for years now, plus we're also friends! Haven't seen her since July. Sasha, Lauren, and Lizz were also there so we had time to catch up.

Looks like a floral print no? Those are skulls! She's wearing Aldo sandals.

So, are you guys ready to window shop? Here are some of our best finds at Robinsons Midtown! 

Accessorize

Accessorize is a UK brand selling, what else, accessories! I've never taken a close look at their store before, so I was floored and overwhelmed by all the gorgeous things inside. Caveat: the stuff are expensive. The cheapest pair of earrings I saw were selling at P900. 

Oooooh

Sigh. So pretty.

Charmed

What a lovely melancholic necklace

I prefer lipsticks when it comes to lip color, but I like me some good, pigmented lip glosses too! I love the high-impact shine and how they draw light to my face. 

The Revlon Creme Gloss has been around for some time now, but it was only lately that I got to try it. They're basic, solid lip glosses that are pigmented and could pass off as lipsticks. 

What I like about the product

• Pigmented. A few swipes should be enough to get a good color pay-off.
• More sanitary than lipsticks, balms, and glosses with doe-foot applicators where you have to expose all of the product to air and bacteria. Simply clean the attached brush after usage!
• Doesn't transfer on glass and cups as much as similar products do. You can drink with confidence when you have this on. 

You've probably seen these from the shelves of all major drugstores and department store beauty aisles: the new Flawless White Blemish Prevention UV Cream and the Pure White Deep Cleansing Facial Foam. I've been using the UV cream for less than a week, while I've been washing my face with Pure White for two weeks now (yes, I bought my own bottle before the official launch. I was that intrigued!).