WARNING (posted February 11 2011) I have stopped using this product a year ago, shortly after I wrote this post. I was not comfortable with the fact that I don't know what the ingredients are and that this is not officially approved by the BFAD. Please do not use this. Do not approach any of the sellers on this thread.

At the end of the day, the only healthy way to lose weight is to exercise and cut down on fatty and carb-laden food. There is no shortcut. If you have to trust this blog on anything, trust it on this point.

A lot of people have been commenting that I've lost weight. Last November, I was so fat that a double chin was creeping up on my face! That says a lot about my weight gain since my face is the last thing that ever gets fat in my body. It's usually my tummy and arms that go, then my thighs, lower leg, and finally my face.

So what's my weight loss secret? It's partly Leisure 18 Slimming Coffee! I've been drinking this stuff since the week before the Christmas last year. People wondered why, after the holidays, I was thinner instead of fatter. It's because I didn't eat much. Leisure 18 basically works as an appetite suppressant, meaning, I get too lazy to eat. Yes I get hungry but when I actually eat, it's like I'm satisfied earlier into the meal. 

Okaaay. Time to share! What pads do you use? How are they? Any good? 

One of the banes of female existence is menstruation. It's messy, it stinks, it makes us feel like a tub of lard, it makes us crabby and/or depressed. Anything - and I mean anything - that can help lessen the discomfort is like manna from heaven. It's like mother's milk. It's like a tearjerker romcom. It's like zero calorie candy. It's like...you get the drift. 

This is why the pads we use are important to our sanity and overall well-being as women. Me, I can't stand thick pads that feels like a wet moldy towel stuck between my legs. I never looked back after I first tried ultrathins at the tender age of 14. It's just like having soft cardboard paper covering my junk. It's certainly more comfortable than the normal pads!

A couple of months back my trusted brand (since forever!) had a new version of their pads. They had some thermal stuff going on that's supposed to make me feel cool. Well, it felt stuffier to me because the pad felt denser. I also got rashes, ugh. Before, I only got rashes from dry cover pads. Now I'm not even safe from their cotton cover ones!

Hot pink! Cheery.

At the tender age of 22 I am already becoming paranoid about lines forming around my face, especially near my eyes. I wish I was kidding, but the wrinkles near the corners of my eyes are progressively becoming deeper. And deeper. 

Of course, Clinique has a hi-tech solution to that problem! The brand didn't become a trusted leader in skincare if they didn't always innovate and have a feel for the evolving needs of women. In a press launch last February 18, Clinique introduced their newest anti-aging line - Youth Surge.

Clinique introduces its latest patent-pending de-aging treatment line – Youth Surge.  NEW Youth Surge Night Age Decelerating Night Moisturizer and Youth Surge SPF 15 Age Decelerating Moisturizer incorporate groundbreaking Sirtuin technology to help slow down the visible signs of aging while simultaneously promoting cellular repair.

I love palettes. I love how the colors are neatly arranged in rows and columns, glittering and pretty. I love how they give me lots of choices when I take them on a trip. I love how cheaper they are than buying individual pans of eyeshadows! I can go on all day but you get the drift.

The set with a full-sized Primer Potion costs $39

My current palette love is the Urban Decay Ammo Shadowbox. It was released to celebrate the brand's 10th anniversary and contains ten of their best-selling eyeshadow shades in coordinating duos. I've been wanting to get my hands on this for the longest time but since I got the Book of Shadows II, I decided to put it off. However, when some of my friends decided to order the Alice in Wonderland Book of Shadows, I couldn't miss the chance! I just had to get the Ammo.

The product images from the Urban Decay site does no justice to the gorgeous colors of this palette. Its hard to catch the nuances of each shade on photos so you just have to take my word for it. Each eyeshadow is extremely pigmented and silky, just as what you'd expect from a good brand like Urban Decay. Chopper, Mauwi Wowie, and Grifter are rather gritty because of the glitter, but they go on smoothly nonetheless. Just be careful of the fallout.

I love the Philippines so I've never seriously considered moving to another country, say the US. However if there is one thing - one thing - that could convince me otherwise it would have to be all that gorgeous makeup they have over there! There's collection after collection from cheap to high-end brands. Not to mention the stuff are relatively more affordable than when they come here to the Philippines...if they get to the Philippines!

A lot of the best makeup brands in the US don't operate here, unfortunately. There's Urban Decay, Benefit, Sephora, Too Faced, Lorac, Korres, Ecotools, the list goes on. One of my dilemmas as a makeup enthusiast is getting my grubby hands on makeup that isn't available in the Philippines.

Enter stores like the House of Flair. The gracious owner, Suyen, was nice enough to contact me and ask me to try her shipping service. Basically, I picked something out of Sephora, filled up her order form, and poof! In three weeks the package was at my doorstep. My transaction with Suyen was fast and hassle-free.

Benefit's best sellers: Some Kind-a Gorgeous foundation faker, That Gal Primer, Posietint, and Highbeam

It's only Wednesday, but this week has already been marked with a flurry of meetings and frantic email exchanges. Let me take a short breather by telling you about my current go-to lip products: the Maybelline Watershine Pure and ColorSensational lipsticks!

I'm not a lip person so I rarely buy lip products. However, since I'm out a lot lately, I need two lipsticks that I can wear to all occasions - meetings, events, shopping, dates, whatever! Enter Maybelline's newest lipstick line, the ColorSensational Moisture Extreme Lip Color and an old line, Watershine Pure Natural Water Lip Color (Asia exclusive).

Watershine Pure in BM 23 (a lovely nude pink lipstick), P299 and ColorSensational in Plum Perfect (bright plum), P299

Foundation that feels and looks like second skin - myth or fact? Fact, when it comes to the Clinique Superfit Makeup! I really, really like this liquid foundation but I got one that is too white for me so I haven't used it a lot. In those times I have, I can say that this is one foundation worth the rave.

P1750 at Clinique counters in Rustan's

Why this is great:

• Feels light on the skin and looks like second skin. It's like you don't have anything on!
• Stays on all day without caking. Clinique was serious when they said it's long-wear. It's the kind of foundation that allows the sweat and oil to go through, instead of messing it up. Gross I know, but I'm sure you understand what I mean!
• Even if it's liquid foundation, it doesn't make me extra oily. Sure I get oily by mid-day, but that goes the same even if I use powder foundation. The Superfit Makeup is specifically formulated for oily skin. It's oil-free.
• A little goes a long way. The texture is kind of watery (instead of creamy) so I don't suggest using it with a sponge as it will just be absorbed. Use your fingers, or better yet, a stippling or foundation brush.
• Medium to heavy coverage. I'm all for coverage.
• It's Clinique! I didn't break out. It's 100% fragrance free and dermatologist tested.

Hygienic and ensures that you don't take out too much product. Be careful when you press the plastic bottle as the product is quite watery and might gush out.

More pictures of the product and me wearing it after the jump.

I am not a blush person. I actually don’t get why some girls have tons of blushes! I think a person just needs one peach blush and one pink blush. That’s just me though, because in the end it all comes down to preference. Anyway, I was looking for a blush that will serve as my everyday blush for the next year or so. I really don’t like scouting for blushes, therefore, I settled on one blush which was raved to be “universal”: the NARS Super Orgasm.

This blush, an amped-up version of the cult favorite NARS Orgasm has been reviewed extensively by a lot of magazines and blogs already so I’ll just give you a quick rundown.

Why this is so awesome:

•  The color looks so natural on my face (I’m light-medium with yellow undertones). Since I started wearing it, more people have been glancing at me. It might just be my imagination, LOL.
• Lasts a loooong time. Average blushes fade on me after 2-3 hours while this lasts me all day. It fades of course, but at the end of the day, when I’m just about to remove my makeup, there’s still a strong color. I have combination skin.

Urban Decay produces some of the best palettes around, and their new Alice in Wonderland Book of Shadows is not an exception. It contains sixteen of their best-selling shades, two 24/7 Eye Pencils in Zero and Flipside, and one mini eyeshadow primer potion. If you've seen trailers of the upcoming Alice in Wonderland movie, you'll notice that the color scheme Urban Decay used for this BoS is damnably close.

So, without further ado, here are pictures of one of the first three Urban Decay Alice in Wonderland palettes in the Philippines!

The Book of Shadows is as big and as heavy as a hardbound book

Pretty amazing pop-up eh? Urban Decay spares no expense when it comes to packaging

More pictures and details after the jump!

I have long wanted to get my hands on the NYX Concealer in a Jar because of the rave reviews online. Of course, the price is too good to be true for the promised quality - $5 or only around P300 from resellers. I had to wait two months after paying to get my hands on it, but I didn't mind because I thought it would be worth it.

It's not.

It's my fault really. I got the one in Medium, which I read was for NC35 skintones. Imagine my disappointment when I opened the jar, swatched it, and found that it's too dark and too beige for my skin! The horror. I waited for two months and it was all for naught.

So yes it's basically as good as trash to me. There's just no way I can use it becaue it's really obvious on my face - like dark patches. More pictures and serious review after the jump!