Happy Sunday people! How are you doing today?
I don't know about you, but my hubby doesn't like it when I wear make up. You see, I have always loved make up since I was a kid. But when my hubby met me, I was battling financial issues causing me not to spend even a single centavo for make up. I also never talked about it then. And because of the whirlwind romance that we had, he only found out my love for make up as we were financially getting better.
He doesn't flat out hate it though. It's just that, you'll notice an irritated look just as I start priming my face and preparing my stuff. That same irritated look shows up when I'd check out make up counters on our visits to the mall. He'd rather indulge me in food and travel rather than approve my whims when it comes to make up. There was even a time when we fought about the time I spent prettifying myself for our daughter's first birthday! He said he'd rather see me doing make up on other people instead of on myself. But how can I be confident in coloring people's faces when I can't even perfect a smokey eye on myself?
And because he loves me enough to get the hang of it and can even be seen being proud of me as I pursue one of my loves, I still don't feel very comfortable. This is one of the reasons I almost never do my make up at home (aside from having a 2-year old who also wants to have her face colored as well...). I'd just take a bath, cleanse, tone, moisturize and sun-block my face before leaving and will continue with the rest at the office, which is not good, but I can't help it. Whenever I'm out with the hubby, it's mostly gonna be just lip and cheek tint for me.
Well, I'm just sharing. And it's not really a problem. It's just one spice of our lives. I have a friend at work who never liked being made up, but her husband encourages her to be. So I guess our husbands, like every human being, tends to want something they don't have.
So how about you? How does your man react to your being irresistibly vain?
your every woman,
Aside from the no make-up look, which I sometimes get tired of, I love wearing red lips matched with lined eyes. It really brings out my Asian features.
I've tried sugar red from The Natural Source but it's been a year and the lipstick had dried out. Plus, it's too frosty and doesn't give me the red I wanted as I was hoping for an effect similar to the Mac Russian Red's.
On the eyeliner part though, I am still in search of a good one that'll stay vibrant on my eyes from dusk 'til dawn (or vice versa since I work at a call center *wink*).
Here's what made it to my face at the Sto. Niño festival.
Artdeco Perfect Color Lipstick #08
Pros:
-very pigmented
-stays on for hours, even through drinking and eating
-elegant black packaging
-on sale, originally priced at Php600+ but I got it for just Php465.
Cons:
-matte finish dries the lips
-will no longer be available locally (SA informed us that Artdeco will be around while supplies last or until April, whichever comes first)
-has the tendency to turn pinkish rather than a true red when fading
eyes not lined, face bare
Revlon Colorstay Eyeliner Pencil in Black
Pros:
-dries fast
-creamy
-pigmented
-has a built-in sharpener
Cons:
-sharpener doesn't give a nice pointed result
-smudges on oily lids and teary eye corners
-loses color quality at the end of the day (My right eyelid is oilier than my left, so even though it doesn't smudge on my left lid, I noticed that the color at the end of the day wasn't as black as it was when I first applied it.)
-price is so-so at around Php500 (-forgot the exact price)
after 8 hours of application and partying at the festival
with flash and w/o flash respectively
How about you, what is your favorite make up look? What do you use to achieve it?
your every woman,
This is part 2 of my problems after Ella turned 2. I don't know if I'm an exaggerated parent or if I'm really having problems because Ella doesn't regularly eat solid food.
First I'm not sure if her teeth growth is delayed but picture this: She got her first teeth on the month of her first birthday, got the 2 bottom front teeth, 4 teeth beside the 4 front teeth, the 4 "pangil"-like teeth after a year and six months. I compared her to kids her age and most of them have completed their primary teeth by 6 months to 1 year.
Because of this, she had difficulty chewing food when we started giving her real solid food after the mashed ones. As she approached age 2, when she's had enough eating her meal, she'd throw up and I get to see the same chunks of food I fed her. I pitied her and I became more lenient with her eating solid food. She drinks a lot of milk and when we asked the pediatrician if it's enough, she said it is enough as long as we see that she's coping with the standard growth levels of kids her age.
Just a few months before becoming 2 years old, she grew 4 molars, and is yet to grow 4 more. But because she had not been used to eating solid food, she is not used to chewing. She still throws up the same chunks of food I fed her. And that's if she'll ever allow any solid food to enter her mouth.
To resolve this issue, we stopped giving her milk unless it's time to sleep. She cries a lot everytime she asks for one but we were firm in not giving her milk hoping she'll be hungry enough to ask for food. But she doesn't. I'm worried she might get ulcers of the stomach.
I've read and found out that one way to resolve this would be to prepare a variety of healthy finger food , preferably with dip, where kids can accesssibly take them when they want to. Table life of such food would be around 1-2 hours. This could work, however I'm also thinking, wouldn't it turn out to be messy and expensive?
I don't want to force feed my daughter as it will give her an unpleasant eating experience and may affect her behavior in the future. But does anyone have other ideas? How did you resolve eating problems when your children were toddlers? Or should I even be worrying about this?
your every woman,
I never realized the "terrible two" stage for toddlers was real until Ella turned 2! She's really being difficult now! She refuses to eat and drink vitamins! She'd rather have candy instead of real food! She'd remove all her clothes all the way to her nappy but isn't potty trained yet! If she decides to try a particular food which she eventually finds out that she doesn't like, she's going to spit it right there and then! She loves to threaten to spank if you disagree with what she wants! She cries uncontrollably too!
At this point, I really don't know how to handle her! I want to spank her but I don't know how to properly do it. I try to talk to her but there are things she can't understand yet, and sometimes there are also things that she refuses to hear out. I want to put her in a corner to think, but she doesn't get the idea.
Some books I've read say that after a scolding, there is no reason to withdraw affection because kids just snap back as if nothing happened. They say the love you show even though a child is being disciplined affects self esteem. And Ella makes it hard for me to decide whether to follow that principle or not because she always comes to hug me everytime I scold her. I'm not sure if it's the right way to do it because some of my elders say that clever kids think of it as your soft spot and tend to show more bad behavior towards you.
Both hubby and I are paranoid about how to properly raise our kid to become a better individual. We can always read, research and apply principles, but who's to say what Ella would become in the future. For now, I find comfort in the belief that not all parents actually research on how to bring up their children, like our parents, but the children somehow still grow up to be ok.
Is my Ella going to be ok? How did you go through your toddler's terrible two's?
your every woman,
I can't believe it's been 3 years since our first date! You see, bessy and I were colleagues at work but I had a bf at the time that's why I never really paid attention to the boy who was supposed to steal my heart. The relationship that I had with the ex was too on and off that I decided to watch the 2007 pyrotechnics display at the Mall of Asia with someone else...that's when I learned that bessy had a crush on me! Haha! We went out that same night and the rest, they say, is history!
Now we celebrate that date every year as our anniversary! You may notice that with a 2 year old baby girl, it must've been a whirlwind romance...but I'd never give up those 3 years for anything else in the world. It's like a lifetime was compressed in there. And we did go through more than anyone can imagine!
I love you bessy!
your every woman,
My aunt gave me Simple Pleasures' Sugar Frost Body Wash and Shimmering Body Mist and I am loving it!
I tried looking for it on the Internet and they're being sold at ebay and other US stores in dollars, so I'm not sure if they can be bought locally. My aunt has never been to the US btw.
I love how comforting the sugary sweet smell of these products is...never overpowering! Perfect for those queueing days at the call center!
Thanks tita Len!
your every woman,
I am very fond of at-home beauty kits. They're affordable. You get all the time in the world to do it on yourself or someone else. You get to apply your own skills in the process without someone smirking their face at you. You will never feel shy about having someone do a procedure on you such as waxing because you do it on your own or with someone you trust at the comfort of your home. And you ALWAYS master the results.
Believe me, I have tried to do almost everything at home and I can say that not everything can be done efficiently. So let me give you an overview of the usual at-home beauty procedures and where and how to get the best results:
FACIAL
DIY:
Steam your face before extracting blackheads. Place a face towel soaked in warm water over the parts of your face that are not being extracted of blackheads. Clean face with facial scrub and apply face mask afterwards. Use cold water as final rinse. Tone and moisturize last.
*Product suggestions:
St. Ives Apricot Scrub
Holystic Haven's The Mud
Human Heart Nature's Tomato Toner
Holystic Haven's The Moisturizer
My Opinion:
If your face is not too problematic, then this is more likely to work on you. Better done with a skilled friend, btw. Otherwise, it would be best to seek help from experts, especially the ones licensed to treat facial problems.
WAX HAIR REMOVAL
DIY:
This is best done with cold sugar wax preparations as it saves you from potential burn and mistakes. Because sugar wax is water soluble, you can easily wash it with water just in case it's too painful for you to strip off. It can only be efficiently done on the arms, legs and facial hair except eyebrows. You would need help in the underarm and bikini areas.
*Product suggestions:
StripIt's Cold Wax Hair Removal
My Opinion:
If you can have someone help you wax those hard to reach areas, then this is no different from salon waxing at a fraction of the price. Eyebrows should never be waxed though as the risk of getting an odd shape is very high
MANICURE AND PEDICURE
DIY:
Soak your feet in a tub of warm water with epsom salts for relaxation and a tea bag for a deodorizing effect. Do your manicure while you're waiting but skip the polish for the meantime. After your hands are done, buff one foot at a time while the other is still soaked. Rinse feet thoroughly and proceed with pedicure. Apply polish on toenails before you do your fingernails. Make sure that you let each application dry before applying another coat for best results. Apply hand and foot moisturizers and massage away.
*Products suggestions:
Venus and Mars' Spa Milk Salt
Human Heart Nature's Super Fruits and Coco Flakes Body Scrub
Human Heart Nature's Hand & Foot Salve
My Opinion:
Practice makes perfect! Doing this on your own should be no different compared to if it was done at the salon. It's could even be better because you can gauge if your skin already hurts.
HAIR MASK/HOT OIL
DIY:
Apply hair mask all over hair after shampooing. You can choose to use commercially sold hair mask/hot oil solutions or virgin coconut oil or mayonnaise. Soak a bigger-than-the-average face towel in warm water, wring it and wrap it around your hair. Wrap everything with a shower cap and wait 15-30 mins before rinsing.
*Product suggestions:
Human Heart Nature's Mango Butter & Vitamin E Hair Mask
Human Heart Nature's Avocado & Gugo Bark Hair Mask
My Opinion:
DIY works just as well as if it's salon done.
HAIR COLOR
DIY:
Buy DIY kits and follow instructions.
*Product suggestions:
L'Oreal Feria
Revlon Colorsilk
L'Oreal Excellence Cremelights
My Opinion:
If you know your hair well, you should be able to pick the best hair color for it. DIY if your hair isn't problematic and if your purpose is just to change your hair color 1 to 2 times darker or lighter. If you need to cover gray hair, this is best done with any one else who could see even the back of your head. If you have scalp problems, your hair is previously chemically treated or is very dry, then professional coloring should be the best option.
HAIRCUT
DIY:
Only if you want bangs. Haha!
My Opinion:
If it's just bangs you want, I believe that you should be able to do it on your own. And even though I actually tried to layer my hair back in elementary, I don't suggest you do it too! :P
EYEBROW SHAPING
DIY:
Best done with tweezers
My Opinion:
If it's your first time, you might want to seek the services of a trained threader first just to get the perfect shape of your eyebrows. Then you can maintain the shape by tweezing scattered and misplaced hair when they grow.
*some photos were Googled
How much of these have you tried? Would love to hear your story!
your every woman,
This solved my eye make up irritation problems! 
This solved my eye make up irritation problems! 
ño community in Manila. Because of this, we get to celebrate the feast of Sto. Niño together with the rest of the country in merriment every 3rd Sunday of January!
