Alternating Cetaphil with St. Ives Apricot Scrub

I've been using Cetaphil since high school and I've always loved how it can be carried around to clean your face, even without water. When I gave birth to Ella, I used it on her too 'coz the product is hypoallergenic. Surprisingly, my facial staple also came up with a variant for oily skin!

I've been seeing ads about it in magazines but never really spotted it on health and beauty stores until just a few weeks ago. I excitedly grabbed a bottle, not realizing that it was P527.75 for 125ml which is kinda steep.

This facial cleanser should be rinsed btw! It's not like good old Cetaphil soap-free cleanser. The bottle said it's a foaming variant, but the consistency is actually runny. I've never had luck in ever making a foam or lather with it, haha!

I have combination skin, so I feel tightness on some parts of my face after washing with this. That can be resolved by applying moisturizer though. The sort-of alcoholic smell needs some getting used to.

Tiny but painful whiteheads sparingly broke out on my face during the first week that I was using this. But learning that I would have to give a product time to actually work, I continued to use it. I wouldn't let such a pricey product go to waste no!

I'm on my 3rd week of using this and I can see that my face is a lot smoother. It doesn't do much about oil control, it didn't even claim to be. But I noticed that my face doesn't keep a lot of blackheads since.

I'll be on my late 20's this december, so I'd have to steer clear of overly exfoliating my face. This is a great alternate to my all time favorite St. Ives Medicated Apricot Scrub that does a very good job at exfoliating and fighting all-around skin blemishes!

It was silly of me to have replaced Cetaphil and Apricot scrub with newer skin solutions in the past. I should've learned by now that if a product works for me, I should stick with it. Well, I'm sticking to this routine now.

I'm interested...what do you use on your face?

your every woman,

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Father's Day Treat: No Bake Blue Berry Cheesecake!

Tomorrow is father's day! And to honor the best daddy I have ever known in the world (after my grandpa who is no longer with us...), I'm sharing with you Drew's recipe of one of our favorite desserts!

Here's to the biggest example that daddies aren't supposed to be just providers...they can cook too!

Ingredients:

2 packs, 8oz cream cheese, softened

1 tetra pack Nestle Cream

1 cup white sugar

1 pack Knox unflavored gelatine

1 large can of Blueberry filling

Crust:

3 cups crushed graham crackers

100g Dairy Cream butter, melted

1 cup brown sugar

1. Mix crushed graham crackers, melted butter and brown sugar in a bowl.

2. Line baking tray or any appropriate container with graham cracker crust. (We used a 6x12x3 inch plastic ware.)

3. Set aside, preferrably in a cool place.

4. Mix softened cream cheese, Nestle cream, and white sugar in a mixing bowl until you get a soft and smooth texture.

3. Follow package instructions on how to prepare the Knox gelatine.

5. Add gelatine to cream cheese mixture and stir until consistency is even.

6. Pour cream cheese mixture over graham crust and refrigerate overnight (We like this frozen, it's like ice cream!)

7. Pour Blueberry filling over cake. Enjoy!

Hubby perfected the result on the 2nd attempt after watching a colleague do it. Amazing no?

your every woman,

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My First Take on Prenup and Wedding Hair and Make Up

It's always a good thing when friends help each other out. In my case, it was made even better because I got to help our friends on their wedding day and help myself practice prenup and bridal hair and make up. Hubby practiced photography using our digicam too and had been thinking about getting a DSLR since!

After being required to be church wed by the priest who facilitated their son's christening seminar, these 2 didn't have a choice but to join the parish' mass wedding. And since there were no preparations, I offered to do make up on her just to experience it. And boy, it was a tough job! There's really a lot of pressure in bringing out the beauty of the bride! Here's a sneak peak on how everything turned out...

Turned out to be ok, didn't it? I'm not a professional. And I can't even say I'm a better option than getting makeup done by someone who studied it (...I could be a cheaper option though! :D ). All I can say is, I'm proud of my work and happy that the couple liked it. Congratulations Paolo and Rosha Beleno! Best wishes!

your every woman,

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Spreads, Dips and Sauces: Fishball Sauce

I remember when Lyka, a good friend, and I were in school eating fishballs, we were talking about how fishballs cooked at home never tasted as good as in the streets. We've agreed that it's because of the sauce and she even suggested I ask my big brother to try to dupe it.

Well guess what? I duped it! Oh I wish I could have a fishball snack time with Lyka again...Miss you girl!

Anyway, here's how:

Ingredients

1 heaping tbsp cornstarch
1 cup water
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 cloves garlic minced
1/4 cup spiced vinegar
4 tbsp brown sugar

1. Mix all the ingredients together on a sauce pan.
2. Heat until you have a thick sauce.

*Datu Puti sells spiced vinegars. It's vinegar with peppers and other spices, so it will save you a couple of ingredients and hassle to just buy Datu Puti.

Yummy on fishballs, squidballs, kikiam! :D

your every woman,

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Make Up Play: Bridal Make Up

Here comes the blushing June bride wannabee...

Hubby says my signature sucks, so he's gonna make me one! Yey! And I hope big brother who's into photography can share his talent with me 'coz I really suck at lighting my photographs!

your every woman,

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Utilize Your PAGIBIG Membership

I'm 25... Hubby's 23... And we have a 2 year old daughter. We're not getting any younger, so I need to set goals and timelines to ensure a better future for all of us. And to jumpstart pursuing my dreams, I decided that Drew and I attend loan counseling at a PAGIBIG or Home Development Mutual Fund.

Let me share with you some of my questions that were answered during the counseling:

-Did you know that you can loan up to 3M from the fund?

*Your monthly contribution will have to be upgraded upon loan approval though. The higher the loan amount, the higher is the monthly contribution. There is information at PAGIBIG's website that tabulates loanable amounts and it's corresponding monthly contributions.

-What if you upgrade your monthly contribution even without a decided loan or property to buy?

*It's possible! In fact, I've already done it! Your only advantage with an advanced upgrade on monthly contribution is a larger dividend upon loan application and higher returns upon retirement. And because of that large dividend, there is a good possibility that your maximum loanable amount could be higher...although that is still subject for approval based on a credit and property check. However, once you have filed for an upgrade on your PAGIBIG monthly contribution, you will have to pay that price until the end of your loan term or until the end of your membership with PAGIBIG, whichever comes first. Therefore, it's still best to wait until your loan is approved because PAGIBIG will automatically include the details of the upgrade of your monthly contribution with the loan approval.

-What if I'm not a PAGIBIG member yet? Or I haven't completed the required length of membership to be able to file for a loan?

*The only reason PAGIBIG requires at least 24 months of contributions is the total amount of contributions after the said length of membership. Meaning, if you decide to be a member, or have not completed 24 months of contributions, at the same time you decide to loan, you can pay the lump sum amount to complete at least Php4800 worth of contributions and pay monthly from there.

Steps and other FAQs on the availment of PAGIBIG housing loans can be viewed from this link.

A more detailed guidelines on the PAGIBIG fund end-user home (residential) financing program is outlined in this link. Information about the following can be taken from there:

1. COVERAGE

2. LOAN PURPOSE

3. BORROWER'S ELIGIBILITY

4. LOAN AMOUNT

4.1 Loan Entitlement Based on PAGIBIG Contributions

4.2 Loan Entitlement Based on Capacity to Pay

4.3 Loan To Collateral Ratio

5. INTEREST RATE

6. LOAN TERM

7. LOAN PAYMENT

8. COLLATERAL

9. PARI-PASSU

10. INSURANCE

11. PREPAYMENT

12. LOAN CHARGES

14. SECOND AVAILMENT

15. ADDITIONAL LOANS

16. EFFECTS OF MEMBERSHIP TERMINATION ON AN OUTSTANDING HOUSING

LOAN

17. OTHER PROVISIONS

18. AMENDMENTS

19. REPEALING CLAUSE

20. PROGRAM ALLOCATION

21. EFFECTIVITY

With the coming of a new administration, there is a possibility that parts of the guidelines could be changed, so just keep on checking http://www.pagibigfund.gov.ph/ for more information.

If you're an average person like I am, and you don't start utilizing that PAGIBIG membership which you are paying monthly, when else are you going to? When real estate appraisal is higher and you're not young enough to keep working and paying? The farthest you are from your retirement age, the best time it is to think about your future with PAGIBIG! Don't just take it from me! Attend one Loan Counseling now!

Schedule of Loan Counseling for NCR are as follows:

Retail Account: M-F 8am-10am and 1pm-3pm / Saturdays 9am

Venue: 6f, Rm 602 Atrium Bldg, Makati Ave. Makati City

Developer Account: M-F 10am-12nn and 3pm-5pm

Venue: 8f Training Rm 1 Justine Bldg, Buendia, Makati City

Saturdays 9am at LOBBY Atrium Bldg, Makati Ave, Makati City

*Bring a photocopy of ID and ballpen

Hope this helps!

your every woman,

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Make Up Play: Beach Colors

Summer may be over...But it didn't stop me from making my last make up take on the wonderful colors of the beach!

Awww...I'm not sure if I'm ready to welcome rainy days yet!

your every woman,

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Keeping Volume on Long Hair

Do you notice that you hair is losing its body, especially near the scalp? But do you also slather on conditioner everyday for fear of getting dry and split ends on hair you've been trying to grow longer for the last couple of months?

Me...wishing I'd lose some "body" from my figure and not from my hair!

I am one of a possible lot of you who've answered yes to those questions. I've tried not conditioning my hair but it turns out to be dry and frizzy. I also tried alternating shampoo and conditioner every other day and the results vary every day. But then I went back to basics and got an idea!

We all know that natural oils come out from the roots of our hair right? It's just that sometimes, when the hair is too long, the oils are not enough to cover the entire shaft of hair, leaving its ends dry.

So now, when I shampoo my hair, I focus on massaging my scalp and leave it to the lather to clean up the entire length of my hair. Then, when I apply conditioner, I only apply it on the lower half of my hair. You'll notice the difference in softness and smoothness when you rinse, but that should be ok. The natural oils should come out from the roots when you comb your hair anyway and that will equalize the moisture! Just make sure to use a wide toothed comb while air drying wet hair and brush it when it's dry.

Please do tell me if this works for you too!

your every woman

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It's Another Charm Pro Travel Brush Set Prebuy Season!

*click photo to access website

I was ecstatic when I opened my email earlier to see Beauty and Minerals' latest announcement:

"CHARM TRAVEL PRO PRE-BUY The Charm Travel Pro Sets are open for PRE-BUYING! Get to pre-pay your Charm Travel Pro Set, and get a discount, and get freebies!
WHEN : Pre-buy period : June 1 to July 10, 2010. All payments must be in by July 10, 2010.
PRE-BUY SPECIAL PRICE : P 1,600.00 ( exclusive of shipping )
Includes : The Charm Travel Pro Set, a sample of CURE Aqua Gel, and a free mineral eyeshadow (1/8 tsp, in sachet) chosen by us."

Timing that I was discussing my pathetic concern to my hubby about not having a personal brush set just a couple of minutes before opening my email...

me: it's june, and the version 2 charm brush set i was telling you about isn't out yet..
hubby: ? (clueless)
me: remember i sold the charm holiday brush set to buy the bigger brush set only to find out that it's out of stock? and then sophie found a single set for sale among her stash and asked if anyone wanted to get it? i decided not to get it because i was waiting for version 2...now i'm thinking i should've bought it instead
hubby: oh, ok...so you bought the one with the red pouch instead? (pretending to be actively participating in the conversation)
me: no. i bought the one with the red pouch (a 22 pc brush set from Dollface Cosmetics) to do make up on other people, remember? now i have to take a few pieces of that set with me to put on my own make up since i don't have a personal one. darn, i really should've bought the last set if i knew i'd have nothing to use for this long...
hubby: how much was it then?
me: 1800...something (uncertain). thing is sophie said that the version 2 will be bigger and better, so the price would probably go up for version 2. my other concern is that it may not be travel sized anymore...
hubby: which means the brush will be too big for your face?
me: no! the handles will be longer!

Haha! Make up conversations with husband --fail! Charm Pro Travel Brush Set Prebuy --winner!!!

your every woman,

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Spreads, Dips and Sauces: Cheezy Tuna Sandwich Spread

Like I've said before, I'm crazy about cheese! Here's how I put a cheese twist to the regular tuna sandwhich.

Ingredients:
1 can Century Tuna flakes in oil
1 can Century Tuna flakes hot and spicy
1 jar of Kraft's Miracle Whip
1 whole red onion, chopped
2 tbsp Magnolia Cheezee spread
1 tsp white pepper

1. Mix all ingredients together and spread on sandwich.

Wasn't that too simple?! If you want the works, you can also add lettuce and cheese slices with the tuna spread on your sandwich! Love it!!!

your every woman,

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