B.E Weather Everything Eyeliner Sealer Review

I bought BE's Weather Everything Liner Sealer because I felt that it is a good investment for scrimps like me. One drop of the liquid is enough for both eyes and would make any color of eyeshadow turn into an indellible eyeliner.

I got someone from ebay.ph who sold it to me for 750 + shipping, something I find very affordable if you consider it's purpose. I checked Lise Watier Metamorphix Liner Sealer at Marionnaud and it costs a little over Php 1000 (if I'm not mistaken...).

At first, I thought I failed at this purchase because when I mixed my mpm's with it, it gives them a flaky, plastic finish on my eyes...much like the effect those cheap liquid eyeliners have. It is by accident that I learned how to properly do my lining just as I was about to post a review about it.

I was too lazy doing my thing with mixing liner sealer and mpm for photos sake. So, what I did was I wet my liner brush, dipped it on a dash of mpm that I already separated from the container and drew long lines on the back of my hand. After the lines dried up, I swiped BE's Weather Everything Liner Sealer on the UPPER HALF of the lines I made to show a comparison. I was in awe when it didn't bring out a flaky plastic finish. In fact, it gave more vibrance to the colors, especially to my Ellana Ethereal mpm which gives off a silver-black color instead of plain black when wet.

(with flash) Ellana Grace, Dazzle, Sensational and Ethereal mpm's

(without flash)

It's not entirely "weather everything" though. Definitely not the kind I'd wear for my wedding! I have very oily lids and teary eyes. And even this eyeliner sealant did not prevent the colors on the corners of my eyes from transferring to my tissue! Lolz!

Over all, I think it's not too bad of a product unlike the BN gel liner that I really can't use. (Can you imagine trying to seal that gel liner with this sealant and it still doesn't work?). Will I purchase it again? Maybe...For sure, I wouldn't splurge on using it so that the contents would last long.

Now if I can get my hands on Urban Decay 24/7 Super Stash...that's a different story.

Love lots,

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Care for Dry Skin

When I was younger, I thought that having dry skin is better than having oily skin because the former would only require more moisturization while the latter would require blotting papers, antibacterial and pore minimizing products and whatnots. Now that I know better, I realized that I was wrong. No one skin type is better than the other. All you have to do is find out the best routine that would work for your skin type to bring out the most beautiful you!

Moreover, for a person who has very dry skin, everything else would be practically dry too...hair and lips included. Now you wouldn't use the same moisturizer for every part of your body would you? At the end of the day, it's as rigorous a task to keep your skin moisturized as to keep it oil-free!

I have already posted about keeping the hair healthy instead of dry. Now I'd like to share a few things I learned about moisturizing skin...

1. Stay away from moisturizers that contain mineral oil or mineral oil derivatives like paraffin and petroleum jelly. While some would work for certain skin types, it's not really advisable to use, especially for excessively dry skin. Mineral oil acts as plastic that traps water inside your skin, making it seem moisturized.

2. Use products that are plant extracts and essential oils based rather than water-based products. Come to think of it, it's not a very pleasant sight if your skin absorbed water while you're swimming eh? While most of the water will evaporate, plant extracts such as aloe vera gel and oils such as emu oil will definitely get into the skin as well as all the other important ingredients that come with their products.

3. Exfoliate before moisturizing. I'm sure most of you would agree that it's not very flattering to apply lip balm on broken and extremely chapped lips. Same goes for moisturizing dead skin.

4. Time your moisturization. You can't just apply moisturizer when you want to. You must know when your skin would absorb the products more, and that is when it's damp. Apply body lotion/oil right after you pat your skin dry from the shower...lip balm after you drink water...facial moisturizer and eye cream after you wash your face...and so on. You may want to turn to this post to find out which products should come first in your routine.

5. Don't over-cleanse your skin. This tip also goes for the oily skinned ones. Whenever your system notices that your skin had been washed off it's natural oils, it would make double effort to let more oils out. On the other hand, if you have dry skin, your system will have a very hard time replenishing the naturals oils you washed away.

6. Try to avoid the sun especially during the peak hours 10 in the morning to 4 in the afternoon. And never forget to apply sunblock with a minimum SPF of 15. The sun's heat will dehydrate your skin, not to mention the harmful uva and uvb rays you're at risk of.

7. Avoid products that contain alcohol, sodium lauryl sulfate and sodium laureth sulfate that may aggravate the condition of your dry skin. Find alternatives that are more organic or natural. To find out what certain chemical ingredients may cause to your skin, click here.

8. Some dryness may be caused by your skin's reaction to an allergen. Avoid the things you are allergic to either by isolating the issue or consulting an allergologist/dermatologist.

In line with that, did you know that your baby's skin is more prone to dryness than your skin? That is because baby skin is thinner and more sensitive than adult skin. If you notice that your baby's skin easily bring out dark spots after an insect bite, it's time you apply these tips on him or her too!

Love lots,

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How Do You Remember Those Who Passed Away?

It's All Souls Day. When I was young, my grandma would always initiate a reunion of all the living members of our family. They would make "kakanin" in the form of suman, biko, or ube and place small amounts of these food on saucers to offer to those who passed away. Sometimes, the food will also be whatever the deceased was fond of when he/she was still alive. Nanay would lead a very long novena for the deceased. She raised everyone of us to believe that if one dies, the soul goes to purgatory until it is cleansed of it's sins. The more people pray for the salvation of this soul, the faster is it's wait to go to heaven.

Now, that grandma's gone. We still make an effort to get together, cook traditional food, and pray...even though we don't have a copy of the original novena anymore. I don't think God measures anyone by the number of people who care to pray for them when they passed away, because that would not be fair to all. However, I still like to pray for the deceased members of our family, if to at least make God tell them how much they are loved and missed.

On a lighter note, it's a good thing that the Philippines is slowly acquiring the tradition of trick or treating on All Hallow's Eve. It gives my little daughter something nice to look forward to every 31st of October!

...Lilay and Ella, both eating candy at Startek's Halloween event

So how about you...what do you do during All Saints and All Souls day?

Love lots,

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Human Heart Nature is Loving Ella's Hair

In comes Human Heart Nature with shampoos for kids and babies. Ironically, this is the first product I've ever tried from this line when I accidentally found it at the MomExpo at The Rockwell Tent. I don't know why it took me a while to post about it. Oh well...

Ella's hair has fine strands. I took a long time for her hair to grow longer because it's curly. I'm not complaining because it seems to look very good on her... I am surprised she got her grandma's curly hair and not Drew's nor my naturally straight hair though.

Now with the pressure that came with super straight haired shampoo models here in the Philippines, I am now in a conscious effort to help Ella maintain her beautiful wavy hair as she grows up. I want her to know that she can stand out with the kind of hair she was born with.

Human Heart Nature supports me in this goal. I used the other variants before but Aloe Vera and Chamomile really stole my heart. I pour around 3 tablespoons of the product on Ella's bath tub and pour water from a high position to make bubbles. Ella enjoys bubbles too much. I use the same water in the tub to wash her hair.

Every weekend, I nourish Ella's hair with the Mango Butter Nourishing Conditioner in Mandarin.

Just look at her hair now...

...without flash

...with flash


Soft, beautiful curls with natural brown highlights! I hope it stays that way!

Love lots,

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A "Greener" Way to Cure Cough

It's inevitable that Ella catches the usual cold and cough every now and then because of constant weather changes and her ever so hyper energy (--read KALIKUTAN). When we bring Ella to the doctor for a check up, we would usually be adviced to give her Asmalin or Solmux.

I never really liked the effect those medicines have on her. Asmalin causes short of breath while Solmux forces Ella to expel cough by throwing up. Both don't give her peaceful sleep at night which makes her all cranky in the morning. Thus, she loses appetite and weight.



The last time Ella had a terrible cough, I decided to buy Ascof Lagundi without prescription, thinking that she's turning 2 anyway. I followed the recommended dosage and guess what? No more coughing in 5 days! And no messy and stinky vomit at that!

Did Ella learn to spit phlegm properly? No! I believe Ella got rid of phlegm through poop, which is the 2nd way children her age expels them.

What I'm most happy about that decision to let Ella take Ascof Lagundi is that it's all natural. I feel like it's just a concentrated and flavored version of our grandma's Lagundi concoction back in the days! Now, I don't have to worry about Ella losing weight again, especially because she's going to celebrate her birthday in a month's time.

Love lots,

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