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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