My Christmas Wishlist + Firmoo Giveaway Winners

Christmas is around the corner!!! Yay!!! The wifey (me) is super excited for my long weekend. For people who work in this kind of industry, we all rejoice in rare holidays like these. Usually, we follow Korean Holidays, and the only non-Korean Holidays that we have are Christmas and New Year. So, I'm really looking forward to a long weekend with the hubby. Oh, I forgot! Hubby has to work on the 24th, I am just lucky that our boss gave as a break on that day. So, I'll go to hubby's office on Monday and we'll go straight to our relatives after his shift. Or maybe go on a date first, since our family reunion starts in the evening. ^__^

There are only a few days left before Christmas! Wow! Time flies so fast! Anyway, let me share with you stuff I want for Christmas...

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Charm PRO Makeup Brush Set

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Charm Travel Pro Set

This has been part of my birthday wishlist this year. I got a Beauty Cosmetics Travel Brush set already, one that I won from Jannah's giveaway. I want to have any Charm Brush Set to be able to compare the two. =D

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Samsung Galaxy Camera

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Samsung NX1000

I really want to own my own camera, one that could take really crisp shots of anything. Also, it would be an advantage if I get to own one that could capture the real condition of my skin, for product reviews. =)

For now, I shall rely on my trusty smartphone camera and I'll just borrow my sister-in-law's digital camera if I'll need take sharp photos. ^__~

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Jeffrey Campbell Lita Shoes

I've been bugging the hubby to get me these shoes. We saw a similar one at SM but I got kinda disappointed since the heels were made of PVC plastic. =(

Hopefully, we could find and buy a few good pairs like these.... =)

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Satchels

I want to use these kinds of bags when I start teaching next year. These bags look sturdy and roomy, good for teachers like me. =D

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Kindle

I like reading. I have lots of E-Books sent by Ms. Dee of Skye Avenue. So plenty that I don't know what to read first! Haha! Hubby gave me the idea of owning a Kindle. I was already contented reading books from my smartphone, until he asked me "Do you want a Kindle for your e-books?" and it sparked my interest in owning a this gadget... Hehehe... =D

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Starbucks 2013 Planner

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Random Cute 2013 Planner

Being the OC between me and the husband, I want things done on time (or even before the deadline). Really. I don't know if he noticed it, but I started despising cramming. =D

I want to start the year right by planning my actions and jotting them down. It will help me both as a blogger and a teacher. Honestly, I want more than one planner! Maybe not another planner, but a sketchpad (yeah , I'm a paper monster!). =D

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Classic Bike

I know how to ride a bike but honestly, I can't ride it in the streets! =D However, I want to conquer my fear and be able to exercise as well! If hubby would get me one (which is impossible), I'll ride this every Thursday morning, going to church. By the way, church is just at the other street, near our house. =D

Photo taken 2 years ago...
Skinfood Aloe Sun BB Cream

I've tried a lot of BB Creams out there and I must say, this is still my HG BB Cream. I want to reunite with it soon... =D

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I am hoping to get to teach in the school next year. I hope to be a good, if not the best, teacher my students could ever have. ^__^

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Of course, I want to have lots of love next year! ^__^

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I want to be a successful teacher, blogger and most importantly as an individual. =)


Thank you for reading along my wishlist. ^__^


By the way, since I only gathered 95 entries for my Firmoo giveaway, I'll consider all of the participants winners! ^__^

Here are the lucky ones:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Andrea Celestial Noroña

Ella Dalistan

Cristiane Cleofas

Ally Matute

I shall e-mail you for the details. ^__^


Thank you every one! I hope every one participates on my next giveaway. Don't worry, I'll make sure it'll be fun! ^__^

How about you? Have you made your Christmas wishlist already? Or, should I say, are you ready for the holidays? ^__^

This is going to be a long weekend! Woot!!! =D

Just Got Lucky Series: Encara BB Cream

Sorry for the lack of updates... I've been so down lately... 

Oh well! Let me make it up to you this time...

Who loves BB Cream? I do! So, I was so lucky to win one from Ms. Aila of Makeup and My World! I got this the day before my birthday. ^__^

As of now, I got three tubes of BB Creams. And  Encara BB Cream is my 3rd tube. I haven't opened it until this post. ^__^

 

Thanks, Ms. Aila! 

Do you love BB Creams? Which is your favorite?

Gosh, I better get the motivation I need to post! I have tons to share!!! Please inspire and motivate me, friends!!! =D

FOTD 073112: Ulzzang-ish

Hello dear readers/followers! ^__^

It's Friday, and not just a simple Friday, but it is the first Friday of the month of August. That means there will only be two Fridays to go before my birthday! ^__^

-Ber months will come right after August ends. So, are you ready for it? Geez... Time flies so fast! But what makes me anticipate it is, our first wedding anniversary. Thinking about it makes me feel so giddy that I don't know what to do on our special day. Hmmm... Cook? Make a video? Record a song? Do a live song performance? Do cartwheels? XD

I'll challenge my mind later. For now, let me share with you my FOTD last Tuesday. I wasn't planning to wear any eyeshadow (or anything visible) but I got carried away. The original plan was only a wash of color. Then suddenly, my hand grew a mind of its own and picked up a bright and shimmery white shade from my e.l.f palette. My hand did what my mind had been mentally drawing on its own face chart. I've been wanting to wear an Ulzzang-inspired look, recalling the first ever ulzzang photo tutorial that I saw four years ago. Curious? Click this and you'll see the very first ulzzang tutorial I've seen. I gotta warn you. The before and after will seem kinda creepy to you, but hey, that's the very first ulzzang tutorial I've seen. =D

The one I have in mind makes use of shimmery white and brown eye shadow. Shimmery white eye shadow constantly reminds me of ulzzang. On the other hand, no matter how significant white eye liner is to this particular look, I avoid using it, as it breaks the look (in my case). Whenever I try using white eye liner in any look, it just don't work in any way. It could be that my Fashion 21 white liner isn't my soul mate...

And so, my hand picked the shimmery white shade and patted it on my lids like crazy. Then it took a brown shade and applied it to my crease. Since I really wanted to go for a softer look, I struggled with my hand (hahaha!) to make it look less visible, therefore, blending it more.

Lined my upper lash line with black to make my lashes look thicker.

Skipped the mascara.

Swiped a layer or two of lip balm topped with pink lipgloss. And viola! I'm done! ^__^

Get ready for picspam!!! =D

 

PRODUCTS USED:

FACE: 

L'Oreal UV Perfect BB Max
Purederm Magic BB Cream
Avon Simply Pretty Shine No More Dual Foundation Powder in Almond

e.l.f Contouring Blush and Bronzing Powder

EYES: 

Natasha Beauty Eye Brow Pencil in Caramel Brown 

e.l.f Primer and Sealer 

e.l.f Eye shadow palette in Natural (used the shimmery white shade)
Fanny Serrano Four Colour Eyeshadow in Earth (used the warm brown shade)
Fanny Serrano Soft Eye Pencil in Black

LIPS: 

Cover Girl Natureluxe Gloss Balm in Hibiscus

Maybelline Volume Seduction XL Lip Plumper in Proud Pink

You might be wondering why I used two kinds of BB Creams for this look. Well, the first layer is to somewhat moisturize my skin (I skipped the moisturizer part and used L'Oreal UV Perfect BB Max right after the L'Oreal Youth Code Pre-Essence). There's actually nothing wrong with layering. The consistency of Purederm Magic BB Cream is thicker and gives more coverage. And lastly, I wanna empty the latter's tube already! =D


There you have it! My ulzzang-ish look. I shared it on Instagram and called it "Gyaru-ish", but it was really ulzzang-inspired. Gyah! What was I thinking?


Anyhoo, here's my favorite photo from the bunch:

What do you think? Which is your favorite?

^__^

I'm happy that aside from blogging, I am able to play with makeup these days. Watch out for a tutorial. For those who follow me on Instagram, you have an idea of the look already! ^__~

More FOTDs coming up! ^__^

Purederm Magic BB Cream Review

WARNING! PIC HEAVY!
*Pictures taken with my old and retired P990i and my sister-in-law's digicam.
** Pictures were only watermarked, cropped and combined in collages. No alterations, photoshop, etc. were done. =)
*** Long and intensive review. This is not a sponsored post. Item was purchased by my own money and what's written here are based on my own experiences.

I bought this product way back in September 2010. If you've been a reader of mine for a long time, you may have read about my old post about this. If not, you can find it here. You'll also notice how my stash has grown. ^__^

I got enthusiastic about BB Creams four years ago, when I started working for Koreans. =D I just got curious about their skin secrets, since about 99% of them have perfect, glowing and beautiful skin! I might have been exaggerating, but all of my students, even the Ahjummas (adult ladies) ones have really P-E-R-F-E-C-T skin! So I researched on what they do to their clear and beautiful skin. I was also amazed at how natural their makeup turns out. Looked like a lot of Korean women were so into skin care, and it's not a joke keeping their skin clear and smooth.

One of the things I learned about them is, instead of using foundations, they use BB Cream, or Blemish Balm Cream. People thought BB Creams originated in Korea, since Koreans popularized the use of it, but in fact, it originated in Germany. It was initially given to laser surgery patients to help treat, soothe and protect their skin. What's good about it was, it served as makeup to them as it gave them the right coverage to hide their marks while it heals.

WARNING: PICSPAM OF MY HORRIBLE FACE (kekeke~)

Not advisable to view when you're eating because it might cause you to choke! >__<

Bare face, without moisturizer

Bare face, with moisturizer

My skin is currently in a bad state again, blame it to the greedy insects (mosquitoes, etc.) that love feasting on my blood. 

FIRST LAYER

Dot, dot, dot! =D

Some marks are still visible.

Redness have lessened a bit...

Note: When I get insect bites on my face, the bite/bump turn into pimples! TT__TT

The insect bites aren't as red as they were before application! =)

SECOND LAYER

Other marks were concealed better with second layer of BB Cream.

Insect bites almost unnoticeable.

Skin is more smoother in appearance.

Better?

Waaah! My face is so round! XD

Omo! Do you think two layers is enough? What do you think?

THIRD LAYER

Blended...

 Omo~! My skin looks so smooth, glowy and dewy here!!! - If not because of the still prominent insect bite on my right cheek! -__-

Almooost... almost gone... It really can't conceal the intense redness of that spot! Let's just wait for it to rest and settle on my skin...

This side looks good already!

White cast!!!

Ready for church! (I took these photos at 5am, before I go to church, hence the messy hair!) >__<

AFTER 1.7 HOURS

Let's check what happens after 1.7 hours...

Skin looked more calm and clear...

Wow! My skin looks so smooth and dewy!

Marks are less visible.

I wore only this BB Cream + lip balm to church to show you what happens after several hours. My face looked bright, smooth and dewy; however, it doesn't match the color of my neck. -__-

I wasn't able to take photos of my face after seven hours of wearing it. But it took seven long hours for it to match my skin tone. Probably because I put on three layers of it. Trick is, take care of your skin and keep it acne-free as much as possible so you won't have to put on as many as three layers of BB Cream (in general). =)

What I love about it...

• Multi-functional. Works in many ways: foundation, make-up base, concealer, moisturizes, UV protection, improving appearance of fine wrinkles, and brightens skin tone.
• A little goes a long way.
• Coverage depends on how much layers you'll apply. In this review I put on three layers of it so I can conceal (even a bit) of my blemishes.
• Worked well on my skin tone. =)
• Waterproof.
• Sealed. It's nice that they have the end of the nozzle sealed for hygenic purposes. Plus points! ^__~

• 50 ml. lasted me almost a year and a half! =D

• Easy to find, as you can purchase them at SM Department stores and Watson's.

• Affordable! For 50 ml and all its benefits, you're getting your money's worth!

What I don't love about it...

• Although it worked on my skin tone, it still creates white cast (Boo! Mumu!!! =D).

• Creases on crevices (like the undereyes) when not evenly blended

• It took seven long hours before it could start looking natural on my skin.
• Feels a little heavy and sticky if you pile on layers of it. A layer will feel a bit fine, but if you need more coverage like I needed to, you would have to deal with it's heavy feel.
• Packaging. The shiny plastic packaging is kinda tacky, making it look, well… nevermind! Anyway, it doesn't bother me at all! What matters for me is the product inside! =D

Price:

I got it for P659 (September 2010) I am still not sure if how much it costs now. =)

Where to buy?

Available in Watson's and leading department stores nationwide.

Whom would I recommend this to?

People who

• are eager to try BB Creams

• want to skip foundation
• want are always on the go, since it's multi-functional (moisturizing, sun protecting, prettifying! =D)
• on a tight budget

Rating:

4.5 out of 5

*Clap, clap, clap!!!*

^__^

Tips:

• Be sure to blend the product well. Be sure to make it sink and blend in to your skin first. Give time to make it oxidize. If not, you'll make the same mistake I did before. You wouldn't want to look like a floating head in pictures, right? -__-
• Apply some to your neck, so that your face and neck color matches! =D

You wouldn't want to look like this... =D

My hubby and me during his sister's 1st birthday... 

He said that he overheard his niece tell his aunt, "Tito's wife is so beautiful!"

When I saw these pics, I got worried... didn't she notice I look like a floating pretty face? >__<

I hope not! XD

Click this link to read a bit and see my EOTN that night. ^__^

• If your skin is not the oily type, you can wear it as it is. It'll help give you a dewy glow.

• Better be careful in squeezing out the product. It is a little runny as compared to other BB Creams.

• Pat on some powder if you want to keep it matte.

• Be sure to double cleanse at the end of the day to avoid getting acne. Some people complain about BB Cream breaking them out. Any kind of cosmetics will break you out if you forget to cleanse well and remove stubborn dirt from your face. Removing make-up should be as thorough and precise as putting them on. ^__~

Pics and Swatches:

Swatches

1st Pic: No BB Cream.

2nd Pic: with BB Cream

Pics from top to bottom: With make-up

(This was taken almost a year and a half ago... =D That's how long my review had been sitting on the hard drive, waiting for her turn...)

Taken last November 17th

After a couple of hours after application: My face looked dewy and dreamy! ^__^

Not even Korean Idols can escape the "Ghost of the White Cast"! XD

SNSD Sooyoung during DKNY 2012 S/S Fashion Show

So, there you go! That's my intensive review on the Purederm Magic BB Cream. I hope you like and find it useful! ^__^

Have you tried this BB Cream before? What's your experience in using it?