Update on Shopback's 1st Anniversary

As I've mentioned in my previous blog entry, ShopBack is turning one soon, on the 9th of September to be exact and they have a lot of deals headed our way!

From 1 to 3 September, there will be increased cashback for Agoda as well as double cashback from selected merchants!

On 4 to 8 September, popular merchants like ASOS, Luxola, and Zalora will have higher cashback!

And on D-Day, 9.9, there will be nine (9) awesome deals for ShopBack's Top 9 merchants! They will also be rewarding the top spenders with a cash prize so stay tuned!

You can click on this link to find out more! So what are you waiting for? Time to book those vacation trips in advance and take advantage of Agoda's increased cashback in three hours. 

First Day High: Hello, Junior Year!

Things will be lighter, they say.

Things will be easier, they say. 

Junior year just started and it feels like we're halfway through the sem already. Loads are heavier, professors are scarier/harder to please, and our bodies are getting weaker aka growing older. I don't think law school will ever be easy, we just get used to it as the days (weeks and semesters) go by. Instead of pouting, worrying, thinking about things we have no control over, I try to maintain a happy disposition despite the bad recitations or the unfinished reading assignments. I also try to look presentable as much as possible because, as an old friend once told me, "If we fall, at least we fall with grace." And I think I'll be falling quite a few times this semester huhuhu. 

Since I can't blog as much as I want to as well, I've decided to document my Junior Year in Law School look. I have yet to see the effects of some of the new products I bought so for the mean time, here's a quick review of some of them.

L-R: Maybelline Fit Concealer in 20 Sand Sable, MAC Studio Fix Powder Plus Foundation in NC 25, Maybelline Cheeky Glow Blush in Peachy Sweetie, Sephora Contour Eye Pencil 12-Hour Wear in 01 Black Lace, Smashbox Photo Finish Primer Water, Max Factor Colour Corrector in Lavender, Benefit's The Porefessional Primer, and Maybelline's Superstay Better Skin in 20 Classic Ivory.

Bi99 Discounts and Cashback with ShopBack’s 9.9 Sale!

It's been a while since I last updated my blog. The past summer had been one hell of an emotional rollercoaster that I found myself juggling internship, summer class, making big decisions that would affect my life in general. I found myself on a plane travelling blahblah miles to see my dad for the first time in 14 years while at the same time deciding whether or not I would be coming back. Needless to say, the past four months had been nothing short of.. Chaotic. Thankfully, life has been so much kinder now that I am finally easing my way back to normal. 

Speaking of normal, I have again stumbled upon a new website which not only rewards us online shoppers with our money back, but it actually kind of puts together the common online shops we frequent like Zalora, Lazada, Groupon, AND a couple of booking sites like Agoda and Expedia. Yup, they don't just offer cash back for online shoppers but also for those who book their trips online through these booking websites.

So what is ShopBack and how does it work?

In a nutshell, as I've already mentioned, ShopBack offers cashback for popular online shops like Lazada whenever we make online purchases through them.

ShopBack Philippines

Turq du Soleil: A Fair to Remember

The past three months flew by so fast because of all the things I decided to busy myself with. I've completed 360 hours of internship (though we were only required to finish 240), am about to take my final examinations for summer term, I volunteered to do all these things for school and other people that I'm actually surprised I'm still breathing. I guess I was too focused on forgetting and getting rid of all the drama in my life that I forgot I was human too. No regrets. I am satisfied of all the things I got to accomplish this summer and will still be accomplishing in the next three to four weeks. But before anything else, let me take a break. 

Gus and I, though it's mostly him, have been frequenting different bazaars recently. He seemed to have developed a certain mild obsession with it. I'm not complaining. It's the most fun thing I can do when I'm not interning or studying. But because of all the these trips, it seems that I too, have found bazaar window shopping, kinda therapeutic. Even if I don't get to buy anything, just looking around the various products they offer, and the different food stalls waiting for you when you exit, is such a de-stresser for me. Plus, I get to discover new items every now and then. Speaking of bazaars, there's one coming up this weekend. It's not just a bazaar, but a fair.

Yup! You read that right. A fair. The last time I went to a real fair was around a decade and a half ago, when I was still in high school (or was it grade school?) You get to eat, get married, get jailed, or visit a haunted house. You can also play a game or two if you don't get stuck in jail or locked in the horror house. This year, The Women of Aleitheia, one of the sororities in the Ateneo Law School is presenting Turq du Soleil: A Fair to Remember. It will be a fun-filled day of activities ranging from carnival fun and games, go kart, food tripping, shopping, a circus show, and even an outdoor movie screening! If you missed the screening of one of 2014's funniest Filipino rom-coms, English Only Please, now's the time to watch it on the big screen (sort of).

What are you waiting for? Get your tickets now. Gates open at 12 NN, the movie starts at 7 PM, and you have until 11 PM to enjoy with your family and friends! Time to chill and de-stress. Let the inner child run wild even for just a day. Or go shopping if it does not want to come out and play. Regular tickets sold at P150 and tickets with the movie pass are sold at P250 each.

Turq du Soleil: A Fair to Remember

Bonifacio Open Grounds

25th Street corner 7th Avenue,

Bonifacio Global City

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THEY'RE BAAAAAACK! BANANA!

Summer's not over! McDonald's just released their Minions Banana Festival Treats line just in time for the upcoming Minions movie. The Banana Festival line has four new products – Banana-flavored Sundae Cone McDip at P15, Honey Banana Float at P28, Banana Crumble McFlurry, and Banana McFlurry with Oreo at P50 each. In case you're wondering, the Banana Crumble McFlurry is the Sansrival McFlurry with the addition of the banana-flavored dip mixed into it. The Banana McFlurry with Oreo is the traditional Oreo McFlurry with the banana-flavored dip mixed into it.

I tried the Banana McFlurry with Oreo earlier tonight and I have to say bananas are a good combination to almost any dessert with chocolate. The only thing I wish they had done was use real mashed bananas or banana slices instead of the banana-flavored syrup dip they use for the sundae cone. Nevertheless, it was still a good summer treat. 

 The small yellow piece is the frozen banana dip they mix into the McFlurry.

I also read that the Banana-flavored Sundae Cone McDip comes in a blue wafer cone, not sure how true that is though. Head to the nearest McDonald's to find out.

As of today, these new Minions-inspired treats will be available until August 2015. Banana!

Photo courtesy of McDonald's Philippines website.

Going Natural: Love Lia Products

A few weeks back, I stumbled upon this natural soap seller in the Trendsetter's Bazaar in World Trade Center. I was just accompanying Gus because he's into all these bazaars now when I saw these "natural" soap booths. I'm not into soap. I'm not a soap person. I've been alternately using two soap brands for nearly a decade now. That's probably the closest I can get to being a soap person. As long as it has skin clearing or whitening properties, I'll use it. But for some reason, boredom I guess since I've been walking around for hours and Gus still wasn't done, I decided to check out the soap booths.

Love Lia Handcrafted Soaps on the left

The 2nd soap booth I checked out was Lia Mendoza's natural soaps and products, Love Lia. I have not tried the soap products from the 1st booth I visited so I'm reserving my comments on that one until I've tried their products. According to Love Lia, their soaps are handcrafted and contain natural ingredients. As I mentioned earlier, I'm not a soap person. As long as it's not bad for my health or skin, it's fine. I'm not very picky. I smelled each type of soap they had for sale and decided to purchase a few because of the scent. See? Not picky. I liked the scent so I decided to ask about it.

Back to Korea: Hoolala Chicken House

Sunday night's dinner was courtesy of Deal Grocer. The name of the restaurant caught my eye so I decided to buy a coupon and try it out – Hoolala Korean Chicken House. 

I don't know why the term "Chicken House" caught my attention. I guess at that time, I found it amusing that someone would name their restaurant that serves chicken as "chicken house." The interior was unique and common at the same time. Unique because of the colorful and huge chicken drawings on the wall and common because the set-up was typical of your usual Korean eatery.

They also had flat screen TVs that showed Korean dramas.

Study Spots: Book and Borders Cafe

I only have two weeks left until the first and only summer term of the law school ends. I'm actually trying to finish and do better on one of my final examinations this summer but as expected, I am failing miserably. The heat, my bed, the unlimited wifi at home is making me procrastinate more and more each day. I should have done and finished my last requirement for my accounting elective yesterday, but laziness kicked in and I ended up watching this new series I discovered instead. So today, I decided I needed to get out of the house if I intend to finish this requirement before the deadline.

I tried this new coffee shop along Tomas Morato. I've seen the shop's front a couple of weeks back prior to their soft opening last June 16. The big sign (and the name) caught my intention. Book and Borders Cafe.  I had a feeling this wasn't your usual Starbucks or Coffee Bean so I decided to check it out, I mean, do my homework, there.

Better than Love: The Karada Experience

I've been dealing with back pain for the longest time that's why I try to get regular massages when my schedule permits.  I've tried and researched about different kinds of massages, from your usual shiatsu and Swedish, to legit reflexology from the ancient Chinese, to Thai massage. Any type of massage that will not only destress me but will also relieve me of my constant back pain.

Three years ago, Gus and I walked past this new "massage" place in Glorietta.  It didn't look much like a relaxing, therapeutic spa given the bright orange color of its walls and decors but we decided to go back and take a look at the place anyway because of the skeleton decal posted on its glass window.  It wasn't your usual massage place but what got our attention was the pictures of skeletons and the back with the caption AP Balance.  That definitely piqued our curiosity more.  At that time, all we found out was that this wasn't your typical massage rather, a technique that makes use of chiropractic, Thai massage, and Osteopathy principles.  The technique aligns the first cervical bone, the Atlas, with the main base of our body, the Pelvis, which is believed to relieve the body of its aches and stress.

At least that's what they're selling.  Flashforward to 2015 or three years after.  I haven't really gone around to trying out this new technique but all the stuff I got myself into -- internship, summer class, several school projects, and visa application got the best of me and my body.  I didn't know what else to do since I've been taking meds for the flu, but my back pain was just beyond bearable at that point.  I wasn't sure if it was because of the flu or if it was my usual back-pain-from-stress.  Whatever was causing it, I couldn't deal with it then so I decided to try out "bright orange colored spa" I saw a couple of years back.  I had a few hours to spare waiting for my mom, and the only other massage place near my internship charges P600 an hour for your usual shiatsu/Swedish.  If I were to spend around that much, I would definitely try that new technique instead so that's what I did.  Let me introduce you to the Karada Technique.

Post-mortem Treat

The first night of my last finals week as a sophomore student (please let me get to junior year) called for some good food.  Sophomore year was not only tiring physically, but mentally and emotionally as well.  It came to a point where I was not even sure if I was prepared enough to take my final examinations.  I studied, well, I really did try my best to study and retain everything I was able to study.  The whole year was just a mix of super highs and super downs that sometimes, I began to doubt myself and my dreams more than usual.

So, to let go of the extra anxiety that finals week was about to bring, I decided to treat myself to some good food.  I've been reading about this new bistro in the Makati area, which supposedly served inexpensive quality food.  Gus picked me up from school and we decided to try it out.

The Plantation is located along Don Carlos Palanca Street in Makati.  If you're coming from Makati Avenue, cross Ayala Avenue, make a right on De la Rosa Street (PLDT Building), and look for Don Carlos Palanca on the left.  The place isn't hard to miss since it's usually full of people at night.  In case you're coming in for lunch, just look for the building which offers al fresco dining, a few meters away from Greenbelt Excelsior. 

When we got there, we had to settle for the bar area as the place was packed.  It was only around 8 o'clock but all the tables were already taken – couples, groups, enjoying their meals and having drinks.  They apparently offered its customers live band entertainment over dinner.  Perfect after office hangout place.

We started dinner with their Pumpkin Soup with Laguna Cheese.  The Plantation had five different kinds of soup on their menu plus the Soup of the Day so we thought they offered all five kinds.  I wanted to try their 3-Mushroom Cream Soup while Gus wanted to try the Clam Chowder with Baguette but apparently, the only available soup aka their Soup of the Day was the Pumpkin Soup.  You could say that we settled.  If you've been reading my blog entries, you can tell that I always almost need my soup for every meal.  

Pumpkin Soup with Laguna Cheese

P130

Stress Shopping.. NOT!

The past few months haven't been exactly, okay. There's the normal stress -- law school, but then again, there are also other unnecessary stress popping in and out from time to time. People deal differently with stress. Others breakdown, others eat to their hearts desire, others cry in one corner, while women, well, women like to shop.

Since law school, I've grown fond of shopping for.. highlighters and pens. Since law school, I've also grown accustomed to shopping for shoes and other things online. Because of our busy schedule, the lack of time meant no time to go shopping or less time to do anything else. So I started exploring online shops.

My first online experience was with Zalora. I actually wrote about it since I had a great first online shopping experience with them. After Zalora, I started exploring other sites like BeautyMNL, Luxola, and the online sites of clothing stores like Forever 21 and H&M. Online window shopping was the closest I can get to actual window shopping/shopping. But of course, for those of you who have actually tried online shopping, you know how tedious searching for different items in different websites can be. You can only open so many tabs in your browser before one tab hangs or you get confused as to what site you're actually looking at. Fortunately, I chanced upon this fairly new website that solves that problem.

http://iprice.ph/shop/

iPrice.ph. 

It's like your usual online shopping site, only better. They offer a various range of products from clothes, shoes, electronics, and beauty products. They even have appliances! So what makes this better than the other shopping sites? Simple. They simplify your online shopping experience!

iPrice.ph gives you different products per page. Once you see a product you like, you click on it and the site takes you to the online shopping site that offers the product. For example, if I am looking for a dress, I just scroll down and click on the particular type of dress I like.

Once I click on the dress, it takes me to the website that offers the dress. From there, I can make the purchase.

If you want a particular brand, you can also browse the site by brand.

It's that simple. Find a product or brand, click, and it takes you to the online site that offers the product. No more googling or clicking several sites. Just one site, several products, one checkout.

If you're already a patron of a certain shopping site that caters to your needs, you can also check out iPrice for offers that may not be available at the specific shopping site you're visiting. Take for example, Zalora. I recently had to purchase shoes for my upcoming internship this summer. Zalora Philippines didn't have any promos at that time, and I haven't received any newsletter lately with promotional codes so I was surprised to find that iPrice.ph had a 10% discount code on their site! Sweet!

So for all online shoppers, or those who just don't have time to actually go to a store and shop, you might want to check out iPrice.ph for your various needs. Your one stop shopping destination. :D

Where Do Broken Hearts Go Ba Talaga?

I went to Sagada to clear my head, breathe some fresh air and maybe some sanity back into my system. I expected it to be less of a vacation and more of a Let-Me-Find-Myself trip but the place was too amazing to not be noticed. Here are a few places we visited during our 1-day stay up in the mountains.

Where Do Broken Hearts Go?

It's been a while since my last post. Despite my strong belief that law school will NOT eat much of my time, it has. In between sleeping and studying, I find it hard to throw anything else in the mix. Writing, reading, traveling, and shopping for make-up has been put on hold, indefinitely. It seems like of all my loves, law has taken over everything else. 

Despite the lack of time for anything else, it seems that one other thing has found its way in my crazy, busy school life. I tend to run away when confronted with things I do not want to deal with so I ended up going on a spur-of-the-moment, That-Thing-Called-Tadhana-ish roadtrip to the City of Pines, Baguio.

What was supposed to be a soul-searching, drama-purge trip ended up as a foodtrip, which I did not mind at all. Discovering new restaurants/hole-in-the-walls has been a hobby put on hold because of school, and this little side trip/discovery was definitely refreshing.

So this restaurant I'm talking about is Good Taste Cafe and Restaurant. The cab driver recommended it when we were on our way to the bus station going to Sagada. He said a lot of people patronized the place and that it would be worth checking out. Since our bus was scheduled to leave at 1 PM, and it would be a long trip, we decided to have lunch there.

Good Taste looks like a cafeteria. Big, busy, steel bars/ledges for the serving trays. I wasn't able to get photos of the place since I wasn't expecting to write about it. We went there just so we wouldn't die of hunger during our 6-hour trip to Sagada. But the food surprised us.

Fresh from Singapore: Twelve Cupcakes

There's a new cupcakery in town! 

A few months back, Twelve Cupcakes, which first opened in Singapore in 2011, brought its cute and delectable cupcakes here in Manila. It features 12 everyday cupcakes with a few specialty cupcakes that vary each day of the week (I'm guessing this is why they called it Twelve Cupcakes?) 

So what are the Everyday Cupcakes? 

From what I gather, these are the cupcakes that you would find in their stores every single day of the week. They introduce new flavors every month, which are only available on certain days of the week, but these flavors will be available each day for you to enjoy. Call them the regulars, I guess. 

Someone couldn't help himself

Everyday Cupcakes a.k.a The Regulars

LaBora -- WHAT?! Nestea Beach 2014

We all know it's summer time when the bikinis come out of hiding, and the waxing salons are now by appointment ONLY. But apparently, the new definition of summer time means beach parties left and right, Ateneo de Bora for the seniors in Ateneo (whatever that means) and this thing they dubbed Laboracay or Labor Day Weekend in Boracay.

Photo courtesy of Victoria's Secret

So why am I writing about this anyway?

In about 10 days, I will be going to my first Laboracay trip. Yup, you read that right. My first. I was such a nerd (still am a nerd, only a bit modified now) back in college that I spent all my wonderful years in the Ateneo studying, sleeping in the library, drinking across the university once in a while, but rarely going to parties. I didn't even know Ateneo de Bora existed until a year after I graduated, and this was because my younger sister was going. Even after I started working, I've never heard of this Labor Day Weekend thing. Oh yes. I live a very boring life under a rock.

Since I am such a late bloomer, I have no idea what to expect, what to do, or where to hang when I get there. I'm usually with family when I go to Boracay and all we do is eat, swim, and have fun in the sun. Or go wall climbing. But since I'm trying out this whole labor day experience, I am clueless. I like going to the beach but I hate getting dark, hahaha. Ironic. So swimming 24/7 is definitely out of the question.

Thankfully, I stumbled upon this link on my blog. I heard Nestea is sponsoring an event in Boracay during labor day but I wasn't really sure what it was or when it was. Radio-mmercials are usually very short and not-so-detailed. I know there will be several beach parties and a lot of drinking during that week but being the not-so-risk-taker person that I am, I want to know more than just that. Is it free or do we buy tickets? When and where exactly will it be held? Boracay has a long stretch of sand and I don't want to get lost or be charged unexpectedly. Is it worth going to or should I just go to a nearby restaurant and order a bucket of beer? I'm going for the experience but I don't want to regret anything after that week. So for those of you who are as clueless as I am, here are some of the activities that you can do and events that you can go to during the Labor Day Week(end).

Better Late than Never: Ramen Santouka

One thing I really missed apart from writing was, eating. There was a time when I could try out new restaurants and discover new/interesting food items but with the budget of a student, I could no longer afford to go on a weekly, let alone, daily food run/binge/discovery. Thankfully, mother has her "generous" moments. One of them was dinner at this (not-so) new ramen place in Greenhills.

I heard about Ramen Santouka from Greg's sister, Gin. Her friend celebrated his/her (I can't remember which) birthday in the restaurant, and all she could say was how good the food was. I've been craving for a lot of different things, ramen included, the past few weeks and her praises for the food did not help at all. Fortunately, I was able to convince mom to have dinner there after her work errand.

I'm not a ramen expert so I don't know which constitutes one kind of ramen or not. I distinguish the types by flavor -- a different flavor meant a different type of ramen. Santouka had around 10 different types of ramen -- five original ramen flavors, and around 5-6 specialty ramen. 

Original Ramen

Forgive the way the photos were taken. We were all hungry at the time. This shows Santouka's original ramen varieties. One look at this and I immediately knew what I was getting. Hint: It's getting hot in here. ;)

Dang Dee Fast Food: Another Taiwanese Delight

It's been more or less three months since I last updated my blog. It saddens me that I haven't been able to manage my time well enough to update this blog and keep up with my studies. But I want to change all that starting now. I know I said this back in January but I really want to make this work so for my first blog entry under my new lifestyle, I shall write about this new food discovery I stumbled upon in my friend's Instagram account (thank you, Nadz To) -- an incredibly wonderful and unbelievable new food delivery/restaurant-ish along Salcedo Street in Makati. Yes, the food is really good and the price, unbelievable. Office employees, students, and anyone else on a budget, I present to you Dang Dee Fast Food.

Dang Dee Fast Food is a small, hole-in-the-wall type of restaurant. Nothing fancy. There are about 8-10 tables inside, a counter, a wash area, and a rest room. Pick from any of their value meals, order, and wait for it to be served or packed. What makes this little fast food so special is that their value meals are made of win. You can grab a really filling and delicious lunch or dinner for as low as P78, and that comes with a free drink already. So what does a Dang Dee value meal look like?

新年快乐 2014: Welcoming the Year of the Horse

The Year of the Horse is almost here. As you all know, we celebrate Chinese New Year here in the Philippines because most of us are either Chinese-Filipinos or have at least some drop of Chinese blood in our veins. Or because everything Chinese is just oh-so-good! So for those who love to celebrate the New Year with our fellow Chinese-Filipinos, let me share with you 10 Must-Try restaurants that serve Chinese in the metro, in no particular order of course. 

1. Tasty Dumplings

Tasty Dumplings is located along Ongpin Street in Binondo, Manila. They serve your usual noodles and dumplings, but their best-seller (at least for me) is their big Porkchop Rice. I'm not even sure if this is part of authentic Chinese cuisine but it's good, inexpensive, and really big. The kuchay dumplings are worth mentioning too. 

2. Suzhou

After visiting China in 2008 and trying my very first soup dumpling or what is now more popularly known as xiao long bao, I fell in love. One of the best xiao long baos I've ever tasted before Lugang and Shi Lin came along was from Suzhou. With a limited budget, I had to find a reasonable place to eat at in Promenade and guess what? I discovered Suzhou. Aside from their xiao long bao, they also serve delicious hot and sour soup. And the best part is, their products are priced reasonably and their servings, big. One serving of hot and sour soup will cost you P75 but it's big enough for two people (if you're hungry) or three (if you're having it as it is -- soup before dinner).

3. New Eastern Garden Restaurant

There's only one thing I can say about New Eastern -- LUMPIA! This is by far, the best source of fresh lumpia I have ever been to. The small serving is enough to satisfy any hungry person. It's full of vegetables, crushed peanuts, seaweed, and another ingredient unique to Amoy lumpias (I forget what they're called). The regular will cost you P40, P45 for the special; and P60-65 for the jumbo size.

4. Emperor's Dimsum and Tea House

Ah, my favorite xiao long bao place! Yes, I did mention Suzhou already but Emperor's has the perfect and closest xiao long bao to those that I had in 2008. Six pieces of those steamed, soupy dumplings for only P88. Yes, P88! My first serving of xiao long bao had 12 pieces and it only cost me 3 Yuan or roughly P18. It was so cheap and delicious that I started looking for it here in Manila, and Emperor's had the closest in price, flavor, and quantity. Their spareribs in taosi is also good. They actually have pretty good food for a relatively cheaper price (compared to the other Chinese restaurants along Wilson).

5. Lugang Cafe/Shi Lin

Two of the more popular restaurants that serve Taiwanese food (close enough to Chinese). I put them together because they pretty much serve the same dishes. Noodles in Spicy (or not) Peanut Sauce with Ground Meat. Yum! Lugang's Iced Pineapple Bubble Juice was so refreshing!

A Lipstick for An 80?

Law school has stolen so much of my time that I haven't been able to blog about anything.. Or shop! I haven't been able to eat out, discover new restaurants, or go shopping for more than half a year now and honestly, I kinda miss eating, and shopping (or at least window shopping) for make-up. Not being able to write reviews is one thing, but when I actually lose stuff to write about, that's a whole other thing. Thankfully, MAC's new collection just came out. Their newest collection was released last December 2013 in North America, and soon, in the Philippines. According to the sales executive I spoke with, they're just waiting for the delivery of the new collection, including the two (2) lip colours EXCLUSIVE to Asia.

Now, let me introduce to you MAC's latest collection -- the MAC Huggable Collection. According to their website, this new collection "provides a lasting glossy finish that leaves the lips smooth and sculpted." The new formula was inspired by latest Asian trends, and stays bright and luminous for up to six (6) hours. The best part is, the new collection comes in 12 shades ranging from nice pinks to cool peaches and hot reds.

And since I haven't been able to do some of the things I love doing, like eating and experimenting with make-up, I made a deal with myself. For every grade of 80 and above I get on my midterms, I will reward myself with one lipstick from the collection. Don't get me wrong. I love law school but I also miss doing these things. They're like an outlet from the piles of cases we're required to read everyday. 

What do you know? I actually owe myself one lipstick as of 28 January 2014. Now, the only question left unanswered is.. Which shade do I get first? :)

MAC's Huggable Collection will be available in the Philippines within the week or the first week of February 2014. Visit or call your nearest MAC store or booth to know more about the collection's launch date.

MAC Cosmetics

R1 Level, Power Plant Mall,

Rockwell Drive cor. Estrella St.

Makati City

Contact Number: (632) 898 2045

Photos and information courtesy of http://www.maccosmetics.com/whats_new/12189/New-Collections/Huggable-Lipcolour/index.tmpl

Hair No More!

A few days ago, I was invited to try out this new IPL service from a well-known waxing salon. Truth be told, I'm not a fan of IPL. I don't understand how it really works, I don't know IF it really does work, and I'm not a big fan of the hefty price tag (I'd rather go for the P200 wax I usually get.) Then again, I can't keep myself boxed in with things I'm used to. Sometimes, we have to go out of our comfort zones to discover the world. Or just experience something wonderful and new.

Last Saturday, I decided to give IPL a chance. Strip Ministry of Waxing, a well-known waxing salon introduced their latest IPL service -- the IPL Ace. So, what is IPL Ace? Before we get into it, let's start with the basics. What is IPL?

IPL or intense pulse light is a service offered by most beauty clinics that uses intense pulses of light to perform various skin treatments or to remove hair. It is a semi-permanent solution to women's (and men's) hair problems. It doesn't completely remove hair permanently, but it does make the hair on your various body parts grow thinner and lesser in number, to none. You might need to go back for a treatment after a year or two, but two years of not having to pluck or shave is better than having to do it every three weeks, right?

Now that we have a better understanding of what IPL is, let's go to Strip's newest service, the IPL Ace.