My Skincare Routine

For today, I'll be sharing my skincare routine. I've been using these products for quite a long time now. I don't really like experimenting with face products since I have sensitive and acne prone skin. If one product works for me, I'll keep using it until maybe I get immune to it.


 So let's get on with the products, shall we?

Morning Routine

I wash my face using the Benzac 5% wash.  

I apply the Etude House Minisize U Pore Serum on my cheeks and nose.

Finally, I put on Neutrogena Fine Fairness SPF30 lotion. 

I also sometimes use the iWhite Aqua Moisturizing Cream if my skin is dry.

Evening Routine

I wash my face again with the Benzac 5% wash.

I put a pea size amount of Benzac 5% gel on my entire face to prevent pimples.

I then apply the Etude House Minisize U Pore Serum on my cheeks and nose. 

Finally, I apply Neutrogena Fine Fairness cream.

Weekly Routine

I use the St. Ives Apricot Scrub 2-3 times a week to exfoliate.

For masks, I use Aztec Secret Healing Clay and iWhite Whitening pack (not on the same day of course). 

Well, that's it! My skincare routine is pretty simple and fuss-free.

What about you? What skincare products do you use?

New Series: Manicure Monday 1

Hi Everyone! It's October already! To commemorate the start of the month, I'll be starting a new series in my blog wherein I will post every Monday the nail polish that I'm wearing at the start of the week, thus it's going to be called Manicure Monday. (I don't know if the title sounds creative or corny)




For my first official Manicure Monday, I painted my nails with Etude House Matte Nail Polish 2.

I hope I won't be too busy this week to write more reviews for you all.

Until then...

Beauty Blabber: Miscellaneous Tips for Acne Prone Skin

Hi Guys! I hope you all are doing fine despite the bad weather. I was able to find time this week to write a new post for this blog and it's all about skincare (as always!). 


For today I'd like to talk about some of the things I do to keep my skin from breaking out. Aside from the usual healthy eating and usage of acne products I find that these practices contribute as well to having clearer skin. If you're interested about them then read on as I share some tips. After all, sharing is caring!

• Wash hair often

Hair becomes dirty when we are exposed to outside elements like pollution. Since hair frequently comes in contact with our face it is important to have clean hair. I personally wash mine every other day but if I skipped the day  that I'm supposed to wash it, I wear my hair in a ponytail or a loose bun to keep my hair off my face and make sure to just wash it the day after.

• Change pillowcases often

Of course our pillowcases get dirty too and it's not a good thing since germs/bacteria might start to form and cause us breakouts while we sleep. Before I wasn't really paying attention on how frequent I change pillowcases but I think it did my skin good when I started to change them often. I make it a point to change mine every month and I'm strict about that as I keep track of the date when I'm supposed to change it.  Also, I spritz alcohol on my pillows everynight just as an additional precaution.

• Sanitize your phone

Our hands are good transmitters of bacteria. it's important to keep them clean through handwashing and use of alcohol.  Since we use our hands to hold our phones [frequently everyday for calling and texting], it's important for it to be sanitized as well.  I just  wipe mine everyday with antibacterial wipes [and I just make sure that my hands are clean too when I'm using it.  Which brings me to the next tip

• As much as possible avoid touching the face

I make it a conscious effort to avoid touching my face but if ever I do, I make sure my hands are clean. I bring either a  bottle of sanitizer or alcohol with me everywhere I go. We wouldn't want our hands to transmit bacteria to our face since bacteria can cause us pimples.

• Avoid using too much face products

Using way too many products on the face can do more harm than good as it can irritate the face leading to more zits. I remember using two topical acne creams back then at the same time prior to discovering Benzac. Instead of clearing my existing pimples faster it made the situation worse as new pimples started to pop out.  Good thing I learned my lesson then and I started to take it easy. 


***Pictures taken from: planetgreen.com, thetextileicon.com, whoiscallingmenow.com, 123rf.com, and moodexpert.com***

Healthy Living: Nestle Fitnesse 14-Day Program Week Two

Hey guys, here's week two of the 14-day program. If you missed the first week or you just want to read it again click here.


For week two, I still had the same exercise routine.

DAY 8
Breakfast	1 cup Cereal 1 cup Milk 1 cup Skin detox tea 1 tbsp ACV Steamed veggies broccoli and carrots
Snack AM	Half cucumber sliced
Lunch	1/2 cup beans 1/2 can tuna Cucumber
Snack PM	2 slices whole wheat raisin bread  1 glass milk
Dinner	1 cup cereal 1 cup milk Pear  1/2 can tuna

(chamomile tea, skin detox tea, apple cider vinegar)

DAY 9
Breakfast	1 cup Cereal 1 cup Milk 1 cup Skin detox tea
Snack AM	Mocha Mamon
Lunch	Fish fillet sandwich (whole wheat bread) 1/2 pomelo
Snack PM	None
Dinner	1 cup cereal 1 cup milk Guava 1 cup grilled eggplant and tomatoes

(chicken breast fillet)

(Weet-Bix cereal bars)

DAY 10
Breakfast	1 cup Cereal 1 cup Milk 1 cup Skin detox tea
Snack AM	2 cereal bars
Lunch	Egg sandwich (whole wheat bread) 1 glass Iced tea Apple
Snack PM	1/2 cup kangkong Chicken breast fillet ½ pomelo
Dinner	1 cup cereal 1 cup milk 1/2 cup kangkong Chicken breast fillet

DAY 11
Breakfast	1 cup Cereal 1 cup Milk 1 cup Skin detox tea
Snack AM	1/3 cup cashews
Lunch	1 big Guava 2 slices whole wheat bread 1 glass Mango shake
Snack PM	Yellow Cab ½ cup Charlie Chan pasta 2 pcs potato wedges
Dinner	1 cup cereal 1 cup milk

(Day 12 lunch)

DAY 12
Breakfast	1 cup Cereal 1 cup Milk 1 cup Skin detox tea 1 tbsp ACV Dalandan
Snack AM	Apple 1 tbsp peanut butter
Lunch	Ham and cheese sandwich Steamed veggies string beans and carrots Steamed fish 1 glass Noyu tea
Snack PM	1 slice Yellow Cab cheese pizza 1 glass mango shake
Dinner	1 cup cereal 1 cup milk 1 Atis ¼ cup Melon

(Noyu Teas and Fontana Cranberry Juice)

DAY 13
Breakfast	1 cup Cereal 1 cup Milk 1 cup Skin detox tea Steamed veggies string beans and carrots
Snack AM	None
Lunch	1 cup grilled eggplant Steamed veggies string beans and carrots 1 glass Noyu tea 1 slice cake
Snack PM	1 glass Watermelon shake
Dinner	1 cup cereal 1 cup milk 1/4 cup kimchi Apple

 (Day 14 lunch)

DAY 14
Breakfast	1 cup Cereal 1 cup Milk 1 cup Skin detox tea
Snack AM	1/3 sunflower nuts
Lunch	Kimchi pancake 1/2 cup brown rice 1 glass cranberry juice
Snack PM	1 cereal bar 1 tbsp peanut butter 1 glass strawberry smoothie
Dinner	1 cup cereal 1 cup milk ¼ cup kimchi

After two weeks onto the diet, I felt really good. I had a lot of energy and I was just in a happy mood instead of my usual lethargic and irritable self prior to starting with the 14-day program. I like that I never felt hungry or starving myself throughout the entire two weeks. What I love most about the whole lifestyle change was that I had regular bowel movement. I know this might be TMI but prior with the diet, I'm already lucky if I was able to do it twice a week. But everyday for the past 14 days, I was able to do it. That's something, right? I didn't even have to use Fibrosine or Dulcolax which I used sometimes in the past.  Another welcome effect was the weight loss, although when I decided to start on with the program that was not really my goal since I'm underweight to begin with but anyway I  still think it's a good thing. I can definitely conclude that the Nestle Fitnesse 14-Day Program works for both weight loss and for just trying to jumpstart a healthy lifestyle. Although I only lost two pounds for the entire two weeks, I think it's better than undergoing some crash diet which messes up your metabolism. I think that the weight loss would be greater if you have a BMI of over 25, if I remember correctly. All in all, I would definitely continue on eating Nestle Fitnesse (no, I'm not getting paid to say this). 

Lush NEW Shampoo Bar

Hi guys! I apologize for being MIA. I was busy for the past couple of days but now I'm back for another product review.

I picked up a Lush shampoo bar since I couldn’t contain my curiosity about them anymore. The sales assistant suggested this New shampoo bar since my concern was hair fall at the moment. When I first smelt this at the store, I didn’t really quite like the scent so I was hesitant to buy it. Anyway, I ended up purchasing it. The New Shampoo Bar costs Php425 for 1.9g. It’s pretty pricey if you ask me but I guess the price of curiosity is expensive.

Lush New Shampoo Bar is a stimulating spice shampoo. It has:

Clove and peppermint oils to motivate tired scalps.

Help treat hair loss with cinnamon, clove and bay oils. When stress or life goes to your head, this shampoo will encourage hair growth and stimulate scalps. It's intense, but works a treat on irritated scalps or hair that's thinning.

Herbs for softness.

Rejuvenate hair with rosemary and nettle to make hair shiny and soft.

Nettle and peppermint

Nettle and peppermint stimulate the scalp and the hair follicles.

Eventually upon a couple days of use, the scent just grew on me and I didn’t have anymore issues with the smell of the bar. I love that it lathers oh so well. I enjoy rubbing it on my hair and massaging it on my scalp. It does a good job in cleaning the hair however it is really drying. After use, a heavy conditioner is a must.   I probably got carried away and over do the shampooing as I enjoy the lather of the shampoo bar. I feel like my current conditioner is not enough to bring back the lost moisture of my hair after shampooing so I might try a new conditioner after I finish the one I currently use. Or it could be that this shampoo bar is really harsh and not suited for every other day use. It did help me on the hair fall but it didn’t really stop my hair fall completely. I still have a couple of strands falling out here and there.

***

I had my sister use it recently and she also said that it was too drying that it took her numerous applications of conditioner to make her hair soft again. She said it is like an overly priced detergent (a.k.a. bareta).Hmm I don’t think I would be repurchasing this when I run out which would be a very long time from now since I have a lot left of this shampoo bar.

Healthy Living: Nestle Fitnesse 14-Day Program Week One

I’ve decided to take on the Nestle Fitnesse 14-day program not because I wanted to lose weight but more because I wanted to change my diet. Basically, I wanted to add more whole grains, nuts, vegetables, and fruits. And also at the same time eliminate white rice, pasta, and bread from my diet. I wanted to replace junk foods with healthier options and I thought Nestle Fitnesse would be a great jumpstart for that.

The Nestle Fitnesse 14-day program is not cheap but it isn’t ridiculously expensive either compared to other diet plans out there. It can be a good option for losing weight or for healthier eating. It requires a lot of discipline and strict adherence with the meal plan to achieve optimal results. Exercising is also crucial since diet and exercise go hand in hand. For my exercise, I opted to do 10 to 15 minutes cardio a day and some toning exercises targeted for the stomach area afterwards. I am focused on the stomach area because it’s the only place in my body that’s a little out of shape. So all in all, my whole exercise regimen would only take about 20 to 30 minutes of my day. I’ve read that doing cardio is crucial if you want to burn fat in the stomach area and is a must before doing all those crunches and sit ups. It would just be a waste to just build muscle on top of fat.           

The Nestle Fitnesse Cereal comes in 3 variants: the regular one, the one with honey and almonds, and the one with fruits. The cereal also comes in 2 sizes: 180g which has 6 servings of cereal and 330g which has 11 servings. If you follow the portions, you would need 2 big boxes and 1 small box for the whole 14 days. The regular Nestle Fitness cereal 180g costs Php100 while the 330g costs Php170. It would cost you Php440 for the cereal alone for the 14-day program.


 I  planned ahead before starting with the program. I grocery shopped and planned my meals in advance so that I can follow through for the whole two weeks and I advise you to do the same if you ever decide to try the 14-day program yourself. 

Here’s what I ate during the first 7 days of the Nestle Fitnesse plan.

*Instead of using skim milk or low fat milk, I opted for sugar-free soymilk.

(the fruit juice and milk that I used)

DAY 1
Breakfast	1 cup Cereal 1 cup Milk 1 cup Green tea
Snack AM	Half cucumber sliced
Lunch	1 can of tuna in water 2 slices whole wheat bread
Snack PM	2 cereal bars
Dinner	1 cup cereal 1 cup milk 1 glass of fruit juice 3pcs chicken dumpling

(day 2 lunch)

DAY 2
Breakfast	1 cup Cereal 1 cup Milk 1 cup Green tea
Snack AM	1/3 cup mixed nuts
Lunch	Vegetable omelette ½ cup oatmeal 1 glass fruit juice 1 apple
Snack PM	1 slice whole wheat bread 2 cereal bars
Dinner	1 cup cereal 1 cup milk Vegetable omelette Pork chop

(Gardenia whole wheat bread)

DAY 3
Breakfast	1 cup Cereal 1 cup Milk 1 cup Green tea
Snack AM	1/3 cup sunflower nuts
Lunch	Egg sandwich (whole wheat bread) ½ can tuna 1 apple 1 glass fruit juice
Snack PM	2 cereal bars
Dinner	1 cup cereal 1 cup milk ½ can tuna ½ small pomelo

(Growers snack pack nuts)

DAY 4
Breakfast	1 cup Cereal 1 cup Milk 1 cup Green tea 1 banana
Snack AM	1/3 cup sunflower nuts
Lunch	½ cup oatmeal 4 pcs okra Grilled tofu
Snack PM	½ small pomelo 2 cereal bars
Dinner	1 cup cereal 1 cup milk 1 cup crab and corn soup Grilled tofu 1 banana

(Del Monte 50 calorie mixed fruit)

DAY 5
Breakfast	1 cup Cereal 1 cup Milk Taho
Snack AM	1 banana 1 cup green tea
Lunch	½ cup oatmeal Scrambled tofu
Snack PM	1/3 cup sunflower nuts
Dinner	1 cup cereal 1 cup milk ½ can tuna Steamed tofu 1 can 50 calories mixed fruit

(Vikings grilled shrimp and squid)

DAY 6
Breakfast	1 cup Cereal 1 cup Milk 1 cup Green tea 1 banana
Snack AM	None
Lunch	Vikings Buffet Lunch 1 slice wheat bread Veggie salad(asparagus, egg, cauliflower, corn) Fruits (melon, dragonfruit, mango) Seafood (oyster, shrimp, squid) Scallop dumplings 1 glass mango juice
Snack PM	Banana
Dinner	1 cup cereal 1 cup milk 1 pear 1 banana

(Weet-Bix cereal bars)

DAY 7
Breakfast	1 cup Cereal 1 cup Milk 1 cup skin detox tea 1 tbsp ACV
Snack AM	1 pear
Lunch	Scrambled tofu sandwich (whole wheat bread) ½ small pomelo 1 glass iced tea
Snack PM	2 cereal bars
Dinner	1 cup cereal 1 cup milk Steamed fish Steamed veggies (carrots, broccoli)

Until then, 
Watch out for week 2! :)