I haven't had a lot of friends married off and haven't really had a chance to become a "bridesmaid" but I feel like I'm steadily going there (ala 27 Dresses). Contrary to the popular saying (this posts' title) I don't feel one ounce of bitterness when I say that. I'm excited to be a bridesmaid actually.

---

---

As with the short dresses, these long dress options are also flowy, a-line and look ethereal.


I'm thinking a late afternoon garden wedding or beach wedding. Wait. Why am I thinking location?

Dress 1 | Dress 2 | Dress 3


BONUS

---

These aren't really something I'd personally wear for my or anybody else's wedding but I think they're fun options for really fun snazzy events where cocktail dresses are appropriate.

As you know we are currently experiencing (for the past few years really) the effects of global warming. India's heat wave has been killing around 2,000 (if the news articles are to be believed . I sincerely think it's more than that) already if not for the fact that we get offset in a way by the heavy rains I think we aren't too far off. Apparently people still think global warming is a hoax to be thought off in the same context as the tooth fairy and Neverland.

Moving on.

Dermal  - Hooray for masks! I've ordered this before in Multiply and it was super cheap then. I think it was only Php 25 or 35?

Himawari Dear Beaute - These oil in shampoo/conditioner are silicone-free, sulfate-free and formulated with :

• Organic Sunflower Oil
• Organic Sunflower Sprout Extract
• Sunflower Seeds Extract
• Sunflower Extract

Cetaphil - Because of puberty and other hormonal changes I was an avid user of the Cetaphil cleanser. Haven't tried their lotions though.


Japan's #1 exfoliator is included albeit only samples. But I take what I can get. This very popular exfoliator contains 90% water and is :

• Preservative Free
• Coloring Free
• Mineral Oil Free
• Artificial Fragrance Free

Yes this works and it's the most gentle exfoliator I've tried but I kinda like the feeling of grainy scrubs on my face haha. It's a psychological thing I think.



The only time Garnier ever hurt me was when I tried their Pure Active foam/scrub. The one Georgina was endorsing. It was too harsh on my skin and I broke out even more. But the lemon line has always been good to me. Let's see if these continue their lucky streak.



Colgate - I squeed when I saw the two boxes of toothpaste. Squee-d. Like a pig. I'm currently using the predecessor and I'm excited to try this "Plus Shine" one.

Aloe Derma - This pure aloe vera gel from Aloe Derma is surprisingly very popular (according to an instagram post I saw). I've seen it at Watson's a couple of times but paid no attention to it. Looking forward to trying this one as well.



Nivea - Funny story. I wanted to try the hyped-up Nivea wipes so I put on makeup and proceeded to wipe it off. Initially I was very unimpressed, it barely took off my makeup. It performed the same as my baby wipes with the added bonus of the raised embossed side. What the heck right?

Then I checked the label and actually read it this time. It said exfoliating wipes not makeup removing wipes. Lesson: It pays to read.

FS Blush - Haven't tried any blushers from FS. I don't really need another blush so I might give this away.

I saw this YouTube video and I completely agree with everything here. Catcalling serves no good purpose for any party. And these disgusting men need to be called-out.

But when I looked at the comments I was appalled. These people think that women dress the way they are to GET cat-called at. As if that's what women's main purpose in life — get the attention of men. These people (boys mostly) think they are entitled to give lascivious comments about them and their body and think that's ok. That that is acceptable. And that THAT is their right. Because why wear clothes that accentuate your female silhouette if not for wanting men to harass you on street? Right? RIGHT?

WRONG.


So wrong. Girls, yes I use the term girl not woman, because girls as young as 10. TEN. Get harassed. And do you think they wear provocative clothing? It's these pedophilic people who sexualize young girls. They're the ones who have a problem with girls, going about their day being girls. These people think that we should fix girls. We should teach these girls to be afraid of their bodies and cover them up and if they get harassed it's their fault not the harassers.

Another thing. Clothes. Women, regardless of what they wear. Hijab or not. T-shirt and pants or not. Dress or not. Still get harassed and/or raped the same. Why can't women wear whatever the hell they want whilst not being branded as a whore or a slut? Why can't we respect women and their decisions with whatever they want to do with their body?

Next is men thinking that they are entitled to catcalling, name-calling and harassment because a woman is right before them. They believe that it's the woman's fault that men react like that. As if women have a sign over their heads or on their clothes that says

"PLEASE HARASS ME TODAY! I NEED CATCALLING TO VALIDATE MY FEMININITY AND QUALITY IN PEOPLE ESPECIALLY IN MEN'S EYES."



They feel like these women compel them to act like beasts. No brains. No conscience. No decision-making capability of their own so they're swayed by their animalistic urges by what they see. Which makes them no different from plain animals.

Not only does it put the few good men out there in bad light but it assumes that they have no thinking capacity of their own. It teaches other people (men and boys) them that this is acceptable behavior. This is what men do to become men. This is what women and girls like. They act coy but they like it. Silence means yes. No means maybe. Pakipot lang yan. Ganyan talaga babae. Sa una ayaw pero magugustuhan ka rin nyan. Nyan. Like a thing. Like a thing to be whistled at if you what they see pleases them and put them down when it doesn't.

To people think it's just a normal greeting on the street, it's not to most women. People think most women are paranoid but when the odds are always against them who wouldn't?

When one goes about her day a complete stranger greets her or comments on any part of her is it supposed to feel welcoming? Would that be a compliment?

Because when a woman tried to respond to the greeting by saying thank you — since people think it's JUST a compliment — the stranger followed her, because he thought that because she responded, she was interested.

Tell me, how fucked up is that? She wanted to think positive. She thought it WAS just a compliment according to what people keep telling her. To just "take" the compliment.

If you don't respond = Prude, Ingrate, Paranoid, Bitch, Stupid.
If you respond = Interested, Slut, Whore, Asking for it, Stupid.

Either way you run the risk of still being harassed, mugged, raped, killed in any which combination if the attacker decides so.

It makes me so angry and so upset that people ,and not only men, who think like this. And then I see posts saying...

I'm so sick of people saying they're feminists.
You're gay because you're a feminist.
Only gay men support feminists.
Femenazis are everywhere.
Ugly women made feminism.

And then I saw this comment.

---

Now, listen me out.

---

Impulse Buy (Noun) : When you go to the store to get cotton pads and check out with half of the inventory. 

I did a little damage this month because I have little self-control I saw a lot of cool new things. I also got some backups of things I've tried and liked before.

Gel moisturizers are perfect for oily/combination skin and absolutely god-send in our current weather.

I received this moisturizer from the Pond's exclusive March box (see unboxing here) and if you follow my instagram you've seen me profess my (surprising) love for this tub of goodness.


A lot of people who've tried this are particularly fixed on the scent which is I guess, supposed to smell like a rose. I get a hint of rose but not too much. It's more perfume-y than anything else, BUT its fragrance is comparatively lighter than the rest of the line which are borderline fabric softener/Sunsilk shampoo in my opinion —which is probably what made me break out.




The packaging is a weighty glass tub with plastic cap sprayed over with metallic pink. Not ideal for travelling but looks very very luxurious especially on the vanity. To tell you the truth I'm not a #pondsgirl. I've tried their face washes, powders, toners and face creams before but they just broke me out BAD. And I was a fragile teenager back then adjusting to puberty. (woe is me)

After taking a chance again when I received the March box, I still broke out on all of the skincare included except this one. I'm really attributing my breakout recently to Pond's heavily fragranced products. I mean, I don't want my skincare to smell medicinal or funky but I don't want to feel like I'm putting on fabric softener you know?


I guess the first two ingredients which is Water and Glycerin really made it more acceptable by my skin. Regarding the texture if you've tried the Celeteque water-based moisturizer it's a little similar it's just that this one feels more "creamy" in a way, probably because of the third ingredient Dimethicone.

So it's like when you mix the water-based moisturizer with a silicone primer. That is the best I could describe it. On the skin it feels smooth and light and it's absorbed quickly leaving my skin refreshed, plumper and softer.

I would highly recommend this product to anyone who has tried Pond's and been scorned before. For Php399 you get 50g which isn't bad at all considering the packaging (and the fact that it never broke me out!!!).

You really don't need a lot, just smaller-than-a-pea sized amount would definitely suffice but if you're like me and are a little heavy-handed with skincare, a dollop feels absolutely glorious on the skin. Follow it up with a face mist and you're golden.


Have you tried this before? Or have you tried any gel moisturizers before? What are your thoughts on them?


xx,
CJ

I'm a self-professed film addict. I hunt down old releases, new releases as well as wait for future films to come into fruition. There was a lot last 2014 that I haven't watched and honestly I haven't even gotten to diligently scouring through the years prior.

This 2015 I've seen a lot of trailers that I can't wait to watch including a couple I didn't get to see last 2014.

Children's Book Adaptation
1. Pan
2. Cinderella

I've been on a skincare kick lately on my blog so I wanted to follow it with some (mostly) skincare empties.

These are products that have been in my empties bin in a while. Most of them have even been in here for more than five months. I actually have a couple of stuff that I finished but I deemed them not worthy enough for a post. Because all of these (except one) I actually really like.


1.) ZA Cleansing Foaming Gel

I really really really love this cleansing gel. It's a cleanser/makeup remover that removes even waterproof mascara. I kid you not. Even my hard-to-remove bases —you know the ones that just emulsify on your face but are still there —are removed easily.





To make sure it removes all of my makeup, what I do is wet my face a little take a small (but I usually overdo it, what else is new) pea-sized amount, massage it on my whole face for more than a minute, let it sit a minute more then rinse. It leaves my skin clean and not-taut like some heavy-duty cleansers tend to do.


2.)  ZA Hydration Fresh Lucent Toner

I bought this along with my gel cleanser in one of my hoard-everything hauls when ZA had that 50% off sale (see post here). And I do not regret getting this at all. I kinda feel bad for not getting more.


It's not one of those revolutionary toners, I mean it even has alcohol (which I tend to avoid in toners) but I love it because:

• It doesn't break me out
• It feels refreshing and gets rid of other traces of makeup/dirt my cleanser missed
• It has Hyaluronic Acid which is the magic word if you want to increase hydration and improve skin elasticity plus it works on all skin types — oily, dry, normal and combination.

I'm currently using a non-alcohol toner but I might get back to this if I get the time to get my ass out of the house.


3.) Baviphat Green Tea Mist

Mists are my absolute indulgence. These types of mists aren't really good for anything other than refreshing the face so they aren't particularly used for setting makeup but I use it anyway for that apart from its intended use.



This one doesn't have the fine mist that I like but the smell and the way it feels on the skin is really nice. It wasn't that pricey either. I think I bought this for around Php 200 - 250.


4.) Etude Eye & Lip Remover

Funny name but good product. It removes eye makeup well. For waterproof mascara I tend to go back a second time but sometimes it's not that big of a deal. I much prefer the Maybelline eye and lip makeup remover though but this is an ok alternative and cheap too - less than Php300. (sorry I don't have a close-up shot of it!)


5.) Fashion21 and Darkness Auto Eyebrow Pens

For eyebrow makeup, I'm not that picky. Well, actually I am. But I'm not brand conscious. If it works. It works. And these two are fantastic. Fashion21 is harder in texture, the type I gravitate towards. The color is a cool-brown with no traces of red in it and the packaging is simple, sleek and sturdy.



Darkness is another Korean brand and much softer in texture compared to Fashion21. It has more leeway if you want a softer brow look since you can easily brush out the color because of its texture. The color is also a cool-toned brown and perfect for dark brunettes. The shape of the "lead" is flat and angled which made it easy for me to draw on my brows. But if I had to choose, I'd go for the Fashion21 because good hard eyebrow pencils are hard to come by, most of the time they're creamy and/or too waxy for my taste.


6.) Instant Argan Oil

Aka the super expensive pure Argan oil that wasn't really pure. I bought this for Php 1000 and during that time Argan oil was just being introduced to the Philippine market, so everybody was clamoring to get one. I didn't have proper information about it at the time and bought the bottle on a whim.



It works okay I guess, as a face moisturizer but I like it better for the hair and body. The thing I'm pissed about here is I thought I was getting PURE Argan oil not some heavily perfumed watered-down version of it. The consistency was thick like maple syrup and smelt like talc. It reminded me of those vanilla body sprays from Victoria's Secret.

Argan oil, I learned,  is supposed to smell woody or "medicinal" in a way not powdery and sweet. I blame the SA who said it was pure. It was my fault though for not reading the bottle. It didn't have PURE written anywhere on it.

That concludes my empties post. Have you tried any of these? And what're your thoughts about Sales Assistants "bending" the truth just to get a sale?


xx,
CJ

I have sparse lashes. They're not short per se but they're spaced about here and there as if to spite me. I think it's pretty common among asian girls having sparse and sometimes short lashes. The eyes being the windows to the soul, would mean that the eyelashes are...curtains...? Where was I going with this?

Let's get on to the actual reason I'm writing this post.






Because hey, whatever, I had little to no expectations to begin with. Maybe, just maybe, they'll work on my brows. (Inner plea to the gods : Please oh please oh please let this not be a complete waste of time)



Have you tried lash growing serums?

xx,
CJ

---

Etude House PH website : http://www.etudehouse.ph/

LISTENING TO

"Shame on me for changing...No no. Shame on you for staying the same"

READING

xx,

The week of trial finally came to a close. No, this isn't some tragic story. I'm talking about the BDJ 7-day challenge wherein a subbie uses one/a couple of products for seven days straight. And I'm here to recap the entire experience.

---