Hand sanitizers are a dime a dozen these days, but have you come across one that's is dispensed as a foam and turns into a light lotion? I don't think so! That's what makes the Snoe Fizzy Clean Hand Sanitizer line relatively unique. It cleans hands while moisturizing them at the same time. It's a little sticky at first, but once it dries, the stickiness disappears.

I like the green tea scent - it's subtle and a little sweet, like herbal candy. Packaging-wise, it's basic and a bit haphazard, but for hand sanitizer, who minds?

People on Twitter are ranting that Jinkee’s cover is ‘shopped so heavily that it doesn’t even look like her. It’s true, it’s Photoshopped to the nines, but not in the way of drastically altering her face. I mean, the woman is naturally pretty and is even looking better these days. Gorgeous makeup and strategic posing can go a long way in making a person look different on camera you know!

I do think they sharpened her jawline and lengthened her neck a little bit, but that’s it for changing her appearance. What annoys me most about the cover photo is how airbrushed and fake it looks. Why did they have to make it look like her skin is painted on when it already looks fine? Yeah Jinkee has some rough pores and maybe a couple of pimples but that can be softened without having the whole thing look too unrealistic.

Mega posted a behind-the-scenes video of the cover shoot last night, but it appears that the video has been taken down. Haha. Good thing I managed to take some screencaps last night! It's now back up! Watch it.

These days I am scrabbling for time to properly blog. :( I want to write more how-tos and tips, but those usually take me a good two hours to do. So, for the meantime, I'll be doing rapid-fire posts instead.

Snaps watching over my stuff as they wait to be photographed.

I just finished with a massive product photo session so I'd like to give you an idea of what I'll be writing about in the coming weeks!

Benefit Hervana blush. This much-awaited blush is much-awaited for a reason.

Benefit Triple Performing Facial Emulsion. Awesome stuff, this from a girl who is super picky about moisturizers.

Benefit Watt's Up Highlighter. Cream-to-powder illuminator that doesn't look weird.

Lancome Teint Miracle. "Light creator" sums up what it does!

I like, nay, LOVE boxes. It's a good thing that my line of work ensures that I recieve boxes regularly. Wait, that can be a bad thing. I don't know. It doesn't matter!

Ok, before I start babbling endlessly I just want to share some of my new boxes and how I've recycled them.

I recieved this vintagey box from the Belo team (thanks Denise!). It's actually the same box that Ferretti in Glorietta uses to house accessories! It's cute and it's roomy. I decided to use it for storing products I have yet to review since it's easier to keep track of them this way.

A lot of people have been doing this lately, and so I decided to join the bandwagon. Lol. It's fun! I've actually done it already last year. However, a lot of things has changed since then, so my bag also "evolved" along with them.

What's in my bag depends on what kind of bag I'm using (which in turn depends on my outfit), what I need to do that day, and where I'm going. Yesterday, I was in the office for a presentation, so I didn't wear much makeup. I decided to bring a makeup kit so I can do a full face for a media event I'll be attending later in the evening.

Forever 21 shades, Majolica Majorca makeup kit, alcohol, mint gum, keys, Tony Moly pressed powder, Estee Lauder Sensuous, wallet, iPad (forgot to add the Blackberry in the photo)

As with last year, I still don't bring a makeup kit on a regular basis, but I sometimes do when the need arises.

Marco and I have always talked about getting a dog, but we never got around to actually pushing through with it. We live in a condo with rather strict pet rules, plus our schedule can be unpredictable sometimes! All the logical reasons point us toward NOT getting a dog. But last Saturday, we did not listen to reason.

I was in Tiendesitas, having a late lunch after a meeting. I knew that Marco was passing my way so I waited for him to pick me up. I've never EVER been to Tiendesitas before (I know, I know), so I took the opportunity to explore what the fabled shops have to offer.

I saw this Pomeranian.

There were lots of dogs everywhere, but they weren't interested in me, nor I with them. I wasn't looking to buy a dog to begin with. But when I met this Pomeranian puppy, he looked so happy to see me and immediately held his paws out of the cage. He also put his nose out so I can pat his head. We spent a few minutes like that, but I had to go since I knew I couldn't afford him right now.

You know, outside of my job and this blog, I don't have much of a social life. Sometimes I mind so I end up going out, shopping and eating a fancy meal by myself - come to think of it that's rather counterintuitive, no? I just get more bothered. But sometimes, like today, I'd rather just stay home and apply myself to quieter pursuits. It's more fulfilling and ultimately less painful on my wallet lol.

I got two new books from Fully Booked the other day: One Fifth Avenue by Candace Bushnell and Full Dark, No Stars by Stephen King.

With One Fifth Avenue, I was looking for the usual chic lit stuff: witty if not funny, romantic, a little slapstick, escapist to the core. But the book comes off as a pretentious commentary on the lives of the rich and famous in New York.

It's time to put a little perspective to all the reviews I've been posting! Starting this September, I'll be sharing my top 10 best finds for the month. These are the products that I've been using heavily, the kind of stuff that I don't mind purchasing when they run out (ceteris paribus - all things remaining constant). In other words, these are the things I can swear by.

Here goes!

The Sebamed Liquid Face & Body Wash is a total savior. Don't get me wrong, I still use my Clinique Liquid Facial Soap (Oily Skin Formula). But since my skin is really, REALLY dry lately due to the acne serums I've been using, I need to use a more moisturizing facial wash that doesn't completely strip my face of oil. That's where Sebamed comes in. I love it with all my heart.

I've been using the Clinique Derma White City Block Anti-Pollution SPF40 PA+++ since May but given that I only wrote about it yesterday, it's included in my September list. It's awesome. Read the review!

The Estee Lauder Idealist Cooling Eye Illuminator conceals and heals. When I stopped using it for a week, my eyes hated me! 

Not makeup, that's for sure! Last Thursday, I had a very memorable afternoon at the Jane Iredale store in Evekal Building, Makati. The 100% pure mineral makeup brand is remarkable by itself (will talk about that soon), but what really sealed that day in my mind is the food. Yes, food. Stephanie Zubiri's Modern Epicurean Kitchen was the caterer that day and my god the food was good.

Jane Iredale store

Glorious food

I'm not a food writer so I don't have the vocab and know-how to rhapsodize about the dishes properly, but I hope the fact that I wrote about food here will convince you of its greatness.

Last night, Anna of Vogue Concepts dropped these Yves Rocher goodies by our place. I've been feeling a little down because my face is a mess and I can't stop touching it (!) so this gift cheered me up big time!

Quick recap: Yves Rocher is a brand founded in 1959 that's all about botanical beauty. Botanical beauty, what? It means that all their products are heavily based on plants with beautifying properties. They grow, harvest, manufacture, and distribute their own products from France. It's a one-stop store that has everything for your hair, body, face, and makeup needs. The prices are friendly too!

Out of all the stuff I got, I'm most interested in the Yves Rocher Couleurs Nature concealer kit (oh, you know me and concealers) and the Jardins du Monde Ylang-ylang body wash.

I've received a lot of inquiries from readers about the contact lenses that I use. If you've seen any of my FOTDs, you'd have noticed the nice greenish tint of my eyes! I used to wear only clear lenses but I found that boring. Besides, colored contact lenses can be worn for up to three months, whereas most clear lenses are only good for a month. I'm waaay too lazy to visit the optical store every month so colored lenses are a more practical option.

So! I bought these contact lenses at Executive Optical. They're called Flexwear Colors and are surprisingly cheap at only P650 a pair. Did I say they were graded, too? They're really affordable. I used to buy my clear contact lenses at Sarabia, but they cost around P600 for a pair. At EO, the clear lenses are only P200 (I think).

I just tune out on most weekends. As in, I try not to think or do anything that doesn't involve eating, reading, watching or shopping. And maybe checking this blog once in a while. Hehe. Anyway, I just want to share the stuff I can't live without lately, especially during weekends if ever I can be convinced to go out of the house.

I recently got these cheap shades from Forever 21. They were on 30% off, too! I don't get buying shades that costs more than P500. As long as shades shield my eyes from the sun and look good with my face shape, I don't know why I should spend more when I can spend less. But maybe I'm just ignorant? I don't know! Anyway I like this pair because of the vintage-y shape.

I've had these Ferretti espadrilles since, oh, July. I've been meaning to write a full blog post about them, but I never can seem to get a nice outfit photo with it! I do wear this pair all the time though.

Last week, I was complaining to Kira that I am running out of content. "It's such a struggle! I have nothing to write about! How am I going to maintain my two posts every weekday routine?", I moaned. The universe must have heard me and decided to send a deluge of stuff all at the same time. My place is a mess right now since it's full of press material!

I'm not complaining of course! I only wish I have a minimum of three faces so I can churn out reviews faster. As it stands it's going to take a bit of time to go through everything I received from all the kind brands who support this blog (thanks so much, you know who you are!). In the meantime, I'd like to share some of the things I'm excited to try! Out of everything I got, these are the most intriguing and promising. My beauty product sense was tingling as I swatched these.

Skincare and illuminator in one? Why not! Estee Lauder recently launched their Idealist line which features a Cooling Eye Illuminator and an Even Skintone Illuminator serum. I've been using the eye cream, I am always amazed that the applicator is cold even though I never put it in a fridge. I can also skip under eye concealer with it!

I squealed (internally!) when I received the Clinique Superbalanced Powder Makeup yesterday. I'm on the hunt for a new HG powder foundation and who, knows, this might be it!

Yesterday, I dropped by Tony Moly's recently opened branch in Megamall. I wasn't able to attend the press launch last Tuesday due to work but Foz, their marketing person, kindly set aside my press kit for me anyway.

The kit included a bunch of goodies, but I also bought this Baby Doll BB Foundation (P398) because it looked super promising when I swatched it in the store. So yeah, here's my Tony Moly loot! It'll take a bit of time to review them but I'll add my first impressions here for your reference when you visit the store. ;)

The Baby Doll BB Foundation is supposed to control oil. I tried it on half my face and it's light, it dried quickly enough. It's the only foundation at Tony Moly that can match medium skin like mine - everything else is too light. The cute bunny bottle is a face mist, I haven't tried it yet. It's called Pocket Bunny Sleek Mist. The tomato jar is their best-selling Tomatox Brightening Mask that instantly brightens skin (I swatched it on the back of my hand, it does).

Before I ever got interested in cosmetics, I was into drawing and painting. If you've been following my blog, you know that I love colors - how we pick them to adorn ourselves and our surroundings, how they work together to look even better, how a good color story can change moods and create inspiration. Now you know where that came from!

Doing makeup and painting are not that different. Both are mediums of self-expression, using colors, brushes, and moods to create a story about who you are. They follow the same principles of color and technique. In the end, the only difference is the the canvas used.

I stopped painting when I was in college though.

I woke up at 2am today and started reading blogs since I didn't feel like working yet. After going through my usual routine, I visited Pammy's post on beauty blogging again to see if there are any new comments. I've been keeping track of it since she wrote it, and I really appreciate all the insights in the post and in the comments page. This time, I'd like to share what I think about beauty bloggers "selling out" or losing credibility. This is my comment.

Been following this post for a while, and I'd just like to share what i think. :) Ideally, in beauty blogging, the blogger must pay for all the products that she reviews. But while that's ideal, it's also unrealistic. First of all it's difficult to get content unless you're sitting on a mound of money exclusively for makeup/kikay things.

Second, a good beauty blogger spends a lot of time coming up with a post - swatching, taking pics, testing, and finally, writing are all time-consuming (I spend 2-3 hours on one detailed review on average). Sure we do it out of love, but then again, it's unrealistic to continue unless there is some form of return.