When I was younger and still living in my parents house, an ylang-ylang plant used to grow near my window. It bloomed only seasonally, but when it did, our house smelled like flowers. I always looked forward to evenings when the ylang-ylang would open up; I loved lying in bed just smelling it and listening to cheesy songs on the radio.

Well, the ylang-ylang is gone now and I no longer listen to the radio, but the memory still remains with me. It's not something I think about on a normal day, but when I got the Yves Rocher Jardins du Monde Ylang-ylang Body Wash (~P200), I was pleasantly reminded of those bygone, simpler days.

Nostalgia aside, I like this Yves Rocher body wash because it lathers up nicely and doesn't dry my skin. It's a basic body wash that does the job without fuss! The real killer is the scent.

Been a while since I posted something from Avon here. Recently though they sent me a package with some of their latest goodies, so I'd like to share them with you here as an FYI (for now!). Will definitely be reviewing the new Skin So Soft Lotion since I love this line - it's one of two moisturizers I finished to the last drop this year. I'll also talk about the new eyeliner soon.

Oh, Avon also has a BB cream now! It's only P399 and comes in two shades.

Anew 360° White Transforming Mask (P499)

Anew 360° White Transforming Mask’s fine massage beads stimulate the skin and instantly smoothens the skin by gently removing dead skin cells while Avon’s patented whitening ingredients dramatically whiten skin. 

Being forced to stay home for a week because of the chemical peel caused my life to flash before my eyes. Well, this house arrest made me re-evaluate my priorities that's for sure! These are the things I learned while recovering from my "extreme" skincare adventure.

1. Take care of your face. It's your biggest asset since it's the first thing people see and judge you by! Before spending on expensive makeup and clothes, make sure that your face has everything it could possibly need to be healthy and glowing. 

We're not all blessed with good looks, so the next best thing we can aim for is to have good skin!

2. Prevention is better yaddah yaddah. If you see a problem cropping up, nip it at the roots and don't wait for the nastiness to erupt all over your face. Stop using that new shampoo you bought - or toothpaste, foundation, whatever new product that recently touched your face. Use your previous skin medication. See your derma stat. Whatever it takes.

3. If you have serious skin problems, consult a dermatologist. Don't self-medicate and take what you read online at face value. It only costs around P500 to get a consultation from a licensed derma so there's no reason not to see one. Your skin will thank you for it in the long run! A dermatologist is the only qualified person who can recommend products for your specific skin type and concerns.  

Some girls don't like wearing eyeshadows because of the extra work involved. They also don't want to give the impression that they're overly made up, especially in professional or formal settings where they need to look clean and almost bare-faced. Hence, the "no makeup makeup" was born.

I think that the Cover Girl Eye Enhancers in Country Woods were designed with that look in mind!

This palette has four neutral eyeshadows that are decently pigmented for a drugstore brand. The eyeshadows won't really show up brightly though. That just give the eyes the subtlest hint of glimmer and contour, improving their shape and color, without giving many clues that they're actually there. Pretty neat if you ask me.

What I like about the product

• Nice pigmentation. Won't blow your mind away, but it works.
• Colors really bring out the eyes without looking obvious. They look good on fair to medium skintones. 

Have you been out? It's such a nice Saturday! I guess everyone agrees because there are very few updates on my social networks. Hehe. Anyway, before I go off, I just want to announce the Commenter of the Month for August. Her name is Julz! She's been so helpful with her comments and product feedback on my posts last month. So, she's getting the cool Tony Moly skincare and makeup set. 

And now, get ready for my Commenter of the Month gift for September!

The best commenter this September will win this Yves Rocher loot bag containing a Lash Plumping Mascara, 3-in-1 Eye Pencil, Moisturizing Cream Lipstick in Rose Cannelle, and Agave Sap Velvety Moisturizer. I'm so envious! I wanted to keep these! But I think the CoM deserves them more than I do. ;)

The Tony Moly Berry Lovely Girl Heart Lip Palette (P448) is cute, but at first it hardly looks like something you'll actually use. It looks waaay too much like a toy and reminds me of those "makeup sets" you can buy for kids - bright and fun, but the colors don't actually show up since they're just petroleum jelly.

Well guess who's wrong.

The Heart Lip Palette apparently features Tony Moly's best-selling lipsticks. After using this for a few days, I can totally see why.

What I love about the product

• Decently pigmented. It starts off as semi-sheer but you can layer for a more opaque finish. Make sure to pile it on.
• Great color selection. There's a nude, peach, pink, and red that are all quite flattering. My favorite is the peach!

Heads up! I'd like to share the most interesting news I got in my inbox. ;) Enjoy.

Ensembles x Religioso

Ensembles has a new collection this September! It's designed by Choc and Yvette Religioso, the duo behind that luxe store in Greenbelt 5. The collection "embodies the stylish empowered woman of the new millennium, inspired by the genteel well-dressed women of the past.  Each piece origininates from the classic button down shirt, given a dash of drama that is the signature of the line’s designers".

Here are my top three pieces! My favorite is this shirtdress. It's so moderno! I wonder if it comes in other colors.

Foundations even out the skin and soften blemishes, but they don't always give the illumination that our face needs. They usually have a matte or satiny finish so you may need another product to sort of finish off your face in a literal halo of light. Illuminators do this for you by having light-reflecting ingredients that create this subtle haze of light around your skin.

Sounds too complicated? It's actually easy to get illuminated! It's only difficult when you're using the wrong product - by wrong I mean too shimmery, too pigmented, too obvious. I love the Guerlain Meteorites for that instant ethereal glow but for a warmer finish, I prefer to use the Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick Compact in Bronze (P2,300).

Shimmer bomb? As the name suggests, the Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick is shimmery in the pan. However, when it goes on your face, the fine shimmer diffuses and isn't really detectable unless you look closely. It's more shimmery than the Guerlain Meteories (which is more on the pearly side) but less pigmented than the NARS Laguna Bronzer.

Pigmentation and finish. At first, I was trying to get it to work like a bronzer by contouring my cheeks and the sides of my face with it.

The ennui that went with my Blue Peel experience is perhaps the biggest challenge I've hurdled so far. I couldn't go out of the house for long during the day because the sun makes my face feel hot and slightly itchy, so I felt bored and confined. I also felt sad because my face looked bad, so much that I questioned my decision to do the peel.

Now that I'm on my sixth day though, I feel better because I've already seen a drastic reduction of my blemishes and blackheads. I'd say it's three to four days before all the peeling skin is completely gone, and I can't wait! Seriously. I can't.

Day 3: It all falls apart

After the skin dried from the chemicals in Day 2, it became a hard, tight shell. I couldn't move my face much. It was in Day 3 when my face started cracking, beginning in the chin area. 

I'm already on my fifth day of the Obagi Blue Peel. My face is peeling heavily, but I love the skin that I see peeking from under the old layer! You'll see when I post pictures tomorrow. For now I want to talk about the two skincare products that I've decided to stick to while I'm still recovering from the chemical peel.

I came across the Sebamed Liquid Face & Body Wash (P870/200ml) around two years ago. I got a tiny 5ml bottle of it as part of a press kit, but when I ran out I didn't purchase. At that time I found it expensive at P750 for a bottle, considering my facial washes never cost more than P100-200 before! So I skipped it and forgot about it.

After the chemical peel though, I had to switch to a gentle facial cleanser that wouldn't excessively dry up my peeling and hypersensitive skin

Ahh, lip balms. I have already lost count of all the lip balms I have lying around the house. However, the Human Heart Nature Lip Balm in Peppermint (P60) is special to me because it's the first all-natural, organic lip balm I've tried. It's the most affordable too!

It's a nice lip balm. It won't knock your socks off but its best feature really is the fact that it's natural, with no petroleum or other chemicals in the ingredient list. If your lips are sensitive and have a tendency to darken easily, this organic alternative may help you in the long run.

Texture and feel. The HHN Lip Balm has a hard, waxy texture that will really pull at your lips if you insist on swiping it.

Because I'm shedding skin like a reptile, I have to miss two cool events that are happening this week. Go for me, will you? Then tell me all about it!

VMV Hypoallergenics will be having a Skin Soiree this Thursday, Sept 15, 2011 at the VMV Skin Research Center in 117 Carlos Palanca Street, Legaspi Village, Makati City. They've got free makeovers, freebies for your purchases plus discounts on VMV products, facials, and procedures. What's even better is we’re giving away full-sized Ooh-La-Lash! Volumizing Mascaras for free and we're giving you a first look at our Holiday Sets

Why you should go: FREE full-sized Ooh-La-Lash Mascaras! The Ooh-La-Lash is one of my fave mascaras, so if there's a chance you can get it for free, don't miss it!

Port 88: Ready, Set, SALE! will be held on September 17 & 18, 2011 at The Megatent Events Venue Ortigas from 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.

I'm sure that you've already seen the blogger raves for the Charm Travel Pro brush set. All I can add to the conversation is that yes, this is a great set that you really won't regret buying. It's expensive at P2,200 for the whole set, but then again it's an investment that you'll probably use until you're sick of it. ;)

What I like most about this set, aside from the portability, is how useful ALL the brushes are. Some brands throw in brushes just to pad the set and make you pay more for them, but in the end you just use five out of say, ten brushes. That's a waste of money. But this Charm set has a well thought out selection with no repetitive or ineffective brushes in it. 

Now, like the Version 2 set, this set is not exactly for makeup beginners since the brushes are designed for precision application. But I hope that with this post, you'll learn how to maximize this set whether you're a beginner or an advanced makeup enthusiast!

Face brushes

Eye brushes

The Concealer Brush (top) is perfect for hiding spots, eye bags, and uneven discolorations in your skin. It's best used with cream or liquid concealer.

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.

Congrats to Leila Lopes, Miss Angola for winning the Miss Universe 2011 crown! She's absolutely gorgeous and deserves the title. Our home girl, Miss Philippines Shamcey Supsup, is also a winner as the third runner up.

I've been breaking out heavily this past month - underscore on "heavily". I use a lot of stuff on my face for this blog then couple that with stress and you've got a dangerous playground for acne! I've lost track of what makes me break out at this point. I was running out of options so I turned to the House of Obagi, a clinic famous for their skincare products and medical procedures.

HOO has been asking me if I could review their Blue Peel since July, I think, but I kept saying no because while my skin was far from ideal, it was alright. Nothing makeup and my regular skincare couldn't solve then! But after the Skin Hell Month that was August, I was ready to try anything to get rid of the acne and the numerous dark scars it left behind.

I want to emphasize that I wouldn't do this if I didn't need it. But my acne and scars were out of control; this was the best solution.

Observe:

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 recently got this delightfully huge ring from Parfois. It makes me think of a monster toad. Mostly I think of it as an effective combat weapon, similar to brass knuckles. If i ever get in trouble, I can use my monster ring finger to deliver a punch with more satisfying results.

Kidding aside, I find the ring chich in a tough girl kind of way. It's also the sort of piece that no one will miss because of its size! I think it would look best with indie/boho/rocker type of clothes.

I am not a techie, not in the sense that I keep up with the latest gadgets or know the difference between a Froyo and a Gingerbread. I only buy tech stuff when I need them and then forget about them as I use them. There are only two things I look out for: the functionality and look, all the other specs aside. And of course the price has to be reasonable.

The new SMART Netphone, I believe, fits the bill! As a thoroughly kikay person with moderate tech kung fu, I think the Netphone is something that can complement whatever I wear while still keeping me connected to my social networks and email for only P20 a day.

The SMART Netphone is a solid Android phone that's fully integrated with Smart's services. The thing that sets it apart from other Android phones though is the Blackberry Messenger-like network called Smartnet that SMART built around it. It allows you to look for people using their Global Directory (given that who you're looking for is on the Netphone) and then add them with their permission.

And now, for the unboxing!