Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Bloggers Meet Up at Trinoma

Ever since me, Jen, and Gel met up one time at Trinoma and hanged out at SM North City Edsa, I wondered if we could meet up with other bloggers as well besides the usual "events" where we would bump into each other. So through the powers of twitter and texting, we were able to invite bloggers who would like to meet up with us here at Trinoma. Around almost 8-9 of us met up yesterday and had some fun bonding time and retail therapy (for some!) on the side.

Gie, Jen, Me, Aya, Gel, and Sweethestia
Sweethestia had to leave early so we had this first quick photo op muna.
Photo credit: Sweethestia's blog
Love our group photo here!
After the quick hi and bye with Sweethestia, we all went to my favorite place - The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf at the third floor in Trinoma.f One of the main reasons we wanted to hang out there first is coz it was HOT in Trinoma. I dunno what was wrong with its a/c but we needed the extra coolness that day coz Trinoma was quite jam packed! A lot of families were out "malling" due to it being a holiday. So we "escaped" to CBTL which also had FREE wifi for Swirl Card Members. Here was my tweet pics while we were there:


Share photos on twitter with Twitpic Share photos on twitter with Twitpic Share photos on twitter with Twitpic
Click photos to enlarge

With Gie from thirdworldfashion.wordpress.com
I had a buy 1 take 1 CBTL coupon for a Frozen Swirl and Gie was game to share it with me. We totally forgot to take pics (particularly me coz I was too absorbed in enjoying my Hazelnut frozen swirl!) but I had a lot of fun talking with Gie. She was pretty and sweet! I was happy to learn and know more about her through this event. I hope we do get to meet up again soon. After a few fun photos, we had our mini exchange gift. The gift that I got was from Eenah from BeautyLilSecrets. It was a pair of tassel earrings made by Miss Genn D. And yes, that's the purple earrings that I'm wearing at the photo above.

Eenah showing her gift! TY DEAR! I was super happy that I got it!
(Photo care of Gie)
Then it was my turn to give and the name that I drew out (we drew lots by the way to know who will receive our gift) and Miss Genn (aka Mis Tugz! LOL!) from missgennd.blogspot.com received my gift which was a set of SkinWhite Products. 

Miss Genn and Me!
Photo care of Gel
Others got awesome gifts as well and we really had fun! Even though our table was really small and we barely were able to be seated properly in our small corner at CBTL, we all enjoyed each other's company. Getting to know one another, exchanging ideas and opinions about certain products, and whatever we could talk about under the sun was such a refreshing experience. Reading each other's blogs and actually meeting the person behind the blog is a whole different experience. And I'm pretty much sure everyone agreed that it was something that we wanted to occur again.

Meet the bloggers - Gel, Eenah, Genn, Gie, Me, and Rache
Gie, Me, Rache, Aya, Sofi, and Jen

Gel and Aya in front
Ladies wearing black at the back is
Eenah, Me, and Genn!
Group Photo taken by Manong Guard of CBTL.
hihi.. ty kuya!
Photo care of Gie.

Then Eenah and Gie had to go home early and we had to bid goodbye to them. But the night wasn't even here yet and some of the other bloggers had a shopping expedition to fulfill. So off we went to Landmark Department Store and we were all distracted at first by the Accessories Selection at the 2nd Floor. Then down we went to the beauty and personal care section where most of the bloggers bought their stuff. I was nearly tempted to buy a dotting tool for nail art but I stopped myself coz I still haven't even used the nail art brush that I just bought from there the other week. I swore to myself that I WILL NOT PURCHASE ANYTHING. Did I keep my promise? Kind of. Will share about that for some other time and at a different post. Anyway last stop was at the makeup section where still some were able to make purchases.. I'm sure Aya and Gel have a lot to say on their blogs about their recent haul there. So watch out for that. Ended the day by having dinner at the Food Court with Genn, Aya, Sofi and Jen.

Aya, Rache, Me, Jen, Gel, and Genn at Landmark!
I truly enjoyed meeting up with you dears and I hope we can do this again soon!  If you wanna meet up with us, check out my post about the Phil-Cosmetics Expo. We will be there on Saturday afternoon. 

So Coffeeholics, how did you spend your extended weekend holiday? Let me know your thoughts and do comment below. Next post = outfit post that day.

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Phil-Cosmetics Expo - 4th Pilipinas Ang Ganda Mo!


Hey coffeeholics! I just found out yesterday that there will be a Phil-Cosmetics Expo, the 4th Pilipinas Ang Ganda Mo! event. Its a fashion, beauty, and lifestyle three day event on September 2-4, 2011, from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. at the Megatrade Hall 1, 5th Level Mega B, SM Megamall,  Mandaluyong City. Highlights of the event will be a Hair and Make-up Competition, Nail Art Competition, Fashion Show, and a search for Mr. & Ms. Cosmetics 2011. Also heard that Digital Traincase will be there!

I'm going and will be meeting up with some of my fellow bloggers there probably at Saturday afternoon. So Coffeeholics are you going? Let me know and maybe we could meet up. See you there!

Sunday, August 28, 2011

Coffeeholic at Happy Lemon plus OOTD

I have always loved drinking coffee. Yes, just in case you dears haven't noticed it yet -- I'm a self-confessed coffeeholic. In fact, I still remember the days that I shudder with horror whenever TEA is mentioned. But then tea suddenly became cool and interesting. I hated drinking tea (except the iced ones!) coz I felt it was boring (haha), weird (coz of its flowery scent), and didn't taste nice. The advent of Milk Teas helped change my perspective on Tea. So I became more compliant to the idea of drinking tea. Then I heard about HAPPY LEMON and I knew I just had to go there. Especially after hearing a lot of good reviews and raves from my friends. So finally I was able to go there and well.. here's a coffeeholic's review of Happy Lemon!

Happy Lemon Greenhills Branch
I was there with my siblings and cousins. They already had a taste of Happy Lemon and they happily introduced me to the unique taste of Happy Lemon.

Of course my cousin shopgirl JEN was with me!
Showing off our awesome rings.
Ring - Anagon Collection
My Sisters Wawel & Laura
So this is what I got - Green Tea Rock Salt & Cheese (RSC)
I wanted to get the one with Cocoa but when we walked in the store
they just ran out of cocoa powder. gah.
So this is the famous Rock Salt & Cheese froth. It tastes yummy.
I was advised to NOT drink the tea through a straw but sip it from the cup.
IF THIS IS YOUR FIRST TIME, FOLLOW THAT INSTRUCTION!
I swear it tastes sooo much better when you drink it like that.
The first thing that will assault your senses as you sip is the smell.
Its super unforgettable coz it REALLY smells like SAMPAGUITA!
LOL. Yes I know it sounds and smells weird. (this from a coffeeholic's point of view!)
It is an acquired taste (from the gagging looks of my sisters.. lol!) definitely.
Will I order this drink again? NEVER.
Have mercy. A coffeeholic can only take this much! lol. 
But I definitely wanna come back to Happy Lemon and try the one with Cocoa Rock Salt & Cheese!

What I was wearing that day:
Black Top - Thrifted, Aqua Blue Tank Top - Random,
Black Jeans - Forever 21, Black Boots - Random
My new awesome ankle boots!
Love LOVE Love!
Bracelet - care of TINYPINKBOW
LOVE Ring - Girl Shoppe
Silver Ring Band - from Baguio
(I had that ring since I was in college!)
Feather Earrings from Pink Pum Shop
So there you have it! A coffeeholic's experience in a Tea~holic's world! lol. 


So my dear Coffeeholics AND Teeyaholics, have you been to HAPPY LEMON already? 
What is your favorite drink there and what would you recommend for me to taste next?
Do share! Mwah!

Saturday, August 27, 2011

Puss, Boots, and a look at Balenciaga

I just saw this video at youtube which I found so funny that I just had to share it:






I know I know.. Puss is too cute and sexy for words! Though I doubt I would be sporting his "No Pants" Pants sometime soon. LOL. Meanwhile, I've been on the search for some boots myself. I recently bought one ankle boots which I'm super happy about. I will be posting a recent outfit post of me wearing it. I still WANT another pair of boots though coz I am about to retire my SOLO Boots as seen here. I bought it on sale (like it was 70% off!) and used it a lot. I spent a lot of precious time with those boots but now the synthetic leather is chipping off and it looks so banged up that it needs to retire now. *sniffs and wipes tears* Its one of the few mid-calf boots that actually fits me! So now I have to look for a replacement for that I went searching.. Look at what I found!

Taken from Tokyo fashion
I WANT THIS!!!
It looks super fierce and too cool for words! 

I don't know if there are boots like that here but this I do know, Asian Vogue Shop has this HUGE selection of boots of any size, shape, and style! Not only that, some of the boots seems quite affordable too! Here are some of the boots that I like from their collection.

Photo Credit here
Yes I want flats now!




All photos from Asian Vogue Boots Collection
I'm making it a goal to save up to get one of these boots. I have always wanted to buy from Asian Vogue coz their boots selection is just so amazing! Oh and not just the boots, they also have lots of other cool wedges, heels, flatforms, etc so you really just have to check them out if you want to get your hands on their footwear!

The Real Balenciaga Boots
Photo Credit - Real Deal Collection

Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen popularized them.
Asian Vogue Version
Pretty and Affordable!


But the winner boots of them all is this Balenciaga Harness Inspired boots that they are selling right now which I personally want real bad! Love love love it. This definitely goes to my Christmas Wishlist.  So my dear Coffeeholics, how are you lately? Do you have boots? Where do you get yours? Please do share!

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

NOTW - A Look at a Nude Tony Moly TR07

When Tony Moly opened in SM North, I knew that I just had to get my hands on a Tony Moly Nail Polish. Tony Moly is a sister company of Etude House and yes its another Korean product. So I bought Tony Moly TR07 for Php 98 only. Here are my swatches:

Without Flashlight
with flashlight
Haha Yes I know it doesn't look that "nude" under the flash. But wait til it gets on your nails. I love how it looks on my hand. 

Tony Moly on my nails
With FLASH
Without flash

Ok I wore this several weeks ago and wore it again this week. So here is my review on Tony Moly TR07.

Kaisensei Likes:
1. I love how opaque the polish is. That's 2 coats of Tony Moly and I had a base and top coat on it. I love the nude effect it has on my nails.

2. It dries fast. I tried putting polish on my nails (without all the works) and more or less a minute or so when it dried which is really cool.

3. The smell of the polish isn't overwhelming. I'm asthmatic and so sometimes some polishes really irritate me. Tony Moly's Nail Polish scent is not overpowering.

Kaisensei disLikes:
1. It dries too fast. Yes its a good and a bad thing. Good on my nails. BAD on my bottle of polish! I have only used it for sometime and I was quite disappointed that the polish is starting to become sticky and thickening. I had expected a little bit of a longer shelf life expectancy due to its price.

2. It chips off too fast. On the same day I applied it, one of my nails was chipped. So sad. I asked another person who used Tony Moly Nail Polish and she had the same dilemma. I heard from another beauty blogger and she said that it doesn't chip for her. I think she used other polishes with it. So maybe it depends on the person?

3. The nail polish applicator holder or cover is too thick. It makes it a bit difficult to maneuver the brush and paint on my nails.

Kaisensei says:

So my main concern is the polish's consistency slowly thickening. So I tried to experiment and figure out how I can fix this. I tried to add a few drops of Human Heart Nature Beauty Sunflower Oil to my Tony Moly Nail Polish. And VOILA! Problem solved! Applying the polish on my nails is so much easier. Hmmm I wonder if that would work with my other polishes?

Kaisensei rate: I give Tony Moly TR07 a rate of 7 of 10.

Would I recommend Tony Moly? I say, why not give it a try! Maybe the polish would work differently than you? Me, I'd probably buy another polish from Tony Moly if the color is so unusual. But for now, I think I might try out other polishes

So coffeeholics, what do you think? Do you have a Tony Moly Nail Polish? How was your experience? Oh and any tips on "saving" your nearly dried up polish? Do share!

Hope you have a great week! Mwah!
Kai

Monday, August 22, 2011

Giveaway Winner Announced!

Wow. My blog title is a mouthful! And yes I am as much as excited as you are in choosing the winner. So much so that I set aside some important work stuff that I can do at home to be able to check all entries and choose the winner of this giveaway! Yihee! Mukang ako ang excited dito.. hehe. Anyway as a recap, here is what the winner of my giveaway will get:


1. Dogtag Necklace by DETAILS - SM Accessories.
(Gift that I got. Never been used.)
2. Red Wallet - M.I.C. - SM Accessories.
3. Red Ring - M.I.C. by SM Accessories
4. Hair Clip - M.I.C. by SM Accessories
5. Vavalicious Perfume by Tomato
I got this during the Launching of the Tomato Fragance Line Event.
I haven't used it yet because I had really planned on using this for a giveaway!
6. Bath & Body Works Peach Citrus Body Lotion (2 fl oz)
7. Bath & Body Works Nectarine Mint Pocket Bac anti-bacterial hand gel (1 fl oz)
Why Bath and Body Works? They have been my favorite lotion brand ever since I can remember.
I love their  products and have plenty enough to share it with you all!
8. Purple Earrings bought during BU from Earth
9. Tony Moly Nail Polish 

10.  Mystery item. Not included in the pic.
Promise this is a good one! Partner siya ng isang item dito. hihi!

So I will stop torturing you with all these delays and get on with the announcement.
Using random.org, I generated a number from 1 to 339 and got 

NUMBER 79

and number 79 is...


CONGRATULATIONS TO LADY MISHEL!
I emailed you already and just need your snail mail details. 

As for the rest of you my dear coffeeholics thank you for joining.
I am so happy and blessed coz now I have 118 followers as well.
Hopefully I will be able to host another giveaway soon! 

Hope you all have a wonderful week and thanks for all the love! Mwah!

Saturday, August 20, 2011

Sale Alert: SM Accessories PRIVADO SALE at SM CUBAO



Hey Coffeeholics, SM Accessories is currently having their four-day luxury sale of branded eyewear, watches, and jewelry at SM Cubao Department Store. Don't miss out on this amazing PRIVADO Sale that features items from over 60 hot brands, like D&G, Escada, CK, Guess, Esprit, Rayban, Prada, Tommy Hilfiger, Citizen, Police, Timex and more.


This promo is up to 50% off and if you are an SM Advantage Card Holder, SM Prestige, or BDO Rewards card holder, you get an additional 20% discount! 0% of up to 6 months on a minimum 3,000 purchase with major credit cards. So coffeeholics, do drop by SM CUBAO and avail of this Privado sale! Happy Shopping! Mwah!

Meet up and Giveaways

Hi dears! I know I have been missing in action for quite some time. I apologize. What was more frustrating was the fact that its only a day to go for my giveaway and I wasn't able to promote it much this week. To make a long story short, our internet connection at our home went dead for several days and it took a while before FINALLY it was restored. If you are my Twitter follower you probably were aware of my drama and frustrated sporadic tweets this week. But anyway, all is well now and I am just happy that we have dsl again. I don't think I want to be offline for THIS long. I missed blogging definitely!

Anyway there are several things that happened during my absence which are noteworthy:

Me with Gel. Grabbed this from Gel here. TY sis!

1. BONDING TIME with beauty blogger Gel from So Gelleesh! Oh yeah! This time we went to Trinoma then to SM North and had dinner at Army Navy and dessert at Gong Cha. During dinner, we met up with Jen and Sofi as well. We plan to meet up on a weekly basis! Wanna have fun hanging out with us? Follow me, Gel, or Jen on twitter to find our whereabouts. We will be hanging out at the NORTH area.

Sorry for the poor quality of the photo. Just took it using my cellphone cam.

2. I FINALLY bought the TONY MOLY Nail Polish that will be part of the prize of MY GIVEAWAY. I chose this violet/lavender one coz I super duper like it! I love how it sparkles and just looking at that particular shade of lavender makes me feel so refreshed and envious of the lucky winner! I haven't bought one for myself yet coz I'm prioritizing my funds for the winner first. So if you haven't joined my giveaway which ends in less than 24 hours, YOU STILL HAVE TIME TO JOIN! I will close my giveaway at 11:59 PM today. DON'T MISS OUT on a chance to get awesome prizes.

Photo Credit from Paxie's Blog Drowning Equilibriums.
Don't they look just divine?
Boots galore at Chocolate Schubar .
3. I joined Paxie's 1st GRAND BIRTHDAY GIVEAWAY! This time Paxie with Chocolate Schubar will be giving 2 ladies a chance to get their own pair of FREE SHOES from Chocolate Schubar. Not only that, you also get to meet Paxie and choose the shoes with her. Isn't that awesome? Contest will end on August 23 so don't miss out and join her giveaway!

So coffeeholics, how have you all been so far? Hope you have a happy weekend!

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Vitress Hair Solutions - Hair Cuticle Coat


I was at Glam Camp when I saw this and I am reminded of my adventures and experiments that I did with my hair. Haha. Maybe one day I will post the different hair adventures I've been through. But I'm not gonna focus on that today. Let me first introduce you to my hair:

Dry hair in the morning makes me one  unhappy girl! 
BACK STORY muna: I have a combination of dry-oily hair. In other words, my hair in the morning is a bit dry and sometimes fizzy. Each day, when I arrive in school, my hair has gone through an hour's worth of air pollution it goes through as I commute to work with semi-wet hair. I know its awful!

That's my hair morphing to the "greasy" stage. Especially on the bangs and crown area.


Then as the day turns to the afternoon, my hair starts to become stringy and greasy. Sadly, by night time, I look like a drowned rat or a "basang sisiw" (wet chick? hahaha sounds weird when I translate it in english!) because of the level of oil in my hair. This is most especially true whenever I condition my hair. (So I try to not do it as often as possible.) I have also tried cuticle hair coats and have had good and bad experiences with it. But I tend to switch brands because somehow I still couldn't achieve the effect of shiny, healthy looking hair all day long (because of the oiliness). I've tried several but the one that I brought with me to the U.S. last year was Vitress Hair Cuticle CoatHeat Protect. 

The one I brought with me to the U.S. is the one with the big pump!
Since I knew the change of humidity will wreak havoc to my hair, I knew I had to have something to tame them. So I brought Vitress Hair Cuticle Coat with me. I chose the one with Heat Protect coz I knew I'd also be blow drying my hair a lot. I swear it made a difference! I'm so glad I brought it with me. 


So how did Vitress help me out in my dilemma? 
Here's what I learned so far in the months I've been using this:

Kaisensei Likes:

1. Vitress Hair Cuticle Coat has two kinds of packaging. A big one with a pump and a small one for travel. (The small one is quite handy and I always have one in my bag.)
2. The product's viscosity is just right. Meaning, its not too runny or too thick. You can control the amount you want by squeezing the small tube.
3. When poured on hand, it feels light and not sticky.
4. A small amount of Vitress Hair Cuticle Coat (like the size of a penny or a 5 centavo in our currency) is sufficient enough for medium to long hair. But you can apply more especially if you have thick hair.
4. The fragrance of the product is delightful! When applied, you can really smell it and its not overpowering but just good enough to make you feel good. 
5. After applying it on hair, a noticeable visual difference takes place. It tames some of the general fizziness of your hair. It doesn't give you a 100% "relaxed" or "rebond" look but you can definitely see improvement.
6. When you run your hands through your hair, the tangles are definitely lessened and its now silky smooth (not oily!) to the touch.
7. It is very affordable compared to other hair cuticle coats in the market.

SEE THE DIFFERENCE!

Before Vitress

After Vitress!

Before Vitress

After Vitress!

                                             
Kaisensei disLikes:


My only negative comment would be about the pump feature of the bigger bottle. It makes it hard to control how much product you want and I hate wasting it.

Kaisensei Tips: 

1. Before you use it, rub the product first on your palm. This will help spread Vitress evenly on your hair.
2. Run your fingers through the lower portion of your hair FIRST. The tips of your hair needs most of the protection that Vitress Hair Cuticle Coat provides.
3. When there is only a very small portion left of product in your hands, that is the time you address the fizziness of your hair. Especially the crown area.
4. To avoid getting that greasy look like mine, avoid putting product on your crown area. But if you really have to (or want to because of the current greasy hair, pat your hair lightly with whatever Vitress Cuticle Hair Coat is left on your palm. Especially if you want to tame the little hairs sticking out of your hair.

Check this out!









Kaisensei Says:
Since I have a combo of dry and oily hair, what I do is that I don't put conditioner on my hair anymore especially during the rainy season. The level of humidity in the air increases the tendency for it to get oily. So I don't put conditioner anymore and just use Vitress Hair Cuticle Coat instead. But during summer, I do condition my hair if not daily or at least every other day. My favorite Vitress Hair Cuticle Coat right now is the Vitress Hair Repair Cuticle Coat (blue one). Mainly because I love its fragrance compared to the others. In the picture below, the red Vitress Hair Cuticle Coat is their regular product.



Would I recommend this product? YES I would. Especially to people who have very dry hair. Plus its very affordable and you can buy it at your nearest HBC store, Mercury Drugstore, and Landmark.


                                       
                                                            With Vitress! And I'm wearing my ELF makeup thanks to Diane!  


Kaisensei Rate: 9/10

Disclaimer: This is NOT a sponsored review but a personal one. I was not paid or compensated for this product review. All info is based from my personal experience. 

P.S. Hey coffeeholics! Have you liked my Kaisensei's FB Page yet? If you haven't please do and drop by! Would really appreciate it. Also, Vitress has their own FB Page! Be updated and like VITRESS now!