To cut or not to cut?

I'm as fickle as it gets when it comes to cutting my hair. I am very much aware that hair grows back in no time but i keep on thinking whether i shall regret the change or not. Surprisingly, i also share the same ill feeling towards not cutting my hair. I have no idea what i want T____T. All i know is that right now there's this tiny voice that keeps on bugging me to just get it over with and chop everything off. I have to pacify that tiny voice or else i won't get any peace of mind. Sigh..

My hair's still pretty long though i had id cut twice in the last year, it used to be an inch below my navel, pretty long right? Anyway so right now i'm deliberating whether i should get a much shorter hair like these:

I was told by a lot of my friends that i look like Kevin in this picture~ ♥ (right); so i tried his hairstyle on me 

on some online makeover thingy (left).. it doesn't look bad, doesn't it? It might suit me...? xD

or is this too short? hmm..

or to cut it off gradually. Trimming's not one of the choice though, cause then i wont be changing by hairstyle at all. Truth be told i was even bribed by my father to cut my hair (it has to be as short as Kevin's hair though). Of course, I couldn't say no to the $100 but i don't think i could put up with the really short hair just yet. I know that i'm probably not making any sense here and that i keep on contradicting myself, but that's cause its just too hard for me to decide. Anyway so here are the other styles that i have in mind right now..

Yup this is Chai right here :D

Sangmi's hair~ :3

Highlights of my 2011!

I know that 2011 is now done and over with but i shall give it the rightful post that it deserves for it had truly been a wonderful year full of ups and downs all of which i'm grateful for. To be honest not too much happened seeing how i spent most of my time doing nothing at home, but i appreciate every little thing nevertheless, no matter how much i would contradict otherwise whenever i'm feeling down. LOL..

• I graduated college! BSN desu~ ^___^

• Last school activities i attended to..

• Vacation and trips with family and relatives.

• I passed the professional licensure exam and could now proudly put the initials RN after my name <3

• Fun training at Red cross

• Time with friends.

• My Family.. <3 

I would have wanted to post about the other stuff that happened too, but since my HD was broken i cant get hold of the other pictures there anymore :( sigh.. i hope it can still be repaired *prays*

My luck in the year 2012! :)

I was born on January 18, 1990 and i had always believed that i was born in the year of the Horse ever since i was young.. but a few years back this old Chinese friend of my mom had told me that i was born in the year of the Snake instead. It didn't make sense to me until i realized that Chinese new year starts sometime on February so me being born on January still includes me as being born on the year of the snake. :)

Anyway, i research on my supposed luck as i do every start of the year. I don't think its bad to believe in this things more so if it predicted that i'll have an awesome upcoming year. I just wont let it get to me if the predictions are bad :). hehe.. I hid the various predictions i got from the internet under the cut because they were so LOOOONG xD.  I included the URL as well if anyone might want to check their fortunes in 2012 too :)).

My first contact lens ever! / EOS Puffy 3 tone Hazel

I had always wanted to try wearing contact lens but i was forever afraid to cause i have something against putting anything in my eye :/. But last week i eventually worked up the courage to buy one for myself (i actually had my friend order for the both of us because the mailman can't seem to find our house all the time). We bought from Japanese Candy because they were having a promo on their on hand contacts, buy 1 take 1 for Php700, and they seem legit seeing how Tricia and Crissey didn't really experience any weird effects on their sponsored lenses.

Anyway so last Saturday my friend received the package and i got my pair from her the day after. I think we ordered it on about Tuesday or Wednesday? Then she sent the money the day after.. the transaction went smoothly in my opinion and the shipping was pretty fast too and the items were packaged very well. The only complaint i have with them was that they didn't include the 80 ml solution that was suppose to be free if you buy 2 pairs of contacts plus they dont really answer your questions well, i mean if you ask them 3 questions in one message they would answer 1 then you ask them the 2 questions again then they would just answer only one question AGAIN.. (was that confusing? XD) and that itself was really annoying if you ask me, but other than that everything was okay.

I didn't get to take a picture of the whole package but as you can see here

 the lens were neatly packed in bubble wrap. Safe for shipping~ <3 

How the lens look inside the bottle~ pretty~ :33 

I got mine in plano :) and i chose brown so that it'd look natural on me :P

So to start it off i read Pinky Paradise's guide on how to wear and care for the lenses because i seriously had no idea seeing that this is my first time. Their guide was pretty informative and has directions for just about anything concerning the lens. I also watched a bunch of videos from Youtube just so i can see how it was really done on actual and not just read about it. :) Everything was really helpful but i still had a hard time putting these in. I think it took me about 3 hours? (i didn't even exaggerate.. >__>) I was so annoyed that i can't get them inside that i was almost close to giving up. Well, good thing i didn't because it eventually paid off. *sigh of relief* HAHAHA---> too happy XD

This is how they look without flash..

With flash~ still pretty natural right?

ENLARGEMENT- below is a comparison of with and without. It does enlarge the eyes as you can see~ I almost didn't recognize myself when i looked in the mirror~ XD *ignorant first timer* LOL.. This lens is 14.5mm btw :)

COMFORT- Id say that these were pretty comfortable to wear, but it does take a bit of getting used to. During the first few minutes i had that feeling that there's something inside my eye and a bit prickly too, but it eventually wore off and it wasn't painful as i thought it would be. I haven't tried wearing it for more than an hour yet so i'm not sure how long i can wear this before i feel any discomfort (because i was afraid that it'd get dry and stuff, and im not sure if i can use my multipurpose sol'n as lubricant or if i do have to buy a lubricant.. *rant rant rant* :P)

DESIGN- It looks really natural :) but they were pretty obvious seeing how my eyes looked bigger than normal.

It also came with a free lens case btw :)

Overall, im really happy that i got these as my first lens! :) I'll try to wear them a lot more so i'd get used to them. Hopefully it won't be so hard for me to put them in the next time i try. Sorry this post got so long~ :)

Nivea's daily winner desu~!

Weeeeeeeeeeee~!!! *twirls endlessly* I just visited Nivea Philippines' facebook earlier to see who won the Face Affair challenge and i suddenly saw my name as one of their daily winners!! proof here: 

I wrote about Nivea's Face Affair challenge in one of my previous posts and i did mention that i wont enter because they already might have picked the winners, but they still haven't as it turns out so i submitted my entry afterall. Of course i would have wanted to win the grand prize but then i probably would be too nervous with the photoshoot and meeting my favorite bloggers and all so i guess a part of me is still happy that i didn't and I still won anyway didn't i? <3 

What makes me happy the most is that i won though my entry was sent in days late (they gave me a chance to still send in mine because the submission thingy wasn't working right when i was going to send it, thus i wasn't able to send through the deadline) and because i wasn't expecting anything at all! The picture i sent was pretty fail too! I just took it myself so it was in a weird angle.. lol.. I'M JUST REALLY HAPPY~ ^___________^ Thank you Nivea Philippines~ 

Here's the fail picture that i sent.. XD I should've just asked my friend to take a photo of me, 

then maybe i could've won.. LOL.. asa pa.. XD

Congratulations to Daphne who won the Fair Affair challenge! ^__^ Her picture is wayyyyy

better compared to mine.. lol.. my Nivea's larger though.. xP <3

They announced this a few hours ago and i don't have an idea how to claim the prize, no instructions about that yet *shrug*. Maybe they'll send us an email about it later. ^__^v

Human heart Nature's Sunflower oil

A few months ago i came upon a post about Human heart nature's Sunflower Beauty oil and got intrigued by it so i went off and bought myself one. I didn't think that these were sold on the malls here except in some and to save myself the travel and difficulty in trying to find it myself i bought it online. Its available in Human Heart Nature's online store if you guys also wanna buy :). 

Human Heart Nature is a local brand that utilizes organic and natural raw materials/ingredients that are also locally available. They're owned by Gandang Kalikasan a company whose principles are Pro-Philippines, Pro-Poor and Pro-Environment. Seeing the good intentions of the company makes me want to support them more :). Their products are locally manufactured and are also exported to the US.

Anyway so, their sunflower oil had this description:

"Radiant, soft skin touched by the sun! Our premium, cosmetic-grade Sunflower Beauty oil is packed with vitamins A, D & E to help fight wrinkles and naturally protect skin from infections and irritants. Best applied to the sensitive under-eye area. Many customers, including our Global Ambassador, Hollywood actress Rachel Grant, use this a make-up remover too. And due to Sunflower oil's properties, it can also help lighten dark circles under eyes and even stretch marks with daily use! A final tip - Rachel Grant likes to take a drop of it, rub it all over her palms then run her hands through her hair to add healthy-looking shine and vigor to her hair every morning. Is there anything our Beauty Oil can't do?!"

It is purely made of Helianthus annuus (Sunflower) seed oil and no harsh synthetic chemicals included. It had  received plenty of good reviews/ testimonials in the site that's why i was so eager to buy it when i learned about it. I know its been a few months since i've bought it but to tell you the truth i only religiously used it for a less than a month, then used it lesser and lesser after. I use it when i notice its there, not because i didn't like it or anything but just because i forget it is there most of the time *fail*. 

I never experienced any allergic reactions while using it and i've noticed that it does help in making the skin smooth if you use it on rough areas like the elbows and knees for example. I also use it as make up remover from time to time. All i can say is that it does its job but not in the whitening part. It didn't really lessen/ whitened my blemishes and also some parts of my body that i wanted to lighten. A lot of people who reviewed it would swear by its whitening properties, but i guess it does just doesn't work on me. Oh well, its different for everybody anyway and i shouldve tried it for more than a month or so if i wanted solid result.

Okay so as i said before this is available at HHN's webstore. It was in its old price of 129.75 when i bought it, but it seems that they're having a promo this month so they lessened the price (its now 119.75). Go buy it there now if you wanna avail of the promo :). The shipping was only Php 40.oo (locally of course) and it came nicely packed it a box when i got it, I forgot to take a picture of it though.

I'll try to use it more whenever i can.. ^^

Nature Republic's Tea Tree Mask Sheet

I went to Nature Republic for the first time last month and sadly that has been the only time i've been there. That may have been due to the fact that the products i purchased from last time are still left untouched. I am so lazy that i never bothered to even open the boxes much less to try them (yes, even the nail polishes!). So tonight as i spot a few pimples on my face i decided to try the Tea Tree Mask Sheet since it was suppose to help prevent and dry out pimples and all. I don't really do reviews and its not like i have hoards of readers reading this blog (i probably don't even have one except for myself) and so i intend this all to be for my own personal information, but feel free to read through everything.

This mask sheet was one of the Given by Nature series of NR's face mask line. Given by nature has tons of different masks to choose from, there's about 9-10 if i'm correct, all of which are nature/ plant based. This certain mask costs about Php65, pretty cheap compared to the other masks and perfect for use twice in a week.

Here's the list for the other Given by Nature line masks and its benefits. And according to this, Tea tree's benefit was to keep the skin smooth and blemish free.

Instructions on how to use the mask, well basically you just stick it on your face after opening the package, but do make sure to clean/ wash your face prior to this (click the picture for a larger view), and let it sit there for about 10-15 minutes. Ingredients were written in the back of the package as well. I was glad to find that it was written in English because this is a Korean brand as you know. Its such a relief that i can understand something out of all the Korean stuff that's written in there, makes me feel a lot comfortable about using it i guess. And besides that was a good move since they're going international after all. 

This is how it looks on me after i wore it (forget about the eyes and lips, i wasn't ready to show the world my not so glorious face just yet LOL *shy*). The mask itself was pretty thin and was sticking to me like a second skin when i put it on. The material it was made from easily ripped though when i tried to really rip it (yeah it was intentional~) but that wasn't such a bad thing, its not like its reusable and at least it would easily be recycled. It held on like the good mask that it was til the end anyway. 

The mask didn't have such a good fit on me though, but i understand that it was because it was standard for all the shape of face that one can think of. It was still good nevertheless and it was big enough to modify to fit your face anyway, that's why i ripped it in the first place.

It has a barely there scent, of tea tree perhaps or whatever, which was a good thing because it makes the mask even more tolerable to wear (not that it isn't). I even tried smelling the inside of the package itself because i was wondering whether they put any scent on it, it was that mild! 

I didn't really like the feeling that it gave me after i took it off. You know the feeling of having a slime off your face but you're not suppose to take it off? I had really wanted to wash my face after but endured for a few minutes then just proceeded to wipe it off (the better option than washing and take off all the good products) because it was taking too long to dry and i hate the icky feeling. My face felt better after, smooth even! A bit on the oily side though but we all know it wasn't really oil, but the tea tree solution (it does feel a bit that way though). Didn't find major changes like having all my pimples gone and stuff but what do you expect? It doesn't work that way.. LOL..

PROs:

• its cheap
• its tea tree~ who doesn't like tea tree right?
• the mask is thin (but it holds all the tea tree goodness nevertheless) 
• very mild scent
• comfortable to wear
• English instructions at the back
• leaves the face feeling smooth

CONs:

• icky feeling after taking it off, people who uses masks regularly probably go through this all the time.

WOULD  I REPURCHASE?

Probably, if i weren't too lazy. 

You must know that i categorize the 'would i repurchase' part as: 

• Something i would get in a heartbeat. (Pretty understandable right?)
• Probably, if i weren't too lazy (Which means that i like it, but not enough to make me want to buy it for all eternity. Would repurchase only if i feel like it.)
• Ugh, NO. (Yeah you get the point..)

Laurita's CHOO CHOO giveaway! :D

I had always loved using planners that why i was very excited when i saw Laurita's giveaway for this month because she's giving away planners~! A very cute one at that, and not to mention that i really adore cats~ nyaa~ hihi.. :D There are 3 planner covers to choose from (the inside is pretty much the same in each of them according to her) and all you have to do to join is follow the rules! Simple isn't it? If you guys want to join too you can head over to her very pretty blog~ 

Looking at the pictures above makes you want to join right? LOL so go join now and start your year right with these planners~ :) Feel free to go over her posts and do check out out her wide range of Japanese and Korean magazines up for download too. *twirls*

CREDITS: All pictures above are taken from laurita.ch :)

BRAIN

Last Monday i surfed channels to find an interesting show to watch and i always i stopped by KBS to see their new drama for Monday and Tuesday, cause i knew that Poseidon was already over. I once saw the commercial for the new drama but i never paid it much attention, i just knew that it was a medical drama. Anyway so since medical dramas had always fascinated me (except american ones), i gave watching it a try and i absolutely liked it! So since i knew that it was going to be shown again last night i watched it again too and realized that its not just another serious medical drama but that it has a love story within it too! <3 I decided that this is going to be one of my new favorite dramas this season (along with Ojakgyo family <3; for some reason KBS Dramas always turns out to be one of my favorite.)

I searched for it earlier and i learned that its onto its 7th Episode in Korea (3rd episode in KBS world) and i saw some spoilers for the other episode too~ (NOOOOOHHH.. T___T) but then i just liked the drama a lot more because of it too.. hehehe.. xD Spoilers:

More info about it @ AsianMediaWiki; but basically its description there is the summary of the 1st episode, not a complete one though. Btw, i realized that the cute guy "Park Hoon" from Lie to me was in there too~ (that's what made me stop @ KBS in the first place.. lol..)

Random things from Divisoria

So last Friday my mom and i finally went to Divisoria after weeks of rescheduling and cancelling it (she pretends to be busy everytime *shrug*). We went on a weekday to avoid the crowd, cause you know how it is there during the Christmas season and yet there were still a handful of people when we arrived, most of which probably had the same thinking as us. We just went to shop, but not for gifts (as much as i'd like to) because our religion doesn't celebrate Christmas.. but shopping is like giving a gift to yourself anyway so i dont really mind.. xD Didn't take pictures of the clothes i bought since i lack fashion sense O__O, LOL.. nobody would be interested in what i wear.. :B

Saw this totally cute and colorful bracelet and immediately bought it! I like it so much that I've 

been wearing it eversince~! lol.. nevermind my hairy arms~ haha..

I don't know what this type of glasses are called.. Its not a wayfarer right? oh well, i don't really

care anyhow.. hehe.. really cheap and pretty cool too!

Thought this is really cute so bought it too :D and yeah this is a fake.. lol.. a person whose as

broke and poor as i am won't really go for pricey branded stuff *cheapskate* HAHA..

How it is inside.. the zipper seems sturdy enough to me and its got pockets inside w/c will

help organize my things.. :D

Our 'trip' to Divisoria was ended earlier than expected and we had to go home early cause my little brother (its a Friday remember?) would come home from school in the afternoon.. My mom told me that we'd just go again next week to buy some of the stuff that we weren't able to buy, i don't know if that will happen though.. my mom always say things but never do them, well most of the time anyway.. won't get my hopes up.. or i could just bug my mom into going next week.. lol..

New card readers~ :D

Bought new card readers cause my old ones are already broken~.. T__T As usual i bought them from CD-R King again because our Sony memory card only works with them (lost the cable.. :/).. and they're really cheap too! :) for less than a Php 100.00, was able to buy two~ :)

Nivea's Face Affair Challenge

A few weeks ago i learned that Nivea Philippines is going to have a Face Affair contest and i decided to join, but somehow i can't find their acne oil control anywhere! Good thing i went to SMF a day before the deadline and found it there. I was late in submitting my entry because i had to buy a new card reader (old one suddenly doesn't want to work). Anyway so during the last few hours when i was trying to submit my entry, the interface just wont stop 'processing' and it kept on being like that til past midnight. In the end i ended up not being able to submit anything at all. 

The next day i saw on this one post on Nivea's wall that we could send in our entry to their email but i never bothered to send mine since it was way past the deadline.. i guess it was my fault for not seeing that certain comment (the one from the girl having the same issues as i was) so i just commented about not knowing about how we could sent through email. Earlier (few days had passed since my comment) they replied that i send my concerns to their email. I sent them an email about it, but i dont think that it would be of any use since they already probably picked a winner *shrug*. They told me that they would consider what i said, i sent another email saying that they dont need to consider anything since i wasn't able to pass my entry anyway. I have no idea on what they'll tell me or if they would even reply to me again, but i don't really care either way. I never hoped to win anything anyway, haha.. i just want to join just for the sake of joining. :D No hard feelings here.. :)

Self-help books

I've suddenly become interested in self help books, so when i passed by National Bookstore a week ago i decided to get myself some. There was a lot to choose from and most of them were cheap especially the local ones. Hopefully i wont be too busy to read them nor get tempted to use the internet that often (which is what usually happens.. lol..)

As you can see i bought 3 of them, I felt like i needed these books to guide me in my life :P lol..

 The summary at the back of the book (i know it isn't called summary, but i forgot the term~)

called on to me~ i felt like it was talking about me so i decided to go for this too.. and its only

Php165.00! Most books of this type usually retail for 200.00+ 

Not your ordinary money saving self-help book! lol.. xD Only Php 50.00 :D

Because i need to learn on how to properly relate to people~ *social recluse here*

This book is only Php108.00 btw..

I covered these books before taking pictures of them = shiny + light and camera reflection, it never occured to me to take pictures first.. xD oh well..

Oh, and i got myself a 2012 calendar too! only Php 50.00~ and it also has different verses for 

each day! <3 I put the dreamcatcher that i got from Camiguin over it too.. :D