Wanna go to Hawaii? Grab a pair of Havaianas!

Havaianas is launching a year-long campaign called "Always Summer: Race to Hawaii". It's an adventure-race for two-member teams and they have to complete summer tasks to win their way to an all-expense-paid-trip to Hawaii! Where it's summer every day!

Mechanics below:

Filipino residents, 18 years old and above, fit to travel and engage in physical activities can join the contest by purchasing two pairs of Havaianas from February 4 2011 to March 27, 2011. This single-receipt purchase merits one scratch card that contains a unique code the participants can use to register in the website (www.havaianassummer.com).

All registered participants get a chance to win fun and fabulous prizes from partner brands like Sony, David & Goliath and Havaianas in the weekly draws, as well as the exclusive slots in the “Always Summer: Race to Hawaii” contest.

Regional legs will take place simultaneously all over the country and the top 20 teams will be flown to Boracay for the finals leg. All 20 teams will again compete in a series of summer tasks and the best time wins that trip to the beautiful islands of Hawaii. 

Grab your partner and lesgow join! Best place to wear your favorite pair of Havies and bikinis!

(thanks to stylebible.ph)

Design a Smile winner is...

12-year old Meghan Sevilla

Among 200 entries, Meghan's design tops them all. Take a closer look...

According to the judges, her design is the most creative and the one that embodies the theme "What makes you smile?". And also it does say happiness all over, which is what Havaianas is all about. Her design will be produced and sold in stores. Portion of the proceeds will go to Operation Smile Philippines for their continuing advocacy to give all children with cleft palate a chance to smile!

Brush It Clean!

My officemates thinks I'm overly kikay because: 1) I carry with me a 12-piece make-up brush set to work, 2) I have a bagful of make-up everyday, and 3) I have a brush cleaner in my kit and I clean my brushes regularly.

my Charm 12-piece brush set with pouch I use for office and travel

While they find me OC, I find it weird they never thought of cleaning their brushes. I tell them it doesn't take much to clean their brushes. Personally I use Johnson's Baby Shampoo and I try to clean it weekly. Just put some shampoo in warm water and build suds. Soak the brushes for a couple of hours. Before rinsing I like doing one last soaping of the bristles, swirl the bristles on your palm. I lay them on paper towels for drying.

If I don't have time to clean them - or I'm too lazy to do it, I use brush cleaners.

Beauty Bar Brush Cleaner (left) and Ellana Oil Free Brush Cleaner with Tea Tree (right)

At home I have the Beauty Bar Brush Cleaner and when I'm on the go, I bring my Ellana Oil Free Brush Cleaner which I got as a gift. Both works well, Ellana just smells better. Just spray on the bristles and brush off on paper towel. 

Girls, make an effort to clean your tools. After all you use it on your face. Clean brushes hold make up better. More importantly, you prevent bacteria from breeding in your brushes and make-up as well.

(p.s. Charms make-up brushes bought online at Beauty & Minerals)

Bed Time Ritual

I can't go to sleep without taking a shower. And I'm so maarte when it comes to my bed time ritual. I have my creams and even put baby cologne. Well, I added these to my night time favorites...

Johnson's Baby Bedtime Lotion and Powder supposedly helps you sleep better. Ummm, hasn't helped me in that department but it does make me smell really good! It's soothing and calming too.

I also use it on my baby boy hoping it will calm him. No such luck! But again, makes him yummy to cuddle!

Peace Please

Praying for those who died or got hurt. Praying for the families probably still waiting for them.

Praying for a peaceful country.

Work and Play

Work and Play by Blairbitch featuring snake jewelry

Lazy Sunday

Lazy Sunday by Blairbitch featuring platform wedge shoes

Why I Blog

My blogger friend, Manila Fashion Observer (MFO) blogged about the perils of paying bloggers to write good reviews about products and services. And today this article on Inquirer (read article for full story) comes out eliciting good and not-so-good reactions on Twitter - Blogging used as a money-making tool. 

It's hard to judge the article and the characters involved and the veracity of the facts. But personally I have this to say on why I blog:

I started blogging seven years (YES! SEVEN YEARS!) ago because I really love to write and writing in my journal wasn't enough anymore. I was in grad school and needed a "creative outlet", which led me to blogging. After all, we had internet access 24/7 in school and I was staying in the dorm. My blogs, if you care to visit my archives, were more personal back then. My take on relationships, personal experiences and basically, LIFE, was my usual topic. Although I did occasionally touch on fashion and beauty too.

It was only three or maybe two years ago that I decided to focus my blogs on fashion, beauty and entertainment. Maybe it was age, but I didn't want to put too much personal stuff anymore online. Or I guess certain life-changing events prompted me to lie-low on topics about ME.

Nevertheless, the whole time I blogged, I was not paid anything. Although I contributed an article in another blog and got paid for it, but on my own, I never received anything - money, products or services. Meaning, all that you see here is free marketing and promotion.

I blog because I enjoy sharing my discoveries. My audience is meager compared to others, and they're probably mostly my friends, but I feel fulfilled when a reader thanks me for recommending something because of what I wrote. Most of the time I blog for myself, not thinking whether someone would actually read it or not. And I'm not famous, never been featured in any magazine or broadsheet. Not that I crave for recognition. This is just something I do because I can.

I am a blogger. I am no journalist. I hope that this won't be taken away from me. Or from us who just blog because... well, just because we like doing it. 

Care from the Top

The change of weather always makes my scalp dry and flaky. Icky right?! But just like my skin that needs extra moisturizing during colder weather, my scalp needs extra TLC too. 

A week ago I read a tweet from Xeng Xulueta, make-up artist and beauty expert (I super look forward to her Beauty Picks every Thursdays!), about Purederm's Hair Masks. Since I was in bad need of hair treatment, I decided to go to Watson's and check it out. 

The Hair Masks come in different variants:

This is the one I got. "Designed to instantly heat up and protect scalp & hair. It activates with water to smooth cuticle and improves the texture of hair by providing therapeutic heat. Rich in Tea Tree Extract & Vitamin E with re-texturizing properties, they provide incomparable silkiness and suppleness from the very first application." I have tried it twice and in five-day intervals and so far hair and scalp feels good. And it really is hot on the hands! Was surprised about that. And the more you rub between your hands, the more it heats up.

"A Specially formulated hair treatment that provides the energy and radiance necessary to restore the beauty of hair weakened by coloring, bleaching and perming. Enriched with Honey, Grapefruit, Sweet Almond and Shea Butter, this richly textured creamy mask delivers deep nourishment to the hair shaft and works to smooth the hair scales in order to fix color and enhance the spring of curly hair."

"Enriched with Chamomile Extract, Rosemary Extract and other ingredients, it ‘s a rich treatment for frizzy, damaged and unruly hair. With its creamy texture and delicate scent, the mask penetrates at the heart of the hair to nourish and repair frizzy & curly hair."

"It’s a rich and creamy treatment designed to hydrate and revitalize dry hair. Jojoba Oil, Peppermint, Olive Fruit Oil and other botanical ingredients are chosen for their gentleness and remarkable compatibility with the hair’s natural characteristics. Known for its regenerative, emollient properties, Jojoba Oil moisturizes dry hair leading the way to nourished,healthy hair. With continued use, your hair becomes revitalized, shiny and more manageable."

These are all available in Watson's for about P89 only and one pack is good for one use. Was quite satisfied with the variant I chose. Also saw this one in Watson's...

Desperate for relief for my itchy scalp, I got this one too. This one is about P150-P160 I think. I use this everyday after shampoo and conditioner. 

Scalp is also skin, just on the head, so it needs the same moisturizing our skin needs. Regular hot oil treatment is recommended but for busy people like me, home treatments like these are great help. 

MAC + WONDER WOMAN

OMG! I really should put this down on my planner and line up on the first day it comes out here in the Philippines. The last collection, Disney Villain, I totally missed completely.

The epitome of girl power in the 70's was Wonder Woman, played by Lynda Carter. Way before the other female superheroes came out, she was the IT girl. 

And now MAC pays homage by coming out with MAC Wonder Woman Collection Spring 2011. 

The theme of the whole collection revolved around Wonder Woman's basic colors of red, blue and yellow . 

Pigments

Eyeshadow Pallete

Opulash Mascara (see the shades?)

now for the lips...

Lipglass

Mineralize Skinfinish

Nail lacquers

Aside from the awesome shades that adds "kapow!"... the packaging is a must to keep. From the different articles I read online, this collection will come out 10th of February 2011 in the US and March 2011 to the rest of the world - I hope including Philippines.

It's raining MEN!

This time it's the men's turn. While it's so easy to look good in a tux, I still think these guys rocked it! 

Always the ultimate hottie! Brad Pitt in Tom Ford

Jake Gyllenhall in Burberry

Johnny Depp in Ralph Lauren Black Label

Robert Pattinson 

Justin Bieber with a new hairdo and D&G tux

Mark Salling

And the princess of the night winning best supporting actor in a t.v. series...

Chris Colfer

Golden Globe 2011 Red Carpet: Love it or Hate it?

Did you watch the Golden Globes last night? Do you love what the stars were wearing? Or do you hate it? Here's the rundown...

Angelina Jolie in a Swarovski-encrusted Atelier Versace. (Love it!)

Anne Hathaway also in a Swarovski-encrusted gown by Giorgo Armani Prive. (Love it!)

 Christina Aguilera in Zuhair Murad (Hate it!). Enough of the burlesque-look!

I love the simplicity of this dress. Claire Danes in Calvin Klein. (Love it! Obviously!)

Another Calvin Klein dress on Emma Stone. She gets an Easy "A" for it! (Love it!)

Eva Longoria in Zac Posen. (Love it!)

This is how teens should dress. Age-appropriate gown by Prabal Gurung (Love it!)

 Heather Morris showing her hot bod in a Lorena Sarbu gown. (Love it!)

I love that this gown by Ali Rahimi showed both strength and femininity on Jane Lynch. (Love it!)

January Jones in Versace, okay this one I'm on the fence. Love the color and the bottom part but not feeling the top. I don't know if it's sexy or sleazy.

Maybe it's the designer??? This is the second Zuhair Murad dress of the night I didn't like. (Definitely hate it!) It screams losyang! Like a ninang in a wedding would wear.

Lea Michele in Oscar dela Renta, I'm totally not feeling gleeful about this dress. (Hate it!)

I'm wondering if the sleeves are meant to look like it didn't fit well... I don't like this. Leighton Meester in Burberry Prorsum

She is really hot. Damn! Megan Fox in Giorgo Armani Prive. (Love her! Love the dress!)

For a moment during the show, when the camera scanned the crowd I thought she was Carrey Mulligan. When she stood up and I saw the whole dress, I was sorely disappointed! Michelle Williams wears Valentino Resort. Too old for her.

Maybe it's the rose applique but I don't like this on her. Although the cut of the dress goes well to compliment her baby bump, the rose was a distraction. Good thing she won Best Actress for Drama Movie that night. Natalie Portman in Viktor and Rolf. (Hate it!)

Maybe it's the body that makes this dress work. Naya Rivera in Douglas Hannant. (Love it!)

Nicole Kidman can probably wear a sack and still look good. She wears Prada. (Love it!)

Olivia Wilde in a Marchesa gown. Feel like Cinderella! (Love it!)

Sandra Bullock in Jenny Packham. I like it. Fits her personality. Looks easy to wear. (Love it!)

Some don't like this dress on her but I think it's nice. Scar Jo wears Elie Saab. (Love it!)

That rounds up my Golden Globes Red Carpet... How about you? Do you agree?