Presidentiable #2: MANNY VILLAR...Akala Mo!

Manny Villar, after his leave from the Senate President position, has been hounded of the C5 incident. But as all Filipinos do, we easily forget what happens and focus on the present instead!

Villar got something right though, a great PR manager.

He uses the "I-understand-you but we're the same" approach instead of Roxas' messiah stance. Very effective though because Villar has been gaining more nods in the polls. I personally like the ad, this is a youth friendlier take on his character, as opposed to what he released before when he recounted his experience of living in Tondo. In a span of 30 seconds, I want to vote for this guy just because of how he represents all sectors in his ads. Compare this with Roxas and how he only focuses on the urban poor sector.

Orange is Villar's color, it actually makes him stand out from other presidentiables who use the flag's usual colors of red, blue and white. 

Note this though, I'm not entirely going to the Villar camp until I know the real details of the C5 issue. But based on his ads, these are quite packing a punch and leaves a good impression to the audience.

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My first online order from YesAsia

I made my first ever online buy over at YesAsia last weekend, because I have been lusting over 2ne1's mini-album. Everyone knows that this will never be available in the Philippines, plus I do not know anyone who lives in Korea, so I went for it!

Here is proof of my order! I'm not loaded with money so I just chose Standard Shipping so as not to burden my pocket so much. It's expected to ship out on Aug. 4, 2009 and will be arriving around 6-14 days from that date.

I'm hoping for the best and based on the reviews, its a pretty reliable online shop. I'm excited to get the mini-album, many are raving about the cover art and how it's all worth it. Will update you guys if I finally get the album!

P.S. Readers, if in doubt with your YesAsia order, I suggest googling it and reading about other Filipinos' experiences :) If you're doubting whether to order online, there's a Korean bookstore in P.Burgos St., Makati (OK BOOKSTORE) that sells a lot of k-pop albums that are popular. And if the album you desire isn't there, you can place an order with them which they will get for you.

P.P.S. If you have really technical questions (credit card inquiries, etc), its best to ask YesAsia itself, they reply to your queries quickly so there's nothing to lose by first asking them.

P.P.S.S. YesAsia should give me free gifts for answering all your comments! Haha just kidding guys.

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My Top Facial Care Needs

I am a firm believer in word-of-mouth opinions about beauty products, so right now I want to contribute to this trend by sharing what I always put on my face. Yes, these have been tested by my own oily-faced self, therefore the list leans towards those who have the same skin as I do.

The products here are actually drugstore brands, since I'm a really cheap person when it comes to everyday use things.

1) Pond's Cold Cream

My "cure-all". I swear I have been using this thing every since I could hold a make-up brush. It has been a part of my cleansing regimen since time immemorial because it does remove everything on your face (ok not to the extent of the waterproof eyeliner, but it does its best)! I also like the fact that it does not leave your skin all dry and rough after taking away your make-up. I like getting the variant which has the lemon extract on it because I like anything that smells citrusy.

2) Clean & Clear Morning Burst Shine Control Facial Scrub

I discovered this facial scrub on my recent trip to the US and it has definitely changed my skin for the better. I always prefer using a scrub over a cleanser because my skin is so oily! I got instant results, my face actually shines less in pictures even without make-up. Seriously! I also love how it smells, since it has lemongrass and fruit extracts. It definitely perks me up in the morning, and believe me, I do need that.

3) Pond's Oil Control Toner

I unfortunately do not have a picture of this, but its easily available in supermarkets so I'm sure you guys will not have a hard time finding it. It comes in a blue bottle. This also absorbs all the oils retained in my face after washing, very gentle, doesn't leave my skin any harsh effects at all. (I also use its facial cleanser counterpart when I don't have the Clean & Clear)

4) Pond’s White Beauty Pinkish-White Glow Visible Lightening Lotion

Were you guys aware that the reason that the Pond's Pinkish White Beauty has a cream and lotion variants was because it catered to different types of skin? I honestly didn't, until I asked the saleslady at Landmark. The lotion is actually for oily skin while the cream is for normal to dry skin. I use this particularly and it doesn't feel heavy on my skin. It made my skin clear up in just a matter of weeks, and I received "glowing" comments from people. No kidding!

Anyway those are the top 4 products that I use on a daily basis. Care to share yours?

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Rip those Dante De Guzman posters NOW!!!

As a long-time resident of Quezon City (and part-time Makati), I have been constantly exposed to the various ways a politician uses to put his name out there to the voting public.

Please don't get me started on the bigger Barangay blue and orange signs that litter the corners of the roads. The person's name is actually bigger than the Barangay they are posting. Not only that, but sometimes its a totally unknown person who has his name up there. Who are you?

This has to start with Congresswoman Susano of District II, who brazenly puts up her name in steel letters upon a large arc before one enters Batasan. My dad actually insists that she uses her own money for it, but the thing is, I DON'T CARE. It is a huge eyesore. Take it down!

On the other hand, what irks me the most is a certain Councilor (otherwise known as DANTE DE GUZMAN) who blatantly fills up the entire city from Batasan to around West Avenue with posters of his face announcing his projects to the world. I don't mind if you announce your projects, but please remove your face and make the font of your name smaller. It's so beyond shameless.

Oh don't make me go into the posters he had for a boxing clinic or whatever. You see, I don't even remember what the project is because all I remember is his unclothed upper body and his gloves. Unbelievable!

Not too far behind is his relative, ARLENE DE GUZMAN, who has also resorted to his tactics of posting her picture everywhere. Their posters are making the city very unsightly. Someone should pass a law banning posters when it is not election season.

I am calling out to everyone to join the demand in asking to TAKE THESE DANTE DE GUZMAN POSTERS DOWN! RIP THEM, BURN THEM, VANDALIZE THEM! They pollute Quezon City and are undoubtedly expensive to produce. I know that I am not alone in this cause for I have stumbled upon a worthy group in Facebook who also support it. 

Or if you don't want to resort to these barbaric methods, just do not vote for him.

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John Lloyd: The Leading Man for the Leading Watch

John Lloyd Cruz (the only actor deserving of my undying love) has been launched as the newest endorser for Swatch. As the other blogs choose to scrutinize on the unfortunate outfit he chose to wear for the event (i.e. orange pants with even more orange shoes), I, as his true lover, will focus my attention to this video about the leading man and the leading watch.

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Remembering July 21, 1969: Gloria Diaz Shines Brighter than the Man on the Moon

In July 21, 1969, the world celebrated as images of the first man on the moon were broadcasted everywhere. Most were glued to their television sets, eagerly watching a new dawn for mankind.

Filipinos, however, were celebrating something else aside from this. Gloria Diaz, at 18, won the Philippines' first ever Miss Universe crown specifically after answering the question of "If the man on the moon should come down to Earth and visit your hometown, what would you do to entertain him?"

Enlightening the entire world with her quick response, Gloria Diaz said that she would offer the man on the moon a change of clothes, and perhaps a cup of coffee. Her charm made her win the hearts of the judges, earning her the coveted crown to her country's triumph.

How did the former beauty queen feel when she passed on her crown?

“Right that very minute onstage, I realized that nothing was permanent and that you were really, really replaceable. How can I ever teach that to my children? I don’t know. It’s very hard to have that awakening. As soon as I gave up my crown, I lost my limousine to the new winner. It’s a good thing that my mother had arranged for somebody to take us back to the hotel. They were still very nice to me but I was given 24 hours to vacate my room." (taken from Ricky Lo's FUNFARE article)

This line struck me the most because she speaks of what is mostly felt by most girls right now. The feeling of being replaceable is what haunts those whose confidence hangs in the balance, and of those who feel that they have to be different just because they have to.

I'm not going to be too optimistic here and say that no, you will always leave a mark on everyone in this world, nor will I harp the usual you-are-special speech. To be realistic, we are replaceable. A few decades from now the marks that we want to leave on earth such as our achievements, our wealth, our connections will all be forgotten. No matter how much we want to leave a legacy, it can only last so much as the memories of the people around us now do remember.

This will teach us all the value of humility. Too much pride in one's own self can make or break you, but knowing how to be humble and down-to-earth will always make one a better person. The fact that we can all relate to one another is a unifying factor: we might be replaceable, but we are never alone. Experience teaches us that everyone goes through what we do, and we must not be afraid to question and learn from those around us.

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Keeping the Park Clean: Park Jun's Beauty Lab

Talk about getting a hair-cut based on impulse alone! I would have to admit that I wasn't scheduled for my bi-monthly trim, nor did I even need it. But after hearing so many things about Park Jun's Beauty Lab, I just had to rush myself over and give it a try. I blame it entirely on the weather! The rain was depressing and I needed a little perk me-up.

As soon as you enter the salon, you are greeted by their warm and friendly Filipino staff who understand what it is you're exactly looking for. I brought my guy friend along so he could share the experience with me since he told me he needed a new place to get his hair cut. So after scanning the price list, (more like HAIR MENU since they give it to you inside a menu) he decided on letting Jinny Kim give him his 1st official Korean 'do, while I picked Kino Lee.

The salon is made up of two floors, an assistant leads you down a flight of stairs (past the VIP room where you can request for some private salon time) to the main floor where the magic happens. There I meet my stylist, Artistic Director Kino Lee, who looks like he stepped out of a Koreanovela in a plaid polo shirt and ripped denim pants, who upon shaking my hand, led me courteously towards my seat.

I explain to him what I want, the thick straight bangs that have been the current rage in K-pop girl bands (i.e. 2ne1's C.L.), and he explains to me the process he would do. Mr. Kino, as I now call him, is very very friendly. Maybe it has to do with the fact that he's so close to my age, but he can easily engage me in conversation. Me, who doesn't like talking to people in the parlor unless to specify what I want them to do...or complain because of the inadequate service.

He talked to me about seeing Paris Hilton as well as Beyonce while he was in Korea! Super laughtrip, he told me Paris looked orange and looked different from TV. He was telling me that he has a harder time communicating with Filipinos because of the language barrier, but don't worry, I could understand him perfectly. He will ask you before he does anything to your hair, like for me he asked me first if I wanted my bangs to be rounded around my forehead.:) He also gave me specific instructions how to blow dry my bangs to maintain their shape especially around the area of my part. Now all I need to do is get myself a hair dryer.

My guy friend also shared his rave reviews, I think he has already developed a crush on Style Director Jinny Kim, because she is sooo sooo cute! If you are like most typical guys who have no idea what to do with your hair, go to Jinny and tell her exactly this. She will whip out her book and you can choose what you want. Extremely helpful, because you will now what the ending result will be and not spend the entire time fidgeting around on your seat thinking what the hell the stylist is doing. She also taught him how to style his hair using wax.

Creative Director Maiya Noh was also around the salon, looking amazingly young for someone who's 31. I saw her give a female customer a short bob which looked excellent. It looked trendy as well as wearable for everyday use.

Stylist Aldous Ong, the only Filipino hairdresser, was unfortunately not around when we got there (around 7:3opm on a Friday), but I heard he's the guy to ask for when you want to try their revolutionary Volume Magic Wave, which is a combo of a volume rebonding + a wave perm.

Over-all rating: 9/10. Mr. Kino did my cut as well as blew dry my hair, making the 1,000php I paid for his services worth it. He pays the most attention to you and will not attend to another customer until he is finished with you. I highly recommend this salon to everyone who wants to add some flair into their hairstyle.

Wondering how my hair-cut turned out? Here I am! I was so satisfied with their services, this is the first time I took a picture of myself after a hair-cut. Mr. Kino gave me exactly what I want! The salon will be sure to have my patronage everytime I need a new hairstyle.

Here's a list of the prices of their other services (click to enlarge!):

Park Jun's Beauty Lab is located at the G/F Glorietta 3, Ayala Center, Makati City beside Hard Rock Cafe. Call them at 819-3001 to 02.

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Presidentiable #1: MAR ROXAS..Drama Revisited.

As election-season draws near, Pinay Glamourista aims to join in the public service bandwagon in analyzing our presidentiables' images, which plays an enormous part in their campaigning. These entries swear to be bias-free (since I definitely don't have anyone high on my list right now) and will strive to sweat out all the things the presidentiables must strive to work on.

First on our list is the ever-gregarious Mar Roxas, who was known from his previous senatorial campaign as "Mr. Palengke". His image then was all about friendliness, openness, as well as smile-ness. He seemed approachable from most of his ads and this, I think won the hearts of most Pinoys.

He previously set the country a-buzz due to his engagement with his girlfriend, Korina Sanchez. Who can ever forget that heart-wrenching proposal done in Wowowee?

As always, his trademark short-sleeved blue polo is still his item of choice, even for his Presidential campaign. But due to his descent in the polls, it turns out that he ranks high with the upper middle to upper class citizens. On the other hand, he's not exactly riding high among those in the middle to lower class. So what does he do? Make a corny commercial!!!

I'm sure all of you remember that ad where Mar takes over driving the pedicab from the kid. It seriously made me cringe. Who are these people behind these ads!? But who am I to complain, I'm not part of their target audience. It probably had an impact more with others.

Wait! This ad has actually a follow-up commercial! Let's take a look:

Whuuuut. Mar: "KA-MUUUS-TAAAAA?"

I don't like it. If Mar Roxas is gaining more votes in the lower brackets due to this commercials, well good for him. He's definitely losing some in the higher brackets. It's too dramatic!!! Everyone's too squinty! I know times are hard in the country right now but COME ON! I'm suppose to feel hope when I see you, not get all depressed!

One thing though: I love the lola! Hahahaha!!! She should be given an acting award for this!

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Viva la MAC!

M.A.C, home of my most favorite lip product ever (The Lipglass), is opening soon in Powerplant, Rockwell! Its located right right beside Beauty Bar at the 1st floor.

Watch out for it on September 2009, just in time for my birthday!

Everyone, grab me a lipglass please or a gorgeous set of M.A.C. brushes.

I cannot get over how excited I am about having it so much closer to me!!!:D:D:D

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Fit 'n Right Your Way to Spill Syrup on Your Clothes

So these Del Monte Fit 'n Right Fruit Snacks encourage you to snack healthy. Me, an avid snacker, just had to see if these are the right fit for me. A trip to the supermarket was what got me into buying one of these, specifically the Mixed Fruits variant.

It comes in this small container which already has a small spork inside (something about sporks irk me for some reason). That means that the fruit snack is giving you an impression that it's suppose to be convenient to eat when you're on-the-go.
Sure enough, I opened the packet and much to my chagrin, the syrup splashed onto my white dress. There's just too much freaking syrup!!! It goes all over the place even if you're super careful in sliding off the cover (which I was).

I'm an avid lover of fruits. Particularly bananas, strawberries, oranges, grapes, pineapples, I do eat them. The fruits inside were too bite-sized, probably because they had to fit inside the itty bitty spork they provide you with. All in all, the taste is around 7.5/10 (meaning OK NA), they just have to do something about the syrup. For health-buffs, this might probably make them stay away from the product because its like the fruit is literally submerged in syrup.

But I do encourage you guys to try it. I loved the drink variant of this but the fruit snack, hmmm maybe not as much.

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Make-up Haul for July!

Here in Pinay Glamourista, I'll be featuring some nice make-up finds that I've purchased and have been using. This will be a monthly thing so I hope I'll be able to come up with nice and affordable stuff that would encourage everyone reading this to try them out!

1) Revlon Beyond Natural Concealer and Highlighter
What I love about this concealer is that it comes with its own highlighter to keep your face looking interesting. Interesting in a dewy, youthful way! This comes in 3 shades, light, light-medium, and medium, so you do not have to worry about your skin tone not matching your concealer. A tip though is that you should get a concealer that's a bit lighter than your skin because it is meant to conceal. I suggest that you test all 3 shades on your skin before buying, don't just listen to what the saleslady is telling you. This costs around PHP700, which I bought at PCX.

2) Red Earth Eye Perfection Primer
Yes you do need an eye primer, and it's not just an extravagance. Using an eye primer is to let your eyeshadow stick more onto your skin, because the color has to have something to cling onto. You get to use less eyeshadow that way, which is best for me because I always go through my favorite colors easily. I've been wanting to get an eye primer since time immemorial, it was only now that I decided to buy one. So far, its great! The compact has a mirror so it's handy. I bought this for around PHP900, at Beauty Bar.

3) The Body Shop Hot Brights Eye Color
Part of The Body Shop's summer collection, they were only selling these for PHP495 and I knew I had to get my hands on one. I bought the one above, because the blue has a really funky shade that comes on a bit lighter than I expected. Still, the color is great and the white above it can be used as a highlighter perfect for the inner corners of your eyes to make them look bigger.

4) The Body Shop's Eye Color in Slate
This eyeshadow is The Body Shop's staple eye color, and the shades look nice and vibrant. A little goes a long way for these babies, so I bought the shade you can see below so I could do different varieties of smokey eye. Yes there are different varieties, you can pump up your smokey eyes by fusing different colors such as blue, green, or even orange to give it a little something extra. The color blends well with other eyeshadows, and it's nice to have a darker shade you can go to just in case you have absolutely no idea on how to do your nighttime make-up. This one retails for around PHP550.

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Yellow will never be the same yellow without Cory Aquino

 If people all over the world were to think of the Philippines, they oftentimes connote this country to be one overridden with poverty, corruption, and hunger. Oftentimes they may be right in their judgment, as the usual statistics would show, our country isn't exactly riding high on being well-ff right now.

But as far as Philippine leaders go, there are just a few who can be said to have impressed such a mark upon every Filipino, especially if that leader is a woman. 

Corazon Aquino, whose term began in 1986 and ended in 1992 (around the time when I was born), was the first Filipina President. Although some say that she was a 'mere housewife', her education and compassion to her country made her a leader. As a daughter, I believe that mothers have a certain something that makes them competent enough to run a country. Mothers run households everyday, resolve conflicts, and basically try to make ends meet. Being a President is like being a mother, which is what the former President was able to give to every Filipino.

Of course, this being Pinay Glamourista, credit has to be given to Mrs. Aquino on how she transformed the color yellow. Although not as flamboyantly dressed as Imelda Marcos, her yellow suits commanded respect (her daughter Kris certainly did not get her fashion sense from her mother).This writer believes that if Cory wore yellow sundresses instead of the matching boxy attire that she did, her image would not have been the same. People that time wouldn't have took her seriously. Of course, something would be clearly wrong with you if you were more than 50 years old and still wearing yellow sundresses. Her crisp yellow, as opposed to Ferdinand Marcos' commanding red clearly showed change as what Filipinos were looking for. Politicians running nowadays should take note of how color defines a person. Yes this is a shout-out to you, Bayani Fernando.

Mrs. Aquino was rushed to the ICU of Makati Med the other day, with the members of her family taking turns in watching her. As most of you know, she has colon cancer and has been battling the sickness for sometime now. She was moved out of the ICU yesterday and was said to be mildly improving. In the midst of all these, her friends and supporters have been continuously praying for her health. They are currently holding novena masses everyday at 12:15 pm at the Greenbelt chapel since yesterday until July 9, 2009.

Her official website has also been opened for the public to post their messages of love and concern. Show your support to the greatest woman who wore yellow here: http://www.coryaquino.ph/acalltoprayer.asp

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Vitamin E update

So it has been exactly 2 weeks since I started drinking Vitamin E. Any results?

Yes, I actually received 2 "blooming" comments from people I hardly know. Also, I have not been as prone to breaking out as I usually do when the monthly period kicks in. My skin has gotten whiter, which means I am getting back to my original skin color. Don't get me wrong because this is not a whitening product.

Will be giving another update after a month.:)

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