My 2011 Makeup & Skincare Favorites

I know this is a pretty delayed post since it's almost mid-January and I'm only blogging about last year's favorites now. But hey, better late than never right? 

So friends, here is my obligatory list of makeup and skincare favorites for the year that was (in no particular order):

Revlon Colorstay Makeup w/ Softlex for Oily Skin in 310 Warm Golden
I am not very fond of liquid foundation. I just can't bear the sticky heavy feeling on my skin. Aside from this, my foundation matching attempts have all been big failures - they were either too yellow, too beige, etc. Save for this. This one here is my HG foundation. The shade 310 Warm Golden matches my skintone (NC35, Olive undertones) perfectly. And i mean PERFECTLY. It gives me just the right coverage I need (medium), and feels so light on the skin. 






Missha Perfect Cover BB Cream #27 Honey Beige
From the time I started a relationship with BB Creams 2 years ago, Missha Perfect Cover was the only brand i found a match with. The consistency, coverage and formulation suited me perfectly. Due to it's very limited shade though, i had to settle with shade #23 which was, albeit 2 tones lighter than my skintone, the closest to my skin color. Thank God for the new shade #27 they introduced this year, i finally found a great match for my NC35 skin. Read about their new shade here. 











Missha BB Boomer
The one and only makeup base that i use and have been using for the past 2 years. Find out more about this here.














Skinfood Milk Shake Point Remover
The only makeup remover use. I love that it's moisturizing but really removes even very stubborn makeup very well. Know more about this here.










ELF Two Way Cake Foundation in Rosy Beige
This one is my favorite powder foundation. I like this even more than my MAC Studio Fix Powder+Foundation. It's cheap but offers really good quality. Excellent coverage! I made a review of this here. 













MAC Mineralized Skinfinish Natural in Medium Plus
My go to finishing powder for 2011. Probably the only finishing powder i used last year. Medium Plus is a perfect match for me(NC35)










MAC Sheertone Shimmer Blush in Springsheen
 This one is one of my most abused blushes in 2011. It's great for giving that sort-of bronzed look. I raved about this blush here.  

Benefit Bella Bamba
This blush is heaven! This will probably be on my favorites list year after year after year. It's a very versatile blush that will look good on any skintone, and will great any time of the day. Gives your face an instant brightening, glowing effect. Find out how much i loved it here. 

  

 
Laura Mercier Illuminating Powder in Candlelight  
My favorite highlighter of the year! I love that the color is champagne (and not white) so it gives a more natural look and that the glitters are not too chunky you end up looking like a disco ball. Made a review of this here. 









Sleek Blush in Rosegold 
Love Love Love! The color is much like NARS Super Orgasm & Benefit Bella Bamba but this has it's own character too. Added to this, you get so much product for only P450 which makes it such a steal! Read here why i love this blush to bits.









MAC Browset in Beguille
This one i almost always use in tandem with In2It Eyebrow Powder to keep the brows from straying. I sometimes use this alone during days when I'm too tired to do a full-on makeup on my brows. Read more about this here.
















In2It Eyebrow Cake Powder
This one i cannot afford to have none in my makeup stash. I have tried other more expensive eyebrow powders but somehow I always fall back to In2It. One of the best local makeup products ever. 


 







Majolica Majorca Lash Expander Frame Plus
My ultimate mascara. No clumps and lumps and extends my very short lashes making them look like i have falsies on. Wrote about how great this is here.

Milani Lipstick in Rose Hip
My first ever bright and loud pink lipstick! I am not very adventurous and daring when it comes to makeup, but this one just looks so pretty it was so hard to resist. And it's very pretty indeed! It takes a bit of getting used to though, and you might get occasional stares here and there.  But overall, this is one bright pink lipstick that matches my NC35 skin tone. I wrote about this lipstick here.  






NYX Round Lipstick in Fig
This here is my ultimate favorite NYX Round Lipstick. The color is absolutely love! It's the perfect wearable pink. Minus points on the formulation though because it's just super creamy, it has a tendency to break off from the tube and melt. This has become a staple in my makeup kit, i'm on my 3rd tube already.  

Aveeno Positevly Radiant Tinted Moisturer 
The only tinted moisturizer that worked on me. My favorite so far. It's offers just enough moisturizing and coverage that i need. Check it out here.

Queen Helene Mint Julep Masque 
My go to masque during bad skin days, like when it's that time of the month. Also works great as a spot on treatment for pimples. Find out what i like about this here.

Beauche Skin Care Set 
This one really helped clear out my skin. Last May, i had a terrible breakout episode due to a makeup product that i was allergic to. I  panicked when realized i was having a major acne breakout episode as i normally do not get pimples. This was recommended to me by a friend and it worked wonders on my skin. I do not regularly use this though, i just finish a set good for the entire month and then give my skin a break for 2-3 months. Disclaimer: What works for me may not work for you. 

 

My GM Diet Experience

About a week ago, I talked about my plan to start trying out the GM Diet (click here). I will be honest to tell you that i was not able to strictly follow this diet plan. I strictly followed the diet plan to the letter upto the 2nd day, but from the 3rd day onwards, there were a few lapses here and there. Here's how my GM diet went. 

DAY 1: Fruits, except bananas. 

Weight Today: 127.3 lbs 

I started my day with 4 slices of cantaloupe and 2 glasses of water. After this i already felt full as I normally do not eat breakfast at all. By midday, i felt really hungry my stomach was growling really bad. I ate an apple and a glass of water for midday snack. For lunch i ate an apple, a pear and 2 glasses of water. I was still hungry after this, so you can imagine the self control i had seeing the daing na bangus that my mom was having for lunch.  I was hungry the entire afternoon, my stomach wouldn't stop growling. I snacked on half a cantaloupe and 2 apples the entire afternoon and about 3 glasses of water. For dinner, i avoided joining the husband at the table to avoid temptation. He ate alone. Poor husband. In my room, i chowed down 2 pears and 2 glasses of water. Overall, this wasn't such a bad day. I mean yes i kept getting hunger pangs but as I really like fruits, I had no problems at all eating them constantly. 

DAY 2: Vegetables

Weight Today: 126.8

I woke up today feeling extremely light. I weighed myself and was happy to see i lost half a pound. Not much, but this is a start right? I braced myself for a dreadful day ahead. Its Vegetables day! I am not a big fan of vegetables, especially potatoes. I know the plan says to eat a baked or boiled potato for breakfast but knowing i will not be able to stomach this, i substituted with a sweet potato instead. Now sweet potato, this i really like. Especially the yellow ones. For breakfast i ate 2 medium sized sweet potato and 2 glasses of water and i was full. Compared to the first day, the hunger pangs wasn't as terrible. By midday, i snacked on half a cucumber and water. The cucumber was yum! For lunch, i had 1 sweet potato, blanched cauliflower, half of the remaining cucumber and water. It wasn't very appetizing, but i felt full afterwards. For afternoon snacks i had store bought garden salad with no dressing. I had 2 sweet potato and half a cucumber for dinner. I am so glad this day is definitely coming to an end.

Day 3: Fruits (except bananas) & Vegetables

Weight Today:  125.8 lbs

I already lost 1.5 lbs in total. I'm so happy! I'm thinking this might just be water weight but i am so happy i am making progess. All in all, i ate 6 medium-sized sweet potatoes, 2 cucumbers, 1 cantaloupe, some kiwi, an apple, and lots of water. My hunger pangs and cravings have also been less frequent. I have also been sleeping early the past days (I normally sleep at 11 pm) to stop myself from getting the midnight cravings.

Day 4: Bananas & Milk

Weight Today: 124.3

I lost 3 lbs! Wohoo! I started the day with 2 large lakatan bananas and a glass of lowfat milk. For midday snacks I had 2 boiled saging na saba (i googled for the english term for saging na saba and  apparently its Cardava Banana). For lunch i had 2 boiled cardava banana, 1 lakatan banana, a glass of milk and water. By midafternoon, i was so hungry i almost fainted twice. I had a terrible headache around 3 pm and felt so weak. Mom got really worried, she made me eat a bowl of oatmeal. I devoured it in less than 5 minutes. I felt a little better after the meal but was still a bit weak. Come dinner, I ate a bowl of oatmeal again, 2 lakatan bananas, and a glass of milk. I slept early.

Day 5: Beef & Tomatoes

Weight Today: 124.1

Not much weight loss today. Probably because of the oatmeal i ate yesterday. The plan calls for 2 10oz piece of lean beef but i know i consumed more than this today. All in all i consumed 3 slices of beefsteak (minus the sauce), 3 tomatoes, 2 sweet potato and half a cucumber. I wanted to stick to the diet plan but it was just too difficult as i kept getting headaches.

Day 6: Beef & Vegetables

Weight: 124. 4

I gained .03 lbs today from yesterday. Overall, i still lost 2.9 lbs from when i started last Monday. The diet plan says to eat as much beef and vegetables as you can, and i sure did! Today i ate a burger from Flame It (Yum!), a slice of beef, 4  sweet potatoes, 1 cantaloupe and a cucumber. 

Day 7: Brown Rice & Vegetables

Weight: 124.4

I woke up this morning with the realization that i do not have brown rice in the pantry. I totally forgot. I remembered making a mental note to myself 2 days ago to buy half a kilo of brown rice which as expected, i forgot about. Instead of brown rice, i had a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast. Since its a Sunday, i cooked lunch. This is the only time i get to cook for the husband as we normally are both very busy during weekdays. I made him slow cooked adobo (hubby says i make the best adobo in the world), and some chili shrimps. By noon, my stomach was growling from all the delicious smells in the kitchen. And because we always ate lunch together during Sundays, I had no excuse (diet or whatever) to not have lunch with him at the table. It was the heap of steaming hot rice that got me and made me throw all caution into the air. It was heaven at first bite. In all fairness i only ate about 3/4 cup of rice, a lot of the shrimps, and a teeny tiny piece of adobo. For snacks i only had a stick of banana que while the husband had no bake blueberry cheescake. Ugh! The pain i had to endure watching him eat bite after bite after bite of that cake. Come dinner, the husband and i had pochero and a few other things at Kusina Uno. It was a Sunday and in normal family tradition, we always try to eat out once a week, this was my excuse. I only ate again about 3/4 of a cup of rice, lots of the pochero meat and soup, and 3 lumpia. I fear what my weight will be tomorrow....

GM DIET CONCLUSION

Does it work? Based on experience, yes it does work. Especially if you strictly follow the diet plan. I cheated a couple of times but in the end i still lost 2.8 lbs. This is not a diet though that you can follow the rest of your life, because it is VERY difficult to follow. More so if you have a stressful 5-8 job, the banana and milk will not be enough to sustain your energy requirements. If the temptation or the cravings will not get you, then hunger, dizziness, and headache definitely will. 

I am not a fan of any diet plan that involves depriving oneself of the food you want to eat because in the end, once you get fed up (and surely you will) you'll eat double the amount of the food that you enjoy but miss eating. The GM Diet is a good way to kickstart a healthier eating habit/lifestyle probably, but in my opinion is not a good way to permanently lose weight. Now that i have been more conscious of what i eat and and the amount of food i consume, here's how i plan to permanently, and little by little lose the excess pounds:

1. Start getting some physical activity. Hubby and i will start hitting the gym tomorrow and will do so 4x a week, for 2 hours per session.
2. Drink lots and lots of water. The benefits of drinking lots of water will not only be beneficial to your skin, but will also aid in weight loss. I drink a minimum of 3 liters of water everyday (about 12 glasses of water).
3. Decrease my rice consumption to not more than 1 1/2 cups of rice per day. 
4. Eat more fruits and vegetables. 
5. Decrease dining out to a maximum of once a week. It doesn't help that the husband has a big appetite and takes pleasure at eating good food. This is his only real vice as he doesn't drink or smoke. He has a very active lifestyle though and is involved in a lot of sports activities so he hardly gains weight no matter how much he eats.  
6. Sleep early. There was a time when we had late night McDonalds delivery for 3 days straight due to movie marathons that end super late at night. We have stopped late night movie marathons and McDonald's delivery altogether. Last time i visited the McDelivery website was 3 weeks ago. What a feat! 
7. Snack on fruits, camote and boiled cardava banana instead of bread, pastries and sweets.
8. Eat everything in moderation. When i normally can down 3 cupcakes, 2 donuts, or 2 slices of cake in one sitting, i'll decrease that to maybe just 1. 

To all those trying to lose weight, or still planning to lose weight - MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU! 

Tomorrow I start my GM Diet

I'm getting fat. 

I know this because my favorite jeans do not fit me anymore, the sleeves on my favorite top cling to my arms like second skin, and the buttons on my button down shirt pop out, not because i have big boobs, but because I've grown wider. 

My normal weight is at 113-115 lbs. I weighed 113 lbs November of last year, gained 6 lbs during my vacation for a family reunion on December, never lost it, gained 8 more pounds this year, which now brings me to my current weight of ---- 127 lbs!!! This makes my BMI (Body Mass Index) to be 24 (The ideal range is 19-25). Though this is still normal, i am already almost marginally overweight. To compute your BMI, click here. This is the BMI classification: 

I have been meaning to get some physical activity the last couple of months to put a halt to my sedentary life, but laziness always gets in the way. Between the gym and my bed, the bed always wins. Unlike the husband who lives and breathes physical activity and sports -  i just live, breathe, eat and sleep. 

Over pasta and sinful dessert last Saturday night at Fudge (click here for the review), my friends "pressured" me into trying out the GM Diet. They have been on this diet for a week already and apparently this worked for them. It also seems healthy too so I decided to give it a try. 

What's the GM Diet? 

(source: http://www.gmdietworks.com)

"The GM diet, also known as the General Motors diet, is a 7-day eating plan that offers significant weight loss results. Unlike other diets which require intake of supplements that aid in losing weight, this diet relies mainly on natural produce. The main objectives of the GM diet are to get rid of the excess pounds and at the same time alter the individual’s eating habits towards a more organic lifestyle. The benefits of the GM Diet are: 

• Detoxification: In contrast to what many people say, the GM diet is an effective way to start detoxification. Indeed individuals are deprived of eating fat, unhealthy proteins and carbohydrates during the first few days of the week. But at the same time their body systems are cleansed and the toxins that keep them tired, stressed and overweight are flushed away. Followers of the GM diet are inclined to drink up to 2 liters of water each day, which is sufficient to digest all the food they have consumed and wash away all the unwanted entities inside their system.
  Regular detoxification aids in faster digestion, regular bowel movement and urination, and eventual weight loss.
• Faster Digestion: GM diet fosters digestion in two significant ways. First is through the foods consumed each day of the diet week. Individuals are subject to consume only high fiber foods such as fruits and vegetables that are low in sugar. These meals alone already speed up digestion as they are easily absorbed by the stomach.
  Digestion is also sped up with significant water intake. Foods that are rich in fiber still need water for them to be dissolved into nutrients. With regular water intake, the overall digestion process is maximized. In turn individuals get to use all the nutrients they have consumed and at the same time utilize their reserved energies through by means of metabolism.
• Regular Bowel Movement: One of the reasons why people tend to be overweight is the unnecessary wastes trapped inside the body. These include elements that have not been able to be digested and had to be removed from the system through defecation. Due to the high fiber foods and consistent water intake in the GM diet, the solid entities in the digestive system are flushed away from the body in a regular manner. Bowel problems such as constipation and LBM are thus avoided.

The above mentioned processes all contribute to faster weight loss effects. Through the GM diet, individuals not only get to lose weight; they also find the way towards a healthier and cleaner lifestyle. In time, those who follow the diet also get rid of their poor eating habits and find ways to enjoy life in a more natural manner."

The GM Diet Plan

I will start this diet tomorrow and hopefully i'll have the willpower to stick with it. Wish me luck! 

Goodbye and Thank You Steve Jobs!

I was about to blog this morning about my favorite Avon Colorbliss lipsticks when i heard the news. Immediately, I knew i had to put the review off to give way for this Steve Jobs tribute. This is my way of thanking him for making really cool innovations that are so easy to use. The world of technology will not be what it is today without Steve Jobs' innovation and vision. I think a lot of us will we able to say their lives have been easier because of an iMac, an iPhone, an iPod, iPad and a MacBook. 

Today the world lost a great man.

 

My first ever Apple gadget was a 1st Gen iTouch 16gig that hubby gave as a birthday gift last 2008. I have had a lot of fond memories with my Itouch. It has been with me to most of my vacations within and out of the country. I'm speaking in past tense here because i sold my iTouch to buy me a Siberian Husky. I figured, a Sibe is much more interactive than an iTouch. Right? And cuter too...

This is my Sibe, Paige.

My second Apple gadget is a 2nd Gen iPod Shuffle (the really small one) which hubby also gave as a gift on my birthday last 2009. He bought it for me hoping that it would be easier for me to carry around when we would be out jogging or in the gym. Sad to say, i never got to jog, and i only lasted a month in the gym. Yep, i'm that lazy when it comes to exercise. Here's my shuffle now, battered, but still alive and kicking. 

My third Apple gadget is a 4th Gen 8 gig iPod Nano which hubby also gave as a gift last year. I really do not understand why he keeps giving me iPods on my birthdays. I am not a techie person, was already satisfied with my shuffle, and really, i would be more excited in receiving a blush or a lipstick than an iPod (shhh..don't tell him). Of all my iPods, this would have to be my favorite. It's so handy and very slim that I don't have trouble bringing it everywhere, it can fit even my smallest purse.

To return the favor, i gave hubby an iPhone 3G as a gift on his birthday 2 years ago. This one he loves very much. Too much in fact that he sat on it and caused a thin gray line on the screen which started out small but eventually grew and grew and grew. He still loves it though. 

My most recent Apple item is a 13" MacBook Pro which i got this year to replace my stolen Lenovo. It was love at first sight! I had always been a PC user, and I initially did not like  switching to a MacBook (hubby convinced me) thinking it would just complicate my life. But holy moly I now love my MacBook to bits! i love it so much i already have an affair with it. It makes my laptop experience and working in general, so much more easier. It's true, once you go Mac, you'll never go back. 

For all these, and for all the other things to come (I hope), iThank You Steve Jobs! 

Today the world lost a great man, an icon, a visionary, an innovator, and one hell of a marketing man. I am amazed by Steve Job's marketing skills. He was a great presentor, an excellent public speaker and a captivating communicator. He was Apple's best salesman. This, for me, is Steve Jobs' best presentation.

 

My deepest sympathy goes out to Steve Jobs' family, his wife Lauren, his 4 children, all Apple employees, and to everyone he has worked with. We may have lost an innovator and an icon, but these people lost a husband, a dad, a boss, and a friend in Steve Jobs. To Steve Job's wife and children, thank you for sharing your husband and father with us. 

I will end this tribute with my favorite quote from this great man:

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice.”

In Steve's words: