I Want To Be Part of Sample Room's Blogger Circle!

My discovery of Sample Room started from my addiction of reading beauty blogs last year. I would always see the Sample Room logo on the beauty blogs I read. I was really intrigued by the beautiful design of the logo, so one time I decided to just click the link. That was how my addiction to Sample Room started. I analyzed the mechanics of Sample Room, then I would check my emails from time to time to see if there were any newsletters informing me about new products that can be sampled. It was such a unique concept that I kept on raving about it to my friends, and I even strongly urged them to try it out as well.

Of course, my raving about Sample Room was not only limited to friends as I also raved about it on my blog. Every time I avail of a new sample, I would immediately blog about it to share with everyone my experience with the product. I also wrote a post that explains how Sample Room works so that the readers will be introduced to this concept and start using Sample Room. 

One great reason why I am so hooked on Sample Room is because I love reviewing beauty products. I love sharing my experiences with these products to my readers as I hope that it can help them find the perfect solution to their beauty problems. Sample Room gives me the convenience of sampling products without having to shell out big bucks. To top it off, there are full-sized samples as well so I really get my money's worth and I do get to save a lot.

The first time I opened the Sample Room website, I immediately noticed the partner bloggers category. It was one of the first links I clicked. I knew then that I wanted to be part of it but I just didn't know how. I hope that this time I get to be a part of this awesome Bloggers Circle. It would be an honor to be a part of something that's a big part of the beauty industry.

The main reason I want to be part of Sample Room's Blogger Circle is because I want to meet beauty bloggers like me who share the same purpose as I do. These accomplished beauty bloggers have been a big inspiration to me and I would like to know each and every one personally so that I can get to learn from them. It would be really great if I could be part of that network, and it would be a real blessing if I could be a blogger that readers would think of immediately for honest product reviews. It will also be a big plus that I get first dibs on new products as I always like to keep myself updated on what's new in the beauty industry and I would love to write the first reviews on these new products.

I do hope I get to make it, and good luck to others that are joining as well!!! :)

Ciao!

Kat <3

A Review of the Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry Touch Sunblock with SPF50+

How was your Holy Week vacation everyone? Did you go on a trip with your families? As for me, I went hiking with my relatives at Mount Pinatubo. I will be posting my adventure about it soon. You might be thinking that I must be crazy hiking during summertime at Mount Pinatubo. You're right it was scorching hot!!! I did have fun though as I was with great company. I was even able to make a new friend because of this adventure. Well, actually I'm not talking about a person because I'm referring to a sunblock which really protected my skin from the sun and also helped in preventing sunburn. 

Let me introduce to you guys the Nivea Ultra Sheer Dry Touch Sunblock with SPF50+. It can protect skin from both UVA and UVB rays and it's also waterproof. I used this for the first time at my Mount Pinatubo adventure, and I wasn't really expecting how effective it would be. But it was! We were exposed to the sun for the whole morning, but my skin did not become red at all, and after our hike I did not even get a shade darker. To top it all off, the texture of this sunblock is not even sticky for a bit. As the name of the product says, it really is ultra sheer and it's easily absorbed by the skin.

Here's a breakdown of the product for you to see if this is something you would need:

Pros:

~ Ultra sheer and light

~ Easily absorbed by the skin

~ Prevents sunburn and skin darkening

~ Can protect skin from UVA/UVB rays

~ High SPF of 50+

~ Effect can last long on the skin

~ Sunblock scent is not too strong

~ Can easily be found in Watson's stores

Cons:

~ Somewhat expensive (price is P509.75 for 88ml)

~ Could be easily used up due to the small quantity of product

Texture of sunblock is watery

Ultra sheer and easily absorbed by skin

Overall, I really recommend this product as it's quite a plus that it does not feel sticky at all. This is the kind of sunblock that I have been looking for, something that is totally effective and at the same time absorbs easily like water. I was a bit surprised at how much it costs, but the results of the product easily compensates for the price. 

Hope this review has helped you find a new beach buddy for the summer!

Ciao!

Kat <3

Definitely Japan. Definitely Kojie.san

During my younger years, doing any activities that involved staying under the sun like swimming outdoors and trips to the beach would easily darken my skin. I'm not super fair to begin with, and once my skin darkens it's hard for it to go back to its original shade. There are even times when my body would have uneven skin color. It was my mission to look for a whitening product that would overcome this problem. Luckily 3 to 4 years ago, one of my friends was able to refer to me a whitening product that really does wonders for my skin. This is none other than Kojie.san soap. 

My own artwork of Kojie.san

Since then, I have been using Kojie.san thrice a week on my body. My skin color has been maintained, and I am not afraid of my skin getting darker anymore as I am sure that Kojie.san will be able to revert it back to its original shade in just a few days. I have tried switching to another whitening soap, but its effects were not as fast and effective so I ended up going back to using Kojie.san. I guess there is just no substitute for the original kojic acid soap, that's why it's important to use only the original Kojie.san. 

I would always refer Kojie.san to my friends as I'm really confident about its positive results, and here are some more info about Kojie.san worth knowing:

1. Kojie.san is the first kojic acid soap to be commercially available in the Philippine market.

2. Kojie.san has a micro peeling effect, which makes it a potent whitening product.

3. It does not contain any harmful chemicals.

4. It contains antioxidants and 100% all natural ingredients.

My stash of Kojie.san at home

Kojic acid soaps are known for their whitening properties and other benefits like getting rid of dark spots and skin discoloration. They exfoliate skin to remove the top layer of skin to peel away damaged skin to reveal fresh and healthy cells underneath. Based on my experience, my skin gets really dry and flaky whenever I use this soap, so I have to make sure to use creams and lotions after taking a bath to make sure that moisture in my skin is replenished. This is also why I only use it thrice a week. The reason for my skin becoming dry is because the kojic acid soap is actually peeling off the dead skin to help my skin become smoother and more radiant.

With my long-term experience with Kojie.san, I can definitely say that I have met the ultimate whitening soap that is safe to use and proven effective over the years. I will continue on choosing the bar that set the bar!

Any experience with Kojie.san dear readers? Let's talk about it in the comments!

Ciao!

Kat <3

The Cream Factory Bath Cream in Goat's Milk & Witch Hazel Review

Aside from using soap, I make it a point to use body wash and body moisturizer every time I take a bath. Soaps can be very drying, and my skin normally dries out after using only soap for my bath. It would be better if the body wash also acts as a moisturizer so that I don't have to use too many products when taking a bath. I wouldn't want to be late for work haha.

I discovered The Cream Factory Bath Cream last year when I first read about it being blogged by the beauty bloggers. At first it did not really pique my interest, but I started seeing them being sold in sets of 3 at Beauty Bar. I was really tempted to purchase a set, but I wanted to try them out first to see how they would fare against my skin. Luckily, Sample Room were giving out samples last January, and I immediately availed one after getting the email notification. The samples were out of stock really fast, and I felt so lucky to be able to avail one.

I got my sample after 2 days, and I was really excited to open my package. I got The Cream Factory in Goat's Milk and Witch Hazel: The Rejuvenating Soap. I got this one randomly as I forgot to state which variant I wanted to avail. I guess I just wanted the pink one out of all the colors, as it looks cuter on display in my bathroom. Ohh well, it's not really a big deal as any of the variants will do. I just wonder if all variants have the same scent.

Price I was able to avail this bath cream in 221ml for free in Sample Room paying only P100 for the shipping fee. The full-sized product in 768ml costs P699, while the set of 3 bottles of 221ml costs P799. What a sweet deal I got for the price of a hundred.

Packaging I simply adore the cute little packaging. It really looks like a small milk container when you first see this product. It's so eye-catching!

Scent This smells really nice, and it does smell like goat's milk with witch hazel. It has a perfume type of smell and it feels good to slather something that smells this good around the body. I observed that the scent does stay on the skin for quite some time after taking a bath.

Texture  I was expecting the color of rich white cream for this product, but this actually comes in a translucent white gel. It's not at all sticky and glides smoothly when applied to the body. It makes my skin feel squeaky clean after each usage. The gel easily lathers when combined with water, but it's not too foamy like other body washes. You can use either a loofah or just your hands to spread it around the body. 

Review What I love about this bath cream is that it doesn't dry out my skin while cleaning it thoroughly as well. It also has moisturizing properties because of the goat milk so it's really a big plus. A small dollop of the product goes a long way, as it can cover the whole body already. My body feels really soft and smooth after my bath because of The Cream Factory. I must say that I did feel rejuvenated after using this, and I would love to try the other variants as well. Truly a dessert for the skin!

Which variant of The Cream Factory have you tried? I hope Sample Room restocks on this soon! :)

Ciao!

Kat <3

Maple (Restaurant) Anyone?

Happy news to all breakfast food lovers out there (me included), as Maple is definitely one of the all-day breakfast restaurants I've tried that makes me want to go back for more. I can't believe that I just got to try this last month as this restaurant seems to be in business already since last year. Maple is the high-end all-day breakfast restaurant of Pancake House. I must say that I was really happy with our orders since I have never tried anything like these before. I'll be reviewing our orders below. 

Maple

2/F San Antonio Plaza Arcade, McKinley Road

Forbes Park, Makati

(02) 621-6211

The restaurant is quite small, and only a few tables are found inside but there are also additional tables outside. I can say that the place has a homey ambience, and the door to the entrance of the restaurant also has a maple tree decorated on it.

There were only two of us, and we couldn't order a lot. We ordered two main courses and one dessert. 

Main dishes:

Huevos Rancheros (P340) A classic Mexican breakfast made with tortillas, refried beans, grilled chicken and a sunny side-up egg, topped with cheese and ranchero sauce.

This is a totally new dish for me, and I love it that there were tortillas included. The combination of all these ingredients really matched well together, and made it taste authentically Mexican. Of course, I really loved the cheese and ranchero sauce, as it gave the much needed added flavor to the dish.

Sunrise, Sunset (P390) Two delicious buttermilk pancakes, stuffed full of grilled cheddar cheese and Canadian ham all drizzled with buttery hollandaise sauce and topped with maple glazed bacon and a sunny side up egg.

I super love this dish, and I would totally order this again on my next visit. I loved how the sweet taste of the pancakes blended in well with the savory flavors of the ham and bacon. The grilled cheddar cheese and buttery hollandaise sauce really brought out the flavors of the dish. Maple syrup was also provided to put on top of the pancakes. 

Dessert:

Bourbon Bread Pudding (P220) A traditional American favorite served with a Bourbon creme anglaise or a la mode.

We ordered ours a la mode, and it tasted really nice with the vanilla ice cream. The bread was served hot, and it's a good contrast to the cold ice cream. The bread was also cinnamon flavored, but the flavor's not too strong, and the sweetness was just right. Even though I'm not a cinnamon lover, I can still say that this tasted delish. 

I can say that I had a great experience here for dinner. Prices are not too expensive, and my tummy was happy after eating here. I do suggest to split the food though, as one dish can be shared by 2 to 3 people already.

Have you tried Maple before? What are your thoughts?

Ciao!

Kat <3

My MAC loot from The Beauty Junkee and The Beauty Junkee's 5th Anniversary Ultra Super Mega Giveaway

I'm in a really happy mood as I received my Commenter of the Month prize for March from The Beauty Junkee just earlier today. My prize contains MAC items that I would never have thought of buying myself. I'm so happy that I got them as prizes yay! Not only that, Ms. Martha threw in an extra sample lotion from VMV Hypoallergenics. She's sooo nice and generous! I will be doing a review of these soon.

My commenter of the month prizes from The Beauty Junkee

She's even more generous this month as she holds her blog's 5th Anniversary Ultra Super Mega Giveaway. She's giving away prizes worth P100K++ in total which is divided into 12 beauty bags. I'm practically drooling just looking at the prizes to be won. I do hope I win a beauty bag as well cross fingers! 

Just check out this link http://thebeautyjunkee.blogspot.com/2014/04/the-beauty-junkees-5th-anniversary.html to see how you can join her giveaway. 

I do hope one of us gets to win those coveted prizes yay!

Ciao!
Kat <3

Majolica Majorca Perfect Automatic Liner in Hot Blooded Red (RD303) from the Eye Hunter Collection

Majolica Majorca has just launched its Chapter 40 Eye Hunter Spring 2014 Collection of products last March. Included in the collection are 2 new colors of Honey Pump Glosses, 1 new eyeliner called Line Hunter, and 2 limited edition Perfect Automatic Liners in the colors Hot Blooded Red and Cool & Calm Violet. What really piqued my interest were the Perfect Automatic Liners because of the lovely colors. If you've been following my blog, you would know that I'm addicted to eyeliners. The red shade is something that has to go into my collection as it's a really unique color.

Photo grabbed from Majo's FB page

Photo grabbed from Majo's FB page

Price The Perfect Automatic Liners cost P750 for 1.3ml of product. I observed that there was a recent price increase so the price went up from P695. Last March, they were having a promo of less P100 for every purchase of P400 worth of products, so I took the opportunity to buy the Hot Blooded Red shade while there was still a promo. I was able to get it at P650. There are a bunch of new promos out this April, so just click here to see what's on sale.

Packaging All Perfect Automatic Liners have the same type of gold color pen packaging. It's just these two new limited edition eyeliners that are housed in a dark purple color pen packaging instead of gold. As usual, the eyeliners are totally sealed when new to prevent any spill out and to avoid the eyeliner to dry out prematurely. You may check out my review of the Perfect Automatic Liner in BK920 from last year. To start using this product, take off the seals first and start twisting the bottom to let the product out.

Sealed inside the packaging

Product sealed at the front and back

Product ready for use

Color This is a bright strawberry red shade that will really make your eyes look more alive. When worn on the lids, I observed that the color looks a little bit reddish pink. It's such a pretty color!

Swatch at the back of my hand

Application The texture of this eyeliner is really watery which makes it twice harder to use than a regular liquid eyeliner. Lots of practice is needed to get the right amount of product on the lids, unless you're already a total pro at applying eyeliner. I do about two clicks of the product, then I apply it to my lids in one swipe. The tip is to swipe in only one direction. Do not swipe the eyeliner back and forth. Twist two more times if the product is insufficient. Don't overdo the twisting part as too much product may come out. It does take a few seconds for this to dry so don't open your eyes immediately after application. Good news is, once it's dry, it won't budge at all.

RD303 applied on the lids with brown eyeshadow

Longevity Once applied on the lids, this can withstand water and sweat. It's smudge proof too, but of course there's a limit to its greatness as well. If worn on the lids for more than 10 hours, then rubbing the product on the lids will cause the product to dissolve to flakes. Well, that means it can be removed without makeup remover, but I do suggest using a makeup remover for easier removal.

What do I think of the product? I totally love this because red is such a unique shade. It is quite hard to pull off the color though as it's really obvious when on the lids and people will really notice. Well, I'm not really conscious about that and I like to pair it up with eyeshadow colors that match. 

How about you, what do you think of this shade? Will you be able to pull off shades like these? Do share your thoughts! :)

Ciao!

Kat <3

Majolica Majorca April 2014 Promos

Check this out girls!

I happened to chance upon Majolica Majorca's FB page earlier today, and I can't believe all the promos they are having this April. Maybe there's something you've been wanting from this brand, and you've just been waiting for a price drop. Well just in case, here are the promos they are having this month: 

1. Line Hunter + Brow & Lash Colorist Bundle for P899

2. Line Hunter + Lash King Bundle for P999

3. Buy 1 Take 1 for the Jeweling Eyes Palettes

4. Buy 1 Take 1 for The Little Humming Book Palettes

I'm really tempted to purchase something from the sale, but I might just hold it off as I just purchased their newly launched Hot-Blooded Red eyeliner last month, which I have reviewed here. If you're undecided on which product to purchase, I would suggest that you get the Brow & Lash Colorist because it's such a Holy Grail product for my eyebrows. I do wish that I bought it at a discounted price though. Click here to see my review for the Brow & Lash Colorist. It might help! :)

*Photos below grabbed from Majolica Majorca's FB Page!

So that's it, do share with me if you buy anything from the sale this month!

Ciao!

Kat <3

It's Officially Summer!!! Turn Up the Heat with the Limited Edition Lippie Summer Collection from Happy Skin

Whew it's so HOT lately that it's so hard to concentrate on doing anything. Turning on the air conditioner every night has become a must, if not I'll be waking up all sweaty. Despite all these, I'm still thinking of turning up the heat! No I'm not crazy guys, I'm talking about the Turn Up the Heat Limited Edition Lippie Summer Collection from Happy Skin! These babies were just officially launched yesterday, and I coincidentally also just bought it yesterday from Beauty Bar. 

Photo grabbed from Happy Skin's FB page

This is my first purchase from Happy Skin, which is a local brand from the Philippines and the brainchild of beauty partners Jacque Yuengtian-Gutierrez and Rissa Mananquil-Trillo. I have heard lots of good things about this brand, but have never really checked out their items in any of the counters. The first time I did so was yesterday, and I can't believe I immediately fell in love with their newly launched summer collection lippies. These are limited edition by the way so better hurry if you want to grab hold of these products.

Turn the Heat Up Limited Edition Lippie Summer Collection includes 3 wonderful lippies inside the box. These are the Shut Up and Kiss Me Lippies in Summer Crush, Sunset Kiss, and The Morning After. These are my descriptions of the 3 shades:

Summer Crush is a lovely bright flirty pink shade.

Sunset Kiss is a fiery red orange shade. It's more red on the lips with a hint of orange.

The Morning After is a nude light lavender pink (mauve) shade. It can be an MLBB shade for some.

Let's take a look at my review of these lippies:

Rest and Relaxation at the Jjimjilbang: Lasema Spa & Sauna

Ever heard of Jjimjilbang? It's what the spa and sauna places in Korea are called. It's actually a public bath house with lots of different facilities in one. I wasn't able to try it out when I went to Korea last year because of the busy tour schedule. Well, the good news is there's Jjimjilbang in Makati all along. My friends stumbled upon Lasema Spa & Sauna on a deal in Ensogo. We got the deal at P495 which already includes 12 hours stay at the Jjimjilbang, full use of the dry and wet saunas, and a 1 hour massage. I think this is a very good promo for both the massage and the full use of the facilities. 

Lasema Spa & Sauna

7232 Malugay Street Brgy. Bel Air, Makati City (inside Makati Golf Club)

830-2222/ 0943-5065697

Open 24 hours

Let's start our Jjimjilbang adventure inside!