Piece-y pony hair tutorial

Another hair tutorial. :)

I'm sidetracked with her lovely ombre hair.

Photo credit: thebeautydepartment

Filipinas and brown skin

Photo credit: travelphilippinesnow

For someone unfamiliar with the beauty culture in the Philippines, whitening products are always a surprise.

Bianca Gonzales, actress

People in the Western love to get tan, while we -- having a naturally brown skin or what's called morena -- fight this life-long battle to get fairer skin. I'm saying life-long because the weather here is always sunny (that is, when there's no tropical storms brewing), and it's fruitless to try to stay away from the sun.

Morena skin looks beautiful. It matches up well with bright colors and white. Have you ever seen a morena wearing white bathing suit? The colors are so contrasting it's breath-taking and exotic.

Gals, love your natural colors. ♥


Read more similar items in makeupandbeautyblog and Planet Philippines.

American Idol finale: Who's your bet?

I know I'll probably get a lot of hate for this since most of the Filipino community support Jessica Sanchez, but honestly I like Phillip Phillips better.

Photo credit: Fox

To tell you the truth I hadn't bothered watching the show (I happen to abstain from television shows), and until my office mate sent me a video link of Phillip Phillips singing Stand By Me, I wasn't aware of him. Watching the video in Youtube, I was like, "omg, his voice..."

Phillip has the *swoon factor* and he has a unique voice. I've been in the Philippines for more than 20 years, and though it's undeniable that Jessica has the voice, I've seen her kind a thousand times. You would too if you live here. Heck, I've watched kids sing better than most international sensations.

Side note: Has anybody else noticed that Jessica looks a bit like Sarah Geronimo?

For me, Phillip is the better performer; he's the artist. He chooses a song and he owns it. He sings it with his style. Jessica has a great voice, but in a couple of songs she lacks emotional connection, which is probably due to her age.

American Idol is not just about having a great voice. It's about being able to perform too, to entertain, to move the crowd.

There, I've said my take. Nothing more to do but wait for the results.

Update:

He won! Congrats, you.

Hawaiian floral nail art

Hi guys, just a quick post. I hadn't been able to update this blog lately. Like I said before I've started a business, it's up and running, and besides that I've got a new job and am still settling down. I try to respond to messages/questions as soon as I read them though. :)


Okay, now that's over, here's another nail art.

Photo credit: chalkboardnails

The design is inspired by a spring floral nail art in Youtube.

Morning after pill in the Philippines

Hi gals, earlier this week my office mates and I were discussing the Reproductive Health Bill (still pending after a decade in the Congress), and as such, it came to me that a lot of women here in the Philippines are not familiar with different kinds of contraception -- including the morning after pill.

The morning after pill is an emergency contraception taken after an unprotected sex or contraceptive failure (e.g., broken condom) when you're in your fertile period. Simply put, it prevents you from getting pregnant.

It works by keeping the ovaries from releasing eggs. It also contains hormone that thickens the cervical mucus, thus blocking the sperm and preventing pregnancy.

The morning after pill is taken within 3 days after the intercourse. There is, however, a newer version introduced in 2010 that lets you take it within a longer period, that is, within 5 days. You can read more about morning after pill in NetDoctor.

It is best to take the morning after pill as soon as possible. It works best when taken within 12 hours of unprotected sex and is less effective as time passes.

Is it safe? Yes, it has been deemed safe and effective by the US Food and Drug Administration. You can read more about that and other brands of emergency contraception in Emergency Contraception.

Some quick info:

• Don't take morning after pill if you're already pregnant. It does not terminate pregnancy. A morning after pill is a kind of birth control, not abortion.
• It also does not prevent pregnancy for any unprotected intercourse that happens after taking the pill.
• Expect to get your menstrual period within 3 weeks after taking the pill. If not, do a pregnancy test.
• Your menstrual may come a week earlier or a week later than normal. If it's more than a week late, again, take a pregnancy test.

Morning after pill in the Philippines

First of all, it's highly recommended that you consult an ob-gyn first before taking this pill. A consultation will cost only around Php500, or lower if in local clinics.

Nordette is a popular brand of morning after pill here in the Philippines. It's an over-the-counter drug, which means that you can buy it without prescription. They have it in Mercury Drugstore and Watsons.

Like I said though, it's better to consult an ob-gyn first. Nordette has side effects which might make it unsuitable for you, or your ob-gyne might not recommend it if you're not in your fertile period (e.g., sex happens after your menstrual period).

How to take Nordette:

• Take Nordette within 120 hours (5 days) of intercourse
• For the 1st dose, take 4 light-orange pills and, after 12 hours, another 4 light-orange pills as second dose.

Read more about Nordette, including its side effects and contraindications in Pharma-Help.

Gals, this is all there is to it. If you have other other questions, to be safe, consult an ob-gyn.