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.

Parabens: Are your make-up and cosmetic products safe?

It's not true that what you don't know won't hurt you. Ever heard of parabens?

Look at the ingredients in your face and skin products, meaning, lotions, cleanser and moisturizer as well as creams, as well as shampoo and toothpaste. See the word "paraben" in there? Tip: this can be ethyl-, methyl-, butyl-, heptyl-, or prophylparaben.

Okay, if you see it printed there clearly, you might want to reconsider using that product again.

Why? Because you might have unknowingly exposed yourself to paraben dangers: you see, parabens are chemical preservatives linked to certain diseases. If applied on skin, given enough time, these can be absorbed directly into the blood stream.

Check the skin care products you're using!

Why are parabens so controversial?

There's a reason informed customers are shying away from products with paraben and brands are suddenly touting "paraben-free" labels on their products. Parabens are associated with premature skin aging, early puberty and decreased sperm levels in males, and, more importantly, breast cancer. The Breast Health Magazine lists some interesting studies concerning parabens that you might want to check out.

Of these paraben dangers, breast cancer gets perhaps the most attention and focus. Simply put, parabens mimic estrogen, and for decades, it has been known that estrogen is linked with the development and progression of breast cancer. Furthermore, through scientific examinations, parabens were found in breast cancer tissues. You can read more about that in Breast Cancer Fund.

You will be surprised to see that a lot of famous local and international comestic and skin care products use parabens. I have tried browsing around the local department store (SM and Watsons) and checked the known brands we see in tv and billboards, and yes, paraben is almost always listed in the ingredients.

Although for safety purposes I won't mention brands. :)


Does that mean that you should ban the use of parabens?

To be more clear, it is not yet proven whether parabens actually cause breast cancer, but the fact that parabens were found in breast cancer tissues is enough reason to be worried. Paraben might be the cause or simply a contributing factor, but the bottom line is, parabens are there for a reason. Therefore, I think that the mere association of parabens with these is enough for us to be cautious on what products we use, especially us females who are undeniably vain when it comes to our skin.

In simple terms: follow the precautionary principle. It's terrifying to continuously use a certain product only to discover later on that you had been inadvertently exposed yourself to long-term harm.

If you look around stores more carefully, there are always paraben-free products. I think we can all agree that it is always better to be safe than sorry.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas guys. XD

I know I'd been busy lately since I had started a business, but I'll make sure to keep this blog going. Merry Christmas to everyone. God is good. ♥

Purederm Mask Review

I had been using these masks since a few months ago, and now I'm finally giving you a Purederm mask review. XD

I saw these masks in Watsons, and the Korean letters in the packaging caught my attention. These masks also comes in different variants: grape yogurt, strawberry yogurt, aloe, green tea, and cucumber, and each gives a different benefit to the skin.

My two personal favorites are Grape Yogurt and Green Tea masks

So without further ado, here's my verdict:


I love the Purederm masks. I use the mask in the morning and at night as a mild cleanser, and the good thing is that it minimizes my breakouts and does not irritate, which is saying a lot since I really have very, very sensitive skin.

I think the most apparent effect of the mask is immediate smooth skin.

The morning after I used it, my sister blurted out that my skin has gone smoother.

Since the Purederm mask has different variants, choose whatever suits you. I'm not really into the Strawberry Yogurt Mask since I find its consistency too heavy, and I find the Moisturizing Cucumber Mask to be milder than preferred, although aside from that these are generally okay.

The Purederm masks are also cheap; for Php39, you can buy a sachet in Watsons.