christmas has never tarnished its childlike charm to me. and i always go into the season with the same feeling of wonder and excitement as when i was just waist-high and struggling to read the gift cards. now that i have been participating in the actual buying of gifts (and have been doing so for over ten years), it is even double the merriment that i am able to both open my gifts and watch people open the gifts i wrapped.
some females choose to post their wishlist online probably hoping some of them will materialize (meaning some friends and family will read the entry and buy the stuff) like a bridal registry. i have done it myself before here, and none of the things happened to cross my hands (well, i did get a pair of stella lunas after i wrote the entry, but they’re a different pair. so that doesn’t count). of course, i may have been shooting over my head there even with just three hundred thousand pesos (php300,000.00), but i could have at least bought robyn more books for her leap pad.
today, i am still hankering for a trip to japan and rimowa luggages to travel there with, but i’ll take my return ticket to the philippines and my cheap ass generic brand luggage if it means i can visit home and eat danggit again. nevertheless, i came into the christmas season with a mental wishlist much simpler, more tailor-fit to my current situation and more accessible than my imagination would warrant. but they by all means give the same sense of satisfaction, coupled with the warm fuzzy feeling that comes with being able to take part in another season of exchanging gifts. cheesy? you bet.
i chose not to post any sort of wishlist, despite my fascination with assembling lists. however, i will post some of the stuff i received. because these are some of the things that make up my wishlist and i’m happy-dappy like a little kid.
my favorite scent, 2008′s most awarded fragrance, daisy by marc jacobs. moderately old in designer fragrance years, but still my favorite. too bad i missed the limited edition edp (which strangely cost the same as the edt) by about three days from the when the last bottle was sold, but i’m very happy with it no less. i know fragrance is such a cliche gift, but i don’t think i will ever get tired of receiving them.
a woven raffia roxy fedora with shell, grosgrain ribbon and chain embellishments and…
…a black pinstripe quiksilver “mob” fedora with embroidered crest and same-fabric sash. i started to regain my thing for hats when we had to wait in the sydney airport for nearly seven hours en route to nadi last september. my husband bought me a white-and-black hat that looks like eva longoria‘s and then i remembered how i once really liked hats but the philippines just isn’t a country that exactly embraces the accessory whole-heartedly (unless you are a musician or an artist. which i neither am). now i’m back to liking and collecting them.
coincidentally, i wrote “toothbrush” in our grocery list, and look what i found under the tree! we’ve always meant to buy the oral b electronic toothbrush but thought it too expensive to clean teeth with, so i’m happy someone gave me and my husband a pair of these things.
books from two of my favorite humorists. when you are engulfed in flames by david sedaris and mere anarchy by woody allen. i believe all the hype. yes, they are all that.
ok, i don’t have the least liking for robert greene’s machiavellian laws on leadership and how many of my previous managers so full of themselves live by his books like religious fanatics, but i admit that i read them all the time. yeah, i do, so kill me for being cliche yet again. the very same way i read so many other political philosophies i heavily disagreed with but intensely admired for the thinking behind them (like hitler’s, for instance). collaborating with 50 cent, greene comes up with another set of leadership principles in the 50th law for me to read with intense pleasure then disagree with during discussions. because i’m silly like i just enjoy insecure guys defend their peer-pressured beliefs like they are defending themselves against murder.
the advanced 32-stitch electronic singer sewing machine! with a users guide that reads more like a computer textbook than a home ec training manual. while trying to prioritize things and making ends meet, my husband and i started talking about getting one and we’ve been playing around with figures like how much we have to pay every week or how much we should negotiate for a second-hand one (especially since all of a sudden one day i found that we have to pay every week for a new tv and stereo system on top of basic needs and utilities from a single-income household with an applying immigrant who hates cooking… me, in other words). then lo! i get a sewing machine as a christmas present from the folks! doesn’t the world just work in mysterious ways?
reviews on some of the items later.
hope everybody had a wonderful christmas!
i wrote an entry about visiting the pure fiji factory and mentioned how they have a sale event every saturday morning.
here’s the loot we scored from one morning spree:
5 bottles of hydrating body lotion (for gifts), 2 kits of reniu bath products, 8 bars of spa soap, 1 bottle face & body foam cleanser, and 1 jar sugar rub. all for just fjd150.00.
spa soap
we bought the spa soap at only fjd1.00 each, though obviously they are not packaged in the same attractive way the retail soaps are. we got the mango and the white gingerlily infusions.
first off, i was surprised that the soap lathers quickly and more thickly than most commercial soaps since i have always found oil-based bath products to lack luxurious bubble power. the soap is creamy on the skin and glides easily, much like vco soaps, though this one is not at all slippery. like most soft soaps, the bottom tends to get mushy on the dish if left inadvertently with puddles of water.
if you are not fond of shower fragrances, you might find the scent quite overpowering. while i am a fragrance junkie, i try to minimize the use of this soap on my face for the simple reason that i am allergic to strong bath smells. but if you don’t have allergic rhinitis like me, the scent should not pose any problem to you.
another surprising feature of this product is the way it dries my skin, though in the first place i do have dry, scaly skin by nature. nevertheless, other coconut cream and vco soaps i’ve tried before actually leave my skin soft and hydrated, thus my surprise. in any case, such a property should prove advantageous to oily or even normal skin types, as this provides a taut sensation especially on the face, as if you got a face-lift or something.
overall, it gives me the feeling of being invigorated. it’s one of the soaps that make me feel extra clean after shower (note: some soaps don’t make me feel too clean at all. either i can sense residue or as if not all the gunk were removed). i love using the soap especially after work-out or when i need some waking up in the morning.
face and body foam cleanser
this cleanser is one of the newest products in their bath and body line. it comes in a pump bottle and dispenses into foam (duh).
like the spa soap, the first disadvantage for me is the strong scent. other than that, the foam is just fine. i have used it on my face a few times, i find it gentle enough on the skin, though, again, my rhinitis gets the best of me and i sneeze in a matter of seconds. for the rest of the body, i’m really enjoying it; it’s like slathering shaving cream all over yourself, only less thick. i do notice some drying effects, but that might just be me (like i said, my skin is overdry under normal circumstances).
all in all, also very refreshing and, if you like heady scents, quite energizing. we bought the passionflower infusion, and this fragrance lasts, giving you that bagong ligo sensation well into the day.
sugar rub
i was right all along. i just knew i would adore the sugar rub. especially the coconut milk and honey one. it’s made with raw honey, fresh sugar cane crystals and exotic oils. if merely reading the ingredients makes you feel indulgent, wait ’til you try it.
it comes in a jar and has a nifty little scoop is provided.
combining raw honey and fresh sugar crystals would make you think this would smell sickeningly sweet, but this does not at all smell anything like either. it smells coconut-milky and soapy at the same time, with various oils i can hardly recognize behind it. the liquid is slick, not thick like your breakfast-table honey. the granules are fine, definitely finer than the more popular salt scrubs. one heaping scoop of it should be enough to rub all over your body, but i usually apply two scoops. because i’m wastefully indulgent like that.
like all scrubs, it is meant to polish your skin, buff away dead surface cells and unclog your pores. it should provide a deep-clean feel, like your skin is renewed and rejuvenated. it certainly delivers its promise.
unlike many salt, mineral or natural fruit scrubs which i find quite abrasive (i have had minor injuries with those), this one is finer thus less scratchy upon application. and unlike many commercial exfoliating scrubs which i find too fine on the other hand, these crystals are just the right amount of coarse to give you that “smoothening” feel. the sensation is comparable to rubbing creamy sand on your skin, like getting into the sea then rubbing yourself with sand in panglao or maybe boracay (i write maybe because i haven’t been to boracay, so i can only surmise. people do say the sand there is as fine as sugar… sugar rub, sugar sand… i’m just establishing a connection). as you keep rubbing the product onto your skin, the crystals dissolve and the product starts to feel less silty. by this time, you can swear your skin is absorbing all those anti-oxidant properties.
after bath, you instantly feel as if your skin is much smoother and much softer, even on your elbows and knees. the first few times i used it, i can’t keep myself from stroking my hands and elbows, they were so supple. it leaves a fantastic scent that is noticeably clean, but it won’t take over your favorite cologne or perfume. in addition, your skin may feel intensely moisturized but not greasy. so even when i used this for a foot scrub, my feet neither slipped nor slid in my sandals (which is one of the things that annoy me most when i get a foot spa).
overall, one of my most favorite bath products today. they say one jar is good for 15-18 treatments. at the rate i use it, i’m going to run out of it very soon. which means i have to go back to the factory one of these saturdays and get a whole bunch of them.
not too many people talk about, much less recommend, avon cosmetics. i have to admit, there is a looming stigma against direct selling, which makes girls shy away from catalogs. but i love catalogs. really, i love them. i patronize avon. and i like that they are giving hardworking, entrepreneurial ladies an alternative income.
it’s strange though, it was quite a mission for me to find an avon lady just a few days ago. i used to assume they were all over town. i guess with the boom in direct-selling businesses, many brands vie for the loyalty of but a few dealers.
anyway…
there are items in avon which i think can outdo many higher-priced variations in the market.
avon glazewear liquid lip color. under P400.00.
i started using glazewear eight years ago, and it hasn’t failed me since. full coverage, creamy, not goopy, and it has such a sweet pleasant scent. i get compliments when i use this. and it comes in so many luscious shades, the color wheel will make you dizzy!
avon supershock mascara. on sale now: less than P300.00
it certainly does deliver the shock, volumizing even the puniest lashes to their greatest potential. like many mascaras in season now, the rubber brush promises to separate each lash and minimize clumping.
avon daring definition mousse mascara. on sale now: less than P300.00
aside from the supershock, i like the daring definitions mascara. it’s the blackest mascara you can find on the market and the mousse glides on easily upon application. it doesn’t flake nor fade, thus saving you from the dreaded racoon-eyes effect.
i used to order the first generation avon anew microdemabrasion scrub. it looked something like this, but in a plain white tube:
avon anew clinical microdermabrasion scrub
i think this new advanced formulation replaced the old one. it’s so sad to see brands cease production of your favorite products, but even facial scrubs have to evolve with the times. i am more than willing to try this new one, but i didn’t see it in the catalog today. either it’s not available locally or it has yet to come. i’ll wait. avon’s anew line is more expensive than other avon skin care products, but it does deliver visible results.
since i’ve been ordering the same products from avon for a while now, i think it’s time to try something else. i found that this had many rave reviews online, so i quickly jotted it down for the avon lady to order:
avon tinted magix skin perfector. on sale now: less than P400.00
ok, i admit. reese witherspoon’s radiant photo sold this to me.
the tinted magix skin perfector promises to hide imperfections, improve texture and even minimize the appearance of pores. since many ladies gave it a 5, i would surely love to try it. it’s a cream-to-powder make up base that glides on smoothly for a natural finish. i’ll find out on monday if it also gets 5 stars from me!
how about you, do you have favorite direct-selling products?
and for very good reason. research still continues to prove that hand washing is the best defense against disease. but do you know that it wasn’t until only over a century ago when hand washing was encouraged as a habit?
due to the a(h1n1) scare, many people have become obsessive hand washers, perhaps others have even converted to being all-out obsessive-compulsive.
but although hand washing has become a very common practice, it still isn’t as frequent a habit as many doctors would have preferred. or if people have indeed been washing their hands, they’re not doing it the right way.
who would have thought there was a right and a wrong way of hand washing? i wouldn’t have. in fact, i believe i haven’t been washing my hands properly ever.
steps in hand washing
while the steps involved are simple enough, many of us neglect the proper way of lathering and rubbing the soap onto all the surfaces of our hands.
proper hand washing
and when exactly are the most crucial times to wash your hands? according to many online articles, here are the best times to do it:
which brings me to the next problem: dry skin.
in the past four weeks when i have been washing my hands more often than i used to, i noticed that the skin at the back of my hands have become quite tender. and fine, painful scratches have formed in one or two patches. that’s when i realized that my hands had become over-dry. which is quite ironic since openings in the skin can be a cause of infection.
so how do you keep at this hygiene practice without drying your skin? moisturizing hand wash, naturally. here are my favorite hand washes that clean your hands, provide the necessary moisture and smell fantastic to boot:
nivea honey & oil and cashmere moments hand wash. nivea has a whole line of moisturizing hand washes that feel so luxurious.
dial mandarin grapefruit, white tea and pomegranate & tangerine. dial too has a whole line of great smelling hand washes, all of them with beads that dissolve when you lather.
i saw these hand washes in sm hypermart, so they probably are also available in other sm branches and in watson’s. there are other variants aside from the ones shown, so you have a big oppotunity here to exercise your right to choose!
build the habit of washing hands. and stick to it!
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