Got an exclusive VIP invite to Iza Calzado's Beauty Talk that was held at the Pond's Institute Pop up Store at BGC on May 21.

Iza was a sight in white and gave a fun and informative talk about the secret to her beautiful skin, the Pond's Age Miracle line. 

She gave the attending Pond's girls a breakdown of her skin regimen:

First, CLEANSE with Pond's Age Miracle Cell ReGen Facial Foam, MOISTURIZE with Pond's Age Miracle Day Cream with SPF 15, TREAT the delicate skin around your eyes with Pond's Age Miracle Eye Cream and lastly CONCEAL skin imperfections with Pond's Age Miracle BB Cream.

Iza also gave us a tour of the Pond's Institute.

First, you have to register at the counter.

Next, you will use the Skin Analyzer to find out the biggest problems of your skin. It will give the stats of your pores, wrinkles, UV Acne, UV Spots, Roughness, Spots ans Sensitivity.

Next, you will be brought to the product recommendation area where the Ponds Skin Expert will recommend the best product to suit your skin problems.

Next, you can try out the product at the product demo station. Iza looked for a volunteer and she picked me! :D

Lastly, you can buy the product that you want at the counter. ^_~

Iza was so nice. ^_^

Me and Iza Calzado after the Beauty Talk of Pond's

Also got a free goodie bag of Pond's products from the Pond's Team.

After the talk, I tried the Skin Analyzer for myself. The results show that my pores are huge and my wrinkles are going out of hand. Well, I didn't really need a skin analyzer for that but thanks to MJ, the Skin Expert who assisted me, I found that I can use a serum to help minimize the size of my pores and a cream to moisturize my skin and help repair the wrinkles. 

Good thing the goodie bag already covered these things! I got a Pond's Dewy Rose Gel Moisturizer, Pond's Age Miracle Facial Foam, and a Pond's Age Miracle Serum. 

It was a pretty awesome day for Pond's Girls. I'm definitely looking forward to the next event! ^_^

Thanks to the Pond's Team for the invite and the free goodies!

Hooray for free Palmolive samples! I'm excited to try them all out. ^_^ All items are from @sampleroomph #SampleRoomPH #Palmolive #youcanfeelit #Free #samples #trybeforeyoubuy

A photo posted by @carurachan1 on Aug 11, 2015 at 3:24pm PDT

Palmolive Naturals Anti-Hair Fall Shampoo and Conditioner

After using the shampoo and conditioner combo, my first reaction was that it smells REALLY sweet. I'm all for sweet smelling hair but this takes the cake, and throws the cake way out into the mountains. I've rinsed out my hair twice and it still smells too sweet. For me at least. I'm not too fond of the strength of the scent.

As for the effect on the hair, it still makes it smooth and soft as promised. And hair fall is still minimal. I was previously using the hair fall control shampoo from dove and this combo has the same amount of hair fall after rinsing. After running my hands through my hair, I'll get 4 to 5 strands. But if I didn't use the hairfall shampoo, it's waaay more than just 5 strands.

Overall, pretty good product but I'd like to try another variant where the scent isn't too sweet.

Palmolive Naturals Flawless Clean Soap

The Palmolive Naturals Soap has specks of charcoal that is said to absorb impurities from your skin. The scent of the soap is pleasant and floral. After using it, my skin feels clean but not dry or streched. Overall, pretty good, but not sure if the charcoal really works. :D

Palmolive Naturals White Papaya Body Wash

The Palmolive Naturals White Papaya Body Wash is my favorite item in this bundle. Does it make sense that I used it immediately? I didn't even take a proper picture of it. haha
The wash is a light orange in color and is gooey almost like a cream which makes a lot of lather once used with a loofah. You can put just a coin sized amount on your loofah and it can wash your entire body. Absolutely love how economical it is. And it really moisturizes my skin as well as leaving it smelling nice and sweet. You should definitely try it!

This is a bundle of Palmolive samples that I ordered from Sampleroom.ph.Although they are technically free, you have to pay for a shipping fee that is worth 130 for anything more than 500 grams. 
Visit Sampleroom.ph to check out the available samples that you can try. :D

If someone suddenly asks you, "What do you do twice a week to keep you feeling clean and sexy?"

What will you answer?

I'd probably just stop and think.
I can't think of one thing off the top of my head that makes me feel Clean and Sexy at the same time.
If I want to feel clean, I'd take a shower.
If I want to feel sexy, I'd probably wear some slim fit clothes.

But, to feel Clean AND Sexy?

That's kinda hard.

Well, until now.

Today, BETADINE® Feminine Wash pioneers the Sexy Clean revolution.
It is a movement that encourages women to become their sexiest by staying clean down there, which means applying BETADINE® Feminine Wash TWICE A WEEK. It’s a feminine hygiene habit for women who want to experience less irritation and be more confident and sexy. It can also help lessen odor for that extra confidence boost. Even during and beyond the dreaded RED DAYS, BETADINE® Feminine Wash delivers that clean and sexy feel for an irritation-less week. BETADINE® Feminine Wash is Povidone Iodine 7.5% antiseptic feminine wash that protects from common germs that cause feminine discomfort. It’s known as the most prescribed product by Medical Doctors to mothers after giving birth, and it ranks number 3 in the Feminine Wash Category. It’s also number 1 in Liquid Anti Septic Feminine Wash Category.

Every woman can feel clean and sexy with proper intimate hygiene to be protected from itchiness, irritation and odor. 

All you need to do is use Betadine® Feminine Wash at least twice a week (or everyday during red days) and you'll be feeling Clean AND Sexy.

With BETADINE® Feminine Wash:

Join the #SexyCleanRevolution #IDoItTwiceAWeek #BETADINEFeminineWash

BETADINE® Feminine Wash can make you feel more than just Clean and Sexy.

Here's how:

To feel Flawless, Clean and Sexy:

Buy Betadine Feminine Wash 100mL and get 20% off on Flawless All Natural Ultimate White Facial and Cell Booster Infusion Mask.

Just present your receipt and box at any Flawless branch as proof of purchase.

To feel Posh, Clean and Sexy:

Buy Betadine Feminine Wash 100mL and get 10% off on all Posh Nails' services (excluding basic manicure and pedicure services). Just present your receipt and box at any Posh Nails branch as proof of purchase.

BETADINE® Feminine Wash is sold in all leading supermarkets and drug stores.

The 100ml bottle retails at P177 while the 50ml bottle retails at P105.

When BDJ made a teaser of cute makeup products that will be shipped out for the February BDJBox, I got excited.
When the Bellas I met in the Covergirl Soiree guessed that its probably a set of products from Japan, I was even more excited. Japan is always ever the source of cool and cute things.

When I got the box, I wasn't disappointed. XD

Cute Box Sleeve!

I got an entire box of full sized products from Japan. All in the January-February BDJBox.

You just can't help but be happy when you get full sized products from BDJ.  :D

To be honest, I'm not familiar with the brands in the box. Lucido-L, Pixy and Sunkiller are all foreign and new to me. So in the end, when I got over my initial headrush of getting a box full of full sized products, I only ended up using one product. The Bifesta Brightup Cleansing Lotion. Because it's the first time I got a makeup remover from BDJ.

I rarely go out without makeup, it's something common for me nowadays. (Thanks to BDJ of course. Have I mentioned that I've never bought my own make up until I got makeup in the BDJ Box?)
And since I always have makeup on, it's always a chore to clean it all off when the day is done.

The make up I put on my face ranges from just foundation+powder, to foundation+concealer+eyeshadow+waterproof eyeliner+blush+finishing powder (all of them from BDJ)

At the end of the day, usually I just wash my face with a cleanser and water, then use toner to clean off any remaining makeup. But the waterproof eyeliner is a chore to remove. I used to use the eye makeup remover from benefit, but since that's gone I used to keep washing my face to remove the eyeliner. The issue with that is that it takes more effort to clean it off.

Since I got the Bifesta Cleansing Lotion, boy did my life get easier.

Bifesta Cleansng Lotion from the BDJ Box

Don't let the term "Cleansing Lotion" fool you. It's not a cream or lotion. Bifesta is a water based makeup remover that is fragrance free and light. And it's really easy to use. I've been using it everyday since I got it. :)

Here I am with full makeup on.

Add some pumps of Bifesta cleansing lotion on a cotton pad, then wipe off the makeup.

After wiping half of my face, you will clearly see the difference. It removed the foundation, eyeshadow and eyeliner off the left side of my face. (The difference of the eye makeup is really significant. :D )

Then I wipe over the rest of my face

Now my face is all clean and I can go to sleep. :D

Pros:
*Easy to use: Just pump some on a cotton pad and wipe your face to remove makeup
*Removes all makeup, includes waterproof eye makeup
*Doesn't sting, you can swipe around your eyes to remove eyeliner without hurting em (versus the Benefit eye makeup remover. If that gets in your eyes while cleaning off makeup you better run to the closest sink and wash it off quick! It hurts!)
*Fragrance free, although it won't bother me even if it did have a scent
*Just a small amount is enough per use. I got my bottle mid Feb and after almost three weeks of daily use, I only used up maybe 20% of it.

Cons:
*Nothing really. But I'm not sure how the Brightup feature works. I don't see a brightening effect on my face after using it.

Overall, this Bifesta Cleansing Lotion is definitely something that should be part of your beauty regimen. At least when you're feeling lazy. It's a one step makeup removal product that is worth it's price. It's fairly affordable considering you get a 300 ml bottle for just around P400. And with that, this 7 day challenge is complete. :D

If you want to get your own BDJbox, just go to bdjbox.com and subscribe! It's P580 per month if you want to get just 1 box, but the cheapest option is the 6 month subscription for P3300, where you can get a box at just P550 each.

P.S
Everything in the February BDJBox is awesome.
I just haven't tried all of them just yet. :D

The video above is a quick video for the Pantene Miracle Promo of Belle de Jour.

It's a very simple video, just me swishing my hair left and right. But it's nice.

We took several takes before we got the right swish! Special Thanks to my sibling +Joulle Andrei Lee for bearing with me. :D

Hope you guys like the video. :)

If you have spare time, please like the post on Facebook to help me win.
https://www.facebook.com/BelledeJourPlanner/posts/10203704918045300

The following are all the items I received for the January-February 2015 BDJ Box. I will post a separate blog post for reviews of any item in the BDJ Box. :)

This is the first time I'm getting a January Box since I started subscribing with the BDJBox. I always thought that there would be 12 boxes in a year. I didn't know until I got it, that for January and February only one box is sent out. And that means there's only 11 boxes in a year. I was worrying for naught the entire month of January! :P

This month's box has products from Bifesta, Lucido-L, Pixy, and Sunkiller. All products are full sized and there's not a single small sample in sight! Awesome!

Let's have a look at what we got:

Sunkiller Perfect Strong SPF 50+
Lucido-L Treatment Oil Straight
Lucido-L Styling Milk Straight
Pixy Whitening Two Way Cake - Natural
Pixy Whitening Compact Powder - Natural
Pixy Eye Shadow - Romantic Poem 01
Pixy Blush on - Carnation Bloom 06
Bifesta Cleansing Lotion - Bright up

Sunkiller Perfect Strong SPF 50+

 

Lucido-L Styling Milk Straight and Lucido-L Treatment Oil Straight

Pixy Whitening Two Way Cake - Natural

Pixy Eye Shadow - Romantic Poem 01

Pixy Blush on - Carnation Bloom 06

Bifesta Cleansing Lotion - Bright up

Pixy Whitening Compact Powder - Natural

In case you're wondering why the Bifesta cleansing lotion isn't full, well. It's because I was using it already. And I forgot to take photos of each product before I used them, and I need them for this blog post so I took a photo anyway. This is the only product from this box that I've been using for the past week. :D

If you want to get your own BDJbox, just go to bdjbox.com and subscribe! It's P580 per month if you want to get just 1 box, but the cheapest option is the 6 month subscription for P3300, where you can get a box at just P550 each.

Visit bdjbox.com to sign up for the BDJ Box subscription and get a surprise every month (except for January). :)

Getting a full sized product from Sample room is always awesome and getting the full sized Olay Beauty Wash is even Awesomer. The packaging was nice and it came with a loofah for each bottle!

Olay Deep Moisture with Honey

Olay Whitening Moisture with Pearl Extract

On to the review of the Body wash. The first thing I liked when I used this wash is the scent. It's nice. I'm not too good in describing the scent but I liked it. next observation is that it's consistency is not too gooey. It's light. If you use just the body wash straight on your skin, it's can be spread easily and can wash off well.

But the downside of that is the lather, you need to add more of the body wash on the loofah. The common conception is that the bubblier the loofah the better. Because of this I ended up squeezing more of the body wash on the loofah after just washing half of my body because the bubbles had run out.

Final observation is the effect on my skin. Definitely similar to the feel of my face after washing it with the Olay facial wash, which I also use. My skin is soft after drying it with a towel and doesn't feel stretched or squeaky clean. Which is good, so I don't have to put a layer of lotion to make my skin soft. I hate having to put on lotion after shower. This helps me skip a step in my routine every morning.

The main difference of the two body washes that I tried is their scent. I prefer the scent of the honey wash over the pearl wash. Supposedly the honey has a deep moisture effect and the pearl one is for whitening. But I don't see the difference on my skin on the whitening aspect. I can't clearly discern any difference in the effect on my skin aside from the fact that it is softer after using either of them.

Thanks for the sample, Sample Room!


Please leave me a comment if you want to sign up to Sample Room so I can refer you! :)

Visit Sampleroom.ph to check the available products.

Bobbi Brown Cosmetics offers an extensive menu of personalized and complimentary lessons designed to empower each woman so she can become her very own makeup artist and skincare expert. All you need to do is to choose which Bobbi Makeup Lesson you would like to learn.

Photo from Bobbibrown.com

I tried it! It's really free! :)

Before I went to the Bobbi Brown Counter for the lesson, I registered on their website first.

https://www.bobbibrownmul.com/?c=PH

Depending on the available day, you might get a makeup tip, a video tutorial or a freebie!
When I registered last Feb 1, I got the coupon for a free Soothing Cleansing Oil Deluxe Sample.
After registering, I called up the closest branch which is in Shangrila and booked a session with them.

I chose 2 from the following Makeup Lessons:

Makeup Lesson Menu

Instant Pretty
5 Minutes
Secret to Perfect Skin
20 Minutes
Secret to Standout Eyes
20 Minutes
Everything Brows
20 Minutes
Party Makeup
45 Minutes
Bobbi’s Ultimate Makeup Lesson
45 Minutes

I chose Instant Pretty and Standout Eyes. I got to choose 2 makeup lessons because my friend Andrei came with me and he didn't need the lesson. obviously. But he also registered. haha

The makeup artist was very nice and gave simple instructions while applying the makeup. She gave pointers on how to apply foundation, eyeshadow, blush, and eyeliner. It all sounded simple and it was fascinating to watch through a mirror while she makes up my face.

Photo from +Joulle Andrei Lee 

 All done!

And here's the freebie I got. :)

Got a Cleansing Oil from Bobbi Brown today! Weeeheee Thanks!! :D #freebies #samples #bobbibrown

A photo posted by @carurachan1 on Feb 3, 2015 at 2:22am PST

Visit the site to register and get a complimentary makeup lesson for yourself. :)

Bobbi Brown Counter
Rustan’s Shangri-La
Level 1, Rustan’s Shangri-La Plaza
+632 633-4636

Explorers: +Ana Carla Pagulayan +Joulle Andrei Lee
Visited February 3, 2015

When I received the BDJ Box for December, I was pleasantly surprised to see an entire box of FULL SIZED PRODUCTS from Covergirl! I was ecstatic! :D

Not that I've never received full sized products nor have I not received a Covergirl product before. But this is the first time ever that I receive a box with only full sized products and not an iddy biddy sample in sight! Call me a happy camper :D

Here's a photo of all five items I got:

Lash blast Fusion Mascara Black
Black Smokey Shadow Blast Eye Color
Trublend Mineral Pressed Powder Shade 2
Trublend Foundation Shade 2
Cheekers Blush Rose Pink

Out of the five items that I got, I was only comfortable using the foundation, pressed powder and the mascara. For me, those items are the easiest to apply, all you have to do is blend the foundation and dab the pressed powder on it. As for the mascara, you just have to swipe it on your lashes. Easy!

I'm afraid of using the eye color and the blush tho. I have no idea how to use them properly. I'm afraid I'd put too much and look like a clown, and I don't want to look like a clown.

Anyway so, here are 7 days of pics of me when I used three Covergirl products from December.
I usually put on some eye shadow and lipstick too.
(I've never purchased lipstick or eye shadow or cosmetics of my own ever. I only got them from either Sample Room or the BDJ Box subscription. :D )

  Thursday: Covergirl mascara, foundation and pressed powder, Hotlights lipgloss

Friday (Party Time!): Covergirl eyeshadow, mascara, foundation and pressed powder, Revlon lipstick 

Saturday: Covergirl eyeshadow, mascara, foundation and pressed powder, Hotlights lipgloss, Fanny Serrano brown gel eyeliner

Sunday: Covergirl mascara, foundation and pressed powder, Fanny Serrano brown gel eyeliner

Monday: Covergirl mascara, foundation and pressed powder, Revlon lipstick, Fanny Serrano eyeshadow

Tuesday: Covergirl eyeshadow, mascara, foundation and pressed powder

Wednesday: Covergirl mascara, foundation and pressed powder, Revlon lipstick

From my experience, the foundation and the pressed powder work well together to even my skin color. I have very dark eyebags and putting on more foundation on that area helps my overall complexion (but not the form, you can still see them, of course) The liquid foundation is really easy to use for me. I've used cream foundation before that dries a lot quicker than this liquid foundation. What happens in my case is that when I put the cream foundation on my face and I didn't spread it around immediately, I'll end up with white splotches that are dried up on my face. I'll have to wipe it off with a wet tissue and try again. With liquid foundation, you have more time to spread and blend it on your face before it dries up. That being said, I still have an issue with putting too much foundation on my face and not so much on my neck. Another good thing with this foundation, is that it lasts even through sweat and oiliness. I just have to touch up a bit on the pressed powder to keep my nose from staying shiny but otherwise the makeup lasts the entire workday without much need of retouch.

While using the Covergirl foundation and pressed powder, I did not see any bad side effects of the cosmetics on my skin. No pimples emerged or any allergies. ( I just try to stay away from Maybelline as much as possible. That's the only product that caused my face to breakout after first use.)
I wish I knew about getting samples a long time ago so that I can try products without having to pay for them at full price. That way I can tell if my skin is "hiyang" to the product or not.

I love putting the Covergirl mascara on my lashes. My lashes look so much thicker! They get more depth with the mascara. And what I like about the Covergirl mascara, compared to the Benefit mascara I got from November, is that it doesn't clump my lashes too much. In other words, I got thicker and longer looking lashes with less clumping. Win win!


Thanks so much BDJ Box for giving out full sized Covergirl products last month!! :D
Visit www.BDJBox.com to sign up. I got the 6 month subscription back in July so the monthly fee is only 550 :)

+BDJ Box Team +COVERGIRL