Tuesday, January 31, 2017

Add Extra Protection for your Face, Hair and Skin

When you start to age your skin will show unwanted marks and line, and to some, the worst scenario can be skin breakage that can lead to infection. 
There was a part of my life when my face was covered with pimples and led to acne and this was during my adult life. I became depressed with my skin condition that time. Really our face skin can make a great impact on how we live our everyday life.

I turned 42 last December and evidently, my skin shows aging... the thing we all women are scared of. When I was younger my fear of turning 30 made me nervous but when I surpassed that number and years gone by, all I can think of is to maintain how I look, on how to present my self when I am out in public. I love and like enhancing my look by wearing makeup especially when I go to work. My skin takes a breather when I am at home and no plans of going out. Taking care of your skin can be a handful. I know some can go to the extent that they spend the whole day in their bedroom in front of the vanity mirror or even go to skin specialist...if you can afford please do so. 

For me, I like to check on new products in the market or even skin products that I received or given to me as gifts and try it out. I always give faith to the brand and as long as it doesn't give my skin a negative reaction or sensitivity I will stick to it until the last drop. 

So for my added protection and aid for my skin and hair, these are the products I am currently using. A couple of it is very new to me and I will give justice to the brand for a quick insight. 

Etude House Happy Time Cleanser Aloe Vera

I remember when I was a kid we have this large pots of aloe vera my Nanay (grandmother) grew. And, she always encouraged us to use the aloe vera to grow hair and it is also to aide natural shine to hair strands. So I am very much aware of what aloe vera looks like especially the scent. So when I opened the tub I remember my childhood.
Happy time cleanser can be used for makeup removal by massaging the cream all-over your face. Wipe it out with cotton balls or even a soft cloth. Rinse face after every use.
This can be used as an added help to remove make-up, I noticed that Pond's facial wash can't remove all that stubborn color from make-up especially on the eyes. But with this cleanser, it works fine. You just need to be careful when applying near the eyes since it can get your eye red and watery. The cream is white in color and cold and smells amazing.
This was given to me by Ate Amy as a gift along with the Etude House #7 Every Month Cleaning Foam which I posted a review of my experience.

Pantene Pro-V All Day Smooth Miracle Water
Every now and then I tried to switch hair care brands and Pantene is always included in it. Having a long hair and maintaining the length for some time now literally consume time. So every after shower before leaving the house I use this with two pumps of the product and apply it all over my damped hair from top to the tips, and make a bun until I reach the office to have it fixed. It can create a smooth and easy to manage hair especially mine. It has a mild scent too. The plastic bottle has a pump so you can regulate the amount you need. From the name of the product brand "Miracle Water," you can get the idea of what you can benefit from it. Some side-down of this product is the price. It is pricey to regular consumers who can't afford an extra hair-care brand along with their daily. This is my last bottle and I might not push to buy a new one for the price reasonable. I hope Pantene can do something about this and let the consumer enjoy the product at a little cheaper price. 

Neutrogena Age-Shield Face Oil-free Lotion

Is it just me or some of you hate sunscreen? Not for the effective use of it but why does screen lotion feel so sticky. Taken that we are in a humid country but sunscreen can really put you from confident feel to feeling haggard. But, we all need sunscreen for reasons! Protecting out entire skin from harmful sun rays that can cause aging and even worse is skin cancer. I am using this every time I don't need to wear makeup like going to the market on weekend morning or when I ride my bike passed the safe time to go under the sun. As what the product claims to be an oil-free lotion it still feels sticky and makes my skin sweaty too. But, I still use it...thinking of the main purpose of protecting my skin to harmful sun rays. 
I got this tube at Royal DF shop a couple of months ago and it was on sale for less the 30%, that is why I bought it. 

So there you have it, my latest addition to my skin, hair and face products to aid and help protect my skin from aging. 
How about you, any new products you have been using lately and wanted to share the experience? Drop any at the comment section below and I am excited to read it.

Thanks for dropping by, enjoy the rest of the week! :)


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Friday, January 27, 2017

Looking for a Guitar Center Store in your Area?

With technology nowadays, looking for a physical store with the help of going online saves you time and money. All you have to do is to search over the internet and for sure you can go ahead and proceed to your destination. 
Along with the easy-breezy of going of hitting the search button online, you can also see what you are looking for by checking out the website of the store.

One example for all music lover out there who are so into guitars and stuff and living in the US. 
Here is one store where you can get all your guitar needs with the best deal of best gear. 
Check out Guitar Center Richmond!

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Thursday, January 26, 2017

Marks & Spencer Tin Canned Cookies

When I was a kid I never got a chance to own a tin can pencil case or a lunch box which was the coolest thing to have back in the 80's. I never complained but my heart was asking for it. Maybe, being a kid gives you that sense of wanting something that you can show-off to your classmates or even for kids your age. 



So when we got these tin can from Marks & Spencer somehow brought me to that age again and I was automatically in memory lane. 



We got these for my daughter as one of her birthday gifts at Marks & Spencers with an assortment of cookies inside. She literally is so obsessed with anything that has the United Kingdom in it. That is her dream place to go to...someday!



The cans were a bit pricey because you know the brand speaks for itself and also having it as a themed tin can with cookies inside.






So we opened this light blue can and cookies were wrapped in singles and different variants per pack.



I love the ginger cookie which ginger bits are very evident in every bite, daughter did not like that flavor. Some are plain chocolate cookie butter cookies and the rest were chocolate oatmeal cookies. 
Each can cost around Php 700-750, and after you consumed those amazing butter cookies you can reuse those cans for school or storage for your art materials, paper cuts or even pen and pencils. Well, that was really the main purpose. All the cans are empty now and now on my daughter's study table,, not sure what she placed inside but I am sure everything is cool. :)



Were you be able to get the holiday tin cans from M&S last time? 



Tuesday, January 24, 2017

Information About Xoom x PayPal Service

So this morning I was checking out videos of my favorite YouTubers and I came across Mikey Bustos' vlog of the behind the scenes for the commercial he was doing with Xoom. He mentioned Xoom a PayPal Service. I finished the vlog and after that, I searched online for the product service of Paypal and Xoom.

As you all know I am a Paypal user and my account with them was for years now. I accept and issue payments using my Paypal account and also linked that account to some of the money transfer services which I can withdraw money from.

I have heard of Xoom many times but I am not aware of the service, never tried it before.

As a Paypal user, I always look for ways to have my money on that account be withdrawn or cash out anytime I want with easy transfer of course and fewer charges. So, I am looking into this service and checked out the process for requesting money from family abroad.

I screenshot photos of the steps in transacting up to the last step which I can accommodate with my Paypal account.

When I Googled Xoom and Paypal, the top search was Xoom + Paypal linked website.

Xoom is now a part of the Paypal family!
Send money in seconds, reload phones instantly or pay international bills.

Send requests to the U.S. anytime!
All you need is your loved one's email address. They can quickly fulfill your request online or through Xoom's mobile app.

Select country of remittance.

Choose what would you like to request. 
Request money. Reload phone for airtime credits or Pay bills like utilities etc of a family back home.

Networks you can pick-up your cash that was sent to you.
BDO, Cebuana Lhuillier, Metrobank, SM and the rest.

You can request in USD currency from $10.00 up to $2,999.00.

Or request it in a Philippine currency of  Php 484.80 up to Php 145,391.50.

But, first, you need to have a Xoom online account before it can be processed. I registered an account using my name that is the same on my identification card plus other details too.
An email was sent to me for confirmation.




I got the email in seconds and confirmed my email address through the link indicated in the email.
This led me to this page and where I need to choose the transaction needed.

Xoom via Paypal also offers money-back guarantee.
They guarantee that the money will be received or they will refund the sender in full.

This is a great service and a way to make the online-money transaction easy breezy.
No need to set-up a bank account which can eat up most of the clients time falling in long-lines during banking hours or be cut-off of the bank's limited time. 

So, the idea looks feasible and great. But, when I checked my Paypal account I couldn't find the tab that says send money to family and friends internationally.

I am seeing the same version of send and request money. I am not sure why or an update is needed or maybe the Xoom via Paypal only caters to specific Paypal account users only?
This is my next step to discover and find a solution so I can try and test this service for real.

How about you? Have you tried this service before? How was the experience?
Hit me some suggestions and comments below and I can wait for the help.
















Monday, January 23, 2017

GumAlive The Spa Toothpaste!

Look what I brought to work? #GumAlive The Spa Toothpaste! This was part of my prize from Ms.Prelel from her blog and just recently we tried the full tube at home. 


The prize was a full tube of GumAlive Natural Whitening which was my personal pick since winners can choose which variant they want. The prize comes with a 20gram sample tube and good thing they gave another variant for me to try out. 

Okay, here are our thoughts when we used the brand for the first time. 
The taste weirded us because it was really the scent when you enter a spa where everything smells menthol. With just a pea size of the paste and the color gray from the variant, I chose it was not that appealing. It also has the weird taste of charcoal! It also has this aftertaste when done brushing teeth. 

After brushing I read again the box of the toothpaste and there confirmed all my thoughts about. Yes, I did not read thoroughly the box information before using it. I wanted to have a first-hand impression of it and not basing it on the box info.

So the information stated:
GumAlive Natural Whitening 
For healthy gum, natural white and clean teeth.
Bodhical Extract, Bamboo Salt, and White Bamboo Charcoal:

*Eliminates residue from tooth surface without the side-effects of abrasive bleaching substances.
*Maintains the balance between purely cleaning teeth and caring for tooth surface.

From the appeal, taste, and color to the after use of the paste. It convinced me 100% that this oral care brand really stands out its purpose. Every after brush teeth and breath feels fresh. And, I got used to the taste which eventually leads me to want to use it more. 
Although I was used to using commercialized toothpaste it was not that bad to try out a different brand. 

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The sample tube I got and brought to work is the GumAlive Fresh Breath variant with Guava Leaf Oil, Distilled Wood Vinegar, Sacred Fig Tree's Bark Extract, Chamomile Extract, Cloves oil, and Mint.

Using this brand for your oral care you might have to adjust your budget a little because a tube is a little expensive compared to the commercial brands in the market. 

GumAlive toothpaste cost about Php395 per full-size tube. 

I'm a happy user with a big smile until the tube runs out. :) 

Saturday, January 21, 2017

Pampering Prize from Nailaholics Spa

Last October I joined a raffle contest in Nailaholics FB page and they drew the winners last January 3. I won free manicure and pedicure for two and claimed it last Tuesday. The city declared non-working holiday that day and it was a good time to use the prize since Nailaholics had conditions for claiming. 
Prizes can be used on weekdays from 10-12 noon until the end of January only. 

We went to Nailaholics- SM City Olongapo branch at 10 am exactly and Ms.Espie accommodated my prize for claiming.

My first time in this nail spa and the experience shown below through photos.
I brought my daughter with me for my plus one.

We were the only customer the time we went there and few minutes some customers came in but the brand doesn't have enough staff to accommodate. 
Even my daughter needed to wait for my services to be done before hers.

The place is very relaxing and you can definitely get that relaxing pampering time needed. 


Serene island manicure costs P190
Palm Beach pedicure costs P230
While I was having my pedicure I took pictures of my daughter because the inside of the spa was too cute.





We had a good time for a mommy and daughter pampering bonding. 
Thank you Nail-a-holics for the prize! 






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What Do Women Want On Valentines Day?

When my daughter asked me a few days ago, Mom, since Valentine's Day falls on the 14th and payday, doesn't come the next day does it means we don't celebrate Valentine's Day?
I was kind of surprised when she asked me that question, make sense in a way that she was being realistic and practical. I laughed for a bit and explained to her that Valentine's Day can be celebrated in the simplest way and does not require to wait for payday. 
I guess that is how kids perceive Valentines nowadays. 

As I elaborate to her the sense of celebrating Valentine's Day as a kid can understand it, I am confident that she understood it very well. A part of her question made me think again. 

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Valentine's day is a day of LOVE, whatever kind or type of love that someone can give to others. To all the women out there, here is a simple question for you.

What do women want on Valentines Day?

Here is a simple survey consist of eight questions that can help you choose and make Valentine's day a simple and memorable one. https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/88CSBNL. The survey is provided to us by RattanDirect.

After answering the survey I know now what I want. :)

Friday, January 20, 2017

My Easy Baked Chicken Ala King Recipe

My son suggested this dish last night before we left from work and we passed by the grocery and meat shop to get some ingredients we needed. 

Here is my easy baked Chicken Ala King recipe that you might want to try out.
It will take you less than an hour to prepare and cook everything including the rice.

Ingredients are ( picture is shown below)

2- whole chicken breast without skin cut into small cubes
2- cups of cream

Use any brand according to your preference.
butter or vegetable oil will do for sauteeing, use both as the butter will add flavor to the cream.

diced carrots and young corn for added crunch and color and also a good source of vitamins and fiber.

Open a can of mushrooms and add a cube of chicken bouillon to add flavor.
canned green peas or fresh.
garlic and onion minced
grated cheese. 
Again use any cheese you have in the fridge. I used Kraft quick melt cheese for this recipe.
A dash of fresh ground black pepper.
And, the second most important ingredient fresh cooked white rice
Sautee garlic, onion and chicken meat until tender.
Add cream when meat is brown. Add salt and pepper, stir. Add vegetables after a minute adds the cream in low heat. Simmer for about 5minutes in low fire, for not to curd the cream. Adjust the thickness of the cream by adding a dissolved tablespoon of flour in water. Add half of the grated cheese and simmer on low heat until the desired thickness.

Trivia: the casserole I used was a hand over casserole from my mother and she got it from her mother too. So basically this casserole is approximately a little over 50 years old now. :) 

Layer the cooked white rice in an oven safe pan or dish. I used my Chef's Classic Paella Pan for this rice dish.

Topped the rice with the creamy chicken with grated cheese covering the whole area.
Slide it in the oven in 200 degrees for about 10-15 minuted or until the cheese is melted.

Served hot, you can sprinkle some chili flakes per plate for add more kick and contrast to the cream.

This flavorful creamy rice dish serves 6-8 and way more cheap than ordering plate in a fast food restaurant. 

You can also check the video of  the dish on my YouTube channel click here Bits-en-Pieces





Monday, January 16, 2017

Shop Online for Wigs and Hair Extensions

Are you considering in taking a new step in going up a notch when styling your hair with added color or length to it? Well, this time you don't need to wait for months and months or even years for your hair to grow long. You can consider buying wigs or hair extensions. 

There are lots of online and physical shops who sells wigs and hair extensions. And, the variety, style, and color are huge. Did you know that you can also get a natural hair for wigs and hair extensions? Yes, there are companies who sell natural hair so the worry of managing and styling can be so easy. 

Personally, I would consider buying hair extensions although they are a little pricey. It is like investing in something useful and beautiful at the same time. I can go blond, ombre, wavy or straight every single day and strut my way to a confident me. 

Here is one online shop that caters the need for hair wigs and hair extensions. 
Hairplusbase.com
Hairplusbase
They offer the widest variety of hairstyles and colors of hair wigs and extensions plus they are on SALE!

Check out what are my personal picks that I am considering. 


16 Inch #4 Medium Brown Clip In Indian Remy Human Hair Extensions Fascinating Body Wave 7 Pcs
                                          Ombre Tape in Hair Extensions

This hairstyle definitely can go for an everyday look with natural curls. And it looks so easy to do with just a few clicks by attaching the clips. 


Silky Straight Indian Remy Hair Glueless Lace Front Wigs
                                             Full Lace Wigs for Women

When I saw this photo I saw myself wearing this full lace wig not just because I like Kim Kardashian but the hairstyle somehow suits my everyday hairstyle and the length is just right about the same as mine.
There are so many options to look for but getting the genuine brand will stand out.

So what are your takes in hair wigs and hair extensions?

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Wednesday, January 11, 2017

Creating a hassle-free poll through APEO


Time is very essential in the world we live in. That is why we always seek for ways to our daily lives to be easy and smooth. 

Surveys and online polls are good examples. I personally like creating and answering polls for an easier question and answer when I wanted a concise and allowing my readers a less tedious time by considering their opinion on topics. And, listen to them and understanding the community in general. I used to create polls using apps for free that I searched on the internet. 



I came across this website which I can download and create polls in just a few clicks. 

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Simple. Fast. No chatter – that’s what APEO guarantee you!

Through generating a poll simple and quickly, Apeo now makes things easier whether you are seeking for answers or knowing opinions that matter.
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Apeo allows you to ask your readers anything and get a quick feedback from your on-going platforms simultaneously while giving you the choice between spreading the word and a more targeted approach. The answers are anonymous so you know you’re getting them right. You can quickly discover the majority’s viewpoint on a certain issue and learn how your readers/followers view and feel at any given topics.

Despite all the various platforms for team and group communication at our disposal, still, decision-making can be time-consuming and an exhausting ordeal.

To cut the endless chatter and get quick answers on the go we created APEO
Crafting a poll through Apeo will get you more engaged to reach your audience which will give them a chance to speak for themselves.

With its real-time result, you can quickly understand, analyze the response and share it on social media. It’s almost an instant!

And the best thing, it won’t hurt your pocket because it’s free! All you need to do is to sign up and create a poll. Hassle-free, right? You can even have the freewill to customize the background and styled it to match the theme you want through APEO app or website. 

Apeo allows anyone to create a customized, stylish looking poll in less than a minute from their mobile and sends it to via any messaging platform, social network (twitter, FB, Slack), mail, embed in a website and so on. The poll results are displayed anonymously in the app in real time so you know you get the true answers.

How to use APEO:
1. GO to http://app.apeo.co/#register. Register for a new user account. 
2. LOGIN. Enter your registered email and password. You will e redirected once you confirm your email.
3. Create POLL.
4. Select the answer type, Add text options, customize your poll, select background image.
5. Share your Poll using the share button.


As you can see, the app is pretty much simple easy to navigate. You'll be able to see the results of all your polls in your account and share them anytime on any of your social media accounts. 
#AmazingApeo

Here is the poll that took me just a minute to create. You can answer and share it too and enjoy! Kindly click on the link below.

http://app.apeo.co/7d3nig