Flawless' Birthday Treat

Last July, I had my first facial cleaning at Flawless in SM Pampanga.  I enjoyed the experience as I felt relaxed after a tiring day.  I raved about it and shared it to my friend, Nikki. Since she wanted to experience it as well, we set a date to have a facial cleaning at Flawless in Marquee Mall Angeles, City.  

It was my birthday when we visited the clinic.  I asked if there was any promotion for birthday celebrators and I was surprised to be told there is! I got to get a 50% off of all their services except for the Power Peel.

With that perk, I had their most expensive facial which costs 880 pesos and body scrub at 2000 pesos.  I also had a hair wax on my underarm. Talking about getting advantage of  the special day, huh?  LOL

Okay, so here's the experience.  While I was grateful with the big discount, I wasn't satisfied with the services. Let me itemize them for you.   

Facial Cleaning -  The facial massage was great but the pricking of blackheads and pimples hurt so much! The tool used was so thin/slim I think that the ends really hurt skin.  I've had enough facial in my life (there was even a time I had to go to my dermatologist's clinic every 2 weeks for 3 months just to have a facial cleaning to know what hurts and not). Even Nikki told me hers hurt as well.  (Nikki and I share the same dermatologist, Dra. Beatrice Canga-Pineda of BCP Clinic in Dau, Mabalacat, Pampanga).

Body Scrub with Bleach - While I like the scrub and wrap used which I believe complemented my super sensitive skin, I hate the ambiance and the shower head.  It was very inconvenient that when you wash off the scrub and wrap, your hair gets wet even if it was wrap in a shower cap (not plastic but looks like a paper was used!). The ambiance is not relaxing. Lights are too bright and temperature is cold.  I would prefer yellow light over fluorescent bulbs to use to add a peaceful mood as well as adding scented candles and music to put the client's mind at sleep. 

Hair wax - Not all hair were removed and it left a chicken skin.  

Naturally bare?

This is a review of a product I just recently bought from Sally Hansen yesterday.  I was supposed to buy the wax strips from Veet  as my sister raves about them, however, I was approached by a Sally Hansen sales assistant and asked me if I was looking for a hair removal, so she started to sales talk me and eventually gave in and bought their Naturally Bare Honey wax set.

I was excited to try it that I prepared my legs for the procedure.  Following the instructions with a repetition of wax  and "plastic" strips (made from corn) being applied and pulled, I thought I would be happy with the result. Unfortunately, my  legs are not hairless as there were not much hair being removed. With that, I have to shave still which is an easier and cheaper task.

I so regret that I bought this product, an expensive one which costs me 1000 PHP.  I should have remained on my original plan on trying the Veet wax strips.  A lesson I learned, I should not be convinced on the information the sales assistants supply and should not go on impulse buying.

Flowers make me give my best smile :)

Jill of all trades, that's what some would always tell me.  I would say, I am not.  I am just a person with so many interests that consequently, negatively affect my life.  Hahah!

It's frustrating when you  enjoy "so much" of many things that the tendency is losing  focus.  Until now, I don't know which among my interests is the most appealing for me.  LOL.

Anyway, here's one of the many things that I love to do.  I think only a few people knows that I love flowers, thus I got to like flower arrangement.  I even had a seminar workshop about 7 or 8 years ago with Pancho Pantig, a famous florist in Pampanga just to gain knowledge of this field.

In the years that passed, I was able to apply what I have learned during a wedding of a friend's friend where I made corsages and bouquets for the entourage and the bride, on a wedding of my uncle where I became the official florist/make-up artist/cook/photographer (what more can you ask for? hehehe!), during one Halloween party at work where I made headdresses for my teammates and on All Saint's Day.

Recently, I was tasked to arrange three pots of flowers on All Saint's Day.  It has been a long time since I arranged one and I was glad I still remembered a few principles.  The arrangement was not that spectacular but I was proud of the outcome given the limited resources.  :)

Goodbye, Wordpress!

I am moving my site back to Blogger - http://dimmpss.blogspot.com/ so I'll be more in touch with my blogger friends.  I'll keep this site for a few more days and will delete it permanently for I can't figure out how to redirect it.  :(

Thanks much, Wordpress for the months you shared with me.  It's a memory worth remembering for. Hehe!

 

Happy Birthday, Mye!

My youngest sister, Mylene is indeed a true lady now.  I was in Grade 6 when she was born.  She's 23 years old now.  Do the math and calculate my age (but if you know what the corresponding number for emerald is as posted on my previous post, you'll know my age).  Am getting too old, huh?

Mye has always been my assistant in the kitchen and I am glad she's following the career path that I missed.  I just wish she would be able to fulfill my dream career for I know she'll enjoy it and be contented.  She just has to listen to her elder sisters and forget about her sensitivity. Hehe!

Happy Birthday, Mye.  More birthdays to come and not a wedding day yet, okie?   You still have 3 elder sisters before you who need to walk down the aisle. Allow us to do that first. ;-)  

Btw, I got your pictures from your Facebook account.  I know you can be a...

...true pastry chef and a restaurateur

...a classic model  or...

...a print-ad model look-alike of erich (minus the nose)...heheh!

I just turned "emerald"!

While typing the title of this post made me smile.  If only my English teachers could read it, I may get a spank on my ass for it. Hahah!

Kidding aside, emerald symbolizes certain number of years in marriage.  I "borrowed" that stone to describe my age which obviously, I would not disclose in this post. Heheh!  So, do some research, folks.

On this day, I would like to thank the dear Lord for another fruitful year, my family  and friends for the love and never-ending support on any confusion I have in life. Hahah!  Sounds like a speech? Nah! Just being thankful.

To my readers, from Wordpress to here - here's my latest look on my "emerald day"!  Happy Birthday to ME! Hahah!

PS: This is a silly post, really! Forgive me, it's my birthday. 

PS1: This is a delayed post as today is already 9th of November and it's not my birthday, but my dear youngest sister, Mylene.

PS2: Not the game. LOL. Corny, sorry. Blogger will be my new home starting on this day.  I'll keep my Wordpress account for a few days and will delete it so all readers would go to this site instead.

PS3: Don't imitate this. There's no PS1 to PSnth. Check at the bottom what's correct. :p

TRIVIA:  What does PS mean? It means "pahabol sa sulat" for those Filipinos out there.  Wiki  has the answer for that in English, of course.


P.S. at the end of a letter stands for Post Script. Post=after and script=letter. After Letter message. And P.P.S. = post, post script. They are both for if you forgot to write something in the letter, and want to add it in. 

An advance birthday gift!

I just arrived at home from work (yes, I worked on a holiday - All Saint's day!) and was greeted by my sister, Maricar who arrived from Batangas this evening. She was already half-asleep and told me not to get cookies from our kitchen which she bought from Bizu .  Just hearing the word Bizu, in a few seconds, my face transformed from excitement to disappointment  for she told me she bought the  cookies for a friend.  She knows I have been craving for some cookies in Bizu.Even as sleepy as she was, she laughed at the transformation of my face! Hahaha!  Oh well, I can't describe how that was.  LOL.

Cookies she bought for a friend. Hmm, I wonder to whom.

Until finally, I learned she was only kidding me and she told me I have a pack of 8 different flavors of  macaron de Paris!!!  She laughed again as my eyes sparkled of her news and told me it's her birthday present.  I immediately checked her present and was ecstatic seeing these beauties in our refrifgerator:

Aren't they beautiful?  I was too excited to munch them!  LOL.  Make a guess which I took first.

After about a minute or two, this is what was left. Hahaha! Talking about being ravenous...of sweets or of macaron de Paris to be specific. LOL.  I started with my favorite - Pistachio flavor, followed by Blueberry and Vanilla.  As of this writing, I only have three left as I already finished the mango and raspberry. Darn, I can't help it!

The truth is even if I was disappointed as the quality deteriorated, I could still finish all 8 flavors in one sitting.  That's how addicted I am with this French cookies.  I fell in love with them 5 years ago.  It started with reading too much about these cookies from the blog of  "The Girl Who Ate Everything" when she was still studying in Paris.   Then it progressed to visualizing how they taste like until I got my first bite from Bizu's branch in SM Mall of Asia before it closed. That didn't stop me there. When I learned there was a class offered by Chef Vicki Villanueva at Heny Sison Culinary School, I immediately signed up and took it. Unfortunately, I didn't practice what I learned for I didn't even try to bake a single cookie for I find them complex to make.

I hope one day I will have the courage and confidence to bake them.  I wish too that I will have the chance to go to Paris to taste the authentic ones from Laduree, Fauchon or Pierre Herme!

***Gracias, Maricar for the sweet treat!!!  :D



Nice to know facts from Wikipedia:

A macaron is a sweet confectionery. Its name is derived from an Italian word "maccarone" or "maccherone". This word is itself derived from ammaccare, meaning crush or beat, used here in reference to the almond paste which is the principal ingredient.^[1] It is meringue-based: made from a mixture of egg whites, almond flour, and both granulated and confectionery sugar.

The confectionery is characterized by its smooth, domed top, ruffled circumference (referred to as the "foot"), flat base, mildly moist and easily melted into mouths.^[2] Connoisseurs prize a delicate, egg shell-like crust that yields to a moist and airy interior. The macaron is commonly filled with a buttercream or jam filling sandwiched between two macaron cookies.

Macarons can be found in a wide variety of flavors that range from the traditional (raspberry, chocolate) to the new (truffle, green matcha tea).^[3] Since the English word macaroon can also refer to the Coconut macaroon, many have adopted the French spelling of macaron to distinguish the two items in the English language. However, this has caused confusion over the correct spelling of the cookie. Some recipes exclude the use of macaroon to refer to this French confection while others think that they are synonyms.^[4]