Purederm 3 in1 Beauty Magic BB Cream

I've already done a review on Purederm's other variant of this BB cream in the past right here. While that one has shimmer in it, this one is the matte version. I'm sure by now y'all are familiar with BB creams. The multi-tasking pseudo-foundation that first gain popularity in Korea. BB Creams have the coverage like that of tinted moisturizers with SPF of a sunscreen and other skin care benefits. If you're always in a hurry and is a busy bee, BB creams might make your life easier. Though not all BB creams are created equal. Most of them come off too white for the Filipina skin and not all skin types react pleasantly to it. Purederm's BB Creams are quite affordable compared to others out in the market and is much more accessible to the public. Compared to the Pearl variant I've reviewed before which looks ashy, off the tube, this one has a yellow undertone.

This used to retail for Php600+ but I chanced upon this at Watson's Makati for half the price at Php329 so I decided to pick this up and try it out. I really wanted it for the SPF factor and I thought it be a perfect base to even out my skin tone. But this is quite deceiving. If you'll see below, the yellow undertone sort of vanishes when this BB cream is spread out. It turns almost white. So, you'd have to be careful from applying too much. A pea size might be safe enough, but then again, with that much you should not expect much coverage with this thing. 

The cap isn't great either. As tight as you screw it on, you always end up with a messy tube.

I'm glad I got this at a sale price otherwise, I'd be so pissed off. I still have to find a way to work this out for me so it won't go to waste. Any suggestion?

Till then,

Double Review: Mario Badescu Buffering Lotion and Mario Badescu Drying Mask

First product from Mario Badescu I tried, the glycolic foaming cleanser, impressed me a lot and love till this day. Helps a lot in terms of preventing pore congestion but still wasn't enough to ward off those pesky cystic acne breakouts that would pop out every so often. While using the cleanser, I had one so stubborn it won't go away. Since MB left me a good first impression, I turned to them again for a possible solution. Browsing through their website, I across the buffering lotion which, according to them:

Price: Php 1,095 29mL bottle

Place to buy: Rustan's essences or www.mariobadescu.com

"Specifically designed to treat large, deep, cystic acne, the buffering lotion covers large erupted areas for overall treatment. Formulated with nourishing B vitamins and amino acids for healthy skin as well as soothing anti-inflammatory herbal extracts to promote healing. Reduce cystic acne fast with this deep penetrating, fast absorbing formula. "

INGREDIENTS: Deionized Water,Isopropyl Alcohol,Sodium Sulfate, Zinc Oxide,Hydrolyzed Serum Protein, Hydrolyzed Yeast Protein,Pyridoxine, Niacinamide, Panthenol,Propylene Glycol, Allantoin, Biotin

Same with Mario's bestselling drying lotion, the buffering lotion's solution also separates into two components. But opposed to the former wherein shaking of the bottle is strongly discouraged, the buffering lotion should be shaken thoroughly before application. 

see that white stuff at the bottom?

Consistency is liquid, not creamy. Sort of reminds me of a regular eye drop with its pointed spout. Also smells like rubbing alcohol. Not surprising due to one of it's active ingredients:isopropyl alcohol.

I was really excited to use this when I got home. I've religiously applied it on the existing stubborn cystic breakout I had for a week. Sad to say though, it did not work for me. Another one even started to appear just beside it. I was really disappointed. But I had major expectations as well, so that is unavoidable.  

Mario Badescu recommends this to be used hand in hand with their drying mask but I ain't ready to shell out more dough scared that it may not work just like the buffering lotion. A sample was what I needed. But you know what happened the last time I asked at Rustan's right? So I decided to just go directly to Mario Badescu for some assistance. Let me just say here, that MB has a stellar customer service. I guess this is one of the reasons they've been around for this long. They guide you with every question you needed answer to. And consumers really appreciate a great customer service. I told them my concern and was nice enough to send me a sample of their drying mask. This will bring us to the next part of this double review...

Update: I used this alone when I felt something was about to come on and it worked! It stopped the cystic acne in its track. So this works well with that but a bit useless for full blown cystic acne breakouts.

Price: Php 1,145 2oz. jar

Place to buy: Rustan's essences or www.mariobadescu.com

"Help clear acne eruptions. This Colloidal Sulfur based mask dries existing pimples and oil and helps clarify problematic, acne prone skin. Soothing Calamine makes this mask safe and gentle for most skin types. Great for back and chest acne eruptions as well. Best when used as a companion product to our Healing & Soothing Mask and Buffering Lotion."

INGREDIENTS: Deionized Water (Aqua), Kaolin,Wheat (Triticum Vulgare) Starch,Calamine,Ichthammol,Propylene Glycol, Colloidal Sulfur, Titanium Dioxide 

Mario Badescu products encased in jars are properly sealed to keep it fresh. :D

Now, before you go out and think of trying this out, I'm gonna warn you of the smell. Since one of the major ingredients of this mask is Sulfur, this smells like newly-bought kicks or burnt rubber. The smell is strong alright. I even got a headache on my first use but it wasn't  mind-numbing pain and did go after a few minutes so it was okay. This sure smells like hell but boy, it works! I applied it on the cystic acne after I put on a layer of the buffering lotion and leave it 20 minutes. After I wash it off I apply the buffing lotion again just as instructed. It dried out the acne flat in just 2 days. 

Texture is just like a regular Kaolin-based face mask and dries quickly. I also used this alone as a mask on my nose. Left it for 20 minutes and washed it off. The pores on my nose decreased greatly in size. So if you're the type who couldn't be bothered by holding your breath a couple of minutes, this is worth the try. Feels nice to have this on hand just in case an ugly breakout strikes back. This time I'm armed and ready! Recommended for oily skin as it can make dry skin worse (hence the name drying mask) :D

Have you tried any of these products? How did it work for you? I'd definitely like to know! :D

Till then,

Birthday Buffet at Vikings Mall of Asia

Buffets, where do I start? If you are a small eater, buffets may not be a smart choice for you money-wise. But if you are one of them who have stomachs like a cow with an insatiable passion for food, then this is heaven.

I remember the first time I ate at Yakimix, I was a happy kid going out of that restaurant. The smokeless grill was a new experience back then. You could go ballistic grilling practically anything you could get your hands on on that thing! ( might be smart to limit that to anything edible though, or you might get strange looks from nearby tables, worse be kicked out). :D

Lately, buffets had been our favorite pick to celebrate birthdays. Last November 28 was my sister's birthday. She decided to celebrate her special day at Vikings. It was also perfect because Vikings' celebrating their anniversary and with that, anyone who dine in on the day of their birthday with at least 2 more paying adult dine in for free. So off we went.

Online reservation wasn't available. We were advised to just drop by and wait to be seated. We agreed to meet up at 7:00 PM. My sister got there first and had us on the waiting list. There were several comfortable couches outside and there is free wi-fi around the Mall of Asia so waiting wasn't much of a bother. I think we were seated after 45 minutes.

while waiting to be seated...

Vikings is a bit more expensive that Yakimix. But at Vikings, drinks are already included. You could take a pick from various juices, colas, even hot tea and coffee! Choices too are greater. They have the Fried station, Chinese station, Carving Station, Grilled station, Salad station,Dessert Station, and so much more!

started the feast with a serving of hot clam chowder (very tasty) and...

a couple of things off of the Salad station and appetizers. Egg and cauliflower salad, walnut bread,
blinis and caviar, a rich pile of a salad with orange-sesame dressing.

Then, of course, the very sinful fried station. Calamares (my favorite!),  shrimp tempura, tuna tempura,
breaded chicken fillet and 2 slices of Vikings' special pizza (one slice is already obliterated! Sooo...good!).

And then some...dimsum! Taro bun, Hakaw, scallop dumplings, pork siomai, and sharksfin siomai.
Hakaw and scallop Dumplings were my favorite!

Grilled Station: Tuna and Squid. The squid was a bit overcooked :(

Bleh! I just had to try the lamb. It was not a great idea. Downing this was like competing in Fear Factor!
To the left was the lamb and to your right is beef. That's still mooing by the way. Eeeeewwww.... didn't finish this plate. Just didn't have the heart  for it.

That meat almost ruined the whole experience for me. Thank goodness there was still dessert. By this time we were full. We skipped the native delicacies such as the kakanin(rice cakes) and halo-halo. But the red velvet cake was a winner. You shouldn't pass that up when you have the chance. The ice cream was pure bliss. We chose a scoop of both the Dark Chocolate ice cream and the Avocado ice cream (which tasted like the real fruit itself!).  

By the end of the night we were all extremely full. Something I've never encountered at Yakimix. Heck, I didn't want to look at food for a while after that! :D But it was all good. A very happy birthday experience for my sister.

A little playful tug at the Viking's braids to cap off the evening ;D

Contact Information

VIKINGS - A Feast From The Sea
Bldg. B, By The Bay, Seaside Boulevard, SM Mall of Asia, Pasay City, Philippine

Telephone Numbers:
846-3888, 846-4888, 846-5888
0917-5653888 & 0923-7303888

Email:
reservations.vikings@yahoo.com

You can check out their rates here: http://www.vikings.ph/rates.html

Till next!

First attempt at a Pre-order

Hi y'all! Just wanted to share what I got on my first ever pre-order attempt. Now, my first international purchase left me traumatized as the goods never reached me (blame it on the corrupt Philippine Postal System). I'm guessing somebody from the post office thought that all packages that come in there is free for all. Sad fact but true. Anyways, since then, I'm always on the fence on buying items abroad specifically in the US by myself. So I looked for other ways I could without all the heartbreak. Then I decided to give pre-order a try. There are a couple of small businesses on multiply who offers this service. So I began researching and asked for quotations. Out of all the ones I asked, Fab Finds was the one who gave me the lowest quotes.

Considering this is my first attempt, I was still scared. So I tested the waters first and started with just two items. Things I really wanted to try and is not available here in the Philippines.

Two items I got from Walmart: Phillips' Milk of Magnesia, which got great raves as a face mattifyer/primer and the Hard Candy Glamoflauge heavy duty concealer. The latter is being compared to or if not better than that of the Makeup Forever Full Cover concealer. Well, the hard candy one being way cheaper than MUFE (retails for US$6 at Walmart) is already a Pro for me. Plus, each Glamoflauge concealer comes with a free concealer pencil inside the box! Now that is quite the deal, though I'd have to test first if it does live up to all the hype.

I'll be road-testing these two and update you guys soon. :D