Feed My Vanity

I’m 27 years old and for as long as I can remember, there have been skin care commercials.

But I have never ever been able to relate to those commercials until one day, while watching TV blankly, a smiling woman came on and said “dry skin” (check! my weary brain answered for me)and  ”red and itchy skin” (check again!). The cogs and wheels of my bogged down brain suddenly clicked into a horrifying conclusion: I’m. already. at. THAT. age.

I’ve always thought I’m one of the blessed people who had low maintenance skin. Or so I thought after age 25. My skin began to contradict me and would have phases where it felt dry or flaky.

Point being: Genes cannot save you from dry skin and aging. Thus the need for moisturizing whatnots, vitamins, and constant wishes of being -fied, or win the lottery. Does the following sound familiar?

If the above mentioned sounds familiar but you still shook your head because you’re in denial then just wait after a week to find out which product can help you repair dry skin. Until then my imaginary readers.

You know you’ve reached a milestone in your life when a fashion statement in your childhood is cool again. Hence the clogs:

Well, in fairness to the clogs of 2010, it never went into full swing. I’ve been wanting to buy a pair since December last year but the ones I liked were too expensive. The boyfriend then came into the picture and bought it for me since he’s tired of seeing me in my ballet Crocs which I love because it’s so comfy. I have tons of work-related shoes, from spiky heels to just plain for fashion’s sake, but I lack casual footwear like wedges and sandals.

It’s not that I don’t want to, but I’m at work from Monday to Saturday and come to think of it, my everyday footwear are actually corporate ones. Anyhoo, the coffee-colored clogs pictured above are from a SO! Fab sale at the Shangri-La Mall. It was on sale at P999. I’m becoming dependent on these shoes because it’s comfortable despite it having heels, and when you’re rushing from one event to a meeting, comfort matters.

These clogs are great to pair with mini-dresses and skirts. When I know that I’m going to have a relatively quiet day at the office I just slip on these with a loose white polo and khakis.

Anyway dear imaginary readers, I’m off to Hong Kong next week for a much-needed vacation.The first time I went to HK consisted mostly of tours, and tourist traps and I wasn’t able to shop that much.  Then the last time I was there I came from a LOOOONG flight and spent most of my stay sleeping the jetlag off so yeah, not so much shopping either. NOW my point being my dear imaginary readers, could you suggest a couple of places in HK where I could shop on a budget? Many thanks in advance.

So far I’ve managed to avoid Forever 21 because I live in Makati and rarely go to SM Megamall. So imagine the tragedy that befell my wallet when Forever 21 opened a branch in SM Makati.

Here’s the “damage” when worn:

Dress and shoes from Forever 21. I cannot, for the life of me, understand my fondness for stripes, especially when it is fattening. To be fair with, the dress retails at P695. Not bad eh? Here are the shoes at close-up:

Need instant long legs (at least for a night out)? Then wear nude heels! It is strange that these shoes made the list of what not to buy in Forever 21. These are relatively comfortable to wear for long periods of time. I say relatively, because high heels, no matter what brand, is a double-edged sword. Meaning high-heels make you look good and make you feel good for a couple of hours at the most. But for four-inch plastic heels, it does its job well without breaking my bank account (retails at P1,455) or my feet more than it should.

Anyway, I only bring out these shoes if I have to go to an event or I need me some long legs for one reason or another.

A couple of weeks later I came back boyfriend in tow. Said boyfriend bought me a dress. Hehehe. Will tell you in another post because tomorrow is another day and work has been incredibly hectic. I’m trying to squeeze in some time to write for a couple of publications but work has been so demanding lately. At least I’m back to the blogging world!

Have you ever gone to a beach wearing a bit of make-up? I’m guilty of that although it’s just a swipe of gloss or cream blush. Not everyone can achieve that “dewy, sun-kissed” look NATURALLY. So for the less fortunate and deprived in the ability of achieving a sun-kissed look, I’d like to introduce Dr. Jart:

Dr. Jart BB Cream! And like majority of good doctors, Dr. Jart BB Cream doesn’t come cheap. This 15ml tube costs P740 in SM. But it’s worth it. You only need to use a small dollop of it on your face before applying make-up, or leave it as is for the “dewy, sun-kissed” look.

A tip though, I have another of this in stock:

Please excuse above appearance because I’ve been using this for the past 3 months. Above is a 50ml Dr. Jart BB Cream, which retails for P1,200 in Korea (don’t know how much that is in won)! A friend of mine bought it for me in Korea as a birthday gift. I haven’t been to Korea, but they say make-up there is really cheap. Ask a friend in Korea to buy you a tube, you’ll become an instant fan like I did.

For some visuals (but don’t expect a before and after), here’s me wearing  the BB Cream:

Not bad eh? eh? Cut me some slack. Hahaha! The cream helps to even out your skin tone, and it doesn’t matter if you have a light or dark complexion, the cream will adjust to your skin color. Skip the powder, slap on some cream blush for that dewy look.

I recently saw a window display of BB Creams in Face Shop. Any idea if it’s good?

Anyhoo, creams aside, hopefully my travel plans push through this month. I am badly in need of adrenaline pumping, wallet draining shopping spree.