Etude House SBE104

When I went on a two and a half week holiday with K last June, I sported bare nails because I didn't want to see chipped nail polish on my nails and I didn't want the hassles of going to the salon just to have a manicure. After the holiday, my skin got way too dark and I am trying my best to bring back my old skin tone.


The very first nail polish I tried after coming home was Etude House SBE104. Despite the fact that the bottle has Korean writing that I couldn't understand, this is a brand I trust because every product we bought from their store has been very good and effective.

The shade in the bottle is on the brown side, which was the reason why I bought this. I admit I was not impressed that it turned out to be an orange-brown shade, which made my skin look darker. Application was great, but to achieve this look on my nails, I had to put four coats because it was a bit on the sheer side.

This shade may not work for my skin tone, but I have found a way to work with this and would share it next time.

Outfit of the Day - Nearly All Black

I was supposed to share this last night, but Internet has been slow.



A few days before brother flew to Cagayan de Oro, we both attended the NBA 3X presscon at the Hotel Sofitel Philippine Plaza Manila. It is located way too far from our house, so we traveled very early just so we won't be late (and we were also excited to see NBA players in person). Obviously, we got there ahead of time, giving us the chance to roam around the hotel grounds and of course, pose for pictures.

Lately, I noticed I have gained weight, mainly because of stress. I sometimes don't understand it - at work I sometimes forget to eat and when I do I don't get to eat a lot because my break time is short... and at home I sometimes just sleep because I was already tired, and I still am gaining weight. I am starting to feel conscious about it, so I went for a (nearly) all black ensemble for this event.

Top - Esprit
Leggings - bought at a tiangge
Shoes - Auztralian

The shoes I wore was the other pair I bought at Landmark the last time I shopped. It was a pair of tall wedge (probably 5 inches), but very comfortable to use. I normally don't go for black-brown combination, but I wanted to test drive the wedge, and I was glad it didn't give me any sorts of discomfort.

OMG Nail Colors | Prom Queen

One time last December, I bought a few bottles of OMG Nail Colors in pastel shades, and it was just recently that I was able to use it.



Lavender is one of my favorite colors, and at first I didn't want to get this (Prom Queen) because it looks very close to the Etude House nail polish I already have in my stash, but I couldn't see any other available shades, I bought it. At the first swatch, I was already thankful that I bought this because even if the shades were somewhat similar, Prom Queen was totally different... because of its powder-like flecks. It was difficult to see on my nails, but there were flecks, making me understand why this was named Prom Queen.

I used two medium coats on my manicure, using the usual technique whenever I use OMG Nail Colors - glide the brush as light as possible so it won't create bald spots.


OMG Nail Colors and Etude House side by side. Can pass as a dupe, but different from each other. I hope you can see the powder flecks on Prom Queen.

Last and Next Week

I wasn't able to blog much the last week because the connection was slow, especially during night time. Since my mom is now staying at home (she retired from work last July), she would always use my netbook to chat with her siblings living abroad.

My fitness routine last week was an adjustment period for me. I get to walk everyday, sometimes with mom and/or sister, but I wasn't able to follow all the exercise programs and food plans.

The last two days though - yesterday's lunch and tonight's dinner - I got to prepare salad for the family. Sister has already started her no rice diet and was successful about it despite the many temptations, and it is now my time to follow her lead...although I would still eat rice for lunch. I've been eating rice most my life, taking it out my system would require a slow change.


Lunch salad yesterday - I got to buy a bunch of lolo rosso lettuce at the nearby market, just enough to prepare a bowl of side salad for us three girls. A few days ago, mom bought some seedless grapes, and because it is starting to get a little soft, I just added some into the salad. The addition of bell peppers and red onions did it for me and it made me crave for salad just because of those two ingredients. I paired this with fried tilapia, and us girls made a pact that we would serve salad whenever we feel like eating fried meat, just to balance the meal. I think it's a good compromise.


Today, we went to do the much needed grocery shopping and I bought two bags of lolo rosso and my favorite romaine lettuce. Another serving of salad for us for dinner, but unlike yesterday, we only had salad as our meal and for protein, I just cooked ground pork seasoned with salt, pepper, and oregano until crispy. Trying out the mango vinaigrette was a gamble for us, but it turned out to be great. It's a little sweet, kinda like eating fruit tella candy, but more on the tangy side. I loved it because mangoes are great addition to salad, but because it's been raining all the time, it would be difficult to buy mangoes and this vinaigrette was a great substitute.

Tomorrow, my sister requested I serve grilled chicken with the salad for dinner, and I would be happy to oblige. Salad for dinner proved to be a good way to train myself to eat healthy - and because I have learned to add less than enough amount of dressing into my salad, I am sure this would help me lose weight.

As for the everyday meals, I decided to cook dishes with vegetables and if I want to cook dishes using just meat (adobo or dinuguan), I will just think of something to balance it. The important thing is, vegetables have to be a big part of our everyday diet, and I will also try to make friends with fruits. I bought some kiwi today, and will either eat it as is or pulse it in the blender, without sugar of course.

My sister's shift at work for the coming week is 8am-5pm. Sister asked me to wake her up at 4am, and I think it's a good way for me to exercise again. After preparing her breakfast, I will do my video workouts, giving me enough time to do my assignments during day time, and blog come afternoon and night. I think things are falling into place and I just have to grab the opportunity while it's knocking.

If you know any salad recipes that uses easy to find ingredients, please do share them with me. I love salad, but eating lettuce, carrots, and cucumbers all the time might lose my interest.

Careline Nail Polish | Copper Rock

It was October of 2012 when I started really falling in love with nail polishes, and as much as I love checking international nail polish blogs, I took my time finding different local nail polish blogs, because I know buying the nail polishes they use would be much easier for me, as I know I truly cannot afford to buy international brands.

One of the first local nail blogs I followed was WoW Nails. Even if she features some international nail polish brands, she still blogs about many different local brands, and through her, I got to learn about Careline Nail Polish. At first I was a little hesitant about it because it only cost p10 (0.25usd) per bottle. Even if I am the thrifty kind of person, I still have qualms about very cheap nail polish. One time, I was traveling home and felt the need to drink water, and when I entered a Mercury Drug branch, I remembered that this pharmacy sells Careline Nail Polish (possibly the only place where you can buy this brand), and decided to buy some.



The first one I swatched was Copper Rock. I am very impressed with this brand and this certain shade because it doesn't have the strong nail polish scent, and the consistency is so good, you can go for one coat. It also dries very fast and application was quite easy. The only thing I didn't like was that the brush weren't even - there was a strand or two that is/are longer than the rest, that seemed to affect the application.

For this manicure, I used two coats. I loved the glassy glittery effect of it - but it wasn't really glitter... but flecks, maybe, because the nail polish dried flat and it was easy to remove. It was such a sad thing, though, that the bottle is so small - that the only thing for me to do was to buy more of it... what's more saddening is that, even if Mercury Drug branches still sell this brand, I don't get to see much of it anymore. The only solace I have is that I bought about 5 different shades, so I still have a few more to swatch and share here on the blog.