Klik Nail Polish | Candy Pink

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and I have seen many nail bloggers posting images of their pink nail polish / nail art. A few more days before the month ends, so let me share my pink nail polish as well.



I really love pink, though it is not my favorite color. I just love the girly, youthful vibe it exudes, and this shade of pink is just flattering. It's not very girly, yet it is not very mature as well.

Candy Pink by Klik Nail Polish has a thick consistency, but quite easy to apply. Although, one should go easy on the thickness of lacquer because thick formula tends to go goopy if applied in thick coats. As for my manicure, I used two medium coats, going with as less strokes as possible so the brush won't drag the nail polish and create bald spots. It dried fairly fast and was quite sturdy, so I didn't apply any top coat anymore, as I fear doing so would make the surface thicker than it already was.

This nail polish has a great opacity and pigmentation that one could go with one coat if desired. I once applied this on my mom's toenails and just went for one coat because she had to leave the house in a less than an hour and it needed to be dry before she wears her shoes.

Klik Nail Polish is now a trusted brand for me. Manufactured by Ming Mei Cosmetics, it is one of the cheapest nail polishes in the Philippine market, which retails for as low as 15 pesos, depending on where you're buying it. This company also manufactures another nail polish brand that I like - OMG Nail Colors, but if there's one thing I would suggest to the manufacturer of this nail polish, it would be to change their labels. The front label was just fine as I could tilt the bottle and show its sides when I take pictures of my mani, but the back cover needs a big change. They should include an ingredients list to ease concerns from its would be users, who are on the lookout for the big 3 ingredients they don't want to have in their nail polishes. OMG Nail Colors is big 3 free, but even I can't say the same for this brand because it has no ingredients list. In all fairness, I have used this brand for nearly one year and didn't experience any problems. I just hope they would do a label overhaul in time.

* Jenn *

Slenderella Mode: On!

Despite planning so many things to help myself be better, I always fell short and I always have an excuse to say. It was very funny, because I always had the heart to start minding the food I eat and to start moving to help myself be fit, but my mom actually overtook me and has been spending her entire mornings last week doing at least an hour of fitness stuff - be it walking, light jogging, or playing street badminton / tennis with neighbors she met one weekend morning.

Have you watched any of those Ana / Mia movies? I got to watch two on YouTube more than a year ago, and I agree with the string of comments on the movie clips - it always end with someone dying, which gives the complete turnaround for the main character in the movies. At that time, I was one of those who agree - that the storylines were predictable and very overused... but when it happens to you, you'll realize its essence.

I am not anorexic and I am not bulimic... but just like them, I am sick, although I am suffering from a different thing - I caught the laziness disease and I am too lazy to even bother about it. Last Wednesday, I met up with a friend for dinner, and he told me about his many health problems... and just last night, he sent me a text message to say that his blood test indicated a very high blood sugar level, about twice high as what the normal blood sugar level should be. This was my turnaround. When a person is dear to you and something bad happens to them, you are sure to be affected, and yes, I am very bothered about it.

When my sister came home with a kilo of roasted pork belly, it was just mom and I who ate it because my sister was so sick and tired about its smell that she didn't want to eat it anymore. Normally, pork fat makes me feel happy (weird and gross, but yes), but after eating one serving of it I started feeling headaches and dizziness, and I started feeling easily upset as well. I didn't have my blood pressure taken, but I knew I was having high blood pressure.

After not eating pork for how many days, my weekend became pork-ful again. Saturday breakfast I ate fatty pork adobo for breakfast, and for lunch, I ate Bagnet (boiled, baked, then fried pork belly) at the event my mom and I attended. Today, I ate another serving of adobo for my brunch and my body just couldn't handle it anymore... I was so dizzy that I ended up throwing it up.

Taking into consideration my friend's current situation, I just have to do something about it. I may be physically in a haze, but my emotions were clear - I have to wake up.


This week, there will be no pork... even the ground type. I will try to eat more fish, but will try to consume only the organic kind - no bangus and tilapia (and maybe even my favorite salmon heads) because these kinds of fish are cultured and possibly been consuming factory made feeds). If we could buy fish that were directly from the sea, the better. We still have a kilo of beef ribs in the freezer, but this I will eat provided I trim the fat off or let the sauce / broth go cold for a while to take out the hardened oil. Also, if we will prepare beef or chicken, it would be a dish that has at least one kind of vegetable.

Recipe for this salad will be shared on my food blog, Tara, Let's Eat! on Friday

Salad will also be a big factor in my diet for the coming days / weeks / months. I know my salad choices are always the typical ones - lettuce, carrots, cucumbers, and bell peppers, but I will try to search for more kinds of salads. Actually, I find salads very tummy filling. I guess the crunch in the vegetables and fruits allows me to chew more and tricking the mind into thinking I was eating more.

This week, I will try not to eat rice for dinner (will do during lunch) just to see if I can survive without it. This will be just an experiment... if I can form a habit, then good... if not, then I will go back to eating rice, but will portion it, of course.

As for physical activities, I told mom I will join them every mornings. Colinas Verdes no longer allows people to come in before 8am, so the best compromise was to walk and jog around the plaza. Who knows, I might also learn how to play tennis.

There will be three fitness challenges for me this month - squats, planks, and dumbbells - something I will do for the next thirty days. Aside from that, I will also do the set of Hip Hop Abs and Les Mills videos.

It will be a hectic day for me tomorrow, but as they say, the start is always the hardest. My mind and willpower is powerful. I can do this.

* Jenn *

The Happies and the Crappies

This week was a busy one for me that I didn't devote enough time to exercise and read books. Biggest crappie for the week would have to be my body not feeling good because I was still having bad reactions with the pork belly binge we had when sister went home with a kilo of belly lechon. It was difficult to cope up with headaches, dizziness, and heartburn, but eating vegetables and not eating pork for about 5 days seemed to help.



Last Wednesday, I went to attend an event at the Fort, and my day started on a crappie note when I woke up as early as 5am to prepare breakfast and leave home in time for the 10am event, only to realize that I misread the invitation and the event was actually at 2pm and not 10am. Five hours to kill (I arrived at 9am), what to do? I didn't bring my book, and I couldn't read using my phone because I needed battery juice to take images at the event.

Despite the hot, sunny weather, I decided to walk. From the Fort Pointe Building, I walked to Bonifacio High Street to stay and read books at Fully Booked, but when I got there, I was sad to see that the book store opens at 11am. Oh dear... I walked further to Market! Market! and checked out different shops, until the mall opens.

I spent time browsing books at Booksale, checking every nook and cranny of the bookstore, but even if I got to see a few interesting books, I didn't have the money to burn. I did get to buy a book at 25 pesos, so from then on my dad was turning into a happie.

I walked back to the Fort Pointe Building for the event, and was happy to see familiar faces. The event was short and I didn't get to take a lot of pictures, but I was able to take enough for my upcoming blog post. Another long walk for me as I had to walk back to Market! Market! to take the BGC Bus to Ayala where I took the jeepney going to my sister's workplace.


My sister's shift at work was until 9pm, giving me enough time to spend time with a dear friend. From Benavidez Street, I walked all the way to Glorietta to have dinner at Cabalen... my first time to eat pork after a few days. It was a great dinner because I spent it with a person dear to me, but this food trip will never be featured on my food blog because I wasn't totally happy with it. There were enough choices for the buffet, yes.. but the fatty dishes outweighs the amount of grilled fish / veggie dishes, so I felt I had no choice but to go with the fatty dishes. The Kare-Kare tasted great, though.

My friend and I shared food and conversations and he dropped me right in front of sister's workplace and sister and I went home together. A lot of walking which included stair climbing... my legs burned and I was so tired. Tired, but happy and fulfilled.



This week, I also got to try something new. My mom went out with a friend and the boring afternoon prompted me to cook these empanadas. Crappy moment happened when the LPG tank ran out of juice while I was frying the first batch of empanadas, but two hours after, I resumed cooking and these became our dinner (we left some for sister, too, of course).

More happies from this week -
♥ Buying cheap, pre-loved books via Instagram. The first book I already received, the other two books, I still have to wait.
♥ Because I was out all day last Wednesday (sister and I got home around 11:30pm), my cat missed me so much that when I went to bed, he immediately hopped next to me and didn't leave my side until I got up the next morning.
♥ My mom posing for an OOTD (outfit of the day) picture. My mom's fashion is usually monochromatic and I was quite amused seeing her wear blue top, blue jeans, and blue pair of shoes, that I asked her to pose for a picture, which she was game to do. Actually, when she left to attend a prayer meeting, I didn't realize she was also using a blue bag... and when I exclaimed my surprise about it, she complained that we need to take one more picture because the early pictures I took didn't show her bag. Ohhhkay mom. :)
♥ Batangas beef!
♥ Sister's work at a restaurant allowed her to know about different suppliers, and now we know where to buy super affordable salmon belly, cream dory fish, and squid rings. How affordable? 1/3 the price of that being sold at the supermarkets.
♥ Winning two giveaways - Starbucks Card Giveaway hosted by The Peach Kitchen and the Ghoulish Giveaway via Instagram hosted by China Glaze nail polish. Thank you, Lord for the blessings.

Crappies?
♥ Me not attending a restaurant opening last Tuesday.
♥ Borrowing 500 pesos from my sister just so I could pay the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows book I ordered. #bookwormproblems #somanybookssolittlemoney
♥ I painted my nails red this week, and although the nail polish had a good coverage and I had to use just one coat, it was quite difficult to work with and it chipped too easily that I actually painted my nails three times for it to be worthy of a picture.

This weekend, I am going to spend my Saturday morning with my mom, attending a class at the Maya Kitchen, then in the afternoon we will meet with sister and go to SM Mall of Asia. Come night time, mom will attend a party and sister and I will spend it by trying to bake some carrot cupcakes.

Sunday will be a rest day.

* Jenn *

 

Sisters Weekend Out

I never had any plans last weekend, but since one of sister's friends from college couldn't attend the baptism celebration of another friend's baby, sister decided to tag me along. Celebration took place at the St. James Church in Quezon City, and the reception was held at Shakey's located along Congressional Avenue. It was a very solemn and simple celebration - attended by 99% family.


The event ended a little past lunchtime, and since it was still early, sister and I went to the nearest mall - SM City North EDSA. Roaming around, checking shops here and there led us to the Sky Dome, where a big shoes and bags sale was held. We both felt sad when the items we wanted to buy for many months now were things we couldn't afford at that time because sister left her last salary envelope at work and I only brought enough money to sustain the day because I am going to buy books online from two different sellers and I wanted to set aside money for that instead of doing some impulse shopping.



However, what we weren't able to control was the temptation of this pastry shop that sells very cheap cake slices at 35 pesos! Sister and I decided to try it out (since she and I are planning to be home bakers soon). I paid for the three cake slices plus my choice of coffee, and she bought two cupcakes (which are slightly more expensive than the cakes I bought) and her coffee. At 35 pesos per slice, the cakes blew us away. One of the cakes - the red velvet one gave us a foodgasmic experience, while the other cupcake was quite basic. It was quite a sugar overload, but we didn't eat all the icing and frosting.

It was a little sad that mom wasn't with us that day, but I did promise her that us three girls will enjoy a weekend out together.

{Image of the cupcake and coffee was edited by adding Kim Klassen's 123 texture set to hard light at 40%.}

* Jenn *

OMG Nail Colors | Happy Hour

My Monday was so busy that I wasn't able to blog, and because I will be out all day tomorrow, I really have to update the blogs so there won't be too much gap between the posts.


For this week's Nail Files, I am sharing to you this super awesome dark nail polish by OMG (Oh My Golly) Nail Colors in Happy Hour shade.

I purchased this at the Landmark Trinoma and at first I thought it was black and almost didn't buy it because I told myself that I will only buy black nail polish if there is something unique about it because you know... regardless of its brand, black nail polish will always be black, no comparison to its shade (but I do know formulas and consistency varies). Upon close inspection, I realized this wasn't black but a very dark plum nail polish, so I bought it.


My pictures didn't capture it, but there were flecks in this nail polish - it wasn't the typical solid creme nail polish. It reminds me of Rain by Colortrends shade called Nirvana, but OMG Nail Colors had a better formula than Rain. It still had the stiff brush bristles, but I didn't have too much problems applying this one.

On my nails are 1 very thin coat + 2 medium coats of Happy Hour, without top coat. As with the other nail polishes I've tried from this brand, it dried very quick and was very sturdy.

I find it quite awesome to wear nail polish that are so dark it looks black from afar when it really wasn't black. I have had a few African Plum shade nail polishes in my stash, and this had the best formula of all. This was something I would restock once I emptied the bottle.

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Oh by the way, lemme just share a super duper wonderful news that I received this morning - I won in China Glaze's Ghoulish Giveaway via Instagram featuring their Monster's Ball collection! This was the first time that I won in a Nail Polish giveaway, and I was so happy! I wanted to really win this one, especially that I didn't win the Picture Polish giveaway, but with thousands that joined, I almost didn't expect that I'd win. When I woke up this morning, I just saw there was a notification from Instagram and there was it...a tagged post from China Glaze informing that I was one of the 15 winners. Of course, I immediately e-mailed them to inform about my details. Yeee!!!!

* Jenn *