The Price Of Beauty

...is PhP 3,500. Approximately.

I've never been a pimply kid...until college. The pressure of school got to me and eventually it got to my skin too. It stopped though but left ugly blemishes on my face. Now, I was never the kind of girl that has a "beauty buzz" but I just had to get rid of those pimple marks. I tried everything--from readily available toners, facial foams and even tried rubbing calamansi and ice on my face but nothing worked. Then an aunt of mine recommended L'Occitane's Red Rice line of products. I was amazed. In just a couple of weeks, my blemishes started to lighten and after a couple more weeks, they've completely gone. It's a miracle!

Wash face with this foaming rice cleanser. PhP 995.

Even out skin tone and lighten blemishes with this rice toner. PhP 995.

Moisturize skin. PhP 1,495.

A bit pricey but effective. :)

Scent Of The Moment

Beauty post! I just wanna rave about my new perfume. It's by DKNY and is called Be Delicious. And as the name suggests, it smells yummy!

 Although this ad here implies it reeks of green apples, I'd have to say the scent reminds me more of an after-shower fragrance, rather than any fruit. But it does smell ...yeah...delicious! And it comes in this unique, cute-sy bottle. More importantly, the boyfriend loves it. <3

Amazing Acrylic Nails!

Last Thursday (July 15) found me modeling for a friend taking up nail tech lessons in Makati. I was a bit nervous because since my friend is not one to be called yet an expert in nail service, I couldn't help but think that my nail beds may be in for serious damage. But I was excited at the same breath because my friend was learning powder acrylic nail application that day and I was about to be the guinea pig for it.

Short definition: Acrylic material nails are such nails that look and feel just like natural nails. These are artificially designed nails that can be pasted onto your existing naturally growing, nails. These artificial nails are made up by mixing together a particular kind of powder and a specific liquid.

Here's how it went: (photos courtesy of the world wide web)

1. First, my friend got my nail measurements by trying on fake nail tips on my actual nails. He then proceeded to glue them using Mighty Bond. (ack!)

This is how the nail tips look like. You glue the ends on the tips of your nails.

2. I seriously thought my friend would leave them that long and I got a bit alarmed. If my nails were to become this long, they'll definitely get in my way. (Imagine text messaging with those long nails!) So I was relieved when my friend took out an acrylic nail clipper and cut the fake nails to my desired length.

3. After cutting, the next step is to harden the artificial nails onto the actual nails by using acrylic gel, or in my case powder acrylic. My friend dipped a nail brush into acrylic liquid and scooped a bit of the powder which turned into a gel-ish substance. My friend then put the substance on a nail and evened it out with the fake nail. My friend did this with all my nails.

Acrylic gel application.

4. Next, he filed and buffed my nails to perfectly even out the surface. At this point, you can well mistake the artificial nails as real ones. A-may-zing!

5. Lastly, he applied clear nail polish to finish the look.

I refuse to post a picture of my real nails because I wasn't blessed with girly hands but this is pretty much how they look like now.
Insta-French tips!!!

To have the fake nails removed, my friend told me that they would have to nail file them all off. Tedious eh?

Originally, the service of having acrylic nails applied costs around PhP 1,300 - PhP 2,000. Lucky I got to have it for free...plus I was able to help out a friend. :)

For those interested, feel free to call/visit:

OPTIMA NAIL ART & BEAUTY CENTER
G-3. 108 BSA Tower. Legaspi ST. Legaspi Village. Makati City. Philippines.
TEL：8436065 & 9864273　
FAX：8436065
EMAIL：optimanailart@yahoo.com
www.optimanails.com
Business hours: 9:00AM-10:00PM(MON-SAT) 9:00AM-8:00PM(SUN)