Let today be the FIRST DAY of the REST OF YOUR LIVES. CrossFit changed my life. Who knows, this might just be the change YOU’RE looking for too. Train with CrossFit Alpha Strike for FREE from May 20 to June 21! Ateneans, Miriamites, Iskos and Iskas, this is just a stone’s throw away from your schools! Grab the chance!
Hi! Thanks for visiting my blog! :) Right now I’m using Clean and Clear’s Acne Clearing cleanser together with 0.25% Tretinoin (retinoid cream) all over my face at night as it is unsafe to wear it under the sun. The acne clearing cleanser works but is gentle enough on the skin. :) You can also use Acne Aid as another option. :) However, make sure you don’t slather on moisturizer anymore. It looks like your skin is producing enough oil to keep it moisturized. Try serums instead, like Olay’s Total Effects Serum :)
I did this tutorial for my friend and her Deltan sisters as a guide for doing their own make up in a photo shoot they did recently. My friend, Nina Pilapil, who is a budding photographer, took all the photos and edited them as well. Thanks Nina!
Happy Sparkly New Nails!
Gave my nails (painted in Caronia’s Delicate) a kick with some sparkly champagne shimmers using Caronia’s Crystal. Sparkling new nails for the new year!
Today I did makeup for one of my titas (aunt) and my mom’s longtime friend, Tita Marnie. She’s known me since I was in my terrible twos. (I used to blame my mom’s friends for pushing me even though I just tripped on my own! So when I say terrible, I mean terrible!)
Tita Marnie’s makeup is limited to concealer and her tools to an eyelash curler so I got excited when she said she wanted a real dramatic look. I kept her foundation light as she had very clear skin and we both aren’t fans of the caked up face.
BEFORE
Although I bet she thought I was pulling her leg, her eyes are every makeup artist’s dream canvas. There was plenty of eyelid space to paint shadow on and her eyes were extremely deep set! Perfect for dramatic eyes!
AFTER
I gave her smokey gray eyes using Urban Decay’s Creep and Gunmetal both from the Naked Palette and Uzi (a shimmery silver) from the Book of Shadows III (UD <3 NYC) to brighten the inner corners of her eyes. On her cheeks, I used MAC’s Well Dressed, a nice light pink and YSL Rouge Volupte in Beige Charnel (1) on her lips.
See what I said about her eyes?? They’re the perfect shape!
PRODUCTS USED
Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to take a photo of her whole look, complete with the dress and all! Let me update that later when she posts photos!
Tita Marnie, you should start learning to put on makeup already! Sayang your Shu Uemura brushes and your made-for-makeup eyes!
I’m on the Lifestyle section of this year’s first issue of Metro Magazine, The Body Issue! (Enchong Dee is on the cover!) It was my first time to get interviewed about my training, nutrition, and CrossFit so it was pretty nerve racking.
This is supposed to be a before and after thing but I’m not sure if it’s obvious here. Haha! This might be a more obvious one:
Moral of the story? GIRLS, DON’T BE AFRAID OF THE BARBELL. That’s the ONLY way you’re ever going to get “toned.”
P.S. The dumbbell isn’t the same as the barbell. The dumbbell has its uses but squatting, deadlifting, benching, clean and jerking, and snatching heavy (well, heavy enough for you is okay) with the barbell is how you’ll get those ultra-toned shoulders, arms, legs, and abs.
Again, I am indebted to my strength and nutrition coach, A Dela Cruz, for his patience in training a hard-headed student like me, and to my CrossFit Insurrecto family for happily suffering all those WODs with me! I would never have been a “Lean Girl” without all of them. (Oh, how could I forget Christmas Abbott who magically appears in my head during the last and most difficult reps and rounds to remind me what I’m pushing myself for? haha!)
Drop by our box, you’ll be amazed at the results you get and you’ll be even more inspired by our community!
One of the luxuries I enjoy is getting my nails done. If you ever see me wearing nail polish, that probably means I’m on vacation! Day to day hands on architecture work can be very brutal to the hands so normal polish stays in good condition only for a couple of days.
I got these goodies from Caronia this Christmas. Thank you! Perfect timing, as the holidays are also pampering days!
These nail care products are perfect for pampering my digits! I especially love the Nail Hardener & Base Coat. It has an amazing effect on the finish of the polish painted over it. It creates this glassy ceramic finish which makes my nails look clean, strong, and refined.
From left to right: Delicate (regular), Orange Pop (frosted), Crystal (frosted), Butterscotch (frosted)
Right now, I’m wearing Delicate — a pretty, almost white, light pink peach. The color reminds me of little princesses, tea parties, and bunny rabbits!
Speaking of bunny rabbits, I am absolutely gaga over this brand of unique jewelry I discovered in Bangkok just this holiday! I got this extremely adorable acorn-eating-squirrel ring set which is now my favorite piece of jewelry! The pretty nail color goes so well with it too! I wish I could’ve gotten the whole collection but each piece was not cheap, I tell you. The next time I visit Bangkok, Mary Lou jewelry are at the top of my shopping list!
I can’t get over how pretty it is! The nail color just completes the whole dainty look!
Aww thank you, that’s sweet! Haha! I’ll try to find one that I like :)
If you’re an architecture student, you would know that every second is precious when deadlines start to loom. Sleepless nights and missed meals are givens. However, I also found out that during days before submission I’m not the only one who actually even thinks twice about taking just a quick shower. Those 5 to 7 minutes could still be used to draw that extra line or render that last sheet. We don’t stop until our bodies refuse to move on its own.
I often find myself asking if lack in sleep and poor attention to hygiene is indirectly correlated with success. While my plates become more attractive, I become, well…less.
I am given no choice but to really choose which things to value and which activities to pour my time and effort into. The biggest part of me that has really suffered is my skin. It has become extremely dry, scaly, and simply ugly.
Thankfully, every last week of classes before short semestral breaks, a Jergens package always appears on my doorstep! It’s like a delivery by a stork from heaven telling me to start taking care of my skin again.
Each tube is really light and portable. I put one in each of the bags I rotate in a week. (One of my teachers actually noticed my lotion-ing my legs in class!!!) What I love about all of them is that despite their light texture and consistency, I still feel my skin absorbing them. It isn’t like those watery lotions which just stay on the surface of the skin. I can tell that my skin loves drinking in these Jergens moisturizers. My skin really does stay moist and soothed the entire day.
The Ultra Healing Extra Dry Skin Moisturizer penetrates through the 5 layers of your skin’s surface to start healing at the source; perfect for my desert-like skin. The Soothing Aloe Relief Skin Cooling Moisturizer instantly revives and refreshes skin after prolonged sun exposure — and in my case, after getting scrapes and scratches from lifting weights. The Age Defying Multi-Vitamin Moisturizer rejuvenates skin and minimizes the effects of skin aging. I am absolutely obsessed with anything anti-ageing.
Their latest moisturizer is the Overnight Repair Nightly Moisturizer. The stuff in it are just lovely! It’s made with a powerful cocktail of nocturnal flower extracts and antioxidant vitamins — evening primrose and jasmine extract rich in Vitamin D and essential fatty acids that help heal dry and irritated skin. They also contain a dose of super fruits like Goji berries, Camu camu, Black Currant, and Acerola. Not only do I feel like my skin is smoother and silkier, I also wake up with my skin actually feeling rejuvenated and healthy.
I know my skin’s happy again because of Jergens!
Jergens Moisturizers are available at selected health and beauty stores, department stores, and supermarkets nationwide.
For more skin care tips and information about Jergens products in the Philippines, visit www.facebook.com/JergensPh.Vibelle
Sunday, August 5, 2012
Inside the bookstore…
Jilli
IN Manila
Ooooh this was months ago! Just saw it now. :))
We experience the most wonderful things at times when we least expect them. That was the case for me when I went to this year’s Metrowear Fashion Gala. Metrowear: Fantasy featured four of the country’s soon-to-be master couturiers — Joel Escober, Mark Bautista, Mak Tumang, and John Herrera. It is Metro’s first holiday haute couture show with each of the designers showing off a 10-piece collection inspired by popular holiday themes and characters. These four young designers were also mentored by big names in the local fashion scene — Noel Crisostomo, Rajo Laurel, Frederick Peralta, and Cary Santiago respectfully.
My sister, Jessi, is an intern for John Herrera (recruited by Sir John himself!) and helped pattern and embellish this collection. I just decided to attend so we could support her and didn’t really expect too much. (And because of that I just recycled a dress! The horror!) The good thing about not expecting is that you get surprised. This time though, I was more than surprised. I was… AMAZED, STUNNED, and practically BLOWN AWAY with how beautiful the collections were. Without any bias, John Herrera’s was my favorite.
Photo by Pat Dy from YStyle.
The very first dress was immediately the show stopper (and my favorite piece.)
He seamlessly put together the dramatic, the whimsical, the romantic, and even the structural and architectural (which of course had such a great appeal to me) in a theatrical yet elegant show.
The makeup and the clothes were precise in their being over the top. The forms and silhouettes were, sigh, simply captivating. Even the way his models carried themselves and the fluid, romantic way they swayed their arms and fingers were bewitching.
Exquisite silhouette.
Look at that! I could look at this dress all day and still not believe my eyes. It’s incredibly structured yet curves all at the perfect spots. I would so wear this.
Simply put, his collection was enchanting. Because everything today is so easy to copy (and many actually do copy), John Herrera’s work stands out even more. His originality and remarkable workmanship are sure to send him on his way to being one of the very few most sought after designers in the Philippines.
I feel nothing but pride and excitement for my sister who loves what she does, is in the hands of a very capable mentor and who, in no time, will be on the same stage with her very own creations. 
Mom, me, Jessi
Congratulations, Jessi and Sir John!
I’m in the pages of Women’s Health Philippines’ September 2012 issue as a representative of the BEST CrossFit Box in the Philippines, CrossFit Insurrecto! (Click on the pink link to visit the Insurrecto website!)
Grab yourself a copy so you can start working on YOUR best body too! Please let me take the opportunity to say that this isn’t my best body yet! However, with the constant guidance of my coaches and motivation from friends from Insurrecto, I’m proud to say I’m definitely on my way there. :D
I was quite surprised when I saw that my photo was on the table of contents page! Didn’t expect this at all.
In this issue, I demonstrate some of our most basic exercises in CrossFit. We use these movements in our WODs (Workout of the Days) usually with as much reps as we can and with very high intensity. 
This way, we’re able to milk the most out of our exercises.
If you’re a newbie to the fitness world but have found a deep desire to change your lifestyle and actually try CrossFit, you can begin with these! Try them at home and practice if it’ll make you more confident when you attend CF Insurrecto’s FREE TRIALS on weekends!
I just have to say I’m super proud of this tuck jump. Haha! A couple of months ago I would dread it when Coach RJ would make WODs with tuck jumps (I always assume he made them when there are lots jumps!) because I just couldn’t do them! Now I can totally do it without breaking a sweat and…WHILE SMILING! THAT was a major challenge.
I really couldn’t have achieved all this without my CrossFit Insurrecto coaches and my Insurrecto family (yes, the people who I actually met there) who continue to be my source of inspiration and motivation. I also can’t help but be thankful that I have a mom who’s constantly active and supportive of my fitness goals — the only person I know I could have inherited my love for exercise from.
Most especially, I owe it all to my Coach Aaron (I’ll just go ahead and claim that he’s mine. haha!) who literally pulls me off my butt…so I can firm them up through squats and deadlifts, who tells me what I should and shouldn’t eat (and sometimes slips me a donut under the table as a prize after a grueling workout), and who is super duper strict with me so that I learn to be disciplined and tough even under fire.
I used to be called lampa (weak) as a child and I think some people think I still am up to now. I wanted to change that so I trained my ass off.
I hope I’ve become an inspiration to others as well the way my coaches and Insurrecto family have been to me. Don’t let anyone, specially yourself, tell you you can’t change and that you can’t literally, physically, transform yourself into the best shape of your life.
If you’ve decided you want the same change I did, join us at CrossFit Insurrecto. Our 8-session Foundations Class for September starts on the 5th! You have THREE DAYS left to sign up!
Photographs (of me) taken by Karen Kho
Makeup by Ara Fernandez
Hair by Jopie Sanchez
Today I permitted myself to indulge a bit. We had lunch at Crisostomo, one of my favorite Filipino restaurants, with family friends, the Aldaneses. Pusit, Lechon Kawali, Manggang Hilaw Salad, Laing, Inihaw na Tuna Belly, Sinigang… Sigh, all my favorites! I made sure I got a little of everything. Well, maybe a bit more of that Lechon Kawali. It was a good kind of busog (feeling of being full); busog with good food and busog with Tito Vince’s entertaining kwentos (stories)!
I wouldn’t usually save room for dessert anymore but I accidentally bit into one whole SILING LABUYO (chili pepper) and it was extremely PAINFUL! I knew I HAD to get something sweet to counter that nasty burn in my mouth. It was a good thing we were headed to Villa Del Conte right after lunch as the Aldaneses wanted us to taste their new artisan chocolate flavors fresh from Italy!
Tita Rhoda personally prepares the chocolates for us!
I know I said I broke up with chocolate already but just this one time, I couldn’t resist. How could I when they served us flavors they haven’t even launched to the public yet? It was too sweet of an offer to pass up!
And it’s not like they’re your regular, ultra-sweet, chocolate! They’re MY kind of chocolate — not too sweet and not purely chocolate. All their chocolates have mixes in them and these four new ones are Hazelnut with Hazelnut Chips, Whiskey Mocha, Tartufone (oops, I’m not sure if I got that right), and Blueberry!
From top left to bottom right: Hazelnut with Hazelnut bits, Whiskey Mocha, Tartufone, Blueberry
It was so difficult to decide which one I liked the best. I’m a Hazelnut fan so that just hit the spot, the Tartufone (a mix of milk and dark chocolate) had a beautiful creamy dark flavor with tiny rice crisps, the Whiskey Mocha had just the right amount of liquor flavor, and the Blueberry had actual blueberry bits in them! All of them melted in my mouth just the way artisan chocolates should — subtle but with an impact. (Not the extremely creamy kind which sticks to your mouth and makes you want to throw up.)
Although if I had to pick which one I liked the best, I’d say the Blueberry wins this round. Not only do I love blueberries but there’s nowhere else I could find chocolate blueberries in Manila! (I thought of my friend, Ayet. She would love these!) They actually have those chocolate covered acai-blueberry ones in S&R but then we found out they were made from juice concentrate. A bit of a disappointment. But these? They were amazing! Even my little sister who isn’t fond of blueberries actually liked them.
Mom’s a sucker for candy-coated chocolate eggs and bought two jars of Ovicini (sugar-coated dark chocolate eggs with hazelnut cream filling)!
The next round of chocolates may not look as appetizing, I’d have to say. But I’m one who never says no to food without trying it first. I actually love the raw and organic look of it. These are flavors they haven’t launched yet and I’m excited for people to actually try them because they’re so unusual and interesting! Besides the chocolate-covered walnuts at the farthest end, they have chocolate-covered chestnuts (castanas!) and chocolate-covered figs! Love those figs!
From top to bottom: Chocolate Chestnuts, Chocolate Figs, Chocolate Walnuts
Reunited with chocolate!
Father and son. Tito Vince and David.
My mom and her old friend from high school, Tita Rhoda. (If they haven’t been friends since then, I will most definitely not use the word “old.” haha! I always tell mom that Tita Rhoda has the most amazing skin, making her look twenty years younger than she actually is.)
We had a wonderful time with the Aldaneses! I love how this makes us look like we’re actually at a quaint little nook in the streets of Italy! The interiors are absolutely charming and the company made it even warmer.
Look what I got to bring home!
Tito Vince also made sure I had a box of just my favorite flavor — BANANA PRALINE STICKS! I would seriously write an ode to Villa Del Conte Banana Praline Sticks if it wouldn’t make me seem crazy and obsessed. I’ve gone bananas over these! I literally sigh — I swear, sometimes I feel like I’m even going to cry — with every bite. It’s THAT good. It is the epitome of Cioccolato Sublime. I’m so glad they brought it here (they don’t even have these in the States!) because I haven’t found any in other high end brands.
If you want to be remembered, these chocolates are the perfect gift and giveaways.
Like them on Facebook at Villa Del Conte (Click on link)
Follow them on Twitter @VilladelConte
and Visit them at:
3/F TriNoma
2/F Greenbelt 5
3/F Shangri-la Plaza Mall
G/F Resorts World Manila
For ORDERS:
Call 8932575 or 6216101
or EMAIL info@villadelcontecioccolato.com, cioccolatosublime@gmail.com
For me, the hardest part to get rid off is the belly. I’ve always been conscious about it but before doing CrossFit, I never really did anything about it. I hate doing ab specific exercises and suck at them. Before the last two months, I’ve never dieted in my whole 23 years of existence. I don’t know, something just clicked inside me and I decided I wanted to push myself more to see for myself what I could achieve.
Christmas Abbott, my favorite CrossFitter, is my laptop and phone’s wallpaper. She keeps me from cheating! I guess when I read about her background as someone who didn’t really lead a the healthiest life before and who didn’t play sports, I realized there was hope for me. Haha! (and the fact that she replied to me today inspired me even more!)
As of now, I don’t think I can be capable of doing the Paleo Diet, so A (Coach A of CrossFit Insurrecto) introduced Jason Feruggia’s Renegade Diet to me. At first it took some getting used to but after just a week, it was pretty easy to do already. It’s really simple and suited the never-dieted-her-whole-life lifestyle. I don’t think it actually said that I couldn’t eat chocolates and ice cream (which never in my life did I think I could give up) but I decided to give them up anyway. A always tells me that anything worth doing is worth doing well. Might as well apply it to my diet right?
Here’s my progress so far. I’m still aeons away from getting Christmas’ abs but I think the last two months of healthy eating is paying off! :D
But I know I’ve got to keep working because I want my abs to look like this:
P.S. I just remembered… I got an anonymous text the other day advertising some gym/equipment/pills saying something like “Is your diet, training, use of Bangkok pills not working for you? If not…” I was actually tempted to reply “Actually, it is. ‘Coz the coaches and the programming at CrossFit Insurrecto is DAMN GOOD.”
Sooo… if YOUR fitness program, diet, or pills aren’t working for you, you know where to go. :)
CrossFit Insurrecto. (There are other options, ain’t forcing you. Just saying: RESULTS)
Like them on Facebook: CrossFit Insurrecto
Follow them on Twitter: @CFInsurrecto
Email them: thebox@crossfitinsurrecto.com
Visit them: www.crossfitinsurrecto.com
JOIN US: 4th Floor TRIPLE A HEALTH PLAZA BLDS. #36 Scout Torillo, Diliman, 1011 Quezon City, Philippines
I believe in second chances — in life in general, in love, and yes, even in makeup.
These three makeup products share not only the top three seats in my face makeup favorites but also share the same story.
You see, I all bought them on a whim — totally undecided, unconvinced, and just because I needed something of its kind.
This is my favorite blush OF ALL TIME. I was shopping at ULTA (A smaller and less popular version of Sephora in the US) a couple of years ago and their extensive line of in-store makeup caught my eye. Their blushes were somewhere between 6 to 8 dollars so they didn’t have testers of the colors. I grabbed the two colors which attracted me the most and forgot that I had them for about a year.
For the longest time MAC’s Peaches was what I’d always wear but at some point, it just became too bright of an orange for me. When I realized I had this ULTA CHEEK COLOUR in KARMA (around late last year) I decided to make it an alternate for Peaches…. until it became my permanent blush. IT IS THE MOST AMAZING PEACH IN EXISTENCE. I seriously had a nervous breakdown when I hit pan and my heart was broken when I found out that ULTA discontinued it. Sad, sad day for makeup.
This next one, I got during one of my Singapore trips. I was looking for a finishing powder in Sephora and just happened to be at the Too Faced shelf. I couldn’t decide which of their blushes to get (They’re all so pretty!) so I decided to just try their finishing powder. It doesn’t make sense, I know.
Anyway, at first, I absolutely HATED it. The powder was incredibly fine I’d keep on inhaling it and then have a coughing fit every time I brushed it on. I was too annoyed by it to actually see how it really worked. It wasn’t until the end of the day, when I realized how matte my face still was and how absolutely silky it was, that I had to admit I was hooked.
I finished my pot in a matter of months. Though I still have a practically full pot of MAC’s Prep + Prime Translucent Finishing Powder (It is not translucent in photos :|) I knew I had to restock my stash with this.
This Laura Mercier Mineral Foundation in Real Sand (the small pot on the right) was the first high end foundation I bought for myself (c/o my mom’s friend, Tita Linlin, who gave me a Rustan’s gift certificate!) It took me a long time to appreciate what it did for my skin. It gives me good coverage, a nice matte finish to counter my oily skin, and a subtle yet eye-catching glow. I cannot count the number of times I’ve been complimented on how my skin looks like whenever I wear this. I swear, even my guy classmates who are clueless about makeup kind of awkwardly ask me what I do with my skin. Haha. The sheerness of it just makes it look so natural! I’m almost through with my mini pot and I already have the big pot waiting for me. It’s gonna be an epic love story between this and my face!
Sigh, everything really is sweeter the second time around.
Try going through your own makeup kit too. See what you haven’t used in a while, give it another chance, and rekindle your love!
