Delightful Illusions

          Hey, guys! I went to Baguio City with my family, we had our Summer vacation there. Baguio City is a cold place, no doubt with that. As a first time visitor, I think I dressed up a little too much during Day. Haha! I was expecting that it would be cold like Winter. Haha! :) Anyways, my key piece on this travel was my sneaker wedges, which you have seen a lot already. I will never get tired wearing these because they are the cosiest shoes ever. They feel like boots when you put them on. I got sick the entire vacation that's why I didn't wear makeup. I apologize if I looked like crap on these pictures. 

          Day 1: This day's outfit was pretty neutral in colors and simple in style. I want something comfortable yet stylish. I got inspired by the Autumn/Winter outfits I see on YouTube and magazines. If you don't know yet, I live in the Philippines. which is a tropical country. We don't have Spring, Autumn and Winter. We only have dry and wet seasons. Going up on the mountainous province of Benguet is a perfect idea if you want a cold summer. 

         I opted for a charcoal wool top and a patterned skirt paired with black leggings. I also wore a brown-beige suede hoodless jacket to put a little of color on my outfit. I got the top, skirt and jacket on various thrift stores. My leggings and shoes were given by my family. The picture above shows how the getup looks like without the jacket. This outfit warmed me enough against the gloomy skies and chilly weather that day. What can you say about the first outfit? Let me know your thoughts. :)

         Day 2: We had a semi-tour on Benguet during 2nd Day of vacation. Our first destination was in La Trinidad, the town next to Baguio City. As you can see on the photo above, there are different plants planted but most of them are strawberries, that's why this placed is called Strawberry Farm. The weather in there is warm and sunny. My outfit went perfectly with the temperature; not too hot nor too cold. 

        During the tour, I wore a mint green V-neck shirt from Aeropostale paired with a sky blue skinny pants gave by my mommy. I wore the same shoes, a sneaker wedge from Adidas. To add a little decoration on my outfit, I hanged a tri-color scarf with sequins from Mogao. My ears easily get cold so I also wore a gray bonnet which I bought from the Night Market at Baguio City. :)

          I wasn't able to take pictures of my 3rd day outfit because we went home early. We caught the bus that leaves 10:30 am for Manila, a 6-hour long trip from Baguio City. Anyways, what can you say about my outfits? Did you like those? Or not? Please let me know. Don't worry, I'll post my adventures on our tour. So expect for more posts about the travel. :) I'll talk to you soon. Thanks for stopping by. :) Have a nice day. Stay safe always. XOXO

              Happy Valentine's, my lovely readers and guests! How did you day went on? Mine was really great. :) Today, I am posting about my very first "First Impressions Review". My aim for 2015 is to do more reviews on beauty products to share my thoughts on blogosphere. If you are interested on this post, keep on reading. :)

               Beauty mask sheet is not a usual part of my skincare routine. In fact, I don't think that I have a concrete skincare routine. Yes, I admit that. The only products on my face are cleansers, scrubs and toners. I don't use creams because they make my face feel heavy and sticky, considering that I have only skin. I was kind of neglecting the needs of my skin, which resulted to a flaky and at the same time greasy skin. 

           Going back to December, me and my cousin were strolling inside SM North Edsa and I remembered that Etude House had 30% off on all their items nationwide. I was planning to get some makeup items but all of the products I wanted were sold out. I was too shy not to get anything because the sales lady was following me. Haha! So, I picked up 4 of their masks and I will be reviewing them one by one. The first mask I tried was this I Need You Bamboo Mask. 

Before:

              My skin was flaky and feels dry because of the cold weather experienced by Philippines during the month of January. It looks worse than the picture. I took this before taking a bath so that you could really see the condition of my face. 

Putting it on:

           *Please excuse the wrong position. I was new to this. Haha! #awkward :D

           Upon putting it on my face, it gave a cooling sensation. It's like putting bits of ice on your face in a good way. The extract has a thick consistency but doesn't feel heavy on the skin. The smells is nice. 

After: 

              After 10 minutes of soaking it, I removed the mask. I massaged the remaining extract on my face so my skin could suck it. Then I washed my face to remove the residue. My skin felt clean and smooth; the oil on my skin was completely gone. I was happy even more because my skin was oil-free for a couple of hours. 

Overall Evaluation:

             This mask sheet is a must-try and is suitable for all skin types. What's good about this is that it has natural ingredients which is good for the skin. I would love to use this again. This is only Php 58. So affordable!

Overall Rating:

              4/5

            How did my post go? Do you want more first impressions review? Please let me know. You are always welcome to leave a comment. Thank you so much for stopping by. Have a great day ahead! XOXO

           The month of love has come! Who's excited for V-Day? Haha! Me? I have classes so I just probably be in the Graduate School. Anyways, I will be talking about my 2nd  January Favorites today. Time flies by so fast. I cannot even believe that this blog will celebrate it's 2nd anniversary on June. :) (*giving you all a grateful smile)  This will be a really quick post so I hope you will continue reading. I don't have much beauty products for this post because as always, I have been using the same products. But, I have added some categories like favorite site and style items. 

Makeup

Essence All About Matt Oil Control Make-up Base - A decent base. It dries quickly and doesn't feel sticky nor heavy. The formula makes my face makeup last all day long. My skin feels smooth and looks dewy after I apply this. This is a lightweight base so you don't have to worry about layering products on your face. A little of this goes a long a way. It has a little bit of a typical paint scent but it's totally bearable. I notice that my skin gets somehow oily during lunch time but my makeup is still intact. If you are looking for an affordable base for your oily skin, I suggest getting this one. This is only Php 289 at Watsons's. 

Hair

Hair Treats Hair Coat (Macadamia) - Oh my goodness, I'm obsessed with this hair styling product. Girls like me with wavy hair will really appreciate this. I apply this on my hair after taking a bath; combing first then scrunching it. I like this better than my hair curling lotion because it give moisture and doesn't look stiff after drying. I let my hair air dry to let the oil sink into my hair. Upon arriving at the office, I comb my hair again and looks like natural loose waves with amounts of shine. It smells like a freshly baked cupcake which makes me love it even more. I also recommend checking this one. This could also be found at Watson's. 

Skincare

Pond's Clear Solutions Anti-Bacterial Facial Scrub - This is an irony; I actually liked a product from the said brand. I have actually mentioned on my first product empties post that I don't like products from Pond's because they break me out. But, this one is different. After weeks of using this, I noticed how my skin got clearer and radiant. I haven't had a single zit after my first wash with this. This gentle to my skin and has a nice, semi-sweet scent. In my opinion, this is the best facial scrub I have ever used. I recommend this to all of you. 

Style

Adidas Neo Label Super Wedge Sneakers - I can't get enough of these rockstars! The first time I tried these, they were a little bit tight. But, after a few days straight of wearing these, they got comfortable. What I love about these is that they are comfortable to wear all throughout the day. This particular color and design is very stylish; it matches with almost every outfit I wear and is appropriate for most occasions. (I even wore these on work! Haha!) To tell you honestly, I also wore these when we went to Boracay. Haha! I even wear these on the beach! Silly me. Haha!

            I get compliments whenever I wear these. When you put them on, you will instantly feel increased self-confidence and gives a right amount of attitude (a little bit swaggy too, I must say). The fabric is suede as you can see and it's prone to dirtiness so I have to be really careful in handling these. The picture below was taken from scholl. See? I even wear these on Graduate School. That's how I love these shoes! I'm obsessed! Haha! If you have the chance to buy these type of shoes, go and grab! It's worth the money. 

White and Black Freshwater Pearls Pandora Bracelet - I'm not a pearl person but the moment I saw this on Boracay, I fell in love with it and bought it. Freshwater pearls are cultured pearls and a lot affordable than natural pearls. I bought this from Puka Beach, Boracay if you are wondering. The lady sold this to me for Php150 only; she gave a great bargain because I was her first buyer. So nice of her! :) Anyways, I love this because it looks elegant and classy. This is not a cheapy bracelet that you can buy anywhere; it's something exclusive and made by the natives of Boracay Island. The charms do not fade nor can be stained. I've been wearing this a lot too the past month. :) 

Instagram - I've posting a lot of pictures on Instagram lately. From ootds, nail polish, face of the days, food, my activities and so much more. Haha! Thanks to my LG Fino, I can now post high quality pictures. If you want to stalk or follow me, here's my account: delightfulillusions. Haha! :)

That concludes my January Favorites for 2015. Did you enjoy reading? Any questions and suggestions? Please let me know. Thank you so much for reading and stopping by. It is truly appreciated. :) I'll talk to you soon. Be safe. I love you all! XOXO

         This is my first post of the year and I am so excited! I was contacted by the Community Outreach Coordinator for Julep, Abbey Jones, (isn't that most exciting thing ever?!), asking me if I could share how I "winterize" my nails, including my nail care routine, as they are currently giving this challenge to invited bloggers and select the best post and compile it to their upcoming project. I said yes to the challenge but I wasn't able to post earlier due to my hectic schedule. Anyways, I am apologizing to Abbey for making her wait so long. I'm not sure if my this will still count, but I'm doing it anyways because I love to participate in something. :)

        I didn't have any idea on what design will I come up with this post. I didn't have any much idea on how was this blog been noticed by Julep since I don't have the greatest nail designs in the blogosphere. Seriously. Haha! What I did was I went to Julep's site and browsed for color inspirations, like what are the colors associated with winter. I live in the Philippines and we don't have winter so I don't have broad knowledge about the said season. I scanned my nail polish collection to see if I have shade fit for the winter theme. 

       I came up with a simple winterized design for my short nails. I decided to use my gray nail polish from San San called Cloudy Gray for my base. What I love about with this brand is that most of their polishes are opaque, one coat is enough.  I applied two coats for opacity. I thought that the base was a little boring so I layered it with a sheer lilac purple glittery nail polish, also from San San, called Lilac Pearl.

         The camera didn't pick the true colors very well, but you can still see some hints of micro-fine lilac purple glitters. It does have a really cute effect on the gray polish. How I wish you could see this in person. It's great! The combination fits the winter time as it sparkles like snow. Haha! Geez, I'm just imagining a snow on my skin. How does it feel, guys?

        To accentuate my nails, I have pressed some nails glitters and  white star design on my ring fingers. I picked up the pentagon blue and silver glitters as it perfect for winter. You don't need any special product to make these cuties stick on your nails. As long as the nail polish is still wet, these will hold on. I finish this off with a color less polish. P.S. I cleaned the mess right after taking a shot of my nails.

 

       What do you think about this design? Please let me know if you have recreated this. Tag me a picture on Facebook,  Instagram or Twitter. My links are always at the sidebar. 

       Thank you so much to Julep for giving me the chance to participate. I might not be picked but I'm still happy because I know this opportunity does not come always. I'm already joyous by just joining. :)

     I hope you like this post. If you have any suggestions, questions, or something please hit a comment. I love reading your messages. I will talk to you soon. Have a nice day. XOXO