Hola Paella Recipe

What's not to love about paella? It's a full meal on its own. This version of Paella features chicken and vegetables you probably already have in your refrigerator. Definitely Masarap, Masustansya at Kayang-kaya!

The trick to making paella is preparing all your ingredients beforehand so you can breeze through the the cooking part itself. For this recipe, I used Magnolia chicken and Pure Foods bacon. I like how both these products are of great quality and are affordable for the Filipino family. The Magnolia chicken had a lot of meat (don't you get disappointed when you're served scrawny chicken pieces?). Super sulit! The Pure Foods bacon added extra flavor to the dish. The end result was a hearty, filling meal with great depth of flavor! Everybody loved it! #bloggerslovechicken #homefoodieako

Philosophy Purity Made Simple Review

Hey everyone! I'm back with another skincare review. This time it's a product from Philosophy. This is such a well-loved cleanser and if you can't tell by the amount of goodness left, we like this too! We are currently on what is probably the 6th bottle of this cleanser. More on why we've repurchased this multiple times after the jump!

Laneige Multiberry Yogurt Peeling Gel Review

Hello hello! It’s been a while since our last post and we’re finally back with a new review! I was in Hong Kong last June and was on the lookout for a facial scrub. I was deciding between two Japanese brands when I saw this on the Laneige shelf at Sasa. I don’t know what it is about Laneige but I’m always curious about their products. Haha! Anyway, I ended up buying this one and have used it regularly since.

Better Than Shu Uemura? Kose Softymo Deep Cleansing Oil Review

We know, we know. Our title is a pretty wild claim. Better than the most (in)famous cleansing oil in the whole wide world?! Well, what you'll hear from us is one big, resounding yes. If you're looking for a Shu Uemura dupe, you should definitely check out this cleanser from Kose. Like Shu Uemura, Kose is a popular Japanese company that houses and distributes a whole range of products, from high end to super affordable drugstore products. This Deep Cleansing Oil falls under Softymo, their line of cleansers.

Massive Stylenanda 3 Concept Eyes Review x Swatches

DISCLAIMER / EDIT: JANUARY 11, 2017

Before you start reading this lengthy review, I just want to preface it by saying that we wrote this review 3 years ago, BEFORE we tried some of the most popular Western brands and cult favorites (like Anastasia, Becca, Jeffree Star, NARS, etc.) so the opinions expressed here were written from the POV of people who were really into Japanese/Korean drugstore brands like KATE, Majolica Majorca, Etude House, TonyMoly, Innisfree, etc. So if you love Asian makeup and are able to get ahold of 3CE products at their original price point and not jacked up online like they do, go for it! It's worth a try. BUT! (And this is a big ol' but. Like Kim K big.) If you ALREADY love those Western liquid lipsticks, fleeky brows, and a really flawless base, you're going to be a little disappointed with some of these products, more specifically, the lip lacquers and foundation. 

Now, having said that, I understand that not everyone is willing to pay 30+ USD on a highlighter and would be perfectly happy with a product that still performs great but doesn't feel as painful to spend on. And not everyone aspires for Instagram eyebrows and Kylie Jenner lips. Anyway. So, after having tried the products we have now from the "mid to semi high end" of the Western beauty spectrum, which of these 3CE products do we still recommend? 

DO try: 

1. 3CE Highlight Beam 

2. Powdery Lip & Cheek 

3. SOME shades of their lipsticks (I still LOVE their shades Keen and Lala, though we don't review them here.) 

DON'T buy:

1. Water Glossing Foundation

2. Lip Lacquers - The formula is far from a liquid lipstick. The price is also pretty expensive for what it is, now that I've tried a lot more products. If you want a good liquid lipstick for the same price (800 pesos) I really like the Sephora Lip Cream and also Ofra. 

3. Brow Mascara - If you want a good, cheap brow mascara, try Heavy Rotation or K-Palette. 

4. Lip Pigments - They're really cheap for the amount of product and a novelty to own, sure, but better to invest in products that you'll get a lot of wear out of. 

I guess this wasn't really a disclaimer but more like a retraction? Hahaha. Our original review is still down there, and our opinions remain the same on their packaging. Beautiful packaging, still. We'll leave the original post there for the photos and swatches and if you want to see thoughts from the point of view of a K-beauty lover. (I still love Kbeauty, I'm just more discerning on which products to get now.)

--------------------------- END OF DISCLAIMER ------------------------

Hello everyone! :) If you've noticed, we're on a roll. Three reviews in 15 days?! (A big step up from our *cough* one review in every 4 months pattern *cough*) But we just couldn't hold off our excitement any longer as we've been dying to show you guys our review of our 3 Concept Eyes haul from Stylenanda.  To our surprise, there aren't many reviews online of 3CE. It's a desert out there. This made it difficult for us to choose what to buy so we decided to buy everything review these for you to make it easier for anyone who's looking to purchase these products.

Stylenanda is a South Korean brand that is not only known for their really chic and stylish clothes, but also for their extensive line of cosmetics, 3 Concept Eyes (or 3CE). Whether you're aware of Stylendanda or not, we're pretty sure you've seen this girl floating around the interwebs.  

Oh, Park Sora. Be still our beating hearts. She's the "face" of the brand and we're willing to bet that she's 90% of the reason why Stylenanda has become so popular in recent years. 

These are the products we'll be talking about in our not so little review:

— 3 Concept Eyes Highlight Beam Face and Body

— 3 Concept Eyes Glossing Waterful Foundation in Natural Ivory

— 3 Concept Eyes Eyebrow Mascara in Brown

— 3 Concept Eyes Powdery Lip and Cheek in Pink One Piece

— 3 Concept Eyes Lip Pigments in Electro Pink, Issue, Mink Beige

— 3 Concept Eyes Lip Lacquers in Backstage, Bon Bon

— 3 Concept Eyes Jumbo Lip Crayon in Neon Pink

— 3 Concept Eyes Lip Color/Lipstick in Pink Jam, Chu Chu

So are 3CE cosmetics as good as they look?

HadaLabo Face Wash, Lotion, Arbutin Whitening Essence, and Cream Review

HadaLabo is mutually developed by Rohto Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd (Japan) and Mentholatum (USA). The brand concept is "Perfect & Simple": your skin benefits from the high-quality ingredients and easy to follow skincare routine. I don’t have my actual bottles anymore but I bought a full line of HadaLabo products in 2011 because of all the wonderful reviews I read online. People kept raving about the lotion and how it really made their skin soft and supple. 

I was really excited about purchasing these products because at that time, my skin was going through a rough (literally) period. I had these tiny raised bumps on my forehead that I couldn’t classify as pimples because when I tried to squeeze them (which I did, a lot. bah.),  nothing would come out. So given my skin situation and all the amazing online reviews, I had high hopes for the HadaLabo skincare range. 

Did they live up to my expectations? 

Lens Review: Dueba Puffy 3 Tone Gray Lens / Shinny Gray

Happy New Year everyone! It's been a few months since our last post and our resolution for this blog is to actually blog. HAHA! We've got several reviews lined up, (Stylenanda 3 Concept Eyes, woohoo!) and this one is going to be the first. :D

Seto Ayumi Inspired Makeup Tutorial

Hello everyone! It's been a while but I'm back with a special post because for the first time ever, I'll be posting a makeup tutorial! I'm not a makeup artist and all I know about makeup I learned from YouTube and the internet, really, but I did my very best! XD Of course, my first makeup tutorial has to be my #1 favorite Japanese girl and Hamburger Princess Seto Ayumi. If you aren't familiar with Ayumi, she's a model for Zipper Magazine, SPINNS, and a regular on Harajuku Kawaii TV. She's pretty popular in Japan, on Tumblr and IG because, well, just look at her! XD

Cure Natural Aqua Gel Review - Is It Worth The Hype?

Let me begin this review by saying I am a firm believer in exfoliation. You can pile on all the toners, serums and moisturizers you have but if you don't exfoliate, your skin won't look as good as it could be because it won't be able to effectively absorb your skincare products.

CANMAKE Creamy Touch Rouge Review and Swatches

Hello again! Wow, another review! I'm on a roll this month haha! I'll be reviewing two lipsticks from CANMAKE Tokyo.

CANMAKE is a drugstore brand fromJapan. They have a complete range of make-up products that are relatively affordable. I own quite a number of their products and while I would say that you generally get what you pay for, Japanese make-up products, even the drugstore ones, are mostly of acceptable/good quality.

Anyway, on to the review! I have two Creamy Touch Rouge lipsticks - #2 Misty Orange and #3 Sweet Cherry.

Packaging: It comes in a shiny gold lipstick tube that looks sophisticated and classy.
Price: If I remember correctly, I bought it for 88 HKD.

The Ultimate Laneige Water Bank Skincare Line Review

Hi everyone! Its been a while since I last wrote a review so today, I'll be giving my thoughts on three products from a popular Korean skincare brand, Laneige. I've been using the Water Bank Essence, Water Bank Gel Cream and the Water Bank Moisture Cream from Laneige since January 2013. Does it work just as beautifully as it is packaged? Let's find out! :D

Skin Food Lettuce and Cucumber Water Drop Essence Review

Typical Skin Care Purchasing Scenario:

You spend an entire day trying to find the best product for your skin type / weather / money. You end up feeling really broke and tired and unproductive because obviously, you can't afford the 5 different creams you found online and because you have only one face. So you agonize. Which product can I get better results with for less cash out? (~But the packaging of the other one is just SO pretty!~) It's an internal battle, and after what feels like pulling teeth, you finally settle on your final list and feel excited just with the prospect of using them. Visualize them sitting oh so prettily on your dresser next to the other stuff you painstakingly shopped around for, before. So you go the store, look through the shelves, but you can't find what's on your list so you ask the lady, "Miss, is this all? Where is the <insert product name here>?" and she says, "Sorry, not available."

*cue pulling of hair and sound of my heart breaking*

No, but really, that was the scenario from the day I bought the Skin Food Lettuce & Cucumber Water Drop Essence. :( I originally planned to get the Skin Food Royal Honey Hydro Cream which has glowing reviews on their website, but woe is me, other people wanted that too and exhausted the store's stock. I couldn't go back to the hotel and repeat the entire process of research-agonize-finalize, so I had to find something else since I was already at the store and had money I was willing to burn spend. XD

Bioderma Sébium H20 Cleanser Review 250ml

Today I'll be reviewing the Bioderma Sebium H20 Cleanser for combination or oily skin. If you read a lot of beauty reviews, you've probably stumbled across a review of this product or the more popular Crealine version (sensitive skin). If you haven't, this product has a micelle solution, meaning its hardworking, cleansing particles are suspended/infused in water - thus making it very lightweight, non-greasy, and fresh! So is it worth the hype? 

Laneige Power Essential Skin Refiner (Moisture) Review

Hi everyone! It's been quite a while since our last review and we'd like to apologize for our inactivity; we've been extremely busy the past few months but we're trying to find time to write reviews. We've got a lot of new stuff to rave (and rant!) about, but first up is something from Laneige. We've previously reviewed the Water Sleeping Pack EX from the popular Korean skincare brand and will also review the entire Water Bank line in the near future, so watch out for that! But anyway, to start, here's my review of the Laneige Power Essential Skin Refiner (Moisture - for dry to normal skin types). This product is meant to be a toner, to be used after cleansing and before moisturizing. I took these photos when I just bought it, but I've been using this for about 5 months, and am halfway through with it. Without further ado, let's start!

I originally wanted to get the wildly popular Water Bank Essence (review here!) , but I couldn't justify buying another essence as I was already using two (Sana Namerakahonpo Essence and Innisfree Green Tea Serum), so I picked up this toner as I already ran out. Ugh. I blame Song Hye Kyo for my obsession with owning products from Laneige. Why must you be so perfect?! ლಠ益ಠლ

Majolica Majorca Brow and Lash Colorist Review

Hi everyone! Today I'll be reviewing Majolica Majorca Brow and Lash Colorist, which is basically an eyebrow mascara. I've been having my hair bleached and colored in much lighter shades (strawberry blonde, ash blonde etc.) for the past couple of years. I naturally have black hair and initially, I didn't really care about my eyebrows matching my hair because I had full bangs that covered them. But now that I have side bangs, I've been paying more attention to the color of my eyebrows. I've tried the following:

INNISFREE Green Tea Seed Serum Review (80ml)

Hi everyone! For my second review (this is T, by the way), I'll be talking about Innisfree's Green Tea Seed Serum. Innisfree is a Korean skincare brand known for using organic products (whether it's 100% organic or not, I don't know and don't really mind much XD) or products that are made from natural resources. Let's get started!

Looks very organic and tempting, no? Koreans always have great marketing/advertising!

SNSD's Yoona is the face of the brand

Holy Grail: Laneige Water Sleeping Pack EX Review

Today, I will be reviewing the Laneige Water Treatment Sleeping Pack EX. Laneige is a Korean skincare and makeup brand, endorsed by the beautiful Song Hye Kyo. If you're familiar with how Koreans prefer to do their makeup, you'll notice that they love the dewy, "boing-boingk" (meaning bouncy) look. When I first saw the commercial for this product, all I thought was, "I HAVE to have it." Check the video out for yourself :D

 ... See what I mean? Who wouldn't want to wake up with super moisturized, dewy skin? So this product is a sleeping mask (obviously haha!) that you put as the last step of skincare. Laneige says to use it once or twice a week, but the product is so friendly that the only thing you'll get from using it every night is hydrated skin. Anyway, on to the review!

First post

Hello everyone!
We've always wanted to start a beauty blog but we were always too shy, and we never really knew where to begin. But after benefiting from all the knowledge and reviews written by beauty bloggers from all over the world, we decided to give back a little and maybe, we might just help someone out with our reviews. If we could help anyone, in any way whatsoever, that would make us really happy :)

For starters, let us introduce ourselves first. We are A and T . Only the initials of our names, for privacy :) We are both inclined to Asian skincare and makeup, because, well, we're Asian and we just feel like Asian brands are better suited to our skin. XD A is 23 years old and has combination skin, while T is 20, and has dry skin.

Anyway, here's to the next few posts! We already have a bunch of reviews lined up and we're real excited to start :D