Join Ensembles WEAR MY DESIGN CONTEST Year 3!

Would you like to see your very own design displayed at Ensembles? It can happen! Ensembles just recently unveiled the 8 Winning Spring Dresses 2014 now gracing the racks of every Ensembles branch nationwide! This April, the competition starts again in search of  the next 5 winning Spring Dresses of 2015, open in two categories of Soft OR Tailored.

If you have an eye for fashion, then this is definitely for you! All you have to do is submit a dress prototype of your design together with an application form downloaded from Ensembles Facebook page. Contest starts at April 1 to May 31 2014. All submitted entries will be uploaded at Ensembles’ Facebook page for voting. Your spring dress design maybe the one unveiled next year! 

Learn more about Wear My Design Competition mechanics and rules at www.ensembles.com.ph. Like Ensembles on Facebook, and follow Ensembles on Twitter and Instagram @EnsemblesOnline.

Love,

Helen

Solo Summer 2014 Collection | Online Model Contest Winners

Summer is slowly kicking in! Are you ready?

Solo's Summer Collection 2014 is here to complete your summer essentials and set your summer vibes high! This collection is composed of wide-range swimwear pieces, boasting a variety of looks for Him and Her such as tribal prints, floral patterns, retro feels, and solid colors strategically placed on bandeau, bikini tops, and high-waisted bottoms creating fun statement. Tick your checklist complete with flattering cover ups and stylish eyewear for ladies and gents to complement the hot season!

The hot collection features this year’s Solo Online Model Contest Grand Winners, Renee Soraya Hassani and John Edward Custodio who stood out among almost a hundred hopefuls! The pair got to do a photo shoot directed and photographed by hot fashion photographer Doc Marlon.

Renee, 22, recently finished Interior Design at Philippine School of Interior Design. She's now part of their family business and wants to pursue modeling.

John Edward, 21, is set to fulfill his dreams of being an actor by venturing to a strong stepping stone which is modeling.

When asked about the experience, both quipped that they learned a lot from Doc Marlon and were very inspired to improve their craft and be the face of Solo to the youth. “I want to contribute among the wide varieties of beauty our world has come to define today,” Renee said.

No matter how challenging the path to their dreams is, these two still showed genuine interest and willingness to learn from the best and leave a mark to today’s generation along with the brand that fits their street-smart and quirky personality; these two are epitomes of a Solo lady and gent ready to take over the summer sun, sand, and the world.

Conquer the hot season in tribal or floral prints from this year’s one-stop summer shop! Too busy? Shop online, it’s easy and reliable!

For more information, please log on to solo.com.ph. Like Solo Online on Facebook, and follow them on Twitter and Instagram @MySoloOnline.

Love,

Helen

#ComeJointheCaravan with Kiele and J&C Super Clean Solutions!

This summer, enjoy your lush, tropical resort getaway with essentials from The Caravan: La Isla Fete, a unique lifestyle market featuring an eclectic mix of carefully chosen brands in Fashion, Beauty, and Home.

Featuring Filip + Inna, Quiver, Brown Belly, Two Chic, Myth, Thread365, Bensimon, Praiaz, K Way, Butter London, Cbeauty Universal Beauty Oil, The Urban Alchemists, Sparrow, Kiele, Kotur, Lagu, Renegade Folk, Rivieras, Saxum, Lustre, Melograno, Stockton Row, Nicole Whisenhunt, Sam Cologne – Azul, NCLA, VINO2G0, Tilka, Naked Sun Swimwear, and more! 

#ComeJoinTheCaravan and be a part of this new wave of cult shopping!

Bonjour! Kiele Anti-Mosquito cologne combines a refreshing scent with essential Citronella and Neem oils to keep those pesky insects at bay. Spray it on and enjoy la bonne vie with this unique fragrance.

Photo Credit: Sample Room

A must for make-up artists and enthusiasts alike, J&C Super Clean Solutions is a specialized make-up brush cleaner that removes all traces of dirt and grime. Effective and long-lasting with a  fresh spearmint scent, it's the perfect essential to add to any make-up kit.

#ComeJointheCaravan and check out Kiele and J&C Super Clean Solutions on April 5, 2014, Saturday from 10AM to 7PM at W17 La Fuerza Compound, 2241 Chino Roces Ave., Makati City, Philippines.

For more information, check out The Caravan on Facebook and Instagram. J&C Super Clean Solutions is available online for only P395.00, while Kiele costs P199.00 each.

Love,

Helen

The Body Shop Best Face Forward (BFF) Makeover

There are regular days when we sport our everyday makeup look, while there are special days (like graduation day or formal parties) wherein we want to look extra pretty. Remember, the cameras are clicking so it's always nice to put our Best Face Forward!

You may have noticed this sign on selected stores of The Body Shop around Metro Manila.

The Body Shop recently launched its new campaign: Best Face Forward Makeover, a paid makeover service worth P1,500.00 wherein P1,000.00 is consumable of makeup products.

The Body Shop has 3 signature beauty pegs, but you may customize or request your own look if preferred.

 

Fresh Faced Beauty

Get a fresh, nude look for weekends

Bloom in Pink

Look pretty in pink, with a soft, romantic look

Smoke Me

Ready to party? Smolder with smoky eyes

Being an advocate of the natural makeup look, I went for the Fresh Faced Beauty look.

Products Used:

The Body Shop All-In-One BB Cream

I like the fact that this product now comes in 4 shades! I found a better match in shade 00. This BB cream is unique since it has color changing pigments, which goes from white to flesh (or whatever your skintone is). The Body Shop could've sold this as a CC cream!

The Body Shop Extra Virgin Minerals Loose Powder Foundation

I'm currently into mineral makeup, and I've learned to embrace loose powder. With practice, I can now apply loose powder foundation such as this without causing mess. Hooray! :D This one from The Body Shop has a radiant finish (with teeny tiny light reflecting pigments) and feels so light on the skin.

The Body Shop Lip & Cheek Stain

A best-seller for a good reason: The pinkish red flush from this tint suits ALL skintones! Tip: This one's best applied using a synthetic foundation brush.

The Body Shop Colour Crush Eyeshadows

These two shades are so me - they're practically my go-to eye makeup shades since I'm not too into the loud colors. Oh Honey is a pretty champagne shade that brightens up the eye area even on its own, while Coconuts About You is a contouring shade that could also be used for the eyebrows (since it's matte).

The Body Shop Liquid Eyeliner

For my ultra-talented eyelids which manages to smudge all the eyeliners I've tried, I think this one is the answer. The makeup artist applied this on me after lunch, and come nighttime, it's still a beautiful, fine solid line. SOLD!

The Body Shop Big and Curvy Mascara

As a finishing touch, mascara was applied. I chose a water-resistant one since I'm lazy with removal, but you can also use the waterproof version of this.

Before & After:

#tbsbffmakeover

For the love of my readers, here's the rare moment I'd let you see me without eyebrows (or any trace of makeup). The before photo was taken just after I had my Barre3 class, so that's no cheek stain you're seeing! ;)

My look was done by Vivian Mendoza, the makeup artist of The Body Shop Trinoma. She has magic hands! :D

The usual rate for makeup done professionally at a salon would go around P2,000.00 or higher, but with the Best Face Forward Makeover (worth P1,500.00), not only do you get all dolled up and learn new makeup tips along the way, you also get to take home the makeup products of your choice (worth P1,000.00). Oh, I'd choose this over getting my makeup done at a salon, any day.

The Body Shop Best Face Forward (BFF) Makeover is available at the following branches: MOA, Megamall, Trinoma, Rockwell, The Block, SM City, Glorietta 2, Podium, Festival, and Gateway. Like The Body Shop, Philippines on Facebook for more information.

Love,

Helen

Brow Construction @ Browhaus Greenbelt 5

I can't leave home without filling in my brows, but it has gotten so unruly that I'm having a hard time doing my makeup in the morning. Browhaus has been in my must-try list for so long, but it's so far from home. One free day, I was finally able to drop by and give my brows some lovin' and a good cleaning with their Brow Construction service.

Browhaus has branches at Greenbelt 5, Serendra, and Lucky Chinatown Mall. It's located at the same area as Strip.

Each treatment room is private and cute like this!

As with Strip, cleanliness is also a priority here.

 

Brow Constuction is one of their most basic brow shaping services, wherein you can choose between Classic Threading (P598.00), Modern Tweezing (P598.00), or a combination of both with no extra charge.

Browhaus also offers their signature Color Tweak (P950.00) service for instances when your newly dyed hair and brows don't match.

Browhaus Brow Construction: Classic Threading

My brow architect Magda was really nice and she explained to me what she would be doing every step of the way. First step was to cleanse the skin, removing all traces of makeup at the brows. I opted for threading (since it's something I've never done before), but she also tweezed and trimmed the hair for a more precise finish. This was way less painful (and much more faster) compared to my DIY brow tweezing at home. Within 15 minutes, we were done. My entire eye area looked brighter and so clean afterwards. An anti-inflammatory cream was applied on my brow area, and I couldn't wet my face for the next 5 hours.

Since my eyebrows were naturally light and sparse, my brow architect also filled in my brows as a finishing touch. Honestly, I am not used to brows as big as these. It reminds me of Helga Pataki (from Hey Arnold!). I was more confident with the no-makeup state of my just-threaded brows, but this one's easy to remedy. (I'll just have to fill in my brows myself!)

Browhaus

4F Greenbelt 5 Phase 2 Legaspi Street, Ayala Center Makati
Store Hours:
Sun-Thurs: 11AM to 9PM
Fri-Sat: 11AM to 10PM
T: + 632 5013998

Have you tried the services of Browhaus? Like Browhaus Manila on Facebook for more information.

Love,

Helen

Etude House My Wish Cheek in #1 Gorgeous Snow

There will always be lazy days with makeup, but highlighter is always a must for me. Blame it on the Korean makeup trend - now everyone wants glowy, dewy (but not shiny) skin!

I got this cute Etude House My Wish Cheek last year, and I believe this was part of their previous makeup collections. This may already be discontinued, but it's worth sharing just because it's too cute! :3

Etude House My Wish Cheek in #1 Gorgeous Snow

The shade "Gorgeous Snow" is a highlighter, while the 2 other shades from this range are blushes in pink and peach.

Ingredients:

This highlighter is good for 3 years before it expires, which is normal for powder products. I noticed that this one's made in China, way back when Etude House was just fairly new in the market. Now I think all their products are made in Korea.

The packaging is simple and stylish in black and pink. Far from the princess-y theme, but still cute.

This highlighter compact comes with a mirror.

Underneath the product is a compartment for a brush.

The brush that comes with the compact is so nice! I usually ignore small brushes that come with compacts since most (if not all) are useless, but this one's really dense and soft.

Check out the highlighter! It looks as soft as snow! ♥

Swatches:

The blue and purple shades are very subtle, and they both work so well in brightening up yellowish, pale, and sallow skin. I love that this highlighter doesn't have a glittery appearance.

The instructions on the box said to apply this on the T-zone, but that would be so weird. I apply this only at the top of my cheeks and nose bridge. Much better! :D My skin looks luminous (not glittery) whenever I use this highlighter.

Pros:

• Comes in a convenient compact
• Mirror and brush included
• Subtle highlighting effect
• Brightens up the skin
• Not glittery, no obvious shimmer bits
• No breakouts

Cons:

• Might be discontinued

Price: P528.00

Do you also love using highlighters? Like Etude House Philippines for more information. :)

Love,

Helen

Something New: CBTL Melon Mint Fru-Tea & Hand Crafted Macarons

Were you able to join CBTL's Summer Open House last Sunday?

Everytime CBTL hosts an event like this, my family gets excited since it's another chance for us to bond and try something new (for free)!

Since summer is here, CBTL launched 3 summer-inspired drinks: Pomelo Fru-Tea, Melon Mint Fru-Tea, Pure Melon Ice Blended.

Since we all don't like sour drinks (sorry, pomelo), we went for the two melon-themed drinks instead.

Melon Mint Fru-Tea & Pure Melon Ice Blended

Toblerone Cheesecake| Melon Mint Fru-Tea | Pure Melon Ice Blended

My love for anything minty naturally led me to try the Melon Mint Fru-Tea. It tasted really light and refreshing! The mint flavor was slight (not the full-on peppermint toothpaste kind of mint), and it tasted lovely when combined to the sweetness of melon. Never thought this combination could work, but it's good!

I wish I was able to try the Pure Melon Ice Blended, too. My sister said it tasted creamy - just like ice cream!

We also ordered a slice of Toblerone Cheesecake, but the Triple Decker Cheesecake is way better than this.

During the Summer Open House, I noticed that CBTL was now offering hand crafted macarons!

They come in flavors such as lemon x earl grey, orange x raspberry, salted caramel, coffee x vanilla, and chocolate x passionfruit! They're all so tiny though, just like baby bites. Has anyone tried these? :)

I think the new drinks are available this summer only, so I'll go back to CBTL to try the Pure Melon Ice Blended before it's gone. Have you tried the new drinks from CBTL? :D

Like The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf (Philippines) on Facebook for more information.

Love,

Helen