Proactiv

Just to give you my 'acne background', my acne isn't really that many. It's like one HUGE pimple popping after another. It's been like that for months now and it's driving me CRAZY!!! If you have problamatic skin or at least someone who takes pleasure roaming around Watsons and browsing over skin products, I am pretty sure you have heard of this product. I wouldn't go over this system so you could just click here for information. I'll go straight to the point on how was my experience with it.

IT DIDN'T WORK for me :-( After a month of using this, pimples keep on showing up, just like before :-( I was really disappointed because I really wanted this to work that's why I kept on using it even though I didn't see improvements after the 1st and 2nd week. Heck, I even took a "before" picture to show you guys. So yeah, if it worked for you then that's good.

The one in the photograph is the 1 month kit which costs Php 2300 ($53)

Repurchase: No.

Tip: If you're buying your first kit, I suggest you buy from the Proactiv stalls instead at the drugstore/department store. The sales attendants are very helpful specially if you have questions. (I wouldn't know about the 'Money Back Guarantee' if I didn't get mine at the stalls)

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Shakespear Invented Words..

I came across this site this morning called "No Sweat Shakespear.com" (petiks much?!). A specific article got me interested (and I mean INTERESTED....you'll know in a while *wink), it says that out of 17,677 words he used in ALL his works, 1700 of those were first used by Shakespeare. Some say, when he couldn't think of a word that rhymes he would just invent new words so that the verse wouldn't get messed up. LOL. Anyways, no surprise there he IS the Master Wordsmith after all. But what's cool is that some of those are so widely used nowadays I bet you didn't think it was "invented" by Shakespeare...at least I didn't. Words so common such as "HURRY", "LONELY", "ROAD"...check out some other words below: Mooncake: Babe, did you know that the words "accommodation" and "hurry" where invented by Shakespeare?? actually he coined over a thousand words and is in the English dictionary??? :D

Boyfie: that is so geeky :-P

Mooncake: well, we're both geeks in different ways and language...just happens that mine's Shakespeare and your's Java....

Ok..I am not that Shakespeare geek (and Java isn't boyfie's 'language'......only--he also knows .PHP, .NET etc, etc ). Sure I know most of his famous works but I don't memorize them or something. Just a little disclaimer back there, oh. and that conversation actually transpired :P

So back to the invented words. Because I am a dork and there's not much work, I decided to validate this myself, so I got my researcher hat on :D

If I think of rrreeeally OLD literature/writtings, my first thought got to be the King James Version Bible. So accessed BibleGateway.com >Keyword Search > King James Version..typed in ALL the words in the list above and then bummed when 3 words matched."AMAZEMENT", "BLOODY" and "ROAD". So I researched on "The King James Version Bible" and it turned out that KJV was written in 1600s and Shakespeare has been writting way back 1585. So I decided to search for an earlier version Bible. Something that's produced, say, 1400 and found the Gutenberg Bible...

isn't it pretty? =^.^=

One problem though..The original book is written in freakin' Latin! Enough with Bibles. I decided to search for fictional literary works, again, in 1400. Surprisingly, I found one that I am quite familiar with... The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer

Familiar, meaning I don't really KNOW them, I'm just possitive I've read some of it back in highschool and it's in MODERN English. Canterbury Tales was originally written in Middle English which is sort of English-Latin mixture....

"The droghte° of Marche hath perced to the rote,° " - excerpt from general prologue

F***! Where the heck's English there? yeah the articles, sure.... Obviously I can't use this material for cross reference. Since I know by now that 1400 use friggin Middle English I decided to move one century up. Early 1500 literature....


Robert Greene had e few years headstart from Shakespeare as he is the first man to make a living out of writing. I chose his Romance work Pandosto. It is in English alright, however the Latin influence is still to "harsh" for me so I gave up on "pre-Shakespeare" writters and look for someone in the same time frame. Enter Edmund Spenser and his masterpiece The Faerie Queene



Although published about the sametime Shakespeare has JUST STARTED making a name of his own. I figured it would be unlikely for him to accept, better yet, use Shakespeare's new words and it turns out I MAY be right since I found not a single word from the list above. And that's enough to convince me that YES the list of words are LEGIT :) Hey! I'm not a historian or something..I'm just a curious dork who had no better thing to do :P

I did learn a thing or 2 here. I have found new appreciation for Shakespeare's work...Between him and Spenser his writting seems to be centuries modern and refined (20th century girl speaking here). And that Language is an ever evolving thing! Like here in the Philippines we over 170 languages. Just a mere 45mins to 1hr flight from Manila and I'll be in a land where people speak dialect different from mine. Not to mention the 'Slang', 'Gay-Lingo' and ...sige na nga 'Jejemon'....

Wouldn't it be cool if I could invent a word myself :)

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after a minute or so...
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so today I have officially invented the word "ZITFITTY" - it is an occurrence of pimple popping one after another. i.e. "I can't see you now..my face is zitfitty" LAME-OH!!!

from Shakespeare to Pimple...can this post get crappier???

=^.-=

images from Google, Wikipedia and other sites. None of the pictures belong to me.

Limitless, Battle: L.A., Red Riding Hood, Sucker Punch, The Green Hornet

Phew! I'm on the roll these past few weeks. I originally planned dividing this to 2 post but I guess shorter reviews are always better, don't you think? ;-) Ooh, and guess what? I even arranged it from my most liked to least....wala lang :P

Limitless

Director: Neil Burger
Starring: Bradley Cooper
Rating: 5 stars

Actually, this is the ONLY movie that I liked :) It's been a while since I personally ranked a movie "5"....Ok, short review...short review... Very clever movie but it's nothing heavy like those usual mind f*ck movies that we like :) This definitely puts Bradley C to A-List. He really came a long way from being Jennifer Garner's casual beau in Alias. Highly recommended. Definitely a 'must see'







Battle: Los Angeles

Director: Jonathan Liebesman
Starring: Aaron Eckhart, Michelle Rodriguez and Bridget Moynahan
Rating: 3 stars

This has been dubbed as 'Cloverleaf part 2' and has received quite bad reviews. I haven't seen Cloverleaf but I do know that it took on the "real life camera" style ala Blairwitch Project...circa '99. So that itself say's lack of originality or maybe they're just covering their poor production design by shaking the camera much HAHAHA!! It's #2 here, just because I always like "underdogs-exceptional comradery" type of movies :P And also because Michelle R's badass here as usual. Btw, NeYo's in the movie too:P




Red Riding Hood

Director: Catherine Hardwicke
Starring: Amanda Seyfried
Rating: 3 stars

In terms of whether how much I liked or DISLIKED it, should be tied with Sucker Punch with '2 stars' rating but I decided to give it a 3 since I didn't figure out who was the wolf by the middle of the film (I usually get the bad guy correct within the few minutes of the film). Plus I'm seeing this "dark version" kind of film is such a trend now (Robin Hood and I heard they're doing Snow White soon). Some hate it but I think it's OK :) Not much acting for Amanda S. but she's pretty hawt so that's OK, I guess....





Sucker Punch

Director: Zack Snyder
Starring: Emily Browning, Abbie Cornish, Jena Malone, Vanessa Hudgens, Jamie Chung
Rating: 2 stars

It's Inception teenybopper edition!! LOL. I do not want to explain why because that would be spoiler and I'm lazy. I researched whether this was a comic or a video game originally because it sure seems like trying hard to achieve that effect. LOL. Right now I'll be spilling shiz randomly...sorry if you can't follow. First I am really bothered by Baby Doll's heavy eye makeup. I mean, it's OK in the 'Fantasy World' but smokey eyes with dramatic lashes while at home?? Why is Vanessa Hudgen's name Blondie when she's a brunette?? I am kinda bothered how the girls were portrayed because they look pretty young to me....except for Sweet Pea...almost didn't recognize her in Limitless. But then again maybe it's just me because I'm pretty sure most of them are child actors that I may have seen in Disney or Nick before. Amber got the only normal name and Rocket got the coolest normal name :D


The Green Hornet

Director: Michael Gondry
Starring: Seth Rogen and Jay Chou
Rating: 1 stars

Just 1 star because I had high expectations for this flick and it turned out to be a big disappointment :( No chemistry between the lead actors. I know Seth R's funny so I'm wondering why he isn't in this film. And who the heck is Jay Chou?! This was played by Bruce Lee before...I mean I'm sure there are more famous Asian star out there. So I did a little research and found that this Jay Chou was the dude in Initial D live action..WHA?? What happened?!? He was cute there......

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[I can't think of a title yet]

Last week, '3 Filipino drug mules' was finally executed via lethal injection in China. My heart really aches for the family they have left behind. I can just imagine how their families must have felt hearing them say "Mamatay na ko..." actually, NO. I can't. I mean, when my Mom was sick we knew she'll be gone any day, anytime...BUT it was by the hands of God not some man so it really can't compare. I was avoiding this topic before as I feel it is a very sensitive issue as it deals with human life, morals, international relationships, drugs etc. But I will try my best to let my HONEST thoughts out as 'delicate' as I can.

3 words.."Justice Is Served". They did something wrong, they were caught and punished. Period. Harsh?? But I'm not done yet.. It was irritating to see all those signs they held up at MASS saying "SAVE THE OFWs". THOSE 3 WERE NOT OFWs. An OFW (documented or not documented) leaves his home, Philippines, to be EMPLOYED abroad while those 3, when they were busted in China, DID NOT COME FROM THE PHILIPPINES. And it seems like they've been drug couriers for quite sometime now. So I think calling them OFW kind of disgraces the REAL OFWs.

And as for our dear ol' government...well, since the issue was sensationalized, I guess it was OK they tried saving them but I think once is enough. Instead wasting country money flying back and forth to China, here's what should've been done:

1. As I said before, they are guilty, let justice be served. Can't you see what bad image you paint to our government?? Are we a country who tolerates or takes drug issues lightly???

2. The very time they were negotiating and negotiating for these people's lives, a maid somewhere in the world is being locked up for fighting back against her boss who raped her. Why not use our resources to help her and God knows how many more of them instead??

3. And finally.. how many times have I seen in the news a Chinese/Taiwanese national busted for operating drug laboratory somewhere here in the Philippines?? Have we hang any of them??

...so with #3 being said, umm for the Chinese government, aren't you curious where those smuggled drugs originated?? :P

Don't get me wrong, this is not a nationality issue. We all have our bad eggs....

image from Yahoo! News or Google Images...sorry I can't remember...

=^.-=

"This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. - Zechariah 7:9"

Mooncake Cooks: Gising Gising

Very easy and cheap dish. I think even kids would love this. Let's get started :)

Ingredients

2 tbsp cooking oil
5 cloves garlic minced
1 small to medium onion minced
half kilo ground lean beef (but this would also work with less meat)
Patis (Fish Sauce) and ground black pepper
2 bundles of Baguio Beans (sorry I don't know the "international equivalent") finely chopped - pea size
Coconut Milk (3 cups)
3 siling panigang (green chillies) chopped 4 parts



1. saute beef with garlic and onion. Cover pan and let it simmer in its own...juices??..for 3 to 5 minutes.
2. season with patis and pepper according to your liking then add Baguio Beans and siling panigang
3. add coconut milk --DO NOT MIX YET, let it simmer for 3 to 5mins before mixing (that's the golden rule when cooking with coconut milk ;) )

That's it! =^.-= you could always add more patis and pepper if you like. You can even use "Maggi Magic Sarap" if you want to. And also you could use the instant coconut milk if the fresh one's not available. You could also cut the chillies smaller or add more OR use siling labuyo if you want it spicier. Enjoy! NOM NOM NOM!

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Haul: Elf

Last February I had this HUGE Elf haul and the reason I'm only posting this now is because I didn't open everything at once :P I don't usually buy this much makeup, however I got these at a very good deal online -- Php85 each for minimum 20 items. And most of the items I got are not sold here locally. Here's some picture with swatches and mini reviews ^_^

Brushes

From left to right: Smudge, Concealer Brush (I don't remember ordering this one:P), Eyeshadow Brush, Eyeliner Brush -- this one I just got because I have to complete the 20items required. I don't really need this :P

Bronzers

hihi, please excuse the poor photo editing :P

Sunkissed and Matte Bronze -- very basic :P

Eyeliners

Plum and Midnight. These are very subtle colors, so if you want to try out colored eyeliners but you don't want that BAM! PURPLE and BLUE, these eyeliners would work for you.


All Over Color Sticks

In Golden Peach and Pink Lemonade. They're kinda hard to work on at first, but I guess the humidity of my room soften (not melted) it a bit so now its fine. Really easy to use. I just swipe it on my cheeks then blend it with blush brush:) Golden Peach's not showing very well on my skin tone though :( As you can see in the swatch, you can barely see the peach color .

Shimmering Facial Whip

Golden Peach and Lilac Petal. I don't think highlighters are popular among Filipinas so I'm really happy I finally got these, specially Lilac Petal since it's a dupe for Benefit Highbeam :)

Lippies ^_^

Left to right: Hypershine Lipgloss in Bubblegum -- it has the caramel scent like my Urban Decay Timothy only this one actually tastes sweet :) Color makes my lips look pale. Luscious Liquid Lipstick in Baby Lips -- color doesn't show pretty well on my lips too, it's like lipgloss not lipstick. It has this minty feel when applied. Plumping Lip Glaze in Ruby Kiss -- it has this stingy sensation alright, however I'm not convinced of it's plumping effect. Love the color though :) Super Glossy Lip Shine in Iced Latte. I didn't swatch it because I could already see that it's too dark for my liking. Oh! for the HL and LLL, you have to twist the bottom to get the products out. It takes more twist if youre using them for the first time. Just to let you know :P

Brightening Eye Color

In Ivy. I got this quad just for that brownish shade because it is said to be dupe for Mac's Satin Taupe but it turns out that the other shades are nice as well. Really wearable greens and olives :) Plus the quality's pretty good for Php85 ^_^

Eye Makeup Remover Pads

I haven't tried this one because I'm saving this for travel :P

Tone Correcting Concealer

In Light. Well, for something that says 'Light' this seems to be a bit dark and has very poor coverage. This is not a good product.

Eyelid Primer

I got this because I don't want to ran out of my Urban Decay Primer Potion, but this is suprisingly good :) Fomulation is a bit oilier (see comparison with UDPP in pic)but it does its job. Tried this once and it did make my eyeshadow last the whole day.

Waterproof Eyeliner Pen

My least favorite product. Very very poor quality. The swatch says it all actually.

If you are interested where online store I got this, leave a comment below. I don't want to mention her here because the transaction didn't go 100% well so I can't really recommend her.

-=Giveaway=-

So I decided to giveaway these items that I didn't like instead of keeping them just for the sake of having them. You will get all 3 just follow this blog and comment below with your email. All items are unopened.

**Detour -- Earth Hour

So yesterday the 3rd annual Earth Hour was held. Did you participate?? I'm glad that Philippines has always been on the top participants of this event :) As for me, I 'commemorated' this event by quickly camwhoring with just my dresser light (which I quickly turned off after, of course *wink). How did you spend 1 hour of darkness?? ^_^

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21 - Adele, Brothers -The Black Keys, Tanya Markova, Science and Faith - The Script

YaHa! First music blog!!! i'm surprised I'm doing this just now......... :P

A friend of mine recently lend me copies of Adele's 21 and The Black Keys' Brothers. She has been raving on both albums for weeks (or was it months) now and I'm glad I finally got the chance to listen to them yesterday and I would like to share with you my tid bit thoughts on them ^_^ first up, Adele's 21....
As much as I recognize the brilliance of her voice Adele isn't the type of artist I would spend money on. I'm not sure why. Maybe because I'm an Alternative girl..... Honestly, when I hear of 'Adele' initial thinking was people listen to her sing and not really her song...Heck! this woman's voice is so good you make her sing Rebecca Black's Friday and it will sound amazing! so about 21 I was expecting to be bored by the 3rd or 4th track but man, I was floored! The album is so diverse but still "Adele". Its really very very good!

Tracklisting
1. Rolling in the Deep
2. Rumour Has It - vampy, bit Duffy-ish...
3. Turning Tables
4. Don’t You Remember
5. Set the Fire to Rain - great song! definitely my favorite from the tracks
6. He Won’t Go - 1st 2 notes of harp-ish sound kinda reminds me of Chasing Pavement intro...; like remix;but of course when verses started, it's a totally diff song...kinda rnb-diva-ish..
7. Take It All
8. I’ll Be Waiting
9. One and Only - blues with a bit of sexy vibes...idk
10. Lovesong - bossa nova-ish...bit like Sade
11. Someone Like You

How good is this record?? well it made me research her songs from the previous album...prior this, I only know her for the phenomenal Chasing Pavements :P

Album Art: umm, it's fine. I just wish they didn't make her pose like that. She looks like she's scratching her head....well at least she looks like a diva while doing it... HAH!

The Black Keys - Brothers

Its kind of bummer that like none of their songs make it to Asian frequency to think that this group has won 3 from their 5 nominations in the recent Grammys. 2 of those awards were for Best Alternative Album and Best Recording Package both for the album "Brothers" ^_^

Brothers is a very good alternative album with a very distinctive sound that is The Black Keys. Umm, music's kinda like something you'd likely listen too while smokin' weed, HAHA!!.... JOKE! we don't do drugs and stuff here 'ayt :P One thing I find consistent thru out the album is that it seems like it was recorded in some shabby backyard studio :P The quality of music is very similar to my office "Christmas Party Band" which I'm a part of..HAHA!! But for some freakin' reason... it really works. If you're into junky alternative or just alternative music, this album is worth listening to :)

Tracklist:
01. Everlasting Light
02. Next Girl
03. Tighten Up
04. Howlin’ For You
05. She’s Long Gone
06. Black Mud
07. The Only One
08. Too Afraid to Love You
09. Ten Cent Pistol
10. Sinister Kid
11. The Go Getter
12. I’m Not the One
13. Unknown Brother
14. Never Gonna Give You Up
15. These Days

Album Art: Simple and very quirky^_^ Really suits the band.

Another friend (guy this time) lend me a copy of both albums below, last month I think.....

Tanya Markova - Tanya Markova

YaHa! OPM time!! OK, when I first heard "Picture Picture" on the radio, I was like.."Meh...sounds unique..." but I didn't like it at all. And then came "Linda Blair" LOL! very funny and infectious song! AYLAVET! [Linda Blair is a song about a student who didn't do his homework because he watched "Exorcist". So while the teacher was scolding at him in class, he suddenly had this "urge" of being possessed. He flipped chairs and tables and spat phlegm on the teacher's face HAHAHAHA!!!]

Although panay kalakohan lang lahat ng songs. The musicality is surprisingly very very good ^_^

Tracklisting:

1. Bye Bye Mosquito
2. Curfew
3. Disney
4. Hoy! Bampira Ako (Takot Ka Na) -my 2nd favorite, after Linda Blair ^_^
5. Jacuzzi
6. Linda Blair
7. M.i.m
8. Mag-Exercise Tayo
9. Monster Mommy
10. Ninong
11. P.a. Roadie Fernandez
12. Picture Picture
13. Psst
14. Radio Inferno Intro
15. Reunion of Soul
16. Sentimental Value

Album Art: I tried researching if there's a special meaning to it but I can't find any so I guess there's none, ahaha!! Maybe because they're always confused for a solo artist (Yes, T.M.'s a band) so perhaps they want to confuse the people more. I think its cute....in a gothic way...luv it!

and finally...

Science and Faith - The Script

The Script (first album) was awesome and I'm glad the sophomore album is as awesome!! ^_^ Really there's nothing much to say except that this is a highly recommended album. If you loved "The Script" you'll definitely fall for the follow up album. Believe me!!

Tracklisting:

1. Dead Man Walking
2. Exit Wounds
3. For The First Time
4. If You Ever Come Back
5. Long Gone And Moved On
6. Nothing - 1st single and also my favorite ^_^
7. Science And Faith
8. This=Love
9. Walk Away
10. You Won't Feel A Thing

Album Art: SCIENCE and FAITH...hand in hand... OK, I just thought of that now, but that could be it, right?!?

BTW. For all The Script fans in the Philippines, they will be performing at the Araneta Coliseum on April 16.....and so is Mr. Big!! on May 10...hays, I don't have the budget now so I guess I'll be passing on these both events *big SIGH*. If you're watching, I hope you'll get back to this post and comment how was the concert/s.