Energizer Energi To Go XP1000 Portable Charger!

I got lucky and won this cute Energizer Energi To Go portable charger in the raffle held at Beyond the Box's launch party last month.

It's a little battery pack-type thingy which can charge all sorts of small gadgets -- cellphones, MP3 players, portable game consoles, etc.

Aside from the battery pack itself, Energizer Energi To Go XP1000 Portable Charger comes with a black velvet pouch, a USB cable, and an assortment of head attachments which makes it compatible with just about all brands of small gadgets including Apple.

I love that it's so small and lightweight because I can easily tote it around with me without adding any significant weight inside my bag.

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Bulgogi Brothers Korean BBQ Restaurant now in the Philippines... at Greenbelt 5!

During the height of typhoon Pedring last September 27, my hubby and I found ourselves with a hundred errands to run which included dropping some things off at Dasmarinas Village in Makati City.

So yeah, we were in Makati come lunch time. What better way to spend a stormy day than to try out the newly opened Bulgogi Brothers Korean BBQ Restaurant at Greenbelt 5, right? It's their first branch outside Korea. :D

The place was packed when we got there. Luckily we found a table at the very end. I took this photo after lunch so most of the patrons were gone already.

Our server brought us this wooden plate with boiled sweet potatoes (kamote), boiled quail eggs, and sweet corn on cobs. She said it was our "welcome food". The kamote was actually yummy.

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Freshlook Colorblends to change my eye color!

I've never used contact lenses in my life prior to getting acquainted with Freshlook. My vision is not perfect but tolerable enough not to use glasses all the time (mild myopia + astigmatism). Besides I was afraid of all the squinting and tugging that I felt could cause premature aging on my eye area.

Anyhow after my firsthand experience with Freshlook under Dr. Janna Oo, I was no longer afraid of contact lenses. I'm still not a pro at putting them on and taking them off but at lease I can do it myself now. I wear Freshlook Colorblends for the sole purpose of changing my eye color. Colored lenses for astigmatism just aren't available yet... :p

Freshlook Colorblends are meant to be used and then replaced after two months. It does not matter if you use them daily, weekly, or even less frequently than that. That comes out to about P500 a month in terms of expenses since a pair costs P1,000. Oh and you have to buy a solution to clean them and preserve them with (it's not expensive, about P200+ for the biggest bottle) but more about the solution I use and how I use it on a future post. :)

This is my Freshlook Colorblends contact lens in gray.

Each bottle of solution comes with an anti-bacterial contact lens case you will keep your contact lenses in. You throw this away together with the lens after 2 months for hygiene purposes.

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Jasmine Restaurant at New World Hotel in Makati City

My hubby and I had our wedding reception at New World Hotel back in 1999. Five years later, our daughter celebrated her first birthday at New World Hotel's Chinese restaurant known as Emperor's Court back then. Admittedly, that was the last time I visited New World Hotel's Chinese restaurant. Today, it has been relaunched as Jasmine.

Last Sept. 22, a handful of bloggers (me included!) was invited to sample Jasmine's Shanghai Surprise. Shanghai Surprise is a collection of dishes crafted by Chinese guest chefs Wong Kam Chung and Ng Wing Fu of YUE 1525 Restaurant in Shanghai, China. We started the night with an appetizer of boiled peanuts, something I prefer to the usual roasted and salted ones.

We were first served Lotus roots stuffed with glutinous rice (P480, pictured above). It had the sweet and sticky flavor profile of the Philippines' very own kakanin (native rice cakes). In fact I think it could've worked as a dessert. Very interesting and I'd say quite good.

Then came Radish and carrot in sour sauce (P300, pictured above). It's really kind of like our very own atchara (Filipino pickled vegetables). Nevertheless the vinegared veggies were a good complement to the sweet Lotus root dish.

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Champion Detergent Bar and Powder -- I'm giving 'em away!

My kids' yaya has been bugging me to switch to Champion Detergent Bar and Powder ever since we got a hold of a few sample packs from a school fair last year. She told me that the kids' uniforms are so much whiter and softer when she used Champion to wash them. They smelled better too. But when I went to the supermarket, I noticed that the current brand I was using was a bit cheaper so I did not make a switch.

I took the opportunity to better get acquainted with the product last Sept. 14, 2011 at its launch event held at the Makati Shangri-la Hotel. Christine Jacob-Sandejas hosted.

Champion endorsers Ms. Susan Roces and Ryan Agoncillo were there. I was amazed by how beautiful Ms. Susan looked considering her age. Her make-up was perfect too -- very elegant and age-appropriate, none of the "Ganda ng lola mo!" hot pink crap make-up that makes even the most beautiful face look... ugh.

There was a fun discussion about making choices. Ms. Susan Roces gamely admitted that prior to accepting the endorsement offer for Champion, she went to the supermarket and bought several different brands to try. She compared the results and was very happy with Champion... resulting in her present status as one of the official brand ambassadors. She also consulted her household helpers since they were the ones who were actually going to use the product. Ryan said he noticed that all their clothes smelled a lot better for a longer time since switching to Champion. I agree, Champion Detergent Bar and Powder do make your clothes smell clean and fresh!

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Akira Hair and Make-Up Studio's YUKO Japanese Hair Straightening System

It's nearly a year after my last hair straightening session at Shuji Kida Hair Salon. I have it done once a year because if I don't have it done my hair becomes a freakishly unmanageable mushroom cloud. Thus when I spotted an incredible deal at Groupon Philippines for hair straightening using the YUKO (yes, that Yuko Yamashita hair expert of Sunsilk's) system, I grabbed it immediately. Imagine, instead of paying P6,400 to straighten and cut my long hair I ended up paying only P2,500+!

So this was my hair as of Sept. 21, 2011. The lower portion was relatively okay, just a slight natural wave but the root area? Ugh!

See the unsightly and abnormally curly roots at the back of my head? That's just how weird my hair is. On the front and the sides it seems normal but underneath the back of my head is where the trouble lies.

We started at about 10am. The first step was wetting my hair and then putting on a primer to make it more receptive to the straightening treatment. The fact that the stylist never used gloves is testament to how gentle the products used for the process are. After the primer was rinsed off, my hair was blow-dried.

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Sugarleaf's Organic-All-You-Can veggie buffet!

I'm always open to healthier alternatives. I'm also desperate to lose weight. So when I saw the ongoing deal at Awesome.ph offering Sugarleaf's Organic-All-You-Can vegetable buffet for 50% off I bought vouchers for hubby and myself right away. Instead of P400, I paid only P199 per person.

And so we went to have lunch at Sugarleaf a couple of days ago. For the umpteenth time I forgot to read the fine print that redemption starts on Sept. 28 since the deal actually isn't over yet. Lucky for us, the owner accommodated our vouchers anyway. The place is small and quaint, with green shelves and wooden floors in sync with the whole organic nature theme.

Sugarleaf's Organic-All-You-Can includes a complimentary bowl of soup. The soup for that day was polonchay and sayote. Not exactly the most appetizing thing to hear but we gave it a chance. It was surprisingly good and tasty. It was virtually free of sebo (oil or grease) too. I actually finished the whole bowl. There's this nice clean feeling after you drink it.

After the soup it was time for the main course. We got a big bowl of mixed greens then smaller bowls of cubed apples, walnuts, radish, bell peppers, carrots, prunes (or was it extra large raisins?), and three types of dressing -- mango, blueberry, and some kind of vinaigrette in a bottle.

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Rexona Crystal for women... an actual product demo!

Rexona launched its latest variant in a high fashion black attire event entitled "Dare to Wear Black" last Sept. 13, 2011.

The bubbly and funny Bianca Valerio was the host for the day. She was clad in black from head to toe.

There was a fashion show featuring black-based creations by designers Czarina Villa, Michi Calica, Camille Co, and Charina Sarte.

This is one of Camille Co's creations. I remember her collection well because she was the only one who played around with prints. Everyone else was doing solid colors.

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Hisense Mono Headset Mini HB200M for your cellphone!

I can't live without my cellphones. Yes. Cellphones. I maintain two lines, my primary postpaid Globe Handyphone and my secondary prepaid Sun Cellular. Oh and I drive almost every single day... to work, to pick up kids to and from school, to the supermarket, toevents... wherever I need to go.

So when I was given the chance to review the Hisense Mono Headset Mini HB200M, I was only too happy to do so. In simple terms, it's a wireless bluetooth headset which enables you to pair it with up to two (2) cellphones so that you can answer calls from both hands-free.

The Hisense Mono Headset Mini HB200M comes with an instruction manual, a magnetic clip, a charger, a USB cable, additional ear buds, and a neck strap.

You use lone long silver button to do everything -- power on, turn off, pair with devices... it's pretty simple to operate since there is nothing else to press. If you don't like the color red there's also green, silver, and gold versions of the unit.

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Studio SnR Coffee Tea By Me... the Be Your Own Barista (BYOB) workshop!

Given my great love for coffee and tea, I think it'd be practical for me to actually learn how to craft my own hot and cold drinks, yes? The thing is, you can't drag me to culinary school because I once almost chopped off my index finger while slicing ham as a teenager.

Fortunately for me, there's Studio SnR's Coffee Tea By Me -- a 3-hour Be Your Own Barista (BYOB) workshop. I first learned about Studio SnR's lifestyle workshops via my friend and fellow blogger Askmewhats. She was promoting Studio SnR's make-up workshops featuring luxury brands like Shu Uemura, Bobbi Brown, and Majolica Majorca. The Coffee Tea By Me series however was introduced to me by Topaz Horizon (Thank you Frances!). :D

This is the closest I've come to being a barista:

...and needless to say I made a mess hahaha!

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Alexandre, an authentic French cafe at The Fort!

*This establishment is now CLOSED.*

Some months ago I got a voucher from Groupon Philippines for Alexandre. For P500 I was to get P1,000 worth of food and drink. Back then all I knew was that Alexandre was some sort of coffee shop and I read on the site that it was located at The Fort... so it was a go. :)

Since my voucher was expiring on Sept. 22, I decided to use it yesterday with my hubby. Our kids went to a dice game with my in-laws and so the two of us went to have lunch at Alexandre. It's located on a quiet corner at The Fort.

We settled on a small table for two. I looked back and saw a vast array of freshly baked breads and pastries displayed on the counter. I noticed that a lot of the customers are foreigners.

I found Alexandre's little touches to be quaint, such as my fork and knife wrapped in a napkin and bound by a tiny black ribbon.

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Kanebo Freshel White C Mineral BB Cream UV

I got to try on a bit of Kanebo Freshel White C Mineral BB Cream UV during the big sale at SM Sta. Mesa. I was walking around the beauty department shopping for materials to use for my make-up course at HD Studio and I couldn't help but wander to the Kanebo counter since I'm really a sucker for Japanese beauty stuff.

My neighbor Mrs. Martinez has forever been raving about this BB cream. At that time, Kanebo was offering 20% off on everything. Unfortunately, it was out of stock! The retail price is P960... had I gotten it during the sale I would've shaved off almost P200! Alas, I had to place a special order from the distributor so I was unable to avail of the sale price. This product costs 1600 yen + tax (about P800 + tax) when purchased in Japan so it's pretty okay price-wise.

Kanebo Freshel White C Mineral BB Cream UV is available in only two shades: Natural Beige and Medium Beige. I got Natural Beige since it's the lighter shade which seemed to match the skin on my face more.

Kanebo Freshel White C Mineral BB Cream UV comes in this cute silver and white tube. Each tube contains 50g of product, so you're paying for something like P19.20 per gram (compare with Maybelline's P13.83 per gram)... and each tube will definitely give you more than 50 applications... so it's a lot less than P20 per use. :p

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Philippine Tatler Best Restaurants Charity Week 2011

I was invited to Philippine Tatler's 2nd annual Best Restaurants Charity Week launch held last Monday. It was my first time to attend. I couldn't make it to last year's launch because I injured myself.

Philippine Tatler shared their advocacy over a sumptuous Chinese lunch at Shang Palace in Makati Shangri-la Hotel. The Hot Prawn Salad was definitely everyone's favorite dish (at our table at least). Even if I'm allergic to shrimp and prawns I could not resist so I had a couple of crunchy outside and juicy inside prawn pieces. :D

So what exactly is this advocacy? Every year, Philippine Tatler chooses a partner charity as the beneficiary of Best Restaurants Charity Week. What happens is, a percentage of the participating restaurants' sales during a specific period (September 22-30, 2011 for this year) is donated to the partner charity. For 2011, the beneficiary is Virlanie Foundation, Inc.

Virlanie Foundation, Inc. in turn will use the money to fund The Mobile Unit, a mobile school and health center which conducts non-formal tutoring classes for street children. It also provides them with balanced meals and basic medical/health care.

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TeaTap Cafe on P. Guevarra, San Juan City

After a long time of just Serenitea, San Juan is suddenly the home of several Taiwan-style milk tea places. The latest one is TeaTap Cafe along P. Guevarra, which is owned by the same group behind Kozui Green Tea in Tomas Morato.

Out of all the milk tea places I've been to, TeaTap Cafe boasts of the most spacious and nicely designed interiors.

TeaTap Cafe can accommodate more people compared to the typical milk tea place. This is because they'll be adding an extensive menu of food items eventually. At the moment though Takoyaki, Buffalo Wings, and a couple of pasta dishes are all that's available to eat.

I decided to try Formosa Roast Black with Pearls (pictured above left) while hubby had Grass Jelly Roast Milk Tea (pictured above right). Both cost P100 for the Grande (big) size. You can set the sweetness levels to 0% sugar (always my choice), 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100%. I was pretty happy with my sugarless Formosa Roast Black. The syrupy and chewy black pearls already provided the sweetness I needed. Meanwhile, hubby says that TeaTap Cafe's Grass Jelly Roast Milk Tea is very smooth and nice to drink.

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GoodSkin Labs Smooth-365 Intensive Clarity + Smoothing Serum + GoodNotes winner!

I know everyone's excited about the announcement of the GoodSkin Labs GoodNotes winner. The thing is, she's going to be getting the GoodSkin Labs product of her choice and so I thought I'd help out by posting a product review simultaneously.

When I trooped to the Forever 21 sale at SM Makati last month, I knew the SM Beauty Department was also having a sale. Caren of GSL (GoodSkin Labs) texted me that all GSL products were going to be sold at 20% off that particular Friday. I was very excited and so I rushed to the SM Beauty Department right after paying for my F21 purchases. I bought GoodSkin Labs' Smooth-365 Intensive Clarity + Smoothing Serum because my friends Mrs. Martinez and Mymomfriday were raving about it like crazy.

GoodSkin Labs Smooth-365 Intensive Clarity + Smoothing Serum is priced at P2,000 and so 20% off meant I was getting it for P1,600! What a steal! :D

The product is just the right consistency -- not too thick and not too watery. It's perfume-free too which is how I like products I put on my face. (Well it does smell a teensy weensy bit like mild toothpaste but I don't mind hehe!)

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Meet Angelica Panganiban and experience Pond's White Beauty Naturals!

Okay. Before anything else let me just say that I have actually met Angelica thanks to Pond's and she's a very sweet and nice girl.

The good news is, you can too!

Just like Pond's Philippines on Facebook and click on the Come Face-to-Face with Angelica on the left side bar. You will be taken to a page where you can access the app. Just choose 3-5 friends who you would like to surprise with some free Pond's White Naturals samples (to be claimed at Watson's) and a chance to meet Angelica Panganiban. I chose three hands-on moms who I thought deserved a beauty break (here's looking at you Pehpot, Jane, and Raz)!

Then I posted the reason why I nominated them. This is an important step because the best reasons will be the ones more likely to be picked by Angelica Panganiban as the winners of a limited edition Pond's White Beauty Naturals gift pack in a Rhett Eala ecobag (there will be 10 winners)... and ultimately, a meet and greet session with her.

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