LIFE AND INSPIRATIONS

August has been a stressful month for me which made me unproductive on posting on my blog. I mentioned on my recent life update post that I might fly out of the country and leave my family here at Philippines this August so I think that it is one of the main reasons why it made me feel anxious this whole month. There is no exact date yet on my departure but I have a strong feeling that it will be move next month since working out my papers takes a LOT of time.

To free my mind from my worries, I decided to motivate myself by writing down in my Belle De Jour Power Planner all the activities and plans that I need to achieve. I rarely do this but it's quite fun when I plan things that needs to be done by the day or week. For a lazy person like me, this will be a great help to place all my stuff in one place. Much organize!!! I mostly write here my pending and planned posts for my blog to avoid confusion on what to write next. Truthfully speaking, I already wrote quite a lot of ideas so this makes me feel happy as I get to be productive every day.

To add on, I am currently reading Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur which is a collection of poetry and prose divided into four chapters with each different purpose. I remember that I used to love reading poems when I was still in high school and I just wish that I'll be able to return at that time to enjoy reading them again. I haven't finish reading the whole book yet since I'm currently reading my favorite fantasy novel but don't worry, I'll finish it soon!

Here are some of my favorite parts from Milk and Honey:

• Accept yourself as you were designed.
• If the hurt comes, so will the happiness.
• What terrifies me the most is how we foam at the mouth with envy when others succeed but sigh in relief when they are failing. Our struggle to celebrate each other is what's proven most difficult in being human.

I know that it's only few but as I said awhile ago; I haven't read the book fully. I also wrote a poem before when I started blogging but I don't remember where it is now. I would love to share them with you if I happen to see them. *fingers crossed*

•~•~•

Moving on to my 2nd reading book, I've been addicted watching the series of 'Lord of the Rings' and 'The Hobbit'. I always watch the whole series and they never get old every time I play the movie on my lappy. From then on, I decided to read the book to learn new stories that was not shown from the movie. I am currently reading John Ronald Reuel Tolkien's 'The Fellowship of the Ring' and I'm almost done with the book. Took me long enough to finish it all due to my school and thesis before but thankfully I'm done with all the stress. I'm planning to finish it by this month so I can bring the second book when I travel abroad. Let me know if you love the movie too!

Do you love writing on your planners? Have you read these books? What are you currently reading?

Remember that beauty blossoms within you!

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ILAHUI KOREA HAUL

Hey there loves! Welcome to yet another haul from Ilahui Korea which I recently discover from a nearby mall at my place. It is basically a Korean store that offers a wide range of products like beauty, fashion and mobile accessories, household, stuff toys, apparel and many more. I have a love interest in this kind of concept store because I get to see and discover items that I haven't tried yet. 

I only got a few items that I need and I recently told myself that I should only get products that I will actually use instead of hoarding stuffs that I will not be using. "It's funny on how I kept saying this to myself every year. Haha" Well, enough with the ramblings and let us proceed on my haul! 😉

A nearby mall is just a couple minutes away from my nephew's school so my mom would spend her time at the mall while waiting for my nephew. She then discovered this Korean store at Alimall, Cubao and told me about it since she knows how much I love shopping. "And of course it's Korean! Waaah"

Since I love shopping in this kind of concept store, I won't be surprise to see items that are pretty much the same in other stores so it wouldn't hurt to check it out. I was planning on capturing pictures of the products that they offer but taking photos is not allowed. Oh well, at least I can share some items that I've purchased from them!

Things I got:

• My laptop mouse (₱149) is still good but sometimes the buttons are acting up so I decided to get a new one. After a week, I noticed that my new mouse moves on its own so I went back with my old one. 😞 I tested it at their store before adding it on my basket and it works fine but I just feel sad that my money is wasted.

• A DIY Beauty Bowl Set (₱99) that is definitely worth all my purchase! I was actually looking for a facial brush that I can use whenever I apply my face mask/clay mask products. Luckily, I saw a set from their store that comes with a mask bowl, stick, brush and measuring spoons. I haven't use this yet but I will let you guys know!

• A Water or Tea tumbler (₱149) for my nephew which he will be using on his school. Last month, my nephews' brand new tumbler fell on the floor and water started leaking out so we had to get a new one. The tumbler comes in mint and peach shade and I'm eyeing on getting the peach one for myself. My inner self told me to get the items that I will need since I will be out of the country soon so I was able to hold back myself. Phew 😌

• The Magic Flower lipstick (₱249) caught my attention since I love flowers. 🌺 It comes in 3 shades and this is the darkest out of the three. I use to have a magic lipstick way back when I was still in high school and this brings back many memories.

These are just the few items that I got from Ilahui Korea and definitely recommending this to my friends. Have you visited their store yet?

Remember that beauty blossoms within you.

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ALTHEA Petal Velvet Powder

Hey there bloomers! 😙💗 I can't believe that it's already the month of August and the BER months are fast approaching. Like Filipinos says, "Amoy Pasok na!" and when you translate it in English, it actually means "It smells like Christmas already!" I wish I could spend my Christmas time here at home but I might be spending it somewhere else. If you have read my Life Update post, then you'll probably know where I'm coming from.

Recently, Althea Korea launched their first ever product called the Althea Petal Velvet Powder. If you don't know what Althea Korea is, it is basically your one-stop shop for K-beauty products which I already featured quite a few times on my previous posts. I've always been their avid fan so I was really thrilled upon receiving this on the mail.

Price: ₱210.00

Net Weight: 3g
Shade: Translucent

Availability: Althea Korea

How to Use: Pick up the product with a brush or puff provided and gently sweep onto the skin.

Claims 

• Makeup setting and long wearing
• Micro-fine particles and soft, smooth texture
• Sebum control and pore blurring
• Natural and cruelty-free ingredients

Althea's Petal Velvet Powder is made with micro-fine particles that minimize the appearance of pores and fine lines to reveal a flawless, petal-like complexion. Its translucent and perfecting qualities also create a satin finish that mattifies without dehydrating the skin.

One of its main ingredients is Althea flower which revitalizes the skin with natural goodness from Korea. Althea flower seed extract is full of antioxidants that protect the skin's barrier from dehydration and rejuvenate the skin for a beautiful complexion.

The powder comes in a cute frosted container with a pastel pink cover on top and a mini soft puff. The size can be compared to my everyday compact powders that fit nicely inside my bag. Good thing that it's small and not bulky as I prefer bringing travel size products in my kikay kit. (kikay means girly)

Upon opening the product, I poured some of the powder under the cap and noticed how it's finely milled and velvety which reminds me of Johnson's baby powder that I used to have. It's easy to get the product out but you have to be careful on tapping the powder to avoid any mess. I remember using it one time and saw the powder flew all over my vanity table and pants. I was wearing a dark pants at that moment and it was kinda hard to remove it.

The powder has a sweet floral scent to it which somehow reminds me of Sampaguita.  I am not a big fan of floral scented products as it makes my nose itchy however; the scent fades over a few minutes so I won't mind using it. 

I used a damp beauty sponge to set my under eye concealer and laugh lines so there will be no creasing. After a few minutes, I then sweep it off all over my face. If you'll be doing your eye makeup, then leave the powder on your under eyes so you can just brush away the fall outs from your eye shadow.

I took a photo on my before and after application if you look close on the image below, it made my skin smoother. Since the shade of the powder is translucent, it made my skin brighter. It is lightweight and doesn't feel heavy on the skin. For a moment, I was really happy when I saw how it made my skin smooth like a silk fabric. "Well, don't you feel happy when your skin looks perfectly smooth! Lol" 

My pores aren't that big but you will mostly see them from my cheeks, chin, nose and a bit on my forehead. The fact that the powder blurred out my pores is just amazing! There are also speck of shimmers found on the powder but they are unnoticeable unless you stare at yourself from the mirror. There are also no creasing seen from my under eyes and laugh lines. 

I took a photo of myself under natural lighting and with a flash from my camera to see if it's good. My skin looks so much better from the photo taken under natural lighting and on the other hand, I look like a geisha on the photo taken with a camera flash. I just noticed that there's a bit of white cast on the sides of my eyes and a bit on top of my nose.

The weather here at Philippines is neither hot nor cold (start of rainy season) and I stayed in my room the whole day. The powder can hold the sebum on my face for 3 hours and more sebum will add more from the next coming hours. 

I also tried using it when I went to the mall (air conditioned) and I did not re-touch my face for 3 hours as well. There's not much difference then even if I stay in an air-conditioned and unair-conditioned room since both of them can hold my makeup for 3 hours. Just keep in mind that an oil control sheet and a face powder is a must have if you're going to re-touch your makeup.

But the good thing is, my under eyes and laugh lines did not crease. It did a great job on setting them on place without that ugly creasing on my face. "Woohoo!!!"

Overall thoughts, this powder has a great chance on competing with other setting powders like from Innisfree. The packaging is really cute and travel friendly. It made my skin flawless and silky smooth without making it feel dry. My under eyes and laugh lines tends to crease but this time, they were set in place. Pores that can be seen on my skin were blurred out instantly. I'm not a big fan of the floral scent it have but it goes away over time. Just be careful on using this powder because it can be quite messy and hard to clean up. I just hope that one day; they will come up with a bigger size since I prefer buying products that would last me long enough. 

I do have oily skin and I expected that they would last long on my t-zone area but they started to melt in just 3 hours. There are plenty of loose powder that can control sebum so better opt with a good one that can withstand the oil from your skin. 

I would love to recommend it if you're going to use it on areas you want to look brighter. (when you're baking) Setting my under eye concealer and laugh lines works best for me so definitely loving this powder. By the way, it is cruelty-free since they used natural ingredients on making this powder.

And that is the end of my full thoughts on the Althea Petal Velvet Powder. I hope you enjoyed reading my review. See you again on my next one! :)

Have you tried this powder yet? What are your thoughts? Did it work for you? Let me know below! ♥

Get Php200 off on your first order at Althea Korea when you click this link.

Note: Please take note that we have different skin types so the product may or may not work for everyone.

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