New Tumblr Blog!

Finally decided to move to TUMBLR! I'll be copying some of my reviews from this blog to my new tumblr blog.

Please follow me there! :D

CLICK: Tofu x Ragdoll: Adrienne's Chronicles

I was kind of slacking off on the whole moving away thing because I wanted to have a catchy blog name haha! But, I decided to plaster all three names I'm known for online and offline so it'll be easier for people to find me and my blog.

See you guys at TUMBLR! ^__________^b

Moving to Tumblr

I'm thinking of migrating to Tumblr.

I don't know, probably because my friends are all there (peer pressure wth hahaha).

If I can't make a new blog post here this week then it means I've moved on from Blogger.

I've been a lazy blogger here at Blogger anyway and I don't know how to make my blog look fancy HAHA!

Anyway, I'll update you all about my Tumblr account if I decide to migrate.

Double Review: Tokyo Love Soap Premium and Original

It took me a while to write this review haha! I've been too busy with school and work that I haven't been able to just sit down and think about what to write.

FIRST: TOKYO LOVE SOAP PREMIUM

I used up the Premium version of TLS for a month or so; once in the morning and once at night. I cut the soap in half so I could use one half on my face and the other half for my body. Here's what I think:

Pros:

• Subtle rose-y scent
• Minimizes pores on my face
• Makes my skin smooth (both face and body) and feel moisturized
• clears away blackheads (temporarily? since I get blackheads again the next day)
• lathers nicely
• doesn't melt easily (is melt even the right term? hahaha) so it lasts a long time

Cons:

• VERY expensive
• after a month of using, it didn't make me a shade (or even half a shade) lighter as promised
• it gave me a little breakout in the first few days of using it

OVERALL: I like the Premium version of the soap. Though it did not make my skin lighter and it gave me a bit of a breakout in the beginning, I am still willing to use it (if I have money for it haha) because it really does stick to its other promises.

SECOND: TOKYO LOVE SOAP ORIGINAL

After I had used up the Premium, I immediately started using the Original version of TLS. I did the same thing; cut the soap in half, 1/2 for my face and the other half for my body.

Pros:

• Subtle generic soap scent (not the floral kind of scent. just that...soap kind of scent)
• clears away blackheads (temporarily? since I get blackheads again the next day)
• lathers nicely
• doesn't melt easily (is melt even the right term? hahaha) so it lasts a long time
• made my skin feel kind of supple like a baby's? (but that's just it. supple; not moisturized)

Cons:

• After using it for only TWO days, it gave me a really really really major breakout! Like, 2-3 big zits on my cheek and another 2-3 big zits on my forehead so I had to stop using it on my face
• VERY expensive
• after a month of using, it didn't make me a shade (or even half a shade) lighter as promised
• it made my skin dry and patchy. I was hoping it'd make me a shade lighter since I'm shedding but nope, no lightening here

OVERALL: I would not want to purchase or use the Original version ever again. But remember, this is just my personal experience, you might want to try it yourself.

For more info on prices and other details, check out Tokyo Love Shop by clicking HERE!

REVIEW: Etude House Precious Mineral BB Compact Bright Fit VS Dream On Pact Slim and Cover

Etude House vs Etude House!

Okay, you may be wondering why I'm mostly reviewing Etude House products... the main reason is because Etude House is a budget brand and I'm a budget barbie hahaha! To be honest, this brand doesn't give high end results (go figure, it's a budget brand so you get budget results as well) but you could say it does the job.

Moving on, I'll be reviewing two different compact powders from EH, the old Dream On Pact Slim and Cover and the recently released Precious Mineral BB Compact Bright Fit. I don't really have fair skin so I opted for the 3rd color swatches (Precious Mineral BB Compact Bright Fit W13 Natural Beige and Dream On Pact Slim and Cover No. 03 True Beige).

Princess-y packaging

Etude House stays true to its princess-y promises with its packaging. Both pacts look very cute but Dream On Pact looks more princess-y for me (not that I'm the princess type; I'm pretty boyish). 

I think the Precious Mineral BB Compact swatch I bought is one shade (or just half a shade?) lighter than my Dream On Pact even though I carefully picked out the third color swatch/shade to make sure they're the same shade.

Okay so both are a tad too light on my hand (I dunno, I guess my hand is more exposed to the sun than my face) since both do offer "non-darkening" err whatever that means. You know how we Asians go gaga over porcelain skin so I guess that's what "non-darkening" is for. Anyway, I like the Precious Mineral BB Compact more because it gives a more silky touch after application while the Dream On Pact leaves me feeling cake-y and I can actually see that there's powder over my face (like, powder particles are sticking out of my pores hahaha). With the Precious Mineral BB Compact, my face looks more natural after application. 

note: GREEN means pros and RED means cons

Precious Mineral BB Compact Bright Fit:

• has SPF 30
• simple yet cute packaging
• silky finish
• lasts for up to 6-8 hours in my experience with little sebum appearing on my T-zone
• only light coverage
• too light on my light tan skin
• a little expensive..(?) for a budget brand [retails at 848php or 19 USD)

Dream On Pact Slim and Cover:

• has SPF 25
• princess-y gwiyomi (lol) packaging
• VERY matte finish (makes me look cake-y)
• lasts up to 4-6 hours in my experience and makes my T-zone very very oily
• only light coverage
• closer to my skin shade
• still a little expensive but I'm okay with the price (I guess lol) [retails at 648php or 14.52 USD]

Overall, I like the Precious Mineral BB Compact Bright Fit more. This review is based on MY experience with both compacts, so, the results using both on your skin may not be the same as mine. You may like the Dream On Pact better than the Precious Mineral BB Compact.

I'll try to post a photo of me using both pacts on my face, instead of my hand (haha), next time! ^__^b

REVIEW: Tokyo Love Soap Professional

Hey ho! Finally! I'm posting a review on one of  the Tokyo Love soaps I was able to receive a few weeks ago to review.

So I asked my friend who has acne to try out the Professional version since, according to Tokyo Love Shop's website, it's a medicated version and is for people with oily and acne-prone skin. I asked my friend to try it out so I'd know if it really works. Here's her review:

Took me a while to write this down but I finally sat down, stopped procrastinating (just a bit) and wrote my review for TOKYO LOVE SOAP PROFESSIONAL. *APPLAUSE* 

To start off, let me describe the type of skin I have. I have oily and acne-prone skin. It gets worse and it gets better depending on…hmm. I’m not even sure on what. I just know that my face gets oily a few hours after washing it and sleeping late even for just one night means waking up to new acne when the old ones haven’t gone away yet. 

Moving on….Let me just enumerate the Tokyo Love Soap Professional experience based on an 18-day use. 

* SIZE – It was bigger than I expected for a “sample.” I had to cut it in half because it wouldn’t fit in the soap holder I am using and after using only half of it for more than two weeks; it’s still big enough to hold with one hand!

* SCENT – I personally prefer facial washes and soaps that have little to no fragrances at all and I’m happy with this soap’s subtle scent.

* EFFECT ON THE SKIN – I love how this soap is very mild on my skin. Unlike my old soap that dried up my skin, this one leaves my skin soft after a wash and I noticed that my dark spots have turned a tiny bit lighter with this soap. My pores also seem smaller after a wash.

* EFFECT ON ACNE – So far the soap has not aggravated my skin condition and although it has not completely made my acne disappear, since it also lessened the oiliness of my skin, I get less acne than I used to have. 

The downside for me though is it’s not as accessible compared to other soaps since only resellers from other parts of the country sell these and they’re a bit pricey compared to other facial soaps.

For more detailed information on how the Professional version is different from the other version of the soaps, visit Tokyo Love Shop by clicking HERE. 

From Zaki's Gadgets and Gizmos to JV's Camera Hub!

Remember that post I made about my D7000 body? The owner of the online shop I bought it from now has a stall at Centrio Mall, Cagayan de Oro City! The store name is JV's Camera Hub now though.

You can find the post I'm talking about HERE.

The GOOD news: You can still order from them online thru their facebook account and page! 

Here's the link to their active facebook account: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100006473834491&fref=ts (ADD THEEEEEEM *makes hypnotizing hand gestures*)

THE BEST NEWS: Their prices are still the same as before; prices that can compete with those found in Manila! Sure, they mark up the prices for profit but the mark up is something you'd tend to just ignore and accept because the deals are THAT good considering I live a thousand miles and a number of islands away from Manila (and with the mark up, the store's prices are a bit cheaper or at least at par when you add in the shipping and insurance fees you have to pay if you're ordering from Manila).

Haida Lens Protector

During their opening, I bought my lens a lens protector because my main photographers have been bugging me to buy one hahaha!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANDDDD I just went back today to pick up my lightstand and umbrella bracket/hot shoe holder! YEA!

Me is happy!

They're selling other cool techy stuff aside from photography accessories. They have gopro hero units and accessories, tablets and even portable gaming consoles for sale as well! Just send them a message at their facebook account for inquiries!

Bizarre Flavored Snacks

When you go to Japan, you find these junk food with bizarre flavors (e.g. Pepsi-flavored cheetos, octopus icecream, crunchy dried crabs, and many many more) all over the place. In my country, I haven't seen a lot weird flavored snacks around our grocery stores until recently.

Today, I went to the dry market with my mom and found two uncommon flavored snacks placed on the shelf!

The green one is from Jack and Jill; a sake sushi (or salmon sushi) flavored pack of potato chips with a small pack of wasabi powder you can sprinkle on the chips for that spicy flavaaaaah. The smaller one is from Oishi; it's Kimchi flavored potato chips!

Kimchi and sushi are two of my favorite Asian food to munch on and  it's a given that I'll definitely try these out haha!

Product of the Philippines

The phrases "Cooked in Sun Flower Oil" and "No added MSG" won't fool me. Junk food is junk food no matter how you put it. :p

HOW DOES IT TASTE?

I dunno. It tastes like Kimchi for one second, then it doesn't the next second. Seriously weird. It's spicy tho but the sourness is kind of like that of vinegar instead of kimchi-sourness...? I don't know, it tastes weird. It doesn't smell like Kimchi too.

Instructions on before eating! Open, sprinkle, shake, eat!

Product of Guangzhou, China

So it has two separate packets inside the ziplock bag: 1 big plastic bag for the chips and 1 tiny one for the wasabi powder. All you do is transfer the chips in the zip lock bag, sprinkle with the wasabi powder, close the zip lock, shake shake shake,  and EAT!

HOW DOES IT TASTE?

asldkjfljaflfkj it tastes like SAKE SUSHI. I'm eating Salmon. :)) IT TASTES LIKE SALMON. HAHAHA But the wasabi doesn't taste like wasabi. It just smells like it but it's as if I never sprinkled any. Too bad. This one is certainly weird because it tastes like SUSHI!! :D

Okay, I'm done with this nonsensical post. 

By the way, I haven't reviewed Tokyo Love Soap yet but I will soon-ish. Stay tuned!