Poetic Isolation

The first day of March signals an ending and a new beginning. A few more winks from now and we will soon enjoy another summer season. Though I don't consider a beach bum, my soul believes that there are a few things in life that only the sea can satisfy.

I've been aching for a bright and quiet day for some time already, and I've been lucky that such aching has been put to an end last week. Last week, Valerie asked me to spend the Sunday with her at the beach. Though the weekend has been one of the busiest days for me, going to a beach is too good of an idea to reject. Plus, Valerie is one of the coolest people I know in college so I know that a Sunday spent with her wouldn't hurt.

At approximately 9am in the morning, we head to Badian which is located in the Southern part of Cebu. We planned to get ourselves to Lambug Beach and to a spring. Since Badian is far from the city proper, we decided to stay at the beach and ditch the idea of visiting the spring. Nonetheless, we had a great day, and what's a great day without some photos? lol With that in mind, we decided to take a lot of artsy fartsy beach photos. We did a vintage-inspired photoshoot a few years ago for a school project and the camera loves her wild until today. Here are some shots of Valerie that I took during our trip, and I hope you'll like them. Took some inspirations for the adjustments in the photos and added some of my favorite quotes as descriptions.

“Ten years from now, make sure you can say that you chose your life, you didn’t settle for it.”

- Mandy Hale, The Single Woman

“We all have things we like about ourselves and things we hate, things we’re so glad happened to us and things we wish never have. But the thing is, we were shaped by both the good and the bad so maybe what you like most about yourself wouldn’t exist without some of the bad things that shaped you.”

“If you have been brutally broken, but still have the courage to be gentle to others then you deserve a love deeper than the ocean itself.”

- Nikita Gill

“Being optimistic really has nothing to do with happiness, it’s just taking whatever life chucks at you and not letting it break you down.”

“You’ve felt it, haven’t you? Those feelings that seem to get so big in your chest, like something is so beautiful it aches?”

- Heather Anastasiu

“One life on this earth is all that we get, whether it is enough or not enough, and the obvious conclusion would seem to be that at the very least we are fools if we do not live it as fully and bravely and beautifully as we can.”

~ Frederick Buechner

On the photographs: Valerie Jo Escrupolo

Photos by: Yours truly

I have heard from a popular celebrity makeup artist in Hollywood that brushes are much better than beauty sponges. According to her, brushes are easier to clean and much cleaner since sponges have the tendency to store bacteria when not washed properly. Although I don't entirely agree with what she said, I favor using brushes to apply my makeup.

I'm no expert when it comes to makeup tools but the reason why I favor using brushes is that I find it easier and faster to apply my makeup with it. It's not a question how much I love makeup brushes, but I also love trying new makeup tools. One of which is beauty sponges. I bet every makeup lover knows about it. I've been wanting to try one for myself, but I find it too expensive. Fortunately, my favorite Filipino-owned makeup brand Ever Bilena released their own line of beauty sponges.

They do have three different variants for their sponges. The green colored ones are the smallest, the pink colored ones are the largest, and the blue ones are medium in size which is what I have and what I'll be focusing on this review.

Photographed above is the sponge's original size when dry. It can easily get into its plastic container which is how it was packaged. Photographed below is a wet version of the sponge. As you can see in the picture, it can no longer get into its original container. It did grow approximately 30% larger. I just want to emphasize that since I have read some reviews online wherein the sponges they have didn't have noticeable change when wet. Those aren't from Ever Bilena though.

Nothing's special about how the product was packaged. Just a plastic container, and that's it. I love how affordable this sponge is. For only 150.00php (more of less 3UDS), You now have a well-functional beauty sponge.

Above is a Before and After photo after I've used the sponge to apply my liquid foundation.

The sponge did work and I love how it evens out and blends my foundation and concealer well. For its very affordable price, yes, the sponge is worth it. I love it and it does its job. The only thing left for us makeup users is to clean and store it properly after every used.

If you're putting on your makeup, do you feel more comfortable using a blending sponge or a makeup brush? Let me know in the comments section below.

love lots,

Tin

One aspect of being an adult is being able to take care of yourself. That includes what we think, what we eat, and what we put on our skin.

Our skin, being the largest organ in our body should not be taken for granted. We must be mindful of the products we use to care for our skin. In addition to the nutrients that we get from foods, we have to have an extra effort in providing what our skin needs.

There are a lot of skincare products in the market these days, but we have to be a vigilant consumer for us to get the value of our savings and to prevent unwanted side effects such as breakouts.

With my busy schedule as a student and as a teacher, I make sure that I do have a special time to care for my skin. Here are (10)ten products that my skin is loving right now.

Note: I don't use all of the products featured below daily.

Face Masks from Watsons Beauty Buffet and Esfolio

I love using facial masks to further moisturize and nourish my skin. I'm switching from the masks by Watsons and by the Korean brand Esfolio. Depending on what I think my skin needs, I grab the most appropriate mask for my skin. I only use face masks every Saturdays so as not to stress my skin.

Garnier Micellar Water

This micellar water by Garnier is my holy grail makeup remover. I used to use petroleum jelly to remove some of my waterproof makeups before, but now, this has saved so much of my time. It easily removes any makeup products on my face. It's also affordable and very gentle on the skin. It definitely feels like water!

iWhite Korea Facial Wash

Instead of a facial soap in a bar form, I'm now using the facial wash from iWhite Korea. This one's has a whitening component, but it's really not what I'm going for. I just love how it frees my skin from blemishes and how it makes my skin smooth.

iWhite Korea Aqua Moisturizer

I use this moisturizer from iWhite only on rainy days where my skin feels a bit dry. I love how affordable is this and how this works. It does make my skin feel hydrated and soft. I also love putting this on my face whenever. I have to have that matte face beat.

iWhite Korea Nose pack Blackheads Remover

This is another product from iWhite that I really love. So far, this has been really good in removing those nasty black and white heads on my nose area. I normally use this twice a week and whenever I came home from a dusty place.

iWhite Korea Pore Purifying Balm

This pore purifying balm also from iWhite is great in making my skin smooth. I only use this when I have to wear my foundation and this makes my face makeup look flawless.

Celeteque Acne Spot Corrector Gel

This acne spot corrector gel from Celeteque is another holy grail product for me. I seldom have pimples and when I do, it's usually because of stress and lack of sleep. This works so well that it magically reduces the sizes of my biggest acne. And this works all the time! This is one of the products that I have for so long because I have tried and tested its efficiency. It's been two years since I first started using this product, and this hasn't failed me. I bought the smallest size because I seldom have pimples, but you can actually get one of this in bigger sizes if you want to.

Eskinol Skin Cleanser

This skin cleanser from Eskinol works well in removing the dirt on my face. I actually used this exclusively before but now that I have my micellar water, I now only use this to clean my neck area.

Guardian Goat's Milk Moisturizing Lotion

This goat's milk lotion from Guardian is the latest addition to my skincare essentials. I used to moisturize my skin using a lotion from Mark's and Spencer, but now that I've run out of it, I have this as a replacement. This has been really good so far. I only use lotion to moisturize my skin and I really need it because the skin on my legs and arms dry fast especially when the weather is gray.

QuickFX Pimple Eraser

I love products from QuickFX and I also just recently decided to give this a try. This claims to erase pimples and while it does work, this doesn't work as fast as my Celeteque acne gel. This is great in reducing the appearance of dark spots on my skin.

Those are 10 (ten) skincare products that my skin is currently loving. I might add some or change some in the near future, but so far, they've been really good.

Aside from those fantastic products, I also maintain a good dose of water intake. Water naturally hydrates the skin. I also love to drink my water my lemons if I have the time to purchase one. Moreover, I have my daily dose of a hot cup of green after dinner. Both are known for their antioxidant properties which help nourish the skin.

Tell me, what's your holy grail skincare product/s? Let me know in the comment section below.
Have a great week ahead poets!

Love lots,
Tin

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