Kikay Inside: 2017

I was contacted by Photowall.com, a Swedish company with a passion for design and quality, offered a complimentary printed artwork. They let me choose either photo canvas or mural, from their selection online or from my own personal photos. Since my husband and I just moved-in to our new place, we thought that it was a great opportunity to add some life to our bare wall next to our bed. I let my husband choose from Photowall.com selection of mural and we both agreed to have a relaxing scene of sunset over a rural meadow. This was perfect scenery which reminds us of our province back in the Philippines.

As soon as I chose the photo and emailed it to Photowall.com team, it only took 4 working days and I received it here in UAE. Their service was incredible! The customer service was very prompt whenever I have questions, the delivery was so quick and the packaging was perfect. I received my package in perfect condition.

As they promised, the wallpaper mural was with paste kit with it. Below are the things included in the kit. Everything was quite impressive because it was so easy to use. My husband and I did managed to do it by ourselves! Yep, that easy. 😎 Well, we did some mess on the edge of our wall but it was easily taken care of. 😁

The printed photo wallpaper was in a roll to be divided in four panels. This makes it easy to perfectly measure and align the huge photowall. Which by the way is a customized size as per my request. The quality of the printed artwork is excellent. The thickness and texture was definitely of high standards. As stated in their website, their wall murals and canvas prints are environmentally friendly, fire-retardant in accordance with Swedish standards and do not fade in sunlight.

The quality of color was so vivid that it really creates a nice ambiance in contrast from our bare-white wall. We are so happy that we managed to add life to our home. It was definitely mood changer from our busy lifestyle.

You may check on their website to see their selection or upload you own photo. You may customize the size and if you have any doubts, their customer service will be very willing to help you out.

Disclaimer: The Photowall mural was sent to me in exchange of review. My opinions are uninfluenced and remain honest at all times no matter how the products were obtained. My reviews are based on my own personal experience with the product/s itself.

I was one of the lucky recipients of free VoxBox from Influenster Middle East last October. I was ecstatic when I received an email that they will be sending me the box. And my excitement just overflows when I received it and saw what were inside. All full size Max Factor products!

Well, as my excitement goes, I did a full makeup test. Knowing the excellent quality of Max Factor Products, I didn't had a doubt that it will be perfect on my skin. I was just curious to try, especially the Color Correcting sticks.

Here's my quick verdict on each products I received.

Max Factor Facefinity Foundation: It has primer, concealer and foundation all in one. It indeed delivers what it claimed. The long lasting effect and full coverage definitely makes it one of my favorite foundations. It doesn't bulge. I has a fine smooth effect on my face.

Max Factor Pan Stik: I got two shades, Cool Bronze and True Beige. It is perfect for contouring and highlighting. It has full coverage as well but will work also if you only needed light coverage, depending on the amount of use. The longevity effect is great for the whole day too.

Max Factor Colour Corrector Sticks: I got 3 shades for different purposes. Light pink to correct dark spots; Light yellow to correct under eye darkness; and Light green to correct redness. I don't usually use color correctors because I mostly depend on a good full coverage of foundation, but after using these, I realized its importance. I especially like the Light green to correct my red spots on my face.

Max Factor Blusher: This pretty blusher is now my on the go makeup. It is pigmented yet looks natural on my cheeks. It has a shimmer effect making it perfectly dewy on my face.

Here's the quick makeup test I did!

Have you tried any of these products? What do you think about them?

It is funny how people commonly assumed that beauty bloggers are people who do full makeup every single day. Well, we don't... This is just the very basic of how people think about us. I will be listing below few points that usually pops into people's mind when they heard that you are a beauty blogger. 😉

Why aren't you wearing makeup?
Typical question when people who knew that you are a beauty blogger and saw you with your bare face. As much as I want to sarcastically answer them, I would rather smile and answer - " This is my 'woke up like this' look!" lol 😆

Common guys! I'm a beauty blogger, I love makeup, I like wearing them, I enjoy learning new things about makeup, but to glam up with full makeup everyday is not just me. As a makeup lover, I also learned to value the health of my skin. So as much as possible, I only wear minimal makeup whenever I go to office, go out on a casual meetings or do errands.

This is how I usually look everyday in the office. My brows are on fleek because kilay is life. I just used lip and cheek tint and pressed powder then I'm ready to go!

You look different in person.
News flash! As much as I don't wear filters in real life, I also usually post photos of me wearing makeup on my social medias. Where makeup does it magic plus, let's face it, a few tweaks of filters as well.

You look slimmer in picture... Which I believe equates with, I look fat in person. Yes I do look slimmer in photos because I know my good angle. I take several photos, choose the best angle and post it. That's what we, beauty bloggers, do.

This is one of my photos with full makeup on, plus contact lenses. I myself couldn't recognize myself compare to my bare face.

Literally, woke up like this. 😄

You did your makeup very well! Can you do my makeup too?
Yes I can, but please don't expect that I can do to your face exactly what I can do to mine. You see, I've been working with my face for a long time now and I know exactly how to work with it. Each face has a feature that differs from one another. And just so you know, I am a beauty blogger, not a makeup artist. Although there plenty of makeup artist who works as a blogger as well. But it is not always the case.

In a Nutshell:
I'm a beauty blogger - - - Not a makeup artist, not a beauty guru, and not a typical celebrity who needed to be in full makeup everyday. I wear full makeup occasionally and very minimal on an ordinary days. Mostly, I put confidence with however I look or whatever I wear and I don't really mind what other people say. Well, as long as it is a kind of constructive suggestions.

Love me, hate me or question me - - - then good luck! 😄😃😂

It is my last day of work before I could enjoy the weekend. My mood was a little excited yet stressed because of my whole week's activities. Despite worrying about so many things, I chose to start my day positively. This morning, my husband dropped me in a small grocery store nearby my office to buy breakfast. I greeted the store attendant with a short sentence, "good morning, brother" and that simple greeting made his face lit up and smiled back at me.

The store attendant made a way to reciprocate the good vibes by giving me some biscuits for free after I paid for what I took from his store. I told him that it is very kind of him to do that, he then replied, "These are for you because you're a good person." - - - Then it just melts my heart 💗

Seeing him from afar before I came in to his store, he looked tired and gloomy, so I decided to just do something which I hoped to encounter if I'm in the same situation. I was not so difficult to do and I hope that it really made his day as much as he made my day.

Just before I was about to leave his store, another customer came in and the store attendant greeted him with such a delight and the customer smiled and greeted him back. A simple good gesture that hopefully become a chain of good vibes to many.

*In a nutshell: A genuine smile and a pleasant greeting is something that is not so hard to do but could mean the world to it's receiver. As what the quote says, "A smile to a stranger could be the only sunshine he see might see in a day." What I did was just a very simple, for some maybe a normal gesture, but I guess you'll never know who really needed that pleasant smile and kind words in a particular moment. Let us not limit spreading a spirit of hope, it won't cost us a penny.

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DIAL range includes five product lines that suits the whole family's needs.

The collection:
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2. DIAL Men's Body Wash – Dial for Men Hair + Body Wash is engineered with a balance of cleansers and conditioners for the ultimate clean without drying your skin. The range comes in two options: Ultimate Clean and Hydro Fresh.

3. DIAL Antibacterial Bar Soap – Experience a pure feeling of clean, and long-lasting deodorant protection, available in five scents (Spring Water, Mountain Fresh, Gold, Lavender and White), you can trust for deodorant protection and long-lasting clean.

4. DIAL Antibacterial Liquid Hand Soap – Cleansing and conditioning blended together beautifully, in a hand wash that cares for the skin you wash the most. This hand soap with moisturizer rinses clean and leaves your hands feeling healthy. Comes in Spring Water, Gold, White Tea & Vitamin E, Pomegranate & Tangerine and Aloe.

5. DIAL Antibacterial Sanitizers – Protect your hands from germs that may cause illness, wherever you go. DIAL's dermatologist-tested formulas contain moisturizers and leave hands lightly scented. Comes in Fresh Citrus, Island Mango, Sheer Blossoms and Light Citrus Scent.

*** This is a sponsored post for the purpose of spreading information only***

This month, I received two special hair care products from Palmer's. Similar to the other hair care products I received last August (post here), what I've recently received are perfect for summer, frizzy hair. These lovelies are formulated with olive oil and black castor oil. No wonder it can really tame my hair.

I received a full size shampoo and a leave-in conditioner. Both perfect for unruly, frizz-prone hair like mine. I've been using the products for a week now and at first I thought that it will make my hair oily but it didn't. My hair are kinda' moody. It tends to get oily easily especially when I'm in a air-conditioned room for the whole day, while it can get so dry and frizzy if I'm under the sun.

Olive Oil Smoothing Shampoo: I used this shampoo without using conditioner for few days now and it gives a natural softness to my hair. I also noticed a visible shine on my hair. Since I have been using it only for few days, I am not sure if it really makes my hair stronger, although there's lesser hair fall on my floor now.

Not being bias but this is by far my favorite among all the Palmer's products I received. I just spray it on my wet hair every after my morning bath and it help detangle my hair strands. It makes my hair soft and leaves a perfect fresh scent.

***

In a nutshell: Both products claims that it does not contain sulfates, parabens, phthalates, mineral oil and gluten. Which in general is good because these are chemicals that could damage our natural hair. Although some might feel that without these, the shampoo won't be effective in cleaning the hair. Well, based on my experience, even without these components, this specific shampoo did great in cleaning my hair. Same thing with the leave-in conditioner which, as I've said is my favorite. It is my on-the-go hair weapon. It conditioned and detangles my hair perfectly. The scent makes you smell fresh all-day too!

I would like to dedicate this blog post in loving memory of my brother-in-law,

Jayson Juan Ramos (03.12.1982 - 08.02.2017)

"Well done,

Good and faithful servant."

- Matthew 25:21

There is no easy way of saying goodbye, specially to our loved ones. But sudden deaths are harder to grasp mentally and emotionally. My brother-in-law's death took us all by surprise when he suffered from heart failure. In matter of minutes, we lost him.

A month passed since our loss but the scenario is still fresh in my mind. I heard an FB Messenger call from my sister-in-law while I was in a meeting with my boss, and since I knew that the call won't go through because it is not allowed here in UAE, I cancelled the call and replied to her saying that 'I am in a meeting, try to call Owel.' My meeting finished just few minutes after I sent my message, and when I checked my Messenger again I read her message saying that my brother-in-law is dead. I was totally shocked, frozen and completely blanked. I was shaking while trying to call my husband. Couple of failed calls because his line was busy. After minutes of waiting I received a call from him. He was loudly crying and with a broken voice he conveyed to me the news.

I was trying so hard not to be drowned with my emotions that very moment. I said to myself that I have to be strong for my husband. With a calm voice, I instructed him to arrange his flight immediately back to Philippines even without me. I couldn't go with him due to work and financial related reasons. I was trying so hard to calm him over the phone for I know that he needs to drive back in the city for an hour and he should be focused on his safety. I know that it will be very difficult that I couldn't be there for my husband to comfort him but I told him that we have to be stronger while we are apart. He have to be stronger emotionally and spiritually for our family back in the Philippines.

Blessed enough that he was able to get a flight ticket that same night. Couple of hours before we send him off to his flight, his tears were pouring on my shoulders. I was not able to ask the details of what happened, I just let him release some of the overflowing emotions he had that moment.

My brother-in-law, Jayson, is the youngest from my husband's siblings. Jayson is a public servant in our barangay as a councilor and a friend to many. He left a wife and an 11 year old son who had just been cleared from cancer couple of months back.

Looking back, our family realized that every moment counts. We can never tell how many days we will be enjoying our lives here on earth, or how much time we still have to be with our loved ones. There were many "if only" scenarios that our family, his family, regretted. Thus, in this life that everything is uncertain, we learned to remember one thing - - - never fail to show how much you love your family, friends or anyone who means to you. A constant communication of "Hi, hello, how are you doing, i love you, etc." could mean a world to our loved ones. Even at times that we have a misunderstanding, make it a point that at the end of the day, love will still prevails. Show your love, your care and make time.

"'Tol, I know how much you miss your wife, son and whole family. It is the same for us here, we miss you too. We know that you are in a better place now. You don't have to worry anymore, specially to Josh. We will make sure that everything will be ok for him. Thank you for being a part of my life for even a short amount of time that you were here with us on earth...... You definitely did a good job! Till we see you again."

My husband recently had to go home in the Philippines due to an emergency. It was such a distressful two weeks stay for him back home. I was surprised that he was able to take time and buy me some books and kikay pasalubong when he arrived back here in Abu Dhabi.

He gave me a pair of Lip & Cheek Gel Tint, a product by Seoul Skin. I am a huge fan of lip and cheek tint and although I am not so familiar with the brand, I was super excited to try it out.

I did try to search online about Seoul Skin brand and I would say that I was quite impressed with the reviews.

The packaging is simple yet pretty girly. The ingredients were well stated in the box and emphasized that it is paraben free, with aloe vera and moisturizing. The gel tint transparent tube is very basic with a doe foot applicator.

The gel color is in dark red but when applied on skin or lips, it shows a red-pink tone. The gel consistency is very light which makes it easy to blend. It has a sweet berry scent which is very appealing to me. One swipe sure makes a perfect blush on my cheeks and natural shade on my lips. It sure is smudge proof on my lips and also has a lasting effect specially on my cheeks.

Below are some photos of my first try on my hand.

1 swipe is all it takes.

After 30 seconds

After 2 minutes

It only takes one light swipe on each cheek and softly blend it using your fingers to achieve a very natural blush. Same goes with the lips. One swipe on each lip and blend it by dabbing with your finger and that's it! Well, plus a natural looking define brows, makes a perfect natural, no-makeup, effortlessly fresh everyday look.

I recently tried doing a routine of no-makeup, just fresh glowing-look and using this lip and cheek tint makes it easy for me. Yes, I'm being lazy most of the time specially while being in the office. I just though that I really don't need much makeup unless I have something important to attend. Better reserve the glam look on occasions. 😉

Overall, I am totally in love with this new found product. It is perfect for everyday use and has a long lasting effect. The scent is very nice and the texture is great. After several use, I am happy that I didn't get any skin irritation. I am just a little disappointed with the amount of the product content that seems just a little more than half of the tube. Since the dark color spread-out plus the applicator inside the tube, it sure does look full, but upon thorough checking it isn't. Anyhow, the product quality is great and I would definitely buy some more stocks when I'm back in the Philippines. 😉

It's like a Christmas whenever I received a package of products for review from Palmer's. This month I received two bottles of full size shampoo and conditioner.

I package was in a cute brown pouch with Palmer's logo on it. As usual, it still include the lovely orange envelop with the product details on it.

The bottle for the shampoo and conditioner seems very similar. Unless you will read it specifically and notice the font color, you won't really differentiate the shampoo from the conditioner. It is in a basic shape bottle in dark brown color.

You will notice in both bottle's label that it emphasized - - - "no sulfates, no parabens, no phthalates, no mineral oil, no gluten and no dyes". Whereas these ingredients can be commonly found in regular shampoos and conditioners in the market. So, this catch made me really excited to try these babies.

I have been using Palmer's Shea Formula Moisture Repair Shampoo and Conditioner for few days now since I received them. First, I've tried the shampoo without conditioner for couple of days, just to see it's effect on my hair and scalp. The scent is very nice and calming.

After I thoroughly wet my hair and put a generous small amount of shampoo, I gently massage it on my scalp and hair. I noticed that it didn't foam up like a regular shampoo, but I didn't add more. After few minutes, I rinsed my hair thoroughly.

I combed it gently and waited for it to dry. Although the shampoo didn’t lather up as much as I’m used to with a regular shampoo, I would say that it is it was still sufficient enough to clean my hair. I usually get an oily hair if it wasn't properly cleaned. It leaves a fresh scent on my hair. It was not oily or too dry. It tamed my dry hair and gives a natural shine just on my first use.

After couple of days of just plainly using shampoo, I then use its conditioner after cleansing my hair with Palmer's Shea Formula Moisture Repair Shampoo. The effect give a softer wave on my hair. The natural shine was enhance and replenish moisture. The shea butter scent intensified with the shampoo and conditioner duo, which I personally love.

Overall, these two lovely products will definitely be in my future to-buy-list. It sure did great on my hair!

One of the perks of being a blogger is receiving new products to try from existing or new brands. I was contacted by Allure Cosmetics through Instagram and informed me that they will be sending full size samples of their lipstick products for me to review. And whenever I got such message, the feeling is just like the first time I received my first ever sample product to review. Yes, this is the Nth time I got samples to review but the excitement is just the same.

Allure Cosmetics is a Singapore based company which started just this year (2017) whose aim is to meet the needs of all women with different skin type with glamour and sophistication, yet with high quality at affordable prices.

I received the parcel they sent me last week. It was few days delayed than expected delivery since we had long EID holidays here in UAE. It was perfectly wrapped in a protective cover and sealed in a plastic pouch. I gently unwrapped it and happy to see that the lipstick boxes did not have dent at all. I received one liquid matte lipstick and one satin lipstick. So here's my brief review of the lipsticks I received.

It was a long weekend EID holidays here in UAE, when my husband and I, together with some good friends decided to book for last minute hotel stay deals. We agreed to consider a budget friendly hotel with very good facilities just within here in Abu Dhabi.

Although it was peak season, we were lucky enough to still got a very good deal for a 4 Star Hotel 😊

We were booked in Le Meridien Hotel Abu Dhabi, which is conveniently located in the Tourist Club Area in Abu Dhabi, within a few minutes walk from the city's business district and shopping malls.

The staff were accommodating though a little strict that time. It also took us a little longer time to wait during the check-in process. Since it was a busy season, we highly understand the situation.

The hotel's lobby has sure made us feel comfortable. The hotel interior is decorated in warm tone colors, fine details and furnishings that reflect Arabian's vibrant culture.

I am one of the privileged bloggers to be chosen as Brand Ambassador of Palmer's here in UAE. This month is my first product review of their goodies. Well, I'm really excited when I received this lovely box! Such an elegant packaging, indeed! A personalized, handwritten note and my name on a cute orange thick paper.

Been busy, physically worn out and emotionally down these past few months. I was not able to keep up on my blogging. Although I was active in my social medias, I was not very much in the mood to sit and focus on my blogging activities.

During the first few months of my health struggle, aside from the physical pain that I was enduring, I felt so depressed and irritated most of the time. It started around late November last year. I noticed strange changes in my body. Brittle and chirped nails, very dry skin and lips, weak hair strands and dark under eyes and neck. I thought it was just because of the weather, but using lotion, moisturizers and taking vitamins, I had a feeling that it was really strange.

My gallstone pain attack became so often that I was a little traumatized to eat and drink anything. I even stopped drinking fresh juices and just having oatmeal since January. The sad thing is that even if I eat healthy, without any grease, I still experienced pain attack. I was in and out of the ER for almost everyday for two weeks. I was so weak and high with so many medications and pain relievers.

I had endoscopy and ultrasound. It was indeed the gallstones that was attacking me almost everyday. My gall bladder had an infection too and the frequent pain made the doctors decide to do an emergency surgery. I underwent a laparoscopic cholecystectomy, a procedure of gall bladder removal. The doctors said that it is better to remove my gall bladder rather than to sacrifice my other more important organs that might also be affected.

The preparation was about 4 hours and the operation was about 2 hours. I stayed in the hospital for 3 days which was supposed to be just an overnight stay. Maybe because my recovery is a little slow. I am allergy to most kinds of antibiotic but luckily, the one intended for me to use didn't give me an allergic reaction after doing a skin test.

So how did I got these gallstone pain attack? Well, because I didn't have a very healthy eating and physical lifestyle. Although I've been trying to cut-off greasy food and soft drinks, and doing gallstones flush detox for few months before I had the operation, the stones formed in my gall bladder was there few years back and became bigger as the days passed, especially with my unhealthy lifestyle.

Here are some photos of my ordeal. 😩

This was the stone taken inside my gall bladder. It is around 3.5 cm x 2 cm. 🙈🙈🙈

Pretty flowers from friends :)

Lovely!

My view for 3 days

I was in a soft-diet 2 weeks after my surgery. I also did a 1-week detox to flush all the meds I had for my pain attacks. It's been 2 months now from my surgery and I still don't drink soft drinks, trying so hard to avoid red meat and eating more vegies, fruit and high-fiber stuff for my digestion. I am still lazy to do some exercise but I'm getting there soon.

I hope to be back on my regular blogging. I became very busy after my surgery to compensate the days I was not in the office. Plus I launched my new online shop which was very time consuming too. Anyhow, I'm back and try to be more healthy! Please pray for my journey 🙏

Palmer's Brand Ambassador

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