I have been a fan of Hello Kitty since I was a little girl and now being a 24-year-old lass in Manila I can now indulge in this obsession. So I stopped by the first Hello Kitty Cafe in BGC.

It was one of those rare moments that I happened to find myself in BGC Uptown Mall. I had a meeting at 12:30 PM but was already in the area around 10 AM because time is gold (it was also Septemeber 21, traffic and rallies may cause me to be late).

I am the kind of person who prefers staying in restaurants with very little people but the best way I thought to spend my time until noon was to pump myself up with caffeine in Starbucks. But being the directionally impaired duck that I am, I found myself a floor away from Starbucks and that is when I stumbled upon the cuteness of the Hello Kitty Cafe.

The mall just opened the place was virtually empty *cue angelic singing* since the mall just opened~

The store had four color themes: blue, yellow, gold and pink, which was incorporated in all aspects of the cafe. Everything had their logo, their tables, napkins and drinking glasses and here I was hoping for Hello Kitty shaped utensils but it wasn't.

For their food, they offer appetizers, sandwiches, main entrees, cakes, cold and hot drinks. The price ranges from 50 PHP - 500 PHP per person. I ordered fries for 110 PHP, lemon soda (called Fizzy Blue) for 105 PHP, 150 PHP worth of Oreo Profiteroles.

The fries were covered in parmesan cheese and were just great. They weren't that salty or soggy. The soda was cute, an ombre mix of blue and green and when mixed together looked like something a mermaid would serve you.


The best was the Oreo Profiteroles, I bought three pieces (50 PHP each) and brought two home. The bread was nice and the oreo cream was delicious. If you aren't really after cupcakes and cakes, I suggest you try out their profiteroles.

So if you want to indulge in all the cuteness that is Hello Kitty and enjoy delicious food pay them a visit at 3F Uptown Mall BGC, Taguig, Metro Manila. Below are a few more photos, I'd stop by the store once again to taste their main entrees and cupcakes.

One of the Orea Profiteroles I ordered

Their display case, sadly not all pastries in the menu are available yet. I look forward to trying their strawberry eclairs next time!

All their glasses have their cute logo in gold. Basically, every thing has their logo.

The takeaway box and bag for the other two profiteroles I bought. They lasted for over 3 hours in just the box, I am not sure how lasting the cupcakes would be but it would be worth the take out.

I am a girl who likes to splurge, I would regret buying a bag with a price tag of 1k but I will not hesitate buying a good pair of shoes or some nice make up that is worth higher. In one of my adrenaline induced i-just-got-my-paycheck visits to the mall. I bought a friend of mine some make up necessities for a trip she was about to have, when I passed by a Japanese brand called K-Palette.

I realized that I needed a new eyeliner since my Holika Holika baby was about to rest in peace, so I grabbed their 1day Magic Liquid Eyeliner and the attendant we more than happy to assist me. I said that I would instantly take it since I do love Japanese brands before I even checked the price not really a shocker to me it cost about 630 php. As I was heading for the counter I noticed that they also have a line for eyebrow pencils and powders and I figured I should really try this eyebrow thing.

If I can have my eyeliner on fleek I am sure I can master this eyebrow thing too. Their Lasting 2 Way eyebrow pencil is 730 php. It comes in 3 colors black, brown and mocha (this being the lightest of the three).

Might I add that I don't normally shell out this much for make up and I would highly recommend not doing this on a monthly basis. Scout for make up prices and save up for them so as not to break your bank or you can treat yourself to one super expensive item per month if you are more comfortable with that.

So this is how I came to be a K-Palette lover and 1,300 php poorer (bad budgeting skills HAHA!)


You might say do I regret this purchase and I will straight up say NOPE! Though my Japanese friend did say I am a little crazy because it is so expensive her, so if you guys have a Japanese friend ask them to buy these for you as they are much much cheaper in Japan. (duh, Trix!)

For the eyebrow pencil, so one side is the pencil it self and the second side is the powder to help you set and shade in your eyebrows. If you are a girl who is just starting out on or learning about the eyebrow game this product is perfect for you. It stays true to its sweat proof and 24 hr advertisement.

It helped me a lot in making things easier as I work on learning how to line and shade my eyebrows. As you can see on the photo I still have a loooooong way to go! Sorry for the derp-ness of my face >o<

I have also suggested this product to my friend and she is also in love with it now. So the amount of money I spent on this is so worth it!

For the eyeliner, I will start it now by saying totally worth it! I use it everyday, well every time I leave the house and I am totally in love with it. It stays true to the sweat proof, smudge proof, 24 hour advertisement.

I actually like this better than my Holika Holika liner, the brush fibers help in smooth application. This is some calligraphy eyeliner shit here (sorry just super love it)!

When I used it for the first time, I felt like the old lady who did Mulan's make up in one swish and flick.

I recommend these products to those trying the eyebrow and eyeliner game for the first time. Though a bit pricey it is totally worth your money. You can check out their Facebook Page for product updates, sales and give-a-ways.

Happy Shopping!

In our previous post we shared the details of a Japanese sampling website that offers sending you cosmetics in exchange for honest reviews. To read more about it you check out the post with the title COSMERIA: "DELIVERING SMILES TO ASIAN WOMEN". For this post we well be focusing on the item that we got from Cosmeria, we ordered a moisturizing gel called A.M.A All in One Gel Skin Essence.

A little background on this item, the manufacturer is B.A.T Inc. (Beauty and Health Products Laboratory), the company focuses on developing beauty and health-related products with the company motto of, “furthering health is furthering beauty." They are also known to welfare and medical education, as well as healthcare and health services.

I wanted to do more research about the laboratory, specifically checking if their cosmetics are cruelty free sadly I cam shot on this part of the research. So if you have any information about this, feel free to comment down below.

Okay, now back to our product review!

The package arrived 3 weeks after I placed my order, for such a small bottle of moisturizer it came in a medium sized box along with a note from Cosmeria reminding to me to post a review and a bottle of Ramune flavored candies!

*dun dun dun ~Commercial break~ dun dun dun*

A little note, Ramune is a Japanese soda drink with a lemon lime flavor. It is usually sold in glass bottles and a way for you to drink it is to pop the top so a glass orb falls into the drink. Sadly I am unable to buy Ramune here in the Philippines  and I was only able to purchase them from Saizen in Alimall. So if you guys now where I can buy some of these lovely drinks please tell me in the comments, ok! Thanks! ^_^

*~Commercial break~ over*

The the gel has a light pink box with a darker pink bottle inside. It is a rather small bottle but it would last you a long time. I have been using the gel everyday since I got it (so over 2 weeks now) and I only need like a small blob of the gel to cover my face.

According to the box these are the ingredients used in creating the gel and its supposed effects:

(Wrinkles) Inirain-Roifashiru,
(Texture) Cure Berry extract
(Moisture and Circulation) armature nozzle extract
(Elasticity) penetration collagen type
(Hari elasticity) hydrolyzed collagen
(Whitening and Elasticity) oil-soluble vitamins A
(Circulation promotion) natural vitamin E
(Whitening) absorption vitamin C

So far I haven't seen any lightening on my skin but it has been softer and smoother. I have dry-oily skin and it works for me so well. As I said you only need a small blob of the gel to place over your face and it leaves a thin transparent moisturizing film. Another good thing about the product is that it doesn't have those icky after feel like cream based moisturizers and they also don't leave your hands all sticky and weird. It also dries quickly so I have been using it as a moisturizing primer before putting on my BB Cream or foundation.

Sadly I am still trying to find a place where you can purchase this item other than waiting for Cosmeria to have free samples on stock. I will keep you guys updated and if you want to try sampling yourself you can sign up for Cosmeria through this link.

I try to find a lot of remote freelance work and signed up for a freelance site and came across Cosmeria.

The site offers your basic cosmetic needs from your hair to your nails. All you need to do is sign up using your Facebook account to have the chance to order Japanese products.

Though the down side of the site is that they have so many products that you would want to try but you have to wait for them to re-stock the items. To ensure that all products get regulated they do not release all the products at once. The company only offers these products to Asian countries (Malaysia, Philippines, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Taiwan and Vietnam).


I recently ordered a facial serum from them and it arrived after 3 weeks from order. All I needed to pay was 112 php for postal fees.

The product came with a note reminding my to post an honest review plus a Japanese brand candy. It tasted like Ramune~!

The website greatly depends on the reviews of the products they send out to encourage people more companies to send out free samples. You will also receive points for every review uploaded and these points can be exchanged for Japanese treats.

You can also put a bookmark on items you want to have and you will receive an email once they have it on stock and the time of distribution. Just make sure to be on at least 2 hours before the emailed time because once it goes in stock *poof* it goes bye bye! Hey, waiting a few minutes is worth it for high quality Japanese make up.

If you wanna sign up you can go to their website here. You may also check out their guidelines through this link .

If you have any questions feel free to comment them down below and I will try my best to answer them! Happy Sampling!

You can rent this whole building for 80,000 php per night. Its comes with 2 Queen sized beds on the second floor, a total of 4 shower rooms (1 on the 2nd floor and 3 on the third floor). This comes with a butler service and all the toiletries you will use is from the brand Hermes.

This is bed goals right here! Most of the beds in the rooms for rent are all 4 poster beds, so you definitely will feel like royalty when you stay the night!

"Buhay pa ba yan?!" That exact window the Aguinaldo's mother in the movie looked out from as Heneral Luna was continuously shot. I actually had to sneak in to get a glimpse of this room, it was a small room with rather delicate floors since the whole second floor used the original wood.

BEACH!

Now for nutrition related aspect, walking for an hour you are bound to get hungry. The resort has 2 restaurants available, one offers tapas (snacks) and the other is Spanish-Filipino restaurant. This was something we forgot to do, if you are on a budget make sure to bring food from the outside (Mcdo or Jollibee). They have no regulations for bringing in food.
Should you decide to eat in the resorts restaurants the price range for the tapas cafe/restaurant is 200-600 php. They offer sandwiches, viands and rice. (Rice is 50 php per cup!) If you want to eat in the Spanish-Filipino restaurant their ala cart menu ranges from 300-600 php. If you want to take part in the buffet they offer you have to pay 850 php. There are also packages available for 1,200 php you get 1 lunch set and for 1,500 php you get to be part of the buffet.

Should you decide to eat in the resort, they have really big serving and it is delicious as well so the amount of money you will be paying for is worth it. Okay, I know this has been a long post so let us go down the the specific details of the trip. I have made a chart for you so you can have an estimate on how much you would be spending should you decide to take this trip.

So the chart just includes the basic items, food and miscellaneous items (like souvenirs and other things) are not included. That gives you the liberty to customize your budget to your needs, I have provided all needed information and (hopefully) didn't miss out on anything.

An extra tip, is to bring your own water. The second thing I did not like about the resort is the over priced items, 35 PHP for the tiny bottle of water. Tsk tsk, the resort is still working on things, so I can't wait to be a member and they are also very open to suggestion. So when you get the chance answer their survey,ok?

Should you have any other question or clarification, feel free to comment. Thank you for reading! ^_^

Hello, hello! I apologize for the lack of posts it is still a bit of a task for me to type using a keyboard. Anyway I would like to share with you a local brand created by a fellow Thomasian and Marikeño.

She uses the nice leather and stitching quality you find in the Marikina shoes, I guarantee you that you would not be disappointed.  The past 2 years I have been obsessed with this brand I have purchased 3 bags.

I purchased the envelope like bag last year and it is still in good condition. Its big and sturdy enough to carry my laptop, notebooks and pens. When I purchased it last 2014, it costs about 1,000 php but the new bags' current sale price is much more lower.  Another thing to note about these bags, each one is designed by the owner herself. Each design is created only with a few pieces available and with each purchase you bring home a piece from the owner who created them.

If you would also like to purchase these lovely bags, you can see the available designs through this link. *whisper* They have wallets too that you can put your phones in and still be able to use the phone.

It takes about 15 minutes to dry up and its easy to peel off. After which you can easily peel it off, just make sure that you put a thick enough layer so that it comes of without problem. It usually leaves my skin whiter & smoother, my pores are visibly smaller and you can see the dirt once its peeled off.

Be careful when applying especially around the eyebrow area, I learned that the hard way (HAHAHA fail). You can easily tell that its drying once you feel it tightening around your skin. A trick I discovered is that if you open your pores with steam then put egg whites and wash it off before putting the peel you are more likely to get those hard to pull out heads.

I recommend using this product, especially if you have oily skin like me as it really helps. It is a bit hard to find but they usually have this available in Daiso Riverbanks, Quezon City branch but they tend to sell out fast. I will try to check which other branches has these too.

I have been told multiple times that I dressed a bit too much or a bit too less. It is either all out or potato there is no in between.

Along with my love for shoes and bags, I also love nail polish. Experimenting with colors and designs are something I like having done on my nails but sadly the amount you have to spend for customized nail art is something that my wallet can afford monthly. You could probably say, why not get some normal pedis instead, well one sometimes I find those a bit too boring PLUS i am also lazy in going to salons every month to get a touch up.

So during one of my random, mall walking around trips I came across some affordable lovelies in Trinoma Landmark.

The Vini Nail brand comes with 24 pre-glued nails for less than 100 php (I need to do a price check again, sorry ). The nails are reusable as long as you take them off properly and for you to be able to do that you just need to soak them in warm water and when it dries out you can use them again. Though because of my laziness I have tried sleeping with them on and they survived my twists and turns through out the night.

Out of the 24 nails I was able to create two sets to be used. I was able to use each set 3 times before I lost some nails. Below is the first set of nails that I compiled together, it was also this set that survived my night time bed acrobatics. As you can see they are a bit longer and it becomes an issue when you try to type, open your bag and do other things.

So for my second set I actually cut & filed them down for easier use. (excuse my pudgey hand >_<) The nails are truly shorter and easier to work around with when commuting, texting and writing; it was also easier to sleep in. The designs didn't chip when I cut and filed them so they remained alright.

My friend also purchased cheaper nails for 60 php, they are shorter but they were only 12 pcs and are not pre-glued so you had to use adhesive, which isn't good. If you are going to opt for the cheaper one I suggest purchasing 2 packs, to ensure all of them fit you well, and some nail stickers. Nail stickers are like nail tape and you can purchase them in Daiso Japan outlets for 88 php. You may also check her blog for reviews and adventures by following this link.

Hello, hello, hello!

One weekday I was too overwhelmed with work that my friend suggested that we take a short stop to recharge. I thought it would be just a short stop in starbucks for a cheesecake fix but then he asked me where the cat cafe I was telling him about was located. Situated in one of Gateway's Manhattan Condominiums was the cat themed cafe called Bengal Brew. I thought that it would be just a short stop to watch the cats run around and my friend offered to treat me as a reward for surviving the day.

[Little Note: I was diagnosed with anxiety and depression half a year ago, I have truly awesome friends who are supportive in this little battle of mine.. NOW BACK TO THE CATS!]

They offer two packages that would allow you to mingle with the cats. You may have the 199 PHP package which allows you a 1 hour playtime plus a drink of your choice or you may have the 350 PHP package which allows you a 2 hour playtime plus a drink and pastry of your choice.

We opted to take the 199 php package and got some iced caffeinated drinks. (They offer matcha too :3 but they were fresh out when we went there.) They come in these adorable spill proof tumblers since the cats will be crawling all over your tables and bags and possibly pushing these babies off the tables too.

If you guys are planning to pay them a visit make sure to wear socks. To ensure the health of the cats you will be asked to change into indoor shoes and for sanitary purposes they would require you to wear socks along with the slippers, for those people who aren't socks people (yes, there a such people) they offer socks for sale for 100 PHP. 

Cats also tend to scratch and bite those who play with them, so before you enter you will be asked to sign their waiver noting that you are aware of the risks of playing with these furbabies.



The inside is very spacious with tables and chairs for you to seat in while in my case I opted to sit on the floor hoping for some cats to come near but, sadly we arrived late and most of them were already napping. The cafe was also able to maximize ceiling and wall space with cat pathways and steps placed all over the place.

One thing I truly loved about the place is that even if there weren't a lot of cats the place helped in calming me down, the ambiance was comforting with or without the cats.

But we were there for cats and the attendant nicely let more of the awake cats out and I figured the easiest way to catch their attention was to get some food out. You can request for food to feed them for an additional 100 PHP, but be warned they can get very aggressive when it comes to food. I was only allowed to feed 2 cats through my hand, despite the number of reminders that they bite I still fed one up close and got a rather deep cut on my thumb. The attendants assisted in cleaning my cut right after we finished feeding them. Sadly, I accidentally erased the video we took as I was feeding them, we'd try to record again.

Here are just some things to remember when you want to visit them:

1. Do not force interaction with the cats.
2. Do not feed them upclose, ask the attendant which ones you can feed.
3. Do not carry them without their permission and without the attendants assistance.
4. Do not wake them up.
5. Should you get clawed or bit inform the attendant immediately so that they may assist in disinfecting it.
6. If you are going to carry them take note that they will be big and heavy. An average female bengal cat may reach up to 10 pounds while a male bengal cat may reach up to 15 pounds.

Below is a video compilation of our photos in the cafe. Enjoy and if you want to visit or ask them questions you may send them a message through their Facebook by clicking this link.