May 16, 2013 - 12:00 am
A possibly good enough or equally fantastic dupe for Dr. Bronner’s Liquid Castile Soap is available locally. It was Anna of the YouTube channel Vivianna Does Makeup who mentioned using that to shampoo her brushes. Liquid castile soaps for some reason, no derogatory angle meant, paint the picture of Amish origin for me which is a good thing. They’re supposed to be 100% natural, completely free of nasties, and reliable cleansing multitaskers…not just for yourself…but oh yeah for your STUFF as well as an all around cleaner. The way liquid castile soap is used is it’s to be diluted 1 part product to 4 parts water (a smaller part diluted is recommended when for yourself). I picked up these 2 variants of Dr. Woods Shea Vision Castile soap just a few days ago from Healthy Options for ergh, how much…need to double check if Php275 or Php375, I’ll edit it in. What I like about the Shea Vision castile soaps of Dr. Woods is they’ll strip the dirt and grime but rehydrate or moisturize non-greasily with glycerin and shea butter. I got the peppermint scented one to match my J&C Spot Cleaning Solution which is also minty and I got the milder fragrance free baby formula just in case. The baby fragrance-free formula is practically the same make, just without Peppermint Oil, and is a little less viscuous and more gloopy but works just as well. The baby variant would also be wonderful if used as a substitute for detergent on intimate apparel like your delicates if you’re the sort that gets skin reactions to laundry detergent. What I love is that these lather nicely even if they’re free of parabens, pthalates and sulfates.
INGREDIENTS: Purified Water, Saponified Coconut, Hemp, and Olive oils (w/ retained glycerin), organic shea butter, Vitamin E, (Peppermint Oil), Sea salt, Citric Acid, and Rosemary Extract. (Certified Organic by Ecocert S.A.)
For my makeup brushes I measured 2 overflowing caps of product diluted in 1 cup of water. That 1 cup solution was good enough to clean about 10-12 powder and foundation brushes, the biggest tools which use up the most solution. They rinse clean and when they dry what’s important is my brushes feel like they did when I first bought them. To find out how I wash my brushes read my brush cleansing post here and just substitute this solution for the Joy solution and use the same method. I use olive oil to clean my tiny lip and eyeliner brushes. I’d been looking for a good makeup brush deep cleansing alternative that was more suited for facial brushes in contrast to dishwashing detergent like Joy Antibac (some people mind when they find out brushes were cleansed with detergent) and this range by Dr. Woods seemed to tick all the checkboxes. Earlier, I used this to clean something other than makeup brushes. Epic proof fail in the sense that I didn’t take a before shot of how grimy these two pouches looked already before I washed them, but believe me when I say it did the job well and they smelt so nicely of fresh peppermint when I held the dry pouches to my nose.
Today I used 4 caps of the Peppermint Castile soap in about less than a liter of water in a small wash bowl to soak my beansprout illustrated pouches which were due for a wash. What I like about this for my utility pouches is Dr. Woods soap will remove any dirt but it won’t bleach the natural canvas of my pouches and it won’t fade the illustrations either. I soaked these for about 2 hours then after I gently rinsed and hand wrung them of excess water then used a hairdryer to get them dry. To check these out look them up at your local Healthy Options boutique. This Liquid Castile soap stuff is therapeutic to work with because it’s so gentle and I now actually am mentally making a list of more stuff to clean…aha, I have one more brush set that needs work (rubs palms with glee).
May 12, 2013 - 8:40 am
Just wanted to share with you a Mother’s Day pick and what I did with it 
This was more of a side gift for Mom, my main gift was a bag. I spotted this chic bamboo tabletop mirror in the window display of Make Room…I was walking fast and took several steps back. It caught my eye and it just happened to be on sale at 25% off from Php595, so it ended up beig just Php446.00. This isn’t my main gift and I decided to use it creatively to present the more expensive gift. For that purpose in itself the price was okay and I knew this was good because now I want one, too LOL. Prices on mother’s day gifts don’t matter by the way, that’s relative to where we are all at. What matters is you give straight from the heart and give her something you know will brighten her day.
The mirrror comes in a box with 3 parts that are really easy to assemble, the bamboo base, the stainless stem and the mirror with the joint behind it which you screw or twist onto the stem. If you’re wondering about the lipsticks I used to personalize it just for today I used the Maybelline ColorSensational lipsticks I blogged about a few weeks ago…easily wiped off with tissue.
You’ll need a simple screwdriver to attach the base to the stem, I did it myself. I personally think it would have been nicer as an oval or better yet a circle but it still looks great. You can adjust the tilt and rotate it left or right! You may have to spritz the joint with WD40 though to make it move easier. Anyhoo enough material talk for now, it’s time to let our mom indulge in our hugs and kisses plus time, prayer, and attention. I pray God blesses each of your moms and don’t forget to make them feel special not just today but everyday. If you are a Mom, I praise you today…if you feel you aren’t a good one, recognize it but don’t dwell on it, your children don’t just need you deep inside they want you in their lives. Begin today! We’re all works in progress, just don’t wave the WIP flag. God loves you! Have a joyful day!
February 6, 2013 - 7:24 am
Ok, a round of applause for my first heat styling tool for hair ever at a time when I’ve had the… least…amount…of hair…ever, in my grownup life. So, why now? I’m planning to grow out my hair once the monsoon months roll in mid-year, yes a time when people don’t visit or see each other. I saw just the exact thing I needed months back when one of my hairstylist partners, Tricia, was using what was simply a mini flat iron on a more mature client with curly cropped hair. It wasn’t this same one, but something like it. Both she and EddieMar, my other hairstylist partner (who has only done Leighton Meester, Zac Efron, and Ian Somerhalder when they were here) highly recommended purchasing Babyliss heat styling tools from Landmark. I was also recently sent Pro Style Fuwarie Straight styling mist, a product used on hair for heat styling.
This is such a bargain, to begin with it has the dual function of curling and straightening. The length of this mini Babyliss styling iron is about 6.5-7 inches, I don’t have huge hands. What’s great about this is apart from the size it’s voltage ready for either 110 or 220, so you needn’t worry about it short-circuiting on you. It works for both. The catch for a small tool is there’s only an on/off switch, in other words just 1 heat setting…but it heats up in 20 seconds and it’s very hot. I singed my finger when checking ‘coz i didnt believe it would be hot that quick (smart)! I needed a heat styling tool on hand but obviously not a huge one, something smaller that could style or tame hair that’s closer to the scalp, when the grown out hair begins looking horrendous with wispy flyaways etc, I wanted to be sure I was armed during that dreaded IN-BETWEEN stage of growth after summer before the holiday season. Read more to see me test this one out with Fuwarie Styling Mist.
January 28, 2013 - 2:07 pm
You can’t go wrong with a set of Charm makeup brushes. They’re the locally recognized mid-range makeup brush brand consigned in quite a few locations around the city like in Glorietta and at Pure Beauty in Serendra. The brand has also been cited several times by magazines like Cosmopolitan. Top blogger Sophie Uy has done a superb job of championing her brand! I use these brushes often on wedding jobs and advertising shoots and they just really deliver…without shedding.
Use coupon code PH-Twentyoff on all transactions until February 28, and get a whopping, happy 20% off on all items from Beauty and Minerals!
They’re having a sale over at the brushes’ online home Beauty and Minerals, be sure you don’t miss out! I think the discounts are only for online purchases. If you’d like to know what I’d put my money on other than the retractable brushes, which every self-respecting girl on the go needs, it would be this.
The J&C Super Clean Solutions Brush Spray Cleanser (which I’ve reviewed here is part of the SALE as well! I plan on getting more than 1 bottle of the stuff because it works so well and smells great.
January 10, 2013 - 8:25 am
I had a brush cleansing post about 2 months ago that tackled both spot cleansing and deep cleansing. I mentioned that I already used up my favorite Make Up For Ever spray brush cleanser for spot cleansing after every job. Well I was invited to a launch about a week after that post went up and I am now so glad they introduced us to this product.
J & C Super Clean Solutions is a brush spray cleanser with ethyl alcohol and spearmint oil that’s great for spot cleansing ( read how to spot cleanse brushes here ). It was created by Jenny Yrasuegui and Celine Gabriel-Lim who recognized the need for an affordable brush cleaner that smelled pleasantly fresh and mild, not too strong.
I love that it smells like mint and that it works just as well as my Make Up For Ever Brush Cleanser does for spot cleansing, for about a third of the cost at Php395.00 (approx $9.40) per 120ml bottle. I’m excited because I hear that they may be developing a brush shampoo as well for deep cleansing to complement the brush spray cleanser. J&C Super Clean solutions brush cleanser is available at BeautyAndMinerals.com and restocking this Friday at Sofa retail Lab in Rockwell. LIKE J&C Super Clean solutions on Facebook and email jenyrasuegui@gmail.com for more information
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