AMW Makeover: Wedding Happiness

Wedding day ---

On this special occasion, every bride wants to look their best and the pressure is on you, as a make-up artist to make her the most beautiful Bride not only on photos but also in person!  You are also tasked to make sure the make-up stays all day even if she perspires or cries! 

Each tiny detail needs to be taken in account for, the Bridal dress, the hairstyle, the color motif, etc... everything has to work well together.  

And the most important of all? The bride HAS to look like herself! 

With all those stress, why do I love this job of mine? There are a lot of reasons and I'll just name a few!

The cute stuff laid out on bed for photographs!  Brides and Grooms are getting more and more creative nowadays....

Let's not forget the gorgeous fresh flowers for the bride and her entourage to hold!

Flowers give me the energy!

I get the chance to get to know my bride as most of them would talk to you and tell you about their wedding jitters.  It feels great to be able to calm them down and share my own wedding jitters, my own funny wedding memories! 

Here's one... I was drove to the wrong church 15 minutes before my wedding!  Thank God I was able to advise the driver to the right church on time!  *laughs*

I am very personal with my clients, I make sure to cover all the concerns they have.  Skin redness?  Zits?  Dry and oily areas? Under eye circles? Brides do share to you their worries and concerns which makes me feel honored because they trust me on the most important day of their lives!

I also get to talk to the family members.  I get surprised at times on how small the world is!  We get to link our common friends!

Even though the chitchat is there, re-touching should always be done before they leave the make-up area after they changed into their gowns.  You also get to help them to make sure their gowns, jewelries and shoes are all worn well!

Best of all,  the simple transformations I can see by bringing the beauty on each client!

I will share to you the make-up looks I've done for the most recent make-up gig.  I want to thank Emily for recommending me to be her bestfriend's make-up artist!

Mother of the Bride

Sister of the Bride

The Groom

 The Bride

 Congratulations to the newlyweds Tim and Mau! 

Hair by: Felicity Son

 

I hope you enjoyed my mini sharing of my thoughts as a make-up artist on wedding days!

Keep smilin'
Stay happy!

Nail Art Tutorial: Girly Polka-Dotty

Dear friends, happy start of the week!  I had a good weekend spent with my family!  I also spent my weekend watching "Accidental Love" on KBS Channel!  Gosh, I know each of us were given 24 hours a day but seems like I'm trying to extend it!  Do you feel the same? :D

Let's talk about my nails, I had my Angry Birds nails for good 2 weeks (due to tight schedule) and my nails are growing uncomfortably long!  What I did was I cleaned my own nails and cut it at a good length!  The length I'm most comfortable is this.... best for someone like me who types a lot!

I was inspired by the girly polka-dot dresses I've seen on MGM Channel! Hahaha I swear I was just channel surfing when I saw some of the gorgeous outfits in black and white screen!

Step 1:

Apply your favorite base coat to prevent nails from yellowing and for the base polish to "adhere" to your nails better.  I am using ZOYA Base Coat.  Applied one coat of Orly Cotton Candy Polish and applied Revlon's Temptress for 2nd coat.  This gives a unique pink shade.

Step 2:

Draw random diagonal lines with L.A. Colors Art Deco in Black then fill it in with The Face Shop's Black polish.  

Step 3:

Using a bright red shade from Paul & Joe 012, used my nail dotting tool or you can opt to use toothpick to create random dots to be applied on the pink portion only.

Step 4:

Create a sparkling border between the black and pink polish with L.A. Art Deco Polish in Silver.

Step 5:

Using a 2 Way Nail Art Pen in white, create dots in between to create "Flowers"!  

Step 6:

With the similar polish used on dots, apply flower bud with a dotting tool.

Step 7:

Making sure everything is completely dry, apply your favorite top coat to protect your nail art.  

You have girly looking nails to look at!  This is ok to be done on both long and short nails!  You can minimize the number of dots or create smaller dots if your nails are short!

If you find the shades too girly for your taste, you can change the color combination, you can try Black and White (which I did on my toe nails) or you can go for color blocking nail polish (yellow and blue, yellow and purple, green and yellow, blue and green etc...)  The choices are endless!

Have a great start of the week! 
Keep safe and do not forget to smile!

Keep smilin'
Stay happy!

Something New: Nivea Express Hydration Body Lotion

Remember the last post where I put a photo of a product packaging and asks you to guess what brand it is?

You guys are smart, most of you guessed the brand right just by the look of its packaging!  Mystery lotion unsolved!

Here's what's on its product description ---

The new ultra-light body lotion with sea minerals contains the innovative Hydra IQ active ingredient that has been developed specifically for the needs of normal to dry skin. It keeps the skin soft and supple, envelops it in the subtle scent of blue lotus and leaves a refreshed feeling.

The one-of-a-kind formula with Hydra IQ makes body care a long-lasting intense experience. It provides a non-stop supply of moisture to the skin – longer than ever before. This is based on the worldwide exclusive Nobel Prize technology, which promotes optimum moisture supply and distribution from within – for over 24 hours.  NIVEA Express Hydration Body Lotion is not only effective for an extra-long time, but is also absorbed by the skin extraordinarily quickly and thus helps repair the eight signs of dry skin: dry, redness, rough, tight, flaky, dull, itchy and peeling.

NIVEA Express Hydration Body Lotion has been developed with dermatologists and skin compatibility is clinically and dermatologically proven.

I've seen these available at all leading department stores, supermarkets and drugstores nationwide!

Available in ---

75ml for Php36.00

125ml for Php65.00

250ml for Php120.00

400ml for Php224.00

Prices aren't bad!  I don't mind trying this out to see if this helps my dry skin!  I will also try the famous powers of the Nivea Creme in its every classic blue tin packaging!  I am using this for my hands!

Have you tried Nivea Express Hydration Body Lotion?
if you did, tell me what to expect!

Keep smilin'
Stay happy!

Weekend Food Tripping at: Midnight Mercato

As I was browsing my food photos, I was surprised I missed out one folder called "Midnight Mercato".  I will include it on this weekend's food tripping post though months has passed since I last visited the food haven!  

As you get off work on a Friday night, you had your fair share of overtime and most of the malls or restaurants are closed.  You are hungry, where to go?  Midnight Mercato is definitely the place to satisfy your late night cravings!  

 

Inspired by the bustling night markets and hawker centers of Hong Kong, Singapore and Thailand, Midnight Mercato is the weekend late night food bazaar where you can enjoy mouth watering food finds – from home cooked meals to gourmet signature dishes to classic street food re-invented – while listening to live acoustic musical performances. Most importantly, you can enjoy Midnight Mercato in a clean, comfortable and organized setting inside an air-conditioned tent.

Quick tip, stroll one round and check out the food you would want to try and go ahead and purchase the rest for take away!  The main tent isn't air conditioned so if there's a lot of people flocking one area, it gets a bit too hot and humid!  There's another tent though that's air-conditioned so you can choose to stay there to rest. 

Our mission: To try something unique!  If our tummy can't take it, we'll take home the rest!

Hapadog Stand!

Hapadog is actually owned by my grade school friend Karen!  I've met up with her a couple of months ago and she excitedly shared to me this original Japanese Style Hotdogs!  I even gave her a call to advise me which one I should give it a go! 

Kat's Meow

 Bun+Wiener+Japanese Toppings inspired by Katsudon dish!

 Seriously delicious!  Wouldn't mind trying out the rest.

Speaking of Katsudon, I saw some Yakitori sticks!

Another seller sells Japanese/Filipino fusion dish like Beef Gyudon, Chicken Oyakudon and Gulaman!  *lol* That's why I included the word fusion for this table!

 

Mini Taco Stand

Bought 6pcs of this unique bite size tacos in Taco Beef!

Should not be eaten with poise.

1 mini taco, 1 bite!  No more arguments!

Off Beat

Famous for their Krispy Kreme Burger!

We gave this a skip as I love my burgers in bread buns and I love my Krispy Kreme Original Glazed Donuts the way it is! 

 Passed by a couple of hotdogs and sausages stand

A lot more "canteen" food as I would like to call them!
They all look delicious and filling!

Manang's Chicken

I've seen people lining up for the Hot & Spicy variant.

You are missing out on Filipino food experience if you did not try any street food! This is a more hygienic version of street food so feel free to chow!  I see betamax, intestines, pork BBQ and a whole lot more! 

Huge pizzas which reminded me of Sbarro! 

 

What's a scrumptious dish without sweets?  

 

 

 

Oh you should go there with friends and family!  The experience itself is worth it!  Free entrance, live band performance plus awesome food to try!  Give this a try at least once in your lifetime, make that more! :)

Midnight Mercato Operating Hours:
Friday and Saturday from 10:00pm to 3:00am
Mercato Centrale in the morning is still open 7:00am to 2:00pm.
Address: 34th street and 8th avenue (across MC Home Depot)

Have you tried Midnight Mercato or Mercato Centrale?
I'm not a morning person, as much as possible, I'd rather sleep in so I'll settle for Midnight Mercato for now!


Enjoy your food tripping weekend!
Keep smilin'
Stay happy

Tech Review: Hed Kandi Pure Kandi Headphones

I live and breathe music. Music is a not-so-secret weapon of mine to stay calm and happy at any given day!  I associate music with a lot of things...especially good memories!

For the past years that I have been working, there's always going to be music playing right across my table!  Those days while I prepare for my daily class lectures when I was a teacher. Even at present that I work as a researcher and human resource professional, my colleagues can vouch how I survive with good music as I suddenly stand up to do my dance moves or sing on top of my lungs if I'm alone inside the office *shhh that's a secret* :P

I used to be an earphone user, the thing with earphones, aside from the fact that some are too huge for my tiny ears!  I can't seem to survive listening with it for more than 2 hours! What about the comfortable headphones?  I can't seem to put myself to use headphones in public because they are too huge and some could make me look like a "gangsta"! (yes, say that with feelings --- GANGSTAH!).

Until the Queen of Cuteness came down to earth and created this.....

Hed Kandi Pure Kandi Headphones says ---

Arouse your aural senses and book yourself a ticket to destination chic with these high-fashion headphones easily packed away with foldaway design for any jet setter's luggage.  The fashionisto in you will love the unique ultra-thin, adjustable headband suitable for any hairstyle, whilst your ears will be thanking you for the ultra soft ear-pads with metal exterior.

Tech Specs

• Driver diameter: 50mm
• Frequency response: 20-20,000Hz
• Impedence: 32 Ohms
• Sensitivity: 103 dB
• Max input power: 100mW
• Cable length: 1.5m

AMW says ---

Pros

• Packaged in a very cute box! I can't seem to open this for 2 days!  I just want to preserve this image forever!  *laughs*

• If you are fashion forward and is looking for something ultra feminine, this one's for you!
• I love the color combination of Blue and Pink!  
• Ear cups are super soft which makes it comfortable to use for long period of time.
• Comes with a "curly cable" portion which prevents tangling.

• Ultra thin metal headband which doesn't show up much especially if you have a lot of hair! :)
• Can be folded so it's easy to carry this around on travel.

• Lightweight.
• Sound quality is really good!  I don't have an ear of a musician but I appreciate the extra "deep and well defined bass" that I don't hear when I use an earphone.

Cons

• If you're not into "look at me" colors, this range is not for you.
• The ear cup cover is the same leatherette material used on my Plantronics Headset.  This material easily gets ruin and disintegrated after prolong use or when exposed with various temperatures.

• Ear cups covered all my ears, but I have to let you know that my ears are quite small, if you have a tiny bit bigger ears than mine, your ears will come out of the ear cups!
• Because of the surround sound, hubby called me "bingi" (deaf) a couple of times! :P

Overall

I am not an expert when it comes to reviewing headphones as I said, I've always been an earphone user!  The Hed Kandi Pure Kandi Headphones gives me the comfort, the good quality sound and the cute and fashionable look that most girls (including me) want!

Tips

• Try to use a pouch to store this cute headphones.  
• Since the color is a bit bright, try to wipe the headphones and the cable every now and then to prevent it from getting dirty!  Dirty = NOT Sexy! 
• Use a paper towel or slightly wet piece of cloth.
• Try not to twist the wire too much.
• If you plan to leave the headphones inside your house hanging it is the best option!
• Do not play too loud music especially for longer period of time.

To whom do I recommend this to?

Anyone who loves their music and wants the "surround sound" feel.  I recommend the Pure Kandi to girls who are into girly headphones and even for guys who wants to stand out in a crowd!  Just make sure your girlfriend won't steal this away from you!

Where to purchase and how much?

For Php1,990.00 (approx $46.00) available at --- Power Mac, Power Hub, iStudio, Astrovision, Technoholics, Bratpack, Mobile 1, Xsite, 8 Telecom, Abenson, Electroworld, Digital Hub, Digital Walker and Beyond the Box.

Pricey at first glance but most of my earphones last me at least more than a year.  So that costs approximately Php165.00 (approx $3.90) per month!  Not bad!  Just make sure to take care of it and it'll last even longer!

It doesn't hurt that I have this to accompany me while I blog!  I can't be too noisy, Mr. AMW's sleeping!  Just remind me not to sing! :P  It's also relaxing if I'm on the passenger seat relaxing under heavy traffic!

In fairness, I was really sleeping here!
Ninja shot by Mr. AMW using Ipod Touch

What's your brand of earphones? headphones?
Keep smilin'

Stay happy!