Last December, my squad and I had a quick gathering to celebrate the holidays.  The plan was to try out this restaurant near ABS-CBN and have a glass of cocktail to cap the night.


I only tasted 2 of the dishes here so sorry if this post is not as informative as the others.


The overall feel at Mom and Tina's from food selections (and price) to ambiance is pretty much the same with Bannaple's, except it's quieter and more laid back.  There's a homey, your-comfort-food-is-here kind of vibe and the place is suitable for families and romantic dates as well.


They also have a variety of cupcakes, cakes and pastries.




It's a beef lasagna but not in the usual "flat form".  It came with two breads.

I loved that it tasted like a home-cooked meal and that there's generous amount of meat and cheese.  My only complain was the pasta itself.  It was overcooked for my liking.


This one's called Beef Stew and it was served with rice.


Their Fettuccine Carbonara came with two pieces of breads too.


For dessert, we ordered this Mango Tart-ish one and Blueberry Cheesecake.  Yummo!


Overall, I would say that food was not that super impressive but it's still a great place to hangout and have a piece of cupcake, a slice of cake and maybe coffee too.


What do you think?

Visit their website for complete menu and branch locations!


your sweetest drug,

Concealer is one of the most used items in my makeup kit.  A close runner up is brow pencil.  How about you?

Anyway, the reason I have two shades is because, back in December, I've used up the first one without posting a product review.  It's nice though because I can share a swatch comparison.  Yay!


When I was at NYX store, I asked for something darker than my current shade since I noticed that CW03 is a bit too light on me.

It retails at 360 php but I got one of these at a discounted price because of a sale back then in SM Department Store.


Now, you'd think that "wow, a concealer below 400 pesos" but after running out of my first tube after  roughly 2 months and having to buy a second one, I realized that it's not too affordable for its size.

A tube contains 3g of product and two would cost you 720 php.  Some liquid concealers are priced pretty much the same, maybe not too cheap from drugstore brands but they hold more than 6 grams.  There's even the L.A. Girl PRO Conceal which retails below 300 php but has 8g.  You get the idea?


Let's talk about the color.

Light/Pale has a pink tone to it.  It kinda reminds me of salmon concealer bases, which are good for neutralizing dark circles.

Beige has a typical skin/foundation-like color.


I don't have photos wearing Light/Pale and the swatch here looks very faded because there's barely any product left.  Sorry!

They are both super pigmented so coverage is great.  It could conceal dark circles, pores and blemishes very well.


It doesn't give me troubles when I blend it using my fingers or a brush.  Formula is a bit creamier than common liquid concealers.

Obviously, it comes with a doe-foot applicator but there's also a pot/cream version.


I also noticed that once it sets, there's no way you can move it further.  No budging!  So make sure you blend fast.  Maybe that's one feature of HD concealers.

There's no glue-like scent as well and it applies very evenly.


For someone who doesn't have troubled skin, you can really skip foundation for normal, everyday makeup.

My only gripe is the creasing.  Ugh.


I don't have dry skin but this still creases like there's no tomorrow.  Worse, it starts by the time I finish my makeup.

With primer and eye cream underneath, it's better.  However, it still dries up the area a bit and even though it's long-lasting, it doesn't look very even on skin after several hours.

I also tried putting BB cream or foundation on top just to make it dewier and to prevent dryness but the product would just settle in the fine lines.


Overall, coverage and formula is very impressive but if you go for this concealer, you have to deal with the drying and creasing factor.

Well, maybe I'm just not doing the set-it-with-powder part correctly or I need a better setting powder.  So again, it might work differently on somebody else.


What do you think?


Like NYX Cosmetics Philippines on Facebook.


your sweetest drug,

Brow Products I'm Currently Using

Today's featured makeup immediately went to my disappointing product list.


Probably, the first time you saw this here on le blog was when I posted my April and May haul video.  When I got the Clinique bag, I didn't use this mascara right away because I was already using two other ones.

Last month, I thought of trying it out and I ended up not loving it because it turned me into a panda.

End of review.

Just kidding!

What I love about it

I'm not very picky when it comes to mascara in general.  Even if it barely thickens or lengthens my lashes, as long as it doesn't cause mess, I'm good with it.  I'll keep using it.  Besides, I wear very minimal makeup on normal days so that's not a biggie.



So while I appreciate how this perks up my eyes, I still don't think that it would stay long in my makeup drawer.

Ready to see how the water-splash test turned out?


I didn't rub my eyes the entire day so I wonder why there's almost no product left in my bottom lashes.

Clearly, this mascara isn't for rainy or sad days.


It looks so bad because I put 3 coats.  After rubbing, some of it went in my eyes and it hurt a little so I had to immediately wash it off.

I'm not sure if there's Lash Doubling waterproof version but if there is, that would be perfect.

What do you think?


Like Clinique on Facebook.



your sweetest drug,

Thanks to this long weekend, I now feel recharged.

Kung Hei Fat Choi!

My to-do list today involved filming a DIY tutorial but unfortunately, I didn't find the stuff I need for the video.  Bummer.

So let me just share with you guys my not-so recent facial treatment experience at Skin Station, SM Megamall branch.


Since my GC was expiring, I thought of using it back in November for a skin pampering session.  I went there for a facial treatment and to max out my voucher, I also bought two of their Dermax skincare products.  I showed those in my haul video but in case you missed that, click this link.

I've used a couple of their products already and so far my favorites are the Retinol-C cream and their sunscreens.


The place really looked like a skin clinic.  It's just bright, spacious and clean.

The staff were so nice to me and they graciously answered my queries when I was deciding which treatment and products to get.


However, I would appreciate if they've checked my skin condition first, you know like a "skin consultation" but that's not a biggie because at least they asked me about my skin type.

So I picked the treatment with Vitamin C something something.  Haha!  Sorry I can't exactly remember.  I'll make sure to edit this part once their website is up.  The links are not working as of the moment.


While waiting for your turn, you can check out the testers in the display table.  They pretty much have everything from cleansers to serum and of course, they also have Nano White, their skin and underarm whitening line.

They have a lot, don't they?


They know that privacy is important so customers get their own individual rooms.

So here's the process (pretty much):

1) Facial cleansing
2) Facial scrub
3) Steam
4) Pricking part - as usual, it hurt especially on the chin area
5) Laser
6) Hyal-C serum (Oh!  I think this is the name of the facial treatment!)
7) Rinsing using wet cotton pads


I absolutely loved the serum!  The staff actually recommended it because she noticed that I have a blackhead-prone nose.

Since it's Vitamin C-based product, it claims to help brighten the skin, whiten dark spots and my favorite - tighten the pores.

The serum dried out after a few minutes (I dunno if you can tell by looking at the photo) so it felt tight and I also noticed some cooling sensation.

After rinsing it off, my skin felt incredibly smooth and supple.  It almost looked poreless.  Gaaah!!!  #goals

The overall treatment was fine and I guess not too different compared to the ones I've tried before.

However, what makes it unique is the serum because other treatments come with a clay masks but for this, it's like they're doing an extensive skincare routine.