"Vitress Hair Polish Strengthening is a light, non-greasy hairstyling cream that smoothens down fly-away hair as it deeply penetrates each layer of hair strands for intense moisturization without the sticky feeling. Powered with Vita Strength Formula, it also helps tame frizz and prevents split ends and breakage keeping your hair healthy, strong, shiny, and silky smooth anytime, anywhere."

FULL SIZES: 50ml PRICES: PHP 39.00

SAMPLE SIZE: 1 pc. 50 ml (full-sized)

Ingredients

This'll come as handy as my hair is currently in a curly and frizzy state. Well, I'm already a fan of their Hair Cuticle Coat, so I've had high hopes about this product. True enough it really helps smooth out my frizzy hair without the greasy feel. In my case though, since my hair is naturally dry and curly, it doesn't hold for long. This is great though, for those moments when I tie my hair into a sleek bun or a pony tail since it helps in keeping down those strays.

- Exfoliates skin to allow the whitening actives to penetrate deeper

- Reduces the appearance of stubborn dark spots

- Eliminates impurities, dirt, and makeup residue

- Paraben-free. Non-comedogenic. Hypoallergenic.

FULL SIZES: 60 ml PRICES: PHP 79.75

SAMPLE SIZE: 1 pc. 60 ml

I've used this a couple of times and I can say that my complexion is clearing up without visible peeling and flaking. It also doesn't sting and it helps in taking out the dirt and residue that is left behind after cleansing. I'd have to observe longer though to find out if it can really help reduce the appearance of dark spots.

Uniquely combined with 14 natural extracts, anti-staining agents, and nano-hydroxyapatite formula, Dentiste’ Whitening Toothpaste is effective not only at removing and preventing stain disposition, but also at restoring the natural whiteness and gloss of teeth in a safe and natural way.

With regular brushing twice a day, Dentiste’ Whitening Toothpaste provides the following:

- Whiter teeth in 2 weeks

- Increases teeth protection against painful sensitivity

- Fights cavities, plaque, tartar, and Gingivitis

- Fresher breath

This is the product in this bunch that I am most thrilled to try out. I've had these stains on my front teeth and I'd like find out if this toothpaste can really help remove it. I'll make a separate post about that in the future.

***

That's about it. 

This whole loot would have cost me Php 374.00 but I got them for free. Thanks Sample Room! I only paid Php 150.00 for the shipping fee.

Visit www.sampleroom.ph for more details on how you can score your own free products.

XO,

Carissa

Price: Php 55.00

Where I Got It: Mercury Drug

Also available at: Drugstores, Grocery Stores and Department Stores nationwide

I don't know if there are fakes of this product but just to be sure, make sure that you purchase ones with this tag.

A herbal beauty soap that contains plant-based placenta extracts and goat's milk for faster skin lightening and anti-aging results.

Expiry date is printed on the box.

Up Close

My Take

This isn't the first time that I used this product. I may have already consumed like four or 5 of this in the past. And I keep coming back because I like it and my skin likes it. Hiyang ako. It has a light floral-milky scent. I know the horror of having whitening bath soaps that sting and thankfully I have not experienced that with this product. It lathers well and effectively takes off the oiliness of my face and the grime on my skin.

I have no wrinkles yet but it's good to hear that it helps fight aging. I love how soft and smooth my skin feels after using this. It also doesn't dry me up. I have observed also that it causes micro peeling so there's really some exfoliation going on. It also promises to fight bacteria and I'll say that it helps in calming pimples.

There's also a whitening claim and to be honest, I am not someone who is obsessed about whitening. There's a certain color of my skin that I like to maintain: just a balanced tone that doesn't make me look too white. That being said, whenever I feel like I need to lighten up a bit, I reach for this one and yes, it does help in lightening my skin tone. But not the gluta-level na light, ah. Tama lang.

If you're looking for an affordable anti-aging and lightening soap you can give this a try.

Have you experienced using this soap? Do share your experience in the comment box below.

XO,

Carissa

But who could forget? I still get chills when I think about November 8, 2013.

Four years after Yolanda and here I am, hundreds of miles away from where it happened. But somehow, memories of her still have a way of unnerving me.

If I were in Burauen right now, no doubt, my family and I would be reminiscing about so many memories, good and bad, from November 8, 2013.

We'll be talking about wondering why November 7, 2013 was declared as a non-working day, in preparation of Yolanda's arrival. Who prepares for a typhoon? Aren't we Warays kind of used to that stuff already? 

We'll talk about the fried chicken that we cooked on night of the 7th, in preparation for our breakfast the following day. We also had a loaf of bread ready. Surely those would be enough to get us through  the 8th. Surely we can easily buy food afterwards. We know the drill; we've encountered enough typhoons in the past. 

We'll talk about huddling in our parent's bedroom at 5 am of the 8th, knowing that Yolanda has arrived,  winds not too strong yet. To quote my youngest brother "Asya ini it super typhoon?", seemingly unimpressed that it's not as strong as he expected. My sister decided that she will sleep through it.

We'll talk about standing by the gate at 6 am, still enjoying the view of the dancing trees and the "freshness" of the wind. 

Until it stopped being enjoyable.

The huge branches of the two mango trees in  front of our house started to give way. Our roof took a hit. Something broke. Rain water was everywhere.

We all moved to the safest part of the house: the kitchen. My sister decided she that she won't sleep through Yolanda. My brothers held on to the kitchen door, it seemed that Yolanda wanted to open it too. In the intervals that our door cracked open, we got a glimpse of our main house getting brighter: we've lost half of our roofing.

Random things seemed to fly out of nowhere. Getting hit by a stone flying at 200 kms, no matter how small would have been fatal. Celestine might have been feeling the tension too. She just clung tightly too me, underneath those blankets.

We didn't count the hours. It seemed like it would never it. The walls and the ground trembled.

And then everything went still. No winds. No rain. The eye of the storm. I've always known from lessons in school that the eye of the storm is mighty calm. It is.

It gives you the chance to see the wreckage. It gives you the chance to hear your neighbor's screams and cries. It gives you the chance to see how the street and neighborhood that you've known all your life is unrecognizable at first glance.

For how long? Just a few minutes.

The booming wind could be heard coming back from the opposite direction. We didn't go back to the kitchen; we knew that this time it would be the least safe place in the house. We stayed at the front porch; we opened our gate to 30 or more people who couldn't move forward when the winds came back. Suddenly we didn't feel so alone. We waited for the storm to die down.

It was past noon when the skies cleared up. We forgot about the fried chicken that we cooked. We all had a distracted look on our face. Our adrenaline was still quiet high though. I have a good memory of seeing my sister lift a huge galvanized iron sheet that fell into our room. You wanted to do so many things and yet you didn't know where to begin.

And then you had to think about tonight and tomorrow. Because things didn't end when the storm died. There was a different situation at hand.

Oh, but here we are. Four years after we can look back on the lessons we learned.

By God's grace, we're still here.

Lais Ribeiro broke the news on Instagram: she will be wearing this year's Fantasy Bra at the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in Shanghai, China! I couldn't be more pleased! Well, to be honest, I wasn't expecting that it would be her, and I thought it would be Elsa Hosk, since Elsa's been in the Show since 2011. But I didn't realize that Lais had been in it since 2010 (save for that one unfortunate year; more on that later). I know she totally deserves it. I've seen her through the years and she never fails to stun me. I'm rooting for her. Maybe she's not (yet) as popular as the other Angels but you only need to see these photos to know why she has been given the honor of wearing the Fantasy Bra. Here is Lais' VS Fashion Show journey.

This was the year that I got addicted with watching VS Fashion Shows. I knew I had a lot catching up to do but that's what YouTube is for. Ayt? Coincidentally, according to Lais' Wiki, it was also during this year that she appeared for the first time in the show. Here she is during the 'Wild Things' section.

The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show 2017 will be televised on the 28th of November on CBS.

Can't wait to see Lais and the other girls.

XO,

Carissa

Name: Pond's Age Miracle Wrinkle Corrector Day Cream SPF 18 PA++

Price: Free

Where I Got It: Sample Room//www.sampleroom.ph

Also available at: drugstores and department stores nationwide

In a nutshell, it is a light day cream that releases retinol which works non stop to help reduce wrinkle appearance. It also contains SPF 18 which helps protect against the sun's harmful rays.

Labels and Ingredients

The manufacturing and expiry dates are well printed in the packaging. Just to give you an idea about the size of the tub, here it is. It's really cute.

This pinkish cream has a bit of a mousy consistency. It smells sickly sweet, but not in a bothersome way, at least for me. When I used it, I applied it in dots all over my face and then just blended it out. It blends out easily and really nicely; no tugging. After application, the face looks a little bit pinkish and I noticed that my skin looked smooth - no kidding. It minimized the appearance of my pores. I topped it with foundation and it looked great even without a primer. Although my face looked a bit shiny after about two hours, I still looked alright and I just needed to blot out the excess oil. There's no hot or heavy feeling even when I used it under a foundation.

Here's the hitch - after using the product straight for two days, I spotted a few zits on face. That is unusual because I don't break out easily. I had a pimple on my forehead, on my right cheek and on my chin and I'm still far away from that time of the month. So I decided to stop using it. It's a shame though because I thought I could use it as a pre-foundation moisturizer but it turned out that it's not compatible with my skin. 

"Reputation" drops next week and so far Taylor has released four tracks from the said album - Look What You Made Me Do, Gorgeous, Ready For It, and this one, Call It What You Want. So how's it lookin'?

TBH, I may have found my favorite Reputation song yet in Call It What You Want. I needed this song and it just came at the right moment. I cry rather easily and by the time I reached the chorus while listening to it for the first time, I was tearing up. I had to hide a bit 'coz I was doing YouTube at the office and it ain't cool if I get spotted with wet eyes while watching Taylor. Wow! She hit home. It won't top State of Grace for being my most favorite Taylor Song but it's right up there.

We live in a crazy world and it renders us unnerved sometimes. It becomes more bearable if you have someone who's got your back. I was thinking of my husband while listening to this song and I realized I don't thank him enough for being there for me. And yeah, the tears just came.

Here's the lyric video and the lyrics to Taylor Swift's Call It What You Want.

[Verse 1]

My castle crumbled overnight

I brought a knife to a gunfight

They took the crown but it's alright

All the liars are calling me one

Nobody's heard from me in months

I'm doing better than I ever was

[Chorus]

Cause my baby's fit like a daydream

Walking with his head down

I'm the one he's walking to

So call it what you want yeah, call it what you want to

My baby's fly like a jet stream

High above the whole scene

Loves me like I'm brand new

So call it what you want yeah, call it what you want to

[Verse 2]

All my flowers grew back as thorns

Windows boarded back up after the storm

He built a fire just to keep me warm

All the drama queens taking swings

All the jokers dressing up as kings

They fade to nothing when I look at him

And I know I make the same mistakes every time

Bridges burn, I never learn

At least I did one thing right, I did one thing right

I'm laughing with my lover

Making forts under covers

Trust him like a brother

Yeah you know I did one thing right

Starry eyes sparking up my darkest night

[Chorus]

Cause my baby's fit like a daydream

Walking with his head down

I'm the one he's walking to

So call it what you want yeah, call it what you want to

My baby's fly like a jet stream

High above the whole scene

Loves me like I'm brand new

So call it what you want yeah, call it what you want to

[Bridge]

I want to wear his initial on a chain around my neck

Chain round my neck

Not because he owns me

But 'cause he really knows me

I recall late November

Holding my breath, slowly I said "you don't need to save me

But would you run away with me?"

Yes

[Chorus]

My baby's fit like a daydream

Walking with his head down

I'm the one he's walking to

So call it what you want yeah, call it what you want to

My baby's fly like a jet stream

High above the whole scene

Loves me like I'm brand new

So call it what you want yeah, call it what you want to

[Ending]

Call it what you want, call it what you want

Call it what you want, call it what you want

Call it what you want, call it what you want

Call it what you want, call it what you want

Call it what you want yeah, call it what you want to

- I got the lyrics from www.billboard.com

XO,

Carissa

I'll just say this straight-up: I like this one more than the Hydration Facial Moisturizer and it's not just because of the SPF content. I am not dry-skinned to begin with, I am an oily-skinned gal. I have observed that this one is more quickly absorbed by my skin, whereas the Hydration one stays longer on the surface of the skin and leaves a rather wet feeling, which disappears about 30 secs to a minute. Despite the SPF content on this one, it doesn't leave a white cast and is pretty much unobtrusive even when you top it with foundation. 

Here's a comparison of a dollop of the Sun Care Moisturizer and the Hydration Moisturizer. Don't get me wrong though, even if I say that I like the Sun Care one, I'm still okay with the Hydration one and I will go for it when my skin is feeling is a bit dry.

Meanwhile, I got this one from Sample Room and I ordered it out of curiosity. After all, like I said, I am oily-skinned and it could be a good match for my skin's needs. It turns out that this product is a let down. It doesn't feel matte on the skin - I could barely tell the difference between the Sun Care Facial Moisturizer and the Matte Moisturizer when applied on my skin. Well, the difference is that the Matte Moisturizer is not easily absorbed.

The Matte Moisturizer (the one on top) has a consistency akin to a sunscreen and it leaves white trails on the skin. 

Need I say more? Sun Care Facial Moisturizer SPF 15 for the win! And also the Hydration Facial Moisturizer while we're at it. :)

XO,

Carissa

Quelch is a non-sticky deodorant cream that promises to help stop sweat, keep the underarms dry and odor free and also to whiten it in 1 week.

The Spring Blosson variety has a sweet floral scent.

The product comes in a standard light blue squeeze tube. The cap closes up well with a snap but notice how the excess cream solidifies at the opening which causes blockage.

I have used this product for about two months and I can attest to the truthfulness of SOME of its claims. Yes, SOME and NOT ALL. :) It is indeed non-sticky and spreads easily on skin contact. It also dries pretty quickly: less than 15 seconds methinks. It helps stop sweat for basically the whole day. I've never felt the need to reapply even on the most sweltering day. The scent is also pleasant and even if the scent has gone away, I still find myself odor-free.

Now here's the hiccup, straight up: it darkened my underarms. Oh no! And not only that, the skin on my underarms also feel a bit thicker. I don't know if other consumers have experienced the same situation but here we are. I've noticed though that this is a popular Avon product and that it's been on the catalog for forever. I'm pretty sure I've encountered this product as far as 10 or 15 years back so this must still have a demand in the Philippine market and it that worked well for others. 

But for me? Nah, never again. :) I'm scrubbing calamansi on my pits every bathing time to bounce back.

Thanks for reading this post.

XO,

Carissa

PS. Have you experienced using this product? I hope it didn't make your underarms dark. Drop a comment or two and let's talk.