Showing posts with label TV Series. Show all posts
Showing posts with label TV Series. Show all posts
I can't tell you enough how much of a royalty nut I am. So it's pretty obvious that watching The Crown has been high on my to-do list, despite the busy schedule, yes. The first season ended ages ago, and the second season will air come November so I tried my best to catch up. Hewego...

***

QE II is one of the most admired monarchs in the world, if not the most admired. She's also one of the longest serving ones. She's well-loved and seems to take her role in a stride. But it wasn't always so. Lilibet, as she was fondly called by her family ascended the throne  in her mid-twenties and what a daunting role she took, we could only imagine. The Crown gives us a glimpse of it.

Here are the highlights of Episode 1:
-King George VI's declining health
-The wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Philip Mountbatten
-Winston's scene stealing, and subsequent return to Parliament
-King George giving more responsibility to Elizabeth in his stead
-Philip gets told that "She is the job."

Here are some snaps from The Crown Season 1, Episode 1 - "Wolferton Splash".

Princess in love. Lilibet glances admiringly at Philip. 
Philip is accorded the titles Duke of Edinburgh, Earl of Merioneth and Baron Greenwich prior to his wedding to Elizabeth.
I'd always thought the real Elizabeth looks as cool as cucumbers on photos but on this series she trembles a lot. Well, it must be hard to be heiress presumptive.
The wedding happens, despite the fact that Elizabeth's family would rather prefer a rich, landed and titled groom.
Two queens. Queen Elizabeth and Queen Mary. 
Elizabeth receives a present from her father - a camera, to capture the happy moments of her marriage.
We want King!
#TeamShades
Wedded bliss.
Winston Churchill is elected as Prime Minister
King George VI undergoes a lung operation.
A tearful King George VI during Christmas at Sandringham. Yes, I was crying tons on this scene.
King George, knowing that his days are numbered invites Elizabeth to spend time with her and asked her to represent him on a tour to South Africa.

This scene here made such as an impact for me. Philip always seems to be whining and complaining to Elizabeth about how he misses his career in the Navy and we barely hear the King making a comment about it. But here he just goes straight to the point with Philip and tells him that all the titles given to him are not his job. She, Elizabeth, is the job and "doing this for her, doing this for me", is the greatest act of patriotism.

 Amen to that.


She is the job.
I cried so much during the first episode, you'd think I was related to the Windsors. And King George hasn't even died yet! I can only imagine how I'll be on the next episodes.

 XO,

 Carissa
written by at No comments:
Categories: , , , , ,
Gossip Girl last aired like four years ago (2012) but I still adore (and miss) the pair of Leighton Meester and Blake Lively who played the now iconic roles of Blair Waldorf and Serena Van Der Woodsen. In truth, I was only able to watch in full up to the the fourth season, and some episodes of the 5th, but hey, am still a big fan here. I still can't get over about how stylish and lovely they looked, and as I write this, I'm watching the sixth season. Yey! It's been a long time coming.


So while I'm at it, I just sort of looked back at some if their photos from Gossip Girl. How time flies; both Blake and Leighton are now moms just like me. ;)
S and B, ready to do the divide and conquer strategy. Image from styl.sh
There, there. You can't really blame girls the world over who wanted to cop their looks and style. I never really went beyond the bed hair and the headband when copying their styles but these two are my girl crushes a lot of times I want to be beautiful and feel beautiful just like them. Ha ha. Achieve ba? I'll try. These are some of the products I tried for beauty ala B and S.

***
Beachborn Sea Salt Spray
Price: Php 199.00
Where I Got It: BeautyMNL

How to achieve the beach waves?
The name Serena is synonymous to slept-in hair. Wanting to cop those manes? I've been there. That's why I was really thrilled when I came across this product on BeautyMNL. It's really easy to use; you just spray, scrunch, air dry, and voila! Beach waves! I have observed though that it doesn't hold the waves that long and after a while, hair starts to feel sticky and weighed down. I've also had issues about the sprayer and I had to transfer it to a different spritzer so that I can continue using it. Then a few months later, when I tried to sniff the product if it was still okay, instead of the sea-salty smell it used to have, it just smelled sickly sweet that borders on being stale. Too bad. :(
Love Levels: 💓💓💓🖤🖤


Vaseline Lip Therapy
Price: Php 88.00
Where I Got It: BeautyMNL

Here are the details and the ingredients list.
Blair's doll-like lips make her look a cherub even when she is the Queen of Schemes. And wouldn't you agree that no matter how lovely the color of your lipstick is or how expensive it is, if your lips are chapped, it won't look flattering on you. That's  why I always make sure that my lips are smooth. When I saw this one on BeautyMNL I got really curious about it. It's less than a hundred pesos so I decided to buy it. It really helps in healing chapped lips. It goes smoothly and doesn't feel heavy or thick. I have one problem about it tho: it smells like petroleum and I'm really bothered.
Love Levels: 💓💓💓💓🖤

Y.E.T Police Mask (Oil Control)
Price: Php 24.00
Where I Got It: ph.althea.kr

Congratulations if you can read hangul. If not, at least the ingredients list is in English.
My girls S and B love shiny things but I'm sure they won't like it if the shine's on their faces. That's why I always try to find ways to control my own oil field. 
This mask sheet came with the Althea haul that I had last November 2016. I love the tangy smell of the essence and it really enlivens the senses. This mask sheet stings the skin a bit tho. My husband said the same thing when he perused one sheet. There's a noticeable softness of the skin after using it but I can't really say that it controls oil because I still had the same troubles after using it.
Love Levels: 💓💓💓🖤🖤

Human Nature 100% Natural Night Moisturizer
Price: Php 175.00
Where I Got It: www.humanheartnature.com

Both S and B have glowing skin. Lucky them since they have all the money in the world to keep them looking lovely. One thing I've learned about skin care over the years is the magical word called consistency. Maybe your routine is the simple cleanse-tone-moisturize or the 12 Step Korean Beauty Regimen, it always calls for consistency to make something work. Yes, that includes moisturizing at night. 

 The Human Nature 100% Natural Night Moisturizer would have to be one of my most favorite night moisturizers. It might be a bit thick or heavy for some people's taste but for me, I just love slathering it on my face at night. And since it doesn't contain harmful or chemical based stuff, I just put more more more. I don't know if which of the ingredients does it but this moisturizer just calms my skin down. For example, if there's an impending zit, on the next day it will have healed a bit. Does that make any sense? Well I've experienced it many times with this moisturizer. Aside from that, I always wake up with glowing and non-greasy skin when I wake up. That's why, the Love Levels for this one is just 💓💓💓💓💓.
***
I'll just leave it here.
I cried buckets while watching the final episodes.

XO,
Carissa
written by at No comments:
Categories: , , , , , , , , , ,
I'll start off by saying that I cried like 90 percent of the time while watching the first episode of The White Princess. I am a hardcore Yorkist and my heart was totes broken at the end of The White Queen. I'm also aware of what's in store for me on this series, so it's basically pointless to wish for a happy ending. However, watching period dramas brings me so much joy, so sad endings be damned, I will have my fill of palaces, crowns and lovely gowns.

The White Princess Episode 1: In Bed With The Enemy
The White Princess started out with a familiar musical scoring that I half-expected King Edward IV and his Queen Elizabeth to pop out after the intro. The opening credit was high on symbolism. All the white things symbolic of the House of York were turning into the red of the House of Lancaster. In the end a Tudor rose is formed: a combination of the Lancastrian red rose petals with white Yorkist petals at the center.

The Tudor Rose: Lancastrian red, with a white Yorkist heart.
With this first episode, I tried to pick up where I left off with The White Queen. After all, that one was like three or 4 years ago. To review: King Edward IV dies, there's a power struggle within the Plantagenets (House of York), Edward's younger brother Richard declares himself king and disinherits Edward's children, the princes in the tower are nowhere to be found, and finally, Henry Tudor beats Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth.

That's where the tears start to spill. It's so hard when you're on the looser's side. Ha ha.

I love the fierceness and vulnerability of Jodie Comer as Elizabeth of York. She is exactly how I'd imagine Edward IV's and Elizabeth Woodville's daughter would be. 

This is also the time to get acquainted with the other characters.
That hair....gold and bronze at the same time, in the words of Margaret Beaufort.
Rebecca Ferguson had a great portrayal of Elizabeth Woodville in The White Queen Series and I wish she'd come back for this new one. However, that would mean that she will have to be aged a bit so I understand the reason why production picked a different actress. What do I say? I love her regal bearing. 

We've also been given a glimpse of the young Prince Richard, Earl of Shrewsburry, one half of the Princes in the Tower, and we're given the idea that he survived, but we're not really sure if he escaped to Tournai as instructed by his mother. That's one more thing to look forward to in the coming episodes.

Richard, Earl of Shrewsburry lives!
I was pleased to see a familiar face in this series. Caroline Goodall who played Cecily, Duchess of York came back and she is still as feisty as ever. It's no secret that she and Elizabeth Woodville have always been at odds but given their current bad situation, they are still rallying behind the House of York, albeit some of them are doing it in secret. However, Duchess Cecily was quiet upfront in saying that she does not accept Henry Tudor as king. She was also quick to remind everyone that Henry is but a descendant of servants.



This has to be one of my most favorite scenes in the first episode. Duchess Cecily stands up to Jasper Tudor and refuses to bow down to the new king.


Here's Margaret and Edward Plantagenet, niece and nephew to King Edward IV and King Richard III, now stripped of their inheritance.


I didn't know Princess Cecily of York could be so vitriolic. :)

"...And burn the snow from falling. I will have nothing white in England."
-Henry Tudor

King Henry VII
My Lady The King's Mother, Margaret Beaufort. That title is a mouthful, btw.
I'm not really a big fan of these two . Sorry, I have my biases. ;)

This one here is the rape scene. I was anxious about how it would play out in TV comparison to the one in the book. I think it was played well. It didn't end up being a rape scene. *sniggers*


It's also good to see that The White Queen herself, Elizabeth Woodville is still dabbling with magic, something that we did not hear of in the book version of The White Princess. Here she secures a strand of Lady Margaret's hair and casts a spell to "get into her head" and made her have nightmares about the princes in the tower.


Overall, I really enjoyed the first episode. My room basically ended up washed in tears. Princess Elizabeth of York as portrayed in the book version of The White Princess is a fierce protagonist and I'm glad that  Jodie Comer has done a fantastic job in bringing her to life.

Princess Elizabeth of York, before her wedding to Henry Tudor.
Looking forward to the next episodes.

XO,

Carissa
PS. All images were screencapped by me. Credits to STARZ
Absolutely no copyright infringement intended.
I'm just fangirling. :)
written by at No comments:
Categories: , , , ,