My HOMEMADE PIZZA Recipe

Hi everyone! How's your day going so far? Mine's a bit exhausting *sigh! I woke up at 6 am to prepare and head out for my NBI clearance application, actually just to update my address. I arrived there at 7 am, as expected there was a very long line of applicants outside the mall (Robinson's) and after more than 30 minutes of waiting, it was announced that only 400 applicants will be entertained today and the rest can come back tomorrow. Geez! *roll eyes

When I got home, I just decided to make my homemade pizza!

Looks delicious? Absolutely! very easy to prepare, can be served for breakfast or during snack time!

Here are the ingredients: sliced bread, pepperoni (cooked), ham (cooked), pizza sauce, grated cheese and pineapple tidbits

Procedure:

1. Get a tray or a large plate and arrange the sliced bread
2. Start adding the pizza sauce on top of every slices
3. You can now top it with the rest of the ingredients according to your preference
4. Put it in the oven toaster for 2-3 minutes. 
5. When the cheese has melted, you're done!

Very easy to prepare, right? This is worth a try, I swear! *wink

PRODUCT REVIEW: Chap Ice Lip Balm

Hi everyone! How's your day going so far? Mine's a little bit crazy...By the way, today I'll be sharing with you my review about the best lip balm I've ever used!

Presenting ....

YES! The best lip balm ever! It's the Chap Ice Moisture Lip Balm which has SPF 15,  the only lip balm that truly moisturizes my dry lips! Just to let you know, having dry lips is a problem for me ever since! There was one time when my lips became so chapped and pale, looks like something you've seen on Walking Dead. LOL. Seriously, sometimes I even wake up, either my lower or upper lip has a crack at the center and quite swelling, really painful and so annoying. *sad face

I have tried other lip balms like Nivea Lip Care in Soft Rose and Maybelline Lip Smooth Color and Care. The lip balm from Nivea has a very thick texture and quite annoying on the lips, leaving you feeling sticky and umcomfortable. The other one from Maybelline was okay but it delivers more of its color properties, it'll give your lips a natural healthy color but I was not satisfied with the moisture its giving me.

So, last month  when I was checking something at Handyman, I've spotted this on the aisle near the cashier and it was on sale that time so, since I badly need a lip balm that will soothe my dry chapped lips, I grabbed one!

Yes, it was on sale like 20% off, as far as I can recall. I got two lip balms for Php50+ ($1) ! YAY! Quite a steal! *wink

Well, I bought this hoping that it can solve my problem with my lips. I was not familiar with the brand and haven't heard of this before but there's no harm in trying, right? :) Sorry for the not-so-clear picture above. Anyway, that's just the Drug Facts:

Active Ingredients                                                                               Purpose
    Octinoxate (7.5%), Oxybenzone (3.5%)                                        Sunscreen
    Petrolatum (40.7%)                                                                    Skin Protectant

Yes, it contains Petrolatum, other term for Petroleum Jelly which I've also tried but I just can't stand its very thick consistency on the lips. This lip balm is also colorless and odorless, very plain which I love! I read that there are fruity formulas too, depends on the availability though. You can check other products of OraLabs, the manufacturer, on http://www.oralabs.com

What I love:

• the product itself is truly amazing - very moisturizing but not so thick- I really love it! I apply this every night before going to bed and it just gives me great moisturized lips in the morning. I also apply this before putting on lipstick :)
• very affordable! two lip balms for Php50+ !
• SPF 15 : I'm not actually after the SPF of this lip balm but considering it has that level of SPF, it's actually a PLUS :)
• the size ,just like the other lip balms, makes it very handy, very easy to slide into pocket or pouch
• the packaging is okay, nothing really special- its not actually a big deal for me

What I hate:

      NONE!!!

Verdict: 

           Finally, my hunt for the best lip balm has come to an end. Since I got this lip balm, I have the peace of mind that I'll never have painful cracked lips, ever again! 

For all the ladies experiencing dry cracked lips, try this out and be amazed with the result!

My SPECIAL CARBONARA Recipe

Hi everyone! How's your morning? Me, I am quite inspired to cook for breakfast today! :)
And I will be sharing this to you, of course. *wink

Let's start with the ingredients for the version I created. And while preparing these, you can boil 3 liters of water for the pasta and follow the packaging instructions.

Ingredients (Sauce):

• McCormick Creamy Garlic Perfect Pasta Sauce Mix- follow the packaging instructions on how to prepare
• 1 big can of Alaska Evaporated Milk 
• Alaska Crema all purpose cream
• Kraft Singles (Cheddar) - 6 pcs
• 1 can of tuna- do not drain
• 250 grams of ground pork
• salt & pepper
• garlic & onion - minced
• 2 tbsp of cooking oil
• 1 cup of water

Note: The ingredients above will make enough for a kilo of pasta.

Let's move on to the procedure:

1. Heat a large pan with 2 tbsp of cooking oil
2. Put-in the ground pork, stir and cook until brown
3. Add the garlic and onion, saute for a minute
4. Put-in the tuna with oil, simmer for 2 minutes
5. Pour the McCormick Creamy Garlic mixture (sauce mix + evaporated milk + 1 cup of water)
6. Stir and simmer for 3 minutes
7. Put-in the cheese singles
8. Stir until the cheese has melted
9. Add salt and pepper according to your  personal taste preference
10. Put-in the Alaska Crema all purpose cream
11. Stir and simmer for 5 minutes
12. Place the sauce on top of the cooked noodles
13. Serve hot and enjoy!

Try this yourself coz you'll definitely love it! :)

Mini Haul

Hi everyone! How's your day so far? Hope you guys are all doing great! :)

I've been reading raves about the artist studio brushes so when I've got the chance to check them out last Friday at Landmark Trinoma, I was thrilled to test them out! True, there are a lot of super affordable makeup brushes at Landmark but I have to focus my attention to artist studio. *grin So, when I headed at their counter, I checked first the sample brushes and indeed, they were so soft and dense enough! 

I decided to purchased a big powder brush and a blending brush (both are synthetic) since I really need a replacement for my current ones coz they were natural so when I've washed them, ugh! the bristles became so scratchy and their shape became disgusting! By the way, the big powder brush costs Php139.75 and the blending brush costs Php59.75, quite a steal right?

The Artist Studio big powder brush (synthetic)

The Artist Studio blending brush (synthetic)

It's always overwhelming to visit Landmark, admit it... Or am I the only one? haha. There are tons of items to choose from and they are all affordable!!! So, I've got these stuff ...

I've got this powder container mainly to store my Ben Nye banana powder coz there's nothing we can do about the packaging *huge holes that dispenses a lot of product. This way, I can transfer some of the powder here so I can carry it with me whenever I go out plus it has a small puff making it so convenient to use! Great solution, right? By the way, this costs Php34.75!

And since I wanna try using false lashes myself, *this will be my third time using one, I purchased a pair! This costs Php39.75 and it comes with a glue already :) The other item, it's a false eyelashes applicator that I've got at Vente store for only Php20.00!!! Amazing, right? :)

Ellana Minerals: FREE SAMPLES

Hi everyone! Hope you are all doing great :)

Today, I'm gonna talk about the free samples that I got from Ellana Mineral Cosmetics. I just learned last week that they are giving away free samples for quite a long time now so I didn't hesitate to take advantage! :)

All you have to do is visit their website http://ellanaminerals.com then just click free samples on the menu bar and there, you will see their Free Sample request form! Just be notified that shipping fee is not included. Fair enough! :)

So, when I've sent the request form..I received an e-mail telling me that I will be receiving 2-perfect blend foundation, 1-concealer, 1-translucent finishing powder and 1-blush (1/4 tsp each in zip lock bags) that will best match my skin color/undertone. Courier fee within Metro Manila is Php50 and I can either settle the payment through  bank deposit or Gcash. So, I opted to send the payment through Gcash since that method is convenient for me then I e-mailed them  for payment verification purposes. And since according to them, order processing and delivery usually takes 3-4 days, I was not actually expecting that I'll be receiving the package 2 days after the payment. YAY!

I just received these last night. Hmm.. kinda wondering why are they not in zip lock bags as stated on the e-mail. Anyway, who am I to complain? Hey, I got these for free (I mean, shipping fee isn't), right? LOL

Here are the samples with the respective swatches. By the way, I have a medium skintone and warm undertone so, these are the shades they sent me (from left to right) : Caramel latte - foundation perfect blend, Espresso con Panna - finishing translucent powder, Lust- peach pink blush, Macchiato- foundation perfect blend, Smile- concealer

I don't know yet when am I going to test these out but honestly I'm just kinda bothered with the packaging, samples are placed in a paper envelope so some of the products are wasted when you try to open it. Aside from that, the packaging just makes them quite difficult to store properly! Honestly, "zip lock bags" as what they stated on the e-mail would be better.

Anyway, thank you Ellana Cosmetics for the samples :) Hope you guys would try these out as well! :)

Nachos with Cheese Sauce

Hi everyone! I will be sharing with you a very easy yet so yummy recipe of my nacho dip. Hope you'll like it! :)

Nachos used: Doritos Sweet Chili

Cheese Sauce Ingredients:

• 1 cup of cheddar cheese (you can grate it but I used kraft singles ,12 slices)
• 3 tbsp. cheese pimiento spread (I used Magnolia cheezee squeeze pimiento)
• 1 cup water
• 2 tbsp. of cream cheese (I used kraft cream cheese)
• salt and pepper 

Procedure:

1. Pour 1 cup of water in a medium-sized pan and bring it a boil.
2. Add 1 cup of cheese (grated or sliced)
3. Stir until the cheese is dissolved
4. Add 3 tbsp. of cheese pimiento spread
5. Stir
6. Add 2 tbsp. of cream cheese
7. Add salt and pepper to taste
8. Stir and serve! 

Voila! So easy to prepare, right? :)

Encounter with a SCAMMER

Hi everyone!

Remember yesterday I was thinking of upgrading my iPhone 4 to either iPad mini or Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0. In the contrary, I don't have enough budget right now so, I decided to dispose first my iPhone before taking the next step. To make the story short, I have posted an advertisement on www.sulit.com.ph last night. 

I woke up today and checked the ad and I've got a personal message. A girl named JULIE MIGAY, a non-member, left a message including her email address.  I am not new to online transactions like this so, It's in my nature to verify every detail first before jumping into conclusion. 

The message goes like this:"Sound Good,I want this send to my friend who is recently out from oversea. I will pay you $323 and extra $150 buck for shipping fee am so sure the Philipost EMS postmail won't charge more than that for local shipping so let me know if my offer sound okay with you?.Thanks " 

Quite confusing right? Too good to be true actually.

I replied using my yahoomail account since she's not member of www.sulit.com. I clarified where exactly "the friend" is right now, if he/she is having a vacation here in the Philippines. If yes, I advised Julie to send me the details of her friend like Name, Address and Contact number. I don't know but I have this instinct that THIS IS A SCAM. First, I checked if she's on Facebook and found out that she has an account but most of her friends (she has only 50 friends) or almost all are Filipino. Also, I googled her name and to my surprise, I've found the CONFIRMATION on my hunch. 

http://www.junkmail.co.za/blog/the-top-10-scam-types-in-south-africa/6897

Ha! this is the answer. Right in front of my eyes.

Julie replied immediately with the following information: 

"there is my friend address
Receiver Name: Adam Cole
Address:Petunia 329 Jorissen street
State: Pretoria
City:Sunnyside
Zip code:0002
Country: South Africa
Contact number:+27746742732

do get back to me with your paypal email address so that i can make the payment right now okay"

I can't help myself from replying to her (I can just ignore her actually), and guess what, I don't even have much control over my SARCASM either. 

"FANTASTIC Julie! I've seen your facebook account and it seems like you got a lot of Filipino friends! Hmmmm... and why do you want to send the package in SOUTH AFRICA? and WHAT'S ADAM COLE doing there?

I don't transact through PAYPAL Julie, I've LEARNED about A LOT OF SCAMS going on there. 

so, BEWARE!

PS I'm not an idiot like OTHERS okay?!"

*devil's laugh

Julie replied:

"HEY what do you mean look are you selling yes or no"

I decided not to reply anymore. Such a waste of time. 

Guys, please be cautious on your online transactions. :)