Month: February 2013

shiseido love + new online orders

I got these babies from my February BDJ box, and can I just say that they work?

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Here I am wearing the Shiseido Brightening Mask and trying very hard to smile.

Shiseido mask!

Loving my skin now.

I have a problem with dryness. My legs look horrible (I have a feeling I have atopic dermatitis, which I’m treating with generic hydrocortisone), and my lips need constant application of lip balm.

I ordered these from Multiply:

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The Vain Jane got me interested in Carmex (PhP 150), while Soap & Glory’s The Righteous Butter (PhP 450, but I got a 20 percent discount from the seller) was available in the same online store so I got it.

What it is:
An award-winning body moisturizing butter with softening shea butter and aloe vera.

What it does:
This body butter was formulated for very dry skin with a new dynamic moisture trap matrix to help hold hydration in longer. Its alluring scent of Soap & Glory’s signature Pink Fragrance combines fresh bergamot and mandarin, rose, jasmine, peach, strawberry, oakmoss, amber, woody notes and amber and warm vanilla notes on the bottom.

The scent perks me up! It is also lighter than The Body Shop’s body butter products, and heavier than Human Nature’s Mango Butter. I think this one’s right for me.

Hello all. Here is an early poem, not included in Apocalypses, but I hope is enough for your quiet Sunday evening:

“Storytellers“

I’m taking pre-orders till Feb 27. The chapbook will ship out either late March or early April. Though I may have the copies as early as March 1, I’ll still be waiting for a tiny gift, arriving mid-March or so, that will be included in the packages – I do hope it doesn’t get lost. (And my proof copy of the US version is taking forever to get here.)

Will email those who have already ordered (thank you!) nearer to the date of shipping with details about payment etc etc. Sorry for the wait!

That is all. Carry on.

‘apocalypses’: philippine edition cover reveal

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Apocalypses, poems, 2013. Cover art and design by Adam David.

Adam talks about the cover:

I’ve always loved Eliza’s poems, which I’ve always felt had menacing shadows flickering just past the filigree. Tried evoking that in the cover, but, you know, I’ve also been wanting to take photos of miniature furniture for quite some time now, so when Eliza eMailed me a brief with marching orders to do “a neutral place – a kitchen table, a living room, a train station – no people,” I more or less jumped at the opportunity.

If you have already ordered a copy, my deepest thanks. I will send you an email once the book is ready.

For those interested in having a copy, please contact me.

my bdj box: february

I first heard about the BDJ Box online from Carina. I resisted at first, but I thought: well, instead of buying cosmetics every now and then, why not pay a fixed amount and enjoy a surprise every month?

A BDJ Box surprise can either be a pro or a con. A box “contains 5-6 fantastic beauty products from premium brands handpicked for you!” You can subscribe for a month (PhP 480), three months (PhP 1400), six months, or an entire year. I subscribed for three months in January, but was not included in the January box list because they ran out.

Hence my first box is the “red hot” February box:

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I even got a freebie! With a handwritten note. Thank you!

Flip side.

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Unboxed!

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Inside are: Shiseido’s White Lucent Serum (5 ml sample; full size 30 ml, PhP 5650), Brightening Mask (1 sheet sample; six sheets, PhP 3200), WrinkleResist24 Night Emulsion (15 ml sample; 150 ml, PhP 2400), Balancing Softener (25 ml sample; 75 ml, PhP 3250), and Perfect Rouge Lipstick (a mini-lipstick sample haha; PhP 1250; I tried this and it looks pink on my lips); 15% discount vouchers for Shiseido Products, and a Nippon 5-minute Touch-Up Kit that is perfect for traveling.

Me with the lipstick on. (And some HHN blush.)

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Plus my free Celeteque cleansing oil (PhP 599, according to this; that’s worth more than the entire box haha).

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I stuck the stickers on the fridge door:

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I’ve tried all of the Shiseido products (save for the mask) and I am amazed by how quickly they softened my skin. I love touching my cheeks! Haha. It’s a great first box from BDJ. :) But I would love to get make-up next time.

Subscribe to get your own BDJ Box.

never let me go

Never Let Me GoNever Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Never Let Me Go opens with the narrator introducing herself (My name is Kathy H. and I am 31 years old), and who then talks, bewilderingly, about her job as a carer. She has been a carer for years, she says, and she is proud of her job, and she is proud the donors she cares for are calm. She then moves on to talk about a boarding school she attended when she was young. From the description of events you can tell that it is not an ordinary boarding school, and Kathy H. is only telling us a tiny sliver of the truth at a time, doling it out like candy. She doesn’t do this deliberately. She tells a story like a child. She sounds naive at times; she jumps from one topic to another before returning to the original discussion. She is matter-of-fact. She doesn’t wax poetic, even when what she is telling us is horrible. She doesn’t regard it as horror. She regards it as her life, and that’s that.

Ishiguro eases you into the big secret, leaving clues here and there, but I already knew it before reading the first line, (no) thanks to the film adaptation trailers and ads. Some critics, who didn’t know the true circumstances of Kathy H. before reading the book, read it as a horror novel. I read it as a very sad story. Here is a girl living this life, and she tells us about the time her friend threw a tantrum, about her cassette tape, about her friends’ petty rumors. You want to shake her and say Stop talking! None of it matters! But is that true?

View all my reviews

the haneke series: la pianiste (2001)

LaPianiste

Coming out of the haze and chill of Haneke’s “The Glaciation Trilogy“, his 2001 offering, La Pianiste (The Piano Teacher) feels like a walk in the park. Straightforward plot, strange but decipherable characters. Oh, I’m sure you’ve heard your share of stories of repressed individuals who turn out to have the most disgusting sexual fantasies. This is an intense character study of such an individual. Erika is a piano teacher who shares an apartment (and a bedroom) with her domineering mother, and one day meets a student who is attracted to her. Isabelle Huppert is amazing here. You wouldn’t want to cross her.

samples from sampleroom.ph

Want to receive beauty samples for free? All you need to do is sign up at the Sample Room.

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I don’t even remember how I ended up on their site. Maybe from trawling beauty blogs one morning? Anyway, I signed up at the Sample Room, and received 100 points. I then used the points to shop on their site. (Unfortunately right now the site is nearly empty of sample products – wait for them to restock.) I only paid 100 pesos for the delivery fee. You will earn more points by reviewing the products you receive. You may only get three sample products at a time.

I got Moringa-O2 Malunggay Herbal Moisturizing Lotion, Venus & Mars Mineral Eyeshadow in Halo, and Neolia Olive Shampoo and Conditioner. I still have 40 points left. Please restock Sample Room!

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Some short reviews:

Moringa-O2 Malunggay Herbal Moisturizing Lotion :I love natural products, and this is one that delivers. I used it on my hands and legs, and it instantly softened my skin – a plus in my air-conditioned workplace. (Dry skin has always been my problem.) The only drawback is the scent. It smells like an ointment. Hope they’d come up with fruity variants!

Venus & Mars Mineral Eyeshadow in Halo :This mineral eyeshadow has good pigmentation. Might be too shimmery for some people, but this will work for nighttime looks. The packaging, though, is a con – I’ve never been a fan of loose powders. This went everywhere when I screwed it open! It’s a waste of product. Pressed eyeshadow please?

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I’d buy this, but maybe in another shade. :)

Neolia Olive Shampoo and Conditioner – This has organic products, but is not SLS-free. Bummer. Smell is mild, which may attract men and women averse to strong scents, and the shampoo and conditioner combo leaves my hair smooth, but I won’t replace my own hair products just yet.