new hair – Eliza Victoria

weekend reviews

Movies, food, new hair. Boom.

Pacific Rim

Pacific Rim is this year’s movie event. And I love this film. Love love love it. This is a high-budget, special effects-laden action film in the vein of the beloved Japanese tokusatsu of my childhood (Ultraman, etc) with no unnecessary make-out scenes but with a female in the lead (would have wanted to see more females – anyway) fighting the bad guys instead of getting stuck in a meek, sappy role like Daimos‘s Erika, with no unnecessary make-out scenes (I need to mention this twice because this fact makes me so happy) and which puts emphasis on the female gaze for once!

Yes! Take all of my money!

Guillermo del Toro is great in character design (just see Pan’s Labyrinth and Hellboy: Rise of the Golden Army), so this film is bursting with detail at the seams. Look at this thing:

You can’t go wrong with Del Toro, y’all. The alien monsters, the robots, the massive scale. Ramin Djawadi (Game of Thrones) created the score and it is menacing and perfect. You can feel the bass notes in your chest. And the cast is first-rate: Idris Elba, Rinko Kikuchi, Charlie Day, that guy from Sons of Anarcy.

Bravo.

Further reading: A great analysis of Mako (Rinko Kikuchi’s character), ie why she’s not meek. Read only after you’ve seen the film, because spoilers.

Other movies seen recently: I saw Dead Ringers (1988) where Jeremy Irons plays twin gynecologists who are so close they share residence, patients, and women. Irons is so good in this film that I still can’t stop thinking about his performance.

I’ve heard about Hable con Ella/Talk to Her (2002) the year it won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. This film broke my heart. Only a story masterfully told can make you sympathize with a character who makes a questionable decision, and Hable con Ella is one of those stories.

We made some meatball spaghetti! This is based on an Ina Garten recipe.

It was delicious. We were surprised by how good it tasted.

Also, new hair! Permanent Blow-dry part deaux, and Hair Color, still at B&W Beauty Salon inside Kingswood Condominium in Makati. Drop by for a visit to know their rates. They have a rainy day promo right now. :)

This is the first time I had my hair colored, so I just chose the safest brown there is. But as several friends have said, subtle only works at the start; I will go crazy and choose the more risqué colors later, like platinum blonde, or cotton-candy pink. Or fluorescent orange.

Now reading: Claire Messud’s The Woman Upstairs, and loving it so far. Great cover.

And how are you?

new things

I received some pahabol Christmas gifts from Visprint last week. Surprised and touched. I love this notebook.

Ah, the apartment. It’s an endless work-in-progress. I should stay away from groceries. Got these cute laundry baskets from Rustan’s Shopwise.

The curtains are from his ma. It fit the earth-toned motif we accidentally got going on.

And new hair! Of course. My hair was so thick and heavy I decided to have most of them chopped off. Became a mascot for the salon’s Permanent Blowdry service. (“Look at her hair! Ang ganda di ba?”) It was entertaining and weird.

I gave J a link to some easy marinades, and he found one that made the chicken taste…expensive. Haha!

20130113_202526 — “Are you taking a photo?”

The recipe is here. Have fun!

Around midnight we had a McDonald’s craving, but the Globe signal was so bad in our place that the operator couldn’t hear our orders.

So, good job, Globe. You just saved our arteries.

PS Watch Archer! It’s been described as Arrested Development meets James Bond. Some familiar AD voices there. (And Jessica Walter voices a character that looks like Lucille Bluth – just look at the photo.) It’s irreverent, and hilarious as hell.

happiness in a box

Due to my impatience (and because I was going home that weekend), I decided to just order Human Nature products online instead of going to Shopwise Makati (which may not carry the big sizes anyway).

I ordered: Moisturizing Shampoo and Conditioner (Lush Vanilla), Wild Berry Lip Balm, and Rosy Cheeks Pressed Blush. Everything cost me around PhP 580, including taxes and shipping.

It arrived the next day, all bubble-wrapped inside a cute box.

I’ve used the hair care products and I am very impressed. I love the scent, and the products left my hair smooth and silky. Not to mention that these products are cheaper than the brands I usually buy and use. Definitely worth your money. I wished the blush came with a brush, though.

If you’re in the US, click here to shop.

In other non-hair-related news: I’m now reading Broken Harbour by Tana French. It’s really good. I wish I could just go home and read and read and read. I’ve also ordered Catherynne Valente’s The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making. Excited.

I vaguely remember saying that I won’t buy any more books, but the memory is faulty and the flesh is weak.

organic shampoo?

I was told by the stylist not to wash my hair for three days following treatment. I managed to stop myself from pouring water on my head for 48 hours. No more. I couldn’t take it. It’s disgusting.

But I did decide to try out gentler hair products. Found these at Healthy Options.

Healthy stuff make your wallets sick – these cost around PhP 150 per 62 ml. bottle, much much more expensive than the regular 200 ml. shampoos like Palmolive that cost less than PhP 100.

They smell good, though. And my hair’s still straight and manageable, so hooray, not a waste of 3K.

I’ll look for Human Nature products next time. Those are way cheaper. Any recos? :)

gpoy/new hair

Boom. Here’s my face, taken this morning before heading to work. I had Permanent Blow-dry (also known as Brazilian Blowout, or Keratin Treatment) done on my hair on Tuesday night in this little-known salon, B&W Beauty Salon, inside Kingswood Condominium in Makati. They currently have a 50-percent-off promo, so instead of a staggering 6000 pesos (my hair is long and thick; treatment for shorter hair is cheaper), I paid 3K or around 72 US dollars. Still staggering, but think of it as an investment. Permanent Blow-dry is not a straightening treatment, it just makes your hair more manageable. Recommended for frizzy or damaged hair and during humid months.

Hair still looks nice and shiny two days after the treatment, but I’m not sure if this will be the case after I give my head a proper wash on Saturday. We’ll see.

What have you done to your hair lately?

hair change!

First I was like

Then I was like

Then I (fell asleep, woke up, washed my hair, dried it using the electric fan) was like

Yay!

* * *

The details: I’ve had my hair straightened thrice before (2007, 2008 and 2009), which left my hair really really dry, and now I want to try something new. I’ve always longed for them big, sexy curls (not the teeny-tiny curls, which tend to be frizzy), since my hair’s naturally wavy and some days it’s just impossible to tame the waves.

Last week, after months of putting it off, I finally set an appointment with Tony and Jackey (SM North Edsa Annex branch, 441-1374), and sat down for a digital perm on Thursday. I think (LOL I wasn’t even sure, I just paid) I was given the L’Oreal treatment at a discounted price (they still have a promo), inclusive of haircut, hair treatment, and hair manicure. The entire process took three hours. My stylist’s name is Jackey (not the Jackey in Tony and Jackey, though, heh), and he cuts hair really well. No shampoo for two days, though he said I could wash my hair the next day (Friday), but only with conditioner. (I have an office mate who was told not to wash her hair for three days! I don’t know, maybe the rules depend on the stylist or something.)

He gave tips on the proper way to dry curls, but me? I just sit down in front of a fan and read a book. Haha! (I do apply hair polish though – I’m not that barbaric.)

Happy perming! :)

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this: