about Dior Forever Extreme Wear Flawless Makeup

I first heard about  Dior Forever when my friend and I checked out Dior's beauty counter at Rustan's Makati early this month. The lady in the counter told me it will not be available in the Philippines until October but that it will be worth the wait since it's supposed to be really good because it promises to last longer than other foundations thus there will be no need to retouch every time (which I hate!). I told her to text me when they come in.

Less than two weeks ago however, I was in Singapore. I went to Takishamaya's Beauty floor, set on trying Chanel's Pro Lumiere. I read a lot of good reviews about it. On my way to the Chanel counter, I passed by Dior's and saw that they already have the supposed to be really good Dior Forever. I asked their salesman for some makeup remover and made sure my face was clean then asked him to apply the Dior Forever on half my face. I told him I want to compare it with Chanel's Pro Lumiere which I would also ask the Chanel lady to apply on the other half of my face. He said okay but that I have to let their product settle first before deciding. He said that the product has advance technology which detects what your face needs, like if it detects your face is oily, it will absorb the oil, if it detects it is dry, it will moisturize it. Now, I don't know exactly if this is true but when the products were newly applied on my face, the half of my face where the Chanel (by the way, the saleslady insisted I try the Vita Lumiere instead since she said Pro Lumier is too heavy for me, so Vita Lumier was what I had on) was on looked better than the one with the Dior on. After a few minutes however, the Dior half started to look better. I did not buy any of them that day. I wore both for the duration of the day and at the end of the day, the Dior half still looked better. My aunt and sister thought so too. And so the next day, I bought Dior Forever. And I have loved it since. I barely do retouch now during the day and it doesn't look like I have make up on. Borrowing Maybelline's slogan, people will really just think "Maybe she's born with it." And also a big factor for me is that it has sun protection- SPF 25. I read somewhere that you can follow the best skincare regimen but without sun protection, everything else is futile. The sun is our worst enemy in wrinkling, aging, spots and probably most of our skin concerns. In my case, I need sun protection most especially, because my skin is very prone to pigmentation/discoloration. It is great too that it comes with a pump since I can really do away with the mess.

Here's my disclaimer however, Dior Forever provides very light coverage, which is probably why it looks natural. It will not work for skin that needs higher coverage, like those with acne. Also, I have been skincare products crazy lately and so I have a really well moisturized face nowadays. I say this because I heard that some people who tried Dior Forever complain about how it dries their skin or how it emphasizes the dry part.

Now for tips  (follow at your own risk) on buying foundation, I'm sure you've heard about trying it on your jawline and not on your hand. Another is place 3 strips of different shades (you think closest to your skin color) on your face, and your shade is the one that is closest to your skin color. When I buy though what I do is to first make sure that my face is clean (so ask the salesperson for make up remover to make sure that you'll have a clean face when you put on the product) and then I ask the sales person to apply the shade he/she thinks that matches my skintone on half my face (vertical-wise). Now if I see a difference in color (on both halves), then it is not the right shade for me. Foundation is not supposed to make you paler or tanner, you put it on just to even out your skin color (unless your acidic in which case, I heard you have to buy a shade lighter than your color). And also, no foundation will look good on an unmoisturized face, it will just sit on top of your face and not blend in at all with your skin so moisturize moisturize moisturize.

about my love for tea

I have always preferred tea over coffee. Maybe, because somehow I have this notion that it's healthier (zero calories!) and the fact that I am not really a fan of coffee. But my love for tea really just began late last year, the same time I fell in love with macarons (which I will blog next time). 

My friend and I were in Singapore and we passed by TWG. And who wouldn't be curious? Teas in big yellow canisters, macarons in different colors, tea pots and tea cups in the middle of ION mall. It's just so...  ENGLISH! And somehow there is something elegant and fancy about things that are ENGLISH! So my friend and I decided to take a break from our shopping and have our own little tea party in the middle of that mall.

There were just too many teas so we asked the English man behind the counter (where all the yellow canisters were) for recommendations. He asked us for our preference, whether we prefer flowery or citrusy or berries or black, etc. For each time he recommended something, he would get the yellow canister with that tea and he would ask us to smell it. I realized,  afterwards, that teas taste just like how they smell. 

That afternoon, my friend and I had scones and macarons together with our chosen teas, Creme Brulee and Grand Wedding. The whole experience was wonderful and... fancy! Somehow, TWG was able to transport us somewhere else (worry-free and where time is not a luxury, the secret garden the french know about which I will talk about in another blog) and made us forget that we are just really in a mall in Singapore. 

Anyway, I think I fell in love with Creme Brulee at first sniff. You just know that something that smells THAT good can only taste THAT good. And so up to this day, Creme Brulee remains to be my most favorite tea. Afterwards, we bought more teas to take home. We got more Creme Brulee and Grand Wedding and added Love Me Tea (no, it's not a love potion, to my dismay!) and 1837 Black Tea. They all taste great. 

Everytime I go to Singapore now, I go to TWG and buy my favorites and try new ones as well. 

Here are my favorites*:

1) Creme Brulee 

Welcome to the world of sweet French savoir-faire. TWG created this special green tea by blending subtle bouquets of red fruits and strawberries, evoking the taste of creme brulee. Absolute harmony.

2) 1837 Black

TWG's renowned signature tea, 1837 Black is a unique blend of black tea with notes of fruits and flowers from the Bermuda triangle which leaves a lingering aftertaste of ripe berries, anise and caramel. A timeless classic.

3) Silver Moon

A TWG blend of green teas is accented with a grand berry and vanilla bouquet, suave, with just a hint of spice. A tea for that special moment.

Here are the others* that I tried and like:

1) Grand Wedding

A festive TWG tea to celebrate life's momentous occasions, this black tea is blended with sunflowers and breathtaking exotic fruits.

2) Love Me

This engaging love potion of fine green tea is delicately enhanced by an armful of fragrant lime blossoms and verbena. A charming adventure of the senses.

3) Vanilla Bourbon

Red tea from South Africa richly blended with exquisite vanilla bean. Enveloping, this theine-free tea can be served warm or iced at any time of the day, and is perfect for children as well.

4) Creme Caramel

Delicate red tea from South Africa with a secret blend of sweet French spices. A dessert  in itself, this theine-free tea can be served warm or iced, at any time of the day.

I wish I can describe them to you in my own words but whenever I try to, I just come up with ''they smell SO good!"

Anyway, I know I have been talking about TWG excessively. First love I guess. But here are some other teas that are more readily available in the Philippines (I buy mine at Rustan's Supermarket and Santi's) and also taste good: 1) Twining's Blackcurrant Tea 2) Stash Peach Black Tea and 3) Yama Moto Yama's Jasmine Green Tea.

I hope next time I can blog about my own tea set (which I have yet to buy) and the tea parties I have yet to host. :) :) :)

* As described by TWG.
** 1st picture is from http://www.asiax.biz/gourmet/6735-1837/img/photo.jpg, last accessed 9/25/11. 2nd picture is my own.
*** More pictures will be added soon. Pictures of my last visit to TWG are still in my camera and are still to be transferred to my macbook.

about Tamar Cohen’s The Mistress’s Revenge

Worthwhile read but not a "can't-put-down" book.

This is the novel I just finished reading a few days ago. The book talks about obsession, deception, desire, and disturbing behaviors, but it was written with lots of humor making it a light read.

It’s about a mistress dumped by her married lover after 5 years of illicit and passionate affair. As part of her therapy, she was to journal her emotions and the book was supposed to be that journal.

Now her journal will make you laugh, creep you out, make you hate her, but in the end… she was just another woman who fell in love. And by the time you are almost through with the book, you will be 101% sure she is psycho, but… “after all, who doesn’t know an otherwise sane woman who has gone a little crazy when her heart was broken?”*

Anybody whose heart was broken before will for sure be able to relate to some if not most (but hopefully not all!) of the things the mistress went through. And whether you are somebody’s mistress or somebody’s wife, this book will for sure crack you up bitterly (you know like it's really funny but at the same, you find it so true even with you, that it's kinda sad too, well that way).

Here are some entries in the book:

““I’d leave Susan for you, you know? I never thought I’d ever say that. But I want you to be in no doubt about how strongly I feel about you. I’ve never felt like this before.”

Until that moment I hadn’t been completely sure of my own feelings, but of course I was done for then. Not by the declaration of love, you understand, but by being put above all the others, above your wife. What woman could resist that?”

“But your voice when you replied contained no trace of a smile.“I’m just warning you to stay out of my life, that’s all.” That’s all. Just stay out of your life. A few short months ago, I was your life. How does that happen then?”

“Please don’t be alarmed, but I went to look at your house last night. I know what you’re thinking, that it sounds like something a stalker would do, but I was just passing. No, honestly. I was in the area having a wander around Regent’s Park.”

“I met Liam yesterday! Isn’t that the most bizarre thing? Remember how you always said you’d love me to meet your son one day because you thought we’d get on so well? You were so, so right.”

“People move on. I accept that. But what if they’ve promised to love you forever? What if they’ve told you they’ll never leave you? What if they’ve lied and lied and lied again? Shouldn’t people be held to account for that?”

“I wanted to take a wire wool scouring pad to the rosy glow on Susan’s cheeks and rub and rub until it was gone.

Now don’t start getting all puffed up and protective. It was just a momentary impulse and of course I didn’t do any of those things. Instead, I sat, and smiled nicely, and once I swallowed down on the bile with a spoonful of crème brulee, I told her how delighted I was for her and what a romantic thing it was to do after twenty-six years of marriage. Which of course it is.”

“I thought I knew you, but I didn’t know you. I thought you wouldn’t hurt me, but you hurt me. None of us really knows the truth about each other. We’re all just fumbling about in the dark.”

“The more I thought about the phrase, the more impressed I was. I’ve got to hand it to you, Clive. That “I said nothing I didn’t mean. At the time.” is sheer genius. It gives you carte blanche to say exactly what you want, knowing that you can backtrack at any time in the future with your integrity intact. I really must remember it.

The problem is, of course, that other people might not quite get how it works. Other people might take you seriously. Other people might start to plan their lives around the things you’ve said. Other people might be left free-falling.

Did you think about that? Did you? Did you?”

*Tamar Cohen. The Mistress's Revenge (summary at the back of the book cover).