Welcome (Me) Back! Reasons + Giveaway

Well HELLOOOOO, DEARIIESSS! :)

Yes, I’m finally back after two years of inactivity! 

I feel heavily obligated to explain my absence, so here it is. It actually all boils down to life’s priorities.


We all know that this blog is a hobby, JUST a hobby... and quite an expensive one at that. As stated in one of my previous posts, I started work almost immediately after earning my CPA license. The work I am speaking of is not for the weak, it is not for the faint-hearted. It requires passion, hardwork, discipline, dedication, and most of all, COMMITMENT. My work was quite demanding that I lost time for other activities.

Being my first job, it was normal for me to give it my all, to feel the rush... after a while, it became tiring, it took all that I’ve got. Not that I’m complaining... but it really took all of my time. My spare time was reserved for rest, family and boyfriend, and sleep. I have never been so sleep-deprived in my entire life. It totally changed my body clock. I gained a lot of nasty habits, I ate my stress away (which never really went away, so the eating just went on and on). As a result, I gained a lot of excess weight. I became (and still am) obese. In two years, I have gained weight that would have been almost normal (but still unhealthy) if I gained it in five to seven years.

See how BIG I became in just two years? 

I decided I needed to quit my job. It still interests me... and I am very grateful for the experience, learning, and development I acquired during the most challenging two years of my life. However, I couldn’t change my lifestyle if I were to remain. I became scared of what might happen to my health, to me. I knew it was time to leave.

I am on self-prescribed one month rest and soon to start with my new job. I sincerely thank the HR department and future supervisor of my new company for giving me a month's notice even if I was already legally free from my previous work.

Whew! I didn’t intend this to be so long, but there is really quite a lot to say. As of date, I am still trying to fix my eating habits, my physical activities, and lifestyle. It will be a difficult road ahead, but I'm glad that I've got a strong support system behind me all the way. :)

As my way of saying thank you for staying with me and my blog despite the inactivity, I would like to announce a mini giveaway. I have posted pictures of the prizes on my instagram account, and if you are a follower, this would come as no surprise. :)

Please see prizes at stake and mechanics below:

Prizes are as follows:

1. The Color Workshop (TCW) “Christmas Colors”

Items came from different sets from TCW. I personally chose the colors that would give a Christmas feel, since Christmas is fast approaching. This includes: (1) a lipstick in a frosted light peach shade. Perfect for a nude lips look with just a bit of shimmer; and (2) eyeshadow ombre in green. This pot of eyeshadow is intended to be used in one look, one shade is in a teal shade (this season’s in color) and pine green.

2. The Color Institute “Basics”

Items came from different sets from The Color Institute. This package contains some of the basic colors of main products every beauty enthusiast must own. This includes: (1) fiery red nail polish; and (2) eye pencil/crayon in black.

3. Korean skincare samples

Items came from different Korean beauty hubs such as Tony Moly and Etude House. This includes samples of cleansing foam, shampoo, and moisturizer.

4. Washi Tapes

Items came from crafts stores. One big decorative washi tape and two small metallic ones.

Mechanics:

1. You must be a GFC follower. Join using the button on my sidebar. (required)

2. Follow me on twitter: @micimicx (+1 entry)

3. Follow me on instagram: @micimicx (+1 entry)

4. Tweet this: “Welcome back, @micimicx! Please join smizingmica’s welcome back giveaway by clicking on this link: http://smizingmica.blogspot.com/2014/10/welcome-me-back-reasons-giveaway.html #giveaway #smizingmica”

Don’t forget to mention me in your post for proper credits. You can do this once each day. (+2 entries)

5. Regram the photo below from my instagram account and add the caption: “Amazing prizes at stake! Join @micimicx ‘s welcome back giveaway. More on www.smizingmica.blogspot.com. #giveaway #smizingmica @friend1 @friend2 @friend3 @friend4 @friend5”

Tag 5 friends and don’t forget to mention me in your post for proper credits. You can do this once each day. (+3 entries)

6. Comment below your GFC name, twitter name, ig name, and tweet link. For repeat tweets, you may just comment again.

Easy peasy! :3 I might throw in something else if the number of participants exceed my expectations, so please spread the word! :)

This giveaway ends on November 30. Shipping will be shouldered by yours truly. The winner will be notified through email and should respond within a week of notification; otherwise, another winner will be selected. Open to Philippine residents only.

Much love and please stay tuned for more posts! Yay blogging! :)

Guess who's back? :)

Hellooooo Lovelieeessss!!! :D


It's been such a long time since my last post and I'm truly sorry for that. I needed to focus on my review, and guess what? All the hardwork paid off!!


Yes, my dearies, smizingmica is now a Certified Public Accountant! Yipee! :D


And for that, I hope you'd welcome me back with open arms? Hahaha.


So let's get down to business, shall we? ;)

Etude House: Happy Teatime Milk Tea Cleansing Cream

I bought this Happy Teatime Milk Tea Cleansing Cream a long time ago, together with its facial wash counterpart and other items in this haul. The review took so long because first, the dreaded review for board exam started; second, I was trying out other products as well to aid my, err, other concerns and third, I tried to observe how far this product would last.

If you have read my review on the Happy Teatime Milk TeaFacial Wash, or if you’re kind enough to stay tuned and read most of my posts, you’d know that I adore milk tea and that I’m quite drawn to products that smell like it.

And with that advisory, let us proceed.

Delight your Senses: Etude House Milk Talk Body Wash

Hi there lovelies! How have you been? I finally got the chance to sit down and update this blog! Oooooooh, how much I've missed this! Enough of the drama and let's get it on!

EH Milk Talk Body Wash is something that I've seen only recently. I'm not really into body wash, as I'm a soap-person (I like the squeaky clean feel ^_^), but when the friendly SA showed me this, I was intrigued! A friend was with me, (read about the haul post here) and she read online that a blogger was raving about this product as it smelled so good. I took a sniff and I felt so kilig. Hahaha! It smelled that yummy! There are several flavors but what really caught my nose (say what?! Haha) was strawberry and chocolate. I kept on sniffing both and just couldn't decide so... well... I got both. Sorry wallet!

I just kept on sniffing and sniffing both flavors! It smells so good, I want to drink it! The scent reminded me of ice cream and it was very hard to resist. Haha. 

Price: Php298.00 (around 6 USD)


Claims to: be a moisturizing body wash that supplies rich foam, texture, and fragrant scent for soft, cleansed skin.


I use this nightly when taking a shower before going to bed. Taking a shower couldn't be more fun! I squeeze a moderate amount on my loofah, and it's enough for my entire body. It smells so good, I don't want to rinse it off. However, the scent doesn't linger in the shower, nor on the skin. That's sort of a letdown for me.


Also, I wildly thought this could replace lotion, or at least minimize usage, as it's supposed to be moisturizing, but I thought wrong. Well, it isn't drying like soap, but it doesn't quite deliver as a moisturizing body wash. Maybe it's just me.


Will I repurchase? I don't think so. Very tempting, but I still go for soap. But a cologne that smells like this? That, I would buy again and again.


Have you tried this ladies? What do you think? Do share! :)

Surprise Etude House Haul PLUS Yves Rocher

Hi Ladies! How have you all been?


You may be wondering why this post is titled as such. Surprise because, well, I surprised myself. Hahaha.


A friend and I went straight to SM Southmall from Manila (it's friday --- we take a break from reviewing and go home South) because Tony Moly opened a branch there. We were so excited because, at last! Tony Moly within our reach. Sad to say, it is only a counter in the department store. Meaning, store sales (like the one currently ongoing) doesn't apply there and points can't be earned on the membership card. Boo! :(


So we went around, and landed in Etude House. I saw the strawberry curling thing, and boom. I needed a basket to lug around items. Ha ha ha. Also, I passed by Yves Rocher and got a face masque because it was on sale.


So here's what I got:

Yves Rocher Face Masque

Freebie! Not too happy with this though

I'm so excited to try out both bottles of body wash! They smell so divine! Yummy enough to eat. Rawr.


Hope you liked my haul! Reviews to be posted soon.
Any product here you've tried? Do share!


PS. I miss blogging. And reading your blogs too.

Is it too late to show...

...my New Year nails? Hahahaha!


I certainly hope not! Basically, this is also gonna be a brief review for Etude House Matte Nail Polish in two shades so maybe you could continue reading :P

Review: Etude House Greentea Nose Pack

As you may have noticed, I have reviewed a lot of nose packs. My blackheads are really crazy so I'm determined to lessen (if not eliminate) them. This baby was part of my mini haul.

Review: Etude House Bubble Hair Coloring in Sweet Orange +plus+ a brief history of whatshername

As I have said in my first ever blog post, I am a late bloomer. In all beauty-related aspects, I think, and this includes dyeing my hair.

I’ve wanted to dye my hair so bad, even way back, even during high school, but since my school didn’t allow it, I never dared to do so. (I did have it temporarily dyed reddish brown during Christmas break though – washed it after three days and the color vanished... didn’t expect it to be THAT temporary L)

Here’s how it looked (Luckily, I was able to save this picture)

Gahd, I look so slim here. But now...

When I reached college, the desire was still there but being more conscious and aware of what my hair was like (thick, frizzy, and difficult to maintain), I still didn’t pursue. And to add to that, I didn’t know what exact shade I wanted! I wanted a low maintenance and not-so-outrageous color, but different and noticeable too. (I’m so contradictory, I confuse myself sometimes) Of course, the color had to suit my skintone as well.

Come my 4^th year in college, (this was during summer and OJT days) my cousin dyed her hair Mahogany and it looked really good on her. I obsessed about it for around 2 weeks and decided to follow suit. So for almost a year (dyed my hair once every six months), this was my shade.

Since I started reading beauty blogs during the last quarter of the year, I’ve constantly landed on beautyblogs which featured Etude House’s Bubble Hair Color. I found it intriguing because it was a shampoo-type dye, which was a first for me. But since I was content with my shade, I shrugged off any inkling to try it out.

Come December, I noticed that my natural shade (darkEST brown) was showing already. Seems my hair regrowth is getting faster. That was the time when I’ve been frequenting EH stores, and before I knew it, I made up my mind to try the famous hair colorant.

The great debate happening all inside my mind was the shade – Wine Red or Sweet Orange? Lucky me, Wine Red was out of stock. And we all know what happened next. See related post here.

(WOW ANG HABA NA NG INTRO KO. The babbler in me has been unleashed yet again! Mwahahaha! --- and the brief history of whatshername has been told. ^_^)

Review: Etude House Pomegranate Facial Mask

I got this Pomegranate Facial Mask as a freebie when I last visited Etude House. Isn't it fab? See my post here. Merry Christmas to me! :D

Etude House Haul - plus something really cheap

Hello Lovelies! I know I’ve been MIA and I’m truly sorry for that. Everything’s just so hectic, I’m still trying to catch up. As of now, I have to step up my game in almost all subjects in my review. Since Christmas vacation started, I’ve only been able to read on one subject and solve about 20 problems. That’s so lame! Gaaaaaaaaa. Anyway, I won’t prolong the babbling and ranting.

I absolutely adore Etude House and their overly-pink store! Don’t get me wrong now... I am not a girly girl. I just love how a girl can get all princess-y and cute-sy just by entering the store. Plus, I’ve always been treated nicely by the SAs. Sometimes though, it gets a bit awkward when I don’t plan on buying anything and just want to look around. Teehee ^_^;

So this is what I got the last time I went there. (SM Southmall branch, btw)

11/11/11 Mini Haul

Hello Ladies!


This 11/11/11, I went out to see two friends whom I won't be seeing for a while because I will start my review for the CPA boards next week! (that's six months of isolation T_T). I bought a few stuff too from Watsons and Etude House. Hopefully, I get to review all of them before everything gets way too busy.

(the camera is still "sick", and i don't know what the problem is. Sorry for the crappy-er photos than usual)

The brand name is "Tea Tree", something new to me

A 5-brush set

iWhite Nose Pack

Etude House Volume Falsies

PureDerm Nose Pore Strips

I'm so excited to try out the falsies as this is my first time to do so. Stay tuned! :)


Have you tried out anything from this haul? How'd it go? :)


PS. I forgot to take an individual photo of the GreenTea Nose Pack from Etude house. ^_^

Review: Etude House Black Charcoal Chin Pack

In the market, I always see nose packs to remove blackhead and whiteheads on the nose. Why is it always for the nose? Probably because this is where those impurities are usually found. So when I saw this Black Charcoal Chin Pack in Etude House, I felt really glad as I started to have whiteheads all over my chin (which, by the way, suddenly appeared, I don’t know why T_T). I tossed it right away in my basket to try it out (part of my haul, view it here).

So cute~

Ready for some horrifying pictures? Read on (~'=_=)~

Review: Etude House Happy Teatime Cleansing Foam (Milk Tea)

A fan of Milk Tea? This is for you! Not a fan, but want to know a cleansing foam that leaves your face luxuriously moisturized? Still, this is for you! Read on to find out more.

  

Review: Etude House Blackhead Remover Dual Sheet

Koreans have superbly smooth, flawless and porcelain-white skin. It’s no wonder why Korean beauty stores are such a hit, and people flock to it.

Part of having smooth, flawless skin includes the non-existence of whiteheads and blackheads which are common problems of both male and female, old and young, rich and poor. It’s a good thing Etude House offers this product, Black Head Remover Dual Sheet, which is a two-stage blackhead removal and care system formulated with fruit and herbal extracts.

Surprisingly, a Major Haul.

Yes, dear readers, this is indeed another haul post. Keeping me inside the house just made me a shopping monster. I usually don't spend much and don't buy things at the same time but this.. this is something.


I won't disclose how much I spent, but I went way overboard my usual budget. I think the problem was that I didn't set a budget for this particular shopping spree. I just wanted to buy, buy, buy! (It also didn't help that I would console myself by saying that it would be okay because I can put it in my blog. I know... not a good thing!)


I promise this would be my last overbudget shopping spree. You guys are my witnesses! ^_^


Moving on... These are the items that I got:

Gaga over shopping!

(Picture-heavy post)