Careline x SpongeBob

           Last month, I found out that Careline collaborated with Spongebob and they came up with Spongebob make-up collection. Who doesn't love this square thing with googly eyes and lives in a pineapple house located at the Bikini bottom. I am already an adult but I still love to watch the show. Spongebob runs on Netflix today. When I saw that they have a pr kit of their product which is the liquid blush, I told myself that I will buy my own soon! I admit that the pr kit is quite expensive. So I waited for their sale. Finally, I have it! 

The Careline x Spongebob pr kit comes in a really nice box that has Spongebob's image and of course it is yellow. The collections comes with 4 blushes, a highlighter and a contour. Each items is packaged beautifully. The regular price of the kit is 2,549 Philippine Pesos. Currently it is on sale on Shopee and Lazada. Careline is under the Ever Bilena family. 

I love the packaging! The blush, highlighter and contour has a character image on the packaging box. Spongebob's shade is called Girly girl, Patrick's is Pink Patricia, Gary's shade is called Shell Pink and Mr. Crab's shade is called Red Ahoy. The contour box has a character of Sandy and for the highlighter, Pearl it is! The blushes are very pigmented, as they say a little goes a long way.These products are also infused with Vitamin E which we all know is an antioxidant and also Hyaluronic acid which reduces wrinkles and lines. Hyaluronic acid also helps wound to heal faster and reduces scarring. Not only you get to enhance your beauty with these products but you also benefit from the added skincare ingredients. You're hitting two birds with one stone!

From all the reviews that I have seen online, everyone really loves this collection. Aside from the products that I mentioned, they also have Spongebob blush, eyeliner, eyeshadow, and eyebrow soap and setting spray.  If you are a fan of Spongebob you got to have this collection! Buy, try and unlock your imagination! 

Ever Bilena and Ever Bilena's Serum Tinted Lip Balm

           I admit it, when it comes to Philippine brand cosmetics there are a few names that I trust. I am familiar with Ever Bilena brand because it has been a household name in the 80's and during that time I think it is the only local make-up that exists. I am also familiar with Avon cosmetics which is also popular but this is not a Filipino brand. I admit that whenever I hear the brand Ever Bilena before I am not that enthusiastic since it is locally made. We are more impressed by foreign cosmetics and we tend to look down on local made ones. But nowadays local cosmetics is close and at par with foreign brands. The brand name according to "Filipinknow", "bile" the Chinese term for beautiful and "na", the world for lady. so Ever Bilena means, ever beautiful lady.

Ever Bilena was founded by Mr. Dioceldo Sy. Watching his interview on Chinoy tv made me admire the man more. He is dubbed as the "father of Philippine make-up". His grandfather started selling pomade during the Japanese occupation. Anyway, fast-forward to now, Ever Bilena has 1,203 retails stores nationwide. We have a stigma on local make-up brand that maybe it is of poor quality. But here I am, I have tested and used local brand cosmetics and I can say some of them are good! 

Ever Bilena has also a few sister brands (ranging from cosmetics, detergents, cosmetics and skin-care) namely Ara Colours, Blackwater, Blustar, Careline, Ever Organics, Hello Glow, Hyaloo and Spotlight. 

This time I have tried Ever Bilena's Serum Tinted Lip Balm with EXO's Chanyeol as their ambassador. Personally, this is the first ever tintep lip balm. I bought two out of their 4 shades. I chose Naked which is more natural looking for everyday wear and Toast of New York, a little darker shade that Naked. I like this shade out of the two. I have also tried other cosmetic products from their sister brands like Careline and Spotlight. I love their Eyeliner Duo Stamp from Careline and Spotlight Marble Blush in Premiere Shade. 

If you have not tried any of their make-up, I say you should! They produce good and affordable cosmetics without hurting your pockets. Give it a try and you won't be disappointed! 

The Blooms at RUYI Pavilion

         I have seen a lot of Chinese dramas lately most I didn't finish, just halfway through. Most of the time the reason why I did not finish the drama its because I got tired of the story or the story is dragging and its not exciting anymore.

This time I tried watching a series starring Ju Jingyi. I heard she's a popular singer from a Chinese idol group called SNH48. She has a lot of dramas available in iQIYI (Chinese series and movies platform plus other Asian series is available here. But I subscribed mainly because of the Chinese series.) 

This drama has 40 episodes in total with 3 bonus scenes. This story is about Fu Rong the second daughter of the Fu family, unexpectedly she becomes clairvoyant after a serious illness. She predicts she will marry Prince Su but that she will also suffer a tragic fate. There is also a great lesson to learn in this series about married life, family, ambition and morals.

The story is okay. The actors and actress are all good looking. Beautiful scenes. The supporting cast and their story is good. I will not elaborate more on this. I will not spoil the story or spill the story here. The next series that I am currently watching has a similar story to this one but this the lead female shows her ability to predict or foretell the future through her dreams and her special ability is already shown at the beginning of the story.

Judydoll 橘朵 Cosmetics

                     In one of my favorite Chinese drama, "Destined", the female lead character is a successful businesswoman. She has her own store of make-up. Particularly Chinese blush-on. Another way they call it is  rouge. According to an article that I read online, rouge was used as early as the Shang dynasty. So now here I am sharing with you my experience in using Chinese brand cosmetics. Honestly, Chinese make-up is not as popular as the Western brand, Japanese or Korean cosmetics. Right now Korean cosmetics is very popular in the Philippine market.

Judydoll 橘朵  or juduo in mandarin, it means orange blossom. Like its name Judydoll make-up is really pretty to look at, has a nice range of shade and color. I bought their concealer. I chose the one meant for people whose eyes are like the panda's eyes. It means that their under eye circle is the worst. I also bought their moisturizing lip jelly frost. I also have their oil controlling cushion and lastly their all in one color palette. Today I wore the eyeshadow and I lined my eyes. I like the texture of the make-up, its not chalky. I also like the shade. This cosmetic brand is also popular in Douyin social medi flatform. You can order online in Lazada just look for judydoll .

My New Chinese Hanfu

     I bought my first Hanfu in the year 2017. Since, my favorite color at that time was blue. The Hanfu color that I chose has a shade of blue, blue and gray color to be exact. Plus my size at that time was small only. Now eversince I gave birth my clothes are now in the large to xl sizes. My first hanfu was very expensive it costs around $26.66 now.

I am partial to the color pink now, light pink to be exact because I like cherry blossoms. I am reminded of the cherry blossoms so most of my things now like office bag and things are all pink cherry blossoms themed.

I chose the color yellow for my Hanfu so that it can match my Facebook cover photo which is about the Chinese Drama entitled "Destined," the female lead wears a yellow hanfu. This time the hanfu is not that expensive. It costs around $8.88. You can see me wearing the hanfu that I mentioned. There are different types of hanfu from each 

I am not sure if my hanfu is from Han or Northern dynasty style. You can see the hanfu on the left has a blouse and skirt pair with sash/belt, while the yellow hanfu is more elaborate. It has an inner clothing it and it comes with a separate blouse. I also wore Hanfu shoes for this attire. I have included the chart here for Hanfu guide. I like the fairy-cut style hanfu best. Chinese culture is truly classic and beautiful. Support the Hanfu movement! 

Destined: One of my Favorite Chinese Drama

      Finally! I finished this drama from IQiyi. I thought that I was never going to finish this drama for this is 40 episodes long. That is my only dislike when it comes to Chinese dramas (Cdrama), usually they are very long.  When I saw the trailer of this drama I thought that it is just a funny and feel-good series. I was wrong! It is a little bit of everything. There is also drama and heart wrenching scenes.

This drama is about Liu Yu Ru, she is not from a perfect family. Her father married another woman and that stepmom of her is not an angel. She has stepsisters too. Anyway, Gu Jiu Si, the lead actor is very good for his role. I read that he and the lead actress in real life are a couple. Together they will over all the trials and hardships in their life. 

This drama contains a lesson. That life is really hard and it can change us and make us a bitter, full of hatred person. I also like how this drama gives importance to relationships. Remember, no man is an island. Also, we learn that as a couple, we should help each other and be each other's strength. A woman should also be wise in handling the affairs of the house. A husband should be able to protect his wife and also his family. This drama was beautifully made. No wonder this has been in the no.1 list of Chinese drama to watch in IQiyi. If you have not seen this drama, I definitely recommend it.

Chinese Shoes

   你好！ Hello dear readers! I am back again. Still busy juggling life work and family matters. I am in my early 40's now, looking back I never forget my first love which is my interest and love for the Chinese culture. 

For today, I am going to share with you my Chinese shoes. I usually buy my Chinese shoes online. Usually they cost $10 up. I am just using dollars as an example for readers abroad to understand me with regard to the price of these shoes. 

These shoes are partly made of cloth, and somewhat wood in the inner part. You can see from the photo, they are like wooden mat. The soles are made of rubber. Before they are just made of many thick cloth pieced together. You can see this on the video of popular vlogger Li Ziqi 李子柒. As you can see from the photo I have four pairs of shoes. There are two style, one with a strap and without. They are like flats. It is very comfortable to wear. I usually wear mine in the office or whenever I go out, like going to the mall. These embroidered shoes are called "xiuhua", meaning embroidered shoes. You can choose from a variety of designs, from flowers to crane. I also have Hanfu shoes. I especially bought this to go with my Hanfu clothes. I like the Hanfu shoes, they are called "gong xie". Usually they have an exaggerated upturned toe , it is used to hold up the hem so the hem of the Hanfu would not get in the way. There many kinds of Chinese shoes. In the Manchu era they have this heel platform shoe. In the olden days shoes were made of straw. If you are interested in buying Chinese shoes you can order them from Taobao in Lazada. Happy walking! 

More About Latest Chinese Series That I Like

These past few days I have been busy watching another Chinese drama starring Zhao Lu Si. I first came to know her in the drama, “I Hear You.” I really liked that drama and I want to try another series, so I decided to watch it. Before that I have tried watching a few Chinese series which I did not finish. I am a subscriber of iQIYI one of the popular Chinese online video platform. Through iQIYI, I am updated with the latest and trending Chinese dramas. I usually watch Cdramas from this online . I am proud to say that from start until the end I have finished watching this drama. Watching Wuxia Romance Fantasy Chinese series is really enjoyable. The scenery and the costumes are all beautiful. That is why I am an admirer of Hanfu clothes.

I have seen Mr. Bad Guy, starring Shen Yue, the lead before of the Cdrama, “A Love So Beautiful”. This is a fun drama to watch since it’s a modern fantasy about a person who loves to write and the character in her novel comes to life. I just got impatient watching this that I fast forwarded it. But don’t imitate me because this drama is a good watch. I remember another series entitled, “Cute Bad Guy’, who has a similar plot. This time the female lead is cartoonist and her character an ultimate villain came to life. I still have not finished that drama.

Next, that I have seen is the “Song of the Moon” Cdrama, another wuxia, drama and fantasy genre. Beautiful and handsome female and male lead, starring Vin Zhang and Xu Lu. This is about reincarnation, about the God of sun and the God of moon. I also got impatient and fast-forwarded this series. One of the Chinese actresses that I admire is Bai Lu. Her beauty is similar to another Chinese actress Cecilia Liu (Liu Shi Shi) whose drama I have enjoyed watching before. Her leading man in this drama is Leo Lu. If you like their tandem they have another contemporary series, “Love Is Sweet”.

‘Till the End of the Moon is another good drama. This one is a long drama too! 40 episodes. Also, the impatient me, fast-forwarded this series again. All of the ending is satisfying, in my opinion. I have missed watching Chinese dramas and by watching all of these dramas. It felt like home.

White Rabbit Candy

           After a long time, I'm back again! There was a lot of going-ons in my life. Got married in 2020 and then the next year I got pregnant and gave birth. It is just now that I am slowly getting back on track. Last week I bought White Rabbit candy online. This is not the local White Rabbit candy by Candyman which is a hard candy and toffee flavored. The candy that I'm referring to is the milky chewy candy that has an edible wrapper because its made from rice paper. Sadly, the candy was banned in 2007 due to formalin allegations and melamine scare and it has been a long time since I last tasted it. 

Now, its already available online and I was able to buy and taste it again. It is the same milky and chewy candy and I just love its edible wrapper! The White Rabbit candy pack has an expiration date printed on its back. It is manufactured by Shanghai Guan Sheng Yuan Food, Ltd. Today, White Rabbit is still remember by most Asian kids and we feel nostalgic again. Here in the Philippines there was even an ice-cream creation of White Rabbit in honor of the popular childhood candy that we all grew up eating. 

I also saw a memento of White Rabbit online. I bought a White Rabbit Pillow online and it is really nice! It is a must-have for White Rabbit fans all over the globe. Don't have any idea of what I'm talking about? Then better try and buy White Rabbit candy!;