A No Poo Update for Early 2015

Well it’s been a while since my previous no poo post, well over a year now. It’s high time for me to catch this blog up.

When I started, my hair looked like this:

I was big on shampooing and conditioning everyday, deep conditioning every week. But my hair still felt dry, brittle. And I have to mention again about that weird scalp smell I would get even immediately after I stepped out of the shower. I started out with the baking soda and ACV combo I described in my previous posts, to wean myself off of shampoo and conditioner. But as of the middle last year, I noticed that baking soda started to wreak havoc on my hair now that I was getting used to all the natural oils my scalp was producing. I cut down my baking soda washes to about once a week, or just when I really felt my scalp needed a cleaning because I think I had hard water back home.

As 2015 started and I went back to the city with kinder water, I just decided to start washing with water every other day. I was finding baking soda and ACV use quite tedious. My scalp doesn’t smell weird anymore, so I’d have no problem not using any products.

Here is my hair now, taken about a couple of weeks before this posting:

I think I got it trimmed two times (hehe) since. I rarely get split ends, and I have noticed a huge difference with my hairfall on wash days or when I comb my hair.

I’m still having a hard time finding a good hairstylist who knows how to work with my hair though. Most just recommend me chemically straighten my hair to deal with it, but hell no. My hair is thicker and healthier than ever and I don’t want your hair straightening chemicals all over it.

Sunday Movies

Niko and I decided to stay in last Sunday as we had a backlog of movies we should have watched together when I was home for four months. So we set up the playlist, I picked the first half, he picked the other half, completely random dragging from the folder to VLC. It turned out to be a perfect rollercoaster of emotions. Let me run the movies down for you. I’ll try to avoid spoilers and be very vague about the actual movie but very clear about my feelings.

1. Big Hero 6 
   • It was a nice start. A solid origin story. Light and fun, thoroughly enjoyable. And I mean, Baymax was adorable.
2. Nightcrawler 
   
   • Holy shit. That nice, comfortable high from Big Hero 6 was immediately torn down by this movie. Lou Bloom is creepy as hell and the ending left me frustrated and wanting to punch a wall.
3. John Wick 
   • But never fear, John Wick is here! All that frustration from the last movie was quickly forgotten and replaced with a justice boner as soon as John Wick started slaying everyone who wronged him. Keanu Reeves still got it. I think this was our favorite out of all we watched.
4. How To Train Your Dragon 2
   • A nice break from all those serious movies. This was still action-packed and surprisingly hit me hard than I would expect in an animated movie.
5. Birdman 
   •  This was a little weird and left me confused and frustrated, to be honest. But that editing! Man, that was something new. Also, the score was a perfect lead-in to the next movie.
6. Whiplash 
   • For the most part, I didn’t know what they were talking about. This movie was tense and it fought off my sleepiness (it was getting late). Fletcher was a dick, Andrew was also kind of a dick, but neither of them are 100% dicks. It was a perfect end to our marathon session.

From Limbujan, General MacArthur.

Over the last couple of months, I got into working for ZOA Philippines. I won’t get into it now, that’s a whole ‘nother post in itself. Last Wednesday, my team went on a hike to Limbujan, General MacArthur for initial assessment. We were instructed that it was about an hour hike and that we would be crossing a small river (stream? creek?). Dressed in a thin, long-sleeved shirt and hiking sandals with a bottle of water in my bag, the team started on the trail. A few minutes in we were already crossing a body of water that came up to my knees. We spent nearly two hours climbing the muddy trail under the blazing sun and two quick rainshowers.

It was horrible. I am inexperienced in hiking or any type of long walks, this was my first, to be honest. It didn’t take much for me to start breathing heavily and be sweating bullets. A throbbing headache was starting by the time we reached Limbujan.

But let’s not dwell on that.

That’s San Isidro, General MacArthur

That view is crazy.

Here’s the view on the right, my phone has no landscaping ability my apologies.

I got a weird tan line on my legs because of the pants I was wearing, but everything was well worth it.

I’m thankful that we had very thoughtful fatherly-type men with us who assisted the city folk on how to hike. Like giving me that stick to help me walk. I won’t lie, I felt like I was on a journey helping a hobbit get a ring to someplace. My body was practically useless the next day, but I had a great time.

Remember Sunday: A Movie Review

 

A lonely waitress meets a handsome, quirky jewelry store clerk who had a brain aneurysm and thus has short-term memory loss.

Starring Zachary Levi (Chuck, Thor: The Dark World, Tangled) and Alexis Bledel (Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, Gilmore Girls), I got into this movie while browsing through Zachary Levi’s filmography and I was in the mood for a romantic movie.

Possible spoilers ahead.

CELETEQUE DermoScience™ Sun Care Matte Moisturizer Review

From the Celeteque DermoScience website:

CELETEQUE DermoScience™ Sun Care Matte Moisturizer has SPF30 UVA/UVB Sunscreensthat provide double sunscreen protection against UVA/UVB rays as it hydrates the skin. It has an oil-free and smooth finish.

I have about three more of these sunscreens I have to review. It’s quite hard to find something that doesn’t break me out or turn my face into a shiny greaseball 30 minutes after application. Also especially hard because most sunscreens available in Philippines drugstores have insanely low SPF ratings and just are not formulated for the face. I was psyched when I found this one because it promised to go on smooth and matte and I need that because my face produces too much oil. It’s also broad spectrum! Sounded too good to be true, and for me, it was.

CELETEQUE DermoScience™ Sun Care Matte Moisturizer with SPF30 and Broad Spectrum UVA/UVB Protection

What I like about this product: Being a drugstore sunscreen, this was relatively affordable (PHP230.00 at Watson’s) for 50mL. It promises an SPF30 broad spectrum protection.

What I don’t like about this product: This sunscreen made me incredibly oily. It didn’t go on matte, it did go on smooth and silky, but after 30 minutes my face shone in all its glory. Might be because it doubles as a moisturizer as well as sunscreen. I also broke out more than usual during the period I used this, so that was not good. I eventually stopped using it and went back to my old staple sunscreen and used the remainder of this as body sunscreen.

Rating : 2/10 Really sad this didn’t work out for me. Still giving it a 2 for the price.

Crystal Point x Leather [Riviera Handmade]

 

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I’m a bad blogger, but hey! I came out with a new collection and this time it features crystals and leather.

I’m not really into crystal healing but crystals/minerals are pretty and they come in different colors. These are inspired by similar handmade jewelry sellers based in the US, mainly sacraluna on Instagram, she’s a great artist and her Instagram is where I learned these things exist and they make really beautiful jewelry pieces.

If you’re into them, check them out and consider purchasing some, yeah?

Riviera: Handmade Accessories [New Collection]

 

Riviera Handmade

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Hello everyone!

Yes this blog is still alive, and I am here to say that I have released a new collection for Riviera Handmade. Check us out on Instagram, too!

This collection, as you can tell, is inspired by various book and movie characters, as well as nautical themes. Everything is handmade, by me. 🙂

Riviera: Handmade Accessories

 

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Hello everyone!

I have recently discovered handmade jewelry making! And since I can’t wear a dozen of necklaces and bracelets at the same time, why not open an online business and make some money out of something I love doing? Eh? Eh? I am also thinking of blogging tutorials about the pieces I make so let me know if that’s something you’d all want to see.

Please check out Riviera: Handmade Accessories, an online shop of handmade necklaces and bracelets. We are on Instagram, too. All products are carefully handmade by me.

 

5 Humbling Lessons To Be Learned From The Frustrating, Exhausting Job Hunt

Nivea Essential Care Lip Balm Review

From the Nivea Philippines website:

Do you wish a long lasting care for every day?
NIVEA Lip Care innovative moisture store effect – highly effective formula based on skin’s own hydramine and grape seeds extracts long lastingly supports the natural moisturisation of the lips, leaving them soft and smooth.

HOW IT WORKS

• Provides long lasting and intensive care
• Effectively protects your lips from drying out in all weather

I have gone through many tubes of lip balm trying to prevent my lips from flaking off too much which happens quite a lot. I have tried Maybelline’s Baby Lips and Nivea’s Med Protection recently, and neither of the two worked well for me. My lips were always dry and flaky even if I piled on the stuff. Lipstick would crack almost immediately and it made me sad and annoyed.

Thankfully I have found this.

What I like about this product: This lip balm moisturizes lips like nobody’s business. It leaves them soft and smooth even after I have just applied this once! It’s a miracle, ladies and gentlemen. I like that it has no scent or flavor, because flavored/scented lip balms weird me out. It’s a good base for lipstick, applying it right after you get out of the shower or after you wash your face so it gets a little time to sit and lipstick glides on. I apply this heavily at night, so I wake up to nice smooth lips in the morning.

What I don’t like about this product: Nothing, really. I mean, lipstick does come on a little more sheer if you put it on top of this, so don’t do that if you’d like full color. But I don’t really go for full color because I don’t really go anywhere fancy and I just need a tint on most days so it’s fine for me.

EDIT: Now that I’m on my fourth day of using this though, I did notice that the stick does tend to be a little too soft when the weather gets a little warm, so you might want to watch out for that. Don’t twist it too far the tube or it might break and be a mess. It’s not a dealbreaker for me, I kinda like it to be honest that it’s a bit creamy, but other people might not want that in a lip balm so there it is.

Rating: 10/10 Would recommend. Best lip balm I have tried yet, cheap, and it works like a dream.