Review: Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Complete UV Moisture

For the most part of my summer, I have been focusing on skincare. I hardly use heavy make up these days (blame it on the weather). And since the moisturizer I am using ran out a couple of months ago, I decided to use a different one (despite the old being of good quality).

I got myself Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Complete UV Moisture after looking around at Watsons. There is no particular reason in buying this one. I just went to a brand that I know and looked for a moisturizer which they happen to have (two kinds). I bought the smaller one since it includes SPF (perfect for non-BB cream days).

Neutrogena Ultra Sheer complete UV moisture
SPF50+ Pa+++
30ml
Retails for PHP460.00 (around US$10.50) at Watson's

"Provides complete and long lasting protection against UVA/UVB rays and environmental aggressors. Stabilized with patented Heliopex that works like an invisible shield to give you superior protection from skin darkening and signs of premature aging. In a moisturizing formula that protects against dehydration, yet is oil-free and non-greasy. With Dry Touch Technology, it spreads on smoothly to a clean and non-shiny finish."

Midway through taking pictures, I noticed that some of my photos change colors when I did not change the settings. Really fail. Some came out looking bland when I used the daylight settings. See the pic above please. I did nothing really but it's probably the lighting that made this photo adjust. The only automatic setting I did for the camera was the ISO. I don't know if that's going to adjust if I change positions. Must learn more about the camera.

Another Made in Korea product

I really like the tube of this bottle. It's very accurate whenever you squeeze it. No farts like the BB cream pumps. Though sometimes I get to squeeze more than what I need because of how easy to use this tube is.

The cream is white in color and fades when applied.

LOVES
SPF50+ PA+++. Would protect you all throughout the day (at least 12 hours protection!)
Love the scent
Silky finish
Tube is very helpful. I love the packaging very much. The tube is easy to squeeze that I often tend to squeeze more than I need to. It's addicting and better than a pump kind.
Box includes all the info you need to know
Has an expiry date so you would know if the product is still good for use.

LOATHES
It's more of a sunscreen than a moisturizer. Leaves my skin dry come midday.
Sticky compared to other moisturizers
Kind of pricey

OVERALL RATING
It's a 3.5 out of 5 product! I like this product but it's not the type of moisturizer that I am looking for. This product might as well be a sunscreen. And that part I am disappointed since my face is getting dry when  it's midday and most of the time in the presence of an airconditioner. As a sunscreen though, I'd rate this one higher, say 4.5 because of it's super high sunscreen protection!

Mall Hopping at the north of Manila

It's rare that I go to the north of Manila. I am from the South (Paranaque) so whenever I hang out, obvious choices are Makati (Glorietta, Greenbelt) or Pasay (SM Mall of Asia). Sometimes it's Robinson's Place Ermita. But now that I am working, it's Bonifacio High Street or Market Market. Whenever I go to North, it's a special occasion. Like shopping the first Forever 21 in the Philippines.

My friend E (who I haven't contacted for days) invited me out last Saturday and visit St. Francis Square which she's been to but never actually shopped shop. And she's now driving so it's much easier for her to go places. Since I haven't been to the north much, I went along not really knowing what's in that mall (other than the fact that it looks to be much better than Greenhills).

Food trip

First mall was The Podium which I never get to set foot on until that Saturday. It's an upscale mall compared to it's neighbor malls and a few mallgoers compared to Powerplant in Rockwell (probably because no Zara?). We did not really explore this mall and only visited the Hello Kitty store in the third floor for my love of that character cat. Then we ate at Cafe Mediterranean and headed to St. Francis Square.

St. Francis Square is famous for selling fake DVDs but I heard that nowadays they don't sell those anymore. Other than that, this mall is a tiangge (flea market) kind of mall like Greenhills although this is not as popular.  I am not a person who enjoys this kind of shopping as revealed in my first time in Greenhills when I was around 11 years old. Until now though I had a hard time picking something I like from the hundreds of available clothes. It's hard for me to find what I like when everything is laid for you.

I did get to buy one thing that the seller said is from Bangkok (which means that she's the one who's selling it in St. Francis Square). She even told me that Toni Gonzaga was seen wearing that top though I am not a fan of hers. The reason I bought the shirt (final price at PHP450) was because it was the same thing I like at Zara. And the good thing is this one fit me perfectly because it's seems to only one size and an extra small size too! E was luckier since she was able to find three things that she liked and I know that she's been wanting to buy more.

Then finally at SM Megamall where all the people are. We went there to have our mani-pedi (cleaning only) because E wanted to have a grown up girl bonding time. Since a lot of people had the same idea as ours, we had to be listed first. So we headed over to buy E's must haves (Maybelline foundation at Watson's and her California Scents car freshener at Ace Hardware). And then we headed to Forever 21.

Bought two rings because I want to start wearing rings now. And I gave them to my twin sister so she can put it on her ring collection. Other than that, I stopped myself from buying anything at F21. And then we headed to have our nails cleaned (after 1 hour  of waiting).

It was already 8:00pm by that time but we still had a few things in our to do list. So next is trying Happy Lemon which is owned by Chris Tiu they say. Everyone's been raving about Happy Lemon and we finally got to find out why. More on that on my next post. And ate dinner at Orchard Road, though we were pretty stuffed in the middle of dinner.

And that is when we finally decided to go home. North trip adventures was really fun even if we only had it half day. Over the budget? Very, but every penny's worth it and much more. Hopefully next north trip includes, Greenhills + Eastwood. That's now really far from my place and haven't really been there much. I think the last time I went to Greenhills was when I was in third year high school. That's more than 5 years already!

Roland Garros: It's Grand Slam time again!

image from wikimedia

Tennis clay season is almost over but not until after Roland Garros (aka The French Open) which starts today. And I am really excited because it's the court that Rafael Nadal is king of. I hope that I'm not jinxing him by writing this post though. He recently won the Italian Open against Novak Djokovic so I am hoping his streak continues with this one.

image from Toy Trader

For the female side, it's gotta be Maria Sharapova because she's my fave athlete! She hasn't won any Grand Slams recently but she's getting there. And the French Open is the last one she needs to take the title of Career Gland Slam. She also won the Italian Open recently (against Li Na) so I'm hoping she makes it through this time. And regain her number 1 ranking .

Munchings: Korean flavors at Bulgogi Brothers

I have been doing a lot of after office stuff and doing a lot less of blogging for the past week. To compensate, I am going to spend Friday night here lazing here at home and blogging about one of my favorite restaurants.

May 19: Bulgogi Brothers

I treated my family to Bulgogi Brothers at Greenbelt 5 last Saturday (and documented it fairly well). My second time to try this Korean restaurant. The first time I went there was when one of my office teammates celebrated her birthday and she kept on telling how amazing the food was. True enough, it was delish! I definitely had to bring my family to this place.

It's tradition in our family to treat everyone when they are in their 6 months of their work (whether it's first job or fifth job). I am actually lagging since I am in my 8th month and it's only then I treated them. So I had to treat them well, thus Bulgogi Brothers.

Appetizers are free! These lettuce and veggies plate is unlimited.

Included in the appetizer free dish are some yummy slice of meat, Kimchi, some veggies in vinegar stuff,
sliced corn, quail eggs and sweet potato

Haemul Gungjung Mandu
"Fried dumpling with seafood (mussels, shrimp and squid) served with spicy sauce.
Best ordered with Maechousun"

Bulgogi Bibimbap
"A traditional Korean favorite. Great combination of bulgogi, various vegetables, and rice.
Nutritious and delicious. Best ordered with Chungha"

Bulgogi Bibimbap will be mixed by the server so for those who are not fond of rice mixed with viand better steer clear of this one.

Gwangyang Style Bulgogi
"Seasoned beef with sweet sauce.
Served with bean sprout, sesame leaf and green onions.
Best ordered with Baekseju"

My sister forgot to the take a picture of Unyang Style Bulgogi and that was the best dish (especially since it is a heart-shaped meat pre-cooked) which is part of the Bulgogi Brothers Special along with Gwangyang Style Bulgogi. I ordered the special twice not knowing it includes Gwangyang Style Bulgogi haha...

My sister signing up for MY The Bistro Group card

Upon billing out the server tried her best to convince us to avail The Bistro Group (name of the company that brought Bulgogi Brothers here) card. Our bill reached around PHP5,000 that time. And she said she can slash off one meal if we avail. Since we are foodies, my sister and my mom eventually gave in and made me get one hahaha. So our bill went down to PHP3,700 (giving the Bulgogi Bibimbap as a freebie).

Note that availing the card is priced at PHP1,500. It includes a list of discounts from their establishments and 20% off when you use the card. The best thing is the card is transferable so anyone you know can borrow it (that is if you'd like them to).

Overall, I am happy with all the meals we ordered. The only downside was probably the Bulgogi Brothers Special being the last to be served when it was the best and my family was almost full. That's why I ordered two sets because I thought it wasn't enough. Turns out they haven't served the Gwangyang Bulgogi yet.
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On another note, here's my brother's gf that day wearing a cute iPod watch.

It reminds me of those chunky watches. I like!

Munchings: Xin Wang Hong Kong Cafe for Mother's Day

For May 13 Mother's Day, my mom treated us (yup, it's not the other way around) at Xin Wang Hong Kong Cafe at SM Mall of Asia. My parents had a date in this restaurant before and they had a great time coming from their stories. My twin sister was excited because she was able to finally practice taking food pictures with her camera. [Note: we did not have time to take enough pictures because everyone was hungry by the time the food came out]

Siblings selecting their orders

There was a lot of things to choose from, about a thousand or more. So we could pick anything we wanted. Most of the things on the menu though are for one person so we ordered a plate each and added some 'for sharing' foods. These are what we ordered:

Price is average. Ambiance is definitely for families. Service is not so great (they served us a plate we did not order). Food was also average compared to other Chinese restaurants. I like the Har Gaw though, it's what I'd recommend when you visit this place. The French Toast was a Mother's day freebie.