SAMAR

Ahh the power of Twitter. I discovered this mask from a twitter thread of a guy detailing his glow up story from having acne-ridden face to his now glass skin. He mentioned this product helped clear his acne marks but it didn't quite have the same effect on me. My marks get really dark and they last forever so I use vit c for that buuuut, this mask helped me achieve that endorphin glow without having to break a sweat so yep, keeping this in my arsenal. 

I was also sent this product as a part of the PR package and I just ended up loving it. In the beginning I was scared of it because there's a short stinging sensation upon application but the brand told me it's because of the glycolic acid present in it. Don't be bothered by the stinging sensation because the results are so worth it. The texture of my skin has improved vastly! 

This has got to be the worst smelling mask in this array but only because it's made of natural and all organic ingredients. I don't think I've ever put something so pure on my face but it works so well too! Just make sure you don't leave it on for a long time because it leaves a green-ish tint on your face that makes you look sick lol. So time that mask up!

One of my ultimate fave from this set! I've tried a ton of peel off masks in the past and they don't all work the same. I think I've tried about 10 brands but this is the most effective. You can actually see white heads and blackheads being driven out of your face it's amazing and so soothing lol! Check out the video for some live action whitehead clearing lol.

I recently discovered this mask line from Hello Gorgous and I'm impressed. I initially got the detox mask and it worked well in clearing my face after trying out a product that my skin doesn't approve of. The next one that I also loved was this Rose mask which makes my skin feel supple!

Most masks are drying after being used for a while, but this one is my secret to keeping my face still moisturized. I wasn't a huge believer of wash-off masks in the past not until trying this product from Skin Food. All you need to do is keep it on for about 15minutes and your face will feel so smooth and moisturized not to mention smelling good! I mean it doesn't just smell good, it smells yummy! It also provides a little bit of gentle exfoliation due to the sugar bits.

Another one of my moisturizing masks, this one just helps with everything! From soothing my face after sunburn, to moisturizing dry and rough patches and just overall calming my skin down whenever it lashes out. I also use it on parts of my body and I can't stress enough how good this product is for the price and the size!

Hi, friends! I'm back again with another feature on my search for the best Samgyeupsal! If you've noticed, the ones I featured first aren't as popular as the ones I'm featuring now. I started with Seoulgyupsal, Gyeonbae and the like because I;m not a fan of looooong queues. I'd rather discover smaller, lesser known korean grills and surprise myself rather than wait in line that long just to have korean barbeque. Buuuut, since I also get requests to try a few of the household names in the KBBQ arena, I do try and spread my patience as thin as I can so I can also share my thoughts on said restaurants.

So for today's feature, we'll be talking about one of the most famous K-BBQ grills around the metro-Samgyupsalamat. They have over 100 branches all over the Philippines. Just like all the other big unlimited kbbq restauranys, the queue can also be a bitch. But before I proceed any further, let's talk about my detailed experience. 

They have a wide variety of meats available. The side dishes are limited but I like everything so it's all good. They also have this really good pickled onion as a side dish which I haven't seen in other kbbq grills. This keeps me coming back despite the wait time because it's the only place that offers it. I also love their pickled radish! My top 3 favorite meats would be : Beef Samgyeopsal, Yangnyum Beef and Daepae Samgyopsal. I also love that they don't use fake cheese or cheese sauce, they have legit cheese. The only downside I saw after dining for a couple of times is that their lettuce is really wet?? I don't know why but I end up using too much tissue just to dry them up. I've listed the of available meats below including the price depending on the time and day of the week. 

Daepae samgyeopsal (sliced fresh pork belly)
Buljib samgyeopsal (herbed pork belly)
Yangnyum daepae samgyeopsal (sliced pork belly with seasoning sauce)
Gochujang samgyeopsal (sliced pork belly with sweet & spicy sauce)
Yangnyum moksal (pork neck bone steak with sweet seasoning sauce)

Beef samgyeopsal (sliced beef short plate)
Yangnyum beef samgyeopsal (sliced beef short plate with seasoning sauce)
Beef bulgogi (Korean BBQ beef in sweet soy sauce)
Gochujang beef samgyeopsal (sliced beef short plate with sweet & spicy sauce)
Sarsa beef (beef with sweet-style Filipino sauce)

Would I go back? Definitely but only if there's no queue. On our second visit, we made sure we were early if not first on the line. We'd rather be TOO early rather than spend over 2hrs waiting for our turn. The Galleria branch opens at 10AM and we were there right when the mall was just opening. We were the 2nd customer to be seated, hehe. Our second experience was waaaay better and now that we know the ropes, I'm pretty sure I'll be a regular. Let me know if you've tried Samgyupsalamat too. I want to hear about your experience!

SAMGYUPSALAMAT

Budget : P1000 for 2 people

Open daily : 10AM - 11PM

Upper Veranda, Level 3, Robinsons Galleria, Ortigas

For someone who hasn't been interested in makeup until a couple of years ago, I'm now enjoying the fruits of actually knowing what skin type I have and what may or may not work for me. Since discovering foundations, I have since learned the best type for my textured and oily skin. But since my breakouts have also calmed down, I have decided not to wear foundation to cover up my marks which lead me to exploring BB creams instead. 

The first ever BB cream that I tried was from Ever Bilena, that was like 2 yrs ago. The smell was terrible, the shade was awful and it was just not working for me. Nothing against EB because I actually love their super long lasting lip and cheek tint; the bb cream was just a terrible product overall. Anyway, this time I asked friends if they have recommendations and while I got a lot, this product came highly recommended so I thought I'd do a wear test. 

Overall, I think it's the best alternative if you're looking for something that lighter than a foundation but would work best with acne and oily-prone skin. And trust me on this, I sweat a lot but when I did the wear test, I was so amazed at how the product was able to keep my oil production at bay and how when I was removing it at night, I still had so much of the product left on my face! I'm not going to be too detailed on here because I've explained everything on the video. So let me know if you get around to trying it and if it works for you. :)

On today's video I'll be sharing a super simple recipe I've been doing ever since I had my first taste of Vietnamese food at Pho Hoa. I had my first bout with Vietnamese Spring Rolls a few years ago when I bought my first ever GoPro in Greenhills. At that time, I've been wanting to try Pho but was scared with all the aromatic leaves it is usually served with. I also ordered a side of fresh Vietnamese spring rolls just to chase the taste should it be something that I cannot tolerate.

So, on to the recipe. These are my choice of ingredients only because they were the ones available in my fridge but don't be mistaken, you can use any vegetable of your choice! That's the fun thing about this recipe, you can be as creative as you want. It's also pretty simple. The only challenge I find in this is that rice paper is so hard to come by in my local grocery store. I have to go to the bigger grocery stores and stock up. The usual recipe also calls for vermicelli noodles but since I usually create this when I'm eating healthy, I skip the noodles. But anyway, let's proceed to the recipe.

INGREDIENTS

Rice Paper

Crab Sticks

Lettuce

Carrots

Cucumber

Cilantro

SAUCE

Hoisin Sauce

Garlic

Peanut Butter

PROCEDURE

1. Fill a large bowl with warm water. Dip one wrapper into the hot water for 1 second to soften. 

2. In a row across the center, place one crab stick, a handful of lettuce, carrots, cucumber and cilantro, leaving about 2 inches uncovered on each side.

3. Fold uncovered sides inward, then tightly roll the wrapper, beginning at the end with the lettuce. Repeat with remaining ingredients.

4. For the sauce, mix the hoisin sauce, peanut butter and garlic. Adjust the taste according to your liking. 

And that's it! If the instructions seems are unclear, please watch the video for a step by step guide! In the past I've also tried adding ming and basil and the taste was amazing. I just didn't have them on hand when I was making this video but please do add it to your recipe for optimum taste. Let me know if you're planning to make this! I'd love to see the photos!