Wednesday, February 25, 2015

St. Marc Cafe

Now I'm not sure if this came with the cronut craze, or just one of the international brands that have been steadily infiltrating the market (watch out for the ASEAN opening for more), but St. Marc Cafe has been in the Philippines for a while with branches in Greenbelt and Megamall.

St. Marc Cafe Logo

 The logo of St. Marc's Cafe is their ever popular Chococro: a chocolate croissant. From the outside,  there are food replicas of their drinks and desserts (very Japanese) along with a menu. Traffic is high inside but most people don't stay long. Ambience in the Greenbelt branch is generally good. The interiors are a bit on the darker side, but there are few couches so you're not very inclined to stay for long periods of time. The best part of the cafe are the sweet smells from the baking area. The worst part is the occasional dropped glass.

Chococro and White Chococro
I've tried both the original Chococro (P55) and the White Chococro (P65). The price was decent for the serving size. While I did like the sweet filling, the dough was on the cold side and I didn't find it flaky enough. I wish the baristas offered to reheat this since I was dining in. I may try it again if the pastry I'd get would be fresh.

Matcha Latte
What I do keep coming back for is their Matcha Latte. The small is at P130 with P20 increments between that and the largest at P170. For me, it's a very good blend of strength, milkiness and bitterness. I find that most american coffee shops have green tea lattes that are too thin and too bitter (try Gyokuro for sweet caffeine love). Remember to stir since the sweet parts since the heavier, sweeter part tends to settle on the bottom or just have it unsweetened.

Will I go again? Yes, I'd go just for the tea latte.


Saturday, February 21, 2015

The Pillowman at CCP: Sandbox Collective

Last night, I went to CCP to watch a play, the Pillowman as done by the Sandbox Collective.

I got an unpleasant surprise I found as I discovered that it was a "Multi-Media Staged Reading."

In other words, I got to watch a screen as 4 actors performed behind a black curtain.

I don't know which group I'm more disappointed in: the Sandbox Collective for failing to supply the correct details or Ticketworld for not doing due diligence.

While the former's Facebook account does say what it really is,  below is all the info you get from the latter site:
The Pillowman Details
Aside from failing to properly advertise their show, the entire thing lasted closer to 3 hours than the promised 90 minutes.

While half the performers did well enough, reading their lines (admittedly, 2 of them did not need need their scripts and acted their parts out well), I basically paid P618 for 2D rendering of an unfinished performance.

I'd rather read the screenplay or wait for a movie version to come out.

For those who are interested, as the play stars Bong Cabrera, Art Acuna, Jojo Cayabyab and Richard Cunanan, a second reading will be done on February 24 at 8 pm.

Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Another Duh Moment

I've accepted that I am, and probably forever will be, acne-prone. One of the reasons is that I have a tendency to sleep without washing my face, sometimes even if I have make up on.

Some time ago, I got a bunch of zits near my hairline and I found it super unfair that I got them because even if I did wore make-up, I triple-cleansed with coconut oil, Bifesta and Clean and Clear. So why did I get those zits?

At first I thought it was my shampoo, which I didn't have problems with before. It took me a while to realize that it was because the facial surface area I cleaned probably wasn't enough. I blended my foundation into my hairline but didn't triple cleanse there, missing the bits that tend to have the most oil.

Note to self: Don't miss your hairline while washing your face!


Friday, February 13, 2015

Favorites: 2015

In honor of Valentine's Day and Friday the 13th, I thought I'd give a short post and reminisce on the best beauty basics I've loved (and lost) over the years.

Best Cleanser: Skintel Soap (Discontinued)

Before Skintel's rebranding as an anti-ageing line in it's multi-hued glory, it used to be an anti-acne line for teens. Their bar soap was the most cost effective way of decreasing my zits, both face and body. This success has never been replicated by the other acid bars I've tried.

Best Toner: VMV Superskin 3 Toner

I've just recently finished another bottle, so this isn't exactly a loss, but I'm on the fence about buying right now since I want to give my skin a rest from antibiotics: this product contains clindamycin. This is also very good for those suffering from acne with oily skin.

Best Moisturizer: Estee Lauder DayWear Plus Anti-Oxidant Creme SPF 15 (Discontinued)

This was a product discontinued a while back and resurrected as DayWear Advance. I had a tub before given to me as a gift, but honestly, I can't afford trying the new version on my own. I really liked it because it was very light and fresh - and prevented me from turning into an oil slick in the middle of the day.