Sunplay Skin Aqua Acne Clear Milk

As shown in my previous pre-sun care routine, I've been using Sunplay Skin Aqua Acne Clear Milk for my face this summer. The picture below was its original packaging and I'm not sure how much it costs now, but I remember it being quite cheap.

This bottle contains 25 g of product that promises SPF 50+ and PA ++. I've been using it for a while and I haven't run out yet. The milk itself is white and watery, but doesn't leave a whitish cast. The scent isn't remarkable and it dries quickly without being sticky. It's marketed towards those with acne prone skin, and while I haven't seen a definite improvement because this product, it hasn't worsened at all (no clogged pores for me!). However, from what I can read on the back, this product also contains vitamin C and E, so those who are sensitive to vitamin E may decide to steer clear.

I wouldn't recommend using this on the eyes. While I do this since I don't have a dedicated eye cream with SPF right now (as I stated before), it is a bit irritating used alone.

Summertime: Sunsavers 2015

Before summer ends and the rainy season officially begins, here's a quick look at the products I've been using.

(L-R) Nivea UV Whitening Serum, OraLabs Lip Naturals Lip Balm, Sunplay Skin Aqua and Neutragena UltraSheer Sunblock

Nivea UV Whitening Serum: used on the body for "regular days" when I'm sure I don't go out in the sun. Review to be done in the future.

OraLabs Lip Naturals Lip Balm: used on the lips

Sunplay Skin Aqua: used on my face. I don't have a dedicated eye cream with sun protection so this also ends up over a non-retinol eye cream. (Also, I just realized that I didn't review this, so review in the future!).

Neutrogena UltraSheer Sunblock: used on the body for days with known sun exposure. I'd use this everyday, but it's too costly to do so for me.  While I probably won't review it anymore (because I didn't review this either, apparently), this was a hoarded item that I'm considering stopping just to try newer (and less expensive) body blocks.

Use sun protection everyday, even when it's cloudy. However, honestly, I try but I usually end up skipping the body blocks during rainy season...

Gino's Brick Oven Pizza

I've finally been able to try Gino's Brick Oven Pizza at Podium Mall!

Gino's Brick Oven Pizza

I've been curious about this restaurant ever since C recommended it, but I've only been able to try it recently. So far I was able to try the following:

SMEGG, P420

 A pizza composed of sausage, mushroom, egg, gouda and cream. Very good by itself but I think it works better with their Spicy Honey.

Salted Egg, P190

Salty, delicious and interesting. I'd try this again.

BOMB, P420

Balsamic onions, mushroom, blue cheese. My favorite pizza of the night. The mushrooms had just the right level of sweetness and the blue cheese complemented nicely.

Aglio Olio Pasta, P170

A bit too heavy on the olive oil, probably wouldn't order again.

Buffalo Chicken Pizza, P395

Tomato sauce, mozzarella, buffalo chicken, blue cheese. A lot of my companions loved this, and I liked it too (especially with the super generous mozarella serving). It was a bit too spicy for me though.

I loved the pizzas I've tried and would probably return for the same or other varieties. Each pizza is sliced into 6 generous slices, and I'd honestly be able to put away half a pizza because of how good it is.

Something to try is the dalandan pitcher for P170 because it's pretty rare to find in a restaurant. It's pretty sweet and the pitcher serves around 6, diluted in ice.

Gino's has pretty great value for pretty good pizza. Service was decent, and the place looked well enough with metal and wood furnishings. The only problem I had was the prevalence of backless chairs, which could be replaced with normal dining chairs.

I highly recommend this place.

DIY Hair Bleach Hortaleza Professional

Before you start DIY Hair Bleaching, you should either know what you're doing or accept whatever mistakes you make. Color correction is expensive and you're better off going to a salon if you aren't willing to laugh at and live with your mistakes. There are some great, inexpensive salons out there and vouchers are available for some others. If you still want to try DIYing your hair bleaching, then continue.

You will need:

1) Bleach Powder - Hortaleza Professional Hair Bleach Powder (below)

2) Developer - Hortaleza Oxidizing Lotion 12% (below)

3) Tinting Brush - brand forgotten (unknown)

4) Non-metal Bowl - repurposed Victoria's Secret Body Butter tub

5) Gloves - I used latex gloves, but vinyl prefereed

6) Clamps - not pictured

7) Shampoo - not pictured

In addition, I'd recommend having:

1) Hair treatment - Cream Silk Hair Treatment (a remnant of years ago before a packaging change, maybe I should review this in the future)

2) Cape - I recycled the capelet from the Richenna Bubble Dye set. Also, use the grottiest clothes you own while doing this.

3) Detachable showerhead - makes clean-up easy

4) Good ventilation - to get rid of that ammonia-bleach parlor smell

5) Friend - to help with the hard to reach areas

Get all your things ready. Make sure to prepare your bathroom by taking out anything that you don't want bleached or laying out newspapers to catch anything as you would by dyeing.

Put on gloves and mix your bleach powder and developer. The Hortaleza Professional Hair Bleach Powder is a blue tinted powder, though it can't be seen well in the picture. Empty a single packet for short hair reaching around chin level. You'll need more for longer hair.

Hortaleza Professional Hair Bleach Powder

Make sure you have your ventilators on as you add the developer with a 1:1 ratio.  I used the 12% because I have very dark hair. Mix with the tint brush.

Hortaleza Professional Hair Bleaching Powder + Oxidizing Lotion 12%

Use the tint brush to apply on hair. Ideally, you'll have person help you reach the back areas, else you might miss areas of your head. Apply around an inch from your scalp, using clamps to segment your hair. Go back for the roots after 15 minutes.

I followed the instructions on the back of the packet, but realized the time wasn't long enough to bleach my oily roots. It's better to judge by the color - I removed mine once I saw lightening at the roots by rinsing until the water ran from blue to clear, and then shampooing once. The bleaching process turns your hair into straw so make sure to use a good hair treatment both immediately after and the weeks to come.

The Hortaleza Professional Hair Bleaching Powder and Oxidizing Lotion bleaches well. Unfortunately, it does this by damaging hair and your sense of smell. If you don't mind the hassle, the set cots less than P200.

Vaseline Itch & Dandruff Free Milk Nutrient Shampoo

I'd never thought I'd end up reviewing something like this, but this shampoo was a pleasant surprise. This caught my eye as I was looking for an anti-dandruff shampoo. I'd gotten tired of the most popular options here in the Philippines, Head and Shoulders and Guard, and this one caught my eye for the "New!" tag it had on its bottle.

I've forgotten how much this costs, but it was less than P200 for a 275ml bottle. As shown in the cover, it's meant to be a family shampoo and has a gender neutral, but distinctively strong Vaseline scent. I like the strong fragrance in this weather because it doesn't fade and doesn't turn rank or "amoy araw" due to the heat.

It also does what it's meant to do, after 1-2 weeks of 4x week of use , I was 100% itch and dandruff free. As with most OTC shampoos, zinc was the active ingredient responsible for it.

If you have dandruff and live in the tropics, and don't mind the strong scent, I'd recommend you give this a try.

Nestea Red Tea

It's been a long couple of weeks, and I haven't been blogging because of everything that's been happening in my life. For now, I just want to make a quick post about my favorite powdered drink, Nestea's Red Tea -  a limited edition drink whose run has ended quite suddenly.

Summer Powdered Drinks

Pictured above Nestea Honey Tea, Tang Apple, Tang Four Seasons, Nestea Red Tea Sachet Packs

For the past few months, I bought this by the sachet, each sachet giving one liter of sugary goodness with a taste of raspberry. Unfortunately, I thought it would run through summer and failed to hoard enough to last me through it.

It is now no longer available in my grocery, replaced by a honey flavor (backmost in the picture).

I'd really like to know if anyone knows where to find the last of this goodness.