mikeeest

Hey guys! The day has finally come when pink boxes dominate the Philippines. I am not the biggest fan of the color pink, but if all pink boxes came with all these goodies, who am I to say no?

Last July, the #AltheaTurns1 party happened and everyone who got their pink boxes had a chance to win awesome prizes. If you don’t know what Althea is yet, it is Korea's premier online beauty destination that provides the lowest prices to consumers and strives to introduce K-beauty to the world. I love skin care products and make-ups but I hate spending a ton of money, so when I browsed Althea’s website, my heart and eyes exploded! My friends from Althea were kind enough to provide me P1500-worth of credits and I was able to bag 8 (YES, EIGHT) different items! If I were in the mall that would probably be just one lipstick!

Items I got are

1. Nature Republic Aloe Vera Cleansing Gel Cream

2. THE FACESHOP Rice & Ceramide Moisture Toner

3. ONSAEMEEIN Carbonated Scoria Bubble Mask Pack

4. ONSAEMEEIN Velvet Moist Lip Tint in Red Holic

5. It's My It's My Puff Magic Sponge

6. Etude House Drawing Eye Brow in Deep Brown

7. Missha The Style 4D Mascara

8. t's My It’s My Eye Maker Curler (Comb)

What I love about Althea:

1. All their products are authentic and straight from Korea.

2. Your package will be delivered straight to your door without paying government taxes (this is such a hassle when retrieving international packages ugh!)

3. It is indeed CHEAP. Like, literally! It’s like they’re always on sale!

4. The products are heavily detailed and with sample photos.

 If you’re from the Philippines, check http://ph.althea.kr now, and if you’re from other parts of the globe, simply go to http://althea.kr.

Whenever I go to work or practically anywhere, there are three things I should always be wearing: a pair of earrings, a black scrunchy on my left wrist, and a watch. It drives me insane forgetting to put these on or not being able to wear them just because it doesn’t go well with my outfit! Fortunately, I got to lay my hands on my Ely watch from** Wood Watches by JORD**.

“Maple is found all over the world, but the Hard Maple wood in our watches comes from Northeastern North America… Maple is fairly easy to work with but care must be taken to not overheat the tools as maple is easily burned.”

 Bag from @AIRLEA_PH

Upon purchasing, you are required to give your wrist size and they’d adjust it for you. But of course, I gave the wrong size and had to go to the mall to have some of it chopped off [haha pun intended (ya know, cause it’s wood)]. They use different materials such as ebony, koa, purpleheart, zebrawood, rosewood, sandalwood, maple, and bamboo. It also uses a buckle as lock so it’s easy to remove. You might be thing, “It’s wood! It must weigh quite a lot.” _Wrong! _It’s actually super light and you could wear it to any event.

Wearing my Ely watch when I went out for dinner. I’m wearing this super girly off-shoulder top and the watch complements the outfit!

My friends and I went to Mt. Batolusong for a quick hike. Usually, when I’m sweaty and wearing my other watches, I get irritated and just take it off, but when I had my Ely watch with me, I didn’t feel any discomfort at all!

Shirt from @Tinta_PH

This is probably the first time I’ll ever be talking about skin care products or really just anything “beauty”-related. I’ve always been iffy to try out products since my skin isn’t really at its best state plus it takes so long to heal when damaged.

Well, I’m here to tell you guys about Elujai Skin Care Cosmetics! One, it’s finally here in the Philippines. Two, it’s manufactured in South Korea (time to be as flawless as all the koreans!). Three, they’re recommended for all skin types! How. Amazing. Is. That.

Their best sellers are Elujai Snail Water Premium Cream,

I’ve already tried the Horse Fat Cream. I applied it before sleeping, and when I woke up, my face felt 10 times smoother AND healthier! I’ve also known friends whose wrinkles and pimple marks disappeared! Holy grail, indeed.

Now I’m giving YOU the chance to try it out yourself. Go to my Instagram page (@mikeeest) and check out the mechanics there. 

Featuring: Carmelletes’ shoes.

Unwinding in Tagaytay will never be a bad idea. But what if you get to go for free? Now that’s an even better idea! Getting the hint yet? Well, it has been so long since my last giveaway. So, here I am to bring you good news!

Shabby Chic is giving a free overnight stay for two at their unit in SMDC Wind, Tagaytay located just minutes before Sky Ranch. See photos of my last trip here.

Here are the mechanics:

1. Follow @mikeeest and @shabby1943 on Instagram.

2. Repost this photo on Instagram.

3. Use the caption “Win an overnight stay for two at @shabby1943.”

4. Tag five of your friends.

Easy breezy! Don’t forget to make your profile public and tag me on your photos so I can see your entries.

Good luck!

For inquiries and reservations, please check @shabby1943 on Instagram.

Who doesn't want to go to Tagaytay during summer? When I was asked to visit, I had no doubts. A quick yes!

The moment we went inside, my friends told me, "This is so you. It matches your feed!" Here's a photoset of the beautiful place we got to stay in, Shabby Chic located at SMDC Wind, Tagaytay. 

Everything you need is already here! Cooking materials, utensils, everything! Notice how everything matches the theme. They also have a big clubhouse, by the way. We just didn't get to try because we were busy eating and taking photos. If given a chance, I'd definitely go back!

Everyone wants a good Instagram post. Agree? I have been stalking a lot of people and I have always wondered how on earth did they make their photos sharp and well-lit even when they work indoors. So I took the liberty of researching, looking for every possible trick to take good photos with just my iPhone. Through time, I was able to establish my ritual or simply what works for me when I intend to gram a photo. So I guess it’s time to share! 1. Prepare food and props ahead of time. When at home, I often take photos of food. And yes, what I post on instagram isn’t natural. That’s not how it normally looks like when I eat. This is how I do it:

Place food in white/neutral-colored plates

If you’re going to include utensils in your photo, make sure they’re color-coordinated

Possible props: wooden tray, flowers, white/neutral-colored cloth, books, maybe some more plates, and jewelry

2. Shooting time. I find it best to take photos either during 9am to 11am or 4pm to 5pm (estimate). I like that my photos are well-lit and has little to no shadow plus photos turn up blueish, which I love! But, as you can see, I break my own rules. Especially when the shadow casted is this beautiful!

3. Let light in and around. Our home doesn’t have the biggest windows to let all the light in. So what I do are as follows

Open all curtains. All of them. Or better yet, remove them!

Use a reflector to be able to manipulate light. What I use are white sheets, illustration boards, folders and foil.

4. Use a tripod. I actually don’t this… because, I use a monopod. Yes, the selfie stick (because I won it in a competition lol). Bonus: use your earphones to take photos! No need to use your shaky hands. 

5. Mix it up! Don’t just take a lot of photos, take it from different angles, different distances and also, move your props. Try changing the composition for every photo. Sometimes when I’m lazy, I only take about five photos and when it’s time to edit, I cannot select a single good shot. So, go through all the trouble because it’s worth it!

6. Ask for someone’s help. I used to hate it when someone tries to get food while I’m still taking photos of it, but recently, I realized that having hands in it actually makes the photo 10 times better! Just check out #handsinframe on Instagram

7. Keep your background simple. Let the focus be on your food. I don’t like to have a noisy background. What I use are: white bed sheets, tables, walls, canvass and sometimes, clothes haha

So there! My instagram ritual. I think this should have a follow up. Like, a how-I-edit post? Let me know if you agree!