My hair has always been good to me. I’m the one who’s not good on it.
You see, I’ve been born with a sorrta kindda wavy hair. Not straight like my older sister’s and not curly like my younger sister’s. Just wavy, the in between, like me, the middle child. So I’m naturally confused on what to do with it. I’ve always kept my hair below-the-shoulders long so I can style it any way I want. And since a long, straight hair is “easier” to maintain than a curly one, I usually undergo hair treatments in Pinas (which is as bad for the hair as it is for the air).
The problem though is that it’s always been frizzy (aka buhaghag) that no amount of rebonding and relaxing can do the trick of keeping it long and straight and smooth for a very long time. Until I discovered Freshaire’s hair straightening process which really worked for me. It’s very cheap too. Considering my hair which almost reaches my waist, the treatment only costs around P700.00. I undergo the treatment annually every October since I started October of 2006.
The problem now is there’s no Freshaire here in the Kingdom. But there are lots of parlors and salons here that cater to women’s needs. Unfortunately, I do not have any remarkable feedback on most of them. Also, not many of these shops offer hair straightening since Saudi women use henna on their hair.
The solution for my newly-cut hair (but still a long cut) is a straightening iron and a blow dry I borrowed from my aunt… and these little bottle of:
Nivea Straightening Balm, SR15 (P187.50).
Bought this from the Pinoy Supermarket in Batha. I’ve used it once but I already saw the wonders it has done. Straightening with the iron and this serum on my damp hair is easier but the bottle says it’s much better paired with the blow dryer (with an emphasis on the no need to use straight irons when using this cream). I’m just not used to blow drying my hair all by myself. I tend to tangle my crowning glory all the more. Teehee.
Here’s the BEFORE:
That’s a “bewang” on my hair. It usually looks like that after I tie my hair in a ponytail. Argh. And it usually stays this way now since the Freshaire straightening process has waned.
And the AFTER pic:
Spent half an hour straightening my hair with the balm and the iron. Looks neat! Haha!
…is the Tamagotchi.
Kids were crazy for them when I was in the sixth grade (the year of which I am not divulging, haha!). But I never got one because the family is very practical when it comes to toys. Tamagotchis were pretty expensive back then and buying one for me would mean buying four more for my siblings too. I was curious about them but I wasn’t that enthusiastic in caring for a virtual pet (mainly because I know the virtual pet wouldn’t last a week under my care).
The Tamagotchi craze didn’t really die down. Only less people are interested now. Of course, they’re still expensive because they were upgraded with infrared technology making two Tamagotchis interact with each other, have kids, etc. Early this year, I wanted to buy one fake Tamagotchi being sold for P200.00 in Divisoria after one of my ex-officemates brought one to work. But whenever I was in the haggling capital of Manila, I never can seem to find one. So again, no Tamagotchi for me.
Here in Riyadh, I was hoping to find one at the toy mecca near Deira but it wasn’t an urgent wish. If I can find one, then good. If not, then it’s fine. What do you know, in one of our trips to the Saudi House, a fashion center in Suleimaniya, I found this display:
Hello Tamagotchi!
I was on the verge of being a kid again. I wanted to grab one, head to the cashier and pay the SR99 price tag without batting an eyelash. But I restrained myself from doing so because 1. I was trying to stretch the money I have left for the coming Eid al-Fitr holiday, 2. I cannot explain the purchase of a toy (for me) to the parents, 3. it was a Tamagotchi family I will be taking care of, I hate lots of toys to watch out for, and 4. a little kid was eyeing me grinning at the toy like a desperate idiot. So I moved on to the accessories section. Of course, still glancing at the display rack once in a while.
You will be mine someday.
When we were on the way home, I came to the conclusion that once I have a few rials to spare, I will definitely go back that store and buy one Tamagotchi. Or maybe I’ll find a Tamagotchi at the larger toy stores (hence finding a solo Tamagotchi, not an entire family!). To hell with being childish! Haha!
Filed under: Look of the Day, Wear of the Day | Tags: Clothes, New Yorker, Terranova, top
I’ve been to the beach this Eid holiday with the family. We went to Al-Khobar, a sea town 400 kilometers east of Riyadh. Well, I did put on lots of sunblock but I didn’t get any chance to swim on the Persian Gulf water because 1. I do not want swimming in my abaya (or long-sleeved shirts and denim pedal pushers), 2. the water looks murky (but good nonetheless for swimming) and 3. there were many (too many) guys around (whom I wasn’t sure if they’re there to swim or to ogle at the few women on the beach).
Anyway, I just waded (feet only) in the morning in my jeans (yes, the horrors!), a tank top, and a nice, flowy cardigan. Looky here for my “beach-y” attire:
Pants from Divisoria, P300.00, blue and white tank top from Fishbone (New Yorker), SR19 (P237.50), and grey cardigan from Terranova, SR90 (P1,125.00).
The cargidan is very versatile. I just let it drape here for that “laidback” look. It has long sleeves which can be scrunched to 3/4. Here’s another way to wear it:
Of course, you can also tie it in front, tie it loosely on the back, make it a shawl of some sort… and many other ways to make it work for any place and any event you are in. Let me know if you see this piece in Terranova Philippines. Let me know how much it is there.
I love love love my Body Fantasies Raspberry Fantasy body spray. It has this (obviously) fruity and sweet scent that goes a long long way, reminiscent of a raspberry fragrance from Bench before that comes in a violet bottle. When I spray it in the morning before I go to work, the smell lasts until I go home. But of course I spritz a few more during lunch just to have that fresh and revived feeling.
When I bought the Raspberry variant at Geant, my second choice was the Iced Cupcake variant. It’s a very nice sweet fragrance that I’m associating with my favorite meal of the day – desserts. Hehe. I promised myself to buy one bottle of the latter when I visit Geant again. When I was on my second visit to Geant, I was excited to get to the fragrance rack to get my Iced Cupcake bottle. Alas, only the Apple Fantasy and Sexiest Musk Fantasy variants remain.
Of course, I never gave up the search. I was hoping somewhere in the back of the mixed Body Fantasies bottles was an Iced Cupcake. It took me a second return to discover the lone bottle standing beside two bottles of Apple Fantasy at the corner.
Body Fantasies Iced Cupcake Fantasy, SR26.95 (P336.87)
A spray of this scent lasts longer than the Raspberry but I like them both! Of course, I do not use them together. Only one scent per day! Haha! Next time, I’ll be buying the Cotton Candy Fantasy. It’s perfect for sweet girls like me. Hehe.
Filed under: Beauty
I was never one to splurge on cosmetics. In Manila, the only time I get to buy new makeup is when the Avon lady of my mother comes to the house. That happens once in every two months so I only update and upgrade whatever is left on my stash during that time. I’m a very low-maintenance gal so I am settled with Ponds loose powder, Ever Bilena blush, and a Nivea lipgloss for my every day face color need.
But I decided to experiment with make up since I landed in Riyadh, I decided to create my own beauty arsenal from scratch (nearly scratch since I still use a few makeup pieces from home). I was at the Geant Hypermarket again this week when I visited the counters of drugstore brand favorites: Maybelline, Rimmel, Nivea, and Prestige.
When you visit hyper/super markets here in Riyadh, you’ll always see these brands, and only these brands at the cosmetics section. Most high-end brands like Mac have their own stalls and kiosks at the mall. Paris Gallery (Dior, Lancome, etc.) and Sephora (Nars, Givenchy, etc.) have huge branches at Danube Mall. I settle with the hypermarket brands because they’re affordable… when bought one at a time.
Imagine my shock when I spent a little less than SR200 for beauty products:
Nivea Beaute eyeshadow in Sienna, SR49.95 (P624.37); Rimmel eyebrow pencil in dark brown, SR15.85 (P198.12); Maybelline Shinylicious in Chocolate Cherry, SR35.00 (P437.50); Prestige classic lipstick in Bubbles, SR27.35 (P341.87).
Kiehl eyelash curler, SR37.95 (P474.37); Kiehl tweeer, SR28.95 (P361.87)
That’s SR195.05 worth of beauty products! And that’s only six items! Argh! It’s more heartbreaking when converted to pesos (P2,438.12). I think that’s the total of all the prices of beauty products I bought since I started working in PInas in 2005. I can still imagine the disapproving look from the father when we were at the Geant cashier. Nyak!
I guess I was too engrossed in looking at all those beauty products that I kept on putting them on my basket without calculating how much each costs. Oh well, I’ll go on cosmetics fasting for now. No more buying… but when the lipgloss is really cheap, I’ll think about it. Hehe.
