Night Time Skin Routine Every Woman Should Have

As women, we all know we have to do certain 'rituals' before hitting the sack, but seriously? How many of us actually do it? Most of us skip this particular part of the day either due to sheer exhaustion or simply, laziness. And as a boyish lady, I used to ignore this routine until I was 20 where I started to get a really bad acne breakout. Since then, I've decided to heed my mother's warnings and I have actually developed my own night time skin routine that I will now share with everyone.

1. Get those makeup off your face.
I understand if you want to wake up looking like a doll, been there, done that for several years. But the 'I woke up like this' look will most likely just be smudged liner, mascara and lipstick, and mind you if your goal is to look like a circus clown in the morning you wouldn't like this look at all. Invest in a really good makeup remover (or some baby oil, for budget conscious ladies) and make it a habit to remove your makeup as soon as you get home. Get all those colors off from your lips and eyes as much as you can, especially in the eyes where you're most likely using waterproof products. It is important to remove (gently) as much as you can to avoid irritation why you sleep.

2. Washie Wash Wash Wash
To remove the excess product off your face and prevent your skin from having a breakout, don't forget to wash your face with a gentle facial cleanser. This will also clean up the dirt and oil from your pores; going for a gentle facial cleanser that is right for your skin type will do you wonders. Oh and don't forget to gently pat (don't rub) your face with a towel, preferably a face towel which you would only use on your face alone. Heard it's best to use a separate towel than your body towel to make sure it's all clean and clear up there.

3. Bring on the protectors
Now that your face is clean from all the grime and grit (exaggerating to make a point) it is now time to pamper it with serums, toners and moisturizers to help protect your skin from long term damages brought by pollution, UV rays and even aging (gasps!) If you're not sure what products to use, you may consider your skin type and needs and purchase products that would be right for your skin. Consulting with a dermatologist will also be really good as they can recommend the precise products that your skin needs.

I know that these things are simply common knowledge, but it must be said and reiterated. *wink*


What about you? What do you do for your skin before hopping in between the sheets?

Pinkies: Smooth Silk Long Lip and Eye Pencil

Not a lot of people know but I am a bit into red lipsticks. Well, okay, maybe a bit too into it that I sometimes have the tendency to splurge on lipsticks alone.

My mom, knowing about my budding obsession to cosmetics, recommended this very cheap but handy lip and eye pencil from Pinkies last weekend.

I decided to give it a try since it was really inexpensive (under 100php!!!) and the color was really good. My mom actually got a deep purple shade of this lip and eye pencil which she pulled off effortlessly over lunch.

The shade I got was PCLP03-ALOHA which is actually a slightly bright red.

This lippie liner is actually pretty good and delivers more than its price, tbh. It glides on easily and has a creamy matte finish, exactly what I wanted.

Its lasting effect is also pretty good. Mine lasted for nearly eight hours. I first put it on shortly after lunch time and had been drinking and eating constantly that entire afternoon,

Here is a shameless selfie that I took on my way home from the mall, about 5-6 hours after I have first applied the product. And no, I did not retouch it. It stayed on well until after dinner where it finally began to fade.

I honestly really like this lip liner as it not only last long, has a rich color with a creamy matte finish but also for 89php, it has over-delivered. No exaggeration. Try it for yourself. Got mine in the cosmetics aisle in SM Masinag Department store.

I'll definitely restock on this product.

Mimi L'Amour Launch

Hello, my name is Mimi L'Amour and welcome to my latest blog.

I have been around the blogosphere since 2006 and have since hopped from site to site. This is my new haven now, and in here, I will write about my adventures in travel, food, beauty and lifestyle in general in this blog as often as I could.

Hope you'll support this new project of mine. Cheers!

xx Mimi

Sunday's at Bestie's

I honestly had no idea how I fell asleep the night before but I was sure Ge and I were listening to random Disney songs till we gradually fell into a deep slumber. LOL. But I got up at around 9am after being awakened by the smell of breakfast courtesy of Ge's baby sister, Tricia. Haven't had that kind of breakfast in ages and it was really satisfying.

Soon after breakfast, we visited their neighbor to whom they introduced me to. We stayed there for sometime just chatting randomly and somehow managed to talk about future adventure trips together. Not long after that it started raining really hard and when the heavy rain turned into a light drizzle we headed back to their house where Tricia and I spontaneously took off our shirts and jumped in their pool while the rain continued.

After showering, we had lunch and had some idle time; watched the Mayweather-Pacman fight. Then Ge and I harvested mangoes and santol in their front yard and on their roof, haha. I have never tried picking the fruit that I'd eat so that's new for me. We picked lots of fruits as they cleaned their lawn and roofs of dried leaves. Then we all sat down and had a very delicious snack of Banana con Yelo... well, Ge had a different preference so he had Mais con Yelo.

We all indulged into a random conversation which eventually ended at around 4:30pm when Tricia and I decided to go home; I, to Antipolo, and Tricia, to her apartment in Cainta.

The drive home was fun, as always. There is never a dull moment when I'm with her. She has proven to be one of my very few good friends; I honestly don't feel the same bond, fun and excitement with anyone else than with her and her family. They were more than my friends, they are like my second family.

Swimming while it's raining.

Our poor attempt to take an underwater photo.

Sleepy eyes.

This is me on the roof.

Banana and Mais con Yelo

Captured by le best friend.

Tricia drove me home <3

So, that's how my Sunday went. It was a fun-filled weekend. <3

Buntot Palos, Pangil, Laguna

Credit goes to Ge Ja

I have not been anywhere remotely fun in weeks. My life has revolved only both at work and at home. But I have been looking forward to this weekend's getaway for ages since the Daraitan trek.

As far as I know we will be trekking with a lot of people, but a lot has also cancelled on the last minute making our group as small as six people. We decided to call our newly formed group as "(E)X-Men" after realizing that four of our members were ex's. LOL Funny as it may seem, it didn't make the trip even a wee bit odd, weird and awkward. It was actually the opposite.

Okay, so I got to my best friend's place at around 12 midnight on Friday. His mom, whom I have missed so much, made me a warm cup of Milo which we drank as we sat on the mattress laid out in front of the TV. Soon after finishing our drink she retired to bed while Ge and I stayed up a bit longer to watch TV.

However, our plan of retiring to bed sooner didn't go so well. We ended up chatting till about two in the morning; we tried sleeping but couldn't resist the urge to wake up the other in a funny way. For example, just when I was about to succumb into a deep slumber he would intentionally tap me and say 'good morning' or ask if I'm about to go to sleep. Yes, we're weird, mainly the reason why we're still friends after all these years. LOL

Anyway, we did set an alarm but no one got up on time. LOL. We ended up leaving their house in Baras at about 6-6:30am. As soon as we got to Famy, Laguna we stopped by at our favorite Lomi stop and had, well, Lomi for breakfast. Shortly afterwards, we made a quick trip to the grocery store across the restaurant to buy some snacks before we headed to Pangil.

Breakfast with the group.

A very satisfying bowl of Lomi <3

We arrived in Pangil and started our trek at around 9am. The trek, honestly, was unlike the others I had. It was the roughest trek I've been to so far but it definitely is the best.

Yes, forgive the faces. Haha! From L-R: Me, Tweet, Tita Cookie, Tricia, Koi and Ge.

The trek was divided into five stations, the fifth being the majestic waterfalls but I'm getting ahead of myself. Of course, no heavenly place can be attained without passing through a long and rough road. And boy, was the trail rough. LOL. The longest were the first two stations which seemed to go on for ages, but once at the third station, the view got a lot better making us thrive harder to go on and get to the best part.

This is the view from the first station. Marvelous, isn't it?

Going to the second station.

Here's one of the many horse trails.

Credit goes to my best friend for taking this lovely photo of me taking a photo of the lovely view. haha!

Enjoying the background view at the third station with le best friend :D

 

Now, the photos above were the trails going to the fourth and fifth stations, consecutively. They were really steep and slippery but get this, by the time we reached the fourth station, all tired and sweaty, we were amazed of the view in front of us.

Nothing says we're close to the end than seeing this.

Look at our smiles of relief knowing that we're almost there. haha!

And finally...

Credit goes to Ge Ja.

Que bella, indeed! oh and yes, more photos!

Credit goes to Ge Ja .

Credit goes to Ge Ja .

At the foot of the falls.

Tricia (right) and I (left) just behind the foot of the falls.

And there's Ge at the far left... posing as a third bikini top gal. LOL!

No one's around but us so we had all the confidence to take our shirts off haha!

Here's a photo of us fooling around at the rocks. Ge's showing off his leg at the camera.

Here we are when we first arrived at the falls. There's a random chick at the back probably substituting for our missing member haha

We stayed there for hours, just basking in the cool and refreshing water from the falls. It definitely is a lot of fun and no words can ever describe the happiness I felt when we went behind the foot of the falls after lunch. We were at ease though the rocks were slippery; we also managed to get a very heavy shoulder massage from the raging water. LOL It was loads of fun being there at that time and moment with the people I was with.

Oh and here's a video of me jumping off a not-so-high cliff. Believe me, this video is actually 4 mins long, with 50% of it showing me contemplating whether to jump off or not. I'm actually afraid of heights and I have this very weird fear of jumping off and hitting my head on some huge rocks, so... yeah hahaha it was actually really hilarious.

 After the soothing time at the back of the falls, we jumped off again and packed up our things. Soon after we're back on the trail; it took us a bit longer than the first time though since we're all so tired and sleepy from the day's activities.

Time to go.

Then halfway through, my best friend asked me to stand beside this tree and pose for a photo for some reason. I love this shot. Captures my sleepy eyes and red hair under the mid-afternoon sun.

This indeed signifies the end of our day. Later that hour, we were back in our van driving to the same restaurant where we had breakfast and had dinner before heading back home. Everyone in the back were asleep as we drove home. LOL. I shall never forget this experience. There is a sense of achievement in this for I have never expected to make it to the end and back knowing that I have gained so much weight and had less exercise than before. Most of all, my fear of heights had somehow lessened. Nothing beats an adventure like this; I can never trade this experience and the feeling it comes with after with the comfort of my bed and pillow.