Happy Sunday everyone! 

I love Doraemon. Few days back, I got a taste of his favorite food, the Dorayaki, and I just went nuts after the first bite! 

Photo Source, a cute keychain of the Dorayaki

If you fancy red beans and soft bread, this is a must-try! If you are gaga bout Doraemon, then you ought to get your hands on this snack to understand why your fave blue-and-white cartoon character loves to gobble up gazillions of Dorayaki.

The Dorayaki treats that my brother brought back home for us!
(photo c/o the lil sis who loves Doraemon, too!)

Dorayaki: red bean paste chucked in between the softest pancakey bread

We already ran out of Dorayaki :( My brother got us a truckload, but the lil sis and I sank our teeth into every bread the moment we saw it. Cookie monsters in flesh.

I've always thought Doraemon looked like hopia

Now, we're in dire need to visit a Japanese grocery that offers the freshest Dorayaki in town! Can any of you recommend one? Hatchin grocery is just too far from our place. We're thinking of making the bread ourselves, but we'd still love to laze around and just buy these delish treats!

What do you do when you suddenly see that you're a few more weeks away from needing to purcahse a new bottle of your favorite serum? I am running out of my dependable instaglow solution, the Clinique Turnaround Concentrate! And what could be better than successfully spending that extra moolah (on shoes!) I alloted for this??!!

I am ranting because I have already fallen in love with how this serum finishes silky smooth on my face at night. It does not cause redness or dryness which spells out perfect for my combination skin. All I need is 1 pump of the Clinique turnaround concentrate in the evening (I have a small face) for me to wake up to a softer and more radiant skin.

Clinique Turnaround Concentrate, 1 oz, @ Clinique counters
(Trinoma, Rustan's Shangri-la, Rustan's Makati, Gateway)

The pump bottle dispenses the necessary amount of product I need to cover up the entire face. I noticed how this serum improved my skin's clarity within a week's time when I first used it. 

On more humid Manila nights, I feel that this product can stand as a good moisturizer for oily and combination skin types. On hotter mornings, its silky texture prompts you to use it as a primer. 

If there's something you'd be booing about this product, its the Philippine price (3000php for 1oz; half a year's use for me) and the presence of 3 -cones in the bottle (dimethicone, polysilicone-11 and peg-10 dimethicone). Surprisingly, despite my negative reaction to -cones, the Clinique turnaround concentrate never broke me out. It only gave me good skin I loved to look at and touch.

Clinique Turnaround Concentrate, 1oz, P3000 in Pinas; 39.50 in the U.S.

Must raise funds. This is among the skincare products that worked for me along with my local obagi. But on a brighter note, not having this around will put the Clinique Turnaround Concentrate to test on the longevity of its positive effects on my skin. 

The Etude House dear Darling Tint is a good alternative if you want a pop of color on the cheeks and a pair of effortlessly kissable lips. At 198php (~$4), this is a good lip and cheek tint.

Packaging

The almost gel-like tint is housed in a rather wide and long plastic. It has a doe-foot applicator just like most popular tints. This one is scented and has an initial grapefruit taste to it when applied on the lips.

Etude House Dear Darling Tint in Berry Red
a month after I purchased

Color

I'm not impressed with the color pay-off as I find it a bit unnatural (my gold standard is the natural flush that The Body Shop Lip and Cheek Tint gives me). Etude House's Dear Darling Tint is quite similar to the color you get from Nichido lip and cheek tint so make sure you don't apply too much on the cheeks.

When swatched, Dear Darling tint is very similar to The Bodyshop's tint
(L): The Bodyshop (R): Dear Darling Tint in Berry Red

Shade

There are 3 shades available: berry red (01), real red (02), and orange red (03). I got berry red since SA claimed it sold like pancakes. 01, as I've observed over the Etude House counter, has a stronger shade of berry than 02. 03 might be the least enticing to purchase because it really did nothing for my NC30 skintone.

Overall Impression

Because of the cheap tag, I'm satisfied with this product. It was able to give my lips a hint of color that adds to brightening up my face to improve the way I look. It has an impressive staying power both on the lips and cheeks. Minus the unnaturally red flush it gave me and the fact that it dries up relatively quick (vs The Body Shop's), I would've given the Dear Darling Tint a 5-star rating.

I will not recommend this to those who have stubborn-dry lips. Tints just emphasize the ugly truth.

Dear Darling Tint bigger than Bodyshop's

The big question is, will I repurchase the Etude House Dear Darling Tint when I run out? If I had the extra cash, I'd rather go for the Bodyshop's Lip and cheek tint (despite the fact that it has a less impressive staying power than the dear darling tint). On less financially glorious days, I consider this product a savior!

The devil can be deceiving...

Its evil twin (source)

first 2 Miu Miu shoe photos from Netaporter