Mannequin Runway: Prada Resort 2009 Olive Chainlink Dress

Wow!

I am back again with a new post and a new PRADA Dress that my sister found in a secondhand store! We are once again ecstatic about this but unlike the Prada Skirt that I found last time, my sister finally (maybe she's biased coz she's the one who found it? haha) decided to sell it internationally on ebay.com. This was what I wished for for my Prada Skirt before but she just won't budge and proceeded to sell it locally :( Then, she tells me (a year after) that the item was sold internationally after they bought it from us, sad is it? I'm not that bummed since I always wished to sell it in an international platform since I think it will be taken care of better there than here.

Anyways, I should go back to our newest find. First, to show you details about the item. We have taken great care in capturing every details on the item since, there are a lot who doubt its authenticity as it came from Asia... I must admit that there are a lot of imitations out there that is why, we took a lot of pictures at every angle possible. Also, we have been in the business of selling secondhand clothes for a long time now, and have seen our fair share of fake designer clothes.

 

 

A Little Bit of Know! Best Skin Care Routine

Nowadays, I have been searching far and wide (internet-wise) for the best way to care for my face and I have come across mountains of information that even I don't even know how to catalog it in my mind anymore. Still, in my quest, quite a few things stood out. This is not in proper order, so forgive the random thoughts here and there (I'm not really a blogger nor a writer so grammatical mistakes may abound).

The American way to maintain their facial skin is this: 

Cleanse -> Exfoliate -> Moisturize

This is also specially recommended by Dermatologists and Skincare Specialists. If I remember what I read correctly, it seems this routine was started by Clinique using their 3 steps skin care product (didn't delve into this).

A few years down the road, a new regimen was introduced, it was pretty much same as the one above but with the addition of Sunscreen. So the newer skin care routine became this: 

Cleanse -> Exfoliate -> Moisturize -> Protect

This applies especially in the morning where we always get into direct contact from the sun, thereby needing to protect ourselves from its harmful effect that can cause skin cancer, wrinkles, freckles and damages caused by the sun. As it is, products are being produced which combines Moisturizers ans Sunscreen for easier application. However, this means that you will need to purchase two types of moisturizers as a Day Cream and a Night Cream.

So, the 3-step routine ended up gaining an additional branch simply because you don't really need to use sunscreen at night. It is not needed nor is it especially recommended for your skin as it may aggravate your skin (sunscreens can't be used 24/7).

So the skin care routine became like this:

<1> MORNING: Cleanse -> Exfoliate -> Moisturize -> Protect

<2> EVENING: Cleanse -> Exfoliate -> Moisturize

So, All is well and good, right? Apparently not. Somewhere down the road, some other stuffs were jampacked on the EVENING Skin Care Regimen. Hypes about, facial mask, toning, hot towels and massage were added to confuse women all the more. The thing about these routine addition (especially for those who are newbies to skin care) is that you really don't know how to go about it. 

What's the chronological order on applying these skin care products/exercise?

According what I have read, it was supposed to be like this:

Evening: Cleanse -> Exfoliate -> Massage -> Mask -> Tone -> Moisturize

Then again, facial massage cannot be done on a daily basis as it can stimulate your oil glands. It is only recommended to be done 2-3 times a week except of course if you have really dry skin, then you will benefit greatly from a daily facial massage. I heard that the same is true with the Facial Mask.

Toners on the other hand are considerably just an optional part of the skin care routine. What does it do in the first place? According to a post that I have read, Cleansing opens your pores to clean out the debris whereas Toning closes it up. Based on the lot that I have read from different posts, although toning is only optional, it seems that a lot of women abide it and attest its effectivity. Another use of toning is to bring back the pH balance to your skin that gets removed by cleansing. (about toning, is it important?)

I, on the other hand, really don't have any good or bad comment about this because it is something that I do on and off or only from time-to-time. It's because I realized that a week after using toners, I somehow tend to have pimple breakouts which never happens me (2-3 at a time, but never 5-7 pimples at a time). I used two brands of toner already and it happened on both times. The thing is, if your skin is not compatible to a skin care product it is said that you'll get pimples or break outs 2-3 days after using the product. So, the fact that it takes a week or two for the breakouts to happen leaves me doubtful if it is due to the toner. I am guessing that my pores doesn't like being blocked or closed up. I do have large pores especially on my nose due to too much extraction (I extract those little sebums in the pores myself, not a good way to do things but I did it, w/c ended up giving me a bad skin). So, that's my little input about the additional skin routine.

Then again, something happened. Those crazy skin experts was not happy with simply confusing the hell out of the women. They wanted war! They ended up introducing this really interesting Skin Care Routine "The Korean Way".

People from all over the world were so envious of the beautiful korean skin that they wanted to know the secret piece by piece. I on the other hand, also loves their beautiful skin that even I looked up on it. And this is what I have learned.

According to an article, Koreans have their own way of Skin Care (K-popped). Actually, I am simply confusing you. Almost everything is the same with one or two addition to the GROWING list of Skin care Routine. To summarize what I have learned their routine goes like this: 

Double Cleansing -> Massage -> Mask -> Tone -> Essence -> Moisturize

Double cleansing is subdivided to <1> Remove make-up using make-up remover or cleansing oil. <2> Cleanse

Massage, Mask and Tone have already been explained above.

Essence or Serum, now, here's what I was talking about, the newly added skin routine. It says that serum are concentrated liquid treatments (anti-ageing, vitamin/mineral concentrated for direct application to your face) you can use to correct skin problems. Personally, I have not yet tried this because, Serums or ESSENCE are especially expensive but I'll have an input on other stuffs later on for your further confusion ^_^ 

So moving on, I then stumbled upon this another Korean Beauty steps: Refine -> Emulsify -> Essence -> Cream (Laneige)

Now, this is something I stopped delving on, with so much beauty tips, routine, regimen and etc stuck to my brain, I don't really want to confuse myself more or I might end up with a 20-step beauty routine afterwards.

Just a side note, Emulsion is pretty much a lighter kind of moisturizer that hydrates your skin and locks in moisture but the cream in the 4th step is also a moisturizer.

So, over all, here is the summary of the korean skin care routine:

1.Make up remover 

2.cleansing oil (shu uemura)

3. Cleansing foam/cleanser

4.Massage 2x a week

5.Clarifying/Moisture Mask 1-2 times a week

6.Emulsify

7.Tone

8.Essence/Serum

9.Moisturizer Cream

Still, you haven't seen the rest of it yet! Especially the list of make-up products the use before going out of the house (just read this).

In the end, skin care routine became this complicated:

<1> MORNING: Cleanse -> Exfoliate -> Moisturize -> Protect

<2> EVENING: Double Cleansing -> Exfoliate -> Massage -> Mask -> Tone -> Essence -> Moisturize

Finally, after going through all that research I came to a few facts and very important routines that I'd like to follow myself

Sunscreens. Always check the UVA & UVB content of your sunscreen. To undertsand it more, read this link from K-popped for a simplified explanation about it.

Moisturizers. A must to hydrate your skin and keep it supple.

Exfoliation. You don't need to use exfoliating microbeads. Facial sponge is a great way to exfoliate your skin without contributing to pollution caused by the non-biodegradable microbeads (forgot what source I got this from)

Strokes. Everything should be done in an Upward and outward, soft and smooth strokes like you have all the time in the world in all aspect of your skin care product application. It keeps your skin from sagging.

Serum. Give it 5 minutes to be absorbed before putting on your moisturizer.

Topical Collagen and Elastin to minimize wrinkles or for anti-ageing. Don't believe product that advertise beautiful skin by applying their creams that has Collagen or Elastin in it as an ingredient.  One important fact about Elastin is that it cannot be absorbed by the skin because it's molecules are bigger than the skin'd molecules. I have read in a post that for the elastin to be effectively absorbed by the skin, it has to be in Nano-size. meaning, hundreds to thousand times smaller than molecules. The best thing to do is to enhance the production of collagen and elastin (affect the process not the product itself). There are a few food supplement that enhances production of collagen. Try investing time and effort learning about Grapeseed Oil, CoQ10, Vitamin C, Vitamin A, and Vitamin E. All of which has great anti-ageing side effects. Products that can help in producing Collagens and Elastin should have ingredients like, peptides, amino acids, retinol and amino-peptides, all of which can emphasize elastin/collagen production. Of course the result does not come at once, invest a few weeks to months to see the dfference. If it still does not work, because they say that it doesn't work to some, you can go for the MMP inhibitors (smartskincare) that typically slows the breakdown of collagen.

Multi-Vitamins. After all of the stuffs that I have read, I came into the conclusion to instead purchase food supplements that has Vitamins A, C & E in them. Searching for the product brought me to two brands, one is ConZace and the other is, Vigor-ACE. Both products have Vitamin AC&E, only with different concentrations. I have read that this is very effective but basically gives a nasty side effect if your body is not compatible w/ it. I think it simply means that you have your own sufficient supply and taking it means you are overdosing yourself.

What is the content of ConZace and Vigor-ACE?

CONZACE   :   Vitamin A - 5,000 IU, Vitamin C - 500 mgs, Vitamin E - 100 IU, Zinc - 25 mgs

VIGOR-ACE :  Vitamin A - 7,500 IU, Vitamin C - 250 mgs, Vitamin E - 100 IU, Zinc - 20 mgs, Selenium - 50 mcg, Lecithin Soya - 200 mgs

Apparently, Vigor-Ace is more expensive than ConZace. looking at the content, I am assuming that Vigor-ACE is targeted to a more specific and older age group due to the high amount of Vitamin A and Selenium. Selenium is another important mineral that produces anti-oxidant enzymes which prevents cellular damage (Selenium). However, it is toxic when taken in excessive amount. RDA for 19+ years (both male and female) is 55 mcg per day.

For now, I going to start taking ConZace. Instead of buying topical Vitamins and minerals I decided to take on the food supplement approach because let's face it, anything taken inside the body has a more longterm and effective results.  I will be posting my findings about ConZace after a month. I'm just hoping that I don't get the nasty side effect (I am slightly confident coz I think, I am very malnourished in terms of proper Vitamin intake).

Another thing, ConZace and Vigor-Ace are pretty much recommended by dermatologists to fight of Acne and for a more beautiful skin and to heal woulds faster. I on the otherhand also recommends CoQ10. You'll get to see how miraculous this one works when you get your tooth extracted. Taking CoQ10 will enhance your healing time twice as fast or faster, my tooth healed in about 3 weeks, sadly it is a food supplement that is also expensive that I stopped taking it due to lack of funds.

(for now, I'll consider this finished even though I still want to add a few more details coz it is seriously getting longer)

Thoughts abound....

Sometimes something like this happens...

You're a very conservative individual who is very averse to changes but sometimes you encounter situations that always changes and you have no choice but to allow it to affect you. Thereby, you accept that this certain aspect of your life is abound with constant changes. You might think this will help you help yourself change too by accepting changes in another different aspect of your life aside from this but it doesn't. You're stuck in the same life cycle of your life, conservative & averse to changes. Why does that one aspect differ? what is so different between this and that? It's the fact that you thought that change fore that certain aspect is common, you ironically consider it constant that's why the rest of the world but that can change

Mannequin Runway: Prada Resort 2008 Skirt

I have just recently stumbled across this fabulously authentic pleated skirt from Prada during one of my trips at a thrift store. I was so ecstatic about it that I kept smiling for days! I immediately checked out Prada's Runway Collections with my fingers crossed! Who wouldn't? It was in a perfectly excellent condition with just the slightest gray stain on the waist area. Plus, I couldn't help but notice the textile quality and the perfect sewing techniques employed, it's definitely not some cheap/Class A imitation at all.

So there I was browsing through hundreds of collection and then I found it! Right there, I saw this Model Siri Tollerod wearing the exact same prints/pattern that I had. Her skirt was slightly different w/ only two front pleats but who's counting? I'm perfectly happy with simply knowing which runway did that pattern graced. Then, before anything else,  I should show you the skirt first though:

Isn't this just lovely?






























































It would be so great if I could find someone to adopt this for only $100USD (not including the shipping). I find it really hard to sell this in my location because it is a runway collection. Plus, it will be severely underpriced, since not a lot of people here in my country likes skirts very much, they prefer dresses and an equivalent of $40USD should be considered expensive already (I really don't mean to offend). I also can't imagine how it will be taken care of since it is for professional dry clean and I don't trust dry cleaning in my location coz I've lost 3 of the 5 favorite dresses I sent to the dry cleaners that way. Another thing about the washing part, it is in our culture to employ laundrywoman to do their laundry (manual washing by hands or machine-wash), and those employees are not exactly trained to professionally launder your garments. I shiver just imagining the dress being thrown into the rest of the everyday garments & thereby destroying it in the end.

Cyber Knowhows: Spam mails "Hello, How is everything going? I just got my..."

Hello,
How is everything going? I just got my Toshiba Qosmio X505-Q880 TruBrite Gaming Laptop on this website:  bihoir.com  They also can provide you all kinds of digital electronic products. you would enjoy the lowest price and the excellent quality along with the best service.
Hope you can enjoy your shopping!
Best regards!

...

Now, before you start going to the site, I should tell you now that that site does not exist. This little sample here is the newest in spamming/spoofing/hacking thing in the web. I don't really know how this is done but I am assuming that it's by opening sites that would ask your emails or some malwares or spywares that actually gets data out of your quaint little computer.

I love going through the internet, browsing sites both wholesome and something else and I ended up encountering this little problem that's given me headache for weeks now. I'm not a beginner/dummy in this cyber tech world but I don't have extensive knowledge about it too, that's why I've only just recently realized that this problem here can be resolved by simply going into your mail options and fixing your vacation response. Then, viola! Problem solved!

So to summarize this again, if you are using a yahoo email address, take these following precautions when you start receiving spam return mails in your inbox or spam folder.

1. Change your password to something harder to solve. Since I have no idea how this thing happened, I am not removing the Hacker idea out of my suspect list. I may have been hacked or not but it doesn't hurt to change your password to be safe.

2. Go to your Yahoo!Mail
-> MAIL OPTIONS -> VACATION RESPONSE
-> UNTICK THE "Enable auto-response during your vacation" BOX
-> SAVE CHANGES

VIOLA! Problem solved! That is until, you get victimized again since I don't really know the source of this thing...

A Little Bit of Know! Alzheimer's Disease

I don't think I will want to go through the scientific definition of what Alzheimer's is. Since I am by no means a scholar, I might end up describing it ways away from it's scientific definition. So if you would like to know more about it I suggest that you visit www.alz.org for starters.

Anyways, I am sure that that would have been the first suggested site that you would see if you ever decide to google it. So I guess that I am just wasting my time telling you about that too.

I on the other hand am not in anyway related to someone with Alzheimer's. Therefore, before I head on to the topic, I must tell you that to some who are very sensitive to the topic may not like how I would phrase or state facts or things in here. I may end up having Zero-sensitivity and Zero-knowledge to the topic so you might want to transfer sites if you don't want to read a noob's ideas about it. The closest thing I could relate to the topic is watching Grey's Anatomy since it seems to be a recurring topic in the series. On the off side, I tend to forget a lot of things, especially these past few months that it made me worry enough to read snippets about it.

So, on to the topic.

The way I understand it, Alzheimer is literally the shrinking of the brain. For me, that in itself should alarm us. If we think of our jelly-like healthy brain drying up that it starts shrinking, you end up with a personal conclusion that your brain may lose it's power to operate. I.E. Forget things. Since the brain is the storehouse of information, and I imagine the healthy brain compressing or shriveling up, I also end up imagining the informations inside that brain shriveling up until it is gone to nothing. No wonder people with this disease forgets. 

Simply put it, I think that the reason why someone with Alzheimer's die is because of the face that the brain has forgotten how to live. Then before that, the patient may have lost the will to live, seeing that he has no more recollection. The thing is, I think it would feel like you have ceased to exist since you know nothing about you... Again, purely ideas...

Frankly, I am glad that no one would ever read about this blog seeing that all I am writing maybe pure foolish thoughts to people who really knows but still, I just wanted to write my ideas across.

I wonder, it seems that Alzheimer's is a disease of the recent century, based on the rising numbers of people with Alzheimer's now and then, it seems safe to assume that Alzheimer's developed as a result of the world's industrialization. Again, I am saying that I know nothing. I did not do any kinds of research on this. It just seems common sense to add things up and come up with your own hypothesis like this. However, it should most likely be due to the fact that this disease was not yet named until 1900's which would translate to unaccounted cases of Alzheimer's during the old days. Forgetting that little thought, industrialization would have started somewhere between the 18th to 19th century, meaning it just had about enough time to cause a new change in people's lives thereby producing a new epidemic. Again, nothing here but purely fictional ideas from me.

Then, I am writing because I was thinking about Alzheimer, but since I easily lose interest, I would stop here for now.

Ciao!

Chapters of My Life: A Smart Ass Biography (Preconception)

Why do I want to write a biography about my life? At the very least one of the reasons that I could come up with is that, everyday, I am becoming more and more forgetful. I wouldn't wonder if one day, I wake up not even remembering a thing from the past... Maybe I also wanted to leave something behind that tells of my true feelings and thoughts and how I conceive reality and things that happened or is happening in my life... I am thinking of putting up 4 to 6 sections in this little project although I still have no idea how I would come up with the division.

Anyway, before I begin to once again get tired writing or typing  I should put up a draft or some really really rough outline.

What I think about Love (in a single person's point of view), Family, & Friends.
How I view the world & how distorted my truth or other people's truth is compared to mine.
My childhood & my Dad who, as they say, did not acknowledge me.
My stepdad who never wanted me to call him Dad.
My personality which seems to irk everyone around me and how fake I feel.
My Mom who falls in the same category as above.
My thoughts about how a parent's love is not really equal as they say it is...
How I think, as a child, someone should take care of his kids. I was a child brimming with ideas on child-rearing...
How as a child, I could easily understand sex-related jokes, and how I think these kinds of thinks happens (due to a person's intuitiveness)
How I lost my childhood friends through distance.

During adolescence
About crushes and how I hated how it makes people totally stupid.
How I always to this time and again... distancing myself to the people I have formed bonds with.
How I would use underhanded tactics to gain friendship
How I keep daydreaming about romantic things & wake up & do the total opposite.

Life as I know it today