Stretch Marks

Wednesday marked my 6th month of pregnancy. I don't have stretch marks yet but my skin is starting to get really dry and itchy. Research suggests that genetics plays a role in whether you get stretch marks or not. Meaning if your mom or sister got them during pregnancy, then chances are, you'll get them too. You can have gradual weight gain, drink lots and lots of water and slather on creams and oils and still have them pop up like mushrooms. Being a product junkie however, I couldn't help but try these pregnancy friendly stretch marks products I've been reading so much about. They may or may not work to prevent stretch marks, but if they can at least help with the dryness and itching, then I'm okay with it. Here's my haul for the month.

Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula Tummy Butter for Stretch Marks

Php595 (about $15)

Bio-Oil

Php495 (about $12)

Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula Massage Lotion For Stretch Marks

Php475 (about $11)

Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula with Vitamin E

Php295 (about $7)

St. Ives Naturally Soothing Oatmeal & Shea Butter Body Lotion

Php239.75 (about $6)

Who knows, I might be one of those lucky ones who come out of it unscathed with not a single mark. But who am I kidding? I'll let you know how everything goes, of course.

Halfway There

Sorry for my silence. The past several months have truly been overwhelmingly unnerving. Since my PCOS diagnosis last year, I have resigned myself to a quiet, childless life. I've already made peace about the fact that it's just going to be us two, living a life of reckless abandon. So when in May, we found out that we're "unexpectedly" expecting, our world completely turned upside down. If not for the constant kicking and squirming around inside me, I still find it very hard to believe I'm pregnant. It has been an exhausting, terrifying, exciting 20 weeks. I try not to but still I worry I'd inadvertently do something that would harm the baby. I'm suddenly terrified of everything - things I can control, even those I can't. I sometimes work myself up into a frenzy thinking about the million things that could go wrong. I know all this stress is not doing me any good but I can't help it. I am a negative person. I'm just hardwired that way. So far, my baby boy has a strong heartbeat, he moves around a lot, especially every time I play him Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star or when Ron reads him stories - wiggles around like a maniac! Despite all my pessimism, his punches and kicks never fail to put a smile on my face. I have a living, breathing, little person inside me and the fact that I am his whole world is just awesome. 

6 WEEKS

8 WEEKS

10 WEEKS

12 WEEKS

14 WEEKS

16 WEEKS

18 WEEKS

20 WEEKS

Resto love: Pho Hoa Vietnamese Noodle House

I love Pho Hoa. It's one of the few places the hubs and I go to on our "cheat days".

I especially adore their nuoc mam cham (nuoc cham?), I'm always trying but failing to replicate it, but the whole menu looks delish, really.

Tenderloin Beef with Rice, Php295

Marinated Prawns with Grilled Pork on Rice, Php295

Chili Shrimps with Rice, Php265

Sauteed Chicken and Mushroom on Rice, Php215

Pomelo Shrimp Salad, Php200

Fresh Spring Roll (Vegetarian/Shrimp and Pork), Php127

Bánh mì

Fresh, tasty ingredients, big portions - Pho Hoa truly is a treat worth breaking your diet for.

Swatches and Review: Revlon Age Defying CC Cream

Alphabet creams seem to be all the rage these days. As if there aren't already enough foundations and tinted moisturizers to choose from, they had to throw these into the mix. I haven't tried a lot so I don't have much say about them, but what are they exactly?

BB creams or blemish balm (also beauty balm) treat and conceal blemishes. They are much like tinted moisturizers, only a bit heavier. They contain SPF, vitamins, anti-oxidants and other skin care benefits intended to promote healthy and younger-looking skin. 

CC creams or color correcting creams (also color control) have all the benefits of a BB cream plus color correcting properties. They calm redness and reduce the appearance of sallowness. They tend to be lighter on the skin than BB creams and they're not very buildable (if at all) so what you get is a very sheer finish.

DD creams are either dynamic do-all beauty creams or daily defense creams for body and foot, I don't know. I'll let you know when I know more.

So anyway, today I thought I'd talk about Revlon's Age Defying CC Cream. 

I have it in 010 Light/Pale (comes in 4 shades - Light, Light/Medium, Medium, and Medium Deep). 

It's very creamy and easy to apply. 

It doesn't provide much coverage, so if you have blemishes and dark spots, you will need to use a concealer or a foundation over it. 

I will say however that it does a decent job evening out my skin tone, so on a really good day, I can use it on its own. It could serve as a primer too, I guess, but it doesn't do much to control oilies or reduce the appearance of fine lines and pores. This is a good everyday product for me. I love that it contains SPF 30 and that it evens out my complexion but I will probably only repurchase if it's on sale.

Venting

I was blessed with one of those freakishly huge faces. I never looked thin enough at any point in time because although my weight changes, my face always stays irritatingly humongous. So, anyway, lately, I've lost quite a bit of weight and I know I'm not imagining it because I have now been able to fit in US size 2-4 jeans and XS-S tops.

See? Not making it up. So, moving on. I currently weigh 118 lbs. I do know what I look like, thank you very much. For one, I've been a proud owner of a mirror for oh I don't know how long now. And also, I'm not blind. So no, I'm not saying I'm thin. I'm thinNER now than I was a few months ago. By the way, there really is no point in this post other than to self-indulge so I apologize for wasting anyone's time! You can leave if you like, I won't mind.

That's me below, taken about a week ago. Complete disaster! I have not been eating bird food for the last 3 months only to look bigger than I actually am in photos. The face, well, it is what it is, there's nothing I can do about that, but the dress, well apparently, the color red, an empire-style dress and I do not go well together.

These were taken one week before that.

And a few hours ago.

Yes, I have a bit of a muffin-top and bat wings going on and by no stretch of the imagination do I see myself even close to being skinny. But I'm not fat. I know I'm being shallow and pathetic but I don't even care. It's just some people don't bother with courtesy anymore these days. Stop calling me fat, would ya?! Seriously, other than for being mean and rude, I really don't see any reason why you would tell someone they're fat. So there, I've said my piece. Everybody can express their opinion, duh! But just because you can doesn't mean you should.

Resto love: DimDimSum Dim Sum Specialty Store

On our 2011 trip to Hong Kong, the hubs and I subsisted solely on McDonald's, so during our recent trip, we at least did some research and tried to find good places to eat. At the top of our list, DimDimSum Dim Sum Specialty Store. They had won TimeOut's best dim sum in Hong Kong award and also made it to Newsweek's 101 Best Places to Eat Around The World. If there's any doubt about that, it goes away the moment you step inside the restaurant as photos of Anthony Bourdain and other renowned chefs as well as mentions in various magazines were plastered all over the walls.

I love their egg custard buns! I will go back to Hong Kong just for those yummy little piggies.

Their steamed shrimp dumpling (Har Gow/Hakaw) is almost as good as Le Ching's, not their chili garlic sauce though, Le Ching's trumps any other chili garlic sauce, at least in my opinion.

My dad for some reason thought he was ordering pancit. Go figure!

The food for me was OK, not as good as Le Ching's but their piggy custard bun is really a must-try!