DIVISORIA HAUL : Party Needs, Clothes & Shoes (plus DIVI Shopping Tips!)

I guess by now, I can safely say that my #DIVIHAUL will be a mainstay series on my channel. Divisoria is a huge place and there are vast of items available that's why I am pretty sure I will never run out of things to feature. Plus, things and trends always keep evolving so there will always be something new to find. 

For this episode, I will show you party stuff, clothes and shoes! Of course, all from Divisoria! 

One of the things I was amazed to see on my recent visit was this set of rose brush. I always see brush sets like this on IG accounts of foreign makeup junkies that I follow. I knew one day, it would come to Divisoria! That day finally arrived!

I found this at Gladking store inside the old 999 Mall, it is located on the first floor. They sell this for Php 800. For something that's probably mass-manufactured and not perfectly crafted, I thought it was expensive for the price tag. I also thought the different colors of the bristles made the design tacky. The next time I find a better looking set with a much more appealing price tag, I shall definitely get a set!

If you are looking for inexpensive and artsy PARTY NEEDS and DECORS, CLOTHES, TECH ITEMS, SHOES and SLIPPERS, then this episode of my #DIVIHAUL is definitely for you!

This haul is bigger than my other #DiviHauls because I went with my parents. Each of us bought our own items hence the larger-than-usual haul. I thought viewers would want to see things aside from the usual makeup tools and clothes that you see around. 

Which among the items I featured did you like the most? As for me, I am so happy with the party stuff I got because it was what I went to Divi for. I can't wait until I tell you guys what those are for. I might do a VLOG on it so be sure you are SUBSCRIBED to my YouTube channel (link here) to get updates on my new videos! 


If you liked this post, please don't forget to FOLLOW me on my social media accounts!
YOUTUBE - YouTube.com/User/RealAsianBeauty
FACEBOOK - Facebook.com/RealAsianBeauty
INSTAGRAM - @RealAsianBeauty

♥

Kristine

Tweet

BSA TWIN TOWERS Blog Review | Affordable Staycation in Manila!

Aside from going out-of-town on a long weekend, getting a nice room at a hotel is also considered fun these days! Hence the term STAYCATION. Going to a nice beach and staying at a luxury hotel outside Manila seems enjoyable until you find yourself stuck in traffic or at a jam-packed tourist spot.

Did you know there is a nice and inexpensive CONDOTEL you and your family/friends could stay at? I discovered it when I was searching for a nice hotel around Metro Manila. The most important factor for me at that time was a place that has an "outdoor" type of pool because I needed to film a Summer-themed video for my YouTube channel. Google gave me few suggestions until I found BSA TWIN TOWERS.

Do you know that colorful high-rise twin-tower you see when you pass by Ortigas at night? Yessss, it's that building! Who who have thought there is a nice place situated right behind SM Megamall, right? Neither did I think it was possible! 

(photo credit : luke-roxas.blogspot.com)

LOCATION : Julia Vargas corner Ortigas Bank Drive, Ortigas Center, Mandaluyong City, Metro Manila

THE PLACE : It is a condo-hotel that is set in a prime location within St. Francis Square, right behind SM Megamall. It puts you close to corporate hubs and leisure spots. 

It is one of the tallest buildings in the Philippines, showcasing 54 floors with a roof-top pool that has 360-degree view of Manila. Whenever I see the towers, I couldn't help but be reminded of the Petronas Towers in Malaysia. (Of course, the Petronas Towers are waaaay taller.)

I've stayed at BSA Twin Towers 3 times already and have occupied 2 types of room : Studio Prime and Studio Premier

STUDIO PRIME is a 34m2 bedroom that has either 2 single beds or 1 queen-sized bed. 
PRICE : Php 1,996 for 2 pax without breakfast | Php 2,177 for 2 pax WITH breakfast

Studio Prime is a studio-type room that has an open concept. Once you enter the door, you will see the bathroom, the dining space, the beds, the entertainment space and the windows. From the side of the windows, you will then see the kitchen area. The say, I say, is perfect for a small group, preferably of 2 people. They initially give the room to you with 2 separate single beds but you can always call housekeeping to combine the beds to transform them to 1 large bed. Perfect for sharing, it can even fit up to 4 people, I say.


STUDIO PREMIER is a 39m2 bedroom that has either 2 single beds or 1 queen-sized bed. 
PRICE : Php 2,159 for 2 pax without breakfast | Php 2,339 for 2 pax WITH breakfast

The Studio Premier is bigger than the other room I have mentioned. I was quite surprised it looks different from what BSA put on their Agoda page where I booked. From Agoda, it shows an L type of floor pan. But when we got to the room, it was the usual square type of room. Anyway, it does not have a separate room but it has divisions that would give you enough privacy, if you are staying with quite a number of family members or friends. When you enter the door, you will see the bath room, the dining space and then you will see the divisions. In front of the division to the right is the kitchen area. Behind it is the living space that has a couch and a huge window that showcases the spectacular view of Ortigas. To the right behind the division are the two beds and the entertainment area. I loved how it is still open to allow conversations while giving ample privacy when some are eating or cooking while the others are laying on the bed.


THE GOOD

The Swimming Pool
When I found this place, I was originally looking for something that has presentable pool area that I need for my video. I love how the pool looks. Because of the layout and the plants around it, you could forget you are actually on the 53rd floor of the tower! Hehe

They have 2 pools, by the way. One is this pool and the other, which is a wider lap pool, is located on the other side of the tower. 

If you want to see the video that I did here, you can watch it below. 

The pool is great however, based on my 3 stays at the place, the pool could get really jammed sometimes while in other cases, it's empty and private. Also, there was one instance where we swam in it and the water was so fresh, almost no hint of chlorine while in another stay, the water felt almost like 90% chlorine. Also, when I filmed this video, floaters were still allowed. But when we came back for another stay, floaters weren't allowed anymore to give more space for people.

The View
If you are lucky to be given a high-floor room, you will sleep and wake up to this view of Manila! This view was when we stayed at the Studio Premier which was located on the 22nd floor. It gave a breath-taking view of Quezon City. It's so clear, I can almost see my house from our room. *just kidding*


This was our view from the window on top of the beds.

This was our view from the window in the living area.

The Breakfast
Buffet Breakfast is free and it's also satisfying. Of course, you can't really compare it to buffet breakfast at 5-star hotels. But for the price you paid for it, the breakfast is fulfilling. 

I can eat platters and platters at dinner buffets but for breakfast, I just couldn't take so much. What they offer at the BSA, I must say, is just the perfect breakfast. They mostly have 3-4 viands, rice, an egg and pancake section, soup, breads and cold cuts, fruits and salad, and coffee and juice section. 

The Kitchen
What sets this apart from other hotels is that it's not entirely a hotel but a CONDO-TEL. Meaning, aside from staying at a relaxing room, you also have the freedom to move around as if it was your own home. They have a kitchen area when almost everything you need for cooking is provided. They have 2-burner stove, a full-size ref, a microwave oven, a pot and a pan, 2 sets of dining wares like plates and cutlery. The food must be provided by you, of course.

On our first stay, I made Carbonara pasta and sandwich. On the second stay, we made bread and coffee jelly. On the third stay, my BF cooked sinigang. 

It's a great place if you want to celebrate a special occasion but don't want to have to go through the fuzz of decluttering and tidying the place after. 

Those are just some of the good points of the place. Now, let's go to the bad points that are somehow disappointing.

THE BAD

The Check-In

WHERE TO BOOK : I always book my travels and hotels on Agoda.com. I find that the site is safe and reliable. I've used to many times : El Nido, Hong-Kong, Singapore, Philippines, etc.

What I did not like about BSA is that checking-in takes soooo much time. They have 2 lobbies (because they have 2 towers), but they are always full and busy. I'm not sure if it's due to the small space of the lobby, the few number of hotel lobby receptionist or the inefficiency of their check-inn system. It always takes an hour to check in! *my gulay!!!* In the picture, you can see the Manila time is almost 3:00 PM but we still haven't checked-in. The line behind me was so long, people were getting impatient. Guess what time I got there. Yup, before 2 PM. And when I got there, there were about 3 people in front of me. I was already the one being checked-in when I took this photo. So, it means it takes them an hour to assist 3 people! Crazy!We always have that experience so sometimes, we just opt to arrive later than 2 PM. Which, also lessens our time in the hotel. SO SAD! I wish they can do something about their check-in system. 

Also, upon booking at Agoda, you will be asked for your requests : high-floor room, no-smoking, 1 large bed... etc. But when you get to the reception and once you enter the room, you will realize non of those requests were granted. UNLESS, you call the reception and tell them it wasn't the room you requested or if you say it right away while checking-in at the reception. Of course, it's always upon availability of the room. But I always get the same thing whenever I stay. So, it must be culture.

The View
Remember, I said that when you are lucky, you will get a nice room with a spectacular view? Well, if you're unlucky, you sleep and you wake up to the view of windows. Flat, dead windows of the other tower. Out of our 3 stays, we experienced this twice. It was so sad we wanted city view but we were given garden view. 

But the place is nice, considering the amount you're paying to get a relaxing weekend getaway. This has become my secret go-to place in Manila when I feel like taking a break. I was skeptical in sharing because I didn't want the place to be fully-booked when I want to stay. *hehe* But I thought people might be interested to stay at a relaxing and inexpensive condo-tel in Manila.

If you ever decide to stay , please do hit me up by tagging me on your pictures on social media. I would love to know you liked my staycation recommendation! 

*not sponsored.*

If you liked this post, please don't forget to FOLLOW me on my social media accounts!
YOUTUBE - YouTube.com/User/RealAsianBeauty
FACEBOOK - Facebook.com/RealAsianBeauty
INSTAGRAM - @RealAsianBeauty

Tweet

BANILA CO. Best of Beauty Blogger's Event at Trinoma Mall

Fans of Korean beauty and cosmetics definitely know Banila Co. Most especially, Girl's Generation fans surely list the brand as one of their must-haves!

Banila Co. recently opened their boutique in Trinoma. I was lucky to be invited to their Best of Beauty Blogger's event. I was so excited to attend because like what I've mentioned earlier, I myself am a fan of K beauty and also of GG!

It was just a small event where we were able to take cute photos on their photowall. We also created our own flatlays for our cutesy IG post using their designated flatlay tables. They also had a K-Beauty Buffet segment where we got to choose and take home our favorite Banila Co. items from their selection of products. 

I filmed a VLOG in case you want to watch what happened at the event. 

First order of business - FLATLAY!

I like both the tables but I am more inclined to this table. I just love how elegant the arrangement looks. 

Oh, yes! Banila Co's endorser is none other than my favorite GG girl, TAEYEON! I love her personality, her face, her voice, everything. Can I also say I love that his BF is one of the EXO members? Probably not, I might get hated by some EXO-Ls. Okay, I won't say it, then. 

Next thing I did was to choose my TOP 5 PICK among the selection of Banila Co. items. We got to choose our favorite CC Cream, Contour Kit, Eyeshadow, Lipstick and Makeup Remover. 

For the finale, we got to strike some post in front of their pink and shimmery photowall. We were asked to wear something pink, gold or white. I decided to pair my pink with some black to make it look a bit edgy and not over-the-top girly-pink. 

Coincidentally, I wore the same colors as my friend and fellow YouTuber, Teena.

Trinoma happens to be one of my favorite malls. The event only lasted an hour or so. After that, I grabbed some food with Teena. When she left, I decided to  stroll the mall alone. Going to the mall and shopping alone was something I got used to for being single for 7 years. Hehe

Here's my BANILA CO. HAUL from the Best of Beauty event!

BANILA CO HAUL! 💕✨ #BanilaCoBestOfBeauty #BanilaCo #Korean #Kbeauty #Pink #Flatlay #Blogger #Maeup

A post shared by KRISTINE ROCES  💕 (@realasianbeauty) on Aug 10, 2017 at 10:45pm PDT

Do you like Banila Co? What's your favorite item from them?

If you liked this post, please don't forget to FOLLOW me on my social media accounts!
YOUTUBE - YouTube.com/User/RealAsianBeauty
FACEBOOK - Facebook.com/RealAsianBeauty
INSTAGRAM - @RealAsianBeauty

♥

Kristine 

Tweet

Authentic April Skin Cosmetics from Korea (Unboxing + Haul)

Who doesn't love makeup, especially if it's from Korea? I surely do! I have been seeing a lot of April Skin posts on my feed, especially on their cushions! I was so curious but I didn't know where to get it here in the Philippines. 

Good thing, I discovered a website called Early Picker. It is an online shop that offers Korean beauty products. However, I have to be honest that they don't cater to a lot of Korean brands. As of writing, they have 20 Korean brands on board. But what really got me is the fact that they are an official online partner of April Skin cosmetics. It means, they have almost every April Skin products! 

Because I was so thrilled about April Skin, I almost completed the whole range! I got a box from Early Picker full of April Skin items. I was really so excited! 

It's really overflowing! 

WATCH THE VIDEO for the unboxing. Watch 'til the end because I also included a try-on / makeup tutorial using my April Skin goodies! 

I was so excited to try the white April Skin cushion. I have come across a lot of FB and IG videos on this cushion so I can't wait to see how it works on my acne-prone, morena skin. 

I'm also looking forward to trying this hair color treatment. I lot of you guys told me I look good with red hair so I might be dyeing my hair red soon! I can't wait to try if this one is good!

Early Picker shopping experience 

Shopping on the website was quite easy for me, probably because I was only focused on buying 1 brand. The website was also easy to understand and navigate. However, it was a downside that they only offer free shipping worldwide for orders $130 and up. Also, the parcel took longer to arrive than expected. Other Korean online shops take 5 days to 14 days to arrive. While my Early Picker package took longer than that. So that's one thing to consider when shopping. Be sure you are not in a rush to receive your item/s to avoid disappointment. But to end my statement with a positive note, the parcel was delivered straight to my home. I appreciated that because it saved me from going to the post office.  


Here are ALL of the items I got from Early Picker's website. Don't you just love how most of the items are in white, black and in trendy rose-gold color? 

Aside from the long delivery waiting time, I was quite happy with my Early Picker haul. It's a nice addition to my growing Korean beauty products collection!

If you liked this post, please don't forget to FOLLOW me on my social media accounts!
YOUTUBE - YouTube.com/User/RealAsianBeauty
FACEBOOK - Facebook.com/RealAsianBeauty
INSTAGRAM - @RealAsianBeauty

♥

Kristine 

Tweet

FASHION 21 LIPSTICK HAUL - Lips versus 102 Lipsticks

One of the things I can never have enough is LIPSTICK. It's surprising how a RED SHADE could mean 16 tubes and CORAL mean 10 different ones. If you take a look at my makeup cabinet, you will see that I have over 300 lip products while I only have 12 tubes of mascara. Because a mascara is a mascara. It's either black or brown and should volumize and lengthen the lashes. But lipstick? It could be in Fire Red, Rich Red, Russian Red, Parissian Red, Bright Red, Dark Red, etc.

I recently got 2 boxes of lipsticks from Fashion 21! Can you guess how many lipsticks there are in total? 102!!! Fashion 21 sent me 102 pieces of lipsticks! I was so overwhelmed, I decided to do an unboxing video on it! 

WATCH THE VIDEO BELOW
You really need to see me unbox all those 102 LIPSTICKS, I am telling you!

This must be every woman's dream, don't you agree? I mean, all shades of lipsticks in red, peach, pink, orange and matte?! Who can resist?

I love ALL the lipsticks and I am thinking how in my lifetime would I be able to finish all of those PLUS the other ones that I already own. Anyway, my favorite line from Fashion 21 is their ALL DAY MATTE LIPSTICK. It's the purple lipsticks I showed in the latter part of the video. One of the must-try shades is the MULBERRY. I like it because it's color rich, long-lasting and feels light on the lips. The runner-up faves are SUSHI and MADARIN! 

A lot of people are requesting for another SWATCH video featuring these 
Fashion 21 All-Day Matte Lipsticks. 

I will be doing it soon so please stay tuned!

Fashion 21 lipsticks are so affordable. Each tube costs Php 175. You can buy them if you visit their outlets at leading department stores and drug stores. 

Don't forget to check back on this blog or SUBSCRIBE to my YouTube channel for the ALL DAY MATTE LIPSTICK SWATCH video! 


If you liked this post, please don't forget to FOLLOW me on my social media accounts!
YOUTUBE - YouTube.com/User/RealAsianBeauty
FACEBOOK - Facebook.com/RealAsianBeauty
INSTAGRAM - @RealAsianBeauty

♥

Kristine 

Tweet