Benefit Cosmetics Is Now At Ayala Center, Cebu

One of my favorite make up brands, especially when it comes to dope brows products, is finally within arms reach!

Following the success of their first branch in SM Seaside, Benefit Cosmetics has moved closer to us city gals and is now located at the New Wing of Ayala Center, Cebu (right across Zara Men).

Their newest branch is plastered with their signature bright pink colors with fine touches of lemon yellow and eye catching slogans all over their walls- giving ladies the best make up experience they could ever ask for. But my favorite part about this new make up haven is the vanity section which allows women to play around with make up under perfect lighting and comfortable chairs.

Here’s an inside look:

I took a jab at the bushy eyebrow trend thinking I wouldn’t be able to but thanks to the magic of Benefit’s awesome brow products- I am officially a cool girl 😉

Make sure to follow Benefit cosmetics on their Facebook & IG for exclusive opening promos!

xx,
Issa G.

[VLOG] Fresh & Fast Everyday Make Up Look!

 

I’ve been getting a lot of compliments about looking more “blooming” lately which is quickly connected to questions if this is my pregnancy glow. Sneaky, sneaky. But no, it’s not. More over, it’s an improved skin care routine which I’ve heavily invested on lately thanks to my favorite- Dara Beauty Market

Nothing much has changed with my beauty routine in the past year but I thought I would show you how I did my make up anyways. TBH, I’ve been really lazy when it comes to make up but ya’ll seem to really like how I’ve been doing it so here I am sharing it.

Hope you enjoy!

xx,
Issa G.

[VLOG] How I Lost 10 Lbs Before My Wedding

Hi everyone! I wanted to share this with all of you who wanted to know more about how I lost weight before we got married.

Coincidentally, today is our 1st month anniversary as husband and wife and I couldn’t be happier!

I hope that you like this video enough to like, subscribe and follow me on Youtube.

xx,
Issa P.

 

Bridal Diaries: Our Studio Pre Nup with James Jayson Ty

It’s been a wonderful 2 weeks and a half since the wedding and now that all my family members’ have peacefully returned to their homes and Paolo & I have slowly settled into the married life (which isn’t quite different from our bf-gf life, btw), here I am getting back into the rhythm of blogging.

So let’s start with our PRE NUP!

Paolo & I had a total of 3 pre nup shoots for our wedding- the first because it was a gift from my aunt, second because I wanted my good friend to shoot us in our natural state at home (photos to follow!) and third, because we chose it to be a part of our wedding photography package.

By the third pre nup, and with this shoot being so close to the wedding, you can only imagine how little Paolo (and I) actually cared about it. But I tried my best to make the most out of it and while I’m not surprised, the photos came out great!

I’m really  happy that I chose to have a studio shoot because it really allowed James, our photographer, to focus on Paolo and I as a couple. We got to experiment with a lot of different moods, lighting and props which include our eldest son, Cody; confetti and fairy lights. You will also see by the end of this bridal series that I also opted to have most of our post nup photos back inside James’ studio because I just couldn’t be bothered with the heat and having to travel to locations.

Here are my favorite shots:

SET 1

SET 2

                                       

  

  

SET 3

 

  (!!!!)

SET 4

As it is in my core being to over think and over analyse everything, I also really took the time to question why Paolo & I even agreed to having a bunch of photo shoots anyways. I obviously either love, or am used to photoshoots but it’s not necessarily something Paolo would jump at the idea to so why force him into something he’s not excited about?

But a friend of mine told me that photos are a nice way to look back and things and remember the fun, silly or whatever moments that happened in between. While Paolo may not have thought this was the best experience, we definitely had fun playing with Cody, just being ourselves, it got us in the wedding-y mood and hey- I have tons of blackmail photos for him now. hihihi.

What do you think of our set? 🙂

Photography: James Jayson Ty
Venue: James Jayson Ty Studio
HMUA: Shaira Qyumbi
Grooming: No Strips Waxing Salon
Hair: Mira Beauty by Design

xx,
Issa NOW A G!

Sunnies Face, Now Open In Cebu (SM City Cebu & Ayala Center)!

I often find myself saying that the Sunnies moguls- Georgina Wilson, Jess Wilson, Bea Soriano-Dee & Martine Cajucom could sell me a scalding bag of poop and I would still buy it. When they first came out with Sunnies my initial thoughts were, “why would they decide to sell sun glasses? Aren’t my fake Raybans enough?” and yet every time I pass by a Sunnies Stand, I can’t help but feel the urge to steal buy every piece of tinted glass on their shelves.

Then they came out with Sunnies Optical, it sort of made sense but then I thought- “I doubt they’re going to replace the long standing optical brands we’ve been getting our glasses from for the last 2 decdes” and yet here we are, 2 years after, 5 frames in (4 broken, 1 lost) and I’m still getting my prescription glasses from them. Many will argue and say they’re fragile frames and that you can get the bang for you buck elsewhere but that’s never stopped me. Except for now since… I’ve give up on frames.

AND THEN they came out with their Sunnies Fluffmate line and I was like “get the fuck out of the house, I’m so tired of their shit” but guess who almost had a panic attack when she wasn’t able to check out her lipstick when their website crashed? me. Guess who set her alarm 30 minutes before the website launch so she could possibly get every fucking color? me. Guess who now has 3 of the colors after JUST vowing to not buy lipstick? me.

Now don’t get me wrong, I know it looks like I would walk off the face of the earth if these ladies would ask me to but in all honesty, I do not aspire to be or look like them. I don’t stalk their social media accounts nor do I feel the need to breathe their air but I do respect them and I do admire them and what they’ve done for fashion girls like myself. They’ve given girls the ability to express themselves in the smallest yet most impactful ways- take eye wear for example: to some of us, it’s just a piece of metal, plastic and glass that you put on your face but now it’s an article of clothing that allows someone to get an idea of who you are: classy, quirky, fun, sophisticated- you name it. Same effect with lipstick. That, and the fact that their creamy texture, gorgeous colors at the sweet; sweet price of only P345.00 really hit the spot. In truth, I have yet to have an opinion about their highlighter and brows duo kit but so far the women of the world say yes.

I didn’t really understand the “IT Girl” effect at first but as I stepped into Sunnies Studios in my plaid dress, boots and beret on opening day and allowed myself to revel in the all the fashionable looks that each girl was wearing I suddenly felt like that was the one thing missing in my life all this time- a space to be myself, to feel good and be that girl I always wanted to be from the magazines.

Call it whatever you want but 9 year old Issa would never think that 20 something year old Issa ever would get to wear boots and a beret in Cebu so I still win.

Welcome to Cebu, Sunnies Face- this blog is unnecessary but once I started writing it I couldn’t stop.

can’t wait for the next thing hopefully within decent time periods cuz you know, we have a wedding to pay for…

xx,
Issa P. very soon to be G.

Reviewing A Bin Of Make Up- 2018 Products (Review, Haul, First Impressions)

Thanks for watching this video! I would tag everyone in the video but I cannot bear to rewatch it because it’s 30 minutes long and I don’t have that kind of time. So… e GMT (Google mo, tanga!)

Don’t forget to like, subscribe and follow me on my socials and especially on Youtube.

Appreciate it,
Issa P.