Perks of A Bella and Yogurt

Yogurt has been and always will be my favorite comfort food. It lifts up my spirits whenever I feel down. It’s sour but it adds sweetness to my life. So when I saw a yogurt related coupon in the BDJ coupon booklet of my 2015 Belle de Jour Power Planner, I was ecstatic! 

The Red Mango coupon in the 2015 BDJ Planner

A discount coupon at that! Yay! Red Mango is one of my favorite yogurt restaurants. With that in mind, I visited the Greenbelt branch. I prefer that one because if offers a nice view of the Makati tall buildings.

My order was a medium plain yogurt with my usual toppings: chocolate chips, mochi balls (can’t miss that!), and the one thing that gives grace and beauty to the dish: chocolate syrup.

Behold my tower of yogurt!

My yogurt dish and coupon

Those are mochi balls, choco chips, and chocolate syrup, y'all!

Gotta love these #PerksofaBella. A little savings goes a long way in the financial department. Simple things like this put a smile on my face. I’m sure my fellow bellas feel the same way too!

If you also want coupons, you can purchase the 2015 BDJ planner at www.ilovebdj.com

Cool Sorbet

Have you heard of the latest scoop from The Body Shop? 

Poster taken from The Body Shop FB Page

Yep. Until July 29, 2015, The Body Shop is having the great swap of moisturizers! And it entitles you to a 50% off on their limited edition Vitamin E line. Take note: the limited edition ones are those with the UK flag print namely the Vitamin E Moisture Cream, the Aqua Boost Sorbet, and the Overnight Serum-In-Oil.

I visited a branch nearby and I was very glad at how friendly and approachable the sales person was. Without any second thoughts, I asked her about the moisturizer swap. She smiled and lead me to the display. The products were so gorgeous! I was lost on what to get. But the sales lady calmly suggested the Aqua Sorbet which has a cooling effect. Hmmm… the coolness might be a good stress reliever after a long day, I thought.

So… voila! My very own Vitamin E Aqua Boost Sorbet! The regular price is PhP995. Of course I got it at half of that. Yay!

The Body Shop Vitamin E Aqua Boost Sorbet

The packaging is very neat, isn’t it? The pink color adds cuteness to the whole thing. It’s like being cute and formal at the same time. 

The top view gives it the x-factor

The front view says the name

The back portion

It’s a sorbet type of emulsion. It has a light and refreshing feel to it. You can sense the instant cooling sensation the moment the product gets into your skin. Yep, it is a facial moisturizer. The description underneath the bottle says, “Cooling facial moisturizer”. It is mildly scented, too. The smell reminds me of mint and rose. 

The pink cooling facial moisturizer

This could’ve been my perfect summer moisturizer. Too bad the season’s over. But no worries! It works just as well with the rainy weather. 

It's just so cute! (^_^)

How about you? Will you swap your moisturizer, too? I think it’s worth a shot. (^_^)

I Love Liselle

Okay now, can I say that despite the many weeks that passed, I’m still not over Toy Con yet? This is the third post I wrote in connection with the event. First was a general post, the next was a meet-and-greet with Alodia, and this one… about a really cool art concept.

I’m attracted to prints that depict strong and sophisticated women, like the artwork of the Belle de Jour Power Planner and Heather Stillufsen. At the previous Toy Con in Manila, there were kiosks of toys, comics, shirts, and more! It so happened that I passed by a booth full of cute prints of a lovely girl with red hair, fashionable clothes, and an unbreakable aura. So I immediately stopped in my tracks and paused to take a closer look at the prints.

There I met the artist, Lisa Lee. She came from Malaysia and she managed the booth herself. She introduced me to Liselle, her art creation. There were postcards, pins, tea, and T-Shirts on sale.

Lisa Lee at the Liselle booth

I bought the adorable white shirt depicting the strong-willed Liselle and five post cards because they’re just so cute. 

The Liselle stuff I bought.

I asked Ms. Lee to sign one post card, the one print where Liselle is surrounded by bags. It is my favorite one. Yay! 

My cute Liselle postcards

Ms. Lee's signature. (^_^)

Whenever I look at Liselle, I can feel a sense of positive emotion. This artwork was clearly done with a heart. I feel happy whenever I look at it, as if I just want to be like Liselle, too. Hope we meet again, Ms. Lee! (^_^)

Liselle print on the T-shirt

Liselle is strong and beautiful.

Alodia, Ashley, and Angel Mariel

Five years ago, at my first Toy Con experience, I vividly remember that I waited in line at the Maxicollector booth for a meet-and-greet chance with Alodia and Ashley Gosiengfiao. However, the crowd got so uncontrollable that I wasn’t allowed to take a selfie with them. On a positive note,  I had a really cute solo shot of Alodia that time.

Throwback photo: Alodia as Mirai Suenaga at Toy Con 2011

This 2015, my fifth attended Toy Con led me to another fateful encounter and the fulfillment of one of my goals. When I visited the Cosplay Circle booth, I saw prints and posters of Alodia and Ashley on sale. I bought the photo book which entitled me to a meet-and-greet ticket. 

My meet-and-greet ticket

My signed copy of Alodia's photobook.

Of course, I had to wait in line again. But this time, I finally had my chance for a photo op with the two lovely sisters. Alodia cosplayed Go Go Tomago of the animated movie Big Hero 6. She was very cute and friendly. She was the first one to even say, “Hi!” to me. The booth was near the stage and some orchestral music was being played and Alodia told me, “Final Fantasy ‘yun”. And me? Oh I was stuck somewhere in the air. All I could do was nod in response. Hahaha~

Then It was time for us to pose. I feel bad that I was not in costume. But no worries, I wasn’t really out of place because Ashley was in casual attire, too. Yay! I have my own photo on my camera but Christian Mack of arkadymac.com has much better shot! (^_^)

Ashley, Angel Mariel, and Alodia (photo by Christian Mack)

Funny how I didn’t manage to take a solo shot of Alodia this time around. Hahaha~ Yeah, life’s like that. But I’m very happy that I was able to achieve what was left hanging five years ago. It goes to show that what you want is given to you at the appropriate time. You’d just have to be patient.

Well guys, that’s it for now. Hopefully, I can meet more famous cosplayers and share photos with you. ‘Till next time!