My favorite K-Beauty online store turns ONE today!!! Let's celebrate with lots of promos and discounts. Shop at http://ph.althea.kr starting July 20 - 31, 2016 and take part of this fabulous celebration!

What's in store as #AltheaTurns1?

>> Limited Edition Birthday Box + DIY Party Kit
For orders placed on 20/7 onwards. While stocks last.


>> Free Goodies for first 1,500 shoppers
Full size beauty products. While stocks last.


>> Birthday Giveaway. Pick 3 Top Sellers for 100% REBATE!
Rebate will be credited into your account.


>> #AltheaTurns1 Instagram Contest
- Got your Althea party kit? Wish us a happy birthday with #altheaturns1 and stand a chance to win amazing prizes such as Macbook Air, Ipad Air 2, iPhone 6S, Galaxy S6 Edge, Canon EOS M10 Selfie Camera, Althea credits and beauty hampers from Althea!
- Prizes total worth KRW10,000,000 to be won.
- Contest starts from 20th July - 15th August, 2016.



If you're looking for affordable Korean beauty products, Althea Korea is where you should be at! They carry most Korean makeup and skincare product that are tried and tested by hundreds if not thousands of beauty bloggers in the Philippines and all over the world! I know I have a wonderful experience every time I go shopping at Althea Korea | Philippines.

Remember these?

This!!! 💕 Korean makeup and skincare from @altheakorea! 💕 Too bad my camera failed during my unboxing, but here it is... My haul from #altheaph!!! These came bubble wrapped for safety and got my 100% authentic goodies in excellent condition straight from Land of the Morning Calm. Even the box had no dents, so props to the Korean courier! 👍👍 Watch out for their grand opening launch promotions on February 15 and visit http://ph.althea.kr! 💕 #bastaigatsikat #korean #makeup #skincare #innisfree #skinfood #etudehouse #altheakorea #bbloggers #beautybox #beautybloggersph #pinkbox #kawaii #daebak #instabeauty

A photo posted by ✨💖💜MyMaria💜💖✨ (@bastaigat_sikat) on Feb 9, 2016 at 8:21pm PST

Well, as you can see my latest purchase certain did not disappoint! These goodies may or may not be available here in the Philippines, but hey, where else can you get FREE SHIPPING when you purchase at least Php1,500 straight from the Land of the Morning Calm!!?  I buy most, if not all, of my eyebrow products from them.


So what are you waiting for? Join the celebration and don't forget to greet Althea Korea a very happy birthday!

It feels like only yesterday when I started experimenting with bleach and embarked on my Blonde Ambition journey, but it has been almost 3 years since and I've never looked back. People ask all the time how I do it and how I survive all the damage to my hair... what with all the bleaching and coloring. I'm gonna tell you how.


First of all, I don't get it done professionally, so I save up on costs. It's imperative to do your own research if you want to go the DIY route. I buy my own bleach powder (in tubs) and do all the processing at home. Honestly, I ask for help from people at home with the application because I don't have eyes at the back of my head and thank goodness they're more than willing to help me out in my hair projects.

Another thing I would like to point out (and this comes from experience!), do not ever try to bleach your hair consecutively. You're already killing it the first time, so you have to give it some time to rest like I said in my last Blonde Ambition post regarding how I bleach my hair. Previously I used to think having slow-growing hair was a curse, but now I count it as a blessing because my roots don't show up for some time, meaning it takes a while to warrant any touch-ups. So yay!

Again let's review... So usually after bleaching your hair, you get to a level 6, 7 or 8 depending on your hair color. You will be tempted to bleach it 1-3 more times to get to a 10. DON'T DO IT! I repeat, DON'T DO IT! Bleaching it again right away will damage your hair significantly. And I mean you'll get broken strands, itchy scalp, super dry hair... it's going to be a nightmare! So you need to wait at least 2 weeks to bleach it again in my opinion... and maybe do a 9% instead of a 12% developer. But then again, I'm no expert, just a hair color enthusiast. You can take my word for it... or not.

BUT WAIT... THERE'S A SHORTCUT!

If you can't wait to get to a 10... then by all means, go ahead and try to tone your hair!

Bleached Hair vs Toned Hair

How to do that? It's simple... just use a purple shampoo or a DIY hair toner. What I love about making my own is that I can treat my hair with KERATIN at the same time. It is very important to do so after bleaching. And I mean, it's a MUST!!! Now I'd like to share my most recent bleaching and toning experiment.

Available at Pretty Angel Shoppe

I used the CELLOshine Henna Wax Color as a treatment for my bleached hair then mixed with the purple semi-permanent color to create my own hair toner. Just like this:

Home-made purple hair toner

Apply this to newly bleached hair to tone down the brassiness (that yucky orange color!). Leave it there for a good while. How long? I don't know. I just leave it on 'til it hardens on my head. LOL! It's up to you really.

Do-It-Yourself Hair Toner by MyMaria

It's that easy!

But if you're like me and blonde doesn't excite you as much anymore, then it's time to level up to GREEN hair! With level 10 hair, you can even use food coloring and it works... for a day or two. But I want something more semi-permanent that would last a week or more. So onto the next step...

Available at Funky Streaks

So maybe it's not green-green but I wasn't planning on becoming Joker. I was aiming for a more mermaid-ish color and Manic Panic recently came out with this new refreshing minty green shade called Sea Nymph that was just perfect for what I wanted to achieve. So yeah... what do you think?

That moment when you take a mirror selfie and all you see is #Tatsumaki staring back at you... 💚 as always, don't be deceived by looks... I may look well, but there's nothing like receiving your x-ray results with a confirmed diagnosis of pneumonia on your birthday. 😌Still very thankful for another year of life and blessings because if there's anything that a disease will remind you, it's that life is precious and you got only one! Gotta take care of this vessel so I can live a looooong and good life. Happy double 3 to me! 🎉 #bastaigatsikat

A photo posted by ✨💖💜MyMaria💜💖✨ (@bastaigat_sikat) on Apr 18, 2016 at 7:25am PDT

Photos above were taken indoors. And here is how it looks under natural light.


When sporting colored hair, I find that shampooing hair will allow the color to fade quicker so instead, I use the Keratin Hair Reconstructor One-Minute Treatment for Sensitized Hair which I got from Pretty Angel Shoppe at every wash to keep it smooth and healthy. Only when my hair is super flat and sticky, then I would wash it with Pantene Pro-V Aqua Light Clean Rinse Shampoo followed by the CELLOshine Henna Wax reconstructive treatment.


After a week of vacationing with sun, sand, and saltwater, I wanted to turn my mermaid hair project up a notch. And so it's time to cool down with a nice BLUE shade, hence, my favorite Manic Panic Atomic Turquoise came to the rescue!


The outdoor photo in natural lighting (above) vs the photo taken indoors (below) seem to look the same and not much of a difference in color. What do you think?


What about you? Are you planning on changing hair colors for the summer or have you done so already? If you have (or haven't yet), don't forget that using Keratin and other reconstructive treatments for the hair is VERY IMPORTANT... or you'll end up with dry and damaged hair. There are many affordable products out in the market that you can buy and use at home. You don't even have to go to the parlor to maintain a healthy, shiny... and beautiful colored hair!

I admit. I am a sucker for anything Limited and Special Edition. With Missha coming out with the super cute Line Friends designs, no doubt I was all over it. Hey, I use Line Camera for their kawaii stamps and frames! So anyway, I got the makeup cosmetics with Brown (bear) but there's also the ones with Sally (yellow chick) and Cony (female rabbit).


I've been meaning to get Missha 4D mascara for a while now but with my current stash of mascara, I keep putting it off. But this I just had to get... and boy, it is surprisingly good! Really good considering that I have non-existent lashes to begin with (hello, Asian genes!)


Benefits:
• Containing natural wax for soft application without clogging.
• Hypoallergenic formula.
• Long-lasting without smudging, as forming protective coat.
• 4D Brush Effect

💕 Tip: Curl your lashes first before applying and if needed, you can curl them again when the mascara is dry. It's amazing how it opened up my eyes. Lashes from zero... to hero in seconds! Ooh, how I wish I had those fuller, thicker lashes. Maybe I should get lash extensions? But for now, this will do.

Moving on... We have the Bloody Wine Matte Lip Rouge Lipstick that's supposedly matte but I found it really moisturizing and not the dry type. So maybe it flaked by the end of the day, but the color is super vibrant and even made my thin lips look full... and kissable. ;) Wa'y mopalag!


Benefits:
• Has SPF 17
• Clear HD pigmentation.
• Strong & Comfortable wearing with a single touch.
• Lightweight soft fit, matte texture spreads out lightly.
• Argan oil, and rose hip oil included.
• Airish Fitting Formula, Even Color Formula, Skin Conditioning Complex
If you're looking for a rich lipstick without the annoying shine but leaves your lips feeling supple, then this is something you need to try! It smells awesome, too! Something I can't quite place but definitely a good type of thing.

And then lastly, I got the Missha Water-Full Tint, Special Line Friends Edition, in Orange Juice. Okay, honestly I'm not the lip/cheek tint fan but this one swayed me just because it's perfect for those casual/daily errands where it's just ridiculous to be on full makeup buying groceries or withdrawing from an ATM. Can you spell F-R-E-S-H?

#pHCareNaturals #NaturalCare

Just in time! This package couldn't have come at a more appropriate time. I've got these empties right now and something tells me I'm gonna love these latest variations of pH Care intimate wash. I've always picked Cool Wind and have been using it for years now.


However, I just couldn't wait to try the latest and all-new pH Care Naturals line! Check these out!



We all know how papaya is effective and pretty popular when it comes to whitening, and so here's pH Care Naturals Papaya to address that.




And in addition to that, we now have the pH Care Naturals Guava that's got great cleansing and anti-bacterial properties.




Now, you can be assured of natural care “down there”, para fresh and clean na, odor-free pa!



The NEW! pH Care Naturals Intimate Wash is available for P49.50 (50mL) and P104 (150mL) at leading supermarkets, drugstores, and beauty stores. For more information, check them out at http://facebook.com/pHCare.



So what are you waiting for? Check it out because not only do they smell so good, they also work wonders so you can keep feeling naturally fresh and clean! Go natural! Get the pH Care Naturals Papaya or Guava intimate wash!