Quick Overview

Photo from AllKpop

Are you familiar with the hit Korean movie My Sassy Girl or K-drama series’ My Love from the Star and/or Legend of the Blue Sea? If you are, then I’m positive you envy the amazing skin of lead actress, Jun Ji-hyun. Would you believe that she’s in her late 30s (during the time of this blog post's conception)? And why would you not? She abso-freakin-lutely has THE. BEST. SKIN. EVER!!! And the bigger question is, where have all her pores gone? Like, seriously? Did they take a vacation for eternity? Or have they booked a trip to Mars?

  

Nacific Fresh Herb Serum  

Remember I told you about Jun Ji-Hyun's most coveted skincare fave? Well, this is it – Nacific’s Fresh Herb Serum, which the internet affectionately calls the “Damn Serum”. This serum is an antioxidant-rich bi-phase product that targets elasticity, firmness, and radiance. It's a great anti-aging product as it helps smooth out fine lines and wrinkles and shrink down pores to a size barely seen by the naked eye.

Pros & Cons

What you'll love about it

What you won't be a fan of

✖ Serums are usually pricey, but this specific serum isn't the most affordable among many others in the market. However, a good first try for experience is always nice

Nacific Calendula Tincture Toner 

Have you ever heard of a toner wash? It's one of the cleansing techniques being used by Koreans nowadays to ensure that the face is clean and dirt-free before applying essences, serums, and creams. Nacific’s Calendula Tincture Toner is a toner wash that’s been getting rave reviews from first time users and patrons.

The Calendula Tincture Toner is a 90% concentrated solution made of Calendula Flower Water, which is known to improve the healing and restoration of skin. This is the primary reason why the toner is great for acne-prone individuals. Use of this product helps in the healing of damaged skin due to acne.

When I tried the toner, I noticed that there was no strong alcohol scent. It’s very clean and fresh, which is always a good thing with products that go straight to my face. It also feels very lightweight upon application, perfect for creating a clean canvas for the rest of my skincare regimen.

Pros & Cons

What you'll love about it

✓ It definitely delivers the promise of cleaning your skin without sucking all of the moisture out
✓ No strong scent
✓ Feels lightweight the first few minutes when applied
✓ Claims to be great for acne-prone skin

What you won't be a fan of

✖ No immediate results can be seen overnight. You'll probably need to use this for a while in order to really see its effects
✖ It often feels oily after a few minutes of application

✖ The amount doesn't last very long (I use this twice a day (morning after showering and before bedtime). 1 bottle lasted me a month

✖ It didn't prevent any breakouts

✖ It's not everyone's first choice when it comes to toners because of its price

Q&A

Q1: Where do I buy these products?
A1: You can purchase these babies at Watsons, Shopee, or Beauty Bar. You can also shop via Beauty MNL and have them shipped straight to your door.

Q2: Are these products safe for people with active breakouts/acne?
A2: Like any skincare product, I think it's always best to purchase a trial pack first before buying a full-size variant and incorporating it into your skincare routine. These products are said to have been made for all skin types and in my experience with using them even while having active acne, it didn't affect how they progressed. But I did notice fewer breakouts after using them.

Q3: Would you repurchase these products?
A3: Definitely! All-natural skincare products like these are great and with the results they give, I've vowed to keep some space in my beauty regimen for both items (especially the serum)!

Final Notes

Trying out these premium Korean skincare products was definitely a thrill for me! Sure there were doubts at first (you know how marketing people tend to overhype products), but these products really packed a punch and I'm glad some ads on my newsfeed have convinced me to get into this journey with them. Many local online shops like BeautyMNL and Shopee have entered these products to the Philippine market, so it won't be tough to find authentic ones. Among those Shopee stores I would recommend are skincaredepot (where I bought mine), Peach Pink (I've bought a ton of Korean cosmetics from this store before; which I will also make reviews of), and sophiaandkalel (one of my favorite stores on Shopee which I've bought Korean cosmetics before as well). If you're lucky, a Korean skincare brand might even open a branch at a mall near you!

Have you tried any of these products? If you have, please feel free to leave a comment about your experience/s below.

In other news...

This week, the Soraya Left Manila blog turns 1-year-old! I can't even believe it myself! I've got things planned to celebrate my blog's anniversary and I'm hoping you'll be there to join in on all the fun! Keep posted on any announcements by visiting the Soraya Left Manila Facebook Page (which I update weekly). Please feel free to hit like, follow, and share the exciting posts you'll find there. Hope you'll continue supporting this blog as well as the weekly content I'm posting on the Facebook Page. Thanks!

Click here to visit Soraya Left Manila's Facebook Page!

Quick Overview

The Purederm Fox Brightening Argan Sheet Mask 

         

      

The Purederm Seal Brightening Argan Sheet Mask

        

       

The Purederm Pig Whitening Collagen Sheet Mask

       

     

The Purederm Panda Whitening Collagen Sheet Mask 

    

      

Pros & Cons

What you'll love about it

What you won't be a fan of

Q&A

Final Notes

Photo from Unsplash

Photo from Unsplash

Quick Overview

Where do you find a Tarot Card Reader? 

What happens during a Tarot Card Reading session? 

• Before I started the session with Leshara, I created a list of 15 questions I wanted to ask the cards. 1-hour sessions with her include unlimited questions, but she estimates roughly 15 questions can be answered per session. I was asked to make my questions specific, so I did my best to provide as much clarity as I could without giving too many details away.
• We started the conversation via Messenger. I sent her the list of questions and waited for her (as well as the cards) to reveal the answers.
• After working her magic through the cards, she sent me a photo of what the cards had revealed for every question. Here's an example of 3 of them (I would like to show you guys more of the results, but some of the questions I had are too personal to discuss) :

Will I ever be truly happy?

How can I attract more positivity in my life?

Will I ever get married? (Because what single woman doesn't want to know?)

• After answering all my questions, interpreting the meaning behind the cards, and thanking each other for this wonderful session, we bid goodbye. 

Photo from Unsplash

Q&A with Leshara Onandia Maniego (The Tarot Card Reader)

They can reach me through the following:

Interested in trying out Leshara's spiritual services? 

Final Notes

1. For people not to give in too much to societal pressures

2. For people to help do something about the environment

3. For people to be more careful of what they say

4. For people to be more considerate of others

Fresh produce + 2 bags of fresh meat left to rot in an abandoned shopping basket. This day, the mall was open until 12 AM because of the Christmas rush. All the staff was busy hustling so this would probably have gone bad before they can get to return it. How many people do you think were deprived of sleep that day because of the extra task of returning these? How many mouths could have been fed by those meats and veggies left to rot? Yes, the staff was being paid to do that. But could it have been prevented? The answer is YES.

5. For people to actually love themselves more as well as those who should matter most to them

6. For people to recognize mental health problems in themselves and in others

7. For people to make better life choices

"But he said he/she still loves me, why shouldn't I take him/her back even after he/she cheated on me? It was just that 1 time. He/She said he/she won't do it ever again."

Care to place a bet? No? Then, love yourself. See your worth. Just do it. 

"It's only gonna cost me 6 months of my yearly income. I can still make it. It's just so 'in' this year. I need to have it."

If you need to use credit card installments for it, you probably can't afford it in the first place (unless CC installment is the only mode of payment and of course, other circumstances that permit this logic; please don't bash me. I just don't want to see you go broke). 

Imagine this: You're an office worker in the March of 2007 and the Nokia N95 (priced at $700 / PHP 35k+) has just hit the markets. You want one and apparently, everyone does, too. You sacrifice time with your family and friends for overtime pay, your pet dies from a virus because you didn't have the money (nor the time) to take it to the vet, and your significant other leaves you because you're hardly around. 

Now leap 11 years into the future. Everyone knew about the hype, but not everyone went broke for it (you did, and in so many other things, too). And now you're slaving away to pay for your postpaid iPhone X (priced at $1.2k - $1.4k / PHP 64k+ - PHP74k+), you're always fighting with the people at home because they think you're going on a downward spiral for tech (not that it's bad to want an iPhone; that's your thing), your pet is simply a memory, and your ex, the one you pictured spending eternity with, is getting married to her/his long, lost childhood friend (cue heartbreaking Korean love song here). Now, add living off paychecks into the mix. How is this better? And all for a gadget that'll probably lose its value in 5 to 10 years from now. 

"I've done this before and no one berates nor notices me when I do it. It should probably be okay this time as well."

I ratted you out. I'm a Satansend (the opposite of Godsend) out to teach you a lesson. 
Please subscribe to our newsletter. We're offering 30% off of hell time for the Seemingly Lonely Singles Club members who tend to ghost this year. 

8. For people to be more straightforward rather than passive aggressive

"I know you're not the best when it comes to SEO, but yes, I will let you teach me for free."

If ego were a cryptocurrency, your house would have been flooding with cash by now. And no, this isn't a conversation I've had with myself.

9. For people to practice being better drivers

I've recently learned how to drive and I can definitely say that it's so easy to cause an accident with just 1 wrong move. It's even easier to bang up your car if you don't learn to signal other drivers. But what I've noticed (because I almost got into an accident that 1 time I was given the wheel for a whole day) was that bad drivers know no status. Whether it's a person driving a luxury car, a mid-priced car, or a PUV (Public Utility Vehicle), there is bound to be a driver who refuses to respect road rules anywhere. Nor do they give an iota of regard about other drivers' mortality. It saddens me that it happens. But what can we do but practice good driving even if others cannot; even if others will not. 

Final Notes