Caffe Ti Amo Dark Chocolate Gelato

Dark Chocolate Gelato

Gelato is probably only next to frozen yogurt or froyo as the big thing in Manila food scene right now. Filipinos are big fans of sweet things and we are a tropical country so it is not a big surprise that Gelato is a big hit here in the country.

Gelato (or gelati) is the Italian version of ice cream. It contains the traditional ingredients of ice cream such as milk and sugar. However, unlike ice cream,it has lower butterfat as it does not contain cream. Butterfat content is only at 8 percent or below which makes it a healthier alternative to traditional ice cream.

Authentic Mexican Tacos in Manila

I recently had the suprise of my life when I learned that what I thought was authentic Mexican tacos I was consuming at Ristras and Mexicali were actually Americanized versions of. I came across this blog called Guns and Tacos  which pretty much schooled me about an authentic taco is. I'm 26 and the first Mexican fare I tasted in Manila was Mexicali in 1993 or 1994. That was my standard for Mexican food then.

I was such a fool that a San Francisco-style tacqueria would offer me authentic Mexican food. (In fairness to Mexicali, they admit on their website that they do not know authentic Mexican food, and what they are replicating is the California burritos. But still...)

Paradoxal Interpretation

Natural Light

My nails for this week is my very own franken. I call it Paradoxal Interpretation. Yes, it is inspired by Chanel's polish, Paradoxal. I did not intend to franken a dupe but I wanted to capture the feel of the Chanel polish. Paradoxal is something of a violet-gray with purple shimmer. I wanted to interpret Paradoxal. This is what I came up with.
(Pardon the photos. It's super cloudy today. Bad day to take photos)

Caress Attraction

My nail polish this week is from a local company from the Philippines called Caress. As all local polishes, these are not 3-free and are super cheap. A 10ml bottle costs 22.75 pesos or $0.5.

Caress has been around for as long as I can remember. (If you were born in the 80s you know their jingle! Caress, Caress, color every magic moment...) They are pretty accessible as they are available at Watson's and every other department store. Yes, Caress is your local drugstore nail polish.

Caress has a solid foundation of traditional,office- appropriate cremes. The color I got is office appropriate but has that edgy look.

Elianto Alice Blue

Photo taken indoors; Natural light

This is a light blue color from one of my favorite brands, Elianto. Elianto is cosmetics brand from Malaysia.

Elianto is not Big3 free. in fact, the toluene smell can be pretty strong at times, but I put up with it because of the great colors they have.

This color is Alice Blue, a light blue pastel from their regular line. They have an Alice Blue in their Sparkling Diva line.