Beauty Perfection at Your Fingertips

To look your best all it needs is a few easy steps and the right products. Here are some tips to help you achieve the perfect look.

1. Cleanse and moisturize with the right products for your skin's needs before applying make-up.
2. Apply creamy concealer under the eye to lighten dark circles up to the lashline and on the innermost corner of the eye using the concealer brush. Smooth and blend concealer by gently patting with the fingers. For very dark circles, start with pink or peach-toned corrector then layer on with concealer.
3. Use a make-up sponge or your fingers to spot-apply foundation where skin needs to be even out, that is around the nose and mouth. For all-over coverage use a foundation brush to apply and blend foundation.
4. For long wear, crease-free look, apply loose powder in pale yellow over concealer using an eye blender brush or mini powder puff.
5. Using a powder puff or powder brush, apply powder in your correct skin tone shade to the rest of your face. Dust powder only around the nose and forehead if skin is dry.

Saving 101

We're living in tough times. With prices of almost all basic commodities rising, as well as gasoline and energy, we should start learning how we can at least save on some things. Here's a list of some energy saving tips that I hope will help:

1. Instead of using airconditioners, use electric fans and evaporative coolers instead. They consume only 1/4 the energy of airconditioners. If you don't want to use electric fans, make sure that the airconditioner filters are clean because dirty filters block airflow through your heating and cooling systems, increasing your energy bill.
2. Turn off lights, computers or laptops, TVs and other gadgets when not in use. Unplug DVD players, TVs, and other electronic appliances when not in use.
3. Hang clothes to dry using indoor drying racks or outside on clotheslines. Check for leaks in faucets and save gallons of water.
4. Activate sleep features on laptops and other electronic equipment that power down when not in use for a while. Turn off equipment during longer periods of non-use to cut energy costs and improve longevity. Unplug chargers, digital cameras, and other personal gadgets.
5. Drive the most economical car you have most often if you have more than one car. Avoid hard braking, accelerate gently and drive at a steady speed. By doing this, you can save up to 30% on your fuel bills. Consider car pooling and combine multiple trips into one journey. Keep tires inflated to the correct pressure because under inflated tires can cause up to 6% increase in fuel consumption.

Want to Lose Weight? Try These Tips

1.) Sleep More
Studies show that adding 1 hour of sleep to your sleeping schedule could make you drop up to 14 pounds. Further studies say that you'll likely eat 6% less if you replaced 60 minutes of awake time with an hour of sleep.
2.) Laugh
Researchers from Vanderbilt University in Tennessee found that a fit of giggles doesn't just boost immunity and cut stress levels, but also burns calories.
3.) Self-Tanner
Darker skin can give the illusion of having shaved off 5 to 7 pounds by masking problem areas like the belly and thighs. Self-tanners also masks stretch marks and cellulite.

My Favorite Pasta Recipe

Since it was a holiday yesterday and the whole family was in, I decided to cook my favorite pasta recipe, the Spaghetti Carbonara. I've been cooking this recipe for the longest time and it never loses its appeal. It really is delicious. This recipe is actually from my collection of Del Monte Kitchenomics recipes. I like cooking this especially when my friends are around because it's easy to prepare and doesn't have much ingredients so it's budget-friendly. They just can't stop giving me praises for my cooking. Though I don't cook often and I'm not good at it, with this recipe it seems as if I'm one of the contestants of Top Chef. The ingredients that you'll need are spaghetti, butter, beef bouillon, evaporated milk, water, parmesan or cheddar cheese, salt, pepper, and
all-purpose cream. Melt the butter or margarine in a saucepan. Saute bouillon and add milk, water and cheese. Then season with salt and pepper. Simmer for three minutes and stir in all-purpose cream. Lastly, pour over or blend the sauce with the cooked Del Monte Spaghetti. It's as easy as 1, 2, 3. So the next time a special occassion happens or even if it's just an ordinary day and you want to indulge, cook the Spaghetti Carbonara.

The Wonderful World of PTC and GPT Sites

Last month while surfing the internet for online finds I came across an advertisement in sulit.com saying that I could earn extra money by just viewing/clicking ads for 30 seconds and that payment would be in dollars (I couldn't believe it at first). Since I wanted to save for a new cellphone (LG touchscreen phone), I gave it a try. I signed-up for several PTC (Paid-to-click) programs (no sweat since it's free) like Bux.to, xclix, neobux, foxcash, earn3, and 10bux.net. If you want to earn more you have to get alot of referrals. I've already reached payout for Bux.to and xclix and am awaiting payment. As for neobux, I've been paid already. Since I wanted to earn some more (that's how much I want the cellphone), I surfed the internet again for more money making opportunities. I found GPT (Get-Paid-to) sites, where you get paid to read emails, take surveys, complete offers, search the internet, and write reviews, among a few. I joined in several sites like Cash Crate, Hits4pay, Surveysavvy, Global Test Market, Scour,
Homepage Friends, Mylot, and Review Stream. Among all the GPT sites I mentioned the one I like most is Review Stream because I like writing. In Review Stream you get paid to write reviews of almost everything like movies, music, restaurants, recipes, products etc. For every review that meets all the requirements or criteria, you are paid $2. If some requirements are met but not all of them, you are paid the bulk rate of $0.40. Minimum payout is $50 (not very hard to reach if you write 3 reviews a day). You just have to lessen grammatical and spelling errors for your review to get accepted and write at least 200 words. I'm about to reach payout in a few days and I'm really very excited. Until now I'm still searching for more money making sites and as soon as I sign-up with any of them I'll write about it here in my blog. Earning money is not easy but it's not hard either if you're very patient, resourceful, and you exert enough effort into your ventures.

The Great Michael Phelps

From the opening rites last August 8, 2008, I make it a point to watch the Olympics whenever I can. It's only once in four years so I might as well enjoy it. The swimming events are really very exciting. My countrymen didn't win anything but they at least broke their respective records (go! go! Philippines!). But the highlight of the whole Olympics (at least that's what I think) is the record 8 gold medals of American Michael Phelps (the most number of gold medals in the swimming event was formerly held by fellow American Mark Spitz with 7 gold medals). I saw the finals of the 400-meter medley relay this morning and it was awesome! Really historical for Michael Phelps. I don't know if anyone could duplicate his feat in the next few years but it sure is very difficult to surpass. With alot of hard work, determination and the right attitude, I'm sure anyone can be the next Michael Phelps.