Spotlight | oNecklace Infinity Jewelry Collection.

Today, the husband and I are celebrating our 9th wedding anniversary and our 14th anniversary as a couple. That's quite a long time of togetherness, I know. :)

And what better way to commemorate this occasion than with new jewelry from one of my favorite jewelry brands, oNecklace? If you're a regular reader of this blog, then you're probably aware that I have worked with oNecklace in two previous campaigns - the first one was on Valentine's Day two years ago, while the second time was last October when they launched their Pink Ribbon Collection.

Working with oNecklace has always been a joyous experience, and I am thrilled to be part of their new campaign. It's like the universe is conspiring to make our anniversary extra special and worth remembering. Haha!

I love that the boxes now come in my favorite color! :)

oNecklace recently introduced new items to their Infinity Jewelry Collection, and now I am a proud owner of these two lovely pieces - the Personalized Infinity Bracelet and the Classic Infinity Ring.

New pieces from the Infinity Jewelry Collection.

Nothing says forever better than this Personalized Infinity Bracelet, adorned with tiny heart charms engraved with your and your loved one's initials.  

B + C to infinity and beyond. :)

The infinity symbol is suspended from a dainty yet durable rolo style chain, made with sterling silver, rose gold plated, or 24k gold plated similar to mine.

Personalized Infinity Bracelet when worn.

Complementing this piece is the Classic Infinity Ring, a timeless, trendsetting ring that can be paired with any look.

Classic Infinity Ring.

Like the bracelet, this ring is another meaningful way to represent eternal love, as it bears the iconic infinity symbol. Similarly, this ring can be crafted with the material of your choice - sterling silver, 24k gold plated, or rose gold plated similar to mine.

Classic Infinity Ring when worn.

All oNecklace pieces come with a Certificate of Authenticity, a guarantee that the materials used are hallmarked and confirm with legal standards.

Certificate of Authenticity.

I know there are a lot of June brides out there like me, so if you're celebrating your anniversary soon and would like to commemorate the occasion with a meaningful gift, I suggest you visit oNecklace and purchase a piece or two from their website. They ship orders within 24 hours, and offer free shipping to anywhere in the world!

Thank you, oNecklace for these lovely gifts!

And happy anniversary, my love! Cheers to a lifetime of togetherness! I love you! :)

Spotlight | The Face Shop x The Simpsons Jeju Volcanic Lava Volcanic Ash Nose Strip.

Last month, The Face Shop launched their collaboration collection with The Simpsons, which I featured in this blog post. The collection features summer skin essentials such as sunscreens and tanning oils, and body care products such as shaving creams and deodorants.

The collaboration collection also includes sheet masks and nose strips, which I have tried while I was in Seoul. I loved the nose strips so much that I bought a few hoarded several packs, enough to last me until my next trip to Korea! Haha!

Bart Simpson Nose Strips aka
The Face Shop Jeju Volcanic Lava
Volcanic Ash Nose Strips!

The nose strips, which sell for 3000 won (around Php 130 or $3), come in a plastic pack which bears Bart's face and the official logo of The Simpsons. Each pack contains seven individual packets, also designed with Bart's face.

Seven individual packets.

You'll find the product description, usage directions, and list of ingredients on the back of the plastic pack and the individual packets. All these are written in both English and Hangul.

Plastic pack.

Individual packet.

Made with volcanic ash, charcoal powder, and aloe leaf juice, the Face Shop Jeju Volcanic Lava Ash Nose Strip deeply cleanses pores and draws out impurities without stripping the moisture off your skin. The strip is pasted on a transparent plastic sheet. You can easily lift off the strip from the plastic sheet; no need to worry about the edges crumpling or sticking together during the process.

The nose strip.

To use, wash your face thoroughly then leave the area around your nose completely wet. Remove the strip from the plastic sheet; then apply it across the bridge of your nose, pressing down firmly to ensure maximum contact. The black side of the strip should be the one sticking on your skin.

Stick the black side to your skin.

Leave the strip on for 10 - 15 minutes until it hardens. Slowly peel off the strip afterwards, then admire your squeaky clean nose! :)

Whitehead-free nose, here I come! :)

Personally, I like how this strip sticks nicely and covers the entire nose area. It has no weird chemical scent and does not feel itchy on the skin, unlike some of the local nose strip brands that I have tried. This nose strip dries out quickly, too. Removing it is quite easy and pretty painless - all it took for me was one quick pull. 

All that dirt, ugh!

Best of all, it does a good job of removing skin impurities. I mean, just look at all those whiteheads sticking on the strip! Grossly satisfying, haha! Even my husband was impressed, he asked me to put a strip on him after seeing all that dirt! Now he's also a fan of this nose strip, using it fortnightly like I do. :)

Sneak Peek | Laneige x Swarovski BB Cushion Crystal Edition!

When it comes to pretty packaging, Korean cosmetics brand Laneige is always a front runner. I don't think there ever was a time when I did not swoon over their seasonal collections. Case in point, this collaboration collection with PLAYNOMORE, and this collaboration collection with Lucky Chouette, and last but not the least, the Milkyway Fantasy collection - by far, my most favorite.

Now for this summer, Laneige teams up with Swarovksi, the world's most popular producer of crystals, to bring us the Laneige x Swarovski BB Cushion Crystal Edition. It's a limited edition release, and perhaps the most precious BB Cushion just yet.

Laneige x Swarovski BB Cushion Crystal Edition.

The BB Cushion is housed in a lovely, iridescent pact with genuine Swarovski crystals embedded on the cover. Specially created by Swarovski for Laneige, the crystal is called Sirius, named after the brightest star in the Milky Way. It's also the crystal that most closely resembles a diamond.

Meet Sirius.

And because it's an authentic Swarovski product, you will find the official Swarovski seal on the BB Cushion's box flap.

Swarovski seal on the box flap.

The Laneige x Swarovski BB Cushion Crystal Edition is available in two variants - Whitening and Pore Control, and comes in two shades - #13 Ivory and #21 Beige.

Real crystals! :)

It's now available in Laneige stores across South Korea and retails for 37000 won each (around Php 1600 or $33).

Will you be getting this new BB Cushion? I just did! :)

Seoul Searching Made Easy with iVideo Pocket Wifi!

It's been three days since we returned home from our (almost) month-long trip to South Korea, and as always, I have tons of Seoul Searching stories to tell. But before I ramble about all the fun, historical, and whimsical places that we've been to in Seoul, as well as all the restaurants and food stalls that we tried, and all the makeup and skincare products that I bought, let me first tell you about this pocket wifi service that made my traveling a lot more convenient and twice the fun!

A few weeks prior our trip, I discovered iVideo, a Taiwanese company that specializes in providing low-cost wireless internet access rental services to tourists and travelers in many destinations across the globe. My initial thought was "OMG! I can finally play Pokemon Go in Korea!" I was psyched!

Pokemon hunting in Korea, made possible with iVideo Pocket Wifi! :)

And with that, Peggy (from iVideo's Marketing team) and I came to an agreement - they'll provide me with wireless internet access while in South Korea in exchange for an honest review of their service. I then made arrangements with the Customer Service team as to when and where the pocket wifi will be sent. I had the parcel addressed to my friend Bongsun's house (she lives right around the corner from our place), with its estimated date of arrival around the third week of May.

The parcel from iVideo - unboxed.

The parcel was delivered safe and sound (thanks to Korea's reliable postal service) to Bongsun unni's house on May 19th - still within the schedule. Inside the parcel was a hard case pouch which contained the following: an instruction leaflet, a USB cable, a charger, and the iVideo pocket wifi device, fully charged and ready to use.

The hard case pouch.

Instruction leaflet.

Very basic instructions. :)

USB cable and charger.

iVideo pocket wifi.

The device need not be set-up or installed. You simply turn it on, wait for your smartphone to detect it, then connect to the network by entering the password indicated on the device.

Wifi ID + password.

This particular device connects to the LG U+ network, a cellular carrier owned by the LG Corporation of South Korea, and one of the more popular LTE networks in the country. It provides unlimited data with 4G connectivity, and I had no issues with the speed even if all three of our smartphones (mine, my husband's, and Yue's) were connected to the pocket wifi. In fact, this device can support up to ten wifi-enabled mobile devices.

Red signal lights indicate poor connection + battery needs to be charged.

As per instructions, red signal lights indicate that the signal is poor. I usually get this whenever we're on the subway, but that's normal. For the most part, this device gets a pretty strong signal, which helped me a lot whenever we're out and about in Seoul.

Green signal lights = all good!

This pocket wifi has good battery life, too. I was able to use mine for at least ten hours, and thankfully, it never died on me while I was on the road. Charging time is about four hours - a bit long, though charging my power bank takes longer.

All in all, I'm quite happy and very much satisfied with my iVideo experience. Thanks to the iVideo pocket wifi, I was able to do all these without having to look for public wifi signals or use Globe's crappy yet expensive data roaming service:

At the Teseum Teddy Bear Theme Park.

- Facebook Live during the Seoul Rose Festival and while I was at Seoullo 7017;

- update my social media pages while on the go;

- stream and watch my favorite Korean dramas on my smartphone during my commute; 

- find my way through Google Maps whenever I feel like we're lost;

- send/receive messages and call the husband on Viber/Messenger to let him know that we've arrived at this or that destination

- catch as many rare Pokemons as possible (at least the ones that have not appeared here in the Philippines) and get as many items from the Pokestops along the way!

World Trade Egg Gym in Lotte World Mall (Jamsil, Seoul).

I had no trouble returning the device either. All I had to do was visit the nearest FedEx branch, hand the return packaging to the staff, and that's it!

iVideo Pocket Wifi rate for Korea.

If you're flying to Korea or elsewhere around the world and would like to stay connected to the internet as you travel, I suggest you rent a pocket wifi from iVideo. Not only do they offer competitive rates, their Customer Service Team is also very cordial and extremely reliable. I loved their service so much that I'm planning to rent a device again on my next trip. Thankfully, they also offer unlimited data to Singapore! :)

You can rent a Pokemon Go Plus device, too!

Visit the iVideo website to view their rates and all the countries that they cover.
Or follow their social media pages for the latest updates:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/iVideoWiFi/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/iVideo_en
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ivideowifi/
Email: ivideo.en@gmail.com

Seoul Searching | Seoullo 7017.

My childhood friend Melissa came to Korea for a quick vacation. We hardly saw each other back home in the Philippines, so we made arrangements for us to meet while both of us are here in Seoul.

We met-up last Friday, a few hours after her arrival, to enjoy the sights and sounds at the Seoul Rose Festival in Jungnang District (will blog about this later); then we met-up again yesterday, the day before she flew back to the Philippines. We went on a gastronomic adventure at Gwangjang Market, something I've always wanted to do but could not because Yue isn't too fond of local Korean delicacies. Afterwards, in true ahjumma fashion, we hung-out at nearby Cheonggyecheon Stream, sipping on fruit smoothies while catching up on each others' lives. Finally, we decided on a whim to feed our curiosities and visit Seoullo 7017.

Hello, Seoullo!

This structure was once known as the Seoul Station overpass, where cars once sped along. The overpass was built in 1970 as a response to the growing traffic congestion in Seoul, and for years, it connected the eastern and western halves of the city. However, in 2006, the structure failed the annual safety inspection and was later on closed to traffic due to safety issues.

While other aged overpasses in Seoul have been demolished or have been considered for demolition. the Seoul Station overpass underwent major transformation and was then reborn as 'Seoullo 7017'.

Locals and foreigners walking along 'Seoul Street'.

The view from above. Hello, Seoul Station!

More of Seoullo 7017 after the jump!