Get creative!

It's time of year again to think of the creative graduation shots for college seniors out there. And while most don't pay much attention to these kind of details, we say that your graduation picture speaks a LOT about who you are and where you'll probably end up in the future. So with that said, we argue that thinking of what your creative picture would look like is one of the things you should take time for :) But don't worry too much my dears, we at PK are sooooo nice, we've listed a couple of ideas for you!

1. Movie Character - Do you have a favorite movie character you want to portray? Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's perhaps or how about Angelina Jolie in Tomb Raider? (if you ask me, I'll go with Elle Woods from Legally Blonde or Carrie Bradshaw from Sex In the City) Well, now you have the chance to go dress up like them!

PK Tip: Widen your spectrum! There are a lot of movies and a lot of genres! There's romance, horror, action, chick flicks, drama, you name it! I'm sure there's one character that will fit your personality to a tee.

(Jennifer Love Hewitt as Audrey Hepburn)

2. Dream Job - You're young and idealistic and there's nothing wrong with that! If you have a good idea of what you want to be in the future, then start visualizing (and dressing like it) today! It'll be fun to look back on your Creative shot decades from now and see your dream becoming reality!
PK Tip: Try finishing this phrase: When I grow up...

3. What you cannot live without - Are you a coffee addict? Or a dictionary freak? Well it's time to tell the world! Everyone who'll see your picture will agree that it's very you! It will definitely make your creative shot scream YOU! in every way.
PK Tip: You don't have to choose one thing. You can have a lot of things in tow. But of course, it'll make a better statement if you go with just one :)

4. Personal stand/sign - Whether you're vegan or have a soft spot for animals, it's time to tell the world! This way, you'll not just make a personal statement, you'll also be advocating some cause.
PK Tip: Have a clear statement printed out so your personal stand won't be misinterpreted. That'll be the worst thing that could happen with a picture.

5. Who you're known for - Are you the Class Geek? Campus Heartthrob? School rockstar? Or just the spoiled brat? Now's the time to show your true colors and wear them loud and proud!

PK tip: Try asking around for other people's opinion, you'll be surprised what you get :)

6. Vanity pic - Now's the peak of your beauty so what better way to document it with a good creative shot? It's time to let the inner model in you come out and show people what you got! Believe me girl, you have it in you, you just have to have confidence!

PK tip: It's better if you focus on just your face so people would know it really is a vanity shot.

7. Costume - Ever gone cosplaying? Well, here is your chance! You can go as you anything imaginable! Go as a witch, a wizard, a fairytale princess, a goddess, or any other comic and fictional character you can think of!

PK Tip: Try browsing around your book collection, you'll sure get ideas from there

8. Seasons - We just have two seasons in the country but it doesn't mean you can't act like there's no winter or autumn here! If you particularly love a certain season, why dont' you go wearing the trendiest "seasonal" outfit out there? :)
PK Tip: If you do decide to go with this, go all out okay? Wear faux fur for winter, bikinis for summer, and rainboots for the rainy season. You're just "creating" a season so you have to pull this off on your own.

10. Larger than life (stuff enlarged) - This is one of my favorite ideas ever! Remember when America's Top Model had a "barbie" photoshoot? Well, this is very much like that! You can go as small toys or stuff that are enlarged! So cute!
PK Tip: You don't have to be the actual "stuff". You can just bring something that's big for its size like maybe a LARGE cocktail glass with you in it or a large cake with you as the "candle" on top. The possibilities are endless!

So there! Some ideas to help you decide on your Creative Picture! Be excited about this because this is one of the things you'll only be having once in your College life. Advance congratulations for making it to senior year! :)

If you're wondering what S and I picked for our Creative shots, wonder no more:

Click pictures for bigger versions :)

Celebrity scents

Our favorite celebrities have become much more than faces on tv screens, a good number of them have dived into the retail business: cosmetics, clothes, shoes, and the most common of all-- perfumes.

The first time I heard about celebrity "scents", I thought: "what? as if merely attaching their name on a bottle of perfume would make it sell!". But I guess these celebrities aren't so stupid after all! Their perfumes actually smell good! I've honestly smelled every single one of these perfumes (a couple of them I've personally used) and these are my favorite scents:

♥Jennifer Lopez' Live Lux and Glow After Dark
Live Lux smells very much like Salvatore Ferragamo's Incanto line or if you don't know what that smells like, think of fruity and floral scents. After Dark on the other hand is a unique mixture of floral, fruity and vanilla scents. The smell is heavier and more rounded than Live Lux. I highly recommend this for airconditioned places because it just smells wonderful in cool weather. Another plus: J.Lo's line is very economical. A few spritz is all you need to keep you smelling good all day.

♥Britney Spears' Curious
S' twelve year-old sister uses this and weirdly, it works for her! Britney's Curious has a floral scent which gives it a young but sophisticated smell.

♥Paris Hilton's Can Can
I don't know why in the world TMZ reported this being on the sale rack in the States when it smells sooooo good! I'm in love with this! If you Americans do not like it, ship over the whole batch to me, I'll take them with open arms! Can Can has a subtle vanilla scent with floral undertones. The good thing about it is that the smell doesn't change even after a couple hours unlike Paris' Heiress which smells really good at first but weirdly smells different after just an hour (fooled me bigtime!) As for Paris' new scent, Fairy Dust, I say it's sad we live in the Philippines where Sampaguita is so common (hehe!)

It's so nice to know there are celebrity scents out there that actually smell good! A word of caution though: It's a fact that perfumes smell differently on different people because they often mix with a person's own biochemistry. So don't expect a scent to automatically smell good on you just because it smells good on another person.

There's this one perfume I wish I'd have the chance to check-out. I haven't seen it anywhere yet but they say it's made for the younger generation with a mix of floral, fruity and butterscotch-y scents: Hilary Duff's With Love and her newest, Wrapped with Love.

Would you be a dear and give me a heads up if you come across Ms. Duff's line? :)

Simply Superb!

Tired of eating rice for lunch? Why don't you go and eat at Oliver's Super Sandwiches? They have a promo wherein you'd get half a sandwich, soup, cake, and coke for 199php!

I was actually surprised that the soup tasted like soup unlike the other restaurant promos wherein their soup tastes like water with salt! I also appreciated the fact that you can choose what sandwich you want. I didn't mind the HALF a sandwich thing because I'm not that big of an eater. Also, you're free to choose what cake you're going to have. I got a Black and White cake while my friend got Yema Cake. The cakes were really creamy too.

So, if you want Super Taste and Super Value for your money... head to the nearest Oliver's! :)

Pimple Scar, Buh-bye.

The day before a big interview, I got this huge pimple. My mom gave me some ointment without telling me to use it sparingly. Hah, I got super eager and used more than what was necessary. As it turns out, it could 'burn' your skin. I was lucky because I didn't get burnt. What happened to me, however, is still quite unlucky. My pimple left a scar. So I've been trying to find products to make the scar vanish or at least less noticeable. I found two products. ;)

1. Body Shop Tea Tree Oil

I was a bit hesitant to buy from Body Shop because in the past, my skin didn't get along with their skin care products. But since every magazine, beauty forum and site (I find) that talks about the Tea Tree Oil line worships it, I gave in.

When I applied the oil to the pimple scar, I felt it tingling. The tingling feeling was similar to the

feeling I felt when I used some of that ointment mom gave me. So I was a bit scared. But, I have to admit that I also liked the tingling feeling. It actually felt like the skin where the blemish was was tightening. And when I saw that it made the blemish smaller, I instantly believed in its powers too!

Wallet damage = P375

2. Garnier Pure SOS Blemish Clear Pen

I learned about the Garnier pimple product from a schoolmate (who has really good skin!) so I went to a department store to check it out. Sadly, they didn't have the pen there. When I checked in Mercury Drug, they had the Pure line. I was a bit hesitant to buy one because I didn't know if this was effective and I was wondering why it was so inexpensive. But I gave in and decided to try it when I read at the back of the product that Garnier is actually under the L'oreal group (just like Maybelline, Kerastase, and Shu Uemura).

After I applied the product, it felt cold and I didn't feel as much tingling. But after 30 minutes or so, I noticed that not only did the blemish become smaller, it also became lighter in color. When I showed it to my best friend, she was amazed too! In fact, she already bought her own blemish clear pen.

What I love about the Garnier Blemish Pen is that it's not only for scars. You can use this whenever pimples first appear. Also, it is really super affordable!

Wallet damage= P79 --> whoops,,scratch that..checked the store and it's actually P149 :)

Ms. Unibarse 2009!

I was browsing around barbie pictures when I chanced upon a gorgeous doll only to find out she is a dollegate (cute!) in a unique pageant called, Ms. Unibarse!

Who says only humans can be crowned most beautiful?

The whole concept is so incredible I couldn't help emailing the people behind the pageant for more details about it. Ms. Amelia was kind enough to respond promptly so now let me give you the complete details about Ms. Unibarse!

Background
The Ms. Unibarse competition runs like a usual beauty pageant but with a lot of twists! As Ms. Amelia puts it, "It is fantasy mixed with reality and lots and lots of imagination!"

The whole concept began in 2005 as a dare to see who can do the best makeover on a doll. The first batch of dolls were judged by the group's friends via their website and the whole idea just caught on evolving into the wonderful Ms. Unibarse pageant it is today.

The group behind the idea is known in Los Angeles as F&G. They created the Miss Unibarse Organization which produces the Miss Unibarse event. Their our other partner in crime is Global Queen Beauty Management which helps prepare the dollegates with their hair, make-up and competition garments.

To put it better, in Ms. Amelia's words:

"The 'dollegates' come from or represent various countries in the world. My team headed by the Miss Unibarse Organization and Global Queen Beauty Management take these dolls and repaint their faces and sometimes give them a new hairstyle by cutting and re-rooting new hair to be more modern and accurately represent their country. We give them a full make over complete
with makeup just like they do in just like in pageants. It's Top Model meets Miss Universe for dolls.

All the costumes, gowns, competition clothing and accessories you will see this year and the majority of the designs you have seen in the previous installments are designed and hand made by ICON, our official fashion and costume designer for Miss Unibarse. Our official photographers are F&G Photography. They are the men behind the stunning images and photo challenges year after year."

Judging
Judging of the competition is done by an international panel of online judges ranging from models, actors, business men, pageant directors and Miss Unibarse fans!

One year they had Philippine star Heidi Ann Riego as judge. Last year it had Miss Earth 2007, Jessica Trisko from Canada, Miss International 2007, Priscilla Perrales from Mexico and Miss Universe 2005, Natalie Glebova from Canada as their judges. With this kind of panel, you just know this competition is much more prestigious than others think!

Ms. Unibarse Candidates
This year there would only be 50 dollegates. 40 will be chosen from the internet by the fans and 10 by MUO and GQBM. Those 50 will compete in national costume, swimsuit, gowns and presentation, and "People's Choice". The top scores in each category (gowns, costumes etc.) together with the 'People's Choice' will get 1 of the 5 'fast track' spots. The following 20 will be based on the highest composite scores for all categories. After the 25 have been chosen, they compete in various photo challenges at the end of each challenge 5 will be eliminated until we are left with 5. The last 5 will face off in the final question, to be answered by the doll director.

Voting
You will meet all the 80 dollegates in batches throughout the months of June and September. They will be shown for one week and the internet voters can then vote for their favorites. The top 5 dollegates that garner the most votes per batch moves onto the actual competition and coronation in November-December.

We all know who I'll be rooting for!

Ms. Philippines 2009

Ms. Amelia was also kind enough to leave us all a wonderful message:

To All Peppermint Kiss Readers!
Buenas dias y Mabuhay!!! Beinvenido and welcome to MISS UNIBARSE!!!

Please support your favorite dollegates for MISS UNIBARSE 2009 by visiting our site at WWW.MISSUNIBARSE.COM

We appreciate your support and feel free to add us in Facebook or Myspace!

XOXO
Amelia

Awww...that was so sweet! Send back your love girls and leave comments here! It's so nice to have people use their creativity to good use while keeping the 'kids in us' alive! Mabuhay kayo Ms. Unibarse! (Long live Ms. Unibarse!)