Glamourbox's BYS Matte Maven Box Announcement | Philippine Subscription Boxes

Okay, so I've finally decided to just go for this, writing and blogging about sweet beauty deals and fantabulous finds! 

I've been seriously neglecting this blog because I'm lazy I've been very busy, but hey, I can always find time to write about product reviews, right? I promise to try harder :)

Photo from GlamourboxPH's IG

On the topic of this blog post - Last week, I happened to chance upon a blog post that was raving about glamourbox and how great the products in the box are so I stalked everything with the hashtag #glamourboxph did my research and simply had to sign-up at their website for my box. It was a bummer though, because at that time, they've already ran out of the special Glamourbox BYS Makeup Pro box. 

My little heart was crushed. How can the universe be so cruel? Haha!

Anyway, today, my stars must have aligned with something magical and lo and behold, I somehow ended up at the Glamourbox.ph website during my internet foray. Curious like a cat, I clicked on their current box and my 'click' went through! Hooray! 

Long story short, I immediately paid via Paypal and stalked browsed their social media accounts.

Well, well, well, if I ain't one lucky gal indeed! This month is all about another BYS and Glamourbox collab, but this time, they'd be featuring almost 3,000 pesos worth of 'matte makeup' goodies inside the 1,100 pesos box! Score!

Here's more info that I grabbed from kikaysikat's blog. I revised it slightly because plagiarism ain't my thing :P

The BYS Matte Maven box will have:

An 8 color eyeshadow palette! Perhaps one of the babies in this BYS Matte Eyeshadows Collection?

I'm hoping they send out the matte neutral one.

They also said that the'd include some highlighting and contouring stuff, something for the eyes, a brow product, and a lippie. 

I hope to get one of the BYS matte lippies, particularly one in a fall or winter appropriate shade.

Also hoping to get an eyeliner...and if my lucky streak continues, then also a matte BYS foundie which I'd been eyeing for quite a while.

Okay, okay, I better go catch some sleep. I'm definitely starting to hallucinate but hey, I'm so excited to receive my first Glamourbox thingy!!!

Glamourbox is a Philippine based subscription service that sends a monthly curated box to subscribed beauty addicts. The box used to be only 595 pesos per month (exclusive of shipping fee) but it's 1,100 pesos now (and still exclusive of shipping fee).

You might think that 1,100 pesos is a stiff price to pay for some products which you may not even end up liking but based on my research, the value of the box's contents are almost always twice or thrice what you pay to get the box. Definitely great for people who love trying new stuff because the box will still be worth it even if you only happen to like half or a third of the stuff they send.

Oh, you can also 'gift' the box to someone else by entering another person's shipping details instead of yours. I only subscribed for a month and I'm definitely accepting a subscription as a gift come the holidays (hint, hint, hint to my friends!).

Where I bought everything: https://www.glamourbox.ph/

Find Glamourbox on Social Media:
FB
IG
Twitter

Disclosure: I was NOT paid to write this, I'm just being uber excited. All product photos are based on my wishful thinking haha!

I might start blogging my beauty related stuff in here too. People may already be thinking I only live for food haha!

UPDATE: See my BYS Matte Maven unboxing here!

@BYSPhilippines @GlamourboxPH #GlamourboxPH #BYSMatteMaven

Note: The rest of the photos are from the BYS Australia website, grabbed from google.

Protein-Packed Homemade Granola With Chocolate and Nuts

I love granola and if there is something I can eat for like a whole week without any complaint whatsoever, it would have to be granola.

There is a problem though - I'm based in the Philippines.

Oh and I know how common place granola is in anglo countries but in this part of the world, it is easier to find Cerberus - that dog from hades - than it is to find some freakin granola!

You know what I mean?

Anyway that situation changed a bit in recent years and these days, some big name stores have commercial granola. Still, it isn't like the variety you'll see in an average American or Australian grocery store. 

I often find myself combing the city (I'm in the capital, mind you) just to get the kinds I like because although SM supermarket sell granola these days, they only carry 1 brand. 1 brand!!! 

It is either that or they cost a fortune!

What's a girl to do right? 

Well, I simply told myself that it is high time to give making my own granola a try. I don't have anything to lose but have lots to gain.

Who am I kidding? Getting the ingredients together was a pain. For real!

I had to visit 3 supermarkets (SM North Edsa Hypermarket, Trinoma Landmark Supermarket, and Waltermart North Edsa Supermarket) but in the end, it was all worth it. 

The granola came out perfect for me and now, I can have granola to my heart's content and customise it the way I want to. Yey!

Homemade Granola With Chocolate and Nuts

Get all your ingredients ready and preheat the oven to 180C. See the supplies list for the quantities of each ingredient.

In a bowl, combine the rolled oats, brown sugar, and wheatgerm/bran.

Pour in the honey.

Mix everything well since this will be the base of your granola bar.

Add in the almonds, cashews, mini chocolate chips, and raisins. Mix.

Prepare your baking tray or pan by lining it with wax paper so the granola would be easy to take out later.

Pour the granola mix into the prepared baking tray.

Pack firmly and bake in a preheated oven for 12-15 minutes on the middle rack so it won't burn.

12 Minutes will be a softer chewier version and 15 minutes in the oven will give a crunchier version. I love crunchy so I baked it a bit longer. If you want squares or rectangles, you have to cut it while still warm or do it like I did and just break off pieces for a more rustic look.

Doesn't it look so yummy? It's a great breakfast or snack on the go. Full of fibre and protein so it would be great as a pre-workout or post workout snack as well. Keep in a tightly sealed container and can be freezed too. Enjoy!

Here's the easy to print version:

Chewy Homemade Granola with Chocolates and Nuts

Ingredients:

2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup whole almonds
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup wheatgerm (or use sunflower seeds)
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
1/2 cup cashews

Procedure:

Get all your ingredients ready and preheat the oven to 180C. See the ingredients list for the quantities of each ingredient. In a bowl, combine the rolled oats, brown sugar, and wheatgerm/bran. Once mixed, pour in the honey. Mix everything well since this will be the base of your granola bar. Add in the almonds, cashews, mini chocolate chips, and raisins. Mix. Pour the granola mix into the prepared baking tray.Pack firmly and bake in a preheated oven for 12-15 minutes on the middle rack so it won't burn.