Empress Of Drac, A Cebuana Blogger

The rise of the Korean entertainment industry highlights a lot of interesting facts about Korea’s culture and lifestyle.  We, Cebuanos, are fond of watching Korean drama series and we are even big fans of some of these K-Pop artists.  Hollywood’s monopoly of the entertainment industry has been put to an end since the turn of the 21st century through globalization brought by information revolution - the internet.

This entry features one of the most controversial and interesting parts of Korean culture - Plastic Surgery (or others put it as the culture of Beauty Obsession).

Photo Credit

One of the most interesting things about plastic surgery – a generally expanding branch of surgery – is that it is not the same everywhere. Different countries have different trends, and in some cases even different surgeries. So, while you may think that you can get all of the information you need on the topic by visiting an American-based website such as Aboutplasticsurgery.com, you may actually need to do more thorough research if your goal is to fully understand all different types of plastic surgery. Plastic surgery in Korea follows entirely different trends than, for example, in the United States.

To begin with, plastic surgery is simply far more common in South Korea than in most countries. According to the Asian Plastic Surgery Guide mentioned above, 15 to 30 percent of all Korean women are estimated to have had surgeries at some point. It is also noted that if this study focused only on women under 30, that percentage could be closer to 50. Simply put, Korean women have demonstrated a steady and growing attraction to plastic surgery, and there is little to suggest that the trend will stop, as methods continue to improve and changes remain “in style.” However, the actual surgeries themselves are a bit different than what many people are used to as well.

While procedures such as breast augmentation and liposuction are common in South Korea, just as they are in the West, there is also a lot of focus aimed at surgeries called “double eyelid surgery” and “augmentation rhinoplasty.” The fist of these is designed to create a crease in the upper eyelid of Korean women, which some have noted as, possibly, a physical attempt at “westernizing” the East Asian appearance. The augmentation rhinoplasty is designed to tastefully enlarge the nose, which could also be said to be something aiming at a bit of a westernized look. Regardless of the intentions behind them, however, these procedures are two of the very most popular in South Korea.

There are also a few popular procedures that are almost exclusive to South Korea. For example, cheek and jaw surgeries are often performed in South Korea, but are rarely addressed in the West. Typically, the closest options to these surgeries in Western countries are chin surgery and facelifts, each of which can earn somewhat similar results. However, surgery directly used to enhance the cheeks and jaw is somewhat unique to Koreans. Additionally, calf reduction surgeries are relatively popular in South Korea, and essentially do not exist elsewhere. All of this helps to demonstrate how different plastic surgery trends and practices can actually be across borders.

Mosbeau Philippines just recently launched their newest beauty products – the Mosbeau All-In-One Facial Cream and the Mosbeau All-In-One Soap. This All-In-One beauty product concept puts an end to tedious beauty regimens. This simply stunning facial skin care innovation gives you the benefits of whitening, anti-aging, moisturizing, UV protection and peeling.

First in the Philippines

The Mosbeau All-In-One Facial Product Line is the very first of its kind in the Philippines. It is a facial care breakthrough – the result of the perfect combination of the Beautifoam Effect and the Gel type Cream to achieve flawless and fairer skin. It is 100% made in Japan – from clinical research, ingredients, development, manufacturing, and packaging. Its main ingredient is Placental Protein which is proven twice more effective than Glutathione.

What is Placental Protein?

Placental Protein is derived from a mammalian organ that connects the fetus from the uterine. It is a widely used whitening ingredient in Japan because it can stimulate skin cell renewal that enables skin revitalization. Lab tests prove that it is more effective than Glutathione.

Price

Photo Source: Mosbeau Philippines

The Mosbeau All in one set (Mosbeau All in one cream and Mosbeau All in one soap) is only Php 1, 680. If you only want to buy the Mosbeau All in one cream you can buy it at Php 1, 480. The Mosbeau All in one soap is at Php 400.

Product Testing

I’m currently documenting the effect of these products on my skin. Will post a review about its effectiveness here on my blog after a month or two. This time I won’t have any difficulties using it because it’s for external use only, unlike the food supplement that needs to be swallowed.

Mosbeau Placenta White Food Supplement

I received numerous inquiries about the effect of this product on me. Unfortunately, I stopped taking it after 10 days because I can’t swallow it anymore. My younger sister was the one who continue taking it. She’s currently taking the one which is consumable for 15-days. Will ask her for a review and will post it here.

Though I failed to test the product on me, I heard positive reviews from my CBSi pals who are also taking the supplement. Long lasting effect can be achieved if used consistently and in a long period of time.

I know lots of Cebuanas out there have problems with regards to weight loss. I decided to write this entry to share how I manage to lose weight and keep it.

Gaining Weight is Easy – Losing it is Difficult

About 2 years ago, I was really overweight. Most of my dresses were getting tight on me and though I tried to go to the gym, I didn’t see any result. I sometimes get depressed because I feel so ugly and I don’t want to go out. I tried dieting – not eating breakfast or dinner, skipping rice, and a lot of useless stuff but to no avail.

I was not aiming to become super slim like those skeleton-like models in Fashion-TV. All I wanted was to shed some pounds so that I can keep my normal weight and also to avoid health problems that come along with being overweight.

Slimming 18 (Brazilian Coffee)

Believe it or not, for the first time in my life, I followed the advice of my friend and took a Brazilian Coffee which she said is effective in reducing weight.

I’m not a believer in slimming products or slimming pills. I prefer the natural way of losing weight – no medications or whatsoever artificial stuff. But, I was so desperate that time. I took her advice and religiously drank the stale tasting coffee for 36 days. And well, she’s right. It worked. But…

Side Effect

Don’t be scared. Though the coffee has a slight side effect, it is not scary nor something that you should be alarmed of. “Side Effect” – as you see it’s singular. I only experienced slight heart palpitations. The coffee has a component that activates your metabolism to boost up the weight loss process that’s why palpitations are normal occurrences while you are taking it.

Why I Stopped Taking It

I stopped taking the coffee after 36 days because I already achieved my aimed weight. Also, I’m not comfortable with the palpitations. A lot of my friends were awed how I quickly lose weight, but…

How To Keep Your Desired Weight

Below is a comparison photo of me taken like 2 years ago and my recent photo taken 1 or two months ago.

It was really great losing those pounds and achieving your desired weight, but another dilemma arises. How to keep it? In my case, how to keep it without going to the gym or doing any exercise?

The very main eating technique that I do is to eat LESS rice. Believe me. Please take note of the capitalized word. It’s no joke and it works really GREAT. Don’t stick with the half rice stuff. Just eat the smallest amount of rice you can muster. And, eat a lot of meat or viand that comes along with your rice.

I will describe in detail how I maintain my weight in my next Health entry.

When I publish something here in my blog, I always consider first the validity of my post and if what I’m posting is the truth and if it would really benefit my readers and visitors.  I don’t just recommend anything just because I get this and that but because I’m really satisfied of what I found out or what I saw.

I’m really very critical when it comes to buying products.  Like for example, if I saw some whitening commercial on TV and the one who endorses the product is some mestiza model, obviously, I would be a fool if I will fall for that crap.  Unfortunately, most people won’t even bother to analyze that there is no truth to that bloody advertisement…that mestiza models were born with white skins.  And this goes as well with those friggin’ shampoo commercials we see on TV everyday.  I’ll be damned if those salon-smooth and silky hair can be attained by using a 5-peso per sachet shampoo.

Last week, I was being invited (along with my CBSi pals) by Mosbeau Cebu to try out their Placenta White Food Supplement.  Mosbeau promises a fairer skin after 30-days or even 14-days.  According to them, their Placenta White product is enriched with placental protein, a popular whitening and anti-aging ingredient in Japan.  Placenta White is also composed of collagen, a potent anti-aging ingredient that enhances skin’s elasticity to help fight the unsightly signs of skin aging such as wrinkles and fine lines.  Glutathione, Vitamin C and Asparagus extract complete the skin-whitening and anti-aging combo of Placenta White.

Since I’m quite intrigued how effective this product is, I accepted this 30-day whitening challenge.  I posted above my photo taken on the very first day I started taking the supplement.  I will be posting another photo after 30-days.  If this product is effective, then I will be recommending this to all my morena-skinned friends and visitors who wanted to have fairer and younger looking skin.

By the way, just for the record, I’m not really so obsessed with this skin-whitening phenomenon among Asian women.  I only do this to help my co-specie in selecting better and effective products.  Check this blog after 30 days.  Ja mata ne, minna san. (;

About Mosbeau Philippines

Mosbeau started to venture in the Philippines in early 2008.  Mosbeau prescription-strength skin-whitening and anti-aging and skin care products were exclusively offered by dermatologists from different parts of the country, soon making it available in clinics nationwide and one of the most recommended products by dermatologists. (More about Mosbeau after 30 days…(;)