Review: Conti's Almond Choco Sansrival

Almond Choco Sansrival (Php 95.00)

Described in Conti's website as:

Layers of thin wafer coated with chocolate butter icing topped with roasted almond sticks. 

It's actually thick layers of meringue coated with a very thin chocolate buttercream icing with almond slivers on top.

The meringue layers are much too sweet for my taste and the choco buttercream much too skimpy. I won't have this again if I want my sansrival fix. My Lil Oscar of Figaro still rules. Too bad Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf's pistachio sansrival has been phased out. I've been wanting to try that.

Review - Gelato at Cafe Publico

What do you look for in gelato? Me, I expect more intense flavors.

A couple of days ago I went to Cafe Publico to try their gelato. I was hankering after strawberry (after being disappointed with Starbucks' jammy strawberries and cream frappucino) so when I saw that the "Sophia Loren" is a mix of strawberry and pistachio and there were no other strawberry flavors, I didn't even bother tasting it but ordered one cup immediately.

Verdict? Bleagh. Bland and could barely taste the pistachio, much less the strawberry. Huge disappointment.

I wanted another cup to make up for it. I'd already tasted the "Banana Nutella" -- too much banana, not enough hazelnut and very sweet; "Toblerone" - so-so, not very chocolatey; PBJ - could not taste the PBness nor the jellyness of it; and a few other flavors but none made an impression on me except for "Salted Butter Taffy" which was incredibly flavorful but also very salty and I knew I couldn't eat a whole cup of it, small though it may be.

Fortunately, as I was grumpily eating the "Sophia Loren", I noticed the sign that said I could combine 2 to 3 flavors in a cup! Isn't that marvellous?! I also noticed the "Dark and Bumpy" (with three kinds of nuts!) which I hadn't seen before.

I immediately asked for a cup of 2/3 "Dark and Bumpy" with 1/3 "Salted Butter Taffy" (which I called saltwater taffy, being more familiar with this term). Perfect combination and proportion! This is something I'm having again!

Too bad I didn't get to taste all the gelato flavors. Bashfulness got the better of me. Next time I won't mind looking like a pig.

My Lipbalms and Lipbalm Addiction(?!)

I just read that using lipbalm is one of the few things I do every day that's actually an addiction. There's even a self-evaluation to see if you are indeed an addict.

Can you believe that?

Well, Snopes says false, De-Fact-O says yes, "many lip balms contain ingredients that peel lips and promote habitual use".

I doubt anyone's gone through painful withdrawal without lipbalm but I'm glad I have a few choices. None of these contain menthol, phenol, camphor, or salicylic acid.

Born Lippy Watermelon Lip Balm I like the smell, feel and effect of this Body Shop lipbalm. I keep it on my nightstand for when my lips are dry at night since I don't like applying lipbalm with my finger when outside.

Human Nature Choco Vanilla 100% Natural Lip Balm This one isn't too chocolatey or vanilla-y but I like that it's locally made and I sometimes push my lips close to my nose to take a sniff. What I have here is the old packaging which is more colorful than the new one.

Human Nature Tutti Frutti 100% Natural Lip Balm This is my current everyday balm. I don't care for the smell frankly so I'll go back to Choco Vanilla when this tube is used up.

Maybelline Lip Smooth Color and Care Refreshing Tinted Lip Balm (Cranberry Jam) Well, that's a long name isn't it? No wonder it's not printed on the tube. This is my daytime balm since it's tinted and has SPF 16. I love this balm. It doesn't taste horrible, I like the tint it gives and I love that it has sun protection. I might try the other shades after this tube is used up.

"Ice Drops Lip Balm Kids Very Berry SPF 30" I don't know if this balm is still being made. Maybe not because it tastes horrible--very bitter. Maybe the ingredient/s that give it an SPF 30 makes it taste bad. I only use this when I'm out in the full sun without an umbrella, I put it on the outer portion of my lips and I make a conscious effort not to lick my lips.

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Wanna know what the other addictions are? Head to the article for the exposition but they're pop music, salty and spicy snacks, tanning, and chewing ice. I'd have thought coffee and chocolate/sweets would be among the list of everyday addictions--or maybe they're just mine.

Anyway, I looked up the ingredients just to make sure my lipbalms don't have any addictive ingredients:

Born Lippy Lip Balm

Ricinus communis, Lanolin, Polyglyceryl-3 Beeswax, Aroma, Cera Alba, Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Silica, Benzyl Benzoate, Citrullus vulgaris, Tocopheryl Acetate, Limonene, Ammonium Glycyrrhizate, Benzyl Alcohol, Tocopherol, Linalool, Methyl 2-Octynoate, CI 77891, CI 19140, CI 15850.

Human Nature 100% Natural Lip Balm

Ricinus communis (Castor) seed oil, Beeswax, Theobroma cacao (Cocoa) seed butter, Caprylic/Capric Trigylceride, Helianthus annus (Sunflower) seed oil, Calendula officinalis (Calendula) extract, Rosmarinus officinalis (Rosemary) extract, Tocopherol (+/-): Organic flavor oil, Theobroma cacao (Cocoa), Zinc oxide (CI 77947), Manganese Violet (CI 77742), Iron Oxide (CI 77491)

Maybelline Tinted Lip Balm

Polybutyne, octyl dodacanol, isopropyl myristate, ethylhexyl, methoxycinnamate, ozokerite, petrolatum, disostearyl malate, hexadecane copolymer, ceresin, ethylhexyl salicilate, paraffin, trimethylolpropane trisostearate, candellila wax, silica, dimethyl silylate, polyethylene, polyglyceryl-2 trisostearate, tocopheryl acetate, jojoba esters, benzyl benzoate, BHT, biabolol, ethylhexyl palmitate, dipalmitoyl hydroxyproline, safflower seed oil, hexyl cinnamal, linalool, Irvingia gabonensis kernel butter, blueberry fruit extract, tribehenin, benzyl alcohol, hydrogenated coco glycerides, Luffa cylindrica seed oil, sorbitan isostearate, palmitoyl oligopeptide, parfum.

Review: Oreo Brownies

One word: AWFUL

I like brownies. I like them cakey, I like them chewy. This one I don't. The Oreo brownie is cakey but much, much too sweet. I thought I'd get a brownie with Oreo pieces but what I got was like a really sweet cake with Orea cream filling scattered around. For the price (P67.75), I'd much rather eat a Dunkin' Donut brownie or a Mister Donut brownie or one from Brownies Unlimited. Or I'd rather make a microwaved brownie in a mug.

Ayala Recyclables Fair - March 2012

Donuts, donuts, donuts

When it comes to plain glazed donuts, I go for Krispy Kreme. I think they have the biggest good-tasting plain donuts in the country. Dunkin has bigger ones but they taste awful.

I ate a Cello's cheese donut a few weeks ago. I was rather surprised to see it was their most expensive one. Is the cheese parmigiano reggiano or what? I would have preferred to order the P29 chocolate donut instead of the P35 cheese one. Or gotten a glazed donut and sprinkled my own parmesan cheese on top.

I bought a set of Go Nuts Donuts' buy six-take six with a friend and was reminded again of how very, very sweet their donuts are. I tried a new flavor, something called Kettle Pineapple and I rather liked the pineapple jelly in the middle. The slight tartness was a good antidote to the thick white glaze generously covered with thick confectioner's sugar. Mmm, now I miss Dunkin's Black Raspberry filled donuts.

Maybe in the next half of the year. Have had too much sugar and fat already.