Brave Frontier: Trial 003 Maxwell

I finally gathered the courage to fight Maxwell thanks to my BF friends. My units have been long ready. Time, concentration and courage is what I lack. So I took advantage of the holidays to get Maxwell and what do you know, I got her just in time for Christmas.

What you need?
1. Units that will last the 3 battles
2. Time
3. Concentration
4. Counter - #googlemolang
5. Full charged gadget - my battle lasted for 1.5 hours

What you're up to?
1. Battle 1: Juggernaut (Thunder) - Mitigate every 4 turns. Bring a nullifying status leader.
2. Battle 2: Abaddon (Dark) - If you have a separate squad for maxwell, let the first squad be killed at his 30% attack so your maxwell squad has time to fill up their BB.
3. Battle 3: Maxwell (Light)  - Counting is very important!!!

My Squad

Squad 1 was dedicated for the first two battles, Juggernaut and Abaddon.
Squad 2 was for Maxwell.
Squad 3 was just a filler in case something goes wrong.

Friends & Pots

Squad 1

Twins: (SBB10) Nullify Status and Defense buff
Lilith: (Dual Sphere SBB10) Damage dealer with unlimited sbb
Narza: (SBB4) Damage Mitigator
Lucana: (BB10) Healer and buffer
Lily and Zelnite (Dual Sphere SBB10): BC generation

Squad 2

Grahdens: (BB10) Medulla sphere for all allies, damage reduction from light and dark and dark and light attack buff.
Rowgen: (SBB10) Damage dealer with unlimited SBB
Darvanshel: (Dual Sphere SBB10) Damage mitigator
Tia: (SBB10) Healer
Lily: (SBB7) BC generation
Tridon: (SBB4) earth shield additional layer of defense

Squad 3

I didn't use this squad so no need for details here

Spheres

GGC spheres, Legwands and Sol Creators mostly.

Counting from the first battle is important to know what mood maxwell's in when you enter battle 3.
http://touchandswipe.github.io/bravefrontier/maxwellcounter.html

I suck at counting. I only remembered to count on my 2nd turn.

Even after I remembered counting, I lost count on my 7th/8th turn so there goes my counting down the drain.

It was a good thing I was able to mitigate every other turn so I was safe with the first 2 battles. 

When I entered battle 3, maxwell was in a good mood. I learned which turn I was in the hard way, her 20th turn ( Rune+Sacred Song+Destiny). Good thing mitigation was on and most units were guarded. 

Anyway counting is important to know which turn to kill maxwell. She has an angel idol buff so if you don't kill her without it, she will just keep on reviving.

Just follow the instructions on what to do using the counter and you'll be fine.

Aside from counting, you'll also need to take note on the hp percentage when they perform special attacks.

Tridon was a very big help. I think it's the safest and easiest way to get maxwell from what I've heard so far.

 That purple hp is Tridon's power in action

my shiny new maxy

Check this for a more in depth guide:

http://www.reddit.com/r/bravefrontier/comments/2k765s/official_maxwell_visual_guideswritten_guides/

Good Luck!

Choosing a Foundation

If it's your first time to buy a foundation, here are some things to consider when choosing one.

1. Skin Undertones.          Skin Color and Skin Undertone are two different things. Skin undertone is like a layer under your skin. Your skin color may change but your undertone doesn't. It will help you a lot when choosing foundations, blushes or lipsticks.
          There are 3 types of skin undertone, cool, warm and neutral. There are also 3 easy ways to determine your skin undertone.

     A. Blue or Green? Look at the color of your veins in your wrist preferably using natural light. If they appear to be bluish/violet, your undertone is cool. If it's greenish then it is warm. If it's a combination of both, your undertone is neutral.
         I had a hard time determining mine because when you look at my left wrist, the veins are blue, if you look at my right wrist, the veins are green but I figured it out using natural light. It's green.

     B. Silver or Gold? What color of jewelry flatters your skin without considering your personal preference? If silver melts in your skin, your undertone is cool. If it's gold that flatters yours then your undertone is cool. If it's both, your undertone is neutral.
         I prefer white gold jewelries but I have a gold ring which blends with my skin.

     C. Blue or Pink? What color of clothes do you prefer? If you gravitate towards blue and white colors, your undertone is cool. If you receive more compliments on orange or pinks, your undertone is warm. If both, then your undertone is neutral.
         If you look at my wardrobe, it's all black, gray, blue and white. But A and B points me to Warm undertone.


     It can get really confusing. Not all people with fair skin has cool undertones and similarly, not all people with dark skin have warm undertone. If you're having a hard time distinguishing things, you're probably neutral.


     Foundation colors are usually warm, cool or neutral based. M.A.C. classifies their foundations as NW (Neutral Warm) for cool undertones and NC (Neutral Cool) for warm undertones. Followed by a number that indicates the depth of the shade.

2. Skin Color
          Now this is easier to determine, just look in the mirror and voila! You can see your skin color. When matching foundation shades, match it against the skin below your cheeks. (jaw part) The color should blend perfectly.

3. Skin Type
         For oily skin, you're better off with powder foundation. For dry skin, try liquid foundation. I personally prefer powder foundation because I have oily skin and I feel like liquid foundation will just melt under the heat with our country's temperature. So a foundation with SPF protection would be a good idea as well.

4. Acidity
         If you're acidic like me, foundation seems to darken after sometime so the foundation should be one shade lighter than your skin tone.

5. Budget and Availability
         If budget is not an issue, try MAC, Rimmel London, Lancome, Revlon or Cover Girl. If you're into cheap thrills like me, try Maybeline, Ever Bilena or Pixy.

I'm not claiming to be an expert or anything. Just want to share what I learned.

References:
http://michellephan.com/how-to-find-your-undertone-makeup-beauty-skin-tips/
http://www.skinandtonics.com/mac-foundation-matching-debacle-nw-nc/
http://www.totalbeauty.com/content/gallery/p-best-drugstore-foundation

Pixy Foundation

I finally got my hands on this much talked about Pixy Foundation. I was beginning to think it was just a myth (>_<). Well it's not. I'm just beginning to explore the world of cosmetics and it's driving me crazy XD. There's this thing about knowing the color of your undertones and what skin type you have. Anyway.. while searching for a good affordable foundation, I came across with Pixy Foundation.

 Pixy UV Whitening Two Way Cake Perfect Matte in Yellow Ochre

They have 3 types of foundation:

1. Pixy UV Whitening Two Way Cake Perfect Matte - for oily skin

2. Pixy UV Whitening Two Way Cake Perfect Fit - for dry skin

3. Pixy Ultimate Make up Cake - for lasting wear

The one I bought was Perfect Matte because I have oily skin. It comes in 3 shades, Honey Beige, True Beige and Yellow Ochre. I found Honey Beige too dark for me. True Beige was for those who have cool undertones so I end up choosing Yellow Ochre which was a shade lighter than my skin but was perfect because I'm acidic.

 Here's what the labels say

 The refill costs PHP145 at Watsons

This is after my little sister dropped my make up kit. T_T

Good thing it was still intact.

You can buy Pixy Products at selected Watsons stores and SM Cosmetics sections. They have one at SM Mega and Watsons at the Podium. 

I like the packaging but it won't close anymore after my sister dropped it. It has this fragrance which I didn't like but I can live with it. I applied it using a powder brush but the sponge that comes with it is nice too.

#Pixified w/o flash

#Pixified w/ flash

I think the shade was just right for me. After 3 hours, I was already getting oily. I'll try this next time without using moisturizer, maybe it would last longer XD

Kanin Club

The first branch I tried was at Ayala Triangle, and they have a nicer ambiance than the one in Technohub. I thought it was a place for unlimited rice servings and all but it's more than that. It's a good place to go if you want a taste of Filipino cuisine. We usually bring foreign visitors here.

The Menu

 The food doesn't disappoint. So far I haven't tried anything I didn't like. Or maybe It's just me (>_<)

Pinakbet. For a serving of vegetables. There are bacon strips which are really yummy.

Rice. They combine servings of rice in a bowl.  They also have unlimited servings.

 Crispy Dinuguan. One of their signature dishes.

 Binagoongan. This pretty much tastes like Pinakbet with less vegetables.

 Laing. Another good dish here.

Bistek. (Beef Steak)

You should try their Kare-Kare too. Sorry it's the only picture I can find and it's almost finished.

 

Nation Bar and Grill

You know you're getting old when loud music and too much crowd starts to get in your nerves. That's why most of the famous bars never really appealed to me. You can't even go to the washroom without bumping into someone and you're not even drunk.

So when we found this neat place at Scout Boromeo, Quezon City, it became our regular hangout. The place is called Nation Bar and Grill. Open space, not too crowded, good food and a band playing while you chit chat with friends. Now that's my kind of scene.

 Thursday Band



 You should try going on a Monday night, the vocalist sounds like Chito Miranda but the other bands are just as good. Yep I told you we've been going here a lot XD.

The Menu

I don't really drink much. I just like hanging out with friends. So a bar with good food and some cocktails fits my criteria perfectly. The price here is affordable and the serving is just right.

 The group's favorite. Baked Fish Fillet. This is reason enough for us to go back to this place ^_^

 Dynamite. Ground meat wrapped in green chili and spring roll wrapper then deep fried.

 Can you guess what this is? It's Sisig Rice!!! XD I need not say more XD

 My favorite drink. Mocha Girl. :D

They have beer buckets too.

Cheers! :)