12.13.2014

Once you go LORAC you never go back

I have zero experience in makeup. In college I never dabbled in beauty because I didn't really think of it as a necessity but even then I was already watching countless tutorials on Youtube as past time. It was only during my entry in the workforce that I took the plunge, also it helps me look the part.

For a beginner in makeup the LORAC Pro is a high end product and I figured if I'm going to put anything on my face then it should only be the best that I will always reach for. I took the fuss with this product as this palette is not readily available in the Philippines so I had to pre-order mine online.

When I first got the palette I marveled at the variety of shades and how I could wear all of them.
The LORAC Pro palette consists of 16 eyeshadows (half shimmery and half matte). The shadows are versatile, pigmented and blendable with great color payoff.  

This palette is a great investment with a number of great looks you can create from the swatch of eyeshadows available. My favorite everyday shades for work are Taupe, Mauve, Sable and Espresso. 

I hope to build my own collection soon! 

11.29.2014

We went Skycycling




It should be called Soul Cycle. Your soul will literally leave your body. I have done adrenaline inducing activities before and all of them requires you being suspended up the air in a wire. Zip lining for the fourth time in a row and now onto this batshit crazy idea pedaling your way on a 200 meter cable 60 feet above the ground. I thought I'm living such a pedestrian life why not another extreme adventure for the books! Also I screamed my lungs off of expletives the whole way and I had a record breaking feat of biking. I didn't move my head an inch and kept training my eyes to the finish line (don't look down) for fear the bicycle might keep wobbling and dismantle from the cable. Good to say I didn't die midair.

Me moments before my soul left my body

 An idyllic view. I can sit down here all day, read a book and stare at the lush greenery.
We conquered the heights now here's a picture of the most comfortable moccasins.

11.28.2014

Book Wishlist



I am nearing the end of my goal to read at least 20 books for this year and I'm exhilarated to have come up with a line-up of my books to read for 2015. I can't wait to get lost in their wonderful stories. I'm literally on a whirl just adding titles on my 'to read' list, time to shut off from the world brb.

Ever since I have been hooked on the comedy show "Parks and Recreation" I couldn't stop obsessing over  Pawnee Indiana and the rest of characters as they come up with sundry projects for their town. It's seriously the most underrated comedy show. What's amazing is they produced a book on the fictional town Pawnee The Greatest Town in America written, curated, proof read and ran through spell check by Leslie Knope. The book is a must for Parks and Rec fans.

Still on the subject of Parks and Rec is the woman behind the character-Amy Poehler. I can't wait to get my hands on her memoir!

Most of my books are a mishmash of comedy, historical fiction and some of Amazon's Best Books of 2014 (authors I have yet to discover). It's bound to be a good reading year! What's on your 'to read' list?

11.09.2014

I was told there would be cake





The biggest and looming question I ask myself which I can never make sense of a definite answer is 

“What’s next?”

A big question mark seems to be hovering above my head.
When I was fed up with my parents telling me what to do, ridden with teenage angst and all I aspired to fast forward to adulthood where I can be independent, sashay my way to a fabulous life. Turns out it isn't what I always expected it be.
In college it was easy to map out your plans when there’s no expectation and responsibility yet. Your only goal was to learn as much as you can. From graduation to landing on my first job into the induction of adulthood I can make sense of Taylor Swift’s 22 ringing in my head right now.

                               “We’re happy, free, confused and lonely at the same time”

When the excitement wanes and you are faced with reality, panic begins to set in. Is this what I am supposed to do my whole life? Is my work recognized? Where do I see myself 5 years from now?
One of the tell tale signs of going through a quarter life crisis is the rising sense of “I've got to get out” and the feeling that you can change your life.

Also you tend to throwback consistently listening and watching to Disney song and movies, I am listening to my High School Musical playlist as I type this blog post. Everyday the thought of quitting  and following my dreams is a normal occurrence. I just want to pack my bags Eat, Pray, Love style but then the hard truth reaches out to slap me on the face that I don’t have the financial capacity to realize it.

Looking around I can’t help but compare how my peers are advancing in every aspect of their life and I seem stuck in the hole of normalcy and boring. I get panic attacks of living my life ordinarily contrary to my great expectations of changing the world or myself or taking after some worthy cause or discovering my passion. We have been told that we should make the most of our twenties. And I am not doing anything sensible to make my life worthwhile. The age where everybody’s next biggest milestone is getting married and rearing babies is dawning near *dry heaves*

Being an adult or trying to be an adult feels like I am teetering in my mother’s high heels filling in a role awkwardly. It’s a charade of keeping it all together when you absolutely have no idea what the hell is going on. It doesn't fit and I feel trapped.

My anxieties constantly claws into my consciousness I have not come into grips with the crisis yet but I have made reminders on how to deal with it
  1.  Don’t be too hard on yourself, its okay that you still haven’t figured things out.
  2. Take things one step at a time. Live in the present
  3. Comparisons will kill you
  4.  Loosen yourself up, make room for adjustments. Things are not always how you expect them to be
  5.  Accept that life doesn’t always have to follow a certain time line to get to your goals. Admit that your dream to be a CEO at 25 is totally unrealistic
  6.   No rush it’s not about the destination it’s the journey of getting there
  7.  STOP OVERTHINKING


Thanks April. I'm just gonna wing it! Screw it! 


8.17.2014

Wardrobe rehab

One of the biggest challenge in managing one's finances is practicing the art of contentment. When you are trying to save it takes a lot of effort to live by the fact that you are fine with what you already have.
Awhile ago I was doing a closet inventory I realized don't have many clothes (when a girl says she doesn't have a lot of clothes it's actually the opposite) but I do think I have enough to get me by. The more we shop and promise to ourselves that the pieces we recently bought is enough to last us it actually makes us want MORE. Every morning I stare hopelessly at my drawer deciding what outfit to mix and match or repeat. I've been shopping my whole life but I still have nothing to wear! Do you feel the struggle of not being contented?    

I came across Project 333 a wardrobe minimalism challenge that dares you to live on 33 pieces (excluding underwear, house/workout clothes) for 3 months! No shopping. Basically less is more and the challenge is your fashion versatility whilst keeping your personality.

Having recently graduated my closet is full of pieces I'll never be able to wear to work. My university staples consisted a good majority of sleeveless tops, university t-shirts and SHORTS (not very work appropriate). We didn't know any dress codes in UP and wore as if we just rolled out of bed and nobody cared especially on Hell Week. You can come naked like the Oblation and you are welcome. Office life and dress rules was a bit of a culture shock for me given the fashion liberty we had at school. No more carefree shorts and sneakers wearing me!
So building up my work wardrobe and reinventing my style towards a more career forward power dressing started me back at one. Finding decent clothes was hard enough making your budget fit made it even harder.

3 months on the job I think I've built enough basic pieces to be able to mix and match so I'm taking on my spin off of Project 333 work clothes edition. Being on a wardrobe rehab feels cathartic but a practical way to control and identify your wants versus need. I hope I can begin my savings while still enjoying other pleasures other than the joy of retail therapy after all there is more to experience than materialistic things. Now let's see if I can veer away from the temptation of window shopping and Pintersting further expanding my coveted pieces 😂
                   

7.05.2014

June Favorites


Great recommendations and discoveries I found on Spotify. During working hours I tune into my Sunday morning/office playlist and my favorite is from Pink Martini, a musical group that plays diverse styles of music described as an urban music travelogue. Hang on Little Tomato, Hey Eugene and Anna el Negro Zumbon are my top picks.

Do you ever associate songs with people? Because I do! Crazy because when I see this particular person I instantly think "Why you gotta be so rUuuude?" Maybe we all do that when we first meet people and there's always a track story behind. Other tracks that I'm hooked include Paradise, Stupid Me and almost all of their songs in their album Don't Stop the Magic.
 
I'm a sucker for packaging and I've got to admit the vintage appeal The Balm has all over their products sold me. The products are in cardboard compacts which is in a magnetic book style enclosure, it's very sleek and lightweight to carry around. 

I don't like matte make-up because it feels heavy and appears cakey. Sexy Mama is a great translucent powder that controls oil and shine without it appearing too matte. 

I was undecided about picking the right kind of blush but I read reviews that the Hot Mama blush was a great dupe for Nars Orgasm. I prefer apricot/peach blushes over pink ones and I have been in a lookout for one. I was about to purchase Frat Boy but Hot Mama is an all in one highlighter as well. It has golden shimmers which is great for accentuating your cheeks. Hot Mama is highly pigmented and it stays on for hours that I don't see the need to ever re-apply because it colors just the same and I like how it settles into my face.
Book favorite for the month is The Single Woman by Mandy Hale. It's a great read for empowering the single ladies out there! Embrace, live and celebrate the single life. Seriously though I feel like everybody laments on the state of my love life except ME because I'm really enjoying the ride alone. 

This book is really perfect for people to understand that single does not equate to loneliness and being solo so far is the most fun adventure I've ever embarked on hell yeah! Live it and own it girl

That's it for June favorites! x





6.29.2014

Lost in the blogosphere

I'm alive!

It has been forever since I updated my blog. Here's a quick update on what happened to me on the course of my hiatus:



  • I graduated from university and earned my degree!
  • I found a job right after


I never really thought about abandoning this blog I do have wonderful ideas but I never execute it to reality, excuses and for the reason that I felt like nobody reads the crap that I put on here..

Most important excuse is that I never really carved out my niche or the direction my blog is heading towards I don't know where to position myself. I'm not a beauty blog because as much as I like makeup I'm not too keen about it, I'm not a fashion blog either although I like style and clothes it's financially impossible for me to keep up with fashion posts and trends, have photo shoots and the like. And I'm such a nifty saver so there's no way my budget will ever reflect such blogging interest. Although maybe occasionally a few outfit posts but I'm really not going there somewhere. Ideally I wanted to be a travel/lifestyle blog if only wanderings will permit but that's got to happen most definitely soon.

For now, I'm just a mishmash blog, a little bit of everything, favorites, lifestyle and what not. Are there blogs that are like me too? Do you feel me?

2.26.2014

February loves

Here are my favorites and highlights of the month! After months on the order line I finally have my hands on Malala Yousafzai's memoir. I did not purchase it  from where I initially ordered because the stocks did not come on time. Copies were sold out from bookstores but  luckily I snagged from the last two left.
Malala is an inspiration and the face of bravery for all girls to look up to.
I also got this face primer from Etude House. It has a cute packaging and comes in a stick applicator. It fills in your pores making your face really smooth and it's supposed to keep your makeup stay longer. Although I haven't noticed about its staying power it does make your face really soft. I love its baby scent and the way it glides on my skin. I've already used it for a month and I'm almost running out of it. I should use it sparingly its pricey for P400+ at the size of 4.2 grams.
I'm really glad that Sunnies by Charlie finally reached Cebu. As I said in the previous post that I'm not really a sunglasses person but lately I've been loving their designs and wanting to expand my own collection too. The Alicia sunnies is really cute I can't wait to get my next pair of Sadie.
Lastly I attended my first and last college prom. I had mixed feelings of coming at first but I would never pass up the opportunity to see my friends all glammed up for the night. Even if I don't really like wearing makeup and falsies (w/c btw are heavy to the eyelids I wonder how some girls manage to wear them everyday?!) it was worth the photo op!

I hope to do more favorites soon ♥

1.10.2014

Twenty still going on 16


I don't often have birthday parties as my actual day falls after New Year so most of my friends are away with their families for the holidays. So I planned a post birthday get together for all of my college friends as the two decades needs to be marked with a celebration. After class we went to my favorite secret spot for dinner. I just love how dainty and intimate 10 Dove Street is.

Turning 20 is another milestone from childish heydays and saying goodbye to the frolic of teenage years and into the full throttle of responsibilities. Well even before I turned 20 I've already got my hands full of responsibilities! Aging is not much of a difference as the blog post implies, I am still going on 16. Really though.. Last Monday I went to the bank and chatted with the teller she then asked..

Teller: Highschool?
Me: No, college
Teller: First year?
Me: No senior Ma'am
Teller: Oh this generation is turning younger and younger.

Surprising? No. I'll get to work on that forever school girl look in my favor soon. HA but sometimes I fret upon the weight of not being able to getaway from my usual kooky self and foolish antics. 

I hope being 20 will open more doors and happiness for me although I'm pretty much stuck with the chuckle of a childish heart/mindset and especially face.

1.08.2014

What I've been up to lately..




Hi! Happy New Year everybody! The holidays was great to me. I wish it's always Christmas when everybody remains festive.

Anyway I spent my 20th birthday on January 2 with my family and on the following Monday school resumed and I went out on a birthday dinner with my college friends. I took snaps of the things that happened over the days such as little mementos of events like the birthday pin I wore and... excuse my knobby knees but I absolutely love my moccasins. Lighting up sparklers on Christmas day and the adorably kooky and colorful Krazy Cookie Dough from Blue Bell (my #2 favorite ice cream) it's a party in your mouth just like eating a rainbow cake; very fitting for a birthday indeed which we got for a treat on the first day of class with my friends. Here's to more celebrations and reasons for ice cream this 2014!

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CURRENTLY READING

Where'd You Go, Bernadette

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