My Beauty Faves, ed. 3

Tried and True

I've got these products for a while now and have been wanting to write about them.  They are fantastic things for the face and have nearly been fool-proof ("nearly" because like nobody, nothin' is perfect).

K-Palette 1-Day Tattoo Real Lasting Eyepencil in Black
What I love about it?
This pencil liner is super smooth!  It glides effortlessly on my skin and doesn't tug at all- saving myself from wrinkles.  The color is very dark too.  If I want lasting eyeliner, I put this on first and follow it with liquid liner.  The only down side of this product is that there isn't much product in that long pencil.  :(  Looks are quite deceptive.

Lancome Teint Miracle
What I love about it?
This foundation has a very light and watery consistency.  Which is amazing because it has fantastic coverage!  (Neither too light nor heavy).  It also photographs very well.  I like using it on special occasions. 

Lancome Bienfait Multi-Vital
What I love about it?
This daytime moisturizer has been the best for my skin.  It is also very light and does not feel sticky on my face.  It also has SPF 35 so it gently protects my skin and prevents wrinkles.

Dolly Wink 02 Volume Mascara in Black
What I love about it?
I am an avid fan of Dolly Wink's volume mascara because it really delivers!  When they talk about volume, it is serious business.  The brush has changed from their purple version, so I was skeptical at first.  However, the change seems to be for the better.  ^^  I will write a more comprehensive review sometime in the arbitrary future.  Hehehe... ^^;;

 Promising Finds

I also found these products that seem to soon be included on my Beauty Faves list.  I've used them for only a few times but they have been really good! ^_^

Holika Holika Face 2 Change Liquid Roller BB Cream in #2
What I love about it?
I've only used this twice and so far.  Although it seems to be slightly fairer than my skin color, it eventually blends with my color as the day progresses.  The roller feature is fun to use as it evenly distributes the product.

Nerium Night Cream
What I love about it?
Have you heard of this?  It's supposed to be a miracle in a bottle.  I was hesitant at first because it costs quite a lot: $80 for 30 mL, monthly.  But when I saw the results on my friend, I was sold.  Her spots and pimples faded within 5 weeks!  Amazing!  So, I'm on my way with creating my own testimony about it.  I've tried it for 5 days and I can say that my pores have become smaller and the texture of my skin smoother.  Also my pimple scars faded a bit.  I'm excited to see more results.  

Lancome Rouge in Love in 353M
What I love about it?
I've got two problems with lip colors: 1) Lipstick color lasts but dries the lips 2) Tinted lip balm moisturizes my lips but the color quickly disappears.
This lipstick seems to be the best thing to bring both of these worlds together.  It's buttery and moisturizing while having that intense and beautiful color that stays. ^^

CIRCLE LENSES TO REVIEW

These just came in the mail and they are very comfortable.  The 3rd circle lenses are sponsored by Loveshoppingholics.  They are going to be my first sponsored anything ^_^  I haven't opened them yet but I am excited.  

Geo Medical Eyes Cream in Vanilla Brown

G&G/Dueba Shinny Puffy 3 Tone in Gray 

Candy Pop in Blue

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I used most of these products in this photo, with my foundation as the Holika Holika BB Cream.

Giyomi yourself to sleep.  Good night!

Update:

I changed my portraits here because the previous' photos were so yellow.  (-____-)  That's what cooks my turkey with my camera- stupid color references unless it's sunlight.  Oh!  And I also blurred my armpits. ;)  I got SO bothered when I saw them so gray and so gross!  I've just saved you from any psychological trauma those pits would have made.

Update

Hi everyone!

  So I've just started both my work and my classes at the University last week~~

  The week has been a blast!  But getting busier and busier already ^0^  And how I am able to write these blog entries is being pretty unkind to my body.  I just thought that I am giving this a last "hurrah!" before I become absent for a long time.

  Just this night, I took a lot of photos for some products I want to review when my schedule opens up.  But before I go into my extended absence, I have a few products to share that have been proven to be tried and true.  That will be in the next entry.

  Lastly, I want to say a BIG! thank you! for keeping up with my blog.  I really do like sharing my life with you.  I can't wait to graduate, or at least for the next holiday, so that I can have more free time again to write, draw, and edit photos. ^_^  Please pray for me for these days to come that I'll have the strength and the determination to accomplish what I've set to do.  Thanks again!

A Long Story But A Good Story

**Repost from my Facebook**  

Hi everyone,

So this photo album is like the big reveal of my story about my classroom this school-year. I’ve been holding off from telling this because, as my friend mentioned, I wanted to do the story some justice and to include photos with it. I’m so excited to finally share with y’all! So, here goes!

At the end of last school-year, my principal told me that he was going to move me from my classroom. I honestly was ok with it except that I felt some attachment to my former room. I’m a VERY sentimental person, you see? Anyway, once the idea sank in, I thought that the move was really for the better. The new room was much larger and the air-con was working much better than at my previous room. Believe me, with the recent fickle and HOT weather, air-con is a necessity that you’d really consider as a teacher.

When I was moving my things last month, I found out that the air-con in the new room froze over and broke. With its last, shuddering breath, it decided to spill its insides and create a puddle in my room. My friends who were helping me move my stuff, teased me that I would be giving swimming lessons in that room and how they were hoping that there weren’t any tadpoles in that pool. I could only give them a face like this: (-_______-) (kind of looks like a frog, yah?) I tried to be positive though, saying, “It’s gonna be ok! They’ll clean it up.” But deep inside, I felt pretty embarrassed because one of them is a teacher at a new school, so I was imagining their beautiful and pristine classrooms as I was blushing at my super old, puddle-in-the-middle-of-the-room classroom.

So, I decided to wait for a couple of weeks before I come in to clean and decorate my room, because I’d figured (and this is solely my opinion) that the school would take a while to clean up the puddle and to install a new a/c.

By the time I came back, the puddle had been mopped up and I’m happy to say that there weren’t any frogs that grew in the room so there goes the tadpole theory. But the air-con remained broken, so another type of organism was growing prolifically in that dark, warm, and moist environment. Molds! And plenty of them.

But you know, I’m Filipina, so I was not too frazzled by the molds and cleaned them out. I ended up throwing away a lot of old books and papers infested by them. Then I began decorating although the room was warm. My SWEET mother and father even helped me out and we painted the walls a lovely shade of mint green and yellow

That’s when more problems happened. You see, one should never paint wet walls. It really doesn’t make sense. I look back and wonder why in the world I had my parents paint my classroom walls when they were wet. I’ll tell you the method behind my madness. I thought that the walls would eventually dry. With a little bit of wiping, everything should be ok. I was wrong. Everything was not ok. Later on that day, when we watched with horror the paint drip off from the walls and make yellow and green puddles on the floor (puddles haunt me), I remembered my science lessons:

The warmth of my no air-con classroom mixed with the coldness of the adjacent classrooms created precipitation on the walls- hence making them very wet. The only solution was to regulate the temperature in my room to make it as cold as the other rooms. And that would need an a/c.

Of course, I told the principal about the situation. Of course, I bothered the head secretary to call downtown to do something about it. Then he told me that the maintenance crew came in to check my air-con. “And?” I asked. “They said that your air-con is broken. It cannot be fixed. It needs to be replaced.” As clueless as I am with much of this world, I figured that getting a new air-con would be a longer process than getting it fixed. The following day I asked him if they were coming in to replace it, the head secretary said, “They came in to check it again.” Hmmm… didn’t they already do that yesterday? I was really hoping they would pause from checking and actually do some replacing. I was really hoping that this situation would be resolved before the school-year started. It was definitely crunch-time. I had one week left.

When I came in to continue working on my room the following day, I started to feel so sad about the ugliness of my room and the situation. It was no one’s fault, really. I would not blame anyone because things like these took time and money- the system is not a genie in a lamp- I understood that. But I still cried. Why? Because it’s one of my hobbies, that’s why.

Throughout this entire situation, I was praying to the Lord to help me, with the things that I could not control and especially with my attitude and responses toward people. After my cry fest, I said to God, “It seems like the hands of the people in charge at my school are tied until the headship of the system gives them the means to help me. Abba, what should I do?” Then an idea came to me.

I wasn’t sure if it would work but it wouldn’t hurt to try. I brought the issue directly to the one in charge. And to my surprise, the person responded. I really wasn't expecting anything but I am proven wrong again

Within three days, a new air-con was installed in my room. The puddles on the floor dried up as the walls did also. Last Saturday, my family came again to help me repaint and give the room its final touches. I have such an awesome family! And even today, maintenance people are going to my room to paint the ceilings.

I can surely attest that my God is good. Yes, I give credit to the leadership at my school and the system for the support that they have given. But I know that none of these would have happened in that short amount of time without God involving Himself in my life. Therefore, I will not call this a random coincidence. Anyway, if it is then, I am reminded of a certain quote that says, in a sense, “It’s amazing how many coincidences happen when we pray.”

Would I call it a miracle? I would like to say so because I’m a happy person like that but I’d like to be mindful of those who consider miracles to be something loftier and less common (wink* wink* Philip Yancey). Therefore, I would call it- and although it may seem like a trivial thing to do for such a grand person- God, the Creator of the universe, allowing Himself to be a Papa to me- to us.

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. “ Romans 8:28

The horror that was my classroom 3 weeks ago.

Paint bled off the wall.  Nearly everything in the room was so ugly >.<

Try sticking your finger in that socket and I'll give you a dollar. :D

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TADAH!  The night and day transformation :)

I'd also like to thank my family for really helping me out and encouraging throughout this process.  I'm so blessed :')

My kiddies working comfortably and happily.  Sometimes when times are tough, they give me something to smile about with my job :)

My current obsession with Japanese lanterns.  

Poem: "They rise and fall"

They rise and fall
The sea tides by the pull of the moon
They rustle and sway
The tree leaves by the quiet breeze
They change from lush green to snowy white
The seasons as the earth spins in a tilt

They laugh and play
The little ones as they seek each other's hands
They sigh and admire
The old lovers as their hands clasp around each other's
They walk and run and breathe and keep on living
The women and the men and the little ones, too

They echo heartily
Your glad laugh in its amusement
They deepen wisely
Your substance in your questioning and understanding
They unfold before your very eyes
Your hopes until God gives you another

Your conversations will go on with others
You will travel the world because it's your destiny
But I will be here
And I will go on, too

But the smell of the kindling and the warmth of the fire
Remind me that you were once here
Although the scarlet sunset by the shore or the star-gems
melting into the cityscape would have taken a new meaning for me

The agony within is not that I'll miss you
But rather of what I'll miss;
Not the longing
But that many days from now,
All these will be forgotten, as if they never happened.

♥♥♥ 

This poem is actually unfinished but I was very eager to share because of the pretty imagery.  This is also very personal and that's why some of the scenes are quite specific.  Young love is such a splendid thing yet it eludes me.  Thanks for reading.

Real Life Sundays, ed. 31

I have to git going soon because I have to paint my classroom tomorrow in preparation of the new school year.  Say what???  Yes, apparently, painting our classrooms is part of our job description as a teacher.

Haha!

Just joking.  Only if we want our bleak-looking rooms to look all purrty.

Yep!  And it's almost 2 am here.  D:

Been having fun cooking so I could take cute photos and add some digital stamps to show-off on Facebook. ^.^

My lovely and smart doggy-woggy Kobe ^3^  She likes to husks coconuts for fun.
Don't worry, although she's tied in this photo she gets plenty of exercise because we play together or we
release her to play by herself.

Then my little sister and I had a little photo-op, showing off our new hairdos and clothes ^___^

Sisters are the bomb, aren't they?

Dress: Street market (Namdaemoon, Korea)
Shoes: Nine West 

Dress: Forever 21 (Philippines)
Shoes: Nine West

Being all chiyo with our hair

Unabashed selcas at Ross 

One more post after this because I just have to!


PS
Thank you, Ate Lerma♥  I've forgotten the access to my old email but I heard that you read my blog.  Thank you so much for your eager love.  I miss you immensely.  I want to see you soon.  I will... :)

Hair Diary: Over the Years

Back in 2010, I had short hair, and in 2008, I even tried a boy-cut.  My hair and I have been through a great many changes together.  One thing I've yet to do is to dye my hair in an outrageous color, preferably platinum blonde, but the upkeep would be dreadful on my hair and wallet.

2008
Was my handsome Asian boy stage

2008
Prince of Egypt stage

2009
My first time dying my hair and it was a honey brown hue.

Since I've started this blog, I've always had long curly hair.  My biological hair texture is actually wavy and my original hair color was black.  Because of different chemicals, my hair has now become an unhealthy ruddy color.  Thankfully, my new growth has taken over much of my hair, and I'm hoping to give it a rest before my next endeavor that would involve any chemicals.

With that said, I just want to take a couple of look at my hair as we've always known it since December of 2011.

December 2011

I usually have side-swept bangs and loose chemically-made mermaid curls 

March 2012

Pretty much the same

January 2013

Still the same except that I flat-ironed my hair.

June 2013

I was trying to change up my hair a bit by cutting my own fringe bangs.  I also had my hair permed again a couple of months earlier from when this photo was taken.

August 2013

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I really wanted to keep my long hair because it took so long to grow and it almost reached my waist~~  so much like a mermaid's.  However, I had a gift certificate that was expiring on Monday and because I didn't want to waste that!- decided that I'd just cut my hair.  Before I went to the salon, I thought that I'd only cut a couple of inches- but what's the point in that?!  So, I went for it!  

But I almost cried :'(  The hairstylist asked me when I tried to crane my neck to get a final glimpse of the dry dry dry hair she mercilessly chopped off, "What's wrong?"  I said, "I'm just sad.  That took 3 years to grow."  BUT I am so over those dry locks- although I still want to look like a mermaid someday...