Week 3/52 : Snip!

After growing my hair for several years I decided it was time for me to go short again. I’ve been considering cutting my hair since last November, but I’ve been too scared. Finally I decided to just go ahead and have it chopped off. I love how it looks and how light it feels 😀

The last time my hair short was back in 2012 (which, coincidentally, was also my 3rd self portrait for that year). I had to cut it even shorter than this because of chemical damage from coloring and straightening. I loved my short hair at first but after a few months I started to regret cutting it and wished for my long hair back. I really hope that doesn’t happen this time.

Of course I took loads of photos with my new hair:

Nail art : Hearts and stars

This was what my nails looked like on Valentines Day this year.  I was too lazy to manually draw hearts so I went with these nail art stickers I found in Bangkok.  I can’t remember the exact price, but I’m guessing they were around 20 Baht each.  I bought a bunch of them from a vendor on the street the last time we were there. I really like these stickers, despite the fact that they’re totally a rip-off of the Comme De Garçons logo.

Nail art : Dotty red

I was digging through my laptop the other day and I found a nail art folder where I have at least 10 pictures of different nail art designs which I forgot to post.  I’ll probably be posting them within the next few days (unless I forget again).

This was my nail art last New  Year’s Eve.  I tried to do my nails so that they would match MY DRESS. I think I did a pretty good job.  I put the glitters on because I thought it looked too plain by itself.

 

Face masks overload – Japan + Korea haul

Hi guys!  Our family just got back from a 9-day trip to Japan/Korea and I figured it would be fun to showcase some of the things I bought while I was there.  We didn’t really have that much time to go shopping since we were on a ship most of the time (Princess Cruises FTW!), but we still managed to hit up a few stores during our stay there (mostly during our first two days since we didn’t board the ship until the 2nd day).

First, here are some of the snacks that I had left after our trip:

Ezra and I had a lot of fun raiding Japanese convenience stores and 100-yen shops for various sweets.  Japanese candy is the best! I bought most of my pasalubong from there as well.  Unfortunately, this is all I had left by the end of our trip because Ezra and I ate most of them (and gave some away).  I wish I took a picture of the strawberry mochi waffle that Ezra and I loved, but you’ll probably see us eating it in a vlog when I get around to editing it – maybe next year? Eek! (Edit : I posted the vlog at the end of THIS BLOG ENTRY.)

I also bought some green tea powder – at least that’s what I think these are since I can’t read Japanese.  I’m pretty sure the one on the right is instant green milk tea, and the one on the left says “Macha Cappuccino”, but I’m not really  sure about the one in the middle.

I wasn’t planning on buying beauty products during this trip, but Ezra and I found ourselves inside a HUGE beauty store in Harajuku and I just couldn’t help myself.

Despite only having about $10 with me that day (since I really wasn’t planning on spending a lot), I ended up with these three items from Canmake (I had to borrow money from Ezra to pay for them).  I picked up a powder foundation, a lipstick and a highlighting powder.  I haven’t tried any of them yet but I hope they’re good.  I’ve heard a lot of good things about Canmake.

These were a little cheaper since I got them from Daiso.  I bought a blush and highlight duo, an eyebrow pencil, some face blotting paper and a makeup brush cleaner. I’ve tried the blush and highlight duo and it’s alright. It’s not that pigmented, but what do you expect for 100 yen. (I actually like the subtle glow and color it gives – I don’t normally wear blush but I wanted to give it a try.)

I also bought two packs of makeup remover wipes from Daiso.  Initially I only bought the one at the top, because I ran out of cotton balls which I use to remove my makeup at night, and I didn’t pack my cleansing cream, so I used these instead.  They suck at removing waterproof eyeliner and mascara, but they’re alright for taking off your foundation.

Week 11/52 : Your value doesn’t decrease based on someone’s inability to see your worth

I gave my bangs a little trim last Friday. They’re long enough that I can still sweep them off to one side, but I also have the option of wearing them down if I want to. It’s been a while since I cut my bangs this short so I sort of feel like a new person again. I haven’t been growing them out intentionally, I just always forget to trim them every two week like Ezra told me to.

I really like the quote I used in this week’s title.  I’ve been trying to find who said it, no luck so far.  I like it because I’m your classic people pleaser.  Because of this, I get a little down every time I feel unappreciated or neglected. Over these past few months I’ve been training myself to not base my happiness on other people’s opinion of me. It’s a little challenging, having lived all these years always worrying about how others perceive me, but I believe it will definitely help my self esteem in the long run.

Week 41/52 : Am I pretty yet?

No, this is not a Halloween SP which I forgot to post. It wasn’t supposed to look scary when I conceptualized it, I was trying to go for a more comical feel, but somehow I ended up looking like Joker.

I wanted to shoot something which showed the pressure some women go through to make themselves feel attractive. Don’t get me wrong, I love makeup and anything beauty related, but what I don’t like is the fact that some women feel like they can’t be beautiful unless they’re covered in these products. I know that there are some ladies out there who refuse to show their bare face to anyone. I probably sound like a hypocrite because I wear makeup practically every day, but that’s because I love it, not because I feel like I need to hide behind it. I know some people who see makeup as a chore – the only reason they wear it is because they feel like they’re naked without it. I wear makeup because the act of putting it on (or even just watching someone put it on themselves) is actually therapeutic for me. In fact, when our electricity went out for a week last July due to Typhoon Glenda, I spent a good amount of time playing around with makeup even though I had no plans to leave the house. It was a fun way to pass the time.

I posted this photo on Facebook and a couple of friends hinted that this reminded them of the urban legend of the slit-faced woman (AKA “Kuchisake-onna”).  I’m too lazy to tell the story in my own words, so here’s an excerpt from Wikipedia:

According to the legend, children walking alone at night may encounter a woman wearing a surgical mask, which is not an unusual sight in Japan as people wear them to protect others from their colds or sickness.

The woman will stop the child and ask, “Am I pretty?” If the child answers no, the child is killed with a pair of scissors which the woman carries. If the child answers yes, the woman pulls away the mask, revealing that her mouth is slit from ear to ear, and asks “How about now?” If the child answers no, he/she will be cut in half. If the child answers yes, then she will slit his/her mouth like hers. It is impossible to run away from her, as she will simply reappear in front of the victim.

Nail Art : Purple Confetti

My nails a few months back.  I found the photos while I was organizing my files the other day.  I used Sally Hansen’s Rock Bottom as the base, and Sinful Colors’ Frenzy for the smaller glitters.  The bigger glitters were from Bobbie’s new Confetti polish.

I spotted these glitter polishes from Bobbie a while ago and I decided to try them out.  I think they come in 4 colors, but I decided to only get these two.  They cost twice as much as regular drugstore polishes, but they’re still very affordable at 60PHP.

I’ve tried both of them already and I think like the purple one more since it adds a bright pop of color to my nails.  I really enjoy how festive they make my nails look, but I don’t use them too often because they require a bit of work to apply (and remove).  The glitters are super chunky so it’s hard to get the right amount on your nails with just one swipe.  I had to resort to dabbing the nail polish on so I can get the glitter to transfer.  I also had to move the bigger pieces of glitter around using a toothpick so they would be distributed evenly on my nails. Since I had to use several coats to get the look I wanted, it took longer for my nails to dry. And, just like all other glitter polishes, this was a pain to remove.  Even with the soaked cotton ball + aluminum foil technique, it took me about 20 minutes to get all the glitter off. But despite all this, I do think they are super gorgeous, and I’d be willing to go through all of that occasionally for some sparkly nails.

Nail Art : Lacy Lilac

My nails from a few months back.  I realized that I have a bunch of nail art photos on my laptop that I haven’t posted.  I’ll probably be spamming you with photos of my nails these coming weeks.

I bought these stickers from Malaysia a few years ago.  I’m not sure what brand they are.  All I know is they were very affordable, so I ended up buying a lot.  For some reason I stashed them in a drawer as soon as I got home and forgot all about them.  I think I was trying to save them for a special occasion, because back then, nail art stickers were expensive.  Nowadays you can get them everywhere and for a really low price too.

For the base, I used a shimmery lilac polish from Etude House.  And I added the black dots using my Sassy Nail Art Pens.

I loved these stickers.  They look so classy, and they lasted pretty well.  I had them on for two weeks before they started to peel.

California 2014 Haul

It’s been a long time since I made a post like this.  I like taking pictures of things I buy, even if I don’t always post them, since it helps me see clearly where my money goes.  Usually I just dump everything into one photo, but I took these while I was trying to organize my things so I decided make separate little groups for them.  Since I put more effort in these pictures than I usually do, I figured I might as well share them.

A little disclaimer before we begin, some of these are gifts and pasalubong for friends.  So it may seem like a lot, but I’m giving some of these away.

The very first thing I bought when we got there was this 1-inch Conair curling iron.  I have a 1 and 1/2 inch Revlon curling iron that I use in the Philippines, but it runs on 220V which means I can’t use it in the States.  This one by Conair is dual voltage so I can use when I travel.

I also picked up some basic toiletries – facial scrub, moisturizer, hair mask and conditioner.  (I love Garnier Fructis products!)

A pack of cute EOS lip balms.  I’m going to be giving most of these away since I still have a couple of lip balms at home I need to finish.

 This may seem random, but I got this tweezer set for only 99 cents!  We use these during our lab experiments so I figured I should just get a pack since it was so cheap.

Nail art stickers.  Most of these came from the Dollar Tree and the 99 Cent Only store, but the three in the upper left are from bhcosmetics.com.

Nail polish

Candies.  I tried to avoid buying too much since sugar and my thighs can’t seem to get along, but sometimes you just have to give in to those cravings.

Body sprays and perfumes from Victoria’s Secret and Bath and Body Works.  I might have gone a little overboard, but I have a weakness for anything that smells good.  Most of these were on sale so I don’t feel too bad about buying so much.  This time I bought the smaller bottles because it takes me forever to finish the large ones. (Remember all those body sprays and perfumes I got for Christmas back in 2011?  I still have some of them left.)

Huge bottle of TUMS from Costco.  (I also got a smaller bottle to carry around in my bag from Walmart.)  I always have problems with hyperacidity so I usually bring a pack of Kremil-S with me, but these taste so much better!

Make up brushes. They’re so much cheaper over there.

Nail Art : Pinoy Pride

In honor of the Philippines’s 116th Independence Day 🙂

Embarrassed as I am to admit it, I had to double check online to see how I should orient the flag.  I didn’t want to go around sporting a symbol of war on my nails.  I know that when the flag is hung horizontally, the blue should always be on top, but I wasn’t too sure about the rules for hanging it vertically.  A good tip I found online is to remember “R-R“, which stands for “Red = Right”.

This turned out a little messier than I wanted.  I used tape to make the lines straight, but for some reason they still came out a bit wonky.  I’m too lazy to redo them so I guess it will have to do.  Maybe I’ll have better luck next year 🙂