What's your girly routine?

 It's an understatement if I say that it's important for a woman to always look presentable whenever she goes outside of her comfort zone --HER HOME. Women nowadays are way more independent compared to those from the past decades. With the fast pacing world and improvements in technology, these independent women all over the globe tend to be always on-the-go. If you want to step up your game, it's no longer acceptable to look like you just got up from your bed and suddenly went straight to work just because it has already been like an endless routine. Looking presentable at all times is A MUST. I know it can be tedious at times but who would want to sit next to a The Walking Dead colleague or make a fake compliment to an underdressed boss? I sure don't. Hush. The defensive will say "Btch, accept and love your own flaws!" Please. Stop the hypocrisy and spare me that bullsh. I've heard all about those lame excuses but trust me when I say that doesn't give you a license to take it too darn seriously. Girrrrl, just because your lazy ass couldn't even pick up the lippie and give yourself a color could also mean it's ok to be an eyesore the entire day for crying out loud.

I, personally, allot at least an hour to get everything done whenever I need to go out. Especially when I had my hair cut to its shortest, Oh boy, I had to blow dry it every single time and then iron the heck out of it afterwards. If it wasn't that much of an effort I still have to manage it with a styling cream or wax. Juicecolored!! Whew. I also hate that I'm lacking in eyebrows and my lips are naturally pale eversince. How I wish I could just wake up every single day looking steamingly hot as Miranda Kerr and not worry about looking like some dirty-old-beggar who lost everything from gambling whenever I get out of bed. Hahahaha! I hate my adolescent photos so much that I even hope I have skipped that part of my life. Hahaha! I'm just kidding. It's not that I don't appreciate what God has given me, cos He knows I do. It's just that I believe it's up to everyone on how we can make the most out of what He has given us. I'm trynna sound reasonable here. Please bear with me. So being the naturally maarte girl that I have always been, the whole awkward phase did not stop me from trying to improve my appearance and be a better version of myself, both in and out. Now that I'm almost on my mid 20s I can truly say I already know what looks good on me and what does not. I have listed my top favorites when it comes to my day-to-day/ready-to-go makeup essentials and to say the least --they're my life savers! It it help you too.

• After using a facial wash, I put this all over my face as my moisturizer and it's also good in protecting my skin from the harmful effects of cosmetics. I love it so much because it's insanely light on the face and very soothing. Quite pricey in the PH, around 1500php I guess. But definitely worth every single cent! <3

Clinique Moisture Surge

L-R Maybelline BB Cream (SPF 26), Pond's BB Cream (SPF 30), and Etude House BB Cream

• The most brilliant cosmetic invention, in my opinion, would be all them BB Creams for realz! Ever since I got my hands on these babies, they've been nothing but so true, so gentle, and showed me everlasting love. LOL! No but seriously, BB Creams are just amazing. I use Maybelline BB Cream w/ SPF 26 or regular days because it's very light and naturale on my skin as if I'm not wearing anything. It's also very handy and cute. The newest Pond's BB Cream w/ SPF 30 (which btw I've won from a contest online, see post here.) is so compatible on my skin that I often use it during special special occasions only. This one is ideal for events where you expect to have flashy camera lights and you want to show off your flawless looking skin, surely it'll guarantee you that "red carpet" moment on your pictures, I swear to all the heavenly angels above!! *GRINS* The Etude House BB Cream is equally good although I've noticed that it's much more greasy after few hours of putting it on but what I love about it is that it's also perfect for both pictures and real life moments although a bit more pricey compared to other BB creams.

• My whole "looking good" routine will not be complete if not for those eyebrows fillers out in the market. I thank the eyebrow gods and goddesses for them!! I've mentioned on my previous post that I have this huge thing for full-grown-healthy eyebrows and I mean it. Right now I'm still using this Perfect Brow Kit from Etude House that is complete with a spring brush, a loose brush, a highlighter and two dark shades to choose from. Very sulit! I seldom leave the house without them or else I'd end up looking like an alien. Hahaha! It makes a huge difference. Reminder to myself: Never EVER be too lazy when filling in your eyebrows cos you will never know what your perfectly defined brows will bring you! YUH-UH.

Perfect Brow Kit from Etude House

Update (September 14, 2015)

 I was also able to use this eyebrow fillers from The Body Shop and if you're going to ask me what I think about it -- it's quite pricey and overrated. It's merely the brand that you're paying for because when it comes to its end result, it's almost the same with my Etude House Perfect Brow Kit and IN2IT set. But I love it's unique brush though. Well speaking of my IN2IT Brow Set, it's currently my favorite. YASSS. See photo below. :)

And as you can see, the darkest shade is the one I use more often. Haha. This set comes with two brushes and gives you three choices of shades: light brown, dark brown, and black. If I'm not mistaken it costs less than 400php at PCX or other beauty stores. It's definitely a good catch for any eyebrow enthusiasts.

• Next on the list would be those perfect little lashes. They say that your eyes are the windows to your soul. So why not make my windows look prettier? Among my favorite mascaras are Super Shock from Avon, Falsies from Maybelline and the classic Clinique mascara. There are different types of mascaras depending on what kind of eyelashes you got. As for me, since I have few long eyelashes, I prefer those mascaras that gives full blown effect and I highly recommend the one from Avon. Cheaper yet a lot better. :)

• Who doesn't want to have some natural looking color on their skin? Whether it be a tan or a blush, I'd totally dig that! But since I have fair skin and have been naturally pale all my life, I always go for the blush section of cosmetics. I remember starting out from Penshoppe's Cheek Tint back in highschool. I wonder if they still sell those? Now, I'm proud to say that my makeup kit have already "matured" the same way I did. LOL. My top three at the moment are: Maybelline's Pure Blush Mineral, Avon's Peach Blush, and ofcourse the one from Clinique! As you can see the one in the middle (Avon) is already overused because it's a favorite especially during working hours where I try not to look Haggardo Versoza because of my shifting schedule. I totally love it's shimmering pink effect on my cheeks! The one from Maybelline is also perfect for everyday use while the Clinique blush looks good on pictures because of its natural glittery finish. Yepp, the wonders of blushing!:)

• I top everything off with a flavor of the month lipstick. Here's my current favorite: Chubby Stick from Clinique. I love their color choices (perfect for any occasions!) and also its crayon-like appearance is just so unique!

• Of course, after putting on all of those said cosmetics above, never forget to wash your face  at the end of the day and get rid of it all. No excuses. No matter how lazy or tired you are, please do yourself a favor and WASH IT OFF!! Because you don't want to age rapidly if you leave all those cosmetics (not even if the product says "it's hypoallergenic" or "no harmful chemicals" sht blahblah!) on your face overnight. Well just to be on the safe side. Right? I'd recommend Clinique's make up remover. I use this most of the time after I put on heavy makeups on some events because it easily removes those stubborn colors that just wouldn't come off just by using facial wash. Well, this is the answer miiladies!! You can thank me later. Adios. :) -A

Burned Newspaper Nail Art Tutorial.

Okay. This design have been going viral on social media and of course I got insanely curious as to how it was done. So being the nail art fanatic that I already am, I did my own research. I made sure that I have all of the necessary stuff needed to make this happen. This one I gotta say needs extra patience and creativity to make it look as real as a burned newspaper. Haha! "Patience is a virtue." fits as a motto for this art.

What you will need:

• White, Black, Brown nailpolish
• sponge
• newspaper
• acetone
• a matte topcoat
• Isopropyl alcohol

Let's start off with a white base as usual.

Make some cutouts from a newspaper. I would suggest you use a newly published newspaper so the ink is still fresh.

Put the Isopropyl alcohol is a container and dip in your newspaper cutout for about 15 seconds.

Afterwards, put the newspaper on top of your nailbeds and gently press it on top for just a few seconds. Avoid moving the cutout in different directions while doind this. You wouldn't want the letters all mixed up!

It should look like this afterwards. 

Do the same on all of your nails as shown below and I must say that design looks so darn unique already! Quite messy though. But that's the whole point. Agree? Be patient. Haha!

So here you can see a small cutout of sponge dabbed into a black polish.

Using the sponge, dab it to your newspaper nails and should somehow look like this...

 Now fill those dark circles with white polish just in the middle inside of it.

Just like what I did earlier with the sponge but this time, with a brown polish. Dab it on top of the black&white circles.

Then use a stick covered with cotton and acetone to create a hole in the middle of the black&brown circles we did earlier.

Which should look like. You can also see I kind of "erased" some parts on my nails too. Art-sy art-sy indeed! :)

And that's it! Use the matte top coat for finale to make it look more realistic. There you go, a burned newspaper nailart that will surely catch anyone's attention. -A

The bumm life.

Pretty much my view 24/7.

In my count that's for almost three months now and I'm kind of having mixed emotions about it. First, I really miss working and earning (Independent women raise your hands, yo!), which I've been doing for the last four years. Second, I miss the "outside world", PBB much? Lol No but seriously, I miss having to go out everyday and just stay in bed during rest days. Or drink. Or whatever, I miss the fact that I can call myself an employed 20+ ish lady. The bragging rights baby! I'm currently staying in my boyfriend's house along with his family and they have been nothing but just awesome and good to me. I feel very much welcome here and I've enjoyed playing with his two beautiful niece. Keijen and Kaitlin. I get to go home in Laguna once in a while and stay overnight just for the heck of it. I wouldn't want them to think that I'm slacking off. It's just that my boyfriend has been so supportive of my decisions and all he really want is that I find a new job where I will be very much comfortable in and try (if possible) not to apply in the BPO industry again. Well, FOR NOW. He wants me to try something NEW while I'm still young. I want the same. Quarter life crisis, I guess? Nah, I'm not 25 yet! HAHA Still have lesa than a year for that. So I'm giving myself a try on a completely new endeavor. I was thinking the high-end "F and B" industry. I still have the customer service skills ya know! So I hope I get to land on a new job soon. *fingers crossed*

My day to day life as a couch potato has awaken the sleeping Obsessive Compulsiveness in me. I clean everything I see. It's not even an exaggeration. Even if it's already tidy I still find ways to clean it or polish or whatfuckinever.. My own kikay(girly) desk/drawer is very good example of it.

My own side of the room. A kikay drawer.

I tend to over-do the cleaning when it comes to my drawer. It's always neat like that and after a few minutes I'll go grab a small cloth then spray alcohol and clean it all over again. Then if I have nothing left to do, I'll rearrange them. Then clean it again. FOR REAL. I dunno. Maybe cos I don't like dust taking over my space? I realize that these are mostly the stuffs I put on my face, so cleanliness is definitely a MUST. Because nobody wants their makeups/day & night creams stuffed with dirt. Right? DO I SOUND REASONABLE NOW? Yeah? GOOD. :)

Next would be our (boyfriend and I's) laundry. Some would do their laundry at least once a week or two -I do it twice or thrice every week. As much as possible I try not to let our hamper get half full. As you can see below, after I took this photo, I went ahead and do the laundry. So while it's spinning in the washing machine at the moment, here I am blogging the heck about it. ~*SWAGGGG*~ Haha.

A ladybug hamper.

I have this huge thing when it comes to doing nailarts. So my nailpolish and manicure set is no exception for my "cleaning spree" everyday. Most of the time they're arranged according to hues and my set are always sanitized and good to go. That's how big I am when it comes to these babies. Yes, I call them babies. Shh, get a life Au. You weirdo. LOL

Say hello to my babies. Nail lacquers.

This part is for all my body wash, lotions, nailart stuff, vodka mixers etc. So basically anything goes here especially if I'm in the mood, I'll arrange them by height or by color. In this photo, I decided to do it by 'kind'. Haha Yes, I'm weird like that. Told you, this is O.C. craaaazy. :)

I also make sure that our own shoe racks are arranged properly. All day, errday.

His.

Hers.

These DVDs have been keeping me sane for a couple of weeks now. Cos I've already watch almost every movie offered by the cable company. Yes, that's how couch potatoes roll. Oopsies, they're all pirated sorry MTRCB. :( I'm unemployed so buying original CDs isn't a priority right now. lol

The best part? I get to play all day with this adorable baby doll Keijen and be a kid at heart all over again. She's more like a 12 yr old stuck inside a 1 yr old kid's body. She's just so bright and witty! This photo was taken during one of our playtimes and I totally enjoy every second of it.

It ain't so bad after all. I mean, I get to do whatever I want, with slight limitations ofcourse, and yet enjoy every bits of it. I guess I just hafta look much more on the brighter side of things. I don't suppose I'll be forever a bumm so I'm just gonna seize this moment and love it while it lasts. :) -A

Pink Ombre

Alright. So it's way past 12 in the morning and I still couldn't find my way to sleeping soundly tonight. Maybe cos it's a Friday and here I am... stuck in bed --blogging. Nope, not complaining. What. Haha. So anyway, here's another nail art tutorial post for this week! This one is an easy breezy though, cos it's from a nailart set that I bought from Greenhills at a bargain price of *waitforit* 50php!!! Yes, just fifty frikkin pesos! I'm kindda hesitant at first though because of its quality or something but apparently it turned out just fine. I mean, it's such an easy DIY polish that's why I really had to share it here in my blog. Here's the package...

And you could actually see that each one of them are labeled underneath as #s 1, 2, and 3. With #1 being the lightest shade.

So first off, I used this baby pink shade (#1).

This is how the manicure should look like (with a camera flash). Almost like a natural laquer on the first coat. So I would suggest do a double coating on this one. :)

Next would be this lighter pink glitter shade (#2) and just put some on half of the nails.

Then the darkest glitter shade (#3) would be the last step and it should now look like this (with a camera flash)...

For the finale, just put on a single coat of a colorless nailpolish and that should be it!

-A