A Hint Of Sunlight

February 2012 Haul

2012-03-02T11:27:00.002-08:00

My very first haul post! Yey!

I actually just love it whenever I go to somebody's blog and I see a haul post. I get excited whenever they share their thoughts about why they buy a particular product. And it's probably because I can relate so much! It's weird how women's mind are so complicated, and yet we also think alike. We tend to have the same thought pattern especially when it comes to purchasing something.

So anyway! Enough intro. Now my haul:

tada! Well it isn't much. February is a short month after all. On top of that, I got sick so I spent a lot of my money on medicines.

So what do we have here?

At the front row from the left:

Ever Bilena Advance Cheek and Lip Tint : 125 Pesos (but was given as a late Christmas Gift)

, Skin White Power Whitening Face Cream Powder - Natural Beige : forgot the price

Myra Facial Moisturizer: 12 pesos

4u2 Pencil Eyeliner(review coming up): 214 pesos (at Watsons)

San San Eyeliner Pen (review coming up): 85 Pesos

At the back row from the left:

Sophie Martin Lipstick in Summer Pink: 79 Pesos

San San Liquid Eyeliner - Black: 70 Pesos

, Myra Vita Glow Tinted Facial Moisturizer (review coming up): forgot the price

, San San Matte Finish Liquid Foundation (review coming up)- 02: 135 Pesos

San San Matte Finish Liquid Foundation (review coming up)- 04: 135 Pesos

USANA Chelated Minerals and USANA Mega Antioxidants: 3,200 Pesos

Care Line Lipgloss - 02: 75 Pesos

Ever Bilena Advance Cream Concealer with Liquid Foundation - Neutral (thinking about making a review) : 110 Pesos

I also bought Maybelline Lip Smooth Color Bloom Color Changing Lip Balm in Peach Blossom and even reviewed it here but I lost it.

San San Matte Liquid Foundation. I'm so excited to review this product. If you're wondering why I have two, it's because I used this in doing make-up for other people. I can mix them up so I can get the right color that'll match the skin of the person that I'm doing make-up on.

I know that this is not a beauty product. I just have to include it in my haul because this is where I spent most of my allowance in! This is a pretty costly vitamins for me but it's super effective. Since I got really sick recently, I figured that I ought to invest on my health. How these vitamins work is that these two bottles go together. You have to take two tablets, one from each bottle, together. I think this is for better absorption. Again, they are soooo expensive. These two bottles (containing 112 tablets each) costs 3200 pesos. But the thing is, I got a friend who sells it for 2400 pesos only. Then another friend of mine and me divided it among us. So I only actually paid 1200. And that's for roughly two months. In the end, it's cheaper. But it's still darn really expensive.

So anyway, on with the haul! Here are the products that I wished I didn't buy:

First off, the skin white face powder. Ok so this is not really a big loss because it's just a sachet and I actually finished it up. But I don't like this product at all. I think it doesn't have much coverage and I'm confused with the texture.

The Careline Lipgloss has a pretty color and I actually liked it when I tried it at the mall. Now i feel like there's hardly any product in the bottle and it doesn't stay that long at all. But I think I'll still give this product a chance.

The Ever Bilena Cream Concealer with Liquid Foundation and the San San Eyeliner Pen, I will review later. But let me tell you early on that I don't like these products that much.

Now for products that I'm loving and using almost everyday:

Ever Bilena Advance Cheek and Lip Tint

Sophie Martin Lipstick in Summer Pink

, Myra Vita Glow Tinted Facial Moisturizer (review coming up)

ELF Lipgloss in Candlelight (review coming up)

Nivea Pinkish Boost 3-in-1 SPF 15 Lip Balm (review coming up)

San San Soleil Lipstick - Peach Ibriza

Myra Facial Moisturizer : compared to ponds, garnier, and olay, I favor this moisturizer. It doesn't whiten or anything. It's just a moisturizer that has Vitamin E and a non-greasy texture. It improved the quality of my skin a lot.

Calgon Get Juic'd White Grape Peach Body Mist : got this at my roommates debut as a price (sort of)

San San Age Defense Blush #02 : I like using this blush in the evening but not so much during daytime these days.

San San Two-Way Cake Foundation #01: This is a my HG foundation.

Whew! There you have it! As you can see, I have soooo much products to review. :) I hope you'll watch out for them!

Have a great day!

note: this is a scheduled post. I'll be back in April when all the school works are done. As of now I cannot leave any reply or visit your blog in return but rest assured that I will do so once I get back.

Product Review: Ever Bilena Advance Lip and Cheek Tint

2012-02-28T17:49:00.000-08:00

note: for the actual review, start reading where the picture starts. :)

How have you been guys lately? I bet a lot of you who are still studying are now on the rush to finish your requirements for this semester. I'm feeling the same panic too. Yesterday I went to Cagayan de Oro, spent 2 and a half hours there and went back to Iligan right away. I meant to stay for only an hour. But I got lost.

It was my first time I think to ride a jeepney all alone in Cagayan de Oro and I was just following instructions that a friend of mine gave me. Usually I would ride a taxi because I can't stand the heat and the traffic but the place where I was going is near the airport and taxi drivers tend to overcharge when you ask them to take you anywhere in that area. So even if I got lost, I only spent 18 pesos on fare instead of the usual 300 pesos that those taxi drivers usually charge me whenever I go to the airport.

The weather's great too. Cloudy and kinda chilly. It was a perfect day to ride a Jeepney and I know it's trivial but I just wanted to mention it here because it really made me happy that day.

Anyway I had to interview some people from Cleversoft Inc. It's a software company and I had to do a sort of case-study that I needed to present in class. They definitely left an impression on me. They all looked like cool-gamer-hacker guys who are genuinely good programmers. They were even using three monitors each and I just (in my imagination) drooled over that.

The lady who I was going to interview had the most amazing outfit. I was tempted to take a picture of her but I thought it would be rude. She was also wearing this really cool green contact lenses and her eye-make up was just gorgeous, I just kept on staring at her eyes and was itching all the while to ask her about her make-up but unfortunately, I had to be "professional" (although I doubt if I even managed that. I sounded like a kid all the while).

The best part is that they were all sooo kind and accomodating! They gave me all the information I needed and didn't charge me at all even if I kinda kept them from their work. They also told me that they are hiring new programmers and asked me if I would like to apply. At the back of my mind, I just felt sorry for myself because I knew that if I do apply, I probably won't get accepted. And if I do get accepted, I probably won't be able to keep up with them.

So anyway, I think that was too much of an introduction. If you're still there, read on for the review.

Busy days like these hardly leaves us any time at all to pamper ourselves. That is why I find myself relying on multi-purpose products like this Lip and Cheek Tint from Ever Bilena.

As you can see, the label on this product has faded already. This is is because I've been using it almost everyday for quite sometime now. This was given as a Christmas gift actually by a dear someone who knows quite well how much I love make-up(thank you ate Sset!) but if you buy it in stores, it only costs 125p.

It has a gel-like texture that is not sticky at all. It also smells like jelly-ace.

Ingredients: Water, glycerin, soluble lanolin, triethanolamine, tocopheryl acetate, carbomer, methyl paraben, propyl paraben, fragrance, CI 45410

Now for some swatches:

It's barely there. Which is what I like about it.

This is how I apply it on my lips. I know it looks so ewwww.

With flash

Without flash

Initially I had trouble applying it on my cheeks. I didn't really know how. I tried putting it on my finger first before spreading it on my cheeks and I find it such a hassle. I don't get an even application. Using a brush seems a hassle too especially if you are on a hurry. So these days, I apply it like this:

I apply little dots of the product on my cheeks. 5 dots should be enough.

I apply it on this pattern because that's where I want the color to be. Then I spread it using my fingers so it looks like this.

With flash

Without flash

As you can see from the pictures, it's barely noticeable. But it gives color to my face.

Now for the verdict.

Pros:

Cheap (125 pesos) and I think it can last me for months even if I use it everyday.

Easily available (Mine was bought from Watsons)

It's a great cheek tint and has been compared to more expensive brands

Its packaging makes it easy for me to apply it on my cheeks.

I like the color. On days when my skin is showing more of its yellow tone, a little bit of the product on my cheeks gives me a bit of a sun-kissed look. It doesn't appear red but rather a bit of orange. I'm not so sure about that though. It's probably just me thinking that when red and yellow are mixed together, it results to orange. But since I think that is what I'm getting and I'm kinda attracted to any sort of peach right now, it makes me love this product all the more.

Let's you achieve that no-make-up make-up look.

Long-lasting. Seriously, I don't do any retouch at all. It stays the whole day! (Unless you wash your face of course)

Smell is not that bad too.

Cons:

It tastes bitter. I can't stand it on my lips.

I can't think of a way to apply it without being too messy. Whenever I use my fingers to spread it, I feel like most of the products go to my fingers instead of staying on my lips.

It's probably just me but I'm not a big fan of this as a lip tint.

Overall:

4/5

I would have given it 5/5 as a cheek tint alone.

Would I repurchase?

YES! Unless I find a better brand.

I'm still trying to love this product as a lip tint. After all, lip tints are great products too. They look more natural than lipstick and you don't need to reapply them every now and then. Do you guys have any suggestions on how to apply it?

Events on January of 2012 that I Haven't Blogged About

2012-02-26T18:42:00.001-08:00

Warning: picture heavy post

Today I'm just posting pictures on events last January that I haven't blogged about.

So if you bother to go on reading this post, you'll be bombarded with pictures of me, me, and me!

Anyway, here you go.

First off: Tjel's Debut. Remember that vanity wall I designed? It's for this event.

Venue: Elena Tower Inn, Iligan City

Actually most pictures with me in it are mostly blurry because it seems like I'm the only one who really knows how to use my camera. Those pictures that actually has good quality are Kuya M's.

Tjel before the event.

Dress and shoes.

The MCs: Marijo and Carl with Tjel's big sis Tjoy

the stage

Jam: Ako ra putot! (I'm the only one whose short!)

Birthday Cake

Here I am with the debutante. Don't you just love her dress?

Now I'm posing with her big sister. Honestly these two are real-life professional models. I'm actually pretty tall for a girl already. I think I'm 5'5 but people say I'm 5'6. Now with the 4-inch heels I was wearing that night, the three of us are of the same height!

With Rego. Finally I found one guy in the event who is taller than me! :)

With the make-up artist. In my opinion. HE IS THE BEST here in Iligan and I don't even know him personally. I think you can see his work on his facebook page here.

So after this are pictures of me with different people.

with Jen.

with cutesy Uni Senator Kirk

with our Uni Vice-pres Jeffrel

with Rego again.

with my roomie aimae.

with Jamelie!

with Miss Iligan 1st Runner Up Tjoy

with Uni Senator Alren

Tjel and her escort Kenmore (I love this pic!)

the rest of my boardmates

the only proper solo picture of me. :(

boardmates goofing off at the elevator.

elevator again,

As we went home.

my plate. I wasn't able to take much picture, but the food was great!

Crazy faces with Alren

FOTD. I hate my make-up here by the way. It's one of those frustrating moments when you have to do everybody else's make-up so in the end you only have like 5 minutes to dress up and fix yourself.

Wacky group pics!

In case you didn't notice, the color theme of the debut is Pink, Yellow, and Purple. :)

The next birthday party I attended is Enia birthday party. It wasn't her debut yet so we just had a simple pizza party.

Venue: Calda Pizza, Palao, Iligan City

Calda pizza is known for their super BIG pizza! But we didn't get to order the biggest size.

Me and bf. :) (epic fail on the concealer here. :( )

With Ane(left) and birthday girl Enia (center)

Pictures by me and kuya M. :)

The reason why I didn't blog about these events is because I felt that they were too random. I also wasn't able to get good pictures too, which is why as you can see, I borrowed kuya M's pictures.

But then I realized one purpose that this blog is supposed to serve. It is suppose to be a place that holds good memories. Someday in the future I want to be able to go through the old archives of my blog and find little treasures such as this. What better way to keep good memories anyway?

Sure all of these pictures are in facebook too actually. But you can't really write down your thoughts and organize them with pictures the same way that you can on a blog. It just seems more authentic and heartfelt here :)

This video for example.

I just can't get over it. No you don't have to watch it. I'm posting it here because I want to watch it over and over again and I might accidentally delete it from my hard drive someday. This video contains a segment from Tjel's debut, the mother-daughter dance, and Alren was singing the song "Never Grow Up" by Taylor Swift. Eventually Tjoy joined in the dance and I don't know, it's just a tear-jerker moment for me, to see these three strong woman like that.

I don't know their mother personally but I just can't help but admire how she was able to bring up her two beautiful daughter all on her own. I mean seriously, it's not everyday that you see a mother like that. After all the hardships that life has thrown at her, here she is, bringing up daughters who are beauty queens, academic-achievers, God-fearing, who are not jealous of each other but instead protects and love each other.

Anyway, I can't help but sigh when Kenmore comes in and takes Tjel's hands to assist her back to the stage. They don't really have a thing for each other and Kenmore was just doing his job as escort but you know, it's still kilig because of the mood.

Now if you actually bothered to come this far in reading this entry, then congrats! And thanks for sharing these precious moments with me. :)

Happy Birthday Papa (2012)!

2012-02-25T08:19:00.000-08:00

Last 20th of February was my father's birthday. And for his birthday, I wanted to do more than just greet him. So I gave him these:

These are bookmarks that I designed. And I wrapped it in a cute ribbon.

The whole thing was really really cheap. 25pesos for the printing(kodak). 45pesos for lamination (15 pesos each at Crown Bookstore) and 100pesos shipping fee (LBC)= 160pesos.

Here's the design.

If there's one thing my papa loves other than computer stuff, it's books. And I noticed he just folds a page so he can mark where he is in his reading. I thought he needs a bookmark that he won't carelessly toss away as he tends to lose stuff quite easily sometimes. I have an eccentric father. He tends to be detached from the world at times but I love him nonetheless.

He has lots and lots of books and whenever he starts reading one, it usually just takes him a night or two to finish it. He especially has this fascination on science fiction books, which is probably why I've been so fond of science fiction too when I was younger until I outgrew it and started reading young adults books instead. Shame on me for not being a consistent nerd.

But I think there hasn't been a point of my life that is more colorful than those days when I would indulge myself in the comfort of books. My relatives would tease me and call me a book python(a bigger book worm) and I would secretly read a book in class.

I had a world of my own, a world that I wouldn't have discovered if it hasn't been for my father. He introduced me to C.S. Lewis and the colorful world of Narnia, Tolkien and Middle Earth, Brooks and Four Lands. It felt like I had no limit then. No inhibitions.

And I can definitely tell how much my perception has changed as I read the Harry Potter series. With the first five books, it seemed that I actually entered their world and basked in the fantasy, walked on the same soil the characters had stride on, and knew each and everyone of them personally. I've read the sixth and seventh book when I was older and it felt like I was just watching a regular TV show.

Anyway, this post is getting too long. I just want to say that I owe too much to my father. There are many other things of course, but these are one of those special things: books.

I hope he sees the deeper implication of those bookmarks I gave him. In a subtle way, that's how I tell him how much I love him.

Product Review: Sophie Martin Summer Pink Lipstick

2012-02-22T10:32:00.003-08:00

Post updated 02/25/2012

I was thinking that I needed a light pink matte lipstick. I know I'm late in joining the bandwagon and it's all about tangerine colors this year but I suddenly had this craving. I remember Ayah mentioning about Sophie Martin Lipsticks on her blog so I asked her where she got it and I went downtown and bought this.

Sophie Martin Lipstick in Summer Pink

This is exactly the pink matte lipstick that I was looking for.

Pros
Color is light pink that is not too overwhelming. It makes me think of cotton candy and it is very pigmented!
Since it is matte, it is long-lasting. I don't really wear lipstick that long so I can't tell how long it can last exactly, but this one survived a meal!
It is cheap (I don't buy expensive stuff anyway)! Only 79pesos(1.8dollars).
Although it is matte, it doesn't dry up my lips.
Packaging is ok. It looks sturdy enough although there are some reviews that says that the print tends to fade. I am yet to find that out.

Cons

During application, it feels dry. Although it doesn't really dry up the lips, it just feels initially dry, which I am not a fan of.

The smell is another thing. Not offensive, but not pleasant either. It has a smell of a cheap lipstick.

I think it stains my lips. It's hard to fully get rid of the pink color at the end of the day.

I think this is not easily available. You can check out their website, or look for a local dealer. There are also some dealers who sell products in facebook. But I think it would be better if this is available in malls too.

Overall rating: 4.5/5

Will I repurchase? YES! I'm definitely buying another lipstick from this brand too!

Here are some lip swatches.

With flash:

Without flash

Whew! That was fun. Although taking pictures is starting to be a task now, or probably I'm just lazy.

Hoped you found this review useful!

Til next time!

Post updated 02/25/2012

Yesterday I went out with some of my friends and I had them try on this lipstick. We have different skin colors so I thought I should post a picture here.

Enia, Ane, me

Enia, the one on the left, has a warm-toned morena skin. Ane, the one on the center, has a combination type skin that leans more on being cool-toned (she's a really pale girl). I'm also a combination type, but I lean more on being warm-toned. This means I can still wear cool colors but looks better on warm colors(But actually I think it depends on the weather and the temperature).

So here you can see that this particular lipstick color is actually versatile!

Photoshopped: Alren for Senator

2012-02-22T08:02:00.001-08:00

It's campaign period for the election for the student body officers in my University. One of my friends is running for Senator so I made this for her.

I don't really know if this is an appropriate election poster. Truth be told, I'd go for something more formal. But she said she wants something that stands out. So I hope that this stands out. I hope she'll win too.

I realized I haven't done any tutorial on Photoshop recently. I wonder if it's useful at all to anybody, really. I might as well make a separate, informative blog for it rather than trying to squeeze it in this personal blog. Well I might. Maybe. Or maybe this blog will become famous someday and my tutorials will have some worth at last.

Well anyway, I guess for now, having all these photomanipulation stuff on my blog allows me to have a sort of portfolio. I like doing it anyway.

So what do you think about this poster?

Update!

Results are official and she won!

Why I Uninstalled Disqus

2012-02-21T00:44:00.000-08:00

First of all I would like to thank everyone for their encouragements on my previous posts. Commenting seemed like a small thing, but it helped a lot, especially since I only have this blog to share these stuff anyway. Just to let you guys know, I feel better now. What "cured" me is a cup of coffee and lots of brownies. :)

So anyway, I removed Disqus from my blog.

If you don't know what Disqus is, it is a third party commenting app for blogs.

It has a lot of great features actually. First of, you can reply in real time. That means you don't need to wait for the page to load every time you reply to a comment. It acts somewhat like facebook. You have notifications whenever somebody replied to a comment that you left on someone else's blog that is also using Disqus. It also has a like button.

Unfortunately, I had enough with it. My main problem is that I can't visit back some of the people who left their comments on my blog unless they have a Disqus account too or they placed their blog's URL along with their comments. I know it is petty. But I do care about the fact that people actually bother to leave a comment, much more than I care about whatever convenience Disqus can offer.

I started using Disqus when I started blogging again this year. So now that I deleted it, I'm expecting that all the comments on the posts that I had from that time I'm using it is pretty jumbled right now. O well.

What about you? Do you use Disqus on your blog? What is your experience with it?

Dare to Be Different

2012-02-20T00:09:00.000-08:00

Warning: Emo post

I feel odd. I don't know why. It's probably the rain that is pouring hard outside.

The howling wind seem to shut me in further inside this lonely room, inside my lonely self. Why does it always feel like there are raging noises outside? There's either the rush of events or people's laughter while inside me, there is only silence. I'm only standing still. I'm going nowhere.

Dare to be Different. What at awkward phrase. It's more like an excuse. I've always been different.

If I really want to I can join that rush, I can blend in with their laughter. But I'm too tired anyway, or too lazy.

Solitude has its price.

Sigh.

As much as I'd want to write down all my frustrations and my thoughts, it's weird how suddenly I don't even like talking about them. I guess it's because I feel like if I start talking (or writing) about them, they'd all spill out and I'll be overwhelmed. If there's one thing I hate, it's drowning in thoughts. I'm not that good a swimmer like some people are. So I'd rather talk about how I don't like talking about them.

So there! I just wasted your time. Thanks for reading.

I'm back to these "emo" thoughts but hey, this is my blog anyway.

And to keep up with the supposedly "sunny" theme of this blog, here are some pictures. It's still relevant with this post because of the print on the button pin.

Product Review: Sansan Soleil Lipstick

2012-02-16T20:19:00.000-08:00

We're more than half-way through February and although the weather has been all gloomy lately, summer is actually just a month and a half away (according to the school calendar =^_^=). Here's a set of lippies that I think are perfect for the summer.

Initially I bought these lipsticks as gifts when HBC was having their Christmas sale. But I liked them so much, I just had to buy some for myself.

It comes in three shades: Pink Tropics, Peach Ibiza, and Nude Carribean

I like peach most because of the color: peach!

Peach Ibiza

I was tempted to purchase Nude because a lot of other bloggers mentioned it as their favorite

Nude Carribean

And since I got the other two, I thought that I might as well buy the third. I wasn't very excited about the third because it's pink and I'm not so fond of pink lipstick

Pink Tropics

But suprisingly, I liked it!

What I like about them:

Candy-like smell - I'm aware that a lot of people don't like it that way, but I just happen to love the smell!

The colors - All three shades fit me well! And as a collection, it's almost quite complete. It has a peach, a pink, and a nude. It only lacks a red.

Price- Very inexpensive. Each costs 110 pesos.
They don't dry up my lips too.

Packaging - It's in yellow. Makes you think of summer. And you can see what's inside.

What I don't like about them:

It's not that pigmented. But you can always build it up.

Only lasts a few hours.

It seem to make the flaws of the skin show. I cannot wear this whenever my lips are chapped, which is quite often.

Over-all rating: 4/5

Here are some swatches.

Pink Tropics, Nude Carribean , Peach Ibiza

For me, they're more like daytime lipsticks.

Would I purchase it again? I don't think so. I'm still on this part of my make-up journey where I am still discovering different products so I might go for other lipsticks instead. I really liked Peach and is actually half-way with it. But I think I should try out other Peach lipsticks.

Whew! I think this is the first time that I have ever made a product review on lipsticks. I see a lot of bloggers do it and I thought it was an easy task. I couldn't be more wrong.You have to have a lot of time in your hands. And my lips are tired from all the swatches and it was only three lipsticks!

So, what do you think?

How about you? What lipstick do you usually wear on summer?

And which of the three lippies do you think goes best with my red beanie?

Here are more pictures of the product:

11 Questions

2012-02-15T14:46:00.000-08:00

It's 4 am in the morning, I cant sleep, and I have no intention of getting up yet to do school work. I might as well blog instead of just staring into empty space.

This an overdue post and I've been tagged twice(update: thrice!) so I'll just answer the ~~two~~ three sets of questions.

The Rules:
- Post these rules
- Post 11 random things about yourself
- Answer the questions that tagger set for you in their post
- Create 11 new questions for the people you tag to answer
- Go to their blog and tell them they've been tagged

11 Random things about me
1. I am craving for ramen right now.
2. I've lived in 5 different cities the whole of my life.
3. My favorite drink is water.
4. I like Taylor Swift
5. I wish I can watch Les Miserables play
6. And Cats
7. I want a stippling brush ASAP!
8. I wish I own more T-shirts
9. I like street food!
10. I am terribly scared of global warming (but it's bound to happen so I better brace myself)
11. I am a lucid dreamer.

Purple Mist Questions
1. Have you ever shoplifted? If yes, then what did you steal?
No. I don't think I have yet.

2. How long can you hold your breath for?
Don't know exactly how long, but I think I can't hold my breath as long as other people can. Weak lungs.

3. Are you a grammar nazi?
Sort of.

4. What is the worst thing you have ever done to a friend?
Hmmm.. blocked him in facebook.

5. Do you think your life will change dramatically in 2012?
yes.

6. What are you supposed to be doing right now?
Sleeping

7. Do you take home the shampoos/soaps from hotels?
yes!

8. What is your biggest pet peeve?

People who smoke around asthmatics like me.

9. Last movie you watched?
Praybeyt Benjamin! :)

10. Do you think musicals are cheesy?
Yes.

11. Favourite tv show or movie?
Big Bang Theory. Hannah Montana(not ashamed to admit it). Junior Masterchef Australia

Sujeong from Kawaii-babo Questions

1. Which make up brand do you absolutely love?
Doll Face Cosmetics and San san

2. What is your addiction?
Make-up

3. Which tv series or drama would you definitely recomment to watch?
Big Bang Theory

4. What is your favorite ice cream?
Vanilla and Strawberry!

5. If you could turn back time, which moment would you do differently this time?
Eveything about high school.

6. Which personality trade makes you you?
Hmm.. careless and lazy?

7. Are you in love? If so, since when etc?
Since October 2010.

8. Which celebrity do you secretly have a crush on?
Taylor Swift (but I'm a girl so that would be wierd).

9. What is your wierdest personality trade?
I am lazy and hardworking at the same time! :)

10. Which 5 items are always in your bag?
Cell phone, Wallet, Tissue Paper, Pressed Powder, a lipstick or a lipgloss

11. What is your biggest dream in life?
Be a good wife and mother.

Natassia's questions:
What was your childhood dream?
To be an astronaut!

If you were granted to have any super power, what would it be?
To be able to fly.

What do you dream of being one day?
A good wife and mother. :)

Do you believe in soul mates?
Sort of. I believe in God's will. :)

Do you wish to go back in time and change anything?
Yes. Definitely.

What kind of music do you listen to?
Happy music. To cancel out my sadness.

What kind of movies do you watch?
Scifi, Block-busters, and Cartoons!

What kind of books do you read?
Scifi and Epic Fantasy

What is that one dream that you are afraid to go after, or you do not believe that you will achieve?
My dream to become somebody who leads and does great things.

Do you believe in love at first sight?
Not quite.

What is it that you are looking for in a guy?

A man who knows that he has a battle to fight, a beauty to rescue, and an adventure to live.

Now here are the questions that must be answered by the people that I am tagging.
1. What inspires you?
2. Are you a day person or a night person?
3. What is you dream job?
4. What city/country do you dream about living in?
5. Are you afraid of ghosts?
6. Do you believe havaianas are a good buy?
7. Do you also think Chuck Norris is awesome?
8. What food are you craving for right now?
9. Do you think a guy and a girl can ever be just bestfriends?
10. What is that one thing that you are so passionate about?
11. Why do you blog?

So for this post, I'm supposed to tag other people too. So I'm tagging Beya, Heymissy, Menchie, Natassia, and Emmerey.

Make-up Look: For Blue and Grey Dress feat Aimae and Jam | Old Love

2012-02-11T06:33:00.000-08:00

These are two make-up looks that I made for two of my friends for a pre-Valentine date.

Jam was planning on wearing a blue dress so I let her sport this look: a combination of yellow and dark blue.

EYES:

Wet 'n' Wild Ultimate Expressions Eyeshadow Palette, Sand

Dollface Cosmetics Avante Garde Pallete

SanSan Age Defense Liquid Black Eyeliner

Ever Bilena Advance Cream Foundation with Concealer in Neutral (under eye)

Ever Bilena Eyebrow Pencil in Brown

FACE:

San San Matte Finish Liquid Foundation in Beige

Fashion 21 Press Powder

San San Age Defense Blush #2

LIPS:

Maybelline Lip Smooth Color Bloom Color Changing Lip Balm Peach Blossom

Ever Bilena Magic Lipstick

ELF Super Glossy Lip Shine SPF15 Candlelight

Jam is so pretty and I think she looked sweet with just the colors so I didn't bother to contour her face.

Next: Aimae.

Aimae was wearing a plain grey dress, and I think she didn't want to wear so much color. So I simply used neutral colors on her eyes and hoped that the bright pink color I was going to use on her lips will give the whole look the pop of color that it needed. Here's the look I came up with for her.

I wasn't able to take a picture of her whole face but the color scheme gave a quite matured and lady-like look so I contoured her nose a bit too.

I basically used the same set of make-up on Aimae.

So here are the final looks:

There you have it! I think you can wear these looks for Valentines too. I'm sorry I can't specify the names of the colors from the eyeshadow palette that I used. But I might make a tutorial on one of the looks here. What do you think?

Now let me tell you about the event that they attended. It was a pre-Valentine date.... program for married couples in our church! No no no. These two are too young to be married yet. They were there as usherettes.

Let me tell you a thing or two about the event. It was called "Grow Old With You". Kinda corny, but it was fun. It was fun because it was a sort of celebration of Old Love.

Now let me tell you some stuff about Old Love. I realized that most of the time we only celebrate Young Love. You know, the type that is decorated by flowers, chocolates, and celebrated on fancy dates and such. People chase after such things. We all tend to. And it's not necessarily a bad thing. It just tend to be overrated.

I remember Kuya Steve, our Group Leader, talking about this. He said that all we see in the media are failures of relationships. Celebrities getting divorced here and there. Even on our immediate surrounding, we see a lot of foulness in relationships. We hear too many stories about husbands having a mistress, and such.

But the truth is, the stories that make it to the news, or are told in households and among friends(especially among housewives who like to gossip) are mostly the scandalous ones. Rarely do we talk about couples and stories that are actually doing quite well. Those stories, after all, barely get anybody's attention. What's to talk about anyway?

But if you investigate closely these stories about Old Love, you'd see that they are sooo wonderful indeed, and what's even better is that they are not that rare after all. There are actually a lot of untold Old Love Stories out there.

And this is where my writing skills becomes a limitation. I can no longer put into words what I really want to say. But I encourage you to read this bit of writing by my favorite author.

"And in fact, whatever people say, the state called “being in love” usually does not last. If the old fairy-tale ending “They lived happily ever after” is taken to mean “They felt for the next fifty years exactly as they felt the day before they were married,” then it says what probably was never was or ever could be true, and would be highly undesirable if it were. Who could bear to live in that excitement for even five years? What would become of your work, your appetite, your sleep, your friendships? But, of course, ceasing to be “in love” need not mean ceasing to love. Love in this second sense — love as distinct from “being in love” is not merely a feeling. It is a deep unity, maintained by the will and deliberately strengthened by habit; reinforced by (in Christian marriages) the grace which both parents ask, and receive, from God. They can have this love for each other even at those moments when they do not like each other; as you love yourself even when you do not like yourself. They can retain this love even when each would easily, if they allowed themselves, be “in love” with someone else. “Being in love” first moved them to promise fidelity: this quieter love enables them to keep the promise. It is on this love that the engine of marriage is run: being in love was the explosion that started it. "

-C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

Valentines day is coming near, which is probably why I'm suddenly talking about love although I am obviously no love guru. I know that it means differently for different people. For some, it's singleness-awareness day (new term:forever-alone day) or neglected-by-bf/gf day. For some(like me) it'll be a day to celebrate young love.

But someday when I'm 60, has grey hair(which I'll probably dye into a beautiful burgundy color), and has grand-kids(and is filthy-rich, I hope), how I wish that I'll be able to spend Valentine's day as a celebration of Old Love.

My Sister Can Sing! .. and Other Things that Makes me Happy

2012-02-10T06:31:00.000-08:00

This post is mostly just about how this day was for me so it's not really informative at all.

There are three things that made me really happy and giddy today.

First off is when my sister's bf posted this video on my facebook timeline! It's my sister's cover or "Say It Again" by Marie Digby. The video's kinda blurry. I'm guessing she used her webcam. But the audio is ok.

And her voice is waaay more than ok. :)

Needless to say that this just made me extremely happy and proud. *sniff

Second is that I think I'm getting well. I mentioned in my tweets that I think I caught some flu virus. :( So just when the sneezing started, I immediately battled it with all sorts of remedy that I can think of. Here's a picture of my "power drink".

That's ginger tea+calamansi+moringa.

And here's another one. Global Green Life Powdered Drink Mix with Green Tea.

Again I added moringa to this one.

I was especially happy that all of these stuff seemed to work all of a sudden! :) I'm a really sickly person. I have asthma and when I get a flu, it tends to lead to pneumonia. So I'm more than glad that I didn't even get into the coughing phase.

The third thing that makes me happy today is the fact that it's a Friday! O yeah! Which means that tomorrow is a weekend! :)

This is actually a peculiar habit of mine, looking forward to the weekend even if in fact, as a graduate student my classes are on the weekends (which means I have to make a report that I have to present tomorrow at class. Somebody please help me!). But I don't know, I guess I haven't outgrown this habit yet. Back in elementary and highschool, Friday night has always been my favorite time of the week and it still makes me feel excited until now.

So anyway, there you have it. I shared to you the sources of my happy thoughts. I hope that you have lots of these(happy moments) too. :)

Now tell me, is there anything that makes you really happy right now too? :)

My Favorite Pen: Pilot G-TEC-C3

2012-02-08T20:33:00.000-08:00

This is a quick post as I promised myself not to linger at my blog too long.

I don't really have that much to talk about except to give appreciation to one of my favorite pals when it comes to studying. Aside from my laptop(which is almost on 24 hours even when I'm not blogging), I also have my trusted pen: Pilot G-TEC-C3.

Pilot G-TEC-C3 Blue. It has to have that exact specification. If it's black or if it's 0.4, then I wouldn't bother with it.

I've tried all sorts of pens but nothing else worked better for me. In fact, I've been using this particular pen since high school despite the fact that it's a tad more expensive than other sign pens and despite the fact that it is easily rendered useless. The tip is so fragile that once you drop it, you might as well throw it away (Although some of my classmates in high school discovered some smart ways to fix it).

Why does it have to be blue?

Blue isn't really my favorite color but I find black too boring. Back in high school, I've always wanted something more colorful but unfortunately, only black and blue pens were allowed, so I settled with blue until I got used to it. Eventually, I found out in the internet that blue ink is actually more soothing for the eyes.

Why does it have to be 0.3?

See how fine that line is?

I have a really small handwriting and I like to be able to write as much as I can, if not everything, in one page.

I came into full appreciation of Pilot G-TEC-C3 when I was making my report earlier this week. I've actually skipped using pens altogether for quite sometime now since everything I do that is school-related, I do on my laptop. But when I finally had to write some stuff, I realized that my thoughts just come into utter chaos when I was using some other pen. Finally, I gave in and went to the mall to buy my favorite pen and lo and behold, it was out of stock.

I went to another bookstore, and another, and another and it was still unavailable. I bought a pen that claimed to be similar to it, Fine Tech, but it just doesn't perform as well. :(

Finally, two days after, I found a Blue Pilot G-TEC-C3 in a smaller bookstore. I couldn't be happier. :)

Don't you just agree?

So I'll end this post with some pictures (taking advantage of Picnik's lomo-effect again before it closes down. Although I'm really feeling too lazy to do any major edits).

What about you? Is there ANYTHING at all that you can't live without whenever you study?

Is there a brand of PEN that you are particularly fond of? Share your thoughts!

Maybelline Lip Smooth Color Bloom Peach Blossom Review

2012-02-06T22:48:00.000-08:00

I was looking for a good lip balm because I typically have chappy lips.

I picked up this one.

Maybelline Lip Smooth Color Bloom Peach Blossom sounded attractive for me.

It's suppose to change you lip color to peach and has SPF 16.

Verdict:

Texture: 4 out 5

Packaging: 4 out of 5

Price: 5 out of 5 (99 pesos at Watsons, I think)

It has a sweet scent which I like, and it doesn't have any taste.

It is not waxy at all and leaves my lips moisturize. It only reduced the chapping on my lips but did not really eliminate it.

There was only very little product, so this won't probably last me long, which is actually a good thing so I can finish it up before I neglect it or before I get bored with it hence I won't have to feel guilty about throwing it away.

What I did not like about it:

I did not get the peach color that I was looking forward too. It more on turned into pink, which wasn't really the color that I wanted.

Would I repurchase?

No. I probably should try another lip balm.

What do you think?

P.S. This is a scheduled post. I currently banned myself from my blog in order to catch up with school work. I will get back as soon as I can :)

Dining Out with Friends: Z Resto Bar | Chowking Honey Garlic Chicken | 9ers

2012-02-04T01:40:00.000-08:00

Warning: Picture-heavy post

For the last few days I've been gone from the blogosphere because I lost my internet connection. :( bohooo.

But anyway, now that I am back, let me share to you some of the things that I've been up to. Lately, I've been dining out with friends a lot.

To start off, last Wednesday, I went out with some friends to a place called 9ers.

The last time I dined there, I can't forget how great their food was so this time I was pretty much persuading everyone to try out the place. So here are our food.

Love that Grilled Pork Belly and their Fish and Fries is just heaven.

Actually these are all I got because we were all pretty starving and the food looked so tasty that I had no time at all to take proper pictures before they started grabbing for the meal. O well.

Here are more pictures of us afterwards.

Then last Monday, I had to be the "guardian" of one of my friends for their pinning ceremony at the College of Education.

Here we are taking pictures around the campus.

Right after, we went to Chowking, where we tried out a new meal on their menu: the Honey Garlic Chicken.

I should say that this is a great addition to their menu. With it's price(only 79 pesos), it's a real deal. It's sweet and appetizing. They also had large servings. The only thing I don't like about it is that I can't taste any hint of garlic. And since I like garlic, I was kinda disappointed.

And then last Sunday, me and some of my ates(girls who are my senior) went out to have dinner at Z Resto Bar at Highway 30, which is a newly opened Thai Restaurant. I didn't had my camera with me so I wasn't able to take pictures of the food. All I have are these pictures of us goofing off that I stole from facebook.

we got drunk from drinking too much Sola Iced tea

The dinner was actually ate karen's treat. :)

The food there was great although I didn't find their food to be authentic Thai Cuisine. They mostly tasted like Filipino food to me although probably its because Thai Food actually resembles Filipino Food. Anyway, I will surely dine their someday again. Probably I can come up with a better review of their food by that time.

So that's it for my food-trip experience.

On a different note, have you guys ever felt that blogging kinda gets in the way of your normal life?

For the past three days that I was deprived off my blog, I was actually able to accomplish A LOT of things. It made me realize how much time I actually spend on this blog in a day. We all know the feeling of how it was like to get stuck in the blogosphere, telling ourselves "5 more minutes" but then the next blog we visit is just too interesting, as well as the next, and the next, and the next, and somehow there is always a link that leads to another interesting blog and before we know it, we've wasted hours already.

I mean come on, having a social life, an academic/work life, a blog life, extra-curricular activities, normal sleep, and a healthy life style and balancing all those is not an easy thing to accomplish after all.

This is especially true as I feel the pressure of my studies increases as the end of the semester draws near. Already I am starting to be frightened by all the things that I have to accomplish.

I know I haven't started properly blogging again since January this year and I'm probably still adjusting to all of these. Somewhere I need to find a way to juggle everything.

Do you have any advice as to how am I going to do that?

Make-up Look: Gold and Purple | Picnik is Closing!

2012-01-30T23:21:00.000-08:00

My first Make-up Look post!

Bear with me. I'm still a noob.

Anyway, a friend of mine wanted to do a photoshoot because she needed a picture for her cover photo for the new facebook time line. While we were at it, I decided to do a make-up look too. Here it is.

EYES

Dollface Cosmetics Avante Garde Pallete

SanSan Age Defense Liquid Black Eyeliner

Ever Bilena Advance Cream Foundation with Concealer in Neutral (under eye)

Ever Bilena Eyebrow Pencil in Brown

FACE

San San Matte Finish Liquid Foundation in Beige

Fashion 21 Press Powder

San San Age Defense Blush #2

LIPS

Maybelline Lip Smooth Color Bloom Color Changing Lip Balm Peach Blossom

ELF Super Glossy Lip Shine SPF15 Candlelight

What do you think?

On a different (and sadder) note, Picnik is closing.

If you are unfamiliar with Picnik, let me tell you that it is one of the best photo editing tool online. A lot of my friends has been using it to edit their pictures for facebook.com, and even friendster.com when it was still an active site around 5 years ago.

Why is it closing? Apparently, Google bought it and will integrate its feature on Google+. I guess this is one of Google's strategy in beating facebook. This way, all the avid users of Picnik, which are also mostly facebook.com users, will be forced to make a Google+ account.

Now there's some good news. Picnik will be refunding everyone who has a premium account. On top of that, they made all the features that are accessible to premium accounts only, available to everyone until their closing date, which is at the 19th day of April. Talk about additional advertising. They just got more popular for that.

I, for example, haven't really used Picnik before this news came out. It's mainly because I am an avid user of Adobe Photoshop. But now that everyone's talking about how great the features on the premium account was, I just had to try it out. Here are some vanity pictures of me (Yes because I'm vain and I'd rather use my photos rather than somebody else's photos).

Editing these were as easy as breeze. So now I'm saddened too because Picnik is closing down and I'll be one of those who will make a Google+ account so I can use their services. :( bohoooo

Do you guys know any other online editing tools that is a good substitute for Picnik?

Book Review: First Escape, DoppleGanger Series

2012-01-29T07:28:00.000-08:00

Summary from Amazon

The First Escape is the first book in the Dopple Ganger Chronicles, a six-book series following three children—Sadie and Saskia Dopple and Erik Morrissey Ganger. Sadie and Saskia are mischievous identical twins living at an orphanage, where Erik is their only friend. They are separated when Saskia is adopted by Muzz Elliott, a wealthy woman searching for her long-lost family treasure. While Saskia stumbles into the center of a crime only she can stop, Sadie and Erik embark on a quest to find her.

Why I Read It
What really intrigued me about this book is it's format. It's called "illustra-novella". The book is a combination of a graphic novel, a picture book, and plain text. It's the first time that I read a book in this format. It's also supposed to be friendly to kids, sort of like a transition from picture books to a novel so I thought I might try it out.

The Drawing
The format would have worked for me if the comics were better. I actually admire the art on the illustrations. Unfortunately the drawings on the comics are just too grotesque. They were too edgy and difficult to comprehend at times. I was especially disappointed when I was just starting to read because I started forming an image in my head on what the characters look like based on the description and on the picture at the cover of the book. However, my imagination was shattered when the comic started because the drawing was just too far from the way everything was described. The book seemed to have a dark mood, similar to that of "The series of unfortunate events". However the drawings at the comic looks like it came from Cartoon Network's "What a Cartoon Show". '

Why Kids Like It
I can imagine why the book can be a potential favorite for kids. It is fast-paced and the characters are easy to remember. Although, I can't say that the characters were consistent at all but then kids wouldn't really mind that I suppose. The title "Dopple Ganger" is also somewhat witty. The story is also interesting and quite unpredictable.

Should Parents Let Their Kids It?
It depends on your motives. It is a good material if you want your kid to start reading novels. It is especially helpful for kids who have ADHD or any sort of attention problem. But if you are particular about your kid's behavior, you might want to skip this book. If you're the type of parent who doesn't let your kids watch Tom and Jerry for fear that your children will imitate the characters, then it's the same thing for this book.

Here is where I get a bit conservative
Truth be told, my sister and I acquired this book because it was sold in a Christian book store so it was easier to talk our parents into buying it for us. However, I find it ironic that it is sold there at all. I do see some traces of Christian lessons subtly hidden in the dialogues but I think that some are misquoted. And they do not make up for the bad behavior that the protagonists are showing.

Overall, I think it is not "Hotter than Potter" nor is the author "The New C.S. Lewis", as what was written on the back of the book. As a young adult however, I think it is entertaining enough to be somewhat a good read.

"Happily Ever After" Do Happen

2012-01-27T15:09:00.000-08:00

Warning: Picture-heavy and Wordy Post

I was just able to attend my college's roommate's wedding.

They are the sweetest couple. :)

Please.Please.Please. Let me tell you their story.

They're love story is not that typical and is definitely worth telling. I can never do justice to it but I'll try nonetheless.

Karen and Kuya James met while Karen was in 2nd year college and Kuya James was in his 3rd year. They were board mates and if you know how it's like in boarding houses in the Philippines, we treat each other like family. I was Karen's room mate (I wrote about her here. This was when we were waaaay younger) and we at the boarding house is in a barkada (clique).

One day Karen confessed to me that Kuya James expressed his feelings for her. I can't forget that instance. Karen was hesitant but she was mildly admitting she is considering the possibility. But Karen was kinda young and immature back then (no offense ka. that was like 5 years ago and I think you would agree with me). She had lots of crushes and would rather drool over them than notice Kuya James. Eventually she started ignoring him, and when he persisted in courting, she got annoyed with him already.

We also had that thing back then in our University where students from the College of Arts and Social Sciences (Karen's college) consider students from the College of Engineering (Kuya James' college) to be savages.

College of Engineering (COE) students are stereotyped as mga walay ligo (doesn't take a bath regularly), bisaya kaau mu.storya (has poor skills in English), and baduy(unfashiobable). Of course those are just half-true back then and the first one is kinda noble.

If you didn't take a bath it means that you didn't sleep the whole night just to study and went directly to school in the morning for your class.

Anyway, so it was no wonder why Karen eventually learned to despise Kuya James. Believe me, Karen is as equally passionate of getting rid of Kuya James as he is in pursuing her.

Here's an example. One time he invited Karen on a date at I Love Sushi. It was a pretty pricey place for us back then. And just when Kuya James thought he had Karen alone, lo and behold, Karen brought friends! And Kuya James had to pay for all their food.

That is just one of the many episodes.

Eventually Karen graduated from college and worked in Cebu on a call center.

A year after Kuya James graduated and went to Cebu too to review for the board exams.

The thing about MSU-IIT students is that we tend to migrate to Cebu eventually to work. So you can just imagine how many common friends they have there. Anyway, they tried to convince Karen to give Kuya James a chance. After all, she is single, and Kuya James is serious.

She did.

They became bf-gf.

But there is a condition.

Kuya James had to make Karen fall in love within 2 months.

If not, then they'll break up and he has to leave her alone forever.

Have you seen Meteor Garden? Have you seen that thing about Dao and Sanchai? I think it kinda goes like that.

So you can just imagine how it was like for Kuya James. All of us were holding our breath too, waiting for updates within that 2 months.

But we know the ending of this story already (duh, you've seen the wedding pictures).

Kuya James didn't had to wait for 2 months.

It wasn't long before Karen saw him for what he really is and realized how he is the perfect guy that she had been longing for all the while.

Fast-forward in time.

Kuya James now has a successful career as a Mechanical Engineer in a power plant. Karen is a High school English Teacher.

3 years of courting and 2 years of dating.

I can't think of any guy in our generation who is as persistent as Kuya James. He has truly loved Karen unconditionally. Meron pa palang ganyan ngaun?(That kind of thing still exists today?) It's not easy to swallow all those rejections for three long years after all.

I only told you one story. But believe me, there are instances when Karen was much meaner. I wouldn't want to retell them now because it just makes Karen's heart ache whenever she remembers how cruel she was to Kuya James.

And of course, those of us in the wedding found ourselves astounded by how much their love story had gone. We agreed that we all can't believe that we were sharing that moment with them.

Here are some more wedding pictures.

With the Bride and the Bride's Maid.

I was Maid of Honour so I always had to tag along the bride and carry her veil.

I get to be one of the emcees during the Wedding Reception. See that awkward look on my face? That's how emcees look like up close when faking a laugh.

Like I said, I was Karen's room mate back in college while my partner here, Greg, was Kuya James' room mate. So they thought it would just be appropriate for us to be emcees.

I was drooling over the chocolate fountain. :(

Like my dress? As for me, I adore it. :)

The best part about the wedding is that I get to bond with friends that I haven't seen for ages.

My message to them at their photo frame is simple. It goes something like this:

To Kuya James and Karen. You guys are a living proof that "happily ever after" do exist. But what's even better is that the story that you had so far is just an epilogue to your REAL love story that is even more beautiful. I wish you all the blessings as you turn the first page. You'd find that in this story, it just gets better and better with each chapter.

How about you? Is there a "Happily Ever After" story that you want to share?

Photoshoot: Under the Umbrella

2012-01-25T00:05:00.000-08:00

Warning: Picture-heavy post (and all pictures are pictures of me)

It was a rainy afternoon.

can you see the streaks of rain?

finally, an outfit post

model: me

MUA: me

photographer: Sset Nanilignap

eyes:

Sansan Liquid Eyeliner

face:

Sansan Two-way Cake Foundation #1

Cheeks:

Sansan Everyday Cheek Tint

Lips:

Ever Bilena Magic Lipstick

Now for a bit of rant about these pictures.

For the record, these are all unedited. I did not even change the brightness. The only thing I added is the watermark.

These were actually taken a year ago, back when I didn't know how to use Adobe Lightroom and had no idea how to edit portraits to make them look better.

This set of pictures is special to me. I had so many "firsts" with these.

This is my first photoshoot. Ate Sset is an aspiring photographer and because we are close friends, she likes experimenting on me. I consider it to be a great opportunity. Other than the chance to model, I can also pick up tricks and trips on photography from her. Most of the time, she lets me use her camera and I get to be the photographer. I find it really rewarding because I like photography more than I like modeling.

In this photoshoot, I also get to use my first eyeliner, first cheek tint (I didn't even had a blusher then), my first lipstick, and my first foundation. Talk about all the firsts! That is why most of them are from Sansan because it is easily the most accessible make-up store from where I live. In fact, the Ever Bilena Magic Lipstick was just given to me. And just look at those eyebrows! They're yet to be plucked and shaped. :) I had thick brows back then.

Of course now, my make-up collection has grown and I will be blogging about them from now on. :)

I am quite hesitant about blogging about beauty, truth be told. I don't really want to be a beauty blogger. I don't think I can live up to that. Other than I barely have a year of experience with make-up hence I may not really know what I am talking about most of the time, I also just want to blog about random things as I tend to have all sorts of hobby too.

So anyway, like what I said, I will be blogging about make-up products from now on. It may include different make-up looks, product reviews, some tutorial even, etc. I might also post pictures from some of the photoshoot that we had in the past.

It may sound too vain for your taste but please bear with me. :) I hope you'll still give this little blog of mine some love. <3

P.S.

I don't know about you but I kinda like the pink top I'm wearing.

Pink Saturday

Divine Mercy Shrine at El Salvador, Misamis Oriental, Philippines

2012-01-23T23:33:00.000-08:00

During the weekend, I had to go to Cagayan de Oro for my past room mate's wedding. I had to hitch a ride on the groom's family so I can save money. Because they were Catholic devotees, we passed by the Divine Mercy Shrine at El Salvador. It was just a few minutes from Cagayan de Oro City.

The highlight of the Shrine is the 50ft tall statue of Jesus Christ.

I had to wear this unsightly long skirt because I was wearing shorts. I know I look like a manang (old woman). The shrine is a holy ground and shorts, sleeveless shirts and other skimpy pieces of clothing are not allowed. So they give you this sort of skirt to cover you up. Too bad for me I didn't know that. I should have just worn pants instead.

You have to go up 500 steps in order to get to the shrine.

Here I am again with this unattractive skirt.

This is sweet Trisha Lee, my past room mate's pamangkin (niece). She's such an adorable little girl.

You have to go up the stairs if you want but you have to attend the mass first.

Here's a top view of the Shrine. Actually I just took this picture from a poster on the wall. But you can see how big it really is. Those small white dots that you see are people.

You can get what the devotees call "holy water" here. Just bring your own container.

And don't even think about selling it if ever you get a gallon or something.

Here are more pictures of the Shrine.

Too bad it was a cloudy afternoon and everything is against the light so I wasn't able to get beautiful shots. But believe me, the place is amazing. Other than the humongous statue, the garden surrounding it is beautiful and the whole place is overlooking the Macajalar Bay, which is a breath-taking sight.

There is no entrance fee. I repeat. No entrance fee.

You just have to wear those unsightly skirts if your legs are exposed.

Dinner at Greenwich Pizza with Mr. Tiger and Ms. Kitty

2012-01-21T21:38:00.000-08:00

I had an amazing company for dinner!

Introducing Ms. Kitty and Mr. Tiger.

They were patient while waiting for the food even if they were already craving for their garlic sticks.

They also posted while we took pictures.

And even joined in with the conversation.

When the food arrived, they were shocked at how big the pizza is!

Oh no! Clifford almost sliced them with his bread knife! Tsk. Tsk. Better pay attention when you have small companies for dinner! :)

Until next time Mr. Tiger and Ms. Kitty.

By the way, I don't know about you guys, but I really love pizza from Greenwich. I know it's fast food (my mama calls it "generic" food) but ever since they changed their crust, it has been the perfect pizza for me. It has the right amount of flavor without being too rich. :)

Eating pizza from Greenwich makes me happy. :)

How about you? What's your favorite pizza place?

Photoshopped: Vanity Wall for Tjel's Debut

2012-01-19T00:16:00.000-08:00

Tjel, a sweet little friend of mine is having her debut this 21st of January. I made this for her vanity wall.

If you don't know what a vanity wall is, it is where guests take their pictures in an event. Sort of like this:

Anyway, I used tons of brushes for this one. Lots of brushes means lots of layers. Sorry I wasn't able to keep track.

If you want to use some of the brushes that I used for this project, you can download them from here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.

I don't know why but vanity walls have become popular lately. Most social events that people that are on my facebook friend list attend to have these. Do you have pictures taken on a vanity wall? Care to share them?

Iligan One Month After Sendong: A Glimpse of Hope

2012-01-16T08:45:00.000-08:00

It’s been exactly a month since the typhoon Sendong hit Iligan and caused devastation that the city has never seen before.

For those who don’t know what happened to Iligan, Cagayan and Dumaguete exactly the same day last month, here are some pictures to give you an idea.

This is a place I know so well. Tatay's grill was the first restaurant me and my boyfriend went out to as a couple. :(

Look at that muddy street.

*photos from here

What happened was that flashflood was basically caused by heavy rain fall in the mountains. Why was it so deadly?

1) The city HARDLY experiences any flood as we also rarely experience any storms hence we can’t be more ill-prepared. It’s the worst flood in the history of Iligan.

2) The flashflood happened at 2am, a few hours after the rain has stopped and everybody was asleep.

3) The flashflood brought with it logs from the mountains. These logs are evidences that there is illegal logging going on in there. Seriously, there were some concrete houses that could have survived the water current but was smashed by those logs instead.

I can’t even begin to describe how I felt about the tragedy. I was fortunate enough to live on the second floor of my boarding house and the water in our place only reached up to the hips. I only lost some of my shoes and missed my flight from Cagayan de oro to Davao.

But the rest of the city was scarred. I’ve never, in my whole life, seen so much dead bodies. It was sooo unnerving to think about how many people in the city has died. We saw a lot of trucks and vans pass by the highway carrying the evacuees, and sometimes, dead bodies. Most of the people I know also know somebody who died. Two of my professors lost their houses.

You can't begin to imagine how much pain the people are going through. Often the news is exaggerated. But this time, it can't even portray the magnitude of the devastation.

The city is a mess. The flood water has dried up and turned into thick mud, and eventually turned into dust.

There’s irritating dust everywhere and they seem to be so fond of sticking into your hair, clothes and eyes as much as the mud is so fond of your shoes. Not to mention they love making the roads slippery too.

I get teary-eyed every time I think about what happened to the city that I have grown to love. But somehow a big lump on my throat seem to keep those tears from spilling all over.

One Month After

Now a month has passed and you might be wondering how Iligan City is.

The city is still muddy when it’s raining and dusty when it’s dry.

Business in the city continued.

There are fewer Jeepneys. I have a feeling that a lot of Jeepneys were swept away from by the flood.

Every now and then, you still see some vehicles covered in mud still parked at the side of the street.

Everyone has a story to tell.

Some are overwhelmingly sad.

There are some graduating nursing students they say who went into an overnight in their friend's house for group study. They were swept by the flood and never made it.

There was a family who was trapped inside their house and drowned.

There were was a fish ban on nearby cities such as Oroquieta and Pagadian. Apparently, some of the bodies found their way across the bay. The people saw that some of the fishes were gnawing on the dead bodies. There were also bodies that looked like they were alive because they had slight movements. But when the people opened them up, they found squids!

My friend's dog died in the flood. It was tied so it drowned plus it got hit by some of the stuff that the flood carried.

I know a doctor who had to climb up their roof to save herself.

On the lighter side, there are also incredible stories of survival.

One family managed to stay together because the father had the initiative to use the long-sleeved shirts they have to tie the members around him. They were carried by the flood by they all survived.

There was one mango tree, they say, that managed to hold 40 people.

There was also somebody who had to travel a long way down the river but managed to survive because she told herself that the best way to stay alive is to stay calm.

There were also so many Ghost stories. Some are quite believable. There are some ghosts, they say, who just wants their bodies to be found.

Others are quite ridiculous. People say that there has been more sightings of wakwak or mananangal(witches). They say that it’s because a lot of them has lost their houses during the flood. Others also shared the idea that they are probably starving. If you don’t know how the wakwak or mananangal(witches) behave, let me tell you that they prey on their victim (a pregnant woman) by perching on the roof of a house and creating a small hole in it. They then let their long tongue dangle until it reaches the pregnant woman’s womb. That’s when the wakwak or mananangal(witches) eats the infant that is in the womb of the mother. Now the problem with this is that most of the houses that were swept away by the storm are houses with frail roofs. Of course, those that remained standing are houses with stronger roofs, the type that the wakwak or mananangal(witches) couldn’t penetrate.

My board mates and I were laughing when we were sharing these stories.

My point is?

Apparently, nakakabangon na ang iligan (Iligan is able to recover).

And it’s not because there was enough funding or because the damage is not that great after all.

It’s because the city was united in helping its people. I've never seen the spirit of Bayanihan so strong. Everyone was willing to help, to give. It doesn't matter who. Even those who were affected by the flood managed to help. Anyone who can give something, gave it: food, money, clothes, time.

Imagine that.

Not just an organization,

or a school,

or a club.

It's a whole city.

It's a whole city working hand-in-hand to restore it's wounded people. I have never seen a unity so grand. I have never seen so many people working whole-heartedly for a single cause.

When you are standing there in the midst of it all, you know that you are seeing history happen.

If you can, you can watch here how some of the workers at a nearby factory, Holcim, managed to rescue some of the victims that were washed to the sea.

And I think what made another huge difference is that the Iliganons, being Pinoy, has such great perspective about life.

*photo from here by Hannah Lyn Creencia

We know how to move on, how to laugh, and how to have fun even in the most dire circumstances.

This morning I went to the terminal and took this picture of the tent city that they put up there. Some of the people who lost their homes were transferred there so they can have a place to live for the meantime.

I saw a young boy in uniform exiting the gate of the tent city. I asked him.

Mu.eskwela ka dong? (Are you going to school boy?)

He beamed a smile at me and said with much glee,

Oo! (Yes!)

Happiness is... Watching Fireworks

2012-01-14T16:22:00.000-08:00

*Warning: Picture-heavy post*

Happiness is... watching fireworks on New Year's Eve!

What's even better than that?

Watching them with my sisters. :)

And what's even better than watching fireworks with my sisters?

It's when we get to see all those expensive fireworks from a short distance. Here are pictures of our rich neighbor's fireworks display.

Can you see that? The fireworks are just behind our garage! :)

It's not that impressive in pictures. But in real life, it felt like we were on Disneyland.

More pictures of fireworks taken during New Year's Eve:

What do you guys think? :)

This is my share for:

My Sisters' Comments About My Black Contact Lenses

2012-01-13T17:40:00.000-08:00

Recently, I bought these contact lenses from an online store when they had a sale.

My sisters, Ela and Pre had the meanest comments.

Ela: Nakakatakot. Para kang multo. (Scary.You look like a ghost)

Me: Ang dami kayang nag.order nito. Best seller kaya to. (A lot of people bought these type of lenses. They are best sellers)

Ela: Un nga. Uso naman ung mukhang multo. (That's it. Looking like a ghost is "in")

My sister Pre was even meaner still and said that I look like somebody from a post-mortem photograph.

Back when taking photographs was expensive, people only took family pictures when somebody dies in the family. They would make the dead body sit up and open its eyes so it'll look like it's alive. Despite that, the dead person still looks dead because of its far-off look on an expression-less face. Here's an example:

Creepy isn't it? I don't think I look that creepy.

And this is how I look like with the contacts on.

Really really big eyes don't you think? I'm the one on the right. You can just compare them with my friend's eyes.

They are black lenses with a diameter of 14.8mm (GEO XCK-105). I wanted to buy colored lenses, like the light brown ones that my friend Aine is using. But my friend Ena (she's the one on the left) convinced me to buy black lenses instead.

Since I had naturally brown eyes, I was thinking that it's probably cool to try to be black-eyed for once. Actually the photograph above exaggerated my eyes a bit because of the angle of the camera. Here's how I look like with the contacts on.

By the way, I'm not wearing contacts just because I'm vain. I'm actually near-sighted and glasses are too heavy for me. They make my head ache. And FYI, if you're just near-sighted, contacts are cheaper than glasses.

Hahaha. Defensive?

I want to know what you guys think. Are my sisters right? Do they look too exaggerated or are they ok?

By the way, if you are thinking about buying GEO contact lenses, the cheapest website in facebook that I know is here. She sells geo contact lenses for as low as 390 pesos. Mine was more expensive because it was graded.

Deep of Your Grace (Republished)

2012-01-12T12:41:00.000-08:00

This is one of my favorite songs of Hillsong. I listen to it every time I feel weak and distressed. It's not really one of those big songs. It's more of a transition song, sort of like a preparation for a much larger song. In this case, this is immediately followed by "From the Inside Out", which is also another favorite song. But I'll probably talk about that some other time. Anyway, one thing i like about "Deep of Your Grace" is how the smooth and subtle style of its music exposes the power of its lyrics.

This world is filled with so many things that keeps our eyes focused from our ultimate purpose. But one glimpse, one reminder of what grace is, is such an overwhelming experience that after that, there is nothing else that is equally marvelous. In the deep of my Saviour's grace, I come to know the power of his forgiveness and love. And its like a river that washes all dirt away. Strong, yet at the same time, comforting. It is my sanctuary, my silent place.

Grace has been a very common word. Yet there is so much of it to understand. It's a fruit of God's love, an expression. And it's so much much more. I can not describe by mere human words. And it is very much available to us. To me. That's why it's so beautiful at times. It's always there, almost tangible, always warm. It's like everything that is happening in my life, sweet or bitter, happy or sad, is coated with grace. There's also more and more everyday.

At times I lose the hunger to know it more. I become stale, distracted. I lose sight of the goal. Yet it is also grace that enables me to come back. It is grace that leads me to the way home.

I am probably being melancholic again right now. But that's just the tiniest bit of manifestation of what I am truly feeling. Even my mind, and my soul, can not understand fully how much my spirit is rejoicing in this sort of delight. With this grace that He has scattered freely, God is good indeed.

My Favorite Girls :)

2012-01-12T08:42:00.000-08:00

I don't know if you've noticed but I added something new to my blog again. I added these images to my footer. These images contain links to the blogs of my favorite girls. The same way that their eyebrows are unplucked despite their vanity, they are somewhat new to blogging and needs a bit of encouragement. Check them out!

Aine

Ena

Ela

Link Exchange!

2012-01-11T23:53:00.000-08:00

Hello hello there! :) Want to exchange links with me?

Just leave a comment below with this format:

Blog Title:
Blog Url:

I will add your link and follow you. In return, I hope you'll also follow me and add the link of my blog too:
http://ahintofsunlight.blogspot.com/

New Header for 2012

2012-01-10T22:53:00.000-08:00

I updated my blog header again. I seem to not have found the right header, or theme for this blog yet. I actually wasted a lot of time creating the previous one.

But then I find it too vain. :) Also, it seem to overwhelm all other pictures in the blog. When I have a blog entry that is filled with pictures, my blog suddenly look overcrowded, which I don't like. Even I get stressed just looking at it. So I've come up with this new header.

This was far easier to make. I simply downloaded brushes from Nushiakub i from deviantart. You can check out the brushes here. I'm not sure if this is the header that I'm looking for. I'll try it out until I get tired of it. :)

Which one do you think is better?

Book Review: Catching Fire (The Hunger Games Series)

2012-01-09T17:54:00.000-08:00

First and foremost, I'd like to say that I am so glad that all the books of the Hunger Games had all been written by the time I got interested in reading them because this one is such a cliff hanger. By the way, this review contains some spoiler.

Summary by Amazon:

Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has won the annual Hunger Games with fellow district tribute Peeta Mellark. But it was a victory won by defiance of the Capitol and their harsh rules. Katniss and Peeta should be happy. After all, they have just won for themselves and their families a life of safety and plenty. But there are rumors of rebellion among the subjects, and Katniss and Peeta, to their horror, are the faces of that rebellion. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge.

The Characters:

Peeta fans, don't hate me. I never liked his character since the first book. This is because I'm not really a big fan of romance to start with when it is on a science fiction novel (especially because the Hunger Games already has a pretty depressing setting already). I just feel that it is so out of place. Also, I've always thought his attachments to Katniss is bordering being obsessive already. Although I must say, I do not know if it is because I got so familiar with his character, that I actually started liking him.

Gale, whose character I actually liked during the first book, is becoming so-so for me. He had appeared gallant and peaceful during the first book but he showed signs of roughness on the second book.

I still adore Katniss mainly because of the way she thinks. The author did a great job in creating a character like her. She is, what we call in my country, astig. She carries a heavy weight on her shoulders without being emo. She is so dedicated to her family and in surviving the hard times that she doesn't even have time for romance. thumbs up Katniss.

Now whether I liked the characters or not, I should say that the author did a great job in building them up. Character development was good during the first two books.

Over all:

The first parts of the book was really dragging although I do get it why it is necessary. It sort of stresses the uncertainty on Katniss' part, which I think is essential for the story. Although for me, as I was looking for something fast-paced to read when I picked up this book, I got kinda bored. The last parts suddenly took up some speed and that's when I noticed that it suddenly failed to provide enough description on what's happening. I don't know about you guys but I always want a good balance between descriptions and pace.

The title I think is genius. While it is obviously a reference to Katniss, the girl who is on fire, it also talks about what the book is about: a start of the rebellion. Catching Fire suffers for being the second book in a trilogy whose first book can actually stand on its own while the second and third book seem to be about a different story already. While Catching Fire is the second book, it still has to be an introduction to that new story. And the author did well in doing that.

Why You Should Read It:

It is entertaining, that is why it is quite popular. Better read it before the movie comes out. Again, as I said on my review of the first book, this is a nice read if you are a hard core science fiction fan who wants to try out something light. The second book is darker and has more gross stuff in it than the first books though.

Read my review on The Hunger Games here and watch out for my review on the Mockingjay, the third book in the series.

What do you think? Have you read this book?

Food Trip: Port Cafe and Rai Rai Ken

2012-01-07T12:17:00.000-08:00

Port Cafe is a place in Gaisano Mall, General Santos City where my sisters and I have been eating carbonara for ages already. That's why we always make a point to stop by whenever we get together during vacations. We actually tried them out first when we were in Davao. They also have a branch there at Gaisano Mall. Anyway, the food is really affordable and the spot they have at General Santos City is quite convenient. The one at Davao is too crowded and dark. Here are some pictures we took when my sisters and I went for a visit for a dose of nostalgia.

Their famous carbonara. I usually go for spaghetti as carbonara tend to be too heavy for me but the one they have is light and just right.

This is new in their menu and we tried them out. They only cost 20 pesos! And they're not that bad too.

My sisters and I at the comfort room. I love this candid shot.!

I'm sorry I just had to post too many pictures on this as this happens so rarely. Also, I'm aware that it might not be appropriate to post pictures taken from a comfort room on a post about food. But at least you now know that comfort rooms at Robinson's Mall are really neat.

In fact they are so neat that the faucet, the soap dispenser and the hand blower are all sensor activated. :)

Although I must say that the mirror needs a bit of cleaning up.

Finally! At Rai Rai Ken! We ate here for lunch. Japanese food is rare in General Santos City. There aren't much Japanese Restaurants here. We used to have I Love Sushi but they closed! :( It's a good thing Rai Rai Ken opened up. My sisters and I love Japanese food especially Ramen! I love sushi too but we didn't order that today. We ordered gyoza instead because Rai Rai Ken is having a promo! Order gyoza and you only pay for 50% of your Ramen. Their Ramen is quite expensive for Filipino standards, costing around 200 pesos per serving so it was really a great deal!

That's my sister looking at the menu.

Rai Rai Ken has a really cool interior design. Makes you think that the Japanese are happy people. Well, are they? They color their hair pink and they have the most colorful fashion I know of, but a lot of them commit suicide too.

I think Filipinos are happier because we adapt the happy things about Japanese and not the sad things while they, on the other hand wouldn't really bother to adapt the happy stuff about Filipinos. So it's not a fair exchange. See? Simple logic solves a philosophical question. :)

Yes my sister is trying to get pictures but I got better shots with my point-and-shoot camera. :)

They have more promos! 50% of all curry rice! What better reason to come back? But I don't really like curry rice. They should have promos on their sushi.

food! food!

taking pictures again

seafood hotpot

beef ramen

Actually, they had large servings so my sisters and I shared two ramen bowls between the three of us. Otherwise we wouldn't be able to finish up all the food.

My sister works in Manila and she commented that Rai Rai Ken's branch in General Santos City serves better food than the one in Manila. It's probably because General Santos City has more sea food hence the ingredients are much fresher.

Anyway, if you happen to visit General Santos City, try out these restaurants.

Port Cafe is located at Gaisano Mall and is a perfect place to have some snack with your barkada.

Rai Rai Ken is located at Robinson's Mall and is the quickest way to get Japanese Food in GenSan.

Happiness Is.... Riding at the Back of a Pick-up Truck with my Sisters

2012-01-06T01:51:00.000-08:00

Happiness is, for me, means riding at the back of the family's pick-up track with my sisters.

We did this just this 27th day of December when we went to Banga, South Cotabato to visit a family friend who came from the US. The town was around 2 hours away from General Santos City, where we live.

On the way back the weather, as well as the lighting, was just perfect so we decided to ride at the back of the pick-up truck despite the abundance of room inside the vehicle. My sister practiced taking pictures with her new camera.

The sun was almost setting and the wind was cool because it's December. We enjoyed the great view of the province as we ride home. There were mountains to behold as well as the DOLE pineapple plantation.

Here's a picture taken at Korondal, South Cotabato. We passed by this city on the way home. Would you just look at all those tricycles.

The sky just happen to have the right type of clouds.

The wind was messing up my hair but I didn't really mind. There's plenty of time to fix it later. At that moment I just enjoyed the company of my sisters, whom I rarely see these days because we live in different parts of the Philippines. It has been a really really long time too since the last time we rode the back of our pick up truck. It just brings back sweet childhood memories.

With the view, the perfect weather, and the sweetest company, I can't think of a better word to describe how I feel other than HAPPINESS.

After all, HAPPINESS is often found in simple, random things that money cannot buy.

By the way, this post is for the meme, Happiness is. Check it out and join to spread happiness!

December at the Tropics | White Haven, Gumasa, Saranggani Province

2012-01-04T09:00:00.000-08:00

Here's how we spent our Christmas in the tropics: get soaked in the beach. My family went on a trip to one of the pristine white sand beaches of the south. My mama particularly likes visiting White Haven. Here are a few shots of the place and my family.

My sisters enjoying the waves. <3

This is actually a stolen shot.

My parents being oh so sweet! I actually had them photographed tons of times as if they were just newly weds.

me on the white sand

my family. :)

There are actually other great resorts and they tend to always get full. At times, you have to make reservations first. These beach resorts have just been developed and haven't been advertised that much yet. Which is a good thing, otherwise, they'll be crowded with tourists. I can still remember the time when we were little and the entrance fee only costs 2 pesos. Cheaper than matches. Can you imagine that? If you happen to visit General Santos City or Saranggani Province, don't forget to stop by them. I promise they are one of the best beaches in the Philippines

Oreo Lemon Cheesecake | My Sister's Blog

2012-01-02T21:11:00.000-08:00

So this Christmas my sister and I decided to make blueberry cheesecake. But since the grocery store ran out of canned blueberry and because we placed too much lemon on the crust, we ended up making an oreo lemon cheesecake.

Here are the ingredients.

It was pretty good actually.

My sister also created her own blog. I think it's because she finally bought herself a DSLR camera. She named her blog after the cheesecake we made and gave it a tagline "when life gives you lemons, make an oreo lemon cheesecake". :) It was pretty corny but I actually like it. It's funny and is easy to remember. Check her out. She has a very dynamic personality and she would most probably blog about food most of the time as she loves eating out. :)

Hello 2012!

2012-01-01T09:25:00.000-08:00

I know it's been a long long long long while since the last time I blogged. Yes, I'm guilty of being MIA. Where have I been? Actually I was still in the blogosphere, blogwalking. I guess I lost direction for this blog and I had to go soul-searching. So I hopped from one blog to another and discovered so many great bloggers such as xiaxue and cheesie. I've always thought of them as the most popular bloggers in ASIA. But one great thing that I noticed as I read one blog from another is that different bloggers' styles are quite varied that in the end, I came to realize that blogging is not about getting great traffic in your blog so you can advertise (yes people, I've been to that phase) but about experiencing the joy of writing and sharing ideas.

So now it's 2012! Happy new year everyone!

And I've decided to blog again.! :) This is obviously my first entry for this year. Aside from being consistent with my writings, I realized that I have to renovate this blog. I have to find another theme (or make one) and put links here and there. I have sooooo much interests that I have to organize them.

I realize that this blog is not going to be about just photo editing, or beauty, or book-reviews, or make-up alone or whatever what-not I finally think of but rather a collection of my daily adventures and thoughts. One thing I learned from reading popular blogs is that I have to be myself and should

STOP THINKING TOO MUCH

because that's what kills the fun out of blogging both for me as the writer and for those who actually bother to read it. .

So anyway, I've done enough chit-chat already. I hope that you guys will read this blog again. Expect more randomness and less boredom!

*UPDATE*

I finally changed the theme of my blog. But I still don't have a proper banner. Be working on it soon :) Watch out.

Photoshopped Jix Cartoonized Using CutOut and Gradient

2011-08-13T16:26:00.000-07:00

I have another photoshopped tutorial for you guys!

This is a pretty lengthy tutorial so I hope you'll bear with me. In my previous post, I mentioned how I made this effect for a friend of mine. I sort of cartoonized him and it made a good birthday present that he really loved. Now if you want to achieve the same effect, just follow this tutorial.

Start by choosing a picture. I chose a picture of him taken when we went swimming. The idea is choosing a picture where the person's face is big enough. Make sure that the resolution is ok and that there's a good balance of light and shadows on his face. Now it's time to crop the picture.

Now that the image is cropped, use the pen tool to trace the head. You can opt for the magnetic lasso tool but I prefer using the pen tool as it provides more flexibility.

As you can see, his bangs aren't really defined so we sort of draw it using pen tool.

Now close the path by connecting to the first point we made using pen tool.

Now while still at pen tool mode, right click on the image and choose "make selection". This creates a selection (as indicated by the dotted line). But actually, it's the background that was selected. What you must do next is right click again and "select inverse."

Now you are able to make a selection that you can "layer via copy".

You can make the background layer invisible so what's left is just the head you isolated. The selection is still there and what you do with this selection is you use "free transform".

"Free transform" will let you rotate the image so its upright.

Now adjust the levels of the image. Increase the white and gray, as well as black so you can have more contrast.

Duplicate this layer. I'll explain later why you need to do this.

Now let's use some filter. Let's use the the "cut out" effect.

This is somewhat crucial. You must be able to adjust the image in such a way that it has that cartoonish effect while at the same time making sure that the details, especially around the eye area, is still visible. Although this still depends on the type of mood you want for your picture. I want my picture to be clear so I chose this setting.

Now here is my image. Now make a new layer above your image.

The next step is adding the color. I uses the "gradient tool" for this.

Adjust the color of your gradient.

And finally, on your new layer, using the selection you have on the image as a guide, paint on this gradient.

Now let's make this image invisible for the meantime and lets make our image black and white by setting the saturation to zero.

Make the layer with the gradient visible. Change it's blending to "Color Burn", or whatever blending suits you. also, adjust its opacity so you can determine how heavy the color should be depending on your taste. I just want a light color so my opacity is around 50% only.

We can stop here. But as for me, this image is still too rough. So I added these additional steps. I took the duplicate of the layer containing our image. I performed the same steps I did with the previous image on it. I made it black and white, adjusted further the levels, but when I used the cut out tool on it, I did so in such a way that there more "edge simplicity". I placed this layer above the original layer that contains our image and here's the effect that I got.

Scary huh? The details on the eyes are lost as well as the lips, but the edges in the cheeks and along the sides of the face is much smoother.

Now remember that we still have the original image underneath that layer So using our eraser tool, let's erase the parts of the new layer to reveal some of the details that we need from the layer underneath. The eraser tool should be set to around 60% opacity and should be a soft brush so you can control how much you want to erase and at the same time, have a soft transition between the new image and the old image.

I erased some parts of the eye and the lips.

Now we're finished!

Here is the final image.

What do you think about this effect?

And is the tutorial too lengthy or are the images just enough?

Random Happenings: Youth Alternative Palakasan Kick Off X Aimae's Birthday X Yellow!

2011-08-08T09:42:00.000-07:00

The Youth Alternative Palakasan has already begun and here are some pictures of me in it. Youth Alternative by the way is the name of the youth group in our church.

That's me in the middle. I just love how all of us didn't see the shot coming.

Here's me with Kenmore. He's a sort of heart throb because he sings really well and for tons of other reasons.I took this opportunity to have a picture with him to make his fans jealous.

Finally! A picture where I can show you my outfit. I'm wearing a gray dress with a yellow belt for a little pop of color. I'm also wearing killer heels, which almost killed my feet indeed. They aren't mine actually. I just switched with Aine, the one at my left. The white gladiator sandals she's wearing is mine and that's the original shoes that I wore with this outfit.

Because of my killer heels, I've gotten so tall! I'm actually pretty tall already. I think I'm around 5'5 but some people insist that I'm 5'6. That's pretty tall in Filipino standards.

I facilitated during the scrabble competition. I had a hard time keeping my mouth shut actually. It was so tempting to blurt out all the words that I see at the players blocks.

This picture was taken earlier in the morning. I wore a brown belt instead because I went to church. I had to tone down everything, even my make-up to make my whole look appropriate.

This is kuya macoy. I'm actually a few months older than him but it doesn't show and people can't tell anyway so I go on in calling him kuya since everybody else does too. He's such a kuya(older brother material and I'm just so childish.

The day before that we surprised Aimae with some singing during her birthday, I bought these yellow flowers for her. I had to wake-up at 5am so I can buy these flowers from the market before Aimae woke up.

So here are my favorite picture with one of my favorite colors: yellow.

While arranging the yellow roses that I bought for Aimae.

A picture with my honey with me wearing my yellow belt.This is by far my favorite picture taken that day.

Photoshopped: Happy Birthday Aimae || A Birthday Gift Idea

2011-08-06T10:08:00.000-07:00

My roomate turned 18 the other day and I made this for her birthday. I wanted to make her feel like a princess because she's such an adorable person and I think the fairy theme fits her personally.

This is my first time to make something like this, something surreal and I had a limited number of pictures to choose from (I just "stole" a picture from her facebook account). I gotta say that you need to have a good photo if you want a good photoshopped picture. But I had to make do with what I have.

But anyway, she liked it and we also made a blog for her where her friends and family can greet her. This is a great idea I think if you want to make somebody special on their special day. If you want to check out how it looks like, just visit this here.

So what do you guys think about it? Would you do the same for someone really special for you?

Photoshopped: Happy Birthday Jix

2011-08-04T07:08:00.000-07:00

This effect is not as complicated as it seems. I made this for a birthday of a friend of mine. I will show you guys how its done in my next tutorial.

Photoshopped: Adding Warmth to Your Picture

2011-07-26T11:22:00.000-07:00

Here's another photo manipulation tutorial for you guys. Adding warmth to your picture is easy in photoshop.

Just follow these instructions.

Prepare your picture.

First, manipulate the levels of your picture. Add a little black, grey and white. As you can see, after manipulating the levels, the picture becomes sharper.

The vital part is changing the color balance.

In order to add warmth to your picture, increase the amount of yellow, magenta and red on your picture.

Do this also at the highlights of your picture.

And now you're finished!

Let us compare the two pictures again.

As you can see, the new picture is more vivid and much warmer. It kind of makes the colors on the old picture a bit washed out.

This picture is actually part the photoshoot for Mr. and Ms. Economics in our school. It's just a small beauty pageant and a lot of the contestants, especially the guys, were just forced to join. But I had a swell time doing the make-up for the photoshoot as well as editing the pictures. I'd like to share to you the pictures of some of the candidates:

I've adjusted the color balance on these pictures so they all have that similar warm and vivid feel. You can also notice that all the contestants have flawless skins. In real life however, they actually have some blemishes here and there. But because of photoshop and make-up, their features were enhanced. I already showed you guys how to get rid of eye bags using photoshop. The next tutorial will be about having a flawless skin with the help of photoshop. Look forward for it!

By the way, you might want to suggest a photoshop tutorial for this blog. Please let me know if you have some suggestions.

Thanks!

Photomanipulation: Getting Rid of Eyebags

2011-07-16T07:59:00.000-07:00

Let me show you how to edit your picture using photoshop so you can get rid of your eyebags.

Here is the final product of this tutorial:

Prepare your picture. I'm using this closed-up picture of mine. As you can see I have bulging eyebags underneath my eyes.

Press the Q button to enter the quick mask mode. The Quick Mask mode will let us select the part of the image that we want to isolate. In this case, I want to isolate my eyebags.

As you can see, I've selected the area underneath my eyes already. Press the Q button to exit quick mask. You will then have a selected area.

But what was actually selected was the area that you did not select using quick mask. Just invert selection.

Now that your eyebags are selected, copy it in a similar layer.

The layer that contains your eyebags should look like this:

As you can see, you have a new layer that contains your eyebags. Blur this layer using gaussian blur.

Your eyebags has gotten lighter already. But we're not done yet.

Adjust the levels of your eyebags. Increase the level of grey and white. Don't overdo it as it may look fake if you do. You may change the opacity of the layer that contains the eyebags if you want to.

Now you're done!

If you want to further lessen your eyebags, just blur the layer that contains the eyebags further as well as increase the grey and white levels.

Actually, it's better to leave some of the eyebags behind. Overdoing it would make it look fake. You wouldn't want it to be obvious that you used on photoshop in your pictures.

I edited this picture further by changing it's tone.

As of how I did that, watch out for my next photomanipulation tutorial.

Mr. and Ms. CASS

2011-07-05T18:22:00.000-07:00

Last night I went to the College of Arts and Social Sciences' Pageant night. One of my board mates was a contestant. I had a swell time there and I want to share this experience with you.

Here is me with one of my best buds, ena.

The contestants, and my boardmate Rufino Rego Sanchez as he stepped in front for the question and answer portion.

So these are my crazeeee boardmates. We saw the former Ms. Cass pass by and we did not hesitate in getting a picture with her.

This is a picture taken in our boarding house with some of my boardmates.

Mr. and Ms. Psychology. Both of them came in third.

Rego and me. This is currently my profile picture at facebook. I'm so proud of him. He came in third even though this is his first time to ever join a pageant. He was also very reluctant when this opportunity was first offered to him. But he did his job and he did it well!

Another one of my boardmates, Carl, joined the wannabe competition where he imitated Miley Cyrus at her "Can't be Tamed" music video.

Carl and the former Ms. Cass/ Ms. IIT (my university), are best buds so it was easy for me to request for a picture with them when I met them at Jollibee right after the event. I can clearly remember what Ms. Cass had to say during the question and answer portion last year. She was asked about what even would she choose to omit from the list of competition. To everybody's surprised, she said that it was the beauty pageant because it is discrimination. Every girl is beautiful in her own way and deserves the right to be in the stage.

How cool is that? No wonder she won. She does not just have the beauty and brain, but also the heart.

Yesterday's What-nots.

2011-07-02T18:08:00.000-07:00

This morning when I woke up, my body was soar all over. I think it's because of all the activities I did yesterday. There was early morning jogging at 5am and for a person who does not exercise quite often, the activity was really tedious for me. In the afternoon, we had practice for the worship service the next day where I did not really do much moving except I think I'm not used to not being able to lie down on my bed for a long period of time. After that, since I had to kill some time, I walked from church to school. It was a 30-minute or so walk, which wouldn't really have been too much for me, except right after that, I had to go to the mall to buy my groceries. I got home at around 8:30 where I still had to eat dinner.

I guess that's how my day went. Truthfully, for me, it's a bit bland. I was bored the whole day. It's one of those gloomy times when I had to ponder at the end of the day if I'm really happy and satisfied of where I am now.

There's this uneasy feeling inside of me. A feeling that tells me that there are bigger things.