Category: beauty and fashion
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Simple make-up tutorial
Good morning. If you have different shades of lipstick – preferably approved by the DOH-FDA – then you can play with those to use on your lips and cheeks and even eye lids. You can even try a layering of lipsticks. Results can be surprising. For base, BB cream works wonders, but not if you have […]
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What’s in my bag
Happy 2015! Every year, I meet and work with people who bring inspiration to the little skills that I have, whether it’s sketching, reporting, analyzing, or ‘journaling’ (wanted to say blogging, but I also keep ‘actual’ notebooks where I deposit thoughts and doodles). This year I’m positive that I’ll meet more who will continue to widen […]
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A spa called “Ginhawa”
Undressing for a stranger’s touch and paying for it may be a bizarre thing to do but that’s what a spa is all about. While reading an Englishman’s gastronomical adventures in France, I learned a little about spas. A proper spa facility has a wet area (jacuzzi and/or pool), a massage parlor with health treatments, and […]
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What’s in our closet, and why we need to be mindful of our shopping
Any fashionista out there knows how the Philippines is becoming a big market for global fashion brands. EDSA alone is a window to power brands that are competing in the apparel/accessories industry; a stroll in Greenbelt, Bonifacio High Street, or malls takes a shopper to a survey of fashion giants from the luxury end–LV, Prada, […]
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Nowhere dresses
You know how some dresses or shirt of yours would just disappear and you’re not sure if it got lost in the laundry shop or the last house you stayed in and you remember them just because you’re in the mood for browsing photos of yesteryears and you feel nostalgic about those times you wore […]
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Talk to my colored, rebonded hair
I entered Myra’s salon a little past 3pm. One of her staff greeted me and asked me to wait for the owner. I looked around the red walls of FHM Salon Cubao, high ceiling, and printed posters of Myra’s works. She has collaborated with network stations, fashion runways, and styling projects on top of other […]
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Ateneo, after the Games
Should we start talking like them? Mike asked. No, I said. That’s their English, dude. And besides, Filipino is their conyo.
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Goodbye, cold
Can’t believe the cold left too soon. So before we say Hello, Summer, let’s give fleeting cool air a proper au revoir And merci for the passport to wear layers
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Sky high
Fascinating how the new ferris wheel in Tagaytay, the Philippines’ tallest, has landed ‘the most googled destination’ in 2013. It even bested Tubbataha Reef in Palawan (2nd in the Google’s year-in-review), which is a dream destination for many even if the reef is almost impossible to reach. But looking at the Top 10, the list also […]
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What’s in my bag
Late 2013, a friend of mine introduced me to the publisher of World Urbanista, a US-based lifestyle e-zine for Filipinas around the world, and since then, I’ve been contributing a short article on fashion (yes, fashun!) every month. Allow me to usher in some fabulous spirits into this blog this new year, starting with: What’s […]
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The world’s lightest DSLR on my hands
Part of my Christmas bonus plus earnings from a writing project (Ayala Land Inc) went to a new toy: the world’s lightest DSLR to date, Canon EOS 100D aka “Rebel,” from BGC’s The Great Canon Sale two weeks ago. Good old iPhone 4s is still handy and takes great pictures, but this new gadget can […]
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How to keep calm
Young people are more given to short temper and fury, than their elders. While in a waiting lobby, I read an article suggesting that a calm mind is more productive and professional in a working environment. It says many top executives have turned to meditation and quiet exercises to keep them on top of their […]
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Mangoes, anyone?
Mike knows that mangoes tame my inner monsters, so since the onset of summer he’s been buying me kilos of yellow mangoes that exude that familiar smell of ripeness. One second, I could be a complete worrywart, the next minute, I am Zenlike, eating bite after bite of mangoes divine. On Sundays outside the streets […]
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Sleep – an important health and beauty investment
Australian sleep expert Prof. D Hillman said sleep, like diet and exercise, is key to healthy living. One who lacks sleep experiences quality problems in thought processing, decision making, vigilance, reaction times and mood. Lack of sleep lets all ingredients in a happy, healthy life slip away. “Productivity, safety and wellbeing suffer as do other […]
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Sleep and Marcus Wayne
Having a kid at home sends waves of energy and love. Hope to crush this boy with hugs and kisses again, probably on the long weekend. And now, I go back to sleep. But very quickly, speaking of sleep, I wrote an interesting news piece the other day about it. I’ll blog the details tomorrow, […]
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Nail specialists
Our fingers, our toes – they register our hardships or lack of such. “Nail experts” can read how and how often we use them. A professor of literature once observed that social classes can be read in one’s toes. Ginger toes for the working class, silky white for the well-scrubbed. Few months ago, I was […]
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Grooming oneself for the new year
New year, new job, new home, new cut. Getting haircut is something I never did for three years until 2013 when I felt I need a big change in myself to signify the latest turns in my career. Cutting my almost waist-length messy, curly hair was a big decision any girl would encounter, but since […]
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Vanity splurges (next time, yoga and calamansi extract will do)
Not so many people know that I spend my salary on my family, especially my brothers’ education, so before I resigned from work, I splurged on things I never bought for myself. It was my last shot at a premium-rate wage, and I wanted to try some brands of make-up from primer to powder. I’ll […]
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Every little girl wears her momma’s lipstick
Little girls love all the small things in her momma’s drawer of make-up and trinkets. A pair of pearl earrings, long golden necklaces, tiny bottles of perfume, empty vials from hotels, head band, endless loops of bracelets and necklaces in a complicated tangle, boxes of sequins, a mat of needles with rolls of thread […]
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Guilty, cheap pleasure (Singapore post 1)
It’s sweet that my brother Maeng asks how I’m doing in Singapore (I haven’t posted any photos/status of my whereabouts for weeks now, so to prove I’m not yet dead or rotting in a cabinet, I’ll start a series of Singapore posts). Last Sunday Aside from Kinokuniya Bookstore, another place I frequent in Takashimaya (at […]
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what to wear in Bangkok when you come in April
To dress up is to communicate. One doesn’t need an expensive wardrobe collection to flaunt one’s style. Imagination should be good enough. Coming to Bangkok in April, however, is a bit of a challenge to one’s creativity in mixing up dresses and accessories because this month is the hottest ever. (Try to focus a blow […]
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stretching
A good morning exercise is stretching every part of your body, lifting things, and walking. This will flex the muscles so they won’t be shocked if you do something heavy later in the day. Stress and fatigue can take its toll on the skin and well-being, so it’s best to be prepared for a long […]
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how to battle technology stress (!!!)
One of the RSS feeds I’m subscribed to is some bookstore blog in the U.S., and their latest book review offered a panacea to my recent technology stress. Technological advancements are supposed to make life easier, but there are times when it causes more frustration than comfort. This happens when files don’t effin’ attach, the […]
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the day I realized I'm a gerl
Every weekend, I reward myself for a week of editing that hurts my eyes and head. Most of the time, I buy a book. This is my mighty driving force whenever my eyes are about to give up. I’m buying a book, I’m buying a book after this, I encourage myself. Last weekend, before I […]
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test of goldfish memory
My boss and I meet at Spinelli cafe in Orchard almost once a week. Last time we met, he gave me his second on-the-spot quiz, which will give you an idea what stuff I deal with every day. Boss: What are the three most active origins right now? Me: India… (Boss nods, smiles) hmm, Latin […]
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weekend flea
Venue: Scape Flea Market Many items sold in the flea market are such a precious find like this cream vintage polka dot dress I got for only SGD3 (about a hundred pesos). Some are brand new, some are seldom used. Many are priced 5-10 dollars, others are $15-20. As closing time approaches, prices would drop […]
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dressing up and down in saigon
Last week was a crazy week for our company as we organized the World Rice Conference in Ho Chi Minh (former Saigon), Vietnam. Let my first Vietnam blog be a no-brainer: my travel closet. Before the event, I was handed our company shirt. I’m not very small, but the shirt was really huge. XL, American […]
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3-Day Preparation for a 4-day Boracay Stay
It was flattering to be told that I must’ve photoshopped my picture of me in bikini, or, I must’ve undergone some “preparations” to achieve this so-called Boracay-worthy body. For the record, it was my first time wearing bikinis on the beach, and
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and now, let's talk about my hair
It reaches my elbows, my hair. Curly from its last treatment: cheap digital perm. Changing hairstyle. that’s the habit of a restless heart. An annual hobby, so to speak. Challenging, though, this recent style. It straightens and splits and flattens and expands and next thing you know, it’s gonna do a cartwheel. To tame it, […]
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beautiful persons
When you are in the middle of your 20s, you want to conquer the world and go all the career paths available out there. You think that you understand the world and everybody else is getting it wrong. When you are older than 20 and you still feel the same way, boy, you gotta be […]
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when my archenemy taught me that natural beauty does not exist
I stopped being pretty when I was a kid. After that, all the world’s grime polluted my skin and bones. Til I no longer cared how I look. See:
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foot spa
Foot spa is one way to detox while calming the mind and the body. In parlors, it costs 100 to 200 pesos. Normally, it starts with the washing and soaping of the feet, followed by dipping of feet for five to ten minutes in a warm, bubbly foot spa machine set to massage mode. Then […]
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