Holidays, Holy Days, Crazy Days: Part 2

I mentioned in my previous post that we all got sore eyes last Christmas, right? It screwed up our holiday plans in more ways than one. We were planning a Cebu-Bohol-Siquijor trip, but with the delay in our departure, we had to scrap the Bohol part. The thing is, Typhoon Seniang hit Cebu and sea trips were cancelled. Oh, but I'm getting ahead of my kwento na. 

We left Dumaguete around 10 pm of the 27th via M/V Zamboanga. The trip started a bit bumpy, but it was soon smooth sailing and I immediately fell asleep. The vessel was slow, and it was almost 6 am when we reached Cebu.

Sharkteeth on her bunk with her eldest and youngest

After we checked in, we left for, guess what, Ayala Mall. Hahaha! Mall rats, that's what we are. Syempre, pumunta ako sa Daiso. How I love that store. Hindi ka lalabas na malungkot, well, unless ang goal mo is to NOT buy anything. Look at what I got! Kate Spade-ish trash bin and notebook, Ellefar Princess powder foundation for mother, belt tape, and tiny sauce bottles. So happy with the sauce bottles -- I can bring patis na anywhere. *Prepare for the stink* :) There's also a cute pink trash bin for Sharkteeth (not in the picture). Grabe, so, so happy talaga with everything I got sa Daiso. I'm sure mother will be happy with the powder as well. Kung ano-ano na nabili kong powder for her, laging may reklamo. Kesyo maitim sa kanya, nangangati sya, di maganda sa skin nya, etc. Sa Guerlain lang yata walang reklamo, wala naman akong mabiling Guerlain. I too like this powder kasi may very tiny glitters. Hindi flat sa mukha. And the packaging is so cute, parang Anna Sui. I had to restrain myself kasi ang daming cute Sanrio and floral Cath Kidston-ish items.

We went to Rustan's and I swooned. So many beautiful porcelain and kitchen wares. Lenox, Royal Albert, KitchenAid mixers of many macaron-like colors, all lovely, all [very] expensive. Must be nice to be rich and be able to buy such beautiful things without having to pause and think how to pay it.

I espied a cute floral saucer and TheHusband urged me to get it. But before long, I was looking at the matching shallow soup bowl as well. "Bilis! Bayaran mo na 'yan! Baka kung ano pa makita mo," he said [in panic?]. Hahahahahaha! Sige na nga, binayaran ko na. Sharkteeth was a bit worried when I told her to use the bowl. Baka daw mabasag nya. Kasi, a few years back, she broke my music box and a cute oversized coffee cup and I freaked out in both instances. But recently, with my fondness for cute breakables, I've decided to be detached about it. Sure, nakakalungkot pag may nababasag, but I don't want to be too affected by it -- they are just things, napapalitan. Hehehe, kinu-kundisyon ko sarili ko kasi napansin ko na may hairline crack na ang aking favorite teacup. Oh well, it's just a cup. 

Another thing, I always enjoy shopping, window or otherwise, sa Rustan's. Generally speaking, their staff are polite, knowledgeable of their products, and discreet. It doesn't matter kung magkano ang binili mo, whether 100 pesos or 10,000 pesos, they serve with a smile and are very helpful. And like I said, they're discreet. Hindi yung buntot ng buntot sa customer. Compare that with Etude House salespersons. Hay naku. They trail you around, either blabbering about the product you're touching or making you feel like a shoplifter about to make a kill. Is it just me who feels that way sa Etude? I love Etude's products, don't get me wrong, but their salespersons are simply ill-trained in the manner of sales.

Syempre, mawawala ba sa itinerary ang SM? LOL! Kelan ba naman kasi magkakaroon ng SM dito sa Dumaguete? Sale! Sale! Sale! Pero I just bought some basics, well, okay, I also bought a so-trendy-two-years-ago Lucite clutch! Ang cute eh. Saka mura na.

Sa SM kong minamahal

Whenever we go to Manila or Cebu, we try to eat at our favorite restaurants. Pero this time, we also tried an ihaw-ihaw, The Original AA BBQ, near the hotel. I don't know kung dahil ba nagsawa ako sa Pancake House at iba pang usual food staples namin or dahil ba rainy weather and sinigang+grilled food+steaming rice seem an appealing match, but we really enjoyed the food. Ang mura pa (less than 500 PHP). Yung sinigang na mamsa (talakitok in Tagalog; jack in English) ang pinaka-winner for me. Tamang-tama ang asim. Pati grilled seafood and chicken BBQ, tender and succulent. Naka-dalawang meals din kami dun. Kung pwede lang doon kami kumain ng iba pang meals namin...kaso baka mag-rebelde na si S. Babalik ako dun even just for the sinigang. It's in front of the University of Southern Philippines, along Salinas Drive. Kaya lang napakaraming tao pag gabi, but it's not as crowded pag lunch time.

As I said earlier, inabutan kami ng bagyo. Sea voyage was stopped, and we had to rebook our trip. When trips resumed, wala naman kaming makuhang trip back, leaving us no time to proceed to Siquijor anymore. :( Traveling by bus was an option, albeit an unappealing one, kasi it takes very long (>3 hours), and S has the bladder of a mouse. Plus, a bridge in the southern part of Cebu fell, so kailangang mag-transfer pa. We considered it and thought that we can just go to Oslob for whale shark watching instead, but our swimming gear was at home. Hays, kelan ko ba makikita ang mga whale sharks na 'yun? We waited and got a trip back on the evening of the 1st. Daresay na medyo malas ang trip namin, ano? Sore eyes, rebooked trip to Cebu, bagyo, rebooked trip home...medyo inalat ang December ko, diba naiwan ako ng eroplano?

Akala nyo ba eh nakapunta kami sa tourist spots? Hindi! Mall pa rin. Hahahahaha! Well, we went to Sto. Nino Church, if you can call it a tourist spot. Then again, ilang beses na rin naman kaming nakapunta sa Cebu City, so we've already covered most of the interesting spots. They're renovating Magellan's Cross and there was scaffold inside. I didn't take pictures of the cross anymore.

 

One great thing about the delay was that we celebrated New Year in the hotel, away from the smoke and firecrackers. We watched the fireworks show from the window of the hotel and enjoyed it thoroughly. Oddly, I kinda miss the smell of firecrackers on the morning of the New Year. Growing up in Bulacan, my parents manufactured and sold firecrackers, and New Years were always noisy and smoke-filled.

Pagdating namin ng Ayala on the first day, S immediately bought some books. So naubos na nya yung mga aguinaldo sa kanya. Kasi I told her to halve her money, half for spending and half for saving. By the third day, nabasa na nya lahat ng books. Umutang pa kay TheHusband so she can buy another. So may tagahugas kami ng pinggan for one month. Yay! Well, Happy New Year to me. LOL!

Our trip back was uneventful, via M/V Georich this time, and I was happy to be home. I picked up the dog from the pet "hotel" and we were both ecstatic to see each other. When we got home, he immediately bound toward the nearby field. He must have had a bad case of cabin fever in the pet hotel. 

2014 has been spotty, with aviation tragedies and natural calamities, but it's over and done. I'd rather focus on the bountiful blessings I received last year. I hope our 2015 will be filled with more blessings and graces along with more friends, love, happiness, wealth, and as always, the best of health.  

 

Friday Favorite Five: Makeup Edition

I rarely wear makeup, and when I do, I always favor light, barely there, no-makeup look. With my acidic, oily skin, I really don't have much choice but to wear light makeup; otherwise, I'd look like a muddy oil slick in a couple of hours.
Honestly, I can even trim this list to three, but in the interest of keeping up with the title, I'll list all five, the two of which I only do when going somewhere fancy.

1. YSL Teint de Perle Fine, by YSL. "Formulated with the purest and brightest pearl in the world, the Japanese Akoya Pearl. With ultra-fine and lightweight texture. Creates a perfect, pearlescent complexion with a naturally unified finish."

True to its description, it indeed leaves my skin with a slightly pearlescent complexion. Like I said, my skin is oily, and while I can keep it in check using Ben Nye Banana Luxury Powder (a T. LeClerc dupe), just using Banana Powder leaves my face looking matte and "flat" -- parang nadapa ako sa factory ng espasol. I top it off with Teint de Perle to give it a very slight sheen and dimension. Goodbye, espasol face!!! However, on most days, I just use Teint de Perle without Banana Powder for a more sheer and lightweight coverage.

YSL Teint de Perle

Ben Nye Banana Luxury Powder

2. Benetint Lip and Cheek Tint, by Benefit: "Our original rose-tinted stain is kiss-proof, see-through color for lips & cheeks that lasts for hours. Naturally sheer and sexy on all complexions...it’s innocent yet provocative. Originally created for an exotic dancer in the 1970s, benetint has soared to cult fave status. It's loved by celebs, makeup artists and gals around the world. It's the sexiest flush you can get from a bottle!"
 
With my perpetual eyebags, I constantly look tired, even with 10 hours of sleep, so I usually use blush, instantly perking up my face. However, let me mention again that my skin is oily, and cream and powder blushes only last for a couple of hours before they turn to oily mud. So when someone introduced me to Body Shop's lip and cheek tint, I was sold, sold, sold! The first Body Shop lip and cheek tint was not the gel type that we have today -- it was reddish purple liquid in a little roller ball bottle. I loved it very much because it was so easy to use; however, they relaunched it in the gel form, which I've never quite liked. Anyway, kuripot that I am, I tried other dupes but was never satisfied, well, until I tried Benefit's Benetint. The color is buildable and you can go from the sheerest, faintest blush to I-just-jogged-a-mile-under-the-sun flush. I also like the light rose scent, though I keep my mouth shut tight when I use it on my lips. It isn't exactly cheap at >1.7K, but goodness, I have this bottle for a couple of years already and I have yet to finish it. Though, yeah, I have to concede that I only use it once a day and only the sheerest of flush.

Benetint

3. Rouge in Love 163B (Rose St Honore), by Lancome: "Love your lips! Finally, the long wear lipcolor you'll love to wear. This collection of radiant, high potency colors, with up to 6 hours of wear, is surprisingly featherlight, offering delightful comfort."

My first Rouge in Love was a present from Derdo (thanks!!!), and while I was initially apprehensive about the color (red!), I gathered enough courage to try it. Seriously. Well, I'm into peach and nude colors, and it's quite a leap of faith for me to use red. Well, I'm so glad I did because the color is perfect! It has very, very tiny (almost microscopic really) glitters that lends a slight sheen and dimension to the lips. Plus, the color is sheer and buildable, and faithful to the description, it is indeed featherlight. I think this is the perfect "gateway" red lipstick, in case you want to use more bold colors but are afraid to.

Rouge in Love

4. Color My  Brows, by Etude House: "Shades and moistens brows for a refined natural look."

Nobela yung product description, right? :) Well, that just about describes this product. I have long neglected my brows, and it always amazes me how different I look (in a better way) when I groom them. Sabi nga ni Tsokoholik, "gandang di inakala." This is quite easy to use and has a perfect consistency -- not too runny or too creamy. There are a number of colors to choose from, and I am using Rich Brown (left). It is perfect for my skin and hair color, as it is not too dark as to wash out my face, just making it a little more alive, alert, enthusiastic. :)

Color My Brows

5. MAC Extended Play Mascara, by MAC: "A lightweight curling, lifting mascara in a glossy shade of Endless Black. Applies with a slim-line brush designed to give each lash effortless, upward bending definition and extreme volume. Easy wash-off formula. Lasts 16 smudge-free hours."

I have very short and sparse lashes, and my bottom lashes are almost nonexistent, so using mascara is a tad difficult for me. This was a gift from my cousin (happy birthday tomorrow, H!), and I was so delighted when I saw that the brush is very thin and can catch all of my short lashes. I first curl them a bit, then apply this, and the result is simply amazing! It instantly widens my eyes, again making me look awake. On fancy occasions, I curl the lashes first, then sweep some Estee Lauder primer, then two coats of the mascara for a more dramatic look.

Extended Play Mascara

Note: In my bid to post regularly, I'm going, or at least try, to post every Friday five of my favorite things. They might be current or past possessions, though others might not be necessarily mine -- could be a wish for my fairy godmother (where are you, by the way?), could be something I saw and found interesting, but it will always be driven by beauty and functionality, hopefully both, but that's a tall order.

Friday Favorite Five

1. Two-tone gold bracelet, 20 PHP. Yes, you read that right, twenty pesos, bente, veinte, 20 bucks! Got this in an ukay in Baguio last year. I saw it among a pile of accessories and noticed that the lobster claw is of high quality. There are markings ("Italy 750") on the lock and thought that it might be real gold. I figured that if it turns out to be fancy, I wouldn't mind too much because it only cost me 20 PHP. After we returned, I forgot about it in the flurry of preparation for the coming supertyphoon (Yolanda). A few weeks later, I saw it and had it appraised. The jeweler pegged it at 5300 pesos!!! Winner! Winner! Winner!

White and yellow gold bracelet

 2. Ralph Lauren shades, from Ralph Lauren, style RA5130, price ??? This one has tortoise-like outer rim and stem and pearlescent blue inner frame. It's the exact shade of blue that I like. The golden hardware is shiny and appears to be resistant to scratches. Also, the frame is flattering to my siopao face. That alone is a huge plus! Hehehehe!!!

 

Ralph Lauren shades

3. Pottery Barn heart-shaped bowl and saucer set, from Pottery Barn, price ??? This is so pretty, right? No further credentials needed. Hahahaha! Seriously, red, heart shaped, stamped with "love" -- hello, Happy Valentines!

Pottery Barn heart-shaped bowl and saucer

4. The Little Prince planner, ~100 PHP. Got this from National Bookstore. It's not dated, which is both a pro and a con. You won't be under any pressure to immediately use it, but when you do, it's a b*tch to enter the dates. I had to buy a date stamper. Aside from the monthly planner, it has lots of pages for other things like lists, to-dos, all with charming illustrations. Nanghinayang akong hindi ako bumili ng marami. It's relatively affordable, but the quality is tops (hardbound). Perfect stocking stuffer. Sayang...

The Little Prince planner

5. Princess Etoinette baked blusher, from Etude House, purchased from HIP Style, ~650 PHP + shipping. Aaminin ko -- I only bought this because of the very cute container. So I was pleasantly surprised when I used the blusher and it turned out to be very pigmented and has staying power. It's a winter 2012 limited edition, and I searched high and low at different Etude House branches (MOA, Megamall, SM Baguio, SM Cebu, etc.), to no avail. I have already given up on my search when I saw a notification that my college classmate "liked" a Facebook page, HIP Style. I inquired and preordered. Ang tagal bago dumating -- I think I received it ~2-3 weeks after the estimated date of arrival; there was a delay sa Customs. I didn't mind the delay too much, as I've already given up on my search, diba? There are a number of freebie samples, which I really appreciate. A few months later, we were in Cebu --I checked the local Etude branch and saw that they were already selling it, but way, way pricier than HIP Style's. It was >1.6K, if memory serves.

Princess Etoinette baked blush

Phew!!! Akala ko hindi ko magagawa ang Friday Favorite Five! So busy, busy, busy!!! Sharkteeth isn't feeling well, plus I think I'm going down with a cold. Hays. Take care everyone. Health is wealth. Don't laugh! It's not a cliché. Seriously!

NOTE: In my bid to post regularly, I'm going, or at least try, to post every Friday five of my favorite things. They might be current or past possessions, though others might not be necessarily mine -- could be a wish for my fairy godmother (where are you, by the way?), could be something I saw and found interesting, but it will always be driven by beauty and functionality, hopefully both, but that's a tall order.

The February Fiesta Curse

Background story: A few days before our visit to my parents' place to celebrate the fiesta last February 2012, I learned that the fiesta was actually scheduled on the following weekend. Ugggghhh...there goes my leche flan. We still went ahead with the trip. Actually, that wasn't the worst part. On our way back, NAIWAN KAMI NG EROPLANO! We were already checked in, and we decided to grab an early breakfast. Thing is, we didn't hear the final call because the sound system was busted on the fourth floor. Haaaayyyy, the worst part: We had to pay almost thrice the price of our round-trip ticket. :(

Fast forward 2013.

Yay! We're visiting the parents again for the fiesta! Excited ang entire House of KoKo! I've already bought coupon deals and scheduled our activities -- ice skating ni Sharkteeth, ang much-beloved Cinnabon treats for TheHusband, and syempre, shopping for me (ang tagal ko nang di "nakasamba" sa templo ni Henry Sy!). Anyhoo, when we moved here down south, we started traveling more often and I have kinda memorized all the stuff we need to bring and I usually pack a day before or a few hours before our trip. So on the evening before the trip, I printed our itinerary, and when I checked out it out, SYETTTTTT!!!! We're landing in Mactan Cebu! As in south, not north! I so swear, muntik na akong ma-stroke! It felt like all the blood went to my head. I called my mom, and if you don't understand Tagalog and heard us, you would think somebody died. We were both screaming, well, more like screeching at the absurdity of it all. Lungkot kaya si Mudrakels. Pa'no naman she was expecting Princess Sharkteeth. I next called TheHusband, or more like TheCulprit, again screeching like a hyena. He seemed surprised but oddly unperturbed. Di pala naintindihan. He misunderstood what I said and thought our booking was for CEB-MLA and figured that we can just go to Cebu for the flight. No, silly! It's DGT-CEB! Again, there goes my leche flan...

We figured sayang naman yung ticket and we were so planadong-planado na for a minivacation, so gora! But not without some drama. Princess Sharkteeth was so looking forward to that trip and was inconsolable, plus it was almost midnight na and she gets so emotional when sleepy. She cried herself to sleep. Drama queen lang. S was feeling much better in the morning. Go! Go! Go! DGT-CEB flights are very short, ~15-20 min, and very picturesque. You'd go over the sea and over the mountains, and it's just so breathtaking seeing all the blues and greens.

We spent the first day in Ayala and *genuflect* SM. Haaaay, sobrang sumakit ang binti ko kakalakad. I'm not as spry as I used to be. I remember being at SM's door before they open for their midnight sales and still be up after 12 midnight, scouring the mall for whatever. Now? A couple of hours tops. After that, mainit na ulo ko. *Thunder! Thunder! Thundercats! Hahahaha* Hay, I digress na naman. Anyway, I shopped for essentials, and uhm, nonessentials as well, that I are not available here in Dumaguete. Coffee beans from Starbucks. Dirt-cheap accessories from Forever21 (sa awa ng Diyos, na-allergy na ako sa singsing. Napala ko!). Kokuryu placenta cream (please don't judge). I also looked for Etude House's Princess Etoinette blush and powder, to no avail. Winter Holiday line daw nila yun, eh mag-sa-summer na wala pa rin. Nakabili tuloy ako ng Silk Scarf conditioner, which I didn't like too much. It's okay, but not as excellent as what I expected from something called "Silk Scarf." Maganda lang ang lalagyan. Tell me, ano ba ang magandang conditioner for dry, frizzy hair? We also bought some fabric for TheHusband's pants. Found some toile du joy I've been looking for since forever, but it was reserved already. Charm offensive didn't work. :( Oh well. I also found some two-toned Hello Kitty shoes for S. So cute, I tell you.

I wasn't really keen on going the touristy route, but Sharkteeth hasn't been to the Taoist Temple yet, and so we went there.

It's located in Beverly Hills, and S was all, "Mymy, it says there that this is 'Beverly Hills.' We're still in the Philippines, right?" Hahahahahahah! She's as awful as I am when in comes to geography. Her sense of direction, however, could give a homing pigeon a run for its money. 

*Aaacckkkk!!! Uploading pictures is a pain. I'll just continue this post some other time.*