Turning Pages

I’ve been racking my mind lately on how to make my blog layout more visually inviting. It should be obvious by now that I’m pretty much a minimalist (white backgrounds with plain and clean Serif fonts seem to rub my aesthetic senses the right way), and with that premise, I’m supposedly easy to please with these things. But I’m quite perplexed about the fact that my current layout is missing something font-wise. It’s just not rubbing me the right way.

Is that shallow? I think not. People who are self-professed font aficionados will damn well agree that Arial is too generic. My musings deserve to look better than my term end paper from 4^th year highschool.

So with that said, I’m half-proud and half-ashamed (given the sole reason of unfulfilled font expectations) to say that I’m moving to a different blog host. Click here to teleport to my musings' new whereabouts. 

So no, this is not a goodbye post. Just more of a see-you-later-somewhere-else kind. :)

Photoshoot Panics and Quick Fixes

In a span of 5 minutes, the bare studio came alive with frantic efforts to bring in the photography and make-up equipment and a trunk full of clothes for the afternoon’s shoot. Amidst the talk of white balances, imbalanced lighting, reflectors, forgetting the hangers and what not - I was pretty much lost. But ironically, I also felt at home.

A lot can go wrong in photoshoots: clothes not fitting right, forgetting the eyelash glue (which nullifies the option of using falsies), a cursed pimple that had so much sense of humor that it decided to show up on the day of your shoot, and limp hair that will not cooperate with your hairdressing decisions.

Thankfully, there’s always a quick fix for things: black clamps (giving you the illusion of an hourglass figure in a matter of seconds), heavy duty mascara, concealer, a hair poof (instant teased-hair effect without the hassle) and the most favoured one of the 21^st century? Photoshop. 

A special shout out to Erica Ng and Anna Orlina! You guys are amazing at what you do. Cheers!

Erica @ Work

The Photographers

"Make-up is just like face painting" - Nat 

Typical Shoot Clutter: Bronzers, Make-Up Brushes, Eye-Palettes, Starbucks,
iTunes, Food 

An Abundance of Endorphins

There's so much good juju going on for today. 

Based on historical queues, Tuesdays usually attract positive energy for me. 7 times out of 10 (only because a statistic would make my claim seem more legit), Tuesdays usually leave me all jitterbug happy for some reason. Or maybe i'm just quick to generalize because of the abundance of good vibes today whose origin still remains unknown - but thank you Universe for deeming me as deserving of it. Maybe I should test out this theory in the weeks to come. I'll keep you posted on that. 

To give you a better mental image, here's what was more or less likely going on with me:

500 Days of Summer "You Make My Dreams"

While I was not exactly out there and shaking hands with everyone on the street, saluting the mail man, or randomly bursting into a corny dance, I was definitely in a chirpy mood and it was like I couldn't sit still and I felt like my voice had a built-in megawatt smile. I was too nice and it was slightly unnerving. 

Maybe my body's endorphin-making machine probably jammed and exploded, resulting into a confetti of happiness streaming wildly into my veins. It's like sh*t hit the fan, except it wasn't sh*t. It was sugar, spice, and a million clones of Justin Timberlake (what? everyone has their own interpretation of "everything nice"). So much non-sensical things going on in this post, but isn't that the perfect symptom for happiness?

Believe it or not, I had a messed up dream and it woke me up because it was THAT messed up. On a normal day, my spirits wont be as high after a dream like that. But like I said, it wasn't a normal day - it was #GoodJujuTuesday (is it obvious that i'm actually trying to make it a thing? hopefully it won't be as pathetic as Gretchen's attempt to make "fetch" happen though I'm highly considering the fact that exactly the direction it's headed for). 

Or maybe it's because of you. 

That theory i will definitely keep an eye on, definitely. 


P.S. No, I was not under substance influence.

Monosyllabic Greetings

“Hey.”

It’s almost like I could hear him smile from the other end – and despite the monosyllabic greeting, I couldn't deny the hint of the rest of the unspoken ones that seemingly hung in the air: “I’ve missed you.”

Like a weight off my chest; a cup of coffee after a long day; crawling under the covers on a rainy afternoon; getting a fix after a craving. 

Relief. Happiness. Calming yet unsettling in the same instant. One second i'm calm and collected, but your voice renders me otherwise. Neurotic to the bone, no doubt about it - like that Green Day song goes. 

“It’s amazing what the sound of a voice you’ve been longing to hear can do to your heart.”

Like the temperature around you changes, albeit drastically.  

Cuisine Wanderlust: A Stellar Destination

Cuisine Wanderlust: A Stellar Destination

(Pun in the title fully intended, you'll see why later on)

Photo taken from their Official Facebook Page

One of my favorite things I love about internships apart from the obvious work experience acquired is discovering good places to eat. Lunch out for special occasions (such as welcoming of a new member to the team or a despedida for an outgoing one) gives way to unearthing endless culinary options because I believe everyone loves celebrating hello's and goodbye's over great food.

I’m not a self-proclaimed foodie though, I’m more of a comfort food kind of person rather than an experimental one and while I would usually spend a moment or two looking over the menu to try something different, I end up getting “the usual”. But after being exposed to the intriguing “Wood Fired” Bistro that is Stella, I think my culinary decisions will never be the same. Maybe encouraging my taste buds to be a bit more adventurous won’t hurt, right? Unless my excitement (or hunger, most likely) makes me forget about the visceral damage that a fresh-out-of-the-pan entrée can do to your tongue making you quite fluent in profanity.

In case you would like to grace them with your presence and eager tummies, Stella Wood Fired Bistro has a branch in the East Superblock of Bonifacio High Street Central.  I highly recommend the dishes that I inevitably fell in love with:

- The Stella Salad (if my taste buds had hands, the candied pistachios in this dish made them applaud - hmm, what an awkward mental image that must have given you)
- Stella's Porchetta (if you marry pork belly and double smoked bacon, this is their brilliant offspring - when I had my first bite, I mentally played the hallelujah chorus in the back of my head) 
- Spanish Chorizo Fried Rice (I usually prefer steamed rice during meals but this definitely made me demote that to the backseat, and besides, I can't say no to chorizo)
- Wood Fired Garlic Mushroom Cream Fettuccine (The truffle oil and lemon combination surprisingly complemented each other! did I mention truffle oil? haha sorry i'm a fan)

I was also pleased with dessert and topped the experience quite well. We had Salted Caramel Cake and Red Velvet Cake, too. But I think the availability of their gourmet cakes varies daily. But the Wood Fired Chocolate Almond Cookie Dough, tho. It was saccharine albeit diabetic and a must-try. So if you want a sugar rush? This is definitely the fast-lane to that. I still daydream about it and crave for it incessantly. 

So yeah, I know what you're thinking - food blogging without any photo accompaniment whatsoever? Smart. Well okay, i'll accept that stab, but to my defense, I was around my colleagues and bosses so, if I were to start having a mini photo shoot with the food on the table, that would have been weird (seeing as that was not their first time to dine there and were already well acquainted with the menu). So, I would have to leave it up to your lovely imagination which hopefully painted a good enough picture to make you try! You're welcome for the future cravings. 

You can check out their menu here: http://www.munchpunch.com/stella-bonifacio-high-street-central 

"So What Happened to Josh?"

The Blair Witch Project

So to make me momentarily forget about my watch getting lost slash stolen (do not exactly know which one - but either way it was pretty depressing when I realized that my left wrist was naked), I decided to scare my wits off by watching the supposed horror movie classic: "The Blair Witch Project".

I won't lie, horror films are one of my guilty pleasures even if I am also embarrassingly guilty of hiding behind anything opaque to cover half of my vision when the background music starts to get eerie or when the oh-so-genius lead actor goes into the woods or down that dark abandoned cellar because it's really common sense to go down haunted places in a slow-mo fashion shouting "hello? is there anyone out there" out into the dark void... (I always give a mental scolding to the actor - "hello? are you trying to get yourself killed?" seriously.)

It has a documentary-ish theme to it, which automatically entails the "shaky cam" impression but then again, that's what made it so realistic and convincing in the first place. It was so realistic that I had to Google if it was a true story (it's not, but there's a lot of true historical references in it with the whole witchcraft thing and all; the setting is also real). This is actually the first horror movie that made me nervous. I felt like my heart was gonna throw itself out of my rib cage or something.

Surprisingly, it was dubbed as being the next scariest thing since the Exorcist. I personally won't give it that much credit, but for an indie film to have that kind of reputation? Pretty good marketing if you ask me. To confuse people, they even put up "missing" posters at the time the movie was released.

So yeah, just wanted to give my two cents for that film. So if you're in the mood for a relatively good vintage horror movie, this is a good pick, definitely.

Watch it then maybe you can help me answer this: So what happened to Josh?

My 7 "Keepers" in a World Full of Options

Girls, I know some of you wont admit it. But I know you cheat. 

So now before the guilt sets in about the wrong thing, let me just clear up that I was talking about how we tend to become unfaithful to our cosmetic products. "You change your mind like a girl changes clothes" - as that Katy Perry anthem goes. But me, when I find something that serves me well, I more or less stick with it. It's like comfort food - you'll wanna experiment, but at the end, that Pancake house spaghetti is what you'll look for when you feel like you've got a craving (at least in my case). 

Disclaimer: I'm not a fan of all-out make up so if you were waiting for some kind of god-sent enlightenment on how to achieve the perfect smokey cat eye - sorry to disappoint ladies but I have not exactly been promoted to make-up guru just yet. But a girl can dream. 

So with that, I guess I just wanted to share with you what I have found to be "keepers" in a world full of options (in the cosmetic world, that is. still working on the human aspect of that notion haha kidding). 

So here's my take on the perfect everyday look:

1. Elf Eyebrow Kit - I love the gel and powder combination on this one! It allows you to fill in your brows (using the gel) and set it (using the powder so that the color doesn't wear off) and it doesn't make it look like you just drew and stenciled in your brows, which makes it look more natural. Well-groomed brows can instantly amplify your look. I would suggest buying an angled applicator brush though, because the one included in this palette doesn't give you that arch you probably want.But other than that, i'd consider this as a really good buy. 

2. Maybelline 3-in-1 Foundation - Some foundations have this cake-y look on your face after you apply it. Thankfully this does otherwise. It evens out your skin tone and just makes your face look less like a disco ball and removes all that unnecessary shine from the oilyness.

3. Pond's BB Cream - I actually like this one better than the Maybelline BB Cream which I initially used because it smells nicer and less like sunblock. I use bb cream because I get this notion that it doubles as foundation and SPF. Can't have too much sun these days with global warming and all - wouldn't wanna look like Benjamin Button any time soon.

4. MAC Haught and Naughty Lash Mascara - My absolute favorite. It allows you to choose between day-time look and night-time look with its dual wand design. That way, you don't have to reapply a thousand times to thicken the coat! Doing this clumps your mascara and makes your eyelashes look like twigs rather than graceful strands of lashes. 

5. Shu Uemura Eye Lash Curler - Even without mascara, this baby really makes you look like you've had 8 hours of sleep (even if you actually had 0). It's the perfect way to make your eyes look more alive and less like one of the walking dead zombies from haggard land. 

6. MAC Retro Matte Lipstick in Ruby Woo - I don't regret taking Alyssa Lapid's word for it because this is so awesome in every sense of the word. It suits all types of skin tones, so the only thing you need really, is the confidence to pull it off. It also brings out your pearly whites and makes you look more polished. But I would suggest you try to compare how Russian Red works for you as well because it was the first runner up for this category.

7. Maybelline Mineral Power Blush - Mineral blushes are my personal pick because there's a shimmery finish to it and it doesn't look like you took a marker and wiped it on the apples of your cheek. And the application is considerably light and looks natural which is how blush on was really intended to be. 

Notice that I did not include concealer, because I haven't found one that seals the deal. I'm still testing the waters when it comes to that. I imagine this to be some kind of symbiotic relationship you see wherein I give my two cents and you give yours, so if you're a kind enough soul, do comment below if you've got the answer to my concealer blues. ;)