2014/11/15

Virtual Blog Tour : My Writing Process

As I mentioned in one of my previous posts, I'm going through a phase - transition. Yes, I'm definitely going through a transition. I've realized that I want to shift things around on my blog by starting to blog more about life in general with a random sprinkling of beauty-related posts every now and then. Anyway, I was recently tagged by Kai of LilPink to do this "Virtual Blog Tour" and I think it's a perfect way of sharing more about who I am on this blog,
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1. What am I working on?

I'm currently working on improving my blog. A few years ago, I shifted from Tumblr to this lil blog of mine and I started writing more beauty-based posts. In no time at all I started calling myself a beauty blogger till recently when I've felt a bit lost with beauty blogging... To be honest, I have a ton of beauty posts in my drafts folder that are gathering dust and cobwebs! I just think it's time to shift things on my blog to a more personal kind of vibe. At the moment I'm working on several more personal posts that will be posted in the upcoming weeks... I try my best to plan ahead of time what to blog about and I take my time in writing posts. I'm a grammar-nazi and I always try to proofread before I hit that "publish" button. Anything I miss on my first couple of proofreading sessions eventually get corrected when I re-read my posted thoughts.

2. How does your work differ from others of its type/genre?

Let's be honest... There are a gazillion beauty bloggers out there with better photos, better writing style and better blog layouts but despite this I still believe that each blog is as unique as the blogger behind them. Right now I'm going through this (semi) terrifying time of expanding my blog to a more personal one because I want the freedom of posting everything & anything I want to post on this blog.

3. Why do you write what you do?

I started blogging on Tumblr because I wanted to keep an online diary. I've always thought that typing is easier than actually writing in a diary. Plus I have ugly penmanship! *hah!* I used to write just random thoughts and re-blog funny photos on Tumblr but then I discovered beauty blogging, makeup, skin care and all the little things in between. I discovered the joy of using eyeshadows and I started a love affair with pink lipsticks... *sigh* I converted into a beauty blogger  on this current blog because I wanted to show people that makeup can really enhance and boost your confidence without masking your personality plus I wanted to share makeup products that work for me because there's a girl (or guy!) out there that's bound to love them too! *sigh* I'm looking forward to the next couple of weeks where I'll be posting more personal stuff and urging the transition to a personal blog... Definitely watch out for that!

4. How does your writing process work?

With my beauty blogging, it always starts with a new beauty product. It involves snapping photos, testing the product out and typing my thoughts out on my iPhone's notes app. I'm very phone dependent and most of my blog posts start as short notes and sentences on my iPhone. I eventually move the photos onto blogger and write more well constructed paragraphs here. I proofread at least twice before posting... Recently I've started typing up more random and personal stuff on my notes app which I plan on turning into blog posts soon... 


Tagging these adorable bloggers to answer the questions above! (Good luck! It took me forever to think of a way to answer the questions without writing a novel...)

Raisie of Raisie Speaks
Jemm of Draco Princess
April of April-Perez
Shugah of WanderShugah
Mary of NarvasaMary

2014/11/12

November Haulage V.1

When I was a wee bit younger, I used to post a lot of hauls on this blog. Even the most mundane of hauls went onto this blog! Recently I've tried to keep my makeup shopping to the bare minimum. To be honest, I think the last time I purchased makeup was way back January. (I swear!) I've tried to stick to a promise I made my mum to actually use the products I already have and not repurchase till I run out of those products... I've gone through quite a bit of makeup and made a dent in my makeup stash so I'm really proud of that. Expect my first ever "empties" post on the makeup products I've used up soon but for now let's get on with this haulage post since my last one was way back in January!

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Revlon Age Defying with DNA Advantage Concealer in Light/Medium P225 - Jessa Stephanie
Hard Candy Ginormous Lash Volumizing Mascara in Black P150 - Suzanne's Emporium
Revlon Custom Eyes Waterproof Mascara in Blackened Brown P200 - Suzanne's Emporium
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ELF Eyebrow Kit in Medium P250 - @prinsesitasarahcosmetics (IG) / Sarah B. 
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Revlon Photoready Bronzer in Bronzed&Chic P300 - Jessa Stephanie
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Makeup Revolution Iconic 3 Palette P450 - Makeup Hub
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Wet N' Wild Megalast Matte Lipsticks in Smokin' Hot Pink (905D), Don't Blink Pink (966) & Stoplight Red (911D) P180/each - Rebekah T.


Out of all my purchases, I'm most excited about the Makeup Revolution Iconic 3 palette because it's my first time to try a product from this brand and because there is a lot of hype that this is a Urban Decay Naked 3 palette dupe. I don't have the UD Naked3 to do a comparison post BUT there are a gazillion posts online comparing the two palettes and based on the photos I can say most of the shades are pretty spot on!

I'm also very excited for the Wet N' Wild Megalast matte lipsticks. I already have around 10 of 'em and these new shades will definitely be put to good use like the other tubes I already have. Expect a "collection, review & swatch" post of these really great lipsticks soon!

2014/11/05

My Life Outside The Internet : Version 6

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The last time I wrote this kind of post was way back in March2014. I did promise myself that I'd write a My Life Outside The Internet (MLOTI) post at least once a month but I've been busy. I know I keep saying that but it's partly the truth to why I haven't been so actively blogging here. Why partly? Well to be honest, there are several other factors that I've considered to be very big reasons why I haven't been blogging much. I keep on thinking that it's about time I've crossed over to bigger things. Well at least blog about bigger things or more personal things. I've been thinking about changing niches for a long time now and since this is the first post for November 2014, this is my little way of telling all my readers that I'll be transitioning into a more "personal" blog. Don't get me wrong, there will still be a bit of makeup blogging going on since makeup is a very big part of my life but I've also decided to introduce other kinds of posts to create a rather huge mishmash of topics on my blog. Does that sound a bit confusing? I sincerely hope not. I feel like I'm rambling again. *chuckles* Yet I feel genuinely happy about this... I hope that by January 2015 I'll be ready to announce the completion of the transition. I've been planning a new layout and a tagline change. Please bear with me as I embark on a new chapter of my life... Which brings me to several other points about my life at the moment.


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I'm finally a reliever nurse!
After 6 months of being an unpaid trainee nurse, I finally got promoted to reliever nurse and have monetary compensation for my working hours. It's been one helluva ride to get to where I am now in my nursing profession. I've gone through blood (literally!), sweat and tears to get here and I hope that the blessings keep on coming. To be honest I wasn't very sure about being a nurse, some days I still question my sanity as a nurse, but it's a huge part of who I am. I am blessed to be a nurse, and an operating room nurse at that! It's a whole different level of toxicity in the operating room but I do enjoy the work. Oh there are bad days... Days where I question myself why I even try. Days where I want to give up. Days where I just want to throw a fit inside the operating room but there are days that overshadow those bad days. There are days where I experience the lil miracles performed inside the operating room. Days where post operative patients take my hand and say thank you once the anesthesia wears off. Days when I see babies that go through fetal distress and are delivered via caesarean section take their first cry of life. Days where I feel that going through the messy business of dealing with human organs and human blood is worth it because we get to save lives... I am definitely blessed to be a nurse! Being a nurse is one of the biggest reasons I haven't had the time (or energy left!) to blog regular but it's all worth it...
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I'm experimenting with red & plum lipsticks!
I've always been a pink lipstick kind of girl and my long time blog readers know that it's a fact. 90% of my lip products are shades of pink and it's ridiculous at times especially when I realize I have so many similar shades! *lol* So since we're moving towards the "Christmas" season which is also the "fall" season for other countries, I've decided to start experimenting with some red and plum lipsticks. I've even dared going out in public with such daring pouts. To be honest, being in a small city like Zamboanga, wearing bold & dark colored lipsticks draws the "wrong" kind of attention. Some people still consider it to be only for the "putasbut I totally disagree. To be honest, I find red & plum lipstick very nice on my skin tone (I'm an NC30-35) and it really does boost my confidence. I'm currently loving the following lip products : MAC Ruby Woo, NYX Snow White, BYS Reddy Set Go,Wet N Wild Megalast Lipsticks in 918D Cherry Bomb 908C Sugar Plum Fairy & 916D Ravin Raisin, Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Smitten, NYX Mega Shine Lip Gloss 134 Sunrise, Nichido Lip Liner in Coral Rust & lastly NYX Lip Liner in Burgundy!
 photo 3_zpsf4ddcd04.jpgI'm busy in the kitchen!
I've been experimenting with different baked goods and meals in the kitchen. I'm actually planning on sharing some of my favorite recipes on this blog soon as part of my "crossing over". I've also been busy eating different foods out of my comfort zone. I've also come up with weekly meal plans ever since I found out that there was a week where we had adobo 4 out of the 7 days! Talk about repetitive! Geez! Now yaya and I have a guide on what to cook for each meal for each day of the week without any repetitions within the week. I found this method a great way to avoid having so many leftovers. My grandparents also welcomed the change. This coming weekend I've planned on a mashed potato-veggie-steak kind of dinner. Wish me luck!
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I'm a proud momma to a 5 month old beagle!
I'm not sure if I've mentioned this in any of my previous posts but a while back I lost my two labradors to old age. I've had them since I was in high school and sickness took its toll on both of them. After they went to doggie heaven, the house had a really sad kind of quiet. After a few months we decided that we would be getting a new dog and I started researching on what breed to get next. I knew that I didn't want to get such a big dog but I didn't want any of those tiny dogs you can easily stuff into your hand bag. I wanted a medium sized short haired dog and my prayers were answered one day while dad & mum were out just "driving". They passed by a local flower shop with a bunch of beagle pups in a cage displayed outside of the shop. One thing led to the other and after a few days we took home the most active and "fat" puppy of the bunch! The photo where I'm carrying him is a day before we got to take him home. He was barely two months in that photo. Now he's turning 6 months old on the 15th! He's a really active pup and gets into a lot of "trouble" when left alone so I have to still constantly watch him. He has a funny howl and a squeaky bark as of the moment but I do hope he grows out of that stage. Before we brought him home, my sister & I had a pretty hard time deciding what to call him. She wanted to name him after a god or a villain. We had names like Loki, Lucas, Luka, Thor, Zeus & Volt on the list but nothing felt right. We kept on arguing about the name till our yaya told said "Why don't you name him Dexter, after that boy genius on Cartoon Network?" My sister & I really liked it so we decided to call him Dexter. I call him Dex for short and sometimes I still wonder if he recognizes that it's his name! *lol* He's a bit "lingas" at times but after some research I found out that beagles can be a bit preoccupied with smells to even bother listening to you. I'm definitely getting a dog trainer to work with him once he's a bit older.
That's it for now... More soon. I promise!