Calm After The Storm

super typhoon Lawin

Hello y’all, I hope everyone’s safe after the wrath of the recently concluded typhoon Lawin. It was by far the second strongest typhoon that hit the country in my lifetime (the first one was tropical cyclone Ondoy back in 2009). People were all worried sick of course because strong typhoons can be life threatening especially if you live in mountainous regions which are very much prone to landslides and other typhoon related catastrophes. I’ve grown accustomed to strong typhoons because the country is so typhoon stricken since I was still a kid but the dangers brought about by this calamity grew stronger and much more devastating over the years. 

I missed the electricity so I made some 

milk shake the next day to celebrate lol. 

My dragon fruit, papaya, apple & 

Selecta ice cream Quezo Real milk shake.

Last Wednesday, I just learned that typhoon Lawin has entered PAR (Philippine Area of Responsibility) and started lashing in Cagayan at signal number 4 then progressed to number 5. I was shocked that signal number 4 even exist what more signal number 5 wtf?! So, I thought, is this really a natural calamity or triggered by a force of some sort (as in HAARP)? When I left for work the wind was not that strong yet but as I was about to go home after my shift, wow it was a deluge. Everyone in the office were highly advised to ‘not’ go home for the time being whilst the typhoon is lashing outside but I left along with couple of my workmates anyways because I can’t sleep in the confides of the office and my house is just a taxi ride away. Truth of the matter is, I think of the office as a place to work and not to sleep unless I really do not have a choice, it’s just a strange feeling to not be home especially when there’s a typhoon and I know my cat would be very scared to sleep alone as animals can get pretty scared when nature releases all its wrath through storms.

I honestly would rather stay

home during stormy days and 

crochet. Yeah it can be boring

but I made a pair of headphone 
ear muffs out of it... 

The power lines were already shut off hours before typhoon Lawin, it wasn’t knocked down though but they were purposely shut off to prevent furthermore damage I presume. Oh, it was really scary hearing the strong winds outside and my room sees the world from my window. As expected, no electricity, no internet connection, my supposedly radar to the outside world. The power went back couple of days ago but my internet connection did not resurge until early this evening. I just hate it every time my DSL internet quit working because mobile data access can be really crappy. 

Anyways, moving on, I thank God for the sunny weather and stream of blue skies these past days since the typhoon left. I can now take my clothes to dry outside. I hate stormy days, I hate wet seasons because everything is damp, the road, the leaves of the trees etc. 

Lost Stars

It's 71 days to go before Christmas, time flies like time warp.  I'm just glad my Christmas tree is complete with string lights and all. The month of October is a go signal to take out the Christmas tree..then, time will fly afterwards--Halloween, All Saints & Souls Day then Christmas. Seeing the Christmas tree sparkle like little colored stars brings this inexplicable joy to my heart. I guess it's cuz the yuletide season reminds me so much of my childhood, the incessant happiness that the Christmas season bring to kids can be truly memorable, very immaterial and not worldly.  It's getting cold again, the yuletide spirit seems to be taking its form through the lonely clouds and fog.

Moving on, I'm not even halfway reading Lang Leav's book because work is getting in the way and sleep is such a luxury when you work graveyard shift. I feel like I'm hoarding its pages, trying to digest every word so I won't finish reading it soon. When you have such good read, you take extra time to read it and not squish it in like it's some job you have to finish. A book requires your time, your undivided attention. A cup of ice cream and a good book is haven for me these days, enough sleep would be next, it sets me free because my horizons flail after reading a book. 

(Lost Stars is playing in the background by Keira Knightley). 

In the Mood for Swatches

I’m currently on the hunt for really good matte lippies so I bought a couple of new ones, sport them and now here’s what I have to say about them. 

Let me start with L.A. Girl’s Matte flat finish pigment gloss in Dreamy. 

Dreamy... 

What’s good about it? L.A Girl’s matte lipstick last long (and I mean hours) does not crack nor flake and it does not come off pretty easily even if you drink something.  However, because it’s so long wearing, it’s really difficult to take off so go easy on the applicator and don’t apply too much as it can get really sticky/gunky on your lips and you may not like it. Personally, I’m kind of neutral about it because I really love nude shades and Dreamy is by far the ‘nudest’ shade L.A. Girl matte flat finish pigment has to offer. I would suggest to exfoliate your lips first before you apply it to give it a clean, smooth matte finish. Is the price reasonable? Yes it is because it cost less than P300, but it may not be as competitive quality wise compared to other liquid matte lippies such as Matte Me, Kiss Proof, Nyx etc.  By the way, I often use my Nyx Lip Cream in Cairo (which I wasn’t able to use before due to it’s overly nude shade) first before I apply this L.A. Girl matte to sort of lessen the sticky feel.

Maybelline's ColorSensational Creamy Matte Lip Color in Clay Crush

Rumor has it Maybelline’s Clay Crush is a good dupe for Kylie Lip Kit in Dirty Dupe. However, I cannot really confirm that because I haven’t tried any KLK lippie yet since I find it really pricey (although I am stoked with KLK’s Maliboo and might consider purchasing one in the future). I know there’s tons of fake KLKs in the market nowadays (even on eBay) but, I will never patronize them and compromise quality over price just to be at par with everyone else. Anyways, going back to Clay Crush, it smells effin good and the quality is also excellent because it does not flake, dry or crease easily since it obviously has moisturizer. I seriously love it because your lips would look luscious on it. However, it may not be as long wearing compared to liquid matte lippies (because it’s a stick not a liquid lipstick btw) but what the heck it’s a good alternative if you just want to wear something matte. And oh it’s cheap too for P199 a piece (it’s now on sale! original price was P299). 

So, to wrap this us up, you may consider reading reviews first before you make your purchase to probably save you time and money then end up a hoarder like I used to myself lol.

Weekend Shenanigans

National Bookstore Php595 | US $16.99 |
Canada $21.99

I finally scored my copy of Lang Leav’s fourth book “The Universe of Us” today yay! Am I stoked? Yes of course. I waited couple of months since the book was released in the U.S to get a copy (no matter how squeamish I was) but I waited...and waited in vain. I had the chance to pre-order online but I figured it’s much more expensive that way than pick up a copy myself plus the long wait made me feel t’was all worth it as soon as I got my copy. Lang Leav also showcased some of her pencil drawings in “The Universe of Us” and the book’s content is worth more than it cost.  So, I guess I’d be busy in a while, my perfect read while drinking a hot cup of cocoa or strawberry tea.  

my sappy looking christmas
tree and I'm proud of it. 

Moving on, it’s 78 days to go before Christmas and our tree is all dolled up except for the string lights because I used them for my diy cloud project lol thus I need to pick up new ones to make the tree sparkle. It wont be Christmas without the Christmas Tree yeah?

Japanese Teriyaki rice bowl

Oh by the way let me just share that I love KFC’s Japanese Teriyaki meal (Food Trip: Rice Bowl series) because I love veggies and it’s affordable as well. I don’t usually like fast food but KFC’s Japanese Teriyaki meal made the cut. The monsoon rain is making me hungry. I tried by the way to go back to just eating wheat bread and apple for lunch but the low on carb diet made feel so down and low. I guess the chemical imbalance in my body is badly affecting my mood. I felt so under the weather these past few days and I realized I started feeling that way since I cut down on carbs so I figured I need carbs to fuel my body and mind. 

Ok, nuff of my shenanigans, I have a book to read so I’ll shut up and leave lol. 

Pumpkin Spice

Hello October. Christmas is indeed just right around the corner as it's only a couple of months to go until December. Time flies like taking yourself for a ride on a witch's broomstick. Speaking of which (or witch lol), October is the month for trick or treatin' and I hate being in the office during Halloween because of the whole costume thing. I mean, I love Halloween as a spectator, who wouldn't right? It's the season to sport those gothic looking lippies but I hate to be the one wearing costumes, I feel too old for that and If I could just leave it to the younger folks oh my effin God I would. I would love to be the make up artist but not wear costumes, nah. My idea of a good time this Halloween is through taking pictures of the raddest Halloween get up (maybe).

L.A. Girl glazed lip paint
in "Whisper" and my raven
black hair..

red velvet cup cake is oh so
good with a cup of matcha
green tea latte..

October, October, what else's in store? What's done in my to do list so far: Assembled the Christmas Tree and decorated it yesterday after having collected dust for a year; bought a new matte lippie and what else? I'm looking to collect more succulents btw because I now have tons of tin cans at home which I'm looking to up-cycle by painting them to store more succulents except I just don't have the time to go to the hardware store to pick up paint.

Speaking of lippie, I realized I could pull off a glossy nudest of nudes shade recently after I ran out of which one to wear for my everyday office look. I bought this glossy L.A Girl nude lippie called Glazed lip paint in Whisper about a year ago, shoved it in my make up organizer and forgot about it because I didn't really like the color until recently. When I bought it back then it wasn't as popular because it was still new, now, you'll see tons of online shops selling them because lip tints are so in demand nowadays. I've been a fan L.A Girl since I started using their concealer although I find it kind of pricey but compared to L’oreal and Revlon it's still pretty affordable of course. I'll make a separate review about the new addition to my matte lippie collection, another L.A Girl product called Matte flat finish pigment gloss in Dreamy. 

I need some matcha green tea latte. It's out of stock again. Arrrgh.