What I Have Been Up To These Days

A lot of things have happened since April 13. A few of the things have even been life changing. These past few weeks have been rather bittersweet, but nonetheless, I am grateful for EVERYTHING. So here's a quick rundown of the things I have been through these past 20 days.

April 13-16

I got hired for some home-based content writing job. It's good pay for something that I already love to do, which is write. Some of the things I have to write about are even up my alley, like cats and clinical pathology stuff.

April 17
I went on a photo shoot with my friends Cris Francia and Red Agreda of haringpula.com. We had a prenup shoot for this lovely couple named Anne and Ian. I served as the makeup artist, and this was my first paying gig. We spent the entire day at Playa Azalea at Samal Island. The place was beautiful, but Mr. Sun was way too enthusiastic that day. I was itching to dive into the beach, but seeing as we were there on official business, there just wasn't any time to do so. I got a tan from the trip, though. Close enough, right?

April 18-21

My mother, my sister, and I stayed for 4 days and 3 nights at the Monastery of the Transfiguration at Malaybalay, Bukidnon. We got out of the house a few minutes short of 8 in the morning, had some takeout for breakfast, and was officially traveling toward Bukidnon by 8:30 AM. My dad and my brother drove us all the way to Bukidnon, and in 4 hours, we arrived.

The place was WONDERFUL. The amenities were nothing short of amazing. For PhP 800.00 (~USD 20.00) a day, you get board and lodging, full amenities with hot running water and a bidet for every toilet (I am a sucker for bidets, LOL), 3 full and VERY generous meals, and 2 snacks. I was finally able to get some decent rest, in addition to actually getting some peace and quiet. I'm starting a small fund so that I could go back on my next major break using my own money. I'll probably be staying longer next time, too. Say, 7 days?

April 22-23

Finished the articles I didn't get to finish before I left for Bukidnon. And trembling with fear from anticipation. I've just read online (through my class' Facebook group page) that the department heads have already decided who goes on to third year, and who gets left behind or totally sacked. I was so sure that I belonged to either of the latter two.

April 24

While writing some of the articles that have just been given for me to write, I finally got the news. I AM MOVING ON TO THIRD YEAR!!! I passed ALL my subjects, which means that one-half of my medical school life is officially OVER! It was a bittersweet victory, though. Out of the 187 students of my batch, only 124 of us were able to move on. It's a VERY huge loss. Especially when many of the 63 who have been left behind are very good friends. It sucks to know that the system has its glitches, and that although I have been lucky enough to get grades that managed to work themselves around the glitches, many, still, haven't been as lucky as I am.

As for the sweet part of this victory, I went on another haul, which I'm just going to briefly go through.

April 24 Haul

I purchased some office supplies from National Bookstore. I purchased 2 Dong-A Fine Tech pens (as backups for my Pilot G-Tec C4 pens), and a red acid-free lined journal notebook (red, to match my new-colored nameplate. Chances are, though, that this will just be another notebook in my small collection of fancy notebooks that I never really end up using.).

And, of course, some brushes and make-up. I purchased three brushes from Marionnaud (N5 and N34 concealer brushes, and an N37 eyeshadow brush), Ever Bilena Matte Lipsticks in Pink Flame, Siennas, and Mauvey (repurchases, as I'm rebuilding the collection I started some 4 years ago. My older lipsticks will be hitting tube bottom really soon, plus their packaging is starting to look really ugly.), and a Revlon ColorBurst Lipstick in Fuchsia (I have been obsessing over having a loud pink lipstick for AGES).

April 25

I stayed at home and worked on some articles the whole day. It was a good day. My conscience is already clean, as I was assured of another year towards my goal of becoming a doctor and all. Essentially, I call this the BUM day.

April 26

I decided to go and watch The Avengers in 3D. It was WORTH IT! I loved the film, and I loved how they rendered it in 3D. It was just PURE. AWESOME. It was actually my first 3D film (SUE ME! LOL!), so I don't have any other film to compare it with. But I think The Avengers raised the bar of my expectations of 3D films really high.

Since I took it upon myself to get off my lazy butt and go out and have some fun, I rewarded myself with yet another haul. Initially, I was just purchasing myself a pair of contact lenses (-4.00 diopters. Yes, I am blind.) as I didn't want to watch the film with my regular glasses on. But the LA Colors makeup stall at the HB1 of NCCC Mall was calling my name like a Siren. I had no choice but to give in. REALLY.

April 26 Haul

I purchased another LA Colors Mineral Blush (this time, in Autumn. This is my 10th! blush from this line.), LA Colors 4 Color Baked Eyeshadow Quad in Equinox and Neptune, LA Colors Twist Gloss with Lip Pencil Value Kit in Glitz, LA Colors Nail Lacquer in Caribbean Pink, Pink Diamonds, and Blue Treasure, Careline Extra Wear Nail Polish in 55 and 59 (cheapest nail polish EVER at PhP 10.00!!!), and an Ever Bilena Matte Lipstick in Dusk.

April 28

I did makeup on a friend's sister. It was for a wedding, and all I did was a basic smokey eye on her. I was drooling over her mom's Estee Lauder makeup set, though. It will be a while until I can afford one of those, methinks.

April 30

I went to school and got my enrollment forms and other requirements. MAN! Going to medical school is EX. PEN. SIVE! I had been too lazy to get off my butt and go back and finish the enrollment process, but I'll probably finish everything on Friday and/or Saturday. Probably. Don't get me wrong. I am grateful for passing all my second year subjects and all, but honestly, there is no JUSTICE with having just 34 days of summer vacation. No. Justice. At All.

Everything Else in Between

Just staying at home, bumming around, playing with cats and stuff.

And there you have it! My last ~3 weeks in one post. I'm hoping I don't get too lazy with my future posts so that I don't have to make any more of these updates posts. It's exhausting having to remember everything that has been happening to me lately, especially now that the organ you call my brain, but I would much rather call banana, is not really cooperating with me. I guess it just wants to get the best out of the 4 more days (GAAHD!) of summer vacation left.

'Til my next post! Ciao!

Please click HERE for my DISCLOSURE POLICY.

Haul: LA Colors Haul for April 2012

Happy Friday the 13th! Since today is a lucky day, I decided to get out of the house and give myself a little treat by going on an LA Colors mini-haul. I haven't hauled in a while, so the 9 items that I got today while barely making a dent in my wallet was most certainly a welcome treat for my still-battered-from-stress soul.

I first noticed that a Davao-born mall (NCCC Mall) had an LA Colors section in their department store around December of 2011. The first time I knew that there were actually TWO sections (the other one was located at their pharmacy/health and beauty store, HB1) was 2 months ago. Each and every time I get to visit the mall, I find my trip to be unfulfilling if I never get to make a trip to either of those stalls, regardless of my real purpose in coming to the mall.

The thing that surprised me the most about LA Colors was their dirt-cheap prices. Many of their products actually cost less than those being sold by local brands, such as Ever Bilena and Nichido. Another surprise came as to the quality of these items: for the price, the quality is quite decent. Also, upon further research, I discovered that the Philippine prices of their products were pretty much the same as their prices in the US, which I found to be amazing! The same cannot be said about other foreign brands that sell here in the Philippines, unfortunately. Take a look at ELF, for example. In the US, their Studio products cost about USD 3.00, which should be around PhP 120.00 when converted. Sadly, malls, even Ebay sellers, sell ELF Studio products for twice as much.

For this haul, I purchased a liquid eyeliner, a baked eyeshadow quad, a mineral blush, 2 5-color metallic eyeshadow palettes, and 4 nail colors. All in all, I got to spend PhP 660.00 (~USD 16.00), which I think isn't bad.

Note: For hauls, I will be doing first-look reviews just to let you know what my first impression is on the products I have just purchased. In depth reviews with corresponding scores will be given at least 2 weeks of using the product, although I may choose not to make an in-depth presentation if my lazy bones come and take the best of me, or if I feel like I have nothing to say about the product at all.

LA Colors Liquid Eyeliner in
Navy Blue (704)

Price:
The entire tube costs just PhP 60.00 (~USD 1.50). Again, DIRT CHEAP. I am yet to come across a foreign brand that sells liquid eyeliners for this cheap in the Philippines.

Packaging:
This has always been my problem with LA Colors: most of their packaging is designed to target a much younger market. This eyeliner, though, is an exception to that rule, as the product comes in a generic tube that neither looks ugly nor aesthetically commendable. But then again, is there really a way to teen-ify the packaging for tube products without making your line seem like they belong to the toy section of the department store?

Quality:
The tube says smudge-proof, and I really do believe it. It doesn't smudge, but it does fade and flake off easily when rubbed. It is as water-soluble as water can get. A little teardrop can make you look like a blue panda in seconds. For its price though, I can't really complain. This is actually my first non-black or brown eyeliner, so I'm finding myself liking the color quite well. It dries matte, although it takes quite a while to do so.

Quantity:
The tube contains 0.25 fluid ounce, or 7 mL, which, I think is a good amount for the price.

LA Colors 4 Color Baked Eyeshadow in
Cosmic (CBE423)

Price:
At PhP 125.00 (~USD 3.00) per quad, I'd say this is another steal.

Packaging:
This is actually my second baked eyeshadow palette from LA Colors. I didn't like the packaging on my first palette, and nothing has changed my mind ever since.

Quality:
The reason why I chose to purchase another palette from their baked eyeshadow line despite the awful packaging is the product itself. I love my first quad (in Equinox, CBE 430) so much, that I have decided to give it to my sister just so I have a reason to purchase another one. When I got to the store this morning, however, I decided to purchase this one for the pretty colors it has. Upon dry-swatching, the colors are really light. They could even come across as a bit chalky. But the best thing about baked eyeshadows is that they look much, much better when used wet. I haven't tried that yet as I just ran out of some Eye-Mo. But with my experience with Equinox, I have reason to believe that this quad will turn out just as pretty when used wet.

Quantity:
There's 5.5 grams of product all in all (1.375 grams per color), and I'd have to say that that is a lot for the price.

LA Colors Mineral Blush in
Naturale (CMB854)

This is my 9th (!) mineral blush from LA Colors. I love how this particular line contains pigmented blushes at its price. Every time I pass by their second stall, I just have to purchase at least one blush, hence, the 9 blushes.

Price:
Another steal at PhP 125.00 (~USD 3.00) a pop.

Packaging:
I hate how the packaging is so thick, as it accommodates a mirror and brush under the blush. Seeing as I barely have reason to use the mirror, and I never really use the brush (although it is quite soft and can apply the product much better than I though it could), I really think this product would have been much better without them.

Quality:
There is a reason why I have 9 of these in different colors: the quality. These blushes are pigmented and they do last a long time. I love this shade particularly so, as it is true to its name, Naturale: it looks very natural. It is pinkish-brown with a little shimmer, and it gives me a similar blush that I normally would have if I stayed in the midday sun for 3 minutes.

Quantity:
There's 4.3 grams of product in this pot.

LA Colors 5 Color Metallic Eyeshadow in
Unforgettable (EP24, Top) and
Wildflowers (EP42, Bottom)

Price:
These are definitely the cheapest eyeshadow palettes that I own at PhP 65.00 (~USD 1.50) apiece.

Packaging:
My brother told me the palette looked like the cheap watercolor palette he had back in preschool. I couldn't agree more. I think any kid would think the same way, too.

Quality:
These palettes aren't bad. They're not the most pigmented shadows out there, but they're not the worst, either. The lighter colors could come off as a bit chalky, however, it's nothing a good eyelid primer or cream eyeshadow base can't fix. The colors are really pretty, and it is fairly easy to build these colors up. For the price, I really can't complain.

Quantity:
Theres 7.5 grams all in all (1.5 grams per color). This is even more than the mineral eyeshadow quads, which happen to cost almost twice as much.

From L-R: LA Colors Color Craze Nail Polish in Circuits (NP412),
Voodoo (NP466), and Fuel (NP418), and
LA Colors Nail Lacquer in Berry (NP308)

At the moment, I can't really wear these. My nails are so short from biting (rooted from the excruciating last three weeks of school and the residual stress that still resonates a week and 3 days after the last exam), so I can't really wear these within the next couple of weeks or so. But still, I think the colors are so pretty, I decided to purchase them nonetheless.

Price:
These are the cheapest items in my haul today. These cost PhP 55.00 (~USD 1.25) a bottle. There are cheaper nail colors in the Philippines, but seeing quite a few positive reviews of it online, I decided to give it a try.

Packaging:
It looks a bit like more expensive nail colors, such as OPI. Of all the products of LA Colors, I think they have to be commended most with their work on the packaging of this particular line.

Quality:
I have tried putting the colors on my toenails (seeing as I still have them left as I can't really bite them off), and so far, so good. The colors were easy to apply, were nicely pigmented (except for Fuel, which was a bit sheer in comparison), and they dry pretty fast. Circuits is a basic black color, which I think every girl should have as a staple. Voodoo, which happens to be my favorite, is a jewel-toned green color (but as I have a certain inclination towards bluish-greenish colors, this comes off as a little surprise.). Fuel is a hot pink that looks pigmented in the bottle, but came off slightly less pigmented (in comparison to the other colors that I bought) upon application. Lastly, Berry, a lovely deep red, which I can't wait to wear for when classes start on the 7th of May.

Quantity:
Each bottle contains 15 mL of product.

Have you purchased any of the items mentioned in this entry? If so, did you like it? If not, why? Are there other particular products from LA Colors that you think are worth buying as well? I look forward to reading your thoughts and comments below! :)

Please click HERE for my DISCLOSURE POLICY.