As planned, my Seventeen Sigaw sister Belle and I met up in TriNoma yesterday to watch Monsters University. I couldn't not watch it as Monsters, Inc. is my favorite Pixar movie and Mike Wazowski tops the list of my favorite Pixar characters!

In Monsters University, Mike Wazowski is the star. Young Mike is so freakin' cute, and it was fun seeing him be all nerdy because it reminds me of someone I used to know when she was still studying (read: me). Filled with laughs, the movie explores the relationship between Mike and Sully and how they became friends and how Randall became their archenemy before they worked as scarers in the Monstropolis' power company Monsters, Inc. You should watch it. The short film The Blue Umbrella shown before the movie is also very heartwarming, perfect for these rainy days we in the Philippines have been having. 

After the movie, Belle and went to the Monsters University Fair sponsored by Giordano happening in the mall's Activity Center and had a ball taking one another's photos!

I wish they had Monster mascots walking around to take pictures with but hey, I'm willing to take what I can get. ｡◕‿◕｡

I feel like I ate the whole day because while watching, we had burgers, fries, and sodas with us. After visiting the Fair, we had late lunch in Bigoli.

Belle had Baked Ziti, I had my fave Italian Chicken with Rice.

And when our other Sigaw sister Jazzy met with us, we had a heavy round of dessert at Red Mango: frozen yogurts, waffles, and coffee!

I can't believe we've been friends for about nine years already ever since we met in the now-defunct Seventeen Philippines' online message board!

After walking around the mall some more and buying some stuff, we separated ways once more. Belle lives in Tacloban and is only in Manila for training for her new job so I don't know when I will see her again (the last time I saw her before this was in October 2010!). Hope to meet up and catch up with our other Sigaw sisters soon! I also hope I can visit her and Janelle's hometown soon!

After the movie-lunch-dessert date with my girls, it was time for some testosterone in the form of the guys from my barkada in high school and another monster movie!

We kinda scrambled for tickets as only one cinema each in both TriNoma and SM North EDSA is still showing World War Z.  We ended up catching the 7:20 PM screening in SM North EDSA instead. I think Brad Pitt only gets finer with age. There were lots of WTF moments in the movie - Why the hell can the zombies run around so fast like that? Pandemonium, pandemonium everywhere! Do you think that could ever happen in real life? - and it was so not good for my second cup of coffee that day as I suffered from palpitations all throughout! LOL what a ride. But seriously, if that ever happens in real life, I'm screwed as I haven't exercised for such a long time now that I don't think I can run fast enough. If worse comes to worst I will just keel over and kill myself. (。_＋)＼

Glen, Ric, Jer, and Third I miss our girl friends but they couldn't make it that day. Also, Dianne is now abroad for work.

It was the first time I watched two movies at the cinema in one day, and I realized just last night that both of them featured monsters. Only difference is that the former's are super cute and the sort I would want to find in my closet like Boo's in Monsters, Inc. and the latter's, well, let's just say I wouldn't want them anywhere near me. Ever.

Ending this post with a sweet present from Belle:

A Le Petit Prince locket and journal for my growing collection The locket is custom-made so a lot of thought went into it. She said The Little Prince stuff reminds her of me. Thanks Belle, I really appreciate it!

Thank God for fictional monsters and steady Saturdays with some of my favorite people in the world.

Time is zooming by so fast, I can't believe it's almost the end of the first half of 2013 already! Where did all those months and weeks and days go?

It's only been a few days since I saw one of the movies I was most excited about, and now, this. Almost a year ago I shared how excited I was to see Monsters University. Monsters, Inc. is my favorite Pixar movie and Mike Wazowski is one of my favorite Pixar characters that I even bought a pillow and ottoman with his face on (along with the Aliens from Pizza Planet of the Toy Story trilogy - I just love silly-looking creatures!) so I was thrilled when I learned that he will be the star of this prequel. 

Yesterday my officemates Rica and Far went with me to Krispy Kreme because I wanted one of those Mike Wazowski doughnuts. It turns out you can't buy them per piece; you can only get them in boxes of 8 or 12. I only wanted one so I got the Dark Choco Vanilla Cookie Butter doughnut instead. No regrets as it was so gooood! You should try it. ;) Anyway, even without the Monsters doughnut, we still got a photo with Mike and Sully hee.

It now "guards" my little fort  on the only neat corner of my office desk  together with other cherished gifts from friends: the Starbucks Singapore tumbler  from Nashe, a mini nautical chest from Ed, and my banner from Meream.

Almost a year of waiting, and I'm finally going to see the movie tomorrow with my Seventeen Sigaw sister Belle!

I. CAN'T. WAIT.

Also, this is a terrible segue LOL, but I just want to share some of the newest products and gifts sent to me to try lately.

I got a concealer, BB cream, lipstick, and bottles of nail polish from Hayan Korea. I have started using them and I will share reviews soon. Watch out for another giveaway sponsored by them also ;) In the meantime, please visit their Facebook page to check out their stuff. They have a LOT, and they're all really inexpensive!

That "I love being a girl" feeling when your nails and lips match perfectly. I am using Wet 'n Wild MegaLast Lip Color in Pinkerbell and Caronia nail polish in Posh here.

I have more Caronia goodies from their event that I went to last Wednesday night. More photos and details about what the event was about soon, together with the contents of this super pretty POP box!

Canary Cosmetics also sent me something new to try plus a special gift! Can you guess what this box contains? Check out their Facebook page to see what stuff they carry ;) Also, for what it's worth, they, hands down, win Best Online Shopping Packaging! I really love the way it's packed!

So there. This is going to be a really busy weekend for me (get-together with friends tomorrow and my grandma's birthday celebration on Sunday) but I don't mind because I will be with some of my favorite people in the world! How about you, any special plans? :)

PS: My Palette Pursuit giveaway ends on July 30! Have you joined yet?

I have fond memories of Caronia as a child. When I was five or six, I used to watch my grandmother have her nails done and choose a "Color of the Week" for her. Color selection back then was very limited but I still had a ball comparing each one. I remember wanting to have a mani-pedi myself but my father wouldn't allow me so I had to find contentment in deciding what color would look good on my Lola's nails.

Fast forward to today, I am now allowed to have my nails done in any color or nail art design I want! Haha. Aside from lipstick, nail polish is one of my regular indulgences because I find looking through rows and rows of nail polish bottles in different colors therapeutic. Different nail care brands now carry wide selections of different colors and formulation that it is even possible to change your nail color every day for a year!

Last week, I received an invite from Caronia that was too difficult to turn down.

This pretty package contains six bottles of Caronia polishes and a speaker that plays an updated version of the Caronia jingle!

I attended the event held at the Hexagon Lounge in RCBC Plaza last night and was treated to a different kind of nail pampering. :)

Instead of the usual mani-pedi stations, the venue had three booths that represent three music genres: Alternative, Pop, and Rock. Each booth was decorated accordingly.

Ana had her nails done at the Alternative booth

As for me, well, I love '90s Alternative music but I just HAD to go to the Pop booth.

I love all the bright and bold colors!

Besides, don't you think my outfit that day was very pop star-ish? ;)

I couldn't stay long because I had to catch the shuttle home so I wasn't able to have nail art done, but I chose this pretty pink polish named Posh as supposed base for neon green polka dots:

Comparing nail colors with Rica ^_^

Ana and me!

Posh is a frosted soft petal pink color that complements my skin tone. I love it and I think I'm going to buy a bottle the next time I visit Watsons or SM Beauty.

It perfectly matches my current favorite pink lipstick...

and my Samsung netbook Robyn!

The pretty box contains these. Love!

Rica got busy and applied a swipe of Diva to her existing nail color from the previous night

Caronia now has more than 70 colors and they want to highlight those in the upcoming The Sound of Color campaign!

From the funky to the classic, the energetic to the serene, the harmonic to the edgy and loud, Caronia believes that the blend of these two timeless facets of self-expression-color and sound-are instrumental in inspiring women to share their passion to the world. 

To kick off the campaign, Caronia will launch the Caronia Jingle Contest, a search for the best and most talented local act who used their own sound to bring the artistry of the Caronia Jingle to brand new heights. This contest asks people to perform their own rendition of the Caronia jingle, with emphasis on how original and creative their entry is. 

The campaign culminates with The Sound of Color Music Festival, a 4-hour musical extravaganza to be held this November at the Sky Dome, SM North EDSA, featuring electrifying performances from an exciting line-up of some of the best acts from the local music scene today. Part of the set are finalists from the Caronia Jingle Contest, with the festival serving as the grand finals for the jingle contestants.

Do you love color? Are you musically-inclined? I love color but I am not that talented when it comes to singing so I won't, but if you are interested to join then please visit Caronia's Facebook page for more information! Good luck!

Alternately titled: I want that, you know?

The most anticipated third part of the lowest grossing film trilogy of all time (Ethan Hawke's words, not mine!), Before Midnight, will be released in the Philippines on July 10 but thanks to Echo Channels I got to watch it with my girl friends at a special screening last night.

Transpiring a few years after Before Sunset's ambiguous ending, we find Jesse and Celine finally together, now with twin girls Nina and Ella (whose names were inspired by Nina Simone and Ella Fitzgerald). With Greece serving as their backdrop this time, we witness the two do what they do best - talk. This time, other people were added into the mix for a few sequences resulting to a percolation of different ideas about life and love coming from different points of view.

I read somewhere that people do not really change; circumstances or chance may force you to change a little but ultimately you stay the way you are. Same with the film. Now, although a little bit jaded, Jesse is still the same toughie-but-softy and funny guy introduced to us in Before Sunrise while Celine still has the same neuroses, maybe aggravated even more by the stress of having to juggle work and taking care of their family.

So very finely crafted, raw, powerful, and emotional without being cheesy, Before Midnight shows the different facets of being in a relationship and demonstrates that it is not smooth-sailing all the time. It can also be exasperating and it can be frustrating. Aside from love - What is love anyway than a chemical reaction in the brain? Said bitter people everywhere - a relationship requires passion, commitment, a certain level of maturity, and conversations. Not just superficial conversations, mind you. I'm talking about conversations between two people who share a deep connection. I want that, you know? It is an ode to the power of words and how they can heal or hurt, and you know I am a big lover of words so I held my breath almost the entire movie. It actually reminded me of what I felt when I heard The Cranberries sing Linger live... it left me breathless and completely awestruck. So beautiful it hurts. I couldn't stop hugging my friends after we left the cinema.

For me, Before Midnight is the best among the three. I didn't think it would be possible to love the series even more than I already do but apparently it is! To quote one of my previous posts, "I can go on and on with all these hyperboles about how I loved these movies but that will just sound reductive and redundant. And so to put it as eloquently and accurately as much as I can, I guess I'll just say, 'I wish I wrote it.' - and that, for me, is the highest compliment one can give any piece of written work." God I wish I wrote them. This trilogy is one of cinema's greatest love stories and I recommend that you take the time to watch them all if you haven't yet. Better begin from the start since the third is peppered with a lot of inside jokes and little nods to the first two movies that you will miss if you haven't seen them.

One of the lines that struck me the most is about how we are all just passing through life. Dear Richard Linklater, Kim Krizan, Ethan Hawke, and Julie Delpy, thank you. I am grateful to have been able to pass through life at the same time as these movies were made and released. Please keep on making beautiful films. ♥

Lipsticks are my favorite makeup item so now that I have started to make these beauty reviews more regularly, I guess reviews of lipsticks and other lip products will pop up the most.

So anyway, I've been so obsessed with finding the perfect purple lipstick for months now but I couldn't bring myself to buy one because I was afraid the bold color wouldn't suit me. After Jen of Make Up Factory did my makeup and transformed me into a Purple Faery, I realized I shouldn't be afraid to try unusual colors every once in a while. She used a Make Up For Ever lipstick on me but the brand is no longer available here in the Philippines, and so the search continues.

But then I remembered the lipstick Kira gave me months ago from Maybelline's The Jewels by ColorSensational line in Amethyst Ablaze!

The tube looks really lovely, yes? I also liked the packaging because it doesn't feel cheap.

Here are some swatches:

One swipe, two swipes under natural lighting

Two swipes on my lips

I'm not sure if you can see it, but the lipstick has micro-glitters that refused to budge from my arm and lips even after I have wiped them off. They look really pretty and the color is gorgeous.

What I liked:

• Buildable. The color goes on sheer on the first swipe but appears more translucent and almost opaque after one or two swipes more.
• Glides smoothly on the lips with very minimal tugging.
• Non-drying. It didn't dry my lips, no lip balm necessary!
• Inexpensive. The lipstick was priced P399 only.
• Another point for the color being really pretty, please. ♥

Too bad as I really wanted it!

Aside from Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy, there is no other movie I talk about more frequently than Before Sunrise and Before Sunset. I wrote about them here, here, here, and one of my personal favorite posts, here.

Today, in anticipation of Before Midnight's release in the Philippines on July 10 (and its premiere I will go to on Tuesday), I watched both movies and read the screenplays -


- and I realized that it doesn't matter how many times I watch the movies or read the book, I just keep on falling in love with them more and more. I know I say this a lot about a host of different fictional characters but Jesse and Celine are special, and maybe it's because I could really identify with Celine's neuroses and Jesse's romantic toughie-but-softy thing going on.

Intelligent without sounding pretentious and romantic without coming off as a complete cheese-fest, my heart aches just thinking of how beautiful these movies are.

To talk about what you really feel and think about without fear of being judged, to find someone to connect with and have that connection transcend everything... That's the dream. I want that, you know?

I'm such a sucker for movies and books that tell stories like this, this accidental connection, this beautiful serendipity. I'm obsessed with creating memories and making the most out of life, and maybe that is why these movies spoke to me. "Everything is so finite, and that's what makes everything so special." And you know what, when I learned that the Before series is based on a true story but the woman who inspired the whole thing doesn't even know about it because she died before the first movie was filmed? Why that's just heartbreaking.

I can go on and on with all these hyperboles about how I loved these movies but that will just sound reductive and redundant. And so to put it as eloquently and accurately as much as I can, I guess I'll just say, "I wish I wrote it." - and that, for me, is the highest compliment one can give any piece of written work.

I wish I wrote these, but then again, they wouldn't have gotten the same recognition they currently enjoy so I guess I'm okay. I mean, the series aren't really Hollywood blockbusters but they've earned a cult following already, and I'm happy to be one of its many fans all over the world.


I'm so excited to watch Before Midnight and see where Richard Linklater, Kim Krizan, Ethan Hawke, and Julie Delpy will take us this time. The movie's set in Greece but I made sure not to read any reviews already available ;) If they end up separating in the end, I think I might be too depressed and go kill mysef.

You may also visit Before Midnight's Philippine Facebook page here and get a chance to win movie tickets!

How are you enjoying your weekend? Immensely, I hope? My Saturday was spent watching four movies - Forgetting Sarah Marshall (funny); Get Him to the Greek (funny and unrelenting); This is 40 (funny but felt toooo long); and Oz the Great and Powerful (I'm sorry, Rachel Weisz is dazzling but the movie felt bland) - and the first five episodes of F.R.I.E.N.D.S.'s Season Six. I am also planning to reread Before Sunrise and Before Sunset's screenplay later before I go to sleep in anticipation of the Before Midnight screening that I am really excited about!

Anyway, I'm just taking a quick break from my lazy and unproductive weekend to share with you some great news for the fashion and beauty blogging community: the Virtual Style Awards by Stylebible.ph!

Stylebible.ph, the online home of Preview for five fierce years, is proud to announce the launch of its very first Virtual Style Awards, a platform that aims to give recognition to the movers and shakers of the online style community. Focusing on the realm of fashion and beauty, today’s hottest tastemakers can take their popularity and credibility to the next level by getting nominated in the following categories:

To get listed, simply log on to Virtual Style Awards until June 30, 2013. Preview and Style Bible editors will screen ballots and select the five finalists per category, which will be subject to online voting until the end of July. Winners will be based on 50% online votes and 50% judges’ votes, to be announced via a big fashion event set in August 2013. 

If you think your style and online presence deserves some critical acclaim, head on over to Stylebible.ph to participate in this prestigious event!

Sounds really exciting, right? It's always nice to be recognized for something you love doing. Come and show support to your favorite bloggers and nominate them now ;)

PS: Have you joined my Palette Pursuit giveaway yet?

With the changing of seasons comes the switching of wardrobes. Safe from the sweltering heat and humidity of summer but prone to cold and wetness of rainy days, it's time to start thinking about piling on layers of clothes rather than piling them on. At this time of year, many people fancy clearing out their closets, but how do you really know which to ditch and which to keep?

Let’s be honest, your wardrobe is probably so cluttered that you don't even know what’s in the back of it or you still have clothes with the tags on!

A little #FlashbackFriday: this is a portion of my closet back in January 2011 It doesn't look like that anymore ;)

Time to get your sorting hat on and start making more space!

Get out the photo albums, and it's not just to choose photos for #ThrowbackThursday!

Start looking at your old snaps, not to reminisce, but to see if you're still wearing clothes you had a decade ago. It doesn't matter how fashionable you think it is, if it's showing up in holiday photos from 1993 then it doesn't belong in your wardrobe.

Sort clothes by season

Every woman (and man) should sort their wardrobe by season. What's the point in having all those heavy pullovers and jackets hanging in there for summer? Pack away your coats and store them in a separate wardrobe or set of drawers so they're out of the way.

Keep comfy clothes

There will always be the occasional dreary rainy day where you want to do nothing more than chill at home. It'll be great to have clothes that can easily brighten your mood whatever the weather! Superdry hoodies are a “must-have” item.

These would be great additions to my rainy day wardrobe. I love the colors!

Ditch anything that still has a price tag

If you're a bit of a shopaholic like me, there are probably loads of clothes stashed in your wardrobe that have never been worn. If you bought clothes more than a couple of months ago but they're still sporting the tag, it's about time you pass them on to someone else. Personally, I still have a lot of new clothes I still haven't worn, and I really don't know whether it's because I'm just waiting for the perfect occasion to wear them out, or maybe my preferences have changed already. I should follow this rule.

Ask for help

Ask your friends and/ or siblings to choose a few items of clothing that they don't really like on you. Whether it's a really old pair of jeans or an unflattering shirt, get your mates to help you refine your style.

Did these tips help? I hope they did! Care to share some other tips that I might not have covered? Share in the comments! This weekend is perfect for some closet-cleaning, so I'm sending you virtual kisses as encouragement ;)

PS: Have you joined my Palette Pursuit giveaway yet?

I've been trying to figure out what blogging niche I belong to for the last couple of years now. I like dressing up but don't know if my blog can be qualified as a legit fashion blog since I don't publish Outfit of the Day posts that much. It's not really a full-fledged beauty blog since I've started to review beauty products and services only recently. I also talk about books, movies, and my obsession with concerts a lot. Add to that my eleventy thousand stories about various things, and you've got the makings of a, well, a blogging ~identity crisis~. Me and my problems ha ha. And then it came to me while I was in the shower the other day: if I don't belong anywhere, I should just make my own niche! Sounds like a plan ;)

From now on, I am Krissy will be known as a girly blog. Because I like talking and writing about girly stuff.

Enough with the long winding explanation. Today in this girly blog *giggles* I'm going to review the Lolane Z-Cool Intensive Color Cream & Convenient Set in Mahogany Red Brown.

I dyed my hair again DIY-style but unlike the first time I didn't feel the need to announce it over the interwebs, mainly because I wasn't too sure if I would like its effect on me. I wanted to look for something more red than this from the same brand but I'm not sure if they don't carry it or the SM Beauty branch in SM North EDSA just didn't have it at the time. Not wanting to leave empty-handed, I decided to get the next color I wanted: purple.

You may remember I dyed my hair using Richenna Bubble Color in Red Wine just three weeks prior. It actually took me a while to decide what brand I would go with, but I chose this in the end because it is the nearest to purple among all the others.

Like the post I did about Richenna, I am also going to show you how I did it.

Apply on the hair evenly using the comb included. Make sure you're wearing the plastic cape and gloves provided!

I'm lucky because I have short hair, it's much easier! Also, I got a haircut from my favorite stylist a day prior to this dye job.

#GPOY

Do you see the faintest hint of a scar on my forehead? That's from an accident I got into last year for laughing too hard. Yup.

I rinsed my hair after 40 minutes. As expected, the water became purple on my first wash. It still creeps me out ha ha.

I was so excited to see the results! And then, after I dried my hair, I didn't even bother to take AFTER photos! -_- In retrospect, this was really stupid of me since I planned to make this review post all along but hear me out first. After I rinsed my hair, there were no changes on my hair at all! No changes! At all! Well, except for the part where it got hard to manage before I used the leave-on conditioner but you get the picture. I wasn't expecting a head full of purple hair, but after I left the dye on for about 40 minutes, there should've been a difference in color no matter how small. I was so pissed at the time and effort I wasted that I didn't bother to take any photos anymore.

And then... the queerest thing happened. The color appeared on the third day! I was drying my hair with a towel after I took a shower, still a little pissed because purple dye still kept on appearing on my towel on the third day even after I rinsed my hair thoroughly several times, when I saw the color on my reflection in the mirror. And it was lovely. ♥

Here are some photos I took last Wednesday:





I'd like to apologize for my dry hair, I know I am due for a treatment soon ha ha. I can't wait for this weekend so I can do some DIY pampering again! ^_^ All photos were taken beside a glass window with natural sunlight.

Here is a list of pros and cons I came up with from my experience of using Lolane.

What I liked:
- Very affordable. Each box with all the DIY dye job essentials already included costs only P239.75.
- Accessible. Available in Watsons and SM Beauty branches.
- Variety. There are a lot of colors to choose from.
- Scent. Unlike Richenna and other dyes used on me in salons, this one didn't smell harsh at all! I am not sure, but it could be because of the green tea and strawberry extracts used. The leave-on conditioner also smelled sooo good!
- The color. I love that my hair color now looks like a cross between an eggplant and a plum. It's not in-your-face purple which would've been a little out of place in a corporate setting, yet becomes a little bit more funky under the right light. Sweet and subtle, I like.
- Skin and clothing-friendly. It didn't stain my skin and clothes even after I got a little on them.

What I didn't like:
- The fact that it didn't show up on my hair for two days after. What is that about? (-_-)ゞ゛
- Even with the number of shades available, they might still not have what you want (like what happened with me and the red color I originally wanted).

I think I am getting better at this, but it's probably a good idea to ask someone to help me next time. It would be much easier and my arms won't get too tired that way hee.

Over all I am really satisfied with the Lolane Z-Cool Intensive Color Cream & Convenient Set and I think I would want to purchase again in case I want to top up with this color. Have you tried this before? How was your experience?

Letting you guys know that my Palette Pursuit giveaway is still open ;)