It's weird how this year feels like it passed so quickly yet I couldn't wait for it to end, and skimming through my social media feeds tells me I share this sentiment with a lot of people. I think I'm ready to welcome the new year, but before that, here's a year-ender post to recap my 2016.

Listing down this year's highlights here. I: had a wish come true when I got to watch Nate Ruess perform live; thought I was having a heart attack; visited the Planetarium again after sooo many years; helped launch Lucky Blue Smith as Penshoppe's newest endorser; got to work with Korean superstar Sandara Park thanks to Penshoppe; turned 30; went on an out-of-town trip with my boyfriend for the first time; went to Dia del Libro; built a lamp for the people of the Dumagat tribe; helped launch Gigi Hadid as Penshoppe's newest endorser; celebrated our first anniversary as a couple; got a raise; helped assist Penshoppe's series of events when Lucky Blue Smith came here; experimented with resin jewelry-making; had a ballet class under Prima ballerina Lisa Macuja-Elizalde herself; met Atom Araullo; got new glasses; had another dream come true when I worked on a project between my idol Manix Abrera and our client Beyond the Box; got my own Tamiya and raced; rushed myself to the Emergency Room because I thought I was having a heart attack; said goodbye to my friend Ed who is now working abroad; got introduced to Hamilton thanks to Chelsea; got a Fitbit Charge HR; got my braces removed; and surprised my boyfriend for his 30th birthday.

This is also the year I bought the most number of books I've ever bought, but read the least number of books I've ever read in a year. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

But then I love how most of my favorite memories I listed down here involve my favorite person, Miah. ♥

2016 wasn't a great great year, but I will always look back on it with a smile for even though I hadn't been able to write nor paint anything this year, I had a lot of growing up to do. You can't put a premium on that.

I wish the coming year will be so much better for us all, but if all else fails, there is love. And love always wins. Here's Lin-Manuel Miranda's sonnet from his 2016 Tony Award acceptance speech.

And love is love is love is love is love is love is love is love

Cannot be killed or swept aside

Thank you SO MUCH for sharing your year with me. I'm wishing you a happy and bountiful new year with the people you hold most dear. Peace, love, and lip gloss! 

I first read Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's The Little Prince when I was in high school. We were at my uncle's house then, and being the anti-social kid I was I chose to go to their mini library and browse the books. I figured it would be a short read since it's a thin volume, with illustrations to boot. I finished it in no time and I was completely taken in. I asked to borrow it and my uncle's wife happily obliged, saying that she wishes their kids have the same penchant for reading as I did.

Well, it's been years and I still have the book with me.

Since I lost all my childhood books in a fire that razed through our neighborhood back in 2001, this book can be considered as the oldest one I have, and it's not even technically mine. Hee. I have the deluxe pop-up edition book and it's one of my favorite things I own, but this thin volume holds a special place in my heart. Trivia: did you know that it's second only to the Bible as the world's best-selling book in history?

For Christmas, my boyfriend gave me this gift and oh my goodness, I bawled so much:

I consider myself to be nimble when it comes to news about books, movies, and other pop culture phenomena when they concern my favorites, but I was completely thrown off guard and blown away by this gift. It was completely unexpected because I didn't even know such a thing exists! Thank you so much, bb! 

Let me give you a quick virtual tour through this book. 

Adorable little boy!

One important thing I gleaned from Saint-Exupéry's biography is that he had a very happy childhood.

Early manuscript

An unpublished chapter! I didn't even know there was an unpublished chapter!

Leafing through the following got me ugly-crying again because! They're! Just! So! Beautiful! I am overwhelmed just thinking about how great of an impact this book has made among generations of readers!



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Look! An advertisement for the book in The New York Times in April 1943!

As evidenced by the millions of posts with the hashtag #LePetitPrince on Instagram alone, this cult classic inspired countless artworks, including the watercolor paintings I made.


Collectors were also featured.

This is Jean-Marc Probst, and he has assembled more than 3,400 different editions of The Little Prince since 1980!

Here is a rundown of the Visual Dictionary's contents aside from a biographical timeline and the ones mentioned above: Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (his childhood, his life as a writer, his calling in the air, the women associated with him, his exile in America, and his final mission); The Origins of The Little Prince (biographical and personal sources, the man the book was dedicated to, sketches, manuscript and proof sets); The Little Prince, the Ouvre (first editions, French and French-language Editions, the unpublished chapter, variations, translations, illustrations, and critical reception); The Little Prince Universe (a more in-depth look at the characters and settings); The Little Prince Quotations; The Little Prince Bookshelf (sequels and imitations, archive, books on the animated series); Testimonials; The Little Prince On Screen (cinema and television); The Little Prince On Stage (theater, opera and musical productions, multimedia shows, audio recordings); The Little Prince in Comics and Youth Literature; Inspired by The Little Prince (merchandise, fashion, advertising); The Little Prince Around the World; and The Little Prince and Us (fan-art, collectors, exhibitions, non-profit organizations).

Whew, that was hefty! I have a lot of other The Little Prince items [accumulated and gifted by friends throughout the years] in my humble collection like my Little Prince and Little Girl Funko Pops, a mother of pearl pendant, a locket, stickers, notebooks and journals, my Moleskine Planner, folders, a pen, and a coloring book, but this Visual Dictionary is now one of my favorite prized possessions.


He also gave me a pair of Melissa Campana Fitas II. Doesn't it remind you of the Little Prince's rose? It's so glittery and impractical and pretty and special. I leave a trail of glitters wherever I go, I love it so much.

What a treasure, both the gifts and the giver. My heart is full. ♥ Merry Christmas, everyone. May you have a heart that sees rightly, that what is essential is invisible to the eye. (But a new pair of shoes and a book about your favorite book never did hurt anyone.)

Are you done with your Christmas shopping yet? Four more sleeps before Christmas and I am going crazy with holiday preparations! Thanks to online shopping, I'm done with more than half of my list without the need for long queues and squeezing in with the holidaze crowd all eager to cram!

One website I bought gifts from is Althea Korea. I've shopped from this website several times before already and I can vouch for their reliability. What do you know, they scored even more major brownie points from me because their app is now available at the Play Store and App Store, making sure I can accomplish some shopping even while on-the-go! Case in point: I checked my Althea Christmas haul out while on my two-hour commute going home from work.

My Christmas haul arrived in six days (that's even faster than the promised 10-15 working days!), and it came in a special holiday-themed box! How adorable!

Ladies and gents, here are what I got on my most recent Althea Korea shopping "trip":


Some of them will be given away as gifts, okay? (^～^;)ゞ

Here are the items I got, in no specific order:

1. Innisfree No Sebum Blur Primer - P450 
2. Tony Moly Panda's Dream Brightening Eye Base - P290
   
3. Missha Perfect Cover BB Cream - P560
4. Nella Aura BB Foundation - P270
   
5. APIEU Air Fit Cushion Blusher (Rilakkuma Edition) in VL01 - P520
   
6. Etude House Bling Bling Eyestick in  Full of Stars - P190
   
7. Missing You Hand Cream in Pink Dolphin - P250
   
8. It's My Cushion Case Set in Mint and White - P235 each
9. It's My Cushion Case Sponge - P40 for two

Of all these, I'm most excited about the It's My Cushion Case sets because I wanted to make my own CC Cushion Compacts!


I found several tutorials online and now I just need to figure out the most winning combination of my favorite products for this project. :)

If you haven't yet, I suggest that you download the Althea Korea app stat and start shopping away! The holiday-themed boxes are perfect to give and receive even after Christmas and will definitely be appreciated.


It even includes a special holiday card with a discount code you can use on your next purchase!

More than anything else, I love the app because of its minimalist and user-friendly interface.


Besides, you can never go wrong with authentic KBeauty products that are much cheaper to source than if you buy them here! Exhibit A:


This Tony Moly Panda's Dream Brightening Eye Base costs P580 here!

If you're quick enough, you can even use the code MOBFIRST300 and get P300 off a minimum purchase of P1,000 OR you can click my link and get discounts also!

​Happy KBeauty shopping!

Disclosure: Althea Korea gave me a shopping voucher to try the new app and I added cash to get everything on my shopping cart. I was not required nor compensated for this writeup. All opinions are my own. You may read my blog's complete Disclosure Policy here.

So many instances this could have failed, but didn't. I didn't realize planning surprises are so much fun. We should do this more often. ;)

Happy 30th birthday. I love you. ♥

It's easy to get lost in the holidaze and forget one's self, but thankfully Strip's pioneer branch is just a block away from my office. One visit during lunchtime yesterday and I ticked personal grooming off my December to do list. (-‿◦)


What I love about Strip is that they continuously think of new fun wax variants to offer to customers. Aside from the usual Strawberry, Chocolate, and Lemon waxes available all year round, they have come up with variants like the New York Cheesecake, Shanghai Summer Orange, and Gingerbread, among others. This holiday's limited edition wax? It's the Mulled Wine Wax.


Strip says that the limited edition Mulled Wine Wax is perfect for those who are thinking of getting Brazilian or Boyzilian for the first time. It’s infused with the warm and festive scent of red wine, orange, cloves, and cinnamon, which is sure to get you into a holiday mood.

Feeling festive yet? Here are more photos!


I really love Strip's funky themed interiors. Not too girly/ frilly nor too minimalist with these.





That carrot pillow got quite a good beating squeezing from me. >_<


This is the Mulled Wine Wax. It smells like wine with a zest of citrus!


Cendy worked on my all-off Brazilian wax while talking to me and answering my questions like it's the most natural thing in the world. She was doing it in a very clinical yet casual way, like we were just doing a simple mani-pedi session with a side of gossip. Heh. I appreciate that because I was put at ease instantly.

Strip's services may be more expensive than other waxing salons here, but in the couple of times I've gone to them I've never been disappointed. Having body hair removed almost always equates to pain, but what I love about Strip is that the pain dissipates quickly. I'm not sure if it's just me or if it's because I took one Alaxan an hour before my appointment, though. But yes, over-the-counter meds or not, Strip has never given me extreme levels of pain. Unfortunately, the same can't be said about one other waxing salon that I tried. It was too painful, the wax was too hot, and I bled.

Thank you, Strip. Satisfied customer here!


The limited edition Mulled Wine Wax will be available until March only so I suggest trying it out just in time for the holidays! Cheers!

*Disclosure: I was sent a special package by Strip with an invitation to try the Mulled Wine Wax for my next Brazilian session but I was not required nor compensated for this review. All opinions are my own. Read my complete Disclosure Policy here.

I think beauty boxes are great since they give us a chance to try new beauty products that have just been introduced to the market, or get a bunch of tried and tested products at a discounted price. Sometimes if you're lucky you can even score beauty boxes that contain your old favorites as well as new ones that are potential faves. 

Subscription boxes are nice to get because it's like receiving a surprise gift each time, but personally before I spend money on something I'd rather know its contents first. So far not a lot of beauty boxes have jumped out at me enough for me to buy it, until Project Vanity released its Naughty and Nice Kit. I believe I'm one of the first ones to snap it up because I was worried it would get sold out quickly!

My kit was delivered a day after I paid for it, and OMG. I already knew it was a great kit hence my purchase, but holding it in my hands gave me such a thrill because OMG, what a great kit! For only P1,450, you get all these products worth more than P6,000, and unlike other beauty boxes that have filler samples [that may add to the box's value but not really because you don't get to use them anyway], the products included here are all winners! I mean, it blows my mind that you get more than what you pay for with just the Strip gift certificate alone!

Ladies and gentlemen, here are the contents of the Project Vanity Naughty and Nice Kit and my quick thoughts on each one.

I popped my Brazilian wax cherry with them and since then I've already tried a few waxing salons but Strip is really the best. At P1,598, a Brazilian wax with them doesn't really come cheap but you really feel the difference. I know I did.

I feel my prettiest after a brow threading session with Browhaus. #Instapretty realness, no questions asked.

My friend Alex swears by this brand so it must be true. This set contains sample sizes of the Shampoo, Conditioner, and Quick Dry Spray, and I will bring this with me to our barkada slumber party after Christmas!



I deep clean my makeup brushes as regularly as I can, but a spot cleaner is always nice to have. This product leaked a little in the bag though (good thing the gift certificates were not affected!) so I would suggest that the Project Vanity team secure this before including a bottle in future kits.

This is translucent and blends seamlessly with the skin after you pat it on. I apply it using a powder brush, and I think it did help set my makeup and made it last longer.



It was my first time to use a K-Palette product and I could say the raves were not unwarranted! I do feel it's too expensive for the amount of product you get, though, and I can't say I would purchase this again. I'll share my favorite eyebrow  products on a future post!



I got the shade She's Got the Mauve and it's such a beautiful shimmery color. What's amazing is that it didn't crease at all, even without primer! Now I think I want the Go Bronze pencil also. Heh.



Another OMG moment for me. I have a lot of eyeliners in my traincase but most of them give me raccoon eyes before the day is through, so using the Holika Holika 24HR Auto Eyeliner and feeling like I didn't have oily lids is A+++. It's also easy to remove with makeup remover, no tugging required. I will buy more of this in a heartbeat!



I got the shade Sweet Marsala. It's easy to apply and it's such a gorgeous color but it flakes on my lips. I have yet to test to see whether lip balm or lip liner can help.

All these [as well as a card with information on the products] are housed in a deep red pouch in jersey material. I like that it's something I can reuse, but I wish that beautiful painting by Liz (founder and EIC of Project Vanity) could've been printed on the pouch as well. Hee.

I can't say it enough: I love this kit! And to prove that all the products included are products I can use, here's today's face.



The only other product I used that is not included in the kit is the Maybelline Dream Velvet Soft-Matte Hydrating Foundation in Natural Beige that I used as base. I wish I was able to take better photos under natural lighting, though.

Aaand there you have it. Thoughts on the Project Vanity Naughty and Nice Kit? Were you able to get one? I saw from Liz's post that it's now sold out on Project Vanity but you can still get one from BeautyMNL. Good luck! ♥

Praise be to God and all His angels and saints, for I am finally free from the bondage that shackles me!

Me and my love for hyperbole. But seriously, if, like me, you've been wearing braces for more than a quarter of your life, then you'll find a lot of reasons to rejoice when they're finally removed.

Buh-bye, braces!

I first wore braces when I was in first year high school, which I wore all my high school life until my fourth year in college. Unfortunately, even that long span of time wasn't enough as I had to have new ones fitted again. I had it done two years ago, and today my orthodontist removed it! For good, I hope.

I keep feeling the inside of my cheeks and wanting to do a celebratory jig because it's so smoooooth. I'll never take this feeling [of running my tongue around my teeth unobstructed by metal] for granted ever.

This wonderful feeling will be short-lived though as I will still need to wear my retainers, but until I get it this coming Sunday everything's good.

My boyfriend wore braces before also. Now we're just a couple of nerds showing off our perfect chompers. Heh.

See you on Saturday if you're coming to the #BU12xWorldBazaarFestival Holiday Bazaar at the World Trade Center Tent! ♥ 

It's almost the end of the year (whew, about time!), but before we bid 2016 goodbye, let the #BU12xWorldBazaarFestival Holiday Bazaar sate your appetite for all things pretty this holidaze shopping season!


The #BU12xWorldBazaarFestival will be held at the World Trade Center-Tent on December 10 from 10 in the morning to 12 midnight. Expect loads of activities, exciting contests, and of course, great deals and shopping finds from your favorite bloggers!

I said numerous times before that I have a problem with letting go of my stuff but space constraints is now forcing me to do so. Add to that the fact that most of my clothes no longer fit my current age bracket (I turned 30 this year), body type (I've finally filled out in places I didn't thought possible), and lifestyle, so might as well give them to other people who can appreciate them better. Prices will range from P50 to P800 only! I'll be sharing my booth with Alexandra and I hope you can come drop by!

Coinciding with this December's event is our partner World Bazaar Festival, the biggest bazaar in the metro that started on December 3 thru 22 at the World Trade Center. Shop from more than a thousand booths at the grandest and longest running charity bazaar for the benefit of the ABS-CBN Lingkod Kapamilya Foundation!

This event is open for all! Tickets will be sold at the venue for only P80, via World Bazaar Festival's Main Hall entrance OR you can also follow me on Twitter and tweet me so I can give you a pair of tickets!


See you on Saturday!