Overhaul

The story behind the revamp

Do any of you ever have that moment in life where you look around and realize how toxic things have been, and decided you needed a complete overhaul? Well, that happened to me. 

Things were getting pretty rough starting August last year, and things were slowly getting worse. I was always tired, sad, and incoherent. (Or in better terms: sabaw). School was getting harder to grapple with, and my grades were slipping. Important things in life kept piling up. It was hard to meet the expectations people had of me. 

By the time senior year was ending, I was getting somewhat better, but my life was still pretty disorganized. When my finals finished, I felt so free, and felt like the burden was lifted off my shoulders. Admittedly, there are still things going on that give some pressure, but things aren't as bad.

With a lot of free time, at first, I ended up just marathoning series and movies, and had a small round of spring cleaning, involving clearing out a LOT of unnecessary readings and school related items.

After graduation, during the first week of April, I decided-- screw it. I need a fresh start.

I looked around and everything was a mess, and I don't just mean my life. The house was a mess, and my room was a mess. The paint is faded. There are a lot of things everywhere, and most of them I don't really need or use. My bookshelf can barely carry the books and memorabilia I had there. My closet had no space anymore. Everything was not put in any order whatsoever.

BEFORE

Evident above, my room wasn't such a pleasant place to look at. I had too much stuff and it was so cramped. 

And so! I decided to change the whole thing, beginning with paint!

PAINTING

I wanted to get rid of the baby blue paint, and change it into something lighter and brighter. I took a trip to True Value (1st level Trinoma) for the painting materials. We got:

1. Painting tray - Php 49.75
2. Two paint brushes - Php 79.80 each (instead of the 99.75 because it was discounted)
3. Two paint rollers - Php 60.00 each
4. Two paint roller extensions - Php 280.00 each

I regretted buying the paint brushes though because the material of the brushes made painting messy. My yaya and I had to buy rushes and smaller rollers from the EK hardware near us, and it was under Php 200.00

Next, we bought paint from the home section of the SM Department Store, SM North Edsa. The brand we bought was Davies Sun and Rain: Odorless. We got one 4L in White for our base (since my walls were so blue we needed a primer first). Then we got two 4L in Angel Blush for the main color. 

According to the CSS color chart I found, the color I used would be like this:

It took us one thin layer of white, and 4-5 layers of angel blush because my room was too blue. Overall, it took my yaya and I 2 days (overall 12 hours) to paint the room.

ORGANIZERS

It was necessary to buy a few things for organization, and so I bought two cute containers from Saizen, inside True Value, 1st floor Trinoma. Each was Php 88.00. The ones on the left are also from Saizen but they were bought beforehand for the same price.

I also had organizers for my makeup but I had bought them before I even had the makeover. But just fyi, the lipstick organizers were ones I got from the beauty level (first floor) of Landmark, Trinoma, and the black and white pull-out is from the school supplies section of SM Department Store, SM North Edsa

 

I also bought transparent containers to substitute my shoeboxes. These Megabox containers in 6.3L cost Php 69.75 each. Those containers with the locks are more expensive though. The shoeboxes couldn't fit the top and bottom rows so I limited them to 8, and bought 1 more for containing my hair accessories. 

TV & DVD

You can see my reflection! Haha

My Dad bought me a new Samsung 24" TV from Avant, 3rd floor Trinoma. It cost Php 9998.00, and it came with a relatively old DVD player. This way, I was able to remove the old space consuming TV 

DECALS

Decals are pretty expensive in ACE Hardware, and I saw they were also expensive online. But I found cute ones from Saizen! I bought two packs from Saizen, inside True Value, 1st floor Trinoma. Each was Php 88.00. I wasn't able to take a good picture but my before photos captured it: 

These were put on my closet doors. For the decals I wanted to put on my walls, I had to buy sticker papers from National Bookstore (Php 31.75) and drew the design I wanted then cut them out. I wasn't able to document the process since it was quite messy, but I just copied the design I found on the net, then cut with scissors/cutter. I also put decals on my mirror to make it prettier~ The name on my door had to be colored in by a black gel pen.

BLINDS

I had to change my baby blue blinds to the ones below. I had to have them custom made because ACE Hardware, LG, SM North Edsa Annex didn't have blinds the size I needed. The Vanilla colored Aluminum Blinds cost me Php 1120.00.

Misc.

I had to buy fabric for the covering of my TV and my aircon. My room tends to accumulate dust easily, and I don't know why. So I went to Fabric Warehouse and bought 3 yards of fabric in what seems to be an ivory color, for Php 30.00 each yard. 

I didn't have to buy things for the planned covering for my window (the one above my aircon). The Saizen decals had cardboard with them so I used that, covered it with white crepe paper, then painted on my Canson watercolor pad, ripped out the pages, and taped them onto the board. Then I tied the board to my window using white ribbons I had left from my top hat days. I also made tiny multicolored ombre butterflies to cover the space beside my aircon.

 

FINISHED PRODUCT

This is the decal I've put on the door going to my room. My name was made by etching on sticker paper, while the butterflies and crown came from the Saizen decals.

 >>>

I was able to clear out a lot of things in my room. I removed my headboard, which was space consuming, and moved the book case to the right side of my room. The pillow cases of my hotdog and body pillows still weren't compatible with the color palette I was going for, so I'll aim to rectify that when I manage to save up.

These were what I made using the sticker paper from National Bookstore. It's not too obvious because the walls are light too but I'm satisfied with the outcome.

Yes, I had to remove my Frozen wallpaper. The blue out of place small hotdog pillows that my dad won from a golf tournament were used as fillers. There are spaces between the bed and the wall and I had the habit of hitting the wall while I turned in my sleep, or dangling my arm in the empty space. Now, it's nice and comfy to sleep.

 >>>

I moved the bookcase to the foot of my bed so as to save space. I put the TV, DVD player, Digibox atop my bookshelf so it's easier for me to watch, and so as to conserve space. 

Goodbye dirty windows, hello new blinds and watercolor window covers~

I threw out some of my shoes, and fixed the top of my dresser. I chose only a select few of the decals from Saizen, and put them on the doors. They tended to droop down though so some of them I had to attach with double sided tape.

 And so, that concludes my revamp! Yes, it was detailed but it was made so for the benefit of those interested in room revamps (*ehem*Ella*ehem*). Hopefully the details helped.

Overall, I feel pretty happy with my room~ I like watching TV there now but it's still pretty warm in there during the afternoons. At least I can watch my downloaded movies on my TV at night.

(Now I can Harry Potter or LOTR marathon in my room.)

Bra Adventures (pt. 2)

We were in SM North, Annex building, buying blinds for my room (as part of my room makeover, which I will post about when it's done) when my mom wanted to go look around. We saw F&F, a brand that my aunt says she likes. So we decided to check it out and I love it.

The price range is similar to Mango but somewhat cheaper, and they have a bigger size range. They carry sizes in tops, pants, and dresses around 42-46, which would definitely fit me since I'm usually a 42 (depending on the style). And honestly, considering the quality of their things, I would probably consider them reasonably priced.

Anyway, what I absolutely love about their shop is that they have the cutest lingerie collection and they cater to my size! I made a post consisting of my bra haul from 2 branches of La Senza, and this time I'll be talking about the haul from F&F.

This would be the first time I'll be trying their underwear. Their sizes are European, and mine is 85C, which is said to translate to a 38C, or a US size 38B. It's consistent with the sizes I have in La Senza, except most La Senza bras require me to buy bra extenders so the band would fit right. Here, their bras really do fit! Their bands are more stretchy, and their wires don't dig in as much as the La Senza ones. 

These are some of the things they have! And I absolutely WANTED THEM ALL. I might return to get the black with gold lace (not seen clearly in the picture) and a white with black lace one when I get the money.

I got the following below:

The upper left one is one of their new arrivals, and was regularly priced at Php 995.00. The design is gorgeous and the band is mostly lace. 

The lower left one was on sale from Php 725.00 it became Php 217.50! The cup's wonky though, but since it's cheap, I still got it!

The ones on the right were a set of tshirt bras, and the two of them cost all in all Php 1250.00 so 625 each. The lace is also gorgeous and cute, and you can clip the straps at the back together to have a racerback. 

Hopefully they would last me long, and hopefully I get to grab more of these cuties, along with cute undies!

Bra adventures: Finding the right bra size

I know, this isn't about makeup. But honestly, I wanted to share this, and perhaps may extend my posts about clothes, and not just makeup.

And right now, I want to share my adventures in finding the right bra for a plus size woman.

I'm pretty sure every woman is frustrated when she wears bras that are ill-fitting. It's just so painful to wear bras with too tight bands or too small cups. I'd know.

I'm a really chubby girl and I am aware and I don't hate that fact! What I DO hate is hunting for cute clothes in my size, and bras are definitely included in the list of things difficult to find for chubby girls. (And plus size stuff in dept stores in the Philippines? Usually expensive and not cute. And really really expensive.)

I started wearing bras when I was in third grade because of the fat. Then I stopped and started again around fifth grade. By the time I was in high school, I was wearing a 36 band size. I think I was a cup B at second year? And college I've been a 38B, transitioning to a 38C when I felt too uncomfortable with how small my bras felt.

And my bras still felt uncomfortable despite the upping of cup size and my Hanes bras definitely felt bad, and all my underwire bras felt horrible. I absolutely loathed underwire bras because they never feel right and never fit right.

So I decided to try the bra size calculator my friend Ella recommended! And it did help me detect the size I needed.

(I honestly dunno if it'll be helpful for anyone out there if I give out the measurements, but anyway:
the five measurements I got are these:)

After calculating my sizes, I thought that I was probably doomed to not ever find a bra my size because in the Philippines, there's barely any store that carries extended sizes. My friend Ella told me that she had to play with the band and cup size in order to find her size, so I kept in mind that I should do that while hunting for bras. So I decided to look around in Landmark, Trinoma one day to see if there are sizes available for me in Wacoal and Triumph.

I asked if they had extended sizes but they admitted they don't carry anything bigger than D, and even the D's were very scarce. So I tried just testing out the D's and C's since I'm pretty sure E's and F's are too big for my boobs. 

In Wacoal, they gave me a 42C wireless bra (which I had in 38C and felt okay enough to be worn everyday) and it did fit well! Except I really didn't feel like spending around Php 1400.00 for an ordinary t-shirt bra. So I looked at Triumph. They didn't have 42 band sizes so the saleslady asked me to try a 40 band size, supposedly in D but they let me try the C. It didn't fit. My boobs felt weird in them.

And, scrunching my nose, I decided to head to La Senza. I knew they were pretty expensive.

BUT!

I saw the "BUY ONE GET ONE" sign and immediately rushed in. I asked if they had extended sizes and deflated when they said the biggest band size they had was a 38. The saleslady said, "Oh but ma'am, don't worry! Our sizes are actually pretty big. You can buy an extender if there's a problem with band size, but with regard to cups, the cups are big!" then she dug through their cabinets and showed me a 38C and 38D. "Here, ma'am!"

And they were big! And, thanking her, I tried them on and THANK GOD! I fit in a 38C in La Senza, despite my initial belief that bra sizes were constant. I had a 38C underwire Wacoal (convertible to strapless) I had felt horrible so initially I tried the 38D from La Senza but it felt too big. And the 38C felt comfy! My boobs are there! They don't feel squished, and they feel properly supported!

Despite it being really pricey (2 for Php 2195.00), I bought the bras (if you look at the compilation of the 5 bras, the upper right and the middle were the ones I bought). I loved how cute the grey and pink lace bra looked, and I desperately needed a nude convertible-to-strapless-bra so they were the ones I got.

And afterwards, I decided to buy bras from La Senza again since I planned on disposing my ill-fitting bras. So I went to Atrium, hoping there was a sale, and, thankfully, there was one in the Megamall branch! Php 495.00 EACH BRA!!!!

 

True, the styles they had were the sexy lacy ones but I desperately needed well-fitting bras! I got the other 3 in the picture below. 2 of them felt too tight in the band so I bought bra extenders (3 for Php 495.00) 

Right now I'm pretty happy to find really good bras in my size, and I was able to dispose my ill-fitting bras this evening.

I hope all girls out there find the right bra in the right size! And if you're here in Metro Manila and you have enough money, I recommend you go to La Senza, Megamall Atrium ;) Hopefully the sale is there till Easter Sunday!

Makeup Adventures (+1 Hair Adventure) May to June '14

Early June, I gave away some of my stuff to my friends (Ella, Niece, and Loxley) and the contents of my makeup empire significantly trimmed down. I had a lot of stuff in my makeup case that weren't being used since I already set the products that I'll be using for my makeup routine, so I thought "Sayang" so instead of letting the products just sit there, I gave it to them :D

So my empire was halved but there were a few additions to it.

Ellana Lip & Cheek Creme: Illusion (Deep Peach)

Ella gave me this during one of our tambays/reunions! And it's so gorgeous <3 (Love you Ella dear thank you!) 

Location

 Ellana can be found in The Ramp Crossings in Trinoma ground floor.

Price

I'm unsure of the price since it was given to me as a belated gift but I'm sure the price is available in their website :) 

Packaging + Applicator

The packaging is simple and pretty, with a small mirror, but no applicator.

Shade and Pigmentation 

The color's a peachy salmon shade, and it's highly pigmented. The formula is very creamy (naturally since it's a lip cream) and very easy to blend on the cheeks when applied. When applied on the lips, it's a bit light and takes a few layers to get it really bright.

Wearing Time

I wore it as a blush and it faded around 3 hours into wearing it but it's still there. By the time I check at 5 to 6 hours, it's gone already.

KATE Slim Gel Pencil in Black

Location

KATE is available in [Kanebo stalls] most SM Department Stores and Watsons outlets, and Landmark.

Price

It costs P720 as the price tag states in the picture, one of my more pricey eyeliners.

Packaging (+Applicator)

The barrel is very slim, and it's short, making it easier to cart around. It would also mean, however, less product. 

(The product is 0.11g, in contrast to the Nyx retractable liner which has 0.31g and available for a much cheaper price.)

Another downside would be the fact that it's an automatic liner. Not retractable. You need to be careful with how much product you twist out.

Wearing Time

The wearing time is not very impressive. Like the Nichido liner, it lasts around 3 hours and by that time, the winged part of the liner has melted a bit and gives me panda eyes, and also the liner on the top of my lid has lightened to a dark grey.

Do not attempt to wipe the liner off! It does not do the trick whenever your liner's melted. It'll only smudge and stay there and not budge. You will need a makeup remover or a wet one to get the liner off properly.

The left is smudging the liner and no matter how much pressure I apply to the smudged part to just wipe it off, it will not budge. The right is after I swiped the cotton ball (that had my Estee Lauder makeup remover) over the line.

Shade and Application

The formula's a bit dry so application would not be smooth.

Since the liner cannot be sharpened and it's already curved the moment you open it, it'll be hard to make thin lines, like so-- 

L'oreal Gentle Cleansing Milk

 I was running out of my Estee Lauder makeup remover (it's now all gone!) so I had to buy a new one. Unfortunately, the Maybelline remover I was looking for wasn't available in the Watsons I went to so I had to settle for this.

Location

L'oreal outlets in SM Dept Stores, Watsons, Landmark.

Price

It costs P399 for 200ml.

Verdict

The product smells very nice and the formula glides on smooth like a typical lotion. After applying on the area you need to erase, wipe with a cotton ball.

The Estee Lauder Gentle Eye Makeup Remover (which I use for my entire face) performs much better than this one in terms of cleaning up makeup. The following photos would show the performance of the lotion.

Applied two shades of eyeshadow from Urban Decay Naked Palette, swiped on some L'oreal True Match foundation on the right, and K-Palette 24 hour liner and Kate liner.

I applied it like one would a lotion and then I swiped off with a cotton ball and the result is on the right! On the top, there's still traces of the black shadow from the UD Naked palette. The KATE liner is very very stubborn so I'm not surprised with the result. There's also a chunk of the L'oreal foundation left. The foundation and liner were fully removed after rubbing vigorously.

The Estee Lauder performs better. The Estee Lauder remover can wipe the KATE liner out after rubbing it off once, and wipe out the UD eyeshadows and foundation easily. 

Now, onto hair adventures!

My parents and I were eating at Coldstone at the 2nd floor of the Main Bldg of SM North Edsa when I spied the Tony Moly store. I finished my ice cream quickly and went to go buy a little something:

I got Tony Moly's Berry Trendy Hair Color Cream in Milky Blonde so that I could touch up my ombre. My ombre darkened a bit after my last hair color at Straight Up Salon so I bought this in hopes it'll lighten back.

The box cost P328 and the directions were on the side. There was also a sort of directions/manual/guide thing inside but it was in Korean D: 

In the box was the formula, which I asked Ate Leah to mix and apply. The dye itself smelled really nice~ 

There were also gloves that Ate Leah was able to use.

And the plastic I can wrap around so the dye won't stain my clothes.

It took some time applying the dye since my hair's a bit dry so Te Leah had a somewhat hard time combing through the strands when the formula was applied. Since there was so much dye (there was still some left after she put a lot on the ombre), I asked her to extend the blonde up a bit. After application, she wrapped my hair with plastic =))) Improvised heating up technique by Ate Leah.

We left it like this for 45 minutes. Te Leah wanted to leave it on longer so it would color more but I was afraid of the damage.

So after 45 minutes, I took the plastic out and went and took a bath, and used the treatment provided inside the box.

End result: (Sorry I look horrible)

There's a slight difference! (Should've taken "before dyeing" pictures but I was so excited I forgot to.) The ombre did lighten up and the areas where she extended the blonde did lighten up!

After I swatched the new products in my collection and dyeing my hair, I couldn't help but experiment. I found a relatively violet lipstick (but it eventually settles to become more pink than violet) and I was filled with the urge to try smokey eyes, a look I've never been able to ever do properly without looking like a panda or a person hit by a right hook.

The camera wasn't able to fully capture how dark the eyemakeup was. The colors always change to make it lighter grey and barely visible but in person, it's actually dark and smokey. 

I was satisfied with the attempt but I think I may have extended the shadow upwards and sidewards too much =)) I was blending and didn't realize I was extending so much. The liner was winged too far and the shadows aren't equal but I couldn't do anything to remedy it. 

(Selfies time~~ my god so vain I'm sorry)

I hope the next attempt at smokey look, I get to actually make the shadows equal. Perhaps make the look darker. And hopefully I get the chance to get a lipstick like MAC's Heroine.

That's all for this summer '14! Gonna be going to school soon so posts will be lacking once more! :))