Today I wasn't able to go to work because I was sick. I didn't go to the doctor but I was feeling flu-like symptoms and was too weak. I also couldn't stay awake for more than two hours without feeling woozy. This might have been avoided had I stayed home last Saturday but I couldn't. I don't like it when people flake on me, especially at the last minute, so I hate doing it to others myself.

Anyway, the point is I haven't been around much lately because I've been drowning in work responsibilities (even more so these days) but it's okay because I love what I do and I can't imagine myself doing anything else.

I'll be spending my fourth year with my company in August. In the grand scheme of things that is but a speck, but ohmygoodness it blows my mind how much I have learned and experienced, how many people I have met and talked to, and how many emails and text messages I have sent out already, among others.

Althea Korea turns 1!

Guess who's turning one.

Althea Korea is!

For those who don't know about it yet, Althea Korea is a popular beauty shopping site that ships internationally from Korea to Malaysia and Singapore and now, to the Philippines! They offer comprehensive authentic Korean makeup and skincare selections at the guaranteed best price and unconditional returns. What's more, for a minimum order of P1,500 you can already enjoy free shipping direct to your doorstep! No need to worry about additional taxes nor customs fees! I got to try shopping from them when they first launched here and it was nothing short of wonderful.

Now that they're celebrating their first birthday, it is us shoppers who are gifted with awesome surprises!

Krissyfied Makes: Resin Jewelry

I've already said this before but it's worth mentioning now: I am happiest when I make. Weaving words is still my favorite medium of self-expression, but no matter what I'm making – prose or poetry or crafts – I'm always in the zone when I'm making something out of nothing. I have an incessant need to start new hobbies and I've already lost count of how much money I've spent on workshops and materials. There was accessory-making, there was calligraphy, there was watercolor, there was gardening, there was yoga, and there was even a time I bought more than three dozen rubber stamps for stamp-making. Those three dozen rubber stamps now lie in a box somewhere in my room, unused and un-carved. 

I have a problem but I just can't stop. My current obsession: resin jewelry.

I've been reading up on it for a while now (check out this tutorial) but I haven't been able to get the chance to do it. When my boyfriend was at Deovir in SM Megamall the other day, I asked if he could kindly pretty please get the materials we need for casting resin and he gladly obliged. 

I was supposed to get the Castin' Craft EasyCast Clear Casting Epoxy and Castin' Craft mold from Amazon but it's a good thing we chanced upon them in one of our Deovir runs before. Note: Always check your local craft stores first because you never know what treasures you'll discover! We got the plastic measuring cup from Mercury Drug, while the glitters and colored sand are from National Bookstore.

I am so excited to meet Lucky Blue Smith!

When I first learned about Lucky Blue Smith going here in Manila for Penshoppe, I broke into a silly grin that I couldn't wipe off my face long after the meeting ended. Yes, you read it right! He'll be here in Manila and I am one of the lucky few (heh) who will welcome him at the airport when he arrives on July 29, heehee.

To think I didn't even have an idea who he was when Penshoppe first launched him as one of their brand ambassadors early this year. But with those baby blue eyes? I was caught hook, line, and sinker.

Loveless. Childless. Clueless.

It's past midnight on a Sunday. I should be getting some sleep and recharging for the coming week [that looks like it's going to be long and tiring] but instead I'm here, drowning in a pool of my own tears and trying to make sense with the words I'm typing.

I blame Miren B. Flores.

I've been wanting to get myself a copy of her Loveless. Childless. Clueless. but it wasn't available at the recent April Feels' Day. Now I am on a self-imposed book-buying ban [that will supposedly be lifted once I finish everything in my to-read pile but who am I kidding] but I saw the ebook on Amazon and one thing led to 1-Click and before I knew it...

Standing amidst the wreckage of a fifteen-year relationship, Anna finds herself single, unmarried, childless and, at the rickety age of thirty-five, trying desperately to pick up the pieces. 

There’s a lot of crying and punching, a trip or two, and a list of things to do and be to get her self back. There’s the heady scent of a (possible) spankin’ new man sparring with the memory of the boy who first captured her heart—and may have stomped all over it. 

But what would she know? After all, here she is—loveless, childless, and totally, utterly clueless.

And now it feels like someone ripped my rib-cage apart, took my heart out, and squeezed all the life and breath out of it, and I am left a whimpering adult who couldn't even muster enough discipline to follow through a self-imposed book-buying ban.

Review: Infallible 10HR Lipstick by L'Oréal Makeup

They say nothing lasts forever. But I'm not asking for forever, just something that will last the whole day, or at least until after the event is over.

I work in PR and it's important that I look presentable especially during events, but I don't have the luxury to look in the mirror and retouch all the time. The best I can do is have faith that my makeup will last through pleasantries and conversations with our guests, quick bites and sips here and there, and air kisses. The next important thing I have to consider is budget. It's easy to find long-lasting makeup if you have the money for it, but for someone like me who has a lot of other things to prioritize when it comes to finances, affordable makeup is heaven-sent.

L'Oréal Makeup Designer/Paris heard my woes and released Infallible, a full makeup range that promises to fight makeup meltdown. They generously sent me products from the line to try, but because I am such a lipstick junkie I am sharing my thoughts on the Infallible 10HR Lipsticks first.

Bid adieu to fading and flaking and welcome sophisticated, high-impact color that lasts all day with the new INFALLIBLE 10HR LIPSTICK, the #NEVERFAIL lip color from L'Oréal Makeup Designer/Paris that stays fresh and vibrant for up to 10 hours.

The Infallible 10HR Lipstick is said to end your search for lip color that lasts from morning coffee to evening wine. They sent me five shades from this line, and I'm sharing the swatches here!

Peeking through The Lost Journal of Alejandro Pardo

Weather forecasts said the typhoon has left the Philippine Area of Responsibility, but the sky continued to be relentless and unforgiving today. I was supposed to go out but I stayed home instead.

Not that I'm complaining.

They say you don't have to leave the comforts of your house to visit other places, so long as you have a book with you. And oh boy, what [dark and perilous] places I visited today, thanks to this book.

From the creators of the award-winning graphic novels Trese, Seroks, Tabi Po, and Mikey Recio and The Secret of The Demon Dungeon comes The Lost Journal of Alejandro Pardo: Creatures & Beasts of Philippine Folklore, an imaginative book by Budjette Tan, Kajo Baldisimo, David Hontiveros, Bow Guerrero, and Mervin Malonzo that seeks to divulge the deepest, darkest secrets of Philippine lower mythology.

My Penshoppe Denimlab DIY Bar experience

Hello, weekend! I am so ready for you. (ღ˘⌣˘ღ)

But before I curl up in bed with my pillow and the book I'm currently reading (Blast from Two Pasts by Kristel Villar), I'd like to share what we did last weekend.

I've probably helped organize or gone to more than a couple hundred of events already, but the Penshoppe Denimlab DIY Bar held in Mega Fashion Hall in SM Megamall last weekend is one of my top favorites.

As I've written before, I'm not saying this just because I work with the brand. The Penshoppe Denimlab DIY Bar was a perfect exercise in EQ and creativity and I am SO happy with the outcome.

It's the little things

Guess who got [a haircut and] a new bolster pillow???

I know there's nothing funny nor glamorous about my new pillow, but what if I tell you I also got a pretty candy-colored pinstriped pillowcase for it?

LOL.

I really don't know why I got so excited about it. I mean, it's just a pillow! But apparently I was too happy about it (either I'm PMS-ing or I just had too much sugar from my Gongcha Lemon Wintermelon) that I promptly burst into tears soon after paying for it and showing it off to my boyfriend.

Real flood of tears. Waterworks galore.

And so of course he made fun of me because of it.

But I don't care.

I love my new pillow. (ღ˘⌣˘ღ)

I don't even know if this story makes sense to you, but I just felt it would be nice to read a short anecdote that doesn't attempt to sell you anything. In case you got a hankering for a new bolster pillow though, I can't say I blame you.