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i am krissy

peace, love, & lip gloss

“Nothing you can take from me was ever worth keeping.”

28 May 2020

I used to pride myself in completing 20-30 books per year, which is easy to track thanks to Goodreads Reading Challenge, but as years passed this number kept dwindling. For 2019, I finished a measly seven books. It's not for the lack of reading material as I still One-Click at least one book every or every other week, nor lack of time because working from home afforded me time that would have been spent on transportation. I have no other excuse aside from wasting time scrolling mindlessly and lack of energy to do little else.

I finished The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins in three days. That's a feat these days, considering how I am only able to read on weekends and before bedtime.

It is the morning of the reaping that will kick off the 10th annual Hunger Games. In the Capitol, 18-year-old Coriolanus Snow is preparing for his one shot at glory as a mentor in the Games. The once-mighty house of Snow has fallen on hard times, its fate hanging on the slender chance that Coriolanus will be able to out charm, outwit, and outmaneuver his fellow students to mentor the winning tribute.

The odds are against him. He's been given the humiliating assignment of mentoring the female tribute from District 12, the lowest of the low. Their fates are now completely intertwined - every choice Coriolanus makes could lead to favor or failure, triumph or ruin. Inside the arena, it will be a fight to the death. Outside the arena, Coriolanus starts to feel for his doomed tribute... and must weigh his need to follow the rules against his desire to survive no matter what it takes.

A quick scan on my blog would show I am a huge Hunger Games fan. When the announcement came that Suzanne Collins is releasing a prequel and speculations went wild over whose story we are going to learn more about, I was disappointed to learn that of all the characters fans loved so much, the new book would be about the young life of the tyrant President Coriolanus Snow. In my head, he is a completely evil man and reading any attempt to humanize him or any kind of justification on why he became what he was would turn me off this trilogy completely. Nevertheless I knew I really wanted to read this if only for Suzanne's amazing world-building, and so I continuously refreshed Amazon, waiting for the Kindle version to be available for purchase (since we are not able to go out to go to bookstores anymore). We are familiar with Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay. We have no doubt that Snow rose to power and ruled with an iron fist for many years. It's just amazing to see how he got there.

In this book we are transported to the early days of the Hunger Games, the ultimate and most cruel display of the Capitol's power over all the districts of Panem. War has ended, and to remind Panem that the Capitol is in control, all districts must send a pair of tributes who will battle it out to the death in the arena until one remains. In the first book The Hunger Games, it was explained to us that victors from each district come back as mentors for tributes chosen at the annual reaping. Aside from Haymitch who was the only surviving victor that could help Katniss and Peeta, District 12 produced only one other victor that was not named. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is her story as much as it is Coryo's.

Apparently, the glitzy Hunger Games things like the fancy trains, sponsors, placing bets on tributes, glamorous designers and parades, and a technologically-advanced arena were not always the case. It was very interesting to see how they all came about, and the reasons why they were deemed necessary. Seriously, the level of detail in connecting this book to the original three is outstanding. My mind is blown.

Despite the grim nature of the book (kids forced into killing other kids for the whole country to see), this is actually the most lighthearted and funniest, if we would go by the dialogues and Snow's internal monologue. Make no mistake, though. We see parallels with our present times, like kids in cages, and I wonder if the horrific reality of the dystopian world of Panem is not very far after all. 

In the same vein of the Hunger Games quartet of movies giving us an expanded yet condensed version of the events that transpired in the books, I am very much looking forward to seeing the characters be brought to life in the big screen, and hopefully by then we can come back to the movie theatres again. Please bring Francis Lawrence back to direct.

I have a list of books I would like to read for the first time again, and the Hunger Games trilogy is one of them. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is a great and worthy addition to the lore. If you are a fan of the books, do make sure to read it. I didn't want to spoil any of the other nice surprises for you, but definitely get a copy if you loved the original trilogy and wanted to consume more from the dystopian world of Panem. Now if you haven't read any of the books yet, I would suggest that you also start with the Hunger Games trilogy before picking this up, because it would make seeing the Easter eggs more fun and special, like a nice gift from an old friend you haven't seen in a while.

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Review: In Her Element Butterlips Conditioning Color

21 May 2020

In the last two months and more that I have been home, I only ever stepped out of the gate once - to chase after a vendor selling ripe mangoes. Except for my birthday when I made sure I looked pretty, I haven't applied a full face makeup since we started working from home. Although I use Ellana Loose Powder Foundation and a swipe of lipstick for meetings, filling in my eyebrows and applying blush became things from a not so distant past. I always have lip balm within reach for my chapped lips, though.

I try, but most days I can't muster enough enthusiasm nor energy to swipe on lipstick or even lip gloss. It's not a necessity, but you would think that someone whose blog has had peace, love, and lip gloss as subhead since 2008 could be a little bit more excited about lip color. 

When Liz announced back in March that In Her Element is donating 100% of Butterlips Conditioning Color sales to Philippine General Hospital, it gave me the push I needed to finally try these out. I actually wanted to get all shades but I could barely justify the purchase when I had 200+ lipsticks in my kit. Beauty by Tellie's vlog with swatches helped a lot, and I decided on Mayari and Tala. 

After about a month of waiting since they had to stop operation during the ECQ, they finally arrived.

The Butterlips Conditioning Color (3g) hydrates lips with a juicy wash of luscious color. It’s perfect for those with normal to dry lips. Swipe it on and go!
FULL INGREDIENTS LIST Ozokerite Wax, Lanolin Anhydrous, Cera Alba (Bees Wax), Ricinus Communis (Castor Oil), Diisostearyl Malate, Tocopherol Acetate (Vitamin E), Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa Butter), Hydrogenated Polydecene, Isopropyl Palmitate, Octylmethoxycinnamate, Glycerine, Hydrogenated Polyisobutene, Helianthus Annus (Sunflower) Seed Oil (Sunflower Oil), Ethylhexylglycerin & Phenoxyethanol, Dimethicone / May contain: C.I. 77891, C.I. 15850:1, C.I 77491, C.I. 77499, C.I. 15850, C.I. 19140, C.I. 77492
Swatches of In Her Element Butterlips Conditioning Color in Mayari and Tala

Sold at Php 345 each, the In Her Element Butterlips Conditioning Color comes in three shades: Mayari (clay brown) named after the Filipino folklore goddess of the moon; Tala (berry plum) named after the Filipino folklore goddess of the stars; and Hanan (bright coral) named after the Filipino folklore goddess of morning. I only got Mayari and Tala because those were the colors that jumped at me, and because I didn't think Hanan would suit my skin tone. 

In Her Element Butterlips Conditioning Color in Tala on my lips

The quote "Beautiful things don't ask for attention" from the movie The Secret Life of Walter Mitty came to mind when I saw this shade on me. Tala is a very nice pink that easily brightened up my mood and added a pop of color on my otherwise bare face. 

In Her Element Butterlips Conditioning Color in Mayari

Now Tala is very pretty but Mayari is easily my favorite of the two. Easily. It is such a nice shade of clay brown that is very flattering and I love how it looks natural, but with an added oomph. If I were a cartoon character, this would be my lip color.

How nice it felt to be wearing lip color and walk on sunshine (even just outside the door and inside the gate) once again! How are they on the lips, you ask? Like lip balm, only better! This is Maybelline Baby Lips (that was my makeup kit and every-bag staple) x 100, and baby that is a big deal. It kept my lips soft and hydrated. Chika na sa staying power because I don't mind re-applying. 

So, yes, you could say that I would be needing backups soon. Since these are the only things I have been putting on exclusively lately, I am sure I would use these up in no time. Maybe on my next purchase I would even get Hanan just so I could try it.

I guess my only gripe is the packaging. It's not flimsy, but it's easy to mistake the tube to look dirty because it seems like the color goes all over the place when you put the cap back on. I don't know, maybe try an opaque lipstick cap next time? I like that it looks simple, but it could be a little bordering on clinical already. That's just me and my personal preferences, though. Otherwise, congratulations and great job, Liz and In Her Element team! I am looking forward to more new things from this local powerhouse brand!

Have you used In Her Element Butterlips Conditioning Color before? Which shade is your favorite?

Disclosure: This is not a sponsored post. I bought the lip colors using my own money. 
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Hello!
Alliterations are amusing. Chandeliers, cheesecakes, and charm bracelets make me happy. My blog aims to spread pink, positive thoughts and pretty little things. Send me some love and kisses via mail@krissyfied.com.

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