People think a career in Public Relations is all glitz and glamour and it's not difficult to blame them, what with all the events, product launches, and parties happening left and right. I myself had that misconception before and with good reason, too; as a blogger being invited to these events, I arrive at the venue seeing the PR people looking so posh and smiling, welcoming the attendees and socializing with everyone. Now that I am in the other side of the fence, I realize (and experience!) all the hard work and long hours spent in making sure everything runs smoothly.

Pitching, brain storming, event-coordinating, inviting people from traditional and online media whose target audience matches whatever it is we are launching, down to fixing the press kits - it's a long, arduous, and complicated process.

But you know what? I may complain sometimes about how stressful it is, but really, I actually love what I do. Sometimes, I pause and think about the fact I finally did it and I'm already here after hesitating for more than five years, and I still get blown away.

I look forward to our events (especially those small and intimate ones like our brunch in Sweet Bella today with the organizers and some exhibitors for the Corporate Giveaways Expo) because not only do I get to sit in a room with people who are passionate with what they are doing, I also get to practice my social skills. I am one of the most awkward persons I know and I am terrified of people so being exposed like this actually does me good. It's also fun interacting with the press because had I chosen that path after I graduated, I would probably have been in their side of the fence instead.

Also, I get to meet people who have already established their own names in their respective fields by sheer determination and hard work. I try to take away a little from everyone and use their stories as inspiration.

One thing you can expect from a career in Public Relations? Meetings.

Lots and lots of meetings, usually over good food.

This job is making me fat.

My position also enables me to work with different types of colleagues and clients, provided of course that our objectives are aligned (and that is where the meetings come in). 

I am such a nerd, but brainstorming sessions excite me because it's amazing throwing ideas off to one another, picking one another's brains, and combining and editing all these ideas until we come up with a solid, super awesome, fool-proof plan. That is one of my favorite parts of my job.

And, you know, it feels great to be part of something great.

Did I give justice to this post's title? Probably not, as I know that ten months in, this is just the tip of the iceberg. Looking forward to more and crossing my fingers I can do it. :)

I can lie to myself all I want, but it's true that I have reached the point when I have to start using anti-aging products. Prevention is better than cure, knowing is winning half the battle, blah blah blah, so I just have to suck it in and beef up my skin care routine.

One of the perks of my job is getting access to new releases in the market and last week, I got my hands on the Pure Beauty Pomegranate Antioxidant line by Watsons. I am excited to try this because I really loved the Pure Beauty UV White Sun Protection Compact I got two years ago. Too bad that when I hit the pan and tried to replenish my stash, I couldn't find it anywhere anymore! I hope that won't be the case for this new line of skin care products when I use them and find that they're actually good for me.

Without further ado, let me present to you Watsons' Pure Beauty Pomegranate Antioxidant line (that's quite a mouthful, huh?):

Pure Beauty Pomegranate Antioxidant Exfoliating Gel, 2-in-1 Foam Cleanser, Toner, Serum, and Night Cream

Everyone everywhere has labored to find the elusive Fountain of Youth, and many have remained unsuccessful, until now. In their quest for that healthy vibrant look, Watsons, a leading retailer of cosmetics and related beauty solutions, recognizes the need for an answer to skin aging. Pomegranate Antioxidant, the newest addition to Pure Beauty, draws on the power of science and nature to halt the process right in its tracks. Dermatologically tested, the Pomegranate Antioxidant range suits all skin types, conveying youthful radiance with every bottle.

This line boasts of its "hero" ingredients Radicare (powerful antioxidant from Switzerland that delivers antioxidation and anti-ageing properties by neutralizing and preventing free radicals), Pomegranate (powerful antioxidant from South Korea that has collagen reserves that reduce wrinkles, make skin supple, and enable skin to soak up essential moisturizers and help skin to retain moisture), and natural EcoCert ingredients sourced globally like organic Hamamelis water, organic apricot kernel oil, organic sunflower oil, and organic lemon balm water. It also has Bulgarian rose water that has an uplifting scent, gently cleanses and tones for all skin types, and provides calming effect in acne and sunburns.

Everyone's familiar with the three basic steps of skin care which are Cleanse, Tone, and Moisturize. Here are the products from the Pure Beauty Pomegranate Antioxidant line that you can use for each step:

Step 1 - CLEANSE
Pomegranate Antioxidant 2-in-1 Foam Cleanser
SRP: P249
It functions as a cleanser and a quick mask; it removes pore-clogging impurities and detoxifies irritants while purifying and nourishing your skin.

As a daily cleanser: Day and night, apply a small amount to face with wet fingertips, gently massage using circular movement, then rinse off thoroughly with warm water.
As a purifying mask: Apply a thin layer evenly over entire face (avoid lip and eye area), wait for 5 minutes and rinse off thoroughly with warm water. Use 2-3 times a week.

Pomegranate Antioxidant Exfoliating Gel
SRP: P489
It provides skin exfoliation with visible brightening effects. Its unique formulation provides powerful yet sensitive and gentle exfoliation that smoothens, revives, and brightens the skin without drying it out.

Use appropriate amount and carefully massage onto the face to remove dead skin cells. Rinse off with warm water thoroughly. Use 1-2 times a week.

Step 2 - TONE
Pomegranate Antioxidant Toner
SRP: P349
Its unique blend of active natural ingredients provides you with nature’s concentrated powers of renewal to brighten and tighten your skin, leaving it soft and radiant, day after day.

Use day and night after Pomegranate Antioxidant 2-in-1 Foam Cleanser. Apply a small amount to cotton pad and gently smooth over the entire face.

Step 3 - MOISTURIZE
Pomegranate Antioxidant Serum
SRP: P399
Its concentrated formula stimulates anti-ageing and anti-oxidation effects while simultaneously providing nutritional and brightening effects.

Use day and night on cleansed face after Pomegranate Anti-oxidant Toner. Apply a small amount and massage onto entire face and down to the neck area.

Pomegranate Antioxidant Night Cream
SRP: P399
Its nutrient rich formula activates your skin cells to repair, renew, and recharge as you sleep.

Use night time on cleansed and toned face, after Pomegranate Anti-oxidant Serum. Apply an adequate amount onto entire face and massage gently into skin.

The blurb says this line is ideal for all skin types and best suits young customers striving for healthy and radiant skin and with higher risk of premature aging (for example, people living in big cities with pollution problems or those with stressful jobs). Hmm, looks like something for me, then. ;)

I have started using everything last night and I'm crossing my fingers they don't break me out. I will share my "findings" after a couple of weeks so watch out for that! In the meantime, you can visit Watsons stores or SM Beauty branches to check this line out. Have a great week ahead, everyone, and don't forget to check out my Palette Pursuit giveaway!

(Disclosure: The products have been provided to me for free and Watsons is one of our clients but those facts will not affect my review of this line.)

I always tear up a little every time I finish reading a book, even when it is far from being a tearjerker. Maybe it's from feeling a sense of accomplishment, maybe it's my own little way of saying goodbye to the characters (at least for now), or maybe it's because I know I won't read that book for the first time ever again.

I am such a weird person.


I just finished reading Robin Sloan's Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore and I enjoyed every page of it. Charming and funny, it is a perfect mix of adventure, history, mystery, and modern technology with a dash of fantasy and secret societies and a hint of a love story.

The story is set in San Francisco and begins in - where else? - Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore, which does not have books about "teenage wizards or vampire police. That's a shame, because this is exactly the kind of store that makes you want to buy a book about a teenage wizard. This is the kind of store that makes you want to be a teenage wizard."

The characters are very lovable and it is difficult not to root for them; they each have their own distinct personality and individual voice and Clay Jannon's, the main protagonist who tells the story in first person point-of-view, is very witty. This is the new book I will fester my friends with to add in their to read-list.

Did I mention that it's funny?

“He has the strangest expression on his face- the emotional equivalent of 404 PAGE NOT FOUND.”

“I can’t stop squirming. If fidgets were Wikipedia edits, I would have completely revamped the entry on “guilt” by now, and translated it into six new languages.”

“Why does the typical adventuring group consist of a wizard, a warrior, and a rogue, anyway? It should really be a wizard, a warrior, and a rich guy. Otherwise who's going to pay for all the swords and spells and hotel rooms?”

“Neel takes a sharp breath and I know exactly what it means. It means: I have waited my whole life to walk through a secret passage built into a bookshelf.”

It is also the first work of fiction I read that weds "traditional" books and Kindles seamlessly:

“I did not know people your age still read books,' Penumbra says. He raises an eyebrow. 'I was under the impression they read everything on their mobile phones.'
'Not everyone. There are plenty of people who, you know--people who still like the smell of books.'
'The smell!' Penumbra repeats. 'You know you are finished when people start talking about the smell.' He smiles at that--then something occurs to him, and he narrows his eyes. 'I do not suppose you have a...Kindle?'
Uh-oh. It feels like it's the principal asking me if I have weed in my backpack. But in a friendly way, like maybe he wants to share it. As it happens, I do have my Kindle. I pull it out of my messenger bag. It's a bit battered with wide scratches across the back and stray pen marks near the bottom of the screen.
Penumbra holds it aloft and frowns. It's blank. I reach up and pinch the corner and it comes to life. He sucks in a sharp breath, and the pale gray rectangle reflects in his bright blue eyes.”

And aside from Google having a prominent role in the book, it also talks about publising, printing, museums, and even touched a bit on blogs and Twitter:

“So I switch to my MacBook and make my rounds: news sites, blogs, tweets. I scroll back to find the conversations that happened without me during the day. When every single piece of media you consume is time-shifted, does that mean it’s actually you that’s time-shifted?”

“The thinnest tendrils of dawn are creeping in from the east. People in New York are softly starting to tweet.”

In Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore, no particular way of reading is better than the other. It doesn't say the "old" method of reading pages of ink and paper is dated in the same way that it doesn't judge the "new" method of reading as turning the other cheek on centuries-old practices in favor of new ones. More than anything, this book just proved again how much I love reading and it doesn't matter if it's a precious hardbound, a beat-up and dog-eared paperback or using my Kindle.

Thank you, Robin Sloan, for reminding me that great adventures can happen even in this day and age. Thank you for telling me about Maximum Happy Imagination, about friendships that are like a nebula, and that you can solve any mystery handed to you so long as you are resourceful enough. Thank you for teaching me that  there is always more than meets the eye and that "there is no immortality that is not built on friendship and work done with care. All the secrets in the world are hiding in plain sight. It's not easy to imagine the year 3012 but that doesn't mean you shouldn't try. Your life must be an open city, with all sorts of ways to wander in."

"A scrap of familiar grace in this lonely place."

This book will stay with me for a long time. Someday, I will have my own bookstore, and it is going to be wonderful.

Ohai, this week almost killed me because of too much coughing and wheezing. But it's the weekend now and I'm still alive and I got to sleep in, so let's talk about more fun things, shall we?

You know I'll always have a special spot in my heart for handmade pieces. As I said on a previous post, they "have an inherent charm that cannot be replicated by mass-produced and factory-made products." My heart gives a little squeal of delight every time I see a crafted piece, no kidding, and I am a proud supporter of shops that sell everything handmade. That being said, I need to find time to finally do at least one DIY project in my To Do board in Pinterest.

About a month ago, Lorraine of Palette Pursuit sent me a lovely email telling me about how she decided to take a leap of faith to pursue what she really wants to do: craft! It resonates with me because I did the same almost a year ago and I never looked back.

She sent me these lovely pieces to wear:

... and I had a grand time pairing them with some of my summer-y outfits!

Aside from being unique and one-of-a-kind, I love them because each of them is handmade with love and TLC. I adore the color combinations and, depending on what I wear them with, they either complement or give interesting contrast to my outfits.

The name itself is very promising so I'm excited to see what else Palette Pursuit has in store for us. Visit the shop now as Lorraine is offering 15% off all purchases until June 16!

Here comes the fun part, a giveaway!

One lucky reader will win this:

The box contains these:

Check out this Rafflecopter widget to join:

Please note that this giveaway is only open to those residing in the Philippines. I will draw the winner on July 1. Don't forget to leave your email address with your comment so that I can contact you after on how I can ship you your prize!

As Lorraine said, there are only two seasons in the Philippines: hot and hotter! So even when it has already started raining now, you can still take these accessories out for a spin and easily brighten your and other people's day. :)

A couple of posts ago I told you about how one of my closest and oldest friends is leaving the country to work abroad. As a mini send-off party, my friends and I booked a room at La Breza Hotel after recommendations from other friends.

Well, I guess we had less luck as we received a less-than-stellar treatment when we stayed there the weekend after last but I don't want to spend energy telling you how much their service sucked. I don't want to bitch about how we needed to have the mini fridge replaced because the one in our room was not working. I don't want to grumble about how the vouchers for the extra people we paid for were not given at the onset and we still had to ask for it numerous times before they were handed to us. I am not even going to complain about how they wanted to charge us additional fees even after we have confirmed again and again that we didn't have to pay extra. Yes I know that it is not a five-star hotel, but being in the hospitality industry they should have been more accommodating. Nevertheless I am not going to whine about all of these. I'm just glad that my friends all know how to make the most out of even the, well, suckiest situations.
















So many memories, laughter, and stories from that weekend along with everything our group has experienced since we were kids. So many changes and transitions happening, but I have faith that we'll stay friends 'til we're old and gray. I know two years will just pass by in a flash, and before we know it Dianne will be back. I am just trying to stay optimistic about this because I will miss her so much. As I type, she is on her way to the airport, and I know that I could go on and on about how I am going to miss her, but it will never compare to what she's feeling right now because she will leave her daughter Kaylee behind.

Niel and I went to their house last night, and I made sure my hug for her as I said goodbye is worth at least two years.


Dear Dianne, Saturdays will never be the same without you, but take your time coming home. We love you and we will be here when you come back!

♥（ﾉ´∀`）

BU5 came and went, and it is probably my favorite yet!

I am a little sad though because I wasn't able to go around and take photos with people as I was too busy manning my booth. Great news for my wallet, though.

I brought one big box and five big bags of clothes in the morning and went home with only one box and two bags of clothes left. Big thanks to everyone who visited my booth and bought something!

I didn't have a rack but Kira's helper was kind enough to let me hang some clothes in theirs. And because I didn't have anyone to help me set up, I just put most of the clothes on the floor and on the table! I found though that I sold more from the piles on the floor and table than on the rack. I should prolly display all clothes that way next time ha ha.


Most of the clothes I sold are from my boss Celine Gabriel-Lim and her friends, and they're all branded stuff at ridiculously low prices! It took a LOT of effort on my part not to hoard everything because they're all so pretty and inexpensive! Zara, Ann Taylor, United Colors of Benetton blazers at P300? Zara and Mango tops and dresses at P50 to P100? I almost didn't want to hand them to the people who bought them. In the end I went home with a skirt, a top, and a dress at P150 each, a dress for P300, and a scarf for P50. Not bad. Congratulations, self. :)

This girl bought this embellished Bershka bolero for P200 ONLY.

This gray Calvin Klein suit has a matching skirt, and the set was being sold for P350 ONLY.

After someone bought the Calvin Klein suit and skirt set, my friend Ed said I had such a pained expression on my face ha ha. I am such an emoticon, I should learn how to control my face.

When the gates to Function Room 3 opened, a rush of people came to my booth and I panicked a bit a lot because I am not used at multi-tasking in bazaars: answering price inquiries, wrapping stuff, and counting people's change, that I made a little cry for help. Nio came to the rescue!

Big thanks to Alex for letting me borrow Nio! He's an angel!

My friends Ed and Myk also dropped by and made my jaws hurt because of laughing too much!

Ed: This vest was worn by Pocahontas in the movie Pocahontas.
Myk: This top was worn by Dayanara Torres in the movie Basta't Kasama Kita.
Ed: This dress was worn by Rihanna at the Grammy's! Backstage!
Myk: This pair of heels was supposed to be the heels used in The Devil Wears Prada's movie poster!

So hilarious, my friends are.

My friend Michelle also came! Thanks, Mich!

My Sigaw sister Luci with her sister Jacq and cousin Mary Rose. Thank you for being super supportive all the time!

Pretty Anne. She has always visited my booth since BU3! Thank you!

Another shout-out to Alex for manning my booth while my friends and I went out for lunch. :)

Super late 3PM lunch at Tokyo Tokyo

One of my favorite people I met in the internets, Job. Thank you for the bracelet! I really appreciate it, and I am wearing it now as I type this entry! :)

Nifty tank top personalized by Rejj. Thank you so much!!! I feel bad we don't have a photo together :(

I stayed only until 5PM as I was already feeling pretty beat up and I didn't want to spread any more germs.  I feel like I missed a lot of people *sad* I will definitely load up on vitamins on the days leading up to the next BU so that this won't happen again!

Caught up with Paul for a snappie before we left SMX

Alex drove me, Mich, and Nio to Anne's so we can fetch her and have sinful kansi at Pat-Pat's! A perfect ending to a perfect day if only I wasn't sick.

Neeenja pullover - Herro hachi | Skirt - Freeway | Heels - PILL Thanks Paul for the photo!

HUGE thanks again to everyone who came and congratulations to the Bloggers United team especially its organizers Ana and Aisa for another successful BU bazaar! 'Til next!

For my other entries about the previous Bloggers United Bazaars, please click here. ;)