October kikay adventures

my attempt to squeeze in a little time for myself during a particularly challenging month at work:

love my new haircut!

i got a new haircut earlier this month at azta urban salon, katipunan. the salon reminds me of a trendy college apartment, with orange, dark blue, and beech as a color palette. prices are student friendly too, as the salon gives a 20% discount on all services if you present your student id.

i’m not hair-savvy at all, so i really appreciated how the stylist, mody, both listened to what i wanted and knew which cuts would suit the shape of my face. basically, i told him what i wanted was a cut that had a different shape from my old one but was still short and manageable. i loved how my new cut turned out–it’s a bob that’s longer in front and tapers towards the back. i actually think it’s kinda hip, for lack of a better description.

mody suggested that i have my hair relaxed, since it would be hard to maintain its shape outside the salon. i had that done the following week. now my hair is much more manageable, and retains its shape with minimal styling. i’m pretty satisfied with the results, although since relaxed hair tends to be dryer and more brittle, it needs maintenance with more extensive conditioning and a regular hair mask.

make-up shopping at the face shop

walking inside one of the face shop’s boutiques is refreshing–the interiors are all white and clean and simple. their makeup is the same way, clean and no-fuss. last week i got a baked eyeshadow trio consisting of two shades of pink and a light yellow. baking the eyeshadow makes for long lasting wearability. mine lasted from 7am until i washed it off at 12am on a duty night. i also got a shimmery light orange lip gloss. i love the simplicity and minimalism of the packaging, too.

am without a camera at the moment, photos to follow

Flickr meme

Got this off 24fps‘ livejournal. Really fun

photo mosaic

1. Gwen Stefani, 2. linguine pesto, 3. A light atop a hill, 4. llibreria – bookstore – Amsterdam – HDR, 5. McDreamy in scrubs, 6. EAT! Vancouver 2005 – Food and Resturant Show at BC Place, 7. Entering Hyperspace, 8. coffee and chocolate mousse cake, 9. perfect?, 10. Love XOXO, 11. when did you leave heaven ?, 12. Glacer Masque

Make your own:

The concept:
a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste the html into your blog or Flickr stream. Or use the Mosaic Maker at fd’s Flickr Toys.

The Questions:
1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What high school did you go to?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. Favorite drink?
7. Dream vacation?
8. Favorite dessert?
9. What you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. One Word to describe you.
12. Look up your Flickr name and see what pops up.

Booklist!

My version of the book review, one on a book that i’m currently reading, and two on my all-time favorite books.

Current read

Right now i’m halfway through A Year in High Heels by Camilla Morton. It’s really a book on everything—a collection of interesting vignettes on fashion, music, literature, and pop culture. There’s a chapter for each month of the year, and each month features a book review, a muse of the month (a short bio on a woman who rocked the world), and a shoe of the month (to boost your fashion IQ!). Camilla also offers advice on everything from how to write a proper thank you note to how to buy a house to how to be A-list for the Oscars.

Vogue calls this book “The must-have guide to year-round fabulousness,” so read it if you want to be fabulous, or already are.

Favorite reads

Anything i’ve read more than once earns a spot in this category, and in recent years, there have only been two. Lots of books have served as good entertainment, but these are my comfort reads, the ones i pick up when i need to feel good, or be inspired:

Stardust by Neil Gaiman

I love this book because it’s like a fairytale, but for grownups, or for those who should but aren’t quite ready to grow up yet. Stardust is set in the 1800s in the tiny village of Wall, so named because of the wall at the edge of the town which separates it from a whole other world, a world of magic and strangeness. No one is allowed to pass through the wall, except once in nine years, when people from the other side come to sell strange and exotic goods at the village fair.

Stardust tells the story of Tristran Thorn, son of a farmer and a mother whom he never met, who left him on his father’s doorstep shortly after he was born. Tristran is in love with Victoria, who of course happens to the prettiest girl in the village. To win her heart, he promises to bring her back the falling star they both saw fall on the other side of the wall.

So Tristran goes on this reckless journey on the other side of the wall, and in the process, he finds out that what he thinks he wants isn’t what he really wants.

Stardust is a coming of age story, a story of a boy who discovers that he’s more than a farmer’s son and that he’s destined for more than just the prettiest girl in town. Read it if you’re a hopeless romantic, shamelessly, like i am Or if you want to try out one of Gaiman’s lighter novels.

The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis

This is the third of seven books in the Chronicles of Narnia series, the author’s only works written for children. Coincidentally (or not), this is another coming of age story. It’s about Shasta, a fisherman’s son, and Bree, his talking horse, who both run away to escape a life of slavery. On the way, they meet Aravis, a rich girl, also running away to escape an arranged marriage. In the end, a scared boy discovers that he’s meant for greatness, but not before he learns courage and how to take responsibility for himself and for those around him. A spoiled brat learns to think of people other than herself.

Read it if…you’re just about anyone. I’d actually recommend the whole Chronicles of Narnia series to anyone. It’s classic, imaginative storytelling.

My favorite frozen yogurt place

In my book, hectic days at work deserve sweet rewards. That’s why i’m in love with Yohgürt-Froz, this little frozen yogurt store along Tomas Morato, Quezon City.

Yoh-gurt Froz logo

Yohgürt-Froz started by selling soft-serve frozen yogurt without the tang, which you could flavor with different fresh fruits or sweet choices like cookie bits or Oishi Pillows. Fruit (snack bits) and yogurt then go into this machine that blends them together, and what comes out is flavored frozen yogurt that’s like ice cream, except that it has a more natural, fresh taste. Plus, it’s healthy.

Recently, Yohgürt-Froz came up with Fro-Yo, which is tangy frozen yogurt which you can top with fruits, nuts, chocolate, or whatever they have on the toppings bar. I was reluctant to try their new product at first. Shops selling this kind of frozen yogurt have been sprouting up all over the city, and I hadn’t been impressed with any of them so far. My previous experience with tangy frozen yogurt was tangy = sour = icky.

Yesterday after work, i invited my sister to Yohgürt-Froz. She’s a huge fan of tangy frozen yogurt, so she ordered Fro-Yo topped with strawberries and blueberries, while i had non-tangy mango frozen yogurt, which is one of my favorites on the menu. Whenever we go out, my sister and i make sure to try each other’s food, so i had a spoonful of her Fro-Yo. Right then, my skepticism flew out the door, because Yohgürt-Froz’s Fro-Yo was del-i-cious. It was creamy, with just the right amount of tang to balance out the creaminess, but not so much that you could call it sour. So then i had several spoofuls of Fro-Yo, until my sister got mad because i was finishing her dessert. So i had to stop and concentrate on my own frozen yogurt.

The fruit toppings were okay, although not great. The strawberries were succulent and mildly sweet, pairing well with the creamy-tangy frozen yogurt. The blueberries were served frozen and turned out to be really watery when you bit into them, so i wouldn’t order those again. But for me, the real star of the show was the frozen yogurt itself, which totally made me look at tangy frozen yogurt in a new, positive light.

Fro-Yo tangy frozen yogurt topped with strawberries and blueberries

mango frozen yogurt

So it seems i may have a new favorite frozen yogurt at my favorite frozen yogurt store. I still love my old favorites, non-tangy yogurt blended with cheese and mango. But Yohgürt-Froz’s version of tangy frozen yogurt is definitely worth trying a second time.

lovely girls enjoying lovely desserts

Kikay kit

What’s great about my kikay kit is that it’s small enough to cram into my already overloaded handbag but just the right size to house everything i need. I use most of the things in my kit on a daily basis, so no storage space is wasted.

my kikay kit

1. Oil control sheets. Can’t live without these. I use only clean and clear or gatsby, since the wax paper brands infused with tea tree oil don’t work for me.

2. Revlon eyelash curler. My groupmate, who’s also kikay, gave me this lash curler for christmas, and it’s been one of my favorite items in my kikay kit ever since. It gives a good reliable curl, so i have prettily framed eyes with or without mascara.

3. Gatsby styling wax sachet. Quick fix for a bad hair day, especially for strands of baby hair that stand at the top of your head.

4. Comb. Of course.

5. Covergirl eyeslicks in shimmering pebble. These eyeshadows in pencil form are really easy to apply. Just swish them on, blend a little bit, and you’re all set. Shimmering pebble is a light brown, barely there shade that’s great for highlighting the eyes.

6. Estee Lauder lash XL maximum length mascara. I’ve been applying mascara ever since i read that it brightens the eyes (read for yourself). Contrary to its name, this brand of mascara doesn’t really give maximum length lashes, but rather a more subtle effect. Which is okay with me, since i don’t like wearing anything flashy at work.

7. Eyebrow tweezer. Because nobody likes messy brows.

8. Maybelline cover stick in light beige. This is a cream-based concealer that’s great for dark spots. The downside is that it hasn’t been available in stores in manila for a while. Which is weird, because it’s available at the maybelline webpage.

9. Maybelline perfect concealer in medium beige. This is a liquid concealer. I’ve found that the darker shade works better for hiding zits.

10. Maybelline clear smooth aqua gel foundation in natural. I love this foundation. it goes on super smooth, controls oil and shine, and feels like i’m not wearing makeup at all.

11. Estee Lauder brush. For applying blush, which is the only thing in my kit that’s in powder form.

12. Covergirl blush duet in mink/auburn and vision/auburn. For rosy cheeks. (I actually only use the first shade, since the second one is more of an orange-y shade.) Plus, the powder smells like cinnamon

13. The face shop color-full lip palette 02. This lip gloss quad comes in a cute floral-printed compact (not shown here). I don’t use these glosses as much as i used to, but i still keep the compact in my kit because it doubles as a really handy mirror.

14. Nivea lip care in strawberry kiss. I love how this lip gloss moisturizes and protects my lips while giving them a hint of strawberry red.

15. Philosophy make a wish lip shine in sugar plum. This lip gloss has a yummy sweet scent. It has a super shiny effect, so i use it on days when i especially want to feel like a girl.

16. Clinique colour surge impossibly glossy in camisole. This is the newest addition to my kikay kit. It’s a lighter shade of lip gloss that i haven’t used much yet, but it’s in my kit in case i feel like trying something different.

So that’s what’s in my kikay kit. Because just because i work 34 hours straight, doesn’t mean i can’t look good at the end of the day

“For attractive lips, speak words of kindness.
For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people.
For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry.
For beautiful hair, let a child run his fingers through it once a day.
For poise, walk with the knowledge you’ll never walk alone.”

~Sam Levenson, American author and humorist (1911-1980)