We are officially on the halfway mark of 2015 and I decided that I should set some goals! I know, weird. But I just think that it’s the perfect time for me to set them since I will be finishing a chapter of my life this year: I’m finally graduating! So, I thought I’d list down 10 specific goals which I must accomplish before the year ends. So here’s a letter (sort of) for my future self along with the goals that I have to accomplish this year.
1.BLOG MORE : You must post at least one entry every week. Put this blog to good use, future self! You know you enjoy writing as much as you love talking so use this as an outlet for rants, fashion posts, reviews, and well, pretty much anything that you feel like writing about.
2. SAY YES TO A HEALTHIER YOU! : That means eating healthy, living healthy and loving yourself. You must improve your health physically, mentally, and emotionally. Be active again. Play sports, do Insanity, practice yoga, and more! Do anything that will be good for you. Learn to say no to the bad stuff no matter how sweet or how cheesy it may be. Get your rockin’ bod back, baby girl! Also, learn how to control your emotions and your temper. Try your best not to over-think too much. Nothing is ever in control. It’s all a matter of perspective.
3. READ 10 BOOKS : I know how much you miss reading books that aren’t filled with Japanese characters. When you’re done with school, grab a novel of your choice and be a hermit! If you read more than 10 books, that’ll be great too!
4. MAKE YOUR PLANS HAPPEN : At least three major plans, please! That business plan that you have been building for years now deserves to be pulled out of your files and placed into action. Don’t be scared to fail. It’s going to be a great experience! And if you feel that it’s too big for tiny you, just think of all the successful people who probably felt the same way but decided not to give up. If they made it, you can definitely make it too!
5. LEARN NEW THINGS : You have to learn at least one new thing every month. Get out of your comfort zone and just go for it. Also, learn more academically, if possible. It would be great if we had more credentials on our resume, future V!
6. TRAVEL, EXPLORE, GO ON ADVENTURES! : It doesn’t have to be something as great as going to the other side of the world (Would be great though!). Just go out and awaken your inner Wanderslut! Go on fun, spontaneous and crazy trips that you will remember forever. (Document everything so you won’t forget! You know how we are.)
7. SAVE UP : You’re not getting any younger, girl. You have to start taking control of your financial life! Stop storing your money in a secret spot in your room and finally commit to saving up for the future. Open a new bank account and save a good amount every month.
8. WORK HARD, PLAY HARD! : Don’t be a stressed out pengu who worries about everything too much. Work your hardest but never ever forget to take a break from time to time. You deserve it!
9. VOLUNTEER : May it be for a big thing or just something within your community, try to help out and give back as much as you can. May the rest of your year meaningful!
10. RECONNECT AND FIND NEW CONNECTIONS : I know you have been MIA for the last few years of uni and I know how sad you are that you’ve been missing out on a lot. This is the time to rekindle old friendships and make new ones! It’s gonna be great!
So, yeah. That’s pretty much it! 10 goals for the remaining half of my 2015. Hope I get to accomplish all of them. Wish me luck!
I have been dying to dye my hair purple for the longest time but never really found the time to get it done. I was intentionally growing my hair out for the past year (a.k.a thesis era) so I can splash it with color when I officially end the craziness of the year’s third academic term. But, due to an I-am-in-Japan-so-let-me-do-something-stupid-like-cut-my-hair moment, I lost my long locks. But alas, equipped with the same impulsive urge as I had when I had my hair cut in Japan, I decided to wing it and finally channel my inner Hit-Girl.
It was basically just another shopping day with my mum when I had the bright idea of dying streaks of my hair purple. I have always had my hair done (cut and color) at Tony & Guy but since this was all on impulse, I decided to cheat a little. I opted to try HairShaft Salon in Podium since, according to Google, it’s a pretty good place for when you want to dye your hair a weird color. I originally imagined getting my hair dyed in an ombré style of color but since I had shorter hair, I didn’t know how I wanted it done. And, of course, that didn’t stop me from jumping on that salon chair. Luckily, Fred Penales (the owner of the salon) decided to be my hair stylist for the day. I told him what I wanted and he basically interpreted it into my hair!
Since I didn’t want (and, I honestly can’t because of university policies) to dye my whole head purple, I wanted something not too loud but still quite noticeable. I basically just wanted a little more personality (something to match mine!) added on to my hair. The first thing that Fred did was, he stripped the color off of selected sections of my locks. He then mixed up three different shades of purple. This would give my hair a unique layering of colors that would complement my skin tone, current hair color and personality! The three colors were: blue violet, pink purple, and Hit-Girl violet. It took us a total of 5-6hours to finish but damn, it came out great!
The color was exactly how I wanted it to be! It didn’t look cheap nor did it grab too much attention. It was the exact amount of color that I needed!
Mum loved her new hair color too!
I have to admit, I was a bit nervous because of everything that was happening on my head! But yay for an amazing outcome! What I loved most about HairShaft’s service, especially Fred and his team, is the positive comments throughout the process. It made me calm my nerves. Everyone was so nice and were always making sure I was doing okay. The results were amazing. I like how it looked like simple highlights in low light and Hit-Girl purple in direct light!
And now, it’s review time!
Yes, for the million dollar question. How much did it cost?! Well, this is the disappointing part in the whole experience. I spent P19,480! My mum spent P17, 930 for her ash brown and grey hair.
Don’t get me wrong, the service was great and the results were really good but for almost 20k? I don’t think so. If I knew I was paying this much, I would’ve just ran home to my momma in Tony & Guy for topnotch creative coloring.
A few things that I didn’t like about HairShaft’s work ethic were how they would evade the question of an estimated price for what they were doing to my hair. Also, be sure to double check the breakdown of your bill. Like on mine, it says ‘HC’ but I didn’t get a haircut. And yes, being the careless person that I am, I noticed it after swiping my mum’s card. It was an honest mistake on their part so instead, they gave me a product worth P1,100 to make up for it.
Quick tip! In the end they will tell you that you should get the ‘treatment’ which they make it seem like a part of the whole process. Eventually, they will say it is a Brazillian Blowout which will obviously make you smile like a goof. Thinking that it was part of the process, we just said yes. They didn’t inform us that the BB is worth P6,500. After doing a bit of research, that wasn’t a Brazillian Blowout. It was just some sort of Keratin treatment. Yeah, I guess it helped in keeping my hair from getting too damaged but it’s nothing like a BB. My hair started to look pretty normal and a bit dry after a few washes. So, if you’re planning to get your hair dyed in HairShaft, I suggest that you say no to the ‘treatment’ offer. You’re just going to end up paying way more than you planned. Other than these downsides, everything was pretty much okay.
So, will I ever come back to HairShaft for my color touch-up or to avail of other services? Probably not. If it means I’m burning that much cash, I’d rather go to an internationally acclaimed salon that offers the same service for the same price with the use of high quality materials and whose service includes exact quotation on your hands. But, hey! Charging it all to experience (and my mum’s credit card). Hit-Girl hair still turned out great anyway!
Trying to start my year off right by actually committing to my resolutions this year! (a.k.a. do last year's resolutions haha) 2015 is gonna be a great year and I'm definitely going to own it! To bring life back into this blog of mine, I thought it would be best to start with this month's faves! :)
I don't know how I'd survive without a planner. I'm the most forgetful person I know. If I don't write it down, I'm 100% sure that I will forget about it. Every year since Derek and I got together, he makes it a point to give me a planner. This Starbucks 2015 planner has saved my ass from a lot of deadlines! What would I ever do without it?
Since school's back, bad habits are back as well. I hate skipping meals but sometimes when I'm on the run, it just can't be helped. I've been trying to follow through with this year's most important resolution which is to live a healthy lifestyle and this problem has been a downer. Fast food has been eliminated as option number 1 on days I need to grab a bite in campus. Luckily, my older brother introduced me to Bumble Bee! (No, not the Transformer.) It may not look that appealing but it's actually pretty good! It's designed for people on the go (like me!) which makes it incredibly convenient. I just keep a box of this bae-bee (see what I did there? haha) in my bag and eat the packed tuna salad and crackers during my down time.
Since I've been pretty busy, my priorities change on a daily basis. Unfortunately, getting my nails done every week never makes it to the list. Feather by G.N helped me get through the month without having to worry about needing to change my polish! I love how it doesn't chip off easily and how fine the confetti is. It has a clear base which makes it easier to apply as a topcoat!
I decided to use a black base polish which I topped with G.N Feather. It completely gave life to my plain tips! It showed a whole lot of personality without overdoing things. Sported this look throughout the month until the base gave out on me!
I looooove tea. It's my favorite pick-me-upper! I can't go a day without drinking tea and Basilur is just making me love this habit of mine even more! Just by opening the package up, a fruity and flowery aroma exudes from it. Just the smell of it makes me happy! Once dipped in hot water, it spreads a lavender + magenta color. The tea tastes nothing like a plain strawberry & raspberry tea. It's definitely more than that! It tastes like something I'd have if I were lost in the secret garden or maybe in a private party at the Mad Hatter's house.
Another thing I love is Lush! Who doesn't love Lush? I always go to their store just to get a whiff of, well, everything! I had to set aside my own wants and needs over the holidays coz my mum deserved amazing Lush products. Derek saw how sad I was coz I couldn't get my Karma Kream last Christmas (which was on sale btw! They're never on sale!) so when I got back from the holidays, he got me one! And that girls is how you know he's a keeper.
Another thing I love is yoga! The only yoga that I do is hot yoga. There are only a few places here in Manila that offers Bikram (my fave!) which made practicing it hard. (esp. with the fact that I live in lower Antipolo) I would usually put in the effort of driving down south just so I can do yoga. So when I found out that Yoga+ Manila was opening an express studio in DLSU, I quickly purchased unlimited passes! Three things I love about Yoga+ Express DLSU: 1. It's very convenient! I get to practice yoga before, after and in between classes! 2. The studio looks amazing and it has its own shower room! 3. Amazing hot yoga class with Roxanne! It's nothing like Bikram but I guess that's why I like it! It's definitely challenging!
Next on this month's faves is this lovely gold chain necklace that Derek got me during the Cuenca Bazaar! I don't wear as much accessories as I did before but this is just so me that I have worn it too goddamn many times this month! I wore it during a get together with my friends, in a family dinner and even for my grad photo! (Yes, it will forever be immortalized in my yearbook.)
Since black is pretty much my spirit color, it adds the glitz that I need to make my look complete. Without it, i feel extremely plain!
This month's last (and definitely the best!) fave is this portrait of me by my artsy friend, Angie! Believe it or not, she painted this with cheap water color! The kind that pre-schoolers use in school! I'm still at awe at how perfect this is! Just so shows that you can't buy talent! Check her IG out to see more of her work! (IG: clandestinerie)
That's pretty much it! I know this is a week late but whatever. Hope you guys had an amazing start to your year! Talk to you guys soon!
