posting whatever's on my mind.

i started getting lazy at blogging again.

i have so much to say but i ran out of interest saying much these days.

well, for one, it is officially wintertime here.  six days ago it was still awkward to wear a denim jacket but now i even wore it after my walk to the office and inside.  it was so comfy in those warm jackets and as usual, i was feeling sleepy again.  and did i mention that it was free?  one of my free voucher last eid holiday was for Lucky Stores and i told irish to buy it for me when she passed by to let them sign their magazine space.

bambi and i have been loving warm bubble baths these past few days, too.  but we did so separately.  my sched is on fridays, like today, after finishing all my friday chores - cleaning, laundry, cooking and sleeping.  it was like a mini-spa ritual coz i always put something on my hair, a pearl and egg treatment this week as opposed to the usual glossy hair spa the past weeks, and i also dabbed some warmed grapes on my face as a mask.  go to work, you anti-oxidants!  bambi's schedule is anytime he wants.  he actually finished the mango bubble smoothie that i bought, so now im using the orange lather as a bubble-bath substitute.  which is better coz it smells citrus-y.

and what else?  hmm, maybe the reason for my laziness is the fact that jared's visa was rejected again.  for the ninth time.  it was on the last step, finished from lmra, then CIO, and in GDNPR (immigration) it was rejected after 2 hours.  we were heartbroken.

but its not like me to give up when there is still hope.  so after the holidays im gonna ask for help from our superior who has a friend in the immigration for another try, otherwise i won't go home this december.   it was so painful to walk away when he was still a baby, how much more now that he has grown?

and speaking of holidays, this must be the last of the longest holiday we will have this year.  since one of the Eid holiday fell on friday, they moved it to monday, making our holidays four days instead of only three.  a lazy man's paradise, indeed.

and it was the 2nd half-week long holiday this year, coz last september we also had eid holidays lasting three days.  i think on december when we have their national day we'll also have a three-day holiday.  let's keep our hopes up.


i am also doing maricel and irish' eyeshadows every single day last week, they're like my practice dolls coz everytime i see a tutorial in youtube i do it to them the next morning.  and they love it so much that i have to bring my big 120-palette eyeshadow in the office for our daily dose of happiness.

some pictures:

eyeshadow crazies

i love it! almost three-dimensional

purple haze!

what bums me this week is that my other purchases from ebay hasn't arrived yet.  it has been 1 month and im still waiting for 12 more items, but everyday was a disappointment.


hmm.. what am i gonna do with these four days?!?

rejected. clouded. (almost) dismissed.

today is not like any other day.  i prayed hard for jared's visa and today was the supposed result, it was neither rejected nor approved, it was sent back again for mistakes in the form made by the employer.

and like my mood, the sky was cloudy.  rarely ever seen here in bahrain, happening only twice a year when the season changes.  i though i overslept again coz the light was almost out when i woke up at 4, and as i walked to work it was beginning to get cold, slightly trembling cold but still bearable.

it was also a hard week for irish, who is always targeted by our superior.  to the point where she could lose her job.  a point that i could fight for, because i saw how she worked and she was really giving her best to do her duties.  i think it was personal because our superior once tried to persuade her to be his girlfriend and she refused.

it's really sad, coz she lights up the place every time she comes.  i honestly want her to stay for my sanity.  maricel isn't really a happy yellow, and most of the time, she's depressed.  irish laughs even though she's sad.  she's even more lively than ariane.  and we totally get each other.

yes, i want her to stay for personal reasons.  


and also because i know she needs this job.

breaking up is hard to do.

you have to let them go.  no matter how hard it is.  you'll be happier if you do.  and prettier.


ok, im talking about your makeup here, not your lovelife.


we all love to keep all things nice, but we should remember that nice things have an expiration date, too.  and whether you like it or not, sometimes you have to throw away some nice things because, erm, well, they are old.

the shelf life or makeup products are not generally taken into heart by most girls.  in fact, they hold on to the stuff they love dearly without realizing that it's been with them for a while.

but to prevent irritations, infections, and skin breakouts, sometimes you have to check your drawer and toss the items that you 'sometimes' use if they are way past their prime time.

only people get better with age.  makeup doesn't.

shelf life estimations of the makeup products that i use are:


foundation: 12 months
doesn't matter to me, i usually finish bare escentuals foundation within 6 months coz i use it in the morning and in the afternoon.

especially for cream foundation, pls don't use it more than 1 year due to bacteria build-up

concealer: 12 months
otherwise, that pimple you're trying to hide just might get more irritated.

blush: 2 years
yipee!  ok, seriously, who can finish a blush in one year?!?

my new blush called Minx from Mykajy (up) and my old blush (below) which,even after 1 year, still has too much

my previous cheek remedy for instant blush, the body shop's lip and cheek stain doesn't last for more than a month.

eyeshadow: 2-3 years
don't worry about throwing it out, that means you can now buy new colors!

irish bought this on sale.  this brand is called 22k, and they have all their cosmetics packaged in a fancy gold-plate style.  super cute! but remember, the reason why cosmetic shops have a seasonal sale is because they want to finish the items that have been sitting on their shelves.  so make sure you don't use them past their 'good time' if you bought them on sale.

mascara: 4 months
beware, eye irritations are serious.  don't risk your eyesight for a $15 worth of new mascara.  i am serious about this because of experience.  so i usually write the purchase date on my mascara now with a permanent marker to remind me when to buy a new one.

pencil eyeliner: 2-3 years
no matter how long it still is, buy a new one.  and sharpen regularly.

liquid eyeliner: 3-6 months
uh-oh.

lipstick: 2-3 years
that's why you should never have more than 3 lipsticks.  ouch.

22k delectable lip palette in pink twilight

nivea extreme resist (10 hours lipstick, or so they say) in roselove and coral

makeup brushes: wash 2-3 times a month
i usually do this weekly by washing it in jared's baby shampoo.  my baby still has little hair and didn't use it anyway.  don't forget to let it dry lying on a flat surface, to retain their shape.

sponge: wash weekly and discard monthly
duly noted

nailpolish: 2 years
goodie goodie!

other stuff
if it smells funny, or if you're in doubt, throw it out.


i know, its hard.  but think of it this way:  who doesn't love shopping for new 
makeup?!?

tip of the day ;p

staring and staring at a computer all day and you probably stared at blacks and whites of excel and word.  or your paperwork.  or your wall.

why not use your eye's photoreceptors and add some colors to your life?


ok, now i sound like a dork.

what i mean to say is, to add some colorful stuff to your life, make it interesting, lively and vivid!

what caused me to blog about his nonsense is our toilet paper - it's violet and it's scented, and it's different.

it sure doesn't change the world, but it did lift the monotonous grayscale color of our bathroom.





go & celebrate the fact that you're not color blind!!!




*dork*

im not a coward.

we all have one or two of those people in our lives that we don't want to see any day of the year.

• your ex
• your boyfriend's ex
• if you were teacher's enemy no.1 in highschool, the teachers
• if you were public enemy no.1, the principal
• and those tactless, shameless, irritating kind of people with a mouthful of insults always in their arsenal.  

as we were walking in our street, looking for an apartment for irish,  that's when i saw grace, my father's old landlady, with whom he owes money.  a great deal of money.

but that's not why i don't want to speak to her.  its because she talks a lot.  and i hate talking to her because she has no breeding.  she does have a good heart, but her words are disgusting.

i wanted to pretend i didn't see her, but im not a coward.

and at the back of my mind i did think of walking past.  but why would i hide from her?  i don't owe her anything.

then it started.  a litany of anger and  frustration.

and yes, we want stay away from that kind.  or we sometimes give a little time to listen.  but most likely, conversations will not be made.  only one will talk.  the other, a nod or a sigh is enough.

why do we put up with them?  i don't know.  but it's not like me to turn my back on something that i can face head on.

and next time we meet, i can raise my head and smile.

coz me, im living my life without hiding from anyone.

and i am genuinely happy.

benefit booties

the first thing they gave me this morning was my parcel from hongkong.  i shrieked, these were my benefit items from ebay!

that totally made my day... my seller shipped them so fast, coz i remembered paying for these just last november 11!

first things first before you buy cosmetics from ebay:

• research the seller first.  it is important to know if she has negative feedbacks regarding her products because fake items can easily be bought from ebay.

      so far, my seller has tons of positive feedbacks.  so that's a good sign.

• after your item arrives, check the expiration date.  if you can't find it, search the internet coz some cosmetic items can easily be checked by special codes made by the manufacturer. 

• next, make sure that your item is sealed, unless you agreed to buy an opened item.  i always search for BNIB which means brand new in box, or NIB (new in box), so i know that they haven't been poked by anyone.  

• even though your makeup brushes are sealed, don't forget to wash them first before using them.  especially for eyeshadow brushes. 

• and last, swipe a small amount on your arm, or your neck to check for allergies.

here, back to my loot:

^_^ i love new makeup!

my new foundation

*review* i have switched!!! as much as i love bare escentuals' foundation, i can't believe that benefit made my pores look smaller and my face look smoother, plus it evens out my skintone and even diminished redness around my nose.  my new fave!!!

super pink blush! i tried it this afternoon and it was so sheer, i looked translucent to my medium skin.  but when i use it after benefit's some kind-a gorgeous foundation faker, it comes out nicely, like a natural blush!

new lip scrubs and lip balm. im so excited to try them out!

*update*  nothing dramatic.  maybe because im used to scrubbing my lips with toothbrush so i don't have anything to exfoliate.  it's still good to try out though... and handy in the office if i have dry lips!

and my new eyeshadow brush.  it was stated a travel-sized brush but if you were expecting small, travel sized brush, it was, in my opinion, a medium-sized one.  perfect if you bought it as your main eyeshadow and couldn't afford the full-sized one, but if you were expecting to put it in your eyeshadow case (like me), then shove it somewhere else.

*update*  i love the softness!!!  apart from being multitasking (i can use it for base or for blending, but mainly for blending coz it's super good), this brush is also super-soft!

(i was planning to put it here:)

ok, this one's fake.  but i couldn't help it, hello kitty is there!

pft!  my artistic moment:

and those pink round things? i've found those to put in my eyeshadow stand because it helps them be straight and not side by side, which confuses me in the morning and it takes time looking for the right one if they are squeezed together like they're dorks about to be photographed:

my day just got a little brighter...

hoping the best, expecting the worst

bambi's company applied for jared's visa again yesterday.

my superior also helped processing his papers in the immigration.

my colleague said, upon reading my fb's status said i can hope but i should not expect.  is that even possible?

here we are again in this rollercoaster ride of emotions as we apply for jared's papers and each day we wish to see the 'approved' status in his application number...  God, i really hope they'll approve it this time...


on another note, i fired my assistant today.  well, actually, yesterday, but today was her last day.  and, ok, actually, i didn't.  my boss just told me to.  ok, my boss fired her.  my boss said she was too slow (ehem, physically okay?  not mentally) and she doesn't sound like someone he can give infinite orders to.

he kind of thinks that there is someone out there who is like me.  and that we should hire her.  good luck, coz as far as i know, and without being conceited, this one's unique.



self-admiration aside, i am proud to say that he can depend on me for graphics, not only for advertising but also for his family's personal requirements, and i can be totally reliable in the office as long as i have my n95 for reminders.  plus, he can call me whatever time he feels like for instructions, either official or family-related, and i am totally presentable.  and decent.  and loyal.  and tidy.

ok, maybe not tidy.


so today i was flying solo. again.  running here and there, and didn't even get to sleep in the afternoon coz maricel and irish went to our house for a konad/manicure session.

but i was too happy to design their nails anyways!  actually, you couldn't count maricel's nails as nails, coz they're too small :)

pink base with black flowers.  we chose the smallest flowers, obviously.

i also put eyeshadow on irish', coz i am always excited to put eyeshadow on everybody.  i actually did maricel and kat's eyes last halloween party!

parang natutulog lang hehe!

and these are my eyes today, compliments of sephora's freebie:

aaaawww, i really love this violet shade!

and since i bought sephora's eye base, i noticed that even the eyeshadows that i have labelled X before (coz they're useless) are now giving amazing shades!

i was ignoring this shade before, but when i tried it now i was surprised to see that it was a shimmering gold eyeshadow!

that base is awesome!

*update*  unfortunately it's sticky and it gives me a hard time blending my powder eyeshadow.  i think it makes them clumpy, too...  too bad coz it's so long-lasting and makes the colors vivid!

see me in facebook

my officemates are currently having a tutorial about farmville.

wtf?

even francis, in the middle of the night i can hear cows mooing and sheep humming 'baaaa!'.

what is going on with the world?

we all laughed when i told maricel that she's worse than a real farmer, coz a real farmer wakes up at 6 to start his day, while she has to wake up at 3am just so her 'fruits' wont rot.

they're all insane!  hahaha!

anyways, back to the real world, it has been 5-6 days since i opened a facebook account, which i did for the sole purpose of viewing jared's pictures there.

then one by one, my high school friends found me and it's friendster all over again.

although, ive found friends there that i haven't found in fs, so that's an incentive...

the problem is, i got a lot of invitations for farmville.  im not going to play that thing ok...


freaky farmers!

an epiphany

since my raise this contract renewal, bambi and i both decided to bring jared here.  after months and months of contemplating, i realized that, maybe it is not about the destination, it is about the journey, too.

cliche, i know.

i just thought, nobody knows what will happen in two years.  whatever, i just want to spend our time together, wherever we may be.

so it has been decided that we will just make it up to jared to at least go out once a week to any mall where there is an early learning centre so he could also enjoy going out since most of the time he'll just be indoors here.  and load him lots of toys, too, so he will not be bored.

finally, there is one night where i couldn't sleep not because i was crying, but because i was so excited for December to come.

and aside from that, my Visa credit limit has also been raised by around $300.

my lucky stars found me at last!

mascara tips and sleeping.

after i finished all my pending work today i took some time - ...well actually even if im not finished i always take the time to check 4-5 websites, everyday.

1.  yahoo mail
2.  ebay
3.  friendster
4.  facebook
5. my blog

and since i had time to read all my previous posts in the homepage i noticed that my topics were usually either nail polish, eyeshadow, jared, or my lateness at work.

the last one i cannot explain.  sometimes my alarm just doesn't reach my eardrums.  xD

ok, no.

im just really into sleeping.  actually i feel sleepy just now.   unfortunately i still have to cook before bambo arrives at 10.  did i just type bambo?!?  ahaha.

anyways, in the mornings i have no trouble waking up because i usually look forward to breakfast.  in the afternoon it's harder coz i already ate before i slept.  waking up means heading back to the office where there is no pillow.

the face routine in the afternoon, and on rare mornings when i wake up at 7:50, is plain & simple baby powder, blush and eyeliner.

unlike in the morning where i have a blowdrier and eyeshadow brush in both hands, i don't give much effort in the afternoons.  that's why i can sleep until 3:50.

i know some people disregard sleeping.  they may go to bed at 3 and wake up at 7 with no problems.  i can't.  if time is compromised, i wouldn't eat in the afternoon and just sleep.

anyways, mascara maintenance 101 today, since i have noticed that my bodyshop volume mascara is getting clumpier again.

the mascara tips that i'd like to share are:

1.  do not pump your mascara as you pull it out.  it creates air bubbles inside which may cause your mascara to dry faster.  twist it instead, while you're pulling it out.

2.  make sure you keep the opening clear.  wipe off excess mascara in the opening of your tube.  this might be the bacteria's headquarters if you don't keep it clean.

3.  unless you have thin lashes, don't coat more than twice.  you'll look too made up, and that's not really our goal, isn't it?

4.  wait for your mascara to dry before you apply the 2nd coat, otherwise they'll clump in your lashes.

5.  keep a cotton bud around so you can easily clean smudges.  wiping with your fingers might smear the mascara, and once it dries you might have a black stain in your eyelid.  for the whole day.

4.  also, do not share mascaras with friends, no matter how close you are or no matter how close you want to be.  its not hygienic, hello?

and always remember that mascaras has a shelf life of only 6 months.  discard it afterwards otherwise you might be wearing an eyepatch for three days...

pen-tipped nail polish

i am having so much fun with the pen-tipped nail polish i had before from ebay!

since irish borrowed my konad stamp and scraper last week, i am noticing these tips again and yesterday i had my first red nail polish when i realized i didn't like red nail polish on my nails...

so what i did was take the green pen and dotted my nails and guess how they look now:

they are the yummiest nails i have ever seen!  they look like strawberries!

which i really really love after my previous nail polishes these past few weeks:

last week i tried some colors to check which one i like most

(i kind of thought they look good together!)

i got these glitter nail polish which i really like coz they are not too concentrated, and i applied it on top

that is how it looked like.  and still im not content so i applied a more concentrated glitter nail polish on the outer half:

and this is how it looked:

i didn't like them too, so i just used the pen-tipped nail polish again and so for the whole week my nail polish was this:

more photos

update! one of the photographers gave irish one dvd where he burned some, as in some 400 photos of the costume party irish had.















actually i'd love to post them all here but you'll just have to see the rest at facebook.

anyways, i have given some stuff to friends coz they're just wasting away at my closet.  i don't want them to go expired so better give it to someone who can use it.

escada ocean paradise, given by my boss.  i had a headache when i first used it coz it was too sweet so i never used it again.  i gave it to sisterling.

sephora triple action mascara given to maricel.  anyways i compared it to body shop before and bs won.  it's also cheap coz it's on sale when i bought it, like 1.5 so compared to my daily food supply from maricel, she deserved it.  plus she gave me a good quality eyelash curler before which i still use until now.  i don't know if she loved this or not, i didn't get any feedback.

so this bourjouis amber blush which is suppose to be given to her also, is on hold.  im giving it to her coz i won another blush from ebay, my most awaited coralista:

this 'powder blush in tropical flush' is a shade familiar to nars' multiple o.

given to irish, who loved it so much that it didn't last one month.  i loved this so much before, but i have bare escentuals bare radiance now and i have no plans to switch back.

and irish gave me these when she came back from the philippines:  louis vuitton coin purse and what i told her to buy aside from jollibee hamburger - elf candyshop lip gloss

we are all happy barter traders :)

going bonkers @#&%^@ at sephora

i really love walking into sephora's shop in city centre.  they have all my most wanted cosmetics - benefit, nars, stila & too faced, and soon they'll launch bare escentuals in bahrain!

and also the fact that abby, francis' friend works there and gives me amazing freebies each time!

last saturday, to lift the monotony of our daily life, and also because it was irish' birthday, but that's not so important (haha! im only joking, irish!  you know i hate it when i like you too much but i do!), we went to city centre and again i went straight to sephora.  i always take a sample of nars multiple o blush, coz it costs 13 dinars ($34) and i don't allow myself to buy expensive cosmetics (fear of dependency).

anyways, my bare escentuals rev-er upper is half-empty, so i tested their smoothening primer.

and omg it really is smooth!  as in sliding smooth on your skin.  the sample i rubbed on my arm was so convincing that i bought one and told irish to get one, too.  (she did)

comparing it to rev-er upper, which i now use only on special occassions, sephora squirts out more than enough for my face.  or maybe because it feels silky that's why im thinking i have too much.  anyways its so small that i don't think it will last me a month, but the upside is that it delivers the same lasting effect as r.u.,  doesn't get my face oily and it also smells good unlike rev-er upper which smells weird.

but rev-er upper is still my number 1, because it complements the foundation i have (they're from the same company) and i can get it for $10 at ebay.  and it makes my pores look smaller and my cheeks matte and ready for mineral veil.

and i've found a cheap eyeshadow base there too!

this little pot costs $9.2, but i found it cheaper than what i had on mind - too faced shadow insurance or urban decay primer potion, which costs around $18 and up on ebay.

so far, it did make the eyeshadow more vivid, and it lasted for 5 hours looking like i just swiped them on.

and another brown eyeliner, coz i liked the one i bought before.


and the freebies i got:

really good samples, too.  i tried the eyeshadow sample two afternoons ago coz i woke up at 4:30pm (work starts at 4!) and i just put on baby powder and blush and half-ran to the office!

haha! late ka!!!

i love this black shade!  i just swiped these with my fingers when i arrived in the office.

the mascara is supposed to be lash stretcher, but i didn't see lengths like i did with bourjouis, although this one made my lashes beautifully separated and natural-looking, like you were born with it.  if i have extra money ill buy the actual product, that's how happy i am with the sample.

long and thin lashes are more natural-looking.

unlike my previous mascaras, which made my eyelashes thick,  except for bourjouis which made it long.

those were my product reviews! thank you. :)