I feel like one of the things that help me get into the mood of being producting with my schoolwork is blogging, so here I am with a review of Etude House’s Happy Teatime Milk Tea Cleansing Cream! As you would have guessed, it’s a make up remover in a form of a cream. 

Here’s what it looks like when you open it. It doesn’t come with a spatula, though. I had to buy it from Beabi because I personally think it’s unhygienic to just use your fingers. The spatula cost me P20-P30. 

Last February, I included this in my previous Monthly Favourites entry. It’s a good product, it really does dissolve the make-up which made it way easier for me to remove it. It smells really good and is gentle to the skin, as well; at least compared to the Bifesta cleansing oil (another great product for removing make-up, but it stings my face a tiny bit). So in summary, it’s a product that does its job quite well. I mean, it won’t make it to my monthly favourites without a proper reason. 

However, after using for than a month, it started stinging my eyes like a bitch. Since It’s also good for dissolving waterproof make, I use this a lot on my eyes, especially when I have winged eyeliner on. In addition to making my eyes sting, it also makes me temporarily blind. Not bilnd-blind, but it makes my vision go foggy. With the stinging bit, I think it’s just me, but my sister tried this out once and said the same thing about blurry vision. 

Keep reading for more photos.

One of the electives I took for this term is Traditional Photography. Basically the course is meant to teach us how to use film cameras and develop films, which is really fun, I tell ya. So if you’re also taking up MMA at Benilde, consider taking this electives as well! That is, if you’re willing to acquire a film cam and buy loads of B&W films. 

Below are some of my shots, which I also developed myself! 

This was taken at the 11th floor, if I remember correctly. I actually quite like this photo even though I only took this because I was trying to finish my roll at that time. 

Another photo taken at the 11th floor. As you can see, it has a light leak which isn’t usually ideal but I like it. My professor hates it, however. He says it’s too hipster, lol. Also, it’s pretty obvious I’m not the best at developing films - sorry, for the dusts!

This is my prof’s film cam. He once mentioned that he is a collector and that he has more or less 200 cameras at home. This cam even looks more beautiful and vintage in color! It’s so pretty, almost like a relic, to be honest.

My one week break is officially over. It went by so fast, it almost feels like I didn’t get enough rest. I mean, come on, who thinks a one week break is enough to make up for a one-term worth of stress? Ah, college life.

I’m currently here at Bibimbap waiting and wasting time, sipping Green Tea frappe - which is superb, by the way. I think I own one of the shittiest schedules of this term, I’m not even kidding. For today, I have two classes; the first one being Traditional Photography which was at 8:00-11:00am, and the next one is Media Interface at 6:00-9:00pm. Cool, right? I have more than 6 hours to spare :--) 

Like what the fuck am I going to do every Thursday, lol.

Yesterday, I downloaded a bunch of movies but I’m still debating with myself whether to watch one. I found out earlier this morning that I have to have a film camera to pass Traditional Photography, which sucks because my initial plan was just to borrow one from the school, but turns out, Benilde doesn’t have any film camera they could lend to students. So here I am, looking for cheap film cameras on Google instead. I have a feeling this term’s going to be hella expensive. 

Oh, people are looking at me because I took one of the spacious cubicles here in Bibimbap even though I’m alone. Sorry not sorry. 

A teeny tiny little side-note: 3 months ago, I published my first ever Unboxing post, which was entitled Saladbox’s December 2015 Holiday Glam box. Saladbox is a local beauty subscription company. In short, they give their subscribers monthly samples of make-up and/or beauty products depending on how long they are subscribed to them. In my case I paid for the Starter Plus (a.k.a. the most basic option) which means I’m subscribed for 3 months and I’m supposed to get 3 boxes. So far, I only got two: The Holiday Glam and the March 2016 Wanderlust. 

Last March 22nd, I messaged them about my missing Get Flirty Jan/Feb box, and they said that they’re going to check with their courier. Two weeks later, the March 2016 Wanderlust reached my doorstep with no signs of my Jan/Feb beauty box. I’ll update when they get back to me again :) 

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Onto the real unboxing: The products included for the March 2016 Wanderlust beauty box are once again from Benefit cosmetics. 

I honestly cannot pinpoint what I feel about the Wanderlust box. It seems redundant since I already received a Benefit-exclusive box last January. Don’t get me wrong, I think Benefit has cool products, it’s just that I would’ve appreciated it more if Saladbox had given me a set of products from a totally different company. As a 3-month subscriber, I feel like I wasn’t able to maximize my subscription plan because of the repetition of the featured company; especially since the whole point of a monthly beauty subscription is to try diverse beauty products. 

Continue reading to know more about the products included.

Last saturday, I visited Velvet Friends Cat Cafe with my friend, Elisha. It’s situated in Blue Bay Walk near Mall of Asia. Like I’ve said before, I’ve always been a cat person so basically, the cafe to me was heaven. Ugh, It’s just the cutest thing! 

Their discounted entrance fee for students is P240/hr, it comes with free iced tea and your choice of pastry. There’s a variety of pastries to choose from, I got myself the mini lava cake. With free snacks and an hour to play with cats, I think P240 is not that expensive. 

Keep reading to see more photos <3

I wrote this while in the car on the way home. Feeling quite unwell, to be honest, but then again I always feel like this every after my 9 pm classes. Anyway here's a random list of my random thoughts during a random moment in my life:

Ever since we were little kids, my mom would bring out all our art materials the moment we get home right after Easter mass. I guess you could say it's tradition. This year, it's only me and Yasmin who did all the painting, while both of my older siblings are on their own beds, having a snooze fest. 

Actually, out of all the 4 eggs, I only did the one on the far right; which is supposed to be Daenerys' famous dragon egg! It was so tedious that while working on the details of this design, my sister was able to paint three eggs :-) well, I’ve always been a slow worker lol. 

I haven’t done this in ages and I think it’s only fitting to do this while on a Holy Week break, so here it is: 

- The more you judge other people, the harder you criticize yourself. Let other people be, let them love what they love, understand that each one of us have different tastes and you’ll sleep better.

- Learn to value other people’s time. Everyone is following their own schedule, and just like what they always, always say: time is gold.

- School eventually gets tiring and it’s okay to feel that way. I think it just goes to show that you’re actually trying to keep up with everything. 

- There are professors who will give you loads and loads of schoolwork - while it’s 100% annoying and may even cost you your social life, remember that you’ll learn more from them than those professors who slack off.

Last saturday, March 12th, I saw one of the bands that I’ve been dying to see since forever. I never thought I would get to watch them perform live because if I remember correctly, their tickets sold out within 4 hours. 4 freaking hours. Luckily for me, they opened several seats 3 days before the concert, and I swear at that moment, I just knew I had to get tickets. Yes, that means I’m currently broke and I’m accepting donations in the form of food :p 

Excuse the exaggerations, I’m still freaking out.

Hi there! I decided to merge my January and February favourites because, truthfully, I felt like I only adored two or three things last month and I didn’t want to post one just for the sake of it so I figured I should just wait until I have enough favourites on my list... and tada! Here are the things I have been loving lately! 

1. Harry Potter Colouring Book - The moment my eyes laid on this beautiful, beautiful object... I knew right there and then, I had to buy it. And I did. And now, I’m thankful for myself for buying it even it means I would probably be skipping lunch for the next two days, haha. 

Yup, February is going to kill me. Emotionally, mentally, physically - it's just basically going to attack with full-on armor and I've nothing to shield myself with. 

The first week of the month was already so stressful in the sense that one of my major courses decided to give us an alarming amount of schoolwork all throughout the month (...and the next). If I try to sum up my second month of the year in a few words it would be: lack of sleep, video shoots, coffee, and stress. I love my course AND I love learning but when you are buried under piles and piles and piles of schoolwork... It goes without saying that you're bound to get exhausted. 

Yesterday my friends and I realized over lunch that we actually have sufficient time in our hands to get things done, it's just the constant worrying that's making us go crazy. Although it's true, it's not as easy as it sounds since video shoots means being on the hunt for actors, talking heads, locations, and the like (which is tiring, mind you). 

Eh, to be frank, it's kind of my fault why I'm suffering this much. This is the LAZIEST I have been in my entire college life. I have this unhealthy tendency to lose motivation when I'm being showered with deadlines... And lately, all I'm really getting are deadlines :-) so, go figure. Midterms week isn't officially over yet but I decided to reward myself with a couple of days off otherwise my sanity is going to slip from my fingers.

A month ago, I decided to purchase my first two Colourpop Ultra Matte liquid lipsticks! *happy banana dance* I know a number of people who are raving about this brand because of its high-quality pigmentation and lasting matte formula. However, I’ve read mixed reviews about this specific line that’s why I was so excited to try it out! I’ve been dying to buy lip colors from them but I couldn’t find an online shop that I trust 100% (I mean, it’s make-up, it could fuck you up if you buy from the wrong store, right?). Thanks to my homie, Angelica, she recommended several shops on instagram that offer these lipsticks aaand voila! 

Keep on reading to see what colors I got & their swatches! <3

Thank you. One simple phrase that we often forget to say to strangers, friends, and even family. I’m kind of a little horrible in the sense that I always forget to thank people. A lot of times, I would be in the car on the way home and I would realize that I didn’t even utter a few words of appreciation. Saying thank you and hearing thank you are both equally heart-warming, that is why I decided to do a little project called “16 People I Want to Thank in 2016”. It might get a little personal but the people I’m going to write letters for deserve some special form of gratitude from me, as they’ve helped me grow into the person I am now. It was kind of a spur of the moment decision making this project; but I promised myself I would try my best to become a better person this year and this is my first step towards that goal. Also, it’s the first of February - what better day to launch a project than the start of the love month? :)

I'm just going to get straight to the point and say: if you want to wear make up, do so. Don't give a flying fuck to those people who are trying to shame people who wear makeup. Whether you're a boy or a girl, if you feel like sporting a dramatic winged eyeliner, then go for it. If there's one thing I learned growing up it would be to stop basing how to live your life on other people's opinions. Facebook has become a huge part of almost everyone's everyday lives and it saddens me that disheartening posts are getting shared often. I mean, it's okay to broadcast that you don't like wearing makeup, there's nothing wrong with that. What's wrong is when you stuff your opinion down other people's throats just because. At the end of the day, it all goes down to one's preferences. You don't like makeup? Then don't wear it. You don't know how to? Then learn it, there's so many amazing beauty gurus on YouTube. You want to wear it to school? Then do so (Unless.... It's against the rules, then just put some on the weekend... Or experiment when you get home!) 

I think it's important to note that wearing make up makes some people more confident. It doesn't matter if you think he/she doesn't need it, what matters is it helps them keep their chin up. Fake it til you make it, right? You wouldn’t stop anyone who wants a little self-esteem boost now, would you?

Personally, I like playing around with makeup. I think its absolutely fun that there’s so many colours to mess around with, plus, it's amazing how much you can do with it! It really shouldn’t be a big deal, you know? It comes off easily anyway. If anyone ever thinks you’re “fooling” them by wearing make up... I’m telling you, you don’t need that kind of negativity in your life. Nobody is fooling anybody with makeup, because like I said, it comes off. If a person argues that you made him/her believe that, for example, you have clear skin or a nice nose, then maybe, just maybe, that person is just plain superficial ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

It has been awhile since I wrote an entry for The Happy List. To be pretty honest, I don’t even know why I stopped writing entries for this. I think it’s a really good way to appreciate blessings! Originally, I wanted to publish this before Christmas break was over but it slipped my mind so this will be covering all the things that made me happy from December up to, well, now. Here goes:

• My dad coming home just in time for Christmas.

• Accomplishing my goal of reading 10 books in 2015. 

• Being able to stay up late just because I want to and not because I have to.

• Having some “me” time (a much deserved one!)

• Brewed coffee in the morning.

• Christmas shopping!

• Coco & Ella (finally) being part of our family.

• Noche Buena with the *whole* family.

• Having noche buena leftovers for breakfast on Christmas morning (probably one of the things I love about the holidays!)

• Going on a little staycation with the family!

• Making up with the boyfriend after a silly fight.

• Seeing college friends + little reunion 

• Little adventure + trying out new food with friends! 

• Having lunch with the boyfriend. 

• Cutting my hair short and liking it.

Earlier this morning I posted an entry about my saladbox (waiting) experience. Shortly afterwards, my box came. Patience is indeed a virtue. I decided to set that post into private as I think it would be redundant and I felt like there's no point since I received my box already. If you don’t already know, Saladbox is a beauty subscription company. Basically, you subscribe to them and they send you beauty products monthly! :)

I became an official subscriber last December 14. It arrived almost 4 weeks after. I subscribed to their most basic subscription plan, Saladbox Starter Plus, which cost me Php1500. I paid through BPI. Aside from the fact that it took so long to reach my doorstep, Saladbox is overall okay. Click read more to see the products included!