Through the Eye of the Storm

I know that my silence from the blogging world for a couple of weeks is not so much, but I’m going to interrupt the “regular programming” to give way to something I want to share with everyone.

I’m pretty sure that the Philippines is all over the internet and televisions across the globe, but I’d still like to talk about what you may already know for a little while. Please bear with me.

As you may have seen or heard on the news, a typhoon names Ondoy hit the country around 4pm yesterday. I was, to be honest, unaware of this, as I was busy managing the office at that time. I didn’t even know that it was raining until our company’s HR-Assistant and I left around 7pm to look for some giveaways for an upcoming company event. The rain wasn’t pouring so hard then so we braved the rain without umbrellas or some sort of rain gear. It wasn’t until we were finally outside the mall trying to get a ride back to the office that the rain poured so hard. After waiting for a ride for close to an hour, a very kindhearted airport taxi driver drove me and our HR-Assistant back to our office. The rain went on until I got home and until I awoke this morning, around 5am.

That was the scenario last night. Today is a completely different story. I am honestly lost for words at this point. Please bear with me if in case you see typos or even some grammatical errors. My brain isn’t functioning well right now.

To give you a clue as to what has struck my beloved country, take a look at the photos below.

Can you still see people in this photo?

Can you spot the roof of that white car at the back? That car was completely submerged in water before my brother and I went to our grandma's house.

I believe this was somewhere in Kamias, or perhaps Sikatuna, where a lot of the streets were not passable to motorists.

Cars, trucks braving the flood.

Outside my grandma's house. The water was still waist deep that time. My brother was just standing on the gutter.

At my grandma's garage.

As you can see, streets everywhere are flooded. The pictures that I took don’t show how much damage Ondoy has caused because I wasn’t in those areas, and for that I am more than thankful to God. In some areas, the water was neck deep. The water inside my grandma’s was up to their waists; while at my uncle’s, only the roof can be seen. I feel for the rest of my people who may be already feeling hopeless standing on their rooftops waiting for rescue to come. I myself feel hopeless at this very moment. I want to help, but I don’t know how. My mom, sister, aunt and 2year old cousin are still out. I don’t know where they are right now. I cannot reach them anymore. I don’t know how long it will take them to get back home, but I do hope that they are safe wherever they are right now.

The reports on TV are very heartbreaking. People and houses alike have been washed away by the flood. Some have died, while others have nothing left with them except their lives.

I don’t know how to end this post, but I hope that wherever we may be at this time, we could all spend a few minutes of silence for the people who need help, those who have lost their homes, belongings and loved ones.

Gem's Giveaway

I haven't joined that much giveaways since I started blogging coz well, I never really got lucky. Haha. But heck, I can always take chances; besides, it's not like I spend money on getting myself an entry or two to win.

Anyway, here's Gem of Vanity and Everything in Between with her first giveaway.

What's at stake? It's a mix of high end and drugstore brands.

G-lish trio eyeshadow
Clinique black mascara
Clinique lipstick in Berrylicious
Estee Lauder lip gloss
Elianto nail polish
G-lish mosaic blush powder
Blue eyeliner
Bag!

Mechanics:
1. You MUST be a follower of my blog. So, click on the "follow" button if you aren't a follower yet!
2. Copy the image and post it together with the mechanics on your blog. Don't forget to link back!
3. Leave a comment on this entry saying, "I'm in!"

It's that easy to join!

Good night ladies!

Bare Naturals Gets Revamped!

Photo taken from Bare Naturals' multiply site

Bare Naturals was the first mineral make up brand that I tried as it is one of those few homegrown mineral make up brands that are of course, available locally. 90% of the mineral make up brands in the market are US made and are available only in the US and on their websites.

The first Bare Naturals product that I tried was their foundi-stay in olive light, as recommended by the SA at Imperial Dermatology Clinic. A couple of weeks after, I purchased their BN ESPS (Bare Naturals Emu Skin Perfecting Soap), bubblegum blush, Illumiglow setting powder in invisiglow, S5 Skin Perfecting Primer and the Kabuki Princess Professional 8pc brush set. I was hooked since then. Thereafter, I started collecting their blushes and got a couple of their mineral liptints.

Their BN ESPS was an instant hit in my workplace. Whenever my people would ask what products I use on my face, I’d smile and say, BN ESPS. I’d get puzzled looks from my people; but when they tried the soap themselves, they became believers. I barely had to do any salestalk to get people to place an order for the soap. One look at my skin and they’d give in.

For the quality that you get at such an affordable price, hoarding on some of their products will always be a pleasure (not to mention that the owner/seller, Ms. Lami, is very accommodating and generous with their samples/freebies). I will always have a Bare Naturals product in my stash or in my travelling make up kit. I will forever be a follower and a loyal customer of Bare Naturals, especially now that they have gotten better than before.

Speaking of which...

Watch out for the re-launch of Bare Naturals happening soon. If before they had only one formulation for the foundation, they now have three. If before they had only two variants of the BN ESPS, they now have five. Aside from these, they have also reformulated their products, making them far better than they were. I am particularly looking forward to the new blush shades (though I already have some samples and a couple of full size jars from the latest blush collection), eyeshadows, cheek and lip tints, emu oil soaps and their very own make up brushes.

For orders and inquiries, visit Bare Naturals here and here, or drop Ms. Lami a line at barenaturals@gmail.com.

Happy Shopping ladies!

The Comeback

After a month-long hiatus due to all sorts of crap, I’m finally back with tons of reviews to write and post. Since I don’t quite know yet how to start this post, I’ll just do a recap on the things that had transcribed in the past month.

• I celebrated my 22nd birthday on the 12th of March. While it wasn’t exactly how I hoped it would be, I’m most grateful for having another year added to my life. I’m also thankful to my teachers at English11, especially to the boys, for turning my day around by serenading me with the Backstreet Boys’ 1998 hit single “I Want It That Way” (watch video below).

• I was in and out of my cardiologist’s clinic at the Philippine Heart Center for endless consultations and diagnostic tests. My heart is not in good shape and it has been giving me chest pains, palpitations, DOB (difficulty breathing), SOB (short of breath) resulting to fatigue, light-headedness, dizziness and headache.

• He went to church on the last Sunday of March and met my family and church friends for the very first time. He took my family and some of my friends to a Persian restaurant just around the office. It was a nerve-racking day that closed pretty nicely and peacefully.

• I went on a retail therapy because of stress. I shopped from Vanilla and Company, Bare Naturals, Ellana Minerals, The Good Earth, Everyday Minerals, Avon, Joppa Minerals, etc. All my shopping was done online (except those I got from Avon and Ellana), since I never have time to go to malls.

• Some issues were resolved, others are in the process. I cannot thank God so much for seeing me through every storm and trial in my life. I will ever be grateful to my mighty Savior.

To end this post, here is a video of the boys serenading me at my desk. Kudos to Miko for taking this video with his phone.

Till my next post! Tata-Tish-

Coming Soon on Practical Vanity

Since my blog is relatively new, I thought of adding some punch to it by creating different series for my (future) readers to follow. To start that off, I listed the different series I that have come up with which I will be writing about very soon. Each series will contain my takes and views on different products that are out in the market as well as actual product photos and swatches and perhaps, application or usage tips. As for tutorials, that’ll have to wait since I’m no expert in blending and making tutorials takes a lot of time. This would just be a “starter” because for certain, more series will be upped on this site once I get rolling; these will do for now.

• Mascara Mania
• Blushing Beauty
• Eye Pop
• Luscious Lips
• Skin Supplements

Till next post! Muah!

-Tish-

The Genesis of Practical Vanity

PracticalVanity will be the storage bank of my 2cents on beauty and health, and everything else that makes a woman beautiful inside and out. It will be filled with beauty tips and beauty products that will not only make one beautiful on the surface, but also from within. It will likewise help every lady in spending the fruit of her labor wisely.

Why PracticalVanity?

Following millions of beauty blogs that feature beauty products only the rich can afford and ladies that splurge on every beauty product that catches their eyes leave me wondering if all the make up and skin care products are consumed before the expiry date stamped on each product or if these just sit on their owner's bathroom sink counter tops and gather dust and end up in the bin after their shelf lives' are up. Having a pretty and growing collection of make ups, skin care products, perfumes, apparels, bags, and shoes can surely be an eye candy to the loyal audience, and addicting to the owner of the collection; but indulging in unnecessary things simply to have something to boast of is idiocy to me. I live by the principle of "getting only what you can finish," which is most frequently heard during gatherings where a feast for the belly is laid before the eyes. In like manner do I spend only on items that are needed and worth every single penny. Thanks to all the beauty blogs in the blogosphere, PracticalVanity was born.

Everyone wants to look good and feel good, and as it is said in time past, beauty comes with a price; but that price you have to pay need not to be over the top. Remember that to be beautiful doesn't have to cost you your limbs. You can be both beautiful and frugal at the same time. Be Beautiful, but be Practical.

Welcome to Practical Vanity!