Happy endings may not exist but magic wands are real: MAC Brow Set in Beguile

 “I know a Latin chant that could grow your brows really thick!” blurts out Joseph last night we were having dinner. It was directed to our help. It didn’t took me long to get his point and burst out laughing. Then, I felt sorry for Ate Wil’s brows (they are REALLY thin).

Okay, so he had another I’m-random-slash-crazy-deal-with-it episode. 
I, on the other hand, had some realizations.

I realized how a teacher and brows share the power to transform.

I’m pretty sure you’ve heard how a teacher can make or break a child. Well, same goes with brows and face. You see, groomed brows are very important to frame the face; keeping them neat could seriously brighten one’s face.

I remember when I was a little younger, my sister and I would usually argue over MY eyebrows. “Can I pluck them, please?” my sister would always ask me and she’d always get a firm “No”. “But they are really thickkkkk” she’d add. “Leave them be, I don’t think they are bothering you in the very least”.

Fast forward to college days, “Kat, I want to have my brows shaped but I’m scared to do it in salon. They might overdo it. I trust you can do it for me?” and so, my dear sister took out her magic tweezers and bam! I saw the difference between prehistoric and neat brows. Then, I understood that plucking/shaving/trimming/threading/waxing your eyebrow isn’t a luxury but a necessity (chos!)

And the sort of brow obsession started.

So, apart from having my brows groomed once every two weeks, I also like using brow set. Not that I need filling or anything, I’ve got decent brows (:P). I practically use one just to hold my brows in place. Mac Brow Set in Beguile is my favourite (oh you little magic wand!).

Product description: A brush-on gel that strokes brows into shape. Adds shine and style. No flaking or stiffening. Tinted or clear. Also grooms lashes, sideburns and facial hair.

I thought of testing it alongside with my other brow set. Mehe.

Left: The Face Shop, Color my eyebrow; Right: MAC in Beguile

Although Face Shop's shade suits my (dyed) hair better, I still prefer Mac's. It is very pigmented. It may seem kind of shimmery but it really goes well when used on brows. Besides, I like the fact that it makes my brows look even thicker (:P).

1 and 3: Normal room light 2: With a wee bit sunlight

Please excuse my eyebags, I havent been sleeping lately. -_-

Some people like using powder with it to set or something. In my case, I use it alone since I'm only after the tamed look. 

Pros:

Easy to apply

Pigmented

Keep my brows in place (all day!)

Looks natural

Cons:

Funny smell (I can live with it though)

Bit expensive (I know I shouldn't keep products that are over six months but my first tube actually lasted for over a year (please don't judge me). So... no, not really expensive, if you do the maths. :)

Will you buy this product again? Yeabsolutely! (been using it since 2011)

Seoul search

I was on a 10-day-seriously-what-the-hell-are-we-thinking-when-we-planned-this trip to Korea. It was the craziest, ever-failing but funniest vacation I ever had. I was granted the visa 1.5 days before our departure, the result? No itinerary, freshly-packed luggage and numb nuts that didn’t bring clothes that are “weather-appropriate” (stupid face here). I caught flu on our first day. I wasn’t really feeling well so after having our late lunch, I thought it would be better if i spend the rest of the day in bed (well spent, yeah? mehe). I wasn’t really expecting any more out of this trip since bad things kept happening even before our departure. But hey, it turned out to be real FUN.

N-Seoul from our guesthouse :)

I got heaps of OMG, WTF and "there's nothing much in Korea, bet you'll get bored"; well sorry guys, I was never bored in Korea, not a second. Bleh. The trip was practically spent exploring places near Seoul/Incheon. Initially, two days were allotted for Busan but it is just impossible for us for two reasons: 1. we really like to lurk around and appreciate whatever that we are visiting and 2. getting around Korea is not that easy because 2.1. (of) language barrier, 2.2 we can’t just hire cab and tell him directions because cab drivers follow rules and they don’t just u-turn whenever you want them to hence the higher possibility of getting lost unless you call your host and let him speak to the driver, 2.3 taking the bus is more complicated since they don’t have real signage like “Cubao” or “Davao” instead, they have assigned numbers and these numbers indicate the routes; I mean sure, they have these tiny boards on bus bay, problem is, I CAN’T READ HANGEUL. So your best bet is to take the subway (which is pretty confusing at first), get off the nearest station and WALK.

Some of my been there, done that moments. 

 Myeong-dong, my love! :)

Spotted! 

N-Seoul Tower's Locks of Love

What do these locks symbolize? Uhh, go figure. LOL 

Of course, we had to do it too! (Cheesy? Yeah, stop judging!) 

Zeh Tower.

View from observatory

There's an integrated ticket for KW 10,000 which covers five palaces (but we only visited two) Hehe.

Our witty guide

Ah, the details!

Because I'm into trees

..and sky and twigs hoho

..and old guys LOL

Field trip?

Petit France accepts guest :)

The Winter Sonata Couple, Nami Island

Tired. T_T

So near yet so far.

The bi-eyed monster

Baby Tengo :)

Les Misérables

  

19^th century. Revolution. Powerful musical.

I was half-hearted to watch Les Miserables for two reasons: one, I promised my best friend that I’ll be watching it with her and two, I was mentally spent by exam earlier that I don’t want to watch anything that might require my thinking faculty. But since I don’t like going home straight after school, I gave in to my classmate's pang-aaya. So we went to Trinoma and head to cinema floor right away. We were both pissed when we found that Les Miserables tickets were all sold out (like wtf? Its only 3pm). Blah. Blah. Blah. I must stop ranting here before this post turns into a rage post. Anyway, were able to secure tickets from SM (they've got it all for us, apparently) hah! :)

Okay, I knew from the beginning that Les Miserables won’t be an easy film to watch but I never thought it would require too much patience (for me anyway) to finish it. The opening scene with all the slaves working reminds me of The Prince of Egypt for some reason. Anyway, I thought it was a cute opening, really catchy. The first hour of the movie’s alright. Hugh Jackman who played Jean Valjean was a revelation (I didn’t know Wolverine could sing, hahaha!) On the other hand, Anne Hathaway’s appearances were little yet she really made an impact. Hathaway (Fantine) will surely break your heart. The scene where she had to sell her hair, two front teeth and resort to prostitution after being kicked off her job served as emo-drainage for me. Her singing of I dreamed a dream is just something I really felt. Overall, I think Anne Hathaway’s portrayal was profound. Although I’m Amanda Seyfried’s fan, her character (Cosette) didn’t appeal to me, at all.  The movie in totality is beautiful. I just don’t get why they have to sing practically every dialogue. I know its meant to be musical but I think that characters could have given more emotion on some scenes if dialogues were spoken, not sung. But hey, that’s just me. 

A Slice of Pi

A boy of many faiths. A 450-pound Bengal tiger.

A shipwreck. A lifeboat. The Pacific Ocean.

I never thought I would like love the movie since I didn’t really enjoy the novel (I didn’t even made it halfway) but since I don’t have anything better to do, I watched it anyway. Eye-popping, thought-provoking would best describe the movie, I think. Overall, it wasn’t perfect but there are couple of scenes where I found myself lost with my own thoughts. I don’t know about the “story that would make you believe in God” (snot like I need any story to believe in God) but I didn’t really find it as something religious or anything in the least, or maybe it’s just me. I’ve already told my company to tap me if he ever see sleeping (were doing LFS, hey!) but it was such a visual feast, I was up the whole time. In any case, I’ve gotta say that it is one of the best movies I’ve seen. Style and substance rolled in one, how can I possibly not love it? Hah! :)

Pi -at wit's end. :(

I have two favourite scenes in the movie. First would be when dolphins showed up and he saw a ship nearby, he shoot in hopes of being rescued but his attempts have failed. I find this scene sad and real. I thought hey, life’s really like that. There’d be times where everything’s just messed up you don’t know what to do. You’d sink into depression; you’d seek help only to realize no one could really help you but yourself. I think it tries to convey that there are things in life that we must do alone. My second favourite was when he found the floating island of trees –the temporary salvation. Feel free to judge me of over reading but I think the island symbolizes the idea of settling for something seemingly good when in reality, there’s something better (only it would be risky, of course). For someone whose gone hungry for days, it would be very tempting to just stay in the island which offers unlimited food, water and shelter. Then again, we all know what would eventually happen to him. The algae island is simply an allegory to crossroad between mere existing and living, on how one decides to spend his life.

As for ending, I don’t really know which version I like better…yet. The first story is very appealing though. Guess I’m reading the whole thing, after all.

awesomenimity

It felt like it was just yesterday when I was crazily waiting for 2012 to come, hoping and praying for a bigger and brighter year; now I’m bidding it goodbye. Ah, how time flies.

Twenty twelve has been a tough year. It was demanding, it was stressful; not a second of it was easy but it was all worth it. Troubles here and there were well paid off by kilig everywhere (hihihi) so, blah. I’ve learnt a lot and I’ve come to see life in new light. There’s just heap of good things and people that have come to my life (yays for that) that I’ve actually forgotten the things I wanted to complain about. Hoho.

Anywhooo, a new year has come. Let’s all leave whatever baggage we have in the past and start fwesh. 

Cheers to life that keeps getting sweeter and better! <3