Inspired by my previous post about modern buns I tried it myself one fine afternoon and this is what I got.

modern bun

It only took few minutes to up do my hair. I just pulled it up in one, curled it on top and inserted a pin so as to keep it in form. One can also tie it up with bands . No hair polisher or hair product was applied in these pics so as you can notice hair is a little messy :D  A head band can add beauty to the whole appearance, just bought a head band last week. Happy that I can finally use it in almost all the time in my house.

I arrange another type of bun

And this one I think is influenced by Korean singer Sandara Park of 2en1. (looks not good though :P)

Lastly I did the simplest thing on my hair….

Well, this is one of the things I love to do when I can be with myself, when I give time to myself and experiment with new things I want to do. A time alone and enjoying girly stuff helps a lot in liking and loving yourself more.

jennifer-lopez2

Perfect hair do for summer, right? We are suffering from the heat of the sun, sometimes I can’t stand the heat anymore. This hair bun would be a great option to have a refreshing look at this weather we are experiencing. Jessica Alba and Jennifer Lopez look good at these modern buns.

First off I’d like to send my greetings of Happy Valentines to you! So how did you spent the day? Was it a remarkable one? On valentines day we visit the place of El Salvador Municipality, particularly the Divine Mercy Shrine. It is Sunday so a mass was held at the chapel. Luckily we have attended the said mass. The mass is treated with great respect and solemnity. Ladies are required to wear long skirts as it is a holy and sacred place, so ladies take note, when going there use the appropriate skirt specially when they are holding a mass (Sunday). It’s my first time to visit the place and I don’t have the knowledge yet about this policy. I’m sorry about this ignorance. Good thing they lend long skirts to visitors wearing pants like me. So I end up looking like this. So how do I look with this one?

Okay this is not the highlight of the Shrine but this 50 feet statue.

Bryan and I are amazed and awed upon seeing the structure. It’s a huge and beautifully crafted one. If you are devoted to the Divine Mercy, you should watch it in real life. You can only climb the stairs and reach the heart of the Divine Mercy when you have the permission (given by the priest and staff of the shrine). Inside the heart of the Divine Mercy is a hidden niche of a life size statue of St. Faustina. The cross section of Ray is made up of stained glasses.

Some Facts about the Divine Mercy Shrine:

Lot Area:9.8 hectares
Purchased Price: P8,500,000.00 including taxes
Master Planner of architects: Palafox Associates, Makati Metro Manila
Sculptor: Nick Reyes, UP Fine Arts

They also have a flowing holy water. So when you go there bring with you an empty container so you can fill it with this water.

Following are the pics I took while we are climbing the stairs. I took it to show or reveal how the statue looks like as you get nearer to it.

Looking like a real tourist….and the face looked so tired too. hehe

Seeing the wide ground with flowers surrounding it creates a good feeling. Across the hill where the Divine Mercy stood is the endless sea. It’s a breathless view and the air is so refreshing.

El Salvador

And let me remind you to bring an umbrella, the heat can spoil your visit.

Or if not, enjoy a cute shade of a plant.

It was a great day and we’re happy with our date. Enjoy your visit too.

Feeling the love in the air? Don’t wonder if you see many hearts hanging on walls in every place you go. Month of the hearts is here! We usually refer valentines to love so I’m sharing here my favorite love descriptions.

This passage have been heard many times during weddings and masses but the thought it gives never gets old. It’s so refreshing to hear these words and its meaning is absolutely beautiful. Love though profound and exceptionally hard to explain is the most wonderful thing that a man can experience.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8

4 Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant 5or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. 7It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.8 Love never ends.

I’m smitten with the words of William Shakespeare. His descriptions of love could weaken any bone, it’s so deep. Makes me want to think if there’s a big difference of how people love in those Renaissance period and in this modern times. How did they expressed their love? Through poems? Cause they are magnificent writers. And now, just a text away and you could earn a lovelife so easily. You know what I’m talking about. So here are two sonnet of William Shakespeare that’s been a personal favorite of mine.

Sonnet 116 Let me not to marriage of true minds admit impediments.

Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove:
O no! it is an ever-fixed mark
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wandering bark,
Whose worth’s unknown, although his height be taken.
Love’s not Time’s fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle’s compass come:
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
If this be error and upon me proved,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved.

Sonnet 63 Against my love shall be as I am now

Against my love shall be as I am now,
With Time’s injurious hand crush’d and o’erworn;
When hours have drain’d his blood and fill’d his brow
With lines and wrinkles; when his youthful morn
Hath travelled on to age’s steepy night;
And all those beauties whereof now he’s king
Are vanishing, or vanished out of sight,
Stealing away the treasure of his spring;
For such a time do I now fortify
Against confounding age’s cruel knife,
That he shall never cut from memory
My sweet love’s beauty, though my lover’s life:
His beauty shall in these black lines be seen,
And they shall live, and he in them still green.

Then here’s Elizabeth Brownings (1806-1861) undying love poem she dedicated to her poet husband Robert Browning.
I’m in love with this poem ever since I read it. Read and be mesmerized.

How do I love thee?

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.
I love thee to the level of everyday’s
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.
I love thee with a passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood’s faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints, — I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life! — and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.

And below are some famous lines about love and loving. Hope you enjoy!

Love is the master key that opens the gates of happiness. - Oliver Wendell Holmes

All love that has not friendship for its base,
is like a mansion built upon the sand. - Ella Wheeler Wilcox

You will find as you look back upon your life that the moments when you have really lived, are the moments when you have done things in a spirit of love. - Henry Drummond

You come to love not by finding the perfect person,
but by seeing an imperfect person perfectly. - Sam Keen

Live well, laugh often, and love with all of your heart! - Unknown

Love makes your soul crawl out from its hiding place. - Zora Neale Hurston

Anyone can catch your eye, but it takes someone special to catch your heart.
Unknown

May you live as long as you wish and love as long as you live. - Robert A. Heinlein

There is no remedy for love but to love more. - Henry David Thoreau

Love is a friendship set to music. - Joseph Cossman

Love is the greatest refreshment in life. - Pablo Picasso

Age does not protect you from love. But love, to some extent, protects you from age.
~ Unknown

Since love grows within you, so beauty grows.
For love is the beauty of the soul.- St. Augustine

Absence sharpens love, presence strengthens it. - Thomas Fuller

Love cannot endure indifference. It needs to be wanted. Like a lamp, it needs to be fed out of the oil of another’s heart, or its flame burns low. - Henry Ward Beecher

The life and love we create is the life and love we live. - Leo Buscaglia

True love begins when nothing is looked for in return.
~ by Antoine De Saint-Exupery

Love grows by giving. The love we give away is the only love we keep. The only way to retain love is to give it away. - Elbert Hubbard

Love is always open arms. If you close your arms about love you will find that you are left holding only yourself. - Leo Buscaglia

Love is an act of endless forgiveness
A tender look which becomes a habit. - Peter Ustinov

The best and most beautiful things in this world cannot be seen or even heard, but must be felt with the heart. - Helen Keller

Love asks me no questions,
And gives me endless support… - William Shakespeare

A simple I love you means more than money. - Frank Sinatra

Life without love is like a tree
Without blossom and fruit. -Khalil Gibra

I regret that I have never taken good care of my eyes. Bad habits like reading while lying in bed, reading in dark areas, not eating the right foods contributed much to this problem I’m having with my eyesight right now. Myopia (Nearsightedness) is a vision impairment which prevents me from seeing far objects clearly. Only the near ones can be read, I cannot read letters and banners shown on streets. During college I also had to go nearer on the blackboard while on class so I can copy what’s written on the board.

Last week was a blast; I pampered my eyes by purchasing it a new pair of glasses, its been ages that it’s been taken for granted. I have eyeglasses before but haven’t worn them always for I am not comfortable with it, too heavy for me. I would not take these new eyeglasses off except when I go to sleep, that’s a simple advice from the ophthalmologist. I was sad to hear the news after a check up that my right eye just got worst. God I’m guilty to what I have done with thy gifts.

Just to prove that I’m back to caring my eyes I purchase a Kappa eyeglasses. Psychologically pricing it is, I was convinced to buy it because it’s on 50% sale and had totally forgotten the high original price. Huh, later then I realized I paid high enough for it. Okay I just decided that this would be my gift for myself this Christmas.

I immediately put the eyeglasses on while trying to find Christmas ideas at the mall. I was introduced to a new view making me see clearly of what is really existing. I hope I’m not missing on something. I smiled as I see objects clearly specially the views when we pass through the hi-way. Hello world! It’s been a long time I haven’t seen you this close, is this how the world looks like?

And before enjoying the scene and twinkling lights from afar, we had our dinner at Dimsum.

Simple dinner it is, we had their dim sum platter and shanghai rice. I’m starting to get hungry now since lunchbreak is just 30 minutes to go.

Take good care of your hair. Hairs are on their weakest condition when wet. So make sure to do the best thing to maintain its beauty and avoid breakage and damage. Here are tips to consider in drying your hair:

1. First scrunch-dry the hair, using fingers to wipe off excess water and moisture.
2. Then pat-dry the hair always in the direction of the hair, i.e. from top to the end, using a soft towel. Avoid vigorous rubbing with the towel.
3. Don’t ever tie the wet hair, twisting it tightly in a towel in a turban-style knot at the back or at the top of the head. This is a sure way of losing hair.

4. After the hair is semi-dry, comb it with a wide-toothed comb and leave it if you are one of those whose hair sets naturally into place.
5. If you are in a hurry use a blow-dryer, however keep in mind that excessive use of dryer is bad. But if it is a must, these rules can limit damage to a very large extent.
Apply a protein-based mousse on the hair before drying. This protects the hair and also gives bounce to it. Mousse should always be applied on the scalp and then to the ends. Keep the heat of the dryer at minimum. Also, one should keep the dryer 4 inches away from the scalp.

Most of us girls have been doing all sort of things to pave our way to stunning beauty. Some have undergone straightening their hair to make it manageable and won’t look frizzy. True that our hair could be expose to treatments like relaxing, heating it to extreme temperature to the point that it loses its own natural moisture, and dyeing it could make the condition of the hair worst. Mine is now experiencing hair fall. I’m starting to get nervous with this since I got a very thin layer of hair. When I start to see fallen hairs on my bed or after I comb, I came to think of what solution to take to solve this one.

Some sources said that washing your hair daily with a protein shampoo can help prevent hair loss. These shampoos contain hydrolyzed animal proteins or thickeners. They coat the actual hair shaft when used in your hair, thus making your hair thicker. The resulting effect is hair that is fluffier and fuller looking. This type of hair is the one I’ve been dying to achieve.
Homemade Remedies:

A good homemade conditioner for thin hair is white vinegar. Take a large spoon of white vinegar and about 500 ML water. Mix the two and then massage it into your hair after shampooing. The vinegar has a high acidic level and thus helps change the chemical balance of your hair. This gives your hair more body and allows it to appear thicker. Another positive is that the vinegar does not leave an odor in your hair. However make sure to rinse your hair well after applying the conditioner.

Lime juice can be applied to the scalp and allowed to dry for some time before taking a head bath. This will arrest fling hair by keeping the scalp clean and healthy.

You can also apply a paste of Fenugreek seeds soaked overnight and apply it all over the scalp. Allow it to sink in for about an hour before taking a bath.

Applying coconut milk all over the scalp is also another effective solution for falling hair. Using castor oil as hair oil regularly will also help in preventing hair from falling.
Iodine and vitamin B1 deficiency can also be the factors that lead to falling hair. Therefore look for solutions with a combination of home remedies and mild medications for a proper solution for your falling hair.
The best way to prevent hair loss is to stimulate the production of natural oils from the sebaceous glands situated in your scalp. This natural oil or sebum is essential for nourishing your hair and keeping it healthy, therefore allowing it grow strong while avoiding unnecessary breakage. Therefore after washing your hair rub and massage your scalp well until it starts to heat up. Once this happens the blood circulation to your scalp increases and the sebum glands are subsequently stimulated.
However, there is no quick fix solution to falling hair. Regular and timely care is the only lasting solution to falling hair.

Girls, read these tips. Very helpful one and can be applied for a lifetime. Very simple to follow and effective. Plus the good news, they are from professional make-up artists.

1. EYES FIRST: Always apply your eye shadow before applying foundation. If your eye color gets on your skin and mixes with your foundation, you will have a “caking” and “creasing” effect under your eye.

2. NATURAL COLORS: Brown tones are always the most natural. Light colors like cream enhance and bring forward and dark colors like brown push back. The light tones can be applied to your entire eye lid. The darker tones should be applied with an eye shadow brush in the crease of your eye like a windshield wiper.

3. STRAIGHT LINE: Use a liner brush to apply eye liner and point the angle toward your nose for a straight line.

4. CURLING LASHES: Always curl your lashes prior to applying mascara to avoid breaking, clumping, and to keep healthy lashes.

5. CLEANSE SKIN: Makeup remover must be applied underneath your eyes and on your cheek bones after applying shadow. You will be surprised how much makeup you take off. Imagine that mixing with your foundation.

6. EXACT MATCH: Foundation should always be matched to the color of your neck or jaw bone. Your face is naturally darker than your neck because the sun hits your face more. If you match your foundation to your face, this is bad because your neck will appear much lighter in pictures. Your neck is your natural skin tone with a lot less UV damage.

7. FLAWLESS FOUNDATION: Blend, blend, & blend again! Apply liquid foundation with a triangular wedge and blot around your skin for best results.

8. POWDER PERFECT: The trick to perfect skin is to apply powder after your foundation for a smooth and flawless appearance.

9. BLUSHING BRIDE: Make a fish face by sucking in your cheeks or smile wide to locate our cheek bones. Apply blush to the entire cheek bone with a blush brush. Never use too much blush; blush should be subtle and natural.

10. PUCKER UP: Lips should be filled in with lip pencil prior to applying or gloss for a longer lasting color.

See for yourself now by trying these beauty tips by yourself!

Working on night shift is a tough job.

Not only did night shifts can make your eyes looked tired, most of the time it is the comfort of having a good sleep that you are deprived of- a normal sleep which eventually make you look so tired.

Stressful activities can also develop tired looking eyes. Sometimes I lack sleep because it was hard for me to sleep during the day prior to working on night shift. No wonder I happen to have these tired eyes. It looks so awful to carry those baggy eyes. Plus our job requires us to stare at a computer for hours, so definitely it causes much strain to the eyes.And me, myself dreaded to have those. But women listen. You need not fret and look for that dayto have an operation to treat those eyes. There are many solutions to that problem.

You just have to choose which one is comfortable for you to treat those tired eyes.

Some natural treatments for tired-looking eyes are

1. drinking water,
2. avoiding the sun,
3. using sunscreen,
4. using vitamin K cream,
5. treating allergies,
6. applying cold compresses (tea bags or cucumbers), and
7. sleeping on your back with your head elevated

Home remedy for tired eyes

If your eyes are tired and stressed, try these simple tricks:

• Take 2 used teabags, refrigerate them for some time and place on your tired eyes for 20 minutes. Voila ! You have fresh and beautiful eyes.
• Or boil some tea in a little water and let it cool. Dip 2 cotton pads in it and place the pads on each eye for 15 minutes. This is an effective treatment for tired eyes.
• Place cucumber slices on your eyes for half an hour. And then wash your eyes with cold water.
• If you have tired eyes, wash them with cold water several times a day. This treatment reduces inflammation, relaxes the eyes & provides relief from eyestrain & fatigue.
• Dip two cotton pads in rose water and place them on your eyes for atleast 20 minutes.
• Lavender oil is also known to offer relief for tired and strained eyes. Add a drop of lavender oil to 500 ml of water and shake the solution well. Dip two cotton pads in it, squeeze out the excess water and place one pad on each eye.

Because of the busy schedules we follow, and the continuous hours we spend before the computer, eyes are the worst affected due to stress. Here are some tips to reduce the tiredness in your eyes and to make them sparkle with health.

• Boil tea powder in a some water and let it cool. Dip 2 gauzes in this liquid and place the gauzes on each eye for around 15 minutes. Keep dipping the cotton wads into the liquid, as soon as the gauzes dry up. This is a very effective treatment for tired eyes.
• Wash the tired eyes with cold water, many times a day. This treatment reduces inflammation, moisturizers the skin /tissues, relaxes the eyes & provides relief from eyestrain & fatigue.
• Lavender oil offers relief to tired and strained eyes. Add a drop of lavender oil to 500 ml of water and shake the solution well. Dip two cotton wool pads in the liquid, remove the excess water and place one pad over each eye.

I read a blog about a photograph of a woman’s figure which shows her nakedness and small flabby fat in her tummy. I can tell that this picture is powerful that it affects the perspective of some physically conscious women. It gives them the confidence and appreciation of what figure they actually have and accept that they have different body types. .Here, I want to repost what the original article is saying. It’s from glamour.com. I believe that every woman should read this:

It’s a photo that measures all of three by three inches in our September issue, but the letters about it started to flood my inbox literally the day Glamour hit newsstands. (As editor-in-chief, I pay attention to this stuff!) “I am gasping with delight…I love the woman on p 194!” said one…then another, and another, andanotherandanotherandanother. So…who is she? And what on earth is so special about her?

Here’s the deal: The picture wasn’t of a celebrity. It wasn’t of a supermodel. It was of a woman sitting in her underwear with a smile on her face and a belly that looks…wait for it…normal.
I’d loved this photo at first sight myself–we’d commissioned it for a story on feeling comfortable in your skin, and wanted a model who looked like she was. But even so, the letters blew me away: “the most amazing photograph I’ve ever seen in any women’s magazine,” wrote one reader in Pavo, Georgia. From another in Somerset, Massachusetts: “This beautiful woman has a real stomach and did I even see a few stretch marks? This is how my belly looks after giving birth to my two amazing kids! This photo made me want to shout from the rooftops.”

The emails were filled with such joy–joy at seeing a woman’s body with all the curves and quirks and rolls found in nature. (Raising a question: With all the six-packs out there, do you even know what a normal belly looks like anymore–other than the one you see in the mirror?)

So what’s the story behind the photo? “The woman on p. 194″ is actually 20-year-old model Lizzi Miller, and this is her second appearance in Glamour, shot by fashion photographer Walter Chin. A size 12-14 and avid softball player/belly dancer (”I like exercising when it’s fun”), Lizzi moved to New York City from San Jose three years ago to become a model (a “plus-size” one by modeling industry standards, though hello, at size 12 she’s actually “normal size”…but I digress).

“When I was young I really struggled with my body and how it looked because I didn’t understand why my friends were so effortlessly skinny,” Lizzi told me. “As I got older I realized that everyone’s body is different and not everyone is skinny naturally–me included! I learned to love my body for how it is, every curve of it. I used to be so self-conscious in a bikini because my stomach wasn’t perfectly defined. But everyone has different body shapes! And it’s not all about the physical! If you walk on the beach in your bikini with confidence and you feel sexy, people will see you that way too.”

As for the letters, Lizzi’s loving them. “When I read them I got teary-eyed!” she says. “I’ve been that girl, flipping through magazines trying to find just one person who looked a little bit like me. And when I didn’t find it I would start to think there’s something wrong with the way that I looked. When J. Lo and Beyoncé came out and were making curves sexy, I started to accept myself more. It’s funny, but just seeing them look and feel sexy enabled me to do the same.” Lizzi, now you’re doing the same for all of us–massive congrats on that.

We had some rollicking debates in this blog last week about “fattism” and the TV shows for plus-size women. So let’s start off this week with something we can all get behind: a toast to the woman on p. 194, and to the spectacular sexiness of owning who you are. Trust me, Glamour’s listening, and this only strengthens our commitment to celebrating all kinds of beauty.

Now tell me…what do you think of the picture? Can a photo make you feel better or worse about your own looks?