Thursday, October 12, 2006

Coming Out of Blackout City

First of all, the good news: Electricity has been restored in our neighborhood since Sunday! YIPPEEE! My parents now have electricity and running water, and not only that - they donated some of my clothes to the folks who were affected by the landslides in our home town. It feels good - not only for helping out in my own way, but also for letting go of certain things from back home.

Second of all, because I feel like I should share this: I just had this weird dream last night. Something about me being invited to a beauty-blogger convention ("Hey, I know you! How's your hair holding up? Awww, maybe you should try the Paul Mitchell...") and everyone keeps asking me how I'm holding up with the blackout. Then they make all sorts of constructive suggestions on how to improve my blog, and... it was all weird and funny and brutally honest at the same time, but there you go.

So, in closing, it's so good to be back. And just in time, as well.

There were so many things to write about (Tower Records going out of business, ongoing construction at Nordstrom's, my laptop dying and coming back to life, etc.) but I just want to talk about two things in particular:

- Ever since I got back from Manila I feel like I've been working the red lips lately. Those of you who have read my comments during the Rock the Gloss Challenge on Blogdorf Goodman would remember that I have shades of red from MAC and Maybelline, but my current obsession - and most recent purchase - is L'Oreal HIP Intensely Moisturizing Lip Color in Driven #778, which looks like a dark violet in the tube but goes on me as a plum-based red. This one reminds me of the first time I tried Chanel Vamp ten years ago - a little too purplish for me - but this L'Oreal HIP lipstick is truly moisturizing on me (good news for someone for whom no lipstick is "moisturizing" enough) and the color builds up nicely, even if the blue tones bring out the worst in me.

- Speaking of lipstick: I am so going to put The Beauty Newsletter (beautynews.blogspot.com) on my blogroll. Those lipstick-buying tips alone are worth the read.

- While we're on the topic of lipstick, one of the reasons why I've started rocking the dark lips again has a lot to do with me getting back into the Pinoy rock scene, which you may have read in a couple of entries for this blog (see the "Manila" section for more). And because there's nothing I love more than makeup and Pinoy rock music... well, yeah, so you know how I'm madly in love with this band in the Philippines that's, like, named after a certain food item, and how I think their lead guitarist is so freaking hot and all? Yeah, those guys. That's why it hurts me to snark on this video. Granted, this was shot during a dark(er) moment in their career and all - which explains the low-budget feel (and, yeah, crappier videos have been made for more money) - but I don't have the heart to embed this, folks. Seriously: Evie and I have been snarking about how half of the budget for this video must've gone to hair and makeup for the lead singer ALONE. And it hurts me more to think that my Hot Guitarist Boyfriend was still sporting Beyonce's old weave on his head. Yeah, I know. Still love these guys, though, and I'm glad that they're doing so well back home. Now if you'll excuse me, I should go ahead and weep into a Special Education Law texbook, or something.

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