AUTUMN WINTER (A/W) 2016 MAKEUP FAVOURITES

How many make up item/s have you finished (as in hit pan) completely? Exactly! That's the reason why I made a firm resolve to only buy items I need and make an effort to hit pan on each of them. The clock turned one hour backwards yesterday and so, what a better excuse to lounge on a lazy Sunday morning! I got a new pair of cosy slippers because... there's no denying it, winter months are upon us!

Anyways, here are my HG products:

The Body Shop Vitamin E moisturiser. I like the consistency of this one. Not too thick nor overly watery. I had my facial a couple of weeks ago and Adele said I may want to consider putting on serum at night time as cooler months take a toll on our skin's moisture. Still hunting for a good serum though. 

I recently purchased Bare Minerals Complexion Rescue tinted moisturiser. I'm so glad I discovered this one. I've been using MAC Studio Fix liquid foundation for the longest but I find it too thick by the day. I wanted something that's light and breathable. Good to know that Bare Minerals is a 100% cruelty free and vegan brand. What's not to love?

For my eye shadow, I'm still raving about Urban Decay Naked 2 palette! When everybody has moved on to other HG palettes, this baby will always be my favourite. It's a bit pricey compared to other dupes for £38.00 but it's just so pretty and wearable. It doesn't smudge on my ever-oily eyelids plus you cannot go wrong with these glorious colours! My mostly used shade is YDK (3rd from the right), Snakebite (7th from the right) and Booty Call (2nd from the left). I wish I'd known the power of a good eye shadow sooner as a few good swipes just pops my mini-eyes in no time!

For my eyebrows, I'm using Nichido eyebrow gel. I got this from the Philippines for Php 180! Quite a steal, isn't it? I know I won't be back for a good few months so I got an extra with me. For contouring, I use NARS Laguna Bronzer. I got a limited edition one from London Heathrow airport for £32.00. It blends like a dream and it doesn't turn orange when applied. I like to swipe it with the kabuki brush and blend it through with my angled brush.

BELLE DE JOUR 2017 PLANNER REVIEW

How do you know if you already miss blogging (or any other hobby that you've put off for a while)? To me, it is when you're doing an entirely different thing but the idea of making time for blogging keeps on popping on my head! That's when I know it's time to snap some photos, log in to blogger and type away.

Since I have to ship some documents from Manila (due to my passport renewal), I thought it's a good idea to buy a Belle de Jour Planner for 2017 and courier it altogether. Little did I know that an express shipment of a Php 480 planner will cost me Php 1,200. Then I remember somebody saying: life is full of oh-wells. On point! :D

THE CLASSIC BDJ FEEL

I grew up older with BDJ. I've been a fan, and will always be. When there was no planner to cater my needs and wants, it was a breath of fresh air to see those pinks and blacks in the racks of a bookstore. They didn't disappoint. The planner looks nice and put together. Not Kate Spade-ish quality but it doesn't look cheap. And for the price, you get what you paid for.

MAGA-PLANNER

A portmanteau for magazine and planner. BDJ always comes with articles with good, relevant content. Something that's not common on other planners. I kind of miss that when I transitioned to Bando Planner last year, so I came back to the BDJ bandwagon again. The fill-in-the-blanks type of thing reminds me of Calm and The 5-minute Journal, only in a pastel-coloured format. Very nice.

HOW TO RENEW YOUR PASSPORT AT PHILIPPINE EMBASSY IN LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM

For a travel junkie like me (here's CMK TRAVELS series for your indulgence), a passport is a bare necessity. And since my passport will soon be expiring this February 2017... it's renewal time! It was a double whammy because this was my first time to a) renew my passport and b) the renewal site will be at Philippine Embassy in London, United Kingdom.

As you may have experienced, dealing with most of Philippine government agencies require lots of preparation and patience. I'd like to be optimistic about it so I'd like to give you guys tips based on my first hand experience.

TIPS

• Make sure you have all the required documents with you (more on this later).
• If you have any unique and/or complex queries, send an email to the embassy contact email address first. Don't make the mistake of going there uninformed because more likely, you'll be wasting your time and chances are, you'll be told to go back (I reckon by this time, you'll be in the hulk mode).
• I'd suggest you go via email route. I tried to email them and I got a response within 24 hours. It may be sheer luck but I got my reply after sending my query after a day.
• If there's one thing that will save you a lot of stress... go there EARLY! And when I say early, it means... early early! I got there at 7:30 am so yes, I waited for 1.5 hours before the embassy officially opened. I'm happy that I made friends with Tita Evelyn. We chatted like crazy so hours went by just like that.

REQUIREMENTS (FOR RENEWAL)

As of press time, HERE's the official link from the Embassy of the Philippines, London United Kingdom. These are the requirements I brought with me:

• Old Passport (photocopy the detailed page)
• Duly accomplished passport application form
• Passport fee in cash (£47.00)
• Birth Certificate (Philippines Statistics Authority certified)
• Official Transcript of Records

PROCESS

1. Get a stub (and quick!). This will serve as your service number.

2. Wait for your number to be called, go to the window (you won't get lost because uhm, there's only one window) and pass all your documents.

3. Pay your fee to the cashier (very important of course).

4. Proceed to the Biometrics room (one floor up). Here, you'll have your photo, signature and finger prints taken.

5. Once done, they'll inform you that you can claim your passport within 2 to 3 months (on the average).

To give you a brief background, I went to the embassy at lunch time and I was #83. The number on the screen was #43 and it's taking them approx 20 mins. per person. Needless to say, I went back to the office because there's just no way I'll waste my time waiting for who-knows-how-long.

Immediately the day after, I got there at 7:30 am. And... tadaaan! Guess what's my number? Number 1! This time, it took me 30 minutes tops to finish the whole process.

GOOD POINTS

1. Email turnaround time. I'm quite happy that I got a response from them within a day.

2. The lady who assessed my requirements was on point. You see, I have a situation whereby I need to extend my passport validity in time for a Christmas trip, however, she said that they allow these for emergency purposes only. I'm not 100% happy about the answer but c'est la vie.

POINTS FOR IMPROVEMENT

1. I have to wait for another 15 minutes or so (as if waiting for 1.5 hours was not enough) because the person taking the biometrics was late! It's very sad because we have all these people (who are renewing) and their time are obviously important. I don't want to sound preachy but if there's a need for another person, I think it's wise to hire another full time equivalent, isn't it?

2. Everything is manual. The biometrics person still types your details manually (no wonder the process takes so much time). Some embassies do an online application (so why not do it here?). This would be such a massive time-saver to invest on these solutions.

3. Passport renewals take 2 to 3 months. Seriously? I think we Filipinos can do better than that.

Okay... inhale, exhale. *fanning my right hand in front of my face*. Whew.

MONEY MATTERS : 3 UNSEXY, FINANCY THINGS YOU NEED TO DO ANYWAY!

You might think budgeting, saving and investing are altogether unsexy! On the contrary, buying relentlessly is undeniably an in-thing especially for young professionals like us. We earned it. We deserve it.

Pause.

Let me break it down for you. The time of need will come. It certainly will. As much as I'd like to tell you that life is all bright and sunshiny, the truth is it isn't. Soon enough, you'll buy a house, get married, have kids, feel the need to travel, etc. And then you'll remember...

“What the ancients called a clever fighter is one who not only wins, but excels in winning with ease.” - Sun Tzu, The Art of War

Here are the three things I've recollected so far:

REVISIT YOUR BUDGET
So you have a monthly pay (assuming you're an employee) and you already have a system of disbursing your monies for rent, food, etc. Good job! Like all other things though, these figures need to be assessed periodically. I suggest setting a specific portion of your salary for your future need. Then work around what's left. This need not be a daunting exercise, make sure you allocate a fun fund because, hey! you worked hard for it. Friendly reminder: Know your boundaries.

UP YOUR SAVINGS PERCENTAGE
A follow up from our previous point. It's easier to do this when you're used to save a portion. Now, increasing your savings can be possible if you a) increase your income or b) decreasing your cost. Much better if you can do both but the idea is to make it a goal that your savings trend is uphill not the other way around.

INVEST
Ahh, the magic term. If only you can attach the word 'guaranteed' on a high yielding investment, that would be heaven. Truth of the matter is, there's no such a thing. If somebody tells you there is, he's lying! I'm trying to research on investment opportunities that a) I know where the source of income is from and b) the capital is within my comfort zone.

There are lots of investment schemes here in the UK. They have much more sophisticated products being a first world country. However, they still require much homework as a due diligence.

For newbies, I encourage you to try (but research first!) stock market as a starter. Check if it's for you, if not - you can always try another one. That doesn't mean that the money you've invested will be gone (a common misnomer); you may incur a loss here and there but at least you've learned from the experience.

SPRING / SUMMER 2016 ROUND UP : FAVOURITES

This shot was taken at Louvre Museum, Paris. I had a business meeting in France last June and we decided to extend my stay and explore the city. Since we're on the last stretch of summer, I thought it's best to reminisce and enumerate my most used fashion items this Summer 2016!

Ripped Jeans + Chuck Taylor
I know I may look homeless but this is my go to pair especially when I don't have time! It's effortless, comfortable and edgy rolled into one.

Red Coat + Ankle Boots
Let me get this straight before you react. We were at Edinburgh, Scotland on the picture above and it's spring time. Needless to say, it's still cold! And if you can't connect coats and summer, take a quick gander at our picture below.

Pinafore Jumper + Cutout Top
I got both of these from Zara and I can't count how many times I've worn this pair. I wore them most on June / July because I can get away with bare legs at those times. You see, it can be tricky sometimes. Even if it's boiling (well, not really) at day time, temperature drops dramatically during night time. So you better check the weather app before baring those legs :D

Honourable Mentions
I got the off-shoulder flowery blouse from Miss Selfridges. Shot was taken at Budapest Hungary. The biker jacket from Guess is undoubtedly my all-time favourite too. Here's a quick snap from The London Eye. The straw hat (Boracay) and breezy dress (Forever 21) were handy when we were at Tihany, Hungary. Lastly, the monochromatic top (Zara) took the centre stage during our 2 week holiday at Hungary. Let's not forget the flip flops from Havaianas.