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in Beauty & Fashion, Diplomatic Incidents, Events, Fashion Tips, How-Tos, Video

Beauty + Fashion: Dressing up and getting ready for National Day 2016 (Without Breaking the Bank)

June 10, 2016
2 Comments

Ah, National Day. Usually the biggest event an Embassy or a Consulate will host for the year. It’s something that a lot of people either enjoy or stress over – depending on your role for that night.

As a diplomatic reporter and later on as a diplomat’s wife, I’ve been attending a whole lot of National Day celebrations and Embassy events from Manila to KL. Too many for me to count at this point – to think I’ve only been in the diplomatic circle for 5 years. (Diplomatic life does mean events left and right)

Such events are usually a good opportunity for a country to share something from home – their food, culture, history, the talent of their people. For us Filipinos, there’s usually a part of the program dedicated to how talented Filipino performers are.

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One thing I love about attending diplomatic events is the dressing up that it comes with. I happen to love wearing Filipiniana – all forms of it. From the well-known Terno and Maria Clara down to the clothes worn by the different tribes all over the Philippines. However, one thing about National Dresses/Outfits is that they can cost quite a bit. I’ve had one too many fellow diplowives telling me that dressing up for National means parting with a hefty amount. The fact that it happens annually means you also have a repetitive (big) expense.

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in Diplomatic Incidents, Events

Food: Best of the Philippines! Try Our Food in KLCC till Friday!

September 30, 2015

Filipino food is seriously underrated. Despite living in Malaysia where food is an actual tourist attraction, I have to admit that there are times when I still miss what we have at home.

From our world-famous mangoes, crab paste (which I tend to mix with everything), and down to my favourite Tinola (chicken soup with ginger and chilli leaves), there’s just something about our food that will make you want more. Ours is the next type of food you should be trying before it even becomes too mainstream. 😉

In fact, if Malaysians have their staple breakfast food called Nasi Lemak, we Filipinos are proud of our -Silog meals! Which I should talk about on a different post so as not to veer off the topic for this one. But if you ever find yourself in Laguna Restaurant in KL or Merienda de Eva in Damansara, order yourself a Tapsilog and thank me later.

If you’re currently in Kuala Lumpur, please do drop by the Food and Hotel Malaysia 2015 expo and visit us! The Philippine Pavilion is located at Hall 1, booth 1111.

We have mangoes, chili sauces and dips (which left my Malaysian friends wanting more and wondering why they are not available here!), sweets like polvoron, and as well as healthy juices and cooking aids – calamansi juice and coconut vinegar, anyone?

Side note: That coconut vinegar makes an awesome chip-dip!

Business owners and food importers are also welcome to ask for details on how you can bring our products here in Malaysia.

Our booth will be in KLCC till this Friday, the 2nd of October. See you there!

xx,

Carol

in Beauty & Fashion, Makeup

Beauty + Review: Happy Skin Cosmetics’ Shut Up and Kiss Me Moisturising Lippie in Honeymoon Glow

March 27, 2015

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That title’s quite a mouthful isn’t it? So here’s the review (finally!) of my current go to lippie that everyone has been asking me about!

It’s the Shut Up and Kiss Me Moisturising Lippie in the shade Honeymoon Glow from Happy Skin Cosmetics and I’ve been getting so much love for it that I’ve been wearing it almost everyday. And that’s quite a feat because I do tend to switch up my lip colour all the time to give my lipstick babies equal love and attention.

Happy Skin has been available in Manila for quite some time now so I’m actually late to the party. And, man. Was I missing out.

I got my lippie during my trip to Manila a few weeks back. I wanted to try out a new lippie and since people keep raving out this brand, I thought that I should give it a try and see if it will impress me.

Oh, it did.

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It’s such a friendly colour that it goes with almost any outfit and it’s also my new ‘my lips but better’ shade. It’s a bit darker than Nouvelle Vogue in person but it actually looks more natural.

Happy Skin’s lippies are loaded with Shea butter and collagen, making sure your lips are hydrated throughout the day. And while it’s got the moisturising properties of a balm, it’s also packing up some serious colour. I wasn’t disappointed the first time I swiped it on to my lips – it glided smoothly and left an opaque, evened-out hue.

It’s also got a bit of shine to it so there’s no need for a gloss. But don’t worry, the shine is of slightest tinge, making your lips look dewy and healthy – not greasy. 😉

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I normally don’t wear lipsticks without putting some lip balm on first but with the Shut Up and Kiss Me lippies, I don’t have to worry about some tugging during application or whether my lips will dry up and start to chap throughout the day.

Oh, and the best part about Happy Skin is that it’s a Filipino brand! Yes, Filipino! I admit that I was a bit confused with the ‘Made in Taiwan’ label on the lippie’s box but looking through the Happy Skin website, I’ve confirmed that it is the brainchild of two Filipina women – former brand developer for Unilever’s personal care products Jacqe Yuengtian-Gutierrez and model/beauty columnist Rissa Mananquil-Trillo.

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These two ladies wanted cosmetics that are generally good (rather than damaging) to the skin and from that necessity, Happy Skin was brought to life. They’ve got a whole range of cosmetics – from BB creams to eyeliners, eyeshadows, and blush compacts. But from what I hear from my friends in Manila, the Shut Up and Kiss Me lippies are the ones making huge waves. 😉

And isn’t the packaging just too cute? I’m such a sucker for cute packaging.

Anyhoo, here are the photos of me wearing under various lighting situations:

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Indoor lighting (warm +cool mix). Say hi to Sophie the bear on the background! 😉

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Natural light (bright sunlight)

Happy Skin, Cosmetics, Happy Skin Cosmetics, Honeymoon Glow, Lipstick, Moisturising Lippie, Pink, My Lips But Better, Makeup, Good For The Skin,

Natural light (bright sunlight)

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in Expat Life, Manila

Authentic Filipino Crafts, Souvenirs, and Fashion at The Manila Collectible Co.

March 17, 2015

The Manila Collectible Co., TMCC, Philippines, Filipino, Souvenirs, Art, Craft, Clothes, Tribal, T’nalak, Abel Iloco, Traditional Filipino Clothes, Manila, Ifugao, Filipino Tribes, Collectibles

My husband and I are crazy about “Filipinizing” our home. While at post, diplomats are expected to entertain – to have guests of different nationalities (other diplomats, businessmen, etc.) over for socialising – which usually means talking shop over food and drinks. 😉 Those opportunities are a great way to showcase our culture and what we have back home.

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So during my last trip to Manila, I bought some traditional Filipino accessories and clothes that I can wear to different events. It is often hard to convince people at diplomatic events that I’m actually Filipino because of how I look. My husband’s looks don’t really help either as people often think he’s Chinese/Japanese/Korean.

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in Diplomatic Incidents, Events

Events: Filipino Community Gathering in Sitiawan, Perak

December 10, 2014

Skipping some of the events I had to write about (I’m so late! Some of them happened weeks and weeks ago!) to write a shortie something about what happened just last Friday. Something very heart warming.

A good percentage of the Filipino population work abroad. Almost everyone in the Philippines has at least one relative who left the country for what they often call as ‘better opportunities’. Admittedly, our people have yet to feel the tangible effects of our growing economy and it makes me hopeful that this would be the start of Filipinos abroad going home without fear whether they will be earning enough for their families if they took a job in their home country.

It might take a couple of years more. But really, I’m looking forward to it. I’ve seen enough families torn apart by the diaspora. Children growing up without their mothers who had to go abroad to take care of the children of other people so she can earn money for her kids’ education back at home. I had a friend whose father never made it to any of her graduations as he was working as an engineer in the Middle East. They had money to send her all the way to college and to finish her Master’s Degree but alas, he was old when he got home and he died a few years later. The times they spent apart was something they can never bring back.

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in Diplomatic Incidents, Events

Good to know: Consular services for Filipinos in Kota Kinabalu

September 22, 2014
36 Comments

Hello from Kota Kinabalu! This isn’t what you might expect here but I just wanted to use this one blog post in helping spread the word so here’s a quickie announcement:

Husband and I, along with a team from the Philippine Embassy, arrived yesterday and today was their consular mission’s first day. It was a pretty good turn out and we are expecting more Filipinos to come tomorrow and the next couple of days.

To our dear brothers and sisters in Malaysia, if you’re a Filipino in Sabah or if you’re someone who just happened to end up in this little blog of mine and you know Filipinos in the Kota Kinabalu area who are in need of consular services (passport application, renewals, passport validity extensions, etc), do let them know that the embassy team will be at the Dewan Majlis Perkhidmatan Masyarakat Sabah, Jalan Tuaran, Kota Kinabalu until October 3, 2014. Monday to Saturday, 8am to 5pm.

Click here for a map to the place.

We need all the help we can get in disseminating the information as some of the undocumented Filipinos here in Sabah do not have access to the internet. Some are plantation workers born in Sabah to undocumented parents. They never had access to education so they cannot read nor write (that’s why some of them need assistance in filling out forms). It’s really a sad situation so the embassy is doing its best to reach out to them to give them passports – and in the process, identities as well.

While there are accredited agencies that they can pay for consultation (which documents are needed) and can help them in filling out their forms, the fees might be too steep for some of them. We are willing to help applicants accomplish the forms for free and we can also tell them what they need for a passport (at least a birth certificate and other supporting documents that will prove that you are really Filipino). For questions, they can send an SMS or call the Embassy through +(6017) 347-5487.

Thank you! If this post actually helps even just one Filipino in Sabah learn about the services and save on money by going to the Embassy personnel directly, I would be extremely happy. They can use the money they save for food and other essentials!

I’m basically just tagging along as I’m not an official part of the team but I am looking forward to giving my assistance in whichever way I can – like helping some of the applicants who are having trouble in filling up their forms. I also learned how to encode passport information today so just in case anyone needs a sub, I’ll be ready! 😉

Please, please help spread the word.

Back to regular programming in the next post. 😉

Love,

Carol

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