A Raconteur’s Story

Home 2015

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Last 2014, I told myself that 2015 will be the year full of opportunities... It was indeed a year full of that. I created this blog post to sort of reminisce the main highlights of my year that I want to share with you. If you want to see my accomplishments, my product recommendations; well, you're in the right place.

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- MY RESOLUTION'S RESULT -

Do you remember your New Year's resolutions? I did that just like everyone else. Here are the things that I accomplished that I placed on my list for the year:

1. ~~Drink tons of water.~~ - I think I did.

2. ~~Save money.~~ - Easy-peasy

3. ~~Give something to your parents.~~ - From donuts to a shirt, oh yes.

4. ~~Take long walks.~~ - Me and my friends usually do this. It is relaxing and just fulfilling to walk towards your destination.

5. ~~Cut the soda~~. - I suggest you try this for the next year. I felt like quitting soda is such a huge commitment... but it will pay off, health-wise. I assure you ;)

6. ~~Read more.~~ - I surpassed my Goodreads reading challenge for the year!

7. ~~Have more friends.~~

8. ~~Cook "real" food~~. - Making meals for your family is a greaaaat accomplishment :)

9. ~~Increase your makeup skills.~~ - Looking back to 2012, I think I did great... but oh no, I didn't. HAHAHA! I did a pretty good job this year but I think that I'm also gonna take it up a notch next year because I finally started applying it to others without the constant fear of messing up.

10. ~~Clean your room.~~ - I do major decluttering every month.

11. ~~Raise Caspar properly~~. - I have a husky that needs care all the time. I think I did well for him to be socialized with people.

- HIGHLIGHTS OF THE YEAR -

Solaire + Visitation of Pope Francis + Pico De Loro

Last January, me and my father went to Solaire while the visitation of our Pope happened. It felt miraculous just being in the same city as him. Unfortunately, we didn't get to see him up close, but the feeling that he's been there just made me complete. Solaire was a great hotel... even if our stay was a fail since I didn't get to check out their amenities and bad things happen while I'm in there. Kudos to the people who prepared the breakfast buffet! They made amazing food!

Pico De Loro is a place that I was fascinated with since before. I've been seeing it mostly in brochures of BDO that came in with the mail and I was excited to spend my summer there with my family. A beach vacay is a thing that relaxes me the most, plus great food, plus amazing sight-seeing; what more could you ask for?

Learning how to Ice Skate + Shooting a gun

I thought that Ice Skating was a job made for particular people. Apparently, you can learn how to ice skate. But it takes time, patience and a lot of determination. I had my fair share of fails that almost got me into a concussion. But hey, I learned while Gimme 5 was with us. (I honestly don't know anyone of them besides Nash. It was embarrassing not knowing them but it was cool to ice skate with them.) Shooting a gun was much more easier on my opinion. Beginner's luck got my back that time and it was an exhilarating experience. I loved it and would definitely go back to a shooting range once again.

Being an associate for the Student Government

I've had a fair share of accomplishments with these bunch. I never really planned on joining them, but since my friends was in it, I gave it a shot—I got in and I was happy. Our events made a mark on me and I definitely enjoyed every minute with them. :)

True Colors Tour + Kamikazee's Huling Sayaw

Watching an EDM producer live was weird... and far more better than normal concerts. It took us a few hours to stand-by and wait for the main act. Even so, I enjoyed it. (Especially singing the songs, dancing and even jumping around.) I was even oblivious about my shoes. They got soiled, btw. But I fixed it. :)

A friend of mine gave me tickets to Kamikazee's last concert... while the periodical tests are on-going, but everything is worth it. I've watched Kamikazee play before, but the last one is definitely more memorable than the first.

Conquering Sandbox Pampanga

My friends and I went to Sandbox (a.k.a. your opportunity to die 10x in a day. lol jk) for Nicole's birthday celebration. It was a fun trip but my fear of heights got the best of me. At least I finished most of the activities and I mostly enjoyed the Giant Swing thing.

- FAVORITES -

books:
- The Martian by Andy Weir
- Illuminae (Book #1 of The Illuminae Files) by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
- Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

movies:
- The Martian
- Inside Out
- The whole Star Wars series

beauty products:
- MAC Lip Conditioner
- MAC Lipstick in Kinda Sexy (Matte Finish)
- Wet 'n Wild Balm Stain in Rico Mauve

hair products:
- Batiste Dry Shampoo in Original

music:
- Colors by HALSEY (Badlands)
- Fourth of July & Favorite Record by Fall Out Boy (American Beauty/American Psycho)
- Hotline Bling by Drake (Single)
- Energy & Jungle by Drake (If You're Reading This It's Too Late)
- Goodbye by Who Is Fancy (Single)
- Tadhana by Kamikazee (Romantico)

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This year wouldn't be complete if it weren't for all of you who stands by me and this blog. I want to say thank you for stopping by and reading my blog posts; either you came here from youtube, via google or what-not, thank you. It feels so amazing to see readers from Russia, Canada, U.S.A., Australia, Indonesia, Poland, Philippines and other countries. I can't believe that ARAPOSTROPHE reached you! :) I also want to thank HIM, for this beautiful and awesome year. I hope that 2016 would be a great one and I promise to stick to a schedule for the next year. I hope to see your comments in the near future, and here's to 2016! I love you guys so much. x

Today, I have a lip and cheek tint review for you. I think that these can only be bought in the Philippines so.. I kinda feel bad for not doing an 'international-bought product' but I feel like there's a need for more reviews regarding local products so that Filipinos will be encouraged to try them out. So, here it goes!

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Let's check out the packaging first.. shall we?

Each product comes with a box that's 4.1 inches long which states the name, shade, description, ingredients, directions, some warnings and storage. It's simple yet, pretty.

The ingredients listed :

Water, Glycerin, PEG-12 Dimethicone, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Triethanolamine, PEG-40 Castor Oil, Phenoxyethanol, Parfum, Tetrasodium EDTA, BHT, Methylparaben, Ethylparaben, Butylparaben, Propylparaben, Isobutylparaben.

The product itself is inside a clear tube that includes a wand for easier application and this thing is very light and travel friendly. For ₱90.00 each with 11 grams of product, it's very affordable and worth for its price.

There are three shades available for purchase; named Stargazer, Cinnamon and Hibiscus. Take a look at the swatches I made below :)

As you can see, the two main colors are probably Stargazer and Cinnamon; and it got mixed up to make a hybrid named Hibiscus. All of the colors are very pretty and all of them smells the same. Its scent is sweet as if it was made with sugar.

The product is very blendable—it doesn't dry up too quickly. It gives you enough time to blend the color evenly across the apples of your cheeks. It has a bit of a flaw; you kind of need to build up the amount of product for the shade to show through. (like the ones on my swatches) But if you ask me, I like it that way because you are able to match the amount of product with your own liking and mix and match them, too.

The product is versatile. It can be used as a lip tint or a cheek tint. I personally use it for the cheeks because it tends to give me a really natural look that came from within. Another downside of the product is that it doesn't last long. The color fades in time so you need to apply it once in a while.

Its perfect for everyday use and it's clearly safe. If you came across a Natasha agent, I recommend you to check this out for yourselves. :)

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That's all for now! I'm kind of contemplating about the Iron Suit Project :/ because the file seems to be kind of weird... but I'm going to fix the problem when I can find the time and I'll let you know about it as soon as it gets fixed. I'm also thinking about doing youtube for quite a while now. Mmm.. we'll never know. Maybe you'll just see me posting a bunch of things on there haha :) We'll see.. We'll see :)

I have created this series on my blog which summarizes the things that happened to me lately. It's hard to think of a catchy name for this one, but I thought of the word Raconteur;

I may not be much of a storyteller in your eyes but, I can assure you that I am an aspiring, young, writer / speaker. I can pretty much speak a bit well on my own publicly, or through the paging system. A pang of anxiety hits me so hard when I film youtube videos and I hate myself when that happens. I will try my best to speak like a human being the next time you'll see me haha. I also create short stories, skits, and a few more things on wattpad—but that is an entirely different thing haha.

Then the word Rundown—as a synonym of the word 'summary'. (I have to make it an 'R' to make the words more catchy for the blog. lol) So, expect more of these posts in the long run.

During these past few weeks, I learned a lot about myself and discovering a few of my worst fears. Let's start from April 1st, shall we? :)

[ 1 ]

We went to a secluded paradise—just a few miles away from Tagaytay's busy streets. I was amazed by going through patches and patches of rice fields and end up cruising a mountain, gaining a nice view of the private beach.

There were rentable bikes, man-made lakes, shops, game rooms, courts for playing sports, pools, a country club, a beach club, shuttles that goes around the area, trees, lilies, nice employees and towers named after exotic birds.

We stayed in the Jacana tower and we met my cousin's boyfriend and his family. They were so nice and they cook amazing dishes that I couldn't get over of. We stayed in Pico De Loro for three days; all I did was play with a kid, ride bikes, play wii and swam in the warm waters of Nasugbu.

During cold nights, we got out and walked a few blocks to the shore to look at the twinkling stars, bright moon, boats exchanging morse codes using their signal lamps to the nearby lighthouse and a faint sound of a band playing in the beach club. I buried my toes in the sand while listening to Ed Sheeran's recent album. It was from this Hamilo stay—that my current obsession with snapchat grew like a wildfire. (ADD ME! "arapostrophe" is my snapchat username)

[ 2 ]

If you have been following me on my twitter account; @AraCesista , you might have an idea about my broken phone. My phone lived 2 years (and still counting) before breaking down. (I hope it won't break down tho)

I can see through my phone's sides and I can peek a little closer to see its white back-light. I don't know if this thing is just about a 'bloated battery' problem... orrrr the screen has some issues.

My parents replaced it with a new phone that I'm happy about. Its battery life is AMAZING. I never had a phone that could do that. (or it's just because I don't use my phone that much..?) Its camera is awesome and those graphics. Damn.

[ 3 ]

My love for midnight / early morning strolls grew. Our current village isn't really 'Night Stroll' material.. So I don't go out at night even if I'm itching to do so. Whenever I'm in a new place, I will take 30 minutes and reserve it for long walks.

I currently had a long midnight stroll in QC Circle.....in nude pumps. (As a girl, I really need to practice walking in high heels or else I wouldn't be a lady. lol.

In my observations, there are tons of people working-out in the vicinity. There's someone who jogs, walks, runs and most of them just used the metal equipment made by the government that can be used for working out sessions. (The QC government really did a great job on that thing) Sooo if you live close to the QC Circle and you want to tone your body, go ahead and spend a day there. :)

Me and my friends got out in a morning stroll for multiple purposes. It's nice to go out early in the morning to take in the fresh air and the quiet environment to go with it.

[ 4 ]

I discovered a really old place that is located somewhere in Makati City. Once you come in, there is an old grocery that has been closed down for years and years. It's connected into a newer building that has tons of ukay-ukay shops, old bookstores, gadget stores, some salons, a pawnshop, restaurants, a chapel, a new grocery, audio shops and a lot more. You wouldn't expect a lot from it when you see it from the outside.

I also discovered a firing range deep in the building's basement. My dad told me to try it and so I did. I just used a 9mm gun because I might not like the recoil of the other guns as a beginner. I think I did a pretty great job. Haha. Take a look on my shots below:

We came back to Makati yesterday and we came back there. I looked at dresses and bought books that I will talk about in a short while haha.

We brought my tita and two cousin's for dinner in a restaurant across from the building. We went to this area called 'Little Tokyo' and ate in a yakiniku restaurant.

[ 5 ]

One of my circle of sisters— 'thrill' decided to have a slumber party in one of our friends' house. So we did that. We played a lot of rounds of truth and dare. All of us ended up being wet and some— a few different consequences.

The next day, we went to SM Megamall to try to ice skate for the very first time. It was hard at first; but now, I got a new obtained goal that I'm very happy about :) (Special shout-out to Reg Abbariao! :D I love you, girl!)

[ 6 ]

I have this scary nightmare.. of reading the classics. Haha. I never thought that I will be into Shakespeare, Austen, Dickens, Caroll, Doyle and a few other ancient authors. I was once amazed by Mr. Darcy's letter to a maiden named Elizabeth from Austen's Pride and Prejudice. My fascination grew because of this certain fan fiction that I read in wattpad a few weeks ago.

I was out yesterday and decided to find Austen's Pride and Prejudice in an old bookstore in Makati. I couldn't find it anywhere. I was about to get Sense and Sensibility—another great book from Austen; when I saw Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, Macbeth and Hamlet—with a modernized english version beside the old english script. So I bought Shakespeare's AMND and H instead. Haha.

So now I'm currently reading AMND and just focusing on the old english side. When I need a little help, I will just take a look on the right side of the page to see the modernized one and highlight the words for future reference.

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After the gun shooting stuff and the ice skating trial, my body as been going down on the ground. I have multiple problems with my muscles and it's hard to put my arms up. But luckily, It's all good now. I'm just dealing with a skin fungal infection, but it's slowly healing now.

I think that this will be all for the very first Raconteur's Rundown. I will post a blog coming up soon. Once this thing is up, I'm currently editing the vid. :)

This is my 30th post! *squeals* We've made this far! haha :) Thank you for still keeping up with me.