My first Sigma purchase

I've been wanting these Sigma brushes since it came out but never had a chance to really saved money for it. It's been awhile since I bought a brush set and my brushes are pretty old now but still usable . I guess it's my fault for not taking good care of them and not washing them on time.

I had to choose over 3 things. I knew I wanted to get the Synthetic Kabuki Kit (top right) because the foundation brush that I've been using looks and feels really old. No matter how much deep cleaning I do, it still gets sticky after couple of use which is never good. The kit cost $56 which is not too bad coz you get 4 face brushes compared to $32 a face brush from MAC. Now I had a toss up between the Essential Kit (not in picture) which are all the basic brushes that everybody needs who does and uses make-up versus the Synthetic Precision Kit (lower left) that retailed to $49.  I ended up getting the Precision Kit for one main reason, it's all about the face brushes for me right now. My eye shadow brushes are still in good condition and is still able to do its job that i thought buying the Essential Kit would be pointless.
But I'm not saying that I'm not planning on getting the Essential Kit but for now I'm gonna enjoy this new brushes for some advance face stuff. I really can't wait to play with this bad boys.

I also bought an E35 which is a blending brush. I couldn't resist buying it coz of the great reviews that I've seen on YouTube videos and on their site. Plus, I can never say no to blending brushes coz no one can have enough blending brushes. It's such an essential for me since I don't like those harsh lines on my shadow.

To my surprise, the free gift I got after spending $30 or more from their site is a E25 (lower right) which is a smaller version of the E35. I spent $107 all in all after using a 10% discount code provided by one of my favorite make-up gurus on Youtube, MakeUpByTiffanyD.

I was able to deep clean it last night so it should be ready to use by tonight. There was not too much shedding while cleaning the brushes and the handles are tightly attached which I liked. I can't wait for more purchases with Sigma Beauty in the future. I love the brushes so far and I haven't even used it. The packaging was amazing and it only took 3 days to be delivered in my door steps under priority mail.

If you wanna check out Sigma brushes CLICK HERE.

not using xoxo,

ChaCha

New York!, New York!

O-M-G!
I have been traveling around here and there playing volleyball tournaments but I'ts been awhile since I got excited like this about a trip. At first I'm just like bleh-I'm going to New York but now that we finally booked our tickets and doing some final touches to our trip, my excitement is just beyond words!!!

I had a chance to go to New York couple of years ago when my non-vball friends went to visit but I had to make a choice of not going due to financial incapacity to go. But this time is my chance to see what New York is all about. Of course, the volleyball is just a bonus but experiencing New York with some of my closest volleyball friends would make it extra special. I leave Wednesday night and get in at 7am together with Grimace and Big Momma Fish. Kane is coming in around 4pm while Josh n Ronald doesn't have their tickets yet. haha!

Can't wait! 3 1/2 more weeks! I'm definitely gonna be blogging about the trip.

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ChaCha photo grabbed from Google Images

A weekend with MaxieBoo

I'ts been awhile since I had a post about MaxieBoo. He has been so busy with school that we barely see each other for the past months. I asked him if we can do something after his finals week and kick of spring break. We've been wanting to do a "stay over" night and just chill at home and catch up. At first he said that he had plans right after finals and as his "mom" I understand. Later on he sent me a text saying that we would be able to spend the weekend together which made me really excited!

The day of our stay over night, he woke me up with a not so funny text (just between us. lol) that he knew would totally throw me off. I got so mad that I even said my blood pressure instantly went up to 180/220. Haha! Maxie being his gullable self asked if I actually did check my blood pressure. He is so pretty sometimes. Haha!

He then asked me if I can go to a volleyball tournament the next day which I was originally planning on playing but I got my calendar mixed up. I told him I would only go if I get to play. So contacted couple of people and I found a team. It was pretty hard to play when you are not really in the zone. But we just made the most out of it and just glad we were there together and go to catch up with my BabyGurl Elliot.
Taken from the volleyball tournament.

I'm so glad we got to spend the whole weekend together and was able to catch up. I mean we text a lot almost everyday but once in awhile we need a "real talk" and time together which I think just binds us more.

Stolen shot taken by my BabyGurl while I was doing lines on the final match.

I ♥ me some MaxieBoo!

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ChaCha

Julian Hakes Shoes

My friend posted this LINK on my fb page talking about shoes. It wont open on my iPhone so I immediately went to my work desktop to check it.

To my surprise, the Julian Hakes shoe showed up in 3d and I was more than mesmerized by its design and total fierceness and told myself I WANT ONE OF THOSE!!!

I am no shoe or fashion expert but this is what I think on each design/color...

The basic black looks so hot and sexy.

The white is a lil scary to wear since I don't own any white stiletos. And isn't there a sacred rule about wearing white shoes or whatnot?

The neon pink and neon green is definitely not me but I still like how it accentuates the shows architeectural design.

I'd consider wearing this orange one only if 1 I'm in a tropical location wearing some hot beach dress or something. LOL!

Now lets talk about this Purple. HELL YAH I WOULD BUY THIS COLOR! Purple is my favorite color and I would rock this every time I can.

The shoe is designed by a London Architect, Julian Hakes and called it the Mojito shoe made out of carbon fiber.

What an interesting creation! It doesn't look comfy but who knows. Its structure is just hot! hot! hot!

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ChaCha

I left my ♥ in San Francisco

I've been lazy with blogging lately that I am so behind on things. I always tell myself that "I will blog today" but just the motivation is not there. First off, I finally found an iPhone app that puts watermarks on pictures. I've been looking for one in forever and now that I have one, I am too lazy to edit pictures which is another reason why I haven't been blogging. Not that my pictures are great because most of them are just taken from my phone but I've seen some of my pictures on other blogs before without any link back or credit.

Anyways...
I was in San Francisco couple of weeks ago for a volleyball tournemant. It is my 4th year in a row of participating on that tournament and it just never gets old. I love the Bay Area so much that everytime I have an oppurtunity to visit I would go. I have so much friends who lives there and they help my stay feel at home.

This time, I went with fellow Seattleites Grimace and Big Momma Fish. We decided to make a team the last minute since we have nothing to do. Haha! We picked up other players to fill in our team with Ginger Albatross Rich from Canada, Michael and Adam from Arizona, Dennis from Hawaii and Angry Bird Oliver from San Jose,CA Like the usual, I was only able to take some pictures from my iPhone3gs. I'll grab some more pictures on my fb once I collected more tagged pictures.

I've only seen the Golden Gate from the park before the toll gates and wanted to see it from another perspective. My friend Tony and Jet took me and couple of the Seattleites to the other side overlooking the bridge. It was GORGEOUS! I can just picture the opening credits of the Charmed which I love and actually seeing it was just breathtaking.


I call this trip my trip on a budget. My trips to San Francisco has always been inexpensive since I have friends to stay in and show me around everytime. I decided to save some more money from doing carry ons instead of checking in my luggage which cost $25 per bag and I also took public transportation to and from the airport in Seattle. I can do this again!


My friend Sheona took me and Raja from Houston to an In-n-Out joint. I've had this before but Raja was a virgin and she was so excited. 1 Cheeseburger with Fries and Milkshake sealed the deal for me.


For dinner, we feasted in a Korean BBQ place to celebrate Heart's birthday. It was delicious but it wasn't Palace Korean in Seattle or Sunya in LA.


I can never get tired of this view overlooking the city from Heart and Tony's house. I love the variety of the weather which goes from cloudy just like this picture to a super clear view.
This is my "sister" JhenJhen and I when we just woke up and enjoying the view. Another sister of mine Jel who lives in Chicago was there too. The last time we were together in San Francisco was about 4 years ago and it was just about time for a reunion in the Bay. We went sight seeing at Fisherman's Warf togehter with JhenJhen who took this shot for us. The view of the city from Fisherman's Warf.
Tell me why did we stay here for 30 minutes just to watch the Sealions annoy each other and make their noises? Haha!

Thanks John for the picture.
We met up with other friends from Chicago who wanted to go to this dessert cafe in Little Italy. The walk was horendous from the Warf that my feet started hurting coz I was wearing my sandals but it was all worth it. I couldn't help but reminisce the first time I was in San Francisco in 2003 (?) once I saw Monalisa restaurant with my super friend John. We ate dinner there and it was delicious.

Steps of Rome Caffe is a lil dessert place filled with tons of sweet treats.
I ordered a Tiramisu combined with couple of glasses of white wine. It was SO GOOD!

We went to registration down in San Jose,CA that night. I didn't have much pictures that night coz I was a lil "tipsy" prior to getting there so I just sat on a corner hiding from humiliation. LOL!
Daddy and I at the gym.
Team Hyphy and Thai Iced Tea on Semi-finals was the match of the weekend for me. It was a showdown of Polynesians and Thai players. Amazing!!!
This was the view from our Hotel on a beautiful Monday.

We started our day with some yummy breakfast at Cafe Flora at Market St. I highly recommend this place for breakfast with their specials. It was "Bear weekend" when we were there so I had the Bear Special breakfast like most of us did.

Ginger Albatross and I at breakfast.
After breakfast Tony and Jet and I played catch up and went to Sausalito with some appetizers and drinks. We didn't really care that it was just 3pm. We are such TROUBLES together anyways.
View from Sausalito.

I can't wait for my next trip to the Bay. This trip made me realize how much I miss the city. I would visit twice or three times a year but been slacking lately.

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ChaCha

The World's Most Fashionable Prison

The World's Most Fashionable Prison (Trailer) from Mak CK on Vimeo

I'm totally loving the idea of this show. Not only it gets to showcase how it's like to live in Philippine Prison but it also shows the life of every individual living it. Just like Puey Quinones, he was named the next best thing in Philippine Fashion but ended up in prison after re-tagging some clothes with his label.

"Since 2007, he has been teaching male prisoners convicted of rape, murder and kidnap how to create gowns and accessories to be worn on the runway by professional models; his contribution to National Correctional Consciousness Week." according to http://www.cnngo.com/.