Maybe it's my age, but the way I choose shoes now is vastly different from how I did it before. Just a year ago I would always wander off to the flashiest section of a shoe store, giving the flats and boring wedges a wide berth. The higher the heels, the more exciting they are to wear. The challenge was fun - maintaining my balance in uneven and slippery flooring, changing from flats at just the right moment, towering over most people.

Now it's not so fun. The turning point was when I was walking down a street with a lot of sloping sides, almost slipping a few times - but not quite. I thought to myself, with a quiet fury that I reserve for those who cut in lines and those who man fastfood telephones, "Why the frick am I doing this to myself?" I don't have to walk in terribly high heels. It doesn't prove anything to anyone except that I'm stupid and prideful.

Hi folks! How was your weekend? Mine was spent doing absolutely nothing. Nothing. Now I feel terrible after all that inactivity, but in any case this week is going to be an extremely busy one. My face is literally twitching while I think about it. Well. One must soldier on!

Today I'll do a quick unboxing of the latest Glamourbox. Now this one blows all the past boxes out of the water - it contains A LOT of exciting full-sized products from Avon! It even includes a tube of the new Avon Ultra Color Lipstick. The good news is, the box is still available for purchase at the Glamourbox website. I'm sure you'll be convinced to grab one for yourself once you see what's inside.

Okay okay, enough with the suspense. Here's the Special Edition Avon Glamourbox (P595)!

You asked for it, so here it is! I honestly didn't expect to shop this much in Tokyo. Actually, I didn't know I got this much until I photographed everything. Take note, I've already given away a lot of stuff at this point. I bought my mom a cute bag, my dad a watch, my brother a shirt and a pair of shades. Wish I took pictures as they were nice finds. 

Anyway! Like I said in my travel kit post, it's sale season in Japan right now. Those that aren't on sale, however, are still affordable as long as you keep to small shops, flea markets, and drugstores - which is where I mostly shopped. By affordable I mean under P2,000 or roughly ¥4,000. I won't say how much I spent exactly, but I had to buy another huge bag just to fit everything. (Love the pink polka dots)

I got a loooot of food. I wish I bought more miso soup paste, and more Royce chocolate at the airport! And ramen. But food is so bulky. I mostly got these in Don.Ki in Ginza, which is a crazy grocery/drugstore beauty paradise that's open 24/7! You HAVE to go there when you visit Japan.

The Tokyo Banana Roar is a popular delicacy of sorts. We got ours from the train station, where people were seriously lining up.

Are you a snob? A snob is defined as a person who believes their tastes in a particular area are superior to others. You can be a music, food, bag, beauty, or shoe snob - all at the same time. It doesn't mean you're a terrible person, just that in the course of pursuing the things you care about, you've already narrowed down the qualities of a "good" find. 

I am a snob. I'm particular about how I dress and the products I use on my face and body, simply because I already know what works and what doesn't. :) However, I'm not as concerned about how luxe a brand is as I am about the quality of the product. If it works and it's affordable at the same time then all the better! In my experience though, quality - the kind I will cherish, enjoy, and maximize to the end - often comes at a price.

And that is why I love Taste Central. It's a well-curated online store that contains only things that cater to, well, snobs. Haha. It's a website by tastemakers for tastemakers; for people who are willing to blow cash on the good suff. Taste Central is actually the sister site of Deal Grocer. Instead of discounts though, you can buy products outright.

There are quite a few awesome things in there for beauty enthusiasts such as we. There are hard-to-find brands like Jo Malone, Aesop, Fresh, Philosophy, and Bumble & Bumble. There are also quietly famous brands you've never heard of before but are too expensive to be hipster (lol) - Chantecaille, Percy & Reed, Red Ken, Mukti, Babor, and Frederick Feckkai. 

Are you a bag hag or a shoe fiend? I love shoes more, definitely. With bags I can buy a versatile one and just wear that out with everything in my closet until I get tired of it. I can rotate say, three bags only for a whole year! With shoes, I feel a compulsion to match them with the colors/mood of my eyeshadow and outfit for the day. Silly? Shallow? Who cares. It makes me happy.

Anyhoo I just want to share some of the shoes I recently purchased. Starting off with the notorious sneaker wedge! I didn't care for them at all...that is, until I saw Karrots wear hers while we're on a tea date. That's when I realized it could be wearable and cool - not just mindlessly trendy. 

Besides, I've always wanted to have Skechers sneaker heels since I was nine. It's a desire that really never went away! :P Remember those chunky platform and heels that the brand came out with a decade or so ago? All the cool kids had them so I begged my mom to buy me one. She thought they were too pricey (not to mention impractical) so I just had regular sneakers. Aw. Well, now I don't have PE classes to attend and I can buy my own things!

Lately I feel frustrated just looking at my closet. I bought quite a few things last year but now, it's like I can't even wear them with anything I have! It's either, oh it's too young, too plain, or oh you look way too chunky in it (the last is probably caused by the gratuitous eating ha ha). I am feeling a terrible itch to just do away with most of the things I have in my wardrobe. Hmm, maybe I should do a closet sale soon?

My fashion resolution this year can be summarized in one word: curate. I want to edit out not only my selection of clothes, but the way I purchase them. I realized that I usually go to a store to buy clothes for an event, so I end up with a bunch of flashy things that I would probably never wear after the first (or okay, second) time. They're too striking to wear for a work thing, and to wear them again and again to a different event with the same people - well that just won't do in my line of work.

So instead of buying glam dresses and cheap one-time accent pieces all the time, I have come up with a sensible battle plan. I have made a specific list of all the clothes I feel I need. Before the year ends, I will have all these flattering basics in my closet! Whatever the cost.

My mother thinks I'm careless with my money, but I think I'm not doing too bad at 24. I save up and I know when I need to back off from a potentially wasteful purchase. Living independently from my parents taught me difficult financial lessons - way more effective than wordy lectures, I think! Nonetheless I want to learn more about financial wisdom ala Frugal Honey this year.

But. I work hard, so if there's something I really like that I can afford, I buy it. I've been in love with a bag from Tory Burch since November and I finally got it shortly before Christmas!

I actually bought a Tory Burch tote first. I liked it in the store, but when I opened it at home my feelings have drastically changed. I thought it was a bit too plain and too big for me. I mean, if I were to blow money on a luxe bag I might as well get something that looks like it! So I took the tote back to the store and purchased the bag that I originally liked, which was the Tory Burch Medium 797 Satchel.

Glamourbox, I think, raised everyone's expectations from the local beauty boxes with its first package last November. It contained a full-sized Australian mascara worth P1,000+ (which is good btw, according to Kira!), a lip palette, and various intriguing perfume samples. I'm pleased to announce that the December box also did not disappoint!

When I first opened it I thought, ok coupons, coupons, sample bottles...meh. That is, until I saw the full-sized VMV lipstick! One tube costs P1,050 at the store, and the box is only P600. I love that Glamourbox puts in one product that's full-sized and costs much, much more than the subscription fee.

I hope they continue doing it. It's not just great value for the customer's money, it's also such a pleasant thrill to receive. That's like 50% of the reason women would want a curated beauty box.

The satchel bandwagon has come and gone, but I for one don't care. I still like the structured, prim look of this particular style, and how convenient it is with handles and/or body straps. For me, satchels make casual preppy outfits look more sophisticated, more put together. My casual clothes fall under that category so satchels are no-brainer choices. :D

I first read about Cuzo leather bags some months ago at Topaz Horizon, one of my favorite blogs (hi Frances!). I learned that the products were locally made, and that the leather Cuzo uses is real. Still, the prices are very reasonable at less than P2,500 for most bags. You can understand why I had to grab my own Cuzo bag at AVA.ph, and on sale too.

The green Ann Satchel was originally P2,250 but it was 30% off so I was able to score it for only P1,500. There were other designs but all of them are sold out - except for the maroon Ann! You should get it before it goes out of stock.

Earlier today I had lunch with two lovely ladies - Ms Nelly See, the whirlwind behind Pinkbox, and Verniece Enciso, the prettiest blogger in the country (for me!). It was more of a "wala lang" lunch! I mean I wouldn't call it work since we just gossiped lol. It's always nice to spend time with these two, since the conversation is coming from three different...genres if you will. Verniece is a sweet young thing, I'm this pragmatic know-it-all, and Ms Nels is a super hyper mom and businesswoman. You'd think we have nothing to talk about but we do! Talk. Quite a lot.

Now that we're here, we should all start pressuring Ms Nelly to blog soon. I told her I'd make hers, plus it's not like she'd be short of content since she posts tons of Instagram photos everyday. She's @nellysee there btw! 

At the Pinkbox store in Greenbelt 5

Anyhoo. I'd just like to share my FOTD and (what sorta passes off as a) picture of my outfit. I just threw everything on in under thirty minutes because I was already rushing.

Sooo, how was your vacation? Mine dragged as I didn't go out of town or even to the mall. I spent my long weekend watching TV shows, reading books, and playing a new game (Disgaea 4!). Speaking of books, if you like Cinderella-type stories, you should consider reading The Selection (Hunger Games-ish) and A Kiss at Midnight (Cinderella with no magic, more wit). They're not particularly good books but they're fun to read!

Anyway today I want to talk about my visit to Regatta a couple of weeks ago. I have to be honest, I was only expecting the usual preppy stuff like polos, collared shirts, and sensible bottoms. Regatta does carry these must-haves - in better quality than what's usually in department stores - but I like that they came out with uber chic printed pieces! You'll see them later. ;)

Here's a quick tour!

Regatta has casual stuff for you and the special men in your lives

Unisex fragrances and accessories

I was out very early today for work errands. After the serious stuff, I roamed the mall for something I can wear to the Pinkbox event on Wednesday. Preparing for it has been super stressful so I better damn well look good on the day itself! Hehe. 

Anyway, it turns out it's hard to look for a classy pink outfit. I went to Zara, Mango, The Ramp, zilch. So I went to the trusty Forever 21 store. There is SO MUCH pink in that place right now! I didn't have much time left so I just grabbed some stuff that would somehow fit the purple/pink theme of the party.

I got this lavender dress for only P619. Yeah I'm not kidding! It was P1,435 originally but a lot of the stuff are on sale at Forever 21 Makati right now. I would love to wear this but I'm not sure if it can still fit the theme. Hmm. Maybe a pink headband can make it work.

Another sale find. This blazer is now only P505. Crazy. It was P1,685 originally. The fit is nice on me, even though the only size left is small.

I was at the Mall of Asia last Sunday with my mom. I dragged her to Uniqlo to check out the perpetual sale going on there (not that I'm complaining), and that's where I found this beauty!

It's only P390 at the current sale price and I love it. It's super comfy as a body shaper, not too restricting and hot, plus it doubles as shorts for days when I'm wearing short dresses. Did I say it was only P390? A similar thing from Bench would cost as much sans the nicer fabric.

“When I shop, I just get what I like on the mannequins! I don’t like looking around!” said a friend of mine over lunch. I was marginally scandalized. I’m a person who can’t settle on a purchase without seeing everything first. How can I possibly make an informed decision if I don’t know all my options? How can anyone else?

Hehe, seriously, I think of shopping somewhat like a game. And I loooove having a companion to shop for. A couple of weeks ago, I accompanied the winner of my Palmolive Naturals Stylista Speaks contest  to her shopping spree at Forever 21 Makati. It was such a fun experience because it’s my first time to go shopping with a new friend!

Her name is Marie. She’s a pretty just-out-of-college woman who is very sweet and kikay. Ahhh, a girl after my own heart (well except for the sweet part, har di har har). She wanted to find good deals at first since some items were on sale, but I persuaded her to invest in some pieces that I think she’ll enjoy wearing again and again! I also gave her my tried-and-tested shopping tips, which I shall post here!

I haven't been posting my outfits lately for the simple reason that I don't have any photos of them. -_- I'm usually rushing out, but that excuse aside, I also don't have anyone to take photos of me. So here's what I'm going to do: I will just share some of the new stuff I bought or got in the mail. I've been on a mission to update my wardrobe lately, and here are some of the things I carted!

This is my favorite find. It's a jacket from Apple & Eve (P1,500)! I forget what this type of jacket is called, but I've been looking for something like this for some time. I love that it's light, perfect for our weather, and it fits me so well! Can't wait to wear it out.

Denim is a staple in our country because of its versatility and sturdiness. If you're a denim lover, there's a new player in town: G-Star RAW.

G-Star RAW is a luxury Dutch brand that's famous abroad for its unwashed, untreated - or raw - denim. It has a militaristic feel to it, with streetwise pockets and edgy zippers conveniently sewn in the fabric. The brand is currently available in 6,000 selling points world wide, with flagship stores located in top fashion capitals such as New York City, Paris, and London. 

And now, the brand is finally in the Philippines. Here are some of the essential G-Star looks to cop!

My favorite!

Do you guys watch Downton Abbey? YOU SHOULD. It's a historical drama about the lives of an English titled family and their servants in the early 20th century. Affecting them all are events happening in the larger world like the sinking of the Titanic and the first World War. The actors are fantastic, the story, poignant, and the clothes! My dears, you shall be inspired.

The ladies wore charming tea dresses with immaculate, softly tailored tops. While we can still definitely do this today, wouldn't it be a little impractical to be walking around in heavy lace and full-length dresses? It is. Which is why I love JC Buendia's collection for Kashieca: it's inspired by Downton Abbey, except the clothes are made for the 21st century no-fuss working woman.

Don't expect any print-crazy trendy stuff. JC Buendia had something a lot more sophisticated and body-friendly in mind! The collection is full of figure enhancing tops and bottoms done in practical fabrics that can handle daily wear and tear.

The cuts aren't the sort that you'll see in your average Bangkok and China rebranded stores. Since the clothes are exclusively designed, you get the extensive experience and knowledge of the female body only a trained designer can give to his work.

A male friend of mine asked me last week, "How much pain are you willing to go through for a pretty pair of shoes?" I said, "A lot!" Someone once said that good shoes can take you to good places, so if you're willing to take some pain for your vanity then you can potentially get some satisfaction out of it.

Anyways, I recently got two new pairs of shoes just to update my wardrobe. I've been mooning over them for a few weeks beforehand - they're not exactly cheap, so I had to think long and hard if I really needed them. I just felt miserable until I gave in. Next time, I won't put myself to all that trouble! If I badly want something, I'll just go freakin' get it if I can afford it.

First off, I finally got these Zara Basic Sandals. I've seen a lot of fashion bloggers wear them (especially abroad). I'm not the type to fall for trendy things, but I just love how beautifying these heels are!