vanity is my middle name

Umandar na naman vanity ko. I had already spent a couple of hours online, and was about to log off already, when I decided to visit the VMV Hypoallergenics website. And while I’m at it, I thought to myself, why not go to the Nivea and The Body Shop websites as well? So I ended up staying for almost half an hour more. Oh well.

As I had visited Nivea’s site a month ago and Body Shop’s didn’t offer much, I pretty much “hung out” at VMV. Although my dermatologist recommended I use VMV instead of other more expensive brands, I had told myself I would only buy branded skincare and cosmetic products when I’m already earning my own money. But seeing VMV’s products online, without having to deal with pesky sales agents, made want to take back my words. Oh, man. The lure of beautiful skin is just too irresistible. No, I’m not interested in their make up… yet. All right, only their Lip and Cheek Tint, but Tita already bought me one (it was on sale in SM Iloilo). Forgive me, but I’m obsessed with my lips. I need to prettify them to take the attention away from my ugly weird unusual nose. And I will get a nose job in the future, but only when I’m already earning six or seven digits per month. Hah. I wish! No, my nose is not pango (flat), but the tip is just too wide. There’s this procedure that “shaves” a bit of flesh off the sides of the tip, to give you a thinner-looking nose.

But I digress. I’m interested in VMV’s skincare line. They have this set of cleanser, toner and moisturizer in smaller sizes (perfect for travel or as a gift) for combination skin, and I really want to try that. It’s incredibly vain of me, I know, but do you have any idea how difficult it is to find products specially made for combination skin?

I also want to try their Armada Face Cover Sun and Light Screen (SPF 30). It’s a bit pricey, but dermatologists really recommend using sunblock, so I’m just following doctor’s orders.

The products I’ve mentioned are reasonably-priced, considering the amount of research and efforts poured into the stuff. But when I saw Glykeros Lift-Contour Eye and Lip Serum (designed to make skin around eyes and lips smooth and taut and minimize the appearance of fine lines, dark circles and puffiness.), I thought it was manna. My manna. Then I saw the price and my jaw almost dropped to the floor. 45 effing US dollars! That’s more than 2,000 pesos! And for a tiny container that probably wouldn’t last a month. I could buy the whole set of Chronicles of Narnia or Anne Rice’s vampire novels instead of that stupid serum. But I want that serum. I know more than half of the world’s population is starving, but I just can’t bring myself to care. Actually, I do care about them. I also care about myself as much, so I guess I’m just ambivalent.

*sigh* You’re probably gonna ask if that serum is actually worth its price, and I should just start having healthy habits like going to bed early, drink enough glasses of water daily, etc. And you’re right, of course. So I wouldn’t buy the serum… yet. Actually, I can’t buy it even if I really want to. It’ll just have to wait, just like that nose job.

Beauty Madness

I bought the latest edition of Preview Magazine a week ago. And I just finished marking the cosmetic products I like. Not that I could afford them. I mean, a lip gloss for a thousand bucks? Eye shadow for three thousand? Even if they’re from Shu Uemura, their prices are pretty extravagant. (Besides, maybe I don’t need eye shadow. The area around my eyes are dark, so people sometimes ask me if I’m wearing make up. Concealer na lang siguro. *hint hint*) On the other hand, I don’t think I could afford even the cheaper products. *sigh* Being unemployed sucks. I couldn’t even shell out a few hundred bucks for my vanity.

Wait up. This is not just vanity. I need to look good during job interviews and stuff. As my mother told me a couple of days ago, after staring at my face intently, “Anak, magpaganda ka!” so that my chances of getting hired would go up. This got me thinking, do I have the face that even a mother couldn’t love? *sob!*

Anyway, make up can indeed do wonders. I was one of the usherettes in a Mother’s Day dinner-concert that my parents took part in organizing. Of course, I had to spruce myself up a bit, so I aside from a nice blouse and a pair of slacks, I also wore make up (which I got from my oh-so-generous aunt). As you know, Kalibo is a small town, so most of the people know everybody else. One of the guests I was accompanying was a family acquaintance, and she stopped by mother’s table to chat. The guest told my mother, “Maganda pala itong anak mo!” She [the guest] added that she didn’t recognize me (and *ahem* my beauty) at first because she always saw me in jeans and loose shirts. Later, when I recounted to Ica what happened, she teasingly said, “That’s just a little dolling up. Imagine what a little more can do!” *sigh* it’s nice to be appreciated once in a while. Especially if that once in a while comes after a long long while.

And, as Tita Lynne, another family friend, said, at least it wasn’t, “Ay, akala ko maganda ka; pangit ka pala!”

I had my hair trimmed last week. I was tempted to tell the hairstylist to chop off a couple of inches or so, but I stopped myself because I knew I’d regret it later. You see, I’m trying to grow out my hair but I hate having to go through this awkward length. I wish I could go back to my short ‘do, but I also want to experience having long hair at least once in my life. Do you know that the length of my hair has never gone below my shoulders yet? Hmm… Is this sudden determination to have long hair a sign of my female hormones finally kicking in?

Two cousins (one from each side of the family) gave me lipstick and foundation as graduation gifts. My tita also gave me the lipstick and foundation from her balikbayan amiga. But the lipsticks do not flatter my skin color, though, and I have yet to master the art of applying foundation. Next items on the kikay list: blush and eye make-up. *hint hint*

Because jobhunting would be my favorite pastime during the upcoming months, I need to overhaul my wardrobe. I couldn’t very well go to the offices in Ayala wearing t-shirt and maong. I’ve started to shop around for, and boy, do I have the worst luck in slacks. I’m beginning to think that having long legs is a curse. I know it sounds mayabang. My legs aren’t even *that* long. Besides, long legs are assets, so what am I complaining about? You’ll probably want to bonk me on the head now. I’m really sorry, but you have to put yourself in my shoes. I get frustrated every time I try on a pair of slacks. The cut would be all right, nice fit on the waist and thighs, but the length would always be wrong. It would be bitin, therefore I couldn’t wear shoes with heels because I’d look ridiculous. And that’s minus pogi, er, ganda points during qualifying exams and interviews. I’ve spent hours in malls looking for slacks with the right length, and so far, I’ve only found one. I can’t very well use that every time I go jobhunting. I mean, I have to give the poor thing a rest once in a while.