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I wish I was as strong as everybody thinks I am. I am the girl who can get through anything. The girl who breezes through heartbreaks. The girl who can find someone else, someone better, always. The girl who is so independent, so strong, so willed. Or so they think.

I wish I was as numb as I’d like to think. The girl who doesn’t feel anymore. The girl who doesn’t care. The selfish, self-interested girl who couldn’t care less about what anyone has to say.

But actually, I am not.

My heart is broken. It feels like it’s in pieces, and every piece has a jagged end. These edges poke at me from the inside every time I move. Even every time I breathe. I am fine on the outside. My hair is straightened out, my eyelashes curled, my outfit chic. I have my chin held high, my mouth in a coy smile. But inside, I am bleeding. Sometimes I even wonder how I am able to survive. Sometimes the pain isn’t even metaphorical. It is real. Like someone is squeezing my heart, like I’m having a cardiac arrest, like I just want to curl and throw up. I find the sight of food revolting. They would all ask if I’m okay when they hear the news. And I will say I’m fine, with a smile that I don’t even know how I muster.

My hands are shaking as I type this. I need to do some work, and I do it in a trance. If I digress, I start to feel. I can’t afford to feel. I feel like I just need an explanation. I cannot move on without an understanding. But at the same time I know that not everything needs to be explained. Not everything needs to be known. Sometimes, it just is.

What is holding me back? Nothing. No one but myself. I’d like to think I want to hold on to the memories, but it hasn’t been that long. I’m somehow scared I won’t find anyone else, but we all know that’s not true. There will always be better ones. My pride is hurt. My ego is beyond damaged. I’m confused, angry, and hurt at the same time. On the other hand, I feel liberated, free, I feel…enlightened. But I need to decide.

It’s not so hard to blame myself. I could have been better. I could have loved better. I could have been more patient. I could have done this and done that. But none of that will ever change anything anymore. It’s not so hard to blame karma either. That maybe things turned back around and bit me when I least expected it. Maybe I deserve this. Maybe I shouldn’t even complain. All the times I’ve hurt other people — maybe this is revenge. Maybe I shouldn’t even complain as the pain I’m feeling now isn’t even half of what I’ve caused others. Maybe I’m a bad person, and I needed to feel this to wake up.

I can hardly breathe. I’m in a state of shock, of disbelief. How could all this be happening? I’ve had nightmares like this before, but I would always wake up finding him beside me. Why am I not waking up from this? Is this even real?

It hurts. It hurts so bad. It hurts so much. Make it stop. All there is really, is to accept. You are not alone.

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I get a lot of DMs asking me how I edit my Instagram photos. I always try and answer those as thoroughly as I can because, knowing from my own experience when I was first starting out and spending countless hours attempting to figure out how many favorite IG accounts edited their photos, nothing is more frustrating than reading a comment that says "I use VSCO". But even a lengthily comment or DM isn't enough to truly convey someone's editing style, so I figured it was high time I put together a post for anyone who is interested in knowing my process.

I've been trying and trying to edit my photos for the past years using and bought a lot of editing apps. But then, I didn't found my forte till now I want my feed to look nice, so I always experiment hue colors and filters. Before I will start, I would like to make something clear; My Instagram is not my real life, I just love to be creative as it comes to my pictures. Some people call it fake, I call it content. Since everyone's content is different, I don't assume that you like mine.

I stick to this one since I'm into nature right now, so here it is!

APPS THAT I'M USING TO EDIT MY PHOTOS

Personally, I prefer to edit my photo's on my phone. It is way easier and so much fun to use a lot of different apps.

  • LIGHTROOM CC MOBILE APP
  • PREVIEW APP (I pay for the filters)
  • FACETUNE (only if necessary)




STEP 1

LIGHTROOM CC MOBILE APP


LIGHT

Exposure +.03 
Contrast -30
Highlights -60
Shadows +70
Whites +18

COLOR

Vibrance +45
Saturation -3
(Proceed to Color Mix/Color Adjustment)
(Red) Saturation +15
(Orange) Saturation +29 Luminance -39
(Yellow) Hue -100 Saturation -50
(Green) Saturation -85
(Blue) Hue -31 Saturation -30


EFFECTS

Clarity +12

SELECTIVE EDITS/TOOLS
(I only use this  if I want some part's of the photo to be more brownish)

Temperature +21

 STEP 2 
                   
Preview App

  I'll move my edited photo from Lightroom to Preview.

Fall Pack + Filter F2 in the brown Filter pack +2

Hope this post helped anyone trying to up their Insta editing game! :) Xoxo and GOD bless :)


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Every year when the Month of May is coming, my family had this routine to go for a short travel in my mom's hometown to attend fiesta. Fiesta is a Philippines festival celebration to express gratitude for a good harvest in honor of the town's patron saint. My mom's siblings are live there so is like a reunion for them to see each other every once in a year.

It's an hour or two to travel from Iligan to Clarin!

It's in a country side so its kind of new to me since I live in a city, the fresh air makes me so relax, seeing lots of tress or any green leaves makes me happy, and my most favorite part aside from seeing my aunts,uncles and cousins is to see a very wide and open rice fields its very incredible. Plus the coconut tress alignment are so amazing!

When its comes to food, this town which is "Clarin, Misamis Occidental" is known for the suman or rice cake! And aside from that, there's Torta.

Travel to a place where my mom came from was really amazing experience. It's the highlight of the year for me.



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It's been three months since your wedding but feels like it was just yesterday! Hahaha!

You don't know how excited we are as your friends when your wedding came, even if I never had a chance to sleep. You had your dream wedding and we are so happy for you.

I get giddy thinking about all of our inside jokes from high school all the way through college even though we had separate school (college). It's been so much fun retelling all these old stories about our glory days to our friends and your to your husband.

I'm so happy that you've found someone who knows just as well as I do how wonderful you are. We may not be neighbors anymore but you're still one of my best friends. It truly has been so much fun being your bridesmaid and I know that your husband is lucky to call you not only his wife, but best friend as well.

(This message is already in my Instagram post! 😂)


Xoxo 👄



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We had plan this trekking for almost one week and thought I wouldn't be able to make it due to my crazy work schedule! Hahaha. But yeah, I made it. Ever since I was a child, each time I saw or looked the highest mountain here in Iligan, I've always wonder what it looks or feels like being in the peak of the mountain. I never imagine that I would be able to experience the very challenging yet enjoyable trekking, it is really my first time to do such thing. It was tough and very exhausting yet I felt so alive that even my bubbly mouth couldn't stop talking while climbing! Hahaha.

It took us an hour long of assaults to reach the peak and the camp site. Enjoying the scenic view and I could see the whole city of Iligan from the top, After rested, ate our food and taking pictures we decided to trekking down by 10am. Who say's trekking down in 70 degree trail is easy? It is indeed never easy, you need to be extra careful. Trekking down was a bit faster than hiking up because we had fewer stops and rest but shorter time, our knees were shaking this seems to be more difficult than climbing up and the struggle is real! 😅

When you plan to visit Iligan City, make sure to include this on your bucket list!

Happy Blogging!! Xoxo 👄








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If you are a nature lover then this very much for you. It is one of the main tourist attractions of Iligan, a city known as the city of Majestic Falls. Tinago is a Filipino term meaning "hidden" the waterfalls is hidden in the deep ravine. It's not appropriate for older ages as the stairs is steep and going downward more than 400 hundred steps, but once you'll get into the area your efforts will surely pay off as the attraction is really breathtaking!

I have been here twice already but still amazed. It was unexpected plan though, we were just going to have lunch when suddenly "Tinago" came up to our mind since the weather was really hot that time. I have the chance to experience riding a bamboo raft or "bangkang kawayan" even if I don't know how to swim. Haha. I have my life jackets with me, so yeah face your fears! And the people who's with us was so friendly and approachable, wherever you are now guys, sorry! Haha. 







Happy Blogging! Xoxo 👄
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Hello! 😊 It's good to be back writing again for all of you. How was your weekends? Mine is boring plus its raining outside though I love this kind of weather. Anyway, let's talk about foundations and its my first time that I have reviewed a foundation which I use . Many years ago, I used whatever I had back then. I didn't mind if its for the best for a combination skin type like me. But when I had a breakouts I became aware what I used. So today, I use two types of foundations that suits me well. 

First one is Mary Kay Timewise matte-wear liquid foundation, I have been using this for almost a year now. It's only available through your trusted Mary Kay beauty consultant, it is very suitable for sensitive skin. It's oil free and non - comedogenic contents makes your skin flawless after application and will visibly reduce the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines, it's a matte finish! The shade I got somewhat suits me (beige 2) and I like the quality of this product.



                        Ingredients

     Details

The second one is Avon True Color Flawless Foundation, early 2017 Avon revamped their True Color Make up collection with a new look and new products. One of the changes was converting Avon Ideal Flawless Liquid Foundation to Avon True Color Flawless Foundation. It has the same great Invisiblend Technology with true color guarantee.

I'm using medium beige shade just recently and so far I like it. This particular foundation claims to "look and feel 100% natural" now I have been trialing this foundation for a little over a week now and I have literally fallen in love with this product. It gives my skin lovely and flawless glow of which I love, it did not take away the natural appeal of my skin.



     Details

                 Ingredients

To be honest I'm not a fan of any direct-selling brand when it comes to make up, maybe because I don't see the brand in the mainstream. And the most important part, it's hard choosing your shade in a catalog because most of them don't have testers for you to see or for you to try, but everything change when I use these two products.

Both products work  amazing in my experience. They are both fragrance free if you have issues with scented make ups this is for you.

DISCLAIMER: It is my own honest opinion based on personal experiences. I am not a beauty expert/professional. I am just someone who loves to write.

Remember that we all have different skin types or may react to certain products. What works for me, may not work for you. It's better to check the product first if it suits you well and discontinue use when causes you irritation.

Happy Blogging! Xoxo 💋

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My best friend and I looking for a new place away from the city. It was just a short trip but awesome and we had so much fun even if just the two us. It's 36.0 kilometers away from Iligan City, we took a bus and the trip lasted for almost an hour. When we are arrived, we decided to have an early lunch since I was hungry already. Hahaha! The Echavez Kitchenette at the Lasang Secret Adventure is one of the must try when you are in Initao. They offer budget friendly food, and its yummy since Ming and I love seafood.

Finally, were done eating and go to Initao-Libertad Protected Landscape and Seascape. Actually, it is my second time around here. My first one happened last July 2016, but since Ming haven't experience going in here and I'm an awesome best of best friend I did go with her. Hahahaha! The entrance fee is 15php only, and if you like to do spelunking it will be 100php for 1-15 person per cave. A tour guide will accompany you to the three cave for a total price of 300php. We didn't do spelunking since I already experienced that and Ming didn't want to. So we were just strolling around the park or locally known as "Lasang" and took some pictures and videos.

You are allowed to swim in the seascape area but if the waves become bigger and stronger the management will prohibits the tourist to swim because the waves might push you towards the rocky shore. The seashore composed of sharp coral stones. However, if the sea is calm, it is ideal for snorkeling and free diving but we decided not to go for swim.

(I took videos mostly.  Lol) I wanted to post a video here but couldn't fit since blogger required 100m, my video has the capacity of 300mb.

So that's it! Haha. That's my experience in Lasang 2017! 😆✌

What did you do this Month of September? Share your stories girls! 😇


XOXO
Liz 💋
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I grew up in a home with the smell of paint, thinner along with the sight of different paint and brushes since my father is an artist, he do a lot of things when it comes to arts and sign.

I was in third grade when I started to paint, I draw things a lot that time that even my teachers noticed me and tried me to joined painting contest. But before that, they'll had to choose which among the three of us could participated so we draw again and passed it to the art teacher. Sadly, I was not the chosen one. Yes, I was kind of upset that time and loss my confident on that field though I'm still continuing to draw until college. It was stopped when I started to work and got busy no time to draw anymore, but there's a part of me wanting it again, like it's calling me but ignored it most of the times. But when I started blogging and saw some of vloggers/bloggers how they've paint it's inspired me and decided to try it again hoping that my hands are still not rusts. Lol (but if arts is really your passion, there's no reason that you won't do it or to draw anymore.)

So far, I just draw some simple drawing when its my day off. I keep on practicing. My favorite things that I draw is places, I usually imagining simple places. This is one of my passion I think. :)


XOXO
Liz
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I've been on the hunt for a micellar water to try for awhile now, something cheap but truly good. Before, I only washed my face and use a cleanser to remove the make up and dirt, that's my routine at the end of the day. But I heard about micellar water, I kept on reading reviews about micellar, and Garnier caught my attention. It's been launch here in the Philippines just last year 2016, and I tried it.

People often say there are no rules when it comes to make up but I disagree. There is one rule that every make up lover should follow; taking it off properly at the end of the day! No matter how tired you are or how long and crappy your day has been,. You need to remove your make up if you don't want to clog your pores and bring you nasty breakouts.

Garnier Micellar Water will make your life easier, it contains Micellar molecules that cluster together and act like a magnet to lift dirt, oil and make up. No harsh rubbing needed. Plus you don't need to rinse it off so the product moisturizing ingredients can stay behind to hydrate the skin. I love the convenience of using a micellar water when I get home late and just can't be arsed to do my entire cleansing routine. It's the lazy guide's girl to removing make up.

There were two variants of Garnier Micellar Water, the pink bottle suitable for dry to normal skin while the blue one is for oily/acne prone skin. Overall, these are the cheapest and most effective Micellar Water in the market! Garnier did a really good job in creating a fast, gentle but powerful Micellar Water that can rival its higher end and more expensive competitors.

No doubt, Garnier Micellar Water is an excellent pick that won't let you down when removing make up. Have you tried it? Do share your thoughts :)

Happy reading!!
xoxo


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 (First photo is not mine. Credit to the owner)


 Hello Bloggers! Today I am reviewing a face scrub from one of my favorite brands St. Ives. This is the St. Ives Fresh Skin Apricot Scrub. At first glance, you may feel that the exfoliating particles may be too rough or harsh but the scrub does an excellent job of exfoliating. It's not rough on the skin though- not like some scrubs where your face kind of feels like it's burning after. The cream with apricot extract that binds these particles together is quite hydrating and leaves the skin so soft! I am really surprised and happy with the results.

The directions specify that this product should be used 3 to 4 times a week but I think it might be too much, I just use it twice a week (evening). This work well for me, keeping my skin looking fresh and bright but may be a bit harsh for people with a sensitive skin.

I must admit that it has impressed me. My skin always feels soft and smooth even until the next day. I've been using it for over a year already. Let me tell you, I still can't get enough of it! It's supposed to be a facial scrub but I don't mind using it all over my body. Haha!

Remember that we all have different skin types or may react differently to certain products. What works for me, may not work for you. It's better to check the product first if it suits you well and discontinue use when causes you irritation.

Have you ever tried St. Ives Fresh Skin Apricot Scrub? Share it here with me!
Happy blogging! xoxo..


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(Mantigue Island from afar)

Since it's #throwbacksaturday today, I wanted to share with you how lucky I am to be able to experience Camiguin Island trips five years ago along with my friend and her mom.

Camiguin Island of Northern Mindanao is the next travel destination. We travel from Iligan City (my hometown) to CDO by land, the travel lasted for one and half hour. Things got easier once we reached Agora Market, all the buses can be found there whether you're west bound, south bound or east bound. In our case, were Camiguin bound so we hooped into an east bound bus (Butuan) as it will bring us directly to Balingoan Port, travel time is more or less 3 hours. Butuan bound buses has a pick up terminal in Balingoan, so when our bus stopped there for like 10-20 minutes we alighted and walked to the port which is just a few blocks away.

Where to stay?

As soon as we arrived in Camiguin, we asked the pedicab driver if he knows some place to stay since were not prepared for that trip, we didn't even planned the itinerary for this trip. That time was a holy week and all of the resorts and hotels were full, good thing Mr. Driver know someone who rent a room. We end up in a house in Mambajao, actually we just rent a room but its big enough for the three of us. We stayed for 3-4 days.









Where to go?

We went to Katibawasan Falls, Ardent Hot Spring Resort, Old church ruins, Sunken Cemetery, walk way to the old volcanoes, white island, and white island fish sanctuary. 

Fish Sanctuary 

When we go outside to look for a place to eat, we found this sanctuary not far from our place to stay. So we got our curiosity and went there.





That part of the seashore are the fish sanctuary.

Katibawasan Falls

It is located five kilometers southeast of Mambajao at the foot of Mt. Timpoong in Camiguin. It is a nice place to cool off during hot and humid days, it provide ice cold water. The area surrounded by huge tress and dropping vines with giant ferns decorating the surrounding land.










Ardent Hot Spring

It is situated 6 kilometers southwest of Mambajao. It's also considered as the most popular hot spring in the island, it is a natural pool of about 39°C coming from the bowels of Mt. Hibok hibok. They have eatery too.














Old church ruins

It is located in Brgy Bonbon, Catarman. Upon arriving at the location of the ruins, the only thing that made me recognize it as a church are the candle and other religious crafts vendors outside. We saw the remains of a once beautifully structured Spanish era buildings. The moss covered and cracked coral stone walls are evidence of how old it was and a tragedy that came with it. It is said that when the first volcanic eruption took place in early 1870's, the town of catarman was badly destroyed making a portion of it sank into the sea. The ruins of Guiob Church also known as Old Church Ruins is all that left of the old town.

I'm always attracted to ruins and historical places.











Walkway to Old Volcano

It's was a holy week when we took our trip and attend the Panaad Festival. The slope of Mt. Vulcan gets filled with prayers especially during Holy Week, devotees and tourist like us climb a series of steps which eventually becomes a mildly difficult hike. It got tiring as we went on but the view from the top was simply breathtaking and was worth every step.


















Sunken Cemetery

Approximately 16 kilometers from Catarman proper. This island's famous Sunken Cemetery, marked by a cross standing in the middle of the sea, resulted from the birth of Mount Vulcan in 1871. The huge cross was built in 1982 which lies 20 feet underwater to commemorate the community cemetery which sunk during the volcanic eruption of Mt. Vulcan.











White Island Sandbar

After eating delicious and satisfying breakfast we headed to Brgy. Yumbing in Mambajao where we can rent a boat to take us to White Island. The glistening blue water make the literally white island standout. As you get nearer, the water gets clearer and the shades of blue are more apparent. There's a sari-sari store in deserted island which also serves as a landmark and where you can buy food, chips and drinks. You can also rent umbrellas. Often, fisherman come by and invite guests to sample their catch. While we were laying under the big umbrella, a fisherman came by and offered us theses spiny urchins as a meal,

























Where to eat?

The time when we took that trip, we often just prepared our food on where we stay. We just experience eat outside when we go to Ardent Hot Spring, they have a restaurant there and had dinner at Luna Ristorante.







So far this was the long and best trip for me. I am in love with Camiguin Island and I'm definitely going back for sure. What about you blogger's? What was your best trips?













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About Me

Hello, Liz here!! I work as an Accounting Officer and Personal and Lifestyle blogger. I want to share my story of experience.

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