Monday, February 28, 2011

9 Works Theatrical's Production of RENT

Happy Monday everyone! How was your weekend? I spent my saturday night in RCBC Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium watching RENT so here is my review on it:


I don't consider myself to be a Renthead, because there are other musicals that I prefer over Rent. Nonetheless, I'm very familiar with the show, owning the DVD's of the movie and the Rent: Filmed Live on Broadway. I also have the movie soundtrack as well as the Original Broadway Cast. Having said so, I entered the theater with high hopes. After all, as far as I know this is already the 3rd run of this musical. The first run was early 2010, when I couldn't find tickets because I bought too late already. The second run was late last year, when the tickets were expensive since it was staged in Rockwell. So I bought my tickets early and was happy for the chance to finally see the musical.

The good thing about Rent is that production-wise, it isn't hard to replicate. The set isn't extravagant (and doesn't change either) and the costumes are simple, too. They're everyday outfits that can be pulled out of an ordinary person's closet. The musicians are composed of a small band of 4 or 5 people. Having said this, you don't need to put in an extravagant amount of money to replicate this in Manila. 9 Works was able to give a good feel of the Broadway show.

Of course, a production doesn't mean anything without a good cast. When it came to acting, the cast was able to capture the essence of their characters. I was especially impressed with Job Bautista as Angel. They got the perfect man to play Angel, the optimistic, dancing, AIDS-stricken cross dresser. Singing-wise (which is the most important part of me), they were okay. Gian Magdangal (Roger) at times reminded me of Adam Pascal's rocky, edgy voice. However, the high ranges of the male characters proved to be a challenge to the male members of the cast. They had to resort to almost shouting their high notes. As a result, power ballads such as Roger's Your Eyes and Collins' I'll Cover You (Reprise) fell a little short for me. This, coupled with the fact that the sound engineer failed to notice that the high was too high (leaving a very penetrating sound when the actors sang in their high range). It's a little hard to explain, but if you know how to operate a sound mixer, you'll know what I'm talking about.

All-in-all, I would say that this was a good production, although it would have been better if the cast were better able to hit the high notes. Nevertheless, this a fresh, young cast whose faces are relatively new in the musical theater scene. I look forward to their blossoming in the years to come.

List of cast that I THINK I saw:
Gian Magdangal - Roger
Sherry Bautista – Mimi
Fredison Lo – Mark
OJ Mariano -Collins
Job Bautista – Angel
Mian Dimacali – Maureen
Jenny Villegas- Joanne
Lorenz Martinez – Benny

Friday, February 25, 2011

Fun Shoot!

Hey everyone. How are you all doing? Me, I'm happy to not have work today. In fact, I didn't have work yesterday either! It's rare for me to not have work for two days in a week because I normally work 6-7 days a week. I have some errands to run, though, but before I go I'd just like to leave you with some pictures from our fun shoot last week at my friend's house.



Model: Cyrene Leicht
Photography: Jomel Tadeo
Makeup: Crystal Milarose Rodis
Hair: Kristine Rodriguez-Lucas



Model: Monica Louise
Photography: Cyrene Leicht
Makeup: Crystal Milarose Rodis

Have a great EDSA Day guys!

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

How Much Does It Cost to Keep You "Beautiful?"

Like I said in one of my previous posts, I'm not into branded bags, shoes or clothes. Instead, I put my money into prettifying myself. That wouldn't be a problem if I were rich, but I just started working less than two years ago, so I can't say that I'm making a lot lot lot of money. When I recently started computing how much I spend  a month to maintain myself, here's what I got:

Dermatologist: 1,600
Waxing: 450 (thank goodness I have an epilator for other body parts) + tip
Pedicures: approx. 500 plus tip
Hair maintenance: 600-800 for hot oil treatments and haircuts. This is still apart from my rebonding sessions.

So that's already more than P3000 a month, which is still exclusive of rebonding, beauty products, makeup, etc. Yikes!

What about you? How much do you spend on prettifying yourself?

Monday, February 21, 2011

Stila Kitten Eyeshadow and Smudgepot

Stila Kitten is undoubtedly Stila's best-selling eyeshadow. It's so successful that they just had to make a smudgepot and a lip glaze version! I don't have the lip glaze but I have the smudgepot and the eyeshadow. I got the eyeshadow as part of a set. At first, I neglected it but now it's actually my favorite highlighter! And since I love Stila smudgepots I got myself one in the same shade too!



I don't have the container for the eyeshadow since you have to buy it separately, I think.

Here are the swatches. On top is the eyeshadow swatched once. Beneath it is the smudgepot, swatched twice.


As you can see, although they are similar in shade, they differ in terms of intensity (to think I already swatched the smudgepot twice). The eyeshadow can't work on me as an all-over lid color, it's just too light and obvious on my NC25 skin tone. This is really meant to be a highlighter. On the other hand, since the smudgepot is less intense, I can actually apply this all over my lid as an everyday color! It just gives the right amount of shimmer on my lids.

Here's the Kitten smudgepot on my lids:


The camera wasn't able to capture it properly, but it does give a little shimmer to brighten the eyes up. Perfect as an everyday all-over lid color! And the best part? Smudgepots are very crease-resistant, so even without an eye primer, they last around 5 hours without creasing! That's a long time for my very oily lids. With a primer, it stays crease-free even longer!

Have you tried Stila Kitten products? I'd like to know what you think!

Saturday, February 19, 2011

NARS Lipstick in Niagara

I've always eyed NARS lipstick in Niagara and now that I have it, I'm loving it! It might look different onl your screens, but it's actually a lovely pink-coral that brightens up the face, but doesn't really steal the spotlight. 

Here is a swatch on my hand:
 

I love NARS lipsticks! They're easy to apply and are long lasting! I only own two shades, though: this one and Schiap.
To give you an idea on how it looks, here's an FOTD:


Isn't it nice how it just brightens my face? What are your thoughts?

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Product Spotlight: L'Occitane Shea Butter Hand Cream

Let us not forget to take good care of our hands. I myself am guilty too of leaving my hands un-pampered. As a result, my hands look less than goddess worthy :(

One hand cream I've been curious about is the famous L'Occitane Shea Butter Hand Cream. When an online seller sold a mini size, I grabbed the chance to try it out.



I like that the scent is light and not overwhelming. It's richer than normal lotions (it's made of 20% shea butter) since it's made for our abused hands, so you cannot expect that the lotion is absorbed by the skin in an instant. I apply this before I go to sleep, and my hands are still soft the next morning.

Overall, I think this is a good product, not amazing, though. Hand creams are meant to work slowly, and not change the texture of your hands in an instant. However, I cannot justify shelling out P495 for 1 oz. If anyone gives this to me, though, I'll gladly welcome it and use it!

Have you tried this? What are your thoughts?

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Note: My Experience as a Guest MUA @ Clinique Trinoma

Hello everyone! I'm sorry for being MIA. I've been very busy. As you know, I was a guest MUA at Clinique Trinoma. It was a very new experience for me as I have never worked at a booth before.

It's really no joke to stand around for 8 hours in shoes that are not flat. At the end of the day, my feet were so painful that I really walked slowly to the parking lot. Working in sales is never easy. A lot of patience and perseverance is required. Kudos to everyone that works in a mall. Working long hours is never easy.

Thank you Clinique for a unique experience!

Friday, February 11, 2011

Catch Me at Clinique Trinoma!

Hey guys! I'm going to be a guest makeup artist @ Clinique Trinoma tomorrow and on Sunday. Be sure to drop by if you're in the area. I'll be giving makeovers there!

Wednesday, February 09, 2011

Charles and Keith Virgin No More!

I don't really blog about fashion nor do I plan to make it a habit (unless my readers think it's a good idea?) but I just want to show you my first ever buy from Charles and Keith. You might not know this about me but I'm not really into branded clothes, shoes or bags. I spend my money more on makeup, skincare, pedicures, and waxes. Yes, I love to pamper myself. When it comes to fashion, I'm happy with my department store purchases. If I bought branded everything, then I'd be broke! LOL. I don't own anything from Zara and Mango. I haven't bought anything from Forever 21 here in Manila but I bought a couple of pieces on sale when I went to the US last year. The only branded bags I own are gifts to me. Up until two weeks ago, I've never owned anything from Charles and Keith. Well, now I'm a Charles and Keith virgin no more!

Presenting, my first ever buy from this popular shoe brand...


Another view of the shoes.


I'm loving it! It has a low heel (I don't own any heels that are 3 inches and above and my only 2-inch heels are reaaally comfy) so I can definitely use it around!

Monday, February 07, 2011

HOTD: Hairstyle of the Day

Hello everyone! I'm really sorry I've been neglecting my blog. I've been unbelievably busy the past week and will continue to be busy this coming week. I'm really going to try to blog. For the meanwhile, I'd like to share with you this hairstyle I sported for the album launching of a composer. I was asked to play, but I really didn't have time to fix myself because of the errands I had to do that same day. So I just put on my Babyliss Hot Rollers, and during the 15 minutes it took to set my hair, I just did my everyday makeup routine (since I didn't have time). I really love how hot rollers, set my hair. As you can see, my hair is not flat even though I didn't tease it at all!


And yes, in my haste, I wasn't able to put hairspray on my hair :P 'Til next time!

Saturday, February 05, 2011

whats your age ??

This was a question left for me in my formspring account. It's not that I'm ashamed of my age, but seriously, it's very weird for someone to not introduce themselves and then just ask me how old I am O_o Come on people...

Tuesday, February 01, 2011

MAC Summer Rose Beauty Powder Blush

Ever since I tried MAC Beauty Powder Blush in Summer Rose when it first came out with the A Rose Romance Collection, I knew I had a keeper. I really love pink blushes! This one is pink, but it has warm tones in it so I can pair it with either warm-toned or cool-toned lipsticks. I love the texture of this blush and how it makes you look naturally flushed. It goes on sheer so it's really very hard to overdo your makeup.


The rose engraving is really cute!

No matter how many new blushes I develop a liking for, I always go back to this one. I guess I'm not the only one who liked it, since it was repromoted in the Give Me Liberty of London collection. 

Despite its soft pigmentation, it still lasts the whole day on me! Even more than 12 hours on my oily skin! My only complaint is that the top layer tends to harden even though I use it often :( 

Here's me wearing Summer Rose:


What do you think? I really DO love it.

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