Origins Archives - Between Bites - Bites of Food, Travel and Lifestyle

A Year More Beautiful and Learnt

December 8, 2009 by Janey

There was sort of an emergency at home that got my heart racing that evening. Thank God it was resolved and the “missing” was found.

Nothing could keep me from Racq’s birthday dinner even if it was short notice. She just whipped up the plan that very same day –November 28, her special day. Venue: Bugsy’s, Makati (yup, they have a new branch there Makati peeps!) 🙂

Racq, as Chai would put it, looked ravishing that night. Without an effort. Having handled so many brands –Estee Lauder, Origins, etc, Racq knows the business of beauty.

Photo grabbed from Chai

Bubba bumped into Tracy that night again and we three got talking about working in Singapore. Tracy used to be part of Asian Food Channel and she worked at their Singapore office, under Pebbles, who is also a friend and a former colleague. What a small world huh!

Photo grabbed from Chai

The girls had the usual cocktails while Bubba had his usual beer. We got reminiscing about Cambodia, because Chai and Racq also had gone to Cambodia this year but on separate trips. Definitely a conversation Bubba can pitch in. I remember having teatime before at Racq’s Columns condo and most of the discussion revolved around chic stuff. We were talking about clothes, make-up, romance and boys. Poor Bubba.

Photo grabbed from Chai

We’re seeing each other soon Racq. Chat time in the car was short when we dropped you off after the Ninja Assassin premiere. I want to hear the full details 😉

Happy Happy Birthday Racq! China trip? 🙂

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Make-up Buys at Private Sale

July 1, 2009 by Janey

Products from Estee Lauder, Clinique, Mac, Bobbi Brown, Origins abound at the Acacia Room of Mandarin Oriental Hotel from June 24-26.

50% off on the following items:

Mac Eye ShadowSuite Regular Price PHP 880 Discounted PHP 440

Estee Lauder Eye Shadow Rose Regular Price PHP 1,000 Discounted PHP 500

Estee Lauder Eye Shadow Cinnamon Regular Price PHP 1,000 Discounted PHP 500

70% off on this item:

Mac Cream Eye Shadow Regular Price PHP 1,100 Discounted PHP 330

Make-up Buys at Private Sale Album

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Potluck and Teatime at Racq’s Pad, Columns

June 26, 2009 by Janey

Saturday evening was spent at Racq’s pad in Columns. This dinner was planned way ahead, before Chai’s flight to Vietnam last week.

Racq and Chai ordered 2 pizzas from Shakey’s while Bubba and I brought pasta and dessert.

Chai highlights her recent travel to Vietnam and Phnom Penh Cambodia. She was terrified during her first night in Vietnam and wanted to go home. Backpacking alone is fun but I guess it’s also scary. She met a few English guys-students from the bus ride to Phnom Penh who were also backpacking and that made her feel more secure. Despite the misfortunes of leaving her camera charger and cab drivers making her pay thrice as much, she really enjoyed her me-time during the trip.

Image Source: chai talag

I still hope she went to Siem Reap so we could have exchanged more stories surrounding the enchanting rustic beauty of Angkor Wat. There’s always next time. Nevertheless, we shared similar observations about Ho Chi Minh City and the people of Cambodia.

After dinner, I volunteered to wash the dishes. Racq showed us around Columns and the facilities. It’s quite nice and I like that security is tight. The amenities include a well-equipped gym, swimming pools, function rooms and game room. Racq suggested having teatime by the pool but since it was drizzling a bit, we detoured to the game room.

Teatime at the game room was fun. Racq had these cute white tiny teacups with handle and an accompanying saucer (Note to self: Open the box of teacup set I bought in college. But those are colorful with words, I really liked the white ones Racq has so I probably will scout something similar with a nice feminine ceramic old-style tea pot to match). The game room was really quiet except for 2 others peacefully playing billiards. We talked about make-up, travel, events and relationships. I admire Racq’s open-mindedness about relationships and being a strong independent woman. She learns from her past and moves on. It was another evening of good conversation. I had one the other night with Fran and Didi and few days after, with Eric, Pat, Fred and Madz. Friends really add to one’s character and you can also pick a thing or two from their learnings in life and share with them your life’s learnings too.

Love this new simple blue dress I got. It has received a lotta compli 🙂

It was quite funny to have Bubba join our tea session being a big guy holding a little teacup and sipping from it. He was supposed to go training but since he was already late, he decided to stay. I don’t mind having him there though even if we are all girls. His friends are my friends and my friends are his.

Chris is a ladies man.

We had such a nice view of Makati from the game room. What a lovely evening.

Thanks Racq for hosting!

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DKNY Delicious Night Invite

November 20, 2008 by Janey

Where will you be on the evening of November 26?

Uncover the Night…

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Estee Lauder Magnascopic Mascara

November 19, 2008 by Janey

I’m not a big make-up person. I still don’t know how to put eye make-up on my own or even blush properly. My friends (hello Carlo!) used to laugh about my blush. I’m jealous how other girls can play around with their eyes using different make-up strategies. I was tempted to attend a make-up short seminar 2 years ago in one of the top make-up schools in Manila but I figured that 30-50 grand could go a long way somewhere else –besides, I do not have that amount in my make-up kit much more my wallet. With this hurdle, I kept my cosmetic enhancement to the basic (powder, mascara, blush) even to big events like weddings. Once in a while, I dabble into shimmers and what nots, but applying them is my drawback (Rihanna’s Disturbia in my singing version “dumb dumb di dumb dumb”)

I needed to buy a new mascara 3 months ago and my favorite Lancome Hypnose mascara (sold at PHP1,500 as far as I can remember) was out of stock in black. It was available in brown but I don’t know if I want to go brown again. Lancome Hypnose gives volume to your eyelashes to create that “hypnotic” look. I thought of changing to Lancome L’Extreme and try extending my lashes with the product. Unfortunately, they were also out of stock in washable mascara at Rustan’s Shangri-la and Rustan’s Makati. They have Lancome L’Extreme but it’s in the water-resistant formula. I’ve tried waterproof mascara (L’Oreal dual mascara) and I really harmed my shrill lashes back then.

Lancome is one of the brands I’m really loyal to. It started with the release of their Juicy Tubes 4-5 years ago (?), which I’m really fanatic about.

Since the Estee Lauder brand has been my favorite as of late in foundation and compacts, it was an opportune time for me to give their mascaras a shot. They had a special offer on their Magnascopic. For PHP 1,500, you get the mascara at its price with 2 add-ons. They threw in an eye gel cream and a mascara remover in the pack. It looked like a good buy then. Although I have to say I really miss the Lancome brand.