2017 - Halo Halo | Bullet Journal, Blog Post Ideas and More

dictum factum

(what is said is done)

Looking Back at 2017 I honestly expected my 2017 to be a productive year in terms of blogging, I had a lot of expectations for myself back in late 2016 but I guess I wasn't able to fulfill some of my goals for myself this year. School and other things got in the way but I hope 2018 would be a productive year.

2017 was a roller coaster for me.

A lot of good things happened but it came with a price. I've had two bad breakups this year: one from a romantic relationship and the other one is friendship. I'm not gonna go into too much detail about it here (I have talked about my friendship breakup on my other blog) but if there's one thing I noticed that they had in common was that both relationship were getting too toxic for my well being.

I never thought that I would lose both [great] people who were close to me in a single year but if this was God's plan, then I guess it was inevitable.

I have learned a great lesson from those certain experiences and that is to love myself first and to stop trying to please others.

But if it weren't for those bad experiences, I wouldn't have been able to mature in a way and I also wouldn't have been able to meet and welcome new friends that have come into my life. I met a guy too that had made me want to change the way I lived and perceived life.

My New Years Resolution for 2018 are

Grow my blog and write what I'm most passionate about
Make friends with fellow bloggers and support each other
Be part of a blogging community
Stop procrastinating and get sh*t done
Break bad habits
Break out of my shell, out of my comfort zone

There are a lot more that I want to add to that list but if I'm going to be honest with myself those are the only things that I''m probably going to focus and give attention to.

Also I'm considering 'branching' out of my niche this coming 2018. Since I don't really do makeup and fashion and lately it's kind of hard for me to make posts about them, I was thinking of venturing into the technical side of blogging like tutorials of HTML and CSS. Or maybe I'll still do beauty and fashion but not as often as before who knows. I have already written a new blog post that is coming up on the first week of January, Basic HTML Every Bloggers Should Know, I'm quite excited to hit the publish button and share it with you guys.

I have also decided to change the name of my blog from The Pug Life to Dani dot Yes! It's sort of like my way of saying good bye to the old me who just had blogging as a hobby and hello to the new me who is prepared to make the most out of this blog.

This is a photo my dad took when my family and I went to Church on December 24 2017. I would just like to share it with you guys because I love it so much.

I wish for the best in 2018 for you and for me, Happy New Year everyone!

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Hey guys!

Christmas is just around the corner and I'm pretty sure you're rushing to get some last minute shopping done. And I just realized how I just said the same thing a year ago on another blog post similar to this one you're reading right now!

Thought it might help you guys in figuring out what to buy for your friends and family the best Christmas gift that they would surely love this season. Now without further ado here are some of my ideas. But first let me just throw in a picture of the highlight of this blog, this Too Faced Sweet Peach Eye Shadow Palette.

Too Faced Sweet Peach Eye Shadow Palette

I actually got this one as a present from a friend on my birthday this year so I'm not actually sure what's the price of this palette.

If your friend or a family member don't already own this I recommend you go grab them or even yourself this palette. It has all the warm colors that could help you achieve that fresh, natural makeup look.

I'm not going to do a swatch on this one since this is not a review post about this palette but let me know if you want one in the future on the comment section below.

"50 Last Minute Christmas Ideas" List:

1. Magnet Board

2. Planner

3. Tote Bag

4. Portable Charger

5. Headphones

6. Wall Calendar

7. Pen

8. Victoria Secret Underwear

9. Candles

10. Comfy Pajamas

11. Lip Stain

12. Cozy Slippers

13. New Sneakers

14. [Statement] Earrings

15. Ear buds

16. Hair ties

17. Scarf

18. Colored Pens

20. Tumbler

21. Fuzzy Socks

22. Scented Lotion

23. Phone Case

24. Bath bomb

25. Nail Polish

26. Makeup Brushes

27. Sunglasses

28. Wallet

29. Key chains

30. T-shirt

31. Polaroid + Films

32. SLR Camera

33. iPhone

34. Android Phone

35. Laptop

36. Books

37. Stuff toy

38. Mug

39. Tripod

40. Garden Ornament

41. Whiskey Bottle Lamp (I actually got this idea from a pinterest post that I saw!)

42. Personalized Blanket

43. DIY Mittens

44. Band Merchandise

45. Art Supplies

46. Makeup Supplies

47. School Supplies

48. Room Sprays

49. Sweater

50. DIY Magazine Holder

I do hope that some of the things on the list has given you an idea of what to give your friends and family the perfect gift that they want, I wish you the best this season Merry Christmas everyone!

Hey guys!

It's been quite a while since I've last posted here on my blog but I'm back again on the scene😉 To be quite frank with you I sort of forgot how to blog. I don't know where and how to start, it's quite nerve wracking. I will try my best to get back on track anyway so please bear with me if today's post is not going to be as interesting as the other ones.

The other day I went shopping with a friend of mine, we were looking at our local drug store Watson for some foundation that I could use. My goal was to look for the Fit Me Foundation by Maybelline, we literally went mall hopping since the stores that we've went to ran out of Fit Me Foundations that were my shade. Fortunately I've found another liquid foundation that I'm obsessed with right now- True Colors Liquid Foundation by Nichido Cosmetics.

Nichido Cosmetics is a Japanese brand that a lot of student at my school use since their products are really affordable for students like me. I got my liquid foundation for only PHP 268.00 (around $5.2), it's cheap compared to the Fit Me Foundation that I was planning to buy.

This was my first time straying from the usual go to brand of mine (Maybelline), so I was quite unsure if this foundation was going to be as good as the Fit Me one but after a week of using it I'm going to be honest with you, I'm obsessed.

I'm down for that no-makeup makeup look and this foundation provides me that luxury. Since I don't really have much blemishes to cover up on my face, applying just about the right amount of foundation already gave me that 'satin finish' that the box claimed. Although it is a liquid foundation, the consistency of it is not watery enough to have me hating on it. Surprisingly, I really like this product.

As you can see in the picture to the right, the foundation looks watery and it seems like it's runny, but I can assure you it is not.

I only pumped a little bit on my hand and it already came out with that much foundation.

I had smudged it a little bit so you guys could see how flexible this foundation is. It's really nice to the skin you guys, it's very light.

So in summary here are some pros and cons that I have for this liquid foundation.

Pros:

affordable
easy to use
water based, smooth liquid
provides a natural satin finish
It doesn't feel heavy on my face

Cons:

It only comes in three shades
I don't recommend this foundation for those who wants a thicker coverage

P.S. I'm in the shade True Natural.

Hey guys!

So I've been getting into art recently ever since I started watching art videos on YouTube, specifically HulloAlice. Her videos inspired me to pick up a paper and pencil to draw again. I'm not really an artist, I'm just a mere beginner as you can tell from the picture above but I am looking forward to improve my art skills.

I noticed that a lot of YouTube artist are good at watercolor painting, including HulloAlice, and so I decided to start using watercolor as my first medium as well. I noticed that I wasn't good at markers or using color pencils in coloring to begin with so who knows I might have a chance with this one.

As I was looking for some good quality watercolor palette, I stumbled upon Prang Watercolor Set and got really excited because I saw some YouTubers use it and my friend, who is an artist herself, recommended it to me as well because it was that good. But when I saw the price I got really upset because it was out of my budget, National Bookstore was selling them for PHP 459 (about $9.13). I don't know if it's inexpensive for you guys but here in the Philippines it is already on the expensive side for a watercolor set but it's probably worth it for those who are really really into watercolor painting.

I really wanted to buy some watercolor set that day so I went to look for some other brand and found this set recommended to me from the lady in the store. She said it was a dupe for the Prang Watercolor Set so I got really excited and they were selling it for PHP 89 (about $1.77) which I was happy about.

I got myself a brush as well for PHP 52 (about $1.03) because I knew the brush that the watercolor set comes with isn't that good in terms of quality.

Here are the swatches of the colors. As you can see they are really not that pigmented and it is absolutely not a dupe for the Prang Watercolor Set. I was happy that it was affordable for a beginner like me but was quite disappointed that it wasn't pigmented enough. But nonetheless I will make it work somehow, I will be using this 'till I get the watercolor set that I really want so wish me luck!

I really like how the purple, mint green, and light blue color had came out.

That is it for today thanks for reading!

Hey guys!

I feel like it's been such a long time since I've posted yet again but in reality it has only been a week since I posted my last post, Lazy Girl's Guide To Fitness, you can go check it out if you're interested it'd mean so much.

A week ago I was grocery shopping with my mom and I got bored so I decided to roam around and found an aisle solely dedicated to face masks. I found some other interesting ones but what really stood out for me is this Glorious Mud Facial Mask.

I bought this Glorious Mud Facial Mask because I thought the packaging was cute and it's affordable with the price of PHP 112 (about $2.24). This is from Beauty Formula, they actually had a bunch of these available as a facial exfoliator and facial wash.

I was really fascinated by the color and texture of this since it was my first time seeing a facial mask that is actually true to its name, a muddy color. It wasn't sticky to the hands making it easier to apply on my face.

I'm not bias. Here's a brief review of what I've immediately noticed after using it on the first try.

PROS:

The clay smells amazing
It has a soft texture
It's easy to apply to the face since the clay isn't sticky at all

CONS:

It dries up too fast, I don't know if that's a facial mask thing but I don't like the way it dried on my face

Actually this facial mask promises that it can control excess oil & dirt and absorbs impurities & unclogs pores. I noticed that after trying this on for the first time, my face completely contradicts the dryness that I've felt when it was on but after washing it off, my skin was so soft and felt so smooth like never before. I also noticed that some of my pores were unclogged, but some stubborn parts weren't.

But overall, I am pretty happy with the result.

SUMMARY:

Rejuvenating: Glorious Mud Facial Mask is affordable and available at PHP 112 ($2.24)
It controls excess oil and dirt
Unclogs pores too
The texture of its clay is really soft and isn't sticky
It has an amazing scent
Easy to use
It is suitable for any skin type

Hey guys!

According to an article I've read online, one trip to the gym once a week is enough for you to make up for the days you've been busy with at school or at work; however, it is a must that it needs to be two and a half hours long (150 minutes).

The one who conducted this research, Dr. Ian Janssen, said and I quote from the article: "The findings indicate it does not matter how adults accumulate their 150 weekly minutes of physical activity."

Now for someone who just started going to the gym two weeks ago, this was great news to me since the only time I can go is during the weekends. If you're one of those students or people like me, who's busy during the weekdays, then listen up because I'm about to tell you how you can make that one trip to the gym completely worth it.

I have three things that I want to talk about today (a) what you want to improve with your body, (b) creating a routine, and (c) motivating yourself.

[But before discussing anything about that at all, I just want to say that I am not a professional when it comes to this. I only want to share with you guys what I believe you should do first if you're thinking of starting going to the gym or working out.]

A. What Do You Want To Improve?

I think this is something you will need to consider about first before anything since this is where you're going to base your workout routine on. There are four types of exercises to consider: Endurance, Strength, Balance, and Flexibility.

1. Endurance (Aerobic)

Increases your breathing and heart rate.

Sample exercises:

Brisk Walking or Jogging

Dancing (Zumba)

Flat Dumbbell Press

Seated Row

Squats

Military Press

Preacher Curls

Dips

Standing Calf Raises

Sit-ups

Cardio Workout

(3 sets 20 to 25 repetitions, 1-2 minutes rest between sets)

2. Strength

Makes your muscle stronger.

Sample exercises:

Lifting Weights

Using Resistance Bands

Goblet Squat to a Box

Push-ups

Inverted Row

RDL from a dead stop

Standing one arm dumbbell press

Assisted pull-up or Cable pull-down

(Circuits 2-5 Reps per exercises 6-10)

3. Balance

Sample exercises:

One-Legged Balance

Leg Swings

One-Legged Clock with Arms

One-Legged Squat

Single-Leg Dead Lift

4. Flexibility

Stretches your muscle and can help your body stay limber.

Sample exercises:

Shoulder and Upper Arm Stretch

Calf Stretch

Chest Stretch

Seated Butterfly Stretch

Shoulder Stretch

Trap Shrug

Back Stretch

Bicep Stretch

References:

Go4Life (types of exercises and their definitions)

Gym Professor (endurance exercises)

Nia Shanks (strength exercises)

Active (balance exercises)

Body Building (flexibility exercises)

B. Creating A Routine

Now that you know what you want to improve with your body whether it's endurance, strength, balance, or flexibility now it's time to make your own routine.

I've listed down some exercises you can do in each one of the exercises above and if you want to create a routine out of them then by all means go for it. But there are also already made routines you can easily follow floating around the internet.

I barely go to the gym so Blogilates is one of my favorite site or my go to YouTube channel whenever I workout at home. Cassey Ho has everything covered for you from arm workouts to butt workouts, she has printable workout sheets that you can print or you can just save the image on your phone, or you can exercise along with her as you watch her workout videos.

What I like about Blogilates is that she had created a playlist on her channel, separating each different targeted areas so it would be easier for us to navigate ourselves over her channel. It's easier as well to create your routine from them since you could just pick out any video that you like from each playlist and create your own workout routine.

What I like to do at the gym is that I try to do two exercises on each area on my body using the machines available there, for example I do 3 sets 15 repetitions on the Seated Cable Row Machine for my back, rear shoulder, and arm since those are the muscles that is being used.

You'll need to know the uses of the machines and their targeted muscle area, here are some sites I've listed down for your reference:

A Beginner's Guide To Gym Equipment and Workout Accessories
The Only 7 Gym Machines Worth Using
How To Use Machines At The Gym Other Than The Elliptical | Her Campus

Creating a routine is simple. You just need to pick out the ones you enjoy doing, pick an exercise for each muscle group (arms, abs, legs, butt) then do 3 to 5 sets of each 20 to 25 repetitions. Or you can search Pinterest as well for guidance if you're skeptical.

C. Motivating Yourself

Why do you want to get fit in the first place anyway?

Whether it's because you got inspired by your favorite celebrity, got inspired by a friend, or just simply wanting to look the best version of yourself... just keep remembering where that fire came from for even thinking of wanting to get fit or start working out in the first place.

When I saw myself in the mirror, I thought I was average. Too average. I wasn't thin, I wasn't fit, I wasn't toned, I had cellulites on my upper thighs, and it got me thinking 'how does it feel to have a fit body?' I knew I was too lazy to work on my own, that I needed some motivation, and so I got a friend to start and workout with me. And it actually worked.

I was inspired by the thought of wanting to have a fit body and I was motivated by a friend to actually go to the gym and start working out at home. Because I used to hate the idea of going there [gym] and now I absolutely love it.

So if it means that you need a friend as well to motivate yourself to workout then go get a friend and start working out together. It doesn't help if you're both lazy though, constantly finding excuses not to go, now that's a major no.

I hope this post had somewhat helped you in someway, let's stop procrastinating and start working!

Hey guys!

It's been roughly around two weeks since I've last posted here on my blog. I might sound like I'm about to exaggerate but let me tell you, it literally feels like I haven't posted in a month or two. I have two reasons why (a) I was busy with school and (b) I haven't got any inspirations lately and I got discourage by accidentally deleting the post that was supposed to go up two weeks ago. But anyway, I'm back!

Two weeks ago, my family and I went to Nuvali Ayala Malls Sta. Rosa to celebrate the new year. We weren't actually supposed to go there because originally we planned on going on a picnic at Tagaytay but since there were like a lot of people there we decided not to.

I don't know if it's a new year thing but there was a Bazaar going on to which my mom and I were happy about but my dad and brother weren't because then they would have to stand around waiting for us to finish roaming around.

I saw that they were mostly selling girls stuff like bags and clothes, iPhone cases (the designs were more feminine), sandals, etc.

I got these two bags for only PHP 500 (around $10.01). Like any other sling bags, they're just the right size for only bringing your wallet, phone, and some of your essential things. I really recommend these bags for those of you who only brings minimal essential things, and for those of you who likes sling bags.

You can actually remove the sling on the green bag and use it as a small tote bag which is cool. I love the second bag since it goes with any casual outfit of mine.

This actually has a belt, I forgot to include it on the picture. At first I thought this was a button up shirt but upon discovering that it had a belt I realized it wasn't (not to mention it was kind of long for a button up shirt).

This is a button up dress, I don't know if that's actually a thing, that I got for PHP 400 (around $8). I got this one because I liked the pattern and it looked super comfortable and it would go with any foot wear.

Happy New Year!

Before I get into this I just want to greet you readers out there a very happy new year. May God bless us with many opportunities and good luck this 2017, and continue to protect us from all evil and danger.

Hey guys!

This is my first post for the year 2017! I'm very excited to share with you guys the eyebrow pencils that I got over the past months that I've been trying out to see what's best and what's not for me in particular, but also I wanted to inform you guys of the cons and pros that I've found on each one.

I've posted about this eyebrow pencil that I got last year. This is the Ever Bilena Advance Perfect Eyebrow in the shade of dark brown, this only cost me PHP 60 (about $1.22) which is relatively cheap.

PROS:

It's affordable
It's very pigmented
It has that little brush on its cap
The pencil is long

CONS:

If you're not used to it, it can be hard to control since it's very pigmented. You can accidentally do your eyebrow thicker than the other.

For almost a month of using this, I can safely say that I am satisfied with this one; although, I can't say that this is the best pencil for me. There are more pros than cons on this one as you noticed, I honestly couldn't think of the times that this pencil had failed me other than mistakenly making my eyebrow thicker than other but that's just simply my mistake.

I got this one from Daiso for only PHP 88 (about $1.77) just PHP 28 more expensive than the Ever Bilena one above. For those of you who aren't aware Daiso is a store in Japan where they sell stuffs ranging from kitchenware to makeups, basically they have everything you need there, it's kind of like the dollar store.

And apparently they are worldwide now.

So anyway, I've been seeing a lot of Filipina YouTubers do a review on makeups that they had bought from Daiso and decided that I wanted to try out some products for myself. Obviously, I had picked an eyebrow pencil.

PROS:

It's affordable
It's two in one (pencil on one end and brush on the other)

CONS:

The pencil breaks easily
You really have to dig in there for the color to show on your skin
I got the shade brown but for some reason the color looks more of a light brown (should've bought the dark brown one)
The cap easily detaches (I lost both of them on the first day but luckily I've found them inside my bag)

I probably chose the wrong color so that's on me. But as you noticed there's a lot of cons on this one than the Ever Bilena eyebrow pencil. I'm not happy with this product, obviously, so I'm definitely not going to recommend you buying one from Daiso. I'm definitely not going to buy any makeup products from there ever again.

This one I really like, it's the Fashion Brow Duo Shaper from Maybelline that I got in October 2016 for only PHP 199 (about $4.12) because it was on sale, nowadays it is available for PHP 250 (about $5.03) on any store where makeup is available. I got mine in the shade brown.

I had written a quick review about this back in October, it was my first post, there you could see pictures of this brow shaper still in one piece (like its pencil) because unfortunately I am not able to take a picture of the pencil anymore.

PROS:

It's a duo shaper, it has a pencil on one side and a powder on the other side.
It's portable and doesn't take up too much space in your makeup bag
The pencil has a thin tip
The powder comes in a sponge applicator
It's easy to use

CONS:

The pencil breaks easily
For students who are on a budget it's a little bit pricey

I can honestly say I am very satisfied with this product, I mean it's obvious as you can see that there are a lot of pros than cons with this one. But like the product from Daiso that I got, the pencil could easily break as well. So you really have to master it otherwise you could end up with no pencil at all on the first day of trying it.

This pencil is from Maybelline as well. If I remember correctly there were three to four shades available for this one but I got mine in the shade of brown. This only cost me PHP 99 (about $1.99) to which I was excited about.

PROS:

It's affordable
It's pigmented
It's easy to use
Portable as well (doesn't take up too much space)

CONS:

Unfortunately for me the length of it is on the shorter side

Honestly, I couldn't think of any cons for this one except for the fact that I couldn't get enough of this product and wished that it was longer. For a student like me and for someone who loves Maybelline, this is [in my opinion] the perfect product for an eyebrow pencil.

Overall, in terms of affordability and quality I would pick the Maybelline eyebrow pencil.