Shopping

Starting a Zoya Nailpolish Collection

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My website feels a little abandoned, isn’t it? I know I definitely disappeared for months but don’t worry, I’m still here!

I got a bit busier the past few months because I just had a baby (Rocky’s almost 10 months old!) and am managing a couple of family businesses with the hubs. That, and I have been juggling several writing jobs — I got my hands full, obviously.

Speaking of hands, I find myself regressing lately. I’ve gone back to gardening, I am enjoying getting my hands dirty, hahaha! That, and I decided to go back to getting my nails done on a regular basis.

I stopped getting my hands done when I had my first son simply because I was so busy thinking about shedding the baby weight lol Now that I have a second baby, I feel like I’ve been neglecting myself. My husband actually pointed out to me, that I tend to spend all of my time working and taking care of the kids and that I need to go back to my hobbies to relax.

Wendy

While in quarantine, I missed having my nails done. After most businesses opened up, I decided to let go of my old nail tools and start a new collection. I started with a set of nail trimming tools by Mr. Green. I got the set at Lazada for PHP1600 or something. Love the quality!

I also bought several bottles of Zoya nail polish. I chose this brand because I’ve tried it back when  I was still in the city many moons ago and I remember how amazing the staying power was. The first time I bought these, I think I went for 7 bottles. I have 10-ish now I think and I bought the ones below yesterday:

L to R: Hudson, Maya, Clementine, Happi, Flora

So far, I tried Wendy, Tinsley, and Olivera. I LOVE Tinsley so far, the staying power is amazeballs! Olivera is a really unique color but not something I’d like to wear all the time. The color is exactly that of an oil slick, greenish with a dark base.  I like my nail polish bright and happy or glittery and festive. I bought Olivera because it’s unique but so far, not so crazy about it. It has the shortest wear too. Two days and already a chip.

I’m so excited to try Clementine and Hudson! I will be expanding my collection by adding more mauves and taupes real soon. Oh! And metallics, I LOVE GLITTERS!

Anyhoo, that’s what I’ve been up to lately. Shall I tell you about my updated skincare routine? I will soon!

What I Got for My Birthday (Of Course It’s a Bag)

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When I started my bag collection, the plan was to get one bag from every fashion house that I like. So far, that has been the case. I’ve always wanted a Celine box but frankly, I don’t like the bag enough to pay 200K for it. No bag is worth that price, in my opinion. I could get a secondhand bag but each time I tried pulling the trigger, I chicken out. Hearing how delicate the leather is or how difficult it is to use, I just couldn’t justify the price.

So I decided to trawl the vintage market for a Celine macadam Boston bag. I dove deep into the market that, at some point, I got obsessed. I was so close to getting this gorgeous beige Boston bag in pristine condition but the leather handles were a little too dry for my taste so I didn’t get it.

Anyhoo, I  then found out that the brand created a fresh collection of maxi-minimalist bags that feature the retro-style Triomphe monogram – inspired by Arc de Triomphe. The monogram is very similar to LV, actually but instead of vachetta leather, Celine’s mono was paired with vintage-y cognac leather trims.

Let me just make it clear that I didn’t get the Celine mono because it looks like LV. In fact, I am no longer wearing my LV monos as much as before. I guess my preferences change every now and then, pretty sure I won’t feel the same in a few months.

Photo Credit: Wikipedia.com

There were lots of fabulous bags in the collection but one bag stood out because of its simplicity. It’s the bucket bag! The Celine Triomphe Canvas Medium Bucket Bag, to be precise.

I wanted it in a small size but my contact says it’s sold out. I found a seller that has the Celine Triomphe canvas bucket bag in medium on hand and it’s on sale. Needless to say, I bought the bag.

I did try to resist getting the bag. In fact, I waited for a little less than two weeks to decide if it’s a go. I talked myself out of getting the bag several times and I was sorta winning. But then, I started feeling sad because I had my heart set on this bag. I felt like I had a hard year and I didn’t get a bag last year so I’m depriving myself kind of? I know that’s ridiculous especially since a lot of people had it worse but well.

I finally made up my mind to get the bag. I told myself (several times) that if the bag hasn’t been sold yet, it’s meant for me. And she waited guys, she waited. The vintage Celine Boston that I liked didn’t wait, it got sold after like, a week, and all the while I was thinking back and forth if I should pull the trigger but I’m happy I didn’t because now, I have this one.

About the Bag

Traditionally, bucket bags have a drawstring closure, a design element that I dislike so much because it’s taxing to keep pulling the material every time you’re opening the bag.  And when the thing snaps from so much wear, you have to find a replacement pa.

That’s why LV’s bucket bag never appealed to me, I hated the damn drawstrings. The Celine Triomphe canvas bucket bag in medium doesn’t have a drawstring. It has a single snap closure in the middle. Getting stuff in and out is easier and won’t cause too much wear on the material.

I also like the shape because it doesn’t stick out too much when you wear it as a crossbody bag. That’s because the base has a rectangular base, not a round one, another plus for me.

The canvas material is thinner than LV, which is a letdown for me. I thought Celine’s quality would be better. The interior of the bag features a fabric lining while the leather trims are made from calfskin leather.

I love the leather trims, they’re quite resilient but not stiff at all. I think the trims are resistant to water, unlike vachetta. Plus, the color is a nice cognac and not cream like vachetta. I did treat the bag before I stored it just to ensure that the trims are pristine.

The Celine Triomphe canvas bucket bag in medium has no inner pocket inside, it’s just a gaping hole. The straps are attached to the sides and the sides were reinforced with thin leather strips. Overall, the design is quite simple, something that’s very Celine.

The only thing that I am quite wary about initially, was the size. This is a medium and it’s a pretty huge medium. I’m a 5 1′ on a regular day and a 5 2′ on a good day and though I’m pretty chunky at the moment, that bag is still huge.

The gold hardware is a nice touch, it goes so well with the cognac trims and the brown mono print. The hardware feels nice and hefty although there’s not much of it because the design is very simple.

I bought the bag under a layaway term and timed the last payment to my birthday. Unfortunately, around that time, NCR was on the verge of a lockdown so it took weeks to get here.

Pros 

The bag is super lightweight: It’s a great one to use if you’re running errands all day and you need a bag that could keep up with your busy lifestyle. I used my Prada Galleria recently and lord, I swear it was heavier than I remember. I love the style, I love my bag, but man, she’s hefty. I let the hubs carry my bag na lang, I don’t imagine letting him carry the Celine Triomphe canvas bucket bag because it’s so light.

Love the retro styling: The reason why I bought this bag was because I was hunting for a vintage Celine bag in a similar monogram. I just love how vintage-y this one looks, it’s such a classic piece!

Simple design: There are no heavy hardware that bog down the functionality of the bag. It’s very easy to wear, easy to use, and heck, easy on the eyes too.

Cons

Doesn’t *feel* like a designer bag: The canvas material is so thin, it’s too lightweight. I know it’s a designer piece but it doesn’t feel like it at all. I know I overpaid for this bag.

Quality could be better: I am seeing a bit of unevenness in the stitching on the inside where the leather straps are attached. I wish this part was more even. No it’s not fake, the seller is trusted and I know how to spot a fake naman. I feel like the brand pretty much just slapped on an archived design and called it a day.

Basic design: There are no bells and whistles to speak of. The simple design can be a good thing or a bad thing depending on your preference. I like it but I am missing some things that are often associated with luxury bags, like fancy hardware, some heft, or at the very least, a nicer interior lining.

I feel like Celine isn’t as high-end as other high-end brands like, Fendi or Givenchy talaga because I can feel the difference in the construction of the bag. But then again, this bag is cheaper compared to the higher-tier Box Bag. perhaps the quality of the most expensive Celine bags are better than these revival pieces like the Celine Triomphe canvas bucket bag in medium? Who knows.

About the Seller

I bought the bag at The Bag Hub, a Pasig-based designer leather goods company with a strong IG following. The experience was okay, the folks were nice. I was planning to get the bag in person at their office because I used to frequent the place but the lockdown happened and the bag was shipped to me after the restrictions were eased.

The bag came with the original paper bag, the dust bag, a tag, and the bag itself. No care cards but that’s fine.

So to sum up, I like the Celine Triomphe canvas bucket bag but I feel like I overpaid for it. Do I regret the purchase? Slightly but only because I feel that the bag only got prestige because of the brand name, not because of the flawless quality. Still, I would happily tote Ms. Thang on my next milk tea date with the hubs.

Stuff I Got for My Birthday

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Last year, I didn’t celebrate my birthday on the exact date because we had a thing planned the week after. We were supposed to make the drive to the city and the lockdown happened. I was unable to celebrate my birthday and I felt so bad about it while in quarantine.

Granted, I didn’t know that we’d be on lockdown for what looks like a year now. These days, the lockdown has eased but the state of things isn’t normal, I guess.

This is why I decided to celebrate my birthday with a small pile of goodies. No one knows when the pandemic ends so I might as well get the stuff I like while I still can. You know how I love that my birthday comes in three 3’s so I opted to gift myself three things:

A New Bag

I won’t reveal just yet but hellz yeah, I got me a new designer bag! Can you guess what it is? I can’t reveal yet because it’s still being shipped but once I get it, I’ll do a reveal!

Instax Mini Link Printer

This is one purchase that I was super excited about. My husband was supposed to get me this last year but the pandemic happened and it was hard to get products online. I finally got my hand on it and I got the one in the limited edition color Beige and Gold. This printer is so good, you guys!

Essentially, this printer prints images from your mobile phone. If you’re a fan of Fujifilm’s Instax line, you know how wasteful it can be to depend on the Instax camera alone. And at PHP300+ for a pack of 10 pcs, the Instax films are very, very pricey. With this printer, you’re no longer wasting the film!

 

Alone, the unit costs about PHP6K+++ but there are bundles on Shoppee and Lazada. I got mine through Shoppee just because they ship faster than Lazada (a consistent experience ha). I bought the bundle, which cost a little over PHP7K. I got the one with the photo album, border stickers, 20 pcs. pack Instax film, marker, and the case.

In hindsight, I wish I just bought the unit with the case but the color was not available in that bundle and I really don’t want to get the pink or white one. I also bought 3 packs of 20 pcs films + more photo albums to complement the printer.

Setting up is so easy but you gotta get the Instax app first. I plowed through 3 packs of films in under an hour guys. Should I do a review?

A Diana Ring

Yes, I finally got my very own “Diana” ring — essentially a sapphire ring with a halo of small diamonds. I’ve had this done in rose gold to complete the vintage look that I was going for. Love it!

So yes, there you go, the 3 pressies that I got for myself for my 38th birthday. So far, things are going great, how about you? How’s your 2021 so far?

A Proper “Diana” Ring

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Hello March!

It’s my birthday week, which means it’s time to shower myself with gifts. As you know, I didn’t celebrate my birthday last year because I was still in the first trimester of my pregnancy and was depressed about the weight gain. Little did I know that a week later, the entire country would be put on lockdown. Yikes.

So this year, I decided to make up for last year’s lack of festivities. I started with a ring in a setting that I’ve always wanted! I have a similar ring already but the main gem is a tanzanite. I want the ring to look as close to the original as possible so I just needed a sapphire.

I have a long love affair with fine jewelry as you might’ve guessed and one of my dream rings is Princess Diana’s engagement ring. It’s a massive, 12-carat Ceylon sapphire cradled in the most delicate diamond starburst setting.

I can’t afford the exact replica but I had a similar ring made recently. I’ve acquired the sapphire gem from a supplier specifically for this project.

Specs & Customization

The main gem is a 2 1/2 carat Thai sapphire in a clear, navy blue color. The quality is fantastic and the price point is *chef’s kiss* I had this made in rose gold because I want the piece to look as vintage-y as possible.

I also had this made by a specific jeweler because I’ve seen lots of starburst settings and hers is the one that’s what I loved the most. I wanted little prongs holding the gems and the starburst setting to be delicate yet prominent, exactly the way she had her setting made. I wanted the gem to be set higher than the diamond clusters to make it appear bigger.

Also, the basket that holds all the game was set higher on the band so that it sits flush with my wedding band, as seen below:

There’s no gap if I wear my plain band with the Diana ring but there’s a bit of a gap if I wear my diamond and sapphire wedding ring just because the larger gems are in the way.

Lead Time

The lead time was a month so it was a long wait. Also, I had to keep following up to speed up the process otherwise, the wait would’ve been much longer. This is why I’m not very thrilled at turnaround time and I’m not mentioning the jeweler.

The price point is okay, I had to shell out more because my gem is larger than her standard 7-8mm (mine’s 9mm).

When the piece came, it was wrapped in a fancy box and packed in a coordinated paper bag. Packaging’s so nice! Of course, the ring looked just as amazing as I imagined it.

The quality of the gold is nice, very thick setting. The band is great also, I didn’t feel like they scrimped on the gold. The diamonds are gorgeous, small, and sparkly. I have a diamond tester and they tested as diamonds. The sapphire itself is, of course, beautiful because I sourced it!

Overall, very happy with how this design turned out and I love that I finally have a proper Diana ring in my collection. I wear the ring all the time now. It’s definitely one of my favorites. This concludes my medley of ring projects for the entire year, hahaha!

Updating My Wedding Set: Pt. 2

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As I’ve mentioned a blog ago, I’ve decided to update my wedding set because I’ve come across issues with the e-ring’s setting – among other thangs. The first two of the rings were already done and you can check out the deets here. My half-eternity ring has also gone through a transformation but it was a different project because the resetting did take more work.

Here’s how my old eternity ring looked like.

 

My issues with the ring are quite minimal although they did bother me a bit. For one thing, the ring no longer fits so it has to be resized. Also, the gems are very tiny.

Money was tight during the wedding preps and I gotta admit, we didn’t spend as much money on the wedding bands as we should’ve. If I could do things differently, I would do more research and compared rates as opposed to sticking to the same jeweler who did our e-ring. I love my set, don’t get me wrong, but I wish we spent more time looking for alternatives so I don’t have to re-set the rings at all.

Here is the inspiration behind the design:

Here is my recreated eternity ring:

Now for the details: the sapphires used were 4x3mm midnight blue sapphire ovals. These sapphires were part of my stocks and since they’re not getting the love they deserve, I decided to use them instead.

The diamonds are 2mm in size, white VS clarity. The gems are cradled by claw-style prongs. My plan is to wear the ring only when I’m out and about because the prongs are very sharp and I don’t want to scratch the kids with these.

The ring was re-set by Palamuti Jewelry Couture. All I did was shipped the ring together with the sapphires and the jeweler did the rest. They also provided the diamonds for the eternity ring. The process itself is very seamless and organized – something that I appreciate.

It took several weeks to complete the project mostly because that’s their average lead time + it’s the holiday season. The timeline did work in my favor because I had several ring projects before this one and I wasn’t pissing myself silly waiting for a ring. I had several new ones to keep my mind off the waiting, is what I’m trying to say!

I had this one made in rose gold just because I only had one rose gold in my collection and sadly, the main gem has popped out. I’ll turn that one into a tanzanite eye-candy real soon. I just need to complete all my projects before moving forward with new ones.

Here is the new wedding ring worn with my plain wedding band. They look SO GOOD together guys. I am ecstatic!

My next project is a Diana ring, which is a sapphire oval in a starburst setting (diamond halo). At the moment, the ring is being made and I am beside myself with excitement.

 

2021 is going great for me so far, what about you?

Updating My Wedding Set: Pt. 1

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Instead of investing in a bag this year, I decided to grow my jewelry collection, starting with my nearest and dearest: the wedding set.

I haven’t worn my wedding set for the past 3 to 4 years. My ring size has grown considerably and after pregnancy, fuggedaboutit. So yeah, my rings were gathering dust in my jewelry box until my cousin and I started talking about jewelry.

The reason why I wasn’t resizing my set is that I wanted to preserve their original setting. But the thing is, I am no longer enjoying my set because they no longer fit me. On top of that, my engagement ring’s delicate prongs are so loose, the diamond started moving around. I was terrified of wearing my e-ring, the gem might pop out!

The Update

Long story short, I finally decided to update my set. I have three rings in the set and each one has its own issues.

Engagement Ring: The e-ring has loose prongs, delicate structure, and a small size. The plan was to create a more durable structure + thicker prongs to cradle the diamond. Has to be done in yellow gold as well because I don’t want to maintain the white gold plating anymore.

Plain Wedding Band: My plain wedding band has to be resized and then done in yellow gold to match the e-ring and the other wedding band (will be done in Rose Gold).

I have commissioned two jewelers for the project. The e-ring and plain wedding band were done by The Family Band, an IG-based jewelry store while the eternity ring was created by Palamuti Jewelry Couture – another IG-based jeweler. Between the two, the former is newer and the latter is very popular among my clients.

My e-ring and wedding band were completed first. I loved the super quick turnaround time. Both rings were done and shipped in less than 2 days.

Review

I love the more durable construction. The band and prongs of the e-ring are thicker so they are less likely to sustain damage from everyday wear and tear.

I thought I’d hate the look of 14K gold on me because my skin tone suits 18K gold better but not so bad at all. I’m currently wearing my plain wedding band with a 5-diamond ring that the hubs gifted me several anniversaries ago. On my right hand is my rainbow sapphire eternity ring, which I got as a push gift for our second son.

Overall, I am loving my refreshed wedding band and e-ring. The e-ring, I won’t wear as much because I’m taking care of the kids most times. But the plain band is getting a lot of wear these days! I highly recommend The Family Band and I have plans of getting one of their signature ring, which is aptly named, the family band, hahaha!

As for the eternity ring, this project will take a while to complete because of several delays. Not the jeweler’s fault but my own!

I had issues sourcing the diamonds. My initial plan was to source champagne diamonds for the ring. Unfortunately, there were delivery problems with the supplier. Eventually, I had no choice but to cancel the order and pretty much wasted two weeks waiting for the champagne diamonds to arrive.

I decided to get the diamonds na lang from the jeweler. They will use white diamonds, to my utter disappointment, but better than nothing.

I’ll write a review soon!