All In The Mole.

I wasn't always proud of this mole. I actually spent most of my life hating it because as I was growing up, kids just kept teasing me that it makes me look ugly and weird or maybe they were calling me "Nora" or "Gloria" ( An actress and a former president in the Philippines). It wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but for kids, they made it seem like it was. Some of them even went as far as mocking me for my mole and told me that it'll grow bigger and bigger until it eats up my whole face.

It didn't really stop there. Some of the adults would comment on it that my mole looks "alive" (buhay na buhay) and would describe me to people as the really light skinned kid with a mole. I just hated being described like that and it just made me think that one day I'll have it removed. I was so convinced on removing it until I was 17. You could tell that I just hated it so much because I would even go to an extent of covering it with makeup just because I thought I looked better that way.

I later realized that this mole is what actually differentiates me from other people. It's cool to think that I could actually pull off having it on my face and being lucky that it's natural and doesn't cause any complications to my health. I then started calling it my beauty mark. What added to my confidence was looking at Norma Jean a.k.a. Marilyn Monroe. Marilyn was a very beautiful woman that her mole became a very big asset to her. Her mole was definitely natural, although a little bit faint, she would enhance it more by darkening it. She did however got tired of it in some part of her life, especially with people trying to replicate that mole, so she in a movie that she starred in, she covered up her mole. Nonetheless, she still rocked that look and I'm happy that I have the almost exact same one. (Fun fact: I was born years after the same date that Marilyn Monroe died, a few minutes difference but technically the same. Maybe that's why I feel so passionate about her?)

I'm really happy that I overcame something that everybody made fun of me for and that made me hate how I looked. I have no more plans on having my mole removed and I now want to keep it forever and I actually want people to notice it more.

I'm just really proud of it now.

Painting above is made by my friend Elix. I showed her a painting of some lips that I told her I want it done almost the same but add a mole to it. So, thank you Elix if you're reading this. Her blog will be coming soon all about her artwork, I'll keep you guys posted about that. For now, if you wanna see more of her work or if you want something to be made by her, click HERE.

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6 Favorite Daiso Finds

I don't know about you, but Daiso is definitely a store where I could spend about an hour at by just browsing through all of their stuff and trying to find some uses for each one. Seriously though, they have almost anything you never thought that you would need or maybe something that's a cheaper alternative to what you actually want. 

Walking out of a Daiso store empty handed seems almost impossible from what I witnessed except for maybe when you already bought everything you needed from there. Though you gotta admit that sometimes, it's a hit or miss. Sometimes what we end up buying just isn't upto par with what we expected it to be, it's not even that but Daiso definitely gives you that mindset that "oh, this is cheap" and you end up grabbing a ton of things to have a very expensive bill when you check out at the counter. With that, and to save some of you from all the money and trouble, here are my all time favorite purchases and what I would recommend you get from Daiso:

• Slippers

I have been looking for a pair like these for awhile now. I do know that Birkenstock has them but I did wanted something where the price is a little bit cheaper. Then I went to Daiso and saw these for PHP 88. I wasn't aware that the sizes were a size bigger than usual since I am pretty sure I'm a size 37 but these are kinda big on me, and no, I wasn't able to try them on before buying them because I had shoes and socks on at that time and didn't really feel like taking them off especially with so many people around that aisle too. But hey, it still looks nice, it is a little bit uncomfortable during the first time I wore them but after awhile, it felt okay to wear when you have some quick errands to run and you just need something to slip on that looks good. 

• Divider

I'm pretty sure everybody's aware of this because this has been selling out on so many Daiso branches near my place. Basically it helps you separate everything but still keep them all in one place (if that makes sense). This is for you to organize things inside of your drawer or maybe a lipstick holder like what I do. 

• Clock

This little thing is what me and my mom have been trying to find everywhere. We did manage to find something exactly similar at a store in SM, but they sell it for PHP 1099 and this little guy in Daiso was only PHP 188. It's also an alarm clock (and I could tell you that it's very loud) and has a light switch that you can press if you wanna know what time it is when you're in the dark. 

• Portable fan

It's just so hot here in the Philippines-- that when you are out and about, you can't help but fan yourself because you are just constantly sweating. I found this on Daiso and you just need 2 AA batteries for it and you can carry it around. Pretty much a life saver. 

• 5 in 1 Beauty care massager

This is another product that has been selling out on all of the Daiso branches. I use this mainly for massaging my face and cleansing my skin. It has 5 types of brushes, 1 crude polish accessory to rip the tough skin and cutin off, 1 latex soft sponge for eye, cheek massaging, 1 make-up sponge to massage and clean your skin, 1 rolling massager to make better blood circumstances from skin aging (I always use this one) and 1 soft brush to clear up all the scurf clings on the surface (which I use to cleanse my face). This on'es price is PHP 188 and just needs 1 AA battery. 

• Brush cleaner

Most beauty enthusiast that I know of have tried and loved this product because it definitely does it's job on cleaning out your makeup brush thoroughly. Plus, it's only PHP 88 and it smells nice. I actually made a review on this so if you wanna check that out, click here.

So those are all of my favorites from Daiso and if you have any recommendations for me to get from that store, leave a comment below and tell me if you've tried out any of the things I mentioned. 

Until the next post,

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Disclosure: I am in no way sponsored by any of the brands / companies mentioned in this post. Everything you see here is bought from my own money and statements / opinions made are based off on my own experience

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Joyce's Jukebox # 4

I've been listening to some easy and cool music for this week and I'm excited to share it with you guys so here it is! Hope you'll like it!

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Weekend Essentials ft. The Versatile Weekender Bag

It's the weekend once again! I wonder, how are you guys gonna spend your weekend? Well, whatever it is, let's get ready with these essentials that we should have to have no matter how we spend these days. 

• Wallet / Money

Let's face it, we can't get anywhere without it especially when you are about to deal with transportation fees, food and water. Include here your ID's or cards that you think you may need.

• Phone

A way to stay in contact with the people you are about to meet or you are leaving behind and for searching information on where you are about to go.

• Extra shirt

You'll never really know how much you'll need one until you actually need it. Just bring a lightweight and neutral colored one in case of emergency or if you just need a change of clothes.

• Book

The weekend is the best time to catch up on some reading, no distractions and you won't have to worry when you get too invested on the story.

• Journal / notebook

It's not everyday you get to spend your time like this so, when you take a break, you can write down your thoughts and your experiences no matter how good or bad because it's a nice remembrance of the moment.

• Sunglasses

This is a must have for me since I live in a place where we have humid weather. The sun is always shining (except for rainy days of course) and a good pair is a way of protecting your ways from too much sun. And it comes in handy when you are having one of those weekends where you don't want to put makeup or anything on since you look like you've tried even if you didn't.

• Necessities (Makeup, Hand sanitizer, alcohol, deodorant)

Basically everything you think you may need when you are out and about, staying somewhere else or your friend's house. Packing up everything saves you the time and the money instead of heading out to buy things that you'll probably only use for a day or two. 

• Weekend Bag

A good spacious bag is the way to go if you plan to bring so much things without the hassle. It's capable of carrying everything you'll need and would still match your outfit. Mine is the Versatile weekender black bag and I got it from oh my bag ph. It's worth PHP 599 and if you guys aren't familiar with oh my bag ph, they sell bag care products like bag and shoe stuffers (depending on which size of bag you have), dust bags, bag shapers, bag raincoats, base shapers and handle wraps. So bag lovers out there, do check them out to prolong the life of your bags in an inexpensive way. Like for real, I am totally eyeing their bag raincoats at the moment. 

A little sample of what they have (screenshot from their website): To see more, click HERE

Hope you guys have a fun weekend! And tell me, what are your weekend essentials?

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Disclosure: The versatile weekender black bag was sent to me by oh my bag ph to review. All opinions / statements made were based off on my experience towards their product. 

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Joyce's Jukebox # 3

It's Tuesday once again! You know what that means? It's Joyce's Jukebox! Hope you like it! Btw, if you are new here, Hi! I'm Joyce and to know more about this mini series of mine, click HERE.

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Joyce's Jukebox # 2

Edit: I decided to change the name to "Joyce's Jukebox" since I consider it to be more personalized and would be easily remembered as something that I do for this blog.

I can't believe that it's been a week already but I am glad to share my favorite tunes in a playlist today! So here it is and hope you like it!

Ps: if you guys aren't aware what this post is about, it is a mini series that I've been doing and if you wanna read more about it, do check out my previous post which is Joyce's Jukebox # 1.

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Joyce's Jukebox # 1

Edit: I decided to change the name to "Joyce's Jukebox" since I consider it to be more personalized and would be easily remembered as something that I do for this blog.

So I thought about making a series for awhile and have noticed that I rarely share with you guys my favorite songs at the moment so I decided to do this every Tuesday.

Hope you like it!

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50 Facts About Me

Hi and welcome back my blog! If you're new here, hello I'm Joyce and today I will be telling you guys some facts that only some people may know about me. I really don't know if I would make it to 50 but let's give it a go.

1. I am 100% Filipino
2. My favorite colors are black, purple and pink.
3. I tend to finish a book in just a few hours.
4. I wear glasses but only when I'm in front of my laptop or reading on my ipad.
5. I only knew how to ride a bike when I was already 19 years old.
6. I am a hardcore gamer before where I would spend more than 24 hours infront of my laptop.
7. Being a gamer, I used to dream a lot that I'm still playing my game especially with Dragon Nest Sea.
8. My closet is full of clothes that are either black, white, navy green or dark blue in color.
9. I like wearing makeup even if I'm not leaving the house.
10. I have been in a modeling workshop for only a day.
11. I tend to listen to a song that I like over and over again until I'm sick of it.
12. I don't drink coffee
13. I was an honor student back in high school
14. People describe me as someone who is very deep
15. I am more of a spender than a saver nowadays
16. I could not sleep with the lights off
17. I vomit whenever I watch thrillers
18. I don't have my ears pierced
19. I am open on getting a tattoo but too indecisive on what I would put
20. I know all the songs in high school musical until today
21. I have a habit of not replying to a person eventhough I've seen their message because I thought I replied already.
22. I am very bad at math and only survived it in high school because I crammed a little more usual than I would than any other subjects.
23. I love anything seafood except for oysters
24. I need to sleep with 2-3 pillows below my head every night to sleep
25. No matter how hot it is, I need a blanket that covers me from my toes to my neck
26. I'm the type of person who would cry from a scary story
27. I sometimes type out a whole rant about something but when I'm done I delete it.
28. I'm writing my own book but can't seem to finish it because I have way too many ideas on my head that I keep re-editing the first chapters.
29. I love to listen to people who have accents especially the British ones that I end up listening but not really understanding what they're saying. (lols)
30. I badly wanna know who "A" is on Pretty Little Liars.
31. I probably have more friends from gaming online than real life friends
32. F.R.I.E.N.D.S. is my favorite TV show ever
33. I have a resting bitch face and people around me comment way too much about it.
34. My height is 5'1"
35. I was an extra on some TV shows in the Philippines (Banana Split & Maalaala mo kaya) I had no lines in both but with the drama one, I had to cry my eyes out which I did. And which the talent manager asked me for my phone number and photo, but the next day, I lost my phone.
36. I am really bad at applying false eyelashes (I'm practicing now though!)
37. I am secretly competitive.
38. When I hang out with people, I tend to get very TMI although if I really have a secret I wanna keep, no one would ever know about it.
39. I attended an Italian language school for a few months to pass basic Italian language and didn't come back after that.
40. I have moved houses 5 times.
41. I used to chop all of my barbie's hair and break its arm when I was a little girl.
42. I am a bit of a perfectionist.
43. I fake being good at public speaking, I talk fast and keep saying things hoping that it would make sense. 
44. I hate being vulnerable infront of anyone.
45. I have real life moments that I dreamed about before it ever happened.
46. I am abit of a multitasker. 
47. I have always been finding boys who are pretending to be girls in games, I don't know why but I always do without even trying.
48. I am a bad liar but I am good at playing around with the truth.
49. I am really stubborn.
50. I was born the same date that Marilyn Monroe died. Pretty creepy especially when I have a mole the same place that was on her face too.

So that is it for my 50 facts and honestly, I barely made it. It was fun and hard at the same time to be able to describe things about yourself haha!

Thanks for reading and until the next blog!

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