Soft Saturday Diaries: Shop 'Til You Drop Featuring BYS, Anko, Muji Cafe, Product Reviews, and How Does Orange Feel?
After days of stormy skies and Orange Rainfall Warnings, the clouds finally parted yesterday. A sliver of sunshine slipped through — a whisper of calm. I greeted it with quiet gratitude, knowing that these little moments of light are part of the soft, luxe life I'm rebuilding — one decision, one diary entry, one shade of eyeshadow at a time.
I timed my day well because I didn't want to be rushed when I got ready. I ordered breakfast from Kenny Rogers so that I would stay relaxed all throughout the morning.
Product Reviews
I tried this brush today:
I had very high hopes. Just look at that! It even comes with its own case. I was excited.. and then reality hit. It's like being in one of those videos or posts where everything is staged and when the camera pans behind the scenes you see the real chaos.
This brush just swirled my foundation all over my face. I couldn't get a good blend, even when I already pushed the product in the brush. It just wasn't happening. But, in a way, it was alright because I got to use another product from my stash:
Mumuso Peach Sponges
This sponge certainly saved the day! I was able to blend the foundation well and remove the streak marks from the brush. At first I didn't know what to use that pointed top for, but it turned out as a great tool for blending makeup on my nose!
Eye Makeup
Of course, I used my BYS Queen Bee palette again for my eyes:
Buzz on the lid.
Dew on the crease.
Sweet for outer V
Pollen for shimmer on the lower rim
And Royalty for more shimmer in the center. (I love shimmer shadow, can you tell? 😊)
I don't tightline because that gives me allergies.
I believe that after 20, being ugly is a choice. Sadly, I made that choice during the first 10 years of my motherhood. I chose to be scared. I chose to be lazy and not care about my appearance, when I wasn't like that before my whole new life as a mother. I take care of myself and make an effort to look nice, not for anyone, but for me. Because I wanted to feel good. I wanted to be confident. All confident people exude beauty.
I'm choosing beauty again. I'm choosing this new soft, luxe life that I'm making. So, yes, I will take 1 or 1.5 hours to get ready, without apologies.
Why the orange eye look?
If you've been following my stories, you'd know that we've been cooped up for a week! We had back-to-back typhoons and had several Orange Rainfal Warnings (very high chance for flooding). The sun did shine that morning, but it rained again a few hours later!
I miss the sun, so I wore it on my eyes.
Sometimes, colors speak when words fall short. Yesterday, orange wrapped around me like hope — warm, bright, and insistent. It brought to mind How Does Orange Feel?, my heart-crafted book for neurodivergent families. Maya, who is blind, learns to feel color through her best friend Mira. That orange shimmer on my eyes? It wasn't just makeup — it was Maya's sunshine, made visible.
I thought I'd take that feeling throughout the day - rain or shine.
How Does Orange Feel? is one of my published and copyrighted books, preserved by the National Library of the Philippines under PD 812. As a verified author with NBDB credentials, I pour research, storytelling, and lived experience into every page.
If you have a neurodivergent family like I do, consider adding my book to your library. Get your copy from my Gumroad store.
Makeup is no longer about vanity for me — it's storytelling. A form of expression. A creative ritual. Every shimmer, every swipe says: “I’m here. I’m healing. I’m choosing beauty again.”
Lips and Today's Full Makeup
Since I already had a bright orange eye look, I decided to tone down my lips. My base is a MAC lipstick that I topped with my two new Anastasia Tinted Glosses.
I used Caramel over the lips and Tan Rose in the middle
Today's look. I applied NARS Orgasm lightly on my cheeks. Just very subtle as I still had redness and rashes. However, my makeup stayed put the whole day and on one bathroom trip, I thought that I should have applied more. I think I should add a blush in my going out makeup kit. I could have used some more color on my cheeks.
Finally, in the Mall
While walking to SM Makati, we saw Ella, The Robot Barista:
I'm not a coffee drinker and it was too early for coffee for my husband, but I'm really curious. Maybe next time I'll ask my husband to try it.
We've discussed robot baristas in my online Robotics class and my students had a grand time watching all the helpful robots that automate jobs. Barista robots were one of them. My son was delighted to see Ella, up close and personal.
Current Mood
As I type this, I'm feeling exhausted from yesterday's activities, but calm, thanks to my son.
Ear candy: My son, serenading me with Minuet in G
As he played, I let my eyes close for a few seconds, breathing in the music and the love that fills our home. These are the luxuries I hold most dear — not what money buys, but what presence and passion create.
My son loves classical music. He discovered it when he was a toddler. He's been playing the piano since 6 years old. I taught him the basics, then he taught himself. I never enrolled him in formal lessons because I was thinking that this was only a hobby.
Over the years, three professional pianists have heard him play and one of them is Master Pianist Maxime Zecchini.
He attended a Masterclass with Maxime. After that, I talked to Maxime and he said that I should consider enrolling my son in formal lessons. He was the third professional to tell me that, so I thought that maybe there is something in there. So, I enrolled him in piano lessons last year.
I have a musical family that includes the great Filipino composer Ariston Avelino, who is the brother of my grandpa. I guess that's where my son gets his love for music and piano. My grandfather played the guitar and was a tenor in the church choir.
Exploring BYS
He attended a Masterclass with Maxime. After that, I talked to Maxime and he said that I should consider enrolling my son in formal lessons. He was the third professional to tell me that, so I thought that maybe there is something in there. So, I enrolled him in piano lessons last year.
I have a musical family that includes the great Filipino composer Ariston Avelino, who is the brother of my grandpa. I guess that's where my son gets his love for music and piano. My grandfather played the guitar and was a tenor in the church choir.
Our first stop was the bank. After doing my part, I left the boys there and wandered off to the BYS pop-up station at SM Makati.
My experience there deserves a dedicated post, so stay tuned!
Wore my Postcards from Brasil shirt because I miss minhas seguidoras lindas do Brasil and I discovered just a few hours ago that you're back! Welcome back and obrigada, ladies!
I saw this shirt a few weeks ago and thought about you, my dear Brazilian readers, so I grabbed it immediately. This is my little tribute to my beautiful readers from Brazil!
Styled this with my Lingling-O earrings from Museo Kordilyera.
Used my Muji bag, which I got last week, for the first time today.
After my time with the BYS ladies, I went to Uniqlo and H&M to get my boy more clothes. He's growing really fast and I need to keep buying clothes!
I saw an olive cardigan at H&M that I liked, but upon closer inspection, I decided not to get it as it was boxy and wouldn't suit my petite frame.
Ipanema was having a sale. I got tw0 pairs for myself and one for the husband. Ipanema is my favorite brand of flip flops. They last a long time, very sturdy. The last one I bought is already, probably 8 years old, and it's still good! I'm very sure these will last me for years and years to come!
We went to nearby Anko after Ipanema.
They were having a sale on nail polish. From $1.75 to 70 cents.
The Burgundy is regular priced.
Can somebody tell me why a set of disposable, one-time use applicators are priced the same as a set of brushes that you can use over and over again???
These clear kits caught my eye. They're only $4.55! I might buy some for our next travel adventure.
The travel bottles and containers also caught my eye. But they're a tad overpriced. You can find similar on Lazada and Shopee.
My brushes have spilled over two cups, it was time to get a bigger flat for them.
This one lives on my desk, beside my Muji organizer. They both house the things I always use and things I need to test.
Our last stop before lunch was NoBrand:
I went to the restroom after ordering and saw a kiosk selling this:
The rice yesterday was also a bit harder than usual. It's normally soft and fluffy, with the right amount of sauce.
We had the 10 Yen King for dessert. We shared this one coin. The cheese was already oozing out.
The first bite sent me back to my childhood. I devoured dorayaki back then. There's a little place across The Landmark, if I can remember correctly, that sells dorayaki. At first they were just selling cheese and anko. Eventually they had different flavors like chocolate. Of course, I'm a cheese and chocolate gal.
This had, probably, pizza cheese. I say that it's not mozzarella because it had a big piece of cheese in it and it costs only $2.10. Mozzarella is expensive here. So, maybe not mozza.
I broke a piece for my son and the cheese just stretched for days! I wasn't able to take a photo anymore as I was exhausted at this point. I also enjoyed the moment, stretching the cheese and showing it off to everyone.
The difference from the dorayaki of my childhood is that this coin tastes more like a very fluffy pancake. The sweet and salty balance was perfect! I will definitely have this as a snack to share with my son again, should we find ourselves in Glorietta again.
Muji
We went to the newly opened Muji after lunch. It's its own building! It has 3 floors:
- 1st floor - Cafe
- 2nd floor - home
- 3rd floor - beauty and stationery
I already shopped at Muji last week and just bought some bread:
I got 3 packs of pandesal, which my family devoured for breakfast on Sunday morning:
My homemade iced choco ala Starbs. I used Authentic Starbucks chocolate powder. I was finally able to use those long, mixing spoons!
After buying bread, we explored all the floors. On our way out from the 3rd floor, the lady guard stopped my husband. She was asking for a receipt. I opened one of the bread bags to show her the receipt inside. She said, no. The receipt for the tote that my husband was carrying.
I told here that we didn't buy that from here. I bought that last week from another Muji branch. She can check the inside. It's filled with our things and the things we bought earlier. I think she got scared/embarrassed because she said okay and apologized twice. Her face was all worried, too. I think she got scared that I might call the manager on her.
That's the olive tote in question, which I'm very smitten with 😁
The Marketplace was our last stop for the day. I saw some interesting things:
Lux is one of my favorite brands. I featured one of the soaps here. Sadly, it dried my skin out. I got that from Landers a long time ago. I was surprised to see them here.
How cute is this set of Thai Sauces in a Tuktuk box! Kudos to the marketing team! I have a marketing background, so I'm always on the lookout for these kinds of things.
Another great marketing move is this, by Nutella. They featured diferent scenic places in the Philippines and even printed a line in Filipino! Magandang umaga means good morning.
I saw these cute tins that housed gingerbread cookies. It's a shame I'm not a big fan of. But they're adorable! Something I'd like to put in an Easter basket.
I really like this tin lunch box! I had a ton of these as a child!
After paying for the groceries, it was time to head home. I was so exhausted from the day's activities. My legs were hurting, but I pushed on and finished the day's chores.
We ended the day with a warm bowl of noodles, the Shin Ramyun Shrimp I got earlier from NoBrand and nori I got from The Marketplace, because I forgot to get them from NoBrand. I added some Korean fish cakes in the noodles, too, so that we can at least have some protein. My son ate the creamy seafood noodles.
That was another Saturday in my soft and luxe life that ended well. How did you spend your Saturday?
Stay tuned for the BYS post!
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