Olay Natural White with Vitamin C

When I got back from Bali two weeks ago, it had occurred to me that my skin tone was now uneven due to the amount of time I spent under the sun. To give you a better imagery to picture in your head, it was like wearing a pale colored shirt with sleeves that only ever extended up to an inch or three below my shoulders. My forearm had been toasted a golden brown, but about a quarter of my bicep was still as pale as any teenaged girl’s would be if they didn’t leave their room for days on end like I did.

Now the problem here didn’t lie in the fact that I was tanner. I honestly prefer sun-kissed skin over one that glows as white and bright as my computer screen, but the tan lines really had to go. If they didn’t make me look like I was wearing one of those annoying shirts with curved sleeves that made your arms look five hundred times wider, maybe they could’ve stayed, but that’s exactly what they did, and so I had to get rid of them.

Previously, I had written about Olay’s Natural White Bar with Papaya Extract. I was pleased with the short-term results I witnessed in the four weeks I had used it, but now, let me tell you about the Natural White Bar with Vitamin C and why it was just what I needed to even out my skin tone.

Bali 2014

My most recent trip to Bali with my family was two things: last minute and extremely refreshing. I'd just arrived back home from the US when my dad told us he was heading to Indonesia for a Harley Owners Group convention (think of it as a 1D fan party but for Harley Davidson riders in Asia lol). Originally, it was just supposed to be him and my mom going, but after some slight passive-aggressive prodding on my behalf (and my sister's keen interest in traveling), two additional tickets were booked. I remember there being about two weeks of silence regarding this trip, and then suddenly, "Hey, pack your bags, we're going to Bali."

LACMA Photo Diary

When we were planning our trip to LA, the first place that was suggested to me was LACMA. Embarrassing as it is, I'd never heard of it prior to its suggestion, mainly because LA used to be just home of the stars, Build-A-Bear, and Disneyland to me. I wouldn't have been able to appreciate the works of art on display if my parents had taken me when I was younger, nor would I have understood any of its meanings or depth. I probably would've just been confused, or drawn to the painting with bright, neon colors.

I'm a firm believer that things really do happen for a reason, and so—without a single doubt in my body—I know that I've been blessed to have spent my first time at the museum with the best of companies.

Olay Natural White with Papaya Extract

Hey guys! I don’t know if anybody has noticed, but since I’ve started blogging, I’ve been branching out—widening my horizons, you could say—as opposed to just posting outfit shots constantly. It was beginning to bore me, the whole ‘I wore this because (insert reason), and what I really love about (brand) is because their clothes are not only (adjective), but also (comfortable, versatile, etc).’  It was beginning to feel a lot like a cardboard cut-out, fill-in-the-blanks sort of thing, and for someone who hated routines as much as I did, it frustrated me that blogging began to feel more like an obligation than a hobby that made me happy.

So to combat the onslaught of me giving up on blogging altogether, I decided to make ninapineda.com a little more me. I’ve started writing about personal experiences, events I’ve attended, the trips I’ve gone on… I posted vlogs (although not as often as I would like to)… And now, as I go through the rest of my adolescence, I present a new category that you will be hopefully reading more posts on in the future: beauty. 

The Grove

The day my mom, aunt, and I spent at The Grove was comprised mainly of me shrieking on elevators and then promptly taking the stairs; walking endlessly for hours, it seemed; window shopping, eating at Umami Burger, and Haagen-Dazs cones for dessert. There's not much to say about the trip, really, as my guardians mostly let me do my own thing—which was go around in circles, taking photos of everyone and everything, while they talked between themselves. I'd have to have numerous pairs of hands to be able to count the amount of times my mom rushed me out of a store because I was taking multiple photos of the same thing (to the best of my stealthy skills).

Venice Beach Photo Diary (and why I'm one step closer to being the happiest I've ever been)

My trip to Venice Beach would definitely have to be one of the highlights of my most recent trip to LA. The last time I was there, the ocean had swallowed one half of my favorite pair of slippers, and my dad—seizing his opportunity to make a dad joke—told me to throw the remaining half into the water. He said it might come back to me one day, the next time I'm at the beach on the other side of the world, and while nine year old me highly doubted that, the slim chance of it actually happening excited me enough to make me oblige. I had to walk all the way back to our hotel barefoot, but I didn't really mind. Back then, it felt like giving back to the earth (when in all honesty, my dad and I probably did more damage than anything else).

Rodeo Drive

God, I'm such a tourist. I don't think my trip to LA would've been complete without an indulgent, slightly gratuitous visit to Rodeo Drive. I could practically hear Material Girl by Madonna blasting in the back of my head, playing over certain scenes from the one and only episode of #RichKids of Beverly Hills that I saw. (I shut it about half-way through, and my cousin asked me if I felt my brain cells dying while watching. My answer was a resounding yes.) We were all too tired to actually walk under the sun, especially after a few hours at the beach, so a drive-through and a bit of sightseeing was all we did. It was still pretty good, though. I kind of just enjoyed watching the swarm of tourists crossing the street whenever the stoplight for cars flashed red best.

Urth

Prior to our trip to LA being booked, I'd heard a lot about Urth, an organic coffee company that first opened in West Hollywood back in 1994. Obviously, it's not a new cafe considering it's been up for four years before I was even born, but I think it was around early last year that I first heard of it. To my knowledge, it's become a sort of go-to spot for my peers in the City of Angels, and upon stepping into the cottage-like brick building, I could see why.

Santa Monica Photo Diary

If I went out now, at 3:00 AM, I would go to the pier. I would sit at the edge of the boardwalk and dangle my legs just right above the water and watch the sky turn from a deep, dark, royal blue, to a gradient that went from soft pink hues to a lighter shade of blue. Skies are different out here in LA, but they're just the way I liked them. 

Ventura

Just before we headed to the One Direction concert on the 13th of September in Pasadena, the lovely Pascua family took us to Umami Burger. Isabella and I then went for a stroll with her brothers and checked out the nearby Urban Outfitters, where we then proceeded to spend at least half an hour running about trying things on. It was a good day, if I say so myself. Tiring, but good, and I say that without a single doubt. More photos under the cut!

Home again

If you're following me on any of my social media accounts, then I'm sure you already know about my whereabouts. As of this moment, I'm in Los Angeles, soaking up the sun and most likely taking photos of everything in sight. (It's just as hot here as it is in the Philippines.)

Rosy-hued Smokey Eye Makeup Tutorial

Hello! Today's post is a make-up tutorial, the first of many more to come, I hope, as I've been slowly dipping my feet into the beauty industry. In collaboration with Belle & Cat, Patricia and I actually filmed a vlog tutorial for this look, but after some sort of a technical error, I lost all the video files. We will be filming a new one soon, but for now, this post should do! It's a girly take on the smokey-eye look with a pop of color thanks to the brightly-tinted lipstick. The tutorial and the products we used will all be under the cut.

Comfort & Style

Here is a quick outfit post featuring what I wore to the Life Documented Manila August workshop (read my post on it here). I had anticipated the typical Manila heat when I was getting dressed that morning, hence my opting to go for a look that was casual and comfortable without having to sacrifice my own personal style. I've had the Tuck and Tale top I'm wearing in my closet for a while now, but it wasn't until my most recent trip to River Island that I found just the right bottoms to go with it: Something that was high-waisted enough to cover my navel and match its cropped style, without making me look stubby. Read more under the cut!

Eye see you

If you're following me on Vine, Twitter, and/or Instagram, then you probably know about the day I spent at Belle & Cat filming two different make-up tutorial vlogs for you guys, and getting my nails done. I've previously written about the salon here, after the Anti-Monday bazaar giveaway was held there. If you'd like more information on the services they offer, you can check out their website by clicking here. I will be focusing on their nail art services for this blog post, however, which you can read more about under the cut!

Life Documented Manila

Last Saturday, I attended Life Documented Manila's Project Life workshop. I had previously heard about this scrapbooking method on Pinterest, but I never actually considered trying it because I wasn't sure if there were any materials available for it locally. Most of the scrapbookers I saw were from the US, so you know, I figured it just wasn't for me. It didn't occur to me, though, that there was a community for it in the Philippines until Ate Abbey posted a photo of her book on Instagram, so you can only imagine my excitement. I mean, I've been scrapbooking for as long as I remember; my aunt used to work for All About Scrapbooking and would send me packages filled with art materials that I would share with my childhood best friend, Noelle. It always thrilled me to receive them in the mail even though I was never too good at it; I destroyed photos more than I prettyfied them, and my layouts were anything but pleasant to look at. It never mattered to me, though (which present me is envious of). Scrapbooking, or the arts in general, was more of a release than a means of showing off my creativity to gain my peers' respect. LOL. But eventually, like most things, I grew out of it. My works were subpar at most, and with me hitting puberty hard, it wasn't doing too well for my artistic ego. I figured I would be better off pursuing other things, which—back then—was a different form of art: theatre. But that's another story.

River Island Mega Fashion Hall

Ever since Jam and I found out that there would be a River Island branch opening at the Mega Fashion Hall, we've been waiting patiently (or at least trying to be) on the edge of our seats, biting our nails, and getting our wallets ready for the inevitable splurging that would ensue. Every single time we went to Mega, we'd gaze longingly like insane shopaholics at the massive 'coming soon' sign printed over one of their look-book photos, asking each other, "Just when will it open?" We wanted to be there on the first day like rabid dogs being fed their first meal, but alas, we missed it. Luckily, however, a trip to the store was planned for me at the last minute, and so my adventure begins. Lots of love to River Island for inviting me, being so accommodating, and for letting me play around the store styling things and myself! See the outfit I came up with under the cut. :P

On Becoming a 1D Fan & Officer + AUTOGRAPHED Make-Up by One Direction Giveaway

I was recently tapped by Markwins International to promote their latest beauty product, Make-up by One Direction. Being a fan of the boy band myself, I know for a fact that a large sum of my readers are too, and so I'm excited to be one of the selected bloggers to be holding this giveaway. The giveaway is under the cut!

Create

Every time my best friend is over, my room becomes nothing short of a mess. It's always as if a storm had passed and everything within its four walls had been smack dab in the middle of it. Notebooks would be littered on my bed (or the floor, depending on our chosen surface of the day), and all around it would be all sorts art materials scattered and strewn messily about. Jam and I share this need to create, to be creative at all times, and for some reason, when we're together, that need grows stronger. Separately, we get lazy, but together? We come up with the wildest ideas.

Celebrating 27 years of Bench with Young Star

I was recently featured in the local newspaper, Young Star, for their collaboration with the Bench Blog. It was quite a surreal experience altogether, considering I never pictured myself in such scenarios, let alone being tapped by one of the biggest local brands to style their classic white tee. Lots of love to Marga & ate Maine for reaching out and making this happen. You guys are the best-est.

You can read the feature under the cut! Happy Sunday x

Anti-Monday

After just two weeks of planning, the Anti-Monday Bazaar finally came into fruition on the 17th of August, 2014. What started out as another one of my brainchildren* eventually evolved into a legitimate, however spontaneous passion project with the help of two of my best friends, Renee and Jam, allowing me to tick off one of the top priorities on my very own bucket list.