HelloGiggles, one of my favorite female-centric sites, always produces great content. I read almost everything the writers from the site post and this particular one by Kate Harmer is a favorite. In Turnin' Thirty: Notes from My Twenties, Kate talks about being comfortable and being happy about turning thirty and the lessons she learned the past few years.

It's a bit long so I'm summarizing the article for anyone who has ADD and focus on the stuff that struck me most.

Over time, most people get better at being people.

Some things I learned in my twenties:

Have a uniform.

Find an outfit that you feel good in and buy it in every available color combination. Waking up is way less stressful knowing you have something that just works.

Education is an amazing escape route.

Education pulled me out of a mental black hole. I was challenged to think and live in an uncomfortably new way and it was exactly what I needed. School helped me see my situation from a different perspective and regain some self worth.

The only way to become something is to be it.

Just DO the job you want. Make up assignments and give yourself deadlines. Be as awesome as you can be and start showing people what you’ve done. If you’re busy being what you want to be, then… aren’t you?

Don't touch it.

Get your hands off your face. Touching it won't make things better.

The coolest people are the hardest workers.
Rad people didn’t get that way sitting around. The most exciting people are nerdy about something and invest time and energy into that interest.

Admit that you don't know.

Almost all of my social anxiety between 12 and 25 stemmed from the dull, nagging fear that I would say something wrong, not know what people were talking about or not have the answer to a question. Turns out conversations thrive on questions and asking people to explain something makes them feel good.

Have friends.

One of the very best decisions I made in my twenties was to stop thinking I didn’t need to connect with other people and be vulnerable enough to try.

That's my first TL;DR post for you. To read all of the very awesome post, click here.

InStyle presents 5 beauty products that flatter everyone. Here's the round-up and some products available locally for everyone to play with. I painstakingly searched for local products, their prices and some reviews so you don't have to. :P

1. Gold and Purple Eye Shadow  Gold on inner corners brightens all eyes, while purple's broad appeal is that it's not too cool or too warm.

• Try Lulu Makeup's Rio Palette. Available at TheLuluMakeup site for Php950 for the purple eyeshadow and the Manhattan palette (also Php950) for the gold eyeshadow. Say Tioco Artillero uses these palettes a lot for her tutorials.
• Dollface Cosmetics also has palettes and eyeshadow quads with purple and gold eyeshadows.
• For cheaper, non-palette options, there are Ellana Multipurpose mineral powders for Php130 for 0.7 grams and are available in many variants of Gold: Felicity(pale gold with green shimmer), Sensational (iridescent white gold (white shifting to gold)), Gorgeous (yellowish pure gold frost), Divine (light tan gold frost), Shine (lemon gold frost); and Purple: Orchid - purple frost; and Laugh - deep violet frost (eyeliner/eyeshadow)

• The Body Shop Lip Liner: Shade 10 in Pink Brown. Price to follow.
• CoverGirl LipPerfection Lip Liner in Smoky. Php325. Liz of Project Vanity reviewed the product here.
• Etude House Auto Lip Liner. I got a pink-brown shade (forgot the shade code, sorry!) for only Php98. 

3. Sheer Pink Lip Gloss  Sheer pink gloss complements all lip colors and never looks overdone.

• Tony Moly Petite Bunny Gloss Bar(P278). Check the Project Vanity review here. 
• Lip Ice Sheer Color (Php145). Project Vanity review here. 
• Nivea Pinkish Boost (Php100+). I personally have this and this lasts forever! lol

4. Deep Cocoa Eyeliner  A dark brown liner is rich enough to register on dark skin but won't overwhelm ivory skin.

• Kanebo Kate Gel Eye Liner (Php660). Check out Lush Angel's review of the black shade here. It should be available in Watsons but last time I checked this isn't available in Cebu.
• Maybelline EyeStudio Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner in Brown (Php449). Check out Lady E's review here. Available in Maybelline counters . 
• Prestige Waterproof eyeliner in Brown. (Php325). Ginger reviews it here. You can buy this in Beauty Bar.

• Nichido Cream Blush in Pink Champagne. Say uses the blush here.
• Ellana Moisturizing Cream Blush in Flirtation. Shen reviews the product here.
• E.L.F. All-Over Color Stick in Pink Lemonade. (Php150). I personally use this and I love it. Cheap and it works! Kikay Trekkie reviews it here.

We are bombarded with an insane number of beauty products in the market. The number can be quite overwhelming and if you're impatient and impulsive like me, you can become a victim of pretty packaging and nice words and end up buying crap that's not necessarily suited for you.

To guide everyone in their pursuit for perfect (or better) skin, it's imperative that we are all aware of some skin care misconceptions to avoid falling into the consumerism trap.

•  Natural and organic products are always better. Buyer, beware! Many natural and organic products are not as they claim. Plus, many times, active ingredients have to be synthesized to be bioavailable and efficacious. Synthetic compounds can actually be identical to those found in nature and be more effective. Natural vs. laboratory-processed should not lead to an up or down decision about whether a product is good or bad. Not all chemicals are bad, and not all natural or organic ingredients are good.

• Using larger quantities of a product will yield better results. Less is more. Normally, a pea-sized amount of facial product will do the trick. Excessive amounts can cause skin problems and waste money.

• Packaging is not important. Packaging in skin care is vitally important—not for aesthetic reasons—but to protect the efficacy of the ingredients. Wide-mouth jars, transparent containers and pumps that are not airless all pose problems in keeping ingredients safe and potent.