Delightful Illusions

        Boracay Island is one of the most visited tourist destinations in the Philippines. I have been in this island for 9 times already and I noticed the obvious and somehow saddening changes that happened on Boracay. This island used to be full of nipa hut cottages, no Starbucks or other buildings, no pollution, not overcrowded and boats used to land on the seashore. 11 years has passed and the beach front has been covered with hotels, expensive restaurants, prostitutes at night, overpriced merchandise and just crowded in general. It went from being virgin to over used. :(

        We went to Boracay for work this week and we were able to make use some of our time to enjoy the sunset, affordable food and just chilling around. Our accommodation, transportation and food were free so we haven't spend that much money on this trip. Haha! Anwyays, if you are interested on my trip, then just keep scrolling.

Day 1

         We left Iloilo at 6 am last Monday and arrived at the island around 12:30 pm. It was a long road trip but we enjoyed the view and it's all worth it. Upon the arriving at the port, we paid our tickets and rode the boat. 

          It was no-makeup day for me since I left home at 5:30 am and didn't have enough time to put makeup on. 

          The place we stayed in was the Boracay Tropics, located at Station 2. It was a nice resort with good ambiance, amazing pool and accommodating staff. The roomed we stayed in was spacious and comfortable and we really enjoyed the stay. 

          After taking our lunch, our activity started. We had various activities including knowing each other, mental health de-stressing and making a life tree. I appreciated the light and unburdening topics and activities on the first day. 

My group and I strolled around the beach front after eating dinner and charging our phones a little bit. There's a really luxurious hotel beside Boracay Tropics called Station X. The building was built in a circular design with a gigantic pool at the ground floor with a bar at the front part. The pool was inviting but unfortunately it is exclusive for the hotel guests.  

          The guards allowed us to take pictures but they looked at us sharply when we further on the restricted area. We backed down and went out of the area because we might cause a scene and we don't want to embarrassed. Haha! 

          Talipapas (markets) are everywhere around the island. Locals sell souvenirs, swimming accessories and a lot. Prices varies from seller to seller and it's  best to look around first for cheaper costs before you go on a shopping spree.  

The dresses they sell are really cute but didn't have a big allowance for this trip so I just looked at them. Haha! Not going to fall for my impulses; it's bad for the bank account! Haha!

          There are restaurants and places you can chill beside the seashore. It's a relaxing place to be with at night with friends and love ones. 

          There's this hotel called Mandarin Hotel Boracay around Station 2 where a pool can be seen from the outside. I love staring at this pool whenever I pass by the place because it looks so dreamy and gives off romantic vibes. I checked their rates online and they are so expensive (in my perception)! I'm dreaming to stay at this hotel someday. 

          We got tired from walking and decided to have a break and drink some milk tea. I ordered an Oreo Milk Tea in regular size because I know I wouldn't finish the large one. It's really good! 

          After finishing our milk teas, we strolled around D'Mall and went back to the hotel. We were tired from the long road trip and slept early that night. 

Day 2

          Our activity finished early during Day 2. We wanted to see and capture the sunset and so we strolled along the seashore around 5 pm. Excuse the messy hair! Haha!

The best time for swimming on the beach would be near the sunset. It's not too hot nor cold; the lighting is perfect for OOTDs and selfies, and you wouldn't get a sunburn from swimming. 

          I love the pictures I took with the sunset. It's amazing to capture and there's no filter needed. I find sunsets really romantic. :)

Bamboo Shore was an affordable place to dine and chill after that walk. We had apple flavored beer and Hungarian Sausage. 

          The sausage tasted delicious; it was grilled, covered in mayonnaise and hot chili sauce. Didn't have any idea that the combination tastes good. Each sausage costs only 75 pesos, reasonable enough for Boracay! Yummy!

          Then we went to this crepe shop called Crazy Crepes. There a lot of combinations and flavors to choose from and are amazingly affordable! I didn't want something too sweet and fattening so I went for Mango Banana Crepe. 

         My crepe was simplest of them all but it was also yummy. It has mango and banana slices with mango custard and crushed nuts. I thought it was a healthy choice for me. Haha! Visit this place if you ever have a chance. It's located at D'Mall. We went home after finishing the crepes. 

Day 3

Our third day for the activity started after lunch so we had the time to lounge around the pool. The pool wasn't deep at all; the water was stopped rising below my eyes. The water was extremely cold though. I had goosebumps while swimming. 

          I didn't bring swimsuit and wasn't planning to wear one so I swam with my sleeveless top and nylon shorts. Don't get weirded out, Filipinos swim with this outfit. It's natural for us. I enjoyed my time swimming and felt relaxed afterwards. 

          We finished late that day and didn't have much time to look around. It was our co-workers birthday though and we decided to have a quick pizza party for her. We ate Shakey's; we ordered the Grand Slam pizza which contained their best-selling flavors in a gigantic sized, perfect for 7 people. The pizza had free pitcher of Coke. 

         We strolled again at the D'Mall that night and stopped by at this craft store. The store is called Bell N Blooms. They sell personalized accessories, knitted bikini tops and eye-catching dream catchers.

          The main attraction of this store are the hand-sewn dream catchers. They have various designs to choose from and all them are gorgeous. The lady that are making them was there at the time we visited and she said that they have an online store and they have more designs on Instagram (link here).   

          This unicorn dream catcher is one of a kind and unique. It's the only piece and only sold at the store. This only costs 1,650 pesos. That's fair deal considering it's handmade and limited edition. My co-worker wanted to buy this but she decided not to. No to impulse buying. Haha! We went back to the hotel after visiting the shop.

Day 4

          We went home last Thursday early on morning, around 7:30 o'clock. We haven't able to swim at the beach but we can always come back, right? :) 

         On our way home, our driver diverted our route and went on a smoother course. He stopped our vehicle on a resort where the Jawili Falls is located. 

         There's  an entrance fee of 5 pesos if you want to climb the upper tiers. Since we don't have enough time to climb and explore, we just took pictures at first fall. 

          The place is beautiful. The water is clear. How I wished we could have swam on the first tier. 

          The Jawili Falls is located at Ibajay, Aklan. I'm planning to go back to this place and swim all day. The resort doesn't have any cottage to sleep with, so I guess this only for daytime to visit to. The water looks clean and isn't dangerous to dip into. Gosh! The water was so inviting!  

         We stopped by for 12 minutes and proceeded on our trip. I enjoyed my stay at Boracay even though I wasn't really thrilled with the major changes. I hope you liked this lengthy post and stay tuned for more. If you have any suggestions for travel destinations around Panay Island, please let us know on the comments section. I would love to explore Panay Island more. Thank you so much for stopping by. Have a great day! :) XOXO 

          What is Project Pan Porn? Project Pan Porn is basically is a category of Project Pan where you hit pan on as many eyeshadows as you can in a year. This project, if I'm not mistaken, was started by Elle S (see her playlist here). Elle created this project last year and she picked a palette every month and hit pan on as many shadows as possible. I don't remember how much shadows did she hit on 2017, but I can say they were a lot because she in one of the panning queens of the beauty community. I amazed by how much shadows she can use up in a year and she always make gorgeous and unusual color combinations. She is one of my inspirations in doing my project pans.

         The way I see it, the goal of this particular project is to rotate and use your other eyeshadows while doing a Pan That Palette. It is a way to incorporate your other makeup palettes with the one you are concentrating in that. It also serves a purpose on not letting your eyeshadows to sit around your stash and be neglected for a year. I think that's genius idea, but it also difficult for most people. It is difficult for people who have just started with Pan That Palette and are overwhelmed with so much shadows. I decided to join this project because I have many eyeshadows and I don't want to ignore them while working on Pan That Palette. I'm panning the I Heart Makeup #SELFIE Palette (link here) this year and it contains a majority of shimmer shades. I knew I made the right decision to pick this palette because I can mix them with my other matte shadows. As you can see from the picture above, all of my palettes contain neutral shades. Haha!

          For my first palette, I chose this Ever Bilena Brown Palette. I no idea as to why this is call a "Brown" palette since none of these are brown or a shade of brown. That fourth shadow looks more of like a dusty beige shade rather than a brown. This should've been called "Neutral" instead of "Brown", it would've made a lot of sense that way. I have had this palette for almost two years now and I haven't hit pan on anything yet which kind of surprised me. I always use this palette, especially the dusty pink mauvey and the ultra light mauve shades. These are my go-to transition shades if ever I want to wear cool-toned looks. This is my favorite eyeshadow palette from the local market so far and I don't understand why most Filipino bloggers/vloggers don't like this. This palette is independent; it can create a full wearable look, has two matte shades and a gorgeous inner corner shade. I don't like the Pink Palette because the color selection doesn't go well together. 

          My goal for the first month of this project is to hit pan on the second and third shade. My aim for this project is to hit pan on 18 eyeshadows, including the ones I have on my Pan That Palette. That palette contains 10 eyeshadows and I've hit pan on 5 shadows already. That brings me to hitting pan on 15 shades more. If I have reached my goal before the 2018 ends, I will continue to hit pan on more shadows to utilize my collection well. :) Do you pan as well? What are your makeup goals for 2018? Please let us know by leaving a comment. I hope you have found an inspiration from this post and start panning soon. Stay tuned for more projects and updates. Have a nice day and I will talk to you next week. XOXO

I have been using this palette a lot since I bought this February last year. I love how the matte shadows are blendable, buildable and feels soft. I have carried this around with me and used this on other people as well. I have done a lot of smokey looks with this palette and I have never been so satisfied with dark shadows as much as I love the dark mattes in here.