Book Review 6: My Name is Memory

Book Title: My Name is Memory

Author: Ann Brashares

Price: P354.00 (National Bookstore, paperback)

Genre: Romance

Number of Pages:  401

Personal Rating: 4/10 

Reading Difficulty: Very Easy (1/5)

Book Summary:

Daniel tells me that he's always loved me. That I always have.

He says he is always searching for me. Not just in this life, but in my last life, and all my lives before. Always hoping that one day I will remember.

But it is only he that carries the memory of our love.

I know that finding true love is never easy, But I hope your own quest ends happily.

I hope you never have to face the heartbreak that inevitably awaits us.

This is our extraordinary, unforgettable story.

Personal Insights:

Before I start, I want you to know that the author of this book, Ms. Anne Brashares is also the author of the series called "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants." That is the reason why I persuaded my sister to buy this book instead of Charlie St. Cloud. I've read the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series and I was really happy with it so I thought that this book would be a good follow- up seeing that it was also Ann Brashares who wrote it. Oh, how wrong I was! I shouldn't have raised my expectations that high! I also shouldn't have taken a liking to the cover of the book; like the saying goes, "don't judge a book by its cover." That saying is usually applied to good books with ugly book covers. Apparently, it also works vice versa: nice book cover, ugly story. 

I'm sorry if I will be harsh in this book review, but I'm just really disappointed. I hated almost everything about it. It wasn't well thought of, I kind of just got that feeling while reading it. The plot could have been more complicated, but it  was oversimplified. The romantic scenes were so shallow, it had no effect at all such as the 'kilig' factor. The characters also had no sense of growth even though they had ample time for it, especially Daniel who lived across different milieus. All in all, I rated it 4 out of 10 for a reason. That's not even a passing score so you should get a gist of how dissatisfied I am with this book.

What didn't work for me? As I've said, everything. I'll tell you a little bit of the plot in this section. The protagonist is called Daniel. Out of billions of people, he's one of the few ones who "remembers." When I say 'remembers,' that means he remembers things from his past lives. He can also recognize souls whereas normal people like us also get reincarnated, but we neither remember our past lives nor recognize other souls. Complications in Daniel's life arrived during his first lifetime in Byzantium when he was a soldier and he burned down Sophia's hut, thinking that her family's part of the enemy camp. Seeing Sophia's face while watching her hut burn, Daniel felt a lot of remorse, which he still remembered lifetime after lifetime. He kept wishing to find Sophia once again to apologize and when he did, Sophia's next reincarnated form was as his brother's wife. So basically, that's the start of their rocky love story. After several lifetimes, they meet once again in the modern era (around year 2005, or something). As usual, Daniel retained most of his memory whereas Sophia, now known as Lucy, kept refusing Daniel's advances towards her. 

The plot seems nice. It is, but I just didn't like how it was written. Like I've mentioned before, it could have been more complicated, but it was oversimplified. Ann Brashares no longer elaborated on why Daniel's feelings for Sophia transformed from wanting to apologize to loving her. Some aspects of the story were also added without having any significance to the overall plot. For example, why did Lucy have to sleep with her best friend's brother? I don't get it. It wasn't explained why. Her feelings after doing the deed were also not explored so I don't understand why that was needed. Also, some aspects were so convenient like the fortune teller. Her identity wasn't given much light anymore even though she's supposedly just a normal teenager. Ben also is a real enigma. His character may be a form of deus ex machina, but I hate the fact that he does a lot of things without explaining them. It's just so frustrating. There were so many things that needed tying up to make this story seem more unified. The only thing that I liked about this book is how observant Daniel is-- it's like a form of Psychology or at least a pseudo branch of it. He described ways on how he detects souls by looking at their physical characteristics. You can look at it below, under my favorite excerpts section.

So, would I recommend it? No. I'm sorry for being harsh, but I'm just being honest by claiming that this book just didn't reach my standards. Teens MIGHT enjoy this, but seeing that there's a lot of things lacking in this book such as the description of the characters looks (which teens look for), I don't see how they would grow to appreciate this. 

Favorite Excerpts:

She is my doing and undoing. She always had been. And what a price she had paid for it too.

I obeyed orders with absolute literalness. I didn't question my superiors, not even in the privacy of my mind. I was fully committed, ready to kill, ready to die for my cause.

We naturally guard ourselves from the obvious truths of strangers around us.

One of the skills of living is simplifying as you go, so when you let your guard down, the complexity is troubling.

As you look at this stranger's face, you will be able to guess pretty accurately at age, background, and social class. Doubts, compromises and disappointments little and big-- those usually reside around the eyes. The hopes lurk around the mouth, but so do bitterness and tenacity. A sense of humor is easy to spot around the eyebrows, and so is self- deception. Add to your observations the set of the head on the neck, the carriage of the shoulders, the posture of the back, and you know a lot more. These are the accumulated qualities of the soul, and they are expressed in life after life. 

There are short periods of joy you have to stretch through a lot of empty ears, me more than most. You have to make them last as well as you can. 

Touch was a rudimentary sense, not so variable and not likely to get better with repetition. If anything, repetition made you feel a little less with each touch. As he saw it, anticipation and habit were two of the nastiest parasites of old souls and long experience. They fed on repetition and crowded out your eager sense over time until nothing felt new anymore. 

He had recognition, precognition and everything in between. He seemed to contain the omniverse, with or without the structure of time. And his knowledge wasn't limited  to his experience in the world, as far as I could tell. Once I read a poem about a man with an imagination so great it became the story of the world, and it made me think of Ben.

Majolica Majorca Skin Remaker Pore Cover

Hi there readers! Today, I'm going to talk about the Japanese make-up brand called, "Majolica Majorca." It's the drugstore brand of Shiseido, but I'm telling you, it's not that cheap.

I've been waiting for this brand for a long time to come to the Philippines! I first heard about it in my poupee account and later on, Ms. Liz Lanuzo of Project Vanity made a post last April (I think) that Majolica Majorca's coming to the Philippines! Just imagine my surprise! I've been lusting for these stuff for quite some time then my wish just comes true! So I guess, Majolica Majorca's catchphrase "Fulfills your wishes" is true enough!

So now, I'm going to talk about my first Majolica Majorca purchase. It's called the "Skin Remaker Pore Cover." In other words, it's the powder foundation of Majolica Majorca.

This is the case of the Skin Remaker Pore Cover! It's so beautiful! The case is actually the reason why I was compelled to buy this product! Just look at the logo of Majolica Majorca embossed on it and the design! It's something that I'm proud of like I sometimes have this urge to retouch in public just so I could show off this thing! But that's not likely to happen since I only use powder when retouching... Anyway, I think this case speaks for itself.

But, beauty comes at a high price ya know. The case alone costs P450.00 already, WITHOUT the Skin Remaker Pore Cover set!

So this is the Skin Remaker Pore Cover. In simpler terms, this is the famous foundation product of Majolica Majorca. I don't remember the name or code of the exact shade that I got, but I think that it's the third one from the darker shades... Something with beige on it. There's been a lot of good reviews on it so I really wanted to try it out! It apparently works well especially in terms of minimizing the appearance of your pores to give you a 'porcelain doll- like' skin.

If you think that the case is already pricey, then just look at the price of this powder foundation! A refill costs almost P900.00! But, it has more content than other powder foundations. It has 10 grams whereas the usual powder foundation only has 7.5 grams. But, is it worth the price? Wait for my verdict below!

This is what it looks like inside, with the Remaker Skin Pore Cover refill and the sponge inside. It fits quite snugly, but do ensure that you hear a 'click' sound when you're putting the refill inside so that it would'n fall down or something. The sponge is the usual sponge with its usual artificial scent so I suggest that you wash it first before you use it. The most surprising part however is the mirror! It doesn't offer a vague image at all! It offers a clear peek so I guess it's a plus for this product. It's also wide so you don't have to squint or move it around so much just so you could have a look at all angles of your face. All in all, this whole set costs P1345.00.

So now, let's go look at some pictures. Just a warning though, I'll show some close up shots of my face and my big pores (from my chickenpox incident and too-much-pricking-ritual). I summed up a lot of courage to do this! 

So this is how my face looks like without any base and without any foundation. I have quite a lot of blemishes because of spending too much time under the sun without sunblock and because of too much pricking. I just become so OC sometimes... 

This is how my face looks like with a little Skin Remaker Pore Cover applied. I don't know if its noticeable in this picture, but my face looks a little less bumpy especially on the left side. My right side however with its large pores and remnants of chicken pox need a little bit more coverage or so I think. Concealer perhaps or more powder?

So again, this is what I look like WITHOUT the product.

And this is how I look like with a sheer coverage of the Skin Remaker Pore Cover.

So, what's my verdict? I'm in love with the packaging and the casing. I'm in love with the service that the Majolica Majorca salesperson dished out! But, I only like this Skin Remaker Pore Cover product; I'm not in love with it. Why you ask? First off, it's pricey for a drugstore brand. Second, I tried experimenting with it. After three+ hours, I already became a little bit oily. Third, I don't think it did a good job at covering all of my pores (though I have to admit that some of my pores are really just hopeless, but still... One have expectations right?) I guess, I just found the perfect foundation for my oily/combination skin so this product just fell short of my expectation. It's just that it had a better contender.

So, would I buy it again? For this year, no. I'll wait when I have a higher salary. Initially, I wanted to buy the Jeweling Eyes set of Majolica Majorca, but since the sales lady was so persuasive and so nice, I was compelled to buy this. I also wanted it to quell my curiosity. So now I know. I'll probably stick to buying eyeshadow sets.

But I'm not disappointed or anything! Especially when I have this gorgeous pouch freebie! You get it when you buy 1,000+ worth of Majolica Majorca purchase.

This is what it looks like inside. It has a satin hot pink cover inside, which is really girly. I usually stray from stuff like this, but since it's Majolica Majorca.... I like it!

Book Review 5: Jane Eyre

Book Title: Jane Eyre

Author: Charlotte Bronte

Price: P335.00 (National Bookstore, paperback)

Genre: Romance/Angst

Number of Pages:  596

Personal Rating: 7/10 

Reading Difficulty: Difficult (4/5)

Book Summary:

The loneliness and cruelty of Jane's childhood strengthens her natural independence and spirit, which prove invaluable when she takes a position as governess at Thornfield hall. But after she falls in love with her sardonic employer, her discovery of his terrible secret forces her to make a heart- wrenching choice. Ever since its publication in 1847, Jane Eyre has enthralled every kind of reader, from the most critical and cultivated to the youngest and most unabashedly romantic. It lives as one of the great triumphs of storytelling and as a moving and unforgettable portrayal of a woman's quest for self- respect. 

Personal Insights:

If you're looking for a good and fulfilling book to read, then I suggest reading Jane Eyre. Now, I understand why it is one of the classics. At first, I really had no idea what this book was really all about and I'm glad that I didn't search for the synopsis in Wikipedia because I think it would have ruined the experience of reading it. I added it to my list of books-to-read because it was included in BBC's top 100 books. I don't really trust the BBC top 100 books since I've read stuff in there that I didn't really like, but for the sake of fulfilling my new year's resolution back in January, which was to finish at least 50 books from the list this year, I started reading this. I've got to say that I'm glad that I did.

Jane Eyre is really one of a kind. I usually steer away from romantic stuff since I can't really relate to it and it bores me a LOT since I think the dialogue and plot is too shallow, but this is an exception. The plot was not cliched and the character's romantic banter is not something that you'd consider as corny or cheesy. Just take a look at my favorite excerpts below! The characters' trails of thought and exclamations of love would really go straight through your heart! But, like I've said before, the romantic part of the book is not the thing that appealed to me. Rather,  I was more attracted to the author's description of the characters as having a lot of flaws. I appreciated that since it provided a breath of fresh air where the characters are not perfect, gorgeous and sparkly like the vampire book characters that seem to be the 'in' thing these past few years. Yay!

First off, let's start with Jane Eyre. I really like her! Jane Eyre is not the usual stereotype of a female protagonist/ heroine. For one thing, she's NOT pretty or beautiful. It was even mentioned in the novel that people act coldly towards her since she's such a disagreeable- looking girl. Suffice to say, she's a little bit on the dull or ugly side. I think, this is the quality of Jane Eyre that I like. She doesn't get her power or self- confidence from her looks or even from her riches since she's quite poor. It just strengthened the fact that her high self- respect and self-esteem are something innate in her. In a way, this kind of served as an inspiration: you don't need to be perfect. Your flaws only strengthen your character. 

Other than Jane Eyre, I also like Mrs. Fairfax and Mr. Rochester. Mrs. Fairfax's motherly presence was somewhat comforting. Once you're in the middle of reading it, you'd really get absorbed in dealing with Jane Eyre's problems so having Mrs. Fairfax seems to lessen the troublesome feelings that you'd have as you progress in reading the novel. On the other hand, I like Mr. Rochester since he's really unpredictable, but just at the same time. He also has a lot of flaws; he's quite ugly and he has a really cocky and strong attitude, but his imperfections only intensify the fact that he's just human. In this way, the reader could really identify with him. 

Having said all that,  I think that it would come as a big surprise when I say that neither Jane Eyre nor Mr. Rochester is my favorite character. I find Helen Burns as the most striking out of all. Helen Burns is Jane Eyre's friend in school. I don't like to expound on the things that would happen to her, but it's a really harrowing experience. Through that, you'd see the strength of her character. If Jane Eyre is plain-looking and witty, which borders on being cocky, Helen Burns is the exact opposite. She's quite saint-like. Jane Eyre fights for her rights, but Helen Burns just accepts everything. Take a look at my favorite excerpts to get a better idea of her character. The best description that I can give about her is that she's a self- actualized individual, which is a level that is kind of hard to attain in her young age considering the 'event' that would happen to her.

I guess I'm rambling now. I've already used 3 paragraphs to describe how the characters have affected me, which is a positive thing for me since they evoked a lot of emotions. This just goes to show how good Charlotte Bronte is as a writer. Now, let's focus on the aspects that I didn't like namely 'the twist' of the story. True, Mr. Rochester's secret kept me guessing halfway, but his secret's not THAT shocking for me. I guess, if I were in Jane Eyre's position, I would have felt like I was cheated or something, but I was expecting something MORE horrible. Another thing that I didn't like was how the story ended or at least the events prior to the ending. This is just a fictional novel, I know. Thus, the author can depict the perfect ending, which Charlotte Bronte did. However, I found it tacky. I hated the fact that everything just seemed to 'fall into place.' Forgive me for mentioning this since it's a spoiler, but I didn't like the fact that the rescuers of Jane Eyre are in fact her long lost cousins or the fact that his uncle is angry at her cousin's whole family so she got all of her dead uncle's loot. Everything is just so perfectly orchestrated that it's bordering on being unbelievable. I would have given the novel a higher rating if not for this drawback. I mean, Charlotte Bronte emphasized the characters' flaws and weaknesses to promote the idea that self- esteem and self- respect are things that can exist even without having good looks or riches then suddenly, she lavishes this good fortune upon Jane Eyre? For me, I got the feeling that it defeated the purpose of inspiring the readers. But, other than these observations, I loved the book so I would really recommend it especially to people who likes to read novels from certain time periods. 

So, just to make you want to read it, just look at this picture (which I do NOT own; just got this from google)! It's a good scene right? That's Mr. Rochester, Pilot the dog, Jane Eyre and Adelle. I love the setting and the milieu! Are you also interested? 

Favorite Excerpts:

Children can feel, but they cannot analyze their feelings; and if the analysis is partially effected in thought, they know not how to express the result of the process in words.-- Jane Eyre

It is far better to endure patiently a smart which nobody feels but yourself, than to commit a hasty action whose evil consequences will extend to all connected with you.-- Helen Burns

By dying young I shall escape great sufferings. I had not qualities or talents to make my way well in the world. I should have been continually at fault.-- Helen Burns

It is in vain to say human beings ought to be satisfied with tranquility: they must have action and they will make it if they cannot find it. -- Mr. Rochester

Dread remorse when you are tempted to err, Miss Eyre. Remorse is the poison of life. -- Mr. Rochester

The human and fallible should not arrogate a power with which the divine and perfect alone can be safely entrusted.

Genius is said to be self- conscious. 

I can live alone, if self- respect and circumstances require me to do so, I need not sell my soul to buy bliss. I have an inward treasure, born with me, which can keep me alive if all extraneous delights should be witheld.-- Jane Eyre

A wanderer's repose or a sinner's reformation should never depend on a fellow creature... If any one you know has suffered and erred, let him look higher than his equals for strength to amen, and solace to heal.-- Mr. Rochester

Human beings enjoy complete happiness in this world. I was not born for a different destiny to the rest of my species: to imagine such a lot befalling me is a fairy tale.-- Jane Eyre

Friends always forget those whom fortune forsakes.

Every atom of your flesh is as dear to me as my own: in pain and sickness, it would still be dear. Your mind is my treasure and if it would be broken, it is still my treasure.-- Mr. Rochester

Life, however, was yet in my possession; with all its requirements, and pain and responsibilities. The burden must be carried; the want provided for; the suffering endured; the responsibility fulfilled. -- Jane Eyre

Black & Gold Eye Make- Up

So, this is what I do when I'm bored: fool around with my make-up stuff. I absolutely had nothing good to do so I started watching Michelle Phan's make-up videos... I watched her  video for those with glasses called "Sexy Glasses", which you can check out by clicking *here.* It's nice and its wearable, but I don't think it's something that I'd wear outside.  Like what my cousin mentioned several times before, Filipinos are quite judgmental in terms of how to wear make-up. We prefer the conventional types like sticking to neutral colors, etc. When we see someone wearing flamboyant and bright make-up styles, we snicker behind their backs. Hey, I'm guilty of that too and that's the reason why I wouldn't dare wear eye- catching make-up.

Anyway, seeing that I don't have enough courage to wear something cool like that outside, I decided to just practice applying it inside my room. But then, I don't have Michelle Phan's expensive make- up so I just made do with what I had with me. These were the stuff I used:

Dollface Palette: 60 eyeshadow, 12 highlighter, 6 blush 

Koshize dual eyebrow and eye liner set (available at Sophie's)

Wet n' Wild 249 'Vanity' eyeshadow palette 

REVLON Luxurious Color 'Perle' eyeshadow 

Elianto eyeshadow primer 

In2It waterproof eyebrow '01 Eyebrowns' color kit 

I started out by applying Elianto's eyeshadow primer all over my lids then I used Revlon's "Perle" eyeshadow all over my lid. It's a nice, sparkly eyeshadow base and it's easy to blend. It looks like this when worn:

For step 2, I applied some Wet n' Wild gold eyeshadow on the inner corner of my eyes and some on my waterline. The color I'm talking about is the one on the middle right.

For step  3, I applied some black eyeshadow on the outer corner of my eyes as well as on some area above my crease. I used the black eyeliner from the Dollface palette. I didn't really like it since the color is not very pigmented and it is NOT easy to blend, but since I had no other black eyeshadow... I HAD to use it.Afterwards, I applied eyeliner all over my waterline. I wanted to use a liquid eyeliner, but since I was just at home, I didn't apply it anymore since it's too hard to remove. I also decided to skip applying mascara. 

Lastly, I just added some In2It eyebrown powder on my eyebrows to make it look fuller and neater (even though it didn't really produce a good result since I haven't shaped/plucked it yet...)

Are you ready for the (horror) outcome look? It looks something like this:

I'm sorry that you can't really see all the details and colors.I took this picture using my digital camera only so it is not so vivid. I actually wanted to take a picture of the make-up application process step-by-step, but my camera's incapable of shooting good images like that. 

Moving on....I did not apply foundation and concealer anymore so I apologize if my skin looks kind of oily. Also, as I've told you before, my eyebrows are not yet plucked properly so it kinda looks irritating... Haha! Anyway, I just made this blog to show how bored I am as well as to prove that you don't need to have expensive make- up to pull off a look like that. =)