When I was very young, some people told me that when I choose to be gay (well, I’ve known myself as woman ever since), I’ll struggle with career, and end up just putting makeup on my myself, and other women. I cannot work in companies, because I act and dress up like a lady (I used colored lip balms back then. So I did everything I could at school complete with eyeliner and mascara, and desired to the highest level – I wanted to be a doctor, a chemist, the leader, a CEO of a big company, everything that they tell me I’m not. I sort of sucked everything I needed to learn for the real world. I prepared a lot for it, really. Lots of hard work and sleepless nights.
Then at college, I didn’t excel so much in my accounting classes, neither in my hardcore chemistry classes which I thought could be my pre-Med. But I remembered I had so much fun doing lipstick lab experiments, makeup of girls and boys at fashion shows I get invited to by orgs as MUA (even the one I manage as president!), marketing of cosmetics and just everything about beauty that interested me. I minor-ed in everything haha
Then come corporate, was lucky to get assigned by my bosses to do digital, which I realized as something anyone could own and serve as platform for any kind of passion (and job also!!). It took me a long time maybe to realize that the world, rather the Universe, will just conspire for something that you want, a career (can be also a job!), something that would make you wake up with a smile. Yes, I’m that person who ended up doing, marketing and teaching makeup or salon stuff but I didn’t have to think about what others say about my profession, or my industry, especially if you’re not doing the wrong things.
I’m just so happy now that I can be passionate, creative and prolly smarter at what I do and choose to be. I hope I can do and show this further in my blog (and career!) in the coming months and years. So… here’s to passion projects, guys! Whatever that is =)
Hello, 2016! This was quite delayed for everything that i plan to happen for this year and I hope the same thing to you and your passion!
2015 is a great year for me, and in as much as I want to celebrate with fireworks and all and welcome 2016 which I’ll slay by the way =), my nose reacts so much with smoke. I remembered growing up just looking at the window of our house as my dad would ignite lots of fireworks outside. When I was a kid, I always hated my clogged nose (which i still have as of the moment), our foggy home and littered village due to all the grand putukan.
But last night, it was just a simple handaan at home with family. I just decorated our white wall with white christmas lights, took photos of myself and members of the family, and watched some fireworks from afar.
However, I got time (yey) and inspiration to do my makeup.
I searched my baul of falsies from 2 years ago, wore them in layers, and on top of layered shimmers and glitters, and thought: Isn’t it a celebration of us and the year that was 2015? And for me, it was all about igniting passions. I know that this blog came late because I didn’t want it to be haphazardly created, but a I started a lot of things this year in my career and those wouldn’t happen without realizing some potentials and working hard to make them run. I’ve got more and I hope to have your support still!
I wouldn’t want to make this a long essay, so let me just express it through above and below photos haha (some photos I merged with firework photos from music festivals I attended early this year):
Key products used:
The rest of my NYE celebration? bonding with family and our helpers at home. They’re my team of photographers, supporters, motivators, managers and family who help me do the things that I do.
The philosophy behind the title is what Johnnie Walker now champions, as presented during “The Way I Walk,” a media launch event recently held by the brand at The Eye at Green Sun, Makati. “The Way I Walk” unveiled Johnnie Walker’s latest Joy Will Take You Further campaign, and introduced the faces behind the movement to press members as well as VIP guests.
I got really attracted to this event because well, one, Scotch Whiskey is my favorite drink at night and two, I was intrigued by the campaign which I got to know more.
At the event,a duo of proud Filipinos have recently jumped on board a new global campaign from top Scotch Whisky brand Johnnie Walker to champion joy as the key to meaningful progress, joining a global roster of other extraordinary people from all walks of life. Mountaineer Romi Garduce, and musician, actress, and blogger Saab Magalona are among a growing number of people who epitomise a way of thinking that challenges the conventional wisdom that success leads to happiness. Instead, these remarkable personalities celebrate the fact that happiness actually helps people achieve more.
Among the list of “extraordinaries” are Formula One World Champion and McLaren Honda driver Jenson Button, award-winning actor Jude Law, and American alternative rock band OK Go; whose understanding of success and progress aligns with the results from a growing body of scientific research into the power of happiness.
The more familiar set of ambassadors which evidently practice this philosophy is the band Cheats, some band members of which I’ve known since college. Ever since I heard them in 2014, I have loved their originality, passion (as artists and Pinoy’s too) and creativity.
A photo posted by M I K K I G A L A N G (@mikkigalangdotcom) on
JW also shared some facts about this philosophy. Dr Matt Killingsworth, a US-based psychologist and scientist who studies human happiness, acted as a consultant for the campaign. He said: “People sometimes think of happiness as a far-off, distant prize only to be won by their years of hard work or when they achieve conventional markers of success, like a higher income or a bigger house. But there is a growing body of evidence that enjoying happiness along the way makes success more likely.” Commenting on the campaign launch Diageo Philippines General Manager Jon Good said: “As a brand Johnnie Walker has always stood for progress—it’s been the story of our whisky since our founder John Walker started it all nearly 200 years ago. What two centuries of experience have taught us is that progress doesn’t have to be an endless uphill journey—we can enjoy the steps we take and the more happiness we find in them the more likely we are to achieve our goal. Evidence is confirming a conviction that sits at the heart of our brand: Joy Will Take You Further.” Personally:
And it’s nice to just be with people who see happiness as such. I got the chance again to listen to Cheats’ new and iconic songs, like Summer which you’re hearing now via Soundcloud.
Dj Toons who’s a talented batchmate too!!
Congratulations on your continued success, Cheats! They recently launched their album few weeks before, and both packaging and content were amazing!
Saab Magalona
Johnnie Walker Brand Ambassador Romi Garduce, Diageo Philippines General Manager Jon Good, Johnnie Walker Brand Ambassador Saab Magalona
I just also was so happy for Saab’s success, happiness and love (recently got married!!). She has been a great friend ever since college/Dollhouse and when I started my own blog which she supported. I consider her as one of my blogger idols, and also as a music icon (me as a music lover lang hehe). She’s so creative, smart and focused on what she does and loves which you’ll get to know more in her video below. I really like how she built her own identity and market too, based on what she is, and what she really wants to do in her life. That’s really how we should all do it! =)
Congratulations on everything, Saab!!
The other JW night last quarter 3 is filled with music and flavor through The Journey with Johnnie Walker at Valkyrie at The Palace, a multi-sensorial party showcasing select variants of the Johnnie Walker brand. Recognizing life and its many twists and turns, the Johnnie Walker event invited guests to embark on a flavorful journey as they navigated through the clubbing mecca’s twists and turns to learn more about Johnnie Walker Red, Black, and Gold Label Reserve.
For the one-night affair, Valkyrie became home to the partying scene’s hippest DJs. DJs Mars Miranda, Callum David, David Ardiente, and Kat DJ took turns in unleashing beats from different areas in Valkyrie, creating a moving party experience like no other, while Johnnie Walker Red Label, Black Label, and Gold Label Reserve each had rooms that treated guests to different surprises throughout the night.
Went with fellow blogger Raiza Poquiz who’s being toured here by JW model, Aldwin Go
I toured the The Johnnie Walker Red Label Room which was witness to a lively mixology class hosted by Diageo Reserve World Class 2013 Philippine Bartender of the Year AK Roxas, who demonstrated the different ways (Hello, chemistry skills!!) to enjoy Johnnie Walker Red Label, the Pioneer Blend.
Maxene Magalona and Saab Magalona
The Red Label Room
With Raiza Poquiz and Mark Advincula
Meanwhile, the Johnnie Walker Black Label Room generated curiosity among guests as they peered at the great black leather chair and awaited the reveal of Azkals hunk Anton Del Rosario, who personified the iconic brand’s Striding Man for the night. Guests also enjoyed a quick mentoring session care of Diageo Reserve World Class 2014 Bartender of the Year Joma Rivera, who delivered the complete Johnnie Walker Black Label experience with smoke and wood, elements unique to the Iconic Blend.
Lastly, the Johnnie Walker Gold Label Reserve room was ground to a whisky mentoring session hosted by Erwan Heussaff and Diageo Reserve World Class 2015 Philippine Bartender of the Year Kenneth Bandivas. The session was as educational as it was lively, showcasing the great flavors of Johnnie Walker Gold Label Reserve.
“The idea behind this event is to really unify the labels, particularly Red, Black, and Gold Reserve under the Johnnie Walker banner,” shares Cesar Gangoso, Customer Marketing Director of Diageo Philippines. “We want to create experiences unique to each brand, but we also want these experiences to be representative of the iconic heritage from where they come.”
Here are two amazing nights I had with Johnnie Walker and here’s to wishing continued journey and happiness for all of us.
Creativity is my spice of life. But it’s time to professionalize it and make it even bigger. And own it.
It may not seem like it but the past months have been really busy as I’m launching different ventures. And well, in The Philippines, it’s taxing and expensive and I really hope that startups can be given a priority by the government. In the digital industry which I’ve been working for in the past 5 years (including my beauty blog!), I think that there’s always a need to move forward. And while I don’t think I’ll have enough time to blog about beauty and life very very soon, here’s to asserting the wonder digital girl in me!
Above are more photos that describe my new bigger digital life. We shot these images to create the profile of our corporation and if you’re just as passionate in digital as me, follow Digify (this is the website we’ve been working on as well aside from mine!) . Wish me luck!
You know me too well as a person and as a blogger – hello here and here – if you know that I idolize Katy Perry LOL. And it’s not just because of her fancy looks, colorful hair and makeup. I really believe that she’s one of those pop artists that’s so creative, weird (in all the right ways) and truly fantastical – making out-of-this-world hit songs that come out straight from her diary.
I got the chance to watch her very creative and colorful California Dreams Tour back in 2012. I remembered wearing a blue wig back then and just dancing – and dramatizing – to her hit songs. It was crazy and a lot of fun. I remembered that that concert got delayed by hours and it all made sense to me after watching her Part of Me documentary few years ago, when I got to know more about her gigantic tour alongside a struggling marriage.
So when they announced that the Primatic Tour will have a stop in Manila which will be the last yet biggest ever (30,000 in Manila!!! – see above video), I bought tickets immediately (the same kind of ticket I bought when i watched her in 2012 in MOA Arena – Lower Box)
But little did I know that 1. While the Philippine Arena is close to my home in Valenzuela, the venue would be such a hassle as there’s just one entrance and it took us the whole concert time to arrive and depart, and 2. it is so big that my Lower Box ticket worth around P6000, would appear to me as a GA ticket because of how huge the arena is (scale of proportion could have been said! haha)
With my fellow katy-cat, Avon Hornilla
At any rate, the Prismatic experience was a blast, as always with Katy perry’s performances! Voice, costumes, production – all on point!! I had to stand go nearer the stage to see her clearly, but still, pardon the unclear photos below.
I watched a clip (my favorite part is the Love Me – This Moment moment) of her documented show above, and while in Manila they didn’t make it grander and more interactive in terms of production as the stage in Manila was smaller and stiffer, she still killed it with her hit songs, mash ups, and iconic Katy Purry gimmicks which are of course, appealing to me.
Katy Perry’s This is How We Do segment with life-size props. One is her brand, Cover girl
A video posted by M I K K I M I N A J (@mikkigalang) on
I loved this night so much such that i rekindled my love for her and listened again to songs like Thinking Of You, Part of Me, etc even months after this moment. Thanks for entertaining us Filipinos, Katy and we hope you never stop writing songs and singing your fantasies and realities away!
