Fashioning Pinoy Pride: Filipino’s Success in The X Factor


With different influences in fashion, food, and almost everything under the sun, the Philippines is considered as a melting pot of varied cultures and beliefs reported Globalization Partners. On one hand, some may see it as a disadvantage, claiming – to a certain degree – that as citizens we lose our own sense of identity. Others, in contrast, see it as an opportunity to adapt inspirations outside our usual circles, build on these strengths, and incorporate our own style.

There’s no question, that we Filipinos are talented in our own right. It’s this confidence that allows us to leave an indelible mark in whatever endeavor we partake. Whether in singing, or dancing, or anything that involves performing, as soon as the bright lights hit the stage, one can expect nothing but sheer passion. This is also why Filipinos have somewhat of a knack in joining reality talent competitions, according to Asian Journal; one of which is the widely popular The X Factor franchise.

The X Factor is a reality singing competition based in the United Kingdom. Former American Idol judge Simon Cowell originally conceptualized the television show as a replacement for the short-lived Pop Idol series. And as the ITV program gathered momentum in 2004 onwards, many countries around the world incorporated the talent show’s concept. It’s so famous worldwide that The X Factor even has its own game entitled The X Factor Games created by Gaming Realms. Today, the reality TV show enjoys constant success from the UK, to Israel, to Australia. Ironically, these countries are also where Filipinos showcased their talents and personal style.

The United Kingdom: Fourth Power
In the British X Factor, for instance, Fourth Power took the UK stage by storm and wowed everyone – including judge/show creator Simon Cowell. After a remarkable audition piece by the four cheerful sisters from Manila, Cowell gushed how it was “the biggest four yeses we’ve ever given.” From their experience in Asian talent shows such as ‘It’s Showtime’ in The Philippines and South Korea’s ‘Superstar K’, Almira, 27, Irene, 25, Mylene, 23, and Celina 19 went on to greater heights. Though they only managed to bag fifth place honors in a controversy-riddled The X Factor UK season 12 run, one can expect more good things to come for the Cercado sisters.

Israel: Rose Fostanes
If Fourth Power had their modern Asian fashion twist and bubbly performances, Rose Fostanes, The X Factor Israel’s inaugural winner, used her soulful and powerful voice to leave the audience in relative awe every week. Fostanes flew to the country to work as a caregiver for an ailing middle-aged woman. During her rare downtimes, she sang with her band at a small bar in Neve Sha’anan, Tel Aviv. Rose Fostanes got her much-awaited break in 2013, after auditioning for The X Factor Israel premier season. Once she landed a spot in the Bootcamp stage, Fostanes time and again savored standing ovations – particularly for her Top 40 performance of the late Prince’s classic ‘Purple Rain’. Her winning piece, ‘My Way’ by Frank Sinatra is also the title of her debut album, released in her home country by Star Records. After the win, she wasn’t allowed to perform professionally in Israel – owing to her visa’s conditions, but being granted a singing license, Rose Fostanes now relishes fruitful careers in two continents.

Australia: Cyrus Villanueva
Like Rose Fostanes, Cyrus Villanueva brought home the bacon, this time in The X Factor’s Australian version. On paper, Villanueva seems to have the total package. He has the boyish charm of a certified pop superstar complete with the singing pipes and the hip fashion sense. Season 7 of the Australian hit reality show also saw the 17-year-old Fil-Aussie singer outlasting Jess and Matt from the Groups category, as well as Over 25s favorite Louise Adams. During the finale, his rendition of The Weeknd’s ‘Earned It’, which was also his audition piece, and ‘Jealous’ by Nick Jonas, put the cherry on top of the cake. Cyrus Villanueva’s debut single as the seventh winner of The X Factor Australia is ‘Stone’.

Life Lately | 01


Hey everyone! Hope you're having a great Tuesday!
Im starting a new type of post in my blog. Just to help me easily create an update for my blog regularly. So will be doing this weekly. This post is actually inspired from the Sunday Currently Link Up. I initially call this as "Tuesday Feels" but then I figured I might not follow a Tuesday blogging routine, so calling it Life Lately instead. Just so I can post any day of the week... ;)
So here's my life lately first update...


Reading
Fairy Tail Manga Chapter 496. Ever since I started watching the Fairy Tail anime I got hooked. And since I have already finished watching all the TV episodes, OVA and movie. I am now continuing reading it on manga cause I cant get enough of it. It's agonizing waiting for an update though cause only 1 chapter is published weekly.

Listening


All For You - Seo In Guk & Eunji
Lovely Day - Eunji
Masayume Chasing - Boa
Rain Tears - JL
I was made for Loving you - Kristel Fulgar & CJ Navato
Secret Love Song - Kristel Fulgar & CJ Navato

I'm a fan of A Pink Eunji. I just love her voice and smiling personality.
As for Kristel Fulgar & CJ Navato I just love listening to their duets since the first time I heard them sing "I was made for loving you".
Rain Tears by JL is actually one of the soundtrack of 2NE1 Dara's web drama, Dr Mo Clinic.

Watching
D.Gray-man episode 25 anime... I'm into animes lately. And while working I'm doing some anime marathon. It doesn't consume much attention because Im watching the English dubbed episodes.  :D

Thinking
What to create for my next blog post... Im thinking of a theme to help me easily create a post on the blog next. Since I haven't been blogging regularly, I have a long list of things that previously happened that I want to share with you all. So to help me out I am thinking of a theme for each post to guide me.

Wishing
For something exciting to happen in my life. I just realized that following a daily routine bores me... 

Hoping
It will rain later... Apparently, it rain just before I publish this post but it stop shortly.  

Wanting
To eat Crepes... Ahhh, I hope I can go out hunt later. There's not much resto who serve delicious crepes here. 

Needing
A budget so I can travel and escape for a moment.

Feeling
Alone.

Wearing
Island Souvenir tee with incdo.com ♥ Cagayan de Oro print on it (inserting advertisement ^_^) and pink shorts.

Tomato Swap Watch


Hi there! How was weekend so far?
This week was not so good for me. For some reason, I suddenly felt not good and sad. I just cant concentrate at work. And so last Thursday, I went strolling to the mall to atleast entertain myself and get rid of those bad feeling.
The original plan was to go on food trip. I was so ready for food hopping but after my first stop the next thing I did was shopping for shoes and watch. I forgot about the food trip... all my time was spent shopping. I did felt better after. hehe
So this Swap Watch catch my attention at the Tomato Time kiosk. What really stands out with this watches is that you can design them with your own taste. You select the style of strap and the design of the watch face that goes with it.
Swap watches have a hypoallergenic silicone strap, stainless steel case back, and water resistant up to 3 meters in fresh water. The watch comes with a one year warranty on its Japan made mechanism.
The prices of the watch and the strap varies for every design. As for mine the watch face was Php 600.00 (12 usd) and the strap is Php 650.00 (13 usd).
I am thinking of getting another design on the face so I can have many options to match with my outfit and mood of the day. ;)

How do entertain yourself when feeling not so good?








The Good Things


It's weekend finally! Looking forward to grab some rest this weekend since last week it was a working weekend.
Since the kiddo and I  transferred house... I've been very busy. I must admit I was having a hard time coping up with solo responsibilities. I was so used that my mom is there assisting me with house chores and meal preparation. It was hard but this teaches me to get organized, prioritized and focus. I have also learn to practice positive outlook everyday -- to only focus at good things of everything.
So for today, Im listing those good things that I gain recently...
* Breath fresh air. Well... yes, it is windy in this house I don't have to worry on the hot weather. Other than that though, the previous house kind of too small for me, my mom and the kiddo. So we gave mom a space to breath, without us relying on her on everything.
* Follow early sleep pattern. Since the kiddo goes to school early I need to sleep early to wake-up early. I was actually having hard time and only got less hours of sleep at first. And I'm always running out of time that even if I go to work early I still cant catch up at the end of the day. However, as I follow regular sleeping patterns I got used to it and slowly catch up with the rhythm of the time. I do catch up long hours of sleep on weekend though. :D
* Streamline important responsibilities. In order to help me catch up I have learned to say NO and work on identifying what's more important responsibilities to prioritize and focus on them. I learn to think first before saying YES to any commitments. 
 * Thought me to move. Oh yes! Having a bigger house means bigger responsibilities. I need to dust, sweep, scrub, clean the lawn, water the plants and so on....
* Kiddo learns responsibilities. Since I have so much responsibilities at hand, I have an excuse to ask him to help me with things. And he also learn to prepare his own stuff in school.   
* Having time out of the computer. The downside of working-at-home is that I can stay all day infront of the PC...Which is a really unhealthy lifestyle. Because now I found reasons to move away from my PC and have a little exercises.
* Enjoy the natures view everyday. I mentioned earlier that some of my responsibilities are cleaning the lawn and water the plants. This is because the house is surrounded with plants and fruit tress. And... oh yes... I can enjoy eating mango, makopa (mountain/water apple, santol (cottonfruit) and guava fresh!  
* Have more time to think. Since moving here I have done a lot of thinking on what I wanted in life. The peaceful ambiance gave me moments to realize things in my life right now. I wonder if this has to do with me maturing or lets just blame it to peaceful ambiance. :D

There you go! Didn't expect this post to be this long. Would love to hear your thoughts in the comment section...
Have a fun and relaxing weekend everyone! 



Bag: Newchic.com | Vest: Thrifted | Top: Basic House | Shorts: Jag | Sandals: Payless Shoesource

How To Improve Your Sleeping Pattern

Hey there! Not getting enough sleep?
Or are you like me who fall asleep only find out you only have a few hours to sleep before the wake up alarm? If anyone of you here can relate then you might find this post handy...
I have been working on improving my sleeping pattern since early this year. I've learn that utilizing the right sleep patterns, accessories, and product lines can truly help improve sleep patterns. 
Here's a few simple tips I consider to get in a better night of sleep...
Change your mattress. If you have a mattress which is 8 years or older, it's time for an upgrade. In many cases, it is that simple. A new mattress will do wonders for poor sleeping patterns, and will help improve your overall level of relaxation at night.
Develop a pattern. This is another simple, no-brainer most simply do not account for. If you set a time to go to bed each night, follow a routine each night, and make it a point to lay down at the same time each evening, you are naturally going to notice an improvement in the way you sleep. Not only in the level of comfort, but the amount of time you are actually sleeping each night.
Sunrise clocks. Believe it or not these clocks do work. They come in various styles and finishes, and offer features such as alarms, ambient mood lighting, soothing music, and other features to help calm and soothe you so you can fall and stay asleep. They also feature theme music or soothing sounds, which are meant to help you fall asleep if you have difficulties doing so. If you would like to find out more about these clocks then visit sunriseclocks.co.uk.
A good night's sleep is something we need, but most of us do not get. A few simply changes in routine, developing and sticking to a routine, and making notes of things which are causing you to develop poor sleep patterns (diet, lighting, where you sleep, etc) are a few simple things anyone can do, to help improve overall sleep patterns each night.

Hello Venussmileygal!

Hey there! Have you notice something new on my blog?
I just updated my blog header as well as my blog name! I use my online nickname to be the name of my blog -- Venus Smileygal. This used to be my domain and blog name before but since I was a newbie back then and the domain was not registered on my GoDaddy account. The registrant didn't remind me for the renewal date and I only knew when I lost it already. To keep the long story short, I lost my domain, someone else bought it immediately (because it has a page rank  of 3 and high traffic) and so I started a new domain and blog name. ã… ã…  Sad memory!
Anyways, I commissioned Jeini to draw me this cute digital doodle of myself. I discovered Jeini when I was doing a blog hopping. I read her blog and discovered her cute doodles. I asked her to draw me in one of my fave outfit and signature pose. Check it out in this post. 
As a little treat (for the delay of delivery) she generously gave me another a super kawaii chibi of me... :D It's so cute and adorable cant get enough of it!
If you're interested to have your own cute doodle as well visit here at Ajeinomoto.com.
Wishing everyone a relaxing weekend! 



Summer Fashion Essentials

Hey everyone! How was the weather there in your place?
Finally, we're bidding goodbye to El Niño that weve painstakingly endure for a year or so. It's now rainy season here in our country. And I am loving the not so hot morning, wet afternoon and cold evening. ^_^
On today's post, I am sharing some must have fashion essentials for summer. I know that for friends in the United States and the rest of the northern hemisphere you're probably enjoying summer this time. This post can still be handy in our country as well though, because the sun loves to shine the whole year round.


There are tons of summer essentials out there; and, with designers introducing and inventing new items on what seems like a daily basis, how do you keep up?
For us fashionista who loves to look great, and wants to have it all, these are a few of the best summer fashion essentials that you must have in your wardrobe.
Plain white tee - They are cool, they can be dressed up and down, they work well in an indoor or outdoor setting, and you can pair them up with virtually any outfit. White t-shirts look good, they are airy, they can be elegant or casual, and you can work anything around them to complete any look or fashion statement you are trying to pull off.
Ballet flats - Sure, gladiator sandals are a must have, as are flip flops and any other thong style sandal. But, the ballet flat is classic, cute, light in weight, and they come in dozens of colour varieties. They are both chic and comfortable, and go well with button down jeans, a skirt, shorts, or any other outfit you plan on wearing for the day.
The blazers - An elegant blazers dresses up any outfit. If you are going out for a night on the town, a date in the afternoon, or have to head out to a work meeting or event, the right blazers can spruce up even the most casual of outfits you have on. Black, navy blue, or any other colour you desire, it can truly add elegance and class to the right outfit you have planned to wear.
Always remember that fashion is all about looking your best and feeling great. Before purchasing a product you like you should always shop around and try and see if you can get a lower price.
When it comes to online shopping there are multiple catalogue comparison sites which can help you find the best deal. Justcatalogues.co.uk is a great place to start.