When Vanity Strikes: Service Awards Banquet

I’m actually turning 10 years with the company on December 27. However, given that my 10th year is within the calendar year, I have been included in the more than 100 awardees for this year within the company. The awardees were the ones who have rendered 2, 5, 10, 15 and 20 years within the company. But that is not what I wanted to talk about.

For every event that I am invited to that requires me to dress up, I need to allot about 2 months to find the right dress. Yep, you read it right – 2 months, at least. That’s how I’ve done it the previous years. And every single time, I end up getting a dress from Karimadon. So, this year, instead of searching all the shops within all the malls, I went straight to Karimadon to find a dress. I’m not going to pose all the dresses I’ve tried (yep, I tried several 😛 ) but the winning dress was this (there does my budget):

Good thing that I didn’t need to buy new shoes since I still have one decent shoes that I could use which was only used twice since it was bought – it was bought for a wedding and it was reused for a company party. 😀

I didn’t have time for a mani-pedi session so it was a DIY for me. It was not perfect but it was presentable. 🙂

I got the dress, I got the shoes, next big thing would be hair and make up. I have absolutely no idea how to wear make up for big events. For day-to-day make up, I can wing it, but for a big one, I need professional help.

Oh and did I mention that I am a crammer? Yep, I searched for hair and make up artist when I saw my friend post in one Facebook group looking for one about a week and a half from the day of event. I got several referrals when I posted in FB as well and finally decided to hire Sai Montes Makeup Artistry – referred by Mommy Pehpot. 🙂 Thank you, Mommy!

Unfortunately, Sai was indisposed so she sent her Senior Makeup Artist to do our hair and make up for the event. By the way, my +1 was my bestfriend. 🙂

Anyway, let me just post a few photos (from the hundreds of photos in my phone) and be the judge. These are low-res version of the actual photos so expect a lower quality. I can’t post the actual photos here because it will eat up a lot of space. 😛

The side bun was a last minute decision since I didn’t really know what kind of hairstyle I wanted. I was so used to having my hair down for majority of the events I’ve attended and I wanted to have something different for this event. I didn’t know what kind of updo I wanted so I ended up choosing a side bun so it would be quickly done. Since Charm forgot to bring her hairspray, I was a bit worried that the hair style would go limp after an hour. It was a good thing too that there is a drug store relatively near my place so I had to let my nanny and my son take a walk and buy one. Thankfully, the store had one available.

My son took his nap when we started with the hair and make up session so when he woke up after about two hours, he didn’t recognize me and didn’t want me near him. He actually turned his back on me and didn’t want to face me back. 😀

It was my first time to wear false eyelashes (seriously!) and it feels really weird. I was just happy when I got home and took it off.

The venue was at the Grand Ballroom of Shangri-la The Fort. The place is just grand. The carpets are so soft, the ceilings were thoughtfully designed, the chandelier is really pretty. The wall design is really a conversation piece. From what I heard, the pieces were hand sewn by 70 people and was completed in a year. The food served was superb as well. And no, I didn’t take photos of the food because I kind of crammed them all up in my plate and it didn’t look good for a photo. But really, the food was heavenly. This is what I loved the most:

Here are a few photos of the place. I didn’t take much photos of the venue. It would be best experienced, really.

I’m a typical shirt, jeans and sneakers type of gal. But sometimes, dressing up to the nines really feels good. Who would have thought that I could look pretty when dressed up? LOL!

Here’s my favorite look, though. When I took off all those hair pins and let my hair down literally (such relief but not as much relief as taking off your killer shoes after 9 hours of wearing it). That woke-up-like-this hair kind of look. Love it. I wish I could have hair like this everyday until I want my straight hair back. 😛

That’s the last photo of me that I will be posting. Pardon the vanity. This only happens once in a blue moon. Now I need another event when I could wear that dress (or the other dresses I have in my closet that had been worn only once since it was bought). 😛

 

***Disclaimer: this is not a sponsored post.***