Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Rain + Music

|ALL IMAGES VIA TUMBLR.COM|

These last few weeks, music has been my light and therapy.

Recently, the weather condition has been very rainy and gloomy where I live. Influenced by the melancholy atmosphere, my taste in music has greatly evolved as well. I always favored upbeat pop music over anything because of the hype and energy they bring. Strangely, I've been very into more lyric-focused, acoustic and ballad types of songs. I have two favorite songs at the moment and they are both by the same artist--Tim Lopez (the lead guitarist from the Plain White T's). The first one is called Rhythm of Love, which I love the story behind the song. Tim actually wrote it while he was in love, so the song really reflects the highlights of being in love and its peak of happiness. Another favorite of mine is Body Parts, which is also written and sung by Tim. This song felt very special to me because I was touched by Tim's sorrow and regret of losing the love he had with his wife. I was astonished as to how the harmony of lyrics and tunes can deliver such personal feelings. These two songs have been overplayed on my phone and I'm seriously addicted to his voice. Whether I failed a test or the weather was gray, I can always listen to his soothing voice and end up smiling throughout the rest of the day.

Love at First Sight

|IMAGE VIA STYLENANDA.COM|

This winter, I've been strangely into the color BLACK. Something about this color fascinates me. Recently, my mood has been very grounded and calming--although college application process did not help that. I felt that wearing pieces incorporating black expressed that and I also enjoy how it looks modern and sleek against my body. I was looking in my wardrobe and I realized I did not own any black outerwear. It was a shocker because black outerwear is such a basic and a versatile piece. So being a shopaholic myself, I was--and still am--on a hunt for a black outerwear and I stumbled upon this black long coat from Stylenanda.com. It was love at first sight. This coat has an androgynous feel to it with its straight waist line, which I actually enjoy. What sold me was the leather lapel. Black (faux) leather has been one of my obsessions this winter, so having that aspect in this coat was just amazing. Unfortunately, there are two downsides of this specific coat. I'm not sure how it is going to fit on my body type as this coat only comes in one free size. Another drawback was the price of $140. It's not too bad considering its quality and the number of details this jacket contains.This coat is one of those pieces that you have to give it some time to think about its value. Will this fit in my wardrobe seamlessly? Will I have at least 10 different outfits with this jacket? If you can't answer these two questions, just pass it on.

Hopefully I will look back on this post later this week or so and decide if I really want this coat or not. If I find an alternative piece, I will probably have an outfit post with it.

Until next post...


Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Out of This Universe Nails


Finally got around to actually doing the galaxy nails myself, rather than reblogging the pictures on my Tumblr!
It was surprisingly very easy, and I'm a type of person who hates doing complicated designs on my nails and give up. The nail polishes I used were from drugstores, so super inexpensive and easy to find!

Nail polishes I used:
-Sally Hansen Double Duty Base Coat
-Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Xtreme Wer in 24 Black Out (love the formula and brush for this!)
-Spoiled by Wet'n'Wild in S047 Deeper Dive
-Sally Hansen Hard as Nails in 260 Wet Cement (gray color)
-Revlon Top Speed in 610 Lily (lavender color)
-Sally Hansen Insta-Dry in 120 Whirlwind White
Sally Hansen Hard as Nails in 180 Disco Ball (Do not recommend this one, rather get a fine glitter with only silver meld)
-Sally Hansen Insta-Dry Top Coat

What you'll need:
-Makeup sponge
-Toothpick
-Q-tip
-Nail polish remover

How I did this nail:
1. Apply base coat.
2. Apply thin one or two coats of black polish all over the nail
3. With the makeup sponge, dab the teal color (Deeper Dive) in partial areas.
4. After that, dab some gray color around the teal parts to lighten up and imitate the galaxy.
5. Dab some lavender or a sheer hot pink around some edges.
6. Go back with the teal color, if it does not show up enough.
7. With a toothpick, dot some visible stars on the nail. (I did about 3 to 4 stars because I have a big nail bed. If your nail bed is small, I would go for 2 or 3.)
8. Apply  thin coat of fine glitter polish all over to imitate millions of stars.
9. Apply your top coat if you want your design and hard work to shine and last long! I usually apply two coats of the top coat if I want it to go about a week without chipping.

For those who learn better with visuals(like me), I'm going to link you a YouTube tutorial on this that I found the most helpful out of all the other thousands of galaxy nail tutorials. Hope you find this helpful!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJjBRvf1rR8

I have created a photography blog to keep track of my progress, so please check it out and follow! It would mean a lot to me. Thanks!

Until next post...
xx

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Ombre Hair!





 What I used
-Jerome Russell Powder Bleach with Cream Peroxide Developer in 30 Vol.
-A hair dye brush

I finally got around to doing ombre! My friend actually helped me out because she has done it before on herself and I trust her with my hair :) I really wanted ombre hair that is well blended in and had more blonde towards the end, instead of just brown. I'm VERY pleased with the result and regret not doing this earlier! I was originally planning on cutting it off after my ombre, but seeing how lovely it is, I think I'm going to keep it for a while. 

If you are worried about your hair going extremely dry and horrible, then don't do it. I've never had split ends in my entire life, but after this ombre process, I found myself with tons of split ends! Also, my ends do feel and look slightly drier than normal, but I deep condition them every week to treat the dryness. The picture on the very bottom is after my haircut! I trimmed all the dead hair off and got myself some side swept bangs.

Some general tip for maximum hair repair is to wash your hair in 2 to 3 days. I was that person who used to wash my hair every single day because I hated my day old hair feeling, yuck! However, in order to save my hair, I only wash it after about 2 days or even 3 because my hair does not oily.  Even though my hair does not get greasy after few days, it looses volume and just looks like a day or two old hair. So what I'll do is take my dry shampoo and revive those volume in my hair.

Wow that was a long post! If you have any questions about this process, please leave a comment below so I can get back to you as soon as I can! Thank you :)

Until next post...
xx

Monday, August 13, 2012

LA ♥S ME


| URBAN OUTFITTERS SHIRT | H&M SHORTS, SUNGLASSES | FOREVER 21 NECKLACES | TARGET PURSE | REFLECTION SHOES | YVES SAINT LAURENT SHEER CANDY LIP BALM | COOL WATER PERFUME |

This was one of my outfits I had during the later month of July when the heat was starting to get to me. It was very beach inspired, as you can see from the shirt's saying "L.A. loves me." I need to go there soon! Anyways, that necklace is my favorite this season! I have been looking to get a geometric statement necklace in black or silver (like this one from House of Harlow), but the ones I liked were super expensive. I was so happy to find them at my local Forever 21 store! They never fail me :) As for shoes, I can't wait 'till school year starts so I can wear those babies out! It's so rad with all the spikes (I've been getting into cone spikes lately) and studs on the side. I got those from my local Reflection shoe stores, but I know there are a lot of other versions online such as here and here. I broke them in already, so they are super comfy!

Until next post...
xx

Monday, August 6, 2012

Macarons and Ombre Nails






Aren't these macarons so lovely? It's a bit expensive, but I like how they taste and look! So dainty.
Inspired by the pastel colors of macarons, I did ombre nail. 

Here's step by step on how I achieved that look:
1. Apply base coat.
2. Apply white polish. Try not to have it too thick or too thin.
3. Prepare a clean makeup sponge, and cut the sponge according to your nail size. Apply the desired nail polish onto the sponge.
4. Dab the sponge to the nail. If the color is not saturated enough, apply more and more until desired.
5. Apply fast drying topcoat. I recommend the Sally Hansen Insta-Dry.
6 . Get a Q-Tip soaked in polish remover to remove polish that has gotten on the skin. Another method I use is in the hot shower, genty peel or scrape off the excess dried polish from your skin.
7. Ombre nail: complete!

I used Revlon 'Minted' and Essie's "French Affair" as my gradiation colors.

Until next post...
xx

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Stranger Attractor






| REFLECTION SHOES, SUNGLASSES | XXI FOREVER TANK DRESS, BANGLES, CUFF | H&M BELT, SKIRT |

While searching through my closet, I found my old Forever 21 tank bodycon dress that I got a long time ago. I tried it on and thought "not bad." So I decided to recreate a look with it, sort of girly and edgy. I think Reflection is becoming my all-time favorite store for shoes because they don't break my wallet but I can find designer inspired shoes that I like, but not to the point of actually buying them full-price (like JC Litas). The big belt in the middle, in my opinion, isn't the best option, but I didn't have any other black belt that could cinch my waist in. Oh, I'm also loving silver jewelries this summer.

The title is from a song I'm currently listening to by Animal Kingdom.

Until next post...
xx

Friday, July 6, 2012

RWB May'12 Lookbook





I can't believe it's July already! Even though I'm two months behind, I recently saw this Runway Bandit's May lookbook and I must say that I fell in love with it! Not only do I adore the clothing featured in the lookbook, but the photography  is so dreamy. I love this kind of effect, if you could not tell from my own editing of my pictures. The shoes are awesome as well, but I don't think they are by Runway Bandits.

Go like their Facebook page because they regularly hold giveaways and they sell awesome clothing!

Until next post... xx

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Fly Away


What I used:
-Base: Sally Hansen Double Duty Strengthening Base&Top Coat
-Orange polish: Wet n Wild Megalast in 212C Heatwave
-Sally Hansen Salon Effcts Real Nail Polish Strips in 330 Fly With Me
-Top Coat: Sally Hansen Insta-Dri

Resulted from boredom, I wanted to give my nails a makeover with some butterflies and bright colors! It was my first time trying out these nail strips by Sally Hansen. I gotta say, it was pretty hard for me to put them on, but the concept is great! No drying time and no air bubbles. But it is REALLY hard to take them off, trust me. I also really like Wet n Wild's Megalast nail polish line. It's the best nail polish for its price (about $3 I believe). I have it in two other colors. The top coat is amazing as well! It really does dry fast, which is a big pro for an impatient gal like me.

Until next post... xx

Sunday, July 1, 2012

They're Here!


What a wonderful sight! I was just browsing through Solestruck's website and I saw this collection. All I can say is BRILLIANT. I love Jeffrey Campbell's design and Black Milk clothings has the best galaxy and other prints. Combined together and working with Solestruck? Wow. I especially adored JC Cosmic Litas and these look more awesome. I'm not a big fan of the Sick Of Men print--that is the cartoon strip one--but I actually like the black and white print--Bone Machine. The name is too gothic for my taste, but who cares if the print itself is so funky! These are pretty pricey, which is the only downside for me and my wallet. If only I was a millionaire... x.x

Until next post... xx

Garden Tea Party






| FOREVER 21 SHIRT, NECKLACE | H&M SKIRT, RING | CLAIRE'S HAT | REFLECTION SUNGLASSES | JEFFREY CAMPBELL LITA IN SUEDE TAUPE | URBAN DECAY NAKED PALETTE |

I was going through my closet the other day and rediscovered the flower skirt above. I remember I used to adore that skirt last summer, but after that season ended, it was abandoned in the corner of my closet. This is why I love "shopping" my closet. Things that you used to love and once forgotten are rediscovered.
Gosh, just staring at my JC Litas makes me filled with joy and happiness. It's such a charming pair of gorgeous heels. Can't wait for fall/winter to arrive so I can wear it out more often!

Until next post... xx

Friday, June 29, 2012

What I'm Loving (June 2012)

 1. Ear Cuff (H&M)
2. Homemade fruit smoothies 
 3. Palm trees
 4. Coral lips
5. Aaron Perry Johnson ♥

What I've been loving during the month of June.