GURL THANGZ

~*~MAKEUP HAUL TIME~*~

Prom 4.0

I've been to prom four times now.

From Hong Kong top/dress (worn underneath), Miss Selfridge dress, Thrifted shoes

Well, I didn't attend a prom four times, per se. The first and only one I really attended was my own, in my junior year of high school. The following year, as a senior, I had a partner-in-crime in an attempted crashing of our juniors' prom. The year after (or possibly the same year), I attended the debut of a friend, and the event room across ours was hosting a school's promenade, which we promptly crashed for about thirty seconds.

This year, my friend Jam thought it'd be fun to have a prom-themed birthday celebration, and I'm always game for themed anythings.

From Palawan pearl rings, Apostrophe eyeball bracelet, Thomas Sabo pearl bracelet (gifted), Gachapon ring, Forever 21 knot ring, J & C Online Boutique bracelet

Zara earrings, from HK choker

If I had to relive my prom again, I would totally wear this. Maybe I'd switch the shoes for something more 'appropriate,' and maybe I'd ditch the choker too, only because my high school was very conservative. But besides those two things, I think this seems like a very 'prom' outfit, though still something I'd wear out (which I did, because Jam celebrated her birthday in Bonifacio High Street, and we ended the night at this bar called Rue Bourbon.) To be honest though, I thought prom was so overrated. Not Jam's theme, but my actual prom years ago. Everybody made such a big fuss over it. I didn't make an effort to go find some fancy dress (in fact, the dress I wore was something I just spotted at the department store- when I saw it, I simply thought, "Oh hey, this seems 'formal' enough.") and I didn't stress over it at all. It was no big deal to me then, and I don't regret that to this day. I didn't see the point in spending a notable amount of money on a dress that I'd probably only wear once... unless maybe said dress is my wedding dress or something. (Though my friends and I also joked that this outfit was my wedding dress for the night, heh.)

That said, I didn't spend a substantial amount of cash on this dress either. Miss Selfridge is pretty expensive for me, however this was on sale; it was around P800+ or so, which is pretty reasonable for something from Miss Selfridge. (If I remember right, my actual prom dress back then was probably around that price range too, if not less.) I really liked how feminine the dress was when I saw it, and when it was purchased, I suddenly realized I had something fitting for Jam's prom-themed birthday!

For makeup, I sorta played around with the colors of my dress and used some light blue shades on my eyes, then adding some silver eyeshadow below. Then for lips I just used a pale lavender with purple on the insides.

I'll blog about the actual celebration some other time, on a separate post. Thanks again for that night, Jam, and a belated happy birthday again! I love you!

Also, thank you Papa for taking my outfit pictures because I was too lazy to do my actual usual set up. And the sun was going down so I was pressed for time. Youz a lifesaver, appa.

FFF (Forever 21, Fruits, Flowers)

Forever 21: Kam in ur best F21 outfit pls

Ina: Dafuq does dat even entail bro

Ina: Imma just wear my THUG LIFE tank since it's from F21

Ina: Iz dat coo

F21: We coo

Ina: Ok

F21: Ok

I got to attend the Forever 21 party last night thanks to some work (read: YStyle next Friday, August 16 -- photos by me!) and while I am hardly a ~*~party girl~*~ (you have no idea, NO IDEA, how wrong it would be to even associate me with that label), I very much enjoyed myself because I had a horrible, horrible day. It was a bad day, and it was crummy even until the very moment I stepped into the building where the party was held. (No really, stuff took place even en route to the party.) There were tears. And slight profanity, which only made this party a much-needed escape even if I was on the job.

From Hong Kong collared top, Forever 21 tank top and shoes, H&M skirt and bag

There is something about working with PhilStar that allows me to meet some really rad people. Seriously, this is the fourth time I've been blessed with the opportunity to work with them and for all four times I got to meet some cool beans kids. Last night, I finally got to befriend someone whom I had only admired from afar on the world wide web, met several other bloggers (this is already a given considering the event), a U.N. Ambassador (??!!!?!?!?!), people at SM, and I even got to see some college friends which was totes the highlight of my day. I even got to see Jacque of Stylebible, and she remembered me!!! (Omg sorry I didn't really think I was rememberable especially considering how brief my interning stint was.)

Kate Torralba for Leg Love tights, from HK neon socks

Tofu says hi. I'm pretty sure these tights/stockings are KT, and my mom found them on sale which is cool because I mean we get to feed my tights/socks obsession for less right?

H&M ring, Regina's spike bracelet, Bershka neon cuff

Guys. I am not much of a fruits person. If anything, I really enjoy mostly mangoes and oranges, and grapes if I could have them. But that's it. You know how nearly every kid loved apple juice? Nope, not this one. Hated apple juice (but I'm okay with it now.) I eat apples but not often. I don't even like pineapples. Or watermelons. BUT I AM OBSESSED WITH FRUIT-PRINTED FASHION OKAY CAN WE JUST MAKE THIS A THING??? I need mango-printed clothing to profess my love for the fruit okay. (Actually, just food-printed clothing in general will make me happy.)

To be honest I would've blogged this over on CS, but I didn't want to use up any precious battery juice for the night ahead. It would've been fun to film this outfit though!

The option for heels did not cross my mind at all because my mindset was comfort, obviously because I was going to be working. And I mean these sneaks are F21! If I don't really want to fit the F21 brand image then I figured wearing some pieces from the brand would be enough compensation.

Forever 21 headband, Secondhand (Bloggers United) earrings

I was supposed to wear my fruits headband (it has bananas on it -- I don't eat that often, either) but then I spotted this baby and I was like OH HEEEEY THIS SEEMS MORE FOREVER 21 and the only time I got to wear this out was during my flight home from HK. It was a good decision because it was a big hit with the crowd HAHAHA no joke, a lot of people liked it! And then they gushed over my hair which made me happy. Thank you.

Even my makeup was partially F21! All of the eyeshadows I used were from F21; I went with some purple on the lids then blue on the bottom lashline, while I opted for a bright pink on the lips with some purple on the inner part.

I may not party but I really enjoyed myself. (Admittedly, I found myself semi-dancing -- definition of this term is highly subjective -- some time in the night. One of the DJs even played some Gorillaz and I was like UM OMG I LUV GORILLAS PLS!!!!!!) It was a great kick-off to the long weekend, and now after a night of staying up late, my body is recuperating because it is no longer used to staying up. I am a grandma who goes to sleep early and wakes up early now, which is a far cry from that kid in college who lacked sleep all the time. Am I growing up yet? No? Okay.

Congrats again Forever 21 PH! You are now three years old even if it feels like you were established here for much longer. Three years ago I was just wrapping up my first year in college. Ah how time flies...

Akahome + FOTD

Hello! I will blog about my relatively new hair because I like keeping a record of my hair transitions on the internet.

Blue hair! I actually had this pot of dye set aside when I went pink and pretty much had it planned for this month. To be honest I was actually a little on the fence with the pink because it looked horrible with my roots. The dark roots just looked a lot less awful with the blonde I had, so when I transitioned to pink I was like, "OH COOL but uhm BUT HEY IT'S COOL but uhm........." With this blue though my roots sort of transition seamlessly. It's great. What's not great is how much this blue stains. It stains so much that I've been wearing a lot of dark colors lately, but it's natsu bad.

One of my friends said that it's Akane Tendo (Ranma 1/2) hair, which I think is pretty spot on, not just with the shade but also with the cut (Akane has short hair too but not really as similar as what I have.) Another friend called it Tamahome (Fushigi Yuugi) hair WHICH WAS THE FUNNIEST THING EVER AND IT WAS PERFECT. Therefore, Akane + Tamahome = Akahome.

I've been really liking colored cut-crease looks lately, although for this look I did blend it out a little bit. A little unrelated to this look, but I once tried matching my brow color to my hair color and it didn't work out because I didn't have the right shade of blue. Also, I've seen the beginnings of how this blue will transition out, and I'm excited. With the pink it went from a bright pink, to a normal pink (normal???), then peach, then blonde peach, until the pink was practically gone and I was a warm-toned blonde. But anyway, this blue is awesome. Mostly because I don't hafta deal with my stupid roots being so prominent anymore. Thumbs up.

FOTD: Siriusly

I have further delayed this post in order to further ~*~revere~*~ my B.A.P LOE HK feels post. Really. Because it felt like by making another post it would mean like I had already moved on from the concert. I haven't. I never will. However, a week after that, B.A.P came out with a new MV and I kind of just died a little (read: scream at my laptop screen while choking on my lunch.) And now, two weeks after the concert, I am obsessing over another K-pop group, all because of another group. (I am vague. I will explain someday.)

Of course a post with my face was the one deemed worthy enough to follow the LOE HK one, huh? (I just really needed to get this post out of the way once and for all.)

Anyway, this was the makeup I wore for this post and this video. Terry and I wanted to do Harry Potter-inspired meiku, and my character that day was Sirius Black. Instead of just doing the regular yellow-lid-black-crease (it might come off as Hufflepuff-ish) I just went with something subtler. The yellow in the inner corners was for the grim's ~*~glowing~*~ eyes, and instead of black I just went with gray on the top crease as a sort of softer approach. Sort of. (I achully don't remember the reason behind the gray anymore HAHA but I know there was a reason for it and I'm pretty sure this was it?)

Instead of on the eyes, I put some black on my lips instead!

And that is all. I like making makeup looks inspired by stuff. They're just as fun as making inspired by- outfits, and... idk, doing both just seems to bring the entire look together? It's just fun. It's a nice way to explore your ~*~creativity~*~ and ~*~individuality~*~ too. Okay. Happy July everyone!

Internationally Legal

So five days ago, I officially became internationally legal. Some time in those five days, I dyed my hair pink.

It was a little spontaneous, to be honest. I stumbled upon Manic Panic sellers in Hong Kong, the price was cheaper, I figured I should make the most of my still-blonde hair while I'm still unemployed and not bound by work on what my appearance should be (of course, that depends on where I end up working, but you know.) I've known about Manic Panic since my high school days (thanks to a certain LiveJournal hair community hohoho) but never tried them out because of, duh, SCHOOL. Even in college I wasn't permitted to have bright hair. Oh what years of creative oppression can do to you LOLJK

Talking makeup, I used one of the Maybelline Color Tattoos I mentioned here as a base and placed a similar, if not slightly lighter, shimmery shadow over it. Then I used a shimmery taupe shade in my crease and just did the usual liner routine. On the lips I have a mix of the blue and pink Pout Paints from Sleek Cosmetics.

This is the loudest my hair color has been, at least to me. When my hair was red it was pretty saturated, although I never realized just how red it became until it was gone because it was the kind of color that would only really show up under the light. This pink hair is independent from whatever lighting there is, but of course, that comes with bleached hair. The blue hair I had was pretty opaque too, but I always had to hide that in school so it wasn't like I could prance around in it as much as I'd like.

Pink was always one of the colors I've wanted for hair. I've already said that all of my dream hair colors are pastels (mint green, powder blue, lavender, etc.) and while this hair dye's name is "Cotton Candy Pink", it's not as light as I'd like it to be because my hair was light enough to begin with. Not that I could be bothered to bleach again anyway, but hey, at least I can say my hair went pink already! That's like two dream colors off the bucket list (I only wish my ash color stayed longer), and next year I wanna go for a really vibrant, light blue.

This is what my hair went through, basically. I really liked the pink at first but I feel like it makes my dark roots more prominent. So maybe I miss my blonde hair? Or maybe my roots looked less like a wreck with my blonde hair is why I think I might miss it. This pink hair is really enjoyable though, and I'm interested in seeing how it'll transition out.

As for my birthday, my parents and I spent it at the mall and watching Fast & Furious 6. At least now I can say I turned a year older AND saw a movie at the cinemas in another country. It's a little crazy how I'm considered an ~*~adult~*~ everywhere now, and lately I find myself looking back on my life. Mostly schooling life, grade school included. When I look back on it, I've come to realize that I do NOT want to go back there again because it's just awkward and tiring to have to deal with all those emotions and angst and friendlessness and shyness. I am verrily nostalgic, but I like where I am now. I only hope I manage to improve myself in the years to come without completely losing myself to ~*~wisdom~*~ and becoming a drag.

I might be an adult now, but I feel like I'll always see myself as a kid. Or maybe it's just my short stature talking.

FOTD: Blushing Blossom

Surprise! Another blog post just a day after the previous one! Except it's another FOTD post, which means it's a lot of my face, which means it's another annoying post, but that's okay, I think we can deal.

So this was a look I wore early on in my Hong Kong trip, back when it was still major sweater weather. (For the record, the weather in Hong Kong as of this post is stormy, however some time last week it was a bit humid.) I did the whole blush-high-up-reaching-the-eyes look that I've always seen on Japanese girls. Like, always. Okay, not always and not on all Japanese girls, but I've seen them a lot. I think it's a pretty look so I don't know why I never tried it before.

Oh and remember that Too Cool For School gloss I talked about? I was wearing it here, with the stain on the inside of the lips/gradient lips thing that I love doing. I remember trying that look out for the first time in... 2011? Yeah, around that time, except back then I muted the rest of my lip color. I don't know the relevance of that story with this look, BUT THE GLOSS OF THIS THING IS AMAZANG I MEAN LOOK AT DEM JUICY LIPS unless that's not really your thing I can totes understand that too.

I mentioned in this post that I've picked up a new method of wearing eyeliner, and this is it. Just some minor lining on the outer corners fading in. For years I would line my entire eye and I'm not really sure why I suddenly decided to switch it up. Maybe I just grew out of the old method? Occasionally I'll still line my entire eye, but that's pretty rare now.

Besides this method, I sometimes like to make a sharp, long wing and fading it inwards as well without lining the entire eye. I like how both methods sort of allow your ~*~natural eye look~*~ (pfft Ina dafuq r u sayin') to surface while still providing definition.

Check out dat sexy bruise Tofu gave me when I was bathing him a few weeks back. He hates baths and while I was carrying him to the bathroom he latched onto me and one of his claws dug just a little too deep.

I think the floral headband worked well with the makeup look. Very ~*~spring~*~-y-esque. Hahaha no Ina no don't even try.

I almost forgot to mention that this is my last post before becoming internationally legal! SEE Y'ALL IN MY NEXT LIFE, KIDDIES!

FOTD: Same Old (Mostly Old)

There's something a little vain about posting so much of one's face in one post (not that I haven't done that already haha). There's something a little bad (not really) about not updating one's blog after so long despite having so much time. There's also another something, and that's the similarity of this post title to this one. That's because this FOTD was taken with that OOTD. (Bring on all the shortcuts!)

So as you can tell, this was some random makeup look I donned with the outfit I documented in the aforementioned linked post above. I've taken a liking to documenting certain makeup looks of mine that I've paired with some outfits (I have two more on the way) and it's just as fun as outfit documentation. Mostly because I'm such a makeup fanatic I guess. Also this post title is fitting because this isn't much of a makeup look, hence the same old, same old reference. It's pretty basic. I don't even remember what I did anymore because this is so old (my hairstyle should be a major indicator.) I've switched up how I wear my eyeliner now though, and I really like my new method. It doesn't line the entire eye like this look and it's a little simpler, but I love how it looks.

I'm not really sure why I haven't been blogging as much anymore. I'm currently in Hong Kong again and it's been pretty fun, but my internet here is a little wonky. Like, my internet back in Manila is heaps better. I've been documenting my outfits via video though (this is only because I forgot to bring my remote control HAHAHA FAILURES) and-- wait speaking of video I never actually got around to posting about my first HK trip. Wow, four for you Ina.