Do you dare?

To go without make up?

A few days ago a friend on FB posted this link

http://izismile.com/2010/08/19/chinese_girls_and_the_art_of_makeup_34_pics.html

on girls before and after make up. The post make up pictures pretty much all look the same, like as if they went to the same plastic surgeon. However, I think that all these lovely ladies have beautiful features in the first place, except a few who have horrendous eye bags, therefore it's no surprise they look awesome with make up.

Make up is wonderful. Make up is God. No kidding.

But at the same time, I don't want to be too dolled up that if I were to meet anyone and later on when the make up comes off, get a reaction that I look totally awful in real real life.

My make up is quite simple - moisturiser, Fancl foundation, a bit of blush and sometimes mascara. I don't do any racoon eyes unless I'm going for an event that requires heavier make up. I don't think I look too far off my actual person, I just don't have good nice silky skin. I wouldn't dare go out without make up and I wonder if I would be one of those people who go to bed with make up on (if I'm married!?).

So here I am without make up.

The truth and nothing but the truth - do you dare?



A lot of people said I look way better since my Poly days. But seriously, I didn't lose weight or go for surgery. Just styled myself and wore make up. It's that simple.

Anyway, today was a day of unintended beauty. I was watching anime and decided to do a mask then realised, "oh shit I better re-do my hair".

More than a month ago, I dyed my hair with Liese. Not wanting a totally drastic colour, I got the Chestnut brown. Unforch, it was too dark that it was hard to tell any difference unless I was standing under bright lights.

This time, I got




Mix the solution and turn it up and down 5 times, do not shake!


Then a few seconds later, it turns a dark mixture


The hair dye could get on your skin which is not safe so I put on a clay mask. They suggest that you wear make up on but I don't wanna waste.


All ready to go!


All done!


And wait for about 30 minutes before washing off.

I chose Liese again because after I did the first time, my hair didn't turn dry and was actually silky smooth. So I got it again ;)

Hope it turns out good!

*tick tock tick tock*

OK................. it's a little too brown to my liking.



But will do for now.

ARGH!!!!

Too Fast Too Furious.

I went to the Volcom Rocks show yesterday evening. (well, okay. I got free passes. So I thought, why not?)
I arrived at Zouk about 10pm and waited around for an hour for the show to start. I thought the show would start around 10.30pm as the free pass said that there would be no more free entry after 10.30pm.

I saw a couple of pieces which I thought I could totally rock. But overall, I thought the outfits were more suited for a temperate country. I guess this is the autumn series for folks in the US?



This outfit is too warm for Singapore. Maybe if I swopped the long skirt+jeans (oh yes, some models were wearing jeans underneath) for a denim skirt, this could work for Singapore, coat and all.



Notice the model on the far left, she was in the last picture I posted up. She's now showing the pair of jeans she wore underneath by tying her skirt up to her waist.

I think the jeans were supposed to be like tights - like how I wear tights underneath my short skirts. I suppose this could be a rather nice twist to wearing skirts - wearing clothes any way you like should be a rule to wear streetwear.

Also, notice FUR COATS/WRAPS around some of the men. I love how they look on the male models, but fur is too warm for Singapore. And my friend commented that one fox wrap looked too real - complete with feet and claws. Is this real fur or not?



This could work for Singapore, all right.





These two are my favourite models of the night, because they posed and paused for the photographers. EYE CONTACT IS THERE TOO! I don't have many good pictures of the clothes because the models seemed to be too much of a hurry to get off the strutway. They did several poses in a split second and left. I got a lot of swirly colours instead of clothes. This is a good reason to buy a Canon S90 but until I get enough money to do so, please, models, strike and hold a pose so my humble HTC Desire can capture the clothes you have on!

That was the "Too Fast" part of the title of this post. Oh, also. The show started slightly after 11pm and ended slightly before 12 midnight. Organizers should start earlier so models can walk a little slower and the audience can see the clothes properly. I think the organizers can only have the place till 12 midnight, so I guess that's the reason behind the rush.

The place was full of NUS undergraduates because I thought I recognised some faces from school. Plus, there were some cheers as certain models appeared on the runway - clearly some models are popular in school. (sorry, I don't recognise them at all, though)

I wished that Volcom could get the models showing off their bags and headpieces with plainer clothes because my eyes were very busy last night trying to focus on all the things that the models had on. I was especially attracted to their headpieces, so I had no time to look at Volcom's fantastic jeans. Jeans are what the company goes by, so the company should pair their jeans with models wearing no headpieces so their fabulous denim collection can shine through better. Less is more.

The "Furious" part came from the makeup that the men were wearing. They were sporting bruises. I don't think they were fighting backstage - it was definitely makeup. Should streetwear = rough and tough boys? I didn't understand the rationale behind the bruise makeup for the guys. The girls had pretty makeup.

Volcom clothes are available in all Flash 'n' Splash outlets in Singapore.
Here's a bit of a peep at their website and the clothes there. I think the stuff sold in America is a lot different. I guess they are still in the midst of their summer collection.

The marriage of Chelsea Clinton and Marc Mezvinsky

From this, many years ago

To this, fairy tale magic just a few hours ago

She wore a approximately £20,000 Vera Wang (of course).

The wedding was reported to have cost about £3.2million (most of it probably went to security, LOL!!)

Bill and Hilary approves.

Hilary, proud mama, in Oscar de la Renta.

Ghost Brides.

I know this is so 2 years ago. But hey, I only seriously started to watch America's Next Top Model this summer holidays!



I think this cycle (cycle 7) had the most dramatic runway finale of all the cycles I've watched. I love wedding dresses and the theme of ghost brides. Even the setting was perfect. ZOMG. MEGALOVE.

The designers of these dresses are Victorio & Lucchino. ($%%@#$ everything on that page is in Spanish. But I guess fashion is an international language.) Their latest summer collection is colourful, fun and flirty (sorry, I only looked at their clothing for women). They are not afraid to mix and match colours, patterns and textures, which is what I want to do with my own clothes eventually but I have insufficient wardrobe space. So fun. I wish I had the cash to get these wonderful dresses. However, it was ultimately their wedding dress collection which had me sighing in longing. They were all so beautiful. They really do layers very well. Layers does wonders for the female form when it's less than perfect.

While I think it might be beautiful to have fluff all over the place in some types of dresses, I feel that wedding dresses should have slim clean lines so the bride doesn't look like a stuffed chicken.

I especially loved:
1). Melrose's dress in the 1st scene.
2). Caridee's dress in the 2nd scene.
3). Melrose's dress in the 2nd scene.
...

Why am I even bothering? I love ALL the dresses! I want to see that show in detail!
I love those little lace coats they had over their tube-type dresses. That made these dresses appropriate for church! =D What a great idea. I really don't believe in wearing too little for a wedding mass but something over the shoulders made all the difference and it really made the dresses look elegant.

Avana Singapore

This week's Urban featured a special on local fashion shoppe Avana who brings in popular American brands such as Jessica McClintock (Hello, Prom!), Marc Bouwer (remember him from Season 3 of Top Model?), Alchemist, Whiite and etc.

Curious and curiouser, I went to check out their website and yes, while they are servicing the likes of the local expat community as well as the Tai-Tais of Singapore Unite, they do have quite a "feel-good" feel to their store. Classic grandoise yet with a touch of comfort.

Here are some of their accessories

They do sell bling too

They are located at Shaw House and Pacific Plaza.

Repost: Islamic Fashion Trends.

(this post was originally typed into my other blog. Jeanne said she liked it, so it is here for your reading pleasure, but with a few corrections. Enjoy.)

If Shibuya/Namdaemun (South Korea)/Taiwan (I cannot decide!) are fashion hotspots for East Asian fashion, Paris/NY being the fashion capitals of the Western world, then Jakarta must be the fashion capital for the Muslim world!

I'm going WOW. The texture! The way the cloth falls gently past the knees! The bunched up cloth in the hair forming flowers!

For example:



See the headgear? The model on the right is sporting the most fashionable way of wearing the Islamic headgear right now. That's just one way of doing that. The models in the magazines can wear many different types of 'flowers' in their hair. There's the sunflower, the rosemary etc... You get the idea.

And it is really flattering to wear long tops which extend past the knees. I may go to Bandung (also known as the Paris of Indonesia) to buy those tops for myself too! It'll look great for work!
If they had tops in my size, that is. Girls are so petite here.



Another thing I like about Muslim fashion in Indonesia is that it absorbs many different influences from different cities and made it uniquely Indonesia!
I'm not sure where this print is inspired from, but I think it's from one of the traditional prints from West Java.

And, oh!



I think the prints might be from Thailand.
AWESOME, right?



The embroidery! And her headgear looks like Princess Leia's hair. Hmm. Not sure if I'm liking it. But I like the texture of this outfit.

Who says Muslim women have to dress in black drab outfits?
The Koran part that says Muslim women have to cover their face and eyes is iffy and still heavily contested in the Islamic world.

Why is there a post on Islamic clothing (since I may never don one of those headgears in my life)? Well, because one of my independent research papers is on the extent of the magazines' influence on the women of this city. And I'm concentrating on how fashion trends are spread from Jakarta to Yogyakarta via magazines.

Edit: I never finished the report. It takes a local to do the interviews and the in-depth snooping required in that report. (either that, or I have to stay in Java for about 5 years to fully understand this fascinating industry.) However, I am still greatly fascinated by the influences found in Busana Muslim (Islamic fashion) and I still want to get my own set of Busana Muslim. Evidently, my shiny yellow kebaya (tailormade in Yogyakarta) isn't enough.)

Dye Dye must Dye

I must confess - I'm a hair dye virgin. I have never dyed my hair before, but yes I have sprayed on those temporary wash off easily type of hair sprays which was all the rage back in 2000. I remember the guys from my class went totally crazy with those things and one dude sprayed his whole head with golden hair spray - the ultimate ah beng look! Nope, he didn't allow us to take a picture of him and I hope he didn't get too many weird stares when he went home that night LOL!!

I never dyed my hair because

1. my sensitive skin turns all red and itchy

2. (well, the first reason was enough to stop me) the constant touching up when the roots grow out

3. people accusing me of being ang moh (fuck that lah, almost everyone I know dyes their hair, plus even my ang moh classmates change their hair colour all the time too, so it's not a change of identity type of thing)

I wanna dye my hair

1. I wanna look like Rebecca from theclotheshorse (but she has auburn hair, so only milky creamy skin tone like hers goes with auburn)

2. Those kawaii Japanese girls look so good, Asians do look good in certain shades of brown

3. I'm SURE the technology has improved and I *doubt* my skin will turn red and itchy again?!

4. Almost everyone I know has dyed hair - highlights, whole head a certain shade/double shades etc, and seriously, I haven't seen anyone who looks bad with dyed hair (with the exception of those orangey bright ah beng - the official Lian Bang Ren sell durian hair colour. Word.)

5. Plus I keep seeing Liese Hair products from Kao all over and it looks so fun

And looking at the different brown they have - which to choose?!?!

Ok. Dyeing hair seems like a life long decision to me.

1. Have to constantly touch up the roots if not will look damn ugly with that few inches of your natural hair colour sticking out

2. Will have to give your hair protein treatments to hair maintain the texture

3. What if I dye my hair and it doesn't match my skin tone!?!?! AHHHHH!!!!!

Anyway, I'll sleep on this.

Feedback from people who have dyed?

Givenchy Fall Couture 2010 presents

The Modern Bride and Warrior Princess

This is how I imagine Cleopatra's day wear to look like. Melted gold fabricated into a gown fit for her.

She sure looks glum here, maybe she had to wear an all gold leather G-string.

I wonder how "heavy" these gowns felt like? Men went into battle with bronze armor, women went into the courts with their gowns of gold. Excuse me while I daydream the evening away. Behold the intricacies, if only I can get pictures of the details. Me go searchy.

Les Fleurs Galore with Christian Dior Haute Couture Fall 2010

Dear God,

Thank you for giving us the wonderful and oh so mighty John Galliano.

Thank you for filling his awesomeness brain with goodness we call "brain" and "creativity".

Thank you, John Galliano, I kowtow to you... because you made me cry when I saw your divine designs for Fall 2010 for the power fashion house Christian Dior.

The stage and runway was set. It was to be an explosion of flower power to behold.

John Galliano countered expectations and banished the usual perception of the standard Fall palette.

Are we going into Fall, not anymore, we have been pulled and swung into Spring/Summer with the vibrancy and fluffy florals!

Swishing over to my favourites with the ever so beautiful Jessica Stam leading the lovelies.

Love the soft bodice paired with flouncy bottoms. The left prints are definitely not Gram's curtains but a delightful and cleverly patterned piece, meant to be flattering for all. Oh and double love to the cute baby blue tutu! Reminds me of those paper flowers we used to make with tissue paper when we were kids.

Personification of Tulip POWER!!

WAH!!! I LOVE THE COLOURS!! I love the mix in materials and the little peek a boo brilliant orange peeking out of the soft peachy pink. Decadence mixed with chiffon fun.

Exploring different silhouettes? Agree, John Galliano re-inspires the potato sac look. Wearing mould suddenly becomes sexy!

These dresses reminds me of those little things we played with when we kids, those paper things where we twist and turn into a multitude of flowers... then we all tear them up in the end. LOL!!! I can totally imagine these ladies sha-shaying down the runway. What's better than sleeping on a bed of flowers - wearing a bed of flowers!! HELLO, BEES!

AHHH!!!!!!!!!!! MORE LOVE!!!!! GIMMEEEEE!!!!!!

Thank you Ladies and Gentlemen, now I present to you the Honourable Guests of this fairy tale tea party

Little Miss Fabulous ButterfulofFly

Little Miss Oh-So-Dangerous Dragonfly

Little Miss Winterbuggalicious

Little Miss Papillonifique

Little Miss SpicyMeSoLikey

Queen Bee.

I love the return of womanly scent and silhouettes. I love how the hips are being emphasized and with the changes of the silhouette, it's no longer "Hello I can't eat for months now coz slinky dresses are in", it's the triumphant return of the big hips, smaller waist and did anyone notice how the belts are tied in a bow and the layering? Elegant, classic yet flirty. Running my eyes through the collection, I imagined ladies in their Sunday best at Hi-Tea with their white gloves and then having a major food fight and ending up with colourful splashes of psychedelic creams and juices on their besties. Who says Little Miss Prim and Proper can't have fun? It's time to uncross those legs and say "Whoopee yipee whoohoo!"

Sighhhh... In love, with you.