29 April 2014

Travel Philippines: Ilocos Sur

Demons of Oblivion in the City of Angels 

Last summer, my laptop's iTunes was on a Lana del Rey loop. This time, I find myself excessively listening to Thirty Seconds to Mars' Love Lust Faith + Dreams, Bastille's Bad Blood, and Imagine Dragons' Night Visions. I wanted to think of a witty portmanteau of my favorite singles from each album but my creative juices are failing me so I did the second best I could - come up with a title using the three. 

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I wanna hide the truth
I wanna shelter you
But with the beast inside
There's nowhere we can hide
- Demons

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When you play it hard
And I try to follow you there
It's not about control
But I turn back when I see where you go 
- Oblivion

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All my life I was never there
Just a ghost running scared
Here, our dreams aren't made
They're won
- City of Angels

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It's tobacco season in the North!

Behind the Pink Dream House

I was entertaining myself with images of the so-called Human Barbie, Valeria Lukyanova, when I thought that the real albeit plastic version (I just can't stop dropping puns, sorry) appears more fascinating to me. You see, other than having an enviable drool-worthy wardrobe, she lives in the dream house, with her long-time boyfriend Ken whom she has a very public on and off relationship. Her story can easily be Googled so it is no wonder that there are interpretations of her life and relationships created by various artists. One of these artists is photographer Dina Goldstein. She has previously shot the alarmingly Fallen Princesses photos where she thought beyond the happily ever after Disney princesses were told to have. Her other work was entitled In The Dollhouse.

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I was amazed at how intricate the set has been. Even the models who played Barbie and Ken looked their part. They gave justice to the dolls who would forever be icons. To see the rest of the photos, click the link I provided above.

25 April 2014

On Principles While In Culottes

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Recently, I finally succeeded in coaxing my mom into buying me a pair of 'investment' shoes. Thus the reason behind the chosen words. Aside from, of course, there's brilliance in Alexander McQueen's mind as proven by his inimitable collections under his eponymous label pre- Sarah Burton era. Although to be fair to her, her vision is a polished and wearable version of his. Anyway. I completely agree with what Lee McQueen had said. There's no point in doing anything that you yourself find difficulty in believing in. Perhaps the only difference that we have is when we start believing in what we've done. One of my many flaws is impulsiveness. More often that not, I act on instinct rather than reason. So once I've already done something, that's when I convince myself that what I've done is acceptable. Whereas the quote implies that you should do things only if you believe in it. Whether your belief is present before or after an act, I think what's more important is that, no matter what the consequences are, you stand your ground. Or maybe that's just me again. Haha!

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Top: Zara | Necklace: Aldo | Shoes: Pedro | Culottes: Zara | iPad Bag: Kipling
I love anything high-waisted, be it pants, shorts, or skirts, or in this particular set, culottes, as they visually cheat my proportions making me think that I have longer legs than usual. There's a restriction though. This may be the longest pair of shorts I'll ever wear as it cuts my already short legs. Oh well. 

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I'll never outgrow the monkey of Kipling, I think. Since High School, my choice of everyday bag has always had the monkey.

21 April 2014

Arecaceae

I've just been on a 10-day hiatus. In those 10 days, I didn't have any access to the Internet because I stupidly forgot to bring the pocket wifi with me. So I'll compensate my absence with numerous posts over this week. I'll start my Holy Week photo documentary posts with this set.

 I attended a relative's wedding held in Ilocos Sur. To be attuned with the season, I wore what I deemed was perfect for the resort-summer theme. I used my skirt as a tube top, tucked it in a formal white with gold accent dress shorts given to me by my best friend, and finished off with a colorful necklace. I threw on my overused white blazer just to uphold the solemnity of the rites while in the church. I'm more of a fan of an intimate gathering than a grandiose celebration. I love lavish occasions in general but anything that has to do with the Sacraments, I prefer it to be private and exclusive only to the closest relatives and friends. 

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Skirt used as top: Zara | Dress shorts from my best friend: Forever 21 | Blazer: G2000 | Block heels: Topshop | Necklace: H&M | Watch: Anne Klein | Bag: Coach

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with my cousin Rayne on my right and her cousin Jamille on my left

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Aside from the palm trees print on my top, which by the way is the more common term for the title of this post, perhaps the color  I can associate with summer the most is white (whether white is a basic color or not as debated in some articles, for all purposes involving myself, white is a color). 

09 April 2014

Ladies Who Do No Wrong: The Courtin-Clarins

I have a lot of cousins. But there are a few minor hindrances that keep me from being with them all the time. Like 8 of my 10 first cousins do not live in this country. And that of these 10, 7 are 11 years old and below. Of the remaining 3, only 1 is a girl. I don't mind though because she's enough to encapsulate the "partner in crime/ best friend/ my person" character. But then, there's another fact that we have to consider - she lives in Canada. So most of the time, it's just me. If I would have it my way though, I prefer we always go to places together while dressing up in coordinated outfits. Hah! That would be the dream.

The object of my envious, drooling, and awed self is none other than the elite heiresses of the Clarins empire. Their fathers are the acting owners of the giant cosmetic brand. Very tall, exceptionally gorgeous, inspiringly fit, what more can they ask for? Here are Jenna, Prisca, Virginie, and Claire Courtin-Clarins. Or you can call them the girls who have them all.

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07 April 2014

We Were Skipping School and Drinking on the Job

I just returned from a very tiring weekend getaway which served as my cousin's 13th birthday celebration. We went to Zoobic Safari in Subic for a quick morning activity then drove all the way to Bataan where we slept. I'll be posting a lengthy entry about it as soon as I've gotten the photos. Anyway.

I got the title from Lana Del Rey's This is What Makes Us Girls. It was what I was listening to when I was writing down my I'm a 90s Kid entry published last month. Now let me copy-paste myself to provide a short but spot on description of the kind of best friend - relationship I have with the birthday celebrant in this post.

Almost on a weekly basis, against all odds (and by odds I mean all schedule stoppage including, but not limited to, classes and intern work), we find time to meet. If we have to cut other prior arrangements, we do just so we can spend a few hours with each other.

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Top: H&M | Skirt: from my Lala | Shoes: Dorothy Perkins | Necklace: H&M
 Her birthday coincided with my shift as an intern. Perhaps the title and the lifted paragraph would suffice in explaining why I was out on a dinner with my friends instead of fulfilling my obligations as student-intern. (Would it help if I mention I still went to the store and waited there for roughly 5 minutes for whoever picked me up that night? No? Oh. Carry on then.) Well, it was for my best friend and besides, I asked a thesismate to fill in for my position. I know which strings to pull when push comes to shove, you know! Hahaha.

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Karen didn't have any plans to celebrate her 20th but because Jer and I insisted, she invited us to join her and her family as they dine in Yakimix that night. Pushy friends, if you must describe us. Arisa joined in as well. These photos were taken last 8 October 2013, by the way. 

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A very kind waiter took our photos but just as we were about to leave, he asked if he can have a photo with us too. We politely agreed thinking he did us a favor first anyway. The funny thing happened afterwards. The rest of the staff who were on duty then including the manager flanked us. Cute right?

03 April 2014

Noir

My closet is predominantly black, around 80% statistically. At first, it was an unconscious habit of mine to pick up pieces in black whenever I shop. Eventually, wearing the hue became a source of comfort. It's been a challenge to incorporate colors in what I'm wearing everytime I go out this summer season due to limited choices. I try to shy away from black but most of the time I end up using it in an article or two. On to a different topic. I was supposed to wear a flattering tutu gown for my Daddy's birthday dinner last 7 March (and when I say flattering, it usually means elongating. I need all help that I could get just to appear average in height) which I found on Rajo Laurel's off-the-rack line in his Makati store. But plans changed. Instead of dinner, the celebration was scheduled to lunch time. Instead of a full course meal which I absolutely favor because that wouldn't entail any standing up, it ended up to be buffet style. There was no way I would endeavor to enter and exit a gustation battlefield in a long gown; not even if I'm a self-proclaimed supporter of aesthetic over comfort. 

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Gown made of velvet and tutu: Rajo Laurel off-the-rack | Red belt with embellishments: Rajo Laurel
Here's what I was supposed to wear if plans went according to how I envisioned it. Since it didn't, this has to take back stage for now.

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Top: Zara | Leather pants: Topshop | Necklace: H&M | Silver Shoes: Topshop | Watch: Tommy Hilfiger
This is what I ended up wearing. Black. Yet again. Perfect for me, at least. Haha! We sampled the food offering of the recently opened The Food Club which is along Macapagal. It's a must-try!!!

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Shoes: Zara
When my feet started hurting, I changed into flats. The only problem was, I didn't bring any footwear to change into so what's a poor (albeit spoiled rotten) girl like me supposed to do? Ask from Daddy of course! Haha! Say hello to my new pair of shoes I bought when we passed by MOA.
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