I hadn’t asked permission yet to post the email, but here’s a quick summary of it.  Someone shared her dilemma with me.  She wanted to shift careers to Fashion Merchandising, but she graduated from an unrelated course and was currently in an unrelated job.  Now she’s taking steps to try and change that, but it’s not without costs.  Is investing so much time, effort and money going to be worth it, or is it all going to blow up in her face if it doesn’t work out?

The situation was eerily familiar.  I want to share with you guys what I wrote back, though pardon the errors and the weird transitions between paragraphs and sentences–when I’m sleepy, sometimes my brain-to-typing-fingers process lags a bit.

Hi –!

A few years ago, I was in the same boat you are in.  That’s actually the main reason why I put up my blog in the first place, because I wanted to get even just the teensiest toe in the door.  I wanted to get my name out there as a budding stylist.  I graduated college late (because, ironically enough, I also shifted courses), but I made up for it because I quickly climbed up the corporate ladder from junior web designer to team lead then eventually, Creative Director.  But I knew that if I really wanted to shift careers, I had to go all out.  I had to let go of that high paying job and start from scratch so I could retain focus.  And to do that, yes I enrolled in related courses and tried to get internships, even those without pay. And at the same time, I used whatever skills and knowledge I had to promote myself because I didn’t know anyone in the industry I wanted to be in.  That’s where my Multimedia arts and IT background came into play.

Now I’m not saying this is the right way to go about it.  Our circumstances may differ.  We may not have the same attitude, background, funds, etc.  I’m just sharing my experience because back then, I was struggling to balance these two careers but I wasn’t doing a very good job of it.  I realized that it was being in my comfort zone that was stopping me from going full force to a career shift.  And of course, when I started the transition, I was around 25 years old.  Fresh grads from fashion schools were beating me to most of these job opportunities at every turn.  It wasn’t easy.  I came from a really lofty position in my previous career and then here I was, feeling like a peon, doing what every aspiring new stylist did from pullouts, to dressing models backstage, to begging designers to meet deadlines and being thisclose to camping outside of their homes.  I swallowed my pride.  My money ran out.  But you know, when you start from zero, there’s just no way to go but up.  I just kept thinking about that.  There was no plan B, only plan A.  I didn’t dare think about what might happen if it didn’t work out, I just knew I HAD TO MAKE IT WORK OUT.

Market yourself.  Expand your network (I took up courses in Fashion Styling primarily for this reason. The truth is, you can’t really learn styling in school–you learn by hands-on experience).  And yes, get internships.  You might want to look for companies or small businesses that don’t quite have the budget to hire a very experienced merchandiser yet.  Find out whatever skills you have that may be beneficial to your career shift.  And while you’re doing school, prepare yourself for the lean months up ahead–the chances of you bagging that job right away is small.  But remember you can always beat the odds through sheer determination.

I can’t say I’m extremely successful in my chosen career now.  But I’m embarking on other fashion ventures that I’ve thought about on my own, beyond styling, and I’m proud really proud of all these things that I’ve accomplished so far.  Work life now sure ain’t easy, it’s complicated as hell, and the hours are crazy, but I’ve never regretted it.   I’m especially glad that I took that leap, I handle my time, and that now I can start building something of my own.

I hope that helped get you some insight.

–Alex

Behind the scenes of Style Origin 2012: styling, clothes selections, model fittings, sequencing brands

I wanted to share this with everyone because I know there are many out there who are in the same boat.  It’s not the first time I’ve been asked about something similar.  People pondering about lost opportunities, time, money, effort.  They’re not satisfied with their jobs but they’re too scared to take a risk.  On very rare occasions, I understand why they can’t or won’t.  But other times, all I hear are excuses.  ‘Pag may gusto, may paraan talaga.

Just a few nights ago, while I was out drinking with friends, I divulged for the first time some of the sacrifices I had to make during that period in my life.  Sure, my friends knew that I was shifting careers.  And yes they knew I had a tight budget and for the most part would skip out-of-town vacations with them when I used to plan these trips myself.  But they didn’t know how really bad it came to be, that sometimes I literally had nothing to eat or I couldn’t even afford to go back to my parents’ house until I received tiny paychecks from various types of work I was taking in to support the seemingly foolhardy career shift.

Needless to say, I handled my finances badly, and I wasn’t prepared for the slump.  I’m sure the average person has better organizational skills than I had, so don’t be so scared.  You should do waaay better if you plan it.  I guess I learned the hard way, but now I’m on the path where I wanted to be.  The point is, I didn’t wait for an opportunity–I made it.  I knew I was at a disadvantage, being older and having graduated from a different course.  And in an industry that needed a lot of PR, well, I sucked at that, too.  But remember, in this day and age, every ball game has evolved.  I knew I couldn’t be exempted from what I wanted to do just because I had a different diploma.  So I looked for every weapon available in my arsenal and made it work for me.

If you just invested a whole lot of money to get your dream career, well, honey, in case you haven’t noticed–shit just got real.  So to quote Tim Gunn: Make it work!

With some of the bloggers

Bloggers Shen and Nikki are listening intently to skin advice

NNO (30 capsules/P450. Available in Mercury Drug Stores and South Star Drug).

Nourishing Night Oil is an all-natural moisturizer that resembles natural skin oil.  NNO has the non-cosmetic combination of Vitamin E and Jojoba oil which resembles the skin’s natural oil. It comes in an applicap preparation to prevent it from oxidation & to retain its freshness.  Jojoba oil does not oxidize easily and will not turn rancid compared to other oils because it does not contain triglycerides, unlike most other vegetable oils such as grape seed oil and coconut oil. A 2-week nightly application is recommended to significantly improve skin and see results.

Maybe it’s just me, but I automatically assume that oil products are heavier-duty moisturizers compared to creams.  I like the fact that oil can spread faster than creams or lotion, because I’m lazy that way.  It was my first time, though, to use something like this—that is to say, oil in a capsule for the face.  Nikki had to laugh at me when I looked like I didn’t have any idea how to pop out the oil in that teensy capsule.

A lot of the other bloggers were commenting that the capsule seemed a little too small for use on the face, but when I popped one, I had to disagree (and eventually, they all had to take back what they said).  In fact, it was too much for my face that I had to use it on my hands and neck as well, which I think is great.

Pretty easy to apply and spread all over the face

I immediately liked it when I tried it on.  There is a light, pleasing scent that I find a bit relaxing.  As I said, I slathered it on my hands, too, and thankfully, they didn’t feel greasy.  I tried it once in the morning, but I think using it during nighttime is way better since it doesn’t have SPF and the heat wave nowadays is making me naturally oil in double time.

I actually have an oily-combination skin.  My t-zone is always oily, but the sides of my nose and lips are dry.  Thankfully, despite being oil-based, NNO seems light enough for facial use at night.  I didn’t wake up with an insanely greasy face, which I take to be a good sign.  I would definitely recommend this to someone who’s looking for a good anti-aging moisturizer since I’m liking it so far, though I haven’t used up all my capsules yet.

I had my skin analyzed while I was there.  For the most part, it was normal skin for my age, or maybe even younger since it was diagnosed to be in the mid 20s range (like I have 25-year old skin).  But I think I need to moisturize more on my hands and arms since in comparison, my neck and face were in a better condition. And god..those large pores? Yeah, that’s my nose.  Typical of someone with oily-combination skin.

My results (that’s my facial skin top right)

Helga got hers analyzed, too

Skin analysis

If you want to know more about NNO, head to their Facebook page!  They’re giving away free samples for you to try it out for yourself.

Thanks to the popularity of Katniss Everdeen, the heroine of The Hunger Games trilogy, I think we’re beginning to see a shift in an age-old trend.  Dolls are traditionally pretty, ladylike and delicate things for little girls to play with, the very image of their aspirations (or what they were taught they should be).  I’m not saying we’ve never had female action figures before.  But I think this is different in a sense that there is little fanfare to her presentation.  Frankly, I’m a bit surprised that people seem to have resisted the urge to embellish the costume.  It’s basically Katniss Everdeen in a shapeless jacket and a serviceable pair of pants and hunting boots.  These are her Tribute clothes, which were designed for survival in the arena.  The Katniss doll has her bow and arrows, the mockingjay pin and her hair in its recognizable braid.  And yet, it’s already iconic and garnering a lot of buzz before it’s even released.  And I do actually think it will sell very well, despite appearances (or maybe, inspite of not having Lara Croft proportions). It’s a wonderfully-made doll that’s a pretty accurate rendition.

Just a few minutes ago, I was reading an online discussion in Facebook about the rule change in the Miss Universe pageant. Someone commented, naturally, that these beauty pageants should be banned in general for questionable ideals, objectifying women and teaching them to aspire for the wrong things and such.  Well, I say, we’ve still got a long way to go.  But I think it’s great that a heroine like Katniss–tough, smart, fierce, independent and a highly skilled hunter–should appeal to young girls nowadays.

The Katniss doll looks like the beautiful and talented Jennifer Lawrence (the actress who played her in the movie. She made me an official fan after I saw her in Winter’s Bone).  I have more to say about the film adaptation, but we’ll save that for another post!

Photos from Barbie Collector.

But we’re not the only ones who’s going to enjoy all these fabulous Parisian prizes.  If I get into the TOP #3, then 10 of my readers will also win gift certificates worth P2000 per winner (P1000 from Parisian and another P1000 from SM), too!  Basically, if I win, then 10 of my voters do, too.  I want to thank the people who has been helpful and supportive all the way, of course!

Now here’s what you need to do to qualify:

1) LIKE Parisian’s Facebook page.

2) GO to their Bloggers Pictorial application and vote for my photo (Alex Lapa of The Reluctant Stylista). You should see a confirmation of your vote after!

3) You can VOTE up to 3 times a day.

 

4) COMMENT below with your Facebook account name so I’ll know how and where to contact you if you win!

5) Winners will be chosen IF I win the contest. Right now, I still have to figure out how to track the number of times a registered user has voted, but if it can be done, I will base the winners on the frequency of their votes.

OPTIONAL:

TAG or share to at least three friends to vote for The Reluctant Stylista as well, and I shall count each tagged name (max of 10) as an additional point for you, regardless of whether your friends voted for me or not.  Say if you tagged 3 friends, then I’ll add 3 points to your total.  I mean hey, if you’re going to spam someone else’s wall with my face so we can win, this is the least I can do, right? Tag me in Facebook so I can check!

* Contest open to Philippine residents only.
* Applicable only if my photo gets into the Top 3.
* Voting is up to April 28, 11:59pm.
* You can add me up in Facebook, but I can only really keep track of your entry if you comment in this blog post.

Alright, let’s win this thing!

Below are some of my outtakes from the shoot. We were told to dress up in our choice of summer attire, and as I am definitely an island girl to the core, I thought this outfit best illustrates my style. I love the beach (hence the bikini top) and I knew right away that I wanted to wear something Pinoy. The Aztec blazer and shorts are from Sabrina and the yellow and black beaded bib necklace is from Talitha & Iris, both proudly local.  Even the green ring was bought from Manila F.A.M.E International.

This is one of the rare times I went out wearing shorts in public. If you’re familiar with my regular outfit posts, you’ll know I don’t often do this, and I almost did go to the shoot in pants. I hate my scarred legs so I cover them up all the time. But the Aztec shorts were too nice not to match with the blazer so with the help of concealer and Sally Hansen air stockings, I did my best. (Even I could barely see my own scars, but this ritual is too tedious to do everyday! Face make-up already seems fussy to me, what more with legs??)

Post-processed versions:

My sadly limited array of talents includes doing jump shots in heels (even sliding down banisters in heels).  No one suggested it at the time of the shoot since it’s not really advisable to anyone who doesn’t want to risk a sprained ankle, but I did it anyway when we were shooting the video. The photo I ended up choosing for The Bloggers’ Challenge was one that looked like I was about to take flight, never mind that I actually forgot to look at the camera, haha.

So there you go!  Good luck to all of us, and I hope you liked the set.  During the shoot, someone commented that striking a sweet and ladylike pose (which they suggested to everyone else) wouldn’t do for me and they’re probably right. Knowing my tendency to be awkward in front of the camera, though, I personally think this is a big improvement.

Again, how to vote in visuals. Click on the images to go directly to the Facebook pages:

Steps 1-2

Step 3

Step 4

Yesterday, however, I had a lunch out with Kira at Ayala Triangle because we were craving for some of CBD’s Shake and Bake.  When we met up, she found my whole outfit cute (a relief, since I’ve been managing on a limited wardrobe, being in the middle of moving back to Las Piñas) because I was wearing a sheer polka-dotted top, wide-legged pants and this SM jelly bag again, which also had polka dots on its brown straps.  The cheery pink color of the jelly bag was perfect for summer!  I was initially drawn to the orange one I saw in the photos, but up front, all colors seemed to call out to me.  After a while, I made up my mind and decided that the pink one would probably be a breeze to accessorize with.

The bag is delightfully spacious.  It can easily carry everything you need for a weekend beach trip–change of clothes, several swimsuits, bottles of SPF, tanning lotion, etc.  In this instance, at the park, it managed my wallet, Starbucks planner, Fashionary, Pepper Potts (my Galaxy tab-phone), make-up kit, umbrella and my gadgets pouch (harddisk, my big ass Marshall headphones, charger and phone).  Yeah, it’s a mouthful, I know.  And the jelly bag carried all that.

Do you want one?  Well, the good news is that you can get one for free for a minimum purchase of P3000 in a single receipt, you get a jelly bag while stocks last.  Once you’ve got your own jelly bag, you can upload your photos with it on http://smdeptstore.com/jellybag/.

Enjoy the summer with your jelly bag!

This post has been sponsored by SM Department store.

For those of you who don’t know yet, Beauty and Butter is touted the hippest destination for fashionable nails and luxurious pampering.  They’re best known for their nail art and using nothing but Orly nail polish (which I’ve found to be the best and toughest nail lacquer I’ve ever tried), but they also offer other services like foot spas, massages, facials, waxing services and more.  A few weeks ago, they gathered all their Butter Girls for brunch and a pampering session while we get better acquainted with their branch in Megamall.

Photos by Adrian Gonzales.

The interiors are immediately arresting.  Colorfuly designed with popart graphics inspired by Alice and Wonderland, you feel a different vibe compared to regular nail salons.  The girls who attend to the customers are called “Buttercups” and are very accommodating.  I like that there’s a flatscreen where you can view movies and TV shows, but what I really loved was the fact that they provide their customers with iPads for browsing and surfing while waiting.  I didn’t need it myself, having Pepper Potts with me, but I did ask for an outlet so I could charge her batteries and continue reading my ebooks, and it was easily provided (there are outlets at practically every seat, which is convenient).

Tara with her fab nails, browsing with an iPad

The hand rest beside Tara also doubles as a container for whatever purpose you need it for.  I myself was eating and drinking while they were doing my nails, so I actually had my food inside that compartment.  For others, you can store small purses, bags or even your gadgets there.  Pretty convenient!

I especially loved the macarons!

Just reading my ebook, before Adrian sat beside me and we chatted for the rest of the morning, haha!

My “mugshot” as a Butter Girl (LOL).  I forgot what shade I got, but I immediately gravitated towards the orangey/coral hues.  Since this was a few days before the Parisian shoot, I decided to get bright nails!  Though on hindsight, I should probably have went for nail art to go with my aztec outfit.  I’ve never been interested in nail art before, but I think I’ll get one next time I drop by Beauty and Butter again.  I’ll also be having a Beauty and Butter giveaway soon, so please stay tuned for that! You wouldn’t want to miss it.

Want a pampering session for yourself?  Visit a Beauty and Butter branch:

5F Megamall Bridgeway – 470.4239
2F Mall of Asia’s Entertainment Wing – 556.9383
2F SM San Lazaro – 353.7576
2F SM Cebu – 236.9133

I’m also interested in their party package, it’s a good venue for spa parties with your girlfriends or a “wholesome” bridal shower option.

So yes, you reluctant kikays out there, please please PLEASE, I can’t emphasize the importance of eyebrows enough.  If you can’t muster effort for even the simplest make-up, then you owe it to yourself to try having your eyebrows threaded or shaped.  And if you’re going to do so, you might as well start with a really trusted establishment like Browhaus.  I’ve already mentioned them in passing early this year as one of the things that ought to be tried at least once, and I’ve already decided they’re the best at what they do: shaping eyebrows.  I was really impressed with them, and it’s a big difference from the results of, let’s say, a Bench Fix threading.

And if you’re wondering how much threading and shaping can be done with your eyebrows if you have so little hair there, then you have never been to Browhaus.  Remember–and I’ve already showed you my college freshman ID photo–I have eyebrows like those, too.  Trust me when I say that there’s still room for improvement.  I actually get the surrounding area cleaned (usually there’s little hair all over your face that you don’t notice) so that the eyebrows stand out more, and the brow architects at Browhaus define the arches quite nicely.

But what if you’re looking for something a bit more lasting?  Good thing Browhaus in Serendra invited a few of us bloggers to learn more about Brow Resurrection and I admit, I’ve been curious for quite a while already.  I’ve heard about it from another friend who loves perfect brows as much as I do and she claims to have seen it on another friend and that it looked fantastic.  And guess what: it’s supposed to be an eyebrow tattoo.  But I hate how those look!  Those totally fake ones that look like they were drawn with a Pentel pen and eventually turn blue after a while?  Ick.  But no, she said, Brow Resurrection looks like the frickin’ real thing!  Like you wouldn’t notice that it’s not actually hair, that’s just how good it is.  I even checked out the photos of Brow Resurrection over at Browhaus Greenbelt 5 during my last visit and I must say it was really impressive.

Photo from Prevention.com

So while waiting for the other bloggers to arrive, we had our turns getting our brows fixed and trimmed by the resident brow architects.  I’m already a fan of the place and needed no further convincing, so I excitedly hopped onto an empty seat to be attended to by Issa.

This is how my eyebrows usually look, having gone weeks without professional maintenance.  It’s decent (considering the amount of hair I have to work with), though definitely not as great as what the brow architects do.  I actually got the idea of drawing a higher arch on my eyebrows from my previous Browhaus visit (Greenbelt 5 branch).  Brow architects go through training in Singapore, like a brow bootcamp, just for eyebrow shaping.  So they know their business.  Like with me, Issa discussed me what she was about to do aside from trim, and she gave me an assessment of my eyebrows. I had thick strands of hair but they’re really sparse and far away from each other.  So couldn’t just pluck away or else I’d be left with bald spots on my brows.

This is Kira after her threading.  On the right, the brow architect drew more defined arches after shaping her brows.

Browhaus Blueprint System – Brow Architecture

The Browhaus Blueprint System is a precise system designed to create the perfect brow. Employing grid technology (Grids are Good), we structure a brow creation of perfect form and symmetry.

Every face is a unique terrain with differing bone and muscle definition. With the Blueprint System, any face shape – whether round, oval, heart-shaped or square – is taken into consideration. Your eye shape, how it is set and unique concerns such as a prominent nose, chin or lip are all factored into the equation. The natural effects of aging, slackening skin and the loss of facial muscle tone are rebalanced.

Martha’s turn for threading. It’s just a bit of maintenance for her, as I swear this girl knows how to draw one of the best arches around.  I often tell her that she ought to have a Facebook fanpage in honor of her eyebrows.

A profile of Vern, before her threading. She has a pretty good set of brows, too!  She’s also a regular at Browhaus.

Tara and her soon to be perfect arches!  I’ve always been asked if threading hurts.  I may not be the best person to ask because I think I’m kind of numb to the pain.  My eyes still tear up but they’re like a separate entity from me; I can’t understand why I’m tearing up when my brain isn’t registering the pain.  But anyway, I can vouch that Browhaus has been the gentlest so far, the thread they use is different from regular brow salons.

Vern and her boyfriend Dondi after their threading session. I’m sure Vern had to “browbeat” Dondi into it, hahaha!  But it looks nicer, right?

She’s had Brow Resurrection. Can you tell? I couldn’t.

Browhaus owner Tab Abad explains the procedure.  Brow Resurrection uses organic vegetable dye to draw in the eyebrows.  And unlike embroidery or tattooing in other salons, BR uses different needles to achieve a more natural effect.  Using just one size of needle makes the eyebrow look like it was painted on as opposed to using several needles with different thickness to mimic the shape of natural eyebrow hairs.

They also study your face shape.  Eyebrows change as we grow older, so they update it to suit your face.  You won’t look perpetually surprised or have mismatched eyebrows that look far too young on a more mature face.

Tab showed us some more samples of BR

There’s also a maintenance kit

Eyebrow powder, mascara and their numbing cream

Tab introduced us to Giselle, who was going to have the Brow Resurrection 2.4 done to her that very morning, and we were all there to witness it. Notice one eyebrow is already more noticeable than the other one.  The procedure takes about 2-3 hours.

In the meantime, we had these absolutely fabulous desserts that definitely deserve a mention:

These adorable cupcakes were from Coco Cakes. They are gorgeous, but what’s more, they were actually delicious!  The fondant that was used wasn’t too sweet, and it was a joy munching on them.  I confess I had more than a few.

And I can never have enough of Mrs. Fields’ cookies. Yes, I had a couple of these, too. Sorry, but I just really love how they’re made, so soft and chewy with just the right amount of chocolate! Yum.

Some coolers.  We did actually have some food that weren’t sweet, but these ones I photographed just won my heart over that I totally forgot to take a photo of the whole table haha!

After stuffing ourselves silly, Giselle was ready with her new brows:

Before Brow Resurrection

After Brow Resurrection. There’s some redness at first, of course, but they also have numbing cream for that.

Looking so much better!

Here’s a list of Browhaus services and their rates.  I think they’re having a promo right now for BR, though, so it might be cheaper than the price displayed here.  The aftercare kit also comes with the Brow Resurrection treatment.  You also get a free tune-up, where they reassess your brows again and see if anything else needs to be fixed, particularly with your Brow Resurrection.

Want to book your appointment with Browhaus?

BRANCHES IN MANILA :
2F Serendra Bonifacio High St. Bonifacio Global City Taguig
Store Hours:
Sun-Thurs: 11AM to 9PM
Fri-Sat: 11AM to 10PM
T: +632 9010597
M: +63 917 5771352

4F Greenbelt 5 Phase 2 Legaspi Street, Ayala Center Makati
Store Hours:
Sun-Thurs: 11AM to 9PM
Fri-Sat: 11AM to 10PM
T: + 632 5013998

As for the party, we were just going to doll up in summer attire and then take a couple of photos of the whole outfits.  Piece of cake, right?  Well, I’m not the most glamorous with poses (as you can see with my previous outfit posts, I mess in front of the camera or I’m just plain awkward), but I figured that the people behind this event should have seen my blog ahead of time and didn’t mind what they saw.

Here are some behind the scenes photos of myself and other bloggers enjoying last Saturday.  This is probably my favorite event so far this year, but like I said, it’s a whole different game when it involves shoes so I might be biased.  Sorry if some of the photos are purplish–I refused to use my built-in flash because I hate them in general.  I probably need to invest in some nice omni-bounce or something soon. The lights in the area were in turns blue, pink and purple, hence tese photos.

I was slouching a little, wasn’t I? It’s hard to keep a straight back when you feel like your strapless bra is slipping off >_<  I brought one outfit with me to change into once the photoshoot would start, but I wore this outfit as a backup since I think it still falls under the category of “summery”.

With pretty and fashionable bloggers

Trying on my first pair for the shoot. I ultimately decided on the yellow  heels, which was easily my first pick even before the actual shoot.  I noticed I gravitate towards vibrant colors in shoes, particularly yellow and aqua.

Reg of HeyRocketGirl

Bobby Carlos of Max Factor

The master in action

I was thrilled that I had my make-up done by THE Bobby Carlos.  I was also glad that he remembered I blogged about him once, around 2 years ago when I was just starting out, during a shoot with Kelly Misa and Luis Espiritu.  He was amiable and chatty, not exactly what I expected from someone who’s been there since morning and must have been working non-stop, plus, he’s a pretty big deal. It’s so refreshing to meet talented people like him who don’t act like a diva. (Like some bigshot MUA I know, but moving on…)

JL of Glitterati and Only the Marvelous with the Parisian team. I remember I used to follow her on Chictopia before I became inactive there.  Btw, notice how really chic everyone in there was?  The Parisian team was so well-dressed, I was thankful that I was at least passably fashionable that day or they might’ve felt like they made a mistake in inviting me, haha.

Surprise, surprise! In addition to the shoes, we could also select a bag to add to our look for the shoot

I nearly went for that blue wedge pair with the neat print, but I hadn’t decided yet on what I was wearing so I went for choices that I thought were safe with my usual sartorial choices (like yes, the yellow high heels).

Hi Jheng!

I have a shoe twin: Naomi

With Melai

I changed my outfit in time for the shoot.

// Aztec blazer and shorts from Sabrina (I decided to wear them together at the last minute)
// Beaded bib becklace (which was love at first sight) from Talitha and Iris. I’m pestering her to get more of this, and she said she’s planning to sell them soon, so I’ll update you right away when they’re available.
//Bikini top from Tomato (I bought it yeaaaars ago, back in college)
// Assorted bangles from Forever21 and some were a gift from my cousin
// Shoes, of course from Parisian!
// Hair and Make-up by Max Factor
// Nails by Beauty and Butter

With JL, Reg and Melai

JL’s full outfit

Lissa Kahayon. I’ve seen her several times at blogger events, but this was the first time I talked to her.

Stacy of The Plump Pinay. She’s gorgeous, and that hair! I’m envious. I could never look that way with red hair.

Reggie’s turn in front of the camera

Master lensman, Niko Villegas

So there you go.  Pretty soon, I’ll be posting photos taken during the shoot.  There’s also a Facebook contest for us bloggers who participated there for most number of likes of our chosen photos.  The winner gets fab prizes from Parisian, of course, plus 10 of her followers, too!  Watch out for it.

It was pretty packed in Aria, considering it only just opened at The Fort recently.  And when it’s more than a few people, it gets really quite noisy inside.  Normally, I would skip out restaurants like that, but I was really craving for that white pizza I tried out the first time I came to Aria.  So first, a couple of mouth-watering pictures:

Raviolo di Branzino P390

I’m quite curious about ravioli because the first time I had it, it was really scrumptious.  Though it wasn’t as filling as something like spaghetti or fettucini.  This one is delicious as well, though for P390, I’d really balk at ordering it as my main dish (yes, I’m a plebe).

Puttanesca P370

Rucola e Pinoli P590 (My favorite pizza to order in Aria)

Pollo alla Cacciator P445

Aria Tris di Dolci P380 (I highly recommend this dessert!)

John’s shirt which he designed himself

This cool little box was John’s “bag”. It held all his essentials. It looks like a camera lens case!

Jund

I brought my Fashionary with me so I could discuss concepts with my friends.  I got it from Jasper of Avalon.ph, by the way.  And if you’re a fashion student or designer, then you definitely need it.  I’m neither, and I thought at first I wouldn’t find use that much for it for styling but I was wrong.  (I got it because I wanted to start designing some…things for the future.  I shan’t speak of it much until I’m about halfway done because I don’t want to jinx it).  When I can’t find the right photos online or if I don’t have wifi and I need to draw the clothes in my head before they vanish, this comes in handy.  The Fashionary comes with a glossary of terms and other fashion tidbits you wouldn’t have thought to include in a typical fashion notebook.  But the best part is the body templates.  My Fashionary only has female templates, though, but since it’s girls clothes’ that need more styling in my case, I make do.  Looky looky:

I’m not a fashion illustrator, though I do know basic drawing since I took up Animation in college.  The Fashionary makes it so much easier though, because there are already templates in dotted lines so you mostly just need to trace them or draw the clothes directly.

With Nio (now a shocking BLONDE), Jund and John

Nonchalant fail

Scary lady got photobombed

I really thought I’d never wear this cream skirt ever again.  I planned on selling it at a garage sale or in the next Bloggers United.  But on a whim, I paired it with this top that I saw hanging in my closet. I knew right away it was my mom’s and it’s not the kind of print or style I gravitate to. But I was looking something from a Pinoy brand to wear, and I thought it might look cute with a bowtie!  I know it’s more typical to style it tucked in, but I didn’t (and now they call it the anti-fashion blogger look. Untucking! *le gasp*).  I liked how the ends formed a V in the middle.

Shoes were given to me by a former client, Malou Talagtag. She’s so sweet!

Bowtie from a Landmark brand (I forgot which) and top from Ensembles

Rings from Divisoria (sorry about the nails, these were prior to being a Butter Girl)

First photo, I think, of how my hair looks from the back

Jund is sleepy

But wakes up

The talented John Sherwynn. I want to get one of his shirts.

One of our favorite ramp models locally is Justine Gabiosa. She walks like she’s going to eat you all up, haha!
Whereas I look like I’m more likely to stab you in your sleep.

Okay, none of our favorite ramp models do this, but maybe they should

So can you tell who among us is camera shy?

Yup, you’re right. It’s definitely me.

Charot.

Just reenacting Juan Tamad waiting for a fruit to fall. Chos!

I’ll try to be more serious in other OOTD poses. Maybe.