If you haven’t already figured this out, I love Roxy workout gear. This booty short seems awesome, but I don’t think all women can pull this look off. Check it out!
Category: Beauty & Style
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Roxy Fall 2013 Outdoor Gear
Just because it’s getting colder in the north doesn’t mean you have to look like the Michelin man, or give up your outdoor workouts altogether. Look at the hot Roxy Outdoor Fitness Fall 2013 gear. It’s so hot it’ll warm you right up!
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How To Power Dress for Work with Eunice Lucero, Managing Ed of StyleBible.ph
Two months ago (I know, you can smack my behind for sitting on it), I was in Manila for the Google Meetup for Entrepreneurs Women on the Web Summit, organized by GBG Makati.
The summit gave a lot of interesting insights, and among them was how fashion was more forward in the Philippines that it is in Malaysia and Singapore, in my humble opinion. (They’re not afraid to show cleavage in their fashion photos for example.)
While I like nice looking clothes and things, I’ve never been a designer label name-dropping nona. I was however very confounded by the beautiful Eunice Lucero, Managing Editor of StyleBible.ph.
Today what I want to share is what Miss Lucero taught the ladies; you have to know how to mix girly femininity with some power dressing.
Power Dressing Trends
Eunice shared in her presentation a number of looks and trends that are in-style. Austere, clean-lines with fabrics that are grayscale in tones, yet has a subtle difference to it works well to transform a woman into an executive to be taken seriously.
She also shared a slide about the different looks that work for women in different professions and lines. From sexy corporate to creative boheme, the variety gave a sense that work fashion isn’t just a cookie-cutter look. You can definitely personalize it based on your personality, and nature of profession, but the underlying message was…
You should care about how you present yourself in the workplace.
How you do it does make an impression on people. I just got the impression that if you don’t own your look, your look will own you. What you wear and how you wear it will tell people if you’re thought-forward or behind the times!MAKEUP
Eunice also touched on how makeup can help get you the right “professional” attention.
Power Lips
She showed pictures of some power lip looks that were inspired by Paul Smith and Prada. If you want people to look at and listen to you when you speak, keep the lips bold, by using a passionate matte red.Power Eyes
She also shared to keep the eyeshadow lean, and the lips bold. Or the other way around… bold eyes and soft lips. You could do the non-clubby smokey look inspired by Lanvin, or the ladylike-eyeliner look from Elie Saab and Stella McCartney shown above.Power Brows and Face
For your brows, keep them thick and not thin, like the Balmain look. Make sure to give yourself a healthy glow by using an all-over bronze like that was inspired by Diane Von Fustenberg and Hash.So with that, I hope you found this useful as I have. If you feel you’re not being taken seriously enough even though you “own” your work…
Try freshening up and changing up your look with these power dressing tips. It may make a difference!
Eunice herself of course has another edge though. She has that added bit of mystique effect of an older Wednesday from the Addams family. How she manages to pull that off and still look trendy, sexy, and someone to be taken seriously is something to be admired.
Preview has it’s own popular website stylebible.ph and 45,000 followers on its Facebook page. Lucero’s Twitter is @eunichiban
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How To Use Makeup Like a Pro Without Paying Pro
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This afternoon, I saw my dad and bro for the first time since I learned some kickass makeup skills in Manila.
“Wow, you look different… like a Hong Kong film star now!,” dad said.
My bro concedes by saying with a smirk, “Yea, now you know how to use makeup!”
It felt great! 😀
I was at Greenbelt last night (Manila) at the Beauty Bar looking for a set of brushes, because the Korean Palgantong brush I bought from Hong Kong (it’s awesome BTW) somehow got lost during the Makeover Contest I was involved in on Sunday afternoon.
Problem is, the brushes there were Japonesque professional brushes that were selling at PHP 1,000 – PHP 2,500 (About RM 80-200) per brush.
Firstly, the handles were too long for self application and secondly they were way too expensive for a newbie like me. I might look into ultimate pro brushes as I get more serious, but for now, I kind of just need entry level brushes that are shaped right and don’t scratch my face. You know, brushes to learn with!
Budget Tools
Thank goodness I made the right decision to hold off on the purchase because, today I stumbled upon that new Magicboo makeup supplies store on Gaya Street (Kota Kinabalu). I ended up spending merely RM27.50 (PHP 364.50) on 5 pro Chinese brushes!!! Isn’t that crazy cheap?
To be honest, the quality’s not bad at first analysis. I might even get a second set if they hold up well. They are soft to the touch, and while I can’t verify this the store owner said the black ones are natural?! Anyhow, they feel pro enough for me even if they’re an unbelievable bargain.Reasonably Priced Makeup
Generally, I won’t tell you to use cheap makeup over the pharmacy counter, because of irritants and carcinogens. For example, I’ve used eyeliners that sting, and blushers that make me go into a sneezing fit even though they come from reputable brands. I find that this happens a lot less with dermatologically tested, natural products.
Usually, I go for high quality makeup that are organic or natural, which usually cost a lot more than commercial makeup brands. But there are good quality stuff out there that are priced reasonably, are good to use like Carnival, and without harmful chemicals like Human Nature (Philippines) (great for SE Asian skin with brown undertones).
These days the makeup industry is very competitive, and a lot of brands and starting to eliminate harmful ingredients from their products for market positioning so you’re in good luck.
Korean brands like The Face Shop, Holika Holika, and Etude House tend to carry colours that are more suitable for Oriental skin, whereas The Body Shop is an all around good place to start if you want to look great at an affordable price for any skin color.
Saying that, to be absolutely honest, I do find that premium quality makeup has a much smoother finish and feels better on my skin because of the nourishing ingredients in them.
I personally use Artistry, Dr. Hauschka, Juice Beauty, and also 100% Pure. The trend so far seems to be safe Organic American, German, Japanese, and high quality Korean beauty products.
Since I don’t like to apply thick makeup on, it’s imperative that the coverage I get is good even if I don’t slap on layers of it.
Makeup Essentials
There’s another way to keep your makeup tab low, and still use the best of the best items. This is getting too long so I’ll cover that in Part 2. Stay tuned 🙂 -
Eye Makeup Lesson from a Beauty Legend
I must admit. Though I have some natural talent not to make myself look like a monkey with face paint, I have never really paid much attention to makeup. Mainly because, I’m a busy geek who champions over brain matters and craps on superficial matters that take up time!
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I wake up, brush my teeth, draw my eyes quickly, put on some rouge and smooth on a natural lip color very quickly just so I don’t scare people when I walk out the door.
I’ve been doing this for years, without having bothered to find out if there was actually a way to truly look better. I hid under the natural beauty excuse forever.
The Wake-Up Call
That is until I met this amazing woman, Choi Kit. Now to call her amazing is an understatement. She’s what they fearfully and wonderfully call a Crown Ambassador in Amway, the first in Malaysia and South East Asia. She got it so good she never has to work a day in her life, because she retired decades ago.Hundreds of thousands of people dream of taking pictures with her, and yet I found myself fatefully by her side in recent weeks.
Choi Kit is a legend when it comes to beauty matters, and she has changed the lives of tens of thousands of women by helping them go from blah-to-wow. This morning, she finally couldn’t stand looking at the mess on my face anymore and decided to do something about it.
So she started teaching me a few rules about makeup and taught me full-on techniques on how to apply makeup that’s suitable for my style and face. Here’s sharing my newfound knowledge with you.
Rule #1 – Eyebrows
Your eyebrows frame your face. It has to have shape and a tail. It cannot arch and curve down over the corner of the eye, because the Chinese believe that people with droopy brow lines will never achieve great wealth. A sad, unfortunate, “poor me” face just can’t help roll in the moolah apparently.How’s that for “Face Feng Shui”?
Better listen to the multi-millionaire. She also taught me how to work with the eyebrow pencil. Did you know there’s technique involved in that too?
Rule #2 – Eyeshadow
The universal rule of not looking like a freak is to never apply eyeshadow over the corner of your eye and outside the brow line. Keep within the boundaries! Since the shape of my eyes are round, Choi Kit tells me that I shouldn’t make it even rounder by applying dark shadow all over. Wahey!Okay sifu.
Rule #3 – Eyeliner
If you want the natural look, she says to toss the black liner and use brown instead. She says toss the pencil too, and use a liquid liner for precision. The most important lesson I learned was that not everybody looks good when they trace the eyelid lines, which is what I’ve been doing forever. Looks good for some people, but in most cases you have to create a line that looks best on you. In my case (because I have really round eyes), I have to lift up my eyes by drawing up.Who would have thought being beautiful was so technical?
Rule #4 – Eyelashes
Yvonne, one of Choi Kit’s veteran downlines said, don’t be fooled. Even all the natural-looking celebrities all use fake lashes. Even her daughter-in-law, who is a “natural beauty” never leaves home without them. If she could only put one makeup item on, it would be the fake lashes. You simply need it if you want to look beautiful, according to Yvonne.Can you even tell they’re fake? They look so natural on me don’t they?
Choi Kit famously said, “There’s no such thing as an ugly woman. Just a lazy one.”
So if you want to look good, you gotta work at it.
That’s what I learned today. Tomorrow I’ll be a face model where I’ll learn how to use makeup to cover all my freckles, a la Korean natural girl style.I’m really excited!
What do you think? Does the makeup skills make a difference? Let me know in the comment sections below!
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Getting Measured for Bust Size (Mabuhay from Manila!)
I’m in Manila. It’s not important why I’m in Manila, but it has been awesome for the past 13 hours. The city that I once passed by on my way to Honolulu has changed a lot since. 🙂
For one, we went midnight shopping at Resorts World last night, and I stumbled upon a La Senza, a Spanish lingerie shop.
Since losing all that weight, I haven’t actually changed my brassieres and panties. For one, there was no real need to because I had bought a whole bunch earlier last year and they’re all in amazing condition. For seconds, I just don’t do “Ah Lian” lingerie, which is the only type they sell in Kota Kinabalu unless you go super-luxury.
The bras at La Senza in the Philippines are on sale at 495 Pesos each (Approximately RM36), and I couldn’t resist myself. I was looking for my old size, then reeled back, realizing I’m now a different size. I told the sales girl that I’m not sure what I should wear anymore, because things have changed.
“Do you want me to measure you?,” she asked.
I agreed, and she pulls out a measuring tape. She looped the tape around my chest area below the bust-line and it read 33. She then, looped it over my bumps and it read 37 with my bra on.
“You need a 36B,” she said.
“Really? Okay, I’ll go try it on for size.”
Fits PERFECTLY.
So I am now a 36B and wear small sized undies. I guess that means I have lovely lady lumps and literally, a small ass.
Old Habits Die Hard
The weirdest part about the the window-shopping process is that I naturally always go look for L sizes. But after holding it up against by body in the mirror, they just look like clothes for pregnant women on me. It’s been weird to see that even some M sizes are too big on my new frame.
How does it feel?
FANTASTIC.
Because I used to stress out about not being able to find my size, because actually, (here’s some insight for you) there are just as many women who wear L and XL sizes as they are Ms.
More significantly, it feels great because now all of a sudden, I have more choices of clothes to wear. I can now look at something and say, “Oh that looks soooo cute. I wanna try that on.”
And when I do try them on, it actually looks good.
It is not all bent out of shape to follow a figure that desperately fights hard to no be out of shape. When I was 85kgs, I was round, but I had shape. But the clothes desperately tried to make me look as good as possible, and sometimes it would fail.Now, the clothes brings out and shows my figure.
In the past, the clothes hid my imperfections. Now clothes celebrate my assets.
So are you going to work in a 30 minute workout today? Because that can make all the difference! 😉