sweater weather and messy hair

sweater, forever21. slipdress, urbanoutfitters. boots, rubi by cotton on via zalora (similar). clutch, diy from a bag gifted by aunt.

Typhoon Basyang (local Philippine name thanks to PAG-ASA), please go away. I'm not exactly the biggest fan of sweater weather but it's here, we're here, at least until the typhoon goes away, that is. Needless to say, I spent it drinking a large mug of milk tea and some iced (decaf is usually all I can manage) coffee.

Today's music:

Something sunny to ward the gloominess of the day/night away. Golden Child has released two of the most solid mini-albums in the kpop industry so far. I'd recommend getting it if you can. Everything in the two mini-albums, from the bops to the mid-tempo tracks to the ballads are superb and flows so well from one track to another they're both just a treat to the ears. I've been playing both mini-albums on itunes on repeat as of late. 

something versatile, something handmade and a bit on vispop

top, something borrowed via zalora (similar here). shorts, tally weijl. bag, gift from aunt. heels, zalora. black braided headband, diy-ed/handmade.

  

A versatile top makes for many fun outfits and is well worth the price. Although I admittedly got it on sale then along with another top of the lace detailed kind, in the same solid black color. I got this two years ago or so, maybe three and still I've yet to exhaust its uses. Many a blog post on here like this one which is the most recent and this from last year, I think (?), where this has been good to use so far so that proves this piece's versatility. 

As for the headband, I made this with others of its kind to give away for Christmas to people as gifts. I like how the black stands out with the bleached and color creamed hair to the point that I don't mind keeping this color of the hair despite the massive damage it has brought to it. Apparently, there's no saving my hair at the moment...but the moisturizing shampoos and conditioners I use seem to liven it up a very tiny bit so there's that, at least.

And, I have been chilling to this today:

 

I'm not really a huge fan of regular Filipino/Tagalog OPM. Although, say, I grew up listening to Eraserheads and Rivermaya, aunts and uncles were fans in their hay days, OPM never really stuck to me growing up. Instead of OPM in the 90s for instance, I wallowed in western boyband music courtesy of groups like the Backstreet Boys, NSYNC, Westlife, Boyzone and more. But since having attended a music festival that's a regular annual event in Dumaguete City, I've become a fan of really local, as in regional pop music here in the Bisaya region. The only problem stanning this kind of music is that it never reaches national levels of popularity and instead, they are found in spotify (maybe, I'm not sure since I don't use this...weirdly, I might be the only one not using spotify...yet), youtube and well, in just the locale. In CD form, they're definitely not easily found in the music and video chain stores. Good thing I was able to score a CD compilation of songs featured on the music festival I attended with a friend, then. It was 200 Php well-spent as I still have the CD in the bedroom. The event is called the "Belltower Project," and I am pretty sure it is still going on once a year since it's launching. There is not much known on the music of this kind and it's really only heard of in this region but I'm finding really good music here and I hope the genre or type of music gets known nationally in the long run. There is still such a long way to go before that happens.

Vispop is pretty inventive. This one is giving me really chill deep house vibes for instance. Just the kind of music I like to chill to during the weekends.

shortalls and a couple of books for the summer reading list

 shortalls, cotton on. tank, diy from a random white t. heels, zalora. arrow necklace, forever21 (not visible in these photos much...). cuffs/arm bangles, vintage and dumaguete city souvenir shop finds.

What I cheered around in while watching the men's volleyball finals game 2 between the Ateneo de Manila University men's volleyball team and that of National University's. AMVT won, of course~ And I'm happy, content and all because of it. It's a good feeling to get at least decently dressed even when just watching a game being televised live on national TV.

How cool is it that this is AMVT's third championship in a row? And they managed to completely sweep this season's matches too! 16-0! There wasn't even any need to go on to a decider game three~ So basically, AMVT gave NUMVT a thrashing in about 4 games, two during the double round of eliminations and two in the finals. I hope they can continue this streak next year but without Rex Intal and Josh Villanueva who are graduating these year or already have graduated at least...I'm not so sure. Well, there are still the others like Marck Espejo and Ish Polvorosa. Also, the new players and less played people off the bench are pretty interesting. We have yet to see them play full games. It would be fun if season 80 is also AMVT's. The last two games of the men's volleyball event this noon/lunchtime and back in May 2 are games one would commit to memory for how good they were (5 really thrilling sets a piece/per game and almost the same outcomes). Definitely, AMVT is a highlight for me this year. I love the boys equally so I don't have a favorite player among them, in case anyone's going to ask.

....and yes, this is the slouchy shortalls I received from the aunts abroad, in America (specifically California). I can sort of see now many other tops to style this with. I'll get into that in the next few days, weeks or so.

I usually post more about music but this time around, it's the reading list. I've been meaning to actually finish White Oleander. It's a pretty sunny, still poetic light to mid-heavy read. I've seen its movie, too, but the book seems better (books always tend to be better than the movie adaptations anyway). I don't have all of Gossip Girl's yet but I imagine I have half of the series in my bookshelf already. I've been meaning to catch-up on reading all these before I even think of purchasing the next in the series through ebay or some other (the local book bargains store, Booksale). I'd carried these two books on the backpack along with some change of clothes when I attended the beach fun day with some short course classmates last Monday. With that said, they made my bag heavier... They make up for being good and pretty light beach readings though. 

denim that's not jeans

denim dress from Bangkok, zalora heels, ninewest clutch, DIY headband, aizilim bracelet/bangle and rings

Possibly the only way I'm found to wear jeans. The dress's straps were falling apart so I had to have them chopped off but otherwise still one of the better denim stuff in the wardrobe. I don't often wear much strapless stuff unless there's occasion to, though. I'm fond of topping them with shirts most of the time. Might try that one with this next time for a more casual, worthy of going out randomly for tea or whatever look. The dress is pretty comfortable enough I rolled around in it on the floor by the stairs (my dubbed working space as of late) for a good fraction of the late afternoon yesterday while working on stuff on the laptop.

Music talk of the day: who's heard of Tove Lo's Lady Wood record by now and loved how it started with Fairy Dust as intro? So, so good record, by the way, as expected of her after the awesome thing that was Queen of the Clouds (this still keeps me high in the clouds when I listen to it plus it gives me that feeling of rolling around fluffy heart shaped clouds somehow...haha). The track Cool Girl speaks volumes to me and Imaginary Friend is just all out self-love appropriate. Also, weirdly, Lady Wood reminds me of wood nymph---which isn't really what she meant when she sung it on the titular track but w/e---which is what this outfit hints of. It's never been a secret I love Tove Lo so much *insert tons of hearts here*.

Kind of missing Bangkok, like I do Hong Kong, and the shopping there. I wasn't able to go around there as much on my own as I was stuck with the aunt and her friends/colleagues way back when. Pattaya was rad though. I'll go back one day...on my own, I guess...or with a girl pal so it won't be as lonely? Well, yep.

hints of boheme and some music talk that might be a constant now here

 benchPH tank similar here, Gap cutoffs, vintage belt, rubi via zalora gusset ankle boots, smashbox choker, sm department store heart & cross dangling earrings, secondhand (from grandmum :D) and LC Lauren Conrad bracelets, aizilim necklaces, diy braided headband

I lean towards the more boho side of the style spectrum than I'd care to admit. I'm suspecting much of it has to do with the fact that I reside in the most tropical region the world knows and that the city I'm in is also by the bay. Beach casual boho, style-wise then, I guess?

 with the secondhand corduroy jacket

The jacket is probably one of the favorite ways in which I'd dress casual things up to get ready to go out with. Well...since I don't have the jean/denim jacket equivalent...yet. I gave away one that came my way before and definitely regretting it at this time. I'll go hunt for something similar most likely in the thrift stores.

Music talk (this might be a constant here since I do love music as much as I love fashion...which means...by a huge lot): I'm not so sure if it's a coincidence that the one very east Asian (Jpop) record I'm listening to since the weekend is 1 Finger's One Dream 2. I don't think it is, knowing me and my preference for everything sunny and summery like this sun belt I've been touting since the early days of the blog---the dim dark days when it had a more bohemian free spirited girl title that matched my LiveJournal's. If you don't have this record, I recommend looking for it. It's so, so, so good I have, like, 4 of a total of 8 tracks on it on eternal repeat the past 2-3 days now. 

Favorites from this record include track #s: 2 サマラバ☆, 4 Dawn Night, 7 Try Again, and 8 ヤシの木~Sha la la~. These four? Really effective in taking the gloom away from the rainy season at the year's end...in the tropics. And if winter isn't your thing, definitely listen to these to get the tropical island cheery living feeling in. They're proving the most effective in warding away depression to me nowadays. Case in point, today: it's gloomy and about to rain outside but I have summer music on. I'm all well and good now.

I caught wind of 1 Finger thanks to their contribution to Kamen Rider Drive and Kamen Rider Ghost Chou Movie Taisen Genesis's OST. They sung the ending theme to the film and their performance of it in Chou Eiyuusai 2016 is quite good, too. One of my favorite parts from there. So I searched for that track to no avail and came across this record instead. Well...it was still a win-win thing in the end so let's leave it at that.

Yesterday's news of Fukushima and Miyagi in Japan being under tsunami warning watch made me nervous. This was after the 7.4 magnitude earthquake they had. Then later, the warning had been lifted, I was relieved nothing else like 2011's followed through. As a Japanophile living a few hours by plane outside of it, of course, I'd be concerned by this. It's a given.

2/4ths ribbed

(my photos)

sea blue tally weijl zip-up ribbed sweater; diy bleached bettina ribbed tank; forever21 gold stem heeled/stiletto ankle boots and arrow necklace; ninewest bag; aizilim rings and necklaces  

Ideal outfit for a mostly gloomy day like today. It rained for a bit after this was taken. It's beautiful weather for the tropics and I know a lot of people like this kind that isn't really too hot and sunny. I'm more a fan of the latter. For me, personally, the hotter and sunnier the day is, the better it is. Just make sure to be armed with sunscreen if it's that kind of day, however.

Loving this Tally Weijl sweater dad picked up when he was in Germany early this latter half of the year. The length of the sleeves does it for me. Definitely really useful to wear with slip dresses, tank dresses and more. Considering the barrage of every incarnation of blue in this blog lately, yes, I'm a huge fan of the color/shade. It's my favorite right up there with black and white, gray and brown or everything neutral and earthy. 

And yes, I had my hair re-bleached yesterday. I'm considering a third and a fourth bleach session maybe in the next two months to get the lightest blonde I can get. I notice it's skewing towards the orangey side here so hopefully the purple toner can fix that with the random, drugstore anti-dandruff (Guard) shampoo I use every 2 or 3 days or so in the coming few weeks.

24-25 PhP (Philippine peso) sheer black tights...I can never get enough of. I tend to end up purchasing one or two pairs from whatever department stores that carry them to keep in the bag for emergency wear when going out in shorts or mini-skirts. Really cheap, really handy to have on the go, anytime, anywhere. I think some Watsons branches carry them, too. The runs on this pair makes the outfit grungy fun enough as if the tie-dyed ribbed tank doesn't give enough edge to it already. 

honey + sugar body scrub update

It's not only the wardrobe that has gone into a minimalist phase. Even on my everyday beauty products that I use in the shower and out, I've also gone natural. This means less usage of such products with chemicals that are difficult to decipher whether they are harmful or not, more of those with the natural, unharmful ingredients such as those from Human Heart Nature or Human Nature among others. If it's not the products of the said brand then I would play with stuff in the kitchen and those you can easily buy from the market to make products I can add to the daily beauty routine apart from concocting varieties of the green smoothies I now consume for breakfast or dinner almost daily. One such example is the honey and sugar body scrub I use that I have now updated with papaya and vitamin E oil. Or it could work with just papaya because you're in the shower anyway and oil and water do not mix so easily.

I'm not quite sure yet if using it does wonders for the skin because I've only started using it for a few weeks but it does have its good effects and it is quite an effective body scrub. What I do like about it is that it does not break the bank at all and everything for it is in the kitchen...or the market, whichever you prefer to get your ingredients from. Aside from that, this would even make a great gift to friends and family during Christmas or their birthdays and other such occasions. Just place it in a presentable, beautiful packaging and it's good to go as a home made, all-natural present they could really use.

I'm exploring a few more things I can make at home for beauty and health/wellness purposes and I think being a naturalista this way, making it a career as well as life, is becoming easier and more rewarding the longer I get more into making natural beauty, health and wellness products at home. Here's to my journey then on becoming a budding naturalista! 

red, black and bunny ears

(photos by Jan Michelle Dumlao)

Posting some stuff late from a random, not-so-impromptu shoot not so long ago with my loves, JM and Mimi. We were chitchatting, catching up on random things with one another with cake and home made chai tea prior to that in JM's room. I'd love to do this again next time. :) These came out nicely.

The bunny ears aren't made of lace as I wished it would be. I just couldn't find a good lace to use around craft shops. I used black tulle instead hence the transparency along background wires.

The tee is the first one from F21 Men's. Likely to get some more from that intriguing section Forever21's site has. Black bodycon skirt? Currently on endless repeat/loop addiction status, yes.

 tee, skirt, stacked bangles and shoes, f21; clutch, vintage; bangles, necklace and thin rings, from some randoms local store; sunglasses, random; bunny ears headband, diy

beach boulevard

 (first two photos by Kristel Punu, last photo by me)

Walking along the long stretch of the Rizal Boulevard never fails to calm the mind. It also doesn't fail to take away the boredom and the stress and it's true to anyone who's walking around here to the point that I'm envying a ton of the people that have decided to either hold picnics and study periods around the place. Spotting someone with a huge book propped open on one knee and a notebook on the other as he frantically took notes for exams, maybe study notes for a test the next day (and yep, finals is just a couple or so weeks away) made me want to use the place for daytime studies and some writing. Heaven knows I have a ton of papers to write, poems and short stories to examine and yep, tons of individual readings to finish. It's the befitting consequences of someone enrolled in the Literary Studies masters course in university.  

I was hoping to get a garden pizza c/o Mooon Cafe today but then electricity was out and the generator at the place couldn't handle the pizza making process. I was hoping a whole of it would carry me through to dinner time.

It's an old fad (note, the '90s) but I recently got caught by the denim bleaching fever and the shorts here is one of its few victims. There were a few others that didn't escape the bleach not so long ago and I still have a few others to bleach, too. I'm putting those off for the sem break...if I manage to get a break from school anyway. (It's all thanks to the ton of schoolwork I have to finish, I figure I am not going to get any sleep tonight as I try to finish a paper or two.)

Jasminkka is a fashion blogger that recently caught my attention. She can apparently wear prints like no other. I like to think prints aren't exactly my strong suit save perhaps the flower prints, ugly or not whatsoever. I hardly have anything with prints in my current closet, to be honest. I'll think about getting a few things there some time.

Never meant to flash anyone with the top but I got this at an XL hoping it could pass for a dress or that it would be comfortably loose. It achieved the latter but I can never seem to go out in it without anything to put over it which is why the thrifted cardigan was brought out despite the searing heat.
   

Shorts, DIY Gap cutoffs; netted jacket/coat, vintage; ankle boots, forever21; top, Never Been Kissed at Robinsons Department Store; bag, vintage