Is there a way to wear bright eyeshadows conservatively? It sounds like an oxymoron, true, but it can be done. The trick is to show just a flash of color on the lids - there's no need to cover every centimeter of available space you know! Keep the crease color a neutral brown, taupe, or charcoal (go light or as deep as you want). The bright colors should only show whenever you close your eyes. ;)

You don't see it

Now you do!

And that's my quick tip for today. ;) Anyway I wore this to a couple of meetings last week. I finally took out this fringe skirt I bought last December - it's a crowd favorite, at least the people I met seemed to like it. But it's quite difficult to style! How would you wear it?

Earlier today I had lunch with two lovely ladies - Ms Nelly See, the whirlwind behind Pinkbox, and Verniece Enciso, the prettiest blogger in the country (for me!). It was more of a "wala lang" lunch! I mean I wouldn't call it work since we just gossiped lol. It's always nice to spend time with these two, since the conversation is coming from three different...genres if you will. Verniece is a sweet young thing, I'm this pragmatic know-it-all, and Ms Nels is a super hyper mom and businesswoman. You'd think we have nothing to talk about but we do! Talk. Quite a lot.

Now that we're here, we should all start pressuring Ms Nelly to blog soon. I told her I'd make hers, plus it's not like she'd be short of content since she posts tons of Instagram photos everyday. She's @nellysee there btw! 

At the Pinkbox store in Greenbelt 5

Anyhoo. I'd just like to share my FOTD and (what sorta passes off as a) picture of my outfit. I just threw everything on in under thirty minutes because I was already rushing.

I slept at 3am today because I leveled up my new characters on Disgaea 4. I haven't gotten far to be honest because I was so engrossed making everyone as powerful as I can make them! So, I had to swig down a whole pot of tea to keep myself chipper after only three hours of sleep. Many things are afoot today - I can't look dead!

Anyhoo, I just want to share a look I wore last Tuesday. I finally wore leatherette skirt I got from Forever 21. It's so...shiny and squeaky. It's easy to go overboard when styling it but I wanted to look clean and classy, hence, I toned it down with black everywhere.

Forever 21 top and skirt / Shoe Ettiquette pumps / Pinkbox bangle / Aldo snake ring

I was also supposed to make a date look tutorial but I made a mess with my eyeshadows. -_- I do love how the eyeliner turned out though! I used a thick black Dolly Wink liner on top, then dotted some brown K-Palette on the bottom lashes to make them look thicker without actually creating a line.

I'm hosting a retail event tomorrow for my client then we have a media event on Wednesday. Stress, pressure, eyebags, and a gray face - you name it, I got it. After this flurry of activity I need to plan another event again. I'm overwhelmed, surely, but I'm happy! Seriously though I need to go on a vacation real soon. A beach sounds good. Lots of sand, sun, clear water. I'd pile on sunblock and see if my dog knows how to swim (conclusively).

Anyway! Just wanted to share something I wore yesterday. I bought this dress from Unica Hija a few weeks back, my first from the brand, ever. It didn't look much in the rack but when I wore it, man, it looked fab! So I got it. 

Unica Hija dress / Wicked Drops bib / Pinkbox ring / Zara heels / Blowdry by Entice The Salon

Hey hey! It's been a while since I posted an outfit. I wish I have someone who can snap photos of some of my looks (I'm vain, sue me) but it's embarrassing to ask random people I'm with. So I just leave it. But I really like my outfit yesterday so I stuck the camera on a flat surface and posed without shame!

It was a toss between heels and sandals but I wanted more pink so I went with the sandals. They're cute no? I got them for only P350! They're weird though. Everytime I wear them for more than a couple of hours, my feet are sore the next morning (like right now). Might be because they're too thin and flat?

And people say heels are bad for your feet. Pfff.

I'm into red lately, particularly red lipstick. I'm also digging the vintage 50s movie star look, so my outfits recently are along those lines.

Anyway! I know that red on lips can be a rather intimidating color, but worn the right way, it can be your defining polished look. Sounding like a broken record I know, but out of all the lipstick shades out there red is the most liberating color to wear. You'll know it if you've tried it.

I've been a lot more diligent about documenting what I wore lately. It's a great way to keep track, for myself more than anything. I also like to fantasize that my outfits are interesting, but not so interesting as to be utterly unwearable. :P

Anyway, yesterday I went to the Ferretti office for a meeting and this is what I wore! It was super mega hot, and I knew I would be out the whole afternoon and early evening. I just dressed casually with my fave Ferretti espadrilles and the Bench shirtdress I've been rambling on about.

I accessorized with some silver pieces then topped the look with a semi-forgotten pair of earrings from Naccara. Shame that I don't wear them more often!

I've worn this dress and this eyeshadow look before, but I think it's the added little details that make them new. I don't have a bottomless closet, you know, so a girl has to reinvent her things every so often!

Topshop coverup / Forever 21 dress / Pinkbox bangle / SM necklace / t0nic heels

I wore this outfit to the Charriol event last week at Skye. It was a rather wet afternoon so I threw on this coverup and stable glittery heels. Yeah, I don't want to fall on my face, what with all those slippery pavements I have to navigate. My mantra: look good, but be practical.

Anywhoo, here are the details for the makeup! I created this grape eyeshadow look with the help of an Ever Bilena Mousse Eyeshadow. It's pretty awesome. I've never done purple as crazy as this before.

Face: Lancome Teint Miracle, MAC Studio Sculpt Concealer, Clinique Airbrush Concealer (for eye bags), Bobbi Brown mineral foundation to set

I used to think that Bench was "jologs". I know, so uncharitable! But during the few times I've visited it in the past years I only saw tacky printed shirts and more jeans. All that has changed though! Bench now has a lot of cool finds at really good prices.

Bench top / Landmark skirt / Tonic shoes / Pinkbox accessories / Nine West bag

This newfound love of mine started when I was in Powerplant Mall a couple of months ago. This was before Bench contacted me for anything ha. I saw their Bench Edited store and got really curious - what's a Bench Edited? Exploring the place revealed it to be a well-curated version of Bench.

Their best pieces were displayed in a really classy space, and I loved it so much I went home with a shirt dress (that everyone asked about! I'll show it to you one of these days) and a pair of khaki capri pants.

When I was younger, I used to buy clothes because I had to, I just had to. There was this feeling that the more I had the more fashionable I am. Predictably, I ended up getting stuck with crappy clothes that I only used a few times before feeling ridiculous in them. You know what I'm saying? I wasted a lot of money because I gave most of my old clothes away.

So now I try not to buy clothes and shoes unless I feel I can't live without them, unless I can't see myself wearing them for at least a year. I'm still a bargain hunter at heart, but if a really nice (although pricey = more than P1,000) piece comes along that I just can't let go of, well, I won't.

This blue Bayo dress is one of those purchases. Like my other new blue dress, it was a love at first sight thing for me. Never mind that I don't have the arms and shoulders to pull it off - I like it, I feel nice in it so to hell with the self-conscious bitch inside. :P

I wore this electric blue maxi with a white crochet necklace and bangle from Pinkbox. My official summer tote is this hot pink woven one from Ferretti so I pair it with everything!

Two things I've been avoiding since forever: jumpsuits and wide-legged pants. You see, I have a short, straight torso that looks even pudgier when highlighted by wide legs and once-piece suits. It just doesn't work! However, when I spotted this wide-legged jumpsuit at NAVA in Market! Market!, I got curious enough to try it on, just to see how it would look like.

NAVA jumpsuit | Ferretti wedges | Parfois necklace | Pinkbox accessories | Tiangge belt

...and it was a great success! I got compliments when I wore it yesterday to a meeting and a Lancome event. I like how it streamlined my body and looked flattering in the right places. It cinches at the waist (well, it comes with a fabric belt that I swapped for a woven belt) so it looks like I have curves. Oh, I also LOVE how it swishes around my feet when I walk. Very dramatic.

Will definitely buy more colors! Anyway, here's the makeup I wore with it:

I thought I'd do something classic

I got this body-hugging dress at Forever 21 some months back and I absolutely love it. However, it's too revealing chest-wise. Too tight. Sorry, I'm such an old lady. I just believe that women look better when they don't bare too much - remember this thing called mystery? Girls my age forget that they're more interesting that way.

So! I wore the dress with a thrifted leather jacket (I know, one of my best finds. Got it for only P250) and an SM necklace to cover up. I love how it turned out.

Forever 21 dress | Thrifted leather jacket | Ferretti pumps | Avon Manzzini bag | Accessories from Parfois and SM

 I also wore these Ferretti pumps for the first time.

One of my best finds in a while is this Randy Ortiz x Kashieca convertible dress I got in Greenbelt 5 some weeks ago. Did I say convertible? It can be worn as a skirt, a venus cut dress, or as a tube dress. Best thing about it is that I got it at 70% off! It was originally around P2,500 but I got it for ~P700. It's an old collection, but it's definitely timeless.

Randy Ortiz x Kashieca dress | SM belt | Ferretti bag | YRYS boots | Pinkbox and Parfois accessories

I wore this look to a coffee date with a Project Vanity reader (hi Sara!) yesterday. She will be reviewing a couple of cool products for the blog soon so that's one thing I'm looking forward to.

Oh, here's my bronzy blue eyeshadow. It's a combination of Shu Uemura and Majolica Majorca colors! Patrick Alcober, one of Shu's top makeup artists, mentioned that the best way to wear blue is to mix it with brown.

It's been a while since I did an outfit post here. Between then and now I've quietly hoarded dresses as if there's no tomorrow. It's about time really. I don't like my clothes anymore.

Anyway! As you can see I'm still in a tan mood. The dress was a genius find from Forever 21; it works sooo well with my body type! What's nice is that it's like an LBD, it can be worn different ways with the right shoes and accessories. It's like a blank canvas one can play with.  

Forever 21 dress/ Parfois heels and ring/ Ferretti necklace/ Pink Box bangle 

A few weeks ago, Tretorn asked me if I wanted to participate in an international campaign called The Nylite Project. The rules were simple: they'd send me a pair of Tretorn Nylites then I am to wear it my way. Truth be told I'm not into sneakers, but I'm tickled pink by the concept of incorporating a vintage classic in my girly-preppy-sleek wardrobe.

I remember my mom wearing these exact same Tretorns in the early 90's with high rolled pants and an oversized tucked-in shirt. I'm not sure, but I may have also had a green version of these for my PE classes. LOL! Those were the days of gray cotton shorts and school-printed tees, jackstones, Pogs, and Chinese Garter. Nostalgia: commence.

Anyway, here's the outfit I came up with my new old Nylites. I got the dress and shades from Forever 21, but it was only when I got home that I realized that they look like soulmates together.

You think white is a sweet color, the color of purity and the symbol of all that is good and spotless. But it's such a bitch to wear if you're on the chubby side (like me)! I coudn't resist this white eyelet dress when I saw it on the racks though. It looked passably alright when I tried it on so off it went to the shopping bag.

That said, I am feeling and looking huge lately. The last two months have been crazy and tiring, so I made up for it by eating a lot of take-away food. I was too pressed for time to cook, and also couldn't spend two hours in the supermarket. Aside from that, I simply lost control. I didn't care about what I ate and constantly made excuses not to exercise or cut back on the junk. It felt good to eat.  

And this, this is the result.

I promised myself only recently that I will start taking care of myself.

Let me tell you the story of this pleated chiffon dress. I found it in a moldy thrift store somewhere in a dusty corner of Manila. I knew this dress was made for me so I wasted no time taking it home and cleaning it up. The first time I wore it, everyone gave me nice compliments! I was on a high. Then, that same day around a year ago, I got food poisoned while wearing it.

That's probably not a big deal to some, but I rarely ever get sick. That food poisoning incident was the only time I got seriously sick enough to go to a doctor last year. Now, I know it's irrational, but since then I just didn't want to wear this dress. It hung untouched in my closet - until last Friday, that is!

I'm over the stigma now and I'm happy it still fit.

Thrifted chiffon dress/ Topshop blouse/ Forever 21 belt/ Schu clogs/ Ferretti satchel/ Pinkbox accessories

Guess where I was!

The theme revolved around soft florals - green, yellow, pink, and cream were the predominant colors. I really enjoyed this look, if it were up to me I'd wear this head-to-foot every day.

Face: NARS Sheer Glow Foundation, MAC Studio Finish concealer, Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer Kit (for dark circles), Clinique translucent loose powder, Guerlain Meteorites

Cheeks: Estee Lauder Silky Powder Blush in Tender Petal (wearing this a lot lately, looks so natural and pretty on cheeks plus the lasting power is amazing!)