Living For The Night Lights

Last August 15, the organization which I am a part of, the Junior Philippine Institute of Accountants - De La Salle University Chapter (JPIA-DLSU), hosted a party to welcome the new school year. It was entitled "Xanadu: Live For The Night Lights", and was held at the APEX Palladium at New World Makati.

I love parties for two things (well three, if you count the company): the music and-- well-- the dressing-up. For club parties like these, I always go with a pair of shorts. And of course, I don't forget about wearing heels. Like most people, I went with black (and white). Huge thanks to our master photographer, Tereynz Mendoza, for taking my outfit shots outside the venue haha!

Top: Topshop

Shorts: Forever 21

Platforms: DAS (custom)

Fitclip: Renouveau Manila

Earrings: Franzl Bajada (custom)

Yes, my friends-- those are heelless shoes. Quite crazy isn't it, especially when I wore it at a party? But I'll have you know, it didn't hinder me from having fun and dancing the night away!

The pair was my gift to myself when I turned eighteen last year. I got it customized based on the Alexander McQueen-esque DAS 17 design. The distinct thing about my pair is the spikes on the mary-jane straps. Please don't mind the stains on the toes-- I cleaned them up after

I'll confess: my top is one size bigger, hence the loose fit. That is what happens when you are too excited to buy a wonderful item that's on sale lol. But it's not just the top that's big! The shorts, too; that is why I took on the help of my ever-reliable fitclip. Here's a photo of what it looks like from the back!

Yup, it's that black strap at the back. Not quite sure if I've mentioned it here on my blog before, but I'm planning to sell some clothes (brand-new and preloved) on Instagram! These pieces might make it to the sale. If you're interested, feel free to follow my soon-to-open store: The Closet Case (there I go with my puns again). I initially planned on opening it in early September, but I'll have to push back the date since I'm busy with school.

Right ahead is a bunch of photos of my face (sorry I'm not sorry). It was my first time putting on falsies! It's amazing how much they liven up the eyes. Unfortunately, my lashes are naturally short, and I can't put on mascara to save my life. I also wore circle lenses-- something that I usually do when I go to special occasions. I have black and brown doll lenses, but these grey ones are my favorite; they look natural yet not-so. (I'm hoping to have blue ones someday, too!) For my lids, I attempted to make them smokey. I also filled my eyebrows (they're the most important part for me!). Since my eyes were already dramatic, I went with a light shade on my lips. I finished the look with some contouring using a bronzer/blush (of course after putting on BB cream as moisturizer and dabbing on some concealer).

I didn't even realize my bottom eyeliner was messed up until I saw this photo lol

Contact lenses: Sparkle

False eyelashes: KAI Beauty Care Eye Decoration (from Sasa)

Eyeshadow: Collection Smokey Eyes palette

Eyebrows: H&M Smokey Eyes palette

Eyeliner: Cyber Colors 24hr Eyeliner Duo (from Sasa)

Bronzer/blush: Benefit Dallas

Lipstick: Collection Satin Bow + MAC Rebel

I also attempted to sport a faux pixie. I rarely do something complicated with my hair when I go to parties; but this time, I felt like trying out something new. I've been so sick of my über long hair that I figured I should do something special with it.

To start off, I sprayed some Sea Salt Spray from Lush. My hair is naturally smooth and straight, so it needs a boost in the texture department which the spray could give. It was my first ever purchase from Lush and I have no regrets at all-- it smells really good, like the beach! What I did next was I tied the bottom part of my hair into a bun. For the remaining sections, I braided. them and pinned them at the back. It's really messy at the back (as you'll see below) though!

Did you see my gorgeous soutache earrings? They're handmade with love from Cebu! The pair is actually customized from the Franzl Bajada's Imperatrice - Belle design! Due to the changes that I wanted, it ended up looking like a hybrid of the Cinderella and the Belle designs, and it was perfect! If you've noticed, her Imperatrice collection is Disney-inspired! When I saw the collection, I knew I had to buy a pair for myself! I was looking for statement earrings to wear with the rest of this outfit, and I ordered right away. The transaction was very quick. A great experience for my first time buying online, really. Ms. Franzl just launched a new collection, Sweet Bonbons, by the way. Feel free to check it out too!

Whew, that was a lengthy post! To end this post, I'm leaving you guys with one of the many photos from the party (spot me!) and the after-party video (both courtesy of Tereynz Mendoza again). These doesn't even show a quarter of how wild and fun the party was! Contrary to popular opinion, accountants do know how to have fun! I definitely can't wait for more parties that our org will throw in the future!

x Erika Rosales

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Shades of Grey

With my mostly black and white wardrobe, of course that title was bound to be used lol (Just to clarify, I never did and never will read the book/s) This is just one of those times that I try to be like Lua P. of Le Happy (which is like, 50% of the time).

Top: Victoria's Secret PINK

Maxi skirt, bralet, & earrings: Forever 21

Boots: Topshop

Bag: Nine West (vintage)

Cherry necklace: H&M
Bangles, & black stone ring: Divisoria

For this look, I just scrambled in my drawer for old accessories. I even turned a ball chain into a choker because I don't have a legit one huhu. (But I've now learnt how to make a tattoo choker so yay!) I also amped up the grunge of the look by sporting thicker eyeliner.

Oh my gosh, is it almost the end of the world??? This is probably the shortest entry I've ever made hahaha! (I guess this is to make up for the next entry in my backlog-- which I've already written-- and it's pretty lengthy!)

Feel free to leave a comment below! I know I haven't replied to the previous ones I've got (ever since my last post 3 months ago oops), but I'll respond someday I promise haha! Getting close to the end of my backlogs yay <3

x Erika Rosales

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Casually Chillin'

Just a quick outfit post here to let you guys know that I'm still alive! (Though it sure might have been the opposite even though I'm just barely two weeks in as a third-year college student-- whoa, time flies by so fast!!)

When the rain falls, it seems to throw a blanket of laziness on people too, doesn't it? That's pretty much what I felt last Saturday, when it was pouring in the afternoon. I usually plan my weekend outfits ahead, but the weather was too gloomy for my original idea. Actually, my goal for that day really was to wear my new Birks (from my Seoul haul) for the first time. So I took it from there, and eventually ended up with this. I have a tendency to go on extremes when it comes to what I wear-- either I really dress up, or really dress down. Well, lazy dressing usually equates to slouchy clothing in my head. In fact, I was so lazy that I just decided to wear the cardigan that I also wore the previous day. (That's not really a fashion no-no, is it? I see it as a cover-up only anyway.)

Nothing much has happened during the past days, except from the fact that, for tonight, I get to take a breather from the intense classes. Also, I've created a Tumblr account! I've missed writing (not this kind of writing, but the creative kind), so that's where I'll be dumping my poetic attempts. Aside from that, you'll actually find out a lot about me just by looking at my posts there! I'm a bit of a fangirl myself, so that side of mine will be reflected there a lot. There's not much there yet though because I just started out. But feel free to follow me!

Also, I just watched Maleficent today. To be honest, the storyline seemed a bit anticlimactic to me. But being the stylephile that I am, I can't help but marvel at Ms. Angelina Jolie's costumes in the movie!! Especially that. catsuit. Talk about fierce!!

And because I'm incredibly smooth with transitions, here's a sidenote on the photos: Used Adobe Lightroom for the first-time in processing these photos! I used to use Photoshop, but man, Lr is so much easier and faster!! You might notice that I've also added watermarks on the photos. I discovered that Lr can do that automatically so I decided to give it a shot!

Cardigan: Aeropostale || Tank top: Uniqlo || Shorts & necklace: Forever 21

Midi rings: Aldo Accessories || Watch: Casio

Sandals: Birkenstock (Rio style) || Nails: L'Oreal (Club Prive color)

Can I also share how proud I am of actually maintaining my manicure properly for more than a week??? I love the shade of my nail polish! (It's brighter in reality.) I bought it for myself, so it's about time that I used it again. 

Before I wrap this post up, I'd like to share some realizations I had while looking at these photos: (1) I clearly do not know how to model from H2T; I need tips from Tyra lol. (2) Perhaps I need to inject more color into my wardrobe???

Anyway, so that's it for this post! Please be sweethearts and leave some comments below, would love to hear from you guys! Will try to get back to y'all as soon as I can. Also, follow me on GFC, Bloglovin, Instagram and Lookbook!

x Erika Rosales

PS: Thinking of giving my blog a revamp sometime! Also, I still have to post about the Lee PhFW show haha! Please bear with me and my backlogs in the future.

Escaping to Seoul (a photodiary, part 2 out of 2)

Ta-da! Here's the other half of my Seoul travel diary! In case you missed it, you can find the first part here. As promised, this post will be about Days 3 and 4 of my trip. Be prepared to coo and squeal over the cuteness of most of the animals pictured here-- unless you have a case of some related phobia, but in any case-- you have been warned.

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DAY 3 (May 11)

The day was spent mostly in Everland, another theme park in South Korea. Technically, it is not located in Seoul, but in another city called Yongin. We signed up for transfer from our hotel to the amusement park and back to save us the trouble of figuring out how to reach the place; however, it might have not been the best idea because our time was constrained in return. We arrived at Everland at around 10:30AM, and left at 3:30PM. Such a shame that we only had 5 hours to explore the place, given that it was amazing. It's like Korea's very own Walt Disney World, but owned by Samsung. It was smaller in terms of area, but the variety of attractions and the themes of each section were very reminiscent of Disney. Honestly, if you had to choose between Lotte World and Everland, choose Everland.

The first part of Everland we went to was Zoo-topia, the jungle/safari-themed park. (If you know Disneyland, it's like Animal Kingdom.) Our guide was very adamant about us getting into the Safari World ride, and she didn't let us go until we queued up for that lol. It was cool though, because the attraction provided us close (yet safe) encounters with the creatures of the wild.

 That's the special kind of tour, where you ride an SUV instead of the bus!

Is the lion smiling??? (photo taken with an iPhone, hence the quality)

Happy bear wants some more crackers.

We also got to experience Lost Valley, and a couple of other rides. The lines for many attractions were long because it was a Sunday.

 THIS FOX IS SO ADORABLE!!! (For some reason, I remembered Andrew Garfield???)

Photos from other parts of the park:

Colorful brocolli!

After being dropped off at our hotel, we decided that it was already time for dinner. (We've been told by our tour guide that Koreans tend to eat dinner early, like 5 to 6 PM- ish.) For that day, as a celebration of Mothers' Day and a belated one of my father's birthday, we headed over to this unique sort of a seafood restaurant.

THE TOOLS.

Boiling Crab & Shrimp

Itaewon Area

The seafood shack is quite hard to spot because it's in one of those alleys. But the trouble of looking for it is worth it! I know, the food looks messy; but it tastes just as good as how messy it seems to be!! Don't worry, they provide gloves and wipes anyway. The cajun sauce totally nailed it for me. (You can choose the level of spice for the sauce, by the way.) It was quite a struggle for me to eat because I'm not exactly skilled in working with shellfish with my hands, but I soon got the hang of it. Definitely a great experience! (I forgot which bucket we ordered, but it had snow crabs, Korean crabs, mussels, scallops, shrimp, corn, and potato.)

After dinner, we took the subway to Dongdaemun in the hopes of immersing ourselves in the night market. However, the weather became a real bummer! It was raining so hard that we couldn't bring ourselves to leave the station and go out and about. So instead, we checked out this new mall, Lotte Fitin, and this shopping center called Goodmorning City. Being a Lotte mall, the former was full of branded establishments. The latter, on the other hand was like Greenhills of some sort, filled with small stalls that sold different kinds of clothes (haggling's allowed!).

We also checked out and marveled at this ultimately futuristic and artsy infrastructure, one of Dongdaemun's landmarks. It was the farthest we could go without being harassed by the downpour.

Dongdaemun Design Plaza

Dongdaemun History & Culture Park Station, Line 2/4/5

We went back to Itaewon, and my mom bought coffee from Paris Baguette Cafe. It came in a very cute cup!! And as if the weather just decided to pull our leg, the rain stopped when we were back at our hotel lol.

My outfit that day was perhaps the one that blended the most with the local crowd among the four I sported. Varsity jackets, among with other athletics-inspired pieces, were definitely a common sight on Koreans. (So I'm really glad I asked for this and it came with The Box! Been wanting one for myself.) Another trend: skirts and stockings. (Wearing sheer stockings here, but then my dark legs make them look like opaque ones creys)

(click photo to view on Instagram)

Crop top: Fab (available in Robinson's Department Store)

Varsity jacket: Forever 21 || Boots: Dr. Marten's

DAY 4 (May 12)

And so we reach the last day of our stay in Seoul. I wish we could have stayed for a day longer! We didn't have the whole of day 4 to spend, so we crammed everything we can. First, we went to Cheongnyangni, where we did some snacks-shopping at Lotte Mart, and some window-shopping at Lotte Young Plaza. They also have Toys R' Us there wherein my dad probably went all starry-eyed haha. At the food court section of Lotte Department Store, we happened to spot this stall which sold some interesting-looking foodstuff called "schneeballs" (I think). At first,  we thought they were like cream puffs. But when the salesperson offered to hammer it for us, and when we opened up the bag, we found out that it was crunchy. And good!

Almost finished it all before I decided to take a photo lol sorry.

Schneeballen

B2 Lotte Department Store

Cheonyangni Station, Line 1

After Cheongnyangni, we decided to head over to Edae for some shopping! Being there made us realize that we should've headed there first before every other shopping place because the prices there are pocket-friendly! And there are lots of choices. However, the stuff there are mostly just for girls. After all, it's around the area of Ewha Women's University, an exclusive and prestigious university in Korea.

Taken at Line 1, City Hall Station (before transferring to Line 2).

The main road leading to Ewha (pronounced as YOO-wa)

Edae Shopping Neighborhood

Ewha Women's University Station, Line 2

Shopping in the area of Ewha Women's University is perfect for ladies who are into the sweet and feminine style. There are lots of shoes there, too. Some shops sell the same items, but here's a tip: the farther you are from the main road to the university, the lower the prices tend to get. Also, haggling is allowed in stores, except those that are "fixed-price stores". (I love my finds here, you should watch out for my Seoul haul post!)

For lunch, we ate a Japanese-Korean fusion restaurant. Roe rice seems to be famous in the area, so I got cheese roe rice. My parents, on the other hand, got pork cutlet sets which tasted just as good as Yabu's, if you asked me. The roe rice was kind of too cheesy for me, but I really loved the udon soup and the salad thing! The prices of the food are worth it though because they're meant to be student-friendly. Also, they have English menus, yay!

Albab

Near Ewha Womens' University

Oh, remember the hanbok photo studios I mentioned in my previous post? We found one in Edae too! We missed our chance to get our photos taken in Insadong, so we finally gave it a go here!

So Ewha was our last stop before heading to the airport. (We hoped to go to Hongdae too but ran out of time sigh) Since we're punctual flyers, we had around three hours to kill, and it didn't prove to be a problem because Incheon International Airport had a lot to offer.

Yongsan Art Hall

Some new terminal in Incheon, I think?

While waiting to board the plane, we bought some drinks to quench our thirst. My parents bought from Charlie Brown Cafe (near Gate 12) while I got a Banana in Berry smoothie from Smoothie King (near Gate 10). They had Jamba Juice in the airport too, but I decided to try Smoothie King because I've seen a lot of it in Seoul and I just had to try it.

Now to wrap up this photodiary, here's a look at my attire for my last day in South Korea!

Plaid skirt & varsity jacket: Forever 21 || Necklace: Envy || Boots: Dr. Marten's

Yep, wearing sheer stockings again in this one (they're a different pair, trust me). Also, the last photo is a sneak peek on one of my purchases in Edae!! Trench coats are definitely the "in" thing, so I thought of snagging one for myself (and mom, we'll share) too. My mother managed to pull down the price for this one, too! But you'll find out more about this on my Seoul haul post! That's all for my Seoul travel diary, I hope you guys picked up something useful from it haha! And if you'll ask me, yes, I would love to come back. Thanks for reading and dropping by!

x Erika Rosales

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