Good Gold

Weeks ago, I received my second-ever blogger mail. I know, right! The feeling of receiving a package is beyond delightful. It feels even greater when it's free! It's like Christmas gone early.

What did the parcel contain, you ask? Why, lovely accessories from Born Pretty Store! Since I cannot wait to share with you guys the goodies I received (and I'm actually already weeks late at it), I'm jumping the queue yet again with this fresh post. I'm so glad my Tagaytay adventure during the holiday gave me a chance to finally shoot these jewelries! (Photo-diary will be posted soon!)

I got to choose what pieces I would like for free, so I chose three gold items. The first one on my list was-- you guessed it-- this gold body chain (also available in silver)! I have been dying for one since it became a trend, and that was around a year ago! Now, I can say I belong with the likes of Queen Bey, RiRi, and also Miley! The design's just simple, but that's exactly how I like it. The length was also just right! If only I had a booty though, it would have draped more nicely at the bottom haha!

I also got this gold ring (also available in silver) because I liked its V-shape. I have always been wary of getting gold fashion jewelry because I am acidic. That means, fake gold tarnishes pretty quickly on me. But guess what! This ring stayed gold even when I wore it for a whole day! It also did not leave any green mark on my skin. It was even subjected to water and soap several times during the day, but it kept its color. Its gold plating is good; I wish all gold fancy jewelry were like this.

Once again, please excuse my manicure.

The last thing I got, this heart bangle, was adorable beyond sorts. Turns out, it's actually seamless! The only downside is that, it was kinda too big for me. Actually, I just naturally have thin wrists. Therefore, I had to be extra careful about making sure it did not fall off. Of course, I did not want to lose it.

Again, you can get these blings and a lot more choices at Born Pretty Store. If jewelry isn't your thing, you should still check them out! They pretty much sell everything from clothes, gadget cases, contact lenses, and even stationery! So what are you waiting for? Like them on Facebook, and head on over to their online site to view their products. Oh, and don't forget to enter my code "HFB10" upon checkout to get 10% off on your order! Happy shopping!

x Erika Rosales

PS: If you would also like to send me some items (for a review and/or feature), feel free to send me an email at e.rsls@yahoo.com!

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Something Green, Something Gold

Something new, something bold.

Have I mentioned my love for rhymes and other forms of wordplay? (That one, the title, is my jab at the wedding classic: "something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue".) No? Well, there you go. I like rhymes, puns, and the like.

Despite the reference to a wedding tradition, this is not about an outfit to a wedding; however, it's one to an event nearly as much-- if not just as-- important to a lady: her debut. (Well, for the Filipinos, at least, a girl turning 18 is a big deal.) In truth, the "debut season" for our batch was long over last year (I celebrated my own last October-- considering to post about that one as a major throwback!); however, there are some '96ers, one of which is the celebrant whose party I attended last July.

Seeing as it was probably going to be my last time attending a debut and, therefore, having the chance to dress up for a semi-formal event, I decided to make the most out of it. I've always wanted to try wearing a jumpsuit. I love how they can look dressy and/or casual, depending on the material.

Jumpsuit: Details (available at The Ramp Crossings) || Pumps: Call It Spring

Lace bralet & ear cuff: Forever 21 || Rings: Infinitine* || Belt: The Landmark

Nails: ELF (in Cherry Bomb) || Hair: Blo || Brow wax & makeup: Benefit

Searching for the perfect jumpsuit was a hard task. You know how people say that when girls shop, they have no plans whatsoever and just buy stuff on impulse? That's not always true; in my case, I had an image in my head of the exact kind that I wanted (that's usually why it takes me ages to shop, because sometimes I don't find them, haha). What I had in mind originally was: a spaghetti strap jumpsuit not made of cotton (so it will be more dressy) in a lively color (since black was not allowed). I actually found one at Topshop, in emerald green. However, the length of the pants and the straps were pretty off (and, let's be honest, the price was pretty high lol). However, I found something at The Ramp, and in the same color, too (kinda like my school color too)! While it was made of spandex and cotton and was in a different style, I fell in love with it anyway.

Since the neckline was d e e p, I wore something inside. I could have gone for a plain black tube/bandeau, but I decided against it because I felt like it would make the look less classy and put it more on the casual side; so I wore a lace bralet instead. I've always wanted to own one! Believe me, finding the perfect one wasn't easy either lol. But yay for trying something new!

Now, the color of the jumpsuit was already lively on its own, however, I still felt the need to accessorize. I was so excited to finally wear my lovely rings from Infinitine, a Korean jewelry store! I was so ecstatic when they contacted me, because they sent me my first blogger mail ever! ♥ I got to choose from all their products--- rings, earrings, bracelets, and anklets. I've always wanted gold midi/knuckle rings, so I went with a set of thin ones, a double ball ring, and my favorite of them all-- the stretch/cross ring! The last one's my favorite because you can wear it two (2) ways: you can wear it with its X side in front, or the loop side. I was so happy when I received them. They were so lovely in person, and they came in cute boxes too!

The problem with gold fashion jewelry is: they fade in time. It's worse with me because I'm pretty acidic, I guess; when I wear rings, usually they leave green marks on my fingers. However, the double ball ring and stretch/cross rings are still gold! I've worn them quite a lot of times now, and they still keep their color. Awesome, right? The thin ones though have faded to silver; but that's alright because they're still pretty!

If you want to view the items I got on their website, you can click these links for the set of 5 gold knuckle rings, double ball ring (in 3 colors-- gold, silver, rose gold), and stretch/cross ring (also in 3 colors).

Me wearing a jumpsuit wasn't the only "new" thing about my outfit; there was also me actually doing something my hair-- or rather, having something done with my hair. I couldn't be bothered to style my hair differently most of the time for parties because I'm pretty much the embodiment of the phrase "fashionably late" (not that I'm proud of it or anything). But I was coming from MOA before the party, so I decided to try out Blo. They're a blow dry bar, so they don't do haircuts or colors, just pure styling for P500, regardless of the style and hair length (if you choose from their menu, that is; but you can give them a different hair peg, but the price will be higher). I chose the Pillow Talk, which are soft S-like curls, and asked to put them on the side.

Before the curling though, I went for their hair treatment (forgot how much it was), hence the fabulous hair cap. It felt really cool to the head, somehow minty. I haven't had a haircut in a long time, so I figured I should get my hair treated at least. Wasn't quite sure if it really had an effect though lol. Anyway, I really love how the curls ended up! Unfortunately, my hair is naturally straight and silky, so the curls were gone sometime near the end of the party, sigh.

Blo Blow Dry Bar

2/F Main Mall (near Too Cool for School)

SM Mall of Asia

Pasay City

I then went for a brow wax at Benefit, which was actually the point of us being at MOA. I always got my brows groomed there because they know me well! Unfortunately, I found out that my favorite people have been rotated to different branches (hence the past tense), but that's okay because one of them got relocated to a branch that's more convenient for me yay. Anyway, I really love their brow waxing services because they doll you up afterwards with their products! It's already  included in the P500 fee. I asked them to make it extra special though, since I was attending a party. I totally love the finished look which you can see below!

Benefit

2/F Main Mall (near Uniqlo)

SM Mall of Asia

Pasay City

(click photo to view on Instagram)

(Just to clarify, none of the services I got were sponsored; I'm just giving credits to where they are due! But if you'd like to contact me for sponsorships or collaborations of any sort, feel free to send me an email over at: e.rsls@yahoo.com)

Oh by the way! A few days after I bought the jumpsuit, Kryz Uy of Thirstythought posted a photo wearing the same jumpsuit on Instagram! She styled it differently, as you can see below:

Photo from Kryz Uy's Instagram (click to view)

(click photo to view on Instagram)

Who do you think wore it better? Don't worry, I won't get offended if you pick her; after all, she's one of the top bloggers in the country! Just lemme know below, and feed my curiosity hihi.

Speaking of Instagram, this is my second most popular OOTD post as of now! I'll be posting the third most popular OOTD up next. But for now, feel free to follow me on Instagram (@ekdoublea)-- I post a lot more often there! Follow me too on GFC and Bloglovin, I'll follow back for sure! Just give me time to get back to you, it will take a while sorry. Don't forget to comment below and leave a link to your blog too so I can check yours out! Thanks for enduring my TL;DR post (as always), if you did, haha!

x Erika Rosales

Texture Versus Print

Oh hey, it's been two weeks since my last post! Finals just ended for me last Friday and YES I AM FINALLY FREE!! I can finally enjoy summer. Naturally, the past few days have been hot although it did rain yesterday, and that was really weird. Oh well, that's climate change for us (unfortunately).

Anyway, as I was saying, the weather's been crazy hot. If school rules allowed it, I probably would have worn shorts every day. Actually, shorts are allowed in school. But for some reason, my demure skirts and shorts don't meet the required length (at least one inch below the longest finger when standing up). I've come to the conclusion that my arms are unusually long. That's why you'll often see me outside of school wearing either a skirt or shorts because I use all my pants in school haha!

So for today, I decided to wear this pleated plaid skirt that I've had since I was in first or second year high school. I rarely wear it because I find it difficult to wear it without looking like a schoolgirl. But then I had this idea of wearing it with my pastel pink eyelet top. A lace-like top and a skirt-- perfect for the summer heat! I rarely wear "clashing" pieces, but I thought they contrasted each other perfectly. What do you guys think?

Eyelet top: Topshop || Plaid skirt: Forever 21 || Necklace: The Landmark
Bracelets: Promod || Tank top: Uniqlo || Nude flats: Lower East Side (Payless Shoe Source)

  Fitclip: Renouveau Manila || Nails: Sally Hansen Fuzzy Coat (c/o Nailogy)

Like I said, I've had the skirt since around 4 years ago. Back then, I was still a size Medium, so I had to use my fitclip again! My top's actually a size 6 so yeah, I just had to wing it lol. 

So there, happy summer! Also, have a blessed week. Will publish another post by the weekend, stay tuned! You might want to subscribe to my blog via email for updates, or follow me on Google Friend Connector (GFC). You can do these by checking out my sidebar, thanks!

x Erika Rosales

Colorblocking

Second post! I'm sneaking this in with loads of school work that I have to do. Things are getting really stressful now, but I guess what gets me going is the thought that these will be over soon. I guess life is just really fond of making us suffer before all the good stuff haha.

Well anyway, I'm posting about my OOTN last night! I attended a friend's debut. Black and pink were prohibited, so I really had to find a new dress because-- for some odd reason-- most of my dresses are black. So much for LBD haha!

I'm not complaining though, because I just found this perfect dress! It's one of those things that make me feel like a legit blogger, because I've seen fashion bloggers wear it. So when I saw it, I knew I had to get it. I just love the cut because it gives me the curves that I don't have, really! I loved the color too. It's bright, and that's something new for me. It stood somewhere between yellow and lime green. What was funny was, at the party, in the photobooth, the camera thought my dress was a green screen! So in the pictures, I looked like I was part of the background lol.

Before buying the dress, I already knew the accessories I'd wear with it. I thought of colorblocking. I already had a pink clutch at home which I really bought for colorblocking, so that was a check on my list.

What I went to hunt for were earrings. The dress had a sweetheart neckline, so I had to accessorize on the upper part. I went with dangling earrings instead of wearing a chunky necklace. I wanted to get blue tassel earrings, but couldn't find any. Anyway, I found these chain ones which were just as lovely! Where I found it, you'd be surprised! Sometimes you just find the best pieces in the most unexpected places. The ring was just something I grabbed on impulse before I left the house. It's prolly not obvious in the photo, but the gem is actually violet.

For the shoes, I just went with nude to tame things down. Since my outfit had gold accents, I wore my spiked heels which were one of the pairs I wore during my debut (which I will post about soon, by the way!). The spikes actually popped one of the balloons on the floor in the party last night, oops.

Moving on from the accessories to the makeup! (Smooth transition there, yeah) I usually go for winged eyeliner for parties, but this time I did it with a twist. Instead of using eyeliner to "wing it", I just used eyeshadow! Got the inspiration from Sam Pinto's Instagram photo (I don't even remember how I ended up there).

Next, my hair. I really didn't know what to do with it. I didn't want to let it down because that's my usual look. I first planned on a donut bun, but I figured it might make me look a lot like an Oriental girl (which I actually am so lol), with the winged eye makeup and all. So I thought, why not braid it, a la Elsa of Frozen? (in line with that, I would like to thank my mom for braiding it for me hihi) It was later on when I realized that, just appropriately, my dress was off-shoulder too like Elsa's.

Dress: Apartment 8 || Heels: Forever 21
Earrings: E.G.G. (Exciting Gifts & Goodies) || Clutch: SM Accessories

So there, that's last night's outfit broken down. For today, I decided to wear something summer-y. Too bad I forgot to wear shades. I realized getting hit by the sun in the eyes helps you look tough in pictures though, lol.

The denim vest was something that I found someplace I never shopped at. The skirt was something given to me I think a year or two ago. It was big for me, but it was too cute I couldn't let it go. So I'm glad I had a fitclip (that's the black thing on the photo above; clipped it at the back, so it was hidden by the vest)! Bought it from Renouveau Manila. They sell inside the campus because they're by students, but they sell online too!

Tank top: Uniqlo || Denim Vest: K2 || Skirt: Old Navy

Rings: Aldo & Forever 21 || Sandals: Zara || Fitclip: Renouveau Manila

Oh by the way, we went to Century City Mall. A lot of the stores aren't open yet, but it's nice there. We tried out CaliBurger. It was very reminiscent of In-N-Out! Not too far from that, I say. Loved their chocolate milkshake though!

So that was my weekend. Back to school-- well, not like it left me anyway, with all the projects huhu. Anyway, hope you enjoyed reading! I added a 'Subscribe Via Email' feature on the side btw, so you guys might want to try that. Thanks!!

x Erika Rosales