Followers

Monday, April 30, 2012

If there is no woman, there is no dress...

I got sidetracked.

While i was working on my other, "major" post (lol), I have decided to do something I did not plan on doing very often. I have decided to change the header of my blog. For one simple reason that I got inspired by something Coco Chanel once said.

“Look for the woman in the dress. If there is no woman, there is no dress.”


Oh, so true.

So true, because it is  never the dress that makes the woman, it is the woman that makes the dress. It is so true because first and foremost, I am a girl, a lady, and a woman and my style is my statement.

It is my expression on how I feel on the inside.

It is the expression of me.
 
 
--
 



Saturday, April 28, 2012

Poll: Are You a Serena or a Blair?

     A styling book once mentioned that in order to sharpen your skills as celebrity stylist, when you look at a dress or a garment you should be able to imagine which celebrity you will style that dress for.    Browsing through runway shows though,  I could only come up with two stars all the time: the Gossip Girls Blake Lively(Serena Vanderwoodsen)  and Leighton Meester ( Blair Waldorf).  Which makes me formulate the hypothesis that there is a Serena or a Blair in each of us!!  Of course these are vague categories and there may be subcategories as well.  Now some of you may protest but please hold back on those hate emails just yet because this hypothesis is a little premature and you may be able to help me test it with the following images.  So please help me come up with a conclusion by participating in my survey:  Are you a Blair or are you a Serena?

Would you rather wear this style:  


 

Styled from BestTrendsForever.Com StyleMe



Or this style? :

Styled from BestTrendsForever.Com StyleMe



 

Would you rather have a lunch date in these ?:





Styled from BestTrendsForever.Com StyleMe



Or these?

Styled from BestTrendsForever.Com StyleMe





 


Would you rather Stroll through a Manhattan winter in this style?:




Styled from BestTrendsForever.Com StyleMe





Or would you rather beat the cold in these?

Styled from BestTrendsForever.Com StyleMe







So, are you a Blair?


 




or are you a Serena?



          


Thursday, April 26, 2012

Rave: Louis Vuitton's Steam Engine Themed Fashion Show- Fall 2012



Photo taken from fashionablehousewivesofusa.com
 

    It may be a delayed reaction to the fabulous LV's steam engine themed fall 2012 fashion show but I have to absolutely dedicate a blog to this work of art by Marc Jacobs or I won't ever be able to forgive myself.  The show was certainly very memorable as it depicted the brands 19th century origins as a premier travel luggage brand.  The show was  over the top they actually built an old fashioned railroad car for props!  This will certainly be one of the most memorable LV fashion shows in history.   I was thinking the whole time, man those porter guys carrying the LV bags are so lucky they don't even know it.!  The shoes and hats more than anything were the most unforgettable elements of the styling I think:


And the shoes are outlandish but charming:

With such a spectacular show that almost equals the extravagance of Cirque du Soleil,  Will Marc Jacobs be able to top himself in future shows?  With this guy's genius, it's very likely.

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

The skinny on celebrity-endorsed diet products

     
    I had to make a quick run to the pharmacy today and as I went for the milk section,  I could not help but lurk at the diet aisle where I saw Kim Kardashian everywhere on the diet section of the drugstore.  It's crazy how ubiquitous Kim Kardashian has become.  You can't escape her presence anymore.  She used to just belong in the magazine aisle now she has conquered the supplement section as well.  I was surprised to also find Cheryl Burke and Holly Madison gracing these shelves along with Kim.  Curious, I looked at some of the ingredients and I saw a ton of caffeine and caffeine like substances, laxatives and diuretics on their labels.  The labels on most of them also indicated " All Natural", "Quick", " No Side Effects" and so on and so forth.

   
I have to be very restrained with my opinion on these things because I have a ton of things to say regarding these diet fads.  But I am not here to rant.  I came here to buy milk.  So, all I can say is do your due diligence research before you grab one of these from the shelves .  I mean these girls are great celebs and I think Kim has a very good fashion sense.  But don't let their star status sway you into ingesting something that could potentially alter your chemical balance! No, no,no! I'm talking especially to those who have pre -existing conditions and are taking prescription medications because some of the ingredients that I saw could and will interact with a lot of your medications like antidepressants, antianxiety drugs and high blood pressure meds.   They could even interact with your Starbucks:) And please,  don't fall for the "All Natural" thing.  It does not mean it is side effect free. I mean venom is all natural and is notorius for its side effects, lol. You get the point. .  Just be smart and ask your doctor or your friendly pharmacist before you start any diet regimen.  And, of course, healthy eating and daily exercise are probably the cheaper and safer way to shed the pounds so I advocate going those routes first.
     But what am I doing? I'm off now.  No more medication counselling.  I did that all day.  Now if I could only get to that dairy aisle and finally go home and enjoy my glass of milk and oreos and my DVR marathons of Dancing With The Stars and Keeping Up With The Kardashians...

Monday, April 23, 2012

My Love-Hate Relationship with the Mint-Green Trend
   
    So there's this new trend that I love but loathe: mint green.  Hmmm...  I love it but loathe it? kinda confusing for a little bit, huh?  I love it because it's mint green!!   I mean, who doesn't? It's innocent , it's refreshing, it's relaxing.  It's the color of a baby's room. It's the color of vacation.  The color of the calm waters of the Bahamas.  It's probably one of those few colors that have a psychosomatic effect in a person:  you look at it and all of a sudden all your worries vanish.  So why do I loathe it again?  Well, you see, my skin color repels it.  I tried on so many mint green clothes and they just don't agree with me.  As the trendy girl that I am, however,  I refuse to give up on this new trend.  So what do I do?  I will then just have to wear it away from my face!  I wanna give homage to this noble color that is mint green by finding ways to rock it other than wearing it as a shirt or a dress.  So here are the ways I plan to rock this awesome new trend:


By wearing a mint colored jeans,  I give my daily casual outfit a "refreshing" look: 



Styled From BestTrendsForever.Com

Another way that I plan to rock this mint green trend is by wearing a mint colored sandals like these:


Styled From BestTrendsForever.Com

 Now for a more sophisticated look,  I could also wear it as a blouse, just not in a solid color so my skin tone is not totally "unflattered"(Sorry,  I so can't resist the "away from my face" rule):


Styled From BestTrendsForever.Com

Now mint green does not seem so intimidating to wear anymore. Bring it on fashion trendsetters from Paris!  This fashion fanatic won't pass up on any new trend without a fight.  Hello, open midriffs! :) 

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Clothes I Love But Can't Afford -From Spring 2012 Fashion Shows

     I've always loved window shopping.  As a teenager, I went to malls with friends just to window shop.  I could not wait to be a grown up and be able to finally afford all the clothes I like.  Little did I know that as an adult, my taste in clothes would become more expensive too- so here I am again, all grown up with a very stable job but nevertheless, swooning over this Spring's expensive runway looks from the comfort of my computer .  I looked at hundreds of runway looks at Style.com's website and because I can't afford
these coveted pieces,  I decided to scour the internet for replicas that fit my budget.

 This Monique Lhuillier number is divine: 



From Style.com


  But with limited budget, I think I'll go with this one from Express:


HANDKERCHIEF HEM MAXI DRESS



Another one of my faves is  Cavalli's animal print maxi:


From Style.com
 Of course, it probably costs a year of wages.  So, to satisfy my craving,  I looked for one similar to it.  I came across this one by Express:


CHIFFON HALTER MAXI DRESS
  

I really love the vibrant color of this dress from DKNY:
 



DKNY Spring 2012 Ready-to-Wear
From Syle.com
 
However this dress from Asos fits my budget better:



Image 1 of AWear Bold Floral Dress 


D&G was all about scarf prints for spring this year:



 
D&G Spring 2012 Ready-to-Wear

This particular one  would max out my credit card: 

   
                                                               D&G Spring 2012 Ready-to-Wear 
  But this one from Asos :


 
      Image 1 of John Zack Belt Print Waisted Dress

    Or this one from Zara is a better fit for my budget:



      DRESS WITH GOLD PATCH

 I love the  print and color of this Anna Sui number:



                
Anna Sui Spring 2012 Ready-to-Wear
From Style.com



 But until I make my first million,  I probably just need to be creative and  change the belt to black on this number from Forever 21:

This peplum dress from Badgley Mishka is out of the question:
  

Badgley Mischka Spring 2012 Ready-to-Wear
From Style.com

This one from Asos my accountant  will approve:


                                                          Image 1 of Coast Pencil Skirt

This coral  lace dress from Alexis Mabille is dreamy but expensive: 
 


From Style.com
 
          
But this one from Topshop,  is also dreamy but will leave me some extra money for lunch:



                                                             

    So the lesson for the day is, fashion does not have to break the bank.  You just have to be very innovative to look in style and look like a million bucks without spending your life savings.  So guys, don't be fashionably broke.

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Oh, what a day... I filled maybe a hundred prescriptions today, but it feels like I filled thousands. I wish every single customer that walked into my store was nice... Oh, well, as they say, se la vie.

And so I tell Max I am going to do another blog entry today, but 2 hours later he walks in on me sleeping comfortably on our bed with my laptop open. So, girls, if you ever consider becoming a pharmacist slash blogger, a word of caution: getting enough sleep maybe a problem:) 

The second I wake up, the first thing I see, other than Max with the coffee mug in his hand, is that my laptop is open at liujo.it website as I frantically try to remember why in the world I was looking at that website.

And, basically, here is THE WHY:

Ok, in a nutshell, Liu-jo is an italian brand I absolutely adore, probably because their style is that sophisticated combination of simple, cute and classy with its own unique personality (well fitting for yours truly, lol) and here is exactly what I mean:






Gorgeous! Gorgeous! Gorgeous!

Well, apparently 10+ years after I moved from the Phillipines to the United States in search of The Big Fashion, The Big Fashion,specifically, Liu-Jo is now moving to the Phillipines. Specifically, the most beautiful place in the Phillipines, the city of Cebu. Seriously?

Liu? Jo? Hello? How about Chicago? Water Towers? Big Fashion place... (audible sigh).

What I need is that coffee Max is drinking. Eh, who am I kidding? I got to get some sleep...

XOXO,

Your Best Trends Forever Girl.

Sunday, April 15, 2012

My Three Anti-Aging Weapons

If I may get cliche-ist for a little bit,  may I say, I live and breathe fashion and skin care.  I know I work behind the counter of a pharmacy, hidden from the public and on the phone for the most part, but i have to be fashionable underneath the drab white smock that I have to wear day in and day out.


A little bit of venting first.
My obsession with fashion and skin care is how I stay sane filling prescriptions all day, answering patient questions, and dealing with some angry doctors and other healthcare staff. I also live and breathe anything anti-aging.   Believe me,  I love my job. But I don't wanna grow too old and lose my style  doing it because it does get insane sometimes having to multi- task supervising my staff while ensuring that patients get the accurate prescriptions and, fast.  I wanna stay young and fashionable while performing a crucial role in making people feel healthier and better. 


     Staying stylish may be a little easier in the career path that I took.  Though I have to be on my feet all day,  I just choose to be comfortable by wearing a cool pair of flats and refusing to wear tennis shoes, though wearing the latter gets very tempting to do whenever my sore feet complain to me at night.  But I just ignore their nagging and, maybe, purchase a really stylish pair of crocs(though crocs and stylish seem like an oxymoron, there are now ones that are very fashion forward, fyi) the next day so I don't fully compromise the welfare of my feet nor my principle to be stylish at all costs.


Staying Young, Acne and Other Stuff...
Now staying young with my hectic schedule and with the grueling demands of my job, that may be a tall order.  I've always known that there is a connection between stress and skin conditions.  Some people get rashy under stressful conditions, some get acne due to increase in the hormones produced by the body in response to stress, while others like me, age.  It's because people frown when under stress, those lines get deeper over time with repeated tense-inducing situations and so aging shows on their skin faster. Since I belong to the group that frown a lot under stress ,  I know I have to do something fast to try to slow down the aging process.  So here are my anti-aging "prescriptions" to keep the wrinkles at bay:
1.  Relaxation techniques.   Whenever a challenging moment comes my way,  I close my eyes and breathe for 7 seconds before I approach the situation.  By doing this,  I notice that I have forgotten part of the reason why the situation is stressfull to begin with.  I also feel that by breathing, I am enabling my system to send more oxygen to the brain, allowing me to focus my plan of handling the situation best.  Breathing also relaxes my facial lines as it keeps myself from frowning when I  take deep breaths.  So killing three birds with one stone with no price tag on it,  deep breathing is a cheap and effective way to battle tension all the time.
2. Okay, of course I have to throw in some pills here, you all know that right?  But as a pharmacist I am very picky with the supplements that I take.  I can easily detect whether a supplement is a hype or not.  This pill though, works wonders!  And I put my pharmacist seal of approval on it.  This wonder "vitamin" is called, IMEDEEN.  Part of the characteristic of a young skin is its dewiness.  And man, does Imedeen dew-ify a lot!  The stuff works from within to bring that youthful glow we all long for.  The tablets are made of marine extracts and Vitamin C, the combination of which successfully make the skin look young and the fine lines to appear less visible.  I take Imedeen everyday and the days that I forgot to take them are the days that I look  old on my facebook photos.  I can easily track the days I missed a dose when I look at my photo albums and I don't like how I look on them.  So I carry a pill box in my purse and fill them up with Imedeen so I keep up with the twice daily dosing of my favorite supplement in the world!
3.  Rodan and Fields Anti-Age.  I mean I love the pair.  Two Stanford grads concocting an anti-aging line, where do I purchase?  I've grown up on Proactiv for my youthful, acneic skin.  Now that I'm older,  I trust these doctors to work the same wonders on my beyond-my-teens skin.  So I tried their product and they do not disappoint.  I actually got my package yesterday, my second batch!    I am very happy I stumbled upon this website, http://www.perfectskinforever.com/ that sells this line.  I guess they are not available in stores and that you have to buy them from online
.
So there, my three anti-aging weapons.   Equipped with these guys,  I think I can extend my youthfulness for a very long time in a stressful world such as mine!!