Saturday, February 14, 2009

This Distortion This Repulsion

Just enough minutes left to keep this post relevant. Pretty much everybody and they momma dressed in either red or pink today (Valentine's Day).

But, y'know. Fuck that noise. Red's only really for New Year's anyway.

Also, its still chillier than a bitter single's heart in SoCal. Like, "goddamn, am I still in California?". Peh!

With the coat?


Without the coat?

Outfit Breakdown
Undershirt: Wet Seal
Dress + Belt: DC
Pants: Forever 21
Shoes: Coach

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

I was a Teenage Werewolf

Its chilling out again, and so I pay homage to the various yetis, abominable snowmen, sasquatches and wild men out in the world. (And god help those who recognize the title.)

Oh shit, two tone!

Outfit Breakdown
Vest: Macy's ~ Cejon
Blouse: Lemon Grass
Necklace: Forever21
Pants: Style & Co. Jeans
Shoes: Coach

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

I got you dancin'!

Most of the times I hate tights with any sort of denim be they shorts or skirts, mostly because I never really see it executed with imagination. And by "imagination" I mean tights colored something other than black. /bitching

The shirt was a birthday present from my sister. I have a little knowledge of Spanish but I assumed it made sense, but according to curious onlookers and some friends it doesn't come off intelligibly. This is extra curious seeing as there is much fury and rage whenever hanzi is taken and slapped hither and thither on random t-shirts. When used like that its usually perceived as a disregard for a 'dignified culture' and reducing something as potent into a trivialized pretty-something to feed some missing sense of culture.

Geh. Its too goddamn late in the day to get angry. Closing line is this: You'll know when something's offensive when it pisses off at least one organization. There. Done.


I'm getting better at this whole Photoshop editing, yeah?



Close up of the shirt's front




A closer closeup of the shirt's detail-- General consensus is that this is poetic gibberish in Spanish


Look! Blue nails!

Outfit Breakdown
Shirt: Besos not Bombs
Nails: Sephora
Shorts: Levi's
Leggings: Forever21
Shoes: Vans



Monday, January 19, 2009

My mother always told me you'd show up one day

I'm finally getting on my way to going to college I've wanted to go to since I heard of it in high school (Art Institute, btw). And this is the outfit I wore to the open house.

That's pretty much it. Expect to see me animating your children's favorite movie in the next five years.

Bitcheeeeeeeeeeeeees!

I'm having a bit too much fun fucking with the backgrounds.

Outfit Breakdown
Hat: Mr. Rider
Shirt: American Apparel (borrowed from my sister)
Necklace: Forever21
Rings: Orange rose - Love Culture; Steel - Forever21
Pants: Ralph Lauren ~ Polo Jeans
Shoes: Coach converses

Friday, January 16, 2009

WAR! HUH! What is it good for?!

I think alot of people who experiment with their clothes at a young age always, or most of the time, seem to go through an Army print phase. I'm a happy little statistic as far's that's concerned but the real flair and originality comes from what's done with it. It reminds me of one of the fads from my youth where someone, or some people had the bright idea to make a rainbow assortment of camoflauge print. Everywhere I saw there were jackets, jeans and skirts in bright pink, purple and blue camoflauge print. It became so that the print oversaturated and thus faded from popular trend.

Can you tell I finally learned a new Photoshop trick?

I think it could still work but with a different execution. Especially now that 80s style is out and the neon horror that was 90s style is catching on (with people who were still sperm, eggs, zygotes and itty bitty blobs of babyflesh during a good deal of the 90s no less!). But alas, I think the whole of colored camoflauge has been erased off the face of the earth, so I must comfort myself with "traditional" camo.


Excuse the chest tigyawat!
Quick note about the necklace: This along with the necklace from the other entry are all the owl paraphenalia in my arsenal. This was made by one of my sister's friends who's a metalsmith/goldsmith/jewelrysmith but seeing's she doesn't care for jewelry that much it has now passed into my possession. I like it, its simple and very professionally done yet still looks very homemade do-it-yourself.
Outfit Breakdown
Overcoat: Forever21
Shirt: Forever21
Pants: Quicksilver
Shoes: Coach
Bracelets: Orange beads and purple bracelet were gifts, the red zebra bracer is from Bliss

Thursday, January 15, 2009

casually dressy

I normally don't wear jeans to work except for casual Friday (whoohoo!). And I normally don't wear a button-down shirt with jeans to work either... so what happened here?



It was a casual dress day, so I was rocking a long-sleeve t-shirt (hiding the tatt) and jeans to work. The comfort of teaching in casual clothes is pretty liberating.



Fast-forward to about 3 hours after school is officially out, but I'm still at the building because my students are performing music at a special assembly to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Not wanting to look too scrubby, I take the easy route of throwing on a button-down shirt I've packed specifically for the occasion. Instant upgrade from casual.



Total time at work: Arrived on campus at 7:30 AM. Left the building after the concert at about 8:00 PM. Whoohooo!

  • Button-down Shirt: H&M
  • Nerdy Glasses: cK
  • Jeans: Marc Ecko Cut & Sew Jeans
  • Lanyard: 2008 Beijing Olympics official merch


Necklace, bracelets, ring, and watch info are in previous posts.

 

You don't wanna stay, no! But you don't wanna go, oh!

Its January, and in true SoCal style instead of the cold, clammy weather we've been getting since December we're now suddenly in a heat wave. I couldn't be more grateful.

Yeee~! Its finally warm enough to wear one layer!

Can you tell how ecstatic I am?

Outfit Breakdown
Hat: Mr. Rider
Shirt: Forever21
Belt: Anchor Blue
Pants: Ralph Lauren ~ Polo Jeans
Slippers: Cathy Jean

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

First Day Funk

Its college time again, oh shit. I have to say though, for going to a community college everyone on campus was impeccably (and for some bitches, fiercely) dressed for the first day of the semester. Granted, I could tell off the bat where most of them got their clothes and I saw my overly fair share of the slouchy beanies, skinny darkwash jeans, white v-necked shirts, wielder's mask sized sunglasses, pouffant ponytails, gladiator sandals, black flats, black capri tights under jean miniskirts-- basically the whole indie hipster's nine yards and then some.

But its cool, its the first day I won't harbor any grudges. Yet.

I think I might have to do this every time with this mirror, it seems like its the only way they come out not looking like total suman.


And here we have a nice ruffle action shot!

Outfit Breakdown
Blouse: Macy's - fire los angeles (From Macy's but tag says fire los angeles; just clearing it up)
Shirt: Forever21
Belt: Anchor Blue
Jeans: Levi's
Shoes: Vans

Luscious Lashes

I've always been quite jealous of people who have long, thick lashes. One of my cousins has the most beautiful eyelashes ever--at some point when he was a kid, he hated them so much he had his brother trim them, only to have them grow back longer. I've never been brave enough to trim my lashes to try for this.

Now there's a drug for thickening lashes. Tempting, but still fairly expensive.

Love the Long Eyelashes. Who’s Your Doctor?
Published: January 13, 2009

First it was frozen foreheads. Now it’s Betty Boop eyelashes.

Allergan, the company that turned an obscure muscle paralyzer for eyelid spasms, Botox, into a blockbuster wrinkle smoother, hopes to perform cosmetic alchemy yet again. At the end of the month, the company plans to introduce Latisse, the first federally approved prescription drug for growing longer, lusher lashes.

The product has the same formula as Allergan’s eye drops for glaucoma, called Lumigan. It is one of several drugs in a category known as prostaglandin analogs, which are meant to reduce dangerous pressure in the eyeball. But as a side effect, the treatment tends to make the eyelashes of many patients longer and fuller.

Some medical experts say they worry that cosmetic customers may occasionally experience some of the glaucoma drug’s other side effects, which can include red, itchy eyes and changes in eyelid pigmentation. Some financial analysts, meanwhile, wonder how many people will want to spend $120 for a monthly dose of lash-lengthening Latisse.

But other analysts predict that in a world where people spend about $5 billion a year on mascara, Latisse could be the biggest thing to hit cosmetic medicine since, well, Botox. Sales for the cosmetic use of Botox were $600 million in 2007.

“I think this is a fairly big deal,” said Ronny Gal, a senior research analyst in specialty pharmaceuticals at Sanford C. Bernstein, an equity research company. “It is a new idea in a market that loves new ideas and, frankly, it works.”

David E. I. Pyott, Allergan’s chief executive, predicted that in the long term, worldwide sales of Latisse would exceed $5o0 million. And he suggested that many women would not blink at spending $120 for a one-month, three-milliliter supply of the drug. He compared the cost of longer lashes to a daily cup of coffee.

“If you think about it in terms of luxury, it’s four dollars a day,” he said. “We think this is fairly acceptable to a large segment of people even in these times.”

But one analyst, Gary Nachman, director of specialty pharmaceuticals at the investment bank Leerink Swann, said the expense of Latisse and the inconvenience of obtaining a doctor’s prescription might deter many women from trying it. Health insurance does not typically cover such cosmetic treatments.

Mr. Nachman said Latisse might have more value to Allergan as a gateway drug that brings new patients to cosmetic medicine and leads them to try Botox. He predicted Latisse would have sales of only $80 million by 2012. “I don’t think this is going to be a huge game changer,” Mr. Nachman said.

Indeed, Jennifer Nobriga, one of a pair of stay-at-home mothers behind the Web site beautyinreallife.blogspot.com, said she intends to stick with plain old mascara rather than splurge on the eyelash drug.

“It would not be at the top of my list,” said Ms. Nobriga of Woodbridge, Va. “I would rather spend the money on a good under-eye cream.”

Some doctors said that while Lumigan had a track record as a safe glaucoma drug, they were nonetheless concerned that the cosmetic version could have some of the same minor side effects.

Dr. Harry A. Quigley, a professor of ophthalmology at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, said that frequent complaints of glaucoma patients included temporarily red eyes, itching and darker eyelid skin. But in a few glaucoma patients who used eyedrops containing a prostaglandin, he said, green or hazel irises permanently turned darker after 6 to 12 months of treatment.

“It’s like the country-western song “Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue,” but in this case it’s ‘Don’t it make your blue eyes brown,’ ” Dr. Quigley said.

Allergan held a clinical trial with about 280 volunteers, half of whom used Latisse daily for 16 weeks. The study results were reviewed by the Food and Drug Administration, which approved the drug in late December. In that study, eyelashes typically grew 25 percent longer, 106 percent thicker and 18 percent darker. While 3.6 percent of patients experienced eye itching and red eyes, none had a change of eye color, Allergan said.

But the Latisse data, Dr. Quigley said, was short-term and involved too few patients to draw conclusions about side effects. “I would bow to data that says ‘we have 100,000 patients in F.D.A. studies and no one’s eye color changed.’ ”

Mr. Pyott of Allergan says that darker iris color is extremely unlikely with Latisse because each daily application to the lashes involves 5 percent of the amount prescribed to glaucoma patients. “We can assume that that kind of scale must lead to a drastically lower risk,” Mr. Pyott said.

In the application for F.D.A. approval of Latisse, Allergan established the basic safety of the drug with data from multiple studies of Lumigan. Allergan has sold 65 million bottles of Lumigan since its approval in 2002, Mr. Pyott said, with worldwide sales last year of about $430 million.

Latisse will cost slightly more than Lumigan, which is $73 to $84 for a 2.5 milliliter bottle for patients who pay for it themselves. But analysts do not expect many eye doctors to write prescriptions for people to use Lumigan only cosmetically.

Allergan plans to introduce Latisse this month, primarily to cosmetic doctors like dermatologists. Some women who have already tried Latisse are fans.

“People would say to me ‘Are you wearing false eyelashes?’ — even my own mother asked,” said Cindy Ross, vice president for sales at Young Pharmaceuticals in Wethersfield, Conn., who participated in the Latisse clinical trial.

Ms. Ross said she liked the effect so much that she had a doctor prescribe the glaucoma drug to use on her lashes until Latisse becomes commercially available. “I wouldn’t stop,” Ms. Ross said. “I found a way to get it.”

Some doctors, meanwhile, are wondering whether Latisse could be used on hair elsewhere.

“Someone will call to say ‘I am Dr. Jones in wherever, and I would like to conduct a study on eyebrows,’ ” Mr. Pyott said. “For a lot of women, the eyebrow is every bit as important as the eyelash.”

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Godamit!

Get it? Godamnit? Damit?*

... Nevermind.

I had shown a bit of what I received on Christmas so I thought I'd thrown in pictures of the rest of the sartorial goodies I found under my tree. And lo, my sister's Forever21 employee discount proved to be most bountiful:


I like how this jacket comes off as a bit steampunk. The dangling thing isn't there for decoration its actually the hood adjustment string that somehow snaked out into the open.

I love raglan shirts since they're so easy to wear and comfortable. However, this was a shirt I received as a gift from my mother (obviously not from Forever21).


I don't particular have a hardon for owls but, my sister rightfully predicted and it'd be something I'd still wear if I had to choose jewelry. Though you can't tell easily, its painted yellow in the little feather engraved spots on the head.





These are the same as the blue houndstooth leggings I wore in my last entry. They both share a zipper feature at the side of the leg. These are a bit 80s glamrock, don't you think?



A bit of a close up of my new Betsey Johnson wedges. I haven't completely worn them in yet but so far they're very comfortable, though my toes peek out a little over the soles.






And since I missed out, I wish everyone a Happy 2009~!






* Damit = "Clothes" in Tagalog. ...Ate Maloy's probably the only one who got it, and is probably shaking her head at my awful punnery.