A Year in McQueen

The title says it all. The Alexander McQueen Facebook page posted a collection of Alexander McQueen magazine covers from 2011. From those, I selected 12 covers, marking a year in McQueen.

Thank you for reading my blog!  I hope you all have a wonderful New Year's Eve!!!

and...

May the new year be filled with happiness, love, and peace.

xoxo,

N

Magic in Makeup

As someone who loves fashion as I do, it is a given that I also love makeup. I was probably 4 or 5 when I discovered eyeshadow and nail polish. Of course, I wasn't allowed to put them on, but I told myself that when I am "old enough," whatever that age may be, I will totally put those gorgeous eyeshadows on and do my nails. And I did.

Sephora by O.P.I

Some people may argue that makeup is a mask that a person puts on to hide behind. Isn't that such a negative way of seeing things? Makeup, when applied correctly, makes people look beautiful. What is so wrong about being beautiful and loving yourself? I'm not saying that everyone should look like Angelina or Giselle (that's just impossible). It's about loving yourself for who you are. Personally, I believe in always looking my best because that is how I want myself to be. Putting on makeup is just something I do to look gorgeous.

From Left: Courreges, YSL, Courreges, Urban Decay

So this means that I don't think I'm gorgeous without makeup? Not exactly. It's not like I'm changing my face after I put on a makeup. I like myself without makeup, but the truth is, no one looks super fabulous without makeup. If you are the rare kind who do look amazing without the help of makeup, congratulations, you got good genes. Most people are born with features that needs some tweaking with to look great. Me? I'm all about tweaking; I got uneven eyes and eyebrows that just won't go with my face. Don't get me started on my nose. There are features that I would rather change, but this is just how I look. Instead of hating myself for it, I figured out a way to love myself.

Urban Decay

Uneven eyes? Use optic illusion in a form of colored eyeliner that matches with the eyeshadow. By drawing the right eyeliner significantly thicker than my left, my eye sizes are evened out. I would never use black eyeliner on my top eyelid; that actually makes your eyes look smaller. I only use brown eyeliners on the bottom eyelid. WTF-shaped eyebrows? Time to put those tweezers and eyebrow pencils to good use. You know what the totally tweakable eyebrow means? Depending on what kind of eyebrow shapes are IN, I can totally tweak mine without much effort. So in other words, my eyebrows are always in style. As for my too-low of a nose to the point where I can't wear some sunglasses and safety glasses (they just. freakin. fall. off.), I can get hit by a ball right in my face and not break my nose. It's not like I plan on getting hit in my face, but with my level of clumsiness, it is expected. Apparently the only time I'm not clumsy is when I'm skating or dancing. Anyway...with the number of times I got hit in the face playing volleyball (it happens...), basketball (hurts the most), football (can't catch the damned ball), dodgeball (epic-fail at dodging), I'm pretty sure I would have broken my nose had it been higher. But it's not! Awesome, right?

Bottom: Rimmel, Rest: Sephora

Beauty comes in different style, and if putting makeup on is not your style, that's fine. Just make sure that you love yourself for who you are. It's easier said than done, but don't give into the peer pressure or some set idea of how you're supposed to look. I'm all about makeup, not because I gave into peer pressure or read one too many fashion magazines (although I do that anyway) and want to look like a model. I just love it and that's all there is to it. Proof that I'm so not into the mainstream style? I'm addicted to dramatic eyes to the point where I was rocking the super winged eyeliners for good 3 years, Cleopatra-style. But doing it in black got boring after a few months, so I switched it up and used colors. I'm not talking about usual violet or pink here. I'm talking bright blue, emerald green, and bright orange. I got rid of bright orange, only because I finished it and I can't find another one in the right shade. I still use bright blue and emerald green eyeliners, then went metallic and added gold and silver to the collection.

Makeup is all about having fun and loving yourself. That's the magic in makeup.

xoxo
N

My September Issue

When I first started this blog, I had no idea what I wanted to write about. So I wrote about sports, movies, and random things that I have a very strong opinion, like my attempt at getting rid of bullying from this face of the Earth. Okay, fine, I may not be able to get rid of it, but I can write about it in hopes that I am inspiring someone, somewhere. As I wrote several posts, I have found my own "topic" to focus on, and it should come as no surprise to those who know me in person: Fashion.

Yes, I'm one of those rare kind who is a big time space nerd that religiously reads Vogue. I mean really, Vogue is my bible. Sadly, I have absolutely no fashion freak friends in real life. I feel like there is some unspoken rule that if you are "serious" about your job, and if that said job is unrelated to fashion industry, you should not be a fashion freak out of fear that you may come across as "vain."

I object.

Legendary Anna Wintour could not have explained this any better in the documentary, The September Issue:

I think what I often see is that people are frightened about fashion. Because it scares them or make them feel insecure, they just put it down. On the whole, people that may say the mean things about our world, I think that's usually because they feel, in some ways, excluded or...not a part of the "cool group." So as a result, they just mock it. Just because you like to put on a beautiful Carolina Herrera dress or a pair of J Brand blue jeans instead of something basic from K-Mart, it doesn't mean that you're a dumb person. There is something about fashion that can make people really nervous. 

So. True. I know I'm making a generalized statement here, but some people think that in order to be taken "seriously," they have to look like, excuse my honesty, crap. Sure, if you show up at your work wearing a Dolce&Gabbana evening gown, you probably won't be taken seriously, unless your job requires you to put on that said dress. But then again, that's called common sense.

So why does fashion make some people nervous? Is it because fashion freaks secretly trash talk all those non-fashionable people behind your back? Before you go cry in the corner and throw one of your Forever 21's at us, let me explain.

First of all, most fashionistas are not born with this amazing sense of fashion. We have made some seriously ill-advised fashion choices in the past. At the very least, I know I did on more than one occasions. However, instead of being absolutely clueless about what looks good on me and what doesn't, I invested a significant time and effort in learning everything about fashion styling. I have gone through numbers of fashion magazines and studied each styling in the photo spread or one of those ad spreads. Also, whenever I go shopping, I try on more clothes than I would buy, so I would know what works for me and what doesn't. Unless you are a model, chances are that there are some looks that you just can't pull off no matter how much you love. For me, I look downright ridiculous in anything that has frills or anything that's in the soft color family, even though I like those super girly looks. What can I say, pink frilly dress and I were never meant to be.

So when one of the fashionistas make some "bitchy" comment about some outfit, we actually know what we're talking about. Honestly, we mean well and we just want you to look the best version of yourself. Some people who are "sort of" into fashion take that as a serious offense but we just shrug it off. Sure, inner beauty is what matters the most, I absolutely agree. You can wear the most amazing Alexander McQueen gown with a pair of Jimmy Choo stilettos, but if you forget your brain, well, what a waste of a lovely outfit. Now, imagine you're meeting someone for the first time. Do you want to make a positive impression and build up from there, or make a negative impression and work your way up to turn that negative number to positive? and no, you can't just pull off more negativity in hopes that negative times negative becomes positive. That doesn't work in real life. So really, what's "vain" and "dumb" about knowing what would make you the best version of yourself? I would say that is one intelligent move.

In case you are wondering, yes, I have given some styling tips to my friends. Let's just say that after following my styling advices, they started getting compliments on how they look, and they have never gotten that before. Yup, I pretty much rock. :D

With that, I'm closing my own September Issue.

xoxo,
N

Alexander McQueen Women's Pre Spring/Summer 2012 Collection

What do you do to unwind after a long day of work? Aside from the usual things like, reading, TV, working out, cooking, etc, there's one thing that always puts me in a good mood. For someone who adores high fashion, there is nothing more wonderful than staring at the clothes by your favorite designer online, while Keane plays in the background. (If you wanna snicker, you have 5 seconds before I give you a dirty look.)

If you're a reader of this blog (Thanks!), you probably figured that by "my favorite designer," I mean Alexander McQueen. I even have a category called "Alexander McQueen" and if that's not a dead giveaway, I'm not sure what would be.

Women's Pre Spring/Summer 2012 Collection lookbook is just SO gorgeous, you have got to see it for yourself. Good news: Remember that "super-wide belt over a jacket" style that was in about 4-5 years ago?   According to Sarah Burton, it's back! Now I get to wear my belts and totally be in style, or even ahead of style.

Notice how the belt matches with the embellishment on the pockets of the dress? I like how the style is put together, but not so over-the-top matching. Subtle matching says "I'm a classy fashionista," while over-the-top matching screams "fashion rookie."

Animal prints are still in next year! Maybe I should stock up on some leopard and snakeskin prints, since those two are such an "it" material this fall/winter.

Oh my gorgeous. Seriously, whoever first came up with black and gold pairing is a freakin' genius. Wait...it's probably Coco Chanel, right? Anyway, back to this gorgeous evening gown. I love the distressed layered skirt; it's so McQueen. Edgy, yet classy.
 

The cocktail dress version of the above evening gown, I presume. Okay, I'm running out of synonyms for "gorgeous." Fabulous? Beautiful? Well, you get the point.
 

Here, the contrast between the metallic bodice and flowing skirt is perfectly balanced. Giving the dress the tough-and-sweet dual personality that most women have these days. You gotta be a fighter to be absolutely fabulous at what you do, but that doesn't mean that you've given up on your girly side. I feel like this dress represents that duality in a perfect way. Maybe I'm going overly sentimental over a dress, but you know what, I got my blog so I get to interpret it however the way I want. :)

And by the way, yes, I do have a thing for Brit-rock.

xoxo,
N

Movies, Movies, Movies

Since it's the 4th of July and half of 2011 went by, I say it's an opportune time to post my (very biased) mid-year movie reviews. I call it very biased because it seems like I am never in agreement with most movie reviews posted online. Those movie reviews always find something to not like about in every movies, and somehow all of the reviews agree with each other. So how is it that all movie critiques think the same...? (insert Spock eyebrow twitch) Besides, I did write a "movies to watch this year" post earlier, and of course, there are updates to be made. :)

The Rite

It was very Exorcist meets Omen, but hey, I like a good horror-thriller movie. And by a good horror-thriller, I mean the kind that doesn't have limbs flying off every 5 minutes. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind watching splatters (in fact, I do like Tarantino); I just can't take those splatters seriously. :)

Water for Elephants

Apparently it's not Christoph Waltz-in-Inglourious Bastards-scary. I'll watch it at some point.

Source Code

Jake Gyllenhaal does the same thing over and over again until he gets it right. Then the last 10 minutes confused the crap out of me, Inception-style. That was definitely one of those times when you wish you had a remote in a movie theater. 

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

I thought it was way better than the second and the third ones. Maybe it's the lack of octopus-looking bad guy that made it better. I mean, dude with octopus stuck on his face does not exactly scream "badass pirate." On the other hand, Black Beard really was a badass pirate. Speaking of which, you know how in every Pirates movie, a character who dies ends up being not really dead? I call for Black Beard making a comeback in Pirates 5...if there is one. 

Kung Fu Panda 2

Confession: I haven't seen this one yet. I suppose I will be expecting some skadooshing. 

X-Men: First Class

My favorite movie of the year so far. :) 

Cars 2

My excitement level went down a notch when I found out that most of the Radiator Springs cars are just going to be in it for a few scenes. To top it...my favorite car will not be making an appearance. sigh.

Super 8

That was one pissed off alien, and unlike some other alien flicks where aliens just breaks crap for 2 hours for absolutely no reason, this Super 8 alien had a very good reason to be very pissed off. By the way, when is Star Trek 2 coming out!?

Oct. 21 -- The Three Musketeers

It's Paul W.S. Anderson - Milla Jovovich duo, so at least the action is bound to be crazy-cool. I wonder when would the actual The Three Musketeers movie will be made -- the one that's true to the book. Oh wait, it's bound to be ridiculously long and ridiculously dark...so awesome, right? (maybe not?)

Nov. 23 -- Hugo Cabret

It's a movie about a boy, a train station, a robot, and set in Paris, 1930's. Yeah I have no idea what it's about, but Martin Scorsese is the director so I'm guessing that seemingly crazy combination of things will come out to be something awesome. 

Dec. 16 -- Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
First off, it's Sherlock Holmes. Professor M is played by Jared Harris, recently known as David Robert Jones from Fringe Season 1. My new favorite actress, Noomi Rapace, is in it. Seriously, who wouldn't be excited?

Dec. 23 -- The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Fincher version)
I love the original Swedish trilogy so much that I'm a bit skeptic as to how this remake will turn out. I'll probably watch it regardless, though.

Happy 4th of July!

xx-N

Timeless Fashion - Spring/Summer 2010

To all of my non-fashion-obsessed readers: I'm so sorry that my blog is turning into a fashion blog these days. I blame my teams for their premature defeats -- let's put it at that. Schalke got booted from the UEFA Champions League after semifinals, and while I like Barca, I'm sort of rooting for the Bundesliga teams. In the basketball front, Lakers and Celtics were done after...which round was that? Yes, I know me liking Lakers and Celtics is very frowned upon and it is equivalent to me saying that I like both Yankees and Red Sox. Alright crazy NBA fans, you can throw imaginary popcorns at me. I mean don't throw real popcorns at me, I like eating them and I'm no Spiderman.

Anyway, so this post is a sequel to Timeless Fashion - Fall/Winter 2009. In the ideal world, I can keep all of my fashion magazines...which is so not the case. Thus, me turning some magazines into collages.

Enjoy!

xx-N

Paint It Black

All the Glamor in the World

Amusement Jewelry Park

Sweet'n'Edgy

Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty

If you adore art and lucky enough to be in the City (by that I mean New York City) sometimes between May 4 and July 31, 2011, I suggest you include the Met in your list of places to go. Here's why. I intentionally used art instead of fashion, because McQueen's work surpasses fashion; it really is a work of art. I won't go into details on what the exhibit is about, because the website does a much better job at it. In short, the exhibit has loads of dresses designed my Lee Alexander himself, and you have to be mad to not go have a look because to quote Barney Stinson, it's Legen-wait for it-dary.

NY Times Fashion&Style ran an article about this exhibit too, and there was this passage that I thought was not the accurate description of McQueen's work.

There are streaks of sadomasochism and misogyny in Mr. McQueen’s work. The concept of using as a model a woman with prosthetic legs or of having a robot squirt paint viciously over a dress still seem discomforting. And Sarah Burton adds a further menacing note when she explains that a robotic Perspex armor-like shell worn by a model in a Givenchy collection designed by Mr. McQueen could have electrocuted the person wearing it.

I have seen most, if not all, of McQueen's work, but I seriously have no idea which collection or dress this passage is referring to as being sadomasochistic and misogynistic. I suppose demanding someone to wear Armadillo heels to walk around the city can be a bit sadomasochistic, but who does that? Not even Lady Gaga walks around the city in that shoes, because if she did that, we would know.

Honestly, this ensemble screams nothing but "I'm gorgeous." To top it, what is wrong with using a model with prosthetic legs? I really have to disagree with the idea that not looking like just another emaciated model is discomforting. I first fell in love with McQueen's work because of its originality and the underlying concept that beauty lives in all shapes and forms. I love that Lee Alexander had women with prosthetic legs model his collection. People don't go on prosthetic legs by choice. You don't choose to be born without a leg or two, be sick, or be injured. I love how Lee Alexander let the world know that these women are not "disabled;" instead, they are very able and beautiful.

I did some reading, and as it turns out, Lee Alexander refused to invite Victoria Beckham (who went as Posh Spice then) to the 1999 collection, because he thought Posh Spice's celeb-status would overshadow the appearance of a model with prosthetic legs. Aimee Mullins, the Paralympic athlete, modeled the hand-carved cherrywood prosthetics designed by Lee Alexander. Seriously, how is this sadomasochistic or misogynistic? I think it's quite the opposite.

As for squirting paints, it's all in good fun, right? The almost-electrocution incident could have been easily avoided if any of those artists had an idea to ask an engineer for a consult. I have no idea exactly what that almost-electrocution dress looks like, but all it really takes is good insulation. Anyway, that's enough of me writing; here are some more of the looks that will be showcased at the exhibit. Enjoy!

All images are taken from here.

So beautiful, don't you think?

xoxo-N

PS: According to British Vogue, this exhibit is the Met's Costume Institute's most popular exhibit ever. Is it just me who keeps thinking, what is Lee Alexander himself was still alive to witness all these?

Makeup is for Myself, Leave the World for Someone Else

Sorry for the lack of posts these days; the past couple of weeks in my real life has just been insanely crazy. Actually, it still is, but I really need some breather.

I was reading through the April issue of Cosmo, and I totally loved the article by Olivia Wilde. I'm probably a bit biased because I like her, but after reading the article, I decided that I like her even more because I can totally relate. Olivia wrote about how this 75-year-old lady commented on the literal deadliness of the 3-inch Sergio Rossi ankle booties she was wearing on that particular day. She then reflected on why women would wear such painful shoes (simple: because they are so. damn. pretty.) and concluded that:

"I was wearing them for me. They were my confidence trigger as I left the house and headed out into the world, and if that's what it takes to remind myself to put the sass back in my strut and be the best version of me, then so be it."

As a self-proclaimed fashionista myself, you have no idea how often I get commented on my beauty routines, especially since I'm sort of in a field where I'm not really expected to look like I just came back from a Vogue photo shoot. Fine, I exaggerated by about 100 times there, but you get the idea. I would wear heels and occasionally fall down (thank you, sidewalk craters) and freak the crap out my friends. After my friend commented on how zombie-ish I look, I started wearing makeup to exams, where the only thing I will be facing is a freakin paper or computer screen.

Call it vanity, but I really don't care if I fell flat on my face wearing a pair of beautiful heels, and I don't care that I just put on a full makeup for a piece of paper. I would feel much worse if I fell flat on my face wearing a blah shoes, of if I saw myself in the mirror after the said exam and I look like crap. Why? Because I know that the person staring back from the mirror is not the best version of myself. I feel like often, us women get it into our head that we dress up for someone else. I have to disagree with that. I make my best effort to look awesome, because that's the best version of me. I dress up for myself.

I strongly believe in that if you want to be loved, you must first love yourself. See, I am the one person who's known "me" the longest, so if I don't love myself, who would? It's only natural that I would want this amazing person called myself to look the very best at most times, right? I say most times because after all, wearing that killer shoes all the time can be rather tiring. It's all about positive thinking.

Whenever I fall down because my heel got caught in the sidewalk crater, I know I at least am the best dressed person to fall flat. I just brush off the dust, get up, and keep on walking (with a possible bruise). Whenever I'm so sleep deprived, I know I at least am the best looking sleep-deprived zombie out there. I'll just get that beauty sleep later. We all need some kind of confidence boost to kick off the positive mindset to get through the day, and looking the best version of myself always does the trick. Of course, I try not to forget accessorizing with this thing called "smile," which works on every outfit.

Although, I have to say that there are times when looking the best version of myself doesn't seem to cut it because life likes to throw tons of lemons at times. When all efforts to stay positive fails, I turn to my best friend, who somehow knows how to put me back on my feet.

xx-N

PS: I took the title of this post from the song called "Perfect Day" by Hoku. The song was used in one of the most positive happy movie ever made.

Interview for Seven Billion

Little back story: So my awesome wonderful friend from high school also blogs, and she asked if she could interview me for her blog post. Actually, her blog is one of the reason I decided to start my own, so of course I said yes. Here's the original link to the interview. I hope you guys enjoy!

xx-N

1. Where did you grow up?
Japan & United States. Yes, in World Cup Soccer, I do support both Team Japan and Team USA.  Did you know that both teams have the same team color? ...ok different shades of blue, but it's still blue!

2. Name a role model (can be male or female, famous or not....)
Coco Chanel. I love and respect how she lived. When women were still trapped in the notion of "get married and have kids; you don't need to work, leave that to your hubby" and corsets, she single-handedly tore down both of them. She started from a small hat boutique and went on to build the first designer label made for women, made by women. I love her because she never settled for something mediocre; instead, she always worked to achieve the best. Of course, she was the first designer to design black dresses, marine style, shoulder bags, and rhinestones (before, everyone wore real jewelry...gasp). She also taught me that it's rather a wonderful thing to never fit in through this quote:


"In order to be irreplacable, you must always be different" -Coco Chanel


3. What first drew you to science?
Hmm...I really can't remember :D It's something I was (and am) always interested in.

4. How (if) has your gender effected your academic choices (i.e. major)?
I really don't think my gender had anything to do with my choosing Aerospace Engineering. Once a space-nerd, always a space-nerd. :p

5. Do you think your gender plays a role in how people in your academic field view you?
Let's just say that if I'm getting some letter from someone I never met and all they got is my name, there's an 100% chance that the said letter has a salutation of "Mr." haha. No offense taken on my part, though. Pretty used to it. :)


Other than that, I'm never conscious of my gender in my field.  

6. Do you think women have certain advantages when it comes to science, or is research truly gender-neutral?
There were small incidents where I was more experienced with using certain equipments, such as metal file and heat gun, even though I had never used them before. The only reason is that metal file and heat guns are oversized and overpowered versions of nail file and blow dryer, respectively. I guess in general, men don't really need to use those two on a daily basis, so that could be an advantage. In a more broader perspective, I would like to think that scientific researches are gender-neutral. As much as I disagree with the notion of men having advantages over women in academia, I also disagree with the contrary, that women have advantages over men in academia. I really think everyone should be equally judged for their intellectual abilities. 

7. If you could do any kind of job you want, what would it be? Why?
I want to live at 221B Baker Street and solve all those cool cases with Sherlock Holmes. I love solving mysteries and Sherlock is the best. Being Indiana Jones' sidekick may be cool as well, but something tells me that the survival rate is kinda sorta low if you're just a sidekick. You know, with mummies and rocks and Nazis and other random bad guy of the day on our tail...


Hey, you said any job....right? :p


In real life, I'm studying and working to get one. ;)

Loser Like Me

...but not to worry. This post is not a whining, complaining, oh-my-god-my-life-sucks post. I assure you, it's quite the opposite.

As you probably realized, I'm a Gleek. First season was awesome. Second season started off a little weak, but I think it's definitely getting better with plot, music, and a touch of Gwyneth. It goes without saying that I absolutely loved the Regionals episode. There were so many gleek-tastically awesome things about it: Kurt & Blaine duo, Sister Mary-ex-exotic dancer most likely inspired by Sister Act and played by Loretta Devine aka Chief's wife from Grey's Anatomy (yeah, I watch one too many TV shows), New Directions' girls' costume that was so edgy'n'sweet, and of course the music.

I love Get It Right, but I could relate more to Loser Like Me. The New Directions "wrote" this song as an anthem to how they are "losers" in high school but they are determined to succeed in life after high school (yes, there is one). The chorus part goes like this:

Just go ahead and hate on me and run your mouth,

So everyone can hear

Hit me with the worst you got and knock me down,

Baby I don't care

Keep it up and soon enough you'll figure out,

You wanna be, you wanna be,

A Loser Like Me!

Yeah, seriously, where was this song when I was in middle school and getting hit with the worst they got and knocked down? Let me tell ya, nerdy kid + thick glasses + mega-klutz + vertically challenged = bottom of the food chain in middle school. Since all that mattered was volleyball and basketball, everyone who couldn't play those two sports got the "uncool" label and well, I could play tennis and figure skate (I claim single axel as "being able to jump") and little bit of soccer, but who cares?

So I could rant and be bitter, but that's not my style. I learned a lot from this. For one, school life hell will end eventually, and this experience gave me a super thick skin. Also, I decided to do my best to not be judgmental. When faced with the sketchy situation, it definitely helps to go with the gut instinct. But in the non-sketchy situation, I think it helps to take time to get to know people. You know how Shrek said that ogres are like onions because they  have many layers? I think the same can be said for people who are not green, nor live in the...marsh? Where does Shrek live now?

Anyway, I know that when you're going through crappy time, have it be school or post-school, it seems like crappiness will never going to end. I also know, that however long and painful this crap-tacular time may be, it will end. Things will get better. You will come out much smarter and stronger. When life slushies you, why not turn them into sparkles? So to all the "losers" like me, here's our anthem.



xx-N

Japan Earthquake and Pacific Tsunami

I'm pretty sure that most of my readers are well aware of the recent earthquake that hit Japan and Pacific region. As much as I would like to write down here how severe the damage is, I really can't. I can't write them all down because none of us know for sure exactly how many people have lost their lives, went missing, severely injured, or lost everything that mattered to them. Some cities got completely wiped out, and most of the people who lived in those cities are still missing. It's been speculated that the final death toll may very well go over tens of thousands. Most people probably survived the earthquake itself, as the buildings in Japan are highly earthquake-proofed. Then multiple tsunamis washed everything away in a matter of seconds. 

There are survivors. They are the ones who need help the most. In some areas, earthquake survivors are going on very little food and water, not to mention limited health care. In other areas, earthquake survivors are facing the possibility of radiation poisoning from the nuclear power plants that keeps overheating (in a nutshell, that's really what's going on). Many people have lost their loved ones, house, everything. They are alive, but they are going to need help to build back their life from scratch.

I really don't usually rally for donation, but this cause is something that I really care about. Also, I know my blog is not exactly getting tons of hits, but I still have one going on, so I would like to use it to help those people in need. I do understand that not everyone has the money to spare - I get that. However, if you do decide to help out, here is the link to American Red Cross. I think if you are from other locations, you can navigate to your country, and I'm sure they will have a similar donation site. 

Japan is already getting aid in many forms from (last I heard) 91 countries and regions. I am so grateful for all the support that keeps pouring in from all over the world. 

Thank you -- N

Heal the World

All these conflicts, anger, and hatred on news is just so sad. I know this is just one blog out of millions, and my voice probably won't really count. I just wish that for once, people would stop with the hate. It's easy to pick up a stone to throw at someone, but aren't we better than that? It's easy to hate and resort to violence, but often it's the innocent people who suffers the most. Isn't it about time that we learned that from the past?

Heal the world

Make it a better place

For you and for me

And the entire human race

There are people dying

If you care enough for the living

Make a better place

For you and for me

~Michael Jackson~

Love & Peace - N

Gnomes, Fireworks, and Chocolates

At first, this was going to be a "Gnomeo and Juliet looks like a cute and funny movie!" post. Then I realized that this release date coincides with the Valentine's Day weekend. Figures... Time to add some more twists in chocolate flavor. ;)

First off, I hate romance novels and movies. (Thank you, readers who didn't angrily hit the close window button.) Reason why I love stories is because I like to be surprised, which is rather rare to begin with. Side effect of reading almost all Agatha Christie novels includes being able to crack most mystery cases. Anyway, I hate romance stories, because every romance stories have just three possible endings:

1. They all live happily ever after. I'd rather watch Disney; at least they have pretty pictures and amazing songs. 

2. They don't end up together because one of them kicked the bucket or they just decide not to. I seriously want 2 hours of my life back. Crap it's with that sinking ship! Make it 3...

3. They all die in the end. This is only entertaining when there are zombies/aliens/island involved.

However, something about that it's red and blue gnomes hating each other makes the movie seem rather entertaining. I wonder how it's going to end...Juliet-gnome drinks pesticide and Romeo-gnomeo throws himself into a lawn mower? Okay that's bit gross, so probably not ending like that.

You know how every pop culture-ly things go in to a massive pink cupid overload during Valentine's Day? It's great if you have that special someone, but does that mean all of the Valentine-less people out there can't celebrate? Well that sucks and I disagree, especially with all the chocolates out there. In the Valentine-themed Glee episode, Blaine (aka Kurt's crush, aka that dude who needs to go easy on hair gel) was gushing about how it's great to have one day in the year when you can just pour your hearts out to that special someone. Blaine, you need an excuse of a holiday to do that? I get that some people may need that excuse as a last kick in the arse, but really if you love someone, just say it. That is...to the best of your ability and in a not so over-the-top way (I did love that Gap scene though).

The cynical me loved the Glee episode, because underneath the "pentagon love triangle" and me wanting bitch-slap this particular character I finally warmed up to, there was a message that it's okay to not have a Valentine in a traditional definition. So with that, I'm calling this Valentine's Day to be the day where you celebrate with people you love. Whether it's two-way love, one-way love, friends love, family love...everyone should have a chance. I'm wishing everyone a happy (early) Valentine's Day with choc-full-of love, and good luck to all the Blaine's out there. :)

My best friend told me about this song just few days before it was covered by my favorite Glee actress, Lea Michele. I love Lea's cover and had to post it here. Enjoy! ...and thanks Youtube.



xx-N

PS: I made a poll to get an idea of which topic(s) my readers enjoy the most. So yes, feel free to vote once, twice, bazillion times (<-- I appreciate the enthusiasm, but you might want to channel your click-happiness some place else...). FYI, you can select multiple answers. Thanks :)

Alexander McQueen Men's Spring/Summer 2011 Collection

To all of my non-fashion obsessed readers: the next post will be on a movie, just slightly delayed to have my post coincide with the release date.

Ahem.

As someone who has been obsessed with fashion, I have always wondered how men's clothes are being designed. There are just so many ways to reinvent the look with women's clothes, when compared to men's clothes. I am aware that I need to study more on men's styling area, but for the moment, I feel like a lot of the men's collections look very similar to one another. It is such that I was very curious to see how men's collections are being designed and styled by my favorite designer, Alexander McQueen.

I'm always fascinated by the fashion era, genre, or culture at which McQueen draws inspirations. McQueen always takes one style and reinvents with more Brit-rock'n'roll edge while maintaining grace. Sorry for my lack of adjectives, but that is just so. freakin. COOL. In this Men's Spring/Summer 2011 Collection, my "it" item of choice is a jacket.

I love this 20's-ish formalwear inspired jacket paired with an also vintage dress shirt. This look is way hotter than the overdone tuxedo in my book. I mean tuxedo look will always be James Bond-hot, but once in a while, a new formalwear should be introduced. :)

I LOVE this entire ensemble to the point where I would totally wear this. Fashionista 101: Forget the gender deal in fashion; if you like the clothes and can pull it off, wear them. The way I see it, true fashionistas shop at both men's and women's section at the store for a very simple reason. On some occasions, the design that I like only exists in one section and there's no way I'm letting the fact that "the clothes I want are not in my 'gender' section at the store" get in the way of fashion.

Shiny jacket? So futuristically cool and fun! Although, I probably won't be able to pull off this look. Darn. Maybe with some tailoring...

I love this 20's-ish aviator jacket, especially the dark green-brown combo colors. Unlike the shiny jacket above, I bet I can pull this one off...I think.

If you are interested, here's the entire Men's Spring/Summer 2011 Collection (all of the pictures are taken from there) and here's my earlier post on Women's Pre-Spring/Summer 2011 Collection.

xx-N

Timeless Fashion - Fall/Winter 2009

If you know me in person or have been reading this blog, you probably have figured out by now that I'm a bit of a fashion addict. So much so that I have watched the entire Sex and the City series + 1 movie (have yet to watch the second) just so I can study the awesome-gorgeousness that is Patricia Fields' styling.

In fashion, I would estimate that some clothing trends have a 10-15 year-cycle, while other clothing trends stick around for really long time. Remember that horrific hammer pants from the 80's that somehow made a brief comeback a year ago, and got promptly faded out shortly after (thank goodness)? On the other hand, variations of boot-cut pants have been around since the 70's when it was first introduced into the mainstream fashion in the form of pantalones. Hammer pants = not so flattering. Boot-cut pants/pantalones = flattering for most body types. Also, boot-cut pants make stilettos look gorgeous. My point? Truly beautiful fashion pieces are timeless.

To showcase that, I have made some collages out of Vogue Japan 2009 September and December issues. Enjoy!

Red. Gold. and Vogue

Glamorous Glitter

Colorful Explosion

The captions are rather small, so feel free to leave comments if you want to know which designer label the particular piece is from. 

Many thanks to Vogue Japan for the gorgeous pictures. :)

xx-N

Peer Pressure Madness

After writing the "light" article on movies, I feel like writing something that's not entertainment-related. As someone who religiously follows current events, I have to say, last year was too bleak. So. Many. Conflicts. I'm not a full-fledged history buff (more like an ancient history buff), and even I know that the quickest way to recount a history of mankind is to just list battles and wars in chronological order. You would think that after thousands of years, things would have improved for good - or is that wishful thinking?

Then, I started to map out levels of conflicts, and it came out like this:

War > Battle > Huge Riot > Small Riot > All Sorts of Random Fight > Bullying > Peer Pressure

In my mental map, it boiled down to peer pressure, and having lived through teenager hell, I can totally write about that bit.

Often, people cave into peer pressure because they are just "going with the flow" and "everyone's doing it." It's very tough to stand up for what you believe is just regardless of your age, but I would say it's most tough when you're just a teenager and classroom relationship is your life. I do admit that there was a time when I caved into peer pressure and said something I did not mean at all. I'm not proud of it. I sincerely hope I didn't hurt someone in the process, and if I did, I'm deeply sorry. People say that you have to be in the situation to really understand how it feels. As someone who has been on the resisting end and caving end of the peer pressure, I can say with conviction that I will never again be on the caving end.

After I was on the caving end of the peer pressure, I thought back to the times when I stood up for my friends, even if it meant that I got bullied instead. Being a teenager has its benefits in that you tend to act more on instincts. Sometimes, it's better to act on instincts and doing what is right, rather than making a quick pros and cons list in your head. Here's why...

I think I was in the early teens when this happened. I transferred to a new middle school, and had few friends. Keep in mind that being on the chubby end, complete with Harry Potter glasses and a thick book didn't place me with the "cool" clique. Not that I really cared much about being with the "cool" clique - I didn't even know such thing existed till I got out of high school. So at first, the bullies in the class left me alone because I had my nose stuck in my book too often to really care about the bullies in the first place.

Then one day, the bullies did something that pissed me off greatly. They decided to pick on this kid who was very quiet and nice (not the kind that would fight back), and went ahead and just threw his stationery in a trash can. I didn't know this bullied kid well, but I felt that it was so wrong to do that to anyone, so I confronted one of the bully, gave the bully a good lecture that you don't do that crap to people, and told the bully to apologize. I suppose it worked in a sense that the bully stopped picking on that kid. What I didn't know (nor made the connection back then) was that the bully decided to pick on me instead. And that was the beginning of 5 years of bullying that pretty much went on until middle school graduation.

Did I hate the fact that I got constantly bullied and not a single one of my so-called friends back then stood up for me? Absolutely. Will I stand up for that kid again? Again, absolutely. It's the right thing to do. How did I deal with the bullies? I gave them a silent treatment and never spoke with them ever again. I think it worked in a sense that as the years went by, the bullying frequency decreased. I don't believe in fighting back violence with violence. Maybe this is why every single time I take the "Which Hogwards house will you be in?" quiz, I get Gryffindor. Can I get my owl letter from Hogwarts already?

In all seriousness, I think if everyone decided to do the right thing, then we wouldn't have any conflicts in the world. I know that one person rarely makes a difference on a world-wide scale, but I'd like to hope that I'm making some difference in the lives of people I care about. It doesn't have to be "save the kid from a bully" everyday. You can give someone a hug, a compliment, anything to show them that you care and that they are not alone. Doing the right thing isn't always easy, but I believe that some good will come out of it. Hopefully, those good deeds will take on an exponential curve....ok now that's a wishful thinking. But I can still believe in the good in people, right?

xx-N

Happy New Year!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

I would post new year's resolution, but I've never really got the purpose of the resolution, so I'm not doing that here. I don't understand why you're required to rack your brain and come up with stuff that you want to do at the beginning of the new year. If you ask me, just do what you want to do when you come up with the idea, regardless of the time of the year.

So instead, being the movie addict, I'm writing about random movies (and one album) to look forward to this year. I'm writing about only the ones with release dates, which makes most of them summer release movies. It's nice to have something to look forward to, right?

Jan 28 -- The Rite
Sir Anthony Hopkins playing a mysterious exorcist? Count me in. ;)

April 22 -- Water for Elephants
No, I'm not a Twilight-Rob Pattinson fanatic, and I have no idea what this movie is about (aside from the fact that it's about circus people) even after watching the trailer twice. I think Reese Witherspoon (Legally Blonde, Walk the Line) and Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Bastards) are wonderful actors -- thus my listing this movie.

May 20 -- Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
I kinda have a feeling that this series has been overdone and there's little mermaid in this movie (she better not develop a crush on Jack and decide to give up her voice to become a human, because we've seen that movie already), but hey, it's Jack Sparrow. Besides, Penelope Cruz looks very awesome-cool as a pirate. :)

May 23 -- Born This Way, Lady Gaga's 2nd Album
It's Gaga, Lady Gaga. Enough said.

May 27 -- Kung Fu Panda 2
I got promptly skadooshed for leaving this one out, so to avoid further skadooshing, here it is. While we're at it, can someone please tell me what this sequel is about!? I swear, this trailer is far more confusing than Water for Elephants, and I lost the staring match. Damn you, computer graphic panda...you don't get dry eyeballs.

June 3 -- X-Men: First Class
I'm more excited for this than the Wolverine sequel (no offense, Hugh Jackman). Mainly because Professor X was apparently super hot (see this movie or that movie) before he turned into Captain Picard...wait what? No, I did not just mix up about 3-4 movies!

June 24 -- Cars 2
Cars + Pixar = <3

Dec. 16 -- Sherlock Holmes 2
On top of the awesome Robert Downey Jr. - Jude Law duo, Noomi Rapace (aka Lisbeth Salander from the original Millennium trilogy movies) is in it. Totally. Worth. Watching.


Lastly, here's to hoping that this year is going to be filled with happiness, love, and peace.

xx-N

PS: Special thanks to IMDB's this list for helping me write this article :D