Clean lines and Short Hemlines

So here's what I wore to the Downy event last Monday. The night before, I stared at my closet for what to wear. As usual, I'm more of the clean silhouette type when it comes to clothes. I knew I was going to eat, so I didn't want anything cinching my waist or abdomen yet since it was a hotel event, I still had to look good.

I settled for my favorite classic: The (very) little black dress:

My nice and naughty dress from Carlotta Manila walks the red carpet with me. The hemline's up to the midthigh already, elongating and exaggerating my height. Throw in wedge leopard sandals to add more height and if anyone asks me, I'm 5'11".

The bareback dress enhances toned shoulders and balances my wide hips too. It's a good contrast to the relatively high neckline the dress has. I kept accessories simple with not too much blings and baubles. I just had a watch that day and that's it, one of my staples and something I can't live the house without, superstitions and old wives' tales begone. I'll wear a watch even if it's old as long as it works. My shoes were quite comfortable and they provided me better support than stilettos.

In contrast to the clean lines and shapes, My hair was pincurled with lots and lots of volume. I take inspiration from Angelina Jolie's trademark long and wavy locks. I wanted hair with shape and character. Curls made my hair shorter than it usually is though, but it's long enough for the effect I wanted. I don't want curls that are too structured and I just pulled the top part back to give a bit of height. Okay, now I'm 6'1".

With the hair wavy and voluminous, I thought makeup should be clean this time. The dress is already short, even though the cut is very clean, so I wanted makeup that's fresh. Besides, it still is a daytime event. Pinks and peaches was the color of my palette here. Pure pink might be too cool for my skin tone and I bronzed prior to this event so I wanted a tad of warmth too.

On Face:

• Olay Total Effects with Cooling essence as Moisturizer
• MAC Just a Pinch Gel blush for a rosy glow from within
• MAC Studiofinish concealer in NC30
• MUD Corrector in BC3 on undereyes to neutralize only 5 hours of sleep.
• MUD foundation in YG1.
• MAC Studiofix powder foundation in NC35 to set and then topped with MAC Select Sheer in NC30

Contour:

• MAC MSF in Dark to contour cheeks, nose bridge, jawline, and forehead.
• MAC MSF in Light to highlight

Blush:

• The Body Shop Blush #06
• MAC MSF in Blonde as a highlight

Brows:

• Make Up For Ever Eyebrow Corrector in #0
• Paul and Joe Eyebrow Pencil #04
• MAC Brow Set in Beguile

Eyes:

• Laura Mercier Eye Base in Eyebright
• MAC Paradisico on lid
• MAC Amber Lights on crease
• MAC Espresso on Outer V and lower lashline
• MAC Bountiful brown to line top and bottom lashes
• MAC Ricepaper to highlight brows.
• MAC Blacktrack for top lash only

Lips:

• MAC Pink Nouveau

I forgot to put mascara here. At first I thought I'd do that at the restroom, but since I was wearing glasses, I got lazy. Anyway, I'm glad for the Blacktrack, which created the illusion of full lashes even though I haven't curled them yet. If you've notice how much fond I am of layering blush, I like to focus on creating a 3D look by combining several colors and textures.

A little trivia I had for you with my dress was that prior to wearing, I washed the scent and used Downy Attraction fabric conditioner, which I purchased a few weeks ago at the grocery so I could try it out. The light and fresh floral scent combined well with my fragrance at that time, which was D&G Light Blue.

Pretty Little Dresses and Leopard Prints From Carlotta

Don't you just love it when we get dresses in the mail? It's like it's our birthday all the time. So you could imagine my giddy-ness and glee when Carla of Carlotta Manila sent over five pieces for me to love. I was in the shower when the package arrived on a lovely Thursday morning. I was headed to an event so just imagine that I saw the package on my bed waiting for me.

I've worked with the brand for shoots and all and I've been witness to Carla's style. Her styles are usually streamlined, clean lines with no frills or ruffles. Her love for prints and brights are initiation for me to put a bit of print in my wardrobe but she's got an amazing collection of neutral palettes too(black, nonetheless).

So are you all ready to see my Carlotta Manila loot?

First up is this tube dress in my staple color, black. I like that it's such a blank canvas and I could jazz this up with statement accessories or shoes. A pink knit bolero cardigan (shown below) could make it look a bit more wholesome for daytime events.

I love short dresses. They make me look six feet tall. And I don't need heels for this. The thing I like about my "blank canvas" dresses is that they could change my entire look by just adding accessories or layering them (I'll show you what I mean later).

I also got the same short tube dress in white, as shown above. This is actually a very warm white instead of the stark bleachy white that grays my skin. I think this dress is divine, and it kinda reminds me of the white Calvin Klein dress worn by Alicia Silverstone in the movie Clueless:

[picture from iwantpop.com]

Her character Cher covered up with a white chiffon jacket. I could use that as a modification or why not here, where I made the dress a top over the pencil-cut gray skirt I got from Forever 21?

The next dress I got is a dress I nicknamed nice and naughty. Right in front, the cut is very classic with a higher neckline compared with the two dresses I showed earlier. A string of pearls around the neck or a classic choker (bringing back Rachel Green in FRIENDS) would complete the look here.


This classic dress's statement is right at the back. :)
Carla's love for bareback dresses also show in her designs. She's got them also in heart and ribbon cutouts, depending on what you would prefer. To rock dresses like these too, I should remind myself to wear the right underwear so nothing peeks, reflects, or sees right through. For conservative girls, a bandeau top worn under could be used to cover up the back part. I sure can't have enough LBDs.

For my printed stuff, I chose leopard prints practically because I love them more than florals or anything girly or dainty. I got two leopard pieces, each one I love to death.

This cropped top cuts right across the lower abdomen, always reminding me to keep in shape all the time. Here I paired it with white shorts but I could mix this with dark jeans, boots, skinny slacks, or even layer this over a slim dress.

The leopard leggings were quite tricky at first. I stared for a good few minutes at my clothes to come up with an outfit incorporating them while still looking classic. The color was quite light instead of my usual black leggings. I pulled out a long, crisp polo shirt and my comfortable slip-ons from Aerosoles for this classic and clean look. Minimal accesories here save for gold earrings and a watch.

These are made of lightweight fabric that's handwash only. I like how the fabric clings to me to create a silhouette that I like. I could take this to me during travels and just fold it in my bag and not worry about where to press and iron the dress. Actually, I prefer not ironing this since the fabric is quite stretchy. If I do iron, it would be in the lowest possible setting and I'd be ironing with a cloth or sheet in between, just to smooth out kinks.

Thanks Carla for these fabulous and sexy dresses!