Fun In the Sun: 7 Steps to Bikini Confidence

For those of us floating in the northern hemisphere, it’s annual break-out-the-bikini time but not all of us are cheering and I don’t blame the ones who moaned. I mean, prancing around in a bathing suit is pretty scary, especially with all those people “watching”, who wouldn’t feel a least a bit self conscious?

But come on, let’s get rid of that. Life’s too short and opportunities only come once right. I used to be so horrified of the bikini, I just always felt like there were people staring, judging. It made me feel uncomfortable, hell, I still feel a bit uncomfortable but I’ve learnt now to cope with it.

I hope you like this post because honestly, its just the 7 things that’s helped me over the years and don’t worry, I’m still getting there but they definitely help. Try to be uncynical 🙂 Please?

1. The Cliche Is True
   No one is perfect. It’s said so so much these days that we just get so skeptical and damn sick of hearing it but it is true. And before you roll your eyes, just think for a second what you think is “perfect”, what is that “ideal”, is it embodied by ONE person or multiple people, is it even a true image. No one is perfect. Don’t stress if your waist isn’t 10 inches from your bust and hips, what does it even matter? What difference does it make? Who will even notice? That brings me to my next point.
2. The Secret Truth
   No one is looking at you. Honestly, the only reason someone would be checking you out is a) they’re a guy and find you attractive and requiring “attention” 😉 or b) it’s another insecure girl sizing herself up. Everyone’s inherently selfish. They’re not worried about whether you fit the mark. They’re worried about themselves. Why are their legs not as long as yours? Why this. Why that. Stop worrying. No one will even know those little “imperfections” you find drastically “problematic”.
3. Fun!
   Just have fun. When you’re at the beach or pool, just have fun! Its only when you’re young you get to do this stuff, enjoy it. Surround yourself with people who make you feel good, who you’ll have a great time with. You’ll forget all those unimportant “imperfections” when you’re having fun!
4. When Respecting, It’s Yourself First 
   It’s hard to feel like you look good if you don’t feel good. Feel yourself well and treat yourself well. Filling your belly with guilt food or junk food will just make you feel unhappy and self-conscious. Eat healthy, not just for your body’s sake, but for your health’s. Remember that a balanced diet and exercise is essential. Don’t abolish all guilt foods from your life, you need those little treat right?
5. Retail Time
   Look for the perfect pair of swimmers. And take your time. If you look good, you’ll feel good right?
6. Steer Away From Them Coveted Bodies
   No one is to deny that those Victoria’s Secret Angels are gorgeous but using them as a “goal” is highly unrealistic. Hanging up those pictures of those hot girls with bodies you’ll never get is just a waste. Those celebs have everything at their fingertips and honestly if we were all to look like that we’d be in build with a full styling team and we’ll all end up like Barbie, and THAT would just not be fun. Comparing your body with others is made to be a losing battle. We’re all made to look differently and let me tell you, no matter how many lunges you do, you’ll never have JLo’s bum. And that’s more than okay. So work on your self-esteem. You don’t need to look like that. Everyone is different. And that’s okay. And it’s beautiful.
7. One Step At a Time
   “Just do it.” “Practice makes perfect.” “Fake it ’til you make it.”
   Again, the cliches. I remember the first time I wore a bikini, and I’m not gonna lie, it was horrible. I felt awkward and overexposed. And even my bubble wrapped self-esteem was taking a bit of a hit. I mean, you might as well be naked. But I forced myself. And guess what? I noticed that everyone was doing their own thing. Yeah, people look, but it wasn’t like they were gagging at the sight of me. No one cared – people were getting on with their lives and didn’t have time to stare and criticize little me in my bikini. And now, I feel almost comfortable in a bikini.
   And even if you’re not comforable try a one piece, than a tankini and then a bikini. It’s normal to be uncomforable!

So that is the end of my bikini story. What is yours? Tell me in the comments below

I hope you enjoyed this post and see you tomorrow. 🙂

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Fashionista’s Items for Autumn/Winter

Hey guys! I know my last post was about mint jeans (a largely spring/summer 2012 trend) but for those like me who live in the southern hemisphere, we’re wondering about the autumn/winter fashion. Well, since the “fashion trends” aren’t that strong out here, a lot of more classical things are “in”. But as we still have 4 to 5 months left of autumn/winter, I thought now is the perfect time to impart MY loves for autumn/winter to you guys (I’ve had some time to warm up into autumn/winter fashion, awful pun intended).

I hope you like this post because I actually put a lot of effort into this post haha so yeah. If you have any questions or post suggestions, just pop them in the comments section below. 🙂

Now, keep in mind that I’ve just chosen my favorite trends and things that I like to wear in my everyday life, and your fashion sense may be drastically different from mine and that’s 100% okay but do keep that in mind when reading this post because a girl (or guy) has to stick to her (or his) own style, right? Right.

Right now everything is about the CLASH. The color clash, the pattern clash, and  the fabric clash. They’re all so perfect for the Autumn/Winter time because guess what, you can LAYER! Haha, making these clash-happy trends very easy and suitable.

Fun Colors for Autumn/Winter:

We’re all familiar with the dull, gloomy (and ultimately unexciting) colors of the autumn/winter time and for some weird reason, we all naturally gravitate towards the navy, the grey, the black, the brown… and there is nothing wrong with that because I adore these darker colors (you can’t pull them off as well in spring/summer right?) but too much of these dark colors may just put me into some seasonal affective disorder (very aptly abbv. to SAD haha) so I love love LOVE adding just that POP of color into my outfit. A red scarf, a pink shirt, some cobalt blue, just to spice up the outfit. Autumn and winter is all about the dulls? Not necessarily, right? Some outfits that I just LOVE to wear in the winter time:

20s are Back!

Something that is definitely coming back in is the 20s style (something that I’m just such a fan of). It’s all about the clean cuts, the preppy looks and the fabrics. We’re seeing a lot of felt and tweed, commonly loved fabrics. Patterns such as checks and herringbone are definitely some of the classics that are no longer just for “old people”. And trust me, I definitely borrow this trend in my LOVE for blazers with heavier fabrics and more classical designs. Say hello to the Ralph Lauren look.

With that said, this trend can be seen very strongly in the accessories that are hitting the market. Very structured leather satchels are definitely to love in this season. I mean, how do you not love a good leather satchel to go with your nice blazer.

Of course, this trend goes hand in hand with the androgyny look. The slim silhouette of the 20s look acquires volume with the modern-shaped tops and blazers with masculine over-sizing. Something to look out for: wool coats with zipper and pocket details and/or decorative linings, fur-lined parka-shapes and short wool skirts. Again, minimalist meets elegance.

This is how I like to wear this trend:

Now my favorite.

The Knitwear.

What is autumn/winter fashion without Knitwear, so I’ve decided to not only dedicate a whole section of the post to Knitwear but also capitalize it, because, why not? Knitwear is honestly the most perfect way to express any trend you want with such a variety of Knit on the market. Finer knits are perfect for the expression of the 60s geometric shapes that are just so in right now, the color issue that I mentioned above and the fabric clash that I will elaborate on. Honestly, fine Knit can just bring the simplist but most elegant silhouette-ing technique that is out there. I mean, hello, it hugs your shape! Of course, we’ve definitely can NOT forget about the chunky/coarse knits that we’re seeing everywhere (runway, sure, but even more often on the fashion blogs). We see the never outdated cable knit structures and the coarse peasant patterns, traditionaly sock patterns and amazing patchwork ideas. Needless to say, I love my Knits.

Finer knits are great to express your personality. We see so many combinations out there. If you like to be simple, elegant and understated, the most perfect thing is that khaki (because army green is definitely in) turtleneck finely knit sweater with some nice trousers and a blazer. If you like to be loud and fun (somewhat more my style), you just simply MUST check out the patterned sweaters and sweater dresses. Look at those zigzag sweaters or that navel showing orange and purple sweater dress and what about that really strange I-can’t-describe sweater dress (below).

But again, these fine knits make perfect fabric layering device. The fabric clash is definitely in right now. Thinking wool and satin? Wool and velvet? Hell, satin and velvet? So try popping on a nice silk shirt underneath that fine Knit. How about a tweed blazer over the top? How about a chunky knit infinity scarf with it? Look at these options!

And finally making friends with the chunky knits. You can honestly pair them with anything. Put them over a dress. Put them over pvc or leather pants (if you like those, *shiver* I definitely don’t). The look amazing over skinny jeans/pants. Over a velvet A-line skirt. How about some patterned pants? Honestly speaking, there are few things that chunky knits don’t work with. They’re definitely up there (around the Little Black Dress mark) in terms of volatility!

And last but not least:

RAZZLE DAZZLE ‘EM!

Accessories! For autumn/winter, my accessories creativity does go down a wee bit because I always go for the classics because I love them so much. By the “classics”, I’m talking about the BOOTS, and the scarves, and the handbags, and the — But hey, they’re essential items. To make boots more “now-trending”, look for the lace-up boots, the boots with fur detail, and the boho slouch leather boot. Feeling adventurous? How about the suede in the pastels and strong colors, and the block heel? Okay, I guess block heel isn’t considered adventurous but for those of you who like flat heeled boots or where-do-your-legs-end stillettos, maybe it is a venture (a very worthwhile one, mind you). Some of you may like to know that the worker/combat/urban boot and the riding is still in (and I predict it’d be in for quite some time yet, a valuable investment).

On your scarves, search for jemed/jewelled detailing, (again) furriness, and a very very big size. Now for the bags, the velvet fabric is a love, so is the fur (faux-fur please O.O), and so is the exotic fabrics like reptile and ostrich and the such (don’t worry, they DEFINITELY do not have to be real). The satchel is a definite love and the bags with the college look is also to be adored. Boxy clutches and those saddle/weekend bags are definitely also a love.

So that is it for this post. I know that this was a VERY VERY VERY long post, but I worked really hard on it so I hope you like it. Those of you in the northern hemisphere will not miss out because I will be doing a similar post on Spring/Summer trends very soon.

Before then… Thank you very much for reading this post. I honestly hoped you liked it and hope it helped. See you tomorrow.

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Love you all very much, Adios 🙂

Tag Time: 15 Weird Questions Tag

This was actually a request from a friend of mine (yayayayayay (that was me being excited to get a request)) and the main purpose of me doing this post is to display how strange I am, so here we go.

OH! and before I forget, PLEASE leave in the comments below any request of anything that you’d like to see me do a review/tutorial/etc on 🙂

#1. What’s a nickname only your family calls you?
Hahaha. Well actually, my family doesn’t really have an English nickname for me but in chinese, my nickname that I’ve had ever since I was a baby was the chinese for “soft” because I was really soft and squishy when I was a baby and it’s like a standard endearing name so my family basically all call me that.

#2. What’s a weird habit of yours?
I touch my neck and my necklace, a lot, when I talk. I used to tug on my hair. OH! I get distracted so easily, so when I’m talking, I’ll literally stop in the middle of my sentence and then talk about something else and when I finish talking about that, I then literally finish that original sentence EXACTLY where I left off.

#3. Do you have any weird phobias?
I’m horrified of going on Ferris Wheels. Well actually, the truth is, I’m not always scared but 3 out of 5 times, I will absolutely FREAK THE HELL OUT when I’m on one.

(Well, actually, the truth is I have quite bad anxiety and it’s usually rather under control but I do get into situations where I’m just not able to control it sufficiently and I just go into from mild to serious panic attacks and I guess being in a tiny contraption, floating in air just seriously triggers those panic attacks.)

#4. What’s a song you secretly LOVE to blast and belt out when you’re alone?
Um, all songs? I love the belt out so many. OH! A great one would be Stacy’s Mom by Fountains of Wayne.

#5. What’s one of your biggest pet peeves?
Flakey people, I just HATE flakey people, and with that comes the lateness peeve. I get so so SO annoyed at late people. I don’t mind if you’re late once or twice for like a few minutes but once it gets too much, NO. I get so so frustrated. I hate it when people make really loud noises when they eat. That just sends shivers up my back. And thirdly, I hate people who just don’t understand limits. Like there is so far you can go with a joke or something. Don’t go past that.

#6. What’s one of your nervous habits?
I talk. A lot. My mouth goes faster than I can think when I’m nervous. Like in an interview where I’m really nervous, I just talk non stop. And the really funny thing is, I come off as really confident when I’m really now.

#7. What side of the bed do you sleep on?
Always the right side.

#8. What was your first stuffed animal and it’s name?
Honestly speaking, I don’t give my stuffed animal names. I’ve never had. I have TONS of stuffed animals, all of which don’t have names. And I honestly don’t remember my first one.

#9. What’s the drink you ALWAYS order at starbucks?
Usually hot chocolate if I’m in a rush and just grabbing something. But other than that, I just choose something that looks interesting because I’m very adventurous when it comes to drinks.

#10. What’s the beauty rule you preach.. but never ACTUALLY practice?
This is a hard one generally because I don’t preach many “beauty rules” and the ones I do preach, I follow otherwise that would make me rather hypocritical wouldn’t it? Um, I guess something to do with makeup because I’m not that vigilant with makeup.

#11. Which way do you face in the shower?
Towards the water if I’m not washing my hair and away from the water if I am. I guess I’m a weird one.

#12. Do you have any ‘weird’ body ‘skills’?
Oh I don’t know. My joints hyperextend? I actually don’t have any body skills haha.

#13. What’s your favorite ‘comfort food’/food thats ‘bad’ but you love to eat it anyways?
Ice cream. Always the ice-cream. And home made cookies. But my mom doesn’t make them and she doesn’t let me cook in her kitchen so it’s not really an issue.

#14. What’s a phrase or exclamation you always say?
I say “haha” so much when I type but honestly, it’s mainly because I laugh so much in real life. I say “i’m crazy” a lot. I say “shizzle” a lot too. I do swear quite a bit but I’ve gotten a lot better now. I just say stuff like shizzle, f*ck, b*tchass, etc. Nothing really rude like the c word, or the other worse f and d and g words because those are really rude. They’re not even swearing, they’re just unnecessary.

#15. Time to sleep- what are you ACTUALLY wearing?
I wear my underwear (or panties as people call them), a t-shirt and a crop top/tube bra underneath it.

That is it for this tag. I tag all of you who want to do it to do it.

Thanks for hanging out with me, doing this tag. I had fun. See you tomorrow.

Find Passion. Think Chic.

It’s my first time here and I’m excited to start a new journey.

I’m always finding new places to blog and I love it.

I like to start afresh, and as a teenager, I’m still discovering myself so here is my journey. Here you will ride with me on new fashion adventures, my personal ups and downs, my travel desires, my ambitions…

I hope you have fun and that you see the beauty to be unveiled in this new blog.