Aloha, 2015

I missed December's playlist, so here's January's! I just started college uni and I've been getting really tired lately, I can't even remember the last time I stayed awake past 12. School has been taking up a lot of my time which is weird because it's just the second week and I haven't done much. Anyways, this month's playlist has a couple of nostalgic songs for me to sing-a-long during sleepy drives as well as new discoveries, I hope you enjoy!

Tracklist:

Turn It Around - Lucius 

White Sky - Vampire Weekend

Heal - Tom Odell

Don't - Ed Sheeran

Sing - Ed Sheeran

Runaway - Ed Sheeran

Tongue Tied - Grouplove

I Want What You Have - Willamette Stone

Infinity - Infinity Ink

Getting It On - Sales

Chinese New Year - Sales

Animal - Neon Trees

VCR - The XX

I have a photo diary coming up! as well as a concert + experiences to share (◕‿◕✿)

x

mel

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Travel Research: Hong Kong

I'm a big fan of the internet; I've tried my best to do my research on Hong Kong through bloggers and stuff, so I'm here to share some links with you. I've also been visiting Hong Kong annually with my best friend, for the past 3 years, note that the only way you'll go around is more or less by taking the train or by foot,

W A N C H A I 

Styleslicker; Exploring the neighbourhood of Wan Chai

C E N T R A L

A Pair & a Spare; A guide to Hong Kong's Central District

S H A M  S H U I  P O

Polkaros; Sham Shui Po Report

F O O D

A Pair & a Spare; My favorite places to eat in Hong Kong

M I S C

A Pair & a Spare; Hong Kong's Best Market
Tommy Ooi; Hong Kong Attractions (including how to get there)
Fathom; The indie side of Hong Kong
Fathom; Hong Kong nightlife
Lady Iron Chef; Shopping In Hong Kong
Sassy Hong Kong; this blog includes everything from food and drinks to events

Tourist SIM Card; there are a lot of benefits and i simply can't live without the internet
L-atitude blog; Zip Code Guide: Hong Kong

I N S T A G R A M // f o o d

Homie Cookies; homemade cookies based in Hong Kong!
Gloria Chung; foodandtravelhk, every photo is geo-tagged
Ivan from Hong Kong; ivanypng, he includes a short review, the price & everything is geo-tagged
Kosei Kamatani; koseik, i'm pretty sure he owns ViaTokyo & he includes short reviews & geo-tags

O T H E R S

Real Simple: Packing tips; An anatomy of a luggage

I tried to include more than just the guides, but I'll basically be referring back to these links.

x

mel

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playlist: For The Drive Back Home

This month's playlist has a mix of genres; i don't use Spotify other than for blogging purposes, but this month I had some issues with itunes and discovered some songs! 2014 is coming to an end, meaning it's the festive month. I don't celebrate Christmas but the idea of it takes my breath away, I imagine driving back home to be apart of the holidays. Speaking of holidays, I'll be visiting Hong Kong with a bunch of my friends which is very exciting. I really hope you enjoy this month's unusual playlist.

I'd consider Taylor Swift & Becky G to be the odd ones from the list, but their music videos were... mesmerising. Sean O'pry was in Blank Space (◡‿◡✿) and I really liked the transitioning between scenes in Shower, it was hella smooth. Vampire Weekend's Horchata & Holiday and Birdy's White Winter Hymnal was very appropriate for December. I'll be explaining my favourite part of each song under "read more"

Tracklist: 

Prayer in C - Lily Wood and The Prick

Rocket Ship - San Cisco

Horchata - Vampire Weekend

Keep It for Your Own - POP ETC 

Holiday - Vampire Weekend

Yellow Flickr Beat - Lorde

After the Disco - Broken Bells

Dreaming - Smallpools

Radio - The Royal Concept

White Winter Hymnal - Birdy

Blank Space - Taylor Swift

Shower - Becky G

x

mel

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Weekend Links 01

Finally ordered a new macbook so I'm going to attempt to "clear" my current laptop? First, I gotta through my ten million (mostly DIY) bookmarks; I have a really bad bookmarking system and I create way too many folders but everything I save is pure gold, so i'm going to share them with you.

1 / Meringues are probably the easiest dessert to bake; I've never successfully made them but when I do try to attempt it, I'd go for this Meringues With Rhubarb Curd And Rose Hip Recipe.

2 / My instagram account is flatlay themed, I recently found Sophie (mightycurious) who takes amazing pictures!

*days later*

3 / My MacbookPro arrived! I was hella excited so I read the Manual and How to: Maximize Your Battery Life & Lifespan; there are legit helpful tips (i pledge to follow them, i'll update you in 3 years)

4 / Pinatas are so pretty; I've always had a soft spot for them and A pair & a spare made a DIY Easter Pinata, perfect for party favors!

5 / The marble trend has been around for a while, but my lack of marble in my life has prolonged the love for it. abeautifulmess made an amazing DIY: Marbled Clay Ring Dish, i really hope to try it out soon!

6 / My Scandinavian Home is one of the interior blogs I've tried to go through the archives of; I found this cute DIY using potatoes + paint to make prints! You can basically customise it to any design under a budget.

7 / Advices are good for the soul & there's a very special post of it on tumblr focusing on Health, Personality, Society & Life.

8 / Wedding blogs are the prettiest; OnceWed has tons of beauty tutorials, one of my favourites is the How To Contour & Highlight.

(images via inbedstore, mightycurios)

x

mel

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playlist: A Fallen Work Of Art

(image via kararosenlund; edited by me)

here is october's playlist; i'd love to include the remix of Andrew Gold's Spooky Scary Skeletons, but i only heard it twice this month (once on october 1st and another as i'm typing now). I also missed my appropriate chance of listening to Little Comet's One Night In October, it completely slipped my mind. 

This playlist includes some new songs, mostly old ones. Each of these songs has either a sentence or tune that stuck to my mind for weeks. San Cisco released RUN and i'm speechless, amazing is an understatement; I've also been listening to Taylor Swift's Riptide cover, slower than my taste but the lyrics are too good to ignore. Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy the songs; I'll be going back to my Scandal marathon, Happy Helloween!

Tracklist: 

Kids- Two Door Cinema Club

Occupy Your Mind- Villagers

RUN- San Cisco

March Into The Sun- Echosmith

Unbelievers- Vampire Weekend

Wild Child- WEKEED

Torn Apart- Bastille ft. GRADES

Always Where I Need to Be- The Kooks

Step- Vampire Weekend

Poet- Bastille

The Truth- Foster The People

Cough Syrup- Young the Giant

Here's the playlist

x

mel

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Fashion Week Spring 2015; Backstage

Sophie Theallet

"Manicurist Julie Kandelec designed what she calls a “negative space double French tip”: She brushed a thick arc of pinky-white polish across the top of the nail, then made a thinner arc across the tip using turquoise color."

Delpozo

"Bold coral negative-space half-moon manicures inspired by the rising spring sun; Kandalec started by applying the Essie First Base Base Coat to clean, filed nails. Next, she applied the Essie Tart Deco, a juicy coral hue, to the base of the nail, creating a semi-circle shape. Once the half-moon detail on each nail was complete, she finished the look with a coat of Essie’s Matte About You to remove any glossiness and seal the look"

Rodarte

"Tracylee, Sally Hansen’s nail ambassador, crafted a nail to look as if it were worn away in the ocean. First, she painted the whole nail in Dark Denim. Then, she took a cotton swab and created a reverse French by the cuticle with an ombré effect."

Fendi

" Makeup artist Peter Philips used lash glue to attach leather strips across the lids. “Karl came to me and said, ‘Peter, I like this color, can you make it into an eyeliner?’ So that’s what I did!” he explained of the cornflower blue that bordered a contrasting band of black cream. "

Dion Lee

"The inspiration was light reflectors that provide little flashes of light to catch the eye. Each model’s hands were painted with one coat of Base Coat to start. One vertical stripe was painted on the outside side of each nail with two coats of My Signature is DC, and the look was completed with Matte Top Coat."

Jeremy Scott

"All you have to do is wipe all the polish off your nail and then with one long stroke go across your nail in all different directions to get that coverage.  So yes natural nail is exposed but it’s like a natural nail bikini; we’re only showing a little skin but its not as cut outie as a graphic shape, its freeform and no two nails are the same."

Peter Som

“We decided to do a brushstroke of neon orange color swooped out under the eyes,” says makeup artist Yadim. “It’s super easy to do and it’s not supposed to be perfect.” Here’s the coolest part: He used lipstick—not eyeliner—to do it. "Use your finger or a brush to apply it,” he says. Because in case you didn’t notice, the rules already went out the window.

A Détacher

"The models had tiny stars of varying sizes affixed underneath their eyes—pretty much like the ones you probably stuck on your notebooks or bedroom walls as a kid." The look was created by Shiseido Japan.

I've had this post drafted for over a week now, mainly because it was really difficult picking a favourite look. I honestly did not expect the runway-beauty-looks to be this amazing (another reason why i won't survive in art school). Negative space nails were definitely new trend (to me) and then there was the "classic" pop of colours on the eyes; but what really blew me away, was A Détacher 's metallic stars. If i were to discover it three months back, i would have done it for prom (halloween is near btw*). It was as if the idea was pulled right out of a pop-culture-nerd, it reminds me of evening skies on a rooftop seat with piles of blankets and a classic chick flick?

This post features eight shows, five nail looks and three beauty looks. Recreating all these looks should be fairly easy, i'd recommend Stila's Periwinkle liner for Fendi's leather liner & Peter Som used Maybelline’s Color Sensational Lipstick in Vibrant Mandarin

images from: oyster & vogue & wwd & opi & essie

x

mel

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How to: Cucumber & Lemon Eye Pads

These frozen cucumber pads are basically an alternative to putting actual cucumber pieces onto your eyes, the same benefits applies. Cucumbers are really hydrating and the lemon juice can brighten up your eye area; it's a fun beauty d.i.y. which you can use day or night.  It takes less than 5 minutes for them to thaw, the cold pads helps reduce puffy eyes in the morning and after a long day, it could sooth your eyes.

You'll need:

• A Juicer
• A Cucumber
•  1/8 Lemon
• Cotton Pads
• Water
• Zip-lock bags

1. Start by Juicing your cucumber and peeled lemon wedge (make sure not to put too much lemon or it might get into your eyes and sting them), you can either toss the fibre but i put them into my potted plants.

2. Mix a few drops of water into the juice to dilute the mixture.

3. Soak the cotton pads into the mixture and press out the excess juice with your palms

4. Put the cotton pads into the zip lock bags (make sure they aren't on top of each other)

5. Place them into the freezer to store, you can keep them for months

* you could even add honey or green tea because they help with dark circles and puffy eyes as well

xx

mel

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A Midsummer's Night Mix

i made a playlist for my long road trip to singapore last week and just compiled it on spotify! I highly recommend you guys to listen to all of san cisco's songs, as well as foster the people, the jungle giants and bastille!

A Midsummer Night's Mix

xx

mel

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Fashion Week Spring 2014; Street Style

New York; Aimee Song

New York; Chiara Ferragni

New York; Monika Jac Jagaciak

New York; Josephine Skriver

New York; Miroslava Mikheeva Duma

Milan; Josephine Skriver

Milan

Milan; Xiao Wen Ju

London

London

Paris; Jessica Hart

Last update before I indulge into 3 weeks of trial examinations that will give me extreme levels of anxiety; Spring 2014 was pretty exciting, we got to see all the designs and gorgeous street style. Jessica Hart's outfits were so lovely, Jason Wu did an amazing job as usual and Marc Jacob's last Loui Vuitton show left me speechless.

I won't get into details about what i liked or didn't because i still have two million laws of physics to screw into my brain and equations that isn't going to make me prettier. I hope you enjoyed the stolen pictures and have a nice day, or not. I'm not your mother.

xx

mel

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