Jelly; April 2011 picks

Rather late in the game, 3 weeks, to be exact, but here are some picks from Jelly, April issue 2011. Koda Kumi was on the cover, which is what led me to decide to do a short roundup of Jelly instead of Ranzuki/Popteen/Egg.

I love that she's seems so comfortable in her sexuality and isn't stick thin. By not stick thin, i mean, maintaining a decent amount of flesh on her bones unlike some other women in the entertainment business. I understand that it's a cutthroat stage, and you've got to be pretty to stay on top, but sometimes losing too much weight when you already look good instead makes you emanciated, obviously I've started rambling. will continue this after the scans.

The entire Kuu-chan spread cause' she's gorgeous.

Retro's still going strong in Gyaru trends, muted mostly showing up in the form of muted colours and such.

little things to note: Oversized sweaters over collared shirts

More oversized sweaters, and floaty ankle length skirts

Slouchy materials and coordinates seem to be particularly popular this spring.

More slouchy coordinates; drapey cardigans, light denim, high cut sneakers.

I honestly don't know about boot-cut jeans making a comeback, it's entirely personal though, cause there was this period in my life where i thought boot-cut jeans made my legs look slimmer. (young and innocent ignorant) I'd wear them all the time and looking back, it's one of those things that you don't want to remember. OTL.

Once again, plenty of oversized tops and shapeless sillhouettes.

Moving on to shoe trends.

Oxfords, Chunky heels, Wedges, Open-toe ankle boots.

Neutral shades like browns, black, grey, white, cream, and several others such as vintage red feature predominantly in the colour range.

Pairing socks with open toe heels also seems to have gotten popular, in addition to socks with pumps.

Nail trends

Geometric or ethnic designs, dull, earthy colours, or the pastel spectrum. There appears to be more focus on the colours and patterns now, rather than 3D decoration.

Makeup

I'm not sure of how to define the makeup in this issue cause it seems to range from Ena Matsumoto's dramatic looks toKana Nishino's dewy, pastel shades. But here are the scans, just for reference.

I think that's all for the short roundup.

Back to what i was talking about above, about celebrities losing too much weight, take SNSD's Tiffany for example, she's been looking so gaunt of late.

What happened to her legs

I always thought she was one of the more decently sized ones out of SNSD, but this time even the netizens concede that she's lost too much weight.

I mean, what was wrong with her image when SNSD first debuted? From what i understand about the idol industry, an appropriate comparison would be like selling handphones, you have to keep upgrading so people will buy the new model. Not sure how long it takes for people to bore of someone's face, but going overboard with the physical alterations to prevent this can't be healthy.

That aside, my taste in clothes seem to be veering from the cutesey popteen styles lately. Much as i love light colours and cute coordinates, I can't help but second guess myself sometimes because I'm not small sized. When Popteen models wear tiny skirts or large fluffy tops, I try to imagine myself wearing their coordinates and it's like the michelin man trying to fit itself in between the spokes of a bicycle tire.

Now this post will end abruptly on that note.

MAGAZINE SNAPS (Jelly;02/2011, Popteen 03/2011) and some rambling.

PROOF THAT I DO BUY MAGAZINES.

yeah, but no i just didn't download these issues (Jelly, 02/2011 & Popteen 03/2011).

I've done something simpler this time, with the magazines, and just picked out several outfit sections that i liked.

This was my first time getting Jelly actually, Kana Nishino made me do it. Not regretting this decision anytime soon though. Jelly's very substantial on the trend and outfit front. I love how they classified some of the upcoming trends (Ojicasual, Blogger, Mix and Match, French, etc).

I was rather baffled by the Blogger casual style, it makes no sense if you take it literally. If i'm right to assume most bloggers blog from the comfort of their homes and equally comfortable home attire. Of course they're probably referring to fashion bloggers, or blogging, that's been taking off quite well in Japan; then again most fashion bloggers have their own sense of style so how do you define a Blogger casual style?

Either way, the style they've presented is one of my preferred intepretations of blogger-wear(i.e fuss free) and  I LOVE IT. Can i abandon my Popteen clothes and just run here please, omg. I feel that my liking for this style stems from my interest in korean pop culture, y'know with the ulzzangs/kpop idols and all.

Loose tops, hats, and flyaway hair contribute most to the laidback aura of this look. Loose tops also can hide all my wrong curves. I LIEK. GIMME.

The blogger casual outfits are quite appealing; they're casual, yet retain more dressy elements as compared to casual casual outfits.

I APPROVE GREATLY (not because i'm a lazy slob) 8D

WELL, OBVIOUSLY, GOING BY THE DIRECTION TOPSHOP, ZARA AND NEWLOOK ARE HEADING IN; RETRO IS BACK. Topshop, Zara and Newlook because those are stores i frequent in town (read: orchard road, i.e. limited choices). Look at the peter-pan collars, colours, and waistline cuts! LOVELOVELOVE. Also, those oxfords and espadrilles are so rustic. (totally not hipster. i insist that espadrilles are not hipster.)

random pick of the day; sadly, i am unfortunately shaped and any attempts to wear skinny jeans results in my resemblance to a turnip. This is such a well executed casual outfit though.

I wish to obtain her hat. It is big, floppy, and LEOPARD PRINT. Ugh time to go hat scouting in Bugis Street or Far East.

Popteen 03/ 2011

Emoda section. Occasionally i find myself bored of the constant consecutive saccharine sweet coordinates plastered on almost every page and inch of Popteen, so this section was a welcome break amongst all the tooth-rotting cuteness.

Loving the holey knitted pullover on the right. I don't even know why. Don't really fancy this season's mode makeup though, never was a fan of orange blusher, idek.

The ultra-high waist (ribcage?) skirt on the top right is gorgeous, one of my favourites from this set. Accessories this season don't differ very much from last season's emoda pieces, except the head scarves aren't printed this time round. Seems like they're going for an overall minimalistic look, with the exception of a singular statement piece this season. Also, Ilyana, correct me if i'm mistaken but, those rings on the bottom left look right up your alley.

I've recently started liking Mizukitty a lot more, i don't even know why. That aside, the large fluffy animal carcass on her head is waaaaaay too big. White fluffy hats are adorable when they don't look like giant roadkill. Seriously.

That's all for today's entry. I'm sorting out photos from Chinese New Year and some recent buys for posting purposes, they should be up soonish, seeing as i don't have work now.


Nuts scans; trends and tips marinated in some personal opinion.

After downloading a copy of Nuts in school just now, i decided to pick several pages that i thought were very relevant to current trends and post them. I will not post the entire magazine, just small snippets and maybe a makeup tutorial in my next post.

Picture heavy, so i'll try out the "read more" function.
When  say picture heavy. I meant picture laden. Like seriously.

Fly-catcher lashes. (Mode make and coord)

Decided to venture out of familiar ground today and try some dramatic makeup.

Mode gyaru make is defined usually by its heavy emphasis on the eyes and strong eyebrows.

I found a tutorial for Ena Matsumoto's make in Popteen Oct 10' and tried it out.

Didn't have some makeup, like black eyeshadow and the exact shade of lipstick, so i made do with shades of brown for the eyeshadow.

Here's a scan of the tutorial (click for larger size):

And these were my materials: 

Lower lashes (forgot which brand)

Etude House Foundation

Ardell Invisiband lashes. These are crazy long.

Etude house eyebrow kit

Maybelline Impact Express smooth felt liner. It isn't that great, fades pretty fast and all.

Etude House Lip Plumper

Clinique Colour Surge Eyeshadow Palette

Points to note:

1. The eyeliner has to be drawn dramatically, i probably should've gone a little further with mine, but yeah, extend it way past the ends of your eyes and flick the end upwards. This would be easier to do if you use a thin tipped eyeliner applicator.

2. Crazy fly-catcher-long false lashes for the upper lashline, short thicker ones for the lower lashlines.

3. Highlight below the arch. (er. as for strong eyebrows, it seems that my light's washed out my eyebrows almost completely. No matter, clearer pictures of full make below)

4. apply blusher along sides of cheekbones, countours and slims the face, especially since some mode hairstyles require all hair to be pulled back.

5. Use a nude or pale lipstick, then put gloss over. If you don't have nude lipstick, get rid of the dead skin on your lips first by leaving some vaseline on for about 2-3 minutes, then buff them lightly with a towel or toothbrush. When you find that all the dead skin/dryness is gone, apply vaseline/lipbalm/conditioner and pat some foundation onto your lips until you get the desired colour. Lightly gloss over with tinted gloss/clear gloss. This method is a little tricky though, and it doesn't last very long.

I think those are the main points to look out for, if i missed anything, just leave a comment to let me know or something~! 8DD

Now for coordinates and hair. I referred to Mitsu's tutorial for the underscarf hair. Only did the underscarf one cause my hair was a terrible mess this afternoon. OTL

Full make; looks weird without circle lenses though, will try it again when my lenses arrive and see how it goes then. Brows more visible here though. I need to learn how to take better photos of make. OTL.

See why i call these my fly-catcher lashes? I felt like a camel.  

 Went with a monotone mode look with whatever i could find in my wardrobe. Harem pants and textured dolman sleeve top from Far East Plaza. Shoes from Schu in Suntec City (singapore).

Harem pants are good for those who have thick legs cause they taper and make the legs seem slimmer.

 

Best pair of heels ever. They're wedges so it's easier to walk in them as compared to stilettos, or normal heels, and the zipper in the middle strap gives the illusion of longer legs.

Skinny leg wedges + Harem pants = best combination ever. Shit. now the world knows that i have fat legs.

Though i'm pretty sure the coordinate itself could do with a lot of sprucing up; Brighter coloured scarf, more accessories and such. OTL. It seemed fine just now but now that i look at it again it looks a little sparse.

This is Ena Matsumoto's ameblo. She's super classy, wtf, i can't even pick a favourite coordinate cause they're all so well put together. But this comes up somewhere on top i guess:

Those boots and the coat ♥

Kay, going off now!