The Theory of Hard Work

Do you know about it? Really? How much do you know about it? Nah, I'm not trying to sound so righteous or superior, in fact I know that I'm neither. Why the sudden post and interest in hard work? Here's why.

Let's just say that I'm currently a college student majoring in engineering. And if you've read my previous posts, you will understand that I don't really belong there. I'm not stating that I don't enjoy it. I do enjoy learning, I do sometimes enjoy the complexity of trying to solve something, the rush of adrenaline when I figured out a mathematical problem, the excitement of knowing something new, and... well let's stop here before I went overboard, you get the idea.

I worked hard to put it together you know... with help from a friend

Let me share a little something. Back when I was younger, as in middle school and high school, I was in a good (one of the best in my city, perhaps?) private school. That being said, everyone was pretty much an overachiever. They've all done stuff and accomplished things that will make you jealous. Me? Nah, I was counted as quite mundane back then. I really admired my friends, their views of life, and the things that they've done.  I've always felt that I could never be like that, that's not the way I was raised by my parents, I didn't have a passion that I loved so much that I would like to pursue, and more excuses alike. 

Only lately that I've realized that those excuses took me nowhere. And those friends didn't get what they have just by flipping the back of their hands. They worked, and I know that they worked hard to achieve it. So is every successful person/businessman/fashiongurus/streetstylebloggers out there. If only someone taught me the Theory of Hard Work earlier... My life would be harder, but it would be better.

Anyway, back to the title, the Theory of Hard Work. You do know that you have to work hard to get what you want, right? Yeah I've heard it too. I was just not ready to execute it, instead I chose to "just live the moment" and lived my ordinary mundane life. This is shit I tell you. That's a reason for people to not think about their future, their dreams, and what they truly want in life. I know I'm nobody, and I'm not trying to preach you about how you should live your life, I'm simply sharing the cold hard truth that struck me, and hope that you will not feel the same way as I did before.

I read in a book called "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell about the Rule of 10,000 Hours. It's stated that in order to achieve world class expertise, you have to practice your skills for 10,000 hours in your area of interest. That's why people say that success takes patience and consistency, you HAVE to consistently sharpen your blades, no matter what kind of shit happens in your life. No matter what.

So here I am, taking engineering because I was too afraid to go after my real dream, while my best friend right now is in France taking fashion design only armed with her guts (and skills of course). I've always thought that "Nah, I'm not good enough to take it", or "That path will lead me nowhere in real life", or "There are soooo many people who are waaaay better than me, I'll definitely lose". Again, I was kind of a shit back then, and now I regret it. Yay!

Have faith in yourself, do what truly interests you, there's a quote in my language that roughly translates to "We create happiness, not them". You know what I mean.

-The Dilly Chic-

Problems with Short Hair

Hair issue is the most common one we face every day. Bad curl, hair fall, dandruff, and so on. That's why most women decide to chop off their hair short. Shorter hair means shorter problems right? Not really.

Even though short hair takes care of some problems, like hair fall and split ends, it doesn't solve everything. Mostly when you just have your newly cut hair, you will get rid of old hair problems, but then you realize that you have new issues to deal with.

Short hair tends to be lighter, so, your hair will be more out of control. You wouldn't be able to get the curl or the shape right to what you want, because you realize that your hair loses volume when it gets cut.

You can't create as much hairstyles as when you still had your long hair, right? Well, there are pretty limited hairdo options when it comes to short hair. This can mean nightmare to some women, but it can also scream "Hooray" for those who hate spending too much time on the mirror.

New splits will occur. Just because you cut your problems away, it doesn't mean that those annoying splits will stop harassing you. Most likely if you don't take good care of your hair, the splits will come back haunting again. So after you cut your hair and get rid of the splits, always take better care of your hair.

These problems aren't really that big of a deal compared to problems long, heavy hair has. But still, there are problems, so let's not get too carried away with the whole "cut your hair, get rid of your problems" imagination. I hope that you will be ready to take on short hair! It's really fun once you have one!

Cheers!

- The Dilly Chic -

List of Make Up Must Haves

Wearing make up is necessity for women. It's necessary to hide that under eye sack because that neighbor's (or your) dog couldn't stop yapping all night, or maybe because of that awful pimple or brown complexion that messes up your day. Either way, makeups are necessary. Even if you don't have these problems, you will need these to look fresher, to look bright, because all day of working, looking gloomy, and perhaps sweating is not going to impress anyone.

For those of us who don't have an hour to do makeup, I'm gonna list the most essential make up that everyone should have. I conduct this list with help from my peers, they're not professionals, but they are all make up savvy. But isn't that what we need? Someone who actually knows what normal people need.  

Here's the list of makeup must haves:

1. Compact powder; when possible, I use foundation and powder separately, but some of us don't have the time to apply something twice, so I'd like to use the two in one cake powders, that provide foundation and powder in one compact. You might want to choose a color that is one shade warmer than your skin tone. I recommend NARS Powder Foundation. You actually can go for the liquid or the powder, they're both amazing, just be picky about the color. Darker is always better than paler. Always.

NARS Powder Foundation

2. Eyeliners and eye shadows; do I even need to mention these? For all day workers, I highly suggest the waterproof ones. Black, dark brown, or navy are my top options, and I especially love NARS Eyeliner Stylo, they're amazing for the price offered.  I've always loved the idea of a stylo rather than the liquid-brush applied ones. The pencils are great too if you're looking for more of a blend in colors with the shadows.

NARS Eyeliner Stylo

For the shadows I can suggest BH Cosmetics 6 Color Eyeshadow Pro (image below). Again, it's very affordable for the quality it provides. You can personally customize the palette to your liking. When customizing, I would suggest mixing some matte and shimmers in your palette. An amazing warm combo for the summer and fall is purple and gold. You can pick the rest to your liking, of course. Fell free to ask me if you need any opinion, though!

BH Cosmetics 6 Color Eyeshadow Pro

3. Nude and bright colored lipstick; Use nude when applying heavy color eye makeup, and use the bright when you're too lazy to make perfect shades on the eyes. One thing to keep in mind: if the eye is heavy, the lips go light, and vice versa. You can also use gloss for more sassy look. For the nude one, I can recommend Rouge Unlimited Lipstick Collection from Shu Uemura, I suggest the medium fuchsia (the fourth one in the pink section), or the medium grapefruit pink (second one on the coral section). Choosing nude lip colors is not as easy as you might think, since each of us has different natural lip colors. If your lips is naturally pink/pale, I suggest the coral one, and if your lip is rather darker/richer in color naturally, the nude pink will work better.

Medium Fuchsia

Medium Grapefruit Pink

4. Nude brown and pink blush; By brown, I mean you can choose something that's a shade or two darker than your skin tone. You can use the brown for more formal occasions, as they will emphasize your cheek bones and give you more sense of authority (true story!). The pink one, you can have fun with it, use it on casual days, beach day, or anything else. For blushes, I can recommend NARS Cosmetics Cream Blush, choose Lokoum for the reddish pink tone, and Constantinople for the rich dark brown shade.

NARS Cream Blush - Lokoum

NARS Cream Blush - Constantinople

5. Black and translucent mascara; Translucent mascara are very useful when your lashes are already thick, but they're also good when you're aiming for a less dramatic look. Try e.l.f. Essential Wet Gloss Lash & Brow Clear Mascara, they cost $1.00, you probably can't find a better deal for the quality. I haven't owned one myself but some of my friends own them and I gave one a try. Great price for the quality and vice versa. The black cost only $3.00 if you're curious. Black or navy mascaras are good when you need to spice things up a little.

e.l.f. Essential Wet Gloss Lash & Brow Clear Mascara 

That's it! Too simple? Yeah, life should be simple. I'm sure there are someone who would prefer I put eye and lip primer as a must have here, but then again, most of us don't have that much time.

Last tips: To make your eye shades last longer, apply liquid foundation on eyes and don't cover it with powder. For the lips, after first application, press your lips to a cloth/ tissue paper, then reapply.





Cheers!
-The Dilly Chic-

Break Out From the Box, Find Your Inner Chic!

We're all different, too different, perhaps. But the common practice is that people always put us into "boxes". Popularity box, look box, racial box, financial box, among many other cardboard boxes out there. There are too many boxes and we're used to being placed inside them. It doesn't have to be that way, though. No, it SHOULD NOT be that way. Once we're being categorized to a certain level, we don't know how to break out anymore, and we lost it. BAM! We just lost ourselves, we plunged into the box and stayed there.

Open the box and get out!

When I was in middle school, I remember having fellow female friends who literally didn't care about what they wore. They have this "as long as I'm not wearing holey pants to the mall it's fine" principal. I was a lot like them back then. So I know how that felt, it felt like that was the box intended for me, so I didn't bother looking for something else. I thought that was my fate to be like that. But needless to say, it's nobody's fate to be anything. You can always do something to get away from prejudice.

So if you used to be scared to wear neon shoes with pink top, do it! Seriously! It's not intended to be chic of course, it's to help you feel different, to give you the feel that it's actually okay to be different. All you get is the useless glaring look from people while they were thinking "how could she be so brave?".


You might think this advice is useless, well, IT'S NOT. Breaking out little by little will gives you the incentive of always making room for something new, for creativity, for new ideas, for being brave to try something different, all of which are crucial characteristics for facing life. Interested? Try it! 

I'm going to repeat my title: BREAK OUT FROM THE BOX AND FIND YOUR INNER CHIC! Seriously, that inner chic needs some serious help. Do it a favor, ask how she's doing and do what she wants.

Cheers!

-The Dilly Chic-

Maximizing Your Wardrobe's Potential

It's tough, but needs to be done, soon. Too many people buy too many things, then toss old stuff away because they think it's outdated, they got bored of wearing them, or those stuff don't suit their style anymore. If you saw my previous post, you would understand why our closets are stuffed with random trivial things we didn't even remember buying.

For those with serious wardrobe problems and need some serious organizing, do the following:

1. Take everything out from your wardrobe, yes, everything, you want to make a new start by organizing your wardrobe, right?

2. While you're doing that, it will occur to you what to do with all those awkward shirts and age old jeans, so separate them into 2 categories: home and away. Remember that it's all about your style, so if you can imagine yourself wearing them, put them in home.

3. Clean up your wardrobe, you can dust it and put closet freshener in it

4. When you put things back, if the space in your wardrobe allows you, you can separate things by their use. Winter and summer outerwear should be put in different space. Tank tops and shirts should go together. It's really up to how you want it. You can categorize it based on frequency, season, or anything you want.

5. Remember how you categorize it in the first place, and next time you buy new stuff, take an extra 5 seconds to think where it should be put. 5 sec isn't a long time, but it can help you A LOT in the future.

Extra tips for everyone also:

- If you have a particular part in your wardrobe that is barely touched, I recommend you open them every once in a while (twice a week should be fine) so your clothes wouldn't get damp and dusty, as you give them air circulation

- Jeans are tough hardware, you shouldn't be washing them too much. I read and heard somewhere that the optimal washing frequency for jeans is once every six months. I personally wouldn't follow through with this advice though, because I use my denims very frequently, and I sit in a LOT of public, less than sanitary places. I usually go about once every 3 months, and no less than that. 

- As for any other type of clothing (except underwear of course), keep this in mind, thinner fabrics (tanks, blouse, shirts) need more washing, around 2-3 wears before washing, while thicker fabrics (jackets, blazer, cardigans) can be washed less often, around 4-6 times before washing.

The Dilly Chic's advice: be smart on picking what to buy, because you now they have to stay a long time in your closet!




Cheers!
-The Dilly Chic-

Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jenosaur/6042894810/

Too Many Stuff In Your Room? Stop Hoarding!

As one randomly browsed through her makeup case, bathroom, and toiletries, she started to realize she had too many belongings in her barely touched collection of skin care and hair products. She began to wonder, "What was in my head when I bought them?", "This? I bought this? When? What for?". Sounds familiar?

As a human being, we are specifically designed to react to certain impulses and stimulus. When we see a piercing shining object, such as the sun, we tend to narrow our eyes and cover them with our hands. When we hear noises too loud, we cover our ears to protect our eardrums. But it just so happens that these useful basic reactions came along with a few, let's say, rather expendable sets. For example, when we take a glance our crush (JUST a glance) we tend to get excited for no reason. Another example, well, just look at us, getting attracted to sparkling object and mindlessly purchasing them.

Buying or trading has long been a basic, most crucial tradition of all. Back then we traded something out of need. We would trade our potatoes with meat to complete our meal. Wait, what? To complete our meal, I said. So basically I'm also saying that without meat, our meal would be incomplete, tasteless, monotone. But can we survive without the meat in the first place? Yes, we can. The expanding practice of trading made it hard to distinguish need and want.

When we see something we love, our heads start to make calculations. We start to distinguish the item either as a want or a need. When our brains classify an item as a want, it makes easier calculations afterwards, is it worth the money or not? If the answer is a firm no, we would just skip it. The intricate calculation comes when our brains classify the item as either worthy, or a need. Big businesses and industries began to figure out the way human mind works, and being keen on opportunities, found a roundabout for this particular problem. 

Discounts, Sales, you name them. Those big 50% off signs aren't pure information, you know. When we see that the item's price is lower for the same value and experience, it helps relax our calculation, it gives an impulse saying that it's a rare situation, and not wanting to miss the opportunity, we quickly make up our minds and purchase it. 

So it's probably not entirely our fault that we have a bit too many of what we don't really need. Or is it? Good news is, these impulses can be fought off with the right set of mind. Instead of seeing the big, shiny discount signs, why don't we see the actual price or the item, as if the price hasn't been cut down. 

Following this tip, next time you come across a shiny object, think about it this way, is it really a shiny object, or just another shiny like object.




Cheers!
-The Dilly Chic-

Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/anythingbutstill/6554173607/

Personal Insight of Online Shopping

Online stores have been around for a long time now. It first began in the 90's. Back then, people were too skeptical about buying something that they couldn't touch. Well, how could they not? After all, we have to touch a wet paint to make sure it's wet.

Or do we? I remember in the early 2000's when my friends and I were in a middle of a conversation, and one mentioned about buying a music CD online and overseas (in her defense, it was a limited edition CD not released in my country). The other chatters were doubtful of her actions, including myself back then. We were concerned over mostly the same stuff, like the condition of the item, the shipping price, the tax, the delivery time, and so on. It turned out that my friend had calculated and confirmed all of that, and that her package came just fine.

Lately, I have been having some ventures with online shopping as well. I've bought a pair of shoes from another country, another pair which was locally handmade, a pair of earphones, and a shirt. Am I satisfied?

Above average, to be honest. The shoes I bought overseas had unexpected tax upon arriving in my country, and had some problems with the soles. So those are the extra costs for not being too careful with my order. The other shoes, which were locally handmade are amazing, but they have super stiff soles that make them very rigid and hard to walk in. The earphones I bought had amazing quality at first, but busted a month later.

Thankfully the shirt is fine and it brought a great amount of satisfaction when it came to my door.

Will I be online shopping again? Yes, absolutely. Why? Even though I have to admit that there's a certain amount of relaxation that comes from window shopping, I can say that online-window shopping provides me with similar experience, sometimes even better. I don't have to spend money on gas, I don't have to dress up, I can just slouch on my desk and buy whichever suits my interest. I also can make better decisions, because I don't have to feel terrible for the salesperson waiting for me to decide which color I want for my shoes.

The drawback? It's just exactly as you think. Item doesn't look the same in real life, sizing problems, defect item, functionality, and delivery time, among many concerns.

But should our unproven (even though sometimes its proven) paranoia get in the way of the benefits we also reap? It is more comfortable to browse for items in our room after all, rather than walking or driving to the store ourselves. So, in my opinion, people who used to be concern should tear down that wall and try it. If you're disappointed, don't do it again, and if you're satisfied, do it again. Simple.

The Dilly Chic's advice: Go for it! Just remember to be smart and a little picky!








Cheers!

-The Dilly Chic-

Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/syvanen/7007375511/