Sole searching in Liliw, Laguna

Liliw... that little, middle of nowhere Laguna town is my Mecca for open footwear. Sandals, heels, flipflops... they have everything and they have it cheap! I find it hard to buy footwear for cheap. For one, I can't buy shoes at thrift shops/ukay-ukay because my feet are just too darn big (size 39-40). Liliw is heaven for me because they have my size!


It was almost an hour drive from Los Baños, Laguna where I live. We navigated through hilly road of sorts to get there. It's literally a middle of nowhere town. There's nothing much to see except rice fields and cliffs on the way, so I camwhored.
On my face: Maxipeel conceling cream, Sansan 2-way powder. My pores are invisible!


Parking proved a bit difficult since the streets are narrow and lined with shoe shops on both sides. We parked near the Liliw church and proceeded to the main shopping street on foot.


But first, fuel. Need energy for a lot of bending down to try on shoes. They have an new food center now, progress! :D


Dressed for the occasion. Shorts and slip-on sandals are best for shoe shopping. I wish I wore a jacket though. I didn't expect it to be so cold there. It's even colder than Elbi!


On with the wares. Everything you see here cost only Php180. I dare you to beat that price. I got the grey ankle strap ribbon-y front one that you see here.




A bunch more shoes. Price ranges from 3-for-Php100 (cheap flipflops, not in pic) to around Php400(for those prettier ones). You can always haggle, too.



One store was prettier lit than the others, although there's not much difference in price. Check out those metal stud thingies. Hardware is very big in footware nowadays. Much love!


I love the faux-lizard leather used for this pink peep-toes. It kinda reminds me of those lizard finish Sony Vaio Laptop I covet til now.


Out on the street they are selling... achara (pickled papaya). It cannot be explained.



Not everything there is stylish, of course. In fact, I would rate most of the wares pretty low on the style meter. I mean, you can browse around and pick out a couple of gems, but generally the stuff are pang-masa. Just look at those psychedelic wedges and too colorful children's shoes.


But for the price, I'm not complaining, hell no! Besides, browsing through so much stuff to get exactly what you want is the fun in shopping right? Imagine a place where everything fits and you love everything. That would hurt... your purse.


For the cosplayers/DIY fans, they are selling raw materials too. I saw meters and meters of sheet foam rubber and leather for sale. There wasn't anyone knowledgeable managing the store so I wasn't able to get a decent quote, but I believe I can get a good deal. PS. They have Patent Leather OMG DO WANTTTT~~~~


Espadrilles, cage wedges and ankle straps for PHP250-350. They all fit well.


I got the Cage Wedges. Maybe a season too late, but I'm hoping people will still wear them next year. Also, it's only Php300 anyway.


Soon, it was time to buy pasalubong, as we were already happy with our shoe purchases. Well, not really. My mom was happy with her (rather big) haul, but not me...


Auuuugh, the pair that got away! I really really wanted to get this but my mom decided I have a lot of heels aready and the heels are too high. Only Php330 and they have my size. *cries*

And that concludes my Liliw shopping experience. Although the trip is quite boring and the place is a bit hard to find, it's totally worth the drive. If you're up for a new shopping place and a roadtrip at the same time, I urge you to head on over to Liliw, Laguna. It's in the middle of nowhere but their footwear will definitely take you places.

Love,
-Joyce

The nail polish challenge

Someone once told me that nail polish is one symbol of femininity. And there's a good reason. To be able to keep them on, you handle things more carefully. You need to daintily pick stuff up with the pads of your fingers, type on the keyboard with your fingers bouncing, basically you need a certain amount of ladylike poise.

Generally, only women wear nail polish, with the possible exception of girly emo men who want their nails to look dead.

Now, I'm not as inept as you think. I've worn nail polish before, maybe for the prom or some special occasions. This also wasn't the first time I applied it myself. However, my experience with these lacquers aren't exactly pleasant. I'm the type of person who scratches where it itches, and I use my nails to yank open whatever too. But still, I've been a slob for so long, I guess it's about time to force some "ladylike poise" into myself.

First things first, moisturize my overworked dry hands.

Since this is a challenge, I decided to go all the way and use a really sweet and thick hand moisturizer. Afterwards I cut my nails really really short. Easier to keep nail polish on that way.


I got several brand-less polish from my mom's dresser and painted swatches on my nails so I would get an idea of how the colors would look on my hands. They were mostly pearly pink/white shades (my pinky finger nail is bare).


I finally settled for the natural pink look (the one on my thumb). Although the color looks bright from the bottle, it's pretty much a natural shae, and you can only see that I have polish on my nails when light hits it from a certain angle.


I don't think my coat is even. Could it be because I didn't clean my nails with an orange stick before hand?

This is my left hand. It's better looking than my right hand, coz I'm right handed. This required so much darn dexterity. My right hand was a mess! So much polish got outside the borders of my nail. I don't have a picture of my right hand because my trigger finger is in my right hand and setting up tripod just for that shot is a little too troublesome.


A little trick I did to save my messy application. I dipped a q-tip in nail polish remover and carefully wiped it on the polish that accidentally dripped outside my nails. I used acetone-based polish remover, which smells better than actual acetone. After I cleaned it up, I covered with topcoat to protect the polish and (hopefully)
get it to stay.

AND THERE WE HAVE IT! Now I'm forced to be more mindful with my hands and how I pick stuff up. Let's see how this paint steps up to my daily household chores.

Products Used.


UPDATE: My nails survived over a week of regular dishwashing, typing, and rock riot. The first casualty was my right forefinger. I needed to open a knob-less door to let my cat into the house. I had to pick the insides of it, and I had no choice but to use my nails. :(

But overall, a week is long enough for someone like me. ^_^

Ohai World!

What happens when the ugly, poor and lazy girl blogs about fashion and beauty? That's what we're about to find out.

I am Joyce Manalo. I'm a photographer, otaku, and grad student. I've spent almost all my life in a third world small town tucked away between a pretty polluted lake and a dormant volcano. It's a beautiful place, very close to nature, with a crazy micro-climate (twisters, hale, 5-second rain showers? we can has it) Naturally, we're miles away from any fashion capital.

While most of the people around me (and in this country in general) are pretty laid-back, my laziness still stands out. I've been known as the girl who only combs during special occasions. There are certain days when I'd dress up in something epic, but most of the time I'd go out in flip-flops, bare face, and uncombed wet (!) hair. I've gone to job interviews wearing slippers (thankfully I still got the job, but not without reprimand after), and I've appeared in front of my parents VIP-friends looking short of presentable.

Secretly, I ogle fashion collections every season. I collect Japanese fashion magazines - not for just the cute boys, mind you. I view makeup tutorials on youtube, and is extremely particular about my skincare regimen.

Which is why I often surprise people during cosplay and photoshoots. Suddenly, ugly-poor-lazy girl can apply makeup and style like a pro.

Still, it's as though I've convinced myself that fashion and beauty should play second fiddle to my other interests. I could probably predict trends two seasons from now, but I'm too poor to actually buy stuff. I could probably look a lot more decent with a little color on my face, but I'm too lazy to actually reach for those formulas and find my perfect color.

But all that is about to change.

Watch this ugly-poor-and-lazy girl from a third-world small town transform herself into a modern day goddess, ready to take on the fashion world someone decent, proper and presentable. Using my Internet-savvy, problem-solving skills, slight knowledge in art and little allowance money, I dare take on this goal.

Or die trying.