Every other day, I get questions like, "How much time do you spend every morning just to dress up?", "How big is your wardrobe?", and "How many pairs of shoes do you have?"

And more often than not, people ask, "How do you walk in heels all day?", "Don't your falsies fall off?", and "How do you put on so many accessories? Aren't they heavy?"

It seems like a given thing that I wake up looking coordinated and styled every morning, but no. I am just like most women - I wake up with messy, un-straightened hair, and small, droopy eyes, and I look entirely disheveled. And like everyone else, I need time to prep and I fuss over getting dressed (up).

Some days, you would find me completely frustrated by every piece of apparel and accessory; some days, you would find me pacing back and forth in my room to look for clothes that I had completely forsaken and banished to the ends of my wardrobes after buying them on, supposedly, impulse. I try as much as possible to plan my outfit the night before, sometimes even a few days ahead, but things do not necessarily always go as planned and there are mornings when I would be completely confident that everything would look so darn good together (at least from my visualization, it did), but the end result would just turn out thrashy beyond imagination. Now, try to imagine a grouchy and sleep-deprived woman, scrambling around to put together something for the long day ahead. Not pretty, not glam.

Yes, I spend time with myself - to prep my skin, to make-up, to mix and match pieces, to layer my accessories, to fix my hair... like the Chinese saying always goes, "There are no ugly women around, only lazy ones." And I always ask myself, "If I don't invest in myself, who will?"

Makes sense, yes? If I can't be bothered to draw my eyebrows and put on my falsies, if I can't be bothered to match my bag to my shoes, if I can't be bothered to wear my earrings, if I can't be bothered to brush my hair, then how do I look camera-ready, how do I get people interested in exploring my styles of the day? Who would want to stop by my blog to check out my latest outfit features? Who would believe in the clothes I endorse?

And most importantly, will I love myself the way I should?

Dressing up is a form of respect - for yourself, and for everyone you are going to meet that day. And dressing up is, by its own, a fun thing to indulge in. Trust me on this, because even on flustered mornings when I panic and not know what to wear, I just have to look at my reflection in the mirror after I am done, and I would be so pleased with myself for putting in the effort to look presentable, especially on days when I am perfectly color-coordinated. And above all the fun, your remuneration is the priceless confidence that you would exude. Really, no beauty is as formidable as confidence.

Of course, beauty comes with a price. While getting into a frenzy mode in the mornings is one, sustenance is another. There is a reason why I carry my cosmetics pouch with me everywhere - to touch-up my lip gloss, to powder my nose and to fix my falling falsies on the go. My big earrings do tug on my ear holes so bad and give me heart attacks and duping me into believing that my flesh will split anytime, and my hair gets oily and messy especially on humid days, and I just have to deal with it with a hair tie. And yes, my feet do ache from a whole day of walking in 5-inches stilettos.

And if you need to know, too, I have 3 wardrobes - all filled to the brim but neatly segregated into sections for tops, bottoms, outerwear, tshirts, shorts, dresses, PJ's and lingerie. I also have 3 overflowing ring trays, a four-faced earring rack that is about to topple and disintegrate from overload, 2 necklace stands with additional pieces strewn all over my table, and piles of bangles lying around everywhere. My shoes fill the basement of my place and Mom nags incessantly whenever I get caught from smuggling another pair home (and so does the Mister), and Dad had to order for a cabinet to be built at our car porch just so I could store my humble collection.

But I tell you, they are all so worth it. At the end of the day, we are only fulfilling our prophecy of being women, because vanity is our entity and it is our job to look good to beautify the world.

Do not worry a thing about what people will say about you, because we do not have to please everybody. I always get people criticizing my bright lips and long lashes, and occasionally I get people telling me my figure is bad. There are also hardworking haters who bother taking time off their precious lives to write to me, just to tell me how ugly I am. Hilarious, isn't it? Here I am having so much fun dressing up to look good for myself and for all who love me, and there they are using so much effort to insult me. But you know, it really doesn't matter.

3 rules to live by:
1) Dressing up feels good and you dress in accordance to what you like and believe in.
2) It is always better to be overdressed than underdressed.
3) You do not need a reason to dress up.

Dare to be different in your own ways, dare to stand out with that amazing ensemble, dare to captivate with immaculate makeup; dare to shine in your own rights, because Coco Chanel once said, "Dress shabbily and they remember the dress; dress impeccably and they remember the woman."


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A big shout-out to my sponsor for taking such good care of my hair and getting me so much attention!

Thank you, Shunji Matsuo, for putting in so much thoughts into every hair-coloring session and always teaching me how to take care of my mane.

Hair Color: Shunji Matsuo @ 313
(quote "melodyyap" for a 10% discount on all chemical services)