Summer Hair

My hair is finally long enough! I've been doing the fishbone braids for the last couple of days now.  It's just way to hot in LA to not tie my hair. The easiest and simplest way is letting the braid come straight now.  But I wanted to try something different and while looking for inspiration, I found a pictures of  Blake Lively at the Savages premier with her hair  done in fishbone braids

Blake Lively at the Savages premier (courtesy of the Superficial photos) 

What she's done is simply tying her hair in a ponytail then fishbone braiding the rest.  The look is so simple and flawless - and she looks stunning!

Though my hair isn't as long as hers, here's my take on it! 

Higher ponytail - shorter braids 

You also have the option of making the fishbone braids very loose or very tight - whatever your preference may be

What's your favorite hairstyle for the summer? 

Please leave comments! We would love to hear from 

you! 

XOXO - R 

chic Graphic - Teeee

I feel like I keep on repeating the same topic about how HOT it is IN JAPAN, but it is THAT HOT.

And as much as I want to wear a nice silk blouse with a flow-y skirt, once I get out of the shower and feel the heat a cute COTTON graphic-tee with some bad ass shorts is all I want to wear!

but not JUST ANY graphic - tee, one that you can dress up or down.

such as a character tee, like the one I bought the other day.

I put together an outfit but sadly the only one that I own is the tee-shirt, (boo) I guess the rest will have to wait for another shopping day!

tee-shirt: disney
bracelet: cartier
ring: YSL
bag: Alexander Wang diego bucket bag
Sandels: Balenciaga
sunnies: ray ban
shorts/hat: unknown

A mickey tee can also be worn on a date like Carrie from Sex and the City!!

What is YOUR all time fav graphic-tee?

Printed.

Hi everyone! Hope you are all having a great week so far! Today I did some shopping with my sister before heading to class.  Soon enough, I realized half of the things I bought were printed.  I personally think prints are more fun to wear in the summer just because you have the ability to choose so many different styles for the warm weather! On the other hand, prints can be a dangerous thing to play with..because it look too tacky or too wild. 

My favorite prints that's catching my eye today were pythons, zebras, and polkadots! 

{Top} BCBG shorts
{Bottom Left to Right} Bailey 44 and Forever 21

Prints also have the illusion of making you look slimmer and curver (at the same time)! And most importantly, you can have fun with it! 

What's your favorite print? 

XOXO - R 

summer exposure = back exposure!

When the heat's blazing down on you, other than an iced cup of (input choice of drink) an open back shirt would be the next best thing to cool you down.
It is also an elegant way to show off some sexiness throughout the summer!!!

Here are some random back exposed shirts that I found on people out on the town. Sorry but I don't particularly know where they are from!!!

and here is what I purchased at forever 21 Japan.

I thought it was tasteful and just enough back exposure xoxo

forever 21 Japan
Coral criss-cross button up

What kind of back exposure do you like??

Pre-fall....already?!

Though Summer only officially started a week ago,  there are blow-out sales everywhere to make way for the pre-fall styles. Places like Saks, Neiman, Barneys, and Shopbop,  are having up to 40% sale!   So what is in store for the pre-fall? Well the one thing that keeps on coming back year after year are booties!  What I adore about booties are it goes with almost every causal outfit you have.  Whether it's your favorite jeans or skirt it gives the entire outfit an edgy but still classy overall look.

My personal favorite is Rag_Bone Classic Newbury Booties (below).  It comes in at least 3 different styles (leather, fabric, stripped) 

Rag_Bone Classic Newbury Booties

Another favorite of mine is Prada's Peep Toe Suede Bootie. 

Prada 

I tried this pair last month at Nordstorm and it was absolutely beautifully! The height was just right and the brightness of the navy wasn't too overwhelming.  If I was still living in Vancouver, buying a suede shoe would totally be a nightmare - but now that I'm back in LA, that wouldn't be a problem! 

Have you gotten your booties yet? 

xoxo - R 

now for the itty bitty details...

The extra touches to an outfit makes it all the more YOUR OWN STYLE.
IT is what makes people turn around and wonder where you got your swag from.

what can be more detailed then your NAIL COLOR? Yeup that is my topic for today. I talked about lipsticks the other day and how it can make you feel like a new person, well I think nail color can do that to you too! It's a cost friendly way to entertain, excite and make your day better, even on those bad-hair days. I feel naked without nail polish!

These days there are arrays of beautiful nail polish colors in a million different brands, so the designs you can do are endless. Pastels being the seasonal color, I decided to use that as a base to do my very first leopard pattern by hand.

It was actually super easy so I thought I'd show you how you can do it too!

NAIL OF THE WEEK

blue [essie lapis of luxury]
grey[revlon 820 stormy]
 pastel green [canmake #53] 

now for the steps:

1. put down the base color (pastel green)
2. do random asymmetrical dots (blue) - space them out -
3. take each dot and paint a box around them minus one side (grey)
4. put dots in the spaces and more 'boxes, minus one side' 
5. last layer - the top coat. (might I add the essie good to go top coat is amazing!)
6. VOLA

I know this is an awful picture, it was a last minute idea! please forgive me!!! 

Lemme know what YOUR nail of the week is, and if my tutorial helped! 

#3 - super shortie

Summer is officially here.  Summer  = sun, beach, sandals, maxi dresses, and of course shorts.  Shorts are an essential item to any fashionista's wardrobe. My favorite shorts for the summer  would have to be the ragged shorts.   These shorts are created with cut-off hem bottoms with a hint of a distressed/vintaged look.  

Top left to right - Rag + Bone, Citizens of Humanity, Zara
Bottom left to right -  Forever 21 and Urban Outfitters (BDG)

The splurge looks (out of the 6 shown above) would have to the Rag + Bone Moss Mila Cut-off shorts and Citizens of Humanity Manic Cheeky shorts both estimated retail price at $160(USD).  

The steal look of the two would have to be BDG super shorties ($45USD) from Urban Outfitters, which is also my favorite!! 

BDG Super Shorties - Urban Outfitters 

Super comfortable, rips -  not overdone, easy-boyish swag

What is your go-to outfit for the summer?

xoxo - R 

got'em boyish swag

It's official, SUMMER IS HERE IN JAPAN

I want to be more excited about this but ASIA summer's aren't pretty. The humidity melting your make-up, sweat trickling down your forehead and sweat patches; YA- them nasty mofo's.
It's been about 27 degrees Celsius for the past few days; not quite high enough to do the stuff I said above but being used to Vancouver weather...it is HOT.


In Japan I've recently fallen in love with this new Magazine called 'GINA'　(buy it here) It is a magazine targeting women in their mid twenties; people my age (smile). 
I always found that magazines really split from teenage fashion to women in their 30's, so it's currently my new found fashion bible. I kinda go nuts reading it, IT INSPIRES ME, like how it inspired this post!

BOYISH SWAG

what is it? well it's a phrase I created (laugh) and I'm not sure it will catch on but hey, doesn't hurt to try rite? 

ANYWAY, we all know that the main colors for summer are gonna be NEONs, CORALs and PASTELs, so it would be BORING if I post about that. 

BUT WHAT IF THE MOOD THE COLORS EMANATE could become an OUTFIT? 

cchyyeeup, cause that's what I did!

NEON makes me think of 

BOLD and ANGULAR

in this case: TRIANGLE

 collared shirt and distressed stud shorts from HONEYS

What caught my eye was the bold triangle, looks even better on, but like most collared shirts they give off a very boyish look! Paired with distressed ripped studded shorts it adds to the look! 

I know the color is leaning a bit over to the autumn hues, but the white shorts bring out the WHITE TRIANGLE, making it more summery looking. 

and to show off my instagram talent

you want my look? Get em at HONEYS

Are you rocking the boyish swag?

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The most wanted slipper

Happy weekend everyone!  I'm doing some major packing for my final move to LA on Wednesday. Cleaning out my closet feels so good with occasional moments of "what the heck was I thinking."  which comes to the item that may or may not end up on the that dreaded list...is Loafers. 

[Top Left to Right] Yves Saint Laurent, Cole Haan, Christian Louboutin
[Bottom Left to Right] Christian Louboutin, Prada

Loafers are everywhere from the very exotic and luxurious Christian Louboutin, YSL, Prada, to the classic and affordable Cole Haan. 

Wearing loafers can go very right or very wrong, which depends entirely on your outfit as well as the style of the loafer.  I have yet to find myself a style that I like and once I do, I cannot wait to see how crazy I can get with pairing with my outfits!

Loafers may be the most wanted slippers but what's the most wanted shoes for summer?

xoxo- R

Japan Make-Up Haul!

sorry for my late post! I sadly forgot my iPhone at my grandfather's house that contained all my photos!

Why is it that woman can never have enough make-up? How often is it that you ACTUALLY finish a product to replenish? I'd say it leans over to the more rare side of life. EVEN IF you aren't a make-up junkie like us (Rachel included), you must have a million unfinished lip glosses or lip sticks; am I wright?

I heard somewhere, that during the economic downfall there was a major sales increase in lipsticks. Why you ask? It's because it makes woman feel great without badly hurting the wallet. A new lipstick color can do so much as to make you feel like a different person! Pretty powerful stuff; wouldn't you agree?

Well ladies, without further a due I present to you my recent make-up splurges!

left to right: Fasio mascara/lipgloss/eyeshadow
Oil control powder, Selfit face primer, Canmake nailpolish, RMK concealer

Now to show you up close! 

My new pallet! Just like Rachel I was really into the coral colors but since I seem to wear clothes that all hover around the coral hues, I thought to dip into a different color scheme for my eyes! 

I haven't used the base yet but I must rave about the concealer pallet and oil control powder!!!

The concealer pallet is from RMK, if you ever look at any Japanese magazines this brand of foundation is ranked No. 1 in Japan.

FYI {I am a make-up artist that have worked in the field for about 7 years. I have worked at almost any brand you can think of and had the blessing of great training] 

One of my complex's is my horrific skin. My prime concerns are my pores, acne scars and excess sebum secretions. To battle these I have used countless products that claimed to be solutions for these problems....but to no avail most did not deliver. 

UNTIL I came across these products:

Japan unlike Vancouver is incredibly humid in the summer and dry in the winter, hence many of their products are made to endure the affects the climate does on our skin. Great technology eh? You never hear that as a marketing tactic in Van, do you?

RMK concealer EVEN conceals sunspots WITHOUT the grey-ashy look. How is that possible since in Vancouver I was told that sunspots were not really concealable! 

To top that off, this mat powder that controls T-zone shine really does do the job. It doesn't leave a cakey feeling/look but it leaves a silky layer of matt powder that balances the skin on your t-zone so that it controls sebum from the root of the problem. 

Unbalanced skin equals, super oily or super dry.  

Okay guys I left a link below where you can buy these products even if you don't live in Japan!

RMK
FASIO
ALL OTHER JAPANESE MAKE-UP BRANDS

Cheers! 

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perfecting the arch

What does it take to create that perfect arch? Is it your brush, the natural shape of your eyebrows, or maybe you are already gifted with having a very plentiful brow.  Whatever your answer may be, I have recently discovered the perfect product for my eyebrows! If you have ever have the pleasure of visiting Japan, you must check out ranKing ranQueen store. 

ranKing ranQueen in Shibuya 

They carry all the top ranking beauty products that you can think of.  The two products I bought were an eyebrow pencil and a liquid eyeliner.  

{Left to right} eyebrow and eyeliner 

{Top to Bottom} liquid and pencil

What I love about the eyebrow pencil is that it has both pencil and liquid contents...and yes it's waterproof!! Because it comes with both pencil and liquid, it helps to create a more natural look!  And creating that perfect arch has never been easier! 

{Top to Bottom} pencil and felt liquid tip 

What's your secret weapon?  If you care to share, we would love to know!! 

XOXO - R 

Japan Fashion Haul!

Last week I had the lovely excuse of going to Tokyo/Saitama for work and decided to hop onto an earlier train to go shopping for a couple of hours. I was walking around in my suit and though it was such a pain to try on clothes, I still did it!

I think I even wrinkled my crisp new white blouse in the process BUT it was totally worth it! 

This is my FIRST JAPAN HAUL! (post)

left to right: G.U., e hyphen gallery, Zara, e hyphen gallery

(pardon moi, for the awful layout!)

The highlight of this haul is my recent discovery of this boutique brand called E hyphen world gallery.(link to online store) Little did I know that they have stores in Hong Kong and Singapore too! The prices for their pieces are incredibly reasonable considering how well they are made. 

e hyphen world gallery:

mint green off-the-shoulder knit - perfect slouch (that's always my battle with off-the-should garments). 

coral neon stripped top with the cute small pocket has buttons on the sleeves and it zips up in the back! love the detailing - I will definitely do an outfit post on this one.

NOW for some candy -- ARM CANDY that is!

top to bottom: boutique, H and M, boutique, Forever21, e hyphen world gallery

AND to take me to great places, a pair of comfy shoes!

3 coin

These shoes were only 315 yen! that:s about 4 dollars usd! cute hey?

Let me know what your recent great purchases are!

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The Perfect Pairing

Is there an item in your closet that just goes with anything you have? If you had to choose one item, what would it be? The reason why I chose this particular topic for our entry is that when I shop, that's the exact phrase I use to justify most (if not all) of my purchases. So to prove myself right, I am going to pair my Christian Louboutin Lisse 100 Patent Booties with my weekend outfits - and here's my first outfit.

jeans/#Uniqlo 
oversized sweater/ #Zara
necklace/ #Forever 21
booties/ #Christian Louboutin

On a side note, this is our first full week of posts![we will post Monday through Thursday, rain or shine] Thank you everyone for visiting our blog! We are still very much in the beginning stages of our Mod Duo but I promise we won't disappoint.

'Stay Classy'

xoxo - R

No, it's not old. It's VINTAGE

When I first bought this watch, it was when I was in the junior or senior year of my high school. Might I add it wasn't that long ago, lol. During that time, GUESS was THE brand - especially the watches and I owned one - my prized possession.

After I graduated from high school, my styled changed (as many of us would agree)  and the watch was sadly thrown under the dust and forgotten until the rise of the arm candy came into trend.  After seeing the Michael Kors watches being paired with a plethora of gaudy bracelets and bangles, my oversized flashy GUESS watch came to mind!

Here is my revitalized look of my GUESS watch:

Top (Left to right): #club monaco #links of london #GUESS watch
Bottom: #Forever 21

My question to you is do you have anything in your closet that you can revitalize?


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studded.

We can't escape it's on everything...tops, jeans, skirts, bags, belts...you name it. I'm talking about STUDS.  I think the obsession actually started with the amazing belt SJP wore in the first Sex in the City movie (do you remember?)

Florals and Studs

I love studs because it adds edginess to any kind of outfit.  My favorite pairing comes from Valentino.  He pairs his 'Little Bloom Lace Dress' with a Platinum studded calfskin belt.  

Little Bloom Lace Dress, Valentino

Call me an old lady but I just love love love this outfit! It's classy, timeless, and sexy all in one. After seeing this outfit in person in Tokyo recently, I just couldn't resist. The dress was a little over my budget ($7,500), ok fine a LOT over my budget so the next closes thing to get my hands on was the belt.  

I have yet to pair this with my outfits but I will post OOTDs on our instagram page @themodduo or my personal page @rach_kim very soon!  Also, please check out my beautiful Mio's instagram @beautiechips. She is truly the 'studded' woman!  

Until next time!

XOXO - R

fashion feed JAPAN!

Change is scary....good or bad it makes your heart skip a beat.

that has been doing a lot these days because I recently quit my job to find new and better opportunities! Mostly to get out of the suburbs to move toward fashion central a.k.a TOKYO! I can't disclose what kind of interview I went to but this was the outfit I wore:

stud shirt/ #Zara
puff skirt/ #club monaco
pumps/ #Christian Louboutin
jewelry/ #H&M

My inspiration? 

Well here is where I'm going to give you the current 

fashion feed in Japan:

studs, studs and more studs!

You find them on t-shirts, ripped-jeans, blouses, shorts, shoes, sandals you name it!!! It's awesome! Why? Because I love that rocker-chic look, if I was to describe my fashion style, that would be the closest word.

If YOU had to describe your fashion style in one word, WHAT WOULD IT BE???

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