Saturday Playlist: Indie Rock & Roll

I can't believe it has been that long since any of us has posted anything on this blog. Summer has past so fast and school is only is already so close, which means I really need to fix my sleeping schedule.

Anyway, here's a brand new Saturday playlist created by my 3am boredom.

Indie Rock & Roll from Beamsy on 8tracks Radio.

P.S: Close your eyes at 2:48 and enjoy the last minute of Hannah Hunt (its the best part)

~ Camille

Saturday Playlist: Something Good

Here's a collection of some good songs for the day :)

Something Great from Beamsy on 8tracks Radio.

~ Camille

Saturday Playlist: Calming Music ❀

Here's a mix to calm your nerves, since its finals week for a lot of people, and exams are coming up for others... So to get rid of that stress and anxiety, this mix will probably help you relax for the time being (43 mins if we want to be precise).

Calming Music 🌸 from Beamsy on 8tracks Radio.

~ Camille

Fashion on TV: Sailor Moon

Sailor Moon (also known as Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon or Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon) is the story of Usagi Tsukino, a clumsy, crybaby 14-year-old who stumbles upon a talking purple cat with a moon crescent on her forehead. Luna, the cat, claims that Usagi's real identity is Sailor Moon, a magical warrior from the Moon Kingdom destined to save the Earth from all sorts of evil. Tasked with finding the Moon Princess and defeating the Dark Kingdom, Sailor Moon meets her fellow guardians (also names after planets), teenagers like Usagi, and together fight evil whilst, as well, crossing paths with the mysterious but charming Tuxedo Mask, with whom Usagi can't help but fall hopelessly inlove with.

Putting that introduction aside, Usagi and her friends are after all young teenagers, and apart from their school uniforms or transformation outfits, they all seem to dress according to their personalities.
Now I won't do all of the five girls, just some of the outfits I liked the most.

The girly, clumsy, hopeless romantic Usagi Tsukino (Sailor Moon):

Usagi is, matching with her personality, all in all girly and somewhat childish. She wears frills and dresses and skirts, most of the time in pastel  colour. Personality wise she is a crybaby, meaning whenever she gets hurt (hence the clumsy), she will, well, cry about it. Usagi is depicted as a boy-crazy teenager, in love with two older men, one being a college boy working in an arcade (Motoki), the other being a mysterious man who helps her fight evil (Tuxedo Mask). She is also greedy, selfless, sleepy, lazy and very loud and outgoing. Her outfits are cute and playful, far from anything sophisticated or mature. 

The first collage has got to be one of my favourites, perhaps because it is one of the only mature outfits she's ever worn, but nonetheless still adorable. Usagi pairs a pink button up shirt with a high waisted purple skirt, as well white sneakers (that unfortunately you can't see in the picture).

Here is a prime example of pastels colours, with her pale pink skirt and baby blue jean jacket. This has got to be one of her best outfits, as it is both girly yet casual, as well as comfortable. The jean jacket brings a tomboyish edge to her look, clashing with the very feminine below-the-knee skirt, creating a good mix of designs. The cute little bows in her buns and the amazing two-toned shoes are great accessories too.

This one dress appears on several occasions in the series, and again, is baby blue. Like the previous outfit there is yet another clash of girliness and tomboyeshness with the big blue bow at the back of the dress and the white sleeveless hoodie she wears with it. Ankle socks, white sneakers and a moon crescent necklace are her accessories, the moon symbolising her secret identity as Sailor Moon.

The intelligent, sweet Ami Mizuno (Sailor Mercury):

Ami Mizuno is the first Sailor Soldier discovered by Usagi and Luna, and with her extremely good grades and studious habits, she becomes the "brains" of their group. Ami is a kind, shy, loyal and somewhat insecure girl, who is overall sweet and mature. She is an honour student and is at the top of her class, even going to cram school afterwards to study more. However that shyness begins to disappear after meeting Usagi, and is replaced with a newfound confidence.

She is most of the time dressed in very mature clothes for her age (keeping in mind that they are all 14-year-olds), probably due to the fact that Ami is a very hardworking girl, and likes to dress intelligently. In the pictures above she is wearing a white blouse buttoned to the top (they all seem to always be buttoned up) and a blue mini skirt. A thin belt around her waist makes her look much older and mature, as well as the big blue brooch and the big orange tote. The best part of the outfit has to be the adorable boots.

Ami is also seen wearing this pretty blue sundress with a small turquoise belt, that shows her feminine side. At the beginning of the series, Ami is introduced as shy and insecure, but she later builds confidence and strength, the flirty dress is a perfect representation of that growth. She also wears matching turquoise heels, with white ankle socks.

Psychic, ambitious, fiery Rei Hino (Sailor Mars):

Rei Hino is first seen in the series as a shrine maiden working at the Hikawa Shrine with her grandfather, and is visited by Usagi and Ami after a strange incident occurred nearby, leading to the discovery of the third Sailor Soldier, the psychic Sailor Mars. Rei is a fiery, stubborn yet ambitious girl, who, like Usagi, wants to become a star someday of any sort (singing, modelling...) as well as shares a common interest in Tuxedo Mask (Rei actually dated Tuxedo Mask's true identity before knowing who he was). This rivalry between them causes many cat fights, which usually leads to Rei winning and Usagi crying. 

Rei is usually seen wearing layers, and in these pictures she overlays turtle necks with either a short bomber jacket, or a flannel she ties at the front, with rolled up sleeves. She usually pairs them with mini skirts (showing her flirty, womanly side) or tight pants, with sneakers or loafers. Makoto Kino is also shown in the picture above, on the far left. She however dresses in a very tomboyish manner, as well as sporty (you can tell with the baseball cap and jacket). 

This is my all-time favourite outfit that Rei has worn. I mean how adorable is this pink dungaree?? If I ever come across one like this, I wouldn't even think twice before buying it. Here Rei wears hers with either a long or short sleeved white shirt, with ankle socks and sneakers. Its a great outfit for anytime at all!

I can now conclude that the style in Sailor Moon is indeed very retro (it was after all a show in the '90s), with a big variety of outfits and colours. The clothes are simple, and its all about a great deal of mix and matching items until they look good, or are to your taste. So, if you now feel inspired to dress in a similar fashion as these magical girls, I hope this post helped!

~ Camille

Saturday Playlist: Sun

The weather is getting warmer and warmer, sometimes even hot during the day when the sun is shining bright, so here's an almost-but-feels-like-summer mix:

Sun from Beamsy on 8tracks Radio.

~ Camille

Book Review: Eleanor & Park, by Rainbow Rowell

It's been many weeks that I've been scrolling through tumblr and coming across many pictures of books (most posts were about book challenges or 'favs of the year') when this particular book caught my eye. Perhaps it was the author's wonderful name, or perhaps it was the the title of the book itself, the two names that seem to fit perfectly together that got me interested. Neither less to say after many weeks of contemplating the book off google images and searching it on Amazon or Ebay,  I've come across it in a Virgin Megastore with one of my friends (who in fact is an admin of this blog as well) and snatched it off the rack, purchasing it quickly.

And here it is, my softcover second edition of Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell (feat. a review by the famous John Green): 

 Here's another edition you might find in stores: 

Once bought I immediately began reading it and immediately began loving it. 

Set in the '80s, this novel tells the story of a young, sixteen year old girl named Eleanor Douglas - 'the new girl in town with her chaotic family life, her mismatched clothes and unruly hair' - and the boy who sits next to her on the bus to school, Park Sheridan - a half Korean, half Irish-American teenager who wears nothing but black, has the skin the colour of honey, listens to loud music and reads comics. 

This novel certainly is perfect for teenagers, young adults, and even adults if they're interested in cute love stories because Eleanor & Park most certainly is a cute love story. Somewhere along the way of the 30 minutes bus ride to school everyday, side by side, Eleanor and Park slowly and surely become friends, exchange mix tapes, lend each other comics and fall in love. The book is written through the eyes of both Eleanor and Park, changing the POVs from both teenagers every two three pages, sometimes more, sometimes less. It's not a hard book to read, in fact I read it in about a school week (maybe one or two chapters a night). 

It also portrayed some realities of this world: for one thing, Eleanor's physic- she is not a skinny girl, it is repeated many times throughout the book, and due to that flaw only overseen by Park, she is repeatedly bullied. But it doesn't stop there for Eleanor as her 'chaotic family' is another one of her problems ; it is in fact one of the main plots of the book as she is continuously verbally abused by her stepfather. 

Although there were moments like those who made me angry and sad, the moments Eleanor shared with Park made me incredibly happy. It made me wish for a future relationship like theirs, to have someone you could talk to so easily and share anything with them, someone who never once judged you by your appearance, but loved you for who you were, the "kind of person you want to be with when you want to be alone" (direct quote from the book).

Full of clever metaphors, beautiful comparisons and sentences that will make your heart skip a beat, this novel is worthwhile. And just like John Green had phrased, I definitely fell in love with this book.

To read more about the author, Rainbow Rowell, here's her blog. 

~ Camille