K-pop Style: AOA - Heart Attack

AOA - Heart Attack by luhunnie

Real quick, I just wanted to post a couple of looks from AOA's performances of "Heart Attack!" I like the MV, but lacrosse inspired fashion isn't really my cup of tea. I think their cute ensembles in the performances are more wearable though! I loved Jimin's off the shoulder white shirt with the pink mini. I also thought the schoolgirl looks with the plaid skirts were cute too! I'm not a fan of wedge sneakers though (I'm tall enough), so some simple white kicks like these Lacoste ones are perfect for this look. For makeup, the girls have really fresh and rosy looks, so I'm going for this lip and ckeek tint from Korres. As for the cat ear headband, why not? *sings along to "Like A Cat"*

What did you think of the song? I love the word 심쿵 haha--it's one of my favorite Korean words (thanks, BF, for teaching it to me!) and I use it all the time. I thought the lacrosse motif was a bit much, but I really enjoy the song itself! 

Also, I thought Jimin's sqeauky chipmunk voice was weird and annoying at first, but it really grew on me! Now I think it's really cute kkkk.

Feel free to leave requests for any looks you want to see! 

Kisses,

Angela

Date Look - Namsan Tower (Summer)

Date Look - Namsan Tower by luhunnie 

For one of the most popular date locations in Seoul for both locals and tourists, how about dinner and sightseeing at Namsan Tower? It's one of Seoul's most easily recognizable landmarks and makes a romantic setting for your lovely date. There are several great restaurants with breathtaking views of Seoul, day or night. I first learned about it back in 2010 after watching Boys Over Flowers for the first time! Remember when Jun Pyo and Jan Di got locked in the cable car overnight? Now the whole world sees it as a romantic destination.

Freezing cold and awkwardness! Ah, romance! (j/k I love these two forever)

For date night, there's a cozy mid-priced Italian restaurant with couple seats facing out to the windows called THE PLACE. Your outfit can be pretty but somewhat casual, like the look on the left with a cute floral skirt and crisp white shirt. 

For info on the menu and prices check out their official site here.

I would definitely wear flats with this outfit along with some cute and simple accessories. Try The Face Shop Mango Seed Glow Date-Prep Butter to give your skin a fresh and flawless base for your makeup. 

If you really want to go all out, however, try the fancy French restaurant n.GRILL at the very top of the tower! It actually revolves slowly to give you a gorgeous 360 view of the city that will take your breath away (sunset is the best time to go!). 

Again, you can view menus and prices at their official site.

This restaurant is $$$$, so make sure you dress accordingly! I've put together a lovely look for a nice night out on the right. Isn't that lavender dress beautiful? For extra charm, style your hair in a romantic updo and keep the accessories small and pretty. The focus should be on your beautiful face, not your jewelry! As I said, this restaurant is really expensive, so I'd save it for a really special occasion like a graduation or engagement. Regardless, you'll want to look as lovely as possible! 

Before or after dinner, there's a nice (cheaper) cafe to relax in and a yummy ice cream store! You can see the views from the observatory. Also, why not do what couples traditionally do at Namsan and purchase love locks? ^^ This is such a sweet custom: you buy (or bring) a pair of matching padlocks and write loving messages to each other before attaching them to the many many MANY walls and towers of locks already there. You then throw away the keys together over the side of the mountain (you're not technically allowed to do this, but everyone does). Generations of lovers have been pledging their love with these locks at Namsan, and doing so with my BF last year was one of the most romantic moments of my life!

A perfect memory.

Forgive the sappy messages, but I highly recommend waiting to go with someone until you're sure about them! It would be awkward to return with another guy later if things don't work out. Those locks are there pretty much permanently! You hear the odd story of someone going and trying to saw or cut theirs off after a nasty breakup, but your locks will be really difficult to find again! BF and I went again for his birthday only one month later and our locks were already buried by dozens of other couples' locks and tokens of love. It doesn't matter though--I actually rather like the idea of our locks being their forever under mountains of tokens from other couples in love. That's a lot of love, y'all!

I got a bit sidetracked from the fashion, but I hope you enjoy your romantic date at Namsan! For the perfect makeup look to go with it, see my casual day date look and my romantic date night look for inspiration! Chanel Chance eau Tendre is a gorgeous fragrance for a romantic date as well. 

I'll be writing a post on visiting Namsan soon, and there will be another style post for visiting in the winter! If you wear the above outfits in cooler weather, you'll freeze your butt off! It can get pretty chilly up there kk.

Bye Lovelies! 

Romantic Date Night Look

I'd like to thank everyone who has been reading my posts, watching videos, and sharing! Please keep it up! Today, I'm going to show you the evening version of my usual date look. It's very much like the daytime date look, but with more intensity. The color theme is still pink, but the pinks are more vibrant and the eyelashes more luxurious. I like to wear this look when I meet my BF in the evenings when I can get a way with a bolder look kk. I find pink shadows look great on all eye colors, but they make green eyes in particular really pop!

Let's get started!


Step 1: Apply your base makeup of choice for an even, natural finish. I'm going to continue to use my Iope Air Cushion XP in N13 Light Vanilla. If you want to try a shimmery finish, however, now is the time! Readers outside of Korea can find the Iope Air Cushion compacts from around $30-$40 on Amazon. If you're in Korea, just head down to Aritaum! Refills are around $18-20. I usually replace mine every two months. ^^

They're easy to find on Amazon and other places online. This is a top-seller around the world!

Base

Step 2: Concealer! I usually skip concealer in the mornings, but sometimes by evening I look a bit more tired. A good concealer will cover dark under-eye circles and keep you looking like a panda! Try a high quality one with a creamy formula that doesn't sink into fine lines but is opaque enough to cover blemishes if required, like Clarins Instant Concealer (I use 01). It retails for around $30 on Sephora or Amazon, but you can get it at department stores here in Korea if you want to try it first.

Concealer

Step 3: Use the same candied orchid shade Aritaum Style Pop Pudding Tint in No.4 Lollipop on your lips and cheeks, focusing on your cheekbones rather than the apples of your cheeks this time. As y'all know, this ish will give you the perfect sweet oink shade! I couldn't find it many places online, but ebay definitely has it! Check it out! 

Lip and cheek tint

Step 4: Get your eyebrows straight! Keep them as soft as possible. I'm still using the Clio Kill Brow Tattoo Lasting Gel Pencil in 02 Light Brown. You can get it at Club Clio stores or Olive&Young in Korea. It's pretty cheap--around $10!

Eyebrows

Step 5: Apply a primer to your eyelids from lash line to just above the crease. This is so important! I'm using the Etude House Proof 10 primer, which is just a godsend. It's way cheaper that Urban Decay at around $5.50! You can get it at Etude here or Amazon.

Step 6: Take two of the Etude House Play 101 pencils in 16 and 20. These are great for eyes, cheeks, and lips but we'll do it for eyes today. 

First take the light pink shade (16) and apply it all over the lid to the crease. Before it sets, use your fingertip to smudge it around and smooth it out to a uniform light pink.

Base light pink

Next, take the darker shade (20) and line your upper lashes with it. It's going to look really bright, but don't worry, we'll fix it! 

Dark pink point

The last step is simple, smudge the two shades together with your fingertip to create a gentler gradation. 

Blended. Pretty, right? ^^

Step 7: Liner! If you like the idea of bright pink shadow for day, I recommend a brown pencil just along the lash line. However, this look if for night, so let's use our favorite black liquid or gel liner. Just line the natural shape of your eye, making a slightly bolder line than for the daytime look, Give it a little wing at the end. I'm using the Clio Kill Black pen liner, which you can get online at ebay or amazon or in Club Clio/Olive&Young in Korea! It's around $10-$12 online, but worth every penny! 

Eyeliner

Step 8: Mascara. I would use a primer, but I'm out of lash primer at the moment and haven't repurchased yet. I'll improvise instead and use a tubing mascara with a non-clumping formula to just lift and separate the lashes before applying a high impact formula. I'm going to use NYX Doll Eye for the first coat, which is my go to drug store mascara. ^^

Mascara coat 1

Now break out the high impact formula for the second coat! I'll use Lancome Grandiose Wide Angle Fan Effect Mascara. It has that cool swan neck wand and retails around $32. This stuff is amazing! It's kind of pricey, but worth it. 

Mascara coat 2

Step 9: Cream blusher. To make your evening look lovelier, add some pink cream blush to your cheekbones! Just make sure you keep it on the outside of your face. If you're not sure, hold two fingers up to your face next to our nose. The blush should not come within two finger widths of your nose--that part should stay white. I'm going to use the Etude House Sweet Recipe Cupcake all over color in PK002 Strawberry Chiffon Cake. It's a cute baby pink cream blush that can also be used on lips and eyes (though I don't like the finish on lips at all). 

Cream blush

Step 10: The last step is to make a nice gradient lip! If you like the lips with just the Lollipop tint, then curl your hair and head out! If you want a more intense look, grab a deep pink lipstick with a creamy blendable formula. I like the Etude House Dear My Wish Lips Talk in PK003, the same shade Krystal wore in the promotions. I love this line of lipsticks! They're pretty cheap too at around $9.50. Just dab the lipstick in the center of your lips and blend out to make a nice gradation. 

Lipstick

Ok, you're all finished! Throw on your LBD and sexy hairstyle, and head out to meet your date! 

What do you think of the look? ^^ Do you like to wear bright eyeshadow colors for day or night? 

Enjoy your date~~~

Kisses,

Angela

Dating Culture in Korea: WTF are Couple Shoes?

Hi Lovelies! I want to take a few minutes to talk about an aspect of Korean dating culture that I found strange at first, but now I think is totally charming: matching EVERYTHING for Korean couples! Well, you don't have to be Korean. It's just acceptable for couples who live here to take the lovey dovey matchy-matchiness to the next level in a way most of my North American friends would find revolting.

Exhibit A: matching couple tees. Check them out here!

It's considered perfectly normal here for couples to wear matching clothes, and I see plenty of cool guys walking around Seoul wearing matching t-shirts, hoodies, or even full outfits as their girlfriends and thinking nothing of it! It's so common here that no one even blinks. If you just search "couple tees" or "couple hoodies" on Amazon or ebay (I think ebay has cuter options), you'll likely find a lot of cheezy "His" and "Hers" couple themed options, but it doesn't have to be that lame. Shirts don't even have to be the same color/design either. My BF and I have couple polo shirts--his is grey and mine is red.

Ruined by me trying on my new Nike visor which, in his words, makes me look like a fast food worker. Oppaaaaa why so mean? T-T

So what level of this cuteness am I personally able to indulge in? My BF was a initially reluctant to embrace the idea of couple clothing, labeling it "lame" and "for kids" haha. But I finally talked him into letting us get couple shoes around our 300 days with the compromise that he chooses the style. We were initially going to get some Adidas Superstars, which were really trendy this spring, but EVERYBODY in Seoul was wearing them as couple shoes! So we found some really nice Reeboks that actually had his size (290 is big in Korea!). I think most couples choose men's styles because they go smaller, but women's sizes definitely don't go higher! I'm a US size 9 and can hardly find my size anywhere in Korea.

They were a good compromise--not too girly but not too manly. Perfect for both of us! 

On our one year anniversary, we also raided the Nike store and got couples workout clothes for playing basketball in the park, They don't match exactly, but they're black and white--very cute. ^^

My personal favorite is couple hair color!! This is less common, but I see it sometimes around Hongdae--a Seoul hub for street style and funky fashion trends. I would do this in a heartbeat!

Image courtesy of my girl Sara--check out her awesome Instagram here!

Another popular item here in couple rings, which is where my BF sadly draws the line (he has a strong no jewelry on dudes policy). However, I think it's super cute! It's common here to get couple rings as early as your 100 days anniversary! People tend to wear them like a wedding ring on their left ring fingers, so it was a bit confusing for me when I first got here. I was at a university and lots of the students had couple rings, so I'd ask "Oh, are you married?" They just laughed and explained. 

There are places around here in Hongdae where you can get couple rings specially engraved, but outside of Korea you can buy them online at tons of stores. 

You can find these here, but they're everywhere. Get a sweet message engraved!

Maybe BF will change his mind about the couple rings kkkk. By the way, I should say a word to explain the anniversaries in Korean dating culture! Unlike American style dating, which usually considers 1 year (maybe 6 months) as the first big dating milestone, Korean couples usually celebrate each hundred days leading up to 1 year. And I mean really celebrate! For our 100 days we went on our first road trio together to the beach for romantic 3 day weekend.

Love Love Love!

So, Korean dating culture is on a different scale than Western dating culture, and I love every minute of it! I didn't love it when I was single, however. It's hard not to give into your forever alone feels watching cute couples splitting heart shaped pizzas at Pizza Hut or snuggling in one of the two-seater couple seats at the movie theaters. The truth is, Korea markets to couples in so many ways, and appreciation for all the lovey dovey merchandise and menus probably won't be there until you're in a relationship. Or, do what I did, and try to appreciate the cute quirkiness of it without participating. When you're able to walk hand in hand with someone wearing the same shirt as you, it'll feel all the sweeter for the waiting.

What do you think? Would you and your BF/GF wear couple items? Which would you want to try first? ^^

Shopping in Itaewon

I went shopping in Itaewon today and found some nice clothes! The stores offer more options than most Korean stores, so I was happy to find something pretty! ^^

First we hung out in Hongdae for a bit...

That blue door makes a fun backdrop kk. Then, we checked out the shopping in Itaewon and I bought a few cute dressy outfits...

We also ate Mexican food for lunch and Greek food for dinner, so I'd say the day was a success! ^^

Where do you like to shop in Seoul? ^^

Love,

Angela

BTS "Dope" and my Love for Rapping Boy Bands

Hey Lovelies! I don't know about you, but along with all the Bigbang, "Dope" by BTS has been my ultimate summer jam! It's so catchy and the choreo is seriously on point! I've always liked BTS despite my skepticism during their debut.

For the sake of nostalgia, I want to repost this essay I wrote 2 years ago after their debit ㅋㅋㅋㅋ.

Bulletproof: BTS Doesn’t Care About Your Criticism

Confession: I have a soft spot for Bangtan Boys.

The last two years have seen a bevy of  boy groups debut on the K-pop scene, all struggling to stand out in a sea of fresh rookie talent. In an effort to make themselves memorable, however, more and more groups seem to be trying a similar strategy. Is it just me, or have these recent rookie groups really been pushing a more aggressive and manly image than the boy group debuts of earlier years? The first name that comes to mind along that vein is B.A.P, who debuted in early 2012 with the bombastic “Warrior.” With a heavy hip-hop influence, B.A.P blew audiences away with their forceful dancing and manly charisma. Let’s just all take a minute to appreciate Bang Yong Guk’s grimy voice and Zelo’s gritty, playful rapping. Wasn’t their sound both powerful and fresh?  

 B.A.P. weren’t the only ones, however—Block B also debuted in early 2012 with the amazingly catchy “Nalina,” which also highlighted the rapping talents of the members. I would place these two groups in a separate category from, say, Exo who also had a fantastic debut in 2012. Though their edgy debut concept (if we’re counting “Mama” as their official debut instead of the fabulous “What Is Love” and “History” which were technically just teasers—thanks for the confusion, SM), the major hip-hop influence of B.A.P. and Block B was absent. Exo’s single “Wolf” has a decidedly more hip-hop/dubstep feel to it and adequately shows off their rapping talent, but I still wouldn’t call them quite the same style as the other two. Anyway, it was “Growl” that best showed off their signature style and made them a household name in Korea.

Yes, B.A.P. and Block B have decidedly different sounds, but their music is of a similar style (come at me, Babyz and BBC!). I’m not trying to argue about who did this new style first or who did it best, but the trend that began last year is unmistakable. More recent debuts from rookies like BTS with “No More Dream” and LC9 with “Mama Beat” seem to continue that trend of gritty hip-hop style dance tracks. In fact, there now seems to be a hazy subgenre of boy groups whose focus has taken a turn towards rapping in a big way with an intimidating image to match. It’s not that these boys can’t sing—it’s just that rapping is their bread and butter. Along with that comes a lot of attitude and a refusal to conform with traditional ideas of male beauty and “cute” male behavior in the Korean music industry. In fact, B.A.P is hilariously bad at aegyo, which this writer thinks is totally charming and refreshing.

                                  

            BTS and LC9, the most recent rookie groups in this batch of badass boy bands, have even upped the ante on their seniors who debuted last year. LC9 stands out for their insanely violent MV in which they basically beat the ever living crap out of each other, Street Fighter style. Viewers may not remember the song itself, but that MV was certainly memorable! As for BTS, I was a bit skeptical at first about such a young group, with a leader named “Rap Monster” no less, pulling off such a strong hip-hop concept. However, overused hip-hop clichés aside, their debut single ‘No More Dream’ showed off some legit rapping skills and their powerful stage performances cinched their impressive arrival on the K-pop scene. As for their age not quite matching the concept, what can we do? It seems K-pop fans have a soft spot for cute Korean schoolboys spitting gritty East Coast style rap.

            That choreography though…I’m never prepared. Seriously, aren’t these guys a little young to be moving that way??? Good thing my bias is legal (20 is close is enough, right?) You can get it, Suga. <3

But whatever. WE GO HARD DURING COFFEE HOURS!!! Keep it up, Bangtan. Haters gonna hate.

A/N: Conversation with my friend right before posting:

Me: If I say ‘I have a soft spot for Bangtan,’ does that sound all pedonoona?

Olivia: No lol. As long as you aren’t, like, creepily leching on them. 

*relieved sigh*

Ah, memories! In the past 2 years Bangtan has continued to surpass my expectations and became a group to be reckoned with. I've gotten over their ages and consider them one of the most talented groups out there! 

What did you think of their last MV? For fashion inspired by "Dope" check my recent post. Do you love them as much as I do?

Also, GD won the Bigbang poll, so expect a tribute to him soon! ;)

YouTube Channel Up!

I finally got my Youtube channel up and running, so please check out my video tutorials at SeoulLovely and suscribe! I have 3 posted so far: the daytime date look I described, and Hyorin and Bora's looks from the Shake It MV! Feel free to comment with requests for looks from other MVs!

Sorry for the poor quality, but I haven't been able to invest in the proper equipment yet lol. Korean speaker, I'm sorry if my accent is atrocious! I'm doing my best kkkk.

Kisses,

Angela