Headphones: Beats by Dre

Hair: Arctic Fox hair color

This is how I usually dress, though I’ve been cleaning up my style some lately. What used to be more on the grungy-goth side of fashion has shifted to a style that’s more sleek and sophisticated. These travel plans have forced me to invest in higher quality clothes while significantly downsizing my wardrobe. These days, I’m aiming to look neater while my threads stand the test of adventure. Also, a little voice in my head said, “you’re 30! Dress your age!”

I’m a firm believer that women should wear what they’re comfortable in, regardless of age. There are so many articles of what to wear at age 30, and really, it all comes down to personal choice. However, I’ve already lived through the goth phase of torn black clothes… if you call 17 years a phase. 😛 I can still maintain my dark style while aiming for a cleaner appearance. It happens to a lot of us; change like this is welcome.

And… You want to know a little secret of mine? The stuff I have on might be pricey as the brand, but with godsends like Groupon and the thrift store, I managed to find things for really cheap or significantly discounted. That North Face vest: whoever was in charge for pricing items at the thrift store probably had no idea what they were selling. I was like, “$10 Northface vest? Don’t mind if I do.”

Groupon had sold the headphones as refurbished and honestly, I love them and use them every single day. They are quite sturdy and the sound quality is wonderful. I used to use cheap headphones that sounded okay, but they’d break every few months. I figured it’s time to invest in a real pair that will last a while, because it saves money in the long run. I wanted the blue pair, but the pink pair was $15 cheaper. They do the same thing…but…it’s a $15 price difference. It wasn’t worth picking the blue ones, in my opinion.

To get this hair color, I use Arctic Fox hair color on bleached hair. I highly recommend using latex gloves because it stains heavily. I mixed one part Purple Rain, one part Poison, and one part Wrath. The mixture results in a beautiful crimson that gradually fades to fuchsia like shown here. It will eventually fade to magenta and then bright pink. The hair dye also smells like grape candy and bubblegum, so the process of coloring hair is a pleasant experience!

• fashion
• holy crap I'm 30