Love Chic

As promised, two readers will win their favorite look from our “12x12” feature! Here’s how.

1. This giveaway is open to all Love Chic readers in the Philippines who are following us on Twitter and Facebook. Follow Bench on Twitter and Facebook too since they’re one of the brands who will sponsor the winners. We’ll be double-checking on these! :)
2. If you’re a guy, click here to see the 12 looks by Seph. If you’re a girl, click here to see the 12 looks by Shai. Choose your favorite one and grab the photo.
3. Post the photo on the wall of our Facebook Page. In the caption, tag @Bench then write down why you chose that outfit and how you’d wear it if you win.
   Sample caption: “@Bench/ lifestyle + clothing My favorite is Look 11 because it has all my favorite colors and styles! I would wear it to a special date with the girl I’m courting.”
4. Ask your family and friends to Like your entry. It won’t be the sole basis for winning but it would help to show the amount of support you get :)
5. Tweet this: “@sephshai I joined your giveaway! http://bit.ly/xQ2kuf #lovechic”

Deadline for entries is Friday, Feb 3 at 11:59 PM. We’ll choose the most creative captions: one (1) from the guys and one (1) from the girls. Just like that, they’ll win all the items from their chosen look! In case the item isn’t available in the winner’s size or is out of stock, it’ll be replaced with something in a similar style.
   
Winners will be announced via Twitter on Saturday, Feb 4. Best of luck, everyone!

Guess who just dyed their own hair ombré?

The term is a French word which means “gradiation” or “shade.” Instead of one color throughout, you’ve got a darker shade on top that gradually goes lighter down the tips, usually ending in blonde.

We didn’t find any salons that offered this, so we thought we’d do it ourselves.

We’re glad we did; not only were we able to save money, we were also able to pick up a few self-reminders from the experience.

Lesson 1: Stand on your own two feet. We’re firm believers that nobody is self-made; whatever form of success we currently enjoy, people along the way helped us get to where we are. However, being dependent on others is a different story. If you always need people to do certain things for you, what happens when they leave, turn their back on you, or worse, demand repayment and rub in your face all the good they’ve done when things go sour? Do things yourself. If it works, you’ll have leveled up and won’t have to drown in debts of gratitude. If it doesn’t, you’ll still have learned and have no one to blame.

Lesson 2: Dare to be different. Just because everybody’s doing this or wearing that or getting hooked with this app or going to that hip-happening place doesn’t make it imperative that you should, too. Au contraire. Dare to be a starter, not a follower—and dare to stand by your own choices and preferences.

Lesson 3: Experiment. Take risks. Whenever hesitation or fear strikes, ask yourself what’s the worst that can happen. What have you got to lose? Will it matter in the greater scheme of things? Will it matter three, five, ten years from now? And even if the answers to these are bleak, well, sometimes the best way we can truly learn and grow is through our mistakes and failures.

Lesson 4: Be yourself, always. In this day and age more than ever, this seems to be one of the simplest yet most challenging things to practice. With everyone so inevitably connected and perennially updated, it seems to have become so important to be who we are expected to be: edited, curated, censor-approved versions of ourselves, rather than who we are happy to be: just ourselves! How can we be true to other people if the person we see everyday in the mirror is fake?

On Shai: Forever21 embroidered dress, Parisian at SM Department Store booties, SM Accessories bangle, Fidelity necklace and rings. Hype on Lookbook here.

On Seph: Forever21 blazer, Topman shirt, Bench jeans, Aldo socks, Adidas shoes, SM Accessories necklace and wristband, Timex watch. Hype on Lookbook here.

   
…All this from three tubs of hair color. Who knew? Haha. Tutorial, anyone? Tell us what you think—use that Reply button on your Tumblr dashboard or leave a Disqus comment :) Hope y’all had a good start for the new year!