That is till I decided … FINE! I’ll invest $5 in a jewelry cleaner.

I got mine at Target. In the fake jewelry section.

It’s so easy!

Step 1: drop your ring into the ring slot.

(Click on image for a closer look. source: personal photos)

Step 2: Let it sit in the formula for a few seconds.

Step 3: Rinse it off with lukewarm water with the teeny brush it comes with.

TIP: Don’t forget to plug your sink before your rinse in case your ring slips and falls through the drain.

Super easy! Super cheap!

So far, you heard about the “getting ready process” of the fashion show. I squeezed my butt into a teeny tiny spot in front of the runway but got kicked out because we were sitting in the “VIP” section. I waited a bit and then just came right back I was able to squat and sit at the very front just because I had a camera. I was hoping to get away looking like the media and I think it worked! Here are some photos from the actual show:

Remember how I said you could totally tell the confident, experienced models from the…. opposite?

Here’s what I assume to be the confident/experienced models:

I did this model's hair, although it was my first time working with an African American's hairstyle that was so short! There wasn't much I could do, but we had a nice chat

I forgot to take this model's info... crap! I thought she was really good and super pretty!

Love the sexy red heels!

I love the sequence of white dresses from this one designer. I actually really liked the styles of all the stylists! Daring but still sweet and feminine.

All the photographers LOVED her because she stood in really great poses long enough for us to take a good shot. Instead of the models that ran away.. the photographers would scream "wait! come back!!"

I totally bonded with this girl while doing her hair. She is also Korean American and from Seoul, Korea. She was shocked when I told her I still haven't been to Korea! She rocks.

Another Asian American model that I sadly did not get contact info from

Ok now as for the… other “types” of girls:

This was the girl where I kept hearing people laugh at and say "Is she drunk? She MUST be drunk!" She was so loopy and literally giggled her way up and down the runway. She is the SAME backstage.

Slouch much? This girl literally dragged her feet down the stage and we didn't even get a chance to take any shots of her! Umm... is this supposed to happen? Maybe this bored/draggy thing is "in" the fashion industry??? who knows!

Yay, success!

After the show, the club immediately turned into a regular Asian Night type of club. I felt a little out of place because I haven’t been at that type of scene for SO long! But I stuck around to take these amazing shots of the acrobatic dancers twirling. You can totally tell that I don’t have a photographer’s eye for fashion, but I’m way more into these abstract/lighting types of art!

Right off the bat, I do not think I’ll be doing fashion shows anymore. Yes, it’s a thrilling experience and so fun to talk about with other people — but overall, I’ve decided that I would try to stick to fashion photoshoots and bridal. Why? Well, when I came through the door to get set up, the room was completely full. Full of clothes, people, heat and most of all full of TENSION! My gosh, the world of fashion is extremely competitive (well duh) so it was very intimidating coming in without knowing a single thing!

behind the scenes shot

There are 2 other hairstylists that were already doing 2 girls, so I try to ask if I can squeeze into a teeny tiny corner and use one outlet. The male stylist barely notices or looks at me so I just push my stuff over. Then I realize that I don’t even have a chair — so I run upstairs to grab the first chair I see and waddle down with it. You really just gotta do everything yourself!  Finally, I have my set “station.” I didn’t know what the hell to do next so I figure I just yell out “I need a model! Anyone that is ready??” A model is placed before me and I begin to work on her hair and chit-chat. I realize now that almost everyone has no idea what to do and that nobody knows each other. I also realized that the models are HIGHLY competitive with each other and that they’re all nervous! Man, people may want to be models — but I definitely do not! The pressure, the obvious desperation and the cattiness of women would be such a difficult thing to deal with on a daily basis. My heart goes out to the models — what a tough industry!

Eventually I realize that not everyone is the greatest at what they do — so I felt better about myself. There was even a point where the male stylist completely fell over, somersaulted and fell on his head after missing his chair. Well, that definitely took the tension off of me and although I felt very badly for him, I knew I wasn’t the biggest geek there! It was very obvious which models were experienced and which models seemed loopy, weird and a little high.

I was able to network with a lot of great models and even some stylists, so the best part about fashion shows would be the networking. However, I realize that it’s not the same way it is with bridal. With bridal, there’s no need to be fiercely competitive because people will always get married. There’s always a demand for weddings and we often are booked on the same wedding days/months so we can help each other out. But with FASHION stylists, it’s so competitive no matter what! They want every show they can possibly book and it really matters what type of show you’re working at. (labels, brands, famous people, etc.) So even though I traded cards with a few of them, I could almost hear them saying to me “here’s my card, but you better not be booking more gigs than me.”

J has had similar experiences and we both laughed at how ridiculous some of the situations can get. (Like J holding her cell phone for lighting because she also got stuck in a corner!)

To be continued…. (with pictures from the fashion show!)

At first, I was spying this beauty,

But it’s been out of stock for the past few months.

Then I came across this pair at TJ MAXX for 1/2 the listed price!

I love wearing heels because I am 5′3″ and next to Yug (6′1″), I look like stumpy. So these 4.34″ heels are perfect for me!~

This year has been filled with weddings and babies. But because I am part of a close knit community, I don’t like recycling a look at multiple weddings. Jazzing up a plain jane dress with awesome shoes & accessories is definitely the way to go for me~

*Thanks to Miss S for showing me this! Stay warm ladies!