The Lady and The Tramp

Good evening, lords and ladies!

I accidentally double booked myself for today. When my mother asked if I could take her Chico to the vet today, I immidiately said "of course". And forgot that I had also invited Kata and Susanna for some tea at my place. Well, no worries; got up at 7:00, took Chico for his vaccination, ran back home, changed my outfit and then we had this lovely little gentleman to keep us company while sipping our tea. Chico especially liked Susanna, because she was so willing to pet him. Even my Odessa liked Susanna quite a lot, and she is not so easy to please. x)

I finally wore my Juliette & Justine Doll print dress, yay! And just look how beautiful Chico is. ♥

Outfit details:
Coat - handmade by Mimi 
Scarf - second hand
Dress - Juliette & Justine
Roses - mostly H&M
Blouse - Monki (second hand)
Gloves - vintage
Bracelet - selfmade
Shoes - Wonders

Handmade Christmas Presents

Now that it's finally the 24th of December, I can show you the gifts I made this year.

I made all my friends book marks with a deer theme, each deer resembling the gift receiver. Deers for my dears! :D It took me almost forever to get these all done, but I'm happy I could make it in time.

I even made one for myself, and one for my boyfriend. Originally I wasn't going to make one for him, because well, these deers are quite girly, but he said he'd like to see how his book mark would look so I made one anyway. I think I did quite good job drawing a stag. It's still cute but not so feminine. :3

And finally here are the bracelets I made for my mother and sister, they are made of real freswater pearls and Swarowski crystals. My sister particularly wished for a bracelet with that leopard spotted heart charm after catching a glimpse of it in my craft supplies box.

Very merry Christmas, Yule or what ever you happen to be celebrating to all my lovely readers! ♥

Makeup Review: The Oriental Gold BB Cream

The BB Cream hype that’s been going on a long time in Asia is now reaching Europe as well. Many major makeup companies have now introduced their own BB Creams in Finland also. I’m very excited about this trend, because I am very lazy with makeup and want my every day makeup routine to be simple, fast and easy to do.

After trying a few of those BB Creams, that are sold in Finland, in the form of free makeup samples, I was only glad I didn’t buy them myself. They were simply horrible. Some were too thick, while others didn’t blend at all, and all of them (despite claiming to be “light”) were way too dark for my skin. (It makes me wonder if many Finnish girls can wear these Creams at all, as most Finns are quite pale.)

So I decided it was time to order a BB cream from Asia, as they have developed BB creams there much longer than the companies selling their products here in Europe. Also, in Europe, BB cream stands for “Beauty Balm” (it’s more a makeup than a skin care product), whereas in Asia it means “Blemish Balm” (meaning it really is supposed to make your skin feel and look healthier, not only cover it up).

Sanni gave me her recommendation on a BB cream called “The Oriental – Gold BB Cream”. It promises to protect your skin from aging, sun and other harmful substances and also to whiten the skin. It also says to have black, white and green tea in it.

When I first saw my new BB cream, I was delighted. The bottle is much prettier than those bottles they sell in Finland. It is lavender colored and has a golden cap. I discovered that the top part of the golden cap has a blush/lip gloss and a tiny mirror. When you remove the whole cap, you get to the actual BB cream. It was a pleasant surprise to find the blush/lip gloss; this means that on a very lazy day I can do my whole make up using only this product, and I have a foundation, blush and lip gloss in one convenient bottle. Lazy days, here I come! :D

When I tried this BB Cream on, I was even more delighted. First it looks quite grey on my skin, but when I start to blend it, it really fits my skin tone almost perfectly. I’ve never had a foundation that is this perfect in color. It also blends in very easily and feels smooth and light, it almost feels like I’m not wearing makeup at all. The coverage is pretty good; I have quite nice skin, but my nose and chin tend to be a little reddish, and it covers at least that and small blemishes pretty well. I would recommend this especially to those, who don’t suffer acne that much. I wear a tiny amount of powder with my BB Cream, and at least with that it stays on very well during the whole day. I don’t know about the whitening part, though; this BB Cream doesn’t make me look any paler, but maybe that’s because I already have quite pale skin (and actually I don’t wish to be any more pale so this is only a good thing). Also this BB Cream even smells nice! I am eager to see whether prolonged use of this BB Cream will really make my skin healthier.

The price of this product is very reasonable. It only cost about 13 euros, and the shipping is free in economy class. So it isn’t any more expensive to order this than to buy an average priced foundation in Finland. The product was also packed very well, it had a proper cardboard box, bubble wrap and of course it’s own box to protect it. It took a little under two weeks to arrive, so it takes a while, but at least for me it was worth waiting for. (If you wish, you can order it here.) 

All in all, I’m thrilled and this BB Cream will definitely be a permanent part of my makeup pouch. Please note, though, that this is the first Asian BB Cream I’ve tried on, and compared to that rubbish they sell as BB Creams here in Finland, any improvement would be huge. But still, this really is the best foundation I’ve ever tried, and I have tried many foundations in my life. And on to the pictures!

First the appearance; the bottle and its box. 

The blush/lip gloss and the tiny mirror.

Here are my everyday makeup/skin care products before I bought the BB Cream:

...and here they are after. A couple of bottles less, as you can see.Of course I still apply face cream every evening but I don't have to do that at morning anymore.

Here is a picture of me with only the BB Cream on. I look very blank without blush and mascara. :D 

 

And here I am with my makeup fully done. I look much healthier with some color on my face. x)

The review:

BB Cream package appearance: 5/5

Package for shipping: 5/5

Time to arrive: 4/5

Coverage: 5/5

How it stays on: 4/5

Smell: 5/5

Texture: 5/5

How it blends in with my skin tone: 4/5

Price: 5/5

How easy it was to order: 5/5

Note: Just to make it clear, this post is NOT sponsored. :)

Lilja

For a long time now, I have been dreaming of this particular Kalevala's piece, the "Vanamo" bracelet. But sadly, the smallest size of this bracelet is a little bit too tight to my liking, and the bigger sizes are far too loose for my wrist. So I'll have to give up the dream of ever owning this beautiful bracelet, it simply does not fit me.

But, luckily I can make some jewellery myself. I decided to do a bracelet inspired by Kalevala's "Vanamo", and here is the result. I used freshwater pearls, Swarowski crystals and a lily shaped lock. I call it "Lilja", that's lily in Finnish. I do like it very much, I think it came out quite nicely. Of course it will never be Kalevala's "Vanamo" but now I'm not so sad anymore. :D

Christmas Party As Sweet As Chocolate

Hello hello, lords and ladies! As promised, here comes a huge picture spam from our Pre-Christmas party that was held at our place last Sunday.

Our theme was chocolate. Here are some of our delicious treats...

... and we dipped everything in melted chocolate! This chocolate melting set is one of my birthday gifts, and I love it. I'm already dreaming of a Summer picnic, where we could dip fresh strawberries in milk chocolate... *-* As you can see from this picture, there were so many quests, that our little kitchen table couldn't fit us all nicely, so we had to arrange a "winter picnic" on our floor. I laid down many blankets and pillows and it was quite comfy after all!

We also drank all of this! But actually it's not what it looks like - no, it is ice tea (or roiibos, to be exact) that I made and bottled for the party. :D

Here's my outfit. My dress looks so short in this picture. :( Anyway I tried to be as Christmas-y as possible and even stole some Christmas decorations from our tiny Christmas tree and pinned those on my hair.

A closer picture of my accessories and hairdo. 

And here are some group shots! It's quite challenging to take group pictures in our relatively compact appartment (I do not call it small, it only becomes small if we invite too many quests. ;D) Anyway my boyfriend was kind enough to take these shots for us.

During our party we also gave each other Christmas gifts, as we won't be seeing each other until next year. I won't show you what I made my to loli friends, because I made similar things to my other friends as well and I don't want to spoil it for those who are nice and open their presents on 24th. ;)

But here is what I got! A light blue sash, made of real silk, for my chemise á la princesse from Mimi, a cute cupcake shaped kitchen timer from Susanna, the most beautiful earrings and matching ring from Tiia, Pinkie Pie that looks like Johanna Tukiainen (you propably don't know who she is, so google her, if you dare, but prepare for a shock XD) from Kata and a lovely self drawn miniature portrait from Sanni. It also says that "with this card, you can get a portrait from Sanni during year 2013" - so it's a gift card! I love how creative everyone was with their presents, and needless to say, I really like each one of them! I can't wait till Summer to wear that sash, and I've already worn the jewellery several times! And of course one can never have too many My Little Ponies. ♥

Okay, that was it. Phew. :D

Edit: Oops, I forgot again! My outfit details:
Dress - Angelic Pretty
Blouse - Dear Celine
Earrings, ring - gift from Tiia
Star hair pin - Chocomint
Tights - Primark
Shoes - Friis & Company. 

The Hobbit

Today I went to see The Hobbit movie with some of my dearest friends. I would have liked to wear something... more, but I couldn't sleep on the previous night (I only slept a couple of hours) and wasn't feeling very glamorous in the morning. So, yeah, that pretty much explains the dark circles under my eyes. Not sleeping well doesn't suit me at all, I feel like I've been hit by a truck. x_x

With a face looking like this, and not having energy to do anything to my hair either, I went for very casual look, but I did try to get some old time's feeling to it and I think I succeeded pretty well.

Here's the outfit with my coat on:

... and here it is without. I wore my newest Juliette & Justine dress with just very few petticoats for sake of comfort (after all I had to fit in to the chair at the movie theater). And this outfit really was very comfy!

Here's a picture of the under bust bow. It is so pretty, I love the embroidery. *-*

 

And the movie itself? It was amazing, better than I expected and I did expect it to be very, very good, and it was even better and...!!! Now I can't wait for the next part... *-*

Okay, that's it! I'm going to have a lovely sleep tonight. Good night, everyone! x)

Oh, almost forgot; the outfit details...

Dress - Juliette & Justine

Earrings - a gift from Tiia

Blouse - Dear Celine

Coat - hand made by Mimi

Scarf - a second hand find 

Bag - Accessorize

Shoes - Wonders

Film Camera

When we visited Sanni at Lahti to celebrate her birthday, she also took pictures of me and Mimi with a film camera. Sanni gave me her permission to share these pictures with you! I think they are rather lovely, I love how they look a little bit like those over a hundred years old photos that you sometimes find at the flee markets. :3

I'm wearing Innocent World and the ever so beautiful Mimi is wearing Juliette & Justine and Baby's headdress.

P.S. Yesterday we had a little Pre-Christmas party at my place, I'll post pictures of that during this week! :)

My Purchases from Ofelia Market

As I promised, here are the pictures of the things I bought at Ofelia Market.

Let's start with my best find - this lovely Juliette & Justine dress. I really like the soft colours of this dress, and the flower pattern, of course. I have always been nuts about flower patterns, especially roses are my favorites, but I like other flowers too.

This dress has a gorgeous bow detail, and there are little flowers embroidered on the bow. I really love the embroidery, it's so delicate and adds texture to the dress. (I know see that my camera has added some strange stripes on the left side of this picture - ignore those, they are not real. o_O)

And here are my other, smaller findings.  A hairband made of venice lace, "Keep calm and be a unicorn" hair pin from Essin maailma, and earrings made of Swarowski crystals and real silver. It's hard to see the earrings from the picture because they are transparent, but they are there. :D

You may clik the pictures to see the bigger versions. :)

Keep Calm And Be a Unicorn

Today was once again time for Ofelia market. Many of my loli friends were there, it was nice to meet them - and I even made one new friend! :) I'll post the things I bought at Ofelia later on, because this post is enormous picture spam as it is.

So, Mimi made us these beautiful "Unicornia Regalia" dresses and today we wore them the first time ever. The inspiration for these dresses comes from the Tudor times, and of course from the famous unicorn tapestry made during the Medieval times.

The shoulder straps have golden embroidery on them, and the bodice is made of dark blue velvet with sweet heart neckline.

And of course the print on the hem is just divine. Unicorns... *-* 

We bought matching unicorn horns at Ofelia from the ever so lovely Essin maailma. 

And in the end, couple of pictures with Mimi! We were twinning. ♥

Our outfits:
Flowers - Bijou Brigitte
Unicorn horns - Essin maailma
Blouses - Seppälä by Paola Suhonen
"Unicornia Regalia" dresses - hand made by our talented Mimi
Shoes - Wonders

P.S. Yes, I have to share this thought with you: all day long I felt like I was a war ship, sailing forward in my heavy, enourmous, too many petticoats. Seriously, my back is aching after wearing those! It was a funny feeling, I've never felt like a war ship before. x)

Lazy Lacy

Here's my outfit from today. I did some serious home decor shopping, and wanted to wear something really comfortable. But then again, most days I wear something comfy anyway. I'm lazy like that. For example, I've noticed that I mostly wear shades of white, brown, grey, dark blue and black. I have more colorful clothes but I just end up being comfy and, well, boring. :P

This is a new cardigan, by the way. I really like it, it goes with lolita as well!

Here's the outfit without the cardi. I've altered the sleeves on this dress, originally they had really unflattering and ugly ruffles on them.

And a closeup of jewellery, it goes so well with the buttons of this dress. 

Outfit:
Cardigan - Seppälä
Dress - Ems Excite
Shoes - Wonders
Jewellery - gifts from my friends

Crown of Roses

Today I went to Lahti to celebrate Mimi's birthday. We went to a quite nice Italian restaurant, the food was really good there.

I was in a hurry this morning (actually missed my bus) so my outfit isn't quite perfect. On later thoughts I should have worn dark brown socks, because of course it rained in Lahti and now these ones are ruined. By the way my boots are chocolate brown, it was really dark day so the pictures are not that good.

My nails, gold base and dark brown graffiti nail polish. 

And closeup of my hairdo. I really like how it turned out! I'll definitely wear it again in the Summer.

And I got this G3 Wind Drifter as a belated birthday gift from Kata! The pose is ankward but the pony itself is absolutely darling. I love those colors and 3D symbol. ♥

My outfit details:
Blouse (it's actually a dress) - Monki (bought second hand)
Flowers - H&M, Accessorize, gifts
Pearl necklaces - vintage, second hand, selfmade
Dress - Innocent World
Purse - Accessorize
Boots - Wonders

P.S. I'm trying this new way of listing my outfit details at the end of my posts, and I'm trying to be more careful, listing at least most items. I know I have been lazy with this. :P

Self Made Letter Sets

It's literally inpossible to find pretty letter papers from Finland anymore. However, there are some very cute, pastel and pearl colored envelopes available. To me it remains a mystery why would anyone want to send a pretty envelope filled with boring white letter sheets, but that's not the point of this post.

The point is, since the pretty letter sheets have suffered an extinction, I decided to make my own. I bought a set of stamps featuring cute birds and old fashioned bird cages, and while my stamping tehcnique needs some working on, I'm pretty happy with these first sets I made. 

Click the picture to enlarge!

That's all for now, just wanted to share this little crafts project of mine with you. :D

Pearls and Diamonds

Sanni invited me and Mimi to her birthday teaparty today. Her new appartment is small but darn it is also too cute! I simply love her decor. *-* I was a little bit flattered to find my own pictures framed on Sanni's wall, but of course they are taken by Sanni, and are very good shots indeed - she is so talented, it never stops amazing me.

By the way I slept really badly last night (meaning I hardly slept at all) and you can see that from my derpy face. Let us ignore it. :D

Sanni decided that this time our theme would be "pearls and bling bling", so naturally I wore my 'new' pearl necklace with fake diamonds on it ('new', as in 'I found it from the second hand market'). It's really nice to come up with different themes for our outfits; it gives me inspiration and ideas what to wear.

Here's the group shot! "Speak no evil, hear no evil, see no evil." Even the bunny pillow is silenced by Sanni's elbow.

And lastly, some food pictures. Sanni does not only make food that tastes delicious, she also makes food that looks beautiful. I am jealous. The only thing I can make in the kitchen is a mess.

My outfit:

Dress, headbow - Innocent World

Blouse - Paola Suhonen by Seppälä

Necklace - a second hand find

Shoes - Wonders