Friday, November 30, 2012

Goths at Folk Festivals 2012 Editions Part 2

What should I bring?

This question may seem a bit odd, or even too obvious, but I can assure you that going to a Folk or 'Hippy' festival (I trust you know what I mean here) is very different from a Goth festival or any other festival really, and can be a really new and different experience for newbies.
(These answers are not directed at Goths specifically, but rather people doing the whole camping thing in general. Specifics will come later.)

The basics...

Most likely, unless you happen to know someone who has room in their house, you will have to camp. This may be entirely off putting for some, but I actually like for short periods of time. Many places don't allow cars or other vehicles close by so your best bet is to go with a good quality tent. Make sure it is waterproof! Also, consider the number of people you'll be sharing a tent with. A two person tent, I believe, fits about 1.5 people and no gear. I'm exaggerating here, but seriously remember to allow adequate room for people to sleep, access their belongings and get changed. A tent that is overly big will be very heavy. You will probably have to lug so gear around to find a campsite that is suitable, so excess baggage is something to avoid! Still, a tent will be your hub, and should be a place for recovery after hitting the bar for too long! =P
You could also opt for a swag if you have one. Sleeping under the stars sounds lovely, but in a crowded area, you could get stepped on! Seriously, there are a lot of odd or unsavoury characters at festivals (just like everywhere else in the world) and leaving yourself outdoors in just a sleeping bag may make you vulnerable.

Other sleeping gear.
A sleeping bag at the very least to protect against the cold night air, but for those who don't enjoy have rocks-in-the-back while getting some shut eye may want to look for a blow up matteress or sleeping mat. Again, this really depends on space, but also your budget. Sleeping mats tend to be no more than a few centimetres of dense foam. This is actually more comfortable that you might expect, but it is still not much padding between you and the hard earth.
A blow up matteress is more pricey but a comfortable option. Just remember to bring the bellows and appropriate fitting nozzles! So many times we have forgoten a nozzle that fitted and just had to improvise (or borrow, but don't rely on that)! Check for leaks too. You don't want to wake up a 5am after a long hard night of getting your dance on to find your matteress completely deflated and you resting on the hard ground. (Another experience of mine!)
Oh and if you like having some neck support, pack a pillow or two. One pillow can be shared between two people (you'll have to get cosy, so maybe considering sharing with a partner or best friend. I'm sure two sisters would be fighting over how much pillow each has!) and this really saves on packing space. If you forget, or decide you don't have adequet plush, you can fill the underneath section or just under neath your pillow with clothes for extra padding. I have done this in the past. It's not so much fun but it does work!

Clothes and Toiletries- I think I'll be doing another post on this, as this can be a Goth-specific area.

Food and cooking utensils.
Honestly, I'm pretty rubbish at this point of the organising process.
It's very important though, if the festival doesn't provide food or you don't want to pay for it; it tends to be a little overpriced and questionable quality. After all, after a few days in the baking sun, possibly surrounded by a water source like a river, things may go sour. Just a warning to be aware.
If you are a vegetarian or vegan, most likely at folk festivals this will be catered for, due to the large percentage of folkies having similar dietary choices. However, if you are gluten intolerant for example, you may want to do your own thing. Also, keep in mind things like Halal or other choices if needed.
Warning! If you are anaphylactic or really allergic to certain foods then you need to contact the festival organisers about this! Of course, I trust you're all very responsible and would do this anyway. =)
Remember something to cook with, ie. heat. This is something that can really be shared if needed to save on packing space, but look for a hot plate or cooktop, or mini stove. Gas is probably the best choice. Or you could use an open outdoors fire, but check the fire regulations first. I live in a serious bushfire area, and open fires that are even secured can be dangerous. Really though, if your going to do any cooking you don't want to forget this!
Of course, you own crummy 2 minute noodles, with no soy sauce, don't look as tempting as a hot cone of stir fried fresh vegetables and noodles, but I would recommened DIY if you have already purchased and lugged the food. Save your coin for other trinkets or clothes at the markets, hot cups of good coffee or chai, or go all out and don't spend a thing. Use this time to be in touch with nature and not so dependant on earthly possessions.

Items for entertainment
Naturally while at a festival the last thing you need is a distraction from the festival itself, but bringing an iPod or .mp3 player with you can help with dealing with the travelling to and from your destination, especially if you are going by public transport. Also, if you are bringing tiny little ones to the festival (many are family friendly), perhaps some small toys would help keep their attention spans in check. (On that note, I appologise but I don't have children of my own so I cannot really comment on their requirements in regards to packing. Please remember to bring everything you need, and check the festival if there are any regulations regarding disposal of nappies ect. More on this later though)

Reacurring themes in this post have been plan ahead and be sensible and organised. If you keep these in mind you should have a smooth, worry free festival. Posts to come are; Appropriate Attire, and the Behaviours of Folkies (including yourself)
Enjoy!

xxx Lilly

Friday, November 23, 2012

Tumbling

Hello my sweet followers

In case you haven't already, please check out my Tumblr Lilly Peppermint's Coffin. Currently I have 245 followers on Tumblr, which is insane. That's almost 150 more that I have here on Blogger. I don't know what that means exactly, probably that people either like to look at pictures more than read, or that people appreicate that I post each day on Tumblr, and once or twice a month here. =(

Tumblr is probably the most accurate blog I manage as a reflection of myself, simply because this blog just doesn't get updated nearly enough for people, I believe, to really get an accurate opinion or image of myself. On Tumblr I post or reblog pictures of beauty in all forms. Beauty is of course an opinion. I also post some fan based things that I love, as well as my two favourite dishes; sushi and macarons. And a lot of Lush. It is just a blog of love.
Even though I am an atheist and don't currently have any religion, I post lots of spiritual and/or Wiccan images. This is simply because I find this incredibly beautiful, in case you were wondering. I also post hundreds of outfits, mainly in styles of Goth with aesthetics that are similar to my favourites.
Also just an fyi, at times my Tumblr, like most these days, may be NSFW. I do post fetish, burlesque and kink images occastionally, with maybe a bit of breast. I tend to avoid nudity though. (That's hard to avoid on Tumblr lately) Just so you don't go opening up the page in you family lounge room, using your high school network or while at work. =P

xxx Lilly

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Lush Reviews 2012 Part One

Hello everyone.

I thought I'd share some of my opinions on some of the Lush products that I have tried over the past amount of time. I can guarantee that this won't be everything that I have tried recently, as many Lush products are single-use things eg. bath bombs. These are just the ones I can remember or have their remains lying around. Some of these products are samples that were given to me without charge.

Atomic Toothy Tabs
A firm favourite of mine. I have also tried the toothy tabs Dirty and Ultrablast. These two flavours in my opinion are just not very nice tasting and don't work effectively. Atomic is flavoured with clove, coffee and ginger, which is a lovely flavour with not much sweetness. I also don't believe that these shold completely replace a toothpaste with added fluroide. Lush seem to be against added fluroide which is odd. I do agree with their decision to minimise packaging and preservatives, but fluroide is proven to benefit teeth. I think they just don't want to have too many synthetic chemicals listed on the labels. I am just speculating here though. The do smooth the surface of the teeth really nicely, freshen breath well and make a lovely in-mouth feeling (stop laughing). In my opinion these are perfect for the morning brush but probably not so great after a day of eating and drinking.

American Cream
This product was recomended to me by one of the staff members on my local store. I'll admit that the product worked very well for my hair; it was softening and smoothing but didn't leave much unwanted residue. However, I didn't really like the scent ( I can't remember exactly what it was though, vanilla and strawberries or something similar) in liquid form. Shimmy Shimmy uses the same scent, but it is less overpowering in that solid form. Lastly, I bought the smallest bottle of this product, but it was empty in just over a month! Even for a small amount it should have lasted much longer than that; it was too thick. I only apply product to the lengths and ends of my hair, but I have very long and thick hair that is quite dry. I need a fair amount of product to cover my hair properly and evenly. I won't be using this product again.

Ghost
A limited edition Halloween special, this lily scented product is lovely! It is coloured a soft white with a shimmering lustre. It foams up so well that often I had too much lather than I needed, you only need a tiny amount for a decent wash. I use all my shower gels and most soaps with a shower puff; I don't know how well these products would work on a wash cloth or just in you hand. My guess is that a wash cloth would work fine and long as it didn't become to heavy with the product, in your hand it may just go down the drain as this product has quite a low viscosity. I am pretty sure that this product is still availible in my local Lush storeseven now, but you may find it is sold out near you.
This may seem trivial, but on my bottle, and all of the bottles I have located, there is a simple small typo printed on the front of the label. While the product itself is what I'm reviewing here, I wish that this had been corrected before the product went into production as part of what I'm putting my money towards is a bottle with the word 'Ghost' on it. That's part of the appeal. Currently my bottle is sitting on my bookshelf with my other favourite bottles. Part of Lush's appeal is their lovely names. I want to show off the beautiful name and lable of the product as well!

The Olive Branch
This shower gel seperates into two layers; the oils float over the juice base, and you shake it up before using. The only problem I have had with this lovely product is that it is almost impossible to get a really even amalgamation between the juices and the oils, especially in the first few uses when the pocket of air that does the mixing is smaller (go to your physics lectures if you don't know what I'm talking about here!). The oils are still in the top section more, meaning they come out of the bottle first. I only find this problematic as in the future when I have used up more of the bottle there will be less oil to use. The product, suprisingly considering it contains olive oil, lathers really well and has a claming, unusual yet lovely scent. It is quite thin and tends to run everywhere, so a shower sponge or washcloth is necessary.

Twilight shower gel
This Christmas limited edition has the same perfume as the Lush Bath Bomb of the same name. However, this scent is more strongly lavander and less creamy. The scent is still lovely but not as nice as the bath bomb in my opinion, which is one of my favourite Lush products. This shower gel is a favourite of mine to use at night, due to it's strong calming aroma. It has the perfect gel consistency and foams up in the ideal amount, so there is not much wastage. The colour is described on the bottle to be blue purple, but I think that it is more of a red based purple. It has fine silver glitter suspended through the product, with a large amount of build up at the bottom. I wish this glitter could have been suspended in as well, as it doesn't mix through even with shaking. I also wanted some of the lovely lustre to remain on my skin after rinsing, but this didn't happen. I think I'm in the minority here though. Also I found there was ocassionally a purple tint to the foam. I assume that there was just too much dye in this batch, which was the first of the Australian editions. The product did not stain the skin at all though. The fragrance doesn't linger much on the skin either, which was dissapointing too.

Lustre
This is a gold shimmering powder that is scented with the Lust perfume. It smells pretty strongly of jasmine, which tends to make me gag, but I find this scent tolerable (only just). The powder is very versatile and can be used as a body highlighter, eyeshadow or hair glitter. I personally prefer to dust this product over my arms and chest if they will be exposed in my outfit and dust it liberally in my hair before combing evenly and styling. The product tends to go all over clothing which initially creates streaks of gold when brushed which looks very messy, however soon these fade into a golden dusting of glitter over my clothes. It's easy to remember to apply the product before putting on the final layers of clothing, but it is still annoying and a bit tedious. Some people may not want any fallout, so unless they use a kabuki brush or similar to apply then this product is not for them.

Breadth of God sold perfume
This is lovely. Just lovely. Fruity notes that are softly smoked; this scent is difficult to describe. Either you will love it or hate it. It is so unique. I chose the solid as it was the most economical at the time of purchase. You need to push the product up from the base to use more. I wish the had developed a mechanism similar to many lip balms, but that would increase the packaging and the cost. I can remember Amy from Juliet's Lace mention in this post that she didn't like having to squish the lid over the product.  I found a solution that works for me. I simply use my wrist where I had applied perfume to carefully squish the product back into the tube. This meant the only a little extra was applied to my wrists with minimal waste overall. The liquid based perfumes have slightly different aromas due to the ingredients and you skin's chemistry but all B.O.G scents are lovely for me. The solid perfume wasn't as strong or intense as I would prefer as I love wearing perfumes. Still it is nice and subtle, which would be perfect for others.

Karma Komba
This is the solid shampoo bar that is scented with Lush's Karma perfume. In it's other incarnations, I actually dislike the fragrance. Yet in this form the scent is fresher and slightly greener. I actually really love it. Apart from the lovely scent, this shampoo is nothing too special. It lathers so much it is easy to wash the hair with. Lasts for ages and is quite moisturising. It is everything I would want in a shampoo. 

It's Raining Men
This is the shower gel equivilant to the best selling soap Honey I Washed The Kids. Personally, the scent is nice, but nothing special. I don't see why it is the best seller. If you don't like the scent or want to avoid using honey then this product is not for you! The product's downfall is the texture. It has the viscosity of honey making it difficult to pour out, however it is so efficiant that you only need a tiny drop! So much of this product has been wasted I've found. Thankfully I've only recieved samples of this product; I won't be spending my money on it. If you were enamoured with the honey scent, I would recomment HIWTK soap.


That is all I'm going to write about for now. I'll do a part two with the rest of my recent Lush tries; there were far too many to put for just one post!

xxx Lilly

Thursday, November 15, 2012

My Goth Maintenance

This post was inspired by Sary's post that she finished a few months ago. While I won't be listing my whole routine (of course I wash my hair regularly and face daily!), but these choices are my 'musts'. Not all are particularly spooky, mind you; The title in my opinion refers more to me rather than the routine. =)

Each morning, plus before I shower, even if I'm wearing a shower cap, and before I sleep I brush out all my hair. My hair gets very tangled and knotted during the day from general wind and if I didn't brush it regularly I would be left with a natural dreadlock. Yup, just the one. Not a nice look.

I file, and trim if needed, my nails almost every day becuase I naturaly have awful nails! They feather, tear and split constantly so I cannot ever grow nice long nails. Keeping them smooth helps to avoid any snags and keep them neat. I don't file away much! Just enough to keep them smooth. Lately I've been shaping my nails into claw-like points. However, this hasn't been working as I had planned as my nail points seem to snag on everything!

Each day before going outside I'll apply sunscreen to any exposed skin. Being as pale as I am, I tend to burn easily. Also, I hate tans and want to avoid one as much as possible. I prefer to use a light, oil free moisturiser with added sunscreen on my face and general sunscreen on my body and neck. I tend to choose products with high SPF, and sometimes I choose formulas for sensitive skin, and sweating and rubbing irritate my skin easilly.

I wear eyeliner daily. I've managed to perfect basic liquid eyeliner application to under a minute per eye, so lately I've been choosing a simple flick or winged liner with some simple shadow for uni and everyday. Mascara also is a regular staple for me, but I was blessed with naturally thick doe lashes (Moi? Vain? Perish the thought!) so this sometimes gets skipped entirely.

(Just FYI, I put this post on hold for a few days while I finished up my last exams. Just a few hours ago I finished my last exam for the year, meaning now I am 1/3 of the way through my Bachelor of Music! I really can't believe how tough this year has been, but I have learnt so much and met so many new talanted people. I can't wait for next year. XD)

Lip balms are always on hand for me. I tend to lick my lips a lot, not to mention all of the flute playing I do each day, plus the unpredictable weather we have been experiencing lately, really dries them out. I only really wear lipstick or heavier pigments when going to special ocassions or out clubbing. My favourites currently are by Burts Bees and Palmers. They are just so yummy and mosturising!

Daily I'll groom my brows. This may seem slightly daft, but naturally my eyebrows grow very dark, almost black, and rather full. The darkness makes them seem fuller, so I actually remove most of them by hand using tweezers. They also grow in odd, rather asymetrical shapes so I really have to think about how to pretend that they are slightly controlled. XD I used to be really self concious about how think and noticable they are, but keeping my hair dyed nice and black helps to really balance them out.

I also regularly dye my hair. I have a penchant for all black, but sadly due to the sheer thickness and length of my hair I always need two bottle of dye just to cover it all, and that really makes it a lot more expensive. =( Subsequently, I can only afford it the luxury ocassionally.

 Now I'll go back to my vodka and artifically-sweetened cranberry juice drink for end of year celebrations! XD

xxx Lilly