So I'm sure you'll remember when I wrote a post on my 'Goth Maintenance' i.e. what and how I tend to keep up my appearance. However, my post tended to consist of 'well I don't dye my hair often enough and my nail polish is almost always chipped....'
But, with that in mind I actually do try to put in a little extra effort around special events, mainly because this makes them feel even more important and exciting. Also, who doesn't love a luxe spa day? It certainly does help blast away the cobwebs from my mind and body both literally and figuratively and can help me feel less blah in general.
So, when it comes to very special events such as balls, formal events, concerts and other After Dark events, what do I prefer to do to get ready?
If I need to I'll try to touch up or re dye my hair a day or so before, as often my hair frequently is in a state of faded unkempt. In fact, I think I only ever seem to touch up my hair before special events... ahem...
I prefer to at least have an idea for an outfit in mind at least a day before, as my room is every kind of messy and I sometimes really struggle to find my clothes and be organised in that department. I also often need to wear my shoes around the house for a few hours in the approaching days so my poor feet can be ready for the pain. (I have terrible feet and bad ankles. I almost always get aching feet when I wear heels. Like, without fail). Having an idea of an outfit can also help me decide what makeup and accessories to wear as well, and how much time I'll need to get that in order. (Sometimes it takes me two hours for hair and makeup alone if I do the whole curled lashes, glitter, rhinestones etc. etc. Eg. This makeup look took about an hour.....)
If I'm feeling really patient I'll paint my nails, which for me is a coat of clear, two coats of colour and then another coat of clear, with up to ten minutes drying time between each coat. That can take long while and I hate smudged nails, especially caused by impatience and cheap stingy polish. However, it really does tie in the look to be more polished. Lazy-Goth alert! Sometimes I am too lazy to remove my old chipping nail polish so I'll just paint on a lick of colour over than and hope no one notices! However, here we are going for luxe, and that is not luxe.
If I have the time on the day, I like to have a bath. I'll most likely have a shower the night before, and wash my hair then, but on the day I like to set aside an hour or so and have a good soak. Preferably with a Lush bath bomb or bath melt...! Of course, this does increase both the cost and time of my special event, so for example, if I have university during the day or other activities and am feeling tired or rushed I will sometimes skip the bath altogether and just have a shower. During this time I'll probably de-forest my legs, wash down with soap or shower gel (obviously a necessary step), and smooth on some moisturiser on my chronically bad dry skin. I prefer to wash my face in the shower, but I NEVER have more than one shower or bath a day (living in drought for ten years+ does this to you), so in that case I'll use the sink. Hopefully I'll use a face mask as well, because, well, they're nice!
Most likely I'll groom my eyebrows, which can get very messy and unruly even at the best of times. One I do try to do on a regular basis is tweeze my eyebrows, as they are naturally very dark and grow at an alarming rate.
I try to eat something decent and healthy before heading out, especially if alcohol is going to be consumed. We all know the awful 'I've had too much to drink now I need some food but there's nothing open except grease-ball takeaways' situation.....
Once I've eaten something I'll probably begin my makeup. I actually prefer to do my makeup while being half dressed, i.e. wearing stockings, underwear and a singlet, as frequently powder and other product can spill and spoil your clothes. You just need to be careful about putting on clothes over your head, as makeup can be ruined by the fabric. Button ups are a good option, but don't let this dictate your outfit choice. After all but shoes and corset is on I'll do up my hair, generally in something low maintenance and messy as I'm pretty rubbish about doing touch ups/restyling. Once I am satisfied with my hair I'll put on shoes and my corset (Remember shoes first, then corset. Let's make that our mantra!) and theoretically will be ready to head out the door and enjoy the night!
Hope you enjoyed!
xxx Lilly
Monday, July 22, 2013
Friday, July 19, 2013
Lush Review: Let the Good Times Roll
As many of you know, I have an unhealthy addiction to Lush. I am slowly getting back in to control over my Lush obsession, however two products I recently purchased were the Limited Edition Christmas in July products Snow Showers and Let the Good Times Roll. Snow Showers is an orange cocktail scented shower jelly and I love that.
But the product that I was more concerned about performance-wise was the Roll. LTGTR is a roll cleanser that reminds me of Angels on Bare Skin, but the texture is creamier and smoother. If you have used AOBS before you would sort of know what to expect, but in my opinion LTGTR is actually a lot better. It has a caramel scent that actually smells edible! If you have a sweet tooth (Ironically I don't really have much of a sweet tooth, but I adore salted caramel oh so much) then you would love the scent! Also, it's slightly cheaper than the usual roll cleansers for the same amount of product in grams.
I find using this product in the shower is the easiest and least messy, as you need quite a bit of water to wash off the product. However you do need to be careful as this product doesn't have any preservatives, so contact with moisture will result in the growth of bacteria and possibly even moulds. Eeeek!
Anyway I actually wouldn't mind a product that was preserved as it would greatly increase the shelf life of the Lush cleansers...
Warning: Tangent/ elaboration! Currently I also have Dark Angels, which is a facial scrub that is too harsh to use every day, I use it about twice or three times a week. But the product is Best Before after only three months, so that's about 12 weeks. That equals around thirty six washes at most and you only need a tiny amount each time. So the product is going to go off long before it's even finished! Argh! That is so annoying and I actually feel like I've wasted my money when I see half a pot left over at the use by date.
I made sure I asked the Lush staff member about whether Let the Good Times Roll is suitable for everyday use before I purchased, and it is. It is even less exfoliating than Angels on Bare Skin, if you can imagine that, and for me this is a good thing. I feel like I am washing and polishing my face, rather than scrubbing it away.
The pot is filled with a few pieces of popcorn, which makes sense as this product shares the same scent as Popcorn Lip Scrub, which is also LE. (However I think Popcorn tastes really salty, and not in a good way) But the pieces of popcorn are pretty much just decoration rather than being part of the product you're paying for, and it's still really expensive. I thought they would be exfoliating, but honestly they just scratch your skin . It is not pleasant at all.
The product softens into a milky creamy texture with only a small amount of water and smooths on to your skin. I don't see quite as much product dropping into the skin or down the shower drain as much as AOBS, so that means more of it stays on your skin to be worked with.
So, the final verdict? I really do love this product. I am being very critical here, but that's because the product is really really good. I find this works for my dry/combination skin so well. I would recommend it if you are looking for a polishing cleanser to use daily.
Hope you enjoyed and found this review helpful. Please leave your responses in the comments below!
xxx Lilly
But the product that I was more concerned about performance-wise was the Roll. LTGTR is a roll cleanser that reminds me of Angels on Bare Skin, but the texture is creamier and smoother. If you have used AOBS before you would sort of know what to expect, but in my opinion LTGTR is actually a lot better. It has a caramel scent that actually smells edible! If you have a sweet tooth (Ironically I don't really have much of a sweet tooth, but I adore salted caramel oh so much) then you would love the scent! Also, it's slightly cheaper than the usual roll cleansers for the same amount of product in grams.
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| https://www.facebook.com/LushAustralia |
I find using this product in the shower is the easiest and least messy, as you need quite a bit of water to wash off the product. However you do need to be careful as this product doesn't have any preservatives, so contact with moisture will result in the growth of bacteria and possibly even moulds. Eeeek!
Anyway I actually wouldn't mind a product that was preserved as it would greatly increase the shelf life of the Lush cleansers...
Warning: Tangent/ elaboration! Currently I also have Dark Angels, which is a facial scrub that is too harsh to use every day, I use it about twice or three times a week. But the product is Best Before after only three months, so that's about 12 weeks. That equals around thirty six washes at most and you only need a tiny amount each time. So the product is going to go off long before it's even finished! Argh! That is so annoying and I actually feel like I've wasted my money when I see half a pot left over at the use by date.
I made sure I asked the Lush staff member about whether Let the Good Times Roll is suitable for everyday use before I purchased, and it is. It is even less exfoliating than Angels on Bare Skin, if you can imagine that, and for me this is a good thing. I feel like I am washing and polishing my face, rather than scrubbing it away.
The pot is filled with a few pieces of popcorn, which makes sense as this product shares the same scent as Popcorn Lip Scrub, which is also LE. (However I think Popcorn tastes really salty, and not in a good way) But the pieces of popcorn are pretty much just decoration rather than being part of the product you're paying for, and it's still really expensive. I thought they would be exfoliating, but honestly they just scratch your skin . It is not pleasant at all.
The product softens into a milky creamy texture with only a small amount of water and smooths on to your skin. I don't see quite as much product dropping into the skin or down the shower drain as much as AOBS, so that means more of it stays on your skin to be worked with.
So, the final verdict? I really do love this product. I am being very critical here, but that's because the product is really really good. I find this works for my dry/combination skin so well. I would recommend it if you are looking for a polishing cleanser to use daily.
Hope you enjoyed and found this review helpful. Please leave your responses in the comments below!
xxx Lilly
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
Holiday Happenings and Music Camp
Hello my dearest darling followers!
This morning (while I was awake but still in bed. That's holidays for you...) my Voltaire tickets arrived at the front door, so I'm now in a super pumped mood! XD
As I'm sure you've gathered, I'm now in the second last week of my winter holidays, and they've actually been really fun and rewarding. I spent my first week off in my home town attending a music camp that I used to attend while in high school. I also got to catch up with my dad which is something that I don't often get to do, so that was nice. This was the first time I attended since 2009, so I've been in total five years at this camp. I started in 2006, when I had only been playing flute for about 4 months (I was in the beginner ensemble then). That was so much fun and I learnt so much from working with suck amazing tutors and conductors. I was in the symphony orchestra (most advanced) on flute and learnt piccolo for this orchestra for the first time ever (well apart from once for a few minutes many years ago) which was really challenging to pick up in only one short week. I was also in the elective Senior Winds ensemble playing flute again, which was invitation-only to the most advanced students. It was also great catching up with all of the people I lost direct contact with when I moved to Melbourne.
Apart from that I've been playing too much Sims, playing flute a lot (So much technical work!!!) and trying to organise my semester 2 for uni in a couple of weeks.
I hope everyone else is having a good winter/summer as well
xxx Lilly
This morning (while I was awake but still in bed. That's holidays for you...) my Voltaire tickets arrived at the front door, so I'm now in a super pumped mood! XD
As I'm sure you've gathered, I'm now in the second last week of my winter holidays, and they've actually been really fun and rewarding. I spent my first week off in my home town attending a music camp that I used to attend while in high school. I also got to catch up with my dad which is something that I don't often get to do, so that was nice. This was the first time I attended since 2009, so I've been in total five years at this camp. I started in 2006, when I had only been playing flute for about 4 months (I was in the beginner ensemble then). That was so much fun and I learnt so much from working with suck amazing tutors and conductors. I was in the symphony orchestra (most advanced) on flute and learnt piccolo for this orchestra for the first time ever (well apart from once for a few minutes many years ago) which was really challenging to pick up in only one short week. I was also in the elective Senior Winds ensemble playing flute again, which was invitation-only to the most advanced students. It was also great catching up with all of the people I lost direct contact with when I moved to Melbourne.
Apart from that I've been playing too much Sims, playing flute a lot (So much technical work!!!) and trying to organise my semester 2 for uni in a couple of weeks.
I hope everyone else is having a good winter/summer as well
xxx Lilly
Sunday, July 14, 2013
2013 Blog Challenge
I was tagged by both Steph the Green Fairy and Laura. (When
I had completed this challenge I realised I was also tagged by 1666 X 30.
Thanks! Thanks to both of these lovely ladies!
1. Thank the person who tagged you to this challenge and
post a link to their blog.
2. Choose five blogs with less than 200 followers and pass
the challenge on.
3. Wish them to pass the challenge onward.
Pass this on if you feel like it ^.^
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| http://vladrodricketernity.tumblr.com/post/54763721794/lady-morgana-vladrodricketernity |
5 Things you need every day (apart from water, food and
shelter)?
- Sleep! I sleep a lot, and am not a morning person at all.
If I have to actually do something before 12pm then I consider that to be an
‘early start’. I probably need around 9-10 hours of sleep a night, if not
more...
- Tea! I drink a lot of tea. My ideal cup is strong black
Sri Lankan leaf tea (no teabags!) with a dash of low fat cow’s milk and no
sugar. Perfect!
- Music! As a musician, I take a lot of pleasure and
relaxation from listening to music. While music tends to mean a lot of hard
work in practice for me, whether that is in performance or in a theory lecture
(Chromatic mediants, anyone?), it can be so soothing, emotive and powerful to
listen to.
- *Materialistic* Lip balm! I adore lip balm, and suffer
from dry lips year round. My favourites are Burt’s Bees Pomegranate and Pink
Grapefruit ones.
- Coffee! Yes, I am one of those people who love coffee and
tea equally. If I had to choose between tea and coffee only I would choose tea
as it is healthier and more hydrating, but I love coffee so so much. (I am
currently dealing with a caffeine addiction that is not so fantastic.) I take
my coffee the same way I take my tea, white with no sugar. My order tends to be
just a skinny café latte, maybe extra hot, it depends.
5 books you would recommend (In no particular order)?
- Currently I am reading A Song of Ice and Fire, and while I
don’t love the writing style and use of language, the author has a brilliant
talent for storytelling.
- The Vampire Chronicles
- Atonement by Ian McEwan
- Grimm’s Fairy Tales
- The Steampunk Bible
5 materialistic wishes for Christmas presents?
- A good quality music stand! This might seem strange for
some, but currently I have a really rubbish music stand and that has been
causing a lot of problems for me, including eye strain and back pain.
- A good quality tuner; for intonation, obviously.
- Lush! (Isn’t that obvious? I think it is.)
- False vampire fangs, for dress ups and photoshoots
- These, my ideal, dream shoes. They are so so amazing, but
apparently the quality is a bit 'meh', hence why I haven't raced off to buy
them.
5 places you'd wish to visit?
- London
- New York
- Paris (or anywhere in France really)
- Vienna
5 adjectives that describe you somehow?
- Musical
- Vampiric
- Fey
- Spooky
- Romantic
5 things you'd say to people about life?
- Surround yourself with the people and things you love;
don’t waste your life with things you don’t like or don’t enjoy
-Stay up to date on the news and current affairs as much as
you can
-There is nothing wrong with sexy
-Never underestimate the healing powers of a cup of tea
Always have consent
I tag:
xxx Lilly
Sunday, June 16, 2013
A Hair Related mini post
Hello lovely ladies and fine gentlemen!
I realised I have not yet shared with you all a photo of my green hair!
In all honesty though, I am not the best at keeping my hair nicely maintained, so often my hair is faded to a shade of spearmint green or even back to the bleached straw-yellow! Ugh! Lets not even mention my roots that haven't been dyed since September last year...
After exams I aim to be more on top of my own Goth maintenance, including keeping hair dyed, rather than let things get to a state where I no longer revel in my own appearence. Also, I have decided it is time for a hair cut, as my lengths are now getting so long and dry it just isn't growing properly any more. I haven't cut my hair in about four years, so now really is the time...
Apologies for the derpy-ness and the complete lack of makeup (yep, totally natural except maybe some moisturiser), this was taken just after my hair was dyed and air dried. I dyed the under part of my hair so the upper section can cover it entirely if necessary. =D
xxx Lilly
I realised I have not yet shared with you all a photo of my green hair!
In all honesty though, I am not the best at keeping my hair nicely maintained, so often my hair is faded to a shade of spearmint green or even back to the bleached straw-yellow! Ugh! Lets not even mention my roots that haven't been dyed since September last year...
After exams I aim to be more on top of my own Goth maintenance, including keeping hair dyed, rather than let things get to a state where I no longer revel in my own appearence. Also, I have decided it is time for a hair cut, as my lengths are now getting so long and dry it just isn't growing properly any more. I haven't cut my hair in about four years, so now really is the time...
Apologies for the derpy-ness and the complete lack of makeup (yep, totally natural except maybe some moisturiser), this was taken just after my hair was dyed and air dried. I dyed the under part of my hair so the upper section can cover it entirely if necessary. =D
xxx Lilly
Thursday, June 13, 2013
When Music and Life become One
Hi guys, sorry for the unexplained absence... I currently still in the middle of exams! Gah! No one likes exams. So far I've completed two written exams and submitted my folio of creative work (for Poetry class) and so I only have a small amount of sight reading (the exam literally goes for five minutes, so it's really short but very difficult!) and a prac exam (flute) in just over a week, and then I'll be on holidays free to blog as much as I want!
Here's a preview of what I tend to see for most of the day... (kept small for reasons....)
Andante et Scherzo by Ganne. Here's a recording if you're interested. =D
My life is a music stand.
xxx Lilly
Here's a preview of what I tend to see for most of the day... (kept small for reasons....)
Andante et Scherzo by Ganne. Here's a recording if you're interested. =D
My life is a music stand.
xxx Lilly
Tuesday, June 4, 2013
What is in my Bag? 2013
I thought I'd jump on the Bandwagon and complete a What's in my Bag post, as my inspiration for posts is a bit thin at the moment. Both Sary and The Green Fairy recently completed their 'What's in my bag' post as well. It's kind of silly of me, but I really love finding out what people carry around with them on a day to day basis. I think it really gives insight to themselves as a person and their personality.
I have an annoying habit of emptying out my bag after each day of being out and about or at class, so generally my bags are totally empty unless they're in use! Of course that's boring, I'm not going to take pictures of my empty bag, so here's a 'What I generally bring with me to each day of class/being out and about'.
- Wallet, keys, bottled water, train ticket and phone. These include my ID, Uni student/access card, bank card and my many coffee loyalty cards, money (when I'm not totally broke) and any receipts I haven't dealt with yet. I frequently bring bottled water with me as I tend to drink heaps of water each day, about three litres. Also, my flute playing each day is very dehydrating as well, so it's important for me to carry water around with me.
-Diary, notebooks and text books, sheet music and other uni related books. My bag is mainly weighed up with many books, as I prefer to not take my laptop to school with me but I can't avoid taking notes (that would be unwise in my lectures on Chromaticism and Counterpoint Theory!). I also like to bring a book or novel to keep me occupied on long train rides or when I have a long lunch break and don't want to be studying...
-Pencil case with pens, HB and 2H pencils, a small Flash drive, a rubber and a sharpener. Again, this is obvious as I need to take notes, but I'm also constantly editing and making notes on scores and so I need quite a few writing materials on hand. All contained within a cute black fluffy pencil case! XD (from Smiggle a few years ago)
- Lip balm, eye shadow palette, perfume, compact brushes, mascara and eye liner This tends to be what I bring to uni, if I'm going out somewhere a little less ho hum I'll bring some more make up but often I tend to keep things simple. If I want to wear foundation or BB cream I will apply that before I leave the house and not worry about touch ups. I also tend to pack one of my Lush solid perfumes with me, as they are not able to leak everywhere, a problem I've had with a few other bottles of liquid perfume in the past. They can melt in very hot weather though.
- My umbrella. Melbourne weather, in case you didn't know, seriously sucks. The phrase 'Four seasons in a day' is often quipped, paired with rolled eyes and a 'no longer funny' expression on many locals. The weather often changes three or more times in one day so if you don't have an umbrella you will most likely get soaked with rain. And no one likes that.
I actually have two umbrellas; one expensive one that is frilly, black with two white parallel stripes. It has plastic bamboo look for the handle. Of course I would like real bamboo, but that would probably not be quite as long lasting due to the water. I also have a small black compact umbrella that has a protective sheath (no laughing) keeping my books and other possessions dry when I want to put it away in my bag. This umbrella is smaller and cheaper than my other one, but is more suitable for everyday because I don't have to worry about it taking up my entire arm for a day.
Oh, and I recently purchased a lovely lacy black parasol from Kirjoittannut Bella Vampira but sadly the weather of late has not been appropriate for such folly sun-related activities. XD
xxx Lilly
I have an annoying habit of emptying out my bag after each day of being out and about or at class, so generally my bags are totally empty unless they're in use! Of course that's boring, I'm not going to take pictures of my empty bag, so here's a 'What I generally bring with me to each day of class/being out and about'.
- Wallet, keys, bottled water, train ticket and phone. These include my ID, Uni student/access card, bank card and my many coffee loyalty cards, money (when I'm not totally broke) and any receipts I haven't dealt with yet. I frequently bring bottled water with me as I tend to drink heaps of water each day, about three litres. Also, my flute playing each day is very dehydrating as well, so it's important for me to carry water around with me.
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| Here is some of the trinkets I cart around with me. Kindly note the ancient phone and .mp3 player. |
-Pencil case with pens, HB and 2H pencils, a small Flash drive, a rubber and a sharpener. Again, this is obvious as I need to take notes, but I'm also constantly editing and making notes on scores and so I need quite a few writing materials on hand. All contained within a cute black fluffy pencil case! XD (from Smiggle a few years ago)
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| One of my notebooks, a folder for loose notes, my diary and current re-read, Poe |
- Lip balm, eye shadow palette, perfume, compact brushes, mascara and eye liner This tends to be what I bring to uni, if I'm going out somewhere a little less ho hum I'll bring some more make up but often I tend to keep things simple. If I want to wear foundation or BB cream I will apply that before I leave the house and not worry about touch ups. I also tend to pack one of my Lush solid perfumes with me, as they are not able to leak everywhere, a problem I've had with a few other bottles of liquid perfume in the past. They can melt in very hot weather though.
- My umbrella. Melbourne weather, in case you didn't know, seriously sucks. The phrase 'Four seasons in a day' is often quipped, paired with rolled eyes and a 'no longer funny' expression on many locals. The weather often changes three or more times in one day so if you don't have an umbrella you will most likely get soaked with rain. And no one likes that.
I actually have two umbrellas; one expensive one that is frilly, black with two white parallel stripes. It has plastic bamboo look for the handle. Of course I would like real bamboo, but that would probably not be quite as long lasting due to the water. I also have a small black compact umbrella that has a protective sheath (no laughing) keeping my books and other possessions dry when I want to put it away in my bag. This umbrella is smaller and cheaper than my other one, but is more suitable for everyday because I don't have to worry about it taking up my entire arm for a day.
Oh, and I recently purchased a lovely lacy black parasol from Kirjoittannut Bella Vampira but sadly the weather of late has not been appropriate for such folly sun-related activities. XD
xxx Lilly
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