Oktoberfest!

Yesterday my other half and I went to an Oktoberfest celebration. It was actually a house party, with most delicious wurst, sauerkraut and mustard, and a cake that looked like the Soviet Union. A fancy party indeed ;P

I had gone earlier to pick mushrooms and totally hit the jackpot, I came home with over 2 kilos! We'll eat only mushrooms for the next month ;D

Here's my look for the Oktoberfest party! It was put together in a hurry, but worked well.

Hat - X-tra-X

Shirt - H&M (maybe? It's very old. I would have preferred a basic white dress shirt, but don't own any)

Skirt - Second hand, introduced here!

Belt - Second hand

Bracelet - Glitter

For makeup, I wanted a fast and simple look, so I did a smoky look with browns. The dark brown is Resistance by Detrivore Cosmetics, and the lighter shade is Polar Bear by Fyrinnae. A gently patted some red lipstick in the middle of my lips to have an easy look (it's bound to wear off when drinking as much beer as an Oktoberfest includes ;P) My hair is curled with a curling wand.

Outfit of the Day

This is me (and Möttönen) just minutes ago! I got this pretty dress from H&M earlier this week. The colour is perfect, I don't think I have anything the same colour in my closet, but it plays well with the colours I do have. And I think it sets off my hair nicely! (Even though I look a bit dishevelled after walking to home in the drizzling rain, luckily got inside before it began pouring!)

Dress - H&M

Necklace - Seppälä

Boots - New Rock

L'Oreal Color Appeal Trio Pro Look

The batteries on my flash are dying, thus only two pictures. Today I did a quick look with L'Oreal Color Appeal Trio Pro, the shades are meant for grey eyes. My eyes are not grey, but these browns worked better than the trio for blue eyes, so I went with this one. These are probably my oldest eyeshadows!

I used:
Urban Decay Primer Potion
Sugarpill Tako (on brow bone and inner corner)
L'Oreal Color Appeal Trio Pro for grey eyes (lightest shade on the lid, middle one in the crease, darkest in the lash line and in the deepest part of the crease)
Black mascara

We got a brand new robot vacuum cleaner today, so I'm super excited, and I have such a busy week ahead of me, lots of work and studies. I hope to get better pictures the next time I put on makeup!

Maybelline Color Tattoo 24HR Cream Gel Shadow

Last week I went ahead and got two Color Tattoo 24HR eyeshadows by Maybelline. I had been looking at them for quite a while, but since most cream products don't last long on my lids, I had passed them by. Some colours were really pretty, and in the end I couldn't resist the taupe and after trying it out, got the dark grey shade too.

Shade 40 Permanent Taupe

Comes sealed with a tiny see-through lip of the sticker on the lid.

Looks fairly blah in the pot.

Permanent Taupe swatched, It goes on darker than in the pot and has a really
faint shimmer.

The taupe is a bit darker than my skin colour, thought it looked very light in the pot. The shade is very grey and cool. The shadow consistency feels like gel liner, and it can be applied with fingers or a stiff brush. I recommend taking the product from the pot with a brush, but smoothing it on the lid with fingertips to make sure the layer is thin enough, otherwise the shadow needs a long time to dry and might crease if you open your eyes. On lower lids you get better precision when applying with a pencil brush.

Shade 55 Immortal Charcoal

After finding the taupe to be nice, I got 55 Immortal Charcoal too. I was planning to use it as a base for loose eyeshadows, but haven't tried that yet. The shade might be a bit too light for that, and it has lots of shimmer, so it might alter the loose shadows' shade too much. This shade isn't charcoal if you ask me, I would describe it as gunmetal. It's very shimmery and quite a light grey. The lid looks like the product would have microglitter in it, but it doesn't. It's a fairly neutral shade, with no blue undertones you usually see in grey shadows.

Immortal Charcoal in the pot, after I've tried it.

Immortal Charcoal on the lid. I also did my eyebrows with it, but put some
black eyeshadow on top since the grey was way too light. I also used the
black shadow as liner on the outer corner near the lash line both on upper
and lower lid.

The shadow feels a bit sticky and you can see it "glues" the folds of my lid
lightly together. After a few minutes the feeling goes away, so I'm guessing
that's how long it takes for the product to dry thoroughly.

I wore both shades for a day and tried them with and without primer (I use Urban Decay Primer Potion). Both colours creased a bit during the day without primer, but stayed fairly nice looking and didn't fade, except for the inner part of the lid where the creasing happened. I wore both for around 16 hours. With primer, the result was much the same, but the colours seemed more vibrant and it took longer for the shadow to crease. I have very oily lids, this is still the best result with any product without a primer, even though it's not perfect. These might actually work on normal lids without primer!

I also tried the shadows with a liner brush, and they can be used as eyeliner. The shades I chose are not so great for liner, but a true black or the flashy turquoise shade might look really nice. They can also be used with regular eyeshadows and blend okay. The product might dry fast in the pot, I'll update the review if that happens :)

Pros

-Easy to apply, you can do a simple look by just adding one shade to the whole lid

-Lots of product

-Lasts well

-Multiuse, can be used for drawing on brows or as an eyeliner, works with other eyeshadows

Cons

-Still creases, does not last the promised 24 hours

-Colour selection is very limited (at least in Finland, we have three shades of brown, a shimmery white, turquoise and the charcoal one)

-Doesn't come with a brush or other applicator (I don't mind, but this might be an issue to someone)

Psychedelic Mushroom Look

I wanted a simple smoky look for a day at the office. So I went for one of my oldest eyeshadows, Psychedelic Mushroom by Lost in Makeupland. It looks like a dark purple in the pot, but goes on sheer and with a more pink than purple shift. An interesting shade indeed! I paired a bold lip colour with it the give the look some character.

I bought a pink and white lily from the super market last week, it's blooming now!

I used:

Lost in Makeupland Psychedelic Mushroom

Sugarpill Bulletproof (as liner and for brows)

Maybelline Super Stay 10H Tint Gloss Forever Fuchsia

Psychedelic Mushroom

Forever Fuchsia

Outfit of the Day

I decided to wear a poncho because I suddenly remembered I owned one after my colleague Tuuli came to work in one. I used the poncho much last autumn, but had totally forgotten it during winter and summer. I curled my hair the day before just to get better at doing it.

Poncho - Second hand

Top - Vero Moda (a black loose knitted one)

Jeans - GinaTricot

Shoes - New Rock

Bag - H&M

Sorry about the blurry pic! It was hard to get decent ones since it's been cloudy and thus dark, and my other half set his chin-up bar in the kitchen doorway so I can't close the door ;P I was just took lazy to take it down.

Nails By Anniina

Some time ago, I did gel nails for my friend Anniina. Last week she returned the favour and painted my nails. She did a gorgeous purple gradient with lots of sparkle. My other half took tons of pictures for me, he was so nice! I got a few vintage deer antlers from Lithuania through eBay, I'm planning to make a hat from one pair. In the mean time they served as a cool back drop for the nails :)

This is also my 200th post on the blog, yay for me for having the energy to write this after a super long day! My other half baked such delicious blueberry pie on Sunday that the last piece I'm eating now keeps me going ;P

Punk Rock Queen

I almost forgot about these pics! They were taken at the KuroiNeko photoshoot. I asked the photographer, Sari, if I could bring a Lip Service dress with me to take a few pics with. She was so nice to agree! I had bought the dress earlier at a roleplaying convention, where they had a flea market table where people could bring used stuff to be sold. Someone had decided to sell this lovely old dress for only 35 euros, so it found a new home with me ;P

I had to do tons of googling to find out the name of the dress, but it seems to be a Punk Rock Queen ball gown from a 2003 collection. I had to take it in a bit at the side seams, but now it fits nicely. It has a long train that can be taken up with little clips that attach to D-rings. If you lift the train, it makes a cool little bustle at the back! You can also lift the front of the dress to make it shorter at the front and longer at the back. I have yet to figure out where I could actually wear this, since it's so formal, but maybe a suitable occasion will come up!

I like Bones and Lilies (Tattoo Post)

So much that I got a tattoo with both! I had been planning to get a half sleeve for quite some time, and had settled on a style and an artist, so back in January I went ahead and booked a sitting at Precious Tattoo with Hexa. Actually two sittings, a week apart. And I took a resin cat skull to the shop so the artist could take some pictures of it. There was a long line so I finally got to go under the needle in May. Here you can see what the tattoo looked like after the first sitting.

The artist was very fast, so he did all the lines, shading and coloured the lilies too. I heal fast, so I had no problems with it. It was a bit sore on the first few days, and I actually went to a friend's housewarming party the same day, it was over 200 kilometres away ;P Then there was WGT, and after that the second sitting where the background was finished. I opted for a flowery black lace pattern as the background, I hadn't ever seen a lace tattoo and the artist didn't have experience on them either, but it came out great! The whole thing cost around 600 euros, and I'm very happy with it. I knew it would be expensive, and I wanted a high class artist and was willing to wait a long time to get it done. Doing the background hurt like hell, he used the thinnest needle and there was much skin to cover! I'd still do it all over again :) I might expand it to a full sleeve some day.

Two weeks ago I got the lowest lily touched up and have been itching to take decent shots of the tattoo to share. It's still a bit shiny, but looks okay, so here they finally are!

Here it is! Two cat skulls and four lilies on a base of black lace.

Here you can see the lovely edge of the lace on my shoulder.

The lowest lily used to be pink, but the colour was too warm for me,
so now it's a darker, cooler shade of red with purple petal tips. I might
still get some darker colour to the petals of the other lilies, if I feel like
they are too light after some time.

The top skull looks a bit wonky from this angle ;P

Friday Night Look

Yesterday I went to listen to a friend who had a DJ gig at a small local bar. The place is called Huurupiilo, it turned out to be a really lovely, cosy little place. DJ Tex Chiller was awesome! It was so much fun listening to good music with friends, many people showed up and since the bar only had around twenty seats, the place was packed ;P

I did a look with Moi Cosmetics shadows, because I really wanted to try out the High Beam sparkly shadows. You can see that winter is creeping in, the pics are pretty dark! I guess I'll just have to get new batteries for the flash.

I used:
Sugarpill Tako (matte white, on brow bone and inner corners)
Moi Cosmetics Venus (a shimmery dark pink, on the inner part of lids)
Moi Cosmetics EggPlant (High Beam shadow, a super shimmery purple, on lids and crease and blended upwards)
Urban Decay 24/7 eyeliner on Zero (black)
Gosh lip stain in 003 Berry (a cool, dark red)
Moi Cosmetics Kiss My Lips lipgloss in Paranormal (light purple with a blue shift)

The gloss was mainly visible as a blue sheen, I really liked it!

Yes, I have a World of Warcraft poster! I backcombed my hair a little. You can really see how well
the Elumen dye holds, I dyed it 2nd of August and it hasn't really faded at all. My roots are
horrible, but I've already ordered a new bottle of dye so I can mix the purple with blue and achieve the
right shade! Can't wait for it to arrive ;P

Questions and Answers

I compiled all the questions from the 300 readers giveaway comments here :) I asked everyone who participated to ask a question and there were lots, I'm so happy! I've translated the Finnish ones, but also answered in Finnish.

Here's a collage of Möttönen licking her tail clean, just to get things started ;P

How did you become a game designer?

I started out at play testing and worked my way up from there. I've been working as a graphic designer also for some time, but now I'm working on my second project as a designer. I just counted that I've been working with games for six years now, that's a lot!

How is made the plastic patern of the necklace?

The necklace in the giveaway was made out of shrink plastic. I took an A4 sheet of clear shrink plastic, sketched in the drawing and carefully painted it with acrylics. Then I cut it out, punched a hole and put it in the oven to shrink. After shrinking and cooling, I varnished the piece and added the chain.

What is your personal big makeup no-no? What colour, product, make up technique do you hate or reject to use?

I steer away from lipstick that's lighter than my skin and bronzing products. You wouldn't catch me dead with a fake tan! Maybe one day I'll love them, but right now those things just rub me the wrong way.

What type of games do you create?

I've worked on many, many Java mobile games (the old type, before iPhones and other smart phones) when testing, done work on three iPhone games as an artist, and now I'm working on my second PC title. The first one is called Cities in Motion, it's a mass transit simulation, and now I'm working on the sequel for it :)

How do you keep looking awesome in the middle of winter?

By moisturising a lot! I have different lotions for summer and winter (I keep the ones that are not in season in the fridge), very light ones for summer and very moisturising ones for the winter.

Do you have a Model Mayhem or somewhere else I can creep on your lovely modelling photos?

Actually I don't have any modelling page at the moment! I really should set one up, now that you mentioned it :) I'll try to make a post with the pictures I have at the moment. I just got asked to do some new stuff, I'll try to follow up on that once I have some time.

Mikä on suosikki meikkimerkkisi ja miksi?
Translation: What is your favourite makeup brand and why?

Fyrinnae! Halvat hinnat, nopea toimitus ja ihan loistavia tuotteita. Melkein kaikki mitä olen tilannut on ollut jopa parempaa kuin mitä olen odottanut (ainoastaan pohjustustuote kasvoille ei oikein toiminut ihollani, mutta niin moni ei toimi etten enää ylläty).

Translation: I'd say Fyrinnae, they have such a large selection and almost every product has been even better than I anticipated (the face primer didn't work well on my skin, but that's okay).

Minkälaiset kengät teettäisit, jos materiaaleilla, mallilla eikä hinnalla olisi minkäänlaisia rajoja? Mitkä olisivat siun mielestä maailman upeimmat, ihanimmat, ja siumaisimmat kengät? :)
Translation: If you could get a pair of made-to-measure shoes, what kind would you get if money or design wouldn't be an issue? What would be the most gorgeous shoes that are really "you"?

Kiinnostava kysymys! Varmaankin jotain pohjepituista ja kiiltävän mustaa, n. 13 cm korolla ja pienellä platformilla. Tai sitten jotkut överit korkkarit, kimallusta ja piikkikorko!

Translation: What an interesting question! I'd probably go for something calf-high, shiny and black, with a 13 cm heel and a small platform. Or maybe some over the top high heels with tons of glitter and stiletto heels!

What are your current favorite makeup products?

Missha Perfect Cover B.B Cream and lip stains in general! Glowing skin and defined lips make a good everyday look :)

What finnish make-up brand/must have would you recommand to a foreigner?

We don't have that many Finnish brands actually. The best known would be Lumene, but it's a bit lame and middle-aged ;P I'd recommend to stop by a Sokos department store and check out their exclusive cosmetics line called We Care Icon. Lumene also has a line for younger people, it's called Natural Code, and they have some nice stuff. Generally Finnish customers are not offered anything colourful, the brands stick to faint pink and beige and brown, which don't excite me so much.

Miusta ois hirveen kiva tietää millä tavalla siulle tuli kissat, kävitkö kasvattajalta jne. :)
Translation: How did you come to own your cats? Did you get them from a breeder etc.?

Rakastan kertoa kissoistani! ;D Kun etsin ensimmäistä kissaa, olin ajatellut ihan tavallista maatiaiskissaa, mutta minulle tarjottiin itämaispentua joka oli etsinyt kotia jo pidempään. Kävin tutustumassa kissaan (ja sen sisaruksiin ja emoon) paremmin, mutta lopulta en kuitenkaan uskaltanut ottaa sitä, koska kissalla oli suurempi riski sairastua tapaturman takia. Olin kuitenkin ihastunut rotuun, joten etsin toisen kasvattajan jolla oli luovutusikäisiä pentuja ja kävin katsomassa niitä. Pentu, jota kasvattaja oli alunperin tarjonnut, ei suostunut edes katsomaan päin, mutta sen veli änki syliin asti! Onneks velipoikakin oli vielä vapaana, ja niin minulle tuli Nivek, joka nyt on jo 8-vuotias. Muut itämaiset ovat toiselta kasvattajalta, Nana tuli kaveriksi Nivekille ja Möttönen oli sijoituskissa jonka oli tarkoitus tehdä paljon söpöjä pentuja, mutta se tyytyikin seksilomailemaan. Sitten eläkkeellä hankin kasvatustasoisen katin ja kasvatan läjän söpöjä pentuja! Maatiaisveljekset tulivat avopuolison kaupanpäällisinä, ne ovat lähtöisin jostain etelärannikolta.

Translation: I love to talk about my cats ;D When I had decided that I want a cat, I was first looking at regular kitties. Then I was offered an oriental kitten that had been looking for a new home for some time. I went to see it (and its sisters and mom, too) but in the end I didn't dare to take it as my first ever cat, because the kitten had had an accident earlier that made it more prone to sickness. I was afraid I wouldn't know how to keep it healthy and since I was still a student, it would have been a financial burden, too. But I had fallen in love with the breed! So, I found another breeder with kittens and went to see them. The one she had originally offered me didn't even want to look at me, but its brother climbed on to my lap. Luckily the brother was still looking for a home as well, so he came home with me and that's how I got Nivek. He's eight now! Nana and Möttönen are from a different breeder. I got Nana so Nivek wouldn't be lonely (it's recommended to not keep orientals as only cats and my roommate who had a cat had gone to study in another city), and Möttönen was supposed to be a high class breeding kitty, but instead she just went on sex holidays and never managed to make any kittens. She's very dear to me still, maybe one day in the distant future I'll get a breeding cat and raise a few litters of cute kittens! The grey brothels came as an extra with my other half, they are originally from somewhere on the south coast of Finland.

What celebrity crush/chrushes did you have when you were younger?

I didn't really listen to music or watch that many movies, I liked books and games more. I did have a huge crush on Elric of Melnibone, the albino emperor from Michael Moorcock's novels! :)

What would you most like to achieve in your life and how would you want to be remembered?

I'd like to live a happy life and be remembered as a nice, warm person :) I'm working hard to be able to connect to people better, and I think I'm doing pretty good at the moment! I'm not that ambitious, I like to think I enjoy the simple things in life, like a nice cup of tea and the evening sun shining through our living room windows, or just falling asleep in my other half's arm. I live in the moment.

Voisitko esitellä meikkikokoelmasi? :) Tai vaikka 10 tärkeintä tuotettasi.
Translation: Could you show us your makeup collection? Or maybe ten most important products?

Se vaatisi muutaman postauksen ;D Mutta miksi ei, voisin tehdä siitä tekstin ihan hyvin!
Translation: That would take more than one post ;D Why not, I could write about it and take lots of pictures!

How do you care about your lovely hair?

I wash it with a Lush solid shampoo and use whatever conditioner I happen to have. Right now I use American Dream by Lush and L’Anza Hair Repair Formula Reconstructor occasionally. I tried Elumen haircolour last time I dyed the mop, and it seems to last better than anything I've tried before, so I just yesterday ordered some more! I let my hair dry naturally whenever I have the time, and wash it twice a week.

Mistä saat inspiraatiosi? Esim. vaikka juuri näihin omiin taiteiluprojekteihisi, kuten tuohon kauniiseen riipukseenkin? :) Tuleeko se tutkailemalla ihastuttavia asioita netin syövereistä, lukemalla kirjoja, pulpahtavatko ideat pinnalle unissa tms.? :)
Translation: Where does your inspiration come from? For artistic stuff, like the lovely pendant? Do you find it by seeing wonderful things on the web, reading books or do you find ideas in your dreams?

Olen kehittänyt aika jämäkän tyylitajun, ja olen jo vuosia pitänyt samoista väreistä ja kuvioista, joten niiden kanssa on tullut tehtyä paljon hommia. Piirrän mieluiten naiskasvoja, ja nyt kun en enää tee työkseni grafiikkaa, saankin tuherrella niitä niin paljon kuin haluan! Katselen mieluusti kauniita kuvia tumblrista ja lukiessani kirjoja kuvittelen hahmoja ja paikkoja mielessäni, joten ne ovat varmaankin suurimmat inspiraationlähteet.

Translation: I have a solid style, I've liked the same colours for years and now that I'm not doing graphics for a living, I can doodle the female faces I'm so fond of ;P I'd say that my inspiration mostly comes from browsing tumblr and reading books.

You wear beautiful makeup, what is (are) your inspiration(s)?

I like to base my looks around a colour I like, or take inspiration from tutorials and just add a little twist to it. I love makeup challenges, I like guidelines that give me the freedom to interpret the theme but still narrow down the selection.

If you could choose any band in the world to see (current or old), who would it be?

This is a hard one! I'd say Skinny Puppy in the 80's, I've been listening to "Cleanse fold and manipulate" and the energy the group has is just great!

Onko siulla jokin suosikki videopeli ja jos niin mikä/mitkä? Ja ehkä muutenkin olisi kiva kuulla että vietätkö paljon aikaa pelien parissa näin työsi lisäksi?
Translation: Do you have a favourite video game and if you do, what is it? Do you spend much time with games outside of work?

Ajallisesti olen varmaan pelannut eniten Sims -sarjaa ja World of Warcraftia! Ne ovatkin kyllä suosikkeja, mutta lisäksi pidän paljon roolipeleistä ja seikkailupeleistä. Ne ovat kokonaisuuksia, enemmän kuin kirja jonka lukee kuin Simssien tai WoWin hiekkalaatikko, mutta pidän aina hyvistä tarinoista. Sanoisin että viikossa pelaan vapaa-ajalla 0-3 tuntia päivässä. Lisäksi pelaan lauta-, kortti- ja roolipelejä sen mukaan miten ehdin ja pelaajia löytyy :)

Translation: If you only look at time played, my favourites would be the Sims series and World of Warcraft. I really like them, but I'm also very fond of adventure games and roleplaying games. They are more like books, they tell a story from the beginning to the end, and thus don't get as much playtime as the huge sandbox worlds. I love a good story and still remember the characters fondly! (Except for Alistair in Dragon Age, that bitch dumped my character! ;P) I'd say outside of work hours I play 0-3 hours per day. I also like to play board games, card games and rolepleying games whenever there's a chance (= I have time and there are players available).

Where do you buy your clothes from?

I'm really boring, I mostly shop at common cheap stores like H&M or Seppälä (a Finnish store chain with clothes for young people). Then again I love to browse eBay and search for fancy Lip Service items or Hell Bunny dresses!

What was your original inspiration for starting a blog?

It might sound a bit silly, but I bought a fancy camera off my brother who was switching for a newer model, and was so excited about photographing I wanted a place to share the pics. I had also begun shopping indie makeup earlier, and wanted to just gush about it!

If you could meet anyone alive or dead that has ever existed, who would it be and why? (examples: Edgar Allan Poe, Kurt Cobain, Marilyn Manson, etc...)

I'd say Tutankhamon ;) I love ancient Egypt and would be very interested to know how it actually felt like to be a king, the son of god, raised from child to rule.

How much goth subculture influences your life, of course meaning in a good way?

Goth culture for me is a circle of friends. In my home town going to a club means seeing friends and having fun. Most goths I know have interests along the same lines as I do, so we always have a lot to talk about. Clubs feel like home to me. So I'd say goth culture has steered me to meeting lots of wonderful and interesting people and offers an easy way to meet friends.

How do you maintain long, vibrant, color treated hair? Do you generally go in for a fringe trim or do you trim it yourself at home?

I usually cut my own fringe because I'm a cheapskate ;P There's one hairdresser in the town who does a wonderful job, and whenever I have some extra money or feel like pampering myself, I book a time. Right now I've dyed my hair with Elumen (did it myself, Finland has this weird system that you can't buy hairdresser quality items if you are not a hairdresser, so I just ordered the dye from Germany) and it seems to last much better than the Directions dyes I used to have. With Directions, the trick was just to dye often ;)

Mikä on yllättävin musiikki/bändi/artisti, josta pidät ja jota kuuntelet? Siis sellainen, jota ei ehkä arvaisi sun kuuntelevan ulkonäön/tyylin perusteella.
Translation: What would be the most surprising artist/band you listen to? One that no one would guess you like based on how you look?

Silicon Dream! Se on italodiscoa 80-luvulta, ja videot on ihan hillittömiä. Ostaisin tosi mieluusti levyn, mutta niitä ei vaan liiku, ilmeisesti muutkin on tajunneet bändin loistavuuden ;P

Translation: Silicon Dream! It's italo disco from the 80's, and they have super awesome videos. I'd like to buy a cd, because so far I've only found poor quality youtube videos, but none are available. Seems like other music lovers have also noted how awesome the band is ;P

Mitä kirjallisuutta luet ja kuka on lempparisi kirjailijoista?
Translation: What kind of literature do you read and who is your favourite author?

Juuri nyt ehkäpä George R. R. Martin vie potin, koska olin niin lumoutunut Song of Ice and Fire -sarjasta. Toivottavasti kirjoja tulee pian lisää! Pitkäaikaisempi ihastus olisi esimerkiksi William Gibson (miinus Spook Country ja viimeisen kirja, jotka on totaalisen tylsiä) tai H. P. Lovecraft. Luen yleensä fantasiaa, kauhua ja klassikkoteoksia.

Translation: Right now I'd say George R. R. Martin, because I recently read the Song of Ice and Fire and just loved it (and can't wait for another book!). As for authors I've liked for long, I'd list William Gibson (except for Spook Country and the one after that, it seemed like the book never started) and H. P. Lovecraft. I usually read fantasy (not the David Eddings type, I've read so much of that stuff in my teen years I'm done with it!), horror and classics.

What is one beauty product, though maybe not your "favorite", is so vital you could not complete your look without it? Specifically!

Urban Decay Primer Potion. Eyeshadow will not last on my lids more than a few minutes without a primer, and this one is the only one that works on my lids.

What is one piece of advice that someone has given you, that you wish to pass on to others?

This one is really hard, I'll just say "Take it easy". I'm get stressed easily and just taking it easy makes things so much easier!

If you had the chance, in which of the following places would you like to live and why: a castle, an 18th/19th century villa or a house by the lake?

I pick the villa, although a house by the lake might actually be possible some day! Finland is the land of a thousand lakes and even my home town is situated between two lakes.

If you like tea which type is your fave? And if not what is your favorite beverage to drink which is non alcoholic?

I love tea! I usually drink green tea in the evenings, but my favourites are flavoured black teas. I love Lady Grey, English breakfast and the Emperor's Bride tea by a Finnish company called Nordqvist. The Emperor's Bride is flavoured with elderberry, quince and a hint of pineapple and orange.

What was you dream job when you were a child?

I wanted to be either a hairdresser or a palaeontologist. Can't say why I wanted the first, maybe it was just so luxurious to go to get your hair done, but the palaeontologist comes from the Jurassic Park movies ;) I was crazy about dinosaurs!

What brand of goth clothing (and I mean the ones sold in goth shops like QoD, Phaze, Hell Bunny etc) is your favourite?

I might have to go with Lip Service! I don't like all their stuff, but most of my favourite pieces of clothing are by them. I'm also very fond of Hell Bunny, they have awesome 50's inspired dresses and cardigans.

What's your biggest pet peave? Makeup or otherwise.

Putting the toilet paper roll on the holder the wrong way ;P (the paper is supposed to fall away from the wall, not against it!) And maybe the thing that happens when you are trying to get stuff done with many people, and no one dares to begin or actually decide what to do. Everyone still has an opinion, but it only comes up once someone has planned how to make the thing work while other have only nodded. I like efficiency, so just speak your mind if you have something to share, and lets make everything work and not loiter around ;)

What is your favorite scents to wear?

I like dark, earthy scents. I'm also a total noob when it comes to describing perfumes, sorry! ;P My current favourites are The Horseman and Quoth the Raven, both by the Morbid the Merrier.

What is your favorite type of makeup?

Eyeshadow! I think they are the most versatile products and the colours selection is so wide you can find almost anything!

My Etsy Shop is Live!

Hooray, my Etsy shop is now live!

I'm offering handmade jewellery, most are unique pieces or I might make a few that go well together if I feel like it :) I'm not aiming to sell tons, more like just sell a few pieces every now and then when I get the inspiration to create something pretty. This is my first shop ever, I'm so excited to see how it does!

So, if you want to have a look, here it is!

Please feel free to contact me either through Etsy or via this blog if there's something you'd like to know about a certain piece :)

Sally Hansen Salon Effect Real Nail Polish Strips

Last Monday I picked up a pack of Sally Hansen Salon Effect Real Nail Polish Strips (what a mouthful!) from a local department store. I had looked at them before and liked the patterns, but wanted to get myself a treat after a long day (a long Monday that is, even worse!) and finally purchased them. My choice of pattern was laced up, a black lace pattern on a cream coloured base. I hoped the background would have been see-through, so I could just have added fancy lace to any base, but the cream works okay too. Not really my colour, but neutral and goes with many other colours.

One packet contains 16 strips and I paid around 8 euros for them (I seem to have misplaced the receipt, I can't find the exact sum, sorry!). There are simplified instructions on the back. I'm only wondering why they call the product "real nail polish strips" since it isn't actually a conventional nail polish. It's not fake, but it's not a nail polish. If there would be a product called fake nail polish strips, this would be it!

Instruction on the back of the package.

What's actually inside.

The package contains an instruction leaflet, a stick to work your cuticles back, a tiny nail file with three different roughness surfaces and two packs of nail strips, with 8 strips each.

First, push your cuticles back with the stick, then polish the nails with
the white side of the file.

File your nails to a nice shape with the pink end. I'd recommend your own file,
the pink area is so tiny it's quite hard to work with, but not impossible.

Choose the right size stickers (or cut them down if needed) and apply one to
a nail (there's a protective film and a backing, the actual sticker is very thin and
soft). One end of each sticker is like half an oval, the other is more square, so pick
which one fits your nail best!

A large and floppy sticker ;P Be careful not to stretch it much, it can tear or
the pattern might stretch and look lopsided.

After the sticker is in place, you just gently file the extra off with the peach end of the file. The strip is very soft, so you can gently rip off any extra if you have picked a slightly too big sticker or applied it off centre. Repeat on every nail and you are done! I recommend doing one nail at a time, so you won't have to work with sticker ends hanging off your nail tips, it's much easier! I also applied a clear top coat and it seemed to really help the strips stay on well. I've now had them on for a week and they still look okay. There are some small tears at the edges, but those could maybe have been avoided with a few more layers of the top coat.

Not the best picture, but I'm trying to show how the strip pack doesn't open
as it's supposed to, the foil separates into two parts and the clear plastic seal
didn't tear off. I had to cut it open. This happened with both packets.

Finished nails! I'm not sure about the colours, but they look pretty neat still.

Pros:

-No drying time, except for the top coat

-Nice designs

-Easy to apply and a few strips extra in case you mess up a few

-Last long (with top coat)

Cons:

-A bit pricey

-Silly strip packets don't work like they should

Generally I liked the product and might well buy another pack some day, especially if they come out with more fancy designs :) I really liked how well they lasted on my nails and the super soft and thin stickers were a positive surprise, they were easy enough to apply.

Impossible Shoes Made Possible

I got a new pair of shoes! They came from the UK, this eBay store to be precise. They look vaguely like Jeffrey Campbell's Night Walk shoes, but came with a glitter finish so I was immediately sold ;) I've been looking at Night Walks, but the price seemed too steep for something that I might not like in the end. These babies cost under 30 pounds with shipping so they were a safe way to try heelless shoes.

Turns out I just love them! They feel sturdy, it was really a surprise considering the price, and they are comfortable to walk in and balance isn't an issue (at least in the apartment while watching Star Trek and occasionally popping in to the kitchen to get something to eat or make some tea). And the best part is they look like they are covered in Sugarpill Stella! Such a lovely black base with multicoloured glitter, and matching shoes and eyeshadow is a great look ;P They are super over the top and I'm over the moon with them!

They work well on the sofa...

On the floor...

And glitter so prettily!

It was already getting dark, so the pictures aren't the best. You can also admire the amount of kitty litter and hair on the floor ;P I've been sick with a cold, so I've just played Farmville 2 and drunk lots of tea, meaning that the apartment is a mess. I have also been slowly preparing my Etsy store, I have a pile of nice, lovingly handmade jewellery ready, and plan to launch it soon!