Sammydress Jacket Review

Sammydress contacted me a while ago and offered a gift card in exchange for a review. I went to have a peek at their site and saw that they had many items that would work with any goth wardrobe, so I gave it a go.

After a lot of browsing I decided on a jacket that looked very cool. It's called a "Zipper Shrugged Shoulder Pad PU Leather Solid Color Coat For Women", you can find it here. It's under a section called dance costumes, which I suspect might mean club wear, but it has awesome glittery things.

This is the store picture from Sammydress.

If you are ordering clothing from Sammydress, make sure to look at the measurements of the garment. The only size available of the jacket was large, so I though I'll just take it in if it's too big. It fit me perfectly and is even a little snug on the sleeves. I usually wear size small, so the clothing is bit on the small side, I'd say ;P

The package was sent fast and arrived in a little over two weeks, which I consider very reasonable. Sammydress ships from China so it's quite a long way for package to travel to Finland. My jacket was securely packed in a plastic envelope and a clear plastic bag. I paid for a tracking number but while it was activated, it never really showed where the package was, so you might want to consider if you want to spend money on it.

The size was right, which surprised me but when I checked on the site, the measurements of the large size do match the jacket. I could have fit a medium, but the main problem area would be the sleeves. Then again shortening them would not be a big deal.

The jacket came with a matching belt which was in the same clear bag, so I assume it's a set with the jacket. It's just a strip of the same material with a velcro closing. It's not listed on the site as a part of the jacket and not seen on the model either.

The jacket is made of thin faux leather but the material looks and feels nice. The shoulders have a little foam padding in the tips to keep the shape. The collar needs some coercing to stay in the right place, the right side was bend a little in the package but it looks like it settles nicely when you keep it under some weight (like a thick book on it overnight). The triangular extensions on the sides are lined at the ends. It isn't perfect, but works for me, and I wasn't expecting superb quality for such a low price. 

I did notice that the cut isn't exactly the same as on the site, mine has a different collar, but it's close enough. Also the shoulders are pointier in the shop picture, my jacket's are a bit more rounded. There's some threads sticking out, but all the seams are intact and nothing is coming loose. I suspect it's a knock-off but I couldn't find a picture of the original, so I'm not sure.

My experience with Sammydress was a good one. The jacket isn't exactly as in the pictures in the shop, but close, and seems like it's of decent quality. I thinking of ordering again because they stock these lovely black velvet versions of the spine heel shoes!

Pros
+ Low prices
+ HUGE selection
+ Fast shipping

Cons
- The website is a bit hard to navigate because of the amount of items
- High shipping fees on shoes (for my jacket the shipping was a little over 8 dollars, so for clothing it's less)
- Sizing might fool you
- The product can differ from shop pictures

My jacket being worn. More pics in the Lady Gaga Shoot!

Lady Gaga Jacket Shoot

I was supposed to write a review of my new jacket, but since I went a bit overboard with taking pictures with it, here's the results of a small photoshoot! Done with a black bed sheet and a chair at home, with lots of uninvited cats visiting the set ;D

The jacket is from Sammydress and I'll write the review shortly, but so far I like it. It looked so Lady Gaga with its pointy shoulders that I decided to pair it with no pants and high heels. I got the shoes for the wedding, they are great! They were on discount and made of real leather so I just couldn't pass such a good deal. The original price was 90 euros but they were down to 25 euros. And I have never before owned a pair of decent high heels with no straps that are actually nice to wear and stay on my feet well.

The pictures are a bit over exposed (because I used only one construction light to help with the lighting...), but I tried to turn it into a fancy fashion shoot effect. I watched an episode of America's Top Model yesterday, must be because of that ;P

I believe Möttönen the kitty is is four of the shots. Can you find her? ;D

A Winter Wedding

My other half and I attended a most lovely winter wedding on Saturday. The party was great and it was so nice to see people I hadn't seen in a long time! I hope to visit Helsinki more often in the future to catch up with them!

I got a dress from GinaTricot for the event and shortened it. The extra fabric went to making hats for everyone at the bachelorette party and an ascot for my other half! The clutch is also new, I got it so I could have a smaller bag that I could keep in the large handbag I usually use. This way I could leave the huge bag at the cloakroom and only carry the small one with me. It's second hand and I really like it!

My hair is also a bit darker now. I was feeling upset over the roots the week before the wedding and my hairdresser didn't have any free appointments, but since I live with the most wonderful man, my other half volunteered to do the roots. He did a great job and it was so considerate! The colour is Alpine Green by Directions, I'd say it the same shade as Turquoise but darker. I think it suits me better than the turquoise, it was a bit too bright.

This one shows off the little hat!

Thanks to Nina for snapping a few pictures of us! There's so few pics where me and
the other half are together because usually one of us is behind the camera.

His ascot tie matches my dress perfectly and it looks cool! I even ironed the thing ;P

It was a great trip, with lots of friends and good food. I wish Touko and Johanna all the best in their married life and I'm very much looking forward to pictures from the honeymoon! Thanks for having us :)

Kiasma Art Museum

I'm in Helsinki! My other half and I visited the Kiasma museum of art because one of my favourite pieces was on display. Here's two pictures of me and the Arch angel of the seven seas by Markus Copper! 

Easy Neutral Look

Just another easy everyday look done with the Revealed palette by Coastal Scents. I stayed late in the office and had a pole dancing lesson in the morning, super tired now so only a few pictures! I tried a Maybelline Superstay 10H Tint Gloss in brown on my lips, got it on discount and thought to give it a try. I think it's too brown for me, but maybe it works for office looks. It's kinda nineties. I used Rimmel Scandaleyes eyeshadow pen as liner, it arrived in a LivBox which I ordered to try out. It's a simple, easy black pen, but I feel it's better as a liner than for doing the whole lid.

I'm heading to Helsinki again for the weekend and I'm supposed to be packing my bag, but I'm so tired I'm sure I'll forget something!

Femme Fatale Look

I love Femme Fatale's duochromes, I confess! I have a few and decided to order those very same ones for the 600 readers giveaway because they were just gorgeous. They had a sale at the time so I wanted to try a few new ones. After lots of pondering I decided on Banshee Scream and Sugar Crush. Both are awesome!

Banshee Scream is a murky light greyish blue with a strong green shift. This colour seems to glow on the skin!

Sugar Rush is a light purple with a blue-green shift. In the jar it's looks a bit like The Nightmare, but on skin is much lighter.

The shades go great together and are so so pretty on their own. I think I have to go shopping again, since Femme Fatale just announced eleven new eyeshadows that are all droolworthy!

I wore The Nightmare on my lower lid so you can see how much lighter Sugar Rush in in the crease and blended up. On the lid is Banshee Scream, also padded on the tearduct.

Just look at that glow!

And a full face, I paired the shadows with a plum toned lipstain.

600 Readers Giveaway!

It took me some time but here's the 600 readers giveaway, finally! Also to celebrate my blog's second b-day, yay! I wanted to pick the prizes so that they are great products that I have used and loved. All items are bought by me personally (well, except for the necklace, which I made).

The prize

In the end I settled on these things:

1. Topshop Velvet Lip matte liquid lipstick in Raven, pitch black. This stuff stays and stays! You can see me wearing it here. Incidentally I'm also wearing two of the three eyeshadows in the same picture.

2. Three eyeshadows by Femme Fatale, The Nightmare, Faerie Fire and Nethermancer. I just love The Nightmare and Faerie Fire, both have a strong green sheen. Faerie Fire is lavender and The Nightmare a dark purple, they go great together! Nethermancer I haven't tried myself, but it looked like it would work with both shades. It's a medium purple with a blue shift. Here you can see The Nightmare and Faerie Fire in action.

3. A skull with bat wings necklace made by me! It's band new and never worn. The skull has cool little rhinestone eyes to give it some sparkle.

To participate in the giveaway you need to do the following:

1. Follow my blog. Write on your comment how you follow it.

2. Leave a comment on this post telling me what is your favourite post on the blog so far.

3. Leave your email address in the comment also, so I can contact you easily if you are fortune's favourite!

The giveaway is open until 5.2.2014 and it's open internationally. Good luck!

London Calling Look

This is Darling Girl Cosmetics' London Calling, the blue I never thought to find! I'm usually not a big fan of blues, but chose to order this one since it actually looked very burgundy in the shop picture. I'm glad I did, because it's gorgeous! The pink-copper sheen on indigo base looks great and makes the eyeshadow really complex, it looks like I have more than one shade on my lids. I did put some shimmery white in the inner corners, but the blue alone looks like blue and purple and red depending on the angle.

As a side note, London has been calling me lately! I've wanted to visit Stonehenge for a long time and recently read an article that there was a new visitor's center constructed next to it. I've been to London a few times, but it's been years since the last visit. Maybe this summer London could be an option for a vacation :)

Bees.

I really liked the bat earrings I got a while ago, so I went browsing on Lumissa's Purple Octopus' Facebook page and found a set of earrings and necklace I really liked. Luckily they were still for sale so I just had to get them! They are bee themed and I think they have a nice steam punk vibe going on.

The necklace has a big bee, some gears and black glass beads.

Almost getting the earring in focus ;P

And there! There are tiny bees on the earrings!

Moar Hats!

Now that the bachelorette party is over, I can share pictures of the other hats I made! I got the job of making little hats for everyone participating. They turned out to be a great idea, it was easy to make sure no one got lost when you could just count the little tufts of tulle you could see. And everyone liked their hat, which was great!

There were nine hats altogether, with the fanciest one naturally for the bride-to-be. I made the bases myself with felt and sugar, then used the leftover fabric from my shortened dress to make them match the wedding theme colours which were white, grey and blue. For decorations I bought a a meter of dark grey tulle and a meter of lighter grey tulle, and some grey organza. I made some rosettes with the fabric and scoured the shops for other suitable decorations, which ended up being a pile of discount white hair clip flowers from H&M, a pack of  glittery snow flake Christmas decorations, a packet of fake branches and two little white birds. I already had some blue veiling and a lot of white soft tulle stashed away.

This one was for the bride-to-be!

 It's hard to see the sizes from the pictures, but all of the hats were quite small so they stayed on nicely with just one clip. I almost ran out of hair clips but noticed I could use the clips from the hair flowers I had already gotten for decoration and all was well! The bride's hat got extra treatment, I glued silver toned beads to it and too time to glue some petals on the branches to look like flower buds. I didn't want all the white flowers to be the same size, that looked boring, so I cut off some outer petals from a few and used those cut petals as buds. I think it worked really well!

Some of the participants told me they'll use the hats at the wedding also. I'm so happy everyone liked theirs, and it's such an easy accessory! It's good to know the hats get some use even after the party, and they do match the theme colours.

Harmony Garden Look

Sorry about the bad lighting! Taking pictures is such a pain during the winter.

This was the look I did to go out and listen to Harmony Garden after Christmas. I like a nice colourful look now and then, and I had plenty of time to paint my face so this happened! And the gig was very nice, my other half and I also bought Harmony Garden's new album but I have yet to listen to it.

I used:
Shiro Cosmetics - Steve (bright aqua)
Evil Shades - Suffocation (light pink on the lid)
Sugarpill - Tako (matte white, on brow bone and inner corner)
Madd Style Cosmetics - Fabby Lala (purple on the out edge)