True Corset Black and Yellow Outfit

Yes, I'm a nerd, and not ashamed of it! Imagine how thrilled I was when True Corset contacted me for a review and I found a Star Trek inspired corset outfit on their page. I repeat: A Star Trek corset!

The whole outfit consists of a corset, shrug, belt and a skirt, but you can also buy the pieces separately. They also offer gorgeous shoes to go with the rest of the outfit. I really like that they have complete sets on their page, it's an easy way to see ways to style the corsets!

In addition to fantasy costumes, they also have nice gothic outfits and sets like a matching corset and shoes. You can see the outfit selection here. Even if you are not shopping, it's great for inspiration!

On to the yellow and black corset then! Mine is a size 24" and made of black and yellow cotton. The fabric has a faint sheen, but definitely not a cheap polyester satin shine. The corset feels sturdy. All the boning is metal and there's a heavy duty lining with a supporting waist tape. If engineering or yellow is not your thing, the corset also comes in black/red and black/blue. I rarely wear blue or red, but yellow goes nicely with my hair, so yellow it was!

Bone channels and waist tape.

There are a few places where the black bobbin thread has been pulled to the top layer and it looks a bit messy on the bright yellow fabric. I'd guess that this problem isn't very visible on the blue and red versions of the corset, but with the yellow the contrast is so high that it shows. These few spots, however, are not that visible. We are talking about a few millimetres of black thread showing.

In the back, next to the lacing, a tiny amount of black thread shows on the yellow area.

 The cut isn't very curvy, but this makes the corset quite comfortable to wear. On me it closes almost completely but feels like something I could wear for a full evening. After just an hour the corset started to mould better to my body, so this is definitely a model you want to "break in" before you wear it to an event or convention.

The back is a little bit too high for my body, but that's how off the rack corsets
just are :) If you are quite tall, this cut might fit you perfectly!

A side view of the corset.

Best things about this corset:

+ Moulds to body
+ Long laces, easy to put on and take off
+ Feels sturdy
+ Good structure: metal bones, busk and waist tape

The skirt of the set is pretty basic but well constructed, a black mini skirt with a tiny slit in the back. The fabric does not stretch, so be careful with measuring yourself! The skirt is lined and the outer fabric is the same nice, black cotton blend as in the corset. I accidentally ordered a skirt slightly too large, so it doesn't sit on me as nicely as the correct size would. This cut is not easy to take in on the side seams because of the lining, but it is possible to alter it. The back seam is a no-go, as it has a zipper and a button closure, so you need to alter the sides if you have to do modifications.

Then there is the belt! I was happy that the outfit had a belt, because it can be a bit tricky to choose a matching purse when you are wearing a Starfleet engineering uniform. I have no idea what kind of a bag they could have ;D The belt has two tiny pockets with snap closures and a zippered pocket behind the snap pockets. The snap pockets are mainly decorative, as they are really small, but in the zipper pocket you can fit a phone (I tried with a iPhone 6 and a OnePlus One) and a credit card. The sizing on the belt was a bit confusing. I wanted it to sit on my hips, so I got a 36", thinking that that would be the length of the belt, but apparently it's not. 

36 inches is about 91 cm, but the belt is a 103 cm to the first hole and over 120 cm in total. The sizing table didn't have specific instructions for the belt, so I bet I'm not the only one confused ;D The belt has a nice system of garter clips that would allow it to be attached to a corset with loops for garters (the corset of the set has these), which makes me think I should have gone with a belt the same size as the corset. This should be mentioned a bit more clearly in the description to avoid confusion.

The shrug is awesome. It's made of the same fabric as the corset and the skirt, and fully lined. The cotton is not the thinnest sort, but still not too thick. As a result, it feels luxurious but still drapes nicely. I adore the yellow and black pattern reminiscent of the Star Trek Next Generation uniforms. The black part is sewn on top of the yellow, not printed, so it shouldn't fade like prints do. The pattern is perfectly lined on the seams. The sleeves are maybe the tiniest bit too long for me, but it's way easier to shorten sleeves than to add length, so I fully accept this.

The shrug pattern is perfectly aligned.

Now for a few outfit shots! I decided to wear simple black heels with the outfit, but I'd say boots would go well too. The heels give it a bit of a secretary feel. All in all I really like the outfit and will likely wear it to at least a few conventions this summer. The yellow is a great shade, it's not lemon yellow, but more along the lines of golden yellow or mustard, so nice and muted and very close to what I imagine the uniforms from Star Trek would look IRL. The fabric is of good quality and cotton is nice to wear, it's not too hot and allows the skin to breathe. The belt is a great addition, allowing me to carry my necessities without the hassle of an extra bag. A high quality set and well worth the prize! Especially for a "costume", the quality is superb. Sometimes costume pieces are done very cheaply but that is not the case with these items.

I'm not the biggest trekkie there is, I'm more of a Star Wars gal and fantasy is close to my heart, but I'm enough of a fan to appreciate this kind of an interesting take on the uniforms. The outfit is of high quality and done with good taste. And I happen to love Data from The Next Generation series, I'm pretty much a logical person and occasionally have trouble understanding feeling and human mistakes.

And since I also have a special place in my heart for Vulcans, I bid thee farewell by saying live long and prosper!

Outfit of the Day

It's so warm! So I naturally went to my family's summer cottage last week and enjoyed time spent barefoot. I'm growing out my undercut and it's finally at a stage where I can get the longest hair in a pony tail and the shorter ones don't stick straight out anymore. For these pics I put pins in the undercut to keep it close to the scalp and brushed all remaining hair to the other side. Fast, easy and keep the unruly undercut hair at bay!

Top - Lip Service

Pants - H&M

MAC Viva Glam Ariana Grande Lipstick

Do you know MAC lip pencil in Nightmoth? Have you ever wanted a matching lipstick? I know I have, and I finally found one! Sadly it's limited edition, but there are still some on the counters. When I first saw the swatches for the Viva Glam Ariana Grande lipstick, I knew I wanted it. Sadly my local MAC counter got only a very limited amount (I'd guess two) of the lippie and I wasn't fast enough. Well, on my way to a conference in Berlin last month, I had some extra time on the Helsinki-Vantaa airport and thought I'd check out the MAC counter there, as it was right next to my gate. And there it was! The still had plenty of Ariana lipsticks just waiting for a new home!

Ariana, like the Nightmoth pencil, is a deep, dark, muddled red. It's a matte finish, making the colour look even deeper. I'm a sucker for deep reds and the consistency and wear of the MAC lipsticks is the best I've found in traditional wax based lipsticks. So when you want more of a satin finish than with liquid to matte lipsticks, the MAC mattes are a good choice. I took pictures of the lipstick lightly and heavily applied, as it works both ways.

MAC Viva Glam Ariana Grande lipstick lightly padded on lips.

MAC Viva Glam Ariana Grande lipstick lightly padded on lips.

MAC Viva Glam Ariana Grande lipstick heavily applied.

MAC Viva Glam Ariana Grande lipstick heavily applied.

Super Colourful Nails

I think these are the most colourful nails I've ever worn! I've been wearing acrylics because my natural nails were super dry and brittle after the winter. With long nails, I've been much more into nail polishes, it seemed a waste to paint the short, breaking nails, as the polish peeled off very fast. I recently bought a silicon nail decal mat by Messy Mansion to get some more colour into my nail stamps. The basic idea is that you paint clear polish onto the mat, stamp on that, colour the stamps, then peel them off and add them to your nails with more clear polish. This way you can paint the stamps without accidentally painting over lines, as you can flip the decal so that the stamp is the topmost layer on your nail and the colours are all under it.

These are my second tries with the mat, and I quite like it! The stamping plate is QGirl 25, it has lovely paisley like pattern across the whole plate. I stamped random parts with black on clear polish and coloured some parts with Opi Color Paints in yellow, pink, purple and teal. I left my nails nude with just a layer of clear polish and added the decals on top, leaving some nails bare. Some had little melting problems, but most came out nice. Next time I'll try some lace pattern!

Goth Flea Market Finds!

I'm a big fan of second hand shopping, and that's one of the reasons why I ended up being one of the admins at Finland's largest gothic flea market group, Goottikirppis. So far I've done three live events and I love it! The Facebook group helps reach the audience that is interested in alternative second hand fashion and we have a great community locally. Today was event number three. My other half and I sold a lot of old clothes and even some of my old, loose eyeshadows found new homes. It was raining heavily, which meant there were not as many customers as there would have been on a sunny day, but a nice amount of people still. I did buy a couple of things, but I sold more, so there should be room in my closets ;D

This is what I got! I traded the Lip Service pants and the Dane skirt for an Artifice bolero that didn't fit me well. I don't know the brand of the bra, but it goes really well with the pants. You can't see the earrings too well, but I bought a pair of A for Arsenic antler earrings and tiny little crossbones with rhinestones.

I try to recycle or donate everything we throw out. We are starting a kitchen renovation next week and will go through all of the kitchen stuff to weed out things we don't use or need. Last time I went through the drawers in the kitchen I found out we had THREE wine bottle openers. I doubt we will ever be opening three bottles at the same time, so now two were donated. I'm eagerly looking forward to a new, more spacious kitchen where it is easier to find what you need. All of the furniture for the new kitchen is now piled up in our living room, which makes me want the renovation to proceed even faster ;D

Outfit of the Day

It feels like summer! It's warm and I've had a couple of days off, so I'm in summer vacation mode. We have a kitchen renovation starting in a couple of weeks and I'm working hard to make sure everything is prepared so things can proceed smoothly. I only have a couple of driving lessons left before the test. I hope I'll do well, it will be so much easier to get stuff done when I can just take the car and go, instead of trying to match schedules with my other half. He's a very good driver, but naturally it's sometimes complicated to make sure both of us have time at the same moment!

Jacket - My sister's old, it's by Guess

Top - Georgia Hardinge for River Island

Pants - H&M

Boots - H&M

I don't even remember the last time I wore a cropped top showing off my belly! I've been hunting high and low for a dress with this pattern, but when I found a top on eBay, I simply needed to have it. The printed pleating looks awesome, and with slim pants, I think a short shirt works quite well with my body. And it shows off my cute purple rose tattoo on my hip, just enough to give the outfit some extra colour.

Tomorrow is Mother's Day, so I'll be visiting my mom. She promised I could have one plating box at my parents yard, so I have a few bags of seeds that I can plant. Lets see how my carrots and onions will do!

Outfit of the Day

Whew, the most company party ever was last week and I think I'm still mentally recovering! We had 300-400 guests, delicious food, excellent drinks, a pole dancer and Mokoma playing some metal music. Now when we make the next game that sells two million we'll do it all over again, but not in a few years ;D

Anyway, here's my outfit from the day after! I've been a bit busy as I'm trying to juggle doing most of the chores at home (my other half's ankle still isn't okay), driving school, organizing a kitchen renovation and plenty of work at the office. I only have a few driving lessons to go and then hopefully I'll pass the test and be able to ride my awesome golden SUV where ever I please.

The day after we did some shopping and popped for a few hours to a friend's housewarming party, then fell asleep on the couch at home. I guess staying up until six in the morning takes its toll. But I still looked fab!

Top - Rogue by Tiina Ulkuniemi

Jeans - Bik Bok

Boots - New Rock

We had a hairdresser come to the office before the party to make sure everyone who wanted got their hair done. I enjoyed the lovely curls for many days, here they are just slept in and brushed to one side. I've been lazy with my eye make up, but put on a soft smoky eye just because I felt like it. The lipstick is Lolita by Kat Von D, the perfect natural tone for my lips.