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

Black Friday Tips

Tomorrow is Black Friday, which for me means shopping mostly indie make-up. I'm too lazy to write my own list, but here's link to a few collections of interesting links.

I'm most interested in Jeffree Star's matte lipsticks, Geek Chic Cosmetics' discounts, and I'd like to recommend Black Moon Cosmetics, as I'm really fond of their liquid lipsticks.

Here's a link to Phyrra's list with many indie brands and a few others.

Henna also has a good list. It's in Finnish, but the links are to stores that trade in English, so don't worry!

This instagram link has the discount codes for Black Moon Cosmetics. Purgatory is such a gorgeous shade of purple that you should take a look! The bright red lipstick, Sanguis, is out of stock but at this moment all of the others are available.

Beijing Shopping

In Beijing I learned that two things were essential regarding beauty for the locals: collagen and masks. The air in Beijing can be very polluted and people love using masks to clean their skin after a long day of being exposed to the smog. Collagen seemed to be very popular just now, almost every brand had their own collagen products. And naturally collagen masks for the ultimate products!

I was staying with the lovely Salla who is not new to China. She writes a blog about her time there. It's in Finnish only, but with lots of lovely pictures. Take look at the blog here!

Here's pictures of the cosmetics I brought back from Beijing.

Pack of sheet masks. This one had a few pieces of each type of mask available at the shop.

Under eye masks. Water cycling sounds like fun ;D

Tony Moly is a Korean brand. I just had to have this lip balm because it's made of awesome. What could be cuter than a tiny banana? ;D

I just had enough time to visit Etude House shop. Salla had told me stories of how cute the products were and she was absolutely right, they were super cute and very interesting! This was the gift I got for making a purchase, a collagen skin care kit.

A toner, emulsion, I take essence to be a serum and the tiny jar is cream.

Missha Perfect Cover BB Cream. I've been using this one for a few years and it's the. best. thing. ever. Trust me! Light enough for my pale skin but with a high SPF and very moisturizing consistency.

Missha is a Korean brand, but since I came across the cream in the shade I use, I decided to get a back-up for the bottle I'm currently going through.

The Missha counter also gave out gifts with purchase. I have no idea what the first product is, but the second one is a BB cream and the tiny bottles could be toner.

Skin Food had lots of interesting things, but I was pretty exhausted after the shopping spree that I couldn't decide and eventually just got this eye sheet mask. I think I have enough masks to at least get me through the winter!

Last but not the least, my Etude House haul! We visited the shop briefly on my last day at Beijing, but it was worth it. The packaging is very cute and pastel, and they had interesting products.

False lashes and an eye dust. The lashes were quite small, so they might work really well with my small-ish eyes. The eye dust jar was just too cute to be left behind ;D

They had lots of nail polishes, but this one caught my eye! It's a dark purple with shimmer in it.

This Hand Bouquet is clearly meant for feet ;P I like foot masks in general, as they help me stay put for a while and not dart around the apartment like crazy. And I have spent a lot of time on my feet lately so a little pampering is in order.

These brushes looked just like my favourite ones by Mariela Sarkima. I'm always on the lookout for new, fluffy, soft eyeshadow brushes, because they work great for light smoky looks which I wear a lot. I haven't tried these yet but I just want to point out how ridiculously cute the packaging and brushes are <3<3<3

Eye dust jar. I tried to show how cute the jar is but I don't think the picture does it justice. You just have to believe me! I have a soft spot for cute pastel stuff and these are right up my alley!

That's a lot of cosmetics! I'll write reviews of my favourites once I get to try these out, right now I've been so busy that they have just sat in their cute Etude House bag in the bedroom. We just took in a new cat today, from a friend who could not keep it anymore, so my whole days has been spent herding cats ;D I have a cold and am staying at home, but the cats need some supervising to get used to the new kitty. They have been getting along nicely and I hope it continues! Once the new kitty settles in, I promise you lots of pictures!

Seattle Shopping

Last weekend I went to a business trip to Seattle for Pax Prime. A cruelling 12+ hours of flying just to get there, and the same back, naturally. The jet lag was horrible! On the bright side I immediately noticed the hotels was to my liking when they told me that they had a complimentary shuttle service that stopped right in front on the biggest Sephora in the city. Perfect!

I've been super busy, but here's a quick look into what I got for myself.

Urban Decay After Dark pencil set, Kat Von D Ink Liner Trio, Urban Decay de-slick makeup setting spray, GlamGlow mud mask, two Kat von D liquid lipsticks, Sephora cream lip stain, two Sephora masks and a tiny pencil sharpener.

I recently fell in love with Urban Decay's pencils, and when I saw that they had a pencil set with the same name as the game expansion I'm working on at the moment, I just had to have this! I tried them out already and really like the shade of purple and brown, they make for great smoky eye looks. The Kat von D liner set was an impulse buy, I wanted to try them out. I'm a bit bummed that only the black liner is waterproof, but I have to see how they perform.

I didn't own any Everlasting Liquid Lipsticks by Kat von D before, but they are a product I've been wanting to try. I like dark, vampy reds so Damned seemed like my kind of a shade, and Echo looked very unique, it's a navy blue.

I tried to hunt down this shade of Sephora's Cream Lip Stain when I was in NY in May, but it was sold out everywhere! Now I finally found it and I love the shade. These have a very thin, light consistency so they are comfortable to wear, but they are still opaque and don't fade.

I needed a pencil sharpener for my carry-on makeup pouch, so I got the smallest one Sephora carried. I haven't tried the masks before but they looked interesting!

The de-slick spray was something I wanted to try, but didn't want to commit to a full size one in case I didn't like it. This smaller version seemed perfect for me! I love GlamGlow's moisturizing mask, so I'm thinking the other ones could be to my liking also and went for a trial size.

This is the Powermud Dualcleanse Treatment, I'm excited to try it!

The After Dark pencil set has an example of a look done with the pencils on the inside cover. The pencils in the set are Voodoo, Zero and Corrupt. Corrupt is especially lovely, it's quite light for a brown liner and looks gorgeous smudged.

The Kat von D liners. These I haven't tried yet!

I'm eager to get to dig in to this pile and tell you what I think of the products, but first I have to handle the anime and roleplaying convention, Tracon, here in Tampere. I'm giving two presentations and participating in a panel discussion tomorrow, so if you are attending, pop in to say hi!

Shopping in Germany

I'm already packing my bags for the next trip, but here's a look at what I bought from Cologne. I like to shop at the cheap drugstores, because they have way better prices than Finland and carry more brands.

We don't have Kiko in Finland, so I always like to see what they offer. The nail polished are very nice quality for the low price, and occasionally other make-up catches my eye as well. I bought two nail polishes, a glass nail file, a glitter liner and a purple eyeliner. Essence recently came to Finland, but it's not yet available in my home city. I just couldn't resist the cute little shimmer pearls! I was also shopping for a beauty blogger colleague who asked me to get her two crystal liners, which looked so nice that I decided to get me a pair too ;P

Weleda massage oil was recommended to me. I've so far only used Lush's massage bars, but tried the oil yesterday and it's very nice. The peel off nail polish base is something I've wanted to try with glitter polishes. Glitter is such a b*tch to get off! The hand cream was an impulse buy, my hands were dry and I didn't pack any hand cream.

Super cute shimmer pearls by Essence!

Kiko nail polishes and a P2 peel-off base coat.

Kiko glitter eyeliner and Essence crystal liners.

Lets see what else I will hoard on my next trip, or if I even have any time to shop since it's a business trip!

Haulin' Make-Up

Make-up haul! Getting to a Sephora in the States was like going to a candy store for a make-up enthusiast like me :) I also bought some drug store cosmetics, just because many of the brands are not available in Finland, or even in Europe.

My little baggie of goodies!

Milani Fierce Foil eyeliner in Purple Foil

Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion Anti-Aging. This is the new type of package with a wand.

Naked Basics palette by Urban Decay. I tend to need neutral eyeshadows on my business trips, and I've been using
a Naked inspired palette by Coastal Scents. It's nice but not very sturdy. This one should hold up better!

Cover Girl nail polish.

Kat von D Lock-it Tattoo Foundation.

Wet n Wild Mega Rocks Glitter nail polish.

My camera didn't pick up the colour of this lipstick very well for some reason. It's Studded Kiss Poe by Kat von D, a blue based purple with some microglitter.

Drugstore lippies. Milani Color Statement Lipstick in Sangria and Black Cherry, Wet n Wild Megalast lip color in Vamp it Up, and Wet n Wild Fergie lipstick in Ferguson Crest Cabernet. I'm going through a dark lipstick phase as you can see!

Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics lip tars! From left to right: Black Dahlia, Pagan, Black Metal Dahlia, Anita, Sebastian and Technopagan. I also bought lip liners to match Black Dahlia and Sebastian.

So much make-up! I've previously been mostly into eyeshadows, but now I'm having a lipstick phase. Dark lips appeal to me, and there are so many interesting colours to try. I seem to like dark purples the most, because Black Dahlia liner is almost a dupe for MAC Nightmoth liner which I own, and Wet n Wild Vamp it Up seems to look very much like MAC Cyber, which is already in my collection. I guess I just know what shades I like ;D

Juunappa ja KuroiNeko

(In Finnish only, sorry! I'm writing about a local shop)

Pupu-pipo <3

Nykyisellään Tampereella on melkoinen vaje alternative-henkisistä vaateliikkeistä. Kun Juunapan omistaja kysyi voisinko kirjoittaa blogiin liikkeestä, ainoa ajatus päässäni oli että miten mulle ei ollut aiemmin tullut mieleen jakaa tätä shoppailuvinkkiä lukijoiden kanssa ;D

Juunappa myy KuroiNekon tuotteita ja uskomattoman upeita nahkatakkeja. Kauppa sijaitsee todella keskeisellä paikalla, mutta on ulospäin hieman vaatimattoman näköinen, mistä syystä moni ei ole tainnut huomata koko liikettä.

Juunapan ovi on melkein vastapäätä Koskikeskuksen pääsisäänkäyntiä.

Tämä on oikea paikka!

Älä anna nahkatuotteiden mainosten hämätä. Kun tarkasti katsoo, jo näyteikkunassa on ylisöpöjä pupupipoja ja gootti- sekä lolitahenkisiä polvisukkia!

Valikoimiin kuuluu sekä kokonaan käsin tehtyjä KuroiNekon tuotteita (kuten ne ihanat pipot), tuunattuja vaatteita, koristeellisia paitoja, Leg Avenuen sukkia ja asusteita, korkokenkiä sekä tennareita, ja tietysti paljon erilaisia nahkatakkeja. Mun viimeisimmät kaksi nahkatakkia ja talvitakki on ostettu Juunapasta, sieltä löytää upeimmat rokkihenkiset rotsit, sekä toppatakit joissa ei näytä laskettelijalta tai michelin-mieheltä ;P

Pipoja! 

Takkeja!

Kenkiä!

Niittirannekkeita!

Pöllölaukkuja!

Upeasti koristeltuja toppeja!

Juunapasta haluttiin erityisesti vinkata, että liikkeeseen on saapunut uusia housuja. Sain yhden parin kokeiltavaksi ja täytyy sanoa että näissä pöksyissä yhdistyy mukavuus ja tyyli! En käytä tavallisia farkkuja, en pidä siitä miten jäykät ne ovat, ja omistin ennestään vain yhden parin housuja. Juunapan pökät ovat neljään suuntaan venyvää kangasta, joka onnistuu maagisesti olemaan samaan aikaan jämäkkää ja silti myötäilemään vartaloa juuri oikein.

Maailman parhaat housut, hinta 39,90e.

Olin etukäteen vähän epävarma pitäisinkö housuista, kun en sellaisia usein käytä, mutta oon käytännössä asunut näissä sen jälkeen kun ne sain! Vetoketjuyksityiskohdat tuovat juuri sopivasti rouheutta, mutta ovat silti käytännölliset, eivät paina tai hankaa. Mitoitus on pientä, mun housuni ovat kokoa M vaikka yleensä olen S-kokoinen. Kangas on aika lähelle samanlaista kuin BikBokin Never Denim -housuissa, joista olen pitänyt juurikin käyttömukavuuden takia. Tosi venyvää ja pehmeää, mutta tarpeeksi paksua ollakseen ryhdikästä. Never Denimit maksavat kuitenkin yli kympin enemmän, joten mä tiedän kyllä minne menen housuostoksille jos tarve tulee ;)

Samat pöksyt mun päällä.

Alla vielä Juunapan tarkka osoite, että voitte käydä kokeilemassa unelmapehmeitä pöksyjä itse ja samalla lässyttää pupupipolle, kuten mun on aina ihan pakko tehdä ;D KuroiNeko myy myös netin kautta ja pitää usein myyntipöytää coneissa ja muissa tapahtumissa, tässä linkki nettikauppaan.

Hatanpään Valtatie 8, 33100 TAMPERE