My new toys

This is what happens when I am given 60 pounds to waste on Boots products. Not that I'm complaining, really, I'm just saying.

1. Herbal Essences straightening shampoo and conditioner. Tried it twice on my naturally very curly hair, and so far I'm surprisingly satisfied with the results. Short of making my hair magically lose its curls, it does make it silky smooth and achieve the near-impossible task of preventing it from frizzing. Suddenly my purple minion mane was rendered stupidly manageable, and straightening it with a heating brush gave me results that even the Zohan couldn't get if he tried.

2. Eylure naturlites false eyelashes. This is just a refill, I swear by that brand. Their texture and  length makes them look very natural.

3. Simple Eye makeup corrector pen. I haven't actually tried this yet, but love the concept and been meaning to try it for ages. I'll let you know.

4. Sure deodorant. I normally buy Dove, but felt like a change. Verdict? Well... everyone keeps complimenting my new perfume. When I'm not wearing any perfume.

5. Standard hairclips. These are actually H&M, not Boots. They're just in there because I needed something to fill the gap. I do keep buying those very clips, though, because they're the perfect size and shape and a friend of mine keeps soullessly destroying them.

6. Babyliss curling wand. Yes, yes, I know what you're thinking. Doesn't she have curly hair already? Well, yes, I do, but they're tight, crazy curls, and I've always wanted to make myself some loose barrel curls. So far I'm quite satisfied, it heats up incredibly fast. The resulting curls are soft and loose, which is quite nice. Barrel curls are a tricky thing, though. Probably easier to achieve with a curling tong.

7. Soft cotton headband. I love them. I use them to braid my hair out of my face before I go to sleep, because I'm weird like that. I like to think it gives me an Anna-Bates-from-Downton look.

8. L'Oreal Color Riche lipstick 233 (Boreal/Taffeta). A really nice, shimmery nude. I've been looking for a nude lipstick that fits my hair and skin tone for a long, long time, and it hasn't been easy, but I think I can finally stop searching. The packaging claims it's a lipstick for blondes, but that's a filthy lie. It's good for anyone with a pale skin and yellow-y complexion (what a nice portrait I paint of myself...).

9. Soap&Glory's Marvelips! J'adiore. The colour side is just that perfect shade of vintage coral pink that Benefit wishes it had come up with, and the white shimmery side does its job just fine. Plus, you know, it doubles as a cool eyeliner. Convenient.

Definitely my new favourite toy. I had to stop myself from wearing it to bed last night, because it went so well with my new nightgown.

I'm all graduated!

...Which is really only that exciting because I got to wear my new dress from China.

But yes, after four years of late-night essay writing, digging, costume parties, more digging, and lots and lots of crazy encounters with amazing people, I finally have a degree! Call me crazy, but it's been a week and I already miss lectures.

 

 

  

The qipao (traditional Chinese dress) was tailor-made for me in a fabric market in Shanghai. Love the coral pattern on the silk! Chose it because it's very 1930s-Shanghai-movie. The heels I just picked up from Primark, they killed my feet all day but I was really happy to find a colour that matched exactly!

Also, I loved my robes! It's not everyday you can use the word robes in normal conversation (unless you're french, that is), so let me just indulge one more time. ROBES. There. How Hogwarts-y.

Treasure box finds

Last night my mother let me have a peak inside her secret treasure box... And this is what I found!! Piles and piles of fabulous old French fashion magazines. From left to right: Spring 1953, August 1922 (!!) and Winter 1948. I tend to hate pre-flapper (1925) 20s fashion, but this is amazing. And there's nothing I want more right now than that red coat!! (Preferably in grey, or velvet, with a matching skirt. Ah, if only...)
Incidentally, special mention to the 50s-print cushion on the right, very cute.

Fashion Report: China

I'm back, people! And this time, with a legitimate excuse for my absence: I've been holed up in China for the past month, travelling the shit out of that beautiful country!! I've got lots of articles planned for you guys, but first things first: here's a recap of the top trends this season.

China must-knows: fashion on the high streets

1. Appropriateness gone crazy

Standards of clothing-appropriateness are noticeably reversed - this is true in Beijing and Shanghai, but also, from what I've seen, in the smaller cities. China struck me from day 1 as very much a top-button kind of population, and yet... in compensation for that upper-half Victorianism, shorts are mini mini mini. If it's longer than hotpants, then it's acceptable.

This may seem like an enjoyable change for some, but as someone who tends to wear tank tops and spaghetti straps, I stuck out like a sore thumb! (And this despite my comparatively conservative knee-length skirts). Eventually, I gave in and started walking around in baggy t-shirts and mini-shorts. When the air is so hot and humid it hits you like a wave of toxic gas from the moment you step outside, how little you wear won't make a difference - you'll invariably be sticky within the hour.

2. Shorts. 

The shorts-mania that's gripping the nation clearly hasn't left out the other side of the world. Sigh. (Sigh? Yes, sigh. I can't wear shorts without looking like I'm in diapers.)
Frilly tops, t-shirts, all are worn with mini-shorts. Even girlish minidresses are worn with shorts underneath, bloomers-style.

3. Cut-out shoulder tops

In compensation for the conservativeness of the upper half of the body, risqué shoulder holes are incorporated into the design of many shirts. I do love that trend :3

4. Platforms and heels of Gagaesque heights

We're talking a good 10cm average, here. Convenient considering the quantity of unidentified puddles in the streets, perplexing when worn on Great Wall treks. Doubly impressive is the fact that most of the available designs are mules. Seriously, how do people walk in mules?? One of the big mysteries of life.

5. Bright colours

Chiffon fabrics and flowing cuts are in this season, and it would seem nobody does bright colours better than China. Turquoise, bright blue, pink and orange are very popular, but yellow takes the prize, the biggest and brightest and most common. Amusingly, after looking through my travel photos, my Parisian aunt's only comment was, "do these people never wear black?!". Ah, you really can't change the French.

6. Umbrellas

Rain? Sun? Whatever the weather, women all whip out their umbrellas faster than they can say Quidditch. Umbrellas are THE must-have accessory this season. Make sure you pack one if planning a trip to China. Else you might get caught in the summer monsoons. Or, god forbid, you might get a tan.

And yet...

The bad and the ugly: anti-fashion habits exposed!

Anti fashion habit #1: The exposed pot bellies and love handles.

Men, why take off your shirts when you can walk around with them riding up to your nipples?

Anti fashion habit #2: The spitting. 

True story for you all: One evening, I was waiting for my overnight train to Xian, when, in front of me on the platform, I noticed a beautiful woman. Presumably in her 30s, she donned long black hair, a sexy casual black dress, and more character than Sean Connery and Audrey Hepburn put in a blender together (an odd comparison, I'll concede). There I stood, with nothing better to do than admire her femininity and class, when the object of my observation turned around and spat out more phlegm than I ever thought humanly possible onto the tiles next to her, with about as much class as a low-ranking mafia spawn (again, really weird comparison - I think I watch too many movies).

Anti-fashion habit #3: The split pants.

Referring to the common habit of certain parents of cutting their children's trousers down the middle for... convenience's sake. I'll leave that up to your imagination.

Anti-fashion habit #4: Crocs.

Apparently, in China, Crocs are still a thing. So are Cocs, and Rcocs, and other variations on the originals.

Dinner and a Movie

Or how to be extremely anachronistic in your retro look, and still somehow make it work.

I recently went on a crazy vintage shopping spree (more on this later), and decided to buy half the planet's worth of vintage and retro items. Last night was cinema night (Star Trek, anyone?), the perfect opportunity to show off my new finds. Problem: I wanted to showcase them all at the same time, but they're from different decades. So, I set myself 3 rules:

#1: Match the colours.

#2: Build your outfit around a theme.

#3: Just smile and nod.

I was dying to try my new kimono-print 70s does 50s dress. Luckily I also bought 50s-style flower earrings in a matching pink colour. So far so good. But then I went with a 40s-style cardigan and some 70s-style black wedges. You know, to add to the whole post-war-geisha look.

Finally, to add insult to injury, I decided to top it all off with an Edwardian updo. What could possibly go wrong?

Dress - Starlet Vintage

Cardigan - Promod

Earrings - Collectif

Please ignore the silly face~

The Belle Epoque updo was a lot of fun to style. I tried to follow this tutorial, but my hair turned out to be slightly too short, so I went proper Edwardian and padded it with hair from my hairbrush. Nobody knew!

Unaffordable Fashion Flashback

Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you the Haute-Couture flashback of the year... Dior Spring/Summer 2007!!!

The whole collection is absolutely wonderful, it's really worth a google at least!

Recreating Roman Hairstyles

...and other Ancient hair wonders

The Wonderful World of Janet Stephens

Meet Janet Stephens. By day, she's a hairdresser. By night? She's a badass hair archaeologist. Trying to recreate Roman hairstyles from bust statues of the time, she realised that these sculptures made a conscious effort to depict hair as accurately as possible, from the direction of curls to the annoying-hair-that-won't-grow just above the ears. Being all Sherlock Holmes-y, she deducted that

a) Unlike previously believed, they weren't wigs. Scholars in stuffy offices know nothing about hair. But she does. (dun dun dunnn)

b) When trying to recreate those elaborate braided buns, she found that hairpins were completely useless and couldn't hold the style together (dun dun dunnnn)

... and then she realised that hairstyles were actually sewn together, and that we've been mistranslating instructions for the past few centuries.

Realising that this was an original idea, she wrote a paper about it. But more importantly, she has a youtube channel and makes tutorials for us to enjoy!

Roman Hairstyles

Unfortunately, my hair isn't long enough for most of these (long-haired friends beware, I will be coming at you with a bone needle soon). BUT there are a couple I would love to try:

The Cleopatra

The Sabina

Other ancient wonders

Janet Stephens also recreates historically accurate hairstyles from other periods. For example:

The wonderfully decadent Papillote Curls

^ I absolutely adore this one. In fact I might try it tonight...

Elaborate Renaissance style

So, there you have it. Awesome antique hairstyles. So excited about trying them out! In fact, I'm making a bone needle as we speak. I'm carving it with flint.