Vamp It Up!

The Great Pumpkin has almost arrived, so I hope you all have your costumes ready for however you’re celebrating! I don’t think I’ll end up doing anything spectacular tomorrow night (even though I have Tuesday off from school), because I’m not quite ready to be that social with my classmates yet. Sorry everyone, but drinking and partying is something I only do with my close friends because I have a very low threshold for getting annoyed, and I tend to be even more brutally honest, and I don’t think you’re ready for that yet. Chances are I’ll make myself a nice dinner, and curl up with either Interview with the Vampire on dvd or the Coraline audiobook, and have a quiet night in.

Michael Antonio "Otani" heels

ANYWAYS! I still have a pair of fabulous shoes to share with you all. I chose my most spectacularly vampy pair of shoes, since every time I see them they remind me of vampires. And Rocky Horror Picture Show (according to some), and bondage hookers (according to others). Obviously they’re dress up shoes, and the only time I’ve worn them in public was for a vampire dress up night with my Victoria friends in the middle of the summer. Yes, we’re random like that.

Two other points of (potential) interest: (one) my couch is finally arriving from Ikea on Tuesday, which means that pictures of my adorable apartment will be posted soon, and (two) the entire month of November is going to be along the lines of costumey dress up, just because I feel like it!

Gothic

Obviously I’m featuring the typical Hallowe’en nail polish colour. Black is where it’s at, and it never goes out of style! It’s also the easiest polish to buy, since you can get a cheap dollar store version, and it’ll still look good! This one is called "Black Satin" by Rimmel London. 

my flash was doing weird things...

in the shade

Queen of the Damned

Last night was the new moon, so I hope you all did something Dark and Mysterious to get into the Hallowe’en spirit! I spent the evening listening to the Coraline audiobook, narrated by Neil Gaiman himself (it’s super adorable, but super creepy), and I made you guys this idea board of vampire-inspired fashion! Hope you like!

Marguerite Moreau (Jessie) from Queen of the Damned. Image from here. 

Pumps by Christian Louboutin. Image from here.

Vampire makeup by Sephora. Image from here.

True Blood title image from here.

Studded leather jacket by Burberry. Image from here.

Spiked cuff by Burberry. Image from here.

Layered chain necklace by Dannijo. Image from here.

Biker boots by Jeffrey Campbell (“Wishing” boot). Image from here.

Plaid dress by American Eagle. Image from here.

Lace gloves image from here.

Fur coatlet by Matthew Williamson. Image from here. 

Don't Even Get Me Started

Tis the Hallowe’en season, and what better theme for the week than my favourite spooky costume inspiration: VAMPIRES!

I love vampires, and I always have, but there’s one exception. I’m sure you all know exactly which sparkly douche-bag of a vampire I’m referring to. Seriously you don’t want to get me started on the many reasons why it’s filth and has spoiled the good name of vampire fiction, so I’m not even going to say a word. If you know me, then you’ve probably heard my rant anyways. If you really want to witness my death glare (which I accidentally did in class the other day when it was brought up as a comparison to Romeo and Juliet) then go right ahead, dare speak its name in my presence. But beware, it won’t be pretty, and you might lose a limb or two.

Instead I’m going to give you some suggestions of other vampire fiction, so that maybe you’ll go and read something worthwhile.

First off, read the original Dracula by Bram Stoker. It’s not my favourite vampire book (since I’m a big fan of vampires who aren’t complete jerks), but it’s something that you should experience to compare it to the rest of the books.

this picture might be my computer wallpaper >_>
image from here

Next, go and get your self any of the Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice. She is the best, and so are her vampires. Lestat is a babe, and totally messed up, and so are all of the other vampires in the books. They’re a bit dense (hellooo writing from the perspective of a 1700s-era vampire is going to be a bit of a disconnect), but highly enjoyable. I personally recommend Blood and Gold, since Marius is my favourite vampire ever. He’s from Ancient Rome, and he’s a scholar and a realist and an artist, so his story is pretty interesting. The Vampire Armand is also pretty good, since Armand is almost as screwed up as Lestat is.

image from here

If you want something a little “lighter” then go for some Christopher Moore. His vampire trilogy includes the books Bloodsucking Fiends, You Suck, and Bite Me is hilarious, and definitely has a more teen-aged bent. The reaction of people seeing you reading a book that’s called You Suck in public is worth it, even if you don’t particularly enjoy Moore comedic stylings.

image from here

One last suggestion before I sign off is the classic German novel Das Parfum (translated it’s called Perfume in English) by Patrick Süskind. It’s eerie, it’s creepy, and definitely horrifying. It may not be a “traditional” blood-sucking vampires book, but it’s one that I feel the list would be incomplete without!

Feel free to add your suggestions to the comments (seriously please do), since I’m all about encouraging people to read other vampire books than the drivel that shall not be named, and I can always use some more books on my reading list!

Art Attack! A Sunday Shoe Story

Let me tell you a story of my childhood. In kindergarten I went to a school where we didn’t really learn anything academic. Luckily for me, that left lots of time for my favourite activity: craft time! I liked doing every type of  craft, but I spent many days trying to complete a yarn covered bear. The craft was simple enough: take a piece of paper on which was already drawn a bear, and glue things onto the bear shape. Apparently my OCD was already active at this early age, because I always wanted to have a yarn covered bear, and every piece had to be perfect laid out. We couldn’t carry crafts over to subsequent days, so I would only ever get half done my perfect bear, and then have to start again the next day. Day after day I would make bears, all never to be completed. I don’t remember ever finishing a bear, and I assume I eventually gave up altogether and moved onto some other kind of craft. Was this the beginning of my trend of never finishing art projects? Possibly…

Case and point: my Converse Project Red “100 Paints” high-top Chuck Taylor All-Stars. Wow that’s a lengthy name for a pair of sneakers… Needless to say, I bought them on my birthday in April, and still can’t decide how I’m going to paint the numbers in. Someday I’ll figure it out, but I might just leave them plain just so I don’t have to make a decision.

RAWR I’M A TIGER!

The best thing about going to Dalhousie (besides the awesome programs) is that our mascot is my favourite animal ever! TIGERS! I wish they were white tigers, but regular tigers are still super cute and I just wanna cuddle them! Except that they would probably eat me >_>

I was just going to feature my Icing neon orange polish, but then I decided that I should see if putting OPI Black Shatter overtop would make a tiger stripey manicure. It sure did! I would have liked if the shatter had come out a little thicker on my swatching hand, but it turned out pretty good considering it was my first time doing a full shatter manicure!

School’s not out for Summer (and I’m Totally okay with That!)

My rant on Tuesday was a bit off the cuff (that’s what happens when I’m angry and can’t sleep), but since I do have a proper theme to define the week’s posts, I figured that I should include the rant that I had meant to post before my anger took over. I’m pretty sure you can guess from the title what this week is going to be all about J

Everyone knows that I love school, and learning things has always been a big part of my life. But like everything else, there are many many things I can complain about. The early hours, the boring lectures, and the overwhelming amount of papers are all things that I complain about on a regular basis, but my favourite school themed whine involves my hatred of presentations.

The worst things about having to do presentations are the nerves. Not sleeping properly the night before (yawn), sweating (yuck), stuttering (embarrassing), the mind-blanking (even more embarrassing), and the resulting adrenaline high (woo spiking hormones) are all nervous stages I got through every single time I have to present. This nervousness has gotten worse over the years; I used to be able to get up on stage a dance an Irish jig (thanks to my mum’s obsession with Riverdance), but the mere thought of doing a class presentation makes me physically ill.

Besides my physical and emotional reaction to presenting, I feel that they’re not really a good way of learning. The presenters may get a deep understanding of their topic, but I find that the audience doesn’t always absorb the same amount of information. Presenters don’t always give the most unbiased opinions either, so the information imparted is most likely going to have some holes in it. Did I mention that it’s also the teacher’s job  to TEACH? They’re the ones with the big salaries, so why does it fall to the students to teach instead? I realize that profs are just trying to get the students to connect with the material, but I honestly think that presentations are just a way for profs to sit back and not do their jobs.

Okay, done ranting now. Thank the gods I only have one more mini-presentation left this semester. Blargh.

Yes I borrowed the cartoons from various sites.
No, I do not remember which ones.
The artwork is all from Tokidoki!

Since it’s back to school time (yes I know I’m a month late, but I’ve been busy!), I figured what better outfit to feature than a clichéd schoolgirl. I admit that the 3 years of elementary school that I attended at a private Catholic school were less than fun (I was going through a tomboy phase and refused to wear a skirt or dress), I actually rather enjoy the look now. Maybe it’s all those years of watching Japanese anime in high school and seeing all of the school uniforms there, or maybe it has something to do with Harry Potter and house ties, but either way it’s something I pull out of my closet every once and a while.

I should warn you though, do not wear an outfit like this for a presentation. You’ll get laughed off stage, and that won’t help your anxiety! Clichéd outfits are for the weekend or dress up time people!

Tie by Yves Saint Laurent, shirt by Harajuku Lovers, pleated skirt by Steetwear Society. 

This Time, It's Personal

Now that an entire continent separates me from everything that I used to know, it has become really clear to me who really matters to me in my life. Those who have been by my side in the past aren’t going anywhere (no matter how hard I try to get rid of them haha), and those who were just a passing distraction are as well as gone.

I’ve given up trying to cope with the comments behind my back (but oh so obvious when posted on Facebook), the lack of support, and the lack of respect.

It’s time for a Facebook friend cleanse, so speak now or forever hold your peace.

A/N: I had an entirely other rant prepped for today, but I felt that something needed to be said about this issue instead. 

Studio: a Sunday Shoe Story

hardwood floors aren’t always meant for pirouettes.

one slip to fall

on twisted ankle.

pearls borrowed from an old Lady

never returned

but memories kept.

reflected light hides a view

of the past

of a future.

"Plus" ballet flats by Steve Madden in bone.
vintage pearls.
stockings by Ardene's.

Illusions d'Ombre

Chanel’s new makeup line for Fall, entitled Illusions d’Ombre, was so eerily similar to the effect of a nail polish that I had, I just had to feature it! The matte finish for Icing “Smoke Screen” is a metallic matte polish that has surprising depth for a non-jelly/holographic polish. When viewed from different angles it picks up different light tones and reflects different colours back, which is what I feel the effect of Chanel’s makeup is supposed to be. The key theme is multi-dimensional metallic that creates a shadow depending on reflected light, which creates an intense effect.

it has an almost grainy texture, which is strange for a matte polish,
but adds to the light reflections

Depending on how you dress this polish it can be a demure way of wearing a normally frowned upon nail colour to the office (just a hint of glitter), a reflection of the urban landscape (cityslicker all the way girls), or it can be a way to add a little intensity to a demure outfit (babydoll dress and combat boots anyone?).

it reflects light to become almost white at some angles!

It’s a bit tricky on the application (takes 3-5 coats to get a decent opaque quality, and takes forever to dry), but once on it lasts quite a white. I had to swatch this polish a second time, since I wasn’t happy with the translucent quality, and immediately smudged my thumb nail after taking photos when I tried to tie my shoes… Wasn’t too pleased about that, but the colour is so gorgeous that it shouldn’t be passed up just because it’s a bit of a drama queen; just make sure you have patience and let it dry for a nice long while!

you can see how glittery and reflective it is in this shot!

PS: don't forget to vote in the poll! It's random, and I won't tell you what it's for, so just VOTE! (it's on the top right corner for those of you who aren't paying attention :p)
PPS: My nails are getting SO LONG YAY! Pretty soon I'll be able to make them all square, since they aren't being as cranky/breaky anymore!

Window Gazing: it’s a Tweedy Time of Year

photo from here

It’s that season again. It rains all the time, there’s a chill in the air, and winter coats are the deciding factor in our daily wardrobe choices. I for one, am happy for this change, because it gives me an excuse to pull out all of my adorable coats and throw on those adorable tweeds that channel Chanel. Taking a creative hint from one of my favourite Chanel ads Aina and I decided to recreate the look in our own ways.

Aina’s look is all about the lady-like suits that Madame Coco made fabulous. A man in a suit is handsome, but a woman in a suit is simply stunning.

My look is inspired by Chanel’s fabulous tweed. I mixed a herringbone tweed vintage jacket with poufed sleeves with a squared tweed mini-skirt from Suzy Shier to contrast textures before finishing the look with diamond-patterned stockings, multi-strand pearls, a satin headband, and simple ballet flats. Tweed isn’t just for the matriarch of the family anymore girls, I’m taking it back for the younger generation!

Border Tariffs

image courtesy of here

This week, I’m ushering in a week dedicated to one of my favourite design houses, Chanel, but of course we must begin with a complaint. This isn’t a huge complaint (for once), it’s just more of a pet peeve.

In Canada, having issues with getting things across the border, or having to pay ridiculous fees to do so, is something that is a norm for web orders. But wouldn’t you think that if we had the stores in Canada, and they sold the products there we would be able to ship the same products if we ordered them online? Apparently not, even when it comes to huge beauty retailers like my case and point: Sephora. Don’t get me wrong, I do love Sephora since they’ve made make-up shopping simple with their “carry everything” style, but their random shipping policy is kind of frustrating. Not only do we have to have an order of $120+ to qualify for free shipping, but there’s also a list of products that they won’t ship to Canada, Chanel products included! They don’t even sell that many products from Chanel, but for some reason they won’t let us Canadians partake in Chanel’s fabulousness! Not pleased!

Of course there are other options. The Bay carries most of the products, and Sears is a good stop for some more, and if you live in a big enough city you could even have a proper Chanel store! But seriously, Sephora should let us partake in ordering Chanel online like everyone else. It’s just not fair!

Okay, I’m done whining now, so on to the rest of the week of all things Chanel-esque!

Puddle-Jumping (warning: adorable baby photos)

Mud Baby! circa May 1990

I may not have been much help building
the wall, but I sure was cute!

When I was a kid there was never a rule that I wasn’t allowed to jump in puddles; instead there was a rule that I wasn’t allowed in the house covered in mud and yuck. It’s probably a good thing that we had a big outdoor deck to clean off on.

Me and Dad

These days I’m not one to splash around in puddles (the wardrobe would not be pleased), but I still get tempted to sometimes, and thankfully I have the footwear to do it if I actually wanted to!

black giraffe print rainboots by Capelli New York

Frostbitten Fingertips

Just because it feels like our fingertips are freezing off when we go outside doesn't mean we can't play around with the idea. It's been noted that blue polish is one of the hot nail trends for Fall, and that doesn't really surprise me. Blues can be subdued in their navy shades that echo old school uniforms, they can sparkle like the frost that will soon be covering our lawns in the morning, or they can be that pop of surprisingly vivid colour, just like that moment of surprise when stepping out the door into the frozen air.

China Glaze's ultimate blue polish "Frostbite" reflects the best of the blue polish spectrum; it's super bright (almost ridiculously so), it's the perfect shade of blue, and it has just a hint of glitter to remind you of why its named after frozen water. It's going to be my most worn colour for Fall, not only because it goes with everything, but also because it subtly matches some of the more outlandish things I plan to add to my wardrobe (blue snakeskin wedges anyone???).

Wearwise, "Frostbite" is pretty easy to manage. I did 2 coats for the pictures shown, no top coat, and it lasrted quite a few days before getting too chipped to be worn in public. With a topcoat I'm sure it would have been even more intense, but I felt that it didn't really need it.

Wintertime Blues

Tuesday’s complaints are leeching into the rest of my week. The rain refuses to end, and when it does it starts to blow, and we all know that my hair hates the wind as much as it hates the rain. Well, maybe slightly less. Okay enough complaining!

The one benefit to wintertime is that we get to bring out our adorable winter coats. No, I don’t mean those ginormous puffy ones that make us look like snowmen (it’s just Canada people, not the Arctic circle). I mean the cute, fitted, bundle-up-warm felt/wool/whatever outerwear that are sooooo cute. I bought 3 winter coats over the summer (ridiculous I know), but technically I already shared them with you all in the Haul Post after that shopping trip. Needless to say, I’m super stoked to finally get to wear them all!

A Farewell to Short Shorts

As much as I’m super happy about not having to suffer through anymore sweltering heat, the one thing that I’m going to miss about summer is short shorts. I spent most of my summer working, so I had to be “work appropriate” and therefore wasn’t allowed to wear actual shorts. It would have caused a riot, so I guess that makes sense. But now that it’s well into fall (seriously when did that happen) it’s not short shorts weather anymore! Hopefully this dreary rain will let up later this week so I can bring my short shorts out for one more go before they’re officially put away for the winter. If the weather doesn’t let up then I guess I’ll just head on over to Starbucks for my winter favourite drink, mint white chocolate mocha, and curl up with a wonderful book on my new couch (which should be here at some point today!!!)

Things to do when winter starts to get you down:

-       Indulge in a warm chocolaty drink. Remember, Christmas is coming!

-       Spend an extra hour in bed. We’re allowed to hibernate, after all.

-       Go costume shopping at your favourite thrift store. I know that nothing gets me more excited about fall than the prospect of costuming and candy!

-       Don’t skirt those puddles; JUMP IN THEM! (Remember to wear puddle-jumping appropriate clothes…)

-       Just because the sky is grey don’t feel like your wardrobe has to reflect that: there’s a reason why winter sweaters and scarves are made in super bright colours.

-       Take out a book from your public library. It’s free, and you’ll feel like you’ve learned something by the time you finish the last page.

-       Do something creative if you’re stuck inside: I’m currently making a photo montage, so I get to reminisce about all the good times in the sun J

In other news: it’s time to make some changes on my blog again, once again for the better! I’ve made the decision to do away with wishlist Wednesday and review Fridays because I’m just not feeling them. For a while it was fun, but I feel like they’re both a bit contrived, and that they’re just there to fill in holes in the week. Obviously I’m going to keep wishing for things out of my reach, and giving my opinions on products that I like or dislike, but it will no longer have a designated day of the week. So the new schedule is going to go like this: Tuesday rants (like that’s EVER going to change), Trend Thursdays for fashion, Sparkly Saturdays for nail polish, and of course Sunday Shoe Stories. I feel like these posts are my favourite to write every week, and are also the ones that get the most feedback from my readers, so they’re not going anywhere J

Birthday Shoes: A Sunday Shoe Story

Aldo Markleys

Technically, I bought these shoes for my birthday back in April, but I haven’t worn them up until now (sacriledge I know). I figured that since it's my one year blog-iversary, I have a good enough excuse to wear them and post about them J

Happy Blog-iversary to Me!

I can’t believe that I’ve been writing this blog for an entire year. And that I’m still writing it! Normally I start something epic, and eventually I get too busy and get distracted, and then just stop all together. But this blog has stuck it out, and I’m still really into writing it! I admit, there have been some crappier posts, and sometimes entire weeks where I’ve left off and not written at all, but I’ve always come back to it.

Normally people do a giveaway for their blog-iversaries, but I’m not going to this time around. The giveaway that I did for my 6-month wasn’t overly successful in the scheme of things, so I don’t want to waste my time doing a giveaway that gets very little response from my readers. Also, having just moved across the country, I’m kind of not into spending money on people other than me. Being short of funds, I have to budget (and by budget I mean buy things on sale haha), and it doesn’t leave me much room for buying random things for random people. Plus, blog giveaways are notorious as being just a means for getting more followers, and honestly I think that’s kind of lame. I’m not buying readers guys, you have to want to read my blog. Don’t worry, I’ll probably do another one for my year-and-a-half anniversary, since I can combine it with my birthday yay! I do have some stuff that I could pass on to my loving readers, but it’s mostly girl stuff, and that wouldn’t be fair to the handful of guys who read my blog (*cough* Dan and Lolland and Stu).

To celebrate my blog, I ask that you all have a day of dressing awesome (sky high heels ladies and fantastic hats for the guys!) and have an awesome weekend! I know I will, since I made cupcakes to celebrate for my blog J This is how exciting my life is at the moment :p

In other news: I have some pretty exciting things planned for the blog in the future. I’m on my own for photo shoots since Aina and Liz couldn’t fit into my luggage, but I refuse to give up taking photos of my awesome outfits, so I am hunting for a good tripod! Obviously a tripod won’t replace my fabulous cohorts, but it’s what I have to work with, so it’ll have to do! Or maybe I’ll co-opt some of my new Halifax people to help, if they don’t think I’m completely mad >_> Volunteers? Plz? I'll share my cupcakes I swear!