Tea Party at Himemiya's House!

Last weekend Himemiya hosted a late Valentine's tea party at her house. We had to postpone the original party because of all of the snow we've been getting! (I am so sick of snow at this point. I can't wait for spring!)

It wasn't a strictly Lolita tea party, it was just a fun fancy party with cute outfits. I wore a super casual Lolita outfit, emphasis on the casual (I didn't even wear a petti, gasp!). I was lacking a few items because my Fan + Friend order hadn't arrived yet. I'm going to be wearing almost the same coordinate to the Alice in Wonderland movie, but slightly less casual. (Still casual though, Because I'm wearing a tee instead of a blouse). So here are pics!

 Himemiya had such a lovely spread! She decorated beautifully. We had super yummy food, cupcakes, cookies, chocolates, cucumber sandwiches (which I made, my cucumber sandwich tutorial is coming soon!), lots of tea, sparkling lemonade and strawberry lemonade, and a bit of wine. Everything was super tasty!

 

  

  

Mmm, cupcakes!

Here I am, drinking some really tasty tea! We had Earl Grey milk tea, and this lovely flowering green tea. It comes in little bulbs and when you put them in the hot water, they bloom like flowers!

 

Here's the full outfit. It will be complete for the movie, with a petti and socks and all that. The rundown:

"Drink Me" tee: Hot Topic

Skirt: Handmade by me

Alice bow: Handmade by me

Shoes: Bodyline

Bag (not pictured): Bodyline

Cardigan (also not pictured): offbrand

 

Nick and I, being cuddly. (Nick spent most of the time reading comics and napping on the couch. He's not really the tea party type of guy, lol.)

 

Himemiya looking adorable! I am jealous of her pearls!

 

Bec! I love her little hat, she looks very aristocratic.

 

Monica! I love this photo, she looks so classy and glamorous!

 

Aren't they so sweet!

We had such a fun time!  I left with a bit of a tummy ache though, from all the cupcakes and cookies! We're planning a garden party for spring next!

I also wanted to add that this was my first time going out in public in Lolita (or Lolita-esque clothes). (Except for one terrible outfit I wore to school years ago, with a poofy white hippy dress that was Lolita-ish and a black apron, it really looked costumey. ) I had to go to Walmart to pick up a few things, and I must say that I really had a positive experience. I was having a good day already, which helped, but I felt very confident, I had a spring in my step and I was smiling at everyone. One man told me that he liked my outfit. I had to ask one of the workers where the tea was because I couldn't find it, he was an older gentleman, and he smiled and said "You need a spot of tea milady?" He was very nice. I am glad that I had such a positive experience. I got looks, of course, but it seemed like it made people smile, not shoo their children away from me. It was very fun!

-Mariko

Product Review: Hard Candy Concealer

So, I've decided to write my first product review! I decided to review Hard Candy's "Nobody's Perfect" Concealer palate.

Nobody's Perfect Concealer Palate:

I love love love this concealer! It is cream concealer, and it comes with a concealer brush. I would recommend getting a better concealer brush, the one that comes with it isn't very good. It's usable if you don't have a better one though.
There are six different tints, and I use four of them. I use the palate with the palest shades. It comes with three different shades of skin tone colored concealer, depending on how dark or pale you are. The palate I have has a really pale one (the one I use), a medium-pale, and a more medium shade. You want to use a concealer that is a couple of shades lighter than your skin. I use the skin tone shades for under eye circles and blemishes. There are three other tints. The green one is for places where you have a lot of redness. I put it on the corners of my nostrils and the tip of my nose, I have redness there. Don't be freaked out by the green color, when you apply it and blend it in, it doesn't look green, it just neutralizes the redness in your skin. The really pale one, located under the green, is the highlighter. I use it under and in the inner corners of my eyes after applying the skin tone colored one, it really brightens up your eyes. I also put it on my brow bone, just under my eyebrows. The last one is the pinkish tint. It is used in areas you want to brighten up a bit, to give them a bit of a glow. I put it on my chin, you can also put it on the bridge of your nose, but I don't because I have too much redness there.
This is a really great product, I love the creaminess and the shades are really good. Knowing how to apply concealer properly can really make a difference to the way your makeup looks. Michelle Phan has a great tutorial about liquid, stick, and cream concealers, I would recommend watching it, especially if you plan on using more than just the basic skin tone concealer.

I would really recommend this product, it really helps cover under eye circles and blemishes, and just generally helps to brighten the complexion.
I hope my review has been helpful!

Mini-post: Fan+Friend Petticoat

I just ordered this petticoat from Fanplusfriend. It's the short steel prop pannier in white (it comes in black as well). They do custom sizes, but because the largest size is for a 82-113cm waist, I just ordered a ready made one. This is my first real petticoat. I have an enormous one that I found at a boutique downtown, and it is awesome, but it is to big to fit under even the poofiest of skirts. It also sits around the hips, not the natural waist, and it is a little long. As a plus sized, petite woman, I have come to love clothing that fits around the naural waist. Also, skirts that come below the knee just don't look as good as ones that come slightly above it, because it makes you look shorter. This petti is 45cm long, which is perfect for a just above the knee length skirt or dress.
Anyway, I will post a review of it when it arrives. I hope it gets here soon, I want to wear it with my Alice themed outfit I have been working on to wear to the new Alice in Wonderland movie!

These Costumes Are Totally Wicked.

I went to see Wicked with Nick last weekend, and it was wonderful! We saw the touring show (off-broadway). The actress who played Elphaba (the Wicked Witch) had joined the tour straight from playing her on Broadway, which is really cool. It is the best performance I have ever seen. The acting and singing was amazing, the story was beautiful, and the costumes...oh, the costumes.

I just had to share the awesome. The costumes were so amazing. Many of them were historically inspired. I noticed a lot of bustle skirts and Victorian style boots. Here are some general pictures:

This is a pic of Glinda and Elphaba in the Emerald City. You can't really see the ensemble members, but their costumes are amazing!







 

Here is another pic of the ensemble.

And another. They had really cool, really unique costumes. 

Madame Morrible, the headmistress of the school that they go to, had some really crazy looking outfits:

 

I love this one, I love the huge bustle and the enormous bell sleeves.

Here is another one of her in all of her fabulous glory. Her costumes had huge boas or collars with huge sleeves, and huge bustles. They were very Victorian inspired.

The best costumes belonged to Glina. Her costumes were amazing, I loved them:

This is her classic gown. I love it. I'm sure that every girl who has ever dreamed of being a fairy princess would love this!

This is the outfit she wears when she does the number "Popular". I am in love with its adorable pink frilly-ness.

This one is very interesting. I usually don't like asymmetry, but somehow it worked on this dress. One side is long sleeved, the other is sleeveless. This is another very Victorian style dress. You can't really see it, but it has a bit of a bustle in the back, and the way the bodice sits on the skirt is very Victorian style.

The next one is my absolute favorite. It is the outfit Glinda wears on the first day of school.It is so adorable. I would wear it in real life, just as regular clothing. It is also very Lolita-ish. You could model a Lolita outfit off of this without having to change very much.

It's not Lolita as it is, but it would be easy to make a Lolita outfit inspired by this. You could wear some different shoes, a poofier petti, and add some cute accessories. Maybe wear knee socks instead of tights.

Costumes are not only fun, but they are great to take inspiration from. I'm considering making a Lolita coordinate based on Glinda's school outfit. There are so many other plays and movies that you could model a Lolita outfit after. For example, why not try a Lolita coordinate based on Phantom of the Opera, Moulin Rouge, or Gone with the Wind?

-Mariko

Just a Quick Hello.

Hello everyone! I am watching the superbowl at my boyfriend, Nick's house right now, so this is just going to be a quick post. I just wanted to tell my readers thank you for your interest. I'm trying to get this blog going, and I really want to make the most out of it, and I'm glad to have people interested from the start. I read all of your blogs, and really like to know what you have to say. So please comment, send me a message, or answer poll questions so that I know what you would like to read mroe about! Thanks so much!

I went to see Wicked with Nick last night, and it was wonderful! I have never seen such an amazing show before! The costumes were fantastic, in every meaning of the word. I am planning a bigger post in the next  few days about the costumes.

So thank you my little macarons, and I'll have more for you soon!

Away with the Fairy Lolitas...

So, thanks to Miss Caro-chan at F*** Yeah Lolita, I am now addicted to Polyvore. I just finished making my first virtual coordinate, a Fairy inspired Lolita ensemble. I think that this outfit fits very much into the Quaintrelle style. I adore the Quaintrelle style and lifestyle. So many different styles can fit into the Quaintrelle aesthetic,like Lolita, historical fashion, mori, fairy-kei, hime gyaru, etc. I am really into all of those styles, although Lolita is my favorite. Vivcore of Candy Violet is all about Quaintrelle style, I would recommend checking out her site. She sells some very pretty things. I love her skirts, and she has some great t-shirts and casual loli pieces. I've never ordered from Candy Violet, but I have heard good things.

Fairy Inspired Lolita by Mariko

Jsk: Fan + Friend
Blouse: Milanoo
Pannier: Innocent World
Bloomers: Fan + Friend
Necklace: Tarina Tarantino
Rings: offbrand
Headband: Forever 21
Shoes: Office Shoes
Tights: offbrand
Bag: Prada

I chose lilac, peach, and white. I thought that this outfit was very airy and light. It would be great for spring. I chose the lilac jsk first, and built the coordinate from that. I thought that peachy-pink would make a great accent color, to keep that light feeling. I would love to wear this outfit for a walk in the park, or to sit by a creek near the woods, with a good book and a parasol to keep the sun away. Ah, that sounds lovely...


-Mariko

Craft Post: Silhouettes

Yesterday, Himemiya and I made Victorian Silhouettes using Victora Suzanne's tutorial at Lolita Charm . It was really fun and easy.

Here's how mine turned out. I couldn't really get a good picture of it, but this is the best one. I used a little pink rosette for a hair bow, and some tiny pearl stickers as a necklace.

Himemiya and I found matching pink frames at Goodwill for two dollars each. I like that we both chose a different style, with our paper and decoratins. I went for a classical, old-fashioned look, while she chose a fun decora style. Aren't they pretty?
You can check out her silhouette post here.

We watched part of Kamikaze Girls before she left, which I hadn't seen in so long! It was really fun. It was so interesting to see Momoko's sweet/classic style, back in the day when there weren't so many prints and head-eating Alice bows. I wonder how she would feel about the bright, sugar sweet lolita styles of contemporary times?

-Mariko

Mmm...Gothic.

I was browsing the articles on Morbid Outlook, a site with tons of articles about Western Goth. They also have some good articles that are relevant to Lolitas, especially Gothic Lolitas. Anyway, I found a site for a Canadian clothing company called Gloomth. They cater mostly to Western Goth, but they also carry some EGL stuff. Some of the dresses and skirts especially would make a good addition to the wardrobe of a Gothic or Classic Lolita, or an Aristocrat.
I've never ordered from them, so I can't attest to the quality of their garmemts, but they look good. Some of the stuff is a bit "ita"-ish (again, I really hate that word, but I don't know how else to put it), but a lot of it is cute. Below are some pics:

Dresses:

 

Autumn Sun Dress (top), Comely Belle Dress (bottom).

 Kuro Lilly Dress (top), Shiro Lilly Dress (bottom)

Skirt:

 

Sapphire Skirt

Blouse:

 Itoishii White Blouse

Pannier:

  

Rings Around Petticoat

They have much more stuff than this, this is just a sampling. Has anyone ever ordered from them before? I am interested to know the quality of their stuff.

-Mariko

Pretty New Shoes!!!

My Bodyline order came in today, which is very exciting for me, because I've never ordered anything "brand" before. I am sure there are different opinions about whether or not Bodyline counts as brand, but that's not the point. I got some really cute things, and I'm super excited, so I want to share pics.

I didn't take a pic of the cardigan, because it's really small and doesn't fit me, and I don't want to take it back out of the packaging. I've been loosing weight, and I might be able to wear it in a bit, so I'll post it later.

Here are the shoes, my favorite part of the order!

 

They are so adorable, I love them! I tried to get a pic of the bows in the back, but all the pics were blurry, so I just picked the best one. They are actually really comfortable, the platform and the heel are about the same height, so they don't kill your feet like some heels do. They look white in the photos but they are off-white. Bodyline has a sizing chart on their site, so that you can find what japanese size you wear, and it turned out very accurate. I wear a 25.5, which is the same as a US 8-8 1/2.

 

Here's the tote bag. I like the print, even though I'm not much of a sweets print kind of girl. It's cute, and the blue matches a skirt I'm making. I put a close up of the print, although you can't see it well. It has pink, blue, brown, mint, white, and pale yellow, so it can be incorporated in with many pieces.

This is the same headband I'm wearing in the Hime hair post. It's baby pink, with bows, lace, and little pearl beads. Some of the pearls had fallen off when I opened it, they were just held on with hot glue, and I can either glue them back on, or sew them on, so it's all good.

 

This is a little shoulder bag I got for my friend Himemiya. I haven't opened it yet, I'm going to let her do that when I see her next.

Check out my Hime hair post, and I'll be back later with more fun stuff!

-Mariko

Mariko Does Hime Hair

I love the princess aesthetic. I've never done Hime style before, and as I sat watching Heroes, but otherwise bored, I thought it would be fun to try a Hime hairstyle. I love Hime Lolita and Hime Gyaru, and I was inspired. I don't have a tutorial for this, because I just used a Bumpit (I know, it's cheating, lol), but Violet Le Beaux has some great hime hair tutorials.

All in all, I think it turned out well, even though I don't have bangs, which is the traditional hime style. I can't wear them, my hair is so curly, that if I gave myself bangs, I would end up with those poofy mall bangs that were popular in the 80s. Yuck.

So without further ado, here is how it turned out:

  

This was a good opportunity for me to try out my new Bodyline headband. It's pretty cute, but when I got it, some of the little pearl beads had fallen off. It's an easy fix, but still annoying. 

Here's a closeup. (You can see the Little Mermaid sticker on my camera, lol.)

One more shot with the headband, I like this pic. 

  

Since it's Hime style, I had to try a couple of shots with my tiara. I never get to wear the thing, and it is perfect with Hime style.

A closeup shot with the tiara.

Headband: Bodyline

Tiara: bought at a Renaissance Fair

All in all, I think it turned out great. I would recommend the Bumpit if you don't want to spend all that time teasing your hair. Teasing it is rough on your hair too, so I like using the Bumpit. They have different sizes, I'm modeling the biggest one, so if you want to do hime hair without such a large poof, you could try using one of the smaller ones. 

This style works with or without bangs, and it's good for curly or straight hair. I have super curly hair (it's still not at it's maximum curl in the pics, because it's slightly damp) and so my hairstyle options are more limited than straight haired girl's options.

I am thinking of doing some hairstyle modeling and tutorials for curly hair, would anyone be interested in that?

-Mariko