Shoplog

Last week I went to the Kruidvat (a discount drugstore) because all make-up was 'buy one, get one free'! I didn't really need anything, but I couldn't resist buying nail-polish. These green colours are from Catrice. I have no doubt the dark green polish will please me, but the lighter green/grey is an experiment. A review will follow later!

Then I bought two pairs of silver coloured hair slides, with roses on them (30% discount with my customer card). I think they're going to look great in updos. 

I also got a free shampoo worth more than 5 euros, which I saved for with customer points. The brand is Syoss and this product does not contain any parabens, silicons or paraffines. Just what I'm looking for! 

Discount shopping with deals such as these is so much fun!

Sugarpill loose eyeshadows

A while back, I bought three loose eyeshadow pots from Sugarpill: the colours Asylum (warm orange/red), Junebug (dark green) and Hysteric (purple). As you can see in the swatches, the pigmentation of these eyeshadows is amazing! The colours are very vivid and strong. My favourite is Asylum, since it doesn't look like anything else I have and I love warm red colors.
My only point of concern are the ingredients. Often powder eyeshadows are mineral based and more natural than pressed eyeshadows, but in this case I can find no information about the topic at all. I don't know enough about chemical ingredients to just inform myself by the reading the list on the package, but I suspect Sugarpill is not a very natural band. For this reason I would not wear their make-up on a daily basis, but I still think the bright colours are amazing for a special occasion!

Left to right: Asylum, Junebug, Hysteric

Outfit post: cinema

On Friday the 13th I went to Amsterdam to see the The Cabin in the Woods with my friend Joyce (Beauty&Metal). I wanted to wear something comfortable that was also appropriate for an evening out. Also, I was eager to wear one of the items that I recently found at the thrift event. This is what I came up with:

 

  T-shirt: new shirt recently bought at threadless.com

    Skirt: gift from my boyfriend's mom (from thrift event)

 Cardigan: H&M

   Shoes: Dr.Martens

    Stockings: V&D

      Necklace: Claire's

Scarf: H&M winter discount

Jacket: Large Popmerchandizing

Studded leather bag: V&D

Natural hair products

I recently placed an order of various hair products and make-up at Yves Rocher. Both my mother and grandmother used to be big fans of this brand in the past, so it always feels a bit outdated and granny-ish to me. But when I heard that they have a line of products without parabens, my interest grew. When I also had the opportunity to buy a discount coupon, saving me a lot of money, I decided to go for it. My first impression is a very positive one! Although the packaging of the products is a bit cheap and sometimes even difficult to open, I have no complaints about what's inside.
For my hair, I bought the following items:
- Pureté Clean shampoo (for oily hair)
- Démêlage detangling styling water
- Nutrition hair mask oat (for dry hair)
- Nutrition repairing balm for dry ends
- Éclat radiance raspberry vinegar
So far, I've tried the shampoo, the detangling water and the balm for dry ends. My hair feels really soft and clean and the detangling water made it easy to comb. It left no greasy layer, which is really good news for my type of hair. The balm for dry ends also makes a considerable difference, since the ends now look shiny and healthy. If they are really better protected will become clear in time, I guess. The products do not seem to contain SLS either. As an effect, the shampoo doesn't foam as much as regular shampoos do, but this simply takes some getting used to.
I'm really curious to try the raspberry vinegar. I've never tried anything like it before! The stuff smells great and I wonder if it works well to get rid of build-up left by various hair products over time. A review will follow!

Outfit post: Easter 2012

This is what I wore for Easter: one of my flower dresses! It felt like the right thing to wear for spring, even though it was awfully cold outside. I intended to make the whole outfit a bit darker, but I needed to leave in a hurry when travelling to my family's home and didn't have time to bring much along.

Dress: King Louie
Cardigan: H&M
Necklace with lace-look: Claire's
Boots: Dr.Marten's

Outfit post: military & lace

The combination of a military style jacket and a lace tunic may sound strange, but I think this outfit worked out pretty well. It felt good, anyway. I've never worn the tunic before since it's see-through and I've had trouble making it look nice with  a black shirt underneath. Somehow it looked a bit too messy to me. This time however I decided to try a skin-colored shirt underneath and I think it is a big improvement! I'm also glad that I can finally wear this wonderful tunic.

Tunic: SPS (Superstar)

Military style jacket: H&M

Pants: H&M

Boots: Van Haren

Bracelet: Noosa Amsterdam

Old photoshoot

I like to regularly model for gothic and fantasy themed (amateur) photoshoots. Usually in Victorian style and in a  very atmospheric place. I love the dark romantic image that is created in the photographs and of course it's simply a lot of fun to do! Lately I haven't had much going on except for the shoot at the beach (see this post), but I have plenty of material to show from past photoshoots. Maybe I should make this a monthly theme-post on my blog!

These photographs are from 2010 and were shot at an old estate close to where I live:

Photograph: Inge Fienieg 

 Photograph: Inge Fienieg

                                                                                              Photograph: Inge Fienieg

 Photograph: Henk van Rijssen

  Photograph: Henk van Rijssen

Photograph: Henk van Rijssen

As you may have spotted, there were two different photographers that day! 

Object of desire

I am in love with this skirt from Large Popmerchandising (apologies for the blurry pictures!):

Front:

Back:

I wonder if I can make something like this myself. It looks quite complicated though....

Vive Maria summer collection

One of my favourite clothing brands is definately the German 'Vive Maria'. It's not very affordable for my budget , but the clothing is of superb quality. I have skirts and tops that are more than five years old and they still don't look worn! I also love the dark romantic aspect of many items of clothing from this brand. This is my pick of favourites from the 2012 summer collection:

Noosa bracelets

Last november I got a fabulous present from a good friend: a Noosa bracelet. It's a single or double leather bracelet onto which you can attach different 'chunks'. The chunks all have a specific symbolic meaning and are made of natural materials such as bone, pumpkin and stone. They are inspired by different areas in the world. Another attractive aspect about the chunks is that they come in different colors and therefore you can make the bracelet seem different every day and adapt the colors to the clothes you're wearing. One chunk costs between 7 and 19 euros, depending on the kind of material it's made of. The bracelets are 20 - 30 euros and also come in different colors. Besides bracelets, Noosa sells belts, sandals and scarfs, also meant to be decorated with chunks.
I particularly like the South American themed chunks, but this is a personal thing (I studied archaeology and specialized in this region). I also really like the European ones, for obvious reasons. The black and silver chunks are great for complementing a gothic outfit. You can adapt these bracelets to any style you like really.

My bracelet:

 My other chunks:

Noosa belt:

Noosa scarf:

Different bracelets:

Double bracelet:

Noosa sandals: