Been bashing those needles....

I have been away from blogland for such along time, and this is what I have been up to.

Knitting. Been on a bit of a knitting obsession for a while now, here are my finished projects.

Snoods and a scarf. These were Christmas and bithday pressents.

Today I have finished sewing up a cardigan but have not taken pictures just yet.

All this has given me the want to buy a knitting machine, so that I can do lots of the lovely fine knitting as I am rather useless with the fine ply wool. My tension is way too loose and my hands are not very good with the smaller needles. If its chunky wool and large needles I am fine.
Has anyone ever had experience of such machines, please do tell and share.

Sew Vala x

Beautiful Images Free for Download

Korean TV to the Rescue! Butterfly Hair Bow Tutorial

So I don’t know about you, but I suck at doing hair. I’ve always wanted to try a hair bow, but all the tutorials I watched seemed to require a lot of skill—not to mention patience, hair, and bobby pins—that I just did not have, so I gave up.

But I was watching Korean TV the other day and I stumbled across this super cute and SIMPLE hairstyle that I had to share! They called it “Butterfly Hair”. It’s a much more petite and subtle version of a hair bow, and I’d imagine it would look super adorable with the ulzzang look!

Best of all, you don’t need a single bobby pin! Just one single hair tie! Check it out:

Oh hey, did you notice my little nose drip? 

How unladylike of me, teehee. It's Oppa's fault for getting me sick (again)!

Anyways, continuing on...I've split up each step into several sub-steps; but really, once you get the hang of it, it’s just 3 simple motions:

(Please excuse my unattractive roots. I'm procrastinating.)

There, that wasn't too bad right? With some final touches and a bit of hairspray, this was my result!

Now a few words of precaution (i.e., learn from my mistakes): Again, try to use an inconspicuous hair tie. Also, I wouldn’t recommend this hairstyle if you have dark roots like me. Why? Because from the back, the contrast between brassy split ends, dark roots, and an obvious hair tie isn’t exactly kawaii:

Other than that though, I think it's super cute, easy, and convenient! It doesn't require a lot of hair, a lot of bobby pins, or a lot of skill. If I can do it so can you!

Sangyu for reading! I hope you enjoyed this unique approach to hair bows as much as I did. If you do try it, or have any questions, let me know~ ^^

Is Being Pretty Everything?

"Men are all the same these days; they only like pretty faces. Other parts of me are prettier, but they're not parts that can be seen."


Whether it was from the media, from family, or from some dumb guy, we have all at some point, and in some way, bore the brunt of society's pressure on women (and men!). People care too much about appearance and too little about the rest; it makes me sad (and pessimistic).

But you know how great it is when song lyrics take the words out of your mouth? (Hint: that's when people start posting them as Facebook statuses!) Personally, I have a soft spot for songs that challenge societal expectations, and the one I'm about to share truly hits the spot! It's got such great lyrics and a really cute melody. Not to mention, I'm really digging the style concept of the MV! That red scarf makes me think of Little Red Riding Hood. Oh, and that mime in the puffy-sleeve shirt, he is yummy yummy~   Also, if I may be so bold, she reminds me of a Korean version of Kyary...Look hard at her pointy nose, there's a resemblance I swear!

*Ahem* So without further ado, I hereby present to you my latest music addiction: "Is Being Beautiful Everything?" by The Fat Cats. Enjoy!

Lyrics:
Oh oh oh ohohoh 
Oh oh oh I'm beautiful You're beautiful

Men are all the same these days
They only like pretty faces
Why is every single guy like that?
Other parts of me are prettier
But they're not parts that can be seen
And everyone says that I am ugly
I want to be in love now
I want to be obviously in love

I want an honest person
Is being pretty everything? Do you only look at the outer image?
Please stop now and look at my heart (look look look)
Am I good-for-nothing? Am I that unworthy?
That's so not cool, look at my heart (look look look)

Oh oh oh ohohoh 
Oh oh oh I'm beautiful You're beautiful

Do pretty faces feed you?
They become the same after a month
Why, why are guys like this?
"It's always the ugly ones who complain more"
Jerks who say that, please piss off
The outside and inside aren't always the same
I want to be in love now
I want to be obviously in love

I want a person who will only care for me
Is being pretty everything? Do you only look at the outer image?
Please stop now and look at my heart (look look look)
Am I good-for-nothing? Am I that unworthy?
That's so not cool, look at my heart (look look look)

I am the Fat Cat - are you curious about me?
Do you even know about the scars you gave me with your toenails?
Look at my eyes, look at my crying heart
Look at my two eyes that are waiting for your love

Are you a hotshot? Are you that much of a hotshot?
That's so not cool, look at yourself (look look look)
Is being pretty everything? Do you only look at the outer image?
Please stop now and look at my heart (look look look)

Oh oh oh ohohoh 
Oh oh oh I'm beautiful You're beautiful

Oh and I tutored the cutest boy today. He was so bubbly and giddy, just sitting next to him made me feel like I was surrounded by rainbows, haha~ 

Toodles! 


P.S. Tell me you agree about the Kyary thing!

Missha Crystal Shine Rouge Lipstick

To kick off my batch of Korean cosmetic reviews for 2012, I shall introduce to you my very first Missha lipstick! Fresh from the streets of Myeongdong, oh snap!

Quick facts:
Name: The Style Crystal Shine Rouge
Brand: 
Color: PK04
Tube Height: 3inches
Cost in Korea: 7,800KRW

Without further ado, I’ll let the pictures do the talking:

(applied with lip brush)

Color (on me): Rosy! The exact shade depends on the lighting and how much you apply. At it's sheerest, it appears as a light rose pink . Pile it on and you get a darker rose, much like the color of the stick. 

Pigment: Sheer to medium; buildable. (When I took the pictures I used a brush, so I had a difficult time building up. It's much easier using the stick directly.)

Is it moisturizing? Yes, it feels like a lip balm! See how my chapped lips turned plump/juicy after just one coat? No caking or settling in cracks here! Little flecks of skin (like mine on the right) will still be visible though.

Is it sparkly? Subtly so. If you look closely you’ll see little specks of glitter, but for the most part it’s just enough to make the lipstick not look matte. The tube itself is not that sparkly in real life either.  

Smells good? Indeed! It smells like berry-flavored hard candy, reminiscent of this:

Yummmaaayyyy~

Personally, I really like this lipstick! It's a soft/tame shade of coral/red, and the sheerness gives you versatility among several shades. I would almost treat it as a very tinted lip balm. :) To end, here is my only selca for the day. I've got clear gloss over the lipstick but of course, the bright lighting washes out the colors quite a bit:

Compliments to beautiful Ageha model Rin for covering my failed clumpy mascara, haha! Hmmm, I wonder if this would be a convenient way to try out different makeup styles~ Feeling lazy? No problem, just C&P! 

Thanks for reading!

Okie friendsies, a question for you! Do you prefer sheer or matte lipsticks and why?

An apology from a bad Aunt.

This post is dedicated to all of us related to the Shaw Clan.

I had never realised how much of a bad Aunt I have been. I belong to a fantasic, hugh and ever expanding family.

And I have been very bad at keeping in touch with them. I missed so many births and birthdays of my neices and nephews, great nieces and great nephews.

I want you all to know how sorry I am for this.
I am not the kind of person who makes resolutions, but this year I want to rectify that and all the birthdays I have missed.

Shaw Clan I love you all xx

Airi Version 2.0, Coming Soon in 2012

My sister convinced me to write this, thinking that my resolutions would be an interesting read. (I hope so!) It's a bit lengthy, but if you read this post, you'll probably get a better look at the other sides of me! 

Here are my 5 resolutions for 2012: 

1. By summer, I want myself a bikini body!

Gosh, I really love to eat--or should I say, overeat? Single life kept this bad habit under control, but once Oppa and I discovered our mutual love for overeating, terrible habits ensued. I’m talking pizza every week baby! And forget midnight snacks, how bout a midnight feast?! Awww yeuuuhhhh!!
But alas, that ends now! This year I shall eat healthier and end this wretched lifelong diet!  I've even devised myself a Rewards Program, heehee~ Laugh all you want, but it’s quite fun actually! See, since I've already lost a bit of weight, I rewarded myself with a more pretty-ish iPhone case:

It's still not super pretty, which is why this case is next up!

2. If I can build molecules, why can't I build confidence?

It may be hard to tell from my blog, but I have very little confidence. I only post (non-silly) pictures of myself because that seems to be what everyone likes: blogs with tons of “camwhore” shots. 

Until recently, low confidence was simply a matter of modesty to me. But lately it's begun to affect my performance and well-being. When I'm at work, I present myself as less competent than I actually am. Outside, I hardly wear gyaru makeup or dress-up. And when I'm at home, I try not to look at my reflection in the mirror.

  

But if low confidence is merely a matter of how I perceive myself, I can change that can't I? Worse comes to worse, I'll just have to buy a tape of pre-recorded compliments and listen to them every morning and night!!  

3. Upgrade eye-make to Version 2.0.

Onto the funner resolutions: I want to upgrade my eye-makeup! But how do you know what you like if you don't dabble around? Precisely why this year I am going to mimic a bunch of different makeup styles, maybe even Korean-inspired ones!

4. Chichibanban needs some more Boom Boom Pow!

I’ve been dreaming up a few ideas for my blog, and I fully intend to implement most of them! This includes bringing more outfits into the spotlight! I also have a sizeable pile of products from Korea that I want to review. This is everything we brought back, including gifts and Oppa’s things. Can you spot the shoe padding and neon green laces?

Also, I’m thinking of switching to the new template so that I can install Disqus and respond to everyone’s comments. It might take awhile to transfer my layout, so until then my responses will be posted merely as additional comments. T.T Please bear with me!

5. Get Be Proactive.

To pretty much sum up all the other goals: I resolve to take control of my life! I am amid a midlife crisis right now, but by being proactive, perhaps I can pull myself up!

Thank you for reading, and Happy New Year to you!

Guess what I'm doing in this picture:

Singing along to Greeeen's song Sorashido of course! :D

To all my stylish/daring friends, I have a question for you! Do you dress gyaru/out-of the ordinary outside? How do you get over the disapproving stares and judgmental demeanor of everyday strangers?