A most wonderful weekend

Last week I spent both physically and mentally spring cleaning. The weather was lovely I think that may have spured me on. Home wise was more moving furntiure and sorting, while mentally I was making lists for all sorts of things including a sewing schedual. Now anyone who knows me, knows this is most unlike me, but I have become so unproductive lately that I felt the need to.

As for the weekend I was very brave and drove myself and S.H down to Bournemouth for the only knitting machine show around this year.

I know many hold knitting machines in a low regard, but to me, does this not in turn make machine sewing a cheat compared to hand sewing.

Well we had a lovely day. After a browse around the stalls and meeting some lovely ladies, we went to the beach and had dinner overlooking the sea. And had a walk along a most windy, wave crashing shore. After travelling home the eveing was spent reviewing our purchases with beer and talk of our future, wedding and honeymoon talk. A most wonderful weekend.

Today I finally got round to some sewing (the first this year). I hope to share with you pictures of my third dress by the end of the week.

Sew Vala x  

Missha The Style Art Designing Cashmere Loose Powder

Oopsie, I guess I lied~~I seems like my next post will be a tag, since I finished ended up finishing this review first! 

So y'all know Missha. I usually associate Missha with their well-known skincare and BB Cream lines, but this time I thought I’d give their loose powder a try. Me likey!

Quick Facts:

[미샤] 미샤 더 스타일 아트 디자이닝 캐시미어 루스 파우더 (2호 내추럴베이지)

Brand: Missha

Name: The Style Art Designing Cashmere Loose Powder

Shade: No.2, Natural Beige
Size:: 20g, base diameter: 6cm
SPF: 15
Expiry: 24months

 Packaging:
 

It comes in a sturdy little tub with a light pink cap. It’s embossed with snowflakes and the words “art designing” are shiny and reflective. A soft and puffy powder puff is included:

Color (on me):

I think it’s a taaaaddd “warm” for my skin tone, but it’s really not noticeable unless I pile on MASSIVE amounts (in which case I look light golden brown). I'm guessing that with powders, the pigment is less obvious? I’m not saying it’s dark or anything; it’s just kind of…warm…like a yellowy-brown…Oh gosh, I don't know, I've been so muddled by the concept of "undertones" lately.  Just see for yourself!


Here's how it looks in indirect natural lighting:

(▲ Update 3/2/12: Forgot to add this picture!)

And here's how it looks in direct sunlight:

(▲ My hand is a bit pink here because I had just scratched it. Ferociously, I might add.)

(▲That's my furry forearm by the way!)

Texture/Finish:

 

The powder is soft and finely milled, with silica being the main ingredient. It gave me a very even, matte finish. After pressing in the powder, my skin not only felt very smooth (and slippery!), but it looked it too! (You must know what I mean when sometimes skin just looks rough/bumpy? Here it's the opposite!)

Coverage:

 

It didn't do much to my discolorations; and frankly, it looked terrible on my dry patches. That being said, it does really do well for wrinkles and pores (on non-dry areas)! I was able to completely cover the large pores on my upper cheek with a few pats:

It might be hard to tell, but it covered my fine lines really well; there was no awkward settling within the wrinkles. But after a few hours, it did end up creasing a bit on my deepest under-eye wrinkle, which is indeed quite deep. On the other hand, my laugh lines were covered and creaseless throughout the entire day!

Lasting Power:

 

I have a slight T-zone and with the powder, my nose and forehead greased a lot less than usual. Meanwhile, my cheeks were still matte even after 8 hours! (Although it did wear off slightly.)

Breakouts?

Nope! But then again, I don't have sensitive skin.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Whew, well that's it for Missha's Cashmere powder! I've never felt cashmere (without knowing at least), but it seems like the name is quite appropriate!

For now, I think I'm going to take a breather and slow down on the reviews for now. Yet with my fickleness, who knows?  Alrighty, thanks for reading~

What do you look for in a face powder? Do you prefer to dust it on or press it in? 

Second post of the day.

Ok I wanted to separate the two subjects today mainly to put myself into somekind of an organazational mood.

I am a very very unorganized person, usally I work best that way, I can get stressed very easily. Deadlines, time restraits and time management issues just make me shut down.

However the time has come to take action, so far this year I have not been very productive. I do not know if it has been the change to some what of early spring weather we have been having but I feel very much the need to 'get on'.

Now what has been holding me up, it's this, the mess in my sewing room.

Before I show you the 'before pictures' let me explain. A new and absolutly fantasic shop has opened in our near by town. I went in for a wander and came out after purchasing a fabulous piece of furtniture. Now to make room for this beast meant the dismantling of three large Ikea bookcases and finding somewhere to store all the books,cds etc. And the perfect place happened to be my sewing room. Now then please dont judge me, this is two rooms in one piled high. And i am slowly getting sorted.

The panaramic view-

 How can anyone work in this mess.

Now here's the reason for all the mess. This is a mid 1800's Court dresser in solid oak.

The beautiful beast.

 The middle bottom cupboard.

The top two cupboards.

The top two side cupboards and finials.

The drawers.

And finally the ribbon detail on the two edge bottom cupboards.

I, S.H. and the kids love this. it is so beautiful, delicate, strong and detailed. Over 160 years old and stilll solid. Now all I have to do is move all the books etc into it so I can have my sewing room back.

Early spring clean for me, then lots of sewing and sew-a-alongs to catch up on.

Sew Vala. x 
    

First post today

As I have not posted for a while I thought today I would catch up with two posts first is Happy's first propper walk outside. So far he has just been aloud in our garden but today he was so energetic and as he has had his two injections sometime ago. Off we went to one of the fields surrounding our house, one the the advantages of living in the country is lovely dog walks along the public right of way paths.

So many new smells,

Running ahead,

What's that ? never seen one of those before...

Soon I promise to be back to normal sewing blogging, you will soon see why I have been so unproductive.

Sew Vala. x

Beautiful Wallpapers Free For See

Rant: What's in a Name?

Warning:

Today’s post is of a different flavor than my usual (no pictures or emoticons here~)! It’s going to be a rant, so my tone of voice will be serious! You’re not obliged to read it; but really, you’re not obliged to read anything I write!

Disclaimer:

Even though this is my personal blog, I am usually reluctant to post anything too personal about me/my opinions. This is because in the event of a misunderstanding; the Internet is the playground for trolling, not open-minded and civilized debate. I don’t want to start an argument with anyone, so if you disagree, please don’t be offended! These are just my thoughts, based upon my values and experiences, and I need somewhere to express them.

Today’s rant topic is superficiality. More specifically, superficiality as it pertains to “brand name schools”. By brand name schools, I’m referring to the ones that make people ooh and ahh. In the States, that’s usually the Ivy Leagues, private schools, and occasionally huge public schools.

Today a student asked for my help, and basically, he wanted to whine about doing poorly on his exam. Out of a 100, he got a 64.

He wailed,“Wahhhhh I studied so so hard for this exam! I thought I would do good, but I failed! Not even passing!”

Naturally, I tried to console him. “It’s okay…don’t worry too much about it. You can learn from your mistakes and do better on the final. Plus, I got bad scores for my midterms and I still turned out okay.”

“…Are you sure?" He looked at me skeptically. His eyes winced as he asked, "What school do you go to?” 

Can you believe it?! Here I was trying to comfort him and his response was to judge me--and whether or not I really did turn out okay--based on which school I go to?! He should have judged me based on how knowledgeable or helpful I was being. I was so livid!!

“Yes,” I retorted. “I went to ____ and ____, tied number 1 in the nation for my field. Good enough for you? I’m probably younger than you too.”

His mouth opened in awe and he shut up. Man I was piiissssseeeddd!!

To me, that is a perfect example of name brand superficiality (in the academic context). His new-found respect for me was based not on my ability to answer his questions, but based on the shock-factor he got from hearing my schools’ names.

Now please understand, I said what I said to shut him up (and to further prove my point that he needn’t worry so much.) I really don’t give two cents about brand name schools, numerical rankings, and bragging rights. Just as I find judging someone based on appearance narrow-minded, I find judging someone’s worth based on the school they went to just as repulsive.

I remember a few years ago, after everyone had heard about which schools I was accepted into, people suddenly wanted to befriend me. Even people who used to ignore me. Srsly dawg? I was so offended and disgusted. Apart from that acceptance letter, I was still the same person you used to deliberately ignore. So what does that mean? Are you trying to befriend me, or my acceptance letter?

Ultimately, I think the hype on brand name schools is way overrated. Having attended some of those schools, I can assure you, E=mc^2 is the same everywhere. Smart people will be smart anywhere. I have met countless people from small, nameless schools who were far more impressive than my own classmates. And believe it or not, there are plenty of unintelligent minds at the Ivy Leagues as well. I do not lie; I’ve heard them speak with my own ears!

Obviously, I cannot fully express how I feel in one blog post; but all in all, I am in no way hating on big-name schools nor demeaning the students that attend them. It is true that such schools have good reputations for a reason (renowned professors, successful alumni, plentiful resources, stimulating academic environments, strong applicants, etc.) However, I simply cannot agree with people who judge a person’s worth based solely on a name; whether it be the school name on their diploma, the brand name of their purse, or the name on their clothing tags. Such a concept is too superficial to me. Life goes on, and eventually grades, GPA, and school name become but a petty matter. (Heck, I can’t even remember my GPA from a year ago!)

And sorry, I don’t feel like actually revealing which schools I go to, but hopefully you get the point.

Well that’s the end of today’s rant. I feel better now! If you’ve read this far, thank you for sticking with me! Hopefully I wasn’t too boring. Well, I’ll be in a good mood for my next post, since it’s going to be a tag! Many thanks to the lovely Christina for tagging me~ Hopefully this weekend I can finish my last review (for now) and continue with the funner, non-review posts!

Toodles~!

Baviphat Pure Kiss Lipstick

 As far as Korean brands go, many of us hear about Missha, Etude House, Skin Food, and Peripera...but have you heard of Baviphat? If not, allow me to introduce you to one of their lipsticks that I picked up when I was in Korea!

Quick Facts:
Brand:
Name: Pure Kiss Lipstick
Color: 02, Bright Pink
Size: 3.4g, 2.9inches
Price in Korea: 3,900KRW

Product Description: (Translated by Oppa and paraphased by me!)

바비펫 퓨어키스 립스틱2호 [브라이트 핑크]:
Baviphat Pure Kiss Lipstick in Color 2 is a pink/orange lipstick for girls with edge. Formulated with shea butter and jojoba oil, this nutritious soft lipstick helps maintain your skin’s elasticity. With its smear-resistant properties, it adheres to your lips for a clean application and long-term moisture—without a sticky after-feel. Infused with a floral perfume, its romantic and refreshing scent is a gift to the lips~ 

▲My tube is chipped because I tipped it over. :(

▲Sorry I forgot to wipe the metal casing!

Really quick~ I just want to say that it was SUCH a pain taking swatch photos for this lipstick! The color just would not show up accurately! In the end, the best bet was dim indoor lighting and really low camera exposure...It's still not perfect though, so I tried to compensate by describing it. Anyways, if you notice that the lighting—and my lips too, for that matter—look darker than my other reviews, that’s why.. >"<

Okie!

Color (on me): Soo...in most lighting it photographs as a cute strawberry-milk pastel pink; but in real life, it’s more of your standard coral pink. In brighter lighting it appears as a *vibrant* rosey pink (with a slight orange hue), while in dimmer lighting it leans more to the red side. I tried depicting that under “True Colors”:

Pigment: I find it quite pigmented! One swipe seems to be enough (notice how there's not much difference between one swipe and two swipes?).

Texture: Soft indeed! It glides on very smoothly and is slightly creamy—like shea butter! It’s a bit fragile though; if your lips have flaps of dry skin, it’ll leave deep scratches on the stick! Well actually, if you have dry skin you should exfoliate, because this baby clings to dead and dry skin!

Moisturizing: The funny thing is, even though it glides on smoothly it doesn’t actually feel moisturizing like a chapstick does. Nevertheless, it is in no way drying. It kinda just sits there like a protective film...if you know what I mean!

Scent: It’s got a hint of drugstore lipstick smell, but that’s about it. Oh romantic floral scent, where art thou?

Well, that's all! Thanks for reading~

So what do you think, would you try it? Have you tried any Baviphat products before?