Giveaway Winner Babie!

Sup guys? Apologies for my delay in writing a post on the weekend, I had a massive week and I am extremely glad that it's mid-semester break! I've been catching up on my sleep over the weekend (that's why I didn't blog) due to my horrible sleep debt and now I'm back on track! Having two major assignments due on the same day was not fun T_T My procrastination got the better of me again. Stress levels plummeted through the roof.

But anyway, to happier news -  I happened to find some good in all the 'bad' stuff that was going on - I won Cindy aka The Bad Barbie's giveaway! There were two prizes, one for an Australian winner and an international winner, and through a random draw I was chosen *-* Finding out via email made my day/night/week xD

I can honestly say that I was not expecting to win. As you may or may not know, 'Cindy' (it's her alias) is one of my blog friends and we're from the same city, Adelaide. It's a small city and I'm surprised that I haven't been able to see her around despite sometimes catching the bus on the same street she goes to for her studies :o I seriously want to meet this girl but I'm so darn shy lol v_v Have you seen her? She's freaking gorgeous ♥ But not only that, she's an absolute sweetheart!

Just a screenshot of her blog. Her face isn't on the header but if you scroll down a little you get to see her doll face staring back at you. Envyenvyenvy.

Not only am I shy but I will probably be speechless anyway if I saw her in person *imagines being starstruck*

So as I was saying before, I entered her giveaway as a way of showing my support of the launch of her online store, BadBarbie. She was the co-owner of the previous online shop... oh crap I forgot the name :S Bahaha, this shows how insignificant that 'other' shop is to me now, ever since Cindy left. But yeah, I'm glad Cindy is now the boss of her own shop so she can have things her way without unnecessary arguments and whatnot.

By the way, I decided to use 'babie' in the title instead of baby because it's a combination of bad barbie, hehe.

And since we live in the same city, shipping only took a day! Fastest package received ever~

 The contents of the prize, items which can be bought from the Bad Barbie shop:

- Red Union Jack Bag ($30)

- Three Layered Feather Earring ($30)

- BadBarbie Arty Ring ($30)

I felt that it was appropriate to deck myself out in gyaru-ness while wearing the bag and accessories. I'll be nice and show just two HD pictures of myself with lenses, lashes and double eyelid tape. 

I wore my hair extensions so that I could see how well the feather earrings could blend in with my hair. I wasn't worrying about how well the extensions blended with my hair. I guess it sort of did blend in. Wearing the extensions made me miss my long hair :(

 Lace, denim, feathers, bows, floral, union jacks/flags, studs - just some gyaru fashion trends

My favourite item out of the giveaway prizes is the ring:

 The arty ring is gorgeous, I love the turquoise stone and I have been wanting a ring with a big rock like this but I just haven't found. I had no idea how popular these types of rings were until I got my own and did a little research online/Tumblr.

 BadBarbie has this instock, only size 17 is available. That's about a S-M size

Another thing I didn't know was that they're designed by YSL!! Mine is an inspired one whereas a genuine YSL one would cost around $200 I think o_o ?

When I first saw this I could not make out what was engraved =/ It reads 'YVESANLURENF' lol, close enough

I like how the ring looks on my index finger but it doesn't fit properly :( Only middle finger or thumb

The pink one is so pretty *-*

I really do love my arty ring, I haven't seen anyone wear one before (in person) so I reckon this would make a great statement piece. It is a little big for me but if I'm careful when I wear it then it should be okay. It's definitely not too over the top like other chunky rings - it's enough to attract attention and compliments.

I took pictures from my ViVi back issue of turquoise accessories and rings:

My second favourite item would be the earring:

Feather accessories are in

I never used to like feathers that much but now I've been inspired by celebrities and I reckon they're pretty cool. You should know that I love jewellery, especially earrings and necklaces. The fact that this can double up as a feather hair extension is awesome, the length is great and the colours match each other :)

You can read all about the trend here as posted by Miss Boss herself: http://www.thebadbarbie.com/2011/08/feathered.html#more

Even though it flicks outwards here, it still complements my hair

Swapped side

I don't know whether it's real feathers or not so please don't ask me u_u But I seriously love the blue feathers because they stand out against my dark hair. I liked the patterned stripey one too ^.^ The 3 layers are very distinct and when I first saw these on BadBarbie, I thought that they were attached by thread but nope, gold chains! It's a hook at the end to hook into your ear piercing (like drop earrings) so there's no need for an earring backing. I guess you can only wear this if you have your ear lobe pierced :P Overall I adore this piece!

I recently bought a back issue of Chinese Popteen magazine and I found some feather accessories:

Feathers AND turquoise stone on the necklace, cute!

Thirdly and finally is the bag:

I'm going to be very honest here - this time last year or anytime before this year, I was definitely not interested in wearing any flag symbols as clothing or accessories. Tacky would come to mind but also... others categorising and judging. I would stand out from a crowd and that's not ideal for a shy girl like me. It would seem as though I'm representing the UK instead of Australia, despite the union jack being on the top left hand corner of the Australian flag. This could sort of be controversial... I don't know. I'm self-conscious and I really do care about what others think of me ~_~ I hate getting weird looks from strangers!

Buttttt things are different now. No, I may not be confident enough to change my sense of fashion entirely however I could wear this bag without caring as much as I used to. BadBarbie = giving people self-confidence to dress stylishly and freely? That's what it seems haha, and I love it!

*Clutches bag* Stuff the haters >=P

The material is sturdy and not too soft or hard. It has an adjustable strap so you can wear it as a cross-over or shoulder bag. The buckle at the front is easy to twist to open and close and it's enough to keep everything inside secure. For added security, there is a zip inside as well as another compartment zip and phone holder.

:O It perfectly fits something inside! I'll reveal what it is soon hehe

Everything is sewed on well, especially the front design. The gold studs seem to be glued on nicely so I don't have to feel paranoid about them falling off randomly. I hope none of them do!

There's just one thing that has made this the third liked item of them all. It's not about the design or symbol but it's about the scent. Everyone is different and this may not be a big issue for some but I dislike the scent of the bag. It's not that slightly pleasant 'new bag' scent unfortunately... it's much stronger and smells like a factory of some sort :/ I really can't describe it but it sort of reminds me of moth balls. I reckon it's the material that is emitting this scent which has made my room smell a bit like this lol. It also transfers onto my fingers after I've touched it D: I've opened my windows, lightly sprayed the bag with my perfume but the scent is still there with a hint of my perfume's scent ._. I guess the only way to get rid of it is to wash it thoroughly. Aww what a shame... wish it could go away by itself.

If anyone has any tips on how to get rid of that 'strong bag' scent then please let me know!

Since I wore my denim dress and this union jack bag, just thought I'd also incorporate pages from my magazines:

 This outfit looks familiar ;) I've seen it worn by Cindy before (she's model material by the way)

 Repping the American flag, despite being Japanese

It actually looks pretty alright, in small doses

So yeahhhhh, that's it to my little show and tell of the items I got from winning the giveaway - thanks so much again Cindy! It's lovely to add these awesome items to my accessories collection, I feel very lucky. Don't know whether I'd wear them all at once as seen in my pictures but I'll be sure to make use of all of them :D

If you haven't checked out BadBarbie already then you should be making your way there now (after you're done reading my blog post) for all gal-inspired items. The cool thing about it is that it won't only be for girls - a Bad Ken section will be coming out soon for men apparel and footwear. It would be cool to let her know that you've been referred by me but since Cindy and BadBarbie is already overwhelmingly popular, I'm sure most of you are aware of her and her shop by now.

Now to reveal the item that perfectly fits in the union jack bag...

 My newly-owned mini notebook/netbook - Asus Eee

Technically, it's my boyfriend's but he was kind enough to lend it to me to allow me to multi-task on dual screens. A few days after he lent it to me, he said that it is now mine and I can keep it - yay =) Glad to have this netbook and an awesome bag to store it in ^_^

Ok this post is really long now and photo-spammed (so sorry). Now that I've increased the width I've decided to make all of my photos X-large to fit in with it. I know that it may decrease loading time and if this is an issue for you, please tell me so I can downgrade the size of the pictures next time to large or medium, thank you.

Questjen of the week is...

Describe your fashion sense

This isn't an actual question but I want to know how my readers dress and style themselves lol, sounds kind of creepy. The sad thing is that I don't get to see more than three quarters of you in person :( But if we were to meet, how would you dress? Are there any clothing items that you avoid like skirts or dresses?

I'm a mix of things - casual, girly, sporty and chic and more. I'm not a sporty person but I like to wear hoodies and trackies sometimes x] There's nothing that I really avoid besides the really outrageous outfits like Lady Gaga's. Actually, nowadays I avoid wearing halter-neck tops, shirts that expose my stomach, maxi dresses (just not my thing, maybe for an evening dress only), baggy pants, mini skirts, checkered shirts, flare jeans and polo tops. I used to wear a few of what I just listed but I won't say what they were :P I love my skirts and dresses as well as my shorts and pants. I'm very versatile with my fashion but most of the time I dress chic/girly because it suits my personality the best. These days my fashion sense has definitely been inspired by the items from BadBarbie ♥

See you in a few days time when I'm back with a new post,

Tutorial: How to Apply Falsies [Requested] + Updates

Hey, how is everybody? Hope you're all well. Today my post is going to be one that was requested by one of my blog readers Mimi who wanted me to do a tutorial on how to apply falsies. I am welcome to your suggestions on blog posts so don't be afraid to let me know what you'd like to see here!

If you are completely new to this and have never/rarely worn false eyelashes then that's okay, I'm sure you're not the only one and hopefully my picture tutorial will be clear and will be a good starting point to learn how.

This is just my way of applying falsies, it doesn't have to be exactly like this!

I wad going to do a video tutorial... in fact I filmed one but it wasn't very good :| I've never done a picture tutorial before so bare with me if it's a bit dodgy lol. I've already got one pair of lashes on one eye as a comparison.

[My hair was still long when I took these pictures :P I did this tutorial a while ago but I obviously took my time with putting it up onto my blog]

Step 1: Have your falsies ready

 Here I'm using Daiso #1 lashes. Daiso is unfortunately not available in my city :( Glad that my bf was able to get me some when he went to Melbourne earlier this year

Step 2: Measure them on top of your natural lashes

You don't have to have the lash starting from the very inner corner of your eye, you can leave a gap like I have above. It's actually more comfortable to wear like this.

Step 3: If needed, trim the outer corners of your falsies with a pair of scissors

 Lashes tend to have a shorter end and a longer end. It's better to cut at the end that's longer because the shorter end goes on the inner corners of your eyes. If there is no longer or shorter side then you can cut at any of ends.

Step 4: Make sure that you have good eyelash glue

 I've been using Duo Eyelash Adhesive and I swear by it! I haven't tried any other lash glue that holds my lashes in place as well as this. I love that it's waterproof and you can choose to have a white glue that dries clear or a dark glue which can blend in with your eyeliner

Step 5: Apply a thin line of eyelash glue to the band

 It doesn't have to be thick at all! Just a 1mm line will do. Make sure that there is glue on the outer edges of the lash band because you won't want your lashes to start lifting up at the corners - that gets annoying, especially when it starts poking your eyelids

Step 6: Wait 10-20 seconds to let the glue set until it is tacky

 You can just hold it and wait (which I find pretty boring) or you can....

 

 ... Start blowing at it x) I guess it speeds up the 'drying' time but that's what I tend to do, lol. Don't make the glue completely dry though!!

Step 7: Place the lash band as close as possible on top of your lash line

 While this happens, the glue should still be quite wet and you'd be able to feel this when you place it on your lash line. Don't worry if you can see white glue, it'll dry clear if you use Duo glue. If not then you can draw over it with eyeliner

Step 8: While the glue has not fully set yet, maneuver the lashes so that it is stuck on properly and comfortably

 The glue is white, therefore the glue has not fully dried yet. This means that you can still move the lashes around before it sets. I like to use tweezers to neatly push the corners of the lash bands onto my lash line

Step 9: If Step 8 is not needed, stay still while the glue dries

 It's boring staying still while waiting for the glue to dry, so I like to tilt my head slightly back for the glue to dry without touching the top of my eyelid. Also, I like to use my eyeliner to draw over any gaps/glue lines. Here I'm using Dolly Wink liquid eyeliner, my holy grail

Step 10: Press the band firmly onto the lash band, making sure that the whole band is stuck down. If not, it may be best to start again

 [No image for this]

Step 11: Curl your lashes so that the falsies and your natural lashes blend in together

 Gently press to curl the lashes together, or...

... use a heated eyelash curler. Here I was waiting for it to heat up. This is the heated eyelash curler from the brand '1000 Hour'

I don't think you'd have to worry too much about the heat affecting the glue. If you are worried then stick to using a mechanical lash curler

Step 12: (Optional) Apply mascara as per normal

I wasn't planning to go anywhere after I did the tutorial thus I didn't bother with mascara. Here's how it should look in the end:

I know I cheated by showing you the 'finished product' as the other eye's picture xD But still, I followed the same steps to achieve this. How did I go? Hehe

 Both eyes done. I think I needed extra black eyeliner in between the lashes but mehhh, I didn't notice until I took a flash picture

Random 'end product' photo. My mirror makes an appearance again :]

That's basically it to it! Video tutorials are more informative and helpful in my opinion however I think having it out step by step with images is still okay, right? I've followed tutorials in magazines for hair/makeup etc. and I didn't have problems with those. 

Do realise that eye shape can make a difference. It's taken me months of practice to be able to put on falsies within a matter of minutes for both eyes! I've had to get used to my eye shape being this way and leaving space on the inner corners of my eyes.

If you have any problems/questions about applying falsies, feel free to hit me up with them here, Twitter or on Formspring.

Now to a little 'life update' from me...

Firstly I want to say a big thank you to those who commented on my previous post. I'll be sure to do more lifestyle posts since they seem to be of high interest. I'm glad that my questjen was answered about whether or not we can become too old for plushies - the majority said that we can never be too old for plushies!

Within the past couple of weeks I have bought things that are not makeup-related (hooray)~ I bought my first Asian magazine and music CD in-store ^.^ First time ever having K-pop CDs in store, yay! I was going to online shop for these items but I remembered how exciting it is to see something you want in a shop and get it straight away without having to wait for it to arrive on your doorstep or in your letterbox.

Back issue of ViVi (Chinese Version) and T-ara's Breaking Heart Repackaged Album

Latest issues of ViVi are overpriced in my opinion -_- I don't mind back issues because all magazines are going to get 'old' anyway and these back issues in store were still in perfect unopened condition, just majorly discounted hehe. I mostly look at Asian magazines for their pictures anyway because I can only fluently read English :( I can sort of read Chinese but mm, I bought the Chinese ViVi version so that I could read it with my mum. Good bonding time lol.

Yeah, not that I know any Korean either but what can I say, I'm a K-pop lover. Not to that extent where it's freaky or I'm trying to be Korean (because I'm not haha), I've been hit with the hallyu wave since 2008. Don't know what that means? Google it :P A-cha~

Prefer the girls in black than the yellow and black. They're gorgeous either way ♥

My blog makes it seem that I am 100% T-ara biased but in reality I'm not. They're not my number one favourite girl group which may be a surprise to some as I tend to associate them with my makeup looks and what not. SNSD (Girls' Generation) is actually my favourite but I haven't been too impressed with their visual concepts lately. T-ara has some cute-as former ulzzangs like Qri and Hyomin who have had some really pretty eye makeup looks that have inspired me! SNSD, not so much... they tend to go for the 'natural' look with no colourful/interesting eyeshadow colour combinations. Where's the inspiration for me :( ?

This in my opinion is T-ara's best album. It's their first full album repackaged with two extra songs. Their songs nowadays aren't as good as their originals *frowns*

Oh and on Friday night I went out with a few of the ABBM girls (mini bloggers meet up) to eat Korean BBQ! It was actually my first time (what is this, a month of firsts for me? haha) and I was happy with the whole 'all you can eat' concept about it, omnomnom. Sorry no pictures but I'll name the girls that I met up with: Celeste, Sherry, Jeneara/Steph (only for dinner) and Mae (only for dessert)

Afterwards we went to have dessert at the Aviary and I ordered Belgian Waffles. It was nice inside with a bird theme going on (hence aviary) and I didn't realise that there were two levels until I walked in. I'm happy with the way the dessert cafe looked but my dessert wasn't amazing. It was good though, and I finished it all despite feeling rather full after dinner. I took a picture before I started digging in:

I'm looking at this now at 12:30am and I'm not craving this at all o_o 

As I said before, it wasn't an amazing mouth-watering dessert lol

Thanks to Celeste, these blogger meet ups in my city are happening! The impressive thing is that she isn't actually a blogger based in Adelaide but she comes down here once every month or so :) Soooo grateful for her making her way down here and arranging these meets *_* Thank you again Celeste! You are way too awesome.

Here's an update picture of my soon-to-be cat by the way. New blog followers of mine may have not met my pet kitten yet. I'll give a little intro: His name is Coco and I've had him since December last year. Here's almost 1 years old and his breed is Moggie :) Today I took a picture of him when he was sleeping on my bed. He woke up when I got my camera out but I managed to snap a picture of him with his eyes closed keke:

Definitely not as skinny as he used to be when I first got him! I refuse to say that he's fat lol, he's really not I swear x[ At least he's healthier now compared to his first day at my home:

I secretly wish that cats could stay tiny like this, eeee too cute!

I'll be sure to blog again next week after my final week of uni before the mid semester break. Stressing out now because of my assignments due soon.... I'm glad that I have my blog as my de-stresser. Can't wait to be on holidays, more time to blog again!

A questjen for you, because I am one curious girl:

How did you learn to apply false lashes?

Did you learn from a friend or a makeup artist? Youtube tutorial or self-taught? Or do you still not know how to apply falsies? Maybe you only found out how on this blog post xD

My answer:

I learnt through watching many Youtube tutorials! Very handy indeed. I wouldn't have a clue about who I learn from i.e. beauty gurus' usernames etc. but there are plenty of tutorial videos on Youtube to check out.

Don't fret if you can't put on falsies well - practice makes perfect I promise! Good luck :-)