27 September 2012

♥ Selkie


A Finnish corsetry store Belle Modeste asked me if I was interested to try on their new Selkie-corset, and they didn't need to ask me twice! I've admired Belle Modeste's corsets for so many years and the corset named after the Irish sea fairy really glued my interest on this model. So this is the first collaboration/review post of this blog, but I guarantee that ALL opinion and pics are mine, as they should be. :)


Myös suomeksi tällä kertaa! ;) Suomalainen korsettiliike Belle Modeste kysäisi jokin aika sitten olisinko kiinnostunut kokeilemaan uutta Selkie-valmiskorsettimallia, eikä tarvinnut kahdesti maanitella! Olen ihaillut Belle Modesten upeita luomuksia jo vuosikausia ja irlantilaisen merikeijun mukaan nimetty luomus kiinnitti huomioni vankasti. Kyseessä on Through the Looking Glassin ensimmäinen yhteistyö- ja arviointipostaus, mutta kaikki postauksen kuvat ja mielipiteet ovat kuitenkin omiani kuten asiaan kuuluu. :)




My honest evaluation on this corset is that I've never tried on such a comfy waist cage. This corset fan's heart skipped a couple of beats as we tried the corset on in the fitting room, not because of the shortness of breath, but because I got the waist of my dreams in mere seconds. It really stands up to its name. I've tried different ready-made corsets during my seven years of corset fandom, but frankly, this is the best one so far! In shape and quality wise, all the corsets are made by professional seamstresses in Finland.


Rehellinen arvioni Selkiestä on se, etten ole koskaan kokeillut yhtä mukavaa valmiskorsettia. Korsettifanin sydän jätti pari lyöntiä välistä kun mallailimme kapistusta liikkeellä ylle, ei hengenahdistuksen vuoksi vaan koska unelmavyötäröni ilmestyi uumille hetkessä. Korsetti on todella nimensä veroinen. Olen säätänyt valmiskorsettien kera jo yli seitsemän vuotta ja kokemusta on kaikenlaisista merkeistä ja malleista, mutta tämä vyötäröhäkki on rehellisesti sanottuna aivan omaa luokkaansa! Niin malliltaan kuin laadultaankin, korsetit valmistetaan ammattiompelijoiden käsien kautta Suomessa.




Ready-made corsets are usually only straight tubes and the perfect hourglass figure is just a painful joke while wearing those, and they usually seem to match no-one's body (sure there are some exceptions, as all bodies are unique). The ideal corset is of course made to measure, but in my opinion Selkie gets as far as possible. Finally there's a corset that can bear my massive ribs without me gasping my breath. :D Pure love.


Valmiskorsetit ovat aivan liian usein suoria putkiloita joiden luoma tiimalasivyötärö on lähinnä vitsi, eivätkä ne useimmiten istu kenellekään hyvin (poikkeuksiakin toki löytyy, kaikki kropat ovat uniikkeja). Ihanteellisin korsetti on tietysti luotu täysin henkilön omille mitoille, mutta Selkie pääsee jo niin lähelle ettei voi kun myhäillä. Varsinkin kun kerrankin löytyi korsetti johon massiiviset kylkiluuni mahtuvat ilman keuhkojen pihinää. :D Rakkautta.





One of my next saving projects is a measure-made corset from BM, but I'm definitely going to use Selkie to the last seam. Heres a short list of pros and cons to sum up my opinion:

+ hourglass figure in minutes
+ comfort
+ super high quality
+ handmade in Finland, against sweatshops!
+ beautiful model and fabric
+ colour options go with almost everything (black/cream)

- might take some saving operations if you're a student (289€)
- it would be great to get different patterns, but you can always get those with measure-made corsets (I dream of a black&white striped Selkie version!)



Seuraaviin säästöprojekteihin sisältyy mittatilauskorsetti, mutta Selkien kanssa on kehittynyt jo niin läheinen suhde kuin alusvaatteen kanssa vaan voi, ja käytän tämän varmasti viimeiseen saumaan asti loppuun. Tässä vielä tiivistettynä plussia ja miinuksia:

+ tiimalasivyötärö hetkessä
+ mukavuus
+ korkea laatu
+ suomalaista käsityötä, ei hikipajoja!
+ erittäin kaunis malli ja kangas
+ värivaihtoehdot sopivat lähes kaiken kanssa (musta & kerma)

- opiskelijalle korkeahko hinta, vaatii hieman säästämistä (289€)
- erilaiset kuosit olisivat toivottuja, mutta niitäkin saa tilaustyönä (unelmoin mustavalkoraidallisesta Selkiestä!)





I fell for this corset and bought it right after I tried it on (with a discount, this should be mentioned), and have been wearing it all summer. If you are interested on this corset, I suggest you check out Belle Modeste's website! Just click on the logo if you wish :)

Ihastuin korsettiin niin että lunastin sen heti omaan käyttöön (alennetulla hinnalla, mainittakoon) ja se on ollut koko kesän ahkerassa käytössä uumillani. Jos korsetit kiinnostavat, suosittelen lämpimästi tsekkaamaan Belle Modesten nettisivut! :) Sieltä löydät runsaasti infoa korseteista ja nettikaupankin, klik:






18 September 2012

And so, being young and dipped in folly, I fell in love with melancholy



The passed weekend filled my lungs with joy. Nothing extra special happened, I just spent time with the loved one, watched all the Evil Dead films in a row and let the deep tranquilising aromas of red wine slip through my throat in the slow hours of the evening. 


trench coat ~ Asos / lace dress ~ Pearl Lowe / jewellery ~ second hand, Hyde's Vice and Seppälä
 corset boots & bag ~ Minna Parikka


On Sunday I felt like dressing up for our occasional Sunday stroll, it has been a while since I've felt like wearing something special so I enjoyed it immensely! I rolled my hair, veiled my body in black lace and laced my absolute favorite pair of boots on. And oh how I smiled to the autumn sun instead of flinching from it's rays like I usually do. 


Black matte nailpolish has been a frequent friend lately, I adore that leathery look! And NO, I'm not engaged!


I simply love autumn. There's such a sense of possibility in the cold, crisp air and beauty in the trees that wither into a more skeletal shape each day. Here's a few autumnal songs that have rolled repeatedly on my playlist, I hope you enjoy them!













(all Opeth songs are great for autumn!)




PS: I'm sure you noticed the new banner! It's a bit sketchy, but I feel it's more "me" 
than the previous vector art. There'll be some changes in the layout too, 
when I get some proper time to fix it. :)

14 September 2012

Scruffy nerf-herder




The outfit code of the last week and a half is condensed in the pixels of this photo. I've been under the malevolent curse of the common cold and have only rarely left the house, therefore cotton and comfort have been the key ingredients in dressing up (it's not my favorite style but when you're sick those matters don't count so much).

So one of you asked me if I ever wear comfy or scruffy home clothes and the answer is OF COURSE. :) There's been a post about this before on my blog, and here's some more proof. It's alright if someone wants to wear tight skirts and corsets all day long, but at home I'm a constant spiller of paint, wine or food so that wouldn't really work for this baby. :D The Actual Pain loose shirts are my favorite home attire at the moment, can't get enough of these fiendish prints!

(My love bought the snake print t-shirt as well, so it's a kind of a team uniform for us, heehee.)




I had a lot of extra seconds to list the pros and cons of being sick, and came up with surprisingly many things on the positive side! There's such a deep pool of low energy activities you can choose from! You can organize your collections (like the cd tower that's needed dusting for ages), refresh your memory of Han Solo's destiny, sink into comics and books or create something you really love, in my case some paintings and drawings.  Now that I'm getting better I kind of wish I was still sick to have all that luscious free time..

What do you enjoy the most when you're not feeling well?





11 September 2012

Q&A - HAIR!


There were so many questions about my hair in the Q&A post that I decided to make a separate post about it. So here we go! If an additional question pops up in your mind while reading this, feel free to ask. :)


Q: Do you use/wear any extensions?

A: Nope. But I do have a pair of purple clip-on streaks somewhere in the darker corners of my closet, I might wear them some day. :) I love purple hair!


(This is my hair in it's natural state, no dyes, teasing or styling products.)


Q: Is black your natural hair color? Do you dye your hair?

A: It's very close to black.  Although I wouldn't call it black, I prefer the term schizophrenic. In some lights it gleams in black shades, sometimes it looks a bit purplish and in the sunlight it has a distinct red glow and brown undertones. Go figure. :D

And about hair dyes: I do use mild dyes that wash out in a few weeks (like StarGazer) about 2-3 times a year, the last time was in April. I can't use permanent ones since I don't want to get caught in the endless circle of dyes, and because they are toxic and my sensitive skin can't handle those harsh chemicals. Pitch-black hair is gorgeous and I'd like to have that all the time, but health overcomes vanity in this case. I don't think hair dyes are safe at all,  PPD and especially black dyes are a huge health risk and I think people should be more aware of that. 


Q: Are your bangs clip-on?

A: Nope! I really wondered about this question, it popped up so many times. :D They are natural, and the length varies so much because my hair grows like crazy. (I suspect that Totoro might have put some growing spells on my scalp while I was sleeping.)


Q: How do you get your bangs out of sight?
A: Twist it, pin it, hide it. Simple as that! 




Q: I have the same length hair that you do, how do you get it so puffy?

A: Lots of teasing and hairspray is the key! Dry shampoo increases the puffiness so I highly recommend trying it. And you might have to fix the teased roots during the day, since as you know, long hair weights like a little blue whale and straightens out easily.



Q: Did you cut your bangs yourself? If so, how did you do it?
A: Yes, I just took scissors and cut the thing right off. No magic tricks there, practice makes perfect! And in some cases, like mine, you get uneven results even with years of practice. :D




Q: What does your hair care routine look like?

A: Mm, the basics: shampoo, conditioner and leave-in conditioner! Sometimes hair masks or natural oil treatments to nourish the hair. I cut my bangs at least twice a month, and my mom or one of my friends cuts about ~15cm off my hair per year. I knooow regular cuts would be better but nah. :D Hair dressers are way too expensive for me right now, plus I don't have too many positive experiences about the previous visits..




Q:How long have you grown your hair?

A: Since I cut my dreadlocks off, so about six years? I don't really grow my hair on purpose, it just grows so damn fast and I don't have the heart to cut it off. I've been on the brink of shaving one side off for about a year now, but just can't do it. :')


Q: I'm wondering could you maybe give some tips for hair care, and some of the products you use?
A: Here's my current products on the hair care front, ta-dah! Styling products vary all the time since I still haven't found the perfect ones, but that shampoo and the dry shampoo in the picture have been around for a couple of years. I think I'm going to try some more organic shampoos in the future, I'll let you know how that goes!




..And some tips! Nutrition is the key to everything, also for healthy hair, so add more vitamins and natural oils like avocados and virgin olive/coconut oil to your diet (or use them as a mask) and you'll know the diffference! The bonus effect is that your skin will love those nutrients too. :) Dye as little as you can (I'm sure this won't help most of you gothlings, sorry), and don't distress your hair too much with daily backcombing (and this certainly won't help 80's batcave lovers). I love puffy hair but sometimes it's better to let it be and tie it in a loose bun or a braid. It's also good to keep some days off from styling products. And a VERY important thing: get yourself a good quality hair brush, there is a mindboggling difference! I've used Kent's brush for a few months and I'll never look back. And no, they didn't pay me to say so. :--D