LOLITA ON A BUDGET - A Guide to Affording Brand

Hello cuties!
Since my last video was posted I received a ton of people asking me to make more videos, and it's something new I really enjoy, so I decided to whip out the ole' Nikon again.

The video will say it all- but I wanted to include some extra tid bits here from lovely lolis and ouji in my community who had advice on smart shopping and saving money in Lolita~

Rachel says; Personally, I would say investing more in jsks/skirts and blouses rather than ops. 2 skirts and 2 blouses=4 co-ords, rather than 2 ops. Also, keeping the blouses neutral as to avoid not being able to pair it with much. 
Thrift shops for tights/legwear can save a lot of money too!

Onyx says; Make as many small accessories your self, thrift stores are where you can find some of the cutest shirts that can be altered easily~ buying things second hand, being creative with painting shoes or stuff~ trade accessories with other Lolita's so you both get new stuff without having to spend any money~

Ashley says; Making your own blouses, and buying your accessories/tights at wal-mart, or other similar stores is crazy helpful. Also if you need an underskirt making those types of things yourself.

Jeffrey says; invest big in a good petti because it will last forever and poof is lyfe

Kirsten says; My only money saving advice is not to buy brand shoes or tights/socks. I've yet to buy any brand shoes that were any better. My shoes/tights/jewelry while maybe not cheap, are all things that I wear in my every day style too.

Holly says;  Make your own petticoat. It's super easy, really cheap and you can make it as poofy as you would like. 
Thrift shopping is nice, you just might find a nice blouse to work a coord or even find a dress you can alter into your own dress. 
And make accessories, not only is it fun but it'll be original!

Jessica F says; places like claire's, ardene's, and Wal-mart are great places to find accessories and even socks and tights

Jessica P says; Also shop vintage second hand. You'll find loads of accessories that perfectly fit in with lolita. Especially when it comes to jewellery, you'll be spoiled for choice and it won't be that expensive at all! Also for hats are a good find and shoes as well in vintage second hand shops! But I would say, for starting a wardrobe pick 3 colors you like and get everything in those colors. pick something neutral for blouses like white or offwhite, and then two other colors that work well together and apart. For example offwhite, burgundy red, and light brown/cream, or white, blue, and pink, etc.

And corset lacing. Try hard to buy corset lacing styled skirts and dresses. That way if you move up and down a size or two it won't be a concern!

Thank you again for your support and taking the time to read/watch! I hope this is useful in some way to you~

✧ Hime-style Lolita Headdress DIY Tutorial! ✧

Hello cuties!
As a some of you may know, I do a lot of crafting and sewing, so when I felt something was missing from my latest coordinate I decided to make my own headdress. I make a lot of simple flower crowns and things like that, but I've been wanting to do something more complicated that could work in Hime styles and Classic Sweet. So, without further-ado, here's a lil' DIY tutorial on how I made my headdress.

THIS TUTORIAL IS VERY ADJUSTABLE TO DIFFERENT THEMES AND DESIGNS, YOU CAN USE THESE GENERAL IDEAS TO CRAFT TO YOUR OWN WHIM~

You will need:
-Hot glue
-Scissors
-Paint brushes
-A styrofoam head/wig head

 So, I headed out to my local corner/craft store and picked up a few things. This cost under $11.00 Canadian and is the basis of my headdress. I picked up a white rose bouquet from the wedding section as well as one individual big ass pink rose, a basic headband, and two bottles of paint. Glittery paint! 

  The first thing I did was take one of the white roses out from the bouquet, remove the stem, pop off the ole' cap on the gold glitter paint and hand paint the petals. I only did one coat so that the gold wasn't totally overpowering, more so white roses with gold sparkles. I repeated this on one other rose. Gold, pink, and white are the general colours of my coordinate.

I removed the accessories from the band so that it was just bare plastic. I had a ton of strings of pearls and beads kicking around so I measured and cut a small string and carefully glued it to the band asymmetrically.  If you use pearls, make sure they don't hang too low or too high!

Again, I already had white ribbon on hand, so I super carefully wrapped the band as well as making sure the pearls were secure with the ribbon.

 Hot glue time! I removed the stem from the large pink flower and neatly hot glued it to the now-ribboned-band where I want the "peak" of the action to be. I also glued on my two gold-painted roses on either side of the big pink guy. You will likely also have to glue individual petals to one another to keep the flower from flopping back if it is large. 

I added more pearls. You should probably do all your pearls at once so you can ribbon-over them and keep 'em nice and secure, but what can I say, I design as I go. They're also a size up from the first string for a lil bit of contrast.

 And for the finishing touch I stuck on a small strip of super wide pink lace to cover the gross and rather un-princessly back. I did this by dabbing hot glue on either side of the gold roses and sticking it there- it's stiff enough lace to be fine like that.

   And this is the finished product! The crown was bought specifically for this headdress as well, but I'm not planning on permanently attaching it because it can be used for so much else too~ The same goes for the 6%DokiDoki clip, obviously.


Thank you so much for reading, I wish you luck in any frilly crafty adventures you may embark on

♡

♡ Kawaii Box Blogger of the Month Review- July! ♡

Hello cuties!

As the title would suggest, I was Kawaii Box's "Blogger of the Month" for the month of July! Kawaii Box is a subscription service that sends you a cute box of Japanese items every month! This can include stationary, charms, candy, accessories, etc. I decided to do a video review and share it on all of my platforms- and that means Blogspot~ 

I won't write too much since it's all in the video- I hope you enjoy and check out Kawaii Box!

Thanks lovelies! Until next time~

OOTD: Offbrand Vintage-Inspired Princess Coordinate ♡

Hello cuties~

I've got a quick outfit post today! I'll be posting lookbook-style posts every so often here with run-downs of my outfits and all the brands and what I did that day

Today I had the day off, so I decided to dress a tad more glitzy than I would at work (although they're surprisingly tolerant to my frills!). I've been really into hime styles and princessy themes lately, and have actually been working on finishing up an upcoming Hime Lolita coord- so I went out and picked up a teeny crown to add to a headdress I'm making for it. I decided to top off my bun with it today~

This outfit is entirely offbrand! 
Pink polkadot top - Joe Fresh
Off-white lace cardigan - Forever 21
Lace vintage-style pencil skirt - Tiny shop in New York City about three years ago
Rocking Horse Shoes - Bodyline
Pearls - Self-strung, bought from Micheals
Socks - Ardene

Laceylaceylacey~

I can make crowns casual, right? ...Right?

Spikey shoes and frilly socks!

Another shoe shot to show the height.

That's it for today! Thank you for reading this lil quickie post~ I enjoyed it! It's like a bit more detailed lookbook. Until later!

✩ July Favourites! Deco Phones, Jelly Shoes, Sailor Moon, and more~ ✩

Hello cuties! 

I've decided to start doing monthly favourites of bits and bobs I've loved each month! I always love watching and reading other blogger's favourite posts and videos, so I hope this is interesting to someone out there ✧

  This month's favourites post includes some things I picked up at an anime convention this month, as well as some items I got shopping off island with my mum, and other findings~

All my pretties ♡

My first favourite for this month are these gorgeous clear, glittery jelly shoes. My mum lovingly got them for me when she was in Montreal! They're from Urban Outfitters and are so so comfortable. I like wearing them with frilly socks~ 

They're so glittery, when I'm out in the sunlight it's ridiculous!

The brand is Juju! You can see it on the little buckle.

Secondly, I got this amazing deco phone case. I've been wanting one for absolute ages but could never find one I really liked that wasn't custom made and a billion dollars- but I recently got a new phone since my old one was slowly crumbling in my hands, so I decided to finally get myself a deco den case. I decided to go for a more glitzy route than whip creamy yumminess, since I've been more interested in princess styles lately~ 

I bought it from an eBay seller called greenkiwis, I can't speak enough good about it! It's sturdy as a mother and still gorgeous after weeks of not-too-gentle use (...I am clumsy). 

The only real signs of wear are the slightly dirty edges of the giant rose petals, but everything's perfectly intact and shiny and beautiful other than that.

 A lot of you who follow Japanese fashion will know that L'Oreal recently came out with a new mascara called Voluminous Miss Manga. This mascara claimed to give the wearer eyes like an anime character or doll- and it does just that. This mascara got a lot of mixed reviews and a lot of complaints saying it's "too clumpy" or "too thick", and I can see how people may find that- but I believe that all depends on how you're used to applying your mascara. I always went for a super thick false eye look with my regular drug store mascaras, so this product did what I always wanted without needing so many coats. I use this everyday on my top and bottom lashes for a very casual gyaru inspired look ☆

It's starting to run low since I use it so much, I need to go pick up another tube!

 Anime convention merch time! Animaritime is a convention I've been going to every year for a while now, and it happens around Canada day weekend (July 1st). Since this year is the big Sailor Moon Crystal reboot year, there was SO MUCH MOON MERCH. 

...I wanted all of it. 

But, I restrained myself for this post and decided to just include these little metal diecast charms ♥ I like to take out the little ball chains and slide them onto super thin gold chain and wear them as necklaces! It was a set of six, but the actual moon stick has become a physical attachment to my body in that I have been wearing it every single day. Somehow, I seem to have left it at my boyfriend's house, but I can guarantee it'll pop up on here sooner or later~ 

I get a ton of compliments and people recognizing where they're from, mostly at my work, which always brightens up my day ✧

This one's super simple. but I use it all the time. This sweet little Rilakkuma notebook comes with me everywhere these days! I use it to write down ideas, mostly for blog posts, coordinates, cosplay plans, DIY, or anything else that pops into my noggin.  

Kiiroitori is not impressed. 

This mirror has been super useful ever since I got it! It's the perfect make up mirror, as the heart is double-sided and flips around for when you want the magnifying side or not. I got this beauty from Forever21 on an off-island trip with my mum! I use it every single day.

Pinkpinkpink.

Now, I'm really not usually a candle person. But at my work, we have a massive selection of Yankee Candles, and a lot of people buy them- so after 8 hours of ringing in such pretty little good smelling things, I started using candles more. I like to light them beside my bath after a day at work~

The label came off of this one, but it's Fresh-cut Rose Petals, apparently. 

Sneaky Rilakkumas.

Moooore anime con swag! Arpakassos have blown up like crazy in popularity, and it's so hard to resist the little guys when they're sitting so pretty at a table in the Vendor's Hall. I dug around desperately trying to find this exact colour and style, she's the perfect princess companion

Her name is Rose ♡

Little crown shot~

And that's my July Favourites! I hope you found this interesting/entertaining in some way. Until my next post, farewell friends!

Halifax's 1st Harajuku Fashion Walk! ♡

Hello cuties!
Recently, I attended my first ever Harajuku Fashion Walk, and the first ever walk on this side of Canada! Now, I live in a really really small Canadian province that's pretty closed-minded and behind on the times, so not much happens over here to do with anything fashion-related. But, living on the island we get pretty used to taking quick trips over to the surrounding provinces where it's a little more happening, so it wasn't too big of a hassle to take a jaunt over to Halifax for their first ever Harajuku Fashion Walk.

We took a group photo before the walk! So many great coords ♡

The walk was held by a super cute J-fashion shop called Toxic Blossom. Toxic Blossom sells all sorts of Japanese fashion and pop culture goodies ranging from Lolita and Fairy Kei-type sweet styles, to more punky Visual-kei pieces and creepy cute, as well as general street style~ They sell imported goods as well as pieces made in-store.

The front desk at the shop~

The walk started outside of a popular farmer's market and ended at Toxic Blossom's store, about 30 minutes from the starting point. The whole walk was on the boardwalk by the water, it was so gorgeous and the breeze was lovely
There were all sorts of fashions represented, I was amazed at the turn out! Especially for the first ever walk in such a little area. There were around 45 attendees! Each and every one of them in fabulous street styles. There were a number of sweet, gothic, and classic Lolitas, as well as a ton of Fairy Kei and creepy cute/pastel goth. There were two amazing shironuri as well, they've done shironuri at conventions in the area before and always look gorgeous.

Shironuri cuties!

After the actual walk we met at Toxic Blossom and hung out for a little longer, as well as had a swap meet! The swap meet was actually my idea because I had a ton of stuff I wanted to get rid of.

The shop was swarmed with people all dolled up ♡

Halifax's first Harajuku Fashion Walk was a massive success, and a really eye-opening experience for me. Living where I do I really am the only one who wears this sort of stuff out and about, and being in a place surrounded by so many people who love the things I do was so crazy to me. I can't wait for the next one! ✧

Here's some more snaps from the walk:

Walking along the boardwalk~ I'm the one in the Ego and Greed flatforms.

We stopped for another group photo along the way!

Fairy kei cuties, these girls are the sweetest.

A Lolita and I believe a gyaru! 

Many many cuties.

Thank you so much for reading! Until next time~