Puffy twin tails tutorial

Hello dear readers! How are you?

Did anyone see Saoirse Clohessy's classic lolita article in MyM magazine? Here's my photo from the article:

What do you think about my hairstyle?

If you'd like to try wearing it yourself, you can follow this tutorial:

Here are the instrcutions:

1. Separate hair into two low ponytails.

2. Take one of the ponytails and tie it off about 6-10cm down.

3. Tease the section of hair you have created outwards by gently pulling it with your fingers to create volume.

4. Tie off another section and tease it out in the same way. It is easiest to do the teasing section by section.

5. Continue the process until you have a tail of 6-10cm left at the bottom, and repeat on the other side.

Good luck if you try it, and thank you for watching!

Sapphira
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Looped Braids Tutorial (version two)

Hello dear readers!

How are you? Do you remember my looped braids tutorial from last year?

Lately I've been doing a different version of the looped braids, and I've made a video to show you how!

This is the style you'll achieve:

Here are the written instructions:

1. Part your hair down the centre and put it in two high ponytails. Use an elastic that matches the colour of your hair.

2. Braid the ponytails and use a small elastic in the same colour to fasten the ends.

3. Loop the end of the braid over the base of the ponytail from front to back, ensuring that you leave enough at the end of the braid to wrap around the base and cover the elastics.

4. Fasten the braid at the base with pins. You can use U-shaped pins or bobby pins, whichever you find easier. Do make sure they're fastened on tightly!

5. Finish by adding a hair accessory to match your outfit like a ribbon or flowers.

The video:

It's a very doll-like style, and you don't need any wig! It's especially practical for hot weather but cute in winter too. I think it looks nice either with a big ribbon like the one I used, or with two small ribbons on either side. 

I hope you'll easily be able to do acheive this style using the instructions, picture and video as reference. Since it's my first time making a video, please let me know what you think and feel free to suggest improvements.

Thanks for reading and watching!

See you next time,

Sapphira

Classic Lolita Make-up Tutorial

Natural Cat Eye Make-up Tutorial

Hello dear readers! How are you today? Hope you are well.

Today I'm trying something for the first time; a make up tutorial. The lovely Namalie asked me to make one, and I was happy to oblige.

This tutorial is for my everyday eye make-up style. As a classic lolita, I try to acheive a look that is natural but still doll-like, emphasising big eyes. I use black winged eyeliner, neutral eyeshadow and occasionally half lashes.  Mine are from Daiso- cheap but effective!

These half lashes give an nice emphasis to the outer corner of the eyes, which is perfect for cat-eye make-up.

Here is what you'll need to create this look: 

Black liquid eyeliner pen

White eyeliner pencil 

Light gold eyeshadow

Dark gold eyeshadow

Eyelash curler

Black volumising mascara

Half-type false lashes

Lash glue

Now on to the tutorial!

1. Start by applying your favourite base make-up. I use a mineral powder foundation, and make sure I put some on my eye area and eyelashes in order to create a good base for my eye make-up to stick to.

2. Use the liquid eyeliner pen to line the roots of your upper lashes. It's a little difficult to describe, but you should run the pen under your lashes, not quite on the waterline but right at the roots. It doesn't show much in the pictures, but trust me, it makes a difference!

3. Draw a line starting slightly in from the inside corner of your eye, extending outwards and downwards from the outside corner of your eye. Drawing the line downwards gives a tare me (drooping eye) effect for kind-looking eyes.

3. Draw a line from the centre of your lower lid outwards and upwards, connecting with the line we drew before. This creates the template for the retro neko me (cat eye) wing.

4. Now fill in the wing, ensuring that the line narrows as it nears the inner corner of your eye. Use the white eyeliner pencil to add a highlight to the inner corner of your eye. 

5. Here you can see it from a different angle. The white eyeliner helps to open and brighten the eye.

6. Apply the light gold eyeshadow all over your upper eyelid and eye socket, and along your lower lash line. Add a little extra on your browbone to highlight.

7. Applying rather thick eyeliner has caused the double eyelid to appear decreased, so now we need to restore some depth to the eye area. Apply the dark gold eyeshadow to your eye crease.

8. Also apply some to the outer corner of your lower lid, and blend the two shades together. If any of the shadow has got onto your eyeliner (it probably has), reapply.

9. Allow a little time for your reapplied eyeliner to dry, then curl your upper lashes and apply black mascara.

10. Again, allow some time for your upper lashes to dry. Then apply black mascara to your lower lashes.

11. The finishing touch is the application of the half lashes. Half lashes are great for beginners as they are much easier to apply than full lashes, being much shorter. Apply a fairly generous amount of glue to the spine of the lash, making sure to put a little extra at the ends. Allow 30 seconds for the glue to become tacky, then apply the lashes slightly outwards and downwards of the outer corner of your eye (following the line we drew in step 3).

Finished!

Well, I'm not be a make-up genius and I'm still trying to make improvements here and there, but I tried to make my tutorial as clear and concise as possible so that anyone can use it, even lolitas who have not tried make-up before. Let me know what you think!

Have a lovely weekend everyone,

Sapphira

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Straw half-bonnet tutorial

Hello readers! How are you? 

As you can see, I've changed Elegant Poupée's appearance a little. It still needs some work though.

Today I've put together a tutorial for you. I'll explain how I made the straw half-bonnet I wore for my recent photoshoot (it's very simple!) as well as sharing some general bonnet tips.

~STRAW HALF-BONNET TUTORIAL~

This bonnet was constructed from an existing straw hat. There are just five simple steps to make it.

I started with an ordinary straw hat. This one is quite small, meant for children to decorate for Easter. It's constructed in a continuous strip of woven straw, which makes it very easy to work with. This tutorial may not work as well for other types of straw hats!

1. The first thing to do is cut a slit into the brim and up to the crown. Then cut away the top part of the crown (half-bonnets have no back to them). Cut along the edge of the woven strip for a neat finish. It sort of looks like a half bonnet already, doesn't it?

2. Now we have to determine how much of the brim to cut away. I did this by cutting away at the brim bit by bit and trying it on until I was happy with it. This is what I ended up with. You can refer to the photo at the beginning of the post to see what size we are aiming for.

3. Of course, we are now left with rough edges where we have cut into the straw. We'll cover those up by stitching ribbon or bias binding around. As you can see, I incorporated the bonnet ties into the binding. At this point, the bonnet is basically finished! That was easy, wasn't it?

4. We are missing one important thing though, and that is a little decoration to make our bonnet pretty. Since it's a straw bonnet with a country loli feeling, flowers, fruit, cotton lace or gingham ribbon might be nice. I coloured in these white foam craft roses with marker pens to match my chosen colour scheme, and tea-stained the doilies I bought from Daiso in Singapore to make my bonnet adornments.

5. Since the shape of the bonnet has somewhat unsightly corners, it's better to arrange the decoration to cover them. Although, the corners are much less noticeable when worn. Sew or glue your decorations on firmly. Well done, your straw half-bonnet is finished!

My tutorial was the cheat's way to do it, but if you'd like to try something a bit more professional, how about taking a look at this lovely tutorial from Tyler of Lily of the Valley?

Bonnets take a bit of confidence to wear, so for now I'm starting small and simple. I would love to wear a more grand bonnet for a photoshoot or Lolita tea party! Maybe when I've gained more confidence I'll wear one for going to buy milk or post a letter.... There are a few brands whose bonnets make me dream of that day!

Triple Fortune http://3-f.jp/

The milliners that make a classic lolita's heart beat faster! I tried on a most beautiful pale blue bonnet in Atelier Pierrot two summer ago, I regret so much that I didn't get it. 

Ophanim http://ophanimgothique.blogspot.co.uk/

A brand run by Caro of Fyeah Lolita. Check the bonnet gallery for pictures of her wonderful creations! 

Kaleido Waltz http://yaplog.jp/kaleidowaltz/

The website hasn't been updated forever, so I suspect this brand is on hiatus. However we can still enjoy beautiful pictures of these lovely and intricate bonnets. Sumika-san, the designer, is so stylish! Perhaps you've seen her snap in KERA or Gothic and Lolita Bible?

Thank you very much for reading today's entry. I hope you found it useful and perhaps even interesting! Which bonnet brands do you admire? Do you know what happened to Kaleido Waltz? Have you made any bonnets?

See you next time,

Sapphira

xxxx

Horns hair tutorial

Hello everyone! I got a couple of enquiries as to how I acheived the 'horns' hairstyle I wore on Halloween, so I thought I'd make a little tutorial. The technique takes a bit of practice, but is essentially very simple. I hope you'll try it out!

First you need to section off your hair on either side. I take a section from the top of my ear up to the beginning of my fringe. If you like, you could leave a little hair on either side to frame your face.

Tie the sections into two ponytails. You can see from the picture that only a little hair is required to make the horns, but if your hair is short-ish you make need to compensate with more thickness. 

Now twist on the ponytails. This makes the hair easier to work with.

Start to create the horns by wrapping the twisted hair around the base of the ponytail.

To make the correct shape, you'll need to have more hair at the base of the horn and less at the top. I find that when you have wrapped it a few times, if you hold the tip of the horn then continue wrapping the hair around the base the shape will form nicely.

When there's a little hair left, be sure to tuck the end into the base of the horn to hide it. This will also help to secure it in place.

Slide two hairpins crossways into the bottom of the horn to anchor it.

Repeat the process for the other side.

Finish with a light coat of hairspray, and you're done!

Hint~ Wrap the hair as tightly as possible! Once you have made the horns, you can adjust them by pulling the hair gently with your fingers. Before pinning them in place, maneuver the horns so they are as symmetrical as possible.

I hope this was useful! Good luck if you try it out, and if you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask. 

Gradated nail colour

I tend to leave my fingernails natural, but I recently I was admiring my friend's s pretty, subtle style of manicure. She suprised me with the very same nail kit as hers for my birthday!

left to right A, B, C

There are three colours, as you can see. The base colour (A) is a natural pink, next is a subtle glitter (B), then a sparkly coral colour (C). You build them up in layers like this:

It was simple to do, and I was fairly satisfied with my first attempt!

It's such a delicate colour that it's a bit difficult to photograph. I like the effect though! It's not too much of a departure from natural nails, but adds a little subtle sparkle. 

What sort of nail style do you favour, dear reader? And what do you think works well with classical kei?

Looped Braids Hairstyle Tutorial

As requested, I've put together a little tutorial! I really enjoyed making it, and I hope to make another in the future.

Please try it out, and if you have any suggestions for improvements, let me know in the comments.

~continued~

Here's a couple more pictures of the end result:

Thank you again, and bye for now!

A handmade headdress

I really liked the last outfit I posted, and I felt like making an accessory to go with it. I had a look through my collection of ribbons and trims, and selected this:

The ribbon roses and lace are rather humble looking, but I think that they're perfect for this provincial look!

Here's what I made:

The ties are velvet ribbons in a very pale blue. Here's a picture of it worn:

Very simple! It reminds me a little of the indie brand Fairy Wish (http://fairy-wish.com/). It's one of my favourites. The designer worked for Moitie previously, and you can definitely see some similarites. However I think Fairy Wish items also have a whimiscal and handmade sort of look to them. 

What do you think of Fairy Wish, reader? Which indie brands are your favourites?