Photoshoot: A country girl by the sea

Hello readers! How are you today? I'm happy it's the weekend!

I mentioned in my last post that I had a photoshoot with Lauren Pinhorn coming up. It went very well, and I now have the fruits of our combined labour to share with you....

The photoshoot location was Brighton, and we took in many of the sights, including the pier, the boardwalk and the Royal Pavillion.

The day was so bright and warm, and the sea was beautiful and blue. The conditions were almost perfect, only a little too bright perhaps, I could hardly keep my eyes open!

The character I thought of for this shoot was a girl from the countryside going to see the sea for the first time. She was so excited to see it, as soon as she arrived she rushed from the station to the pier, taking her case with her.

****

Lauren was great to work with, and we managed to take hundreds of pictures. While planning the shoot we talked about what sort of look we wanted for the photos. Brighton was a great location for the Victorian theme we chose!

If you look at Lauren's previous work, the thing that stood out for me was the natural quality of her photos. I felt inspired by this and therefore I didn't want to look too posed (although you know I am a poser!) which is why I tried to inhabit the role of a character.

I really like the way she edited the pictures, giving them a graininess that evokes the period of early photography. The colours and saturation also bring back the memories of that day and the feeling of the warmth of the sun.  

I hope you enjoyed the photos, and didn't feel too sick with my wordy nonsense! 

Please do take time to look at Lauren's website and blog:

http://www.laurenpinhorn.com/

and

http://laurenpinhorn.blogspot.co.uk/

Thank you, and see you next time!

Sapphira

xxxx

The name of the ROSE

Hello readers! How are you enjoying your weekend?

I'm having a photoshoot with Lauren Pinhorn Photography tomorrow, I can't wait! I'll share the photos with you as soon as possible.

Today I will tell you about ASAGI of D's original bath salts!

My friend Yami No Geisha recommended this product to me. She has written a very nice review of it which you can read here. I love to take baths, and I love roses, and I love D, so I had to try it!

As you can see, it's called "The name of the ROSE" like D's album and the pretty packaging features lots of beautiful red roses. The scent is "rose garden".

In the box you get five sachets of bath salts. Also included is a photocard of the band wearing their Schwarzschild costumes which is very nice apart from the awkward photoshop of poor Ruiza! He could carry a tea tray on his head if it was really that flat.

The ingredients include rose hip oil, rose water, wild rose essence, hyaluronic acid and collagen. Lots of lovely things for your skin! The last two seem to be very popular ingredients in Japanese skincare at the moment.

Since my friend had praised this product so much I couldn't wait to use it! I wasn't disappointed at all. As she said, the scent is very natural, a kind and gentle rosy smell. Sometimes rose scents can be too sickly sweet, like rose syrup, but this was very delicate.

However, it does rather look like rose syrup (Malaysian and Singapore readers- it's like taking a bath in bandung!) Luckily this pretty shade of pink does not leave any trace apart from a delicious rose smell, but at the time I was worried that my mother would see the water and accuse me of ruining her bathroom! 

Although the colour looks strong, the bath was pleasant and mild on my skin and had a nice moisturising effect. Of course, everyone's skin is different but I do think that this is a high quality product. I had a lovely and relaxing bath and felt so pretty afterwards with this beautiful scent!

So there you have it, not only is ASAGI a talented musician but he makes wonderful bath salts too! Many thanks to Yami No Geisha for the tip.

You can buy The name of the ROSE bath salts from cooljapan store here, or if you're in Japan from ASAGI's brand Rosen Kranz.

Thanks for reading! 

Springtime Antique Bouquet

Hello readers! How are you?

I have another coordinate to show you today! It's the second one that I made for the contest.

~Rundown~

Hat: corgi-corgi

Onepiece: Metamorphose temps de fille

Wrist cuffs: Baby, the Stars Shine Bright

Everything else: Offbrand

I got this onepiece when I decided that classical kei lolita was the style for me! I wasn't experienced in buying online at that time, so when it arrived I was a bit suprised at how short it was. However, this makes for a cute warm weather outfit!

Metamorphose's Antique Bouquet is one of my favourite prints! As I build my collection, I want an item from this series in each colourway. So far I have dusky pink and I have black. The eau de nil is so nice!

I hope you liked my outfit! The next post I do will be a review, something a bit different :)

See you next time,

Sapphira

xxxxx

Romantic Spring Coordinate

Hello readers! How are you?

Today I entered the Yuka Obara x Kawaii.i fashion contest on Facebook. You can see my entry here.

I actually prepared three different outfits for this contest (I had the day off work). I tried some styles that are a bit different to my usual classical lolita fashion. As well as that I pencilled my eyebrows very carefully this time, in a thick, natural straight style. What do you think of them? Please check the second photo and let me know!

After I submitted my entry, I immediately felt I had chosen the wrong outfit! Isn't that always the way?

I think I should have used this coord....

 

~Dress is vintage, everthing else offbrand~

Never mind, I wouldn't have won anyway! The main point was to have fun dressing up, which I did. So, no harm done. 

Have you entered this contest? It finishes on the 25th, so you'd better hurry! Good luck.

See you next time,

Sapphira

xxxx

Brown x Bordeaux

Hello readers! How are you?

I liked the colours of the last coord I posted so much that today's has the same theme:

~Rundown~

Blouse- Vintage

Skirt- Innocent World

Everything else- Offbrand

I hope you liked my outfit. Next time I want to post a nice springtime outfit, so let's hope for fine weather~

Hope you're having a nice weekend! Thanks for visiting.

Sapphira

xxxx

Teddies to Teddy's

Hello readers!

Today it's another coordinate post, with a brown and bordeaux colour scheme. Although spring is in the air, it's still rather chilly so I was in a wintery mode at the weekend.

~Rundown~

Headbow, JSK- Innocent World

Cutsew- axes femme

Tights, boots- Offbrand

I wore this to have lunch in a cute cafe in town called Teddy's, hence the title.

I realised that I haven't taken a picture showing with the cape that came with my VM coat, so I took a picture by the little church. 

I really love the cape, though of course it makes it all the more fiddly when you have to take it on and off. It makes the coat more gorgeous right away, and it makes quite a difference in heat besides!

I hope you liked my outfit. Thank you very much for checking my blog.

See you next time,

Sapphira

xxxx

Licca-chan exhibition at Okadaya

Hello readers!

Today's post is the last one about my trip to Japan in January. On this day I went to Okadaya, one of the most fun shops in Tokyo! Okadaya actually consists of two tall buildings, and it is filled with all manner of useful and pretty things for sewing, crafts and costuming. I love spending time there! This visit was even more interesting, because there was an exhibition of Licca-chan dolls.

Have you met Licca-chan before? She is Japan's answer to Barbie. She's very cute, don't you think? I loved Barbie so much when I was growing up, but Licca-chan is also very appealing and stylish, as you shall see!

I'd love to wear this outfit for shopping, or even at work!

This is another of my favourites. The apron is styled like German costume, but the denim gives it a prairie look. She looks so sweet <3 This colour combination is nice and a little bit unusual too!

Another natural kei/prairie outfit.

I know it's a bit frumpy, but I do love a smock. Here Licca-chan looks like Red Riding Hood!

Another coordinate I can easily imagine wearing. I think she might have had a little rucksack on her back.

I'm not sure how these huge clumpy boots would work with this dress on a real person, but on a doll they're very sweet. I like this vibrant blue!

I love her hairstyle here! She looks so casual and fresh, as if she's dressed for the first day of spring.

Pink-haired Licca-chan! I suppose this is an outfit for a stay at home day. 

Finally here's my outfit (not as cute I know....)

~Rundown~

Scarf (worn in hair) and blouse- Vintage

Cuffs- Baby, the Stars Shine Bright

Jumperskirt- Emily Temple Cute

Bag- Metamorphose

Others- Offbrand

I had tea at the Keio Plaza hotel and later had even more tea and dinner with my dear friend :)

I hope you've enjoyed this series of posts! It's been fun to look back at my holiday and I've really enjoyed your comments. Thanks so much for reading!

Se you next time,

Sapphira

xxxx

Jane Marple 60s Dolly Oufit

Hello dear readers!

Today I have just a simple coordinate snap for you. It's the first time I've posted a picture of me in this dress! It was a present from a dear friend of mine and I love it very much. Because of that, I wanted to make sure that when I posted it, it would be an outfit I'm proud of.

So, here it is:

~Rundown~

Hair ribbons- Metamorphose

Blouse- Anna House

Necktie- Vinatge

Jumperskirt- Jane Marple

Tights, shoes- Offbrand

The mini-length and graphic style of this Jane Marple jumperskirt reminds me of the 1960s right away. These days we might think of free love, psychedelia and drug-taking when we think of the 1960s. Personally though, what I like about that era are it's more innocent aspects, and in fact there are quite a few! 

Some of my favourite movies were made in the  early '60s: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Mary Poppins, The Sound of Music, My Fair Lady. As well as that, the popular women of the 1960s had a more girlish air than that of the previous decade; slim and delicate creatures like Twiggy and Audrey Hepburn. In fact, it was a time when girls could be girls, and were free to express their cuteness! That's a bit in common with our Lolita spirit, isn't it?

With this outfit I tempered cuteness with primness. Black accents add a bit of hardness to the baby-doll cut of the dress, and while the blouse is frilly the necktie is formal.

I hope you liked my coordinate! What are your thoughts about the 1960s? I'd love to hear them!

See you next time,

Sapphira

xxxx

Yoyogi Koen and Meiji Jingu

Hello everyone!

Today's post is another installation of my trip to Japan. I'm coming to the end of these posts- I feel quite sad. However, it's nice to relieve these memories, and this particular day was one of my favourites.

Here's my coordinate:

~Rundown~

Hat: corgi-corgi

Blouse, scarf: Vintage

Skirt, socks: Innocent World

Basket: Disney Sea!

On this day we went to Harajuku again. This time we took a walk in Yoyogi Park and visited Meiji Shrine.... aaaand did some shopping!

I took a photo here the first time I came to Japan! Somehow this picture came out looking as if it was snowing. I don't know how it happened but it's pretty! The coat is Victorian Maiden and the muff is Innocent World.

Meiji Shrine is so beautiful, this picture really doesn't do it justice. It has the loveliest atmosphere, so romantic!

We took a walk in the imperial garden. January is seldom the best time to see any sort of garden, but it was such a beautiful clear sunny day that even though the plants were sleeping it was a very charming place.

Empress Soken used to fish from this jetty. I never imagined empresses fishing, but this one did!

Once again I went to Laforet! I'd seen some adorable wrist cuffs in Baby previously; as luck would have it they were still there! I really like the delicate tulle lace with a rose pattern and the cream colour. These will be so handy in summer when I wear short sleeves. The shop staff was so kind and wrapped them very carefully, and let me choose between an Alice and the Pirates bag or a Baby bag.

Then I got a handbag in Metamorphose too! Again, the shop staff was lovely. I took a while to decide between this one and a smaller one with rose embroidery, and she explained their features with great care which was very helpful. In the end I chose this one because it holds a lot but because of the shape it doesn't look too hefty. 

The most charming point is this metal plate. The scallops are so pretty too, and this particular shade of matte brown was just what I wanted. 

The zips are also adorable! Look at the tiny Metamorphose swans.

The lining is cream and brown, very handy. No chance of losing things in here!

I still sort of want the smaller bag too, the square one. There's a red version that's really lovely.

Thanks for looking, and I hope you enjoyed the pictures. Oh dear, I really do miss Japan!

Sapphira

xxxx