Sep 8, 2010 | DIY
I have such a thing for accessories, and Japanese magazines such as Vivi never fail to supply an endless source of ideas and inspiration. Always torn between whimsically feminine and punky/edgy, I constantly vascillate back and forth in my own outfits…but when it comes to frilly, flowery, and girly pieces Japanese mags always beat the rest. This flowered hair clip (similar to one featured in Vivi May 2010) is super-easy to make, but lends a pretty and feminine vibe to anything you’re wearing.
You Need:
*silk flowers (mine were cornflowers, daisies, and forsythia…and a white plum or something but I’m not sure)
*tiny white seed beads
*stiff black felt
*hair clip
and…
*hot glue gun + glue stick
*hand-sewing needle
*black thread
*scissors
*toothpick
*craft glue
How-To:
1. Separate the silk flowers from their stems.
If the flowers have jutting base stems, cut those off.
2. Cut a small piece of the felt in a oval shape. Mine was about 4″ long by 3″ wide.
3. Spread a tiny amount of craft glue around the center of the main daisy. Use a toothpick to position the seed beads in a ring around the center. (You could also potentially do this after you’ve glued the daisy to the felt base, but I found it easier to do it first.) Allow to dry.
4. Use a needle and thread to anchor the hair clip to the felt oval. (Remove the center prong first and then loop the thread around the clip base.)
5. Spread some hot glue on the underside of a flower and press onto the felt. Add more flowers, clustering them close together. If the petals begin to separate, add more hot glue in-between the layers of petals.
Use the toothpick to prevent the petals from tangling on one another. 
6. Trim the edges of the felt base so it can’t be seen from the front.
And that’s it! Soft, slightly curled hair works best with this piece – or you could try this in front of a ponytail (again, going for the soft look).
If you want more security, you could also make this attached to a thin headband, or add a pin-back to use it as a corsage pin on a jacket or a bag.
I’d love to see your combination of flowers and colors on this little piece!
Happy DIY’ing!
xoxox
Carly
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Aug 26, 2010 | Beauty, From You, Media
from formspring.me:
I just got back from Hawaii and noticed how flawless most Japanese women’s skin is. What make-up are they using?!
Gosh, I wish I knew for sure! The lovely skin of all the Japanese women and girls around me was always a complex for me growing up – since I moved to Japan just as I hit those ohsofun years of puberty, and experienced all the skin problems that entailed.;-) I always wanted to stop people on the street and ask them what their secrets were…
I’m by no means a dermatologist but as far as what I understand from reading Japanese mags, talking to Japanese friends, and watching Japanese TV – in general the “naked face” or “no make-up look” is not what younger Japanese women go for. It’s interesting – in the US that’s sort of the gold standard when it comes to foundation…that you look like you’re wearing nothing! (I think that’s why Bare Minerals is so successful here, as well as the almost constant advice that you look best when you just “dot concealer on your flaws and leave the rest of your face without foundation and natural-looking.”)
In Japan, the standard is TONS of makeup – so much so that they have shows on tv where girls are forced to wash off their makeup and everyone laughs at them to see that their faces are completely different (and missing eyebrows is a favorite taunt). Many young Japanese women go the whole shebang: primer, foundation, concealer, dark contour, highlight, setting powder, and oil-blotting sheets throughout the day. Their skin-care regimen is in general much more involved than that of many Americans: responding to polls many girls admit that they spend 1-2 hours in the morning on their skincare/makeup, and another 1-2 hours in the evening! (Among women under the age of 30, or at least the ones that reply to said polls for magazines and TV shows.) When it comes to makeup brands, it seems that the Japanese will buy the most expensive brand of foundation – they definitely don’t skimp there. Dior, Chanel, Lancome, Shiseido, SK-II, Kate, RMK – all mainstays in the foundation market. They use specific concealers for their pores and specific concealers for their undereye area. Even in the heat (like Hawaii, or during summer), they will still layer on the makeup, and use blotting sheets meticulously to soak up the oil and impart a layer of powder on their faces (I’m a big fan of the Biore brand of blotting sheets – why the heck don’t they make them here??). Many Japanese girls also cover up from the sun and use sunscreen religiously (though there is the contingent that uses tanning beds, though they’re not a majority by any means).
Also, I suspect a large component of their beautiful skin is diet: taking a daily vitamin is still quite a new concept since the accepted practice in Japan is to get one’s vitamins from FOOD. Even young Japanese women “on a diet”will still eat a wide variety of vegetables (prepared in a number of different ways) at every meal, a large amount of fish weekly, and use condiments that are soy-based, miso-based, and vinegar-based. The amount and variety of vegetables, seafood, and skin-healthy condiments that we use in the US pales in comparison. Plus, living in Japan in the major metropolitan areas, everyone gets tons of exercise walking around or riding their bikes or commuting – so they’re getting above and beyond that 30 minutes of recommended exercise a day, which I’m sure has something to do with their skin quality. Plus add in long, hot baths, soaking salts, and trips to the esthetician (for some), and that might just be a good picture of why the skin of Japanese women looks so fabulous. (The main dermatological complaint in Japan? Dry, flaky skin!!)
I’ve scanned a couple recent features from Vivi Magazine and S-Cawaii Magazine on how to apply foundation [click to enlarge], so you can see the method that they suggest for applying makeup. (I’d venture to guess that this method is pretty indicative of – if not a little more involved than – the average Japanese girl’s makeup routine. Imagine if they listed this step-by-step in Marie Claire or Lucky! Who would follow it here in the US??)
Japanese women or those who have more knowledge of this subject, please feel free to weigh in!
Thanks for your question!
xoxox
Carly
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Aug 17, 2010 | Beauty, From You, Life
from formspring.me:
How do you keep yourself looking so good, young and skinny? 🙂
Awww, thank you! You’re so very sweet:-)
It’s probably a combination of genes and habits (and maybe Photoshop??? hehe;-).
On the beach in Hawaii. I don’t know how I survived living there for 4 years without turning into a lobster.
I’ve used the highest SPF I possibly can (that’s still affordable) since I was 16 when I realized I am just physically unable to tan. I’ve been using SPF 110 for the last year or so – I always buy the Neutrogena brand that has Helioplex in it
, and I put it on after my moisturizer, every single day, rain or shine, whether I’m going in or staying out, on my face, neck (front & back), chest (if exposed), backs of the hands, and arms (if exposed). When I go to the beach, I stay hidden under a huge umbrella, with a huge hat, huge sunglasses (yes, HUGE is the word of the day), and often drape my clothing over my head to cover myself. I always wear a long t-shirt when I swim outside (though I recently purchased a long-sleeved rashguard, so now I’m on the hunt for the perfect pair of board-shorts to go with it. Heck, I would wear something like a 1920’s bathing costume if I could just so I could be more covered-up.) All this is not exactly carefree or fun, but it’s second-nature to me now.
I’ve also never smoked or done any drugs – and was never a “partier” during my school years.
I only drink water (I hate alcohol, and cut coffee, soda, and juice out of my diet about 10 years ago or so). Sure, I might have the tiniest sip now and then of Hub’s diet Coke or Lil Tot’s apple juice, but on the whole most sweet drinks just taste too sweet to me, and soda too fizzy. I guess I’ve just lost the palate for it! (I do drink some green tea or peppermint tea once in awhile for the health benefits, but 98% of the time I’m drinking water.)
I also eat lots of fruit and raw vegetables, stopped using salad dressing like 13 years ago, eat a handful of nuts and 1T – 2T of ground flaxseed every day, and try to choose things that have more health benefits than health risks to put in my body. About 2-3 days a week I’ll only eat and cook vegetarian or vegan meals; I eat red meat rarely, though I do love chicken. (I always joke that I was a vegetarian for 6 years until KFC did me in…because I do have a terrible weakness for the stuff. But I might eat KFC like once every 6 months?? Colonel’s Extra Crispy!)
I only recently started learning a lot about nutrition and how the body works through my subscription to Health Magazine (they are the best – seriously!!) and Parents Magazine, and doing Tony Horton’s diet and exercise programs [Power 90 and P90X] through the years. There was so much I didn’t know about health and nutrition and food until I was in my late 20’s!! What a waste high school Health Class was. (Is anybody with me on this??)
So yes, I LOVE Ruffles potato chips and chocolate cake and fruit pies and peanut butter cookies and butterscotch candies and licorice and Twizzlers and shortbreads and chocolate but I do try to eat those things rarely and barter them for other things in my diet that may have very little health benefits as well.
Like I will eat only a small amount of white rice (this makes me popular with my Japanese in-laws!!) in exchange for eating a small slice of cake for dessert. I may eat an ounce of potato chips but then will forgo my serving of carbs or make my serving of meat smaller at dinner. Though I like fat free milk better, I eat my cereal with soymilk because it’s the same amount of calories with higher protein from a non-animal source, no HGH or other preservatives etc. Stuff like that adds up in the long run, I guess.
I am still trying to get back into my usual workout routine which I had to take time off from while I was sick during the Spring. Until then I was jogging or speed-walking intervals 3x a week, and did another day or two of weight-training and/or yoga or stretching. But after hitting 30 , moving to suburbia, and sitting about the house all day [in front of the computer], the pounds have definitely crept on so I’m no role model in that respect.:-)
I also take a multi-vitamin, extra Vitamin D, and a calcium supplement daily, as well as use a retinol-based serum mixed in with my night cream that has really produced visible results. Plus Oil of Olay products have also really helped the quality and texture of my skin.
Hope that answers your question!
xoxo
Carly
Jul 26, 2010 | Beauty
Add a brooch to a folded wide scarf for a headband-look. (Fold scarf into about 3″ wide to replicate this.)
I know you guys are probably completely sick of my going on and on about my favorite magazine Vivi, but I thought this particular editorial on styling with hair accessories was really useful. With summer here I’m suffering from bad hair day after bad hair day (what with the hot, dry Oregon summer and me growing my hair out n all) – so hair accessories for me a MUST to induce a little bit of chic-ness into my outfit when everything on my head has fallen flat.
So here you go – I made these extra big so you can click on them and enlarge to see the how-to. Hope this is helpful and gives you some styling ideas!
Bohemian-style hair: using an elasticized headband and a flower headband.
Using scarves: 1) Regular Bow (uses 30″ square scarf) and Big Bow (uses 69″ long scarf) , 2) Petite Ponytail Scarf (uses 19″ square scarf), 3) Turban (uses 63″ long scarf)
from Vivi Magazine August issue
xoxox
Carly
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Jul 12, 2010 | Beauty, From You
img from giftofhair.org
from formspring.me (continued from an earlier question):
I will be shaving my head in a couple of weeks for charity and as I will be pretty much bald (eek!) I was wondering if you had any ideas for cool hats or headscarves to cover me up during the hot summer. For more info on the cause visit my blog: www.susanna-d.blogspot.com
Wow! Good for you! That takes guts to do, though it’s certainly for a great cause.
If you’re looking to cover up and aren’t into purchasing a wig while waiting for your hair to grow back, either a hat or a head-scarf (or a combination of the two!) will probably be your best bet.
clockwise, from green hat:
Right now is a really great time for hats, as Target currently is stocking their Eugenia Kim for Target line of stylish, chic hats – for a fraction of the cost of what Eugenia Kim hats usually sell for. Kim, who shaved her head after suffering a bad haircut, found there was such a lack of stylish headgear on the market that she designed her own cover-up. Thus, she’s certainly no stranger to your dilemma – and I love that this wide-brimmed straw hat has its own scarf built in to it – an added plus. This green fedora is super-cute and city sassy, which would look great paired with a floaty tee and bermuda shorts. You could also try different shapes to see what works with your body type and style; military-style caps, wide sunhats, and boater hats are all on-trend options.
If you’re uncomfortable about a lack of hairline showing, then a head-scarf underneath your hat may be a good (though warm) choice. You could also, of course, wear the head-scarf on its own, tied in a chignon, bow, or donut shape. A fun print (like this monotone faces print) can look summery or sophisticated depending on how you tie it. Here is a video showing 3 variations of tying a head scarf and here is a list of links to other headscarf-tying resources. If you’re daring, you could also try a turban, though you’d have to pick and choose your coordinating outfit carefully to avoid it looking too matronly.
A cloche is always a great option since it covers your head completely, though they’re often made of felt and may be too warm for summer. A cloche-shaped straw hat, though, has a slightly retro-feminine feel to it, and looks super-sweet with any casual, breezy outfit. As the weather cools down you can also go for bucket-shaped and fuller hats made of thicker materials. Small details like ribbon trim, a flower or rhinestone clip, bows, or tiny fabric flowers elevate something that looks like you’re desperately trying to cover your head up…to a stylish accessory in your ensemble.
Excellent sources of such accoutrements (besides the obvious like department stores or boutiques) are places that specialize in headgear for people who have suffered hair loss for medical reasons, like chemotherapy, alopecia, or trichotillomania. Headcovers Unlimited and Hat, Scarves, and More are two great online places to start. (The reversible soft hats from Just In Time are super-chic too!) And since I’m suck a DIY maniac, I might try my hand at sewing up my own head-covering, choosing from the wide variety of patterns for hats and scarves from Brimming with Love.
As always, the more confidence you have, the less people will notice any lack of hair – and most people will just assume any head-covering is part of your stylichly chic ensemble anyway!
Best of luck-
xoxox
Carly
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