// Give me the half moon manicure

Posted on | March 6, 2010 | 5 Comments

I truly am a low-maintenance girl — but I do love make-up and thus I’m occasionally exceeding the normal daily maintenance level just because I like to work with color. To be honest I’m not that much into nail art (too little impact with too much fuss — although I somehow like those tiny and often tacky nail decorations), but I do experiment sometimes with the classic manicure variations: french and half moon mani.

With half moons I prefer the traditional look where the bottom of the nail bed is left bare although my nails are not ideal for that. My own half moon is tiny and thus I get a funky double moon effect. But the double polish effect is very difficult to achieve in a way that the result looks tidy — but I have found a decent method for the bare moon.

Personally I dislike all sticker guide methods for half moons and french manicures, the guides always leak and make the edge untidy and undefined. I have been practising the freehand method and it works… …for my left hand when I can use my right hand for the job (yes, I’m right handed). The overall best routine in my opinion is the removal method, you can use a brush and nail polish remover to create the half moon shape — or perfect tip shape for french manis. Of course this method has some limitations: the color you want to shape is always the first one against the nail bed. In french manis I actually prefer that order — but to get the best half moon effect for my nails I would like to have a coat of white or nude polish underneath a dark contrast color.

For this kind of look pick a good pigmented polish, you need to achieve the desired opaqueness level with maximum of two coats — preferably with just one, a curved tip bush (width should be 1 cm or just a bit under, it helps if the brush is dense and soft), effective nail polish remover or acetone, and vaseline or some natural plant based butter. And naturally you can layer a clear topcoat or some neat effect polish (glitter, opal, sheer color/shimmer) on top of everything.

Cover your cuticles carefully with vaseline (this time I was not too careful with this — thus parts of my cuticles have a greenish tint). You can now apply a basecoat if you want to, I did not because I feel that this method works the better the less there is stuff on my nail when I start removing. Apply the main color, note that you don’t need to aim to a perfect cuticle line for this — actually it is better if you do leave the bottom middle of the nail bed unpainted — the color is definitely easier to remove when there is not too much of it. Let the polish dry.

Now pour some acetone or effective nail polish remover to a small cup and place a cotton pad or some tissue paper next to it. Dip the brush to the acetone, brush it gently to the cup edge so that it is not dripping and place it flat to the nail bed bottom and let the brush tip to create the shape. Let it be there just few seconds so that the polish dissolves. Now use gentle curved motions sideways to remove the polish from the half moon area. Tap the brush against the cotton pad or tissue paper when it needs cleaning. Repeat the routine for all nails. If the color is really pigmented you might need to clean the brush thoroughly after creating the basic shape and make another round just to clean the residues. Add a top coat, if you want to, let it dry. Wash your hands and use some lotion — the remover dries the cuticles.

The polish I used for this is NFU Oh 570 — a gorgeous teal jellylike color. Although I prefer almost all my polishes opaque, this one makes an exception, I really love the color after the first coat when it is still quite sheer and the green tint in it is accentuated (in the bottle this color looks just plain navy blue). Somehow this reminds me of some beautiful Chinese laquered items. The brush I used is GOSH synthetic eyeshadow brush — an excellent tool for this purpose. Note that in the image you can see only side of it — but actually the tip shape is perfect for making the curvy shapes of nail tips and half moons.

Posted on | March 6, 2010 | 5 Comments

// Vintage how-to — fur

Posted on | January 3, 2010 | 37 Comments

Ok. I just wonder if it is possible to write about fur without saying what you think about it. I have stated my opinion here earlier, but I will do it again, just in case. But this is not opinion post, this is about choosing, caring, maintaining and repairing second hand fur.

I think that keeping and killing animals just for fur does not fit to contemporary society, I don’t want to encourage it and for that reason I would never consider new fur. But on the other hand I am carnivorous — and I sure hope that all parts of the animal end up in good use — including skin and fur. So, maybe I could consider for example lamb fur — but so far I haven’t bought any new fur garments.

I also wish that everything that human being has manufactured will be used to it’s full value. For that reason I like the idea of using second hand fur, until it falls apart. The material lasts for generations if handled well and the use value of fur is really good in this northern climate.

For all valuable fur I strongly suggest professional care. But you can get lesser quality second hand fur for bargain prices — and in that case you might be curious to mend and maintain it yourself. If you have at least a bit common sense and some basic skills in sewing, I truly encourage you to try rather than leave the precious material to deteriorate, the maintenance adds up years, maybe tens of years to the furs mileage.

How to pick a good fur from charity shop?

When you evaluate the condition of the fur in the second hand shop, the hair itself tells a little. Usually fur retains it’s shine and softness easily.

You should pay more attention to the leather under the hair. Does it feel soft and supple — or brittle and hard, or paper like? Does it leave dust or more coarse residue to your hands? Can you find tears, usually from seams, check especially underarm, middle back, side seams, elbows and around the collar. Does the fur shed hair?

If there are no major tears and the hair seems to be relatively well attached to the skin even brittle skinned, hardened or slightly papery fur can be saved. Note that some furs are relatively prone for shedding even in decent condition, rabbit is a good example.

Check also marks of possible insect damage (small, usually round holes, broken hair or bald spots in small but distinct areas) and staining, with pale fur especially around the collar. To see possible yellowing you might need to see the fur in natural light, tungsten light is so warm colored that it can camouflage light yellowing. See also sleeve openings and inner collar, these areas can be dirty and/or badly worn.

Everyday care for all fur

Never storage your fur in plastic — and don’t use mothballs or cedar or any other substances with strong smells to preserve it. If moths are nuisance in your apartment you should take your fur coat to professional storage for summertime. In Finland moths are not a big problem (personally I have never encountered those), but even here the professional storage might be good idea, especially if you live in modern apartment with dry, air conditioned air — it is just too dry to keep the fur in top shape. Both excessive dryness and excessive moisture are bad for fur. Dryness makes the skin age fast and it comes brittle and prone to tearing, moisture encourages the insects and — in bad cases — mold. Cool space is better for fur storage than warm.
Let your fur to breathe. Use a sturdy, wide shouldered hangar for it and be sure to not to squeeze it between other garments. Avoid hanging stuff over the fur and if you bag the fur for storage, use fabric pouch or uncolored paper pouch for protection, never plastic. You can even add some tissue paper inside the collar (make a sort of extra collar out of it, so that it raises the pouch slightly to the air) to avoid pressure and protect the shoulders.
Avoid carrying your bag on shoulder when wearing fur.
If the fur gets wet in a rain, no problem. Just shake excess water out of it and let it dry freely in normal room temperature. Don’t use heat. If the fur is soaked, take it to the professional when it has dried.
Small stains can be removed from fur with Marseille soap and bit of water — or 50/50 water-rubbing alcohol mixture. You need a sponge or cloth that does not stain or leave any residue. When using soap and water, don’t wet the fur. Just keep the sponge lightly moist and rub the stain so that the soap makes just a bit foam. In the end rinse the sponge well and remove all foam residue with moist sponge (you might need rinse the sponge several times and keep stroking the fur with moist sponge). With alcohol the process is essentially same, moisten the sponge with mixture and squeeze excess of it out. Rub the stain carefully, no need to rinse. You can always test your method of cleaning to some hidden place, this might be wise especially with dyed fur.
A professional can condition your fur, this should be done in 2 – 3 years intervals to keep the fur in top shape. The brittleness of the skin means that you need to hurry.
Finland is not exactly a paradise for second hand shopper. Well edited second hand boutiques are sparse and relatively expensive, charity shops are stinky and full of crap (FYI, personally I prefer these smelly, full of crap places to well edited — and well priced ones, anytime. Nothing beats the joy of real bargain find!). But you can find great fur here in bargain prices. I guess that because of this miserable climate (-26 degrees Celsius today) the fur has been a staple in Finnish wardrobe. And lots of good stuff has been carried to charity shops. I picked my gray rabbit fur from Valtteri flea market for 10€ — and that one is real quality fur. The coat you see in the first image is from UFF 5€ days, although furs were bit more expensive, maybe that 10€. Both are great places for bargain fur finds in Helsinki, and you can also try Salvation Army charity shops.

DIY conditioning & repairing after the jump

Posted on | January 3, 2010 | 37 Comments

// Vintage how-to — understanding materials

Posted on | November 24, 2009 | 21 Comments

I’m planning on posting a series about how to take care of vintage garments. The subsequent posts will be shorter and more easy to digest, but I wanted to include the fabric basics to this one post. So enjoy — or suffer, this first one really is a lengthy one!

One quite common problem with vintage clothing is identifying the materials. Wash tags might have been removed, or the piece is hand sewn and they never existed. Vintage boutique keepers usually have a good educated guess about the materials, so don’t forget to ask. But you can develop you own skills in this as well. Read more

Posted on | November 24, 2009 | 21 Comments

About

Location: Helsinki, Finland

Contact: kamicha (a) gmail dot com

I'm especially interested in young designers creations, non-established labels and indie fashion. So if you have something interesting to show, feel free to contact!

You can find Finnish design from both specific and some outfit posts - but both are tagged.

You might be also interested in DIY posts, How-to posts, DIY ideas - or my adventures in Etsy =).

More about me and this blog.