January 10, 2012

Sweet Playlist - Continued

Continuing the playlist I started a little while back! Here's some more good music for you to enjoy:


Otsuka Ai - Sakuranbou
Crazy,sweet, cute, and upbeat song, just what we need for a good day! Unfortunately, I could't find a good video for this song, most have been deleted from YouTube, but do listen to it if you come across it!



The Unicorns - I Was Born ( A Unicorn)
Who doesn't wish for a song about unicorns? Without knowing them much, I have a feeling this band was pretty crazy! I also really enjoy other tracks from this album, there's a sort of messiness about the sound that I like.



Kyary Pamyu Pamyu - PONPONPON
Who by now doesn't know Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, fashion blogger turned celebrity? This is her single PONPONPON, released in 2011. The visuals are absolutely stunning, a psychedelic trip into kawaii culture full of vibrant colors, supporting Kyrary's cute voice and happy lyrics. The song alltogether is a perfect for when you're feeling ultra happy and energetic!



Tanaka Rie- Katakoto no Koi

The ending theme from Chobits is just so cute!



The Smittens - Half My Heart Beats
The Smittens are full of sweet and beautiful songs like these, gentle and kind. They are beautifully arranged and I love singing to them. We definitely need more of these simply cute songs!(Am I using the word 'cute' too much? Well, this is what the playlist is about, so I guess I'll not mention it anymore.)



LM.C - Sentimental Piggy Romance

LM.C! One of my favorite Japanese bands! Their songs are really lively and positive. There are two main members, Maya ( singer) and Aiji ( guitar)-there is also a  mohawked dancing skull you can see in some of their videos. They called their own style 'new century electrock', a mix between rock and electro pop.  The video suits the song very well, with its childish design. LM.C also has a second band called the Mad LM.C, where the roles are reversed and Maya plays the basse and Aiji sings.



Puffy - Atarashii Hibi

Puffy, or Puffy AmiYumi, has a very distinctive style which is hard to categorize but a lot of the songs I prefer have a ska influence to them, like K2G.



Supercell - Melt
Not only do I really like this song, I also admire this group which started out and became famous using Hatsune Miku for vocals, and brought popularity to the software. Now there are even Vocaloid concerts featuring their holograms! The group now has a singer, so check it out, it's really nice!


 Jay Chou - Princess Syndrome
I just recently discovered this song while reading Moar Lace please, and since it actually includes lolita in the PV, it could only feature in my playlist!

Tea cup surprise

  Remember The Princess Diaries from way back when? Anne Hathaway discovers she's the heir to a small kingdom and has to turn into the perfect princess. Well, I felt like watching it again not so long ago, and about halfway through, I was astonished to see the characters drinking tea out of the exact same teacup I purchased in octobre from a charity shop! I spotted it several times as well, and of course, I was just so excited for no good reason, but still, it's a fun fact. I had to wait to get back to France to post any pictures of it because it's no longer with me in England.

Cute isn't it?

(In fact, by the time I finished this post, I saw the second movie as well. And I saw the teacup appear in an episode of NCIS Los Angeles. Seems popular...)


 Let's get to the bottom of this!

    After a little research, I learned this model is called "Old Country Roses" manufactured by Royal Albert and was first produced in 1972! You can still buy it today, though, so it doesn't feel so special anymore... Well, it's still beautiful! I got a chance to show you part of my budding collection, too!

Lolita Dessert Contest


  During the holidays I participated in the EGL December Desserts contest. It was a lot of fun designing a cake and a friend came over to help me out, even my little brother joined in! Quite a mess but we ended up pretty satisfied with our work. We did encounter trouble with the gum paste which was never hard enough to sculpt and the food coloring which turned out purple instead of pink but we managed somehow. It is a quadruple layer cake (alternating chocolate and strawberry), with whipped cream and icing between layers, and covered in marzipan and gum paste and whipped cream. The pictures were taken at 3 in the morning so we merely whipped up a little setting for the cake. We took inspiration from Angelic Pretty's Heart Apron jsk since it seems to me to be a key item in the fashion. It just pops to my mind when I think lolita! Without further ado, here be the cake!

 
                                          

And this was our reference:

Best Wishes

 
   My resolution for 2012 being not to procrastinate, I feel I have already broken it...
   I hope everyone had fun holidays and time to relax, celebrated in the best possible way. It was Christmas for me and my family, and it was great seeing them, some of whom I had not seen for a year! I won't go off topic so, yes, I didn't miss out on wearing lolita. Well, one of my dresses was more of a hime-gothic gyaru- loli style, actually ( the neckline was way too low to be proper lolita). The other was my long dreamed of red velvet winter dress, which of course was not finished in time but still wearable. It's based on AP's Chandelier Print OP and I still need to fix the neckline, add the bows and lace on the front and decide what I want to embellish the skirt with ( a gold paint print or lace?). As always, I didn't find it nice enough when I first tried it on, but now I really love it! I've worn it a few times already and I'm really happy with it. I coordinate that dress with off-white lace tights and black velvet-like ankle-high heels. I'll take pictures of these to show you.( Mind you, I don't know when I'll get to doing that.)
   On the 31st, I went out shopping in Paris for the first time in three months, so I was delighted to discover the local lolita retailer opened a new line for second-hand items! A lucky find later, I owned my very first Metamorphose dress. I'm delighted with it. I couldn't find the name on Hello Lace, but it's calf-length, all white lace with a tiered skirt. The straps and center back are slightly yellowed but it doesn't matter very much. What's more is it will be great for both winter and summer as it is shirred in the back and can accomodate a shirt. It also works perfectly for mori, lolita, elegant aristocrat and antique doll. Is this the perfect dress? I'll definitely be closely watching the second hand section of the shop from now on!