Taipei in photos - Part 1

 Taipei reminds me a lot of New York but that may be because of the limited places I have visited. It does have that mixture of flora/fauna and dirty buildings that New York contains and the city at night comes alive with lights and people, just like New York. I've decided it's best to upload a blog post of photos so you can peruse at your convenience, Enjoy!!

The view from Duncans flat

I was wondering down an alleyway and saw these flags decorating the street.

There are so many Motorbikes, Its most definitely the main mode of transport here.

Duncan and Alex, my brother and sister, were great company those first few days.

Just one of so many shops!

Duncan, Alex, Duncans friend Dallas and I crossed that bridge and walked up that hill 

.

Here is some beer we drank on New Years Eve in Duncan's friend's Japanese Barbeque restaurant, I had some amazing food that night!

Here I am with my best attempt at a 1960s look! I had so much fun that night and got to see some amazing fireworks from the Taipei 101 building.

Here is everyone just before Duncan, Dallas and I left for the house party where we saw the fireworks! 

Over the next few days I went shopping and took some photos in the park near Duncans flat.

A highlight from the trip was seeing the Pandas at Taipei zoo, They are so cute and move faster than I thought! I had this image in mind of slow sloth like movements because I've heard about them having difficulty conceiving! Definitely not the case. 

I will make another blog post because this one is way too long!!! 

See you later in Taipei in Photos - Part 2

Taipei Treasure Hunt

Today I went op-shopping/Thrift shopping/second hand shopping. For ease I will call it treasure hunting as It really was its own experience, Just so you know I googled the place I went to today as this kind of shopping is not common in Taiwan. The building was not obviously a treasure location but once you went inside it showed its true colours. Its a multi roomed location full of antiques and old furniture, I would say it most resembles a white elephant sale to any Kiwis reading this. It wasn't bad just not what I wanted, I'm currently looking for my Out in the square outfit as I won't have time to get anything sorted when I get back to NZ and I had high hopes for this place. 

Here's the link, Its very close to the Guting Station and for anyone who wants to know more comment below.

Luckily I took photos of my outfit and I found an awesome coffee place close by!

You never wear shoes inside so here I am rocking my grandpa slippers I picked up for NZD $2 at a night market.

Unfortunately this was the only photo inside I was allowed to take!


Bu-bye, I'm off to get coffee!!

Taipei, Taiwan - Week One!

I've been in Taipei for one excellent week, So far I have partied at Luxy a night club that had sexy dancing girls and shirtless men dressed Gladiators pouring vodka into peoples mouths, gone to a Karaoke bar that was so completely different to any Karaoke I have experienced then went to a Shisha bar and spent New Years with my brother Duncan in a beautiful apartment just across the road from Taipei 101 where they had an excellent fireworks display at the stroke of midnight. The People of Taipei are friendly, helpful and polite! (Side note - Its also quite easy to get around as an English speaker)

They love their dogs!

 

And their cats!

Vintage at work – Makeup

   

MWAH – Makeup Will Always Helps! 

I’m a huge fan of makeup, But I have to admit it does suck that as woman we feel obliged to wear it. Especially as looking good is enforced on us from a young age. In saying that I do think you can look on it positively and have fun with it. Something I’ve come to accept is in creating an authentic vintage look, makeup is quite important.

The day to day look I go for.

I always keep it simple at work because I have bad skin and lately haven’t been getting enough sleep so makeup is great in making me look awake! Here are the products I use but more importantly than the products is the tools you use.

What I've been using lately

1.  Start with washing your face, find products that work for you and be religious about it. You will be thankful in years to come! I always wear a daily moisturiser with sunscreen in it, as we all should.

2. Once I’ve washed and moisturised my face I put on a tinted moisturiser. The one I’m currently using is by Za and I like the light coverage it gives. It also has an SPF of 10 so again I’m making sure I have some sun protection.

3. Za also do a concealer which is the exact right shade for my skin, Its not super thick but it gives good coverage and I like how my skin looks when its on. I place it only where I feel I need it so under my eyes and on any super pimply red spots.

4. Sometimes I use a translucent powder but very rarely as it makes any dry patches show up. I do however carry a powder compact by Besame in my purse which is great when around lunchtime I need to powder my t-zone.  

Body Shop Blush in Heather Pink

5. Next is blush, I never realized how important blush is until I found the exact right shade for my face and I’ll never look back. It will vary for you as we are all different and unique but place the blush on your cheekbones and apply with a proper brush. I use a kabuki style brush which is lovely and soft. Try to apply so you give yourself a natural flush. 

Great Lash Mascara by Maybelline and The Body Shop Eyebrow/Liner Kit in 01.

6. Before I got eyelash extensions I applied mascara to my top and bottom lashes because It made my eyes stand out and I like keeping my makeup simple and neat for work.

Scarlett Johansson in The Black Dahlia

7. Eyebrows!!! I always make sure I have eyebrows. That sentence sounds funny but its not as odd as you think, I’m a redhead/ginger so I have white eyelashes and eyebrows. Not the look they went for in the 30s/40s/50s/60s/70s/80s/90s wait, they only time I can think they like the no eyebrow thing is now.

Yeah, not great for work. More importantly not great for me.

I recommend the Body shop kit in the above picture with the mascara, especially as it has a shade for redheads which is so hard to come across.

Russian Red and Lady Danger by MAC

8. Last but DEFINITLY not least, Lipstick.

I stick with a matte shade which was typical in the 40s but I do find it rather drying so I apply chapstick prior to putting on the lipstick. I suggest working with a lip liner or lipstick brush to help with precision and prevention of bleeding. I use a random red one from Natio but I have no loyalty to it as I'm sure you could find suitable ones all around the place.

I hope you found this interesting if not helpful and go ahead with implementing this into your daily routine!

MWAH!

Vintage at work – Hairstyles

This will be the first part of a three part series I will do on vintage at work. I've decided to start at the top, literally, and begin with hair.

This is my hair without any styling.

First of all I need to advise that I hate having my hair out at work so all the styles will be hair off the face and/or neck. Its mainly due to me having sensitive skin around my neck and I also always feel the need to play with my hair when its out. In fact I still play with it when its up so sometimes you’ll see me with two or more hairstyles throughout the day!

With all the styles I’m going to show you, you need to take a bit of time in the evening to practice so when you wake up for work it won’t mean you miss your bus because of your hair.

1. Hair twists/French rolls

Side part twist with roll

Middle part twist with bun

I should give credit where credits due so this is where I first learnt about hair twists with a vintage edge, I really recommend this blog because of the quality of each blog entry.

The Freelancers Fashion Blog

Tools you’ll need:

-         A comb (Can be a tail comb or a normal comb)

-         A glass of water

-         A mirror (two mirrors would be great though)

-         Bobby pins in a colour that looks like your hair colour

-         Separating clips that hair dressers use

-         Pomade or other styling gel

-         Hairspray

These hair twists are great if you have straight, wavy or curly hair. You can vary them if you don’t look good with a middle part or have a stubborn cow lick, I always thought I looked crap with a middle part but lately I’ve taken to it. Mainly because I’ve gotten better at styling my hair.

First ask yourself, Do I know how to do a french twist/roll? If the answer is no then learn because this will be tricky for you, If the answer is yes then you’re in luck! This hairstyle will be easy for you because you know the basics.

Lets begin!

You can see how I start at the side and work my way around, while twisting I take those bobby pins and slide them between my scalp and the twist making sure to keep them as hidden as possible. This took me awhile to master so don’t feel dejected if you aren't getting it.

I like to keep my hair as neat as possible because I've got OCD but don’t stress if it isn't quite right. Hmmm, perhaps I should take my own advice!

Hehe

I also like to push the twist before pinning to create volume around the temple, Hairspray is great if your hair is clean because these styles are better on day old hair and products like hairspray give you grip which clean hair lacks.

Now once you've mastered twisting you should try one of the completed styles in the above photos.

1. Side part twist ending in a roll

1. Once you've parted your hair, Start twisting and pinning as you can see in the above video. When you get to the centre back take a hair clip and hold the hair in place.

2. Go to the other side, twist and pin

3. Once you reach the centre back, take the side you have just done and get another hair clip to hold it in place, Rest those arms!

4. You should have two pigtails for each hand at this point, all hair should be used.

5. Cross them over each other and start to tuck them in on the opposite side

6. The key here is to tuck and twist, you can remove bobby pins if they are in the way just try to evenly distribute the hair. 

7. Once you’re able to take your hands away and the hair is all tucked in, grab your hairspray and a comb to help neaten things up!

Remember to add accessories to hide messy bits!

2. Middle part twist with bun

1. Start with the middle part and work your way around to the centre back of your head. Remember, Twist and pin!

2. Clip in place with hair clips while you work on the other side

3. Grab hair with both hands and holding the twists wrap a ponytail around those bad boys!

5. Get your bun sausage and use that like I have

OR Make a normal bun

2. Dry Pin Curls

You really should have wavy or curly hair for this one, the only exception would be people with long, straight hair with little or no layers in it.

I like to see smooth pin curls, so make sure you get pomade on those bad boys! Please no messy pin curls, its better to do some simple neat pin curls around your face than try doing them at the back of your head where you can’t really do them properly. I do recommend getting two mirrors if you are trying to do anything at the back of your head.

1. Part your hair on the side, making sure you include any fringe you may have.

2. Take the side without the fringe and pin quite far back, This keeps it off your face and reduces the chances of you (me) playing with it at work. 

3. Clip part of your fringe away and begin the first of 3 pin curls around your face. You can part the hair messily at this point, just take a manageable amount of hair and do a pin curl.

4. Once you've done that, take the hair just under and pin far back like you've done on the other side. I like to adjust the way it looks from the front so the pin curl sits neatly with the hair that's been pinned back.

5. Part the remaining section on an angle like below.

6. Pin Curl so it lies neatly over the first, I like the look of the curls lying with the pin neatly hidden so I do them like below.

7. With the final curl I pull it forward with my left arm and using my right arm reach around so It will sit nicely.

Adjust them and spray with hairspray! 

3. Plaits

I always saw plaits as a late 60s early 70s hairstyle but I found this photo which is circa 1940s and I love it!

It totally proves you can make a plait work for you and your chosen era. Now I don’t have the hair length to accomplish this look properly but if you do then I recommend trying it.

Here's another way to do this if you have hair just below the shoulder and no fringe,

I've tried this and unfortunately with my new haircut it doesn't work very well so what I do is plait my hair like the first photo and put in a pretty hair clip to distract you from any mistakes!

1. Part your hair right down the middle (I’ve failed at this but meh, it doesn’t have to perfect)

2. Take one side and clip it so its right out of the way

3. Plait nice and high if you’re worried your hair won’t go nicely over the top. Remember to tie each plait with a small hair tie you can remove later if you like. 

4. Do the other side – It will look very Britney Spears, Hit me baby one more time. (Or for me Pippy longstockings)

5. Pin the messiest plait first because this will go behind the neater plait, Use a big bobby pin and slide it through the hair tie down through the middle of the plait.

6. Take the other plait and lie it so the end tucks neatly behind the back plait. Bobby pin in place

7. Pin it neatly but securely making sure you get any little poky bits tucked back in with bobby pins.

Back view

You can decorate with nice small flower clips at the back if you like or if you want to be fancy try plaiting a ribbon in for some nice colour. Make sure the ribbon matches your outfit so you get lots of nice compliments!

Something I love to do is go online and look at different ways people show their vintage style through fashion, makeup and hair. I have a close friend who is always looking for ways to add vintage style into her outfits and asked if I knew of any hairstyles she could try for work. Hopefully this has helped her and you but if not please feel free to tell me how I could improve it! But beware, I may not take your advice…. I can be a little bit of a know it all :p