Vintage Fair!

Yesterday was Lou Lou's Vintage Fair in Oxford, which I went to with my friend Anjali. It took place in the Town Hall, and I wish I'd thought to take photos because Oxford Town Hall is seriously impressive. Like most old buildings in Oxford, it does not believe that there's such a thing as too many turrets, domes, and adornments. As we entered, we went up the enormous marble staircase, got our hands stamped, and went into the main hall, which is painted a fetching robin-egg blue and is huge. Thankfully, there was a space set aside for changing rooms so I didn't have to gamble with regards to the sizes of the clothes. Anjali and I got there fairly early, and when we left it was noticeably fuller than it had been earlier and it was much harder to move around. I definitely wouldn't have gone later in the day; it would have been an exercise in frustration.

Anyway, I took out £50 on my way to spend and managed to spend pretty much all of it (convenient!). Here's what I got; apologies for the poor-quality photos, but I left my camera lead at home (I'm at uni right now) so I could only take pictures with my phone.

Dress (£20)

I really thought this would be too small for me when I tried it on, but the waist is very elasticated so it actually fits OK. That being said, I'm not sure I'm going to wear this until I've lost a bit of weight. It also creates a keyhole effect over the chest because my boobs stretch it out, but I can fix that by saying on another button or something. I really like the subtle polka dot pattern, which you can see more clearly in the second photo. The cloth is very silky, so it makes for a nice texture.

Ring (£15)

First things first: my skin is not actually as corpse-white as it appears in this picture. I took these photos in not-so-great lighting when it had begun to get dark, hence why I hung my hand out of the window to take photos of the rings. My phone camera don't cope with weird lighting at the best of times, so the colours are a bit messed up. The centre stone in thus ring is significantly more orange in real life. I think you can still get a good idea of the design though. I really love this ring, even though it's more than I've ever paid for a single ring. (I buy rings at market stalls. What can I say?)

Ring (£3)

This and the necklace came from the same stall, and they're not actually vintage, just made by a company that also sells vintage clothing. They're pretty and cheap though. I love, love, love cameos, so I had to get this ring. Unfortunately it ends up at a bit of a weird angle on my ring fingers and is a little too tight for my middle and index fingers. It's adjustable, though, so I can play around with it and see how to wear it.

Necklace (£6)

Steampunk! There were bigger ones available but I liked the slightly more subtle look of this one. I mostly wear silver jewellery so it'll be interesting to see how this works with other things I have. I was going to buy a cameo necklace (see above; cameos are love) but the ones the stall sold seemed very light and insubstantial, compared not only to the other items of jewellery but also to the cameo necklace I was wearing myself at the time. So I got this one instead.

Scarves (£5)

 WHOO SCARVES! I don't think anyone who knows me in real life is following this blog, but if you were you would know that I love scarves. I am always happy to get more scarves. And I don't have many silk square ones although they're ten a penny at vintage stores, so I was very happy to acquire these ones. The top one is a fairly typical design; I was stuck between this and another one but in the end the nautical feel of this one triumphed. The bottom one is the one that stood out to me in the box - it has a really pretty colour scheme and design, and I can't wait to wear it. These were a bit more difficult to photograph without getting other crap in the shot, which is why you can see the edge of my carpet in both and part of my Latin notebook in the top one. Also, I had to turn the light on to photograph the bottom scarf, which I didn't want to do because the lights in this room are really, really yellow, which has come through a bit in the photo but you can still get a reasonable idea of the colours.

Anyway, having acquired cool things at the vintage fair, we went to the Queen's Lane Deli on the High and I got reacquainted with their chicken curry wrap, which is quite possibly my favourite wrap of all time, although it fell apart in my hands a lot and I ended up having to buy hand gel at Boots just to cleanse my hands from the sauce. Yeuch.
 
 

Recent Purchases

I have been spending far too much money this term. But mostly on pretty nice things, so I'll flash-review them all.

Too Faced Shadow Insurance Eye Primer (£17)

I have very, very oily eyelids. I'm not talking just a little bit of shine, we're getting into 'I could harvest this and sell it' territory. Consequently, any eyeshadow I put on my eyelids creases within about half an hour, and for the rest of the day I have deeply attractive murky lines all over my eyelids, not to mention the charming way my eyeliner slides down my face and ends up under my eyes rather than along my upper lashline. Anyway, my point is, I am one of those people who desperately need eyeshadow primer to look even vaguely put together. I picked up the Too Faced primer mostly because it was there, and the packaging was really nice. I am very superficial when it comes to beauty products. Anyway, having purchased it, it seemed to do OK on small amounts of matte eyeshadow and not all that much for shimmery or glittery eyeshadow, until I wondered whether I wasn't waiting long enough for it to dry before I started slapping on the eyeshadow. So, for once, I was patient and waited until the primer seemed well and truly dry before I put the eyeshadow on. Result!

Urban Decay Vice3 Eyeshadow Palette (£42)

UD eyeshadows are raved about up and down the internet, which was pretty much my whole impetus for buying this palette. I don't care about neutral eyeshadows so I ignored the possibility of getting a Naked palette, and I went for the Vice one since it has some very nice jewel shades in it, and also offered the most value for money. Seriously, £42 for 20 shadows? That's good! Having said that... These shadows are nice. But they haven't changed my life in the way that many beauty bloggers assured me they would. They're also massively prone to fallout, so I end up having to make up my eyes before my face to cover up stray eyeshadow powder. Also, you need a fair amount of product to get a good colour. Considering UD's reputation for wild, bright colours, I'm not sure why they made a palette where the shadows come out so dull. My Body Shop eyeshadows are brighter than these. I don't get it. So overall, it's OK and I have a nice range of colours, but I wouldn't buy another one. Maybe I'm using it wrong, I don't know, I wear makeup but I'm not very good at it.

The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde (£8.99)

I really like this book. The worldbuilding is incredibly intriguing and delightful - people commit crimes with a literary basis, Britain is still at war with Russia in the Crimea (I realise this was published way before the Ukraine crisis, but reading it now - ouch); it's a really interesting world which I definitely want to find out more about. Lucky for me, there are several more books in the series!

M&S Black Faux Fur Snood (£13.49)

I love this. I bought it on eBay and thank god for that - if I'd bought it new it would have set me back at least £30. I could probably have got a similar one for cheaper, but I don't care because this is amazing. It's very cold here in Oxford, and this snood is perfect for that. It's so big and furry it feels like wearing a hug, quite honestly, and it sits nicely to warm my neck, parts of my lower face, shoulders, and chest. Initially I thought it was way too bulky, but having got used to it I think it's perfect. Also now I'm another item closer to being able to stealth cosplay Anna Karenina.

Accessorize Plain Capped Gloves (£10)

It was cold and I needed gloves. These are good for wearing when I'm on my bike, since I obviously need more freedom of movement when I'm cycling, but they're not so warm when I'm just walking around. If it gets much colder I'll need to take my Latvian mittens with me in my bag and wear them in the city centre. Other than that, I don't have much to say about these gloves. They do what I want them to. That's about all I can say.

MAC Lipstick in Russian Red (£15.50)

Another excellent buy. This is my first MAC lipstick, bought because I was missing a good red lipstick in my life (despite how many of these products are makeup, believe me when I say I don't actually wear makeup that often...) and has now stolen my heart. It wears so well; the first time I wore it it lasted through two meals and only disappeared after I'd sunk around eight glasses of wine. A lot of people complain that MAC's matte lipsticks like these are too drying, and I sort of agree, but as long as I wear lip balm underneath I'm usually fine. I do get highly unattractive traces of lipstick in the dead skin on my lips, though. Classy, huh?

Pia Molten Drops Silver Earrings (£10)

This is my first piece (or, pieces) of Pia jewellery! I was in their shop in Oxford browsing and these earrings were way too pretty not to buy. They are my new favourite pair of earrings; I love the design, and how bright the silver is, and being able to fiddle with them (I'm a chronic jewellery fiddler; I could sit here fiddling with my nose ring for hours). They're lovely for everyday wear or giving some elegance to an evening outfit.

That's about it, I think, other than a few items like replacements and makeup removers, about which I could say exactly nothing that wasn't, "This is a makeup remover. It removes your makeup."

What I'm Listening To

I have the habit of tending to listen to certain songs for ever and ever on repeat, and at the moment here's the songs which tend to get played most often.

(Frozen - Libérée, Délivrée (Let it Go - French ))

I missed the whole obsession with this song because I didn't see the film (I'm not a big Disney fan) and I am very good at ignoring certain trends. But I really like listening to versions of songs in different languages and Disney songs are good for this because of all the different dubs. I don't know, I really like the lyrics of the French version.

(Nolwenn Leroy - Juste Pour Me Souvenir)

I love Nolwenn Leroy, and this song is one of my favourites. I also love the video - I'm getting serious costume envy from it. Also, it includes model boats, crochet, and the sea; three of my favourite things!

(Dum Dum Girls - There is a Light That Never Goes Out)

I quite like the Smiths. I also like this cover, even more than the original if I'm being honest. The pop-punk sound actually goes very well with this, and I think it gives it a certain something. It's certainly an interesting cover.

(The Gothic Archies - The World is a Very Scary Place)

If you know of the Gothic Archies at all, it's probably as the opening songs to the A Series of Unfortunate Events audiobooks. I loved these songs and was delighted to find full versions of them on YouTube. I really enjoy the lyrics to this one!

And that's about it for songs I'm listening to on repeat. Eventually I'll get sick of them and move onto something else, it's the way of the world...

Now I'm One Year Older...

...my life still isn't over...

So it was my birthday yesterday. I'm now 20 years old and no longer a teenager (argh!). As is typical, I don't feel much different, although I feel like I'm justifying a lot more things with, "hey, I'm 20, I can do what I want!"

I went out for dinner with my uni friends; some couldn't make it, sadly, but enough people (11) came that it was a really fun evening. Went to a very nice restaurant on the High that I've never been to before but thought looked nice, and I was right! I had an amazing butternut squash and chickpea tagine (I love tagine. I would eat it every day if I could, I do not kid), and my friends proved their sophisticated natures by mostly going for pizza. ;) Then it was on to the pub for some drinks and chatting, and what was quite possibly the highlight of my birthday: my friend Laura arrived!! She's studying abroad in China this year, and is back for a couple of weeks which constitutes her "Christmas holidays" (err...). Anyway, she's staying here in Oxford for about a week and came along to my birthday drinks and it was so, so good to see her. I hadn't seen her since she stayed with me during the summer, and that was in July. I think we're planning to meet up again during the week; it'll be great to hear more about her time in China. She also brought me a scarf all the way from China for a birthday present, which I'm delighted with. I am really easy to buy presents for - if it's a scarf, I'm guaranteed to love it. Scarves are my life's joy.

And of course, because there's no rest for the wicked, today is going to consist of catching up on all the essay reading I neglected yesterday. I have so much Cicero to read. Hurray! Or, not.

History Became Legend; Legend Became Myth.

I guess I'll clear up a few myths, then.

• I am not Cinna the conspirator. I don't share many traits with him; for a start, I am not male, Italian, or living in the 1st century BC.
• My name is not Zoe Karbonopsina. My first name is actually Zoe, but I am not "Karbonopsina"; my eyes are more hazel than black. I am, however, Empress of Byzantium.
• That last sentence was a lie.
• I've never been all the way up to the rigs. Mostly because when it comes to boats I know barges and small sailcraft rather than tea clippers and the like.
• I have, however, been down to the jigs. I play for and dance at a lot of ceilidhs. Ironically, I didn't know how to spell ceilidh until I was about fifteen.

So what about the things that are true? Well; I am a (feckless) student of history, and I like to tell funny historical anecdotes to everyone because history, as well as being unrelentingly violent and grim, is really really funny. I love the Balkans; I've been to Bosnia, Croatia, and Serbia, and intend to visit more of them. I read as much about Balkan history as I can, and I'm learning Croatian so I can read even more. I've neglected my violin playing the last few years, and I want to rectify that but ceilidh band practice is on a really bad night for me so mostly my fiddle just sits in my room. I wish I had the dedication I did when I was younger. I like talking and thinking about fashion and style; I was a teenage Goth and although I don't feel comfortable calling myself Goth now I still love the fashion, which translates in my day-to-day wear as a phobia of bright colours and an inability to wear outfits that don't have some black (or red, or purple) in them. I used to be utterly consumed with books, but now I'm occupied with university work and I have the internet at my disposal, I don't read anywhere near as much as I used to. I still read like the hounds of the Morrigan are after me when I'm somewhere without work and without internet, so I could be as much of a bookworm as I used to be; I just don't have the willpower. I still love reading, though. I created this blog back in 2011, made a few posts, and then forgot about it. I decided to resurrect it now just to see if I could.