After agreeing to swap valentines cards with the wonderful Mermaid from P!NK I realised how close valentines day really is! This means lots of love hearts & the colour pink - which isn’t exactly everyone’s idea of a turn on. Valentines day means different things to different people. Find a way to celebrate (or not celebrate) in your own style. Here are some of my favourite valentines day gift ideas form Etsy. Some are cute & some are dirty. Some are sweet & some are smutty. Spread the love your way! Enjoy!

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1. Penguins! I like the simple & graphic black white & red on this card. It gets the message across without flowery words.

2. Heart shaped pasties. These are pretty awesome. Especially when paired with the ruby red eye patch! Rrrawr!

3. Kissing coupons. No more waiting in line to buy tickets!

4. Love potion pendant. Slung on a sterling silver chain, this is perfect for your chemistry class crush.

5. Framed Felt. Speedwagon! & Narwhals in love! Awesome!

6. Valentines day card. The message inside this card gets straight to the point!

7. Heart plushie. Anatomy & felt, a match made in heaven? Give them your heart. Really!

8. Zombie love letter T-shirt. Awe!

9. Embroidered handkerchief. Handkerchiefs are awesome & so are hedghogs!

10. Buttons. These buttons were made for each other. So were you & I.

11. Framed Print. A lovely gift for your Nintendo lovin’ luvah.

12. Felt candy hearts! Give them to your friends! Give them to strangers on the bus! Give them to that cutie who works at the post office!

13. Badge. “I’d rather be smooching my nerdy boyfriend.” Yes. Yes I would!

Happy Australia Day!

• Black velvet mid-length skirt
• Blue Vintage Studio T-shirt
• Silver filigree cuff
• Silver lightning earrings
• Black sunglasses
• Silver ankh & black ribbon (worn around wrist)
• Black Dr. Martens & navy laces

I celebrated by wearing a T-shirt with a subversive message. Then armed with coffee & croissants K & I went to the park to have breakfast. There were lots of people wearing green & gold or pancing about with the Australian flag. We decided not to celebrate too much because really, we’re only half-Australians!

How did you celebrate today? Did you dress up?

Image by Crystl.

1. Drink more water. Dehydration can make you grumpy & the quickest fix is a big glass of water. Add a sprig of fresh mint or a slice of lime for more fun!

2. Smile! Then watch people smile back!

3. Take a nap. Sleep deprived people are not fun to be around. Take a ten minute nap & wake up feeling refreshed & ready to go.

4. Go for a walk. Or jog! Preferably somewhere peaceful & quiet, like a park or along a river. Just get outside in the fresh air! Exercise is a sure-fire way to improve your mood & release endorphins. The twilight hours are the best time of day for this.

5. Wear bright colours. Or something in your favourite colour. Put on a pair of rainbow coloured socks & celebrate!

6. Give to charity. Or volunteer. Sometimes, it feels nice to simply be nice. Doing a good deed for someone else will make you feel warm & fuzzy & will put life’s problems into perspective.

7. Laugh. Watch your favourite comedy, a funny video on youtube, read a joke or browse through LOLcats! Get some laughter into your life!

8. Talk to a friend. They’re your friend for a reason; they like you & they’ll listen to you. Simply being able to talk about your problems can sometimes make you feel much better.

9. Give someone a hug. Hugs are awesome & they feel great! Share the love!

10. Eat some dark chocolate. Or an oat cookie. The tryptophan in oats will lift your mood. Everyone knows that bit of chocolate is a super delicious way to bring a smile to your face. It could be that all you needed was a bit of a blood-sugar boost!

11. Take a deep breath. Sometimes we forget to breath properly. Take a deep, full breath & slow down for a second of two. Feel how good that was? Easy!

12. Take a bath. Sit in the warm water & relax. Let any bad or disturbing thoughts wash away & disappear down the plug-hole.

13. Listen to music. Put on some of your favourite upbeat tunes. I like 99 luft balons & Friday I’m in love!

14. Look up. Looking at the sky is an easy way to improve your mood.

15. Remember that the Universe loves you!

1. Tree, 2. Balloons against the Sky, 3. Peppermint tea, 4. Old Vinyl, 5. more cardboard boxes, 6. Loft, 7. Baby Blue Bathroom, 8. My Life in Boxes, 9. Brushed Metal with Vinyl, 10. Paper Heart, 11. Bathtub on its way out, 12. Tea for the blues, 13. My friends in la Albufera

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• Peppermint tea! I love curling up with a good book & a big mug of hot peppermint tea. I’ve taken to carrying around peppermint teabags around in my bag for emergencies! At home though, nothing beats fresh mint & lots of boiled water. Sip it up! Yum!

• Keeping in touch with friends. Nothing beats good friends. A well timed message from a thoughtful pal puts a smile on my face every time. Its good to know that there are people out there who I can chat to. Make you feel all warm & fuzzy doesn’t it?!

• Organisation. Packing, cleaning, categorising. I’ve finally begun packing up my possessions & stashing them away in boxes. Not that I need half this stuff - I do have a bit of problem with hoarding books! It feels really good to get things out of the way though & have a bit of space; even if it is only desk space!

• Rediscovering old music. I went through some old, long forgotten tracks on the music player & had a blast! I danced around full of nostalgia & singing the lyrics. This stuff is awesome! Makes me wonder why I stopped listening to some of these artists to begin with.

• Bubble baths. Yup, a long soak in a tub full of hot water. It doesn’t get better than this! I like to swish lavender essential oil into the water & daydream.

• Lastly, having hope. I’ve noticed that I’ve started to look forward, instead of backward & it’s a wonderful feeling. Things may not the best they can be at the moment, but I’m not stressing out about it & I’m starting to see life picking up. Here’s to tomorrow!

What are you grateful for today?

Image by Farruska.

• Amazing photos inspired by events leading up to the French revolution.

• Check out the flow chart for heavy metal band names. I just love that the whole thing is an inverted pentagram! Oh, & that it’s a flow chart! \m/

• Dita Von Teese for Express Style is the ultimate feme fatal: dark, lux & beautiful.

• Jenifer 8. Lee & Cara Buckley of the New York Times explore the darker underside of DIY abortion. The stories these ladies have to tell are heart rending.

• Christmas cards that are perfect for use during a recession. My personal favourite is the “Selling the kids Christmas card.” Yours?

• Yulia Brodskaya creates some drop dead gorgeous paper art. Totally amazing!

• Hold your breath every time you use Google & you just might save the planet!

• I’ve always found the scent of coriander (cilantro) repulsive. Now I know why.

• Dark Roasted Blend explores some alluringly creepy abandoned theme parks. Very Spirited Away.

• How awesome is Blake Lively?!

• Only die-hard culinary explorers will be willing to try a taste of snail caviar. Personally, I’m a bit of a wuss.

• Tina Su uses a circle as the perfect metaphor for the ideal lifestyle & gives a few tips for “designing” the life you want. My circle could be a little smoother, how about yours?

• Smash Magazine predicts the top web design trends for 2009. Will Bella’s Threads follow suit? Stay tuned to find out!

• I am totally considering Eye-fi. “Upload photos automatically from your digital camera to your computer,” no cables or anything. How awesome is that?!

• Amelia Arsenic rocks that big red bow!

• How to make your own snow globe! I always found snow globes fascinating as a child. Who didn’t? Now you can make your own!

• Thursday Bram makes it easy for you - 50 Businesses You Can Start In Your Spare Time!

• Someone finally said it “Vogue is getting a bit stale.” What does this mean for the magazine’s future?

• These final threads are full of awesome video content. This is perhaps the most hilarious condom ad I have ever seen.

• 4th Estate creates the most adorable video for bibliophiles like myself. A world made of books. How absolutely lovely!

• Let my Grandfather read you a bedtime story - he’s really very good at it!

Before you begin, you will need to assemble a few items. You can pick up most of these from the pharmacy, supermarket or places like Priceline for a reasonable price. Alternatively, you could scour department stores, or online for a manicure set, or a manicure and pedicure set. Some come with just the basic tools, while others include battery powered buffing tools & even powered drying stations for nails wet with polish! They aren’t necessary of course, & you can give yourself a perfect manicure at home with just the items I have listed here. For the recipes on the other hand you might need to brave the local health food store - or try the folks at Sydney Essential Oil Co.

What you’ll be needing:

Towels
Acetone or Nail Polish Remover
Alcohol or Sanitiser
Bowls
Warm Water
Emery Board or Nail File
Buffing Board
Nail Clippers or Scissors
Orange Stick or Cuticle Pusher
Square Tipped Brush
Nail Polish

Set up your space, ideally close to basin. Place the nail clippers & orange stick in a cup or mug with a small amount of alcohol poured into the bottom to disinfect & sanitise. When you’ve finished your manicure it’s important to remember to spray the emery board & the buffing board (& any other tools) with disinfectant and give them a wipe down. You & your hands a really important so don’t expose either to nasty bacteria & risk giving yourself an infection!

1. Clean Hands

First things first, remove old nail polish with nail polish remover or acetone, & some cotton balls. Personally, I don’t buy nail polish remover any more. I go to the hardware store & buy a big bottle of acetone, which is basically the primary ingredient in nail polish remover anyway. Some people find that it can be drying, but I haven’t had any problems so far - especially since I make a point of moisturising afterwards. It works out to be so much cheaper as well & there’s less packaging to deal with. Make sure your hands are clean & wet the cotton ball with a small amount of acetone & hold over the nail for a few seconds. Then wipe away the polish with one or two firm, slow strokes and move on to the next nail. Use the pointed end of the orange stick to clean out dirt from underneath the nail.

2. Exfoliate

Mud Cake Hand Scrub

30g Organic Coco Butter
30ml Organic Almond Oil
20ml Vegetable Glycerin
30g Organic Coco Powder
60g Raw Organic Sugar

Melt the coco butter in a bowl in the microwave. As coco butter is quite hard & can be stubborn, it’s best to try microwaving it for a minute at time until it has fully melted. Once the butter has melted, add the other ingredients & give it a good stir. I find its best to use while warm, as the mixture will thicken up as it cools. To use, place about a tablespoon of the mixture in the palm of one hand & rub both hands together, scrubbing the backs of the hands, in-between fingers, & up towards the nails. Coco butter moisturises, while the sugar exfoliates meaning this scrumptious scrub makes hands soft & lovely, but even better than that, it smells divine. Just like chocolate mud cake! Délicieux! Wash away the scrub with warm water & pat hands dry with a towel.

3. Clip & File

Now it’s time to clip and file our nails. I don’t usually cut or clip my nails unless they’re really uneven & I recommend you do the same. Excessive clipping or cutting can make the free edge of the nail weak & it can sometimes cause tearing or split nails. Take the nail file and slide it along the free edge of your nail from the out corner to the centre. Don’t file in a see-saw or back & forth motion, as this will also weaken the nail. Instead file in just the one direction, from corner to centre & then start again from the other side of the nail, first with the rough edge of the nail file & then with the smooth edge. The purpose of filing your nails is to smooth over & even out the free edge of the nail. The ideal shape for filed nails is a rounded square - this shape is least likely to break, split or chip. If you like, you can go over the edged of your filed nails with the rough side of the buffing board to really smooth them out.

4. Soak

Time to soak! Soaking your hands in warm water is a lovely relaxing treat, but is only necessary if you plan to push back your cuticles.

Gingerbread Nail Soak

50ml Organic Liquid Castile Soap
10ml Organic Apricot Kernel or Almond Oil
3 drops Cinnamon Leaf Essential Oil
3 drops Ginger Essential Oil

Use a stirring rod or the handle of a spoon to gently stir the essential oils and apricot or almond oil into the castile soap, and store in a clean glass bottle. To use, mix between one and two tablespoons of the soak into a bowl filled with warm water & soak hands & nails for five to ten minutes to loosen cuticles. While cinnamon and ginger essential oils are good for improving circulation, they may irritate sensitive skin. However, you can easily substitute them for any other essential oils. I recommend lavender & geranium, or myrrh & vanilla, or even peppermint & lime! Got nuts and formulate your own! When your hands are done languishing in the warm water, take them out & pat dry with a towel.

5. Cuticles

Take the orange stick and use the flat end to gently push back the cuticles. This step isn’t necessary & its not something I do every time I give myself a manicure. Pushing back the cuticle gives your nail a neat & tidy look & makes nail polish application even, but if you’re not careful you run the risk of getting an infection. Especially if your cuticles are cracked, torn or bleeding. So be careful!

6. Buff

Buffing your nails smooths out the weak spots; ridges, cracks & chips. Smooth, buffed nails are less likely to break & your manicure will last longer. Take the buffing board & begin with the roughest edge. Use a little pressure & make small circular motions against the surface of the nail. Finish with a side to side motion & then use the finer edge of the board. The board I use is four sided, the sides are covered with buffing paper & each side uses a grade that is finer than the last. The first side is for removing ridges, the second for smoothing, the third for buffing & the last for polishing & adding shine. Don’t use the final side if you plan to apply nail polish as the polish tends to stick better to porous surfaces rather than glossy smooth ones.

7. Moisturise

Sweet Nut Hand Treatment

50g Honey
20ml Organic Macadamia Oil
20ml Organic Almond Oil
1 Vitamin E Capsule

Pour the honey into a bowl & warm in the microwave until runny. Gently stir in the macadamia & almond oils & then add the contents of the broken vitamin E capsule. Use while still warm by slathering the mixture all over your hands & then wrapping them up in a plastic bag followed by a hot towel. (Warm up your towels in the dryer, or by dampening them in a basin full of hot water) Then sit & relax! After five to ten minutes remove your hands & wash thoroughly in warm water. Honey is an excellent moisturiser & when mixed with the oils it is wonderful for soothing tired skin & leaving your hands soft & gorgeous!

8. Polish

Again like pushing back cuticles, applying polish is optional. Use a base coat or clear top coat first to seal the nail & prevent the coloured polish from leaving a stain. Très passé! Apply the polish in three even strokes, the first in the middle & then one either side. Stronger colours may need a second coat. Leave to dry & then apply a layer of top coat or clear nail polish for a lovely glossy look.

Keep your hands still for an hour or so to let the polish dry properly. You can use the time to read a magazine, watch your favourite film or chat with a friend.Voilà! You’re finished & your nails should look wonderful!

What makes something tasteful? When do you cross the line into poor taste? I’m not just talking about wearing stripes with spots, or something as mundane as that. I’m talking about fashion choices that shock, horrify & insult. There are numerous debates over the Internet as to whether wearing fur is tasteless or not. Moral issues aside, most wearers of fur do not intend to cause offence every time they don a coat, muff or stole. They may well understand that some people might object, but fur is usually worn for its warmth & beauty - not for its political shock-value.

What then, of items deliberately worn for this reaction?

In September 1976 the singer Siouxsie Sioux was physically assaulted while on a trip to France. At the time she was wearing a black armband decorated with a swastika. Sioux freely admitted that she wore the armband not because she was a Nazi sympathiser, but because she partly failed to understand the role of the symbol as a taboo, & party because she wished to shock people. She later explained;

The Nazis were not only anti-Semitic but anti-anyone different, anti-anyone like me.

The reason I choose Sioux as an example over people like Titler & Doe Deere is that Titler follows in the footsteps of comedians like Charlie Chaplain in ridiculing Nazism & Hitler. Deere on the other hand, was just playing dress up. Sioux donned the armband because she knew people would be horrified.

So what of this?

The text is an unsourced quote form Charles Manson, the man responsible for a spate of violent murders during 1969 in an effort to spark a race-war. Queen Michelle of Kingdom of Style says

For the longest time I have been thinking about designing a t-shirt with the famous quote by Charles Manson

But is seems that Bob hjelte got there first with the above photo featured on her Lookbook. The photo with the bloodied knife & the animal mask, is designed to shock & provoke. This is accomplished by riding on the emotional baggage associated with a particular person & a particular event - one that is almost universally condemned. Is this tasteful? Is it fashionable? Even if it is fashionable, is it acceptable to wear the T-shirt? This quote from Trent Reznor seems appropriate;

While I was working on Downward Spiral, I was living in the house where Sharon Tate was killed. Then one day I met her sister. It was a random thing, just a brief encounter. And she said: “Are you exploiting my sister’s death by living in her house?” For the first time, the whole thing kind of slapped me in the face. I said, “No, it’s just sort of my own interest in American folklore. I’m in this place where a weird part of history occurred.” I guess it never really struck me before, but it did then. She lost her sister from a senseless, ignorant situation that I don’t want to support. When she was talking to me, I realized for the first time, “What if it was my sister?” I thought, “Fuck Charlie Manson.” I went home and cried that night. It made me see there’s another side to things, you know?

Or as Jane from What’s Wrong With the Zoo said;

Till…I asked myself what I would think if in forty years some fashion-chicks would come up with quoting Joseph Fritzl on their T-Shirts. Could I ever take them serious[ly]?

I just thought it was worth discussing.

Smile!

I often say to Isabella, my three-year-old “Why were we born?”

She answers, “To laugh.”

Then I say, “What is our job?”

She says, “To make sure other people can laugh, too.”

Via No Impact Man

Cleaning your make-up brushes should be an important & regular part your beauty routine. If left to sit for long enough, they become the perfect environment for bacteria that can cause inflammation & infection in sensitive skin types. Gross! Because make-up brushes frequently come in contact with the skin, they also tend to accumulate a lot of oil, dirt & of course, make-up. Keeping you brushes clean ensures not only that they remain free of bacteria but also that they work just as well as they did they day you bought them. Here’s how to keep your make-up brushes squeaky clean.

First of all, you will need some equipment. Nothing expensive or complicated mind you, mostly items you can find around the house. Aside from the brushes that you’re about to clean, you will need: large bowl full of warm water, two smaller bowls (one for the detergent & one for lathering the brush) a facecloth or piece of cotton & most importantly, detergent. Any type of detergent will do; brush cleaner, shampoo, bubble bath, hand wash, body wash even dish washing detergent - they all contain the same chemicals in almost the same proportions. Lastly, be sure to cover the surface you’re working on. Newspaper, plastic wrap or an old towel work wonderfully.

Thoroughly Cleaning Your Make-up Brushes

1. Pour a small amount of detergent into one of the smaller bowls. Dip the dirty make-up brush first into the water & then into the detergent.

2. Swirl the bristles around the second small bowl to create a lather & save your hands from getting wet & covered with old make-up residue.

3. Rinse the brush in the bowl of warm water.

4. Pat dry using the facecloth or cotton.

5. Reshape the brush tip & let air dry!

You can use this method to clean any & all make-up brushes as well as flocked sponges. I find that it’s best to leave the clean brushes to dry in a place where they won’t be disturbed for eight hours or so. Most experts agree that personal make-up brushes should be cleaned at least once a week. This can be a bit much for some (myself included!) so below is a quick fix way to clean make-up brushes that doesn’t take too long & doesn’t require eight hours of drying time.

For this to work you will need to use a professional brush cleaner or brush shampoo. I use the brush cleanser developed by MAC. It costs around thirty dollars for 200ml but you only need to use a small amount of liquid each time. According to the girl who sold it to me, it’s also anti-bacterial & fast acting.

Quickly Cleaning Your Make-up Brushes

1. Pour a small amount of brush cleaner into one of your small bowls. Dip in the dirty make-up brush & give it a bit of swirl.

2. Pat dry using a tissue & viola! Done!

While on the subject of brushes, I’d like to point out the importance of good quality brushes. Cheap brushes are likely to shed & to fall apart because of the adhesives used. They’re also likely to be made out of animal hair, usually squirrel or goat. You can can never be sure that the bristles in these brushes were collected in a manner free of cruelty. In fact, it’s probably better to avoid using make-up brushes made out of animal hair altogether. Brushes form the Body Shop do not contain animal hair. Levhead & Aromaleigh also sell cute & reasonably affordable animal-friendly make-up brushes, though Aromaleigh won’t ship them to Australia. By far, my favourite animal-friendly make-up brushes are the Walk On The Wild Side brushes from The Brush Company - the bristles are the most amazing shade of electric blue!

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