Oh my stars we are so very very very excited about this. You know that we’ve been loving on Skinfood‘s body-butter since before we started this site, right? Well the lovely Stephanie from Skinfood has given us a set of every Skinfood product to give away! I think that deserves a few more exclamation marks. !!! That’s a $85 retail value, because their products are so reasonably priced. There’s bodybutter, moisturiser, scrub, a masque and more (and unfortunately, I left the box of goodies on my desk at work, I’ll update when I can), and part of the awesomeness of Skinfood is that it’s Unisexual, so both boys and girls can share the love. We kind of don’t want to give this away, but on the other hand, we do love to share the goodness around. So, how can you win the pack, or our runner-up prizes of giftboxes from the first PPP party? The rules are after the jump.
» Read more: Win the ultimate Skinfood prize pack
Archive for July, 2008
Win the ultimate Skinfood prize pack
July 31st, 2008Torrid Sale – wanna split postage?
July 24th, 2008
Post-PPP party pics
July 21st, 2008It’s already been nine days since the PPP party! It seems like only yesterday we were swapping clothes, eating cupcakes, supping cocktails, and singing our little hearts out on singstar.
Here’s some pics for those of you who missed it…
Cocktails & cupcakes
Pretty nails & candy corn
Pretty nails and a PPP cocktail
Kelly & Maria (I think) steaming it up
Brenda & blogging
So cold my lips are turning blue?
July 20th, 2008So recently, I’ve had a hankering to have blue lips. Dark, glossy, blue lips. I don’t mean in a gothy kind of way, I just think it would be great to have something really different going on with normal eyeshadow and clothes, to make people do a double-take. The trouble is, blue lip gloss is pretty much impossible to find. So I settled for ordering Lancome Juicy Gelee in Casiss thinking it looked good and dark. I should have gone into Kirk’s and tried it out in real life first though, because in reality, it looks like this:
So you can clearly see how clear that gel is, and how little colour there is in it. But! Next to it you can see the stage makeup that I bought for $3.50 from the Life Pharmacy at the James Smith Corner. It’s a tiny little amount, but I figured I’d try it out first. How well did the trial of mixing the two together go? Judge for yourself. First I put on the blue lipstick:
It was rather difficult to put on, as it went squish, and had a dry, waxy consistency, not unlike crayons. I applied it with my fingers, because I’m not clever and well-stocked with brushes like Amy, and it really dragged. I think in the future, I should cut it half’n half with chapstick, then apply it with a brush. But in this case, putting the lipgloss on top made it feel a little better:
That felt a lot better, but didn’t help keep the blue crayon taste and look off my teeth. I’m very not used to wearing lipstick, obviously, I am all about the gloss.
I put the blue lipstick on with slummy weekend clothes and went to the supermarket. People gave me strange looks. I suspect it would go down a lot better with more makeup (but not over the top eyeshadow), and some fancy clothes somewhere like Mighty Mighty. In fact, I look forward to trying that idea out sometime soon. Now, tell me about some interesting makeup that you’ve done lately, please!
Pretty pretty people: Ginny of Swonderful
July 20th, 2008Continuing our series of inspirational people we love who are making good things, let me introduce the wonderful Ginny from Swonderful. I was lucky enough to meet Ginny in person yesterday at Craft2.0 at the NewDowse.
Ginny runs Swonderful in Brooklyn with her mum, writes a blog and creates awesome fashion, accessories and pretty pretty things.
1. What made you open Swonderful?
The shop was an idea we had been toying with for a long time. We finally decided to do it when the perfect space came along & the agony of our 9-5 jobs got too much! We love shops like ours- that sell lots of different bits & pieces & it was kind of a dream to open one of our own. We were both working jobs we didn’t really like while trying to start our label Papercup & in the end the desire to risk it all & open Swonderful was too great!
2. How do you decide what to stock?
Our stock is about 60% stuff we make ourselves, So I guess that’s the major deciding factor. The beauty of it is- it keeps our prices down as there is no middle man. The rest of our stock is either products we have admired for a long time or things we come across through friends or the internet etc. We have quite a few people come in & approach us with their wares too. We have quite a specific aesthetic direction so all our products complement the “Swonderful style”. We try to keep most of our stock local & like to support emerging designers, We do however stock art prints from the States & Australia.
3. What are the constant best sellers?
The Bro Brooklyn tee! I think just about everyone in Brooklyn has one now! It’s pretty much the uniform of Brooklyn school! Our high waisted skirts have been a real winner this season too along with The Lily Rosemary owl necklaces & world sweet world magazine.
4. What do you wear/do to make yourself feel good?
Wearing heels & having clean hair. I can’t stand the feeling of greasy hair, even though others probably wouldn’t notice I can feel it & it’s nasty! I recently got a pair of shooties & I love them! They make any outfit feel finished. I’m also loving my black pleather jacket, it makes me feel like a cool rocker chick & I love how it contrasts with pretty frocks. Oh & if I’m feeling kinda blue all I need is some Flight of the Conchords to make me feel chipper again.
5. How would you define pretty?
Pretty is girlyness, cupcakes, having “done” hair & lipstick on. Pretty is wearing a frilly apron while cooking & having all your perfume bottles neatly lined up on your dressing table. Embrace it!
Visit Swonderful at 54 Cleveland St, Brooklyn, Wellington
Post-PPP party post #1
July 13th, 2008I had the awesomest time at the 3-month anniversary party, mainly thanks to Jo’s fabulous party hosting. I’m bound to post heaps more about the party ’cause I’m still buzzing about it. But for now a couple of quick thanks to our guests.
And check out this fabulous bag Megan gave me (and also one to Jo). I love it!
And we did a dud-swap, where everyone brought along products they didn’t quite like. But a few them found a welcome home in my bathroom. Anti-frizz stuff, shampoo & conditioner, eyeliner, and Revlon make-up (that i was gonna buy anyway because it’s really good for night time).
live bloggin’ from the PPP party
July 12th, 2008We is at the PPP party we’ve been waiting oh so long for. We’ve eaten cupcakes, jellybeans, vodka jellies, cheese (kelly cut the cheese) and crackers, and the PPP signature cocktail (parfait amour and vodka). We’ve painted each other’s nails, had foot spas, swapped clothes, swapped cosmetics, and distributed the PPP giftpacks (full of Jo’s own handmade goodies).
Shirley says “great food, great drinks, great japanese jeans. I’m going home with better stuff than i came with.”
Karen “I got a top!”
Gabrielle “I’m gonna be wrinkle free next time you see me thanks to the “Frownies” from Kowhai”.
Jo says “like f*cken sh*t it’s awesome – thanks for coming guys. Now for the Brazilians!”
Megan says “I have the hands of a six month old.” (thanks to the mary kay hand treatment).
Short bits and wordy considerations
July 8th, 20081. Zebrano, home to designer clothes for the curvy lady is having a sale. Pretty much every garment in-store (well, at least in their Johnson Street branch anyway) is reduced, often up to 50%, and arranged in size order for easy shopping. While I’m at it, how do you feel about the term “curvy lady”? I personally don’t like the word ‘lady’ very much so I’m not entirely sure why I’m using it. I ask partially because when Martha wrote about us, she said she doesn’t like the word ‘girly’. How about ‘girlie’ with an ie? But yes, I favour ‘curvy’ over ‘plus-size’, because it celebrates my lovely lovely breasts while we’re at it.
2. If you’re still not reading Jezebel yet, maybe you could start with this post on Badvertising, which demonstrates all the reasons that I pretty much hate magazine advertising (and most magazine copy, for that reason). As a sample, in response to a
Dove campaign for “It’s time we girls cooled off more and freaked out less”, Jezebel writes:
“You know what else makes me freak out? When someone suggests that “we girls” should freak out less. We make less money than men, are expected to be thin and hairless and we have the crampy bleeds every 26 days. A body wash solves nothing. Fuck off.”
And to continue my wordy-thoughts, I pretty much HATE advertising that pretends that the product is “one of us”. I don’t think that the Dove ad was written by someone who has anything in common with me, so they can take their over-familiarisation and shove it.
3. I know we’ve mentioned it before, but Amy and I worked on the giftboxes for our party (which starts at 4pm this Saturday in Newtown, tell your friends!) last night, and man, they are pretty damn awesome if I do say so myself. We’ve also got some foot spas for soaking your tootsies in, the signature cocktail has been designed, and there are piles and piles of clothes for the swap, and all kinds of tasty goodness and decorations have been purchased. We think that you will enjoy yourselves. For those of you who can’t make it because you’re not in Wellington, there will be some giftboxes to be won at a later date. We have many many cunning plans taking shape.
Pretty Pretty People: Martha of Wanda Harland
July 7th, 2008
Welcome to our new series all about the people we love who are making good things. First up, we ask the hard questions of Martha Craig who makes the fabulous kidswear line Babylicious and runs the brilliant Petone shop Wanda Harland.
1. What made you open Wanda Harland?
It was a very spur of the moment decision, based purely on the fact I saw a shop I liked for lease. Fortunately it has worked out well.2. How do you decide what to stock?
We already had a wide range of baby and children’s gifts and clothes. From there I decided that I would only sell things that I personally loved, this way I can genuinely rave about all the products in the shop, and it keeps me in love with the place. I’ve been storing things I want in my head for years, so without knowing it, it was like I was preparing to open a shop. All those design magazines suddenly made sense.3. What are the constant best sellers?
Babylicious! Also, jewellery is going really well, especially Meadowlark and Supervery. We’ve been really pleased with the response to our books, we can’t seem to keep up. Homewares like cushions and wall art have been taking off this winter, as people hunker down to being inside.4. What do you wear/do to make yourself feel good?
Since I’ve had the shop, my love of jewellery has increased, and now I always wear earrings. Boots and tights always make me feel in control, and since I’ve been pregnant I’ve been relying on long coats to make me feel human. Origins and Mac cosmetics have become my staples, and at the end of a long day there is nothing nicer than clean sheets.
5. How would you define pretty?
Pretty is taking a moment to do something for yourself, even if it just be slapping on some lipgloss. I think pretty is a person with inner calm and a sense of confidence, regardless of what they’re wearing.
Wanda Harland
148 Jackson St. Petone, New Zealand. Tel. +64-4-920 1782
Tonight, you’re cleaning out your closet
July 4th, 2008Don’t forget that your homework for this weekend is to clear out your wardrobes of any clothes, accessories, beauty products and magazines that you no longer want, so that you can bring them to our Pretty Pretty Pretty Party next Saturday to trade for fun new-to-you things! And also, please RSVP on our Facebook page – we’re making goodie bags (oooh exciting!) and we need to know how many to make…
