Marzia Bisognin's Blog, page 17
July 31, 2016
ELF PRINCESS.
July 31st, 2016
A soft and peachy makeup look.
Today I was getting ready and had some new makeup waiting to be tried. I mixed everyday products whilst playing with some new ones, and this look came out.
I wasn’t planning to make a tutorial, but since I really like it, I decided to snap some photos and show you what I’ve used!
First of all, I know what you are thinking: ‘where did you get that headband?”
As soon as I saw it on the ASOS website, I instantly bought it. Sometimes I browse through it and save some items, but even just a day later, whatever it is that I wanted, might be gone.
I couldn’t risk it, and I’m happy to tell you that it’s still available here.
If you are also wondering about the top, here it is.
Instead of wearing it like the model – like you are supposed to – I tied the strings in the front of my neck, and pulled up the sleeves all the way to the top of the shoulders. I think it looks even cuter this way!
July 29, 2016
TO MISS BLACK.
July 29th, 2016
Another postcard, another mystery.
When my parents came to visit, in the beginning of the month, my dad asked me to go to Snoopers Paradise together. I surely got my interests for vintage, second hand and overall “old” items, from him. And so I was very pleased when he asked me to go there together.
Of course, we took a look at some postcards, and here is one of them.
He bought me 3 postcards which I selected based on calligraphy and artwork. That day I had left my mom and cousin to visit the inside of The Royal Pavilion, but since my dad had seen it plenty of time before, we used those 30 minutes to shop.
Because of it, I didn’t have time to fully focus on the text of each postcard I picked up, and you might be wondering why I’m specifying this – let me explain.
First, let me show you the postcard I’ve previously wrote about here, on my blog, back in April.
To summarise it, this was sent from Germany to a little village called Fritham, here in England. It was sent at the beginning of World War I, on Christmas Eve of 1914.
Now, let me show you the postcards I bought. One of them in particular.
What at first seemed to read “Zulham” to me, turns out to be Fritham. It took me a while to fully be able to read and recognise the way the person writing this wrote down each letter – if you look at the word “Hants” the “T” is just a tall line. So with a bit of patience, I managed to read the text and suddenly felt like I knew the place this postcard was sent to.
Fritham, North Lyndhurst, Hampshire (I couldn’t understand why both addresses wrote Hants, but with a quick research, I found out that’s how the county is shortened as).
What a coincidence.
So of course, out of the 3 postcards I have now, I’ve started to research this one first.
The first thing I needed to know was the date. As usual, the day and month have been stamped on in the corner, but the year almost never appears. What I could see was that it was sent the 22nd of April.
Like I did last time, I wanted to get an idea of when this postcard was made, so that I could figure out the exact year it was sent: unlike the other one, part of the Divided Back Era, this one was made right after that period, the White Border Era (you can see it from the white frame around the art work). Postcards like this one were cheaper to produce, of a lower quality (in fact, even just holding it I can tell it’s much thinner compared to the other I have) but because they were made from 1915-1930 I still couldn’t figure out the exact year.
So the last resource I had was the stamp itself. Sure, it didn’t have a year written on it, but the colour and illustration could point me in the right direction.
Turns out that England produced a ton of different stamps (above are only a few), and some almost identical if not changing shades slightly, or prices.
It took me some time to go through the pale orange ones, and eventually I found one that matched both colour and price.
This is exactly how mine looks like. It started being made in June 10th, 1941 – due to the fact that the postcard was sent in April, I suppose the year was 1942.
The one thing that doesn’t fully match is how a White Border Era postcard was used years after it was produced, but I guess they might not have sold out very fast and were still available to buy many years later.
But now that we know the date, we can start focusing on who this was addressed to and the message.
I believe this was sent as a Happy Easter note, during World War II.
The sender expresses both religious and peace wishes. And the fact that it was received in April, the month Easter is usually celebrated in, would make it clear that this was the occasion. Plus, the use of “soon” indicates the state of war the country was in.
I searched for the address, finding out that Fritham is even smaller than I thought: if you google search it, you will see that it’s a very tiny village with a few cottages, Moor Cottage being one of them.
I think this is the one. Although you can’t see it well, I’m okay with just being able to locate it somewhere in the world.
So to this point we know the full date, the reason why the postcard was sent, and where to.
What we don’t know, is who Miss Black is, and who the sender was. He, or she, did not sign their name, so it’s simply impossible to trace back, and unfortunately I’ve spent way too much time looking at censuses in the area to find anything specific enough: there are more than 6000 results in the Hampshire for people whose surname is Black.
So both Miss Black and the sender will remain a mystery, but I’m still happy with having learned more, once again, from and about a message that was exchanged in the past.
If you have any theories, or information to share, let me know! I would love to hear your ideas.[image error]
Hope you enjoyed reading about this.
Marzia.
July 23, 2016
BEYOND RETRO.
Another vintage shop I fell in love with.
This is a new discovery for me: I have seen the sign for this shop a few times before, but being just outside the usual Lanes area I shop at, I never checked it out… until today, of course.
Here is the entrance, on it’s own, not really close to any other shops. It may seem pretty small, but it is actually very big inside!
The building itself is cool, and there is tons of stuff to go through (this is just an area). As you know, I love Snoopers Paradise and it will always be my favourite, but as far as vintage clothing goes, this place has a lot more to offer.
I selected 3 items, although I definitely want to go back and browse though for a little bit longer.
MY OUTFIT // Dress: OLIVE CLOTHING
My outfit and the shop matched – haha.
Driving back home on a Saturday is madness. People and cars everywhere. But these bubbles floating around made it all better! Can you tell how many people are packed on the streets?
Eventually I got home, and here are my 3 picks:
They might look a bit strange laid out this way (and okay, yes, the pants are weird) but they are all very cute in person.
The pants have a lovely floral pattern, and the fabric is very strange cause it’s slightly hairy – no idea what is it – but breathable. They have a straight cut, a bit baggy on me, but I would see them looking nice with a simple t-shirt to wear on a chill day or a picnic.
The yellow dress is stunning: if you look at it up close you will see all the amazing detailing. It’s a midi dress, meaning that it reaches below the knees, and it’s very pretty. I can totally see myself wearing this on a hot summer day.
And finally the pink one, I loved the cut of and the buttons going down the centre. I was unsure of this because it is pretty stained, and needs some fixing (the threads are coming off everywhere) but the store made me a discount and I think I might be able to bring it back to a wearable state.
And here is a photo of Maya, because she is adorable.
July 20, 2016
PEANUT BUTTER & BANANA PIE.
Quick, cold and vegan.
The weather, even here in Brighton, is nice and warm. Yesterday the temperatures reached 29*C – something very unusual – so I felt like it was the perfect time to make a no bake, cold pie. It takes about 10 minutes to make, and an hour for it to be done.
I found the recipe here, but as usual mine has slightly different ingredients, and also a base for the crust.
Hope you like it!
You can read the ingredients in the ‘shopping list’, as well as how much of each you need. I did not specify how much agave (which by the way, you could substitute with caramel and I bet it would be even better) simply because it’s to taste.
Start by creating the crust: take your walnuts (which you can break more than I did, for a smoother base), a tablespoon of sunflower spread (I didn’t list it, by mistake) and agave. Mix together so that the walnuts will stick.
Spread them at the bottom of your cake tin, making sure you cover all the area and don’t leave any empty spots.
Then take all the rest of the ingredients, and mix them together with an electric mixer for a few minutes. You can make it extra smooth, but I wanted to have some banana chunks in there – it’s up to you!
Pour the mixture in top of the crust, and put in the freezer or fridge until it gets more solid. I left it for an hour, and removed it when I noticed that the edges hardened.
And then the pie is ready! I told you it was easy.
I put some agave on top and served it. Felix hates peanut butter, but because the walnuts and bananas mix so well with it, he really liked the taste of it, and the smooth top versus the crunchy bottom made it all better.
Perfect for a hot summer day; it’s so refreshing and tasty!
Marzia.
July 17, 2016
A SUMMER DAY.
It’s finally warming up!
Yesterday, as every Saturday, Felix and I spent the day together. We wanted to simply walk in the centre and have a nice time: the weather was on our side, and the sun came out.
I always talk about The Lanes, so today, let me show you around!
The Lanes are the oldest part of Brighton, right in the centre: there are the North Lanes as well as the South Lanes, but the best street is the North Laine (the one in the picture above).
Being so old, all the Lanes are very tight and quirky, full of independent cafés and shops. When you walk in this area, it feels like a maze, and every turn you make, something interesting shows up.
Here is where Family Store – a cool shop I’ve mentioned a few times before – has opened a few months ago, and I like to go check out what new pins and art books they have to offer as often as I can. They sell “Stay Home Club” stuff, which is very nice.
But if you keep walking straight up, you will find the North Laine, which is the slimmest street, where my absolute favourite vintage/second hand market is placed: Snoopers Paradise.
What ever you are looking for, you will find it here. And even if you are not looking for anything in particular, you will still want to grab something.
MY OUTFIT // Dress: VINTAGE RENEWAL – Bag: COCCINELLE
If you like to snoop around, this is the place for you. I love just looking at all the things they have to display, and any time I leave, I always have something with me.
Oh. Did I mention that they have a ton of creepy objects?!
But this is only one of the many amazing shops in the North Laine, so if you are ever around, make sure you check this street out. Everybody loves it.
July 15, 2016
BACK TO “SCHOOL”.
What they say is true: you never stop learning.
It’s been almost exactly 5 years since I have graduated in what translates to English as “Tourism Expert”. I remember thinking that studying tourism, economy and languages would not be very helpful for the life I had planned for myself, but it turns out that travelling is one of the things I truly love doing, and speaking four languages is pretty useful. And economy, well, I hated it… but it helps now, since I do run my own company.
So after all, that choice was pretty spot on for me. But, there is a but: as I have previously expressed, and many people can easily tell, I am more interested in the art field, and I never really gave that a proper chance. Sure, I paint, I snap photos, I edit videos and I make my clothes and clothing lines – which I am very happy about – but I always felt like I wanted to learn more, on a more professional level. All I know in the art field is what I have gathered on my own, and although that could have been enough, I wanted to push a little more this time.
And so yes, I went back to “school”.
For the longest time I was stuck, mainly due to two factors:
I do live a busy lifestyle: it might not seem like it, but meetings, emails, travelling and coming up with original material (on top of shooting and editing) does require some time. To that, add personal interests and the time flies by. All of this means that I did not have the intention of going to a university, as the time commitment would be too much for me right now. Also, struggling with social anxiety, thinking about being back in an environment where you are surrounded by people, didn’t seem so appealing;
I have so many interests and passions. Sometimes I think too many. In a way, this is perfectly fine, because I can explore and learn new things about different subjects; but when it comes to having to focus on one specifically, how do you pick?!
Because of the above, I have been pushing my need of learning away for a long time. But finally, I felt like I had to take control over the situation and make a move.
I scouted the internet for months, before finding the best course I could find. I figured if I didn’t have the time for university, the next best thing would be a course. I originally wanted one in my area to which I could go to in the evening, but turns out all the ones I was most interested in begin at the end of September. And my family and friends know all too well that any time I put my mind into something, I make it happen, fast.
So another option was an online course. I didn’t consider it earlier because so many seem a bit sketchy, but eventually I did came across one that seemed to be exactly what I needed, and incredibly well put together.
So now I am an Interior Design student. Only yesterday I turned in my first assignment, and I’m not going to lie, it feels strange and a bit scary to be back at being evaluated by someone, and been paired up with a tutor, but so far is going really well; I feel so extremely inspired that I stop on the street anytime I see an interesting building, or a cool café, just to observe it or take a photo of it.
And if you, like me, might be struggling to decide on which subject to focus on, what helped me was listing out all of the different interests I have, and give some thought to what I would like to do in the future. This is hard. For me it’s so difficult because I have a career on Youtube and making videos is my priority, but at the same time the idea of having a job on the side always crossed my mind: for years I had the thought of re-storing and decorating homes, and now that I’m renovating my bathroom and I have revamped the old flat Felix and I own, I felt like it wasn’t such an impossible thing to pursue.
What I didn’t want to do, tho, was to rush into it, but instead take my time to really understand and study the subject, and eventually obtain a degree.
It will take me between 6 months to a year, but I’m very motivated and truly inspired by learning new things about something I care about.
I was a bit scared to share this, to be honest, because I do feel like some people on the internet like to take my interests and make them seem so insignificant, but I’m so happy to have made this decision and finally pushed myself to try out a course (if you have anxiety and any small thing seem like a huge achievement, you will understand how I feel; even just signing up was a massive step for me) that I realised sharing this with you meant more to me than the remote chance of someone leaving a negative comment. I also usually worry about sharing things too soon, but with me being on the internet, it almost makes me feel like I’m keeping something from you if I don’t talk about it. So I hope you don’t mind!
I do know that most of you in here are people I can trust, share things with and overall have a nice chat with, and that’s why I come here to talk about anything that goes on in my life, no matter what it is.
Again, me putting time into studying won’t take away any time from making videos: that’s what I love doing and will continue as normal, as well as posting frequently in here, but I am very excited about this new adventure as well.[image error]
Wish me luck!
Marzia.
July 12, 2016
A DAY AT “THE HUT”.
A lovely cabin in Udimore.
Last week I was browsing through the AirBnB website, and came across this newly added hut, only 1 hour and 20 minutes away from Brighton.
I got extremely excited, called Felix and asked if I could book it.
He was on board. And so yesterday, we drove there, and spent a night in this cosy place, together with the puggies.
When we reached the countryside, Maya got very happy right away. She might be 10 years old, but she has a lot of energy and loves to run around free.
The property was absolutely stunning, clean and with anything we could need.
Felix and I took this chance to relax and stay outside. Luckily, it was a sunny day, although the wind was even stronger than it usually is in Brighton. Still, we brought some games and run around with Maya and Edgar.
It was such a nice change, especially because living in the city we don’t get to fully turn off, and being immerse in nature was just what we needed.
Here is the view. And Maya blending in. She is so tiny she is shorter than the plants- haha.
And here is me, chilling in the hammock.
Dinnertime was fun as well. We bought some food to cook right before leaving, nothing much but just enough to get through the night. We had a stove and I managed to cook one thing at a time, which meant some of the food got cold by the time we ate it, but having it outdoor, whilst the sun was setting, was so nice and probably made it taste better!
After dinner, we just walked around a bit, taking in all that beauty.
And by 9pm, the pugs were asleep in the couch.
They had been running so much, they made themselves comfy. So cute.
Felix and I stayed up watching a k-drama till midnight, and then fell asleep. At 3 in the morning, it started to rain. At first it was super cosy, but eventually it got so intense we weren’t able to sleep.
To be fair, I had been wishing all day that it would rain during the night, because being used to travel every year on an RV with my parents, when I was younger, the one thing I have always missed about our trips was hearing the rain fall, hitting the top.
So now I got that experience back, and I’m glad about it. As soon as the rain passed, I fell deeply asleep.
I’m happy I got to spend a day in this adorable hut, and I’m hoping that in the future, the pugs, Felix and I will make more time to visit it again.
Marzia.
PS. In case you are wondering, I have vlogged the trip so expect a video in a few weeks (it’s part of my “notes”, so it will come out at the end of the month).
July 8, 2016
SPECIAL DELIVERY FROM LUSH.
Let’s open it up!
The other day I was invited to go see how they make Lush products and give it a go myself. I would have loved to, but their closest factory is in Dorset and I don’t feel comfortable leaving the pugs alone for too long.
So the person that wrote me, Hannah, decided to put together a lovely (and huge) package for me, full of products to try out!
Let’s begin with their makeup, because I have tried a few things before but not many of these. I do love the Bubblegum lip scrub, I have purchased it a few times before.
It tastes so good, and it does a great job.
But I never had the chance to try the other makeup stuff she included. So let’s go over them.
There are 3 lip products: two lipsticks and one lip balm.
The lip balm is clear and has a faint sweet scent – just the way I prefer it.
The “Soul” lipstick is clear as well, but with colourful sparkles. It reminds me of the 90s for some reason, and I don’t mean that in a bad way. Vey cute!
The other one “Perspective” is a rosy shade, which means it’s easy to pull off.
I was then intrigued by these tiny bottles, which I wasn’t sure what they were at first. To my surprise, they are two stunning shades of eyeliner. Look at the colours! So gorgeous, and so intense.
I was also impressed with these pigments. The white/golden one is the prettiest thing.
I didn’t know Lush had so much to pick from when it comes to makeup, and Hannah did a fantastic job at selecting shades that would suit me.
I have been recommended plenty of times to try out their perfumes, by you, marzipans, and finally now I have one! This one smells mostly like oranges, which reminds me of summer. Lovely scent.
A cool product I’ve never seen before is this Candy Floss powder. I was confused by how to use it, but you simply take some in your hand and use it in the shower to scrub your body.
I absolutely love the packaging, so vintage-looking, and the smell is so sweet!
Onto bottles, she sent me four. One is the Rehab shampoo, which I’m familiar with as I’ve used it before and liked it; the other things are new to me.
I started by using the cleansing lotion: it felt very light and the consistency is a bit runny. I think this would be perfect for people with sensitive skin as it is so delicate, and I am going to start using it in the morning to wash my face.
The Dirty shower gel is something I would see Felix use more than me: the scent reminded me more of a male product, because it’s minty and that’s the kind of scent my brother or dad would usually go for, but if you are not into sweet stuff this might be a great alternative for you.
The Comforter shower cream smells like a mix of berries, as if you got a candy pouch, but it’s not too overwhelming. Plus, the colour is so intense!
Here you can see their consistency. Not sure that helps, but just in case you were curious.
Another product I always use is this Sea Water spray, which works as a toner. I find this to be very helpful when my skin starts to break out, as it balances it and makes it feel nicer overall. I keep a bottle of this by my bathtub at all times, just for safety!
Now we can look into bath bombs and bubble bars: I never used the Pink Flamingo and the Intergalactic bath bomb, so I made sure to use them both today, whilst taking a bath.
In fact, today was kind of a slow day. I woke up a bit later than usual and only went to the gym and answered emails. I was needing to relax and this box full of goodies was just what I needed!
Here is the water turning into a dark blue (with golden glitter that didn’t show up on camera) and some bubbles I made with the flamingo. I like how even the bubble bar foamed up a bit, and it added extra moisture to the bath as one of it’s main ingredients was shea butter.
I did not want to use all the bath bombs at once, so I don’t have pictures of each of them, BUT I have used them before and I can say that they are all very nice. I always buy the Sakura one and the Dragon’s egg. Sex Bomb is also great!
But now let’s focus on all these pots.
I’ve tried all of them today for the first time, except for the Retread hair conditioner and Let the Good Times Roll, which I’m both keeping for another day. I have smelled them, and the second one (which is a cleanser) smells particularly amazing: it has polenta, cinnamon and popcorns as ingredients – how fun is that? haha
Anyway, here are some notes I took while putting them on:
Ocean Salt: great scrub for the entire body, but will probably mainly apply it to my face. It has actual sea salt in it, but it’s soft enough not to hurt the skin;
Mask of Magnaminty: felt like a clay mask, with the addition of peppermint which made my skin all cool and nice. Helps with acne, which is great for me;
Vanishing Cream: as the name says, it does absorb very fast but still leaves the skin feeling extra moisturised. I like it because with my generally oily skin I need something light;
Rub Rub Rub body scrub: at first I thought it wouldn’t do it for me, by the look of it, because I tend to use thicker granules, but this really surprised me. First of all, the scent is nice, but the scrub not only works, but it leaves the skin feeling extremely soft.
Sympathy for the Skin: I applied this to legs and hands. As I’m typing this long blog post I can still feel my hands being soft;
Ro’s Argan body conditioner: not sure what the difference is from a lotion, but I did use this on the chest, shoulders and arms. Same results as the above product, but as far as scent goes, this one is delicious!
We did it! That is all.
I hope you found this somewhat useful if you are looking to shop at Lush any time soon. I personally love their products and ethics so I was more than happy when I got this package.
Thanks again Hannah for allowing me to pamper myself today!
Do you have a favourite product from Lush, marzipans?
Marzia.
July 6, 2016
OUTLET CLOTHING HAUL.
I found an outlet!
The big deal here is that I have never came across one in Brighton, and when the other day I was walking to the Indoor Market (a shop I have talked about before here on my blog) I saw a Pop Up one.
It will stay over the summer, and not only carries cool brands I don’t usually get my hands on here in the UK, but it also has a few second hand finds.
I bought 4 items from there. To be honest, I picked up a bunch of stuff, but ended up leaving down some and tried to limit myself.
The very first and best purchase is this second hand Coccinelle bag.
I don’t own any bags of this brand and never really paid particular attention to it, but it was just so cute and tiny I had to grab it. What I like about it is that it’s very compact, but has a longer shoulder belt so I can wear it two ways. Also, instead of having one zipper, it has 4 small ones on the sides that reach the centre, where you then close it with a button.
I have never seen a bag like this, so I’m glad I could add it to my collection.
The next 3 purchases are from the brand UNIF, and all of them were around £30.
Being summer (although not so warm) I bought a long tank top with the logo on it. Just easy to throw on under a jacket.
Then I got this striped sweater which I saw I while ago on the asos website, but thought it was a bit too expensive. Good thing I waited, so now it’s mine for less!
I love that it’s such a strange piece, with stripes and colourful letters, but the fact that is pretty long and can go over your butt, is a nice extra. In fact, I do like cropped sweaters, but I do appreciate longer ones more. They are cosier.
Final thing – and favourite – from UNIF, is this chunky mustard sweater. So warm and fluffy! I love it.
But then I did check out the Indoor Market, as I had planned, and found a few things there as well.
This isn’t a clothing item, but I had to show this fabulous llama. He doesn’t have a name yet, so if you have any suggestions, do leave them!
The one thing I always get when I enter the store, is a few rings. These (except for the one Felix gifted me a few months ago) were all £5 each. I think they look so dainty and wonderful, so I got myself 3 to stack up.
But finally, I wanted to show you 3 new pins I bought for myself. I got these a few days ago from Family Store, a very cool independent shop in the Lanes.
The cat and flower are from Stay Home Club whilst the creepy Beetlejuice one is from Valley Cruise Press.
And that’s all. Not too much, but to me this seemed like a lot and got very excited to show you, as if I just got home and showed it to my mom or a friend!
Anyway, the llama is upset cause he has no name yet, so help me out.
Marzia.
July 4, 2016
TO THE SEA LIFE.
A day with my parents, my cousin and Felix. By the sea.
Not long ago, I was on holiday in Scotland with my parents. This time, they wanted to bring my cousin Arianna to Brighton, as she is 11 years old and never travelled outside of Italy.
Because of it, I wanted her to have a good time, and make good memories from this short trip.
Here is us, by the arches of the aquarium, in Brighton. I love coming here, and I take any chance I get.
Just look at how stunning it is. I might not be a huge aquarium, but it is probably the prettiest I’ve ever been to.
Here is my favourite pufferfish. It is always here, in the same tank, and I like to say hi any time I pass by.
Here is a trapped Felix.
But then it was time to head over to the Brighton Pier. Oh, the pier.
This is probably my favourite place in Brighton where to go and have a good time. There are a few rides, two arcades, amazing doughnuts and great views over the city.
It was a really windy day, and the pier was crowded with people coming from every direction, but we managed to move around and check out everything we wanted to. We even won a keychain. YAY!
My favourite ride is the Horror Hotel, which is the one where Felix and I got stuck in last summer, I believe it was.
It’s very old, and not scary at all, but it has some charm to it.
Even my parents gave it a go!
We then had a lovely lunch at Pinocchio, an Italian restaurant by the Lanes. Great actual Italian food, so if you are ever visiting this area, I do recommend it.
We had a walk around the Pavilion, but then the rain started to pour down.
And here is a shot of my favourite thing. The West Pier, which is now slowly falling apart. It’s like a ghost, and I absolutely love it.
But that was it. We came home, chatted, ordered takeaway and watched the football game between Italy and Germany. Unfortunately we lost, but it was nice to have some family time together.
What have you been up to this past weekend?
Marzia.
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