26 Things: Attend a Hippy Festival

Last weekend I completed another fun task on my list by going to Faeries and Fools Costume Carnival! My lovely best friend and I went together, and started off by putting on our makeup and elfing up our hair in the car while waiting for the ferry (a big boat). When we loaded onto the ferry, we wandered up to the bathroom and finished out look by adding ears and putting on our elf attire.

My hair is stuffed with hay to add volume, and accented with pretty green moss :D

PS - I apologize for the alignment of some of the pictures/commentary. My laptop and blogger are being very annoying today.

And here we are all ready to join the other faeries and fools and cause some mischief in the woods!




My elf outfit included a Moroccan tunic, and trusty bamboo stick. Both, from a wayward gypsy store.




Here are some shots of the Crystal Creek Forest, on Mount Elphinstone (I am not making any of these names up!)







On to the festival! Their were lots of vendors selling clothes, art, and yummy vegan/raw food.







I discovered that Baby Unicorns are the best ever!





Taking time from the festivities, chillin' in our gimpy tent (notice the glorious snuggie in the background).



After relaxing in our tent, we rejoined the party and headed straight into the big top tent. The DJ set up was fantastic, and pounded with goa trance, regge, and Indian influenced techno.




Here's what the dance tent looked like with flash



I look like a fool!




The Baby Unicorn's Dad, perhaps?




Around the campfire, drummers and storytellers made fun in the forest night.



After partying it up during the night finally crashed in our tent. We woke up the next morning to the sound of rain. We had glue stuck to our ears and our hair was a mess, but we were nonetheless euphoric from the magical night we had had.



I was attempted to make sense of my wild hair



Heading back from the festival, we stopped at the renouned Gumboot Garden Cafe in the teeny tiny town of Roberts Creek. The chai latte really hit the spot.



And then we were sailing back home, leaving the Sunshine coast for yet another year till ye old festival time comes around again.



To end, here is a beautiful shot Mount. Elphinstone.




Thanks for stopping by!
-Ashley

Review: Haus of Gloi

Photo from Haus of Gloi

Hi everyone! I come to you to rave about a brand I've just fallen in love with: Haus of Gloi Fine Olfactory Cuisine. I heard about this brand through Gothique's blog, and decided to give it a try. About two weeks ago I picked out my products from their Etsy website and patiently waited for my order. The next day, I received an email from on of the owners, Britton, who had refunded me a $1 in shipping. I thought this was really nice of her, as she really didn't have to refund me anything. So far, Haus of Gloi had proven that a good customer service experience was an important aspect of their company, which always makes me feel better about the company I'm buying from.

About two weeks later (damn Canadian border), I received my package in a cute little cardboard box. My products were gently packed with newspaper to prevent any breakage. Immediately I noticed the smell emanating from the box, herbal, sweet, and spicy. I laid out my my pile of booty:

-A full sized bar of cold pressed soap in 'Elevenses'
-A full sized jar of sugar scrub in 'Elevenses'
-A small jar of body lotion in 'Honey Tree'
-5 perfume samples in 'Elevenses,' 'Troika,' 'Tepes,' 'Erzabet,' and 'Honey Tree.'
-Britton, the owner, threw in a sample bar of soap in 'Lavender Sugar.'

Scent Descriptions:
-Elevenses: Tiny, little, fluffy orange cakes, sugar coated toasty almonds and a wee steaming cup of black tea!

-This is probably my favorite scent out of the bunch thus far. Upon first whiff, I interpreted it to smell like sweet black licorice. Of course, this scent has no such thing in it, so I applied it to the skin and waited for the individual notes to come out. I can certainly pick out the orange and the almond at first, and as it sits on the skin, the scent of tea comes into the foreground. Not too sweet. I love it!

-Honey Tree: Quite rich! Right from the bee hive honey, amplified by seductive essence of resinous vanilla, darkened by a passing waft of woody smoke.

-This one is quite sweet. The honey is prominent, with the vanilla trailing close behind. The woodiness lays low in the background, fusing with the vanilla and creating a mellow, happy scent. I quite like it.

-Troika: A trinity of soft milks, almond, oat and coconut, lashed with sweet agave nectar and the ethereal scent of clean white.

-This scent is just lovely. I find that the almond and coconut jump out right away, while the sweet agave intermingles with oils to sweeten it up. Beautiful and perfect for summertime.

-Erzabet: Vain lashings of blackcurrant berries, stephanotis, Hungarian rose, black musk attar, long forgotten incense burnings and a cold breath of blue yarrow.

-This scent is darker and more suited for evening. The blackcurrants are dominant, with the rest of the oils blending together in the background, creating a dark floral scent. I quite like it, but then again, I'm a sucker for anything with rose in it.

-Tepes: This is quite a masculine fragrance, but it is suitable to both sexes really. If you wish to smell like wet moss, tobacco, and leather, then this may be for you!

-Holy crap this is one hell of a fragrance. I got this one because I'm always curious about out of the ordinary scents. If you smell this scent directly, the tobacco is quite overpowering. If you waft it, or apply it lightly, you get a complex and masculine scent. Their is no sweetness to this one. I may wear it, but it would definitely call for an occasion.

The Products:

The Soap: OMG I love this stuff! You get a very good sized slice of soap, and it comes shrink-wrapped in plastic. It takes very little to create a nice lather, and all the natural butters in it leave my skin super soft. The scents aren't too overpowering with the soap.

The Scrub: Again, another phenomenal product. Since it's a sugar scrub, it melts right into your skin, and leaves you exfoliated and moisturized. I did not need to use any lotion after using this product. The next order I place will be including more of these scrubs, which I plan to use about once a week to slough away dead skin cells.

The Lotion: Wonderful. I decided I needed to write this review after using the lotion. I was amazed at how soft it made my skin. Noticeably soft. This stuff makes my skin very happy.

The perfumes: The perfumes are so nice. I found that they lasted most of the day without fading too much. Actually, I put 'Elevenses' on at night, and woke up in the morning to find that it was still noticeable on my wrists. As it sits on the skin, it releases the various notes of the different oils, and gives you a dynamic and nuanced smell.

All in all: Haus of Gloi is among my new favorite stores to shop in. I give them my shiny purple seal of approval!

Thanks for dropping by!
Love Ash

26 Things: Make An Avocado Smoothie

I had heard of avocado smoothies before, trying to imagine in my mind what they would taste like. The avocados I eat are usually in guacamole form, loaded with cream cheese, garlic and cilantro. Blending an avocado with fruits and juices was something I've never tried, and as a vegetarian, trying new things is a mandatory fact of life. Hence, trying one of these smoothies made its way on my 26 things before I turn 26 list!

Here's how mine turned out!!

Here's what I put in it:

1 Avocado
1 Banana
Juice from 1 lime
1 1/2 C of Orange Juice
A good blob of honey
2 Ice cubes

Try it out, it's so freaking good. I swear.

Thanks for stopping by!
-Ashley

26 Things I Want To Do Before I Turn 26

Hey all. It's been awhile since I've posted here, what with all the stress that's been going on in my life lately after losing my dad. I've managed to distract myself a little with my makeup tutorial website, but I would like to restart blogging on here as well. I want more outfit posts, more fashion posts, and more about what I'm going through personally. Taking a cue from Sarah Von from Yes and Yes, I've created a list of 26 things I'd like to accomplish before I turn 26. Some are fun, some scary, others a little wacky, but I can tell you that I'm pretty excited for some of these. My life has been a rather uninspired mix of grief and confusion, so I welcome some change. I need to get inspired again. School will help, which I'm starting again next week. Without further or do, here is my list of 26 things:


1.Go Skydiving.

2.Go to an 'Ab Attack' class.

3.Go to the Zombie Walk.

4.Go for a pedicure.

5.Participate in a photo scavenger hunt from here.

6.Go to a fortune teller.

7.Volunteer at a cat shelter.
 
8.Go to a hippy festival.

9.Go to a Vietnamese Restaurant

10.Read Harry Potter

11.Go to a Greek Restaurant when a Belly Dancer is dancing!
 
12.Go through a tooth whitening system and stick with it.

13.Make bread pudding

14.Go to a nude beach

15.Order a Flaming Lamborghini at a bar.

16.Take my cat for a walk on a cat lease

17.Eat raw food for two weeks straight

18.Give someone a make-over and a photo shoot in my backyard amongst pretty flowers.

19.Make my own berry sangria, with lots of fresh fruit. Eat the booze soaked fruit afterwords.

20.Make a fancy faerie style skirt on my sewing machine

21.Make an avocado smoothie

22.Attend a peaceful protest

23.Leave some random happy/funny notes in some books at my university's library.

24.Destroy something and revel in it, possibly with maniacal laughter.

25.Make extensive plans for my next trip, including restaurants to try, where I will stay, and places I will go, complete with maps and costs.

26.Watch a hockey game in a bar (not serving, watching. Sitting.Drinking.Enjoying. Some Canadian I am, I've never done this!)

Have you made a list of things you want to accomplish this year? I would love to here!
   -Love Ashley

I've made a new blog!

Since I'm taking a break from Shiny Purple Cats, my personal blog, I've started a new side project that is based on my love for makeup.

To help take the focus off the grief I've experienced from losing my Dad, I started pouring my creative energy into creating artistic mineral makeup looks. I will be cataloging these looks along with what I've used and how I've used them. I hope you enjoy.Go to www.ashleysfotd.blogspot.com

I hope you check it out!

Love Ash!