La Carmina portrait

Edith Lebeau is a fellow Canadian, growing up in Quebec. The artist is inspired by mythology, movies and fairy tales, and always paints women with a strong expression: “The look is the most important thing in my work; it’s the way the character tells the story to the viewer…” More of Edith’s vibrant paintings are on her website.

I’m always eager to promote artists on my blog — if you’re interested, send me a rendering of La Carmina and/or Basil Farrow and I’ll feature you in a post.

In random news… if you’ve been following me on Twitter, you’ll know that my other computer refused to start up. What happened? The Cantonese computer guy looked it over and announced… “Mao moh!” That’s right — CAT HAIR. My darling Basil Farrow is responsible for clogging up the fan, which overheated and killed the video card. But how can one get mad at this plush Scottish Fold when he tries to fit into a shoebox that’s too small for his girth? As some of you Tweeted, ROTFMAO!

Since we’re in random mode, here are some outfit posts that I took on Takeshita Doori in Harajuku. Wait, what happened to my hair? Gotcha: that’s my friend Heidi, who was visiting me from Hong Kong. I dressed her up in h.NAOTO Frill and an Innocent World bunny purse.

THIS is me, in an Innocent World dress from Closet Child Harajuku. Although it could very well be my friend in an orange wig, right? These photos got us thinking… what makes up a person’s style and “image”?

While my friends and I may change things up, we all have our little trademarks. The colors we like, the way we apply eye makeup, the types of accessories we pile on. Kanae has completely different makeup/styling above and in this post, but it’s still Kanae.

The way we adorn ourselves broadcasts who we are. Kanae and Comte de Sang’s lobe piercings alone scream Gothic Underground. A closeup of a hand with yellow gold rings, in contrast, would tell a very different story.

I’m curious to know about your personal approach to adornment. What type of hair styles, makeup, etc do you favor, and does it reflect an alternative outlook? Let’s discuss in the comments (you can post as Guest without registering).

I’ll get the ball rolling…
† HAIR: I’ve been dying my hair with bright, alt colors since I was 14. It doesn’t feel right to have black or a “normal” shade on my scalp. I had short hair in 2006 but it didn’t fit me; I’m most at home with long, layered chop jobs.
† MAKEUP: Love false eyelashes, stickers on the face and having fun with colorful eyeshadows.
† NAILS: Kept short so I can type, but always painted. Yukiro has inspired me to experiment with DIY nail art.
† PIERCINGS/TATTOOS: None whatsoever (perhaps surprisingly!). I’ve never been able to think of skin art I’d want to wear permanently. I prefer to adorn my clothes and hair with kawaii toys, flowers…

How about you?

PS: Final chance to win MIYAVI tickets! It’s easy to enter my contest for passes for the LA and Vancouver shows here.

Japanese word of the day: Odaijini = Take care
Song of the Day: How about this epic Visual Kei playlist on YouTube. NoGod, MUCC, Moi dix Mois, Mix Speakers Inc and more.