Issue #1: Super Cute!

Model: Mariska

Photographer: ?

Dear Readers,

I see there are at least two of you so far. Hopefully more will join us soon. Today I will begin posting Girl Is Poison: The Zine here. I will post at least one item per day until it's all out there for you to see. I have been working on this for about the last two and a half weeks. I would have started sooner but, well, life gets in the way! I did have a ton of fun putting this together. I got to try some new things and dust off my writing skills. There's small amount of content now, but I hope to grow this into something more. My goal is to get more people involved.



The theme of this issue is "Super Cute!" I have an interview with t-shirt designer SoHoKiTtEn, a music review, a tutorial, and more. I even try out a product so you know what you're getting before you buy.



My aim here is to have fun and produce an informative and entertaining zine. If you have any suggestions for things you'd like to see me cover fill out the poll to the right or comment. I'm also very open to submissions! I'd love submissions, so if you'd like to add the the zine please email me: thatgirl a t girlispoison d o t net.



Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy it!



Lux

Where To Find The Cute

Here are some links I've found to add some cute to your day!

Cute Shops:


Adorable handmade accessories


Cute acessories (and bags!) at great prices


Unique, handmade items you wont find anywhere else. T-shirts, totes and more...

Wigglysee!
Perfectly crafted toys for the little ones in your life.

Lauren Smash!
Hand sewn dolls with a touch of creepy cute.

Cute Pix:

Crazy Cute Animals

Super Duper Cute

The Cute Project

Cute Graphics:

MyCuteGraphics.com

123 Greetings

Cute Games:

Dress Up Games

Guinea Pig Lux: Mineral Makeup

I finally took the plunge and decided to try out this mineral makeup I've been hearing so much about. And what a plunge it was. I threw out all my old makeup 'cause it was old and grody anyway. I spent $70.00 on eye shadows, blush, bronzer and foundation from Pink Quartz Minerals. But hey, it's good for your skin, good for the environment and no cute little animals were hurt to produce it. Good all around I'd say.

So my makeup arrives. I wash my face apply my moisturizer and get to work. Included with PQM makeup are these small brushes, which the directions say are the best to use and give the best results. I give up after a few minutes and take out my own tried and true brushes. Nope these little brushes just aren't doing it for me. It appears that my old brushes work just fine and produce better results. I start with "Secret" eye shadow and brush it over my entire lid up to the brow. The color is very subtle on me so I don't look like a drag queen or anything. The shadow goes on very smoothly. I use "Spruce" over the lid. The two colors look great together and they blend very well. Happy so far. Next I use my eyeliner brush to apply "Ecstasy" shadow as liner. I line the entire eye. I move on to foundation. My shade is "Oasis". (NOTE: PQM sends you samples of foundation before sending you the full size. This way you know the shade you're getting is right for you. It's all included in the price.) Here's where it gets tricky. This type of makeup has a tendency to look streaky if you're not careful. It requires a light touch and lots of thin layers. So the application of it is taking longer than the usual liquid does. However, the effect looks airbrushed. I'd say it's worth the extra effort. Next I use my blush brush to apply their "Dusty Peach" blush. (I'm a fan of peachy colors for blush. I believe the perfect shade of peach exists for every skin tone. No matter what your color there is a shade for you. :) ) This too requires a light touch. It's easy to load too much on your brush. I recommend applying it in thin layers as well. I finish with some lip gloss and mascara. Everything looks awesome! The overall effect is airbrushed and the colors are very subtle and pretty.

Pros
Good for your skin
No animal testing
Comes with it’s own built in spf
Looks and feels good on

Cons
Takes longer to apply
Requires more effort
Can look streaky if not applied carefully

Tips
If you have oily skin like me, skip the moisturizer and use a shine control product instead. After a short while I ended up having to blot and touch up. Definitely use an eye makeup base like Clarins Instant Light Eye Perfecting Base. The shadow will crease without it.

Surprises
Later on when I washed it off my skin looked really good! It’s almost like the makeup itself acted as a skin conditioning treatment.

Bottom Line
I would definitely recommend this product to everyone. If you have time to spend putting on your makeup then this is a great way to go. If you are in a hurry though you may want to use liquid foundation, at least until you get the hang of it.

Find some good mineral makeup here.

Photos coming soon.

Waaay Indie Band: Super Cute Voices

Fun in a Box
By Lux

Super Cute Voices consists of Stuart on guitar, vocals & synthesizer and Charlie on drums & vocoder. While Stuart and Charlie appear to be a couple of normal looking guys from the U.K., their music is far from it. But what can you expect from a group that lists Nintendo as one of it’s influences? SCV are what I imagine to be the perfect band for the ADHD generation and they sound just like what you would expect such a band to sound. They deliver danceable songs with catchy hooks, video game beats and sing along choruses that are guaranteed to get you moving if only for a few minutes at a time. Their sound ranges from new wave to punk with a few Japanese lyrics thrown in for good measure. And all this often happens within the same song. In addition to Nintendo, they count Beck, Devo and Kraftwerk among their influences (3 of my personal favorites). While I do enjoy Super Cute Voices’ fun, updated 80’s style music, I couldn’t listen to a whole album. SCV is like a cute kid brother version of the above. They make good party music, however I wouldn’t recommend taking them on long car trips, they may just drive you nuts after a while.


Check out: My Favorite Maths Book & So Desu Ka

Skip: KaTING

Listen here.

Tutorial: Two-Tier Petticoat Mini

Difficulty: 2 out of 5

Materials
1yd cotton weave or other non stretch fabric (more depending on your size and preferred length of skirt)
1 pc 1/2in wide elastic (length should be your exact waist measurement end to end)
Trim (optional)
Thread
Pins
Sewing needle
Sewing machine
Iron
Scissors
Tailors chalk
Straight edge
Measuring tape


1) Wash and dry fabric to preshrink, then iron.
2) Fold fabric in half lengthwise and then fold in half again lengthwise. You’ll end up with four layers. (photo)
3) Measure and mark 6 inches from raw edge of fabric with a straight edge. Cut directly on line. *This will make a S/M variable size skirt. For a larger skirt see alternative waistband construction below.* (photo)
4) With right sides facing each other, sew together short ends 5/8 of an inch from edge. (photo)
5) Fold fabric over with the right side facing out and press. Now you have the beginnings of your waistband. (photo)
6) Sew a straight stitch 5/8 of an inch from pressed edge. Leave about an inch long opening to put your elastic through. This will be your casing. Set aside. (photo)
7) Cut the remaining length of fabric in half width wise. You’ll end up with two long equal sized pieces. (photo)
8) With right sides facing each other, sew the two pieces together 5/8 of an inch from the edges. This will be the lower part of the skirt. (photo)
9) Set your machine to it’s longest stitch length and reduce the tension by half. Sew 2 rows of straight stitches about ¼ inch from one of the edges. These should be about ¼ inch apart. Tie the ends into two knots. (photo)
10) Pull on one of the knots until the lower part of the skirt is gathered to fit the waistband. Even out your gathers. (photo)
11) Restore original stitch length and tension settings on your machine. With right sides facing each other, pin lower skirt to waistband matching seams with sides. (photo) Straight stitch 1 inch from the edge leaving a 1 inch opening parallel to the 1 inch opening in the casing. (photo)
12) Attach a safety pin to each edge of elastic and thread elastic through the openings and all the way through the casing. (photo)
13) Pull elastic ends through, overlap them 1 inch and hand stitch them together. (photo)
14) Tuck elastic back into the casing and finish the casing seam. (photo)
15) Finish the seam attaching the lower skirt to the waistband. (photo)
16) Hem the skirt by folding over the raw edge twice at least ¼ inch, pressing it and straight stitching. (photo)
17) For an extra girly touch add trim. Still not cute enough? Add bows too!

*Alternative waistband construction: Begin by cutting two pieces of fabric 6 in from the edge instead of one. Cut each of those pieces to measure ½ of your total hip measurement plus one inch. Example: if your hip measurement is 46 in each piece should measure 24 in. Sew the two pieces together with right sides facing each other ½ in from each short edge. Fold over so right sides face out and press. Move on to step 6.

If you'd like to see the photos all at once please visit my Flickr page.

If anything isn't clear or you need a more detailed description don't hesitate to ask! This is only my first tutorial so I want to make it as easy to follow as possible.

Not the sewing type? Petticoat is for sale here.

Super Cute 3 Different Ways

Super Cute doesn't have to mean drowning yourself in ruffles and lace! It can be done in different ways, over the top or subtle and sophisticated. Here I have put together three different takes on girlish fashion.

FRUiTsy Cute

The bright shades of pink and blue make this really stand out and the different textures make it interesting. What is Japanese fashion if not interesting? By sticking with the same color combination when choosing the accessories you can turn a wild outfit like this into something a little more wearable. Well as wearable as a TuTu is if you're not a ballerina.

Like the clothes? Buy them here.

Vintage Cute

How I love vintage clothes...from pretty much any era, but I've always had a soft spot for the 50s-60s. The cuts of the dresses were so pretty and they looked good on any body type. Here I paired a royal blue/cream swiss dot dress with candy apple red shoes. Whoever said you're not supposed to put primary colors together was so wrong.



Dress for sale here.

"Sophisti-cute"

This top has very girlish details: a bib front, puffed sleeves and non functional buttons. What saves it from being juvenile are the neutral colors and the edgy texture. Pair it with a hot pink mini for a touch of color interest and opaque black tights. Add a purse with punky details (grommets, studs, etc) and you're good to go.



Skirt available here.
Vintage purse available here.

Indie Designer Crush: Twinkie Chan!

That Girl Who Makes Food Scarves

I first knew of Stephanie a.k.a. Twinkie Chan on Live Journal way back when she blogged under the handle potatoxstamp. We had a mutual friend on LJ who I’ve long since lost touch with. (What was your name…?) I knew as soon as I saw her face in her icon that I wanted her to model my clothes some day. I was recently finally able to make that happen. (Hot!) So who is Twinkie Chan? If you don’t know then you must have snagged yourself some prime real estate under a rock somewhere. (Kidding!) Twinkie Chan is a San Francisco based, dog loving, crochet pattern drafting, scarf making, indie model and up and coming web-celeb. If you don’t know her yet, you will soon.

Twinkie Chan’s super cute food themed scarves go for upwards of $200.00. No lie. And they have inspired a ton of knock-off artists out there on the net and in bricks and mortar boutiques. This very talented designer has been featured in publications such as Giant Robot, Nickelodeon Magazine and Inked Magazine. Her work was recently shown in Chicago’s Sugar Craft art show, proving her to be a true artist as well as a businesswoman. Even though she has accomplished so much in such a short time, she still remains down to earth. She spends her days working as a literary agent, caring for her dogs Bibi and Bunny, and working on various projects such as her new site: ieatyuckystuff.com. Even her alt-model fame hasn’t diminished her totally sweet personality. Oh yeah and did I mention she runs a successful website too? Just spend a few minutes on her fun, wacky site Twinkiechan.com and it’s easy to see why she has attained such a following and become this month’s Indie Designer Crush. If you’re still not head over heels just check out the pictures below!

Feed your wardrobe.