uber geek alert.

remember how i wrote about wanting to be bellatrix lestrange for the harry potter and the half-blood prince midnight showing? clearly i would never look as awesome as helena bonham carter, but my own interpretation wouldn't hurt. actually, i didn't really end up being bellatrix - more like a cross between a slytherin and a wannabe-death eater.



watch out! that might be the aveda kedavra curse i am about to perform... (i evidently have too much fun dressing up.)

the eye makeup was actually what was left after crying--- um, i won't spoil it for those who have not read the book or seen the movie.


an impromptu review...

i generally far prefer a book to its movie counterpart, but i still get excited to see a live-action interpretation of literature. what i enjoyed most about the half-blood prince was tom felton's portrayal of a tormented draco malfoy. the extra focus on his part of the story for the movie was quite flawlessly done and i think, a sound addition.

i am usually wary of actors being cast for roles that don't entirely fit the characters' descriptions, but i enjoyed jim broadbent as professor slughorn very much - he is a great actor and always a positive addition to a cast. jessie cave as lavender brown was fantastic as well. i'm also happy the director/writers chose to throw in an extra scene for luna lovegood - evanna lynch portrays her so well.

my biggest gripe of the movie was how much the 'blooming love' story arc was played up and how awkward it was. it just felt a tad too forced. there was also a superfluous scene or two here and there, which i thought could have been scrapped to focus on certain parts of the book that are rather significant - or at the very least quite interesting.

but, all in all, i did enjoy the movie. it's not my favourite of the franchise, but certainly a step up from the previous one. (i'm not sure why i disliked the order of the phoenix so much... it has just been my least favourite of the lot so far.) i await the last (two) installments eagerly and impatiently!

hp-geek signing out!



ps - i don't love slytherins; i just think the "dark" characters are always more fun to dress up as than the overtly goody-goody. truth be told, i was sorted to hufflepuff in "a more accurate harry potter sorting quiz" (as opposed to the "less accurate" one that used to be on the harry potter site, i suppose.. which sorted me to gryffindor and i think i agree with the hufflepuff sorting more than gryffindor.)

shopping show-and-tell.

i had put myself on a shopping ban for the month of june, but i never shared that i'd accomplished it!

for the month of july, i decided to set a spending budget on clothes and accessories (including make-up) and i challenged myself to only buy sale items. so far, so good!

sharing what i've bought:



clockwise from top right:
- asos leather buckle detail high front slingback
- spitfire vintage dylan/roy orbison sunglasses
- asos wet look mini skirt

the shoes i'd ordered two weeks ago and arrived on friday. they are actually rather cushioned and much comfier than i expected.

i was eyeing the sunglasses a few days ago, but decided last night that i had to order them. they are what my friend would call "ironic glasses." and while i was snooping the '10 pounds and under' sale section, i also found the skirt.

i really like asos's extensive catalogue of affordable and designer items, and their mailing list emails. most stores send you the typical "we got new stock" or "we're having a sale" emails, but the asos emails are similiar to a mini newsletter with how-to-wear ideas. (i also really like their order confirmation emails; very nicely designed. clean, informative, but also personable.)

the big sale at asos ends this week and shipping to canada is super affordable - just under $7US - and it only took about 10 working days to receive my last order!

/plug (wish i got commissioned for all that positive press. ha!)

valentino: the last emperor.

finally, finally - a week later... what i wore to the valentino screening.

i got lazy halfway through the layout, so scrapped the other half of it:



h&m pleather jacket / necessary objects dress / aldo shoes / bueno clutch-purse (removable chain) / vintage necklace / f21 ring

my "bat dress" makes another appearance! (i looked at the label finally and found out it's by necessary objects.) this is also only the second time i've worn these aldo shoes. i need to find more excuses to strut around in fiercely studded leather heels.


regarding the film:

firstly, can i just say how charming matt tyrnauer is? if i had anything remotely interesting to say, i would have approached him at the cocktail party. alas, i am not one for having insightful questions and i'm also prone to making an ass of myself whenever i am near people i admire - even if they are only a teensy bit famous. (although last time i talked to isaac hanson, i was able to carry on a decent conversatiton - even if my heart was racing - so maybe things are looking up!)

there is quite a bit of hype surrounding valentino, and even though i hate to fall into the "hype trap," i may just have to fuel it. it really was very enjoyable... a wonderful glimpse into the life of the extravagantly wealthy; the strong relationship between life and work partners; and the lavish world of haute couture. i can't decide which i enjoyed more: the process of valentino dreaming up a dress all the way to its appearance on the runway, or the wonderfully funny bits of dialogue between valentino and giancarlo giammetti.

i forget how many hours of footage was filmed in total, but the initial cut of the film was seven hours long. i will proudly admit that i am one of the fashion fanatics who would love to see this seven-hour cut. haha but before that monstrous gem is released, if you live in and around vancouver, you can head to tinseltown to catch the 96-minute cut. (other cities now showing or screening soon can be found via the movie's website: valentinomovie.com.)

---

i did not go the alice festival as i ended up with dinner plans while the urgent web project was still undone. i am now also fighting off a cold (still in the "kicking in" stage nearly 30 hours later)...

but! i will be seeing harry potter and the half blood prince at midnight! i was hoping to dress up (would be my first time for a midnight viewing and dressing up), but still haven't decided on what, though i am so very tempted to be bellatrix lestrange. if i could raid mary-kate olsen's closet, my costume would be instantly complete! seriously.. witness:



and



and



ok, in this case, i'd steal ashley's dress but mk's caftan/robe/dress is still awesome:



and



all of the shorter skirts featured above could be layered with this maxi skirt:



images from various sources... sorry, saved over a few years; hard to keep track

and thus concludes my visual evidence that mk could totally dress up as bellatrix lestrange. /potterhead + mk&a mashup; woah.