Raving about makeup, skincare, hair and other little obsessions... A Beauty Blog

Saturday, April 30, 2011

Male vs Female

I won't say much for this post because a picture paints a thousand words! Click on image to see a larger version.

Edit

Photos! A wonderful way of capturing memories that we one day may or may not forget. These days many of us no longer have our photos "developed" and stored in photo albums. Instead, we keep digital copies of them on our hard drives or upload them onto online albums. The good thing about keeping photos digitally is that they don't take up space physically and won't fade. Online albums are convenient whereby you can easily share them with friends and family who live in another country (as long as they have a computer and the internet!).

Technology has really come a long way. Apart from taking and storing our photos digitally, we can edit them. There are a number of photo-editing softwares which we can buy from shops. However, since most of us edit our photos as a fun hobby, we don't feel the need to spend a few hundred dollars on a photo-editing software. Luckily, there is also a range of free photo-editing websites available to us.

My favourite one is Picnik. You can edit your photos without the fuss of creating an account/signing up with them. Even without the premium edition you can do lots! From changing the brightness of your photo to softening or fading it.

Before Picnik

After Picnik

Photoshop (the online version), is pretty good as well. It also gives you the option of not creating an account and simply editing your photos. If you wish to store your photos on their site, you'd definitely have to sign up. There are a few things that Photoshop can do that Picnik cannot, vice versa. If you have the time, you should play around with both of them and decide which one you like best... or use both!

Before Photoshop

After Photoshop

The website that I use to store some of my photos (for forum use), is called Photobucket. It does have editing tools but I find them inferior to Picnik and Photoshop. What I like about Photobucket is that it generates links and codes for my photos that I can easily copy and paste. Besides that, with so many people uploading photos, you get to browse through millions of them. Among them, you'd more than likely find a good photo of your favourite movie star or a beautiful scenic shot that you want a copy of. Photobucket also holds photography competitions some of which you can win cool prizes from!

There are plenty other websites for you to try. I'm simply too content with the three that I have listed to explore others. Other photo-storing websites that I know of are Flickr and Shutterfly. You must create an account with them as well if you want to use them. Shutterfly is a bit different whereby you can create photobooks and buy it from them. If you wish to download a free photo-editing software, you can try Picasa. Apparently, you can create amazing collages with it!

Happy editing!
Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Spontaneous Finds

I'm pretty sure most of us, if not every one, have found ourselves wondering through the mall and coming across an unexpected SALE. This is exactly what happened to me a couple of weeks back. Lovisa, one of the chain female accessories stores, had a all rings for $5 sale. It turns out they were clearing their old stock out and bringing in new ones. I've checked out their rings before and often found them too chunky for my small hands or too expensive for my pocket. As fate would have it, I found a black fabric rose ring. Its original price was $6.99. It wasn't as much of a saving compared to the more expensive rings but it suited me. It was the right size, right price.


As the day progressed, I was making more and more unplanned but "sensible" purchases. By sensible, I mean affordable and reasonable. JR and I went to Officeworks after we left Lovisa because he wanted to get a refill for his fountain pen. We stumbled upon a section of "designer" stationery. The notebooks had wonderful hues of blues, reds, greens and purple. The pencil set was designed with care and creativity. I was instantly drawn to it. However, I have many pens and pencils at home, a lot of which were free.What I did buy was a set of 4 funky badges, something I'd always fancied having. I also bought a set of decorative magnetic pegs. There were both of good value.



After that I decided to search for a fabric shop that I walked past a few months back. I wanted to buy some laces and black tulle for my craft projects. With JR's "trusty GPS" (iPhone), we walked through busy city streets, looking for it. The GPS led us to a nearby location. From there, I followed my instinct and found the shop. And indeed, they had black tulle, laces and frills as I expected. These are what I bought.



What a day of spontaneous finds!
Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Blog Of Interest

I apologise for the lack of activity on this blog. I promise you 3 new posts once my exams are over. (Ugh!!! Can't wait!) Out of guilt I've set my Health Law notes aside and am hastily putting together a simple post for you. I sure have poor discipline for a uni student...

Sportsgirl is one of the many wonderful clothing chains in Australia. The apparel they sell are gorgeous but unfortunately exorbitant to poor uni students like me. Currently, I'm eyeing one of their silky grey tops, waiting to pounce the moment its price falls below $50 (SALE!). In order to stay informed of any impending sales, I subscribed for their electronic newsletters. Hey, it's free and they email it to you!

Yesterday, I checked my email and found myself looking through yet another Sportsgirl newsletter. What caught my eye was not the expensive new Winter wear that they were advertising but was an ad for a DIY competition. I won't waste time explaining what it's all about. You can check it out yourself: http://www.sportsgirl.com.au/blog/post/2011/3/win-a-sportsgirl-winter-wardrobe/freebies

One of the links at the sidebar of the webpage grabbed my attention. 365 DAYS OF CRAFT was what it read. Apparently, this really creative lady in Melbourne decided to make 2011 a year full of craft. Every night, she would make something, take pictures of it and post it on her blog. I checked out her blog and it proved to be interesting. She is capable of transforming trash into treasure, tea towels into cushions and scarves into skirts. If you're someone who really loves getting your hands busy and dirty with craft work but you're out of ideas, you should check out this blog. It'll give you ideas, if not inspiration. http://www.365daysofcraft.com/