Verum Tights Update & a Great Find! Crown and Badge Salvage Co.

Firstly: Verum tights are finally available on the Grimoire Online Shop! Grimoire still only ships within Japan, so you will need a shopping service to snag yourself a pair. Grab the ones you want while you can, I've noticed that they seem to sell out almost as soon as they restock.


And today I just happened to come across an amazing jewelry brand called "Crown & Badge Salvage Co.". Each piece is made from unique (and often antique) items the designer, Tina Daunt, finds. As a result, no two pieces are ever the same. Click HERE for the Crown & Badge website. I find her pieces so inspiring and beautiful, I really hope you take a look!




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Inspiration Wednesday

This week I'm really into lace collars, and have been experimenting with making my own (the above is by Emily Temple Cute).

I've also been looking at some over-the-top embellished vintage coats, trying to decide what to do for a spring jacket. I bought a fairly simple one at a good price from H&M, and now I just need to gussy it up a bit.

I'm also back to my deer rings! I had stopped for a while, but I'm obsessed again (Photo from Vogue?).

Floral hair pieces. The bigger the better.

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Favorite Snaps of the Week

These are actually from the last couple of weeks, as my work schedule has been keeping my from my "blog schedule" :)



Kaori, from the Grimoire Almadel blog. I love how the subtle print of her tights (Verum!) just peep out amongst all the white. I also love how she went dark for her hat and shoes,


Also Kaori, also from the Grimoire Almadel blog. I choose this coord because really, this is an outfit any of us could do from items already in our closet.


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Dolly Suitable Nails? And a Bit of Nail Care.

I received a question a couple of days back, via a tumblr anon, as to what sort of nails/nail polish did I think work best with Dolly Kei.

To answer this simply: I really think anything can work. Whatever kind of nails you like! I do everything from plain red polish, to crazy hime nails with bows and whatnot. My nails are currently navy blue (OPI Russian Navy).


My personal preferences lean towards either red, or other dark colours. I also wear a lot of acrylics. I like my nails a little short too.

Some of my nails from the past:














Really, just have them however you like! I do suggest investing in a high quality polish though. The colour will last longer, and it will be more resistant to chipping. Top coats and base coats go a long way to protecting your colour as well.

My favorite nail polish brands are OPI/Nicole, Essie, China Glaze, Gosh and Sephora.

I have so much polish! But these are my main "go-tos" that I keep on my vanity (as you can see, I pretty much stick with red, green, blue and black):





Some surprisingly inexpensive selections where the quality is still pretty good:


From left to right: H&M $1.95, Forever 21 $3.95, Rimmel $5.95, and Sephora (mini) $7.

For acrylics, if I don't get them done professionally, I like the ones from "Icing". They last really well, they have a large selection, and they come in a wide range of lengths.

Something I can not stress enough: Let your nails "rest" between colours and acrylic sets. I'm really bad for not always doing this, but if I do back to back colour/fakes, I try to give my nails a full week "off" afterwards. Polish can stain your nails (Especially reds! But a base coat can help guard against this.), and acrylics can pit and warp your nails. During my nails "rest" period, I do plenty of moisturizing (I'll use an intense body butter), hand scrubs (I like Bath & Body's "just a minute" manicure scrub), and vitamin E treatments (Just break open a vitamin E caplet and massage it into your nails). Something I also like to do is to use a professional-grade polish remover, as this will reduce the amount of time your nails are soaking in acetone (which can lead to flakey and brittle nails/yellowing). Also make sure to rinse your hands off as soon as you're done and moisturize. When doing acrylics, also make sure to soak them off in remover, never pull them off!

What are some nail tricks for care or nail art that you guys use? Do you have any favorite brands that you swear by?


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Finally! Innocent World's Grazia Crown Print!

Hello there...



My Innocent World "Grazia Crown" short jsk sans petticoat since I was wearing this to work (and going for dolly as opposed to lolita really). With my favorite Jeffrey Campbell shoes! I'll have a full shot soon-ish. I had taken some but I was experiencing a serious case of "derp face".

The "high-waisted" version arrived today, so I'm hoping to do a comparison video. Until then, here's my little YouTube video of myself opening the "short" version:
Clicky-click!

(I seem to be unable to embed, sadface)


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Favorite Snaps of the Week

I was having technical trouble with my blogging app last night, sorry for the delay!



From the Grimoire blog, Miyoshi. Simple, easy, and striking.


Kaori, from the Grimoire Almadel blog. I love her use of a graphic t-shirt but a more casual, but still very eye-catching look! I also love the hat/hair combo she's been sporting lately.


Also from the Grimoire Almadel blog, new shop girl Miwako. Miwako has been bringing a very dominant kodona/boystyle flavor to Dolly Kei, I hope she keeps it up!

Boystyle in Dolly? What do we think?

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