Failed drawing

So, I tried to draw a horse today for the first time in about a year, and... it didn't turn out very well.

The nose is way too small, the ears aren't in the correct places, nor are the eyes and cheek. And what can I say? I simply suck at drawing manes.

Here it is:

The last drawing I made was in August 2010, which was this one. I must say I was more pleased with this than the drawing of today. But again, sucky manes. I've never been good at drawing hair!

Yesterday I rose on a horse called Proud Lady. To be honest, I'm a little scared of her, because I don't have very good experiences with her. Every time I brushed her she tried to bite me the entire time, and the last time I tried to lead her to the pasture she started rearing. Now, a rearing horse is a very beautiful sight to see and it makes great poster prints and such, but when you're walking next to a rearing horse, it definitely isn't something desirable!

Riding Proud Lady went pretty well yesterday, though. Actually, I think it's been a while since I had such a good lesson! Especially canter was very nice. Proud Lady is, from what I've heard, an anglo-arabian horse, so in canter it feels as if she's walking on clouds!

I conquered my fear by riding on her again, and it went so well that I wouldn't mind if I'll have to ride her again next time. But I will need to work on my fear of being around her at the stable. Because she still tried to bite me a lot.

Frills or Manes?

Okay, so I thought I'd be motivated to write about lolita fashion again, but it seems I'm not that much into it anymore. I do still like the fashion a lot, but I don't care for it on a daily basis. There used to be a time when I'd feel special or like a princess in lolita, but I think I've grown past that. By now, it's just clothing to me. Very pretty and expensive clothing, which I only wear for special occasions.

Lolita fashion isn't the thing that makes the world a better place for me anymore. What really makes me happy, are animals. Particularly horses. When I ride a horse, nothing else exists that moment. Just me and the horse, even if we're surrounded by other people. While in lolita, all I worry about is the other people. "What would they think of me, what will they say behind my back?"

Generally, I'm not exactly a people person. I distrust people. And I believe that's what I like so much about animals: they have a pure heart, they're always honest. They won't ever pretend to like you, they will either like you or they won't. And they will show it to you, they will never hide the way they feel about you. And if you do something they don't like, they will let you know. But if you treat them correctly and with love and respect, they will give you so much back in return.

I suppose you could say that my world is about animals. And it's my dream to someday mean something to them. I would love to someday start a barn for old or mistreated horses. For horses who just need a place to spend their old days, and for horses who need to recover. I think that is my dream.

One of the earliest pictures I have of myself with a pony

The last photo taken of me with a horse

Lolita fashion and brands

Hello everyone,

After some time, I decided to write an entry again, because I've been thinking about the following for quite a while: Lolita fashion and brands. And with this, I don't just mean brand clothing inside of lolita fashion, but the way lolita fashion has influenced the way I feel about wearing brand or non-brand things in general.

Before I got into lolita, I don't think I ever wore brand clothing. Sure, it was nice for me if I'd have an expensive brand item every once in a while, but I never paid much attention to it. The same goes for makeup: as long as it did its job, I was fine with it. I didn't care about brand names at all.

But now I have noticed that I don't like to buy offbrand things or replicas anymore.
For example, there's a bag from Dior which I'd really like to have. You might know it, it's the well-known Dior Saddle Bag. I completely love horses, and what's more awesome than owning a designer bag which is equestrian inspired?

Saddle Bag by Christian Dior

However, these bags are insanely expensive, the prices of lolita bags are nothing compared to it. But I don't want to own a replica of it. I want to own the original.

Also, I've been shoe shopping a lot lately, and I noticed that if the shoes are just from a random store which doesn't sell any well-known brands, I don't like to buy them. It's quite ridiculous thinking about it, but I think of such nameless shoes as bad quality. I really prefer to wear brand shoes now.

Equestrian inspired Miss Sixty boots

 I would really like to own this pair of boots by Miss Sixty, once again equestrian inspired. The bit clasp around the ankles is just so cute! I love it. I think Miss Sixty has become my favorite brand when it comes to boots. I ordered myself a new pair today, in brown. I am in desperate need of new boots, but I didn't want to settle for any other brand.

For make-up, I also prefer to buy brands now. I remember the simple days when I'd just buy a 15-euro foundation at the drugstore. But now, I won't go for anything less than high-end brands. Foundations I have been using lately are from Clarins, Lancome, or Yves Saint Laurent. I did buy a drugstore foundation a while ago because I wanted to try it out, but I just don't trust it somehow.
Also, it doesn't help that most foundations from the drugstore don't contain any SPF. Could be easily solved with a primer or moisturizer of course, but somehow it doesn't feel right to wear a foundation which doesn't even contain any SPF.

One of the foundations I use

When it comes to things such as lipstick, eyeliner or eyeshadows: I don't feel the need to buy high-end brands of that stuff, thankfully. But I will not settle for a drugstore's own brand, or something like that. I only buy from L'Oreal, Bourjois and sometimes Maybelline. Those are my three favorite drugstore brands.

Now I wonder, how does it work for you? Did you also start to pay attention to brands in general, because it's such a big deal in lolita fashion? I think it has hugely influenced me.
Don't get me wrong though, I don't look down at all on people who don't feel the need to wear brand. In fact, I sometimes wish I wouldn't care so much about it. But once you start to care, it's very hard to turn back again. Especially if you're already a shopping addict, like me.

The replica-hate in lolita fashion also made me care more about wearing brand things. One person once told me she thought I looked ridiculous in Moi-meme-Moitie, because I carried a replica bag from Bodyline with it. Such things make me very insecure. So maybe that's also why I started to care about brands more and more.

Long entry, sorry!
But it would be interesting to hear about other people's experiences and opinions on this matter. Feel free to leave me a comment, and have a nice weekend!