Beyond the Pale

   Today I will be talking about goths and being pale. It is a stereotype that one must be pale to be a goth. I have friends with darker skin tones say to me 'I wish I could be more pale like you to look more goth' Sometimes I do accentuate my pale with a bit of makeup but only once in a while if I am looking for a particular look however I have met plenty of goths who were many different skin tones and looked lovely. I wish people would stop thinking it was a requirement for being goth. If you do have pale skin like me or paler you can definitely work with makeup to get a cool look. I have a bit of a bluish undertone to my skin and sometimes it makes me look sick so I just play it up with pink or blue eyeshadows but if I want to add a bit of color to my skin I add yellow. Yellow can really help if you don't want to look sickly or too pale hehe. If you do want to look paler add a bit of blue or you can blend in a lighter skin tone makeup. If you have dark skin I find reds look amazing and you can even work it with dark teals and purples if you find some dark enough. If you have a very yellowish or orange tint to your skin I would stay away from oranges because it can make you look a bit summery unless you want to look that way then that is cool. I am not a make up artist but these are just things my friends say work for them.

     There are many people with dark skin that have amazing gothic looks. All the goths in my gothic group are from many different heritages and we don't really think about skin color unless someone asks but please don't assume you can't be an amazing goth if you don't have a light skin tone. Nothing can be further from the truth and if anyone tells you that they need to go take a hike. If you have photo shoots you want to have a darker skin tone for you can always use filters. If I want to look less pale I use a bronzer and then mess with a filter to add "natural" color. If I want to look like myself I just don't do anything and put a spot of red lipstick on to accent my natural pale.

      I want to be open about something I am not usually open about. One of the reasons I am a bit pale is because I can't be in the sun much. I have a disease where I am allergic to the sun and the sun's rays and other heat sources so my body temperature is naturally lower and I get very sick if I get too much sun and have even been in the hospital. As a child I caught Scarlet Fever and almost died because my temperature went too high and it caused loads of problems. I try not to ever get fevers because it makes me feel more ill than most people. My skin blisters (cue vampire joke here) I am not sensitive about it and if you do have a sun sensitivity or can't be out in a certain climate much I recommend always using sun screen. There are people who can't even go out of their homes unless it is evening time. I am not that bad off but I do have to stick to going out mostly on overcast days. That being said please know we come with all different skin types. Be proud to be different! I am and if I have a sick looking day I use it as an opportunity to do some fun zombie photo shoots hehe.

    If you do happen to be like me and have a sun allergy/disease etc you can go ahead and check out these links. If you suggest you have one you should see a specialist and get diagnosed. It can saver your life! Many people don't know a sun allergy can be quite dangerous if you have a bad enough one. Even if you don't have sensitivity make sure you wear your sunscreen! :D Below are a few sites you can check out for awareness.

http://www.sunallergy.org/

http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/diseases/facts/solarurticaria.htm

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-58074/Are-allergic-sun.html

Me and my snake Ragnar out in the sun for a rare second!

Cheers! 

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire movie night

    For the Goblet of Fire movie night since it focused on the tri wizard tournament I created my house into a big Hogwart's dormitory. It was a lot of fun to do and it wasn't very hard since I have quite a few witchcraft books , capes and candles lying around. I decided to use them for decorations and to add a little extra wizard flare. I went to Rocket Fizz in Palo Alto to pick up Harry Potter themed candies like chocolate frogs and candy slugs among other things. I passed out business cards to some of my favorite gothic style shops as well. Guests dined on healthy snacks and dips, gluten free pizza and I served organic, sparkling juice with labels like "polyjuice potion."

      To add a bit more of Hogwart's dorm life I placed capes around and socks with different houses on them like Ravenclaw, Slytherin, Gryffindor etc. I also placed their uniforms on hangers and hung them beside brooms and scarves. I put Harry's tie on the mantle piece, Luna Love good's radish earrings and glasses on the table beside the candy. I created an atmosphere to look like young wizards were relaxing after a long study session to cram for their potion's tests the next day. It was a lot of fun and hopefully you can draw some inspiration from my decorations.

Plastic Paralysis show

    The Plastic Paralysis showing at Studio Bongiorno was amazing. It raised awareness for the plastic toxins that are creating havoc in earth's Oceans, land and effecting not only water but also sea life including turtles, fish and many more. It was heart breaking at times to look at the pieces but it is something that needed to be said. I hope you can educate yourselves on what is going on in the gyre and eventually do some environmental clean up. I love doing beach clean ups, helping out when I can, donating or even taking in a rescue animal or volunteering. It is hard but if we all do our part we can help out.

    It was wonderful and enlightening to be able to hear some of the artists speak about their pieces. I met some really cool people from Santa Cruz and other places and we had some nice chats. Thank you to the curator and the artists for putting this show on and helping the Bay Area become more aware of what is going on.

Sporty Goth

       A lot of people have ideas of skinny goths lounging around painting all day hating all sports. Not that some of us aren't slender or don't paint. I'm slender but I'm also fit! and I love painting but I also enjoy some sports. Most of my gothic friends enjoy exercising and if not sports then they enjoy hiking, yoga. I am a goth (Shocker) that skateboards! I love skating and have been doing so since I was young. I won awards at one of my schools for most athletic. I do fit the stereotype of shunning the sun but I do love a good night time baseball game hehe. Here I am putting together my ideal sporty goth outfit for those of you that do love to exercise. You don't have to forgo your gothic/metal style to go for a run or do some yoga. I love snapbacks too they have some cool gothic style ones if you search engine it and if you like a specific sports team a lot of times they have red and black styles. Here I will show you how you can possibly pair your clothes together to still feel like yourself but also be practical.

I paired my favorite pair of Pantera sweatpants from Black Heart Lingerie aka the Gothic Victoria's Secret with a cage style top (if you aren't comfy in crop top you can always rock a long line black tank) and of course I always wear my vans or black converse especially if I'm going to be boarding. If you are doing yoga you might be more comfortable bare foot. I topped the look off with a rad Red Sox hat from Fanatics  They have quite a rad selection of baseball caps that have gothy colors.

Check out more rad items at Fanatics.com  to find more cute things to accessorize your look.

Don't forget your sunscreen and your ipod so you can blast some of your favorite  gothic industrial or metal tunes to work out to :D

Very cool. I love the red and black. I don't have to sacrifice my color scheme! 

I love my Pantera sweatpants for my go to work out pants. 

I liked this New York Yankees Women's sports lux wristlet. It is perfect for something small that you can carry your cash and black lipstick in when your jogging away from the sun ;) 

I also found this 'Minnesota State Moorhead Dragons Tier Travel Mug' on their site. I thought it looked kinda Game of Thrones-esque and goth plus I love saving the environment and I looove dragons and the red and black colors in the cup so I figure why not? haha Okay so if someone who is super sporty jock comes up to you and looks confused just tell em  your goth and really open minded about supporting all teams PLUS you are helping the environment by drinking out of your own nifty dragon cup instead of a plastic bottle. 

Don't forget the sunscreen. Not all goths are little vampires that blister up like me (be glad you don't!!) but I actually have a sun allergy so I like to slather myself in sunscreen all the time. It will keep you looking young as well ...not that goths have problems with doing that but still. 

Day at the cemetery

I spent the day out with my snake Ragnar. He is so precious and enjoys being outside with me. Later I went to a cool studio and then to the cemetery to hang with my friend. We had a very lovely time. I spend most of my days out at cemeteries and also having tea time or coffee with friends and going dancing at goth clubs some evenings. Some days if I am having lazy days I put on The Cure and hang with my love and draw. I love lazy goth days. I don't get enough of them hehe. 

Lace dragon top, Camden market in London.

Boots, Hot Topic. 

Skirt, Vampire Freaks. 

I love the candle selection ;>these are at the art studio Studio Bon Giorno.