Tutorial - Bento space filler - cucumber flower

Due to popular requests, I have decided to do a tutorial today on how I made the cucumber flowers which was feature in previous bento posts. It is much simpler than it actually looks and its also a fantastic space filler for bento boxes.

Bento Space Filler Cucumber Flower - shown here in a Ojue Lunchbox compartment

Here is a series of simple step-by-step instructions:

Slice the cucumber as thinly and evenly as possible

Cucumber slices - I cut about 15 slices in total

For illustration purposes I have sliced the cucumber into little discs which are slightly less than 2mm. If you like you can try slicing them into paper thin slices for a more delicate look.

Sprinkle salt on the cucumber slices

Place the cucumber slices in a bowl. Sprinkle some salt onto the cucumber slices and mix thoroughly. Squeeze out the excess liquid and rinse away the salt crystals under running water.

Cucumber slices in a ice water bath

Prepare some ice water and place the cucumber slices into the icy water.

Line the cucumber slices up like this

Lightly pat dry the cucumber slices with a paper towel. Line the cucumber slices up as shown in the picture above, making sure that the slices overlap each other.

Here comes the magical part - roll the cucumber slices towards yourself

Starting from the furthest end, roll the cucumber slices towards yourself. It might be a little slippery, so using both hands might be helpful. (I had to struggle here a little because my right hand was holding the camera...^^,")

Soon you will end up with something like this

Soon you will end up with something like this. If there is a lot of liquid, gently squeeze out the excess liquid as shown below:

Squeeze! *gently please*

If you are planning to use the cucumber flowers immediately as a single space filler for the bento box, you may omit the steps below.

Push uncooked spagetti into the cucumber flower

Take a piece of uncooked spagetti and push it throught the cucumber flower until you can feel that it's pushing through to the other end. Break off excess spagetti. Repeat the step, taking note of the order of the arrows.

Voila! Cucumber flower bento space filler

This is how it looks like. This cucumber flower bento can also be prepared in advance and placed in the fridge. Usually I will make 3-4 cucumber flowers at the same time and store them in an airtight container in the fridge. Usually they can last for a couple of days and they are fantastic especially when I need to pack a bento fast. Hope you like this cucumber flower tutorial! :)

Trend Alert: Wavy Hair

You may have noticed it in your favourite magazine/on your favourite model; wavy hair is big right now. Think along the lines of surfer/boho chic, come blogger style meets the 90's crimp-craze and you got it!

Edge Style

But don't be mistaken in thinking that it's limited to particular styles. Gal Models from Popteen to Happie Nuts are workin' the wavy look. It may have started off slow, but Gal power-figures such as Momoko Ogihara & Romihi have shown that it certainly has staying power. 

Romihi

Aina

How can you recreate it? When I tried out loose waves, I used only a hair iron which can actually be incredibly effective. You can also create a similar effect with a curling iron of course, but be careful not to tread into curl territory and keep it wavy. Plaiting/Putting your hair in buns overnight is also a possibility. 

Murua will soon be offering a special in-store novelty (see above picture) for their customers when they spend over 21,000円 (around £150); 3 barrelled iron - the kind that Momoko uses on her gorgeous locks, and has also been featured in various Gal mags. 

Jelly

Popteen

Ageha

Popteen have also gone wave crazy, and included some great tutorials on how to re-create the perfect wave look for all different kinds of gal, in this months issue.

Will it last into A/W? I'm not sure. Personally I thought this would have died by now, as Autumn drew closer, but it seems to only be getting stronger. Of course as the colder weather hits, curls will be more do-able and maybe this kind of wavy hair is at its peak and will fade away soon, but for now and until I hear otherwise I'll certainly be enjoying it

Mode hair & Skin care....

Mode Hair

If you haven't heard about the current MODE trend in Gal, then check out Mitsu's amazing introduction, or pick up the current issue of Happie Nuts which features Emoda's Ena Matsumoto.

I really love the look and idea of Mode, because it's a more sophisticated and stylish kind of Gal without being too boring or old - even if Mode is aimed at the older Gal. By this I mean that whilst chic is always great, I don't want to look like I'm going to the office (blouses and pencil skirts etc.) or too old for my time whilst I'm still a university student.

Anyway, Mitsu also posted a wonderful hair tutorial to Ena's Mode style bun. I loved the look of it and thought it could be a more stylised alternative to my usual messy top bun. When I mentioned this she said how she would like to see my version as my hair is the polar opposite to hers - long and thin.

See the full tutorial here.

Please excuse the bad webcam pics. I didn't have any make-up on so I didn't want to show my ugly half-awake/half-asleep face.

An example of the length of my hair/how thin my hair is.

I was really shocked when I put my hair up into the ponytail because it was so thin. I thought it was getting thicker, but I guess it's going to take longer D:

My take on the 'Mode bun'

I should mention that this was rather rushed. It took me about 20mins and I did it as soon as I had woken up. This was because of an impromptu visit to the beach so I was in a bit of a rush to get everything together and get ready. However no more excuses, I plan to have another go next time I want to carry off the Mode look.

I found it very hard to get this style right as my hair is so thin and long.

I found rolling my hair under to be slightly challenging as it was so long, but I managed.

My second dilemma was down to how thin my hair was. Even after back-combing I found that my hair could have been thicker to make it work better. This was probably because it didn't really have the volume/thickness that Ena and Mitsu managed. Maybe this was due to my lack of time or maybe this style just isn't meant for those with thin hair. Even so I do want to try it again - maybe using a thickening shampoo just before - as I really liked the overall look of it. I felt as though I looked more like my age, then when I do a messy top bun...don't ask me how that makes any sense but I have trouble with people always thinking I'm younger than I am haha

I thought my version was too messy to start with, but then I saw the original picture of Ena and I didn't feel so bad because it seemed that was the look she was going for, albeit with a more sleek outfit than mine ;D

So this style, whilst difficult, is still a winner for me.

Skin Care

In the last few weeks leading up to the end of last term (at uni) I found myself going out to lots of restaurants, comedy clubs (eating food such as nachos etc.) and takeaways with friends. Whilst I enjoyed this immensely I am now suffering from the consequences. My skin and body are at a low. The weight/toning-up post will come later but for now I want to talk about skin.

Thanks to the wonders of the female body (hello PMS) and too much junk food, my skin broke out. This probably isn't a big deal for most people, but my skin has always been relatively spot free and smooth. So you can understand that this got me down a little bit. Therefore I started eating healthier and I tried out a few skin care products to battle the blemish.

Please note that I have sensitive skin so I don't usually use spot fighting scrubs/facial moisturisers.

1. Deep Action Facial Scrub - I usually buy this as it is really effective. It can be used as a daily wash or as a mask. But for some reason the bottles always tend to break on me. I wanted to buy it again this time but they didn't have any so I went for...

2. Tea Tree & Peppermint Cleanser/Toner - I have used Tea Tree before and I know it can have brilliant effects on your hair but I haven't used it on my skin before. Unfortunately this just made my skin break out even more. I don't know if this was because my skin disagreed with the product or if it would have done it anyway. I stopped using it as I didn't find it any help at all D:

3. Deep Action Daily Exfoliating Wash - I thought this may have been the first product I know and love, but re branded so I bought it...but it wasn't. It had a different feel to it and I couldn't use it as a mask like the first one. However it did start to clear my skin up, but after using it daily - as it is supposed to be used - I found my skin drying up, and not just a little bit. It caused my skin to flake and it left my face feeling rough and dry. Definitely the worst out of the two.

4. Savlon - What? An antiseptic cream?! It may sound ridiculous but when I told my boyfriends mum how I had dry skin and spots she recommended me this - if anyone is interested she did also give me some Clinique moisturiser but it didn't work anywhere near as good as this. I never knew you could use it for spots but apparently you can (the website mentions it too), and it works wonders. The majority of the blemishes are gone and my skin feels normal again.

It really makes me wonder why I spend all my money on skin care products when something so simple and universal can help. As you can see I like Superdrug's range of skin products but after this I think I will either stick to the Savlon when I have a break-out or choose something more natural like The Body Shop's products.

Do you have any odd cures for blemishes or strange skin care routines?

Mini-update....

Candydoll

Candydoll x Tsubasa are releasing a new product.

This time it is Lamè Glitter, in two shades: Champagne & Rainbow - the glitter isn't only for your face either. Candydoll says that you can use it for body, hair and nails.

I like the concept behind the advertising for the glitter, but am I the only one who thinks that Tsu-chan looks a little off in the Rainbow photoshoot?

Anyways, if you order before 6pm on the 23rd April you can get free shipping - This is of course only for Japan, but it's still a good offer even if you're using a shopping service.

Tsu is wearing Dollywink #1 top lashes, #5 bottom lashes

Remember Candydoll's Carrot Orange blush?!

Well Tsubasa has updated her blog again, showing it off.

I'll let you make your own decisions, but I personally think it would better suit someone who isn't as pale.

Tsubasa also gives out instructions on how to use Candydoll blushers/highlighters for that perfect Spring look:

1. Use a large brush and quickly apply a sweep of Peach Pink (top left).
2. Then use a small brush and apply Strawberry Pink (centre).
3. Use the purple highlighter (top right) gently against the inside of the cheek.
4. Then use the Cream Beige (bottom left) to sweep a thin line down the centre of the nose.

Also, if you're a fan of collection everything Tsubasa/Candydoll - there is a limited release orange and white stripe cased powder...just incase you didn't like the original black and white ;D

Source; 1, 2

FHF & Hair Tutorial Scans....

Fashion Hime Friday

A big thank you to Sara Mari, who featured me on this weeks 'Fashion Hime Friday'.

I'm sure you all know about Sara's amazing blog already, but if you don't then definitely check it out.

Hair Tutorial Scans

I was looking through some scans from April's issue of AGEHA and I saw some pretty simple, but cute hair tutorials. I plan on trying a few of these out, and maybe posting the images up here soon - if I don't fail at it completely ;D

Larger version.

So simple and very cute - Looks easy enough for us Gals with thin hair too.

Check out Momoeri's take on it.

Larger version.

Perfect for this seasons Mori Gal look.

Larger version.

Another simple but effective look.

Larger version.

This last scan is actually from JELLY, but it shows off some of this seasons must-have hair accessories, such as: braid (it doesn't have to be your own hair)/headband, the scarf, can-can hat. I personally love all 3 of these looks because you can work them into almost all of this season's trends.

The scarf, and the can-can hat are great for this season's western trend:

But don't forget, the scarf is also a great all-round accessory for most of this seasons looks. And a can-can hat is the perfect accent for any feminine coordinate.

And the braid/headband is a great alternative to using your own hair, as seen on the cover of the May issue of JELLY:

Will you be trying out any of these styles this season?

Or wearing any of these accessories?

Remember: If you have any questions about me/the blog or ideas about what you'd like to see on the blog, leave a comment here.

Source; 1, 2, 3