Category: fun

MY DIY Halloween Get Up: Katana from Suicide Squad!

~ Emmie Reve ~ 2 Comments

This summer when Suicide Squad came out, it crossed over into the Batman universe with characters like Harley Quin and the Joker. The premise of the film was super villains joining forces to complete a mission that could save the world…sounds more pulled together than the film’s execution of the story…but visually it was still a treat.

I am not really into super heroes that much…but the year before I did a simple Tomie costume, a character from a manga series by Junji Ito…so I couldn’t resist making another Japanese inspired costume when I found out there was a Japanese hero in Suicide Squad: Katana!  Forget Harley Quin, one of the most done of female costumes of this year, but the character of Katana; a deadly and strong willed woman of honor who has superior samurai skills was the way to go for me.

Suicide Squad looked great visually, and the costumes had a street vibe interpretation!
Suicide Squad looked great visually, and the costumes had a street vibe interpretation!
Karen fukuhara, an new unknown actress took over the role well.
Karen fukuhara, an new unknown actress took over the role well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The back story on Katana is is that she was originally the daughter of a great samurai, who while being trained in the skills of fighting, also won the hearts of two brothers.  They both sought her out, and in the end, she chose the more honest man to marry and have kids with…leaving the rejected brother to be jealous and turn even more evil. There was a dual between the brothers and Katana’s husband was killed by his evil brother, and the children died in the resulting fire.  After she lost her husband and kids, Katana became a force for good, using her magic sword (who still possesses her husband’s soul) to fight evil as a means to cope with her tragic loss.  Katana has worked with Batman, Birds of Prey  and for the movie Suicide Squad she was Rick Flag’s body guard.  Anyways, enough about her back story, let’s take a look at my costume.

This is my take on Katana from Suicide Squad. Am I menacing?
This is my take on Katana from Suicide Squad. Am I menacing?

I made this costume mostly with clothes I already had.  Such as a white tank/top, tight black jeans/pants and a black bomber style jacket. I pinned it in on the bottom to create a cropped effect.  I also already had the sword from a previous costume (Kyo from Black Bird) The only thing I actually bought was the white half mask, the red sash, and gold metallic paint for the flowers.  I painted the red dot on the mask with red nail polish and reshaped and cut the eyes to resemble Katana’s mask more.  Then I painted gold petal shapes on duct tape and then cut them out and stuck them in a flower pattern in the bottom right corner of the jacket. Then I looped the long red scarf around the arms of the jacket and pinned in place.  All in all, this costume only cost me $10 for the scarf, paint, and plain white mask! I had everything else!  But it was really fun getting to be Katana for a day on Halloween.

What DIY costumes have you made in the past that was both cheap and made use of things you had?

 

Summer’s over: Views on single life from movie View from the Top!

~ Emmie Reve ~ Leave a comment

This was my first summer as a single girl in about 5 years, can you imagine? I have been in a long term relationship since then that ended early this year in the spring, and I have never looked back.  Not even once.  How is it that I have found so much comfort in being on my own, when the whole world seems to be looking for relationships and romance?  I don’t know, but the reality of it is…a relationship is a lot of work!  As women, we put so much into dating and our boyfriends, and when we think about it, how productive would we be if we were single, spent our time on ourselves, our work and career, our family and friends?  We could finally be the “super” women that is expected of us–to be everything and more.

I recently saw the movie “View from the Top” again, as it was playing TV, and I remembered why I liked it.  It was on the W Network, which is notorious for showcasing sappy rom coms that bombed with critics and viewers alike.  And the movie “View from the Top”, from 2003, was no exception.  It was a critical flop, but I actually really loved this movie many reasons: It talked about beauty, ambition–it was about a woman’s journey for love and career, and it was also pretty funny (Mike Myers was in it). Donna Jenkins (Gwyneth Paltrow) is a woman with a mission to become a flight attendant, but not just any flight attendant, but to be the best.  She has to choose between the man who loves her and her career destiny, and is back stabbed by her girl friend along the way, hence an over the top cat fight scene with Christina Applegate.  Loved it. So much fun. (**spoilers of the movie ahead, beware…)

I like the retro glam of this movie...as it seems to make reference to the hey days of flying...
I like the retro glam of this movie…as it seems to make reference to the hey days of flying…

Reasons why “View from the Top” was not a turkey: (*spoilers)

  1. It is about following your dreams. Whatever they might be. Donna wanted to be a flight attendant, and loved the glamour and worldly prestige it gave her: to be elegant, classy and well-traveled, which seemed to be the antidote of her upbringing in a trailer park in a no-where town.  Even if you have no desire to be a flight attendant, it is a metaphor to go for your dreams whatever they may be…and to be ambitious about it.

    A great scene from the movie with her gal pals as they try to get out of their small town beginnings...
    A great scene from the movie with her gal pals as they try to get out of their small town beginnings…
  2. Donna put her career before her man. Here she was, with Ted (Mark Ruffalo) telling her he was in love with her, and to stay with him in Cleveland, but she chose to go to Paris, as a first class flight attendant, because she believed it was her true calling.  She put her needs first.

    Mark Ruffalo before being the Hulk. Just the perfect boyfriend to tempt a gal to lose sight of her goals!
    Mark Ruffalo before being the Hulk. Just the perfect boyfriend to tempt a gal to lose sight of her goals!
  3. After realizing she made a mistake, Donna takes responsibility for it and fixes it.  When Donna realized she loved Ted back and had proven to herself she could be the top at what she does, only then does she go back to Ted in Cleveland, and tells him she wants to be with him.  It proves she is on her own journey, and not on his.

    When Donna finally makes it! love the perfect make-up and hair. Gone were her tacky trailer park ways.
    When Donna finally makes it! love the perfect make-up and hair. Gone were her tacky trailer park ways.
  4. Paltrow gives a great performance on the eternal struggle of beauty vs brains vs ambition and is always super pretty, whether in her hicktown get ups, or in her evolution to classy Parisian lady. Fashion and make-up wise, what more can you ask for?

    Go girl, you classy fashionista! What a gorgeous departure from how she used to look. What a make-over!
    Go girl, you classy fashionista! What a gorgeous departure from how she used to look. What a make-over!

But back to my own thoughts of my summer on my own:  I’ve loved it.  I’ve launched my company selling online cosmetics with natural ingredients: dreamecosmetics.com, spent quality time with friends and family, and have just realized how nice it is to not have a boyfriend.  To be my own person, trying to make a living, and trying to live in this world. 🙂  I am not saying that “View from the Top” was negative for making Donna need to be with Ted in conclusion (as so many people had complained). I respect all choices of women, but boy am I glad to be on my own and aiming for the top, with no regrets or desire to settle any time soon.

Anti-aging tips and secrets…and announcing my new store!

~ Emmie Reve ~ Leave a comment

Hello readers and followers of my online journal.  Over the years, I have really enjoyed writing articles for this site and talking about fashion, make-up, alternative trends, and having a healthy mind, soul, and body.  One of the top concerns us women have is how to stay youthful; not only the way to do it, but finding a healthy, natural way. Yes, it is possible and I will tell you what works for me.

My kid is 14 years old now, and I had him my third year in Art College.  If you do the math, you can imagine how old I actually am.  I will not give a number, but most people cannot believe I am his mom!  I’ve been asked if he is my cousin, my brother, my nephew.  So many guesses, but mom is not really one of them.  I raised him on my own since he was four, living in a small apartment in the west end of Toronto, and I had my shares of ups and downs, good times, and bad times, great boyfriends, and bad ones.  And I’ll admit one of the first secrets of staying young is attitude.  Always be positive, try not to stress out, and accept yourself, and others for who they are.  Be at peace, find religion and God.  And remember, you get what you give.

Me and my kid. Can you imagine, I raised him since he was a baby? Now at 14, he towers over me!
Me and my kid. Can you imagine, I raised him since he was a baby? Now at 14, he towers over me!

And after the inner work, comes the outer work.  Cosmetics and skin care can only enhance and reflect what you already do have.  So treating your body and skin with the respect it deserves is key.  If your skin is dry, moisturize, if it is oily, tone it.  Listen to what it wants, and always understand that there is no turning point when skin is damaged. So prevention is most important. Stay out of the sun or use sunblock all times.

My 5 step night routine is where all the voodoo happens:

  1. Cleanse your skin.  My skin is very dry, so I use a mild liquid castile soap to do the job.  Castile soap goes back in time to the days when soap was simple.  Just oils and lye mixed together to make soap.  If you wear lots of make-up and have oily skin, you may need something stronger, like a specialty face soap, but for me, I have been loving my castile soap, as it cleanses my skin thoroughly without over drying.
  2.  Coconut oil.  Virgin, cold pressed and smelling like roasted coconuts is the way to go.  After cleaning, I slather a light amount all over my face to soften and prepare it for vitamin E absorption.  Because vitamin E and other antioxidant oils are usually thick, the coconut oil increases the spread-ability of the vitamin E.
  3. Vitamin E oil: the promised land!!! Anti oxidants are naturally ANTI WRINKLE!  I spread a layer of this stuff on problem areas first; such as the corners of your mouth/ smile lines, the corners of your eyes and high cheeks, the forehead and even under the chin.  After years of smiling, crying and just being human, our emotions try to carve out “character” in our faces by leaving lines.  Let emotions do that?  I say, no.
  4.  Use an anti-wrinkle balm/cream: I make an awesome anti aging balm called “Face Tight”, that not only aims to prevent wrinkles, but also aims to prevent the skin sagging that is often the giver away of age.  If your face stays tight, you stay young!  I apply “Face Tight” after the vitamin E application.  (Between each step, I give time for my skin to absorb each oil before slathering on another.  For me about 30 mins is usually good, but feel for yourself how long it takes for your skin to be ready for the next treatment.)
  5. Finish with a night cream–light or heavy, whatever you need.  Just before I go to bed, I like to put a thin layer of night cream to top off all of my treatments for extra protection.  During the night, your skin loses so much moisture, so I find the night cream seals all the goodness in and lets me wake up with benefits only.

    So these are the 5 products I use nightly! it's a lot, but don't knock what works: (left to right) liquid castile soap, virgin coconut oil, vitamin E, anti-age balm, night cream.
    So these are the 5 products I use nightly! it’s a lot, but don’t knock what works: (left to right) liquid castile soap, virgin coconut oil, vitamin E, anti-age balm, night cream.

So that is my nightly skincare routine!  I’ve been doing my face this way for years now, and I find it the way for me to prevent and heal fine lines that want to creep up.  I also find this is how to keep collagen and face elasticity up, during the years when your face becomes tired and wants to sag a bit.  So gear up and fight this!

My anti-aging balm is now available for sale through my newly opened E-store online at dreamecosmetics.com Check it out, and maybe place an order on “Face Tight” or on any of my other natural based cosmetics aimed to give you results you want, and nothing else!  Thanks for all the years of loyal reading! ❤