My life this year (2013).

Yahoo everybody!

It's the end of the year 2013. And thank God it is over  ლ(⌒▽⌒ლ)
My mum recently told me about the "seven year" rule. Basically at some point in our lives we'll begin our seven year period that brings us seven years of good fortune followed by seven years of bad fortune. I fear I have completed my first 7 good years and have now entered the 7 bad years period...which means I still have 6 years of misfortune left  :;(∩´﹏`∩);: This year was such a mess. Naturally there were many good things that happened this year, but all in all, I'm very grateful that I can put this mess of a year behind me. Number 13 be damned!

In the beginning of the year 2013 I moved to London. I got accepted in the Academy of Freelance Makeup to study to become a makeup artist. I spend couple of days (foreshadowing) in a Bed & Breakfast in Acton whilst looking for a place to live. I was beyond happy to be back in the UK and my belowed London. Silly me thought it would be easy to find a nice flatshare quickly in a big city like London. I had done a lot of research etc before I moved so I was 100% sure I would be alright. However, finding an affordable, clean flat in a safe neighborhood turned out to be really difficult. I wanted to live in Acton, but there weren't many flats available. I was getting desperate and so in the last minute I accepted an offer from a flat agency. It was a single room in a 3 bedroom...uumm attic flat. When I moved in, I discovered that there were two couples living in the other 2 rooms, a Malaysian couple and a mixed race couple (the man was from Mozambique and the woman from Portugal). We all had to share one fridge and one bathroom/toilet. *sigh* Long story short (because I'm still very traumatized) I wasn't happy there. The Malaysian couple was very very mean to me + they smoked in the bathroom. We also had some other problems in the flat which then was the reason why I moved out only after a month. And that cause me my £500 deposit too (6 months contract). However, the other couple was very, very nice to me and did everything they could to help me out when ever (*´∀｀*)♡ I had never felt this helpless and hopeless in my entire life, and this couple helped me when things were tough. I had no idea such pure and good hearted people existed! They had their own problems, really tough, sad problems too, but still they let me reach out to them. I still stay in touch with them, and they too have moved out of that horrible flat and now live in a studio. His visa came through too so I'm very happy for them (((o(*ﾟ▽ﾟ*)o)))
God bless them!!

School was great. I was excited to go, and very happy to discover there were many foreigners enrolled besides me. The school was in the heart of Soho, stone thrown away from Piccadilly circus. I still couldn't believe I was living in London and going to makeup school in Soho. The first week was all about makeup= foundation, skincare, brows, highlight/contouring/blush, bridal, period, freestyle, bodypainting, glitter/diamonds, fashion, editorial and catwalk. The course was taught by real, working makeup artists, so we got to learn many tricks of the trade. We did a shopping day too and received great discounts from several brands.
Third week was hair week and even though it was difficult I still enjoyed learning about hair and hair care. Heated rollers FTW!
Fourth and final week was 3 days of nails and 3 days of airbrushing. I LOVE NAIL ART, always have =D I keep my nails long and love decorating them with diamonds, drawings, and glitter etc. I didn't realize there was so much to nail care. We even learned how to instal gel nails properly. Air brushing was so much fun too! I actually enjoyed air brushing so much that I wouldn't mind working for a tv-channel or in movies as an air brush artist. Our teacher John Woodbridge was so talented and so hilarious! (≧∇≦)/ The course was expensive, but so worth it. I was recruited by a beauty/fashion agency even before I graduated.

After I finished school in February, I moved to Southgate and was now living in much nicer flat. My boyfriend at the time, come to call my room as "Princess room". Only if my life had reflected that room ^.^'' Even though I was working, I now lived in zone 4 and one week tube ticked cost £40-45. I worked 8h days and got paid £48. I worked maybe 3-4 days a week. And my rent was very high compared to my rent in Acton. Even though I was happy at work and got to travel around London, I didn't want to live in London, or England, anymore. So after living in Southgate 1,5 months I moved back to Helsinki in late March.

Padrao dos Descobrimentos monument.

Whilst I was still in London, I went to Lisbon to celebrate my parents' 25th wedding anniversary ≧(´▽｀)≦ My little sister and her boyfriend flew from Scotland to Heathrow and together we flew to Lisbon where we met my parents. This was our first visit to Lisbon. We spend four days exploring the city. My parents are still very excited about Lisbon xD We did the basic tourist stuff and it was nice that my parents had been to that city before so they were working as our tour guides. We saw Christo-Rei, Padrao dos Descobrimentos monument, explored Chiado and Belém and went to Colombo shopping centre (they had Sephora!!). We youngsters even took my parents to Hard Rock Café. It was their first time, and now HRC has become a thing in our family xD Wut, they have great cocktails (≧∇≦)/
It was a great trip, and I think we all needed a break from our daily lives to spend some time together and go exploring together. My family and I are very close, and I'm very greatful for that!

Helsinki city centre

Back in Helsinki, I moved in with my boyfriend. I didn't want to go back to my parents' place and I figured I'd be able to get back on my feet faster if I moved in with him instead. I was looking for a job and I told him that I would be out of his hair within 6 months or so. We both kinda value our alone time so I didn't want to be too much of a bother to him (just FYI, I have known the guy for more than 5 years and we have been in an on-off relationship since we met). And I knew that if I went back to my parents' place, I would just resume my "princess life" from before and never move out. I want have a life of my own, but I want to live comfortably too (* >ω<) So I was under my boyfriend's wing for 5 months, until I broke up with him and moved back in with my parents (^^ゞ Heh, a lot of things happened there which I won't be stating here.

some makeups I did in 2013

During those 5 months, I was working as a freelance makeup artist. I was unemployed so I filled my days with portfolio shoots. I got to meet some pretty awesome people and got great pictures for my portfolio (((o(*ﾟ▽ﾟ*)o))) The most memorable shoots I did? Well all of my shoots have been great, but to name a few winners: My shoot with photographers Nicole and Pekka, and models MissLiddless and Mikael was just great! We went to shoot at Suomenlinna and that evening was just awesome!! We had so much fun Ｏ(≧▽≦)Ｏ We made really nice photos that day! After that Nicole, Pekka, MissLiddless and I worked on Paris inspired photos (collage above: lower right and lower middle photos). Another great shoot was with model Emily and photographer Otto. We met early in the morning at a rhododendron park near my home and shot glitter makeup. I made a video of that shoot http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3m8la76tOlk
And one final really memorable shoot was with alternative model Agony Von Grim and photographer Alejandro. We shot nudes at Suomenlinna, and Agony brought real blood to make the theme more gory. I did her makeup where the ferry docks and we were surrounded by Chinese business people. It was great fun! (* >ω<)

So far I have enjoyed being a makeup artist, and this year I have had my work published in two magazines. GTi, which is a men's car magazine, and The Alternative Model Directory magazine. Agony Von Grim asked me up to do her makeup since she's going to be featured in the magazine ＼（＾▽＾）／

Last year I was obsessed with Naruto and Kuroshitsuji (Black Butler), but this year came the sinister Diabolik Lovers ＼（＠￣∇￣＠）／ I found this series by accident in July and haven't been able to let go since. Diabolik Lovers is a game series for PSP, but it also bore manga and an anime series, Drama and Charcter CDs and other fanservice stuff. So it's now quite a big franchise. I have talked about DiaLovers on my other post so you can check it out here: http://makeupartistheini.blogspot.fi/2013/11/diabolik-lovers-hell.html
I finally got PSP two weeks ago so I cracked open my MORE,BLOOD and am now playing my favourite character, Laito-kun  “ヽ(´▽｀)ノ” The game is surprisingly tough (if you don't cheat!) and I seriously should study kanji everyday! I just love-love-loooooove this series!! *chu*

Drama CD series "ALICE=ALICE. Vol. 1. Kuro Usagi"

Aanndd what else. Yeah I also I got into Japan and Japanese stuff again o((*^▽^*))o I studied Japanese in high school for 4 years, and I wanted to study it in college too, but our sensei told me that I was too good, so she didn't let me join the course. After that, the otaku in me went on hiatus. I still watched anime occasionally and listened to J-pop, but I wasn't as into Japan as I had been in high school. HOWEVER DiaLovers got me hooked on Japan again. I started listening to Japanese Drama CDs and I was watching anime again. In September I completed like 8 series of anime (hhm OreImo, Highschool of the Dead, Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojou etc etc). And I've acquired bunch of Drama CDs (so many DiaLovers CDs, Jewelic Nightmare CDs, Alice=Alice, Kannou Jikan 2/5/9, Yandere Heaven 1/4/5 etc etc) Now I'm playing Japanese Otome games (visual novels). I started out with DiaLovers MORE,BLOOD and am waiting for Jewelic Nightmare to arrive + I want DiaLovers 1, Amnesia & Amnesia Later and Black Wolves Saga ~Last Hope~.

After my birthday in October, I got a permanent job in a department store. I work in women's fashion selling the high end brands like Burberry, Hugo Boss etc. I like my job and my colleagues are so so nice!! o (^‿^✿) It's a great job, and I have just enough free time to workout, paint, play PSP and do makeup jobs.

 

Prague Castle

In December I visited Prague for the first time. My father was turning 60 so family around Europe gathered to celebrate him in Prague. We stayed in the old town. Besides the old town and the Christmas market, we visited the Prague Castle and Palladium shopping centre.
When we left Helsinki, it was +5'C, and when we arrived in Prague, it was -3'C, bloody cold!!
But it was a lovely town and a lovely holiday =D I liked Lisbon, but for me, Prague had that European capital city feel that I like (((o(*ﾟ▽ﾟ*)o))) I definitely want to visit that place again, with more time this time.

Prague Christmas market.

It may not seem like it, but this year was tough for me. Never before have I had such difficult and some what dissapointing year. I don't wanna be whiny, this is just how I feel. It did have some good moments though, and I'm greatful for many things and what I learned this year. But I can't help but feel happy that this year is over. And I truly hope that the year 2014 will be kind to me ♡
I heard that on New Year's eve, you need to wear red underwear to get more fortune next year, and that's just what I'll do now (* >ω<)

Happy New Year 2014 everybody!!! I'll see you soon!!