31 January 2015

The 5 types you´ll meet at your local squat bar

My favorite hang out places are probably the squat bars, or Haus Projekten. Technically the squats in Berlin are legal, under the excuse of the happenings there being held for a social/ politically involved/ "insert a democratic reason that would please authority here"- purpose.

In reality it´s just a very friendly place for alternative people (mainly punks, but not only) to drink some underpriced beers, see (and arrange) a gig for minimum to no money and just enjoy yourself without anyone telling you what to do and how to do it.

Every squat is of course inhabited, and the people living there are those who also either organize stuff or help out with the bar and food. You can also have delicious vegan food in squats almost every day, and it´s ridiculously cheap!

After hanging out mostly in these kind of places (and ditching the whole commercial goth clubs/ parties which we were so stoked about back in Israel) I have noticed a few characters which happen to appear in squat bars quite often. An opportunity for a fun post which an observer like me could never ignore.

Of course there is a difference between visiting squats than living in them, so a more involved punker would state otherwise or mention other types, but these are the ones I have seen in almost every squat in Berlin, bringing the subject of squats from a stranger´s point of view.

1. The nice crusty girl or guy at the bar
source
They are mostly on the other side of the bar giving you drinks to enjoy and feel like home. They are super nice and always smile at you, even when you are stumbling with your German. Maybe they live in the squat, maybe not, but they seem to always have a friend at the bar who just sits there with them to chat. A mohawk of dirty dreads, patched clothes, tattoos, huge flesh tunnels... they have it all.


2. The one homeless guy

He is just a homeless guy, has nothing to do with the scene but nevertheless is always given food for free whenever the kitchen is open. He then just sits there by himself and eats, but if he talks to someone he is always very polite. A fine example of the positive side of the punk scene.

Source
Köpi, where we mostly go to concerts. It was also the first ever squat we´ve been to in Berlin, which at the time also held the first event we´ve visited right after moving. The place is a lot more colorful from the outside at the moment and a lot more interesting on the inside, but taking pictures at squats is prohibited, since the places allegedly serve for society beneficial purposes, and if someone finds out what is really going on there (aka alcohol, parties, and well- drugs) it would be shut down with no trace of "democracy" as an excuse. 

3. The group of tourists

They´ve stumbled in by mistake, and quickly realized what a local treasure they have found. Holding themselves from taking pictures and eyeing every piece of alternativeness they can find, the tourists are slightly annoying, but as long as they don´t use their mobile phones to document the place they are not bothering anyone. Needless to say I was one of them until I got used to the place.


4. The junkie / the drunk


Mostly seen in an event where there´s loud music, the drunk is not as bad as the junkie, since he would stumble here and there with his beer, shout something to no one and probably will pass out somewhere. 
The junkie however is clingy, and if not dancing himself away in his own world he will start talking with you about nonsense only he understands (the term Kopfkino has never been so appropriate). Get away from him, you don´t need his shit right now, unless you came to the squat not for the alcohol... don´t overdo drugs, be careful. Every body live their own lives and make their own choices, and this is perhaps the more stereotypical side of squats.


5. The people who come with numerous dogs

There´s always this group of people who bring 2 other friends and about 5 more dogs. It´s a nice thing to be sitting with a bunch of dogs playing around you, but not so nice if the music is very loud and the dogs must bear it. Some places ask not to bring dogs inside, but a lot of people still bring them in even when there´s a concert, which is not that cool in my opinion.

Sama cafe is our new regular hangeout. No body ever comes there aside from evidently homeless people and the place is always half empty, unlike other squats where usually concerts are held which gets the place packed. Last time at Sama cafe Boris and I sat playing cards while the music went from German folk, neue Deutsche härte, Marilyn Manson and finally darkwave. 
There are a lot more, for example: the group of foreigners who get really drunk and blabber really loudly in their own language; 
or- the one 100 year old person who has been in the scene forever and probably has established the squat himself somewhere in the 80s or something; 
possibly a single black person who doesn´t speak the local language and is maybe a refuge, or just hanging out there and is always very nice and fun; 
or even- the couple of hipsters who evidently have nothing to do with the diy scene and are probably going to an electro party afterwards but who are still occupying the chairs minding nobody, and the list goes on and on...

The nice part is that you don´t have to look a certain way to enjoy these places, no one will raise an eyebrow at you (well, unless you look like a nazi). There are different kinds of people in every squat, but the general impression is always very positive.

That´s about it for now, as a lot can be said about the jem which the diy scene in Berlin really is. I am of course romanticizing things since I could have never written this post while living in Israel, where squats are illegal. At any rate, when I think of Berlin I think of the squats and the diverse layers of the alternative scene which are unlikely to be seen anywhere else in such great number. The squats is what fascinates me, this is Berlin for me.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!


N. Finsternis

27 January 2015

I tried to take an outfit picture and failed

My daily as well as party outfits are not that exciting. Mainly because it is cold outside which makes wearing comfy clothes a priority, and because you can´t really wear ripped stockings when it´s 1 C. degrees outside.

This is pretty much how my going out outfits in winter look like, the big shapeless black cardigan excluded:


This black basic skirt from H&M serves every outfit. The crop top is from H&M as well (and I cannot say I recommend it, since the velvet is in opposite direction, and the top rolls up slightly when you move). My combat boots make for the day and evening cold. 
I wear thigh highs only in winter with either these thick striped stockings or my plain black ones. 

This is the best location I could find- out hallway. And it´s still incredibly distracting.

So much for updates, meanwhile uni and job searching continues. Take care!


Here is some dub to cheer me up

N. Finsternis

25 January 2015

Youthitude Zine fest



This weekend we´ve been to a local zine fest, hosted in a squat which I haven´t visited before called Villa Curiosum. I was really excited to go to this event since:

  1. I have never held a zine in my hand.
  2. After discovering Copehnagen´s zine fest and reading one of the issues online I got very interested in the idea of making a zine myself. 
Since I haven´t been apart of this community the whole concept of a zine really made me curious. I think that it is a wonderful way to express ones creativity in many different ways. Much like writing a blog, you get to edit your layout, set your themes and share your thoughts with the world.

I love when a zine has an interesting design or idea to it. A lot of the zines featured in the fest were either political or featured photographs or illustrations. 
I bought one which is a collection of artworks from various illustrators. I was really attracted to the dark and occult artwork. It was published by Kunst Kabinet. I recommend checking out the link, they make very lovely cabinet of curiosities inspired art.



the back cover and a patch Boris got himself from one of the stalls
they gave me a paper bag with this beautiful illustration. I decided to cut it and tape it to the wall next to my posters.
The venue itself had the same vibe, which is pretty much a small house with a big garden filled with amusing things and a very art-themed interior. I loved this squat especially since most Berlin squats are either concert venues or bars (aside from living spaces of course) and it was nice to see a place so artistic for a change. 

 A squat bathroom is always intriguing, but this one was just fabulous!

I might share with you that I have been thinking of making a post punk/ DIY scene themed zine, where we could share articles about European events and bands (writing about the bands of our friends as well hehe). This idea was suggested by a friend and I hope to make something of it with him together, offering other people from different countries to write about their local scene. I will let you know how this idea develops, I really hope I will have the time and dedication to it. Meanwhile I want to experiment with collage-article formats myself.

We are going there again today (Sunday) for the closing concert, there should be a post punk/ wave band playing. Hope you all had a nice weekend and will have a lovely week to follow!


N. Finsternis

23 January 2015

My lipstick collection part IV and last - purples and bordeauxs

We´ve made it to the last post! It is now time to reveal my oldest, most favorite and dearest lipsticks. I may have not surprised you with my variety of colors and shades in the last 3 posts, and I cannot promise a change in this one either- a lot of alternative bloggers out there might show you dazzling colors of dark lipsticks from different brands, when in my case I just stick to the same (and in this day and age- relatively average) old products, not thinking once about expanding the collection towards the even more darker tones. But this post is slightly different than the previous, as the mentioned below are quite frankly dear and personal to me.

Like with the reds, some of these shades were tricky to capture on camera, so I apologize for obvious color editing.

1. Giora Shavit - first ever dark lipstick

I think I bought this lipstick when I was 16. One of my first steps into the alternative realm was this dark cherry red, as at one point it occurred to me that one isn´t simply goth without a very dark and dramatic lipstick. Funny though, as I´ve never heard of this Giora guy before or after buying this product at a very random cheap makeup store in my city in Israel. Sadly, it is coming to its end, and I could not imagine my life without it. It´s creamy texture is everything, and when applied too thickly it would smudge on my teeth (still does). This product is my babybat self looking at me and saying: "buying this lipstick has changed my life (for the numerous time)".



2. Golden Rose 111 

I promise you this is the last Golden Rose I will show you. This one is probably about 4 years old, and is sometimes a lot lighter and less red pigmented than it looks on the pictures below. It is a dark shade, I just didn´t manage to caption it properly. I love to wear this shade everyday, as the color is not too interesting for other occasions.



3. Careline in P37, Very Purple (lol much color, such lips)

This is the second Careline lipstick that I have, apart from the brown one. This is a very mysterious shade, and I will tell you why. It was once bought a couple of years ago as I was looking for an "in your face" kind of dark purple. I was amazed how rich in pigment and dramatic this lipstick is, and since it is now unfortunately coming to its bitter end, I asked my mom to buy it for me. However, she said that the lady in the drugstore told her that this number is long since not being manufactured, and I had to ask my mom to buy me a different shade instead, and that´s how I got the brown one. I must have been very lucky to have bought it back then.
This is my number one dark purple, it is also a lot of fun to mix with black, which is something I do very often. This is my to go lipstick; when in doubt- I will put it on.



 4. MAC cyber A11

I bought this one when I was 17 from the MAC store in the airport in Israel. Let me tell you something about this shade, before you all go screaming how gorgeous it is. It´s not, and frankly the only thing I have to say about this product is that it sucks testicles, badly... This amazing color was so transparent from the start, that after 4 fucking coats it still faded away after bringing my lips together just slightly. Mixed with black or on it´s own, it fades like dust and is perhaps the most disappointing lipstick I´ve ever had. Plus, MAC are not cruelty free so fuck this lipstick and fuck them!



I realized I actually forgot one more shade, so I will edit this post in the future!!!
Sorry :/

I did the pictures for this post in one day, and after all the putting on lipstick, wiping it and putting on another my lips felt like after a 3 hour blow job (not that I know how that feels like). Plus, I was sick with a triple herpes on my upper lip while writing these posts, so it´s a good thing I did the pics in advance, right?
All is well now and I have so more fun posts in plan, hope you had fun with this series and by all means share you makeup favorites with us all!

N. Finsternis

20 January 2015

My lipstick collection part III of IV: Browns + a black one

This would be the shortest post in the series, since I own only 2 shades of brown. I began using browns only last year, thinking at first that brown is such a boring color, but was happy to discover it´s true magic.
I love how browns have this vintage-y look to them, and I love to combine them with a brown smokey eye. I am happy that it looks good with my orange hair too.

1. Golden Rose 110 

I now realize that I have at least one Golden Rose for each shade in my collection! This one however turned out to be a lot brighter than expected, and as I can´t emphasize my love for this brand enough, this shade seems quite transparent when applied and doesn´t last that long, in contrast to the other lipsticks that I have. Weird, I still love it for an everyday look though.



 2. Careline B10 in Bohemian Brown

Careline is an Israeli makeup brand. Thex are cruelty free and I have 2 lipsticks by them. I am really happy about this deep brown, I asked my mom to buy it for me, then she shipped it together with other stuff as a present for the holidays.
This is a very nice brown, stays well and looks this deep with just one coat. The only disadvantage is that Careline are pretty pricey.



3. Random black
dirty fingers, sorry!
Unlike a lot of alternative makeup-using people, I go from the conclusion that there is no one perfect black lipstick in this world. Some people use eyeliner to achieve black lips, some buy expensive glosses or lip stainers, but I stick to this one halloween black since I was like 17. This lipstick is indeed a good number of years old and is so dry you need to scar you lips while applying it.
But- mix it with chapstick and you get the most soothing, soft and cold black there it. It also lasts long despite the chapstick, so I am very happy with this one.

Tip: if you love buying cheapy halloween black lipsticks, I suggest buy the dryest one if you have an option to test it. Soft cheap lipsticks tend to look transparent on the lips, and it´s safer to go with the dry ones since you can always mix them up. 

 I happened to put too much powder foundation on my lips before applying it, that´s why the black looks almost blue. When applied on clean lips it looks a lot warmer.

Next post is the last one in the series featuring my beloved purples/ dark reds. Stay tuned!

N. Finsternis

18 January 2015

My lipstick collection part II of IV: Reds

This would be one of the shortest posts, since I own exactly 3 shades of reds. I have included my orange lipstick here as well, since it fits the color scheme.

Also, the reds were the hardest color to capture on camera, so I apologize if some pictures would be obviously edited, I tried to show the colors as close to reality as possible.

1. Mom´s bright red lipstick from PUPA

This one belonged to my mother, and I stole it from her I believe 5 years ago? No idea how long she had had it, but as you can see it is almost over. This is a very matte, very bright red and, I am not a fan of stereotypes, but it was the shit with blonde hair. It also stayed on forever, but had a horrific taste if you happened to lick it (dunno if it was the result of it being so old).
I rarely wear this shade as it if too intense for me, and often looks more pinkish on photos...
By the way, PUPA are no cruelty free, so I cannot recommend them in that sense, besides it is the only lipstick of this company that I own.



2. Golden Rose Velvet Matte No. 18

I bought this one in Uzbekistan this September, as I didn´t see this series being sold anywhere before. This is my favorite red lipstick, it is very deep, stays on well and very creamy despite being matte. It was super tricky to photograph, as it appears to show a lot brighter than it is on camera, so sorry for the heavy editing.
I feel like I still haven´t captured it´s true color, so maybe I will try to take more pictures of it in the future.



 3. Golden Rose 67

Yet another Golden Rose. One day a few years ago I woke up with the urge to buy an orange lipstick. This is my favorite shade for summer- it´s fun, almost neon and stays in very well. And if the 1st red in this post looked good with my blonde hair, this one was the shit with my black hair! I love to apply green mascara on my lower lashes with this lipstick for that annoying hipster look.
I am not sure how this goes with my orange hair though, but whatever.



4. Manhattan Lips2Last in deep red 

Boris had demonstrated the pink one in the previous post, time for this gorgeous red. As stated before, I only wear cream lipsticks as my lips are way too dry to wear lip strainers. Boris however was really fond of this shade and says that it is long lasting, easy to apply and the texture didn´t bother him either.
I think this color suits his face better than the pink one. I tried to make him do more elegant facial expressions, but alas.



Here is another picture of Boris wearing this lipstick in a different lighting (this time with clothes and a bottle of beer, too). I just thought that this photo is hilarious. Boris wants you to be more sassy!

from Totenwald´s gig in Augsburg (feat. Marcus Bat Cave). Picture taken by Chris Cazzenberger.
Next up are my favorite browns, so stay tuned!

N. Finsternis

16 January 2015

Lipstick collection part I of IV: Pinks

I love lipsticks, it is my favorite part in my makeup routine. Sometimes I wear a different shade each day, sometimes I stick to one and use specific shades only for going out. I currently own 16 different lipstick shades, which mainly consist of the following colors: pinks, browns, reds and purples/ bordeaux (aside from 2 shades which stray from the lot).
All the lipsticks I own are from a few months till a couple of years old. I have never finished a lipstick and don´t usually go crazy on buying new ones, I rather cherish the ones I have and don´t stray from the usual shades.
This is the first of four posts about my lipstick collection, going gradually from the ones I like towards my favorites.

I do not use lipliner to outline my lips, so don´t be surprised if the way I put the product on is not perfect. It works for me and looks rather well, so I do not care if some applications are uneven. Needless to say that the following 4 posts will contain numerous selfies.

2 lipsticks are not included in the picture
You can see that most of my collection is Golden Rose, P2 and Careline. A review and info on each will be given.

I began wearing pink lipsticks just this past year after mostly wearing dark shades. These are probably the colors I most rarely wear, with the exclusion of the Golden Rose No. 56, which you saw a couple of posts back. Let´s get started:

1. Random dark pink
I fucking used photoshop for this!!!

This shade was found in a random shop, the company of it is not even written on the tube. I bought this at a chinese owned store, so I can imagine this product being made in China? I usually don´t buy miscellaneous products, but I thought this shade would be more brown. I was wrong, as it is somewhere on the scale of pink and wine red. It also doesn´t last long and is pretty transparent on the lips, so I would use it for lighter looks (but that´s what you get for 1 euro lipsticks...).

 These 2 pictures were taken a day before I worked on this post, so aside from these, all other selfies will be of a consistent pattern, as well as with closeups on the lips.


2. P2 404 Wall Street

P2 are a daughter company of the local German drugstore, DM. Their products are cruelty free and super cheap, that´s why you will see a lot of P2s in here. It is very important for me to use cruelty free products, and most of my lipsticks are.
This shade is yet another "surprise", since I thought it would look a lot browner on the lips (it did on my hand when I tried it at the store). However, this is a lovely cool shade of pink and is not that bad, but far too delicate for my taste.



Fun Fact: I hate nude lipsticks. Why would you buy a color that has no color for your lips?? Isn´t that the whole point of lipsticks?! Blast a handful of concealer on your lips for all I care. So many questions that bother me in this world....

3. Golden Rose 56 

You have seen me wearing this one lately, and I can´t talk about Golden Rose lipsticks enough. My lips are always very dry, and Golden Rose have the perfect creamy consistency which is a lot of fun to wear. They last long too. This shade I bought while visiting my family in Uzbekistan last September (Golden Rose is a Turkish company which does not sell in Germany). Other Golden Rose lipsticks I bought in Israel at the time. 
Unfortunately, there is no info on their website regarding the products being cruelty free, so I apologize for that.

I like how this color has this amusing 80s, fashionable grandma meets "I will embarrass myself with my bimbo lips" kind of thing going on. It also looks fun with my orange hair. Never would I have touched this color with a stick a few years back, hehe.



4. P2 100 Oxford Street

 Continuing with the P2s, aka - lipsticks which turned out to be not what they seem. This is the color I wear least, after 401 Wall Street (what´s the deal with those big apple names?). It is just another somewhat natural and flattering pink, looks a lot more reddish in the tube... what can I say. It´s not interesting, not even on the day when you don´t feel like putting interesting makeup on.
It does kind of give freshness to mah face, but I am a funeral-lipstick kind of person...



 5. Manhattan Lips2Last lip stain
The featured lip stain is the pink one, the red one will be featured in the "reds" post.
To conclude this post, these 2 lip staines weren´t featured in the picture above. As mentioned before, my lips are super dry, which makes wearing lips staining products impossible. Not to mention this product also has a primer-like gel on its other end, which allows the lipstick... -wait for it-.................. 2 last! (lol), which is a great deal for a very good price. However, my lips felt like having a 2 centimeter coat of cement on them when I applied this product, which after hours of them peeling off, made me stick to conventional cream products only.

But we know who likes lip stains more than anyone- Karoliina of Bones And Lilies! She also did a review on those, so if you are a lip stain kind of person I suggest you check what she has to say :)

Yet I know someone else who likes this lip stain a looot more than me. Boris wears this product very often to his concerts, and he can tell you that Lips2Last stays well, is a lot easier for him to apply than normal lipsticks and has a kickass shade.


 Boris is topless not for more sass, it´s because I just caught him before he was about to take a shower.

Naturally, Boris gave me hell with this review, so I had a lot of trouble making him look serious for a change. He will demonstrate the red lip stain in the following post, so stay tuned!

N. Finsternis