Cheap, Adorable Screen-printed Tanks? I Say Yes.

I love Etsy, y'all.  I was looking to buy some cute, casual tanks for wearing around the house.  I love the American Apparel tri-blend tanks--we've gotten them for sorority stuff, and they are the comfiest and have a really nice fit.  I was going to buy some of them, when I realized that they were being sold on Etsy, for the same price as at American Apparel, but with adorable screen-printing! Actually, if you factor in the American Apparel shipping vs. the Etsy shipping, it's cheaper to buy them on Etsy.

Anyways, I found the Zen Threads Etsy shop.  They sell a bunch of American Apparel products, tanks, cardigans, hoodies, etc, and home-wares, like towels and such, with a variety of screen-printed designs on them.  You can choose the item color and they give you a few options for the color of the designs, depending on the shirt.

I picked up the California Bear tank in tri-black with yellow ink and the Day of the Dead tank in tri-lemon with white ink.  How cute is that bear?!  And it has a little map of California on it (I'm from California, so this makes me inordinately happy).  I love Day of the Dead related things, so I think the slightly creepy, slightly floral nature of that skull is awesome.  It's just the right balance of morbid and sweet.  I got it in a bright tank with white ink to mitigate the whole, I'm wearing a skull t-shirt factor.

Obviously now I need to buy more of them (I have restraint issues).  If I could pull off the American Apparel pullovers--that shape is the worst on me--I'd totally get the Honey Pullover.  I like the weird bee.  It has a slightly Victorian, taxidermist feel to it.  And I'm dying over the Moose in Snow Shoes tank.  It's a moose!  Wearing snow shoes!

So when I got these in the mail and they were so much cuter than I'd been expecting, I realized that obviously I'd have to wear them out of the house.  At which point my housemate chimed in, "You never wear graphic tees!"  And she was totally right.  I am not a graphic tee kind of person.  But I have to make an exception for these.  They are totally quirky adorable and non-obnoxious.  I've been wearing them partially tucked into a colored denim mini with a little leather jacket.  It feels casual but still polished and summer appropriate.  So yes, I do wear graphic tees!  At least for now.

TokyoMilk Dark Tainted Love No. 62 Perfume

TokyoMilk is a niche fragrance line, with fun, offbeat and affordable scents that come in adorable little packages.  ToykoMilk Dark is their new line of 'provocative perfumes' with fabulously morbid, almost Victorian packaging.  Reading the scent descriptions and seeing the packaging, I assumed that each 1.6 ounce perfume bottle would retail for about $80.  They actually cost $36.  So I ordered one just based off the website description!  (Not something I usually do at all)


I ordered the Tainted Love perfume; that's the box and the bottle below.  The box is black with white type, and an embossed pattern on two sides.  The bottle is a matte black cut glass with a shiny gunmetal cap.  On one side of the bottle is the creator's name, Margot Elena, on the next is the brand name, perfume name, the number of the perfume, and the notes in the perfume (in this case, dark vanilla bean, orchid, white tea, and sandalwood), on the next side is the embellished perfume number, and on the front side is the symbol attached to the perfume (in this case, a skeleton key), the brand name, and the perfume name.

So, here's my breakdown of the Tainted Love perfume:


Packaging: The packaging is obviously gorgeous.  It looks so expensive!  And it's a gorgeous addition to a vanity.  I like the balance of Victorian imagery and minimalist restraint.  In all honesty, I think the packaging clinched the purchase for me.


The scent: the listed notes are dark vanilla bean, white tea, orchid, and sandalwood.  When I sniff it, the first thing that hits me is the vanilla.  I think that's the most prominent note here.  Then I get sandalwood and white tea, which keeps that vanilla from getting too sweet and too wet.  The orchid keeps from going in a slightly masculine direction by adding just a whiff of florals.  The overall impression I get is vanilla and incense, slightly dry and smokey but still feminine.  It's an unusual scent, to be sure, but I really love it.  It's sweet and feminine, but it definitely has a strong edge to it.  In a way, it's almost slightly morbid, with a hint of danger underlying that vanilla.


Lasting power: I'm not trusting my nose with this.  To me, it doesn't seem to have a ton of sillage or lasting power.  I can't smell it really unless I try to, and while I can still smell it faintly at the end of the day, it's definitely not strong.  However, I was wearing it out the other day, and a friend of mine, from a few feet away, smelled it and commented on it (after I'd been wearing it for a few hours).  So I think it's decent in that regard?  It's certainly not overwhelming.  I'd say it's a subtle, close to your skin kind of perfume.


Awkward Chic rating: A.  I love the packaging, the price, and the scent.  The lasting power brings it down from an A+ to an A.  I want to try more of them!  I'm particularly eying Everything & Nothing, which has notes of rose, mandarin, tangerine, white jasmine, peony, muguet, amber, and white musk (Sephora describes it as refined, hopeful, and poetic), and also Excess, which has notes of patchouli, amber resin, blood orange, and oak bark (Sephora describes it as majestic, posh, and bold).  Don't those sound pretty?!