Whilst I was in London, 80% of the compliments I got there were on my tattoos -not real ones because I have none, but the temp ones from the brand called Paperself. Paperself is one of my favourite brands at the moment. They have paper lashes as well as sticker tattoos, worn by Elizabeth Banks and Jennifer Lawrence in the movie The Hunger Games, Rihanna in "Princess of China' music video and Anne Hathaway at SAG awards 2013. They have collaborated with Shu Uemura and Alexander McQueen as well.
On a chilly rainy day in September, I met the founder Chunwei in London. He is originally from Taiwan, but launched Paperself in London with his wife, where they have been based in. Their sense of design is exceptional and delicate which I love, and somewhat fragile.
Their eyelashes are 100% made out of paper, which means they are very lightweight and pretty comfortable to wear. The lashes are super delicate and well-made, which made me ask Chunwei if a lot of lashes get wasted during the manufacturing process. 'Of course, they are easy to break' he replied.
Can you see how detailed the lashes are? Can you believe these lashes are only £12.50 considering how money and time consuming the manufacturing process must be? And he told me that I can wear one pair 2-3 times if I would take care of them carefully.
I am wearing Peonies in the photos above without mascara. You can make it even more gorgeous with mascara or normal false lashes if you want, but I thought I'd go for a simpler look as I do not have the biggest eyes in the world.
They are very easy to apply, unbelievably lightweight and it feels like I am not wearing anything on my lashes. The only thing you must be careful is that the band is pretty thick that it looks better with a black eyeliner to hide it.
You can customise the lashes as well -cut them in small and stuck them on the face with a bit of glue. Or just like Anne Hathaway did on red carpet, you can stuck them on your nails and apply top coat on. You might think these lashes are for special occasions like weddings and parties, but actually they are perfect for daily use.
The lashes are gorgeous, but for me their tattoos are the star products. I was wearing their tattoos nearly every day in London and I received countless compliments. To be honest, I was counting at the beginning (which was 5 from strangers within a couple of hours) but after a few days I stopped trying because it was literally countless. From a stranger sat next to me in the bus to a sales assistant at a shop, and of course my friends as well, they all asked 'Are they real? They look so cool, where can I get them from?'.
One set has two sheets, and you cut them as you like and stuck them with a wet towel on top to secure them. It only takes a minute or two, so I was choosing which tattoo to wear as if I was picking my necklace and earrings. Its lasting power isn't too bad either, some lasted for 4 days or so without fading.
My favourite design is Constellations as it looks elegant yet not too feminine. They just came out with new designs too that you will definitely find your favourite. Their tattoos have got beautiful gold details that reflect lights in such a subtle yet gorgeous way, and they look even more beautiful on the skin.
I like the idea of wearing a small tattoo around the neck and ear which I am going to try this autumn / winter. Their instagram is full of ideas if you don't know how to rock them. Their products are sold at Selfridges, Le Bon Marché and online. Their website has the best variation of the products.
