DIY: HARNESS BRA

Hello all! I have been a huge fan of harnesses for a very long time, and was lucky enough to win my first in a competition two years ago. Elastic harnesses are beautiful and all, but can be extremely fiddly to get off when you're wearing them on top of your favourite bra. I was happy to see a rise in the amount of harness bra's for sale- being a huge fan of Hopeless Lingerie, seeing that brands such as Missguided and Asos were selling dupes at affordable prices was a real shocker. However, something that I've noticed is it is pretty rare to come across a padded harness bra... and being someone who is lacking in that region, I knew I'd much prefer it if I could look bustier with the pretty harness design, so decided I'd have a go at making my own!

This bra that I am making is an extremely simple design just to show you how easy it is to make it yourself, but if you want to make a more ambitious design, you're more than welcome to! I know in the future I want to make a lot more. Anyway, let's begin!

You will only need a few bits and bobs for this DIY:

• a bra (I chose this black plain satin-like one)
• lots of ribbon (preferably the same colour as the bra)
• a sewing kit (needles, and a thread that matches the colour of the ribbon/bra)
• scissors
• a few hemming pins

Start off by measuring how high up you want the harness design to go. The best way I found was by putting the bra on and making a small mark at the highest point I want the ribbon to go. I then measured this height, and cut two pieced of ribbon to that length.

Next, work on the placement of the ribbon. I personally wanted the basic harness, with two bits of ribbon that went over my chest. Pin the ribbon in place, starting from the middle rim between the two cups. 

Once you are happy with your placement, it's time to sew the ribbon into place. This can be very fiddly, and you want to make sure that it's extremely secure! The amount of times I had to redo this because I didn't sew it strong enough to the ribbon just popped off...

You now need to sew the upper half of the ribbon in place. You can experiment with this (as I did in the photo, crossing them over) until you are happy with the placement. Once you've positioned the ribbon where you want it to be, making sure it's tight (you don't want a loose ribbon!), pin it into place. Be very careful, you don't want to stab yourself! I found bending the hemming pin  into an 'L' once it was in the right place allowed me to pin the ribbon while wearing the bra.

The final step is just sewing that ribbon into place, and then that's it! How easy was that?! You now have your own ribbon harness bra!

PIERCING PAIN SCALE

Hello! I am an avid collector of piercings, and I am currently on 14 (though have had a total of 16). I thought it might be useful to some people if I had a post that spoke about all 16 piercings I have had, where I rate them on their pain scale (10 being most painful), healing time (10 being most difficult), and overall recommendation (10 being go get it done), with a little bit about my experience!

EAR

LOBE
Pain: 2/10
Healing: 2/10
Overall: 10/10

Let's be real here, if lobe piercings were that bad, they wouldn't allow little babies to have it done (don't get me wrong, I don't agree with parents getting their kids ears pierced before they're even old enough to understand, but you know). It's more the anxious build up than the pain itself, it's like plucking one hair out and that's the pain over. Other than a slight warmth, there is not really much to the healing time. I'd recommend anyone who wants a lobe piercing to get them done.

HELIX/CARTILAGE
Pain: 4/10
Healing: 8/10
Overall: 8/10

Now my review of helix piercings might differ to other people. The first helix piercing I got was done at my go-to piercers, and they did a wonderful job. It hardly hurt at all! I then got 2 more helix piercings at a small piercers away from home, where they used almost a Victorian contraption- a large needle and a metal tube which they held on the back of the ear for the needle to go through. This was really, really uncomfortable and hurt a lot more than I imagined, not to mention the healing time. The issue I found with helix piercings is that because it's difficult to avoid sleeping on that side, they get irritated very easily (and you get the dreaded bump... which tea tree fixes!). I would recommend it, but maybe get used to sleeping on the other side first!

TRAGUS
Pain: 5/10
Healing: 5/10
Overall: 9/10

Remember that rumour where apparently you can hear a 'pop' when you get your tragus done? Yeah, that's a lie. I found getting my tragus pierced quite soothing, in a way. It was a little uncomfortable- just a harsh pinch, and then you feel the jewellery going through and then it's done! It was my first clamp piercing, which is strange if you haven't had one before. I never really had any issues with it, the only bummer is the fact you need to avoid putting your earphone in that ear for a week because it's a little sore!

SNUG
Pain: 9/10
Healing: 10/10
Overall: 6/10

This is my worst piercing I've ever had. I love it, don't get me wrong. But 2 months in and it's still too swollen to switch to a smaller bar. It was really uncomfortable getting done, and seemed to take longer than other piercings. But the pain after... I had headache after headache after headache. I was in too much pain, I couldn't sleep. The healing time is ridiculous. It was about 2-3 weeks before I got a somewhat decent good-nights sleep, and I still can't sleep on that ear. 2 months later, it's still very swollen, it's easily irritated so almost constantly has the dreaded bump, too. Please think very carefully before getting this piercing done.

VERTICAL TRAGUS
Pain: 4/10
Healing: 3/10
Overall: 7/10

This piercing did not hurt at all! It would get caught on my blusher brush when I was doing my makeup, and sometimes my hair would get caught around it. I noticed this one rejecting about 4 months after I had it done- the amount of bar showing alongside the balls increased a lot, but it was about a year before it had literally fully pulled its way out. If you're not looking for a permanent piercing but you want a cute one for a while, this one is great! It does leave a scar, though.

HORIZONAL TRAGUS STAPLE BAR
Pain: 7/10
Healing: 5/10
Overall: 3/10

This one was not worth it at all. My piercer told me I was the only person to have it done- she hadn't found it online before or anything, and she'd looked  a lot. The piercing stage was awkward, it took about 5-10 mins to actually clamp and insert the bar, and I had my head in my piercers chest the entire time! It only took a few months for this one to fully reject, too. As cool as it looked, I do not recommend getting this one done.

(Helix x3, Lobe x3, Horizontal Staple Bar)

FACE

NOSE/NOSTRIL
Pain: 3/10
Healing: 3/10
Overall: 10/10

My friends and I went and got our noses pierced together, and both of their eyes watered but mine didn't. It fully depends on the person, but the piercing itself doesn't hurt at all. It's a slight pinch, followed by almost a tight, heated feeling for a while. It begins to feel slightly achey, too, but it's not unbearable. I definitely recommend getting it done! The only issue is it takes a while to get used to something being there, so you get it caught frequently which is pretty painful, and putting a screw nose stud in is terrible at first!

SEPTUM
Pain: 5/10
Healing: 5/10
Overall: 8/10

This is the only piercing I have ever cried at! It was a spontaneous piercing, and my eyes would not stop streaming (please remember just how much eyeliner I wear, too!). Despite that, it hasn't been too bad. I've had it for 3 weeks now, and at first my nose didn't like it very much- I sneezed a lot more, and I would cry if I knocked it... especially if crusties had appeared or I was cleaning it. It was pretty bruised, and I noticed my nose had increased in size a bit. I'd wake up and feel like my face was dirty and gross, too... However, 3 weeks later and I feel like I've had it for ages! It's absolutely fine and I'm so excited to change the horseshoe.

(Nose and Septum)

OTHER

NIPPLE
Pain: 3/10
Healing: 3/10
Overall: 9/10

I'll be honest, I don't understand why people say nipple piercings are painful. Mine did not hurt... at all. In fact, other than nose/ears, I think it's my least painful piercing. They have to clamp it which is rather uncomfortable, and, if you're like me, the whole getting your boobs out thing is a bit awkward, but other than that, it was worth it! I do recommend sleeping with a bra on if you decide to get a nipple piercing as it does catch a lot (at least mine does). The sensitivity can change a lot, my nipple has lessened in sensitivity (hence why I only have the one pierced) but it can increase it for other people. I found salt soaking it to be quite stressful since you need to kind of fill a pot with the SSS and hold it on it. It seemed to heal really quickly, though. It can get irritated a lot, and if you're clumsy like me, you can get it caught easily (I totally didn't get it caught on the microwave earlier). If it's something you really want, or if you think it would make you feel better about your chest, I'd recommend getting it done!

If you ever have any questions about any piercings, feel free to ask me!
- Sian x

EXPLORING: ABANDONED SPORTS MEMORIAL

Hello lovelies!

I have always loved the idea of urban exploring. I find derelict buildings hauntingly beautiful- they're just the remnants of what once was; an empty shell full of memories of the life that once existed there.

I grew up with a fairly strict family, my mum was always worried about where I was going and would panic at the idea of me ever going to an abandoned places, due to this idea that they're over run with drug addicts and people who would hurt you. Aged 19, I was allowed to go on my first Urbex visit. My friend took me to this abandoned building in the middle of a field, fairly close to a very busy road. He only knew it existed due to a rave (surprise surprise) but it was cool nevertheless.

At first, you need to break through a metal fence- which was terrifying for little sheltered Sian, and must have looked very dodgy to those driving past! There was a lot that was blocked off, and very overgrown plants, but when you trekked through all that, you approached this completely destroyed building.



I have no idea what this building used to be, but the ceiling of one room was completely broken down. There was a chair in the room, which was strange, since it didn't look that old!



Behind that room was one which had no ceiling whatsoever. We had to be extremely careful here as the building was still very unstable.



There was one last room to this building, which I must admit, was probably my favourite part of the whole visit. It was sturdier than the other rooms, though did look like it could collapse at any second. The smell of sewage echoed around the eerie darkness. In this room, there was an old, camel coloured coat hanging from the wall. I don't know how it got there, who put it there, or how long it's been there, but I just found it beautiful.





As I've previously said, I have no idea what this building used to be as it was not the original building we came to see. I have tried researching, but nothing has come up. I think it makes me love it more, though!

We continued on our journey through a large open space field, before approaching a scary looking building in the distance. With every step closer, the noise of crashing and banging got louder. "Do you want to go back?" my friend asked me, but there was no way I was missing out on this opportunity! We pushed away the final plants that blocked our view, to see a band with all of their equipment filming a music video! How cool?! We did ask nicely whether we could explore if we kept out their way, and they said yes, so the adventure continued!





We decided to go to the basement first, since the music video was being recorded on the floor above. This was just a large damp room covered in graffiti.





Coming off of this room, there was a broken wall, which led into a pitch black corridor. I was filled with energy and exhilaration, and walked straight into it. I'm not kidding when I say you literally could not see a thing and could only hear a faint dripping and the splashes of your feet hitting the wet floor below. I turned on my phone light to find I was walking down what was once the toilets. In the last cubical, there was almost a secret door which led to a secret room. Whatever was in there had collapsed, but it was so eerie shining in a little iPhone torch.



We headed up the stairs to the second floor to avoid getting in the way of the band. Up here, there were lots of walls which were broken down, and thin 'corridors' to walk along. This really was just an empty shell of a building that was once so beautiful. There was an amazing graffiti eye on one of the walls opposite which I absolutely adored. Enough of me waffling for a while, here are a bunch of pictures!









Oh, and not forgetting the super cool view outside!





I made a vlog about it, so if you'd like to see the whole building, then watch the video below! I hope you're all having a wonderful week.
- Sian x