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© Sophia Chan
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22 January, 2013
20 January, 2013
"Awkward pat"
Quick sketch of two friends with my new fountain pen. Because of my tendency to use a lot of linear shading, they look much older than they are. Somehow, I find this hilarious.
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© Sophia Chan 2013
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18 June, 2012
Blooming Roses
Final outcome! What do you think? Do you prefer it with the black ink detail, or just with watercolour? Personally, I prefer the black pen as it adds depth and enhances the different colours. Sorry for the blurry quality of the flowers - my scanner doesn't seem to be working properly!
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© Indistinct Vision 2012
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Experimentation
Quick watercolour sketch I did from a fashion shoot spread - found it fun experimenting with the different colours for the flower headpiece. Also realised that painting hair with watercolour is hard! This is at the not-quite-finished stage, I shall upload the final piece shortly...
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© Indistinct Vision 2012
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17 June, 2012
The Silk Shirt
One of my clothing staples has to be the silk shirt. According to some eczema sites, silk isn't the best material as it requires hand-washing, which means you can't kill off any build up of skin residue with hot water washes. This site also informs us that silk production contains sericin, which is apparently a known irritant. However, although I do obsessively check labels of clothing for that all important tagline '100% cotton', I prefer to wear silk clothing when dressing up a little, as it is a nicer material to wear in the evenings.
Enter the silk shirt. The smoothness of silk doesn't irritate my skin, like viscose or polyester, and hangs so well on the body. Teamed with black jeans and heels or boots, the silk shirt is my go to outfit for when I need to adhere to the tricky boundaries of 'smart-casual'.
Although not within my budget quite yet, I obsess over the Equipment silk shirts. Love this orange pop of colour! They can be found on the Net-a-porter site, with the block colour shirts starting from £230.
I am also lusting over this pyjama set as well. Sadly, it is quite far out of my budget, although one can always dream!
However, a great affordable option is Massimo Dutti, my new favourite brand. It mixes high-street prices with good quality materials such as silk and cotton, a must for any eczema sufferer! The website currently has a sale on, so get over there before it all sells out. I love the caramel tone of this one, and at £29.95 it's the fraction of the price.
Perfect for the warm summer evenings....
12 June, 2012
Brand review: Eau Thermale Avène
The French skincare brand Avène uses spring thermal water from the Saint-Odile spring in France, which is where its main hydrotherapy centre is based. Medical treatment for skin ailments can be sought there, and I've been dying to go ever since I found out about the place. It sounds heavenly for the skin. You can find more information about it here. The brand can easily be found in most Boots stores here in the UK, as well as online.
I use the tolerance extreme range cream, which I've found to be really soothing and can hardly feel it on my skin. It also has a rather short ingredient list, which is good as apparently the less ingredients there are, the less allergens you are likely to encounter.
I like the hydrating serum they have, which is quite expensive, but good if you really dislike the feeling of heavy duty creams like I do! I apply it to my face straight after cleansing, and it feels wonderfully light. One thing I am lucky for, is that I hardly have any eczema on my face anymore, apart from a dry upper lip. This means I can still use make-up products without worrying about major flare ups. The serum is rather expensive, as all serums are, but I try to buy it when Boots have a 3 for 2 offer on skincare, which saves so much!
Finally, I also like using their gentle eye make-up remover, which I also use for removing other traces of heavy make-up. It is very gentle and soothing, which doesn't irritate despite being a contact-lens wearer.
I have tried many of their other products, but these are definitely my go to top-3. I used to suffer from acne as well, and eczema + acne really is not the best of combinations! Using Avene really helped me to calm it down. Being more mindful of aesthetics, I also like that the packaging is relatively simple and not hideous, like some eczema focused brands.
I use the tolerance extreme range cream, which I've found to be really soothing and can hardly feel it on my skin. It also has a rather short ingredient list, which is good as apparently the less ingredients there are, the less allergens you are likely to encounter.
I like the hydrating serum they have, which is quite expensive, but good if you really dislike the feeling of heavy duty creams like I do! I apply it to my face straight after cleansing, and it feels wonderfully light. One thing I am lucky for, is that I hardly have any eczema on my face anymore, apart from a dry upper lip. This means I can still use make-up products without worrying about major flare ups. The serum is rather expensive, as all serums are, but I try to buy it when Boots have a 3 for 2 offer on skincare, which saves so much!
I have tried many of their other products, but these are definitely my go to top-3. I used to suffer from acne as well, and eczema + acne really is not the best of combinations! Using Avene really helped me to calm it down. Being more mindful of aesthetics, I also like that the packaging is relatively simple and not hideous, like some eczema focused brands.
Fashion + Eczema
I have decided to expand my blog from being just arty to including more of myself. I will now be posting about my struggles with eczema as well, and how I've coped with fashion and skincare choices.
There are probably millions of teens and adults who suffer from eczema out there, but it's funny how I've never really come across anyone who does in my everyday life. As a result, I've found that my struggle can be incredibly lonely at times. It also frustrates me how most of the eczema sites are geared more towards young children, as opposed to twenty-somethings like myself who suffer from it.
One aspect is clothing. I often get through many clothes in a day, simply because I'm wearing something and it will start to feel itchy and uncomfortable within a few hours. The biggest pain is the labels and inner seams of clothing, which means sometimes I have to wear clothing inside-out to feel better! This has drawn the occasional confused comment from my housemates. What about you? Do you find that you always have to cut the labels off clothing?
There are probably millions of teens and adults who suffer from eczema out there, but it's funny how I've never really come across anyone who does in my everyday life. As a result, I've found that my struggle can be incredibly lonely at times. It also frustrates me how most of the eczema sites are geared more towards young children, as opposed to twenty-somethings like myself who suffer from it.
One aspect is clothing. I often get through many clothes in a day, simply because I'm wearing something and it will start to feel itchy and uncomfortable within a few hours. The biggest pain is the labels and inner seams of clothing, which means sometimes I have to wear clothing inside-out to feel better! This has drawn the occasional confused comment from my housemates. What about you? Do you find that you always have to cut the labels off clothing?
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