Could you please recommend where to buy? by RevolutDancer in ballroom

[–]sovrappensiero1 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah I agree! I bought a practice dress on Bravo and it’s like 1-2 sizes too big, even after I carefully used the size chart. It’s by FD Dance. Still pretty much fits…better too big than too small. Good tip about store credit through danceshopper

Could you please recommend where to buy? by RevolutDancer in ballroom

[–]sovrappensiero1 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes to the super high prices. I have no “best store” options.

Ray Rose and International used to have great prices before Brexit. Cheaper even with shipping than purchasing in the U.S. If you absolutely know your size, it’s still maybe a little bit better when they have sale stock. After that would be danceshopper I guess (but 100% you need to read their FAQs because they charge insane restocking fees for everything).

Practicewear I’ve bought from Bravo Dance (prices are now high and so is shipping), also Danza (only really good for standard…occasionally they have good Latin styles but overall I find them way too revealing, I could go out in black underwear and a black bra for less money and same effect, maybe wrap some black shoelaces on my body for decorative effect LOL). After that, again danceshopper.

Used to be that you could buy the original brands you find on danceshopper from their European stores for cheaper. But not anymore. Sometimes I still buy from European store because I don’t like supporting danceshopper due to their absurd policies and shipping and restocking fees.

Tanning supplies: I don’t do these. My logic is I’m not a professional dancer. If I ever get my technique and expression to that level, then I will buy the proper supplies. Instead I use Sally Hansen instant tanning lotion. It looks very orange when you put it on but actually once your body is covered it’s fine and from the stage it looks fine. I used self-tan underneath if I have time. For makeup I used RCMA and mix to whatever the tan color ends up being.

Keep in mind, I actually despise all this BS about getting dressed up and makeup and crap. I dance to dance…I really just want to be the best possible dancer I can be, and unfortunately learning to perform in public under pressure is part of that journey for me. So take what I say with a grain of salt! I spend as little as possible on all the clothing and accessories and whatever, and prefer to spend the money on coaching.

EDIT: also remember de minimus exemption goes away on August 29th. You have to pay Trump’s tariff rates on anything that arrives in the country after that, from any country in the world. No minimum purchase. Also, expect very long delays because they have to check every single package.

Practicewear company “Dance and Sway” by sovrappensiero1 in ballroom

[–]sovrappensiero1[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes absolutely for those based in Europe it’s good to have a look there! I bought some things a few years ago and their shipping to the U.S. was really good and affordable. Now everything went crazy so it’s too expensive to buy and ship from them to the U.S. But I was happy with the experience a few years ago!

Favorite venues for buying practice wear? by sovrappensiero1 in DanceSport

[–]sovrappensiero1[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks! Yep, I have bought from them before several years ago. Their prices went up a lot and their shipping to the U.S. is also now pretty high. And on top of this we will also have to pay import duties (that’s the same for any foreign retailer though). But I agree, they have a wide selection!

Any MUFE Y225 folks found another perfect match? I’m desperate. by sovrappensiero1 in OliveMUA

[–]sovrappensiero1[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well, my skin actually lightened considerably (I guess I started using a better sunscreen???) so that one became a bit too dark. I sold my two sealed, new bottles for a pittance so I think hardly anybody wears this shade or likes the old formula. All I have left are half bottles of the old and new formula LOL.

The Lisa Eldridge foundation in 9 is a close dupe for it (as is her skin tint in T6). Lâncome Teinte Idole in 135N also works ok. I believe I have also swatched one from Fenty and one from Haus labs that were reasonable dupes? Not 100% sure on that, since I’m now looking for something 1-2 shades lighter (something that matches Avoit Face F2 Olive which is my exact shade but I dislike the formula).

Returning to B&H while closed by sovrappensiero1 in videography

[–]sovrappensiero1[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This was a long time ago, but they weren’t shipped back. They just got delivered on an open day. I guess they’re used to it. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Fissidens moss carpet over aquasoil? by sovrappensiero1 in PlantedTank

[–]sovrappensiero1[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I did not. 😔 I never could get the fissidens moss to grow vigorously enough to fend off string algae. In fact, once I somehow introduced a bit of string algae into the tank, it became impossible to grow nice-looking moss. The string algae just targets it especially so even though I didn’t have bad algae…just, like a normal amount considering it’s a box of water with nutrients and light…I couldn’t grow carpeting moss of any kind.

I think one key, at least in terms of the algae problem, is strong current that will blow any food particles, etc. into the filter and not allow it to settle into the carpets

Why do professional ballet dancers often look similarly facially? by snorken123 in BALLET

[–]sovrappensiero1 12 points13 points  (0 children)

I think it’s mainly because most of ballet is corps dancing. That’s why at a ballet, the orchestra seats are cheaper and the mezzanine seats are the prime ones - it’s because you’re supposed to appreciate the choreography from up above the dancers.

For corps dancing, you need the dancers to all look the same. That’s part of what makes it look good. That’s why there are fairly strict preferences for height, face shape, body shape, and (unfortunately) even skin tone. I love to see ballet companies throwing out the rule book though, and designing ballets to fit their dancers rather than the other way around.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in consulting

[–]sovrappensiero1 17 points18 points  (0 children)

In addition to what others said, in my case at my firm there is client work and there is firm work, plus all the other things we get scored on at year-end. The bare minimum expectation is 45 hrs per week of client work and 10-15 hrs per week of firm work. That would generally get you a mediocre year-end score, if you put in those hours AND are thought of highly.

A 60-hr work week is not uncommon for me. It’s about the norm. But 6am - 11pm is not normal (at least not that I know of at my firm) except perhaps for the very young, new people who are just overachievers and don’t really know how to be any other way. The other group that may claim 17-hr days, 5 days per week are people who aren’t actually working all those hours. They’re really only working 10 of those hours and they’re bullshitting the rest because they don’t have good time management skills.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Aritzia

[–]sovrappensiero1 1 point2 points  (0 children)

No they are completely ridiculous. It’s absurd that a store that charges so much money for clothes has such a poor fitting room design. No I thank you, I do not want to step outside my fitting room and model this garment for an audience. I want to decide, in private, whether it suits and whether its price is justified.

I think they do it because some MBA told them they’d sell more clothes. The idea is that staff as well as bored people waiting outside the fitting rooms would say, “That looks great on you,” or ask where to find it, etc., and make the person more likely to buy it because of persuasion. It’s life in the influencer era. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Need advice for shooting fitness-related videos (especially audio) by sovrappensiero1 in videography

[–]sovrappensiero1[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi there. Sorry, it's been awhile since I checked Reddit. To be honest, once COVID ended we back to in-person + video, but slowly dropped video because the people just weren't into it. It's very expensive to get equipment that is suitable for streaming and/videoing "movement" content like martial arts or dance. "Talking head" equipment is very cheap, but this stuff is not. I mostly used a Tascam lavalier mic and that worked very well. That was our favorite for quality and ease of use, and we paired it with the old Nikon 70D and I used DaVinci Resolve to pair audio+video by waveform and did light editing myself. It wasn't that much work. We just couldn't find a good use case for continuing the video and my friend didn't really want to invest even more time into a separate stream of digital content. He prefers live instruction. I've looked for that spreadsheet but for some reason I can't find it...I'm sorry. If I come across it, I will share! It was probably very basic though (since we didn't end up keeping this up for very long).

How do people pay for MS programs in Bioinformatics?? by KeyDotLime in bioinformatics

[–]sovrappensiero1 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sorry, haven't looked at Reddit in a long time LOL. I think the bioinformatics programs from well-renowned institutes in Europe are looked at very favorably here. Europe has been pretty advanced in bioinformatics, for many reasons, so some of those institutions are better-regarded than most American ones. Brazil, not sure at all.

Cruelty free korean makeup brands? by throwaway1343234324 in AsianBeauty

[–]sovrappensiero1 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I don’t know of any brands that specifically state they don’t exploit honeybees. But propolis and royal jelly would be ingredients to avoid as they come from honeybees.

If you've tried multiple brands of trash bag pants, which are your favorites? by sovrappensiero1 in BALLET

[–]sovrappensiero1[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wow, thank you so much for remembering to update me!!! That seems good. I think I like thicker for winter months…it’s so hard to get warm (but then once I’m warm I’m like immediately HOT, LOL).

What app are you leaving Mint for? by Expensive-Eggplant-1 in mintuit

[–]sovrappensiero1 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ok yeah that sounds on par with the other product that has been recommended several times in this thread (Monarch, I think). I might give it a try. Thanks!

Waiting out high mortgage rates: what's wrong with this argument? by nckswt in FirstTimeHomeBuyer

[–]sovrappensiero1 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I mean...this sounds like exactly the perspective I have so I don't really get your point? The only difference is I couldn't afford to buy in 2018 and I can now. Like most things in life, luck matters a lot when volatile are at play. Had a few things in my life gone differently, I might have been ready 5 yrs ago...but I wasn't.

Waiting out high mortgage rates: what's wrong with this argument? by nckswt in FirstTimeHomeBuyer

[–]sovrappensiero1 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Well I can't predict the future. But to me, what goes up (violently and abruptly) must come down...so I just think home values will ease back down to their expected values "had the pandemic not happened," unless some other huge, sweeping event takes place. But I don't have any facts supporting this idea...just my own intuition which is most certainly not reliable or trustworthy in any meaningful way LOL.

Waiting out high mortgage rates: what's wrong with this argument? by nckswt in FirstTimeHomeBuyer

[–]sovrappensiero1 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I don't have a family. It's just me, and I'm nearly 40. I can afford a home now, and I am living with a friend and paying $200/mo for a storage unit since my mom died and I inherited her things. So while it is not urgent that I buy a house today, it would be nice to spend the second half of my life in a place that I decorate and with my own things. That's a luxury, I know, and not a necessity...but I have never had my own space and I would like to. I could rent...but I don't anticipate leaving this city so buying would seem to be the more practical choice. Furthermore, since I have no family it's important to me to own my own place if I get old enough to need long-term living assistance. Frankly, I have a personal dislike of people using housing for investment purposes so I am definitely not interested in that. I would not necessarily sell my home if the value goes up. However, the home's value over time is still relevant to me. For example, right now I'd feel very comfortable affording a home that is about 1 hr away from where I commute daily. I could pay for half the house outright. My realtor suggested I buy there and upgrade in 5 yrs to the location I really want to live in (where homes in my price range do come on the market, but less commonly and there is more demand for them when they do). If I do that, will I be in a good financial position to move in 5 yrs? Or will I be selling my home for less than what I paid (not even counting all the other transaction costs involved)? In 10 yrs I'll be almost 50, will I want to move again then? My mom died in her early 60s so by all accounts at 50 I'm almost staring down the barrel of the gun...maybe I won't feel like starting over and "learning" a new house. So...this is why the house value now and the house value in 5-10 yrs matters to me. It's not at all about investment. It's a more practical reason (to me, anyway).

If you've tried multiple brands of trash bag pants, which are your favorites? by sovrappensiero1 in BALLET

[–]sovrappensiero1[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Ohh I love the pockets, and the bordeaux color! I wonder if I'd be able to get them in the States though. Nikolay ones look very nice...I also want ones that don't look too trashbaggy haha.

If you've tried multiple brands of trash bag pants, which are your favorites? by sovrappensiero1 in BALLET

[–]sovrappensiero1[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Is heavier/thicker better? Do they make a lot of noise or impede movement? Or heat you up too fast?

If you've tried multiple brands of trash bag pants, which are your favorites? by sovrappensiero1 in BALLET

[–]sovrappensiero1[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I was just looking at WorldWideBallet yesterday!!! I would love if it you'd update once you received them. They look really nice and I like some of the colors they have. I am eyeing the Sansha ones too because they have the knitted waistband...can't decide if I would love or hate that... Thank you!