Off to Cosfest X.2!!

Packed up all my stuff and other stuff that'll be loaned out to others. I'm still amazed I managed to squeeze most of my stuff in that one suitcase alone, especially when it contains 2 pairs of heels and one pair of 10cm high platform getas, 2 massive costumes, 2 wigs, 2 toy guns for props, extra clothes and my pajamas.

I'll be auditioning in the Cure Fashion Runway event, so I hope I don't wind up falling on or off the stage in my platform getas but if any readers are attaneding the event, I'll be cosplaying as Karakuri Burst Rin tomorrow and Penguindrum's Princess of the Crystal on Sunday. I'll be handing out coscards, so just come look for me!

Till next time....

Personal Outfits (Busy Little Bee)

I just realised that ever since January, I haven't actually done a single outfit post for this month. It's abit difficult when I am mostly at home trying to finish up assignments and stuff related to cosplay, the only times I do venture out are only for walking my furry Dusky, school and meeting the bf.

Lack of time, places to go and stress has also robbed me of any creativity to dress up, I more or less have a uniform of a few tried and tested outfits before flying out the door. I also haven't updated my wardrobe for the longest time, since cosplay has burned a rather large hole in my pocket. However, I did manage to try and dress up at least twice this month:

Outfit when I was out with my family and the bf to check out a paint and photography exhibition at the museum. I finally saw a painting in real life from my favourite artist, Van Gogh. Too bad that it was a less well-known Starry Sky painting, but at least I managed to check out some Monet and Gaugin works too.

Jacket: Forever21

Flared Jeans: River Island

Clogs: Pedder Red

Bag: Louis Vuitton

Ring: borrowed from mom

I think this is the last time I did full-on gyaru style makeup and curled my hair for the month. I loved my hair when it washed out to this shade.

This was technically a school day outfit, but I felt like dressing up alittle more that day whilst remaining comfortable at the same time. So accessories made the outfit that much more fun, not very gyaru influenced, more like model backstage kindda look. I also took the opportunity to break in the pair of shoes that was my Valentine's day gift

Cashmere knit top: Uniqlo (super comfy & soft, another Valentine's day gift from the bf)

Black jeggings: Uniqlo (my favourite shop for basics)

Gold watch: Guess

Collar Necklace: Can't remember

Shoes: Gripz

Simple makeup for school, I love spamming on my peach blusher for school. The collar necklace was actually done by a British designer, but for the life of me, I can't remember her name or the name of the shop she had on Etsy. However, last I checked, her Etsy shop had disappeared, which is a real shame since I really wanted to purchase her other designs. FYI, it's actually a collar design printed on hard plastic

I'm trying to pack up my stuff for the cosplay event this coming weekend. However, the stupid lens seller hasn't sent out my lenses yet, which is pissing me off big time! I need my red and pink lenses ASAP!!!! Ugh, I just pray it gets delivered on time...

Valentine's Day

Happy belated Valentine's day everyone! I hope you guys enjoyed yourself in some way be it with family, friends or a special loved one. I'm not really concerned with celebrating it myself but the Bf was being really sweet so he took me out for dinner at our favourite Japanese eatery.

Whilst strolling through the mall, some guy working at a home-made candy store was giving out free pink heart lollipops. I quite liked the lollipop and I could really taste the honey and vanilla, I plan to go back and try their other candy. Super simple makeup, with non-enlarging lens because I had classes the whole day.

We order sake most of the time at the eatery. This time we tried a different sake from the one we usually take, but I didn't really appreciate the taste. It was alot drier and stronger from the usual.

My salmon Chiraishi don. Super fresh salmon and ebiko on warm vinegar-ed sushi rice. It tastes so much better when the rice is warm compared to the usual cold rice most restaurants serve with. I forgot to take a picture of the Bf's grilled saba with miso and ebiko topping bento , it was so good we demolished it before I even realised I hadn't taken a picture of it. I'm craving it right now...

I've never been interested in receving flowers, but the Bf surprised me with this single rose. :')

His other valentine's day gift for me was a pair of shoes that I could choose, so I picked out this pair. It's made of really soft pig skin and the heel isn't too high so it'll probably replace my oxfords that is currently dying. He also got me some other stuff from Uniqlo...

The best thing bout the ankle boots is the sexy and interesting cut-out section at the sides.

We exhausted ourselves by walking around the entire mall, shopping at Daiso and making up a game of counting how many bouquets we saw the other couples carrying around. Not exactly the most romantic or expensive, but it was very "us" and that's all I need.

How was your Valentine's day?

My Heart's In Another Place....

I had originally planned an outfit post however, something really bad happened and it has left me in a mild state of shock and disbelief.....

A neighbour whom, I really really liked and would occasionally babysit Dusky committed suicide on Sunday evening.

I'm sorry if I'm writing with really bad grammatical errors or sounding incoherent but my mind is blanking out and I'm still fighting my disbelief that something like this has happened.

I think I'll be taking a short hiatus to clear my head and get some closure... I'm just really uncertain on what I'll be doing next.....

And for once, I'm grateful that I still need to go through the motions in life such as school and stuff, it's the only thing that's distracting me from having to face reality....

Makeup Review: The Body Shop & Majolica Majorca Blush Comparison

As promised, I'll be writing about the orange blushes I currently have in my ever expanding makeup collection. I know its alittle late for orange blushes as most of the craze for it has kindda faded out, however I do see the occasional peach-toned blush being used by models till now, and I find that by combining an orange blush with a pink blush does create a rather lovely colour.

To be honest, I initially hated the whole orange blush craze, but Steph coaxed me into it and gave me my first orange blush, which was The Body Shop's Cheek-on colour in Apricot. It was only much later, did I purchase Majolica Majorca's Peach Macaron blush.

Anyway, a short background on both brands:

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  The Body Shop is famous for being a non-animal testing brand and championing fair trade laws and using natural ingredients in their products. Their cheek colour claims to be super fine, easily blendable with long-lasting colour. The Apricot shade is the most orange shade in their series, the rest have more of a yellowish or bronzy tone to them.
  

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  Majolica Majorca is a sub-brand of Shiseido and known for their awesome mascaras as well as their pretty packaging. They're a drugstore label but their products are of pretty decent quality and the Puff de Cheek series was inspired by macaroons. The shade shown in this post os in PK301 or Peach Macaron, it isn't a true orange shade (there's another shade in the series that is true orange) but rather, a more peachy pink shade.

The blush in this post's comparison. The Body shop's cheek-on colour in Apricot and Majolica Majorca's Puff de Cheek in Peach Macaron

Left is without flash and right is with flash. I apologise for the tiny words, but the left shade is the Body Shop's blush whilst the right colour is Majolica Majorca's blush. I admit that compared to the true orange of the apricot shade, the peach macaron looks rather pink. However, in real life, the shade isn't so pink.

Also note that for both colours to appear on camera, it took The Body Shop's blush bout 9-11 swipes whereas the Majolica Majorca blush took about 15-20 swipes to appear.

As mentioned, I do find that it takes a considerable amount of application of an orange or peach blush before it appears in pictures, so when you do use an orange/peach blush, you would probably have to consider whether you're applying it for regular wear, or for a photos so that you are able to gauge the amount to apply.

The Body Shop's Apricot blush has a decent amount of shimmer in it and the colour becomes obvious after about 5-7 swipes of the blush per cheek. The colour is devoid of any yellowish tones so it should suit most skin tones. The pan is also of average size with sloped sides, so product fallout is rather minimal. I've yet to finish my pan as I hardly use it but with 4 grams packed inside the pan, it should last for a decent amount of time unless you're using a copious amount of the blush each time you apply it. The shade would also match those with tanned skin as it has alittle bit of gold shimmer in it.

Majolica Majorca's Puff de Cheek in Peach Macaron is a lovely peach shade that isn't very pigmented, so it also requires a fair amount of application before you're able to see it, be it in real life or in pictures. I often apply it whenever I want a less made up look such as my makeup for school. Despite coming with a lovely soft cheek puff, I use a blush brush for application at home as it picks up more colour and requires less application before I get my desired colour. The pan has about 7grams of product packed inside the lovely metal tin so you'll probably be able to use the blush for quite awhile, and once you're done, you can always reuse the tin as a bobby pin or fake lash holder.

In summary:

The Body Shop Cheek-on Colour in Apricot

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  Colour intensity: 5/10

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  Price: Not sure (Steph gave me the blush and I haven't checked the shop for its price)



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  Apply more to ensure the colour shows up, especially in pictures

Majolica Majorca Puff de Cheek in Peach Macaron:

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  Colour intensity: 4/10

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  Price: $24.90 (Not a bad deal for its pretty packaging and 7grams of product)



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  Tip: I use it for shota (small boy) and young schoolgirl cosplays as it gives a more innocent air as compared to heavy pink blush. I also love how it never looks like you've applied too much despite applying the blush with a heavy hand

Here are my favourite examples of using orange/peach blush:

This is Kyary Pamyu Pamyu and I like how she applied an orange shade of blush to give a more subtle made up look to play down her strong lashes. Notice how it also emphasises her cheekbones by applying it below the highest point of her cheekbones as a different form of contouring. The blush colour also matches her hair and skintone fabulously.

Rinka is my favourite non-gyaru model and her makeup style is the inspiration for my tamed down makeup style that I use for school and running errands. She's using a peachy shade of blush here and it makes gives her the not so made up but "better version of me" kind of look. I think that is what the peach shade of blush is best for, a less made up look.

In the end, its up to one's personal preference and style whether you love orange/peach blush or not. I personally find that pink shades suit my skin tone alot better, but as the 2 models above has shown, almost anyone can rock an orange/peach blush.

Just remember that such shades often emphasis a yellowish skintone and tans so be careful of looking too much like a carrot if you tend to be heavy-handed with blush application. I've seen one girl do it in a real life and lets just say.... I'm not a fan of her carrot top look.