Lens Review: Kimchi Bambi Green Lens

I had received my beautiful Kimchi Bambi Green lensesfrom Lens Village awhile back but had been far too busy to get down to reviewing it. I picked this lens for its vibrant green colour as I needed green lenses for cosplay but wanted something not too crazy obvious for regular wear as well. This pair of lenses fit the bill!

 My lovely lenses snuggly packed in layers of bubble wrap inside this useful box from Lens Village

 I like it when the brand clearly displays itself on the lens packaging, some brands have other names printed on the label which makes me incredibly suspicious of its source

 Lens Village  also kindly gave a matching pair of green froggy lens cases to store my lenses. I remember my friends poking fun at my animal lens cases when I brought them to the chalet last Cosfest

 The lovely lenses, as you can see there's a yellow/gold inner rim followed by the green colour and finally a black outer rim with pointy designs

 The obligatory one lens in, one lens out picture. You can clearly see how much of an enlargement the 16mm lens produces

 Both lenses in with minimal sunlight and no flash, the green is rather dark in colour but still visible

 No sunlight and with strong camera flash, the green is very obvious and the gold/yellow inner rim fades out gently to the green colour and not in a weird blocky way

 I took this picture out in strong natural sunlight but in the shade. You can still see the green and gold of the lens quite clearly

On the bus in strong natural sunlight, the shade makes the green less visible but its still obvious enough.

I'm used to wearing fairly large lenses by now, so putting in these 16mm lenses weren't much of a challenge for me, though if this is your first circle lens, it maybe abit of a challenge putting it in considering their size and they're just a shade thicker then other lenses such as say, the Nudy series. 

I've worn these lenses out all day and so far, I've yet to find any discomfort with them, they're fabulously comfortable and the colours do not block my line of sight so I do forget that I am wearing them at times. The look it produces is quite doll-like so its perfect for dressing up though the enlargement and thick black outer rim does make rather obvious, so naturally I recommend wearing these lenses with fake lashes to balance the whole look.  

Overall:

Comfort: 4.9/5 (nothing's perfect but this comes close)

Design: 4.5/5 (No way is it natural looking but it produces the doll-like look, & it's a dead ringer for Tsubasa's Bambi lenses)

Enlargement: 4.9/5 (it's huge, but still comfortably so)

On the whole: 4.5/5 

I truly love these lenses as firstly, they look incredibly similar to Tsubasa's Bambi lenses, secondly they are actually larger then Tsubasa's lenses by 1mm hence the increased enlargement resulting in an even dollier look, thirdly the colours are also more obvious and vibrant then Tsubasa's Bambi lenses. This is basically Tsubasa's lenses on crack haha!

Personally, I love that the lenses are obvious enough for cosplay purposes but the design makes it quite good for regular wear as compared to some of the other cosplay lenses I have that make me look like a dead fish without the proper makeup. Just remember that they are anything but natural looking though their comfort and design totally make up for it! 

P.S. Lens Village also has a facebook page, so you can follow them for updates & stuff. Check them out here !

Personal Outfit (Hunger Games)

The Bf and I finally caught a movie after so damn long! We watched The Huger Games and personally I was bit disappointed by it, alot of details were cut, everything felt quite compressed and rushed and the worst was the constant jerking of the cameras as they followed the characters around. I guess it was the best they could do with a smaller budget and considering there were alot of things in the book and there was only so much that could be fit within the movie's time frame.

I gotta applaud the casting director, the actors and actresses were truly like what I had envisioned when I was reading the book. Overall, I'm hoping for greater things from the second and third movie as their budgets will probably increase considering how well the movie seems to be doing in the box office!

Wore a really casual, comfortable outfit: 

 Scarf Hairband: Accesorize

Inner tank: Giordano

Outer loose top: Giordano

Jeans: Giordano (LOL!!! Only now have I realised my entire outfit consists of Giordano clothes)

Shoes: Pedder Red

Owl Necklace: Ebay

Bag: Louis Vuitton

I also finally got the chance to wear my full makeup after so long. I suspect I haven't worn fake lashes in nearly 2-3 weeks

My holidays have finally started though its only for like a couple of weeks, but hey, better then nothing right? Haven't planned much for the holidays though I may meet up with Esther who's finally on her school break too after suffering for so long. Esther, we must have our ramen date okays?

I'll also be getting an early birthday/Christmas gift from the Bf in the form of an Iphone. My current Iphone is getting all weird with the battery and often switches off claiming that there's low battery when it was showing at least 80++% of battery and I often need my external batteries to "jump start" the phone back on. It's seriously annoying!

With the holidays on, I may clear my backlog of review posts so look out for them! Till next time!

Uta Prince Shoot

It's been awhile since I've done any cosplay shoots as my team mates, photographer and I are constantly busy with either work or school. Even the pictures from quite a few shoots that I've done late last year are still being processed by my photographers, as they're too busy with work to get to them. 

My friends and I did this Uta Prince shoot last year around christmas and after the studio shoot, we changed out of our costumes into casual clothes and purposely headed to a mall to use their lovely christmas decor as backdrop for our pictures.  

 My friends Shiro and Tsubaki, who are cosplaying Ittoki Otoya and Tokiya Ichinose, I'm cosplaying Nanami Haruka.

 I love this mall's basement, they have alot of nice areas to shoot at and the guards are fairly relaxed about us shooting there.

 This picture is becoming my new cosplay card, so get it from me if you spot me during July's Cosfest event!

My favourite group shot of us.

There are many more pictures of the shoot from that day but these are my favourites! Haruka still isn't my favourite character as I find her rather weak in terms of character development and personality but its fun cosplaying her nonetheless.

Speaking of cosplay, I was just recruited into a massive team for the next event. The character is pretty cute and I get to prance around and act all cutesy and pretty as her, my only concern is her weapon, it's a mace that is crazily detailed. Luckily the Bf will be helping me with it, otherwise I'd probably wind up with a horrible quality prop that will probably fall apart in an instant.

I will be cosplaying by myself for day 2 of the event, so I'm wondering which of my characters should I do again? I'm mostly set on doing Alois Trancy again, but anyone got any suggestion to which character I should cosplay again?

Skincare Review: Sana Hadanomy Collagen Mist & Skin Food Carrot Collagen Eye Sheet

I've realised that I've been incredibly slow on my product reviews, so here's 2 quick reviews of products that I've come to love. Unfortunately, there's no before or after pictures of me using the products so you just gotta take my word for how fabulous they really are.

First product is Sana's Hadanomy Collagen Mist:

It seems that the product is pretty well-known as I've seen it being mentioned a few times in other blogs. This is the mini, limited edition bottle which I bought for SGD$10, though it seems to be sold out by now. The original size costs bout SGD$20 if I remember correctly.

Product claims to contain collagen in a fast-absorbing mist, with 3 other moisturizing ingredients combined, hyaluronic acid, acerola extract and honey. Also claims to be free of colorants and mineral oil. According to the instructions, the product can be used at anytime when your skin feels dry with examples such as after a bath or washing one's face or even over makeup for a "excellent natural, radiant setting".

I tried the spray only once over my makeup, which unfortunately caused my Majolica Majorca foundation to slide right off after a couple hours, however, my new foundation does leave my cheeks with some dry patches, so maybe this spray might be the trick to blend it in. However, I mostly use it at night after applying my L'oreal pre-essence and before my other moisturizers. In my experience, the spray does help in moisturizing my face and with its lovely floral scent it's a cool, refreshing relief just before bed.

Texture: Light with a mild, floral fragrance

Recomended skin type: No indication so I assume it should be fine for most skin types

Absorption rate: Incredibly fast, I spray 2-3 pumps on my face and it gets absorbed near-instantaneously

Amount needed: Bout 2-3 pumps will do, I've used it since late last year on a near daily basis and the bottle is only 1/4 finished

Price: SGD$10 for this mini edition (if I recall correctly), the larger bottle has twice the amount for bout SGD$20

Popularity: I've seen it being mentioned in a few blogs and in Japanese magazines. It's also the most popular product out of the entire Sana Hadanomy Collagen range

Options: There's an entire skin care range dedicated to it so if your skin's on the dry side, perhaps the range might be just what you need

Plus points: Free from colourants and mineral oil, and since only 2-3 pumps is needed per application, the original-sized bottle will last for a long time. It also makes for a refreshing skin refresher in the day since the product claims to be small enough to penetrate the skin under makeup.

The other product I'm reviewing is Skin Food's Carrot Collagen eye sheet:

My friend bought it for me during her holiday in Korea, but it's priced at SGD$5 at our local Skin Food outlets. The product claims to contain carrot extract for Vitamin A, marine collagen and royal jelly, all of which help to moisturize and tighten the eye area. The patches are to be placed under the eye area for 30-45 mintues, I watched one anime episode just to keep track of time.

I hardly ever use eye masks, however, with countless nights staying up late for various reasons, my eyes have taken a serious beating. I now have incredibly bad dark eye circles and puffy eyebags, and must depend on the power of a concealer to camouflage the damage inflicted on my poor eyes. So I figured why not finally put this mask to use, since it couldn't get any worse, and I was so glad I did! My eyebags disappeared and my dark circles reduced just after a single application, the effect lasted for about a week with no change to my sleeping pattern.

Texture: gel-like

Recomended skin type: Dry and sensitive

Absorption rate: Instructions were to leave the patches on for 30-45 minutes, I left them on for about 40 minutes and most of the gel had been absorbed by then

Price: SGD$5 a pair in local stores, however, I'm sure it can be bought for far less online or in Korea itself.

Just note that, the sheet isn't very soft and pliable, so it sat on a weird area on my right lower eye area, causing mild irritation with the sheet rubbing my lower lid. However, the mild suffering caused by the sheet was well worth the resulting effects.

I hope the reviews were useful! I'm sorry that I haven't been posting more interesting stuffs lately, but once my last test for the semester is done this week, I can finally start having a fun social life once again instead of being cooped up with my books and notes. I've got so many things to write about soon, so just stick with me and I'll get to them soon!

Till next time!

Going to the Dark Side

I finally fixed my hair round last week or so. I've been needing a hair dye done really badly but as always, time isn't my friend and being bogged down by so many things doesn't help. But I eventually managed to squeeze an appointment in.

Here's the last picture taken of my last hair colour:

I must admit I do miss it quite alot, I really love the pinkish tinge in the blonde. But all good things must come to an end.

With graduation and job hunting looming round the corner, I figured I'd might as well get used to to having a darker hair colour since I'm not very sure where I'll end up working at. My hairdresser told me my hair will still fade out due to my previous bleaching so to get a happy compromise, we ended up with like a ombre/gradient hair colour that seems to be trending.

Dyed the top part a dark brown but left the ends my old hair colour, that's why the blonde isn't that obvious

It's easier to see the gradual change in colour from the sides.

It actually took me a whole week to get used to looking at myself with much darker hair. I still give myself second glances in the mirror from time to time, but I'm getting used to my new look. I also love how my hair appears less damaged now. I can still feel the slight roughness of my hair and there are the occasional split ends as well as flyaways but my hair looks shinier and stronger then it has ever been for a long long time.

I'm just waiting to see the end result after multiple washes, though it seems that my hair can finally "absorb" colours now as it doesn't seem to fade out as much as before.

Style: Fashion X-Treme 2012 S/S Collection

Being a bad blogger again due to the usual mountain of school work, but I shadn't bore you to tears with my usual tirade of apologies and excuses. So let's jump staright into today's topic, The Fashion X-treme 2012 event. It was an event held by Style Singapore magazine and featured the Spring/Summer clothes of brands, Aeropostale, dENIZEN, Dockers, Levis, New Look and T.M. Lewin.

My favourite event partner Jems got invites to the event, so I was his plus one! It was also my first ever outdoor fashion event, so it was pretty unique.

Garden concept for the event, there were even giant faux flowers and lollipops as decor.

Jems, my fashion bestie ever.

Didn't dress up much as I had classes earlier that day, this picture makes my limbs look so awkward :<

Maxi dress: Random shop in Holland Village

oversized knit top: Taobao

bracelet: Flea market find

To be honest, I can't remember which clothing goes with which brand any longer as the whole event started late so the models were rushing around trying to finish the event as quickly as possible. It also doesn't help that the same models were used for all the clothes from the different brands, so pardon me if I get the clothes mixed up. But I do know that I was utterly uninspired by Aeropostale's collection. It was too college-kid for me with the hoodies and denim skirts for girls and simple shorts and cargo shorts for guys so no pictures of their collection here. The rest were far more interesting and inspiring:

I suspect this guy came from the Dockers collection, it was an all male collection with alot of plaids, collared shirts with rolled up cuffs and just basically the dandy style all casualized. Very lovely casual style with abit of snazz to keep the look from being boring such as scarves tied around the neck to keep things interesting.

This lovely lady came from the dENIZEN collection. Love the bright yellow fading cropped top paired with the navy blue jeans. I won't wear this combination as it reminds me too much of my old school uniform, but it is a very relaxed, casual style that's perfect for shopping or just hanging out.

Guy's collection from dENIZEN. Love the quirky print on the tee and the purple cardigan tied around the waist to add a punch of colour. Little details do count towards the whole look.

dENIZEN again, I suspect. The bright red jeans add an interesting contrats to the acid wash denim top, and keeps the top from looking too 80's or 90's inspired.

My second favourite collection came from T.M. Lewin. Ironic since its a menswear company, but who can resist good looking guys who are so well-dressed? Quirky print on the shirt, a bow tie, bowler hat and fake glasses keep this look far from being boring.

The only male asian model for the evening. Also in T.M. Lewin's clothes, I haven't seen guys on the street wearing suspenders in such a long time, the well cut pants keep the look from being too school-boyish but retains its humorous charm at the same time.

Sorry for the extra heads in the picture but I really really like this model's outfit alot. The pop of orange against the grey really caught my attention. Having a model who reminds me of Jake Gyllenhal wear the outfit doesn't hurt the whole look too.

Favourite collection was no doubt from New Look. I loved everything from head to toe on the models, however, some of the outfits were painfully obvious that they were designed for stick-thin waifs and not chubbier hobbits like moi. So I'll just carry looking on in envy at the pretty clothes. Lots of lace, pastels and florals in the collection with all three done right in this combination.

Another lovely floral outfit with blue as the under-lying theme. Gorgeous hat and shoes, I need them in my wardrobe like right NOW!

A twist towards the end of the collection, with darker more rocker-esque inspried clothes in the colelction. Animal prints such as this snake skin print shorts and leopard print blouses were on display. Most of the models also had those half gloves on, a hint to a new trend perhaps?

The event was cute and chic and unique in its approach, however starting 1 1/2 hours late isn't fashionably late, its just downright late. However, it was still a fun experience.

I'll be finishing my exams soon enough, so once I'm done I'll hopefully be able to get on with my backlog of posts, I have a ton of reviews coming up!