Happy 2014

Wishing all my beloved readers a Happy New Year!!!

Alittle Doctor Who cheer for you guys and this quote is so apt:

“Eleven's Hour is Over Now, the Clock is Striking Twelve's” 

Had a family dinner just now after dragging myself outta bed despite suffering from the flu, so here's a quick outfit shot. No facial pics as I just slapped on some foundation and blush and was out the door.

Dress: Katie

Floral laced socks: Daiso

Black oxfords: Rockport

(Hearts to hide the messiness in my room /A\)

Will update soon bout some new posts such as my experience at Comic Fiesta and Baby Metal Concert. In the meantime, have a great new year guys. I'll just be here coughing and praying I get well enough for my shoot tomorrow.

Cosplay Plans for Comic Fiesta 2013

Hey guys, by the time you read this I'm probably in Malaysia chilling out in the hotel or shopping around hahahaha. Anyway, like I promised you guys, here's my cosplay list for the upcoming Comic Fiesta event.

For day 1, I'll be solo as Hime from the manga series, Zone-00. Super girly and sweet with a crazy head full of long wavy hair, I'll probably go mad with her lashes and apply my longest false lashes.

For day 2, I'll be Sayaka Maizono, Super High School Level Idol from Danganronpa. I'm actually in a team with Daisy, so try to spot us if you can.

I was actually supposed to do Trinity Blood for day 2, unfortunately, my costume had a lot of issues, so I scrapped that plan and decided to do something else I already had a costume that was prepped and ready. I just need to style the wig, prep the hair pins and I'm done. 

I'm really really excited as it's kinda like a holiday and event mixed into one, plus the fact that I'll be meeting lots of new people in a different country is adding to the thrill! So like I said before, if you do spot me, don't hesitate to say hi and ask for a coscard, it'll be nice if you say you're a reader of my blog too! Hahaha, but anyway, I'm just looking forward to it!

New Haircut & Colour

I finally got a new haircut and hair dye after much too long. My roots had grown insanely long by then and my previous perm had begun to loosen out from it's tight ringlets to larger loose curls.

After much thought, I decided to go with this colour. However, my hairdresser was worried bout bleach affecting my perm so he decided to just dye my hair instead.

Alien Mode ON!! Whiiiirrrrmsmfbksslbs

After a quick trim, my perm was refreshed and I finally got my straight bangs back.

From the front. It reminds me of Nana Suzuki's hairstyle during her Popteen days

Outfit that day:

Plaid top: Given by Mom

PVC skirt: Murua

Boots: Gift from BF

Vivienne Westwood Necklace: Gift from BF

Winged backpack: Glad News

In the evening, I caught the Movie, The Hobbit: Desolation of Smuag. It was alright, I loved Smaug for how real he looked and because Benedict Cumberbatch voiced him, like but of course LOL. There were some weird scenes like poor computer graphics of trolls running down the riverside, there was like a weird computer glitch or something but it just looked flat and very "cut and paste". I also couldn't take the scene when Tauriel started glowing, like seriously, what the hell was that about?! I literally shouted "WHAT?!" in the cinema when that scene played. I also hoped the ending could have been a little more dramatic, but overall, t's a nice movie and should definitely be watched on the big screen!

I'm now packing for my upcoming trip to Kuala Lumpur for the Comic Fiesta Event, I'll be leaving on Thursday to have some time to walk around and shop and be a tourist. Will update you guys on which characters I will be cosplaying for the event, so if you do spot me, don't hesitate to say hi and ask for a coscard!

License 2 Play 2013

I attended the recent License 2 Play event, held at the revamped Suntec City Mall. It was a fairly small affair, so the people who attended had quite a lot of room to walk around and mingle. Being a gaming themed event, I decided to use one my older game cosplays. Of course, it wasn't a rule that you could only cosplay game characters, but I felt like fitting into the theme.

I re-cosplayed Cinque from Final Fantasy Type-0 because the costume is pretty comfortable, nothing needed repair and I'm still super proud of the mace prop the bf made, despite having used it for a few events by now.

Obligatory camwhore shot

Met photographer Nutcase23 and he took this pretty shot of me

This shot is by KhaiKhai Photography

No matter how big or small an event is, one of the main reasons why I attend them is to meet the many people I've befriended and come to love.

With the people I met that day, smiles all around!!

Mini was cosplaying Professor Sycamore (I call him Professor Hottie) from the latest X and Y series. She brought along this cute plushie that she had gotten from Japan's Pokemon Centre! Pokeball belongs to Zero, who was also cosplaying a character from Pokemon.

Thanks to fangirls and Professor Sycamore being such a good looking dude, there has been a huge amount of fan art of him being portrayed umm... provocatively? Anyway, Mini took this crack shot shortly before changing out. 

I won't be attending the End-of Year event, however, I will be heading up to Kuala Lumpur next week to attend the Comic Fiesta event! It'll be my first ever cosplay event overseas, so I'm super excited and I hope to meet lots of fellow anime/manga lovers and cosplayers there!!

I'll be revealing the characters I'll be cosplaying for the event soon, so stay tuned to find out!

Shopping & Tea

Jo was in town last week so I took the opportunity to catch up with her and to also finally try out this amazing cafe I had heard of for months called, Antoinette Cafe.

Food! Glorious Food!!!!! We were quite full so we decided to share our food, but we didn't realise the portions were gonna be this huge! We shared Honey Baked Ham sandwich that came with super crisp Honey Mustard chips, Crepe with Parma ham, egg and cheese and topped with fresh salad, French style fluffy pancake with Strawberry compote and whipped cream. I also had a pot of Earl Grey d'Antoinette, which was quite light and sweet unlike conventional earl grey teas.

We did some some window shopping after the tea and we wandered into Topshop to have a look. Found some uh... shall we say... interesting(?) clothes from a collection they did with some designer.  Jo and I decided to try some of the dresses from the collection just for the fun of it.

Some Nightie looking dress. Looks pretty decent and might look good with some proper styling

A tunic/top with a crazy print of eyes and hearts. It looks like some kinda disease to me to be honest, or maybe because I detest red dots a lot. 

Some kinda frilly top/tunic, I know it'll probably look good if done some styling a la cult party style, but for now, it just looks like I'm wearing an oversized baby dress

Jo trying out this over the top frilly jacket that cost.... wait for it.... $500!!!! Technically $499 but still!!! It is pretty in it's own way, unfortunately the picture doesn't show just how tacky shiny it is, though I am kinda starting to like it the more I stare at the pic hahaha

Walked around the new Robinsons Building, previously known as Heeren. The whole place is completely different now and though I miss Heeren being a youth hangout zone, it is refreshing to see some life brought back to the building with the knocking down of walls and installing new floor layouts and light fixtures. Took this picture from the 3rd floor of the building as I was looking down at the snow globe installation.

Outfit that day:

Jacket: Jouetie

My Little Pony Shirt: stall at cosplay event

Lace Shorts: Heather

Lace trimmed floral print Socks: Daiso

Shoes: Jeffrey Campbell

Choker: JRunway

Bag: Lip Service 

Work is robbing me of brain power and will to blog once again. I'm just tired every time I reach home and I now wind up eating dinner and then zoning out in front of my laptop, even editing my cosplay pictures seem like such a monumental task now. Even so, I will still update the blog, I just pray you'll be patient with my slow uploads.

Gel Top Coat Review

Ever since I started using Majolica Majorca's gel top coat, I've been a fan. I adore the shine it gives and since then, I've refused to use normal top coats ever again.

One day, I stumbled upon this alternative gel topcoat whilst randomly browsing the display racks of SaSa.

 

It's called Do Best Loujene Gel Nail Topcoat, made in Taiwan and costs only $3.90!!

I figured why not? It's mega cheap and if something goes wrong, not much of a loss made. But this top coat has been pretty decent so far.

Packaging: rectangular bottle in an easy to remove plastic and cardboard packaging and I like that it's clearly labelled that it is a gel topcoat.

Weight: 10ml, decent size for quite a number of applications.

Texture: Thick and gloppy like most gel topcoats I assume, but easy enough to control

Application: Use the thickness to your advantage, don't be afraid to apply quite a thick layer because if you stinge on the amount, you wind up with ugly streaks on your nails. The brush it wide enough to cover the nail, I just use it to guide along the edge.

Drying time: Dries in minutes!!! Within 5 minutes it's done!

Lasting ability: It lost its shine after 3-4 days of normal wear and started cracking around the same time. The nails on my right hand started chipping after 4 days but it could be because I'm right-handed, I'm not exactly sure.

Price: Only $3.90, okay $4 if you wanna be picky. But that price is incredibly hard to beat! Even Majolica Majorca's version cost bout $20 can't really remember but I know isn't wasn't this cheap.

I've switched over to this topcoat since my Majolica Majorca version is nearly done and its getting hard to apply with so little left in the bottle. Of course, the packaging isn't as pretty but it does pretty much the same job and for such a price, I'm super stoked to have grabbed such a bargain. I should definitely look around SaSa for bargains like this next time. 

Shu Uemura x Takashi Murakami Job

Hey guys, there's been some changes in my life that's happened during the past couple of weeks, hence the lack of posts. Firstly, I attended Steph's birthday party, and it was a small but cozy affair with lots of chatting, drinks and eventually winding up at a karaoke place. 

The next week, I did a one-day job stint with Shu Uemura to promote their new Christmas/ Takashi Murakami special. I had to dress in Lolita and Cosplay for the job, and most of the time I abhor these kinds of jobs as I personally find it insulting to use Cosplayers and Lolitas as cheap gimmicks to promote products. However, I did it as a favour for an old friend and ex-colleague from my Shu Uemura days and the products are related since the new collection is very anime based.

 Picture of the huge Light box mural at the store counter. It's actually one model but she looks so amazingly different with the contrasting makeup styles.

  

 The display stand. The makeup palettes are missing as the counter staff was using it on a product demonstration as I was snapping this picture.

Me, on my way to the job location and waiting for the train to arrive. It was actually my first time wearing Sweet Lolita as I used to wear Gothic but never sweet, though I've always admired the style from afar. Everything was generously loaned to me from my friend, Jean.

The rest of the Lolita girls for the day, from left, Kairi, me, Daphne (she cosplayed as Tinkerbell in my Disney Princess team) and Jean (my fellow team member of my Claymore group)

Outfit shot with Jean! Really really grateful to her for loaning me the entire outfit, she wanted to loan me stockings and shoes too but I rejected because I didn't want to dirty or scuff the shoes and stockings are really fragile.

Ribbon Headband: Baby The Stars Shine Bright

Dress: Angelic Pretty

Necklace: Angelic Pretty

Stockings (my own): Grimoire Verum

Shoes (my own): Taobao

Wig: Taobao

Unfortunately, Jean had to leave for Church service so I switched out to my Persona 4, Rise Kujikawa costume instead. One shopkeeper said I looked really cute XD 

With sweet Jean, she looks different as a Lolita, cosplayer and in casual wear. Different but all good in their own way.

With Kairi, who's also a cosplayer. It was my first time meeting her as we had never crossed paths during events before, so it was fun chatting and getting to know her

 

Changed out after a grueling 5 hours standing in our costumes and dresses, facing the terrible heat and humidity and some unwarranted comments from the general public (seriously, it's just clothes, chill  out!). I knew my hair would be a terrible mess if I took off my wig, so I decided to just head home whilst wearing it.

Lace top: This Fashion

Lace shorts: Lowry's farm

 

By the end of the day the promotional song for the collection was stuck in my head. No surprises since it's quite catachy and sung by Hatsune Miku. I also found out that it is actually a legitimate anime directed by Takashi Murakami called, 6 Heart Princesses. The group of us were challenging each other to watch the anime and actually cosplay the costumes shown in the video after we found out.

Anyway, like I mentioned earlier, some changes have occured in my life. For one, I've found a new job for a Japanese hair products company. The job scope is fairly different from my earlier jobs so I'll be learning quite alot of things, it's also my first foray into the world of media advertising. I'm also now working with best friend and sister from another mother, Steph. Yup! We're in the same company and driving each other nuts on a daily basis, though it has its own set of challenges. I'm looking forward to learning new things and getting to annoy Steph everyday, so till next time!

P.S. My new header and background are all thanks to Steph's ingenious creativity and willingness to slave away for me muahahahah! Thanks alot. 

Anime Festival Asia (AFA) 2013 Aftermath

Anime Festival Asia (AFA) 2013 came and went extremely fast but I had a blast those 2 days though I was crazily trying to finish my day 1 cosplay stuff 2 weeks prior to the event. It was a lot of rushing and late nights but it was all worth it in the end.

I cosplayed from the Claymore series and to be exact, as the character Helen from the 7 Ghosts of the North arc. It happens after the anime ends so you only see their outfits in the manga.

Instagram pic of me before leaving Jo's house (she's our team leader) after preparations.

Full team picture, we put alot of hardwork into our swords and armours, even roping in Jo's boyfriend, Rescend, and a couple other friends to help us. Without them, I doubt we would have finished everything on time.  

Credits of the photograph goes to William Tjhin

After all the chaos and hardwork of Day 1, I was glad to be able to cosplay something easier on Day 2. I cosplayed Junko Enoshima from the game/anime Dangan Ronpa. Sad thing was that there was a dozen other Junkos at the event (same with her twin, Mukuro) but I'm glad Mini suggested getting the crown to stand out from the Junko mass. She also gave me this packet of Monokuma sweets that she had gotten during her short trip to Japan. She also helped me to back comb my wig for that more crazy look

Some shots of me that day. Credit goes to Fox Foo for the pictures.

Camwhores with friends on both days. Unfortunately, I coudn't really use my phone on Day 1 due to my gloves and Day 2 my phone batt went flat and I forgot to bring an external charger so less pictures this time. The crowds were also insane, so I didn't get to see alot of friends through the day.

Was able to meet and take a picture with Reika again through sheer luck. Hooray!! Though I again got tongue-tied upon being up close with her. 

I also met a cosplayer from overseas called JayEm, you may have seen his pictures floating around the internet as Ace from One Piece and Gray from Fairy Tail. He's famous for...well.... that body! The AFA management were actually pretty awed by his cosplay as Eren Titan form that they allowed him to pose inside the barriers surrounding the blow up Colossal Titan head! He's the only cosplayer to have been given that privilege and of course hordes of screaming fangirls were surrounding him. 

I saw alot of wonderful cosplays those 2 days but I could only take a couple of pictures.

Fellow Claymore cosplayers!! That King Isley is really spectacular and he's the same cosplayer whom I met at a different event! My team is trying to get him to join us for our photoshoot. 

Can't leave an event without taking pictures of Cvy and Kanasai-san, some of the most amazing local cosplayers. I truly aspire to reach their standard of cosplay someday. They are cosplaying playing cards from the famous illustrator, Saikizo. Can you imagine that all the stripes and plaid were individually hand sewn? Singapore doesn't offer cloth printing services and I saw their work in progress pictures through Facebook detailing their laborious process of creating these amazing costumes and meticulously styling their wigs.

My Claymore team were also filmed by 2 different people through the event. It's really an honour to be able to be part of these event films. 

First video by Rescend. He wanted to capture my cosplay of Junko on Day 2 too, but by the time he found me, I had begun to remove my wig and accessories. Anyway, we did a little skit capturing our Claymore Characters' personalities. It was fun for me as Helen's crazy fun attitude allowed me to tease my team mate. 

This video is by Calvin How from Malaysia. He was really happy to video us as Claymore was part of his to-film list of titles. 

After Day 1's events, we also had a mini birthday celebration for Jo. This event is certainly one of my favourite events out of the many I've attended thus far. Now, I'm looking forward to attending Comic Fiesta in Kuala Lumpur next month. It's going to be my first event overseas! I'm still on the fence about attending End-of-year (EOY) event but I'll definitely keep you guys updated.    

Halloween Night 2013

Been a really bad blogger and haven't updated here for the longest time. Cosplay and laziness kinda got in the way, so apologies there. Gonna blog about my first ever Halloween party though I'm like 2 weeks over due but hey, it's my first time and that's what counts for me especially when my country celebrates Halloween in the most minimal way possible. It's more of an excuse to dress up and party or for kids of expatriate families to have fun, and considering I dress up pretty often as a cosplayer, it's bit of a meh sometimes.

Anyway, I didn't really want to spend much on my outfit for Halloween so I decided to do a Shironuri inspired style and pulling together stuff I already had. Steph and her other friend, Eileen popped by my house to get prepped since the bar we were heading to is walking distance from my place.

My makeup that night. Used white face paint and painted on a gazillion layers to get it this white! I also used red eyeshadow, black eyeliner, fake lashes, double eyelid tape and black lipstick. Everything came out of my makeup box so I didn't need to buy anything.

Outfit:

Top: Gift from Mom (it's a high neck shirt with lots of ruffles and lace, though it's pretty hard to see here)

Belt: Nichii

Skirt: 2nd hand from Mom (she kept it from like the 80's or something, so LOL vintage I guess)

Shoes: Gal Star

Lace gloves: borrowed from Steph

Top hat: Taobao

Corsage (pinned to hat): Can't remember 

Bag: Chanel 

Wig: Blue Whale

Steph did the makeup from one of the KISS band members, while Eileen did her own intepretation of the skeleton girl makeup.

With the lead singer of the band playing at the bar (Can't remember her name). I love her outfit and makeup! 

Camwhore with Eileen

The band played alot of rock classics like Bohemian Rhapsody and some Bon Jovi songs and others I can't recall which bands they came from. The band members also dressed up that night, as Hellboy, Willy Wonka and Monopoly dude. 

Steph won a prize for being one of the best dressed that night! Yay!

My makeup actually started to crack and chip away through the night probably because I alternated between the white makeup and loose powder, but it gave me a broken doll kinda effect. 

It was a simple Halloween party, but it was certainly memorable and fun.