Personal Outfit (Here Comes the Sun)

Just when I was getting used to snuggling in warm cosy knits and drinking lots of hot tea, my country's weather decides to troll me and bring out the blazing sun without even a single cloud to mercifully block the sun's blinding heat rays.

So I had to rethink my outfit when I recently had a date dinner with the bf, but before we get to that, lets take a look at all the yummy food we had that evening! Isetan was having one of their usual Japanese food fairs, so we took the opportunity to look around and taste some samples, I'm now regretting not getting a croquette but we enjoyed a few other things.

Bf's Tonkotsu ramen above and my miso ramen. The soups were thick, salty and rich with lots of springy yellow curly noodles, I love curly noodles, I hate having those straight noodles in my ramen. The soup were quite rich, so much that we were really gagging for water after enjoying them.

Delicious hand made dango. They were each bout the size of a ping pong ball, we ordered our favourite sweet soy sauce version and decided to try out this seaweed version that I had never seen before. The seaweed version was savoury with the salty seaweed and soy sauce coating, while the sweet soy sauce version was sweeter but not as sweet as some others I had tried before. It was almost like eating salted caramel. It was also the first time I got to try real handmade dango and they are soo different from the machine ones, the dangos are chewier but softer and I could sometimes feel abit of the rice texture whilst chewing. 

Also shared lovely soft ice cream, in melon and green tea flavours. I loved the melon but the bf wasn't a fan of the sweet, fruity flavour, the green tea was nice too, it wasn't sweet but had just the right hint of bitterness.

I ended up wearing a more casual outfit that day, and I also used it as the perfect excuse to finally use my new peach/pink Uniqlo blazer as well as my Vivienne Westwood X Melissa heart heels. I got the blazer because I loved the soft pastel colours and it reminded me very much of Rienda's cardigans.

Blazer: Uniqlo

Oxford shirt: Uniqlo

Denim shorts: Cotton On

Heels: Vivienne Westwood X Melissa

Bag: Rebecca Minkoff

I know it's difficult to see in the above picture but my inner oxford shirt is actually baby blue with white polka dots. I'm quite addicted to Uniqlo's collection of oxford shirts, I have another in ivory with dark blue polka dots. I'm actually still tempted to get more but I know I'm just being greedy.

Lighter makeup again, I layered orange powder blush over a pink gel blush to create the perfect peach colour. Didn't really style my hair other then putting it in normal curlers for awhile, just to give it some volume.

I managed to find out the name of my obsession: Zakka. That probably encompasses the entire vintage, wooden, retro feel of the pictures and clothes I currently adore. Or maybe not quite, since Zakka is quite a loose term, but still, it's nice to put a name to it. Some consider the style simply as Natural style or Casual Natural, I'm not sure what's the difference but all I know is that I like it and will probabaly look deeper into it over time.

Personal Outfit (Finding Myself Again)

Today was the first day in ages that I was able to dress up how I wanted to, do makeup and style my hair. It had been months since I last got the chance to do so as I had been so stressed out from my previous work that the thought of even bothering to dress up to go out felt like it took as much effort as running a marathon.

It's been pretty chilly in Singapore lately so it was the perfect excuse to dress in a more autumn inspired outfit:

Hat: Lips Enterprise

Cardigan worn as top: mystic

Shorts & belt: Spiral Girl

Stockings: Can't remember

Bag: Esprit 

Didn't feel like going all out gyaru for a simple date but I did contour my face and wear my most basic top lashes

Lately I've been getting the urge to dress in a looser, more relaxed, earthier style. I just don't feel like bothering with heavy lashes and short, sexy outfits right now, perhaps I'm growing out of the look or its just a phase but whatever it is, I feel quite at peace with it.

Picked up a copy of Used Mix today. I like the relaxed silhouettes, simple makeup and sweet hairstyles.

Now that I've got the time, I've been going through my backlog of anime and my current obsession is this anime called Natsume Yuujinchou or Natsume and the Book of Friends.  

The story is light and heart warming despite dealing with some pretty heart wrenching issues. The anime uses a very soft, muted colour palette so its quite easy on the eyes too. I've powered through the first 3 seasons and about to start the 4th and final season, gonna be quite sad when it's over. The last time I felt so peaceful while watching an anime was probably the Nodame Cantabile series.

My most recent obsession has been following Lomo photography on Instagram. I'm not sure what exactly it's called but the primary focus tends to revolve around food, flowers, wooden furniture and tableware, scenery etc. Here's a couple of examples:

Pics taken from Instagram

Looking at these kinds of pictures just seem so peaceful and heart warming, and perhaps they're the reason why I want to dress in looser styles lately, since the majority of these people tend to wear clothes that are relaxed with an earthy tone. I've also been drinking alot of brewed tea recently, probably due to their influence too haha.

This year is truly a change for me, I got out of a situation that was draining me mentally and emotionally, causing me to develop a rather bad temper which caused me to lash out at people I love over stupid reasons. It took alot of courage to decide to stand up and walk away but I'm glad I did, the sense of empowerment and peace is something I've never felt before. 

I'm also finding little things to be happy with instead of constantly nit picking at things I cannot change. I'm again learning to take delight in very basic things such as drinking hot tea on a cold, rainy day, listening to french music whilst walking down a shady path, watching animals go about their business and reading, oh how I've missed reading. Of course, things will eventually change but for now, I'm just enjoying this simple happiness and peace that I haven't felt in my heart for so long.  

My Exercise Regime

A couple of people have asked me bout my exercise regime when I mentioned it in the past so I'm gonna show you what I do for my own personal workout routine. I must admit that I am no expert and different people's bodies work differently so what may work for me may not always produce the same results for others.

Here's my general routine:

I do this "Sexy Leg Workout" which I found on the Internet. It's great to also use as a warm up and it really works your legs and abs. I started slowly and tried to complete each exercise as much as I could before building up to the stated number of reps. Before this, I used to do the "Hunger Games Workout" but the trainer seems to have removed it from her site, it was more basic stuff but a good introduction to exercising.

Once I'm done with that I move onto my favourite workout, dance! I use the videos by this Japanese dancer, Miume as inspiration. She's a professional dancer and has done quite a few competitions as well as dance videos and performances for Nico Nico Douga. She often dances to Vocaloid songs but she has tutorial videos on K-pop songs too. She has an official Youtube channel but for some reason, most of the videos have been removed lately, but no worries, it seems quite a number of fans have uploaded her old videos on Youtube anyway.



My favourite dance workout is her dance of Kyary's PonPonPon song (this version is sung by the Vocaloid Kagamine Len), its crazy fast so you really work up a sweat trying to follow her movements. Her partner in this video is called Melochim, he's also quite a popular dancer on Nico Nico Douga and his dance style is quite bubbly and fun.

My second favourite dance workout is her dance of Vocaloid's Romeo and Cinderella song. It's faster and more intense then PonPonPon, but a nice song when I start to get bored. Her partner this time is a dancer called Kimagureprince, his movements appear more professional but I kinda prefer Melochim's bouncier style.

The point is not to actually try to memorise the dance steps but to simply move as much as you can through imitation, though with time, you will get better at following their movements. I just find the songs keep things light hearted and fun which removes the chore of having to exercise, plus I've always admired how lean dancers' bodies are.

I also run on the spot on the balls of my feet for about 1000 steps whilst watching an episode of anime. The anime keeps me distracted so I feel the fatigue later and often, I finish the 1000 steps before the episode ends, so I simply continue and I wind up doing at least a few hundred steps more then intended. Just be careful to not hurt your ankle by landing wrongly whilst running on the spot.

To encourage myself to work out more, I find it alot easier when I set goals. However, do not use weight as a goal for you will wind up gaining weight as you build muscle as muscle's denser then fat, so your body will be toned and trimmer but you'll end up weighing bit more then previously. I used to use some slightly tight clothes as my exercise goals to encourage me to tone up to fit into them but my latest goals this year are cosplay-related as they require me to shape up and look really trim or I'll wind up as a laughing stock amongst the character's fans. 

 

My main motivator is Julia Starling from the game, Lollipop Chainsaw. She's a cheerleader, so there's no excuse to look flabby nor is there any room to hide any bulging bits with her revealing costume. I'll probably be cosplaying her during this year's STGCC event. 

Another character to motivate me is Harley Quinn from the game Arkham City. I'll also probably be cosplaying her during STGCC, her costume is also very unforgiving as it's made of skin tight PVC as well as a corseted bustier.

A trick I often use is to incorporate exercise into my daily routine, I will run/walk/play with my dog or do household chores like mopping the floors. Carrying bags filled with tons of groceries and walking home with all that weight also helps to tone your muscles and improve your endurace.

Sometimes, I use weights for my arms and back but my main rpiority is to tone my stomach and thighs, so once I've reached my desired shape, I'll probably switch my routine abit to tone all of my body instead of just a few key sections.

My Makeup Bags (Work Bag, Fun Bag & Cosplay Bag)

My makeup bags are constant companions that I make sure to bring along with me where ever I go. They're the main reasons why I can never simply carry a tiny purse that can only contain a credit card and some cash, I use bags that are so big that I could probably fit an entire kitchen sink in nd most of the time, my makeup bags take up about 1/4 of the available space.

My makeup bags are split into 3 varying versions, depending on the activity of the day. I also tend to pack them the day before or after I've applied my makeup, just to ensure that my lashes don't end up flying off or to touch up my lip gloss and stuff. So Let's take a closer look at them:     

This ws my old makeup bag which I got from the Cher brand mook bout 2 years back. It's certainly been through alot as the colour was a much brighter blue, the inner lining is also starting to tear, so I knew it was time to move onto another bag  

This is the fun/play bag, tthe one I take out when I'm shopping and stuff. The bag is Cecil Mcbee and it usually contains things to simply touch up for the day:

lash case with glue (case from Muji)

Gatsby oil absorbant facial wipes

Lip gloss (current favourite is from Elf brand)

Lipstick (current favourite is this limited edition shade from Anna Sui)

Palgangtong Loose powder

Pocket mirror (Gift from Steph from the Egg Store in Japan)

This is my Marc by Marc Jacobs work bag, which usually contains my entire kit for my basic neutral makeup as I've overslept a few times and had to apply my makeup on the run. This bag is good to simply grab and go and I can apply everything within 10 minutes flat. This bag usually contains:

Covermark cream concealer

Gatsby oil absorbant facial paper

Cezanne powder foundation

Sephora highlighter/under-eye concealer

Kate brow mascara

Heroine Make Impact frame & Curl mascara

Sana Super Quick eyeliner

Majolica Majorca Blood On lip & cheek tint

Korres lip balm stick

Elf lipgloss

Palgangtong loose powder

Mini Burberry Brit perfume

makeup remover stick (was a non branded $2 lucky find)

Pocket mirror from Egg Store

My last makeup bag or should I say bags, are these Anna Sui bags that contain everything I could possibly need for my cosplay. The larger bag is A4 in size so it's pretty roomy

The smaller bag usually contains my base items like primer, foundation and stuff. I try not to bring it along to minimise the amount of stuff I bring to events or shoots but sometimes I wind up short on time to apply my base makeup. The larger bag contains everything I will need for the cosplay look for the day including bronzer, highlighter, eyelid tape, an assortment of eyeshadows that change depending on the character I'm doing and an assortment of makeup brushes. I also make sure I bring along my handy Franc franc mirror and sandwich it between the bag to make sure it doesn't break during transportation.

 As you can see, I try to minimise the amount of things I bring along with the exception of my cosplay bag. From the above pictures, you could probably see what are my current makeup essentials haha.

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On a personal note, I've quit my job. I won't go into details as there were a variety of reasons that made me choose to leave, but as people say, when one door closes another opens. So I'm looking forward to moving onto bigger and brighter things in my life. I feel like 2013 is a year of change for me, so far I'm trying to maintain my happy notes jar (I put in little notes of what things that made me happy on a daily basis) and now I'm trying The Secret method of reaffirmation and telling the Universe what I want by writing it 10 times a day. I know it sounds bit out there but there's no harm trying and I find it useful in reminding myself on what is my current goal.

So let's just see where life takes me 

Recent Cosplay Shoot

On Sunday, Esther, Mini, Selicia, Steph and I all had a cosplay photoshoot at a studio which we booked for the entire day. The studio was massive so it was easy for us to shoot multiple series all at the same time without really needing to fight for space.

(Stole this pic from Steph LOL) A background shot of the photogrpahers testing out the equipment and Selicia happily doing her makeup haha

Steph and I had planned for months to cosplay Nana, such an oldie but a goodie.

The resulting look! I used my own hair for the shoot as my colour was suitable for Nana Komatsu, also affectionately known as Hachi, or like many people like to call her, the dumb Nana LOL. Steph looked amazing as Nana Osaki!!! 

It was quite a relaxing shoot as the series didn't require complicated poses. One of the photographers even told us to simply chit chat while he snapped us as our natural selves, which I think suited our cosplay just fine as our personality are kinda similar to our respective characters. I'm just not as dumb and naive as Hachi.... at least I hope not.... O_O

Eventually, Steph had to leave due to family reasons and I changed out into another cosplay, just as Esther, Mini and Selicia were halfway through with their Amnesia shoot. My second cosplay for the day was Matryoshka, Zebra and Hashiyan version, I cosplayed Hashiyan. Do check out the video:


The song is pretty much meaningless though the rhythm is quite catchy in its own zany way. Esther and I had previously done a night shoot for it last week but we thought we could do crazier poses at the studio. Unfortunately, due to time constraints, we didn't manage to though we did get some good shots.

Esther looks really good as Zebra. Cosplaying Hashiyan is also my first time actually crossplaying a proper guy, Alois and Ciel don't count as I was cosplaying Ciel crossdressed as a girl (confused much? LOL) and Alois looks so boyish he's almost feminine.

Mini looking hot as a character from the series Kuroko no Basket, I forgot which as I don't follow the series. I shall be envious of her fantastic jawline for life

Selicia also cosplaying another character from Kuroko no Basket. She looks sooo bishie.

There was also an entire chalk board wall in the studio which makes it a pretty nice backdrop for many series as you can easily draw alot of things on it. We didn't get to use it in pictures this time as it didn't suit any of the series that we had cosplayed that day, but we had fun drawing all sorts of things on it through the day.

The "=3" drawing was already there when we entered the studio but the rest were drawn by us. Steph drew the pink "NA" letters as we had the idea to shoot against it but it was rather tiring to draw such large letters, she later drew the cat and Vivienne Westwood orb for fun haha. The other drawings are inside jokes LOL

Unfortunately, the left side of my face was bit swollen and puffy all day due to my wisdom tooth. I'll probably have the dentist take a look at it soon as its causing me a shit load of pain and I can't really chew properly now, even drinking bubble tea today was horrible as I coudn't chew the pearls.

I'll be unemployed for awhile pretty soon due to various reasons, so hopefully that'll give me more time to update my blog at s faster rate then currently. In the mean time, I'll try to post whenever I can so thanks my dear readers, for being so patient with my inconsistent posting.

Happy 2013 to All

 A belated Happy New Year greetings to all my dear readers! I know my blog has shifted alot from how it first started but I'm still grateful for all of you who continue to read about the random and weird things that happen in my life.

Here's a Pusheen new year greetings to you guys:

Too cute!

For my readers who are more into anime/Vocaloids or simply enjoy some eye candy, I found this picture on my Facebook just recently:

 

Kaito looks bishie as hell here, so does Len

This year was the first time I actually spent my new year's day with people outaside my family. Usually we just watch the countdown on TV then head to bed, nothing fancy or special, but I was invited to my friend's party and it was too enjoyable for me to bear to leave, so I wound up spending the night over and ushering the new year surrounded by lots of laughter, craziness and general merry-making.

Stole this picture from a friend haha. Can't remember what we were cheering for but whatever,,, it was fun

 

Picure of most of the people who attended the party... minus the birthday boy and some friends as they had gone bowling :( If you're wondering where I am, I'm the one in the red shirt with a gold pin in my fringe looking awful as hell after a day of work and sans makeup. Don't judge!

It was certainly entertaining to be surrounded by hyperactive people flinging each other around and just laughing till my throat felt so sore. It was especially nice that everyone at the party was connected to cosplay in one way or another be it doing photography or a cosplayer.

I used to wonder if I was doing the right thing giving up gyaru fashion to cosplay but as the years go by and as I meet people and become friends with them, I've come to realise that cosplay is one aspect of my life I have no regrets about. I've never met a truer bunch of people who welcome others with open arms, of course there'll always be politics, bickering and gossip but it's one part of my life that refreshes my soul and always cheers me up no matter how much I suffer for it.

Oh gosh a light post ended up with me pouring my soul out damn! Sorry for digressing, so my dear readers, I just wanna wish you guys again a happy new year and hope lots of luck comes your way.

How did you celebrate New Year's day?