Sunday, May 26, 2013

Life's Busy But Cosplay Makes It Better

It's been over a week since I last posted and with work piling up, I doubt I can post any quicker in the future. On a good note, I've been given a permanent position in the current company that I work for, there's also been a slight pay raise, though not much but still a raise's a raise. However, as a permanent staff, expectations are higher and the workload is more intense but I still enjoy my job.

To destress, I've turned to my hobby, Cosplay! Hence, the reason for my lack of updates as I spend most of the weekends doing something related to cosplay or spending time with the bf.
Helped Selicia and Mini during their recent shoot, here's a pic of them getting ready. LOL I can't help but to always be amused at Selicia's insane antics.

During the shoot, this is pretty much the first (and probably only) time I'll ever see Mini all girly and sweet, since she usually cosplays guys thanks to her fantastic jawline. We also "stole" the verandah from about 5 other real wedding couples, all doing shoots on the same day.

After the shoot, Selicia with her funny antics once again and Mini looking so pretty while I look like a hot mess after running up and down all day and no makeup except for loose powder and eyebrow mascara

The whole team, mini, Anthony (the photographer), Kosmo (another assistant), Selicia and me
The amazing power of makeup!! Selicia with just base (darker foundation for the tanned look) on the left and with everything else on the right side. Look how scuplted her cheeks are and how much larger her eyes look with just eyeliner and eyeshadow

Last weekend, there was a rather small event but being rather deprived of attending events and figuring I could meet some friends there, Mini and I decided to cosplay together. We also particiapted in the Cure Walk onstage, though I won't be putting the video here as I feel bit embarassed bout the whole thing >_<"

Selicia coslaying as one of the main characters in the super funny anime, Axion Saga. Mini and I were cosplaying from Penguindrum, we're planning to have a shoot for it soon. The photobomber is a photographer whose name currently eludes me LOL

Camwhore with my amazing partner for the day, Mini always looks so good when she crossdresses

I also finally got to do a shoot of my own, I haven't had a shoot since my Final Fantasy Type-0 versiona dn was itching to do one for awhile now. I'm also planning to do one more solo shoot soon.

I cosplayed the character Q from the series, [C] The Money of Soul and Possibility Control. My right eye refused to cooperate and kept tearing causing my lower lash to come off and the eyeliner to run quite abit during the shoot but it was still fun.

Here's a pic of Mini and Selicia during the shoot, with "F*ck the rules" poses because they have "money", my prop money to be exact LOL.

If you notice, one person from my cosplay "gang" is missing, sadly Esther's currently away due to her studies and we miss her lots. So to keep her updated we always send pictures and videos of our shoots and events, it's also incredibly fun to rewatch the video whenever I'm feeling down. It helps me to rememebr that I have such lovely friends and a hobyy I really really love.

Saturday, May 11, 2013

Makeup review: Daiso Eyeshadow

I had heard great things about Daiso's eyeshadows from my cosplay friends so when my Facebook was going nuts with them spreading the news that a new shipment of eyeshadows had landed in Singapore like wildfire, I knew I had to give it a try.

I decided to give 2 different palettes a try:

The plastic is obviously cheap but it does have some weight to it and hasn't broken so far, the sponge applicator is quite rough so I never use it.

The colours are pearly white, dark brown, gold and grey-black. Judging from the sheen, they really live up to their name of being "Pearl in" eyeshadows. There are no large glitter chunks and the shadows are finely milled making it easy to apply with my makeup brush. I now use this palette for all my makeup needs as the colours are suitable for day and is buildable for night too.

The other palette I got was this purple version, I wanted to see the difference between the two palettes and I needed purple eyeshadow for a character I'm planning to cosplay soon. 

The plastic is alot heavier and sturdier compared to the previous palette but it only has 3 varying shades.  

I haven't actually worn out the eyeshadow yet so this is my first time trying them. The shadows felt rougher then the above palette but the colour was alot more intense as it only required one swipe of eyeshadow to produce the intensity in this picture whereas the other require 2-3 swipes before the colours were obvious on camera. there are large glitter chunks in it, especially the darkest purple shade, so I'm bit worried bout it possibly irritating my eyes if the glitter somehow got in. The white shadow has a purplish tinge to it, so it can double as a highlighter on other parts of the face if applied subtly.

Best part of the purple palette, it has an in-built mirror! There were also 2 sponge applicators that are thicker and softer.

To be honest, I was bit apprehensive bout the shadows because I was wondering just how good could $2 makeup be? However, I was proven wrong! The colours are subtle enough in real life but cameras are able to capture the colours with amazing clarity in pictures, so now I use them all the time for my cosplay makeup. Comparing them to my more expensive brand name eyeshadows, of course in terms of packaging, it loses out, but in terms of quality, it's almost on par and sometimes far exceed the brand name versions.

Basically, if you ever see these eyeshadows on the shelves of your nearest Daiso, just grab them! Trust me, you won't regret it, and even if you do, hey it's just $2.

Monday, May 6, 2013

Personal Outfit (Cloth Shopping & Play Watching)

Was out on Saturday buying cloth for an upcoming cosplay that I'll be debuting during Cosfest. My friend, Kosmo, kindly showed me around Arab street and the Textile Centre as I'm not really familiar with the place, I tend to stick to Chinatown for my cloth buying needs.

Wore this comfy outfit there as I expected and did alot of walking around:

Purple hair tie: Can't remember
Lace dress: Cotton On
Purple Cardigan: Cotton On:
Grimoire Verum-inspired Butterfly print stockings: Taobao
Creepers: Taobao
Badge pin: Katie (forgot to take a closer pic, will do so next time)

Slightly better look at the stocking print. My creepers are insanely comfy, they're now my new fashionable walking shoes 

Carried my new winged backpack, good thing too because it was extremely useful instuffing in my buys, I actually filled it to the brim!

Makeup that day, wore Dollywink No.2 lashes, no lower lashes, Canmake pink cream blush with Candydoll blush over it, highlighter, nose contour and slightly more pink lip colour. Didn't use bronzer though since I noticed most Cult Party girls don't contour much and actually prefer the rounder, more baby-faced look.

My buys for the day were lots of satin, cotton, chiffon, 3 different kinds of lace, 2 different bias tape and one roll of ribbon. Cost me close to $100, my wallet is cyring so bad right now. Anyone wanna guess which character I'm cosing?
Met my mom and sis for dinner, we ate at my favourite Ramen Champion and I had one of my favourite options, the amazing Bario Ramen. So sinful with the rich pork broth but sooooo yummy!!!

After dinner, we window-shopped abit before heading the the Drama Centre to watch:

The Importance of Being Earnest! Play written by one of my favourite writers, Oscar Wilde!!! The original flamboyant dandy and this play clearly reflected his personality and wit so well.

The play was so so good!!!! I was gripping my sides from laughing at nearly every single line and the actors were wonderful in their renditions of the characters. It was so witty and had plenty of satire, I just couldn't help but to laugh aloud. I also have to applaud the director's choice in having an all male cast for this play and none, not even the the "female" characters were cross-dressing during the duration of the play. The cast all wore Victorian-era styled suits in a simple setting with minimal props, but I could still witness the chemistry the actors had together and they were so convincing as lovers. Despite the more modern take on the casting, the use of a string quartet during and in between scenes helped to remind the audience that this was written in an era of classical music and rich excesses. I really applaud the entire cast and crew for such a wonderful show and how it's helped to take a leap forward for the LGBT community.

Thursday, May 2, 2013

Personal Outfit (Cloth Shopping & Friends)

Went out with my friends Mini & Esther last Saturday for some cloth shopping and to spend some time with Esther before she heads off to USA for 3 months of study. I'll miss her alot especially when she won't be around for some upcoming cosplay events but I'm looking forward to teaming up with her again for other events.

Used the outing as a chance to wear my new clothes in the style I'm heading to, I think its rather mild but when we accidentally bumped into another cosplay friend, she thought I was heading for a fashion shoot or something.

Shirt: Rinka X Sweet
Skirt: Forever 21
Jacket: Jouetie
Lace trimmed striped socks: Daiso
Creepers: Taobao
Curled my hair and wore my fringe as bangs for the day. Also wore a few other accessories to spice up the outfit.
Circle sunglasses & choker: Taobao

 I'm busy trying to prep stuff for Cosfest and other solo plans, but I'm mostly stressed out over my job confirmation. I've been on probation since entering the company and with it ending, my confirmation is coming up. My manager assures me that I shouldn't really have to worry about it but its still nerve-wrecking to wonder if you're officially in the company or not. I pray everything goes well and if it isn't too much, I also hope I'll get a pay raise, because sometimes I feel I'm being kind of overworked for my pay grade.

Hopefully things go well for the rest of the year. In the mean time, I'm currently addicted to the anime/manga Shingeki no Kyojin, really brlliant and exciting, definitely worth checking out.