Thursday, March 31, 2011

My Current Favourite Songs 12

My list of songs for the month: Pledge (The Gazette): Been looking forward to this PV since Shiver was out, and I love that its kindda reminiscent of their older music videos, with the black and white colours and playing the instruments/singing in a seemingly abandoned house. Stargazer(Alice Nine): I'm still getting adjusted to Alice Nine's new songs, somehow I just don't warm up immediately to their stuff lately. This video is amazing with the desert foreground and amazing scenery of the changing sky in the background. Though the washed/bleached out effect of the video was kindda irritating, because I couldn't see them in their full good-looking glory. Complication (ROOKiEZ is PUNK'D): Another song from the anime Durarara! Its catchy and interesting but I still prefer the other 2 featured before this. Though it does perk me up whenever I listen to it. Love is War (Vocaloids: Hatsune Miku): I'm using this song to get me all pumped up for the upcoming SOYC event, since I'll be cosplaying the Eager Love Revenge version of Miku, though some people also call it Love is War. I always assumed Love is War Miku wore her standard outfit and just added a megaphone, oh well. The Ballad of Mona Lisa (Panic! At The Disco): Love the steampunk theme!!! Its another subculture style that I adore, though I don't think its that well-known/big in Singapore, the only time I ever saw it was when a cosplay team did an original cosplay of Alice in Wonderland Steapunk version. The song is pretty catchy and keeps reeling round and round in my head now

Monday, March 28, 2011

Personal Outfit 58 (Dinner Date & Test Driving New Shoes)

Went out on the dinner date with the Bf the day before, and I also took the opportunity to have a test run on a pair of boots I had gotten for my Gintama Kagura cosplay. Lets take a look at the outfit first:
Tunic/Mini dress: Lip Service

Black camisole: Borrowed from Mom

Stockings: This Fashion

Multi-chain cross necklace: Taobao

Knee High black boots (Not shown): Taobao


I'm still getting the hang of dressing with my hair colour and Steph gave a me a really great tip, "dress in black" which is pretty handy since it offsets the colour of my hair nicely. And now I understand why Nonoka and other models with super blond locks can get away with thick eye makeup, because the colour really washes out your face so you need strong eye or lip makeup (or sometimes both!) to bring the attention back to your face. I also chose not to curl my hair because my hair still felt weak after all the chemical treatments and whenever I curl my hair, I apply a ton of hairspray to make sure the curls stay put in the midst of Singapore's heavy humidity, which causes quite abit of hair breakage whenever I wash my hair after that. So now you know, why I don't curl my hair on a daily basis! ;)


Anyway, it was a good thing I decided to have a test run for my boots, because when I actually met the Bf, my right heel had broken off, probably because the glue wasn't strong enough. So I hobbled to a nearby cobbler who managed to glue it back, but warned me that I had to be careful with it. Well, he was right, because I could feel the heel starting to come off slightly on my way home. I guess I'll just use it for my cosplay and maybe sell it off after that, since it does look nice though bit uncomfortable to wear for an extended period of time. Lets just hope the heel holds up during Cosfest! Cross your fingers!

Saturday, March 26, 2011

There's a New Blonde in Town!!

Finally got my hair done after delaying any appointments for the longest time thanks to the never-ending array of project deadlines that have been looming before me. I went to another salon to get my haircut, not the one from before because it seems that that guy (I forgot his name), left Singapore to find his girlfriend in Taiwan or something like that. I hope she's grateful because she's denying me the services of a damn good hairdresser right now! So now I've finally got my straight fringe back. As much as I like welcome the change and enjoyed experimenting with different looks with the side fringe, somehow I feel the straight fringe is more "me" and it matches alot better with my new hair colour. I've yet to test the skills of this new hairdresser because I haven't tried curling my hair yet, maybe I'll do it later or something.

Anyway, the day before, Pochi and her bf accompanied me to get my hair colour done. The nasty roots have been growing out so I needed help ASAP! That was when I finally went blonde!

First bleaching session, you can still see the nasty black roots here. Eugh!!

Second bleaching session, its alot lighter now and I could feel the burning sensation from the bleach... oh well, short term pain for long term gain I guess

Washing out the bleach, it was still a nasty shade of orange and yellow, but the hairdresser didn't want to risk frying my hair by leaving the bleach on any longer, so she decided to dye over it.

Tadaah!! The end result! Pardon my face here, I had on only basic makeup and I didn't bother touching up my lip colour after it had been wiped off.
Its still more yellow then I had hoped, so I'm abit disappointed but at least its a step to getting my hair as blonde as Nonoka's. I'll probably go back and bleach my hair again next month or so. I had initally decided to carry on with my previous hair colour becasue I had really loved it, but with the sudden influx of covergirls on Japanese magazines having similar hair colours, I knew it would only be a matter of time before most other girls would start asking for the same hair colour, and I hate being a clone of others, so I proceeded with my next plan. Which was to get my hair like Nonoka's!
However, as much as I like her blond hair with a purple streak down one side, I think pink is still more of my colour, so I'll get a pink streak next time, once my hair is white enough that is. Steph and I talked about it and she's missing her pink hair too hahah! So we may end up sharing a bottle of pink dye and helping each other do streaks in our hair!

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Personal Outfit 56 & 57 (Cosplay, cosplay...)

The last 2 times I actually dressed up nicely to go out were all related to cosplay one way or another. Its definitely a sign that cosplay has taken over my life especially since its left a permanent vacuum on my already thin wallet. Okay, I've digressed from the intended topic, anyway the first outfit was when I went to the recent Haru Bazaar. A super tiny, low-scale cosplay event which was filled with close to like only 10 cosplayers all of whom were newbies that I wanted to strangle at the poor shoddy quality of their costumes, wigs and makeup (or lack thereof..)

Anyway my outfit was something more comfy, becasue I met the Bf later for dinner and to check out the IT fair with him. I have a love/hate relationship with these brown boots, they're comfy and look nice generally, but they make my legs look stumpy and fat and I always forget how slippery their soles are. A testament to how bad their soles are was that I took a tumble just outside Cineleisure whilst walking hurriedly. It was embrassing of course, but I did the usual "get up, check self, dust knees in a cutesy way and pretend nothing happened and walk off" routine, though I did see a guy giving me a worried look as I quickly shuffled off.

Outfit:
Black off-shoulder slouchy knit top: Zara
Tiered floral skirt: Nichii
Brown suede boots: Bought in Shanghai
I was bored of my usual makeup style and decided to try something bit different, so I drew a wingtip liner style with an Anna Sui purple eyeliner pencil I had bought ages ago. I also used a simple white shadow with pinkish tinge as the base shadow. Toned down the rest of my makeup though my fake lashes were my usual go-tos of Dollywink No.2 and 5
The other outfit was when I went out with Kenneth, Joshua, Tristan and Esther yesterday to drop by the tailors to get our costumes done. I'm actually down with the flu but I didn't want to waste a day recuperating at home and feeling the strain of project deadlines and I needed to get a costume done for a upcoming shoot.

outfit:
Fake 2 piece dress: Taobao
Belt: Taobao
Goggles (worn as a hairband): Random shop in Far East Plaza
Engineer boots: Bought in Macau
Yes, I wore goggles out as a hairband. I got inquisitive stares of course, but I'm used to it now. I got the idea after seeing a random gyaru in a MV(I forgot which...) wearing a pair of goggles (probably from Tutuha) as a hairband and the image has kindda been stuck in my mind ever since.
A funny incident occured relating to my goggles. After visiting the tailors, we settled down for dinner in a little eatery tucked in an housing estate, a young couple kept staring at me and Joshua noticed it. He got bit irritated at them constantly staring at me throughout the dinner (I was oblivious on the otherhand), and actually went up to them and told them, "you can stop staring and just ask her about them if you're so curious you know". They promptly stopped staring and hurriedly left the eatery a short while after. I didn't even realise what he had done till much later after making a remark bout them. Haha, nice to have friends who stick up for you!
Anyway on a sidenote, I've finalised my plans for the upcoming Cosfest! I'll be doing Gintama's Kagura the Yoshiwara Arc version with Esther who'll be my brother, Kamui and then I'll also cosplay Alois Trancy the next day, and I managed to bully Tristan into becoming my Claude! Wahahahaha!!! So if any readers see me on those days don't hesitate to ask for a coscard and/or picture! I'll also be cosplaying Eager Love Revenge's Miku for SOY so just spot a large Eager Love Revenge team and I should be there!

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Comifest 2011

*Warning, post is image heavy!

Finally updating about the recent cosplay event I went to. I did go to another event after this but is was seriously small (even smaller then this one), and I didn't bother cosplaying so I won't even mention the last one. Anyway, this event was called Comifest, and my first cosplay of the year, it was really tiny because unlike AFA where we had 2 stories of space to wander around in, this event was held at the same location, but the space had shrunk down to a mere 1/4 of the AFA event space. Cosplayers were left mingling with young couples who were there to check out the wedding fair and career fair that were going on around us.

It was pretty funny to see young women gawking at our costumes because some of us had costumes that could rival the gowns that the wedding fair stallholders were trying to sell. Anyway I re-cosplayed Ciel ballroom ver. because of technical difficulties with my current other costumes, and this one fit me the best anyway.

Anyway, fun pics of the event are up first:

Bumped into a friend at the event

Made a new friend too, I think she's a newbie into the cosplay world because she was very nervous bout asking for pictures and kept asking her friends how to pose.

"Family " portrait, haha, the other 3 cosplayers are from the series Inazuma Eleven ( a football game/anime) and the guy was a saikang (helper)

My friends and I had a laugh when they made me pose next to the mannequin decked out in a wedding dress. Did I mention, alot of wedding stallholders were sneakily taking pictures of my costume, and I overheard one lady saying, "I want a gown like that!" Wahahahah!!!


And now the nice pictures, its because my photographer took awhile to pass them to me, that's why this post is up so late *glares*:

Hijacked a wedding display for my shoot location. Hey, I wasn't the only one, there was a cosplay couple who spent the good first half of the day just sitting there and taking pictures, I was there for 20 minutes max!

Another pretty shot

Last shot from the hijacked wedding decor area
The next 2 photos are from a different photographer (thanks Nicholas!), credits to him:
I love this shot, He actually took it when I was taking a break and sitting down at a staircase

This shot is one of my favourites, he stuck a flash behind me to get the effect

I also met a reader of this blog at the event (Hi if you're reading this!), and sorry that I didn't have any coscards on me this time. I'll definitely have some for SOY!
I also made friend with a newbie cospayer whom I managed to bully into becoming my male prop for a photoshoot and a cosplay. So he's gonna be the guy in my Just Be Friends shoot and Claude in my Alois Trancy cosplay. hahahahaha, I finally get a butler to boss around!

P.S. I'm still worried bout the nuclear crisis going on in Japan, its seriously terrible that they're facing not just one but 3 disaster all at the same time. So try and donate if you can, if not, you can always play this game: http://freerice.com/ they give rice for every correct answer you get as you play the game. It donates rice not just to Japan but the world over, so you see, there's always some way for you to help!


P.P.S. I also just read this site: http://www.facebook.com/notes/jun-shiomitsu/japan-quake-as-seen-from-twitter-translated-by-me-so-quality-questionable/10150121176733830 and the stuff that other Japanese are doing to help their fellow countrymen warms my heart. Read it, if your heart can no longer take seeing the images of devastation. The stories of how people help each other warms me to the core and shows just how every person's actions can affect many others.

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Send a Prayer...

I initially wanted to update about my recent cosplay event but its importance pales in comparison to the suffering and woes of the people and animals that have been affected by the recent tsunami.

I've never been a deeply religious person but tonight, I'll pray to whoever is listening, for safety for the living, that families can be reunited and that the dead will be at peace.

I know it isn't much but it's better then acting like nothing happened and it's reminded me just how fortunate I am to be living in a country that is hardly affected by natural disasters. It also reminds me just how short and fragile life is, so learn to live but stop to help along the way too.

Monday, March 7, 2011

Personal Outfit 55 (Steph's Epic Tattoo!)

Accompanied Steph today to get, as she puts it, her "epic tattoo" as its the largest tattoo she's gotten so far. It was pretty interesting to watch the tattoo getting done up close, since I've only seen the process on TV. Its kindda made me feel like getting my own tattoo even more but considering I'm doing alot more cosplays these days, I don't think I can afford the cash or to bother concealing it for events and shoots. So maybe next time...

Anyway check out the process of her wolf tattoo:

The beginning of the tattoo, the purple parts are the guidelines for the artist
The first part done

Second break, the wolf looks alot fluffier now

And 4 hours later, the awesome result!

Wore a comfortable outfit (luckily too, because we couldn't find the location of the shop and ended up walking around blindly for abit):
Prada Blazer: Salvation Army (Score!!)
V-neck white shirt: Giordano
Denim Shorts: Cotton On
Stockings: This Fashion
Leopard bag: Jimmy Choo
After Steph's encouragement and my aunt giving me a red lipgloss, I finally got to try out red lips. I really like it and it's different from my usual look. My mom complained the red was too bright though and the Bf doesn't like dark lip colours because he equates it to older women makeup.
I do like my look with the red lipgloss and its definitely a whole different spectrum form what I'm used to. But then again you're only young once right?
P.S. I'll update bout my day of cosplay soon, once the photographers pass me the pictures

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Personal Outfit 54 (Finally!! A Day of Dressing Up!)

Last weekend was the first time I actually dressed up and went out ever since my school started. It was nice being able to doll myself up but because I was pretty tired out I decided to wear a simple maxi dress. Easy to maneuver about in, comfy and yet looks great at the same time, what more could I ask for?

Outfit:
Maxi dress: Random Shop in Holland Village
Black bag: Random shop in Bugis Village
Wedges (not shown): Random shop in Orchard Central
(Great, I just realised I can't remember the exact shops I got my entire outfit from)
Yay! Curled my hair again after so long!! And to answer my dear readers who replied to my fringe post, I'm currently letting my fringe grow out to a side part, I may cut my fringe back to the blunt bangs again, but we'll see. Ah crap, I just noticed my eyes look bit wonky because of my fringe... >.<

I'll probably be attending the local cosplay event this Saturday, but because my new costumes haven't been finished yet or I'm not totally happy with it yet, I'll probably be reusing my old costumes, so I'll probably be Eager Love Revenge Miku (if I can get my megaphone by then) or Ciel Ballroom version again. Which would you guys prefer? Hahah

I'll also be switching up my makeup abit, I've decided to step outside my comfort zone and dabble in looks that I'd been fearful to try till now. So far the results have been better then I expected so I'll unveil them soon!

Till then take care guys!