Roses, Filigree & Personal Outfit

Accompanied Steph today as she got a new tattoo to fill in a space on her arm, she got roses and some filigree done which looked amazing!! The tattoo artist, Joseph, was also really fun to chat with throughout the entire process.

                                      

Drafting out the design on her arm

Starting on the outlines and apparently, its the most painful part of the process, Steph's face at times, was contorted in pain.

Taking a quick break after Steph was yelling "Chill! Yo, Chill!" to Joseph rofl!!

Starting on the shading in process, think Steph's arm was numb by then because she told me it wasn't hurting anymore.

Nearly done, looks amazing!

Shading in the filigree and rose at the back of the arm, Steph told me this part hurt quite alot

The end result!! Three beautiful roses with filgree all around it 

It also wrapped around her other wolf tattoo, framing it very nicely. Joseph is seriously talented and he completed the entire tattoo within a couple of hours!!

When Steph was midway doing her tattoo, this guy came in asking for a tattoo of this anime character called Ichigo from the series Bleach, you can see how it looks like here. Despite being a huge anime fan, I'm still not entirely convinced bout having an anime tattoo. I've seen plenty of beautiful tattoos mostly from Sailormoon and Howl's Moving Castle but I dunno, it just seems bit superficial for something that will stay with you for the rest of your life. But it's its body so whatever floats his boat I guess.

On a side note, I took the opportunity to dress up abit for the day, and wound up with this somewhat Lolita style outfit, though it wasn't intentional.

Pussy bow blouse: Osmose

Tulle skirt: Forever 21

Heart print stockings: Topshop

Mary-jane wedges: Rubi

Hair ribbon barette: Salvation army

Charm bracelet (not seen): Dior

I tried to do Zipper style makeup with the intensified blush just below my eyes but I guess it's either I didn't put enough blush or my Iphone camera washed it out or a combination of both. I also used super simple Dollywink otona lashes just to add some volume to my lashes though the camera can't really pick it up.

I may eventually stop wearing iris-enlarging lenses for my daily and fashion wear since I will no longer be using such heavy lashes though of course I will still use them for cosplay purposes. It just looks odd to wear 14.5-16mm lenses when I'm not wearing heavier lashes to balance it out and I find the resulting look plain scary. I'll probably move onto lenses that are 14-14.2mm or maybe 14.5mm but without the black limbal ring so as to appear more natural. Though of course, I'll miss the enlarging effect.  

Camwhore with Steph after her bf, P, came down to meet us for dinner and we later chilled at a nearby Starbucks for abit.

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.