Fabric shopping & Skincare loots

P/s: Reposted from my dayre account which is super dead and used only to try make mobile blogging more convenient but as it turns out, there is no easy way to transfer the blog entry from Dayre to blogger and I had to screencap each photo –_-; This was about last saturday 21st dec.

Today is Sunday but I wanna talk about Saturday which is yesterday !

I love Saturdays! It's the most 'free' day of the week for me and unless I have something on, I will usually sleep till noon! Some times even 13 hours wagahha. Some people might disapprove my sleeping habits and deem me lazy ( which I won't deny xD ) for sleeping in but hey! Sleep is mighty important ! I never get enough sleep on weekdays so I'm recuperating on Saturday! 可以睡觉就要睡!

I went to Arab Street yesterday for fabric buying. After an hour or so of lingering and wondering , I finally bought a fabric.

I didn't managed to get the other fabric I was hoping to get for Elsa :( Yes! I'm gonna cos Princess , um no QUEEN ELSA from Frozen!!

 

 

 

Kyoukai no Kanata ep 12 ( final ) fangirl rants

OK Spoilers alert! If you haven't watched episode 12, don't read!

Edit: Added more rants because I forgot them in the original haha

The final episode means end Liao T. T so sad :( why do they not make longer Animes anymore ? Series these days are getting shorter and shorter. While I appreciate the non- draggy story pace , I could do with more KNK moments><

I honestly liked ep 12 and was so glad Mirai came back at the end. I might cry if she didn't eventually ended up with akkey. Lol. 

But I must admit it wasn't as good as I hoped for it to be. Maybe ep 11 had surpassed my anticipation and had ended with such a blast both cinematically and emotionally that episode 12 seems rather bland and haphazardly put together. 

There were attempts to inject some light hearted moments into it such as the part where they yelled at Beyond the Bound lol. Typical KNK silliness but I'm glad that joke was only pulled once. 

I did however liked and was surprised at Akkey's very direct confession at the beginning. I love how KyoAni animated the couple's little reaction subtlety which made the scene more romantic and lovable. Reddening ears are cute okay ! Hahaha. And I was like way to go akkey! Get her !!! Hahahha

Hiyoooo I want more Mirai and Akkey larhhhhhh >w<!!! *fangirl wimbles*

I also liked how akkey was given a lot of attention and scenes this episode. Letting him confront his inner darkness was a very nice touch since in most episodes he was treated as a clown. I must admit I like Boys like Akkey who is usually calm and nice. So it makes the akkey with darkness that he so desperately wanted to contain double empathetical. 

I did however felt that portion was done too hastily with out enough emphasis on the solemnness of this emotion. Akkey's calm demeanor to his inner fears were applaudable and sets him apart from other anime characters who would probably go berserk.  But without a more melodramatic reaction from him prior ,the significance of the calm demeanor is reduced. 

And why did Mirai return ?! Let me rephrase. HOW DID SHE RETURN ?!!? Didn't she say she would disappear as she ceased to exist ?! Damn! This needs another season to explain! I DEMAND MORE KNKKKKK!!!! 

OH! AND WHY WAS THERE NO LAST/FIRST KISS? NO HUGS???? WAIIIIII I was so ready for their lips to lock or for them to chest bump but it never happened =(

That's good on certain level too I guess =\ Since that leaves much to the imagination lol.However I do want to commend KyoAni for keeping the Anime so Fanservice free! Despite the multitude of opportunities, I never once saw a panty shot. No up skirt, no lewd scenes.... even though Hiromi and Akkey have pretty weird fetishes that they openly declare . Okay and that bikini scene but generally its very Safe for Family! LOL

Shopping loots & random WIP

Been so mentally held up with work and stuffs that I just can't find the time nor mood to blog. Anyway I met Vivian for dinner yesterday ! 

Haha she is very crazy as usual. Love her company ! 

Bought Bio-essence eye serums. They were having a Christmas promotion and this bundle pack cost me only $39.90! It usually cost near $60+ for two. So this is a steal xD 

I already have a bottle of their lifting serum but its running out so I guess I should stock up now xD I'll do a review soon ! 

My neon green translucent tights from eBay are here! I'm intending to make fairy wings out of them, lets hope that works T. T

Also , my latest batch of Taobao costume have arrived! It will be a long while before we can actually shoot this costume because the 3dmg will take forever to make sigh. 😩 But yeah, these days I've really taken to buying costumes instead of making. I have no more time and my time is getting increasingly more expensive. So now, I exchange cash for effort ( buying costumes). 

Maybe I should do a makeup tutorial first! 

This is the blade of a sword I'm working on. It's for a new costume too but propping takes forever for a noob like me :(

Here's an old WIP of another prop I'm working on. It's for Lee Syaoran from CCS! I've coated the handle with a few layers of modge podge and have since this photo, sprayed them gold. I think tonight I shall assemble everything together. I think I need to double up my pace !!!! 

Oh I bought ZA's pressed powder again. My annual Christmas pilgrimage is their Christmas bundle of a special edition foundation case and 2 pressed powder and a little pouch. I don't like the mustard yellow pouch but I like the green tint on my foundation case xD 

Also bought a lovely concealer and blush from Daiso

Isn't the packaging pretty ><?! I wish I could yank out the product and put my own stuffs in. This concealer is pretty goods shall review soon! 

And then the pink blusher from Daiso too. It's actually pretty good and natural looking. 

I think this is the blusher from this set. Well either that or it's from the 'peach' blush range. 

I now have all the blushes from the princess range -_-;;; I wasn't intending to buy this many ><|||

But I forgot I had to attend Macau Government Tourist Office's thank you party the other night and had to rush to buy makeup to put my face on =_=||||  

Anyway, I'll end my rambles here. Talk more next time ! 

Hostel review: A-yado Gion (Kyoto, Japan)

Name: A-yado Gion Hostel
Address: A-yado Gion, 3F Sakura bldg, 244-2, Nakano-cho, 2 chome, Shinm, Kyoto, Japan
Tel: +81-75-531-5489
Email: info@ayado.net
Website: http://www.ayado.net/english/
Nearest Bus stop: Gion. Take bus 100 or 206 from JR Kyoto Karasuma-chuo-guchi bus bay D1 or D2  
Nearest Railway: Keihan Gion-Shijo St
Nearest Attraction: Hanamikoji Street (this is where the Geishas work) & Yasaka Shrine
Price/night : varies according to date (1250Yen – 2500Yen)

Review: Bourbon Alford chocolates (Japan)

Snack name: Bourbon Alford CHocolates

Price: roughly sgd$1.3 - sgd$2+

Brought from: Random snack stores in Kyoto & Sydney

First chanced upon this chocolate at my Kyoto Hostel (Ayado Gion Hostel) 's pantry. They sold for 100yen which is very affordable and I bought myself a pack as a reward for successfully traveling cross state in a foreign country by myself xD 

Anyway as far as I've seen, there is a minimum of 3 flavors. Milk chocolate, Chocolate and Matcha Chocolate. 

Taste review: 

The chocolate is smooth, relatively rich and fragrant. Admittedly it's not as rich as high end chocolates but its definitely decent. Not the sort with a lot of coco butter that's for sure ;)

As pictured, it comes embedded with a biscuit. The biscuit by itself is plain and soft and doesn't really seem like much. But I think it compliments the chocolate very well. Especially suitable for people like me who doesn't really like very sweet stuffs. Funnily, I didn't see the matcha flavored one in Japan, instead I saw it in Sydney Australia xD 

I've tried all the 3 mentioned flavors and found them to be pretty tasty. They also comes in party pack! So check them out the next time you see them, they are worth the money. 

Disney's Frozen "Let It Go" Sequence Performed by Idina Menzel

I've been feeling very stuck and humbled lately. Okay, make that, for a while. And anyone who knows the meaning of that word would probably also know how I feel.

I feel less.

I'm still trying to get out of it and I know I eventually will because nothing last forever. I feel like I'm desperately reaching out to catch something but like snowflakes they melt as soon as they touch my palm. Maybe it's just pre-menstrual emotions I don't know haha.

But this song from the Disney Movie "Frozen" seems like such an uplifting and empowering song. And I look forward to reaching that stage soon =)

Akatsuki no Kuruma (acapella cover)

Just uploaded another vdeo of my cover for Akatsuki no Kuruma. It's a very pretty insert song from the popular anime Gundam SEED!

ANd don't mind my face, I know I make weird faces when I sing T_T This is why my old covers usually don't have me and only have my voice. But since I recorded them for NHK ( eventually I only choose to submit 2 ), tadarh, you see my big face haha.

Oh by the way guys, all future vocal covers will be uploaded to my personal/beauty Youtube account =) Please subscribe there okay ;_;

Yakusoku no Kizuna (Kyoukai no Kanata insert song) (Acapella cover)

You guys know (actually I don't think you do but erm ok), I've been very obsessed with this insert song from episode 6 of Kyoukai no Kanata xD SO i did a cover for it while I was filming my video for NHK.

Speaking of which, I took part in NHK's We love Japanese Song 2014 contest. Submission is over but now it's time for voting! The videos with the highest vote get selected to be screened on their New Year Special program. While I know I likely cannot make it that far, I'd still like to let you guys know you can vote for me LOL

CLICK HERE>> My Rendition of "Nee" by Fujita Maiko. This is the opening of Hiiro no Kakera. 
I can't even begin to explain how much I love this song and Fujita Maiko -_-;;; This is like my go-to song whenever I'm on the train or commuting. Maiko-san's voice and the lovey-doveyness of this song is so <3

CLICK HERE>> My Rendition of "Suteki Da Ne" by Rikki. This is the theme song for Final Fantasy X.
This is probably the first song I've ever publicly performed.


Oh by the way guys, all future vocal covers will be uploaded to my personal/beauty Youtube account =) Please subscribe there okay ;_;

Review: Leaders Insolutions Mask ( AC Dressing)

Price: Leaders Insolutions Mask ( AC Dressing)

Bought from: Gmarket ( for sale in Watsons & Guardian in sg)

Price: $1.5 - $3

Rating: 4.5/5

Introduction: A friend of mine loves this particular mask and even gave me a red packet masked in one of these used mask packet for my birthday xD  If you don't understand what I describe , it's okay x.x

According to my research online, this mask helps in soothing skin irritation and redness. Relieves troubled and sensitive skin and supples moisture. 

Texture: Pretty much the same as the other Insolutions masks.  It's loaded with product and adheres to the skin very well. It doesn't drip either unlike some other masks. It has a slightly stingy effect and smells more medicated when its applied to the skin. 

Effects: My skin is significantly soothed out and surprisingly fairer! And my face stayed healthy looking the next few days.

Pros: Effective in perking up tired skin and pumping moisture into the skin. 

Cons: Difficult to buy and might be expensive if it's bought from the stores 

Conclusion:I have found a new love. While the Aloe Vera mask was good for soothing & calming very sensitive skin, AC Dressing is fabulous for skin with mid range problems. 
I hadn't had much chance to sleep for a while and my skin was definitely showing it. It was dull, saggy and dry. After using this, my skin was very much better! It became more supplied, fairer and healthier. 

I would definitely order more of this soon and use them as yet anther emergency rescue product xD 

Hotarubi no Mori

Finally finished watching Hotarubi no Mori. Reiko had raved about it  when the short video came out in 2011. When I went to Animate @ Ikebukuro in 2011, they also had a shelf to promote it. 

Learn more about the show here -->> http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hotarubi_no_Mori_e

I'm a fan of Natsume Yuujinchou so it wasn't difficult for me to want to watch it. It was however difficult to find time to sit down and watch. I'm now on flight back from Sydney via Scoot Airline. Budget airline has no free inflight entertainment and I have to bring my own.  So I watched this video that I've transferred to my laptop eons ago to watch on other flight trips. 

It's freezing btw ><|||| And i can't wait to get home to my familiar bed. 

And I'm so thinking of changing to a Macbook air. The battery life of my Sony Vaio is atrociously bad :(

The story was very straight forward. There's no twist and no awkward characters. There is however awkward relationships and situations. And the ending leaves you with a deep sigh on your lips   . The video is only 45minutes long. 

Ok spoilers alert! I'm gonna start talking about scenes in the show now ! 

Is it just me or does the beginning feel a little awkward ? Lol the word pedophile kept popping up in my head xD Hotaru is such a lively little girl though. 

But it was nice to watch their interactions and growth in relationship. Gin feels like such a gentle guy. 

I especially feel both weird out and touched ( such contradicting emotions ) at the 2 different scenes when Kid Hotaru and Teenager Hotaru was joking that " this feels like a date" and Gin responded so differently each time. 

Ahhhhh I think the scene where gin responded cutesy-ly "ahh yes it is a date~" to Hotaru was very cute. Aiyoo fangirl tokidoki moment ! It helps that he looks like Natsume xD <3

I cannot make up my mind whether if the ending was abrupt or well timed. 

It seemed well timed because Gin had finally had the chance to invite Hotaru to the Spirit's Natsu Matsuri and the longing-ness and maybe even loneliness in him was taking over him. So the ending though unsatisfying , was timely. 

He said he couldn't wait for another summer ... I wonder what that meant. Is his spiritual body giving way ? 

The part with him passing his mask to Hotaru and then kissing her on it was so beautifully done too T. T so simple yet so touching. 

On the other end, the ending felt abrupt because well I don't know ... I guess I just think more can be told about them ? *shrug*

I was half expecting an evil yokai (demon spirit) to appear to harm either of them and then places Gin in some unexpected situation of touching Hotaru. But it had to be him helping a random child who was tripping -_-; I think if I was Hotaru I would be pretty pissed with the kids for randomly running around. 

I think Hotaru is amazing. She is so in love and had so much courage to go beyond all odds. Even thinking of moving there (which I assume is a rural area ) so as to be closer to Gin. That's a lot of sacrifice, courage and blindness all rolled into one. The logical part of me felt so twist up watching them because I know there can be no true happiness for them because of their fundamental difference. Sigh. 

But I guess like they say, love is blind. And this is fictional. 

That said though , some times Animes make me feel meh. 

Its like a slapping reminder that even a 2d character has a more interesting life than me lol. 

Thor 2 - The Dark World

Watched Thor-The dark world last night and it was goooood! Let me disclaim that I am neither a Thor nor Loki fan. I mean, the first movie was boring. Thor didn't have a lot of scenes in Avengers and Loki was so weak in Avengers he shouldn't have dared to call himself 'god' =_=;;;

BUT this movie changed things xD 

The entire movie was filmed beautifully. I guess the difference for this movie was that most of the scenes were in Asgard (Green screen FTW!) and the graphics were as usual of most Hollywood productions these days; breathtaking. Thor and Loki were given more chances to exhibit their fighting skills. And Loki exhibited that he was entirely capable of handling a handful of Dark elves with just a dagger >_>. And I never knew their mother was also a warrior herself with powers to make illusions/tricks. Jane FOster also had a much bigger role this time which is welcomed since women are always sidestepped in american movies.

There were many scenes this time also made the actors looked so charming *_* Fans of Tom Hiddleston/ Loki will be delighted at the scenes he got. This time, I myself feel a little smittened by the 2 actors too *_* <3

The storyline was relatively easy to get and while the converging of the 9 realms was technically a fuzzy thing to explain much less present on screen. The show managed to display the teleportation nature of the portals that form when convergence happen pretty well. I love how they even made comedic effect of it.  

And oh, there was so many unexpected funny moments in the movie that was very welcomed.There was a big twist towards the end which I shall not spoil xD

Post Japan syndrome

Ever since returning from Japan, I get by almost every nights with my head nodding off at the table. Found it so difficult to do anything, I haven't even managed to go through all the videos and photos shot!! Either that or I was in such a lousy mood I was watching Anime to escape from reality lol. 

Anyway I blogged about the International Drama Festival in Tokyo. I have a tone of things to talk about I just wish I have the time to get everything out. 

This trip has been such a fun adventure and I woke up everyday thinking to myself " I'm having so much fun!" . Kinda makes coming back to reality double sucky :( 

On the side note though , Japan's climate made me break out. I'm not sure if its the dry weather , the creams I used to counter the dryness, the daily thick makeup or not cleaning my face thoroughly enough each night @-@ I'm sure it's a few of them all together blehhhh 

So if there's anything I enjoyed as soon as I came out from Changi airport and that's the humidity. My skin , my eyes, my lips felt relieved instantly. The natural humidity in the air that no amount of facial mist can replace xD 

I have so much things to say and to blog about when I go about my day. But when I get down to sitting in front of my laptop I turn so frustratingly inefficient :( either nothing comes out or it takes too long to produce -,-; I haven't been touchin my costume stuffs either !

There's too much distraction ! And I'm having a headache now T. T

Also my toothache has finally forced me to visit a dentist yesterday. The dentist said I have no choice but to do root canal :( sigh , that is easily $2k out of the window T. T guys please help click on the ads !!!! 

Review: Wrinkle Plus (Super Lip Repair)

Item Name: Wrinkle Plus (super lip repair)
Price: 248 yen
Bought from: Drugstore in Kyoto

Like I mentioned in my DHC Lip cream review, my lips and skin was really not adapting well to Japan's dry climate. I got increasingly worried when 2 lip balms later and the pain/ dryness was still not subsiding. 

I saw this product on sale while on my usual Drugstore pilgrimage. It was the first night of my Kyoto trip and as all the shrines in Kyoto close by 5pm, I didn't have anywhere else to go but Kyoto Central. I wanted to fully maximize my time and daily bus pass you see xD 

You can read more about my Japan trip when I blog about it ! But anyway I digressed x. X;

Anyway I randomly picked up this product because it claimed to be very good. 

Texture:
Very smooth and glides onto the lip. Product can be a little hard in Japan's cold weather and it needs to be applied with your finger.

Color: 

Appears translucent white in the jar, applies clear.

Effects:

This has got to be the best product I bought in Japan. I bought this a week after being in Japan and after using a makeup remover that my skin was allergic to.

Meaning to say, I used it at a time where my lips were really not in a very good condition. They were not flaking yet but my lips was already feeling like sandpaper(little bits of dried skin on top) and the sides had cracked slightly. My skin & lips have the habit of turning red and painful before it starts flaking and my lips were at that hurting stage.

I had used the DHC Lip Cream for 2 days without much help but the moment I rubbed this unassuming looking product onto my lips there was an instant hydration. The pain was gone instantly and i felt so relieved! Granted of course, the effects are not permanent and

you still need to constantly apply it 

Pros:Highly effective and affordable

Cons:Jar design makes applying a little troublesome. Now I just kiss the surface of the product instead of using my fingers ahaha

Review: DHC Lip Cream

Name: DHC Lip cream
Price: 498 yen

Bought from: Drugstore in Japan

After a few days in Japan, it was clear that my skin and lips were not adjusting well to Japan's dry climate. I had to constantly apply lip balm and was coming to the end of the tube, digging the product out with my fingers -__-

Naturally, the logical thing was to purchase one in Japan.

I bought this at a discount from one of the many drugstores in Ikebukuro, Tokyo. It was highly recommended by a friend xD

Texture:Smooth and creamy but not as lubricant as I expected.

Colour: Appears Yellowish in the stick but applies clear.

Packaging:DHC has never been known for fancy designs. Instead they opt for a very sleek cylindrical design in beige and sliver colour. The product however is almost half as much as usual lip balms.

Effects:
Moisturizes the lips averagely. Well it could be the fact that I have very dried lips and I'm used to using very creamy formulas like Nivea's lipbalm henceforth I found this product disappointing. Especially after comparing it's price which, after discounts is still higher than most lip balms.

However I have friends who swear by it, saying it hydrates their lips very well and does not give them any allergic reactions. So my opinion stands solely as mine. 

Pros:Reputable brand known for producing products without too much additives. Less likely to cause allergy reactions I guess.

Cons:Expensive, very little product and not moisturizing enough for very dried lips. Likely will not re-purchase. 

Colourful pastries !

The neighbourhood stores around my neck of the woods is selling colourful cakes like these!

Bought the rainbow cake and is pleasant to find out that each layer of the cake is individually flavoured xDDDD

My week last week

<St>I always seem to end up blogging here on Sundays. xD maybe because its usually the only slow day of my week. </St> Okay, so I ended up finishing this on Wednesday. Sometimes I wonder where did my time go to -__-;

I overslept today ( last sunday) and totally missed church :( feeling pretty damn mweh and guilty because I was up till 5am last night editing the elf makeup video. Not at all a good reason to be missing church for. 

Video of transformation here.

Check out this Before & After makeup comparison. Such a big difference I feel embarrassed /_\

Spent the previous few waking hours trying to understand some SNS stuffs and trying to draft my Kirito sword. I feel like crap whenever I prop because my propping skills are horrendously poor. Also feeling a little ashamed of myself for not spending more effort into my prop making skills despise cosplaying for more than a decade. But I guess to give myself some credit , I did focus more on dressmaking :( but now that I have decided to buy my costumes instead, I suddenly feel a weird sense of regret and waste. Like all the lousy skills I have been levelling the past decade is suddenly irrelevant :(

Anyway, enough of the emo crap. I'm more than happy to buy costumes because now I suddenly can Cosplay a lot of the characters I always wanted to but could never muster enough resolution to make xD 

But now I'm stuck with the props /OAO\|||| *flips table*

I bought mahjong papers to help me draft my swords and I felt so badasses holding it like a weapon xD

All the costumes I bought I always choose to make the weapons myself. Partly to save money and mostly  because because because because.... I don't want to be labelled as  a pretty face cosplayer />_<\ nooooooo~~~~~

Though I'm beginning to regret my choose -,- 

*slaps self * kaika snap out of it ! You've decided and its time to stick to your decision! BE A MAN! 

But wait .... Why should I be a man ?! I'm a woman ! 

Ahhhhhh but never mind I think I get the drift I am typing. Do you understand my dilemma and nonsense? Comment and let me know ;( 

My Gakuen from taobao came but I think the fit is wrong :( 

My Daiso loot last Saturday. The brown sugar banana chips is awesome !!! I highly recommend it xD