Dead or Alive:: Ayane | Photoshoot

With 2015 finally coming to an end and were waiting for the big bang of 2016. I'm trying to catch up on all my post - which I might as well give up on TBH LOL

 

I don't even know if I'll be able to do a 2015 review. Though I WILL TRY ahaha. I'm definitely looking forward to 2016. Namely to a full booking for Katsucon. With this prospect looking good, I might try and head to Anime Weekend Atlanta next!

 

But before we digress any further, a throw back to the set from summer!

 

 

Lens shops that still takes Paypal!

With the sudden rise of many major circle lens store switching from NONE-paypal payment to direct credit card payment. Many people are weary about purchasing from these stores for fear of fraud charges on their accounts. And for many of us in the US our cards are held or suspended transactions until the bank hears from us saying - please process.

Heres a list of circle lens stores that still takes PayPal and I have bought from them before and haven't had any hiccups with their transactions.

 

Kawaii Love Beauty: One of the few sellers that's actually based in the US. Most of their plano lenses ship from their US warehouse but prescription lenses tends to take a while to process since they have are being shipped from another region and not in the US.

 

Limited selection of lenses but great for those who prefer gyaru style lenses. If your looking for cosplay lenses and are in a pinch, I suggest the geo tri-color series (or any of the tri color series which they do carry)

 

 

 

Kiwiberry1: I use to shop here a lot for all my lenses since their usually pretty good about promos (they do them quite often but it just basically negates the shipping charges for the most part)

processing time is average like most sellers. Same with shipping.

 

Has a good selection of lenses and carries a lot of the older lens series (staple geo series)

 

 

Love Shipping Holic: does a lot of promos and code promos if you google up bloggers.

I haven't ordered directly from them myself but have only done so through group orders.

So far so good. Has a wide selection of lenses, MAKEUP, lashes and etc!

 

Does promo for express shipping, they do ship from Malaysia I believe.

 



 

Uniqso: Another website that does alot of sponsorship with alot of bloggers, so if you just google real quick its pretty easy to find 10-15% off coupon codes from bloggers.

Another one that has a WIDE range of cosplay lenses, especially cosplay centric ones like Tokyo Ghoul and etc.

 

Also has wigs, wide range of makeup and lashes selection. Basically your one stop shop if your a cosplayer. I hear they ship faster to the EU region than they do the states. I ordered from them once and it took ave 1-2 weeks??? Shipping was DHL. 

Kantai Collection: Kancolle | Akagi 赤城 Photoshoot

 

Costume, props, photo & editing: Chris | Black Heaven
Worn by: Trish

 

Funfact: When I posted this set online, Ironically it was on 12/7...

which marked to be the 74th annv. on the attack of pearl harbor. The ship in question; the Akagi  赤城

was the flag ship that led the attack on pearl harbor.

 

Quickly following the Fire Emblem shoot we did, the girls quickly got out of costumes and switched to RWBY and League of Legends Heart Seeker Ashe but by the time they wrapped up and changed the sun had already set on us. This was a big learning curve for me to have to be forced to shoot in the dark. Again thankful to our helpers Trish and Anthony of Bits Photography for teaching me a thing or two about shooting in pitch darkness! 

C/N: xXSnowFrostXx 

We had to use our phones and flashlights to light the way for the shoot and use it to light a focal point in the cosplayers pose/costume and target our cameras at that, pray and hope we got the shot we want ahaha...trooper again to Cindy for climbing that tree trunk in heels!

I dont have any BTS to show for this one since it was nearly impossible to get any since everything was pitch black. We had 1-2 sets of slave flashes to help illuminate the set. 

 

Fire Emblem Awakening Cosplay Shoot

Its almost the end of the year and I'm trying to play catch-up to all the entry back logs I have...

Also yay updated the layout. Let me know if its annoying/bad since I know it does the pop-up thing now per page...But I digress, lets flash  back to the 'beginning of summer' LOL AKA July right after AX when my Florida bbs came and stayed with me for a few days and where we managed to do some on-location shoot for a few of their costumes. Yes!

All props and Costumes done by the lovely cosers!

Sumia - Cindy (XxSnowFrostxx @ Facebook)

Tiki - Mari  (Puri Puri Cosplay @ Facebook)

both fan-pages are linked on my FB album :D

Persona Cosplay Shoot

Notorious for backlogs coz I'm just awesome at that, lets flash back to July when we did the impromptus Persona Shoot where I managed to drag newly made friends to a dark sketchy parking garage with me to shoot lOOO

I'M PRINTED!!!

 

 

I'm pretty sure I speak for everyone (ok, maybe not) that their dream as a cosphotogapher is to get their stuff printed and recognized right? Well, some of us just dont quite have that luxury.

Some of us dont have 10k LIKES on Facebook or big social media presence to really warrant doing a photo print book - but I question, why not? Why not just do it to do it!? Ok, maybe it sounds really stupid but I cannot express just how amazing and gratifying it is to see your work on print. Wide or small distribution or not, the idea to be able to tangibly see your collaborative project on print is just too exhilarating.

 

Hair post: Getting your hair grey/silver & maintenance

Here we go! The post I had been procrastinating on for months loooo I finally sat down long enough (on a friday night nonetheless) and wrote this up. Including ample amount of selfies coz why not.
This is your basic bitch guide on how to get dark grey hair and maintaining it. Welp. And nope, you don't need to be a level 10 blonde - pale afk blonde to those of you who dont know hair levels....to get the same gunmetal ashy grey charcoal shit my dead locks have been rocking. Lets get to it.

AX 2015 RECAP

Forever backlogged on entries! I'm not sure how long I've put off putting this entry together only to realize I don't really have much photos to post from AX lol...since I don't think I did as much as I thought I did or just didn't document as much of it...sy sewing and working on projects, Hopefully I'll be able to que up some entries of them. I have locked myself in the house for weeks ahaha and have skipped a few summer cons LOL (worth) gearing up for big projects to come tho!

But onto the entry~

Card Captor Sakura Wallet

Wow some of the photos turned out pretty dark but you get the idea :x

 

I'm honestly not one to buy wallets on a regular basis (and I mean like, you know how some people go through several wallets through their lifetime just like how most goes through purses or something) but really, I'm just not the type to wonder off to the wallet section of stores thinking 'oh I need a new wallet' unless my current one is dead or dying or just impractical for use lol...

 

but with that being said, my current one has been taking a beating and before it goes through more of a beating I figured its time to let it take a break for a while so I was in search of a new replacement. One that I wont cry over once it starts to fall apart....but also be cute afk coz why not.

 

This design came out a while ago, probably about a year ago.

I have mixed feeling about anime oriented designs tbh but glad that in the recent years

they've released more and more items designed for the anime fans but not so much as it screams cheap weeb status.

 

So with that said, took the plunged. Finally got a new wallet.

I got mine off eBay but you can get them through taobao and other US sellers.

 

The parcel came in after a few weeks (well, considering I got it for less than $20 vs other stores. I would wait) it was well packaged. I was surprised that it even came with its own box.

normally sellers would just wrap it up in a envelope and ship it to you wrapped in bubble wrap.

but  glad to know the wallet came with its own hard box and inside the hard box it was wrapped in  paper to protect it from chaffing as well. Wow. good job!

 

 The wallet comes with a wristlet strap incase you want to wear it as a clutch
Sturdy textured material
lots of pockets on the inside
I didn't note it there but the zipper is a nice metal zipper with the Sakura's wand on it.
A lot of compartments and separators in the inside of the wallet with a coin holder inside too.

Size wise, its a good sized wallet. Pretty big but if your a person with a lot of cards and etc
I think this works well. I put a size comparison on the photos as well, its basically the same size as my Vivienne Westwood wallet. Its definitely the type that has to be put inside a purse lol...or I mean you can put it on your wrist.
Theres enough room for you to put your iPhone inside if you want to. It fits my HTC Desire Eye phone (if I take the case off if not it still fits but can be bulky)

Insta-dump June :: July recap

I'm terrible and I dont know how much out of order all this will be because I am behind again. AX has come and gone and I think the last post I did was basically post fanime....lol...and well we're well into August so heres my recap for June-July. I know I'll probably put up a more legit AX recap post...though I dont think I did /that/ much... so I'll probably put some of the AX stuff here since I don't think theres much  to warrant a full on post...maybe.

UNIVERSAL STUDIOS

Blog is really due in for a facelift but wow much lazy...I'm not even consistent enough with entries to really give it much though but it'd be nice to atleast change things up...ugh...maybe eventually I'll get to it uwu;; I still got a few review lenses to do but ahaha...yeah... about those ):

 

again those are on the bucket list of things to do / address and whatnot...you'd think with school being over for the semester that I'd have more time?...yeah right, time just seems to be so valuable but it always seems to fly out so quickly. Not to mention I've been in need of some major potato-mode to recover for how insane schedule has been the last few weeks with Fanime, Finals and well this yolo trip to Universal (a few weekends ago but wow still not recovered ahaha)

 

 

 

Fanime 2015!

I just want to start with wow! Its been *such* a long time since I've really enjoyed myself at a con :)
I miss everyone so much and post con depression is hitting so so so so hard lol.

Trying so hard to stay awake at work right now too....lolol

This is surprising that I'm even writing this so soon since normally I give it MONTHS before I can actually sit down and do my con-report but since I'm still in vacation mode (despite being back at work) ahahaha I wanna pen this down as quickly as I can before I loose out more precious details uwu;;

Colour Pop!

艶漢 | Adekan Photoshoot

Just got back from Fanime! And wow, such a quick turn around on photos this time ahaha.
This is probably the only shoot I really did during the con :x (and I ain't even mad aha) I'll be posting my con report shortly after this but I need to pat myself in the back for getting these out rather quickly and thank you Lynn for putting up with my nonexistent schedule and making time to shoot :D  really love Adekan~ Hopefully I can be more active again in the future huehuehue.

April | Hiking

フェイト／エクストラ [セイバー] | Fate Stay Extra Saber Progress

 

 

Some progress - behind the scene stuff on how I am making my Fate Stay Extra Nero Saber Cosplay.

This post is mostly going to consist on how I made her boots armor. Click 'read more' to see the photos~

 

 

My Hair Care Routine & Color Maintenance

Wow, finally writing this entry after pushing it out for forever.
If you've been on my friendslist since forever or have known me for a long time - or simply be following me on any of my social media platforms you can see how much my hair has gone through so many changes! Click 'read more' at the bottom of this to get to the nitty gritty of things!

***beware image and very text base heavy***

And I am back! | そして、私は戻ってきた

ok, kinda not really but its been a month since I last posted and I guess its time to do a monthly recap or whatnot. Few things I wanted to blog about but haven't had time to really sit down and do much...

to be honest, when I get initated with stuff I just want to shut down and not do anything lol --- don't we all? JK....

I'm barely floating by with school work and with each passing day we're closer and closer to mid terms (or we're probably there already but I chose to ignore it LOL) and we're also closer to Fanime -- which also ultimately means end of term...ahaha....oh...am I seriously just jumping ahead of myself :X but anyways lol click 'read more' below this for the after cut/rest of the post....

EDIT: WHOOPS I DIDNT REALIZE I HIT PUBLISH AHAHA I THOUGHT I LEFT THIS UNDER DRAFT MODE WOOOO

2015年2月19日 | Happy Chinese New Year

New beginnings and new changes. If you've kept up with me on social media (twitter and etc) you probably know I just moved (again) and hopefully this time permanently. Atleast give me a while in this place ahaha before I pack up again and leave! LOL

Vegas but not really

My not-so vegas entry /:
whut. Long story though...

2015年2月5日 | Catching Up

 A shorter catch-up post before I get caught up in another super backlog. Nothing exciting...

again, hit read more for the rest of the entry~

San Francisco Trip & Catching Up

 MY LONG AWAY MINI VACATION - NOT REALLY VACATION FINALLY HAPPENED AND WELP. LET ME JUST SAY WE'RE THE WORST TOURIST EVER. SUPER LAZY Q.Q

BIG PLANS WERE MADE AND DID THEY HAPPEN? WELL, WHO SAID IT WAS A REAL ITINERARY AHAHAHA

Anyways, I'm finally trying to play catch up again =3= schools back in session but I feel its definitely a lighter load in comparison to what I had last semester so I'm hoping to take advantage of this semester and try to get some stuff worked on~~~

Also will be moving this month again ): ugh so tiring...=3=;; kinda glad I didn't bother to get super settled in???

hit 'read more' to catch up~

하백의 신부 | Bride of the Water Gods Commission Notes

The SF blog post should technically go up before this one considering I went to SF first before finishing this commission ahaha...but...oh well, out of order posts...

This is my 2nd (or 3rd commission) for Ruiki already and this was more or less one of those commissions we've talked about and had planned and was going to kinda-sorta-do and it just kinda came down to the wire that 'oh, were actually doing this' type of thing so we should probably rush and get our heads together and make it happen LOL!

Bride of the Water Gods is something I'm familiar with, I remember reading it a few years back but falling out of the radar, I admit the art and the style is simply gorgeous - who doesn't love some old fashioned Hanbok x Hanfu style period costumes??? I do I do but I admit their not easy on the wallet especially if you want huge big costumes which requires a good amount of fabric and whatnot.

----more rambling and photos under the cut---

Taobao Agent Review | Taobao Mode

Coming at you guys with a new review for a new Taobao Agent! This was my first time using Taobao Mode. I was  contacted by them several months ago about an affiliate program (see banner on the side :D!) I've used several other taobao agents in the past so this was my first time using Taobao Mode. I've used Taobao Ring more often in the past but figured why not give this new agent a try.

Los Angeles Free Museum Day

I'm honestly probably going to be kicking myself for this but my friend posted this list on Facebook about 20 different museums in LA will be doing a FREE admission day. WOAH WOAH WOAH HOLD YOUR HORSES

CLICK HERE FOR THE LIST
and 2 of my favorite museums are actually on the list! The Getty Center  & the Getty Villa.

I've been to the Getty Center (wow shitty photos were so shitty. I think I took them with my old LG ICE CREAM LOL YES. KPOP PHONE SINCE I DIDN'T FEEL LIKE CARRYING A DSLR) and would love to go back in a heartbeat if I could! Its such an amazin place but ugh the drive! Curses for not living in LA but at the same time yay for not living in LA? IDK in the recent years I've come to appreciate that I do NOT live in LA but sometimes I kick myself for the inconvenience of not living there...thats a story for another time..

point of the matter is, I'm super excited for this and would drive the tedious 2.5 hours to gave at some plants and fountains and shit I cannot touch :D

I just booked my ticket to the Getty Villa (which I've been oogling to visit since I first step at the Getty Center) and I'm also hoping to see LACMA since I hear theres a Samurai exhibit there right now. Oh yes. My inner weeb is screaming.

今年の1月2015ファースト

First post for the New Year! Unfortunately nothing too exciting. I seriously thought last night was Sunday :x but oops its actually Thursday. Grateful for the day off and it was a chill relaxing day. NYE was pretty chill (with me drinking alone in my room and  I ended up on the floor just chilling ahaha then managed to crawl my way out to the living room to binge watch the last season for Legend of Korra ahahaa)