D23

This weekend was D23 and while I was totally excited, it ended up being mostly a disappointment. 

Honestly, for a company as big as Disney, they really disappointed with the fact that they have no idea how to run a convention.  There wasn't nearly enough space in any of the panels, the lines were terribly done, and there really wasn't enough to do.  The best part was honestly meeting other cosplayers while I was there. 

On Friday we saw the Legends Ceremony, which was really good.  The voices of several of the Princesses were honored, including Paige O'Hara (Belle), Jodie Benson (Ariel), Linda Larkin (speaking voice of Jasmine), Lea Solonga (singing voice of Jasmine and Mulan) and Anika Noni Rose (voice of Tiana).  They each sang live, which was an amazing thing to see. 

We also met Margaret Kerry on Friday.  She was the model for Tinker Bell.

On Saturday I wasn't able to get into any panels, though I did see a presentation about Tangled, and got to meet the head animator on the film.

On Sunday I spent most of the day in line for the Star Tours panel.  I was the only person at the expo dressed as a Star Wars character, which surprised me since the ride just reopened.  The panel was really interesting, and I learned a lot about the ride.

This is the only shot I got of my costume... hopefully I can find some online since a lot of people took pictures. 

After the expo we went to Disneyland.  I changed into regular clothes but left my hair in.  So I had the take a picture in Star Tours.

You can totally see the hair nets haha!  I ended up being the Rebel Spy, which was exciting!

Then I went to Disneyland again yesterday.  I really wanted to see the Star Wars characters that were out last week, but they're gone :(  I did get a picture with a Stormtrooper but I really wanted Artoo!

I was trying to look serious since it was a Stormtrooper.

I also saw Rapunzel.  It wasn't my favorite, but this one was good too, very in character and talked to me for a while.

Thanks for looking~

Goth Club and Obon Festival

On Saturday, I went to the Goth club with some friends. 

I had a hard time getting an outfit together, since none of my clothes are really gothic at all.  Even though I have a lot of black, it's not styled right at all.  I ended up wearing mostly items from my TRON outfit.

Cell phone mirror shot because I didn't get a real outfit shot.  It's a pretty boring outfit, and unfortunately the boots ended up really hurting my feet, so I didn't get to dance as much as I wanted.  Next time I'll wear different shoes!

On Sunday, I went to the Obon Festival in Gardena.  I like to go every year, since I love the dancing.  I don't really know them, but I just kind of follow along and I still enjoy it.  Since it's a festival, I wore one of my yukatas.  I tried to do hair and makeup in gal style, but the hair didn't turn out as I'd hoped. 

I decided to wear my blue yukata since I wore my pink one last month at AX. 

I'm excited because a friend is visiting from Japan this week, and next week is D23! 

AM2 and AX

This weekend was 2 conventions, AX and AM2.  I was able to attend both, which was fun.

Unfortunately I didn't take too many pictures.  I had an Artist Alley table at AM2 and it was so crowded at AX that it made is difficult to take many.  Here's a few that I did take.

Kanon Wakeshima was one of the guests for AM2.  We weren't able to take pictures with her inside the convention, but as luck would have it, she was outside as we were leaving!  So I was able to get a picture with her, which was exciting!  I also attended her concert (no photography allowed though) and it was really good!  She's just as good live as on CD, and is really amazing at the Cello.
Outfit:
Top: DreamV
Skirt, Socks, Bag: Angelic Pretty
Boots: Secret Shop (Angelic Pretty replica)
Hairclip, Necklace: Handmade

I don't have any pictures from Saturday, because I ended up having to walk to the bank, and it was further than expected, and I got really hot, sweaty and looked a mess.  So I went from cosplaying Orihime to random schoolgirl. 

On Sunday, things were really slow, so we headed up to AX early. 

I was wearing one of my Yukatas because I wanted to be comfortable. 
As you may notice, I have a lightsaber.  It's pink!
For the longest time, I've wanted a pink lightsaber.  It's an unorthodox color, so it's not common to find.  There was a seller in the dealers hall, and I asked if they could make it pink... and they could!  I was so excited!  I finally have my pink lightsaber!  Even better, it's strong enough that I can actually duel with it.  I did stage combat in college, so it will be fun to get into it again possibly!

Today we just went to wander around and hang out.  I wanted to wear Rapunzel, but since it's so crowded, I didn't want to deal with the long wig.  So I got and styled the short brown wig from the end of the movie.  It seemed like a lot of people were confused, I guess they didn't watch the movie!

Myself with a Flynn who was selling in the Artist Alley.  Her costume was great!  Her art was really cute too, I got a Rapunzel cell strap!

Both cons were lots of fun, both to see and hang out with lots of friends and just to have the con experience!  I can't wait until the next one!

Los Angeles IMATS

Today myself, Mama Cass and Mie of No Beauty Limits attended IMATS Los Angeles.  For those who aren't familiar, IMATS stands for the International Makeup Artist's Trade Show.  There are shows in several countries every year, including in New York and Los Angeles.  This was my first time attending and I am so glad that I was able to go.

We got up at the crack of dawn so that we could arrive early to get in line.  The doors opened at 8:30 and we arrived at 7:30... there was already a line!

Outside the convention center

Outfit shot for the day.
Top: DreamV
Skirt, bracelet: Forever 21
Tights: Star Couture
Sweater: Tralala
Bag, Necklace, Ring: Angelic Pretty
Pom Pom, Bow: Handmade
Shoes: American Eagle

Makeup shot

At around 8:15 they let us in for registration, and then we waited to be let into the hall.

Rush to get in the hall!

Every year the most popular brands are MAC and Makeup Forever.  We had a plan, and hit those booths first to avoid lines.  Fortunately this worked out well as we had the rest of the day to browse. 

There were some models walking around in very elaborate makeup.  Here's an owl person, it was quite creepy in real life!

This model was getting her makeup done all day.  When we came around towards the end of the day, she looked like this:

It was pretty amazing!

While walking around, we went to Anastasia Beauty, where I got my eyebrows done:

While it looked nice, I felt like it was a bit too angular and long.  They did have nice products though.

After looking around the Exhibitors Hall for quite a while, we went to a few panels.  The first was for Beauty So Clean.

Since the founder's birthday was today, they gave out cupcakes!  They were really delicious!

Due to my talent for remembering random facts, I won a brush cleaner.  I will review once I use it!

The next panel was the PurseBuzz panel.  She taught about doing summer makeup looks.  Unfortunately due to my seat I couldn't get too great of a picture.  She was really cute though, I loved her dress!  And she had some great tips and answered a lot of questions.

After her panel we returned to the Exhibit Hall.  This guy covered in glitter was at the MAC booth.

Some more awesome Special Effects makeup at the Crown Brushes booth.

The Inglot booth.  This brand has been taking the beauty world by storm, and were pretty crowded the whole time.  Because it was so crowded, I didn't get to get a good look at the eyeshadows, which is what is most popular from them.  However, I did get a loose powder (I had originally planned to get one from MAC, but they didn't bring any).  I will review once I get a chance to use it!

And... the haul!

Items that I purchased:
Inglot loose powder, Smashbox Primer, Royal Brushes set, MAC eyeshadows, MAC brush cleaner, Makeup Forever HD Foundation, Model in a Bottle fix spray, DUO eyelash glue

Freebies/Prizes:
Crown Brushes Brush Cleaner, Beauty So Clean Brush Cleaner, Bow from PurseBuzz, Stila Lipgloss (from PurseBuzz), Too Faced Primer, Napoleon Lipgloss, Crown Brushes eyeshadows, Model in a Bottle eye makeup remover, Crown Brushes powder brush, Crown Brushes lip liner

All in all, I am so glad that I went to this show!  It was amazing to see all the different products that are available, as well as the amazing makeup that people can do.  I do wish I had made time to see the Student Competition, since that would probably have been really interesting, but there was always something new to see in the Exhibit Hall! 

I will definitely be attending next year, and expect some reviews once I get to using the items I got!

Tune in Tokyo and Disneyland

On Wednesday I went to Tune in Tokyo's Pop and Punk event at Royal-T

Outfit:
Skirt: Tralala
Bow: 6%DokiDoki
Necklace, Headpiece: Handmade
Tights: Forever 21
Boots: Secret Shop (Angelic Pretty Replica)
Top:  Not sure, it's super old!

Today I went to Disneyland.  I didn't stay for too long because I was cold and it looked like rain.  But I saw many characters while I was there!

Myself and Alice.  I haven't seen her since I was in Japan I think.  She's around, but I don't often stop to see her.  She was really cute, one of the best I've seen.

 With my favorite Rapunzel and Flynn.  She saw me waiting, but then they switched out, and I waited extra time to see them (partially because Flynn wasn't there and partially because she's the best Rapunzel in my opinion).  When I came in she said "You waited all that time?"  Haha she probably thinks I'm crazy.

Sometimes I wonder what the people think since I come so much.  It started because I was trying to get costume references, but they're so sweet that I like talking to them even though I know it's just acting.  It seems like it would be so much fun to do!

With Rapunzel's Tiara.  Flynn has it in his sachel, and it kept breaking, which became a kind of joke; it kept having missing stones and such, and she'd scold Flynn for breaking it (though he would say she dropped it).  But it's all fixed now.  This is one of my next cosplay projects, so I asked to see it.  It's so pretty o_o

I went over to get a baked potato and the Princess Fantasy Faire line was really short, so I decided to wait.  I saw Mulan, Ariel and Tiana.  But most of the pictures didn't turn out.  But here's one with Ariel.

With Mr. Incredible.  Check out my scrawny little arms haha!

Outfit:
Sweater, Necklace, Shrug: Forever 21
Tank top: H&M
Skirt: Not sure, a friend gave it to me
Tights: From Japan
Shoes: BG (also given to me by a friend)

My wig is Cosplay Wig USA.  I call it my Hannah Montana wig haha!  My roommate got it first and I really liked it so I got one too.  I like it a lot.

Happy Easter to everyone!  I don't do anything to celebrate, but I hope you have a good time if you do!

Disney and DokiDoki

Yesterday I went to Disneyland for a Gal style meetup. 

Of course I visited Rapunzel, and was very surprised that her hair is much shorter now!  She told me that it is no longer magic, because she had to heal Flynn again.  But now it can be cut without turning brown, so she cut it to a more manageable length.

Outfit Rundown:
Dress: Cecil McBee
Boots: Secret Shop (Angelic Pretty replica)
Thigh Highs: Offbrand
It was really hot!  I got a bit dehydrated.

Ari and I waited forever to see Jack Sparrow and Angelica (she's from the new movie coming out in May).  Her friend said he kept stopping and talking to people while walking over, which is why it took so long. 

Today I went to 6% Doki Doki's Mighty Harajuku event.  They were selling their items to benefit Japan.  I bought a pin, a shirt and a sticker.  The shirt has a pony on it, it's really cute!

Myself with Yuka and Vani, the shopgirls/models.  They remembered me from Japan/Sweet Streets, which was really sweet!  I totally want Yuka's belt, it's so cute!
Outfit:
Top: Sanrio
Skirt: Target
Socks: Angelic Pretty
Boots: Secret Shop (Angelic Pretty replica) (yes, I love these boots too much)
Buttons: 6% DokiDoki, Sanrio
Hairbows: 6% DokiDoki
Bow Brooch, Necklace: Handmade

I'm super excited since Ari and I are going to do a Rapunzel photoshoot later this week!  I can't wait to get some really good pictures of the costume and wig.

Until then, homework!  

Disneyland and TRON makeup

I went to Disneyland twice in the past week.

I went on 12/23

Kim and I saw Rapunzel and Flynn.  Also a good shot of my outfit.
Jacket, T-shirt- Disney
Skirt, Sweater- Tralala
Socks- Angelic Pretty
Boots- Secret Shop
Leggings- Forever 21
Necklace- Sanrio

I did double buns for the first time in a while.  I used to do them pretty often when my hair was longer, but they are harder to do with shorter hair.  I was afraid they would come out, but they stayed pretty well. 

Myself with Eckhert, owner of the elecTRONica club.  Unfortunately the flash didn't go off.  He told me I got the award for dancing because I literally danced for all of elecTRONica (4 hours).  I just really love to dance!

I went again on Sunday for a friend's birthday.  I wore a TRON themed outfit.

I didn't get any good pics of my outfit :(  I was wearing my jacket here because it was cold all day.  I finally figured out a way to hang the disk off my belt easily and so it was easy to remove and modded my disk to be in "normal" mode instead of "battle" mode.  I like it much better this way!

I also entered a TRON makeup contest.
The contest was to replicate the makeup from either Quorra or one of the Sirens.  I chose to do the Siren makeup. 

Siren Gem

My version.
I tried to replicate the hair as well.  They have huge buns so I used extensions around the base to make it bigger.  The base was made by mixing BB Cream with different MAC pigments to lighten it and add some shimmer.  I also mixed some pigments in with m setting powder.  The eyes were done using heavy eyeliner; I used pa for this one since the brush tip is bigger and I needed to fill in a larger area.  The top lashes are pa and the bottom lashed are MAC and Diamond Lash (I used some that I usually wear on top and flipped them upside down).  I also drew the brows in since they pretty much got covered by the base and I wanted the proper shape.  For lips I used MAC Viva Glam Gaga with a thin layer of the base over it. 

I was pretty happy with the makeup, although my photos didn't turn out too well.  I don't use photoshop, so the only adjustment was to the lighting.  I also wish there had been some way to replicate the lighting, but it would not have worked with my camera and skills. 

I also found another picture of my Holiday Hot Mess outfit that I really like

Picture is from LookBookLA.com


Remember there's still a giveaway going on!  The winner will be picked on Friday!

Some New Outfits

Earlier this month I went to a Christmas party with Ashley.  I tried to dress in a Holiday-ish theme, which basically means I wore tartan lol

Dress: Love Culture
Shoes: H&M
Necklace: Vivienne Westwood
Other stuff: Offbrand

Last night I went to Holiday Hot Mess, presented by Diamond Gyaru Circle and Tune In Tokyo.  I dressed in a ballerina outfit, with the idea that I would be someone from the Nutcracker.  Unfortunately no one else really dressed in costume, so I felt a bit silly.  Next time I will just wear GAL.

Dress: Watercolor
Shoes: Sansha
Tights: Capezio
Tiara: Offbrand

It's been raining non stop here, so I haven't been going out much because driving in the rain is kind of scary, and I'm not going to Disneyland or anything like that in the rain. 

I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas! 

November Events

This month has been quite eventful!

Last weekend was particularly busy, as it was both the opening weekend of Sanrio's 50th Anniversary Event "Small Gift", as well as PMX.

The first event was the Sanrio VIP party, which I was fortunate enough to attend as a volunteer for Japan LA, who curated the art exhibit.  While I spent most of the night watching over the art, I was able to get some pictures.
I wore my Swan Lake JSK and tried to coordinate it like a ballet costume, with a bun and such.  I'm not sure how much I liked it, I wish I could have worn pointe shoes to get the full effect!

 Myself and my friends on the red carpet!  I am in the center.
Outfit Rundown:
JSK: Baby, the Stars Shine Bright
Blouse, Shoes: Angelic Pretty
Tights: Capezio

We were also lucky enough to meet a few designers.   The first was the designer of the character Cinnomonroll, who happens to be a lolita as well!  She was wearing a lovely Baby JSK and wanted to take a picture with us.  Because of the language barrier we couldn't talk much, but she seemed very sweet.

We also met the designer for Alice and the Pirates, who was attending the event before attending PMX as a Guest of Honor.  She was very nice as well and seemed quite excited that I was wearing Baby.

All in all the event was fun although I didn't experience much of it due to working.

The next day was the first day of PMX.  I went and was excited to see that Innocent World had no markup.  I ended up buying a JSK from them, and I really love it.  In fact, I've begun to transfer over to classical.

JSK, Socks: Innocent World
Blouse: Metamorphose
Shoes: Offbrand
I actually wore this on Sunday.

Saturday was the I <3 Nerds party at the Sanrio event.  I was working again, but I decided to dress in theme.  So I dressed as Hermione, because she is the biggest nerd I could think of!

Myself and friends at the party.

Sunday was the final day of PMX and I wore the Innocent World coordinate above.  It was a pretty laid back day.

On Thursday night, it was time to camp out for the midnight showing of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1.  I saw it with my friend Ashley and dressed up as Hermione again!

A picture while sitting in line.  I was glad for the robes since it was cold!

Friday we woke up and got ready for the TRON Legacy Pop up Shop at Royal/T.  Myself and 2 of my friends wore TRON themed outfits that we coordinated.

Us in front of the pop up shop.  All of our outfits were coordinated from mostly items from Forever 21.  The shop was pretty cool, but also expensive, so we didn't buy anything.  Maybe one day when i have more money!

They even had TRON themed furniture, so we posed on it.

Later that night we headed to ElecTRONica at Disneyland for dancing and fun.  They now have a prop lightcycle on display, so I took a picture with it.

Saturday was the 80's Prom themed party at the Sanrio event.  I didn't really dress in theme, I just wore a prom dress I had from high school when I did cotillion.

Ari was a super awesome Glam Rocker and took a prom date pic with me!

Today was the last day of the Sanrio event, which was sad.  However, the Holidays are upon us, so I'm sure many new adventures will be on their way!