Make-Up Monday: Skinfood Glacier Water Multigel

I honestly had no idea what a "multigel" was. I actually looked up other reviews and stuff because I really had no idea (as with a number of other samples I dove into recently). Apparently it is like toner and face lotion all together? Or something? That's the gist I got and I ran with that. The sample was actually enough to last me about two weeks, and I put it on heavy, so kudos for a great sample. I really got a feel for the product.

Speaking of the product, it is perfectly clear like water and cool but thick. Like slightly thicker than lotion. After I washed my face and put on my eye area lotion I slathered this on. I started with just a little but it didn't quite moisturize me enough a few hours later so by the end of the sample I was practically caking it on. It felt like it released water or melted once I started rubbing it in. It was weird. But not bad weird. It also left my face matte but hydrated which was neat, just not hydrated enough. There is supposed to be another variety (the hot springs water or deep sea water) which is more hydrating but this is the sensitive skin one and my skin is nothing if not sensitive.

Overall I really liked the product, it didn't make me break out and left my skin matte but mostly hydrated. The sample was also very generous and lasted me about two weeks of daily use. If it was slightly more hydrating so my skin didn't feel a bit tight I'd be buying a full size but I am considering getting samples of the other, more moisturizing varieties (Deep Sea Water and Hot Springs Water).

And even though the "multigel" thing is still weird I think I like it better than creamy lotions. :)

Outfits of the Fortnight v.12

January has been kind of tough when it comes to wearing lolita. It is super cold and I was working day shift for a lot of this so I'm more inclined to wear suits to work instead so the higher ups will hopefully think better of me. I also had a slight problem in that I forgot to snap pics of all my coords, I'd pretty much remember right after I got into my pajamas at the end of the day and was too lazy to put that all back on just for a few snaps. orz

I know, I know, I should switch up this coord somehow so I'm not doing the same exact thing over and over again. But that blouse and those socks and shoes go so well with that jsk.

Headband: Offbrand

Blouse: Converse

JSK: BtSSB

Socks: Sock Dreams

Shoes: Offbrand

Dorothy

Ha, so the head of facilities made a joke about me wearing a Dorothy dress on the day we did our annual tornado drill and I obliged him. Really I don't get to wear that OP enough. I was stuck wearing boots since it was POURING outside and needed a blazer because we'd be directing people during the drill and I needed to be easily identifiable as staff.

Blazer: Express

OP: Vintage

Thermal Leggings: Offbrand

Boots: Offbrand

Loli's First Boz

This would be the Atelier Boz JSK I picked up at Ikkicon! I had to fix the torn seams in the back and then took up the straps a little so it would sit right but for $60 it was a good deal. It fits perfect and I love it so much. It is also my first black jsk!

Hat: Offbrand

Blouse: Offbrand

JSK: Atelier Boz

Thermal Leggings: Offbrand

Boots: Spirit

'Vettes

In spirit of the reveal of the new Corvette chassis (c7). :)

Bow: Handmade

Kanzashi: Handmade

Blouse: Converse

JSK: Handmade

Socks: Putomayo

Shoes: Offbrand

Squeenix-ish Ouji

Yes I am trying to take fashion advice from jrpgs. Hakuoki especially since all those boys are so dang fabulous!

Hair clip: Handmade (not by me)

Blouse: Offbrand

Vest: Offbrand

Pants: Offbrand

Scarf: Offbrand

Shoes: Offbrand

Punk-ish

I'm too classic to really do standard punk on a whim so when I try it goes like goth and punk and mod and lolita had a baby. It's fun to experiment though!

All: Offbrand

2012 Favorite Product Round-Up~

I bought a lot of things in 2012, especially when it comes to cosmetics and the like. So here's my favorites, things which I will for sure be using well into 2013, though I may not have actually bought/first bought/reviewed them in 2012.

Evil Shades shadow in "Drakon"

I don't list what all goes in my make-up looks unless it's a product review but let me tell you this was very often the middle color in eyeshadow combos I did this year. It's a smokey color with gold sparkles and it is so very versatile. It looks like sunset.
$5.75 for Full Size

For Sale at Evil Shades' Website

Shiro Cosmetics shadows in Meowth/White Out and Alkahestry

Meowth/White Out was very often the top/browbone color in eyeshadow looks, since it's a very pale cream it goes with just about everything and is super easy to apply. Alkahestry is this lavender with INTENSE blue sparkles. It is perfect at the inner corners of my eye. It's basically Urban Decay's Omen but amped up into a blue glitter instead of a blue glow.
$5 for Full Size

White Out Alkahestry

Maybelline Volum' Express The Falsies Mascara

Oh Maybelline don't ever stop making this, baby. It lengthens and fattens lashes without being clumpy (when it starts getting clumpy that's approx when you should get a new tube). Best mascara ever.
About $6

Regular American Retail

Missha Signature M Real Complete BB Cream

The packaging is unfortunately not adorable but the product has the best staying power of all the BBs I tried this year and it also feels the lightest to wear and makes me break out the least. It's completely replaced foundation for me (which is good since l'Oreal doesn't make w1 liquid foundation anymore since apparently warm toned pale people don't exist I guess).
$20-50

Ebay, local Asian cosmetics stores

NYX Lipstick in Hestia

My one true love in red lipstick. The formula is only really okay (though moisturizing) but the color is perfection. It's the lip color I wore when I got my driver's license photo taken, that's how much I love it.

Discontinued, Ebay

Morgana Cryptoria Lip Gloss in Galaxy

It's so bright and lavender! It makes my lips look like they're glowing and could be considered the lipgloss version of Urban Decay's Omen shadow.

Discontinued

Morbid Make-Up Eyeliner in Black

The best liner in the history of forever. And it just got discontinued. Womp womp. It applies easy, comes off easy but stays in place the whole goddamn day. I'm really hoping that BlackHeart make-up that Hot Topic now carries is just a repackage of Morbid Make-Up. Oh gods please.

Discontinued

l'Oreal Magic Perfecting Base

This actually has a much longer more ridiculous name but if ever I mention this then I cut out the Studio Secrets Professional Secret #1 from that. It is the most amazing eyeshadow primer in the world. You think Urban Decay's Primer Potion is good? It's got nothing on this. You can do super dark colors, super bright colors, there's little to no creasing, it's the bomb. If they ever discontinue it I may die.
About $8

Regular American Retail

l'Occitane Ruban d' Orange Eau

It smells like church by the Mediterrean Sea at Christmas. Woodsy with orange notes and a faint sweetness~! That is all. It is the perfect scent for me.

Discontinued (Whyyyy?)

Goody Spin Pins
For those of you with fluffy/course long hair these are a life saver. You literally twist your hair into a bun then screw these in and it's solid. I've never been able to get buns to work before these and man am I glad for them. If you have two sets and loooong hair like me then you can do poofy lolita pigtails with your natural hair!
About $6
Regular American Retail

Moroccan Oil Hair Treatment
I use the original but there's a light variety too. Hannah, you are amazing for introducing me to this so long ago~! It makes my fluffy/poofy/course hair so silky and managable.
$30-70 depending where you get it
Ebay, Local Salons

And that's it! I'm pretty much done on full size cosmetics/beauty products I've bought until my next Morgana box gets here so look forward to me finally figuring out exactly what all those free samples I've gotten with my asian cosmetics are starting next week. I'm honestly lost on most of them. Multipurpose fluid wat.

Wardrobe Post: Kimono

One day I'll have a tansu just like one day I'll have a garage but as it stands my kimono live in a canvas box. I went a bit crazy with my kimono storage since I can't just throw it all on hangers in my closet (it'd ruin the fold lines and cause terrible stress on the shoulders). What kind of crazy? Curatorial crazy. I realized that I'm drawn almost exclusively to vintage and antique kimono, stuff that's got some years on it and I liked the idea of making sure that long after I'm gone someone else could possibly wear or display these. I'm going to do a full post on curatorial level storage for kimono next month, so you can look forward to it! I'll also be doing one for storage of delicate lolita items because some older brand is getting to the point where it's a bit more delicate (my favorite green Victorian Maiden skirt being a good example). I'm mostly going to use the seller's pictures for these since I don't have any good kimono display stuff.

As of right now my kimono live in an underbed zip up canvas... box thing. It's softsided and not quite the right dimensions so I put a piece of acid free foam board in the bottom to force the right dimensions. The top is plastic so I'm actually a bit worried about offgassing but for right now it was the best I could do (breathable, mostly non-reactive canvas, should still be fairly secure against my main pest concern of crickets). Everything is individually wrapped in unbleached muslin except the obijime. I was too lazy to iron the muslin right out of the wash but I figure on a boring day I'll iron it all out like a good little curator.

Yukata

When I saw this yukata I fell head over heels in love. It is this that I can fully blame for me getting so hard into kimono. I spent far more than I wanted to on it but it was one of those where I was absolutely in love. I've never seen a yukata I've loved before so I'm very happy to finally have such a staple piece. I also had quite an adventure in washing it as it was stiff as a board and stank of storage. It went alright though.

Kimono

This grey hitoe (komon?) is one of those things where I was completely "Well I'm already buying stuff from this seller and it's a $1 so why not?" The bidding stopped short of $10 but the seller was great about shipping so including shipping it only cost me about $15. I wore it at Ikkicon since the wool hitoe I ordered from Shinei hadn't arrived yet (it got there hours after I left for the con lol).

This wool hitoe was my second choice actually, I was settled on only buying one because Shinei's shipping is so outrageous and I wasn't sure if I'd like wool kimono but by the time I went to buy my first choice that one had sold so I got this one (which I'd wanted also). I really do like it a lot though, the green is delicious and the pattern is very mature and great for running errands around town. I also really like the wool itself, it is soft and substantial and doesn't have the same slip annoyance that silk does.

This was my first kimono purchase ever. I got it in high school, off the eBay and wore it along with a homemade obi (and no other proper accessories) for a birthday dinner. We went to Benihana. I've held onto it all these years despite not liking it all that much and only wearing it that one time. I'm really hoping to find an obi that goes with it and I'm totes for sure going to rock it this fall. Even though I am hardly in love with it. It's more sentimental now, especially since I'm proud of the fact I did a good job of buying a decent kimono off ebay despite being kind of young and stupid.

Obi

I tossed my homemade obi early in 2012 since I had never liked it. I bought two deconstructed obi, both gold maru ones with plans to sew them together to make an obi suitable for the turning leaf kimono but I'd read the auction wrong that they were only a third of each obi which really is a shame since the fabric was in great condition and the guy sold all three parts for each. I'm hoping to finagle a tsuke obi out of them.

This is the first real, in one piece, obi I got. It matched nothing I had at the time but was a good deal and just so cute. I'm thinking I'll pair it with my grey hitoe for my february outfit. It's a nagoya obi and it feels... strange. But a strange I've felt before in really old fabric (which makes me think it might be Taisho era since it had a similar feel to some garments I handled from that time period). I'm having trouble finding an obijime to go with this sucker. It may not happen until I one day visit Japan since I'll probably need to match the blues in person.

My second obi purchase and I had hoped that it would pair well with my falling leaves kimono but it honestly doesn't quite. That kimono is like a spectre of Goes With Nothing. The cool thing about this obi is that it is reversable!

I have discovered I have a sincere love of yabane. Also with only that red and black obi and my pink obi I needed something that would pair better with my green wool hitoe and purposely made sure to not check out til I had an obi to go with it. I've learned!

Haori

I used to have this cool blue haori that I found in a thrift shop in high school. I know right! There was a ton of Japanese stuff during that one run to the thrift shop. It would look stunning with that pink obi and grey hitoe and man I'm kicking myself for giving it away.

I saw this and was like, that'd look cool with my yukata, like storm clouds over the ocean. Then I ended up spending like $50 more than I planned to on it. But luckily it goes with just about everything!

Obijime

I bought all of these because I'd already bought the haori so why not just add onto that shipping? That was also the reasoning behind the grey hitoe. I need so many obijime I don't have. Gonna keep trawling the Eebs.

In Transit!

This is all the same Shinei order... Which I sent via Sea Mail. I expect it late February/early March. But even with Sea Mail shipping was $50. That's the one sucky thing about Shinei (other than their sort by low price suckiness).

Isn't that material just divine? OMG. Even though it's going to be so short I probably won't be able to do an ohashori I don't even care.

This will be the base of a kimono where I'll be painting motorcycles racing around the border/up the sleeve like a houmongi. I'm nervous but stoked since I hope to wear this to the first MotoGP race at Circuit of the Americas. I'd wanted something sky blue or with bluebells ('cause Texas) but no luck on that front. This is a bit more sheer than I wanted but I think will still be cute and work. I hope.

I love sayagata and I figure a silver obi will really stretch my wardrobe/go well with my MotoGP kimono.

My first true obiage instead of just using a scarf. It has that pattern I love so much. :D

Homemade Han Eri

It was made from this fabric, I forgot to take a picture. I also bought a ton more of those fabric quarters to make more han eri. They're like $2 and you just cut in half then sew together to make them longer and iron into a collar. Super simple and super fun!

Outifits of the Fortnight v.11

And here's the December edition! This should put me back on the level and back to a regularly updated OotF schedule. :D

SCARF

Dat scarf. It's my most used accessory since it's totes soft and keeps me warm~!

Scarf: Offbrand

Jacket: Meta

Skirt: Offbrand (Old Navy)

Socks: AatP

Shoes: Offbrand

Shades of Grey

So much black and grey! :x Also I got a ton of suits on Black Friday which I wore a lot in December so there wasn't all that much loli. It's the time of year when I need to be clearly identifiable as a supervisor so suits suits suits. Also I'm working day shift with everyone else so I need to look swank so colorful outfits are pretty much just weekends when I left my house.

Everything is offbrand.

Steampunkish

I like green and I think it pairs marvelously with brown and gold.

Blouse: Offbrand

Skirt: HMHM

Socks: Sockdreams

Shoes: Offbrand

Blue and brown

Something simple and easy for errands around town

Hat: Offbrand

Blouse: Offbrand (H&M)

Skirt: HMHM

Socks: Sockdreams

Shoes: Offbrand

Ugly Sweater Party Coord

Ugliest sweater I own, but I figured the skirt had that busy holiday apparel look. It was made from a pillow pattern fabric and has Victorian ice skaters on it.

Laurel: Handmade

Sweater: Offbrand

Necklace (whistle): Offbrand (F21)

Socks: Offbrand

Shoes: Offbrand

Metroplex Lolita Holiday Meet Coord

We kept getting asked if we were: a) carolers b) in a play and c) if we worked there (at the Gaylord Texan hotel). It was amusing but there were also some real jerks and by the end most of us were really annoyed by the people who didn't ask for pictures and just took them. A couple of us purposely didn't smile when we noticed because of this.

Laurel: Handmade

Neck Bow: Bodyline

Blouse: Offbrand (Izod)

Fur: Vintage

JSK: AatP

Socks: Offbrand

Shoes: Offbrand

Next update expect some kimono action! I've been stalking ebay a ton lately so I've finally got enough for a few (even seasonally appropriate) kitsukes.

2013: Resolutions and Goals

I should call it either resolutions OR goals shouldn't I? But it's a mix of both. Some are resolutions, things I must do, while others are goals or things I want to do but I rather not force myself since I want to do them the best I can. 2012 was a decent year, I did more writing, wore waaay more lolita, got some costuming and crafting done and did lots of travelling (1st MotoGP race ftw)! Most of the not so awesome stuff was job related and not doing as awesome this NaNoWriMo as I was hoping (50k instead of 80k).

My resolutions

A new theme/background for the blog

Something involving the updated name, so probably involving a fox and maybe involving a design sketch for the kimono I plan to make for the MotoGP race at Circuit of the Americas.

One blog post a week at least

I'm pretty sure I actually managed this one this year if you average everything but I don't mean to average in 2013, I mean to do at least one a week, every week!

Two lolita related posts each month at least

I did kind of okay with this in the last half of the year with the introduction of Outfits of the Fortnight. I'm hoping again not to average but to do this to the max though I'm going to shoot for three a month.

Wear a full lolita coord twice a week

This is up from my 2012 resolution to do once a week but I think I totally got this! I would up it to three but I've got lots of other nice clothes to wear. I don't want lolita to be a chore, I'm just trying to encourage myself to use that quarter of my wardrobe.

Wear kitsuke once per month

This is brand spanking new! Expect an introduction post into my kimono adventures next post. But I've finally got enough stuff together to do a few seasonally appropriate coords so I'm challenging myself to do them already.

Figure out proper organization for my cosmetics, kitsuke and lolita

So I can better access and keep tabs on what I have. All three of those areas in my life rather exploded in 2012 so I need to get all of it in order. This is my January project along with a closet post for egl (since that's always the January theme) and collection posts for here!

Finish the initial script and edit Psychopomp

This was one of my 2012 failings, my goal was to finish the initial scripts for both The Fire King and Psychopomp for NaNoWriMo to total 80k words (30k for Fire King and 50k for Psychopomp). I finished Fire King and but only got about a third into my Psychopomp scene cards before getting distracted by Hakuoki. So my goal is to have it done by Valentine's day and edit it over the summer.

My goals:

Publish something every six months

I got way behind in the last half of the year so The Empty Home hasn't been published yet since I still haven't made a cover. Hopefully I'll get that out on White Day (3/14) and then have Psychopomp out sometime before NaNoWriMo takes over my life again in November.

Finish Deliquent Princess Street by July

Deliquent Princess Street is the otome game I am making. I fell in love with the genre a while back and after playing a number there's things out there I really want in a game that aren't available. You know where this is heading: if it isn't out there then make it yourself. This is my first time coding anything and progress is slow but it is happening. The main things about this game are: The titular vigilante lolita gang, a lolita who races, a young guy in the yakuza who has a thing for puppets and some rather harsh siblings, datable Kondo Isami and a proper happy ending for Train Nerd.

Find a partner for World Cosplay Summit and enter

The biggest hurdle is finding a partner! If anyone wants to enter the US Regionals at Anime Matsuri and is looking for a partner then let me know. I have a really good Yuna cosplay I'd like to do FFX for the regionals at least~!

And those are my resolutions and goals for 2013! It's going to be an awesome year full of travel, fabulousness and writing!

Make-Up Monday: Skinfood Brandy Mild Foam Face Wash

I don't have a problem, really, I just have a penchant for things that involve alcohol. Knowing that Skinfood has a line of peach sake stuff I figured I'd see what else they had that was adult beverage in theme.

There's a men's line with a brandy theme.

"I don't care that it's for men," I thought, "I like dude shampoo sometimes." And I ordered it and have used it for a week now.

I'm not sure what I was expecting but it doesn't really smell like brandy or anything, it smells pretty much like generic guy soap. The packaging is good, controls the product well and looks nice and it cleans just fine... I just... I guess I was hoping for more...

I works well enough, it smells fine and the packaging is cute enough. Just not sure I'm down for shelling out $15 for an okay product when I can pay $8 for a slightly better okay product (the Peach Tea Milk cleanser).