Twenty-Four Candles

I remember saying last year on my birthday that I was "twenty-three and no wiser". The opposite could be said for this year. I've changed so much as a person and I have learnt so so much.... This birthday I wanted to make it special. The year before I had spent mine alone and was just going through a lot and so I really tried to make this one happen for myself.

I did a massive haul-clothes and make up to wear out and also for school. I upgraded my dying hand bag. Got some on-sale make for my face and also so I could blog a lot more. Basically, I had treated myself well. When my actual birthday came around, I treated myself well even further. It was on a Saturday this year and I really wanted to take advantage of that fact. 

So out to San Francisco I went wearing a really cute Golds Infinity one piece dress. It's a bit more modern of a dress admittedly but I really loved it. To be twenty-four years old, I really wanted to dress like a lady and truly enjoy myself in the classiest of ways. I decided to not fully make plans with anyone and just have whomever show up. Thankfully my best friend Isabel was down for the the ride. 

Early morning her and I take the BART together. This was the first time I had taken the BART since my last birthday. It felt a bit strange doing so but it wasn't bad at all. We got off at Montgomery Station and made way to the 38 for Japan Town. 

My morning beforehand was full of hiccups. But it wasn't complete without my damn dress malfunctioning. There were these gorgeous pearls on this Golds Infinity one piece and the string for some reason just decided to snap and the pearls just rolled down RIGHT BEFORE the Laguna Street stop for Japan Town. I was super depressed because I couldn't even salvage them. :( 

Happy b-day to me right?

Anyway nothing else happened to my dress (thank god) but I was still pretty bummed because the pearl attachments were what made me fall in love with this dress. Who the hell uses that cheap of string?! UGH... So glad I didn't pay retail price! 

So we get to Japan Town and troll around a bit. I eventually run into my cute fujoshi friend Tiffiny (hay gurl hayyyyyy) and later on Len and their other really cute friend who I was too shy to introduce myself to (I am REALLY awkward and painfully shy...I'm so sorry guys ;~; especially towards cosplayers. I have no idea why...I used to be a cosplayer but for some reason I always get intimidated like 'wahhhh do we have anything in common? what do I say to you?!!' ahahaha -shot to death-) and we lurked around Kinokuniya for bit. Tiffiny dragged me away to the yaoi and we spazzed over Ten Count. <3 <3 <3 

Afterward Isabel and I were feeling hungry but before we got wrecked and before it left my damn mind I was SO DETERMINED that we were taking PuriKura. Mainly because while Isabel and I have been best friends for eleven years, I don't have a PuriKura with just her. She's in plenty of my others with other friends but I don't have one with JUST her and I. So I was super set that before it slipped my mind that we were going to do it.

We did the new Rumor machine which I've chosen before. It's a really classy machine. I really do miss the sparkles of the other machines though. I could 'kira-kira' for days in those. -cry- 

Afterward we did Mifune Don-ordered a couple appetizers to share (because we are fucking adults) and a main dish. Hers was wakame udon and mine was okonomiyaki because I live for that stuff. I really like that this place has been my high school spot and Isabel and I have tended to go there lots. We've hit there, the crepe places, Izumiya I'm sure....Iroha before it became Yamadaya. It just felt like old times and was enjoyable. 

After majorly fooding we walked our legs off shopping. We literally went into CandyDoll beauty and busted bank. Especially me.75.00 out the damn window. I found a lovely Holika Holika mascara that I have no regrets buy, the Sailor Mars eyeliner which I previously reviews, my holy grail Cure Aqua Gel to get the gross shit off of my face, and a couple of face masks because I literally ran out sheet masks a bit ago and was pretty sad about it. The Cure Aqua Gel is what brought up the price but no regrets. I tested it on my hand and just knew that I had to have it. 

I ended up going on a hunt for my shampoo later. I've been on a huge Ichikami hair care fix. I literally CAN NOT use anything else after using this shit. It's a bit depressing because clearly it's hard to access if you're not near a grocery store that has it and you're not willing to bust out the shipping online. Regardless I found it at Nijiya and afterward FINALLY ran into Vale and Jett who came to see me on my birthday.

It was really sad because Isabel found them before I did. Like wtf...? We decided to go for Mitsu Teahouse mainly because I've seen everyone have it since Cherry Blossom Festival back in April. It was pretty decent. The guys got shaved ice for a portion of the price that Sno-crave/Snowflake costs but in a cup for one instead of that huge plate... I gotta try it next time! 

Afterward we waited for my friend Momo to show up-eventually she did looking hella cute with her odango. It was so nice catching up with her because I hardly see her and I'm hardly ever in San Francisco as much as I used to be. It was a nice time and she eventually ended up having to go to work.

Afterward we met up with the sheep (aka Aaron) with Isabel and the guys. Raided the mall for just a second. Color matched that kid in like...less than three minutes because he wanted make up. He thought Mac was too sparkley so I pushed him the direction of Kat Von D's concealer, foundation, and eye contour palette. He did get the mineral powder from Mac though. Now if only sheep could figure out how to make up... OTL

The favorite part of the trip arrived. Everyone trekked a mile and a half across the city walking all for gelato. It was such a relaxing walk honestly and it was to a place that I hadn't went to since my high school years. I had been wanting to take friends to this gelato place for ages but I've always wanted to walk it for the sake of re-living my teenage years. The area has changed a lot in five/six years. It's a bit crazy how time has flown and how much has changed...

I literally skipped to Naia once we got close to it. I ordered six flavors of gelato in a cup with no fucks given. The place has been around for ages and is in a relaxing little location. They're known to have a good array of flavors and I'm hoping everyone enjoyed.

We ended up busing it back to downtown because nobody wanted to walk it. I was the only crazy bitch up for that. ahaha maybe another time. Isabel ended up leaving and we basically traded her out for Sara who had went to TwitchCon that day..

All of piled up in Jett's car and ran up to Yamadaya for ramen. Ramen just sounded good and they happen to be open rather late. Sara wanted a crepe fix first. xD I have no idea how she managed it all. I ended up ordering ramen and takoyaki and the last two pieces of takoyaki I ended up shoving over to Jett.

Afterwards we dropped off the sheep and ended up going to Round One in San Jose since I had never been. We picked up Sara's bf and was on our way and at hella late. We ended up meeting up with Jobi and her husband (long time so see lovelies :D) and derping around the place. PuriKura, MarioKart, and sobbing over crane machines enissued. At two am we called it a night and went the hell home after a long long day out...

It was a really randomly great birthday experience. I haven't adventured like that in the longest time. I felt like I relived so many experiences that I left behind in my youth and also got to try out new things with good friends. 

Sailor Moon Miracle Romance Eyeliner: RED Sailor Mars Review + Sailor Mars Make Up Tutorial

Halloween is on its way! Between that and my most recent birthday purchase, I thought it was only appropriate to do not only a review for this eyeliner but a tutorial for Sailor Mars as well. While Sailor Mars wasn't my favorite Sailor Senshi (I have a Neptune bias ahaha) I know that Rei is incredibly popular and frequently cosplayed as or even done by people just for Halloween. For me, the eyeliner is what sold me though!

So let's start off on the eyeliner shall we? 

I think everyone knows by now I'm the biggest piece of Sailor Moon weeb trash ever. I've been looking at the Sailor Moon make up items for the longest time. I really couldn't justify buying another black eyeliner however after recently purchasing a black Dollywink liquid eyeliner. I was in a store in Japan Town and noticed that the Sailor Mars one was hidden beneath some Sailor Mercury ones. I immediately grabbed at it because I have never seen a red eyeliner before. I'm a huge sucker for red eye make up and I just had to have this product. It was an eyeliner color I didn't have and I would finally be getting a hold of a Sailor Moon make up item. Though trust me guys, if there was a Neptune liner that would be the first shit I would aim for on top of Uranus. 

Regardless I was so excited to have this product. The packaging is so cute that I had my friend peel the tape for me because I was too afraid of being responsible for fucking up the packaging. The front opens up to not only display the eyeliner but shows a cute illustration of Sailor Mars.

On the back is instructions on how to use the eyeliner/open it since it's kind of interesting how to open it. But I'll get to that bit later. That blended out look on the model is complete BS btw. I tried to blend that eyeliner out like that and the product just balled up. Just use the eyeliner as an eyeliner and you won't be disappointed. 

The eyeliner itself is packaged beautifully. It's got shiny red lettering fitting for Sailor Mars. There's jewels and the trademark Mars emblem which is a really nice touch. 

There's a little plastic ring on the tube to show that the eyeliner has been unopened and not been pressed down on. When you open the cap this is what the eyeliner looks like.

Remove the ring and place the cap back on. What you want to do (as scary as this may sound) is to press down on the cap to push the brush applicator up. This is what the brush looks like without any of the red liner on it. 

Once that is up you want to twist the bottom end to get the product to reach the brush. GRADUALLY DO THIS...two twists and it should come out. Just be patient. I had a huge massive red explosion on my hand.

After cleaning up the mess I swatched it...

The eyeliner is a metallic copper red. It's not super bright but more of a wearable color. Because it is a brush applicator you do get streaks and gaps in the eyeliner unfortunately. Best rule of thumb is to gradually apply the eyeliner and layer it on once each layer dries for an intense red look. 

This is the make-up look I did with the eyeliner! This is the first time I've done a cosplay/character inspired look in so long! It actually felt incredibly refreshing to recreate look instead of dictate my own. Sometimes I really do miss doing cosplay but then I think about how much time and money and stress goes into it and kind of opt back into "I'm glad I just do J-Fashion now."  Maybe one day I'll get back into cosplay for real. When time and money permits. I'll probably do a couple more cosplay looks that can double as a fashion look for Halloween this month if I can find the time to do so!

I felt like despite Mars not being my favorite Sailor Senshi, that she holds a place in so many people's hearts. I know my childhood best friend adored her lots. At the time I seriously had a Sailor Moon bias and while I still adore Usagi and am very much so airheaded and all like Usagi-as I've grown up I've grown to love Neptune. She's an artist. She's the ultimate oujou-sama/lady like. Fashionable. Classy. Loves collecting make up. And her relationship with Haruka/Uranus is adorable. They've always had a soft spot in my heart even when I was younger and they came off as bad guys. I just couldn't admit it in my heart that I loved those two. So I guess if it wasn't Uranus and Neptune it would be Moon and Mars. <3 



To get this Sailor Mars look the video of the make-up tutorial is down the below!

For a video review and live demo of the Sailor Mars eyeliner, there is also a video down below: