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: 

SacAnime 2015 Summer

So SacAnime 2015 happened... There's not much to say because it isn't really a fashion oriented con and it's pretty low key honestly. I spent most of that weekend with friends bumming around and fooding, aka getting fat. The weather was beautiful up in Sacramento all weekend long and friends and I hit a lot of places that I missed horribly after not being up there for a year. 

I think a picture post will sum up this post and SacAnime perfectly rather than me going off into a tangent of things...

5 am  breakfast and watched doggies swim in the river afterward. This was probably my favorite part of the weekend. 

Wore Liz Lisa on Saturday, Fucked up on my make up. Tried to salvage it. 

The people I mainly spent the entire weekend with. I hung out with other people too but I spent time with these peeps the longest. 

Mah kouhai. <3 They're my bad bitches in training. I'm so grateful to have them in my life. They're so mature for their age and just overall pleasant people. :) I've never had a hard or bad time with them and these three have been friends since they were babies basically. ahaha <3 they're a package deal and I love them all very much equally~ I tried to get one on one time with each and every one of them at least for a bit over that weekend. 

Ran into Jimmy. Was shocked he was there and pretty much solo-ing it. I hope you had a fun time sir! :) He's always so sweet and happy to see everyone. I'm glad I ran into him. I don't know how he didn't burn up in dat kigu!!!

Babeh's first takoyaki! lmfao all of the girls tried it over the weekend and didn't know wtf to feel about it. they weren't prepared for the array of flavors! Takoyaki/okonomiyaki is by far my favorite food ever. -could probably eat it every day until she threw it up- >_> LOL but yeah the girls didn't care for it as much. I think it's an acquired taste. 

TEAMWORK. Sydney and Bella struggling with Sydney's 'White Rock Shooter' wig. Long wigs are a pain. jfc LOL they so cute. I love how they all help each other when something malfunctions. Like I said these babes are a UNIT! 

Bella was fucking starving later on in the day so I was determined to find her food. Was between Bento Box and Pieology. Bento Box had 40/50 percent off of rolls so Bella opted for there. This was my first time having dinner with just the two of them. <3 <3 <3 

I ate light knowing I was having dinner with other people later on in the day. 

Night shenanigans. Ran into Johnny who like Jimmy was surprisingly solo. ;_; If I would have known he wasn't being entertained I would have wrapped up the shoot I was doing with Miguel much earlier. It was so pleasant seeing him. lol Miguel's fucking face in the background. Looks like a god damn titan from hell...

Ryujin was packed as fuck so here we are waiting for Shoki. Miguel wandered the fuck off somewhere...lol 

Shoki! I'd say it's a good alternative still a win/win regardless of not getting to indulge in Ryujin. Apparently Ryujin is stupid popular now.... >_> I know Johnny wanted to do Oz but we just...didn't have enough people to throw down like that for all you can eat. ;_; next time maybe we'll have a big crowd and make it worth the 20 bucks to throw down before two hours are up LOL 

Day two look. Wore a different Liz Lisa dress. Simplied my make up even more. Had a case of death because I was so tired. Maybe it shows in the photo LOL 

Accidentally made a wrong turn that lead into a right one. Let Miguel experience the joys of Osakaya. They have stupid delicious mochi/manjyuu and super delicious kintoki shaved ice. There was sidewalk art on the ground. I found a cute Pikachu~

The selection of mochi inside, I went all out not knowing when I would get this next...

Ventured the dealers hall/artist alley with the girls. Found this crazy cute lolita/Sailor Moon print and had to have it because I am Sailor Moon trash <3 Works well because most of my Sailor Moon stuff is in my room for decor other than my handbag lol

Bella's epic shirt xD 

Speaking of Bella, she also made an amazing Belldandy <3 

To finish this post off-that moment when you talk about Ten Count trash with the kouhai and introduce them to the addiction that is TsumTsums. -is going to hell- 

Hope you enjoyed the post! Hopefully I'll have more informative/less of a half assed post soon~

Life Update and Things I've Been Into: Fashion, I'm Closet Fujoshi Trash, Music, J-Dramas

I

m taking a break from study and writing an essay to blog. It's already September and I wanted to at least crank out a post before my birthday. One last blog as a twenty-three year old just in case I don't get around to doing so after SacAnime this weekend.

First off, I really can't believe it's already September. I'm a couple weeks into school already and it's a bit bizarre. As slowly as I am taking schooling, it's really been good for me in terms of my GPA and grade. Only having to focus on two things versus juggling three/four has been doing me good. I think beforehand, especially in my high school years my biggest stress was finishing things before deadlines for multiple classes and having trouble memorizing it all.

I'm really envious of people who have good memory skills and an high energy. I'm neither person and I know I have to have a balance of work and things that make me happy or I end up getting unmotivated/depressed and usually end up failing or giving up. So it's really good to just be taking things at my own pace as slow and steady as it is. Hopefully it works to my benefit.

I know I've said this plenty of times but school has made be so happy. I took it for granted a bit. I know why. I always compared myself to other people and bit off way more than I could chew in terms of academics. I always wanted to meet people's expectations instead of my own somewhat. I'm so much more sure of myself and focused on myself. I feel like it has made me a lot happier and a lot more mature of a person in these past couple of months. I feel well rested and not sick. That is a feat versus a year ago where I was. Emotionally I'm a lot healthier too in certain cases when it comes to stress and anxiety.

Other than school, it might be a bit personal to talk about on here but bare with me, I kind of treat this blog like a diary too of sorts. Because it IS my birthday month, I've been doing everything in my power to make it a good one. Especially after last year's events. Self love is the hardest thing to do for myself. I tend to have the habit of basing my self worth and self value on how people around me treat me.... I won't say all of what I've endured or what happened but I've literally had to separate myself from people so I could be emotionally healthy again. Despite how lonely and sad it feels at times, it's the best thing for me because I'm not hearing chatter. I've really been trying to focus on my studies and myself as a person.... This month unfortunately is always hard and has a lot of harsh hard memories even before the events of last year there was stuff even. September has always been a really strange month despite it being my birthday month. I don't know why unfortunate or weird things occur during my birthday...there's been good things in the past too to even it out but there's always a fuck ton of reminders or things that have happened too that always kind of send ghosts my way. But my goal for this month was to really work on myself inside and out and make it the best ever.

Change:

Physically I updated my wardrobe. I know it seems like I buy fuck tons of clothes but honestly? I rarely ever give clothes away and when I do it's a ton and a huge turn over rate. I have clothes from when I was 18 still hanging and I've decided to give my wardrobe a turnover. My goal is to have an all brand closet full of detailed and casual pieces Things for every occasion. Dressing nice and looking good has always made me feel put together/like I have my shit together and boosted my confidence a little bit. Make up and clothes are like a battle armor for me.


I ALSO bleached and dyed my hair pink! I know this is crazy and it was really a sudden thing for me. I just happened to be at Sally's and had bleach at home but spotted pastel pink dye and kind of wanted to try it out. Recently SakuRina (right after I dyed my hair too) has been rocking pink hair as well so I think it's kind of a trend right now. I loved my high lights from a year and a half ago and they really had a special meaning to me. However, they were fading a lot and it was time for an upgrade and a change. I wanted to feel pretty and I wanted to do something fun and out of the ordinary.

I think dying my hair pink really did that. I'm going to see if I can keep it pink for awhile.

WATCHING/READING:

Have I ever told you guys that I am closet fujoshi trash? Like no really. I've been into yaoi since middle school when Gravitation was a huge hype and when Sukisyo was a huge deal. I was around for when Loveless first premiered.

I'm actually incredibly picky with my yaoi. As I've gotten older things like Junjou Romantica and Love Stage (which is like the new Gravitation) don't really appeal to me. I like really darker psychological love stories. I'm a huge jousei fan too and anything Ai Yazawa really is amazing. I also like the manga series 'Deep Love' as well and it's really sad and deep as well.

For me a series has to have pretty art work and a good storyline. Occasionally that's really hard to find with yaoi not because of the art always, but because a lot of series don't have a really complex plot that stretches.

So when I found 'Ten Count' I died. The beginning starts off a little slow but WOW this manga....where have you been all my life? I've been following it since the spring time but now I'm seriously hooked. I'm always reading spoilers when it first comes out. The idea of one of the characters being a germ-a-phobe really was an interesting deal and having the psychologist who is helping him be torn between corrupting him and loving him was just too good to pass up. I really love that Takarai Rihito has given reader such a complex story line to follow. There's so much for Shirotani and Kurose to over come. The relationship escalates at a gradual pace-it does get explicit later on but everything happens for a reason. It isn't just random smut. It has a plot and a really touching one.

I've never read anything LIKE Ten Count and there's nothing to compare it to. Clearly we need more series like this in the yaoi realm. I know there's other really gradual love stories but nothing quite complex and dark as this one.

Other than Ten Count, I've been ALL OVER Caste Heaven. Caste Heaven is so much worse and way darker. I don't even know where to begin with this series. Ogawa Chise is known for having some really fucked up and amusing storylines and this is no different. I don't know whether to call this the Battle Royale of yaoi considering there is not character deaths but there is a fight for the high social ranks. In this series there is a social ranking and your social rank determines how you'll be treated by the class. So far, there are two couples in this series. Azusa and Karino (who are kind of the tsundere and sadist couple) and Atsumu and Kuse (yandere and maschoist/pushover) and there's some really crazy things that go on in later chapters (I'm looking at you chapter eight LOL) but so far I'm really addicted and loving this. Mainly due to the character development and how there are despite the cruelty, small signs of loyalty and affection between the couples.

Other than that, yaoi wise. I JUST watched the second Viewfinder OVA. I really do like the Viewfinder manga as explicit and random as it can get. Asami is really sexy... *A* ahahaha.... I feel the same way about Kurose in terms of Ten Count. They're kind of cooler/calmer/more composed characters. I can't get over them. 

In all I've been on such a yaoi fix. Other than that I've been reading this jousei manga called Sai x Ai. The girl character is kind of annoyingly stupid but holy hell the main guy in this is dead sexy. I just can't....OTL Do I have a type?! ahaha Maybe.. I have no idea. I'm getting back into reading 'romance' related things after so long. It's been hard too but I'm glad I came back to such alluring and visually appealing storylines. 

MUSIC

Music wise, I've been on a Gazette fix. The new 'Dogma' album came out and I can't get over it. A lot of people say you either grow up with Dir en Grey or the Gazette. Though, I'm very sure older J-Rock fans can say otherwise about older generations of J-Rock and bands. But in this case, I have a Gazette bias. I think I first watched Zetsu and fell the fuck in love. Uruha claimed my soul. I wanted to LOOK LIKE THIS GUY. He had gorgeous legs, wore purple, and always had pretty eye make up. All in high school I wanted to be as dashing as he was. 

Sound wise, I love how heavy the Gazette is. There's something about them that honestly, I can't find another J-Rock band that really compares to them. They have a sound that is just...trademark to them. I know Dir en Grey has kind of gotten out of the whole visual kei element and that's fine. Go them. However, what I love about the Gazette is the fact that not only their sound matured but their style matured. They kept their visual kei roots but really incorporated other elements and matured their style as they grew. 

It really shows in the Dogma album. The song 'Dogma' in general combines what I feel is the 'old school' visual kei sound with the heavier new generation of rock... Ruki can scream now too. I remember hearing the Gazette collab with Takanori Nishikawa (TM Revolution) on Undercover II and the track 'Shaking Love' killed me because Takanori could scream. He was able to really kill it. It makes me wonder if he taught Ruki a little. ;D Maybe? Hm... Not sure but they've improved so much. Especially over their last album. They got rid of the electronics and stuck solely to the band. Honestly I feel like it does the other members a better justice. No need for electronics when you have a beautiful sounding band behind you. 

Other than the Gazette. Namie Amuro and Crystal Kay collaborated recently and I kind of melted inside. There hasn't been a *good* Crystal Kay track in awhile in my honest opinion and when I heard this, even the B track sounded good. I'm impressed. Namie is flawless as usual. The re-edit of 'Hard to Say' made me die inside because...well...it's a child hood song I grew up on. 

J-DRAMA

Ontop of being fujoshi trash, I've been kind of...anime trash in general. Death Note recently got a J-Drama and while the changes made the beginning quite rocky-if you just keep on watching it; it's not too bad. I have a bias with the movie because I actually really love Erika Toda who played Misa. However this cast isn't totally terrible. The storyline takes a couple twists which I honestly feel is nice considering that this is a redo and I can assume they wanted things to be different so we wouldn't get too bored watching the same thing over and over again. 

The only thing that honestly disappointed me was the lack of handcuffs (ahaha I'm such a perv) on L and Raito because....yeah... I just thought that was hindrance to Raito a bit. It made him really have to adapt to L's surroundings and it's also what made them really bond. That 'teaming up' era too was really rushed in the J-Drama. 

Other pet peeve was Misa being an idol. I kind of grew up really loving the punk lolita/ero-lolita era. I understand why the change was made. That style really isn't a thing anymore in terms of Harajuku street style. I remember a ton of girls trying to emulate it with Hot Topic wear -chuckle- and never really pulling it off... It was between emulating her and Bou from An Cafe. But I thought the style on Misa's character was really cute and semi-ly Tim Burton-esque considering how cute and annoying she was in terms of personality.

Regardless, it's something I get to look forward to watching weekly. You can watch in on Crunchyroll! :)