Friday, November 25, 2011

AFA 2011 - One Piece Galore ☆

A long overdue post! Part 1 (overview) here and part 2 (cosplay) here.


Huuuuge Chopper figure!
Sadly it wasn't for sale.
But even if it were I wouldn't buy it cos it's neither soft nor cuddly!


Mini models of the ships Thousand Sunny and Going Merry!

Monday, November 21, 2011

Dolly Wink F/W 2011 - Lashes and Brows! ♡

After months of waiting, it's finally out! The new Dolly Wink products finally went on sale today~ The packaging is less "cutesy" than the previous items, as it's supposed to be part of the grown-up/adult line. But it's still very lovely and the flowers add a girly feminine touch~! The key points for this lineup are the introduction of the eyebrow products and 2nd series of Dolly Wink lashes.

6 new lashes - 1,260yen each
The top 3 are upper lashes, the bottom 3 are lower lashes. As with previous lashes in the Dolly Wink line, the lashes come in 2 pairs per pack, and retail for 1,260yen per pack. The lower lashes look good!

I have to say that for this lineup, the lashes are really leaning towards the natural side, when you compare them with the 1st series of Dolly Wink lashes. That's not a bad thing, but with so many "natural" lashes out there, I'm not really digging these...However I haven't seen the actual products yet so I'll reserve my full judgement for when I've seen them! And, this line is supposed to be more "grown-up/adult", so the products are less gyaru and more neutral/everyday look-ish (especially noticeable in the lash designs!)

Right now, one of the reasons I like Dolly Wink lashes is that the lash strands are soft and fluttery, unlike the plasticky feel most lashes in the market have. And being handmade, the ends of every strand are thin/tapered while the base is thick. Though design-wise and overall product, Diamond Lash is still my number one choice


Onto the products! I've roughly translated the descriptions for the various products~

No. 9 - ナチュラルドリー (Natural Dolly)
Natural with a fluttery feel.
Giving the look of soft and gentle eyes, these lashes are natural and look like your own.
Tsubasa suggests pairing it with No. 12.
Has a transparent lash band.

I have to admit, these look really natural, actually the kind of "natural" I like, and not the so-called "natural" that a lot of lashes have claimed to be but don't really cut it for me! I think it's cos of the criss-cross design and lashes on non-uniform thickness/length? *loves* :D


No. 10 - スウィートキャット (Sweet Cat)
These lashes emphasize the feathery ends to give a bright cat's eye.
The lash has a design which can be used for everyday looks and for parties.
Tsubasa recommends using it with No. 13.
Lash band is black, not transparent.

To be honest, I don't like this type of lashes/look, not my kind of thing. A lot of "natural" lashes end up giving looks like this, but it's not my kind of natural as the strands are too parallel, thin and close together :/ Though some ladies out there may like this look.


No. 11 - ピュアスウィート (Pure Sweet)
With the darker center strands, this pair of lashes with give you perfect round eyes.
These lashes will look natural with any type of make-up.
Tsubasa suggests using this with No. 14.
Has a transparent lash band.

Too short for my liking, especially the outer ends...I really prefer longer outer ends and shorter inner ends. And this is too thin and parallel for my liking^^ Doesn't appear very natural to me!

No. 12 - フェミニンガール (Feminine Girl)
Giving soft volume, these lashes will make it look as if it's just mascara.
These lower lashes will effectively help you achieve tare-me (droopy eyes).
Tsubasa recommends pairing this with No. 9.
Has a transparent lash band.


No. 13 - ベイビーガール (Baby Girl)
With darker strands in the center, even without eyeliner these lashes will give you doll-like bright eyes.
Tsubasa suggests using these together with No. 10.
Has a transparent lash band.

I'm liking these; I like lower lashes that have gaps in between bunches, and these look like they aren't too long or too short :D And the bunches kind of spread/fan out instead of being straight, so plus points from me for that! Will definitely be getting these!

No. 14 - ナチュラルキュート (Natural Cute)
For a natural tare-me (droopy eyes).
Gives a natural and gentle impression.
Tsubasa recommends wearing these with No. 11.
Has a transparent lash band.

Hmmm, the inner half looks really similar to the inner half of No. 5 Real Nude from the 1st series, and I'm not liking the outer half...I do like No. 5 Real Nude though!

Eyelash case - 420yen
New eyelash case in purple!
Instead of polka dots, this has super cute little motifs like a carousel, mascara, a clutch.
Though I have so many lash cases, I feel like getting this! ♡


Eyebrow powder - 1,260yen each
In vivid colors, each palette has 2 colors to make a more natural finish.
Comes in 3 shades:

No.1 - ハニーブラウン (Honey Brown)
A honey brown that's a good match for people with lighter hair.
Brighten your facial expressions with matching brows.

No.2 - チョコブラウン (Choco Brown)
A choco brown that can easily match any hair color.
The two colors in the palette will help make 3-dimensional brows.

No.3 - ダークショコラ (Dark Chocolat)
Perfect for achieving adult-cute brows.
Make impressive brows with the 2 distinct colors.


Eyebrow mascara - 1,050yen each
Claims to be sweat and water-resistant, but will easily come off with warm water.
A film type brow mascara that comes in 3 shades:
No.1 - ミルクティー (Milk Tea)
A great match for blonde to yellow hair.
Will give brows a bright and impressive finish.

No.2 - モカ (Mocha)
Best for people with light brown to ash-colored hair.
The natural, warm colors on the brows will make your face cuter.

No.3 - ココア (Cocoa)
Good for those with brown to black hair.
Easily matches your real eyebrows for a beautiful and natural finish.


Eyebrow pencil - 735yen each
Soft tip, so that you can draw natural brows.
Comes in 3 shades:
No.1 - ハニーブラウン (Honey Brown)
A honey brown perfect for matching light-colored hair.
Naturally makes impressive brows.

No.2 - チョコブラウン (Choco Brown)
A soft and natural choco brown.
Good for pairing with a chic hair color!

No.3 - ダークショコラ (Dark Chocolat)
A dark brown that can easily match your own brows.
As the color is rich, lightly drawing lines will do.


Eyelash fix - 945yen each
New lash glues! Loving the tube colors/design :D
The pink on is standard, dries clear.
The black one dries black.


Can't wait to get my hands on these, though I bet it'll be a looong time before they start selling these here. Will definitely need to get a good look at the lashes before deciding on which ones to get, but will definitely try No. 9, No. 13 and a couple of the brow products! ♡

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Wigs ☆

Up until a few years ago, I though that wigs/hair pieces were just for cosplayers, balding people or Halloween/stage costumes. Any normal person wouldn't have the need to get one. But now, with the advent of technology to produce more realistic-looking strands of hair, you'll realize that wigs are great if you want to change your hairstyle for a day, or if you want to see what you'd look like with a certain length/color/style of hair~ ☆ People love variety!

I've gotten a couple of wigs quite a while ago, but rarely do I use them or actually go out in them. While they do look nice, (loads better than my real hair!), they're a tad troublesome to put on and maintenance is cumbersome^^ Even more so as the ones I've got are long wigs! Perhaps short wigs are more convenient, but I wouldn't know that yet!

Long, curly, blonde full wig.
I love the curls, I often wish my own hair could be curly!

The wig itself.

Back view.

Flat on the bed.

Long, straight, blonde full wig.
Same color as the curly one.
The fringe was a tad too long, so I trimmed it...

With Chopper!
I really like this wig

It's really veeeery long.
The cumbersome thing is that going out, when the wind blows the long strands can get tangled.
Things like rings can get caught when you try to tuck hair behind your ear etc.

Hence, when storing wigs it's wise to wrap them in a net to prevent tangling. But things can still catch onto the net, so it would be wise to put it in a bag/plastic to further protect it.

Long, straight, ash-brown full wig.
Same as the blonde one earlier but in a different color.
I really love the color of this!
And I really love this wig as well.

The back view. It's really long, almost butt-length.

Love the streaks on the side~

The wig itself.

Straight, reddish-brown ponytail wig.

You tie your real hair into a ponytail, then wrap/tie the wig around it.

The wig should cover your real ponytail, which is hidden under/inside.

Curly, red-brown ponytail wig.
Same color as the straight ponytail wig earlier.

This is a half-wig.
It starts from the middle of the top of your head and doesn't have a fringe.
The texture of the hair strands is really fake-looking...
Plus this doesn't match my hair color.
So, I have no idea how to use this as it's weird :/

Semi-long, red-toned brown, curly half-wig.

Reddish-brown, straight, fringe wig.

Bun wig.

Close up of the bun wig.

All the various wiggy stuff I have.
Other than the full wigs, the rest are from Gmarket.
And I have to say that the quality of the Gmarket ones are not good.
I would not recommend them.
Also, the color variety is limited, mostly black or dark reddish-brown.

You should use a wig brush to brush your wigs, as plastic bristles can cause static and may end up making the strands tangled and messier. Wig brushed have metal bristles to prevent static. Do not use on real hair as you might end up scraping your scalp with the sharp metal bristles!

Wearing a wig cap under your wig can help make a better fit, so that your real hair doesn't get in the way of donning the wig. It also helps to "flatten" your real hair so that the lump under the wig won't be so large and noticeable, especially for people with long, thick hair ^^

The blue thing is a wig stand. I use it while combing the wig so that there's a "head shape" under the hair...I can't actually leave any of my wigs on them as they're tooooo long!

Wigs are great if you want to change your hairstyle for a day, or if you want to see what you'd look like with a certain length/color/style of hair~ ☆ But for me, because my real hair is long and rather thick, donning wigs heats up my scalp as having all that real hair sucked under the wig traps a lot of hot air, and I can't bear it for too long in Singapore's horribly hot and humid weather^^ But I have worn them during spring in Japan, and thanks to the weather the experience was a lot more bearable :D

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

AFA 2011 - Cosplay

There were lots and lots of people cosplaying at the Anime Festival Asia (AFA) 2011, but I didn't take that many pictures for a variety of reasons: Fighting with the crowds of guys armed with DSLRs forming a human wall; the overcrowdedness; no idea who the people were cosplaying as; and the cosplayers themselves never held their poses/formations for long anyway. So, the ones I mostly took/tried to take were of characters from my beloved One Piece~ ♡


Kaname ☆ cosplaying as Sanji and Usagi as Nami.
Both Shinsekai versions.
This totally made my day~ ♡

Sunday, November 13, 2011

AFA 2011 - Overview/Summary



Anime Festival Asia 2011 was held this weekend, 11-13 Nov at Suntec City Convention Hall in Singapore.

A weekend filled with fun pertaining to anything anime~ Lotsa toys and goodies, cosplayers, Hatsune Miku concert, Anisong performances by Kalafina, May'n, Milky Holmes, Flow, Sea*A and more. An event where fans of all things anime could gather and share their love.

However, I admit I went to AFA 2011 mostly to look at One Piece stuff and see One Piece cosplayers...And Fairy Tail and Hakuouki, but sadly I didn't spot any :( To be honest, I don't really care much for other anime^^ And I wouldn't stop to glance at cosplayers cosplaying characters from series I have no clue of...sorry!


Group cosplaying as Shinsekai/New World versions of Zoro and Luffy. And a Mr 3.
Detailed post on (One Piece) cosplayers I saw here!
I saw people decked out in most of the Mugiwara crew, as well as most of the Shichibukai and other characters like Shanks, Jewelry Bonney, Perona and Mr 3.


Kaname as Sanji and Usagi as Nami.

Even Japanese cosplayers Usagi and Kaname, who were gracing the event, were cosplaying characters from One Piece! Usagi as Shinsekai/ New World Nami and Kaname as Shinsekai/ New World Sanji. This totally put a smile on my face as they're cosplaying characters from one of my favorite series, instead of some random series I don't follow or know of ^^ These two were also judges for the Regional Cosplay Competition 2011 which was held on Sunday 13 Nov.

For comparison, here're Shinsekai Nami and Sanji figures :D

Friday, November 4, 2011

One Piece x Hello Kitty ♥ ♡ ♥ ♡


Most girls love Hello Kitty.
Most girls love Chopper. (Most girls' favorite character from One Piece is Chopper. Mine is Zoro, Chopper's 2nd! But as a mascot and on stationery/collectibles, I prefer Chopper! ) When you mix them together, you get a super cute collaboration set of items! I can't decide who's cuter, Kitty Chopper or Chopper Kitty?


I first found out about the collection after seeing this from Japan's Seventeen magazine. Next month's issue comes with a One Piece x Hello Kitty pouch! I must remember to get that issue, it comes out 1st December.

Anyway, turns out that Sanrio was releasing a series of One Piece x Chopper goodies! The series launched yesterday, 3rd November, but most of the items on the Sanrio webstore are sold out already :(


Plush dolls!
In various sizes, there are keychain forms too!
But I already have my Chopper plush from the UFO catcher,
he still keeps me company every night so I've no room for another Chopper!


Stationery like post-its, notebooks and files. And a mirror!



More stationery like a letter set and clips to hold paper.
Miscellaneous things like hair brush and earphones (I want these!)

Plus lots of other goodies like keychains, pouches of various sizes, tissue box covers, pillows, bedroom slippers etc! There are more items not pictured here like tote bags, towels, T-shirts, ballpens and pencils! And an Iphone 4 cover to be released 7th December. I don't/will never use Apple products so that doesn't concern me! :P

Since these are produced by Sanrio, I do hope this collection will make its way to Singapore!