Anime Expo 2013 (Image Heavy!)

So, I'm finally getting around to posting about Anime Expo 2013, lol~  I had a lot of fun this con; my hotel-mates were wonderful and lovely, I was really happy to do my first legit cosplay, and I got lots of great stuff!

I also got asked for photos a lot, and I was really surprised and flattered that I did, since there were SO many amazing cosplayers this year!  One of my favorite requesters was a group of Korean school kids that my friends and I ran into on the morning of Day One.  They were all so adorable and friendly!  They asked to take a picture with all of us (me and the 3 friends I was with that morning), and then one of the teachers even put himself in the picture, which was really funny.  XD

Anyway, the photos will tell the rest of the story better than me, so here you go!  Hover over the picture to see captions with my comments on what's going on in most of the photos.

Nail Sets & Anime Expo 2013

Hello there! Long time no blog! I've enjoyed my prolonged impromptu break from this blog, but reading all the amazing blogs I follow has made me want to take up my blog torch again. ^ ^

Now, in the last few months I've joyfully succumbed to the love that is getting my nails done at a Japanese-style salon! This happened because I decided that for my birthday back in February that I wanted some cute, girly Gal nails done. I hopped on Google, rolled onto Yelp and found a lovely nail salon called Kawaii Nails. And I'm soooo happy I did!

 Kawaii Nails is a cute little salon nestled in a small shopping center in Tustin, California.I made my first appointment about 15 minutes before they closed the day before, but they took me for the next day at around 2pm, if I'm remembering correctly (wow, the memory's going, I must be getting old, lol).

 My nailist at Kawaii Nails is Ayumi, who is awesome. I told her that it was my first time doing Japanese style gel nails and that I wanted something pretty for my birthday. She was totally in agreement and we talked a little bit about how I was planning to celebrate my birthday (sushi with friends, yum!).

 I went in inspired by these nails that Miss Mitsu had done a few years back (I hope you don't mind!). I had bought a new dress at Charlotte Russe to wear to go out to sushi with my friends the weekend of my birthday, and I really wanted something to match my dress (which you'll see later ^ ^).

 I remembered Mitsu's pretty Alpaca nails and thought the cute pink flowers would go well with my black printed with pink flowers dress. I brought the photo in and this is what Ayumi and I came up with based on that:

Didn't they come out really well???  I was SO super-happy when I left, and I couldn't stop staring at my nails, they were so pretty and perfect, just what I was looking for! Ayumi painted the flowers by hand, and consulted me about everything, including the base color, the colors for the flowers, and even the placement of the stones.  I also chose to try something new and have my natural nails shaped into an "almond" shape that was slightly pointy at the ends.

Since that first magical nail set, I've gone back to Kawaii Nails to get 2 more sets, including my current nails:

My second set, done about a month after the first set.  I chose a nude peach color with soft gold glitter accent nails.  I had a blunt, square shape and a shorter length for these nails, which was a nice change. ^  ^ I realized after I got them done that they matched my new Charlotte Russe dress I wore to my friend's going-away party at the end of March.  ^  ^;;

And my current nails!  After waiting 2.5 months (never do that, my growth was ridiculous and lifted gel is not like flaking polish >_<), I went with this fresh heather blue and white curved stripe design with silver glitter and small round stones.  Did a round shape and a shorter length to even out my nails since I broke both index fingernails trying to peel the lifted gel off from my last set, silly me~

I love Kawaii Nails; I will try to take photos of the interior for you next time I go in to do my nails, which will probably sometime next month.  Definitely recommend!

Also, I'm attending Anime Expo 2013 next week!  And I'm really excited! Why?  Because the band PORNO GRAFFITI is a Guest of Honor and will be having a concert on Saturday at Club Nokia (still need to buy my ticket, d'oh!), and....

That's right, Gal brands MA*RS, Liz Lisa, Gold's Infinity, Glavil by Tutuha, Liz Lisa Doll, and Tralala will be officially for sale for the first time overseas at AX!  There's a fashion show and pop up stores for each brand, so if you're in the area, don't miss out!  More info can be found Anime Expo's page.

So many exciting things; I have a costume to review, and I'm excited to post about the con... totally can't wait for next week!  Now, if only I can get Friday off.  XD

Until next time~

Circle Lens Review: 30Days Natural Circle Grey

Before I say anything else, Happy 2013! I hope your weekend is going well so far. ^ ^ It's been a busy week for me, and I'm super glad it's the weekend again~  I wanted to make time to blog, so here I am!  It's about time I did.  I had wanted to blog about New Years' stuff, but if I keep waiting until I can sit down and properly write in one fell swoop, I'll never get around to updating.  XD  So I decided to go ahead and post some of the posts I have in my queue to see if I can't get my blogger ball rolling.  ^  ^

Anyway, I've had this post waiting for quite awhile and I'm really excited to share it with you all! Today, I'm bringing you my first circle lens review! But before I begin, I just want to clarify that this is a non-sponsored post. I'm not that cool yet. XD Now, on to the review; I hope it's helpful~

I purchased a pair of 30Days Natural Circle Grey from Pinky Paradise at the end of last February as my first pair of circle lenses. I chose them based on this review by Mitsu over at Universal Doll, since I have REALLY bad vision and was looking for something possibly long-term. Although it seems that the series might have been re-made/named...? Because the name is a little different now than you'll find in Mitsu's review. Hrmmm. Oh well.

Anyway, it took only 10 days after my initial order and payment for them to arrive, which was faster than I was expecting! They came with a cute animal lens case as well~

I forgot to take a photo of them soaking in the case, which you should do for at least 8 hours prior to putting lenses in your eyes, but here are the specs for these babies:

Diameter: 14.5mm

Water Content: 55%

Base Curve: 8.6mm

Type: 1 month disposal

After soaking them, I tried them on the first chance I got, I was so excited to finally have circle lenses. XD The results? Take a look:

One in, one out. Picture taken indoors at night, no flash. Please ignore my spotty forehead & ungroomed eyebrows. ^ ^

Both in. Picture taken in same condition with full makeup. I'm wearing Diamond Lash Glamorous upper lashes and Princess lower lashes.

Better angle/lighting. You can really see how the color shows up on my super-dark brown eyes~

One more shot of the full effect~ Lol at my derp-face XD

They were quite comfortable, once I got used to them. However, they did tend to dry out on me. I'm not sure if it's because my eyes are drier than I think, the climate I live in is dry itself, or if I need to use a different solution.  But the dryness went away once I used some eye drops on them, so I needed to carry them around with me.

Overall, I would recommend these! They are very, VERY reasonably priced ($11.90 a pair!), and the enlargement is pretty decent, although I think I might prefer a 15mm lens for that. The color is lovely and shows up just enough to be striking against my skin and eye colors! Just make sure you have eye drops available in case your eyes get dry with these like mine did. ^  ^

Want a pair for yourself? Go on over to Pinky Paradise and get them! There are also different varieties of the 30Days series, so be sure to check those out and find the right ones for you. Every order comes with a cute animal lens case, and they are super-easy to purchase from. Just order, pay with PayPal, and once you get your shipping confirmation (which was within 24 hours for me), they're on their way!

Hopefully I'll get to do more reviews on circle lens soon! I hope you found this useful, and if you have any suggestions for future reviews, let me know!

Until next time~

Random Coordinates: Winter & Spring 2012

Hello all~ Today I wanted to share some coordinate photos I took randomly the past few seasons. Not so great photo quality, but I thought why not post them anyway?

New Years' Eve coordinate, 12-31-11. I had just bought the ruffled tank top and coral cardigan from Target as part of a Christmas gift. I paired them with dark denim skinny jeans and comfy dark brown mouton boots~