EOY 2010 Lolita Fashion Runway - My Reflections

EOY was a yearly event end of the year for cosplayers, people who like watching cosplay as well as many lolitas. And of course, this year was the first time that I was involved in one of the programmes - Lolita Fashion Runway. It was an exciting experience for me though I was dead tired after everything. I took a day after the EOY to think about how many of the lolitas were eventually involved in this lolita fashion runway ands how friendships within the lolita circle were formed and brought beyond that.

While I was looking through the facebook messages the lolis were sending one another, I realise that we are really very passionate about this hobby of ours. If one loli does not have a dress or accessory, she just has to holler in FB and there will be at least 1 or 2 lolis who will come to the rescue to volunteer to lend any items they would think it's suitable. Many would also give ideas to how a certain coordinate can be done using affordable accessories from all time fav. shop Daiso! The little ideas and the support that we give one another is so unanimous and strong. In this preparation of the lolita runway, everyone just wanna ensure that evey loli looks good and have fun on stage. No one is kinda left alone or no one is there wanting to steal any limelight. Even on that day itself, everyone was helping one another in terms of makeup, fixing up wigs, borrowing pins, eye lash glue, fake lashes, makeup etc and remembering the runway layouts and standing positions. Even the lolis who were not involved in the runway came to help out as well. I guess our objectives was all the same - we want to show everyone what lolita fashion is truly all about. Through this, our friendships went one step further.

And of course, the lolis just make do with the amount of time we have left without complaints. Aeth, our lolita fashion runway organiser, had even gone the extra mile to get props for the lolitas e.g. flowers, marshmellows in the midst of her busy working schedule, bringing extra wigs for the lolis which was a good move, arranging makeup artists for us and insisting the stage crew to give us time for rehearsal on the stage. It was wonderful loli teamwork but at the same time, we were having fun in our dressing room, taking pictures and chatting about latest lolita fashions.

I would say that the lolita fashion runway was a success. I believe the audience had enjoyed it and my hubby who was there told me that all of us looked really pretty. The music was great and I'm glad I have participated in this year's runway. It's time that we showcase our beautiful loli dresses that we have since they already so expensive! Really hope that there will always be a lolita runway in all the future EOY!

Superfly - Alright!!

One of my favourite drama theme songs!! This is the theme song of BOSS starring Yuki Amami and Yutaka Takenouchi. I really enjoyed the drama a lot. And what can I say? Superfly has a great voice!!!!!

AFA and Cosplay Lolita

Just about 2 weeks ago, it was Anime Festival Asia held at Suntec City Convention Centre. I had decided to dress up as a cosplay lolita. The only cosplay lolita dress I had was the one I bought from Haru a few years ago. A very pretty red cosplay lolita dress. I've only worn it once which was for a makeover session. After which, it was left hibernating in my Toyogo box.

Although it was not as classy as a classic lolita outfit, I still like the overall coordinate that I had come out with. I carried my Baby plush bag and also my BTSSB parasol. I set off with my sister, my hubby and a friend. My hubby and friend were all ready with their cameras, hoping to take some good shots of the cosplayers. I was excited as well.

When we reached there, it was already 12.30 pm. It was already pretty packed and my sister and my friend were trying to find the ticketing booth while I was trying to call my friend, Miao Miao to get my tickets from her. Before we knew it, everywhere was crowded. There were parents taking their children to just look at the cosplayers, taking photos etc. As usual, everyone was staring or looking at me due to my bright red cosplay lolita outfit. Sooner or later, there were people coming to me to ask to take a photo of me. And once I started with that, there was a whole crowd of photographers streaming towards me in like just a snap of the fingers! It was pretty intimidating but I didn't know how to turn them down. I was really not used to having so many people taking photos of me!

The best part in AFA is not just about watching cosplayers. It is about meeting friends and family there! I met up with Serena and her family. Serene has borrowed my lolita clothes for her two daughters to wear to the event. And I have to say that they look gorgeous! And because they were young, they are really true blue lolitas. Child and doll-like! I hope that they had an enjoyable time too.

Miao Miao and me

I also met up with my Cousin Min and her family for a short while. They were also going round to watch the cosplayers. And not forgetting Miao Miao and her friends, and my FB friend Hermes! She dressed up as Ranmao which I thought she looked great in it! It was also such a coincidence that I saw my relative, Sarah who cosplayed previous day.

Cousin Min and me

Sarah and Me

The only thing that I miss was going to the Butler cafe which had a super long queue of girls. My friend, Cherly who stayed on after I left actually queued for 1 hour!!!!!! But I guess it was all worth it to have a butler going on his knees and calling you Ojosama!!! According to my sister, the guys are not super handsome but I seriously did not mind queueing up if someone can accompany me!

Cher-ly and Me

But my feet was already aching badly due to my badly made lolita shoes by 3 plus in the afternoon. And my family was supposed to have a dinner at Peach Garden later. So my sis wanted to go home earlier to take a rest before going out again. My feet really hurt!!! And I had to go for foot reflexology a few days later. Thanks to my hubby who is always willing to go for such events with me. And I really enjoyed the company my sister, Terence and meeting up with other friends and family!

When was the last time I blogged?

Was really busy with work during the past few months and also didn't really have time for lolita dressing up too. However, I still love lolita fashion and would try as much as possible to dress up in lolita if given the chance. Just last month, I attended something like a Dinner and Dance and I dressed up in one of my favourite lolita dress from Innocent World. The whole outfit was one of my favs so far.

I wanna say a big thanks to my lolita friends, Liping and Aeth who lent me the big beautiful hat and the wig. It was my first time attempting such a sweet lolita look and in a chiffon dress.

My friend, Cher-ly also came in her country lolita outfit and it was so fun taking pictures with her too. It's really great to have a friend who shares the same hobby and interest as you. It'll really be too lonely if you are involved in a hobby alone.

Getting healthy lately...

It's a long time since I blog. It seems I don't really have the urge to blog as much as I used to. Anyway, I've been pretty health conscious lately. I don't know why but I seem to mind the slightly bulging tummy that I have. Actually the tummy is not really that bulging out but it's not flat which I would hope it will be.

I went to Atos Wellness once and I had my body fat and such checked. Everything was okay except that I had lots of water retention in my body. It was a problem all along I guess because the foot reflexologist also says that my body lacks water. I think it's pretty bad as I can get dehydrated easily and also bloated. I would normally get indigestion too. Now really, it soon dawned on me that my metabolism is not as high as it used to be. Really time to cut down on certain foods.

Thus, I decided to start on no-meat meals for breakfast and lunch. It doesn't mean that it has to be strictly vegetarian. WHY?? Some vegetarian food is actually quite fattening, esp. the mock meat and such. I would definitely prefer something that need not be strictly vegetarian but just vege and mushrooms or even toufu and staple such as rice or noodles. I have started for 3days and it has been great. It does feel weird as I am so used to taking meat all the time. And temptation is definitely there especially if the people around u in the restaurant or hawker centre is having roasted meat, bakchor noodles, Gyoza etc. BUT I RESISTED THE TEMPTATION! And I'm so glad I managed to overcome it.

My colleague actually recommended me to drink Cranberry juice which is good for detoxification. She has super discipline in carrying out her detox program. I bought Del Monte Cranberry juice but had to mix with honey so that it's not too sour. I had to strike a balance between that and ensuring my stomach is not too acidic. I normally have gastric problems and thus, really need to choose foods suitable for my stomach and also makes my stomach full as well. I love the Cranberry Honey drink that I drink everyday now. It tastes like Ribena!!! I look forward to drinking it everyday!!!

On Monday, I actually made this Black Sugar + Ginger drink. It does not really taste fantastic but still acceptable. This was recommended by my mom's friend who says that this targets at bloatedness, black sugar also helps to maintain the uterus healthy. I am also pretty concerned that I might be able to conceive in the future. My body is pretty 'han liang' and so, need to drink more herbal stuff.

And I just went for a swim yesterday and I really felt good though the strong sun rays left a tanned mark on my body. Hahaz, I swam at 2.45 pm but it was shiok to soak in the cooling waters. If it's not too cold tomorrow, I'll maybe go for a swim at 9 am before heading to do some packing at my work place.

I hope this diet makes me feel healthier and reduces the chances of getting indigestion. I am trying to motivate myself to do crunches now...

Got my hair rebonded

Okay, I realised that it's super long since I wrote on my blog. I guess I was just so busy with work and the fatigue has caused me to be lazy. Now to start writing on my lolita blog kinda caught me. I dun really know where to start.

I thought of writing about fixing fake eyelashes and the eyelash glue from Kiss Me which I think solved my 'stressed up' eyelash fixing session. But hmz, this not really not something I really wanna holler in my blog. So I'll leave that to some other time.

Recently, I got my hair rebonded when I realised that it's really getting longer and the ends started to curl up. I am pretty envious of those whose hair is the 'easy to manage' kind. It's a breeze for them to leave long hair. But for me and my sis, leaving long hair is like a battle. When my hair gets longer, it gets more fizzy and the ends curls up in different directions. I'm left with no choice but to tie it up. But when I let my hair down, it's looks horrible and messy.

Rebonding didn't really occur to me as I always that with that amount of hair that I have, I will look horrible if I do rebonding. My hair is thin, not very volumnised and my head is pretty small too. And if I go for rebonding, my hair will be so flat! It was till I saw my colleague's hair. She was complaining much about her wavy ends which irritates her. She went for half rebonding and her hair turned out to be pretty natural and more manageable as well. I was kinda interested then. I went to Toa Payoh Central after work and walked into a hair salon which was recommended to me by my another colleague. The hair stylist says that she would do soft rebonding for my hair. I was kinda excited and could not wait to see the result.

After the whole session, I was pretty satisfied with the look although it was not loli. Hahaz... now I look more like Cleopatra (which was mentioned to me by someone). The hair looks longer as well as the ends are more or less straight. My hubby liked it though. He thought it was interesting. But most importantly is that my hair is definitely more manageable now and not fizzy.

Don't judge the food from the menu

I had a great dinner with my good friends, Junie and Joanna , last week to celebrate Junie's Birthday. We had dinner at Pasta De Waraku and till now, I was still amazed at how things can look different from the menu.

I quite like the food at Pasta De Waraku so far though it's not exactly fantastic but the service is not bad and still, the food is yummy. Well, I felt that the standard dropped a little and I still prefer the Pasta De Waraku when it first opened a few years ago. What kinda disappointed me was the Ichigo Milk. When I saw the menu, the Ichigo milk looks so good so I ordered.

Alas! What came to me was like a glass of Dutch Lady Strawberry Milk with less than 5 mini strawberry bits. "Huh? Like that only ar..?" was what came to me. I felt really 'cheated' by the menu and I was not in the mood of questioning the mamager whether he has given me the right order. Oh well, it was really Ichigo Milk when I drank it. It was obviously bought from the supermarket and poured into a nice-looking glass to fit the image in the menu which failed terribly. It tastes simply like the cheap strawberry milk from the supermarket. And it costs me $3.80!!! At least they should have bought Meiji milk la.

I was disappointed lor. $3.80 for a glass of strawberry milk from the supermarket. I've learnt to not judge the food by the pictures in the menu!

Nature Republic Products

Just recently, I kinda fell in love with products from this Korean brand - Nature Republic. Besides loving their products, their customer service is SUPERB!!!! I've been there twice and every shopping experience was a great one. I mean, there has been quite a number of Korean brand skincare shops sprouting over Singapore such as Face Shop, Skin Food, Etude House and Beauty Credit.

There's actually a Nature Republic shop at Junction 8 and it was there quite some time ago but I did not take a look at their products before. To me, what they were selling were pretty the same as those in Face Shop and Skin Food. After I had my foot massage at Kenshington the other day, I just felt like doing some window shopping and I headed towards Nature Republic. I thought of just getting a gel eyeliner brush as I just got a gel eyeliner and I did not have a brush to apply. When I was browsing through the brushes, the salesgirl came over and told me that there's a storewide 15% off.

After getting what I needed, I decided to just walk one round the shop before making payment... but the lip glosses and lipsticks caught my eye. I started trying the glosses on my hand to check out the colours. The salesgirl quickly came over and handed me a facial cotton dapped with makeup remover so that I can clean my hand. I was already quite impressed with that quick response from the salesgirl. I mean, I didn't get the same treatment when I was in the other Korean brand shops. The salesgirl then started explaining to me the different lip glosses that they have and asked me what kind of colour I was looking for. She started applying the colours on her own hand. And know what? All the colours are so 'lolita'!!! I mean, it's pretty difficult to find lolita-like colour lipsticks in these shops. Most of them are either too brown or too light or too red. I was trying to find sweet pink shades and Nature Republic carries many of them! Finally, I decided on the lipstick and lip gloss that I wanted. The colour is fantastic.

I continued to browse through the other products such as the mens' range and other facial products. She recommended me the Eco Garden series which is an organic product but I already had the full skin care at home. She was not pushy at all and told me that I can give it a try after I have finished with my present one. She recommended a few products for men and I thought I can let my hubby try it. Finally, I got my hubby a facial wash, serum and a facial toner. I didn't buy much for myself but I got a whole lot of freebies from them. Facial masks and samples too.

So far, I love their body scrub. It's black berry and blue berry body scrub. It smells heavenly and the exfoliating beads are gentle on the skin too. I have dry and sensitive skin and this product is really good. My skin feels completely relaxed after the scrub and the wonderful smell is therapeutic too. I feel as if I'm in a garden full of berries. I look forward to the next body scrub bath everytime!

In the end, I bought a whole of stuff --> a total of $120! So I got two foot masks for free and a few facial masks. I also bought fake eye lashes which the salesgirl went the extra mile to show the slight differences among them. I love my first shopping experience at Nature Republic.

Crazy over Head Bands & Headdresses

Recently, I'm kind of crazy over head bands and headdresses and I'm always on the search for cheap ones. I mean I can't keeping pouring out $$ to get the Lolita brands. They are just so expensive! Well, of course they are really pretty but forking out like $50 plus just to get a head dress is realli xim tia! And just this week, I bought maybe 5 head bands for loli use. Most of them cost less than $10 each and they look pretty fine as Lolita head dresses.

And really, I always believed that there's no need to wear loli that is branded from head to toe. I can always find many other alternatives such as accessories that go well with loli too. I've found shops now that I go to buy my accessories.

One of the shops that I think I'll constantly patronise is Mini Princess at Bishan Junction 8. This shop is sister store of Mini Toons that is located at the 4th level of the Junction 8. And really, this shop just tells us one thing - If you have children who are girls, you gonna be broke. They sell a wide range of princess-like clothings for little girls, accessories and even items like laced baskets, display boxes etc. And indeed they are pretty loli in some ways. They have a whole lot of pink head bands!!! So lolis who are looking for pink headbands can definitely find something there. Of course, they have bling styles, as well as lacy and sweet ones.

Mini Princess Shop at Junction 8

I love this cutesy crown in pink on one side of the head band. So pretty!!!!

The cherries look great and yummy! And the colour of this head band is a comfy pink too!

This is a simple head band that matches with many lolita outfits.

Bridal-like ribbon and mesh

Another great shop that sells a variety of accessories of different styles is Diva. They have a branch in Junction 8 just opened and haz! I guess they pose a great threat to Helen that's just a few steps away. Personally, I prefer Diva to Helen as the things are actually cheaper and more unique. Diva even sell necklaces that has a pendant like an antique watch, lacy necklaces with pearls etc and they are not ex. The previous time I check out Helen on a necklace and it costs $30 plus $40.

I love this very much. It's really sweet and simple. Thinking of wearing this for ROM.

Simple Off-white mesh head band

I think it's time to stop buying head bows and head bands already. I have to STOP!!! I can't help it but go gaga when I see beautiful head bands!

Mom's handmade skirt and headdress & my make up

It's a super long time since I updated my blog. I felt so bad... so bad!!! Well, I've been so busy so busy with work for the last few weeks! It's CRAZY!!!! I just had time now for holidays and of course, taking a breather and went around for facial, eye treatment and shopping!

Last Saturday, I attended my cousin's wedding at Four Seasons Hotel and I also helped out at the reception. It was a wonderful wedding and I really enjoyed myself. I was so touched as he was a very close cousin of mine. And of course, how can I forget to dress up to his wedding???? I wore my mother's masterpiece - handmade skirt and headdress. She made this last year and I wore it for last years' National Day lolita gathering. And my mom was also proud of herself. Everyone was like "Huh? Aunt made this?" or "Your mother made this?"

I also quite like the make up that I did that day. I used the colours from the Sephora palette and the effect turned out pretty good.

I used Shade 1 as the base. It's actually a light shimmer pink.

After which, I used Shade 2 on the crease. It's a light sea blue.

And I used Shade 3 to emphasise the corner of the lid.

The three colours actually blended very well.

And not forgetting to highlight the area under the eye brow with white eye shadow 4.

I used this eye lash style from Bodyline this time.

It was pretty easy to fix.

For the lips, I used the shade marked '1'. This is a lip palette from Skin Food.

I really love the Sephora palette. It's made up of 5 different looks and the colours are gorgeous! And the quality is super good and the colours are matched just the way you can apply and you don't have to crack ur brains to think what colours you need to match with.

Photos edited ~ Down Memory Lane ~

My fiance has just finished photo editing a few of the lolita photos from the Down Memory Lane series. Frankly, I am quite impressed with his skills though and I just adore him for being able to have innate artistic and linguistic ability. I mean for me, I don't want have the ability to interpret the message behind an abstract art piece or photograph. I really can't. I believe such things is inborn and cannot really be taught or learnt. For example, I used to buy Jimmy's chinese pictorial story books as the pictures were beautifully drawn. To me, it's just that pictures are pretty but to my fiance, he could actually interpret what each picture meant by looking at the colours, the facial expression of the characters, the setting of the picture etc. He could combine all these together to understand what the author is trying to portray.

When he told me that he wanted to go into photography, I am totally supportive of him. I think this hobby suits him really well and allows him to unleash his creativity and shows what he thinks and feels. For every picture that he takes, he could come up with a beautiful phrase to sum up what the photograph is trying to say. My fiance used to think that he does not have much strengths as compared to others but I told him, having this artistic ability is something which I hope I'll have but I don't. And I really envy those who are so artistically inclined. Of course, this is one of the things in him that makes me adore him very much.

New lolita purchases

Oh manz, it's quite some time since I updated this lolita blog of mine. Kinda feel bad...

I went to Black Alice on last Tuesday to collect some of my lolita items. I was really excited when Tim sent me an email to say that my Innocent World items have arrived. And yes! I've been waiting for my IW parasol!!

I kept telling myself that I should just collect my IW parasol, BTSSB parasol (I paid 20% deposit a few weeks ago) and my Carol Shoes from BTSSB. I could not resist getting the IW folders and after which, Grace told me that I needed another like $40 plus to get another stamp on my card which then marks the completion of my card that entitles me $60 worth of voucher. On top of that, since I spent $400, I will have an additional $20 voucher. I didn't mind spending another $40 but I didn't know what to buy until Grace showed me the IW white lace wristcuffs with small pearls. The wrist cuffs were indeed adorable and without hesitation, I added that to my purchase.

Innocent World Folder

Innocent World wrist cuffs

And.... what's more... Cathay was having a promotion. Every $75 I spend at Black Alice, I'll get a pair of free movie tickets though the max. number I can collect each day is only 3 pairs. BUT THAT'S BETTER THAN NOTHING!!!!! So in the end, I got 3 pairs of movie tickets and a total of $80 voucher from BA. okays... the 'auntie' side of me is coming out again... but I just can't help it. I love freebies...!!!

I actually tried on the Carol Shoes in BA and I thought the strap felt pretty loose. When I got home, I tried it on again and I thought I will need to get it altered or something which is kinda difficult. But my mom said that it looks pretty okay. It looks weird on my feet when I look down but it is okay from the front. After awhile, I've decided not to do anything about the shoes.

Both parasols are absolutely gorgeous!!!! The IW parasol is simple and great with any lolita dressing. I love the shape of the parasol and the simple lace deco at the outline of the parasol makes it so dainty. I really can't wait to carry this IW parasol for my ROM!

Innocent World parasol

BTSSB Parasol

The 3 pairs of gloves for ROM

I was looking for a pair of gloves to be worn for my ROM. I actually got a pair from R-series but they didn't really fit my hands as my fingers are pretty thin. And the gloves didn't fit my wrist. It was till a gathering at Mykii with my lolita friends that I found out that the gloves from Rose Melody actually fit my hands very well!!! My lolita friend, Karmen, told me that they did not cost very much and they are really beautiful. I was then quite determined to get a pair for myself.

R-series lace gloves

Rose Melody Lace Gloves

When I knew that my lolita friend, Victoria, was opening a taobao spree, I told her about the gloves that I wanted to get. I was elated when she told me she actually got a pair of brand new ones but they didn't fit her hands very well. I was like 'hurray'!!! I don't have to wait for it to come after a weeks time. Finally, I met up with Victoria and she passed me the gloves. They were gorgeous and fit the size of my hands! Woots woots!

However...

At about 11 plus at night, I showed the gloves to my sister and wore one of the gloves on my left hand. Just as I was trying to remove the gloves, I heard the 'tuk' sound and felt some tugging. Suddenly, I just had a bad feeling. True enough, there was a hole in the glove! I had pulled the glove out too hard! Orh............. I was just so angry with myself! Why did I use so much force?????? I kept trying to comfort myself that the hole was not too big and it was in the valley of the two fingers so it's not that obvious. I might still just wear it in the end.... But ultimately, this was not convincing enough and I could not go on with that. I had to get a new pair. Traditionally, it is not good to wear or use something that is broken on the wedding day.

The HOLE

I quickly emailed my Victoria to place an order for my gloves. She was so nice to help me order it together with the yukata orders so that they can arrive in time for my ROM. I guess maybe that pair of gloves is just not meant to be worn by me. And I learnt something too - be gentle with things made of lace!

B'day presents!

I just had my birthday last Monday which was on 10th May. In the past, I used to be super excited about my birthday. Seriously now, I don't know why I don't really feel anything at all. Maybe I have matured?? Haz. I reported to work as usual and did not leave early like I usually will. I stayed at my work place to finish up my marking and work. I did not celebrate my actual birthday with my fiance as we have agreed that we will celebrated this coming weekend.

Nevertheless, I was really touched by the birthday wishes from my friends on facebook. A simple greeting 'Happy Birthday' really makes me feel that I have many friends and family around me who care for me. And what's more, my colleague and friend, Serene, bought me a birthday pressie too. I was really touched because it was personalised.

This bottle of sweets is from Serene. It's real colourful and the colours is just able to lift up your spirits. It tastes great too!!! Sweet and a little citric sour. I will not leave my office without taking one!

Another gift that I received from my colleague is a handmade card. Cher-ly got her friend to make a sweet lolita card for me. It was SOOOOOOOOOO SWEET AND PINK! I was so impressed with the card that and at first, I though she bought it from a bookshop or something. Later on, I ask her for her friend's blogshop. I went to take a look at the blogshop and WOW!!!!! All of her cards were really pretty!!! You can check out http://ashcards.wordpress.com/

I am just thankful that I have friends who really care for me. E.g. my best friend, Junie was the first one who smsed me to wish me a happy birthday and even asked me when I am free tomeet up to celebrate birthday. I am just so touched.