May MCM Expo 2014

Last month I attended London MCM Expo. It's the first time in four years that I've attended the May edition as I usually overheat and get tired and grumpy and I wanted to avoid that. It's no different this time.

Unfortunately I didn't have an overly good time due to some personal circumstances. But that's no reason to stop the fun, right?

F R I D A Y
I didn't cosplay on the Friday as I was travelling all the way from Newcastle which is approximately three hours. After dragging a case down I wasn't in the mood to cosplay for one or two hours so I decided to wander around in normal clothes.


I'm actually really silly and forgot to take an outfit shot waaah. The shirt I was wearing was a gift from a friend and the skirt was the white skirt I'd bought from YesStyle recently.

I had a lot of fun being able to browse in peace but it was so weird to not be cosplaying. I felt invisible! Although it was a lot less stressful to get everywhere. I kinda wish I'd taken more photos of the inside of the con centre as... someone decided to hold exams.

During a convention. I know. Scandalous right?

I ended up purchasing some lower lashes from Dreamy Bows. Their stand was so cute and their staff were super lovely. I really do recommend them as they've been nothing but lovely and helpful. I'd left my lower lashes at home and I was panicking until I saw their stand. ♥ I also purchased a wig from them to replace the wig that I never received from Lockshop.

S A T U R D A Y
I cosplayed! I redid my Junko Enoshima from Dangan Ronpa just like I did back in October. There were some significant improvements on the make-up front and I didn't forget to wear my choker this time.


I had lots of fun being asked for photos but I was fairly tired. I lost a lot of contact with my friends who weren't working and spent most of the day by myself and hiding from the Dangan Ronpa fandom because I'm super shy! I did meet some lovely people who took photos of me or had impromptu shoots. ♥

Although I felt lonely I felt blessed that people would offer to help.

One of the things I love about the UK con scene is that everyone is so friendly and willing to help people out. I usually don't see that much at Expo but people who saw me sitting by myself came by for chats and I just feel so fortunate that I was in a position to be able to capitalise on those.

I'll be posting photos on my cosplay page.

I didn't buy anything because as anyone who has attended Expo knows, Saturday is horrifically hot and stuffy and difficult to move in.

S U N D A Y
Did I cosplay again? Of course I did! I recreated my Gemucon lineup by recosplaying Sonia Nevermind from Super Dangan Ronpa 2. I wanted to get photos of her that I could be proud of.

I didn't do that.


The costume was a total pain. My ankles kept twisting, my contacts were physically painful and the wig would not stay on my head. For the first time in forever my false eyelashes decided they didn't want to stay on my face. I felt like a fat frump and less like the Super Highschool Level Princess I should've been.

I purchased a Monomi plush to go along with my cosplay. I also purchased a Liz Lisa dress of... dubious authenticity and gave some money to a girl who was agonising over whether or not she could afford a bag.


Sure, this is authentic, right? Not. I like the dress enough to have not gonna storming back to the seller when I realised they'd charged me brand prices for something that was very not brand. It's no secret that MCM has become full of fakes recently but I'm disappointed that it'd be so obvious and in my face.

O V E R A L L
Expo was okay. It was Expo. I was lonely and bored most of the time and just wanted to hang out with people who weren't working. I kind of wish there was more to do but when it's like a cattle market there's not much that can be done. Kudos to them for expanding the space, although I missed the sitting area from October Expo a lot.

I'm not sure if I want to attend the next one.

Stay sweet! ♥

Trend: NeoGal

NeoGal.

NeoGyaru.

Whichever term you prefer to call it by, there's no denying that it's been firing up the J-Fashion community recently and lead to all sorts of discussion. Some people love the style and others loathe it and believe it's ruining gyaru and everything it stands for. To some people gyaru is still the tanned skin, the over dramatic eye make-up and big hair.

To me, that is the gyaru style that I first saw online a few years ago and developed a crush on.

The current gyaru is weird to me.


Ever since NeoGal first made a mention in ViVi last year, the popularity of the style is increasing and starting to make more of an impact. With the recent demise of Ageha, etc. the magazines that fashionable girls have in Japan is narrowing down, leading toe extra exposure of styles such as NeoGal.

The 'rules' of NeoGyaru as stated by ViVi are:

1 A girl who models her fashion after Western trends.
2 Gal who uses Instagram and other social media to catch overseas trends.
3 One who bleaches her hair to white blond or purple.
4 Isn't trying to impress boys with fashion but a popular yet stoic type of gyaru.

Alisa Ueno, producer and designer of FIG&VIPER, is one of the biggest NeoGal leaders out there. Other brands inspiring the trend are SLY, Murua, Emoda, etc. Basically a lot of the old mode gyaru leaders!



Some of the current gyaru trends such as chokers, etc. have snuck their way into NeoGal but it feels oh so toned down. There's no big hair and over dramatic eye make-up leading to bigger looking eyes.

My personal opinion on NeoGal?

B o r i n g !

What attracted me to idolising and admiring gyaru in the first place was the sense of fun their outfits had, their hair and make-up. Slapping on a pair of false eyelashes and circle lenses doesn't make you gyaru - if that really was the case then you could argue that Kyarypamyupamyu is gyaru. Spoiler: she isn't.

If anything, NeoGal is the lovechild of the 90s and Shibuhara fashion. It's soft grunge and Tumblr incarnate and with the recent exposure of online fashions I can see why some people would love this. The toned down hair and make-up make NeoGal feel a lot more accessible than Hime, Agejo, Rokku... even loli! It feels like some people crave a J-Fashion substyle to fit in and with this being inspired by Western clothes it's easier than ever.

In the past, gyaru brands seemed to pick up on trends before the Western scene (trust me; I remember desperately trying to get my hands on an usamimi and a year later they popped up everywhere in the UK). Recently they've been coming out at the same time. With NeoGal taking hints from the Western scene it feels like the tables have turned and I personally dislike it. In my opinion, Western fashion is boring.


A lot of Western gyaru are unhappy at the rise of NeoGal and are wanting to 'Gyaru' it up; wearing the clothes but with over the top hair and the top and lower lashes that previously graced the pages of Ageha (Rest in Peace). It seems a little extreme. NeoGal might be the 'next big thing' but there's no use in biting at it.

Let it happen. Let it go.

I predict NeoGal won't have a long life span, even with the most natural look of gyaru.

What's your thoughts on NeoGal? Yay or nay?

Candy Doll Lipsticks

As a die hard fan of Tsubasa Masuwaka, I've been using Dolly Wink and Candy Doll products for awhile. Due to an unfortunate incident my favourite lipstick melted so I decided to treat myself to two new ones from Tsubasa's Candy Doll range!

Candy Doll is a range that is produced by Tsubasa Masuwaka. She used to single handedly advertise the products that she released, but as of late she's brought Dakota Rose onboard as a model for advertising. They're both super cute.

I purchased the lipsticks in Pink Grapefruit and Ramune Pink.


The packaging is quite bulky but I find this to be common with Japanese cosmetics so I don't find it a problem, although some other people might!

The lipstick cases are a simple shade of black with some gold detailing showing that it's from Candy Doll. In comparison to the old containers these are so much better; the older cases looked extremely cheap and something I would expect a £1 lipstick to come in. I'm really pleased these were changed.


Candy Doll lipsticks tend to be creamy and moisturising. Usually I don't feel like I have to wear lipgloss with these which is a bonus as I absolutely detest lipglosses. Not even my Candy Doll lipgloss can make me love it.

The con to these lipsticks is that they don't last long. They have to be reapplied very frequently and I personally think that sometimes they can look a bit cakey. It's definitely recommended that you buffer your lips before applying these lipsticks.


The shades certainly aren't unique to Candy Doll; I've found many drug store lipsticks of the same quality and at a cheaper price in these exact same shades. You're definitely paying a premium for the brand name Candy Doll. If you have the cash to spend I think it's worth investing as I've never had an issue with these lipsticks but don't feel that you have to buy them just because Tsubasa produced them - I found a dupe of Ramune Pink for £3!

Although it sounds like I'm ragging a little on these lipsticks I recommend these wholeheartedly. There's not much I can say other than the formula being quite nice and the lipsticks are perfect colours for an understated look; if you're wearing a lot of eye make-up these are perfect to stop a massive make-up faux pas.

Swatches in day light:


Pink Grapefruit is a lot brighter than Ramune Pink. It's definitely a statement kind of lipstick. It also has a bit of a shimmer in it which I was surprised to see!

Ramune Pink is more of a natural, neutral colour. It's not entirely nude as it's very pink when applied but it's not one to be in your face.

Overall I really do recommend these lipsticks, but I don't want to say BUY THEM just because they're Candy Doll. There are definitely cheaper alternatives on the market.

Stay sweet!

Tomodachi Life

Has anyone else been playing Tomodachi Life? I'm totally hooked to this game! It's super silly and fun and it's nice to take a break from serious games for once in awhile. Sorry Fire Emblem, I love you but I want fun.

Here's some adventures from my first few days of playing!


My first appearance. I have a cat!


I went on a date with JoJo~ We didn't hit it off.


Therefore, I had a lunch date with Tsubasa Masuwaka.


Afterwards she tried teaching me how to twerk.


Where did they find a bowl that big though?!


Some of us decided to have a barbeque to celebrate summer!


Kanye West and Conchita Wurst then came to join in on the fun.


Kanye West then decided to hold a rap concert to prove himself.


My Mii then had a dream about the red string of fate. Except JoJo was at the end! He doesn't even like her...


There was also a wedding!


I'm having a lot of fun with this game. It's so silly! The only complaint I have is that my islanders sometimes don't have enough problems for me to solve and I want them to all become friends faster.

Do you guys have this game? If you want, you can add my Mii to your game by scanning the QR code below! Share your codes with me so I can add you to mine!

Ordering from Mbok

As a shopper, I'll admit that the thought of using a shopping service to purchase from different websites is terrifying. I've always worried about what will happen if there's a dispute or I fail to receive goods. Which, to be honest, is the reason why I've always hidden behind eBay, behind webstores, etc.

However, no more! I've discovered how easy peasy it is to order from Mbok which makes it easier to get my hands on dresses from certain brands that I've been after.

Ordering from Mbok was probably one of the easiest things I've ever done.

I used the Japonica shopping service which was super duper easy to use!

http://www.mbok.jp
It helps if you can read katakana in order to browse the site but it's still easy without it. I was able to pull up lots of Liz Lisa items just by searching for 'liz lisa'. Same applies with MA*RS, La Pafait, etc. The clothes are second hand of course, but often run cheaper than what they would be if you were to buy them brand new.

I've decided I want to purchase the below Liz Lisa dress:


It's really pretty, right?

The Bidding Price starts at ¥6990 (£40.69)
The Buy Now price is ¥19900 (£115.84)

These prices are without the shopping service's commission or shipping to yourself.

Not all listings will have a Buy Now price as some may be auction only. Whilst you can save a lot of money via bidding there is no guarantee of you winning your item which could lead to disappointment and not winning your items.

The shopping service I'll be using for this is Japonica Market. Japonica Market also offers shopping services for Yahoo Auctions Japan, Shibuya 109, Rakuten, etc. so it's a shopping service to keep in mind.

In order to place an order with Japonica Market you have to e-mail them with a form sent to them via e-mail (order@japonicamarket.com). I've filled out the below form as though I was ordering from them.

E-Mail Subject: Mbok Order

[ Auctions / Shopping Order Form ]

Seller ID : lzakiraさん
Item Name : 激可愛完売★LIZLISAリズリサ刺繍リボンレースチュニックワンピ
Auction ID / Item URL : http://www.mbok.jp/item/item_442380897.html?_SRC=li_i0
Max bid Price : 19900 yen
Bidding Options : Buy it Now

Payment : Paypal
Shipping Options : EMS
PayPal Account : xxx@genericwebservice.com
PayPal Confirmed Shipping Name and Address :
Rachael Claranee
444 Madethisup Way
Swagcity
Swagville
SW78 9AG

note :

~x~

It's that easy. Once the form is filled in all we're waiting for is an invoice from Japonica as this is a Buy It Now option. I believe they don't ask for payment until they've secured your auction item.

I put an order in for three items.
Japonica sent me an invoice. 16 minutes after I'd paid I received an e-mail from them confirming they had secured my items.

Once the item arrives with Japonica they send a final invoice which includes shipping to your address. Once this is done and paid they send your items.

It's stupidly easy to do! ♥ If I had known it was so easy I would have start buying from Mbok earlier.

I hope this helps some of you who were having doubts about purchasing from Mbok!