New gray hakama for Yasusada and Kenshin, finally!

Hello peeps ~

After almost 2 years of searching on and off I've finally found some new gray vintage hakama that I can use for improving my battousai version Kenshin Himura (Rurouni Kenshin) and nimihirviö Yamato no Kami Yasusada (Touken Ranbu) cosplays! 8D I'm so happy I finally have a suitable hakama because I've been searching for soooo long for the right one to show up and with the right price! It's been stupidly hard to find, I tell you. -.- What's even better is that this one is made of cotton, which is more convenient for cosplay purposes because I can iron and even wash it, if needed! Most times vintage hakama are silk, meaning that cotton is hard to come by.

When I originally debuted Yasusada back in 2015 it always bothered me that the cosplay hakama that I used (same one that I've used for Kenshin and Hakuouki's Hijikata) was way too light. I always wanted a darker pair and preferably a vintage piece, to fit better with the kimono that I use for him, which is also vintage. The wrong hakama is the main reason I haven't reworn Yasusada since then, even though I've wanted to rewear him all along!

New hakama, so excited! >u<

I'm sorry for the crummy mirror photo and the yellow light but yeah, the hakama is a dark-ish gray. I also tied the hakama knot differently from Yasusada's (didn't check references) but it doesn't matter since this was just a quick test. I basically just did a proper knot instead of an "anime knot", lolol. 

It's also andon (skirt) style, which is the type that Yasusada is also wearing, according to the art book – if one wants to be precise.

Yamato no Kami Yasusada reference.

As I said I will also use this new hakama for my battousai Kenshin cosplay, which will see the light of day again once I remake his (or well, actually Ichito's) gloves, aka tekkou. They actually broke at Närcon Vinter last year. :'( I want to make sturdier ones that are easier to wear because the now dead gloves were quite a bitch because yeah, they kept warping around and undoing themselves. Then again, I made them in fucking 2012 so totally not the freshest build I've done, lmao. I should make a new pair specifically for Kenshin and then another for Ichito too...

That's all for this quick update post, see you!

Shiro Samurai out.

I now have a Twitter account!

Yo!

I finally gave in today and made a Shitter Twitter account! I've been considering it for a long time and yeah, now it happened. xD It's basically a mix of all my three blogs combined (cosplay, kimono and lifestyle) along with funny memes, video game screenshots, shitposting and much more. I won't be writing any deep text walls (you can't even do that because of text limits lol) and such, just quick and silly stuff. I will also of course link my blogs and perhaps throw some smaller convention updates, cosplay WIPs, potential selfies and such – time will tell ~

So yeah, if you wanna follow me then here's the link:  

https://twitter.com/Shiro_Samurai ^_^

~ Shiro Samurai out.

Lens review: Flora Diva Gray

Hello folks! 

I have prepared a circle lens review and it's gonna be about the Flora Diva Gray!
I haven't seen the Flora brand of lenses for sale anywhere else than at HoneyColor, just in case anyone wonders where to get these pretties ~

Let's get on with the review!

Base curve: 8.6 mm
Diameter: 15.0 mm

Water content: 55%
Life span: 1 year (I recommend 6 months)

The design is sort of simple but it's really appealing to me! It's a pretty lens with a flower petal-ish print and a thin black limbal ring. There's some irregular black streaks reaching towards the pupil hole, which gives the lenses some character. It's a beautiful and mesmerizing design that is great for many different occasions and purposes!

One lens in.

My natural eye color is a light blue-gray and these go really well with my real eyes. The color is vivid and opaque and thus won't blend much so yeah, if you're looking for a natural color effect then these lenses won't be the best choice – I would recommend them for cosplay though. It's a lens that looks really lively and sparkly once worn and I'd say that these are perfect for cosplaying bishounen characters. ^_^ It's a really gorgeous lens that looks amazing on photos as well ~

The color is a pretty and fresh light gray. Normally I'm not the biggest fan of gray circle lenses but I'm really digging these!

The enlargement boost is noticeable but it's not over the top in any way. It's a size that is versatile and, although this is not a natural lens, it doesn't look freakishly unnatural either.

Lens photos below!
All photos taken by me during a June evening with a semi-clear sky. All close-up photos are free from color filters and such and that's so that the colors would be as true to real life as possible.

Bathroom light.

Flash photo.

Facing a window in the corridor. (not sun side)

White light in the corridor.

Yellow light in the staircase.

Indoors storage room. Only natural light from the side.

Outdoors, back against sun.

Outdoors, facing sun.

When it comes to comfort these lenses made my eyes watery after insertion, but not in an uncomfortable way. I could feel them slightly for maybe a couple minutes (no scratching, stinging etc though) when I moved my gaze around but my eyes soon got used to these lenses. I had a couple minor dry bouts but otherwise I found these decently comfortable – I could wear the lenses for 3 hours before they started drying, which is quite good considering how horribly dry my eyes have been lately. So yeah, I could perhaps have worn these a couple hours more but I decided to play it save because my eyes are so dry and sensitive.

Distance photo! 

Interested in reviews of the Flora Diva lenses in other colors?

Check out these: Violet, Green

Short summary:

Color: 8/10
Beautiful and lively light gray color! Fresh and youthful!

Design: 8/10

A really pretty and versatile design with a flower petal-ish print.

Opacity: 8/10

Solid coverage, really good for costuming purposes!

Enlargement: 7/10

The size is there but it's not overpowering at all.

Comfort: 6/10

Average-ish. Makes my eyes tear up after insertion but comfy otherwise. Around 3 hours of wear on dry eyes without eyedrops.

Naturalness: 3/10

Too colorful to pass for real eyes but otherwise not bad.

Thank you for reading and, if you have any questions, just leave a comment!

Shiro Samurai out.

Lens review: Angelic Eye Princess Blue

Yo!

I'm back with the circle lens reviews and today's pair that I'll show you guys is the Angelic Eye Princess Blue! The Angelic Eye brand is perhaps exclusive to HoneyColor so yeah, just thought I'd mention it in case someone wants to try these as well – and no, this is not a sponsored review.

Let's get reviewing ~

Base curve: 8.6 mm
Diameter: 14.5 mm

Water content: 45%

Life span: 1 year (I recommend 6 months)

I don't have so much to say about the lenses themselves – I mean, the design is sort of generic (aka I've seen similar circle lenses before) and it looks like it's trying to mimic a real iris, except in a more semi-realistic way. It's not a bad design in any way and because of its simplicity I can imagine that these would be good even for more casual outfits, classic lolita and the like. It's an ideal lens if you want pretty eyes but don't want them to be so obviously fake-looking that you'll scare away that nice grandma next to you.

These lenses definitely appear big if you look at them in the vials but, once worn, then at least on my eyes they're not quite as huge as I was led to believe. x) The size boost is still there of course but it's not eating up my eyes yet, lol.

One lens in. Notice size difference.

When it comes to color I think that the blue shade is really pretty – it's a rich and surprisingly vibrant blue! When compared to the green and brown pairs from the same series I have to admit that the blue one is my favorite but, then again, natural eye color is a factor worth noting because it does greatly affect how different lens colors show up on different eyes. My natural eye color is a light blue-gray (gray-blue?), by the way. 

It's funny because always when I buy several pairs from the same series I always go for green first and then take blue and possibly another color as reserves but, once I get to wearing the lenses, it's often the green that is the disappointing one and the blue that impresses me, lol. So yeah, blue lenses is a pretty safe card if you have a similar eye color as I do. xD

Lens photos ahead!

All photos taken by me during a June afternoon with a semi-clear sky.
There's no color filters or such on the close-up photos and that's so that the colors would be as true to real life as possible.

Bathroom light.

Flash photo.

Facing a window in the corridor. (not sun side)

Yellow light in the staircase.

Indoors storage room. Natural light coming from the side.

Outdoors, being on the shadow side of the building.

Outdoors, back against sun.

Outdoors, facing sun.

Comfort is pretty average. Felt a bit scratchy and uncomfortable upon insertion but it went away after a minute once the lenses settled. I could always feel them in my eyes when I moved my gaze around but otherwise they're quite okay, except that I experienced a couple dry bouts and some sudden stinginess (which could just have been a wig fiber poking my eye). I wore these for 2,5 hours before I felt the first signs of dryness kicking in, which is a rather average time for me and my sensitive eyes lately. If you don't suffer from dry and/or sensitive eyes I don't think you'd have much problems wearing these for notably longer than I did.

Again, what brings these lenses down for me is the big pupil hole. It's so big that it foils the color impact of the lenses on my light eyes, especially when viewed from a distance. It looks like I have big fancy eyes but yeah, the color is not instantly noticeable because the watcher's attention will first go to the huge pupil hole that completely reveals my true eye color first. It's a bit of a bummer because the blue color in itself is incredibly beautiful. :/ I just wish that the blue of the lens reached further into the middle because then these would be so much more awesome. It's still a pretty lens but I do think that the Angelic Eye Princess series would show their best side on dark eyes.

Distance photo!

Interested in these same lenses but in other colors?

Check out my other reviews here: Brown, Green, Gray

 

Short summary:

Color: 7/10
Beautiful vivid and rich blue color! Shame it doesn't reach further into the center of the lens...

Design: 6/10

Nothing out of the ordinary but it does its intended job well.

Opacity: 7/10

Wherever the blue is printed the coverage is good. It's a tiny little bit transparent, occasionally making a slight halo effect visible.

Enlargement: 7/10

Big enough to work for dolly eye looks, if you're into that.

Comfort: 4/10

Average-ish. I feel them in my eyes when I move my gaze around and wearing time on dry/sensitive eyes is about 2,5 hours. I experienced occasional dry bouts.

Naturalness: 3/10

Too bright and too big to really pass but they're not completely doomed either, thanks to the semi-realistic design.

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed this review! ^_^

Shiro Samurai out.