Lens review: Fynale Honoo Red

Yoooooo ~

It was a reaaally long time ago since I last reviewed a red circle lens (we're talking about years) but now it's time again! (*ﾟ▽ﾟ*) Wohooo!

Today I'll be reviewing the Fynale Honoo Red lenses, which are in reality much more of a pinkish red than a so called true red.

Let's gooooo!

Base curve: 8.6 mm
Diameter: 15 mm

Water content: 55%

Life span: 1 year (I recommend 6 months)

As you can see already, by looking at the lenses in the vials, they look very pale for being a red lens. I wasn't honestly expecting them to be a deep red and I had already prepared myself that they might even be closer to a dark pink than a real red so yeah, as soon as I popped one lens into my eye I just stood there and nodded to myself in the mirror – these lenses are not of a true red color.

Even though these lenses don't exactly live up to the 'red' in their name they are undeniably pretty anyway! The pinkish red shade is really something that you don't bump into everyday and I can't help but think that it could be perfect for cosplayers looking for a lens that would be dark pink, pink-red or that middle-ground between pink and red! :D

One lens in.

When I first touched these lenses it instantly hit me that they are thinner than average; the lenses barely held their shape when I put them on my finger! They fold themselves easily when I clean them and/or pour solution on them in my palm too. Despite the thinness I had no issues inserting them and yeah, as soon as they were in my eyes I didn't even feel them. Yay!

Close-up photo of the lens! (sorry about the quality)

The pattern reminds me of a real iris but it still keeps that "hey I'm a contact lens!" look to it. It's cool and I'd say that it's balancing somewhere in the semi-natural range. The lenses sport a thin black limbal ring, which helps in delivering a more cartoony look.

The enlargement effect is really modest and, to me, it doesn't really look like a 15 mm lens – not like it's a bad thing though! I personally dig lenses of all sizes so whatever the size is I like it, haha.

Lens photos coming up!

All photos taken by me during a January morning (around 11:00) with a cloudy 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.

Facing the window in my apartment.

Bathroom light.

Flash photo.

White light in the corridor.

Yellow light in the staircase.

Outdoors, facing the light. (cloudy sky, sun is not visible)

Outdoors, back against light.

Indoors in a small storage room. There's a small window, hence the light.

As I already said, these lenses were super comfortable from the first second I put them in; I don't feel them at all and that's always a big plus for me. I wore them 6 hours no problem; if anything then my vision was a bit blurred at the corners, especially when I'm indoors, but it didn't bother me all that much. I could wear them for longer than 6 hours if I wanted or needed but yeah, that's when I started feeling the first signs of dryness so I decided to take them off. Remember that you can always use eyedrops to prolong the wear-time if needed for an event etc!

Distance photos!

Am I the only one being reminded of Koujaku from DRAMAtical Murder
from these pics? xD Maybe I should cosplay him...

So yeah, if you are looking for a pure red lens then I'd suggest avoiding the Fynale Honoo Red or you might be disappointed in the color. But if you need something that's a bit more pink in shade –but still is a red lens– then these are your best friends forever! Get them!

Short summary:

Color: 8/10
Despite not being a true red these lenses have a lovely pinkish red color.

Design: 8/10

It's not anything fancy, in terms of design, but it looks really good nevertheless!

Opacity: 8/10

Pretty damn good.

Enlargement: 6/10

These have a modest enlargement. They are not big but I wouldn't say that they are small either.

Comfort: 9/10

Really comfortable! I don't feel them at all once they're in my eyes and I could wear them 6 hours no problem. They do blur my vision at the corners though, especially in weaker indoor lights.

Naturalness: 2/10

Don't expect red lenses with good coverage to be realistic. :)

Thanks for reading! I hope this review was helpful! ^_^

Shiro Samurai out. 

Contact lenses – The advice and "what not to do" list!

Hello everyone out there!

I got the inspiration to write this post after I, once again, helped someone online to find a fitting pair of circle/contact lenses for their cosplay. I tend to browse online forums and cosplay groups on Facebook etc and help out with questions about contact lenses; I like to help people and so I got the idea to do this kind of "do and do not" type of list when it comes to colored contact lenses. I hope that this will be helpful to someone out there who's about to buy their first ever colored circle lenses to their cosplay!
Oh, and if you need help with finding suitable circle lenses for a character that you want to cosplay, feel free to email* me for suggestions! But please please PLEASE provide reference images of the character (with the eyes clearly visible) because hey, I don't know every single character in existence. xD I'll try to help as best as I can! ^_^  
* = my email can be found to the left of my blog, under "About Me".

Me wearing the EOS Bubble Blue circle lenses.

The thing is that many times –both online and in real life– I've stumbled upon people who say that they've done the same things and, every time, I wish they knew better. I don't mean to be that person but I think it's important to not do any risky stuff with lenses because hey, you only have one set of eyes and if you damage them it's most often permanent. It's worth to think about.

Okay so, this post will be a mixed bag of what I've heard from people I've talked with at conventions along with information I've picked up along the years, all relevant to the use of contact and/or circle lenses. This post won't go through everything so yeah, some important stuff might very well be missing; it's just a compilation of things that I'd especially want to bring up to new contact lens users. ^_^ I hope this will help to clear out some of the question marks!

 Oh, and for those who do not know: circle lenses are contact lenses that give the illusion that your pupil is bigger than normal. They come in a plethora of different designs, colors and brands and are very popular in especially Asia. A lot of cosplayers mainly use circle lenses since they provide a more anime-esque look. Circle lenses are often available in prescription.

• Rule number 1: DO NOT WEAR CONTACT LENSES PAST THEIR EXPIRY DATE. 

I seriously can't stress this enough! >o<;; 
I've had so many encounters at conventions when I've just been casually chatting away with another cosplayer and then, when I ask them about their lenses out of pure curiosity, they tell me that they've had said pair for a couple three years or so. In some extreme cases the cosplayer says this in a nonchalant voice – it's as if they think that it's no big deal. At this point I mentally always freeze in horror.
A COUPLE YEARS??!  Seriously??
It doesn't matter one shit if you've just worn the lenses a few times or if they still feel comfortable in your eyes – if you've had them opened (aka taken out of their original packaging) they have been collecting bacteria since day one. The thing is that as soon as you take your lenses out of their bottles (or whatever package they were in) they aren't sterile anymore. Even if you change the lens cases' solution regularly, clean them properly and don't wear them every month it still won't ever cleanse them 100% and new bacteria will keep building up on the surface of the lens. If you had a magnifying glass I can tell you that you sure as hell wouldn't want to look what kind of yummy friends are on top of those 2-3 year old lenses you just shoved in your eyes... :)
Use common sense, folks. Even if you have the cheapskate mode kicking in just before the convention and/or you don't have time (or money) to order a new pair just, please, don't gamble your sight. A new pair of lenses won't cost you much more than 20$ but really, if you wear an expired pair of lenses and, if the accident was to happen, you might get an eye infection –or worse– and, well, those bills surely ain't gonna come cheap and you might severely damage your vision too. 
Even circle lenses that are labeled as yearly ain't no exception – they won't hold forever, period. If you have a pair and, say, you open them in February 2014, it means that you should stop using them when February 2015 rolls in. Heck, I never ever nowadays wear yearly lenses for a full year, no matter how actively I use them – after six months have passed I almost always throw them out, unless I know for sure that I need said pair for a photoshoot on the seventh month, lol. The reason for this is simply that I'd rather play it safe than sorry, always. I want to note though that you don't have to do as I do; I just prefer to keep a six month limit because to me it feels safe and hygienic. ^^

~~~~~~

• Rule number 2: DO NOT WEAR LENSES THAT ARE DEFECTIVE/HURT YOUR EYES.

Have you ever bought a pair of lenses and noticed, once you got them, that there was a visible defect on them? It can be anything from a bump to a scratch and even a torn edge. If your answer is yes then you should contact the store you bought them from and ask for a new pair or a refund. Most times the store –assuming they care about their clients just as any legitimate business would– should take you seriously and help you the best they can. Once a friend of mine received a defective pair and she contacted LensVillage, the shop she had bought from, and got sent a replacement lens, completely free of charge.
The thing is that sometimes a lens can be defective even if it has no visible damage or errors; I've had this happen. You notice it when you try to put in the lens in your eye and, no matter how well or how many times you clean it and/or take it out and put it back in, it still feels horrible in your eye. It can be a constant stinging feeling, it can burn, itch or feel like you have dirt between your eye and the lens etc. If it seriously feels so uncomfortable that you can barely keep your eye open and that you can't stand it for more than a few seconds then yes, you most likely received a defective lens. This is something that can happen no matter how safe and how amazing a shop/brand is. My main recommendation is that you DON'T WEAR THE LENS and do what I said above – contact the shop/seller. The reason why you shouldn't force yourself to wear the lens should be clear to everyone.
Oh and yes, it can very well happen that when you buy a pair that one lens is super comfortable and the other one is defective.

~~~~~~

• Rule number 3: Take care of your lenses. And your hygiene. 

By taking care I mean change the solution regularly, change the lens case regularly etc. There's plenty of recommendations and different opinions about how often one should do these things but it's all up to you to decide in the end. Personally I follow a minimum of changing the solution at least once per month, if not in use, and of course every time after use. The lens cases I prefer to change every third month. Protip: you can sterilize used lens cases by boiling them in hot water for at least 10 minutes. You should also regularly wash the lens cases with warm water and liquid dish soap to remove any dirt and debris.

Wash the case with warm water and liquid dish soap to remove dirt and debris.

Read more : http://www.ehow.com/how_7633203_sterilize-contact-lens-case.html

Wash the case with warm water and liquid dish soap to remove dirt and debris.

Read more : http://www.ehow.com/how_7633203_sterilize-contact-lens-case.html

Wash the case with warm water and liquid dish soap to remove dirt and debris.

Read more : http://www.ehow.com/how_7633203_sterilize-contact-lens-case.html

Oh and yeah, every time you touch/handle your lenses you should always remember to wash your hands thoroughly – preferably with a mild soap. I also want to say that using a liquid soap is more hygienic than using a block soap. Avoid touching things that aren't your lenses, as much as possible, once your hands are clean. I also want to mention that when it comes to drying your newly washed hands I'd recommend using something that doesn't leave much "residue" on your fingers – by this I mean that if you, for example, use a towel (fabric or paper) and look closely afterwards you'll see that small dots, fibers etc might have gotten on your hands; these minimal dirts are what you'll want to avoid because they are big enough to stick to your lens and be a bother when said lens goes into your eye. If possible, air-drying your hands is the best choice but yeah, few have a machine nor the patience for that shit so if you use the fabric towel try to not brush your hands against the whole thing; limit your "area" and moves so that you get as little of the "towel fuzz" as possible.

Oh and one thing, when you open the lens case it is possible that the lens might have gotten caught or is too close to the lid somehow and yeah, when you start screwing up the lid you can, if you're unlucky, tear up the lens on the go. This has happened to a friend of mine so yeah, be careful when opening the lens cases. Lenses can also, literally, get blown off your eyes if it's really windy outside. You have been warned.

~~~~~~

• Rule number 4: Try to not wear contact lenses longer than 4-8 hours per day, depending on the lens.

I'll admit, I've broken this rule quite a few times. Especially at conventions.

But I generally try to not wear contact lenses for much longer than the recommended time and, if I have to, there's always eyedrops! The recommendation is mainly so that your eyes won't dry out and yeah, if your contacts dry out fast it's often a good idea to either use re-wetting drops or take them out earlier than recommended. Note: eyedrops for eyes and eyedrops for contact lenses are different. Read on the product if it's suitable for contact lenses, it should say so and if not, don't use it with contacts!

Also, if you have dry eyes to begin with it's good be mindful of signs of tiredness/dryness once you wear the lenses; I  have naturally really sensitive/dry eyes and I have days on which I find it really unpleasant to wear contact lenses, no matter how comfortable said lenses would normally be. I've seriously had my fair share of both epic win lenses –that would stay comfortable for 15 hours– along with those that really dried my eyes up in less than 30 minutes.

If your eyes end up really red/bloodshot after wearing lenses (especially if around the pupil) it might be a good idea to give them a rest and not wear lenses at all for the next days...

Oh, one thing more! For the love of God and all that is holy, please don't ever sleep with your contacts on. Same thing when you are at a convention and you feel sleepy, make sure you won't accidentally fall asleep if you go and lie down somewhere with your lenses still on. A cosplayer I know has dozed off without meaning to, when wearing lenses, and she really panicked when she woke up and realized what happened.

~~~~~~

• Rule number 5: Do not use water as a substitute for lens solution and don't try to bring dried-up lenses back to life.

This one is a no-brainer. Water and lens solution just aren't the same thing.

If you ever find yourself at a con, with a really huge need to take off your contacts, and you notice that "HOLY CRUD I FORGOT MY SOLUTION!" then yeah, using water to store your contacts in their cases might suddenly seem like a very tempting and good idea – after all, you probably don't want to throw your new pair into the trash bin and neither can you keep them in your eyes. The thing with this kind of situations is that the best would of course be if you could ask someone else in the bathroom if they could possibly lend a bit of solution to you – but this of course assumes that the other person is a contact lens user as well, which isn't always the case. 

I've heard of a case when someone was desperate at a convention and used water as a last resort to store their contacts temporarily; when they came home they swapped out the water for solution and thoroughly cleaned the lenses. This might be okay (I guess?) but only if you reaaaaaaaally have no other choice, especially if short-term storage only.
The reason it's normally a no-no is because water and lens solution quite obviously contain very different things; water isn't made to clean, store and maintain your lenses.

...
Contact lenses dry out without any kind of moisture around them, shrivel up and become hard and unusable; they even crack if you apply a small amount of pressure to them once fully dried out.

Oh, and don't you think that it's a good idea to just resurrect them by adding lens solution to your crispy pieces of plastic; it might work and the contacts might feel like nothing ever happened to them (yay?) but yeah, dry contacts equal no solution to protect them and that means bacterial party galore. You do the rest of the thinking. ;)

I've had a friend who did this once to a very old lens pair that had been dried up for God knows how long and, even though she miraculously avoided problems, she nowadays feels like it was a really reckless and stupid thing to do. It's a really big risk. Just don't do it. Really.

There's probably a lot more that I could add to this list but I'm not too eager to do a 10 kilometers post, haha. For those still filled with questions about how to put in lenses etc there's plenty of really good tutorials online, both by private persons and by contact lens stores. 
Also, please remember that not everyone can wear contact lenses and that visiting an optician before your first lens experience is a good idea – they can answer all your questions and concerns better than I or any other cosplayer can, that's for sure. I'm not an eye specialist or anything, just a guy who has done his research pretty well and who likes to help others. 

Before I end this post I want to recommend some circle lens stores that I've personally bought from over the years and that I have deemed to sell genuine and safe-to-wear lenses:

• PinkyParadise
• HoneyColor
• LensVillage
• Ifairycon
• Cirkellinser (Swedish) / CircleLensesEurope (Europe only)

For discount codes check the right side half of my blog, you will see all up-to-date (hopefully) discounts visible there to stores that I trust. :)

There surely is a lot more lens stores out there that are also safe but those linked above are some of my favorites and most frequented shops. ^^ Other stores I've used include, for example, CandyLens.

Please don't ever compromise your eyes – the gift of sight is not something to mess around with. If you wreck it, you lose it.

Thank you for reading!
~ Shiro Samurai out.

Lens review: Kimchi Milky Gold

Hello folks!

It's time for the first circle lens review of the year and this year's gonna be a golden year! Yaassss, I'm gonna review my first golden pair right now! o/ It's the Kimchi Milky Gold, let's go!

Lens to the left shows the considerably lighter "wrong" side.

Base curve: 8.6 mm
Diameter: 16 mm

Water content: 55%

Life span: 1 year (I recommend 6 months)

OMG my first golden pair that I open and try out! *_ * I've been itching to use a golden lens for years now and finally it's time to break my golden lens virginity, LOL. For those that do not know I want to mention that circle lenses with a gold color are fairly rare to come by – there aren't that many different ones out there in the end, especially if you compare to the common colors like blue and brown. I know most of the currently available gold lenses (what you mean I'm a lens guru, lol) and I do own more golden lenses than just this pair, but those I'll review in the future so keep an eye on my blog if you're interested in more golden goodness! ;) 

One lens in.

Okay, so these lenses are actually gold/yellow in color when worn, which already is a huge plus! The shade is a bit darker so it appears as a more "natural gold" instead of a really bright gold that would ambush you from miles away. These lenses also show up in most lights although, in some cases, it can be a bit hard to tell from a distance, on first glance, what color it's supposed to be. Also, in some poorer indoor lights (especially in real life, aka non-camera) the lenses might appear like some undefined grayish shade because they just seem to mix and disappear with my real eye color; my real color is a blue-gray with an occasional greenish tint, by the way.
Regarding the design I must point out that it blends surprisingly well for being an unnatural color and for having such a black-speckled print. The lens design is lovely and I'd say that it's one of these multi-usable ones that works for cosplay as well as for some semi-natural daily looks.

Lens photos ahead!

All photos taken by me during a cold-as-shit January morning (around 10:30 with close to -30 °C outside) with a clear sky and a very reddish-orange sun that's low down in the horizon line; it won't rise much higher up since we still experience polar night in the north. The sky is a soft multi-pastel color, as is typical on winter mornings here.
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.

Facing the window in my apartment. Sunlight. (sun side)

Apartment room light, standing next to a yellow lamp.

Bathroom light, standing very close to the lamp.

Flash photo indoors.

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

White corridor light.

Yellow corridor light.

A warm orange-yellow light in the staircase.

Outdoors, facing the light. (sun is too low in the horizon, it's blocked by trees)

Outdoors, back against light.

Indoors on third floor*, facing sun through a window. (sunset-like light)

Indoors on third floor*, facing sun through a window. Crazy bright!

* = my apartment is on the third floor and this makes it possible for me to face the sunlight,
even though it's otherwise (aka if I was ground-level) too low in the horizon.

Facing window in my apartment, blue light.

Regarding the enlargement I want to mention that these lenses have the exact same stats (diameter, water content etc) as the Kimchi Flora Green lenses which I reviewed last year. Fun part is that these golden lenses feel a lot smaller when compared to the Kimchi Flora pair, which felt bigger than life, lol. I haven't compared the lenses to see if they truly are of a different size but it could also just be an illusion of the design, since the Flora Greens are so dark and thus give a notable black dolly eye appearance; the Kimchi Golds just don't give the same effect at all.

As for comfort these seem to be pretty dang good! I could wear these for 8 hours before they felt dry enough that I wanted to take them off, except that I got a random bout of dryness around the 1,5 hour mark – it uttered itself as me "pulling faces" with my eyes and rubbing/pulling the eyelids and doing slow blinkings. It went away though and for a while I didn't really pay attention to that I was wearing contact lenses; the first hours I felt that I had lenses on, although it was really minor and didn't bring me any discomfort. After around 3 hours passed the lenses were suddenly really comfortable and I didn't feel them after that; I went out in town with them and had no issues whatsoever! 
I honestly thought, based on first impressions, that I couldn't wear these for more than 5 hours but nope, 7,5 hours went by no problem! :D My eyes got used to them!

The Kimchi Milky Gold lenses seem to be on the thinner side too, in the sense that they flop and fold themselves quite easily when I handle them. I didn't have problems inserting them though.

Distance photoooooo!

Okay so, what can I say? I dig these lenses, I really do – they exceeded my expectations. They're great for cosplayers who needs some gold lenses that are a bit on the discreet side; these lenses ain't gonna jump at most people and that's why they're great if you cosplay a character who has a more toned-down or dull golden shade to their pupils. The black color in these lenses is what I assume makes them look darker overall. Definitely recommended!

Short summary:

Color: 7/10
A nice darkish gold that shows up well and doesn't turn into a muddy/mustard brown color once worn.

Design: 7/10

Pretty simple but really likable in my books. Works well for many different looks!

Opacity: 6/10

Pretty good, especially for being a gold/yellow lens that is not a crazy lens. Also blends nicely without sacrifing the color coverage.

Enlargement: 7/10

Even though these are a Kimchi lens I don't feel that they are exceptionally huge...?

Comfort: 8/10

Pretty good. I sometimes feel that I have lenses on, but it's slight so it doesn't bother me. I could wear these for like 7,5 hours before they started to feel dry.

Naturalness: 3/10

Surprisingly okay for being a super unnatural color with a thick limbal ring. I'm actually impressed.

Thanks for reading! I hope this review was helpful! o(*ﾟ▽ﾟ*)o

Shiro Samurai out. 

Me VS. makeup – How cosplay made me face my long-time enemy

Hello there, people of all genders!

Now here comes a post that I've had on my mind for a while now. I thought that it could be a nice idea to write about makeup and, more exactly, how drastically my thoughts have changed around it. You see, I used to reaaaaaally dislike makeup back then, although it feels utterly weird to say it now, haha.

Without further babblings I'll get to the first post of the year! Let's go ~

You see, before I got into cosplay I had been cramming my head effectively with the idea that makeup equaled nothing more than paying obscene amounts of money to put grease on your face so that you'd look fake. Ouch!
I'm not too sure why, how and when I developed these thoughts but I assume at least partly it comes from earlier school times when suddenly all the girls started using makeup and, while most of them looked fine, others ended up looking exaggerated with their super dark "hooker bar" makeup and, well,  back then I thought it looked like shit. :)) Not like I'm the one to judge but yeah, as a kid I was really negative towards makeup.
I guess my dislike towards makeup was further inconsciously strenghtened because some of these "overly makeup'ed girls" were in reality some of the many people who bullied me in school for years. Not like the makeup in itself is the reason or that it really matters but yeah, it somehow just left an negative impact on me (probably because I remembered some specific people as "those with a lot of makeup"), even though both guys and girls were treating me like a pile of shit without human value. I hate a lot of people from my former school, lol.

But yeah, I had no idea that cheap makeup existed. I had no idea that makeup could look natural, invisible and non-fake. I had no idea that you could use makeup simply for yourself and because it's fun and not just to attract others or give off the image that you're playing sexy, popular or whatever. I had no idea that makeup could actually make you look better without looking like what society thinks the typical flamboyant gay looks like (if you're a man) or a vain and self-centered bitch. What you mean I was narrow-minded and had no check on reality?
I seriously had no idea about the actual diversity of makeup users! People who use makeup range from actors (yes, even men), alternative fashion fans to long-haired badass dudes in heavy metal bands and... cosplayers. Cosplayers. 

...

...

Wait a sec, I'm one of them!! ∑(⊙ᗩ⊙;;)

THE HORROR.
... and my peeps be like "lol chill dude".

I had been effectively avoiding makeup like the plague before I got into cosplay; it was that thing that was so foreign to me and I viewed it as little more than a waste of money. I remember even telling myself that I'd never touch that shit, lol. And now I'm knee-deep in love with said shit, oops. I'm extremely ashamed to admit it but as a young pre-teen I used to think that "the only people who use makeup are those who are too ugly without it" or, God forbid, that makeup users had poor self-confidence or were using makeup to compromise for having an ugly personality.  
Ugh, I was such a horrible, judgmental and misinformed kid. Using makeup is not a synonym nor a reason for bad self-confidence – bad self-confidence is often the result from many different factors. Sure that makeup can make you feel better about how you look (often does!) but don't ever assume that all makeup users have self-image issues. Makeup is an art form, a hobby, a passion and has nothing to do with a lack of inner beauty either. Anybody can possess wonderful inner qualities and whether your face is slathered in two kilos of makeup or not doesn't factor in – anybody can be a good person and liking/using makeup isn't detrimental. I've learned since then that makeup shaming is a huge no-no. Makeup is fun and using it doesn't mean that you lack other qualities or have personal problems. Period.

Truth is that I don't even remember when exactly my opinions began to change, but at some point I realized that makeup, for me, was a neccessary evil in Cosplaylandia™ and that I had to change my approach to it at least a little – especially if I wanted to look somewhat decent on photos or at least a bit more like the character I was trying to portray. But the call to change wasn't the hard part to chew in this, no no – it was the need to learn. From scratch.

I mean, imagine this: You've been believing in Grace for all your life because she told you that Lucifer's grill foods taste like musty toe nails. But then you start studying to become a chef and suddenly it gets shoved in your face that Lucifer is actually a nice guy and that you should go and learn from him – he's the number one man who can teach you how to do the best roasted barbeque feast ever. And then, even more suddenly, you find yourself unwillingly shaking hands with your former enemy, trying to tell yourself that it's gonna be okay and that you'll learn to accept him bit by bit from now on, until you finally become friends and he'll teach you his secret mouth-watering barbeque recipes...

Just change the barbeque recipes to the mystery of makeup and you should get the idea of what it felt like for me, lol. I seriously had to step into unknown waters – I had no idea where to even begin! Everything was so strange to me, intimidating and complicated. The huge world of makeup made my head spin like a tumble dryer and, to make it worse, I didn't have anyone to turn to for help and guidance. Mom is not an option, way too awkward.

Have some (spinning) Monster Hunter meat grilling – because I can.

Nowadays it's more than embarrassing to think back about it but for my first two cosplays I didn't wear anything on my face, except perhaps for a miniscule amount of powder – and that was because mom told me to wear some at the con (yes, she was with me on my first big con). Yes, only powder. I didn't even color my light eyebrows to match the black wig nor use anything to define my eyes at all! Blasphemy!
Hell, I didn't even try to hide my dark circles or other nasty crud on my naked face; I seriously cringe beyond words when I bump into old cosplay photos that are tucked away somewhere in the deep dark corners of my computer – they shall never see the light of day or, otherwise, more than my pair of eyes will rot away. I seriously looked horrible and totally washed out, not gonna lie. It's that kind of thing when the costume is good-looking and even more so for a first one, the wig is good quality (but unstyled) but then there's *le gasp* the face with close to zero makeup on and –to put it as nicely as possible– it just crashes and burns the whole thing into cinders that float in hell for eternity. There ain't no saving that shit.

My first cosplay makeup experiences consisted of the following procedure: powder > eyeliner > fill in eyebrows (if necessary) > pale down lips (if necessary).
Nothing else. A bit later I started doing some minor contouring and after that I tried my hand at using foundation before setting the powder which, by the way, was a disaster. You see, I had always known that my skin is pale (dad would pull jokes about it) but I still wasn't expecting it to be so damn pale that I would have a hard time even finding a light enough fucking foundation! So yeah, my first foundation purchases were waaaayyyyyyy off the mark and I was nooby enough not to notice it until much later and, oh boy, do I puke at those photos now. 
Reminiscing back to that one year when I went to Sweden's biggest con (at that time) and didn't realize I had a horrible, mismatched, unblended brownish-orange foundation streak on my otherwise pale-ass jawline, that stood out like a thousand burning suns.
Finding a light enough foundation is, by the way, still one of my biggest challenges when it comes to makeup purchases, but I think I might finally have found something good – after years of accidentally buying mismatched shit that I can't use and don't know what to do with. #foundationfrustrations

I'm not gonna show you guys any old photos of my either non-existant or crappy makeup back then but I'll tell you that it looked really plain and dull; my eyebags were dragging on the floor, my face looked tired and washed out etc – it was horrible, plain and simple. I did the same very basic pencil eyeliner for all characters and yeah, it made me look like... me, except with a wig on, no matter what character I was supposed to be, lol. I also shudder at the reality that I didn't give a jackshit about my eyebrows until 2014, which means that I did a whole 4 years of cosplaying with hideous untouched hairy caterpillars crowning and roaming wild on my forehead!! *vomits profusely*
I mean, my eyebrows were so bushy that some hairs were growing on my eyelids! Eew. Nowadays I take out my tweezers and go through my brows at least every third day – what you mean cosplay changed me? No but really, cosplay made me start to seriously pay attention to my looks and I mean this in a good way! I'm super thankful about it now.

My first makeup tries looked like this. #relatable

Before cosplaying I rarely gave two shits about if I looked presentable in public or not (I could as well have walked around in a potato sack) but ever since I started cosplaying I make sure to look as clean and nice as possible unless I have a lazy day. Cosplay also made me view beauty and makeup from a whole different angle and made it more human and less superficial, funnily enough – everyone was beautiful in their own way. Cosplay made me realize that even a little change could go a long way in improving how you looked in your finished costume. I mean, the difference between using, for example, liquid eyeliner instead of pencil eyeliner already does a huge difference on photos!
Also, one thing to note is that especially on photos a makeupless face tends to look washed out and "disappear" most of the time, especially with a really colorful costume on or in strong lights, like stage lights etc. So yeah, for photoshoots makeup is really recommended and I'm glad I realized the difference it can make.

My initial response to using cosplay makeup was "meh" and then it slowly but surely grew into a "not too bad", followed by a "it looks better with makeup so I'll bother this time" and finally to a fullblown and self-admitted "I CAN'T COSPLAY WITHOUT MAKEUP! I NEED THIS SHIT!"

This is so me celebrating a successful makeup job.

So yeah, cosplay totally turned my whole view of makeup upside down. From being that kid who'd not even look twice at the grocery store's makeup counter to being that young man who walks in there and actually buys stuff and walks home being all excited about trying it out! It is awkward though when there's other people around. xD I need to get over it.
Nowadays I have quite a lot of makeup and I even have a makeup bag for it, but still I occasionally feel like I'm missing something... :'D I want to point out though that my cosplay makeup got a notable upgrade once I realized the wonders or primer, concealers and liquid eyeliner. It seriously took me until last year to understand how important primers and concealers are! *shamecorner* How can I have lived so long without these godsends?

I'm far from confident with my makeup skills and I still mess up... a lot. I also feel like I have a looooooot to learn –makeup knowledge is like an universe that won't stop expanding for me– but at least now I can honestly say that I LOVE MAKEUP. ♥ I can't even imagine cosplaying without makeup anymore and I've started to enjoy the whole process so much that I occasionally paint up my face for non-cosplay purposes too! Especially for alternative fashion because then I get to experiment and be creative, yay! o/
So yeah, to sum it up: I used to hate makeup but I've come to really value it as an irreplaceable tool to complete my cosplays. I also want to state that I think that makeup is for everyone! It's a fun and a great way to express ourselves and, for those who think that guys can't or shouldn't use makeup, I can say only one thing: "I don't give a rat's ass about your outdated bigoted opinion, gtfo and have a nice day. :)"

Friendly reminder: Please understand that this is just my personal makeup story (and my opinions) and is in no way meant to be a type of "you must use makeup to cosplay" post. There are plenty of cosplayers out there who don't want to, can't nor feel a need to use makeup and that's perfectly okay. There is no need, nor right, to judge those who choose to cosplay differently. Cosplay is for everyone and makeup is not a requirement for a successful cosplay or whatever – not everyone strives to get to the same level and as long as the costumer has fun and puts in the amount of effort they feel comfortable/good with then that's all that matters. Makeup is a tool to enhance the hobby for those who want to take it, not a neccessity.

I'm not even sure anymore what was the original purpose of me writing this post but I guess I got said what I wanted to say. I'm sorry if it's messy and all over the place though. Thank you for reading! ^_^

~ Shiro Samurai out! 

Year of Cosplay 2015

Hello there ~

I seriously have no idea where this year went... but what I know though is that it's been one of my weaker cosplay years and that's by miles – I attended fewer events than what I've done since I started and yeah, I did very little cosplaying too; to a good lot of cons I didn't even cosplay and well, if I did it was for a very short time. I don't really know but I have something going on right now that I feel really uncomfortable, worried and self-conscious when cosplaying and it really drags down the mood and magic out of it. :/ It's making me sad that it has become like this when dressing up used to be my escape – something fun and relieving. It's like I still have the cravings and excitement to make cosplays (my cosplay list is ever-expanding!) but as soon as I'm dressed up I don't want to be seen by anyone, lol. I feel so conflicted about this and I'm disappointed in myself for not being able to enjoy cosplaying the same way I used to; there's too much shit going on in my head that I can't really control.

Regarding the blog itself though you all must have noticed by now that this year the amount of circle lens reviews has skyrocketed – and it's a staying addition to my blog. ;) So yeah, I hope you all don't mind the reviews too much because I decided to do to them on my cosplay blog instead of my Lifestyle blog, even though they would technically had fit in the latter just as well. My main reason for the blog choice is that many cosplayers, me included, use circle lenses first-hand for cosplay purposes and yes, that's why I started using them. While I do use lenses for fashion wear as well I thought that the cosplay blog would be a better choice – it has a lot more visibility and traffic than my personal blog etc. 
But hey, regarding the heightened amount of circle lens review during the years I want to tell you guys how big the change is! You see, on 2013, when I started using circle lenses, I only reviewed (and thus used) 3 pairs. On 2014 I reviewed 5 pairs – a slight increase. And now, on 2015, everything exploded and I reviewed a whopping 22 pairs!! Yes, the number almost five-doubled since last year! I've done at least one lens review per month during the whole year, except for December. :3 Oh and yeah, the number is likely to go up in future years too, as I have a shitlot of lenses waiting to be opened and reviewed... ~

Oh well, let's go back to what I typically post about on the cosplay year summary. Yes, it's the convention list ahead! (aka what cons I attended this year)

Desucon Frostbite - Lahti, Finland

Kemin Mangapäivä - Kemi, Finland

Kummacon - Oulu, Finland

Skecon - Skellefteå, Sweden

Närcon - Linköping, Sweden

Nerdcon - Umeå, Sweden
Kitacon - Kemi, Finland

Yeah, that's all. Only 7 events and of which three can be considered "local events"; I just didn't feel like traveling long distances because, well, even though I wanted to meet friends and all it didn't feel worth it to spend so much money when I wouldn't be enjoying myself enough. I've just been really self-conscious and kinda anxious this whole year and yeah, cosplay is sort of acting as a catalyst and makes it worse, when it used to help lift me up... *sob*
In some way I feel like I'm letting people and especially my friends down, even though I guess few would actually feel that way – it's most probably just in my head, lol. It's frustrating because I have like 9483289538989 cosplay plans and I'm always excited about coming up with new characters to cosplay but as soon as I'm in costume I look in the mirror and see a potato staring back at me. It's like I always tell myself that it's gonna be alright, when I'm in costume at an event, and then there's still always something eating away at me.

This is really tearing me down and it's the reason I've actually just gone to conventions, in my everyday clothes, and noticed that I feel better this way – sadly enough. :/ It's weirdly funny because, a few years back, I would never have done it because the main reason I went to conventions was to cosplay (and meet friends who live far away)...

I could even tell you guys about what cons I actually cosplayed at.
If we start in the right order: at Desucon Frostbite I only cosplayed Okita from PeaceMaker Kurogane on Saturday and I felt horrible all along; the other days (Friday and Sunday) I didn't dress up, unless wearing a horse mask counts. During Kemin Mangapäivä I didn't cosplay, mainly because I couldn't be bothered since it's such a small one-day event. At Kummacon, which is a one-day event, I cosplayed from Touken Ranbu and I was feeling sort-of-okay, actually. On Skecon I cosplayed Hajime Saitou from Hakuouki Shinsengumi Kitan and Sasaki Kojirou from Iza, Shutsujin! Koi Ikusa on Friday and Saturday, respectively. On Sunday I didn't dress up but I felt surprisingly okay. When it comes to Närcon, which is a four-day con festival I only cosplayed on Thursday and Saturday, which says a lot because normally on said con I'd do my damnest to cosplay on every single day. I was Kenshin Himura on Thursday and I was feeling pretty awesome because I had good company, but on Saturday I was Falkner from Pokémon and I felt so shit that I changed out of cosplay after just a few hours. During Nerdcon I only did a quick photoshoot run as Ukitake from Bleach on Sunday and immediately changed back to casual after that; I didn't cosplay on Saturday at all. And finally, at one-day Kitacon, I didn't cosplay either.

It's, by the way, really hard to pick a favorite convention of the year since, err, I feel like my experiences have been a bit underwhelming compared to earlier years. This is most likely just because I haven't been feeling my best so yeah, the conventions themselves haven't gotten any worse. It's just me. But if I had to pick a favorite convention for 2015 it would probably be either Nerdcon or Närcon. Nerdcon mainly because I had so freakin' much fun with my friends and Närcon because, even though some things were crap, I still enjoyed the mood and just walking around and chilling was surprisingly upplifting...?

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You probably figured by now but I don't have any cool(?) cosplay collage to show you guys because duh, I cosplayed so little that I don't even have much in the name of new photo proof. u_u Yeaaaaaah. I don't even know what to tell about those few cosplays that I did/wore so yeah, sorry – I just don't have much to say. ^^; My ratio of new cosplays versus recycling older ones to cons is about fifty-fifty. Next year I'll hopefully be more productive and attend some more events. I also hope that I'll get to work with some new materials and that I can get rid of the whole "I feel uncomfortable" part.

But seriously, I'm sorry about this being such an.. empty and BLEÄÄRGH final summary post of the year. OTL I'll finish by just leaving this here because it sums up this year so well...

Bye bye & Happy New Year 2016!