Kitacon 2016 – Morning poop almost got me

Hello puppies ~

Ah, Kitacon. That one comfy but small local convention that I've been attending for years. This year it was held on 29th October in a building called Sauvotalo in Kemi, Finland. As per usual I went there with my friends; a con with free entrance that is not far away is always a good way to brighten up an otherwise ordinary weekend.

Kitacon 2016 poster.

But before I get to the actual con summary I want to tell you a bit about the pre-con Friday!

Sacchan was sleeping over at my place and on the day before the con we were at a small Halloween party that Frozen Angel held at his apartment. Fun part is that during said small party I got really tired early but, of course, once I got home, took a shower and prepared to go sleep I... yeah, guess what? My tiredness just disappeared into some deep dark void and suddenly I couldn't fall asleep before I had tried 400 different sleeping positions and done a sacrifice to Satan. I don't remember exact times but I'm pretty dang sure I got less than 5 hours of sleep that night and, once our alarm clocks rung on the morning, I was so fucking tired I kept pressing the snooze button long after I should have gotten up. ._. I swear it was impossible – for a moment I even considered just staying home because of tiredness but, most of all, because my stomach was rampaging and shit was flying, literally. Yay, poop stories. In other words I was feeling really nauseous when I woke up; I had bad pains in my lower stomach and needed to run to the bathroom at least three times within 15 minutes – it was horrible. I constantly had the whole "I might puke" sort of feeling going on too. The con morning curse.

Once I actually managed to drag my ass out of bed it dawned on me that I had less than 1,5 hours to get ready (aka put on cosplay) before we had to sit in the car and be on our way to Kemi, at the latest. I realized that no way in hell would I have enough time and so I just became a filthy casual and jumped into the car. I also was too afraid to put on my cosplay only to realize that my nausea might get worse at the con and then I'd spend a too big chunk of my time frequenting bathrooms... No thanks.

But yeah, we got to the con a bit past 11:00 local time, safe and sound. I was being really wary and observative of what my body was doing and, because of this, I felt too unsafe to go attend the one and only panel that interested me. Oh well, it would have been too awkward to just suddenly leave because of an urgent need to run for the toilet...

Our company chilled around for a while, checked what the con had to offer and so on. Some sellers I recognized from earlier years but I think there was some new stuff for sale too. I didn't buy anything but a few items caught my interest, especially those kind of surprise bags. I mean, there were Pokémon themed ones! I also saw that someone was selling an used copy of Mario Party 6 for 44 € and I was really tempted because it's one of the Gamecube games that I'm still missing in my collection...

At times it was quite crammed, especially in the Dealer's Hall, but it was manageable.

Random main hall (incl. Dealer's Hall) photo.

After about an hour or so, maybe less, Sacchan told me that she'd go pick up her little brother because he also wanted to attend the con. I decided to come with her for company; she didn't live so far away anyway so I wouldn't be gone from the con for too long. Besides, I realized that my berserk stomach had calmed down a bit and I thought that it would be easier to change into my Hatori cosplay at Sacchan's home than at a small bathroom in the con, which were almost always occupied anyway. I wasn't patient enough to play the toilet waiting game.
Once we arrived at Sacchan's home I threw my cosplay bag into the caravan on the yard and went to say hello to their 13-year-old dachshund mix Piki. ;A; He's such a cute black sausage dog, I just can't. ♥  Sacchan put on the heat in the caravan because it was cold as fuck in that shit. I froze my butt off doing my makeup in there but I'm a true Finn and endured it like a man, lol. I was literally doing my makeup in my underwear and a leather jacket.
Oh and yeah, of course when I cosplay a character who only has one eye visible you can be sure that I'm gonna mess up the eye makeup and yeah, guess which one eye got covered by the wig? :-DD The one with the more succesful makeup of course – the other, visible eye, looked like a case of "end my miseryyyyy".

I didn't check the time when we got back to the con but our fetch-Joni-and-put-on-my-cosplay trip maybe took an hour or so. I remember Firith calling me and asking where we were; I of course told him that I had started to feel better and were putting on my Hatori cosplay so that we could have a quick photoshoot together later on.
At the con we quickly reunited with the group and just chilled around for a while.

Dealer's Hall items. Surprise bags always tempt me...

Pokémon merchandise.

We all wanted to go check the Artist's Alley upstairs since that has turned into one of my "must visit" priorities at cons lately. I don't know but I've kinda started to take a bigger interest in Artist's Alley merch and now I find myself buying more from there than from the actual merch sellers, if that makes sense. I just love seeing all the items that every person creates (it's always a surprise what's up for sale at each con!) by hand and, as an artist myself, it makes me happy to support the work of artists that I like by buying their products. Fan-made merch have a different feeling to them since each piece is unique, you know.

One half of the Artist's Alley.

I remember when I was at Artist's Alley in my Hatori cosplay a random person came up to me, excitedly, and asked if I was cosplaying Sebastian. I assumed they meant the one from Kuroshitsuji and I answered that I was Hatori. They just left without a word and I felt really awkward...
I can sorta understand the mixup though because both wear a suit and have black hair but yeah, neither their suits nor their hair style is the same so... *shrugs* It's not the first time someone mistakes my cosplay for Sebastian Michaelis – the same thing happened several years ago too when I cosplayed Toshizo Hijikata's Sweet School Life version (also wearing a black suit) from Hakuouki but, then again, this one makes a lot more sense because they're basically hair twins, almost. Fun fact is that both times I got mistaken for Sebastian I cosplayed different characters but had the same wig, except that my current Hatori wig is actually my former Hijikata wig that I cut shorter and styled.

Those dolphin plushies were so cute. I always had a thing
for marine animals ~

At Artist's Alley I found one of my favorite sellers in the north – it's the lovely tammukkasart's and hirnuperna's table! It's funny because I've been pretty much a regular at their table, almost always buying something at each con. I hope I don't sound like a stalker now, lol. I just love that they create merch from several different fandoms (as well as animals etc) and they are super fun and nice to talk to! I actually spent some time just babbling away and it was fun when they remembered me from previous cons, omg! It always feels so surreal somehow, ahaha. ;u; If I'm completely honest their table is one of the ones that I'm always hoping to find when I go to all these smaller local cons – it's the same people I bought my dragon form Haku (Spirited Away) and Magikarp scarves from and yeah, every time I wonder if there's any new ones up! Can't wait for the Gyarados one I heard was in the making.

tammukkasart's and hirnuperna's table.
The Touken Ranbu items are soooo cute!

Actually I got one of those Yamato no Kami Yasusada (Tourabu) keychains as a freebie and I was about to drop my jaw on the floor! ;O; I almost didn't believe it and I had to ask again to be sure if I had heard wrong. I can't really even start to describe that mix of sudden surprise and happiness – they're so kind that I just... just... asghfdsjghfds. ♥ Do check them out (the names link to their tumblr accounts) and shower them with love! >//<
I'm sorry by the way that the photo above is a bit grainy, it was taken not long before the con closed and the sun had already started to set, hence poor light conditions because yeah, this is northern Finland in the beginning of winter. Kaamos is approaching.

Of course there was the ogligatory sweets shop selling pocky, ramune etc.

Kitacon in itself doesn't have a huge lot of entertainment value but that's all the more reason for why I always go there with friends. It's one of those slow-paced comfy cons you go to and chill with your pals at. I didn't really care for watching the cosplay date nor the cosplay competition so most of my time I actually just spent walking around and then having a quick photoshoot outside with Firith as Ayame Sohma and me as Hatori. Those photos will be posted in a separate post so stay tuned for that, if you're interested.

This was one of the most interesting things up for sale for
a long-time Pokémon fan like me. The amount of nostalgy.

I'm actually surprised that seemingly no one recognized my cosplay. Or well, if someone did then they didn't tell me about it. Fruits Basket is a rather well-known series but, then again, Hatori looks extremely generic (black-haired guy in a suit) and not very interesting in a costume sort of way so yeah, I can understand very well. Oh well, not like I mind at all because I wanted a cosplay I could move around in freely and without any discomfort or annoying swords to carry, lol. Sometimes it's such a freedom to not constantly have to worry about bumping any props I might have into walls etc or potentially ruining my costume by sitting on the floor. Hatori was a good choice for this kind of slow-paced con because of its ease of wear. I sometimes feel like donning a more impressive cosplay is a bit of a waste at small cons anyway, because of the additional worries that comes with it.

Obligatory cosplay selfie. Bathroom edition.

It was nice to meet some friends I hadn't seen in a while as well, like Ronja. We didn't end up talking all that much but it was really nice to see her again and have a quick chat. I'm sorry though if I seemed a bit distant or something because yeah, at some point I was really freaking hungry and it was the only thing I could think of. xD
Oh yeah, some hours into the con everyone in my company were indeed hungry so we decided on where to go eat; most wanted to go to Subway but there were some votes for Hesburger too. I belonged to the Subway group together with Sacchan and her lil' bro Joni and because we're lazy fucks we took the car there. Real reason is that it was cold, mind you. We all took the cheapest (daily) option and I decided to try it with two sauces instead of just one – it was good to mix barbeque and ranch dressing, hehe.

The con's cafeteria sold some cute bakeries.

Sometime after eating I went into that one crafting room at the con. I don't know what its proper name would be in English but you know, that kind of room where you can draw and do creative stuff – it's really common in most cons I've been to. I ended up doing one of those doodle puzzle piece thingies to kill some time, it was fun. Sacchan drew her signature Buttman and then she drew... Hijikakka. Don't ask. xD

Yes, it's a Hijikata poop pun.
Made by Sacchan.

I also paid a visit to the gaming room a couple times. As soon as I entered I felt hyper nostalgic because there were only 8-bit and 16-bit games in there! I saw someone playing my childhood drug Super Mario World on Super Nintendo and all the memories just came flooding back! All the games were even played on those old fat televisions – all the better because it gave the right feeling.
The first time around I tried playing some Megaman 2 but that... didn't go so well. Damn those frogs and those falling chocolate bridges!

Megaman 2 gaming. Yes, that's the chocolate bridges I meant.

I'm not sure if Kitacon always had a video game room or not but, if they did, then I feel really fucking dumb right now. :)) I just can't help but wonder because if the gaming room was in earlier Kitacons too then I could have spent a lot more of my time in there enjoying myself while playing classics instead of being bored because hey, I love old-school games and playing them make me a happy geek. I don't own a SNES currently big sister wanted it back ffuu ffuu so any chance to play childhood games at a con is already a pretty sure way to tempt me to go there.

The last 30 minutes or something I spent at the gaming room as well. This time the Super Mario World was free and so I of course picked up the controller and played. It was fun to notice that even after years and years of not playing the game I still remembered secrets and where enemies appear etc. :D Of course I was far from as good as I used to be at the game but still definitely not bad. I really should buy myself a SNES one day, I need this shit in my life.

My loots. Everything's from Artist's Alley!
Articuno acrylic phone strap, Yasusada keychain and a magnet.

We stayed at Kitacon until it closed and even after it closed we had to stay there and wait because we got some problems with the car *coughnogasolinecough* and didn't want to wait outside in the cold. We got home safe and sound and, all in all, I really enjoyed this year's Kitacon surprisingly much. The video game room definitely did a lot in terms of giving me something to do. ^^ Sure that the con has free entrance and probably not a big budget or anything but considering how small it is it's a good one, I'd definitely keep on attending Kitacon.

I'm probably forgetting to tell a lot of stuff but I feel like this post is already getting a bit long so yeah, thanks for reading and yada yada.
Shiro Samurai out.

Fruits Basket Hatori Sohma makeup test!

Good evening folks!

Some days ago I felt like it was high time to grab myself by the collar and do a makeup try-out for Hatori Sohma from Furuba, whom I will be debuting at Kitacon shortly. This costume was originally supposed to be worn at Cosvision earlier this year but yeah, shit happened. :/ I did a costume test a while ago too but I never actually tried out the makeup and, well, nowadays I don't feel too comfortable just improvising something on the con morning. Too high risk of fucking it up.

I noticed when I took out the wig that, since I originally styled it before Cosvision, some of the hairs had gotten crooked while being packed away and well, now their default positions are really wonky and ugly. I'll need to run it down with a straightener and, possibly, wash and restyle it before the con because yeah, it looks like crap right now. Hatori would never let his hair be unkempt, lol.

Some Hatori selfies ahead (aka no photographer) ~
 Oh and yeah, the lenses I'm using are the Flora Diva Violet, great for bishounen characters!

I'm not 100% satisfied (can someone teach me how to makeup? ;_; it's so harrrrrd) and I don't think this will be the final look that I'll don for the con; I'm fairly likely to at least try changing it up but this should give you guys a general idea.
I'm still trying to figure out how to make the whole "anime eye" look work on my eyes because it feels like no matter what I do my (deep) eyelid crease gets in the way and fucks it all up. It's extremely frustrating and especially when none of my current liquid liners dry fast enough and yeah, then I accidentally open my eyes too early or something and, BAM, all my hard work is smeared all over my eyelids. >_> Also, lower lashes are a bitch when you're trying to use liquid eyeliner under your eye. People always told me I have beautiful long lashes but they're honestly a pain in the ass and constantly in the way, lol. Anybody wanna trade? orz

Psst, I'm going with the manga version –on which he has violet eyes– instead of the anime. I highly preferred the manga anyway and it was the one I first checked out – I honestly think the anime is crap (sorry!) but the manga is really good. Another good thing is that Firith will join me as Ayame Sohma, which should be a lot of fun as well as help with character recognization because, err, Hatori sadly looks like a really generic anime guy in a suit. Too bad I don't have any seahorse or dragon plush to carry with me, that could help as well...

That's about all I have to say for this quick costest. See you at Kitacon!

~ Shiro Samurai out.

Kitacon 2016 cosplay plans

Hello guys!

My next convention will be Kitacon in Kemi, Finland, held on 29th October in Sauvotalo. I see no reason not to go there seeing that I live close and Kitacon has always had free entrance, woop! Free local cons are always appreciated for a poor student like me, lol. I will go there with Sacchan and some other friends and, as per usual, I have little to no expectations of the con itself – Kitacon rarely has any kind of big things happening and I always spend a huge majority of my time just derping around with friends and chilling at some random corner. Not like it's a bad thing though because it's really relaxing with a small-scale con every once in a while. ^^

At first I wasn't sure if I could be bothered to cosplay, since Kitacon has always been one of those small "hang with friends" type of conventions, but after some thinking I decided to bring a costume – especially when Firith asked if I could do a pair cosplay with him. Firith was considering to bring Ayame Sohma from Furuba and asked if I could join in so that he wouldn't have to be lonely Ayame again; he even said that going solo in said cosplay had started to taste like wood. I can wholly understand, solo cosplaying is rarely as fun as group cosplaying when you get the chance. So of course, as the good friend I am, I decided to spare my pal from another wooden experience.

Cosplay plans in 3.... 2.... 1...

Series: Fruits Basket

Character: Hatori Sohma

So I decided on going with Hatori, mainly because he fits with Ayame, is easy to wear and I was originally supposed to debut him earlier this year anyway but then shit happened and yeah, it's been bugging me since then. ^^" I needed a costume that I can easily change out of because –as how things seem right now– after the con I'll be heading for a Halloween party so yeah, nothing too complicated that takes hours to take off. Hatori is a lovely character anyway, one of my favorites from Fruits Basket. I'm glad I get a second chance to debut him together with Firith as Ayame ~

That's all for this quickie. Hatori makeup test coming soon so stay on the line!

Bye bye!

[Sponsored] Lens review: GEO Xtra WI-A13 Green

Hello lovely people!

I present to you today a circle lens review of a green pair – the GEO Xtra WI-A13 Green, also sometimes known as GEO Xtra Crystal Green. ^_^ The lenses I'm reviewing in this post were sponsored by the trusty LensVillage, whom I really recommend if you feel an urge to buy some colored contact lenses too! I've been their customer for years now and never had any issues – they have a wide range to choose from, many different brands and LensVillage also holds sales quite frequently, which is always a plus! ♥ Be sure to check them out ~

This review, although sponsored, consists of 100% my genuine opinion. I value honesty very highly when reviewing and won't compromise it.

Discount code "SAMURAI15" cuts 15% OFF on your purchase from LensVillage!

Base curve: 8.7 mm
Diameter: 15 mm

Water content: 38%

Life span: 1 year (I recommend 6 months)

As I said above, I've never had any problems with LensVillage and I always get my lenses in a timely manner, which is in approximately two to three weeks. They've always been kind and super helpful and the lenses come securely packaged in some kind of foam, bubblewrap or such to protect the glass bottles from breaking during their journey to your home. ^^ Because I got GEO lenses I also received an information sheet together with my order, complete with desciptions on how to insert lenses and care for them etc – it's really handy for beginners! With every LensVillage order also comes a business card and a free lens case. Just be sure to pick up some lens solution beforehand because that's not included!
Oh and yeah, of course are all their circle lenses authentic and GEO lenses, like mine, come with the anti-fake stickers so that you can check them up online to prove that the pair you got is genuine and safe to wear. 

This is everything that came with the order.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I put the lenses to soak overnight, before wearing them. This is highly recommended because the solution used in the vials is not the same as normal lens solution and it might hurt your eyes.

To be honest these lenses look kinda bland and boring in their vials (that was my first impression) but, when worn, they definitely look better! I was kinda expecting the color to pop a little bit more though but nevertheless it's a really pretty green shade that borders into a blueish green in some lights – kinda like a seafoam green. I'm suspecting that the color would be more like a vivid real green on dark eyes but on light blue-gray eyes like mine it does turn into a teal-ish color. ^^

One lens in. Notice the size.

I don't have so much to say about the design itself since it feels rather ordinary. It is semi-realistic yet versatile and the darker dot-like strikes makes it so that the green appears to have several different tones and not just a solid color.
The enlargement is there but it's nothing that's gonna make or break your look, meaning that the size boost is fairly average. It's good if you want lenses that aren't too big and could work for everyday looks since I'm sure these would look just fine without eye makeup, if needed. Of course they are also suitable for cosplay if you want a more natural approach yet want the color difference to be visible.

Lens photos incoming!

All photos taken by me during an October afternoon with a 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)

White-ish corridor light.

Yellow corridor light.

Weaker yellow light in the staircase.

Standing in the staircase, with natural light (window) behind me.

Indoors storage room.

Outdoors, facing the sun while being under the shadow.

Outdoors, back against sun. (facing wall)

Outdoors, facing sun.

Sideway view. Outdoors, in the shadows.

Regarding comfort I had no problems inserting these lenses and they were comfy right from the start. They don't blur my vision or anything but I experienced a couple sudden bouts of dryness – luckily those were short-lived and went away almost as suddenly as they showed up. I'd say that the comfort is average because I could wear them for 2,5 hours before my eyes felt tired and dry, borderline watery. The comfort is definitely not bad but it's not amazing either, at least not for me and my sensitive/dry eyes. I'm sure most people would have no problems with these though and hey, eyedrops exist for a reason!

Overall these lenses are definitely wearable, versatile and lovely! They make my eyes look like crystals and the color is somewhere between emerald green and seafoam green, depending on the light. In some poorer lights they can turn a wee bit grayish in tone but it's no biggie because the real color is such an exquisite and unusual shade! Oh and yeah, because these lenses lack any kind of a defining black rim they won't give you dolly eyes either.

I would recommend these first-hand for cosplayers (especially for doing bishounen characters) but they would even add to most j-fashion outfits as well. I can also imagine wearing these as an everyday lens, assuming you're fine with the unnatural color that is quite eye-catching.

Distance photo!

Remember, if you order from LensVillage you can use my discount code "SAMURAI15" to enjoy 15% OFF storewide! (incl. sclera lenses, cosmetics etc)

Short summary:

Color: 8/10
Unusual yet beautiful shade of green that balances somewhere between emerald and seafoam in color.

Design: 7/10

Appears dull on first impression but the crystal-like effect it gives when worn makes up for it!

Opacity: 7/10

Decently opaque.

Enlargement: 5/10

Not big but there's still a modest size increase.

Comfort: 6/10

Average. Comfy to wear, no vision blurs etc but dry in about 2,5 hours on my sensitive eyes.

Naturalness: 6/10

The design is quite natural and the size isn't too big. Works for a daily lens, assuming you don't mind the unnatural blue-green color.

Thanks for reading! I hope you found this review helpful. ^^
Thank you, LensVillage! ♡
Shiro Samurai out ~ 

Lens review: I.Fairy Casper Green

Good evening!

I've just barely recovered from the flu and now I'm currently preparing for my last two cons of the year, one in Sweden and one in Finland. But before I get to posting any kind of cosplay plans or so I wanted to do a circle lens review! I will be showing you peeps the wonderfully multi-colored I.Fairy Casper Green lenses today! 

Let's go!

Base curve: 8.6 mm

Diameter: 16.2 mm

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

Ever since I saw these lenses for the first time I've been wanting to purchase and try them on! I fell in love with the multi-color design they have – it goes from yellow in the center, to green and lastly violet. *o* It's a really unique color combination and the print itself is mighty nice too; it's quite rare to find colored contact lenses that incorporate so many different colors into its design – most times it's just difference nuances of blue etc but yeah, the I.Fairy Casper series are bold enough to mix it up even further! Of course the green is the main "middle" color (it has the biggest first impression) but the other colors complement it. I really love how the yellow ring brings the attention to the eyes and then the luscious green takes over and lastly there's that lovely purple color which crowns it all.

One lens in. Notice size difference.

As is typical for I.Fairy these lenses are big. Not humongously big but definitely big; I'm pretty positive that these would look out of place if worn without eye makeup. But despite being large in size they don't give that traditional dolly eye look since there's barely any black limbal ring to even speak of. Nevertheless it's a really pretty and colorful lens that's a treat to wear if you want to feel like a peacock for a day!

Regarding comfort these lenses are pretty okay. Felt itchy after insertion and it lasted for about 5 minutes – nothing unbearable but a bit annoying still. I had to reinsert them a couple times each because they felt stingy. These lenses also made my eyes watery after I got them in, which rarely happens to me; I had to stand there for a minute or two and pat the corners of my eyes to get them to stop tearing up. But yeah, despite the shaky start I can quite easily wear these for 3,5 hours with no problems. Sometimes I feel them slightly blurring my vision though. Around 4 hours they started to feel a bit dry and so I took them off, although if needed I could likely wear them even longer.

Lens photos ahead!

All photos taken by me during a really dull and cloudy October afternoon. 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.

Apartment room light, lamps on.

Bathroom light.

Flash photo.

Facing a window in the corridor.

White-ish corridor light.

Really yellow corridor light.

Weak yellow staircase light.

Standing in a storage room indoors, no lights on
except for some weak yellowish staircase lights behind me.

Outdoors, back against the light. (aka facing the wall)

Outdoors, facing the cloudy sky.

The design of these lenses makes me think about forest dwellers like fairies and other fairytale creatures – and peacocks, of course. The colors go well together and don't clash or look weird in any way. One might expect though that the lilac would overwhelm the green, since it's the edge/final color but yeah, they do somehow blend nicely so that when you look at the lenses they do give the illusion that your eyes are first-hand green. It's quite fascinating, honestly.

Distance photo!

It's a really refreshing and different lens to wear and well suited for alternative fashion and fantasy costuming. ^.^ I'm tempted to try out other colors of this series but we'll see ~

Short summary:

Color: 9/10 
Alluring and pretty multi-color lens that has yellow, green and even lilac in it! Good color pigmentation!

Design: 8/10

Really nice fairytale-esque design.

Opacity: 8/10

Covers my real eye color well but isn't too opaque to look super costumey.

Enlargement: 8/10

Definitely big in size but the lack of a thick black rim keeps them from looking overly dolly.

Comfort: 7/10

Quite good. A bit itchy after insertion but it goes away in a matter of minutes. Can wear them for a little bit past 4 hours before they start to show signs of dryness. Might blur my vision slightly.

Naturalness: 2/10

Mjah. Too many colors going on to be passable.

I hope you found this review helpful!

Shiro Samurai out ~