Kummacon 2023 – Stop, working time!

Hello geeks!

This year's rendition of Kummacon was held this past weekend in Oulu again, during 20-21.5.2023 and yes, this effectively means that I've attended Kummacon back-to-back with no other con inbetween. :'D That's because last year's Kummacon was held so late and this year's was pushed forward to be on the first half of the year! Anyways, as most people probably know by now Kummacon is a small, low threshold anime and literature convention held annually in Oulu and it's one of the few popular culture events with a free entrance.

Let's dive in!

Kummacon host building, aka Oulu's International School.

Kummacon is one of those cons that change host building almost every iteration and where it ends up comes down to things like budget and such. This is the second time (I think?) that it's held in Oulu's international school – last time was back in 2018. And I gotta say that this is one of my favorite locations because of how well-lit it is and it's very close to the train station and centrum as well, which means it's easy to find and to get to and from.

Kummacon info desk. Very visibly pro-LGBTQ+ vibes.

Already by the end of last year's Kummacon I had signed up for to return as a con worker this year. I figured why not as it gives me something fulfilling to do and well, non-profit free events like these need all the extra hands they can get to be able to go around; no people willing to donate their time equals no con and that is big sad. :'( And I knew from last year that Kummacon struggled with last-minute worker cancellations and I have plenty con worker experience under my belt by now so I didn't need to think twice before applying for round two. Except this year I ended up at the Kumma Kahvila (cafeteria) and not as a general con worker.

Entrance viewed from inside.

As I mentioned above Kummacon has been in the international school before and I felt instantly familiar when I stepped in. I think most of the layout were used similarly to 2018 – the Artist's Alley was split in two halves with one half downstairs and the other half upstairs on the second floor. There were quite a lot of artists and some I had not seen before, which is always nice! Sadly I am quite poor at the moment so the only thing I ended up buying at the whole con was a Diluc (Genshin Impact) keychain from one of the sellers upstairs for myself and two other characters as gifts.

 

Half of Artist's Alley was on the main floor.

And the other half was up the stairs. (sorry no pic)

On Saturday I worked from 13-17 local time at the cafeteria upstairs. We sold some sweet and salty treats like vegan 'härkis' burgers and sandwiches, homebaked buns and peanut butter cookies, coffee, Japanese snacks, homemade 'sima' (a traditional Finnish Easter drink similar to mead) and some few others. 

I gotta admit I was quite nervous at first when I arrived at my work station. I had slept poorly and tried to mask my growing anxiety as good as I could but luckily I was fretting for nothing as it was a pretty chill job and there were never any rushes or massive customer flows. My workmates were also friendly and there were no weird situations that cropped up, except for the obligatory technology hiccups with the card reader refusing to connect with the app and such. But we also took cash so when it did act up there was always a plan B to fall back on. And apparently the card reader hated my phone more than the other phones cuz no one else had it act up as much as I did lol.

Kumma Kahvila looked like this on Sunday.

As I spent the majority of my time at the con behind bars at the cafeteria working I gotta admit that I don't actually have so much to say about the convention itself. I saw some friends briefly but as I was the only one who worked I couldn't join them for some juicy shenanigans and thus I don't have any fun stories to share as, well, nothing out of the ordinary had a chance to happen. So I'm sorry but this summary might come across as a bit more dull than what I usually write. :')

 

Selfie with Firith! Yes I was in alt casual gear.

I did meet the lovely Firith in some Hatsune Miku inspired setup and we shared our sleeping accomodation as he and I have a mutual friend who so happens to have a study apartment in Oulu where we could crash over the weekend. Saved my ass because yeah, as I said I'm poor right now and on sick leave so the money ain't saying clinkety clink right now.

 

One of the staple vendors, Manga Cafe.

Some other geeky merch seller.

 

On Sunday my work shift were from 10-14 and it went by much the same as on Saturday, except a bit calmer still. I have no idea how much leftovers there were as I didn't stay until the closure of the con (I had to leave earlier) but I do assume that whatever were left from the cafeteria were handed out to the Green Room and to con workers to take home. 

Next year I will most likely apply to be a con worker again as I find it quite an important and delightful little side hustle and well, I do appreciate Kummacon staying as a free entrance event and for them to be able to stay that way they need volunteers to make the con happen year after year. :)

The obligatory art wall. Notice the 'poorly drawn Sasuke' meme. xD

 

I found this year's Kummacon experience to be a pleasant one. I did not attend any panels or programs or the like and spent like 90% of my time at the con working but I don't really feel like I missed out on much either as I'm a very lazy goer on any kind of activities and I'm trying to refrain from buying stuff as I feel like I own so much shit by now that I don't even know what to do with it lol. 

It doesn't take that long to traverse the building and see what the con has to offer and aside from the occasional crowding and the building being packed with people in lines waiting for popular programs to start (like the cosplay competition and cosplay date) then it was easy to navigate and move around in. I did feel some slight annoyance because upstairs there were a few cases when people would randomly sit or just stand next to the stairs for a longer time and clog up the passage, which wasn't that wide to begin with. Maybe there was a lack of chairs to sit on, I'm not sure? I didn't check every corner of the con but I know there were chairs in the same corridor where the Kumma Kirppis (second-hand store) was, although I'll admit I didn't step my foot in there.

Upstairs also had pretty crummy air flow/quality, I felt a bit nauseated several times while working and had to take breaks to go outdoors to get some fresh air; I heard that the windows upstairs couldn't be opened and that was one of the main reasons it was like that – luckily on Sunday someone brought a portable air conditioner to the cafeteria so it was a bit more manageable. Air quality was fine downstairs.

All in all Kummacon is a worthwhile con to visit if you happen to live in the north. It boasts a welcoming and safe atmosphere, a decent amount of activities to keep you entertained and it's just a breath of fun to liven up a dull week. We need to hold on tight to what few cons we have left with free entrance because yeah, I personally believe that low-threshold cons like this are a great way to get new and young hobbyists into the scene – it's a great first step to gauge if it's where you feel a sense of belonging. 

Thanks for reading and stay fresh out there!

~ Shiro Samurai out.

RE4 Leon Kennedy costest update

 Hello!

What is this, a cosplay post? You bet! :'D No but really, I know it's been literal years since I last made any cosplay progress post or anything that's not a circle lens review lol but I promise I'm getting back on track! The past weeks I've been really getting back into the cosplay groove and I actually have regained motivation to do stuff, wow! I have some moderately ambitious plans for the future and I should start cranking out more costuming content towards the summer, if everything goes as planned.

But anygays, back to the topic at hand. So yeah, a part of this reignited cosplay hype transferred over to me wanting to fix some almost-completed cosplays so that I can debut them at future conventions. I have quite a bunch of undebuted cosplays that need some small fixing before they're show-worthy. My Leon cosplay is one of them – I'm only missing props. That, and that I've wanted to slightly modify the wig a bit more as it started to bother me over the years. 

So what do I do? Well, last weekend I headed over to spend some quality time with Sallukka and their boyfriend. Sallukka slightly tinted the wig by using brown markers to color some fibers by hand and after that was done I put it on my head and we trimmed it a bit shorter on the sides and thinned down the front because it was quite front-heavy (although it didn't look like it!). The wig felt so much nicer and breezier to wear after shedding some excess fibers! It feels like it sits better on my head now and doesn't look as bulky on the front as before.

I was a derp and forgot to take any wig styling photos (sorry!) but how the wig looked before can be seen on this post from... half a decade ago, omegayikes. Jesus Christ time flies. 

 

But what I did do was a quick makeup test late yesterday just for fun and to test out the updated wig. I'm quite excited for this costume not gonna lie, it's fun to finally get around to do a bit more video game characters as I've been a major gamer all my life!

I intend to debut Leon somewhere this year but I'm just gonna make sure I have some kind of props to use before then as I find it kinda awkward to pose if I don't have anything to pose with lol. I'd prefer to make the rocket launcher if I get a chance to do that, but if not I'll try to make at least a knife, grenades or any other small props that he uses in the game. I want to fill my pouches with stuff. :D I actually scouted Ikea for fake flowers that I could paint red for a Red Herb prop to carry around but of course with my luck there wasn't anything that fit the bill in terms of leaf shapes etc ffuu ffuu. Oh well, the search continues!

I think that's about all I had to say for this round. Stay nerdy out there!

Lens review: ColourVue Phantasee Yellow Artist

 Hi hi and hello!

I'm doing another special effects lens review, woop di doop! Today I'll show you all the ColourVue Phantasee Yellow Artist, a not so extreme crazy lens. This is ngl more of an artsy lens, if you may.

Let's-a go!

Base curve: 8.6 mm
Diameter: 14.0 mm 

 Water content: 45%
Life span: 1 year (I recommend 6 months)

 

On an unsuspecting quick glance these look quite normal for a sfx lens, as in that the print isn't that bold nor typically blocky and simple like it tends to be on crazy lenses. The print in fact is rather delicate and detailed and it's really pretty if you take a closer look! Another thing I noticed was that it seems like the yellow color appears a bit golden hued when light hits it a certain way, making it look almost reminiscent of a metallic glimmering color. Almost.

One lens in.

When worn and viewed from a slight distance these look almost semi-natural in terms of first impressions – if we disregard the yellow color, that is. It's a quite pretty design and the color payout is great too, it's not too bold and disruptive but the black detailing makes it look a bit more muted and.. respectable? I don't know why but these make me think of like baroque style and such dandy eras haha.

Overall it's a really pretty, somewhat toned down medium to dark yellow with an extravagant and fine artistic print.

Lens photos below!

All photos are taken by yours truly during sunny weather. All close-ups are free from color filters and the like and that's so that the colors would appear as true to life as possible.

 

Natural room light, indoors.

Bathroom light.

Flash photo, indoors.

Facing a window indoors, not sun side.

Unlit corridor, weak distant natural light.

Outdoors, back against sun. (facing a wall)

Outdoors, facing the sun.

As with my other "backlog lenses" these were also part of that damned box I had stored away and forgotten about for years. By the time I found it all the unopened lenses inside had expired, sadly. So I'm doing these reviews purely in case it helps someone out there and yeah, due to the lenses being expired I'm not willing to play Russian roulette with my eye health so immediately upon getting the lens photos taken I threw them into the bin, which means I can't grade comfort properly. What little I can say though is that based on my first (and only) impressions these were somewhat thin and decent-ish but I felt them for some while after insertion and they seemed a bit drying too. I do have naturally dry and sensitive eyes so I can't fully rule out that it wasn't my eyes having a bad day but yeah, it's hard to tell.

Anyways, this is a very unique lens in terms of print design and it's fun yet sophisticated at the same time. It doesn't quite pack that same punch as sfx and crazy lenses tend to come with but honestly, we don't all need to be the same. I find these lenses charming in their own way and they would go well with steampunk attire and such.

Distance photo!

Short summary:

Color: 6/10 

It's like a darkish yellow, doesn't show up all that well from a distance but retains a yellowish look.

Design: 8/10 

Very intricate and pretty artsy design, it looks magical up close although due to all the finer details it gets "lost" when viewed from afar.

Opacity: 9/10

Surprisingly opaque and covering when you consider how "fine" these are when compared to typical bold and wild crazy lenses. I was perhaps expecting more transparency but nope, these are covering!

Enlargement: 2/10 

The enlargement effect is negligible.

Comfort: 6/10 

Decent and somewhat thin. I felt them in my eyes for a while and they seemed somewhat dryish but it's hard to judge based on a one-time wear.

Naturalness: 3/10 

From a distance you might get a fleeting pass but otherwise these are too fancy and yellow isn't a naturally occuring eye color in humans anyway.

Thanks for reading my blog, see ya!

~ Shiro Samurai out.

[Sponsored] Lens review: Chromaview Werewolf Fire

Howdy!

Today I will be reviewing my third pair of colored contact lenses from the shop Coloured Contacts. The lenses today are some spicy special effects contacts called Chromaview Werewolf Fire. This lens has the classic 'werewolf' print design and it looks pretty awesome!

 

The lenses that I'm reviewing in this blog post were sponsored by Coloured Contacts, meaning that I did not pay for the product(s) myself. This does, however, not affect my honesty in any way. The words and opinions in this review are my genuine opinion; I don't ever compromise my true thoughts and feelings.

 

Base curve: 8.6 mm
Diameter: 14 mm

Water content: 53%

Life span: 30 days

 

So as I said above these lenses feature what is known as the 'werewolf' print – it's one of the recognizable standard sfx lens designs and while the same design is made by several different brands (Princess Pinky, ColourVue etc) there are differences in color intensity and opacity, lens stats like diameter and so on. So even lenses with the same exact base design will look different depending on the maker! The reason I mention this is because I've actually reviewed a couple other 'werewolf' style lenses in the past and I can tell that Chromaview Werewolf Fire is not the same as Princess Pinky Orange Werewolf (old review is old omfg).

I chose these lenses because I wanted to see how different essentially the same lens could be and also because I really like vivid, animal-ish colored contacts. There's something really cool with having eyes of a really bright unnatural color like amber or yellow – makes one look supernatural and wild!

One lens in.

I gotta say that these look pretty rad. The main color of the lenses is a true orange with some yellow around the pupil opening for a two-tone effect and added depth. It doesn't have a very blended color transition but it doesn't clash jarringly either and well, at a slight distance it looks really damn good and alluring – great for social media vampire selfies lol. The edges are black with irregular, burst-like spikes reaching towards the center. There is a slight enlargement effect but it's nothing out of the ordinary and won't make nor break anything.

The overall impact of these lenses is that they look clearly supernatural but aren't so insanely bright that you'd look overly cartoony (in fact these are slightly less bright than the previously mentioned Princess Pinky version). I really like the balance that is struck here as I feel like these lenses are somehow more pleasant (read: less obnoxious) and better suited for certain looks in my opinion. The color is opaque and it clearly pops, don't get me wrong on that because these lenses will change your eye color and it will look like wolf eyes and yes, it's a badass look. It's vivid enough to immediately bring attention to your eyes and I would vouch for how fun these are any day of the week!

Lens photos below!

All photos are taken by yours truly during a March noon with a semi-clear sky. All close-ups are free from color filters and the like and that's so that the colors would appear as true to life as possible.

 

Natural room light, indoors.

Bathroom light.

Flash photo, indoors.

Facing a window indoors, not sun side.

Unlit corridor, weak natural light in the distance.

Outdoors, back against the sun. (facing wall)

Outdoors, facing the sun.

I found these lenses thin and easy to insert, they kept their shape decently while held on my finger and didn't flop over as easily as the Chromaview Blackouts did. I hardly felt the Werewolf Fires in my eyes at all and they were overall comfortable to wear – I had no issues with vision blur, scratchy feelings or such. In fact I was very surprised to notice that, despite being a crazy lens, that these didn't block my vision at the corners in poorer light conditions (indoors with no lights on during daylight hours). It's so common that special effects lenses give you colored corners at the edges of your vision due to them having a slightly smaller pupil hole than your average circle lenses but nope, I didn't experience any funky orange tunnels with these baddies on!

Comfort is always a bit hard to estimate for me because my eyes are naturally very dry periodically and quite sensitive so yeah, it's so personal for every wearer how long you can wear lenses and that's because everyone's peepers are different. But as someone with dry eyes these lenses did not irritate me and I'm quite confident that I could wear these for roughly 4 hours at an event before I'd have to call in the eyedrops for some refueling lol.

All in all these lenses are lit as fuck and great for dressing up as supernatural beings be it werewolves, vampires, Medusa, cursed pirates, demons or some other imaginary creatures that lurk in the realms beyond our own. These also work great for cosplay if you need contacts for let's say Geralt of Rivia from the The Witcher games. I would definitely give two thumbs up for these lenses, they're really cool-looking and great fun for monster themed parties and photoshoots and heck, would complete alternative fashion outfits too like goths and post-apocalyptic stuff etc. Seriously, two thumbs up! 

Obviously I have nothing negative to say about these lenses and my collaboration with Coloured Contacts has been a wonderful experience – I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them for cosmetic colored lenses and sfx needs. Click here for a full store review for more information about my experiences. :)

Distance photo!

 

Short summary:

Color: 10/10
Super alluring yellowish orange wolf-eye styled lens. Great color payout and looks simply amazing.

Design: 8/10

It looks like its namesake, 'werewolf'. Alluring and deceivingly simple but it all comes together nicely.

Opacity: 9/10

Very strong coverage and near miniscule transparency. These should change your eye color no matter what.

Enlargement: 3/10

There's a slight size boost but it's not that noticeable really, unless you're only wearing one lens for comparison.

Comfort: 8/10

Very comfortable, thin and a breeze to insert. No orange tunnel vision which was an unexpected surprise. I hardly felt that I had lenses.

Naturalness: 1/10

By style and color alone these are busted but yeah, they actually somehow look not-so-crazy at selfie distance lmao.

Thanks for reading and stay fabulous out there!
Thank you, Coloured Contacts! ♡

Shiro Samurai out~

Lens review: ColourVue Phantasee Blue Spin

Hello peeps!

I'm gonna continue on the contact lens review roll for a while longer as I still have some backlog to chew through. Today I'm going to review the ColourVue Phantasee Blue Spin, a special effects colored contact lens for fun occasions and parties.

Base curve: 8.6 mm
Diameter: 14.0 mm

Water content: 45%
Life span: 1 year (I recommend 6 months)

These are quite a fun-looking lens with a stylized swirly pattern, makes me think of car tires or like ninja throwing stars or something lol. It's quite unique and the color opacity looks great when viewed in the vials.

There's only two colors, a blue for the main color and then black for the outer rim and the "spikes" around. One good thing with this kind of patterned lens is that due to the print being symmetrical all around one can't actually tell if the lenses are spinning in your eyes or not, so you don't run the risk of looking funny in a derpy sort of way lol.

 

One lens in.

 You can see that the color coverage is very solid and the print itself is rather intense and eye-catching. I somehow feel like it almost makes my eyes look, err, robotic somehow? Like it's a very unnatural look due to how bold the black parts makes it but it looks pretty cool regardless and would be quite sick for punk looks, rave parties and the like.

There's not a lot of enlargement although there's a slight size increase. The colors really pop (as is expected of crazy lenses) and there's no transparency in the pigmentation so whatever your natural eye color is it's very unlikely to shine through.

Lens photos below!

All photos are taken by yours truly during partly cloudy weather. All close-ups are free from color filters and the like and that's so that the colors would appear as true to life as possible.

Natural room light, indoors.

Bathroom light.

Flash photo, indoors.

Facing a window, indoors. (not sun side)

Unlit corridor, weak distant natural light.

Outdoors, back against the sun. (facing a wall)

Outdoors, facing the sun.

Comfort is pretty okay based on what I could tell. These lenses were part of the "already expired" batch that I had stashed away and forgot about for literal years so yeah, I only wore them for the review photos and then immediately discarded them. This of course means I can't really grade comfort properly nor fairly but what I can say is that, based on my first and only impression of wearing these lenses, they were thin and overall comfy and I didn't feel them in my eyes. If anything there were some slight colored corners at the edges of my vision when moving my gaze around but yeah, that's to be expected with sfx lenses as the pupil hole tends to be a lot smaller than on your average circle lens.

All in all these lenses are pretty rad in their own right, maybe a bit too extreme for daily wear unless you don some clearly alternative and funky looks (think like cyberpunk and such) as part of your everyday style. But they're fun, have a very distinct look and will surely get your peepers some attention!

 

Distance photo!

Short summary:

Color: 9/10 

Very strong blue and black lens, shows from a distance and looks rather intimidating.

Design: 7/10 

Simplified swirly print that is bold and symmetrical. It's not the most artistic but it looks neat regardless.

Opacity: 10/10

The lenses are very opaque and covering. There should be no issues hiding your natural eye color.

Enlargement: 2/10 

Very slight enlargement effect, it's not really anything you notice much. If at all.

Comfort: 7/10 

Appears to be thin and pleasant to wear. I didn't feel them except for colored corners at the edges of my vision field in poorer light conditions.

Naturalness: 1/10 

No no no, don't even try to entertain that absurd thought.

Thanks for reading my blog, woohaa!

~ Shiro Samurai out.