Year of Cosplay 2017

Good day folks!

Once again we're nearing the end of yet another year and every time it feels just as sudden. I don't know where the days go but I know that time can't be stopped from running its course. I can say already now that in terms of cosplay the year 2017 has been very... underwhelming. I'm just not feeling it and trust me, I'm not happy about it either.

As per blog tradition, I'll start by listing all the conventions that I attended during 2017:

Matsucon - Oulu, Finland

Euran Mangapäivä - Eura, Finland

Mushucon - Rovaniemi, Finland

Närcon - Linköping, Sweden

Chibicon - Oulu, Finland

Skecon - Skellefteå, Sweden

Well, that list is not very impressive. I tick in at 6 cons for this year and I think that's a "personal worst" if we don't count my first cosplay years in like 2010-2011 something (aka before I even had this blog). One might notice as well that out of all these cons Närcon is the only big one – the rest are all what could be considered as local small cons, save for the one in Eura as that's totally not local for me. xD I just haven't been feeling the con hype this whole year and there's been a lot of other shit getting in the way, like school and mental health.

2017 is pretty similar to 2016, except probably even worse. I've literally only had 3 photoshoots during the whole year, of which only 1 can be considered a proper one. Needless to say the lack of new, updated cosplay photos is huuuuuuge. It's like I know I've improved but I have nothing to show for it and it makes me feel shit, lol. I'm not getting my hopes up about 2018 being much better in the cosplay department since I'll probably be very busy with my new school and other real-life matters. Yep, I'm starting new studies in January and I'm finally gonna get myself a profession!

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Aaaaaand what about the... the other traditional thing, you wonder?
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I think this has turned into a meme of its own by now. x) Every year I wear fewer costumes, which of course naturally results in fewer photos and thus nothing to really show the world. This year it's the same curse – out of all four cosplays (wow, what a number) that I wore to cons I only have non-selfie photos of two of them, and that's like two photos of Itachi and one photo of Prussia. Urrrgh. Wake me up inside.

Here's a little list of what I wore at the cons I attended this year:

Matsucon: I wore my kimono!Itachi (Naruto) cosplay on Saturday and went casual on Sunday.
Euran Mangapäivä: Rewore Itachi again.
Mushucon: Because it was really spontaneous I went causal.
Närcon: I borrowed Firith's Teutonic Knight Prussia (Hetalia) cosplay on Thursday and wore swordboy Yasusada (Touken Ranbu) on Friday. On Saturday I wore a Rilakkuma kigurumi and on Sunday I wasn't even at the con.
Chibicon: Filthy casual.
Skecon: No cosplay on Friday, Gin Ichimaru (Bleach) for a few hours on Saturday and no cosplay on Sunday.

Yeah. I haven't done a lot of cosplaying this year, what more can I say?
I guess my favorite con of the year would be Närcon, but even that is with mixed feelings. I got a lot of joy from being with my big sister for the last time before she moved to Germany – I'm happy she came with me to visit Närcon on one day as well! It's gonna feel weird to not be able to sleep at her place during the con weekend anymore but oh well, there's the Närcon camping. It was fun to hang with Firith as well, although I'm still sorry about some of the things that didn't quite go as planned and I hope it didn't screw up the experience too much for my friend. :'( 
Otherwise Mushucon deserves a mention because, despite our trip being super sudden and spontaneous it was surprisingly fun! Although I guess all the derping with friends in the camper accounted for the positive memories of the con. xD

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I'm sorry about this whole post being kinda low in tone but, honestly, that's what this year has been like for me – lowkey shit. Of course it has had its great moments but I feel like for most of the time I've been my own anxiety's victim, combined with stress and whatnot. I just haven't been able to enjoy cosplaying and going to cons the same way as before and I miss the magic, honestly. I'm hoping that the future will reignite the fire that I've been searching for the past couple years. I'm also hoping to get at least one big cosplay project done next year (Monster Hunter anyone?) and that I'll have more time, money and inspiration to go farther to explore new conventions!

But before I end this post I want to thank all my friends, readers and everyone else who stumbles upon this blog of mine – I hope you all will continue to come back to read about my cosplay life and support me! Thank you so much for staying with me, like really.

Bye bye & Happy New Year 2018!

Lens review: GEO Xtra Morning Glory Brown

Hello sweeties!

Here comes my last circle lens review for this year, which is nearing its closure. It feels really weird to think that 2017 is soon over. I've had this pair in my possession for years but only now got around to actually open them, oops. Without further ado I'll say that today's review will be about the GEO Xtra Morning Glory Brown (WFL-A34) lenses, let's a-go!

Base curve: 8.7 mm
Diameter: 15 mm

Water content: 42%

Life span: 1 year (I recommend 6 months)

As with any legitimate GEO lenses these also came with authenticity stickers that could be checked online, to prove that the lenses are genuine of course. It's always worth it to be careful and only buy circle lenses from online shops that are trustable.

The Morning Glory lenses have a beautiful, intricate print and lovely color. Brown lenses are usually not my first pick but these I just felt like I had to try! *_* I am often drawn to lenses with unique artsy prints and these are no exception, hehe.

One lens in. Notice enlargement.

As you can see my natural eye color is a light blue-gray and these lenses turn into this lovely soft brown on my eyes. My real eye color does show through in the middle, because of the large pupil hole, but it doesn't clash with the brown and actually looks pretty nice. I like this kind of caramel-colored brown lenses anyway because they make my eyes look gentle somehow? That probably sounds kind of dumb but light brown eyes I tend to interpret as warm and kind. ^^

I guess the pattern itself is supposed to mimic a flower or something (it's from the Flower series after all) but it's so artistic that I don't instantly see it, lmao. I do like the thick limbal ring as it frames and brings focus to the eyes! The enlargement effect is obviously there too but it's not eating up my eyes, just making them look a bit more doll-like and cute.

All photos taken by me during a December morning with a sun that barely rises above the horizon line so yeah, no can do about the shitty light conditions because we're experiencing a phenomenon called polar night right now.
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 window. Sun side.

Facing window. Not sun side.

Bathroom light.

Natural apartment room light. (only window light)

Flash photo.

Outdoors, back against sun.

Outdoors, facing sun.

This is a fancy fashion lens for the fabulous earth-walkers but it could just as well serve as a cosplay lens, if wanted. The design is lovely, the size increase is there and the blending into my blue eyes is just right. The fabulous print draws in the watcher's gaze and gives this kind of mesmerizing, almost dreamy look to your eyes. I would recommend this pair if you like brown lenses – especially artsy ones with thick limbal rings.

Comfort is surprisingly good. I rarely find lenses exceedingly comfortable, seeing how dry my eyes are naturally, but these are definitely on the better side of average. These lenses are thin and I don't feel them in my eyes, which is always a plus because no one likes the obvious feel of "plastic in the eye" that some lenses give. I experience no vision blur or stinginess with these lenses and I can easily wear them past 3 hours without any dry bouts or hints of dryness/irritation. I would estimate wearing time on dry eyes for about 3-5 hours, at least for me. Definitely better than average in my books.

Distance photos!

Want to see Morning Glory lenses reviewed in another color? 

Check this out: Blue

Short summary:

Color: 7/10
Soft caramel-like brown color that goes nicely together with my light blue-gray eyes.

Design: 9/10

Gorgeous flower design with black details and a thick limbal ring for definition.

Opacity: 7/10

These do make my eyes appear brown but yeah, the large pupil hole lets through my real eye color in the middle so it doesn't look mega brown from a distance, lol. Still pretty though!

Enlargement: 7/10

Big and doll-like.

Comfort: 7/10

Thin and comfortable. No dry bouts or stinginess. Wearing time anywhere between 3-5 hours on my super-dry eyes. Definitely good!

Naturalness: 3/10

The thick dark rim, artsy design and size give them away. Looks too artificial and dolly to pass.

Thanks for reading and I hope you found this review useful!
Shiro Samurai out ~