Sunday, September 14, 2014

Working on a new mermaid costume!


Long time, no post!  Halloween is coming up and I finished up part of my costume for this year!  Check it out:







(Video to show the details in action.  Look, glitter!)

I plan on being a mermaid for Halloween this year so I decided to get started a little early... these were finished last week or so.  I still have to make my mermaid tail but I'm not sure when I'll get around to that sadly... I'm still in the process of moving and have so many things to keep coming back for!

I was inspired by the colors of Princess Aurora's color changing dress (from Disney's Sleeping Beauty) but love pastel colors so much.  Topped it off with a purple starfish!  Lots and lots of pearls and Swarovski crystals went into this one!  Once the glue calms down a little I'm going to attach them to a nude bra for a more seamless look.  I'm going to go with pastel hair for this but still need to make more hair accessories... I may make them similar to a pair of starfish clips I made with a Rapunzel theme a while back for my shop:





But with a blue and pink theme, of course!  My tail is going to be a deep pink though.  It was the prettiest material I've ever seen to make a walkable mermaid tail out of while I was visiting to fashion district in downtown Los Angeles a few years back.  Sadly, I've been too sidetracked to finally go through with this costume!  Hopefully next month will be the month.  If not, I can still wear it for a photoshoot for fun.

Monday, January 6, 2014

Sailor Moon Miracle Romance Shining Moon Powder Compact REVIEW

So it's been a long time since I've done an item review but now that I have better equipment, I can actually do them again!  I'm going to re-do my Yuna and Kairi necklace ones with better pictures... and actually do my Serah pendant one but for the time being, Sailor Moon!

Last summer, the Premium Bandai website announced that they were going to release a special line of Sailor Moon cosmetic items aimed at those who grew up with the original 90s show (aka women).  This line started out with cosmetics and the first of which to be released was the powder compact priced for sale at 3,999 Yen (around $38 USD).  When this announcement was made they said that they had plans to release this item overseas but sadly, they don't seem to plan on making good on that promise.  I believe they only got so far as Hong Kong... not the western market.  Since I felt its better to be safe than sorry and wait on that, I went on and bought my compact through Mio Boutique Tokyo where it has since then sold out and is out of production.  This item was incredibly hard to get your hands on outside of Japan because inside of the country, they were only allowing 2 items per household making it pretty much near impossible for shopping services to get them for people.  There were 2 rounds of pre-orders for this item both of which sold out within hours.  Finally, they had another round of pre-orders that was unlimited (and once again, Japan only).  I was able to secure one through this and these pre-orders were up for only a week before they sold out for good.

I paid roughly $43 for my compact sometime in June 2013 and waited 6 months for Bandai to ship them.  In total, my compact came to $57 including EMS shipping from Mio Boutique Tokyo to me.  Not a bad deal at all if I do say so myself.  I've been wanting a Sailor Moon compact since I was 7 years old and figured this may very well be my only chance to nab an affordable one.  A few days ago after a ton of drama with my designated post office, my compact arrived!  Onto the photos:

(Click to enlarge the photos)
The box is a pretty sugar pink color with a silver silhouette of Princess Serenity

Side of the box

...another side of the box.  The other side of the box has a silver silhouette of Luna but it kept photographing blurry so I don't have a picture of that.  I may do a video when I'm not feeling lazy but who knows!


The bottom of the box

Inside flaps of the box that say, "Moon Prism Power Make Up!" in a rainbow font.  I thought that was a pretty cute touch.

Onto what everyone wants, the compact!  It's nice and shiny and has acrylic rhinestones.  I consider this to be a step up from the original 90s Japanese toy since that one just had color plastic instead of "crystals."

The compact by itself.  It's a nice size but...

DEFINE COMPACT FOR ME, PLEASE.  Out of all the compacts that I own (and I collect them), this is by far the fattest and most impractical one of them all!  Powder compacts are typically thicker than dual mirror ones (duh) but I think this one is just a bit much...  It opens by pressing on the rectangle.

View of the bottom





The compact opened.  It comes with a really cute powder puff.  It's quite small compared to every other powder puff that comes in my other compacts though.

Opened compact for a view of the mirror.  The mirror is very tiny and impractical.  I could hardly see myself in it because it's so small... but the moon and star relief surrounding it is pretty cute.


The compact opened showing the design of the silver crystal and ribbon.  Now this is where I become very disappointed.  In the promotional photos of the compact, I couldn't tell how the powder and powder puff would be separated but...

...as you can see here, the only thing separating the powder, the powder puff, and the mirror is a crappy sheet of clear plastic with the crystal and ribbon printed on it.  I found this to be very cheap and tacky.  Most high quality powder compacts have a separating compartment to store the powder puff beneath it.  This was a very stupid decision on Bandai's part not to include this feature.


All in all, it's a pretty cute but very impractical powder compact.  Originally, I planned on actually using this compact for the mirror and keeping it in a silk pouch so it would be safe in my purse but... this thing is way too chunky!  I was honestly expecting it to look a bit nicer too since its aimed at adult women but it looks just as childish as the finish on the 90s toys.  The construction of the compact left me unsatisfied as well since there really wasn't anything to separate the mirror, powder puff, and powder from one another except for a crummy round sheet of plastic.  That's... not very practical for a functional compact.  I haven't tested the quality of the powder (and I probably won't at this point) but it does smell pretty nice.  On the Premium Bandai website its described as smelling like "princess rose."  I don't really think it smells a thing like a rose but the smell is quite pretty and inoffensive.

Now for the quality of the powder itself... it's pretty mediocre drug store quality but I was expecting that since this item was marketed solely for its packaging.  It's a pretty crappy as far as highlighters are concerned and its filled with small glitter rather than quality mica powder.  It doesn't pick up very well and goes on quite cakey.  It's decent for reducing the look of oil but all in all, the powder is lousy but who actually bought this for the product alone?  The compact is a cute collectible and my classmates in cosmetology school comment on it all the time (and laugh at its size) but if you're looking for a good highlighter, I highly recommend Too Faced's Candelight Glow Highlighting Powder Duo.

As for where to buy this compact, as of right now the only place that I know of is on eBay although you will be paying higher than retail prices for it as this is a sold out limited edition item.  If you're a Sailor Moon collector, I recommend it as a piece for your collection.  For those of you who wanted to actually use this compact... I don't really recommend it since it's very impractical.  The next upcoming Sailor Moon anniversary item on my list is the Proplica Crescent Moon wand!  I've been wanting a crescent moon wand my entire childhood and I went on and pre-ordered mine through Ami Ami.  From what I've seen, it looks a lot better than the sought after Sailor Moon World version of the wand and the (now) funny looking 90s toy.  Best of all, it's perfect for cosplay!  I'll finally have a pretty prop for Princess and Queen Serenity. ;__;

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Storenvy shop now open!

I've spent the past week or so trying to set up my new sales account over at Storenvy and it's all up and running now!  Halloween is coming up and since not everyone wants to make an account to shop at Etsy, I've set up on Storenvy to make things a little easier for myself and everyone.  However, unlike the Etsy store, Shopenvy will only accept Paypal so no credit cards this time around.  I will be keeping both stores open though!  The Shopenvy store will have more items listed since they have a lot more benefits for me selling there versus Etsy (Facebook app, no sellers fees, more layout customization, etc.).  When I open back up for cosplay and wig commissions again, it will more than likely be over at Storenvy since it'll be cheaper for everyone that way.

I'm still selling mermaid bras for Halloween so drop by either store!  I hear that Lady Gaga's seashell bikini outfit from the VMAs will be a popular costume this year.  If you're looking for the white seashell bra that she wore, drop on by!

I expect to open back up for cosplay commissions sometime after Halloween so keep a look out and add my shop to your favorites!


Saturday, August 10, 2013

Something that has confused me for a while...

...and that is why do people buy cosplay wigs from Hello Cosplay?  I mean, come on people!  You can get the same wig on eBay FOR A LOT LESS MONEY.  For example, a long unstyled wig on Hello Cosplay's site costs $30 plus $15 shipping (if you're in the USA) bringing your total cost up to $45.  Then there's eBay... you can get the same wig for $23-$28 and not have to pay shipping!  Then there's the recent drama about this company stealing images of products sold by other sellers.  Chances are high you will not get what you think you're getting in the photo.

If you're looking for a cheap cosplay wig and you're just starting out, check out eBay!!  Seriously people, they have some of the cheapest un-styled cosplay wigs you can find outside of Taobao.  eBay wigs are often the cheapest cosplay wigs you can find when you're new and on a budget.  The key to finding a good eBay wig is research and checking out the seller's feedback.  If I'm looking for a cheap wig to style or do some experimenting on, I usually check out sellers like CosplayDNA and cosplaywig.  CosplayDNA has some really cheap wigs that are okay in terms of quality since they're pretty shiny.  cosplaywig is pretty much the same but a little pricier and offers pre-styled character wigs.

All in all... check eBay before throwing your money away on a random Chinese cosplay website.  Sure, the wigs from the 2 sellers I recommended ship directly from China but you'll get a much better price than you would get at places like Hello Cosplay and Cosplay House.  Research is the key!

Saturday, March 30, 2013

Sailor Moon Usagi Tsukino ring giveaway!!!



Hey, guys!  From now until April 14th, I am holding a Facebook giveaway for my popular Usagi Tsukino engagement ring!  The contest is being held on Facebook and one lucky person will win!  Do not miss this chance!  Click here for how to win!

Friday, February 22, 2013

Wig reviews, anyone?

I've decided to do some wig reviews on this blog in the future since I shop from many different vendors for them.  If I'm able to, I'll have one written by next week.  First up, Arda Wigs.

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Upcoming wig projects

I've decided to take on a few new wig projects in between working on my personal cosplays for convention season.  I will be offering various styled wigs in my shop soon!  One of the upcoming styles will be Mimi Tachikawa (Digimon Adventure season 2)!  It's a wig I've been wanting to style for a long time and since I never got any requests for it, I'll just style it for fun then sell it off.  It'll be a fun way to learn to use a few new styling methods!  It will also come with the cute little star clips. :)

Stay tuned for rave wigs making their way to Celcia's Creations!