Make-up video: Gothic Spring

Uh, no, not another look, just the video tutorial for the previous look that I did. A friend requested it, I'm pretty much free to do it, so why not?




Music from Free Play Music: City Lights and Catalyst. I thought of using a Davide Sonar track, but then I think my Youtube account has enough copyright infringement notices, even when I'm using these two copyright-free tracks...


Close-up of the eye make-up:

Improved 30 Day Song Challenge: Day 9

Full list here.

Day 1 / Day 2 / Day 3 / Day 4 / Day 5 / Day 6 / Day 7 / Day 8

Note: watch all the videos I embed in at least 360p or 480p, if not HQ - you're not doing the song any justice if you're watching the video in 240p (higher video quality = better audio quality).

Day 9: A Song That You Want to Close the Week With

Each week should start and end in an epic way. Yeah, I know it's not really possible that every week starts and ends epic, but at least you should have some epic music to go with the times. =D


For this question, I shall assume that they're asking for a song that I would like to start my WEEKEND with.


I think most people would choose a nice, slow piano piece to end the week - y'know, relax and take things easy. Rest the weekend away. But weekends have never been "resting days" for me, since I was a little kid. Weekends were times to finally do the things I wanted to do during the weekdays, but couldn't because of school, etc.


So, I want to end my week listening to some awesome music that I've recently discovered.





I mean, HOW FUCKING EPIC IS THIS?! Hardstyle is something I'm completely new to, and my first taste of it was Davide Sonar's Natural. I took a break from putting it on replay for 12-hours straight everyday for a couple of weeks, and took a look at his other tracks, and now Reactor is my go-to track.


Having this blasting (unfortunately, on my laptop with limited audio playing qualities), or heck, any other Davide Sonar track would make any start of a weekend epic!

Improved 30 Day Song Challenge: Day 8

Full list here.


Day 1 / Day 2 / Day 3 / Day 4 / Day 5 / Day 6 / Day 7

Day 8: A Song That You Want to Begin the Week With

I could wake up to practically any song on a gray Monday morning. Usually I'd be up by 6am, prepped by 6.30am, and out of the door, if possible, by 7am (if I have classes). A Monday morning drive has to be perky.


Sometimes I'd listen to OneFM, but recently I've gotten round to burning my J-rock CD (wanna burn another J-rock, plus another techno one). The first track is Hide with Spread Beaver's Pink Spider, but the on that I want to start my week with is...



Miyavi - Neo Visualizm by Linesa


Miyavi's Sakihokoru Hana no You ni -Neo Visualizm-. My third Miyavi song (first being Subarashiki Kana, Kono Sekai), it was only until last year that I realized what the lyrics meant. The first thing that attracted me to the song was Miyavi's make-up in the video, and as usual, his awesomeness. Did I mention that he plays the guitar with HIS FINGERS ONLY?


The tempo, the beat, the style of the entire song itself. It's just the song that wakes you up - it first attracts you with the intro, then you get a funky R&B bridge before Miyavi starts to somewhat rap. Throughout the song, Meevs incorporated tap dance sounds, his guitar slapping, and various other sounds, to make up this masterpiece.


It's the lyrics, however, that are highly motivational for me. One segment of the lyrics goes along the lines of Kevin Aucoin's quote: no amount of make-up can mask an ugly heart. Translation from JPopAsia.com:

You are trampled, or plucked,
You can blossom again, just keep on believing in it.
X, Luna Sea and Kuroyume - that's the way that my seniors left me
We have to save our future and
Break the irony without rooting it out.

Well I'm serious in my own way and
I'm singing being ready to loose everything
Don't hinder, get out of here
Just don't decide everything by our appearance (well, just don't make a fool of us)

But yeah, foundation cream, make-up and mascara - "if we take off the make-up you won't recognize us"
That's why everything starts with good-looking but
It's awkward when your skill is poor...
For becoming "big artist" that my fans can be proud of, to tell my history forthrightly,
Hey ya buddy u got ready? Make the mainstream better, Speed up the victory road! 

Doesn't matter what kind of music do you play and how you look like
Take off that shit and break the common knowledge,
Light the leading way!

Hurry hurry but don't worry. you are allowed to make mistake like that
Only who does something can become a winner, just do it
Like a weed,
and even if for many times... 

You are trampled, or plucked,
You can blossom again, just keep on believing in it.
Even if it isn't raining or there is no sun
Look calm, like you don't care.

If you lost your way, just ask somebody
If you lost your dream, just close your eyes again
And some day you will blossom, with your hands wide spread 

Kagoshima, areas, "saiba" and on air west
And I noticed that I couldn't understand where is my youth and when did the new year begin,
Keep on going West and East!

That's the highway on which I drove with all my dreams and hope.
What has changed since that? And what remained?
If we can't go back, all we have to do is just make the new road, cause
On the long and winding road there is no time to look back
We are still on our life-road

Don't you think that you can just loose everything if you always make that deadlocks,
Nothing will change if you are just thinking everything over, so let's just begin fighting, buddy
Oh, well, you started dancing, keep on moving
Blossom your flower tonight, otherwise the new century will end 

Even if you are trampled, or being plucked
You can blossom again, keep on believing in it
Even if it isn't raining or there is no sun
Look calm, like you don't care

If you lost your way, just ask somebody
If you lost your dream, just close your eyes again
And some day you will blossom again, with your hands wide spread
to the sun...

Improved 30 Day Song Challenge: Day 7

The full list here.

Day 1 / Day 2 / Day 3 / Day 4 / Day 5 / Day 6

Day 7: A Song That Reminds You of Someone

Many songs remind of of many different people. Like Britney's and Avril's old songs remind me of an old friend. The choir song (Double Trouble) from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban reminds me of my best friend. Like Phantasmagoria's Gensoukyoku Eternal Silence reminds me of a couple of exs...





All the GazettE songs remind me of one person, but for this particular question, I'm going to go for SCANDAL's Namida no Regret ("tears of regret"). It was one of the last songs he sent to me, and one of the songs that pierced my heart the most.


The lyrics, in some contexts, matched our relationship almost perfectly. We didn't actually say goodbye and went on with our own lives. He said "let's be friends", but my Christmas and new year greetings went ignored. The entire song itself described how I felt, and my thoughts when we broke up.


This song used to make me cry - memories came flooding back, words repeated in my mind. Everything that was, now nothing. But then again, this song did kind of help me let go. Moving on, even if the summer colors between us disappeared.


Translation taken from LyricsMania.com:

Tears of regret spilled from a smile
As the summer colors shined brightly from the city
Instead of saying goodbye, we exchange small nods
And we start to move on

As I was waiting for the bus
Twilight seemed to approach slowly
I wondered, we didn't look bad as a couple, did we?

In the window glass
I saw the broken reflection of the two of us
We were trying to grow up

Like a bad boy giving up
You joke about breaking up
With that that subtle face
I still know what you were thinking
Even with my eyes closed

My tears weren't about the heartbreak
Up until now, I still loved you
When we began to say goodbye
I couldn't promise you that we could move on

"I'll call you," you said
But I could tell you weren't telling the truth
From the way your hand was shaking
We were nothing more than just childhood friends

I still hate hearing that
I should have endure the life in the city

Tears of regret spilled from a smile
As the summer colors shined brightly from the city
Instead of saying goodbye, we exchange small nods
And we start to move on

I only feel that I begin to hate myself trying to be strong
Every time I look back at my loss
I would hear your voice

I don't know if I can bear it
But I can't help to keep moving on
We'll see

I hold my tears
I keep hearing words
Saying that one day it'll be hard for me
Is this really goodbye?
It's a promise that we can't take back

The summer colors disappear

I also did a voice cover for this song (volume down, please, it's a J-rock song =D):




Even if I hear this song now, it still reminds me of him, but in a more positive way - fate had let our paths cross, and we both learned something from each other. And like he said, I'll try not to let anything negative from that past affect me again.

Improved 30 Day Song Challenge: Day 6

The full challenge list here.

Day 1 / Day 2 / Day 3 / Day 4 / Day 5

Day 6: A Song That Reminds You of Home

Home is where the heart is. For me, home is where the family is. The first song that came to mind was The Bangles' Eternal Flame. It was one of the songs I first started singing, and my family (my aunt in particular) always reminisced the times when sung the song in my soft singing voice since I was a little girl.





I think a more appropriate song to use here would be The Eagles' Hotel California or Michael Jackson's Jam. To suit the sentimental mood that I interpreted from the challenge question, I think I'll go for Eagles.


My parents were fans of older music, like The Eagles, ABBA, Aaron Neville, etc. I remember playing MJ's Dangerous CD (the only MJ CD we had) with my dad's home theater system, and dancing out of tempo to the songs.


My dad owned a Mazda Etude (now it's my sister's car), and I forgot how, we also happened to be able to drive around in an old Honda Accord, that had a CD player (the Mazda only had a cassette player). On long road trips, short road trips, shopping trips to The Mines, my parents would play The Eagles CD.


I can't remember any other songs, but I remember Hotel California (my first and so far only trip to karaoke with my dad, he picked the song, and sang it completely out of tune and tempo). Reminds me of the days where we would all excitedly get into the Accord, then drive out to wherever - my dad behind the wheel, my mum beside him, and us sisters in the backseat...

Improved 30 Day Song Challenge: Day 5

The full challenge list here. Also, check out Maira's and Ken Min's blog! They're doing this challenge, too!

Day 5: A Song From An Artist You Wish Had Never Started Singing

How I interpret this challenge question: he/she has released singles, albums, etc, but I wish he/she had never even made their debut before. The first person who came to mind was Bieber, but I realized that I actually like some of his songs...


I'll be honest, I don't really know any artists that I don't like, because I automatically pay more attention to artists and music that I like.





I think for this one, I'll go with African-American rappers, like Lil Wayne. I'm alright with Flo-Rida, I just don't like Snoop Dogg's face, but Lil Wayne... He's just annoying. I don't know if rapping constitutes singing, but like I said, this is how I'm gonna interpret this challenge question.


The lyrics, the music, the video... Put them all together, and there you have a cocktail of things I don't like. I'm not hating, but just saying that I don't like him or his music. Don't bash.

Improved 30 Day Song Challenge: Day 4

Full list here.

Day 4: A Song You Couldn't Live Without

This is a really tough one. In general, I don't think I could live without music - let's face it, WHO CAN?! I need music to wake up, to drive to campus when I feel like nodding off to sleep, to drive home, and keep myself sane enough to survive the day.




I'll go by feel then. When I saw the question, a sudden surge of Westlife and Michael Jackson songs surged through my mind - I did practically grow up listening to them. But I couldn't pinpoint a particular song. And then some Whitney Houston came in as well, but the only which stuck is Roxette's It Must Have Been Love.


I guess a song one can't live without is supposed to be epic, but Roxette is epic! So is the song, at least for me it is... I could say Gackt's RETURNER ~Yami no Shuuen~, or L'Arc~en~Ciel's My Heart Draws a Dream, or something from Miyavi, or the GazettE, or Kagrra,, or Versailles.





No, no, no. On second thought, I choose Kagrra,'s Utakata. Utakata was my first Kagrra, song (the band's name is stylized as "Kagrra,"), and I was more smitten by the song than when I discovered Meevs, GazettE or Versailles.


Their mix of J-rock, sounds from the koto, and oh, Isshi's voice! May you rest in peace, and continue singing in heaven, Isshi-sama! There's the softness of classical Japanese music, and the hardness of J-rock - a perfect combination, brought together by Isshi-sama's unique, emotional voice.


It's the perfect song for some, I think. It has a good enough balance of peaceful calmness, emotion, and rock, at least it is for me. As much rock music as I prefer, sometimes I do need some soft music.


I don't know how to describe it exactly, but this song is pretty close to my heart, even closer than Pledge, or Cassis. You could say this song, along with the PV and the band, encompasses the entire Japanese culture - the traditional, the visual movement, the music (both traditional and modern), and the beauty...

Improved 30 Day Song Challenge: Day 3

The full list here.

***

Day 3: A Song That You Absolutely Despise

I don't hate Psy's Gangnam Style. I don't hate Justin Bieber's Baby. I hate Teriyaki Boyz's Tokyo Drift.







I hate the starting, the annoying girl's voices, just everything about the song. I think my dislike for the song heightened when my sister played it all the time around the house when it was hot, which was around 2006 when The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift first hit the movie market. People around school loved it as well.


I still get annoyed when my mother's phone rings now, because she has this song as her ringtone. Ugh. I would walk out of the room if I could whenever I hear this song.

Improved 30 Day Song Challenge: Day 2

Do this challenge with me!!! I love challenges! The full list here.

***

Day 2: A Favorite Band

Do I really have to tell you this? I love lots of bands - local band RELENT, Versailles, Kagrra,, etc. Most of these have the element of rock in their music, one way or another. For whatever reason, Japanese rock appeals to me more than rock from other countries.

Source. the GazettE's look for their 10th Anniversary live - The Decade. The clips are all over Youtube. Watch them before

the GazettE. I discovered them in around 2009, I think. It was a result of another fangirling incident, I downloaded Cassis illegally, and fell in love.


At that time, I was already submerged halfway into my obsession with Japanese music - I watched Music Station on Animax every Saturday, and was totally blown away by Gackt and L'Arc~en~Ciel. I had ventured a bit into Miyavi's music... then BAM! I was completely smitten. Ballads, poprock, metal, they've covered almost all genres of music already... STILL AWESOME!





My official first song from the GazettE was Cassis, but I remember a promotional video (I think it was a teaser or a preview) for Filth in the Beauty when I was browsing for GakuHai (Gackt & hyde) videos on Youtube.


My love for GazeRock has changed my life in many ways - men with long hair, painted nails, and make-up weren't gay; multiple piercings were cool; and rock wasn't just noise anymore. It also was the reason why my "first love" and I got together and started talking in the first place.


I'll refer from the image. From left is Aoi, guitarist. He is one of the only two people in the band who's active on Twitter, and has a penchant of cute dancing~ He's the oldest among all the members, and has the earliest birthday in the year (20th January).


Reita is the bassist, and is known for his signature nose band and love for cockatiels. He is practically never seen without the noseband, and has a dislike for drummer Kai's cooking.


Vocalist Ruki is the shortest and youngest of the 5, and writes lyrics for the band's songs. He has a pet chihuahua named Koron. He's the most active Tweeter in the band.


Kai is the drummer of the band, as well as the leader. He is known for his dimpled smiles, and his passion for cooking (you can find a video of him making French toast for his band mates on Youtube). He has the latest birthday in the year (28th October).


Uruha is my bias, has 9 piercings, is the guitarist of the GazettE, and drinks like a maniac. His favorite alcohols are Moet et Chandon and Smirnoff. His signature look is the false double eyelid make-up (but recently it changed into a heavy smokey eye).


For 10 years they've been making music, and they're getting more and more popular around the world. So many of their songs are my favorites - Chizuru, The Invisible Wall, Reila, Silly God Disco, and the list can go on. (watch the videos in highest quality possible, please, give the music some justice)














Feel free to browse and bask in GazettE awesomeness. =D

Improved 30 Day Song Challenge: Day 1

I would typically wait for the start of a new month to start a challenge chain, but since most challenges are 30+ days, and the next month is February, I thought what the hell. You can find the entire list here.

***

Day 1: A favorite song

To ask me to name a favorite song is almost impossible, since I listen to practically everything. But the moment I saw it, the only song I can hear in my head is the GazettE's Cassis.

Cassis was my first the GazettE song. I was fangirling over Taiwanese pop star Jiro Wang at that time, and I had collected a couple of pages of a magazine interview that he did. In the interview, his passion for the GazettE was mentioned, and he recommended Cassis.

Source. Their look for Cassis.

The acoustic guitar solo at the beginning, then the piano and electric guitar combo bridge, Ruki's deep, sultry voice...All the electric guitar solos by Uruha and Aoi... This is the only song that I can still remember every word to, even if I haven't listened to it in a long time (which is quite rare).

Even if it was Miyavi who sparked my interest in the visual kei scene, it was the GazettE which anchored me there. the GazettE is also the main reason why I'm into androgyny. I mean, all but Reita (bass, second from left) and Kai (drummer & leader, second from right) looked like girls to me at that time. HOW BEAUTIFUL CAN URUHA BE?! (he's the guitarist, by the way, on the far right)

I was so obsessed that I took up the guitar (gave up a couple years later because of university), got a stretched piercing, and got 9 piercings in total like Uruha (although not in the exact same places as he has them).

Breathless

The only things keeping me alive recently - a certain someone, chocolate, and mind-blowing music. Some recents since the last post that I've been listening to since:

Davide Sonar Natural

Never been interested in music like this before, but a sudden whirlwind made me fall in love. This particular music is called hardstyle. The way Davide mixed electronic sounds with a few hints of orchestrated notes here and there - MIND-BLOWING. I've been listening to this for a week already, I think. On constant replay. For 12 hours straight each day. So you can imagine how obsessed I am. =D

Miyavi Ahead of the Light

This is his new single. As usual, his fingers on the guitar strings, his voice, especially when he uses strength (no idea what the jargon is). This is a little different from his other songs - for me, it's more city-inspired. J-rock forever~

Toneshifterz Psychedelic Wasteland Defqon 1 Australia Anthem 2011

Totally new to this music, but loving it anyway. Thanks to Brandon for the introduction when I was tipsy. =D 

***

That's basically it. Just thought I'd share some music. =D Sharing is caring. Video is exporting now, by the way, but it's gonna have one ugly watermark there.

Studying woes

I tend to do last-minute studies, because I'm the kind of person who forgets easily. And I always get a mild case of bipolar syndrome when I study - I either become temporarily anorexic, or I become a binge eater.


My studies usually commence at night, sometimes leaving me with only a couple hours to sleep, sometimes none at all. Surprising, I manage to stay awake during the entire course of the exam the next day.


About the bipolar syndrome. I either alternate my time I use to study between one or half a chapter (depending on how long that chapter is) and a couple of games. Usually Temple Run, and recently TripleTown and Fruit Ninja HD. During this time, I don't eat, and don't usually feel hungry at all.


Other than that, it's the complete opposite - my stomach growls even if I had just eaten a half hour ago. Unfortunately, these few exams I've become the binge eater. The amount of carbohydrates, sodium, caffeine, sugar, and dairy I've consumed today would have been enough to fuel me for an entire month when I was in high school.


Festivities always mean good food, and I've gotten less motivated to go all the way to campus for an hour's session in the gym. And since my music player refuses to cooperate with me, I'm left listening to the rather shitty music in the gym, which isn't motivational at all. Men singing in deep voices in a language I do not understand completely, backed by powerful electric guitar, bass, and drum sounds are much more motivating to me than "she sounds like sex on the radio".




I mean, which is more awesome: feeling like an action star on a treadmill with epic rock/metal music, or "I wanna make you sweat"? I, personally, would choose the former. Even Saiyuki Reload Gunlock's Wild Rock by buzzlip is now a very normal song for me, since most of the music I listen to are along those lines.


Anyhow, I told myself I'd start studying yesterday. And I did - one miserable, boring chapter. I'm sorry, but business and management just isn't my thing. I have 7 more chapters to go, and less than 12 hours. This means more iced coffee in a purple bottle.

***

I plan to film my next video this coming Saturday, while I'm outstation. Trips to Singapore usually means going out to shop in the day, then going out for dinner at night - perfect for the day-to-night concept. And the place I'm staying in has bright, white light in the rooms, so it'll be more ideal for filming. =P


Here's a song I've been particularly favoring today~ The single version has cello and violin backgrounds~



Angela Aki has always been one of my favorite J-pop musicians, noticed for her piano playing. Her voice is very soothing for me. I'm sure you're quite familiar with Final Fantasy XII's Kiss Me Goodbye - that was my first Angela Aki song. Sakurairo (color of cherry blossom) is one of the songs I love, especially when I'm in a mellow mood~

First for 2013!

Oh, what bollocks is this? A sudden, random exam in the middle of my beautiful holiday? It's an outrage! This is so preposterous that I can't even.

But then again it is 2013. I never really contemplated the fact that the world would have ended on 21.12.2012, despite watching the movies, and scaring myself with theories about Mother Nature turning cruel just before the world ends. I guess the Mayans just decided to stop carving that calendar. =D

And just BECAUSE it's 2013, I should stay positive. One of my resolutions this year is to live by Timone and Pumba's principle to life - hakuna matata, it means no worries. I'm not a worry bug by nature, but sometimes the past just decides to show up for no bloody reason and beats the crap out of your good mood. Positiveness breeds more positiveness, so I'll try to keep that in mind as well, in hopes that those bad memories will be blotted out for good, leaving the nice ones behind~

I initially planned to make the first blog post of 2013 an epic one, since everyone is posting "first *insert name here* of 2013" stuff all over the place, but my urge to rant on my blog overwhelmed me, once again.

Up until now, this awesome purple blog has 16 followers. I've been blogging for about 5 years, so we'll roughly estimate that I gained about 3-4 followers in a year. The weird thing is, there are other blogs out there which are younger than Chronicles of Chean, but has many more views and followers.

I've done a teeny bit of observation, and I noticed that other blogs like Little Miss Smexy and Sugar Coated Muffin (both whom I know personally) get more views because they do reviews, and get sponsored, and are more active on Nuffnang (I think). Also, my ratio of text to images/videos are like 9:1. I'm studying mass communications, for God's sake! I should know about audience psychology!

Another resolution - blog less about feelings and such (I've been blogging A LOT of negative stuff in 2012), and more on *ahem* more commercialized stuff without losing the Chean touch~ Because in order to attract audiences, you must make the content appealing to them, no? =D

And hopefully, get a camera of my own! I used to rely on my Nokia C6-00's camera, which took pretty decent photos, despite only being 5 megapixels. But now the touchscreen is unfunctional (thank you for my QWERTY keyboard), at even the slightest low light situations, it'll flash.

I've been relying on friends' and families' mobile phones to take pictures for quite some time, if I don't have the Lumia camera with me. Which reminds me that I have to find out what the hell is going on with my MP4 player - I CAN'T WORK AN HOUR AT THE GYM WITHOUT J-ROCK THUMPING IN MY EARS!

Anyways, my "new year rant" is done. I shall now share with you one of my current favorite songs~ It's the ending theme for Saiunkoku Monogatari (Colorcloud Palace)~ Lyrics can be found here.

I Am Not For Sale campaign recap

Tutorial: Daytime gyaru-inspired look

 I've been wanting to do another video for a really long time, but procrastination and many other factors just made me ... well, procrastinate. Anyway, I'm on my semester break now, so I have ample time on my hands, and hence I made the video!


Gyaru is a Japanese term for "girl" or "gal", and this form of make-up and/or culture is usually portrayed as innocent, cute, and sometimes teary eyed, or sexy, depending on the type of gyaru. The key components of going mainstream gyaru? Iris-enlarging circle lenses, liquid eyeliner, false lashes (both top and bottom), contoured face, pouty lips, usually light brown hair, and feminine attire and accessories.


Like visual kei, gyaru has different types - like visual kei has oshare kei, gyaru has himegyaru, agejo and Amura. Here's an article on the types of gyaru.


Wendy a.k.a Xiaxue's style is somewhat gyaru; and those girls you usually see on Popteen or Cawaii magazine? Yes, those are usually gyaru styles. Oh, yeah, and Xiaxue did an interview for NHK a while back on a show just for gyaru fashion - read it up here (pic-loaded).

Close up~

Originally I wanted to do a multi-in-one make-up tips video, but I got a little carried away, found my false lashes, and started drawing on fake bottom lashes. @_@ It turned out quite pretty, and here I'm gonna share with you how I did it!!!


I'm currently in the process of regrowing my eyebrows to reshape them, because their shape just went wonky. In a way, it helped the look - notice how gyarus always have that innocent, slightly droopy-eyed look? The thick brows help emphasize that innocence. ANYWAYS. Here is the video~

Eye make~

Products used:
EYES

• shu uemura Creme Eyeshadow in Beige (primer)
• Artistry shadows in Sand, Basic Beige & Ash Black
• Daiso Cosmetic 165 (eyelid tape, trimmed)
• Za Liquid Eyeliner in Real Black
• MaxFactor False Lash Effect mascara in Black
• generic brand natural crossed lashes (cut in half)
• The Face Shop Lovely ME:EX Automatic Eyeliner in White

FACE

• Kate Concealer for Pores
• Maybelline Clear Smooth Aqua Gel Foundation in Natural
• Pigeon Compact Baby Powder in Beige
• Artistry shadow in Basic Beige & Sand (nose contour & highlight)
•  Bobbi Brown blusher in Blushed (face contour)

LIPS

• Kiehl's Tinted Lip Balm SPF35 in Hue No. 30G

I did absolutely nothing to my eyebrows except brush them through with a spoolie; and for the lips I opted for balm instead of gloss because my lips were so dry. I could've done a cupid lip, though. Here a few camwhore shots~

My sister's bear

Anyhow, I hope you enjoy this look!

雅の誕生日

September 14th is Miyavi's birthday.

After going to the Miyavi live, I've joined a Facebook group exclusively for Malaysian Co-Myvz. Trust me, the people in there are hardcore J-rock fans, and stalk Miyavi.

One of the members posted a link to the International Co-Myvz Crew Tumblr page, in which they wrote that they planned to make a video with the theme "Miyavi is...", and send it to him on his birthday. I purposely put on make-up, wrote 'Miyavi' on my cheek, and filmed my entry.

On his birthday, there were so many Miyavi tributes going around, and Miyavi himself was contantly tweeting, and at the end of the day he thanked everyone for their lovely birthday messages.

Also, the international Co-Myvz Crew uploaded the birthday video on Youtube, and sent it to him. He tweeted about it as well~

I watched the video, and I couldn't believe what I saw - my entry was the second one. My segment starts at 0:40, and you can see my plastic-wrapped yukata, and dresses at the back.

Miyavi is the one who made me fall in love with visual kei, and told me all I need to do in life is stay true to myself.

It's amazing - there are so many Co-Myvz all over the world, so many whose lives changed because of him.

Proud to be a 仔雅 !

Make-up Tutorial: Bright Eyeliner Look

 

Every now and then I just get tired of being so gothic with my make-up choices - the moment I touch eye shadow, I tend to go to the blacks and greys, if not the darker colors. My eyeliners are black, my mascaras are black, my brow pencils are black. Everything is black.


Once in a while, I just opt for something simple, bright, but still wearable enough for daytime. I used to do this look during my first semester of university, but I've gotten so caught up in assignments and exams that I rarely did do any make-up at all, except for the occasional just-winged-eyeliner-mascara-lipgloss.



Another reason why I sometimes reach for this look is because it's quite unlikely that I would be able to finish using 50% of the pigments in my 120 color palette. Also, this look is brightens up the eyes, as well as giving a subtle pop of color~ Tone up or down the liner color to suit the occasion~

Products used (please refer to side bar for color codes~):

• shu uemura Creme Eyeshadow in Beige (any cream product)
• shades #1 &#2 from 120 palette (highlight color)
• shade #64 from 120 palette (contour color)
• shades #107, #106 & #103 from 120 palette (use any color/combination of colors that you fancy)
• shades #8 & #9 from 120 palette (any black, or dark grey for a less harsh look)
• The Face Shop Lovely ME:EX Auto Eyeliner in White
• Max Factor False Lash Effect mascara in Black
• The Face Shop Automatic Eyebrow Pencil in Grey (you could substitute with two tones of grey eye shadow)
• Maybelline Clear Smooth Aqua Gel Foundation in Natural (any foundation that you like)
• L'Occitane Immortelle Fresh Powder Foundation in Fresh (to set foundation)
• Bobbi Brown blusher in Blushed
• Callas Finishing Touch Face Powder in CPF04 Clear Pearls (face highlighter)
• The Body Shop Lipstick in 07
• Clarins Instant Light Natural Lip Perfector in 01

What I did was try to make a little gradient effect for the eyeliner. Sometimes going for plain color liner can be a little awkward, so I took a little tip from an old Japanese beauty magazine and added a little black, but instead of grabbing liquid eyeliner, I just opted for a little black at the roots of the lashes. Of course you could use any eyeliner in any style you like.

This look is also versatile enough to be used with a single tone of a color, a combination of a few tones of the same color (as I did), or mix it up into a cocktail of colors! My lids are much hooded, so usually most of the eyeliner disappears under the fold.


If you noticed, the wing on the left eye is actually longer than the other. My eyes are naturally unbalanced - the right side brighter and higher up the side of the face; while the left side is set lower on the face and a little more hooded. Same goes with my eyebrows.


The lips are kept simple, but pouty, to keep the focus on the eyes, unless you're aiming at doing this liner look as a compliment for a statement lip look. That would also work


As for the video, I used to edit with Windows Live Movie Maker, but somehow that wasn't working on my laptop, so I had to download and accommodate with CyberLink PowerDirector.

Make-up Tutorial: Simple Statement Make-up

One day (the last day one of my classmates were going to be studying in our university 'cause she's going to Taiwan) I wore my maxi-dress and thought that it would be too un-glam to wear it without make-up. And I found this lipstick in my mum's make-up drawer and decided to just go with it.

Simplicity but definition is the key to the look, though there is a lot to improve on =P

Here's a revised look. The focus is mainly on the lips, complimented by strong brows and matte skin. What I used for the original impromptu look was powder foundation, the lipstick and brow pencil.


I filmed my first ever video make-up tutorial =D



Here's the product list:

Close-up of the eye make-up. Just a simple eyeliner look.

• Kiehl's Lip Balm SPF15 in Hue No. 30G
• shu uemura Creme Eyeshadow in Beige
• Artistry eye shadows in Sand, Vanilla, Basic Beige and Ash Black
• Za Liquid Eyeliner in Real Black
• The Face Shop Lovely ME:EX Auto Eyeliner in White
• Max Factor False Lash Effect mascara
• Lancome Hypnose mascara
• The Face Shop Automatic Eyebrow Pencil in Grey
• Kate Concealer for Pores
• Maybelline Clear Smooth Aqua Gel Foundation in Natural
• The Body Shop Oil Free Balancing Foundation in shade 05
• L'Occitane Immortelle Fresh Powder Foundation in Fresh
• Callas Finshing Touch Face Powder in CPF04 Clear Pearls
• Bobbi Brown blusher in Blushed
• Maybelline Color Sensational Moisture Extreme Lipcolor in Soft Azallea

The video is filmed with my Sony AVCHD Handycam by myself, so sometimes the main subject just disappears out of frame. Edited with Windows Live Movie Maker, and my editing skills still need immense improvement. Yoroshiku~

Video: Mark Gungor's "Laugh Your Way To A Happy Marriage"

Just a few days ago one of my seniors posted a video cut from Mark Gungor's talk, Laugh Your Way To A Happy Marriage, talking about the difference between men's brains and women's brains (Tale of Two Brains). I thought it was quite interesting, but didn't go any further.


Then, on my Youtube homepage, there was a suggestion for the complete talk video "because I watched so-and-so video". So here are the videos, The Tale of Two Brains:

Part 1



Part 2



Of course I'm not married, but this really offers insight to the workings of both men's and women's brains (without bias) and the things that make them tick, and how to maintain as what Mark Gungor said, "a balance of happiness-to-poo ratio" in marriage.


And I don't think don't think these bits of information are only limited to married couples: they're useful also for regular couples (usually exclusively-dating ones). It helps us in general broaden our knowledge about the opposite sex, and do what is necessary to respect those differences and create a more harmonious relationship.


Enjoy~