Awesome giveaway by MyKissEnMakeUp!

I need to feed my obsession with nail art and I would love to pamper myself to the ultimate spa treatment at a hotel I love. So, please indulge me here. :3

 
Come on, she's giving away brush sets and nail art kits by Suesh, falsies by Urban Decay, AND (dealmaker here) SEVEN (7) gift cheques for the prestigious Zen Institute!
Please help me win this by clicking on the banner above. XD

Swagger with Swag! Gyaru Giveaways [*constantly updated for as long as I can get online]

If you are reading my blog, you would find that I am currently aspiring to be a gyaru. The best places to start research on it include Wikipedia, Ricoche, and the ever-expansive Gyaru Wiki (yay it's about time!), but you're better off lurking around Livejournal and blogs like the venerable ladies Cherrypop (sorry French only!) and Gal Factory, Gyaru-Raba, Chaigyaru, and Universal Doll off the top of my head. Of course, Google is your friend. Simply put, it's about being a sexy, stylish (post-)modern woman.

Of course, if gyaru fits your interests, you'd also know that it entails expenses. XD;;;

But fret not! There are many gyaru out there who are generous in spreading the love of sexy, stylish (post-)modern life. While sadly I'm not one of them yet, I think I can definitely point you in the right direction. ;P

Here are some blog sites which feature giveaways of make-up and jewelry to help kick-start your gyaru life. Note that the most recent promos are the ones on the top!

Pixie Dust

I have to admit, fairies were never my cup of tea. Not even fairy princesses could distract me from my fascination with angels, witches (!) and princesses, which set in much earlier. However, this stylish, make-up savvy Viennese blogger is starting to make me reconsider. With a touch of whimsy and a spirit of wonder, Frau Pixie Dust makes me want to sprinkle a little magic into my life, from my make-up and my wardrobe to the mundane everydayness of my work. ♥

And with her awesome first-ever make-up and accessories giveaway (fairy-themed of course!), Frau Pixie Dust shares a few items that she swears grants elven charms to her to everyone on an international level! But to do this, there are a few conditions, but I won't go into them - you can read them all in the post. The giveaway began on 10th May and ends 25th June, with 25 being her lucky number. Sorry I shared this late Frau Pixie Dust!

Mika Chan ♥ Sparkles by 美華ちゃん
Mika-chan looks American but has Japanese blood and shuttles her life between Japan and North America. She also has an enviable marriage to a wonderful man and an adorable son, both of which she blogs about as frequently as her make-up and beauty adventures. Oh, and there are many make-up and beauty adventures - mostly of the trial and review kind, but her few-and-far-between tutorials are also awesome (and I wish she'd make more of those). She faces her problems - most recently, her son's problematic vision and health - fearlessly with style and panache. Though not a full gyaru, she is an awesome woman in my book and I wish her well.

Her first-ever blog giveaway is notable because she's not giving away just one (1) prize, but THREE (3) prizes! Yes, that means there's a first, second, and third place! However, there is one serious condition for eligibility in the contest: all blog followers (via Google Friend Connect) must add to their comment, in addition to their names, email addresses and reposts in their blogs/Twitter accounts, their thoughts on her blog plus their suggestions for improvement. You'd better start following her on Google because this contest ends on May 12th!

FINDING TOKYO: fashion food foto by Hana
I meant to do this sooner, but I jetted off to India with the fam for a week (more on that at my next post), so this kinda took a backseat, eheh. XD;;;
This blog is very straightforward, promising nothing but fashion, food and photography in, around and about Tokyo. I personally only really followed it because it had three of my favourite things ever: a solid focus on Tokyo, an end-of-week blog round-up that's done religiously every week, and the cutest yellow layout in the history of EVER. ♥♥♥ (Seriously, yellow is such a bright colour that a layout based on it, no matter if it's on its palest or most burnt shades, is RARE to find online. Hell, I'm trying to make one but I haven't had the time... I digress...). Its owner Hana lives in Tokyo with her Japanese boyfriend.

UPDATE: The winner has been announced. Congratulations to AIN PARFAIT of Dollbot! \^0^/

StyleWalker by StyleGanji/Phi
This unique girl, Phi, is as awesome a gal as they come. She reads manga and is unashamed to admit she's obsessed with bloody Twilight, of all things! While I originally followed her for her awesome hair and make-up and deco tips, I'm definitely still on because of her frankness. She's refreshing and I like her. X3

UPDATE: No announcement yet on the winner, either... or maybe I missed it? LOL! Good news - the contest is still ONGOING, see update here! Thank you SO much for clearing this up Phi! v^_^v

Lizz Buenaventura.com: I draw for a living!
I found this through Health & Beauty Geek, who is made of awesome and who I've been following for quite a while now. ♥ Lizz Buenaventura is a consummate artist - in her own words she's "a designer by day and a painter by night" - although lately she's been going bonkers over the items which draw the human face so well: make-up! ;P

UPDATE: The winner has been announced. Congratulations to DEMENTIA of MukhangPera.com! \^0^/

This Was Forever by Emily Chan
I just discovered this gal (who is enamoured with the wares at Hongkong, a great thing in my book if you ask me ;3) by hopping and skipping through some fashion and beauty blogs here in Blogger. I love her style of mixing old with new and matching run-of-the-mill items with one-of-a-kind finds. She's got great taste in products as well. Plus, I love her wit and honesty as well, which shows in her entries. (Of course, it helps she's also Asian, ehehe, though seriously I swear I don't mean to just limit myself to Asian bloggers... ^^0)

UPDATE: The winner has been announced. Congratulations to FIONA WONG of The Blog World of Fiona! \^0^/

Ann-Mich
Maintained by the lovely Singaporean twins Anne (older) and Michelle (younger), they have giveaways combining authentic Japan goods with their own personal creations almost every month. I love them not because they have tons of giveaways, but because their blogs are entertaining, they are creatively inclined (Michelle runs an Etsy shop featuring handmade jewelry, while Anne's shop showcases handsewn crafts), and they are genuinely interested in the fashion and beauty.

UPDATE: Sadly, still no news on their November-December getaway. Or maybe I didn't win, haha. XD

With these I wish you the best of luck in pursuing your gyaru aspirations! ^0^/

Swagger With Swag!: Korean Beauty Products Giveaway from Lizz Buenaventura

* I don't claim to be a beauty product expert, I just share personal recommendations of products which work best for me. :P What works for me may not work for you, so please proceed with caution, thanks for understanding! ;3


While I understand that Korean beauty is ulzzang/best face style and notably different from gyaru, I have steadily realised that the styles share notable similarities, including the following:

1. Prominent eye make-up - this is one of the biggest things they have in common, because fans of both styles often wear much eyeliner, mascara and eyelash extensions. They also practise face contouring, which aims to make the eyes look bigger. I'm not sure which style promotes the use of contact lenses more, but I am sure glad that eyeglasses have been incorporated into the gyaru wardrobe now! As many of you already know, while I like contact lenses for their high style quotient, I am loathe to use them because my eye area is extremely dry and sensitive, and I'm deathly afraid of going blind. 
2. A certain way of hair styling and colouring - both styles promote coloured hair and the use of bangs, although they rotate between straight, curly and wavy styles in different times. 
3. Face contouring - both styles aim to make the face look really good, with the nose looking less flat and the cheeks looking more prominent. However, gyaru goes for a more natural over-all face look since the eyes are already the star of the make-up style, and ulzzang goes for a polished face look with the works. 
4. Focus on optimum face care - you cannot fake good skin, so every Japanese and Korean magazine I own have skin care product features and demos to ensure you look fresh and flawless every time. But because I have more Japanese magazines (granted, one is a Chinese edition, but still!) and only 2 from Korea, I am not sure which country/fashion style puts more steps into its beauty routine.

This is why I make use of Japanese and Korean (and Chinese - from Hongkong and Taiwain) make-up and beauty goods extensively in my daily (meaning 24/7) wardrobe. In fact, there are four(count 'em!) products which I cannot live without:

Discuss: Tokyo youth fashion invades Paris! [Updated]

So I am currently online checking out articles for work today, when I stumbled upon this from The Philippine Star's website, PhilStar. I know that Japan has belatedly realised that its fashion is very marketable worldwide, and that its brands have trouble finding a larger, more lucrative (read: international) market especially in the face of the global recession (which, strangely, hasn't been felt within and around the Philippines... yet). With all these things happening at the same time, it's nice to see that the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) is trying helping its fashion designers gain a foothold abroad. Called Tokyoeye, this ambitious pilot project by METI toured the world, starting at Shanghai and finishing in Paris, just after Fashion Week no less. This endeavour follows other similar moves that aim to promote, quite aggressively, Japanese culture to the world, notably the establishment of the Kansei Value Creation Initiative and the opening of the Kansei Value Creation Museum in Kobe and the launch of “NIPPON MONO ICHI – Spirit of Creation” in cooperation with the Organization for Small and Medium Enterprises and Regional Innovation, Japan (SMRJ) which aims to help SMEs - fashion brands included (they still aren't as big as car companies, banks and electronics corporations, after all) - use consumer-oriented products as mediums for their messages they wish to send to consumers (spirit of creation), by guiding them through the planning and development, distribution and marketing phases.

To quote from the Tokyoeye article on PhilStar:

The closing event in Paris was the highlight of Tokyoeye. From February to March, young Japanese brands like Aula Aila, Valentine’s High, Galaxxxy in Hi-Fi, Sachio Kawasaki, DRESSCAMP, Liz Lisa, Phenomenon, Duck Digger displayed their works at Colette — a boutique known as a bastion of cool.

Also according to the article, the Tranoï Showroom on rue Saint-Honoré opened young designers to deals with fashion buyers and merchandisers. If the designers play their cards right, we can will see some of our favourites in Harvey Nichols, Bloomingdales and Club 21, among others.

I believe that this effort is also related to Tokyoeye:

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) will set up a Japan Booth at "MICAM SHOEVENT", the world’s largest-scale international footwear exhibition, and help Japanese companies exhibit their products. The event, taking place in Milan, Italy, is expected to attract about 40,000 buyers.

While Liz Lisa and even Cocolulu (strangely not a part of this line-up ... maybe because it's not highbrow enough?) are already making in-roads in Asia (I really wish I'd been able to go to the Liz Lisa Taipei store while I was in Taiwan last year), I definitely agree that the other brands need more buzz. Outside of the few people I know who have an idea of

However, the more I learn about the METI's past and present efforts, I'm getting the impression that METI is creating and promoting Tokyoeye as a high-end affair. What would happen to the Japanese street fashion brands and the youth subcultures that they inspired then, like Liz Lisa and Galaxxxy in Hi-Fi? Would it be the end of fukubukuro (loot bags) from our favourite stores? Will this turn our beloved "raw" tribe followings into haute couture exhibitions?



UPDATE: Strangely, there seems to be little news about Tokyoeye available online. Hmm. Here are some of the links that I was able to find (I didn't include those already posted earlier):

Article on Modem Mag
Article on the Mainichi Shimbun's English-language website
Thailand-Japan fabric and textile collaboration article on FashionWindows

Hangad/Intent Part 1 of 2

Whoa, it's been a while since I was last here, hasn't it?

Long story short, I have been crazy-busy working hard.

While trying to return to my gyaru following (it's never really gone, don't worry) and also trying to ruminate on what happens now that my 26th birthday is finally upon me, I found this translation of a blog entry by former Ageha model Sakurina. I don't find her very beautiful by gyaru or even ageha standards and her obsession with nail art can be terrifying on so many levels, but underneath it all it seems she's got a great head on her shoulders and great taste besides, as evidenced by her working on the Sailormoon-themed photoshoot that I reposted around a while back. (I'm sorry, but it also helps that she is one of the few models I know who's actually older than me! XD I SO need an oneesama to help me out... X_x) This blog entry is no exception. It's too good to quote in snippets, so I will repost in its entirety:

Honne (Real Intention)

Good evening.

This is Sakurina.

Today I will tell you what I am thinking.

How do I say this. I’m turning 27 this April…so you think about a lot of things.

Honestly, I don’t think I can continue being a model like this, a lot of young cute girls come out in this world, I feel uneasy and impatient and at times I think “What am I?”

Even so, when I write in my blog there are fans who look at it and when I have events people come…am I someone who is burdened with those people’s expectations.

But, it’s been my dream for a while now, I finally feel like I have something that I want to proceed with, it is singing.

It’s difficult and I was giving up, but you only have one life, if I’m going to live for however many years I should do what I want at the time or I’ll miss out.

I hear that you shouldn’t use the phrase “Someone like me…” anyway.

In the past I hated my face so much that I broke a mirror twice.

How come that girl’s eyes are so big but mine are like this?

How come that girl’s eyelashes are so long but mine are…

How come that girl’s nose is tall but mine is…

How come that girl’s teeth are so nice but mine are…

How come that girl…I hated everything about myself, I got angry, I cried, every day I was irritated.

Right now the reason why my makeup is dark is to deceive everything.

It’s one of the things I thank the world for.

If I was already cute before then I wouldn’t mind wearing lighter makeup.

That’s why if I have a boyfriend I don’t like him seeing other cute girls.

Because they’re all originally cute.

It’s not fair.

When I saw a gravure idol she said “Why don’t you try making your makeup lighter?” I thought be quiet.

Once I was in Ageha, my skin was rough, I hated events, TV, photography. I don’t even like going outside to shop.

“Wouldn’t it be hard to find someone with dirtier skin than me?”

On the train, the grandma next to me or the salary man sleeping in front of me, my skin was the dirtiest…

I don’t want to see anyone I don’t want to be seen…

I took it out on my parents.

My mom told my father that if she could change she would.

If I don’t have room for myself then I can’t be nice to people.

I hate myself for that and it leads to a vicious circle.

Right now my skin has gotten better, I’ve gotten used to the environment and right when I thought I had calmed down all of a sudden I had reached this age…

There are things on here that I can’t write, things I hate, a lot of horrible things.

Even so, I have to live.

Right now, for all those people who have been filled with anger…

Rather than having regret of not doing it, regret after doing it will help you grow.

I’m going to try harder.

Everyone let’s get stronger together.

The anger right now, when you turn 80 years old, it’ll just be a funny story.

You’ll be telling someone, “Something like that happened.”

As long as you get over it right now, more enjoyable things will be waiting for you.

Starting something new, even though it’s scary, when it’s a success you’ll feel more happiness.

You won’t know till you try anything.

I’m small, my style isn’t that great, I wasn’t really beautiful to begin with, but even someone like me can work as a model and have lots of people laugh, it’s a mysterious world, as long as you don’t give up then your dreams can come true.

Those who become happy are the winners.

I feel like I won’t lose to those girls who are originally cute, originally smart, or originally athletic.

I would be happy if at least one out of many reading this blog thought “I’m going to try hard!”

A lot of people are reading this blog so I felt the need to tell you guys more things. Please continue to watch over me.

Thank you so much.

*Translation by Kelly and Tiffany of Himestyle.

On one hand, I feel glad that a model who many girls look up to is so willing to be vulnerable online. I lived through the supermodel era, with Naomi Campbell, Claudia Schiffer, Kate Moss and others like them strutting their 5-inch heels all over people's faces. You could NEVER tell these models that they were ugly - they would bash your mug and often got away with it! To have a someone of Sakurina's stature, although nowhere near the supermodels of the 1990s, admit so candidly that she was so violently hateful of herself to break two mirrors in her hatred, was unheard of once upon a time. This makes Sakurina so refreshingly human and real, and to me even more worthy of emulation.

I can't help but feel bad though. She's sacrificed so much to become a supercute model, and yet what she's always really wanted is to sing. But so many things happened that got in the way of reaching her original dream. And it's sad that, judging from this entry, she's half-wishing it all happened differently. But then again, if she weren't famous as a model, would she even have had a chance? After all, she says she is plain-looking, with less than stellar facial features for starters. Most singers these days, and particularly more so in Japan, go through a major style overhaul when they want to break into the highly competitive music scene. And I hate to say this, but very few models like her would ever be successful singers because many of them simply don't have great voices. (My younger sister was as a model until very recently, and she just lucked out having her big, heavy, soul singer voice. The story of her short singing career would have to be told another time, however.)

Her blog entry is making me think a lot. But it's getting late and I have a place to be,

OMG OMG OMGGGGGGGGGG!!!

I found out from one of my trusted sellers in Multiply that she's offering a personal shopping service from Japanese stores. Now that I'm leaning heavily towards the gyaru style, I'm going nuts because this is the chance to own something, ANYTHING by Cecil McBee, Gilfy, Swordfish, Ego System, Liz Lisa... OHMYGOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD.

Unfortunately, I still owe some other sellers money. And I just finished investing quite a heavy sum in retail treasury bonds, so I have absolutely skint. DX

Not to mention that I feel incredibly guilty since there are so many people out there currently living worse off than I am due to Typhoons Ketsana and Parma, which attacked our part of the country in the last 2 weeks.

I just want to go for it SO badly though...! T.T

God, please, I would like a windfall right about now. Please? I've been really, REALLY good! T_____________________T

The Aftermath to the Modern-Day Princess Ball

*Please click the image to enlarge! ;D

First, as always, Many Happy Returns to uchihayukiko, who shares this day with me. ^_^

So I decided to unwind and at the same time celebrate my birthday this past weekend.

I was apprehensive to do it at first, since I was just going through so much at work. Then, of course, there was my godmother's all-too-recent and unexpected demise. Her death prompted me to seriously consider cancelling the party; it just wasn't right considering that the customary 40 days of grieving hadn't even passed yet.

But then I realised, it's EXACTLY the point ... my dad told me everyone in the family thought I wouldn't live past my 1st birthday. But fast-forward to today, exactly 24 years after that measles attack. Who knew, right?

Besides, I wanted to feel a bit special. While I do enjoy my work, I wanted to have some time to commemorate all other things that were awesome about me. It sounds shallow, true, but if you really REALLY know me (or follow this journal with regularity), I tend to dwell on all my negative points and all the negative events in my life. It's rare I decide to focus on the positive, which is exactly what I did last Saturday, March 14th. It's bad enough that even some relatives forget when my birthday is. I like to think I matter, even to me at least.

So after a lot of panicking, I decided to push through with the Modern-Day Princess Ball. I made a list of what I needed and what I could ask my close friends to help out with. After some false starts, I finally managed to shop for many of the items needed for my birthday. However, true to form, I had had no time for the bulk of preparations. I made sure to invite 30 people (all my Povedan friends, the YRT gang, some of my friends from college and cosplay who I felt would be available that time, and my current co-workers ... whoops, sorry I forgot my former co-workers X_x) in the hopes that there would be 25 of them present, in tune with my birthday (hahaha ang drama).

Saturday morning arrived. I began my day at the wet market buying fresh ingredients for the summer vegetarian spaghetti I planned to cook. pan_de_kuneho arrived to assist me with the decorations. mithlin_megil was supposed to help out as well, but she had gotten quite ill the night before, and was therefore in no condition to do so.

Dad stopped by to help out, but it was only after some arguing that we managed to agree on how to hang the decorations. xfridays_childx called him for some urgent matter, then he turned over the phone to me so she could send me some valuable big-sister advice. ♥

As the day wore on more and more people cancelled. I began to panic since almost half my invitees couldn't make it. pan_de_kuneho was such a sweetheart for putting up with me all that time. It was good that chocolatedazed arrived when she did - I began to panic less, and pan_de_kuneho had someone to hang out with while I finally took my long-deserved bath and began freshening up (!).

While pan_de_kuneho helped me out with the curling iron, crimson_azalea of the Kaka Fun Club (KFC) called and tried to prank me saying that she, ube and _freud_ wouldn't be coming over. However, they arrived right in the middle of the call with presents, chicken and alcohol in tow. XDDDDD Add to that the fact that lovediesel/A of SentiGRAM got lost along the way to the house, as did G of SentiGRAM. Good one KFC, I was just about ready to snap your heads off! X3

The two SentiGRAM girls arrived separately with help from both chocolatedazed and pan_de_kuneho (man was she overworked!). lovediesel was armed with balloons and her Victorian Maiden dress, which was a pain to fit into, but somehow we managed it. G looked smashing in her dress! ♥ Then Ana of Reach Out Otaku arrived as well, and quickly changed into a flaming red dress of win. Xtin (our Venus from our Pretty Guardian Sailormoon cosplay with pan_de_kuneho) arrived as well. My room became a flurry of chaos, with people lending each other dresses, accessories and shoes. Then my superior at work (who's also a senior of mine in UP ICTUS, as it eventually turned out) arrived with two of my officemates. She couldn't resist peeking into my room, and ended up doing make-up for some of my beauty-challenged friends (!!!). It was too bad she had to dash off to another dinner before we had our own, but at least my officemates Orthia and Angeline stayed on.

Last to arrive was Ivy of Reach Out Otaku, who brought boxes of brownies and food for the gods from Becky's Kitchen. She also had her Handycam handy, perfect later on that night when the karaoke session was under way. (BTW she just got engaged ... congratulations and best wishes to you and your fiance! \^0^/)

Finally some of the attendees forced me to have dinner. After some false starts everyone who was present sang me Happy Birthday, and then people began digging into the spaghetti and fried chicken. It wasn't long before everyone huddled around the chocolate fondue fountain armed with platefuls of fruit, which made me LOL. We nearly had a crisis on our hands when I had the chocolate fondue thinned with water, which caused the fondue fountain to clog up a bit. Good thing cooking oil helped loosen up that situation! Meanwhile some of the Povedans were going crazy with one of the programmes on my laptop. XDDDDDDDDDD;;;

When everyone had finished dinner and most of dessert, I had a little game of "How well do you know me?" To my surprise it wasn't lovediesel - who has known me longest - who knew the most, but it was ube! Then I awarded some prizes, in the form of cute tiaras: Early Bird went to pan_de_kuneho, lovediesel won Best Dressed thanks to her VM outfit (which she quickly changed out of once she won the award since it was getting stuffy XD;;;), ube received the prize for the game.

Soon it was karaoke time. The KFC gang was being uncharacteristically shy but pan_de_kuneho, Xtin and chocolatedazed in particular showed no such inhibitions. dXDDDDDDDDDDDDDb So in the end, ube, _freud_ and crimson_azalea mixed the lemon-lime gin with lovediesel assisting them with the taste. In between it all we all tried to get the YM up and running in my laptop, which was tough because my internet decided to conk out. We ended up stealing a neighbour's connection, hehe. XDDDDDDDD Thus were finally able to get jactinglim and ericvids on board, where they witnessed among other things pan_de_kuneho and Xtin dancing to chocolatedazed's rendition of "Sha-la-la" (yes, THAT "Sha-la-la"). XDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD It was too bad janipanda couldn't seem to connect to our webcam chat no matter how hard we tried. ;~; I'm holding out for Ivy to put up all the videos on Youtube. X3

We finally called it a night around 11:30, after some screencapping insanity from our Singapore-based friends. The remaining guests helped clean up, though lovediesel did most of the work. It was then I realised that I forgot to give most of the guests who left early their giveaways. Whoops~! XP Sorry about that guys, let me know when you're free to meet up and claim them alright?

Now here's the part where I thank everyone who helped make the Modern-Day Princess Ball possible:

Firstly, many, many thanks to lovediesel and xfridays_childx for the ideas. Thanks for the balloons too, lovediesel!

Thank you very, very much pan_de_kuneho for being the earliest to arrive, helping out with the decorations and overall set-up, curling my hair, giving my other guests directions via the telephone, and putting up with my panic attack when people began cancelling en masse that morning. You are made of so much win! I owe you big-time. ♥

Thank you very much lovediesel and chocolatedazed for sleeping over and helping me fix the venue once the party ended. ♥ Thanks for bringing food and the eating implements as well, chocolatedazed !

Thank you very much ube, _freud_ and crimson_azalea for bringing food and drinks (both alcoholic and non-alcoholic), for mixing the alcohol, and for getting me presents even when I hadn't really expected any from you. Thanks also to ube and _freud_ for being kaladkaring katulong the Saturday prior to my birthday and helping out with the preliminary shopping.

Thank you very much to my UP ICTUS sempai (senior) and current superior in VPRI, who dropped by for a spell to bring in my other officemates and who also very gamely did make-up for some of my girls. ♥ You are made of too much awesome. ;~;

Thank you very much pan_de_kuneho & pan_de_kunehofor being sports while waiting for us to fix the internet connection and YM, and for celebrating with us DURING the party all the way from Singapore complete with cake and alky. ♥

Thank you very much to everyone who attended - SentiGRAM (though we were missing R ;~;), Kaka Fun Club (though we were missing Cesca and transient_freak), the YRT gang, the PGSM gang, the ladies of Reach Out Otaku, and my current officemates. I hope I didn't miss anyone! ;~;

To everyone who couldn't be in the party physically for any reason, thank you very, very much for your greetings and well-wishes. ♥ I appreciate those a lot.

Thanks to everyone who remembered for making my 25th birthday memorable! ♥

I wonder what will happen in the next 25 years... v^~^v


PS Pictures are up! More links to be added as they come. ♥

1) chocolatedazed = http://aoyukihikari.multiply.com/photos/album/94/Joy_Hime-gyaru_Party
2) jactinglim = http://jactinglim2.multiply.com/photos/album/38/Mai_Hime-tachi
3) lovediesel = http://kismet0225.multiply.com/photos/album/211/Joys_Hime-gyaru_Party
4) Xtin = http://sailorsenshi8.multiply.com/photos/album/24/3-14-2009

Koakuma Sailormoon, and other things.

What happens when you cross himegyaru style with Sailormoon? v^V^v

Pretty Gyaru Sailormoon, that's what! XD

1	2	3
4	5	6
7	8	9

I want Neptune's hair the most, I hope it fits me! ♥♥♥ Alas, Uranus doesn't look very pretty here, but I guess that's because she's better off translated in terms of either sentaa (the male version of gyaru, aka those dandy boys with tans and ridiculous hairdos), or in bosozoku (biker gang) culture ala Anna Tsuchiya's character Ichigo in Shimotsuma Monogatari. X3

Scans taken from the September 2008 issue of Koakuma Ageha (Koakuma = little devil, ageha = swallowtail/night butterfly depending on the reading, and the magazine caters primarily to girls in, um, hostess bars so please exercise caution when reading!), made available here - please don't forget to say thank you! X3

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

Wow... tomorrow, it will be exactly two years since my sister left for the USA. While I have definitely gotten used to her physical absence, I still feel lonely and helpless without her sometimes.

Right now she's having fun gambling with a friend in Nevada. I hope that she actually wins something. d^V~b

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

For those who want to see some large photographs of the 2008 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, visit this site! v^_^v