eBay Wig Review: zhoujuntao2010

So. FFX Yuna again. Why you say? Besides the fact that I completely ruined the wig cutting it, the color just looked terrible on my skin. It just.. looked awful. Hopefully I can salvage the wig for another cosplay, maybe I can chop it up for Suzaku for next year. (Ho ho spoilers~!) Anyways.

I think the seller got the wig from the same supplier as my previous Yuna wig because they had the same tags, just different colors. So the quality is the same as the other wig, which I fell in love with.

Rating: ★★★★★/ 5 out of 5.

Pro:
- Super soft.
- Nice highlights.
- Doesn't tangle too easily.
- Very natural.

Con:

- No tracking number.

Price: $23.40 + FREE SHIPPING. (It was 10% off.)

Item Location: China.

Time for Arrival: 12 Days.

If you wish to purchase this wig, search "2905 New Long Light Brown Fashion Wavy Wig" in the eBay search bar or look through zhoujuntao2010's ebay profile.

Sakura Matsuri Report.

I went to Sakura Matsuri this weekend! I went Saturday after my drawing class. I wore a 90% completed Rei Ayanami in her school uniform. The only things that weren't finished were the buttons and collar.

The highlight was that we went to "Tasty Hand Pulled Noodles" in Chinatown. It was featured on 'The Best Thing I Ever Ate' on Food Network. That and I was really craving fresh noodles. The place was cheap (price-wise) and delicious! I will definitely have to go back there again in the future.

Sunday was tons more fun. I decided to wear Kurama from Yu Yu Hakusho before the fashion show because after having a conversation about it with Keith, we decided on him since I partially wanted to test shoot my new contact lens. Tifa with blue or green eyes doesn't make sense, nor does Rei with blue or green eyes (and I would've wanted to fix the skirt..)

To quickly cap my day: I didn't sleep all night because I was finishing up Yuna. The El Dorado staff came out pretty good but pretty rickety. Went to the festival with Kevin and Keith. Wore Kurama. Shot with Keith for the lenses test. Forgot craft foam/poster board for Yuna's obi. My friend, Kadishu, ended up buying some for me♥. Met up with Philip. Hung out with them.

Shot for a bit. Shot FOR Keith for a bit. Made a "We love Mario Bueno" sign for Mario Bueno. "Embarrassed" the poor kid. Embarrassed myself by attracting much attention to myself with said sign. Went to get ready for the fashion show at 2:30. Changed into Yuna. Waited backstage at 3:45 to go up. Hung out with all teh models until the show.

Modeling in the Cosplay Fashion show. Got bombarded by people photographing me as Yuna and Mario Bueno as Tidus. Got kicked out xD Shot a bit more, went home.

All in all, this is going to sound a bit cheesy, but I feel really blessed. I'm glad that I could've met so many great friends through cosplaying. Being at the fashion show today and meeting so many talented people is truly inspiring. Everyone was so sweet and nice!

Being around other cosplayers who share the same passion as you and are about the same level is just.. amazing. It makes me want to push myself harder and challenge myself to become better. I saw a lot of friends and made some new ones!

Okay, I'm gonna end the cheesy-ness here xD

Photography by Knightmare6 and Merlin Tong Photography!

eBay Wig Review: lliying123

One of my friends wanted to shoot Rei Ayanami for AnimeNEXT so I bumped her up on my list. And since the date is rapidly approaching, I bought her wig yesterday. Out of all the wigs I saw, this one was the best one I found that actually resembled the character's hair. Now, when I originally purchased from this seller, I saw that they had 10,000+ good feedback and they've been selling for 3 years. So I decided to order it, and it was also pretty cheap.

I bought this wig on April 3rd. Two days later, I received an e-mail from the eBay Loss Prevention Department. Apparently, the seller got shut down! I have to admit, I'm pretty peeved, since I ordered this wig at the same time I ordered my FFX-2 Yuna wig, and that wig arrived yesterday. Nevertheless, I'm going to try to keep an open mind on this.

I e-mailed the user and they said eBay shut them down for suspicious activities. Anyways, they said they are still shipping my wig and I should have received a tracking number, which I did, which I received when I asked for it. As of now, (4/13/11), the USPS says "Origin Post is Preparing Shipment."

4/20/11: So I received the wig today. The quality is not bad. The seller delivered as promised, so I'm not angry about eBay shutting them down. I'm still a little peeved about it, but I got my wig so I have no complaints. The wig itself, like I said, is okay. The fibers actually fell everywhere. So it's not the best quality, but the wig fits, the color is good.

Rating: ★★☆☆☆/ 2.5 out of 5.

Pro:

- Tracking number included.

Con:
- Long shipping.
- The fibers are very loose.

Price: $13.99 + FREE SHIPPING.

Item Location: China.

Time for Arrival: 17 Days!

The wig is called, "New Evangelion light blue Short Cosplay Hair Wig CW183." 

Chibicon Report!

What made the whole day worth it. :)

I attended Chibicon last night at Montclair State University. My friend, Keith, came with me! You may recognize him as "TheBigTog" in some of my photographs.

It wasn't too bad for a super small convention. But I have to admit, I may have been bored if I didn't have friends there haha. I had a table in the Artist Alley, so I was there for most of the convention. I was there for almost 3 hours. It was actually really boring, but my friend, Keith, was there to keep me company along with Kevin, who also had a table there. A few of my friends went as well, so they came to say hi haha.

I also made some sales! So it wasn't a total loss for me to sit there for 2 hours and 45 minutes xD

Don't even ask.. xD

This one guy I met said that he's always seen awesome cosplays that people have made by themselves online and mine was the first one he's seen in real life. I thought that was soo sweet!

I wore my Final Fantasy X Yuna outfit! She still has some things to finish. Actually.. a lot things! My poor poor Yuna was still incomplete when I wore her to Chibicon >< There are still a few things I need to revamp for her.. She needs to be perfect! The staff came out not bad in photographs! I wasn't too keen on the way it came out in general haha. I feel that it could have been improved. Ah well.

Cheesin' it at the artist alley!

Keith and I were originally planning a photoshoot with Yuna, since the one at Castle Point didn't happen, but it rained soo much! We kept checking every so often during the artist alley (since we were seated near a window) but it wouldn't stop :/ It was hardly cloudy on Friday and was supposed to be sunny on Sunday. So after the artist alley we wandered around looking for a place to shoot Yuna. In the end, we found this nice staircase and managed to squeeze in a few photos!

Finally, a professional photograph!

I was able to obtain photos fairly quickly because I needed to submit them for the Sakura Matsuri Cosplay Fashion Show application. And now.. for some photos! Yay to Keith for making me look flawless haha. :D

All images are copyrighted to TheBigTog. So, credit the photographer and don't steal them!

You can check out the other images of Yuna on my deviantart, here!

ebay Wig Review: peaceofworld2010

So AnimeNEXT is coming up very soon! I recently ordered my FFX-2 Gunner Yuna. I intentionally wanted the wig to be different from my FFX Yuna wig. So I opted for a darker brown.

The wig ended up being slightly darker than the image. But you can tell it's not black and under the  light, it's lighter. It has nice highlights like my FFX Yuna wig, which I did enjoy.

And it was a lot longer than I thought it would be, which isn't that big of an issue.

I'll take another picture when it's less icky/rainy outside.

Rating: ★★★★☆/ 4.5 out of 5.

Pros:

- Very fast shipping.

- Soft fibers.

Cons:

- No tracking number.

- Not heat resistant.

Price: $22.99 + FREE SHIPPING.

Item Location: China.

Time for Arrival: 9 Days.

Would I order from them again? Yes.

If you wish to purchase this wig, search "J·C New Fashion Dark Brown Staright Women's Full WIG," or search in peaceoftheworld2010's ebay profile.

Nail Tutorials.

It has been.. a little over a year since I did nail tutorials. I have hardly been buying nail magazines as well >< (My mom always tells me to buy then in Taiwan because they're cheaper, but I didn't get a chance to the last time I went!) I bought a few at BookOff in NY.. But I've hardly been doing them. Saying school and cosplays don't give me enough time to do them would be a half lie. But, nail art is still one of my passions. So.

I've decided to 'attempt' to invest more time into them like I said I would do in my New Year's resolutions. So the other day I was thinking of nail tutorials I could do. And I figured since it's the beginning of April, that usually means prom season! Actually.. Maybe it's May, I'm not really sure. My prom was in June, which is already pretty late, so.. yeah.

I have 3 looks in mind. For short nails, long squarish nails, and long oval shaped nails. One look will be more simple but party/glam look, another more elegant, and last just.. "blinged out," as opposed to the standard 'French nails.' Someone wanted me to upload a tutorial for what I did for my prom. But I also spent hours on them, so.. I sort of never did that tutorial.

I hope you can understand why.. OTL

Haha this was when I was really into nails! I don't want to ever give that up.

SpringFest 2011

Super late post. It is finally spring! Even though it doesn't look like it outside.. But here is my SpringFest report!

I went to SpringFest 2011 in Polytechnic NYU on March 12th. I wore my Hatsune Miku costume because I couldn't finish Yuna on time and she's my favorite character in Final Fantasy so where was a bare minimum of what I would have to complete to debut her, and I couldn't reach it. So I wore Miku instead!

I had my drawing class so I didn't get to go to SpringFest until afterwards. I met up with my friends, ~kadishu and ~Richumaru. I went to the Cosplay Contest/Meet up and met up with ~Kitsune-Intoxicated who was hosting it. Andrew from Conpics, and my friends, *knight28, ~GI10, *TheBigTog were there. There were a lot of people! Andrew and a few other people said I should join the contest, and I had nothing better to do so I did.

I ended up winning first place in Craftsmanship. The contest was a casual event and scheduled very last minute so there were no prizes, which wasn't much of an issue to me. But.. Miku is SO popular. Haha the crowd went wild, even though I was in her 'Magnet' form.

Afterwards I was interviewed by ~OutOfTimeProductions. Since I got there late, SpringFest was pretty much over after that. So that concluded my day. My friends and I went out to dinner afterwards.

All in all I had a good time. I'll definitely attend again next year if I am able to. Hopefully I'll get to venture around the rest of the convention next time!

Here is the interview!

eBay Wig Review: rixinyueyi9898

As you know, or don't know, I'll be cosplaying Final Fantasy X Yuna (summoner) this year! I planned on debuting her earlier at SpringFest this Saturday, so last week I ordered her wig.

The wig came out a lot curlier than the image (which isn't an issue). The fibers were really soft. The wig is a bit darker than I had anticipated and wanted for Yuna, but in the light it looks lighter.

The only possible issue I could have with it, is that on the website, it says the fibers were Kanekalon, but then on the tag the wig came with, it says it was synthetic fibers. Not that it mattered either way for me because the fibers were super soft. I'm not sure if it was because it wasn't as thick as my other wigs, but it hardly tangled. There was virtually no tangle with this wig.

What I liked about this wig, and the reason I chose it is that the color looks very natural that it has highlights and such. Nothing too noticeable, but you can tell it's not just one straight color.

Rating: ★★★★★/ 5 out of 5.

Pro:
- Great Quality
- Quick Shipping
- Came with free wig cap
- Soft fibers

Con:
- No tracking number
- Not heat resistant

Price: $24.30 + FREE Shipping. (It was 10% off.)
Item Location: China
Time for Arrival: 10 Days

Would I order from them again? Yes.

If you wish to purchase this wig, search "1813 New long Light Brown Fashion Wavy Wig" in the eBay search bar or look through rixinyueyi9898's ebay profile.

Tokyo Fashion Festa New York Part 2 Cosplay

I modeled in the Tokyo Fashion Festa last night at FIT! I had a great time and met a lot of awesome people. For the show, I did a revamped version of Hatsune Miku from Vocaloid, in the outfit she wears in the song "Magnet," since the first time I cosplayed it, it was more of a closet cosplay and I didn't have the correct wig.

This time, the dress as completely re-done, new/borrowed wig, and different accessories! The shoes and headphones/hat were the same. The wig I borrowed from the oh so talented cosplayer, Kitsy Dolly (her deviantart). I really wish the event was longer! It felt soo short, but it was so exhilarating! I managed to cram Miku in.. 3 days.. hahaa.. I will never do that ever again! You'd think I learned from AnimeNEXT last year.. but nooo.. Had to do it again.. But she came out great!

Anyways! I want to thank my friends who came out to see me! You know who you are! The experience was just amazing. This was the first time I modeled in a fashion show and the first time for any sort of professional modeling that wasn't TF/TFCD.

I loved it! Met lots of new people and the models were all so talented! Just seeing all the other fashions in the show made me love it even more! I really want to get into Japanese fashion/name brand now.. Well, at least learn about them! Since they are oh so expensive haha. The make up artists were all flown in from Japan, and they did an outstanding job. I just.. can't even.. xD Plus they had really cool clothing haha. One of the make up artists was the lovely Akiko Yoshizawa. She does really beautiful work. (And one day.. I will learn enough Japanese to be able to read her blog.. xD)

After the show we had a tea party/ reception. Had so many pictures taken! It was cute when people told me they loved my character. One mother came up to me with her two sons and told me that her son loves my character haha.

IT ALSO MADE ME WISH I CONTINUED LEARNING JAPANESE! Because the person hosting the event is Japanese, along with all the makeup artists. But I still managed to understand some of it xD It was cute when Akiko was asking me a question about how I did my eyebrows (I colored them blue for Miku) in Japanese, and she realized that she was speaking to me in Japanese xD

I met Tokyo Circus Ringmaster Yoshi. Well, got a picture with him haha. I initially didn't know who he was until I googled his sign. What else.. Oh! All the models received a bottle of FiberWig mascara! Well.. we got some other things as well, but it doesn't top the Fiberwig xD So be on the lookout for a review!

EDIT: Added some YouTube links!



Notable Links:
Tokyo Fashion Festa New York / Official [Facebook]
Akiko Yoshizawa: Hair & Makeup
Purple Sky Magazine: Tokyo Fashion Festa 2 (Cosplay & Makeup)
Knightmare6's Flickr Photography
Covered by Saintilus: Tokyo Fashion Fest at F.I.T.
Through Glass Eyes: Japan Fashion Festa - A Cospay Fashion Show
Crash Culture: Tokyo Fashion Festa @ FIT

YouTube: Introduction to Cosplay
YouTube: Cosplay Fashion Show
YouTube: Hair and Makeup Show
YouTube: Hair and Makeup Demonstration/Lecture
YouTube: Cosplay Q&A

Ebay Wig Review: cosplayanimewigs

My first year cosplaying and I needed a wig for my Kurama cosplay. This was my first time ordering a wig so I wasn't sure what to expect. I am very particular when it comes to details and colors. I wanted the perfect color for a Kurama wig and one that looked realistic, because his hair color is bright to begin with. I found one that I particularly liked.

Here's the reference image of Kurama. I picked this one because it's slightly darker than normal.

The wig I stumbled upon is from cosplayanimewigs.


I didn't mind that it was curly because it was heat resistant as well. I prefer them to be heat resistant anyways because you never know when you need to straighten it, or curl it again.

I had a positive experience with this seller. The wig I received was a lot curlier than in this picture.

The color is almost exactly like the one in the picture. I really love the quality of it as well. It's soft and feels like real human hair. They said it's "Natural Heat Resistant Fiber."

The shipping was fairly quickly as well. They shipped it on May 6th. I can't
remember the exact date I received it, but around the 14th, so it took about a week.

Rating: ★★★★☆/ 4.5 out of 5

Pros:

- Excellent quality

- Shipped quickly

- Wonderful color, matches image

- Heat resistant

- Feels soft, like actual human hair

Cons:

- No tracking number

Price: 32.99$ + free shipping = 32.99$

Item Location: Shanghai, China

Would I purchase from them again? Yes, I definitely would. I love the quality of wig and the way it looks.

If you wish to purchase this wig, search "Copper Red Hi-Temp Long Curly Wavy Cosplay Wig" in the eBay search bar, or look through cosplayanimewigs's profile page.

EDIT (2/14/2011): I get asked questions about this wig all the time. As far as I know, the eBay seller I bought it from doesn't sell it anymore. I sent them an e-mail asking if they sell it and I will update the reply! (You can find the same wig on their eBay, but the image is different, and the wig is a darker red.) If you searched the wig, you'll find another seller that uses the same image as the one I bought it from. (Even the same watermark..) I can't comment on the wig because I've never ordered from their store. Just make sure you check the name when you search it! The store I purchased from was "CosplayAnimeWigs." The store that has the same image is "CosplayAnimeWig."

EDIT (2/19/2011): I received a reply from the seller, and they said that there had been a listing error. The same wig can be purchased at the website! Located here. Click here for the wig link!

Circle Lenses Seller Review: Candy Lens

So I needed to order some blue lenses because I planned on doing a mini photoshoot with my Yuna cosplay. I already had Dolly Lens Green from my Kurama cosplay, so I figured I'd just order some Dolly Lens Blue. I didn't want to have to wait for a batch or pre-order so I was surfing around on the internet.

I stumbled upon Candy Lens, and it said they would take 2 weeks to deliver. They're a circle lenses store based in Malaysia. And they gave you a tracking number to check on your lenses. I ordered on July 27th, and they were able to ship it out within the next day.

My one issue is that tracking it. They said sometimes the Malaysia Pos (where you can track the package) doesn't update properly and after a week, to check it from your local post office website. It has been 9 days since they said they'd deliver it. The Malaysia Pos website updated it for the day it supposedly shipped. But when I checked the USPS website, it says "Origin Post is Preparing Shipment." So I'm wondering what has become of my lenses. But it hasn't been two weeks so I don't want to assume anything yet. Shall update it next week!

EDIT: I received the lenses on Monday, August 9th. It took less than 2 weeks to deliver! The lenses were in a cute little box and I received a cute little 'thank you' card from the seller.

Pros:
- Quick delivery
- Free lenses case
- Cute packaging

Con:
- Unreliable tracking number for those who want to track it

Price: 25.90$ + 4.50$ shipping = 30.40$

Would I order from them again? Yes!

Happy New Year! + Five. Taiwan Edition.

Happy New Year everyone! I'm going to write about 5 topics from Taiwan. 5 for the number of mosquito bites on my face from Taiwan haha. I had all these things to write about and I come home and forget it all.. I shall make another post to for images of the things I bought xD

Taiwan.
It was awesomeee. The weather was so nice. It was pretty warm in Taipei. I literally went shopping every day haha. If I didn't go eat with family I was out with my mom shopping. For New Year's I went out with a friend of mine I haven't seen in 3 years. We caught up and went to see the fireworks at Taipei 101. They were extra special this year because it's the 100th year of Taiwan being a republic! WHOOT! Haha. Bought Ayu's new cd, "Love Songs." Haven't listened to it yet, but I love her music sooo hope it shouldn't disappoint! I also got a haircut! I wanted to get choppy layers and possibly straighten it, by my mom said she would only pay for getting a perm so I got a perm instead haha. Also got new glasses!

Family and Friends.
Anyone who knows me knows that I don't have any relatives in America. All of my relatives live in Taiwan. It was nice being able to see everyone. Some of my cousins I hadn't seen in more than 3 years. Unfortunately around this time of year, they still have exams, so I only saw them once or twice. Haha twice if I was lucky. Some of my aunts and uncles I didn't get to see the last time I went to Taiwan, so it was nice seeing everyone this time. I also met up with a few friends! One of my friends I met during a summer program in Taiwan called AID, Assisting Individuals with Disadvantages. She lives in California so it's not like I can see her when I feel like it haha. She happened to be going to Taiwan around the time I was going so I was able to hang out with her. Another friend is the one I went to Taipei 101 with. She moved to Taiwan I forget how many years ago, so I can only see her when I go to Taiwan.

Cosplay.
I go to Taiwan and still end up doing work xD I found some nice fake engagement rings to use for Serah/Snow's necklace from Final Fantasy 13. I shall revamp it, thinking about buying some new paints for it too! I bought 10 of the rings, so 10 limited edition revamped Serah/Snow necklace! [Technically 9 since I'll be keeping one for myself xD] I also found.. The Clow Book from Cardcaptors Sakura! Hahaa I can definitely prop that for future cosplays.. -hint- -hint- Bought a few cosplay accessories.. LOL Actually just one really xD Debated on buying a Tidus necklace for the future FFX photoshoot, but then decided against it haha. Spent so much money on other things LOL

Shop.
Decided that this year, I'm going to work more on my shop. Need to pay for cosplay things LOL. I bought some things to work on, will be introducing a new craft/product. (New for me at least haha.) I also bought more products and packaging things! I'm hoping to be able to sell things at an artist alley at a convention for a day or so.. Butt we'll see what happensI shall do some more deco things. Bought a few blank mirrors to decorate :O Will do more cosplay commissions. I'm most likely going to stay with accessories/jewelry/small-medium props. Which leads to the next topic..

School.
With the way things are going, I'm most likely going to go to FIT. My application is still being processed, but I'm looking to do a non-degree program in the meantime. Unless, I get accepted haha. I'll be commuting unless I get accepted. In any case, being at home/close to home makes it easier for me to work on cosplay things. But ahh things keep happening, so I'm not sure.

Time for some resolutions! [In no particular order]
- Focus on school work.
- Finish my cosplays long before conventions.
- Improve my sewing skills.
- Focus more on my shop.
- Stop procrastinating and go on the Internet less.
- Update my blog more.
- UPDATE MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL MORE.
- Make more cosplays than originally planned.
- Work out/Get in shape.
- Attend more conventions.

As for Cosplay news, Sheryl x Rank will be pushed down for NYAF. My friend, Euphoria, will cosplaying as the lovely Sheryl Nome in her Galaxy Tour outfit. We shall do Evangelion then as well. I uploaded a separate page for conventions.