『Life』Cosplay and Convention; Otakon 2014!

-TEXT AND PICTURE HEAVY POST-

Alright, I have a legit reason for disappearing this time, really.

Ok, kinda legit reason.

...ok, not actually a legit reason.

What's the reason? Well, cosplay! 8D

The time period from July to August was a super hectic one. I had to finish making three costumes for Otakon, and I had barely a month left! I was panicked, so I put off almost all social media to work on them. That, included my beauty blog posts. The only thing I updated regularly was my Facebook page, which I uploaded pictures of my progress for various costumes.

Here's a few!

On that note, I actually reach 1k+ on my Facebook page! I update a lot of cosplay and singing stuff there. If you're interested in keeping up with me on that aspect, feel free to check me out at PandaGin. 

So basically, I've been glueing, sewing, cutting, heating, ironing for these past few weeks to get my cosplays ready for Otakon, which started on the 8th of August. 

It wasn't just that though, oh no. I had to book a hotel room, manage who was rooming with me, manage people's travel methods, schedule photoshoots, and keep everyone updated on information. 

It was extreamly stressful; I definitly got a few white hairs from it. HAHA It gets a bit confusing to know what to tell who. 

Anyways! First day of the convention is always Day 0. This is the day when those who pre-ordered can pick up their badges. 

Because of Otakon's bad planning, it turned into an official Linecon.

Left to right, Miyu, Me, Igor (my friend)

My mom drove my friends and I there. Traffic was absolutely horrible though; we ended up driving 3 hours when it should've only been 40 minutes. 

We got there at around 7PM, and the line was ridiculous. It literally wrapped around 20 times 

However, guy managing the end of the line said that everyone who joined then would be able to get their badges that night. 

Well guess what.

We didn't. LOL

We waited around four hours, and then they told us all to leave. We didn't get a "cut the line" pass or anything. They just straight up told us to leave. 

Eventful. 

Not gonna lie, I was pretty pissed. So next day, we found my friends and grouped with them in the line to get our badge. We also checked into our hotel room! 

Overall, the convention was still very fun. I got to spend time with Carl (the boyfriend), stay up late with my friends, and meet some of my role models! *A*

I also finally experienced the real terror of having your cosplay fall apart at the con. HAHA Luckily, I brought a lot of extra material with me in case this happened and was able to fix up most of my costumes for wear. The friend's rooming with me also had some wardrobe malfunctions; we panicked so hard together. ;;;;

Anyways, here's the continuation of Otakon with the addition of some pictures my friend Rui (her cosplay page is Rui Cosplay) took! I didn't take many because I needed to conserve power incase I got a call from anyone needing help. ;v;

Day 1

Traffic was a butt. We got there early enough to attend our 10AM photoshoot, but didn't have time to get our badges until after it. I was cosplaying Syndra from League of Legends that day, so I lent Rui my Ahri cosplay so she could match series'. She made the tails herself though, extremely impressive!

This is when the photoshoot first started. We first took turns doing solo shots and then did some together. It was super fun working with my photographer since she and I have been friends for a super long time! The photographer seen here is Shipszer Photography/Cosplay.

After that, we got our badges and checked into our hotel room at the Lord Baltimore. Fancy name, fancy hotel. The room was super nice and spacious; it even had a fridge! 

This is when things got hectic. My mom helped me drop off our stuff at the hotel and we rushed upstairs to fix up our cosplays. My friend Miyu, who was also carpooling with us, helped made the process go a lot quicker. Luckily, three other people who were rooming with us also arrived at around the time we checked in. Apple, Sammi, and Elizabeth arrived, so we gave them room to unpack and left for the convention center. 

We got there just in time for our 3PM photoshoot with N/A Studio. This was my first time shooting with him and I was kinda nervous because of my awkwardness. But...

It went fine. HAHA He was super chill and was extremely easy to talk to. We got some amazing pictures that I'll be showing at the end! 

After that, I was basically free for the rest of the day. We fooled around and enjoyed our selves!

Here you can see me trying to get the attention of another girl who was the same character as Rui. AHAHA

I was banging on the glass and photobombing, it was pretty fun. 8'D

(In the end, she actually joined us inside and we talked. <3 Her name's Xiao!)

Night came, and my boyfriend finally arrived in Baltimore. At that time, I actually switched out into my panda kigurumi and was no longer wearing my cosplay. (Which was probably a good idea. Baltimore is scary at night!)

I kinda regret not taking any decent selfies with him, but I was really happy to see him again after such a long time. <3 We walked back to the hotel together and then went out to find ourselves some dinner.

Carl had the smart idea of going to the harbor mall at 10PM to attempt to find burgers and fries. 

Well, everything was closed. HAHA 

So we got some Subway on the way back to the hotel, ending day 1.

Day 2

Morning of day 2, Rui got up early and bought us all a bit of food from a local 7Eleven.

I got into my Syndra again, fixed from alterations the night before, and head out a bit early to attend a photoshoot with WongTwoThree Photography. There, I also met two of my role models, Bonnies Cosplay and Pizoobie! <3

They were both in League cosplays as well, with Bonnie as Sivir and Pizoobie as Fem!Rengar. I was super happy I could meet them! <3 

After, I attended the League photoshoot and decided it was time to change cosplays. With Miyu and Carl, we went back to the hotel room they helped me change into Elsa from Frozen!
Getting the corset laced together was a pain. ;;;;

Elsa was much more mobile. Rui and I met up (she was the Jack to my Elsa) for our photoshoot with KG Photography!

Again, Rui somehow managed to snap a picture without me noticing. Photographers are setting up here, and I'm thinking of post ideas. HAHA







After that was done, Rui go eat with her family, while I went to the harbor to eat with Carl and Miyu.
He finally got those burgers and fries. LOOL
We headed back to the hotel after eating because Miyu needed to change. Well, also because my shoes for Elsa were slightly too big and giving a few small blisters on my feet ;v;

We ended up staying for longer than intended because Apple, Sammi, and Elizabeth also came back around that time and we started talking about dinner plans. I needed to go catch another photoshoot, so I left around 6:30PM.
This one was with N/A Studio again, but he was just a bit late this time around. It had gotten slightly dark, so we decided to go to the harbor where were were streetlights.
After we were done, it was around 9:30PM. I used my photographer's phone to message my friends to meet me at the harbor for food, and we went to this nice Irish place!

After we were done eating, it was late and we walked back to the hotel to call it a day.

Day 3

The last day, sadly. :'< 

We woke up early to get all our make up done and completely pack all our stuff to ready ourselves for checkout.

Today, I was Fem!Haruka from Free! Rui was to be my Fem!Rin. 8D 

From left to right, here's Rui, Apple, and I as lunch ladies. (you can also see a bit of Carl in the background. HAHA)

The absolutely hardest part of getting out of the hotel was getting all our luggage downstairs. There were so many con goers who were checking out that we could not get everything on. Therefore, from the 16th floor, everyone carried a suitcase and ran down. LOL

Pictured here from left to right is Rui, Carl, Joey (Rui's friend), and Apple. 

After we got everything downstairs, Apple, Sammi, and Elizabeth had to part with us in order to catch their bus. We took this right before we had to say our goodbyes. ;v;

Again, from left to right: Rui, Apple, Carl (top), Sammi (bottom), Elizabeth, and me!





Rui, Carl, and I went to the Artist Ally to shop for things. Miyu joined us shortly, dressed as Military Gou from Free! We quickly finished buying our things and went outside to rest for a while since Carl and Miyu needed to leave soon as well.

Carl and I got matching bows though!! ///v/// I'm kinda surprised he agreed to it, but hey, not complaining. LOL

Left to right: Me, Carl, Miyu



If you're wondering what we're doing, we're drawing on each other's hands with eyeliner. HAHA

Carl and Miyu had to leave. After giving them both a hug goodbye, Rui and I went over to the Hilton Hotel's pool for the Free! Photoshoot.
Right after that, we ran all the way to the harbor again for our final photoshoot with KG Photography.
The shoot was quick, and we ended up just playing in the water and taking silly shots with Danielle's cousin, who joined us on the way.




At the harbor, there were also a lot of the people from the Free! photoshoot hanging about. I was able to get a quick selfie with everyone; it was super cool seeing everyone. /////













Eventually, the time came for us to go home as well. We gave Rui and her cousin a ride to their house on the way back.

(Here you can see the matching bow that I got with Carl! Last bits of happiness before falling into post-con depression and sickness. HAHA)















And thus concludes Otakon 2014!

Left to right: Rui, Michelle, Me

Photoshoot Pictures

Thank you so much for reading in case anyone actually made it to the end. HAHA I know my writing can get a bit boring at times, excuse that. ;;;;

School starting for me tomorrow! I'll be headed into 10th grade. *A* Wish me luck. <3

☆ gin ★

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If you happen to follow me or like my posts, comment below and link your blog! I'll be sure to check it out. ★

『Life』Maleficent Inspired Make-up, Singing, and Art!

It's almost summer! Most of you are probably already on break. LOL

Just a little life update since I've been quite busy and unable to take spare some time for blogging activities. For me, finals are coming up in a week! 

However, solid A's in all my classes, which I'm pretty proud of! (Whoot whoot!)

I went to go see Maleficent the other day. My mind was BLOWN. They incorporated the original Sleeping Beauty beautifully into Maleficent's history. It was definitely one of Disney's better originals. Angelina Jolie played Maleficent almost as if she was the villain herself. Those cheekbones were irresistible. <3

We found a movie poster for Maleficent hanging outside. However, it had part of Angelina's name covered up.

I did the only sensible thing. Duh, her cheekdones are basically the movie. HAHA (Kidding, the movie was actually great; go watch it!)

Holie (holy) cheekbones indeed.

I loved it so much that I even went to It's Sugar and bought the cup! It was super over priced, but I'm glad I got it! Literally, it sold out the next day.

After watching it, I decided I would try to be Maleficent myself! I grabbed all normal make up out, but I couldn't find my stage make up. :'< In the end, I resorted to eyeshadow. LOL

Maleficent ft. air humidifier. 8D

I do realized that I did the contouring completely wrong. HAHA I rounded out the cheekbones instead of caving them in. Next time I try to recreate her, I'll deff keep that in mind.

Would you guys be interested in a make up tutorial if I happened to do one? 8D

Possibly on video? ;D

On another note, I did upload a cover on my YouTube a while back. If any of my followers play League of Legends, you might enjoy this quite a bit. It's a parody of a Vocaloid song called Yume to Hazakura with lyrics based off the champion Sona from LoL! 

Take a listen if you have the time; I worked really hard on it. <3

I've also been getting back into drawing recently. I decided I would take on digital art again since I've been doing a lot of traditional art lately. So, saved up some of my money and bought myself a Wacom Intuos 5 Drawing Tablet! It should be arriving on Monday. <3 Can't wait to start transfering my paper art to the computer so I can do cool coloring effects. Not to mention, being able to easily draw straight lines!

Heres a little something I drew after playing the gave Transistor. I recommend it if you're a gamer who likes hit and slash games. *^* The story is also rather amazing. <3

Welp, that's I all I can really fit in today. Time to go wallow in work as I prepare for my finals. ;v;

cries

Have a nice day everyone! <3

☆ gin ★

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If you happen to follow me or like my posts, comment below and link your blog! I'll be sure to check it out ASAP. ★

『Talk』Rest in Peace, Ryan

Hello guys. 

I have a very serious topic that I would like to talk about today. 

I'll be addressing depression and suicide. I strongly recommend you all to read this.

Many of you have probably heard about it hundreds and hundreds of times already. However, watching a mischievous and playful friend succumb into depression so deep that it led to suicide emotionally struck me. 

Today, just an hour ago, my friend Ryan Walden died from an attempted suicide. 

He was rushed to the hospital this morning, but it was too late.

Ryan, a freshman like me, was the most clever and respectful person I've ever met. He was only 14, his birthday only a few months away from now. 

Most importantly, he's a person I've spent four years with. He is a child of loving parents and brothers. He is a friend to many. 

We have all been impacted by his passing. 

I am crying as I'm typing this. I still can't believe that the boy I saw just a week ago, the boy who I helped with homework, the boy who say next to me, is now gone. 

Forever. 

There will always be an empty seat next to me, as if almost waiting for him to come in one day so everything would be normal again. 

But it's won't. 

Death is irreversible. To realize he was hiding his depression, to realize I didn't notice; I feel guilty. 

Maybe I could've done something. 

Maybe I could've prevented this even if it was just one little action, such as going to visit him or asking to hang out. 

Depression is serious. As someone who went though it before, I can truthfully tell you that there are more types of depression than there are different types of snowflakes. 

Depression can lable many emotions. I know many of you mean well when you say, "I know how you feel." 

When you're that deep in depression, however, no one wants to hear that. 

Just be there for them. 

Reach out to them. 

Let them know you're thinking about them. 

Let them know you care. 

 

I beg of anyone who has difficultly staying in this world to talk to someone you trust. 

Anyone. 

Hotlines, family, 911, etc. 

The impact you leave and the life that you abandon is impossible to reverse. 

Life is beautiful. 

Rest in peace, Ryan. 

-Gin

『Tutorial』UrMadeUpFace: Gin - Get Ready With Me!

Hello hello! 

First off, let me apologize on my complete lack of posting. 

And continuous complete lack of posting. HAHA

YOU PROBABLY WON'T SEE ME FOR A WHILE-
I'm also extremely sorry I haven't been leaving comments on any posts lately. Though I usually try to comment, I've only had the time to read them. I am keeping up with everyone though! ;v; I love you all. <3
I haven't been quite emotionally stable either. With tons of family problems and the whole ordeal with straight A's, I've been stressed. Not to mention heartache has been hitting me quite hard as well.
I really miss Carl.
A lot.
//sighs//

Around this time of the year is also when I start becoming super packed because of musicals. Sometimes it makes me think why I even audition for them because they're so stressful. :c

Like seriously. Rehearsal till 5:30 on a half day? That's like, 5 hours of rehearsal! ;A;

On another note, My birthday just passed! I turned 15 on the 6th of March, quite exciting! <3

Anyways, onto the entry I wrote for UrHappyBunny's blog feature! 8D It is on her blog, but I thought I'd post it as well just so I could have a place to announce a few things.

PS: Katsucon post will be coming as soon as I get all my photos back. I can't wait to share with you guys all the pretty pictures I got. //// 

Many of them are on my Facebook already! 8D

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Hello there!
First off, before I introduce myself, let me thank Joanne graciously for allowing to do a blog feature. Her "UrMadeUpFace" is an ingenious idea, super happy I got the chance to do one!

So, my name is Gin.
Well, at least my online alias is.
My real name isn't too much of a mystery either, but I preferred to be called Gin on the internet. *^*

I'm 14 years old and currently in 9th grade. I actually started getting into make up around 7th grade, but now I've decided I want to pursue it. What better way than to start a beauty blog? Now, here I am, owner of gindoesbeauty.

In addition to make up, I also sing, draw, act, dance, and cosplay; you can read all about my cosplay adventures and youtube channel on my blog. ;>

Here's a small preview to a photoshoot post I'll be doing soon. B)

I usually listen to guitar or piano arrangements of songs when I do my make up.
AHHH SUNGHA JUNG. <3 His guitar playing is too amazing.
If I don't have music available, I hum~ The song I hum usually ends up deciding what colors and styles I use on my face, quite interesting!

Okiedoke. Let's get started! This is a quick and easy look I've been doing almost every morning!

"Quick, only 10 minutes left until departure!"

Fantanbulous, this shouldn't take more than 5 minutes.

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Here we have the glorious bareface.

REAL TERROR.

Ok, actually though, start off with washing and moisturizing. No one wants all that dirt stuck in their pores for an entire day.

Apply your favorite foundation, bb cream, or cc cream. I'm using a sample of the Etude House CC Cream I got from a recent buy. I didn't even apply powder because this product was so light. Make sure to do so if you use heavier products!

Fill in your brows and stain your inner lip with a pretty red. 

Here, I used Tony Moly's Cat Chu Wink for my lips (Which I reviewed here.) and an eyebrow pencil I purchased from BornPretty.

Take a long lasting, brown eyeliner and line that eyelid with drama! I used Maybelline's Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner.

Connect an angled line to your waterline; this completes the thick line. It has to end somewhere.

When you use a brown eyeliner, it allows much more room for movement and mistake because of it's subtlety. This makes it a perfect color choice when you're rushing.

If you have time, highlight the inner corners of your eyes. You'll seems more awake; that's always a good thing! I applied an eyeshadow stick I got from, yet again, BornPretty.

And you're done!

This look is super simple and enhances your looks in a very natural way. I don't like to stand out in school if I don't have to, so this make up look is perfect for me. I'd rather get 20 more minutes of sleep than spend 20 minutes on make up. HAHA

And of course, before I walk out, I have to grab my handy dandy EOS lip moisturizer.

That little egg is magical, I swear. Seriously don't know how I would survive without it. *A* <3

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Thank you so much for reading and thank you Joanne for this guest post! <3

☆ gin ★

『Haul/Life』New York 2013!

 Hello lovies! 

As promised on my previous post, here's my New York Haul! In addition to showing you what I got, I'll also be talking about my trip in which I got to see my boyfriend (Carl) again after half a year. *A*

 JUCIY DETAILS. ;DD (Nothing really happened AHAH-)

Anyways! I'll first be showing the items I got, incase those of you aren't too interested in my personal life. Carl showed me to a lot of shops where they sold asian cosmetics and cute items! Though he was complaining about how long I was taking to pick out products (I swear I didn't spend more than 25 minutes in each shop. :'<), props to him for even going with me! 8D

Now that I really look at it, I didn't actually get much. But then again, some of these products were around $20-

What I will be doing a review on:

• Liese Prettia - Bubble Hair Color: Royal Brown
• Vivian Circle Lenses: 3 Tone Blue 
• Barbie Eye Circle Lenses: Diamond Pink
• Lioele - Active Therapy Ampoule: Whitening 
• TheFaceShop - Lovely Me:ex Bright Pact
• TheFaceShop - Lovely Me:ex Magic Pink Power Mask
• TheFaceShop - Lovely Me:ex Make Up Base #1 (Green)
• TheFaceShop - Lovely Me:ex BeBe Lip Mask
• TheFaceShop - Arsainte Eco-theraphy Extreme Moisture Essential Cream
• Skinfood - Egg White Pore Mask
• Skinfood - Black Sugar Perfect First Serum

Which one do you guys want me to review first? Comment below!

Okiedoky. on to adventures in New York! 

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We woke up at around 6 AM and left the house a hour later. We had a 5 hour drive ahead of us, so we wanted to leave early.

I did a pretty natural make up look, but Carl still ended up commenting on it later when we met up. HAHA 

I blame the sparkly eyeshadow primer. :c

It was quite a boring ride, but after 4 1/2 hours of driving, we finally got to the Holland Tunnel.

Or should I say, Hollaad Tonnel. The Christmas decorations were still up at this time since it was just 3 days after. I thought this was pretty funny.

Then, after going through the Hollaad Tonnel, we arrived in Manhattan! *A*

This was the first thing I saw after stepping out the car. I know, elegant. 

Being the rebel I am, guess what I did?

I STOOD THERE. B)

We went to go eat Korean BBQ at a restaurant called Wonjo. It was literally 2 stores away from our hotel!

Everything was sooooo good. <3 There was so many delicious side dishes and the meat was marinated to perfection! It was the first time my mom and I ate at a korean restaurant; we both loved it. *A*

I ordered pear juice because I thought it sounded cute, tasted just like the asian jello my mom always buys~

After our meal, they had a complimentary ginger and honey tea for digesting all that meat, even that was great. We ended up eating everything that we got. LOL

Satisfied and full, we returned to out hotel room to ready ourselves to go to Time Square. Being super tourists, we ending up getting lost. The amount of time we spent was probably enough to get all the way to Brooklyn.

We did end up finding our way though! I met up with Carl at Forever 21 and we were off to find our friends, Aly and Justice. Aly gave us directions to Sunrise Mart, which was a market similar to a Japanese Connivence store, so we could meet them there. 

After meeting with Aly and Justice, we went to a book shop that sold really nice pencils. Though they were super expensive-

We went to a few more stores and then Justice had to leave. So Carl, Aly, and I went to Forever 21. We ended up trying to find Carl the gayest pants imaginable. AHA

Guess who that tall guy is.

Me. B)

(ahahha no i'm that short girl)

It was late, so we said out goodbyes and I headed back to Koreatown with my parents for the night. Since the biggest Macy's in the world was literally a 5 minute walk away from us, we went to take a look. I got shoes that were more comfortable than my heels since I had many blisters. @A@

We ate dinner at a bread shop on the way back since we were all tired.

I got a curry croquet (which I bought again for breakfast) and a strawberry mousse.

We headed back to our hotel and slept. I fell asleep at around 11PM and woke up at around 2AM. Of course, with my insomnia, I couldn't fall back asleep. Sighs.

I ended up rolling around until 5AM. That when I got up and decided to exercise in the fitness room downstairs. I then took a shower and proceeded to wait till my parents woke up.

We then walked our way to the theater where I met up with Latto, Miyu and Carl. We watched Frozen! ///A///

(if you're wondering why some of the names are so weird, we're all from a community where we use aliases; I'm already used to calling them by their screen names.)

Afterwards, we went to Chinatown's Elizabeth Center, which is where I bought most of the items in my haul. Carl and Latto were kinda being dragged along since Miyu and I were browsing so much. 

It was raining really hard, so we took shelter at Vivi Bubble Tea where I had Takoyaki for the first time! *A* It was soooo good. I got another box for the ride back home. 

We tried to take selfies, but

they kinda turned out like this-

I laugh really obnoxiously. 

(matching icons though. 8'D)

So, since I had a 5 hour ride going back home, we decided it was time to part. Carl took me back to the hotel since I had no idea how the train worked. 

We were supposed to go uptown to Manhattan, but instead we went uptown to Brooklyn. LOL 

Though I'm kinda happy that happened, I got to spend more time with him. Though there weren't any seats or places to hold on to (that I could reach), so I clung onto him. //clings

We switched trains and went back to Manhattan and actually got seats! 8D I slept on his shoulder the whole time, it was super relaxing. (I KNOW CLICHE SHHH)

Before I left to go meet my parents, I finally initiated a kiss. It was really hard because he was so tall. I had to make him kneel down a bit, but I 

DID

IT.

//PROUD

I had a period of time after I got home where I kinda just moped around cause I was lonely. Long distance is so painful sometimes. :'<

But anyways! That's my New York journey! Did anyone else go to cool places during winter break?

Thank you for reading and I hope you guys had a relaxing break!

☆ gin ★

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If you happen to follow me or like my posts, comment below and link your blog! I'll be sure to check it out. ★