Warpaint Beauty is Warpaint II [picture laden]

Good afternoon, everyone. Somewhere last week all my time went into the centennial Cherry Blossom in D.C., which is strange because it was only involving Saturday. It was very beautiful, and the weather was so pleasant [in comparison to last year, where it was, what 40 degrees? Aaah], I met up with friends and old teachers, and got to see JASA's Soran Bushi, a great Japanese fisherman dance. Sunday was the recording session for GSO [the Smithsonian isn't able to provide us with quality recording on the day of our concert], courtesy of a fan of the orchestra. As for Friday and yesterday, well... work. Or something, haha. But~ now I think it's time for some more Warpaint.

So when I went on my Tall Shoes Outing with M-san, we made a short hop sudden stop to Hot Topic. I was looking to see if any Versailles albums had come in, but really, HT's music schedule for foreign titles is sort of random. Warpaint cosmetics were still on sale, so I thought, okay, while I'm here, I'll grab that darker blue lipstick I saw. Again with my misconceptions of cosmetics.

Looks vaguely familiar...

No real loss, purple IS positively the best color ever, so I'm okay with that. To match, I decided to get another color of the powder eyeliner and nail polish. Psychedelic neon blue? No~ it actually goes on sparkly, and glows in the dark. I couldn't quite get a picture of that, but it does glow pretty well [especially if being on top of a solid color layer gets in the way of the phosphorescence]. I'll try again if I can think of a good way.

It's even in my eyelashes, haha.

I don't know if the first batch I got is just defective, or if this batch is defective; the purple goes on less opaque than the blue--even though it's darker--and the gold comes out like crazy. I barely need a full pass to get it entirely over my eye. But I am immensely fond of it [gold on darker tones go well], so I'll deal with the overflow and swipe it up.

The purple appears slightly darker here than in person, unless it was just the lights.

I tried to emulate the poses from the first Warpaint session, to mixed degrees of success. I don't know why part of my face is shiny, too, or looks like I've been crying. I swear I wasn't. Also, please excuse my crow's nest of hair. I've since tamed it much better, ugh.

For your skin tone, does gold or silver suit you better? Do you like eyeshadow to go up until the eyebrows? What colors work best for your lips~?

Things are getting so busy again, bah~ but it's fine, I suppose. I'll do my best to play keep-up.

Eternally yours,

Il Ruinante Isaak

Weekend Gamer

Good afternoon, everyone [already afternoon? ugh, where does all my time go?]. Hope you all had a pleasant weekend. I was verily too busy to post on Sunday [che sigh], as I tried to be semi-productive and catch up on work in the time I wasn't going out. Saturday, I had a tall-shoes outing with a friend from campus, and we went and saw Hunger Games [I haven't read the book, so I have a very base opinion just concerning the movie. And I feel like I sound jaded when I say it was alright; just okay]. Aside from the Demonia boots, nothing to report. Resident Evil-ed into the night [this was probably one of the worst ideas ever, but heeeeyyyy I swear the paranoid hysterics are gone].

On Sunday, the weather dipped again, so I knew there was a jacket in the works. But for walking around D.C. to go down and see The Art of Video Games exhibit at the American Art Museum in the Smithsonian, I was in the mind to be kept at arms length. I don't mind staring--I'm going to get that on the Metro this Saturday for the Cherry Blossom festival--but I don't want to be -bothered- by... undesirables. So I made myself 'fierce', with direct inspiration from the guys of SID.

Jacket: Second hand
Scarf: Undertaker cosplay
Pants: Handmade
Shirt: Katsucon
Platforms: Demonia

And the shades are over top of my glasses.

Trademark delinquent crouch. No really, this is a staple.

Wish I had remembered the cane, I would've felt safer.

I am quite pleased with this ensemble, and I was able to walk the three blocks to the museum in relative peace. The exhibit was pretty good, it was a nice sampling of the past and present in video games, including the evolution of story, mechanics, music, and of course, art. The Kogard Courtyard is quite beautiful, but as far as how a 120 piece orchestra plus chorus is going to fit, I do have lingering worry. But we'll make it work.

Not inspired by my hair. Totally.

The face swirls are courtesy of my calligraphy brush. This is probably not the best implement for writing on one's face, but I use it because of the control, non-smearing, easy remove ink. Replace instead with any liquid eyeliner, is what I recommend.

Since this one is sort of late, hopefully I can get to another one about more War Paint by Thursday... but don't hold your breath, I don't want you to suffocate.

Cherry blossoms are very much in season~, do you have any plans go to a viewing? Are you lucky enough to have some in your backyard? This is the hundred year anniversary of Japan giving us those very first trees, everyone~ do something special just for that.

Eternally yours,

Il Ruinante Isaak.

Warpaint Beauty is Warpaint [picture laden]

Good morning, everyone [...eh? EH?!]. It seems I've been dead all last week [weak, week, unintentional play on the fact I was sick, and also out taking care of neighbors' cats], but not only that... *Looks hither and yon.* Where... where has everyone got to? Eh? Well... be sure to take care, everyone, do your best. I hope things are going well. The GOLDEN Week approaches... [There are plans of grandeur in my head, but lets see what actually happens.]

Last week, or so, I got out of the house and down to Annapolis with the parent marquis for Pretzel Day [that took one too many tries to get correct]. The Hot Topic was across the way from the Auntie Anne's giving away free pretzels, so I perused with my om nom. I was definitely bent on getting a new color of nail polish. Don't get my wrong, I love all shades of purple, which explains why I have at least five different bottles of that color alone. But whether it was lime yellow or citrus orange, I was getting a contrast color.

As it were, there was a sale on Warpaint Beauty brand cosmetics. So I picked up some eyeshadow and lipstick as well [or at least, for as long as I stared at it reading the ingredient list, I came to the conclusion it was lipstick].

Red~! Red, red, red, red, and that is Triforce you see. In a nice compact cubular bottle, it goes on very thick, despite my expectations. This is just one coat. It also dries very quickly, which is great since I have a knack for doing my nails either right before going to the event I'm painting then for, or before I do laborious activity [like laundry]. I'm very pleased, and looking forward to new manicure combos.

Another thing I seem to do a lot is mistake the forms cosmetics come in. First, I thought the eyeshadow was eyeliner. Thus, I thought said eyeliner was liquid.

Being a roll-on, I did sort of literally roll it everywhere, and smudged off where I didn't want it.

I was wrong on both counts, and the eyeshadow is actually a powder that applies via roll-on. I am not perturbed by the turnout, since I do already have a fair share of pencil eyeliners [in purple, too]. It goes on light, so it takes several roll overs to get is as dark as I'd like, but it comes off with a light swab of my thumb or a cotton ball [which is great since I just let it go wherever really, tsk tsk tsk].

Lastly, but certainly not least, a off the wall desire that I didn't think I'd find so easily. Che blue lipstick.

Hey yo. Otonashiku.

Murrr grrrr... or whatever.

I wanted blue [or even purple or dark emerald] for this purpose alone; to have a black upper lip and a blue lower lip. I do this with red as well, whenever the urge hits me. If I get back to Hot Topic soon enough, I will probably get a darker blue variant as well. This is something most likely likened to anime in my subconscious. I don't know. But this is all I wanted it for. And if it wasn't for the fact that I'm bad about mashing my lips together, I'd wear this more regularly.

So maybe I'll do the manicure in blue or black, or both.

Make-up is more understated in Aristocrat, but it is a defining feature of what makes Visual Kei, well, Visual Kei. That and the elaborate costumes. The weather is definitely leaning into Spring, so I will probably spend more weekend outings in climate friendly Visual Kei as the year goes on. Whether this will result in more make-up posts will still depend on if I remember to do it before I go out, ahaha.

Sigh... I try. I really do love the bags under my eyes, as strange as that might sound.

Golden week... aka Spring Break... come to me...!

Eternally yours,

Il Ruinante Isaak

Rainbow Magic

Good afternoon, minna-sama~ and please do try to overlook the title. One might think I would give pause and try to gather my... hours of sleep before I try to post, but, not only has it been a bit too long between posts, I have Crowning Music of Awesome playing in the background. This would be the Main Trailer music for Dissidia 012 brought to you by Square-Enix [if the link does not go directly to the page where all the characters will pop up, click on the ENTER rectangle towards the bottom]. This music has quite literally gotten me through final papers, so I feel a post should be simple. I don't know if that explains why the title is... off. To-ni-kaku...

On Saturday, Gamer Symphony Orchestra had it's 5th Anniversary concert~! It went splendidly, and soon recordings will be up on our homepage, here. After our victory dinner, I sat around and waited for the Satanic Mechanics [not affiliated with Satan or car repair] to show up and help them with their shadowcasting of the Rocky Horror Picture Show. As a rule, it's widely accepted to dress up. This ranges from anything to a speedo, to full on bush camoflouge that military persons use. Anything goes. To an extent. A really, really, wide extent. Usually, there may be a cast theme for fandom and Time Warping; this show's theme was rainbows. I didn't get that memo, so I decided to keep it somewhat simple and go demonic priest.

And what priest would be complete without simply divine footwear to accompany it? The dubbed 'Undertaker Boots'.

Unfortunately, I didn't bring my camera to the show, and by the time I got home I was too tired to take a picture [I had been up all night and into the morning]. I changed out of my clothes for Mother's Day breakfast at nine AM, and had the thought when I got back I'd change back just for the picture. But I was still too tired. Gomen, minna-sama, please put up with my lazy pic. *Weep.* If it makes things any better, this demonic priest had rainbow eyeshadow done, for keeping to the theme.

There was some purple in it to make it a good and complete rainbow, but it started to spread into a clown-blotch rather than a nice layer, so before I ordered something at McDonalds I wiped that part off. I was also wearing my black mask as well [unfortunately, when I breathe it fogs up my glasses unless I put them really low, so once the show was over I took that off]. I didn't have time to straighten my hair and put my Undertaker wig on, so I tied the o-natural curly goodness back [makes it easier to get the mask on].

On the aforementioned mention of the wig though, I have been planning to get a long blong wig, and trim it a little to make it accurate unto Bishop from DOGS Bullets&Carnage. Paired with the outfit above, and the Crow, I am quite excited to picture everything coming together for my Bishop cosplay. For kicks, I may make a white scarf rather than use the grey one, but who knows? I may accidentally forget [no really, I might]. Bishop would probably be in place of Akabane this year, unless that jacket decides to go and make itself in a random burst of [my own] energy. It would save me some space packing, since the 'cossak' comes out of Undertaker's cosplay [the part you can't actually see]. The entire cosplay would then only be the cost of the wig, and a pair of dollar store black lens glasses [blind priest is blind]. Excitement abound. I'm not sure you can tell though by the periods. Haha.

Music is so addictive~ maybe I should arrange this so we can play it next semester. Twould be so amazing... we continue to get better and better as our numbers increase, so I'm sure that soon GSO's repitoire will be limitless.

Ever tried a really amazing and crazy make-up job that came out surprisingly well? Do you have Rocky Horror where you are [pffft, what?]? Any otaku have plans for their cosplay this summer at the big conventions? Show us what you've got in mind~

"Even if I am no longer worthy of bearing the title, I will protect you until the end. That is my utmost duty."
Eternally yours,
Il Ruinante Isaak
p.s. who do you main as? I LOVE Warrior of Light.

Culturally Exploding [from the heat of summer, hello there.]

Good evening, minna-sama, I hope you all have had a good weekend. Saturday was beautiful, and I had a long event [and teaser concert for Gamer Symphony Orchestra~!], so by the time I got home that evening, I hadn't the energy to post for the event that happened last Tuesday. Late~! Forgive me everyone. If you will, here are some pictures for that event from that day, which include a couple of new things I experimented with~. Please enjoy.

Twas a very good event, too, used in part to promote our club, Jingu Bridge, but also be apart of the student showcase on campus. It was--title drop--a Cultural Explosion, so we hired ourselves out, as it were, and performed a para para dance in styles of Japanese street fashion, and then participated in the fashion show halfway through. While I think the weather that day would've been best suited for dressing up in Visual Kei, let's just say, among other things, looking a torn up mess at work may not have gone over well [and that is a maybe, as my workplace is surprisingly lenient]. But I'm temperature retardent. Wearing layers in 80 degrees is quite alright. ]

Here we are all together [power of paint to protect the innocent], in our sub-styles; left to right is seifuku, banba [our own Toriberry], yours truly, and Classic Lolita.

Today's focal piece, my lacy rose tie. I bought it at Otakon 07, and it has never once gone a day without a compliment. It's got a zipper collar, so to put it on all I have to do is zip it up or down. This picture seems to make it look bigger than it actually is. Although maybe it doesn't look that big to you. [The crucifix on top is Trinity Blood merchandise.]







I got a chance to put my hair back in a big bow like I've been meaning to do. The weather that day was definitely better suited for that, no less. It seems a little messy, but those are just my bangs from the front that you see on the sides. Those I'm not sure how well they worked, but I think I'll have to try a couple more times to see if anything can be done. The first picture shows them before they accidentally got a little wet, and thus a bit curly. Tucked behind my ears didn't look too bad though. [Also, I will probably get a wider ribbon just for this sort of thing. I think the big bow and ponytail is perfect Aristo hair styling, especially for the summer. Classical, in a way.]



And, last but not least~ the full length shots. If you click on each to see them larger, they are unfortunately a bit blurry [it seems the one sharper picture I took I accidentally deleted and didn't notice until I took them off the memory card; serves me right for not wearing my glasses through that process], please bear with me. I didn't wear my Demonia boots with this either, and I feel the shorter but simpler ones worked better for the appearance that I wasn't dressing for a show [ironic that I was], and come across to me as a bit more Aristo than Ouji. I will try this out again with the 'Undertaker' boots to see if they work the same.

Now that the summer months are rolling in, I'm going to adjust some, hopefully into Visual-Kei, but equally so I hope I can mix things up with the wardrobe I have--and hope to increase--to make Aristo work in the summer. Or working on cosplay projects may consume me and make me lazy when it comes to getting dressed each morning. I don't know.

Ever been in a student showcase with a cultural group? Or maybe been in a talent show of another sort, or even walked the runway? What do you like to see best in a talent show of your peers? How did you dress? Was what you wore even important [haha]?

Into the beautiful future, where we may all come together to be our own person, as we are one people.

Eternally yours,

Il Ruinante Isaak

p.s. Knowing that this would be a picture heavy post, I switched to blogger's new formatting toolbar thing-jabber in hopes of easing the formatting trouble I've been having lately. With all the grief it gave me, I'm almost ready to go back to the old one. But I think I've got it now. Maybe.

The Marquis talks Make-up

Good morning, minna-sama, and I beg forgiveness for my unannounced hiatus [I don't like the thought of saying that I was on a hiatus when it's not as though I've had writer's block or anything]. The winter break was only good for me essentially on the days of the holidays themselves. I won't let you wallow in my despairs as well, because recounting them will hardly lift me out of my really drowsy state. Instead, let me try to jump-start into all the things I've been wanting to say and do concerning my love of my favorite Japanese street fashions~!

There will be a mini post up after this one of the outfit I wore last Saturday when I went on outing for the first time in a month I think. [Also a gag pic. Correct context, you must choose.] We had some snow around here, and it's got me into my wintery weather mindset which I love~ but also has my gears turning about things I would like to add to my wardrobe, in terms of footwear [you'll see].

I still don't want to believe it, but I am under the impression that Chimera-kun and Drocell-kun did something incredibly stupid and amazing and bought me this outfit from Atelier Boz. They [supposedly] ordered it back in early December. I don't want to believe that they would shell out over $300 for me. I nervously watch my doorstep when we pull up for signs of a package or a missed package slip.

I'm thinking ahead to the spring months, and the less-than-successful time I had with Aristocrat over the summer. With some shopping trips planned in the near future, I am expecting to get a few things that will hopefully be Spring Aristocrat friendly, as well as look more towards my Visual Kei styles to supplement a majority of the warmer months. I have never been inclined much on the "shredded" style that is incorporated more into V-kei today, but I'm beginning to find appeal in it. That, combined with numerous accesories and several premade garments that help to make up my slightly larger V-Kei wardrobe, give me something to look forward to as I stroll campus and the neighborhood.

Lastly, with Toriberry's new delve into gyaru fashion, I've watched her in her fervor passion dive into make-up, an necessary and very important part to all of the gyaru main and sub-styles. We were close to getting circle lenses. We very well might in the near future [although I was settling for white contact lenses which go great for a true 'nobleman of the night' Aristo and high androgyny gaze-into-my-pretty-eyes V-kei]. I'm not one for the big eyed look, but watching make-up vids [by the lovely Michelle Phan], and Torriberry go to work, I was inspired to one up my looks even more than that extra accessory could. And so I perused around suggested looks for Aristo.

I am not unfamiliar with make-up, although admittedly, I do not know more than the basics of terminology [if that]. In addition, my few make-up ventures when I have chosen to wear it have been limited mostly to lipstick, and in black and red checker patterns [simply though this may be, I like how well it turns out and the kiss print]. One could find this highly ironic considering that my mother person used to work for Mary-Kay, perhaps one of the biggest giants of the cosmetics world, and still has a great deal of their products from workers benefits. I suppose the main reason make-up and I are not better friends than we are is because of time. I'm sure if I got into the habit of it earlier, I would know to make time for the make-up, but as it were, I also didn't feel girly enough for it, in that golden age of pre-teen and teenager years. Jewelry was easy to put on and off, and if I touched it, it wouldn't get messed up. Make-up can be easy to put on and off to an extent if one does simpler things, but boy isn't it hell to take off soemtimes, and a mess to fix on the fly if your eye accidentally has a run in with your finger.

In hindsight, I have a good feeling about being able to adjust to this sort of thing to incorporate it into V-Kei and Aristo. Save the extravagence for the big outings, like anything, stick to the simple-yet-bold touch for more common fare. While I won't be going out of my way to get fake eyelashes any time soon, I do forsee some more eyeliner and eyeshadow being bought in the near future [along with a bright blue tube of lipstick; something other than black to form that stark contrast. Pictures will ensue]. My nails are also a great asset, and I haven't been giving them as much love as I could, considering nailwork is very very easy for me, and I am regularly tending to them for viola playing purposes. Just as good, if not better than, gloves in a wardrobe, the upkeep of my nails will easily add another defining detail in my two styles.

What's your view on make-up? Can you not leave the house without it? Go natural some days? What's your favorite brand[s] or color scheme? Do you like the big-eyed, big lips look? As always, tips, tricks, and advice from more experiences make-up artists are welcome~

I have a lot of projects still, and I'm looking forward to them~! Katsucon is around the corner, and we've decided for a one-day affair with it, so I will probably decide against Undertaker and go ahead with a Mad Hatter perhaps. Now that would require a top hat ne~? Hmmmmm... more ideas abound~!

To a glorious and rose-filled future~! Holding the Fate!
Eternally yours,
Il Ruinante Isaak