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

Surprise Chilly Bishop

Good afternoon everyone. I'm starting noonish, but I'll probably finish in the evening. Ah the conveniences of modern technology. If the title seems like a complete puzzler, I don't blame you. But rest assured, this is a regular post about what I wore. Perhaps my creative juices are flowing outwardly from all the story writing--flash fiction mostly--I've been doing lately. This isn't necessarily a bad thing I suppose [only my posture is steadily becoming crap].

True to the east coast tendencies, we had some serious bi-polar weather yesterday and today, dipping back into the 60s and below. So I donned on the staple coat I've been wearing over everything as I did during the winter. I suspect that even with the weather over here being as ridiculous as it is, it's likely not going to go back to this. It's almost April for all's sakes.

Sleek, and awesome on windy days.

Trinity Blood crucifix serves me well, after replacing the first chain early on.

This is, of course, the 'cossak' underneath the main grey robe/coat for my Undertaker cosplay. I had somehow forgotten about the sash, but it completes the image in my opinion. I remembered to take off my glasses, too. Masks tend to go well with this ensemble, and, since it's usually weather based, it doesn't really matter what I have on underneath.

How are the cherry blossoms near you? It's about that season~! [whaaa, even though it was just so cold? Huh?]
Eternally yours,
Il Ruinante Isaak
p.s. I boiled up some of my green tea tapioca pearls at last. And then promptly put them into a dark mug. *Panned.* But they turned out delicious for once, and I put them in apple juice in a clear glass when I remembered. Get them at your nearest Asian food mart today~!

For My Brother

Good afternoon all. Very suddenly yesterday evening, my tuxedo cat Sebastian, displayed severe lethargy [he limped as though one of his hind legs were broken] and refused to eat or drink. He barely made it through the night, and this morning he was taken to the vet. Taking everything into consideration, I decided to have him put to sleep. In his memory, I just want to post a picture reel of sorts, of Sebastian being Sebastian.

Sebastian "Michaelis" Cross, little brother demon butler yakuza boss cat. Gone, but not forgotten. Rest softly, boy, and take long naps in the sun.

From here, looking up to you,

Big Brother

Blog Music IV

Good afternoon everyone, happy weekend~. It seems that this has become the regular instead; I will take what I can, so that when other things come up I can add to the frequency of posts. A short post today, but I'm hoping to get to some cosmetic reviews next. And I think I'm going to just count the music changes in the roman numerals unless it's a very special interlude. Hopefully I'll remember how to keep track of them like that, ahaha.

Alas~ I didn't end up changing the music for February, but perhaps it's better to give it a month or two. March is here, so I thought, oh yes, I'll definitely do it at some point. Thus, the selection process began. I don't think I have a method to this madness either, yet right now there is still a video game theme [this might be a subconscious leaning due to the increased amount of GSO related things happening this year]. I hope this does not deter anyone, rather, on the contrary, is a means to broaden the range of musics you might enjoy. 

This game in particular, is also a highly lauded game for it's style as surpassing regular game expectations, and becoming a work of art.

In Japanese: 'Wander's Journey'. The OST is titled 'Roar of the Earth.'

Shadow of the Colossus is now one of my favorite games, and this soundtrack does play a part in my love for it. The story is straightforward, but at the same time ambiguous, the graphics are good for the time [already a game 7 years old, though recently re-released in HD], and as a game, it is still rewarding as far as gameplay. The track I selected is 'To The Ancient Land', the prologue/intro piece. I'll admit, I wouldn't be able to relate this much to the fashion roots or content of this blog, so perhaps it really is just my gamer subconscious being channeled into it, ahaha. Nonetheless, I hope you all will enjoy it. 

Do you have a few favorite songs outside of your usual listening zone? What's a genre that you don't generally listen to, but still found an exception? What are your thoughts on video game music as a separate genre?

Into the new week, everyone~ take care. ^_^

Eternally yours,

Il Ruinante Isaak

And now for something [else] completely different.

Good afternoon everyone~ how's the weekend been? Obligatory mention of Sunday relaxation. I'm trying to be semi-productive by straightening my hair, replaying Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow, sewing a button back on, reading Noblesse, and going over GSO music in some sort of cohesion [Noblesse is winning]. Another week down. What am I counting down to? [Hmmm... I guess Otakon now, so very far away...] Well, that aside, as the title states, I had some fun on Friday.

This semester at least, I don't have class or work on Friday, so more often than not, I'll be staying home. This past Friday though, two of the student groups on campus I'm involved in were having fundraisers, so I came out to lend manpower and promotional support. In hindsight I think I somehow managed to mash both aesthetics of the groups [Japanese American Student Association (the ever popular JASA) and Satanic Mechanics Theater Company (no affiliation with Satan or car repair)] together without trying.

Yukata: Handmade

Hakama: Japan

Armwarmers: Hot Topic

Boots: Demonia

Of course, no day dressed in hakama is complete without a few pictures with Yasumisame. Ever faithful, simple and elegant, Yasumisame is my ferocity in modesty [...whut?].

I do know basic kendo strikes, but this is just posing for the camera, haha. ^_^

With one sleeve pulled up, I actually feel more like an archer.

The hakama and boots combination was apparently a somewhat popular style for ladies after the Meiji Restoration in Japan [around the 1860s]. That was the thought I had in my head when I was thinking about what I wanted to wear on Thursday [it is a rare occurrence indeed, for me to plan my outfits, especially a whole night beforehand]. It's hasn't gotten back to being cold enough to snow, but it was still chilly, and it rained [so I'm glad I threw on the arm warmers as an extra measure]. I suppose if I had to type this, it would be a neo-fuedal, cyberpunk samurai style. I will probably wear this again come Cherry Blossom season, if not sooner.

Do you have any clothes from a different era of time? If so, do you get to wear it that often? What would be your favorite crossover styles of old and new?

March is almost upon us now, look forward to some new music~

Eternally yours,

Il Ruinante Isaak

Katsucon 12 Highlights [My... Special Coffin?]

Good morning, everyone, aaaaaah what in the world am I doing here so early? Well, if I have to be up, then let's make the most of it [this is disregarding the fact that a) half the time my usual goal is try and salvage semi-sleep when awake this early, and b) that I could be doing something else a little more urgent at this moment]. Also, since this is a derailment from the norms of the blog, I didn't want to put this off too much before it became overly irrelevant [like a birthday post did... eheh heh...]. Saa~ minna, if you will, a brief memoir of Katsucon 2012.

Like last time, I only went for one day. I'm okay with this, because the one day pass is cheaper, and realistically, I'd only go on Saturday and maybe Sunday anyway, since I'd usually have class on Friday. I also drove myself; I'm terrible with directions and wary of misinterpreting signs, but I made it alright [then I remembered I need directions going back, ahaha...]. Also like last time, I didn't dress up in a full cosplay; I wanted full mobility, and not be detracted as much with being photographed myself [I will do a full cosplay if I go the whole weekend though]. The majority of the day was spent standing in the registration line, photographing [yaaaay~ a Sengoku Basara group was there~], Streetpassing with other 3DSers, and shopping like a psycho otaku that I am. I had quite a haul for just one day [equivalent to roughly three days at Otakon]. 

MORE PINS~ MUAHAHAHAHA~! Also a new bag at last [though I still use the Hellsing one.]

But truly the best finds of the day were the face mask down in the front, and that big old red book in the upper right corner. Why you ask~?

And yet another thing on my person that jangles.

Well, first, the face mask. It wasn't terribly expensive for what it was [$10], has given me some inspiration for the one I still plan on making--in terms of design, accessories, and material--, and perhaps the best of all, it does not fog up my glasses when I breathe. This is a very important point for me, as one might guess, because if I'm wearing a mask for when I'm actually sick on top of wanting to look formidable, I tend to be even more miserable having to deal with not being able to see half the time.

It's probably because of the swimsuit-esque material.

This one will be going out with me a lot for weekends in Visual Kei. Since the safety pins are removable, no da, I might substitute them with a lighter brooch if I want to add some sort of neo-Aristocrat touch to it.

As for that big red book? That, my friends, is 'Coffin: The Official Artworks of Vampire Hunter D' by Yoshitaka Amano [gamer fans may know the name as the illustrator of Final Fantasy artworks]. 

Includes color pages not shown in the novels, and an exclusive short story.

I saw this book in a Barnes&Noble several years ago while window shopping on a double date or summat, and immediately desired it. I didn't even know what Vampire Hunter D was; the author of the novels, if it was a movie, whatever, nothing. I just wanted to have it. It was $60, which I didn't have on me at the time. So I lightly thumbed through some of the pages, probably gaping like a fish, then put it back on the shelf, and forgot about it after a while.

 

In that time, I've acquired the VHD movie and several volumes of Takaki Saiko's manga adaptations, and in general become a fan of Hideyuki Kikuchi's legacy work [my shadow has even told me I should cosplay as the titular character D]. So when I saw this artbook in a booth at Katsucon, those dormant desires from way back when flared up ten-fold in combination with my fandom. 

Needless to say, if I ever did cosplay D, it would be one of the most intensive ones ever.

I would've bought it no matter the price, but the conventions gods loved on me; the seller put it out for $30. He also mentioned something about it being out-of-print, so if that's true, it'll probably be worth hundreds somewhere down the line. Maybe. Who knows? Even if it's not, I'm happy to have it.

Do you have any special promotional works for books or movies you like? Have an autographed piece that you'll hold onto forever? Any series that you love enough to buy a collectible item for? Hahaha, that pretty much defines otaku.

My this week flew~! What on earth have I been doing? Class? Eh?

I thank you for your indulgence, everyone.

Eternally yours,

Il Ruinante Isaak