Emmy-Nominated Costume Showcase

As I was walking around Valley Fair Mall, I noticed this display of costumes. The display is gone now so, sorry that I didn't post about it sooner!



The costumes were from Mad Men, Downton Abbey, Boardwalk Empire, Once Upon a Time, Deadwood, Killing Lincoln, Killing Kennedy, Family Tree, and Game of Thrones. I seriously oo-ed and awe-d for like 30 minutes and would have for longer, but I had to leave. I wish I could have gone back for pictures of each individual costume. I didn't even get all the angles of it as a group, because I didn't know we could take pictures, until late.

These two are from Once Upon a Time for Mrs. Mary Darling. In the back facing the camera is one from Mad Men for Jane Sterling. The ones not facing the camera in the back are from Deadwood: yellow in the back is for Janie Stubbs and purple is for Alma Garret.

From left to right of the dresses facing the costume: Boardwalk Empire - Margaret Thompson, Mad Men - Peggy Olson, Killing Lincoln - Mary Todd Lincoln, Family Tree - Rebecca Schmelff Chadwich

I actually had time to send in this info and this Martha Levinson (Downton Abbey) costume to DowntonAbbeyAddicts.com though >.<

The Game of Thrones actually had a display case of it's own!

Sadly there was no legend for these though. I don't actually watch Game of Thrones, so I cannot identify any of the costumes. I really want to start watching it though.

When I went to Wondercon 2011, I was actually able to see a few costumes there, and they were so glorious as well. I wish I could share the photos, but my computer broke in May of 2011, so I lost all of my pictures from before then. It was a great promo for before the show came out. They even had the throne where they take your picture on it. They posted all the pictures online, some people had really great poses, I wish I wasn't so shy! So, here's a bonus picture of the throne (but with me sitting in it >.<)

{Movie} Thor: The Dark World

I totally had a get-together with Chris Hemsworth and Natalie Portman and we did a little photoshoot for their movie, Thor: The Dark World aka Thor 2.

So really now, My boyfriend and I went out to watch the new Thor movie the Night it premiered in theaters. We went to the Metreon in San Francisco. They had showings every hour starting at 8 p.m.! We had planned to watch it at 10, but missed it by a couple of minutes, so we decided to watch the 11 o' clock showing. In the hour that we waited, we took a lot of silly pictures with the advertisements :)

He wanted to attack me for a second there, but then he apologized and then requested the highest of fives.

Tom Hiddleton, who plays Loki, also decided he wanted in on the photoshoot fun I had with Chris and Natalie. He's way bigger in real life.

And here's what we wore to watch the movie! Brendon went with a Thor shirt and I tried to go for a young SHIELD agent ready for action. I have my SHIELD badge on if you can see it. I got it at Wondercon 2011 (come back to San Francisco!!!).

It says I'm a level 1 SHIELD agent! Let me know if you'd like me to share an actual picture of it :]

This is actually the same outfit I wore to watch a Walk the Moon concert this past month. >.<

Outfit Rundown:

Top, Jacket, Pants: Forever 21

Shoes, De Masque

{OOTD} Red in Boots #throwbackthursday

Hello all, another #throwbackthursday OOTD post. Totally looks like it belongs on a social networking site huh? Please excuse this lack of enough effort post and refer to my previous post.

This dress is actually for sale on my Poshmark here. This was back in October of 2011.

Rundown:
Dress: Forever 21
Leggings: Target
Boots: Jessica Simpson from Macy's

Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda - International Day of Solidarity for thesurvivors

Sorry for my late post, I've been much busier than usual. I had a different post planned, but I thought I should share this instead.

If you haven't heard, a Super Typhoon hit the Philippines on November 7th. There's been over 10,000 deaths and so many people left in need of shelter, food, water, and medicine.

Today is actually the International Day of Solidarity for the survivors of Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda.

There will be a candlelight vigil at San Francisco State University at 5:30 p.m.

and at Martin Luther King Library in Downtown San Jose at 6:15 p.m.

If any of you are in the San Francisco Bay Area, California, please do think about attending or inviting others to attend.

We will be collecting donations at the vigils and will be sending them via NAFCON-USA.

If you would like to help, please donate through NAFCONUSA.org 

They are transparent about where their donations go. They give the money to grassroots organizations who are actually there in the Philippines doing ground work and will continue to help rehabilitate and rebuild communities long after the news reports.
http://nafconusa.org/2013/11/why-you-should-donate-to-peoples-organizations-for-typhoon-haiyan-relief/

** Cross-posted to my shop blog http://calamaridesigns.blogspot.com **

{Review} Daiso Sheet Face Masks

Daiso is a great place for cute Japanese items and they even have beauty products. Everything is $1.50 unless otherwise marked. At least, that's how it is for me in the San Francisco Bay Area.

BB Face Mask with Collagen/with Hyaluronic Acid

Price - This comes in a 2-pack, all for $1.50: basically 75¢ per mask. To clarify, it's not a variety pack. It's a 2-pack of the Collagen type or the 2-pack of the Hyaluronic Acid type.

Review - It's by far the prettiest packaging of the other Daiso masks I've seen, but that has nothing to do with the actual product.

Treatment - I'm not quite sure what it means by BB, but I can try to explain the Collagen and Hyaluronic Acid. I'm no expert, but I'll explain what I think from my research. Our skin contains Collagen and that breaks down over time. The thinking is that if we add collagen over our skin, it will help repair the existing Collagen. Smartskincare.com says that Collagen applied over the skin won't actually work because it cannot penetrate the skin. It would only just cover wrinkles and moisturize. Hyaluronic Acid can hold a lot of moisture, hundreds times it's weight, so it's great for moisturizing the surface of your skin. If used in a dry climate, it may actually pull moisture from your skin instead of the air.

Coenzyme Q10

Price - This comes in a 3-pack, all for $1.50: basically 50¢ per mask.

Review - It contains plenty of liquid product. It was cooling at first, but only because my body temperature is warmer than the sheet. It definitely warmed up after a couple of minutes. I had no additional feelings during application. After removal, directions say to pat the extra product on my face. It left my face feeling sticky, but soft and moisturized.

Treatment - I can't really say much about the Coenzyme Q10 treatment it is supposed to give since it was only one application. The package recommends application 2 to 3 times a week. I'm no expert, but from what I understand, Coenzyme Q10 is already in our bodies. It plays a role in producing energy and it is an antioxidant. Theoretically, it should help the skin repair itself and reduce damage caused by free radicals, however there is not enough research to prove this and it's possible that the amount of Coenzyme Q10 in most beauty products isn't enough to make a difference. I highly doubt that this cheaper product I think smartskincare.com has a good description of Coenzyme Q10 for skin products.

Honey and Pearl Pure Moisture

Price - These separately come in a 3 pack for $1.50 as well. 50¢ is such a great deal! It's still the best price I've come across so far. And just to clarify, it does not come in a variety pack, it's 3 honey or 3 pearl.

Review - Face did feel quite moisturized. I didn't smell anything for the pearl type, but the honey one was really overwhelming. It didn't quite smell good which did not make an enjoyable experience.

Treatment - The aim is to moisturize your face and it did just that.

Overall
I would recommend all of these products. I wouldn't depend on these for the Collagen, Hyaluronic Acid, and Coenzyme Q10 treatments as I can't really say these work. I don't really think that they will. Especially be careful with the Hyaluronic Acid type if you're in a dry climate though. I would just use these to occasionally pamper my skin for the moisturizing effect.  I'm just a girl with a taste for variety, so I decided to try many different kinds. I would go for these face masks, just for the moisturizing effect, just don't get the honey one!

With Daiso's low prices, I was very willing to try these all out spending $9 for 16 single masks (6 different types of masks).

Daiso also sells the sheets, so that you can make your own masks. I've never tried it before, but I've seen a few tutorials here and there on other blogs and youtube. Have you ever tried making your own mask before?

*This is NOT a sponsored post. I am in no way affiliated with Daiso. I bought all of these products with my own money. I am also not affiliated with smartskincare.com.*

{Review} Daiso Face Cleanser

So, I meant to buy the black one there as. Reccommended by a friend (it's a face mask that dries and you peel it off). I accidentally bought the grey one, which turned out to be a face cleanser. I should have known from the picture.

It comes in a tube, so it is hygenic. It's sealed as well, so you know if it's been used or not.

The product itself is grey and pretty thick. It's an interesting feeling to smear onto my face. My sister and I thought it was the face mask at first and spread it over our faces, and it obviously didn't dry like a clay mask.

It does however have a clay feeling when applied. Also, it doesn't completely feel as though it was all washed off when I rince. It's nice though because it doesn't seem to strip my skin of moisture. In the summertime, I actually did not feel the need to add moisturizer afterward. 

I wouldn't purchase this again because I have acne issues, and prefer my acne cleansers. However, I think it has it's uses and I still use it occassionally. It was a cheap buy, at Daiso's normal $1.50 price. I do think it's worth a shot if you are looking for a cheap cleanser and have dry skin though. 

*This is NOT a sponsered post. I purchased this product with my own money of my own choice.*

Halloween 2013

I know this post is a bit late, but I wanted to share what I did for the actual day of Halloween. I happened to get the day off work :) 

For Halloween, I went to Chipotle for their $3 come wearing a costume special, hung out with my friends at their apartment, went Trick-or-Treating, and ate at a Korean restaurant.

They're both wearing Giraffe Kigurumi and their cat is a Hot Dog! 

I am Marie from Aristocats. My boyfriend is Mako from Legend of Korra (Handmade, he did everything, except sew - which I did)

I actually also have an outfit rundown for this as well:

Dress: Forever 21

Jacket: Costco

Socks: Angelic Pretty

Headband: Forever 21

Ears: Disneyland

And bonus, I went to Cream in Palo Alto (not Halloween day) and got their Halloween special. It's mint chocolate chip ice cream in double chocolate chip cookies with orange sprinkles and fudge.

{Cosplay} The Eleventh Doctor - Halloween

Happy Halloween Everybody!

My cousin's birthday was a week ago and since it's so close to Halloween, everyone wore costumes. I decided to dress as the Eleventh Doctor of the Doctor Who series.

I know I pose awfully, but I really wanted to share something Halloween themed for the day. 

My outfit looks pretty ordinary if it weren't for the oversized fez and sonic screwdriver, it would have looked like I didn't dress up at all! Sadly I didn't have a proper bowtie (forgot it in SF and came straight from work), and was only able to clip a ribbon in. I did take the photo booth bow though! 

My whole cosplay is all store bought, so here's a run-down:

Fez: Hot Topic

Blazer: H&M

Top: Merona - Target

Jeans: Forever 21

Shoes: Payless

Have a great Halloween!

September/October Beauty Buys

Here all all my beauty buys for September and October!

I got more Biore Nose Strips and I decided to try out this Freeman Anti-Stress Mask. Reviews to come :]

I got more masks from Ichiban Kan and saw a coil hair removal item and decided that I'll try it out. I'm kind of scared though! Haha! 

The next two items are actually freebies because I won the Smashbox primer on their FB. And the Jo Malone fragrance was a giveaway when you send a digital peony on their website.

The freebie is half the size of mine! Mine's actually not the full size version either. I purchased it at the Sephora counter area.

The packaging was so lovely. It was quite wasteful to send that tiny bottle in a big box and to insert so much tissue, but it did seem very luxurious.

Origins was having a special where every purchase came with a box of deluxe samples. I bought the tinted moisturizer though.

I was actually just looking for eye cream when I bought this 3-step set. I saw that the eye cream by itself (same amount oz) was half the price of this set and I was already thinking of getting a night moisturizer as well which would have been the price of the set, so I decided to get it.

Please let me know if you'd like a review on any of these items in the comments below :]

September/October Fashion Buys

Too much shopping for me? Maybe...

Columbus Day Weekend had so many sales, it was too hard not to shop. 

I bought these two solid sweaters from Old Navy. I actually also bought plain black v-neck long sleeves and a belt (both purely for utilitarian purposes such as work, so I decided not to picture them here, but I can if anyone's actually interested).

I bought everything else from Forever 21. Four tops and five dresses. All pretty summer-y, but I think I can work them into my fall/winter wardrobe :)

I plan on using this under sweaters for a nice pop of color this fall.

I love love love this top! Also to be used under sweaters this fall. I love nautical themes, so I love the anchors! I didn't have chambray anything, so I've very excited to have this now. I one day want a plain chambray button up with long sleeves and a chambray dress.

Isn't this tank awesome? I got it to amuse my boyfriend. He's into reading superhero comics (not just Marvel). Anyways, he's totally my superhero ;]

I really only noticed the sale when I saw this window pane pattern blouse. I snatched it immediately. I later was lucky enough to find a dress with the same pattern in my size! I've been loving this trendy pattern ever since I saw Michaela Conlin wearing a blouse with it on Bones.

I'm so happy to have some pink dresses in my wardrobe now! I always seem to get in the mood for a super girly pink outfit whenever I want to wear a dress recently, however all of my dresses are black or blue.

I guess since I bought two pink dresses I had to add one more blue and one more black one! I'm pretty excited for this dress though since I think I'll be able to wear it a lot this fall and winter. I think it'd be great with leggings and boots. With a sweater and/or cardigan for fall, then a sweater and jacket for winter!

This maxi dress is pretty out of my comfort zone and I'm not sure if I want to keep it. It has a faux leather bodice and really thin spaghetti straps. It's actually even a little too long. I bought it though and I may wear it for a Halloween costume, but I'm still not sure.

Speaking of Halloween, what will you be dressing as this year?