Fashion | Liz Lisa (リズリサ) Autumn 2013 Collection (Japanese Fashion)

Concept: Royal Wonderland French Retro & Pop. All pictures taken from the from the Liz Lisa Kawaii Magazine on the Liz Lisa official website.

Liz Lisa is of course slightly iconic when it comes to gyaru fashion, practically everyone has heard of this brand so of course I had to take a sneaky peek at their Autumn and Winter Collection! I love it! It's oh so cute but still with a mature style, and I love the colours that they've been using, particularly the mauve-toned browns in their checked dresses. I also love the brown and cream-toned beiges and camel colours they've used, everything looks so nice!

The things I particularly love are the checked dresses and shorts, I think they're absolutely adorable and really versatile, you could dress them up or down for day or night, office wear, you name it. I'm not a fan of getting my legs out at any time so I'd of course wear tights with them, but I think that'd still be fitting as it's an A/W collection, and going bare legged in a British Winter is not a possibility ahahahaha. I think the jump suits would be more suitable for the cold weather with the long pant legs, plus they're just amazing; they look so smart but so stylish, I'd feel happy wearing one of them any time of the day :) The jackets are super cute as well, although I'm not as big a fan of the trench coat sadly, but that's just my personal taste in coats, I'm more of a black and boring coat girl ahaha.

I want to take this whole separate paragraph to talk about the shoes in this collection. I don't normally go gaga over shoes, I've only worn two pairs this whole year, but OH MY GOD. Those shoes look gorgeous!! I'm a massive fan of the platforms you can see in the first few pictures, but then I'm also a massive fan of the wedges and platform trainers in the next few pictures. There are shoes in this collection for any and every occasion, and I want them all!! Someone buy me those platform heels and platform trainers, pretty please :'( </3

I'd say Liz Lisa were more renowned for their super cute, super frilly, more Hime gyaru style. However, I feel now that the design of Liz Lisa's clothing has matured slightly over the years, and while there is still some lace, the lack of it in this collection compared to some of their previous ones is quite stark, and there's only fluff on a couple of pairs of shoes as far as I can see. I managed to find an image of Liz Lisa's 2009 Autumn & Winter Collection for comparison, which you can see below.

Practically every single item in the image above has lace on it, and there's fur lined coats, hats, boots, neck warmers, etc., and the brown colour theme is a lot darker, although there a couple of smart pieces still. I'd say that this 2013 collection is leaning more towards Otana gal style, whilst still keeping everything kawaii ahahaha. Liz Lisa seem to have moved away from how they've designed and styled previous collections, such as the 2009 one above, and brought in a more mature, but still super cute range of A/W clothing. 

I wrote a lot again ahahahaha, sorry!! :') What do you think of Liz Lisa's 2013 Autumn & Winter Collection? Do you like gyaru and Japanese fashion? Leave a comment and let me know! :)

Bye! x

Follow me on Bloglovin' by clicking the button below!
Follow

Anime | Just Watched: Deadman Wonderland (デッドマンワンダーランド)

So my best friend Ashleigh came over for the Bank Holiday Weekend, and as well as devoting ourselves to vodka two nights in a row, in our semi-hungover states we managed to devour all twelve episodes of this amazing series we found called Deadman Wonderland (デッドマンワンダーランド). This series had us hooked within the first few minutes of the first episode, as it started the whole series off with a bang, and leaves you genuinely needing to watch every single episode for some clue as to how and why these events occurred.

The series revolves around a fourteen year old boy called Ganta Igarashi, whose entire class was slaughtered in front of his very eyes by a "Red Man". This Red Man embedded a red crystal within Ganta's chest as a parting gift, and left him as the sole suspect of the massacre, with Ganta being given a Death Sentence in prison for this crime. Ganta is then sent to Japan's only privately owned prison: Deadman Wonderland, a theme-park style incarceration facility...


The prison has a few ways of life, in particular the three Cs: Collars, Candy, and Cast Points. Every inmate wears a Collar that slowly injects a lethal poison into the wearer's bloodstream; three days of this and you die, unless you eat a Candy. These Candies are peculiar sweets that combat the Collar's poison, and can be acquired via various prison activities, or purchased with Cast Points. Cast Points are the prison's currency, which are also earned via prison activities. These activities are mainly spectacles for the public to enjoy, and are performed in front of live audiences, as well as involve death for a lot of the prisoners who compete.

Thankfully for Ganta, he has the help of Shiro, an odd and mysterious girl who he used to know as a small child, and who possesses amazing strength and agility, and appears to live in the prison somewhere, despite not being a prisoner. Shiro is an excellent contrast to the dark and gory aspects of this anime series, as she acts like a child, driven only by her love for Ganta and snacks. Whenever it seems like things are getting a bit too much within the prison, Shiro is there to provide childlike wonder and innocence, effectively neutralising any feelings of depression felt by Ganta (or by the audience) as best she can.

The gore is ever present within Deadman Wonderland, especially given the abilities of the Deadmen and now, thanks to the Red Man's crystal, Ganta of being blood manipulators. These Deadmen are special prisoners hidden from the rest of Wonderland, who possess the Branches of Sin, which gives them the power to transform their blood into weapons. Each of the Deadmen are forced to participate in fights to the death using their Sin in horrific one on one matches knows as Carnival Corpse, which are run by the Promoter and bid on by anonymous spectators. Despite the dog eat dog world of Deadman Wonderland, Ganta manages to befriend some of his fellow Deadmen, and continues on his hunt to find the Red Man and prove his innocence...

So, basically, Deadman Wonderland is AMAZING. Neither I nor my friend could get enough of this series, it's beyond interesting and we spent half as much time analysing every little detail as we did actually watching each episode. Its storyline is so freaking unique, and kept us guessing with every twist and turn. I've never seen an anime like this one before, and ignoring the OVA, I wish that more episodes could be made! This kind of leads me on to my next point;

As I've found with a lot of one series animes, a hell of a lot of questions go unanswered. I do wish some more things had been covered, but I feel that this may be due to the fact that they're only allotted twelve episodes to get their whole story out, and some things need to be cut in order to properly develop some characters, or to get to a semi-conclusive ending. The ending was, in fact, a really intriguing and ambiguous way to end it, they didn't just cut out some characters or abruptly end the series like I've seen with some, and instead gave it what I think is the most perfect and suitable open ending that Deadman Wonderland could get. Overall:


Plot: ♥♥♥♥♥
Visuals: ♥♥♥♥♥
Audio: ♥♥♥♥♥
Characters: ♥♥♥♥♥

Recommendation: YES. I cannot stress this enough. DW is an absolute home run. I had to add in Characters as a new category because this anime did a supremely good job at fleshing them out with a backstory, save for the one you want to learn about the most, but that was kind of the point. This anime keeps you on the edge of your seat all the way through, and if you like anime, for the love of crap watch this one right now.

Have you heard of Deadman Wonderland? Do you like watching anime?

Bye! x

Follow me on Bloglovin' by clicking the button below!
Follow

Beauty | Bellápierre Cosmetics Shimmer Eye Powder in Calm Review

eyeshadow on its own

final look

final look with flash

I very gladly received this eyeshadow from Look Fantastic after I was unable to attend their Midsummer Meet (I worked alongide the girls, I wasn't given special treatment against other bloggers). This eyeshadow is absolutely delectable, and I feel is absolutely perfect to wear for either day or night.

I've never really used a mineral eyeshadow before, but I'm definitely glad that I follow so many of you wonderful beauty bloggers who have down, as I'd read in advance to be warned of the colour payoff that you can get from them. However, this didn't stop me from looking like I had two black eyes the first time I wore this eyeshadow ahahaha :')

Thankfully this time I got the amount on that I needed, and was surprised at the lack of fallout that other bbloggers had warned of. Definitely a plus! I wasn't too sure how to use this eyeshadow at first, as you can see from the images I ended up just tipping a bit out in the lid so that I didn't spill any, and saves me from ever wasting any leftover.

Overall I'm really impressed by this eyeshadow, it lasts foreverrrrrrr! I wore this last night out for drinks with a friend, and it survived a messily drunken evening, and as I forgot to take my makeup off that night, I found it still there in the morning without even an eyelid crease! I am slightly disappointed it's not as shimmery and sparkly as the pictures with flash make it appear, but I still like it in the flesh, and something that shimmery wouldn't be suitable for day wear.

Colour: ♥♥♥♥
Payoff: ♥♥♥♥♥
Longevity: ♥♥♥♥♥
Recommendation: Yes, if you're looking for a long lasting eyeshadow that comes in a variety of gorgeous colours this is just what you need :)

You can buy it online at the Bellápierre website. Follow me on Bloglovin' by clicking the button below!
Follow

Manga | Just Read: The Demon Ororon (悪魔のオロロン)

Ororon was one of the first manga books I ever read. At the time I think I'd only ever read Fruits Basket and thought that was essentially all manga had to offer me, and so this really opened up a whole slew of new genres for me. On a side note, Fruits Basket is in my top 5 manga series of all time, just saying.

I originally had the first two books in the series, however when I was planning on moving out with a previous boyfriend, I put away a few of my manga books and Xbox games in boxes in my parent's house, and they haven't been seen since. I'm being forced to wait until my parents have to clear out the garage when they get the kitchen re-done this Autumn, but being as impatient as I am, I decided to do some cheeky reading online of Ororon as I never finished the series, and voilà, that's how we've ended up here.

The Demon Ororon revolves around Ororon, of course. He is the King of Hell, otherwise known as the King of Devils, but he is not actually the main character of this story. The series revolves around Chiaki, a 15 year old girl (yes, the small boy on the front cover above is a teenage girl, I was fooled too) who has had the misfortune all her life of monsters, bogeys, ghosts, spirits, and the like coming up to her looking for help or salvation.

Chiaki one day finds Ororon bleeding in an alleyway, and winds up bringing him home to heal. In repayment for her kindness, Ororon says that he'll grant her one wish, to which Chiaki asks that he stay with her forever. Chiaki wishes this because she doesn't want to be alone; her parents have been gone since she was born, her Grandfather who raised her passed away last year, she doesn't leave the house because of the spirits who seek her, the general public avoid her because monsters are attracted to her, and the one friend she has, Lika, is moving away.

Ororon agrees to stay with her because he is tired of being the King of Hell, as everyone since he was a child has tried to kill him. He fled to Earth with the injuries Chiaki found him with after his most trusted advisor tried to murder him. He discovers that Chiaki's father is the great archangel Michael, making her half angel. As the series progresses, we learn that she is not just "angel meat", and, in fact, may be something entirely more powerful...

I do genuinely really like this series, however, despite the promising premise of it, the plot wanes thin a few books into it. You'll pass through chapters that are 90% monologue, one of the characters contemplating life and death and good versus evil, while there is something genuinely interesting happening outside of their heads. It can be frustrating, and the fact that it ends pretty much abruptly and not in the way that anyone would hope really killed it for me. It left a lot of things unanswered, and left probably not only me, but all readers of the series, wondering what the fuck happened to al the characters. There was SO MUCH the author could have done with everyone, and it left me quite angry, especially with the ending they chose. Ugh.

Either way, I would recommend this series for those who like shoujo manga, and those who like gore, as there's a lot of it. It's described as a "romantic tragedy" on Wikipedia, and I think the tragedy part is quite fitting, although there's only about 2% romance and given the cut off ending and the author's penchant for killing off characters, none of it really had the chance to be explored. Pity.


Plot: ♥♥♥
Characters: ♥♥♥♥♥
Artwork: ♥♥♥♥
Recommendation: I'm going to say yes, it's definitely worth a read. The idea behind the plot is interesting, and the characters are interesting, but it wasn't delivered well, and I wish there had been more backstory. But then again I wish a lot of things with this manga. If you get attached to books or characters easily, then this may not be the series for you. I'm currently left feeling a little heartbroken and betrayed, so you've been warned, but at the end of the day I can't help but love this series.

You can find it on Amazon here. Follow me on Bloglovin' by clicking the button below!
Follow

Fashion | Emoda (エモダ) Autumn & Winter 2013 Magazine Vol 1 (Japanese Fashion)

All pictures taken from the from the Emoda Autumn & Winter 2013 Magazine on the Emoda official website on Fashion Walker. The below are my favourite picks.

Have to say, I really like this collection as well! So far, from what I've seen from the Autumn & Winter collections of gyaru brands, I'm seriously impressed. This Collection seems to have just two main themes throughout: dark floral patterns and casual style clothing. The florals in this collection are really red toned too, although I did see a blue version of the trousers in Emoda's shop on FW, and they looked really nice!

The two piece in the second picture and the outfit in the last picture are I think my two favourite looks from the ones I've chosen. I reallyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy love the dark red colours! It's completely typical, but I do like wearing darker toned colours in colder months... and in general. Bright just doesn't suit me! :') I will never be able to pull off the neon trend, and I've accepted that ahahaha.

In terms of the casual clothing style, seeing as I currently can't really control my appetite or, subsequently, my weight (which I'm completely blaming on the side effects of "increased appetite" and "weight gain" of my new medication, ughhh I'm such a fat fuck right now it's really getting me down :'( segway!), I love the look of the loose fitting smock jumper tops. The jersey material is supposed to be really big in gyaru this season :)

Whilst it's not quite my cup of tea, the look of the grey, white, and black all together also looks really good! I can't see it on myself at the moment (see above depressed statement of weight gain aigo~), but I love the knee socks, and the simplicity of the co-ordinate. Playsuits are pretty much my FAVOURITE thing to wear, ever. So I'll definitely be purchasing the one above, it looks sooooooo nice with the white floral t-shirt underneath. Given that I love the first volume of the collection so much, I am super excited to see what else Emoda are going to bring out! :D

Do you like Emoda? What do you think of their Autumn and Winter Collection?

Bye! x Follow me on Bloglovin' by clicking the button below!
Follow

Beauty | Missha Smudge-Proof Pen Eyeliner Review (Korean Cosmetics)

 Different width lines - without flash

 Different width lines - with flash

 Smudging attempt

 Applied

 Applied with flash

 Applied without flash

Finished look

So, the Missha Smudge-Proof Pen Eyeliner (updated link; original from iamlove-shop no longer available) was the last of the three Korean make-up products I bought before my spending ban was put in place :( I've been saving this one for as long as I can, but it looks like it's more wish lists until September 12th! Dammit.

Anyway, I do actually really like this eyeliner! Although, due to it's fine nib and my penchant for rather heavy make-up (never really grew out of my emo/scene kid phase ahahaha), I don't tend to use it for the main line, I tend to use my long term favourite Soap & Glory Supercat Eyeliner Pen but instead for the inner corners and outer lengthening or flick. I find that it's really good for this, it stays true to its word and doesn't smudge in the slightest, so my flick and inner corners stays put all day long :)

I've also actually been trying to keep my eye make-up quite light recently, and I've been recreating the look above with this Missha eyeliner every time I put make-up on. It's excellent for tightlining, and really helps to create a defined eye make-up look without being too heavy. I wore this look to a job interview yesterday, so let's hope the interviewer likes Korean cosmetics?! :')

I don't have much else to say on this eyeliner, it does exactly what it says on the tin!

Colour: ♥♥♥♥♥
Pay Off: ♥♥♥♥
Longevity: ♥♥♥♥♥
Recommendation:

Yes, this is a great eyeliner! :)

Bye! x Follow me on Bloglovin' by clicking the button below!
Follow

Anime | Just Watched: Karneval (カーニヴァル)

I recently finished watching a thirteen episode long josei anime series called Karneval. I first discovered it on Tumblr when I was reblogging Fairy Tale gifs and saw some beautiful, action-packed gifs of what I then learnt was Karneval (カーニヴァル).

Karneval is based on a manga series of the same name by Touya Mikanagi, and revolves around two guys called Nai (white hair) and Gareki (black hair). Nai is looking for Karoku, a man he used to live with who took care of him, and then one day left and never came back. The only trace of him was blood on the sand and a bracelet, which Nai wears at all times. Gareki saves Nai, who was imprisoned by a Varuga - a human who has been altered to become a monster inside and also out, displaying horrible powers and strength.

When escaping, they encounter two members of Circus, the most powerful defence organisation for the government. These members recognise Nai's bracelet as an out of date Circus I.D. bracelet (one which gives the wearer extraordinary fighting skills and powers), and take him and Gareki with them back to their ship. What follows from there in the series is these two, along with Yogi (far right) and Tsukumo (far left) as their protectors, and the many dangers and adventures they encounter as Nai searches for Karoku, and Circus tries to take down the organisation Kafka, the source of the Varuga.


I literally just finished the last episode, and OH MY GOD, THE FEELS. This anime really knows how to tug at the heartstrings, it's all about loss and danger, and the importance of finding friendship and a makeshift family even in the darkest of times. It looks gorgeous, the outro track is extremely catchy, and the plot line is really incredible, it's very detailed and tries to give all of the characters a back story. I really hope there's a second series, because IT CANNOT END LIKE THIS. Gareki-kunnnnnnnnnnnnnn!!!

Plot: ♥♥♥♥♥
Visuals:♥♥♥♥♥
Audio:♥♥♥♥♥
Recommendation: OH MY GOD YES WATCH THIS NOW. Follow me on Bloglovin' by clicking the button below!
Follow

Fashion | Duras (デュラス) Autumn Collection Catalogue 2013 (Japanese Fashion)

All pictures taken from the Duras 2013 Autumn Catalogue from the Duras official website. The below are my favourite picks.

"Grayish Charm" Expressing "Autumn & Winter" with Grayish Charm. Creating the "Real Style" of Feminine Looks, which enhance Women's style.
So the concept is "Grayish Charm", although so far I can't see any grey in the collection; however this is only the Autumn part of Duras' A/W 2013 Collection as far as I can tell. The catalogue only had "Autumn 2013" on the front cover, so I'm going to take a chance and say I'm looking forward to the Winter section :D
I am LOVING the colours in this collection! The colour themes seem to be practically the opposite of the ones seen in the Rienda A/W 2013 Collection, whereas Rienda featured lots of jewel-toned blues and some dark red/wine hues, the Duras collection features strong themes of green and purple. I loveee the greens! I do actually tend to wear some dark greens and purples in the colder months, so I think I'm definitely going to be purchasing a few items :)
They didn't put any co-ordinates in this catalogue like Rienda did with theirs, so I think I'm going to do some investigating in to who their regular models are to check out how they're styling this collection. Looking forward to seeing real-life styled outfits!
What do you think of the Duras Autumn 2013 Collection? Do you like Japanese fashion?
Bye! x Follow me on Bloglovin' by clicking the button below!
Follow

Lifestyle | Manchester International Tattoo Show

THIS IS A VERY PICTURE HEAVY POST. APOLOGIES IN ADVANCE.

The idiot hipster douche getting the teepee tattooed on his forehead

Amazing Walter White (Breaking Bad) art!

The circus-esque show

Stuffed animals for sale... :|

This poor girl must have well thought I was taking her picture ahahaha

Fortune teller :o I really want to go one someday, but there was a queue for this guy

The sort of rest area, with a tattoo babe photoshoot happening in the background

Tattoo babe magazine photoshoot

So on Sunday myself, A and a few of his friends took a trip along to the Manchester International Tattoo Show. One of his friend's brother was working there as a promoter for his tattoo magazine, and managed to score us some free tickets in! :)

The show itself was a compilation of the weird and wonderful, and tattoo artists of all different styles and locations had gathered here to show off their skills and various artwork. Everyone was so talented, I became smitten with a few of them and their beautiful art; I stood watching a guy get a drawing-style tattoo of an elephant on his leg for about twenty minutes, purely because the tattooist's shading skills were amazing!

As you can see above, they put on a show of fire and snakes and gymnasts, it wasn't the best and it didn't keep my attention for long, but it was pretty good. As we were leaving the Show another group (or maybe the same group) were about to put on a trapeze act, which I was a bit disappointed that we were missing but we'd already been there a few hours.

It was really fascinating watching dozens of people willingly sit themselves in a stall for everyone to ogle and get tattoos done. One guy, this stupid hipster douche, went and got a tattoo on his head. The picture's above, from what I could see when it was done it was a tattoo of a teepee... I have absolutely NO idea why this dude decided to get that done; maybe it's some kind of secret hipster symbol, like the Illuminati? Whatever. He's going to regret that soooooooo bad in like, five years when his hairline recedes!! Idiot.

I personally don't have any tattoos, I've always shunned them in favour of weird facial (in my teen years - I've even had my antibrow pierced) and ear piercings as piercings aren't permanent; you can take them out and the scars will fade. Although saying that you can still see my lip piercing scars and it's been like, three years! I have this paralysing fear that I'd regret a tattoo if I ever got one, so I just can't bring myself to get one. This made me a little sad whilst walking round, as all the sketches and tattoos being done looked absolutely gorgeous.

This was a really fascinating day, and it was really interesting seeing all the different styles of tattoos and all the different people that had them or were getting them. I'd love to go again just to see all the pretty colours and shapes as I walked round, so hopefully I'll get to go again next year!

Did any of you go the International Tattoo Show in your area this year? Do you have any tattoos? Let me know in the comments!

Bye! x Follow me on Bloglovin' by clicking the button below!
Follow