Japanese hair dye, anyone? (Palty - Raspberry Macaroon)

I'm going to post something a little different on this blog today.  This goes with the "Vogue" section that I have started a couple of weeks ago.  The last time I got my hair dyed was ummmmm last year?  My roots have extended to the point that I started to have two toned hair.  Although I didn't hate the look completely, I also did not adore it.  Instead of spending ~$90 to get my hair dyed at my local salon, I decided to try out something new: DIY hair dye!

If you don't know, I'm Asian.  Meaning that I have rather dark hair that don't dye easily.  Due to my previous bad experiences with some salons in the US (ehem, sitting there for 4 hours to find out that my supposedly "red hair" has turned into "orange"), I have decided to purchase Japanese hair dye that is designed for Asian hair.

With their extremely cute design and bright pink packaging, Palty from Dariya has definitely captured my attention.  Since I just wanted to dye my hair a reddish-brown, I decided to choose Raspberry Macaroon (the decision might or might not have been made based on the name of the color >.>).  The dye itself was not cheap compared to the generic US dye products.  For $14, I got enough dye for my short hair.  However, $14 is much cheaper than $90.

Here's the awesome packaging

Where, below are some disturbing images of me, so beware...

The dye I got from Amazon.com

Before: if you ignore the derpy-ness, you will see that my poor hair is lighter at the end and the mirror is dirty

The dying process was simple, mix 1 & 2, shake shake, put on your hair.  I didn't really get anything dirty during the process.  The instruction sheet had a ton of information on how to do it "right."  However, since I started before I read the sheet...yeah oh well.  The sheet suggested on leaving the dye on for 20min, and I knew better than to follow the instruction, so I left it on for 40 instead.  According to the sheet, leaving it in for more than 40 min could severely damage your hair, so do it at your own risk. 

Here's the result:

I thought my hair was going to be a disaster when it was still wet, because the roots got really light and the rest was dark.  Anyhow, I think the dye worked pretty well.  The color was what I was going for and it matched the "expected color chart" at the back of the box.  I also used the conditioner that was included in the package.  It is not a wash-off conditioner, you put leave it in after you towel dry your hair.

I would say that the dye was enough for my hair, which means that it will not be enough for most people.  If you have hair more than twice my length, you should get at least 2 or 3 boxes.  I would use this hair dye again because it didn't damage my hair and I'm happy with the results :D

That's all for now~

Mimi

Usamimi Headbands!

  I have been so lazy lately (well, actually busy planning our trip to Orlando right after AZ), I apologize for the lack of updates on our blog.  Q_Q  Anyhow, I always had the desire to obtain a Usamimi headband since when I saw it on the old Asia Jam couple years ago.
  Usamimi, or rabbit ears, is basically the shape these headbands make on your head.  The pictures below shows some beautiful girls sporting them.

I think this is Kumikki lol but don't count my words on it.

Xiaxue - one of my fav. blogger.

and finally Masuwaka Tsubasa!

(I know...they all kinda look like the same person Q_Q it's not like I can change Asian's perception of beauty, don't judge!)
  Cute or not is up to you, but I do think this trend is cute and therefore wanted to obtain one or two of these headbands.  Now, in order to tie this in with our blog, I did find an anime example (lol).

I think she is from Lucky Star

also, if you are familiar with Lolita fashion, then you probably knew that BTSSB has also sold some of these usamimis.

Now, not only were these headbands hard to find on the internet, they were also super expensive.  How much do you think it's worth?  I think ummmmmmmm....maybe $5 - $10.  Since it's not very hard to make, I decided to try making one or two.  I found a couple of tutorials by googling "DIY Usamimi".  Some people have written extensive tutorials for these, so I won't repeat it.

Basically, I just bought some fabric from my local fabric store (1/4 yard), sew it together, put some wire in it, and Voila!  Super simple and fast if you have a sewing machine.  If not, just sew by hand.

I just folded this fabric in half and stitched both sides

This one was one of the quilting squares they sell at fabric stores.  I cut it in half and connected them to make a long strip.

The wire in the middle were taped so that it doesn't poke you later.

sewing

making the pointy "ear" part

final product modeled by Honekoneko (with Stuart in the back)

Me wearing it >.<

Me wearing #2 XD

Hope you guys liked it!!!  It takes about 20min to make each one!  :D

Mimi

Nekomimi Parka, those hoodies with ears.

Oh cat ears...I don't even know what to say about you.  I have grown so accustomed to their existence at conventions that my opinion of them has pretty much disappeared.  Where did cat ears originate?  Why do these harmless little ears have such bad reps sometimes? 

Well, the answer is "I don't know."  There just seem to be a cat girl character for everything.  Perhaps it's popularity has attracted a lot of negative attention?  Just like how you have to hate Naruto now because all the 10 year-olds are watching it, and all the new pokemons seem to be stupid because you only know the names to the original 151.  Or perhaps the association between nekomimi and furries is too strong that it just makes people feel grossed out.  

Either way, whether you wear nekomimi or not, it has become part of our fashion trend.  Let me introduce to you (if you didn't already know) the Nekomimi Parka (or cat ear hoodie), a wonderful creation that combines both cat ears and hoodies.  

It's cute, it's unique, and it is not too weird.  You can purchase these anywhere now, but my favorites are the ones made by the Japanese brand Putumayo.  

Aren't they just adorable?  No?  okay.... Q_Q  

If you feel that cat ears alone cannot make you feel satisfied due to your insatiable appetite in Anikawa (anime-kawaii) fashion, then you should try the hoodies that comes with cat paws or even ears from other animals such as rabbits, bears, and pandas.

Paws, anyone?

I think this is from a Korean brand called Dodo style.

Tare panda!!!

Anyhow, cute or not is up to you!  :P

~ Mimi ~

Some thoughts about Anime and Fashion

Hi Guys,

I have been thinking about this for a while now, but instead of just thinking about it, I thought I'd share my thoughts here.  I feel that due to the rise of anime popularity, there are some related fashion trends becoming popular as well.  I'm thinking about starting a special little peanut corner for anime-related fashion on this blog.  This section will cover everything from cute fashion trends I spotted from various anime/games/blah to some DIY projects.  I know this deviates from cosplay a little bit, but I feel that we could view it as "practical things from anime that we would want to wear IRL."  The tab for this section is going to be located on the top nav bar of our blog, it is labeled as "Anime Vogue."

Cool, I will be working on those posts then~
Mimi