Metamorphose Autumn Lucky Pack!

It's kinda scary how much of a hold Meta's Lucky Packs have on me. I managed to resist the previous one, the summer LP, because of the then impending trip to UK but ever since the Honey Picnic LPs came out last year, I think I've practically bought one each time Meta has one.

For the Autumn Lucky Pack, there were three possible packs you could get this time. And here's what I received:

 Raschel lace dress in white and the Fruit Soda tote-bag which is really roomy and pretty!

 I'm meh about the bloomers. I would rather have another pair of socks along with the Melody Poodle ones I got.

 And here's the cutsew I received. It's cute but so not me and it won't fit me either. There's hardly any give to the cutsew at all. So, Alanna of Macaron Hearts who also bought an Autumn Lucky Pack, exchanged the cream bolero she got in her pack for it. 

Default cream bolero received!

On first sight, I have to admit, the pack I got looks quite lacklustre and the colour combination is rather odd, to say the least. A white dress with black everything else?? Really, Meta??

Still, I really do like the raschel lace OP though, it was actually something I wanted to get for my pack when ordering, and I did get it! The secret raschel lace lover in me comes out here with a vengence. And I've tried the OP on and it fits nicely so that's a definite yey.

But the OP did feel fragile and delicate as I was trying it on, to the extent that I was quite scared that tugging the dress into place would rip the lace. Thankfully, nothing tore but I can see I will need to be quite careful when wearing the OP out.

So I'm keeping the OP, the bag, the bolero and everything else must go, lol. The bloomers have already been sold off so if anyone is interested in the Melody Poodle socks, let me know!

After reviewing the latest pack, I can only conclude my love/hate relationship with Metamorphose LPs will still continue...darn it!

AFA 2011, Atelier Royale, Kalafina and Kaname

Attended Anime Festival Asia 2011 which was last Sunday at Suntec City Convention Hall. Purpose really, besides milling around, was to attend the butler's cafe which is named Atelier Royale. So a butler cafe is basically the male offshoot of the moe moe maid cafes that are popular in Akihabara, Tokyo. In a true-blue Japanese butler cafe, Swallowtail for example, you're supposed to be treated and feted as if you were a sparkly princess by the butlers while there.

I had a blast attending the AFA cafe last year which was why I decided to go again for this year as well. But to be honest, the blast really didn't happen due to the Atelier Royale butlers but because of the company I was with then, Alanna of Macaron Hearts and Cherly. The cafe itself with the local homegrown butlers trying to emulate the real ones from Japan was ooooookay but as long as one don't take the whole affair seriously, it's actually weirdly enjoyable.

This year, Alanna and I, joined by Ivory and Feli this time round, attended Atelier Royale again. And Atelier Royale's 2011 theme was Alice in Wonderland so naturally this meant we had to be in loli when attending.

Service by the butlers was a lot better than for the previous year. More attentive than before and I got called 'Ojou-sama' clearly instead of the one who barely mumbled it for the 2010 cafe visit. Like, damnit, if I'm paying for a butler cafe experience, I jolly well expect to get the basic requirements, not least of which is to be articulately called 'Ojou-sama' by my assigned butler. And as said, I did notice an improvement in the service area as the butler assigned to us actually volunteered to stir my tea and sugar, lol. But unfortunately, he gets some points deducted for neglecting to wipe some spilt tea drops after stirring and I surreptiously cleaned the table myself with a napkin.

But improved service aside, the best bits of being at Atelier Royale this year was when we spotted Kalafina, who was holding a mini concert at AFA this year, there inside the cafe! The butlers were all over them, lol. But I would be too. Plus I think Kalafina was in Atelier Pierrot outfits as well!

A paparazzi shot of Kalafina by Ivory 

And the second highlight of being at Atelier Royale was when Kaname came in! For those not familiar with the cosplaying community, Kaname is a popular and sought-after professional cosplayer from Japan. Something like a regional celebrity in the cosplaying context. While no longer an active cosplayer myself, I can still appreciate the pains and dedication someone like Kaname puts into his own cosplays. And it helps that he is very good-looking with abs of steel, hur. And how do I know he has abs of steel? Because I had given him a hug, lol. What happened was his Singaporean minder was a mutual friend and when she saw us sitting at the cafe and waving to her, she dragged Kaname over to introduce him to us!

And as Kaname was cosplaying Sanji from One Piece, he was quite in-character and apparently, in the manga (I don't read One Piece!) Sanji is something of a skirt-chaser. So when Sanji came up, leering cutely at the bunch of lolitas, I looked at him and he looked at me and, 'Er, you want a hug?' popped out of my mouth, lol! Honestly, I was expecting a handshake and a bow really! But Sanji okayed me and so...we hugged! It was very funny really and I was laughing my head off when we were hugging. And at my age, I think it's pretty safe to hug younger men without surrounding fans (the Atelier Royale butlers were all over Kaname, I kid you not) mentally dissecting me to pieces =p

                    Afterwhich, we all had the requisite group photo but of course!

Pretty much my favourite photo of the day.

I'm wearing Atelier Pierrot's Tsubaki Toori OP in honor of Kalafina, haha. I originally was wearing a black corset with the OP but it didn't feel or look right so I borrowed a black bolero from Ivory in the end to wear over it.

I'm not very happy with my outfit, it's a beautiful OP and I could have coordinated it so much better, definitely. Oh well! But out of nowhere bonuses like Kalafina spotting and an unexpected Kaname hug and having these experiences together with good friends was lovely!

A Halloween Photoshoot - Cautionary Tales

For those who have already seen the post on egl, I apologise because you will be seeing the photos yet again! I wanted to do a post on Halloween itself but haha, I didn't manage to.

Presenting a guro-loli shoot that I did in honor of Halloween! Never done a guro-loli shoot before so the experience was interesting. I really love bright, vibrant colours for my photos and that preference shows in my post-editing, so it was a challenge to try a different kind of editing for this set of photos instead. I'm never sure about the end results but here you go!

Much love to my models, Alanna and Feli, who braved the heavy rains and mosquitoes on the day of the shoot! Alanna came up with the original concept of guro fairytales and we decided on Cinderella and Red Riding Hood. Finding fake blood and miscellanous props was rather last minute (oh who am I kidding?! VERY last minute, lol) but ah, the satisfaction of finding clear bling heels for Cinderella in Chinatown for a steal and at the eleventh hour makes me feel quite accomplished, heh.

Cautionery Tales - Cinderella

We all know Cinderella's story. How her fairy-godmother bequeathed a gown, a new hairstyle and glass slippers unto her so that she can attend the ball, marry the prince and live happily ever after.

But while the fairy-godmother told Cinderella to heed the stroke of midnight, as the coach will turn back into a pumpkin, her fine dress into rags, she neglected to mention that glass slippers would break.

Cautionery Tales - Red Riding Hood

Not a lot of folks know this but the 'Red' in Red Riding Hood's name wasn't always there. She was just, well, Riding Hood.

So how did the 'Red' end up in her name? It began when she went to visit Grandmama one day and a big, bad wolf followed her into the woods...

And I can never resist the headshots!