Have you ever been to Big Apple Comic Con? It’s a New York City convention that was founded by Michael “Mike Carbo” Carbonaro back in 1995.
I can’t believe this con is this weekend! It’s happening so soon… I thought I had plenty of time but I’m still not sure what to cosplay and/or wear. I have great memories from this con last year…
Mangaka Toshio Maeda
From meeting Toshio Maeda to moderating a panel with Lua Stardust to watching the cosplay contest, Saturday was a busy but fun day!
The con is centrally location near Penn Station, so transportation is easy (trains, subways, etc.). You can also easily find public places outside to do photoshoots at, and there’s plenty of great food options in walking distance from the con.
Click here to see photos from my Saturday shoot last year! (I still need to upload the rest of the photos… my backlog is insane, oops.)
And at every con in NYC, there’s gotta be at least one Spider-Man cosplayer!
I have no idea who the Spider-Man cosplayer in the above picture was, but he was epic and I’m glad he agreed to a quick photo with me! Spider-Man is still one of my all-time fave Marvel characters (ever since I read the Amazing Spider-Man as a teenager!).
You may have noticed my [Flashback Fridays] tag… I’m thinking of starting a new Flashback Fridays series where I write flashbacks to events or memories of the past. Do you like to reminisce? I love taking photos because if I don’t have photographic proof, I wonder if things never happened and they were simple dreams or made up in my imagination…
Click here to view a throwback to my first time at BACC (back in 2017!). It’s a gothic lolita look featuring my first lolita dress ever (a really old Bodyline JSK I got in high school).
If you’ll be at BACC tomorrow or Sunday, come say hi!
This Emptyland post covers September, October, November, December! I know I’ve been getting lazy with my Emptyland posts as time has gone on. I’m still debating whether or not to continue with this series. I think I will, but I’ll keep it simplified like I have since the Moving Edition post for Emptyland.
How was the end of your 2018 year? I didn’t use as many products as I thought I would, but I’m sure I’ll use up more products in 2019! I also realized that I didn’t use up any makeup products during September through December… Maybe I need to take a second look and purge some items that have been open for too long (yes, I’m a makeup hoarder).
Skincare
Here, you see some familiar Empties like the Cosrx Acne Pimple Master Patch and the Neutrogena Make-up Remover Cleansing Towelettes. Did you know the first appearance of the Acne Pimple Master Patch in Emptyland was my first time trying it? And it showed up in my first ever Emptyland post! As for a new product I tried at the end of 2018: it was my first time trying the Speedy Perfect Whip face wash, but I wasn’t a big fan. I didn’t feel like the Perfect Whip face wash cleansed my face as deeply as I would like a foaming wash to do. I loved the Perfect Watery Oil as a first step cleanser though!
I barely used any sheet masks during the last quarter, even though I should have since the winter air is cold and dry. I think I was feeling really stressed and short on time, and didn’t feel like putting a mask on my face for ten minutes. This year, I’ll definitely try to find more me-time so I can use more sheet masks! During the last few months, I used sleeping masks more since they were really easy to use and didn’t take much time. No sleeping mask jars are empty right now, but I’m sure one or two will make it to the next Emptyland post.
I’ve used the Blistex Silk & Shine before, and the Blistex Five Star Lip Protection is one that keeps coming back. It was my first time trying the Blistex Triple Essentials lip balm, and it was decent, but not as moisturizing as the Five Star one in my opinion. Check out the Five Star’s first appearance in Emptyland here!
Haircare
I don’t think I’ve ever had this many hair products in one Emptyland post before. I used up my first Fekkai shampoo and conditioner set, a chia seed dry shampoo from Hask, Olaplex No. 3, my first SheaMoisture product (pure argan oil), 2 sample sized Overtone deep treatments, and 1 full size Overtone deep treatment. The Rose Gold for Brown Hair treatment was a hot pink, and kept my pink hair vibrant over the weeks that I used it. I started using the Overtone products during late summer/early fall, so I think these products are good value for how long they lasted me as well as the color payoff. I have no idea how well the Rose Gold one works on brown hair, since I used it on hair that was bleached and dyed pink, but I’d love to try Rose Gold hair some time!
Rose Gold for Brown hair applied to the top half of my hair, regular Rose Gold applied to the ends
For another pink hair color care product, check out my thoughts on an Aprilskin product in my Emptyland: Summer Edition post!
Bodycare
For Bodycare, I used up two hand creams and one body wash. I’ve had that L’Occitane rose hand cream since I studied abroad in Geneva, Switzerland in 2015. I’ve been using it very slowly to make it last because I’m in love with the scent and it’s the best moisturizing hand cream I’ve ever tried. The Crabtree & Evelyn hand cream is nice but isn’t as rich. As for the Dove body wash, it feels moisturizing and is easy to use. A pouf or sponge is recommended, but I’ve used it with just my hands to lather it, and it works just fine.
Sample / Travel Size
From these samples, I don’t think I’ll be purchasing any full-size ones. Except maybe I’ll get another full size hand cream from L’Occitane… I love their hand creams! They’re expensive, but I find them to be the most moisturizing. And a little goes a long way (this tiny sample size lasted me almost a whole year in my purse).
I disliked the Extra Repair Moisturizing Balm from Bobbi Brown because it felt sticky and didn’t absorb well. It didn’t feel very moisturizing either… The Caudalie Vinosource Moisturizing Sorbet was light and absorbed quickly, but also didn’t provide much moisture for my dry winter skin. I had to layer on another cream after application to fight the dryness.
I like the Fresh Seaberry Moisturizing Face Oil but can’t justify buying a full size since I didn’t see any positive changes when using it. It just smelled nice and felt nice (which is nice if I get another free sample, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to purchase it).
I loved the Korres Wild Rose Advanced Brightening Sleeping Facial, but there are so many sleeping masks and similar products I want to try so I’m not sure if I’ll get around to ever buying a full size of this one. It smells lovely though, and was an easy cream to apply during the last step of night-time skincare! I am a sucker for anything rose…
Did you have any favorites that you tried at the end of 2018? Any new products you’re trying in 2019?
Unrelated to Emptyland, but I’ll be attending Katsucon 2019 Friday through Sunday (will be arriving tomorrow afternoon or evening, and leaving on Sunday afternoon). To check out what I’m doing during the con, follow my Instagram PearlPeony. I’ll try to post on Twitter (TreizeMacarons) and my Cosplay Facebook too. Hope everyone has a great rest of their week!
Hi everyone! Happy Holidays! And Merry Christmas to those who celebrate. My family doesn’t celebrate Christmas, so December 25 doesn’t feel any different than yesterday. But I figured this would be a perfect time to share photos from our holiday-themed winter photowalk in NYC!
Some of you may remember my blog post last year about Instameets. This photowalk was an Instameet too — I was invited to join the group by one of my friends, and to organize the photowalk, everyone conversed via Instagram group direct message.
PC: Stuffwhy
For the photowalk, I decided to do an ugly Christmas sweater outfit as my first-ever Deku cosplay! I have cosplayed Ochako from Boku no Hero Academia, but I’d never cosplayed Midoriya Izuku yet. He’s so cute, and I thought his hair color was perfect for the holiday season (it reminds me of a Christmas tree).
It was freezing cold that day, so I should have worn extra layers under my costume. I could have gotten away with it too, but it didn’t occur to me in my rush to get dressed that morning. I went to meet the group at Bryant Park, but they had already left that spot by the time I got there. It’s a photowalk and not photo-stay-at-the-same-spot, after all. >w< At least I got to see the pretty Christmas tree briefly in Bryant Park! It was super crowded there though.
PC: Boris Quezada
While I was in Bryant Park trying to figure out where to go, I used some holiday present ribbons (red and white striped, green) to wrap around my legs. I figured if I was wearing such an ugly Christmas sweater and a gift box on my head, I might as well turn my legs into Christmas presents too.
PC: JMW
Luckily, someone texted me where they were headed to so I was able to meet them near the Rockefeller Center area of Manhattan. We had a good-sized group of both photographers and models! Some were in cosplay and some were doing Christmas fashion (or technically they could be in femme! Santa Claus cosplay or sexy Mrs. Claus cosplay?). The below three photos were taken by Ismael Ordonez.
I loved the backdrops of giant ornaments and giant Christmas lights! So colorful and fun.
The photowalk continued on into dinnertime, but I left before dinner to commute back home. I like the flexibility of a photowalk, but I don’t think I’ll do another photowalk this winter. It’s so cold. I could see my breath the entire time, was mostly shivering, and had a runny nose from the cold weather. It also rained a bit that day!
I just realized my past Instameets were during cold weather too… I really need to check out an Instameet/photowalk during spring and/or summer! Have you ever been to an Instameet or photowalk?
And special shoutout to my friend Bambi who went to the photowalk with me and was kind enough to help me carry my winter jacket (not seen in the photos) and my bag. The baggy red sweater and scarf I was wearing on top of my ugly Xmas sweater were borrowed from her.
PC: Marlon David
Wishing everyone a happy holiday season filled with joy, and a happy and healthy New Year! ❤ One of my goals for 2019 is to blog more regularly, so hopefully you’ll see me here more often too.
Alice in Lolitaland 