Thursday 1 August 2013

Mini Shironuri shoot!



This was just a simple, school girl style shironuri. Although it is hard to tell from the photos, I stuck black feathers to my eye lashes. The outfit is inspired from Japanese nautical themed school uniforms, complete with seifuku style cardigan and boater hat.


The shoot took place in the country, down a deserted footpath, there was a lot of over-growing vegetation and dry grass which went really well with the "dead" look. Luckily we didn't bump in to anyone whilst shooting or that could have really given them a fright!


I wore my favourite wig - Babooshka by Geisha wigs, as I feel dusky colours suit shironuri a lot better. The shoot was ridiculously hot with the sun beating down on us, luckily we captured what we wanted quickly, so we could dash inside and eat ice cream >__<.

Thursday 25 July 2013

Candy Geisha sponsored Model!




I have been extremely lucky in being picked to be a sponsored model for the wonderful Candy Geisha, who specialize in gorgeous and cute accessories, inspired by Harajuku trends and well..The 80's haha, both of those things are very dear to my heart!


You can find their eclectic creations here:  http://www.candygeisha.com/
The first set I got to model is called "Rococo Kitty" and is a gorgeous acrylic cut bow with a "Hello kitty" cameo embedded inside. With it is a shiny pearl-style bracelet, matching cameo ring and earrings.


The set not only goes extremely well with Sweet Lolita, but also made me feel like a princess!
All the items felt extremely well made and came in a gorgeous pearly pink that matched so much of my wardrobe (I'm a pinkophile T__T).


I got to shoot the jewellery in a secret garden where I live known as "Churchill gardens" where gorgeous trees, ferns and ponds are in abundance. Wandering around the gardens in Lolita makes me feel like I have been transported back in time a century or so!
My co-rd was Baby, the Stars Shine bright brand dress: Chocolate Fairytale Fascinate. With a white headbow of the same brand, and also parasol. The blouse is off-brand from Taobao.

I also received a couple more pieces from them since this particular shoot, I will post them below~






Please tell me what  you think ^__^

Tuesday 18 June 2013

Behind the scenes of the Shironuri shoot for MyM magazine!


Now I have been doing shironuri for quite awhile I have started experimenting more with styles and makeup, the shoot with MyM magazine was perfect as we were shooting in Epping forest. The verdant greenery was a lovely setting for the fashion - I got to pose atop moss covered logs, in between thickets and in overgrown grass covered in rabbit poop.

The look itself I wanted to emanate spring, with lots of pink blossoms and flowing layers and a fawn theme. The gorgeous headpiece was made by Hysteria Machine, they make gorgeous head wear of all kinds and she was kind enough to lend it to me, but in the end I loved it so much I ended up buying it! I tried creating fawn print on my face with eye shadow and more shironuri as speckles, it actually came out better than I had expected! I only hope it comes out well on camera.



I was lucky enough to model with the gorgeous Mary-Ann and Grace St.John, they both pulled off shironuri beautifully and did their own makeup! Grace wore a very classic blue themed outfit, while Mary-Ann opted for minty green, with blonde hair entwined with ivy. Our outfits were all different, yet seem to match so well! I think this was a perfect coincidence.


Grace was also kind enough to buy petals , it was hilarious trying to pose whilst watching people frantically throw petals into the shot >__< They were actually made from real petals and I can only hope came out in the shots! You can see them here on my camera phone as a manic blur.

The magazine should be out at the start of next month, I will no doubt post the pictures here when it has been published, I'm really excited!




Friday 17 May 2013

Bumper Shironuri photoshoot with POSE!



Shironuri Shoot - behind the scenes.

POSE studio are holding a Japanese exhibition in June and I got chosen to be the stylist! For the past couple of months we have been holding various Japanese fashion shoots, this one however I can honestly say was my most anticipated and enjoyable! ヽ(;▽;)ノ

The fashion featured this time is Shironuri, taken directly from the name of the white make-up used on our faces. Shironuri makeup is widely known as the makeup used by Geisha and Kabuki actors, however this fashion actually is very loose in how you want to wear the makeup with which style!
As seen from my previous blog posts,  I have tried shironuri before wearing plain white face paint, although the final product was nice, it was patchy.  Since then I have bought the actual shironuri makeup and wax from Kyoto and the difference is phenomenal! The wax has to be heated first and the makeup itself should be applied with a large brush and mixed with water, the makeup itself was applied by the amazing Emily Golding MUA!


 The styles we chose were very much influenced by the Japanese model Minori who wears shironuri in a very mori girl style, using real flowers and floaty clothes that have a very ethereal feel to them.
For the shoot I chose four models (Including myself) to do a season themed shironuri shoot.
The inspiration for this I took from 'A Midsummer's Nights dream' and tried to think about what the fairies Titania and Puck would look like.
I was winter and so had a frosty pale blue outfit with a light blue Pegnoir, eye shadow and lipstick, black flowers and floaty dress with white bloomers and high-necked lace shirt. Black leaves were also put in my hair and my fellow stylist Lewis Golland even stuck real bark to my face! thankfully he removed the ants first. o(≧∇≦o)




My friend Pixie_ Late, who I have modeled with many times before was the spring season, she wore a gorgeous floaty pink maxi dress and lacy blouse and pink peignoir, with pink lipstick, eyeshadow and blossom petals on her face. She looked absolutely stunning and managed to carry off the airy, carefree aesthetic of spring very well!


Autumn was by the lovely Rosina, Lewis had the idea of putting sticks intertwined in her hair to make them look like hairy antlers! It was hilarious watching her constantly bump into things and become unbalanced >__<
Her look was an ivory and brown themed co-ord, with a frilly blouse and brown embroidered scarf, walking around with the antlers she barely looked human!

Finally, summer was taking by my friend Danielle Wheeler, we dressed her in a gorgeous floaty chiffon dress, summery floral skirt and Vivienne WestwoodxMelissa winged sandals. The wig was Lioness by Geisha wigs and we filled it with flowers both real and fake and a fake floral crown. The balance of soft and vibrant colours went really well I thought! She deserved so much credit for spending the whole day in those shoes which were two sizes too big! eek!

Lewis made two sets for us with props, one being full of dead sticks and flowing white sheets, the other being a bright springtime set with a real ivy backdrop and props such as books. Stephanie Thornton was the photographer and needed a step ladder to shoot us bless her!
Her work is always amazing though, I can't wait for the final result, I know she'll make them all polished and otherworldly!



The shoot itself was one of the most successful I've ever done, the models were all very co-operative and everyone injected their own ideas into their outfits. The makeup artist did a wonderful job, the set guy made beautiful sets and I know the Photographer has some gorgeous shots! I can't wait to work with them all again~
I will do another blog post when the shots are all edited and a shironuri transformation video is coming soon!

Photographer: Stephanie Thornton
MUA: Enily Golding
Stylist: Me and Lewis Golland
Set: Lewis Golland
Models: Pixie_Late, Danielle Wheeler, Katie Carter, Rosina Stubbs.



Sunday 12 May 2013

Behind the Scenes at the Shoot at POSE for Geisha wigs!



Again I had to model some wigs for Geisha wigs, the one pictured above is a gorgeous grey/silver wig caled Babooshka. For this particular wig I decided to go for a Gothic Lolita co-ord, I am wearing Baby the Stars Shine Bright "Stained Glass Window" Jumper Skirt and also some off-brand accessories and a princess-sleeved blouse from Tao-Bao.

I also styled Paige Martin in a typical sickly-sweet Harajuku co-ord - a cup-cake printed dress, bright metallic bows and ribbons in her hair. This was very much Kyary-Pamyu Pamyu influenced, however I added a lot of metallic silver for a touch of futuristic dolly. All the makeup for the shoot was by the amazing Emily Golding and the Photographed by Stephanie-Ann Thornton.




Over-all the shoot went very well with lots of different looks, tons of pastel, gems and glitter. My friend Phoenix Okazaki also joined us to shoot her look of Fairy-Kei, I have been a fan of Fairy-kei for a long time but seeing it up close was very exciting; so many clips, gems and stickers! Phoenix herself co-ordinated her outfit so well, all the pastel colours accentuated each other perfectly, especially with all the various pattened hair clips and alpaca stickers, I can't think of a more dramatically cute style.


I also modelled the Sugar Cookie wig by Geisha wigs, this wig is dark brown with a pink underlay, I actually borrowed some of Phoenix's clips to give it a more decora-esque look and the MUA stuck some sparkly gems to my  face to make me look more exciting >__<


After the studio shoot we escaped to the local fields and frolicked amongst the blossoms and uhh stinging nettles (Yeah I got hurt a lot) >__<
The MUA made a video showing her artistry, I also showed how I quickly put on my wig using tights as my wig cap and I slid down a banister slowly and painfully~ I can't wait to see the final pictures!


 
Wigs by Geisha Wigs
Photographer: Stephanie Thornton
MUA: Emily Golding
Stylist: Me and Lewis Golland
Model: Me, Paige Martin and Phoenix Okazaki

Tuesday 30 April 2013

Hime-Gyaru day in London + Okonomiyaki restaurant!


In the super rare event of me having a day off, I decided to take a trip to London to meet Pixie_Late, stuff myself with food and drink as much bubble milk tea as possible o(≧∇≦o)
We decided that day to wear Hime-Gyaru, Tania's co-ord was gorgeous with a floral Liz Lisa one piece and a huuuuge bouffant! (So as you can imagine, I had much hair envy). I wore an offbrand Princesss sleeved blouse, Alice and the Pirates Gather Chiffon OP in pink and Floral Cat ears made by Bee-Scuit.
AatP isn't a brand usually associated with Hime-Gyaru, but I felt this dress too cute and princess-like to be not be worn with it. I must say that, after wearing Hime-GAL around London a few times now, it goes get a lot more chilly than Lolita, so maybe next time it's best I wear some nude tights with my co-ord.

 
 
One memorable moment from the day was when I was waiting for Pixie_Late at the Trocadero and some random French man came up to me and said "Eh, excuse-e-me, are you waiting for me? ;D" I think my silence and shock was enough for him to realise that I was indeed, not waiting for him and he flounced off.  (,,#゚Д゚)
After meeting Pixie_Late, we went to Eat Tokyo in Picadilly, i've heard a lot about their bentos before but, I was most surprised about the size of the menu - It was enormous!
I'm pretty sure I could have killed someone with it.
Not only that, the food was fairly cheap and delicious, I also had an Aloe Vera and blueberry drink, it was really refreshing and tasty but it had some bits it in that uh...Resembled Sea Monkeys xD
I had the Tuna and Salmon Jyu - Salmon and Tuna sashimi on a bed of rice with miso and Yakitori Skewers, all of it was delicious!


Then we headed to Boba Jam for some bubble milk tea, this wasn't my usual place but I was very surprised at the menu, although they didn't have as many flavours as Cafe De Hong Kong, you could choose the type of bubbles in the drink and also topping! I picked a coconut milk tea with yogurt bubbles, and they actually burst in your mouth!
 
 
 
I then met up with my friend Naoki and after much wandering around London and Ice cream, we headed to Abeno, the Okonomiyaki restaurant by Leicester Square. The last time I had Okonomiyaki was in Osaka, pretty much the birth place of the dish, so I was extremely excited. I was surprised that much like in Japan, they cook it in front of you on a grill! We had the Tokyo Mix which was prawns, squid and pork.
 
 
 
Step 1: They bring the ingredients out to you in bowls so you can see all the different things that go into the mix.
 
Step 2:
They mix them all together and put them on the grill, the grill was incredibly hot so it was fun watching the mix just sizzle and bubble away.
 
 
Step 3:
 
After the Okinomiyaki was nice and brown they ask you for your choice of sauce, We went for the default with plenty of Mayonnaise!

 
Step 4:
Sprinkling on the bonito flakes and then cutting it up into sections and eating it. It was delicious and as expected, super filling. You can choose between Deluxe and Super Deluxe, I'm glad I just picked Deluxe because I already felt like I needed to take a wheelchair out of the restaurant at the end >_<



Finally I had a Shochu cocktail to wash it all down~


 
 Overall it was a great day, with tasty food and lovely people. I can't wait to come back to London, and when I do I'll be sure to head back to Abeno~  ヽ(´ー`)ノ
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


Tuesday 2 April 2013

Styling job with Little Hill People!

 

My first styling job!
My friend Sayuri actually cancelled at the last minute and she suggested that I do it instead. this is ahead of the Japanese events I will be styling so I was really nervous and felt like I didn't have enough experience. However when I got there and saw how lovely the owner of the brand was and how friendly the models were, I loosened up a lot and became very confident at styling all the models.
The brand is called "Little Hill People" and sells gorgeous hand bags and jewellery, they are fair trade and all their products are designed and made in Northern India. Being up close to the products I could see how extremely well designed they were and how a lot of love and effort went into each piece.
There were whole sacks full of hand bags and purses, I didn't count exactly but there must have been about 60+ different styles, all with various bright patterns and designs, which I first thought would be a nightmare to style, but soon found outfits to compliment the bags perfectly.

http://littlehillpeople.com/



There was both a studio shoot and location shoot, which meant a lot of rushing around to get everything sorted! The themes were patterns on patterns and a very hippy or boho look, I incorperated a lot of braids into the models hair and used ethnic jewellery such as head necklaces. Various coloured feathers were clipped into the models hair which accenuated the vibrancy of the products. For the location shoot I had to bundle all the bags into a huge duffle bag and run around like a headless chicken giving the right model the right bag, it was extremely exhausting but at the same time a very fun and exciting experience! The pictures will be featured on the brands site, ASOS and also Elle Magazine! How exciting!  (*^▽^*)

To put the icing on the cake, my boyfriend and I were each given a bag each for styling and helping out in general, Look how gorgeous and well-made they are!



Tuesday 26 March 2013

8th Sin Creations!





I can proudly announce that I am a sponsored model for 8th Sin Creations!
They make gorgeous accessories, phone cases and even clothes! I was first drawn to them when I saw they sold hime-gyaru acessories, as they are near impossible to get in the UK. They also do custom orders so a lot of their items are bespoke.

Check them out here: http://www.8thsincreations.co.uk/



Aren't the Agejo Hime corsages gorgeous? They're somewhat like Pink Hime but much, much cheaper XD I think that these could also be used for other styles such as Sweet Lolita or Cult Party Kei.
As well as just hair accessories 8th Sin makes beautifully deco'd phone cases and also Fairy-kei style shorts and skirts! I can't wait to see what they will make in the future and I definately can't wait to start modelling their products, especially with so many Catwalk shows coming up soon!


These remind me of Kyary! (๑・ω-)~♥”

Kyary Pamyu Pamyu article published in MyM Magazine!


...And I was lucky enough to get a double spread! (Well...Sort of >__<)

If you read my earlier post you'll see I attended the fantastic Kyary Pamyu Pamyu gig and I was lucky enough to be able to write an article about it for Japanese media magazine MyM. Well, it's finally out!  \(T∇T)/
I managed to message Kyary's PR staff and get the official photos taken from the concert which I think brightened up the article a lot, as it's a lot better to see KPP's kaleidoscopic costumes than just merely reading about them. A couple of photographs of the Frills and Frolics meet were also posted, with us triumphantly waving out banner too!
In my opinion I think our outfits definately rivaled Kyary's, we were like a sea of pastel bobbing up and down at the concert venue, which was great to see and i'm sure Kyary also enjoyed too.

So make sure you pick up this months issue of MyM and read all about KPP and Pamyurin!


(Photo by the official photographers)
 
 
 
 
 

Shiro Lolita Photoshoot!



I just got some wonderful images back from POSE studio, who were holding a special "Shoot Off" event, this event meant that if you paid £5 you would have a spot to be photographed at the studio. One of my very best friends Sayuri Standing photographs there, so I made sure to have her shoot me at the studio as she's photographed me before and she always makes sure that the lighting and editing are perfect. POSE are generally a great studio, all the photographers are friendly and not creepy, plus a lot of effort goes into editing.
The outfit I decided for the shoot was in Shiro Lolita style, my dress was a Cat Window print from Putamayo (one of my favourite Japanese brands), with simple white tights and my Vivienne WestwoodxMelissa winged sandals. The headbow is from Baby, the Stars Shine Bright, as was the parasol, and I also wore a chocomint two way fluffy star clip and an adorable pastel bear clip from Now, Voyager.
The shoot was very fun and relaxed, as I am used to working with Sayuri and I think she knows how to photograph me, I joked with her that the way she took photographs of my face you can barely tell I have bunny teeth  O(≧∇≦)O
It's a shame as i've since sold that dress so this images made me feel really nostalgic!


 

 
 
 
 
 

Saturday 23 March 2013

Hime-Gyaru Photoshoot published in MyM!





Issue 11 of MyM is finally here! If you read my earlier blog post you'll see I had the opportunity to do a hime-gyaru themed shoot with Pixie_Late in Trafalgar square for MyM magazine with Saoirse Clohessy. The magazine itself covers all form of Japanese media, such as anime, games and fashion, it's a magazine I really enjoy reading so as you can imagine I was super happy to be able to have my photoshoot published in it.


My first outfit was a Liz Lisa dress with a TaoBao blouse and headbow from Angelic Pretty. I actually wore Khaleesi from Geisha wigs and styled it into a hime style so it was really high and fluffy at the back. Pixie_Late was kind enough to lend me the shoes from La Parfait, as mine didn't come in time for the shoot. London is such a beautiful and dramatic backdrop for a shoot, eventhough Trafalgar Square and Covent Garden were both bustling with tourists eager to know what kind of photoshoot we were doing.

 
 
 My second outfit was a long pink Maxi dress from DreamV with a BTSSB headbow. I love this dresss so much, the colours really compliment eachother and it's super soft. Pixie brought her cute Rilakkuma Polaroid camera so we were photographed getting a couple of snaps.

 
 
I even deco'd my nails for the shoot, eventhough they were exremely cheap floral ones I think they worked well with the outfit.I found it impossible to do ANYTHING with them though, such as eat, put on eye lashes or use my phone, so I think I need to get a lot more practice with them XD


The final print came out really well, the pictures were well laid out and the article is very informative thanks to Saoirse. I'm glad Japanese fashion is being shown a lot more in the media.  (^▽^)