WIG REVIEW: Alice Cosplay Wig from Vanity Lair

Hey guys! remember my previous post on a new cosplay wig bought online? Now it's time for a full review on a cosplay wig brand Alice Wigs (or Ywailisi) from an online shop called Vanity Lair. 

Disclaimer: I bought this wig with my own money. I was not paid or sponsored to do this review. 

I know buying from online shops on Facebook is a bit risky but I made sure that the shop is legit before filling up an order form. You guys should do that too if you are going to buy online for the first time. Take note of the proofs of the shops like real feedback from previous customers of the shop. It is important to be very sure before sending in your money for a product. A lot of these shops require full payment before sending in your order so if you are not sure about the legitimacy of an online shop, do not transact from it.

A little about the shop:
Vanity Lair is an online shop on Facebook that sells cosmetic lenses, hair dyes and different brands of cosplay wigs. Most of the cosplay wigs are on-hand (readily available) and they ship nationally, but buyers can also opt for meetup in buying wigs and other products.

Link

Shop's Description of the Product:

1,350PHP

ALL WIGS ARE HEAT RESISTANT
~FREE SHIPPING FOR NCR; ADD 50PHP FOR PROVINCIAL
~FREE WIG CAP



So the product that I bought from them is Panty's wig - Alice Brand which is on hand. That time, I had a bit of a problem in the mode of payement. I did not have enough GCASH credits to buy the wig but the owner suggested that the remaining balance can be paid with cellphone load. The owner was understanding and patient during our conversation online. So after completing the payment, the owner informed me that the wig will arrive by Monday or Tuesday (I placed my order and completed the payment on Friday).

And so it arrived on Tuesday. 
The wig arrived on time, which is a plus to the seller. I really dread delayed arrival of products because of my previous experience with a shop some time ago (I bought a wig from a shop once, and it arrived UBER LATE. So late, that I missed a photoshoot, the time where I was supposed to wear the wig. Instead of anger, I felt so sad that time that I actually thought of giving up cosplay!).

Anyway, here is a set of photos of the wig that I got. I did not enhance any of the following photos to show the actual color and quality of the wig.

Opening of the package...

Wig was enclosed in a bubble wrap.

Wig was with original tag.  No special wrapping whatsoever.

The wig was packed properly, complete with the wig net that held the entire wig. 

The order came with a free skin-tone wig cap. Yay! 

Shot of the length of the wig. 

The wig is made of Kanekalon fibers, is heat resistant (can be ironed and curled) and the length reaches my butt. It was heavier than I expected, I actually thought that it will not be as thick as Gakupo since it only costed me about 1350PHP. (my Gakupo wig, as seen here, is about 1800PHP). Actually, this wig is really cheap (usually, long wigs like this will cost you about 1800PHP to 2000PHP in other shops or other brands) yet the quality is as good as the Grand Young Brand or Lucaille Brand, which is a bit pricey than other wig brands.

Here is a close-up photo of the wig fibers (with flash). It's the same as my Gakupo wig - Lucaille brand.

I think the color of the wig (which is yellow) is perfect for Panty of Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt since the anime was drawn in American cartoon style, and Panty's hair is really yellow rather than the real blonde.

Panty and Stocking

So for the photos of yours truly with the wig...

Instead of the normal SELCA (Self Capture) and webcam shots that I did on my previous trials and reviews, this time I had an actual mini-shoot with the product. Some of the photos were taken by my brother. 

Without flash, outdoor light.

The following photos were taken outside, without using flash. Photos were not enhanced in anyway to show the color and quality of the wig. I only added the watermark.

Wig is not very shiny on this shot. It actually reminded me of mango-flavored ice cream. :D

I have Panty's red stilettos for the default version. :)

Without flash, enhanced.

The following photos were taken without flash and were enhanced using a photo-editing software.

I still need to trim the bangs and add more spikes to make it look like Panty's hair.

I was impressed by how my brother take photos. :D

With flash.

The following photos were taken with flash but were not enhanced in anyway. I only added the watermark. 

Oh yeah, this one is SELCA. :D

I-am-thinking-of-something.jpeg. HAHA

With flash, enhanced.

The following photos were taken with flash and were enhanced using a photo-editing software. 

I do really love this pair of red shoes! 

Okay, same pose - different angle. LOL

In conclusion...

I like the overall quality of the wig. It did not have a moment of massive hair loss during the trial. The color is not really blinding and was close to the product photo from the company. The fibers are thick and strong - which is surprising for a low-priced wig. The transaction with the shop was good and the product arrived on the expected date. The shop owner was considerate on the modes of payment, even though I was a first-time customer of hers. 

Would you recommend this wig brand to other cosplayers?

Yes! I think it's a great brand for a low price. Quality is similar to other brands that I have seen personally but is a bit cheaper (slash about a couple of hundred pesos from the price). For cosplayers out there, this brand is definitely worth your money. I would also like to recommend the shop, Vanity Lair. My first transaction with them is great. I might buy wigs from this shop in the future. 

And that's it! I hope you guys like my review on this product. What brand do you want me to review next? Comment your thoughts below!

Nihon Christmas Party 2012

Another UBER late post from yours truly! This time, a Christmas event with COSPLAY as a theme. Of course, characters must have a touch of Yuletide in their outfits. I went as Gakuko that time (Female Genderbent character of the Vocaloid Kamui Gakupo) and I won an award! YAY!

With the president, Emil as host.

The party was organized by the Nihon Fure Ai Kai - A Touch of Japan Club of the WMSU College of Nursing. It's the only club that I belong to. The members of this club gather to promote and appreciate the Japanese culture in the college and in the university. The officers organized a mini Christmas party with Christmas Cosplay as the theme. Of course, my friends and I instantly joined the event. It's nice to celebrate Christmas in a Japanese way.

Some of the contestants of the competition. It ain't a major contest but still I enjoyed being a Chirstmas character a lot.

The party started with the presentation of the contestants. Here are a few shots by Sheed.

The Butler Sebby as a raindeer? :D

PJ gathered up her courage and joined the contest too! 

And me, As Santa Gakuko smiling like a hyena. :DD

With friends Shiba, Ralphy and Gairu.

After the presentation of the contestants.. dinner was served!  One of the guests of the event is a Japanese chef known as Oji-san to us. He brought Japanese curry that was served during the event and it was just deliciously spicy! Forgive me if I was not able to take a photo. We were a bit busy eating away all the good food! LOL

As a compensation to the lack of photos, here is a kid who dressed up as Iron Man that night. So in-character!

Where are the Ironettes? :)

So after eating, time for the photo op! I had fun spending time with my friends before going on a Christmas break. It was a wee bit different this time because we were in costumes rather than in fashionable clothes. :D

Some of us in our Christmas-inspired outfits!

Whole body shots!

Shiba and Gairu

After all those poses, the program continued on and the emcee announced the winners of the cosplay competition.

And I won second place!

Yaaay I won 2nd place! Here's Oji-san presented the prize.

With the winners!! Sheilla won 3rd, Cee - 2nd and Kuya Mark won 1st place!

After the awarding of the winners of the cosplay event, the party games were next. We joined a couple and our group won a few prizes as well. What a lucky night for us! 

I enjoyed the event a lot, especially the food! It was my first time to taste a real Japanese dish and I was not disappointed! Hooray for Oji-san's cooking! 

It was also my first time to dress up as a Christmas-inspired character. I hope I will improve more in the near future.

It was one of the merriest Christmas yet! Can't wait for the next Yuletide Season!

That's a wrap! Thank you for reading this entry. What do you think of my Gakuko Kamui version? Comment down below! Love lots!

Hime Gyaru Afternoon - Set 1

At last I have sorted out a few photos and post-processed it to the best of my abilities. Anyway, today I present to you the:

Hime Gyaru Afternoon (Photoshoot) 

So this is the final output of what I have been working for last month. The shoot was about a couple of weeks ago but I was only able to reorganize everything just recently. I am planning to post one set at a time, from the final set (which is this one) to the behind-the-scene and spoof set. LOL. Watch out for those!

For more info about Hime Gyaru as well as other related posts, visit:
The Hime Gyaru Project: Part 1 (Accessories + Shoes)
The Hime Gyaru Project: Part 2 (Dress + Bag + Customized Shoes)

Anyway, I would like to thank the following people for supporting us all the way:
Jannie of Jannieology for our wonderful makeup.
Gail of GairuD and Ishan of eminaheartnet for accompanying us.
Marigin of Redpockybox for being the photographer.

The princesses:
Alyssa
Chrystal
Cee

Chrystal

Cee

Shiba

Sister Pledge

Crimsolympics Cosplay Competition Day Two Portrait Shots

Maybe I'm getting good at it... Maybe not. Whatever! I love taking portrait shots on cosplayers. In my opinion, portrait shots capture a closer look of the cosplayer and the costume. Cosplayers make accurate costumes, taking note to every little detail even the eye color (we wore contact lens to copy the character's eye color) so to capture everything in the photo, a good portrait shot is needed. 

LOL

Anyway, without further ado, here are the photos of the impromptu shoot that we had during the second day of the Crimsolympics Cosplay Competition. Enjoy!

These photos were taken during the Crimsolympics Cosplay Competition Day Two.

Character: Elsie 

Series: The World God Only Knows

Cosplayer: Cristina

Photo by: Cee

Character: Haruhi Suzumiya

Series: The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya

Cosplayer: Jenaly

Photo by: Cee

Character: Utau

Series: Shugo Chara

Cosplayer: Nouf

Photo by: Cee

ZYLORDS - A Visual Kei Video and Photo Shoot (First Batch of Photos)

This is a not-so-recent photo shoot by our cosplay/otaku group (well, we were once part of ZANEC but all of us dropped out of it almost at the same time).

This was a Visual Kei shoot, a style common among Japanese bands which constitute members wearing extravagant and or distinctive costumes, makeup and hairstyles.

Our version of Visual Kei inclined more on gothic-styled costumes, makeup and hairstyles. Black dominated most of our getups, with chains and studded accessories to complete the look. We had to design our costumes from scratch, since this is not a cosplay shoot - when our costumes were imitated from a character's entire physical appearance.

This was, by far, the hardest and most flamboyant shoot that I have participated. Most of our effort went into wearing and transforming ourselves into one of the most popular style or fashion in Japan. This was also our first try on video shooting. It was tiring but fun to do.

Anyway, enough talk. Here is the first batch of photos released by our shoot leader. More photos and the final set will be released very soon so watch out for it!

(Click on the photos for a larger view)

ZYLORDS
L-R: Gairu, Yoru, Kyou, Shiba and Chigusa

Here are the members of ZYLORDS:

Kyou - Vocalist

Kei as Kyou

Chigusa - Lead Guitarist

Cee as Chigusa

Shiba - Secondary Guitarist

Alyssa as Shiba

Gairu - Bass Guitarist

Gail as Gairu

Yoru - Drummer

Queen as Yoru

Photographers: Kei, Cee and Marigin
Videographer: Marigin, Mark Allan