I finished styling Halibel's wig! I used the punky XL wig in #24 Blonde. When I first received the wig in the mail, I was extremely skeptical about it because of the color--- it looked blonde, but it wasn't GOLDEN. I styled it anyway.... put it on.. and was still was skeptical about it.... until I hid half my face behind my roommate's in-progress costume which had a big white collar that stood up. The wig looked REALLY GOOD----- the color was 10x better than I expected!! If you want to view the progress, you can do so by looking in my uncategorised photos here:

http://www.cosplay.com/gallery/u47683/

I'm looking toward buying blonde eyelashes, but it proved to be EXTREMELY DIFFICULT. Blonde eyelashes are really hard to find, especially of the obnoxiously long variety, which is what Halibel has. I might resort to the creative side and just add some sort of flair to the eyelashes.... like using a small feather. They're elegant.... will it work? That's what tests are for! If anyone's looking for eyelashes, I highly recommend going to this site:

http://www.madamemadeline.com/online_shoppe/categories.asp?PARTNER=trackCTRgoogle

Everything is REALLY CHEAP and I've seen some eyelashes they have in some stores. The stores sell them for $10. This site sells them from $3-$5.

She is another reason I've been (or should be, haha) working out furiously. As of now, because of my busy schedule, my diet consists of cous cous and lots of orange juice in the morning. The rest are small nibblets of food here and there, but not a whole meal of that sort. I also drink a lot of green tea (probably 5+ cups) during work. The only time I have working out is in the morning, and the rest--- well I sit in front of a computer animating and designing for 9-12+ hours straight. I don't work out at night because I'd be too brain-dead. So far it's been working out for me pretty well--- I am very alert from when I step into my workplace till when I step out and the food is relatively cheap. It's not the wisest diet and I may be screwed over in the long run, but at least you have the comfort to know I won't be doing this for the rest of my life.

As for Halibel's costume, I'm still in the drafting stage. Right now I've been working on Taki more than Halibel, but I'll get to her shortly. I have the fabric for the hakama cut out. All I need to do is sew the whole thing together! Of course, I had to create the hakama pattern myself because she has TWO backsides to her hakama. It makes absolutely no sense. I also started styling the wig. The wig's not as yellow as the anime depicted it to be, but I am in love with it---- it looks so natural.

I'm also looking to bronze my skin too--- however we all know that bronzers and white fabric don't mix. Any suggestions as to how I can temporarily seal the bronze so that it wont rub off?

Thanks for the future advice! I await your berating comment about my current stupid diet, haha. I'm not too fond of it myself, but there are other deeper reasons besides cosplay. m(_ _)m

A.

I have drafted the patterns out for Taki's armor, but there's still a lot of planning to do left. Something tells me I might have to re-draft her shinguards--- I didn't take the thickness of her leg warmers into consideration. Shoot! My next step is to visit Foam Mart which is apparently just down the street from where I live. I can't wait to cut all the patterns out--- it's been a long time since I've worked with craft foam.

As for working out--- well, like all other work-out schedules, it eventually becomes a borderline failure. But it's not like I'm slacking off or anything--- I do my hollow hold at night for strong abs and I've been eating healthy. I drink less sodas, anything heavy in oil... And I do make an attempt to go to the gym at least twice a week. I've already developed some serious callouses from weight lifting, haha... I need me some grips. Needless to say, I'm starting to see some tiny results but I'm still skeptical because sometimes PMS can change your appearance.

That's about all that I have for now. Good luck with your costumes everyone!

A.

I've decided to write up a log for almost everytime I work on costumes. No, scratch that--- I'll write up a log for any day(s) I work on costumes hardcore. like tonight.

I'm doing some furious research for Taki from Soul Calibur IV, and with all the disappointments and failures I've created with previous costumes lately, I want this one to be epic. So I'm actually doing the research as to how to tie the pieces of the armor together and how to wrap the handle of the weapon properly. I don't know why I would take such a close-minded approach, but I know it'll pay dearly in the long run.

Also in the process---- working out. I've made some sort of dedication to work out every morning before I go to work. We have a gym in my apartment complex, so there really shouldnt be an excuse why I can't stay in shape. Work requires me to sit in front of a computer all day. Not so great. So far, I'm not exactly gaining muscle, but I'm losing some fat. I find that you get the best workout when going to the beach, but living in the inlands of California makes that task pretty hard.

Right now I'm drafting out sketches of Taki's armor. Pretty soon I will be drafting out patterns. I'm also creating a checklist for the costume. I've bought the perfect fabric--- it's the perfect shade of pink, stretchy, and not too much shine. It's so perfect *____*

That's all I have for now! Till then!

A.