March 2015 Favorites!!

I haven't done a favorites post in a while! I actually filmed this as a vlog as well and I'll be uploading it later tomorrow, so head over to my YouTube channel if you want to check that out! Let's get started~

Priceless.

My first favorite isn't an item at all - it's happiness! As I've mentioned before, I suffer with depression and anxiety as well as a few other mental funtime issues. But lately I've just been like, "No. No more of that." Of course, my issues haven't gone away, but lately I've just been really, really happy and getting a lot of things done and overall just feeling better about things. I still have a long way to go, but I feel like I'm starting to actually move again.

Pro Longwear Foundation: $32 // Pro Longwear Powder: ~$30??

I really only have two makeup favorites this month, and they're both from MAC! I've never had a high-end foundation, only drugstore ones, and I decided since foundation really was a base for everything I should try a high-end one. I believe my shade is NW15? Or NC...? NW sounds right, but it definitely is 15 (one of the lightest shades). It goes on so smooth and light and I fee it really does look so much better and offers great coverage without being heavy. I highly recommend it, even though it is pricy. I do feel that you don't use as much, as well.

bunny necklace: $12

This next favorite is actually a present from my best friend in the UK, Ashley! Along with a bunny patch and some heart earrings, she sent me this "bunny" necklace in pink! It obviously perfect for me since I am Bunny. It's pretty big and reflective and just overall wonderful.

Daisy Choker: $10?

I'm not sure of the prices of the last three jewelry items because they were gifts from bestie Miraiina, so I'm going to have to estimate. Also, this isn't even a picture of the choker I have because I couldn't find a picture of it on Claire's' website, so picture the black wiring as clear and the colored flowers as white daisies. I love the 90s so I love these chokers that everyone now has again. But this one has my third favorite flower on in!

Cherry Earrings: $8?

Even though I only have one hole open right now, I love earrings, especially dangling ones. I also really love cherries!! Not eating them, of course, I hate the taste. But I love the way cherries look, they're adorable! These earrings from Claire's aren't too big but big and pink enough to be noticeable.

Fake Septum: $14?

Hey look, not only is it a fake septum, but a hint of the daisy choker, bunny necklace, and cherry earrings! Either way, this fake septum ring from Claire's is also surprisingly comfortable and sturdy. It does take a bit to get used to the feeling of something dangling out of your nose, but I think it looks very cute. Also, I don't think I would ever get my septum pierced for real, so this fake jewelry is perfect!

Etrian Odyssey Untold: The Millenium Girl: $40

Next are three games for the Nintendo 3DS! Firstly is a very cute RPG that I actually got half off while Atlus was doing their half-off sale (or are they still doing it?). It's honestly a bit difficult and very time consuming, but it's a very reasonable difficulty that makes the game more realistic. If you've never played an Etrian Odyssey game, I highly recommend this one!

Fairune: $3

Fairune is a retro-not-retro RPG avaliable on the eshop for a very reasonable price. This game mimics an older RPG, and as such, at times there may not really be clear objectives. But you have never played an older, harder RPG this one is a good jump into the genre. Fairune is also very cute! Actually, all the games that are on my favorites this month are cute.

Legend of Dark Witch: $4

Also available on the Nintendo eshop is Legend of Dark Witch, a cute (see?) platformer that reminds me a lot of Megaman. I don't have much to say about this one as it is really just a basic platformer, but I recommend it as well!

Go! Princess Precure is the newest in the Precure series and is currently coming out in Japan. I've watched a few episodes of the original Precure, but just never got around to finishing it. I've been wanting to jump back in with one of the newest series, and to be honest it was the "princess" in the title of this anime that drew me in! The theme of this series is not only princesses, but dreams and happiness, which is something I can obviously get behind. It's very adorable and the fighting sequences are surprisingly well choreographed! 

Priceless as well (Or, $15)

Last favorite is a gift from my fiance, a Birdo plushie! We got this from a local video game store, so I can't really say where you could get one for sure local to you. They also had a lot of the Koopalings and some other enemies. This plushie isn't very big, but I love Birdo, so I don't care and love to cuddle with it.

That's it for this month! (And if you were wondering, an UNfavorite for this month would happen to be Starbuck's Smores Frappucinno Iced Drink Bottle thing! So gross!)

I actually uploaded my favorites vlog ahead of time, so go ahead and watch if you want to actually see these items~!

10 Favorite Etsy Shops Part One!!

The holidays are near and it’s time to stock up on gifts and stocking stuffers for your family, friends, or yourself! What better then to give to two people at once - the gift recipient and the gift maker? This is why I love Etsy.

Etsy is like an Amazon or Taobao for homemade and vintage goods as well as crafting materials. It’s most known for having lots and lots of stores by artists on it. You can find anything there, from zines, to wedding rings, to artwork, to clothing…pretty much anything you could think of. 

I am probably going to buy most if not all of my friends’ gifts on Etsy this year. As an artist, I want to do everything I can to support other artists. So I’m going to recommend my favorite Etsy shops, ten at a time. Note that I may or may not have ordered from each of these shops so I cannot always speak for quality and timeliness and such. Also, I’m going to provide a link HERE to my general Etsy favorites list, which is very diverse, and not everything in that list is from a shop I’ll be mentioning.

Kawaii Power Up

Kawaii Power Up is actually the first Etsy store I ever made a purchase from, and a favorite with me and my friend. My review can be found HERE. This shop specialized in cute and nerdy accessories. My favorite items from this shop are the dust plugs! I feel like they are the most reasonably priced - although her shop is very well priced for what you get - and the most unique. The shop includes free goodies with every purchase as well! 

Nerdy Little Secrets

Much like the previous store, Nerdy Little Secrets specializes in kawaii and sometimes nerdy accessories perfect for all cute fashions. However, this store’s accessories are much more softer in appearance. I feel like this shop is a little more diverse then Kawaii Power Up, and has also been open for longer. Their prices are very fair, although wait time for certain items is a little bit long. 

Starlight Deco Dream

Starlight Deco Dream is a wonderful shop. It’s main draw is jewelry and accessories based on anime series, such as Madoka and Sailor Moon. Again, the prices are very fair. My favorite item from the shop right now is the giant “mahou shoujo” necklaces! This shop is a must for fans of magical girl anime!

Miss Alphabet

“Your one-stop shop for all things Barbie, Fairy Kei, and pastel goth!” Miss Alphabet is mostly a clothing store that caters all shapes and sizes. With sparkling fabrics and bows and lace everywhere, this store is great if you want clothing to catch the eyes of others. The prices are a bit high, but everything is custom made and very high quality. 

Bity Kity

Bity Kity is another accessory store, and everything is very pastel pink and purple! I don’t have much to say about this shop that hasn’t been said about the others, but this shop also offers very fair prices. They also have custom and pre made decoden phone cases!

Beagle Cakes Art & Illustration

This shop focuses on very cute and stylized stickers, prints, and cards. Most of the art is original, but there are also sets of Sailor Moon stickers. The shop also offers custom chibi prints! For what you get, the prices are extremely reasonable.

Mayshallwin

Mayshallwin is another store that offers cute stickers, though this one focuses on characters from anime and the like, especially Pokemon. The art is very cute and stylized. The only qualm I have is that the prices are a bit high. For example, for one dollar, you can get…one sticker. However, the owners seem to be students, so it’s a bit understandable.

AW Recycled Journals

I’m a little hesitant to list this shop, because there are so many one-of-a-kind journals in this shop that I don’t want bought up, hahaha! This store features recycled journals, as in, journals that are made from VHS covers, record sleeves, and there are even a few made from board game boxes and cereal boxes! For something this cool, the prices are great. As a journal/sketchbookphile, this store is heaven. 

Ready to Stare

This shop features plus size clothing and statement jewelry, and wants for others to rock the way they look, no matter how that may be. My favorite item of theirs are earrings made from giant dinosaur toys. The prices are great and their models and stock photos are beautiful. This store has a very street fashion/soft ghetto feel.

Thanks for reading!! See you later!!

Music Recommendations for November - I Haven’t Posted Here in a While

Uuuuu yes. I’m sitting on a pile of excuses on why I haven’t been blogging lately (or vlogging, or anything else I’ve said I’d do) but I’ll keep them to myself because no one wants to read paragraphs of that :P Instead, I’ll jump right in with something I haven’t done since May, a music recommendation post! 

Since I haven’t posted in a bit, I can’t quite think of a good theme for this month (I guess I’ll have to wait until next year for Halloween…) so I’ll just post my top five (I haven’t listened to much lately!) current favorites! As always, no download links, but feel free to listen via YouTube!

Musunde Hiraite Rasetsu to Mukuro - Hatsune Miku

Sometimes I’m a very avid Vocaloid fan, and sometimes I’m not. Right now I am not, but this song is still wonderful. If you don’t know what Vocaloid is, I highly suggest you look it up, it’s quite a wonderful thing. This song combines pop music with traditional Japanese themes in a very spooky way!

Anime Janai - Arai Masato

The title of this song translates to “It’s not an anime,” as in, what you are dealing with is really happening and it’s not just a cartoon on the television. This song is the opening to the show Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ from 1986, and it definitely has an 80s anime feel. I’ve never actually watched the show (like a lot of music I’m introduced to nowadays, it’s a favorite of my fiance’s), but in looking it up, it appears it will be released in North America next year! Unfortunately, there isn’t a clean version of the extended version on YouTube, so the live version will have to do.

In the Year 2525 - Zager and Evans

This is a song from the 60s, but I never remembered hearing it on the radio when I was a kid and only listened to what my parents listened to. Instead, I think I heard this in a flash video (again, with the fiancé)? I’m not sure. This song is so very haunting and foreboding, and honestly makes me cry more often then not. But I love it. I love it and it inspires me so much.

Can You Feel the Sunshine - Sonic R Soundtrack

I never had a video game console until I was 9 or so, and it was a Nintendo. I’ve never owned a Sega console and only in the past few years have I played a Sega game. Sonic is one of my fiancé’s favorite franchises, and I remember the first time I heard this song, we were driving around with the windows down, one of his hands holding mine. So it has a happy memory attached, plus it’s just ridiculously happy. This is from the American soundtrack of the very difficult racing game. I was told a lot of people preferred the Japanese soundtrack but I kind of like the peppy, if not somewhat corny, songs from the American release.

Nuclear - Metal Gear Solid V Soundtrack

I should rename this the “songs my fiancé introduced me to somehow” list. The Metal Gear series has always interested me, but I never felt I would enjoy playing it too much. I remember watching the video for this song as it aired live, the living room dark, and covered in chills. While this video I’ve linked is not the same one (I couldn’t find it, and also it makes me cry, haha), it’s still very powerful and morose. 

I hope you enjoy!!

June 2014 Favorites!!

June went by super quickly for me. And you know, not a lot got done either. Kind of a blah month, to be honest. But in June, the fiance and I purchased lots of games and I did lots of thinking and sketching, so there's that. Here's hoping July will be a better month! I'm going to start working out again, so that will be fun.

Also, this isn't the official post about it, but I just hit 575 (well, 576) followers on my tumblr, melty-bunny! It's not a lot compared to others, but it's a lot to me, and 575 just happens to be my favorite number. So, I'm going to be hosting a giveaway!! It's not up yet, so I can't say exactly what's going to be in it, but it's going to be a lot of things that are special to me, or that I think are cool. I can already tell you Sailor Moon, Pokemon, and lolita fashion are going to be involved, so stay tuned ^_^ GIVEAWAY CAN BE FOUND HERE

Random OOTD from today? Okay. Also, before we get started, let me tell you about my hair trauma (because I don't want to dedicate a whole entry to it). I wanted the blue and pink out of my hair and wanted just a nice, normal lighter brown in my hair...and it was an ordeal. First I used a color stripper/remover product to remove the colors...but it barely worked. Then I thought, maybe the dye could cover it up anyways and it would just be darker. Nope. It looked really ugly. So I had to go out and get bleach, let it sit on as long as possible without my hair falling off and it almost got all the color out. Tried dying it again and it's...well, the parts that were pink are a cute color, but the parts that were blue is kind of a dull ashy color, plus that area got really destroyed by the bleach, so it's all frizzy and gross. But, I'm done messing with it for now. If I do anything with it, I'll dye it a little darker brown. No more bleaching or weird colors for me for a while. And definitely no cutting it. I want it to at least be at my shoulders, if not longer.

ANYWAY, onto my monthly favorites~

Let's start with my only beauty product for the month - Tarte's Lipsurgence in what I think is the shade Lust. I got a mini of these in a set my parents I got for my birthday (which is why I don't know the shade; it doesn't say on the packaging). I haven't worn much makeup at all or dressed up often in June because it's so hot. But this is a great product to just throw on alone or paired with other products, and it looks great and stays on long. I first learned about the brand Tarte through grav3yardgirl's videos, and had never really tried anything by them before. This product is very smooth and doesn't dry your lips out like a lot of other lip tints do. You can find this product at Tarte's website, Sephora, and Ulta for a little over $20.

I guess I do have another beauty favorite, sort of. This isn't so much a favorite yet as I know it will be in the future. I briefly mentioned Taobao in my post about plus size lolita fashion; it's a Chinese website that hosts thousands and thousands of stores that sell everything from clothing to furniture to electronics, kind of like Amazon. I had said in that post that Taobao slightly intimidated me and I had never ordered from them yet, as you need a shopping service to do so. But recently I've just spent literally days browsing shop after shop, searching for something and finding so much of it. Street fashion? Anime paraphernalia? Plus size clothing options? Makeup? They have everything I could want and more. And everything is SO AFFORDABLE. It looks a little intimidating, because everything is in yuan...but 400 yuan? That's a little over 60 US dollars. Yeah. And I have to look hard to find something that I would want to buy that is that expensive, anyways. It's the shipping and shopping service fees that are what drive the price up. I haven't ordered anything from Taobao yet, but I have a few hundred bookmarks dedicated to things I'd like to purchase. I want to solely order all my clothes and gifts and plushes from there from now on!! Next time I have some money to spare, I'm definitely placing an order. Expect a haul soonish!

Next is something else that I received for my birthday, this little red Keurig! Doesn't it look so retro? Anyone who knows me knows I have a serious coffee and tea addiction and love going out to Starbucks. This severely cuts down on those Starbucks trips, as I can have creamy iced coffee or a flavored iced tea any time I want! So far my favorite flavors have been Donut Shop's original iced coffee and the raspberry iced tea by...snapple, I think? But there are so many other flavors to try! I have to be good and not drink four cups of coffee in one day, hahaha. This Keurig is a lesson in moderation, heh.

I mentioned these stickers in an older post where I talked about things I wanted to purchase in the near future. And I did! These stickers are the creation of artist Kaiami. All together, plus shipping, they only cost $17. I have them on everything, pretty much. They are so much cuter in person!! And, um, through a shipping error I happen to have two sets of each, and she told me just to keep the extras! How nice!! The extra sheets are taped to my wall currently, but maybe I should include them in my tumblr giveaway, hmm?

I have a notebook and sketchbook fetish. There, I said it. It's a problem. I see a cute blank book, I get attached, then suddenly I end up with a whole shelf full of half-used journals and sketchbooks. Anyway, this cute sketchbook is a Barnes and Noble exclusive I bought during a trip to the Vanderbilt store, and it was pretty cheap too. The best part? All the pages are perforated! Also, this sketchbook has been covered in stickers.

I made a whole post about Vocaloid. It's no surprise I would purchase a new Project Diva game. Hatsune Miku Project Diva F is the first Project Diva game to appear on the PS3. It's loads of fun, but it does have a few flaws. I've been meaning to write a whole review of the game, but I've never really done a review on a video game before, so it's a bit intimidating to do so. But, hopefully this month I will. As always, there are tons of fun songs and loads of modules, room pieces, and other things to unlock. I've pretty much been addicted to this the first half of June.

Mario Kart 8 is a video game both me and my fiance can enjoy! We've been playing it pretty regularly, but there's still a few things we have left to unlock. I am pretty much in love. It's so gorgeous! The graphics are just so clear and that sort of cartoony-realistic that make you want to jump in! The characters handle great and I love all the new additions they added in. I might do a review of this, but I think everyone's beaten me to it, hah. Of course my main character to race as is Princess Daisy on her fast little bike. I'm actually pretty good at racing games!

This is the last video game this month, promise! Tomodachi Life is either a great or boring game, it all really depends on you. I am definitely going to do a long review of this game. I downloaded it launch day and it hasn't gotten boring or old yet. Tomodachi Life is kind of hard to describe...it's sort of like Animal Crossing, sort of like The Sims, and sort of like the popular app, Line Play. Except, with your Miis. You insert your own Mii and any other Mii your imagination can create into an apartment and see what they get up to. You can change their rooms and clothes, but what they do and where they go are pretty much up to them. If this game sounds unappealing, I wouldn't spend the money to try it out, but if it sounds cute or interesting, definitely give it a go!

Okay, technically this isn't a video game, so I didn't lie! It's an app! Line Play, made by the same people who made the popular Line messaging program and Line camera, is a cute little program where you dress up your character, change their room, and interact with others (except if you're me, then you only do the first two). You can socialize and visit strangers, friends, or even licensed characters such as Hello Kitty, Marie Antoinette from the classic anime Rose of Versailles,  and a bar keep from Dragon Quest. It's pretty cute and a fun way to waste a little bit of time. Line Play is free, but of course you can purchase more hearts to give people or more gems to buy clothes and furnishings. I haven't (and probably won't) used real-people money in this app, but the prices are pretty reasonable.

Okay, technically Tomodachi Life was still the last video game, this is just a gaming apparatus, haha! This is my new baby, a blue (and now stickered) 3DS XL in blue. Honestly  I wanted a pink one, but I got this used, so I didn't get much choice. I also got this for free by trading in some old gaming things I didn't use anymore, so that's pretty cool, because the first store I went to to trade in stuff said I'd still have to pay like...more then $70. Free is better. The store owner transferred all my data over for free, so it's like my old 3DS is living in a bigger body. I looove the bigger screens. It's so nice and immersing.

My second to last favorite is a Korilakkuma phone case for my iPhone 5C. I'm going to go ahead and say that I'm very sure this isn't a licensed product. I got it off Amazon for about one dollar with five dollars shipping. It was supposed to arrive this month, actually, but it came within two weeks! It fits perfectly and isn't in any way cumbersome. My phone was cute before but now it's even cuter!!

My last favorite...maybe shouldn't be in my favorites because I haven't watched or read too much of it yet. But Ai no Exorcist/Blue Exorcist is in my favorites because I had avoided it for too long, never liked what I saw and hated its fans...and then I watched a few episodes and was hooked. Family, religion, and demons? Awesome. I will definitely be watching more, and I recommend it!

I had a lot of favorites, even though it was such a boring month! Hopefully next month has a lot of favorites as well. What were some of your favorite things this month?

As for upcoming posts...I'm going to try and actually dress like a normal human, so maybe a few OOTDs, some game reviews, summer anime first impressions, a link to the upcoming tumblr giveaway, aaand...who knows what else~

May Favorites 2014

I'm only a week and a half late...anyways, May was a kind of stressful month at the beginning and great during the end. So here's five things I was loving during the month of May! Um, this month is a little unconventional - no makeup or fashion products, and some of the favorites aren't exactly things you can purchase...sorry haha.

First up is more of a concept then an item...it's a newer art style! I've been having artist block for who knows how long. I recently got inspired by a new favorite artist, Kaiami, to draw a bit in her style. The more I drew, the more it evolved from a copy of her style into something of my own. It's not perfect yet, but I'm actually making art and I'm liking what I'm doing! If you have a deviantArt account, you can follow me there at MeltyBunny and my tumblr art blog at meltybunny-art.

My second favorite is kind of weird? SWEET TEA. For the longest time I hated sweet tea. I liked iced tea with flavors, but not just straight, Southern sweet tea. And then I was at Thornton's and instead of coffee, I had the strangest desire to get some. And it tasted a little gross, but I liked it. Now I'm drinking it non stop. I know that it's no good for me because of all the sugar but I. Can't. Stop.

Probably the most normal favorite on my list is a new anime called Is The Order a Rabbit? It combines slice of life with rabbits and coffee, so I really don't see any faults with it at all. If you love cute, fluffy anime, I highly recommend it. The ninth episode was just released, and the fifth is up on Hulu+.

My fourth favorite...is the lack of spiders in my apartment. You can see why I didn't put an image there, yes? We had an incident with a giant spider in our apartment. No, you don't get it. Giant. In the bed. But it was taken care of, and we got pest control to come and search, and they didn't find anything. It most likely came from a box I ordered from Poland. Thanks, Amazon!

Lastly is...this blog post that I made XD Why? Because it got liked and reblogged over six hundred times on tumblr and got almost twice those views on the post itself, so that means it reached a LOT of people...and hopefully that means it helped a lot of people as well! That's what I want - to help people.

I know this was a really short and not so organized/cool favorites post, hopefully next month will actually have interesting favorites on it.

Are you watching E3? I got up early to watch Nintendo's segment. I saw Sony's and was pleasantly surprised.