So this year, I wanted to do a low fuss halloween costume. For those of you that know me…low key is not usually what I am known for during Halloween. As a fan of cosplay, over the years, on a most costume fussy night such as Halloween, I have been such things as a zombie cheerleader, day of the dead sugar skull, Poison Ivy, Queen of Hearts, a Witch, a nurse, woodland Faerie, and “Kyo” from Blackbird just to name a few. So ya, I like me the costumes. But when fall hit this year, my desire to go over the top was curbed by a keen realization: being someone other than yourself can be as simple as wearing different make-up and clothes, and having a different mind set. And I have always been a fan of the unassuming, hidden horror that came from the manga character Tomie. On the surface she appears as a normal pretty asian girl, but her ability to haunt and entrap men into dark obsession is what makes Tomie truly fearful.
Tomie is a curious monstrosity and freak girl created by Japanese manga artist Junji Ito–one of my fave manga artists. I give him total props for thinking up and drawing out this female horror icon. In his series of horror stories, Tomie is an eternally youthful, pretty girl who mentally tortures and manipulates vulnerable men, until they ultimately “snap”, and in a fit of possession/obsession, murder her in often gruesome ways. To her victims’ horror, no matter how violent her death (such as being chopped up into hundreds of pieces), she always regenerates in twisted haunted ways, always remaining tempting and attractive, until she gets killed again. It’s hard to explain the premise, but you gotta read the mangas and see Ito’s artwork to be truly drawn in. In Japan, Tomie is famous for having spawned many B movies and such. Forget Freddie Kruger, and Jason Vorheses, Tomie has gotten them beat. A monster in a youthful Asian girl.
A coloured manga cover depicting a typical Tomie pose. Demure and threatening underneath.This is how Tomie regenerates and reproduces herself after being murdered, She can grow from any severed member of her body until she has many evil copies of herself. Creepy.
For my costume homage to Tomie, I already have her bangs and long hair…so it is not a hard costume for me at all! The make-up I did for Tomie was simple. Lashes was key. Two coats of mascara top and bottom lashes. Liquid liner in inky black was also key in making her bold slanted eyes. I drew the top liquid liner on a slant, making it thicker and higher in angle near the outer corners of my eyes. The signature mole that Tomie has under her left eye was created with liner and was enough to set the look. And I looked for any girly clothes that can be seen as something Japanese girls wear. I really liked my results. I felt like the evil Tomie all Halloween night! What fun.
Tomie as a school girl, is one of the ways she appears in the series!Do I bear a resemblance to the evil freak girl Tomie?
Travelling and looking good has always been an obstacle for me because A) I’m short on time during a trip, B) I’m short on energy during a trip, and C) I’m short on supplies during a trip… I wrote about how my last vacation to Florida was mostly a mess earlier this year in an entry, and now I’m am going to write about my recent trip to the one and only, New York City. I adore New York City, it stands as being the epitome of urban living culture. From it’s wonderful graffiti lined streets, to its overwhelming skyscrappers on every block, the city makes me feel small and large all at the same time. I didn’t fuss too much on what make-up and clothes to pack for this trip, taking only the essentials, but I feel I was looking my best. Why is looking the part so important on vacations? It’s documented in your photos, and looking good adds to the good memories. So this is my recap of what I sported during the trip! I hope this is not too boring!
Day 1: The High Line Park and Chelsea Market
We took the night bus all the way to NYC and was dropped on the corner of 7th Ave and 23rd. I had taken a sleeping pill on the bus or else I wouldn’t have gotten any sleep. On the bus, I had no make-up on because I felt that it would be cruddy to wear, however I did hydrate my skin on the bus. When we got there, I only had time to put on a little make-up, so I only put on bb cream and powder and mascara. It was not a glamourous look, but at least I didn’t look like I had just gotten off a night bus. We went to a really pretty park called the High Line that was build on a previous above ground train line, and then visited Chelsea market for gourmet delights, and a hand made artist market. I was rocking a natural undone look this day for sure, but at least it matched the activities we were doing!
Day 2: Soho, Chinatown and Times Square
No time for too much primping our second day in NYC, as it was going to be an active walking and shopping day! So what better to wear than a comfy athletic skater dress. Its made more feminine with the floral print and had a cut-out in the back for circulation during the hot and stifling late summer heat. I wore them with my simple jelly shoes. For make-up I worked with simple plum and purple shades, after only bringing one Stila palette with me for ease of packing. But it had all the face colours I needed in that palette, I also brought a liner pen, my bb balm and my own handmade setting powder. Don’t forget the sunscreen! I made my own with cocoa butter and zinc oxide, and it was a dream to use during this trip.
On the way to Soho by foot from Chelsea, what a long walk! On a typical block corner in downtown Manhattan.
Day 3: Late rising, the MET, Central Park and Koreatown
While traveling it’s always tempting to want to cram everything into the day. It’s actually not a good idea, even though you’re excited and want to see and do a lot of things. You will get fatigued, and then anything you do will not be fun. So on Day 3 we slept in and took our time to leave the hotel. And well, ultimately that meant less time at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, even though that place could take a week to see–we had two hours! What a sacrifice for extra rest…After it closed we set out into Central Park to enjoy the beauty of the evening in natural surroundings. Then when night hit, we left for Koreatown for BBQ. It was yummy. I was wearing pastel silver purple shadow, and a clean face, with liquid liner and pencil. My choice of dress was a flow-y lavender shirt, and crochet shorts. I feel it fit the overall natural and cultural theme of the day. Too bad that when we got to Koreatown that night, all the make-up stores were shut, as I am quite the fan of Korean make-ups.
Sorry, my expression here isn’t the best, but I wanted to show the plum make-up palette that I wore. This was a romantic feeling day, central park was just like in the movies.
Day 4: Really late rising, Statue of Liberty, Wall St.
So this day was a refuel for us. Everyone needed to shower, and I needed to shampoo, and all in all, we didn’t reach the Statue of Liberty until 3:30, after stumbling around to find the ferry and boating our way there! (Something I am proud of this time around was I asked for minimal directions in the city. I just fumbled a bit and made a few tiny error, but work it to blend in with the locals!) Educational and epic, no trip to NY is complete without a trip to the statue. I had my hair up in a bun, as it was a really hot day, and I wanted to keep my freshly washed hair clean. When night hit, I let my hair down, and because it had been a touch damp when I put it up, it had pretty amounts of wave to it. On this day I was a bit more girly, opting for a strapless summer dress in muted colours of grey, pink and blue. I guess this fit the over all theme of the day, since the concept and notion of “Liberty” can be seen as ladylike and delicate. Or it was just one of those days I felt like primping up…after the statue tour we wandered around Wall Street as the sun set, and watched the last of the hectic suited workers straggle home on the iconic street of commerce.
Day 5: East Village, Greenwich Village, Washinton Square Park
Our last day was a laid back and funky one, as we visited the more “fringe” neighborhoods in Manhattan. There was East Village, my ideal spot to live if I were to move to NY, for its pretty, quiet streets and interesting vintage shops. Then we went over to Greenwich Village, famous for being a bohemian, and political hotbed. Was it radical or edgy? Maybe back in the “hey days”. They were filming an ad in Washington Square park, very far from the image I expected to find of protesters and artist raising up arms. Well, it was still a beautiful iconic park. For this last day, comfort was key, but I didn’t throw on just any ratty shirt and shorts. I had on my floral printed tights, two tank-tops trimmed with lace layered on top of eachother, and some bright purple sneakers that I had bought at Century 21, near wall street, the previous night. I was comfortable, but hopefully not boring, with a laid-back style that was still girlie at heart!
East Village. Quiet, laid back side streets filled with vintage shops and edgy quirky fashion items.
This sums up my New York vacation. When I got back home, I was very tired for a while. Maybe my age is catching up to me because it was only a short vacation that I bore. But boy, was I exhausted for days! All in all it was successful in terms of looking my best, and enjoying the sights…the most rewarding part was knowing that I didn’t fuss over any outfit or make-up while I was there. It just all fell into place, because when you’re winging it, and just trying to have fun, things tend to go well. So don’t be one of those peoples that packs the world whenever travelling. Choose to bring fashion and make-up essentials that you like and are functional enough, and you’ll find that you feel a lot lighter and the trip will be more memorable!
I’m not very political. Well, not from being shamefully ignorant of current everyday world matters, but by choice. I am individualistic, and things that move me are personal and internal. But I recently watched a movie called The Flowers of War, which came out in 2011 about the atrocity that was the Japanese occupation of China in 1937 during WWII in the city Nanking. There was a lot of violence and rape during this invasion, and the Japanese Imperial Army was painted as sub-human, and most heinous in this movie, attacking the innocent civilian women of China with dehumanizing rape and murder. Any female was a target, even school children… The premise of the movie is that women from the two most farthest social groups: school girls 13 years of age and prostitutes from the red light district, are thrust together while hiding out in a Swiss Catholic Cathedral, trying to keep their lives, while being led and aided by an American posing to be a priest. It’s based on terrible events, but one that needs to be heard. My family background is Chinese, and it hurts me deeply to learn about how savage the attack was on the city of Nanking. Without putting too much blame on the Japanese, I still can’t believe how one Asian nation can rape and pillage another Asian nation with such ferocity and dis-compassion. I will forever be scarred knowing this war actually happened.
But politics aside, I really loved the fashion and make-up in this movie. The actresses playing the prostitutes in this film really “brought it” in terms of vintage Chinese make-up and fashion. The times were sad, but the visual feel of these glamorous women were not. If Western culture is guilty of objectifying and overly feminizing Eastern cultures in the past, this movie totally justifies it. So many beautiful Chinese actresses, so much wonderful fashion and make up looks. I examined the looks in this movie and was inspired to create my own modern day Chinese prostitute make-up to beguile and enchant here in present day North America.
The hookers were well spoken and smart in this movie, without sacrificing their femininity. Look at their gorgeous make-up palette! Minimal, but so striking.Nothing dreary about the colourful fashion of the times. The star actress Ni Ni wears this vintage dress with the confidence only a real lady can possess.
How I made my version of the look:
1. Thin eyebrows. Vintage Chinese make-up had the thinnest eyebrows possible, lined to perfection. Update it by perfectly grooming your brows, a bit on the skinny side. Not a hair should be out of place. Line and fill with brow shadow.
2. Thin and exaggerated black liquid liner on the top eyelid. Make it fluid, make it thin and as pointed high as you can go, without looking too pronounced or prostitute like. After all, we want to be inspired, but we don’t want to look like a 1940’s hooker.
3. Lightly line the bottom eyelid or skip altogether. I still want to line the bottom, even though in the movie, the bottom eyelid looked bare and bright. I think bottom lining is important to make your eyes pop. But lightly line so that the star of the show is the top lid’s liquid liner.
4. Minimalist eye shadow. This is important…because the star of this make-up is the exaggerated liquid liner, the eye shadow should be barely noticeable, but still important, to create a look of polished elegance. I used a slightly tan shadow on my top lids to give warmth while staying true to this vintage look.
5. Red, red lipstick. Or tinted red lip balm. Whatever you are comfy with!
6. What do you think?
This is my take on this movie inspired make-up. Not as amazingly stunning as Ni Ni’s, but passably pretty for day to day?
Dreamy Reveries: a journal of make-up and fashion 