My life this year (2013).

Yahoo everybody!

It's the end of the year 2013. And thank God it is over  ლ(⌒▽⌒ლ)
My mum recently told me about the "seven year" rule. Basically at some point in our lives we'll begin our seven year period that brings us seven years of good fortune followed by seven years of bad fortune. I fear I have completed my first 7 good years and have now entered the 7 bad years period...which means I still have 6 years of misfortune left  :;(∩´﹏`∩);: This year was such a mess. Naturally there were many good things that happened this year, but all in all, I'm very grateful that I can put this mess of a year behind me. Number 13 be damned!

In the beginning of the year 2013 I moved to London. I got accepted in the Academy of Freelance Makeup to study to become a makeup artist. I spend couple of days (foreshadowing) in a Bed & Breakfast in Acton whilst looking for a place to live. I was beyond happy to be back in the UK and my belowed London. Silly me thought it would be easy to find a nice flatshare quickly in a big city like London. I had done a lot of research etc before I moved so I was 100% sure I would be alright. However, finding an affordable, clean flat in a safe neighborhood turned out to be really difficult. I wanted to live in Acton, but there weren't many flats available. I was getting desperate and so in the last minute I accepted an offer from a flat agency. It was a single room in a 3 bedroom...uumm attic flat. When I moved in, I discovered that there were two couples living in the other 2 rooms, a Malaysian couple and a mixed race couple (the man was from Mozambique and the woman from Portugal). We all had to share one fridge and one bathroom/toilet. *sigh* Long story short (because I'm still very traumatized) I wasn't happy there. The Malaysian couple was very very mean to me + they smoked in the bathroom. We also had some other problems in the flat which then was the reason why I moved out only after a month. And that cause me my £500 deposit too (6 months contract). However, the other couple was very, very nice to me and did everything they could to help me out when ever (*´∀｀*)♡ I had never felt this helpless and hopeless in my entire life, and this couple helped me when things were tough. I had no idea such pure and good hearted people existed! They had their own problems, really tough, sad problems too, but still they let me reach out to them. I still stay in touch with them, and they too have moved out of that horrible flat and now live in a studio. His visa came through too so I'm very happy for them (((o(*ﾟ▽ﾟ*)o)))
God bless them!!

School was great. I was excited to go, and very happy to discover there were many foreigners enrolled besides me. The school was in the heart of Soho, stone thrown away from Piccadilly circus. I still couldn't believe I was living in London and going to makeup school in Soho. The first week was all about makeup= foundation, skincare, brows, highlight/contouring/blush, bridal, period, freestyle, bodypainting, glitter/diamonds, fashion, editorial and catwalk. The course was taught by real, working makeup artists, so we got to learn many tricks of the trade. We did a shopping day too and received great discounts from several brands.
Third week was hair week and even though it was difficult I still enjoyed learning about hair and hair care. Heated rollers FTW!
Fourth and final week was 3 days of nails and 3 days of airbrushing. I LOVE NAIL ART, always have =D I keep my nails long and love decorating them with diamonds, drawings, and glitter etc. I didn't realize there was so much to nail care. We even learned how to instal gel nails properly. Air brushing was so much fun too! I actually enjoyed air brushing so much that I wouldn't mind working for a tv-channel or in movies as an air brush artist. Our teacher John Woodbridge was so talented and so hilarious! (≧∇≦)/ The course was expensive, but so worth it. I was recruited by a beauty/fashion agency even before I graduated.

After I finished school in February, I moved to Southgate and was now living in much nicer flat. My boyfriend at the time, come to call my room as "Princess room". Only if my life had reflected that room ^.^'' Even though I was working, I now lived in zone 4 and one week tube ticked cost £40-45. I worked 8h days and got paid £48. I worked maybe 3-4 days a week. And my rent was very high compared to my rent in Acton. Even though I was happy at work and got to travel around London, I didn't want to live in London, or England, anymore. So after living in Southgate 1,5 months I moved back to Helsinki in late March.

Padrao dos Descobrimentos monument.

Whilst I was still in London, I went to Lisbon to celebrate my parents' 25th wedding anniversary ≧(´▽｀)≦ My little sister and her boyfriend flew from Scotland to Heathrow and together we flew to Lisbon where we met my parents. This was our first visit to Lisbon. We spend four days exploring the city. My parents are still very excited about Lisbon xD We did the basic tourist stuff and it was nice that my parents had been to that city before so they were working as our tour guides. We saw Christo-Rei, Padrao dos Descobrimentos monument, explored Chiado and Belém and went to Colombo shopping centre (they had Sephora!!). We youngsters even took my parents to Hard Rock Café. It was their first time, and now HRC has become a thing in our family xD Wut, they have great cocktails (≧∇≦)/
It was a great trip, and I think we all needed a break from our daily lives to spend some time together and go exploring together. My family and I are very close, and I'm very greatful for that!

Helsinki city centre

Back in Helsinki, I moved in with my boyfriend. I didn't want to go back to my parents' place and I figured I'd be able to get back on my feet faster if I moved in with him instead. I was looking for a job and I told him that I would be out of his hair within 6 months or so. We both kinda value our alone time so I didn't want to be too much of a bother to him (just FYI, I have known the guy for more than 5 years and we have been in an on-off relationship since we met). And I knew that if I went back to my parents' place, I would just resume my "princess life" from before and never move out. I want have a life of my own, but I want to live comfortably too (* >ω<) So I was under my boyfriend's wing for 5 months, until I broke up with him and moved back in with my parents (^^ゞ Heh, a lot of things happened there which I won't be stating here.

some makeups I did in 2013

During those 5 months, I was working as a freelance makeup artist. I was unemployed so I filled my days with portfolio shoots. I got to meet some pretty awesome people and got great pictures for my portfolio (((o(*ﾟ▽ﾟ*)o))) The most memorable shoots I did? Well all of my shoots have been great, but to name a few winners: My shoot with photographers Nicole and Pekka, and models MissLiddless and Mikael was just great! We went to shoot at Suomenlinna and that evening was just awesome!! We had so much fun Ｏ(≧▽≦)Ｏ We made really nice photos that day! After that Nicole, Pekka, MissLiddless and I worked on Paris inspired photos (collage above: lower right and lower middle photos). Another great shoot was with model Emily and photographer Otto. We met early in the morning at a rhododendron park near my home and shot glitter makeup. I made a video of that shoot http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3m8la76tOlk
And one final really memorable shoot was with alternative model Agony Von Grim and photographer Alejandro. We shot nudes at Suomenlinna, and Agony brought real blood to make the theme more gory. I did her makeup where the ferry docks and we were surrounded by Chinese business people. It was great fun! (* >ω<)

So far I have enjoyed being a makeup artist, and this year I have had my work published in two magazines. GTi, which is a men's car magazine, and The Alternative Model Directory magazine. Agony Von Grim asked me up to do her makeup since she's going to be featured in the magazine ＼（＾▽＾）／

Last year I was obsessed with Naruto and Kuroshitsuji (Black Butler), but this year came the sinister Diabolik Lovers ＼（＠￣∇￣＠）／ I found this series by accident in July and haven't been able to let go since. Diabolik Lovers is a game series for PSP, but it also bore manga and an anime series, Drama and Charcter CDs and other fanservice stuff. So it's now quite a big franchise. I have talked about DiaLovers on my other post so you can check it out here: http://makeupartistheini.blogspot.fi/2013/11/diabolik-lovers-hell.html
I finally got PSP two weeks ago so I cracked open my MORE,BLOOD and am now playing my favourite character, Laito-kun  “ヽ(´▽｀)ノ” The game is surprisingly tough (if you don't cheat!) and I seriously should study kanji everyday! I just love-love-loooooove this series!! *chu*

Drama CD series "ALICE=ALICE. Vol. 1. Kuro Usagi"

Aanndd what else. Yeah I also I got into Japan and Japanese stuff again o((*^▽^*))o I studied Japanese in high school for 4 years, and I wanted to study it in college too, but our sensei told me that I was too good, so she didn't let me join the course. After that, the otaku in me went on hiatus. I still watched anime occasionally and listened to J-pop, but I wasn't as into Japan as I had been in high school. HOWEVER DiaLovers got me hooked on Japan again. I started listening to Japanese Drama CDs and I was watching anime again. In September I completed like 8 series of anime (hhm OreImo, Highschool of the Dead, Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojou etc etc). And I've acquired bunch of Drama CDs (so many DiaLovers CDs, Jewelic Nightmare CDs, Alice=Alice, Kannou Jikan 2/5/9, Yandere Heaven 1/4/5 etc etc) Now I'm playing Japanese Otome games (visual novels). I started out with DiaLovers MORE,BLOOD and am waiting for Jewelic Nightmare to arrive + I want DiaLovers 1, Amnesia & Amnesia Later and Black Wolves Saga ~Last Hope~.

After my birthday in October, I got a permanent job in a department store. I work in women's fashion selling the high end brands like Burberry, Hugo Boss etc. I like my job and my colleagues are so so nice!! o (^‿^✿) It's a great job, and I have just enough free time to workout, paint, play PSP and do makeup jobs.

 

Prague Castle

In December I visited Prague for the first time. My father was turning 60 so family around Europe gathered to celebrate him in Prague. We stayed in the old town. Besides the old town and the Christmas market, we visited the Prague Castle and Palladium shopping centre.
When we left Helsinki, it was +5'C, and when we arrived in Prague, it was -3'C, bloody cold!!
But it was a lovely town and a lovely holiday =D I liked Lisbon, but for me, Prague had that European capital city feel that I like (((o(*ﾟ▽ﾟ*)o))) I definitely want to visit that place again, with more time this time.

Prague Christmas market.

It may not seem like it, but this year was tough for me. Never before have I had such difficult and some what dissapointing year. I don't wanna be whiny, this is just how I feel. It did have some good moments though, and I'm greatful for many things and what I learned this year. But I can't help but feel happy that this year is over. And I truly hope that the year 2014 will be kind to me ♡
I heard that on New Year's eve, you need to wear red underwear to get more fortune next year, and that's just what I'll do now (* >ω<)

Happy New Year 2014 everybody!!! I'll see you soon!!

Gemstone photo shoot.

Photo by Jani Miikkulainen

Hello everybody!

I have been so engrossed in painting that everything else pretty much comes second (well except work and photo shoots). I ment to finish this blog post and video a month ago, but inspiration hit me and all I wanted to do was paint. I'm almost finished with my newest painting, and yesterday I finally felt like completing "Gemstone's" video.

Last month I got together with photographer Jani to shoot something "Italian Vogue-sque".
It was another portfolio shoot so we were free to do what we wanted. It took us quite a while to generate ideas, until we finally landed on what you see in the photos. Jani took care of finding the model and studio stuff and I was left with supplying the clothes, styling and doing makeup-hair.
Lucky for me, I had met a designer couple months back, we were interviewing for the same fashion related position. After the group interview she came up to me and handed me her business card. She does a lot of photo shoots too and said it could be cool if we could collaborate sometime. Since I'm such an organized person, I hadn't lost her card =D So once Jani and I had sorted out all the details, I contacted Riikka and asked her if she could join our shoot. Her website http://riikka.fi/ I immediately fell in love with her designs! Her bead and lace work is exquisite!! I told her to be careful because I just might assign her to design me a whole new wardrobe ;) She is such a sweetheart too!

©Jani Miikkulainen 2013

I ran in to some trouble though. Since we wanted our photos to look like they belong in Italian Vogue we needed pretty extravagant accessories! I have quite a nice collection of necklaces and headpieces, but those wouldn't have been enough, we needed more. So I searched for designers and shops in Helsinki that would lend accessories for photo shoots. That was exhausting! Finally I remembered Penny Lane, a second hand vintage shop not too far from Helsinki city centre. After getting the green light from them I went in and picked the accessories I thought would go well with Riikka's clothes and were 'Vogue-sque'. Seriously it took me and Jani like a month to organize this shoot!

©Jani Miikkulainen 2013

I'm not gonna lie, this was an exhausting shoot x_x Because I pretty much had to do all the fashion stuff myself. I did model Anniina's makeup, which took me a while, then after that I did her hair (quite pretty updo) and after that I had to start figuring out how to style her. I hadn't planned anything before hand because I had to see how the clothes and makeup looked first. Of course I needed to consult Jani too whilst styling Anniina. I was pretty exhausted when I finally finished. I had picked a lot of hot pink and black hair accessories from Penny Lane. I had visioned using the black ones with the emerald lace shirt. I'm all in for jewel tones! Black goes really well with pretty much all the jewel tones! All the accessories in Anniina's hair are from Penny Lane, the canary necklace is mine (from ebay) and the earrings were Anniina's. And of course the emerald embroided lace shirt is by Riikka Ikäheimo.

©Jani Miikkulainen 2013

For the last set, I took out all the hair accessories and just put Anniina's hair on a ponytail. I gave her little more blush and red lips. The black embroided lace dress is in Riikka's personal use and not for sale. The emerald shirt was reserved for a buyer.
All in all, I'm very happy how this shoot turned out! The photos are fantastic, Jani is such an artist with a camera. And he's also a photoshop genious! With these pics, we even got 100 likes on this Finnish TFCD-facebook group. I can't remember seen anyone else score 100 likes =D 

That's for it now, you can view the photos on my facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.535800266505999.1073741842.403590549726972&type=3
And here's the link to the video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCVzEIVesUc

Thanks for reading!! I'll be blogging about Japanese Drama CDs next =D 
Take care!!

Diabolik Lovers hell.

Konnichiwa mina-san!!

Oh yeah this is happening, like I said on my latest update I'm going to be talking about Diabolik Lovers soon. Well that's today.

From left to right: Shu, Reiji, Ayato, Kanato, Laito, Subaru.

Where to begin...I got hooked on DiaLovers in July I think, and the more I learned about the characters and the plot, the more obsessed I became. It's an addictive series...if you like that sort of thing. First of all, this series is not for the faint of heart. DiaLovers deals with dark themes like sadism, sexual abuse, abuse and murder and none of the boys are nice. You can forget that Twilight bullshit, these vampires don't sparkle nor swear their eternal love to us. They are very mean, abusive and arrogant. Having said that, I'm not gonna spoil too much of the plot here incase people who read this get interested and want to checkout the games and anime themselves. Diabolik Lovers consists of 2 Otome games for PSP and PSP Vita (Diabolik Lovers Haunted Dark Bridal and now Diabolik Lovers MORE,BLOOD), bunch of Drama CDs, mangas and an anime series.

The plot involves around 17-year-old Komori Yui whose father leaves her in the care of their "relatives" the Sakamakis whilst he goes abroad. At the Sakamaki mansion she meets 6 brothers who turn out to be vampires. The brothers claim that she was send to their house on purpose so she is forbidden to leave their side. In the first game "Diabolik Lovers Haunted Dark Bridal" the player gets to choose which brother becomes their love interest. As the game proceeds Yui-chan gets more acquainted with the brother she chose and we learn that he is just a misunderstood, frightened young man. Eventually they fall in love....PPPPFFFFF nnfufufufuuu I LIED! (*´∀`*) Sorry, but that's not how it goes at all!! Like I said, this is dark stuff. 
But I didn't lie about the opening, we get to choose love interest for us/Yui and the game goes from there (naturally you want to play all the brothers, but it's up to you in which order...well in the beginning you have to choose between Ayato, Kanato and Laito). Each guy's route is split into 3 sections, "Dark, Maniac and Ecstasy" in which we learn more about the guy we chose. Throughout the game the guy presents us with questions, and our answers will determine what kind of ending we'll have with the guy. A good ending then locks 'hidden' Heaven scenarios. 

Fate selection bit from Ayato's route.

So far pretty ok right? If you have played Otome games aka Visual Novel games before DiaLovers follows the basic Visual Novel game format. We get various sprites of the brothers, full screen shots, 2 answer choices (in some games you get 3) to determine our fate, locations suchs as: the school, garden, lake, torture chamber, dining room, living room, bedrooms etc etc and what else...oh yeah we get to hear the amazing seiyuus (voice actors) put their acting skills in to good use ;) Not to mention the art is stunning!! I really, really wish I could paint that well!! Seeing such beautiful art makes me want to design my own otome game and do the art for it *_* The whole game has a very realistic 3D look and the artist (shite I don't know who the artist is, but I want to!!) has designed great colour palettes for the game. The game is easy on the eyes and Reject, DiaLovers developer, hired superb seiyuus to voice the brothers.

That's the summary of how the game works. No, I haven't played the game. I just ordered DiaLovers MORE,BLOOD and in December when I get my next paycheck I can order PSP and start playing (=*_*=) So how did I get access to DiaLovers and know about the plot, the brothers etc etc?? I googled. There are bunch of people on youtube now playing the game and on the web many people have written detailed summaries of each route. I recommend you follow Narihira on tumblr because she gives great insights on the psychological side of DiaLovers (she studies psychology in university). And she posts a lot of stuff regarding DiaLovers ❤ and she's also playing MORE,BLOOD now http://narihira.tumblr.com/
A great blog worth mentioning is Ilinox's blog. She's English whose Japanese skills are insanely good!! She has translated some DiaLovers stuff, and her translations are insanely detailed and accurate! http://yumemirusekai.wordpress.com/
And on youtube you can follow for example ka jia who's played the first game  http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5drJjqf-BAp9KEDxLQEATQ/videos

Anime poster 2013.

I probably should mention that both DiaLovers and MORE,BLOOD don't have english susbtitles/translations. So how come I can play the games and understand the Drama CDs??
Mochiron because I have studied Japanese! (=^.^=) I studied Japanese 4 years in high school. I wanted to continue in college, but our sensei forbid me to attend the class because she thought I was too good. I didn't really learn japanese or watch anime that much in college. I hardly listened to J-Pop too. But once I learned about DiaLovers and started watching people play the game and listen to DiaLovers Drama CDs, my Japanese has gotten better. (well I listen all kinds of Drama CDs now but I'll do another post on that). Although my kanji knowledge sucks big time, also I can hardly remember any hiragana-katakana signs I learned in high school!! So I am slightly intimitated about playing the game, but I usually learn while doing anyway so it should be fine (・ω＼)

Now on to the really good stuff...what makes this series so notoriously dark? How disturbed these boys really are? Tottemo, very! Well that doesn't say anything still. You really have to experience it yourself. But there's no denying it, these guys are really disturbed, somewhat paranoid and hardcore Do-S types (for the love of God, don't google that!!). And with Diabolik Lovers it's not about sex. Like with some people the first thing that comes to mind when someone says "Sadist" or "Masochist" is sex. But no, these guys are not some lame Christian Grey teen versions (my God those books were bad!!...not bad meaning good, but bad meaning really bad ಠ_ಠ ). Christian Grey ain't got nothing on these guys, he's just a guy who likes to have sex and spank Anastasia. But DiaLovers are both mentally and physically abusive and like I said, it has nothing to do with sex....well...unless it's Laito-kun (///O.O\\\). These guys were brought up by disturbed or broken mothers who craved for their husband's attention in vain (except Christa, Subaru's mother). Their husband... Karl had three wives: Cordelia who had Laito, Kanato and Ayato, Beatrix who had Shu and Reiji and lastly Christa who had Subaru. Hence they are half brothers (LOLS this is a popular pattern in Otome games. The brothers are always "just" half brothers, cuz, I think, it would be too icky if the heroine was going through 6 full-blooded brothers. 'Half brothers' cushions the blow I think..). But Karl was never around and never expressed any interest in his wives or sons. Basically Cordelia was the first wife, but Shu and Reiji were born first, so Shu is going to be the head of the Sakamaki house. Without giving too much spoilers I'm just going to say that Cordelia abused her sons in various ways to get back at Karl (and well....she is insane) and Beatrix ignored Reiji completely and focused her energy on Shu, who didn't want to be the head of the family anyway. And Christa...who was forced to have Subaru was locked away and suffered a mental break down. Hhhmm..were those spoilers??

The "Triplets", Laito, Ayato and Kanato.

That's a little bit of history that lets us understand better why these guys are the way they are. Their father Karl then dumped them in the mansion and had Reiji make sure that they all go to school whilst he attends some secret business of his own. These guys are now used to doing whatever they want to do, with Reiji occasionally disciplining them. And that's when Yui/we come in. Yui is literally told that if she tries to escape, they will kill her (and that's not a cute, iddle threat, they really mean it. She/we are nothing to them, and, well they are vampires with superpowers). Yui's father is abroad, and she has no where else to go. The church she attended won't aswer her calls and eventually tell her not to contact them ever again. Yui is left alone in a mansion with 6 guys with personality disorders (personally I would already be concerned about having to live alone with six unfamiliar men, even if they weren't vampires).
Okay so my first thought, when I got into this series was "yeah right, what can these guys do, really?". Hence I'll demonstrate by listing one horrible thing each brother did to Yui/us, I'm starting from the eldest and move down to the youngest.
Shu: because Shu is so lazy, he mostly just orders Yui to feed him her blood. Or calls her names. In the Versus Drama CD he was pretty mean though (O_O), but definately in the game he is the lesser of 6 evils.
Reiji: he pretty much uses Yui as a lab rat for his drug experiments. Seriously don't eat or drink anything this guy gives you, he makes special poisons just for Yui/us!!
Laito: oh boy...Laito-kun...where to begin...I'm just gonna say that Laito sexually harrasses Yui before he tries to drown her in a bathtub.
Kanato: throws toast in Yui's face and starts stabbing her with a fork.
Ayato: ties Yui to a dartboard and starts playing darts.
Subaru: the violent tsundere!! Seriously when this guy is in a bad mood (he is pretty much all the time), stay away! Not as bad as his other brothers, but can be very violent and aggressive.
Also I need to point out that when you choose a guy, the story mostly focuses on him. However the other brothers make guest appearances, and are always trying to get some too. Whilst trying to deal with the guy you chose, you also have to fend off his brothers who can be persistant.

Subaru, Ayato, Shu.

Well if I was just reading this and didn't know anything about DiaLovers, this wouldn't be enough to get me scared of these guys. It's the seiyuus that finally sell it (and of course the writers who wrote the dialogue) that these guys are sadists. No one can deny that the seiyuus are doing a great job voicing these characters. I'm especially fond of Subaru-kun's 'throat' chuckle, because it's so deep yet boyishly sexy at the same time. I hide my face every time Subaru chuckles, it's just so.....ghifueyfgsioohjjjshhhaayurhnomg!!! And Hirarin...also known as Hiragawa Daisuke who does Laito-kun's voice, deserves some kind of seiyuu Oscar for his performance!! (´・_・｀)
Granted Laito-kun's personality is already really over the top so the seiyuu could have approached this character from several directions. Hirarin however....uummmm *blush* plays Laito's playfulness and sex appeal to the max, he does not mess around. Every time Laito enters the scene, the raiting should go up to R21. And....the kissing noises he makes....KJDFDEOPAFPDGKMDIJWEOWUAHDYAAAHHHH!!! (////∀\\\\) *my face is burning*.
Yes all the seiyuu's have done brilliantly, sasuga professional seiyuu-tachi! All of them manage to bring out their character's individuality and personality through. If you let your imagination get the better of you...the seiyuus make these characters so real...and really convincing. I especially love the Tokuten Drama CDs where the brothers get to be interactive with each other. It's really a pleasure to listen to because the seiyuus are able to show off their acting talents and reveal something new about the character they are playing.

Yes before I forget, this game was recorded on a "dummy head mic", which is basically a "mannequin's" head that's a microphone. So when the seiyuu talks to the dummy's left ear, if you have headphones on (you should have head phones on!!) it literally sounds like the character is talking to your left ear (////∀\\\\) *my face is burning again*. Pretty much went to a fangirl oblivion when I experienced this the first time. Just make sure you are alone in the house when playing the game or listening to the Drama CDs...I'm 25 and I couldn't keep a straight face.

So what made me like this series? To a normal onlooker it should seem quite weird that girls would like to play a game where they are abused and sexually harrassed by teenage vampire boys. It's misogynist, anti-feminist and sounds down right awful, right? Granted I acknowledge that the game objectifies women and really jams these twisted gender roles down our throats. But when this game was put into development, the writers and developers made sure that this game would be very self-aware. Everybody who embarks on this journey knows what they are going to be dealing with. Well...there will be nasty surprises along the way. I can deal with a lot of trauma and stuff....but oh Laito-kun....I kinda expected that...but I was like "naaahh can't be true"....and when it was.... (ノ；Д；) The developers and writers chose to take this game to the extreme and they don't apologize for it. Which I am very happy about! I hate it when a story introduces a really dark and sadistic character...he meets the girl and after a while he becomes the nice prince charming worthy of her kindness. Hate to break it to you, but that shit doesn't happen in real life ಠ_ಠ  In Diabolik Lovers there is no magical cure for these guys. That Twilight bullshit doesn't happen here. These boys are only interested in Yui for her sweet blood, which they say is the best blood they have ever tasted. Hence they get addicted to it, they don't care who she is or what she thinks, she is just gourmet food to them. Bit by bit, these guys do take down the crazy, but they don't really change. The only one in this game who is forced to change, is Yui. That's very brutal, but I kinda like it. Yui eventually comes to understands the situation she is in and in order to survive, she has to become the Do-M that's expected of her. I'm saddened that many people (usually girls) have criticized Yui for being the little stupid weak blonde bimbo who can't do anything by herself. If you would just look at the situation she is in, you'd understand that the reason she becomes the guy's Do-M bride is because she has burning desire to survive. She is resisting the guys as much as she can, but eventually she is forced to go through some traumatic event that snaps her out of her optimistic mind set. She sees the reality of things and chooses to change in order to survive. The game doesn’t gloss over this and it's actually quite painful to go through/imagine. No Disney happy endings here guys. 

Well yes...I'm in it for the bishies...and because I'm interested in characters with borderline personality disorders. They are fascinating. But well, the frightful thing is that this could be real, these kind of guys most definitely excist, there could be girls out there who are locked away and constantly harrassed by 6 guys (I read The Collector, and I'm still not over it. That book made a mess out of me Q_Q really traumatizing read). To quote a fellow blogger "This is not a game where the douchebag male love interest is glorified and the girl changes him with the awesome power of love—because that’s not how things work in real life". As much as I hope that these guys would become the prince charming for Yui, the grown up in me knows that that is impossible. If you fall in love with these guys, you’ll have to handle the consequences. As much as I like Disney's happy endings and lovey-dovey stuff, I'm more interested in fantasy laced with reality, and Diabolik Lovers gives me just that. If you take a minute and think about what I have just told you, you should get it that the game's psychological side is frightfully realistic. The douchebag sadist you meet is not going to change for you, nor is your love going to magically heal him. Heh that sounds harsh..but really people that's how it is. And I find that very poetic and real. It's unfortunate the situation Yui is in, and you wouldn't wish that kind of destiny for anyone. 

You still here?? Here take this golden medal *hands you a medal* I have been rambling all this time (=^.^=) and you are still here.
What I'm trying to say I guess is that I enjoy the game and the series for its realistic approach to borderline personality disorders and their sources. The bad guy gets the girl and she is not happy about it. The beast doesn't change, Belle does. That sort of thing. And of course the hot boys and amazing seiyuus! Not to mention unlike regular boys (well at least Finnish boys) these guys will give you the time of day anytime! (=*∀^=) (and when they do, we probably wish they wouldn't). And actually whilst watching the game and listening to the Drama CDs I have found new sides of myself too (=^.^=) I discovered that I don't have to be so cool all the time, that I can show sadness and blush in public (<- somehow that sounds so dirty...) and not feel like I have to be in total control of my emotions and faces all the time. And yup learned many other things as well.

And now as a treat, I'll reveal who is my ultimate favourite DiaLover, who beat the others when I saw him and heard him talking..TADAAHHH it's Laito-kun!!!! (*///∀\\\*) It's best not to ask...

Sakamaki Laito.

And with that, thank you so much for reading!! Seriously mad props to you if you made it to the end!! I feel like I wrote a lot of stuff, but didn't really say anything. So I'm getting my PSP and MORE, BLOOD next month and I'm not sure if I'll be posting videos of me playing on my youtube channel. I want to play MORE,BLOOD first because I have watched the first game so many times that I want to play the new game. I have only read Kou-kun's route summary and little bit of Laito-kun's so I want to see what's going on there =^.^=

Domo arigatou gozaimasu for reading!! Next I'll be blogging about Drama CDs. 
Cheers, take care!!! Mata asobi ni kite nee!!

Free talk and update.

Konnichiwa mina-san!!

No I haven't vanished from blogger xD I have been quite busy, and "busy" for a while now so I haven't had the energy to blog. 

Basically I haven't done many photo shoots lately because I'm lacking the motivation. I did four shoots in October and so far one in November. It's difficult to shoot in Finland in winter unless someone has a studio and proper props. I now tell my contatcs that I'll work with them, but only if they have a concept/location/model etc ready. I'll design the makeup look (and possibly do the model's hair), but that's it. Right now I can't be bothered to start organizing and creating shoots from scratch. I don't have a theme or concept in mind right now anyway so I have "gone into hibernation" for now.
But I did post my newest photo shoot video Heil Grammar! on Youtube. Lovely miss Agony Von Grim designed the concept for that shoot and asked me to do her makeup. 
In October I also did two wedding shoots. Photographers Alejandro and Teija had designed a bridal shoot to promote their work and Alejandro asked me to do the makeup and hair. We shot two couples in two days. Alejandro and Teija had even booked Aleksanteri's theatre in Helsinki, where we shot the second couple. Oh and this was all portfolio/promotion stuff so we didn't get paid to do this. 

However because I did a magazine gig in October, I'm now a published makeup artist =)
Hhhmm..is published the right term..? Anyway I got my makeup and name on a magazine so...Heh it was a men's car magazine... anyway I'm still happy! Model Katri who did a superhero inspired shoot http://makeupartistheini.blogspot.fi/2013/07/superhero-photo-shoot.html with me and photographer Mathias, asked me to do her makeup and hair for the magazine shoot. 

This month I did another portfolio shoot. Photographer Jani who previously worked with me on an Urban Glam shoot, had planned a Vogue style fashion shoot. I'll write a full post on that once I finish editing the video and get the photo's from Jani =) But below is a first taste of the shoot. 

©HP Makeup 2013

Also I finished my newest painting ❤ I'm quite happy how it turned out, and this is going into my "City Summer" series. I have started another painting which will also go into the series. I'm thinking that I may participate in an art show next year =)

"Swan lake" ©Heini Mika 2013.

Otherwise I haven't got anything else planned for this month. I got a new part-time job and I'm very happy about that =) I work in a department store now. 

Okay so...one of the reasons why I have been neglecting my blog is because I'm utterly in love with Diabolik Lovers and Japanese Drama CDs. I'll post another blog on Diabolik Lovers and Drama CDs so stay tuned (that is if you are interested in those things). But basically these  obsessions of mine take about 97% of my time (1% for work, 1% for sleeping, 1% for working out).

This was a quick update on what I have been doing lately =^.^=
I haven't vanished, it's just that I have the attention span of a 3-year-old.
I think I'll talk about DiaLovers next.

See you soon!

Cheers!!

1960's inspired photo shoot.

©Pekka Akin 2013

 Merry October to you all!

In September I joined forces with photographer Pekka and we did a 1960's inspired photo shoot with model Tiina. This was Pekka's project and he just pulled me in to do the hair&makeup. I can do hair, it's just not something I'm particularly skilled in, or interested in. When it comes to my hair, I'm pretty much like "whatever", I just put my hair up or leave it be. (hhmmm but when it comes to boys, the first thing I look at is their hair..I wouldn't date a man with bad hair xP) Even though in makeup school I did a course on hair styling, I found it very difficult and basically was ready to shoot myself in the leg after the first day (and the first day was just blowdrying). Never the less I can do simple hair styles when requested. Because this was a portfolio shoot, I do have the luxury of time to do the hair and makeup in peace. However that usually takes up to 3h because I'm doing everything by myself. So I often ask the model to do her hair herself. This time we agreed that I would do Tiina's hair and she'd be prepared to sit still for 3h xD 

©Pekka Akin 2013

We began the hair and makeup after 10am and I was finished around 1pm.This is really a novelty for me. It's a girl hour! I get to talk about makeups and skin care and fashion xD I used heated rollers on Tiina's hair and teased the hair to get more volume. It turned out pretty good =) Key products for this look: Black liquid liner (I used Lumene's, but that one is sh*it), neutral pink blush by Coastal Scents and Nyx's white Jumbo eyepencil that I used as a base for the eyemakeup. Tiina had brought her own Joe Blasco foundation that came in a pot. It was very creamy and the color match was pretty much spot on. I'm not familiar with Joe Blasco's products, but I thought that foundation was pretty great. It was creamy, but not too heavy. I reckon that is a great product for those of you who want to have the luminous "no-makeup makeup" face.

©HP Makeup 2013

Pekka drove us outside of Helsinki to Vantaa where there was a prop car waiting for us. Do forgive me that I don't remember all the details about the car. We were supposed to shoot with a Porche, but the owner had already sold it. So we got a Buick Riviera instead. To me it was alright. Though it was a shame that Pekka didn't get the car/cars he wanted. This was probably the last 'warm' day. We were so lucky that the sun was shining and the cool air wasn't unbearable. This was pretty much like any other photo shoot, relaxed, everyone was doing a good job and we all enjoyed ourselves. Just in case you are wondering how we go about portfolio shoots, it all comes down to networking. When I started working as a freelance makeup artist, I had so many ideas for shoots. Through social media I contacted photographers and models and together we executed my ideas. Sometimes photographers and models would contact me and ask me to do their shoot. After summer I'm actually doing more other people's projects than my own. Which is fine by me. Models contact me to do their makeup for magazine shoots and private clients want me to do a bachelorette or bridal makeup for them.
In Finland especially people get to know you and your work by word of mouth. And all this applies to models and photographers too. If you are new to the field, you really need to get out there, do as many free shoots (aka portfolio shoots) as you can. It's true that your photos should speak for yourself, but word travels and if someone hears from someone else that you are doing a great job and you are an awesome person, they'll most likely get interested ^_^ I'm not gonna lie, it can be tough. You need to have a steady job, a lot of savings or someone sponsoring you to be able to do 2-3 shoots per week with no pay. But I try to make the most of it, there is no way I could be able to meet so many awesome people otherwise and have this kind of fun week after week.

©HP Makeup 2013

We had three costume changes and I think we shot for maybe 3-4h. Everything went fine and as always I was directing. I usually ask the photographer if it's okay that I direct the model because I want to make the most awesomest photos ewah. This way the photographer can concentrate on the composition and all dat techical stuff. If I see the model doing something that isn't working I say it right away. No point wasting time on a pose that doesn't look great. Tiina was doing a great job though, she was a natural in front of the camera ^_^ Finally I stepped behind the camera and took pictures of Pekka with the car. I love photographing, but it's just a hobby for me. I have my little Panasonic Lumix camera which is working just fine. However one day I want to buy a real professional camera! It was great to try out Pekka's camera! Half of the photographers I have worked with use Canon, and the other half Nikon, so I don't know which one is better!!

©HP Makeup 2013

That was really a great shoot. I had so much fun, and it wasn't whisky talking ;) Pekka had snuck a bottle of Scottish whisky to use as a prop, and earlier I had told Tiina how I love Scottish whisky. Heheh well it wasn't like we were at work. I laughed so hard whilst coaxing Tiina, not because she was doing something funny or wrong, but because I came up with a story she could use whilst posing. You know, the ridiculously rich Beverly Hills housewife character. Yeah it was a great shoot! 
 

I didn't make a video this time, but here's the makeup tutorial you can watch on my youtube channel. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ozc7ptpO3lc

Take care and I'll return with new photo shoot posts! October is turning out quite busy.
Mata asobi ni kite nee!

High Life photo shoot.

©Mikko Löppönen 2013

Hello everyone, in August I was reunited with model MissLiddles and photographer Mikko to shoot fashion photos. MissLiddles came to my place for makeup and then we made our way to The National Museum of Finland. MissLiddles had prepared a cosplay outfit based on American McGee's Alice game. We spend around an hour shooting this ensemble. Got some fantastic pictures out of it! I recently joined Cosplay group on Facebook and my, my what gorgeous cosplay people do these days!! Some of the photos are outstanding and really outrageous! I personally would love to do something with anime/manga cosplay. I know what anime outfit I want to do, and since one of my models is going to model in Asia soon, I might just ask her to bring me the outfit I want. Then all I need to do is find a model to model the outfit.

©Mikko Löppönen 2013

Okay so after we shot Alice we began shooting fashion stuff. MissLiddles and I got changed at Storyville, a jazz club next to the museum whilst Mikko looked for a table for us on their terrace. I had wanted to do a photo shoot there for so long! It's big and tucked underneath tall trees, and they've got a small water fountain and pretty lamp like heaters and coloured lights. It's so pretty! We shot there for maybe 45min. Suprisingly nobody bothered us even though it was friday evening and the terrace was full. People did look at us, but not in a disapproving manner. Mikko shot us together and separately. Mikko was doing fashion photos for the first time and I think he did a very good job composing each photo. MissLiddles and I were left to do our own thing.

©Mikko Löppönen 2013

After that we moved to shoot in the nearby area. Mostly on Mannerheimintie (Mannerheim street). Whilst we did a walking bit, couple of foreigners stopped to watch us. And later the girl came to tell us that it looked perfect and we'll surely get good pictures. She asked if this was for a magazine and I had to tell her no xD Naahhh it was for our portfolios. But it was nice that people were interested in what we were doing. I think MissLiddles told me once that whilst she was doing a different shoot in Finland, people stopped to stare a lot (I think it was Liddles who told me this). But that's the thing, even Helsinki is a small place and you don't see people doing something like this in public. Especially not in the city centre!! Most of the photographers I have worked with, want to stay out of the city centre because it's "too busy" (what I've lived in London, and London is busy!) and people will most likely disturb the photo session. I was just really happy that we were able to do this, cuz we got so many gorgeous photos.

©Mikko Löppönen 2013 (Got your skirt Lid!)

We finished before 11pm and got more compliments from tourists (Italian they were). It was a bit chilly that evening, but it wasn't unbearable. I'm very happy with how the photos turned out! Mikko did a fantastic job editing them =) I had found similar editing in ID magazine so I asked Mikko if he could do something like that with our photos. I personally like this kind of flashy editing and retouching. I'm all in for the Italian/Russian Vogue look.

©Mikko Löppönen 2013

I'm so happy that I got to do this project and model as well! This is a fantastic memory. I was unable to make a video of this shoot though. I was posing so a bit difficult to pose and film at the same time xP But you can go see the makeup tutorials on my Youtube page, link below.

My Makeup look:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewzQLwC7PRs

MissLiddles' makeup look:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_N46ON8wp4

Thank you for reading and I'll post another story soon. I did a new shoot with Agony Von Grim, and I predict we'll be famous in China soon ;) I'll tell you more later.

Take care! Cheers, bye!