Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Costume Super Center- Psychedelic Alice Costume Review



Hello Friends!

So after finally finishing restyling the wig and actually wearing the costume I can finally write a review about it~
As you saw I did do a shipping and unpacking review for the arrival of the outfit, since then I had been working on different make up looks and even styling the wig and finding accessories for the outfit.
This little review will be accompanied by photos from the mini shoot I did with one of my friends on Halloween, I even went trail hiking in the dress for the photos!
I have named the shoot "Alice in Dead Wonderland" due to the fact that the river in the area had dried up from a recent drought.

Let's get to it!










Psychedelic Alice;
This costume is licensed by Legs Avenue and as most people know Legs Avenue does tend to have very risque styled costumes, Alice tends to be one of their more modest costumes in my opinion.
The costume it's self does run a bit small, I wore a large in the brand and the waist was still fighting me just a bit, however that might of been from the addition of the petticoat.

The dress features a one shoulder bodice, the bodice it's self is made from a normal costume satin, with the sleeve attachment and ruffles being made from a organza fabric. The waist section features a mock "corset" which is just a fabric panel attached to the bodice to break up the colors a bit.

The skirt is three layers, the first two are organza as well, one layer with black bias tape on the hem and the second with harlequin diamond ribbon around the hem. The final layer is a layer of stretch blue fabric, I'm unsure as to whether it was spandex or not.

The blues between the bodice and skirt are two different shades, which help balance out the outfit very nicely.
The outfit also came with a cute little headband complete with a giant bow (I'm a sucker for bows) and a collar attachment, however my neck is smaller than the attachment and it did spin around a bit with my movements.

The only issue I personally had with the outfit was the zipper, I did try on this dress at a Halloween store and it seems to happen in all of the Alice dresses, near the white waist band, the zippers do tend to get stuck and need a bit of a good tug to come up. even doing so when the dress was hanging on a hanger. The zipper it's self was a bit slippery and did start to wiggle it's way down during my movements.
Other than that, this dress has become one of my favorite little Halloween outfits, and I'll probably end up wearing it again for Preview night at SDCCI (I never tend to plan an outfit for that day!)












Red Carpet Blond Wig;
For the wig I ordered the Red Carpet Blond wig, however the wig does not seem to be on the site at the moment so linked above is the brown version.

Now I tend to have love/hate relationships with Halloween wigs. This wig was actually very soft and didn't tangle up once the entire time I went trudging in the woods with it on. While the wig was not very thick and couldn't be pulled up into different hair styles, it was still gorgeous non the less.

I spent about 2 hours cutting the bangs (they still need a bit more trimming to be acceptable in my book) and sewing in 3 sets of hair extensions. On the sides I sewed in a pair of baby blue hair extensions, and for the bangs I added in black and white extensions.

Unfortunately I did not take into consideration the way the wig was built, which caused this weird bang look in the photo above, that is on myself though and not the company.

Overall I would use this wig again as I was very pleased with it. I did have a few people ask if it was real hair, which is something that usually only happens with my higher quality wigs that I get from places such as Rockstar wigs, and Gothic Lolita Wigs.





Harlequin Thigh Highs;
Another installment from the Legs Avenue bunch.

Now I'm a short person, I barely hit 5 feet tall, so thigh highs on me turn into almost tights, thus the height of the socks in this photo.

The socks were made from a very soft material and were very comfortable to wear. The print on the socks was a bit stiff, but once stretched out loosened up and became easier to maneuver around on the leg. The only area of the sock that seemed to lose the intensity of the print was at the very top of the sock as it was the area messed with the most from pulling on and off a few times.

I do plan on wearing these socks again, They have quickly become my favorites and will be incorporated into my daily outfits.









Other Items in the shoot used;
Shoes: Bodyline
Accessories: Old hottopic fishnet glove, 25cent bubble gum machine ring
Make up: Hard Candy CC cream, Hard Candy Liquid Foundation. WonderDream powder Foundation, Nabi Electric Blue Eyeliner, MUD Black Eyeliner, Lots of Lash's Mascara, Mud Mocha and Light Eyeshadow for highlight and contour, Mud Blush Pallet, KleanColor Eyeshadow Pallet, Character Pallet for the lips, Jessies Girl Crystal Gloss.
Costume: From my wonderful Sponsors over at Costume Super Center


Monday, September 29, 2014

Costume Super Center - Unpacking Review

Hello Friends!

So along with making my introduction post, I'm also making this post which is my unpacking review for the Costume Super Center.
Costume Super Center is a store based in New Jersey and is a supplier of several types of Halloween styled costumes, wigs and accessories. Part of their store is also supplying cosplayers with outfits to use as basis or for events. 

Luckily I was able to be chosen as one of those cosplayers, making this my first sponsorship/partnership, and I am very glad to be apart of it. Now onto the review~!


Now for my outfit I am going to be filming a dance cover with a friend of mine, using a Alice in Wonderland theme. 
For the outfit  had chosen out, a "Psychedelic Alice" outfit, which is a one shouldered, high low skirt styled outfit, from Leg's Avenue. To go with the outfit, I also chose, the Harlequin Socks also from Leg's Avenue. For my wig, I chose out a blond wig, called "Red Carpet Starlet".



So first off, the packaging!



The items came packaged in your typical little white shipping baggy~ There were no visible rips or tears and the items inside were in perfect condition. The item was shipped out on the 19th, and arrived today on the 29th,


The Items inside were as follows;

The Psychedelic Alice dress, with head bow and collar included. 
The dress is a mixture of polyester satin, and tulle, features a back zipper
High low skirt, and one shoulder. 
Dress pictured with two miniture petticoats from hottopic under it
Brand is Leg's Avenue, as usual though, the dress will be washed and ironed prior to wear due to being in a bag.
packaging bag, down below
Size pictured: Large



Leg's Avenue Harlequin tights.
Unopened at the moment, however I have owned this brand of tights/socks before, and have always been pleased with the results.
Socks come in two designs one with Harlequin Diamonds, the other with Vertical stripes.


Basic Halloween store styled wig. Wig was taken out of the bag upon unpacking to check the cap, and fibers.
Like a typical Halloween wig, this wig is on the thin side, however I will be sewing in colored highlights.
Cap inside, is a basic elastic net cap, leaving no room to adjust for had sizes, which is typical of a "one size fits all" style for Halloween stores.



Over all for the unpacking review;
Shipping - very quick. package came in undamaged.
Communication - Amazing, Matthew; who is the coordinator for the cosplayers section of the site, was very quick to return all emails. I even emailed him today to ask the shipping date of the package and received an answer between 10-15 minutes.
Price: The entire outfit, minus the shoes and make up that I am acquiring on my own, cost around $32 with out shipping.

After I do some dance practices and wear and tear on the outfit, I will post a full in depth review of the outfit it's self as this was just the unpacking review. 

That review should be up, after October 25th, including a video of the dance and photos for make up. 




Introduction

Hello friends!

My name is Aurora and this is my blog!
I will be using it to post updates, sneak peaks and reviews for products that I receive, along with tutorials and tips and tricks.

I'm 26 years old and live in San Diego, California.
I attend cons such as, Anime Conji, SDCCI, AX, ALA, PMX and a few others.
If you ever see me at a con feel free to stop by and say hello! I don't bite, I promise.

~Aurora