Gangnam Style flashmob + Artifacts from YHA The Big Dig

Had an interesting day yesterday...

Did some shopping for part of my cosplay accessories... hopefully I get around to making the bag XD

Then I went to my very first flashmob for this video!


It didn't really turn out to be flashmobby, where you pretend you're a member of the public, do your thing and become members of the public again but it was quite fun. I didn't go to the training session but some people taught me the easier moves right before it and I had to find  a dance partner last minute! He was actually a journalist from a Korean community newspaper who was told "go to this flash mob, right now!!" haha XD

I can't really be seen in the videos but this is what it was like! :)



I can only be seen at 0:11 where I'm running into place (out of the camera's view lol) XD

I then went to the YHA Big Dig at The Rocks and we took learnt about the history of the area, took a closer look at the digs and also handled some artifacts! (I didn't actually go all archaeology on it but it was fun ^^)

I was intending to buy a certain topcoat, last week I just missed a buy-one-get-one free Revlon nail polish sale :( and the newest sale was buy any two products and get the third free which was better for getting other cosmetics... I couldn't really decide on a third colour and didn't want to get something else yet so I ended just getting some other nail polishes using a voucher I had XD

original mani

Just swatched on top of it to try out the colours

Essence: 95 wanna be your sunshine
Essence: 67 make it golden
Rimmel London 60 secs: 805 grey matter

The Essence was only 5ml but quite cheap... just under $3! For the yellow I figured I could get a cheaper or smaller polish since I'd use it less and the gold I just picked up as it looks nice ^^ Hopefully I can do some nail art with the grey, I saw a cool youtube tute on Totoro :3

I also found the cutest ever origami paper at Daiso :3

Oh yeah, there was also a parade for the returning Olympians a few clocks away but I was still at the flash mob!

Fave dramas

My previous Asian drama top ten (technically eleven) (no particular order) XD

King of Baking,
Giant,
My Girl,
Delightful Girl Choon-hyang,
Autumn Concerto,
Cinderella's Sister,
Goong,
Sam Soon,
Save the last dance for me,
1 Litre of Tears OR HYD Japan (couldn't decide)

but after watching City Hunter, I needed to change the list around XD

Top 11 atm

Dramas I stayed up watching
City Hunter: great balance of action/romance, great music!
My Girl: cute story, cool music!
King of Baking: typical good beats bad; underdog wins drama
Save the last dance for me: sweet and sad drama, lovely ballad theme songs ^^

My first drama
Goong:love the costumes, weeeeee~

The others
Giant: Massive 60 episodes and very complex/detailed drama, I had to take a break from it in the middle because it was just so long!
Delightful Girl Choon-hyang: Generally fun drama though the bad guy is pretty well... mean!
Autumn Concerto: Not generally a TW drama fan but this one is heartwarming
Sam Soon: Fun drama and really appreciated it more after watching Hello Franceska XD
1 Litre of Tears: sad drama
49 Days: another sad drama!

Kicked out Cinderella's Sister because of the ending... >.< and Hana Yori Dango, it was a great live-action of the manga but it's nothing new since it's based on a manga/anime and already had the TW drama (not that I've watched it)!

My new membership card for the museum, w00t!

Random pics

Sunset

Lone tree

My friend and her sisters made this meal for their mum's birthday.

My smiley dog!

Free sample from Nivea, have so much from them XD

Konad nail stamping

When I was researching gothic lolita, I read through an article which mentioned nail stamping so I looked it up and the main brand in charge of the trend is Korean brand KONAD. The best way to explain it is you have a metal disc with an image engraved into it, you put some nail polish on the plate, scrape away the excess and use a stamper to transfer the image to your nail.

Here's a picture of the instructions on the back!

I bought this set about two weeks ago which comes with their image plate M3, two small nail polishes for stamping, a topcoat and the stamper/scraper set.

It looked really intriguing and I was itching to try it, although a friend I met recently did mention it wasn't as easy as they made it look and offered to lend me her set, though I saw her rarely so I thought, I'll buy it if I come across it. One of the websites I came across, Cosmetic Cupcake happened to be a Sydneysider and mentioned that Konad could be either purchased online from the US or through Konad Australia's eBay, there was also a store which had closed down, boohoo T_T.

A little while ago I noticed a new store in the place where they sued to sell Konad. Next to it was a small sign saying the old store had moved into the plaza just a few steps away... could it be???

After walking in, I noticed there were several clothing and beauty stores which I glanced in, I finally found the right one and saw a small display with Konad items but alas, "back in 5 mins"! I know, I know, the lady probably just ran to the bathroom or to get a snack but I actually wasn't in the shopping mood so I thought, I know it's here so I'll come another time!

The next time I came, the lady inside gave me a quick demo on how to use Konad and she said they only had one set left, and I could add another plate for $10 but I said I would think on it because I couldn't decide on the plates. In the end, when I went back yet again, I just bought the basic set XD

The results!

Her demo:

First time trying Konad:

 You can see some images have a lot of excess nail polish, I didn't clean the plate before re-using the image!

Cleaning:

Some good tips I came across for the cleaning process:

http://www.rina-alcantara.com/2010/08/personal-tips-on-using-konad-stamping.html

and also:

SMASH convention part 3

Not much more to say! I had a lot of fun at SMASH but I felt a bit guilty I didn't mind the stall as long as the others because I couldn't fit between the tables due to my petticoat! I looked after it at the end of the day and did witness two of my cards being sold, yay! ^^

I think my favourite parts would have been the mini photobooth from Japan Foundation and the official photobooth :)


This is my goodie haul from the day...

Hair clips from Romance Noir which match my GL coord and some cute charms from another stall (trying to figure out which one)
Stalls: Romance Noir & (unknown)

Badges and keychains from our neighbouring stall! I was totally eyeing the 'Alphonse chasing the cat' all day ^^ It's actually a keychain/bottle opener. I also bought another badge (not pictured) so they gifted me with the other Alphonse badge which matches perfectly with my Totoro bag ^^
Stall: Popo Studio

These were gifts from Frejya, the panda key holder was from a cute stall she was next to last year, trying to think of the name! The felt cookie was one of her creations!
Stalls: (unknown) and Frejya

I won vol 4. from Madman (I thought I was winning vol. 1 lol!) so I went to their stall where they were selling manga for $10 =D but they only had 2 and 4 in stock :(
Stall: Madman

Free postcard in vol 2

Very cute artwork from j-b0x (I purchased her cards last year too and they're displayed on my bookshelf!)
Stall/Artist: j-b0x (http://j-b0x.deviantart.com/)

Cardcaptor Sakura poster (free from Madman) as the V.A Tange Sakura was in the house! Though I didn't get the chance to meet her :(

Very cool Mario Kart art
Stall/Artist: (unknown)

A3 of only Pikachu, so cuuuuuuuute! :3
Stall/Artist: (unknown)

Cutest handcarved stamp ever! I was actually browsing from the opening time but when I went back to the store the artist only had one left in a stamp set and she graciously pulled out this single stamp to sell me ^^
Stall/Artist: (unknown)

Edward art, so cute!!!
Stall/Artist: (unknown)

Free poster from the above artist ^^
Stall/Artist: (unknown)