Even if life kicks you in the face...

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Japanese and Brand Names

This sounds a bit silly for an entry but I've been noticing through some online shopping/browsing that Japanese have some of the cutest, some of the weirdest, some of the most nonsensical Brand names for their products.

Let's start with some of my very familiar and dearest Lolita Brands.

I think one of the cutest names is Baby, the Stars Shine Bright. When I hear it I'm always taken to a vast field of grass and flowers, a clear night sky, and an innocent little lady dressed in frill laying down on a cute little picnic towel with leftovers from a picnic tea party. She's all alone in her cute dress and massive headbow and she thinks about the difficulties in life, about her individuality, about friends, love, work or school. And then she looks at the stars, and they shine brightly to her, saying that everything will be fine. This is what this Brand name makes me think of, I always feel like it's an encouraging phrase meant for keeping your head up no matter what comes at you. Are you mocked for being a frilly princess? Don't worry baby, the stars shine bright, and they shine for you :)

Another cute name is Metamorphose Temps de Fille. 

This one is not only cute because of the meaning behind it but for the phonetic of the name itself, at least it's what I think!

In their website they explain how they came up with the name; it was basically created for girls who wanted to  transform themselves, it was the time for their transformation and to be whomever they wanted. I cut it short but you can check here for a longer explanation from the brand itself.

It makes me feel like I can be anything I want, like I can become a gothic queen or a sweet little princess anytime I want, the name itself gives one the confidence to be who they like, cast off the pressures of society and dress the way you'd like to.

Another very interesting and creative name would be Alice and the Pirates. Allusive to the always-mentioned Alice from Wonderland, this name and concept is a bit darker than it's sister brand (or main branch) Baby, the Stars Shine Bright. I don't know if they ever explained the name concept but when I think of it I always imagine a mischievous Alice, dressed in black and chains, and her pirate friend roaming around doing whatever they want. It reflects on the clothing this brand sells, the outfits are darker, the themes are a bit more gothic and elegant, marine prints are often seen and even drawings of vampires, werewolves, black cats, appealing to the dark mysticism and those fantasy tales of night creatures are all-time favorites from this brand.

Moving on to Gyaru Brands.

The first weird name that comes to my mind is Jesus Diamante. 

I have no idea how they came up with this name, or why did a Hime-Gyaru brand (specializes in princess-like clothing and accessories) would like to be called Diamond Jesus. I kinda understand the Diamond part as this brands' clothing is very expensive, elegant and princessy. Everything is full of lace, ribbons, pink and flowers. The part I think is weird is really the Jesus part, even if it wasn't meant to refer to anything in particular (especially religion) I think it's just a weird name!

I think this next brand has a pretty funny name - CocoLulu or sometimes refered to as Co&Lu. I have the idea it was formed by joining the first syllables of two names, but when I think of the name itself I imagine a Pomeranian Lulu dog drinking a Coconut drink with an Hawaiian leaf skirt! I know it's crazy but that's what I imagine.

The clothing itself is very upbeat and colorful, I guess the crazy weird name suits it well :)

How about some Punk Brands?

Sex Pot Revenge. This is my favorite brand at the moment, I've been buying t-shirts and tops from them, I've even been trying to make my own version of their damaged products at home using old t-shirts but what is it with that name? I admit I might be a little anarchist in my own notion of the concept but I don't condone any sorts of drug usage or violence. The Sex part is self explanatory, the Pot should refer to drugs and the Revenge part to take things into your own hands? I know Punk is supposed to be all "heck with the System" and "I'm doing what I feel like and I don't care about anything or anyone", but I can't really make sense of the name, it just feels to me they've thrown some random punk-ish words and voilá!

And that mini catch phrase "by the roadside" also makes no sense for me, am I suppose to be a punk motard? :P

I'm totally in love with this brand now though.

Another cool but kinda nonsense name would be the now closed Sexy Dynamite London brand. 3 more words thrown in together.

Unfortunately this brand went down a while ago, you can still buy some of their clothing through auction or second hand clothing websites though.

When I hear this name I imagine a dynamite stick, with red lipstick, big eyes with false lashes wrapped around in a British flag! My imagination is pretty weird... I read that the brand concept for this name was clothing for "cool and beautiful women". Personally I think it represents a powerful (dynamite) and beautiful/sexy woman, the London part just adds to the coolness of British Punk.

This name isn't really weird but I think it's super cute! Since this Pop-Punk brand has many colorful items, many with stars, hearts, leopard prints, I always imagine a very cute and happy couple wearing their products, they are very much in love and very positive about everything in life, they know they can accomplish anything together :D They are Super Lovers! This is what I think about when I hear this brands' name!

It's time for the Fairy-Kei Brands!

The first one that comes to mind is 6%DokiDoki.

This name is so cool and yet why the 6%? "Doki Doki" refers to the sound of a beating heart in japanese. You usually see it in manga when a character is in love and it appears as an onomatopoeia or referred to "my heart is going dokidoki for him". But really, why the 6%.. and.. just 6%? Is it that low? Why is your lovely doki doki so low? why not 5%? why not 23%? Ahah I guess it's just random and it just sounds cute and cool :) I always imagine a sparkly colorful heart beating with 6% inscribed on it.

This one I can't really associate with anything. The clothing is cute and inspired in the 80's, lots of care bears, little ponies, disney princesses... I really don't get the name "Spank!"

Other Japanese weird named Brands:

So you have to listen.. to the flavor? Seems a bit LSD-like, very synesthesic like.

I really don't know what to think about this one.

Banana Fish and their cute trademark phantoms.. Unfortunately another store that closed down, they had many cute things, colorful as well with a hint of creepy (phantoms, skulls). I imagine a colorful fish in banana form!

And this last one is a rakuten shop, it's potentially triggering if you know Portuguese fairly well, be advised it contains swear words.

Here you go.

I don't think they really know what that actually means, the brand is gangsta/street-style oriented I guess, and I think they just thought it sounded cool, but the name is not really something you would want to wear on a t-shirt, out on the street. 

So what do you think?

Do you have any weird brand names you would like to share?

Please note that most of these are my interpretations, opinions and imagination about what I think when I  hear some names, I don't want to pass on that I know exactly what the brand designers wanted to portray with their brand names unless I direct you to an actual article or I state that I have sources for the things I say.

If you're interested in really finding out the name concept behind the brands you can always search stuff, I would love to know if you find anything interesting ^_^

See you next time *

Cooking with Dog

Today I've stumbled upon the most delicious YouTube Channel.. it's a Japanese Cooking channel with quite a fair number of recipes and the videos are narrated by the voice of a "dog" that just sits there while this woman cooks. It's a bit unhygienic but it's a great way to watch and learn some recipes I've been dying to try (and are too hard to find/too expensive at restaurants). 

The woman is Japanese, the Narrator as well, and the fun part is trying to understand what he says in English because he has that Japanese accent when speaking, it's pretty funny. I understand it might be a bit difficult for people who are not accustomed to listen to this type of Jap-English accent, but I understand it fairly easily even without the caption subtitles.

Cooking with Dog!

I have no idea how I came across this, I guess I was just craving some Japanese food and through browsing and browsing and browsing some more I got linked to this channel. I'm really glad I found it! This is why I love YouTube, you have so many recipes, crafting tutorials, care tips and such, it's a whole world of possibilities and I get lost on how much stuff I want to do/try /invent/craft myself!

So I've been looking through some videos and I'm gonna leave it here the ones that I want to try out first, either because of the pure yummyness of it (like Okonomiyaki which I've been dying to try since forever) or because of the ease of finding the ingredients needed (yeah... I'm not really good at finding Japanese food supplies even though we have some good shops around.. and pretty cheap as well!)

So here are some awesome Japanese recipes!

There you go, Enjoy :)

No more Fiesta

So my Vacations are finally approaching.

As I work on a store alone I made a schedule for this week so I could leave everything in order for the person who's taking over me for the couple of weeks I'll be away, I made a quick sketch of what to clean, file and organize in each day. I didn't manage to get anything done today...

I was excited to finally go away from this lonely job and rest by the beach, see places, sleep in late, not having to do chores and play all day long, just hang around without a care in the world... but it seems my plans got messed up.

It's really sad because after months of longing I was finally going to get some gratification, some enjoyment, just for me, without worrying about whether I needed to go groceries shopping, clean the bathroom or deal with impolite costumers, without worrying that I have to choose my path in life, that I have to go take care of my college papers and start a new step, yet again, in my life. It finally was the break I needed.

I don't even feel like going away with my parents to the South for those two weeks anymore, all the joy and excitement I had disappeared, and the emotion has been replaced with a sense of coldness, a void which is neither freezing or burning, just plain mild, constant.

I feel like a line on a blank page. Alone, precise and never fluctuating. Well it's better than feeling depressed right?

But I'll be going on Vacation with my parents and make the most of what I possibly can, I'll clear my head and let myself be happy, even though it's hard for me, because my parents love me, and they've done a lot for me. They don't see me very often so it's a big opportunity, I know if I were a parent I'd like to be with my child more than twice a month.

I love my parents, even though I'm a stray cat and prefer to be left by myself and enjoy my independence, I'm very grateful to them and I want to make them feel loved, so I'm doing this for them.

All of this because I looked at my schedule/list of things to get done, and this Saturday, my last day of work only had one word written in bold.

FIESTA!

Well... I don't think so Tim.

Hope you guys are having wonderful vacations full of happiness and relaxation :)

Once again, thanks for reading.

#2 Giveaways~

Hello, and here I leave you some more news about some girls that are doing awesome giveaways!
They all have gorgeous items, I hope I'm lucky enough to win something! *_*

First is This Was Forever's Giveaway:

You can check it out here!

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Next is Hello, Emy's Giveaway:

Take a peek here! ^^

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Last but not least! My Kiss 'N Make Up's Giveaway:

You can see the wonderful goodies here!

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I love Dinah Washington

If you enjoy 50's blues please take some of your time to listen ^_^

I love how much expression she puts into the songs <3

I love the story of this one

And this one is simply a Classic, I once heard it in a store at the Mall, awesome right? :D

I also love this  one for the obvious theme of heartbreak. What are blues without heartbreak?

They just don't make music like this anymore...

#1 Giveaway

Hello, just a quick post to tell you about this giveaway that I'm entering :D

It's Closet Voyage's Giveaway, check it out :3

Such cool stuff right? T^T Wish me luck!

Over the Top Meeting in Lisbon

[WARNING IMAGE HEAVY]

Some weeks ago there was a Lolita meting which had an Over-the-top theme, so I thought to myself "Hey! What better occasion could I have to finally try out a Hime-Lolita coordinate with my new BtSSB onepiece?"

So I bought a mini tiara (it's a bit cheap, I wanted a different model with better jewels but I didn't have much time to look for it and I wasn't going to spend 15€+ on something I would only wear once or twice for a Hime-theme). I wasn't supposed to wear those shoes, I asked my friend Lyra to borrow her dusty pink shoes but she forgot ahah xD No problem at all, but I think they would look better with that coordinate than my old offwhite shoes :P

Yeah those came a bit over-exposed but I couldn't find the originals... I didn't take any photos :P

With a Mozart-Bust-Man, he was awesome, he asked someone to take his cell and take some pictures of him with us :D

It was fun, we went to Ben&Jerry's to eat some ice-cream and shakes because Castella do Paulo was closed that day. It was a very hot day, so we kinda melted.. and the ice-cream store had their air conditioning broken so we suffered even more D: I had to take my sleeves off or I'd die with a heat stroke.

The afternoon ended with cotton candy. Eli looks so YUM in this picture xD

(I'm the little hand taking a piece)

Have I mentioned that I love feet/shoes/socks in Lolita?

Lyra went with the theme and mismatched shoes :D

Weird thing to show the jewelry.. I decided to make a rock sign still strying to manage to keep my fingers interlocked with my side-mates

The sun was too strong...

Kaaameee...haaameeee~~  AHHH~~

Dragonball? In my Lolita? Also, I was barefoot because the shoes were killing me at that point..

I wish I could spend more time with them, time flies by when you're having fun and it seemed like it wasn't enough for me. Maybe it's because I spend all my days alone and I lack some friendly human interaction, every moment I can spend with friends is precious and I value it a lot. I'm not a very outgoing person, I'm shy and I'm really an introvert with trusting issues but I do feel good when I'm with them.

So if any of you are reading this, thank you for meeting up with me, making me feel welcome and a part of the group and brightening up my days :)

Next post is a change post, so prepare... :P

Kiss

More stuff from previous times

Hello again,
Today I'm going to post about a casual outfit I wore at work and with my parents. This was a Saturday and I call it Japanese-culture Day! :D
I conviced my parents and boyfriend to come with me for some Tea, Castella and Macarons at Castella do Paulo and afterwards to see a typical Japanese Theater play, Noh, called Sorin.

This was my outfit for the first part of the day, I love pairing sweet black designs with leather and studs for a more rock/punk vibe. I didn't realize at first but when I looked in the mirror my outfit totally looked like something that Deka Wanko would wear to sniff out the bad guys lol :P
My hair deflated since morning because I had no hairspray.. I had too massive ponytail balls of puffness :P

And then I changed clothing for a more sophisticated look to go to the Theater. I ate two types of macarons at Castella do Paulo; a raspberry one and a chocolate one, and finally tried the Green Tea Milkshake. Its strangely good, weird at first but sort of addictive :P

Lol my dad is stealing my milkshake xD He didn't like it though.

YUM

I was wearing a very dead petticoat, just for a bit of silhouette.

I need to buy golden shoes.. I love pairing gold with stuff now, it looks so regal! *o*

The Theater! That chandelier was so big and amazing..

I couldn't take pictures of the play, it was all spoken in ancient Japanese with flutes and drums. It was awesome even though I didn't understand one bit. The Japanese Ambassador explained the story of Sorin before the play started, so I always tried to remember it when seeing the movements, but there wasn't much action so it was difficult to follow..

All in all it was a very tiring but fun day. Thank you Mom and Dad and Boyfriend for the wonderful time :)

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Now to another topic; this was a casual Gyaru-inspired outfit I wore for work the other day. I've seen girls in the online catalogues and J-Magazines wearing a shirt with a knot at front, and I have a shirt that is now too big on me and it looks awkward, so I've decided to emulate that look with a jumpsuit. I love jumpsuits now, I didn't even like them but they grew on me because of Lolita salopettes and now the cute jumpsuits I see in Gyaru have stolen my heart!

I need to get some cute heeled sandals, really <_<

I'm sorry about the extinguisher.. this was taken at work and I have better lighting in this part of the room.
And that's it for this post, next time I'll be posting some pictures about my first Hime-Lolita try :)
Thank you once more for reading <3

And the double is here :)

As promised here is the second post of the day!

This was a Classic Themed Meeting we had a while ago in a nice cozy tea room. The atmosphere was wonderful, they had Classical music playing in the background and also Jazz I think. The food was super delicious, I need to go back there to eat their delicious cakes/crepes/scones and teas again! *- *

I borrowed the dress and bolero from my friend Lyra and she borrowed my Innocent World (the plum colored one that I barely use, poor dress ._.)

Their bathroom was covered in mirror! There wasn't a single wall in sight! So much fun with endless imagery xD

I had a Crepe with Chocolate and Cream and Iced Berries Tea.

I look too excited about the cupcake boxes in this picture, so creepy ahah o.o" But they were so cute..

I love this picture! Not only because of the setting (window) but because of the light , the poses and it's the only one where my braid is remotely visible :P

This is the whole bunch, aren't they all lovely in classic? ^_^ I love how we're all so light-colored and wearing gentle classic styles with flowers <3

I also made some videos, I'm just leaving here one of them, of us in front a mirrored wall-window, it's just basically goofing around, nothing much.

Daily Lolita, going home on the subway.

And that's it for today :)

Next posts will be about my trip to the Theater to see a Japanese play and some more casual coordinates.

Thank you for reading <3