OOTD: Free Cone Day with Angelic Pretty

Free Cone Day outfit! Thank you Ben & Jerry’s for one of my favourite holidays hehe  (⊃‿⊂) ~

Complete with Ice Cream Narwhal top by Tasty Peach Studios, and Ice Cream Clutch by Betsey Johnson (★^O^★)

Outfit Rundown:

Ice Cream Narwhal Top ~ Tasty Peach Studios

Necklace ~ Bling Up

Skirt ~ Angelic Pretty 

Ice Cream Clutch ~ Betsey Johnson

Socks ~ Offbrand

Shoes ~ Angelic Pretty 

~Lapin Chocolat

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Lorina Liddell and Pastel Parade Review

I recently bought a beautiful chocolate headdress by Pastel Parade via Lorina Liddell.

Lorina Liddell is a "Online boutique for all the lover of Classic, Sweet and Gothic Lolita fashion.

Offering many quality Japanese brands with worldwide shipping from Japan!". They have English speaking staff which made it really easy to communicate.

Pastel Parade is a newly arrived brand to Lorina Liddell. They're an indie brand that specializes on food themed accessories (which I like to call "food kei) that's been featured on Gothic & Lolita Bible vol.44, 46, 47, and 50. I've been admiring them for a while, so I'm happy to finally be able to own something by them!

Let's get the review started!

We'll first start with Lorina Liddell (packaging and shipping), then Pastel Parade.

Packaging: 

My packaging was just adorable, It was decorated with a doily and cute white and red string in a brown paper envelope. The design gave a real vintage feel. The way it was packaged really made it memorable, which I can appreciate.

Rating: 

Shipping:

The box which contained the headdress was wrapped around bubble wrap. The box itself came in pretty bent, the headdress came undamaged. It was shipped about 5 days after purchase via EMS, so it arrived about 3 business days later. 

Rating: 

Design:

This is one of the most unique pieces I own! This headdress also comes in a strawberry chocolate x lavender and white chocolate x gold, each one having its own unique quirks.

I've always had an issue with the name being branded all over the product, but Pastel Parade is very subtle!

Rating: 

Quality:

I was very conflicted about the quality.

The Bad:  If you look above, some areas in the chocolate bar area are very bumpy and bubbly. Also, some of the chocolate cream deco did have some stray fur/hair/fuzz on them. There's also one layer of glitter raschel lace (rashcel lace is a big no-no for me). Lastly, the headband itself is very stiff, which gives it a higher chance of being broken, and is also fairly heavy for anyone not used to OTT headpieces.

The Good: The headband is very sturdy. I packed it in my check-in suitcase (with two layers of thin bubble wrap) and it came out just fine. There's two layers of soft, high-quality lace (there's nothing I love more than good lace). Since the soft lace is on the outermost layer, it actually helped with the comfort.  

Here is a shot of the underside of the headpiece. The fabric used is pretty soft and not uncomfortable at all. I wore the headband for a recent coord, and the alligator clips held up and stuck to my wig pretty well. Just be careful storing this piece, I recommend storing this in a cool dry place (not sure how the chocolate deco will stand up to a warmer temperature).

Rating:  

Lorina Liddell Overall Rating:   

Pastel Parade Overall Rating:  

I hope you guys found this useful! I'll definitely be buying more Pastel Parade pieces via Lorina Liddell. After checking out the Pastel Parade website, it seems that every piece is unique in their own way, so if there is one you truly want, make sure to grab it fast. Have a great week y'all!

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~Lapin Chocolat

Artist Appreciation: Interview with Princess Koneko-chan

Hello Everyone! Here is the first article in my Artist Appreciation posts where I interview some of my favourite (and your requested) artists! This week, I was given the chance to interview on of my most favourite artists, and her fangtastic original character, Koneko-chan!

Koneko-Chan is a fictional character who often sports real-life cute fashions, such as gyaru and lolita, as well as real-life fashion brands. She is a self-proclaimed princess, who loves cutesy stuff with a side of creepy! She is striving to be the "Barbie" of creepy cute!

Enough of my intro, let's get to know the artist behind the creepily cute beauty!

Koneko-Chan Booth

Me: Who are you and what do you do?

Dashi: I want to start out by letting you know how honored I am to be interviewed in this fashion! Thank you so much for having me and being interested in my work! To give you a quick summary of myself; I've been prowling the internet under the name Dashiana/Dashi for a while. I’m a twenty-something-year-old game artist with a passion towards things cute, pink and sparkly! While maintaining an office job at a fairly large game studio, I run what I consider an aspiring lifestyle brand, Princess Koneko-Chan, during my free-time.



Me: Why do you do what you do?

Dashi: My chosen mediums of self expression have always been drawing and writing. Drawing even more so, since I consider myself a very visual person. I've never really stopped to consider why, most likely because, like to many others who draw or write, creative output has grown into a second nature. Neil Gaiman’s “Everybody has a secret world inside of them” also comes to mind, whenever I get asked something along these lines. Drawing is how I explore mine.

Me: How do you work?

Dashi: My working process, be it drawing or writing, is always laced with gallons of green tea and
long walking breaks with my dog. As far as the actual drawing process is concerned, majority of my work starts out as a wonky pencil sketch on a small sketch pad I keep with me at all times, should inspiration strike unexpectedly. And when I sketch, I’m usually not too concerned with proportions, perspectives or anything that falls under the “neat and well thought of” umbrella. This is mainly because I feel composition is the key ingredient to all great art - and because my sketches always end up completely reconstructed in Photoshop CC. Or alternatively, Paint Tool SAI, which I use a lot with my Koneko-Chan related art.  

Koneko-Chan WIP

Me: How did the creation of Koneko-chan happen?

Dashi: I’m always extremely enthusiastic to answer any and every question about Koneko-Chan, so thank you so much for asking!

To give a quick summary, I’m going to quote one of my previous interviews and say that Koneko-Chan is a fierce monster princess from her head to her feet, even if her face is full of teeth! She is a self-proclaimed princess, who loves everything cute - often with a side of creepy. She is striving to be the "Barbie" of creepy and cute, and enjoys sporting all sorts of different fashions and professions. She adamantly believes you can make your shortcomings into your strong points, and become anything you aspire to be. So she became a princess! She is also a firm believer in the power of pink and likes to wear all sorts of things, including (but not limited to) dresses and lingerie to show her fellow monsters that there’s a lot of positive power in things that are traditionally considered feminine.

Her creation was actually very organic, in a sense that it happened slowly over time. When I was still attending Upper Secondary School, I was heavily invested into comics and drew a bunch of my own. My favorite one to draw at the time was one about a monster hunter, who ran a Hotel in the middle of a gothic fantasy land. Koneko-Chan, a supporting character, was a regular guest at this hotel, and had a huge crush on the main character. The comic never made it past page 15, but Koneko-Chan kept showing up in my sketchpads very regularly long after I shelved the comic.

Koneko and Friends

When I graduated from Upper Secondary, I got acquainted with Japanese street fashion - which to this day, is one of my biggest inspirations! However, back then, I felt like I was never this-or-that enough to wear any of it, so Koneko-Chan became the mannequin for all my fashion dreams. I used draw her sporting lolita and gyaru inspired outfits, as well as donning different seifukus and cosplaying as various characters. In the light of how much confidence I have gained since, in retrospect, she kind of helped me through a very awkward phase in my life where I was very insecure about myself.

I hope I can pass the positivity forward and she can help other people gain confidence as well!

Me: What is your dream project?

Koneko and Friends Chibi

Dashi: I consider Koneko-Chan my dream project. She is something I feel deeply and passionately about, and delivering new content to the gnawesome audience she has garnered is the best part of my week! I consider it both a huge privilege and honor to influence, and to be influenced by, such an amazing group of people. I like to refer to Koneko-Chan’s fans as the monster royalty, because in my books, people who are willing to give Koneko-Chan the time of day, are nowhere short of being regal.

My dream projects within this dream project would be to expand the universe around Koneko-Chan! I’d love to develop her into a Hello Kitty/Emily the Strange/Ruby Gloom type of a character based lifestyle brand, as well as expand the creepy cute kingdom around her with new characters and places. Maybe one day, she will gain the status of a creepy cute “Barbie” she dreams of being!

Me: Does Koneko-chan have anything to say towards her fans?

Dashi: Koneko is ultimately, as the story of her creation might suggest, about self-acceptance and self-empowerment. She encourages monsters of every gender and age to embrace their inner bad-ass princess or prince, and treat themselves like the monster royalty they are! Be glad, be rad, and take no bullshit!

Thank you all so much for reading! I had so much fun learning more about one of my favourite artists and characters, I hope y'all did too! Koneko-chan is a huge inspiration for me, body image and confidence has always been an issue for me. But Koneko-chan always gives me faith that you can be beautiful no matter what!

Remember to check out Dashi and Princess Koneko-chan's Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr,  Etsy and Society6 Store!

Koneko-Chan Merch

Any artists you think I should check out? Email me or drop me a message on any of social networking sites!

Have a great day chocoholics! 

~Lapin Chocolat

Sakura-con Part 2: Artist Alley Favourites

Hey guys and welcome to the Part 2 of my Sakura-con adventures!

I spent almost all my money on artists, this is my first con not spending it all on businesses and vendors. I've began to really appreciate the work behind the merchandise that small artists, indie designer, and artisans. I found a few artist that really caught my attention during my Sakura-con weekend. Have a fun read~

I asked every single artist for permission before I took any pictures of their booths. Remember, respect artists!

The first Artist Alley artist I noticed is Sugar Star Candies! 

How cute is their booth? It was definitely one of the most "kawaii" booths, I loved how everything was fluffy and pastel, it made me smile~

Perfect for Fairy Kei!

Some of their most memorable merch was their pastel tails, fabric bows, rosettes and snap bracelets! Lots of star motifs, if it isn't already obvious haha!

I actually bought one of their snap bracelets, and I love it! I really reminded me of my childhood, snap bracelets were super in-style in the 90's.

They also gave me two free buttons! I actually bought a pack of sugar stars after this haha, this shop really wanted me to experiment with fairy kei!

Next artist I stumbled upon is QTMilk and MILKINK! I was drawn to both their amazing banner, and how pink they were. Loved it!

Here is better picture of their whole booth. I loved how the banner included so many of their designs, it was the banner I most remembered.

They seem to also release many NSFW prints as well, as you can see on the left wall. I saw so many people walking around with that semi-NSFW Princess Bubblegum print~

(And look how adorable the owners are! How cute is  that pink hair?!)

I thought this little booklet was interesting. It's called LOTUS, and it is a mini-book created by QTMilk. The text inside was all Japanese kanji!  The pre-order for this mini-book is all sold out, but here is their BigCartel, make sure to check it out.

I loved the art style so much! Very smooth and clean, I wish I got a print!

Make sure to like their page to stay updated with their book, and more of their amazing prints~

The next artist I stumbled up became one of my new favourite artists!

Meet AppleAtti~

AppleAtti is the creator of Farmland Monsters.

Farmland Monsters are the adorably nasty monster creations of AppleAtti. Check out the tumblr for AppleAtti's monster encyclopedia! All the monsters live in a place called The Farmlands: 

"The Farmlands are a group of continents floating in the flooded brainpan of a decapitated space giant named Yaia. The Farmlands are home to many thriving ecosystems of monsters, plants, and cultures."

How cool is this project?

What drew me the most to this booth is the art style. It was both grotesque, but adorable! I regret not buying the catalogue or the horoscope zine!

These stickers were so fun! There were a ton of people checking out these little guys (as you can see from the phantom hand haha~)

I loved the Farmland Monster x Pokemon! I know the Venasaur is supposed to look gross, but I think it looks cuter than ever (>//w//<)

They also did Pokemon commissions! I hope to see them again next year, maybe I'll get my favourite party done~

I am currently interviewing AppleAtti for one of my Artist Alley Appreciation articles! Please stay tuned and learn more behind the artist of The Farmland Monsters. 

The interview will be published at April 22nd, 9pm Central!

Say hello to Channel Square!

I loved the dessert themed prints! The Mako-Chan Power Makeup and Marie Antoinette  were my favourites, and are currently on my wishlist.

Look at that detail! It's a fun overall print, I can't wait to own it soon~

One of the few artists I managed I buy a print from, Hannako Lambert!

The colouring style was mesmerizing, I fell in love instantly~

Along with the colouring style, the sketching technique they use also intrigued me. I wish I could've take closeups of the post cards, they were so beautiful!

Sadly, I didn't have a chance too speak to the artist, I was really curious about these booklets! They had amazing illustrations inside, make sure to check out Hannako's website!

Closeup of one of the booklets. I love the waterclouring, it really adds to the theme of the booklet!

Here is the print I bought! I loved all the dessert themes in this, from the strawberry ears to the layered birthday cake coat! One of the first prints I've ever bought <3

Last, but not least (and is also technically a vendor haha), Tasty Peach Studios!

I always see their booth around conventions, but I never really shopped from them before!

They had the cutest tops, I bought 4 haha~

They recently started selling wigs, I'm definitely going to buy one soon, maybe even do a review?

Here are a few of their plushies, they have many more on their website and release new designs regularly!

TPS have so many different types of merch! The tops and plushies are my favourite, but their jewelry and bags are also a must check out.

I hope you enjoyed reading! Make sure to check out the artists so you can keep updated on their future release and news~

This concludes my Sakura-Con Part 2, see you guys soon! My next part will be (insert drum-roll here)... Blue C Sushi! It's this fun and funky sushi train restaurant. It's odd to include it as part of my con weekend post, but it was a very memorable place (considering I ate their 3x haha). 

Have a great week!

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~Lapin Chocolat