My trip to Tampere 4.-6.09.2020

If you are wondering why this post comes out five months late, I have to let you know I broke my phone and some of the pictures were inside it. It took me five months to get fixed :D Anyway I hope you like this post.

I had booked a hotel for Tracon in December, but because of the coronavirus the event got cancelled. I could not get the money back from the hotel, so me and Sade, with whom I had booked the hotel, went there.

At Friday we went to the hotel room, left our things there, and went for a pizza in Kotipizza which was right next to the hotel. Even though Kotipizza is not one of my favorite pizza places, it was pretty good. Then we went to the Majava bar, which is a rock bar and it was about 50 meters away from our hotel. The bar was not the best rock bar I've ever been to, but the atmosphere was great and the people were super nice. Many people came to talk to us and asked if there was an event in Tampere. One of the guests there told me she had seen other goths in Tampere, which was interesting to hear. Sade was lovely and offered me few drinks, and I had great time. The bartender even made me few drinks out of his head, when I asked a sweet drink. After being few hours in Majava, we went for Thasherie. It was a nicer bar, but unfortunately bit more expensive. Because of the coronavirus, I have not been in any bars this year and it was my first time this year when I was drunk.

At the Majava bar with Sade.

At 2AM, we went back to the hotel. I had planned that we would have gone to Kuroineko, a gothic shop in Tampere but we had no time. At Saturday I checked out where the shop was, and it was only few hundred meters away from our hotel. So we went there, and I bought a cat top from Banned that glowes in the dark. The shirt was super nice and only cost 23 euro, as it was 20% off. Then we went to the café Purnauskis, a cat cafe in Tampere. It was super difficul to find, and when we got there, they were fully booked and we could not get in. We had a appointment at 5PM, so we had one and half hours for nothing to do. So I decided to go to Urumi, which was just moved in Tampere. They didn't have much to sell, as they only moved there a week ago, but they had Ramune, few prize figures and plushies to sell. I had my eyes to an Umbreon plushie, but like anime plushies always, it was very cute and I'm not really into super cute plushies (and Umbreon is supposed to be black, the plushie was more dark grey). They also had a nice Harry Potter poster and a Mewtwo mug in their web site, but did not have them in the shop. The poster really was not a must have, but the mug was nice. I will likely not buy it since I have million and one mugs. I bought a Hatsune Miku prize figure, that cost 35 euro.

The top from Banned. 

Hatsune Miku Dark Angel figure.

Then we went back to the Purnauskis café. I was really surprised when they had an entrance fee of 5 euro. I have never been in a café with an entrance fee. The café was also really expencive. I ordered a piece of cake, and it was 6,50 euro. Coffee cost 4 euro. But the atmosphere was super nice, and the cats came to me and let me pet them. One even jumped to our table. When we left, there was a bit drama: one of the kittens had climbed up to a tree that were in the café and could not get down. The employees had to climb on a chair to get it down. But the kitten got down and we could leave. It was a nice experience, and even though the café was expensive, we had fun.

We also went for a restaurant called Shanghai, which was a Chinese restaurant like you could guess. This was my second time ever in an Asian restaurant, first time being in one when I was in Popcult Helsinki 2019. I ordered chicken with Chinese button mushrooms and rice. It was a very nice dish, and I really liked the place. 

The dish at Shanghai. 

At Sunday we really did nothing. We basically got up and left. We were not hungry, so we decided not to eat there. But I really liked our trip. We had Onnibus when we got there and left, and even though Onnibus is cheap, I really did not like to sit there for two hours. The leg room was so small and had to put my legs in the corridor because they did not fit behind the seat. Overall the trip was good, and even though Omenahotelli is a pretty bad hotel, it was in a good location, since the Majava bar and Kuroineko were right next to it. I might take it for next year's Tracon. 

Kinky Boots, Tampereen Työväen Teatteri, 18.11.2020

 I saw the musical Kinky Boots and it was pretty good. The show was first played in Helsinki, which is a lot closer to me, but for some reason I completely forgot about it. So I had to travel all way to Tampere. The bus ride was two hours and ten minutes, so it was not that bad. I traveled with my friend Pipsa, with whom I had visited London few years ago. I had heard a lot praise from the musical, and one of my friends say that it was one of the best musicals she had ever seen. I did not want to be spoiled, so I had not read the plot, read any reviews or listened any music from the soundtrack. If I'm being honest, I did not really like the main plot. The whole idea of a shoe company going bankrupt and then starting to make  shoes for drag queens felt a bit silly for me. I don't know why, but for some reason a plot like that did not really fit a musical. I also did not really like how many talking moments there were in the musical. 

Kinky Boots is a musical written by Geoff Dean and Tim Firth based on 2005 movie of the same name. Music is composed by Cyndi Lauper. The songs were good, but most of them were not that memorable. I found the officially filmed Broadway production but I did not watch it fully. I'm not saying I did not enjoy the musical, because I did, but somehow the musical did not strike me that hard.

The best part of the musical was easily Lola (Lauri Mikkola) and his Angels. Lola was just amazing, I loved every second he was on stage. I have actually never been to a drag show, and this just proved I would love to go to one - Pipsa and I actually talked about going to a drag show in Helsinki. His song What a Woman Wants became one of my favorites. The Angels were also great. Their dancing on high heels was fascinating, and they were so fun. What confused me was what when they were singing, there was also females in the chorus, which to me did not make any sense.

The other main character was Charlie Price (Petrus Kähkönen). I have seen him on Helsinki's Tanz der Vampire and Tampere's The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and he acted the best in this show. He kind of over acted in Tanz and Hunchback, but I did not get the feeling in this. His Charlie was really likeable and interesting character. But I have to say Kähkönen's singing was not the best. He definitely sung better in Tanz der Vampire and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. I'm not saying his singing was bad, but it was not pure at all times.

The costumes were just amazing. Tuomas Lampinen's costumes were rich, beautiful and colorful and they fit the characters. The more normal clothes of the factory workers and the more flashy clothes of the Angels were great. I especially loved the boots they created in the musical, and the red shoes were just great.

Petrus Kähkönen as Charlie and Lauri Mikkola as Lola.

Lauri Mikkola as Lola and his Angels.

Pictures by Kari Sunnari.

My look in the show.

The program from the show. It was decent quality, and it cost 7 euro.

I hope you liked what you read, and even though I did not enjoy all things from the musical I still liked it. Thank you for reading :)

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The Little Mermaid, Helsingin Kaupunginteatteri, 4.11.2020

I saw The Little Mermaid musical and it did not disappoint. The musical had the biggest budget out of all musicals in Finland, and it really showed. Everything was so grand and great. The fish costumes of the actors had so many details, and even though I still don't like how Ariel's dress is pink since it does not fit with her red hair, her dress had nice details. The sets were also very big and imposing. My favorite sets were easily the ship at the beginning and the castle at the end.  The swimming effect was done beautifully, and it really looked like the actors were swimming in water. The show has been going on since last autumn, but because of the coronavirus it had been cancelled. I had tickets for this year's spring, but because of the virus, it had been cancelled. But I had the chance of getting new tickets for this autumn.

I had the impression, that Sonja Pajunoja would be playing Ariel. Apparently she had left the show, and Ingrid Gräsbeck was playing her. I was slightly disappointed, since I had heard so much about her and how good she was, but I really liked Ingrid Gräsbeck's Ariel. She looked great and acted nicely, and her singing voice was good, but honestly when I heard it I was missing something. Not sure what, because she had a nice voice and sung with emotion.

Martti Manninen's Eric was pretty good also. Manninen was part of the original cast, and I really liked his Eric. He had energy and he sung well, but like with Ingrid Gräsbeck's Ariel, I thought his singing was missing something. But I liked him and the way he acted Eric.

King Triton was acted by Mikko Vihma and I really liked liked his Triton. He had a powerful voice and a powerful aura, and he acted his role well. He was easily one of my favorites from the show, and Triton's portrayal was one of the best in the whole musical. This was second time I have seen Mikko Vihma in a musical, the first one being Helsinki's Tanz der Vampire where he played von Krolock. Even though I liked his von Krolock he was not the best actor for the character I've seen, and I have to say, his Triton was a lot better.

Ursula was played by Sanna Saarijärvi, and she easily became my favorite character in the show. She was just amazing, her looks, her singing, her acting. Her tentacles were moved by eight people, and their movement was so satisfying. Her songs Daddy's Little Angel and Poor Unfortunate Souls were my favorite scenes in the musical. I absolutely loved her, and the reason I want to see this musical again is because I want to see her again.

Sebastian was played by Tero Koponen and his Sebastian was fun. Even though he might have over-acted a bit, it fit the character and the mood of the musical. Under the Sea is one of my favorite Disney songs and even though the lyrics were changed. I also really liked his way of singing, it sounded kind of similar to the Finnish dub of The Little Mermaid.

Flounder was played by Valo Eklund, and he was super cute. I usually don't really like child actors in musicals, but he played his part well. His singing was pretty good for his age, and like I already said, he  was so cute that I had to like him.

Scuttle was played by Sami Paasila, and I have to say he was the only thing in the whole musical that I did not like. I have not seen The Little Mermaid movie since I was a young child, and I have absolutely no memory how Scuttle was in the film, but I did not like his portrayal here. He was pretty annoying and over-acted, but this is a kids musical, and Scuttle was clearly aimed for children.

Tuomas Uusitalo was Chef Louis, and like I said, I have not seen the movie for so long time that I didn't have any memories from the character. I was surprised how over the top he was, and how "mad" he was - but when I saw his scenes from YouTube, it was the point. 

My look in the show.

The stage before the second act.

I also bought the program for the show. It was good quality, and cost 10 euro.

Sonja Pajunoja as Ariel. 

Sonja Pajunoja and Martti Manninen.

Sanna Saarijärvi as Ursula.

Mikko Vihma as King Triton  and Tero Kopoen as Sebastian.

Pictures by Robert Seger.

Like I said earlier, I have not seen the movie in many many years and I don't really have any memories from it. I did not watch any scenes before the movie or watched any scenes from other versions of this musical, since I wanted to be surprised. I listened the Broadway version of this musical, and even though I have to say I prefer Sierra Boggess's singing voice, I really liked the  Finnish version of the musical. This was my second seeing a Disney musical live, first being The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and even though I loved this musical, the more serious and mature Hunchback of Notre Dame takes the cake. I really wish I could have seen it second time, but I'm glad I got to see the last show they did before they had the cancel because of the coronavirus. Anyway, I hope you liked my thoughts about this musical. :) 

Circle lens review: EOS Dolly Eye Green

 Here is my second contact lens review. This time it is Dolly Eye Green lenses by EOS. You can purchase these lenses from here.

Please notice that this review is not sponsored.

The lenses in case.

Base curve: 8.6mm and 8.7mm

Diameter: 14.2mm

Water content: 38%

Life span: 1 year

These lenses are pretty easy to insert, but they do not always attach my eyes on the first time. These lenses are not very enlarging, nor they are very vibrant green. They are bigger than my natural eyes, that kind of gives the illusion of bigger eyes, but for example the Evergreen lenses that I made a review of were way more enlarging. The color is not also as bright as the Evergreen lenses, they are actually quite dark green, even though my eyes are very light blue. These lenses are comfortable, but again, I do not have sensitive eyes. I can easily wear these lenses for 12 hours. These lenses have not many shades of green, they actually only have one shade of green, and they also have a lot of black, which I like. The black really gives off the dolly-eye effect. These lenses were not dry in my eyes, which is nice. My biggest problem with these lenses are its size and how it is almost the same color from each side. These lenses do not give the bigger eye effect that I'm hoping for, and because they are pretty much the same color from each side, that is why I have put these lenses upside down to my eyes multiple times.

One lens in.

Inside light.

Outdoor light.

Bathroom light.

A selfie of me wearing the lenses.

The color is 6/10, since it is dark green and has only one shade of green.

The design is 6/10, since they are not very enlarging but have a nice circle of black around them.

The opacity is 10/10,  my eyes do not show through at all.

The comfort is 10/10, they are very comfortable, but again, I do not have sensitive eyes.

The naturalness is 2/10, they are not very natural.

The enlargement is 6/10, as they are not very enlarging.

Even though these are not my favorite lenses, I'm glad I own them. :) Thanks for reading.

 

My favorite Tanz der Vampire bootlegs

 As some may know, I'm a big fan of the musical Tanz der Vampire. I have seen both of the Finnish versions live, and in 2018 I went to see the German version. I have also seen almost all productions of this musical as bootlegs, so I decided to give some links to people who also love this musical. Not all of these are bootlegs since I'm going to link the German recorded version with English subtitles if someone is new to the musical.  

Edit: It appears that the videos do not work on mobile :( So you have to use a computer to view the videos. 

 

The recorded version from Germany with English subtitles. This is the first part, you have to find the other parts from YouTube. If you are not familiar with the musical, this is the version I recommend. 

The Dutch version. This is not a bootleg either, it is recorded version of their musical. Unfortunately this is not the whole show, some scenes are missing and some scenes are from bootlegs.

The Russian version. This is a full bootleg of their version. This is one of my favorite versions and I wish I could see this live.

The Broadway version. This version is just awful. If you are new to this musical, I do not recommend watching this. I only recommend watching this if you are a fan of this musical and want to see something incredibly cringe. This is obviously not one of my favorite versions but I wanted to link this here that you can see this monstrosity.

I cannot put the video here, but here is a link to the Japanese version. It is a replica of Vienna's 1997 version, so Draussen ist Freiheit is the old version, which is the only thing I do not like about this version. This is also one of my favorite versions.

But that's the full versions. Lets see the clips.

Totale Finsternis from Hungary. I saw a bootleg of the Hungarian version and have listened their CD recording, and I really liked their version. This version is okay, maybe not the best, but okay. I hope I will see the Hungarian version in few years.

Ewigkeit from Hungary. This chorus is incredible, and I really like how the actors perform their moves. One of my favorites from this song. This is also not a bootleg, it is officially recorded video.

Draussen ist Freiheit from Russia. This is propably my favorite song from the musical, and the Russian version is just perfect. 

Wenn Liebe in dir ist from Russia. This is my absolutely favorite version of the song. I loved Kirill Gordeev as Herbert and he's easily my favorite actor for this character.

Tanzaal from Vienna. This video has Drew Sarich as von Krolock, and he's one of my favorites. This version is also pretty good from chorus, set and costume perspective. I love the Austrian original version, I wish I could see it live at some point.

You knew this was coming :D This is Totale Firnsternis from the Seinäjoki production of Finland. I saw this version twice in 2011, and I absolutely loved it. This production is still my favorite production of this musical of all time. Too bad this is an audio bootleg.

Die Roten Stiefel & Das Gebet from the Seinäjoki production of Finland. My favorite song from the musical with the Finnish voices, I love <3 This is also an audio bootleg unfortunately.

Woah, this post was long :D But I hope you enjoyed! <3

Circle lens review: I-Codi Colors of the Wind Evergreen

 I have many contact lenses to review and this is my first time doing a review for contact lenses. These contact lenses are from Ifairycon, and you can purchase them from here. 

Please notice that this review is not sponsored.

 

The lenses in case.

Base curve: 8.6

Diameter: 15mm

Water content: 38%

Life span: 1 year

These lenses are easy to insert. They do not stick to my finger and attach my eyes easily. It takes me few seconds to put contact lenses to my eyes, and these were not exception. These lenses are enlargening, propably one of the most enlargening lenses I own. Color is vibrant green and beautiful. Of course my eyes are very light blue, so the color pops out more.

These lenses were very confortable, but please notice that I do not have sensitive eyes, so most lenses are confortable in my eyes. These lenses are meant to be worn for 12 hours and I can easily wear them that long. These lenses have different shades of green in them, which makes them vibrant, and they have also a very thin dark circle around them, which I like, because it gaves them doll-like effect. These lenses also were not dry in my eyes, but I do not naturally have dry eyes.

One lens in. 

Outdoor light.

Inside light. 

Bathroom light.

Older picture of me wearing the lenses, taken in 2019 Yukicon.

The color is 10/10, beautiful and vibrant. I love the many shades of green.

The design is also 10/10, they are very enlargening and give the illusion of bigger eyes.

The opacity is 10/10, as my eyes do not show through the lenses at all.

The comfort is 10/10. I had no problems with these lenses. But like I said, I haven't got sensitive eyes.

The naturalness is 2/10. They are not natural, but that is not what I'm looking for.

The enlargement is 10/10. These give effect of very big eyes.

These are propably one of my favorite lenses. :) Thanks for reading! 

Cosplay plans for the future

These are some of the cosplays I've been planning to do. 

Here I'm not listing my dream cosplays - I might do a post about them in the future - but cosplays I'm willing to do.

Kirari Momobami - Kakegurui

This is a cosplay I'm doing for next year's Tracon. I loved her personality in the anime, and her looks as well - her piercing blue eyes, her unique hairstyle, her blue lipstick. The school uniform is nice as well, as it has red and black, my favorite colors. I really recommend this anime, it has become one of my favorites.

Cherry - Studio Killers

This is easy cosplay costume wise. Dress and shoes like that should not be too difficult to find. The wig and the make-up are the difficult part. It is impossible to find a wig of that color, so I have to dye a wig for this cosplay. The second thing is the make-up. Cherry has very dramatic make-up on her, and that is not easy to replicate.  I might do this next year, not sure about it yet.

Ran Mao - Kuroshitsuji

This cosplay has been on my list for years. I loved Kuroshitsuji when I was younger, and still the anime is one of my favorites - I also read the manga quite far, and really liked it. Ran Mao was one of my favorite characters from the show, and I love her looks too. She has a very nice dress mixed with a corset, which I'm excited to wear.

Grell Sutcliff - Kuroshitsuji

I actually cosplayed Grell years ago, but I never really finished the costume or was satisfied with it. I'm still not sure if I want do wear a binder again for a cosplay, but for years I have wanted to do this cosplay properly. Grell was one of my favorites of the series, especially when they toned her personality down. 

Monika - Doki Doki Literature Club!

 I accidentally watched a playthrough of this game, and I loved it. Monika became easily my favorite character in the game, and I really like her looks as well. I like her design, since it is not so boring what other school girl uniforms tend to be. Even though the colors of this cosplay aren't really my taste, I like the design.  I'm doing this next year, possibly for Desucon.

Saya Kisaragi - Blood C

This character is from an anime I've never watched, if we don't count few scenes. I like her just because of her looks - as a lover of red and black this outfit speaks to me. The anime looks pretty good as well, I like the violence, but I have no idea what kind of character Saya is. I might watch this anime in the future if I really am going to cosplay her. 

Esdeath - Akame Ga Kill

Esdeath was my reason to watch Akame Ga Kill, and she did not disappoint me. She does not only look great, her sadistic personality was amazing to watch and her love for Tatsumi was fun to witness. Not sure when I'm going to cosplay her, maybe in 2022, maybe later.

Cynthia - Pokémon

After childhood, I never really re-watched Pokémon, but I saw the design for this character and I absolutely loved it. I watched couple of her scenes, and she seemed like a very nice character. The beautiful black outfit combined with her long blonde hair and grey eyes made me want to cosplay her. As the coat is quite warm, I'm doing her for a winter convention, like Desucon Frostbite.

Zatsne Miku - Vocaloid

This cosplay has been on my list since 2012. I really like her design, and the colors. I actually bought some fabrics for this cosplay back then, but I'm not sure where they are. I'm aware that this is a fanmade Vocaloid, but I still want to cosplay her.

Alice Liddel - Alice Madness Returns (Classic dress)

This one has been on my cosplay list for years. I loved the game, loved its plot, the atmosphere and the dresses. This is her main dress, which is beautiful in its all simplicity. Not sure when I'm going to do this, but not likely in the next year.

Alice Liddel - Alice Madness Returns (Hysteria dress)

This dress is one of my favorites along with the Cheshire dress, which is on my dream cosplay list. I love the white fabric, the blood and her pale complexion. This cosplay is bit tricky because it has fake blood an white paint for skin, so I'm not likely going to do this in the near future.

Quetzalcoatl - Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid

I have to admit I don't really know her character or the show. I've only seen few clips of it, but she seems like a nice character. The reason I want to cosplay her is how easy her costume is to put to together. Everything in this cosplay can be bought. I saw other people cosplay her, and first I did not like her design. I thought she was too cute. But now I've changed my mind and want to cosplay her.  Not sure when I'm going to cosplay her, maybe next year.

Megumi Shimizu - Shiki

This character is from an anime I wathed when I was 15 years old. I don't remember much of it, but I remember really liking it. Megumi was easily my favorite character in the show, and she had many outfits I would like to cosplay - but for now, this outfit and her black and pink dress are on my cosplay list. The dress is on my dream cosplay list, as I don't want to do it yet. This outfit is my favorite from her, and I'm excited to wear it some day. I'm probably not doing this next year.

13th Doctor - Doctor Who 

For years I have been a fan of Doctor Who and was really pleasantly surprised when the Doctor was finally being played by a woman. Her  first season was not that great and back then I did not like this costume, but now I like it. Her second season was way better and I really like her character. I have been planning to do this for Popcult Helsinki, but I'm not sure if I'm going to do this next year.

Harley Quinn - Birds of Prey

When I watched this movie I completely fell in love in this outfit. I really like gold as a color, but not pink, so I was little it surprised that I really liked this outfit. Harley is my favorite DC character along with Catwoman, and I really want to cosplay her Suicide Squad outfit too - but for now, that outfit is little bit too revealing for me. Harley also has another costume I consider for cosplay, the one with the white top with her name written all over it. It is not as revealing as this one, but I really like this design better.