All posts for the month March, 2015

Concert Spotlight: Earth Day Birthday 22!

Hello Shiquers and welcome back to Nerdy Shique Universe! I’ve done cosplay, beauty, conventions, and now it’s time to branch into a new universe and that is Music! This blog is meant for all types of nerds, from beauty, to movies, and now even music because I am here to bring you a Concert Spotlight! Oh yeah, I’m expanding to this and now crossing my fingers on getting  media passes for it and that is a big event here in Orlando and that is called Earth Day Birthday!

 

The Event: Earth Day Birthday is a one day concert event, like Warped Tour, that brings awesome bands together for more than one stage! This event is held by 101.1 WJRR, which is a rock station that brings alternative, hard rock, and metal and even gives local bands a play on their airwaves! This year it’s going to be huge, especially venue and bands!

 

Location: Like last year, this event will be at the Central Florida Fairgrounds on West Colonial in Orlando! Ohhh yeahhh heading west for it and I remembered how big this place was. This will not only have bands on stage but also a carnival, an art show, and so much more.

 

Bands: Can’t forget the bands! This year’s line up include:

 

Five Fingered Death Punch: You know these guys with hits such as “Right Side of Heaven,” “Battleborn,” and many others, they will be headliners at this year’s event!

 

Flyleaf:  You knew them for their hit song “Makes Me Sick,” especially on the never ending Rock Band games (which 4 will be out  made) and “Cassie,” they are back  and with a new singer by what I read or what Siri read on my phone while getting their EP. Welcome back guys!

 

Rise Against:  ::squees:: Sorry! As you know, I nominated their Black Market album as one of the “Best Albums of 2014” on here and now they will be at this year’s event!

 

Other Bands: Hell Yeah, Bush, All That Remains, and sooo much more!

 

Date: If anyone interested, it takes place on April 25th and you can find ticket info at www.wjrr.com and you can also get more info on their Earth Day Birthday page by typing it as a keyword. That is also where you find more bands and so on!

 

Well, that is it for this quick spotlight! What is next for Nerdy Shique Universe!? A new video interview for the YouTube side and it is with the guys of Soul Switch, which I’m glad to have the opportunity to get them in the interview chair or standing room, before the show on Saturday at the House of Blues! I will be interviewing them about their new album, Regenerate, being released that night and what is up in the future for 2015! Stay tuned for that!

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by moonleopard85 on March 30, 2015  •  Permalink
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Posted by moonleopard85 on March 30, 2015

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Bones vs. Apples: The Blushing Debate!

Hello Shiquers and welcome back to Nerdy Shique Universe! ::le sigh!:: Okay, time for a debate and it deals with something I have been getting into a lot lately and that is blush! I know I used to not wear it because I have a nice peach glow when I do it naturally according to Gondras, his charm makes me blush a lot along with kitties, besides the point, and all thanks to the Coastal Sense Forever Blush sample from August’s bag (which I still have and didn’t use for a while, which I should get back into) I started loving it! I started getting them in Ulta bags, you know those kind they do at certain points of the year that show new products and do them for free and then you can buy them, Hard Candy ones, Milani ones, and even two from MAC. Before I started wearing them, I did look into how to apply them. There were YouTubers that say put it in the apples of the cheeks while others say cheek bones and I did go with one and I do want to put this debate in perspective since I did watch a make up artist that say the cheek thing and the YouTube tutorials mention apples and a few other articles as well, but what is the true way of doing it? Let’s find out!

 

The Techniques: The two techniques are pretty much you apply blush on the cheek bones and blend it in and then put the highlighter right tat the top and blend them together. Of course there may be contouring that would blend the three in but with just the blush, the first technique is a line on the cheek bone and then blend it in from there. While the usual technique with YouTube tutorials  and some articles is to smile and place the blush right on the apples and blend from there, which some tutorials use the bronzers on the cheek bone and highlight from there.

 

What Side Do I Take? The Cheek Bones! Reason being is that it is easy for me to do it even though it seems like everywhere says apples but with basic human anatomy, we don’t blush on the apples we blush on the cheek bones and that is why I do the cheek bone thing. If you guys seen the earlier animes like Sailor Moon, InuYasha, even Haruhi in Ouran High School Host Club also blushes a lot and where is that blush? Along the cheek bones not the apples. Even if I were to do a video version, I would hold up one of my Happy plushies because he has little blush spots at the cheek bones.

 

Reason Why This Technique? As said with basic human anatomy, we do blush at the cheek bones and well…knowing that a lot of us try use anti-aging products to prevent it…when we get older the areas where we smile and frown wwrinkle and crease and plus once blush gets applied when smiling for the apples, it drops to the mouth area and of course when we get older, that is where it tends to droop even more. I will put the video I first seen that talks about it in better detail because I can see where the cheek bones thing works better and I do use it. I know certain face types have to use more of the apple area on top of it and others think it’s more natural in that area but the bone area would make more sense and it is easier to blend and get it more evenly.

 

How Do I Do It as a Blind Person? Well, I can’t see in a mirror as you all know due to the blindness thing and I did have instances where I kind of done it too low or too much, especially with my LA Color blush in Warm Berry without knowing, which of course a lot of blushes are very pigmented and need to be careful with that, I do use a blush brush lightly as possible and tap it once and then kind of blended two techniques that two friends I met back in Daytona told me and well, one was from a former make up artist and she does the cheek bone thing too and taught me to do it in a small circle application while my other friend who started getting into make up tends to pinch the head of the brush at where the barrel is and then brushed upward to make it more blended. With the blending of these two techniques, I use the handle and tap lightly and open my mouth to reveal the cheek bones and swipe in a diagonal and then use a brush I don’t use and blend it with the circular motion technique and then use powder on top for the extra blended effect. Then if I wanted to, take highlighter to where I put the blush  before the powder and blend it on the ridge of the bone to give a tiny glow for subtle effect.

 

My Verdict: I am still on the Cheek Bone side because of how the human body works, especially when we get a bit older over time. Even though a lot of people say do what you’re comfortable or there is no wrong way of putting blush but with the video here may surprise you. I was even surprised while reading the different techniques in one article that there are different face types that do have the blush along the border of the apple and cheek bone but I would say be careful with that after reading it and seeing this video since it would drop and may look a little clown-like and don’t want that to happen. If you guys still like the apples of the cheeks, go ahead if you’re still comfortable.

 

Well, that is it for my answer for this debate along with the video. What is next? Will try to write about a big concert event known as Earth Day Birthday and will be having an interview with Soul Switch on the YouTube side. Til next time!

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by moonleopard85 on March 27, 2015  •  Permalink
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Posted by moonleopard85 on March 27, 2015

https://nerdyshiqueuniverse.com/2015/03/27/bones-vs-apples-the-blushing-debate/

TransMedia Retrospective: Yu-Gi-Oh!

Hello Shiquers and welcome back to Nerdy Shique Universe! Time for another Transmedia Retrospective! We looked into Slayers last time and now it’s time for a series that we all knew and loved and even loved it for the abridged version and that is Yu-Gi-Oh!

 

It has been an anime, a manga, and even had a card game for it, Yu-Gi-Oh has been a very long running series and has been a popular one at that! Let’s see what this series brought!

 

Behind the Plot: We all know the series was pretty much started with Yugi Mutou solves the Millennium Puzzle with the spirit of the pharaoh, Yami, in it and gets called on  whenever he needs his knowledge of games, especially Duel Monsters. This work was made by Kazuki Takahashi and the manga was published in Weekly Shonen Jump, see the parallel with Shonen Jump, from September of 1996 through March 2004 and of course had two different anime series, which you know as the Duel Monsters series and Japan knows as the Forbidden Season, well that is what’s it’s called here anyways.

 

Season 0 pretty much tells how Yugi got his hands on the Milennium Puzzle and well the spirit was more of a gambler that lives inside him that comes out whenever his friends are in danger and challenge the villain of the day to shadow games. Oh yeah, some of these games are pretty sadistic, especially if you read volume two of the manga. These games are pretty much a way to show the person’s true heart and how dark they are as they play and punished if they lose. It does link into the Duel Monsters part which Yugi does find out the spirit was a pharaoh that lost his memories which leads into the series that every kid and adult knew for years along with the popular card game. As the series goes on, Yugi along with his buddies, Joey, Tea, and Tristan help the spirit regain his memories and meet people that possess similar items to the Milennium Puzzle known as the Milennium Items. Now I can see how it existed for over 200 episodes since they go through different variations of the card game and put their lives at risk to help the spirit get back what he lost.

 

What does Duel Monsters have to do with it? Well, in the manga from volume seven on, the story mostly talked about the card game known as “Magic and Wizards” and it helped drive the story throughout Duelist Kingdom and Battle City within the anime, of course we have other games appear in the earlier story and later on with Dungeon Dice Monsters and Capsule Monster Colliseum which I played the video game and was good, the card game was still focused on throughout the entire anime. It does go into detail on Wikipedia that how the episode that Seto Kaiba had his shadow game expanded by making it more like how made the virtual technology for playing the card game by making the monsters come alive on the field. First it was virtual disks on the ground and then it went portable with the Duel Disks in Battle City and you know the rest by watching the series.

 

Did You Know? When the series was in development, Kazuki Takahashi originally wanted to make Yu-Gi-Oh a horror series than a gaming series? Even though he did make it as a game themed story, it does have horror elements in it to drive the story.On top of that, since he tried making a story with battle and there has been a lot of manga with fighting and couldn’t come up with anything except for the gaming concept in battle. In an interview, he did mention how he did help create the game in real life.

 

Anime

 

We already know about the anime, well the early adaptations, as in Season Zero, which is the 27 episode arc that wasn’t brought to America due to the violence in it. The actual series took off from Chapter 60 and revolved more around the Duel Monsters card game and so on. As said above, the story does revolve around the Milennium Puzzle and the pharaoh and how he lost his memories and regains them as he meets other people that possess similar objects with the similar powers and finds out that the card game that everyone plays is similar to the one that sorcerers played in his time, which the final season, Pharaoh’s Memory, which I seen the final episode in the Japanese version, does end with him regaining everything and returning to Egypt to play one last game with Yugi.

 

The different seasons do include Duelist Kingdom, Battle City, Orichalcos/Atlantis Arc by what I seen, Kaiba Corp Grand Prix, and of course the Memory arc. I didn’t mention the Virtual Arc because it was blending into Battle City and I felt that was a filler arc out of left field when I saw it on Kids WB. There was a spin off known as Capsule Monsters which is a 12 episode series that put everyone into a world that lets them summon monsters in capsules, which is like the Virtual Arc, except this was more of a chess game than a card game. It was pretty much an original story that wasn’t  a series released in Japan but was known as “Duel Monsters Alex” since there was actual game sets in stores based on this series, I even found them once at Books-A-Million when they had the trading pins at the time.

 

There were other series made later that took off from where the series ended and that included, of course, GX which deals with teens going to a school that was built by Kaiba later on in life to teach them how to duel and strategize. This series did take on the horror and suspense elements with different spirits showing up at the school and bringing the danger on, but it did kind of gone whack. Heck, you even have a dueling monkey! I do admit I liked the Japanese version over the English since the comedy flowed better in my opinion and what I heard, the end didn’t get brought to the United States. 5D’s was another series I only saw two episodes of and it deals with…”CARD GAMES ON MOTORCYCLES!” for one bit! This series, unlike GX, deals with more of a dystopian scene where Domino is way different because of how it was set in the future where people that are more aristocratic live in New Domino while people who aren’t so much live on an island called Sattelite. The duels take on the idea of battling on motorcycle-like vehicles called Duel Runners, kind of feels like Utena for a moment. This series also deals with people who bare marks known as the Five Signers who possess signs of dragons have to take on the Dark Signers and the Three Emperors of Yilester. Now I can see where the whole “Card Games on Motorcycles” officially came from when it came to the abridged episode. And finally, Zexal was the most recent series, which was shown on Nicktoons, and that feels like it went back to the old storyline where in this one it does take place in another future and this time in a place called Heartland City. Our hero, Yuma, wants to be Duel Monsters champion and while dueling someone a spirit named Astral shows up in front of him and guess what he says? “I lost memories and need to find them and they are inside monster cards with numbers which possess the duelists to show their dark hearts.” I didn’t watch this version since now I know why, I did like the original and GX when I saw it in its original language, this one seems to have the same plot to Season Zero and the original with the whole entire dark hearts get revealed but this time with cards that are scatterd over the world. There was a second series to this and was on Nicktoons as well. I just saw another series of Yu-Gi-Oh which also succeeded this thing which is known as Arc V. This one deals with duelists to interact with monsters with the dueling technology being more advanced from Zexal and also puts the people playing traverse environments for action cards that would help them in a duel. This story focuses around a student at You Show Duel School (Seriously?) named Yaya Sakaki who has to solve a mystery after unlocking Pendulum Summoning with his pendant during a duel with the current champion. This series will be getting its English adaptation premiering this year.

 

And of course, can’t be a Transmedia Retrospective without mentioning the Abridged Series! This series was made by Little Kuriboh as a spoof to the long running original by making jokes that everyone knows and loves, including, “My voice gives me super strength!” Of course this has become a huge hit with Team FourStar’s DBZ Abridged, which he also played Frieza in, but this has been something that shows his vocal range from female to male! I haven’t been keeping up since the last episode I caught was at MythiCon 2013 and it was the start of the Battle City Finals. You can catch Yu-Gi-Oh Abridged on YouTube and Little Kuriboh in DBZ Abridged and now his Naruto Spoof which is his own take on Naruto as well.

 

Video Games:

 

Like many series, Yu-Gi-Oh has video games that spanned across the many series that were brought over to the US, including the newest Arc V. There were some on the DS, the PS2, which I have played and my fave is of course Capsule Monster Collisseum due to the chess idea, and even later released on the WII and 3DS. There aren’t much to say about the 5D games since the one for the WII takes on a racing aspect where speed tokens are used for battle while the DS games take on the World Championship idea and the second one takes on the Dark Signers arc for those. One game that was a major pain was Duelists of the Roses which was released on the PS2 and takes on a Historical Fiction aspect of the War of the Roses with a bit of Risk! Involved, which you have a board where you move cards to different positions to try and take your opponent out with traps, spells, and monsters and of course, you choose to play on either Yugi’s and his friends’ side or play on Kaiba’s and the enemies of the series side. If you’re a collector of games, especially with this series, I would say Capsule Monsters would be the better from the original run since it had an interesting and fun plot, plus you get the voice acting from the show.

 

Card Game: And finally, can’t be a post without the card game! The card game has been popular for years and has taken on many changes in the rules and layout as the series went on. From Egyptian Gods to fusion monsters from GX and now the Synchronized monsters from 5D this has been a huge thing for years. I even still have my spellcaster deck and need to fix some of the braille on them. I don’t know what the Zexal cards are like since I haven’t kept up during my days in Daytona, but knowing the story it will take on the Number Monsters minus the possessing you while dueling and knowing with it coming this year, the card game will probably take on whatever Arc 5 does due to how much it evolved over time, especially with the real life duel disks back during the Battle City arc.

 

Well, that is it for this TransMedia Retrospective! It was pretty long due to how much of a TV Series Yu-Gi-Oh has grown over the years! I still remembering reading the first interview about it in Shonen Jump with Eric Stuart back in 2003 or 2004? Still, it has evolved and will keep on evolving. What is next in this series? Pokemon and how much it keeps growing! I would say go back and read my Pokemon Black Review since I haven’t started playing White 2 yet, but will also work on this newer Retrospective. And for the Beauty Shiquers, will be doing a nice beauty debate, so stay tuned!

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by moonleopard85 on March 26, 2015  •  Permalink
Posted in anime

Posted by moonleopard85 on March 26, 2015

https://nerdyshiqueuniverse.com/2015/03/26/transmedia-retrospective-yu-gi-oh/

Ipsy and BoxyCharm Time: March 2015!

Hello Shiquers and welcome back to Nerdy Shique Universe! I’ve been pretty busy lately with job stuff and many other things and even have an announcement towards the end but right now it’s Ipsy and BoxyCharm time! Man, this month made me really happy in both because of how they were doing the the themes and what they put in them, especially with BoxyCharm having better items than last month and ea lot betterthan January! Not all boxes and bags are perfect but March was the better month for Boxy. Let’s start it with Ipsy!

 

Ipsy: Ipsy’s theme this month is “Floral Fantasy” due to how Spring is this month and it is already here for us in Florida. We even feel more like Summer than Spring to tell ya the truth, even had a 90 degree day in April once. Sorry to anyone who lives in snowy regions, especially around Boston! I was even happy that the bag came early, which came today, Saturday, when it was supposed to be here St. Patrick’s Day but it was kind of weird when I saw the tracking. Last night, I saw it was in my part of town and then it said Orlando and then it appeared in my mailbox this morning, which made it better. I love the bag, it feels like the February bag but bigger, the same size as January’s mostly in my paws and it matches the flower idea with the theme. I am also using it now! Oh yes, this kitty decided to switch bags for this month! I hope next month it will be Easter themed with everyone probably asking about it. Now onto products!

 

500 Points Item: Jay Cat Beauty Lip Paint in Queen of Hearts! First off is that I finally redeemed some points for a Jay Cat Beauty Lip Paint! That is another great thing about Ipsy is that you get points for reviewing items in bags, the entire bag, and sharing it on Facebook whenever you have a early Glam Room Access and what you’re getting and then review the entire thing at the end for even more points, so you get a lot out of it. It is sometimes a pain because they do expire within a year of getting them and it’s hard to get to a certain range and was glad that I hit 500 points to get something, which some items are 500 or 1000 points. I think the most is 2000 from what I seen. The thing I went for is a full size of one of the Jay Cat Beauty lip paints that everyone received in December’s bag if I remembered correctly and was glad that this was among the products because I had a hard time finding them at my local Ultas. I loved my Mad Splatter and wanted to get more and saw this color, Queen of Hearts, and thought it would be more in the red range since I’ve been getting a lot of red lip products and was right! What is great though, this is a bigger size than the deluxe size from the bags and now I can see how they are in actual sizes. I am hoping I find these at Ulta or get them online because I love the pigmentation of these lip paints and they stay on pretty well! And they do look like watercolor tubes on top of it, can’t wait to wear this!

 

NYX Butter LipStick in Pops! Next is a major sneak peek item that I got to see and it is by my one of my most fave make up companies and it is NYX! They gave sneak peeks of the butter lipsticks and eye shadows and I was kind of crossing my fingers on the shadows because I love them so! Still loving my Dream Catcher pallets! But I got a butter lipstick and it’s been a while since I picked one up due to how much I loved the butter glosses and how they came out with the intense ones, the High Voltage lipsticks, and the prismatic shadows but getting this was not a loss! I got it in the color Pops which is a corally pink by what I heard from people who got this one. A lot of other Ipsters got Hunk and I liked the purple pink they described and it does come lighter out of the tube but this one I am going to give a try and hoping I can find Hunk in stores.

 

Cool Way Glow Oil Treatment! An item I’ve heard people get in the past, well more the company items, is by the brand called Cool Way! I am glad to say that I finally got an item by these people and heard how good they are and what I got is the hair oil treatment. Since I have highlighted hair and my curls tend to go crazy, I am glad to receive this. I took a try at it to see how it felt and it feels pretty lightweight and easy to control from the dropper container. I even love the citrusy scent of the oil. This is one item I will be using over and over and might get a full size in the future!

 

Chella Ivory Lace Highlighter! I am confused about this product since I got it in this month’s bag and that is the Ivory Lace Highlighter by Chella. I heard about Chella from past months of videos since Ipsy gets products from them. What confuses me the most is that it is a highlighter and yet a pencil at the same time. According to the page, it says that it can be used to hide blemishes, can be used to highlight the nose, eyes, used on under eye circles, even as eyeliner and a brow bone highlight. When I hear highlighter I think of more of a illuminating powder or cream but not as a pencil. I did hear that Ipsters did get a highlighting powder and I wished I got that over this since I already have an under eye concealer I use from Cover Girl and don’t know what to use it for exactly. Don’t know if I want to swap it either because I heard good things about it. Not sure what to do.

 

Marsk Mineral Eye Shadow in 50 Shades! This item is something I believe everyone got and that is a mineral eye shadow by a company called Marsk. It sounds weird of a name but it is a make up company originated in London and seems interesting. That is why I love these subscriptions time to time is that I get items from companies I never heard of and remembering on the older format of the site, which that is going to be ranted about, a lot of people hated how they got items they didn’t like but I told them that you’re getting items from companies that haven’t been heard of and Marsk is one of them. I got the eye shadow in 50 Shades, which is a dark grey shadow and it comes in a small container, which is pretty travel friendly. I will probably use one of my small eye shadow brushes for this thing because it is smaller than any of the other shadows I picked up and by what I heard this is full size and to me it’s smaller than that. Even my NYX baked shadows are bigger than this thing. I will give it a try and glad that I got another eye shadow!

 

Pur~Lise Gental Make Up Remover Cleanser! I never thought Ipsy would carry anything by Pur~Lise since BoxyCharm gave items by them out in the past, which I hated the tattoos to a t! What surprised me this month was that they sent me an item that is perfect for sensitive skin and that is the Gentle Make Up Remover Clenser and it comes in a small tube as a sample. This thing is made with soy milk and it is good for removing make up even mascara, which is good to know. I am willing to try this out and see how it goes because my sensitive skin does go crazy especially when it comes to some items that aren’t meant for it and doesn’t react to others as badly. I know it doesn’t react well with Physicians Formula despite claiming it’s meant for my skin type. This item is something I should take a try and see how it goes. Ipsy, get more items for sensitive skin! I love you so for this!

 

Final Thoughts:  This month was a really good month despite the Ivory Lace highlighter being in this bag. I don’t get why I got it since I did like the Mana Kadar highlighter from January. The only problem I have with Ipsy is the website since they changed it. It is sad that they took off the message boards for each month and at the same time kind of happy and just left the ones for reviewing  to get points on each product since so many people complain about their bags left and right! Try having so many people saying the same thing over and over, trust me, I was getting tired of explaining the same thing about how great the bag is and now seeing it, not all subscriptions are perfect! Even BoxyCharm is not perfect all the time. The other part of the site I don’t like is that it’s hard for me to review products now! I use a screen reader to navigate all over websites, reading programs, and of course Word and other programs, but don’t know why if the site is formatted not to be friendly with it as it was. I used to be able to review products effectively on the old site and just put comments easily but not now, when I try submitting the review, nothing happens! What is also weird, all the sections of the review are up, even when I click on “Very Likely” on the part where it says “How Likely Will You Purchase This Item?” The sections asking why you wouldn’t purchase it appears and I try ignoring it and give it a positive review, nothing happens at Submit. I may have to try it on my IPad to see if it works better that way because I like the items, well the four, as in the NYX lipstick, the eye shadow, the hair oil, and can’t wait to try out the make up remover, not sure about the highlighter, and don’t want to make Ipsy think that I hate them all and have my bag crafted sloppily. I hope it gets fixed because this newer version of the website is not working as it did before. Now onto BoxyCharm!

 

BoxyCharm

 

It finally came in the mail, which this part is written days later. I know I should’ve waited but before Boxy and Ipsy came at the same time or a day after each other like with December and January but this month, not so much. It’s Thursday while writing this part. I was so excited about this month’s box with the sneak peeks because it is better than, scratch that, it’s way better than January’s box and February was okay for me. I did trade the Mistura Complexion Corrector for the other Model Co. blush color that Ipsy had last month in Cosmopolitan but didn’t arrive yet, still waiting for that to be delivered.

 

This month’s theme is Lucky Charm and makes sense with St. Patrick’s Day and man this was a lucky box! Plus, even luckier that I got my450 Charms for being a member for three months already, which makes the points better and did trade that in for something but won’t get it until next month’s box. Let’s see what I got!

 

Oscar Blondie Dry Shampoo! First item in the box is a dry shampoo by Oscar Blondie and to tell you guys something, this is the very FIRST dry shampoo I ever got in a subscription! I never received any, especially the one that Ipsy did and repeated from August and I thought I marked I loved dry shampoo. I am still using my Garnier Fructis volume one and got a new can recently. I may have to take a try in between to see how this goes. It is also travel size which is awesome! I heard this retails for $16 from videos that got this and if not, there was a mousse for other charmers. That is what I like about this box is that not only they send same items for everyone but they do alternate between items. Such as the Eva.NYC items from December and the Jing Ai lip tint from last month with the colors and this month you either got the Oscar Blondie volumnizing thickening mousse or the dry shampoo and was happy to get the dry shampoo and was crossing my fingers on it and was glad to get it!

 

PreviseSkin Tonic for Skin Types 1 To 6! Next was the first item that was a sneak peek and that is the skin tonic by a brand I never heard of and it’s called Previse. One other thing about subscriptions I do like is the brands I never heard of and this is one I definitely never heard of until it got a sneak peek. This retails for $48 and it is full size, which makes it even better because I tend not to spend around that much on skin care. I think the most I spend is $22 and that is my Celestial moisturizer by Lush Cosmetics due to it being for sensitive skin and you can really get sensitive skin items from higher end parts. I did ask if this was good for my skin type and someone replied to my post on the Boxy Facebook and said according to Previse’s site it is meant for sensitive skin, so will try it out and hoping it doesn’t irritate my skin despite it being all natural, perebin free and petroleum free and that sounds more up my alley with skin care. It would be interesting by next month if we can use charms on it like with the Mullain and Sparrow mask, which I almost did that but went for another item. I will see how this tonic works, if not, may swap or just give it away like my Marikuja oil from January.

 

Ofra Eye/Lip Liner in Black! Next is a product by Ofra Cosmetics and it is an eye liner that can also be used on the lips and got the black one! This is another product that didn’t get a sneak peek like the Oscar Blondie items and like that, Charmers got different colors and I got mine in black! I have a lot of black liners and you can’t go wrong with one, especially when you get it in a subscription like Ipsy or Boxy and by a company I used before. If you remembered, I did get the Ofra eye shadow set from Ipsy in November and loved how pigmented those shadows were and glad to get this in this month’s box with everyone else because I started warming up to Ofra and was wondering when they will have more items by them since Boxy gave out other Ofra items in the past. This was a repeat according to a video but it looks new to me. Thank you Boxy!

 

LVX nail polish in Mint! ::happy nyuing all around:: I wanted this shade ever since it was announced over Facebook and that is the newer pastel polishes by LVX and whoever gets one gets one between a lemon yellow, a mint green, and a coral pink and guess what? My wish came true and I got Mint by LVX! I don’t wear yellow polish since I do have Werewolf Eyes by Wet N Wild from Halloween a while back, the coral did sound nice from people who had it but the mint woulbe perfect since I tried out a mint polish a while back, I believe it was I need a Refreshmint by WNW and it went perfect with my skin. I will try this polish out for a nice go! Thank you Boxy!

 

Tart Lip Surgence in Charmed! The final product of the box is a Tart product that I was very very very happy about and that is their Lip Surgence lip tint in Charmed! They announced this on Facebook and it was perfect for the theme and this normally is $24 at Ulta and Sephora and of course on Tart’s website, which Tart gave everyone another 20% off coupon, which I did try using my January one and weird thing is that you would be paying the same price full price after shipping which I didn’t bother. Hey, at least I get to try out something I do use and that is a lip item. I heard so many good things about these and the Melted LipSticks and never got one since I do tend to go to Ulta a lot but I am a drugstore product person most of the time. With Charmed, it is a light pink lip tint and it smells very minty and I did touch it a little and I find it very cooling to the touch! I may have to use this next week! I am really glad to get this and able to use it and this is my second item trying out by Tart since I still have the Lights Camera Lashes mascara samples from Ipsy, the one I got in my bag and the other I traded a pair of lashes for.

 

That is it for BoxyCharm and to me it was more worth it this month than the last two months, it felt like how December was minus the lashes, as in the brush, the hair oil, lip gloss which I used up, and eye shadow pallet and this one I got another nail polish which I love nail polishes, a lip tint, a skin tonic, an eye/lip pencil, and dry shampoo. That is amazing for one box! BoxyCharm needs to keep this going because there are times that I can’t use some items because I don’t use them and other times I do like to try new things. I can’t wait for April’s box and Ipsy!

 

Announcements:  So, now that is done, time for announcements! One major announcement is that we did get press for Omni Expo 2015: Attack on Omni! (That was the theme they went by at MythiCon) and I am so happy because there are so many guests I want to interview and waiting on updates as the event gets closer. I am hoping that there will be a room to interview in this year because last year so many people came up and didn’t know I was interviewing guests and also working on a new Pokemon cosplay and gathering two more parts. And speaking of interviews, will be bringing you an interview with Soul Switch which will be on YouTube after the first weekend of April! Yay! If you haven’t caught my review post on the music video they did, check it out and the video as well! That is it for now!

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by moonleopard85 on March 19, 2015  •  Permalink
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TransMedia Retrospective: Slayers

Hello Shiquers and welcome back to Nerdy Shique Universe! It is time for another TransMedia Retrospective when it comes to some of my fave anime series and one of them has to be Slayers!  

 

Slayers has been put into so many versions of media such as anime, movies, light novels, and manga, and even had a crossover with one series which I will get to later, but it has been one of my fave series for years. Trust me, try having all five seasons including the original box sets to season one and three. Shall we get into what is it all about? Maybe I should go into characters first since the entire anime revolves around them!

 

Characters

 

Lina Inverse: She is known as the “Dragon Spooker,” “Bandit Killer,” and so many other names that people fear whenever they encounter her and that is Lina Inverse! A spunky, teen sorceress with a huge appetite, with a tiny chest according to many, Lina is known to cause not only trouble in order to get her treasure but also a savior of the world. She has fought a possessed priest who had the demon Shabranigdoh, a demon king, and even a Dragon King, and of course a huge destructive dragon in order to save millions of lives in the process. What is the funniest thing about her is that despite her taking on so many scary villains she is scared of her older sister Luna. Hell, she even was spooked when she sent a letter in Try to take on a prophecy from her because she couldn’t do it!

 

Gourry Gabriev: The talented and jellyfish-for-brains swordsmen with a heart of gold and an appetite matching Lina’s, Gourry is the holder of a family heirloom known as the Sword of Light. Not much on his background but it is revealed that he came from Imekian Empire and his he doesn’t get along with his grandma and brother. Also said that he was a descendant of the Swordsman of Light that took out Zenafaar that tried taking out Zyraag, which pretty much according to season one is where he came fron, and his family members were fighting on who became the heir to inherit the sword but Gourry stole it to stop the fighting. This past doesn’t really get mentioned anywhere in the anime or manga but a short story, especially when he got frustrated and wanted to through the sword out, Gourry meets a fisherman that happens to be Lina’s dad and neither he nor Lina know. Which is weird to not mention the past even though I did remember Syphiel talked about how she knew Gourry when they were kids and after watching the anime, I am thinking he lived in Zyraag originally and left. I did read on the Wiki article about him that they did mention some of his grandfather in the Slayers Motion Picture. We will never know about his past except for the first season and the motion picture but we do know that with his attitude and chivalrous character, it balances Lina’s fiery temper and of course she wants his sword, which she will never get!

 

Zelgadis Greywords:  Oh yes, the man with a sexy voice….ahem! I mean a man who was transformed in order to become stronger. While a teen, he was changed by his great-grandfather, Rezo the Red Priest, a three part chimera, which he travels with Lena and crew in order to find a cure, but in season five, Evolution R, Rezo reveals that there is none. But he does have very strong magic which is called upon through the Astral Plane and his strongest spell is known as the “Rah Tilt” which can also be used by Amelia. Despite this strong power, Zelgadis hates what he has become! You do get to see a detailed version of how he changed into his chimera form in Evolution R, which I will explain that in the anime part!

 

Did You Know? Crispin Freeman was the second voice of Zelgadis in the anime, originally he was done by Daniel Cronin, who has really only been in one other thing and that was the Gal Force movie. David provided the voice for Zelgadis for eps 2-10 in season one while Crispin provided the voice from 18 on, including the Funimation dub when they licensed Revolution and Evolution R. Plus, he was the only original cast member in the Premium movie.

 

Amelia Wil Tessla Seyruun: The fighter for justice and princess of Seyruun, Amelia is on the scene! It’s even funny when you include her father, Prince Phil, in the series. She is also a priestess and wants to be a hero of justice and follows Lena and crew to fight anyone she considers evil in the world but her actions and gets told kind of has her quick to judge in who is really friend or foe. Despite her naïve and immature personality and how she thinks all bad guys wear black, she does mature and does get looked at as Lena’s little sister. It is revealed that….::shudder:: which I shudder at the belief that Naga the Serpent is Amelia’s long lost sister. I am having a Bennet moment like he did during the InuYasha Movie review.

 

Did You Know? Veronica Taylor was not Amelia first as well? In eps 11-13 of Season One, Joan Baker, who has been in La Blue Girl and MD Geist (reviewed by Bennet the Sage, which you can find on Channel Awesome for this title). Veronica provided the voice of Amelia from ep 14 throughout the rest of the anime including the Funimation dubs of Revolution and Evolution R.  Who provided her voice for Premium? Luci Christian.

 

Naga the Serpent: Since I’m providing info for the main cast, had to include her despite how she annoys me so much, even Return caused me to cringe when she laughed. Anyways, since she counts a major character and I mentioned above, she’s Amelia’s long lost sister, Gracia. How did she leave? Well, apparently she ended up killing her and Amelia’s mother’s murderer at age 16 or 17 with a spell called “Chaos String” out of revenge. She was traumatized and took an outfit from their mother’s closet and left to learn more spells and gets sent expenses via messenger since she keeps in touch with her family, which in Next, Zelgadis does mention a runaway princess and it happens to be her, which makes it more interesting. It gets more complicated that the reason why she is with Lena is because Lena is her arch rival and challenges her to win the title of “Dark Lord” which she makes up. Pretty much their alliance is a double edge sword, which they are companions but there are times when Naga does side with anyone who gives her a better thing to win but she does stay on Lena’s side in the end even if it means she gets hit by a Dragon Slave!

 

Media

 

Slayers has expanded across different media which includes novels, manga, a video game, anime, and even movies and OVAs. It originally started as a series of short stories printed in Dragon Magazine and then became a series of light novels in fifteen novels from 1990 to 2000. These novels were published in English for four years from 2004-2008 by TokyoPop but only the first eight volumes. There were even prequel novels covering the adventures of Lina and Naga which and some of these include Slayers Special, which is a thirty volume novel, Slayers Smash, and an anniversary collection that included original stuff by the creator, Hajime Kenzaka, and stories by fans, and there was a crossover special that my friend Xeno has and that is Slayers vs. Orphen which shows Lena versus Orphen the sorcerer.

 

With the manga, it seems that some of it was based on the movies while the rest were original stories and I did almost pick up one of the manga volumes when there used to be an anime shop close to my area but didn’t due to reading other manga at the time. The manga did get published by Central Park Media, the ones who also licensed the anime during the 90’s, and Slayers Medieval Mayhem was released in June of 1999 and then a few years later, Slayers Special was published here in the states. There was a seven  volume manga that was adapted from the Slayers Return movie known as Super Explosive Demon Story, which I can see why with seeing the movie, which was made from 2002 to 2004. There is still one that is still published in Monthly Dragon Age Magazine and that is Slayers Evolution R. There have been other titles made but they are only in Japan, which is kind of sad but there is always the internet for translations!

 

What about the anime? Well, season one based off the first three light novels while Next was based on volumes four through eight and then Try was more of an original story, which is weird with how a pillar of light came to be in Try. Anyways, apparently there was supposed to be a fourth season after Try called Again but that was given up due to early scheduling conflicts. If they would make Again, would be a nice in-between story for Try and Revolution. Originally, Slayers was released on video tapes and laser disk and it was separated into eight volumes during the 90’s by Central Park Media. It was very successful and that led to the release of Next but as separate box sets with the same eight tapes and disks. So glad that the DVDs are four disks, I can imagine how much room those old sets would take, even after Try was released the same way. Then that brings me to the next point which was that all three seasons were released as four disk boxsets and man they’re big! I own the first one and Try only as the original ones but can’t find Next. If you’re wondering,how I got my hands on them since CPM ended their license? Well, that same anime shop sold the both of them except I only got Season One for my birthday two days before Hurricane Charlie roared through back in 2004 and in 2006 got it signed by Veronica Taylor. As you guys know, after CPM ended the license, Funimation picked up Slayers and re-released all three of them as smaller sets which the disks are in a plastic facing and the set folds up. I did buy Next and Try in the newer sets back in 2009, during 2012 at FYE, someone traded in the original box to Try and picked itup. We did surprise Eric Stuart and Crispin Freeman with these boxes and what is interesting as a fact, the sound is better on the older version and I can see why. Later on this year at AFO, this will be signed by Veronica Taylor.

 

Anyuway, the last two seasons, Revolution and Evolution R were pretty much based on subplots in the novel and were original stories. It reunited Takashi Watanabe and J. C. Staff to work on this two 13 episode arc from the days of the original three seasons. Not only that, when Funimation licensed the anime for America, they reunited the main four cast members, Lisa Ortiz as Lena, Eric Stuart as Gourry, Crispin Freeman as Zelgadis, and Veronica Taylor as Amelia. There were re-castings of some of the characters which included Amelia’s dad, Sylpheel, Naga, and Xellos. I did ask Eric about his reprise of the role of Gourry, you can see what he said in my MythiCon Interview with him Part 2 on YouTube.

 

Now onto OVAs! Oh yeah, not done yet! There were two OVAs and they were three episodes each and they were Slayers Special and Slayers Excellent. These took place after Try ended and they were made by Hiroshi Watanabe and J. C. Staff. ADV Films released these to the states with Special separated into two  called Dragon Slave and Explosion aaand then as three episodes again as Book of Spells. ADV did release Excellent to both the states and UK along with Special on VHS and DVD.

 

And finally, the films! I only seen two of the movies and know that ADV done the licensing to them. Slayers the Motion Picture was pretty much the first movie with Return being its sequel, which deals with an adventure with Lena and Naga that dealt with a bracelet, not only that being a manga story as well. Great and Gorgeous were also released and then Premium being a short film that has all the original characters reuniting. All except Premium pretty much followed the adventures of Lena and Naga by the looks of it since I only saw Return and got Premium because of the original characters and did trade them in because I didn’t like the casting despite Crispin being the only original cast member in that. In my honest opinion, I prefer the anime, even though Premium does have a funny plot about eating a certain octopus that makes you speak in a weird way and also no offense on the ADV cast, they are great actors in their other works.

 

There are other parts of media that Slayers has gone through like radio dramas and there was a game made in Japan for it like most anime. But this series has been a long running and the manga seems to be going still in Japan. The only collectibles I have from the series since the merch is hard to find in the states are a Lena plushie from the Next series, a Gourry pin, and collector cards from the films that I found at a convention back in 2004.

 

Well, that is it! Next series I will be tackling is Yu-Gi-Oh since it is still running and has a lot to cover! I think my fingers may kill me. Til the next Retrospective!

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by moonleopard85 on March 17, 2015  •  Permalink
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Posted by moonleopard85 on March 17, 2015

https://nerdyshiqueuniverse.com/2015/03/17/transmedia-retrospective-slayers/

Music Review: Soul Switch “Hang On.”

Hello Shiquers and welcome back to Nerdy Shique Universe! Time for a break from beauty and conventions because today is a music review for you guys and it is by my buddies in Soul Switch!

 

Behind the Band: Soul Switch is a local band from Orlando, FL and have been around for a while. I didn’t get into them until I saw them at the House of Blues during May 2010 when they were doing a show with Traverser, Five Billion Dead, and the former Rise of Defiance. These guys have a sound similar to Chavelle and I can kind of see why. All thanks to their music, I started getting into Chavelle a bit more. They will be performing with Traverser and Leaving Haven on April 4th at the House of Blues and will be having a new album out. Which brings the next part!

 

The Song and Video: Today was the launch of the newest video of their newest song, “Hang On” from their newest album. Yeah, a lot of new in this sentence. And forgot to mention, my opinions are opinions on here.

 

First of all, before I get into the review, need to say I am basing this off the song because of my eye sight being bad as it is, I can’t see the video but will be putting it in here for you all to see it! I even tried doing the video description option on my IPad but nothing happened. Don’t know why but Apple needs to fix it but hey you’re still getting a song review.

 

Anyuway, the song shows how much the guys have worked on it and how much they matured since their “As It Seems” album from 2012. I also noticed that in the song how much Tom Huestus, the lead singer’s voice has changed over time and it made him sound like the lead singer of Chavelle more. I even kind of noticed the change when Gondras and I saw them at Firestone back in December. It shows how the boys are growing up and I’m so proud! Don’t worry I will be getting their new album when it’s released because I want to hear more of their change and how much they worked on this CD, which I think it was last year they announced they were doing it. Man time flies!

 

Rating: I’m not giving this thing a rating because the song is way too badass to be rated just by me, especially seeing how people loved it through their music video release event on Facebook, so guess what I’m giving it…

 

“NERDY SHIQUE UNIVERSE PAWPRINT OF BADASSERY!”

 

Why? It’s because not only they are returning to the music scene, especially in Orlando, with a new song and video but with a new sound and showing more of what Soul Switch has to offer with this new album coming out and it’s known as “Regenerate.” Perfect name for it! Way to go guys!

 

That is my review! Check out the video in the post and enjoy! What is next for Nerdy Shique Universe!? Will be doing a spotlight on a local concert event, Earth Day Birthday and will be starting on my TransMedia Retrospective with Slayers since that would be easy for this month! Til next month and also subscribe to Soul Switch’s YouTube when you get a chance and check their Facebook out at www.facebook.com/soulswitch and tell them I sent you with a “Hi!”

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by moonleopard85 on March 3, 2015  •  Permalink
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Posted by moonleopard85 on March 3, 2015

https://nerdyshiqueuniverse.com/2015/03/03/music-review-soul-switch-hang-on/

Convention Spotlight: Anime Festival Orlando 2015!

Time for another Convention Spotlight! I was going to wait until later this month but the latest guest announcement got me to do it now!

 

The convention is Anime Festival Orlando and it will be at the Wyndham Resort August  14th through the 16th here in Orlando, FL! Oh yes, a few days after my birthday yet again! Gondras and I haven’t been back to this con since 2012 but this year it has us wanting to return due to the guests which I will be announcing now!

 

Guests for 2015

 

Dante Basco: You remembered that I interviewed Mr. Dante Basco for you all to read and can still read here on the Word Press blog from MetroCon last year! This year he will be in Orlando for AFO and you already remember his roles as Zuko in Avatar: The Last Airbender and Rufio in Hook! And of course, the very first role I heard him as and that was Jake Long in American Dragon Jake Long!

 

Eric Stuart: I know, “Wait! What!?” I know, I was surprised too! Another actor I have interviewed last year is coming to AFO and that is Eric Stuart! He is no stranger to our backyard and you can still find my post with the videos interviewing him here and also on YouTube! Plus, I did mention it as “Best Interview of 2014!” in my Bests and Worsts of 2014. For anyone new to his work, he is known as Brock and James from the original run of Pokemon, Seto Kaiba in Yu-Gi-Oh, and the role that I really got into his work with even more, Gourry Gabriev in Slayers!

 

Veronica Taylor: She is also no stranger to Orlando since she hasn’t been back since 2006 at AFO during the high of FullMetal Alchemist started going off! Yes, I still remembered the extremely long line in front of her table for the FMA signing. Veronica Taylor is returning this year and happy about it! She was the original voice of Ash Ketchum in Pokemon and May in Pokemon Advanced. Can’t forget the great hero of justice, Amelia in Slayers! Will she be interviewed for Nerdy Shique Universe? Let’s see what happens!

 

Todd Habercorn: Oh yes! Just announced today, Todd Habercorn will be appearing at this year’s AFO and it makes me really happy! I can thank him for getting me into Fairy Tail as Lucy since he is the voice of Natsu Drakneil. And of course, Mr. OCD-to-Symmetry, Death the Kid in Soul Eater! And anyone fans of it, he is also in the newest Toonami anime that was added, Kill la Kill. Not sure if I want to get the Etalus Natsu and Regular Natsu side of one of my Fairy Tail volumes signed, still happy!

 

There will be some guest DJs to be added since of course they do have their rave. And of course…can’t forget…

 

Tales of Orlandia: Every year since 2007, AFO has their live action roleplay experience for convention goers to participate in by going around the convention to help complete the story and get missions from the stage players that are in the story as well. Gondras was one of the players during 2011’s story as a crazy Jester. and now it is back with a newer story and looks like this time they are going with the theme of the Tales of…. Game series, which has been a pretty popular series by what I seen lately.

 

What is the story? It is known as “Curse of the White Witch” and this is going to be interesting! I may have toparticipate this year when I get my paws on my press badge. If you’re interested in auditioning, check the Orlandia page on the Anime Festival Orlando website for full details and how to audition! They did hold some yesterday and more to come by the looks of it! Stay tuned!

 

Well, that was short! There will be more added to the page as time goes on and the convention gets closer and closer! You can register for passes for AFO 2015 by going to their page at www.animefestivalorlando.com and if you head to their Facebook page, you can sign up for the e-mail newsletter which is pretty handy dandy!

 

Well, what is next for Nerdy Shique Universe? Will be doing a review on Soul Switch’s new song! Stay tuned! Signing off for now!

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by moonleopard85 on March 3, 2015  •  Permalink
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Posted by moonleopard85 on March 3, 2015

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