All posts for the month August, 2016

Favorites: July and August 2016!

Hello Shiquers and welcome back to Nerdy Shique Universe! It’s time for my bi-monthly favorites! Man, this year is still going by fast and before I know it it will be Holiday Matsuri! Speaking of which, I better do a Convention Spotlight on that late September or early October. Anyways, I have a few non-faves first!

Non-Faves:

The Jeffrey Star and Kat Von D Drama: Yes, I had to mention this because it seems to be dying down but at the same time some people do have problems with Mr. Star. Anyways, if anyone has not read the only other uncategorized post talking about my thoughts on this controversy between Kat and Jeffrey, well to make a long story short, Kat Von D announced in July that she was cutting all ties from Jeffrey because of his drug use, bullying, and the major elephant in all this was him stealing artwork. Jeffrey did respond that he only does medical marijuana for anxiety and has settled what had happened with the artist that was said who he stole from which was BJ Bets, sorry I haven’t mentioned the artist, and he didn’t steal the work but went with someone else due to how much Bets was charging him when his savings was used on his first three liquid lipsticks. I felt that this should’ve been dealt with privately instead of publicly since things have been a major firestorm. I seen a lot of videos of people taking Kat’s side while others like me are willing to support both instead of one over the other because it is just makeup! I did see the reviews that Jeffrey has put up about different brands and he is pretty honest in what he doesn’t like and what he does like and sometimes can be interpreted by other people in different ways, so I would say if you support either one go ahead but to me it is still just makeup and I am still subscribed to both of them on YouTube and have bought one item by Kat but nothing yet by Jeffrey, that will change in the future.

Cancelling Ipsy and BoxyCharm: I know I am sad about this and have been this past month and that is back in July I had to cancel Ipsy and BoxyCharm. It is not the same with mail delivery this month because it was something I looked forward to with all the sneak peeks, Glam Room openings, and videos that people got these things. Even with Ipsy in how people got different items than I did. I am still trying to go for the PR BoxyCharm box because at least I can still can get that and try to do more videos for the channel since I haven’t been to a convention since March of this year. And if you’re wondering, I haven’t watched any unboxxings because I don’t want to depress myself even more knowing that I had to let these two go for now. Hoping in the future I can get back to subscribing to these two boxes due to how they let me explore more brands especially in the higherend department.

Faves:

T-Shirt Find: Harley Quin Hello Kitty! I have tons of t-shirts and have been keeping myself under control with my shirt buying, heck I even kept myself from Hot Topic back in Daytona but the one I loved when I found it was the Harley Quin themed Hello Kitty shirt I found at Game Stop! I found it Wednesday when going there with Gondras and he sees it in the window and glad to find it in an XL for shrinkage problems or sizing problems since I have tried on a Harley shirt in the past at Hot Topic in my sizing and I couldn’t get past my elbows! I know that is horrible but one thing I don’t like about most girl shirts in Hot Topic is they don’t fit bigger women like me since it feels like you have to be tiny to fit those sizes. Which is impossible! That is why I went with the X-Large and it did fit very well the next day! Not only that, good thing was it was cheaper than a shirt at Hot Topic which this one was $15 and the ones at HT are going up in price which I remembered my last Doctor Who one was $22. If you find any good shirts you want, I suggest Game Stop if you’re big into video games as well as cartoons and anime!

New Brand of Lip Products: KleanColor Cosmetics! I know you are wondering, “What!?” Well, the thing is lately I have been liking this one brand of makeup that is said to be from Asia from what I heard and it’s known as KleanColor and heard of them through It’s Judy’s Life where she had a hard time getting the Kiley Genner lip kits and they were selling them very expensive on Amazon which I don’t get, even some products on EBay in the beauty department are the same way, and found KleanColor and decided to try them out and got a six pack of lipsticks in pinks, reds, and purples for around $7 and that wasn’t bad. Heck, I have gotten a set of twelve bold ones when I done my pastel goth look, which also included a yellow and will give that to Vivi in the future, and recently got the entire set of the Mark of Love lipsticks. People have made mixed reviews online saying that they aren’t as pigmented, they come off to easily and so on but at the end of the day you do take your makeup off and a lot of lip products do come off easily when you eat or drink something which I have no complaints. Plus, the pigmentation with me is not that bad even though I have to make a lot of swipes but it is okay, I tend to do that anyway with most lipsticks in stick and liquid form, lip glosses, and my lip balms to get that feel that they are there! And they also smell nice, the first set and the second set smelled fruity while the Mark of Love set smelled like vanilla! I wanted to get a pastel set but that went up in price, I may get that another time if the price goes lower. You can get KleanColor on Amazon and they do have a website.

Hair Product: PYT Argon Oil! In my last BoxyCharm I got the PYT argon oil and man it was very good! I did have some instances where I got more than the actual amount I supposed to use but it did still do the same thing by keeping my hair soft and not so damaged. Heck, it kept it damage free when I straightened it on my birthday. I did finish it and to me the price of $39 is not worth it to re-purchase it despite how good it was. I can get the Marc Anthony Argon Oil items and the Suave Oil Infused with Argon Oil for much less than that and they work as well!

Shapoo and Conditioner: Suave Oil Infused with Coconut Oil! Had to mentiuon these two since I’ve been using them lately and that is the Suave Professionals shmpoo and conditioner with the coconut oil in it. I have used the Marc Anthony Macadamia Oil and the Argon version of the Suave Professional line and love them! These oils ar very good for the hair and have heard coconut oil is best for hair growth which I am seeing a tiny bit of that because Gondras did ask me to grow my hair out and working on it.

Dry Shampoo: Got 2 B Rockin’ Dry Shampoo! I know it’s a surprise to hear this from me when there are so many on the market with the dry shampoo collection but the one I prefer the most is the one by Got 2 B! This one doesn’t cost an arm and a leg and does keep my hair clean until my next hair washing but the only problem is the pressure that it gives off in the spray which is very powerful. I prefer this one the most over Not Your Mother’s since I tried that one and it made my hair feel weird while Got 2 B feels like you have that clean without the weirdness!

Pomade: Got 2 B Hair Pomade! Yes, another Got 2 B product and have been using it for a while and that is their hair pomade! I haven’t thought about using hair pomades until last year for job interviews and I used the one by Crew and that was pricey and didn’t enjoy the smell it gave off which was like I was wearing one of my dad’s colognes in my hair and weighed my hair down. I know Crew’s pomade is claimed to be the best but to me Got 2 B is better because it is not as heavy and doesn’t weigh the hair down because it feels more like a cream than a hard salve. Plus, it smells amazing and doesn’t cost as much, it is around $5 at Walgreens! Which I may need to restock at some point since I am at the bottom.

Eye Shadow Pallets: Swamp Queen by Tart and Gwen Stefani by Urban Decay! I have two favorite eye shadow pallets or shall I say makeup pallets! First is the Tart collab with Grav3yard Girl pallet which is the Swamp Queen pallet! I am so proud of Bunny since she has been a major fave of mine on YouTube since I watched one of her haul videos when I started getting into makeup and this pallet is a face and eye pallet where you have nine shadows and a bronzer, highlighter, and blush all in one! This is very travel friendly since you have everything in this thing and my fave shade has to be Sippy Sippy since that is a shimmery brown shade. Some people say there is a lot of fall out with the glitter but I make it work! And the other pallet is the Gwen Stefani pallet with Urban Decay! I didn’t put this on Christmas list since I already had shadow pallets I was wanting, especially the Full Exposure pallet from Smashbox for the longest time! So, I found out that Urban Decay discounted the Gwen pallet this past summer and got it! This pallet is based on names from No Doubt and her like Pop, Baby, Steady, and so on. They are as pigmented as a lot of the shadows by Urban Decay and glad to have this! I do love how this came with two blue shades which is fun to use!

Powder: Ofra Oil Control! I never thought I would mention a powder and that is the Oil Control setting powder by Ofra Cosmetics! I know I am not oily but I do have some oily feeling around the t-zone but I do use this powder to set my under eye concealer when I start using my powder in the end. This is a translucent powder and it feels like most powders I have used and it does feel good when you apply it! I got this in BoxyCharm as well and unlike the banana powder from February this is a full size product! I have been using this for a while and loving it!

Rediscovery: NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in Progue! I had to put in a re-discovered product and that is my NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in Progue! I used this in my Back to College Makeup video and started using it again but ran out of it! I think I used it three times and it got buried in my lip drawer! It is a very pretty berry color and it goes on very smoothly. People did have problems that this product accentuates their lip lines but with me it looks very natural! Even my mom likes these lip creams and I have gotten her this one and Milan. I need to re-stock on this and Transylvania since these two are my fave colors in the entire line!

Confession: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic! Yes, I admit it! I like My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic! I started watching it lately and loving it! I am taking a bit of break from it since some of the cuteness can be overwhelming especially the song! My fave two ponies of the main cast are Twilight Sparkle because I love reading as much as she does and I can be uptight with deadlines, which Gondras can see that a lot of me, and the other one is Pinky Pie because she is hilarious! She even becomes funnier when she snaps in some episodes but she is very entertaining in the series, especially when she had to babysit two baby ponies that were newborns from the bakery owners.

Show: Fuller House! This was something I finally got around to watching when I was sick and that is Fuller House! This pretty much Full House but it is the sequel where it takes place twenty plus years later and DJ Tanner or Fuller had three boys and she is living at the old Tanner home with Stephanie, Kimmie, and her daughter, Ramona. It is as entertaining as the original and you get to see the normal situations of divorce, ex-boyfriends, new love, and taking care of kids under one roof! I am hoping NetFlix makes another season because I want to see more of this and how DJ and crew keep going in the house! Also, can’t help with the appearances by Jesse, Danny, and Joey!

Well, that is it for these favorites! What is next? Still waiting on doing the Convention Spotlight but you can follow us on Twitter @ Nerdy Shique and check out the YouTube channel while you’re at it!

1 Comment
by moonleopard85 on August 20, 2016  •  Permalink
Posted in beauty, clothing, Favorites, Television

Posted by moonleopard85 on August 20, 2016

https://nerdyshiqueuniverse.com/2016/08/20/favorites-july-and-august-2016/

Books: Destined for a King

Disclaimer: This Review is based on opinion and observation! Also spoilers ahead!

Hello Shiquers and welcome back to Nerdy Shique Universe! Sorry for the delay in the Convention Spotlight on Tampa Bay MegaCon, it will be up soon so in the meantime I have another book review!

Title: Destined for a King
Author: Ashlyn Macnamara

Synopsis:This book is a high fantasy story where we meet Kalista, a tomboy that was arranged to marry a king. Her home, Black Briar Keep, gets taken over by Torch who has a secret of being a lost prince that had his father usurped by the king she was engaged to but marries Torch instead. This causes many troubles for them at her home such as the king’s executioner showing up to take over and even ends up a new power inside of her to help Torch free the keep from the king.

Thoughts: This book was very well written with pretty good twists and turns and good characters as well. At least it’s not in Song of Fire and Ice where character after character gets killed. The characters only get hurt, even the interesting thing was how Kalista didn’t know that her arrow was tipped with a deadly poison that her mother had a recipe for from the place she used to live in and Torch was able to live through it in the beginning of the book. Her new power did help her how to create that same poison which does come in handy as a back up plan! I am hoping there will be more to this story because it did sequel bait at the end. I want to see what Torch will do next and how the keep will be out of harm’s way in the next one and how he will take out the king to take the throne with Kalista.

I would say my favorite character is Kalista because she is not the type of girl that would just sit and be the usual princess character in a high fantasy story, especially like Sansa from Ice and Fire. I liked how she and Torch fought with each other but then their feelings started to flow and love each other until the marriage took place. Volfe, another character, is someone later on in the book and she is another fave because she does have a wolf’s personality and very loyal to Torch as a very huge ally. She does leave because she believed she failed Torch after losing in the final fight in the book and if you know wolves, they tend to have a lot of price when it comes to fights. I hope if a sequel does get written she shows up again.

Looking at the women in this book, they are pretty strong for their character. They think for themselves even though Kalista’s mother does teach her in the beginning and does give her advice on many things when it comes to taking care of wounds and marriage of course. I did like how she told the story about her people and how she married Lord Thorn, her father, since she was arranged to be married if I remembered but fell in love with someone else which was her father and it passed onto her.

I did feel as though that having Brother Tankrid as a out of left field for the rest of the book, which at first Kalista went to him for a history lesson about something that Torch had murmured and then later on you see him with Torch and act crazy later on due to something known as the Blood of the Earth. To me, the Blood of the Earth by the way, should’ve been a bit more developed and could’ve waited until a sequel because it felt it was added on and put too much into the story just in one book. Plus, it could’ve worked in another book to discuss the stone that you read Torch wearing in the beginning of the book and I was wondering at first if that was something from Brother Tankrid’s people or the Brotherhood that Torch has brought to the Keep? That always bothered me as I read.

Final Thoughts: This story definitely needs to keep going since I did say that the ending was open for one. I am hoping that one will be written and want to see what happens next. I did say that there should be more development for the Blood of the Earth point and what the stone had to do with it and who gave it to Torch because I was confused by the idea of it. I do like the women characters being able to stand up for themselves and not sit aside and be proper ladies like what we heard in most high fantasy stories. All-in-all, good book, needs more books to follow!

You can download this book for Kindle, so take a read if you’re interested in something like this!

That is it for this review! Hoping I can get that Convention Spotlight up soon! If you guys haven’t visited the YouTube channel, you should since I have three new videos there! So, stay tuned!

Leave a comment
by moonleopard85 on August 18, 2016  •  Permalink
Posted in Books, Reviews

Posted by moonleopard85 on August 18, 2016

https://nerdyshiqueuniverse.com/2016/08/18/books-destined-for-a-king/

Review: Batman: Mask of the Phantasm

Hello Shiquers and welcome back to Nerdy Shique Universe! Sorry, still waiting on the stuff for the Convention Spotlight, I will see if I get the interview questions in the next day or so since I did send the head of press at Tampa Mega an email last night. Anyways, I do have a review!

Movie: Batman: Mask of the Phantasm

I know you’re thinking, “Mari, that movie has been out for many years since the 90s!” I know but I never seen it! Yes, “GASP!” Here was the thing, I went to FYE with Gondras on my birthday this past Tuesday and we were looking around and we stumbled upon the many Batman Blue Rays and found Mask of the Phantasm on DVD along with Return of the Joker from Batman Beyond. These two movies were $7 each and we couldn’t pass them up since we were surprised that these didn’t get a Blue Ray release like the many other movies such as Forever and Batman & Robin which were the two movies least liked by everyone. Even the “Bat Credit Card” joke from Nostalgia Critic still makes me laugh!

When we got back to my place, we did put Mask into Gondras’ laptop to watch to remedy myself from never seeing it. I did remember it being in theaters in the mid-90s or was it earlier, but this was around the time Warner Brothers still put animated features in theaters and that included Space Jam and the first three Pokemon movies. As you know, I have been a fan of Batman The Animated Series when I was younger and have enjoyed watching it and that is how I started loving Harley Quin, especially the episode where she was living with Poison Ivy. Anyways, if you remembered my last post about D. C. Comics belonging and this animated series was the perfect example of sticking to TV.

Movie Synopsis: This movie takes a look at more of the earlier days of Batman and how Bruce met his first love, Andrea Beaumont when he was a college kid from what I can get. This does show flashbacks mainly of how he started designing the suit and at the same time keeping time with Andrea. As time goes on, things have happened to Andrea’ home and causes her to return a ring that Bruce has propsed to her with and causes her to become someone else.

What I thought: I thought it was really good! I never seen this movie and after seeing it for my first time, I did get to see one story that shown something that led to present day Batman. Well, more like this movie was from the beginning of the series at least. I thought that Cat Woman was his only love until I found out that Andrea was his first and thought that would make sense if he met someone at an earlier part of his life after losing his parents early on.

What was surprising was seeing the Joker in this one too but the good thing is that they kept with the continuity of how he went through the chemicals and changing from being someone involved with the mob to a villain. Mark Hammel will always be Joker to me and Gondras of course! Also, the character of the Phantasm was interesting. At first, people on the police force thought it was Batman causing attacks on mob members but there was a special chemical that was left behind as the Phantasm’s mark not Batman’s since we know we tend to see one of his Batarangs stuck in the wall or anything else to say, “Yeah, I was here!”

What was great about this movie was how touching the scenes between Bruce and Andrea being together throughout the film. I did mention in the last post that I liked how in the D. C. animated stuff was how there were lighthearted moments in the drama. This was a romance story since it did start off a bit awkward like some relationships due to how Bruce was starting off as Batman and she wonders where he was until she figured out what went on at his parents’ grave site. I did find it sad in the ending how Bruce thought he lost her again due to how the final fight was at the World of Tomorrow exhibit that was around which was also a theme park and the Joker rigged it with a bomb. She wanted it to end after what happened to her father and how he was connected to the mob and why she went after them as the Phantasm. Yes, it did show her alive but it did go the way of “He doesn’t know that.” I guess the creators wanted to show as the series went on that he did move on and found other women to fall for and of course Cat Woman was one of them.

IFinal Thoughts: My final thoughts on this is that this was a masterpiece to be placed on Blue Ray. It would suck if they waited until next month to do it when we got the DVD for a discounted price. I am wishing Warner Brothers and D. C. made their movies like this rather than how they are doing now because of how the TV shows are getting better and there is still more to do with them. Sub Zero did follow this film and it was an okay film after seeing it on Cartoon Network but the other animated movies that were released were really well done. Still, this movie should have been on Blue Ray, especially with putting the audio at a better volume since I did notice that it kind of dropped out in some scenes and not as loud as it Joker’s laughs.

Rating: 5 out of 5 Paw Prints

That was it for this review! I am hoping I hear back from Tampa Bay MegaCon for my Convention Spotlight! I know this will also lead into my July and August Favorites for this year! Stay tuned!

Leave a comment
by moonleopard85 on August 11, 2016  •  Permalink
Posted in Cartoons, comics, Movies, Reviews

Posted by moonleopard85 on August 11, 2016

https://nerdyshiqueuniverse.com/2016/08/11/review-batman-mask-of-the-phantasm/

D. C.: What Screen Should It Be On?

Hello Shiquers and welcome back to Nerdy Shique Universe! I am still waiting on answers from Tampa Bay MegaCon to my interview questions, but in the meantime I decided to do something special.

Disclaimer: This post is based on opinion and observation. If you don’t like it, get out!

Comic books have been showing up a lot in media ever since Marvel Studios has shown up and pretty much beaten the box office with their movies. Of course D. C. has shown up to be part of the competition but their movies have not been the best. How so? Well, Marvel has been showing really good interpretations of the comic stories, picking really good actors to fill in the roles like Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man, Christopher Evans, as Captain America, even the younger Olsen sibling to be Scarlet Witch and now Benedict Cumberbatch to be Dr. Strange for the movie this fall. Not only that, they did get SpiderMan back for a movie next year. Plus, can’t forget, they do know how to make the banter between characters sound real, especially with Civil War and Guardians of the Galaxy.

What about D. C. you may ask? Well…well…to me that the TV and cartoons translate the comic books better than the movies. Don’t get me wrong but I did enjoy the Christopher Nolen Batman movies despite how the third one had me bust out laughing when Batman was yelling, “Where is the trigger!?” in his best Jack Bower inpersonation. To me, the tv and cartoon shows do the D. C. comics a lot better because they are translated well. I haven’t seen Batman v. Superman, Superman (the newer btw), and now Suicide Squad, which worried me and Gondras the most because of what we heard from reviews that the movies weren’t that great. Heck, I seen Nostalgia Critic do his review on Superman and oh man… We did see Green Lantern and it wasn’t great with what we saw. Anyways, how I see it is that D. C. is trying too hard by making their films as dark as Marvel but too dark. I understand that most stories in D. C. are dark but there are times when you do see lighthearted parts in it. I seen that with Batman the Animated Series, Batman Beyond, Superman Animated, heck, even Teen Titans had a lot of jokes and banter within the dark bits. Also, the storytelling, especially with Suicide Squad from what I heard, is pretty choppy. I can believe it since the story in Green Lantern felt rushed and forced from remembering it.

What D. C. Should Do? Should stick to TV with their stuff! How so? Well, I admit I have seen some of Arrow and Flash and from what I’ve seen all thanks to Gondras watching them on Netflix and Hulu, they are both good! I even give props to the actor who originally played Harry Dresden in the Dresden Files tv show as a detective in it. The story they took in both shows pretty much fits with the cohesive storytelling you’d expect in the movies. Yes, they changed a few things, especially with Arrow but both shows had really good stories to work with. Even the cartoons when they were around even kept the storytelling as before like with Batman had. I know they all went dark but they did it without trying too hard and did mention earlier that there were pretty touching moments between characters. To me, with how tv shows and cartoons work they work better for D. C. and Warner Brothers since Warner Brothers is known for making cartoons for many years and that is pretty much their element. Now wishing they don’t cancel anymore good things when the action escalates like with Young Justice and Green Lantern Animated.

Well, that is it for this post! I know I am basing the D. C. movies on reviews but reviews do help us decide what we should see or what to stay away from. Gondras was worried about the Suicide Squad movie and I was mostly worried about Harley Quin not fitting with what I seen in the cartoons and video games, which in my opinion Hynden Walsh should’ve done the voice in Arcum City. Still, I am goi8ng to see the animated version on NetFlix if htye have it since I seen a review on that one and heard it’s pretty good! In the end, D. C., just stick to TV, that is what you do well!

Next time will be the Tampa Bay MegaCon Convention Spotlight.

Leave a comment
by moonleopard85 on August 5, 2016  •  Permalink
Posted in Cartoons, comics, Movies

Posted by moonleopard85 on August 5, 2016

https://nerdyshiqueuniverse.com/2016/08/05/d-c-what-screen-should-it-be-on/