The Ultimate Guide to Cosplaying in Public

Overall, I, personally, think that our Youtube channel, Beguruteam, is known for the "Cosplay at the Mall" or "Cosplaying in Public" videos we put out. In fact, we cosplay so frequently at our local mall, that stores give us discounts when we purchase items and some staff members take pictures with us. But it's not just fun and games, oh no, cosplaying in public can actually be difficult on some occasions. So, when you find yourself in a sticky situation, I'll try my best to teach you how to find your way out.

I get asked a lot of questions and receive a lot of comments about public cosplay, so I finally decided that I'm going to try my best to give some tips on what to do and how to act.

Let's start!

1. Pick a place to cosplay

When you pick a place to cosplay in public, you want to keep a few things in mind. Factors such as;

• Distance - for how long will I be walking?
• Time- if it's a place, what are it's hours?
• Bystanders - Have I been there before? What are the people like? Are they more on the judgmental or open-minded side? 

2. Film Laws 

Now, this one is a big, big, big issue. There's a law that states that you cannot film or film people on private property. And guess what malls are. That's right, they're private property. 

I've gone to the mall on multiple occasions for cosplaying and a lot of the time I (meaning my brother, Brendan) actually ask a security guard to speak to the mall manager so we can discuss film issues. And, of course, the mall manager is never "in" when we cosplay at mall. So, instead, when we walk into each individual store, I go up to one of the workers and personally ask them if it's okay if I film. And if they say "yes", then film to your heart's desire, and if they say "no", just shrug it off and film some place else. 

Never ever, ever try to film after a store worker has specifically told you not to. Never. That, my friend, is how you get into a lot of trouble. In the worst case scenario, you'll be asked to delete your footage (this happened to a woman I was talking to where she took a photo of her kids at the Disney store and the store manager forced her to delete the photo) or you could be brought in by security. I, personally, have never been taken away by security, but I've gotten close. Really close. 

Another aspect of the breaking/following laws is filming people. Always, always, always, ask someone before you catch them on film or even if they're just in the background. A way to avoid this is by blurring out the background and having your frame focused on the cosplayers. Since a mall is private property, it's actually against the law to film people without their consent. 

Now, NONE of this applies if you're just cosplaying outside in public. Let's say you're cosplaying in the city, well you can film as many people as you want- you can zoom up on their faces- and there's nothing they can do about it because it's perfectly okay to film people in public. Of course, people will more than likely yell or threaten you if you zoom up on their faces like that, but it's not illegal, so... sucks to be them. 

My reasoning is that if you didn't want to be on camera in public, then you should of never gone out in public to begin with. 

3. Cameras, equipment, and camera-men, oh my!

When I first cosplayed in public, my friend and I brought along this really, really tiny video recorder that was low quality and easily fat into our pockets. Now we bring a Canon camera and don't even bother hiding it since it's so huge.

Store owner definitely notice when you're in costume and taking videos, but they never seem to notice that one person behind you snapping photos with their phone. Even if you're just carrying a camera, expect to be called out. Expect to be reprimanded while that person taking photos on their phone right next to you isn't even noticed.

You see, I'm shy in real life. Like, terribly and horribly timid. So whenever store managers or security guards come up to talk to me I panic so hard that my heart feels like it's going jump right out of my chest. I don't know why, but security guards never talk to my friends, they talk to me. That's why I have my older brother, Brendan, with me. Not only is he our trusty camera man, but he also deals with security and mall - works (he recites a ton of film laws, making a beautifully thought out argument when people try to kick us out).

Speaking of Brendan, another important addition to the cosplay in public experience is to have a non cosplayer film. That way you can catch every elegant costume and everyone in your group gets an equal amount of time in the video. Going along with this, it's important that your camera man doesn't bring a lot of equipment. This means no tripods, steady cams, or anything like that. Contraption like that draw a lot, a lot of attention. So, you're better off filming hand held (if you have a really shaky hand, I suggest using an editing software with a stabilizer).

3. Cosplay and props

Now that we have the basics covered, let's more on to what you'll be wearing. I would not, under any circumstances, wear anything extravagant with a lot of pieces. I wouldn't wear anything that poofs out three feet of has wings and other contraption poking out. Nor would I wear armor and huge, fluffy wigs. Why, you ask? Because it attracts lots of attention and the chances are that a little kid might just come up and pull on your wig, rip your costume, or tear your wings. If you wear an expensive cosplay, be super careful so you don't spill anything on yourself in the food court or that someone doesn't step on your train when you're on the escalator.

Another thing is that weapons are not allowed in malls and a lot of other places. Even if they're clearly fake, some people are incredibly gullible and will believe that that's a real sword you're carrying or a real gun. And I believe, don't quote me on this, that you could be arrested or something for carrying weapons- even fake ones.

Now if your prop is a book or stuffed animal or musical instrument, that's perfectly okay. As long as it doesn't look like something to kill another person or is super huge, it should be fine.

4. Dealing with hate

Some of my followers and friends have told me that the main reason they never cosplay in public is because they're scared of people making rude comments, laughing, and basically bullying them. I would be lying if I said that, that didn't happen.

Dealing with judgmental people is just a component to life. They'll laugh at you if your different or an individual, but don't let that ever stop you from doing what you want to do.

If you have no clue how to respond to specific scenarios, I made a list of all the conversations my friends and I have had with strangers.

S= stranger
F= friend
M= me

S: Why are you dressed like that?
F: Why are you dressed like that?
S: Because I felt like it
F: Well, we felt like wearing this, so what's your point?

S: Isn't it a little early for Halloween?
M: IT'S NEVER TO EARLY FOR FREE CANDY

S: Isn't it a little early for Halloween?
M: Well, duh, it's like July.
S: Then why are you dressed like that?
M: Because I can. Because I want to.

S: Aren't you a little old to dress up?
M: Dress up? What are you talking about? These are my every day clothes.

S: Aren't you afraid that like, people will recognize you?
M: No, why would I be?

S: What's the occasion?
F: Wait... I need an "occasion" to wear clothes?

S: What's the occasion?
M: There is none! Bum BUM BUMMMM! MAJOR PLOT TWIST

S: What is wrong with you?
M: Absolutely nothing. I'm normal I swear.

S: You guys are weird.
M: Good! I love being weird! Normal people worry me, there must be something wrong with them

S: What's your problem...?
M: An average person has over 10,000 problems. One of yours is that you're judgmental.

Ah, well that's all I have. If I think of any more, I'll be sure to add them in later!

Thank you so much for reading and don't forget to follow me for more posts! 

GIVEAWAY WINNER

Hatsune Miku Love Philosophia Unboxing and Review

Born Pretty Review and DISCOUNT CODE

The Nicest Way to Say "You're Out"

The main reason most cosplayers begin cosplaying in the first place is to do something fun with their friends. It's to feel more connected to those around you using unusual activities such as dressing up in public or wearing extravagant costumes for photo shoots or cosplaying a group for a convention. But what happens when one member of your cosplay group stops showing up for scheduled film and photo shoot dates or declares that you can't cosplay specific characters? What happens when they leave you- and you alone- to run multiple social media accounts?

What is the best and nicest way to tell them "you're out of the cosplay group"?


I guess we can say it started a long, long time ago. More precisely, before we even started cosplaying- when all we were doing was stating "I want to cosplay so-and-so". That was the first sign that this "cosplay group" was going to be a failure.

Why, exactly? Because when this cosplay group got started, you didn't get to choose the character you wanted to, it was decided for you by Miss Self-Centered. Basically we would go through all the series we wanted to cosplay from and try to decided who would cosplay whom. Only Miss Self-Centered would always, always, always claim the leading female role. Why would we let her claim the main character? Because she would guilt trip us with stories about how much her life sucked and she would say that she had "dibs" (at the time we still believed in dibs... No judging, please :b).

Me, being the easily ticked off person I am, would always say "next time it'll be fair" and I would push my feelings aside... but it never was. Things gradually got worse but I just casted it to the side. From there I started making my first cosplay, or should I say cosplays. It was going to be a costume that you could use for two different characters (one of which Miss Self-Centered was cosplaying). When she found out that, that is what I was doing, she immediately flipped and started yelling at me, making me feel absolutely worthless and like a terrible friend.

I didn't build up the courage to cosplay the same characters as Miss Self-Centered for almost 4 years.

Things from there went down hill. Miss Self-Centered refused to post or help edit videos for our Youtube channel or photos for the Instagram account. She would claim characters that she would never buy the cosplay for and yell and anyone if they planned on cosplaying that same character. We would invite her to group outings at the mall or around town, but she would turn us down and then complain that she was never invited to begin with.

But the thing that got on my nerves was the comment she made about money.

She made a ridiculously rude comment about all the cosplay and money I have. She told me something along the lines of "how nice it must be to get everything you want" and I just snapped. Everything I own I have either payed for myself or worked my ass off for. I save my money, I hate spending it. And yet Miss Self-Centered told me off about "how spoiled" I am, even though she has never had to pay for a single costume, piece of technology, or object she owns. Even though she blows over $200 on a single trip to the mall while I skip eating because it costs too much for food.

That was where the line was crossed and I determined that she needed to get out.

The first step I took was building up the courage to cosplay one of the same characters as her. Of course, I didn't tell her. The weave later arrived in the mail and I posted a few pictured of the just the base of the wig. Miss Self-Centered saw the photos (not realizing it was for the same character she cosplays already) and basically told me "this wig is perfect for my ___ cosplay, you should just give it to me and buy another one for yourself" and I, in the nicest was possible, said "no way in hell."

On that Friday I went to school wearing the full wig, but when I saw Miss Self-Centered down the hall, I lost all my self confidence and took off the clips, only leaving on the base of the weave. The last period of the day I finally built up the courage to put the rest of my wig and the second Miss Self-Centered saw it on me she flipped and stopped talking to me for a couple weeks.

She then messaged me saying "I'm determining if I should give you my ___ cosplay, it's old anyways and I'm planning on getting a new one". I told her "no, thanks" for the main reason being I will wear her hand-me-downs and I will not cosplay the same version.

A few months later and we hit 1,000 subscribers on Youtube. We wanted to celebrate with a subscriber special and so the people in our group and a few guest stars wrote a script... only Miss Self-Centered had a pretty huge role in it. We would plan a date and then last minute she would say she has plans. Then I would go on Facebook and see photos of her partying with a ton of strangers and my brother's EX girlfriend (that's a whole other screwed up story) instead of being at the film set.

After multiple attempts of setting up a solid date, we finally gave up. It was around this time that I really wanted to find a way to kick her out. So I changed all the passwords to every social media account she had access to. When she confronted me about changing the password I just played along and said, "oh no, that's weird. Are you sure you're typing it correctly?" and things along those lines.

From there we slowly but surely left her out in every little thing we've been doing. We no longer included her in scripts or in meet ups. We denied her access to the account and tried our best to loose complete contact with Miss Self Centered. But occasionally she'll message us and when the subject of cosplaying is brought up, we swiftly change the subject.

There is no nice way of saying "we want you out of our group", so instead of saying it directly I spoke with my actions and silently kicked her out. If she ever decided to fix her attitude and developed into a more mellow character, we'll gladly accept her back in. But for now, steer clear of the Miss Self-Centered in your life and let them down easily, no one likes to be yelled at.

Nagisa Hazuki Makeup Tutorial

GEO ANA48 Color Nine in Dark Red Review from Uniqso and 10% OFF DISCOUNT...

UNIQSO Review and 10% OFF DISCOUNT CODE

Hello, my friends!
Today I bring you another review~! This time it's from a place called Uniqso. Uniqso is a store located all the way in Hong Kong, if I remember correctly. All of their lenses are 100% authentic and the designs are just breathe taking.
They also have this "reward points" system that, in my opinion, is really cool. For each product you buy from their store, you receive X amount of points. And with those points you can buy more stuff from their website! So, instead of paying in money, you could pay in the points you've collected!

Anyways, I ordered the "GEO ANA48 Color Nine Dark Red" lenses, thinking that I could use them for numerous cosplays. I ordered the lenses May 10th and they arrived June 4th. It wasn't the fastest shipping, but I was incredibly enthusiastic that they arrived. They also offered a tracking code, but the tracking code stopped working and didn't update for almost two weeks.

In the package were two things; a lens case and a decorated box. On the lens case was a white sticker saying when the lenses expired. That sticker is also the only was to differentiate the left and right sides apart. And if you have different eye prescriptions, like me, you could probably see why that's problematic.  

The box had a cute little bear on the cover that was saying "Thank you!" and inside were the contacts, in jars, wrapped in bubble wrap.

Luckily for me, the containers were easy to open and I didn't slice any fingers this time! After that, I let them soak in solution and then I tried them on. 

Here you can see what it looks like with one red eye and one normal one. The lenses themselves are only 14.2mm, so it doesn't really give the effect of a bigger eyes= But the color is clearly noticeable and, frankly, looks really cool!

So, here's what the lenses look like when both of them are in. I actually go both lenses in on my first try. Not to mention that there was no stinging or anything- they're super comfy and it doesn't even feel like there's something in your eye. 

RATINGS: 

Shipping: 

☆☆☆

Eye Enlargement and Effect:

☆☆☆

Comfort:

☆☆☆☆☆

Pricing:

☆☆☆☆☆

Design:

☆☆☆☆☆

Overall:

☆☆☆☆☆

Totoro Tights Review from Tattoo Socks and 10% OFF DISCOUNT CODE

Totor Tights Review from TatooSocks on Storenvy !

Once again, hello~!
Today I bring you a review of these super cute tights that I got from TatooSocks! Not only do they sell incredibly cute tights and socks, but they have amazingly fast shipping, and the world's best customer service!

So the tights I ordered were called "Black Totoro Tights" . They were only $12.49, which is pretty cheap for tights in comparison to other websites (and you can get them cheaper using this discount code; "10beguru" for 10% off!). They looked really cute, not to mention that I have a slight obsession with Studio Ghibli, so I decided to give them a try.  

I ordered the tights on May 20th and they actually arrived on the 28th! They also provided a tracking code for your package, that way you always know where it is. When it arrived at my house, it came i this cute packaging and I didn't wait another second to open them! 

The first thing I did was actually feel the fabric. I have really sensitive skin, so one thing I was worried about was if they were going to be itchy or something. But the sock part of the tights were made of actual sock-material. The shear part was made with this stretchy stuff that felt a long like regular tight material. At the very top of the tights it transitioned into an opaque flesh tone. 

Well, here's what they looked like when I tried them on. The shear part, though it was slightly colored, actually matches my skin tone really well, so it super nice. Not to mention that the tights themselves fit perfectly!

Also, don't forget to use the discount code "10beguru" to receive 10% off of your next purchase from TatooSocks!

RATINGS:
Shipping/Customer Service: ☆☆☆☆☆
Material/ Quality: ☆☆☆☆
Design: ☆☆☆☆☆
Overal Experience: ☆☆☆☆☆

BT 15 Brown Lenses Review from LensVillage.com

Well guys, if you did not read my other review post, then fear not! I have the same review captured on camera! So, grab your popcorn and a drink and sit back and enjoy :b

"BT 15 Brown Lenses" from Lens Village Review

Hey guys!
To start off, I just want to say that this was a sponsored review!
Anyways, let's get started!

The lenses  I ordered are called "BT 15 Brown Lenses 14.88mm" and they were from LensVillage. I ordered the lenses on May 9th and they arrived on May 28th. It took just under three weeks to get here, which is understandable since the package came half way across the world. The one thing that I did not like about the shipping process was the fact that I had no clue that it was even shipped. The company said that they would make sure the lenses were in stock. They never offered me a tracking code and they never told me that the package was actually shipped. 

Beyond that, the lenses itself came in multiple bags and bubble wrap and other things to preserve the product so nothing was damaged. I was glad to see that everything was fully intact and in great condition. 

When I opened up the package, the first thing I saw was this super cute lens case in the shape of an elephant. Well, I'm pretty sure it's an elephant.... Hehe, so, as you can see from the photo, it's gold in color and adorable. On the inside it actually has a "R" so you can tell which side is left and which one is right. That's super helpful since my eyes have different prescriptions. 

The package also came with several different business cards. The first one was for LensVillage itself and the second was an advertisement for their selfie contest on Instagram. 

Finally in the bag were the voiles in which the contacts were kept. They were wrapped in this foam stuff to prevent the bottles from breaking during delivery. 

I have to say, getting the lid off that container was probably the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. I ended up using scissors, forceps, and other sharp object to open it. Not to mention that it costed me two nails and a bloody finger. 

After looking at it for the first time from a top view, my first impression was "wow, these look awesome". My second thought was "how on Earth am I supposed to get this out of the bottle!?". Luckily, I figured it out, so no worries there. 

After that it was time to put the contacts in! I got the left on in on my firs try, but the right contact started sting my eyes incredibly badly. It got to the point where I actually started crying and had to take a break from putting them in. Yet, after about 25+ tries on getting that right contact in, it finally happened. The entire time I had them in, it felt like something was obviously in my eye, but it wasn't too noticeable. 

I figured the stinging and the discomfort was because I didn't leave the contacts in the solution long enough. 

 So, here's the final product. I actually really, really love these lenses. They make my eyes look a lot bigger than they actually are and it feels like I'm a real life anime character! Apart from that, I think the design the lenses have on them really emphasizes that "anime-ish" feel. If that makes sense.

The lighting was sorta bad, but I'll try to get new pictures as soon as possible~!

RATINGS:
Shipping:
3/5 stars

Eye Enlargement:
5/5 starts

Comfort:
2/5 stars

Pricing:
5/5 stars

Design:
5/5 stars

Overall:
4/5 stars

Camping in Cosplay

Over Memorial weekend my friend, Lauren, and I went camping out in Indiana. It's a very nice, but old, campsite they have. In fact, basically all of my extend family can be found wasting their lives away upon a boat in the lake.

Anyways, on the road to the campsite there's this field. It's dyed a golden color due to the sunset dripping rays of light across it. And off at the edge of the field of wheat are dozens upon dozens of lavish lilac colored flowers. Their heads reached far above mine, even though they grew in a crevass off of the road.

And the light touches the flowers in such a manner that they look fake or as if they were straight out of a dream. Everything is so soft in color and melds perfectly together.

The photos taken that day came out absolutely amazing (keep in mind that NONE of these photos were edited or altered in the slightest)!
So if you're ever going somewhere, even if it's the wilderness, always be sure to bring a cosplay and a camera! You never know what unique and beautiful sights you may come across~