“She’s the one named Goth Sailor Moon!”

Montreal-based company Akumu Ink contacted me because they share my love of Japanese horror and steampunk aesthetics. I took one look at their website and pumped my fist in the air. Akumu Ink has a wonderfully ghoulish selection of t-shirts for guys and gals, all with original prints. A grinning Cheshire cat under a giant curved moon, a twisting black rose, a kawaii masked girl with a chainsaw — simply brilliant. I’m so excited about Akumu Ink’s designs that we’re doing a fashion collaboration together… stay tuned for news! We may have something to show you as early as January!

Alexora launched a new Swiss watch collection inspired by the awesomeness of the 1980s, and generously sent me the yellow “Eye of the Tiger.” This is quite possibly the coolest wristwatch I’ve seen in a long time. Everything from the triangle face to the textured yellow band speaks to me. Also in the music-inspired collection: “Touch Me” (pink), “Karma Chameleon” (green) and “Orinoco Flow” (blue). You can see more on Alexora’s website and online store.

V-fingers to London Underground Shoes for sending me this beautiful pair of ankle boots. The patterned sole! The big silver buckles and gathered cloth! By now, you know why they’re one of my favorite alternative/Gothic footwear brands.

Here, I’m wearing “Death’s Embrace” — I love the dark humor of the shirts Akumu Ink sent me. The company sells at anime conventions in the US and Canada, and you can order t-shirts, hoodies, buttons and packages from their website.

Some of you have asked me about the new FTC disclosure rules for bloggers. Basically, if a company sends me a gift/promo item, I have to clearly make this known when I feature it on my site (which I’ve always done in the past). Rest assured that I would never, ever feature a product that I wouldn’t personally wear or support. However, if I have a positive experience with an indie/alternative-minded company, I feel it’s important to share this with readers. If you ever have any questions, let me know in the comments.

Hair: I clipped back my bangs with bobby pins, then tied two “meatball” buns with an elastic.
Eyeshadows: sent to me from Aromaleigh Pure Mineral Makeup. Recently, I’ve been using Cloud, a light glimmery blue, on my inner crease.
Black eyeliner: Urban Decay. It’s also useful for adding beauty dots.
Lipstick: The black outline is Styletto, sent to me from Lime Crime; the red is Dior. If you’re reluctant to have all-black lips (remember this outfit post?), you can try a two-tone look like this.
Eyelashes: handmade by ViVi. I got them at Tokyo Decadance.
Scarves, hat/hairpiece and yellow tights: old things lying around the house.

Have you visited J-List, an online repository of all of our favorite things? Hamburger and Pokemon bento boxes, kawaii charms, Japanese fashion and Visual Kei magazines, Sanrio and Ghibli toys, anime cosplay goods… you name it. J-List is one of my favorite places to grab stocking stuffers straight from Japan. Do check out the new banner on the right; it has a constantly rotating queue of new products I think you’ll like.

More from this shoot posted tomorrow. Til then, come boogie-woogie to 1970s Asia disco videos in my new CNNGo article! There’s a Japanese italo track in there and two Bollywood numbers… (Warning: the article contains scenes that may offend those with a sense of style.)