Pullip Review: NANA-CHAN (Part 2)

OMGG HI GUYS!

It's been a while since I last posted. So here's Part 2 of Nana-Chan as promised!

If you guys have been following me on my Instagram, you'll know that I renamed Nana-chan as Angela. Simply because she's SOOOO pretty and adorable, just like an angel :)

So let's start from the top shall we?

Angela has a pretty simple and sweet face up. Not too strong nor too light. Which suits her a lot!

 Sorry about the bad quality!

She has brown eyebrows/bottom lashes, black top eyelashes, soft pink blushes on her checks, and a very light pink lip color with white linings on her lips.

So let's zoom in to the eyes:

Like her theme, Angela has cat-like eyes (black pupil with yellowish-green irises). These eye chips are usually the basic ones Pullip comes in but I was hoping that Groove could make better ones :(

With her eyes closed closed:

Angela has brown eyeliner and a slightly brownish nude eyelids, which I think actually suits her a lot since she's supposed to be light and sweet. 

Moving on, Angela also comes with cat ears! 

They're removable and are tied to her head (as you can see later from her back view). The material is furry and the string that's supposed to attach to her head is silky, satin-like material.

It's actually quite annoying because the ears drop EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. Tried to tie them tighter but they just can't stay on her head :/ 

 Here's the back view of her cat ears:

It's slightly grayish with a tint of  blonde which usually resembles the cat pattern we usually see.

To be honest I was rather disappointed with the cat ears. They don't even look like what's on the stock picture. It was much furrier than I expected that it somewhat does not look like cat ears.

In addition, she was rather bald actually, you can see the wig cap from the top. I quite expected this because it's rather hard to find Pullips with thick hairs.

Moving down, Angela has these outer layer cloth on her shoulder (omg i don't know how to describe)

The yellow ribbon there belongs to part of the cat ears!

It is lined with beads and hint of laces which adds details onto her simple night dress.  

                                         

It is removable and held by hooks.

I don't know if you can see from the picture above but she also has these tiny ribbon chokers with silver polka dots on her neck, which I thought was really cute!

Moving even further down:

She has these lace details that lined the openings of her dress at the bottom, as well as on her cuffs.

I don't know if you can see it but her dress has these floral embroided patterns on it. 

Angela does not have shoes but shes has these cute little gray socks!

Here's a FULL FRONT VIEW of her :)

                                                

Now let's move on to the back:

There's nothing much going on the back really, but she has these really cute tail at the back! The pattern on her tail is similar to the ones on her ear.
I think it's wire material inside because you can actually shape the tail.

Here's a FULL BACK VIEW:)

Look at those ringlets, aren't they pretty?

As for her wig, she has light blonde long hair with bangs and ringlets. Unfortunately, dolls with ringlets mostly have FRIZZY HAIR. Like I mean, REALLY FRIZZY. I was really careful not to mess with her hair but DAYUM it was really hard to manage. Especially when I wanna take her out for a few shots but her frizzy hair keeps getting in the way :(

Can you see the frizziness?

Overall, I wouldn't really recommend her as a first doll. Her wig is hard to manage and she's quite expensive compared to other pullip (probably because she's a collaboration doll). From a collector's point of view, I feel that her stock is simply not "exciting" enough to worth the money. Since she's supposed to be a cat, I feel like Groove could make her more cat-like probably? It would probably make her more unique and worth collecting.

However, if you're a person that goes for simplicity, she's not a bad choice!

Nonetheless, I still love her TTM and I did't regret it at all. I hope in the near future, I would be able to customize her, and probably add more colors and life to her :)

So what do you guys think? Share your thoughts and leave your comment down below. :)

Pullip Review: NANA-CHAN (Part 1)

HELLO GUYS!

I'll be doing a review on my first ever pullip: Nana chan! This review will be split into 2 parts: Unboxing and the looking at the doll itself.

I ordered my doll from pullipasia. Pullipasia is a online shop based in Asia (DUH) and their dolls come directly from Groove itself. If you're living in an SEA, it'll be slightly cheaper to order from them as you can save ALOT on shipping as compared to ordering from pullipstyle etc..

The only disadvantage is that they don't have much variety of dolls there :'(

The doll itself is SGD$180 and I chose shipping via priority box.
It took around 8 days to arrive from the day I placed my order, which is surprisingly agonizing to wait! Alternatively, if you're not a cheapo like me, you can opt for express shipping which cost $11, but only takes around 1-2 days to arrive.

So the total will be: $180 (doll) + $4 (shipping) + $7 (paypal fee) = SGD $191

Here's how the package itself looks like! It's actually really well packaged!

 The box inside wan't damaged nor dented at all, which I'm really pleased with :)

Heres's a close up shot:

        

SHE IS SO PRETTY!!!!!

 Like other dolls, Nana chan comes with a collector's card and stand:

 The stand itself is bronzed colored:

 The only thing that I dislike is her frizzy hair :( Well, I heard that it's a common problem among dolls with curled hair. I hope Groove inc. will improve on this problem soon!

Alrights, I shall end this part here! Sorry for the short review. I've been really busy lately with exams! Do stay tune for the next part ya? :)

So what do you guys think? Share your thoughts and leave your comment down below. :)

Faceup Practice #2

Hello peeps!

It's been long! Just a short post here.

Been wanting to share with you guys another face-up practice that I did not long ago.
Wanted to try another style-a more evil/gothic/emo look? 

Here's some of the results:

All these pictures are unedited and raw.

I tried my best but there's obviously a lot to improve on.. 
I've also noticed that it is actually really hard to clean off the face-up with 70% isopropyl alcohol. Maybe I should try a higher concentration? But it's so hard to find >70% concentration in Singapore :(

Oh and before I forgot, my first ever Pullip arrived already! Can't wait to do a review but I have exams lately. I'm so eggcited to let y'all see her :)) 

So what do you guys think? Share your thoughts and leave your comment down below. :)

Ball Jointed Dolls Face-up

Hello guys!

I'm so excited to share with you my first ever BJD faceup ever!!

BJD has always been my hobby since 2011 (MANNN... Time flies really fast...). And since all of them are so expensive, I've only started buying my first (and only current) doll last year.

Introducing XI (曦) from Angel of Dreams!

She looks fat from here lol.

Isn't she beautiful?

I bought her off ebay for around 200~300 SGD? Everything except her outfit. I can't really remember the exact price.

For those of you who don't know what are BJDs, here's a little intro:

What are BJDs?
As quoted from wiki: "A ball-jointed doll is any doll that is articulated with ball and socket joints.These are cast in polyurethane synthetic resin, a hard, dense plastic, and the parts strung together with a thick elastic. They are predominantly produced in Japan, South Korea and China. The BJD style has been described as both realistic and influenced by anime. They commonly range in size from about 60 centimetres (24 in) for the larger dolls, 40 cm (16 in) for the mini dolls, and all the way down to 10 cm (4 in) or so for the tiniest of the tiny BJDs. BJDs are primarily intended for adult collectors and customizers. They are made to be easy to customize, by painting, changing the eyes and wig, and so forth."

Price range?
They can easily cost a few hundreds to a few thousand dollars, depending on the size, edition, faceup etc.. Most company sells their dolls naked, so you'll have to buy their outfits separately which can easily cost a lot too.

So yes, it's an expensive hobby. But it's okay, I can live with it :)

So what is the face-up you're talking about at the start?
In layman terms, they're basically make-up for dolls. They are what makes BJDs pretty and realistic! However, you CANNOT EVER USE human make-up on them as it will corrode/stain the resin.

So recently, I bought a BJD head for practice from taobao for 50 RMB, which is equivalent to ~11 SGD. I've always wanted to practice face-up but couldn't get a chance to as even the head alone usually cost a lot (to me). I don't want to spend too much on just a head that I want to practice on.

It took a little longer than a week to arrive so I was really excited to try it out!

Here's the results! :)

Without the eyelashes..

Look at how messy my table is!

With the eyelashes... 

I absolutely love how gorgeous the eyes are. They seems to sparkle like stars!

Can't say that I'm absolutely good since this is my first try. I can't wait to practice more and become a PRO! You guys should totally check out Andreja from Nicolle's Dream. SHE IS AMAZING. Hands down the best faceup artist ever. :)

So what do you guys think? Share your thoughts and leave your comment down below. :)
P.s. Please pardon my English, it's not that good and I don't bother going through my post a thousand times just to check for mistakes.

Updates: Project "SE4SONS'

Hi guys!

Just a short update here.
I will be working on customizing my own Pullip dolls for the next few months!
Planning to do 4 to represent the 4 seasons : Summer, Spring Autumn and Winter.

I'm currently at the planning stage where I have to design how I want my Pullips to turn out, come up with their names, as well as sourcing for the materials and stuffs.

I guess it will take quite a while! A few months at least :))
Can't wait to see how it will turn out!

I will be posting once in a while to update you guys on my progress, so stay tune!

Meanwhile, I got my first ever Pullip!
Introducing....... Nana-chan!

LOOK AT HOW GORGEOUS SHE IS OMGOSONGNFJDSBFHJDS,
I absolutely can't wait any longer for her to arrive!
Will do another update when she does :)

See ya!

P.s. Pictures are taken randomly from google and are not own by me

Lifestyle Tips: Online Shopping

Hello there!

It's been long since I updated my blog. Been busy with online shopping for clothes, shoes, bags, accessories and my fav CRAFT ITEMS <3

Why choose online shopping?
1. PRICE
I swear, almost everything is cheap online, not matter what product you're looking for. Sales are EVERYWHERE, unlike offline shopping which only has sales on special occasions. The only thing we have to look out for is its authenticity, but this problem can be easily solved just by doing a bit of research on your part. Another tip is to compare and choose a product with the most review, or choose a more trustworthy seller, so as to increase the satisfactory with the quality of the product.

2. COMPARISON 
Online shopping often takes time as we need to compare the product across different sellers and websites. The product may look the same, but the quality of the product may be different, or that different seller provide different benefits. For example, my product is a simple black dress. Seller A may sell it at $5 and seller B may sell it at $18. Though they might put the same picture for the dress, we cannot judge a book by its cover. Dress material from seller A may be chiffon but B offers a much higher quality material. It all depends on how much you're willing to pay for the quality. Usually, the higher quality products cost more. Reviews are especially helpful when it comes to this as we can see the satisfactory level as well as photos posted to see how the product is like in real life.

3. CONVENIENCE
Enough said, we don't even need to step out of our house, what more can we ask for? The transport fee saved might even be enough to buy clothes/accessories.

4. DELIVERY
Most offer delivery STRAIGHT TO YOUR DOORSTEP. No more walking around with heavy bags and tired legs. On the flip side, there are chances that the parcel might be lost, so do opt for registered parcels that can be tracked, especially for international delivery. But of course, that will be more expensive. However, I feel that the total cost will still be cheaper than offline shopping.

So today I will be sharing with you guys my top 5 favorite online shopping sites that I frequently visit:

5. Amazon 
Amazon is the largest online shopping retailer in the US. I don't really buy things from here as the shipping to Singapore is expensive. But I do browse amazon sometimes and I bought their kindle paperwhite and occasionally a few eBooks.

4. Aliexpress
Aliexpress is owned by the Alibaba group. It is catered more for international consumers, especially those from Europe or Australia. Their products are really cheap and worth to buy. Sometimes they even offer free shipping!

3. Qoo10
Singapore's number 1 shopping site. I don't really buy from here unless there is a big sales going on. The reason is that I believe that their products are mostly ship from overseas. Wouldn't it be cheaper if I buy directly from overseas myself?

2. Carousell
Carousell is an amazing site if you don't mind secondhand products. Most may be secondhand but can still be relatively new. For example, a dress may be retailing at $28 but if worn once or twice, people will usually sell for less than half the price on carousell.

1. Taobao (International)
**Do make sure that you're on the international site as their local site do not offer overseas shipping.**
I CAN'T EVEN EXPRESS HOW AWESOME TAOBAO IS. I have never been so thankful that I can read Chinese in my whole entire life. Everything is SOOOOOOOOOOO CHEAP, and I mean DIRT CHEAP. I would buy from there at least once a month, and everytime I would spend over a $100 (including shipping) for at least 20 items. Their craft products are really really cheap too! But honestly speaking, you pay for what you get on taobao. Don't expect too much if you only paid $5 for a dress, vice versa.
A small tip for those who cannot read Chinese is to use the "translate to English" function (right click on mouse). Even though the translation is a little weird, but at least it offers a lot of help to those who can't read. As for shipping wise, they have a flat shipping rate of 39 RMB to Singapore and I usually get my order within 1-2 weeks.
However, if you're staying in Singapore and only buying a few items, it might be more worth it to use forwarding services. For example, 65daigou which charge based on weight. Their forwarding services are better and a little cheaper than the ones on taobao.

And have you heard of the 11.11 sales? OMG it's like the best thing that can happen in your life. It's an annual event that offers sales up to 90%?!?!? It actually just past a few days ago but I manage to buy and order my items at 12am. There are so many people ordering that you can't even order from 1am onward because the system is too busy. It is that popular, TRUST ME. I may do a separate post on that to show you guys my taobao haul, so STAY TUNE!

So what do you guys think? Share your thoughts and leave your comment down below. :)
P.s. Please pardon my English, it's not that good and I don't bother going through my post a thousand times just to check for mistakes.

BEAUTY REVIEW: DAISO Charcoal Natural Pack Mask

HEY BEAUTY BABES!  

Today I'll be doing a review on DAISO Charcoal Natural Pack Mask!

As you all know, I have some problems dealing with oil seeds and blackheads, so I decided to give this mask a shot! I also came across quite a few number of beauty bloggers/youtubers who recommended it too.

This is what it looks like:

I CAN USE CHARCOAL ON MY FACE?!?!?
Charcoal is actually really good for our skin, especially for people with oily skin like me. It draws out all the toxins, impurities, dirt, excess oils and other micro-particles to the the surface of the skin , helping you to achieve flawless complexion and fight acne. Charcoal is proven to absorb thousands of times of harmful substances as compared its own mass, which makes it a really popular ingredient to use skincare products.

Where do I get the DAISO Charcoal Natural Pack Mask?
I bought it at IMM Daiso. AND IT'S ONLY SGD$2 OMGOMGOGMOGMOGMG.

What it claims to do:
Formulated with natural ingredients from Oak trees, it removes oils and all dirt and deeply clean the pores, leaving your sin clearer with less visible pores.

***WARNING: DO NOT apply on wound/eczema and be careful that this product does not get into your eyes. STOP using if there's any sign of irritation and consult a doctor if necessary.

Ingredients:
Water
Polyvinyl alcohol
Alcohol
Charcoal powder
Magnesium aluminum silicate
Micro-crystalline cellulose
PEG-60 Hydrogenated castor oil
Methylparaben
Cellulose gum
Xantham gum
Butylparaben
Disodium EDTA
Fragrance
Morus Alba Bark Extract
Coix Lacryma-Jobi Ma-Yuen Seed Extract
(WOW That's a pretty long list of ingredients...)

Verdict:
Rating: 2/5
I can't really say that I hate this product a lot. It's just that it does not do what it actually claims to do. It is not completely painless to peel off the mask (YES IT IS A PEEL OFF MASK) but I am very (SUPER) disappointed that I don't see anything on the mask, not even one small blackhead. All I can see are my tiny little hairs. AND MY BLACKHEADS STILL EXIST. I would rather spend more on a pore strip that would work much better. 

Neither does it make my pores smaller. I've used it quite a few times already and yet the size of my pores still stays the same. I'm so very disappointed with this :(

However, one thing that I noticed for sure is that my skin became a lot smoother after peeling off the mask. 

I didn't steam my face before using the mask but I feel that it would not really matter as 1) my pores are already very big and 2) I wanted to see its ability and power to get rid of my blackheads. Since it couldn't do so, it just proves that the sticky formula of the mask is not powerful enough to "stick off" my blackheads. If my pore strips could do the same thing without steaming, so why couldn't the mask do the same thing?  

One last thing, NEVER EVER USE IT DAILY, USE IT AT MOST ONCE/TWICE A WEEK. The peeling actions can actually create fine wrinkles on your face if you use it too much. All that pulling is NOT good for your skin.

Summary
Pros: Cheap and affordable (SGD$2)
        Smoother skin

Cons: Does not remove my blackheads nor shrink my pores.
         Potential to create fine wrinkles (if usage per week >2)

So that's it for this review! I wouldn't really recommend people to buy this but I do admit it is fun and satisfying peeling off the mask. But at the same time I guess there's no harm in trying too as the same product might work differently on different people. And it's only $2!

Gonna seek a far more effective mask this time! >:(

So what do you guys think? Share your thoughts and leave your comment down below. :)

BEAUTY REVIEW: GARNIER Micellar Cleansing Water

HEY BEAUTY BABES! 

Today I'll be doing a review on GARNIER Micellar Cleansing Water!

I have a lot of problems dealing with blackheads and oil seeds and they're just SO SO ANNOYING. Therefore, I asked my facialist for advise and she actually recommend me to purchase a makeup remover product to cleanse my face on top of a normal cleanser.

So I tried to search up for a good one and came across micellar water and so I've decided to give the garnier one a try. I may be a little bias because this is my first time using micellar cleansing water and I can't make any comparison to other brands like Bioderma or L'Oréal blah blah blah... So I'll try my best to be as objective as possible!

****DISCLAIMER****
I DO NOT USE MAKE UP. Seriously, I rarely do. Please just get over the fact that not ALL girls put on make up ;/ So I can't do a review on how well micellar cleansing water removes make up. I'm just gonna be honest about its cleansing properties. Sorry about that!

What is micellar water? 
Micellar water is practically the new trend nowadays. It supposedly removes your make up, dirt and oil from your skin, gentle but yet effective. It contains micelles (aka lipid molecules, and that's how micellar water got its name) that floats in water. Simply put, when you apply it to your skin, these cleansing molecules make contact with the dirt and oil, allowing them to be swept away efficiently. It's THE BOMB for lazy people since it so convenient (no rinse etc.). Furthermore, it claims to be suitable for ALL skin types (depending on the product).

Where to get the Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water?
Your local drugstore. I bought it at Guardian here in Singapore, you can find them in Watsons too! It cost somewhere between SGD$15~20, couldn't really remember the price!

 
As you can see, I've used about 1/3 of the bottle?!?

I bought the pink cap bottle one instead of the green one simply because the pink one is for sensitive skin. FYI, I have oily and slightly sensitive skin. I prefer using sensitive skincare products as they are more gentle on the skin! (THEY JUST FEEL GOOD, YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN?!?)

What it claims: 
-Efficient and easy to use product that cleanses and removes make-up gently in 1 step without rinsing or rubbing
-Hydrates skin
-Suitable for face, eyes and lips -Suitable for sensitive skin
-Hypollergenic, Fragrance Free, Dermotologically & Ophthalmologically tested

Ingredients:
Aqua/Water
Hexylene Glycol
Glycerin
Disodium Cocoamphodiacetate
Disodium EDTA
Poloxamer 184
Polyaminopropyl Biguanide
(Well, I don't even understand/know 99% of it)

I'm pretty sure this product contains alcohol but when I googled for it, people say that it's alcohol-free. However, isn't Hexylene Glycol an alcohol?? I NEED A CAPTAIN HERE.

VERDICT: 
I've been using this product for ~2 weeks now and I must say that I'M LOVIN IT ❤ I use it as a secondary cleanser to remove all the dirt and excess oil before washing my face with a normal cleanser. It's up to you whether you want to use it before or after. I don't think it really matters though. I just feel that using it before makes it easier for my normal cleanser to penetrate and clean my pores.

Initially, I was afraid that the alcohol will dry out my skin but surprisingly it does not! My skin really does feel hydrated and refreshed after using it. The micellar water really clears out all the dirt and excess oil on my face. You can actually see all that gunks on the cotton pad. EWWW, but oddly satisfying.

My blackheads and oil seeds are lesser but some are still there! The micellar water does not remove them but just cleanse your skin so that they're less likely to form.

The only thing that I don't like about this is that it leaves my skin feeling a bit wet(?) and soapy.

For the benefit of those who wears makeup:
After reading some reviews, it does remove your makeup but it seems difficult for waterproof eye makeup. Personally, even though I don't wear makeup, I would recommend using this as a makeup remover for your makeup residues and just get a eye makeup remover for your eye makeups!

Summary:
PROS: Affordable (as compared to Bioderma) yet effective
            Removes dirt and excess oil (MY SKIN FEELS SO CLEAN)
            Hydrating

Cons: Skin feels a little soapy

So... that's it for this review! I would definitely recommend the Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water to those who are looking for a secondary cleanser like me. I guess that there's no harm in trying right?

I'm looking forward to try the Bioderma one after I finish this. I'll do another review again then!

What do you guys think? Share your thoughts and leave your comment down below. :)