November Favourites

Didn't November just start? I feel like it went super quick and can't believe it's December this weekend. And soon it will be 2019! How on earth did that happen? Anyway here are this months favourites!

Gaming
As I posted about last week, I found a copy of New Style Boutique at EB Games recently and have been playing a bit of it lately. It's quite fun and exciting to go back to older features in the series. Plus I can finally use glam/flirty fashion when it's actually in the game. I need to work out how to get pictures of my console to post on here.

In Styling Star news, I reached 3000 likes on my Shopdo! Hooray! I'm so excited to reach this milestone and went crazy giving every one on the recent tab of Shopdo lots of likes to celebrate. I'd like to thank everyone who visited my Shopdo who reads my blog or just stumbled across it online. I shall continue with the weekly updates, still on Monday currently just late in the day as my work schedule changed.

Music
Earlier this week I posted about my recent haul from YesAsia which I was excited about receiving. The Dream Ami one has the most gorgeous design and apperantly she is recording a new song so that will be another one for the collection hopefully. E-girls also brought out a new song this week which is pretty awesome as I love 80's sounding songs. I prefer this release over Perfect World mainly because I'm all about their dance pop songs rather than slower stuff. I do wish however the song was just a standard physical release instead of these MUSIC CARD ones. They are always a pain to track down and find. Hopefully we'll see some Happiness, Flower and SYY releases next year instead of just straight E-girls releases all year.

Other than that, I've just been listening to bits and pieces K-Pop wise. I've been super into Pristin recently which is kinda sad since the group is currently in limbo with whats going on with them. Looking at picking up their physical albums next year as I only have them digitally currently.

Toys
After like a billion years of searching, I finally found the Barbie Fashionista doll I had been after. When the doll was released, I could not find her at any toy or department stores in my state so I thought she just wasn't available. Months later I came across her randomly in Big W and was rather surprised to see her and some other dolls from the same release on the shelf. And added bonus as she was on sale!

YesAsia Haul - MOMOLAND, Dream Ami & NATURE

Received a new order from YesAsia this week which contained two singles I've been waiting for. Those singles being MOMOLAND's recent Japanese release BAAM and Dream Ami's seventh single Wonderland. I also got a single from a new exciting rookie group called Nature which is just a stunning physical release.

Nature is a new group to the K-Pop scene and I just had to have their first release for the beautiful design. The release is titled 1st Single Album - 기분 좋아 and was release in August 2018. Plus the songs are amazing as well! I was surprised at how pretty the album is in real life and it's just the perfect. You get two photocards with it and I got Gaga who is super cute and a group card. The group has just released their second single which also has amazing packaging so I'll be picking that up one day in the future.

Finally got a copy of Dream Ami's recent release Wonderland that's been out since October. Got the CD Only version of course as I'm collecting those editions from her at the current moment. The single design of this release has to be one of my favourites from her releases as the purple tone is just stunning. Plus the sleeve and jewel case have different photos on the front! Yay! Dream Ami's releases go back and forth having same or different photos on the front covers, so I was excited to see this one was different.

I had a lot of trouble trying to decide which version of BAAM from MOMOLAND to get. Now I originally wanted to get one of the DVD versions, but they were just a bit out of my price range. So I settled on getting the Regular CD Edition first and collect the other ones later. Personally I would've preferred the image that's on the back of the single to be the front cover.

Shopdo Update

More pink outfits for this week's Shopdo update because I'm still in love with my current boutique interior. The first outfit for the new week is a dusty pink feminine outfit featuring a t-shirt I rarely use. It has an interesting design which would look like lace in real life I guess. The second outfit is a casual girly style outfit featuring those cute striped t-shirt style dresses. I've made an orange version of this in the past so I thought it was a perfect time for the pink version. The last outfit is a glam/flirty outfit featuring some sequined and metallic clothing items. I think this week's selection of outfits are a great set that cater to a range of styles. You can find all three outfits at Shopdo ID 0006271056 if you play New Style Boutique 3: Styling Star (EUR/AUS Region).

Colour Outfits Collection - Khaki

Here is a super late Style Boutique outfit post! I was going to post this a few days ago but was absolutely flat out with Black Friday which is a thing here in Australia. Then this morning I had a little spider problem at my place where I thought there was only one spider to get rid of but it ended up turning into about 6 in one room. Ah don't you just love spiders?

Anyway here is a bunch of Khaki coloured outfits for my Styling Star Coloured outfits series. I don't mind the colour khaki and actually wear it often in real life. It's a popular colour in clothing stores so I often have pieces featuring it. I actually brought a new winter jacket that is this colour yesterday. Yes it sounds crazy buying a winter jacket near summer but it was on sale at a outlet shopping complex where you can get clothes and accessories super cheap.

The best thing about this outfit collection is that I love all the outfits! Every single one turned out amazing and super stylish. Chic and Glam/Flirty are my top faves and my psychedelic outfit resulted in an quirky getup. Let me know in the comments which khaki coloured outfit is your favourite!

Lively

Eastern

Basic

Style Boutique Collection Complete!

Something amazing happened and I finally found a copy of New Style Boutique for the 3DS! Now I used to own the game years ago but traded it in for Fashion Forward. I had kinda been missing it for a while now after playing Fashion Forward and Styling Star for so long. Luckily a EB Games store in town had a copy quite cheap and was the only location in my state to have a copy. So naturally I brought it straight away when I was in town next.

I've been playing the game a little bit and I'm enjoying the story line. It's fun having the old style Exhibition Hall where not all brands are open each day and limited editions items are available. And you really notice how similar this game is to Styling Star! The game is just called New Style Boutique here and not Trendsetters so it's hard to refer to in the game series. I totally forgot that bags were the big selling point of the game as they were brand new back then.

So here are all my Style Boutique games together at last! New Style Boutique 2 would have my favourite box art. Not as nice as any of the Japanese releases but the nicest out of this bunch. I personally prefer the 3DS cases over DS ones as the white is more stylish and looks better when games are stacked together.

Orange Caramel The Fourth Single My Copycat 나처럼 해봐요 - Single Review

This week's music review will look at one of my all time favourite groups Orange Caramel! Sadly we will be looking at the final single they released before their hiatus (which we won't discuss because we lost an amazing group *sad face*). Orange Caramel is the sub-unit of the amazing group After School (current status also unknown but most likely disbanded but Pledis won't admit it) and the group's thing was quirky and unique concepts. So let's take a look at My Copycat 나처럼 해봐요 from the group!

My Copycat 나처럼 해봐요 was the fourth Korean single released by Orange Caramel and came out in 2014. The single is the same size as Catallena which was the groups previous release and is about medium size. The single includes the following contents:

• CD- 2 track single
• Photobook
• Photocard 

The design of the single is inspired by Where's Wally (or Where's Waldo in some countries) and the group collaborated with Where's Wally for the concept of the single and MV for My Copycat 나처럼 해봐요. My favourite shoe brand in the entire world Skechers also collaborated with the girls for the single and I even brought the same shoes the girls wear in the MV because of it. I was quite excited to find the exact pair on sale at Skechers once and told the girl where I had seen them before (she must've thought I was nuts). The single has this groovy holographic effect to it when placed in the light and this is a cool little touch to the design. The girls are featured on both front and back cover in their Where's Wall inspired outfit and the design is similar to the group photos from previous Orange Caramel releases. Tiny copies of the girls in different poses are scattered about in the background and the track listing is listed on the back.

The single interior has the famous Where's Wally red stripes and the CD is held in place with a small felt button. This is your typical CD holder for most K-Pop releases, not my favourite but it always looks simplistic. The photobook and photocard are tucked into a holder on the right hand side. The glue on my copy of the single has actually dried out and the holder has come off. It did this a short while after I got my album and I just haven't glued it back in place yet.

Shopdo Update

Just a super quick Shopdo update as my internet is out so I'm posting this from my phone rather than the computer. Another round of pink toned outfits for this week's outfits! The themes for this week are psychedelic, feminine and lively. I hope you enjoy them and hopefully I'll be able to get another post up later this week if my internet comes back up. You can find these outfits at the Shopdo ID 0006271056 if you play New Style Boutique 3: Styling Star (EUR/AUS region). 

One Item Challenge - Marzipan Sky

Now this was a hard challenge to do because I had to pick just one item from Marzipan Sky to use. Marzipan Sky is my favourite brand in the game so it was incredibly hard to choose a single item. I decided to go with this red Dot T-Shirt as I thought it would match different styles in the game and this t-shirt is one of the best staple pieces from Marzipan Sky.

This One Item Challenge turned out a lot more successful than my last Raven Candle one. That challenge was a dud as I didn't like most of the outfits I created. But this Marzipan Sky one went much smoother and the outfits are more cohesive. The girly outfit is one of my top faves along with basic and girly. I love the mix of navy and red in the girly outfit as that is my favourite colour combination for clothing in real life. The basic outfit is just too cute and so simple. I'd totally wear it in real life! The bold one surprised me at how good it turned out. I think it look stylish and matches the bold image perfectly. Runner up would be the psychedelic outfit as it's just so crazy but kinda works.

Girly

Lively

Eastern

After School Lady Luck/Dilly Dally - Single Review (CD+DVD Live Edition)

A few months back I received a large order from Japan containing a stack of After School singles and albums. The group's fourth single Lady Luck/Dilly Dally was one of the singles I received so I know have all three editions of the single. I reviewed the CD Only edition of the single earlier this year and you can read about it here! The editions of the single are quite similar so this review will be along the same lines as the CD Only review. So let's take a look at the CD+DVD Live Edition of Lady Luck/Dilly Dally from After School.

Lady Luck/Dilly Dally CD+DVD Live Edition & Jung-A's photocard

Lady Luck/Dilly Dally comes in three editions: CD+DVD MV Edition, CD+DVD Live Edition and CD Only. All the editions have a similar colour scheme and design and the DVD editions only include two tracks where as the CD Only edition includes the extra track Slow Love plus instrumentals for all three songs. I brought my copy of the CD+DVD Live Edition second-hand from Japan and the seller included a photocard with the single. My copy of Lady Luck/Dilly Dally included the following contents:

• Jewel Case
• Cardboard Sleeve
• Plastic Sleeve with promo sticker
• CD- 2 track album
• DVD - Contains First Japan Tour 2012 ~PLAYGIRLZ~ Document Movie and 2 live performances
• Lyrics booklet
• Photocard

Lady Luck/Dilly Dally CD+DVD Live Edition & Jung-A's photocard

This edition of Lady Luck/Dilly Dally features the same beautiful pastel design as the other editions and features the girls in the same outfits. The cardboard sleeve and jewel case cover have the same image on them. I prefer what Dream Ami does with her releases with the jewel case has a different photo. The back covers do have different colour patterns and the cardboard sleeve contains detail about the single including DVD information. My copy came with the original plastic sleeve and if you've read my other J-Pop reviews, you'll know that I'm a huge fan of plastic sleeves. The sleeve still had the promo sticker attached which contains information on the commercials that used the songs.

Back covers of the cardboard sleeve and jewel case

Lady Luck/Dilly Dally Promo Sticker

DVD and single information for Lady Luck/Dilly Dally

The jewel case interior is just like the CD Only version and the CD is the same pastel pink tone. The DVD is this stunning blue/lilac colour and fits nicely into the double sided plastic insert. I find jewel cases from Japan to be quite sturdy compared to double sided ones I've had in the past. Nothing worse than a broken double sided jewel case as they are impossible to replace.

CD of Lady Luck/Dilly Dally

Shopdo Update

Keeping with the beautiful pink interior of my boutique on Shopdo, this week's outfits feature gorgeous dusty pink tones. The first look is a psychedelic/feminine outfit that contains a number of prints and patterns. I love these skirts from Retrobeat currently and I've come across these quirky tops from the brand as well. Total luck I was able to match the colours well in the outfit. The second outfit is a girly look which is more on the casual side. Went with some pops of red in this outfit along with the dusty pink tones. The third outfit is a baby-doll coordinate featuring some floral tones. The darker tones such as maroon or brown look amazing with the dusty pink tones. You can find all these outfits at Shopdo ID 0006271056 if you play New Style Boutique 2: Styling Star (EUR/AUS region).

GIRLS MODE 3 キラキラ☆コーデ Book - Part 1

Girls Mode 3 had the most amazing books released in Japan for the game and I happened to own a few in my collection. I've share two other magazines in the past which were the Girls Mode 3 キャラぱふぇ ゲーム スペシャル Chara Parfait Magazine & the Girls Mode 4 キャラぱふぇゲーム Special 2018 WINTER Magazine. This time we will be looking at the GIRLS MODE 3 キラキラ☆コーデ Book which was a special book released in 2015 and is completely devoted to GIRLS MODE 3 content.

Front cover of the GIRLS MODE 3 キラキラ☆コーデ Book

Back cover of the GIRLS MODE 3 キラキラ☆コーデ Book

The main feature of the book is the images of all the different brands in the game. The book advertises the range of clothing items available from each brand and outfit ideas you can create. Here is the contents page of the brands and personally I love the Japanese names of the brands. Cherry Berry is just adorable and flute f sounds much more beautiful than Chorale.

Here are some of the brand pages in the book starting with Marzipan Sky. I love the way the book is designed as it matches the catalogue style you see in Japanese magazines such as KERA or release pictures for brands like Angelic Pretty. The items even list the price of the clothing item in game to match the look of a real life advertisement.

My Stamp Collection

Whenever I go into a stationery store, there's one section that I always head to first and that's the stamp section. I just adore stamps of all styles - cute animals, sayings, weather symbols and cat faces. I've been collecting stamps for a long time now and thought I would share my collection. Also I had to organise my collection so it was the perfect excuse.

First off are my wooden box sets which I have two of. The first one is a diary style set which I purchase from Kawaii Pen Shop. The set is called Cute Korean Happy Day Stamps and I brought it in the Original set. It contains 21 stamps featuring cute pictures of animals, weather symbols and other trinkets. All the stamps fit into this wooden box and are wooden rubber stamps. The second set is the Alphabet and Numbers stamp set from kikki.K. I brought this a few years ago as I had a voucher for the store but it's not my favourite. I'm not a fan of the type of rubber/gum they use on the stamps and when I use them, they leave this weird residue around the ink on the paper. I ended up giving this set to a friend as I no longer wanted it.

This is a Doraemon set I brought in Hong Kong many years ago. When I was visiting Hong Kong, I really wanted to find some kawaii stamp sets and I found this one and the Rilakkuma ones below in a little shop in the Metropolis Mall in Kowloon. The Doraemon set is surprisingly good! The ink pads have a strange look to them but have good ink that doesn't bleed through paper. Some of the stamps in the set don't fit both ink pads so you have to use the blue ink pad for the larger stamps. The stamps are decent quality but a bit cheap. The stickers come off easy and sometimes the stamp part will pop out of the plastic holder after you use it. No problem though as you can easily pop it back in.

These two Rilakkuma sets are the other sets I brought in Hong Kong. Now I love anything Rilakkuma so I just had to get these. Each set includes 8 stamps, 1 notepad, 1 stamp ink pad containing 4 colours, 1 plastic charm and plastic case. The stamps feature Rilakkuma and friends as well as food items such as pancakes and cakes. The stamps are quite tiny making them perfect for diary/schedulers. The notepad features a cute picture of Rilakkuma on each page and the pages are quite small. Now for the ink pad which is awful honestly. The ink bleeds through most types of paper and doesn't work well with the small details in the stamps. Over time the ink pads have actually shrunk as well (shown in the last photo). I ended up just throwing the ink pads out as they didn't work and I'd rather not have them leak anywhere.