Pungdeng-E 2nd Album - 액션 풍뎅이 Action Pungdeng-E Go! - Album Review

Looking over my K-Pop collection, I've realised that I really like wacky concept groups! Orange Caramel, Crayon Pop and Pungdeng-E of course! That is who we will be looking at today with their 2nd Album 액션 풍뎅이 Action Pungdeng-E Go! This one was a hard one to find and I ended up purchasing it in a bundle with their 1st Album 풍뎅이 풍뎅이 Go! Pungdeng-E Pungdeng-E Go! I've reviewed it previously and you can read that review here! Such a good deal for two amazing albums!

2nd Album 액션 풍뎅이 Action Pungdeng-E Go! is Pungdeng-E's second Korean album and it was released in 2014. The album only came in one version and was available through mainstream K-Pop stores. Unfortunately this gem is now out of print and it took myself a long time to come across a physical copy of one. The album comes with the following contents:

• CD - 5 track album
• Photobook

The front cover has the girls posing with the cabbages which you may think is strange at first. However the title track of this release 배추보쌈 Baechu Bossam is about cabbages and I highly recommend you check out the MV to understand the story of this song. This photo is quite bizarre to look at as it feels like I took the photo out of focus but it is actually just an effect applied to the photo on the actual album. The back cover is super cute with some cartoons of the members in their corresponding colours. That background is totally crazy and very on brand for Pungdeng-E. Their albums always have a lot of sponsors which are listed down the bottom and that is something you don't see too often on K-Pop albums. Pungdeng-E was pretty nugu though and not very well known in the western market. Quite popular in Japan though as that is where I got hold of this album.

The album features a digipack style with the plastic casing for the CD housing. Whilst I love this design, I've had Pungdeng-E albums in the past that have a broken casing so it can be a tad fragile. The CD does have one of the best designs of it of all time with the girls heads blending into a cabbage background. Absolute madness of a design but I love it! All three members look super cute and it's impossible to pick a bias.

The photobook sits on the left side of the album interior and has 26 pages. It is full of great photos of the group in some colourful outfits. Whilst small, this photobook packs a punch! You get a selection of group and individual member photos along with some behind the scenes snaps at the end. Other Pungdeng-E albums have this same section and I quite like them as it shows a different side of the girls. They did work hard back when they were active and performed at a fair amount of events. Lyrics and productions credits are included in the book as usual.

In typical Pungdeng-E fashion, this release is called an album but actually only contains 4 tracks plus an instrumental. Not a full album in a typical sense and more like a mini album. The only new track to this release is the title track 배추보쌈 Baechu Bossam which is an upbeat K-Pop song infused with rap. This was actually the first song I heard from the group and eventually looked up more of their discography. I think I came across the MV randomly one day on YouTube and was like 'yes, I want more of this craziness!'. Apart from the instrumental for 배추보쌈 Baechu Bossam, the other tracks on the album are older tracks that were featured on the 1st Album and through digital singles.

1. 배추보쌈 Baechu Bossam
2. 알탕 Al-Tang
3. 솜사탕 Cotton Candy
4. 잘탕 Jal-Tang
5. 배추보쌈 Baechu Bossam (Instrumental)

Now that this review is done, I have reached the last Pungdeng-E album in my collection to review. There is one release from their discography that I do not own and are forever searching for. Maybe one day I will be able to review that one if I ever find it. I hope you enjoyed this crazy Pungdeng-E journey with me and it is sad that it has come to an end. The group is no longer active and is pretty much disbanded. Wherever Blue, Red and Yellow are now, I hope they are having wonderful lives and thank you for being joy with your music and adventures! Don't forget to check out the amazing MV for 배추보쌈 Baechu Bossam!

Make-Up Haul - Revolution Beauty & ColourPop

My 2022 has been totally obsessed with purchasing make-up and I've become hooked on it! Years ago I used to wear make-up all the time but stopped for a while. Now in my current work position, it is easier for me to wear it each day. So I just started collecting items here and there and suddenly I've picked up quite a few! In the last month or two, I've brought a nice selection and it seemed like a fun blog post to write about each one! Revolution Beauty would be my top brand and it only takes one look at my collection to figure that out. At first I was purchasing it at Priceline whenever I visited a store and since their range is quite small, I decided to try purchasing from the Revolution website. It is a great site to use and I'll write a review at the end of the post!

Starting off with some lip products and this has always been something I've never had much luck finding the perfect product. When I was a teenager, it was always the old Lipsmackers or whatever lip gloss you received as a gift. Then I was using whatever lip balm I brought at the shop even if I hated it. Like I'd paid for it so I wanted to use it all up. On my first Revolution Beauty order, I brought the Fruity Pebbles Lip Oil and I was instantly hooked! It is so hydrating and I love how easier it is to apply. The scent I got was lemon-lime and sadly it was on sale so I couldn't find the other scents anymore for purchase. Since I liked the first lip product I got, on my second order I brought the Glam Balm in Coco Nutty Coconut, Cocoa Pebbles Lip Gloss in Hoppy and The Aristocats Marie Lip Gloss in Berloiz. All of these are amazing and have lovely scents. Perfect for popping in my bag and I do apply it a few times during the day.

My main make-up obsession is eyeshadow palettes and I have no idea why I'm so addicted to them. It started with a few and now I have stacks! I do actually use them all and cycle them so I'm not always using the same one. I already had the Joey palette from the Friends x Revolution collaboration from Priceline and found the Chandler one on sale on the Revolution website. The shades are totally me as I love bright fun colours. I kinda have a love hate relationship with this palette as it is super pretty but turns out it is super pale! The lighter shades like Hello Mr Bing and Erica barely show even with primer. Tulsa is too die for though! I like all the palettes in the Friends collection, but I haven't picked anymore up as the shades are similar to palettes I already have.

One Year Challenge Week 4: Party

It's party time for this weeks outfit! Now when you think of party outfits in Style Boutique, you go straight to the chic and bold styles right? I feel those two are the perfect match for party attire. I decided to go for two chic themed looks and one bold look. The first is a rather elegant outfit for those classier occasions, the second is the perfect clubbing outfit and the last is heading out to a night on the town! I wouldn't know the last two honestly as that isn't really my scene and I'm way too old for that now. Most parties I go to are work functions at the pub but we still get all dressed up for those. I felt the hair was the best part of these outfits as it's so over the top and matches the theme well. Party outfits need to features plenty of sparkler so I tried to pick items with lots of bling and flash to them. Enid Chen has a variety of items perfect for that very occasion!

One Item Challenge - ARIANNA

Since I completed my Colour Outfits Collection for Style Boutique 3: Styling Star, it is the perfect time to work on my One Item Challenge. Sometimes this challenge can be quite difficult as one item from a particular brand will work with all the images in the game. However it is fun to try and make an outfit work with what you've got. This time round I've chosen the elegant bag brand ARIANNA! I tried to select an item that wasn't too flashy and would fit well with the games brands. I decided on this Smart Satchel in this brown and white tone as you can find those colours in all the brands.

Here is the chic outfit for the challenge and this is the main theme for this item. Tried to go for something I normally wouldn't choose so I made up this career woman look. These jumper tees are quite interesting from Enid Chic, I've seen this style in real life but they just look too uncomfortable for me to wear for more than 5 minutes. They totally work in the game though! I paired it with these printed shorts and heeled boots. The best thing about this top was that I could pair a necklace with it! Sometimes necklaces are useless in certain outfits as the tops have patterns on them that hides the look of the necklace but it looks lovely here. 

Onto the remaining looks now and I would vote my top outfits as preppy, gothic, basic and Purple Moon. I love the dark tones in the preppy outfit and I think the fitted skirt was a great idea as it gives the outfit a more sleek look. I like pleated skirts but I feel fitted was what this outfit needed. Gothic worked out amazing and it actually look a few tries before I got to this one! I wanted to use items I haven't used much so I had to search around for items that matched this outer and skirt. The basic outfit was a surprise to me as it turned out so good! I even forgot it was the basic style when going through the screenshots! It could be mistaken for the girly image and I kept thinking it was that. Now for the psychedelic look, I actually like the outfit and think it doesn't even match the bag now that I'm looking back on it! Guess the design isn't weird enough for the Retrobeat groove. Purple Moon is a cute look that I just knew I was going to do when that sailor shirt kept popping up with every other brand search.

Overall I think all the outfits turned out decent and the only duds in my opinion where lively and boho-chic. I guess those styles don't match the elegant look of the bag and I just couldn't find any items that went well with it. I was pleasantly surprise at how good the sporty outfit turned out! Like it's not something you would normally wear but it looks presentable. No clue why I paired a big puffy winter jacket with a short skirt, that's a questionable choice. 

Preppy

One Year Challenge Week 3: Winter

Since Winter is still here for a little longer, it seemed like the perfect time to post a set of winter outfits. Style Boutique has plenty of items for the chilly season plus this gave me a reason to use some outers in the outfits. Sometimes I feel I don't use the larger sized outers too much, like the ones near the bottom of the section. There are just so many to choose from and I feel it can hide other items in the outfit so I avoid them. I found some lovely looking outfits for these three looks which fall under the feminine, psychedelic and girly themes. The psychedelic look is a favourite as I cannot believe I actually used tights in this look! I usually avoid them and I thought this pair matched the outfit quite well. Also lots of hats going on with these looks which is amusing as I'm not a hat person. I do occasionally wear them on super cold days to keep the heat in my body but otherwise I find them annoying and always ruins my hair.

e-girls Celebration! - Single Review (CD Only Edition)

Stepping right back in time today with e-girls very first single Celebration. It's amazing to believe this song was released over 10 years ago and that the group was disbanded before reaching the ten year mark. The other crazy thing is that this CD was still in print when I brought it AND you can still buy it today! There must be a warehouse somewhere in Japan just full of this particular CD.

Celebration is e-girls debut single and was released in December 2011. It was released in three editions, CD+DVD, CD Only and a mu-mo edition. e-girls is a collective group made up of members from Happiness, Flower and Dream and this single featured 21 members. I brought my copy of the CD Only edition brand new from CD Japan as at the time I was struggling to find one second hand. I primarily collect the CD Only editions of e-girls singles so I was looking for this edition for my collection. The single contained the following contents:

• CD - 7 track single
• Jewel Case
• Lyrics Booklet
• OBI
• Rhythmzone and ldhgirlsfamily flyers

The front cover has a group photo of all 21 members in some very 2000's looking J-Pop outfits. The hairstyles are definitely something, like Ami's always catches my eye and reminds me of Saleisha's makeover from cycle 9 of ANTM. The early e-girls releases are unique as there are only a few singles that the members are all photographed together. Later singles had them photoshopped in positions. The back cover is pretty boring with the track listing specifically located on the left side. This has always confused me, so much space yet there is it randomly is on the left margin.

Inside isn't too interesting with the lyrics booklet and the CD in the casing. It has a white background with the letter E patterned over it. Unfortunately it doesn't show on the photographs and this single was difficult to photographed. The lettering shows better in person and looks quite elegant. Because I brought this single brand new, it included the OBI! It contains some information regarding groups within e-Girls and brief production information.

K-Pop Haul - CIGNATURE, Kep1er & aespa

Jeez I don't even recall the last time I did a K-Pop haul on the blog. Seems like forever ago and it was time to change that. I picked up three new releases for my collection, well more like two new releases and one older one. It's new to my collection haha. The titles I brought were CIGNATURE's 1st EP Listen and Speak, Kep1er's 2nd Mini Album DOUBLAST and aespa's 2nd Mini Album Girls. The first two came from YesAsia and the latter is from JB Hi-Fi.

First is aespa's 2nd Mini Album Girls and I got the version which is called the retail exclusive version. In America, I believe this is called the Target Exclusive Version however in Australia it is referred to as the Retail Exclusive version. The only store stocking it over here is JB Hi-Fi who has the retail version along with the Digipack versions. It is random at what stock is sent from online or stores will have random versions you can see in person. Luckily because the Retail one is a separate SKU I was able to pre-order it as I wanted this version as I liked the cover the most. Honestly I wanted the Real World version but that isn't being sold at JB Hi-Fi. Haven't had a chance to listen to it just yet and I did like their previous releases so I'm sure I'll enjoy this one. For the photocards, I got Karina & Winter and for the poster I got NingNing. So excited for NingNing's poster as she is my bias in the group! The one thing I dislike about this album is the cardboard sleeve design but that's because I dislike that design in general.

I actually randomly decided to buy this Kep1er mini album! I was quite sick when I placed this YesAsia order and was like 'why not it's cheap!!'. Ended up actually liking the album so that was good! I brought the jewel case version and I really wanted the Blue Blast version but got sent the Yellow one instead. Still super cute and the photocards are cool. Now I have no clue about the members of this group so I had to look up who I got photocards of. Looks like I got Bahiyyih, Yujin and Hikaru. It's cute that I got Yujin's card as I do have her photocard from the Chamisma mini album! You can check that one out here as I've reviewed it in the past. I wish more companies would do jewel case releases as I really like them and the price point makes them easier to collect. I know a portion of the K-Pop community hates them but for someone like me who just likes buying albums randomly it's a cheaper way to do rather than buying the larger ones. I've seen lots of jewel case style K-Pop releases at JB Hi-Fi and it would be great if they become more common. Hey I'd even settle for random style ones if it makes it easier to buy albums to listen to.

The other album I got from YesAsia was CIGNATURE's 1st EP Listen and Speak. This one has been on my wishlist for a while as I enjoy their discography and wanted to support a nugu group. The design of this EP is good quality and it matches well on the shelf with my MOMOLAND Fun To The World Mini Album. They both have a beautiful blue tone to the album design and are a similar size. Photocard wise, I got Jee Won's student identity card, Ye Ah and Belle. The EP also comes with a cute sticker sheet and now I do love stickers but I can never bring myself to use the ones from albums.

One Year Challenge Week 2: Sleepwear

Whenever I make outfits for the sleepwear theme for challenges, it always makes me sad that there isn't a sleepwear brand in Style Boutique. There is just so many items already in the game that fit the theme already. Isn't it weird how these items look so much like sleepwear but are meant to be proper attire. Now I'm saying that's weird however I have seen multiple customers at work wearing oodies and ugg boots in public. So maybe that comment makes zero sense. The sleepwear theme always reminds me of Peter Alexander which is a well-known sleepwear brand here in Australia. They have some super cute items but I don't really shop there as it is quite pricey. From these three outfits, outfit number two would be my favourite as it is the closest to what I would wear in real life. When I was sick recently, I lived in clothes like this as they were so comfy!