My K-Pop Collection 2023

The end of 2023 is upon us and that means it is time to round up my K-Pop collection for another year. Pretty much only purchased Korean releases this year and no Japanese ones. Luckily I was able to obtain all the albums locally in my city. The main music store here which is JB Hi-Fi has a decent K-Pop collection and it was easy to find ones I was interested in. Let's get straight into it!

First off we have aespa who are the main group that i follow nowadays. I don't stan the group but I always make sure to get their new releases. Aespa is the only girl group that my local store stocks regularly and you can always find a few different versions. All of the albums shown except Girls are purchases in 2023. I pre-ordered My World and was fortunate enough to get the Zine version which was the one I wanted! Plus I got Ningning's photocard! I eventually found the World version at another JB Hi-Fi. The Drama albums are a recent purchase from last week and I wasn't too sure about getting them. Originally they were listed as online only and wouldn't be available in store. Then the listing changed and I was able to order them. It was impossible though to tell what the versions were so I did some research online. I got the big two photobook version and the what I believe is the retail exclusive version of the Giant one. It isn't the Target exclusive as it doesn't have the same inclusions and you get the English message photocard. It is pretty easy to buy other versions of aespa albums in store and it is always those poster versions which I'm not interested in. Just not at the price they are set at and I doubt it would drop.

Isn't this the most aesthetically pleasing photo of this post? So gorgeous and I love the hardbook structure of Red Velvet releases. Previously I only had four of these albums and got two new ones in 2023. Russian Roulette and Summer Magic are the new additions and I adore how they are the same size as the other smaller ones. Rookie is just chilling there being gigantic and The Red I've had forever. The store I brought it from isn't even around anymore.

This year I wasn't planning on collecting more releases from Oh My Girl but I lucked out with finding their latest mini album stocked in my local store. Seems such an old girl group to find so easily available. Love the design on these two albums and all the inclusions were gorgeous. I'm a big fan of bookmarks being included in albums recently as that is definitely something that I will use often. Also picked up their first mini album which I ordered specifically in as the price was quite reasonable.

MODEL Debut3 #nicola Play Journal - Colourful Hairstyles

We are moving quickly onto the next modelling job in MODEL Debut3 #nicola as I want to keep on top of posting the screenshots. The play journals may vary in length depending on the amount of screenshots I have from my play sessions. The theme for this job was a shirt with an illustration or graphic on it and that seemed easy enough. These fashion games love their graphic tees and crazy looking prints. I went with this trendy looking outfit with some gradient hair. It can take some experimenting to get a good colour combination and I tried to match this hair colour to the tones on the t-shirt.

Lots of photos from the animation it plays through before the selection screens. It is rather difficult to take these as the game is cycling through poses so I just mash on the camera button and go through the photos afterwards. It would be cool if you could take more static poses here and I have gotten some cool looking ones before.

MODEL Debut2 #nicola Play Journal - Far Behind

Whilst scrolling through the screenshots on my Nintendo Switch, I noticed that I had stacks of screenshots from MODEL Debut2 #nicola that never made it onto the blog. So I made myself a goal to clear out my backlog of pictures and be up to date with my play journals. I totally didn't know I had taken that many screenshots. Get ready for lots of blog posts about this game and of course the third installment in the series which I started recently.

Starting off with a new modelling job and this one has the theme of a pink bag. Of course I went for an entirely pink outfit! I had a lot of fun with this one and ended up with this hot pink coordinate. The bags are well animated in MODEL Debut and I like how they sit on characters more than Style Boutique.

Fashion Dreamer Play Journal - Creating Outfits

Seems like I've saved a large amount of photos of Lookits I've created in Fashion Dreamer which gives me the perfect excuse to post another play journal. Starting off with some amazing outfits I saw on players whilst playing in the online mode. People have been making some amazing looks in the game and I think that is one of the strongest points of the game. It is fun to see how others interpret the clothes in the game and I see so many outfits that I would love to wear. Here are three looks that I saved because I thought they were neat!

This has been my favourite Lookit I've created so far in Fashion Dreamer. There is just something about it that is perfect in my mind. Reminds me of Retrobeat from Style Boutique and it could even be an outfit that an idol would wear. I hope the player I made this for appreciated the outfit!

MODEL Debut3 #nicola Play Journal - Another Fashion Game

The next installment in the MODEL Debut #nicola series was released last month and my copy finally came from Japan. The game came out the same day as Fashion Dreamer which is amusing as they are quite similar games and both belong to the fashion genre. I've played a fair bit of the second game in the MODEL Debut series so it will be interesting to see what has changed in the new game.

First off the game has a new look to the graphics and has a more modern look. Not as cartoon like as the second game had which I quite liked. Everyone in this new one looks like their wow factor has been increased especially with the facial features. There was a few face options to pick from and then like a billion types of eyes! So many to pick from and I couldn't decide on one. One new cool feature is being able to pick two hair colours and you can make a nice gradient effect.

Here is the character I made for my game and I went with the name Marzipan. In the previous game, I could use Japanese characters for the profile however this one would only let me input English. Even changed the keyboard to Japanese and I guess because I have a Australian console, it was locked to the UK spelling. At least I'll know when NPC's are referring to my character.

I went with a simple preppy look for starting out and the cardigans sit nicely on the characters. Some fashion games can make them look stiff. The pink is quite cute and I've been really into this shade in Fashion Dreamer as well. Taken way too many photos in that game of my pink themed outfits.

YesAsia Haul - MODEL Debut3 #nicola & Fashion Dreamer Guide Book

My parcel from YesAsia arrived and I'm rather excited for two items I ordered! The third game in the MODEL Debut #nicola series was released the same day as Fashion Dreamer and since I enjoyed the second one, I brought the next one. It was rather tricky to get hold of as YesAsia thought they wouldn't be to secure stock and the order almost got cancelled. Lucky the stock came in at the last second and I was able to get the game! Honestly I thought the other item I ordered would be harder to get but turns out it wasn't. I ordered the guide book for Fashion Dreamer as I love looking through Japanese guide books and it seemed like a good item to help with playing the game.

The cover art for MODEL Debut3 #nicola is gorgeous and I love the colour scheme. The clothes the models are wearing on the front cover are super trendy and the game always has the best styles. Inside of the case showcases from tutorials for the game and the game has good instructions when you start playing. I've played about an hour so far which I will post about soon.

Now onto the Fashion Dreamer book which I'm still surprised I was even able to get. Most sites were out of stock when I went to pre-order and I thought for sure that YesAsia may have been out too. But I was wrong as the item came in from the supplier quite quickly for my order. It still is available on YesAsia and you may be able to find it on other sites like PlayAsia or Amazon Japan.

November Favourites

Oh my god how on earth did we get to December already!?!? The weather has been awful here lately and it feels more like winter. Lots of storms and cold temperatures even though it is basically summer. I've never seen the weather this bad however at least my power didn't go off like it did in the last few storms. Anyway the forecast looks like it will warm up next week so that is something to look forward to. Apologies for missing last months monthly favourites as I ran out of time to post one and it just got too late. No point living in the past so here are my favourites for the month of November!

Gaming

I've actually been playing a few different games on my Switch this month. First off being Fashion Dreamer which came out at the start of November. Thinking of posting a review of the game once I have time as I have a few opinions on the gameplay. It is a fun game and I've been taking lots of cute photos or more like dumb photos because I'm still working out the camera.

Since it was Black Friday recently, there was a nice sale on the eshop and I picked up a bunch of games. Next year I'm planning on posting about my favourite Nintendo Switch games as there are just so many great puzzle games on the online store that I enjoy! I have been playing some MODEL debut2 #nicola in between Fashion Dreamer and took some cute photoshoots.

Been waiting for a delivery to come with two exciting gaming items and I am planning to post them on here once they arrive. The package is taking a little while to get here which is ok since the light is terrible at the moment to take photos anyway. Will post about them hopefull in the next few days!

Music

I randomly came across this Cignature EP album at my local music store and was surprised to see it available. The group just doesn't seem popular enough to be showing up in Australia. I did get Cignature's 2nd Ep from the same store so maybe it is just a supplier thing. The selection available has slowed down and I even had to specifically order aespa's new release. Usually the shop will stock all the versions however it only appeared as online only at first. Then that changed to customer order so I've ordered three versions. No clue which one I want to buy as the variety of contents wasn't very good with this release in my opinion. Way too many poster versions and the store website doesn't have good information on each version's contents.

Cignature's 'Us in the Summer' EP - There is a photo card included however it is not pictured as I already placed it in my photocard album.

T-ARA TARGET - Single Review (Regular Edition Type B)

Lately I've been on a spree of writing T-ARA reviews and I'm back again with another one! Today we shall be looking at one of their Japanese singles and it has the most adorable chibi design to the CD. Look at how cute the members look as cartoon characters! This single TARGET had an app released shortly after based off the song and it allowed the player to play as each member in various mini games. You could also unlock different costumes and songs which sounds amazing!

TARGET is the seventh Japanese single released by Korean girl group T-ARA and it was released on July 10th 2013. The single came in three editions: Limited Edition CD+DVD, Regular Edition Type A CD Only and Regular Edition Type B CD Only. Both Regular Editions are the same and just have different covers. The song was also released as a Recochoku Digital Single as most T-ARA singles were. I have the Regular Edition Type B that I brought second-hand and it came with the following contents:

• CD - 2 track single
• Jewel case
• Lyrics booklet
• OBI
• Sticker Sheet

Fashion Dreamer Lookits Collection 1 - First Set!

Trying to be smart and productive with my Fashion Dreamer photos and copying them off my SD card right away. I'll lose track and they'll become too difficult if I let them all pile up. Decided to publish my Lookits in separate play journals as it is nice to see how players interpret the outfits they give my character. Honestly I love all the Lookits I receive as it is lovely that a player took the time to make it and put effort into thinking about the requirements. This play journal will focus on the first lot of Lookits I received in a game and I've got more lined up to post at a later date.

As you can guess from the following outfits, my profile has pink and dress as my wish list. Pink is my favourite colour and I've always love collecting dresses in the Style Boutique games. So I thought it would be an easy way to collect clothes if I put dress as the item. How cute are these first two Lookits that I got?!?! So beautiful and well put together. They match my hair perfectly and I actually use the shoes from the first look quite a lot.

Love this Lookit as it reminded me of the lively style in Style Boutique. Plus I feel it is very right now with the over-sized jacket. The earrings and shoes were actually my favourite part of the outfit with their adorable design.

Fashion Dreamer Play Journal - Unlocking Online

So I've been playing more Fashion Dreamer and I'm obsessed! Once I unlocked more content in the game, it became quite fun! My blog is going to be straight Fashion Dreamer content now haha. Starting off with this cute selfie I took of my character. Still figuring out how to use the camera in this game however I thought this one turned out nice.

Been practicing at designing clothes and the mechanics are cool. I think once I figure it out more that I'll enjoy it. I've been too into designing things in games and I feel like I rarely used the designer items in Styling Star. This game is way better and the colour palettes are an awesome idea. It is interesting how the game generates them and it helps me design clothes more easily. Made some boring socks and they were inspired by a pair I love in Style Boutique.

The NPC's are definitely something in this game and I haven't encountered too many so far. Woodland Jackie is quite adorable and I like her positively. The second chick is my least favourite and she shows up everywhere! At least she gives me nice compliments so that's a plus.

Accidentally walked into the showroom showcase thing and I had no idea what it was. Turns out it was lots of lovely rooms and I loved the wallpaper more than the clothes. Sucks that you cannot take photos in the hallways as that is the best spot! Took some cute pictures of my muse hanging out in the showrooms.

Fashion Dreamer - Muse ID

With the release of Fashion Dreamer, that means it is time for a new fashion profile ID on Marzipan Wonderland! I have set up an online profile in Fashion Dreamer and would love for fellow fashion fans to add me on the game. My Muse ID is ygXAyp6bXA and I have set up a lovely showroom to visit as well. The game is quite new so my showroom isn't too fancy yet however I hope to improve on it soon with some gorgeous items and outfits.

Please add your Fashion Dreamer Muse ID in the comments if you play the game. It would wonderful to see what other players are creating and see what outfits people are putting together!

Fashion Dreamer Play Journal - The Beginning

The release day of the long anticipated Fashion Dreamer game on Nintendo Switch has come and gone! I was quite excited to pick up my game on Friday and had to put up with it staring at me all day until I could pay for it. Now I'm not going to comment on my review of the game as I haven't played enough to give a solid opinion on the game. I've seen players who have played over 10 hours of the game was like wow! Please send some of your free time my way! Not sure how much I've played, maybe under five and I have a small selection of screenshots to share for my very first Fashion Dreamer play journal!

My character is called Marzipan and I went with a cute girly image for my muse. The hairstyle selection was good and I like the range of facial/skin options. I wasn't too sure what to pick for favourite print as I don't have a standout one (maybe gingham?).

The world of Eve is quite colourful and easy to move around in. However can they please add running! It drives me insane at how slow my muse moves! I don't have much time for gaming nowadays so I like to be able to move at sonic speed. The NPC's reminded me of the ones from Style Boutique where they'd say silly or bizarre things. I like that their text matches their personalities and I liked that one girl who talks about the zoo and animals a lot.

T-ARA Sexy Love [Japanese Ver.] - Single Review (CD Only)

I have quite a few Japanese singles from T-ARA in my collection so I wanted to work through posting a few of them. The ones in the jewel cases are quite easy to take photos of and I cannot even recall whereabouts I put the cardboard sleeve ones. Will have to dig them out of the cupboard one day to take photos. Today we shall be looking at the Japanese version of Sexy Love!

Sexy Love is the fifth Japanese single released by Korean girl group T-ARA and it was released on November 12th 2012. The single came in three editions: CD+DVD Type A, CD+DVD Type B and CD Only. It was also released as a Recochoku Digital Single along with iTunes. I've got all three editions of the single and the CD Only edition comes with a member plate! I got Eunjung who has a gorgeous look going on the CD and if I had to pick a member who I would've like to have gotten, it would be Boram as her outfit is super cute and she is my bias. The CD Only edition of Sexy Love that I have came with the following:

• CD - 4 track single
• Jewel case
• Lyrics Booklet
• OBI