May Favourites

This month was meant to be the last month of Autumn however the weather has been more like winter. It rains pretty much everyday now and is quite heavy at night. I don't recall it ever raining this much years prior. The rain is nice though but my raincoat is getting worn out and I haven't found a replacement yet. The brand is no longer around and it is the perfect coat so I shall continue wearing it till I find a suitable replacement. Had some time off this month which has been lovely and great to have a short break from work. Been filling my spare time with random activities, one of which I shall mention later!

Beauty

For the last few months, I've been on the fence about getting a particular eyeshadow palette from Sportsgirl. The other day I finally gave in and brought it along with a bunch of other items. I used to wear mostly Sportsgirl branded makeup when I was a teenager so it seemed like a good idea to try it again. I saw this Sweet Sorbet palette on their website and fell in love. However I could never find it at my local Sportsgirl and all the other stores in my state were sold out. This site had 20% off your first order and that seemed like the best time to finally buy it. It is just my style with colourful pastel tones and some gorgeous shimmers. Kind of reminds me of the Winx palette from Colourpop and whilst not a direct dupe, it has some similar colour stories. Haven't tried it out just yet as I haven't had a chance to wear eyeshadow but it swatches amazingly. Also brought two lip glosses as I'm lip gloss obsessed and the one named Y2K is perfect. I just checked the site and looks like it is sold out as I couldn't find it listed anymore.

Music

Had bit of random K-pop purchase this month with this single album from Jisoo. I saw it at JB Hi-Fi before briefly forgetting about it. Then brought it a few days later when I remembered about it. Absolutely stunning and she is one of my biases so it was lovely to get the photobook of her. I only found the red version and I'd have to look around if other stores have the black version.

My CD Collection

Since I always post my J-Pop and K-Pop CD collections on the blog, I thought wouldn't it be fun to post all the other CD's I own. This collection is one that I have been building since I was little and has grown and shrunk in size over the years. Sometimes I clear out titles because I don't enjoy them anymore or no longer have room and need to make room for new additions. Like I had every So Fresh from its inception in 2000 up until about 2004 when I stopped buying them. Also had other Australian compilation CD's such as Pepsi Chart Hits and 100% Hits. The latter ones are no longer around but So Fresh is still going strong in 2023. All the CD's will be organised into artists where possible like my other collection posts and I will try to note whereabouts I purchased the album if I can remember all the older ones. Let's get into it!

First off is my Sophie Ellis-Bextor collection and I would say that she is my favourite solo artist. Trying to collect her entire discography and it is going quite well. I had Shoot From The Hip on order at JB Hi-Fi but turns out it was deleted so my order had to be cancelled. Need to order one from Discogs along with Song Diaries and her Kitchen Disco - Live at The London Palladium which was released last year. This isn't available at my local CD store sadly but it seems easy to get online. She did announce a new album scheduled for June and cannot wait to get that one. Not really focusing on collecting Sophie's singles and I only buy them if I come across them which is only ever Murder On The Dancefloor. That single is all over the op-shops on the western side of my city, must've been popular out there. Out of these I got Wanderlust, Familia, Make A Scene and Songs From The Kitchen Disco from JB Hi-Fi. Read My Lips and Murder On The Dancefloor single were op-shop finds and Trip The Light Fantastic I found at a random CD stall for $2 that was set-up by my old work years ago.

Next is the Kaiser Chiefs albums who I've been collecting since they first came out. I remember being so excited for Employment as I had seen their music videos on Channel V and was obsessed with their music. Currently my favourite album is Duck however I was super into Yours Truly Angry Mob for years. Now you might notice that I have two copies of Souvenir and that is because one copy I got from the UK as a gift and some of the tracks skip. I kind of just put up with it as I had the songs on other CDs however I found the Australian version of the album on clearance for 99 cents so I brought it. And now I have two! So one copy of Souvenir, Stay Together, Off With Their Heads and Education Education Education & War came from some UK video game site that also sold CDs and they were a Christmas gift. Employment and Yours Truly came from JB Hi-Fi many years ago when they were released and Souvenir and Duck were more recently purchased there. The Future Is Medieval I had to get through Ebay as I couldn't find it at JB's and I think I brought it from a seller in New South Wales. Hopefully the group will release a new album soon as Duck was super good and I'd like to see a follow up.

Now for some good old compilation albums and some of these are super old. I brought the Wayne's World soundtracks back in the 2000's when we travelled interstate. We didn't have JB Hi-Fi in my state yet so it was super exciting to find CDs for $9.99 and a bigger range than the usual shops we had at home. The Blues Brothers and A Night At The Roxbury are more JB Hi-Fi purchases and the Roxbury is the best album ever but I might be saying that as that movie is one of my all-time favourites. It is just so hilarious and the 90's music is amazing. The Ultimate 90s compilation was one that we were throwing out at work so I took it as it was a favourite of mine on our old CD player. The Legally Blonde 2 soundtrack was one I brought from Amazon US back in the day and I've always thought about decluttering it. I never listen to it however it looks so pretty!

One Year Challenge Week 43: Animal

Now I have no idea why I took two outfits with the stripe photo background and one in the apartment. When I was looking at my saved photos, I thought it was the dumbest thing. Oh well at least we got some nice animal print themed looks! First outfit is a glam/flirty inspired ensemble featuring a lot of grey. I picked a colour and ran with it! Loving the top half and the bottom is kind of meh for me. Second look is one of the cow outfits from Purple Moon which I combined with a polka dot print on the bottom. Not my finest look but it fits the theme. Lastly we have a chic outfit featuring some purple snake print items. Enid Chen has some great pieces that fall under the animal search label and it finally gave me an excuse to use this hat I never touch.

e-girls Mr. Snowman - Single Review (CD Only)

So far on the blog, I have posted one e-girls single review which was Celebration back in August last year. Well I decided it was finally time to chip away at the large amount of singles I own from the group and I took some photos of another one of their CDs. This time we are looking at Mr. Snowman which is one of my favourite singles as it includes the song Move It! -Dream & E-girls TIME-. One of my favourite e-girls songs and I was always disappointed that it was never a single release. At least it later got the special treatment it deserved with being released again with a MV on their album E.G. Time.

Mr. Snowman is the twelfth single released from Japanese girl group e-girls and it was released on November 26th 2014. The single came in four editions: CD+DVD, CD Only, One Coin CD and MUSIC CARD. The One Coin and MUSIC CARD editions were only available through the mu-mo, LDH Mobile store and the E-girls FAMILY fanclub shop. I got my copy second hand through Yahoo Auctions in a bulk lot of e-girls singles and it didn't originally come with the jewel case so I just replaced it. As usual I got the CD Only edition which is the one I always collect from this group. The Mr. Snowman single I received came with the following contents:

• CD - 4 track single
• OBI
• Lyrics booklet
• Promotional flyer

One Year Challenge Week 42: Amiibo

Remember when amiibos were a thing? I feel they aren't popular anymore and I only hear them mentioned because two of my co-workers collect the new ones when they are released. I was rather lucky that when it was announced Style Boutique had amiibo locked items, my friend lent me his to copy into the game. The amiibo items in Styling Star are incredibly boring compared to Fashion Forward which had the most amazing selection. This week's outfits look like a follow on from last week's theme of designer items as the amiibo items are locked to designs. All of these are cute and you can tell I really like the pastel colour scheme as I used it again. The Splatoon outfit is a nod to all my Nintendo club friends who are obsessed with Splatoon 3 which I've never played. No idea what its like, something like a shooting game with colours haha. The Princess Peach look is a lovely girly look which is very pink and I was amazed to find items to match the colour tone perfectly.

T-ARA TREASURE BOX - Album Review (Pearl Edition CD Only)

A few years ago I reviewed T-ARA's first Japanese album Jewerly Box and it is time to review their follow-up TREASURE BOX. I loved how these two albums had a theme and then that all got thrown out the window with their third Japanese album which was called Gossip Girls. Whilst that name is amazing, it would've been lovely to see another box theme title like maybe music box. I feel that would've been a fun concept for the design. Now this album was kind of a pain to photograph as it is very brown and my camera hated that. Loving the pirate theme though and looks like the girls had fun taking the photos.

TREASURE BOX is Korean girl group T-ARA's second Japanese album and it was released on August 7th 2013. The album was released in three editions: Diamond Edition CD+DVD+PHOTOBOOK, Sapphire Edition CD+DVD and Pearl Edition CD Only. The Diamond and Sapphire editions come with different DVD content with some already been featured on single releases. I remember struggling to find this album for a time as no listings contained the OBI and I originally wanted the Diamond or Sapphire editions however they were super pricey. My copy of TREASURE BOX came with the following contents:

• CD - 13 track album
• Jewel case
• Lyrics booklet
• OBI
• Photocard (Random from 7 types)
• Promotional flyers

One Year Challenge Week 41: Designer Item

When it came time to create the outfits for this weeks theme of designer items, I realised that I hadn't actually designed much clothing in the game. Guess it's a feature I never used much and honestly that is because I felt it was too limited. There just wasn't much freedom of what you could do and I got bored of it quickly. I did however have stacks of items downloaded from other players who I feel are a billion times more creative than me. For example the second outfit was one that I downloaded online as I felt it was rather unique. The pink colour is so bold and I love the nautical emblem. This first outfit is cute too with the pastel colours and it reminds me of idol outfits that I've seen in real life. The final outfit is very glam inspired and more casual than the others.

2nd Mini Album 화양연화 The Most Beautiful Moment In Life - Album Review

First off I want to say how easy this photobook in this album was to photograph! The pages stayed open in the most perfect position and I could get photos of the entire page. Photobooks are notoriously annoy to photograph so I'm glad this one turned out good. This album I'm talking about is the 2nd Mini Album from Korean singer Hong Jin Young. I feel in love with her songs and have ended up with two of her albums in my collection.

The 화양연화 Most Beautiful Moment In Life is the 2nd Mini Album from Korean trot-singer Hong Jin Young and it was released on March 24th 2016. There was only one version of their album and I brought my copy from YesAsia. I always brought my K-Pop and J-Pop from YesAsia in the early days of collecting. I'd pick up a few at some local Korean shops but sadly they have all closed down. There isn't much to this album and you don't get any photocards. I did notice she has started doing photocards in her latest release and they look amazing. The 2nd Mini Album includes the following contents:

April Favourites

The month of May snuck up on me and I completely didn't realise that April was over. May also started at the perfect time with it falling on a Monday which is the start of a new week for me. Haven't had a chance to get on my computer to blog until today so apologies for the late monthly favourites. A few weeks ago I went and saw the new Mario Bros movie which was fun! I'm a fan of Illumination movies in general so I quite enjoyed it. Toad was the best part of the movie and it would've been a billion times better if Wario or Waluigi made an appearance. I assume they are saving them for the sequels which I also hope Toadette appears as she is one of my faves. Went to San Churros afterwards as I was excited about getting my favourite toasty from them only to discover they had changed their menu :( I got a different toasty instead but it was nowhere near as good as the egg and bacon one.

Also came across this Pusheen Pop Vinyl which is rather bizarre. It is noted as a scented pop and it is indeed scented however it is a weird scent. Like a dull strawberry or scented sticker. I have a scented Polly Pocket from 1995 that has held onto its scent and smells way better than this. Anyway it is super cute and weird. I adore Pusheen merchandise so I had to get this one for my collection.

Gaming

Haven't been playing much besides jigsaw and pixel art games this month. That is pretty much all I use my switch for nowadays however I do have some games on pre-order. The next instalment in the Little Friends series is coming out in August and it is themed on a tropical island. It is called Puppy Island and looks adorable!!! Also pre-order the We Love Katamari remaster for the switch as I loved the first one and was surprised to see the second one get an actual physical release. I'm not too fond of buying physical games as I don't like storing them but it's cheaper to buy the physical one compared to digital. I don't think Little Friends is even listed on the eShop yet as I couldn't find it the other day when I looked.

Music

So I finally caved and got the TWICE album I had on order. Luckily my account had held the cheap price that the album was when I ordered it so it cost less than I was expecting. I ended up only getting the BE version as that had the best photobook in my opinion. Lots of lovely photocards as expected for TWICE and I was blessed with the members I got. I've become quite a fan of Dahyun lately so I was excited to receive her photocard.

One Year Challenge Week 40: Stage Dive

Stage Dive is the theme for the big number 40 week! Cannot believe we've come this far and feels like only recently we were still in the 10's. I quite like Stage Dive as a brand but I just don't use it that much honestly. Like it has cool items and I just haven't spent much time spending a while making outfits. I tend to stick to colours when I make rock themed outfits which shows in my outfits below. First off is this I'm going to call it frog green toned outfit. It is almost like a greyish green really and I just liked the colour of the outer really. I could've chosen a different skirt as I don't think this one works well. Second is a classic white and black rocker look. I used those trousers that have the skirt attached and I was thinking like when are those going to make a comeback haha. Last outfit is my favourite as it is so colourful and I like how all the different pattern styles just work together. Like it's a mess but a cute mess.

KARA 2nd Album Revolution - Album Review (Regular CD Edition)

Taking a trip back to the 2000's today with a classic album from KARA! This group is one of my all-time favourite K-Pop groups and I have so much of their stuff in my collection. There was a time once in my life when I was all "I'm going to collect every single KARA release out there" and we all know that was a wild dream. If only I could do that as I do love KARA and they have such a good discography that later K-Pop fans tend to pass by. Revolution was an important album from the group as it gave us the iconic dance with 미스터 Mister.

Revolution is the second album from Korean girl group and was released on 30th of July 2009. It came out in two versions: Regular CD Only and a Limited Okinawa Special Edition CD+DVD. The Okinawa version was limited to 5,000 copies and contained a 60 page photobook. I brought my copy second hand on Yahoo Auctions as part of the KARA Special Premium Box for Japan. This Premium Box was a boxed set of the groups Korean albums along with a bonus CD and DVD. Actually the DVD included with the Premium Box is the DVD included in the Okinawa version of Revolution! I'll post about that set another day and it was a steal to find as it can be hard to find complete. The album I got is the Regular CD Only edition and it came with the following:

• CD - 10 track album
• Photobook

Dream Ami ドレスを脱いだシンデレラ Dress wo Nuida Cinderella - Single Review (CD Only)

It has been forever since I reviewed one of Dream Ami's singles and I forgot how beautiful these releases were. The singles come in these gorgeous cardboard sleeves and have a nice matte feel to them. Makes them look so elegant on the shelf and I've even kept the original plastic sleeves on them. Dream Ami is one of those artists where I always ordered her new singles when they came out and I have all eight physical singles she released in the CD Only editions.

ドレスを脱いだシンデレラ Dress wo Nuida Cinderella is Dream Ami's debut single and it was released on July 29th 2015. Ami was still a member of Dream and E-girls at the time of this release hence the inspiration for Dream in her artist title. The single came in four editions: Limited CD+DVD, CD+DVD, CD Only and One Coin CD. I brought mine from YesAsia as that was where I brought most of my J-Pop years ago. Purchased the CD Only edition as that is the usual one I tend to pick up due to the price point and extra tracks. This edition comes with the following contents:

• CD - 6 track single
• Cardboard sleeve
• Jewel case
• Lyrics booklet
• Promotion flyers