Review: Blippo

 

After waffling for a month or so, I decided to put an order into Blippo.com, a Japan and kawaii shop! Their selection is quite large: Arpakasso, Hello Kitty, San-X, Pocky, etc. Pretty much, if it's cute, small, and can fit in a purse or be an accessory, Blippo has it. The price point is what drew me in: less than 10 USD and free shipping. Super easy to get hooked and buy hella merchandise.

I ordered a strawberry pouch and chocolate stickers on March 12, 2015 and received my order yesterday, April 22, 2015. Their website promoted 1-3 weeks shipping and since I was ordering close to when Easter packages would be sent out, I figured late arrival. Free shipping = no tracking. I've been around the block with online shopping. If I can, I choose to track a package, but I wanted to be cheap and not pay extra.

I was notified same day that my order shipped (I binge bought around midnight). Once the first week of April passed, I assumed my package would arrive any day. When this didn't happen, I emailed the company last week. Essentially, they included a bunch of smiley faces, noted my order shipped March 13, 2015, and said hopefully my package would arrive soon. I was hoping they'd put more effort into a lost package; maybe they had forgotten to send the package (this has happened way more to me than it should). Something other than, "That sucks. Have a nice day! :)"

Here's where things get weird. The homepage has a default USD currency and the company info has a US address. There is a tab on the side explaining their shop in Europe. Everything ships from their Hong Kong warehouse. The package says to return to Singapore if undelivered. WAT. I can't say I'm surprised it took this long after doing more research.

I've ordered from Asian countries and I know the time frame for packages. Advertising 1-3 week shipping to the US is borderline bogus, considering items ship from Hong Kong. I have yet to experience that quick of shipping from an Asian country. BUT, I want to order from Blippo again with tracking and see how that works out.

The quality of the items is a lot better than what I was expecting, especially the strawberry pouch. I checked the actual measurements to the website--many Asian websites say to expect a few centimeters difference--and they were a match. Unfortunately, my bento box doesn't fit (I mis-measured, whoops) and there is a big dark mark on the green bits. （´口｀*）I haven't opened the chocolate stickers, but they're so cute! 

Seven Things This Week

The most excitement my week has received is doing glitter brows. I ended up buying the Color Icon in Brass. I'm happy to announce the skin swatches held up and the eye shadow is vibrant and opaque (as much as glitter eye shadow can be) with one swipe of the brush. The result was perfect for what I was looking for and after eight hours, the glitter was still there. Though, it did migrate a tad down the side of my face. I didn't use any kind of bonding agent. Cleaning off the glitter was time consuming, but glitter beauty products are notoriously difficult to remove.

Mostly, pitifully? I spent my week customizing my phone launcher almost obsessively. @__@

1. glitter brows
2. sms/mms/launcher customization tools / / ios users read here.
3. nostril studs
4. anime food
5. Daredevil
6. Mushroom Garden
7. halter tops

Artist: Loll3

Follow lOll3 ♥'s board my Art on Pinterest.

loll3

Lolle is a freelance Italian artist. Her works usually feature heavily tattooed babes; others include: monsters, portraits, and on occasion, fan works. According to the about, her tools are:

-markers, letraset pro markers, watercolors (maimeri venezia), stabilo point 88, fineliner pencil 0.5., pilot g-tec c.4, brushes, acrylic colors, fimo, cloth, cotton, button, beads, plastic gems, sequins… fantasy & love.

 - macbook pro OS X, Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ35, Nikon D3100, wacom bamboo fun, photoshop cs6, indesign cs6.

links

Tumblr | Blog | DeviantART | Pinterest | Etsy | Society6 | Nuvango | Print All Over Me

Earworm: Ivy Levan

 

 

Doujinshi: Kuro Ken! & Don't Go Overboard

Kuro Ken! and Don't Go Overboard are doujinshi / 同人誌 (usually fanbooks) that feature the Haikyū!! pairings of Kenma & Kuro and Ukai & Takeda. They are hard yaoi (BL) scanlations and rated NC-17 or R-18. That is, not safe for work and illegal in some countries for those under eighteen.

!! Please read !! 

Canonically, Kuroo Tetsurō is seventeen and Kozume Kenma is sixteen. Both Japan and USA's legal restricted age of consent is eighteen. From what I understand, my state law age is sixteen where Japan's is thirteen--if both parties are under eighteen and consenting then it is legal. [versus a sixteen year old/eighteen year old, in which the legal adult would be prosecuted.]

However, this doesn't change the fact that Kuro Ken! features minors. From what I can tell the team is at the training camp so they should be around canonical age if this is true. Technically, this is considered shota as the characters are under-age.

Trend: Glitter Brows

DANIEL LEIVISKÄ | QUEER TRASH| MARLYS POP | SALMON PINK

I am all about the glitter brows! I'm so happy this trend has continued over the last year (or two?). A lot of people are crediting this to Dior's Spring/Summer 2014 RTW show. Though I have seen a few blog posts in my search for brow tutorials before 2013 that feature glitter brows, credit is definitely due to Raf Simmons. IMO, this is when the inklings of glitter brows blew up all over social media: the gold brows themselves via the trickle down theory, yo. 

BUT, I much prefer what bloggers/tumblr-goers have been doin'! ! ! Meduusalammikko is the first individual I came across that does both glitter and colored brows. They have a masterpost, including tutorials and products used~ From there, I was searching glitter brows, but for a hot minute there weren't that many people doing them.

The balance between colored/super sparkly brows and natural colored/mildly sparkly brows is surprising. I suppose this is because my dash is usually ~alternative~ posts whose makeup almost never includes what I refer to as glam. You know, 90% of makeup posts on Pinterest and WeHeartIt.

Realistically, the natural glitter brows are what I'm wanting to attempt, because there is only so much I can get away with at work. Also, my hands aren't all that steady (rip liquid liner). I have a few pots of eye glitter that I may Frankenstein with some kind of bonding agent. I'm curious if Wet 'n' Wild's Color Icon singles would do the trick? The skin swatches look promising. I guess I'll find out sometime this week.

Tutorials

xovain.com / / Glitter Brows: Two Ways To Make Your Facial Expressions More Sparkly | I will not stop until I figure out a way to make my entire body twinkle.

bloodmooncouture.wordpress.com / /  Glitter Eyebrows 

glittergirlc.com / / NYX Glitterati Glitter Cream Palette--Review!

refinery29.com / /  Bet You Didn't Know Your Drugstore Makeup Could Do This | High-Shine Brows (slideshow)

 Youtube has hella tutorials. Bonus: actually watching the process. 

 

 

 

MAKEUPROJECT / / 2015 looks | QOB | WILL | EVA | TIONA | QOB | MYKIE

 MEDUUSALAMIKKO | CELLESTUAL | LARA-AURORA | LOCALBABE | BIRDINTHEFAMILY | AMAZINGLYAONNA | BLOODMOONCOUTURE

Review: OGX

product images via official OGX site, background via diglee @ tumblr

I decided to do a review that nobody wanted. Well, I did, but the why of that is going to become readily apparent. I like how the gif turned out! I wasn't sure if I liked the poster effect, but I can dig it. Maybe ya'll think it's ugly? Today, I bring my experience with OGX hair products. I believe the name is derived from or pronounced Organix? Because of this, I guess a lot of customers assume they use organic/vegan products? I learned that from reviews, so the authenticity isn't reliable. Also, I couldn't find anything about that on their website, either. Their official site 'About' reads:

We’re beauty, pure and simple. What’s pure? It starts with our ingredients. So, we search the globe to uncover nature’s gems—natural, nourishing goodness. That’s how we find treats like the coconut in the Philippines and argan oil in Morocco. 

To us, pure beauty is also original beauty. We’ll never ask you what you don’t like about your hair or what you want to fix. We just want to know what you love about your hair so we can enhance it. Simple as that. 

So we fill every OGX bottle with exotic fragrances you crave and benefits your hair will love. Because healthy hair is happy hair. And that never goes out of style.

I'm going to note they do state they use "natural goodness", but natural doesn't equal organic and meat is natural but, the whole vegan thing. Anyway. Every time I was buying shampoo, I continuously saw the bottle and it wasn't until a few months ago that I began using the products.

New hair ! / / 新しい髪

For years and years I had long ass hair. I'm confident this is because, as a kid, my mother got tired of cutting hairbands out. Naturally, around third-ish grade, she had mine and my sister's (twins gotta have all the same shit, you know) chopped off to ugly bobs with ugly bangs. I was so mad I refused to go to school and told everyone my mother was a horrible person. All the teachers cooed but I could tell there was some serious side-eyein' from fellow classmates. So. No more short hair.

Until fifth grade when I turned to a pixie cut. At the time, I was attempting a  Mia Farrow, Rosemary's Baby 'do. The thing is A) I had no concept of style or product and B) my hair is curly. What happens when curly hair is cut short? It waves or curls like no other. Particularly, mine waves like a fucking Pringle. IT'S SO HORRIBLE. I hated my hair for the longest. I did the same thing again, freshman year. That time, I was constantly bullied about being a "gay man with boobs". WAT. 

The point is, I didn't think I'd ever jump on the short hair bandwagon. Sure, in the last six years or so, I'd pin'd and Tumblr'd short hairstyles, but oh no, never for me! I'd also pin'd a lot of ombre (remember when that was huge?), bubblegum pink, and mint colored hair. I decided to go lavender. Well, at first, I wanted a silver, but that wasn't going as well as expected didn't go at all how I envisioned.

I followed none of the rules about dyeing hair and damaged the shit out of my ends. The result was porous hair that couldn't keep color: the lavender washed out within the week and when I attempted to return brown, that faded within the month. So sad!

After I moved home, I admitted defeat and decided to cut into an asymmetrical bob, styled after Bey and I loved it. Then I saw Lady Luck and her gorgeous hair. Mine didn't quite turn out and I hated my bangs for a while and once that grew out into a hot mess revisited my Mia Farrow fantasy. I started Pinterest hoppin', looked at pixie undercuts for a minute, then decided on my current style.

 

Crystals

Very recently, I began studying-slash-researching crystals. They're a super fad and one I like for both belief they will work and their aesthetic appeal. There is, after all, historical importance with crystals and gems. I guess, part of my interest is similar to collecting rocks--I want the pretty colors and none of the dull, ugly ones.  I really like the energy aspect; like a conduit. Give 'em some serious ~vibes~ and whala, the crystals will help with whatever they are directed to do.

The crystal grids are an interesting concept. From my experience, similar practices require a specific placement like tarot and runes. With what I've read, crystal grids can be whatever shape so long as a specific number is present. To quote Crystal Wind, "A grid is formed by making a geometric pattern with crystals, which can be tumbled stones, or natural rough stones. The pattern can be any design you like - a Star of David which is the most popular, a Reiki symbol, a pentagram or another symbol of your choosing. A basic grid consists of 4, 5, 6, or 7 stones - 1 in the centre and the rest making the design. To charge and empower your grid you can use a selenite, rose or crystal quartz wand, or you can energize your grid with Reiki, Dowsing, or whatever feels right and works best for you."

etsy | free people blog

Thinking about it now, if the intent is there, most anything could work. Which is another facet that drew me in. The idea of using intent to, I suppose, do magic is alluring to say the least. Not having to place crystals in specific places removes the pressure and allows for me to relax and actually focus. I am so happy crystal shrines exist. They are beautiful, functional decor that I am all about. I haven't ordered crystals yet; undecided as to what I'd like to get first. Essentially, rocks, sand, or some other material can be used to support the crystals and literally anything else can be worked around them. Ideally, similarly infused items would be used. 

I don't know nearly enough as I prefer and hopefully, the information I've provided is accurate. Happy reading, practicing, and viewing. Below, I've included crystal sets, meanings, and altars. Enjoy!

via galadarling / / 13 easy ways to infuse your home with magic

via backbite_ @ instagram

via nsmbl.nl

via freepeople blog / / 10 ways to use healing crystals

via energy muse / / various product pages

via eclipsis-lunae

via steller / / local milk

Earworm of the Week

 

This week's earworm is dedicated almost entirely to New by Paul McCartney. A few weeks ago, our track list at work finally changed and with it, came this song. For the longest, I just listened, then decided I needed to find this song. I thought New was familiar in that it was from a soundtrack. I began my search with the Cornetto trilogy and when that didn't yield results, I attempted the top charts lists on Spotify. When that didn't work, I googled any variation of the lyrics I could remember--even the app where one hums the tune and searches. BUT I COULDN'T FIND THE FUCKING SONG. I was willing to listen through all of Queen's albums. I could see this as one of their off-beat songs, yeah?

But then, no, I would write down all the lyrics during my shift then hunt this bitch down. Only: fast forward two weeks until the song played again. I scribbled the lyrics I could just make out over the sounds of carts and customers ooo-ing and aah-ing over our sales. By the time I was home, the slip of paper with the lyrics had fallen out of my pocket. Thank fuck I focused on the lyrics that time. Which is how I finally found the damn song.

I'd also like to mention, I found a boy band I like! Shout-out to my penpal, Karen, for finding this gem. I knew there were other genres of Korean boy bands, I obviously didn't know how to search properly. What Is Love is their, apparently, 2015 single, but I've been listening to their Spotify profile on shuffle for a while and all their music is delightful. The other two videos, below, are Sia's Elastic Heart and Bidi Bidi Bom Bom . Initially, I was weary of Shia LaBeouf , due to his shenanigans and whatnot, but I really, really like this music video. I mean, Sia hardly ever falls short for me, and I figured Elastic Heart wouldn't be a disappointment as a song, but wooo, that video sure is rad.

The twentieth anniversary of Selena's death was yesterday. If ya'll haven't educated yourselves on who she was, do yourself a favor. Also, watch the Selena film starring JLO. And, you know, listen to lots and lots of her music. I remember watching the film as a kid and becoming enamored with her. Just, blughsd, imagine where Selena's music could have gone. ;A; 

 

Seven Things This Week

I admit: I never did practice with Guts (my ukulele). I have accomplished quite a few other to do's, so there's that. This last week, though, I have been binge watching marathoning 3rd Rock From the Sun nonstop since Netflix added the series on the 18th. Final season left, woohoo! Mostly, I've been attempting to organize my life into appearing as if I've got more going on, but once I began writing down the shows I want to watch on any given day, my planner began to look a little messy. Whoops. I'm sure once my cute stationary supplies arrive, I'll be able to organize in a much cleaner and funner way. My food tracker is a mess, but it may begin to look better once I get my chocolate bar stickers.

Really, the highlight of my week has been getting my printer to work on this new computer. So, here are seven things this week that have kept my attention:

1. 3rd Rock From the Sun
2. Loll3 artwork
3. planners/organizers
4. sports anime
5. Cooking Mama 3
6. gel acrylic nails
7. cryptids

東京 FW: Tenbo

"[Established year] 2014 

Tenbo is a universal fashion brand. Tenbo is the meaning of the [elephant] in Swahili. Elephant While a gentle friendly image, has also combines strength ferocity enough to destroy the village. Sometimes defended by able strength not only kindness, was in this brand name I think is that it is necessary strength to confront. Brand icon is YOMI chan was lovely represent the skull is a symbol of death. "Afterlife" I called the country of YOMI in Japanese. Brand icon’s name have taken from there.By think the death, we also hope to continue to represent the brand generosity accepted all."

via tokyo-mb fashion week.

東京 FW: Takeo Kikuchi

"Since his debut in 1984, Kikuchi is the pioneer of designer brand, and expressing the new approach of men's fashion. It’s made for gentleman, who wears atmosphere of this modern time with glamour and sense of humor. With supremacy quality of the highest Japanese manufacturing technology and also the credible 30 years brand history, we offer the total styling suit for the various lifestyles."

via tokyo-mb fashion week.