Unboxing/Review: Sugarpill (Cocktail Cosmetics)

Unboxing/Review: Sugarpill (Cocktail Cosmetics)

Posted by Kim

My girlfriend has had an interest in Jeffree Star lipstick for a while, but it is quite expensive to get in the UK. Meanwhile, I've been interested in trying out Sugarpill, and when I went on a little searching spree I found the website Cocktail Cosmetics - based in the UK and selling these two brands (among many, many others). So we decided to give them a try!

Unboxing: Lush

Unboxing: Lush

Posted by Kim

Although I adore Lush and their products, I had never bought from the website before. First time I tried was Boxing Day - not the best idea! It took hours for the website to even work, but in the end I managed to place an order close to midnight, which was dispatched on the 29th and arrived on the 30th. Honestly haven't ever received a parcel that smelled better!

My order consisted of Santa's Belly (2), Magic Wand (2), Snow Fairy (500 ml), So White (2), Father Christmas (2) and Five Gold Rings. Most of this stuff I'd never used before, so I might review them later.

Unboxing: B.A.P - MATRIX signed (Kpoptown)

Unboxing: B.A.P - MATRIX signed (Kpoptown)

Posted by Kim

I hadn't ordered from Kpoptown in a while, as I got my limited edition MATRIX albums elsewhere and ordered a regular through a friend. However, when I heard a signed album was to be released (signed by all members; I already have one signed by Youngjae), I knew I needed another and Kpoptown was the first place I found. They were pretty limited and even disappeared from the website entirely as soon as the release date came and went, which made me worry because it took a few days before mine was shipped (what if they had decided not to release it after all? who knows!). In the end all was fine and I received my copy today. :)

Unboxing: Horror Block (December 2015)

Unboxing: Horror Block (December 2015)

Posted by Kim

Because I feel that the Horror Block gives me good value for money - and because I simply love it - I still have my subscription. As I haven't done an unboxing in over a year, I thought I might as well do a post for this one in case anyone is on the fence about getting it (although Nerd Block have deals regularly where you can get one box free for a month or where prices are lower for that exact reason). This one actually arrived really early: I received an email about shipping yesterday, but as it turns out, it was already in England by then!

Unboxing: Yahoo Auctions order (Japamart)

Unboxing: Yahoo Auctions order (Japamart)

Posted by Kim

Because I had already asked Visual Shoxx for help with some Mbok auctions, I didn't want to ask for even more help with Yahoo Auctions, even though I doubt they would've complained. Instead, I searched online and ended up with Japamart. At first I wasn't too sure about them, because they ask for a deposit in advance, but they've turned out to be trustworthy. Basically: you deposit money to them and you can bid for up to twice the value of this deposit. If you like, you can pay invoices with this deposit, and if you don't pay, Japamart use the deposit to pay instead. I'm not sure how I feel about everything being in dollars, since, after all, we're really dealing with yen, but oh well.

Basically, you click "Start bid", which then redirects you to the website of Yahoo Auctions. You can search at the top, either by keywords or by the auction ID, if you know it. Below this are the following buttons: Bid/Buy (speaks for itself), Translate (since the Japanese is still Japanese), Add to Watchlist, Original page (shows you the page on Yahoo Auctions itself, without the Japamart features) and Mypage (where you see your own dashboard).

What I really like is that you can bid on everything yourself. Bear in mind, though: there is a commission fee of 5 USD per item (probably gets more the more expensive your item is), and there are shipping, transaction and bank fees (if applicable). If you win items from the same seller in the same day, these will be combined - though the commission fee still applies. You receive an invoice afterwards, but remember that your Paypal name and address must match the ones registered with them, or it may take a while for them to process your payment!

After payment, you receive a notification whenever an item arrives at their warehouse, where they will keep it up to thirty days. You simply request shipping and choose what type of shipping you want and what value you want put on the package (item value or item value plus all the fees); they send you an invoice, you pay it, and they ship your items to you as quickly as possible. They recommend EMS and to put the value plus fees on the package, which, yes, is safer, but in my experience EMS is fast, and the higher the value on the package, the bigger the chance is over here that you're charged customs as well.

I ordered quite a few things, so I waited for all of them to arrive and then chose Airmail, with only the item value on the package. Everything arrived safely and fast!

Unboxing: B.A.P - Warrior Begins, Secret - Secret Summer (YesAsia)

Unboxing: B.A.P - Warrior Begins, Secret - Secret Summer (YesAsia)

Posted by Kim

I caved and got the other version of Secret Summer, option A, which I added to my Warrior Begins order later (thank you, YesAsia, for doing so without complaint!). And I was in for a big surprise. As is often the case, the order was shipped a few days before the release date, which is done with the intention of getting it to you on the day. Since I chose free shipping, I didn't expect this to be the case, but apparently the weight of the DVD (2 kilograms!!) meant that YesAsia used UPS instead of airmail. Imagine my shock when I suddenly received a tracking number from UPS, and even better: when the DVD arrived three days later, only one day after the release date! And all this without any extra charges. Well done!

This order included: B.A.P's Warrior Begins DVD, the limited edition, and Secret's Secret Summer Type A.

Unboxing: Horror Block (September)

Unboxing: Horror Block (September)

Posted by Kim

I already posted about Horror Blocks before, and, as I said then, I decided to keep my subscription. So here's this month's!

Unboxing: B.A.P - Excuse Me, 10+Star Magazine (YesAsia)

Unboxing: B.A.P - Excuse Me, 10+Star Magazine (YesAsia)

Posted by Kim

By now I've ordered from YesAsia so many times that I can't even keep track. I love YesAsia. They're very customer-friendly: if your package doesn't arrive and you let them know, they'll send you your order again or give you a refund for something that's out of stock. They also reply to questions quickly and, in this case, they were particularly helpful: I had already placed an order for B.A.P's Excuse Me single (type A and the limited edition) when I found out about the 10+Star magazine. So I asked them if they could add the magazine to my existing order, and they did! Some people will complain about how prices at YesAsia are higher, but this is because shipping is free. I promise you that, if you add shipping to the same order at other websites, the difference is much smaller. Sometimes shipping can take a while, but I've also had things arrive within a week, so I'm going to continue using them. Nothing has ever been stuck in customs with them.

This order included: B.A.P's Excuse Me Type A, B.A.P's Excuse Me limited edition with goods, Korean 10+Star magazine and a free Japan mini toy (if you order two or more Japanese items, you can choose a free toy; this can be a keychain, a very small figure, or something else entirely, and although you can choose the theme, it's always a surprise what you'll actually get).

Unboxing: Secret - Secret Summer (Soompi Shop)

Unboxing: Secret - Secret Summer (Soompi Shop)

Posted by Kim

To be honest, I had no idea Soompi even had a shop until I came across this CD. Basically, I was trying to look up the difference between the two CD versions and then found a link to the Soompi Shop, where you could order the CD and it would then be signed by the girls! There were only 300 sets available and since the price honestly wasn't that high, I went for it. I chose option B, not really for any particular reason, and was told it would take approximately two weeks after the end of the sales period for the CD to be shipped out (after all, they need to get them signed, shipped to them, etc). It took about three weeks between me ordering and them shipping it out (with International Registered Airmail). I was a bit nervous, because it took quite some time for them to confirm my order, but I think the confirmation simply means that they have it? I'm not sure. Anyway, the ordering processes wasn't too difficult and for the payment option I chose Paypal.

Unboxing: G.L.A.M.S - Under the Moon

Unboxing: G.L.A.M.S - Under the Moon

Posted by Kim

This wasn't sold by a shop, but via the website of the G.L.A.M.S project. This project was formed by Mikaru, former vocalist of Dio - Distraught Overlord (one of my favourite bands), Digras and Black Line. He has one of my favourite voices in Jrock, so I've kept up with him (he and Kei - one of Dio's guitarists - were my favourite members, but unfortunately Kei seems to have left the music scene entirely). When I realised I could order the CD fairly easily, I did. I simply sent an email to the website stating the information asked for, received a Paypal invoice, paid it, and my CD got shipped! With EMS, which I think is the default shipping method.

Unboxing: AJ Magazine (CDJapan)

Unboxing: AJ Magazine (CDJapan)

Posted by Kim

I used to order from CDJapan loads, but due to packages getting stuck in customs and then having to pay a lot to get them away from there, I've mostly stopped using them except for cheaper items. And this magazine was one! I was tempted to order it from YesAsia, but didn't want to add extra things for free shipping, and since I still had some points on CDJapan (you get points when you order from them, for your birthday, sometimes for events or just because, and you can use these points to lower the amount you pay), I decided to use their shop once more. For shipping, I chose SAL, because it was the cheapest option. And, honestly, it didn't take that long for this magazine to arrive! It was shipped on the eleventh, and although I can't tell you the exact date it arrived (I was away at the time), it was here by the 20th at the latest.

CDJapan sell, as the name suggest, Japanese items. However, unlike the name, this is not limited to CDs: magazines, books, clothes, figures; if it was made in Japan, chances are it's on there. They take various payment methods, but I tend to stick to Paypal and credit card. In this case I chose my credit card, since it meant the money wouldn't be taken out until after shipping. In fact, it still hasn't been, so I'm curious how long it takes them to do so.

Unboxing: Horror Block (August)

Unboxing: Horror Block (August)

Posted by Kim

I found out about Nerd Block by accident. My fiancée's roommate ordered a Loot Crate and when it arrived we all oohed and aahed and promptly went looking for more of these monthly mystery boxes online. And there, among many others, it was: Nerd Block. What we all liked is that this particular website lets you choose a theme. There's Nerd Block Classic ("Comic Con in a box"; a mixture of geeky things), Nerd Block Jr. Boys (geared at young boys, but can include things like Pokémon, Skylanders, Nintendo, etc), Nerd Block Jr. Girls (geared at young girls, but can include things like My Little Pony, Polly Pocket, Hello Kitty, etc), Horror Block (as the name says: aimed at the horror franchise), and they've now added a new one: Arcade Block (aimed at video games).

Although it seemed appealing to try them all, I decided to stick to the Horror Block, because I absolutely love horror films, books, stories; you get the picture. I subscribed immediately, with the idea that I'd only get it one month, but I've already changed my mind on that one and will keep my subscription a bit longer. XD The Nerd Blocks cost $19.99 (or $13.99 for the Jr. ones, which don't include a shirt) plus shipping. For me shipping was $12.50, but it's fast, includes tracking and, really, it's worth it. (Plus, in euros it wasn't bad at all.)

Unboxing: Got 7 - Got It? (Kpoptown)

Unboxing: Got 7 - Got It? (Kpoptown)

Posted by Kim

I've ordered from Kpoptown many times before, but realised perhaps not everyone has. So I thought I'd do an unboxing of my latest order from their shop, which also serves as a review of Kpoptown itself. As the name suggests: Kpoptown sells Kpop items. I usually pay by Paypal and choose the cheapest shipping (no tracking), unless I have some more money to spare, then I get the second cheapest (with tracking). In the case of this particular CD I chose the cheapest option. I placed my order on 17 August and the CD was shipped on the 20th. Since I've been away since the 21st and only returned today, I can't tell you how many days it took to get here precisely, but it wasn't long.