Taobao Haul November 2015- Picture Heavy

It's time for another Taobao haul review! I ordered through Taobao Ring again. I am still not 100% convinced I like them as much as Taobao Spree, but this time I was a bit happier with Ring's service. Although perhaps that is because I didn't order anything too fragile this time. I have had to leave a few bits out of this review, because they are Christmas presents. I am hopeful that their recipients are going to like them.

Last time I had a big issue with the packaging by Taobao Ring where things were packed in to a box that was far too small for my order and as a result, 2 hats got a bit squashed. The rim of my strawberry hat is still a bit warped now, even though I have been trying to mold it back in to shape. Anyway, I had a bit of a similar experience with this new order. Everything was safe inside but I could tell Taobao Ring had over-stuffed the box again. I could see where the box was bulging outwards, trying to keep its contents in. Luckily Taobao Ring used a lot of tape. I was also a bit surprised to find a random nappy bag inside my box, which was a bit bizarre! I thought maybe it was scented and Taobao Ring were trying to keep my order nicely scented or something, but it was just a plain bog-standard nappy bag. So that was a little strange. I suppose I should be grateful it hadn't been used!

First up is this necklace which I got from here. The constellation is meant to be my star sign Cancer. I did look up the constellation and I can confirm I did get the correct star sign. The necklace arrived in perfect condition with no scratches. The design is quite clear. The only thing that surprised me was that the necklace does not have a clasp to do it up. I would expect this if the necklace chain was super long, but I wouldn't say this necklace had that long a chain. I am able to put the necklace on, which is the main thing. I guess I will just need to remember to put this on before any wigs or bulky hair accessories.

I thought I would show a side view of the necklace. I think the charm is quite a good size.

Next up is this clip that I got from KiraKira. I have tried to order this clip previously, but they said it was out of stock, even though they hadn't removed it from their store or done the usual thing of upping the price to a really high number. Thankfully, this time they did indeed have the clip. I ordered the dark blue, which for some reason is called purple on the listing. The bow is nicely shaped and the charm is really cute. I like the overall size of the clip as well.

The back has a hair clip, but not a badge clip. I think it is a shame, because I would have quite liked the option to wear this as a brooch as well. Perhaps KiraKira didn't feel there was enough room on the back for a 2-way clip, which I guess I can understand. I absolutely love the ribbon chosen for the clip. They could have used just bog-standard plain ribbon, but they have gone for ribbon which has an interesting pattern to it.

I especially love the golden shimmery effect on some of the ribbon. That was an unexpected surprise! A bit of an effort has been made to seal the ends of the ribbons too.

Here are the wrist cuffs I ordered from Ciciwork/SweetDreamer/CutieCreator/WhateverTheyAreCalledThisWeek. My first impression was "these cuffs are huge!" and I actually had to go get a pair of Bodyline wrist cuffs (which are also known for being massive) and compare sizes. These cuffs completely dwarfed the Bodyline ones, which should give you some idea of just how big they are. I am considering removing the chiffon layer. 

I absolutely love the charms. The ribbon and lace is of a decent quality too. However, I do feel it is a bit odd using rose patterned ribbon with a starry themed pair of cuffs. The materials also felt soft and felt pleasant to wear.

See what I mean about them being massive? The elastic has a good amount of stretch for wrist cuffs. I was a bit disappointed by the overall shape of the cuffs when worn. Wrist cuffs usually tend to flare out more and have a more rounded shape. These cuffs were quite tube-like with hardly any flare to them at all. 

Here is a close up of the lace. I think the lace could have been narrower too, but I do feel the cuffs will look a lot better without the added bulk of the chiffon layer. The stitching on the chiffon was generally quite neat, but it did look a bit untidy in a few spots.

Next up is this ducky t-shirt I got from here. Anybody who knows me well will tell you that I love ducks. I didn't have the easiest of times trying to find the right size. The size chart was an image, so Google Translate didn't work. I looked up how to read the size chart and then prayed I got the right size. Thankfully, I did get the right size. 

The colour is a lovely, vibrant yellow in person. The details of the duck face are crisp too. I think the duck face needs to be a bit smaller though and more towards the centre.

And here it is worn. I usually prefer my t-shirts a bit more figure hugging and fitted but I am just glad I didn't accidentally order a massive tent of a t-shirt. I was quite happy with the thickness of the t-shirt until I realised you can actually see my underwear slightly (sorry for pointing that out!). This photo was taken without a flash, so I am feeling a bit paranoid about how bad it will show up with flash! Photography issues aside, it is a decent enough t-shirt. I will be very careful with my choice of underwear when I wear it though.

I got this turtleneck from a store I have ordered jumpers from before, so I already had a rough idea of what to expect quality-wise. This new turtleneck is actually thicker than the jumpers I ordered previously. So hopefully I will be able to wear it in colder weather compared to the other jumpers.

The chest details were neat and the lace was of a reasonable quality. The cuffs and bottom of the jumper are a bit basic in design, but this jumper is for my everyday wardrobe anyway, so this doesn't bother me. When I tried it on I found the material a bit clingy. Although the material is stretchy, I wouldn't say this was a very plus-sized friendly jumper. The arms were a great length and reached my wrists with ease. It was very comfortable. I will definitely consider ordering some more for my everyday wardrobe in the future.

Next up is this bolero. The colour is a bit darker than I was expecting but I actually quite like it. The materials could have been a little bit softer but to be fair, this is actually meant to be a jacket rather than a bolero. I found the sizing chart reasonably easy to work out because it wasn't a picture. This meant Google Translate could translate the sizes. I was really pleased by the sizing and I found my bolero fitted quite well. The arms were a little bit long for me though.

The ruffles are done so neatly. They are so well gathered and the shape is really pretty. 

The only thing I am not too happy about is the ribbon used to tie the bolero. It is quite cheap ribbon and it is very basic looking. I also found out the edges of the ribbon hadn't been sealed, although I am capable of fixing this myself.

The stitching was so neat and tidy. I turned the whole bolero inside out and I couldn't find any messy bits at all. I was also surprised to see the bolero is lined. The lining is soft and it feels so pleasant when worn.

The arms are very long in length. As a result, I find that when I bend my arms the material wrinkles up quite a lot. 

The ruffles sit really nicely when worn. I think here you can see how cheap the ribbon looks and I am tempted to replace it. I feel the ribbon colour could have matched better if it was a bit darker too. 

And finally, here is my favourite item from this order. I got this blouse from here. Your eyes are not deceiving you- it really is that cheap. When I placed the order it worked out at about £9, but can a cheap £9 blouse from Taobao really be that decent? Yes, it can! I can tell that some of the materials are a bit cheaper. The chiffon is definitely not as soft as some of my brand chiffon blouses. However, it still feels nice to touch. I found the sizing to be really good and my blouse fits me really well.

The lace looks pretty good for a £9 blouse. It is a decent quality and has a nice design. The pearl buttons on the front are pretty too. The button holes could have been a little bit bigger though. I had a little bit of trouble doing some of the buttons up.

The back has a ribbon corset to help tighten it up. The ribbon is very cheap and thin. When I put the blouse on and pulled the ribbon though, it held really well. 

The stitching was really good. I searched the whole blouse and this was the only little messy bit I could find. It didn't take long for the blouse to reach Taobao Ring, so I was wondering how much care had been taken in making it. I was really pleased when I got the blouse.

And here is how it looks worn. The bodice is a little long in length, but I don't see this as an issue. The arms were a decent length and I think they look really good. This blouse has been a real revelation and I cannot recommend this blouse enough if you are on a budget, or even if you are not on a tight budget. I will be keeping an eye on this Taobao store in the future!

This has generally been quite a positive order. I think the only disappointment has been the SweetDreamer wrist cuffs. Everything else was definitely good value for money. I still can't get over how good the blouse is. The blouse is definitely in my top 5 items I have ever ordered from Taobao. Do go and check them out! Now all I need to do is wait and see how well the Christmas presents go down. Fingers crossed!

Taobao Order August 2015- Picture Heavy

It is time for my latest Taobao review! I placed this order right at the start of July, but it only arrived last week, as some head bows I ordered were holding things up (At the time of writing this, they still hadn't arrived at Taobao Spree, so I just decided to leave them out of the review). Everything else arrived at Taobao Spree in a reasonable amount of time. This time my Taobao Spree agent was Cici. I have been so used to getting Ray lately! I remember really liking Cici, although after getting Ray so many times, I have noticed Cici is a little bit slower and Ray is a bit friendlier and more willing to help. But Cici is still a very good agent and I still received a good service.

Here is how my box looked when I first opened it. The box could have done with a bit more padding, especially considering some of the items in my order. The box was well sealed up though, to the point that I had trouble getting in to it.

My first items are these squishy doughnut key chains I got from here which are for an upcoming meet I am hosting. You do not get to pick the colours you receive, so I ordered a few, just in case I got some of the less popular colours. Thankfully, I don't think the colour choices I received are that bad. There are definitely some stranger looking colour combinations available. These key chains were super cheap and as expected, they are perfectly squishy! I was a little confused as to why I had to attach the strings myself, especially as the macaron ones already had them attached (see below).

I also got these squishy macaron key chains from the same store. This time I was allowed to pick the colours I wanted. The blue colour is a bit darker than I anticipated, but otherwise I really like the key chains. These key chains are properly sealed up, so I haven't opened them. But I can see the macarons have a nice appearance to them and they are very satisfying to squish!

The bags the doughnuts came in were not sealed up, so I was able to pull one out to show in this post. Sadly the sprinkles are a bit loose, so some of the sprinkles did fall off. They could do with something to help seal them, so they stay in place a bit better. As mentioned, these key chains were super cheap, so I do feel I got a reasonable amount of value for the price.

Next up is a head bow from a store I have purchased from before- Kira Kira. I will be honest, I am not too happy with Kira Kira this time around. I wanted to order this other hair clip from them but after initially saying it was okay, I was then told it wasn't available. And after just checking their page, I see this clip is still pictured on their site. So either it has become available again or they have not bothered to take down the listing. But back to the head bow I did manage to order, I think it has a lovely shape to it. It is a bit bigger than I was expecting though. It is a proper head-eating bow! The gold lace and trim used is of a reasonable quality and similar to that I have seen used by the Japanese brands. The lace does sit a little strangely on the bow in places though. I think it is because of the way the bow material has been gathered in the centre. The star charm dangling on one side is cute and also of a good quality. The star charm is fairly small though, and gets a bit lost in all the lace and the sheer size of the bow. The head band feels a comfortable size for an adult's head and was covered neatly in fabric, which is a nice touch.

The stitching on the bow is quite neat. I feel the seam in the centre of the bow could have been concealed a bit better, but otherwise it is a fairly nice bow. I do find that because the bow is so big, it can be a little bit difficult to balance on my head though.

And next up is my latest purchases from Mu Fish who I buy from quite frequently. I have reviewed the ankle socks on the far left before, so I wont review them again. I am ordering another white pair not because there is anything wrong with the quality (which is good) but because some colour transferred from my shoes and I was unable to fully get the mark out. So I am really glad the price is good!

I also got these navy crew length socks. I was expecting them to be a bit longer in length, but I am sure I will find a use for them. The pattern on these socks is pretty, although the "transparent" part of the socks has a lot of golden shimmer to it, which is quite noticeable. It didn't look as obvious in the stock photos. The other thing I find a bit weird is the ruffle at the top. I am not sure if I am meant to fold it over or wear it as it appears in this photo! The size of the socks was quite generous. My feet are actually slightly bigger than the socks are intended for, but they fit me fine with a bit of extra stretch to spare.

These are the transparent diamond socks that Mu Fish recently added to their store (worn over blush coloured tights). This time the transparent part of the socks is in fact a bit more transparent, although there is still a bit of tell-tale sheen there. I got both colours and I have to say, I am very surprised by the difference in quality between the 2 colours. The black socks are perfect with neatly defined diamond shapes. The lines start getting a little fizzy near the top, but otherwise the black ones are perfect. 

The white socks however, had a lot of issues. As you can see in this picture, the diamond edges are a lot messier on the white socks and there were even some random blotches of white in the middle of some of the transparent diamonds. The quality is so bad, I am not even sure I am going to keep the white pair. I don't really understand how the quality can vary this much, just because they are a different colour. Perhaps I just got given a bad white pair. But I definitely wont be ordering another white pair to find out. As for the size, both pairs fitted me but there is a limited amount of stretch to the socks. These are definitely not plus-sized friendly. The socks are a good length for me, but I am only 5'4'' and with the limited stretch it may not be worth getting these socks if you are a lot taller than me. 

Finally from Mu Fish, I got these strawberry print tights. I was surprised to see the bottoms of the tights were yellow, as this wasn't shown that clearly in the stock photos. The tights were a good size and I found them to have plenty of stretch. Although the print looks a bit faded in my photos, I could have pulled the tights down a little bit to stretch the print a bit less. I feel the print looks a lot better in person than it does in my photo. Unfortunately, I was having troubles getting decent photos of these on my own! The print is very cute and I am looking forward to wearing them. After the disappointments I had with some of my other Mu Fish stuff, I am relieved these tights turned out fine.

Next up today is these shoes from Angelic Imprint. These were not my first shoe choice, but sadly the store I wanted to order from decided to they wanted to stop making shoes in my size (so frustrating!). I received the shoes in a zip-lock plastic bag and the heels were suitably padded with tissue paper. I was a bit annoyed that no attempt was made to pad the shoes with bubble wrap or something similar though.

My shoes arrived covered in a layer of dust. This was easy enough to remove, but it still isn't too great. It makes me wonder how long they have been sat in a warehouse before I ordered them. The heel feels quite sturdy, although you may be able to see in this photo that the sole has been attached a bit wonky and has little air bubbles. So I am a little concerned about how well the shoes have been constructed. The stitching on the shoes seems relatively neat and the bows are a cute shape.

And here comes the annoying bit. When you put the shoes on, the strap with the bow on does not un-do or have a buckle anywhere. It is simply elasticated. So when you put the shoes on, you have to stretch this elastic and slip your foot in. This wouldn't be a problem, except the elastic is quite tight and does not stretch a great deal. I have wide feet and I had some serious issues trying to get my feet through this elastic loop. It just seems like such a terrible way of doing things and probably done to keep things cheap.

Eventually, I managed to get my feet inside the shoes and after walking about for a few hours to break them in, I can say these shoes are quite uncomfortable. I am hoping once I have worn them a little bit more I will find them more comfortable but so far, it is not looking good. 

Here is a little side view of the shoes. Don't be fooled by the little gap at the back of these shoes. That is just the way my feet seem to want to sit in the shoes when I wear them. They actually seemed an okay size at first. These shoes arrived with some free gel cushions and I can now see that this should have been a warning sign. I wont be buying shoes from this store again. The main issue is definitely the elastic and the narrowness of the shoe itself. I am supposed to be wearing these shoes at Regalia. Wish me luck...

And just when I thought I had had enough disappointments with this Taobao order, I finish today's review with these Fuwa Boom over-skirts. If you look at the listing, you will notice they are very careful not to show a back view of these over-skirts when worn by one of the slim models. I was about to discover why. At first glance the over-skirts look quite cute and the material they are made of is quite soft with no stiffness to it. I feel the pleats at the front are a bit too straight, but the over-skirts hang fairly nice from the front view, as you will see below. You can wear the over-skirt with the detachable bow or without if the dress you are wearing already has a waist bow.

The stitching is done neatly and the lace is of a good quality. Look at how tidy the edges are. Although I am not overly fond of the pleats, I do like the shaping along the opening at the front.

Unfortunately, the elastic leaves a lot to be desired. It is cheap and sloppily done. The over-skirt is one-sized but I found the size to be far too big. I am hardly plus-sized, but I am not the thinnest lolita either. This over-skirt is huge on me. I also found the bow on my navy over-skirt was poorly shaped and was crooked.

The 'fastenings' are messy and also a bit confusing. The listing for the over-skirts does give a good idea of how you are meant to use the hoops and the buttons, but I found it didn't feel that secure. On a positive note, I was given some spare buttons and some additional pearl beads, so I could alter these over-skirts if I so desired (and I probably will have to).

I decided to give the white over-skirt a go with my Sugary Carnival JSK. For reference, I am wearing my Classical Puppets bell-shaped petticoat underneath, which is giving me a reasonable amount of volume underneath. As you can see, from the front it does not look too bad.

From the side however, there is visible signs of drooping. I didn't notice until after I took this photo that there were button holes on the over-skirt meant to be used with the waist tie buttons (this of course, depends on the dress or skirt having waist tie buttons). If I had spotted these holes sooner, perhaps the back would not have been slipping down so much in the photo. However, when I tried this out later, I still found the over-skirt was too big for me and the elastic puckered strangely. The elastic is simply no good at all. It is cheap and does nothing. So for me to wear these over-skirts I am probably either going to have to replace the elastic or alter it some other way. If anybody has any suggestions then let me know.

So as you can tell, I have been left feeling a bit disappointed by this order. The tights, some of the socks, the head bow and key chains turned out great but the rest of the order has a lot of problems with it. I even had issues with my white diamond mu-fish socks, and they are usually my go-to Taobao store for socks. I don't really know what else I can say about this order. I just hope my next order goes better. And that the head bows I am waiting on don't turn out disappointing too.