Taobao Haul Review March 2017- Picture Heavy

It has been a while, but today I have a new Taobao haul to review. I ended up using Taobao Ring again, even though I vowed to try a new shopping service. I just really like how convenient the quick order function is. There doesn't seem to be much point me reviewing Taobao Ring again, so I will just get on to the items I got.

First up today is this hat from Ayl. I am so pleased with the deep red colour of the hat. It is a proper burgandy shade. As you can see the fake flowers and ribbon are a different shade of red, but they compliment the main hat colour. It is a lot more flattering than my photos make it look!

The fake flowers themselves are of a reasonable quality. They could be better, but they are not the absolute cheapest fake flowers either. I was pleased to find no traces of glue anywhere. I really like the crimped edges of the ribbon. It has a slight sheen to it, but it isn't too shiny. I think the ribbon quality is okay.

I was initially a bit confused by the random trails of ribbon coming from inside the hat, but it turns out you can pull them to alter the lining of the hat so that it fits better. I have never seen this detail on a hat before! It does mean that I am going to have to pin this ribbon out of the way when I wear the hat though. I don't think it looks very attractive having this random black ribbon sticking out.

I thought I would include a worn photo (apologies for the blacked-out face. I was really tired). As you can see, the brim of the hat is quite wide. It took me a bit of time to position the hat in a way which I felt looked good. Apart from the slightly too wide brim, I really love this hat. It feels really comfortable. With this in mind, I would consider buying from Ayl again.

Next up are these Sailor Moon inspired charms that I got from here. I got these with the intention of taking the charms off and making some jewellery with them. I actually found that because of the jewellery clasps on the chains, you can sort of join the 2 charms together and make a bracelet anyway. I might still stick with my original plan and take the charms off though. Considering how cheap these charms are, I think they look quite cute.

Despite being such a low price, I feel I do still need to warn you all that the colour of the charm was a bit patchy on the moon. Hopefully you can make it out in the picture. You can see a bit of swirling in the yellow which suggests the colour was not mixed well enough. Overall though, I do think you get what you pay for, and I could find no faults on the cat and moon charm at all.

I got all 3 of these clips from the same Taobao store here. I have ordered from this store previously. It is where my wooden butterfly brooches came from. This store has a lot of interesting and quirky pieces, some of which could work with J-fashion, so they are worth keeping an eye on. The colours on the 2 wooden brooches are lovely and the design is really clear. The fleur de lys charm in the middle could have possibly done with some better definition, but you can still see what it is supposed to be.

The rose and fleur de lys clips have a badge back, whereas the fairy has a stud back. I found the back of the fairy one a bit fiddly at first, but it is still lovely when worn. The backs on the other 2 were easy to use. The pins are generally pretty neat, although if you look at the rose clip on the left, you might be able to make out some small strings of glue. I am not too worried about these, as they are in no way visible when the brooch is worn. It would have been nice if it had been done a bit neater though, like it is on the other 2.

Next we have these over-the-door hooks which I got from here. These hooks allow for a decent door width (they went over my doors with plenty of room to spare). The metal feels strong and sturdy. There is also a small hole in the metal so that you can place a small nail in the top to keep the hook steady. Be careful not to use too big a nail though, otherwise you wont be able to shut your door! 

There was a small mark on one of the hooks but after giving it a quick wipe it is almost completely gone.

The ducks are not actually attached to the hooks. There is a magnet there. Despite being such a small magnet, it was surprisingly strong. This feature means that you can also alter where the duck goes, which I think is a nice touch.

And here is the duck over my door! The ducks are well painted and I think the design is really cute. They feel really sturdy and I think they will be able to hold a good amount of weight. So far, they are doing their job perfectly.

This is my new wig, which I got here. I got the ZH colour, which to be honest looks a lot darker in person than it does on the product listing. I don't think the listing really gives that accurate an idea of what colour you are going to get. Thankfully, I don't mind the colour too much, even if it is darker than the colour I was hoping for. The wig fitted my head okay. I don't have a worn photo just yet, because the fringe was a slightly annoying length and I couldn't get it to sit right for a photo! I need to give it a trim first. Sadly, I don't think the bangs are long enough for me to do proper side bangs, so I am going to have to do straight bangs instead. The wig only needed minimal brushing out of the packet and I like how well formed the curls at the bottom are.

The colour is very multi-tonal and natural looking. This makes it look a bit more realistic. The fibres are soft with only a tiny bit of shine to them. I was pleased with the thickness of the wig too. It doesn't feel too thin at all. Overall, I think it is going to be a nice casual wig once I have sorted the bangs. 

It is pretty standard to get a free wig cap with wigs, but I was surprised to see I got a free brush as well. I thought this was a nice touch.

Finally, I got this top from here. Much to my dismay, this top features some sparkly pink sequin writing which I had not been expecting. If you scroll down the listing, you can see the sequin writing is indeed there, but it is so washed out in the majority of the photos that I somehow managed to miss it. I was not expecting the sequins, so I am now going to have a fun afternoon picking all these sequins off. The top is of a low enough quality, that I really wonder if it is worth it. I am so glad that I brought this top when it was heavily discounted, although that huge discount should have maybe set off some alarm bells.

Here is the sequins in all their glory. Do not be fooled by the listing- these sequins are indeed the bright pink colour that you see in my photo. In their defense, I suppose the sequin writing has been quite neatly done. I just think the overall look is really tacky though. It reminds me of those cheap tops you see flogged on market stalls, which are aimed at little girls.

At least the top came with care instructions and a spare button for the back!

This is the reason why I decided to buy this top. The back of the collar is shaped like angel wings. I was intending to layer this top underneath another top so that just the wing collar is visible (I am not sure how successful I will be, but I am going to give it a go...) so it doesn't bother me too much that the top itself is of a low quality. However, I do feel the need to stress the low quality, just in case somebody reading this thinks the top is cute enough to wear on its own. The material is thin and you can tell just by handling the top that the materials are cheap. The wings however, are a really cute shape. You might be able to see a slightly untidy edge along the top of the wing in my photo though. This little bit is thankfully not too noticeable until it is pointed out. My main grievance with the wings is that they don't hold their shape very well. The material creases really easily and I think the edges of the wings needed to be a done with a firmer material so they are a bit sturdier.

The shirring at the bottom of the top is very stretchy, although I don't think the rest of the top has enough room for a plus-sized wearer to wear it. I guess the shirring does at least make the bottom more comfortable when worn, which is good because unlike in the product listing, this top ends on my waist line instead of the bottom of my torso. It is more like a crop top. The stitching is a bit messy in places and I think better elastic could have been used.

Here is what I mean about the top being more like a crop top. You can quite clearly see a bare strip of midriff.

Here is a shot with the top layered under a t-shirt to show what the wings look like layered over a different coloured background. I think once I have removed the sequins I will hopefully be able to wear the top as I intended. But overall, I am really unimpressed with the quality and I would be wary about buying from this Taobao store again.

Aside from the top, this was a relatively positive Taobao ordering experience. The quality is the level I have come to expect from Taobao. I especially like the brooches and the hat. Apart from the colour being a bit different from the listing, I am impressed with the quality of the wig too. Hopefully I will be able to bring you all another Taobao haul in the near future.

Taobao Haul August 2016- Picture Heavy

It's time again for me to do a review of my latest Taobao haul. My folder of Taobao wants has gradually gotten a lot smaller! I think that this will be the last time that I use Taobao Ring, and this time I really do mean it. Taobao Ring charge you a base rate of 15 yuan shipping from each Taobao store, regardless of how much they actually paid for shipping to their office, which does add up if you order from lots of shops. I also had an item missing, which I will get in to later.

First up is this wig from Kyouko. I wanted a twin tail wig which looked a bit more subtle in comparison to some of the larger twin tails you see. Twin tails are not really popular in lolita anymore, but I find twin tails suit me better than single pony tails. Apologies for the slightly washed out photo- it has been pretty much constant sunshine in my neck of the woods lately. As far as the colour goes, the listing is fairly accurate. The actual wig is maybe just the slightest bit blonder than it appears in the photos. Interestingly, this wig has turned out to be very close to my own hair colour! The bangs are super long. I found that the base wig fitted my head okay, but it would have been a better fit if it had been a little bit bigger. 

The part looks fairly natural. I found that the clips for the twin tails gripped on quite firmly. Maybe the tops of the twin tails could have done with being a bit fuller and a bit better disguised so that they looked a bit more realistic. 

The fibres feel soft and I would say the softness was on a similar level to my older Lockshop wigs. There were a few straggly fibres and a slight bit of tangling, but I found they brushed out easily enough. The curls on the twin tails looked better with a bit of brushing out as well. The other good thing about the twin tails is that they are the ideal length for styling in to buns, as demonstrated in the product listing. More than anything else, I wanted to give Kyouko and Taobao wigs a go because I hadn't really been happy with the last Lockshop wig I ordered (Mermaid Beachy, which tangles like crazy and the fibres are not well blended) and I wanted to see what else was on offer. I would say that this wig is good quality for the price paid. I got a free wig cap as well.

After getting these constellation clips in gold in my last order, I decided to go ahead and get some in silver in this order. Unfortunately, one of these was missing from my order with no explanation from Taobao Ring. I looked on the listing and at the time, it looks as though the missing design had gone out of stock. However, usually there would have been a note left on my order page to say that it had become unavailable, and this was not done. It is a bit frustrating, because just one clip was missing and it was super cheap, so I don't feel it is worth me complaining to Taobao Ring about. They probably know that I wouldn't kick up a fuss over something that small as well. As I am unlikely to use Ring again, there is not much point them offering to take it off my next order, seeing as there wont be a next order. As for the clips themselves, the 4 that did arrive were as good as expected. They clip very firmly in place and have a very sturdy backing to them. Again, I had a bit of trouble un-doing some of the clips because of the style of clasp. But the clips are otherwise perfect and I am very pleased with them.

Something else I have ordered again, is this Miss Moe Bolero which this time I got in navy blue. Instead of repeating myself, I will just link you to the full review I did of the bolero here. The colour of the navy bolero is a bit darker than it appears in the photos. I had to turn the flash on to get the details to show up properly.

The ruffles were once again done very neatly. I couldn't really find any faults anywhere.

I am glad Miss Moe decided to use black elastic instead of white. You cannot see the elastic at all when the bolero is worn. 

On turning the bolero inside out, the stitching has been done very neatly here as well. I could not find a single fault. There were no loose threads or anything. I love that this chiffon design is light and airy and I hope to get the chance to wear these boleros before Summer ends.

I also ordered some socks and tights from Mu Fish, who are my usual go-to for Taobao leg wear. I have purchased these lacy ankle socks multiple times before. The wine coloured ones are a new addition to their listing, so I decided to give them a go. Weirdly, the quality of the wine ones seems to be a bit different to the standard I have come to expect from getting these socks previously. 

The first thing I noticed was these weird loose threads on the socks, which were quite thick. These appeared on both socks and seemed to be there deliberately. I carefully cut them off, as I think they make the socks look messy.

The fit was the same as usual and they had plenty of stretch. The socks felt soft and pleasant to wear. I think the wine colour looks a little bit brown in person, although you can definitely tell what colour they are supposed to be.

I did notice the socks seemed to be a little bit thin along this seam. You can see my skin slightly where the material is obviously a little bit thinner than the rest of the sock. I have never noticed this with any of my ankle socks from Mu Fish previously.

The lace is of a reasonable quality. It is good enough for a cheap pair of ankle socks like this. I will continue to buy my ankle socks from here, as and when I need them, although I don't think I will be getting the wine ones again.

I also got these constellation tights as well. As you may be able to see, they are completely identical to the navy constellation tights James got me for my birthday, which is interesting because those were supposedly from a different Taobao store (Yidhra). The fit is the same, the mesh is the same and the feel of the tights is the same.

They even have the same Popo Shop logo near the bottom, by the ankles. At least with these tights I feel the colour was a bit more accurate. With the navy ones, they look so dark that they could be mistaken for black. I am curious to see if any more designs appear on both Mu Fish and Yidhra, as they are clearly using the same supplier.

Finally, I got myself this macaron umbrella from here. After taking the umbrella out and undoing the velcro, I accidentally set off the spring-loaded mechanism and got a lovely big bruise on my knee for my trouble. So I can confirm that the sping-loaded action is very powerful! Putting the umbrella up was super quick with just that one press of the button. Getting the umbrella down proved a little bit more tricky. The spring is so powerful that you really do have to forcefully push the umbrella down and make sure it is all the way down. I liked the matching carry bag, although it could do with being a bit bigger. I did the umbrella up as neatly as I could and I was really struggling to get it back in the bag.

Here is the umbrella up. The material is a bit wrinkled, as you can probably see, but not enough to make me not like the fun design. As I mentioned, it has been super sunny lately, so I have not had a chance to test this umbrella in wet weather. The material seems decent enough, like any standard umbrella.

The colours of the macarons are so vibrant and fun. I really love the print.

The frame feels very sturdy and I am very hopeful that it will not turn inside out in strong winds. I am keeping my fingers crossed!

There were a few small marks under some of the deepest pink coloured macarons. It seems some of the dye may have rubbed off a bit, which you may be able to see underneath the macaron in this photo. I have high hopes for this umbrella and hope it does a good job as its intended use. If nothing else, it makes for a very powerful and painful weapon. 

The umbrella store also gave me a free pair of slippers. Usually I love free gifts, but I feel these slippers may have contributed a bit to the hefty shipping fee I had to pay to ship my order to my place. The box I got my order in was massive, and it was completely stuffed. I would hate to have paid extra just for a free gift I didn't really ask for. I don't really use slippers either, so I doubt I am even going to keep them. They are probably going to end up going to a charity shop unless I find somebody who really wants them.

So this was generally quite a positive order, although not everything ran smoothly. It looks as though I am now on the search for a new shopping service, or I may just go back to Taobao Spree and put up with their weird payment system. I was especially pleased with the wig and bolero. I am also excited to see how well the umbrella does with the UK weather, although my poor knee hurt for ages after I accidentally set it off! The socks and constellation clips were okay as well, so I am confident I will get a fair bit of use from everything in this order.

Lockshop Cascade Coffee Dip Wig- Positive

I thought today I would take a look at the Lockshop wig I received last week. I ordered the Cascade wig in Coffee Dip. I was debating whether to get a new wig for my Enchanted outfit or not and this particular wig seemed to fit the style of my outfit. I am still unsure which wig I will end up wearing but it is always fun to have a new wig to play with! I actually wanted to get the Mermaid Beachy wig, but that was long sold out. So I went for the wig that I saw my friend Sammi buy at Frock On, which she liked so much, she ended up switching wigs and using it when she modelled for Stocking Shock. This did mean I had a rough idea of what to expect from this wig before I brought it.

Ordering

The Lockshop website is very easy to follow. I have ordered previously, so I already had an account set up. But the website layout and cart system is simple, so it is easy for a new customer to use too. Checkout was very quick and I got an automated email back straight away. I placed my order on Monday the 3rd and it was sent out on Friday the 7th. Apparently Lockshop send out their orders every Wednesday, so I was a little surprised they waited until Friday. However, Friday wasn't much longer to wait and the process was still reasonably quick.

Shipping

There were 2 shipping options and I chose the TNT option, which was a few euros more expensive. I have to admit, I did find the website that you enter your tracking number in to was very confusing. I don't know if it was just the way Chrome was translating the page, but it suggested that my parcel was being delivered on a day it wasn't. In the end, I had to do a bit of searching to try and track my package on a different website. I got very confused about which day my wig was actually being delivered, which can be very frustrating if you are waiting at home for your package. In the end, my wig arrived on Wednesday the 12th, which means the package took 5 days to get to me. I think 5 days is perfectly reasonable. In the end, Yodel looked after my parcel once it arrived in the UK but when I looked up my tracking on their page, nothing came up. So I have no issues with the speed and service, I just wish I had known a bit more about where my parcel was.

The wig was packaged in a plastic bag. It was sealed very securely and the contents did not have any room to move inside.

Inside the plastic, the wig bag was wrapped up in tissue paper. I thought the package was wrapped up so cutely and I tried to save the tissue paper, but sadly it ripped as I opened it! Lockshop gave me another free wig cap, which is always useful. I looked up my previous Lockshop wig review and apparently last time I was given a letter with care instructions on it. I didn't get one this time, so maybe they have stopped doing them.

And on the the actual wig!

Here is a view of the back...

... and this is the front. When the wig arrived it was almost wearable straight from the packet. All the photos in this post show the wig as it appeared right after being taken out of the packet. Afterwards I tried it on and I did give it a quick brush through, just with my fingers. There were no tangles. I get the impression that this wig will be easy to look after. The wavy design is very cute. I think I may brush it out just a tiny bit to give it a softer, fluffier look. Overall, I am very impressed with the design. The fibres feel so soft. The wig is a bit shiny, but not too bad. It looks fairly natural when worn.

The wig has a reasonable amount of thickness to it. I could barely see any light come through the wig cap when I held it up.

This is what the fake scalp looks like. When you really look up close, you can obviously tell it is a wig, but when worn I don't think it looks bad at all.

And this picture shows the colour contrast between the top and the coffee dipped bottom. When you see the wig in person, the progression from light brown to dark coffee is very subtle. You may not even spot the darker ends straight away! This is exactly how I was expecting the wig to look. The 2 tone style has been done very well.

So overall, I am once again impressed with the quality of my Lockshop wig. The confusion with the tracking was a bit of a set-back, but apart from that this was a hugely positive experience. The tracking confusion was not enough to put me off ordering from Lockshop again and I still would highly recommend their wigs. I really love this wig design. It is slightly more casual than my previous wig purchases, but I like that. It makes it more wearable in my opinion. I still don't know if I will be wearing it with my Enchanted outfit, but I know I will be getting a lot of wear out of my new wig!