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.

May 2015 Taobao Order Review- Picture Heavy

It's time for another Taobao order review! As my readers have guessed by now, I am really happy with Taobao Spree's shopping service, so I always use them now. I was assigned Ray again and he was very helpful. He suggested how much to mark the value for the shipping and was once again very friendly. I do have some more stuff coming in another package but that is stuff I have already reviewed on this blog, so unless there is some massive delay or something goes wrong, I wont be reviewing the 2nd half of this order.

The items arrived to Taobao Spree in the time they estimated and there were no delays whatsoever. The parcel only took a few days to go from Taobao Spree to me as well and everything went smoothly. There was a little bit of a dent in the package though. It was nothing too serious, so I was not that concerned, and the items inside arrived safely. It looked like the parcel tape had been wrapped a little too tightly and it damaged the box a little. It was just a small rip in the cardboard and you can barely see it in the photo above. Inside the box everything was tightly packaged and there was no room for the items to move about and get bashed.

First up is the Cardcaptor Sakura beret which I have unfortunately lost the link to. But this beret has been doing the rounds a lot lately, so it shouldn't be too difficult to locate. I went for the black and the black colour looks very dark and rich. The gold embroidery really stands out against the background. A lot of people have been saying they are not that impressed with the beret and I am not really sure why. The beret is a good size for an adult head. The only real fault I could find is how to position the beret when worn. The embroidery part is quite firm and is not that flexible. So you have to wear the beret in a very specific way and I can't place it to one side like I usually do when I wear berets.

The embroidery is done very neatly and looks quite crisp. There were a few small bits which could have been done better but when you look at the design as a whole, it is quite a pretty design. I really love the magic circle design and unless you have watched Cardcaptor Sakura, chances are you wouldn't even notice it was based off a manga.

The detachable brooch is really cute. The ribbon used is matte, which is a bonus in my opinion. The clow key charm is adorable as well! The only part I am not that fussed by is the lace, as it looks a bit cheap and has been randomly placed. The back of the brooch has a standard badge backing to it. It is a shame there isn't a alligator clip on the back as well to make it just that little bit more versatile. So I feel the beret is nice enough. It is not perfect, but after hearing some average reviews, it was better than I was expecting.

Next up are the items I got from Mattys 

This macaron coin purse is a prize for out upcoming ILD meet (I decided to show this one prize and keep the rest a secret!). I ordered the Belamy Rose colour and the pink shade is so cute. I purposely went for the fluffy version and it has got a lovely texture to it. The materials used are so soft. The purse has been well sewn and looks very neat. The zip doesn't get caught and you can zip it open and closed with no issues. There is also a keychain, which is very useful. When I ordered a scented macaron purse for myself from another shop a while ago, it didn't come with a keychain. So I am glad this one does! The purse came in some very pretty packaging. It would make a lovely present for somebody.

What surprised me about the coin purse is the size. The macaron is so big! There is plenty of room inside as well. It will definitely hold plenty of coins inside. The purse is neatly lined too. I am a little bit sad that I don't get to keep it!

I also got myself a macaron blanket from the same store. And if you like the look of this item, do keep an eye out for the giveaway I am hosting when I hit 300 followers... The size of the blanket is okay for casually draping it over yourself. I think it could do with being a little bit bigger so you can really wrap yourself up in it though. I can't get over how soft the blanket is! It is really lovely to touch and is perfect to cuddle up with.

The embroidery on the macaron is done so neatly. It looks cute! I wish the Mattys logo on it was a bit more subtle but that is only a minor issue.

The edges of the blanket are also very neat and has a nice thick border. I love the blanket so much that I am tempted to buy more in other colours. This was definitely a good buy.

The last item I got myself was a tiara from Juese Bride

Although it is a bridal shop, there are loads of hair accessories which could work with lolita fashion, especially seeing as veils are popular right now. The beads and chains are of a good quality, especially considering the price. There was not a single bead out of place.

The tiara was a good size for an adult's head. If I was wearing a really thick wig it might be a little bit tight though. The spacing of the chains on the tiara is really good and very evenly spread out.

I especially like how the tiara looks from the side. I love having all the little beads dangling. It is such a pretty design. So I would probably recommend this Taobao store as well. I definitely got what I paid for. What I liked about this store as well, was that the tiara came wrapped up in bubble wrap and also came in its own box. There were also a few small spare pieces as well and some hair pins, which is very useful.

So this was quite a positive Taobao experience and I don't think there is a single store featured here that I wouldn't order from again. I especially love Mattys. I recommend looking at their store because they have all sorts of cute home wares, especially if you love macarons. I am hoping to do another Taobao order soon, so here is hoping that order goes as smoothly as this one.

Taobao Order January 2015- Picture Heavy

Today I shall be doing yet another Taobao review! I placed this order on the 4th of January and it had all arrived at Taobao Spree by the 16th. The longest waiting time I was given was for the shoes I ordered and they were meant to arrive by the 20th according to their estimate. So I actually got all my items a few days earlier than expected. Ray was as helpful as ever and suggested how much to mark the value of my parcel. Although with the suggested amount it could have been hit by customs, my parcel managed to get through okay with no charges anyway. And in what is quite possibly the quickest parcel I have ever gotten from China, my items arrived on Monday the 19th. I was super impressed by the speed! I wont be able to review some of the items because they are for the Oxfordshire Lolitas Anniversary meet, which hasn't been yet. 

As per usual, my items were placed in a large cardboard box and sealed very well with tape. It was very secure. Although there wasn't any room for stuff to move about, I was a little disappointed that the shoes were not at least wrapped in bubble wrap to give them that little bit of extra padding. I am assuming the shoes were sent out to Taobao Spree without suitable padding as well but I don't know for certain. However, none of the items were damaged and a lot of the little accessories I got for the Oxford anniversary meet had been hidden away inside the hat I ordered so they wouldn't get squished.

First up today is this hat from Haruhi Clover and I am so pleased to have found this store, as I have been wanting a navy blue hat like this for ages! The hat is a simple bowler hat with ribbon design. The ribbon going around the base of the hat has been done neatly with no gaps or loose bits. The hat itself is a simple felt hat. The material is of a reasonable quality and holds its shape well.

The ribbon used has a slight sheen to it but otherwise it looks really good. The ends of the ribbon have been sealed so there is no fraying. As you can see in the picture, the ribbon has a few small creases in it from where it was shipped to me, but they should come out. When the hat arrived the ribbon bow was slightly wonky, although after a little bit of tweaking I was able to straighten it out okay. I may add a little stitch or 2, just to make sure it stays in place. The bow is dotted with tiny pearl beads. You can tell the beads are quite cheap, but I think they add a nice little finishing touch to the bow.

I am slightly surprised to see the lace used on the inside of the rim is black instead of navy, but the black does blend in fairly well and isn't as noticeable when worn. The lace quality seems pretty good for the price. The design is nice enough and there was no fraying or anything. The hat does not include any clips on the inside to hold it in place, so I am probably going to have to use pins to hold it in place. I tried the hat on and I found that it fitted quite snugly with my real hair. I definitely don't think the hat will fit on my head if I am wearing a wig, unless it is a very thin wig. I admit the hat design is quite simple and I probably could have made this hat myself. However, for the ease of having it already made for you and to such a good standard, I think Haruhi Clover have done a very good job and I think the price was fairly reasonable.

I also ordered a few small little pieces from this Taobao store for the Oxfordshire meet. I liked some of the stuff so much that I ended up keeping them for myself! I found the quality of the items was quite consistent. The only exception would be the fake flowers used on one of the hair clips, because they used foam flowers and they felt a bit cheap. Overall I was very satisfied with Haruhi Clover and I am tempted to order some more hats from them in the future. 

Next up, is this rose and chain clip hair accessory that I got from Fox Cherry along with some other little bits for the Oxford meet. I have ordered from Fox Cherry before and last time, the items I received smelt like cigarette smoke and I had to air them out to get rid of the smell. This time around, none of my items from Fox Cherry had any sort of nasty odour coming from them, so that is definitely an improvement! I brought this hair clip on a whim and whilst it looks navy blue in the photo, up close the main flower has a slight hint of purple to it. This was very unexpected. I think it is subtle enough to pass as navy from a distance but it is still a little bit disappointing. The fake flower used is of a fairly good quality though, with nicely formed petals and no fraying edges. The ribbon used is pretty basic quality, but looks nice enough. The edges are not fraying and the ribbon bow has a nice shape to it. 

Here you can see the clips on the back. They felt quite secure when I placed the clip on my head. The way the pearl chain connects to the smaller bow could have been done better though and I did find the pearls got in the way of the clip.

The pearls are otherwise nicely spaced out. I quite like the little rose cross charm on the end too. It has a lovely antique gold colour to it.

The items I got for the Oxford meet were all well made, with the exception of just one bow which was slightly wonky. Overall, I am generally happy with my Fox Cherry items but I feel there are other Taobao stores such as Kira Kira that do these sort of rose accessories a lot better.

I also ordered myself 2 constellation berets from Ciciwork to match the moon embroidery cardigans I got in my November 2014 order. Whilst my Fox Cherry items may have come smelling fine this time, I found the plastic bags that these berets were wrapped in did smell a bit nasty. I have ordered from Ciciwork before and not had any issue with this so I was a bit surprised. What isn't too clear from the listing is that the star charms on these berets cost extra, so that is worth bearing in mind before ordering these. The colours of the berets were as I was expecting. The berets are also thick and warm. They are a decent size for an adult sized head as well.

I was a bit thrown by these random star buttons placed on the inside of the beret rim. They look a bit randomly spaced out and I am a little confused as to why they are there.

The constellations themselves are made from gold lace, which looks quite pretty. I personally think the constellations could have been better shapes and some of the ends don't have a star charm. The end result is still pretty cute though, so I am generally quite happy with these berets. I just need to air them out to get rid of that horrible plastic smell.

I also purchased 2 jumpers from this Taobao store- Jumper Store Link. The jumpers are standard Chinese one-size and I would estimate they fit about a 8-12 UK size. I found them to be very comfortable. They were both long enough in the torso and the arms were also a generous length and did reach the entire way down my arms. The material of both of the jumpers is a bit thin so this is probably more of a Spring time jumper than for the really cold Winter weather. It's a good job I chose some very colourful jumpers! The jumpers also felt very soft and lovely to touch.

The pink jumper has some very beautiful lace along the neckline. It is soft with a pretty pattern and it sits absolutely beautifully. The pearl clusters are a lovely addition as well. I like that they have chosen rose shaped buttons instead of something a bit more plain, as they fit the rest of the cardigan so well. My only complaint is that the pink colour looked slightly washed out in places, but it is only noticeable when you really look up close. Overall, I am really happy with the cardigan. I had initially ordered the off-white but that was out of stock, but I am really happy I opted to replace it with the pink instead. 

Some of the pearls are slightly out of place on the purple turtle-neck and I did find at times that the lace stuck out oddly. But aside from that, I do really like what I received. The lace is again very soft and has a pretty design. The lavender colour is very beautiful in person.

The neck area felt soft and comfortable to wear. I love how it is decorated with lace for an added cute touch. I would definitely order this top in other colours.

My only slight complaint is I feel the cuffs and bottom are a little bit plain. I would have loved to have seen a matching line of lace on the cuffs.

Finally, I order this pair of navy blue shoes from here- Shoe Link. I looked at the stock image and thought the shoes looked very narrow and so, I decided to order a size up. The navy colour is perfect and unlike my 'navy' shoes from Bodyline, they don't have a weird green tinge to them! Perfect! The ribbon is a bit cheap looking and shiny but I suppose this is very easy to replace anyway. They at least made an effort to seal the ends of the ribbon so it doesn't fray.

I don't quite understand how the clasp is meant to be done on the shoes. This is how I have been doing them up, although it doesn't really look right. The straps have a few holes to adjust the strap length, but I felt it could have done with more holes.

There were a few little strands of glue when I first got the shoes, which I pulled off. Overall, the materials are okay for the price you pay. The design is generally quite neatly done, but as you can see from the photo it isn't 100% perfect.

Here is a worn photo. I am so glad I ordered a size up because I really needed it. In fact, I could have probably ordered another size up as although the shoes fit me, they are a little bit snug in the toe area. Thankfully, these shoes go up to a size 43. I ordered a 41 which is about a UK 6.5 (I am a 6, sometimes a 5.5 depending on the store). The heels otherwise felt quite comfortable. I wore these shoes for about 5 hours to get an idea of how they feel and they were quite pleasant to wear. I have worn more comfortable shoes, but I don't feel these shoes are going to cause me any issues. The only thing I will mention is that the weather was quite pleasant when I was trying these shoes out, so I don't know how they will handle wet weather yet. But based on my experience so far, the shoes are very pretty looking and I think they are worth it. I am so happy with them that I am considering getting other colours.

So overall, this was quite a pleasant Taobao experience. There are a few tiny little issues here and there but nothing too concerning. I would certainly order from all of these Taobao stores again. I was so impressed with how quickly my items came and the items were generally worth the price I paid for them.