Hello, lovelies!

Oh my gosh, long time no see everyone. I'm sorry for being away for so long. I had a one-fifth life crisis that needed sorting out, haha. To show I'm still alive, I wanted to quickly post this and hopefully begin to post my reviews in the next couple of weeks, asap! 

This post I am writing, I'm writing just because there have been so many good song releases in the KPOP world that I had to share! Let's go~

Hello everyone! Long time no see~

This post will be a review for my purchase of Vixx Single Album Vol. 5 -  BOYS' RECORD from KPOP Mart.

I was so excited to order another KPOP Album and it was hard to decide on what website to use since there were mixed reviews for so many of them. I ordered the album but it also came with a free poster if I wanted it, so of course I said yes! They give options with some of their albums as to whether you want the poster folded or in a tube, which is nice. I chose to have it in a tube.

It took a a few days for the order to shipped and when they did they sent an email with pictures showing the packages, which was really nice since it's reassuring to see proof. The other picture had my details on it so I can't include it here~

The shipping took a few weeks, as I expected, but when it did arrive I was a little concerned at how the package looked: 

But I imagine it was the customs checking to see what is inside, only to find a KPOP album and poster.When I took it out the packaging this is what it looked like:

They included some pictures that were printed out as well as the photo card inside the album. The poster was in great condition, but it's a large poster that was printed out on paper, not the official poster on shiny paper.

Everything came in perfect condition and at a reasonable cost. I have nothing bad to say, but I'm not sure if other websites would have provided a different type of poster. Making a decision on what website to use depends on those preferences.

I will shop from KPOP Mart again in the future since it seems to be the one with the best prices, but I would like to hear about other websites and how their products are. Let me know, if have any feedback!

Enjoy life!

Nina

Growing up in Australia, I was exposed to many different cultures and backgrounds, since Australia is a very multicultural country.

I'm half Russian, half Australian and for a large part of my life, I was listening to different music from all around the world because of my parents interest in it. At some point, I noticed how different this was to a lot of my classmates since they predominantly listen to American music. 

After I was introduced to the Internet, I could learn more about music and develop my own taste. For quite some time I was trying to adapt to everyone else's music taste and try to match that but I realized that was pointless and decided to do otherwise. 

Halfway through high school I got an interest in anime/manga, which grew to me loving Japanese fashion and culture. Then, my love for the Korean culture began randomly.

I remember watching Michelle Phan's tutorial for 'How to look like a KPOP Star' and heard Girl's Generation's The Boys for the first time. It sparked my interest and I downloaded it.

I'm not too sure what happened after that, but my love for KPOP grew a lot in the past year as well as for their culture, fashion and shows. The politeness, how well and simply they look after their appearance and catchy fun music is something that really suits me about Korea.

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Since it matched my personality, it kind of helped me to grow as a person in a way. I don't know really. All of my interests And experiences have helped me grow as a person but since I spend a lot of time listening to music and wearing clothes, it's taught me and inspired me a lot.

1. To look after my body and health

I went to Japan last year and it was incredible how young and fit everyone was o,o I saw a mother pushing a stroller and she looked like a supermodel. 

My family is quite healthy, we don't eat fast food or smoke and all that. (Of course, it's anyone's decision and I'm not saying that what I do or think is the only right thing or opinion).

It's no joke how well KPOP/JPOP singers look.  The diets of people in Asia are quite healthy to begin with and they're quite active. Of course, it's not healthy to aspire to look or act like someone else and to drastically change your diet. But, I still was inspired to do my best to improve myself, my lifestyle and work hard as well. I don't want to use the excuse that "I'm skinny therefore I can eat whatever I want" anymore. I want to do little things to make myself feel good on the outside and inside.

2. Working harder in school and appreciating little things

At first when I saw these idols, I thought that their life must be ideal because of their popularity and beauty. But, I soon realized that they give up a lot in return. They can't go out in public, or go to school as much, or sleep and eat well sometimes. Now, I appreciate all those things and realize how I shouldn't take school or things like sleep for granted anymore because I am living a normal life.

I can sleep in, I can study new things, I can go outside freely and safely, I can live a normal life. That's why, I wanted to start to get up earlier and make the most of out of each day.

3. How I dress

Fashion is interesting as it is so easy to express yourself through fashion. Harajuku in Japan really fascinate me as there were SO many different styles there and everyone was accepted. The elegant, reserved fashion style of most Koreans and Japanese is something that I really enjoy. It suits my personality and taste and it felt so nice to find a style I feel so comfortable in!

❤

How has your hobby or interests influenced you? Do you see yourself having the same interests in the future?

Enjoy life!

Nina

On the 10th of June, I got a tweet and then a call saying I won a prize from SBS Pop Asia! It was so amazing! Although, the prize I won was no longer available, instead I was allowed to spend the money it was worth. So I ordered some clothes from Spree Picky (review will be in another blog post) and albums from yesasia.com.

The albums, 1 DVD and the key ring from yesasia.com arrived on the 21st of July, I already knew the shipping could take up to eight weeks. I'm very patient, haha. 

They came in brand new condition so it was worth the wait. The website also offers a variety of items from music, merchandise, accessories from Japan, Korea and other countries. The shipping for my order was free too~ 

Now, onto the items!

Girls' Generation 'I Got A Boy' Album:

I was so excited to order this album and listen to it! The tracks are really good, and the album art is so funky! Tiffany and Taeyeon's duet is so beautiful, I Got A Boy will always be one of my favourite songs because it's so different, and there are also some cutesy and chic songs thrown in as well.

I was a bit disappointed that there was no photo card included, was that meant to happen, haha? But their photo book was still so colourful, I loved looking through it.

SHINee's 'Misconceptions of Me' album:

Does anyone else think the front cover looks a little like Nicholas Cage, haha? I was super glad to order this too since it's two albums in one (Why So Serious? – The Misconceptions of Me and Dream Girl – The Misconceptions of You). That meant I have so many songs to listen to over 2 CD's, a lot of them are nice to play for when I am relaxing my room.

I also got a Jonghyun photo card:

SHINee's 'Everybody' Album:

I am not a fan of all the tracks on this album, but I chose this for their Everybody, Symptoms and Colourful track, which I love! I wonder whether I should have ordered their Sherlock album, but I am still happy, since it's SHINee!

I also received a photo card with Key on it, which I was stoked for! Also, a small character card of Onew.

 

f(x)'s 'Pink Tape' Album:

This album has got to be one of my favorites from 2013! f(x) really experimented with different sounds and all the tracks turned out great, they deserve all their positive reviews! It was because of this I was really excited to receive it in physical form! 

I also got a cute Sulli photocard:

Girls' Generation '2011 Girls' Generation Tour' DVD:

I was so unsure whether to choose their 2011 tour or a more recent one, but I really wanted to have the concert with their solo performances so I chose this one.I also really enjoy their photos for this tour, their style and everything is great.

Love Rain Keyring:

I was torn between getting this and a bread pillow, haha. But I thought this would look lovely for when I get a new phone, and I was totally right! I love this drama, and it also has a cactus on it, which is associated with me~

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Anyway! That's all I have to share, this post was majorly delayed, I was meant to write this up last year! >.< I would buy from this website again, and I hope I will.  Since I ordered these last year, my music taste has expanded a lot, and now I hope to add f(x)'s Red Light album and VIXX's albums to my collection soon! 

Enjoy life!

Nina

Yello~

Today my post is inspired a little by the lyrics of Red Velvet's song 'Happiness'. They are a Korean group that debuted in 2014 and although a lot of people thought the concept was lame, I liked it, it was fresh and very rookie-like.

But anyway, that's not my point. I just wanted to make a post on easy ways to hopefully bring some more happiness in your life.

1. Make others happy!

In the lyrics they say "In the morning, I wake up/ And I tell my mom I love her", and to stop caring about money and power. I think once I shifted the focus off my own feelings and happiness and did things in order to make others happy, I too, felt better. If you are helping spread positivity, and it grows around you, it'll help you feel better, right?

2. Find the positive in a situation, not the negative and be more understanding~

Rather than focusing on the negative in a situation, try to appreciate or justify in order to make it more positive. A waitress served you rudely? She might be having problems of her own or a bad day (justifying), or you friend may have done something bad to you, but what about all the good things they did before? (appreciating). With this, we can all be more understanding and the positivity will spread! After all, you might have come to a conclusion quickly, but some people might take a bit longer to get from Point A to Point B.

3. Appreciate what's around you

Sometimes it might be hard to think about good things or that you are lucky, but thinking of everything else in the world, aren't most us lucky to be able to breathe, that we can walk and talk and see the wonderful things in the world? We are alive, and that's the greatest joy to have. 

4. Take care of yourself: Eat and Sleep well and always have time to relax!

A healthy body and mind will surely help you feel better physically! Eat something healthy, dink lots of water, have a good night's sleep, pamper yourself and relax. 

♥

To be honest, I don't know where I was going with this post. It sounded a lot better when I was thinking of writing it, haha! I wanted to at least try and remind you that happiness can be achieved, everyday is a new day and everyone has a chance! Remember, I'm always a ball of sunshine to be help you guys! Talk to me if need be  ♥

Enjoy life!

Nina

Hello everyone! I should have written about this a while ago when f(x) finally had their comeback with their title song and album "Red Light", but now I definitely have to!

I'm a big Kpop fan, and one of my favourite girl groups ever has to be f(x). Their music and concepts are definitely unique which is something I seem to really enjoy when it comes to music. So, when I saw the teasers for their comeback, I was way too excited!

A lot of people had mixed feelings about the song, and much like Girls' Generation's "I Got A Boy", they were confused by how it sounds like several songs in one. Where "I Got A Boy" is one of my favourite songs, of course I instantly liked "Red Light" because it's really experimental and catchy. The pace and beat is all part of f(x)'s charm!

This has got to be one of the most arty farty and interesting videos S.M Entertainment has produced. They're not stuck in just one box set, but have lots of different settings and lots of symbolism to represent society and society's standards. It's quite interesting when you read about it. The half-make up is to represent the ugly and beautiful side, there are mannequin's with wires to show how we are programmed by the media and so much more. The choreography is a little simpler than what f(x) usually had before, but dancing is hard no matter what. The choreography compliments everything perfectly.

The songs on the album itself are perfect! They're different and make want to get up dance, (especially Rainbow!). The song Milk is so good too, and the live performance is so cute, really contrasts against Red Light. Ugh, I could go on and on.

What I really want to talk about is what is happening now and that's the recent news of Sulli taking a break from the entertainment industry due to poor physical and mental due to all the hate she's been receiving, and the whole group has stopped performing.

Of course, it's a whole new industry and culture to me so there might be things I don't understand. But, who, anywhere, deserves to receive negative comments on their weight, performance and relationships to the point where they can't take it anymore? She decides to take a break and relax, and in return receives more negative comments. How are idols different from normal people? When a normal person gets to the point where they can't take it anymore, they are flocked with support, but Sulli got more hate, how is she any different from any of us? She, and other singers, gave up a part of their lives to perform and please us, why cant we support them and respect them? 

Remember, even celebrities have moments when they are down and have feelings too. Everyone has a past and no matter how wonderful a person's life may seem, there is so much more, and most of the time we only see a few minutes of what seems like their perfect lives. Let's be more kinder when we decide to comment or say something, and make the world a better place bit by bit, kay? (≧ω≦)

Nina