Hello friends!

So I'm finally posting my Spreepicky review! FINALLY, after a like a year of receiving the items. This is my first review so sorry if the photos are not of amazing quality haha!

I ordered two items on the 12th of June, 2014:

J-Fashion Straps Fake 2 Pcs Chiffon Princess Dress SP130229 $56.99 (in a Size L)

J-fashion Velveteen Sweater - Cute Animals SP130110 $45.99

I don't think these items are available anymore, sorry! But I there are still many items similar to these in the store :)

Now firstly can I saw how ridiculously fast shipping this store has, usually when I would order things online it would take 20-30 days, but these items arrived within a week, on roughly the 19th of June, 2014.

It was all packaged nicely and came with a lovely handwritten note and a free necklace:

Sorry the lighting is a bit strange.

I finally own a dress (or any clothing) that is hime-gyaru style! I'm so happy! And this was just like a bonbon21 dress as well.

The quality is really good. But, I've put it on a few times and the buttons look as though they're going to break off, but the dress came with extra buttons just in case. It might just be because I was trying to find the easiest way to put it on, so it might be my fault.

As for the size, I did choose the largest size, thank god I did because it's still a bit short on me, in the photographs I am wearing a white skirt underneath which matches perfectly, so that's my suggestion for anyone who is 170cm or taller like I am. It's still wearable.

Overall: I am quite happy with this! The detailing and style of the dress matched the picture and the quality is super great! I will always have sizing issues in the future when I order these kind of things, so I wasn't too disappointed with it being a little short on me, I expected it in a way. But it fits perfect everywhere else!

I give it a rating of 4/5 due to the size and how easily the button was coming off, but this is due to my own measurements and it can't be helped.

(Sorry for the watermark on the gif, haha~)

I was so excited to get this sweater because the pattern on it was quite unique and very Harajuku! When it arrived, I noticed it was quite warm and the material was soft and smooth.

As soon as I touched this jumper, I fell in love with the feel of the material: it was soft, not itchy in any way and so comfy. The colour and design is so nice too, I have yet to see whether it fades through washes, but I'm confident it will.

Since it doesn't open or zip up, it might feel a little tight (as it's a free size), but on the flip side, it's very warm and it's a great length for taller girls.

Overall: I am very happy with this! It's a very unique jumper to wear out and since I get cold easily, this is great to quickly put on and go out and still stand out. I have been lacking hoodies and I'm happy to add this to my growing collection.

I give this a 5/5! Amazing item!

My experience with Spreepicky is a great one! I would very much like to add more from their wonderful selection of clothing to my wardrobe in the future (not sure how though since they changed the payment method recently). There is a great selection of clothing and the staff are lovely from what I see on all the social media as they're trying to cater to many different tastes. The shipping is no joke as well, very quick!

Enjoy life!

Nina

Hello, lovelies!

Today, I want to share a small review of an Apricot Rose Print Flare Skirt that I ordered from Sheinside:

Apricot Rose Print Flare Skirt:

Size I Ordered: Medium

Measurements: Length (45 cm) Waist (70cm)

I'm 170cm tall and usually I have trouble with the length of skirts but this was a good length, so if anyone is around my height are thinking of getting a skirt like this, hopefully this cna be a reference for you since I rarely see height/measurements in reviews.

Quality: The postman kind of stuffed my package into the mailbox since I wasn't home to grab it off him so the package was a bit squashed. Nothing a bit of ironing can't fix~
The button was a bit hard to push through the slot so it's a little frayed now as I got it through.

The design and material are perfect though, it's got the kind of volume and flare I was looking in for a skirt. The band sits perfect only my waist, not too tight or loose. The material of the skirt is smooth and shiny, and I found it washes easily without losing that shine.

I would give this skirt a 5/5!

Enjoy life!

Nina

Hello, lovelies! ❤ 

Now, am I the only one who looks back on how ridiculously fast technology has developed over a decade? I remember flip phones being the thing to have. But, with all this rise in technology, the media's influence has grown much larger. With this in mind, we see so many different people grace magazine covers of TV screens who have a huge influence in people's live, positively or negatively.

For so long, I looked up and tried to be someone I am not because I would follow what I saw projected by the media. I have gone through so many phases and hobbies that who I looked up to would change over time. Now, I realize I need to look at things differently~ 

In my opinion, I think we need to find the people who are closest to ourselves so that we don't set expectations for ourselves that are unrealistic, or, whose personal qualities are something to admire. Then, it'll be more encouraging to be a better person, right?

My parents will always be my biggest role models. But, in terms of celebrities, for example, I would consider Girls' Generation's Tiffany or Seohyun people I would look up to. Tiffany has a bright, outgoing personality, a bit like me, and she is also really hardworking and positive, which is something I admire. Seohyun is the youngest in the group but probably one of the most mature, she is always trying to learn and improve herself, which I hope to do too! (sorry I always mention them~). They, and a lot of other people, helped me embrace my body type as well and to take care of it. 

I am no expert, of course, and I don't want to tell anyone who they should look up to. It just hurts to see so many people looking at someone else and feeling down because they want that person has, or wants to look like them. Embrace your body, your face, your personality and find the positives in it! We are all unique and different, and that's the best kind of beauty. But, sometimes, we need a little help from others in finding confidence! I hope that one day, I can become a good of a person that I am worthy of people looking up to me.

So, who do you look up to? And why? :)

Enjoy life!

Nina

Hello, my lovelies! ♥

So, for a while now, I have been trying to find a store that sells Oolong or Wu Long tea, and had no luck until I just went to a health store and found a pack in there. It was cheaper than buying online but I hope it'll have the same benefits listed here on Jing Tea. On there the tea is specifically a diet tea, while in the health store or on the package it didn't say much about using it for dieting.

The reason I wanted to try it? Well, I heard and read about it a few times on the internet and it seems to have wonderful slimming and detoxing benefits, as described on the website:

"Wu-Long Tea is an incredibly flavourful tea from the stems of 

the tea plants among the mineral rich mountains of Wu Yi in 

China. So it is also called Wu Yi Tea.

As seen in Oprah's magazine 'O', and other fine publications, 

Wu-Long tea is a powerful natural slimming solution available 

to the public today. It's unique combination of ingredients 

working synergistically for efficient weight reduction.

Experts agree regular consumption of Wu-Long tea may help 

contribute to a healthy body figure maintenance; Oprah Winfrey 

and Rachael Ray enjoy 3 times a day or more. This Chinese 

secret has been traditionally used for centuries as a way to 

skyrocket energy and combat obesity, but now this secret has 

been unearthed and brought to you. If you are finally ready to

start losing weight safely, healthily and effortlessly, then 

Wu-Long tea might be the answer to your prayers."

Sounds good to me. I drink a lot of green tea already, so why not?

Oolong Tea Benefits

• Weight Management: 

"The polyphenol compound found in oolong tea is very effective in controlling the metabolism of fat in the body. It activates certain enzymes, thereby enhancing the functions of fat cells in the body." - Organic Facts

• Removes harmful Free Radicals from the body

"The polyphenolic compound in oolong tea is also responsible for the removal of free radicals in our body, because it functions as an antioxidant and stimulates the behavior of other free radical compounds in the body. Therefore, consuming daily doses of oolong tea can help people from the potential harm that these free-moving cells often pose to the human body, including cancer, atherosclerosis, stroke, rheumatoid arthritis, neurodegeneration, and diabetes." - Organic Facts

It also:

• Controls Diabetes
• Contains anti-cancer properties
• Manages stress
• Increases mental performance and health
• Encourages healthy bones

All tea has some sort of benefit to drinking it, which is why I swapped drinking soft drink and most juices with tea/water. 

My Experience

I started drinking one bag a day on the 28th of December.  The box I bought had 25 tea bags so, I drank one cup a day. I also put the bag that I used to brew my cup of tea in another cup with more water just in case I could get more out of it, haha.

The tea was a bit bitter, it reminded me of when I just started drinking green tea and it was something completely new that the taste was something I had to get used to. I'm not sure if it's because of the brand or whatnot, since when my green tea was hard to endure, I realise dafter some time that it was because the brand was a little cheap, haha.

I got used to it pretty quickly and drank a cup every morning and ate healthily (except a few days where I was with friends =.=) I tried to be active but didn't exercise well, which I regret.

The result was, over the 20 or something days of drinking the tea, I only lost a little less than a kilogram. I was a little disappointed the results weren't more obvious but it might be from me not drinking the tea often enough or from not exercising. 

In the future, I would like to try drinking more than one cup a day and being more active, or try the specific diet tea in the website I mentioned earlier to see if there is a difference. Right now, I think I would have had the same experience still drinking green tea.

It also maybe have been because I've reached the point in my healthier lifestyle where weight loss is really slow unless I exercise more. It may have been more effective when I first started dieting.

❤

Has anyone else tried Oolong Tea or some other detox drink for weight loss? What was your experience?

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.

________________ ♥ ________________

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~

❤

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