You may spot a slight decline in activity here and on my Stardoll account. As much as I like Stardoll, I no longer feel obliged to log in every single day of the week to earn my Starcoins. Homework is sadly taking up my spare time and to be honest, I just don’t feel like switching the screen recorder on or writing a post.
I missed Valentine’s Day. I was looking forward to a tutorial despite a few impolite requests to get a bloody move on, however I will put my hands up and say: I couldn’t be bothered. There is no new tutorial. Not now. Don’t know when. End of. My life does not revolve around video editors and the Beauty Parlor.
I made one look a while back to save for Valentine’s Day. It’ll probably crop up in some other tutorial in the future – whenever that might be.
Stardoll has popped up with all sorts of updates, but I haven’t been active enough to catch up with all of them and I can assure myself that you lovely folks won’t want to read through paragraphs of some short ramblings over stores I barely have an opinion of. I am working on a new banner. In the past I have stated “Oh people aren’t here to gaze at banners”, but I hate my old doll staring intently at me, as if to say, “You could do so much better.”.
A short post for once, but I just want people to know I am online – although caught up in school work – and maybe sometime soon something worthwhile will pop up here.
There has been numerous Staroll blogs and members criticising the Starblog and its writers. Many have described it as a lack luster of poor use of the English language and shabby posts with no real content. While being a Starblog writer myself, you can probably guess where this post is going.
Now I have been asked and seen many topics around a handful of clubs full of the same single question: “How do I become a Starblog writer?” Now you may ask what is such the big fuss? Due to most of our fame hungry nature, anything that gives our visitor list a boost sounds like music to the ears. Many others and myself have won NCG trophies because of it. And then I have to hear some _____ about wanting to “help” others. Do not try and fool everyone. As much as bringing awareness to talented members of the community, projects, bullying, charities and good causes – who is honestly benefiting from it in the end? Members spent years gaining a notoriety and then to have something active like the Starblog to come in and give writers a big airlift is almost like a dream come true. Whether your writing quality is up to scratch is debated by others.
I am classified as a “writer”, but I just post the tutorials. My writing is honestly not suitable for the young and impressionable audience of Stardoll – and neither is the majority Stardoll blog material out there. One thing people may not know if that whilst being a writer, you do not have the freedom or say on whether or not your post is uploaded. This being Stardoll, they need to have a double check that nobody isn’t going to post something like porn, an episode of Skins with a big potty mouth or create a post dedicated to bringing shame to an individual member. It makes sense and so Stardoll shouldn’t be judged for doing so.
UPDATE: I have forgotten to add that Stardoll has the authority to edit the pending posts. Articles might be cut down in length (I recall Liz stating that in the past to her posts) and bits can be added. So those who thought that I made up Callie’s introduction within my first post, I doubt Stardoll would ever let me get away with that.
What we post on our own personal Stardoll blogs is highly unsuitable for the Starblog. Do you want to see some gossip blog’s derogatory post within the Starlog? If so, Stardoll would be blamed for encouraging cyberbullying or for even victimising an individual themselves as they had deemed it acceptable it in the first place.
I can agree that the entirety of the Starblog’s posts aren’t much so entertaining than our own-made blogs, however we need that authority so that none of the obscenity we just love to flush outside the website reaches the pure and innocent members who are currently oblivious – as well as not to ruin Stardoll’s friendly image.
The posts are simply, well, simplistic as well as there for some light entertain and guidance. Sure, for you there might not be much there to bite on, but for that reason is it then acceptable for you to go cut the writers down a notch? A demeaning insult and constructive criticism are two different things. One has words full of poison - there to damage and inflict pain on the receiving end – while the other is there merely to help aid the receiver into doing an improved job the following time. I doubt the many members who purposely scream “UGLY.UGLY. i can do sooo much better” at the writers have had much experience in the field. In the end it is your choice to read it. If you don’t like what you’re seeing then you make the change (don’t depend on others to do it for you) or ignore it completely.
Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but to further push your own and make some stranger on the internet feel like they’re under a microscope to be judged and ridiculed is just not morally correct. Those who choose to do this, I pity you. Please spend your time doing something far more productive.
To those who do criticise writers: try doing a better job under such a heavy spotlight. The Starblog isn’t and shouldn’t be treated like another Stardoll blog on blogspot or wordpress. It needs to be kept friendly and if that resides into tutorials, recipes and what you deem as “boring” updates then what is there to be done? It’s a matter of harmless fun and unlike Blogspot and WordPress, if we make a tiny minute spelling error we cannot edit it one minute later. Those members who target those “ugly” and “hideous” outfits, I would like to see what others would say about yours. Those who think their make-up/nails is “tonnes better” why aren’t you making exceptional tutorials yourself? Those who think it’s unfair that “unpopular” members aren’t featured, are you just asking for an invitation? And those who pick up on the infinteismal errors, I doubt your spell-check is in full gear either. May I remind you that grammatical errors are not a symbol of a lack of effort and dedication. Read through a bunch of my posts and tell me that because I didn’t add an apostrophe or spell “incompitent” correctly means that I didn’t work my ass off to feed you words. Some writers are not fluent in English and therefore, personally, they should not be watched by your correcting glare and zoom scroll.
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If anyone didn’t read the post and just wants to ask how to become a writer click below.
You do not gain any membership, stardollars or any rewards in return for your efforts. Instead you are provided, by the community with; harsh words, kind words, spam, visitors, spam, bucket-load of notifications and a bit more spam. This sounds like a paradise for those aspiring ”elites” of Stardoll. Oh wait, my apologies, the amazing and helpful elves of Stardoll out there for the greater good of us all. Why I think I might shed a tear.
Being a writer does not make you “popular” or better than anyone else within the community. Having a hundred or so visitors, in my personal opinion, does not make you “famous”. Try name ten different writers. Can’t? There you go.
I wouldn’t say I have outgrown Stardoll. It’s more of a case of: I’m tired of people’s behaviour and the pure repetitive nature of it all. You make an outfit, get a few nice comments, chat to a few folk, post a couple of discussions on some random club, earn your Starcoins and perhaps have a wee shop about. My routine hasn’t changed one bit in comparison to two years ago.
The so-called “gossip” blogs seem to be always on about how there is literally no “gossip” to post about, there always seems to be at least one anonymous blogger attempting to break the mould and dish out cold hard honesty in every way possible, there’s always a hacking/scamming scandal on the loose and the possibility of two well-known members being the same person. Oh the absolute shock of it all – And sometimes I think we just all pretend that we haven’t heard it before.
There’s always something to drone on about and yet as much as we all write in various ways of how we wish Stardoll would be so much fairer and “EQUALITY FOR ALL” it just doesn’t work out that way. Stardoll isn’t and has never labelled itself as a Utopia. So they use holidays for creating membership packages? Big whoop. I’ve done it in the past, but it gets very tiring hearing about these labelled “money grabbers” at every post I read.
I am only bitter about this entire situation because I’ve taken a couple of days off at a time. It puts things into perspective. I don’t want to do the, “Oh I’ve left Stardoll and my life is SOOOO much better. It’s like I can actually buy clothes in REAL shops now!”, but it honestly does some good to clear your head. Every time I log into Stardoll I get pissed off and want to punch either a massive group of people or some bunch of idiots who have nothing better to do than victimise someone they’ve never met or barely spoke to.
I’ve distanced myself from people because I honestly don’t have anything to add to any conversation. I find that people are either constantly trying to gain something from you are trying to “big” themselves up like a bunch of baboons flashing their asses. People think that because you’ve received the tiniest amount of recognition from doing the most menial tasks online makes you somehow superior to them or somewhat “special”. Pshh. All in all it just attracts to a whole hoard of spam, unnecessary attention and a lot of ass-kissing. You think “Oh this will give me a lot of opportunities to meet new people” etc. There did come a point where at least one conversation a day, just a normal convo suddenly turned and I was asked “Hey, could you possibly advertise me?” Or something along the same lines. Makes me feel so good y’know. Not that people just honestly want to talk to me because they think we could have a nice, normal, casual interaction with one another. Once you close your Guestbook you finally realise who is there because they want to be there and who will only speak to you to spread the “5/5″ love in hopes it might gain a few visitors or to just casually say, “Hey! You do know that this person and I are TOTATLLY BFFS!!” – in which case they probably aren’t.
I have never had that many friends on Stardoll. Sure I have 23 pages, but do I even speak to a quarter of these strangers? Oh and there you have your trophy friends – well known members who you may or may not place in your Best Friend list just because you know other visitors will recognise them and say to themselves “Oh they’re Best friends with this dude – ergo they must be cool too”. I have “friends” who like to spam my inbox and chat with current copy & pasted updates upon their bazaars, campaign for some award/project. And to those who I actually like to talk to prefer to fucking hurt me on a frequent basis by creating vindictive fake accounts for attention or create anonymous accounts/comments because they’re too timid to speak the truth. Welcome to Stardoll!
People think that by gaining attention and recognition for something is a positive thing. There’s the nice supportive comments and the hopes that one day you might be able to meet people who won’t stab you in the back, but from my experience it just makes you feel lonely. I know that sounds stupid – especially because we’re talking about the internet – but it’s true. However it has made me appreciate my real life friends so much more.
People create these anonymous blogs and accounts to create a mask. Some times I write full-length posts and then decide to delete the entire thing because I know readers won’t be expecting hear some foul-mouthed rant. I create make-up tutorials but I don’t publish them because in my eyes they are shit and then I make up some excuse to say “Oh hey I’m busy so there’s no tutorial for the next few weeks”. You can use these hidden aids to calm your stress levels or to say what you really feel, but I just somehow think you are left with only a gut trenching feeling in the pit of your stomach – guilt. It is helpful to be as honest as you can because at least you know where everyone stands. I would have posted a nice little review of my circle lenses but to be honest I have to write another English essay and writing these posts and fuelling my anger actually helps me in motivating myself to do something.
You write things and then you instantly regret saying it, although there is that lovely feeling of being able to relax for once. We drape our dolls head to toe in the latest or rarest LE, post our achievements on blogs, have our statistics on full view and hope to one day own a successful project in order to impress others. That’s why we tweet about our latest “bargain” and post our favourite holiday pictures on Facebook. Everyone who owns an account on some social networking site does it. Knowing something that other people don’t makes you feel superior. Striking someone down online and trolling makes you feel superior. Having the pride in liking a band no-one has heard of makes you feel superior. Owning a pair of limited designer shoes and posting them up on Tumblr for everyone to see makes you feel distinguished.
There are those who even go out of their way to make a “Non-elite view on Stardoll” project, but if their project kicks off and into the stratosphere isn’t their purpose then suddenly gone? As much as the Starblog is now up and whizzing, people have been complaining that not much attention has been spared on those who are not very well known. I seriously wonder sometimes if it is because a) They’re bitter and/or envious of people’s/friend’s projects being exploited or b) because they genuinely care.
As much as I would like to say that projects were started up for a good cause (i.e helping others) – they just aren’t. Sure you might be helping those who cannot attain free items on their own or place make-up on their dolls, but who is really benefiting from it all in the end?
I could point at others and myself for being so selfish. I could point at everyone. You might read this and agree. You might be shaking your head right now. The matter of the fact is that tomorrow, in an hour, in a second, in a minute or next week we’ll all go back to our old ways like we always do. Pretty pointless really. We all know we are hypocrites. At least this post served the purpose of updating the blog. Yay.
Once I find a product that I like and has a relatively reasonable price-tag, I will stick with it. I’m not like my best friend who has bloody every single make-up product under the sun. In fairness, she does use it. Thankfully not all at the same time. It comes in handy whenever I want to try something out, but it is sad to see the decay of her bedroom – which I like to tidy up every time I pop round. Yup. I am one of those people.
My make-up routine changed quite a bit after China. I came back with a the vast majority of these products and continue to stand by them. Although I gave the Maybeline liner quite a bad review the first time round, I managed to buy a Sephora liner brush which has changed everything around. I dislike liquid liner and my old YSL liner was great but didn’t last very long – gel liner appears to have it almost nailed.
I did state that I adored Lancome’s Hypnose, but then Diorshow Extase came along. My accomplice in China highly recommended it so when I came back home I thought I’d give it a go as Lancome didn’t hold up well in the warm climate. I wouldn’t say I have very long natural lashes, but they are noticeable with only a need for a slight lift. I think in one stroke Dior did more for me than Lancome ever did. It clumps a little too much for my liking and the substance can be very watery, however with a lash comb and a slow application everything runs smoothly.
After being traumatised for nearly five years in high school, I decided to buy some blush. I still cannot count how many noddy faces I encounter everyday. Double Wear Light and Armani did not hold up well in China so I resorted to using Double Wear. It is very heavy coverage and I looked like I was ill everywhere so I thought it was best I got my hands on some blush. It applies really well and even with a few applications it doesn’t give me a clown face. I use this as discreetly as I can. When I can’t be bothered I use the Dior Shimmer powder.
MAC Lipglass £10-11, Barry M Lipgloss Wand No.11 £4.49, Clarins (China £?), Dior Kiss £?, Hello Kitty Lip Balm (US $?) and Vaseline Rosy Lips £2.25.
I like lipglosses and balms far more than to lipsticks. What really attracts me to glosses are the wonderful smells. Usually my friends comment on the fruity essences in the air that originate from these strange substances within my make-up bag. Best ones are definitely Barry M and Dior’s. Britain is stuck in a -what feels like – eternal winter so keeping lips from becoming chapped is a must for me. My lips dry terrible and it doesn’t help that under pressure I have the habit of biting my lips.
I was amazed at this Clarins lip balm in a lipstick form. It is great for when you’re on the go and do not have a lip brush or wish to get your fingers messy – although it wears off pretty quickly. Vaseline is considerably more hydrating and lasts longer while adding a tint. Hello Kitty’s is pretty good, which I wasn’t expecting. It’s very similar to Vaseline’s although provides much more of a pink colour. MAC’s Lipglass lasts for at least a double Chemistry period – which I do not think is too shabby. It is not a great thing to wear during mild winds and not as well rounded as my old Bourjois Menthol glass (which was chucked out a long time ago).
Circle lenses arrived!
GEO Macchiato.
I need to try out these bad boys out tomorrow. I’ve been trying to find the Hello Kitty Travel Lens Case that was purchased many moons ago. I turned my house upside down but there are no traces left. Instead I found items that I have spent weeks/months trying to find.
I remember buying a couple of language guide books. The Lonely Planet ones were extremely useful, however only the Korean appeared. Where Mandarin, Cantonese and Japanese went, I do not have a scooby. I think this was during the phase where my sibling and I would rejoice over Korean Dramas and Anime series. Good times. I remember a senior in my school had a similar (if not the same) bag. I would always see her within the science department and I desperately wanted one for my own so I managed to persuade my favourite peep in China to buy it. I really do miss China – and not just for materialistic reasons.
I leave you with this. I hope it can put a smile on your face or at least gain some weird looks.
Lel.
I’ll sort out product names etc tomorrow morning when I am not bored half to death.
I wouldn’t go as far ahead and say it is the best. Although in comparison to January it does honestly seem like it. This month has some sort of “theme” where the majority of the individual items combine together some way. Stardoll have definitely produced far better sunglasses, I am not too keen on the very thin frames. I have expressed my dislike towards leopard print so that coat and suitcase is out the window for me. The item that I look forward to is the Polka Dot Romper – which I probably will not purchase. The rest, for me, are so-so but I am not so enthusiastic about Hotbuys. With ten items being constantly released every month – and sometimes are ridiculous prices – it can get very repetitive. I hope this year Stardoll up their game and produce far more collective months with spontaneous themes. No matter how ridiculous, people will always buy it.
All these milestones have become a bit of a bore – until now. There’s always the cheap merchandise and nice neon balloon stating how many people across the world have managed to finish the oh-so difficult task of filling out the sign up form. Whether or not they stay, pay or do anything with their 43rd multiple account is their own choice.
Thank you to Faith in the comment who pointed out that the mysterious 150 Stardollars were a part of the big celebrations. While I was still in the midst of a big confusion, I sent Stardoll a message and here was their reply:
You have to be restrictive when you are giving so much away, so I do not blame Stardoll. However their first principle of “You missed your time to spend 150 Stardollars even though we didn’t notify you of said events.” is a little . . well inconsiderate.
Thankfully Stardoll (or so I hear) decided to update this and gave everyone 150 minutes to spend their 150 Stardollars. I logged into my account just after midnight to be welcomed by an informative paragraph of text, went to the main page and the 150 Stardollars had already been taken away. Now I’m not too pissed that I missed my chance because I could have easily logged in earlier and done something useless with this delightful freebie, nor do I blame Stardoll because their so-called “greedy mittens” got their hands on my time-limited amount of coins.
I still think 150 Stardollars is a lot to give and for Stardoll to hand this out to all of their paying members is undoubtedly unexpected. I think people discuss Stardoll’s “greediness” to such an extent on every level that we sometimes fail to realise that they aren’t all out there for our purses – although I’m sure they would like it if we did hand over a little something.
150 Stardollars in 150 minutes isn’t so bad. Next time something similiar comes up there needs to be a bit of spring in notifying members at the correct time and not so much in a complicated way – I’m talking about in the beginning.
I wish this range could have been released out four months earlier. It would have made my Mario-ish themed room a lot neater and simpler. I could ramble on about how much I detest decorating my suite and the lack of funding, but I think we’ll decide to end the post here.
The new collection of Doree seems like something just to match the latest edition of Dot. The colours again are extremely vibrant and possibly dyes we’ve seen before. The packaging of Doree has changed. This being that it is not only one model – but actually three with a range of different hairstyles and skin colour. It is a nice thought that Stardoll has updated Doree. The vast majority of the dyes seem “new-ish” bar the Lavendar Dove. Usually with a new set of dyes the exact same colours are also released as highlighters. Now this isn’t the case as we only have three highlighters, but I am honestly not too fussed.
Lel.
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My account has gained 150 Stardollars out of the blue – not even appearing anywhere in my transactions. It has been a very strange day. I think I have visited almost +100 accounts within the past thirty minutes – hope people in TRR. do not mind especially if someone was saving all the requests up. I was bored after two hour long Chemistry revision, hence why I decided to write this (practically) pointless post.
It certainly seems that the last collection released from Dot was donkey’s ago. I always look forward to make-up releases on Stardoll. The Beauty Parlor can be a very restricting place where one can only do so much before the limits occur or your doll ends up looking like a dog’s dinner. There is not that much freedom involved, unlike in real life. If you want to apply vine-like eyeliner from the corner of your eye down to your cheek there is nothing stopping you – on Stardoll there is.
The colours are very striking, almost flashy without verging on the step of neon. I have had a little taster with the shadows and I have to say they blend extremely well. I usually don’t allow my doll to wear such bright colours but I am finding it pretty simple to just add a thin layer of the bright/dark shadows with a White overlapping as to tone it down. The applicators, in comparison to ordinary Dot products, are stubby and small in size. Perhaps it is down to the fact that I have not had a proper Beauty Parlor session for a while, although I do feel that this new collection’s shadows glide a lot easier than say to Sephora or any other shadows on Stardoll. I prefer the applicators with a smaller stem as I feel like I am in more control of the brush itself.
The packaging of the Valentine’s collection is similar to the colour palette in a sense that it is eye-catching and colourful. I think we tend to associate Valentine’s with dull pinks and rosy reds, so I like the fact that Stardoll went for something a little alternative and adding some energy back into Dot. My favourites are the brow pencils and mascaras. This is mainly due to the fact that Stardoll is adding a different range of colours rather than re-introducing the usual norms.
This collection doesn’t deserve the “Dark-shadow-on-the-outer-corners-main-colour-swamps-the-rest-of-the-entire-eyelid” treatment, however I am tired. It’s one of my biggest pet peeves when folks create tutorials where they use this exact same format over and over again. Add some funky liner – mix it up!
My first play-around. One of the great qualities of this collection is that it isn’t just solely for Valentine’s day. It isn’t all pink fluff. You can actually make some really unique looks using the variety of bold reds and pinks, as well as the darker tones of blue and purple.
It’s sleek, classic and simplistic. These are the kind of items you are most likely to find in your own home. It’s not outlandish and the prices aren’t over the top.
Stardoll are stealing our money again! The greedy $?%*#@!!!
Seriously I couldn’t care. Every time a pass or something that basically “benefits” paying members is released we, as a whole community, start verbally attacking our doll’s makers. I personally do not believe that offering a good deal to members is greedy. You do not need to buy it. It is just there if you want it. What I would call greedy: If I paid Stardoll £5 for 1 month membership and they only decided to give me two weeks (even if that is unlawful) or even charging far more than £5.
These passes are good for overall deals. My membership was running out and I felt like my Stardollar count was broken so I thought I may as well. As I am (hopefully) attempting to gradually separate from the five year long attachment between Stardoll and myself, I haven’t made things easier.
Lel.
I am completely in the dark when a new Youtube video will be made. Teachers speak of up and coming assessments, however there are no specific dates so I cannot plan ahead. To make things up I may just post another Make-up In Real Life entry. I also have circle lenses arriving tomorrow so it would be lovely to review them at some point in time.
Stardoll have decided to start celebrating New Year’s Eve (Year of the Dragon) by providing a free floating Chinese lantern within the recent quiz.
I’ve seen people on Twitter address everyone with “Ni hao” and then go on to say “Kung hei fat choi”. Dears, you’re speaking two different languages there. Great thing about the new year are the red envelopes *cough* as well as being a family fun-filled occasion where we can all hope for a prosperous year.
These are actually lai see I obtained in China before I left in October. They’re not just solely used for the new year. They come in a whole range of designs from Minnie Mouse to Hello Kitty.
CCTV News have some great coverage on the big festivities right now – with monotonous and frozen dubs.
Stardoll’s latern is great and all . . but it doesn’t beat this one. I got sent this on BBM just last year.
If cannot recognise the little figure, it is little 晶晶! One of the five Beijing Olympic mascots who just so happens to be a Giant Panda. Wenlock and Mandeville can kiss his little furry ass.
This week has been hectic with constant revision and assessments. The sad thing is that it’s only just the beginning.
Well I’ve hopped onto Stardoll and this appeared in my mail box. I was gaining my Starcoins earlier and I couldn’t help but notice all those little contact card icons on various Royalty’s avatars. So I presume it has something to do with this little thing?
I haven’t bought it myself, having absolutely nil coins since Antidote, but I guess the main factor of purchasing quite an expensive “product” is the fact that you can earn commission. I like the sound of this “career centre” and I only hope and make-up one arrives soon. However, it is only for royalty members. I haven’t scanned through the Official Royalty Club’s discussions, but there was quite a lot of talk a while ago about perks for those who have paid x amount of money to Stardoll. Whether or not you personally think it is fair, nevertheless Stardoll have done it. I suppose this won’t help the never-ending barrier between those who have membership and those who choose not to buy it.
I expect a lot of spam on Stardoll in the next few days. I wonder what is next to appear in this career centre. Although thinking about it, it may take a while.
It’s nice. I’m waiting to see if anyone has actually made a Star Wars-themed room with lightsabers.
