I hate to express that my make-up skills in the real life reach an absolute slump.

What is in my (PANDA!!!!!!) Make-up Bag?

Bought this in Hong Kong somewhere in Mong Kok.

Dior Eye-shadow Palette £32, Dior Shimmer Highlighter (China £?), Eyelash curlers, Maybeline Gel Liner £7.99, Unknown brand of shadows, Shisedo Powder Foundation (China £?) , Diorshow Extase Mascara £22, Estee Lauder Double Wear Powder £26 , Sephora Blush (China £?) , Giorgio Armani Foundation £30, Shisedo Double Pencil Eye Liner (Black & White) (China £?) and Estee Lauder Double Wear Purple Eye Liner £16.

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.

Lel.

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.

Competition to win 150 Stardollars: http://www.stardoll.com/en/contest/view.php?id=2168

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.

Lel.

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.

————-

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.

Toodle pip.

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.

Tatty byes!

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.

So on that final note, I shall bid my farewell.

 新年快樂!

心心.

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.

Lel.

If this was ever branded as Limited Edition – no matter what the designs were – at least one third of the collection would be close to selling out by now. It is true that almost every member identifies LE as the more desired brand. Surprisingly enough, this Antidote collection seems reasonably priced – in comparison to previous collections and other limited edition stores. None of the items reach over 100 Stardollars. So I wouldn’t be afraid to say that almost all Superstars could afford one piece of Antidote – if they save their Starcoins.

When it comes down to limited edition tagged stores, the cheapest items – most likely sunglasses- sell out the fastest. I did not reach the laptop that early, but by the time I had arrived only one item had sold out. This was the Banded Black Pleather Boots. They wouldn’t be something I would personally buy, but it’s understandable. A “cheap” versatile pair of Antidote boots for 35 Stardollars isn’t too bad at all. The sunglasses have been left practically untouched. Another popular item was the Blue Long Extensions. It has just sold out as I am writing. I bought them myself, mainly because they do remind me of a certain Vocaloid. Side-tracking here.. I did create a make-up tutorial which was unreleased. I should really find the clip and get it edited.

I think Stardoll has hit a mark by producing the store’s background as purchasable interior – as they have done with LE in the past. I was tempted to buy the carousel, however I know nothing will ever become of it. My favourite item has to be the Kitty Cat Purse. So adorable! Overall it isn’t such a bad job. Graphics-wise I think some of the items could have been produced a little better, but I think the main shocker was the price tags. I have to say, some of these items are being sold for Tribute prices. Perhaps Stardoll learnt their lesson? Selling a pair of drawers for 100 Stardollars will not guarantee anything. Lets just hope this one sells out in time . .

Lel1996

xoxoxo

—–

Nowadays we use the internet for almost anything. I can order a Pizza from the comfort of my own laptop, instead of making that oh-so nerve raking delivery call, and have it delivered right to my doorstep within twenty minutes. Fifteen years ago there was no such thing as “smart boards” within classrooms. You had your simple whiteboard and blackboard. Suddenly I find myself watching Youtube rap videos on the subject of photosynthesis in Biology, then gazing at 3D spinning molecules of Crystal Meth in Chemistry.

People use the internet to do a whole range of different tasks. Whether it is to find your future husband or wife, sell your old Sims 2 games or to bid like an Ebay maniac on those pair of designer shoes that you crave to such an extent. What we miss or lack in the real world, we attempt to gain online.

Friends, acquaintances, comrades, companions, mates, pals, buddies, associates and chums alike are difficult to build bridges with, at first. When you’re younger I believe it’s far more easier to build relationships with people. There’s none of that embarrassment or awkwardness that heavily occurs when you suddenly reach high school. Although I suppose I met my friends really quickly when I started first year. Online it is a completely different story.

On Chat Roulette, if you don’t like what you see you disconnect and move on. That’s how it mostly works online. Well from what I’ve experienced. There’s none of that awkward eye-contact or ever-lasting silence. It a straight-forward “Hi, I’m Lel! How are you?”, and then the conversation moves forward.

I watched a documentary the other day about internet relationships. They got a psychologist on camera, who explained that having relationships online isn’t healthy and creates psychological problems for the future. She was talking about romantic relationships, but the same thing can be said for any kind. Solely depending on the internet as a way to communicate with people outside your home isn’t healthy. In real life you need to be able to have that one-on-one conversation with someone, have a laugh with a group of friends and just be able to let your mouth do the talking instead of your fingers.

My friends online make me laugh, but I feel that in real life there’s more of a connection or essence of friendship together as a unit. Don’t get me wrong, I have met an entire range of people online with whom I like to chat with whenever I can, but I would say having conversations with friends online and real life isn’t the same. Meeting a stranger online is liberating. One wouldn’t be scared of judgement – most of the time. You may find that people who share similar interests do not live around in your local area, or if you live in an isolated place way out in the middle of nowhere. The great thing about the internet is that if you have some weird and wacky obsession or hobby, there’s bound to be hundreds of people online that share it too.

Picture source: http://epued.blogspot.com/

It’s sad that I counted which ones I already own.

On Stardoll I sometimes just think the term “friend” just applies to a list. I pass through my twenty-three pages and I barely recognise many faces with whom I speak to on a regular basis. I clear out my list every now and then, but it always manages to sneak up. Do we just envisage this list and all the members it contains as a bunch of numbers?

Through features like Parties and Clubs we gather in large (or small) crowds of internet users from around the globe and discuss the most serious of global matters or to spread entertaining internet memes around. There’s that assumption that if you’re searching for friends or any sort of relationship online, you’re classified as an outsider in the real world. That is definitely not the case. Online friends provide a sense of freedom. I mostly talk to my real life friends about everything, but it’s nice to just step out of that social circle and relate to someone who is miles away.

I know people see the internet as away to escape from their real identity, and instead make one completely out of their own imagination. I have never done this myself, mainly because I am happy with who I truly am and I’ve seen the severe consequences of doing so, but I assume that you feel comforted by the fact you can be anyone you say yourself to be. Although when your web of false claims is suddenly destroyed, it can essentially cause the break down of a once happy mutual friendship. Well, depending on the kind of claims they used.

The most typical stereotype online over the aspect of fake identities.

Picture source: community.mis.temple.edu

I think it’s easier in real life to say someone face to face that they’re rubbing the wrong side of you. Online it isn’t so easy. Before you know your messages are screen-capped and are posted on a personal tumblr, blog or Twitter. What really irks me online is people like to boast about all ranges of things that aren’t necessarily needed. Yes it is lovely that you like Manga, Anime, are a female gamer, adore K-pop, J-pop, Japan, any other country in which you wish to visit, a specific band, a type of music genre that appears “outdated” etc – but we do not need to hear about it all the time through constant Stardoll presentation or social network media updates. Or even more so, people constantly lie in order to relate to your interests. In real life you can quickly give someone a slap – not necessarily so online. Only kidding.

Sustaining friendships online is difficult. It isn’t like school where you will see everyone on Monday at 9 o’clock almost every week. It takes two to open up your computers and laptops and actually begin to converse with one another. Not all things work out and people leave Stardoll and you associate yourself with new people every day. Personally I believe having online friends is a refreshing thing, however one should not solely depend on these people as a way of communication. You need to go outside and have that physical contact. Someday in the future I suppose there will be a period in time whereby we will only communicate with people through screens by advanced technology. We’ll become just like those folks in Wall.E. The sad future of mankind.

Lel.

–

Apologies if this post jumps around a bit. I should really create a plan for these kinds of things.

It has certainly been a while since the last Antidote collection was released. Stardoll stated themselves that until the collection sold out, there would be no new collection on the works. I presume they got tired of waiting? The last collection was not the most versatile and only a few items shone out for me.

Antidote has always been the little sister (or brother) to LE. To express this in K-pop terms: I see LE as more of a SNSD kind of thing, and Antidote as more something suited to 2NE1. It isn’t as well refined and is more about colour, abstract design and something alternative. This time round they’ve gone with something of a funfair/amusement park theme. When I saw the gigantic elephant I immediately thought of Banksy.

Picture source: didntyouhear.com

I would probably have to see the clothes up and proper in Starplaza before I could say I would definitely buy a piece. I am unsure on what date this will be released, but I’m guessing on a weekday. Maybe as earliest as Monday?

Lel.