Shenzhen: Windows of the World & Ramble.

I honestly want to write and update the blog whenever I can so at least this place has something to give. Finding the right kind of motivation to blog is a challenging task – usually I write when I’m angry or frustrated. Stardoll is a good foundation to build upon several skills and to meet new people, but it’s just one of those months where I find myself logging out as soon as I log in. I want to be able to change my doll’s outfit, write a post and make a video (not that it really matters), however at the end of the day it just comes down to me sitting on Youtube watching pandas squeal and crawling all over the place. I basically miss the thought of blogging, but not what comes along with it. I think it’s far too easy to put too much of yourself into projects. There’s nothing wrong with putting a lot of effort and hard work into a post or a video, but when someone comes and hits you it’s just a terrible gut-wrenching feeling. I wish I was thick-skinned, and as much as I pretend to be, I’m honestly not.

It was just until this week I realised how old everyone is getting. Not in a sense that I’m getting crows feet and my wisdom teeth are arriving. It honestly hasn’t felt like three years since this place had started. Back then I had just started high school and here today I find myself choosing my fifth year subjects – which are the grades universities/college will be analysing. This Halloween coming I’ll be able to drive a moped and legally get married with parental consent. How scary.

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Anyhow I wanted to post something this weekend. I said a while back that there was a place in China that (sort of) reminded me of Stardoll. Whether or not this is just a silly title share and a coincidence, it doesn’t really matter. I like pretty pictures.

This place is called Windows of the World and is located in Shenzhen, China. Not only is the title a little similar, but the concept. Here you can visit famous buildings from across the globe in miniature form. From all the way to Mount Fuiji to The Lighthouse of Alexandria to Disneyland.

Venus & David welcome you at the entrance gate. 

We chose a horrific day to visit this park. All was well until we got to the Netherlands and it started pouring it down. I actually thought I was transported back to the UK. It didn’t help that we bought a parasol, in which the red dye started leaking everywhere. It cut our trip short so I never got to visit the American miniatures. Some of the models were tiny, while there were others were proper huge. If you like your roller-coasters, then this isn’t the place for you. Tickets were pretty pricey considering that all we’re doing is walking around and snapping photographs.

Perhaps not so fashionable as Stardoll’s own and a lot older, but it was a pretty darn good day.

Lel.

In case someone gets the wrong idea of this post: I highly doubt Stardoll ever copied this place and it is just a mere coincidence. I like posting holiday snaps because it is something different than to writing about how much I dislike Stardoll currently or the community’s attitude etc.

Lel’s First Circle Lenses! GEO Macchiato Brown WMM-504

Who does not want to be a chameleon? On Stardoll we can switch our doll’s eye colour, hairstyle, hair colour and skin-tone within a click of a mouse. One day she might have a short pixie cut and the next she could have long flowing hair down to her ribs. I think what differentiates Stardoll from the rest of the dress-up sites is this interactivity with our own personal dolls.

I read quite a lot of Gyaru-based blogs and the thought of circle lenses seemed intriguing. I know quite a handful of people who wear circle lenses (even to school) so I thought I would give them a shot myself. I already wear ordinary contacts so I basically thought that if I didn’t like them I could just as easily use them as back ups.

GEO, EOS and Dueba are the only companies that I know of. I was reading through a lot of reviews, searching for legitimate websites. Myself being a massive coffee addict (Find me in your nearest Starbucks, Cafe Nero and Costa) I was drawn to GEO’s Cafe Mimi Series. I’ve only ever had a Macchiato once (Starbucks Creme brulee Macchiato in China) but the whispy design was so pretty!

All stores online seemed to be either from the US, Australia or Malaysia and were charging a really hefty price for shipping. Iwantcute.com is a UK-based GEO lenses seller and considering their good prices and free shipping to UK residents it was hard not to.

You can order lenses either from their main stock or from the big batches. I ordered mines from one of the batches as it has already sold out. It took two weeks for the lenses to arrive, but I had ordered them way back in December. The staff at Iwantcute are great as they provide updates on the batches every now and again letting you know when they are dispatched from Korea and so forth.

 

Lenses, free lens case, lens care guide, mobile phone charm, yellow hair bobble, teddy bear charm and a face mask. 

Opening the lens case is a tricky task.

Close up of lenses. Leaving them to soak overnight to wash off the storage solution.

I don’t have any good photographs of my eyes with the lenses in as of yet, so here’s a crappy one from my laptop camera.

Will update this post tomorrow with photos. 

From Ekimura’s Youtube channel.

They are 15mm in diameter. Considering these were my first lenses, I regret not going for something a little smaller. When wearing these lenses you definitely need to wear some form of eye make-up just to balance things – or else you look bug-eyed. If you’re going for the “dolly look” I wouldn’t suggest these are the best ones. They are actually quite natural from a distance. I tried experimenting with different looks and a dash of eye-liner and mascara seem to do the trick.

  

The design is actually a lot darker, as for me, the yellow highlights are not so apparent and noticeable. I am actually quite glad that they’re not so dramatic because you can really get some weird looks with circle lenses. The outer ring in real life is actually a dark brown, therefore giving a less intense look.

I read a fair amount of reviews before purchasing, where the majority expressed how dry and uncomfortable these lenses were, yet this is certainly not the case for me. I wore these lenses on a day out for eight hours and experienced no source of dryness whatsoever. I would even go as far as to say these are as comfortable  as my normal prescription lenses (with a diameter of 13.8mm). I am using Opti-Free Evermoist solution.

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A lot of Youtube gurus use circle lenses within their video tutorials and I suppose my friends were the main influence. I have seen their crazy blue lenses but I want to go for something a little more closer to home. The Vivi magazines that I read in China were advertising lenses like crazy, with the gorgeous models wearing various assorts of circle lenses. I hope to buy another pair just for fun in the summer, but these aren’t something I would wear to school or on a daily basis.

I am sure if you’ve ever heard of circle lenses you may have read a couple of horror stories. If you take good care of your lenses, by washing them and keeping them in clean solution, then you should be fine. Never sleep with circle lenses in and always keep cleanliness at a high standard. Always wash your hands vigorously with soap before touching your eyes. There are some great informative Youtube videos out there that explain circle lenses and the background.

Here is the one I found most informative from SecretLifeOfaBioNerd.

These lenses are not like Stardoll where you can just pop them in whenever you feel like it without washing them.

Overall I would give these lenses a whooping 10/10!

http://iwantcute.com/ provides a professional service. I recommend ordering from the pre-order batches as there are a wider variety of lenses that come in all different prescriptions and they also send constant e-mail updates of where the lenses are. Be careful of where you are buying your lenses from as there are sad people out there creating and selling fake lenses with prices from a fiver. Most sellers usually have the GEO authenticity tag.

Lel.

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Something a little different. I wrote half of this post a few weeks ago and thought I may as well update this desolate place. For younger readers: Don’t get circle lenses until you’re older and certainly ask for parental permission.

My friends and family member were really helpful in introducing me to circle lenses – providing warnings and helpful tips. Researching online by watching informative tutorials, beginner lessons and various reviews doesn’t hurt to build up your knowledge.

Things & Other Happenings.

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.

My favourite video. Ever.

The Starblog.

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.

http://www.stardoll.com/en/help/article.php?sectionId=68&articleId=1

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.

Title.

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.

Make-up In Real Life ~ Updated.

It’s as almost if such things don’t even exist, mainly caused by Stardoll and pixellated make-up addiction.

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.

Stardoll February Hotbuys 2012.

Months just fly by.

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.