Bobon21 & min plume OPs

Today I'll share two OPs I got: one from the brand Bobon21 and the other from min plume.

Bobon21

*pic taken with the lights on hence the yellow-ish colour

I saw this OP for the first time on IG, with Rimo modelling it in the same colour. I first noticed the button placket shaped like a U and I really disliked it. But I really liked the pink plaid as I had never seen such a colour in this pattern. The short sleeves also looked cute with the ribbons and the bows with the lace at the waist was original. Although I felt the collar was a bit plain and found the front placket ugly, both of these issues could be fixed. So I bought the dress, using the ShipForMe service from Yoybuy.

When I received the dress, my mom removed the white frill part as well as the two buttons under the waistline. This is the result:

I personally think the dress looks better now. It could use a little more cinch at the waist though. I'm still thinking about what could be added, but I'm glad the U shape is at least no longer there.

The dress is a little bit short, so I'm planning on wearing a white sukapan underneath, clearly visible.

I've been dissatisfied with Bobon21's recent collections, and this is the first item I really wanted to buy from one of their releases in a long time. I noticed they have shifted style, which is normal, but I'm not very fond of their new stuff.

This being said, I feel the brand let me down again as I am disappointed with my purchase. The fabric feels cheap to the touch. It's also quite stiff which is not very comfortable to wear. Note that the only other OP I own from Bobon21 is a red check dress in wool, so I have no idea if other Bobon21 OPs (not in wool) are as stiff as this one or if it's specific.
Moreover, when I received the dress, the two upper buttons were unbuttoned. Why? Well, their buttonholes were too tight which made it impossible to get the buttons through them. Finally, as you may have already noticed, the spacing between the two upper buttons and the third one is not equal.
The buttonholes were easy to stretch and I guess the buttons wouldn't be too hard to sew again so that they are equally spaced, but still wth? I feel I got this dress from a wannabe website and got ripped off. Granted, if I had paid $8 for the dress, I wouldn't make a fuss about these imperfections. But I paid 5x this price, so one would assume they'd get these things right.

Anyway, just want to show this dress from Miss Patina:

I don't know if this is a coincidence, but the Bobon21 dress really looks similar. I was surprised when I saw it on the Explore page of my IG, via the Shopping feature. No critique intended; I merely thought it was interesting to compare both dresses.

min plume

Back in 2017, I saw a dress while window-shopping on Fril or Mercari, I can't remember exactly. The person selling it had posted this try on picture:

Sorry I can't find the source

I liked the two-pieces effect (one JSK over a blouse), the plaid and the brooch. It has a classy and preppy vibe. The belt is also flattering.

This dress seemed like it was popular when it was released, as I saw other pictures of it in different colours and patterns:

Sorry I can't find the source

I tried to find the OP with all of the accessories (brooch & belt), but the ones still on the market missed the belt or didn't have either the brooch or the belt. Furthermore, the OPs were too pricey for my liking or didn't seem in great condition. I wasn't looking for a colour in particular, as long as it would look good with a black belt and be a plaid pattern.

Because my searches weren't conclusive, I got a bit jaded and moved on to other clothes easier to get hold of. I only saw the OP again about one month ago on eBay. The condition was described as almost new and you could tell by the pictures. It didn't include the belt but it had the brooch, still intact. Overall it was a good deal.

I figured I could eventually buy the belt on eBay; it wouldn't be the one from min plume, unfortunately, but it would at least be easier to find and probably cheaper.

The brooch is so beautiful!

Some diamonds may not shine as much, but I'm being extra.

Love the colour, a deep and rich Bordeaux.

The material is said to be polyester. I noticed it is neither very thick or very thin. It's very soft and comfortable. Also, it doesn't seem prone to lint balls.

Love the matching cuffed sleeves and the little button.

I hate zips in the back and have always avoided buying OPs with zips there. However, I'm making an exception for this dress. Also, the zip is small (so actually quite subtle) and doesn't show that much on a dark colour.

There's a lot of looseness around the waist, but the belt will fix this.

All in all, this purchase went well. I have nothing to complain about the price, the condition or the item. Plus the seller (bottega_dado_japan) was very nice. I had been avoiding to buy used from eBay as I thought I could always buy cheaper on Japanese marketplaces (especially for most Liz Lisa items), but this purchase was definitely worth it. I look forward to buying again from that seller.

This last review may seem weird and biased since I came from nearly a zero with Bobon21 to a 100 with min plume. I don't think a contrast effect is affecting my perception; even if I would have received the OPs at two different moments, I would have had the same comments.

Now off topic, but here's a picture of the onion soup my mom made when I returned home last weekend. It was delicious. Shame I forgot to take a picture of the inside, under the cheese. Also, I didn't eat the soup with a fork, I don't know why it's there.

Liz Lisa, Lodispotto & mille fille closet haul

Today I'll blog about three orders: two I made back in March (Fril, eBay), and one I made in April (Mercari).

I originally wanted to include more clothes in this post, but in the end, it didn't work out. I would have had to wait several more weeks (if not one more month) before being able to write this post and I was just tired of seeing the pictures of the clothes I had already received vegetate in my folder. This is partly due to the fact that depending on where I order my clothes from or which proxy I use, international shipping delays vary considerably (we're talking of a difference of several weeks to one month). So I can never get all the clothes around the same time and make a post about it. Moreover, when I wait too long before writing about an order, I tend to forget mentioning things I had planned to say (and even if I note it, I can never remember clearly what I wanted to say at that time exactly.)

This being said, let's dive in.

Fril order with From Japan

Lodispotto dusk pink OP

I don't exactly remember how I came across this OP (I was probably looking for mille fille closet items and searched by brand using "Lodispotto".) But when I saw it, I instantly loved it; the collar, the bow, the 3/4 sleeves. And the vertical pleats on the bust are so lovely. I noticed some older Japanese OPs, including Liz Lisa, have this kind of pattern.

In the seller's pictures, the OP definitely looked brown. Even in my pictures, it clearly looks brownier than it is in reality. The colour is actually more of dusty pink. I was a bit disappointed when I saw it, but the design is so beautiful it makes up for the colour.

You can't see it here, but the bow is buttoned, not pinned with a brooch bar. My Amavel blouses also have their bow buttoned which I like. Not only it's easier to put on, but it's also less damaging for the fabric.

I intended to wear this OP in the fall, as the colour is autumn-y. However, the fabric is very lightweight (polyester, I believe) which surprised me a bit. Maybe because I'm used to Liz Lisa OP's being thicker, I expected it to be the same. Also, as you can see, the lace hem is sewn on the dress hem itself, it's not a layer in itself like Liz Lisa OPs. I'd say these two elements do make the Lodispotto dress feel a little cheaper but I don't mind. It's also a more wearable dress for the warmer days (even if I had planned to wear it in the fall mostly).

Because the fabric is so thin, it isn't prone to forming "bad pleats". The dress thus falls so nicely. The elasticized sleeves feel a bit lose, but this can easily be fixed with new elastics. I absolutely love this dress! It's probably one of my favourites along with my Liz Lisa check sailor OPs in pink and blue. It also opened the door to a different style as I normally stick to Liz Lisa dresses that have a more himekaji vibe.

Lodispotto/mille fille closet blouse

This blouse is from mille fille closet's 2017 fall collection. I was so happy to find it on Fril, and at an exceptionally affordable price compared to its initial price.

The blouse is lined which is nice because you don't have to worry about it being see-through. Again, I love the vertical pleats, the delicate frills and the bow. The round pearls add an extra elegant feel to the blouse. You can definitely see it's quality.

You can't really see it in the picture, but the colour is very ivory, almost yellow/green. Because of this, it's hard to match it with anything. I found it matched best with my Bobon21 check sukapan in red:

Honestly, I'm a little disappointed while at the same time quite relieved I bought this blouse secondhand at a much lower price. I thought about selling it at first, but it's been so hard to find blouses of this style, even online. Plus I love its overall design and I can't sell it just because of a colour issue, especially if I know I won't find anything that I like as much elsewhere.

Tralala reversible skirt

Hum... this is a skirt that looked black and white on the seller's pictures, but it's actually navy blue and white. I really don't like it. Thank God this was cheap although I still lost money over this purchase. I'm not posting any try on of this piece because I plan on donating it. If the skirt would have been black and white, I would have probably only worn the side with the polka dots, because I had bought the skirt specially for these polka dots.

eBay order

Liz Lisa gingham cafe skirt

I had already mentioned this skirt in a past blog post. Since then, I had tried to wait for it to go on sale, but when I saw that it was sold out on both TKL's Japanese and international website, I just went on eBay and bought it. I really didn't want to resort looking for it on flea markets like I did for many LL pieces.

Here are some snippets of the beautiful print:

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When I tried it on for the first time, I didn't like how it looked and sadly had considered selling it. I felt the skirt was too long for me and wasn't flattering on my body (and that's a bit deplorable since longer skirts/dress have been growing on me lately). The above picture is from the side only, but you can see it doesn't fit that well.

I had considered selling the skirt until yesterday when I retried it with an Amavel blouse tucked in firmly:

I find the fit much better when the blouse is really tucked in. Looking back, doing this for this kind of skirt is a no-brainer, but since this is the first time I wear a skirt of this length, I haven't "developed" the natural instinct to tightly tuck the blouse in I guess...

Only complain is that if I raise my arms (even so slightly), the blouse will "untuck". I know that this will be on my mind constantly when wearing it and for that that I'll avoid making any movements like I would naturally. I'll search on the Internet to see if there are any solutions for that.

With the mille fille closet blouse.

Doesn't look at good as I thought because the blouse looks yellow.

Update June 19th 2019: Yesterday, I tried the skirt with two other pieces, and I find it SO beautiful. I think I'm now converted to longer skirts. I love how elegant it looks.

With a Bobon21 blouse

With a Liz Lisa pink blouse,

topped with a Karl Lagerfeld white cardigan

Mercari order with Japonica Market

Liz Lisa sailor set in navy blue

I usually avoid buying shirts with square sailor collars (I don't really like it), but I'm making an exception for this set. I've been wanting it for a little more than one year. I've seen it a couple of times since then on Fril or Mercari, but the price was usually too high for the clothes' condition. I finally stumbled upon it by chance and the price was reasonable.

The condition of the set when I received it wasn't A+ (I found some hair, for example), but for the price I paid, I won't complain any further.

The material is some kind of wool and susceptible to lints (see above picture) and to snags (see below pictures). I don't mind though. Both can be fixed, only thing is that I need to be careful with these clothes.

..

Sorry for this weird pose, but the set oddly didn't look great when pictured in a more "static" pose. But anyway, I like it! I absolutely love the ribbons on the skirt and the white hem. As for the top, it also fits well. Sleeves are a good length. It's a really cute set. I think I've also seen it in pink, but I prefer it much more in navy blue.

The only negative points I have are the sailor square collar (but I already know it had one before buying it so it's okay) and the "fragile" wool material pretty inclined to lints and snags.

Frankly, I don't think I will wear this set alone in public, except if I wear it with a coat or there's a special event (like Halloween or a cosplay convention even though I don't cosplay..) But I love it so much, I don't even care if I don't wear it often. I know I plan on wearing the skirt and pairing it with other tops to give it a more casual look, and that is mainly the reason why I thought the set was worth buying.

Until next time.

Trying a hair mask picked up on LHC

In my never-ending quest for long hair, I came across a hair mask posted in a thread by an LHCer. I don't remember which thread, because she linked the hair mask to her blog post and I just clicked on the link and followed the instructions from there.

But anyway, I decided to try this hair mask because Andrea, the lady who posted it – and who by the way has thick long gorgeous hair – said that it made her hair "easy to comb", "shiny" and "soft". And I've been looking for a hair mask that has these properties, as I found the aloe vera gel treatment didn't do that much wonders on my hair. Also, I'm starting to get fairytale ends again. Darn it! I don't know why, I don't even use heat tools frequently. I flat ironed my hair about 3 times in the last 6 months. It does shed a lot though, as usual.

My hair the day before the hair mask.

(They've been washed and just brushed.)

Fortunately, I read (and learned) that fairytale ends don't systematically mean that your hair has reached terminal length, or that it's damaged. This reminded me of when I cut my fairytale ends because I thought it meant they were damaged and that it was the best thing to do. Now I realized I lost some length because of this thinking, grr..

The day of the hair mask

The three ingredients needed for this mask are coconut oil, eggs and olive oil. I substituted olive oil for almond oil because I didn't have olive oil, and hope that didn't screw up the mix (but I don't think so).

The coconut oil I used is from President's Choice:

I bought it on sale at 16.99$ CAD which was a good deal IMO. The one next to it, same quantity (860 ml), different brand, was 21.99$ CAD. Both oils are virgin, cold-pressed and unrefined.

I remember, having talked about coconut oil previously here and here. In the second link, I actually said that coconut oil made my hair dry and frizzy and that I shouldn't use it again... well, memory does fade over time and I didn't remember how null had been my experience with that oil. But I had used coconut oil alone – perhaps I should have used it combined with other ingredients to unleash its true virtues.


Some stuff I did or did not do:

• I didn't brush my hair prior to applying the mask (because I thought the oils would act similarly as a conditioner and just magically detangle them...)
• I applied the hair mask on all my hair, except the roots and the ends.
  For the roots, I applied a mixture of almond oil x peppermint oil I sometimes use to massage my head with (this is an attempt at stimulating blood flow thus hair growth, but I can't say it's been very effective, or maybe I'm too blind to see the changes.)
  For the ends, I just left them bare, as Andrea mentioned here that eggs tended to make her hair dryer (I know each hair's different, but I considered it wise to try avoiding that same fate). And anyway, I still got some eggs on the ends cuz I wrapped everything together when I put on my shower cap.
• I left the mask in my hair for about 1 hour.
• After washing out the hair mask, I shampooed and conditioned (usual hair wash routine).
• I didn't put Moroccanoil on my roots after my shower, only some on my ends since they were somewhat tangled.

Observations:

• The mask smells very good, whether while on the head or after having been washed. It smells like soft coconut, not overpowering. As the hair dries, the smell does subside though.
• The mask makes the hair a bit tangled when applied, but I'll admit that I didn't brush my hair beforehand because [see first point form].
• Even after conditioning my hair, it was hard to detangle. I usually barely have any problems detangling it. This is the amount of hair I shed just detangling it:

In all honesty, I can shed as much when I wash my hair normally, but some hair in that bin definitely comes from the fact that I had trouble detangling it.

I also had some bits of this white stuff in my hair. I was a little bit surprised cuz everything had melted before I had applied the mask in my hair. But there were definitely less than with the aloe vera hair treatment, so that was ok.

Picture below is my hair still drying and not yet brushed. I went to bed after because I was too tired and couldn't wait any longer for it to dry. Oops~

(sorry for dirty mirror)

The morning after the hair mask

Picture taken in the morning, hair not brushed yet

My hair was very greasy, but I expected it because every oil I've used yet makes my hair greasy (except Moroccanoil).

Hair shed after brushing, which is a lot

Got one big knot I usually never get after washing my hair

Hair after being brushed

What I thought about this mask

My hair did look shiny, but I wouldn't say they were super shiny or shinier than usually. I braided my hair after taking the last picture because the strands looked too greasy. Fortunately, because I hadn't put the mixture on my roots, they looked better. But anyway, as I mentioned, I expected my hair to be greasy following this mask so I wasn't very shocked nor disappointed. What annoyed me was how difficult it was to detangle my hair, although I guess that if I had brushed them before applying the mask, this wouldn't have been as much of a problem. I was, however, pleasantly surprised to see that the coconut oil hadn't made my hair dryer and frizzier as I stated earlier in this post.

I will probably try this hair mask again with the same ingredients I used, and of course, I will brush my hair before!

Edit June 29th 2019: Today I made this mask for the 3rd time. I replaced the olive/almond oil for conditioner because I didn't have any. I thought this would help my hair detangle like it did in the aloe vera hair treatment. But my hair got so tangled, even more than the first time I made the mask. I spent about 30 mins in the shower applying conditioner to my hair, but they never detangled thoroughly. I shed a lot of hair during that process and also when I got out of the shower and proceeded to detangle my hair with my fingers. I'm quite frustrated. I hate losing so much hair in such a way that could have been avoided. I probably won't make this hair mask again because it's too unpredictable (I never know if my hair will end up a bird's nest or not). The aloe vera hair treatment was honestly better, but now I don't have any aloe vera leaves left.