CNBlue: Re:Blue Special Limited Edition Album Review

I ordered CNBlue's latest album, Re:Blue Limited Edition Yonghwa Version, through kpoptown.com.  CNBlue was the first kpop band/group I listened to (besides fictional You're Beautiful band ANJell), and I have been faithfully listening to them since July 2010.  I've never purchased a kpop album, let alone a limited edition version, so my first purchase had to be of CNBlue!  Note, this post will be very photo-heavy because I was just so excited to share my happiness with the world!

First off, I must admit the photo book smells like a school yearbook fresh off of the press!  Holding this album before my eyes has made me so happy, I can't stop smiling stupidly just thinking about its arrival.  Here are the front and back covers of this hardbound photo book.  The front cover is specialized for the Yonghwa version while the back displays all four members of CNBlue.  I like the artistic approach of having the sepia-like lens in these images!

Like CNBlue's other limited edition album Ear Fun, Re:Blue has four versions, one for each member.  Each version comes with the same, beautifully created and abundant photo book of the album's creation in London.  While each version has the same exact content inside the book, the front cover differs with a photo of that version's member. The photo book has 4 parts, and each member designed his own part.

I love how each member even hand wrote commentary and labels throughout his own section, making it more personalized and showing us a bit of their personality in penmanship.  Here is the cover page of part 2, which Lee Jung Shin designed.

I never had a particular interest in Lee Jung Shin, but I loved the creative little touches he added to his part of the photo book!  His penmanship is very interesting, mixing up various fonts and styles.  Jung Shin also expressed his artistic side, with simplistic yet cute doodles throughout his section.  The umbrella just adds a nice touch to the photos of CNBlue strolling the streets of London :)

And here is Part 4: Stage behind!  Jonghwa's snake is adorable.

Yonghwa also added cute little doodles to some of his pages!

 Each version contains 3 postcards.  Mine came with 2 of Yonghwa and 1 of CNBlue.  I really like the quality of these postcards.  They're not typical images printed on printer paper, but instead the paper is a thick, sturdy paper that feels almost like it's for watercolor painting.

As a pre-order gift, kpoptown offered 5 back-to-back photo cards of CNBlue as well.  Honestly kpoptown had said "5 sheets" so I was expected larger photos, but these photo cards are still nice to have.  These photos are mostly from a commercial shoot I believe, with one photo (top left) being Re:Blue's album cover.

In the very back is the CD and DVD, firmly wedged by foam in the center of the discs.

Below is a closeup of the back cover, which shows the tracklist along with the shiny hologram of authenticity. Listening to Re:Blue's tracklist, I've noticed how CNBlue's been experiencing various genres within rock. The main song in this album is "I'm Sorry," though honestly this song didn't stand out when I listened to the entire tracklist.  My favorites are "Coffee Shop" and "The Guy Like Me" (track 4) for their catchy and upbeat notes.  I loved every part of both of these songs!

I watched the DVD, which is a 20 minute long video about the making of CNBlue's music video "I'm Sorry." I originally didn't really like that song, but by the end of this video I started falling in love with this song! There are no subtitles, but they really aren't needed to get the gist of the video.  It was mostly visual, with clips of CNBlue's photoshoot throughout London, CNBlue strolling the streets and lastly CNBlue rocking on the rooftop.  Despite how cool CNBlue looked while walking on the streets in the actual music video, it was interesting to see how silly they looked while the cameramen were giving cues and shooting the footage. Lots of times the members of CNBlue also had random dialogues in English and spoke English interjections out of the blue, making the vibe of the video more casual and fun.  

In some of these photos, you can get a sense of just how big this book is.  It really is kind of big, which surprised me!  This is like a thin textbook.  I also really like the texture of both the book and the 3 postcards: they're matte with 3-D horizontal waves.  The quality of this limited edition album is well worth its price and I'm very satisfied with it!

My Kpoptown Package! (Preordered Album)

Kpoptown is an online retailer that sells kpop albums, DVDs, collectibles, jewelry inspired by idols, as well as Korean beauty brands and fashion (some of which relate to kpop).  I preordered CNBlue's Re: Blue Limited Edition Yonghwa Version through Kpoptown.  Despite the positive review my friend gave about Kpoptown, I wasn't too happy with them.  I preordered my album 2 days before the release date of January 31, 2013.  According to the site, preordered items should be shipped in 1-4 days from the release date.  However, my package didn't ship until 8 days after the release date.  I did email them to check up on my order, but that didn't really speed up the process.  After being shipped, I received an email saying that my package should come to the US in 2-4 weeks.

The limited edition albums have been out for one day over four weeks now, and it's hard browsing online and seeing others being so happy with their albums.  Even my friend who recommended this site received the Yonghwa version as a surprise birthday present (her friend ordered it from a different site)!  The package arrived yesterday, so exactly 3 weeks since it shipped, right in the middle of the estimated 2-4 weeks.  Kpoptown really tested my limit on how long I could wait for limited edition album!  But it's all okay, because it has finally arrived:

It came in a plastic delivery envelope with bubble wrap inside. The photo book itself had a sealed plastic wrap on it and another bubble wrap pouch over it. Overall the product was nicely sealed and there were no nicks or scratches. I'm so ecstatic that it's finally here!!  Here are the actual contents of the Re:Blue Limited Edition album, along with a pack of photo cards that came as a pre-order gift.

I will post my review of CNBlue's Re: Blue Limited Edition Yonghwa Version soon!

Cairns, Australia: Orchid Plaza

I visited Cairns, Australia in August 2012 and to my surprise, one of the most memorable places was an Asian mall. Orchid Plaza is a small, two story mall supposed located "in the heart of Cairns," according to the mall's website. There is also free wifi, but it's a bit hard to access.

Though I was on vacation and usually would have liked to experience the local food, I was constantly drawn toward the Korean stall in the upstairs food court called Corea Corea for several reasons.  The first reason is that there is a TV that is always rerunning kpop music shows and music videos.  In the middle of a tropical, beachy tourist town are signs of Korean culture!  As my family continuously passed by this stand, I couldn't help but stare at the TV for a dose of kpop.  Another reason is that restaurant prices are extremely expensive around Cairns, and this food court is a more affordable option.  There is also complementary tea that is self-served.  My apologies for not writing a better review on the actual food or service; I wasn't planning on blogging about something I had experienced 6 months ago!

I got the best seat in the house: my view was the TV! The clips usually alternated between girl groups and guy groups, but I was more interested in the guy groups. Starting from the top left and going clockwise, I first saw CNBlue's Love music video. Next was Ss501's Love Ya music video (which includes a close up of Kim Hyun Joong), and lastly Gummy's music video starring Hyun Joong. These songs are all from 2010, so what this TV plays is a bit outdated. However, CNBlue and Ss501 were one of the first bands I discovered and Love and Love Ya are two songs I cherish deeply, so I really did feel a connection!  For a better view of the TV, zoom in on the photo!

Upstairs, there is also a small Japanese convenience store.  Despite being a Japanese store, I did notice some Korean sodas with two of Big Bang's members plastered on the front! One soda reveals Taeyang while the other shows G-Dragon. This is the soda Sunny 10, which is a product of Coca-Cola. All five members of Big Bang endorsed this soda during 2012.

If you're ever in the area and want to kill time, stop by Orchid Plaza! But of course this place is not worth a plane ride just to visit!

Tony Moly Blueberry Mini Lip Balm Review

It has finally arrived, the one item I have been longing to get since my initial attraction to Tony Moly five months ago: the Blueberry Mini Lip Balm!  I always love this brand's innovative and adorable packaging, especially all of their fruit products.  To me, the Blueberry is the iconic Tony Moly product.  My friend gave me this product just this week despite it being a Christmas present, so I have been anticipating it for quite some time!  Now here are my thoughts:

This blueberry is huge!  Thinking about the size of real blueberries and the fact that this is a mini lip balm, I honestly thought that this would be the size of a real blueberry.  But really, it is about as big as when I form my index and thumb into a circle.

The blueberry has a glossy satin finish, meaning there are glittery flakes to make the exterior sparkle. The top has ripples where the stem would have been attached to, with the very top being a rubber filling.

To open, simply screw off the top half of the berry.  This reveals a flimsy inner lid, which is understandable considering how small and thin this lid must be to fit into a container so small.  Removing the lid reveals the actual lip balm, which is a tinted, vibrant pink.

The first time applying the product, you have to put pressure on the balm and dig a bit to get the balm onto your finger.  It's easiest to get a decent chunk of it, not just a light swipe on your finger.  It is pretty solid, and it took about the scoops of the product to fully cover my lips (one scoop equals the right picture).  The bottom photo shows a thin layer of the product.  It is more like a clear balm, but you can probably layer it to the shade of your liking.  The scent is very mild and lightly sweet, but you really have to take a deep whiff to really smell it.

The Pros

• It's a blueberry; how cute is that!
• The mini lip balm size is perfect to take out with you.
• The balm itself is very moisturizing and provides even coverage to make my lips match.
• It looks very natural on my lips.
• As a balm, it'd be great as a step before applying other, more heavily colored lip products.

The Cons

• What isn't there to love about this product?  Definitely no cons for me!

Overall, the packaging has won me over once again.  But besides the adorable blueberry container, the actual lip balm is moisturizing and creates smooth, even coverage-everything a balm should do! Tony Moly is known for their lip products, and this classic is no exception.

The Thieves Movie Review (and Running Man Ep 102)

I pre-ordered the highly anticipated Korean blockbuster, The Thieves, from Amazon (it was directly from Amazon, so it was very trustworthy and arrived the day of the release date, February 12th) over a month ago and it has finally arrived!  I first had my eyes on this movie when the trailer just came out last year, and was so bummed that there would be no way for me to actually watch the movie.  But The Thieves has been brought to the US in select theaters in October 2012 (when I say select, I mean obscure theaters too far to drive to from the city), and finally has been released on DVD.

Out of the entire cast, why must Kim Soo Hyun be cut?  (referring to top right)

The DVD box itself is very minimal, only containing the DVD.

After being completely awestruck by Kim Soo Hyun's brilliant performance as the lead in The Moon that Embraces the Sun, I couldn't wait for his next move.  Soo Hyun has been evolving exponentially as an actor, as seen from his role in Dream High to his role in Moon Embracing Sun.  I started researching Soo Hyun's role in The Thieves and though he isn't one of the main thieves in this film, he did have some screenshots captured from the trailer that were very noteworthy.  Here's the trailer, with English subtitles:


Throughout watching this movie, I could not stop getting emotionally involved with the characters, because they were all so moving!  The movie opens with a thrilling scene that already puts you in an action mood.  In order to steal a precious diamond, a group of Korean thieves teams up with a group of Chinese thieves (mainland and Hong Kong), combining multiple cultures.  I love how there is communication in Korean, Mandarin, Cantonese, Japanese and a little English, yet it still works really well.  There a flashbacks that offer background stories for some characters, which create depth and give each thief their own personal motive for stealing the diamond.  The one downfall about this movie is after the actual heist, it dragged on for quite some time and started to lose the thrill and momentum that the movie had otherwise.  I did like how the storyline was continuously unpredictable and had many unexpected twists.  Because the movie did escalate so brilliantly, I am very satisfied with the exciting ending.  Overall, I was very entertained by this movie and will definitely watch it again soon!

As I've said before, I purchased The Thieves purely because of Kim Soo Hyun, and he definitely did not disappoint!  I was quickly shocked when Soo Hyun began speaking in Mandarin, showing off his many skills.  His character is much more mature than his country bumpkin Dream High role of Song Sam Dong, and is equally high caliber to his role in Moon Embracing Sun.  Soo Hyun has showed so much growth as a mature, adult actor, and this movie has showcased his skills.  Overall, if you're a fan of Kim Soo Hyun or like heist movies, I definitely recommend you to check out The Thieves!

On a related note, Kim Soo Hyun guest starred on the variety show Running Man's 102nd episode that aired on July 8, 2012, with that episode's theme based on The Thieves and referencing Moon Embracing Sun. This episode's mission is a bit different from other Running Man missions, because Kim Soo Hyun is on a secret mission to oust the Running Man team, who has set out to steal golden turtles, which is mimicking The Thieves plot. Even the opening scene appears like a robbery movie, with Boss Soo Hyun answering an important call And receiving his secretive mission and "weapon." If you're a fan of Kim Soo Hyun, want to see his personality outside of dramas and movies, are a fan of The Thieves or other robbery movies, or just like interesting Running Man missions, check out this episode!

The Face Shop Fruit Garden Hand Lotion Review

My friend gave me her lotion from The Face Shop, so I'll review it. She offered to me a few months ago but I declined because of the unpleasant smell, but yesterday she threatened to throw it away if I didn't take it.  I have never been a fan of The Face Shop besides for endorser Kim Hyun Joong, so I hope that bias doesn't play a role in this review.

This is the Fruit Garden Hand Lotion in Chamomile and Lilac.  The packaging of this lotion looks very cheap and years old.  It is a cream colored squeeze tube bottle with sticker labels plastered in the front and back.  It may be the case that this old-styled design is an older model, because I searched on The Face Shop's website and their hand lotions look much more professional.

The lotion is opaque white with a pretty runny, watery consistency. It's an average lotion which I think suits normal skin, but not moisturizing enough to heal super dry, chapped skin.

Pros

• The runny consistency allows for s little to go along way
• The bottle is a decent size to carry around in a purse (2.36 fl. oz.)
• It moisturizes well for normal skin

Cons

• The scent is VERY unpleasant, and I really can't stand it. It reminds me of old lady potpourri; sorry for being non-descriptive!

Overall, it is an average lotion with unflattering packaging and an overwhelmingly cringe-worthy scent. In all, I wouldn't get this product because my skin is usually dry and needs more moisturizing effect and the smell is unbearable to me. I don't even know how I'll finish up this bottle!

Kpop Groups: Infinite and Teen Top

Just last week my friend asked me if I preferred guys who play instruments or guys who can dance. Immediately I said guys who can play an instrument, because that's so romantic! In kpop, I've always preferred actual bands like CNBlue more so than groups because i was just never attracted to the dancing. Thinking about guys playing instruments, I always think about Kim Myungsoo playing the guitar for Infinite's song Can U Smile. But as I've gotten more obsessed with Myungsoo ever since watching him in Shut Up Flower Boy Band, within these past few days I fell in love with Myungsoo dancing to Teen Top's To You.



I never realized how much dedication, practice and stress these kpop groups must go through to be so in sync, precise, fast and slick for all of their dance routines.  And on top of all these frustrating emotions, Myungsoo looks so happy and like he's having so much fun dancing!

Instantly I started finding more and more songs by Infinite and Teen Top.  Both of these groups are triple threats: flower boys, singers and dancers all in one.  I've chosen my top 3-4 from each group, one being a ballad and the other two being more focused on the dancing.  I know none of these songs are recent, but I'm always behind in listening to the latest songs.

Can U Smile - Infinite
This ballad is so beautiful, especially while reading the English subbing.  I love how Myungsoo plays the guitar here; he is so talented!



Be Mine - Infinite
This is the first song by Infinite that I fell in love with, because of its catchy chorus and sly choreography. I love the first lines when Myungsoo is singing and cooly rolls his neck like a dinosaur. Their rapid yet fluid dance moves are slick and fun to watch. I especially love the quick arm gestures during the chorus. I've been trying to practice this move because it's so cool, but it's hard to even be half as good!



Paradise - Infinite
There isn't much intense dancing in this, except for the chorus.  I can't get over the dance move in the chorus, when everyone snaps and moves their hips!



The Chaser - Infinite
This song won the best kpop song of 2012 on Billboard, a highly acclaimed international music ranking company. I'm so happy for Infinite, showing their great success since their 2010 debut.  I love their slow moves during the chorus when they drag their hand across their back!



Angel - Teen Top
This ballad is very different from Teen Top's dance songs.  It is very sweet and the English lines are easy to get stuck in my head ("There's an angel in my heart").  Clearly dancing doesn't really fit with this song so here is a music video of Teen Top playing in the snow.



Crazy - Teen Top
This song, like Infinite's Be Mine, were the two songs that got me going on this path of dance groups.  The catchy pop tunes call for matching upbeat dance moves, which this music video shows. I love the entire group's bad boy image in their music video, especially Niel with his long hair and shades. Their signature suggestive moves are also amazing to watch.



To You - Teen Top
This is my most favorite dance ever.  I am not an artistic nor athletic person at all, yet after seeing Myung Soo dance this, I am trying to learn the moves!  This entire dance is so fast paced and there are so many different moves (like many dance routines) yet I'm just so entranced, probably because of the body roll move.



Infinite and Teen Top also did a special stage switch, where both groups danced to The Chaser and To You.  Seeing both groups dance the other's signature moves was stunning, especially watching Infinite (mostly Myungsoo) dancing Teen Top's more suggestive moves!  Here is a clip of the KBS Music Bank Special Stage of Infinite and Teen Top performing To You.

I hope you enjoyed these songs and dance performances as much as I do!  Maybe you'll even be inspired to learn the choreography, which would be a big feat to accomplish.  I hope Infinite and Teen Top continue to succeed and produce amazing songs and choreography!

Tony Moly Vitamin Essence Mask Review

I'm so excited to use my Tony Moly Vitamin Essence Mask, which I got as one of the samples included in my A-Poly package.  This is a face sheet mask that is full of vitamins, which are labeled on the front of the package.  It also says that this mask is for all skin types and for all seasons, which I like that Tony Moly states because it's informative.  This package contains one face sheet that is soaked in its vitamin essence.

This is my first time using a face mask!  I can't wait to experience this.  According to the Tony Moly website for their face masks in general,  after washing your face you should place this on your face for 15-20 minutes, and then gently remove the mask and tap the excess product with your hand for your face to fully absorb the product.  This tapping method reminds me a lot like the Tony Moly Honey Appletox Cream, with which you also have to tap the product into your skin.  While tapping, these two products also have a gel-like consistency that feels sticky.

Here is the mask, after I had finished using it. I could not stop laughing at how silly I looked with this mask!  You can see the holes for the eyes, nose and mouth, as well as slits around the perimeter to fit onto your face more accurately.  This mask also has a strong artificial orange scent, similar to that of the powder drink flavor enhancer, Tang.

You can see the ill-fit right here.  There are so many folds because my nose and mouth must fit in the designated holes, so there is a lot of excess mask room.  There is so much bunching going on from my nose downward.  My face is pretty normal-sized, so I guess the mask is just too big.

The Pros

• I really enjoy the fun orange scent!
• This sheet absorbs the formula really well, so it is packed with lots of liquid yet doesn't drip any excess liquid
• It easily stays on my face, so I don't have to be lying down like I had originally thought
• This mask is also easy to rearrange once placed on my face
• This sheet feels very slick and smooth and addicting to constantly touch
• The slits at the nose and sides are convenient, helping to more accurately fit on a 3D surface
• My face looks and feels moisturized and refreshed afterwards
• After using the sheet, the mask is still very moist and can be used as a towelette to moisturize and refresh your body, or you could maybe even reuse the mask in the future

The Cons

• The mask is too big

Overall, I really like this sheet mask! Since this is my first sheet mask, I can't compare it to others. But I do love how easy this mask is to use, especially since I'm so lazy and just want to refresh my face while relaxing with My Flower Boy Neighbor. The only downside with this product is that it's too big, meaning they give you more for your dollar anyways! In a sense, since the sheet is big, you are getting more fabric that you can use to wipe your neck and arms. I would definitely use this product again!