Apink: Secret Garden 3rd Mini Album Review

I've always been a fan of Eunji and Apink, so it was about time I bought one of their albums!  I love Apink's always fresh and innocent concept, and matching bubbly and cheery music.  Apink released their third mini album, Secret Garden, on July 5, 2013.  This is the first project with just six member since Yookyung left the group.

I absolutely love the album cover of Secret Garden.  The pastel colors, photo filter, grassy field and lemonade stand all fit perfectly with Apink's young, girly and refreshing concept.  The sketched in flower at the bottom add creativity and more fun to the album artwork.  At the bottom are the names of the six current Apink members.  The angle of the photo kind of distorts the image, but it's really hamburger style (rather than hotdog style), with dimensions 8.25 inches by 7.5 inches.

The cover design shows such cute innocence of which I simply can't get enough!  This entire album is so darling.  The back cover simply displays the open field, along with the colorful sketches of blooming flowers and birds.  There are also translucent pink petals romantically drifting down.  At the bottom is an adorable frog prince, along with the tracklist.  

Here is the tracklist printed from the photobook, along with the falling petals.  This album has a lot of dedication, with beautiful music videos for "U You," "NoNoNo" and "Secret Garden."

1. "U You" is just as upbeat, fun and girly as previous title tracks "I Don't Know" and "Bubibu."  This album's sound is very similar to those two songs, which I absolutely love though it doesn't show much variety into song style.  
2. "NoNoNo" is the promotional track for this album, and with good reason.  From the beginning, the song is very catchy and addicting.  This track, along with "U You," bring so much poppy goodness to the album.
3. "Lovely Day" is a slower song that still has a fun edge to it, yet it's more relaxing.  I love listening to this song because it showcases each member's beautiful voices, though honestly all of these songs do illustrate Apink's singing ability.
4. "I Need You" is also an upbeat, yet slower song that fits well with this album's concept.  It's very refreshing and carefree, always putting a smile to my face.
5. "Secret Garden" is a beautiful ballad.  I like how the album is named after a ballad, showing more variety in genres (despite what I said for the first track).  
6. "NoNoNo (Inst.)" is just as it sounds.  I'm not really a fan of instrumentals, but this song does have a fun beat that cheers me up.

On the left is the CD, which is held in place by some pink foam.  The CD is really pretty, with a pastel sketch of blooming flowers, flapping birds and a crowned frog.  On the right is a nicely bounded and high quality photobook.  This photobook is surprisingly thick, with about 66 pages of mostly photos!

The pages are mostly photos of the members, with no biographies or names.  There are about four different photoshoots and settings, including the one on the front cover, one where the members are in their "NoNoNo" bow dresses, one with the girls wearing delicate white dresses with a rosy background like in their promotional poster, and lastly a white background with the girls in blue jumpers.

At the back of the photobook are two pages for the lyrics and credits for the tracks.  I love the petals and drawing in the corner!

This album comes with a photocard of one of the six members from the outdoor photoshoot.  There are 12 different photocards, two variations per member from various photoshoots.  I was hoping to receive Eunji, but I'm happy receiving Naeun, who I've come to know through her time with Taemin on We Got Married.  I used to follow Beast when they had just released "Beautiful" and "I Like You the Best" and I just found out Naeun was the main role in both of those music videos!  What a small world this is...Naeun looks so refreshing and happy in this photo!  On the back is her adorable autograph, along with "I love u" in English. After seeing all of the 12 photocards, I honestly think this one is the prettiest and I'm so happy to have gotten this one!

Overall, I absolutely love the concept of this album, my photocard, and all of the songs are so catchy and fun.  Apink never disappoints!

IU: Last Fantasy 2 2nd Full Album Review

Ever since watching the drama Dream High long ago, I had been captivated by IU's angelic, gentle voice and instantly became a fan.  I've always found her voice to be very soothing, calming and peaceful, so I decided to buy her second full album to use while I'm studying for school.

Here's IU's Last Fantasy 2 album!  It's titled '2' because it's her second volume, or second full album.  The album is made of thin cardboard and has a matte finish.  The concept for this album is an innocent and pure Victorian style, which is captured on the album cover.  The album is fairly big, about 7.75 by 7.75 inches.

The back cover has a similar image to that of the front.  Included is the tracklist and song lengths.

Here is a close up of the tracklist.  Five of the tracks have featured artists, creating diversity of different harmonies on this album.  Because I bought this CD more as background music, I haven't paid much attention to the lyrics or style of the songs.  However, I did notice that IU participated in writing the lyrics for many of the tracks on this album.  She co-wrote lyrics for tracks 6, 7, 8 and 10, completely wrote track 11 and worked on track 12.  I always gain so much more respect when artists write their own songs, showing such well-rounded talent.  All of the tracks are also fairly long, making each song well worth the purchase. Here are my quick thoughts of the songs:

          1-3. IU's gentle voice shines beautifully in these first three tracks.  The songs are very calming and have a carefree, running-through-an-open-field kind of feel.
          4. "You and I" is IU's main track, and for good reason.  This song is so enchanting and especially fits IU's voice so well.  The music video is also well done, with a holiday toy store theme (or so it seems) and co-staring charming Lee Hyun Woo.
          5. "Wallpaper Design" has a more mature tone that illustrates IU's varying moods in singing.
          6. "Uncle" is upbeat and puts me in a dancing mood.  The interaction with the featured artist is entertaining, like IU is cutely bickering with a man.
          7-8. These songs are uplifting and soothing tracks.  They're perfect to listen to if the weather's getting me down!
          9-11. These three tracks have a similar slow and gentle tone.  They're very peaceful and relaxing; songs of which I could sleep well listening to.
          12. "4AM" has a hipster, upscale cafe feel to it.  The instrumental, as well as the way IU stretches her notes, make this track very different from the rest of the album.
          13. "L'amant" sounds like a sophisticated instrumental piece, but paired with IU's voice, creates an even classier tone.  It's a slow piece that does showcase the instruments more than the singing, but is a glamorous way to end the album.

Clearly my insight on the tracks aren't the best, but because I sincerely bought the album for the calmness and peacefulness of IU's voice, there's not much I can say to interpret and dissect these songs.

The packaging of this album is unique.  You lift the front cover upward, which reveals another flap that you flip downward.  Both sides of these flaps reveal more photos of what looks like doe-eyed IU starring at headlights.  In the center, there are two side flaps that hold the CD.  Underneath these flaps and the CD is the photobook.

I personally don't like this design at all.  The flaps can easily tear from taking the CD in and out of its packaging.  Also the back of the CD is exposed to the photobook, so it can get scratched easily.  Because of this design, the sides of the album are also creased because of the flimsy cardboard exterior.  I care deeply for my albums and wish this one had more sturdy packaging.

This is the photobook, which is nearly as big as the album itself.  It's 34 pages long and bound by two staples instead of having a real spine.  The back cover is white with the credits.

Inside are lyrics and photos matching the Victorian concept.  In all of the photos, IU is emotionless and has an eerie silence to her.  Her outfits and surroundings seem very old-fashioned and Victorian, matching her title track "You and I"'s music video well.  Honestly, the photos creep me out a bit because the styles...just aren't my style I suppose.

I bought the official poster for this album a few years ago from YesStyle's store in San Francisco for $10. The dimensions are 24 inches by 17 inches.  The image is simply the album cover, but wider.  IU looks so elegant and innocent here, and I'm obsessed with both eyelet pattern and Peter Pan collars, so I love this poster.

Overall I love the songs, as they keep me at ease without distracting me when I'm feverishly studying and doing homework.  I love the album covers and poster as well.  I just don't like the packaging design nor the photobook, which is fine with me.  All that matters is that I like the songs!

Etude House: Precious Mineral BB Cream Bright Fit Review

During my first visit into an Etude House, I was drawn by the size of the Precious Mineral BB Cream Bright Fit; the BB creams I see and buy are always travel size, but this one is huge! After testing it and loving it even more, I just had to purchase this BB cream.

Etude has several BB creams within their Precious Mineral line along with Bright Fit; there's also Cotton Fit and Sun Cream., as well as other foundation-like products of the Precious Mineral line, like powder and sponge.

Now onto the actual product!  The cream comes in a light pearlescent pink rectangular box with fancy silver sparkles.  The design of the box definitely matches Etude's girly princess concept very well.  The supposed qualities of this cream are that it contains SPF, it prevents wrinkles and it brightens your skin.  The right side explains that Etude's Precious Mineral BB Cream line's main ingredient is pearl extract, creating a "silky complexion," along with the three qualities mentioned before.  The directions say to apply on your entire face and then "pat to finish."

The left side has Korean information and the back has more Korean information (and a Chinese translation sticker placed over the top because I bought this at a Hong Kong location).  The bottom just has a barcode and number.

The top of the box gives the product name, SPF number (30) and shade.  The shade I chose was Natural Beige W13.  There were several available shades, at least four, to my surprise because many Asian brands I've seen only carry two shades.

Like I mentioned earlier, the size of the bottle first caught my attention.  The box states that the weight is 60 grams, but there is nothing on the volume.  To give more perspective on the size, compare the bottle to this ruler and my SkinFood BB creams that hold 30 milliliters each.

Here is the actual product.  The front looks very similar to the box.  The back has a little Korean information.

The bottle comes with a sturdy cap and push dispenser.

The consistency is creamy and smooth, and there is no scent.  The amount on my finger tip is plenty for covering one entire cheek.

Pros

• This cream offers thick coverage, making me look like I have flawless skin!
• It gives a natural matte finish.
• After wearing it for a few hours, my face doesn't feel heavy, nor do I sense dryness or oiliness.
• A little really does go a long way: just a drop covers a large portion of my face.
• The bottle has a lot of product inside, so you're getting a great deal!  This product will definitely take me quite some time to finish
• There's no scent, which is great for sensitive people.

Cons

• Honestly, there is nothing bad about this product!

Overall, I absolutely love this product!  My skin looks and feels healthy and polished, and I think this is my new go-to BB cream.  While using this cream, I look and feel so much more refreshed and confident.

Shut Up Flower Boy Band OST Album Review

Shut Up Flower Boy Band is the second drama from the Oh! Boy teen drama series, airing throughout the first quarter of 2012.  It's definitely a more serious teen drama that portrays a school band, Eye Candy, that deals with many hardships, as well as relationships with with rival bands and girls.

This drama is very meaningful to me, because it opened me up to the world of Infinite, all thanks to Kim Myungsoo's stellar acting (...and looks).  I have never considered myself a part of any fandom until I watched the karaoke scene of the band singing along to 'Be Mine.'  Because of the drama's significance, I just had to buy the OST!

I was a bit too excited that in the middle of opening my album, I remembered to take a picture.  The exterior wrapping has a sticker naming the main cast of the drama.

The back cover is full of the flower boy cast, decked out in black.  Included is the tracklist and authentication sticker.

This album's packaging is quite simple, with a sleeve at the left containing the photo booklet and the CD at the right.  The staff credits are listed on the sleeve.  It's a pretty tight fit for the booklet because the sleeve doesn't have a bottom edge (if that makes sense), so I usually just place the booklet between the sleeve and the CD.

The photobook has 22 pages filled with screenshots and behind the scenes pictures of the flower boys.

There are lyrics and credits for all 10 tracks, printed autographs of the cast, gorgeous photos of mostly the six actors (five from Eye Candy and one from the leader of Strawberry Fields, the rival band).  These photos really show Eye Candy as a rock band, portraying the tough guy image throughout the pages.  There are also two pages for the two actresses, Kim Ye Rim and Jo Bo Ah.  The last two pages is a collage of pictures while on set.

Here's the tracklist displayed in the photobook.  Honestly, the majority of the songs from this OST aren't to my liking.  The tracks I do pay special attention to, however, are track 3, "Jaywalking," and track 6, "Love U Like U."  "Jaywalking" is Eye Candy's main hit song that gets played often, and it's definitely grown on me. The song I truly adore is "Love U Like U," which is a pop ballad duet by Kim Myungsoo and Kim Ye Rim. I love this song because it showcases Myungsoo's voice beautifully and the lyrics are just so sweet.  Also I'm surprised that the second track is completely in grammatically correct English, though it's also not my type of song.  Overall, I'm so happy to have this OST in my collection because of its significance to me and because I love Myungsoo so much.

Infinite Ranking King DVD Review

Infinite Ranking King is a variety show that aired from May to August 2012, featuring the members of Infinite as they perform various physical and mental tasks to determine the ranking of certain titles, such as Fashion King and Courage King.  There are eight different categories and an awards show finale spanning 15 episodes.  Ranking King is definitely my most favorite variety show of Infinite because it shows the dynamics of the boys and expresses their personalities through surprising activities.  A physical copy of Infinite Ranking King is only available as a First Press Limited Edition Japanese Version so it's not a common product, but the set comes with more than just DVDs.  Here's my unboxing and review of one of my most favorite Infinite products.

On the outside iis a flap with three sides.  The front side shows caricatures of Infinite, the bottom gives information on the DVDs in Japanese and the back flap shows a screencap of the first episode and each member's photo from the Fashion King episode.

This set contains, from right to left, a sticker sheet, a photobooklet, a DVD box and a T-shirt box, which all snugly fit inside a cardboard box.

Here are the stickers.  They are of Infinite's charicatures used to pre-rank and post-rank the members for each category.  These were designed well because I can easily tell who is who by the distinct features, but honestly speaking, they do look a bit creepy.

The Special Booklet is only 22 pages long, but full of beautiful photos.  The first two pages cover Infinite's history in both Korea and Japan, dating from debut to the end of 2012.

The next two pages show which ranking each of the 15 episodes covers.  This is extremely helpful because each ranking has an odd length of air time, meaning they aren't equally divided, so it helps to know if there are multiple rankings in one episode or if one ranking spans over more than one episode.  While it's all in Japanese, the rankings are color coded and there are screencaps to easily figure it out.

The following pages give two pages for each member profile, with the main photo being from the Fashion King photoshoot.  This section is the bulk of the photobooklet, and though small, I love the photos because they always bring the happy and fun memories from watching Ranking King.

The last pages give a collage of scenes from every episode and a very colorful 'special thanks' section.

I'm a bit disappointed with the DVD box itself, because it's just a transparent box with a piece of paper slipped into the front as the cover.  It seems cheaply designed.

Inside is a piece of paper with Infinite's most current Japanese discography and box sets.  This even includes Infinite's first full Japanese album, which was released on June 5, 2013, while this Ranking King DVD came out in May, 2013.  The backside advertises for the Japanese DVD sets of Myungsoo's drama Shut Up Flower Boy Band and Hoya's drama  Reply 1997.

There are 5 discs, adorned with the members in their Fashion King photoshoot clothing.  Pictured are four discs, with another disc between Sunggyu and Myungsoo.  Each disc contains three episodes.  The first disc also contains a trailer for the Sesame Player DVD (which I now want because of watching this trailer...) and for this Ranking King DVD.  On the main menu of each disc, you can choose Japanese subtitles or none, and there is also a 'chapter selection' per episode, four scenes per episode.

I suggest to first watch Ranking King online (YouTube) with subtitles to fully understand the dialogue, because there are only Japanese subtitles for the DVD, and to watch what was originally aired.  I noticed some non-Infinite background music has been removed (ex. in the Strength King episode, "Gee" and "You Raised Me Up" were both removed).  For the most part, the DVD version appears to be the same as the broadcasted version.  Watching the DVD version is still just as enjoyable to me, if not better because the different episodes aren't as confusing and flow better.  Also watching without subtitles is manageable because so many tasks are physical rather than mental or verbal, and without subtitles allows you to focus on Infinite more rather than keeping up with reading subtitles.

Lastly, included is an original T-shirt box that includes a random tee, folded inside a bag with a resealable flap.  While I love Ranking King, it was the added T-shirt that fully convinced me to buy this set.  I wanted an official Infinite shirt to wear to their One Great Step concert!

There are seven different designs, one of each member from the main photo of their Fashion King photoshoot.  All shirts come in an adult size medium, which fits very loosely on me.

This is the T-shirt I received!  I'm so happy to have gotten Sungyeol's, because his personality really shined during the Fashion King episode and [spoiler] I honestly thought he deserved a much higher ranking that episode.

Overall, the Ranking King DVD is one of my most favorite Infinite items ever!  I can always watch the episodes over and over again, gawk over the photobook and admire my precious Sungyeol shirt.  While it does cost more than most other Infinite products (this is roughly $100 USD), it is a very special piece in anyone's collection.

KDrama: Reply 1997 Director's Cut OST Album Review

Reply 1997 is a coming of age drama set between 1997, when the cast was in high school, to present day, at their class reunion. This hipster-like drama focuses on the emergence of Kpop and fandoms in the 1990s, as well as a group of six friends and their developing relationships with each other between high school and present day.  I love how this drama isn't fluffy like the typical teen school drama, and has unique charm and humor that makes this drama so endearing.  I quickly fell for the acting of Eunji's arrogant and saessang attitude, as well as Hoya's gentleness.  After shunning my eyes to Hoya's solo stage from Second Invasion Evolution, this drama has restored the innocence I can imagine in Hoya.  An interesting fact that blew my mind weeks after I had finished this drama is Shin Soyool's character was a diehard fangirl for Seches Kies in 1997, and Seches Kies member Eun Jiwon is one of the six friends, while in present day she loves Infinite, and Hoya plays one of the six friends as well.

The front cover of the Reply 1997 OST is like a VHS, reflecting the technology of the 1990s. The artistic design is very creative and brings me back to my days as a '90s kid, which is what first caught my attention to look into this album.  The image in the center is of the main characters while they were in their prime days of high school.

The backside shows the main stars, Jung Eunji and Seo Inguk, along with their main group of friends. Included is the tracklist, which includes 15 songs, and the contents of the DVD.

This album has two flaps.  The first flap reveals pictures of the group of friends in 1997.  The following flap reveals the photobook in the center and the CD and DVD at the bottom.

Inside the photobook is a set of goodies reminiscent of the drama.  There is a set of stickers of the cast, along with adorable coupons.

Here is a close up of the tracklist and DVD contents.  The first two tracks are covers from the 1990s and sung by Seo Inguk and Jung Eunji, while the remaining 13 tracks are popular first generation Kpop songs that were important during that time period.  It'll take me awhile to listen to the latter 13 tracks just because older Kpop songs don't catch my attention much.  However, the covers by Inguk and Eunji are absolutely beautiful and I'd listen to these tracks often.  There are no subtitles for the contents of the DVD, but it's still comprehensible just by watching.  The first feature on the DVD tells of Yoonjae's and Shiwon's relationship as it hits milestones throughout the entire drama.  It's a very elaborate recap of their relationship as it shows many scenes from the drama (this one segment was definitely at least 45 minutes long).

The second feature has a similar layout to the previous feature, but this time the collective scenes are mostly of events of Inguk's and Eunji's daily lives and surroundings, with not much focus in their romantic relationship.  The scenes show the six main cast members and Eunji's parents more, as well as emphasize Eunji's fangirling craze.  This feature is much shorter, about 20 minutes long.  The third feature is the only real new footage that the DVD provides.  The clips show the actors in between takes, redoing scenes, interacting with staff and holding impromptu interviews with the cast.  Sadly this portion is very short, only about 10 minutes long.  The two music videos are of Inguk's and Eunji's two recorded songs.  These videos show behind the scenes of Inguk and Eunji hanging out and having fun while recording in the studio.  They also intertwine with scenes of Inguk's and Eunji's developing relationship.

The wrapping had this adorable sticker attached, I think to describe the contents and features of this album...not onto the photobook.

The photobook is pretty thick for an OST, with 46 pages, and is divided into four sections.  The first section is dedicated to each of the six main characters and includes a photocopy of their adorable autographs, as well as select photos from their school days.

The next section displays the lyrics to all 15 songs, along with more high quality screenshots from the drama. These photos illustrate various scenes from the drama that bring so many memories!

The third section dedicates one page per episode, outlining the most important dialogue and accompanying screenshot from that episode, creating a good summary of Reply 1997.

The last section is filled with screenshots and behind the scenes photos from shooting, giving a more carefree and lighthearted ending to a beautiful photobook.  Overall I love this photobook because it shows many high quality photos from throughout the drama.