Infinite: Last Romeo ~Kimi Ga Ireba Ii~ Single (Normal) Review

I reviewed Infinite's latest Japanese single albums, Last Romeo, Type A and Type B, and finally I was able to get the Normal version, which I'll review now! I ordered from an individual seller on Amazon.com, uniqueplace-usa, which is to my surprise based in Switzerland. I bought it new for about $22USD and it took just 12 days to arrive. My CD came in a paper envelope lined with bubble wrap; overall, I'm happy with my order! And onto the album~

There are two stickers on the exterior wrapping of the album, stating this is the normal version and explaining the high touch event for the Japanese "Last Romeo" promotions that passed. I'm happy they strategically put the stickers in the white areas so they didn't cover up anyone!

It's not as common seeing jewel cases for Kpop albums, but Infinite's Japanese normal CDs always use this packaging. But even this album is more special than the ordinary, since it has an exterior slip! The front, top and bottom of the slip have the album title printed in metallic silver while the sides of the jewel case have the information printed in black. On the side underneath the Infinite logo states "Season 2," I guess indicating this is the first Japanese album under that era.

I really like this design! The exterior slip and the CD's liner notes' booklet cover have just slightly different images, yet they totally evoke a different feeling. In the slip, the boys are staring off into the distance looking nostalgic, while in the booklet cover they're reminiscing by closing their eyes. This entire album is of the boys in this photoshoot, looking pure in white clothes and damp hair. Each version of the single has its own photoshoot, and this normal version is by far my favorite!

The backside of the exterior slip, jewel case and booklet all are the same. They reveal the tracklist (the Japanese versions of "Last Romeo," "A Person like Me," and "Nothing's Over," The backside of the slip and case also have miscellaneous information, including the single's release date, July 2nd, 2014.

Opening the jewel case, the liner notes are on the left, and CD is on the right.

Opening the first page of the booklet reveals the photocard and a slip of paper.

The booklet has 14 pages, excluding the front and back covers. There are two sets of photos, one per member: one set is a closeup with that same intense stare and the member's name, and the other is a mostly full body shot of them peacefully jumping, running or just in motion in midair. At first it looks weird with Sungyeol's full body image in between Sunggyu and Woohyun (like they misplaced Sungyeol here) but they just randomly intertwined the two photo sets together.

The last four pages are the translated Japanese lyrics, staff credits, and website information.

Each normal version comes with one random photocard out of eight, and it's roughly the size of an actual photocard, but it's a bit elongated. There is one photocard for each member and one group card. Each card just as the member's name, and I'm not sure about the group card...As you can see, I got Woohyun! He looks a little pissed here, not really evoking that "Last Romeo" feeling.

These photocards are of Infinite wearing their white lace outfits, and actually they're all photos from the Last Romeo Type B with the large photobook, so there is nothing special about these photocards if you already have Type B. (I wasn't able to find photos of all photocards, but I know for sure Woohyun, Hoya, Sungyeol, Myungsoo and Sungjong photos are exactly the same, though the photobook version is usually a cropped photo of the photocard except for Sungjong's). If you couldn't tell, I'm disappointed by this.

The backside of each photocard is part of a 4 x 2 puzzle that pieces together to say "Infinite Season 2 Last Romeo" with the current era logo. Woohyun's card is the top left of the puzzle!

There is also a slip of paper for entering into Infinite's promotional high touch event from August. This is another slap in the face that I'll never get to go to one of these events.

Overall, I can't get over this photoshoot. Despite being such a small booklet, just the photos itself make this version my most favorite out of the three!

Inspired by Infinite's Fashion

I've always been intrigued by Infinite's personal clothing style, and subconsciously it has really dominated my life influenced my clothing choices. Even though I see a lively color I like, my default is buying the black one thanks to Myungsoo. If I'm in Asia, I'll see out a Uniqlo just because Myungsoo and Sungjong have been spotted shopping there. Etc.

Early summer of 2013, I bought this loose tee at Forever 21. Though this design was something the pre-Inspirit me would never wear, I figured a baggy tee (though it should have been much longer) with some pattern on it would be something Sunggyu might wear.

And a few days later, I see an image from Infinite's Destiny in America Production DVD footage of their IDEA Photobook (both which were released in late 2013, so maybe I saw a pre-released photo? Anyways, I took this photo while I was watching the DVD.) and Myungsoo was wearing practically the same shirt! Just the location of the birds are different, so I think the cloth is cut differently for each shirt. And doing more research, Sunggyu also wore a white tee with gray seagulls during the July 29, 2013 recording of KBS Live Tong in Seoul Land (I don't want to post photos of him since they're not mine).

And most recently, I've been obsessed with ifntfashion.com, a fansite that finds exact articles of clothing that Infinite wears. Going through the archives, I found Myungsoo from the "60 Seconds" music video wearing the most gorgeous pair of boots, Dr. Martens x Pendleton 1460 Boots.

This style came out in early 2013 and has since been discontinued, but luckily I found exactly one pair in my size. The design of the boots are different for each pair, which is why mine doesn't look exactly like the one Myungsoo wore.

While I'm trying to build my wardrobe on my own tastes, I can't help but have Infinite's own style (or their coordi noonas' style) creeping in! I hope I'll be able to find more cute pieces that can match both mine and Infinite's taste~ Especially something like those boots, which I love so much!

T-Money Cards

In Seoul (and many other areas around South Korea), the easiest way to get around is by use of the T-Money card! The card stores money that can be used on many modes of transportation, including taxi, bus, subway and train. There are different types of T-Money cards, like the T-Money Pop Card, which is sold in GS 25 convenient stores, and the Seoul City Pass Plus Card, sold in various convenient stores and has benefits at tourist attractions around the city. While studying in Korea, I bought two T-Money cards and just recently my friend sent me another one! So here I'll share the different types of T-Money cards that I have.

Seoul City Pass Plus Pop Card

Since this is a Pop Card, it is specially for GS 25. It cost 3,000₩ (~$3USD) for the card itself, then you can put in however much money like a debit card. The backside of the clear packaging (as will all three of my cards) has info about the Pop Card and GS. As a tourist friendly card, it comes with a brochure of touristy coupons in its packet. I really love this card because the design is so pretty!

Unofficial Kpop Card

The underground Kpop shops in Myungdong Station (which I talk more about here) sell a variety of T-Money cards with photos of Kpop idols plastered on top. To my frustration, each card cost 10,000₩, but this photo of Myungsoo was too enticing for me to pass up a chance to have him on my own card. On closer inspection, I noticed that the photo is printed on a thick cardstock, then plastered on top of a regular T-Money card. I'm tempted to peel away the photo just to see the actual image of the T-Money card, but I won't.

Official Kpop Card

There are also times when Pop Card releases their own official Kpop cards. This past September, they released one of Infinite, Mblaq and U-Kiss. My friend finally was able to find and send me the Infinite card, after searching at many GSs! 

Included is a mini pamphlet with information about a joint app that gives the user access to Infinite's exclusive photos and other content by using NFC to scan the card with your phone. There's a sneak peek photo of Woohyun in the bottom left! Sadly this app isn't available in the US, so I can't see the exclusive content :(

In short, T-Money cards are super convenient and come in many cute designs; going around Seoul, T-Money is the way to go!

The Face Shop Olive Essential Cream

Back in February I wrote a review here about my Olive Essential Cream, a sample I got from The Face Shop. Though I've tested so many samples, this is honestly the first sample that I've loved so much and felt such an improvement after only one use, that I bought the actual product for myself!

I'll just review the packaging, my comments about the cream itself are in my original post. I bought this jar for somewhere around 10,000₩, or roughly $10USD. It is a little more pricey than their cheaper lines which I tend to buy (because the cheaper ones tend to have cuter packaging and the more high end ones are just for quality products).

This is a tinted olive green glass jar with a sturdy plastic screw lid with one of the brand's logos (I'm not sure if it's for one of their lines or just a general logo?). Every time you screw back on the lid, it always aligns perfectly to the front label. The jar is pretty small, about as tall as a golf ball.

The bottom of the jar has information printed in Korean, as well as the expiration date December 3, 2016. Usually Korean products would list the manufacture date, so it's nice to see the expiration date for once (since that's the date that really matters). It also states that the cream is 50 ml, or 1.69 fluid ounces.

The inside also has a thick plastic cover with a convenient handle. The underside of the lid also has a foam cushion, but it gets dented due to the handle. And I had to include my Infinite mouse pad in the picture, as they're the same color!

While the packaging isn't cute like a fruit or animal, it's simplistic and really high quality. I will definitely cherish this cream as one of my most favorite products I bought specifically not for the packaging!

[Update] Infinite: Koi Ni Ochiru Toki 1st Japanese Full Album Review

As new official Infinite products seem to be on hiatus (as in Woollim isn't releasing any new albums or DVDs for awhile), I decided that I want to try and collect all seven random member photobooks from the Japanese full album, Koi Ni Ochiru Toki! I originally bought a new album in Japan and received Hoya, which I traded for my friend's Myungsoo. Though I have my bias's book, I love this concept and photoshoot so much, and the fact that the random element is an actual book instead of a photocard, that I decided to try and collect more! Here is my original review of the album, and in this blog post I'll describe my game plan for collecting all seven photobooks and continue my review of the album.

I prefer buying new albums, but because I want to collect specific books and ask sellers which member's book they're selling, I decided to go to the used market on Amazon. While there are few sellers on eBay selling specific member's photobooks, they're offering ridiculous prices so buying used from Amazon seemed best. I emailed many sellers for which members they had, some of who ignored me, some who said they don't have access to their warehouse, and others who gave me the member and immediately hiked up the price three-fold. I'm pretty hesitant buying from an independent seller on Amazon (as I've had way more than my share of bad experiences), especially because the random member photobook may be missing from the album. Yet I gambled with the cheapest seller, SHINJITU JP, who also never responded to my email. I paid just under $16 and my used album arrived exactly two weeks after shipment.

My album arrived in a paper envelope lined with bubblewrap, and there was a thin cushy layer around my album that was taped onto the album itself...luckily it didn't leave a mark. But of course the first thing I checked before opening my package was whether or not the random photobook was inside-I gave my package a shake and everything seemed to be there! Overall the exterior casing had a few nicks, but the photobooks were in excellent, practically new condition!

I'm pretty meticulous when it comes to documenting my Infinite merchandise, so that's why most of this post is pointless. But anyways, my album came with, in order from top to bottom: the CD/DVD case, the regular photobook, the advertisement slip, and lastly the random member photobook. The only thing that's missing is the lottery ticket.

And if it wasn't for this album, I wouldn't have known that the perforated exterior case is also a slip that goes over the album! So the real album covers under the cover slips look like this, with a simplistic front and with a group photo from the regular photobook, the CD and DVD tracklists and technical information on the back.

Of course the first thing I checked after opening the package was which member did I get...I got Woohyun, the one I wanted the most! Admiring every page of pure amazingness, my hands were trembling so much in happiness that I finally got what I had wanted. While all the member photobooks include photos from all three photoshoots (white suits, black and white suits, pastel suits), the number of pages per each shoot is different. Excluding the front and back covers, Hoya's and Woohyun's are 6, 4, 8, and Myungsoo's is 6, 6, 6.

Here are the covers of Woohyun's photobook. Like the front cover, the rest of the photos from this shoot show Woohyun calm and distant, and then the last shoot is more cute and fun.

Mostly every page has its own photo, but for some reason that one photo of Woohyun was wasted...it's still a gorgeous photo though^^ Then there are the black and white photos, which are cute as well. Many of Woohyun's photos (5 to be exact) are full body, and many more (8) are half body...I was hoping for more close-ups. Included are Woohyun's profile information and printed autograph, and the last two pages are fun poses!

I never got around to posting about Myungsoo's photobook, but it's never too late! Here are the front and back covers.

I cannot get over the first photoshoot; it is just pure perfection. These pages show Myungsoo being cute and charming, and also expressionless L! Included again are the profile information and printed autograph, and the last two pages are so cute!

Again, I cannot state how esctatic I am to have both Myungsoo's and Woohyun's. Part of me wants to continue collecting the rest ASAP but then I feel like I won't cherish my top 2 as much as I do now...we'll see^^