Etude House Missing U Panda and Pink Dolphin Hand Cream Review

Etude House has a line of hand creams called Missing U, with each product focusing on a protecting a particular species. These protects spread awareness and part of the proceeds go toward that cause. The original series includes #1 Harp Seal, #2 Fairy Penguin,  #3 Panda, and #4 Pink Dolphin. I reviewed the Harp Seal before here and the Fairy Penguin here.

What first drew me to this hand cream series and to Etude House in the first place was seeing it on the drama Shut Up Flower Boy Band. I know I said this in the Harp Seal review, but I'll state it again. Ye Rim hands Infinite's Myungsoo the Pink Dolphin hand cream, which I honestly thought was the ugliest thing I've seen. How can you turn a dolphin's snout into a 2D surface. But because Myungsoo's had contact with this one (they probably chose the most ugly one to boost its sales), I had to get this one. When I was in Seoul, I bought the two I'm missing, the Panda and the Pink Dolphin.

I gave most of my thoughts about the products in my Harp Seal review, so here I'll do a quicker review of the packaging, the hand cream container, and the cream itself, for the Panda and Pink Dolphin. Etude's English website also has information on this hand cream series here.

The packaging is environmentally friendly; it is printed on 100% recycled paper and with soy ink, and has won a packaging award in 2011. This is the panda one.

And here is the similar packaging for the dolphin. I like the graphic of the pink dolphin in its natural habitat~

The backside states the "Panda Story" in Korean and is very descriptive. The side has a translation in English, but the "Panda Story" is much shorter than the Korean one. It reads:

"Our endangered animal friends are rapidly becoming extinct from the planet... I really want to see you...

I miss you!

Hi~ I am Panda

I live in China, love to eat bamboo and practice kung-fu."

It also states that this cream contains herbs, shea butter, and olives, to "moisturize, heal and soothe hands." While it is a hand cream, you can also apply it to arms.

The story for the pink dolphin story states: "I live in the Amazon River, love to swim and chat with friends." Like the other Missing U hand creams, it is also made with the same ingredients and has the same directions.

The hand creams fit in my hand and contain 30ml. They're so adorable; I love how the arms are 3D, adding to the cuteness.

The panda is peach scented, as indicated on its belly. To me, it smells like a typical flowery lotion scent, not necessarily peachy like Tony Moly's peach hand cream. The pink dolphin is fiona scented. I have no idea what "fiona" could be besides a name of a person, but the picture on the container looks more like a peony flower. To me, it smells like potpourri (which isn't a bad thing!). You simply unscrew the top, and inside there's a clear plastic cover and then the cream.

Overall, I love this series and I'm glad I have the complete collection! The containers are cute (...I'll eventually accept the Pink Dolphin's appearance), and the creams do their job in moisturizing my hands. I'm sorry I didn't blog much about the cream itself, but I do mention it on the other posts.

Infinite: One Great Step Returns DVD Review

As we all know, Infinite embarked on a stellar world tour, One Great Step, back in the latter half of 2013. This tour was really impressive because of the diverse countries they visited, really showing the meaning of a world tour. On February 28th and March 1st of 2014, Infinite held their encore concert in Seoul, One Great Step Returns. I would have thought that Woollim would capitalize on OGS by creating a concert DVD, which would be a great move to showcase their popularity around the globe, and their talent in various languages and performance skills in foreign countries. But instead Woollim released in theaters "GROW: Infinite's Real Youth Life" which showed bits of their performances but mostly focused on behind the scenes. And now that the OGSR DVD is released, it seems like they bypassed the OGS concert, despite always previously releasing all their Korean concerts on DVD. And on April 2nd KST (it was April 1st for me, so I thought it was an April Fool's joke), they announced the OGSR Live Album to be released on April 9th. Anyways...

This OGS DVD was originally set to be released on March 6th, but kept getting delayed until March 20th. I preordered it, along with the poster in a tube, for roughly $60. I saw earlier that it was for $55 but I waited too long and their shipping increased or something. My DVD took 13 days to arrive, and it was wrapped in three layers of bubblewrap, inside their waterproof envelope with an inner layer of bubblewarp. And this time they also used a rubberband to secure the DVD even more. It arrived in almost perfect condition, with one corner a little dented. My postertube arrived a day after my DVD.

To start off, the packaging is so cool. There are 3D rays radiating from the center. The diamond around the center also faintly lists the members. It's also very elegant in its simplicity, with no labeling on the sides. It's just a bit bigger than Infinite's typical albums, and of course it's thicker.

The backside has the setlist and DVD information.

Here is a closeup of the setlist for both discs. The second disc includes the making film for the concert.

It is for all regions and has subtitles in English, Japanese, Chinese, and Korean. The English subtitles are really good, with only a few mistakes (spelling "Infinite" wrong, of course^^). It doesn't list the length of each disc, but the first disc is 1:59.44, the second disc's concert segment is 58.37, and the special feature is 18.54. I was hoping for a much longer special feature, but with such a long concert already (almost three hours!), I guess it's all good^^

And to open, you simply lift the top half up, and lift the contents from the top. Ahh the photobook smells like Infinite's albums~

Here is the photobook, which is 80 pages long. The font cover has a matte texture that matches the rugged and dark concept of the concert. The binding also labels the concert.

The backside matches the front, but with a smaller logo.

The photobook is very gorgeous and somehow the photos felt particularly special to me. The first two pages include messages from Infinite.

Then the photobook is divided into three chapters. The first is of the rehearsal the day before the concert, February 27th, 2014. It's so cool to see that rotating stage. This production was very big, with all their unique stages. It'd be so cool to witness this live.

I got so emotional just seeing Dongwoo in his ivory OGS hoody! It makes me happy that he was still wearing it even after the world tour was over. I feel like I can match Dongwoo whenever I wear mine now^^

The second section is the backstage of the two concert dates. This section is only 8 pages long, but it's cool seeing Infinite in their opening outfits in that lounge; this was exactly when they had their impromptu Line video hangout with fans, shortly before the concert! If you recognize the background wallpaper, this is also where Infinite held their Rally 2 (and therefore also Rally 1).

The third chapter is photos from the concert itself. This section is the bulk of the photobook, and includes many great shots of Infinite performing their various stages, and closeup individual shots. The last page lists the DVD credits.

The front cover of the DVD case has the image from the OGSR group poster. The backside is black, and sadly captured my fingerprints.

The DVD case is trifold. Opening up the top flap reveals the setlist, as well as the dates and venue of this concert.

Opening up the case fully reveals a gorgeous picture of the concert and Infinite on their rotating platform, though sadly we can't see all the members. The plastic cases holding the two DVDs are a lot more stable (unlike Second Invasion where the glue allows the plastic part to slide around, and That Summer Concert where one of my discs keeps falling out).

The concert...is breathtaking. You can really see the members' growth from their earlier concerts until now. I was sad that they didn't release OGS, but the introductory VCR paid tribute to Infinite's world tour by listing their stops, which is good enough. The main VCR included a really fun spin-off of Sunggyu's past reality game show, The Genius. I liked how they made the loser of the game do a dare at the concert, so it transitioned really nicely from the VCR to the concert. Also the stages were really well thought out, with a really cool transition between "Can U Smile" and "Going to You." They also showed a long preview for "Grow," which I hope they'll release on DVD. Also I love how they recycle their clothes, like one set of clothing they've used during the New Challenge photoshoot, an interview while on the LA stop of OGS, and various other performances.

I'm not one to cry by watching people perform, no matter how moved I get, but I cried during Woohyun's solo and Infinite F's debut. I was so happy and proud the maknae line and their improved vocals, and especially Myungsoo as the main vocal; he shows his confidence in his singing ability and I love that. They also only showed the beginning of the "Inconvenient Truth" music video, then Infinite came out and performed the whole song; I guess we'll never get the official release of the music video, unless they release One Great Step on DVD!

It was also cool seeing the VCR of their April 2014 comeback teaser as if we were a part of the audience (so the DVD also showed the stage and audience instead of just the VCR). Also Sunggyu funnily and subtly mentioned how painful it is when he thinks of "Come Back Again" and switching centers. Lastly, the one thing that annoyed me was how a lot of times the camera angle was up close on a member, so we missed the group choreography, losing its powerful impact.

The making film is split into seven parts, spanning over the days leading up to the concert. The first day (around February 20?), they said it was their first day practicing since performing in Dubai in December...that's incredible that they only need about a week to prepare for a concert! It showed Infinite in the ensemble room practicing their group singing, solo practice, choreography practice, the venue rehearsal, the minutes leading up to the concert in the waiting room, and finally the concert, shot at various angles like behind the stage and various vantage points of fans. And lastly, it showed the ending of the concert, and Infinite leaving the venue. "As Good As It Gets" was printed as part of their setlist when they practiced on the 25th (I saw this photo online), and the day before the concert, they were practicing day before the concert, they were practicing, yet sadly it wasn't in the concert.

My poster arrived rolled up inside its postertube, but the poster was still a little bent from the person rolling it and putting it into the tube. The poster itself is so beautiful, and so big! Usually I don't like grid posters (where the members are separated into their own photos), but for a concert poster it makes sense since there won't be a time where the members are all close together for a group shot. These individual shots are all in the photobook as well, under the third section, except for Sungjong's photo, which I couldn't find in the photobook. The poster is black and white and is about half an inch longer than Infinite's typical posters (New Challenge, Destiny, L's Bravo Viewtiful, etc.).

Overall, I think this is my new favorite concert DVD! What's especially special is because it's the latest concert DVD, we get to see more variety of performances (ranging from their debut album to Season 2 songs that were pre-released at this concert). Also their stages have all been upgraded, making for such a magnificent overall performance. If I could, I'd watch this every day!

KBOYS x smart Magazine Spring/Summer 2015 Review

Japanese magazine "smart" has created a spinoff magazine that collaborates with Korean boy groups to model fashion. This collaboration, "KBOYS x smart," is a "Fashion Book of KBOYS" and features Infinite on the front cover for the Spring/Summer 2015 issue.

Here is the front cover without the yellow slip. The magazine has a matte finish and is really high quality, with thick front and back covers. It has 111 pages and is 8.3125" x 11.75".

Here is the backside, featuring BTS. This magazine was released on March 18th, 2015 in Japan, and I was surprised to see it at Seattle's Kinokuniya Bookstore on March 29th, just 11 days later! The listed price is roughly $10USD, and I bought it at $15.50 which is still pretty reasonable.

The first time I flipped through the magazine, I was wondering what these uneccessary blank sheets of paper were doing, and why they were different widths. It turns out, they're posters! I couldn't find a perforation to safely remove them though, so I'll keep them safely attached in the magazine.

The first one (with the shortest width, so I guess it's shorter than the other two) is of Infinite! Next is BTS, followed by Shin of Cross Gene.

On the credits page, it lists Kangho the Red Carpet as the hair and makeup team for Infinite. It's so cool that they used Infinite's regular salon!

The next page is the table of contents. The magazine is basically broken up into six sections, one for each featured group. The first section stars Infinite, then Block B, followed by Shin of Cross Gene (who I've honestly only heard of because they're always mentioned in these Japanese Kpop magazines, but I still have no idea who they are), then MYNAME, followed by B1A4, and lastly BTS.

Each section follows a similar layout. First it's that group's fashion theme; for Infinite, their concept is "Spring Has Come," with members dressed for the spring season.

Each member or pair (Myungsoo, Woohyun, and Sunggyu had their own shoots while Sungjong and Sungyeol, and Hoya and Dongwoo shared shoots) had their own specific fashion concept for spring. Hoya and Dongwoo are showing off "One Tone" fashion while Sunggyu coolly expresses "Casual" fashion. Myungsoo represents "Basic," Woohyun shows off "Sports," and Sungjong and Sungyeol wear "Relax"ing fashion.

Then there's one group photo to bring all the styles together. It's hard to see, but there is a lot of though into the page layout. On the bottom, they list the idol group (which is great for me who can only recognize Infinite), the page number, and the concept for that group.

Next is Infinite's Spring/Summer fashion guide, with what I assume is what each member would recommend. This section is unique to Infinite and isn't included in the other groups' sections. These outfits definitely look like each member's style, especially Hoya (top left) with his sporty jacket, Sungjong (bottom left) with his bermuda shorts, and Myungsoo (bottom left on the right page) with his plain black attire.

The last part of Infinite's section is their "Shooting Diary," which has Polaroids of the members, and their behind the scenes photos.

Fashion-wise, my most favorite photoshoot was from B1A4 and their "On & Off Fashion." Their "On" fashion is just on point, looking chic yet casual. The outfits Infinite was modeling...I don't see how they're fashionable.

Towards the end is an individual interview of all the members featured in this issue.

Overall, I'm so happy that Seattle's Kinokuniya had this Japanese magazine for sale, and within 11 days of it being release, especially since most of their goods take at least a month to arrive! It was also cool going to the Kpop section of the bookstore and seeing other fangirls - I'm not the only one! And for the magazine itself, it's well worth it for the quality and the content.

CNBlue: Can't Stop (Original Version) 5th Mini Album Review

In February 2014, CNBlue released their 5th Korean mini album named after their spectacular title song, "Can't Stop." CNBlue has always held a special place in my heart, and I love how the members write and compose the songs themselves and have their own unique sound as a band. This album actually has three versions, all released just a few weeks apart in February and March of 2014, with the same songs but just different packaging. I didn't really know the major differences between the three, so I decided to buy the original version. The second version, Can't Stop II, looks very similar in packaging, and the third version, Can't Stop Special, has a completely different look and comes in an LP format (like those old vinyl records).

This album has really interesting packaging I've never seen before. It's a square, 6.75" x 6.75" and comes in a transparent slip case. The overall concept has a monochromatic color scheme revolving around time and clocks.

This is the backside with the slip.

Here is the slip cover. The slip case is made of plastic sheeting (like those for overhead projectors), and it's really easy to get grease on it from your hands, from fingerprints to palm prints. I'm sorry I complain about the weirdest and more irrelevant things. The side reveals the tracklist.

This is the album without the slip, with the city as its design.

Oddly enough, the CD makes up the back cover; the backside is made up of two thick layers, and the CD is held by a plastic middle and embedded into the cover. I don't know why the CD is also so prone to fingerprints...also because of the plastic CD holder in the center, it gets in the way when putting back on the slip case.

I like how the back cover, including underneath the CD, continues the city look and the monochromatic theme.

Flipping over the front cover reveals the standing paper and photobook.

This version comes with one random member standing paper out of four, which is basically like a paper photo frame with a standing back. I want to preserve this, so I won't open up the backside. If you want to though, keep the standing paper faced down and fold the two vertical flaps upward and inward. Here you see I got Minhyuk's~

The photobook is absolutely gorgeous and is of the same high quality as the photoshoots from CNBlue's limited albums and Blue Travel photobook; at first I was having doubts for buying a non-Infinite album, but now I'm so happy to have this album for the songs and for the photobook.

The photobook is 54 pages long and includes three photoshoots at various locations. Their YouTube page also released the jacket making for this album, which includes two of the three photoshoots in New York. Each section includes a couple of group photos and several pages dedicated to each member. The first set is of CNBlue on Brooklyn Bridge. This is my favorite; it's impressive they were able to take these beautiful shots without others in the background, and the compositions are just gorgeous.

The second set is of the band on a luxury tour bus.

The last set is of CNBlue sauntering around Times Square at night.  I somehow have to link every post to Infinite: Myungsoo wore that same spotted jacket Yonghwa's wearing while Myungsoo and Yonghwa were both MCs for the 2014 SBS Gayo Daejun. It's a tough suit to pull off, but they both work it so well~

The last few pages are for the lyrics. I really like how they take the space to showcase the song lyrics, instead of cramming all six onto two pages. Each song has one page and is beautifully laid out.

Because the photobook is only connected to the actual album by gluing the back page onto the album, it is not strong. The further I looked through the photobook, the more the last page's binding broke apart. I definitely have to be careful next time I'm looking through it!

Here is the tracklist printed in the photobook. Yonghwa participated in creating all the songs except the fourth track, which Jonghyun participated in creating. I cannot express my love enough for the title song, "Can't Stop," as it has such unique combinations of sounds that make this song timeless to me. Just the amazingness of this song outshines the other five tracks. Those tracks also have a similar feel as the title track, as they're all more classical, slow, and relaxing, but they just don't compare to "Can't Stop."

The music video for "Can't Stop" is really amazing, with the band performing in pastel suits and in a European-inspired setting and in various other locations, like a dark basement and in a bright bedroom. There is also a parallel world linked by a mirror between Yonghwa and a Caucasian girl. I really like how FNC isn't afraid of using non-Asians as part of their music videos, such as CNBlue's "Love Girl" and now "Can't Stop."

Overall, I absolutely love this album. The photobook is one of my favorite photobooks included in a Kpop album. The title song is one of my favorites of CNBlue and adds to their always-impressive musical creations. Excuse my pun, but I honestly can't stop playing "Can't Stop"!