Infinite: 2017 Season's Greetings Review

With the new year comes new calendars! But for me, it also means buying previous years' discounted calendars. I purchased Infinite's 2017 Season's Greetings + Folded Poster set on December 28th, 2017 on Amazon for $26 USD. This item was sold by reseller Alice&Chris, based in Kentucky, and fulfilled by Amazon. The estimated delivery range was January 4th to 8th, 2018.

My package shipped on the 4th from Texas. Shortly after it shipped, Amazon charged me a few bucks for taxes, which I didn't realize until after viewing my order details once it shipped. I would suggest being fully aware if Amazon charged you taxes after your goods have shipped. Furthermore, the estimated delivery updated to January 10th, and on the 10th it was delayed even more. My package finally arrived on the 11th in an oversized cardboard box with no protection inside, but luckily my calendar arrived in good condition (except for the exception of a long dent on cover).

The concept for this season's greetings is very dark and ominous, continuing the theme from Infinite previous release of Infinite Only. The packaging is like Infinite's previous season's greetings boxes, similar to a cardboard pizza box. The dimensions of the exterior box are 11.625" by 9.375" by 1.5".

Here is the bottom of the exterior packaging. The entire box has a matte black finish. I like how Infinite has a new logo just for this season's greetings that fits well with this concept.

The side of the box has the new Infinite logo printed with a matte finish. I like the subtle details like this that Woollim puts into their products.

Opening up the flap reveals the main feature, the desk calendar.

Inside the same clear wrap as the desk calendar are the bookmark and standing mirror.

Underneath the desk calendar is the diary, packaged well in its cardboard bed. The diary is packaged in its own clear wrap (which I had already removed).

Lastly, underneath the diary is the making DVD. Continuing the theme, the desk calendar, diary, and making DVD case all have that matte black finish.

Here is the calendar. The image of Infinite is glossy while the page itself is matte but highly prone to fingerprints. There are a total of 14 physical pages, or 28 including both sides, with the remaining pages being all matte. When flat, the dimensions are 10.375" by 9".

This is the backside of the calendar. The thick cardboard creates a sturdy base so that the calendar stands up well.

Both the front and back have a triangular mirror, and all of the pages have a cutout for this.

Here is how the calendar looks standing up. The dimensions like this are 10.375" by 8.75" with the base about 3".

The next page is a yearly calendar that includes all members' birthdays and Infinite's 7th anniversary.

The following page contains individual photos of the members. All photos in the calendar are from the same photoshoot.

There are two pages per month. Each member gets an entire month with two close-up shots. Woohyun has the month of May^^ One page has the days displayed in a weekly format.

The other page has the days displayed at the bottom of the page in one long line.

For the remaining 5 months, each member gets one more individual page.

There are also 2 pages splitting the group.

Finally, there is 1 page for a group shot.

The last page of the calendar is a design very similar to the Season's Greetings box design.

There is also a thick piece of paper that I'll call the calendar sheet.

The backside includes the members' printed messages and autographs, as well as global holiday dates for China, Japan, the US, and Taiwan.

The calendar includes a sheet of red and green stickers that can be used to mark special dates on the desk calendar.

Here is the standing mirror, with dimensions 5.5" at the widest by 5.625" at the center. This is the first time I've seen a mirror included in official merchandise, and I'm not quite sure what to do with it. The mirror itself is quite foggy and practically nonfunctional as a mirror anyways. Other than that, Infinite looks great!

The backside of the standing mirror has a foldable stand so that the mirror can stand on its own.

The bookmark is a highly reflective plastic with a flap in the middle to slip in between a page. I personally don't like the quality of this as the material naturally has a lot of scratches and is prone to fingerprints. The dimensions are 2.75" by 4.375" at the tip.

This is the diary, which has a construction paper cover with cutouts in the center. The dimensions are 5.125" by 7.5" by 0.5".

The back cover has the gorgeous Infinite logo.

The spine is also detailed with an engraving of the logo on top, "INFINITE" in the center, and "DIARY" at the bottom.

The silver backing is actually a postcard. You can see how reflective the back of this postcard is - much more than the mirror itself!

Here is the frontside of the postcard, with a nice image of OT7 and the logo in the background. This postcard has dimensions 4.75" by 7".

Removing the postcard from the diary reveals this image of Infinite as the diary cover. These photos are the same images as the images on the calendar sheet. This design is very similar to the diary included in Infinite's 2014 Season's Greetings.

There is a 2-page spread showing the 2017 and 2018 calendars. I really like these calendars because they show the members' birthdays and Infinite's anniversary. It even includes Hoya's birthday in 2018...

The diary includes an undated monthly planner where each 2-page spread is for 1 month, so that you can use it for any year.

The next section includes an undated weekly planner where each page is for 1 week.

The remaining pages are the diary portion, with various pages for you to write. The first section includes lined pages with the Infinite logo decorating the top.

The next section consists of blank pages, with the logo on the bottom left and "INFINITE" on the bottom right.

The last section contains graph paper.

Next is the making DVD, which comes in a matte black envelope.

Here is the backside of the envelope.

Here is the DVD. It is for all regions and is just over 40 minutes long with Korean subtitles. Majority of the time is dedicated to each member answering various questions, with short clips of that member's 2 individual shoots. Some of these questions include what is each member's imaginary role in a family, and what is the member's most favorite and hardest parts of the "The Eye" choreography. The length of time spent on each member really varied, with Sungjong only taking up 3.5 minutes and Dongwoo taking up 7 minutes, depending on the editing of each member's interview. There are few clips of the group and subgroup photoshoots in between the members' interviews. The tracks of Infinite Only play throughout the video.

Here is the exterior folded poster. The poster is really large - a lot bigger than Woollim's typical first press album posters! The dimensions are 34" by 24". The poster is also high quality, with a slightly gloss finish.

Overall, though I'm quite late in getting this 2017 Season's Greetings, I'm so happy to have it in my collection. I like how each year Infinite has a different concept for their calendar. 2017's concept is definitely the darkest out of all of Infinite's season's greetings. Sadly, this is also Infinite's last season's greetings with OT7.

CNBlue: Ear Fun Special Limited Edition Album Review

CNBlue's products have consistently been very high quality and elegant, especially their limited edition albums. That being said, I didn't mind the extra cost of getting the Special Limited Edition of the band's third Korean mini album, Ear Fun. This special version was released in April 2012, just a couple of weeks after the normal version's release. There are four versions of this special edition, one per member, but it's difficult to find a new copy of any member (besides Jungshin...)! Luckily Amazon.com still has new copies of Jonghyun, so that's who I got!

This album comes in an A4 sized hardcover sleeve. This sleeve has a matte, canvas-like pattern yet the texture feels smooth with glossy lettering. Inside the sleeve is the hardcover photobook with a CD and DVD, and underneath that is the paperback individual member photobook.

The backside of the sleeve indicates which member this edition is. Jonghyun looks so chic yet laid back in those shades and attire! I love how this is a bokeh photo, making the entire album even more classy.

Here is a close up of the details on the back. This album focuses on all the details, such as framing the information like a stamp on a postcard. The CD and DVD tracklists are to the right.

The main photobook is very high quality with gorgeous front and back covers that match the classiness of CNBlue's special photobooks. This photobook has 140 pages of gorgeously artistic photos.

This collection is mostly of group photos, with individual member shots disbursed throughout the photobook. These photos have really cool angles and some look vintage with a black and white finish. There are also several artistic shots of the surroundings.

These last three pages include the tracklist's lyrics and album credits. I loved all of the photos in this book and will definitely treasure it for showing the cool side of CNBlue and for its artistic creativity!

The inside of the back cover contains the CD and DVD, both held together by a cylindrical foam in the center. This mini album has six tracks, and not surprisingly, Jung Yonghwa participated in the creation of all the tracks except the first.

Here are my two cents on the tracklist:

1. "Hey You" was the only song that really caught my attention during the album's initial release. This main track has such a fun sound, starting with what sounds like a DJ scratching a disc, and the fast pace and fun vibe just continues. This music video takes the viewer on a backstage tour of CNBlue getting ready, then performing the song on a live stage of a music show.
2. "Still in Love" is the other song CNBlue promoted. This track is slower and showcases Yonghwa's vocals beautifully. The accompanying music video has a vintage music show feel, with the band casually sitting in the studio and recording the song.
3. "Dream Boy" is also a slower song with a fun, upbeat chorus. This song often alternates between Yonghwa and Jonghyun, contrasting their voices well.
4. "Rock N' Roll" is a rapid and fast paced number with a chorus perfect for one of those oldies beach dance parties. I love how Jonghyun's angelic vocals break Yonghwa's more raw voice, creating that contrast unique to CNBlue. 
5. "Run" has slow, calm verses that escalate to a fast and catchy chorus. The chorus is really catchy with the repetitive "run" that makes me just want to be carefree and run through a grass field.
6. "In My Head" is the Korean version of one of CNBlue's Japanese singles that Yonghwa had composed. It has that CNBlue sound found in their Japanese songs (like "Robot"), like that rock feel.

The DVD shows the special features of creating the photoshoot for this album with automatic Korean subtitles and the Ear Fun tracklist playing in the background. Just under 20.5 minutes, this feature was really fun to see CNBlue enjoying their time in LA as tourists and as models for their album. The DVD was divided into "Shopping" and "Photo Shooting," which was the bulk of the DVD. This includes video clips of the members enjoying their vacation, such as eating snow cones and playing on the beach, with mini interviews of their thoughts. CNBlue also interacted with local kids (some of who thought Yonghwa was Chinese -.-), and Jonghyun even adorably held a Caucasian baby! My favorite part was watching Yonghwa and Jonghyun becoming creepers soon after by chasing other kids.

Here are the covers for Jonghyun's individual photobook. This looks like a glamorous accessories catalog, like for Tiffany & Co.; I love the timeless feel these photos give.

There are 18 pages in this photobook, with most of these photos are of only Jonghyun, but there are a few with the members (like in the cafe in the top photo) and one group photo at the end.These photos show Jonghyun interacting with this new and unfamiliar environment, like how he's playing with a little girl or dining at a cafe.

Overall, this album is amazing! This special edition is so worth the extra cost and the songs are all so fun and have the signature CNBlue sound. CNBlue never disappoints with their extravagant products.