Etude House Soon Jung Hydro Barrier Cream and Golden Child Bomin Endorsement Photocards Review

Golden Child's Bomin has really built a name for himself with his various individual schedules and endorsements. I blogged a bit about Bomin's individual merch here, but I've added to my collection since then so I figured I'd make a quick post. I won't actually be blogging about the skincare product itself, but rather on the packaging and photocards.

Bomin has been an endorser for Korean beauty brand Etude House. In a previous post linked above, I blogged about Bomin standees that were included as freebies from purchasing the various versions of the Play Color Eyes Hersey's Kisses Brush Kit. There are specific other skincare products that also include 2 Bomin photocards.

I didn't really have any interest in any skincare moments, but this one really caught my eye and is applicable for the bonus 2 Bomin photocards via Ktown4u. From Etude's Soon Jung line, this is their Hydro Barrier Cream that comes in a cute milk carton packaging.

Information and instructions are printed in both English and Korean. You can open the packaging on this backside.

Opening the flap reveals two samples, along with the jar of cream.

The hydro barrier cream comes in a minimalist plastic jar, and the pH5.5 Relief Toner and 10-Free Moist Emulsion samples come in plastic bottles.

And here are the 2 Bomin photocards! I like how the photocards are a set instead of a random inclusion. These photocards have a glossy finish. 

The backsides of the photocards have Etude's logo.

Here is my updated mini Bomin collection! Included are the Ateen 2 Photo Essay Book and Peripera lip tint, My Dahlia fabric perfumes, and Etude House standees and photocards.

Overall, I'm so happy for Bomin and how he's been branching out in various fields! I'm excited to see what else is in store for Bomin!

Singles Magazine October 2021 Review

Golden Child is featured in another magazine! This time Jaehyun and Bomin are featured in the October 2021 edition of the fashion, beauty, and life magazine Singles.

Jaehyun and Bomin's segment is titled "Share the youth" and contains 8 pages.

There are 3 bongbom photos, 2 individual photos of Jaehyun, and 2 individual photos of Bomin.

These are my favorite photos of the shoot, along with the individual Bomin photo on the last page! I love preppy uni look^^

I love how much dedication went into this shoot, like with how Bongbom have different outfits for every photo. But with all that dedication, I wish they could include more photos with each outfit^^

 

Overall, this is such an elegant pictorial, and the preppy uni concept here fits the fall weather perfectly! I love seeing Golden Child as models and am looking forward to seeing what concepts their future pictorials will have!

Golden Child: Game Changer Woollim Mall Merch Review

With a new era comes new merchandise from Woollim Mall! Golden Child came back with their second full album Game Changer on August 2nd, 2021, and on August 16th at 12PM KST Woollim Mall announced the list of official MD, this time being a t-shirt and postcard set.

Preorders for these items are from August 16th at 5PM KST through August 22nd at 23:59PM KST. As a callout, this round of merchandise has a preorder window, whereas for YES. and Breathe merchandise, they were sold until sold out.

Golden Child 2nd Album [Game Changer] Official MD:

• BONG BONG T-SHIRT (black or white) / 35,000₩ / $29.65 USD
• POSTCARD SET / 48,000₩ / $40.66 USD

Shortly after preorders opened, Woollim Mall also announced 2 events:

• Polaroid Event: Customers who purchase at least 50,000₩ worth of [GAME CHANGER] MD are automatically entered into a lottery to win 1 of 10 Polaroids
• Sign T-Shirt Event: Customers who purchase the BONG BONG T-SHIRT are automatically entered into a lottery to win 1 of 10 signed t-shirts (the gifted signed shirt will replace the shirt you bought)

These events are a bit uninticing. For the Polaroid event, you have to buy at least 2 items to qualify. For the shirt, if you only bought 1 shirt but you won the signed shirt, there's no way you can actually wear the signed shirt if you want to preserve it.

Both items are expected to ship starting on September 15th.

If I placed my order of 1 shirt and 1 postcard set on the US Woollim Mall site, the total price of the goods would be $70.31 USD and shipping $56.67 USD, for a total of $126.98 USD. Kpoptown listed both items the next morning (KST). On Kpoptown, the t-shirt is $36.90 USD, the postcard set is $49.90 USD, and shipping via DHL is $25.00 USD, for a total of $111.80. I decided to forgo the 2 Woollim Mall events as they're both lotteries rather than guaranteed, and purchased from Kpoptown instead.

I received an email from Kpoptown on September 27th notifying me that my package has shipped. My package arrived on September 30th!

My postcard set was wrapped in several layers of bubblewrap, while my shirt was curled up beside the postcard set. There were also air fillers on top that really filled up the remaining space of the cardboard box.

Here are the "Game Changer" merchandise! For the Bong Bong t-shirt, I opted for only the white version, however Jaehyun wore the black version...we could've been matching...

Bong Bong T-Shirt

The t-shirt comes neatly folded inside a sealed color zip lock bag. The sticker with the product information and holographic Woollim seal is on the backside of this bag.

Here is the t-shirt still neatly folded straight out of the bag.

And here is the t-shirt! It is one size, and made of cotton and polyester. The music video screenshot image is of similar quality to Golden Child's "One" tee and YES. hoodie.

I always really like the branding of Golden Child's clothes. The tag inside the neckline the has Game Changer era Golden Child logo printed on it.

The backside of the t-shirt just under the neckline has "GAME CHANGER GOLDEN CHILD" sewn in a sky blue hue.

Like all of Golden Child's clothes, this t-shirt is also quite large and boxy. I'm about 5'4" and 105lb, and this is how the tee fits on me. The sleeves go to my elbows and the length hits mid-thigh. Honestly I don't think I could wear this out, but I would still like to display it within my collection somehow~

Postcard Set

The postcard set comes in a sturdy matte box. The color and design match the Version A photoshoot really well.

The bottom of the box has the product information and Woollim holographic seal. This outer box has dimensions 7.5" by 5.5" by 1.75".

There are two magnets within the flap to hold the box together securely. Opening up the flap reveals the postcards, along with a ribbon. This ribbon is attached to the bottom of the box; lifting it up helps to easily take out the postcards.

Here is how the ribbon looks like at the bottom of the box.

I started first by looking at the backsides of the postcards. The backsides all have the Game Changer logo printed in the center and oriented based on the photo orientation on the flipside. The colors are also based on the photoshoot they're from, and there is slight variation among the colors. I found it a bit strange that one green postcard, a Jaehyun one, was turned backwards...the postcards are all made of matte cardstock and are 4.875" by 6.875".

There are a total of 100 postcards, containing all individual member photos. The first 30 postcards are from the Version A photoshoot. All postcards are organized in sets of 10 and come in this member order (Tag - Y - Daeyeol - Donghyun - Bomin - Seungmin - Jangjun - Jaehyun - Joochan - Jibeom). I really like the progression of these photos, how with each set the photos are more zoomed in.

Next are 30 postcards from the Version B photoshoot. Again, there's a nice progression from full body shots to bust shots. And it turns out, I did get a duplicate Jaehyun postcard at the very end of this section (bongbeom^^).

And the last 40 postcards are from the Version C photoshoot, the one that surely all Goldenness were most anxious about, and for good reason! These photos are mostly DEADLY, and then there's the super cute and adorable fluff ball Donghyun! And I was so excited seeing bongbeom together within the first set, it took me awhile to register that I'm missing a Joochan postcard...so while I gained a duplicate Jaehyun postcard, I'm missing a Joochan one which is saddening because this photoshoot is definitely my most favorite of Joochan's from any era!

I thought I was safe with Jaehyun...until I got to this set?! Also while some photos are quite sharp, some are a bit blurry, like Seungmin's here...

And WOW did they save the most deadly for last! WHAT is up with Y and Jaehyun?! First off Y without his shirt and then Jaehyun cutely pouting but like THAT?! And not to mention the other members' exposure as well...and then there's the cutie Donghyun to try and balance it all out^^

Overall, I'm a bit frustrated that Everline screwed up 2 orders in a row for me (first with not sending out the snapback within my Summer Breeze order, and now not having the proper set of postcards within the postcard set). As for the Bong Bong t-shirt, the name is really adorable but the shirt...Woollim is really lacking in the design department but at the same time they still know Ness will buy it. And with the postcard set, I really do love this item and how they've included so many additional photos from these photoshoots not originally included in the Game Changer albums. I love that the box is pretty to display, and the postcards would be pretty to frame up as well. 

Ordering My Golden Child 2021 Concert Summer Breeze Merchandise on Woollim Mall

On June 18th, 2021 at 2PM both MyMusicTaste and Woollim announced Golden Child's 2021 concert "Summer Breeze" set for Saturday, July 17th at 2PM and Sunday, July 18th to be held both online and offline! On MMT's event page under the FAQ tab, they announced that MD would be sold only via Woollim Mall. On June 29th at 7:30PM KST, Woollim tweeted the "2021 GOLDEN CHILD CONCERT 'Summer Breeze' Official MD" pack shot image release including the sales period of June 30th 6PM KST through July 19th 11:59PM KST. The image shows the actual products, along with a list of products for sale. On June 30th at 1PM KST, Woollim tweeted the product details (including versions, material, and prices), along with the delivery schedule of July 30th and purchase limit of 5 for each product.

The merchandise listed includes:

• T-SHIRT (in mustard, navy, or white) / 35,000₩ / $29.65 USD
• SNAPBACK / 35,000₩ / $29.65 USD
• PHOTOBOOK / 25,000₩ / $21.18 USD
• ICE TUMBLER & STICKER SET / 25,000₩ / $21.18 USD
• FAN (1 version per member; able to choose which member) / 13,000₩ / $11.01 USD
• NESSRING (sizes 13-16) / 52,000₩ / $44.04 USD
• TINCASE & PHOTOCARD SET / 30,000₩ / $25.41 USD
• POSTER SET / 20,000₩ / $16.94 USD

Under an hour before preorders opened, Woollim announced 2 events for those purchasing "Summer Breeze" merch:

• Photocard Event: For every 20,000₩ spent, customers will receive 1 random photocard out of 10
• Polaroid Event: All customers who purchase over 100,000₩ will automatically be entered into a lottery to win 1 of 50 Polaroids

As we all know, Everline which runs Woollim Mall is very unfriendly for international shoppers as their shipping rate is greatly over exaggerated. However with the 2 super enticing events, I wanted to purchase from Woollim Mall directly to lock in the photocards (spending 200,000₩ seems doable if I'm already planning on ordering almost everything).

In the end, I decided to order 1 of each item (for items with multiple versions, I bought 1 shirt, 1 ring, and 2 fans). The product total was $210.07 USD (thankfully I made the threshold for 10 photocards!) and shipping was a whopping $195.49 USD. I successfully placed my order within 8 minutes of preorders opening, however at the time the Nessring had no size option. I checked again at 6:45PM KST and the size option dropdown was available. I replied to my order details email to make sure I could secure a ring size 13, and within 7 minutes they replied in English that they would "reflect the ring lake" (this is clearly via a translator app). I checked my order page a few days later and there was an exchange made: it showed that the Nessring was updated from no option to size 13.

On July 13th at 10AM KST, Woollim tweeted that they are postponing the concert due to the updated COVID restrictions. At 10:15AM KST, Woollim Mall tweeted with the announcement on their site that the pre-sale of the official concert merch will also be postponed. Purchasing will be stopped at 5PM KST on July 13th and you can cancel your order by 5PM on July 19th via Q&A board or 1:1 inquiry. They will inform us of delivery and second sales schedule once the concert has been rescheduled.

On August 13th at 5PM KST, My Music Taste announced the cancellation of the concert series instead of just a postponement.

On August 13th at 5:43PM KST, Woollim Mall posted their statement via Twitter that with the cancellation of the concert, the OFFICIAL MD refund request can take place from August 13th at 5PM KST through the end of the day on August 17th KST. Official MD that you didn't cancel within the period will be shipped sequentially from the second week of September.

On September 14th, K-ness started receiving their merch.

On September 19th, I received an email from UPS stating a package from EVERLINE is scheduled for delivery for tomorrow! I opened the tracking and it showed that the label was created on the 17th, but with no further update and no estimated delivery date. My order on Woollim Mall still showed the status as pending.

On September 27th PT I emailed Everline asking for a status update. About 24 hours later I received another email from UPS stating a package from EVERLINE is scheduled for tomorrow, with a different tracking number, and tracking history actually showing movement.

My package arrived on September 29th. To my surprise, the box is HUGE! The dimensions are larger than 21" by 16.5" by 5".

On the outside is a disclaimer stating to take an unboxing video in case of missing or damaged products, and that a video is required within 7 days of receiving the product to proceed with receiving exchanges or missing items. I thought it was a bit odd that Everline explicitly called this out, as if they are expecting to send incorrect orders...I did take an unboxing video, just in case.

Here is how the items were packaged. Most items were bubblewrapped, and then there was an extra layer of bubblewrap on top.

Here are the items - the fans came in clear slips, the photocard set, poster set, Nessring, and tumbler came in bubblewrap bags taped so they were very snug, and the photobook and shirt had their own packaging. As for the snapback...

As I was taking video and counting the items...I realized that there was no snapback nor photocard set from the photocard event. My heart dropped, and now I was so consumed with stress and frustration that I couldn't properly enjoy what I did receive. I immediately emailed Everline from my original order confirmation email, with my video along with my sadness at not having my complete order.

A few hours later I took a breather and decided to look at the Nessring packaging. I opened the bubblewrap bag and found the pack of photocards from the photocard event! They had slipped it inside this product so it won't get lost, however it definitely wasn't obvious.

The packet had all 10 photocards that arrived in this order. The photocards are all glossy. The thing is my order should contain 12 photocards, but I only received 10, whereas my friend who ordered less than me received 11 photocards...regardless, I'm just relieved that a full set was included in my order^^

The backsides of the photocards are really cute! I like how they represent the concert^^

I'll update this post in regards to my missing snapback and you can also find my unboxing reviews of the merch of Golcha's faces (fan, photobook, poster set, and tincase) here and the practical items (tumbler, t-shirt, and nessring) here.

Order Update: I had replied to my Woollim Mall order email with an explanation of my situation along with video proof of my unboxing on September 29th. On October 4th I sent a follow up email. On October 6th I started a new email again with an explanation and a video, however I received a bounce back saying that the mailbox is full. I then went to my order page on Woollim Mall and requested an exchange for the snapback, however that only prompted a refund for the item (which I received on October 8th) - the frustrating thing here is that it doesn't account for the prorated shipping fee. Right away (still on the 6th) I emailed another Everline support email but still have yet to hear back.

Final Update: It's now October 29th and there is still no update from Everline >.<

Ordering Fansite Merch via Duckzill

Fansite merch is such a fun part of being in a fandom. They can be obtained various ways, such as by purchasing or receiving freebies on site at events, given out during cafe events, or by preordering online or via a group order. I've generally only gotten fansite merch from events on site, but when I saw a Jaehyun cheering slogan from his fansite YOUNG&RICH using a photo from one of my absolutely most favorite Jaehyun looks, I couldn't pass the opportunity to have this.

For this particular case, I would have had to go through a group order since there are no opportunities to purchase at any in-person venues. But now, there is the online retailer Duckzill that fansites use to post their goods to sell internationally. These goods range from cheering slogan sets, to photocard holders, to cup sleeves from cafe events. Fansites send their goods to Duckzill, and then Duckzill ships your order. Therefore, you can purchase multiple goods with combined shipping from various events and fansites. I tried adding various other products to my order, however the shipping greatly increased depending on the product, so I decided to only order the 1 cheering slogan from Duckzill.

You should pay attention to the product listing and whether the item is a preorder with a set closing date, or if the item is a stock sale where either the fansite or Duckzill already has the inventory on hand.

There is a Korean site (for those shipping within Korea), Japanese site (for those shipping to Japan), and English site (for those shipping anywhere else). The price is originally listed in KRW, and the price on the English site is using a 1,000₩ = $1 USD conversion.

Looking at the ordering process, it looks very similar to Everline's (especially the shipping setup). I ordered the product listed here and followed the fansite's Twitter as they provide the most updated information on the slogan production and shipping. The slogan itself was $10 USD and shipping was $16 (weight is .3kg = product weight is .2kg + box weight is .1kg) with no option of the carrier or shipping method. The website takes both PayPal and credit card. 

The fansite has continued to update on production (there was a quality assurance issue so the slogan had to be reproduced) and shipping via Twitter. On August 23rd Duckzill sent an email containing a fansite update, but of course Twitter is where you'll get the latest updates. While August 17th was the original ship date, on September 2nd the fansite updated that shipping has started. On September 4th, a K-Ness posted on Twitter that they had received their slogan. I checked my Duckzill account on September 13th and saw that my order had updated with a carrier (OrangeDS) and an ONS shipping number which I couldn't use. For $16 shipping I would have thought they would have used some sort of EMS...I checked my order again on September 17th and a master tracking number was also populated. This master tracking number is a USPS number. I continued to view my order on Duckzill and on USPS to use both tracking histories as they did differ.

My package arrived via USPS on September 27th. My item was packaged in a waterproof bubblewrap envelope and had a cute Duckzill logo sticker.

Because the envelope was already lined with a layer of bubblewrap inside, my item didn't need additional protection. The cheering slogan came in a plastic zipper pack as explained in the fansite's description.

And here is the cheering slogan! It was well worth the wait^^ It's a soft yet firm microfiber slogan with an image of Jaehyun from KCON Thailand back in September 2019. The funny thing was this day was back before I officially considered Jaehyun as a bias, but at the time this photo and this entire day captivated me so much. And it makes me so happy to have this as a cheering slogan now^^

Here is the backside^^

Overall, I'm just happy to have this cheering slogan! I wish the shipping process were better and more apparent, especially with the carrier, But it is nice being able to buy fansite goods officially from a website so that I have the security as a customer and can handle any discrepancies with a business, despite the business still being a middleman.

Additionally, Duckzill also has a page listing out various ongoing fansite events, which is helpful for those wanting to go cafe hopping in Korea. Duckzill does seem to be a fairly useful site for fansite goods and events, and I can't wait to use it to go cafe hopping in the future^^

Rocket Punch: Ketchy 2nd Generation Fanclub Membership Review

Rocket Punch's 1st generation fanclub membership has already come to an end. The 1st generation Ketchy membership lasted from May 1st, 2020 to May 1st, 2021. On May 21st at 12PM KST, Woollim announced via Twitter that the 2nd Generation recruitment period would be from May 21st at 2PM KST through June 30th 11:50PM KST, with the active period being July 1st, 2021 through June 30th, 2022 via Vlive. That being said, there is a 2 month gap between the generations.

There are 2 package options:

• Official Fan Club Membership Fee (WELCOME KIT included) for 35,000₩ or $31.48 USD ($36.43 USD delivery fee to the US)
• Official Fan Club Membership Fee (WELCOME KIT excluded) for 25,000₩ or $22.49 USD

As a note, I pulled these prices at the beginning of Golden Child's 3rd generation fanclub membership recruitment period, on June 7th. Both Ketchy 2nd generation and Goldenness 3rd generation are offered via Vlive with the same membership prices in KRW, however the exchange rate fluctuated throughout the recruitment period. There was no way for me to pay in KRW so I had to accept the fluctuating exchange rate. For Golden Child's, I purchased their Official Fan Club Membership + Welcome Kit on June 7th at $31.48 USD plus $36.43 USD shipping for a total of $67.91 USD. For Rocket Punch's, I purchased their Official Fan Club Membership + Welcome Kit on June 26th at $30.82 USD plus $35.66 shipping for a total of $66.48 USD.

Both packages include the Vlive Fanship, special events, and advanced booking. The details of the welcome kit were revealed on June 25th at 2PM KST with a photo preview of the MD. Based on the image, the welcome kit includes mostly all paper goods along with a fabric keyring, so it's disappointing but not surprising how expensive the shipping fee is.

Applying for the fanclub membership is very straightforward via Vlive's mobile app. I selected the first option, and it already had all my identification and shipping info filled out, then it routed me to PayPal to complete my one-time purchase of $66.48 USD (membership + kit + shipping to the US).

You can access your fanship by going to Rocket Punch's Vlive channel, then the "My Profile" icon, then "MEMBERSHIP" to view the shipping status of the welcome kit. There is a request period until July 30th at 7:59AM (I'm assuming this is my local time); however there is no additional action needed during this time frame unless you need to change your address. The original estimated arrival date was October 28th through November 27th. Note that the membership number is your V LIVE App number so it's the same for all your fanships.

On June 30th at 6PM, Woollim tweeted that the recruitment period has been extended through July 14th at 11:50PM KST.

On August 13th at 11:50PM KST, I received a Vlive notification that the welcome kit is preparing for delivery and will be shipped soon. I then checked my Fanship and the estimated arrival date updated to August 19th through November 27th.

On August 28th I checked my Fanship again and the shipping status updated to "In delivery". Clicking on the details provided a various tracking numbers and showed that it was shipped out on August 24th. One of the tracking numbers included was for UPS. Checking the UPS tracking, it showed that my package weighs 0.8 lbs.

Both my Golden Child and Rocket Punch fankits arrived on September 4th, in a flat cardboard packaging.

The flaps are quite large, offering several layers of protection. There was also a layer of bubblewrap around the fankit.

Here is the fankit packaging! The fankit comes in an envelope style packaging with a nice velvety texture, and this envelope was placed inside a clear resealable bag. The front of the envelope has a pretty group photo from the set of Rocket Punch's "Ring Ring (Acoustic Version)" music video! I'm really happy that there is physical merch from this music video set; I love how naturally gorgeous this shoot is. Also the logo for this fankit is really cute! It's Rocket Punch's usual logo, but with "ROCKET PUNCH" and "KETCHY" in one of the inner rings, showing the bond between the girls and the fandom.

Here is the backside of the envelope packaging. The membership card is inside a clear resealable bag that is taped to the envelope. To avoid tearing the envelope, I cut the top part of the resealable bag and slid out the membership card. To the right of that is the list of items in the fankit, including the membership card, the welcome card, photo cards, 4-cut photos, mini posters, fabric keyring, and this envelope. And lastly the sticker holding down the envelope flap has the cute fankit logo.

Here is a closer look at the sticker. To preserve the sticker, you can slowly and carefully peel the sticker rather than cutting through it. Unfortunately part of the sticker still stuck onto the pink part of the envelope, so this was the best I could do to preserve it.

Vlive's usual blue slip of paper was also included, with this backside containing information in both Korean and English for requesting to exchange goods.

Here are how the contents looked inside the envelope. From top to bottom are the photocard set, keyring, 4-cut photo set, welcome card, and mini poster set.

The photocard set, 4-cut photo set, and fabric keyring all come in their own clear resealable bags. The mini poster set is held together by a translucent paper ship with the fankit logo in the center. The photos from the envelope, 4-cut photo set, and mini poster set are all from the "Ring Ring (Acoustic Version)" music video photoshoot.

Here is a closer look at the membership card. The card is hard plastic and your V LIVE App number and name (as entered under More --> Settings --> Profile Info --> Name) are printed at the bottom left. The design is really pretty, with the fankit logo in the center. The pastel pink and blue color combination is really pretty as well.

I love how the backside is pink on blue whereas the frontside is blue on pink, adding a nice contrast. There is a spot to sign, along with the Woollim authentication seal, and general information in Korean.

Here is a comparison of both Ketchy membership cards. I like how both have a variation of Rocket Punch's logo in the center.

Here is the frontside of the welcome card. It is rather simple with the fankit logo in the center. This card is made of matte cardstock and is about 4.375" by 6.125".

The backside of the welcome card has each member's printed message.

Here is the photocard set, which was organized by age order. Juri's is so cute with the [Ring Ring] sticker set merch!

The backsides of the photocards have the members' printed messages and signs. These photocards have a glossy finish.

Here is the 4-cut photo set, which was also organized by age order. These are like a sticker sheet with a glossy front and matte white back. The dimensions of each sheet are roughly 2.75" by 3.9375".

Here is the mini poster set. Each poster is made of matte cardstock that's a bit thinner than the welcome card. The backsides are all white. The dimensions are about 5.875" by 8.25".

There are a total of 25 posters. The first is a group shot, followed by 4 individual photos per member in age order.

Here are Juri's, Yeonhee's, and Suyun's posters. All the posters are so beautiful; I can't emphasize enough how happy I am that the girls had an entire photoshoot at this music video site!

And here are Yunkyoung's, Sohee's, and Dahyun's posters.

And lastly is the fabric keyring.The fastener is metal. The fabric strap is woven with "ROCKET PUNCH" embedded on top.  The "C"s have an asterisk design that is being used throughout the fankit.

The backside of the fabric strap is blank. The strap is about 4.25" by 1".

Overall, I'm really happy about the contents of this welcome kit! I love how majority of the contents are paper goods from this gorgeous photoshoot (my favorite of Rocket Punch's to date), and how there is still a "practical item", meaning the keyring. Now if only I can make the most of my membership^^