Free Eyewear (somewhat) and Big Taobao Review

Hello! ^^

Quite a lovely day today. The sun is shining and there was even a little bit of rain earlier (there is always a little bit of rain/snow where I live, no matter how much sun there is -.-). Anyway, I am quite anxious and excited to do this review, since almost all (if not all) of the items that I got are hime-related! :D Before I get to the review however, I want to mention this awesome eyeglasses giveaway that I had found on Facebook a few nights ago (only applies to those that live in Canada though :/). Just to sum it up, the company that is doing the giveaway, Clearlycontacts, is (was, depending on what time you read this post) giving away 10,000 eyeglasses free of charge, though not including shipping and handling (which is a given). I found this hard to believe at first, but it turns out to be legitimate, since there were previous giveaways that were just like this one and the code provided actually works. I had already placed my order on these glasses and it should arrive on May 12, 2011. Unlike other free ones however, I paid extra to get my lens upgraded, since the standard lens that are free did not correspond with my subscription :(. Oh well, $41 something dollars is still a good deal for a pair of glasses no? At least compared to the $100+ ones that I usually find in malls.

Anyway, onward to the review! I had actually ordered on Taobao a while ago before I had started my blog. It took about a month to get all the items together (it was a large order) and about a week to get it all to Canada. I used Taobaospree for my order and they were very nice and handled my questions mostly well (they didn't answer all of my questions, but that is possibly due to not understanding English well). A con to using the service is that I usually have to ask for updates every time. Anyway, the total cost came to about around $219.79 USD and the shipping cost is $97.30 USD, though I only need to pay $80 since 2 of my items got cancelled. Everything came in this huge box that reaches up to my knees (and I'm a tall person so it is huge) and everything inside was wrapped in plastic bags. Here are the items that I had ordered:

WARNING: Long Taobao review ahead as well as lots of pictures.

 

Clothes       

Jesus Diamante Replica Pink Coat

Link: Here 

Price: 495.00 CNY ($76.27 USD)

Thoughts: I absolutely love this coat! It is very soft and warm, perfect for winters (which I had bought it for, since the winters here can be very harsh). The furs are detachable for easy cleaning, but the bows aren't (doesn't bug me though). One con about this coat however is the zipper, which you have to be very careful with (the separate zipper pieces sometimes doesn't connect when trying to zip up) and doesn't zip up as fast as I hoped. Unfortunately I can't test out how warm it is, since winter had long passed when the package arrived. Maybe next winter!

Jesus Diamante Replica White Coat

 

Link: Here

Price: 99.00 CNY ($15.25 USD)

Thoughts: For $15, this coat is a bargain. The quality is very good and the coat is made out of a smooth material commonly found on raincoats. I bought this coat for mild weather and possibly for rain, though I haven't tested it out in the rain yet. There is a lace "train" on the back of the coat and the lace itself is surprisingly soft. I love the addition of lace on the hem of the coat, despite there being no lace on the original. The only con to this is that the coat does not come with the flower, but the coat still looks nice even without the flower and you can always get a flower pin from Ardene or Claires. 

Baluoer Princess Dress Pink Frilly Top 

      

Link: N/A

Price: 46.00 CNY ($7.09 USD)

Thoughts: This top is very pretty and it isn't too overwhelming in the frills and lace department, which is good. I can see myself wearing this top for any occasion and it coordinates well with both jeans and skirts, especially skirts. Since it is covered in frills and lace, this top is better off hand washed (then again, the same could be said for all of the tops found in the shop).

Baluoer Princess Dress Floral Frilly Top

Link: N/A

Price: 53.00 CNY ($8.17 USD)

Thoughts: This top is very pretty and I love the lace collar and how it blends in with the rest of the top (the "collar" part is actually transparent, but I had thought it wasn't at first). The thin black collar is a nice touch and it reminds me of one of those lolita shirts. It is hard at first to get the back part to button, but I think it will get easier with time. Once again, better off being hand washed.

Baluoer Princess Dress White and Pink Frilly Turtleneck Top 

Link: N/A

Price: 49.00 CNY ($7.55 USD)

Thoughts: As you can see, I bought this top in white and pink because I think they both look pretty and I can't pick which colour I want xD. Anyway, I really love the style and the lace decor decorating the collar area. I think this top would make a great winter top, though I think this top would coordinate better with a skirt. I took pictures of these tops after they were washed and at first thought that the wonky heart found on the pink one was like that after it got washed, but turns out that wasn't the case (apparently it was like before the wash, since I could not move it and it seem stuck like that). Just like the previous tops, better off hand washed. Also, love the lace cuffs. 

NOTE: The reason why I had put N/A for each of the tops is that they are no longer on the shop site. If your interested in the shop itself, click here. 

Shoes

Contrary to the hime handbook rule of stiletto heels with big bows/flowers, I got lolita shoes instead. You are probably wondering "why" at the moment and here are my reasons:

- Like I had mentioned before, I am a very tall girl and therefore I am very picky about heel height. Most of the heels that I do own have heel heights that are 6cm or less. The hime shoes that I had seen on Deicy have heel heights taller than 6cm. 

- I plan on wearing these shoes everyday and I walk around a lot. Lolita shoes will definitely be easier on the feet than hime shoes (and there aren't a lot of hime shoes on Taobao in general).  Not as steep a heel slope.

  

Anyway, onward with the shoes portion of the review.

Lolita Kingdom Pink Bow Princess Shoes

 

Link: Here

Price: 148.00 CNY ($22.80 USD)

Thoughts: Pretty pink shoes that meets my expectations. I usually don't buy shoes online since I would always get nervous on whether or not I got the right size and if they fit me or not. I got a size 38 and it fits me perfectly! Essentially the shoes are true to size. Just like all lolita shoes, the front bows are detachable (not the back ones though) and comes with a pack of pads that makes the shoes more comfortable for the feet. I didn't find any marks on the shoes. The shoe straps where the "adjustment piece" is are actually snap-ons, so you don't really need to adjust anything, making it very convenient if you're in a rush or wearing those super long hime nails.

Lolita Kingdom Blue Lace Bow Dress Shoes

  

Link: Here

Price: 168.00 CNY ($25.89 USD)

Thoughts: These are probably the only items in my entire order that I am fully disappointed with. The style of the shoes fits the one on the shop site. However, the problem is not with the shoe style, but rather the heel height. The heel height was originally suppose to be 4.5cm (as stated on the shop site) and the ones in the picture above have a heel height of 8cm, 4cm (3.5cm if you want to get technical) more than the original. Yes, not happy at all :/. Fortunately, by the time I'm typing up this review, I had already contacted my agent about this issue and they already have a new pair that's going to be sent to me. We'll see how that goes when I receive the shoes.

Accessories

Jesus Diamante Replica White and Pink Crown Pearl Barrettes

 

Link: Here

Price: 25.00 CNY ($3.85 USD)

Thoughts: I love these clips. They are my second favourite to the famous hime bows. Unfortunately however, only the white one survived the trip, which was why I only took a picture of the white one (the pink one was not so fortunate and was sitting in a plastic bag in pieces). Fortunately, I have already fixed the pink one with glue gun. It is possible that the reason why these clips easily fall into pieces is due to the heavy crown piece (it feels heavy anyway) and the crown piece being hard to glue on. My recommendation is only buy these barrettes if you have a glue gun handy.

Jesus Diamante Replica Pink Flower and Lace Barrette Headpiece

Link: Here

Price: 79.00 CNY ($12.17 USD)

Thoughts: At first, I wasn't actually thinking about getting this, considering that it was too "out there", even for a hime-to-be like me. I guess if you look at a certain item long enough, you might feel inclined to get it and that's what had happened to me. I don't regret buying it though. It looks just like the real thing, with the full-blown lace and gauze and flowers (I think the flowers are a bit bigger than the original and the lace circle smaller). The headpiece is good quality and doesn't look like it will come apart anytime soon. The headpiece have a barrette at the back and the barrette itself have 4 levels of adjustment, meaning you can adjust the barrette to how tight or how loose you want it to be, depending on what type of hair you have (ex: thick and thin). Now if only I can figure out how to wear this certain hair accessory...

Jesus Diamante Replica White Roses Bow Pearl Necklace 

Link: Here

Price: 32.00 CNY ($4.93 USD)

Thoughts: What a pretty necklace! Before the Taobao spree, I didn't have much in pearl necklaces (consider this my first collection). Anyway, the good thing about the necklace is that it has a specialized "hook and clasp" to make opening and closing the necklace easier. The ribbons being in an "X" shape at first bugged me, but I got used to it. The flowers and ribbons are secured by a long patch that's glued to the flowers and ribbons while wrapping around the pearl necklace.

Jesus Diamante Replica Pink Rose Pearl Necklace

Link: Here

Price: 30.00 CNY ($4.62 USD)

Thoughts: The necklace looks like the one in the picture on the shop site. Just like the previous necklace, this necklace also has a specialized "hook and clasp" to make opening and closing the necklace easier. There is a pin on the back of the flower in case you feel like taking the flower off the necklace. The pin also secures the flower to the necklace, making it more secure and stronger than glue.

Jesus Diamante Replica Pink Bow Pearl Necklace

Link: Here

Price: 35.00 CNY ($5.39 USD)

Thoughts: The pearls have a lightest-pink tint to them, even though it's hardly noticeable in the photo. Now I know that I could've just made one myself instead of buying one off of Taobao, but I don't really have any pearls at the time (at all) and I felt like getting a bow pearl necklace after buying 2 rose necklaces. The bow is glued onto the necklace. Overall, a good necklace.

*Taobao review overall: The service was good, satisfactory with most products, some cons with few items and service itself, overall rating is 3/5. 

NOTE: I have some more Taobao items coming soon so I will be doing a review on those soon.

That is the end of a super long Taobao review! Phew!