Tuesday, July 7, 2015

Tokyo Otaku Mode Review

Hello everyone! Today I'm going to be doing a two-in-one review for Tokyo Otaku Mode! ((AKA I will be reviewing two orders I did through Tokyo Otaku Mode~~))


I made both orders on the same day, June 4, but one of the items I ordered was a pre-order so it was not shipped until later~ My first package was shipped June 9th and arrived at the post office really quickly! Like, within a week, which is amazingly good for free shipping~



As it has been with my other TOM orders it was packed into a big box. The boxes from TOM actually always seem really big in comparison to the products inside, which is fine~ It was just hard to bike home from the post office carrying such a big box 



Inside the box all the plushies were packed into lil plastic bags to keep them from getting damaged or dirty during shipping~



In this order I got 3 big plushes and two lil keychains~ I really love plushies, especially the Pote Loppy bunny ones~ The new Corohan hamster ones are also really cute tho! And super soft and fluffy~~


I got these two mini charms so that my order could qualify for free shipping~ The Kitty Latte one is for me (I put it on my schoolbag :3) and the lil grey hamster guy was a bday present for my little brother~



 These new guys are really big! As comparison here's my new large sized Pote Loppy bunny with my standard size Loppy bunny~ There are actually more differences between the two sizes however; for example, the fibers for their fur seem to be slightly different. Also, the smaller size has beanie-babies style weighting in it's butt for the assumed purpose of increasing the weight and helping it to sit upright. The larger size doesn't have this; it is just full of fluffiness~



All in all I was super happy with this purchase. The package was shipped super fast and the plushes are soft and adorable!

Group shot!



My second package was shipped June 25 and arrived at the post office June 30! Again, really fast, free shipping~

Bunny friend helping to open the package~


Included in the post was the folder, postcard, and button I have received in every package from TOM~




In this package I got just one plush~ It's another one of the Corohan hamster plushes. Again, it was safely wrapped in plastic wrap~



((I love the lil paws heheh))



Here's a photo for comparison with my other Corohan plush! While they are from the same line, they have some differences between them - even in what seems to be their construction. I don't mind though; I think they're both adorable!



I was also really happy to find out that this guy can hold things in it's lil paws!



Finally, here's a shot of all my plushes from Tokyo Otaku Mode! I have more figures from TOM not pictured here and I've made quite a few orders from them and couldn't recommend them more~ 

Also, if you sign up with my invite link here you'll get 5$ to spend on anything on the site! They have lots of great plushes and figures and merch so please check them out!

Thanks for reading~








Wednesday, July 1, 2015

Hatsune Miku Wig Review



Hello everyone! (✖╹◡╹✖)◞Today I'm going to be reviewing a Miku wig I bought~ I bought it from a store called Wig Times on Aliexpress.




The wig I bought was this one and was $21.99 USD with free shipping~ I bought it on June 14th, and it was shipped the next day, I believe. The shipping was amazingly fast, especially considering it was free, and it arrived June 29!
ヽ(。・ω・。)ノ


I didn't manage to get a picture of the package the wig was in, but it was packed securely into a smaller cardboard box.



The wig itself consists of a shorter base wig and two ponytails. Both these pieces came together in one plastic bag along with a wig cap.







Inside the bag the base wig and the two ponytails were in their individual 'netting' to keep them from getting messed up during travel. However, the two ponytail clips were packed that they were clipped to one another, and the netting had gotten knotted around the teeth of the ponytail clips. This wasn't a huge problem, but it was a little bit of an inconvenience, especially when I was trying to unpack the wig without getting the longer ponytails tangled (-.-;)



Bar the netting tangled around the combs, the wig came relatively untangled. I really like the colour, it's a very nice turquoise-blue colour. The wig also doesn't seem to shed, and even though I only wore it for a short while, it seems like it will be the type of wig that doesn't tangle very much, even if the ponytails are really long. I think this is in part due to the consistency of the wig fibers; they are very soft and silky. However, though this makes them more tangle-free, it also means they look less like real hair. It doesn't look bad, but it is immediately obvious that it is a wig.



Moving on, even though I really like the colour of the wig I received, it does not appear to be the same colour as the wig shown on the aliexpress listing. I understand that there are colour differences due to monitor settings and lighting, but the wig pictured seems to be much lighter and less blue than the one I received. Again, I don't view this as a problem, and I like the colour I received more in fact, but it is not the colour pictured, and so if you are looking for a lighter/more green Miku wig, I would probably recommend looking elsewhere.


To continue, another disparity between the wig that was pictured and the wig I received is the consistency of the wig. The wig is advertised as being "straight" but the wig I got actually has more of a wave to the ponytails. Also, the base wig has a slightly odd waviness to it which can make it kinda 'puff out' weirdly. That can definitely be fixed with a straightener and a lil bit of hairspray though~ I don't mind the waviness of the ponytails, and as it isn't really curly and has more of a gentle wave to it I wonder if the cause of this was not the manufacturer but the shipping process. As it is summer it is very hot out, and, as such, the wig may have been heated, and, as it was curled up in shipping, may have become curled that way.


Now, onto the quality of the wig. I'll be blunt in saying that it is not the best quality wig ever, nor even the best quality wig I own. While the fibers feel soft, and seem to be of higher quality, they are still quite shiny, which doesn't lend itself well to realism and some lighting. I can't imagine this wig would fare well under flash photography. The wig isn't as shiny as it could've been, but it also doesn't look as matte as what is pictured. I originally bought this wig to do an outside shoot, and am slightly worried how the shine will appear under direct sunlight. 



Though the wig doesn't seem to shed which is a positive, it also doesn't seem as thick as other wigs - that is to say it doesn't have as many fibers as I would have hoped for. The base wig requires a bit of 'fluffing' before wearing, and I have to be careful when I arrange the bangs because sometimes the wefts will show through as there is not as much hair to cover them. Also, the wig cap on this wig is kinda strange. It seems almost smaller than the wig caps I own. It also doesn't have the little extension pieces in front of the ears that pretty much all my other wigs have, meaning that with just a little jostling the hair in front of my ears is visible through the wig. Due to the construction of this particular wig cap, I have to be especially careful that the hair at the nape of my neck and sideburns doesn't show through. 

Moving onto the ponytail clips, they have the same problem as the base wig has in which they do not have enough fibers. Unless arranged very carefully, the ponytail clips base will show as there isn't enough hair to cover it. This proves to be an annoyance as the clip's comb is often visible (and you can actually see it in some of the photos below;>> )

With all this said, however, I think it important to remember that this wig was 22$. That is very cheap for a wig that includes two ponytail clips. More often than not, you get what you paid for, and so I was not expecting the best quality when I purchased this wig. Sure the fibers are shinier than I was hoping, but they are not as shiny as I feared they could be. I suspected the quality of the wig when I purchased it, and so I am not in the least disappointed. In fact, I am happier with this wig than I thought I might be. :)

The bangs of the base wig were really long when I first put it on, again, longer than what is pictured, but that's true of almost any wig as the wigs come to you unstyled. I think it definitely better that the bangs be cut for this wig. I cut mine quickly with a pair of barber scissors I bought off eBay and styled it with a lil hairspray~( ・ㅂ・)و ̑̑

Before...

...and after


Overall, I'm happy with this wig, though the quality may not be superb. Personally I think it was worth the price as I am not planning to wear Miku to a big convention or anything of the sorts. More photos of the wig are below, or on my Facebook page! Thank you〜

コン━━━━(。◕ฺˇε ˇ◕ฺ。)ノ゙━━━━チャ♪

Shipping: 5/5

Customer Service: 5/5

Quality: 3/5

Look: 3/5

Overall: 3.5/5

☆ ★ ☆

(。-ω-)zzz