Taobao Winter 2013 Haul ~ Orange Bear, Nail Green City, Saacheer, Oh My! Part 1

I am horribly addicted to shopping on Taobao now. There is just way too many things to browse through and so many adds to my want list! This is my 5th Taobao order with a 6th one that I just placed about a week and a half ago. Anyhow this Winter review is actually a combination of a couple of my past orders that I didn't review yet including the nail preview that I posted in October. This will mainly focus on stores/brands that I found :).

Once again I used Taobaotrends as my agent. New thoughts and updates on them though.

1. Their photo sharing website YunPan is fickle. Some days it works for me and others it doesn't. They're still very accommodating in sending you the pictures as attachments though when asked.

2. My major issue now is that they refuse to purchase anything with "batteries" such as watches and certain liquids like nail glue as they claim that Hong Kong Post will not ship it. I did look up HKP's shipping restrictions and they do state those restrictions on their website, but what baffles me is that I can buy those items on Ebay and get them shipped to me using HKP without any problems. Also some of the fake nails I bought actually included nail glue! Overall confused about what is alright and not alright to ship through HKP.

3. Holiday season now! Communication seems to be a little lagging. Updates are taking longer than usual and also they sent my package without a notice or tracking like they usually do. However despite that they still did everything in a timely order. It's just them emailing the updates that are taking longer than non-Holiday times. So just a warning if you're looking into purchasing things from Taobao through an agent overall right now.


So my Winter Haul is actually my Christmas shopping that I ordered in early November and wanted to get before December actually hit. This one took about 3 weeks in total from ordering, paying, shipping (used EMS), and receiving it at my doorsteps. Since most of them are gifts I will not comment or post a few things. I will focus more on the shop itself and overall quality of my items.

Orange Bear

Orange Bear is a Taiwanese based brand. They also have an official contract with Disney to sell Disney clothing/fashion. A lot of them are really cute too! It's not as childish as the Disney stuff they sell here in the States. What I like about this brand is that they not only have really cute styles, but it's also really reasonable compared to other Taiwanese brands such as CatWorld, Tokyo Fashion, etc. They also have a lot of sales so you can find some really great deals. The quality for the most part have been really good too with some minor things which I will share with each item.

This is the very first item I got from OB and from Taobao. I really wanted a vintage and frilly style dress and I found this one on OB for sale. It was about $5 (Yup pretty good deal!). Material is chiffon and it's also a little thicker than I originally though it would be. My only issue is the lace collar. It's a little off right in the middle near the first button, but with a sweater over it you can't tell that the craftsmanship is a bit off. Overall I like it, but it is a little short so I either have to wear pants, leggings, or shorts under it. 

Grey one is cute too! 

Animal inspired sweaters/jackets must be in in Asia this year. I already got a plush sweater with sheep ears, but really wanted another style too. Have to admit I got really excited once I saw this leopard inspired one on OB's site. I got a little worried that they would have sold out before I was able to make my order, but I got lucky and was able to get one! As you can see I got the white version as it was the only one left with a small/medium size. Verdict: BEST PURCHASE EVER. It is exactly like the photos, super soft. and warm. Just perfect for the winter!

I love sweater shirts/dresses. In the stock pictures it looked like a sweater dress, but it became a sweater shirt on me.  It could just be the size, but I'm already a small and quite short so either the model is even shorter than me or I needed to have gotten a different size. I like it anyways and the synthetic wool isn't itchy like some other wool type sweaters I've gotten on Taobao.

Pink Chiffon shirt. Got this on sale in their Summer clearance section. It is very soft, light, and airy which makes it perfect for warmer weather.

Burgundy was my first choice, but they sold out on it :(

Legging pants are another big thing in Asia. I kind of like them as they're just like normal pants except that they don't have any zippers. They're my lazy pants since all I have to do is pull them up! I got these in a dark grey/blue since the one color I wanted was sold out, but I really wanted to try them out. The quality of OB's legging pants are on par with any normal pair of pants and jeans so they're not just colored leggings. I got them in small which can fit those who are between sizes 0-2 depending on how tight you want them. I'm an in between 0-1 so they fit, but they're not too tight or tight looking on me. They're extremely high wasted though so they're best paired with long shirts and sweaters. The best thing about OB's legging pants is that they have real pockets!


Overall Verdict:
I really like OB. They're a little like shopping at Forever 21, but with some things slightly cheaper than them (Pants & Jackets have great deals/prices). The daily and special sales they have are awesome and you can find a lot if you're into Asian fashion or certain casual wear. Another thing that is great is that they also cater to a wide range of sizes, which means they also have plus sizes! Unfortunately the larger the size the more expensive the clothing gets, but it is really great to know that there are some asian brands that do and cater to curvier girls too :). They also have a handy size chart on each of their sale's page and I have found it to be pretty accurate so far. Also the quality has been much better than I originally expected. Nothing that I have bought so far looks like it'll fall apart anytime soon. The only thing is that I have to hand/line dry most of them which is common for things bought from Asia since they don't really use or have drier machines. So just beware if you dry them using a machine as it may shrink the clothing!


So that's it for Part 1 of my winter haul ^_^.  I wanted to focus on Orange bear first since I've been wanting to do a review on them for a little bit. Look out for part 2 soon with reviews on some tights, accessories and lingerie (hee hee)! Thanks for reading! 

Taobao Autumn 2013 Haul!

Finally got around to doing a Taobao Haul review! This actually arrived back in October so it's my Fall/Autumn haul. Quick timeframe of it is that it took 2 weeks from placing the order to arriving to my doorsteps. I don't remember the exact dates, but shipping wise I chose EMS hence the really quick shipping. It also consists of two orders that I made and combined together!

I won't really go through what Taobao even is. I feel like by now since there are a lot of fashion blogs around that there is enough information as to what Taobao is and how to order etc. What I will go over is a quick review of my agent. 

I used TaobaoTrends for my order. They were the first and so far only agent that I have used for my orders. Here's what I like about them. 

Pros:

* Great Communication - TBT is based in Hong Kong so their English is practically fluent. They also reply back to you within 24 hours (based on Timezone). I have gotten lucky and gotten replies back in less than 2-3 hours. Though this is only plausible if you happen to have written it during their work/day hours. 

* No extra Paypal fees - I have noticed that some agents like Taobaoring charge paypal fees. TBT does not charge any other extra fees on top of their normal service fee of 10% of your total order + domestic shipping. 

*Only 10% service fee - Kind of the same as other reputable agents like TaobaoSpree. It's quite low considering that there are a lot of things on Taobao that are extremely affordable and cheap. I kind of consider this as sales tax as California's sales tax is pretty high depending on the area. 

* Multiple shipping options - They had airmail/Sal which is the cheapest, but slowest. A 40%-60% off EMS shipping and there is also FedEx,UPS, and DHL too. I actually got DHL once despite choosing EMS and I still got a 60% off that shipping! Normally they do not offer the discount for Fedex, UPS, or DHL. 

* They send you arrival pictures of your items! I really like this as it proves that they received it and you can also see if there are any problems etc. Though there is a slight downside to it which is mentioned in Cons. 

Cons: 

* For the arrival pictures they use a Chinese online sharing site called Yunpan. This website does not work for those in the USA. You can access the main page, but the links they provide you show up errors that it is not available for the region or that your internet cannot access the page. I personally think the site is simply blocked here. They do however will send you the pictures as an attachment if you request it. It's just a small hassle to have to do :/. 

* Hong Kong Post does not accept liquid items - I believe this refers to both domestic and international airmail shipping since they told me this during the first part of the ordering and payment process. I found this out in a separate/recent order I just made through them for nail supplies and they informed me that their postal carrier will not accept/ship liquid items. This means that you can't order things like nail polish, perfumes, and possibly hair dyes too. 

So overall they're a pretty good agent. Though because of the no liquid shipping I may just try out TaobaoSpree next time. So far I have heard nothing but good things of them too. 

Alright now for the MAIN EVENT!

Pretty large package. I was surprised how they were able to really pack everything in! 

Part 1 of the loot! From outfits to tights! Ignore the plushes in the back. Those weren't included in the haul.

Part 2! Sweaters, underwear, and a purse!

This is a lovely JSK? From a Gothic Lolita shop called Infanta. Really geat quality. This was the reason I made the taobao order in the first place. I really wanted this dress and figured it would be nice to wear to work on Halloween. I'm extremely new to the Gothic Lolita scene in the sense of gathering and coordinating pieces. I've always wanted to delve into it, but dresses and outfits can be really expensive. Now that I have a job (some sort of income) I can now slowly build my wardrobe up :).  You can see an up close picture of just one of the many printed pattern/pictures on the dress to the right. Looks just like the model girl in the original website's page! 

Original site's model pic of the dress. 

Originally got this shirt to go with the JSK above, but it didn't really look that good with it. The color matched, but it just looked too big on me with the dress on. This would probably go well with another dress or even skirt. I got this in the TMall in the store called Doll + Delly. Very reasonable but casual gothic lolita stuff. I can mix and match this with other things.

This is one of my favorite pieces. They sell these in numerous shops, but I got mine at a shop called 911M. They sell a lot of Korean fashion styles. I got this really cheap and have seen them even cheaper elsewhere too, but I got free domestic shipping so I actually saved more than some other shops. I can wear this as either just a long-sleeved shirt or as a sweater. Absolutely love the pattern/print on it too. MONSTERS!!!! 

Tian Xin Nu Hai - Sweetheart Girl

The following pieces came from this one shop I stumbled upon while looking for otome and cute styles. There doesn't seem to be any word or reviews for this brand out there so here is one for those who are looking for affordable and casual otome clothes. This store pretty much sells everything as a full outfit so you'll get a shirt/dress, a sweater or cover up to go with it, and sometimes an accessory! 

A summer outfit. Perfect for warmer days :). Actually wore this right when I received it. Came with a cute wooden heart necklace!

One of their Fall/Autumn outfits. I actually had to wait a few days before it was released for sale. But the site will put up things that are upcoming for sale and even have special release discounts!

Another Fall outfit. I love this one. It even came with a scarf! 

A Pink/Peach tank dress. Much brighter in color in real life.

The quality of these outfits are surprisingly good. Everything is well-made and you can even mix and match the cover ups/sweaters with other things too. Everything is priced between $15-$20 if you catch their sales, which I think is pretty good considering it comes with more than one peice! The only thing that may be a problem is the sizing. Some outifts I ordered it in small while others in Medium. Just depends on the style so you have to be careful and read the reviews and measurements they offer. For example the summer outfit is in a small, but the dress part is pretty short so I have to wear it with shorts under. The one next to it (blue fall outfit) is in a medium and is quite long on me, but the top/bust part fits just right. The Pink fall outfit with the scarf is in a small and fits me perfectly all around, bus, length etc. Anyways love this place and will definitely shop there again.

This is another favorite piece from this order. It's a fleece sweater with like sheep ears! It's utterly adorable and you can see what it looks like worn. There are even pockets, but they are a tad small. I got this at a place called HarshHarsh Qi. I honestly can't tell if this is a brand or referring to something else as the tag on the outfit does not say Harshharsh, but if you type in the chinese characters for it you'll receive a lot of Harajuku/otome outfits all being worn by the same model. Though this is definitely one of those wholesale type outfits as I have found it in numerous shops and even cheaper than what I paid here. BUT I must admit that it is totally worth my $18. It's also extremely warm and comfortable. I've even been wearing it indoors just because it's so cozy! 

Stock photo but got this item here. Mixed feelings for it. First I can not tell from the back or front when I got it. There are no labels anywhere that can help too and second it's really itchy. I will only wear this with a long sleeve shirt inside, but it's pretty thick wool (think it's synthetic though). It was less than $5 so I can't really complain about it since despite the fact that there is no front or back and that it's itchy, it's still a pretty damn good piece of clothing for that price. I once paid around $20 on sale for something similiar at H&M and it was the same quality minus having a tag inside. 

This here is a navy striped bag I purchased from a shop called BaMeiXiuXian. I both like it and am disappointed with it. It's cute and they also included a free cellphone charm with my purchase, but the one thing that bothers me is that the lining is pretty much plastic. While the star-pattern was shown in the original stock photos are the same as what I got, it's the inner lining that is different. The website showed it to be cloth with these cute designs decorated inside, but instead it was this plain waterproof plastic-like cloth inside. I guess the good side is that it's waterproof inside and that I only paid around $5 that time for it so I have to admit that for the price it's actually pretty nice. It just wasn't something that was exactly like the stock photos but for Taobao it's to be expected that there will be things that will not be spot on or awesome quality. Anyhow knowing that I paid so little for it means I can do whatever I want to it. I use it for work and have lined it up with my company's Rose Parade pins and accessories on the outside. 

Other Stuff:

Using stock photos as I didn't get a chance to really take individual photos of them when I got them.

Tights!

OMG I'm so in love with these tights it's unbelievable. I guess these are imported from Japan as the brand label is called Daisy Rose. I got them for around $2.50 each and the quality is AMAZING. They're pretty thick and for a 5'1 girl they fit perfectly. I have a hard time finding tights that fit me perfectly length wise so I was extremely happy with them. They come in 23 different colors and the ones I got were burgundy and a dark teal. I love them so much that I acually just purchased some more for my Winter haul. 

I feel like every taobao experience is not complete without ordering those fake tattoo or fake character knee high tights. I got the black rabbit ones since it's a rabbit! Utterly adorable and super fun! I have heard of knockoffs floating around, but these are really nice. Thick enough that they don't seem like they'll run or tear easily. The only thing is that they're kind of small and quite tight compared to my Daisy Rose tights.  I'm one of those 0-1 size girls and I find the elastic in these tights just barely make it on my hips. The same goes for the length. 

Pink Queen - Lingerie & Sleepwear

Yay for underwear! Haha okay maybe too much excitement for it, but this place has SO MANY cute lingerie. They also have sleepwear like pajamas and those very sexy wear that you find at Frederick's Hollywood. Almost all of the bras are sold as sets and priced between $5-$12! So you can get a bra and panty together for real cheap. The only problem is that all the panties they send is either free size or a medium. Luckily they fit me perfectly. 

This here is what I think might be a victoria secret knockoff or perhaps it's the real thing. I actually have seen something very very similar to it in the actual VS stores (least the panties I have seen), but there's this strange extra elastic that is sewn onto the other side of the bra that you don't have in actual/normal VS's bras. It came wrapped in a VS bag though. The quality though besides the strange sewn pieces is pretty much on par with VS. 

They have these Sanrio character bra sets, which are utterly adorable. Most of them have Hello Kitty, but there is also a My Melody version too. This set uses a satin material w/ cotton while the others had just cotton. It's too cute though. I almost wanted all of them! 

This set was only $5.25 as I got it on sale, which is amazing! I love finding deals like this and they had plenty in stock too. Usually when I find something on sale they tend to have like the last pairs available so not a great guarantee that my agent can get it for me. I just love this ice cream pattern. 

Overall verdict for these bras is that they're all really well made and that the quality is surprisingly great. The only thing is that PinkyQueen and most other cutesy and affordable bra shops on taobao I've noticed only carry A-C cups.  I'm a B (35B/75B) cup so I had a great variety to choose from and also didn't have to worry for something selling out since my size also had a lot more in stock than A (I would assume C is also similiar). I'll be honest that one thing I've noticed A LOT in China is that the girls are all A cups there. Anyhow I have to admit I officially love shopping for my underwear on Taobao because I have to say that my size is almost always sold out at Victoria Secrets. Also paying $40-$50 for a bra there is just way overpriced. I can now find my pushup bras with nice ease and can choose from so many cute designs now! The padding is also removable too which is a nice plus since I think for the cotton ones they don't necessarily need them. Maybe it's the way they're designed, but they do the job pretty well w/o them. 

Well that is it for my Autumn Taobao Haul!!! I just made one for Winter so there will be more reviews coming for those too! I also have an incoming small order for fake nails and more lingerie so look forward to it. Thanks for reading or simply checking my blog out! Feel free to comment too on anything that I posted :). Until Next Time!

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Bonus Picture! 

Considering of maybe wearing this for the Holidays :3. Maybe with a green shirt? Hee hee 

Taobao Nail Haul Preview

So I've been obsessed lately with shopping on Taobao, a Chinese ebay/amazon sort of place. I won't really go into much detail on how to order from them since there's a whole bunch of tutorials and explanations floating around the web already. Though the agent I use is called TaobaoTrends. I highly recommend them as their website is super easy to navigate (no excel sheet), their English is extremely good and easy to understand (figures they are located in Hong Kong), and they're extremely fast at answering me back whenever I have questions or concerns (mostly within 24 hours, but depending on the time there I sometimes get answered within 1-3 hours). 

There are just so many cute things that I want there and it's a fraction of the cost that I would pay here in the US. Unfortunately shipping can add up really quick, but I like to go for registered airmail so depending on what I'm getting the price I'd pay for shipping is between $7-$40 rather than EMS of $30-$100+. This doesn't include the domestic shipping that I would have to pay for the items to get to my agent. Though there are some stores that offer free shipping whether it is a discount they offer daily or after purchasing over a certain amount. 


Anyways I ended up doing an order on just Deco Nails from a store called Nail Green City. This place has a lot for under 10RMB (less than $2)! I also ordered some bras, but this blog will focus on the goodies that I bought from the store. This is just a preview to share what I bought lately. I will post an actual review once I get them, but for now it's to share with you all my recent finds and obsession haha. 

One of my favorite finds is this sweet deco nail set. 

One thing that you'll notice a lot later on with this blog is that I have an obsession with collecting rabbit related things. So of course once I saw this I had to have it!

These ones were only 3RMB ($0.51)! The whale pattern is also super cute! 

I got set 21 here. It's the one with the bear on it! 

I'm  not really too keen on Hello Kitty, but I saw these and I thought they were super cute! 

Ice cream pattern! I thought this one would be fun to wear to work since I wear bright shirts and pants. 

Cartoonish clouds, bats, ghosts, and skulls oh my! These would have been super fun for Halloween, but they won't get here until after (._.).

I love Tokidoki so when I saw these and that they were on clearance I just had to add them!

That's it for the fake nail sets. I also got some other things like nail decals, glue, and nail stickies. Overall I got about 12 items from Green City which came out to about $15.84. I think that's pretty good considering that in the US fake nails tend to cost between $5-$20. The sweet deco nail set is sometimes between $20-$30 on places like ebay, Amazon, and Etsy. So I'm pretty happy with what I got and can't wait till they get here to try them on! Look forward to it!

First Post!

Hurray!

Welcome to my Blog! This is my first post on this very default template haha. I will eventually learn how to really customize just the way I want to, but for now it will have to do. I'm quite a random person and like to say random things, therefore this is a blog where I'd like to share with everyone my hobbies and utter randomness. So it's like my not so private "let the whole world" see and read diary! Hee Hee. For the most part I'll post things like reviews and share bits and pieces of my life such as sewing projects, food, and my journey through LIFE! Whatever that may entitle hahaha.

~Chibigenie