Hard Candy House: First Batch (1)

June 23, 2015June 23, 2015 / lolitaland / 1 Comment

Hard Candy House sponsored me for the first time! I love their products, so I was flattered when they decided to sponsor me. They make so many super cute accessories that fit a variety of styles. Check out their Etsy store too!

Even the packaging was cute: Check out the cute heart tape! I was really excited to see this package!

Everything was safely packaged; there were no damages to the items. I was very pleased with the care Hard Candy House took in their packaging.

When I opened up the mailer, I found a package wrapped in polka-dot tissue paper! Upon opening this inner package, I found more packaging. Each item was wrapped in its own tissue paper and plastic bag.

As you can see above, Hard Candy House provided a coupon code: you can use “XIAO150603” to get 15% off! This is an amazing deal!! (NOTE: in the above image, the coupon code is incorrect. To get 15% off, you must use the code “XIAO150603″ — Let me know if you have any issues.)

Now, let’s go through each item in the batch! I noticed that the items seemed to be in one of two categories: an exclusive set of pink items from the Good Girl collection, and a set of cherry-themed items from the Cherry Tart collection. All items from these collections are one-of-a-kind! First, let’s take a look at the Good Girl collection!

Below, you’ll see two photos of a necklace taken in natural lighting.

When I first unwrapped this necklace, I thought it was a hairbow! The jumbo bow pendant is super cute. I love the details such as the heart charm and the string of faux pearls. The print on the bow is cute and versatile as well! I think this bow could work for sweet lolita, classic lolita, and even hime gyaru fashion! This necklace would be a great statement piece with a simple outfit as well.

Here is a photo of the necklace taken in indoor lighting:

The construction is sturdy, so don’t be afraid to wear this outside!

The next item in this pink collection is a flower accessory that can double as a hairclip and a brooch!

I love how some of the petals use the same fabric as the bow on the necklace. This little detail really brings the set together. The string of pearls and the color scheme also add consistency; if you wear this hair accessory with the necklace, it truly is a perfect match. If you wear them separately, they would still be super cute!

I’m glad that the backing has a French clip as an option! This is one of my favorite types of clip because it’s sturdy and works well with thick hair. You can use clip this flower into your hair or your wig, or you can pin it to your top, skirt, dress, purse… you name it!

The next accessory is absolutely adorable: a bow with generously dangling charms that you can clip onto your backpack or purse! Now, you can bling out your bag to match your outfit and other pink accessories. This bow looks almost the same as the one on the necklace, and it uses the same fabric. The charms include faux crystals, faux pearls, a flower bead, and a cute fuzzy teddy bear (and more!)!

Despite the huge amount of charms, it doesn’t feel too heavy. I don’t think the charms will rip the bow. The clip on the top is easy to use!

Hard Candy House also sent me the following pair of earrings from the Good Girl collection. They’re super cute and I love how the tiny bows use the same fabric as all the other accessories in the collection. The construction is sturdy and the design is lovely!

Unfortunately, I have extremely sensitive ears, so I cannot wear these earrings. (I can only wear sterling silver or gold earrings.) But if you don’t have sensitive ears, be sure to check out Hard Candy House‘s earrings! They have so many pretty designs.

I was lucky enough to schedule a photoshoot with Studio du Petit Oiseau to feature the items from the Good Girl collection! Here are some of my favorite photos from the shoot:

And here’s a great shot of my full outfit that the photographer captured:

What do you think? I love how the Good Girl hair accessory and necklace bring out the pastel colors in my t-shirt. Check out more photos from the photoshoot in this album on my Facebook page.

Hard Candy House also sent me some items from the Cherry Tart collection, but I will review those in a separate post. You can see the flower accessory from the Good Girl collection and two items from the Cherry Tart collection in this gifset I posted on my Tumblr. You can also check out this album for clear photos of the products themselves.

Here are some great items you can check out from the Cherry Tart collection in the meantime:

Look forward to Part 2 of my review for Hard Candy House! Let me know what you think of the accessories you’ve seen so far.

❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀

~Connect with me~

❥❧ Facebook: Cosplay and Fashion

❥❧ Instagram: PearlPeony

❥❧ Tumblr: Personal and Fashion

❥❧ Twitter: TreizeMacarons

❥❧ Youtube: Alice in Lolitaland

❥❧ Vine: Xiao

❥❧ WorldCosplay: Xiao

❥❧ Ask.FM: AskPeony

❀ For sponsor inquiries, please contact me at: missxiaorawr@gmail.com ❀

LBC: Favorite Taobao Shops & Pieces

June 13, 2015June 13, 2015 / lolitaland / 2 Comments

Hi, everyone! It’s been a while since I’ve done Lolita Blog Carnival, but I’m back and I hope to participate more often. ❤

This week, the prompt is Favorite Taobao Shops & Pieces. First, I’ll share my Taobao dream dress! I hope I can own this print someday…

Dream Dress

This is the Jardin de Versailles series from Chess Story. Chess Story is one of my favorite Taobao shops! I love this print in all of the colorways, but my favorite one is definitely in the red colorway. I love the look of the shiny gold on red!

I love every item in this series, but my favorite is a tie between the OP and the JSK. I can’t decide which one I like better… I hope I can find at least one of them at some point, at a reasonable price. I only want to buy the red colorway, since it’s my favorite one, but if I find the black or the white at a great price, I may purchase it (since I would rather have one from this series if I have the chance, rather than none at all).

This OP is so elegant and beautiful! I could stare at the photos all day. I really hope I can find this dress someday and add it to my wardrobe… Preferably in the red colorway!

Favorite Piece in my Wardrobe

But now, I should talk about my favorite Taobao piece that I own! And guess what? It’s a JSK from Chess Story!

This is the Name of Rose JSK! I adore the vertical stripes and the printed red roses on this JSK. The cut is also very flattering! I think this JSK is the one that’s most flattering on me. The length is also perfect! It is comfortable to wear, and it is easy to coordinate.

There is also a colorway with blue roses, but I prefer this red rose one because red is my favorite color! (I know, I’m biased toward red all the time…) I’ve worn this JSK both in lolita coordinates and as a casual dress (without the petticoat). It’s a really versatile piece!

A Lolita Staple

Besides Taobao lolita dresses, I have to mention another favorite Taobao piece, and this one is a staple: petticoats! My favorite petticoats are from the Taobao brand Classical Puppets. To be honest, before I purchased my first Classical Puppets petticoat, the only petticoats I owned were lame Halloween ones (and I had one square dancing petticoat, but it’s not very full). I own two Classical Puppets petticoat: one A-line and one bell-shaped. The first one I purchased was the A-Line one, and you can read my review for it here! (W~~ow that review was from over 2 years ago. I didn’t realize I had been blogging for that long.~~)

These are both photos of the poof produced by the A-Line petticoat:

As you can see, it gives a really nice shape to the skirts, even to the heavy velvet fabric (top photo).

Do you have a favorite Taobao shop? A favorite Taobao piece? I would love to hear about your favorites!

~Be sure to read other blog posts on this topic for the Lolita Blog Carnival!

Geisha Baby

Captain Miaow: Hair Accessories

March 31, 2015March 31, 2015 / lolitaland / 3 Comments

You may recognize the name “Captain Miaow.” You’re not imagining it! Previously, I did a review of this Etsy shop’s animal ears, tails, and paws. Captain Miaow not only makes adorable animal accessories… They also make elegant hair accessories and jewelry items. They sent me a hair accessory set to review, and I am pleased to say that I am impressed by the product.

The package I received was a USPS padded mailer. The product was declared as “Handmade” and I had no problems with customs.

Inside the mailer, I discovered a neat little cardboard box. This box ensured safe shipment of the hair accessories, and when I opened the box, I was pleasantly surprised by cute gift-wrap! The items were wrapped in tissue paper and the presentation included an adorable ribbon.

The packaging could not compare the accessories themselves though… Take a look:

The accessories look identical. Each one has two fan-shaped decor pieces connected by two braided strings. The strings are embellished with dangling faux pearls, and the fan-shaped pieces are also embellished with pearls and gems (and of course, lace!). The backs of the fan-shaped pieces have alligator clips.

Check out the close-up details here:

Aren’t they beautiful?

This accessory was easy to clip into my hair. Due to the alligator clips’ teeth, the accessory did not slip down from where I positioned it. I highly recommend these hair accessories!

I wore one from the set of two for a photoshoot (mon premier shooting à Genève!) in a local park, Parc des Bastions. The photographer was Studio du petit oiseau, and it was a lovely experience.