People come and go.
Being alone is nice, you can self-reflect.
Don't rely on anyone.

Dreams are not meant to be forgotten.  I think that once you have set your own direction in life following certain dreams, life gets beautiful.  From that moment, you have a purpose.  Now the only thing, that's meant is to work hard, work tears, sweat and blood.  All of it will be worth it once you look back.  But then you need that direction.  You need to know what you WANT.  Don't let anyone else decide.  From then on, everything goes easier, just know what you want in life.

Etude House BB-Cream Review +Swatches

I have the white one, the sheer silky skin.  It's the Etude Precious Mineral BB Cream.  I purchased it on G-Market and I am doing a review and swatches.

 SWATCHES

On Skin

Slightly Blended

 Fully Blended

As you can see, it's very sheer.  

Advantages:

- Flawless, even complexion on moderately uneven skin
- Moisturising
- SPF
- Long-lasting
- Feels very natural
- Cheap
Disadvantages:
- Not very good oil control
- Not extreme coverage
- Oxidises fast

Some Spring trends/inspirations

Some Spring Looks for colder and warmer days.  Some notes:

1.  COLORS: I think that spring is all about not wearing harsh colors, as you can see, a lot of pink is worn with beige and white/cream.  Another nice color is mint-green e.g. the pants.  And also light jeans.
2.  Not showing much skin: maxi-skirts and blouses are really nice.  I think this spring is all about not showing much skin.
3.  Floral and Vintage.
4.  Make-Up wise: really light make-up, I have also seen coral lips to be popular.
5. Accessoire wise: don't wear a lot again.  Some nice studs should be enough.  Matching bags with bright colors or nude bags and shoes are also nice.  Another thing are headbands: there are really cute ones.

Let me know if you want more posts like this!

Vena :)

G-Market - Introduction and Tips

I’ve been addicted to browsing G-Market these days. (english.gmarket.co.kr)

It’s just too addicting and I can already see the big hole in my wallet.

So what is gmarket?

Gmarket is an online shopping mall.  It doesn’t only provide really cute clothes andcosmetics, but everything else: Electronics, Homethings and even Food.

Now there are billions of different sellers on Gmarket, kind of like ebay.

However the amazing thing is that you can order from all the different sellers, BUT it gets combined together.

How this works is, it all gets send to the gmarket warehouse and then gets combined there FREE OF CHARGE! (Some sellers however have a fee of 2500KRW for delivery, which you have to pay ONCE)

Now there is a bad side about everything:  The worldwide shipping fee.  It ships with EMS, so it’s super fast and safe, BUT it’s expensive as hell.
However I think it’s still be worth it. (At times like this I wish I would live in Korea)

So here are some steps how to get started and some tips:
1.  Register of course.  Registering is really easy,as it is in English.  Just make sure you select being a foreigner, as Koreans have a SSN needed to buy things online.
2. Get started.  The navigation might seem confusing, but it's super easy.  First you have Apparel, then electronics etc.  I don't think you can go wrong.
3. Now when you selected the category you want, make sure you select "Worldwide shipping" otherwise it is only available in Korea.  Unless you live in Korea of course.
4. Use a paper and pen.  This might seem stupid, but double check always.  Most characters are in Korean, so just copy them and select the things you drew in a dropdown menu.  I really recommend double checking, it is really easy to get things wrong and returning is impossible, I believe.
5.Check more than one shop, some have similar items.
6. The price for each shop you see, doesn't mean that's the price you are paying.  Each product is different.  Also some have delivery fee of KRW 2500
7.  You pay shipping for every 500 grams, so let's say your estimated weight is 1200, you are paying for 1500 then, so the smart thing is to add another 300g.  Also some of the shipping might be refunded into your G-Account, as the estimated weight is higer.  This is what I love about G-Market. However, you must pay fully with that money.
8. After purchase, don't forget to play G-Lotto!
9. There are coupons available each day, so check and see if you are winning.

Let me know if you want more tips.  If you need any help or have any questions, don't hesitate to ask me!  And be prepared for more GMarket posts in the future!

Drama Obsession: Spring 2012

ROOFTOP PRINCE!

After finishing the melo-drama Padam Padam, I think my heart has suffered enough.  I need something light and cute to make up for it.  Rooftop Prince was perfect.  It also has Padam's Jung Jina:  Han Ji Min, as the lead actress.  I already knew she was an amazing actress, but watching her transform is amazing.

Some people were saying Han Ji Min is not good enough, not pretty enough etc.  I don't know what to say. If she can't act, who can then?  Amazing actress.  And she's not pretty?  Everyone has their own taste, but I think that's a bit too much.  ParkHa(her character) was meant to be average looking focusing on work rather than looks unlike her sister.

I think she is very beautiful.  If she is ugly, I am Frankenstein.

Now on to the story. 

Park Yoochun plays the crown prince, Lee Gak.  He is married to the crown Princess HY.  However, he was meant to marry the sister BuYoung, but HY accidentally burned BYs face when she was younger(he doesn't know that)  One day, the crown princess is found face down in the lake, dead.  LeeGak doesn't believe it was suicide like everyone else and tries to find the murder with the help of three guys.(or criminals) This was 300 years ago.  Meanwhile in the present, we have ParkHa, the reincarnation of BuYong, living a hard life in America.  Her step-sister, Sena, ignored her cries when they were smaller, as she was driven away on a truck making her loose her memory and not remembering her parents.  She meets Taeyong, LeeGak's reincarnation, and Taemu, in New York and TY falls in love with PH.  However, he dies, also face-down and TaeMu ignored him letting him drown.

So this brings us to ParkHa returning to Korea meeting her stepmom and stepsister and then the fantasy elements kick in:  The prince and the 3 guys get teleported into her rooftop house, while searching for the murderer.  Now four guys from Joseon, 300 years ago, and ParkHas personality give the viewers loads of fun.

POTENTIAL SPOILERS!!

Now to my thoughts:  Even though it is a light drama and comedy, it still has many mysteries and a slight dark side to it.  I applaud the directors for the production and I must say it is extremely well done.

Now to the mysteries:  The prince asks BuYong:  "What lives while it's dead, and is dead while it's alive".  This riddle she seems to have solved in her own way as she tells the prince, the night of the murder.  Now what could the answer be?  Some speculations are: Lotus flower(as ParkHa/Buyong means Lotus) or of course candle, which is not related to the story.  It could also be butterfly, as seen in the first episode.  Another thought was Soul, as Taeyeon is dead, but his soul lives in LeeGak, same with ParkHa.  I am sure the writers will solve this riddle and connect it to the story in a way that LeeGak and ParkHa realize, that they belong together.

Another thing is, what do the characters represent.  But for me it is very  clear, that ParkHa represents a flower, possibly the lotus.  The prince says in the first episode that "The flower was more beautiful than the bride."  This ultimately represents Park Ha for me.  Even though Sena might look better with all her expensive clothes and make-up etc., ParkHa is beautiful from inside as well.  ParkHa has this subtle beauty, natural and yet not very noticeable.  I also found this in their haircolors and clothes, Sena has red hair, she is trying to be noticed badly, while ParkHa is very casual.

Now what does the butterfly represent.  It could be LeeGak.  But for me it does represent their love.  ParkHa and LeeGak were meant for each other and the flower somehow connects them, I think.

Who died, who is the murderer, who is alive, who is related etc.  

We find out that Sena and ParkHa are indeed half-sisters, with the same mother.  Senas is the illegimate child given away when she was young and ParkHa the abandoned one.  Now, they are sisters in Joseon, but  maybe they were really halfsisters.  The father suggested the younger ParkHa than the older sister, making me think that Sena was illegimate as well.  This could be one reason for the murder.  Another reason was the nature of SN, or HY, always jealous and purely evil, so I think she could be the murderer.

And then there is Taemu:  He wanted TY place, that's why he let him die(or killed him, whatever way you look at it).  I have a feeling, that even  in Joseon there was such a character and that LeeGak will see and recognize him when he returns. 

And to be honest, I think it was BY who died in the pond.  We were never shown the face.

Now scenarios could be:  1. Someone poisoned the persimmons to kill the prince, possibly TaeMu(maybe he had an affair with the princess, and so they plotted together)  His father or other people could have helped him, or they could be the murderers.  However, BY or HY died instead.

2. HY and TM, in Joseon, wanted to live together.  It is said that the princess takes walks late at night.  Possibilites for this:  1. She meets TaeMu with the help of her servants. 2. BuYong helps her meet TaeMu by dressing as the princess(this would explain why she was wearing the clothes).

So they made it look like the princess died by killing BuYong.

3.  HY kileld BY due to jealousy.  We didn't see what happened that night, so the prince might have been really nice to BY making HY jealous leading to the murder.  TM could have helped her.  She dressed her in her own clothes and ran away with TM.

Another mystery(not really) is the ending:  Perfect ending for me would be:  Prince returns to Joseon, finds out what really happened, goes back to ParkHa.

Now to each character:

ParkHa and LeeGak

I think those two have amazing chemistry.  Both of them are portrayed as pure and loving, even naive at times trusting people easily and being used.  While both of them are really smart.  Taemu and Sena don't show this type of thinking not in the present and not in the past.  LeeGak is quick to find out what Taemu really did and BuYong in the past was considerably smarter than her sister being able to actually TALK to the prince.  His wife couldn't even talk I think.  She even seems to have solved the riddle.  Their characters match and they are the typical good protagonists, that fight the injustice.  (Park Yoochun is a really good actor, I didn't notice him before, but his voice etc. are really perfect for this role)

Taemu

He freaks me out at times.  To me, he is a bit better than Sena as he has a motive.  However, he doesn't seem to have guilt or anything similar, as he keeps trying to poison LeeGak.  He seems very bitter and sad to be honest, trying to be succesful while loosing his humanity.

Sena

She is an amazing actress and really cute.  I loved her in A thousand day's promise as the cute naive rich girl.  However in Rooftop prince, she is too evil.  We get to see that Sena is evil from a young age.  While ParkHa is always smiling, Sena doesn;t show any of this.  She always has a dark expression.  I don't if that is because of the fact, she basically has no parents or whatever, but she is extremely bitter.  Even now, when she is rich, has a loving boyfriend etc. she still is not happy, this is what destroys her.  Being jealous, ungrateful and unhappy unlike ParkHa, who despite her hardships never showed those things.  She is an interesting character: everyone haters her.  Her actions are just evil, nothing else in my opinion, no real motives, she just enjoys hurting ParkHa, possibly to fill her own unhappiness.

Now I recommend everyone to give it a try.  And the Joseon Powerrangers are really cute!

G-Market Haul / Review #2

So I finally am bloogging about GMarket again!  And of course with a Haul.  I LOVE G-MARKET!  So even though people always find cons, e.g. the shipping prices, it is still worth it in my opinion.  I live in the UK, so I got charged customs sadly.  It took me around 2 weeks to get my package due to the UK post-people not doing their job.  Overall I would say I am extremely happy.  It takes me ages to browse through G-Market seeing as it is so huge.  However, I quite like doing it to get inspiration as well(the models there look nice and are wearing nice clothes)  Now on to the Haul!

Jeans:  To be honest I was amazed with the pants/jeans.  First of all I am extremely short, so I bought the jeans thinking I have to tailor them.  They still need tailoring, but they fit so nicely(i am not stick skinny, but average I would say)  I am really happy.  However, when buying jeans be extra careful with the color, as it is different on pictures and in real life.

9/10

Brown wedges.  What can I say?  They are so cute and are perfect to wear just to school etc.  It was just as the picture showed it.  And I read somewhere, that you should order a size smaller than your real size.  I disagree with this.  Just convert your original shoe-size and you are okay most of the times.  Oh and they feel extremely light, not heavy at all.

10/10

Navy Bag with Camel detail:  This bag is gorgeous.  It looks classy and the detail at the top makes it unique and beautiful.  I chose navy, but black looked also really cute.  The only downside is the opening:  it sometimes gets stuck and the bag is also very "open", no zipper just that small lock.  Very good quality though.

8/10

Jackets.

The jacket pictures above and the other one.  I chose size S in both.  They fit really nicely.  Nice material as well.  Doesn't feel cheap.  Hwang Jung Eum was wearing the brown one in High Kick 2, and it looked really good on her.  However, it was a bit pricey for GMarket, nonetheless, still nice and unique.  Both look really well made and look great with simple tees.  I was wearing the brown one a lot, and some of the fur came off and it slightly ripped not a lot though. This was a bit disappointing for the prize.  I am rating both.
7/10

 A few things to note is that all the things were cheap - too cheap compared to things in the UK.  I don't think you can find those things for this price anywhere here.  For example the bag with shipping is still less than 10 quid.  Even Primark can't offer me that.  And the quality was amazing as well.

Another thing to note was shipping and customs.  Seriously everything goes smoothly from Korea and then it arrives here:  UK customs decides to keep my package for almost a week.  They put customs on.  They put service fee on.  I was pissed again, but what can I do.

If anyone need help, let me know.  Tips for GMarket should be coming up soon.  So look out for that!

Vena :)