Thursday, February 28, 2013

LINE Play App Guide and Review

I didn't think I would make an app review, but here I am.
Earlier this month after many years I finally have a smart phone. I had the lollipop flip phone for about 2 years and the ice cream before that. I had an ipod touch though!
Anyways, I have been actively downloading and playing a lot of games.

I actually discovered this one a few days ago. It was open to international players pretty recently as well. I used Line Camera before so I am familiar with their mascots.

LINE PLAY!


More like homes to enter! Downloadable for the iOS and Android.
In order to start playing you have to download the Line Naver app. It's almost like Kakao Talk. You have a free instant message/call app which you can use to contact your friends and what not. I guess it's good for your international friends! You can also be social and play games with them, but of course you need to download each game individually.

LINE Play is very similar to Ameba Pico, TinierMe, Poupee Girl and some Facebook apps. You have your own avatar and a house to decorate. You can shop for furniture and clothes with your virtual currency known as gems.

You start out with a simple room. You have a flower pot, a table and 2 chairs. You also have a diary which keeps all your daily outfit snapshots and diary posts. Other users can comment or leave you stickers for these snapshots.

Earning gems in the beginning is easy.


You can receive gems from entering other user's invitation codes. Simply go to your settings and click Profile. Once there you will see the Invitation Code section. You will see something similar to the image on the left. You can find your code there if you click the Invite. A small screen will pop up with your code which you can copy to your clipboard. If you want random people using your invitation code write a review for the game and leave your code there! You get 1000 gems if you enter one code and if other users enter yours, you also get 1000 gems. You can earn 14,000 gems from doing this. HOWEVER, this is not something you can do daily (from what I know so far). You can only punch in 5 codes yourself and only 9 other users can put in yours. After that, that's it. You have to earn gems other ways or pay for them!

Gems are crucial!
You want your house to be super cool and cute! Of course you need your own character to match.
There's a shop for clothing, furniture and the evil GACHAs.


You can mix and match tops, bottoms and accessories. You can buy clothes in set which is a bit cheaper than buying each piece individually. You can also try on the clothes by clicking the icons. The only problems I have with this is the loading time and the scrolling.


The furniture store is set up the same way. You can preview the furniture you want by clicking on it. You can also change your wall paper and tiles. My major problem with all this is the scrolling. It takes forever if you are looking for a certain set of furniture. I'm hunting for all the Chocolate Tier furniture. Prepare to scroll and let it load.
Honestly though you mainly need a bed, a bath, some kind of chair and food to satisfy your own character's needs!


This is what drives me nuts. Gachas are addictive because the item you get is random and you want to collect them all! There's a strong feeling of satisfaction boosted by endorphins when you get something you wanted. When you get something bad or a duplicate you just want to try for something better. (Gambling is bad for you.)



That's my avatar.  I'm still working on my room haha. This game much like most apps now a days is all about being social and making friends. (Not social in a sense you need to actually talk to other users....you can though). You just have to click around a lot because that's how you earn more gems and hearts! You can invite your friends who also use Line Naver and earn 1000 gems.

How to earn more gems:

From what I know so far, you have a daily login bonus, and 3 daily tasks you can complete. You can keep track of your tasks by click on the gems in the upper right. The daily task for me resets at 4PM. I live in NY.


All you have to do is go to your friends, or other random peoples' houses and click click click. Each task gives you 10 gems. You can water their plants, clean their furniture, and give them hearts. All you have to do is click the bubbles that appear in the other user's home. You can make around 1000 gems per day. That may sound like a lot, but most furniture is about 1000 and above. You also earn gems from doing your own tasks. Once in a while your avatar will want to either sit down, sleep, eat or take a bath. If you don't have the right items in your room to complete the task, you can always use the items in other peoples' homes. You earn 5 gems for each personal task.


As you can see there's the water drop and broom icon in this house. Click the icons and both of you are happy! Hurray gems!



Let's say someone doesn't have a plant or a bath tub. Simply click Move then Random and you will be whisked away to another home.You can go from house to house by clicking on the Random button. This is me being a total creeper in someone's home.
20 tasks per category, 3 categories, that's a lot of clicks.


After your daily activities, it's pretty much a stand still. You can chat with people in the lounge or just keep going through houses and make friends. Look at how handsome James is. You can use the furniture in his house I guess.
You can also copy paste your invitation codes (if you have not used them all) in the lounge area titled "Beginner." There's a specific chat room for that. You can also have 1:1 chats with your friends!


Your game keeps track of everything you do and what other users do to you. It's all visible in the news section which you can access at the front page. Click the speech bubble icon on the upper left to see your news. You get notifications when people send you hearts, use your invite code, or leaves a message.

After finishing all the daily tasks I like to rearrange my furniture or dress my avatar up several times.
Click the menu button when you are in your room followed by Room Deco. You will see a screen like the one above.
Some furniture you can turn in all 4 directions and some only turn in 2 directions. Keep that in mind when you are furnishing your home! Don't forget to save as well.


You can change your avatar's clothes by clicking Menu then Closet while in your room. You click/check whatever you want them to wear and voila! (SAVE) It will ask you if you want to update your diary. I normally don't but do what you want!

My invite code is UM-8866-3205 (expired).
Feel free to add me. My user name is Ebbilin

Happy clicking!

Monday, February 25, 2013

Valentine's Day 2013

I know this is way late, but I promised to blog once a week. That's about 4 posts per month which is really not a lot to read.
February is almost over!

So here's some pics of my Valentine's Day dinner at Gyu-Kaku!
Gyu Kaku is a Japanese Korean fusion BBQ place. You cook your own food.
This was the special for the weekend!
I'm not a food critic so please excuse my many uses of "it's tasty" or "good." I also took the pictures with my phone so sorry for the LQ.


This was my third time at Gyu Kaku! I've only been here for special occasions.
The portions are small for heavy eaters, but I always get super full afterwards. It's way too expensive to go to all the time with my salary.
This was the worst experience I had with the service there out of  the 3 occassions. We  made reservations but were a few minutes late. They still gave us our seats but we had to leave by 7. It was 5:30 by the time we were seated near the front of the restaurant. It felt really rushed this time especially with the waiter lurking behind us frequently. I understand it's a commercial holiday, but you can't force us to eat so fast. We didn't even get the grill oiled or changed again after the first time. I prefer sitting in the back because there's a really pretty waitress there! She's also super nice and leaves cooking time instructions at least!

We initially wanted the Happy Hour Kobe Style course, but two waiters suggested this to us. This was different from the usual because they normally never have lobster or seabass (not in the NYC ones at least). There was some miscommunication where the waiter said the drink I wanted would be covered under this meal. I'm not sure what happened but I ended up with 3 drinks!

Moving on!

I wanted a drink from the menu. I picked out this drink called "Tsunami."
It's a mix of hypnotic, blue curacao, vodka, and..... I can't remember. It was very pleasant. I like fruity sweet drinks. It didn't taste very alcoholic, more like a fruit punch. We had 2 other drinks that came with the course. One was the Hana Sake Peach and the other was Wycliff champagne. The Hana sake tasted thick. It was almost like drinking perfume-y syrup. The champagne was good. It was light. Not too bitter and not too sweet! (No pics sorry)

Moving on to food....I love food.

The first thing to arrive was the Gyu-Kaku salad.
I really love their salad. It's mixed greens with peppers, egg, tomatoes and something crunchy. I'm not sure what that last veggie is. What makes it super tasty and refreshing is the dressing. It is just so good! It has a citrus-y, gingery but kinda aquatic flavor (it was fishy but not in a bad way). I don't have pictures of the salad, but I could eat it every day.

Next up for starters we chose the Tuna Volcano Crunch and the Japanese Style Crab Cake!
Tuna volcano on top. Crab cake on bottom.
The crab cake was a salty on it's own. The sauce only made it extra salty!  The tuna volcano was okay. You have tuna tar tar mix on top of what is a crunchy deep fried rice ball? I read a good review about it on Yelp, so I had to try for myself. I like the spicy tuna on top. They could have given more though. My only bad comment is that it was a bit too crunchy at the rice bottom. 

Chicken Garlic Noodles
I read a good review about this too on Yelp. It was super flavorful. I liked it a lot. I don't think you can mess up garlic noodles. This was probably a good filler food in case the meats were not enough.

MEAT AND LOBSTER!
Kobe Style Bistro Harami
Pieces of raw lobster underneath the tail.
Most savory beef I have eaten! The lobster was fresh. I have to admit I ate some bits of raw lobster. They waiters didn't give us instructions on cooking time.

More meat!


I won't lie I don't know which meat is which. I think the one of the right is the Prime Ribeye Cap. Meat is meat! I have no complaints. Also by this time I was probably tipsy from all the drinks.

Last but not least! DESSERT!

Lady M Green Tea Mille Crepe
Every time I'm here I get this. I love mille crepe. Best I had. I want more! MORE! It's not too sweet and the green tea is not overwhelming. I love this soooo much.

After dinner I got super dizzy. I fell asleep on the train and felt better afterwards. Really just went home after dinner since it was a work night.

Overall I love Gyu Kaku. I just don't want to sit in the front. It's so cramped and impersonal. You can almost lean onto the people next to you. It wasn't very private unlike the booth seats. I also really miss that pretty waitress. She's not like a bombshell babe. She's like a half-y Yuu Aoi type. Tall and thin. *^*

I'm also rushing to meet the Monday deadline. 6 mins till Tuesday AHH!

Monday, February 18, 2013

Cosplay Circle Lenses GEO Animation CP-A3 Review

I'm 2 hours away from it not being Monday. Happy President's Day! (even if it's almost over).
I hope everyone had a pleasant week. Happy Lunar New Year too!

I wanted to fulfill my once a week blog posts. I almost forgot. Recently I picked up Candy Crush Saga and that game is addictive and annoying!

Well here's my review of these "cosplay" lenses.
GEO Animation CP-A3!

Description (off website):
Diameter: 14.0mm
Water Content: 38%
Base Curve: 8.6mm
Type: 1 year disposal

I got these guys in the mail the second day of comic con. I wasn't able to take pictures of the package.
There I didn't get a hair accessory gift this time.

What they look like in the lens case and solution hurrr.

oOo oOo I like these guys a lot.

Here are the comparison pictures with different lighting.




Overall Thoughts:
Comfort ★★★☆☆
I wore these at comic con. I had to take them off within an hour because it was irritating my eyes. I had to wear them after makeup so that could be the reason. The color of the contact also obscures your vision at times. I saw pink on when I glanced sideways. Don't get me wrong though. It was more comfortable the second time I wore them.
Color ★★★★★
I love the way these look with flash and without. My "without flash" photo does not do them justice. They look good in natural light and indoors.
Looks ★★★★★
They look pretty silly on the website. I was skeptical at first to purchase them. They are a lot better than I expected and are opaque even for my eyes. They do not look natural but they have that strong dramatic color I wanted.
Enlargement ★★★☆☆
Meh! You can see the comparison picture. They slightly enlarge my eyeballs. I think they are a good size.

These are probably my favorite lenses of all time. If you are looking for something that stands out, these are it.

Here's a instagram picture I took with them on. My Akemi Homura cosplay.


Till next week! or sooner! Maybe?

Monday, February 11, 2013

Geo Nudy Violet Circle Lens Review

Did I just update as promised? Whooo!
Here goes my second circle lens review. I am completely advertising Pinky Paradise for free haha.

This pair is from the popular brand GEO or GEO Medical called Geo Nudy Violet. I bought these shortly after the last pair I reviewed. I needed a more opaque and bright pair for cosplay. I have had Geo's before but sadly these were not up to my standards either.

Description (off website):
Diameter: 14.0mm
Water Content: 42%
Base Curve: 8.6mm
Type: 1 year disposal

I don't have a picture of the package, but here was the content inside. Now I have 2 of these bang separators.

Blue hair accessory for bangs.
Free animal case. This time it's piggies.
Geo bottles. All GEO's come with scratch off stickers to prove authenticity.
The lenses in the case and solution.
 Here's some pictures of how they look worn and in different lighting. I used a better camera for these photos (can you tell?)




Overall Thoughts:
Comfort ★★★★★
14.0 mm fits my eyes best. I could not feel them there.
Color ★★☆☆☆
These lenses are not noticeable without flash. They just make my eyes look bigger. The don't look so bad in direct sunlight though. You can see the slight purple tint. My photos don't show it that well.
Looks ★★☆☆☆
There's a slight hazy look at times. They also look somewhat reptilian in my opinion.
Enlargement ★★☆☆☆
Decent. I am not big on eye enlargement anyways. 14.5 or more is your size if you care about enlargement.

This pair is decent, however it did not work out for my cosplay plan. Once again, lighter colored eyeballs get all the benefits of color contacts.

 Till next Monday! (hopefully)

Monday, February 4, 2013

Missha Haul

Long time no blog. It's 2013 and I have not blogged since the Summer. Unacceptable!
So here's some images and a list of my Missha hauls for the last 4 months.

All the items are packaged in a box covered with pink peanuts.

 Haul #1





  • The Style Creamy Matte Lip Rouge PK03 [Baby Milk] 
  • Time Revolution Aqua Youth Cream 
  • The Style Creamy Matte Lip Rouge CR03 [Sweet Lady] 
  • MISSHA The Style Glam Fit Gloss OR01 
  • Super Aqua Marine Forest Recovery Cream  
Haul #2






  •  MISSHA The Style Good-bye Crease Eye Makeup Primer (No.1/Clear) 
  •  [Travel Size] M Perfect Cover BB Cream SPF42 PA+++ (20ml) #21 Light Beige (Free Gift)
  •  Signature Glam Art Rouge SPF15/PA+ [2012 S/S] SCR304
  •  MISSHA Natural Konjac Cleansing Puff (Bamboo Charcoal) 
  •  The Style Art Designing Sebum Cut Pact (No.2/Clear Peach) 
  •  The Style Perfect Concealer Light Beige 

Haul #3



  • Super Aqua Cell Renew Snail Cream (Limited/Special Set) 
  • The Style Dual Eye Tip WH01 
  • The Style Triple Perfection Shadow (No.3/Mocha Beige)
  • Black Ghassoul Kit Procure Intensive Repairing Treatment 
  • MISSHA The Style Magnetic Nail Polish [BL01] 
  • M Signature Real Complete BB Cream SPF25 PA++ (No.23/Natural Yellow Beige) (Free Gift)

Haul #4

  • The Style Magic Magnetic 
  • The Style Multi Eye Shadow Case (eye shadow not included) 
  • The Style Shine Pearl Shadow (Glitter) GGL01 
  • The Style Under Eye Brightener Light Beige 
  • The Style Silky Shadow Duo No.7 (Sand Blow) 
  • The Style Triple Perfection Shadow (No.2/Honey Orange)
  • The Style Eye Shadow GA201
  • Excellent Anti-Stretch Mark Cream 
  • The Style Crystal Nail Polish HGR01
Sorry I didn't post them all because there's too many photos.
I wanted to do reviews of these products. So far I have only used one. That is the Super Aqua Marine Forest. I'm not sure if there's been any difference in my skin because I look the same in my opinion.

I bought most of these on sale so I just tried hitting the $40 margin for free shipping each time. 

Hopefully 2013 means more blog posts. I am just too lazy to resize all the images.
I have albums of stuff I want to post though. Till next time soon! Hopefully! Next week??
I should post this stuff on Poupee Girl....