It's finally holiday! Only one week or so though. I'm supposed to be doing my assignment but I'm a huge procrastinator--OH HEY let's not talk about assignment.
Are you guys into Japanese trend? I'm really into the marine theme! It's uber cute, I want to have everything marine-themed with sailor collar. Plus, they are for summer so I can wear them here! Humid Jakarta is humid.
I fell in love with this simple sailor one piece from
Ank Rouge.
When I was browsing through
Shoppies, I found the white version of it! Turns out I like the white version better than the navy one.
The cordiform buttons are red. To me, the white piece looks more appealing as it has three colors while the navy one only has two. Now, time to go to a buying service! I decided to try a buying service I had been eyeing for a while, Maru Mise.
In the past, I have used
Kawaiikkuma. There is a huge difference I noticed between Maru Mise and Kawaiikkuma. To make it easier to compare, I will write down the differences in bullets :
Kawaiikkuma
- When asked for price estimation, they will calculate the item's price and domestic shipping fee. International shipping fee estimation comes after they received the item in Japan. Their rate is 1 JPY = 135 IDR.
- Payment is done twice. Deposit for the item's value and domestic shipping fee, then international shipping from Japan to your place with EMS.
- Their service fee is 5% × overall transaction for every transaction you make + 1000 JPY for every different seller.
- The item will be either directly sent to you, or forwarded to them in Indonesia then sent to you. With EMS, you will get your item super fast.
Maru Mise
- When asked for price estimation, they will calculate everything up until you receive the item. Their rate is 1 JPY = 165 IDR (for beauty products and fashion items, they have different rate for different kind of items).
- Payment can be done once or twice. You can pay for all at once or deposit half of your item's value + domestic shipping fee and complete your payment later.
- Their service fee is unknown, they take profit from their high rate.
- Your item will be gathered together with other buyers' items, once they receive it in Indonesia they will notify you or send your item to you immediately if you have paid everything when you ordered it. You need to wait approximately two weeks for your item to arrive.
Huge difference! I don't even know how Maru Mise deal with the international shipping from Japan to Indonesia. My guess is they use cheaper international shipping service with money gathered from combining people's order. That is why it takes more time for you to get your item.
So, after waiting with patience and excitement, my Ank Rouge dress arrived safely!
(I actually forgot to take photos of them when they were still being wrapped, I was too excited)
Oh yeah, I also bought Ank Rouge's cherry hairpin. I asked my boyfriend if it's cute and he said that 'it is not suited to be worn here' because, uh, I know it's a bit too fancy, people will notice my hairpin
(let's try beating my self-consciousness here) but its cuteness is irresistible. I love wearing hair clips!
They are my current favorite hair accessories! The gold hair clips are from daytime shooting star (Hirunaka no Ryuusei) × earth music & ecology Japan Label. I absolutely adore everything from this collaboration line.
Closer shots of the sailor one piece!
The fabric feels very soft! When I first saw it on the site I was afraid the material would be stiff, but it's not, I like it. The ribbon somehow always covers the (decorative) buttons, it's disappointing because the buttons are even cuter IRL! By the way I hate taking photos in my room, the lighting is terrible.
Are you wondering if the ribbon is detachable? It is! Here is the secret!
Tadah! I wish they could put some more buttons higher though, the ribbon looks a bit loose and if I could 'fasten' the ribbon, it would not cover the cordiform buttons.
Back collar!
I love little details!! I'm so in love with this dress and DID I MENTION THAT IT SMELLS SO SO SO GOOD? It's a second-hand piece, so the seller probably have used and washed it. And
I need to know what kind of detergent or clothes perfume that the previous owner used because IT SMELLS FREAKING NICE LIKE SWEET STRAWBERRY. The smell is so nice and lingering I could be sniffing at it all day! No kidding!
Anyway, here is more about the two buying services (I can't help but compare).
Maru Mise is very practical if you want to buy a lot of items from different shops. Feel free to buy socks from Tutuanna, clothes from LIZ LISA, toilet papers from Amazon and so on. Kawaiikkuma charge 1,000 JPY per seller so--you can imagine how your wallet's situation will be if you want to do so.
And the best thing from Maru Mise is you can first pay half of everything!! You can pay for the deposit, wait for the item to arrive as you save up some more money. Doesn't it feel better to pay $50 then another $50 after some more time than paying all $100 at once? And their price calculation is precise, with Kawaiikkuma sometimes you could have a light heart attack when they notify you about the shipping fee.
Communication with Maru Mise was smooth. I personally recommend Maru Mise if you want to buy some stuffs from multiple sellers. I recommend Kawaikkuma if you want to buy many items from one store only and you want them quick. My recommendation doesn't apply if you want to buy heavy things like bags and shoes though.
Okay, see you, guys! Have a good day, I'm going back to procrastinating (only to regret it later but still do it every so often)!
