Buyee purchases 4 - Liz Lisa My Melody mook vol 1 tote, Liz Lisa glitter pumps & Liz Lisa gingham floral cosmetic case novelty

(This post was delayed in publishing because of all the Japan trip posts! Items were received in mid November.)
You know, I really thought I would be spending less money on secondhand items after that last batch, but there's always a few things I just can't resist at least putting a small bid in for. And then once I win one thing, it doesn't usually make sense to ship it by itself, so I might as well wait to consolidate and win a few more things to make the international shipping cost "worth it" lol. And this is how I end up with a number of things I am happy to have but in no way needed. I've been trying to stay off Yahoo Auctions these days but since TKL is mostly winter stock right now and there's nothing I'm itching to buy direct from Liz Lisa, I need to get my shopping fix another way lol.

Liz Lisa My Melody mook vol 1 tote bag; Condition: Used -

I've been wanting this tote for a while now. Well, since I started buying the mooks, that is. It's really lame because I never really considered the mooks a good investment (like, not enough to pay the inflated overseas price), so I didn't pay attention to them very much when they were first released. And I'm also not much of a tote bag person so the free bag didn't really encourage me to buy it in any way. However, once I got my hands on both the 4th and 5th vol mooks while in Japan, I set myself on a mission to get the previous three volumes as well wtf. And also the plastic bag ban in Hawaii suddenly made tote bags more relevant and useful to me lol. The second and third vol mooks weren't too hard to get but the first one was very elusive because it was no longer in print and was obviously the oldest. Plus it was the first one so people who bought it were likely really excited about it and didn't think, oh yeah, let me just save this bag so I can sell it 3 years later for profit lol. I'm sure most people bought it and used it.

This tote bag was one of my main motivations in wanting the vol 1 mook. Even though I'm not an avid tote user, this vol 1 tote was actually my favorite of all the bags they released with the mooks. I didn't want to spend money on the magazine part without it. And for some reason I was thinking maybe there's some person out there who will sell both the magazine and tote together in a condition I could be happy with so I set my priorities and waited. And waited and waited. That didn't happen so I settled for finding the tote in new-ish condition and bought the magazine part separately lol.
With all of the shipping and fees, I paid WAY more than I should have for this bag and when I received it, I realized it was actually missing the charm, but whatever since that wasn't a key selling point for me anyway. I ended up taking this tote with me on my Autumn 2015 Japan trip and used it everyday!

[Check out my blog post on the Liz Lisa My Melody mook vol 1 here.]

I finally completed the set :D - 

Liz Lisa My Melody Gakken mook vol. 1 through 5

Liz Lisa platform glitter pumps (Winter 2012); Condition: New -

Berri has these shoes from way back when they were first released in pink. I had always really liked them on her and wished I had purchased them myself. I was thrilled to find them on Yahoo Auctions, new and in my size! I also really like this white color but pink would have been just as good. I personally don't prefer to buy used shoes so I thought I would never be able to get these pumps since they're three years old now and I couldn't imagine someone with my same shoe size storing them all this time and not wearing them, but here they are!

They even came with the original box! ...which made the package heavier and made me ship with EMS but that's okay. The shoes themselves actually carry a bit of weight as well, so that didn't help. Regardless, I'm really happy with these! They are pretty much everything I expected them to be. The sizing could be a bit better for my foot, but the fit is about average for Liz Lisa size L shoes on me and the ankle strap helps keep my foot in place. There is tons of glitter and yeah, it will shed eventually but it's not like if you shake the shoes, it will shower down on you. I'd say the majority of it is pretty solidly stuck. It was a little trying to adjust the ankle strap because it's glitter on glitter (the little loop that connects the strap to the shoe is glitter as well and trying to move the strap within it was a small challenge) but I don't anticipate having to adjust that very much.

(Sorry I had some issues with the coordinate photos and took them in a rush but hopefully you can still get an idea!)

I easily see this being a great party shoe because the glitter adds a touch of glam, especially good to match with the Christmas party OPs that Liz Lisa releases every year. But I could also imagine that someone might even wear it with jeans. The color, despite the glitter, is actually pretty neutral, but the details make it a bit more fun.

Liz Lisa gingham floral cosmetic case novelty; Condition: New -

I was really, really sad I missed out on this novelty when I went to Japan in August. This novelty promotion started two weeks before I got there and the next one (portable charger) wouldn't start until about a week after I left, so I was really hoping one of the stores I went to would still have at least one of these. But no, literally all of the 14 Liz Lisa stores I went to were sold out of it. I figured the Liz Lisa x My Melody x Little Twin Stars triple collab print one would be hard to get but I didn't anticipate not finding a single store with at least one novelty offering. In any case, I was really hoping to get this during my trip and I was unsuccessful. I had seen that they were going for high prices on the auction sites (some even approx. $100 before fees and shipping) but when I saw the price drop for this one, I decided to just bid on it and see. I'm actually quite surprised I won but maybe those who were die hard already got one earlier.

I probably wouldn't even have bid on this (no matter the price) if it weren't for the mirror. I really don't use very much make up so I have almost zero need for a full size make up/cosmetic pouch with the brush compartments like this, but I was in love with the concept of it having a mirror attachment. Not only does it fold up within the pouch but it can also be completely detached and can stand on its own independently! I just thought that that was SO COOL lol. And honestly I don't know much about make up bags so if that's common and I'm a dolt, so be it, but I still loved this one in particular because of the print as well. I think this is just such a great novelty item and would have loved to have received it free after meeting a minimum purchase amount but I still think the price I paid for it was fair. I will probably take it with me on my next trip because I find it really handy to have a mirror like this.

I'm quite happy with these items. I honestly really wanted each of them although in a slightly different way if that makes any sense. I was dying to get my hands on the tote to complete the mook series. The shoes I've had in the back of my mind after envying them on Berri. And the make up pouch I missed out on in Japan and was given a second chance to own (albeit for a heftier price than "free" lol). The abundance of Liz Lisa items on the secondhand Japanese market is a blessing and a curse for sure haha. I know the money I'm spending could have easily just been saved and I would have lived perfectly fine without these things (well maybe not the tote since it kills to have an incomplete set with the first item missing) but at the same time, they're nice to have access to and own I think. The fees certainly add up but I understand the concept of supply and demand. Hopefully I can place a few more limits on myself to keep the bidding under control lol.