An Indefinite Hiatus

I wish I could say that I have the time to run a blog on Stardoll, but sadly I would be lying if I said so. I've had an absolute blast taking the reins from Tyler and running TTT over the past few years, but I think, for now, it's time to call it quits and go out with a bang instead of letting it fade.

Thank you all for the huge following this blog has received in recent years, and for your participation in the competitions, posts, and daily life at TTT on Stardoll. The site has certainly changed a lot in recent years, so it's hugely fulfilling to see so many dedicated and loyal viewers and readers stick with us!

See you all at some point in the future, hopefully sooner rather than later!

Lots of love.

New Release: Bikinimania

The 20th edition of Callie's Picks (yes, we are somehow already on number 20) has just been released to the starplaza. The release, titled 'Bikinimania' is full of a large variety of bikinis from numerous years of summers on Stardoll. This time around there aren't as many rares, but there is a pretty big selection of previous hot buys. The prices are far too high on some items, though reasonable on others that were worth quite a lot pre re-release.
For some reason, Stardoll is charging 17 stardollars for an ugly zebra bikini (that doesn't fit) that used to be a freebie. Overall there are a few nice finds in there, my favourite being the Summer clutch, and the store looks very nice as per usual. Personally, I would like for them to go for monthly releases like Archive instead of releasing each fortnight. What do you think?

The 2014 Tribute Season

Since 2010 we have received, each and every year, a selection of stores which are a tribute to some of the world's biggest real life designers. 2014 was no different, and this time around we were given some of the highest names in fashion, including Dior, Versace, YSL and of course, Chanel.

Back in May, the tribute season started with something we'd never seen before. The first release was Chanel of course, but instead of a fashion collection we were given multiple floors of CC inspired decor. 

I would be lying if I said that decor interested me as much as fashion does, although I do love it outside of the Stardoll world. Many of the themed CC items would go great for a full on Chanel inspired room, or could work just as well in a space that needs an injection of designer style. I'm sure some people lapped up the Chanel decor, but I can't say that I was particularly excited.

Next up was a Yves Saint Laurent tribute, which made its way into starplaza at the beginning of June. The interior and store layout were exactly the same as the collection from the previous year, and the clothes were uninspiring and somewhat tacky with very questionable colours and prints to match. I only ended up purchasing one item, but I did like a few more. 

After YSL we received a Versace tribute. In general the store was better - in designs and in graphics - but it still wasn't up to par with what a Versace or YSL tribute could have been. The graphics, although most often pretty well made, were sometimes very bland and lacked dimension to make the items look more like real clothes and less shiny and plastic. I bought more items at Versace in comparison to YSL however, and there were some very nice boots and accessories. 

A few days later we got a Fendi tribute, which was an accessories only collection featuring shoes, bags, keychains, earrings, necklaces, bracelets and scarves. The quality was very impressive, but the prices had skyrocketed, with some of the most expensive purses costing anything up to 58 stardollars. Many were defending the prices, saying that Stardoll had to pay Fendi to use their designs, but nearing up to 60 stardollars is still a little bit excessive. 

To end the tribute fashion season we received a Dior tribute, which was by far the most interesting collection of the four. I enjoyed quite a large amount of the designs, and on a whole the graphics were pretty good too. I was very underwhelmed by the quality of the accessories (the shoes and bags), but after an accessory only collection I guess it doesn't bother me too much. 

And just as we thought tribute season was over, we were treated to a Missoni Home tribute, which I definitely appreciated a lot more than the Chanel one. The colours and patterns were fun and the furniture was very interesting. The collection was undeniably expensive, but if you have the cash then why not spend it. I'm still not particularly in love with Stardoll decor in general, but this release was definitely a nice addition. 

What are your thoughts on this tribute season?

What was your favourite release? Or your least?

Comment below!

TRIBUTE ROUND UP

Come back tomorrow to read a round up on all of the tributes of 2014 so far! 

WCW (#2) - Limited Edition

Hi all! It’s been a while since I posted a blog entry (Of course you guys have been informed on what had been happening) but I am so glad that TTT is back and I am reunited with you lovely people.

In this post I will be showing you how I style some of the items from the recently released Limited Edition Collection. I’m pretty sure one of the girls will post an in depth review soon, so I thought I would just give you some of my opinions on the collection.

Firstly, out of ten, I give the collection a six. The only reason it is a step above average for me is that there are some great standout pieces, with the men’s Snake Print Dallas Shirt being one of them (as well as being my favourite item). For the most part, however, the collection is mediocre at best. A massive disappointment for me was that the collection wasn’t grunge inspired like Stardoll had claimed. To me it had more of a cowgirl feel, with the repetition of words such as ‘Dallas’ and ‘Sherriff’ adding to this.

Despite the collection being nothing special, I do appreciate that many of the items can built upon and made to look chic or grungy. I am also thankful that it isn’t too gaudy or in your face, meaning you can style a lot of the items in many ways.

These are my thoughts on the collection, now onto the outfits.

Below are three ways I have styled some of the items that I purchased (side note; the interior is amazing!). Hopefully you like them.

What are your thoughts on the collection, how did you style certain pieces (post your outfit for a chance to win 200sd) and what is your favourite item? Let me know down below!

New Release: RISQUE

The third issue of Risqué Magazine, owned by Hilmy/emmahunt4, has just been released. This time around Hilmy has opted for an ultra sleek and minimal theme, with articles on both top trends and Stardoll makeovers. In it you can find a whole load of beautiful graphics, featuring models such as sparklewand12, diedunklemaid, jackjailer and myself!

To check out the latest issue click here.
Expect a review later in the week!

We've all been waiting for it! | SEPHORA RELEASE

*This post comes from my blog The Stardoll Beauty Spot*

So it's heeeeereeee! I think Sephora has been the most talked about brand that users want brought back to the site, and well today is our lucky day! Stardoll has made a "Best of" store of some of the Sephora makeup that was available back in the day - now yesterday talking about it with friends, we were expecting great products however not at a very friendly price, so lets so how the store does! 

I think I may have spent 5 minutes drooling and staring at it before actually doing anything, to me it all just looks so beautiful and pretttttty! Haha =) Anyway, there's a great selection of all beauty products that we could need really, eyeshadows, eyeliner, eye pencils, eyebrow pencils, blush, lipsticks, mascara etc etc etc - I'm just a little sad there's only one lip liner and it's a bright shade, if it was a paler pink I would be using that all the time! There's also a good variety of colours and shades of everything, a particular favourite are those lip colours, I've spent a while just there trying them all on and falling in love with each more than the next, the colours are perfect and I absolutely love them on my doll!
So, on to prices - they range from 5 to 15 SD's, which I have to say is what I think I could have hoped, but didn't expect to get! However, I added everything that I didn't already have (I was around for the original Sephora so I already had a couple of these products) to my basket and I think I had a mini MI, I don't really want to pay over 400 SD's for all of that! So despite the above images saying I have 45 items in my basket, I didn't buy them all - I analysed each product that I thought I wanted and then made some tough decisions to cut that total down to 201 SD buying 17 items - which were all of the lipsticks (yes, pretty much every single one!) and the 3 blushes, which were something I had always wished I'd bought first time around! Ended up leaving all the eye products for now - I spent a lot of time comparing the colours to the ones I already have (which is too many!) and found that a lot were very similar, as the store is here for a month, I'm planning to spend that time looking at them more and comparing products to see if the colour difference would make a difference in makeup looks etc. plus if I want to part with those SD's!
Finally, just a few of the fabulous lips colours that I'm loving, that Kat Von D Dusty Rose is just amazing, don't you think? =D

So what did you guys think? Good release? If you bought any products and have worn them, let me know in comments and show me what you've done with your new products! 

Styled Outfit: Fringed Sleeveless Shirt

An exclusive Styled Outfits post for you guys today, featuring this plaid shirt from the Ralph Lauren Denim & Supply floor of the Nelly store - it's a piece I was gifted about two months ago and haven't gotten around to styling at all due to my current challenge over at my own blog, so I decided to style it for you guys here today, so nope - this post hasn't already been done at The Stardoll Lookbook!

It costs 18SD which can be quite expensive for some members, so you're really going to want to have quite a few styling ideas first, as I know I can't be the only one who jumps on pieces before thinking about how they could be worn or how they fit into the rest of your wardrobe! So here are a couple of ways in which this shirt could be worn:

I did try and pair the shirt with a skirt, but I couldn't find anything that worked just right - maybe something I can keep working on, however I do quite like it with the 3 different pairs of bottoms that I have worn it with, I think the black roll ups might be my favourite, plus that could look good with a jacket too, or a cardi over the shoulders =) 

What do you guys think of the shirt? And if you've bought it, how have you worn it?

TTT.COM IS BACK!

Just a little announcement-

After our domain disaster a few months back, I am ecstatic to announce that tylerstoptrends.com is back! I have been trying since it first expired to retrieve the domain, and today I was finally able to repurchase it. Thank you for all being patient with me as I sorted everything out. I am very happy to say that we're (finally) back in time for the summer months to kick in.

An LE get together - BALMAIN Overflow

Sorry I've been absent, had my final undergrad exams at uni and then needed some time off to relax/learn how to relax again! So to continue on from my last post, an LE review, here are the outfits that I've styled from some of my purchases - enjoy! 

Model Search

Please keep in mind that a very minimal numbers of models can be selected. If you are not featured in the coming issue your application may be reviewed for a future release.

Name:

Username:

Medoll (no makeup or shading):

Medoll (with makeup or shading):

Good luck!

COMING SOON

Gone With The Wind

Every few months Stardoll grants us access to multiple floors of top new hairstyles. Whether they're good or bad is of course always debatable, but it's always nice to be able to purchase some new looks for your doll to wear. This time around we were presented with a 'Tress Up: Gone With The Wind' collection, priced between 11 and 20 stardollars.

Unsurprisingly enough, more than a few of the 'blowing' hairstyles make your doll look somewhat insane, with their hair blowing in all directions while they stand as still as ever with motionless outfits from neck to toe. Although some of the styles are maybe slightly too exaggerated, a few do look good and work as a blowing hair piece. 

Priced at such prices I would expect better hair as some look unfinished, and in comparison the winter collection previous lack detail and style. The Loretta style for example, priced at 14 stardollars, looks undone at the top for light hair, while it has slightly more detail when put into darker dyes. The majority of hair styles available look better in the dark colours on offer, which is a slight annoyance for all of us bleached dollies out there. 

Ultimately I'm sure you can find a style that you like, however in comparison to previous collections that task may be a whole lot harder. Even though the store is packed with 15 new styles I find that I am uninterested in a good 5. Though at least we got a gorgeous advertisement to drool over the wonderful facial features which we are all so desperate for.   

LE - Review!

So yesterday at the pre-given time of 1pm (for me anyways) we got our latest dose of LE, and I have to say I think it was a mad rush, kinda like those ridiculous 7am Boxing day sales that I absolutely refuse to go to! I was online waiting, ok, I was in a study room at uni, shouldn't have been on Stardoll but had it open and sized it down small so no one would see (there were only 2 other people in the room though) and I like to have a good look through everything before making my mind up, and even then some things I was clicking were about down to half their numbers and the items had only been out 10 minutes, so I turned into a bit of a frantic clicker of the mouse and I'm sure the other people thought I was crazy (I kinda am though, lets face it =P)!!! But anyways, here's what all this fuss was about:

So we had 4 floors packed to the brim with designer-inspired LE clothing, including an outfit for the guys out there! I think there was a great mix of resort styled clothes with skirts and dresses galore, I do feel like there could have been a few amazing pairs of trousers there though! I really love pastels, but I'm not so sure about the abundance of black dotted in there, I think a little more cohesiveness between items could have worked out well. There was also a really good selection of shoes and accessories, sometimes they get forgotten about I think, but definitely not this time, although I only picked up a few, there were definitely accessories for everyone! 

Now onto prices, I believe them to be a lot more expensive than the collections have been in the past, with quite a few dresses breaching the 200 SD mark. Prices range from 30 for a necklace right up to 260 for a dress. I do think in the rush and madness that is LE people don't really consider the prices, if I had more time to clearly think through pieces and prices I do think things would be different and I wouldn't have spent over 1.5K on items! But I am happy with everything I bought and I do look forward to styling them when I have time =D That seems to be my new motto "...when I have time" =)

Here are some of the pieces that I chose to purchase from the collection, I would show you them all but my computer is being ridiculously slow and it's taking forever! I've not styled anything yet, but I will when I have the time ... in a month!

And finally for a whole lot of LE looks that I've spotted around the site:

B-S1997

Jennakorpas

LadyTiffannie

MandaMichalka

MilaDivaStar

Miloshki

SS-Diamond

LE is coming!

A quick post to let you all know that Limited Edition will be releasing collection 20 tomorrow! Stardoll have released a spoiler as well as list of time zones which tells you when LE will be released from city to city. Are you all ready for the new Limited Edition?

*My apologies if you are having trouble visiting the blog at our .com address. The domain was not renewed and the .com isn't redirecting back to the .blogspot.com at the moment.

PMR: X Summer Mini Issue

The second issue of X magazine was released during our very own fashion weekend last summer, which explains the reasoning behind the lack of reviews on the blog itself. As the magazine front sits quietly on Stardoll, I decided to being you all a more recent past magazine review post, as I delve into the details of X's Summer 2013 edition. Remember that in a magazine, instead of putting the page numbers, I will use brackets. The cover is [1/20]. This magazine contains 20 pages.

Cover: 7.5/10 I'm almost a text critic when it comes to magazine covers on Stardoll. As important as the cover graphics is, I think interesting and well set out titles can really make or break the opening page. In this case, the cover is strikingly simple. The pops of blue from the poncho and the yellow from the text really shine through on this almost mediocre graphic for X.  

Graphics: 8/10 All the graphics in X are undeniably pretty top notch, although we weren't treated to particularly many this issue. The obvious stand out is the Be You graphic [18/20], which really highlights Jack's phenomenal artistic presence. Although this is a mini issue I was still slightly disappointed with the lack of graphics in the issue, with only 5 full graphics making it to the final cut.

Writing & Articles: 10/10 Although the graphics are stellar, the articles are where X really stands out from most other magazines of the current time. Articles and writing have become far less popular in the modern day Stardoll magazine and X is one of few magazines to keep the original tradition running. There are multiple articles on Mexican fashion, Frida Kahlo and feminism, which are all written wonderfully. 

Editorials: 7/10 I enjoy the trend report shown in the magazine, but I feel that it does not work well with the edition only being a mini issue. In a full magazine I would be fine with it, but in the mini it leaves me wanting more - which I suppose is what every magazine intends to do, so props for that. Other than the trend report there are no other editorials. It's a mini issue sure, but please give me some of that graphical goodness!

Creativity: 8.5/10 On a whole I thoroughly enjoyed the Mexican inspired route Jack decided to go down for the issue. The bright colours really worked, and it was an interesting blend of simplicity and brights. I particularly enjoyed the colour blocking used on page [16/20] as it reinforced both the magazine's theme and the strong ideas in the article. 

How did this magazine score?

 41 out of 50 points, at 82% or B+

Final Comment: On a whole this issue of X magazine achieved what it set out to do, but I feel that not every aspect works with the concept of the mini issue and a few extra pages to beef up the magazine slightly would have made a huge difference to the overall feel. "More editorials" is not usually a comment I could imagine myself giving to this particular magazine so I am sure that this flaw is a mere one issue thing which will be corrected more than happily in the next issue. 

TTT, what did you think? Agree or disagree? Comment!

Boreads

Fierce magazine, owned by Alice (hunnigall) and Emma (mysecketlover), was possibly the most influential magazine of Stardoll's golden era. When the final issue was released only last month, after almost four years since the issue prior, it spelled the end of the Fierce era... Or did it?

"Boread: the great great Greek god of the northern wind. He had two children Calaïs and Zethes. Alice and Emma. The Boreads; children of the northern wind.

Respectively 18 and 20, Alice and Emma live on each side of the North Sea. One is British, the other Danish. They both have a love for art and cheese. And Fierce. But struggling to make time for it, with social lives and school a blaze, they decided to leave their love behind and start on something with a bigger flexibility. Hence Boreads.

We bring you a more mature, yet bolder side of the Stardoll blogging scene. We bring you back to an era long forgotten. We will not limit ourselves to anything. This blog will feature things, passions and thoughts from our private lives as well as everything else. If you went looking for another Fierce or another typical Stardoll blog, this is not the one. Keep on looking."

After only days of setting foot into the Stardoll world, it has set the blogging scene alight with interesting articles and wonderful graphics to go alongside. Although Fierce may be over, the story lives on in the form of the interesting new blogging world of Boreads. Both Alice and Emma bring such interesting takes on Stardoll and the world to the blog, whether it be through writings or art, and I am excited to see what they have to bring in the near future.

*Click here to visit the blog.

R.I.P Peaches Geldof

1989 - 2014

"Peaches has died. We are beyond pain. She was the wildest, funniest, cleverest, wittiest and the most bonkers of all of us. Writing 'was' destroys me afresh. What a beautiful child. How is this possible that we will not see her again? How is that bearable? We loved her and will cherish her forever. How sad that sentence is. Tom and her sons Astala and Phaedra will always belong in our family, fractured so often, but never broken."

Ink'd!

With an ever growing fan base but a failing blogging scene it's always exciting when Stardoll introduces a somewhat useful and interesting feature. There are of course a few things that people would like to see on Stardoll, but aside from that few Stardoll are somewhat limited to the features they can add and how often they can add them. Instead, users have to make do with what they've got until Stardoll are ready to unveil their latest addition to their beloved site.

Today, Stardoll's brand new tattoo and piercing studio Ink'd was released. When Stardoll first unveiled through the store through a youtube video of an artist sketching I was somewhat skeptical about the release, but the awesome store put me to rest, never minding the tattoos themselves.

I'm somewhat obsessive when it comes to the interior of new stores, hence why I was probably so disappointed with the recent collection of the growingly mediocre Limited Edition in that ever so wonderful backdrop. However unlike LE, this collection has some substance as well as style.

The tattoos Stardoll can offer are obviously slightly limited, but the designers have given a reasonable selection of tattoos and piercings. Annoyingly, some of the smaller tattoos go over clothes and hair, but the larger ones on a whole are fine. Prices range from 2 - 13 stardollars, which is reasonable considering a regular bag can now set you back 13 - 16 stardollars.

Interested in tattoos and piercings? You should definitely check the store out. Not interested? Take a look anyway; the shop is pretty!

New Release: Subcouture

After a disappointing first start to what could have been a fabulous first couture collection, Subcouture is back with a second official release. This time, masked with two '2 hour only' dresses, the store takes inspiration from designers such as Zac Posen, Camilla Skovgaard, Chanel and Alexandre Vauthier.

The store, which is priced between nine and thirty stardollars, was released on the 28th and is once again only available for 48 hours. The two sequinned black dresses which were only available for the first 2 hours after general release are shown in the above advertisement.

Although both the graphics and designs have taken a step up (although they still aren't particularly great), I still find the entire Subcouture store and concept to be somewhat underwhelming. Nothing as of now has thoroughly impressed me and I am waiting for the day that the shop will pleasantly shock me with a new collection.

What do you think of Subcouture's second collection?
To view the real life versions click here!

Style It #2: Charlotte Purse

Truth be told, I had some difficulty choosing what piece to do for the second Style It. There are just so many great pieces on Stardoll, that can be styled so many different ways. However, I finally made the decision to style the Charlotte Purse from Fallen Angel.

I wouldn't say this purse is difficult to style, since it is solid black, but I would say that it is a piece that has endless possibilities. While I was trying to find an outfit to style around this purse, I was constantly straying from my original plan, which was to make a very simple and minimalistic outfit, simply because I kept coming across pieces I though would look good with this purse. In the end, I gave up on making a simple outfit, and instead decided to make an outfit that for some reason looks very French in my opinion, most likely because of the stripes.

Now I would like to see how you would style this purse! Simply style it, and upload the image to Tinypic, Imgur, etc. If you want, you could also post the image on your own blog. Then just post the link in the comments along with your Stardoll user name. Next week I will post the looks here on TTT. Also, I have decided to add a bit of incentive this week since I am cleaning my Stardoll closet anyways. In next week's post, the outfits will be voted on by the readers, and the owner of the best outfit will win these Pearl Pink Heels from Stardoll's Mark Fast Tribute.

I look forward to seeing your entries!

xoxo Jessica / ALLYE99

Hot Buys Go Street Style

Throughout my years on Stardoll I've felt as though they have been, at times, somewhat out of touch with the real world of fashion. Although a vast amount of Stardoll creations are inspired by those of real life designs, I still always feel that something disconnects the Stardoll and fashion world, and whether it be the fact that Stardoll have to cater to a young audience or not I do not know.
On a whole, a lot of Stardoll's recent releases, whether they be Rio, PPQ, Young Hollywood or It Girls, have been at a pretty high standard, and it's been good to see Stardoll taking into account what many fashion lovers on the website crave most.

After a mediocre set of glamour themed March Hot Buys I was somewhat shocked to see the direction that Stardoll had gone for in the April collection. Wave goodbye to the bandage beach dresses and bejewelled sandals and hello to the trendy street style items which Stardoll now have to offer.

The collection, which seems to take its main inspiration from Rihanna and Riccardo Tisci (Givenchy), is full of innovative pieces which I would have never guessed Stardoll would have created. Admittedly, not everything I could see myself buying, but I applaud Stardoll for including a variety of pieces while still sticking to this wonderful street style theme.

The interested red and white striped blazer is actually from the mens fall/winter 2014 Givenchy collection while the boots, which are also designed by Tisci, were created for Rihanna's world tour. The other items all seem to follow the same style route, but I am yet to find any of the other real life versions.

All in all, I am thoroughly impressed by Aprils 10 new additions to the Hot Buy emporium. Both the graphics and stylings have got me excited for the release of these items, and I am ready to load up my shopping cart with some of these fabulous pieces.

Are you excited for the April Hot Buys?
Which do you like most? Comment  below.

Styled Outfit: McGinley Jacket, Killah

I've always loved this cardi - it's the sort of thing I would happily wear in real life, so when it came out in the Plaza quite a while ago now, I bought it right away! Recently I wore it for my latest challenge at The Stardoll Lookbook and someone commented saying they'd always struggled in styling it in a younger/fashionable way - so that's what I plan to do in this post!

So it's from Killah and costs 12SD's - for me this is a great price for the amount I wear it, and that makes it a great purchase =)

Normally I wear it with dresses, and I've actually kinda gotten into the habit of wearing it with the denim Hotbuys one (2nd on the right below), but it does work well with any coloured dress really, I think bright ones look great:

But these looks are quite basic, I wanted to come up with something more, so here are some more styles that I've come up with for this cute cardigan =) 

Somehow all ended up being with trousers, but I still think it shows versatility with the cardigan! Oh, sorry for my terrible editing skills, don't quite know where they've disappeared to today!


So what do you guys think of the cardi? Love or hate? 

Styled an outfit yourself? Show me in comments =)