luminasgarden

[luminasgarden]

FYI, I’ve more or less switched over to using Instagram as there’s more to see and discover over there. Same username: Luminasgarden.

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Important Announcement: I PICKED THE RIGHT HEYDOLL RESIN COLOUR. It’s pretty amazing considering it was, at best, an informed guess. I’m just happy that something for this doll finally went well.

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Okay, so… I discovered that Evantasy’s whitening skin is a better match for my Angell Studio head. 🤦‍♀️ I have however been able to sell the normal skin body + additional parts for a price that let me immediately reorder it in the whitening at the regular price and it was still very good value for the buyer considering everything being included. I’m pleased about that. Not so happy to be playing the waiting game again, but it is what it is.

On a separate but related note, I also want to add a ‘shoutout’ to the customer service of HeyDoll on TaoBao, who have been really wonderful and patient. I was going to get their jointed hands custom colour matched to Evantasy NS but of course I’ve changed my mind about the skintone needed. The spare hand I mailed to them to serve as a resin sample had arrived, so I explained the situation and asked if they could take some comparison photos of that hand with some of their various standard skintones. They did that for me. Using those, my own resin comparison photos and some logic, I’ve been able to pick out the one which is most likely to be the best match for the lighter Evantasy skin. 🤞That’s been a thing and a half keeping me more than a little preoccupied, but to get to the point: HeyDoll has been fantastic. That said, all the Chinese companies’ customer services I’ve dealt (Angell Studio, Evantasy, HeyDoll) with have been really good, especially as I made sure to let them all know straight away when contacting them that I’m a foreigner using translation software. If I received a lower quality of CS because I’m a foreigner, I didn’t notice.

Waiting to see if Evantasy is deemed on-topic by the DoA mods. 🙃 It’s taking them a hot minute to decide.

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My AS Cynthia head is arriving back to me tomorrow! I’m trying hard to withhold final judgment of the face-up until it’s in hand and I’ve tried different eyes/wigs, etc. The face-up is what I asked for when I submitted the description form but I rather fear I’ve changed my mind on exactly what I want(ed). Certainly if doing it now I would be filling out the form differently and providing different reference photos. 🙃 Oh well, it’s nothing permanent and should I find another UK artist whose style I like, I can try again down the road sometime. (I think Lynsey might be retiring as her instagram now says she’s closed for commissions indefinitely.)

Here are the photos sent to me. The tones in the first photo show much darker than they are in person while the second is more accurate according to Lynsey. I think I will be attempting to add in a darker line where the lips press together and in the corners of the mouth to suggest a subtle smile. I don’t have any sealant (or gloss as would be needed here) but they aren’t exactly spots prone to accidental smudging in any event.

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Evantasy body is due to be delivered on Monday. My AS Cynthia head’s face-up is done but the artist then went off on holiday, leaving me and some concerns unaddressed for nearly three weeks. She’s gotten back to me just now and has largely allayed those concerns, and I should be getting another photo of the face-up tomorrow. In other news, I saw someone mention Alice’s Collections having DZ Little Beans in stock for a mere $25 (and so it was!) I grabbed one and a pair of cut-off shorts which will hopefully fit the Evantasy’s ludicrously ample booty. I’ll need to find someone to paint the Little Bean up like a Will o’ the Wisp to go with Lumina. (Sadly the Little Bean was a lie and it wasn’t worth having to pay shipping on just the shorts, so I canceled the whole order.) Her otherness is related to it in some way or at least has that same sort of dark enchanted forest vibe. Next time I’m in Japan, I’m going to pick up some Studio Ghibli Kodama figurines. It had briefly crossed my mind to do so while I was there in February but then it promptly slipped my mind.

I may have also grabbed the new SD17 Ludo’s wig for her. I simply cannot resist the temptation of a dark grey wig.

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The Evantasy body arrived to my forwarder! Just waiting for them to check and confirm that the extra body parts I ordered are in there too and then I’ll put in my shipping request. 🥳

EtA: Additional parts confirmed! 😁

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It’s time to start moving along some of the eyes I’ve acquired during my quest for the Perfect Pair (which I’m still working on. Ye gods, I hope it’s almost over. 😩) I’m in the UK, but will happily ship internationally. PM me for a shipping quote. Unless noted, eyes will ship in their original packaging, inside a small reused bubble envelope by 2nd class large letter (for the UK included shipping.) I am more than happy to ship by whatever method you would like if the costs are covered, however. If you want any additional information/photos, please ask.

Pair #1: 14/8mm Aliexpress resin eyes, £14, inclusive of shipping within the UK. Very striking and colourful eyes but they turned out to have too much yellow in them for me. I was expecting them to be entirely green. They are flat-backed with low domes. They will ship in original packaging (a clear plastic case).

Pair #2: 16mm Angell Studio glass eyes (“aqua iris”, the fullset eyes for Osmanthus wine), £18, inclusive of shipping within the UK. They don’t have a distinct pupil, but instead have a pool of dark gold glitter at the center with further touches of gold leaf above a finely veined green iris. The dark edge around the outside of the iris is also golden. Sold out on the company website(s). No stem, medium dome. They will ship in their original packaging (a baggie with inventory # label.)

Pair #3: 16mm Ashuradarkeyes resin eyes, £15, inclusive of shipping within the UK. The iris is made of glow-in-the-dark material. Unique “handle” back, low dome. They will not ship in their original packaging (a small cube-shaped cardboard box) unless buyer pays the difference in postage, but will come with makers’ certificate.

Pair #4: 16mm CandyWorld resin eyes, £15, inclusive of shipping within the UK. The green parts of the iris are glow-in-the-dark. Flat-backed, low dome. They will not ship in their original packaging (a small clear plastic jar) unless buyer pays the difference in postage.

Pair #5: 18mm ACBJD glass eyes, £5, inclusive of shipping within the UK. One of these has some small bubbles in the dome. Stems, high domes. They will ship in their original packaging (a baggie with inventory # label.)

Pair #6: 18mm ACBJD glass eyes, £8, inclusive of shipping within the UK. Stems, high domes. They will ship in their original packaging (a baggie with inventory # label.)

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I’ve officially entered the (20 working days) ṭ̴̨͙͌̃̌ͅį̶̣͘͜m̴̠̦͊͜͜ȩ̴̞͌̆̓̕f̵̹͖͚̅͑̾͆͜r̵̛̺̖̥͑͘ą̶̎̋͂͜m̸̝͛̀͊ĕ̶̹̘͛́̚ within which my Evantasy body should be completed! 🤤

And maybe another week or so on the face-up? Not sure if that’s still anything like on schedule though. 🤞

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(image from AS’s twitter)

When I come across pictures like this of AS Cynthia, I do have to wonder why she isn’t way more popular than she is (which isn’t very it seems.) 🤔 Really can’t wait to get mine put together. If I can get angles and shots half as nice as this, I’ll be well pleased.

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Eeeeee! The blank AS Cynthia head is now in Lynsey’s hands (Bangarang Aesthetics) for a face-up, and I’ve found someone else who can do custom eyes to a similar standard as TheSecretArtStudio from the looks of it. 😍 Things might actually be coming together, though the Evantasy body isn’t scheduled to be shipped until May. I’ve also managed to unload a couple things that were weighing me down a bit, but I’ve still got eyes to part with (and wigs, but I should give them all a try first. Eyes are much easier to dismiss as being keepers or listers.)

I’m normally very observant of these kind of things, but until just recently I did not realize that the Cynthia sculpt has slightly parted lips. Coincidentally, Trudie has slightly parted lips as well. It’s very subtle on both of them. Not that this little fact is at all relevant to anything. 🤷‍♀️

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In better light, the colour difference isn’t particularly significant actually. I’m glad I took the time to have another look this afternoon. Doll is AS ‘solid butter’, hand is Evantasy normal skin. And to think the AS boobs just weren’t OTT enough for me apparently. 😅 I don’t know, the AS62cm is a perfectly nice body, it’s just that the #1 rule for this doll is to go with whatever most strikes my fancy. And I happened to find a practically perfect DD-style resin body. Really happy I wasn’t especially tempted by the silicone chest option though. It would never not be absolutely covered in cat hair. I know this because I was trying to clean off a silicone-coated bit of kitchenware earlier and it did not go well.

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I have remembered a good reason why I left the BJD hobby. I overthink everything and obsess over the tiniest details. I ordered a pair of eyes from Aliexpress, presumably through a reseller, but I couldn’t find them on TaoBao. I asked them if they could confirm for me whether the size of the pupil on the pair I wanted came as pictured (quite small) or if they would be the larger size that appeared in other listings of the same style of eyes but of different colours. And then, just to make sure they understood my request, I made this image. As they are all made to order, why not be excruciatingly clear?

This is the kind of intense overthinking I do. 🤦‍♀️ And let’s not even get started on the fact I also just ordered a pair of Evantasy hands in their whitening skin just to see if it’s actually a better match to Angell Studio normal skin. Because based on their colour swatches it actually might be? Fuck knows. 🤷‍♀️ (But now I will eventually too.)

I stand self-accused of being obsessive. And am found GUILTY. 🫠

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Here is the ‘meh, kinda’ resin match between Angell-Studio normal skin and Evantasy normal skin for anyone who has been following along or is just curious. I have got a number of the AS optional hands which I might need to send off to someone to see if they can be dyed to match as I was hoping to use them. I think the face-up will be fine if the artist bears the difference in mind when picking out colours for the blushing. I’m happy enough knowing it’s not insurmountable.

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I found a video of the 62cm Evantasy body and yeah, I think I did good to order one. 🤤 I must confess to finding it pretty amusing that in a discussion thread on DoA where people are discussing theirs biggest turnoffs when it comes to BJDs, most of the physical characteristics of this body are high up on the list. 🤭 I hope she fits the outfits I’ve bought (some of them do specify SD16 and DDdy, so 🤞)

In other news, my blank AS Cynthia head and the optional Evantasy hands are scheduled to arrive on Wednesday! That’s exciting as it means I get to send the head off for a face-up and I get to see the resin match in person. Fun stuff.

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Well, if that bodacious DD-esque body is going to go and be on sale after having so thoroughly caught and kept my fancy, it would be churlish not to buy it. It helps that the hands I bought to check against Angell Studio’s normal skin (aka solid butter) do seem to be a half decent match, though I’m having to make that determination via a quick photo my sister took for me:

Even if they don’t turn out to be a perfect match, they are of a similarity. Besides, heads always seem a bit different in colour to their bodies once they have a face-up. How desperate do I sound to justify my mini splurge? 😂 (It wasn’t awful at £230 though, as that includes a purchased pair of flat feet and a pair of gift hands. Hopefully they will honour my request for the pair I want and which I was going to buy if there hadn’t been a holiday special offer of a pair of hands with the purchase of a whole doll or doll body.)

Now if only I could get the eyes sorted out. 🙃

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Really not having much success getting custom eyes made for Lumina. I’ve tried at least four different resin eye makers now and only one made eyes I’m really happy with, but of course they’re the wrong size as my plans changed AND they’re not taking custom orders right now. 😩 This is the part about the BJD hobby I really don’t like. Sooo much money wasted now on these eyes. I’m going to hold onto them all for the time being to try them out in situ once I’ve got a correctly face-upped head.

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This bow from SartoriaJ fits beautifully in the grip archer hand from AngellStudio. After not being sure what I could expect from the match, I am really quite pleased.