Korean beauty products

I wish I could say "I went to Korea", but due to other things that we are saving money on I didn't. However one of my friends went during her spring break from work and was willing to pick me up a few items to try, here is what she got me.



Etude House : Baby Skin Base
Skin 79 : Super Beblesh Triple Function BB cream
Etude House: Magic BB cream
Missha: Perfect Cover BB cream #21 (backup)
Missha: BB Boomer (backup)



Etude House: Peach Cheek Blusher
Missha: Dia Pearl Eyes
Missha: Eyeshadows in GL01 and BE01



My Beauty Diary Masks in Apple.


A few free samples she got while she was shopping.

What are some of your favorite Korean beauty products/brands?

NOTD: Katy Perry style!

What can I say, other than that I am a HUGE Katy Perry fan. So when I read that OPI was going to release a Katy Perry line of polishes, I was pretty curious to see what they were going to come up with. (forgive me for the bad photos, I used the camera on my phone as my husband has our camera at the moment.)



So without any further ado, I give you my first NOTD with the polish called The One That Got Away. I really liked how this color turned out, I decided to start doing my toes for spring and summer with a bright color because I think with all that is going on in the world I needed something bright and cheerful to stare down at.

What colors for nails are you loving at the moment?

Swap with Winnie from All Styled Up

It all started with an eye shadow trio! Winnie from All Styled Up and I were chatting on twitter one day about the newly released eye shadow trios from Wet n Wild, more specifically the one named "Silent Treatment". She kindly offered to pick one up for me as her local Walmart had them in stock and send it to me. As shipping rates from Canada on just one trio were a bit pricey I suggested we do a swap as she had earlier expressed interest in trying some Japanese cosmetics.

Luckily I sent my portion of the swap to her just before the earthquake struck Japan and she received it in a timely fashion. If you are curious as to what I sent her, click here.

Now on to what she sent me! First of all there is the trio that started it all:
Wet n Wild trio in Silent Treatment
MAC matte-ifying creme
MAC Pro Pan blush in the color Clove
MAC Bronzing Powder in the color Refined Golden

B&BW lotion and anti-bac in the scents: Apricot, Cucumber Melon, Black Raspberry Vanilla, and Midnight Pomegrante. I totally missed B&BW lotions!
MAC Pigment samples in various colors. I was very excited to see these as I haven't used pigments before! I am definitely looking forward to playing with these.

This package definitely brought a smile to my face in a time when smiles have been rare for me.
I am really happy that I did this swap with Winnie, it was a really good experience and I look forward to more swaps in the future. Thanks Winnie!!

I will write more about each of these items as I use them, so look out for more blog posts.

Japan: Springing Back

After all of the events of the past month, spring has finally arrived in Japan. I just hope all of the growth and renewal spreads to those who really need it. The last few weeks have been really tough and I was not very inspired to write here, but things are improving (at least in Tokyo/Yokohama) and I've actually left my house and started to get back into doing things.

One of these things happened this past Friday, my husband and I went to the Ueno Zoo which had just reopened that day. The zoo just got two new giant pandas earlier this year and the cherry blossom trees in the area have also started to bloom.

Here are some pictures from our day.


The Ueno Zoo entrance

The entrance to the Giant Panda exhibit

Shin Shin the female panda

Ri Ri the male panda

Some of the cherry blossoms in Ueno Park

Me, lol I look tired.

Hope you are all having a wonderful week, I have more posts in the works.

The status quo...

As many people who read this blog know, I am living in Japan. On Friday afternoon an earthquake of 9.0 magnitude rocked the north-eastern part of this country (Miyagi prefecture) and Tsunamis have hit in various places along the eastern coast as well. My family, friends and I are all accounted for and safe. We are fortunate to live in Tokyo or to the south. The next few weeks and months are going to be hard for this island country. At the moment the aftershocks have lessened and what we all look for information about is regarding the Nuclear Power Plant in Fukushima, but predictions claim we may not be in the clear yet.

Thank you to everyone for their mail, twitter and FB messages. I know I for one really want to help those who have been directly effected by this horrible disaster. If you are curious about doing the same, please check out this website for how you can help.

I will try to update and write more when I can, but at this point my motivation for writing about makeup and fashion is pretty low.

Super Mario bathtime?

On one of my recent trips to Lush I picked up this Magic Mushroom (木の子ちゃん: kinokochan here in Japan) bubble bar, admittedly purely base on the fact that it looked like the super power mushroom from Super Mario Brothers. Which is a video game that I remember fondly from my childhood.

Here is what the Lush USA website has to say about it:
Magic Mushroom has two distinct scents. In the red cap, there's the nostalgic fragrance of our Yummy Yummy Yummy shower gel (sniff); and in the white bit, we've used our signature creamy vanilla scent. Together, it blends to give you bubbles that smell like a bowl of fresh strawberries covered in cream. There won't be mushroom for anyone else in your life - or bath - when you've got one.

I broke this up and took 3 baths with it, since I believe it is too much to take just one with. I really enjoyed the scent, bubbles and the smoothness left on my skin after the bath. I would purchase this again in the future, but I am more likely to try something new before then.

The Writings on the Wall..of My Blog...(tag)

The Writings on the Wall..of My Blog...(Tag)
Kat of Mai-Kat Oshaberi tagged me a while ago to do this tag.

This tag looks at what your handwriting looks like. I actually like my handwriting, but it really depends on the day as to whether or not it looks good or not. If I am lazy or tired it doesn't look as nice. In addition I have found that the pen/pencil choice is also key in making it looks good.

Here is what you need to do for the tag:
On a piece of paper write the answers to the following things down:

1. What's your name/your blogger name?

2. What's your blog's name/URL?

3. Write "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog."
(Do you know that you use every single letter of the alphabet by writing this sentence?)

4. Favorite quote?

5. Your Favorite song?

6. Your favorite band/singers?

7. Anything else you want to say?

8. Tag three to five other people.



This was fun! I encourage you even if not tagged to try it out!

I tag: Winnie, Laura, and Nic Nic.

On a side note, I am sorry for the severe lack of posts recently. I am in the middle of moving all of my belongings that I don't need to the USA and those that I do to a new apartment in Japan, the final days at my job, and I have been sick. Things are starting to settle down a bit so I hope to post more, and will definitely finish all of my 30 for 30 posts (I did finish btw).

I hope are you are all having a great week!