I Love Korean Face Masks

When I went to Korea a few years ago, I remember that the beauty counters in the department stores were all about snail cream and skincare. At least here in Japan, Korea is known for cheap spas ("esute"-esthethics), good skincare, and good food. All the ladies at the counters in the department stores offered samples and asked if we'd like to try out their creams. When I finally gave in, I didn't realize that what I tried was snail cream., and could not believe that it was so popular! I mean...it's SNAIL cream.

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Are You Making This Mistake, and Helping Your Foundation Melt Off?

If you are like me, you've probably made this mistake over and over and not realized that you are actually causing your foundation to melt off. You might notice that certain products break you out, or make you oily, but are you really using them correctly in the first place? I am a fan of mixing and matching, but products made in sets are made that way for a reason. It makes the process simple for us, but let's face it, we don't always want to buy all of the products for all those steps with those prices. Especially if you already have the same product from another brand. Now that's fine and all, if you know how the products work and how to read labels.



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My Favorite Fall Lipsicks

All of a sudden the temperatures dropped this week in Tokyo, the leaves have started changing colors, and I had to bust out my heavier coats and jackets. I had already started using darker lip glosses, but now that it really feels like fall, I had to bust out my more dramatic lipsticks as well.

I thought I'd share some of my favorite lipsticks for fall. Oddly enough they were all either NYX or MAC. Many of the lip colors were really similar though, so I narrowed them down and these are the winners. I also included my favorite lip liners. since they do change the color and also help lipsticks last longer. Again, most of them are NYX and they are really great quality, especially for the price! A great site to get NYX makeup is cherryculture.com . They seriously have great deals, which is great because they hike up the prices here in Japan, and they have international shipping. The only downside to that site is the long wait to get the products, but it's definitely worth it in my opinion.

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NOTW - Nails of the Week -

I have started working again, and still volunteer at the hospital every week. That means I can no longer have my bedazzled, bright colored nails like I used to. I do not mean to quit them for good, if anything I'll just take them off after two or three days in time for my volunteering. So now I actually have bare nails most of the time, or just nude polishes.  

The sad part is, the end of the year is when I get the most excited about my nails. It's the holiday season! First it's halloween, then we have Thanksgiving in November, then Xmas, then New Year's Day. Each month I have fun themes to work around, and it's just such a festive season! 

I already see Christmas decorations up here in Japan, so I decided to kick up my nude nails a notch with some gold glitter. Since I can't do too much with nail art, I kept it fairly simple with the sideways french manicure.

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Japanese Bento, Anyone?

When I used to work at a kindergarten here in Japan, the kids would come in with the most intricate, cutest lunch boxes. Princess inspired lunch boxes, super hero characters... They diabolically masked vegetables and boring finger foods in fun disguises and tricked their toddlers into enjoying them. I mean, the moms made something as simple as a carrot cute and appetizing. I hate veggies but I gotta admit, even I wanted to try some of their lunches.

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Japanese McDonald's Egg Burger

I tend to forget how unusual some things can be that I see everyday here in Japan. Seeing that I visit McDonalds occasionally  (ok let's get real) a little more than I'd like to... I got used to their unique menu  which includes shrimp burgers. The fact that their chicken burgers are filled with grease and made with dark meat (because they are juicy) became the norm, and their seasonal items like the Tsukimi burger are things I may have already tried once, or twice...

This year, I saw that the burger also had bacon, and that they also had the chicken Tsukimi burger, and though, "ew..." and figured I'd share it with you. Now the main difference between a regular burger and a Tsukimi burger is an egg. They Tsukimi burger also has some special sauce...(mayo? and something?) but that's pretty much it.

Now that, added to the breaded chicken (I'm sure dripping with oil on the inside too) just seemed weird to me, even though I see no logic as to why the first should be any less weird...

Honestly though, they put eggs over everything! Spaghetti, beef bowls, ramen, raw horse meat... the list goes on and half the time the egg's not even cooked (or just soft-boiled)... I just  can't....

Yet here is the video of me eating it haha!

What are some interesting things you've seen people eating?

Counting Down to Halloween - Plants Vs Zombies Nails

This year, I didn't even realize it was October until the first week passed. I usually have my Halloween plans already set by September. I know what I'm dressing up as, and seeing that I was a teacher, I had decorated my classroom, got crafts, and fun activities all planned out for October. This year, however, I am not teaching anymore...and so sadly, I didn't even realized when it was until someone asked me if I was dressing up this year or not.

Well, to be honest, I probably won't be dressing up this year, haha. I do live in Japan, and even though Halloween started getting big these last two to three years, it's still no where near as big as it is in the US. Costumes here are expensive, and they all seem waaaaaay to skanky (if I may say so) especially since they are just from "Donki".

Anyway, I figured doing my nails was one thing I can still do (even though I'd have to take them off before volunteering at the hospital). I had been so addicted to the PVZ2 game recently, I figured it would be perfect for kickstarting my Halloween nail series for 2013.

I hope you guys like it, and maybe even give it a try.



What are all your plans for Halloween? And do you have any more suggestions for Halloween nails?

My first Gel Nail Tutorial

I have been big on gel nails! It lasts forever, doesn't chip, and looks nice and glossy. What's not to love?? Taking it off I suppose, haha.

Well after I found this wonderful discount nail supply store in Tokyo, I got into gel nails. They even had free seminars weekly, showing nail art techniques, etc. I loved that I don't have to do my nails weekly, and can do my regular activities without worrying about chipped polishes.

As you can see in past posts, I hoarded a bunch of gel colors, only to start volunteering a week after I posted this tutorial on youtube... Why does that matter, you say? Well, we aren't allowed to wear bright colored polishes, and most of my gel are in bright colors, haha... I was told "no nails" in English, but later someone said as the polish is nude or the like, its ok. No long nails, obviously, too. So there goes all my fun, haha. anyway, here was the last (and first) gel nail tutorial that I did. I go over the basics and steps, but make sure to check out my nail care video too because it can be a bit damaging, especially if your not doing it right.

I made my own jewelry!.....sorta...

I went to visit a friend in Kyoto last week, and while there, she took me to a store in Kobe where I made my own jewelry... sorta...

Well it was all that she told me it would be, and more! See, she's a designer - one of those artsy type of girls; great at drawing and really creative. So when she showed me this hair clip she had, I immediately asked her where she got it from. It had flowers and lots of pretty things on it, and matched a dress she was going to wear to a wedding.

She told me she can take me there, and the place was amazing. A whole wall full of jars on shelves which had everything from beads to flowers and chains, etc. My jaw dropped. Not only that, each shelf had about three other shelves hidden behind so that when you slide it to the side, you can see another shelf full of more items you can use.

There were two areas in the store where the store employees can be seen working over a table full of tools, making the jewelry items that the customers request. You can get a small bowl, where you put in the beads, lace, or whatever material it is that you want to use to make your bracelet, earrings, necklace, hair piece, or whatever it is you want to create! You go around the store, gathering those items, looking at various samples already made, and getting advice from the employees who are readily available to give you tips and ideas. All the items were so unique, and since you can pick how you want them arranged, the length of the chain or whatever material you choose, you get a real unique piece that no one will have.

The prices were okay as well, less than $20 for the necklace I made, and about $30 for my earrings.

I was nervous and overwhelmed at first, and did feel a bit of pressure because I could be so indecisive and my friend was waiting on me to make a decision. I had no idea about what theme I'd pick, or where to even start for that matter... It took ages, and I finally decided to go with something simple (I didn't know how much it would cost me anyway). So I got this gold wired ball, put in this purple gem, and asked them to put the chain on it to make a necklace.

Once I handed it over and had some time to look around while it was being made and no more pressure, I started to look at the things differently. In fact, I could suddenly see all the potential and ideas would pop in my head from everywhere. I saw this snowman piece, which you can attach any type of pearl on the bottom as its body, and thought I wanted to make a christmas/holiday piece. I found a present and a star, and thought, "Ah, perfect!" My friend recommended which chain I should use (the thinnest one I think) and the lengths of each chain to hang the pieces, and a store employee recommended some of the actual earring types from which it would hang from. I just picked a plain studded earring.

The lady took the measurements, and we waited once more for it to be made. I could have kept going, but my wallet kept reminding me that I better stop, haha. I loved the way it came out, and it is hands don my favorite earrings that I own. I am going to wear them all the time once Halloween is over! I want to go back and make more the next time I go down near Kyoto =)

It was super fun! You get to make your own personalized jewelry without the hard work, haha! I love it because a few months ago I went to buy pieces to make my own personalized earrings, (the total was over $40 bucks too) and never actually went through with it. It's still somewhere in my room (I should probably start on that too now)...

Anyway, I hope you guys had a great weekend~

Eyelid Trainers

I recently went to look for some pet food here in Japan and while strolling towards the pet isle, I saw these dangling down and thought I'd get a closer look at this peculiar looking item.



Now I wasn't sure what to think. I know here in Asia the double eyelid is desired and many even have surgery just to get that crease.

I've seen many gadgets that they sell such as tape or glue that one can apply daily and now even these eyelid trainers. It sort of looks a bit scary in my opinion, but you have to admire their creativity in their products. Lol.

Anchor/Rockabilly Nails

Lately I've been really loving the rockabilly look. So I thought, why not do "rockabilly nails" too? So the outfit I wore just had this simple stripped top that was tucked into these high waisted shorts. Now I didn't have red wedges or pumps, which I really wanted to wear, so I just used the red on my nails instead =P

You might not be able to see it in the picture, but I have little anchor earrings that I also used for the nail look.

I have been looking in to buying bright colored pumps or flats recently, so I think I'll start with red~ 

I hope you guys are having a great week!

Cinco De Mayo Nails

I was thinking about nail looks, and since it's Golden Week here I was thinking about Children's Day (a Japanese holiday) nails. But since I already did that before I thought I'd give another holiday a try: Cinco de Mayo! 

So first, I thought I'd use colors from the Mexican flag - green, white, and red. I was initially going to blend them together (gradation) but... I didn't lol.

So I'm using gel instead of polish today, so I used a couple of brushes. You can use one or two (one for light gel colors and one for darker ones) but since I was going back and forth with the colors I just decided to use one brush per color except for the gold and yellow.

So this week I am resting my nails, so I am using fake nails. Unfortunately, I wasn't very careful and so I got some of the gel on the tape under the nails which stayed on the sides of the nails after I peeled the nails off...

So I started with one coat of the green on the left...

followed by the red on the right...

then the white in the middle to help straighten the lines too. You can cure the gel after each color to help the colors not blend in together, but that might take a while. 

After paining all three colors, I cured it for 30 seconds then put on one more coat.

 

Next, taking a super thin brush, I used black to make these prints and then cured it for 30 seconds once more. All nails except for the thumb and ring finger's ended there.

Both the sombrero and the maracas had this metallic gold color.

So I started by making a somewhat triangular shape, then something like a sideways 8 or infinity sign underneath and color it in. Then I cured it for 30 seconds.

Lastly, I outlined the hat with black, shaded it a bit and added a line of yellow on the bottom on the triangular shape we first drew. Cure.

Same with the maracas on the ring finger's nail. I started with two round balls and draw a line with a smaller ball at the bottom. 

Again, I outlined it and used yellow for some details on the maracas and cured the nails. 

After adding on the top coat I cured them, this time for 2 minutes.

And finito! That's it! It took a bit of time with the black, but I like it =) I wish I didn't have to wait to do my own personal nails... Happy-soon-to-be-Cinco-de-Mayo!!!!

Baseball Fun

So I was not dressed to go to a baseball game, it had actually gotten chilly after the sun went down... But my boyfriend surprised me and took me down the street to see a game. It was the Yokohama Bay Stars vs. the Hanshin Tigers. Since we live in Yokohama, we decided to cheer for the Bay Stars, even though they generally suck... And it was pretty much our only choice since all the seats in the visiting team's section was pretty much sold out!

So if you saw my last post, you know I had to get me some of that!! lol I got some fries and BBQ chicken, cause the alternatives were some bento boxes with rice balls or noodles!

The Bay Stars actually did great today!! They actually started with 2, 3 home runs while the other team had 0 throughout. Even the other fan sitting behind us were like, "Wow, we are on a roll today. This is so unusual!!" They kept making comments about how unbelievable it was lol, and I was just thinking, "Jeez, they must really suck if even their fans are in disbelief that their team is in the lead". 

Well if you guys know anything about Japanese baseball games, then you'd know all about the fans. They make songs for each player on the team and sing/chant for them when they are batting (trumpets, drums and huge flags included). It's just such a fun and lively atmosphere that anyone can enjoy the game even if you don't really know what's going on =). 

This upcoming week is Golden Week, and pretty much everyone is going to be off for the week! Fun times await us as prices go up for vacation deals and everything's booked up and over crowded =P. I hope you are all enjoying your weekend!

Spring in Kyoto

I totally missed hanami (cherry blossom viewing....or rather having a picnic under a cherry blossom tree with friends who mostly get wasted lol) this year. So when my best friend from elementary invited me to visit her this past spring break, I was happy to know that I could still get a chance to at least go see the cherry blossom trees in Kyoto.

The weather started out real badly, it had rained the whole previous day as well. But by the time we got to her work place (That's right. She gets to work by this beautiful garden everyday. How peaceful...) the rain started to stop and the sun even came out briefly once in a while.

That's obviously her hand lol.

Someone at her job made these and were just outside (drying?) but it looked so pretty so I snapped a shot. 

I went to see a traditional Japanese dance performance later that day with my best friend who got some great tickets.

Those special tickets included some Japanese sweets and tea. The maikos, as seen in this picture, served us some tea! I'm not much of a fan of Japanese sweets (toooooo sweet) but we got to keep the little plate as a souvenir.

That was the stage, which also extended to the sides. It had some trap doors lol, it was hilarious and unexpected to see them pop up or disappear. I enjoyed the show so much. The colors, make up, kimonos,... it was really beautiful. 

Please tell me I'm not the only one who got hungry reading that bus stop's name, lol =P

Anyway, I'm still anxiously waiting for warmer weather... I hope the weather is a lot better wherever you are<3