Sunday 30 November 2014

Canmake mint green nails and pearl nail art | Nails

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Top coat, colour, base coat // Canmake // Stickers// Some random brand I have completely forgotten

I loove these nail stickers I picked up the other day! They're a mixture of strips of pearl effect dots and lace trims which are so easy to put on the nail as they're already sticky - no fiddling about with tweezers or wetting decals! I just went with a simple design and put them a quarter up my nail bed. For 'raised' nail art these stayed super well, I'm normally very tempted to pick bumpy nail art off but as these are quite squishy and firmly on I wasn't as tempted haha.

Canmake is a Japanese brand but it's sold around Asia and will no doubt be able to be shipped to Europe as well via online stores. I hope the fact I'm including Japanese beauty brands in my posts now won't alienate readers in the UK - if there's anything that's deffo unavailable in the UK check places like eBay as I used to buy Japanese brand make up from there! xx


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Friday 28 November 2014

Charli XCX inspired choker, Topshop velvet dress | Outfit

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Choker // WeGo (Harajuku) // Top // New Look // Dress // Topshop

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Hey guys! Sorry long time no post, I've been pretty busy in Japan and I now have mid terms (everything in Japan is super americanised, I have 'papers' instead of essays too now, wut) - plus add in laziness you get a lack of blogging! I picked this cute choker up in Harajuku a few weeks ago and it really reminds me of one I've seen Charli XCX wearing in a recent music video, although to be honest you could quite easily DIY one of these yourself with a bit of black velvet ribbon tied around your neck. 

In other news I've made the decision to start growing out my hair in preparation for going natural again...it's been nearly two years of having crazy coloured hair and while it is fun to have, the upkeep/damage/practicality of it (i.e looking 'normal' for a job) means I'm starting to get bored now. So I'm going to grow my roots out for the time I'm in Japan then have the rest of it dyed back to brown next summer - eek! I will no doubt have an identity crisis when I do this, but just means I will have to up my style/make up game to express myself I guess! xx


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Friday 14 November 2014

H&M cropped rose jumper, Topshop Joni jeans | Outfit

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Jumper // H&M // Beanie // H&M // Jeans // Topshop Joni // Bag // Primark // Boots // Office

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Another uni outfit post! I picked up this jumper in H&M in Shibuya, I think the stock is the same worldwide and they have so much good stuff in at the moment! I also picked up another jumper which should technically be some sort of pink bobbly monstrosity but I was very drawn to it so I shall see if I find a good way to style it. I'm currently trying to find good christmas presents in Japan to send to family and friends back home, friends are easy enough but struggling to find suitable gifts for the fam (mostly because I get distracted and end up shopping for myself). This weekend I'm going to a beautiful park in Shinjuku so I'll hopefully get some good pictures and share them here :) xx


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Monday 10 November 2014

Cat cafe cuteness in Tokyo | Japan

So in my first few weeks in Tokyo I knew one of the first things I wanted to do was visit a cat cafe. As we don't have them in England (although I think one may have opened in London now?) this was a pretty exciting idea for me, especially as I don't have cats at home! I have now visited two so I thought I'd share some pictures of my experience and what it's like to visit one in Japan.

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First of all depending on how nice the cafe is it can be a little on the pricey to visit, you are given a tag to wear around your neck when you enter which says what time you arrived - then you pay when you leave. So it's worth keeping an eye on the time if you don't want to pay X amount. When you go in as well you take off your shoes and put on some slippers provided by the cafe, this a Japanese custom anyway to take off your shoes but I guess this especially applies in cat cafes to keep things hygienic for the cats. You'll also be asked to wash and/or disinfect your hands using hand sanitiser. While this is again a good hygiene idea I think it puts the cats off you a little? Whenever I meet a cat I always extend my hand for them to sniff so they can 'read' you or whatever haha but I guess using hand sanitiser etc will get rid of all your smell and make you smell a bit odd to the cat.

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Me and my new friend who I suspected was not the sharpest tack in the box 

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How cute is this little munchkin cat (not sure of the breed), they still have the same jumping abilities as normal cats with about a third of the leg size haha

The staff may also give you a brief list of rules, things like 'please don't pick up the cats' (this didn't apply in both the cafes I visited though), and I also got 'please be nice to X cat *shows picture* as he is a bit nervous' (why you would put a nervous cat in a cat cafe environment I have no idea).

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I haven't actually bought any drinks/snacks in the cafes I've visited so far but you can order from the staff in the cafes, and also usually you're able to order small snacks/treats for the cats (which seems necessary to get their attention).

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Cat cafes are fun to visit but as a warning be prepared to be completely ignored by the cats. They get a constant stream of visitors each day and are often in a small space with a load of other cats which naturally is going to equal uninterested and grumpy kitties. In the first cafe I managed to get a purr out of one cat, and another (the slightly derpy looking one I'm holding in a picture above) paid my friends and I attention at feeding time as it insisted on only being fed by hand so we could feed it - but the rest literally don't even acknowledge your presence. This means no reaction to your stroking them at all, and they will not play with you or even show any recognition of a toy being waved around.

I'm guessing this is from over stimulation of the cats, and quite a lot of the time the cats would jump onto high shelves or cat jungles to sleep and be out of reach of people - or sit on a windowsill and gaze out of the window longingly. It can seem quite weird if you are used to meeting house cats who will pay you attention or at least react to a piece of ribbon being darted around in front of them - but I guess for Tokyoites who can't have pets in their apartments it is nice to spend an hour or so reading manga and hanging out with some kitties. 

Have you visited a cat cafe? Do they have them in your country? xx

P.S All photos in this post bar two are taken by my friend Kaori, so all credit for the excellent photography goes to her!
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Thursday 6 November 2014

On Wednesdays we wear pink + Clueless inspired coat | Outfit

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Jumper - New Look
Coat - New Look via ASOS
Skirt - Offbrand from a shop in Manchester
Boots - Office

What I wore to uni today! I actually love this coat, although it's the only one I brought to Japan with me and as it's pink it doesn't go with everything...need to invest in a more neutral toned one for winter asap!  I also got a new hair curler when I arrived here as with Japanese voltage (which is very low) my Babyliss one wouldn't turn on AT ALL, but I'm loving the curls my new Japanese one gives me! I've started curling my hair really tighly before bed and sleeping with my hair in a pony tail, then I get left with tousled curls the next day, and relaxed waves the day after, which is what you can see here. Hello stress free hair routine! xx

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Tuesday 4 November 2014

5 beauty favourites | October 2014

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1) Playgirl bottom false eyelashes - I may be mistaken but I'm pretty sure you cannot buy bottom false eyelashes in the UK, or at least I've never seen them, so the massive selection of fake eyelashes here in Japan is such a revelation to me! These really open up your eyes and give the sort of Kim Kardashian bottom last length (ever noticed how long hers are?), mine are really short and blonde so I love the effect of these.

2) Barry M Gelly paint in Rosehip - This colour is a really cute white/pink, and the Gelly range in general is just fab, totally recommend them.

3) Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Crush - This the ultimate Autumn/Fall colour for your lips, and Revlon's Balm Stains are top notch. This has really good staying power while keeping your lips quite hydrated, this is pretty much my go-to lip product for autumn other than lip balm!

4) Johnson's peach body lotion - So Japan sells Johnson's products! You get a lot of peach flavoured products here, and this smells really nice and seems to do it's job.

5) Koji peach scented nail polish remover - Another peach flavoured beauty product! Again this just smells so nice, and actually really doesn't have that horrific nail polish remover smell to it at all.

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