Saturday 28 February 2015

What I bought in Seoul | Beauty Haul

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The shopping in Korea is really good, the pricing on all of these things was pretty much Primark range, and is still good quality! A lot of these bits are for other people, but I did get a few things for myself like the Etude House pore minimiser. There are soo many beauty shops in Korea it's insane, people will stand at the doorways with a free gift in a basket and give you the basket and the gift when you go inside.

However, the shop assistants then stand right next to you and just look at you while you shop, occasionally giving commentary on something you're looking at which is soo irritating. If you don't buy anything you get a pissed off look (and I wasn't sure whether or not to keep the free gifts so I always handed them back). I also had one assistant standing on the street grab my arm as I passed and literally DRAG me into her store, and another grab my hand and started swatching a product on me without any 'do you mind?' or context whatsoever. Definitely very different to Japan and the UK!

Face masks are also crazy popular, you get entire stores dedicated to them and I even saw ones designed to go over your boobs! xx

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Thursday 26 February 2015

My trip to Seoul - shopping, hard rock cafe, Gyeongbokgung Palace, Korean BBQ | Travel

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Tuesday 17 February 2015

What's in my bag? Tokyo Edition ♥

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Rucksack - WeGo in Harajuku

Hey guys! I thought it would be interesting to do a what's in my bag post for what I carry around with me in Tokyo, as some things are quite Japan-centric! I've found that carrying round a rucksack (and a hella cute one at that) is a lot more convenient than an over the shoulder bag as I live in the suburbs, so any time I go shopping or whatever is going to be a day out affair, and ain't nobody got time for sore shoulders. 

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Purse // Towel // Lipbalm // Tampon // Diary // Headphones // Deodrant // Pen // Painkillers // Tissues // Hand sanistiser // Oil blotting sheets // Portable phone charger // Hair tie // Plasters // Phone // Face mask // Umbrella

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Firstly I try to remember to always carry around a small towel with me as the majority of public loos in Japan don't have any method to dry your hands with after you wash them (think this is to do with eco-friendliness), sometimes they don't have soap either so hand sanitisier is pretty useful too. I also always carry tissues, especially as outside in Japan is pretty frigging cold but inside like central heating city a lot of the time (although mental note blowing your nose in public in Japan is like farting in public, so I try and be discreet).

Furthering on the theme of runny noses, I try and carry a face mask with me if I'm ill, as it's considered good manners/a must to wear one of these on trains etc if you are ill as a courtesy to others. Also good for days where you cba to wear make up, polluted/smelly environments and for keeping your face warm! Saying that though I hate wearing them, as they make me feel like I'm suffocating.

Also tampons (pretty hard to buy/find in Japan) are a good idea as I've never seen these sold in women's loos in Japan, and no one wants to get caught short when your body unleashes an elevator scene from the shining moment on you. Another thing I bought recently and think is literally the best invention ever is the portable charger above for when my phone runs out of battery. I hadn't seen these in the UK before but I'm guessing they must be available, such a good idea!

Is there anything in your daily bag that's unique to the country you live in? xx

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Sunday 15 February 2015

60s/70s knee high boot trend spotlight: New Look

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I have been absolutely loving the knee high/thigh high boot trend that's been going around at the moment, not only are they seriously cute they're perfect for the Winter to give you some extra leg coverage if you want to wear a skirt! I thought I'd put together some outfits using different retailers' takes on said boots, first being New Look. This is actually seriously reasonable considering you can get a whole outfit for under £90! If anyone would like to send me this outfit to Tokyo that would be great thanks xx

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Friday 13 February 2015

Learn Japanese by watching Japanese beauty gurus on YouTube!

Hey guys! So obviously this isn't the only way to study Japanese but definitely a good way to supplement your learning. Just by subscribing to a couple of Japanese beauty gurus and watching their videos while I eat my dinner I get to practise my Japanese listening. You can also help yourself learn new vocab etc by looking up words or grammar points you don't understand.



1) Asahi Sasaki - I've been following this guru for a while, she used to have a previous channel where she did crazy avant-garde looks and still does them sometimes on her new channel. She's seriously talented at make up and pretty funny too. Definitely recommend subbing.




2) Kumamiki - I only discovered this girl recently but her channel is so cute! I want to find more Japanese YouTubers like her who are into alternative/harajuku styles so if you guys know any others let me know!




3) Choicerish - Another guru I subbed recently, really like the tutorial above especially.




4) Risa Sekine - This guru is particularly chatty so really good listening practise!


I've realised the usefulness of this recently when I find myself understanding without having to think really hard about the Japanese and translate it consciously in my head - small steps! Also quite a few of these gurus add English subtitles either occasionally or with every video so even if you aren't learning Japanese it's well worth subscribing to see their tutorials anyways ^^

Do you guys subscribe to any Japanese youtubers or other youtubers who speak the language you're learning? xx

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Wednesday 11 February 2015

5 minute everyday make up for university | FOTD

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This is my current everyday look for going to class each day. I've been switching between 3 foundations but still not 100% sure this Revlon one is amazing, the oil control isn't great but I'm scraping the pan of my MAC blot powder so think I'll just up my powder game! If I have time I'll switch out my bargain brow pencil for Anastasia DipBrow but today was just one of those days. I'm also obsessed with the Maybelline black shock gel liner, it literally gets my eyeliner done in seconds! xx

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Monday 9 February 2015

Feel Unique skincare haul (Bio Oil, Manuka Doctor and Eucerin) + first impressions

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So recently I picked up a few things from Feel Unique, since a lot of the brands I know at home aren't available in Japan (or my Japanese isn't good enough to research into the Japanese skincare brands). I've been investing a lot more into skincare lately as I figured it's better to make your actual skin happier than just buying a higher coverage foundation! I have oily, blemish prone skin which is also sensitive (fun times), so I did some research and filtered through Feel Unique's skincare brands by my skin type and came up with this Eucerin Cleanser and Manuka Doctor Moisturiser.

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Bio Oil 60ml - £7.25

I also picked up some Bio Oil so I could qualify for a free sample (a Garnier moisturiser which I actually really like! Will be buying on return to the UK). I recently discovered I have some stretch marks around my bum (clearly doubled in size during puberty/that's where my many student takeaways have gone to), and I have a small patch of darker skin on my lower back that I've had all my life - neither of these bother me massively but I thought it was worth seeing if the hype is worth it!

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Manuka Doctor Facial Moisturising Lotion - £16.99

This product is slightly more pricey but you get a serious amount of product, I only use about a pea size amount morning and night and I can see this lasting me probably 'til I go back to the UK in July. The Bee Venom bit made me slightly nervous but I haven't had any issues and my skin absorbs the product really quickly. Also has a really nice fresh, slightly sweet smell.

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Eucerin Dermo Purifyer Cleanser - £9.18

I really like the packaging of this, very convenient to squeeze out a tiny bit and no fussing aroun with an extra cap or anything. I'm not sure if I prefer this to my previous cleanser (Salcura Antiac cleanser) yet or not but it seems to be doing the job. Doesn't have a strong smell but does smell a tiny bit clinical, however this isn't noticeable enough to put me off using it. 

Have you tried any of these products? Also please let me know if you guys have any skin product recommendations for oily or acne/blemish prone skin ^^ xx

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Tuesday 3 February 2015

Minimalist chic and basics | Wishlist

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Recently I've been in a sort of style rut, while I do adore prints and anything vaguely tumblr-worthy I've come to the conclusions that despite this I don't think I'm actually fab at styling print heavy items on a day to day basis. Usually my mornings consist very much of grab-and-go style outfit planning, so recently I've been loving the kind of minimalist chic looks that go around the blogosphere, the kind of items that go with everything but always make you look well put together. Plus the more simplistic looks allow you to go overboard with jewellery and maybe make up too which is fine by me!

Plus I've been watching a load of Buffy recently and 90s style has quite simplistic vibes, not too fussy and simple structures to outfits. Next on my shopping list is slayer chic: turtle neck crop top, A line skirt and knee high boots for slaying vampires after class xx

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