Japan Part 1 ♥

Ah, a much awaited blog post after taking way too long off posting.

On September 15, we flew off to Tokyo with my dad and his colleagues. Our group was just nice with 25 people. The day we left, I had such a hard time thinking of what clothes to bring, I brought almost the entire wardrobe and came back with only a few pieces worn, eeesh!

Oh and pardon the lack of pictures! I didn't have my own camera with me as I have...NONE. My dad brought back this huge-ass Nikon DSLR from the office and my lil' bro used that to take most of the pics- which isn't a lot either.

Spent the night on board a Boeing 777 and sat next to this guy named Sato. We spoke in Japanese (I was having a fairly tough time keeping up but managed to keep the conversation going :D) and he's been staying in Cameron Highlands for 6 months every Winter and 4 months every Summer; for the past 9 years! He says there's a fair number of Japanese staying in the apartment building he stays in and that they all love the cool weather contrary to Japan's harsh Winters and rather hot Summers.

OK PICTURES!

#1 Bye bye Narita airport.

#2 I believe this is the Fuji Television Network building. D:

#3 LOL my brother spotted this teeny tiny duck in the river. I wish we had ducks in our city rivers here but they'd probably die either from being caught and slaughtered or swimming in polluted water...

#4 TOKYO TOWERRR!

#5 On our way to Hakone, the bus made a stop at a highway rest area and the convenience store there was HUGE. There was an amazing selection of food- sushi, bento, yakisoba, sandwiches, salads, cold cuts, boiled eggs, breads etc. Great variety for a convenience store. There was even softcore porn magazines, hahaha, but we didn't take pics.


#6 A Japanese convenience store would not be a Japanese convenience store if it didn't have cup noodles. Behold, the cup noodles in all their glory.




#7 Below are potato sticks in cups! I see Pringles :P

#8 Assortment of candies and gummies :D

#9 Ohmygoshlookatallthedrinksi'mgonnadie.

After the stop, we proceeded to Hakone, a town in Kanagawa that is famous for its hot spring resorts. We first went to Lake Ashi for lunch and I will write more about that in Part 2. :P

Review: Biore Cleansing Oil vs Origins Clean Energy

Tired of my existing makeup remover (because you need cotton pads to use it and I ran outta them), I looked online for help and found out about Biore's much raved about cleansing oil. We used to think that applying oil-based products on our face would clog pores and make our skin oily but now everyone's discovering the wonders of oil on our skin. One of these wonders is that oil cleanses and removes makeup! (Think back to that time when your makeup started to run when your face became oily)

"Biore's Perfect Oil" as it says, is a cleansing oil used to remove makeup. As with most cleansing oils out there, it says to apply the oil to dry skin but Biore's can be used on already wet skin (read: in the shower!). I went over to Jusco's pharmacy and grabbed a bottle of this. Don't remember the price but it was around RM20+. I figured it was cheaper than the average bottle of cleansing oil and it did say it was "Japan's No.1 makeup remover" so I gave in and bought a bottle.

It works alright in the shower. Took me at least 2 pumps to remove eye makeup including waterproof mascara. The oil was fragrant with a fruity grape/ apple kinda smell. Though unnecessary, the fruity smell did not harm my skin and served well to perk me up when I'm all tired, removing my makeup at the end of the day.

This cleansing oil, like all other oils, works better when applied to dry skin, in my opinion. Took seconds for eyeliner to dissolve and melt away while waterproof mascara took a little more oil to work off.

Pros: Cheaper than most brands; nice fruity fragrance; works in the shower and even better on dry skin

Cons: Sometimes stings when comes into contact with eyes- probably because of the fragrance? (so cleanse one eye at a time, keeping one open and the other with the oil closed); a little more liquid than some other oils; leaves face with slight oiliness (but you will probably use a face wash right after so it's ok); contrary to Biore's product description, this oil emulsifies immediately after contact with water. Contains mineral oil as a base ingredient and it may be breaking me out!

I've used a different cleansing oil from Origins called "Clean Energy" which worked much better than Biore's but it's my mum's and she paid lots more for it.

Using Clean Energy was my first encounter with cleansing oils and it was amazing. The oil was thicker than Biore's and just a teeny bit managed to remove most of my makeup. With waterproof mascara, I applied the oil directly to my lashes and rubbed on them gently and rinsed. That's all it took to leave me with a clean, smooth face. The oil left no residue on my skin and the emulsion washed off well. Unlike Biore's, this oil has little or no fragrance and I'm totally fine with that. It also does not sting eyes which is a huge plus.

Pros: Cleans thoroughly leaving no oily residue; thick, so less has to be used; gentle on eyes

Cons: Price- RM 88

I may consider buying Biore's cleansing oil again or maybe try a different brand. Or perhaps get a bottle of Clean Energy as it's still *affordable.

Edit: I have stopped using Biore for now to see if it has been breaking me out lately. I'll be using Origins' Clean Energy.

*If I save up or beg for one, haha

Tokyo Fashion Trends this Summer

I don't follow Japanese fashion trends much because I'm particularly lazy to but I love reading about them and looking at the multitude of pictures I can find online.

A particular site that I really enjoy visiting is Style-arena, Japan. This site focuses a lot on the weekly street styles spotted around Tokyo. These street snapshots are divided between the 5 fashionable districts of Tokyo- Shibuya, Harajuku, Ginza, Omotesando and Daikanyama. I'm guessing a photographer would snap pictures of a particular random person and interview them briefly. Instant fame! Readers can then vote on their favourite photos and photos with high number of votes may entitle the person in the photo to a "premier" status on the site (which equals a photo shoot and a longer interview). For that, check out the Premier Style tab.

Alrighty, here are some trends from the pictures that I compiled:

#1- Strappy's the way to go

Strappy sandals, gladiator flats, lace up platforms- anything with straps! Many neutral shades, natural browns and blacks.

#2- Prints, flowy chiffon tops, florals still in

Everyone knows of the floral dress/ top + denim jacket/ shorts + Kago bag (straw bag) trend that hit Japan in April/ May. Well, you can still see people wearing this trend very well on the streets. Light, flowy chiffon tops are popular and dresses/ T-shirts with bold, colourful prints are making their way in.

#3- Straw hats, berets

Some still following the April/May trend with the denim and floral prints can be spotted wearing straw hats too. These straw hats compliment almost any dress or feminine top. Messenger caps and berets can be spotted too. Many of the guys spotted choose to wear fedoras.

#4- Geek Chic glasses (I love!)

Like 99% of the Japanese people spotted who wore glasses ALL wore geek chic ones! Popular among the guys too. I notice many college and university students wearing glasses with these frames too- particularly the Indonesians and Koreans here in Malaysia. I'm happy to say that I'd be getting a pair! Still waiting to collect them from the optometrist, heh. I'm not getting a pair to follow the trend however chic it may seem to be but I got them because they flattered my face shape and suited me perfectly. My mum thinks so :D (I know, big deal, lol)

All image cut outs taken from Style-arena.jp