Coach!

Pin It I splurged a bit and got a new Coach bag recently!

I have a black Coach shoulder bag that I use the HECK out of, and I wanted to get something else so that I could give it a rest. 

So... being me, I got ANOTHER black Coach bag! (No surprise for a girl who has 20938479754 black shirts!!!)

I love the silver Coach charm!  I like these black leather Coach bags the best!  I think a bag which doesn't have the Coach logo all over it is more versatile!

I also got some leather gloves! 

These are made out of REALLY soft leather!

They also have a cashmere lining!  Great for cold weather!

Leather gloves are a MUST for me when I drive in the winter!  These are SO nice!!

And finally, a Coach scarf!

I mainly got this to accessorize my bag! 

I'm really picky when it comes to bags, but I think I'll really like this one!

Hope everyone has a Happy New Year!

xoxo, K

Christmas presents!

Pin It A little late - but I thought I'd share a few gifts I got from a very, very good friend of mine!

a Starbucks city mug from Chile

I collect Starbucks city mugs (this is my 10th!), but I make it a rule to only buy them in cities I've visited on business trips!  I'll make an exception for this one since I've never been to South America!

Wow, what is this????

Let's look closer...

It's a scuba diver!  Wow, this is really cool for a diver like me!!!

And finally...

A sapphire and diamond necklace!

WOW, this is really pretty!  It's very me!

Thanks again to my dear friend!  You're the greatest!!!

xoxo, K

Secret Santa!

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Merry Christmas!!!

I hope everyone is having a great Christmas! As for me, I'll be working today since Christmas is NOT a public holiday in Japan!  We did have a holiday on the 23rd, though - the Emperor's birthday.  We are lucky that the current Emperor's birthday is around Christmas!

I hosted a secret santa recently with some other beauty bloggers.  Thank you for joining!  We had a good number of people - most people knew each other, but hopefully we all found a few new friends!  Here is everyone who joined (click to jump to their blog post about the secret santa)!
Amy Naree
Alyssa
Tammy
Mayaari
Dina
songling
Jess


aichaku
Blair
Lulu
Kendall
Diana
Sanny
Wuzzy
Mel
Sarah
Iyah
Akisa
Lisa
Lane
Erika
Eve
Fuz
Mika
Jamilla 
Millie
Mona

and me!
Thanks again to everyone who joined!!!

Sarah helped me out with the Secret Santa so I did not know who my Secret Santa was!
I had as much fun as everyone else!!

My Secret Santa turned out to be...  Mika from Beauty Snap!

Wow, look at all the stuff she got for me!!!

What a cute card!!!

Mika-chan, your Japanese handwriting is better than mine!!!!!

Here's the first big package!

And it contained lots of goodies!!!

First off...
Sweets!
Hahaha, Mika remembered that we talked about Yokan!!!

Samples!

Ooooh, my first Silk Whitia Masks!
I'm so excited to try these!

On to the next package!

OOOOOHHHHHHH!!!!!
This ribbon tells me this is going to be something GOOD!!!!


OOOOOHHHHH!!!
*jumps for joy*

Bath and Body Works Home Fragrance Oil in Sensual Amber!!!!!

This was on my wishlist!!!

I LOVE this scent!
The oil is a little bit sweeter than the body wash!

AND!
Bath and Body Works Body Lotion & Body Wash in Moonlight Path!

This was on my list of B&BW scents I wanted to try!

Thanks again, Mika!!!
I REALLY liked everything you sent!!!!!!

Hope everyone is having a great Christmas!!

xoxo, K

December Ageha issue - part 2

Pin It Continuing from my previous post, here's some more "top 3" skin care stuff featured in the December issue of Ageha!

Before that... another screen shot!

This is what the page looks like!

Makeup removers: 1 - Biore Make Otoshi Perfect Oil, 2 - Biore Make Torokeru Liquid, 3 - DHC Deep Cleansing Oil
Cleansing oils are VERY popular in Japan and are probably the mainstream when it comes to makeup removers!  I like all three of these.  1 & 2 are frequently on sale, so I buy them more often.

Cleanser: 1 - Sengan Senka Perfect Whip, 2 - Dove Beauty Moisture, 3 - Biore Facial Wash
I LOVE Pefect Whip!  Along with my facial foaming net, it makes a really creamy rich lather!
A side note - I think most Japanese girls use cleansers after using makeup removers!


Toner: 1 - Rohto Hada Labo Gokujyun Hydraulic Acid Toner, 2 - Nameraka Honpo Soy Milk Toner, 3 - Rohto Hada Labo Hakujyun Whitening Toner
Toners (meant to moisturize your skin, not prep it) are very normal in Japanese skin care.  I have personally used all three of these.  A lot of people know I LOVE the Gokujyun one!  I also use the Hakujyun one a lot!!  All three of these are usually discounted at the drugstore.


Sheet Masks: 1 - Bihada Ichizoku Bihada Sara Sheet Mask (the pink one), 2 - Bihada Ichizoku Kurobara Kamen Sheet Mask (the black one), 3 - Clear Turn White Mask Q10a
Bihada Ichizoku is popular here as well!  I like both of these a lot!!  The only problem is that they are sold individually!!

Another screen shot!

This issue was a great read!  It even has categories like favorite eye drops, favorite gum, favorite thing to get at Starbucks, favorite laundry detergent, favorite painkiller, etc!  I really want to try out some of the stuff mentioned in this issue!!

xoxo, K

December Ageha issue - part 1

Pin It The December issue of Ageha is always my favorite because they share all their "top 3s", similar to US magazines such as Allure.  The big difference is that (1) it is based on readers' votes (why did Allure stop doing this???) and (2) they have a whole lot of non-beauty stuff as well.

A few screen shots...

The fashion section

These girls' faces are actually photoshop collages of girls regularly featured on Ageha!

For example, number 1 girl's face consists of the eyes which were voted number 1, the lips voted number 1, etc.  The same goes for the number 2 face and the number 3 face!

Here are some of the "top 3" items and what I thought about them.

Blush: 1 - Canmake Powder Cheeks PW20, 2 - Chanel Joues Contraste Powder Blush #44, 3 - Bihada Ichizoku Hitomebore Cheek Pink
Canmake is a cheap brand, but their blushes are pretty good!

Mascara: 1 - Dejavu Fiberwig Extra Long, 2 - Maybelline Volume Extra Turbo Boost, 3 - Majorica Majorica Lash Expander Frame Plus
I really like Dejavu because there is no way I'll get smudges!  Majomajo is a blogger favorite, but I personally don't like comb applicators!

Eyeshadow: 1 - Kate Diamond Cut Eyes BR1, 2 - Kate Gradical Eyes BR3, 3 - Kate Reflect Mirror Eyes BR1
Wow, all Kate!  The Gradical Eyes line has been around forever and I hit pan on one I bought about 2 years ago!  I did not like the Diamond Cut Eyes (not pigmented enough) or the Mirror Eyes (too glittery).  I'm hoping Kate will come up with better palettes soon!

They also had top liquid/powder foundations, primers, concealers, face powders, highlighters, contour powder, eyeliner, false eyelashes, lipstick, lipgloss, etc!  Let me know if you want to know about them!!

Oh - they also had eyebrow stuff... 3 separate categories!  It shows you how serious we are about our eyebrows!!

Next up - the skincare stuff!

xoxo, K

Quick post: Kit-Kats!

Pin It Since a lot of people commented about the Strawberry Kit-Kats that I shared in my last post, here's a short post about some more limited edition Kit-Kats I picked up recently!

If you go to Nestle Japan's website, they will typically have 2-3 limited edition Kit-Kats out at any time.  It's hard to find them in the stores sometimes!  They are usually seasonal flavors!

First up - Lemon Vinegar Kit-Kats!

Sounds really weird, right?

Actually they taste like Key Lime Pie!

These have been discontinued for a while!

Secondly - Royal Milk Tea Kit-Kats!

I think these aren't going to be available much longer since they were on clearance at the supermarket!

Lastly, I found these really recently - Strawberry Kit-Kats!

They should really make these a permanent flavor!

These are going into some girl's love packs soon!!

xoxo, K

Weekend Eats: Strawberry Cheesecake Kit-Kats!

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I went to Yokohama this past weekend!

Here's something I found - Strawberry Cheesecake Kit-Kats!

These are limited edition for Yokohama, but they were pretty easy to find!
I have NO idea why Strawberry Cheesecake = Yokohama, though!

Speaking of Strawberry, I found these recently!

Yuki Ichigo Latte (Snow Strawberry Latte)

These are from Maxim, the company which makes the Green Tea Latte drinks that Eki likes so much!

Here's how it looked when I mixed it with hot water!

Unfortunately, it was only very faintly pink.

It turned out very frothy, and tasted like strawberry milk.

I also made this pumpkin bread pudding!

And rounded out my weekend with this!

Ippudo's Red ramen!

Yum yum!

Hope your weekend was good!

xoxo, K

Project 10 Pan!

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I finished my Project 10 Pan!

Clinique Mini Trio eyeshadow in Strawberry Fudge

Skinfood Shea Butter Hair Mask

Lush Sacred Truth Fresh Face Mask

Molton Brown Body Lotion in Yuzu

Bath & Body Works Japanese Cherry Blossom Body Lotion

Lancome Blanc Expert Spot Eraser

Sunsilk Hair treatment

Bath & Body Works Black Amethyst Body Lotion

Skinfood Kiwi Yogurt Mask

Kate Loose Powder

The rundown:

Makeup items - 2

Skin care items -  3

Hair care items - 2

Body care items - 3

Even more:

Items I got in swaps/love packs - 5

Items I bought overseas (including duty free hauls) - 4

Items I bought in Japan - 1 (WOW)

I guess this shows you that I haven't bought stuff for myself in Japan recently!

I bought some stuff during my project 10 pan, so I'll go back on it after the holidays! (until my next trip abroad...) Wish me luck!!!

xoxo, K

Weekend eats: Brownies and Mapo Eggplant!

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Weekend = cooking time!

First up... BROWNIES!

Crinkly, crunchy top...

Melty, dense insides...

Rich and chocolatey...

Aaaannnddd the other thing I made was:  Mapo Eggplant!

This is defintely going to be my dinner this week!
I'm going to make it spicier next time!

Hope you had a great weekend!

xoxo, K

SWAP with Eki!

Pin It Eki and I did a swap a little while ago!
Sorry that I didn't post this sooner, Eki-chan!

The box was FILLED with love!

The new scent from Bath and Body Works - Twilight Woods!!

I LOVE this!  It smells a lot like Sensual Amber, which is my FAVORITE scent in the Bath & Body Works Signature Collection!

PS I Love You

This is the other scent that I was excited to try out!

Sally Hansen Insta-Dri nail polish - Quick Sand

Sally Hansen Hard As Nails Xtreme Wear - Celeb City

Cover Girl Boundless Color - Pink Twinkle

I don't know why I'm suddenly interested in nail polish!  Hopefully I can do a NOTD soon!

Sally Hansen Satin Effects Lip Gloss - Romantic (left) and Sensual (right)

Wow, what nice names! 

I like how the beige color is "romantic" and the red color is "sensual"!

My Beauty Diary Sheet Mask - Apple Polyphenol

This one has a slight peeling effect, and I like it a lot!

Where can I get My Beauty Diary masks online????

Maybelline Dream Mousse Shadow - Suede Sensation

I didn't know they had eyeshadows!  I really like the blush, so let's see how much I like the eyeshadow!

And lastly...

Is this what I think it is???

Yay, earrings from Ekilove!

The heart locks are so cute!!

A quick pic of me wearing them!

Sorry for the lack of FOTDs!

I've been having REALLY bad lighting these days!

I hope this doesn't last until spring!!!

Thank you SO much Eki-chan!!!!

Please let me know when you need more Japanese snacks/drinks!!!

xoxo, K