NOTD

- China Glaze Nail Polish in Fifth Avenue

Muted rosy cream colour. It's pretty and work appropriate. I like China Glaze nail polishes because they are not streaky and the cream colours are opaque with two coats. However, I HATE their brushes -way too thin and flimsy. It takes longer to apply compared to OPI because of its brush. I wish China Glaze brushes were bigger like OPI's.

Lip balm collection

(from left to right)

- Kiehl's Lip Balm #1
I found out about this lip balm when I was in highschool. I used to drop by this store called Sony Plaza in Tokyo after the class almost everyday and they carried products from Kiehl's. They had all kinds of imported items from North America(I used to buy Twix from there too). The lip balm is simply amazing. It is super moisturizing and does make your lips softer. Downsides are: too glossy and unsanitary to stick finger into the jar. But they do have stick ones so I guess that could be solved. One of my favourite lip balms of all time for sure.

- Muru Muru Butterm
I bought this at the airport when I visited my family in Japan last year. It was a "top seller lip balm" at that time. It's supposed to moisturize like butter... which I found a strange description. It's an okay lip balm. It's not super moisturizing but does a job if I load it up on my lips.

- Softlips in Framboise Friande $ Strawberry Sherbet
I've heard good things about these so I gave them a try. The first thing I noticed was the flavour -smells amazing and taste yummy too. It is somewhat moisturizing but I HATE how it's so thin. It takes forever to finish applying this lip balm because of the tiny surface. For that reason, I have not used it for a while now(they are in my car for a lip emergency).

- Nivea Milk & Honey
This is my number one lip balm at the moment. I love how it moisturizes my lips very well and also good to apply before lipsticks. The surface is big enough to cover my lips quickly too. Though the flavour is questionable (to me, it doesn't taste milk & honey at all), the lasting power is awesome. Highly recommended.

- Blistex Lip Infusion
This has an interesting applicator. It's got the silver roller so the lip balm itself is liquid. I was looking for a menthol lip balm before and I found this -it was soothing for two seconds and that's it. It's like licking my lips... it gets dry right away. Not good.

- Blistex Silk & Shine
Shine, maybe. Silk.... I am not sure. It smells bad to me. It's like the bathroom odor spray. I cannot take it when the lip balm smells bad.

- Shiseido Water in Lip
Again, I bought this in Japan. It's very smooth and soothing. I like it. Too bad I cannot buy it in Canada.

- Menturm Mizu in Lip
Mizu means water in Japanese. The package says it contains aloe inside and makes my lips shiny looking. I haven't used it yet but I am expecting it to be good since Menturm is a famous company that makes good first aid products.

- Shiseido Water in Lip (La France flavour)
I had to get this when I saw it at the drug store in Japan. As I said, I liked the original Shiseido Water in Lip. Now they have the La France flavour!!! Bravo Shiseido. For those who don't know what La France is, it's a type of pair. I want to try it but I am going to wait a bit longer... :)

NOTD

- OPI Tickle my France-y

The very famous nude colour from OPI is indeed a stunning colour. It applies smoothly and not streaky at all. I love colours like this. Appropriate for work and yet the colour is not boring.

I am always in search for work friendly colours :)

Favourite rings

- Swarovski Nirvana Ring

- Swarovski Mint Chic Ring

They are my favourite rings. I wear one of them everytime I go out.
I remember when I was trying them out at the Swarovski store -my boyfriend rolled his eyes and said "WTH, TOO BIG". He always knew that I loved shiny stuff but I guess he never expected me to pick such gigantic piece. So I desperately said to him, "I know it's big. But they are so chic. Just look at the name. It's a girl thing hun."

He complained a couple of times that he couldn't hold my hand properly because of their sizes but I just laughed. I was too happy to see them on my fingers. Also, I couldn't believe how many people actually took my hand and made complements on them.

Here is one thing I learned about Swarovski rings -not every ring will stay in a permanent collection so if you found a piece that you like, get it before it's gone. I had such hard time finding the Mint Chic ring for that reason.

Jewelry like these would never go out of style :)

NOTD

- Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Plum's The World

Another perfect colour for fall. I picked up this nail polish because of its muted grayish purple colour. But I couldn't believe it when I painted my nails with it -it was not gray at all. It was more like muted brownish dark purple.

Although the actual colour was different from what I thought, I'm enjoying this colour on my nails. It's great for fall and winter.

Also, I should mention that the bottle of this nail polish is amazing. It's got the black rubber band around the brush handle so I have steady hand when I paint my right hand even.

Highly recommended!

They saved my life.

- Neutrogena Fresh foaming cleanser
It removes ALL the makeup gently without hurting my skin such as wiping cloth.

- Clinique Liquid facial soap mild
I put this on Clarisonic Mia brush and massage my face for two minutes. It lathers well.

- Clarisonic Mia
You will be surprised how much foundation left on your face with this brush.

- St. Ives Apricot Scrub Blemish (Blemish & Blackhead clearing)
I use it once a week to exfoliate my skin. My skin feels so smooth and soft after.

- Clinique Clarifying lotion #3
Does not dry out my skin like some people say. It keeps my face feel clean.

- Clinique Dramatically different gel
I love it. It does not make my skin oily. Yet it is moisturizing.

- Olay SPF30 defense protection
My skin is pretty fair (NC20) so I need this to prevent from having freckles.

- Garnier Skin Renew anti-fatigue eye cream
No more dark eye circles since I started using this. I love the price (around $13) and accessibility (drugstore).

- L'oreal Lash serum
I have typical asian eye lashes. Short, straight, little... but this serum made my lashes grow faster for sure.

- Super wide hairbands from Muji in Japan
I make sure to tie my hair and wear this thick hairband (they made of stretchable towel material) whenever I take care of my skin. I hate not being able to wash my face thoroughly because of the hair all of my face.



I had always had bad skin. I constantly had big pimples all over my face and everyone used to tell me "oh don't worry, they will disappear when you get older". So I hoped everyday that one day these nasty pimples will be gone.

But people were wrong. I turned 30 and still had pimples on my face. Forehead, both sides of cheeks, chin... sometimes even on my ears (wth). I was sick and tired of hiding them with the foundation & concealer. I was also tired of trying acne products from the drugstore and getting disappointed because nothing worked on me. I started taking birth control pills because my friends told me they should work on acne. But they did not. I went to the doctor and she prescribed me to differen and benzaclin. Unfortunately, they made my face look worse with red spots and peeled skin. I hated to look at myself on the mirror. I looked ugly and miserable during the time.

I really wanted to do something about it. Even though I found the best coverage foundation and concealer to hide my pimples, pimples were still noticeable. I knew I had to change my skin care routine and get rid of acne before considering which eyeshadow/lipsticks/blushes/highlighter I should buy.

So I researched a lot and found out that I probably did not remove makeup properly at the end of the day and that might have caused my skin to break out. By using proper makeup remover and Clarisonic Mia, I was able to remove heavy liquid foundation. Also, I decided to give Clinique (3 step skin care system) a try.

Now I haven't had pimples for looooong time. My horrible acne history has finally ended. I use less foundation on my face. I am so glad that I discovered what was causing me to break out and which products to use on a daily basis.

Arigatou Clinique and Clarisonic, you guys saved my life.

NOTD

- Borghese Nail Lacquer in Milano Taupe

I have been buying a lot of nail polishes lately.
Watching nail polish haul videos on YouTube and reading blogs hooked me into the habit of painting nails at least twice a week. I know, I am obsessed.

So many people talk about Sephora for OPI in Metro Chic and Rimmel Lasting Finish Pro in Steel Gray. I was wondering about the hype of it so I gave myself a try. I did not like the colour -it did not look good on my skin. I don't know why. I love how they look on people, but not on me.

Then I found this nail polish at Shoppers. I've never tried Borghese before but it was on sale so I checked out all the colours. The only colour that made me excited was Milano Taupe. It's grayish purple colour. I think this colour should be called chic. The best part of this nail polish is the fact that it does not chip at all! (I normally put base coat and top coat on) Usually nail polishes chips after few days because I do a lot of house stuff such as cooking and washing dishes. But this one didn't for 5 days. I thought it was miracle. Everytime I looked at my fingers, I kept wowing.

As much as I love wearing bright colours, I work in a professional field so I have to wear neutral colours. This colour seems okay for work... I think. Well, I like it so much that I don't wanna take it off.

Recent obsession (3)

- striped shirt + roll up sleeves

Cute. I cannot think of any other word to describe these shirts.
They are comfortable and yet, fashionable.
I normally wear a pair of jeans and casual black blazer with them.

This particular shirt was from H&M and was $24.99.
I love the gold accent on the buttons and the small pocket.
Though I noticed that the shirt is actually a maternity clothes when I was at the cashier. I mentioned it to the girl and she smiled and said to me, "who cares, it's cute!"

She is right, it's way too cute.

Recent obsession (2)

- Nina by Nina Ricci

I wanted to get a perfume that could possibly become my "signature smell".
So I researched and read a lot of reviews for various perfumes but you know, it's hard to imagine what they actually smell by reading people's reviews -so I went to the department store to check them out.

After smelling 4589028694 perfumes and killing my nose, I was contemplating between Dior j'adore and Chanel mademoiselle. Though I knew that Chenel was not for me. The smell reminded me of a sophisticated mature woman... probably around 50's. So I put j'adore on my wrist and went for dinner. I loved the smell but I realized that I liked it more right after putting it on. It smelled totally different after a little while.

I almost gave up. Where is "the one"?
I kept on looking around and saw this cute apple bottle. Then I thought, "wait, I've seen this perfume everywhere. I've seen their pretty advertisements on magazines before too". I tried it on and I got shocked. This is it. This is what I was looking for. Sweet and warm smell... perfect for fall. I cannot believe that I had not tried this sooner.

I spray just once on me in the morning and it lasts all day. It's not strong at all. I feel like melting whenever I smell it. I am glad that I found the one!

Recent obsession (1)

- LV Delightful MM
- Coach Kristin Leather Satchel in Blue Smoke

LV purse was a birthday gift to myself.
I never really liked their purses until very recently -because I'd always thought I was not mature enough to carry them. The last time I carried LV purse was when I was in highschool. I occasionally borrowed it from my mom. Now that I think about it, I am sure that I must have looked hideous with it.

Then I thought... I am now in mid 30's, own my business and have opportunities to go to seminars and meetings. I thought that I should be ready to carry Delightful MM as my work purse.

I love it. It's big enough to carry files and documents, is comfortable on my shoulders and looks amazing with suits. I love how the bag gets crumpled when I carry it on my shoulder.

Coach purse was an impulse purchase.
I got the 25% off invitation from Coach and few hours after that, I was on my way to Coach store (I know, I am very bad). The purse looks blue in the picture but it's actually blue-green. Very chic purse for everyday use.

I am sure that I will be in heaven for a while with these pretty purses!

NOTD

Nail of the day:

- Rimmel lasting finish pro in English Rose -one coat

- OPI and this little piggy... -two coats

Candy colour. I wear these colours when I don't have appointment with the clients. Nice change from the neutral colors :)

First nikki

Ohayo gozaimasu.

Last night, I decided to start blogging.
I remembered how much I used to enjoy blogging so I am going to give this a try again.

I'll be talking about makeup, fashion, nail polishes, purses, hauls, jewelries... all the girly girl stuff.

Well, my first picture is of course this girl -Chloe the Maltipoo.