Oh my gosh! I feel like I've only been gone a few days, and there's so many blog posts to catch up on! Exam week has officially started, even though I've already had two exams a couple of weeks ago. Just finished my first exam of the week! 日本語の試験は易いです！ (Now how embarrassing would that be if that was wrong!)
Anyway, taking a break from studying and reviewing to update!
This is long overdue, but I won Hachidork's giveaway! So exciting, as I've never won anything before~ Such awesome prizes, too.
So many awesome products in this prize pack. I'm so excited to have won!
Now back to studying! Russian Literature exam on Wednesday!
Finally! My first real Docs. I've had a dupe pair, once upon a time, but they showed wear so fast and started to fall apart so I had to get rid of them. Unfortunately. They were so cute! Pale pink.
My mum picked these up at a thrift store! I actually asked her to go back and get them. She texted me about them while I was in class, and I wasn't able to respond so she left without them! There's no way I was passing them up though, and I begged her to go back!
They're practically like new! They look and feel as if they haven't been worn at all. Which unfortunately means they need to be broken in. I'm prepared for it, though. I can't wait!
Just solid black! But everyone can use a pair of solid black Docs! Though this pair brings my number of black combat style boots up to 3, and black boots in general up to 6. Black boots are just so versatile!
I'm going to leave them this way for while, but maybe in the future I'll spike or stud them! Or maybe I'll just buy another pair in the future and spike and stud them.
I've recently followed a couple of new blogs. They're all super cute, and they're all hosting giveaways, so go check out their blogs and check out their giveaways. I'm sure these blogs will have something that you'll like content-wise!
Candyheart's First Giveaway
This blog is full of pinks, purples, lolita fashion, outfit posts, and just all around cute. Some of my favourite brands often show up on this blog. Worth a follow, and a good read!
These are the prizes you can win from the giveaway:
SWIMMER USB mouse
Barbie keychain
ribbon hairclips
2-way ribbon
rose beads bracelet
popples badge (from milklim)
cute coinpurse
moon & stars necklace
Unicorn earrings
I love the Swimmer mouse and the Unicorn earrings. How about you?
Mika's 1 Year Anniversary Giveaway
Fashion and Travel as well as some reviews. Really, is there anything more you can ask for? It's a personal blog as well as a fashion/travel blog and the posts are an interesting read.
The prizes you can win are:
EMODA tote bag
Donut phone charm from Japan
Aroma Scents from Japan
Fairy Lash ft. SAKURINA bottom lashes (or you can wear them as tops!)
DAISO rose body spray from Japan
Cute pink striped bow from F21
Chopsticks
Hair clips + Japanese oil blotting paper
I love Rose scents. The body spray has cute packaging, and I bet it smells amazing~
Jelly Anna's 1 Year Anniversary Giveaway
A gorgeous blogger, and a gorgeous blog. A ton of fashion posts and outfit/makeup posts. For a while I was bummed about the fashion scene (long story), and I've just recently started getting back into it. This blog is perfect to fulfil that need!
There are three sets of prizes you can win.
Grand Prize:
gal / gyaru beauty guide
Benefit 'Finding Mr. Bright' Set
Sakurina's lashes
Limited Edition Candy Doll Lipgloss
Second Prize:
Candy Doll Lip Gloss
Rosefull Bath Salt
Third Prize:
Candy Doll Lip Gloss
O'Slee Rosehip Whitening & Eliminating Imperfection Mask
I've been dying to try Candy Doll Lip Gloss. I've heard so many good things about it, but it's not easy to get. I've also always been interested in trying Benefit's Erase Paste! I almost bought it the last time I was at Sephora, but ended up getting a creme liner instead.
Ciramisu's Eyes Eyes Eyes Giveaway
This blog is full of photos, travels, beauty and makeup. I'm always so envious when I look at this blog. So many wonderful places I'd like to visit, and products I'd love to try!
Prizes you can win:
Dolly Wink lash set
1 pair of #9 Natural Dolly
1 pair of #10 Sweet Cat
Mixed pack of lashes containing (top to bottom) 1 pair each of:
Eyelabo Cute Princess 002
Diamond Lash Celeb Eye
EyeLabo Sexy Doll 002
Diamond Lash Cute Eye (lower lashes)
EyeLabo Cute Princess 002
Dejavu 24H Lasting-fine Eyeliner
Loujene lash case
D.U.P. Eyelash Fixer EX 552 Clear Type
Dejavu Fiberwig Mascara in Pure Black
Foodaholic 3D Wormwood Mask
Love More Scotland Rose Crystal and Tourmaline Peptide Moisturizing Duo Lifting Mask
My Beauty Diary Earl Grey Tea and Macaron Mask,
Love More Japan Izushima Camellia & Tourmaline Whitening Mask
Angelica compact dresser mirror
Set of 10 Japan postcards
So many gorgeous prizes! I'm coveting the lashes most.
Sepia Memory's Jump Into Spring Giveaway
Makeup and Beauty product reviews, as well as swatches. Reviews of products are my favourite blog posts. Especially because I'm always looking for new products, and it's better to get an accurate and honest review of things before you buy them online!
Prizes in this giveaway:
Lip Service tote
NYX Black Label Lipstick in Chakra
Loven Etiquette Scissors
Murad Absolute Bronzing Boost
Pair of Twinkle Lash in Cool Eye
theBalm Frat Boy Blush
This lipstick colour and these lashes are gorgeous! My number one wants in this giveaway~
Lizzie Beee's First Ever Giveaway
Tons of reviews both beauty products and not. Also fashion and shopping! Super cute.
A ton of amazing prizes:
First Prize:
Two pairs of Circle lens sponsored by Mukuchu
Diamond Lash Angel Eye
Cute makeup bag
Eyeshadow palette with over 80 colours!
2 sets of false lashes
A set of stickers from Oborocharms
A set of badges from Oborocharms
Second Prize:
2 pairs of Circle lens sponsored by Mukuchu
2 sets of false lashes
Cute plushie
A set of stickers from Oborocharms
Phone charm from Oborocharms
I love the phone charm and the badges from Oborocharms. The lenses are gorgeous, too! Some of the designs I've never seen before!
Check out these blogs and follow them! You won't regret it.
As a language major, of course vocabulary is one of the most important parts of study. After all, if you don't know the words, how can you speak or read? Fortunately, there is this awesome website for Japanese vocabulary, Renshuu. There's studying, as well as quizzes, and it has vocabulary from a variety of Japanese textbooks, as well as JLPT. While this website is incredibly helpful, of course if there's no access to internet, well then it's useless.
And what about languages that aren't Japanese? I've recently added another language to my line-up.Beginner's Welsh (as well as my notebooks for notes and exercises)
I came across this adorable vocabulary study book on tumblr and after some searching I found a website that sells them. Cool Pencil Case has so many cute items. They carry items for stationary (pens, pencils, erasers), Desk items (pencil cases, alarm clocks), they even have phone accessories (though those are limited!). Fortunately they had the vocabulary book I was looking for.
The prices were so good, I bought two of them. When you spend more than $10 you get free shipping to the US and Canada and $4.95 flat rate international. Pretty good deal in my opinion! I was so happy with their shipping and their prices that I will definitely be buying from them again in the future. I want to buy all the cute items, and I've actually started a list of the items I want so I can start buying them up.
Can’t study from a page full of notes? Always losing your flashcards? The Spelling Bee King Vocabulary Book is an important tool for all students, from elementary school to college! Keep all of your definitions and terms in one handy book to pass your next big exam. This book features 5 different color themes in a simple, modern design to separate key terms for each of your classes. Each page has a template to effectively organize terms in one area, and definitions in another. Included is the essential study buddy-- two plastic cards with functional cutouts to hide key terms or definitions to improve memorization!
- Planners are approximately 3.25 inches (83mm) wide by 4.75 inches (121mm) tall.
Like the product description says, it's easy to organise and study from. The cards are plastic and don't feel as if they would rip easily, and they fit into the book without poking out anywhere. There is also a section of pages at the back of the notebook where you can test yourself. Each page is lined and divided into two columns. The option of being able to cover definitions and guess from the words and vice versa is really beneficial, and these books go everywhere with me. My only complaint about the book is it don't come in any other colours. I would have really liked more colours so I could have an easy way to tell the books apart. That's easily fixed though, as you can always write down the spine what language is inside. That way if you're just grabbing and going, there's no need to stop and look inside to make sure you have the right one!
So if you're studying any sort of language and are looking for a beneficial way to study, a cute vocab book like this might be the way to go!
Matte colours are my favourite at the moment. Right now, I only have two (Veruschka and Dovima), but I definitely plan to add more. Right now though, Zoya only has super bright, neon colours, which personally aren't for me, I feel.
I've been trying to rotate through colours so I wear all of my new ones at least once, but I keep coming back to Dovima (and Veruschka).
What Zoya has to say:
Zoya Nail Polish in Dovima can be best described as: Smoky charcoal-black with strong silver shimmer and a velvety matte finish. This shine-free black is the must have shade for fall.
Colour Family Blacks
Finish Metallic
Intensity 5 ( 1=Sheer - 5=Opaque )
Tone Cool
Original Collection MatteVelvet
I like Dovima. A lot. I do somewhat disagree with their statement that it's shine-free. It does have a bit of a shine, in the light, but it's not glossy. That would be the silver shimmer at work. I love the matte colours because I've found they dry a lot faster. By the time I've finished my first coat on all nails, the first nails I've done are already dry enough for a second coat. Two coats is all it takes for me to get even coverage and a solid charcoal colour.
The only thing I dislike about the matte colours is they chip and show wear easily. Fortunately, I haven't experienced that with their other lacquers. Being a matte/velvet formula, it kind of defeats the purpose to use a topcoat. Though I have heard that there are matte topcoats somewhere out there? Anyway, no topcoat makes for easy wear and chip. I'm OK with that though. I'll sacrifice having to reapply, especially because it dries so quickly, for a cool, matte look.
You can buy Dovima here: Zoya
The second half of my Haute Look haul has arrived! This time I bought nail colours. I originally had four colours, but because of inadequate packing, one of the bottles broke in shipment. It really broke my heart! Customer service for Haute Look was excellent, though. When I opened my package and saw the broken bottle, I immediately called them and it took no time at all to process a refund. No hassle whatsoever! I hope in the future they will ship things like nail lacquers in a small box with separators like Zoya does.
I've worn each of these colours already, and will write up a review and swatch for each of them! I'm so happy with my purchases.
Left to Right: Lava Rock, Enduring, Pink Quartz
Barielle's Philosophy
Since our inception over 30 years ago, Barielle has stood apart as the absolute first to practice a progressive “3-free” philosophy on formulation: absolutely none of Barielle’s products contain Formaldehyde, Toluene or Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP)—chemicals that are suspected to be harmful. Instead, we have enlightened the world on safe, effective and natural alternatives such as Keratin, Proteins, Vitamins, and Oil and Plant Extracts.
Not a very long post, I'm sorry. As I'm going to review each colour separately, there's not too much to write about it!
Also, if anyone has any advice on taking better photos and improving blog posts, I'd be glad to hear it! Currently I don't have a camera aside from my phone, which I'm sure is noticeable that I've been using, and even though I've had a blog for a while, it's only more recently that I've been consistently blogging! I'm open to any advice that you have to give. Don't be shy!
With my birthday coming next week, I got some birthday promotions in the mail from Sephora! Of course there's always the free gift that you get every year as a Beauty Insider, but this year I also got a 15% off coupon! I don't remember that from last year! I was also told I can use it over and over again until the 5th. Score more online shopping!
I went with the intention of...well, I actually didn't have anything in mind that I wanted, because I've just bought all that make from Nyx. Wandered around the store for a bit before deciding on a YSL Creme liner. Why not? I mean I had a discount coupon! It's my first YSL liner, and I've been coveting YSL cosmetics since I first became interested in makeup.
I'm so excited to have it. I also picked up a lotion, and the shop girl gave me a free sample of Bulgari's Omnia.
The birthday gift was a sample of the Rose Sugar Lip Treatment. There's a Rosé and a Fresh. I can't wait to use them.
Tuscan Blood Orange Body Butter. It smells so nice and citrusy, I think I might keep it in my school bag as a mid-day wake me up!
I've been dying to add more skirts and dresses to my wardrobe. I suppose with Spring here, I should start adding more colour and print, but black just suits. Velvet fabric was on sale at the fabric store, so I picked some up! Made a simple circle skirt. Super easy, almost no-sew. Of course, the only sewing was to hem it and sew the waistband on, but none of this "panel this, panel that", business! I think it came out quite nice. I've worn it a couple of times, and I have to say I think it's my new favourite skirt.
Unfortunately the only place to take photos in my bedroom is that corner! I hate having photos like this that blatantly show no face, they look silly sometimes in my opinion, but I couldn't get a good photo of all of me. I should probably start using my camera again, instead of my webcam!
