Japanese Kit Kats and Narita Airport Pics

Okay, here's really the last of my Tokyo trip pics. ^_^

It was a bit rainy before I left. Not heavy storms but just a light drizzle. It seems a bit odd at first to see so many people using their umbrellas but after walking around a bit, I realized you have to or else eventually you do start to get very wet and your clothes will start to soak too. What I like about Tokyo (and Seoul too) is that so many people walk in the rain and so you always see a parade of colorful umbrellas (in the U.S./LA/SoCal, people like me are always driving and black is the preferred umbrella color, haha).

view from my hotel room

Japanese Drugstore Beauty Hauls

Is this what you've been waiting for? ;) I was going to post more random Tokyo pics but decided to give you the unveiling of my haul instead. So...without further ado, here it is! *applause*

Not everything I bought is for myself, some are gifts and also for my giveaway winners. However I just thought you might like to feel the joy of my hauls, lol. It's probably not as amazing as what you'd dream of hauling yourself. I think what i hauled most was hair care! My hair had been rather dry before leaving (but quickly turning oily on hot days) so I really wanted to start using hair oils etc. in attempt to revitalize my hair to be healthy and shiny again. (Me = Leo, therefore my hair is my crown and shining glory...or it should be! *smiles* )

Back in Cali from Seoul & Tokyo

Hiyee everyone~!!  I'm home sweet home again, and am adjusting back to my "real" life. *cries* ㅠㅠ

I've unpacked and have slept tons (and lost weight! woohoo), but am still sorting through my hauls and taking pics of everything.

In the meantime, here are some pics from my Instagram.

Shopping at night in Myeong-dong 명동

Random Hauls and Upcoming Spring Plans

It's been a while since I've done just a random update, hasn't it? Do you think my blog is boring now?! Wahhh tell the truth. =X

Well spring is just around the corner and for me, I always think of new beginnings. Also guess what? I'll be visiting Seoul and Tokyo next month! Chyeahhhh baby! I've been wanting to go to Korea and Japan for what feels like forever now, but have always had to put it off. This time, I'm just going to do it, like the big (reckless) dreamer that I am.

Today is also the one-year anniversary of the Japan earthquake and tsunami. I am lucky that none of my friends and their families in Japan were harmed at the time, though so many others were not as fortunate.

I remember my friends and I were able to donate through Tabento?, a sushi restaurant which offered free sushi for donations (so instead of paying for our meal, the money we put it was donated to the Japan earthquake relief funds).

sushi, one of my life's true loves

MAC, Venom & Villains, Oh My!!

Hello everyone!! Hope you had a good week and are enjoying your weekend!

Last weekend I went to the MAC Venomous Villains (am I the only one who wants to say Villainous Venoms? haha) event at South Coast Plaza with Iyah, Caroline, Jilly and her sister.

There was a huge display and backdrops set up outside of the store, including an area where the MUAs were applying VV collection on people.

Canmake Face

I feel I haven't shown my face in a while on my blog...it's because, I have no face. =X Kidding, kidding. It's been difficult for me to catch good natural lighting during the day, especially since it's been rainy on weekends for a while. Anyway, I wanted to show how the Canmake eyeshadow palette and lip gloss I'd recently received from Kay during our Secret Valentine exchange, as well as the DHC Q10 Cream Foundation, look on me.

DHC Goodies

I went to the DHC store a couple of months ago. Did you know there are only two retail locations in the U.S.? One is in New York (of course), and the other happens to be in Gardena, California, which is where I went.

Kao Essential Hair Products

I am super thrilled that I finally used up my bottles of Shiseido White Tsubaki shampoo and conditioner, so that now I can use my Kao Essential shampoo, conditioner and hair treatment! (From now on, I will never buy big bottles again. Even though they're better values and you get more for your money, they last way too long for a girl like me who sooner or later wants to try something new!)

End-of-the-Year Blog Sale!!

I've hauled a lot of makeup over this past year and feel bad seeing the items that don't get enough love from me, so here they are, looking for a new home and someone who can give them more love than I can!

♥ Please email me at paperdoll_revenge@yahoo.com to place your order.
♥ All items must be paid for within 24 hours. Pay Pal ONLY!
♥ FREE First Class shipping for US only. Upgrade to Priority Mail and get a tracking number for $2 (recommended). Insurance can be also added for an additional cost.
♥ Discounted shipping for international destinations. Canada $3, Asia & Europe $6, anywhere else, please email me. Unfortunately, no tracking number can be provided.
♥ Items sold AS IS. Sorry, no refunds/returns.
♥ Items include box unless stated otherwise.

Lavshuca Winter 2008 Limited Edition Neutral Set $15
used 3-5x

Sweet Swap with Sweetheart Kay!!

Suuuuuuuper late on posting this, so sowwies!! The lovely Kay of BihadaDiaries and I did a swap a few weeks ago and it was just love!!

Love from Nagoya and My Summer Hair

My friend Jen was visiting from Nagoya, Japan and she hooked me up with some love since she reads my blog and knows how much I love Japanese goodies! So thoughtful and super sweet!!

Random Japaneezy and Nose Pore Pack Review

Happy Friday! So by now, everyone on blog TV knows I love to eat, ha ha. Here are some random Japanese snacks I picked up at Marukai last weekend.

Strawberry Meltyblend...delish! I was told they're called Meltykiss in Japan (true or false?)

Peach Love from Betty at iMomoko.com!!

What Am I Addicted To? Beauty products and Japanese products, of course!

Quick Update on Ze Hair and Video (Updated)

I had every intention of dying my hair "Natural Black"...so much that I bought the dye. And then what happened? Well, I snapped a few photos of my hair...sat in my car, looked at the photos, looked in the mirror...thought about how much time and effort it took to get my natural black hair to a noticeable brown...and truthfully the natural black dye looked darker in person than on the web...ahaha so I ran back into the store and exchanged for "Royalbrown".

I also got my hair cut this past weekend. I asked the stylist to lop off two inches and give me medium-long layers (trying to cut off as much of the old highlights as I could!). My hair feels so much better now and I feel much more presentable!

I have a lot to update...so I did video of everything but had to cut it into 4 parts. I still want to do proper posts so here's just the first part of the video (don't worry, I cut them so the sections will make sense on their own). I'll try to post each night for the next three nights.

Hair Color Woes

It's that time again...I can't decide what color to dye my hair. I know I don't want this current color anymore. Now that the seasons are warmer, my skin tone gets deeper and it just doesn't go well with the current auburn dark brown (cranberrychocolat) hair color. So...should I keep a similar color or go darker?

I'm leaning towards darker but hesitating since there's a good chance in a few months I'll want my hair to be lighter, haha (lighter being a medium brown shade). I'm so easily influenced...I'll see a picture of a gorgeous model in a Japanese mag and want her hair color! But then again, I want a color that'll flatter my skin tone.

Here's what I used for my current hair color (though my hair's not as red, it's actually dark brown on top and gradually fades to a golden reddish brown thanks to my old highlights...I can't wait until I can cut them all off!).

Completely Spoiled by My Sweethearts!! Part I

Two posts within 24 hours?! Craaaaaazy! But...I blame it on Poupee Girl. They have special items for sale and I have to upload lots of pics for ribbons there, so I might as well share my new pics on my blog tonight! =)

I was completely overwhelmed today by the arrival of not one but TWO packages! If I post both, you'd be overwhelmed...and possibly enraged that I could get so much love in the mail (I myself can't believe it)...so here's part one! =)

Yume-chan and I did a second swap for spring and I'm so happy! Though we'd meant to send out on the same day, I was a day late with hers and so received hers first. (I hope you get mine today!)

Japanese Goodies TEASER and More Camera Whoring

I had the pleasure of hitting up Mitsuwa, Kinokuniya, and Mitsuwa (dif location) this week. I am biased but I believe I live by the best Mitsuwa (Torrance), and I also happen to live between two Mitsuwas, woot woot! (Torrance/South Bay and Costa Mesa/OC).

I've been itching to go to Japanese stores but waiting until my contest ended so I could pick up prizes and surprise goodies to send out (although voting is still going on! so please vote if you haven't already). I reallllllllllllllllly want to post what I bought BUT I want everything to be a surprise for everyone...so instead, I'll just post teaser pics of my Mitsuwas and Kinokuniya (I didn't photograph everything so they really are teasers). For all of you Japanese products & magazine junkies, enjoy!!

First stop, the Fits Sexy Girl display...

Drugstore Luck and My Paperchase...

I went to Rite-Aid and got lucky! (Not that kind of lucky...) I noticed that the Physician's Formula makeup was Buy One Get One 50% Off...and at this particular location, they had a bunch of items with Last Chance Sale stickers on them for 75% off! The items I was most interested in didn't have the sale stickers, but a few of the Mineral Wear Liquid Foundations did! However, only certain shades did (not yours, Yume-chan, sowwie)...they were only for Fair Natural, Nude Beige, Creamy Beige and Sand Beige. So instead of being $11.95, they were $3!

I had the usual indecisive-Diana dilemma...I grabbed the last Nude Beige...then saw Creamy Beige...hmmm! hahaha Long story short, the Creamy Beige looked slightly darker with a yellow undertone and the Nude Beige looked slighter lighter with pink undertones, but when worn, Creamy Beige was too light and Nude Beige blended in better for me. Whew! (Girl dilemmas, I tell ya.)

Looming Contest Deadline, Poupee Lucky Bags, and Prize Pics!

This is the last weekend until my contest deadline! Next week, I will post all of the entries and a voting poll to see what all of the ladies think...although ultimately, the decision is mine and it's holistic scoring (no points breakdown).

Thanks to Yume-chan and Yasumi (how cute was your outfit and comment yesterday!), I've become addicted to Poupee Girl...you should all join (Tia and Fuz already have)! Poupee is French for doll, and on the website you create a character and earn ribbons by posting your pictures of your fashion and beauty items so that you can buy dress up items for your Poupee. Right now, they have special lucky bags (fukubukuro...a New Year's surprise bag that has up to double the retail value inside, I learned this from Yume-chan) for your Poupee Girls! Too cute...I've whored out my beauty and fashion products to earn lots of ribbons for the lucky bags, ahahaha.

MAC Hello Kitty, Kracie Hadabisei Mask, and Mini Contest Deadline Extension!

Ahh I don't do well with these damn online 3-day sales. As you know the MAC 25% off everything sale (except Viva Glam) expired Thursday night at 11:59 p.m. EST (or 8:59 p.m. PST). When the sale started two nights ago, I first filled my shopping bag with everything and anything I might want to buy...I quickly filled it up to $503 ($500 is the online limit). Then surely enough, items were sold out and removed from my bag until two items were left this morning (haha). Most of the brushes I had my eyes on were sold out...until Thursday night, I noticed after 8 p.m. that all of the previously sold out items were now marked "temporarily out-of-stock" and could be placed in my shopping bag again. So went the mad dash, and as I typed my damn info to order, the seconds passed and the code expired...HA HA! Similar thing had happened back in November with the Sephora F&F Sale. Online 3-day sales=too much pressure, damnit. =)