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* )

2011 Beauty Favorites

Hiyee~!!  This is my Best of 2011 List.  This year I was a bit boring; I used a lot of favorites from the year before and didn't try a lot of products until near the end of the year, so I think it's too soon to say they were my favorites.  Many of these products I have not had a chance to review so I will do so as soon as possible.  For now, I'll just say a quick quip about each. :3

My Beauty Diary Mask Earl Grey Tea & Macaron Sheet Mask
My Beauty Diary is a winner in my book because of products like this.  Super cute packaging, cheap, but works well and immediately.

Beautylish Spring Trends Preview Event & Swag Bag

*Extremely long and pic heavy post!!

I know you've prob read a lot of blogs about this already, and although I really wanted to post this sooner I didn't have time until now, so please forgive me as I've been busy and hardly home these days.

I had the pleasure of attending Beautylish's LA event last Tuesday at the W Hotel in Westwood (West LA).

I'd met the Beautylish team last summer at IMATS but unfortunately was not able to make it to their first LA event back in October, so there was no way I was going to miss it this time around!

Since it was on a weeknight I went straight after work and braved good ol' 405 traffic for about an hour and a half, joy. But you want to know the truth? I actually kind of missed going to LA...I used to commute and go for fun a lot also, and didn't realize that it'd definitely been a while.

pic from my iPhone and transformed on Instagram

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.

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!)

Birthday Love From Bihada Diaries!!

So by now you know, I got quite a lot of birthday love...this one is from Kay!! She really did not need to send me anything as I'm still enjoying all the goodies she already spoiled me with from our previous swap, but she did! That sweet and thoughtful and generous girl!

ahhhhh lots of JDM goodies!

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!!

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!).

mark Flip For It and Reviews

Last month I'd wrote that I won the My Pretty Pink Box October contest. My prize was the mark Flip For It palette in South Beach. It's really nice! Thank you, Linda at My Pretty Pink Box!!

Weekend Goodies

I went to Mitsuwa yesterday where everything was 20% off! (Excluding alcohol, cigs & dairy products. 20% off sale is this weekend only, so you can still go today!)

I also took my nephew with me for the first time and he loves Mitsuwa. We were there for over an hour, maybe close to two hours. He even bought himself 2 wooden swords! They are black and pretty nice...real life size. He told me he's going to use one for his Halloween costume next year. (Sorry...I didn't take any pics of his swords, haha.)

Here are the goodies I got!

Shiseido White Tsubaki Shampoo & Conditioner...I've been eying this for months!

New CranberryCocolat Hurrrrrr...

Finally I had some time to get a hair cut and bang trim this past weekend! Woot woot. I'd noticed my layers had grown out and my hair just seemed long, straight and boring! Don't believe me? I'll show you! Nevermind, I'm too embarrassed to show the ragged state of my hair...but here it was before my hair cut (hair color dye L'oreal True Match 5N, the lighter parts of my hair are from highlights back in April):

Love at First Scent

This candle is seriously yummy in a warm way. I went with my sister to Target and came across this delicious soy candle. It's called "Harmonize - Tea Leaf & Papaya (Peace And Tranquility Soy Wax Candle)."

Peace and Tranquility is a collection of fine fragrances combining aromatherapy concepts with ancient cultural beliefs. Carefully selected fragrance are combine to balance the mind, body and spirit. Create an ambiance of warmth and serenity, while softening your spirits with scents of the tropics. Tea leaf, a haven of purity with origins from sun-drenched Asian fields, revels in its blend with fellow anti-oxidant, papaya fruit. Bring peace and harmony to your home with this fine fragrance.

Hair Today, Dye Tomorrow

I admit it...I'm addicted to dying my hair.

From the time I was 16, I've had red highlights, purple highlights, and all various shades of brown hair and highlights (sometimes stepping dangerously close to blond or brassy orange-brown). I'm fortunate that I have genetically nice hair butI also have very thick hair, lots of it and long, and naturally jet black hair...so changing my color every other season has its challenges.

Anyway, these days I'm not so fixated on my hair color and opt for a more natural look, close to my natural shade so the maintenance won't be high (yuck to black roots with hair 4+ shades lighter). I also want my hair to stay healthy, regardless of the many changes I put it through, and I don't want the hassle of going to a salon (color charge, tip, fitting your schedule into your hair stylist's, waiting, traffic, etc.) so I turned to box dye...and look what I found.