Kate Spade Flatiron small gabi, black nylon with red leather, from Woodbury Common outlet. US$145.97 (S$203.17).
From the Longchamp Rodéo Luxe collection. According to the SA in Singapore, it's called the Sac Shopping. It's brown patent leather, with expandable sides. RRP US$598 before tax. After numerous discounts by an obliging SA at Bloomies (30% + 20% + 15%), I paid US$308.49 (S$429.80). A total steal because RRP is S$1147 in S'pore! I love Longchamp and this is my first full leather one. And patent! Yum.
The interior of the Rodéo Luxe.
From the Nine West outlet at Woodbury. Fully synthetic and marked down to US$26.02. I wouldn't pay more!
Circa Joan & David Dabney sandals. S$69.85 at Century 21.
MoMA Spectrum expandable tote in cool and warm. I chose the warm version. It folds into its own pocket, and there's a zipped section at the base which you can use either to expand the bag or hold something else, like a wet umbrella.
Tote from Tokyo National Museum. As stated on the slip of paper, the print is Hokusai's Bullfinch and Drooping Cherry.
Cotton shirt I got from H&M for US$5 before tax! RRP US$29.90.
Tees from American Apparel outlet (Woodbury Common). Discounted prices range from US$10.50-24, but there was a further coupon discount I think.
My one and only souvenir tee, from a shop in Chinatown.
Tee from the Graniph shop at VenusFort. I only found one I liked, so paid JPY2625.
Back design on Graniph tee.
Cotton polo tees from Uniqlo. JPY3000 for 2. Fabric supposedly wicks sweat away from your skin and protects you from UV rays.
Why is it so hard to find decent gym wear in S'pore? We didn't have much luck at Woodbury Common either, but Gotemba was great. I got these from the Adidas outlet, marked down to JPY3360-3465 each.
I like terrycloth hankies to dry my hands with on the go, and so do the Japanese, apparently. I use and love the ones by Muji, so when I saw them for JPY200 each at the Muji outlet at Gotemba, I grabbed 2. The other 3 were JPY790 for 3 from Uniqlo. Top one is a design by Japanese artist Junichi Nakahara.
Nice made-in-Japan socks from the Nike outlet at Gotemba. Marked down to JPY735 each. Terrycloth hairbands from Muji are another one of my staples, so I got 2 from their Gotemba outlet for JPY300 each.
A soft case for my specs. JPY400 from the Muji outlet at Gotemba.
Shower staples from TBS outlet at Gotemba. JPY420 for the puff (which has a satin ribbon loop I've never seen before) and JPY420 for the gloves.
My one and only perfume purchase. US$281.78 for 50ml. I think the sticker shock was too much for me to buy more! This is the Le Labo that is exclusive to NYC - the ultimate souvenir! I got this from Barney's since going to the Le Labo shop would have been out of the way. My mum likes it too, thus agreeing with most online reviewers ("the essence of summer, bottled"). It's more orange blossom than tuberose and will appeal to anybody who loves L'Artisan's Fleur d'Oranger.
As you can see, my name's on the bottle too :) Created by Alberto Morillas, Tubereuse 40 is an eau de cologne that wears like an EDP, due to the high concentration of oils (30%). Notes are bergamote, neroli, petitgrain, citron, rosemary, orange blossom, tuberose, rose, jasmine, mandarin, mimosa, oakmoss, benzoin, cedar, sandalwood and musk. Trivia: the scent was created for actress Kirsten Dunst for the film Marie Antoinette.
This little shop in Shibuya had lots of souvenirs made of kimono fabric. I chose this particular mobile phone strap for the beautiful bead.
My collection of Tokyo Hello Kitty mobile phone charms. Top 3 are for Asakusa (the middle one actually shows HK pulling a rickshaw). At the bottom, we have HK as a Shinjuku girl and as a Tsukiji fishmonger.
Shinjuku OL. You can get the KT range of bags from Sanrio - I'm not kidding!
Asakusa rickshaw puller.
Asakusa Senso-ji Kaminarimon lantern.
Asakusa geisha drummer.
Tsukiji fishmonger.
Hello Kitty phone charms for Hakone. Top left is HK as a pirate ship captain (we sailed across Lake Ashi on a "pirate ship"). Top right shows HK on the Romancecar train, which we took to Hakone from Tokyo. Bottom left is HK dressed as one of the volcano-cooked eggs everybody eats when they visit Owakudani. Finally HK riding on the Lake Ashi dragon god.
The Romancecar express train to Hakone.
Owakudani vocano egg.
Ship ahoy! "Pirate" ship across Lake Ashi.
On the dragon god of Lake Ashi.
Bought from a shop with an amazing selection of Hello Kitty souvenirs, outside the Tobu Nikko train station. The 2 phone charms at the top are for Nikko (Toshogu Shrine). The one at the bottom I bought just because I was so tickled: it's HK dressed as Hagu-chan from Honey & Clover :)
Toshogu Shrine 3 wise monkeys: see no evil, speak no evil, hear no evil.
As the Toshogu Shrine sleeping cat.
Hagu-chan!
I *heart* Tokyu Hands! Even if you aren't craft-y, there's plenty of really cool stuff to ooh and ahh over. And if you are into crafts, you'll be in heaven. I got a plastic pouch for storing my wet brolly, a sturdy ziploc pouch for taking liquids, etc onto planes, these silicone tabs that keep your bra straps from slipping, and a strap to lash your bag onto your suitcase. Prices range JPY252-819.
Carmex is so cheap and good, it's hard to resist hoarding. I think it's the salicylic acid that makes it so effective for me. I got the Olay moisturiser because it's rare to find an SPF30 moisturiser, and this one for sensitive skin is non-chem. The mascara is actually L'Oreal's regular Telescopic (a disappointment as it wilts my curl). I got the Reviva ALA/DMAE cream and the Na-PCA spray (alt.fashion classic!) when we were stocking up on supplements.
I ordered some Beautyblender sponges for myself and friends, and also a Rubis point/slant tweezer (my HG) to be sent to my hotel. It wasn't easy, but I found the MAC Pro showroom and got myself the water base mixing medium and a pigment in Bell-bottom Blue. From Sephora, I got Phyto 9 (an old fave), Aquis hair turban, PTR Instant Mineral SPF30 brush on powder, Too Faced retractable kabuki brush, and 3 UD eyeshadows (Maui Wowie, Green Goddess, Kiddie Pool). Not pictured: Ole Henriksen Roll-On Blemish Attack - brilliant on zits.
I bought this just because it's retractable. It's soft, but I don't know if it's stiff enough for my liking. Pretty!
The Japanese are lash-obsessed - and so am I. 4 different curlers here, including the htf Preo (JPY3780), Kai mini-curler (JPY560), Koji curler (JPY1890), and Noevir curler (JPY800). Also a spray by Privacy for setting the curl (JPY 900), and 2 eyelash serums (DHC JPY1180 and Avance EX JPY1890). Even though I haven't had much luck with imju mascaras, I couldn't resist picking up the new Dejavu Fiberwig EX (JPY1800). Spotted only at Sony Plaza Ginza.
Instructions for using Privacy Eyelash Curlkeeper. I believe that after spraying the metal part of the curler, you have to shake it to make sure the rubber pad is dry...?
My mascara collection from this trip. I bought and tried both Opera MyLash (by imju) and MM voluminising mascaras, and only like the latter. Kiss Me Heroine (JPY880 each) and MM (JPY1260 each) mascaras still in packaging are all backups, one each of lengthening and voluminising. The pink tube is Makemania Lash Costume mascara (JPY1575). I saw it first at Basic Beauty and was curious.
Mostly eye makeup here. Shiseido Integrate e/s crayons in 3 colours (JPY840 each), Kose Esprique cream liner (JPY2940), Noevir Excel e/s in GL01 and GL02 (JPY1050 each), Palgantong Theatrical Powder in light beige (JPY798 for 10g), all from drugstores. The mirror (JPY550) is from a drugstore too - I got it because one side is 2x magnifying. The Jill Stuart jelly eye colour from Taka (JPY2310) is in Green Butterfly, purple flashing green.
Cream liner (PK 800) and eye jelly (Green Butterfly).
On impulse, I grabbed 6 sachets of the BRTC BB cream at the cashier (3 packets of 2 sachets each). Each sachet is S$2, let me know if you'd like one. I also got this facial sponge (JPY788) that I hope is as good as the HABA one I like so much.
Dried baby squid from Tsukiji market. Delicious as a snack, but I'm wondering about possible recipes to use them in.
Black manju from Owakudani. They use bamboo charcoal in the recipe, which explains the colour, I suppose. Love the volcano-eggs logo!
