The Body Shop Vitamin E Moisture Serum

After finishing up The Body Shop Aloe Protective Serum, I switched to this Vitamin E Moisture Serum. It is chilly now, and it's a tad drier outside as well as inside our itty bitty apartment. Of course, having dry combination skin my cheeks and chin promptly dry up and flake off as well (urgh), so I thought this moisture serum would help.

With my previous experience with 2 other products from this Vitamin E line: the Vitamin E Moisture Cream, which was too moisturizing even for my neck and upper chest, and the Vitamin E Sink-in Moisture Mask, which was too moisturizing for my face but perfect for my neck and upper chest, I do have some expectations for this Moisture Serum being moisturizing. And it is moisturizing, all the while managing to be thin and light at the same time, almost a runny gel! It's even lighter than the Aloe Protective Serum! How odd is that?

Sweet December 2010

Finally caved and grabbed this Sweet December 2010 issue before they are cleared out for the January issue going on sale in the next couple of days. I like that Kitson leopard print tote and matching wristlet, but I hesitated for weeks thanks to that cover photo featuring Rinka.

Now, now, before fans of Rinka flame me, I must clarify that I don't dislike her. She's very pretty and probably moves tons of magazines, hence appearing on many covers. But that's precisely the problem. There must be only a handful of working models in Japan or something, but I keep seeing the same faces over and over! I swear some magazines shoot the same models every month! Exclusive contracts or not, I'm getting frustrated and I demand fresh faces!

That's just one complaint I have with Japanese magazines. The other is not something the magazines themselves can help with per se. I'm talking about those bloated fish faces. Seriously, do these models think they're toddlers or something? No, it's not cute. At all. They ought to keep that face to themselves (and perhaps their special ones at home who they can make those faces to) because it's not something I want to see on a magazine cover. And Rinka, seriously? She's obviously capable of pulling off smokin' hot covers (see below, or even better, google!), why resort to such vomit-inducing cutesy?

***Pictures from Amazon JP.

But I digress. Back to the Kitson tote and wristlet ^.^

Both the tote and the wristlet are made of thicker canvas - note I didn't say thick but thicker, as in thicker than the usual thin canvas.

The tote measures 23 (height) x 26.5 (length) x 10 (width) cm and has no outside or inside pockets.

However, the inner seams are covered with polyester piping.

The bottom of the tote also have double reinforced stitching, so this bag might be able to withstand some weight, though I'm still not sure I would recommend carrying college textbooks with them...

The wristlet measures 10 (height) x 15.5 (length).

To my pleasant surprise, the inner seams of the wristlet are also covered with the same polyester piping. Why the surprise? Because the smaller wristlet is usually the neglected one out of the set, though in this case it looks like both received equal attention, which is nice.

Unfortunately this Kitson tote is not faultless as the finishing stitches on the piping up towards the tote's opening look a bit jumbled as though was done in a hurry.

Also, even though the bottom of the tote has reinforced stitching, the stitching is actually quite...loose. So loose I can actually see through their loops. Oh well, this tote and wristlet are freebies after all.

Good thing this rather thick issue will more than make up for the hasty craftsmanship of the tote. I'll have lots of pictures to ogle.

Oh, and look who I found among those pictures! Soyjoy, huh? Man, that terrible economic downturn must have hit Hollywood pretty hard!

Bubby's Yokohama

Isn't it strange how we flock to similar things when we're far away from home? Hubby and I are suffering from a bit of homesickness and to soothe this heartache (or rather stomach growling) we dragged ourselves to...Bubby's! No, not the one in Tribeca or even Blooklyn, the Bubby's in Yokohama, right outside of the Sakuragicho Station!

Even more ironic is the fact that we've never tried the originals in NYC... ^.^ But who cares? We needed major reminder of an American burger, and with recommendations from a few fellow Americans we trusted Bubby's to do the right thing.

Actually, this is our 2nd time there, as the first time was a couple of weeks ago with N. after watching Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part I at a nearby theater. We were so excited that night that we swallowed up all our food before I could even think to snap a picture. That time N. ordered a shepherd's pie, hubby got a BBQ pork sandwich which he loved, and I got a bacon cheeseburger, which was delicious saved for the fact that my thick-cut bacon was chewy and not crunchy and I prefer my bacon on the burnt side...Not very healthy, I know, but this is only an occasional treat for me and hubby, so it's okay. What?!? You Americans don't eat hamburgers 3 meals a day (or so according to popular Japanese stereotype)?!? Erhh...no, sorry to disappoint, but these Americans rarely eat burgers at all, even in America...

Anyway, the same thing happened this time, and the 7 Spices (Herbs?) Chicken Sandwich we ordered disappear before I could immortalize it in my digital photo album. It came topped with marinara sauce along with a white sauce that looked like ranch, I couldn't tell. Either way, it was delicious and needless to say, it didn't last long xD

After inhaling the chicken sandwich, we were more calmed so I could take pictures of the nachos plate, which was small even tough it was supposed to be a full size (by Japanese standard, I guess ^.^). It was good, needed more salsa, but not bad.

The last time we came here with N., I was dying for buffalo wings but they were sold out by the time I ordered. I finally got my wings this time around, and as apprehensive as I was, I'm happy to report these are buffalo wings indeed! No funny business here xD The only thing that was missing were celeries and carrot slices. And they didn't have any ranch, which was too bad since me and blue cheese don't mix. Hate that stuff. Yuck. When we left, we even bought a bottle of the buffalo wings sauce the restaurant sells, though we're not sure if they were just selling them or it was actually the sauce used to make the wings we ate. Ha...what a bunch of homesick silly fools we are...

For the life of us we couldn't figure out who makes this sauce because, well, only every buffalo wings' sauce out there claims to be world famous. Seriously, can't these folk think of, say, a more unique name than "World Famous Buffalo Wing Sauce"?

This is the fresh pressed orange soda, basically several medallions of orange mashed up with soda poured on top. Tasted just like a fresh squeezed OJ soda ^.^ Yummy! They also have lemon or lime versions, though I think I favor the orange best.

A Day Out in Minato Mirai!

Hubby and I decided to take a stroll through the endless malls of Minato Mirai, partly because, well, we simply haven't been yet. Hubby walks through them every day to get to class, and I never really go there, except for a few occasions where we always head straight to our targeted destination and didn't really walk around.

It was chilly outside, but we spent most of the time inside so I wore shorts again ^.^

A pretty Christmas tree inside one of the malls, though I don't remember if it was in the Landmark Plaza or Queens' Square...

Boy, let me tell you, walking around for hours is such a great exercise! It's good for our hearts and our stomachs, as in, burning off some calories in preparation for Bubby's buffalo wings ^.^

Yoshinoya Part II

Had a craving for Yoshinoya yesterday and saw that they're having a new menu item. I suppose the dropping temperature means it's time to make some kimchee soup with rice, but I see a variant of this dish everywhere right now! Shichirin Yakiniku AnAn had a similar kimchee rice soup (their version had eggs and shiitake too!), and I was just at the grocery store today when they were pushing all sorts of kimchee broth and soup base!

But hey, I'm not complaining ^.^ I LOVE kimchee!!! Yoshinoya's tag line for this new menu item is "Cheap, Spicy, Delicious," and boy they're dead on! Yum!

See my previous Yoshinoya post.

Lancome Effacil

Been using a deluxe GWP of this Lancome Effacil. This is supposedly a gentle eye makeup remover, and to be honest, it's too gentle and not as effective as my good ol' favorite and reliable Bi-Facil. This Effacil is similarly fragranced as Bi-Facil with a strong rosy scent, but other than that there are no similarities between the two.

***Picture from Lancome USA.

Effacil is a simple liquid eye makeup remover and it doesn't have any layers of silicones. I can see why it's gentle, and unlike Bi-Facil I like that I don't have to clean off any excess liquid with a tissue since it would dry up instead of leaving my eye area oily.

However, that said without that silicone layer it's not as effective for an eye makeup remover. With Bi-Facil I just have to use 1 cotton swab per eye to remove all eye makeup, basically 1 end to remove the bulk of the makeup and the other to clean up. But with this Effacil, I have to use more than 2 cotton swabs per eye, meaning it takes about 3-4 times the effort (and cotton swabs/balls/pads!) to remove the makeup before I can even clean up! To me, this takes away the whole point of the supposedly gentle eye makeup remover, since I had to (gently) rub my eyes and lids more and for longer to get the makeup off. Back to Bi-Facil I go.

Budget English

I know I'm not being very mature with this post, but LOL! And from Seven Eleven too!

My second pair of shoes in Japan

...is another pair of Vans!

Not sure what the heck is going on here. May be it's the gingham I kept falling for? Actually, I took a chance with this pair on 2 counts, the color yellow and the sizing. I was iffy about getting yellow because the last pair of Vans in yellow gingham had this greenish tint when I went to check it out in person at the store. This pair the store didn't have, so I crossed my fingers and bought it from Amazon Japan.

Size wise, the last pair of Vans I bought was a size 23.5 Japan, which according to online sources it's comparable to a US 6. When I tried it on, it fits, but when I walk, every now and then my heels would fall out O.o So with this pair, I took a risk and went with size 23 Japan, half a size smaller. I was fretting whether I had made a stupid decision this is, well, a different pair of shoes after all and even though it's also Vans, sizing inconsistency within the same brand is unfortunately common.

This is a size 23 Japan, and if it's any consistent it should have been comparable to a US 5.5, but the flap actually says US 6!

And the fit? Umm...loose -.-' It actually feels even larger than the 23.5 and I could have gone half a size smaller! The strange thing is that upon lacing up, my feet felt comfortable instead of swimming in roomy shoes. I am guessing this is due to the more fitting toe area (my toes are thicker than most people?) and you can sort of see how the front of the shoes narrows a little bit. We'll see if this comfort keeps up with some wear. At least I'm pretty certain my heels won't be falling out with this pair!

Sephora got me again!

Well, I shouldn't complain. I got a hell of a deal! ^.^

This time around, Sephora sent me a $15 gift card, and I used the GETAWAY promotion below. I bought a face and eye travel tool kit, and a highlight brow kit. Scoooooore!

$15 gift card from Sephora

GETAWAY promotion for orders $25+, enter code "GETAWAY" for the below 10 deluxe samples and a Sephora travel pouch.

Pizza Pizza

It just occurred to me and hubby that we haven't had a single slice of pizza ever since stepping foot into Japan. Why, you ask? Because...well, see for yourself.

Is that broccoli? Yes. Crab claws? Yes. On a pizza? Yes. What's that dark lumpy stuff? I'm not sure myself.

From Domino's, no less, not that Domino's was all that great at home to begin with. Sorry if I'm being snooty about my pizza, but you'll have to excuse the fact that I haven't recovered from my 4 years stint in Jersey and I don't know if I ever will (cheap shot here, sorry Jersey, I do miss...your food...). Trust me, even if you're completely easy going with pizza before, Jersey will completely re-educated you with its pizza standards. Seriously, goddamn I miss my pies T.T

Among all those, umm, tantalizing options there are only about 4-5 that looks anything like a pizza. The rest are pretty much Japanese food spread out on flat and rounded pieces of dough and topped with cheese. I'm all for open-minded with food and I'm happy to see multi-national businesses going all out to cater to the local taste, but this is...going a bit far, at least for me. I'm sure someone here would appreciate this yumminess, but I'm not ready to stomach this localization...yet. May be someday hubby and I will work up the courage to try, but for now, we'll just stick to our fond memories of the good ol' pepperoni pie.