Asience Shine Therapy Shampoo TW

Bought this Asience Shine Therapy Shampoo after having had a good experience with the Nature Smooth kind in the silver bottle. This was the day after our arrival into Taipei late at night and so I wasn't paying much attention to what I was buying. So despite having Japanese on the front of the bottle, this is actually a localized product, made in Thailand, and not a Japanese import, which I have noted with a "TW". Again, this is not a comment on the quality of the product, but if you were to buy the Japanese made one, be aware that it may or may not perform the same way this one does.

My Walk To School

Just thought I'd share with you my daily 1+ mile (~1.8km, each way) to and from school with you ^.^ It's been cloudy and rainy for the first couple of weeks I've been here, September is peak rainy season apparently. And then this glorious sunny day with clear blue sky came out of nowhere and I just couldn't resist snapping away. This really is the walk *from* school instead of to school, because I was in too much of a hurry to stop and take pictures in the morning :P

Let's start at my school, Chinese Culture University (中國文化大學)'s Mandarin Language Center located in the Daan district of Taipei. I pick this school over some well known ones in the vicinity because I'm studying Mandarin out of pure interest, rather than for academic (or even work) reasons. I'm not new to the language. It was my college major and one I haven't used for a decade (my work has absolutely nothing to do with either of my degrees, ha...), hence this schooling is more of a fun "refresher" and I sure don't need to torture my brains with Mandarin bootcamp for a second time. 

Bliss Fabulous Every Day Eye Cream

I have a large sample sachet of Bliss Fabulous Every Day Eye Cream that became a real life saver when this Taiwanese humidity melts even my trusty BeautyMate Nano Eye Essence T.T When my eye makeup started creasing after just a couple of hours, I panicked and scrambled to find a lighter replacement. In the mean time, I thought this would hold me over temporarily. Funny enough, I ended up sticking with it because it's been working out so well!

***Picture from Sephora USA.

Clinique Clarifying Lotion 2

I have been using this Clinique Clarifying Lotion 2 off and on since college, when my skin was much more oily and not dry combination as it is now. I picked the Lotion 2 over the Lotion 3 or 4 because, well, they scared me. Lotion 2 is chock full of alcohol as it is, with alcohol being the very first ingredient! Crazy, isn't it? This was the reason I stopped using it after going through a few bottles, first trying out the alcohol-free Mild Lotion for a while before losing interest in Clinique toners altogether. 

Pond's Pore White Cleansing Oil

The very first skincare item I bought upon arrival in Taipei was this Pond's Pore White Cleansing Oil. I didn't have an oil cleanser, because I purposely didn't bring one with me ^.^ There were lots of other options from Naive, Softymo, and Biore, etc., but I've tried all these before and was looking for something new. This one from Pond's fits the bills, and plus they were having a promotion at my local supermarket, 2 for NT$300 (~ USD10, they're normally NT$200 each). Next time I'll check out the local drugstore as they carry a wider brand variety than the typical grocery store.

Maybelline ColorSensational Pop Sticks

I bought these Maybelline ColorSensational Pop Sticks at a local drugstore when I was in Seattle attending a family wedding. A few months prior, I had read about a higher end version, the Clarins Instant Smooth Crystal Lip Balms, but weren't too thrill about the absurd $25 price tag (really Clarins, $25 for a lip balm? Do I look like a bank for you to rob?). These Maybelline ones are much more palatable in terms of prices, being just $5 each, cheaper if you have coupons and promotions. Even then, $5 was still a bit higher than what I would pay for a lip balm. Yes, I'm cheap like that, because I know I can get better for less, like the better-than-expected Sephora Hot Hues Neon Lip Balm I got for a mere $3! 

Left to right: 100 Pink Lollipop, 110 Raspberry Ice, 120 Citrus Slice, and 130 Fruit Punch. All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

Itty Bitty Apartment Part II

After a restful night at Howard International House Taipei, we took a short taxi ride to the apartment building to meet with our landlord. The whole thing was rather nerve-racking since I found the furnished apartment on Craigslist Taiwan. Prior to moving to Japan, at least hubby's institution referred us to our landlord in Yokohama. But going to Taiwan we were on our own and it could turn out very very badly. But thank goodness it didn't. In fact, the place exceeded our expectations and then some!

Left: front of my apartment building. 

Right: standing at the front gate, looking left. 

Left: standing at the front gate, looking directly away with my back to the gate.
Right: standing at the front gate, looking right.

Howard International House Taipei

Hubby and I spent our first night in Taipei at Howard International House Taipei since our plane landed at 10:30PM local time, a tad too late to be meeting with any landlord ^.^ We also went with their airport pick up service since we didn't want to have to deal with public transportation, not knowing when the last train/bus stops running and such. Let's just say thank goodness we did, because by the time we got our luggage, it was already 11:30PM and the poor driver had been waiting for 1 hour! The ride (in a poshy Mercedes ^.^) from the airport to the hotel was another 30 minutes, and when we got to our room, it was 12:30AM on the dot! 

Sephora Hot Hues Neon Lip Balm

Was surfing the Sephora clearance around several months ago and spotted this Hot Hues Neon Lip Balm in Hot Pink on sale for a mere $3. I scooped it up out of curiosity. It reminded me of the Maybelline ColorSensational Pop Sticks I bought at the local drugstore while attending a family wedding in Seattle last October (will review soon), also out of curiosity. Before that, last summer I had read about a higher end version too, the Clarins Instant Smooth Crystal Lip Balms.

Hot Hues Neon Lip Balm in Hot Pink. All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

L'Occitane Plum Blossom Skin Moisture Gel

Brought this L'Occitane Plum Blossom Skin Moisture Gel with me to Taipei, expecting crazy humidity. This is a 2.5 oz. travel size bottle that was a part of the Delicate Embrace Set I bought last year, which also came with another 2.5 oz. of Plum Blossom Polishing Shower Gel (gifted to mum in law who loves shower scrubs), a 1 oz. Cherry Blossom Hand Cream, and a 1.7 oz. Cherry Blossom Soap (still haven't used this yet!).

A Delicate Embrace Set