new posts will be at tokyokuri

I've decided to consolidate my blogs for simplicity, so new posts will be at tokyo kuri with the "materialism" label.

Japanese perfume guide to Paris

I just found the coolest site in Japanese, explaining the locations of key perfume landmarks around Paris.

Now I just need to make my way over to Paris in my copious free time. With an unlimited budget.

In other news, Parfums de Nicolai needs to offer sampler packs, given their limited distribution. Apparently the candles and such can be easily found online in Japan, but not the perfumes.

wishlist: Casual Style Up Baggy Pants from Uniqlo

I tried these pants on a week or two ago at Uniqlo - very nice! I don't really need any more pants though, so I'm waiting for the price to drop to half off or less. I hope to take a look at their suits this weekend.

image from uniqlo.com

Tina Fey talking about Hillary Clinton

Found this at The Lipstick Page Forums Blog. An excellent piece by Tina Fey regarding people's opposition to Hillary Clinton.

mini review: Lip Balm SPF 15 by Kiehls

Summary: overpriced Vaseline? As a product, it's okay.

Pros: SPF 15, 15 ml of product.
Cons: so-so moisturizing, faint bad taste, looks like petrolatum, overpriced for so-so moisturizing, not fond of the slanted tip applicator. I guess I like stick lipbalms for better control in application.

This is such an apparently popular product that I was really expecting something more than Vaseline, but I should have paid more attention to the ingredient list and tested the product out. For twice the price I can get the Sugar Lip Balm by Fresh for fantastic packaging, a great scent, and great moisturizing properties all in a stick. Or for one fifth the price I can get the same product from Vaseline.

lemming: Color Fever Gloss in Burning Up by Lancome

I'm not such a big Lancome fan, as their popular Bi-Facil eye-makeup cleanser was somewhat oilier than I expected and stung my eyes. So I've never paid much attention to their products. However, at a friend's recent wedding, the makeup artist put the loveliest shade of a rich reddish-orange gloss on me. Burning Up is quite a suitable name, as the shade is rather fiery. The website swatch doesn't do it justice (at least on my monitor). So, although $23 + tax is quite ridiculous to spend on gloss (although I've spent more), I will be stalking the airport duty-free shops for this color.

mini review: Honey Foaming Jelly for Body and Hair by L'Occitane

Summary: I don't like the smell, and the jelly texture is inconvenient.

I'd been intrigued by reviews online and picked this up on sale this past winter. I'm very glad it was on sale, as I don't like the scent of this product at all. It's kind of astringent and medicinal to my nose. Also, the jelly is a bit unwieldy in my opinion; it's slippery. I suppose I prefer more of a lotion thickness, where I can control application easily. I love the scent of L'Occitane's Honey and Lemon, so I was surprised to really dislike the scent of this older product. The new stuff by L'Occitane intrigues me though, such as the Ruban d'Orange line. It is similar to BLISS's Shine line for Sheraton, but easier to find.