Japan Haul

Hey guys :)

Last week I went to Osaka with my family for term break and I went shopping there. We visited a few cool places like Tokyu Hands (up till the trip I had been calling it Tokyo Hands) and Shinsaibashi. The shopping bug struck me and I couldn't help myself because I, like most others, am a hard-core shopper and consumer of... things.

Before I start I would like to say I am in no way showing off about what I have purchased. Just wanted to clear that up!

Starting off with the most exciting purchase: a polaroid printer. I decided to purchase this because the day we went the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, the exposure went crazy on all my polaroid pictures due to the sun. With the printer, you can use your phone to take and pick the photos to print. The outcome is a high-def polaroid that maintains the vintage quality of polaroid cameras.

Another exciting purchase: an iPod nano. I really needed an iPod to store my growing music collection and my phone was running out of storage (curse you mysterious Other storage that I can't get rid of!). Space grey seemed like a nice colour for the iPod so I went with that. It's such a funny little electronic, so different to the iPod nanos of the past. Truthfully I prefer the 4th or 5th generation nanos but unfortunately they don't sell that anymore. 

'Midnight Kiss' on repeat!

Japan is basically Stationery Wonderland. In Y5 I was seriously obsessed with stationery. I hauled 3-4 pencil cases to school everyday, filled with gel pens, glitter pens, felt tips and other unnecessary bits and bobs. I do like stationery now but I'm not as crazy about it as I was back then. Still, in Japan I had to fight off the urges to buy pens, lead pencils and notebooks. Japan takes stationery to a whole other level. In Hong Kong you get the basics with a few gems. In Japan you are exposed to the whole treasure chest. I luckily managed to restrain myself and did not buy fifteen pens.

L-R: Pilot Acroball, Zebra Colour Flight, Bic ballpoint pen

The same happens with pencil cases. I found this one in Tokyu Hands, and it was slightly less expensive in HK so I justified buying it.

You all know I am a lip balm hoarder. The selection in Japan was incredible but I narrowed it down to two; of course one of them had to be a Baby Lips lip balm (the berry flavoured one with a limited edition Fashion Week tube), the other a mint-scented Shiseido lip balm. The packaging of these two are one point!

A crystal nail file

In Monki I picked up this set of coloured bobby pins. Coloured bobby pins are in right now, and I really like the rose gold ones. 

missglamorazzi recently came out with a video on how to style coloured bobby pins so check it out!

Near our hotel was a ginormous Forever 21. My brain nearly shut down with excitement when I got there because it really was a shopper's paradise; it was huge. The decor was also really nice and everything was set up well. I picked up several accessories there because they have a wide range for not that expensive. 

These ear cuffs are slightly different to the normal ear cuff. These ones have a part for your standard piercing but than goes up the cartilage. I'm always up for trying new accessory trends because you never know when you'll find one that suits your style. Speaking of accessory trends, I keep seeing the hand band on the internet. Seems pretty cool!

Aside from simple chain necklaces, I have recently started wearing crystal point necklaces. They are so fun and tumblr-y.

I also purchased two sweaters; one a nice, warm rust colour and another one in a grey-tinted mint.

That is all for today's haul! I stayed up late last night to watch 'The First Time' for the first time (heh) so I'm preettyy tired. I'm going to end it here but I'll see you guys next week xx

October Favourites

Hey guys!

It's time for my October favourites! October was a pretty chill month; the weather got colder (as I keep mentioning), I made a ukelele during CAS week and my family and I went to Japan during half-term break.

Again, like last month, I'm starting with the biggest favourite of October: a TV show. It's called 'In The Flesh' and it's a BBC Three show. A friend introduced it to me a few weeks back and I've lost my head over it. The show is about zombies (Partially Deceased Syndrome sufferers) but it doesn't contain the typical gory element. It has a very original plot with a realistic insight on problems that people face today (depression, suicide etc).

There are a whole range of characters; you have your tormented individuals, a few bad guys, the supportive ones, the not-so supportive ones. I really do think Luke Newberry is a good actor, and he portrays Kieren Walker well. I don't want to spoil anymore because I want you guys to watch it for yourselves :)

But I just have to say Simon and Kieren have been aded to my ongoing list of OTPs, alongside April and Andy, and Captain Swan.

ITF only has two seasons and it's on the verge of cancellation, which would suck since they left season 2 off with a cliffhanger. If you watch the show already, continue to spread round #saveintheflesh, and if you're new to it go watch it and go give it some love and support.

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I would also like to add 'American Horror Story' to this months favourites. I'm usually not that into the horror genre but I guess the Halloween spirit has gotten to me! 'Asylum' was a particularly good season, and I'm excited for what 'Freak Show' has to bring. So far Twisty has a very deranged sense of fun, with all the kid-kidnapping and whatnot.

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Music favourites

1. Union J

I remember last Winter when I obsessed over Union J. I supported them through their X-Factor journey and when their album came out I immediately purchased the deluxe edition. As the year went on my passion for the boyband died down. For some reason watching ITF got me back into them. Possibly because Luke Newberry looks a bit like George Shelley, and ITF and Union J are both English... They came out with a new single 'You Got It All' last week but my favourite track has to be 'Where Are You Now' from their first album. I feel like it reflects the whole Siren OTP right now because it's on that 50/50 line. Anything that connects to my OTPs is good! 

2. 'Midnight Kiss' - Propellers

I found this gem hidden in one of the 8tracks playlists I was listening to a while back. It's one of those songs that you can't help bobbing your head along to. Finding this song to download was a problem because I couldn't find the band on iTunes - it's possible they don't have one. But back to the point: really good song with both thumbs up from me.

3. 'Thinking Out Loud' - Ed Sheeran

Wow. If you've seen the music video for this track, you'll know what I mean. The dancing is flawless and Ed Sheeran surprised me; all this time I thought he was just a guy with a guitar. Apparently not! Great song with a beautiful music video to accompany it.

4. Gabrielle Aplin

'English Rain' has been on constant shuffle while I've been studying or sleeping. It has a nice, relaxing vibe to it with soothing tunes and poetic lyrics. My favourites out of the album are 'Please Don't Say You Love Me', 'November' and 'Panic Cord'. 

Other favourites

1. This necklace

I found this rose gold A necklace online and bought it because a. A for Andy and April and b. I'm still into simple chain necklaces! The rose gold makes it very dainty and it stands out from the typical gold and silver.

2. Barley tea

Months ago I discovered barley tea in City Super and it immediately became my favourite drink. They stopped selling it a while after and I was like aw. In Japan, however, it was available everywhere. It has a rice-like flavour to it with a sweet aftertaste, slightly similar brown rice tea. 

3. This purse

I purchased this Rip Curl Pharaoh purse from Zalora after my old one broke and I'm quite impressed with it. It's roomy enough to fit all my things but isn't bulky at all. I really like the design that's pressed onto the front; it's decorative and simple. Zalora shipping only took a couple of days and the quality of the purse is good. I would recommend Zalora because they sell brands that are not easily accessible in HK, they have a wide range of products and shipping is free over $150!

4. Maybelline Baby Lips Electro in 'Oh! Orange!'

Two of the Electro Baby Lips are now available in Hong Kong. The Maybelline stalls have started selling 'Pink Shock' and 'Oh! Orange!'. Being an avid consumer of Baby Lips, I was eager to get my hands on 'Oh! Orange!'. The colour of it may seem overwhelming but on the lips it is a nice coral-y tint. It's a perfect product for someone who can't commit to bold colours and needs a moisturising product (aka yours truly), and for $29 this tinted lip balm can't be beat.

I love writing these posts so much, I've already started thinking about next months favourites! Anyways, have a good day and I'll see you next week xx

Guardians of the Galaxy-Inspired Outfits

Hey guys :)

We are a week into school and I guess you can say I've survived it! This year I've started carrying binders, and let me tell you, binders are hideously annoying. Yes, I understand they are useful but they just take up TOO MUCH ROOM. Everyday is a struggle to see how I can tetris everything into my locker. If you feel the same pain, just know you aren't alone on this one.

Anyways, going back to today's post. Firstly, if you have not watched 'Guardians of the Galaxy' you need to go out right now and grab tickets for the next one playing, because it is honestly one of the best - if not the best - Marvel movies I have ever seen. I would elaborate more on this but you'll see what I have to say in full in my monthly favourites, which so happens to be next week.

The first outfit is inspired by Peter Quill, aka Star-Lord. His outfits have this retro, laid-back vibe, and he is never seen without his trademark red leather jacket or headphones and walkman.

Bag, Boots, Headphones, Skirt, Shirt, Earrings, Jacket

Inspired by

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Next up on the list is Gamora: adopted daughter of Thanos, killer assassin, and gorgeous in green. Her suit consists of all black leather, but we are sadly not living in the Galaxy and full leather is impractical *sad face*

Shirt, Shoes, Pants, Necklace

Maybelline Baby Lips Electro in Berry Bomb and Pink Shock, available at Dudes HK

Kevin Murphy Colour Bug hair chalk, available at iPrivatei Salon

Inspired by

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Lastly, Nebula. Although she's a bad guy, she is a seriously kick-ass bad guy. One of the things I was most inspired by was her makeup, and all the layers to it. Looking from her face makeup, there are a lot of hardware components of which the origins are unknown. Oooh, a mystery!

Skirt, Boots, Bag, Chain Bracelet, Ear Cuff, Cuff Bracelet, Tank

Inspired by

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And I am done! All clothing items and accessories are available in Hong Kong (I made sure of it!), or online on websites that ship to Hong Kong. To check for more info on each piece, click the words below each collage. For some reason my blogger template gives me no option to make the click- through links more visible; now you now that they actually are there. Have fun creating these outfits and you can totally change any component if you don't find the exact one :)

That's all for today and I'll talk to you next week xx

Summer Tag

Hey guys!

As you may know, we're now in the middle of summer! I thought it would be fun to do a tag, since I haven't done one in a few weeks. Apparently there was a spring tag that I did not know of, so as compensation I will answer questions from the summer tag!

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This tag is from the blog Hollisters Happenings (or Hollistershappenings) so make sure you check it out.

Let's start!

1. What is the best part about summer?
I love the sunshine during the summer, especially on those days when the sky is blue. Most of the time the sky in Hong Kong is all muggy and horrible, so on those where the sky is clear, I savour the sunlight.

2. Do you tan or burn?
I tan, but my face gets red super easily when in contact with warmth.

3. Favourite summer nail polish?
Summer is a time for bright nail polish, and I really like "Kiss Me On My Tulips" my OPI. The formula is great, it's fully opaque in two coats, and it doesn't take forever to dry!

4. Favourite summer drink/beverage?
Recently I have been drinking this Japanese milk that tastes like coffee. It's nice and refreshing, especially when chilled.

5. Favourite summer clothing item?
Skirts all the way! I know you can wear skirts in the winter as well, but they don't keep you warm enough. I own several skirts in different colours and patterns, all circle skirts which I wear high-waisted.

6. Favourite current app during this summer?
Lately I've been using Snapchat more often. I find the concept of it really handy and fun.

7. Favourite summer movie?
I don't have a favourite movie for the summer, to be honest. However, I have yet to watch "The Fault In Our Stars" and "Guardians of the Galaxy" this summer, so that might change.

8. Favourite summer beauty product?
Are hair products counted as beauty products? Anyways, I love sea salt spray during the summer because you get nice texture and waves without having to physically go to the beach every day. I am currently using the Professional Ocean Spritz Sea Salt Spray, which I picked up in Bonjour. It has a smell that's hard to describe, but it smells pretty good.

9. Favourite summer activity?
No particular favourite, but I like going bowling or swimming.

10. Favourite type of lip product for the summer?
Lip balm, always. Personally I've never had sunburnt lips, but I slather on coats of lip balm during the summer to avoid them. The one I am using right now is the peppermint Burt's Bees lip balm. I also like tinted lip balms, such as Maybelline's Baby Lips in Berry Bomb.

So those are my answers! I tag anyone who reads this to complete this tag, so have fun with it.

And have fun during this summer; stay safe and be happy.

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See you xx

Review: Baby Lips in Grape Vine #20

Hey guys :)

How have you been doing? School is almost out and I am dying for summer. There are so many things I want to do, such as go on more walks, catch up on my reading, and do more DIY posts! Today's post is a review on a Baby Lips lip balm in Grape Vine #20.

Yesterday I went to Dude's. Again :) They had started selling the Baby Lips Dr. Rescue lip balms and I wanted to try them out because I am obsessed with Baby Lips. When I was in Dude's, I was looking through reviews of the Dr. Rescues. Many bloggers discouraged readers to purchase them, because of the smell, weak pigmentation, and cheap packaging. Grape Vine caught my eye and I was SO happy to find it. I have been wanting this particular Baby Lips for a really long time, but Dude's never seemed to have it in stock. Fortunately, there was one more on the shelve so I snapped that up.

Ok, first things first: the packaging. I am in love with it! I am a huge sucker for packaging just because. The bright teal and fuchsia compliment each other well, and the bright colour is perfect for summer. The tube is also really easy to manage, and it is compact enough to slip into a small bag or pocket.

Of course, I didn't only buy it for the packaging! When I first saw Grape Vine, I fell for the colour. For lip colours, I either like really pale pinks (like Cover Girl's Lip Perfection Jumbo Gloss Balm in Ballet Twist) or purple-y pinks. This lip balm fell in the purple-y pinks category; I would describe it as a mauve-y purple.

As you can see on my hand, the pigmentation is quite sheer. It was a lot more sheer than I thought, so that was a little bit disappointing *sad face*. Nonetheless, it would be a good colour for school because it's not too dark or purple, and it gives a flattering sheer wash of colour to my lips. 

Grape Vine is on the right, and next to it is Berry Bomb from the Baby Lips Electro collection. Berry Bomb is my absolute favourite out of all Baby Lips because I love how vibrant it is on my lips. It is definitely my holy grail, go-to lip product.

The lip balm claims to have a moisture-staying power of 8 hours. I'm not entirely sure on this account because I tend to reapply after 2-3 hours. I do like how moisturized my lips feel when I'm wearing it, and it doesn't have that gross, waxy texture many other lip balms have. Another awesome thing is that it smells like grape candy :)

So to sum it all up:

Pros:

• cute packaging
• compact size
• nice feeling on lips
• good texture
• yummy smell

Cons:

• not as pigmented as I had expected

Overall, I like this product. It didn't fully turn out the way I had expected it to be, but I still really like it. If you are looking for a lip product that is moisturizing and isn't too in-your-face, I would recommend Grape Vine!

My Baby Lips collection!

That's all for today, hope you enjoyed today's post. Have a good day/night!

Leave a comment down below and don't forget to follow Love From Icy on Bloglovin or by email!

April 'Smalls' Haul

Hey guys :)

Before I begin, here's an update of the week:
1. My friends have been begging me to watch The Big Bang Theory since forever. I finally gave it a try and now I am in love with it! I would have never thought I would be interested in a show like that, as it revolves around Science, and Science to me is meh. Nonetheless, I highly enjoy the show! Howard's hair is absolute perfection, and I admire Jim Parson's ability to keep a straight face through all the jokes and funny bits. If you haven't picked up the message, GO WATCH IT!

2. I finally changed the strings on my guitar after 5 years (when I bought it). The new strings are wonderfully bouncy, and I can't wait to play more songs.

Anyways, today I have my first haul! During Easter break, many shops came out with new Spring/Summer collections. I went shopping several times and picked up some really cool stuff. A few posts ago I mentioned that I would be doing this haul post; technically yes, but not of everything I purchased. The clothing is really hard to capture on camera as they take up a lot of space, which I don't have at the moment. So, I've decided to do smaller things such as accessories, beauty products etc, as the title suggests.

As a disclaimer, I am in no way bragging about the things I have purchased. This haul is for me to give my opinions on the products, and to tell you about the new things in store so you can go pick them up yourselves!

So going back to the last day of term, I went to the Mannings in Shatin Plaza to see if I could find the new The Amazing Spiderman 2 x Revlon nail polishes I saw online. Unfortunately I couldn't, but I came across their mini OPI stand. On the bottom shelf where minis were displayed, there were pairs of polishes that were on offer for $79. I picked a pair up as OPI is normally sold for $70-$80 per bottle in Hong Kong. The colours are 'A Grape Fit' (mentioned in THIS post) and 'Lights of the Emerald City' from the OPI Oz The Great and Powerful collection. I really like 'A Grape Fit' and 'Lights of the Emerald City' is really unique as a glitter topper.

From H&M I bought this pair of floral plimsolls. The pattern is so fun, and the colours go well together.

From Typo by Cotton On, I first bought a tin of mini floral polaroids. I stuck a few on my wall as decoration to add some colour. 

I also got a blue-lid glass jar. I'm not quite sure what I'm going to use it for, but I know I'll definitely use it!

At the checkout there were little basins filled with bracelets for charity. This one in particular caught my eye; I love how the closure plays a big part in the overall design. Also, the colour is really bright and colourful.

Now on to Forever 21! I picked out several items from their, as they have a really big variety of accessories. First, a flower crown! I have been wanting to make/buy a flower crown for ages. This one is perfect because the flowers aren't too exaggerated, so I don't look too weird. 

I was running low on rings because many of them have started turning pink. I got this really cute silver laurel-esque midi ring, and a pair of gold-toned rings. I'm planning to wear the gold ring with red and blue on my right pinky, a little bit like how Alex Turner wears his Death Ramps ring on his right pinky :)

Next, a pack of crease-less hairties. I love these hairties because they don't crease my hair, and they look great when layering arm candy.

Of course if I went to Causeway Bay, I would have to go to Dude's. I bought a small bottle of Air body mist. It smells like pears and flowers, and it's pretty good.

Now for one of my favourite purchases: Baby Lips Electro! The colours I picked out were "Berry Bomb" and "Pink Shock". I am absolutely in love with them because the colours look really nice on my lips, especially "Berry Bomb". 

Online, I found this really cool iPhone case which I desperately needed as my old one was falling apart. This one is so tumblr-y, with the whole 'rad' thing, the polaroid, the TopShop socks...

The best purchase saved for last: new earphones! I was on a minibus going out and I wanted to listen to some music, and I realized the right side of my earphones were broken. I literally was like NOOOOOOO. So I obviously had to get a new pair. I really liked the Cloud earphones that my friend got for me for my birthday last year, so I bought the exact same pair in a different colour scheme. Before owning those earphones, I wasn't that into in-ear earphones. I'm so glad I got used to them because they are better for my ears than... non-in-ear earphones... if that makes sense.

Phew, finally finished! There's a lot of stuff but I have been collecting these things over a period of 1-2 months. Tomorrow's the first day of term and I am genuinely terrified. Before we get back to school, I can't sleep the night before, and I worry about things that I shouldn't worry about. But I do... Anyone else out there who feels the same? :/ But nonetheless, I wish you good luck for tomorrow, whether you're going back to school, to school, to work etc.

That's all for today. Have a good day/night!

Leave a comment down below and don't forget to follow Love From Icy on Bloglovin or by email!