Tokyo Haul

Hey there!

It's no surprise that I went shopping in Tokyo, so check out my haul video below!

See you! x

Snapshots of Tokyo

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This summer I was lucky enough to go on another holiday, in addition to the previous Singapore trip. My dad, sister, and I stayed in Tokyo for a few days. It was a very tiring trip, what with the five hour layover in Osaka and the daily walking, but it was a lovely trip! 

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What I love about Tokyo is that the setting sun is absolutely beautiful. The sky turns different colours before becoming totally black. I always thought the sky at night would be a navy blue, but that's only Hong Kong and its light pollution. Tokyo's sky is dark enough for you to see stars.

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People in Tokyo are so friendly. The ones working in shops and restaurants always smile and are polite. Here's a snazzy little anecdote for you: I was ordering a chai tea latte in Starbucks on our last day. The guy at the counter was very patient when I gestured at the menu, attempting to order the drink with soy milk (aside from the standard greetings, I know nothing of the Japanese language). At the pickup counter, a soy latte was called out; I knew it was mine because of the 'soy' and the 'latte', and nobody else was ordering. I asked the employee there if it was a chai tea latte, she took a look at my receipt, apologised, and remade the drink. After, I handed her a plaque the guy at the cashier gave me for soy milk. I think she just realised I wanted soy milk, because she apologised again and remade it again. What I'm trying to say is, it was most likely my fault for the order mixup as the counter guy probably didn't understand my pointing at the menu. It must have been hard or frustrating to take an order from someone who speaks no Japanese, and have to remake a drink thrice. Still, the girl was super nice about it all!

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I love that there are toilets available literally everywhere in Tokyo. This sounds deranged, but toilets are quite important, especially when travelling to different places. The weather was hot during out stay, so rehydrating was important. Of course, we were bound to have to use a toilet at some point. Many restaurants have there own toilets, and they're clean. I'm just going to leave it here before it starts to get weird!

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The food, of course, was amazing. We had sushi, ramen, curry, and crepes - unfortunately we couldn't find a tempura place around. One of my favourite meals we had was in a restaurant with a machine to order food (pork cutlet rice with egg was our pick of the night). These restaurants are common in Japan, inexpensive, and the food tastes good. Before our trip I researched about Tokyo sights and eateries. One blogger claimed that even the cheaper ramen in Japan tasted better than the ramen from where she lived (America? Australia?). I think I have to agree with her; the ramen we had was definitely tastier than ramen we've had in HK. 

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Train culture in Tokyo is considerably different than in Hong Kong; passengers are prohibited from taking or making calls. Being the noob that I am, I forgot this rule one train ride and took a call from my mum. Unsurprisingly, I got stares until my dad and my sister quickly reminded me. I can just imagine the chaos is would cause if Hong Kongers were not allowed to answer their phones, but the people in Tokyo stick by it. 

Overall, I had a great time; I feel that I've soaked up a small part of Tokyo culture from our stay. Be sure to keep an eye out for my coming Japan Haul video!

My links are on the side bar, or you can check them out on my 'About' page.

I'll see you next time! x

GoT Binging and Lemon Crepes | July Favourites

Hello all!

We've reached the end of the month and so it was time I did my July Favourites. Check out the video below!

Have an awesome day! x

I've Been Thinking Too Much | 10 Things

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One. I stayed up late last night to an ungodly hour (into the AM if you're wondering) and watched Marie Antoinette, directed by Sophia Coppola. Whew, what an extravaganza of a movie! Marie Antoinette's frivolous lifestyle makes me wonder a. how did nobody point out that fact that she was wasting millions earlier, and b. did she not get tired of wearing all those dresses and wigs. I like how the movie was a historical film, yet it was refreshingly modern, what with the snappy, guitar-filled score. Oh, and now I am craving all sorts of desserts; the Ladurée macaroons featured in one scene looked divine. It's a wonder Marie Antoinette didn't get any cavities from her constant snacking on pastries and cakes! 

Two. Having no luck with finding a comfortable pair of ripped-at-the-knees black skinny jeans, I DIY-ed my own. I am absolutely in love with them. The knee rips make wearing long pants in HK's humidity a lot more comfortable, and overall they just look good. I'm not scared to admit that I feel like a total badass in them c:

Three. In honour of National Dance Day, I would just like to say that I am loving my dance class at the moment. After so many years of no dance classes, a couple of months ago I took dancing back up. I've forgotten the thrill of dance class; with each lesson I get to improve my technique, learn new routines, and generally have fun. Plus, the additional exercise does no harm! We recently learnt a routine to The Weeknd's 'Can't Feel My Face' and, despite me not being able to spin quick enough within a beat, I'm enjoying everything. 

Four. When I came back from Singapore, a group of friends and I went bowling. This was when I found out that my bowling game seriously sucks. I haven't been bowling in forever, so I guess I should cut myself some slack. Even so, a little disappointing considering bowling's fun, I used to be able to strike, and my score would be above 50.

Five. This one's a given, but I've been active on Tumblr everyday. It's strange to think that I've reblogged quite a fair amount already, yet that's only a slither in the Tumblr universe and there's more to come. Not to be all self-promo-y or anything, but check out my Tumblr here! It would be awesome to communicate with you guys and answer any questions. 

Six. Last week I got really annoyed with my Essie top coat; the tip wear was ridiculous! I was so done with it, and decided to purchase another bottle of Seche Vite. The ingredients used to make it aren't the best, but it really does work. I'm wearing Sally Hansen's Lacey Lilac right now, and it's held up nicely for a few days already. 

Seven. With the endless hours of freedom, I used that time to make things. My better creations out of the lot are a clay bowl, a chevron wire ring, and a crystal bullet choker. I attempted faux druzy pendants, but haven't quite got the grasp of it yet. When I do, I'm pretty sure there'll be a tutorial up on this blog!

Eight. I have been listening to Twenty One Pilots, nonstop. They came to Hong Kong last week and - sob - I didn't go. I regret not going very much as I have really come to love their music. Blurryface is another one of those golden albums; all of the track are favourites of mine. I haven't listened to Vessel enough to add it onto the list, but I am pretty sure in the future it will be on there. 

Nine. Though I didn't go to the concert, my sister did. She showed me a few videos and pictures she took, and Tyler Joseph was wearing one of the most gorgeous kimonos I have ever seen. I am currently on the lookout for one like it, so if you have any ideas where I can get one that isn't too expensive, please let me know! And yes, Tyler Joseph's outfit game for the concert was on point. He's been sporting black-grey paint on his arms and neck for his Blurryface alter ego, and it actually works on him. If I ever tried to do that, I would probably end up looking like I fell into the drain!

Ten. The cork board over my desk was getting a bit cluttered, so I revamped it. I updated the polaroid pictures, rearranged my rings, and printed out a few new Tumblr images. That being said, I just couldn't take down Sassy Sangster; his expression is basically me on the inside. 

Ahhhhhhh, it was good to get all that off my chest! It's nice to blog about stuff like this; there's no pressure to confine to any structure, and I personally like reading these types of posts. If you're new here, hi, I'm Hazel! All my links are on the sidebar, so go ahead and pop me a message!

Lastly, it turns out that this is my 100th post. Wow. I normally don't really go into too much detail over blog statistics, but in my eyes, 100 posts is a milestone. Thanks for all your support, it really means a lot to me!

I'll see you soon! x

My Eyes Crave New Material: A Book Wish List

Now that summer's here, I definitely have more free time. I do wish to spend that time wisely, and read more to fulfil my New Year's resolution. It's crazy how books can affect us; as I've seen on Tumblr, yes, I do agree that reading is essentially 'staring at dead wood for a couple of hours while we hallucinate'. So many books are being published these days, and I really feel that I'm missing out. Below is a list of books I'm looking forward to reading!

images are not mine, found around the web

1. 'Finding Audrey' by Sophie Kinsella 

I have always been an avid reader of the 'Shopaholic' series, as Sophie Kinsella portrays Becky Bloomwood as a funny, charming, and relatable character. 'Finding Audrey' is a book primarily aimed at the YA audience, and I'm interested to see how the theme of anxiety is interpreted. 

2. 'China Rich Girlfriend' by Kevin Kwan

A sequel to the upbeat and hilarious 'Crazy Rich Asians', this may be the book I am most excited to read. Asian literature is one of my favourite book genres, because though I live in Hong Kong, the situations depicted in these books are so different to what I experience in my life. 'China Rich Girlfriend' picks up where its previous book left off, continuing the story from Rachel's point of view. All the characters are extremely entertaining, and I can't wait to see how everyone reacts to the wedding.

3. The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare
I simply can't pick one out of the three books in the series; I must finish the entire trilogy. A friend introduced The Mortal Instruments series to me, and I was hooked. Most of my free time between the exam period was filled with Starbucks-and-reading breaks. I've finished the first five books from TMI, and was recommended to read TIF before starting 'City of Heavenly Fire'. The world of the Shadowhunters completely sucked me in, allowing me to de-stress from exams and how much I procrastinated from studying.

4. 'Anna and the French Kiss' by Stephanie Perkins
You know me, a regular sucker for chick-flicks and all things predictable! I hope this book will be a fun, light-hearted story with a fairytale ending to wrap everything up.

5. 'The Wrath and the Dawn' by Renée Ahdieh
One of the bestsellers found on Book Depository, this book is based on 'A Thousand and One Arabian Nights'. I have always found that tale compelling: a ruler marries and kills women as vengeance for his wife leaving him; he marries one that manages to prevent him from killing her by telling him stories for a thousand and one nights. Many authors have adapted the story, tweaking details to make it their own. I am eager to see Renée Ahdieh's take on the well-known story.

6. 'The Miniaturist' by Jessie Burton 
I think what attracted me to this book was that it seemed similar to 'The Night Circus' (one of my favourite books ever) in terms of themes and the mood. I have literally no idea what this story is about, and yes, I could read the blurb, but I always feel that some blurbs just spoil too much. All I know is that it's set in an earlier time period, and historical fiction is another favourite genre of mine.

To be honest, I could still extend this list; these past few months I have been checking up on Amazon and Book Depository for recommended books. I suppose I should start this list first before jumping onto another; that would defeat the entire purpose of comprising this list!

What have you been reading lately, and what would you recommend?



I'll see you next time! x

Singapore's Gardens by the Bay - The Flower Dome

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Hey there!

If you've seen my latest post, you'll know that I visited Singapore last week (cheeky plugin - check out the vlog here!). We went to Gardens by the Bay, Singapore's plant and flora park. In that park are two domes: the Flower Dome and the Cloud Forest. Everything was absolutely beautiful, and I managed to take a few pictures of its displays. Enjoy!

for the Potterheads out there!

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From the Cloud Forest

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I'll see you next time! x

Adventures in Singapore

Hey there!

Today I have for you my promised Singapore vlog. Check out what I was up to in Singapore!

How's summer going along for you? I know I haven't been keeping up with the blog lately; my schedule has totally fallen apart! With summer, I get more time to film, write, and do other things, so it will be temporarily suspended. I'll definitely still be posting, just probably not on Sundays. Look out for more frequent(ish) vlogs coming your way! To make sure you don't miss any posts, follow me on Bloglovin here, where the post will appear on your dash when it is published. Alternatively, pop in your email on the 'follow by email' feature on the sidebar to receive email updates when I post.

I'll talk to you in my next post! x

May/June Favourites

Hey there!

As I'm writing this, my shoulders are burning and my back aches. Anyways, here's my May and June Favourites! I've been putting in more effort lately with my channel, tweaking the cover art and adding thumbnails to videos. Thumbnails, surprisingly, are really fun to make!

See you soon! x

"It Smells Like Summer" - Early Hours

Hello all!

I hope you've been doing well. I apologise profusely for my unexplained absence these past few weeks; all will be explained in tomorrow's video! But a quick breakdown: the past few months have been filled with studying, exams, and not much else, so I decided to take a break until summer. Summer is finally here and to kickstart it, my friends and I went to the beach. Check out my vlog below!

See you all very soon! x

The Body Shop Foundation - Dragon Fruit Lip Butter

Hey guys!

School starts in a few days. Eeeeeep.

Today's post is a review on The Body Shop Foundation's Dragon Fruit Lip Butter, as you can see from the title. I picked this little guy up a few weeks ago and I'm here to tell you my thoughts on it!

First things first [I'm the realest]: details. This product is a project The Body Shop is working on to raise money for select charities around the world in the categories of human rights, animal protection, and environmental protection. The list of ingredients is long, but the main thing is that the lip butter includes plenty of natural oils and Shea butter, which works wonders on the lips. For the full description of the product, click HERE (linking the Canadian site because the Hong Kong site is currently down and the description is the same). For more details on the project, click HERE.

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So it is imperative that I highlight/praise/gush about the packaging. As said before, I am the biggest sucker for packaging, and this lip butter instantly caught my eye. I don't even remember what I was doing in The Body Shop, as I rarely go in! Anyways, the colours are supposed to resemble the colours of a dragon fruit. It reminds me a lot of a pop art piece of work, the colour palette something Andy Warhol would have worked with. It's fun, it's bright, and the pair of lips on the front gives it some sass. I am definitely loving the packaging! The size of it is convenient; I can easily throw it into my bag and find it amidst the junk everything else.

The smell is absolutely divine. It has a strong dragon fruit fragrance with hints of mango and peach mixed in; the combination results in fruity, summer-y goodness. Some people may not like the smell as it can be quite heavy, but it's a winner for me.

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reminds me of this scene!

The consistency of the lip butter resembles what it is named after: butter. Personally it feels like melting butter, the kind that you would leave out of the fridge to use for baking. Then again, lip butters and balms tend to 'melt' slightly in hotter climates, and Hong Kong summers definitely count as one. To prevent this the lip butter could be chilled in the fridge, but it's not that much of a bother to me. The creamy, rich formula feels great on the lips. 

Although it comes off quite opaque on the lips, it turns clear when you rub it in well. I prefer to apply this at night to let it properly sink in. The outcome in the morning is a pair of soft, hydrated lips.

Admittedly, the price of this lip butter was a little bit steep ($79). I normally try to stick under $50 as the Burt's Bees lip balms have kept me satisfied and my lips moisturised for $49. Nonetheless, 100% of the $79 goes to charity. They have set it up in a system where when you pay at the counter, you get to vote for which charity you would like to donate your money to. The selection of charities differ around the world, and in the HK stores they include Half The Sky Foundation, Lifelong Animal Protection Charity, and Clean Air Limited Network. The winning charity, out of three charities, will get 50% of all that The Body Shop receive from selling the lip butters. The second will receive 30%, then 20% for the third. I thought it was a pretty good concept, and I handed over my money guilt-free :) 

all from google images

I voted for Half The Sky in case you were wondering!

Overall, I am really enjoying this product. The price is a little high, but aside from that it's something you should definitely consider buying. The smell is yummy, the packaging rocks, it is moisturising, and it's all for a good cause. Plus, these lip butters only come out during certain times of the year so make sure you snap one up before they are gone!

That's it from me today, and I'll see you next week xx

Summer Fun | Ryze HK

Hey guys!

Today my friends and I went to Ryze, the new trampoline park that recently opened in Quarry Bay. It was a fun and unique experience, because I've never been to anywhere like that before.

We went for a two hour session, which they call 'flights'. At the counter you sign in with a waiver, and instead of a ticket they give you a wrist band, its colour co-ordinating with the length of time of your session.

If you plan to visit Ryze, you may want to book ahead as many of the flights filled up quickly.

The room is split into several sections, with a dodgeball area, basketball area, and two foam pits.

It was extremely hard (for me at least!) to come out of the foam pit. Let me tell you, THE STRUGGLE IS REAL.

I have to say, the playlist blaring through the speakers really enhanced the atmosphere. We were all bouncing to the likes of Ariana Grande, Imagine Dragons, and Lorde. Even "All About That Bass" came on during our flight, and I was totally jamming out to it!

Overall, Ryze is a thumbs up from me. The environment is comfortable, the staff are friendly, and there is a lot of variation to the activity. If you haven't checked out Ryze yet, be sure to do so soon. 

Address:

321 Java Road, 3/F, Quarry Bay

Hong Kong

Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ryze/487715874674050

Have a good day 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