frillish

Monday

• daily
• beauty
• reads

Hello, happy Monday

I went to the dentist today, which is one of my favourite activities I can’t explain it, but I always feel so nicely taken care of at the dentist’s, so I’m really happy whenever I go. I told them I love coming to my appointments and they were so happy

Recently, I bought a bunch of treats from Trader Joe’s

I got a bunch of the frozen kimbap (repacking them so they don’t get mixed up with my housemates’ purchases) and the seasonal lemon sheet cake I cut it up to freeze, but tried a slice and it’s SO sweet! Definitely a treat

With fresh produce, I’ve been making goji berry kale smoothies I really only eat goji berries around summertime since I always associate them with smoothies, so it’s really nice to have a sweet treat!

Our friends invited us to enjoy Honda-ya I haven’t had it in a long time, so it was fun to go! This was part of the bigger friend circle, so they wanted to share a super tall “beer tower”. It was my first time seeing one

The boys wanted more so they got a second tower, but then… they struggled to finish it

Tried their poke salad, and the cucumber appetizer Both were really delicious! I need to learn how to make the cucumber salad myself…

On Saturday, I wanted to try a cute date brekkie at BAUM Tea & Coffee since I saw they have cute souffle pancakes and tasty coffees! But OMG, I didn’t expect the prices to raise by around 50% compared with what was shown 2 months ago according to menu photos in reviews once I got there in person. So like, the custard bear rose a whole $5 in just a few months The drinks rose a bit too.

I guess it’s average price around here but it’s tough to order a $9 latte pre-tax.

I felt bad about it but the manz said he knew I’d like the custard bear pancake so I should order it anyway, so I figured we can enjoy it once and maybe not come back for a while lol

So we got the custard bear to share I also ordered their ube espresso latte, and the manz got a cafe latte. Their espresso is so strong! This was another day my manz said I was “tweaking”

The bear isn’t as jiggly as the cat pudding, but I loved seeing how soft the bear was! The taste was really eggy and airy as well - and not too sweet at all!

After the breakfast, we went to try to find some delicious hummus. The manz thought the mediterranean market would be good to try, so we went to visit & he got a super big bread

We ended up getting their fresh made hummus, but… it honestly just was okay. Also, it was pretty expensive! Just around the same cost per lb as my current favourite hummus, Little Sesame.

After this, we were thinking we should just try to make our own hummus.

For dinner, we went to Habuya Okinawan Dining

Yes… it was in the same day as our brekkie! I usually don’t like to go out twice in the same day, especially if it wasn’t a special occasion, but the manz was busy on Sunday so he suggested just enjoying them fully on the same day.

After I went last time with my dangie and my bro, I thought my manz would love this place so much, and he was absolutely charmed! We spent some time thinking about the various decor

We got the peanut tofu appetizer, which was small, but extremely delicious!

It’s similar to a sesame tofu dish we tried somewhere else before that I forgot lol… but I think it’s homemade tofu. I really enjoyed it

This time, I ordered the garlic miso salmon special dish that I saw last time and OMG it did not disappoint. I’ve never had a salmon dish that tasted like this… It definitely would’ve been nice to eat it with something like rice, but the taste was phenomenal

The arrangement was so pretty as well… I didn’t know where to dig in

Since Habuya is next to a grocery store, after enjoying dinner, I finally got to satisfy my ice cream craving that I’ve been having for weeks!

Recently, Holo has been super cute on her walks

With the leftover ube latte, I made a strawberry ube second serving of it the next day. The espresso was so strong it still overpowered the new additions I put in hehe

At Tokyo Central last time, I saw this cute seasonal variant of &honey’s pixie hair oil… which was SO cute I almost checked it out right away. Like, look at that cat top!

However, I decided to wait on the thought of it for a bit, and decided to order it from Yamibuy where it’s a little cheaper. I like this oil a lot more than the melty moist version - I think pixie is meant for fine/lightweight hair like mine, so it’s really nice

I think I can continue to use melty moist for when I blow dry my hair, and pixie for finishing

I Found Puppets Living In My Apartment Walls

Ben Farthing

Goodreads

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐★

Genre: Horror

TW: Puppets (lol), gore, vore?

Summary Johnny chases the possibility of his beloved late Grandpa's puppeteering body being alive again, but he ends up heading deeper, and deeper, and deeper. How did this apartment get so big?

Opening Line The first night I slept in my missing grandpa's apartment, a puppet came out of the wall and stood over my bed.

I haven’t reviewed them yet, but I’ve also read this author’s previous books: I Found a Circus Tent in the Woods Behind My House and I Found a Lost Hallway in a Dying Mall. Apparently, these are books kind of in a similar style but are standalone and don’t need to be read in any order! This one is probably my favourite of the ones I’ve read!

A bit House of Leaves-like at a point, this story is fairly strange and needs a bit of suspension to enjoy fully, but what fun tale doesn’t? In general, the story of this kind of reminded me of the many indie horror game playthroughs I like to watch in that its gore horror can be pretty upfront and then there are… unexpected moments.

A quick read so I blasted through it, but really, most of that was because I just wanted to keep knowing more and couldn’t put it down! I had a few laughing moments too as the writer has a clever way of putting together some phrases that make it entertaining to read

The author typically includes an afterword at the end which includes his reason for writing that story, which I really enjoy! I’ll try to review the other books some time as well, but I really like this series something horror-lite, like a ‘beach read’

Nowhere

Allison Gunn

Goodreads

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐★

Genre: Horror

TW: Child loss, freaky children

Summary Tragedy-struck couple Finn and Rachel try working through their dissolving marriage and grief, surrounded by guilt over the loss of their son in an accident. However, as disturbing crimes and disappearances of children in their town start to pile up mysteriously similar to local folklore, they find they need to see how to repair what they can to survive.

Opening Line 'Uh, guess again, Charlie.' Rachel glanced at her two girls, the keys in the ignition swung two and fro. Her dark aviator sunglasses hid her disapproval. Nevertheless, she was sure Charlie knew exactly how Rachel felt about her going out to Roanoke with Gemma Thopmson while Alex, her brother, served as the sole chaperone for the outing.

To start this review, I’ll mention that I don’t typically like these themes: violence targetting children (even if by horror) and toxic marriages. I just don’t really like those tropes that much, but I thought I’d try reading this as it’s popular with a “small town horror” theme.

The premise of this book feeling rather “folklore-y” in a small town is always a fun read! I was surprised to see that this is the author’s debut novel as I thought overall it was a pretty sooth read - I couldn’t stop reading it, even though I kind of dreaded it.

To be honest, I really disliked all characters in this book and especially one of the protagonists particularly - and I’m not sure if we’re supposed to dislike this character. They made a lot of decisions that felt more annoying to read rather than a realistic portrayal. I rather like flawed character depictions, but this was more like… I couldn’t care about their issues because they were so unlikeable (LOL).

Overall, I think the story was fun if not quite bleak/disturbing and I kept wanting to know more, but the execution ended up a bit messy. I would read another book by this author, but this specific story was just okay to me!

Japan Buys

• travel
• fashion
• beauty
• stationery

Hello I’ve put together this post to share some thoughts about some of the cute things I brought back from Japan I ended up with actually quite a bit of extra space and allowed weight in my luggage, which makes me wish I bought more lol, but after reviewing my buys I feel like I got plenty enough!

Clothes

I did not actually go shopping for clothes that much since I was trying to save clothes shopping to be done with my friends - two trips to 109 (once was just an evelyn trip, basically) and one crossover of Shinjuku Lumine EST. I did get a lot of cute socks as well though, since those are fun to pick out in person. In total, I got 1 dress, 4 tops, 1 skirt, and a pair of boots from Evelyn, and a black bow ivory top from Pium.

In retrospect, I think it would’ve been better to revisit the malls more than once moreso to see what’s available and compare items, or just think over them for longer aside from the items I already knew I was planning to get. Also, trying on clothes is really fatiguing, so it would’ve been nice to space it out more. Some brands I hesitate to buy from when overseas, but I was too tired to try them on in-store to get an idea of their sizing, so now I still don’t know how those brands would fit me

I’m really happy with my purchases because I’ve been wanting the plaid sweater for a few months, and only the pium black bow top and evelyn skirt were “new” items that I hadn’t originally planned to buy during this trip and were cute items that I ended up liking in person. I do have the evelyn dress and sheer sleeved top in different colours now, but they’re such great items that I don’t mind doubling up on the colourways

The boots though!!! I am SO happy I managed to snag this pair which was the last one in stock; it also became a heavy driver for this trip since it ended up being pretty rainy and is soooo comfortable I remember asking Jume if she could help try it on in November a little bit after it released, but I hesitated to buy it, but when it went out of stock I was so sad… but to my surprise, one last pair was sitting in store waiting for me!

Since I’ve been phasing out of wearing most blouses, tops were something I really wanted to try on in person to see if they work out well for comfort

For socks/tights, I picked up the Tabio Nudey tights that Sarah recommended in “Ecru Beige” - a little lighter than my skin colour, but better than darker - which was my experience when I picked up a random “Light Beige” tights from Tutuanna that somehow ended up making me look SUPER orange… sigh. As for the Nudey tights, I really love them - they’re super comfortable! I think I’d just really like them to release a S-M size since the M-L size is a little long and bunches on me, but it’s not too noticeable I think.

I got a few pairs of pink hairclips and accessories from Lafary, Pium, a random accessory store, and Kiddyland. I really liked the tiny bows, though I kind of wish the ivory ones were white, they still look very useful for coords!

And… I submitted this Liz Lisa order at the airport because my trip unfortunately did not coincide with their newest releases, so I’ll just include it here because I basically bought them with my trip

I didn’t find anything I really wanted in person at the store in 109, but, I should’ve checked over the other Liz Lisa locations for a few pieces I really wanted Since I waited until the end of my trip to do most of my clothes shopping, I didn’t end up having time to revisit the other locations. Oh well - saved money from those to invest in the new collection

The floral setup I am in LOVE with, most of all because: classic florals! but also: it’s actually, genuinely, incredibly, so so so soft. I was… incredibly disappointed with Liz Lisa’s last floral setup because I can barely wear it without lots of skin irritation due to the material choices they made However, this one is SO soft and I’m really happy I can actually wear it.

I picked up the new armwarmer bustier top since I was waiting for a white/white colourway of one instead of white/pink And finally, a white colour of the popular double layer skirt - I sold my pink one previously because I’m not a huge fan of wearing jirai’s muted pink, but I really loved the fit and look of the skirt overall and don’t love wearing black enough to get that colour, so white is really perfect

I also got the light pink rose hairclips to pair with some of my other outfits

Skincare / Hair / Body

Lots of hand creams (Kiss Me Hand Cream fragrance free, Country & Stream Honey hand cream, Mentholatum Hand Veil Cream golden citrus, yu-skin hand cream in various scents), Premio toothpaste, and Lion acne cream Not pictured are the ones I opened and are using, which is one more of the yu-skin hand cream and the Premios

So, I brought some hand cream to Japan but it did not work very well and even Sarah got shocked at the sad state of my eczema So while these hand creams don’t specialize in eczema, I thought bringing back a few good ones will be helpful since I tend to love Japanese hand creams. Actually, the konbini next to my airbnb stocked the yu-skin lotions so that’s why I got many

Thinking back on my buys, I only opened and tried the yu-skin and the Mentholatum hand veil a bit before buying a bunch of the yu-skin. Though I like the yu-skin enough, I think what would’ve been better is to open them all and try them out to see which one to stock up on The Kiss Me and Mentholatum creams are nice because they “dry” faster, while the Country & Stream and yu-skin creams are more “oily” (both dry in a few minutes though) so they’re all good for different occasions.

I read that Premio toothpaste is especially good for reinforcing weakened sensitivity. I don’t actually have this issue but my manz does, so I bouhght a few extra to bring back for him to try. Though… for now I’ve been hogging it because I love the clean feeling after using it

While I don’t really have that many issues with acne anymore, I figured the classic favourite Lion acne cream was cheap enough to pick up (it’s like $4ish) to keep on hand in case. And of course, I broke out a bit after all the cheesecakes I ate, so it worked out I’ll have to keep trying it for a while to see how effective it is for me

&honey melty moist Chiikawa set, &honey melty moist hair oil, &honey melty hair mask, Momori hair stick, jemile fran hair treatment

Yes… I bought the shampoo/conditioner set because it’s Chiikawa. It’s so cute! As for the two other &honey items, I decided to try them finally as they’re popular online, but after trying out the oil I’m not super blown away - the pump dispenses too much oil and so far it’s alright, but it does smell really nice at least! It does work very well if you use it prior to blow-drying your hair. The manz immediately complimented the fragrance

My typical hair mask is either fino or tsubaki (I use both), but decided to try the &honey one as something new. I’ll have to try it after using up my current fino mask, which is almost out!

This is a bit silly, but I intended to buy either a hair mask or a hair oil (either is fine) from jemile fran; however, I accidentally ended up buying a conditioner.

By total luck I found the matching hair milk for the Chiikawa &honey set at a different store (that didn’t sell the shampoo/conditioner set ), and after trying it a bit I like it more than the melty oil! At least… the pump doesn’t dispense way too much, so it’s easier to use casually

I thought the packaging for the momori hair stick would be cuter based on the outside packaging, but it’s just okay I haven’t heard anyone using this brand’s take on the hair stick yet, so I figured I’d try it as I like most of their other products

Their products are known for a sweet peach fragrance, and somehow, this hair stick also has it! - but only a bit I don’t really recommend trying to smell it. However, it applies lighter than the &honey one which applies too heavily for me, so I already like it a lot! This one is probably better for me for daily wear, while the heavier sticks would be great for something like an all-day event or sports.

Kose Make Keep Mist (sakura limited), Momori stick sunscreen, Allie sunscreen, 2 refills of Matsuyama high moist toner, and eyelashes No. 204 On Party + tweezers from Dinty (I would typically categorize eyelashes as makeup lol, but it’s in this photo so oh well)

I heard this makeup setting spray is incredibly popular, and as I’ve mostly moved to using cushion foundations on the regular, it melts off a bit easily in summer, so I’m hoping this setting spray will help The packaging is very cute and light!

The Momori sunscreen stick is one I’ve never seen anyone use before, but jumelle recommended it, so I figured I’d pick one up to try. I’ve actually never tried a stick sunscreen before The Allie sunscreen has been one I’ve always wanted to try, but buying it from the US is a bit pricey, so I figured now is the best time to pick one up to see if it works for my skin! I’ll have to wait to finish my current sunscreen before trying these.

The Matsuyama toner is one of my top favourite toners I kind of already regret not picking up more refills… I’ve gone through so many over the years. I love how light it is, and though it doesn’t really “feel” different than my typical toners, it still just remains my favourite for how hydrating it is and that it doesn’t burn the eczema on my hand as I apply it

Eyelashes… I can’t help myself; after my favourite got discontinued , I decided to just try this new brand that I’ve never tried before. I’m hoping they’re better than the cheap ones I bought that kept flying off during my trip I haven’t tried these nor heard anyone using them before, so it’s completely new to me! They’re around the price point of Dolly Wink, so if it’s not better than DW, then I’ll probably just resume using DW although sadly that’s just 2 pairs per box.

Lastly, a few fragrances! I impulsively bought this Lovisia white tea scent fragrance spray because… Hachiware looked so cute on it It was a blind buy, so I was worried the scent would be overwhelmingly musky or artificial, but actually I end up liking it a lot! I love tea scents of all kinds! It smells very fresh, sort of like a new cup of iced lemon tea

The other scent is a peach tea scent from “Make me happy” - a typically lightweight scent common with Japanese audiences - sweet and gentle I usually use lightweight scents when I sit down at my desk to focus on things since only I can really smell them, so they’re like my working fragrances

Makeup

Top Row: &nd Mellow Matte cushion in BE01 Pure, hince True Dimension Layering Cheek in L003 Dreamlike, hince True Dimension Radiance Balm TP001 Clear

Bottom Row: &nd Mellow Eye Palette PK01 Rose Fog, &nd Glassy Eye Glitter PK01 Cherry Blossom, &nd Glassy Balm in PK01 Bare Rose, Wonjungyo Pro Perfecting Cushion Foundation in 21Y Light Yellow, Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation in #3

I will be honest… I did not plan to buy so many base makeup items, but I really like using cushions, and had been planning to get the Giorgio Armani foundation (which I got at duty free). That said, I will not need to get any new base makeup for a long time

The &nd items and Wonjungyo are Japan exclusives, which made me curious to try them! Though I’m not like a particular huge follower of rom&nd products, their products are pretty consistent. These mini Lawson-exclusives were just too tempting to pass up! I won’t be using the &nd cushion for a while, but already have been using the Wonjungyo one, and it’s actually quite lovely with comforting high coverage and good staying power through the day

Picking out a new foundation reminds me of how tricky getting a matching shade can be. I previously used a bunch of shade comparison tools and thought I would be #2 with Giorgio Armani but when I swatched them on my face, I definitely fit #3 even though #2 dispensed on my hand looked more suitable. At least with cushions, they tend to apply a little lighter so the colour does not need to be too perfect I think

I originally did not plan to buy this hince duo palette but I really love lavender and pink blushes - this is a product I’ve been wanting as a “nice to try” but not really a “must buy” - however, seeing it in person really made it look so beautiful! I like that it’s in one palette since I don’t really like to travel with too many items

As for the Radiance Balm, I was searching for this item all over but couldn’t find any in stock until I went to the hince department store counter! It seems to be so popular! I haven’t tried this style yet before, but I’m really excited to try it

The &nd palette is a bit similar to what I have, but looks more intense. I’m hoping it’ll make a fun pinkish spin on my usual look

Bunches of lip products! Fwee 3D Voluming Gloss in 30% Vanilla, rom&nd Glasting Color Gloss in 01 Peony Ballet x2 (oops), Clio Crystal Glam Tint in 101 Soft Pink, Visee Essence Lip Plumper, CipiCipi Glass Plumper in 01 Hachimitsu Pink

The fwee tint is much more of a neutral beige in person - that’s what I picked it up for! I rarely wear beige-toned neutrals, but thought it’d be nice to have a toned down lip product, but I forgot a gloss doesn’t always tint so I’m not really sure how to wear it until I get a beige tint

The Romand gloss and Clio tint were both specific products I wanted to pick up during this trip! However, I didn’t expect to find the tamagotchi collab in the same shade and it was just too cute to pass up… I hope I really like the peony ballet colour, but after initial usage, it is exactly the colour I always use so I don’t think it will be an issue I heard the two lip plumpers were good and it’s not really a product I use often, but I figured I’d try it as something new.

Finally, the Canmake Creamy pencil liner that Sarah recommended - as you see, I picked up a few! I accidentally bought the lighter pink/reddish one at first thinking it was dark brown… But after trying it and seeing that it truly does NOT smudge (even on my oily eyelids!!!), I had to get my regular colours (brown & black).

I’ve been using it as my daily eyeliner when I go out now It is not only cheap, but I’ve never had a pencil liner that didn’t smudge on me, even when I take a long closed-eye nap!

Though I haven’t tried everything yet, I’m pretty happy with what I brought back from this trip The only items I kind of wish I skipped (although I don’t regret it; it just is) are the items I bought accidentally like the jemile fran conditioner and pinkish Canmake eyeliner. Oh, and the totally orange-toned tights from tutuanna The cosmetics I can still use for sure, and I guess the tutuanna ones will just be used until they break!

Lastly, I got these nail gels. I didn’t buy too many because the shop’s prices were actually quite high, and we have a lot of access to asian-brand nail gels now stateside, but it was really helpful to see swatches in person

Also, I always use the same colours only so there’s not too much need to get anything “new” I picked up a few nudeish pinks to replace the ones I’ve finished/nearly emptied, the cutest baby pink, and two silvers (one warm & one cool toned)

Stationery

Since stationery are such tiny and cute items, I won’t go through all of them (I also don’t have a picture of everything I bought since I opened/split a lot of packs for stationery swaps already), but I’ll just highlight a few fun things!

The places I shopped stationery at were: Loft, Tokyu Hands, Sekaido (I’ve always wanted to visit on previous trips but never made it til now!!), Rainbowholic Cafe (such a gem of a spot ), Sumikko/Chiikawa shops, a random stationery store in Ebisu, and the local konbini (hehe) Since on my last trip a few years ago I felt really bad to take time to shop stationery when my family was around, I picked up a few more things this time.

Finally, I got my chance to acquire the chonker

I actually really dislike the ink flow of all Uniball One pens so I immediately replaced the ink with a jetstream refill, which fits perfectly As you see, I’ve also decorated it with some charms

This time, I learned from my mistake of not doing a topcoat over the heart gem which fell out of my last one and covered em good, so the gem better not fall out now

Loved this cute hugging bear postcard

These are two more postcards I particularly liked that I also got for decor. Isn’t that Sumikko x classic painting so silly

I tried not to get too crazy with Rainbowholic washi tapes (I got a label one too) but they’re so unique and perfectly show whim

A few other things I’m excited to try:

Kuretake Karappo 0.25mm - I already have this in the mini brush tip and 0.4 tips, both of which I really enjoy. The concept of these is that you can refill it with fountain pen ink and use them like regular pens. It really opens up a variety of usage with the same ink

Tsukineko stamp cleaner - I keep saying I need to pick this up but forgetting, so finally I got it! Hopefully it works well

Pilot Uni Pin (Oil-based) - For writing on washi tape I tried to look for the Shachihata Jikakeru Washi Tape Base Pen but sadly I was not able to find it in store, so I’ll try the oil-based pen method to write on them instead

Patterned M5 paper refills - The ring binder trend has finally hit Japan recently, so they’re making cute refills now! I got some cute pastel checkered sets!

Pilot Juice pens - probably my favourite for actual cute colours that have very good ink flow (compared with how disappointed I am with the beautiful colours of Uniball Ones juxtaposed with how horribly they perform)

I definitely saw a lot more cute things, but since I don’t really need any more stationery, I just stuck with cute stuff That said, the prices for fountain pens and inks were SO good, but I’m glad I avoided splurging on more!

My thought for buying things on trips now (especially wearables or consumables) that weren’t on a previously-decided “wishlist” is to think about when I’ll use them and try my best to use them right away. I get nervous to try unopened items sometimes because they often feel “too new” to use… but I find that it helps me not overbuy if I open the items to use them during the trip

On many of my previous trips, I always waited until I got back home to try most of the products, so I would end up buying a lot because it didn’t “feel” like I bought anything fun to use. I’m trying to avoid this, so that’s how I try to approach it now!

The only thing I wish I had more time to look at and sift through were cute decorations, but I was getting anxious that my luggage was overweight. However, I did get this cute furoshiki bunny!