♡ November Japan Crate [[UNBOXING]] ♡

みなさん、こんにちは!

I seem to have skipped the last couple of Japan Crate boxes as I did take pictures of the items, but somehow... I have no actual pictures to show for it?! I can't quite remember but, I either deleted them without realising it or... yeah I probably deleted them without realising it, whoops. Also, I want to apologise for the atrociousness that is the following photographs... now that it is winter, it is really hard to take pictures in natural sunlight, especially when I got to work when it is dark and when I come back from work... it's dark. So my window of opportunity is very small ;n;

So just to re-cap, Japan Crate is that you can subscribe to three different kinds of boxes; mini, original and premium with either a recurring monthly payment (from $12 plus p&p) or you can pay for either 3, 6 or 12 months worth of boxes, therefore saving you a bit of cash at the end of it. You can cancel at any given time, so if you fancied just one box then you can enjoy one box without the pressure of payments. It's as easy as 1, 2, 3.

I'm still sticking to my premium subscription and even though I can't show it, I was slightly disappointed with the October crate. The reason for this is because October is Halloween month, so I was kind of expecting some (or a lot) of Halloween related bits and there wasn't any... nadda... nip... zilch. So that was a bummer, but the November box seems to have dragged it back up into my good books.

This first bundle are the goodies that would have been in the mini box subscription; chilli salad pretz, cookies & cream pejoy, purple sweet potato sticks, black thunder and meiji dice caramel. I actually received an email from Japan Crate saying that an item had been swapped (the original item was a Fujiya lollipop bag) and to get two boxes in replacement of that item was a nice surprise!

This next bundle would have been the extra items from the medium sized subcription box; Funassyi furi-furi shake DIY kit, uranai-kko bubble gum, Glico Man caramel and fluffy long neck marshmallow.

This final bundle are all the premium extras; chunosuke water, superstring Q, pachishuwa grape soda mix, spy vs. spy sour gum and a Naruto blind box - wheeeeeee I got Kakashi!

Personally, I had a lot of mixed feelings with this box. I was disappointed with the previous box (October) as I was expecting lots of Halloween goodies, but barely got any, but with this one... it was jammed packed with an immense amount of goodies but........ where's my savoury things at?! I was disappointed with only getting the small Pretz box as my savoury item, and that was a replacement item so.............. a box of sugar *sobs* Mind you though, my mother has enjoyed digging into this box as she likes sweet things more than I do, but I did try some things and some were relatively surprising with the taste? Like the purple sweet potato sticks... sickly sweet at first but as I ate a couple more sticks, the taste grew on me? Japanese sweet potato definitely lives up to the "sweet" part of its name compared to the sweet potatoes here in the UK.

Other than the mixed feelings, I am loving this subscription box as it definitely opens my eyes (and tastes buds) into knowing what I do like and what I don't like food wise... score!

Thanks for reading!
xoxo

♡ Lush Birthday Haul ♡

みなさん、こんにちは!

It was my birthday last week (on the 16th!) and I am now the grand age of 26........ creeping just a little bit more closer to the big 30! I had an amazing weekend celebrating with my best friend, and a couple of close friends, we ate and drank and ate some more, it was all I needed to be honest! I was also spoiled rotten with some lovely gifts from my friends, family and co-workers but, I treated myself to some things from LUSH in Chelmsford - as it's the closest location to where I live.

Now, it is EXTREMELY hard for me not to purchase every, single, item available in front of me, but I did manage to control myself... sort of. As LUSH has brought out all of their Christmas selection, it made choosing a few bath bombs even harder - even though I knew that I was DEFINITELY getting the Intergalactic bath bomb, as it my all time favourite one because c'mon, you are bathing in a glittery galaxy... GLITTERY GALAXY!! So at the end of my browsing session, I swear that I was in the store for over an hour choosing things... I went with *drum rolls*

Intergalactic ever wondered what bathing in deep space would be like? Invite the cosmos into your bathroom with this sexy, interstellar bomb and become the guardian of your own galaxy. An awesome mix of refreshing peppermint and neon colour sends your mood rocketing, while popping candy takes you on a trip around the Milky Way. Constellations swirl and pop, creating vibrant lustre vortexes in the night sky. Before you leap too far, rogue layers of vetivert and cedarwood take hold, evoking the warmth of human contact far from home and a hint of 80s aftershave. Return from your intergalactic brief encounter as the grounding scent brings you gently back from orbit.
Frozen do you want to have a bath bomb? Do you want to splash and play? Enjoy the most magical soak in the kingdom with this shimmering blue bath bomb, which spills out rolling snowdrifts of silver lustre. Uplifting neroli from Tunisia and precious rose oil from Turkey are sure to spread a little sunshine and melt the iciest of moods. If your day's felt like a series of doors in your face, this shiny, sky blue bomb filled with sparkle provides the perfect fairytale ending. Step in, take a deep breath and let it go.
Twilight if sleep is evading you, this combination of essential oils will help get you ready for a good night's rest. As Twilight dissolves, it turns from the colour of the setting sun and gets darker, turning your water a shimmering deep purple. The fragrance has been designed to help you sleep: lavender is a soothing, mind-clearing and calming fragrance, used in aromatherapy to treat insomnia and aid restful sleep, while benzoin and tonka call to mind a milky caramel malt drink.
Golden Wonder fancy a tipple? Cognac and zesty lime oils start a party of mood-brightening scents whilst sweet orange oil refreshes the senses. In the water, this present-shaped fizzer unwraps itself to reveal glittering golden lustre and a sparkling turquoise explosion. Don't wait until Christmas day to bathe yourself in festive luxury!
Shoot for the Stars stay very still to watch the swirling colours of the night sky dazzle in your bath water. As the calming blanket of shimmering midnight blue unfolds, Brazilian orange and bergamot oils take your skin to heaven and your mood rocketing up to the stars.
Snow Fairy Shower Gel when the days are dark, add a little Christmas magic to your shower and some much-needed sparkle to your daily routine. This candyfloss-scented shower gel will gently cleanse hair and body and leave a mouthwatering perfume on your skin. Shower with a gel that's sure to tickle you pink by picking up this candyfloss body cleanser.
Santa's Lip Scrub prime your pout with this moisturising cola-flavoured lip scrub that leaves your lips buffed and ready for Santa Baby – or any other Lush lip tint or balm. Caster sugar, dates and cherries scrub and soften, giving them a taste of Christmas. Dab a little on and buff, licking off the excess. It's the sweetest way to welcome festive kisses.
Key Lime Pie Lip Balm for lips as scrumptious as pie, oh my! This zesty lime treat is a crowd pleaser, filled with zingy citrus oils and restorative butters. Dab a little all over truly lickable lips. Handy, travel-sized hydration for whenever you find yourself in the limelight.

Tah dah! I know a couple of the bath bombs are in the Christmas selection, but I liked the Frozen one when I used it previously and I have been meaning to try the Twilight one for a while now so... and the reason behind the lip balm is because, it is actually my favourite lip balm and I lost my previous one *ugly sobs* so it gave me a good excuse to purchase another one! Despite stocking up on these beauties, I have shamelessly asked my parents for a LUSH gift card or something along those lines for Christmas, just so I can get more bath bombs! A girl can never have too much LUSH in her life... right?

Thanks for reading!
xoxo

♡ Jeffree Star Cosmetics ♡

みなさん、こんにちは!

I have found a new love in my life and he goes by the name of Jeffree Star... but it's his cosmetics I am in love with as well as, a little bit, in love with the man himself. Ugh his make-up skills are to die for and I wish I had a pinky finger full of his talent!

I couldn't resist getting a few colours from the, ever expanding, collection. Especially when I saw 'Unicorn Blood' on the models, I knew that I had to have THAT particular colour as it's such a gorgeous dark, rusty red. It's very similar to a certain brand and their particular product with a similar colour too - I'm not going to name any names but if you know what I'm talking about... then cookie for you! The other colours I decided to go with were 'Weirdo', a gorgeous deep, matte blackest black you could imagine and 'Celebrity Skin', a delicious matte soft brown with peachy undertones to add to the pile.

Weirdo

First in the pile is 'Weirdo' and this is my first, ever, black lipstick. According to the Jeffree Star website, this is the blackest of the black, matte lipsticks AND it can be used as an eyeliner. I would like to try this theory to see if it, actually, works one day. I really do like this colour, just because it is a matte lipstick and not a shiny one? I don't think a shiny style, black lippie would have suited me as much as this one?! But, I love this and cannot wait to incorporate into more future looks, and even try out the eyeliner theory... watch this space!

Celebrity Skin

Secondly; is 'Celebrity Skin' and this is such a gorgeous nude lipstick, but I must admit that I was worried at first because I thought that it wouldn't suit my skin tone bbbuuuttt I was wrong! And I'll happily admit that because I am in love with this nude. It is perfect from wearing really OTT eye make-up and toning down the look with a nude lip, to wearing a more "natural" looking style make-up look, it is just super duper versatile.

Unicorn Blood

And finally; my personal favourite since finding out about this colour, 'Unicorn Blood'. I have been after this colour red lipstick for, god knows, however long and when I finally got my grubby little hands on them... I just couldn't wait to test it out and whipped it out of its packaging, faster than a small child eating chocolate cake. I am, in absolute LOVE. Swear down, I base what I'm doing face/clothing wise with this lipstick more than the other two at this moment in time but ugh, look at it. Look at the perfection that is this colour. I freakin' cannot get enough of this, and when it runs out, I swear that I will cry like a loser... no shame.

What I love about these liquid lipsticks, is the applicator. Can you see the curve in all the pictures above? Well, it's really bendy and, sort of like, contours to your lips? Some applicators, I've noticed, are just hard and kind of... solid? But this genius little applicator, makes such a massive difference with the movement and the curve in the middle, it is just a superstar.

The prices on these beauties, may seem a little steep at $18 per lipstick but personally, I kind of think it's worth it? With the fact that it's 100% vegan and animal-cruelty free and the product stays on (my) lips for hours on end... yep, they are definitely worth it.

Thanks for reading!
xoxo