♡ January Japan Crate [[UNBOXING]] ♡

みなさん、こんにちは!

Wah! My last Japan Crate until further notice... I hope to be able to re-subscribe in the near future though! But until then, I shall savour my last few pieces I have left lying around.

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 must admit, I was a little gutted over this box as there had been a problem with a shipment of one of the items (the DIY kit) and for a replacement, J.C put in a replacement item that could have been, at least, twice as much worth in value than the DIY kit and well............ I got hi-chew which isn't that expensive at all and I probably sound selfish right now... but boo. But it's OK, I haven't let it get to me whatsoever and I've enjoyed my last box to its full potential!

First off was the mini box items; usushi (light salted) crisps, ju-c short cake, milk chocolate pocky, hello kitty strawberry pretzel and asahi calpis gummy

Secondly are the added original box items; sparkling orange gummy, fit's strawberry & cream gum, pokemon pineapple candy and yam white chocolates

Finally, these are the added premium items; gaba infused stress relieving milk chocolate,, pizza pretz, sukitto lemon c drink, grape flavoured hi-chew & stationary items

So there we have it! Despite feeling slightly disappointed with this box, there were some extremely yummy items. The one that surprised me the most was the yam white chocolates... there was only a hint of yam? But I liked that it wasn't overly... yammy (oh goodness I am sorry for this) Also, I'm really enjoying DIY kits! I can see why people like them as watching the product you're making unfold before your eyes, well, it's magical almost!

Thanks for reading!

xoxo

♡ December Japan Crate [[UNBOXING]] ♡

みなさん、こんにちは!

Amidst all this manic that is Christmas, my Japan Crate managed to turn up two days before Christmas Eve, not that I'm complaining because who doesn't want a delivery of (more) food over the festive period?

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 on my premium subscription, because the immense amount of goodies received in the premium box is just... well it's silly to pass up really. Like I said, this box was pushing it close to not arriving before Christmas itself, but luckily turned up on the 22nd... BOOM! And to make it even more lucky for myself, sunshine decided to make an appearance on the 23rd, so out popped my camera and, I swear, I have snapped enough blog photography to last me until Spring *whew* Anyway, back to this box and oh boy, I was not disappointed with this one!

In the first section (what would be in the mini crate) are; cheese, tonkatsu & veggie umaibo, bad kid beer, awa moco moco in strawberry and a Fujiya lollipop bag.

In this second section (what would be the original crate plus mini crate snacks) are; a cute tororin parfait DIY kit, pocky - demitasses, black bean  soy sauce flavoured scones and a naga-i swawgumi orange sweet.

And this final section (premium crate extras) are; the hia shuwa cola sweets, a pachishuwa dynamite melon soda, a celio lifeguard drink and a Legend of Zelda gachapod thing.

Any box that has Umaibo in it, is instantly a hit with me! I love those little crunchy sticks of flavour mhmmm yas! I'm a little gutted that January's box will be my last one because I love this subscription so much, especially with all those options you have these days but... being an adult must come first hmph. Until then, I am saving some of these pieces just for days when I need... something extra to get me through! But I have tried the lifeguard energy and wow... it is weird.

Thanks for reading!

xoxo

♡ 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

♡ August Japan Crate [[UNBOXING]] ♡

みなさん、こんにちは!

There are sooo many snack subscription boxes out at the moment and whilst most of them are rather tempting... Japan Crate is the one that called out to me the most somehow, so I decided to treat myself to a recurring subscription for a while. And, of course, you may notice that we are in October and this August's box... yes I am full aware how behind I am, I have just come back from a hiatus.

This general gist of 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 went with a premium subscription, as you can get between 12-14 items with a drink and a DIY candy kit all weighing up to 2kg. Not bad huh? Well, I can honestly say that I wasn't disappointed with the items I received in this box. It arrived about 5 days after dispatch, which isn't bad for international shipping from the USA, and it came in an extremely sturdy (and colourful) cardboard box so all my items were packed safely together with no casualties during transit.

You get a cute little magazine that tells you about the items you received, and there's even added information about how to do your DIY kit, a comic strip and other bits and pieces... I think that's a nice little touch to make it more personal somehow?

The first bundle is what I would have received if I had ordered the mini box; Chocolate Pucca, Crackling Cotton, Soy Sauce Pretz and Mario Kart Gum.

The second bundle is what I would have received if I had ordered the normal box - plus the mini box contents; Chocoroom DIY Kit, Puzzles & Dragons x Bikkuriman Wafer, Crayon Shin-Chan Candy, Pokemon Puzzle Gum and Shuwa Shuwa Soda Candy.

The final bundle is the added premium extras - plus the mini and normal box contents; Creamy Melon Soda, Japanese BBQ Scones, Wow Such Banana?! and Soda Mixing Jelly Beans.

So for 13 items it cost me $30 plus $15 post and packaging... which to me is a really good deal because to get these items in London it would cost a small fortune because of "import charges" blah, blah de blah. Out of all these items, I have actually only had two of them previously (the BBQ Scones and the Melon Soda) so it was a completely new experience for me and that is the main reason why I love subscription boxes, you get pushed out of your comfort zone. Japan Crate is really a great deal in my opinion and until another box comes along in my direction and decides to sway me... I think I will be sticking with this for a little while longer. Now I'm just hoping they put a few more savoury treats in future boxes now!

Thanks for reading
xoxo

♡ The Sweet Club ♡

みなさん、こんにちは!

I apologise from the bottom of my heart for the lack of posts recently... there has been a part of me where I just haven't had to energy to do so? It kind of feels like a funk almost even though I have posts planned out, I just haven't had any energy to get up and complete them / take photographs for them... does anyone else feel this way?

So today's blog post is about a lovely subscription box by The Sweet Club. Being 100% British, sweets are definitely a part of my childhood and even nowadays I still fancy a little bit of something here and there. The Sweet Club certainly brings out my inner child with the amount of choices they have to offer on their website and it was such a lovely surprise to see sweets that I don't actually see often these days. It's such a simple process to create a box to your style and tastes, you literally browse through all the choices they have to offer, pick the eight that appeal to you the most and boom that is your first box sorted. They then ask you questions before you check out and from that they either send random sweets or send you ones that you specifically want. How easy is that?

For my first (and only at this point mind you... I couldn't eat a box per month phew) I choose; love hearts, poppets, milk chocolate beans aka smarties, milk chocolate mini eggs, orange and lemon fizz balls, kola kubes, sugared almonds and jelly beans.

For £7.95 (for first box only, it goes up to £9.95 after that) and with free shipping, this subscription box is such a bargain and it honestly transported me back to my childhood to the old sweet shop near my house and just remembering my brother taking me with our pocket money and choosing our favourites from the rows and rows of glass jars... it's just heaven. Also, my parents dove into this box and well when they noticed what selection I had... luckily they didn't get their hands on the love hearts otherwise blood would have been spilled grrr!

Thanks for reading!
xoxo

♡ MEMEbox My Cute Wishlist #4 // Unboxing ♡

みなさん、こんにちは!

I rrreeeaaallllllyyy want to apologise from the bottom of my heart about how late this post is... literally three months late as that is when I actually received this box in the post D'OH. There will be a slight snail mail push out of blog posts over the coming months so pretty please (with a cherry on top) bear with me! 

Now, I have heard some pretty mixed feelings about past Memebox Cute Wishlists and I have to say, I was slightly apprehensive about purchasing but you just never know until you go for it right? Luckily I feel that I may have made a right decision in getting this particular box... even after a few months the jury is still out on this one!

#1 TonyMoly Apple Red Tox Honey Cream

Product description; made from vitamin-rich red apple and deeply nourishing honey, Tonymoly’s famous Red Appletox Honey Cream is a daily facial cream with a unique honey-like texture. The bouncy, hydrating gel cream stretches when patted on, giving the skin a massage effect as well as a silky finish

First impressions; yyyeeesss! This is a product that has been on my "to purchase" list for-like-ever and I finally have my hands on one! I do love this product, it helps with my combination skin so much that it's one of the best facial creams I have used to date. 

#2 Etude House Sweet Recipe Candy Stick

Product description; enriched with bilberry, sugar cane, sugar maple, orange and lemon extracts, the Sweet Recipe Candy Stick is a gloss type lip tint that moisturises and plumps up your dry, chapped lips for a long-lasting radiance.

First impressions; it doesn't surprise me that there is something Etude House in this box as this particular brand is the ambassador of cute things... I'm quite happy to receive the orange version as I'll just use this as a typical lip balm to combat my dry lips. 

#3 Yadah Vita-Whitening Aqua Gel + Puregreen Moisturizing Cream

Product description; the most perfect pair of facial creams to pop into your pouch for travelling. The Vita-Whitening Aqua Gel is made from vitamin-rich rosehip extracts for softening and firming, niacinamide for brightening, and cactus extracts for moisture boost. The Puregreen Moisturizing Cream, on the other hand, is enriched with royal jelly extracts, cactus extracts, bean oil complex, sea buckhom berries, and birch tree sap for delivering rich moisture surge deep down into the skin.

First impressions; how much for a travel sized product?! Slight heart attack-like feelings happened at the sight of the pricing in all honesty... and the creepy pictures on the packaging doesn't exactly scream "cute"... miss, miss, super miss!

#4 ddung Liquid Eye Liner

Product description; a liquid eyeliner with a formula that offers a remarkably defined, feminine eyes with a long-lasting, waterproof and non-smudging wear.

First impressions; errr... how is this doll thing cute exactly? The liner seems quite usable and easy to apply so this would be a good back-up in case I run out of my favourite liquid eyeliner at any given time.

#5 Holika Holika Pig-nose Clear Black Head Steam Starter

Product description; this gel type starter helps to open your pores while reduces dirt from the pore. Its pink clay ingredients helps absorb excess sebum and soften stubborn blackheads.

First impressions; YYYAAASSS! This particular line from Holika Holika is another thing I've had on my list for absolutely ages! I haven't used this one yet as I'm going to get the sugar scrub one as well... and maybe all the others from this particular line also!

#6 Pure Smile Choosy Lip Pack Milk

Product description; pamper your chapped lips with Pure Smile’s Choosy Lip Pack abundant in milk protein extracts for strengthening the moisture level and reviving the juicy glow of your lips. This easy-to-apply lip patch will help maintain healthy, silky smooth lips!

First impressions; interesting... I looked up about Pure Smile and I never knew that the brand is made in Korea yet it is Japanese... so technically it does count as a Korean product? I have used this lip mask and it, honestly, the weirdest thing I have ever used.

#7 Pure Smile Snail Hand Cream Milk

Product description; this moisturizing hand cream is literally packed with nourishing natural ingredients such as snail mucus extracts, milk protein extracts, grape seed oil, olive oil, macadamia seed oil, shea butter, green tea extracts, aloe vera leaf extracts, and even collagen extracts! Plus, it has a very nice nutty, milky fragrance.

First impressions; another Pure Smile item, this time a hand cream (which is something I have desperately needed for the winter) so I am pretty chuffed with getting this in the box. 

#8 Tonymoly Egg Pore Nose Pack

Product description; this blackhead removing Egg Pore Nose Pack is made from charcoal and egg complex which effectively treats enlarged pores and excessive blackheads and whiteheads, smoothing out uneven skin texture to resemble the rounded smooth surface of an egg.

First impressions; the smell is overpowering on this, I could smell the product without even taking it out of the box. Blurgh. But I have heard good impressions about this particular item and hopefully it should work on the blackheads on my nose (constant bane of my life)

At the end of the day... this box is certainly not cute. The items sure are useful and are at the lower budget end of pricing - for a payment of $23.99 + $6.99 for shipping the whole box of products comes to a total of $69 which seems like you don't really get your moneys worth but... if you need to purchase things on a budget then it is certainly helpful. Cute though? No... not at all. Part of me is disappointed with this box because I was expecting a little bit more and I know that there are cute budget items on the market but another part of me isn't as disappointed as I got items that I have been meaning to get for ages, so it was partially a win but partially a lose at the end of the day.

Thanks for reading!

xoxo

♡ MEMEbox Princess Edition #6 Cinderella // Unboxing ♡

みなさん、こんにちは!

The second of my three day MEMEbox un-boxings is the Princess Edition #6 Cinderella! I was going to get all three boxes released (Tinkerbell was the other one) but I decided against it at the last minute for a reason I honestly cannot remember for... aish my memory ;n;

My favourite thing about this particular box is that that it's a face / hair focus box... I'm not really a body cream / lotion / wash enthusiast as I know what my body is able to have and I just stick with it - Radox bubble bath, Original Source Lemon and Tea Tree Shower Gel, Garnier body lotion... end of. So, to have a box with make-up in makes me a very happy person!

#1 ECLAIRE Color-Blast Lip Cream in #06 Santorini

Product description; sophisticated and vivid in colour, completely waterproof and long-lasting, and leaving a silky matte finish, the Color-Blast Lip Cream is a must-have for lovers of all lip products! Its vegetable oil based formula is gentle and moisturising, and it prevents dehydraion of your lips by creating a moisture lock-in layer. Plus, it's free of paraben, benzophenone, alcohol, mineral oil and phenoxyethanol. 

First impression; I would have preferred the red colour than the pink......... but it seems like a nice pink colour all in all. It's interesting to see that this is made with vegetable oil and have no parabens or benzophenone or alcohol in it like a couple of other products from the previous box... recurring theme happening? 

#2 Color World Setting Powder in Orange

Product description; An extremely lightweight, sheer setting powder which is silky and fine in texture and leaves skin with a flawless finish. Smooth away fine lines and imperfections as it sets your makeup in place for the whole day. Add a velvety finish to any makeup or for that extra colour and coverage when applied alone.

First impressions; oooooh setting powder! I've heard of setting sprays and certain setting powders like MAC and Kryolan so this should be interesting for me to use as I go through powder like you'd never believe....... bye bye shine! Also... I was a little bit unsure about the orange colour at first but it turns out that it's more like a translucent powder and changes to appeal to your skin colour and tone... double boom!

#3 ECLAIRE Color-Blast Blusher #Santorini Coral

Product description; a soft and sheer coral, pressed powder blush. Designed to be worn alone or layered together for more depth, it'll bring out the healthy, peachy glow from any skin tone.
First impressions; there's a lot of ECLAIRE products in this parcel but I like the theme... and I love peachy / coral blushers to create that "healthy" glow... I prefer it any day to the OTT pinks or reds even though that style is starting to grow on me these days. It will be intriguing to see if this is a colour build up type of blusher or a "oops too much in one go" kind of blusher.

#4 Tonymoly BCDation All Master SPF30

Product description; this multi-functional BCDation from Tonymoly is a makeup base, a BB cream, a CC cream, and a foundation all in one. It not only correct, blur, and balance out the skin tone but also moisturises, lifts, and adds extra volume for a silky smooth 3D complexion.
First impressions; I am honestly glad that this is the only product that wasn't full sized as I have purchased BB creams in the beginning (of my cosmetic downfall) and have been bitten badly by the wrong shade so I'm happy with the fact that I can test this out, check it against my tone and complexion etc and see if this actually WORKS before I go and get a full sized product!

#5 Anis Double Act Curling Essence

Product description; enriched with grape seed oil and various natural moisturisers, this Double Act Curling Essence not only delivers moisture surge, nourishments, and firmness to hair but also works as a hair styler for the strengthening your curls and holding them in place all day long.
First impressions; oh a hair product... I don't normally go to hair products in an instance unless they are shoved right under my face and as this is here I will try this one. I also never curl my hair... always straighten as my natural hair is some weird frizzy... lion mane... fuzzball

#6 Macqueen Concealer Dual Veil 

Product description; this dual concealer consists of a cover stick on one end for erasing red spots and blemish scars and a liquid concealer on the other end for evening out unbalanced skin tones or highlighting T-zone and under eye area.
First impressions; awesome! I won't really use the liquid concealer as a brightener though as I tend to use liquid concealer more than stick concealer but I'll be using this one that is for sure. Kind of bummed that I got the darker #23 shade of this though and not the lighter #21 shade but hey, you win some and you lose some.

#7 LadyKin At The Party Long & Perm Mascara 

Product description; a smart dual brush mascara with two different types of brush attached for 24 hour long, voluminous lashes. The round ball-like brush works as a 2nd step volumizer which allows you to create varieties of look by adding extra curl and volume to different parts of your lashes.
First impressions; needed a new mascara and boom... got one. How awesome is that?! I've heard things about ball shaped mascaras so it'll be interesting to try this out and see how it works (and trust me it does work as I have been using this since I got it) the ball shape at the end also helps split your lashes apart so you don't have that spider leg look.... perfection! An amazing addition to the make-up collection.

All in all... I like this box. I've seen a few bloggers not happy with this particular box and I can understand their points that they made but for a $139 value for $25.99 (plus the p&p) isn't that bad. Maybe in future if there is another Princess Edition box they need to consider other options so instead of throwing in a random hair care product into a whole make-up box is take away a make-up product and add a skin care product or just throw away the hair care product altogether and have just kept this as a make-up box like the Snow White box was skin care all in all... get it? I am happy with this box and I will certainly be using all of these products... guarantee that.

Thanks for reading!
xoxo