Tsubasa Masuwaka Blog Book – Part 1

Someone asked for ‘scans’ of the Tsubasa blog book that I bought during the Japan Expo, and because I don’t have access to a scanner right now I decided to take photos instead ごめんね。This obviously means they’re not the best quality but I’ve seen HQ scans before so they floating around somewhere
I also want to mention that I won’t be posting scans of the actual text parts as those are just blog entries from her old blog, which you can find online (I think it’s still up) – the entries in the book range from Oct 2006~June 2007
I am going to split the photos into 2 posts; the fashion & beauty segments and photoshoots. First up… Fashion & Beauty!!
Click images to enlarge!!

Part 2 Coming Soon~

Paris Meet!!

A couple of weeks ago, the lovely Ananya and Emmie came to Paris for the SM Town concert and whilst they were here we managed to meet-up!
I was so happy as I haven’t seen Ananya for maybe 3 years (is that right?)! It was also the first time for me to meet Emmie, which I had wanted to do for a while.
Hair
…and make-up
I had to be up at 7am to get ready for 6 hours of classes, so I didn’t do anything amazing with my hair/make-up. I went for a nude eyeshadow with some simple top & bottom lashes. I just wanted something simple & stylish, it was also important that it would last the whole day.
Outfit

I wanted to wear my new favourite shirt, so I paired it with some ripped-lace shorts and my favourite necklace…which broke later that day, nooooo~
In fact one girl liked our outfits so much that she stopped us and asked if she could take photos. She was a fashion student who also wanted to post them on her friends blog.


Shirt: Egoist
Shorts: Zara
Socks: Topshop
Shoes: Primark
Bags: JSG & Primark
Necklace: Liz Lisa
They asked for their ‘derp’ faces to be cut out,
oh you guys!

Both of my gals were looking gorgeous and I was so envious of Emmie’s Litas. I was planning on wearing my dupes but Paris is not Lita friendly, trust me…and I’m pretty clumsy too haha

I just adore Emmie’s extensions, it really made me want to get another set. I also loved Ananya’s dress and belt combo, isn’t it lovely.

We went to a restaurant that Ananya’s dad had recommended but they hadn’t started serving food so we waited and had drinks. Unfortunately we were given the snootiest waitress possible and she refused to let us have a table when they did start serving. I definitely won’t be visiting again, thanks to her. It’s a shame because the place had a pretty cool vibe and it looked good.
I did get to enjoy some yummy ginger beer though!
New purchase!

I also purchased the most gorgeous pair of sheer trousers from H&M. I had been wanting a skirt for a long time but then saw these and automatically fell in love~ ♥
It was a great day and I had a lovely time with Ananya and Emmie, I just wish it could have lasted longer. Oh well, I’m eagerly awaiting the meet we talked about for when I return from Paris!!

GETS!

Just a small filler post with some recent gets and some coords I put together with the items…
Sephora ‘lemon meringue’ body lotion 

I was drawn in to Sephora again haha. I also bought my boyf some products for his birthday as they had given me a special discount when I bought the above lotion – and was then given even more discount cards for their latest products. 
I can see why people such as Jenny love Sephora so much; they have great customer service and their products are reasonably priced. This lotion has really helped keep the moisture in my skin during the hot weather we’ve been having recently. It also smells AMAZING just like a lemon meringue. 
ZARA shirt 

Since I’ve been lucky enough to be placed in one of the more affluent areas (5min from Arc de Triomphe, 10min from Champs Elysees) in Paris there are plenty of shops for me to peak in. There’s a small Zara just down the road from me – I was surprised when I first went in as it was full of chic Parisian women in Chanel with their tiny dogs at their side, which is normal for this area…but not so normal for the Zara stores I’m used to haha
It hangs really nicely~ 
ZARA shirt 
[sorry for the poor picture]

This one is an off the shoulder shirt, but you can also wear it as a regular loose top, if you wish. 
Earrings: Shinjuku ALTA
Necklace: Liz Lisa
Top: Zara
EGOIST cut-out lack back shirt

Necklace: Swarovski
Shirt: Egoist
Shorts: H&M
This is another one of those shirts that is longer at the back. I really love the cut of this and the fabric is lovely. I’ve been pairing it with a black vest top underneath as I already draw too much attention showing off my legs haha – according to my French guy friend, that’s not normal for Parisian women so the men tend to get a bit leary when they see a woman showing some skin.
I’ll also be wearing this for my meet tomorrow with the gorgeous Ananya and Emmie – can’t wait to see you guys in Paris!!

Say hello to GLiA!

ハロー!
My copy of GLiA arrived today from my lovely Japanese friend (thank you~), so I thought I would do a little write up about it…
So what is GLiA? It’s the lastest Gal magazine to hit the shelves and it comes from the makers of EGG to which it is the ‘older sister‘. That may sound a bit odd, I mean how can a magazine be an ‘older sister’?! 
Well it’s quite simple actually. It’s a more mature version of what you would usually find featured in Egg, and is aimed at 20+ rather than the ‘teen’ crowd Egg usually goes for – like PopSister is to Popteen.

Click on pictures to enlarge!

Who are the models? The makers didn’t want to stray too far from their roots, so they picked a handful of well-known models from Egg and a few other gorgeous Gals. Like PopSister, they carried over one of their most successful models to be the spokeswoman, and that was…ろみひ, of course!
She has been with the magazine for years and has always been a fan favourite. Recently her style has matured, along with herself and so she was the perfect choice for GLiA.

Yumachi and Aina join in along with other models such as; Anna Fujita, Yenah Hirano, Iena Hirai, Reina Kizu and more.


And the content…the content is great!!

FASHION



I thought ‘night snaps’ was a nice idea.
I wanna know what people are partyin’ in!

 Plenty of street snaps (9 pages!), categorised in ways such as;
shop staff, outer, hair pieces etc.

MAKE-UP

HAIR 

How to wear this seasons hair accessories.

With 14 pages worth of hair and make-up tutorials, I was sold!!
I don’t think many Gal mags offer enough tutorials, and even though some of the make-up in GLiA did look a little similar there was still plenty to choose from and practise with. The hair tutorials were great and had a range of styles for long and short hair.

– final thoughts? – 

As it’s a new magazine on the scene it has been compared to other more well-known ones, which is a little unfair. Even so I felt that GLiA holds it own against the other rivals. Slight warning though, don’t expect the content to be like EGG because it really isn’t…apart from the models. It’s more along the lines of Jelly and Happie Nuts. Although I think it has a more refreshing and appealing layout to some similar magazines that like to cram in as much as possible.

If it manages to keep up with the same layout and content it brought out in this issue I think it will soon become a firm favourite~♥

And with a slogan such as; 「Glia is… no rule woman’s style bible」 I think it’s certainly going to try it’s best!!


Disclaimer: I didn’t upload the whole magazine as there were so many great pieces that it’s definitely worth investing in for yourself. I also apologise for the photos – I don’t have a scanner here in Paris.

New hair, gets and a outfit…

Today I visited my stylist as I wanted to get my hair cut and coloured before I headed off to Paris. Disclaimer: Hair is un-styled and too thin, ごめんね!haha

Smiley due to lack of make-up

 

 

 

It took over 3hrs to dye and cut my hair as I had the roots of my bottom layer bleached and then a couple of conditioning treatments (because she didn’t want to damage my hair) and some toner to get it as blonde as possible – then she did my top layer a chocolate brown. She really took her time and did a great job so I can’t complain that I was stuck there for too long.
My hair feels so thin lately though. I am using a new shampoo and conditioner which is helping but I’d still love any ‘volumising’ tips you might have.
A quick outfit shot from Wednesday when I went to the meeting at my university. I wanted to try the ‘blogger’ look in preparation for my upcoming post, but I feel that I needed more statement jewellery (necklace, earrings?) and maybe more layering?
Lace-back top: H&M (from this post).
Shorts: ZARA
Yellow ring: bought in a boutique in France.
Brown & Black rings: H&M (from this post).
Crystal ring: Swarovski
Orb ring: Vivienne….nah 315円 store haha
Earrings: Also H&M (from this post).
 Necklace: Swarovski
THE SHOES~!!
After making the ‘Spring Trend‘ post I decided that I wanted to invest in a pair of Jeffrey Campbell Lita boots, in black. However ‘Office’ didn’t have them in-store or online and I am impatient so… Therefore I headed back to Topshop where I had found their take on the boots and snagged them for only £30 (down from £90). I’m more than happy since that’s a very big saving.
As you can see they’re very similar to the original except they have a buckle across the front (I’m thinking of removing it) and the heel is a darker brown. They are a tiny bit small, but that’s because I’m a half size and nowhere stocks half sizes, so I’m always stuck with something slightly too big or small, but I usually adapt to them so… haha XD
They also make me SUPER tall and almost as tall as my boyf, so I adore them!
LUSH ‘Retread‘ – triple strength conditioner.
I have been using this alongside LUSH’s ‘Trichomania‘ shampoo bar and my hair is feeling so much softer and in a better condition than it has been for a long time – plus it smells great. I will switch to one of their volumising shampoo bars soon though.
Lastly, some headbands from H&M.
I wanted to buy a lot more but I’m saving my money for Paris…as I am more than certain I will find some lovely items there!

Japanese hair dye review; Beautylabo & Palty

Whilst in Japan I came across the problem of which hair dye to use – in the UK I was using the same brand and colour each time. Of course I knew and had heard of potential problems with Japanese hair dye, such as it not staying in Caucasian hair due to it being made for the Asian market. Even so, I thought I would give it a try…so here are two reviews for you.
Beautylabo Whip

Beautylabo whip is a relatively new item in the Beautylabo line with 15 colours in the range, 4 of which are new and were featured in the April issue of Popteen in a special fold-out. The novelty behind the ‘whip’ products is a new innovation that has also been hitting foreign markets lately – a foam (mousse) hair dye, rather than liquid (cream?!).

So why is it so great? The mousse application is supposedly easier and more manageable. The mousse doesn’t drip, so there are no worries about accidently dripping it on the work suface etc. *cough*

Also you don’t need to section your hair like you would with a regular hair dye – some brands have even gone as far to claim that you don’t need a mirror, but that’s just silly in my opinion as I’d probably poke myself in the eye – I never claimed I had amazing hand-eye coordination haha. You just massage the mousse in and away you go~

Gloves, powder and mix, conditioner, instructions etc.
And what it looks like when you put it all in the container.
Yep, you mix it in the container it all comes in (great use of packaging) and shake it up…
What you get is a stiff, non-drip foam (mousse).
My friend and I had fun holding it upside down and seeing if it would drip…it didn’t! 
After application…
It lathers on like a shampoo and then just sits like a regular dye. 
The final result: I felt that the end result wasn’t as bright as I had hoped for. Nicola of Graphic Noise also tried out the same colour; Caramel Custard, and said that it turned her hair a very yellow-y shade…which I was kinda hoping for, but unfortunately it just gave me a very light brown…and that was from an orange-y blonde beforehand. The application and dye itself was great and I would certainly use a similar product with the foam ‘technology’ again, but Beautylabo just didn’t cut it for me with colouring.
I would like to mention that it did stick better than a lot of Japanese hair dyes though, which usually wash out. Which brings me to…
Palty Bleach

Ok, so bleach isn’t really a hair DYE but I had tried Palty hair dyes previously and they just didn’t stick at all – as in they would wash out after a couple of shampoos…not good. That’s why I choose to use the Palty Bleach instead. I was a bit cautious to bleach my hair as I know it can be very damaging but I hadn’t done it for almost 6 years so I decided to give it another go.

I had a friend help me with the application after sectioning my hair and he did a very good job, but unfortunately there had not been enough of the bleach for a full coverage so that meant I had to use two lots.

First try, with the bleached hair and un-bleached. 

The final result: I was really happy with the colour, it was a lovely bright blonde for Spring , which I had been hoping for. My hair was a little more coarse and wirey afterwards (see pic) however my hair wasn’t in a much better state before that so I wasn’t really bothered by it.

Well that was back in Japan, and now I am in the UK and my roots were pretty bad (black roots with blonde hair, ewww) so I had a haircut and grabbed some dye from the brand I previously used. I decided to go back to being a brunette (less maintenance) but I also kept the blonde on my under layers after seeing some lovely two tone in the latest issue of Popteen.

So here is a small preview…

Have you used Japanese hair dye before? If so, what were the results like? 

Would you use it now if you hadn’t before?

Birthday Celebrations~☆

As you know, Saturday was my birthday and I had a really great time. I spent it with my boyfriend and friends in Kabukicho and I also had my first hairset!!
The morning of my birthday 3 of my friends popped up to my apartment and gave me cakes! So not only did I have one birthday cake, I had two! One super cute handmade one and a gorgeous shortcake. I must have done something right to end up with so much haha
My boyfriend surprised me in the morning with a gift. He was so eager for me to open it that he wouldn’t even let me have breakfast – I think it was because he had chosen it himself and he wanted to see if he had picked the right thing. Well he had!! He bought me ‘The’ EMODA hat that I had wanted for so long~ He also bought me the new Dollywink eyeshadow, Candydoll concealer lipstick and Mini TSUYAGLA straightners/curlers – very Tsubasa orientated, huh?♥
My Japanese friend from Yamaguchi sent me a surprise parcel with a gorgeous bracelet, hair accessory, phone holder and some cosmetics. I also had some cards and chocolates from family back home. I received money from my parents, but my sister is also bringing me some presents when she comes to visit this month. I love belated birthday gifts.
The friends who came to my party that evening also bought me some gifts, so I felt very lucky and loved 😀
As I mentioned, my friend and I decided to get hairset for our joint party (her birthday was the day after mine). Well I’m not going to mention much about it, because you will soon be able to read all about it @ Universal Doll. So here is some purikura instead~

Later on we went to 白木屋 which is a chain izakaya that has decent but affordable drinks and food. We made a reservation beforehand and since we had such a large party we had our own private room.
We were planning on going to ATOM after but the people we were with were party-poopers and didn’t want to go, so we ended up at all night karaoke – which was still fun though!
Overall I had a great birthday and I got to spend it with some great people – I couldn’t have asked for more :D!!