Review: Infusion

Huge apologies for the mini-hiatus I have taken from this blog!  Now that I'm all done with my papers for school, I'm back in Japan to spend the holidays with my loved ones.  First order of business: food.  If you know me, I'm a huge foodie and the cuisine is one of my favorite parts of Japan.  Last night, my mother, her friend, Sue, and I went to Infusion, a French restaurant in Sakurashinmachi.  I always noticed it while walking to the station, but never had a chance to go.  What a disappointment that I hadn't ever eaten there until last night!  It was absolutely amazing!

Happy December! My Holiday Gift Guide

So it's finally December and I've started my holiday gift buying (UH-OH..). I know holiday shopping can be tricky and buying things for those girls and guys who have everything (= almost all my friend) will bring on those headaches. So, I'm here to try and help!

Your BFF, Sister, etc.

1. The Urban Decay Naked Palette ($50/$48)

Personally, I know I'd be beyond stoked getting this for Christmas so I know I'm being biased but I can't imagine any girly girl who loves getting glammed up every once in a while not enjoying this palette.  The NAKED2 was just released today at UrbanDecay.com but is already sold out, so keep your look out for their arrival at Sephora or Ulta. The original Naked Palette is still available so if your bestie still hasn't gotten her hands on it, it's a definite recommendation and a grade A gift for sure.

2. JewelMint.com Gift Cards (various prices)

Jewelmint is a company that is run by Cher Coulter and Kate Bosworth that has original pieces of jewelry that show up in your "Show Room" each month, determined by a style quiz you take when you sign up.  If you join, each month you're charged $29.99 and can pick a piece of jewelry you like to be delivered to you.  If you like more than one, you're more than free to purchase more, and if you don't like anything, you can skip the month and use your credit on a different piece the next month. Giving a gift card would be a lovely opportunity for your friend, sister, bestie, whatever, to check it out and give it a shot.  There are several renditions of this website, such as Stylemint.com (run by MK and Ashley Olsen), and Beautymint.com (Jessica Simpson), ShoeDazzle.com, so those are options as well.

3. Hello Kitty Fisheye Camera ($60 + 20% off with FB20 code)

Last year for my birthday, my girlfriends got me the Fisheye 2 and I was ecstatic! For those shutterbugs out there, any lomography camera would be a fun and exciting gift. Look around Karmaloop and you'll find all kinds of gift ideas! Feel free to use the code to get 20% off your entire purchase. Grab something for your friend, and yourself. Double whammy!

Real Talk: Pretty Powerful

A couple months ago, my good friend Dayna convinced me to join a competition held by Bobbi Brown Cosmetics.  I decided 'why not?' and entered to be Bobbi Brown's "Next Pretty Powerful Face" for Hawaii, messaged a few friends on Facebook and... won! So thank you if your were one of my friends who voted and are reading this!  A lot of them went above and beyond, posted it on their walls, sent it to family members, voted from different computers, etc.  I am so ecstatic!!  According to the founder, Bobbi, the Pretty Powerful campaign is:

Celebrating my belief that all women are pretty without makeup - and can be pretty powerful with the right makeup.  Beauty comes in all ages, colors, shapes and sizes.  It's not about looking like someone else or trying to be someone you're not.  It's about figuring out what works for you and making the best of what you've got.  Loving yourself is key - and makeup can help you get there. Pretty Powerful 2.0 is about being pretty.  It's about being confident.  And it's about being who you are.

I think the message is absolutely empowering to all women and I just felt compelled to blog about it.  I really believe that no matter how much make-up you put on, your inner-self will shine through no matter what.  Like in my Ugly on the Inside blogpost, I am a firm believer that before you work on your outer appearance, you have to work on your inner appearance.  I have met people who I thought were beautiful at first impression, but upon getting to know them, you start noticing that their inner personality really affects what they look like.  I don't know if any of this makes sense but you know when you meet a someone and their inner beauty really shines through? That's what I think everyone should strive for.  Make-up should simply be an enhancer, not something that changes who you look like completely.  My friend sent me a hilarious picture:

As funny as that is, it's pretty ridiculous.  I noticed that in Japan, a lot of girls look exactly the same, due to their make-up, hair, clothing, etc.  Why would you want to be a clone of everyone around you?