Hedonist by Viktoria Minya Review

Speechless and unsure where to start, I’ll simply let the beautiful bottle speak for itself. Hedonist is easily one of my favourite perfumes I’ve ever smelled and the bottle is definitely the most gorgeous. Not only does the name fit well for this scent, but the bottle also captures what Hedonist is and what it smells like. I mean, here’s what Viktoria Minya’s site says about the bottle:

Hedonist is presented within a beautifully crafted bottle filled with hundreds of genuine bohemian crystals that sparkle brilliantly in the divine golden liquid…

Everything about this perfume is hedonistic and though indulgent, it’s not self-indulgent or narcissistic. After smelling Poopoo Pidoo from my first perfume haul and still cringing, I’m glad I decided to sample Hedonist instead of some other perfumes. My senses (and mind) needed to be soothed and though Hedonist soothed, it brought on a much needed exhilarating ride. 

Onigiri and packing lunches for conventions

As you may or may not remember, I went to an anime convention with my friend, C. a while back. Since I’m trying to save money for my upcoming hair appointment and ordering an obscene amount of makeup and face creams, I decided this time around to pack our own lunch instead of ordering. When we went to our last convention, we stayed all day and ended up waiting a while in line to get a table at a restaurant and not only was the food overpriced but it was just terrible.

Growing up, we always ate rice balls. We ate them sliced for snacks, breakfast, quick dinners and even packed in our lunches (I was the only Asian kid in my group of friends (and for a few ) so it was always a novelty to them and somehow made it seem more luxurious than it really was). So it only made sense this time around to pack them for us for our quick lunch since we’d only be there for a few hours. Onto making the onigiri!

Poopoo Pidoo by Ego Facto Review

“A young girl, a young woman, she seems naïve, completely fresh, a little ingenuous. But she surprises you when she reveals her carnal woman.”–Ego Facto

I’m not exactly sure how I should start this review. I really don’t…and I feel like this confused and staggering beginning is definitely how I view Poopoo Pidoo by the French perfumery, Ego Facto. Aside from winning the best award (in my imaginary award show I currently have in my head) for the worst name for a perfume ever and yet, one of the best descriptions and marketing I’ve come across, Poopoo wins two awards and continues to make me scratch my head.

With notes of powder, orange and musk, this perfume screams what I’ve come to associate all French perfumes with, loudness that borders on chaos, brashness that borders on overwhelming and a calm dry down that isn’t that calm at all. This was one of the last perfumes I added into online shopping my cart in my recent haul, just a quick last minute decision based upon some of the notes I read. The sample was on the pricier side but I thought, orange blossom, rice powder, warm amber and maybe a bit of depth from the woods, what’s not to like? Which makes this review all the harder for me to write. I feel like I’m breaking up with my ideal boyfriend, after loving the ideal image of what I thought he’d be to being shocked and heartbroken to who he really is.  

Mini Perfume Sample Haul Part 2

From the left: Bvlgari Vert, Jasmine Noir, Issey Miyake, Songes, Iris Ukiyoe, Coco, Chance Fraiche

Not nearly as exciting or packaged as beautifully as my previous haul, I’m still happy it came in the mail. I ordered more samples from a different site at the same time and weirdly enough, I still haven’t received those samples yet, which (since I’m such a worrier) has me a bit nervous. 

Miss Charming by Juliette Has a Gun Review

“The perfume of a virgin witch, docile and provocative, elegant and sensual. At first glance, the miss appears rather innocent. But don’t trust your intuition…If she’s a rose, don’t forget she got spines. A fragrance that combines ingenuousness and lucidity.”–Juliette Has a Gun

If there was ever an award for best perfume blurbs, then the people behind Juliette Has a Gun has clearly swept the floor on that front. I mean, just by reading that blurb, it kind of makes you want to go out and hunt it down for a whiff, doesn’t it dear reader? Don’t bother denying it because I pretty much did the same thing. After searching online for interesting rose perfumes that aren’t just musk and powder, I came across Miss Charming. Upon further reading, the fruit notes were supposed to be litchi, strawberries and wild berries. Well damn, consider me yours, Miss Charming.

In my recent mini perfume haul, I ordered quite a few rose-centric perfumes and honestly, which one to sample first? But I’m a sucker for litchi and fruit, even though my dislike borders on table-flipping anger towards sickly fruity and gourmand perfumes. However, with notes of Moroccan rose, musk and red fruits, I was sold. Surely this rose perfume wouldn’t be like biting into fruit doused in rose water. 

Boyfriend by Kate Walsh Review

“She inhales his shirt, taking in the scent of the man she loves. It lingers on her clothes, her sheets, her hair—all over. Imprinted on her body and in her mind, it radiates within her, filling her with feelings of warmth and desire.”–Sephora

I love this perfume. It is as simple as that. Why, you ask reader? For a multitude of reasons and lucky (or unlucky) for you, I will tell you all about them. The marketing for Boyfriend by actress Kate Walsh is pretty much the main reason why I knew I had to have this perfume. I mean, just read what else was on Sephora‘s site:

Actress Kate Walsh wanted to capture the scent of a guy on a girl: a man’s cologne mixed with perfume, the smell that lingers on the skin. This fragrance evokes memories of that time after he has left for the day—when she gently awakes in a bed that’s still warmly redolent of “boyfriend.”

Now, I don’t know about you, dear reader but for me, I don’t have a boyfriend. I’m as single as single gets. I’m so single that I’m probably the mayor and welcoming committee in Singlesville. But the very image that this marketing campaign evoked was simply irresistible. Rolling around in a warm bed and smelling of a man (I’m pretending its him or him), with tussled hair and sleeping in (and since we’re talking about this fantasy, can I also say that I want perfect makeup like in the movies?). I just knew I had to get it. The very idea of spritzing on my (imaginary) boyfriend’s cologne was pretty much the reason I had to smell this. That and the simple and masculine but elegant bottle was just too much for me not to get. But did it live up to my expectations? 

Things I’m Loving: Glico Caplico Stick Ice Cream Snacks

A dangerously addictive combination of cute and tasty.
((What I’m not loving it the name. Dear Snack Gods, what a terrible name! (And reader, don’t even try to say that more than once. You might hurt yourself)).

Having found this in the snack aisle (which I think you and I both know is my favourite aisle) at my local store, I snagged a box because of a few reasons, 1) just look at that box and tell me you wouldn’t pounce, 2) they were on sale, 3) Glico is a trusted brand in my book, having tried more than I should of their snacks and loving each and all of them. Now, if you’re still not sold, reader, you may need to check your head because I’m pretty sure these will be the cutest and one of the best chocolate wafer snacks you’ll ever have.

Anime Convention 2013 Haul

Should I even call this a haul since it’s so damn small? Alas, I shall but compared to the other convention I went to with C., where I ended up spending more than a hundred dollars, this almost isn’t even worth mentioning. I never did take photos of my last haul but I bought cellphone charms, Card Captor Sakura cards…and more cellphone charms. I think I bought more but for the life of me, I can’t really remember.

This past weekend, there was a three-day convention but since I’m not big on anime and am not feeling too good lately, I settled on going Friday afternoon. The last convention, C. and I spent the entire day and night just at the vendor’s hall walking through and buying things. And I’m not going to lie, I had an insane amount of fun. This convention? Not as much. Yeah, I had fun (when surrounded by things to buy, I’m pretty sure anyone would have fun) but this convention was purely anime and I pretty much only know a very small handful.

So I settled on being happy with good company and looking for cute things. I bought two wallets (and if I had more money to spend, I’d have bought a Sailor Moon one but none caught my eye), and a notebook with drawings from the manga Kimi no Todoke. Now, I’ve read the manga series and watched the live-action movie with Miura Haruma and let me tell you, if you haven’t, you need to go right now and watch it. I’m not joking. It is that good. It was intensely heart-flutteringly sweet and cute and even made me sad (have you ever watched a romance movie or read a book where the love was so pure and wonderful that you feel sad because you’ve never experienced such a great thing?). So when I saw the notebook, I freaked out and obsessed about it until it was finally in my hands. Thankfully, I got the second last one. The wallet on the left was the only one in stock, not only cute but when opened, was the reason I bought it. With the number of cards I have, I need a wallet that has a lot of slots and the cutest thing about this wallet is that the coin area is made so it kind of looks like a cute coin purse. The right Hello Kitty wallet is much simpler but still cute and feeds my Hello Kitty addiction.

What about you, reader? Have you been to any conventions and what were some of the things that you go crazy over?

The Master’s Sun Episode 3 & 4 Thoughts

The Hong Sister’s The Master’s Sun (주군의 태양) with So Ji-Sub and Kong Hyo-Jin

Gone are the days of the episodic feel where each episode featured a new ghost story, somehow related to the Kingdom mall. I didn’t really mind, especially since the show was still (and I guess technically speaking, is) in its infancy but boy, does this week’s episodes not only surpass last week’s but they started and ended just as strong without any lag in the middle. I did find last week’s episodes to be slightly…underwhelming and I know it wasn’t the acting (and for any doubters, this week’s will definitely quiet them) but it was the overall “feel” and writing of the story that I just wasn’t feeling. There are so many shows that feature a new story per episode and that’s great for random watching (though I find I get tired of the show much faster than I normally would) and I had a terrified thought that The Master’s Sun was heading that way.

But boy, did this week’s episodes not only shut me up, they made me positively giddy with excitement. This is what Kdrama land has been lacking for the last while. Something comedic, giggle-inducing, heart flutteringly addictive that isn’t meant to be realistic nor is it meant to be taken that seriously. I’ve come to expect that from the Hong Sisters’ old dramas where logic may or may not adhere but damn, you will be entertained. 

Last♡Cinderella Review

 

Miura Haruma, Shinohara Ryoko, and Fujiki Naohito in Last♡Cinderella (or as I call it, Trying to choose between the hottest men possible)

Having already spoken about how tired I am with the recent Korean drama offerings, this past summer, I decided to watch as many Japanese dramas as possible. And boy, did I find some wonderful, giggle-inducing dramas that not only made me stay up much later than any logical human should but also caused me to fall off the bed fangirling (this drama will do that to you).

Last♡Cinderella (ラスト♡シンデレラ) is about a still single thirty-nine year old that is pretty much a Himono Onna that decides after finding a hair growing out of her chin to find love, since in the characters’ logic in the drama, your body forgets that it’s a woman (this part scared me more than a horror movie and I did a double-take in the mirror before bed to see, if in fact I was growing a beard). What entails is hilarious, and very cute shenanigans and that is only between the three leads.