Non-makeup related post: I Want YOUR Help!

So yes, there has been a valid reason why I've been away for a bit. I don't want to air my dirty laundry online, so if you must know what's been going on, just ask me personally. Let's just say there are days when I don't feel like leaving my (sister's) room, let alone get dressed and enjoy the day. Work keeps me motivated and keeps my mind off a lot of things. I am in the process of moving my things back to my Mom's...

ANYWAY, I have decided to go back to school in the fall of 2010. It seems like a while away, but I need to pick the right school within my budget! I actually attended Sophia University here in Tokyo, but deferred, then quit in 2003. What a waste! IF I'm lucky they'll let me transfer my credits to whatever school I decide to apply to...but from what I've heard from my old classmates it's hard to do so.

Soooooo I'm looking into schools in Canada. Canadian schools offer reasonable tuition for International students compared to schools in the U.S. I want to go to a good 4-year University, not some small college in Nebraska....not that there's anything wrong with small schools in Nebraska, but you catch my drift. I don't have idle time anymore, nor do I have the financial means to be lazy. I need to get a very good education without having to worry about transfering to different schools to graduate.

So far schools in the Maritime meet my budget...especially the University of Prince Edward Island. I know you're thinking, 'WTF is a Tokyo girl going do on a small island near the North Pole?' I've actually visited Canada a lot (I have extended family in Ontario), and have also visited Prince Edward Island. I was five or so, and I remember getting attacked by a swarm of black flies at the garden near the Anne of Green Gables house. The school has Journalism as a major....YES YES YESSSSSS!!!

Anyway, I'm keeping my eyes open though. I know there are other great schools all across Canada. Those of you who attend or have attended Canadian schools, PLEASE recommend a good Canadian University guidebook. The only ones I have are dated back to 1998-1999 (my high school years). I know a lot of kids do their University research online now, but my old-fashioned self wants a thick book/guide, so I have all the general information in ONE place. Also, if any of you have general opinions/advice/recommedations of any kind in regards to schools in Canada, or going back to school, I'm ALL EARS!!!

I'm UBER excited about going back to school...but this means no more binge-shopping, no more buying useless makeup, no more absentminded spending for Aya!!! It's alright though, I have enough makeup to last me several lifetimes...no worries though, as soon as I get my head+heart right, I will be back with the FOTD's and reviews!

I thank everyone in advance for reading this long, non-makeup related post. Toodlie-Doo!

Re: Edit
I will reply to comments when I get home...but you guys are right...I'm not sure if I can handle being in a teeeny town for FOUR years, no matter how awesome and pretty it is. I'm a big-city gal with love of culture and tons of experience pulsating through my vains...Man I would LOOOOOVE to live in Quebec!

I'm still alive...

Hi blogger world...

Sorry for the lack of updates. I've been going through some things and I just haven't been around my computer long enough to update...I will start posting my hauls/FOTD's again once I am settled.

I still read everyone's blogs and many put a smile on my face even when I'm not feeling my best.

If I could hug each and every one of you who brighten my day, I would!

Here's a quick list of bits and bobs I've hauled in the last week or so...

Winter clothes:

• Black rider boots from a cute/cheap shoe store in Ikebukuro. They're flat, and sooo comfy! I like pairing it with girly clothes and dresses :)
• Eggplant-colored strech tunic. Soooo cute paired with leggings! Purple is my new favorite color. My nails are purple, I'm wearing purple today, and I keep buying more purple shirts or dresses.
• Gray striped camel-hair long cardigan. It's fuzzy and cute but it itches (-__-;)
• Opaque gray, knit black and diamond-print leggings from Kutsushitaya (the BEST for fashionable socks, stockings and leggings!)

Makeup:

• Jill Stuart lipgloss in 18 (Opalescent baby pink with teeeny sparkles. Great for those weary of glitter in their gloss)
• Nude Tiffa lipgloss (<--a Kanebo sub-brand)
• Shiseido Kesho Wakusui Eye Shadow Trio (sold exclusively at convenience stores)

Others:

• Latest issues of Mina and Jille magazines

I can't think of anything else...but knowing me I've probably forgotten a couple things...hehe. I'll take pics as soon as I have enough time :)

One more ME update....I got my braces done. Just the top for now. I feel ugly. I went through the same pain with braces ten years ago, and here I am again...but this time, on my own expense! I had two teeth pulled already, two more to go. I can't wait 'till my face starts to warp, LOL.

Aaaand lastly, some of you guys have asked me where I got my boot keepers from my previous posts. I got them at a store called Passport.

More boot keepers HERE

Here's a link to their online store:

http://passport-web.com/

http://www.beans-style.jp/hannari/page001.html

online gallery of their products...Death by kawaii overdose!

http://passport-web.com/phptop/

Happy Saturday! Hope everyone's safe and having fun ;)

Mall Haul

On a whim I decided to go to Mori Town Mall, which is a few stations away from where I live. It was 5:30 p.m. and I said what the heck, I can walk around and eat dinner there. BAAAAAD idea. I ended up blowing MORE money. I did buy some more goodies for Kimberly for our swap, which was good.

Too much kawaii goodies to resist! The drugstore at the mall had mini-size products...a great way to test out a bunch of products without going broke!

Here's most of the stuff I got (yes, there's more... >.<) Top Row (L to R): Pom Juice Gummies, Trial kit of masks and face products and Canmake Eyelash Curler...I tried this at the store, and it's AWESOME!!! It fits my eye PERFECTLY! It was only 630 yen!
Middle Row (L to R): Sekkisui Oil Blotting sheets (these are really popular now, I read that they're amazing), Acne face bar soap and Freya Deep Clear Powder
Bottom Row (L to R): Q10 Massage Makeup Remover, Face Toner and Kokuryu Face Cream
Close up of the bar soap...it smells SOOOOO good.
Close up of Freya Deep Clear Powder. It's a powder face wash. You just add water to it, or add it to your face wash. It's supposed to help clear acne and blackheads. I tried it tonight with my Mentholatum Acnes face wash, and my skin still feels baby-butt smooth!
And last but not least..........The cutest of them all!
They're boot inserts. I got new boots yesterday (will post clothes haul soon), and I needed these!
They're supposed to be apples. They look like monkeys! You can undress them, their little shirts have velcro closures! LOL.
I hope you enjoyed my kawaii haul :)

Spicy Colors FOTD

Hi guys! So I had to do my makeup in a public bathroom at the train station today. I didn't feel like wearing a full face of makeup to my dentist appointment. So after I had TWO teeth yanked out (I'm getting braces AGAIN!), I bought myself some makeup and retreated to the bathroom...thank goodness it was pretty clean.

So here's the look I came up with, with my new drugstore goodies. I touched up the eyes and cheeks after I got home because I felt gross....I am STILL spitting out blood...TMI?

Fixin' Them Teeth! (I actually had braces about ten years ago...)
Today's FOTD...I love the colors!
With Flash:
My mini-haul and what I used, L to R: Canmake Cheek & Highlight Palette (504 yen=$5.27) and Cezanne eyeshadow palette (598 yen=$6.25)
I hope you guys don't think I'm weird I did my makeup in the station bathroom...LOL.
C'mon, I had errands to run afterwards. It SUCKED though, I should have went straight home. My upper jaw was numb for a few hours but it started waking up while I was out and about. I started tearing up while walking around because it felt so awful. Lesson learned...from now on, after I get teeth pulled, I will go home and SLEEP!

Re: Edit
Thanks to Yumeko-san, who pointed out that the Yen to U.S. Dollar rate has changed...quite drastically! I can actually buy more dollars with my Yen!
Today 1 USD=95.6 Japanese Yen
I SHOULD but don't really pay attention to the exchange rate or stock prices anymore...I need to pay attention to ALL current events, not just the headliners, huh >.<
Soooo with that said, I changed the conversions of the makeup prices...No biggie, just wanted to thank Yumeko for tuning me in :o)

I need a lot more practice...

Here's something different I tried tonight with my 78 Piece Coastal Scents Palette. I was bored and lonely...a common scenario for me so I turned to my colossal makeup collection for comfort ;P

I want to start getting into more artistic makeup, hopefully one day do this on other people.
I need a LOT more practice, but I want to post this so I can keep track of my own improvements....so all criticism is welcome, not just the 'constructive' kind...I'm all ears!!!

Above: M.A.C LipGlass in Naked Space (from the Neo Sci Fi collection)

I used mainly used 3 colors from this Coastal Scents Palette...

I used the YELLOW, 3rd one from the top
...and the CORAL and RED, 3rd and 4th from top
...and finally the matte BLACK, right above the blush.
Hope you guys enjoyed this...now butcher me with your honest opinions!!!!!
P.S. I used Coastal Scents brushes too...I forgot to take pictures, but I mainly used the Medium Chisel Fluff Brush. I don't like using my M.A.C brushes to apply bright colors because I'm afraid it'll stain the bristles...LOL.

Popteen Gyaru Inspired FOTD

I got the December issue of Popteen the other day on my way to work...I've been buying magazines left and right recently! Popteen is actually a good magazine. It's geared towards the high school crowd, but they always have great tutorials and the clothes they feature are always wearable, not over-the-top sexy or anything...

I'm definitely NOT a gyaru, never have been. I do admire some of the styles though. Lately there are a lot of gyaru's who either keep their hair dark or dye it black or dark brown...so I took cues from several models in this issue and recreated their styles for a look that's subtle, but cute :)

Popteen December '08 issue
My inspiration...pale skin, BIG eyes! Japanese girls call this the 'dolly' look...
I love this girl's hair! I'm trying to grow mine out...it's taking forrreevverrrrr!!!
Her before and after...all I have to say is...WOAH!!! She used a NARS duo eyeshadow and lots of MAC eyeliner...and falsies of course :)
My take on the high school gyaru look...LOL
Lined my eyes with dark brown shadow, then lined them with dark black pencil and liquid liner. Made the lines thicker on outer half of the bottom lashline...
What I used
- I first prepped my eyes with Esprique Liquid Shadow in BE 300 (not shown). This stuff is great as an eyeshadow base!!! My eyeshadow did NOT crease at all!
- Then I used M.A.C:
* Shroom (top row, left) all over lids
* Soba (middle row, left) from lash line to crease
* Tempting (bottom row, right) to line my upper and lower lash line.
- I then line the top and bottom lash line with M.A.C Technakhol in Graphblack, and went over the lines with KATE Super Sharp Liner in black. I made the lines extra thick on the outer half of the bottom lash lines.
- I swept M.A.C blush in Well Dressed on the apples of my cheeks and highlighted the area above my cheeks with a NARS highlighter (I don't know the name, sorry).
- I'm wearing M.A.C lipstick in Peachstock with M.A.C Lip Glass in Pastel Emotion on top.
- I'm not wearing falsies b/c I don't find them very comfortable, plus I was only going out to the grocery store, LOL. I am wearing my fave Max Factor mascara though :)

Revisiting M.A.C Eyeshadows...

I did a purple look today only using purples and pinks from M.A.C...I haven't used my M.A.C shadows in quite some time! I'm in too much of a rush when I have to work in the mornings to whip out the 15-pan palettes and mix and match colors. When I'm rushing, I always reach for my neutral palettes.

The pictures don't do the beautiful colors justice! I blended a light lavender on the lids (Beautiful Iris) with a salmon pink just on the crease (Expensive Pink) and a darker blue-ish purple (Parfait Amour) on the outer corners.

Here are the results. Hope you like!
Colors used:
* Beautiful Iris on lids(2nd row, 2nd from left)
* Parfait Amour on outer corners (2nd row, 2nd from right)
* Expensive Pink on crease (right)
I hope everyone has a lovely weekend. It's a long weekend here in Japan, but I have to go to work tomorrow...BIG boo!