Tokyo Disneyland vs. DisneySea

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When I go back to Japan during the Summer, I usually find myself going to one of the Disney Resort Near Tokyo. I love the Disney characters to begin with (well, who doesn’t!?) and although it usually ends up being a pretty intense day, there’s just something magical about that place. However, if you are visiting Japan for a short period of time, you probably don’t wont to fill 2 of you precious days with Disney resort so I thought of giving a quick comparison between the two resorts.

• Disneyland has been open since 1983 where as DisneySea opened in 2001 so familiarity wise, Disneyland wins for me.
• Disneyland being the original Disney resort in Japan, the classical characters (e.g. Micky mouse, Minnie mouse, Chip n Dale etc.) are there and the rides are based on older Disney films. DisneySea on the other hand includes more recent Disney film characters as well as some original. Duffy the Disney Bear is featured massively in DisneySea. 
• In both resorts, there are a good range of rides and you won’t be out of things to do for the day. Personally I found the rides in DisneySea to be more efficient in carrying more passengers per carriage and the technologies used in these rides are just outstanding. The down side was that I felt that the duration of the rides in DisneySea was slightly shorter.
• Both resorts have parades scattered through the day but the main parade for Disneyland goes across the park whereas for DisneySea, the parade is performed on the water which is in the centre of the park.
• Generally, DisneySea is marketed as the more ‘adult friendly’ one out of the two resorts because alcohol is sold within the park!

If I was to pick a favourite, Disneyland would definitely be the one. I really did enjoy DisneySea when I visited for the first time 2 years ago. There were amazing rides like Indiana Jones and Toy Story Mania but as a whole Disney experience, it just didn’t feel like Disney. This might be because I have Ioved Disneyland  from when I was a child and it has nostalgic memories associated with it. I’d be interested to know which one is your favourite if you have been to both or any other Disney resort around the world!

Product Empties #2

Following on from my empties series, here are the Makeup things that I finished.

Primer

• Bourjois Happy Light Luminous Serum Primer - This was a light moisturiser like primer and yes, it did give a luminous look but I didn't find it amazing. I probably should have known that the glow combined with my oily skin was not a good idea in the first place and I think a good moisturiser underneath the foundation would do a similar trick.
• Fake Urban Decay Primer Potion - This came with my FAKE UD Naked palette (sad times when I found out :( ). It had a very runny consistency with a skin colour tint. I have never tried the real thing so I cannot compare but I think this did work to enhance the colour of eye shadows. Slightly worrying since you don't know what are in these fake products so I shall not make the same mistake of buying fake products in the future!!

Foundation

• Rimmel BB Cream Matte (Sample) - I have previously tried the original formula and I quite liked it except for the fact that I became shiny after a while and oxidised a bit so I was excited to try out this matte formula. Sad to say that it wasn't much more mattifying then the original. I think this will be good during drier seasons when I get combination skin because this does not emphasise the dry patches!
• Rimmel Lasting Finish Nude Foundation (Sample) - Other than the colour match issue I had with this, I generally liked this product. It had quite a good coverage and sat very nicely on the skin. I may consider getting the full size if I can find the right colour.

Powder

• Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder - I was so happy when I finished my first ever powder! This product was a must for my oily T-zone and I will probably come back to this product in the future.

Concealer

• Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer - I'm sure you don't need to hear any more of how good this concealer is but the coverage that this product provide is amazing! I wouldn't personally use it for under the eyes since it is quite thick and can easily look caked up but to conceal scars and pigmentation, this really works.

Eyes

• COMPANY Eyeliner - This was a felt tip liner that came in the COMPANY magazine. This did the job but this streaked when applying and the blackness wasn't that great. Since it was a freebie, I guess I cannot expect that much.
• So Susan Flutter Mascara - This came in one of the boxes. It was a very wet formulae with a brush that was in a nice swirl. This was a good mascara for every day but if you are after volume or definition, this probably isn't the mascara for you.
• Bourjois Volume 1 Seconde Mascara - This also came in one of the boxes and was surprised with how big the wand was! it was massive! (well... compared to what I usually use anyway.) I did like the plastic spiky bristle never the less and it did a good job of volumizing the lashes. The issue I had was the formula was on the dry side and if you went over the top with your mascara application, it was quite easy to end up with clumpy lashes. 

Lips

• Tanya Burr Champagne Toast Lip Gloss - Clear brown gold with specks of tiny gold shimmer. This was my favourite out of the three that I had. Generally good to wear on a casual day or to top up in the centre of the lips
• Tanya Burr Afternoon Tea Lip Gloss - Quite opaque light pink gloss. This gloss was too blue toned for my complexion and because it was the most opaque out of the three, I  found it quite difficult to wear. It will probably suit people with a paler complexion.
• Tanya Burr Aurora Lip Gloss - A lovely pink gloss with small specks of glitter. I did like this gloss too. 

All in all the Tanya Burr Lip gloss had a lovely sweet scent and felt comfortable on the lips. The disappointing thing was that they all started to smell sour after a year and a half so I had to get rid of them. I'll probably repurchase some and try out some other colours in the future. I am also loving the new packaging and the nail vanish range as well!!

• Burt's Bees Beeswax Lip Balm - This was my first time trying Burt's Bees and I absolutely loved this lip balm. It was quite a hard waxy product and left a tingly feel after application. During the drier winter period, this really helped my chapped lips.

Thank you for reading yet another lengthy list of things and let me know if you have any product recommendation for this coming Autumn and Winter.

Product Empties #1

While I have been absent from here, I have been steadily working through some product.
This time round, I have gathered all the Hair, Body and Skin Care products. There's rather a lot to go through so I shall dive into it.

Hair Care

• L'Oreal Elvive Full Restore 5 Shampoo and Conditioner - I have been using PANTEN products religiously for the past few years so I thought decided to change things up. I think this worked just as well for me so I will probably go back to it at some point. I think it is just a preference of scent. Personally I prefer the PANTEN repair & protect a bit more
• Garnier Ultimate Blends Marvellous Transformer Shampoo and Conditioner - I was drawn to the Moroccan Argan Oil and Camellia Oil aspect of this range but this Conditioner just did not work for me. Also they are both quite heavily fragranced so it might be a good idea to give it a sniff before purchasing.  
• Paul Mitchell Dry Wash Dry - I enjoyed using this. It did leave a slight white residue but after worked into your hair, the powder was not visible. Smelt pretty nice as well. I preferred this compared to the normal Batiste formula so I might consider getting the it in the future
• Colab Dry Shampoo Sheer Invisible New York - I love the Colab Dry Shampoo. It's not suitable for the very oily hair day but for a quick freshen up on your second day hair, its perfect! I have already repurchased my second one! 
• Batiste XXL Plumping Powder - This product came in a beauty box so its not something that I chose to buy but I was not a fan. If you would like to add serious grit in your hair then this would probably be perfect. Once applied, I could not run my hands through my hair! It really was like having glue in your hair. 

Skin Care

• L'Oreal Perfection 3 in 1 Purify Micellar Solution - I enjoyed this product. Nothing ground breaking but did the job of taking off your make up (although I did follow up with a second cleanse with a face wash). I don't usually wear waterproof mascara so removing eye make up wasn't an issue either. I'm currently using the Ganier one and honestly speaking I don't have much preference. I'll probably purchase it again at some point in the future.
• Liz Earl Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser - This was my first cream cleanser and as I loved using this! Totally understand the hype. I feel cream cleansers were far less drying on the skin so I think it will be ideal for the coming season. 
• Clearasil Vitamins & Extracts Wash and Mask - This was actually my 2nd or 3rd bottle so I clearly like it. Rarely do I use it as a mask but as standard pleasant face wash.
• Clean & Clear Advantage Clear & Soothe Daily Scrub -  As face wash goes, this probably did the job but as a Scrub, I did not like it. Yes, there were some beads distributed throughout but nowhere near enough to actually have a scrubbing effect in my opinion. 
• Body Shop Aloe Calming Facial Cleanser and Calming Toner - I did enjoy both products bur probably will not repurchase it again. As for the Cleanser, it was a nice creamy consistency but I don't think it did a good job of removing make up. Also the packing is a pain. It was really difficult to get the product out!! As for the Toner, it was a nice gentle toner. I may consider getting this when I feel like going back to basics with my skin care.
• Superdrug Pebbles Facial Buffer - You can probably tell by the list of products but I have a fair bit of acne on my face. I've been trying to find the best way of cleansing my skin and came across this new line at Superdrug. Its basically a small Loofah sponge. Once it is soaked in water properly, it does get soft enough to use on the face. I am actually a fan of this and I think this provides the right amount of exfoliation. For those who would like a gentler exfoliate, I would recommend the Konjac Sponge.
• Botanics All Bright Refreshing Eye Roll-On - I am still unsure about the whole eye cream thing but I guess it doesn't harm to use one. This one had a clear gel texture and was refreshing to use in the mornings because it had a metal roller. However, I'm not entirely sure whether it actually moisturised my under eyes or not. I preferred the Simple's eye cream better than this one so I probably will not repurchase this.
• Clearasil Ultra Rapid Action Treatment Cream - I absolutely love this and I can't remember how many tubes of this I have gone through. I think it actually works to heal my spots quicker. One issue is that it balls up under make up if you rub your foundation in a lot. If anyone has a recommendation of spot creams that you can use under make up let me know! 
• Clearasil Blemish & Marks Treatment Cream - I'm not sure about this product. I didn't feel like it helped my blemish and marks but at the same time, I understand that a single cream is not going to be a quick fix for acne scars...
• SkinPep Hydra Boost Pure Hyaluronic Acid Serum - This came in a beauty box and was a nice product to try. It had a clear gel-like texture and made my skin bouncy. However, I believe this is a anti-ageing product and for someone who is in their early twenties, I'm not sure if it is necessary quite yet.
• Neutragena Visibly Clear Pink Grapefruit Oil-Free Moisturiser - I really like this moisturiser and have already repurchased this. This gives the right amount of moisturising effect for my oily skin and is perfect under make up
• Neutragena Visibly Clear Spot Stress Control Ultra-light spot treatment moisturiser - This moisturiser was a clear gel type. I wasn't wowed by its performance and wasn't impressed when it balled up so I won't be purchasing it again.

Body Care

• Dove Go Fresh Pomegranate Aerosol Anti-Perspirant Deodorant - This was OK as deodorant went but by the end if its use, I got sick of this scent so I have chosen a different deodorant now. I think its just a matter of preference.
• Body Shop Satsuma Body Butter - This was my first Body Butter from the Body Shop. I'm really bad about moisturising my body but the lovely smell made me want to use it. However, I found this too thick and greasy for my liking. Having said that, I'll probably purchase some other scents when they have the sales on.

This was rather a long list of products but I hope some of you have found it useful in a way!

Thank you for reading :)

What do you think about Beauty Boxes?

Hello.
Yes. It has been a while since my previous post. University life took over.... apologies.

Anyway, I am back today to ask you about Beauty Boxes. Are they a good idea or not.

Over the course of this past 2 years, I have tried out some subscription type boxes and some one-off type boxes from both Birchbox and LatestInBeauty. When you see the difference in the value of its actual worth and the price of the box, it sounds like such a bargain. Not to mention the excitement of getting a post!! I'e listed some other pros and cons.

Pros

• Good value for money 
• Discover new things
• Get to try out a wide range of things without committing yourself to the full size product (in some cases)
• Get some discounts on the product if you do love them and decide to purchase
• It is just simply rather exciting!!

Cons

• You accumulate things that you don't really need
• There are always going to be a type of product that you don't like or use (bronzers in my case)
• You get multiples of the same thing 
• You get the same type of product (what are you meant to do with 3 brow kits!! It takes a while to finish 1 off let alone 3)
• There's going to be good months and bad months

I think Beauty Boxes are great now and again for treats or gifts but a subscription that gives you one every month is in my opinion too much, especially for those who doesn't make testing and reviewing products their job.

Let me know what you guys think!

Products to use up in 2015 -- Part 2 --

I have a serious obsession with lip products! I own a total of 23 items! This is stupid because I rarely wear lip stick.. more like I feel over the top if I wore one to labs since no one around me is wearing one. Despite that, I seem to have accumulated some colourful ones that I have no idea how to use up but I shall try my best.

Similarly to my part 1, I have a full list of the products and have highlighted the one to finish this year!

Lip care products

• Etre belle liplift peel
• Vaseline cocoa butter
• Lip smacker strawberry
• the Body Shop Mango lip butter

Chubby sticks

• Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain (01)
• Revlon Matte Balm (225 Sultry)
•                                  (230 Complex)
•                                  (245 Audacious)
• Bourjois Color boost (01 Red Sunrise)
• Clinique Chubby stick (07 Super Strawberry) - sample

Lip Gloss

• Tanya Burr lip gloss (Champagne toast)
•                                   (Afternoon tea)
•                                   (Aurora)
• L'oreal Glam Shine Stain Splash (101 Lolita)
• Burt's Bees lip shine (050 Pucker)

Lip Stick

• Rimmel Moisture Renew (180 Vintage Pink)
• Rimmel Lasting Finish lipstick (206 Nude Pink)
• Maybelline Colorsansation (710 Sultry Snad)
• Revlon lip butter (027 Juicy Papaya)
• L'oreal Color Riche (461 Scarlett Cream)
• Kiko Lustrous Cream Lipstick (505 Dark Tea Rose)
• Kiko Velvet Mat-Satin lipstick (611 Autumn Pink)

Others

• Revlon Moisture Stain (030 Milan Moment)
• Rimmel Apocalips lacquer (101 Celestial)

Products to use up in 2015 -- Part 1 --

2014 has been the year that I truly found my passion for make up. The hours spent watching beauty related YouTube videos increased exponentially in a very unhealthy manner... Anyway, due to that my beauty stash has significantly increased to an unnecessary level. To be honest, I don't think it is a big collection but as a student with a tight budget, I would like to refrain myself from doing unnecessary make up purchases for this year. (and get the most of my money already spent!)
Inspired by megsmakeup8 and other YouTubers doing various projects like 'Project use it up 2015' or 'Project Pan 2015', I have decided to list down my aims here on my blog. I have listed all the make up I own and have highlighted the ones that I aim to finish this year!

My complete make up stash (minus lip product)

Products to work on this year!

Primer

• Maybelline Baby skin instant pore eraser - full + sample
• Bourjois Happy light base serum lumiere
• laura mercier foundation primer

Foundation

• Rimmel BB cream Matte (light) - sample
• Bourjois Healthy mix serum (51 light vanilla)
• L'oreal Nude Magique CC cream (anti-redness)
• Maybelline pure. BB Mineral BB watergel (01 natural beige)
• Maybelline Dream Matte mousse (010 ivory)
• Max Factor X Skin Luminizer foundation - sample

Powder

• Rimmel Stay Matte (004 sandstorm)

My first every time to hit pan on powders! so excited to finish this!!

Blusher

• Sleek Blush By 3 (369 Pink lemonade)
• Excel gradation cheek (apricot peach)
• Bourjois cream Blush (02) 
• Bellapierre Coral cheek&lip stain

Bronzer

• Bourjois Bronzing Powder
• Collection Bronze Glow Mosaic Powder (2 Radiant)
• Lacura Compact Powder (30 sun) (this is far too dark for me so I'm using it as a bronzer)

Highlighter

• Topshop Highlighter Horizon

Concealer

• Collection lasting perfection (2 cool medium) x2
• The Body Shop concealer stick (01)

Eyeliner

• Rimmel Scandeleyes waterproof (Black and Nude)
• Lollipops Long lasting Eyes pencil 701 (Black)
• L'oreal Color Riche Le Khol 120 immaculate snow (White)
• Revlon colorstay liquid eye pen (Black)
• Company eyeliner (Liquid Black)
• Eyeko Skinny liquid eyeliner (Navy)
• Maybelline lasting drama gel eyeliner (Black) - hit Pan

Brow

• Rimmel pro. eyebrow pencil (004 black brown)
• L'oreal Brow Artist Plumper
• Sana Powerstyle liquid brow pen 

Mascara

• So Susan flutter mascara
• Bourjois Volume 1 sec mascara
• L'oreal Volume Million Lashes So Couture So Black

Eyeshadow

• Maybelline dream mousse eyecolor (10 caramel Karma)
• Fasio double dazling eyes (C-2) (daiso Japan)
• elpha Pearl in Eyeshadow (C) (daiso Japan)
• MeMeMe Elegandt eyes trio (02)
• Maybelline Eyestudio diamond glow (22 Bronze Drama)
• FAKE! Urbandecay Naked original (very sad that I found this out! Pan as much as possible!)
• the Balm Nude'tude
• Sleek del mar 449 
• Urbandecay (probably fake but it actually works!) shadow primer potion

Lip products and all the other skincare & body care products to follow!

 

 

Road trip to the Swiss Alps --Part 2--

so this is the continuation of my trip in the Swiss Alps that was meant to be done during the Summer 2014. Yes I know its super late but this was one of the reason for starting my blog in the first place, I probably should finish off.

This part includes my three night stay in Interlaken. I was going to include all the routes taken but I seem to have thrown away all the paper and maps when I did the end of year clear out so here are some photos from the three days

Day 3
The morning started off looking muggy.

But we decided to go up the mountain anyway because you didn't want to waste any time while you were there right!? anyway it was my first time seeing glacier so close so it was very powering!

A coffee break was in order here!

The weather brightened up over the course of the day so we enjoyed Kouglehopf - a special cake of Alsace - 

Day 4
It was a gorgeous day so we went up Jungfraujoch (the highest railway station in Europe at 3454m. At the station there was a whole route round to the view point, summer skiing and an ice exhibition. Since it was so high, we started to get dizzy so we had to rush down. Having had a rest at a beautiful restaurant, we spent the day hiking down the mountain and I suddenly became a photographer for the day! Here are some small selection of the photos. It really was the most beautiful day!

Day 5
Unfortunately it was yet another muggy day and also the moving day to our next destination, Saas-Grund. We were hoping to go on a short hiking route but considering the weather, we did a train journey round before we left Interlaken.

Right! This was my adventure in Interlaken. It will be Saas-Grund next!

Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year!
Feeling refreshed and ready to start a brand new year! (That's the spirit I want to be in but I've had a pretty lazy morning so far...)
So, to kick start this Year, I would like to make my new years resolution. This year is pretty special for me and I sense it is going to be quite a tough one. Firstly, it is the first time in a long while that I am making these New Years resolutions because as a child, I found myself not sticking to any of the unreasonable targets I make myself, hence felt pretty pointless making resolutions that I'm not going to follow anyway. Secondly I am graduating from University in June so with this comes the whole issue with that to do with my life after that and getting jobs and the whole shebang. With this in mind I an sure that some changes in myself is necessary to get me through this year and at the end of it fell happy with the outcome. therefore, I resort to making a New Years resolution

In order to make these resolutions I would like to do a quick reflection on 2014. It hasn't been great (academic wise). My final exams at the end of June came out pretty appalling. This being the results of my penultimate year, I am currently in a pretty dire situation. On a happier note, I have got my first ever boyfriend!!! Things I do with him is a first for me so each and every moment together has been a special one.
Returning to my academic topic...After moving up to my fourth and master year of my course (my degree is an integrated masters course i.e. I graduate for the first time with a masters qualification) I kept my motivation high to adjust to the new lab based lifestyle and told myself to be almost completely devoted in my research (since I have to spend some time doing my other lecture modules!). .... well, as usual or me, this stayed true for about the first month and I gradually became too comfortable and became my usual lazy self. So for 2015, I would like to utilise this amazing thing called 'To Do LIST' and actually write down what needs done by when and actually STICK TO IT! (need to do this daily! Is it only me who starts off sticking to the plan for Monday and then before I realise it, its already Friday!?)


Second thing is concerning my growing interest in beauty products. 2014 has been the year that I have fully gone into beauty videos on YouTube and have started subscribing to blogs and reading them. I am one of the later ones to get into make up. I never really wore any make up during my school years. I did own the basic sets of make up but never felt confident enough to wear it in public. A combination of learning more about the types of make up and the application techniques through YouTube and also maturing and generally feeling more confident with myself has made me start experimenting more with make up. This is all good and exciting stuff but there was one draw back to this. I started to spend far too much on make up (Well probably not that much but considering my budget and the actual necessity of some of these products, it did add up to unnecessary cost). I shall therefore, note down what I have in all my beauty stash (once I get back to uni) and then shall do 'Project Pan' and ban myself from buying any more products unless it is necessary.

Thirdly its about this blog. I started this blog in the summer of 2014 but have abandoned it since. It was initially to keep a written record of any exciting thing that happened to my life and hopefully to share some of my interests with anyone out there. I have managed to write up the blog posts that I aimed to do with in 2014 (said in the last post) so these are scheduled to come up in the next week whilst I'm away at my ski holiday! As stated in the the previous post, I aim to get at least one post out per week. I have nor yet made specific schedules yet because I shall need to find what works time wise whilst during term time.

I think I will conclude my resolutions here. There are more things that I would like to add to this list such as fitness routine  and losing weight and other things but knowing me I know it isn't realist to put all what I hope to do. It is probably better to stick properly to this main three. I wish the best to any of you who have managed to read this far and please look forward to how my blog and life develops for the course of this year.