Moments like Diamonds

Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum

2012-01-24T11:40:00.000-08:00

Hello there, it seems like forever right? Well I've gotten into a rather bad depression this past weekend, I don't want to talk about it as people may perceive me differently/badly. But I think I may be getting out of it now and will try to turn things around. I can't post any coordinates yet, but I will finish out my Japan Trip 7 photos!

Japan Trip 7 was a rather short trip, around 18 days or something, during my winter break from university last year. So I didn't have so much time to/want to visit alot of tourist spots, but one of the great places I visited was on my to-do list for a long time! That place being the Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum of course XD

The entrance to the Museum

What sets the Open Air Museum apart from the other great museums around Tokyo is the fact the museum buildings are the artifacts themselves! Rather then rooms filled with artworks, artifacts etc, the Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum is made up of preserved historical building which you can enter and explore.

Inside a building from the 1920s (I believe)

A banking family's Mansion

The buildings range from the early Edo period up until the 60s; farm houses to aristocrats' mansions, shops and a bathhouse too. All are original buildings that were moved to the museum to preserve them as many old buildings in Tokyo had been destroyed by earthquakes, fire, war etc.

This type of museum is favorite sort, I really like to walk around in old building and explore places in a more hands on manner. Certainly I was glad I was able to finally visit, and really wish I had more time there!

I recommend devoting a whole day to this museum if your schedule permits, or perhaps 4 hours in the morning and then the evening spent in Shinjuku (which is the station you use to access the museum).

A scary toilet (big hole leading to darkness haha) I'm surprised this sort of toilet was indoors

A lovely tatami room

A sitting room for receiving guests in a mansion

Inside an old farmhouse

And the exterior

The buildings I enjoyed most were the old thatched roof farm houses (they were quite spooky with their dim lighting and feeling of spirits) and A politician's mansion from the Meiji era. All the houses and buildings are filled with historical artifacts of the appropriate times, so it makes the experience more "realistic"

Inside a different farmhouse

A shop and the bathhouse

They also have a section of shops, a bar and bathouse so you can experience historical public life too! Overall I have a great impression of the Edo-Tokyo Open Air Museum, and it's one of the things I recommend most when visiting Tokyo!

ACCESS INFORMATION

Official website
Admission Fee: Y400 adults, Y320 uni students, Y200 high school students and free for kids under 15
Hours: April till September: 9:30am to 5:30pm, October till March: 9:30am to 4:30pm
Getting there:
JR Chuo Line, take off at Musashi-Koganei Station. (then take a bus)
Seibu bus: Take the bus at platform No. 2 or 3 near the north exit of Musashi-Koganei Station:　Get off at Koganei-koen Nishi-guchi and walk for 5 min.
Kanto bus: Take the bus for Mitaka Station at platform No.4 near the north exit of Musashi-Koganei Station: Get off at Edo-Tokyo Tatemono-en mae and walk for 3 min.

Seibu-shinjuku Line take off at Hana-Koganei Station (then take a bus)
Seibu bus: Take the bus for Musashi-Koganei Station, get off at Koganei-koen Nishi-guchi, and walk for 5 min.

Me in the bathhouse haha, it was so cold then not even the glove helped DX

More shops

Inside of a pub!

Spring Trends PT. 2: Egoist, Lip Service and Duras!

2012-01-18T13:04:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone! I really didn't plan on blogging right now, or even doing another addition in the Spring Trends mini-series but I came across a great post on Kyou Son's blog she posted yesterday XD

She attended the spring exhibits for Egoist, Lip Service and Duras (three of my favorite brands currently, especially Egoist and Lip Service). During these exhibits members of the media, models etc can go and view the brands line up for the upcoming season. Here are the lovely pics she posted, so much inspo!

EGOIST

The plaid top and sage sheer top are surprising, but the bikini top and far coral colored dress are pieces I'm seeing alot.

Alot of variety in these mannequins, I like the far right 2 and the middle one with the leopard leggings shows a nice way to bring a winter item into spring

A maxi tank dress, but the accessories really catch my eye - love those neons and pastels tooooo much!

LIP SERVICE

A nice monotone display

Many lovely pale (and pastel) colored coordinates, following Lip Service's theme for this spring - "Nudy Passion"

Pale accessories and a floral patterned romper

Some more pale colored coordinates

DURAS

Duras appears to be using more of the earth color trend (which is upcoming in the west) for their collection

Pale lace onepiece, Duras always uses lots of pale colors so I expect there's alot more to this collection XD

Do you like any of these brands, or any items that stands out to you? I really want to get my hands on several of the Egoist pieces and accessories and most of the Lip Service pieces XD

Spring Trends PT. 1: Colors!

2012-01-17T19:37:00.000-08:00

Good evening again! How is everyone doing? Luckily it was still sunny today and gave me energy to get through my workouts, but its getting colder. Not as cold as usual, and no snow to speak of (it's rather disturbing) but atleast it looks nice lately. I'm not sure where the day went, so here I find myself laying in bed as I blog haha!

I had some requests to write more about fashion trends. Though I don't find myself well versed enough in fashion to be writing desicive things like that, there are some obvious color trends emerging for spring.

Spring always brings light colors so these should not be too surprising, but the pastel colors are very refreshing in a way^^ I have seen these pastels referred to as "Frosted neons" or "Sherbets" so maybe that's the cooling sense I feel haha! Other color trends to take note of are Primary Colors, though I have not see them developing in gal fashion, and neon colored accessories are cropping up in stores around me.

Here are a few more photos that relate to the Spring colors. The next part of the series will be focused on trendy patterns, followed by cuts and motifs. I can't write the be-all of spring trends but hopefully they will help a bit.

Lip Service shop staff show several trendy colors

Lip Service's spring exhibition(?) lots of pale and pastel clothing

A spring look from Momoko Ogihara, monotone with a pastel skirt!

Nicole Abe at a spring exhibit with pastel colors abound, does anyone know which brand it was for?

* Sponsor Review * Dueba Shinny / Puffy 3 Tone Aqua lens

2012-01-16T10:55:00.000-08:00

Good day friends! I'm sorry I didn't blog all weekend :/ I did have some family business again but I also just didn't feel like posting anything. I don't have the same drive to blog anymore, and I'd rather post nothing than something really boring at this point. Today is such a beautiful day here in MN, the bright clear sun is cheering.

So I got something together and would like to share another review with you^^ I have been promising to review the other Puff 3 tone lenses, and now we can check out the Aqua color! The lenses were provided to me by Shoppingholics.com

Dueba Shiny gray/Puffy 3 tone gray Circle Lens

Origin: Korea
Diameter : 14.5mm
Water Content : 38%
Base Curve : 8.6mm
Life Span : 1 year disposal

These lenses were sent to me by Shoppingholics.com for review purposes, all following opinions are my own honest assessments. These lenses are quite different than all the lenses I've tried previously, as they are very natural, so I was very excited to try them!

After trying the grey lenses I was very happy to try the other colors, because I was so pleased with the grey lenses. I already knew these lenses are fairly comfortable, I could wear the grey lenses for 8+ hours and that the enlarging is natural but noticeable!

One lens with flash

Two lenses without flash

Two lenses with flash

Honestly I can't say if these lenses were the same level of comfort as the grey lenses, though I'm sure they are, because my mom was cooking chili and the onion and pepper fumes got under the lenses and really irritated my eyes. I had to take them off after an hour.

But the enlarging was very nice! I really like how these lenses make your iris appear larger, but not with some unnatural or very bold design. These are more like an extension of a natural eye color. People noticed something different about my eyes, but they couldn't tell it was a lens right away ^^/

No flash

With flash

The only thing I took note of was the color, it's a very bright blue on top of my light eyes! I think it would be the right level of pigmentation over darker eyes, but on light eyes it might be too brightly colored for some. If you want true blue eyes, with a natural design, then these are the lenses for you!

One great point though is the "3 tone" from the name of the lens! The inner color of the lens is a greenish brown color that helps it blend in with your own color much better!

Quick Review:
Enlargement: ★★★★★
Comfort: ★★★★★
Color: ★★★★

I quite like these lenses, I would use them for looks that I want to be a bit more bold with, but could still wear them in the day time without feeling like I'm attracting a lot of attention hehe^^

I want to state once more how completely satisfied and how much I enjoy transactions with Shoppingholics.com! Their service is top-notch, above and beyond, they try really hard to consider the tastes of their customers and it shows. Take a look around Shoppingholics.com for these lenses, hundreds more and all the greatest beauty products!

Please check out Shoppingholics.com!

Evereyday Smokey Eye Tutorial

2012-01-12T18:03:00.000-08:00

Good evening everyone! I said I'd be posting something useful yesterday, well... it just took a bit longer to get together than I expected. And over all it's not so amazing as I thought it would be. But I hope people can find this tutorial a bit useful, even just a bit! haha. Tutorials were requested often in the option field of the 666 Giveaway.

Everyone's suggestions were too kind, thank you #TT#

Speaking of! The winner was drawn yesterday, and contacted. If she does not claim the prize in 3 days, I will draw a new winner. Congrats Jerrica! And thank you for requesting more lens reviews, I have 3 pairs to review yet^^

And now on to the "main event" of this post - my Everyday Smokey Eye tutorial. I call this "everyday" not because it's something most women consider day makeup, but because this is my typical eye makeup on any given day.

ITEMS USED...

From left:
Maybelline Eyestudio gel liner, Sephora Full Action mascara, Lorac Ooh La Lace Palette (colors used are marked), Too Faced Insurance eye primer, and NYX chubby pencil in Cottage Cheese

And of course whatever lashes you like to use, and your eyelash glue of choice.

I didn't show a step for priming, but I thought that would be rather boring to look at. I think the hardest step is creating the wing, the shape of the wing can create a variety of eye shapes/looks so just keep practicing to find what you like. And make sure to blend the lower liner with the darkest eyeshadow so that the line is not too harsh.

Though I don't play around with eyeshadows toooo often, I will try to create some more tutorials or do some tuts based off of magazine looks. If there's any questions about the tutorial just let me know.

My new haircut, and Jason Wu x Target

2012-01-10T19:56:00.000-08:00

Oh here I am again laying in bed, I almost justified not blogging tonight. Then I just thought "This is be a little post, I can do it!" haha. I will make up for today's small post with something a bit more useful tomorrow.

Actually I'm a bit nervous to share the pictures of my haircut now because I have built up my getting a hair cut too much perhaps haha. Especially when several people said they were looking forward to seeing it DX Oh no, it didn't come out as interesting as I wanted. Even though I asked the student to put more layers in, there is still as much shape as I hoped for.

I mean it's a big improvement over my scraggly plain straight hair, having some shape to my hair really improves it haha. As my mom suggested, this is a good base for more deep layers next time.

My new hair cut. The mosaic seemed the least distracting way to censor my face

When I looked at these pictures my first thought was "There's no difference!" haha, my pre-cut nerves were all for naught I guess XD

Well another thing I want to talk about a bit is the upcoming Jason Wu capsule collection for Target! It's coming to Target stores across the US on February 5th (giving me a reason to look forward to Feb. besides Valentines^^) Its another big name collab, like the Missoni collab late last year, but these items are more wearable for the general public.

Here are my picks from the collection, but you can see everything on Target Style. I am gonna try my best to get the white bag and white top. I think the trench, white dress and lace skirt would all be lovely, but who knows with these limited things XD The yellow and nude dress is unpopular so far, but I think its interesting.

I read a funny comment that some woman thinks these clothes are for pre-teens. I would say the 10-12 who'd want to wear these are rare haha! But as with designer wear these items are cut slimmer. Are you going to get anything from the collection?

After Xmas GETS and Glamor

2012-01-09T20:47:00.000-08:00

Good evening everyone! I'm quite tired from sleeping badly last night, but its just part of being a woman haha. Today my dad came over, and I made a bit of a stink about it on Twitter because I didn't want to watch Avatar again. We watched the special collector's extended edition which was better than the theater release, my Dad gave it to me for Xmas last year I guess, but we didn't watch it till now.

Well I am glad to say I have fixed the error with photoshop, it was all because CS2 is 32 bit and I'm running a 64 bit system now haha, but it was an easy enough fix. So I was able to edit the pics of my after Christmas gets.

Here are some small items I bought on sale, well the F21 items weren't, but the Claire's items were just 1$ each. I picked up the Sugar Frosting and Cupcake shades of the Revlon Lip Butters. You can also see my new blanket, which I got for Christmas, as the background.

I got requests to see my gets on me, so here you go! Both are from the Jennifer Lopez collection.

And the Adventure Time DVD as a gift, it's my current favorite cartoon

Dolce & Gabbana pouch and leopard print slippers, both gifts

And this Dolce & Gabbana The One fragrance set was a Christmas gift from my friend. I really appreciate it because I love this scent. It was categorized as a "Glamorous" scent by Harper's Bazzar and that really struck me!

I began thinking, Glamorous is really what I would like my style to be. I think I have been heading that direction for awhile already with my purchases. To me glamor is clean lines, strong silhouettes, classic pieces with bold accessories and sexy touches. Most of my current favorite gyaru brands are categorized as Glamorous on FashionWalker as well haha.

So I put together a small collage of items I think would make my wardrobe more glamorous. I will also post a few pictures that are inspiration.

Little update and Roppongi unique lights

2012-01-08T12:11:00.000-08:00

GENERALLY . . .

I really did want to blog a bit this weekend, but this is all I can pull together at the moment. I did a full restore of my new laptop so I was able to uninstall the corrupted Photoshop, but now I'm too gun shy to try installing it again TT So I still can't edit all my photos piling up.

This was another weekend of entertaining family members, who used our house as a meeting point. It was really tiring as usual, and my dad is coming over tomorrow. I am recovering from a bit of a cold so it just feel like many things are set against me.

STYLING . . .

I did get my hair cut yesterday that I had written about doing previously. Those photos will be some of the first I edit when I can, because I'm pretty satisfied with the cut! I've got a few more great items after Christmas too, so I want to share those too DX

As for coordinates, which I said I would start working on again, I can't pinpoint when that will happen as I have gained 10lb. I'm not afraid to admit it when I gain weight, it happens very easily now after my 100+lb weightloss, but that's too much to show myself, imo. Oh I feel like I'm making alot of excuses for not being a better blogger, but there are just alot of set backs recently TT

PHOTOS . . .

I don't want this whole post to be doom and gloom, so I will brighten it up with some pretty lights. I have done a lot of illumination posts this past month or so, but these are really the last I have so noone has to put up with that anymore haha! These are not Christmas lights tho and are more unique, so I hope everyone will appreciate the beauty and have a good start to a new week ^^

These lighted bamboo are so neat!

These crystals really added a great texture to the lights!

Fashion Hime Friday #70 - Sarah Marie!

2012-01-06T09:36:00.000-08:00

Hello there friends! Well it's Friday, I should be happy but I caught my mom's cold and this weekend will be alot of family business going on, so I will try to enjoy this last moment of quiet. And how funny today we get to meet the newest Fashion Hime with a familiar name XD Sarah Marie has a great taste in fashion and is so lovely, please enjoy her interview!

Name: Sarah Marie
Location: Vancouver Island, Canada
Fashion Style: "Blogger" and gal inspired
Link: http://talk2melove.blogspot.com/

What is your style, and how long have you been interested in fashion?
My style is probably a combination of "blogger" style and gal fashion combined.
I first became interested in fashion when I moved to Japan for exchange & working holiday.
I always wanted to dress gal but Im happy that gal style has grown so much and
has so many different interpretations these days!

How did you discover your style?
I can say I had zero style when I first moved to Japan and quickley got inspired
by all the amazing looking gals! I started buying gal magazines and planning
shopping trips to Tokyo ( I lived in a small town in Hokkaido). Eventually I
stopped trying to copy the looks exactly and started to take inspiration from them and
make them my own.

When do you dress in your style?
I always dress in my style, everyday. I work as a hairstylist so I dont need to wear any
uniform or special dress code. I love it!

Do you like to follow fashion rules, or create your own?
In the begining I was always concerned about the rules of dressing "gal" but
my style changed and I think fashion (even gal fashion) has become
more individual, I think nobody needs to follow rules anymore ;)

Do you have one item (clothing, accessory, cosmetic) that is your signature?
I tend to wear long necklaces a lot...I cant live without my liquid liner.

What do you think is important about fashion?
Expressing yourself and being comfortable! Some people are comfortable in
sneakers (thats great for them) and others are more comfortable in highheels. It
doesnt matter what you wear, if you are comfortable you will be confident and
confidence always looks great!

If you would like to be featured as a Fashion Hime on an upcoming Friday, please click on the button below to be taken to the sign up page!

Current outfit inspo and shop picks!

2012-01-04T18:07:00.000-08:00

Hey! I am surprised at myself that I didn't just put off blogging, and I didn't even let my lack of photoshop stop me from putting together some collages. Though trying to get these pictures together with Paint makes me realize how much I need Photoshop to make things smoother haha.

One of the things that came up in the optional section of the 666 Giveaway, was a request to see my "Picks" again. Right now I'm waiting on the other January issues of my favorite magazines to come out so I can make my picks, but there are lots of other great sources of inspo out there so here are my shop, blog and puri picks of the past few weeks:

Lip Service (L) and Egoist (M&R)
These are some outfits that are perfect for the middle of winter

Egoist (L) Lip Service (R)
While these would work as nice transitions into spring wear!

Emoda, Gold's Infinity, Duras, and Nuts scan from Mika-chan
The Gold's outfit could be made trendy with an open knit sweater and a digital print skirt, Emoda and Duras looks are quite wearable.

Emoda, Duras, Rienda, and Emoda
Besides the first Emoda outfit, these are nice monotones haha

The left outfit, the girly bow blouse is nicely balanced with the black damaged shorts

All these girls have great taste, though the leg stretching purikura effect is distracting me a bit TT

I think my mini-obsession with thigh high boots and stockings is rather evident haha. I am also getting into light colors alot, more than these picks show, but overall these are the sort of shapes and cuts I'm attracted to right now. I have some more gets to share soon, which will show the sort of colors and trends I'm getting into haha.

A rare glimpse of a Tayu

2012-01-03T08:53:00.000-08:00

I have been saying I will get better at posting endlessly, but it doesn't seem to take haha. Now atleast I have a decent excuse, I have an error in trying to install Photoshop on my new laptop and without photoshop I can't edit any photos, no picks, no gets, no tutorials or reviews (all of which I have pics for haha) I found a tutorial for fixing the error, possibly, but its complicated so my tired mind keeps avoiding it haha.

So until I fix that error, I will have to share some photos from my Japan trip last January^^ The past couple of years I've spent January in Tokyo, so its very strange to be here in MN and I can say without hesitation this has been the worst holiday season in my life. I even slept through the New Year because I had nothing to do :/

Some of the crowd watching the Tayu performence, there was not enough floor space DX

But last year I had a lot to do for the New Years! XD I don't do the First Shrine Visit anymore in Japan, because once was enough for me. So my friend kindly researched fun New Years activities to do instead, and last year he found a Tayu exhibit in Roppongi!

The Tayu with her apprentices and Yarite (older chaparone, I believe)

The Tayu exhibits her kimono

Tayu are the highest level of Oiran, who were high-ranked prostitutes in Tokyo's pleasure district of history called Yoshiwara. Tayu were considered suitable for Daimyo to patronize (Daimyo were the landowners a level below Shoguns in the feudal system). They were not just prostitutes - they were performers highly educated in dancing and musical instruments!

The Yarite set up this screen so we could not see the Tayu get set up between performances, her grace was never compromised!

Playing the Kokyu and accompanied by a Shamisen

I personally had been interested in Oiran since I watched the movie Sakuran, which was based off of the manga by Moyoco Anno (one of the manga-ka I like). Of course that movie is romanticized but it still shows alot about the life of Oiran.

The Tayu we got to see preformed several traditional preformances. Firstly she displayed her robes, which was a highly stylized act, then she played the Kokyu (A stringed instrument similar to the Shamisen but played with a bow) and finished with a dance.

Dancing

And something modern - the photo op!

I have to say this was a very interesting experience, I mean when else could I see a Tayu preform?? Furthermore every movement, no matter how small was ritualized and I can only imagine how long it takes to learn all of it.

Do you have any interest in Oiran or historical artifacts such as?

Looking back, Looking ahead

2011-12-31T09:57:00.000-08:00

What kind of blogger would I be if I didn't write some retrospective and optimistic post on the day of New Year's Eve? I have read alot of nice New Years posts already since yesterday (due to time differences) and though I don't think I have so much to say on this sort of topic I may as well muse a bit ^^

Looking back over 2011

I thought this year was going to be bigger than it ended up being for me, though I did accomplish somethings several things didn't pan out fully and/or I didn't expend enough energy in moving ahead. Haha, well I will write about some of the important points:

* January *

This month had something great and something terrible in it. I had traveled to Japan again, but while I was gone my Grandpa passed away from cancer, I couldn't get a return flight unless I paid 4,000$ so it was well, terrible as I said. I don't want to talk about such a personal matter but it has not been easy for the family suffice to say.

However because I was in Japan I was able to hold a gyaru meetup that was aired on Tokyo Kawaii TV and was quite successful. It was amazing to meet so many beautiful ladies from around the world.

* February & March *

I didn't do much in these months. I met up with friends and was doing my pop rock style rather heavily. One thing to mention in March was I was scouted by a legitimate Japanese modeling agency, who offered to fly me to Japan to work with them. Then the earthquake happened and they stopped contacting me. I didn't want to mention it at the time, which ended up being the right choice otherwise I would've looked a fool/been made fun of.

March is also when I start losing my way/confidence in my style. I started trying alot of looks but never really liking anything.

* April, May & June *

Nothing much happened in April, though I began to start collecting My Little Ponies again seriously. Its all popular now so it's harder to get the vintage ones. Then in May I finally got to visit Disneyland in California! It was really great because we stayed onsite and the hotel was wonderful! I also had a meetup with many of the awesome California gals!

In June the gals and gyaru-o in Minnesota formed a gyaru-sa, which I joined. Then halfway through the month I traveled to Tokyo again.

* July & August *

In NHK, Tokyo Kawaii TV has a huge backstock of magazines *o*

My fashions were still pretty hit or miss, atleast there were some hits haha... I got to meet up with my lovely Hana before she moved to Hawaii and I worked closely with Tokyo Kawaii TV and Kawaii.i

Another thing I didn't mention at the time was I did paid acting work for Tokyo Kawaii TV, and filmed in NHK's headquaters. My clips were shown online as promos for TKTV episodes. I was directed to act super hammy, and the clips were'nt viewable outside Japan so I decided to not talk about it. I also didn't want people flaming me over it.

In the end I gave myself heat exhaustion for over exercising, but I reached 57kg. I did some fun things during this trip but mostly I just recall the heat and discomfort.

* September, October, November *

These months are generally eventful as they have holidays and birthdays. My mom's bday is in September, and I also started my last semester of Uni then. October was my bday month, and we celebrated Halloween at DisneyWorld which was a big hit for my family! I also dressed up for the Rocky Horror Show. November was really nothing, besides getting a new job.

* December *

This was the month I graduated, so that was exciting. I also worked often and tried to put alot of effort into buying good gifts for my loved ones. I never dressed up even once, but I enjoyed the beautiful Christmas decorations.

Looking ahead to 2012

There are lots of rumors about 2012 being the last year of human civilization, due to predictions by the Mayans and Nostradamus, but who knows what will happen? We can only make our resolutions and goals as normal haha. My top 3 resolutions for 2012? . . .
1. Get a fulltime job
2. Move out (to my own apt. or to Tokyo)
3. Regain my style (dress up regularly, and improve)

I also want to make some blog resolutions/goals. All the responses in the 666 Giveaway have helped me greatly on this, here are the main things you want to see more of!! . . .
1. Fashion - a. my coordinates b. fashion trends/reports c. hauls, picks and O7W
2. Makeup - a. tutorials b. reviews (of lenses and Japanese products esp.)
3. Writeups - a. personal posts b. Japan travel info

And generally more photos! Haha. I was really surprised to see how many people asked for more of my coordinates and pictures of me. I felt those things were kinda unattractive to people DX I will start working on doing more of your requested post types ASAP!! Let's make 2012 (and MLD) great^^/

Fashion Hime Friday #69 - Prisilia Felicia!

2011-12-30T09:14:00.000-08:00

Good day, welcome back Fashion Hime Fridays~!! I want to say here, thank you everyone who has mentioned what they'd like to see more of on Moments like Diamonds in my 666 Giveaway. Really its so helpful! And Fashion Hime Friday was one of the items brought up there, so I have brought it back. Anyone who had entered FHF and didn't get a reply from me, please re-apply, I promise signups are running as normal again!

For the re-start of FHF we get to meet the very adorable and sweet Prisilia Felicia, what a cute name to boot XD Please enjoy her interview!

Name: Prisilia Felicia
Location: Indonesia
Fashion Style: Mixed, but it has to be comfortable:)
Link: http://prisiliafelicia.blogspot.com

What is your style, and how long have you been interested in fashion?
I...don't know what my style yet but I like vintage stuffs and layered clothes, sometimes I do combination from them. Really wanted to be a mori girl but my country season isn't really supportive so I gave up XD

So I ended up dress normally and comfortably because circumstances force me to use public transportation which is....not feasible for a dress up girl :))
I've been picky about what I wear since I was a toddler, but I really into fashion just recently 2 years ago and still searching what style suits me well.

How did you discover your style?
Basically I love taking nice picture of myself then I realized to look nice on a photo you have to wear nice coordination of clothes as well.
So yeah, I always make sure to pick good looking clothes before I go out and you can find me gazing around korean-japanese online shop and magazine, also vintage styled blog:D

When do you dress in your style?
I have to wear uniform at school, beside for me school isn't a nice place to show my clothes off; So I dress when I'm about to go to a place with nice scenery. Only if it has nice scenery^0^

Do you like to follow fashion rules, or create your own?
I just follow the right rules which lead me to advantage. I don't wear high heels because I walk alot, low heels maybe, but wear it rarely; I wear outer to camouflage my huge hips; I prefer huge leather bag than small cutesy bag because I bring lots of things on trip, rules like that. I pick some old rules and make my own some:D

Do you have one item (clothing, accessory, cosmetic) that is your signature?
Yes! I only wear loose top, won't wear a tight one =] and low or no heel-ed shoes

What do you think is important about fashion?
The instinct to dress on a right time and place, also the confidence you bring when you do fashion. If you don't have the guts to show your style to the world then you don't know the meaning of fashion!:))

If you would like to be featured as a Fashion Hime on an upcoming Friday, please click on the button below to be taken to the sign up page!

The 666 GIVEAWAY - Closed

2011-12-28T16:18:00.000-08:00

Hi there again everyone! It's still been hard for me to think of things to blog about. I know I should make more coordinates, do One 7 Ways again, more informative posts etc. but I never get to it. So I guess the next best post after useful ones is a new GIVEAWAY yaaaay XD haha.

The 666 Giveaway!

Prizes:
1 lace headband, 1 nail art tape, I MODS hairwax sample, 1 Cupcake lipgloss, 1 Rose Mirror, 2 Biore facemasks, 1 cleaner phonestrap, 1 Canmake eyeshadow palette, 1 Stila eyeshadow sample, 1 Frizz Ease volume mousse, and 11 pairs of false eyelashes

First about the name of the giveaway - this is my 666th post on Moments Like Diamonds! Even if you don't think it's an evil number it looks cool right haha. So to make it a bit special I am doing this tiny giveaway. Anyhow all items are new and unused. The cleaner strap just features a cloth on the reverse side which cleans grease of your phone's display.

The Canmake eyeshadow is flashed out in the above pic so here's a better view of it. The colors are white, light yellow and light teal. The white shadow also works well as a highlighter^^

How to Enter:

To enter this contest you simply need to fill out the form below with your contact info, and follower handle. You must be a follower of Moments like Diamonds to enter, but there is no option to promote because this is just a small and fun giveaway haha.

Rules:
* Fill out the form below in full
* Must be a follower of Moments like Diamonds
* Leave your contact info
* CLOSED NOW (01-11-12)

I hope you will like the little prizes and take a few seconds to join the giveaway. I have also included an optional text form, you can tell me what you'd like to see more of on my blog but that's totally optional and has no effect on your entry. Thanks again always for supporting MLD and lets work together to make this blog better in 2012!!

Xmas hauling, before during and after

2011-12-26T20:25:00.000-08:00

Hey there friends, wow it's really over. Christmas has come and gone once again, its really quite a let down if I may say so. Christmas is my favorite holiday, it just gets harder and harder to enjoy it. Perhaps the constant stimulation from the internet makes it too hard to enjoy something simple and heartwarming like Christmas?

Well today I'm just going to write a boring braggy post because getting new things is always an easy thing to blog about, and that's basically what Christmas is all about now. I mean I know its not about materialism, but that's what its becoming.

Starting from Black Friday the merchants just make us feel we have to keep scrambling to buy more and more, to get the best bargain possible. So I will start with a couple things I got before Christmas:

I finally got a Clarisonic, everyone's getting one and it seems that everyone has good opinions of them. I've only used it a couple times because I have sensitive skin and I don't want to mess it up, so I haven't noticed any change.

Also picked up some new nail polishes - the black crackle top coat, some random colors and a free clear top coat. I got on the crackle train a bit late, but I'm still gonna use it!

Luckily I was pretty good curbing my spending and putting it toward gift buying the past month. I wish I could have bought more gifts for people though, I always get so much from my loved ones that I would like to reciprocate. Well that's all over now, so here is the Christmas haul:

These were my Christmas gifts to myself haha. I did spend some on myself :/ But everything together cost the same as the pants alone normally do after sales and coupons. From top left - Ivory lace tank, White miniskirt, Non-leather moto jacket and Skyscraper jeans. If you want jeans that slim and lengthen your legs I recommend Express's Skyscraper jeans.

Gifts from friends and family, from top left - 3 ponies, Jessica Simpson Beckery platforms, Zara black tote, Lighted makeup mirror, Sailor Moon manga, Burt's Bees hand salve, Jessica Simpson fragrance samples, Bath & Bodyworks fragrance oils, Philosophy Hope in a Jar, OPI Rainbow Connection and Excuse Moi nailpolishes, Eye makeup remove, TIGI dry shampoo, Lip Service bra cami.

Moving on, today was another huge shopping day apparently because the malls were nuts!! We tried to get to the Mall of America but the highways leading to it were all backed up and there were police directing traffic. So we went to some other malls and shopped more. I guess gifts are not enough to satisfy modern people, and they need to shop more after (I know it wasn't just returns either).

So here's was today's haul. These were really great deals, nothing cost more than 13$ haha! From left - H&M fringe cardigan, Bath & Bodyworks Apple Crumble candle, Matthew Williamson top, Free People bustier top, Bath $ Bodyworks Dark Kiss bodywash and lotion, Betsey Johnson wallet.

Well certainly that's more than enough for a month and a holiday right? Haha! I still have to exchange gifts with one more friend and then it's all over. I hope noone minds the bragging gets post. Its the last of Christmas posts for this year, so things will be back on track now.

We had a bonus shot of Micky last time, so now it's Rugby's turn. She looks very sweet but don't let it fool you!

The Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights

2011-12-24T17:43:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas Eve friends! It's not yet Christmas here, but I know it is in many places around the world so I hope everyone is enjoying their holidays with friends and family! Today has been rather nice so far, I was cut from work though I would've appreciated a simple call before I arrived there, it gave me the chance to help cook the Christmas feast.

I hope everyone is in the mood for another post in this week's Christmas theme, we've seen homey illuminations, Disney decorations and pondered some past traditions. Now lets go back to illuminations!

The Osborne Family (no not those Osbornes) Spectacle of Dancing Lights is a gigantic display in Disney's Hollywood Studios. After dark the display is lit up and choreographed to music, thus the lights dance!

Conductor Mickey on a Christmas train

All the fake houses/shops are completely covered!

Under a canopy of lights

Santa and Mickey are good friends of course XD

Well that's all I really have for tonight, there's not too much to say really the photos speak for themselves XD I'm sorry I haven't been able to reply to comments on the past couple of posts, I will work on that after Christmas day!

Christmas traditions of old

2011-12-22T20:07:00.000-08:00

Good evening. Well it's only a couple days more until Christmas huh? I can't believe its already here, I feel so deflated honestly. To me Christmas is the best time of the year, no wonder it's in the last month everything leads up to it haha. But whatever reason - my job, graduating, age, lack of snow - it just doesn't feel right.

Perhaps it's because of the things I used to do, and my family did, that we no longer do make it seem less Christmas-y. This year I had some plans to do Christmas activities and events but they never worked out, so I thought it might be good to atleast write about some of my family's Christmas traditions XD

Cookies!

I think this is very common holiday activity, but it is something very rewarding haha, you get to make something with your own hands and then eat it! I remember making Christmas cookies with my Grandma every year when I was young. We would make little wreaths made out of corn flakes and green colored marshmallow (like rice crispies).

The photo above was taken on Christmas 2008, some of the cookies were given to us, but most were made by my mom! Oh and there also some bars and fudge. I can't look at it any more, hungry!

The Christmas Toy

img via Muppet Wiki

The Christmas Toy is a Jim Henson, creator of the Muppets, one hour Christmas special which came out in 1986. Kermit is in it a little bit, but it's basically about toys who are alive, and one thinks he is supposed to be his owner's Christmas gift again.

Well I used to always watch this at Christmas time when I was a kid, and recently I have been watching it again. Not this year, but the past couple of years we just watch it some evening in December^^

Department 56's Dicken's Village

Another tradition we had was to display our village collection from Department 56, we had the Dicken's Village which were lighted houses, scenery, and figures modeled after the Victorian period in England. Every year we would put the houses out on a sheet of fake snow with hand carved "hills" on the entertainment system.

Well we got rid of the entertainment system cabinent, so there was no place to assemble the village and the tradition died out. But my mom recently bought a new bookcase which may work so next year hopefully we can put the village out again!

Christmas Eve gift

Another Christmas tradition we had was I was allowed to open one gift on Christmas Eve rather than Christmas Day. On Christmas Eve I used to go to my paternal Grandparent's house to exchange gifts, visit and have a nice dinner. When I got home I would show my mom all the gifts I got and tell her about the evening, then I got to pick a small gift from her to open.

That was always very fun and exciting, my mom always got me the cutest toys I wanted, and it just made the wait for Christmas morning harder haha!

Relaxing

This may sound like an odd tradition, but in the past me and my mom would just relax on Christmas day. We didn't have family come over (we always went to visit them), so we didn't cook a meal or have a party. We would just open our gifts and enjoy the free day.

Now my dad and maternal Grandma come over on Christmas day so we quickly have to unwrap gifts and get them out of the way so we can start cooking dinner. The photo above was some of the food we bought and had to prepare (all that for 4 people yes) You can read about that in this old post.

Wow this post took me so much longer to write than I expected! I didn't think it would be difficult to write about things that are personal, but each sentence took forever to form haha! I still have some things to finish before Christmas, but I work the next two days (yeah on Christmas Eve TT) so I have to manage my time well!

Well just to make this post more fun, here's a picture of my cat Micky from Christmas 2009, with a Christmas candy wrapper on his head as a hat:

I guess he's sticking his tongue out at the hat haha

Christmas time in DisneyWorld

2011-12-21T12:12:00.000-08:00

Good day everyone! I'm sitting here with knots in my stomach because I can't bear to go back to my job one more day. Anyhow, there's still alot to do before Christmas, I can't believe it's going to be here in just a few days. It really seems like it was just the first day of December and I was submitting my thesis rough draft :/

But as I promised I'm here with another Christmas themed post, so far I'm keeping on track with the Christmas countdown posting. I hope everyone will enjoy it and not miss the other types of posts I usually do.

We saw homey illuminations in the last post, to change it up today is going to be all about DisneyWorld and how festive it is this time of year!! These photos are from last year, but now I finally have the chance to share XD

Here is the Christmas tree at Disney Hollywood Studios, each park has it's own main tree like these which are all huge and impressive XD Hollywood Studios doesn't decorate so much, but they have the Osborne Family Christmas Lights which I will blog about later this week^^/

Wreaths and garlands spruce up Disney's Animal Kingdom, they feature ethnic type of ornaments. It's fun to see Christmas decorations on this type of architecture!

The parade at Animal Kingdom gets a makeover as well, called Mickey's Jingle Jungle parade, all the floats have decorations

This is the Animal Kingdom's Christmas tree, looking lovely all light up!

And now we'll take a look at the decorations at the Magic Kingdom, which are of course the best and most plentiful! These toy soldiers stand around the Christmas Tree

These garlands are hung all the way down Main Street, and the lamp posts feature Mickey shaped wreaths

And this is the Magic Kingdom's Tree, it's the cutest I think with giant gingerbread men and popcorn garland!

The Magic Kingdom gets a holiday themed night time parade, featuring floats shaped like gifts and party hats. There's a better parade during the special Christmas party which costs extra and goes later than usual park hours!

Here's what those garlands over Main Street look like lit up, very beautiful!

And as the final touch Cinderella's castle gets covered with "ice" after the parade!

I hope you liked these photos, if you want to see some of the Christmas decorations and festivities at Epcot Center check out this post! I hope you liked these photos, of course one could write posts and posts about Christmas at DisneyWorld, but hopefully this was a good overview haha!

Christmas illuminations in my neighborhood

2011-12-19T17:34:00.000-08:00

Hello hello! Yes I was cut from work again, really I need to make some decisions about this job. I could have certainly been productive today, but all I have to show for it is a sloppy manicure haha...TT Well at least I am being a decent blogger and posting something today!

This week leading up to Christmas I would like to do posts everyday that revolve around Christmas or have a festive theme. I think it will be fun, and hopefully get my Christmas spirit going as I currently have none!!

All these photos in this post were taken in my own town, but from 2 years ago. For some reason I never used them before :/ This year we have no snow, so luckily I didn't taken photos this year.

This is the illumination on a house very close to mine, just a couple streets away. I really like the large hanging lights in the trees

Here you can see some of the inflatable displays better. These inflatable type decorations have become popular over the past few years^^

This display doesn't have a nice design like the last one, but the large pine trees with all those lights look great!

Some displays have a religious theme, like this one, but the star is so high and impressive!

Here is a good example of a mid-level illumination. It's very cute and homey.

This display is a bit different because it features a lot of painted wood figures mixed with lights.

The owners had a big floodlight on the display so the wood figures would be visible. The penguins are adorable XD

The home invader Santa figure is the highlight of this display haha!

Their big lighted tree and inflatable snowman were cute too.

A lights only display which is so pretty!

But don't get the wrong impression, I would say like 85% of people do not illuminate the outside of their houses or only put out one string of lights. My neighborhood has an illumination contest so some people really go all out trying to win XD

I hope these photos brightened your day and made you feel more festive. I would like to take more illumination photos now! Sadly this month passed so quickly and I haven't done any Christmas activities.

* Sponsor Review * Dueba Shiny/Puffy 3 Tone gray lens

2011-12-17T12:17:00.000-08:00

Good day friends! Thank you so much for sticking with me through the rather plain food post I did last. I haven't had much time to edit any holiday photos yet, next week I have such nasty work hours (even today I have to work until 1am and I can't stand it DX) But I will try my best to get those together!

Today however, I would like to share another review with you, and I'm particularly excited about this one because I really love these lenses XD The lenses were provided to me by Shoppingholics.com

Dueba Shiny gray/Puffy 3 tone gray Circle Lens

Origin: Korea
Diameter : 14.5mm
Water Content : 38%
Base Curve : 8.6mm
Life Span : 1 year disposal

These lenses were sent to me by Shoppingholics.com for review purposes, all following opinions are my own honest assessments. These lenses are quite different than all the lenses I've tried previously, as they are very natural, so I was very excited to try them!

With one lens in

These lenses are called Puffy 3 Tone lenses for obvious reasons - they have a darker outer ring, a middle color and a bit of brown color at the center. The brown inner color will make it blend well with naturally dark eyes, but I think they look great on light eyes too. The outer ring is not too dark either, it gives the perfect enlargement with being like bam! black ring haha.

Speaking of enlargement, for 14.5mm lenses, I felt these were quite enlarging. Perhaps its because the printing is right up to the edge of the lens (some don't have color all the way to the edge) or the design. Either way, they make your eye appear larger for sure.

Furthermore, I found these lenses to be quite comfortable. I wore them 7 hours the first night I tried them, and my eyes are not particularly irritated. These have lower water content than some other lenses, so make sure you have your re-wetting drops with you^^

These lenses fit to my eyes very well, no noticeable problems with wandering lenses. And they were easy to put on as well. Really I have no complaints with these lenses, and they match my eye color very nicely I think!

Quick Review:
Enlargement: ★★★★★
Comfort: ★★★★★
Color: ★★★★★★ (haha)

Really I love these lenses! I think they make the perfect otona look! I would say these are my favorite lenses at the moment. I also have them in Blue and Green to review, so please look forward to that.

I want to state once more how completely satisfied and how much I enjoy transactions with Shoppingholics.com! Their service is top-notch, above and beyond, they try really hard to consider the tastes of their customers and it shows. Take a look around Shoppingholics.com for these lenses, hundreds more and all the greatest beauty products!

Please check out Shoppingholics.com!

Supermarket sweets mini-spam!

2011-12-15T19:30:00.000-08:00

Good evening again! I just about didn't post today, and perhaps some won't consider this a real update either haha. I wasn't cut from my shift at work today, but they are running so "lean" (always minus 2 staff) so it's really tiring. No time for a bathroom break even. But pictures of delicious food can act as energy for the brain haha!

I promise to get some more nice photos up next week as we head into the final countdown to Christmas. I have some festive photos that have not been edited for quite awhile, perhaps it would be fun to do all Christmas post this coming week hehe!

Boxes of beautiful Japanese sweets! I like Japanese sweets but they can be an acquired taste, do you like them?

Anyhow, I snapped all these pictures in a local supermarket in a town near where I stay in Japan called Nishi-Kasai. We were shopping for dinner ingredients but I love to take photos of all the awesome sweets available. Especially since I can't eat them haha!

A roll cake with a pudding inside! For those days when you can't pick between cake and pudding XD

Roll cakes with a New Years motif. Strawberry and cheese flavor

Fruit on pudding parfait cups

A great thing about Japan is they are really into seasonal and limited edition food/flavors! So there are constantly new flavors of sweets and snacks being released. You can tons of Japanese blogs that are dedicated just to reviewing all the new sweets coming out haha!

Chocolate cake slices with some mont blanc in the background

Cakes being sold by the slice, the green one is matcha flavor

And one more bonus shot, it's not a sweet food though it appears like it should be sweet by the adorable packaging - it's Rilakkuma fishcakes! These are definently something you want use when making a bento XD

Ok, I think that's enough of me being evil haha! I promise the next photo spams will not be of things that are so tempting. I have a lot of errands to run tomorrow (one of my last free days before Christmas) so I'd better get some rest now^^

I'm a University Graduate

2011-12-14T10:57:00.000-08:00

Good morning everyone, oh! It's already noon here, I've been busy getting the photos ready for this post and getting my graduation gift. Sorry I've not been updating this week, but this entry today is important to me so hopefully its adds up to two or three posts worth haha!

Yesterday night was my graduation commencement ceremony, I graduated from my university with a Bachelors of Arts in Global Studies. I couldn't graduate with honors because of the grades I got in my first year but I think I did a good job pulling it up from ridiculously embarrassing to better than average XD

My gown was too long, but I wore my Murua tights and blue shoes (blue is a school color)

Though I have been in school since kindergarten, and I knew someday I would graduate from University, somehow this day was unexpected haha. It was a bit strange to be standing on a stage again (tho this was obviously better than my high school graduation!).

I wanted to graduate with gal style makeup so I wore lashes and lenses haha

With 3 of my classmates

Now I really am an adult, I can go back to get a Masters of course but this is the start of my life as an adult who must find a path and career in world. The ceremony was nice, though a bit long since we had soooo many management grads in my class. I didn't have much time on stage, but we all got 3 photos taken and I got my medallion!

My tassel and medallion

I still have to wait for my diploma to come, but I'm really done! Though it's just my university graduation my parents and best friend gave me some nice gifts! And my toughest, most memorable professor actually clapped for me specifically as I exited the stage #^^#

I got some lovely cards from my mom, dad, and best friend. Though most of my relatives had some excuse not to send me a card haha... But I got an amazing gift from my mom which is much too much, more than I deserve.

My graduation gift!

I got a new laptop! I've had my current Toshiba laptop for 4.5 years, I've luckily had no problems with it all (though I often hear bad reviews of Toshiba) but my microphone went out recently. This new laptop has 6gb RAM and a 750gb hard drive, my current one has 1gb RAM and a 150gb hard drive.

Anyhow, it was a good experience, I am enjoying the accomplishment, but I'm going to start looking for another office job asap. I've liked my office jobs much more than my service jobs and I want to save enough money to move to Japan for awhile quickly!

Takarazuka Revue exhibit at Marunouchi Oazo

2011-12-11T18:10:00.000-08:00

Hi again everyone. I had meant to make this a productive day but I got cramps and just spent most of the time laying down. Thank you for all your kind comments on my hair spam post yesterday, I hope I can get that new hairstyle soon so I can share some photos. Today I'm posting some more about Japan, please enjoy it!

Earlier this week my friend sent me some photos he took on his way to work that I thought would be interesting to share. The reaction to the unique kimono exhibit was positive so hopefully this post can be interesting as well as it also has to do with beautiful clothing.

Takarazuka Review costumes

Currently Marunouchi Oazo, a shopping mall and office building located in Marunouchi natch haha, is running an event called Bright Christmas Special 2011. It revolves around the Takazuka Revue, featuring costume/prop exhibits, historical information about the troupe and meet and greet events.

Takarazuka is a theater group with a history that begins in 1914, who preform musicals and adaptations of novels, opera and even shojo manga. The company has its own theaters, the main one is located in Hyogo prefecture. What makes Takarazuka Revue special however, is it is an all female company, even male roles are preformed by females.

Costumes from the very popular Rose of Versailles production

Their performances are melodramatic and feature a alot of singing. Another unique element is that their audiences are generally 90% female. Some theorists believe it's due to the inherent lesbianism due to the male roles occupied by women, while others find it as a symbol of empowerment. Either way, the productions are lavish, well done and are very an important element of Japanese theater.

Wow, the first suit is so sparkly XD

I know alot of people are interest/like Takarazuka Revue's adaptation of the classic manga Rose of Versailles . If you have any interest in theater, or costumes this is a great exhibition to check out! Its free to the public, I'm not sure when the costumes will be gone tho >.> I guess on Christmas haha

Gonna get a cut & Volume hair spam

2011-12-10T10:55:00.000-08:00

Hello and happy Saturday everyone! I have to work today (fingers crossed that they don't cut me again...) so it's not really that happy but I do have plenty of time this weekend to get some things done. Baking, making crafts, cleaning, all sorts of things I had to put off because of my thesis XD

Another thing I have been thinking about getting done recently is my hair. It's been a little over 3 years I've had anything more than a trim. In the summer of 2008 I cut all my hair into a cheek length bob with a severe fringe, since then I've been pretty stuck on getting super long hair.

I picked this photo to bring to the stylist. It's an ad for extensions, but it shows a layered hair cut and how it can be styled with high volume around the face XD Hopefully this is help the stylist alot haha.

My hair is super long now, but super long straight hair is not flattering for an oblong shaped face (which I have). I already have a fringe, so I'm doing that right, but I need volume around my face (no volume on the top)! Layers would also help create volume when not styled.

I think the picture I picked out is a perfect style for me at the moment. I don't plan to go shorter like that cut, but the layers and the styling is just right. I also picked out a couple more styles that are great long, layered and high volume!

I think the right style is especially good for balancing out an oblong face

This whole image is just super inspiring, love the hair and the makeup and the sexy adult look

It's nothing really dramatic, like a new color or going short again, but I feel a new cut and style like these would help my look out alot. And perhaps inspire me to work on gyaru stlyle. Well here's that Volume Hair Spam I promised, maybe it will inspire you too!

Do you feel like changing your hair soon, or are you always updating your hair style? XD

Big shopping day at the Mall of America

2011-12-07T18:22:00.000-08:00

Oh whew, hehe, I got my thesis almost totally done today! Just gotta clean up the references page, print it out and hand it in tomorrow evening. It's the last night of class ever for me (unless I go for a masters XP) and we are having a pot luck so I made oatmeal cookies drizzled with peanut butter chocolate.

I hope my classmates will like them, luckily there's only 15 of us in the thesis seminar, so I didn't have to make many. But this is just the beginning of our Christmas baking, me and mom plan to make a wide variety of cookies this weekend.

Another usual Christmas activity is shopping, it really is the biggest shopping time of the whole year. Usually it's for gifts to exchange on December 25th but yesterday we went out just to shop for fun and relaxing. A staff at some clothing shop told us 90% of the people she talked to that day were shopping for themselves, not gifts haha!

These giant Christmas bulbs are so cool!

The Mall of America always has lovely decorations for the season, so its very festive and fun just to walk around. Also they have recently remodeled several areas, with new tile and high-shops so it looks much nicer now. It's been so long since it opened TT it was time for some sprucing up.

There are lots of silver-y trees like this all over MoA

(and thats what I wore for the day)

We went to several shops we always frequent, plus some others we rarely shop at. One of the highlights was the Bettie Page store which features all retro style clothing from the 50s. Very cool to see something out of the normal trendy or casual clothing XD

Me and mom did a lot of window shopping, but the great thing was because we went in the middle of a week day there was quite a bit of elbow room^^

And this is one of two "main" trees in the rotunda, seems big right?

That's because they reach all the way to the forth level *O* there was a highschool band playing at that time

It was a long day of shopping, but it didn't wear me out at all so I would say it was a great day. Just enjoying the season, looking at nice things and checking out all the new things in a familiar place. Well here's what was purchased yesterday:

From bottom left: MAC Snowglobe palette in Sultry, MAC Desert Rose blush (m), Lorac Oh La Lace palette, Philosophy cleanser sample, black glitter pouch, copper color watch (m), Bath & Bodyworks Dark Kiss and White Citrus (m) body washes, and Fresh gift set (m).

The items marked with (m) are my mom's gets.

And my clothing gets (the stock photos are better than what I'd take). I also got a plain black shirt and bodycon Tshirt dress.

Well I really wanted the white colorway of the bare top but it wasn't in yet (I'll get it someday!) It was a fun day and I hope you also enjoyed seeing the decorations in Mall of America. A few more days of work from tomorrow then I have some truly free days to enjoy next week!