Winter Blues

60’s cord coat  etsy
tights can’t remember…
shoes  topshop

This is my everyday coat. The colour helps me beat the Winter blues a bit. I can’t bear to wear a black coat in Winter, just seeing people’s dark clothes when commuting everyday depresses me a little. Yes, I am suffering from Winter blues… I keep dreaming of Spring, sunshine, flowers blooming, short sleeves and pastel colours. Can’t wait!! Any tips on how to beat this feeling? I’ve been following all the recommendations (activities, healthy eating, keep warm, etc.) but its the same. Can’t wait for summer!

review: Canmake Cream Cheek #13

Brand: Canmake
Product: Cream Cheek 13 (Love Peach)
Features: With natural emollients that prevent skin from drying out while nourishing and conditioning 
Would I repurchase: Yes

This is a baby pink melting gel-type formulation blush that dries once you apply it on the skin. The colour is lovely, perfect for a natural look or buildable for a sweet look. I like to wear it on “no make-up” days for a touch of colour. I do use it often, I’m reaching pan! On me it lasts a whole working day. It's an innocent and sweet blush, I would repurchase if in Japan again as it is so cheap there, but I would not pay the price online shops are charging (£10? this stuff is tiny!). I want to get one of the clear versions for a natural glow.

『女自転車ふたり旅 in ハワイ ふたりのビックアイランド』長澤まさみ 2009 NHK

 

Lovely NHK TV show featuring friends Masami Nagasawa and Asami Mizukawa travelling by bicycle through Hawaii. Beautiful nature views of the island on this cute program aired back in 2009. I’ve been re-watching my Masami’s video library and took some snapshots of this. She does not look nature friendly at all, cleaning and carefully examining vegetables and fruit before having a bite. But she looks very cute with long hair. Asami looks like someone I would like to be friends with, she is fun and loud and not as afraid of trying new things as Masami, so I understand how they compliment each other.

Hawaii seen like this looks like paradise, especially the sunshine from the top of the mountain.

Rosemary’s Baby relax outfit

jumper  - etsy
skirt – etsy
socks – topshop
saddle shoes – ebay

I call this my Rosemary’s Baby outfit. It reminds me that scene when Mia Farrow’s trying to relax at home while listening to jazz and reading a book. Rosemary’s Baby is one of my favourite films, I love every single one of the outfits and I’m always trying to find similar ones on Etsy (without much luck btw). 1960s Mia Farrow is such a great inspiration!

review: Canmake Loose Cheek #08 (squash)

Brand: Canmake
Product: Loose Cheek in 08 (Squash)
Features: Contains large pearl particles that twinkle brightly and silicone powder for a smooth texture 
Would I repurchase: Yes
At first I thought this would be a messy blusher. I mean loose powder with glitter? I could see myself getting glitter all over my face and inside my eyes. However! This turned out to be a really sweet blush. The pink is just right, not too flashy, not too bland, it looks quite natural. Also easily adjustable if you want it stronger or softer. The pearl particles do cling to the skin and not spread around, giving a very sweet glow. I must say, I’ve got this 1 year ago and use it every other day, but there is still plenty left in the pot, a little goes a long way with this one. And with all that glitter, less is more, believe me. And the puff applicator actually works because it’s like applying loose powder, so it blends very easily. I’m usually discouraged to buy from Canmake because it is such a cheap brand in Japan and I feel unsure of the quality, also I’ve been unimpressed in the past with some of their products, but I liked this blush. I’m thinking about buying the Baby Pink shade next time.

「群青」長澤まさみ Cobalt Blue

Today I re-watched Cobalt Blue. What a beautiful film. It did strike me the first time I watched it and recently it came back to my mind. I put off watching it for a week for one reason or the other, daily life got in the way, but finally today I could not avoid it any longer. The shots of the island in Okinawa are so peaceful I couldn’t help myself from making some screencaps. I wish I had the Blu-ray version, must be breath taking. 

A sad teen love triangle, with a story that started 20 years earlier. Love, loss and heartbreak are a few of the themes this film touches. Set with a slow pace, it was a pleasure to watch, like a field of flowers softly dancing with the summer breeze.

I look forward to watch Starlit High Noon which is from the same director and cinematographer.

College girl

shirt – rokit
skirt – etsy
socks – topshop
saddle shoes – ebay

I like when outfits come together effortlessly. This light wool skirt goes well with many of the tops I own and I ended up wearing it more often than I had thought! Truly a time saver in the mornings I have to rush out. I can create several different combinations which is my recent goal when buying clothes.

vintage book review: A Compass Error by Sybille Bedford (1968)

It is the 3rd novel on this family's history. I did not know this when I purchased it at the book shop. Actually I knew nothing of the book or author. It tells the story of Flavia, an intelligent teen living in South of France. What starts like an account on Flavia's daily life and adventures, soon develops into a draped memoir, sometimes too long. The moral of the story is how an innocent mistake can have such a destructive power.

The story is set in the South of France in the 30s, time when people could already smell the threat coming from Germany. Flavia (I forget her age, but I know she was in her teens) is studying for the university entrance exams by herself. Her days are spent swimming in the mornings and studying in the house with a tower. Amidst her lonely simple days, she befriends a French woman and soon her evenings becoming filled with long dinners and laughter. Flavia becomes aware of her own desires and experiences her first encounters with crushes, seduction and sex. But who is this mother who leaves her teenage daughter in a foreign country all by herself? Flavia will tell us all about it in very long monologues (which I didn't quite enjoy). If you haven't read the previous novels I expect you'll feel a bit lost at first, sort of like I did, but soon you'll get the whole family history.

Conclusion. I liked Sybille Bedford's writing and I really enjoyed the beginning of the book. I had high expectations after reading the first few pages. I just wish it had stayed more focused on Flavia instead of going through all that memoir narrative. Yes, it made us comprehend her mother's character, but I'm still not convinced it was necessary at all. I wish the memoirs had been cut out of the novel tbh... This is the only reason why I am tempted not to try any of her other novels.

I would suggest probably starting from the first novel "A Legacy" and working your way through this one in order to enjoy the parts I dreaded. You'll probably like "A Compass Error" if you're interested in same sex teen angst. I'm not sure I would suggest it otherwise.

長澤まさみ Seda November 2014

 

*SCANS FOUND ON PINTEREST*

A few months old, but a really nice spread of Masami Nagasawa in Seda. More insights on her beauty, although nothing new (we already knew she uses Acseine, which is super expensive…), but she looks so pretty! On the last page they itemise the products used to create this Masami look, but bear in mind these are not the ones she usually uses, these were just for the spread. She is rarely seen wearing blush. For foundation she usually uses a mix of Cle de peau liquid foundation (also super expensive) and 24h Cosme stick foundation.

review: Majolica Majorca Puff de Cheek (PK301)

Brand: Majolica Majorca
Product: Puff de Cheek in PK301 (Peach Macaroon)
Features: Contains Macadamia Nut Oil to treat and nourish skin, making it soft and smooth
Size: 7grams
Would I repurchase: No
My second review on these blushes and still not impressed! Look at how vibrant the colour looks on the puff. Now look at the swatch. I mean, can you even see the swatch on my arm? I could in real life, but I tried a zillion times to photograph this and it’s just barely noticeable, this says a lot when you think of wearing it to a place where you know your picture will be taken. I mean, if you cannot see any effect what is the point of putting it on… Anyways, I feel this could probably work better on VERY pale skin. On my cheeks, and I’m not tanned by any means, looks like a patch I did not put foundation on. Eeek! I must admit I bought it based on the code PK301 which is used for light pink colours, had I known it’s name was Peach Macaroon I would have not bought it. Me and peachy tones just do not work well together, I know they’ll look too bland on me. I’ve had this for over a year, so I had a chance to give it a go more than a few times, but still a no no to me.

Wood Job! （長澤まさみ）

Wood Job, what a film! It is so beautifully filmed I just had to make some screencaps myself, I got the Blu-ray, so the quality is brilliant! I mainly watched this because  of Masami Nagasawa, without any expectations whatsoever, and I was pleasantly surprised. It is such a heart warming story, with a few funny parts. It is the story of a high school graduate who didn’t make it to uni and, following a touch of “fate”, ends up going for a forestry course far away from Tokyo. A city boy finds the usual hardships in adapting to the country side life, but it slowly grows in him.  This is not a love story, although there is one in the film. It is more about the good things that come with a simple hardworking life in a place where you can’t get a mobile connection, where there are no bus stops and not even supermarkets. I highly recommend it, if only for the beautiful visuals of the forest! And if you think the title sounds like a pun, wait until the end of the film, haha.

Review: Majolica Majorca Puff de Cheek (OR302)

Brand: Majolica Majorca
Product: Puff de Cheek in OR302 (Apricot Macaroon)
Features: Contains Macadamia Nut Oil to treat and nourish skin, making it soft and smooth
Size: 7grams
Would I repurchase: No
Majolica Majorca is a very well established brand in Japan, it belongs to Shiseido and it’s target is the younger crowd. Their products are always cute and fun looking, like sweets! Take this blush for example, it’s macaroon appearance makes me want to have a bite, haha. I’ve had this product for at least 1 year, so I feel confident in reviewing it now.
The idea is fun and cute, but to be honest, that is the most exciting quality of this blush. I’ve seen very positive reviews out there on this, but it is just an orange blush. The puff idea does not work for me, unless I would want to end up with 2 orange circles on my cheeks and look like a ragdoll for the rest of the day… To get a decent amount of product on the puff and see some colour on the skin I have to press the puff quite hard into the blush, I would then blend it in with a brush.
The appearance is a good selling point, but after using it for a while, I am not sold on this. Every summer I still go back to Majolica Majorca’s Cheek Colour in orange, but I can’t find it anywhere anymore and it is not on their official website, so I tend to believe this has sadly been discontinued. Funny enough, I could not find this Puff de Cheek on their website either, but you can still find in online shops.