Back to the UK beauty/ skincare/ hair products haul

Japan has some really nice beauty products (see some of my Japanese skincare faves) but I was excited to be able to buy some of my favourites once I'd got back to the UK. I went to Boots, and I went a little crazy, so here's my haul of beauty products I've bought since I got back~

Japanese brush pen eyeliners: Dolly wink vs sailor moon

I didn't buy too much makeup while I was in Japan (such restraint) but there were two products I was really keen to get my hands on: the Dolly Wink liquid eyeliner in deep black, and the Creer Beute Sailor Moon Miracle Romance Liquid Eyeliner. I was curious about the hype around the Dolly Wink one, and I've heard a few people describe it as a 'holy grail' product of theirs.

My back to uni wishlist

So next month I'm heading back to Leeds for my third year at uni (out of four) and I'm stuck in dorms again, ugh. Here's my list of things I'd love to pick up to make my room look a little less beige, plus kitchen things, style pieces and a few random bits too :)

Taking stuff home at the end of your year abroad

One of the hardest parts of moving back home from my year abroad in Japan was figuring out what to do with all the stuff I'd bought while I was there. While I managed to pack fairly minimally for the year, ( check out my year abroad packing list) I bought so much stuff while I was in Japan! Packing to go to Japan was waaay easier than coming home. I started off being so good and minimal, but by the end of the year, I got sucked in by Japan's glorious consumerism. It's been so hard balancing getting unique special things, but also not going overboard. Anyway, here's some pointers about taking stuff home at the end of the year abroad. I think this could also come in handy for taking stuff home at the end of uni, too.

My minimal year abroad makeup collection

Youtube and the blogosphere is full of tonnes of huge makeup collections. so I thought I'd show the opposite end of the scale and talk about my fairly minimal stash from this year. I also wanna point out that I'm not an actual minimalist, I was in Japan and my aim for this year was to try and not buy too much stuff because I'll have to ship it halfway round the world back to the UK. I didn't want to buy a tonne of stuff in Japan that I couldn't take home, but I did want to try a few new things and have fun~

Bye for now, Japan// I'll be back!

Guys, my study abroad is over, and I'm off back home to the UK.... so much mixed feelings. I'm going to cry while writing this post, I know it. I love Japan so much- I've admired it from afar for so long and actually getting to study here has been a dream come true for me.
I've definitely learned a lot this year, but it's so hard not to compare myself to others and feel like I didn't do as much as I should have. Anyway, in the spirit of being less harsh on myself and being proud of my achievements over the last 11 months, here are some of the most important things I learned while being abroad.

Kawaii Monster Cafe in Harajuku, Tokyo

Over Golden Week, I managed to go to the amazing Kawaii Monster Cafe in Harajuku! Hold me guys, it was so amazing! If you're gonna go to one themed cafe in Japan, then please let it be this one, you won't regret it! The whole experience is so well done and surreal. 

Japanese Skincare and body care: My essentials

After doing a couple of posts on Japanese makeup, here are a few beauty and skincare products that I've enjoyed this year. I'm a student, so there's nothing high end or luxury in here, just a few basic necessities and 'maintenance' type products which worked best out of the stuff I tried. Most of them you can pick up in any cosmetic store or pharmacy, and the Muji ones can even be bought at the Combini!

Japanese makeup: Kate Tokyo mini review

Today I wanna talk about my favourite Japanese makeup range- Kate Tokyo. I've seen a fair few adverts for them and they've also been featured a lot in some of my favourite magazines, so I thought I'd give it a try. Also, the products are super affordable! Actually, that was one of the reasons that I gravitated towards Kate in the first place, I was looking for a little pick me up. And I really liked most of the products I picked up.

Tokyo: Where I stayed

I went to Tokyo for Golden week in May, and I found a really nice airbnb close to Yoyogi station on the Yamanote line. Apart from being on the Yamanote line, which is convenient by itself, Yoyogi station is the next one along from Harajuku <3

We'd stayed with the host, Mimi, the last time I stayed in Tokyo, in Nishi Shinjuku and her place was nice and clean and a really good price so we picked the one in Yoyogi. This apartment was lovely, easy to get to town and came with all the things you'd want from an airbnb.

Check out the listing on airbnb~
It looks like it's been redecorated since I stayed there in May, but it's the same place I stayed.
We could see the Docomo building on the way to the station, which was awesome.

Stay tuned for some more posts on where we went in Tokyo~
Thanks for reading, sorry it was a bit of a short one! -Amy xoxo

Read about last time I was in Tokyo: Shopping in Harajuku// WEGO Harajuku haul// Shibuya and Meiji Jingu// View from the Metropolitan building, Shinjuku

Korean makeup/beauty haul and mini review: Etude House and Tonymoly

Last time I was in Umeda I picked up some Korean products, because in Japan they're fairly cheap and I can buy them from an actual store. Here's my mini haul and review of the things I picked up from Etude house in EST and Tony Moly in Hankyu Sanbangai.

Hike to Koya san, Wakayama prefecture

My friends decided to go on a hike to Koya san in Wakayama, and I decided to tag along. Koya san is really famous for its temples, but we went to see the gorgeous mountain scenery around there. If you're actually going to see the temples, do the shortest hike or you won't get up to the mountaintop on time. We had a pretty early start from Osaka, and did a hike that took like 7 hours, so by the end we were hot, tired, and it was like 4pm which is when temples usually close in Japan. Even though it was April when I went, the weather was so hot! But the hot weather made for some great photos~

Osaka adventures: Amemura and manga cafe

I hadn't been to Amemura in a hot minute, so I decided to drag my friend Emily down and we spent the day there and in the shinsaibashi area. Amemura is sometimes compared to Osaka's version of Harajuku, and it's full of cute, more individual shops. It's definitely super trendy, and one of my favourite places in Osaka. It's also way way less touristy than Harajuku which is a massive bonus from my point of view.

Deodorant in Japan

I thought I'd share my two cents on being a smelly foreigner in Japan. Well, trying not to smell, and deodorant in particular. I was pre-warned that Japanese deodorants are weaker than the ones back in good ol' Blightly. I've definitely found that to be true. I've tried a fair few, and I can't find one that has worked that well as an antiperspirant. Maybe I just sweat a lot. Sorry for the TMI there. When it comes to summer time in Japan, I'm with the general consensus that is: bring the strongest men's deodorant/ antiperspirant you can find from home. As for buying stuff here, the best deodorant I've found out of the one's I've tried is: 8x4 men's 'power protect'

Ready to go home?

Exam season has just finished here at Osaka Uni (and it dragged on for over a month thanks to the JLPT). I've done my last exam, but now I'm tired, it's so hot here, and I've caught myself wondering "maybe I just want to go home already".