Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Princess Mimi Almond!

My final review of the popular Princess Mimi series (unless they release more of course! hehe!). Almond!

Simpler design when compared to the other styles!

 How natural do they look? I was really surprised!
 Without make up!
 With Make-up!
Decided to be a fairy today! ^__^ PREPARE FOR CAMERA WHORING! XD



Comfort: 9/10
Size: 9/10
Colour & Design: 7/10

Size and comfort-wise, Princess Mimi has not failed me yet! (I say that every time, haha!) Even without make up I find it is a good size for my eyes without giving the alien-look! This colour was a surprise, however! I thought the brown would be more dominant, however it seemed to fade naturally into my grey eyes! If anything, they look more grey to me! I think the effect will be different on brown eyes, perhaps the almond colour will stand out more? The design is way simpler than other Princess Mimi's lenses, which is why it looks so natural. I prefer a little bit of un-natural design myself because I dont mind if people know I'm wearing lenses! hehe! XD But for those with grey eyes who want a NATURAL and comfortable lens with a touch of brown, I would really recommend these!

Remember to order your lenses from https://www.facebook.com/adelaide.geolenses and grab a 10% discount if you're a follower of this or my personal blog! Discount code is: CarrieL8644

Thank you so much for reading! ^__^

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Japan Chronicles- Part 3

Woo, I'm on a roll with posts! (Dont jinx myself... haha)
*Warning: Picture Heavy!!*

Monday morning we got up early to go to Kyoto! We left about half of our stuff in our hotel room- we had booked the Tokyo hotel for our whole stay so we could leave things there while we were away! It was a good idea- Amy and I left all our lolita hung up safely in the closet.

We took the train to Tokyo Station, where we jumped onto the Shinkansen! It was really cool looking! XD

Here's Mum having a nap. hehe.
And me showing off my new Angelic Pretty watch <3
We were REALLY lucky to see Mount Fuji-san! We spoke to a British man on the train and he said he had been back and fourth between Tokyo and Kyoto/Osaka over four times but had never seen Fuji-san. It was a very clear day!

It was only about a 2 hour train ride to Kyoto, and once we arrived we took a taxi to our accommodation! It was a little house right in Gion! It was so beautiful!

Then we wandered around Gion for a while!

 Getting a photo with two girls in kimono!

 OUR FIRST MAIKO SIGHTING! <3



I managed to get a photo with these two Maiko, they were very sweet and shy!

It was funny, after the hustle and bustle of Tokyo, Kyoto made us all relax. We spent the next day just wandering around lazily! haha! It was worth it, though. Although it was raining it wasn't cold!

 Best shop sign ever! haha!

 Out the front of our favourite place to eat- Cafe Violon! Mum made friends with the family who owned it <3
 Mum and I at our house!
 Cute little pond outside a shop!

The next day- Wednesday- it was hot again! Thank goodness- I was really worried it would be raining again, which would mean we would've missed out on our Maiko photo shoot! 
I woke up with cool hair. haha!
We stopped for icecream while we wandered around the temples!
School kids were always asking for our photo! haha!

Finally it was 12o'clock, and it was time for our make over!
We had to strip down into a light cotton under-kimono and then some lovely ladies did our makeup! I got to choose my furisode first because there wasn't any room for me to get my hair done. They took me to a HUGE room full of beautiful kimono! I knew exactly what I wanted...PINK PLEASE! haha! Then they put the half-wig on me, combing my own hair over it and spraying it black. The half-wig was heavy- mainly because with my extensions there was A LOT of hair on the back of my head and it pulled the hair on my forehead hard. :S But it wasn't unbearable!
Then we had a small photo shoot!


And afterwards we could take our own photos! <3



If you're wondering why mum is dressed simpler than Amy and I, it was because she was a Geiko- which means she was a fully-fledged Geisha! Amy and I were Maiko, trainee Geisha, thats why we had the HUGE shoes! haha!

When I got home I had my first traditional bath!

The next day (Thursday) it was hot but slightly rainy! We walked to Kyoto station along the river, saw lots of carp and ducks! We took the train to Fushimi Inari!
It was really breathtaking there, the forest was so magical- it had a green haze when you looked through the trees!

 We walked up the mountain for about an hour, then stopped at a little cafe! I had a yummy traditional ginger drink used in Japanese medicine, it was REALLY sweet though! Normally I am like "MOAR SUGAR" but this was almost too sweet! haha!
Waiting for my drink to arrive!

Then we found a little shine off the trail where mum had a little pray- it had been 5 years to the day of her mother, my Grandma, passing away. Fushimi Inari is so spiritual, it touched us all.
But there was a little man at this particular shrine- he was so sweet! He gave Amy and I tea while mum prayed, and even blessed a candle for mum. We got a picture of him because he was so kind!
Hehe, he's doing a peace sign! XD

Then we made our way back down the mountain!
LOL, mum took this photo. We only had to use a squat toilet ONCE, and luckily all of us were busting so there was no awkwardness it was just "GOTA GO!!" haha!

At the bottom of Fushimi Inari we grabbed a bite to eat, sitting traditional style! It was fun- AND YUMMY!

Finally, on Friday we packed up our things and said goodbye to Kyoto!
 We left a thank you gift for the house owner- he was really helpful!
SHINKANSEN!!
Although Kyoto had been really beautiful, I was looking forward to returning to the hive of Tokyo!

Once in Tokyo again, Amy and I dressed up for a night in Shibuya!
We went and got Purikura... alot of Purikura! haha! Then Amy decided to get hair extensions, so I took her to YuHouse! Luckily they were cool with walk-ins, and even more luckily the gentleman who spoke English was working that night! haha! So it was a lot easier than when I got mine done! lol!
 I wore my new Rose Fan Fan dress & jumper.
Amy after getting her hair done! <3

OMG, but I had the most luckiest experience ever while Amy was getting her extensions in!
I decided to go for a wander because I knew it would take at little while, and went to get Purikura on my own. After taking a few shots, I made my way out of the games parlor when suddenly I noticed a really really awesome hairstyle on a girl playing the drum games with her friends. I half stopped to have a better look... and she turned around...
It. Was. Yumachi.
*________*
HOLYMOTHEROFPEARL.
And you know what I did?
...
...
I panicked. HAHA!
I smiled, half waved, and then ran away. >__<;;
I wish I had the guts to say hello and tell her how much of a fan I was! I even had a little koala toy in my bag, I could've given it to her ><;; Still kicking myself to this day!!!
After I told Amy we went back in to the parlor to see if she was still there, but she was gone. Sigh.

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XOXOX
XOXOXOX

Japan Chronicles- Part 2

Part 2 of my trip to Japan! :D

On Saturday we got up early to get ready for Disney Sea! I was so so so SO excited! It was my dream to go to Disney Sea and meet Ariel for so long >_<

The monorail had adorable Mickey-shaped windows, and when I first saw the Disney castle I cried out and everyone on the monorail kinda looked at me. haha.
Amy and I in Disney Sea entrance! :D We wore matching Rose Fan Fan sailor dresses <3 btw, Rose Fan Fan has to become one of my favourite brands. Their shop staff are so sweet and their clothes are darn affordable!
 I wore my Mermaid necklace for the occasion too! <3
We had missed breakfast so we stopped and grabbed some YUMMY baked goods! See the tuna-roll on the bottom? I wish I had gotten more >< It was so delicious.
I got my first pair of Disney ears!! :D *is so happy*

I made Mum and Amy rush... to get in early for the line to meet Ariel ^^; This was probably one of the biggest highlights of the trip! I know she is just an actress, but she was SO nice and sweet and kept calling me a mermaid! <3

Not going to lie, afterwards I cried a little. lol.
  Then we went into Triton's Kingdom! :D We saw the Little Mermaid show- if you ever go to Disney Sea this is a MUST SEE. Not kidding. It was incredible. I cried again. haha!
In all these photos I'm smiling so crazily in happiness. haha.
The whole area is like you are on the bottom of the ocean. Oh man it was SO amazing in there!

After I had calmed down from the experience we made our way to the Arabian Coast! I snuck a photo of Jasmine from over someones shoulder...hehe. 
 lol, I'm riding a camel. haha.
Mum in a stall!
Amy and I rode on the BIG carousel! The line up took almost 20mins, but while we were lining up we started talking to this lovely girl and her mum!
I have totally forgotten her name (dangit, she was so lovely!) but we got a photo together after the ride! <3

From there we just wandered around- it gets A LOT busier in the afternoon. By 4pm there were twice as many people in the park than when we arrived! We had a late lunch at a really cool restaurant that was kinda steam-punk themed, then decided to slowly make our way back to the entrance.
I was lucky enough to find Miss Bunny! :D She grabbed my hand for the photo! <3

We left around 5pm and took the train back to Tokyo Station! At the station we booked our seats for the Shinkansen to Kyoto for Monday. Then at home, Amy and I finished the day off with a quick shopping trip in 109! ^_^
**************
The next day (Sunday), our friend Lauren met us at our hotel and we all lolita'd it up in Harajuku!

First we visited Meji Shrine- where we got a lot of photos taken of us. haha!

We saw three wedding processions and even some lovely girls in Kimono! They were so nice!
On our way back from Meji shrine, we got stopped by a Ukrainian TV crew! (well, I'm not sure what nationality they were, but the lady was really friendly and spoke great English!) They did a quick interview with us, then took lots of photos! hehe!

Then off to Harajuku for shopping! <3
 Looking toward the train station on Bodyline's balcony.
 Looking down the other way, on Bodyline's balcony.
Mum took a sneaky photo of us in Closet Child, hehe <3

Mum also surprised me later that day with an Angelic Pretty wrist watch *_* She had sneakily bought it while we were in AP at Laforet! I was so happy! <3
We spent the rest of the day walking around Harajuku- we found Kiddyland and Oriental Bazaar (great place for touristy gifts) and even saw a parade/protest! Well, if it was a protest it was the happiest, smiley-est protest I had ever seen! haha!

Then that evening we went back to Shibuya for evening antics! hehe!
The next morning we were off to Kyoto <3

*Just a note: the bridge at Harajuku no longer has the big cosplay/fashion crowd on Sunday's. It appears that they've been told not to go there anymore? We went there every Sunday and did not see any Visual Kei, cosplayers or lolitas other than the ones in Takeshita Dori and Laforet. Its a big shame!

Stay tuned for part 3!