London Haul

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Wow what a long week it has been since returning from London! Of course I do apologise for how quiet I have been the past two weeks, but as I said on my Twitter account, I have been way too busy with the house to think or have time to do anything with my blog. Sorry about this, but I know that my regular readers understand, and for this I love you all and thank you as much as I can!

I have just got back from London after visiting my good friend Sophi, and I had an amazing time! I ended up spending more than I intended to as we went shopping around London, as well as in Stratford shopping centre. So I thought why not show all my lovelies what I bought down in the smoke!

I said from the start of my trip to London that I wouldn’t buy any clothing, as I don’t need any, but I found that was the majority of what I bought. Oops! I picked up three t-shirts, and a coat.

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The first t-shirt I picked up was this Rugrats Reptar one from the Nickelodeon shop in London. It wasn’t cheap to be honest at £20, but I thought it would make a nice treat and was a real throwback to my childhood as I loved watching Rugrats growing up. So much so that I still watch it to this day if I fancy a bit of a nostalgia trip. As you can see it’s a purple t-shirt, with Reptar on, as well as his name in metallic pink writing. You can pick this up online here.

The second and third t-shirts that I bought were both from HMV, not usually a place you would think sold clothing. They do sell t-shirts though, usually relating to bands, TV shows, movies, and games, etc. You get the point! These two t-shirts were both £12.99 each, however HMV have an offer where you can buy two for £20, which is a bargain really! So of course I took them up on that offer, because it would have been rude not to.

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The Harley Quinn one is to coincide with The Suicide Squad, as it’s meant to be the same as the t-shirt she wears in the movie (which FYI I am excited to see when it comes out!). I just love the design of it, it’ll be something nice to rock in the summer with shorts… Like Harley Quinn really! A girl I work with (Hi Rhi! ^_^) has this t-shirt too, and I heard about it from her before my trip to London. As you can probably gather this is a woman’s t-shirt. Sadly any men out there who want it won’t find it in HMV. I would have linked back to this for people to look into buying from HMV, but it isn’t on the website sadly.

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I also picked up a Deadpool t-shirt from HMV. It had to be done, as I LOVE Deadpool and I knew whilst I was in London I wanted to pick up some Deadpool goodies, or at least one. This was the only thing I actually managed to pick up, and I don’t regret it. This is a pretty straight forward tee with just a picture of Deadpool with his arms folded, nothing spectacular or special. I don’t mind that to be perfectly honest. This is a mans tee, sorry ladies they don’t have any specifically for us! I don’t mind this though as I picked up a smaller size so it would fit snug on me. You can find this on the website, and I have linked it here for you.

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As well as the two t-shirts I picked up from HMV I also bought myself a few other things, not clothing related. I picked up these Kurt Cobain pin badges for my backpack, as during my trip to London I decided that I would start to use it again more often. I love Nirvana and Kurt so I though it would be cool to get some badges with his face on them. These were a steal at £3.99 and I can’t wait to pop a few on my backpack. I also picked up a DVD copy of Forrest Gump after visiting Bubba Gump Shrimp. It’s a film I’ve been meaning to buy and add to my collection for some time now, as it’s one of my favourite films. I put it on for me and Dane to watch when I got back from London, and I cried so many times that I ended up losing count. Oh dear. 😦 It was another bargain at only £2.99!

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My favourite purchase of my trip to London was definitely my new coat, a yellow raincoat! I have been after one of Topshop’s raincoats for years now, and every time I saw one I liked the look of it seemed to sell out really quickly, if not straight away. I saw this one in the Oxford Street store and decided to grab it with both hands before I was never able to buy one again! I’ve bought it two sizes too big for me so it didn’t feel snug, but instead was more roomy and baggy. Reason being so that in autumn and winter I can layer up and not feel uncomfortable. I found from wearing it around London for a couple of days that this coat is incredibly warm, and will be perfect for rainy days! The hood is huge which I’m really pleased about, as I love any jacket, coat, or hoodie was a hood that swamps my whole face. I can’t wait to wear these with my Jake Dr Martens boots (you can read about them here) as they’re both yellow and will look amazing! With all this rain we’ve been having they’ll work perfectly together. Yay! You can fine this raincoat on Topshop’s website here.

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I mentioned before that I went to Bubba Gump Shrimp whilst in London and shortly after having a meal there with Sophi, I decided I wanted to get some goodies from the gift shop. Before heading down the restaurant gave us our blue flashing glasses that we’d had drinks in. As Sophi already had a blue glass already, she kindly gave me hers so that me and Dane could have one each in the house. I love that she does things like that! I also bought two pint glasses from the gift shop, which were meant to be two for £10, but the guy only charged me £5.98 for two. I didn’t say anything and accepted how cheap they were! One is going to be for my dad whenever he comes to visit me at the house, and the other for myself and Dane to use whenever. They’re just bog standard pint glasses, which will come in handy for pop, beer, etc. By the way I do apologise for the pint glasses still being wrapped up. I don’t want to open them until me and Dane have moved into the house. But you all know what a pint glass looks like anyway! 😛

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Of course I couldn’t go down to London and not pop into the Lush on Oxford Street. That would just be out of order, and it was one of the last shops me and Sophi popped into on my first day in London. I had promised Dane (and myself) that I wouldn’t buy anything… But I caved in and ended up buying two things. DOH! I took in five empty black pots and bagged myself a free pot of The Prince of Darkness face mask, which I was super happy about! I haven’t used it yet, but I hope to soon.

The two products I bought were Supertramp bubble bar, which is an exclusive to Oxford Street, and their newest bath bomb Lava Lamp (link here), which Oxford Street did release when they first opened last year, but discontinued it shortly after. I imagine to work on a better formula and scent for it… Who knows! Either way I thought I was going to go crazy and want to buy more, but alas I only really wanted to get my favourite exclusive, that being Supertramp, and I’ve always wanted to try Lava Lamp. I’ll be giving them a go soon enough and reviewing them. Woop!

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The majority of the rest of things I bought were food and drinks related, either Japanese or American. I said that I would be coming back with loads of Japanese snacks, but I didn’t really think about bringing this much back! Boy do I have a lot to show…

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All my Japanese goodies are mostly from Japan Centre, but I also grabbed some stuff from an independent Japanese supermarket too. I bought two types of Pocky, banana and matcha (green tea), my two favourites! They cost less than a £1 each so I bought two of each, because why not! I also bought some random goodies too such as Pokemon wafers, a panda wafer, as well as three bottles of ramune soda! One is missing however due to me and Dane drinking it… Oops!

I also bought plenty of American sweets, mostly blue raspberry flavoured as they have always been my favourite. Just loads of random things. These were mostly from Gobstoppers in Stratford shopping centre, and I’m just going to say that I will never go there again. I will try the one in Birmingham to see what it’s like, but I judged the Stratford one so hard. They were selling out of date stock from over a year ago, AT FULL PRICE, the staff were rude, and they charged ridiculous prices for things you can buy in Asda for 99p. A complete joke, and I won’t be going there again…

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Another sweet related place I bought stuff from was the legendary Choccywoccydoodah, which I had never heard about until my friend Sophi told me about it. We ventured into the cafe there, which was amazing, and to be honest (for me) the best part about it. The shop itself was lovely, with some beautiful creations, but at the same time I do feel like it was really tacky… Sorry (I’m not sorry…)! I ended up buying some chocolate, one little slab of dark (which you can buy here), and a larger slab of chocolate with green tea flavour (which you can buy here). I’m excited to try these, as the dark chocolate we had in the cafe was gorgeous! It was ridiculously overpriced to be honest, and I doubt I’ll ever buy anything from there again. I feel bitchy saying that, but it just seems a rip off for what you’re getting, especially when I’m not a huge chocolate lover anyway.

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Apart from the goodies that I also picked up for Dane (a Fallout 4 Dogmeat Pop Vinyl!, a book, and some sweeties) that is all I bought! My friend Sophi gave me and Dane one of the nicest moving in presents we have received so far, with it being matching Disney mugs! Lady and The Tramp for me, and Stitch for Dane. We love them, and will be using them lots when we move into the house. She also gave me a medium Pink Sands Yankee Candle that she didn’t want, as well as a Charity Pot lotion from Lush that she didn’t want either. All the goodies! I intend to give her something very soon as a thank you for having me stay at hers whilst we were in London. That and it’s her birthday soon!

So that was all the stuff I bought whilst in London! I wish I could have ventured to more places that sold Japanese related things, but that will be for next time.

What have you bought nice for yourself lately? Make sure to let me know in the comments down below!

Until next time take care all, and I hope you’re having a good week.

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Kawaii Box Review & GIVEAWAY (Giveaway now closed)*

As a regular reader of my blog, people will know how much I love anything Japanese related. I’m a massive fan of Japan, especially kawaii things. Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock for the past two or three years, you’ll have heard of subscription boxes and how over the years they’ve just become more popular. You can get subscription boxes for anything these days, from beauty, fashion, game related things, and of course Japanese related items.

I’ll be talking about the latter today with the Kawaii Box*, a monthly subscription box that comes piled high with goodies from Japan and Korea. Each month you’ll receive 10-12 handpicked items, some being stationery, some being food. There’s a bit of everything in every box!

The awesome people over at Kawaii Box were lovely enough to send me a box to open up and review to you guys and I cannot explain how excited I have been for this to arrive so I could share what goodies I received inside of it. Also, as you can probably tell by the title, I was also given the chance to give one of these away to a lucky winner. Make sure to stay with me and read to the end of the post to find out how you can win!

This box arrived two weeks after they confirmed it was on its way to me and I’m really pleased about that. I’ve had it for about a week now, which has given me plenty of time to try out every item that I received, and in turn means I can give you guys a proper review of everything.

This months box came with 11 items, which is really good, and everything is different from the other too, so you don’t get anything the same as one another, which I liked.

This is what you get inside of the box;

  • Kracie DIY Chain Candy Set
  • Squishy Doughnut Mirror
  • Dessert Eraser
  • Kawaii Toast Coaster
  • Pastel Pearl Bracelet
  • Korean Glitter Glue Set
  • Rilakkuma Sticky Notes
  • Mushroom Mini Plush
  • Cute Korean Pencil Set
  • Flake Seal Stickers
  • Alpaca Keychain

I’ll be talking about each item with a little bit of detail just to give my readers a basic idea of what you get and such. Not every box comes with exactly the same items, so you get a unique box!

There are quite a few stationery bits in this box and they’re really nice too. You get a pack of pencils, a dessert rubber/eraser, a glitter glue set, some sticky notes, and flake seal stickers. These will be perfect for making notes for blog related work, as well as life in general. I’ll be taking these on holiday with me when I send postcards back to the UK, as well as when I do some blog work whilst out there. The stickers are really cute and whilst I was bored I stuck a couple on my boyfriends face for giggles.

The Rilakkuma sticky notes are amazing and one of my favourite things in this box. I’ll be using them to jot little blog post notes on, as well as using for bookmarks as well. There are so many that they’ll last me for months!

I never say no to Japanese candy, and I couldn’t wait to share this candy with my boyfriend. It’s chain candy which you link together and then well… Eat! It takes of ramune, Japanese lemonade and grape soda, two very popular flavours in Japan, and also two of my favourites. These tasted amazing and I was sad when they all ran out. 😦

There are also some random little bits and pieces in here which were really kawaii! A squishy little doughnut mirror, which is covered in sprinkles and is super soft and squishy! The mirror isn’t the best in the world, but it does the job and it’s one I’m going to be taking on holiday with me for quick touch ups on the go. A cute little bead bracelet which is on the small side, so if you have big wrists it might be a little tight, as I’m a medium and it was just about okay for me. This being said, it’s still cute and a nice little piece for down days. I’ve seen various different mushroom plushie keyrings in peoples boxes, but I got the red one and it’s so adorable, reminds me of Mario. I don’t know what I’ll do with this, I may give it to a friend of mine very soon as a little surprise.

Finally we have two more of my favourite pieces out of the box, a toast shaped coaster and an alpaca keyring. I don’t yet have my own place but when I do I’ll be using this coaster in the living room, or office area as it’s just too cute NOT to use! It’s wooden and sounds really nice when placed down too. I know that sounds weird… But yeah. 😛 The alpaca keyring already has it’s pride and place on my backpack and is something I have had many comments on so far due to how adorable it is. I’ve been asked by many where it’s from!

Overall what do I think of the box? I LOVE IT! It’s a perfect monthly treat for anyone who loves all things kawaii and Japanese, and can’t access Japanese stores near them or online. It also makes for a nice surprise every month too and it’s all different.

So I’ll give you the prices of the box!

One Month Plan = $18.50 a month – free shipping worldwide – recurring one month plan – cancel anytime.

Three Month Plan = $18.50 a month – free shipping worldwide – ends after three months – perfect gift idea.

Six Month Plan = $17.90 a month – free shipping worldwide – ends after six months – save $6!

Twelve Month Plan = $17.30 a month – free shipping worldwide – ends after twelve months – get one box free!!!

In my eyes those are some pretty decent deals, especially the twelve month box.

So what are you waiting for guys? Get out there and get subscribing! If you would like to get one of these boxes yourself, click this link to go ahead and make your purchase!

HOWEVER how would you like to win one of these yourself? All you have to do is click the link below and then go and fill out the rafflecopter widget. Sadly due to WordPress being a smelly ogre, it won’t allow the widget to show on my blog, which sucks! The giveaway is open internationally and all you need to do is follow what it says to on the giveaway to be in with the chance of winning your own Kawaii Box.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

What do you think of the Kawaii Box? Will you be making your order soon? Or trying for the competition? Make sure to let me know in the comments!

Until next time though, take care all and good luck in the giveaway!

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Hallowe’en!

Image taken from weheartit.com

Happy Hallowe’en all! Hallowe’en is my favourite time of year and what better way to celebrate it this year than by writing up a blog post about it for you to read!

Every year for as long as I can remember I have celebrated it, whether I dress up and go out, carve a pumpkin or do something else I just enjoy being able to celebrate it somehow, as it is one of my favourite holidays of the year, Bonfire Night being another.

I haven’t really dressed up for Hallowe’en for a while, but it seemed like fun to try and do something for it this year. Even if I don’t end up going out tonight, I’ll still have a go at making myself look spooky! I’ve seen some make-up tutorials with ideas on what I could do this evening, which I’ll be sharing with you later in this post.

Image taken from weheartit.com

I wouldn’t mind carving a pumpkin tonight, as I haven’t done it for years and it would be a lot of fun to do. Years ago my brother carved some Star Wars pumpkins just by using an easy trace guide that he downloaded off of the internet. I’d love to try and carve an R2D2 or a Stormtrooper! A typical ghost or spooky face could also be done for this too and I’ll probably leave these in the kitchen to burn away and look beautiful.

Image taken from weheartit.com

One thing I hate about Hallowe’en? Trick or treaters! I only ever went and took part in this tradition once when I was about 10 years old and I can safely say, I hated it. The neighbours were friendly yes, but I felt somewhat trampy and rather silly knocking on someone’s door chanting, “trick or treat!” to either be given their sweets, some money (on the odd occasion) or be told to piss off. It has never appealed to me and as the years have gone by and I have grown older and somewhat wiser, I’ve grown into a miserable adult who ignores children when they knock on my door. I don’t want to give a random child sweets, it seems wrong to me and as I didn’t enjoy going to take part in this as a child, I’m not going to change that. But if these dogs turned up at my doorstep dressed up as ghosts and holding their Jack-o’-lantern’s, I would give them as many dog treats as they desired!

Image taken from weheartit.com

I’ve saved the best until last… I love dressing up for Hallowe’en, it’s by far the best part about it. The last time I dressed up for Hallowe’en was in 2011 when I dressed up as Alex DeLarge from A Clockwork Orange. Not exactly a scary costume, but as it’s one of my favourite films, it’s always been something I’ve wanted to dress up as so to be able to do it and got lots of compliments on it, which made me happy! The year before that I dressed up as various Japanese characters, which was more cosplay than Hallowe’en but you can dress as whatever you like for this holiday and the amount of women and girls I see out clubbing in tiny little Ann Summers outfits, just proves this point.

I’m thinking of having a play tonight with some make up and create a few Hallowe’en looks to take pictures of. I told you I would show you some videos of looks I’m going to be trying out myself, so here are a few I’m going to try for myself. Just want to warn you, some of these, if not all of these videos are rather gorey and although not real, do look pretty realistic at times, so please watch out:

Gorey huh? But totally awesome! I really want to try the last one out, spook a few people out with it. 😛

Also, best costume for Hallowe’en 2013 goes to…. *drum roll*

Image taken from weheartit.com

Can you guess what he’s supposed to be? Let me know in the comments if you do!

What are you dressing up as for Hallowe’en this year? If you’re not dressing up, are you doing anything nice at all? Carving a pumpkin maybe? Let me know in the comments!

I wish you all a happy and safe Hallowe’en, until next time, take care.

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