White Eye Liners

So now that it is the end of SS07 (where did my summer go?), I finally got around to testing out the white eye liners on the market, following the white eye liner trend this season. And judging from the recent catwalk shows, I'd say that finding a good one would be a good long term investment.
First I tried the white Mac eye liner, since I loved the black one so much. The effect was... not that impressive. The thing with white is that it doesn't go on as easily and smoothly as black does, but then you don't want to apply it too thickly either, because the effect is supposed to be more subtle. Least thats what I'm looking for....and even if you do manage to apply it thinly and well, for me the white always washes after a while.
But then, I tried the YSL long lasting eye pencil in white at the counter just for fun while I was trying out the Touche Eclat- which incidentally is amazing- and whoa. I was blown away by how smooth it went on and after wearing it for a day, how long lasting it actually is! I seriously wore it for a whole day and when I went to "retouch" it before dinner, I was surprised that I didn't need to! The only problem I have with this one is that it is so white that it applies on almost silver, so makes it more nighttime-ish.
For a more natural look, my friend has found the key. She uses a creamy white eye liner part of a duo from Shiseido. It applies smoothly and the creamy white color is very subtle but still very nicely opens up her eyes- perfect for day time! I can't wait to get one of my own next time I pass by the counter!

Image Credit: Mac, YSL and Shiseido

Lunch with Nick B.

Lunchtime observations

Hmmm...

maybe I should start paying attention during meetings instead of drawing all the time...nah, what fun would that be? More from recent meetings.

-ACH

What's Going Down in Tokyo Town?

" I am so beautiful" - Natalie

This weekend in Tokyo is set to be a stunning one. The few days after a typhoon are always amazing. Everything will be swept away including the clouds it will be the devine calm after the storm.

So we are taking it to the streets and soaking up the warm rays while we can!

This weekend will be a mini carnival with the Brazilian Festival being held in Yoyogi Park.

For something just as funky, Saturday night at the Ruby Room in Shibuya is Virgo night. An electro party right in the center of it all!

And after all the hip shakin and floor stompin Sunday is the perfect time to relax. Superior relaxation is what the Ooedo-Onsen-Monogatari is all about. Foot baths, hot rocks, sand baths, natural hot springs and a chance to step back in time is just a slice of the beauty on offer at this highly regarded onsen in the odaiba area.

New York SS08 Fashion Week Wrapup I

It's fashion week! OK so I'm not totally excited about NY Fashion Week because few shows there are actually directional or gorgeous, but it is nice to look at new, modern clothes.

BCBG Max Azria

I never used to care much for BCBG until this summer's visit to LA, I realised that BCBG sells really useful, pretty, contemporary clothes that are affordable. This season's BCBG seems a bit inspired by Nina Ricci's FW07 collection. It used a lot of that sheer material to form a layer over the non-transparent layer. And note the belts tied at the waist -big trend this FW and probably next SS!

The dress in the middle is one of my favourites from this collection. Love the colour combination and the chiffon layering at the bust area.

Lots of sheer chiffon layering.

Erin Featherson

Remember how cute Erin Featherson's last show was? Everyone looked like fairies. For this collection, the models look like they're fairies just starting to work.

All the models had white eyeshadow and mascara on. Looks cute close-up, but...

... not so cute from afar! The first time I looked through the photos, I was so distracted by the eyes I hardly saw the clothes!

The silver dress is so cute! Very ballerina-ish.

Marchesa

Ah, the brand of gorgeous dresses! This collection was supposedly inspired by India, (although I'm sure some Indians would be a bit offended by how flashy or revealing some of the dresses are!) The dresses throughout the collection didn't connect that well to me, but there's no denying they're too pretty not to look!

The navy dress is so elegant -I love the crystal details at the waist!

Gorgeous dress! This dress looks like a bunch of embellished flower petals, doesn't it? The way the material is draped is so nice! If you're interested, the dress before this dress at style.com looks even more like rose petals -the model there literally looks like a rose bud!

Image credit: www.style.com

Bigger than a Typhoon

As we sit here with sand bags at the ready, there is only one thing bigger than typhoon No.9 that is currently whipping Tokyo into a wet and whirly frenzy... iPod Touch.

We can guarantee there are millions of kids all over this city planning their attack right now, preparing themselves for the lines, scoping out the iPod touch lottery tickets for as soon as this natural disaster is over there will be a shopping storm ahappening in all electrical stores across the country.

I'm hooked and I can't stop staring...

Oh baby I wanna get wit cha and take yo pitcha...




I know I should be putting this kind of thing over at the other SPACE but there is no denying the prettiness and sushi zume is all about the pretty!

Digital Cameras Fall 2007

Admittedly I only got my last camera, the ixus i zoom not that long ago. But recently, I've been feeling the need for a change. I am tired of the limits of my camera. The quality of the pictures are never good enough and it never captures the moment. They boosted up the pixels, but the minimal functions of the camera does not complement the upgrade. And so, I've been back on the market for a new camera lately. After a market-wide scan on the Panasonic Lumix, Casio Exilm etc., I've finally narrowed it down to two brands: Canon and Sony.

Canon because after much asking around and photo comparison with my friends many different cameras, we concluded that ultimately the quality of Canon pictures were the best, both in and outdoors. From there I narrowed it down to the two newest models: Ixus 860 and Ixus 960. The Ixus 860 is really not bad, with 8 megapixels, 3.8x wide angle optical zoom, a huge 3" screen, wide angle option and all the standard antishock things. It even has a battery usage bar now, that tells you the battery status ahead unlike the previous models, which only tells you when you're running out. The only thing is, holding it in my hands, it feel huge, especially compared to the ones out there (and my previous camera, which is smaller than my phone).

Plus, besides the wide angle, the rest doesn't seem to compare with the Ixus 960, with 12 megapixels (I KNOW the more megapixels doesn't mean its better, but still...), 3.7x optical zoom, 2.5" screen, touch control D tech (whatever that means) and a titanium cover. Unfortunately, even though it has been announced, no one has seen it in reality yet and cannot testify to the size. If this one was slimmer and smaller than the Ixus 860 (like the Ixus 95, which I really really hope it is-though I've heard rumors to the contrary) then this will be my winner. I'm hoping it would come out before I leave for the States. If not however, we've got a problem...

...and I might have to switch to the Sony Cyber Shot T-200, also new this month and is not available in stores yet. Because function, design and size-wise, the Sony T-200 is clearly superior to the Canons. Not only does it look this pretty and is tiny, but it also has a 8.1 mega pixels, 5x optical zoom, a HUGE 3.5" touch screen and all the usual double anti shock things. PLUS, it has this cool new smile shutter feature, which detects everyone in the picture smiling and automatically takes the picture without clicking. Not exactly a very essential or practical function, but how cool is that? The only downside is that Sony cameras have a special Sony memory card to go with it, so I can't stick it into my laptop slot directly. The colors are also unnaturally richer/redder, though the salesperson claims that it was the "true" color. Indoor/dark photos also occasionally show up not sharp enough, though the outdoor photos are gorgeous! There is also the concern for the touch screen technology- if it falters then I am in big trouble...a digital camera IS a long term investment after all (it needs to last at LEAST 2 years). In addition, because it is touch screen and its huge, it probably consumes battery a lot faster. Oh and lastly the Sony is more expensive than the Canons (naturally).

Wow I've written a whole essay about this topic (if only they were so easy to write!). I am probably leaving a lot of important points out, but I'm obviously no expert on digital cameras. I'm going back later in a few weeks to check out the T200 and Ixus 960 in real (hopefully they will be there), and I am determined to finally get one. Which one would you go for?

Image Source: Sony and Shiny Shiny

Hoop Thoughts

Aside from TOKYOMADE, Dr. Sketchy's Tokyo, hanging out with our awesome friends, making our new apartment gorgeous, where to go for a break in December and a million other things, recently much of our time and thoughts are consumed, in a healthy way, by Hoop Dance.

Our daily practice ranges from 40mins to an hour and a half and each session we are learning new ways to move and make motion. It is so great that we can do it together, as with anything in life it is always wonderful to have someone to encourage you and challenge you.

To track our progress and the steps we take to becoming qualified hoop teachers here in Tokyo Japan, fluid dancers and hoop wranglers we have started a new blog called Tokyo Hoop Stars. This will be a space for us to record our thoughts, changes and challenges. We also hope to connect with other hoopers in Japan and internationally via the blog. Masao will write his posts in Japanese and mine will be in English, so it is a bilingual, international hooptastic place to hang out. Even if you are not into hoop dancing we would love to hear your thoughts or questions about hoop dance. There will also be plenty of hoopy ideas and videos over there to inspire and amaze.

If you are a hoop dance or like to dabble in a bit of spiral action we would really love to hear stories of your hoop adventures!

Tokyo Hoop Stars is a far more personal blog about our journey to hoop stardom ;)

FCUK FW07-08

FCUK kicking off this season, I would like to gush about the new FW07-08 FCUK collection. Once again they have exceeded my expectations for them and turned out some very pretty and trendy looking clothes this season. The ads actually makes me look forward to fall/winter, evoking images of ladylike elegance, sophistication and a hint of fun and funk. LOVE the whole look here, the hair, purple dress and ankle boots!!!The image of ladylike sophistication. I especially love the picture on the right, except I'm not sure the actual outfit of black turtleneck and long black skirt would do well in real life.... you'd have to be very tall and slim to pull it off.And here I just adore the beige cardigan. Its a coat cardigan but has the prettiness of a dress like at the same time!
And sigh.... these coats are sooooooo gorgeous. The grey coat on the left is classic and stylish, with the collar. And the black coat is chic and trendy with just the right details!

For now, I think I am going to go with these plain loose tees in different colors as I'm probably going to get the most mileage out of them this season, so buying it full priced would be worth it. Especially since I've finally decided that it was time to move on from my usual plain tees from Mango and Zara, these would be a nice little upgrade. The plain color with its simple but more flowy and elegant cutting is perfect for everyday wear to school.

Sigh, it feels like only yesterday that I gushed about their SS07 collection!

Image Credits: FCUK

Performance Art in Tokyo

A high voltage performance on the streets of Shinjuku, Tokyo.

I am a bit mesmerized by this at the moment! Experimental or artistic performance on the streets of Tokyo, while far more common during the warmer months is not a major money or attention spinning event for artists like it may be in some countries.

I remember last summer we watched a street performer in Barcelona do his thing and then coincidentally followed him into a local cafe after he had finished his performance. For a guy who had spray painted his whole body green and stood motionless for much of his act he raked in a fair packet of euro! Impressive.

Although we are not yet hooptastic enough to take our spiraling to the streets it could make for an tingling experience and confidence builder.

New FW07 Layout

Hey people. It's our bi-annual layout changing day again! If you've been a reader of ours for more than a year, you would probably know that we change our layout on every 1st March and 1st September. Usually we're really on time with changing the layout, but this time, we weren't both at home at the end of August. (I went to the States and BG worked full time.) We really tried to do it in advance (which we still feel amazed about,) but we were completely uninspired at that point.

OK so admittedly, we still don't feel very inspired and there are probably still things we could have done better. But hey, both of us completely lack IT skills and creativity, and given the deadline we don't think we did too badly. First we had to pick a background photo. We went through BG's many scenery photos from Paris and experimented with them, but it turns out that randomly floating models don't fit into scenery photos well. Then we came across this pink background taken with BG's Nokia at the New Years party that we went to. (The party wasn't that great but now we have decided that it was fate that we went, just to take this photo!haha) Yes, I know the picture is blurry but it's part of why we chose it. As for the models, they are from the FW07 shows of Nina Ricci, Prada and Balenciaga, left to right (images from www.style.com). I know it doesn't seem like we put much thought into the models, but each of the models you see in the image is actually two of the same models with different effects put together to form one model.

The technical stuff should work on your browsers since it's pretty much the same as the previous one, but as usual, if something is wrong, leave us a comment. (Although we would even happier to read comments about what you think of the new image as well!) In some unexpected way, the layout does suit this season doesn't it? You know, the dark, greyish colours with huge blotches of bold pink. Bring on FW07!

Cocktails and Chandeliers

We love our friends. And we love them even more when they are at our house eating, drinking and being hilariously merry.

Thank you to everyone who popped in for a quick mojito, a bit of a dance and some balcony shenanigans.

Check the almighty Leila Chan for a more people pic filled post.

I was far to busy behind the bar to get any great pics!