My first 10K race

So for my new year resolution, I am want to run more and not only that, I have signed up for the British London 10K Run. This event will be taking held on Sunday 14th July 2013.

I have already began training for this since I have never ran such a long distance before. I did the 5K run a few years ago but this distance is a challenge to me.

The weather is cold at the moment but I have already started outdoor running. I was very chuffed with myself as I did run over 7.5k so far in one training session. However I heard that you do not have to do the 10k in your training. What is more important is train yourself on endurance and stamina.

My hubby is already cheering me on by buying the Nike Fuel band as well as an ipad mini! Cool! :X

I have not signed up to raise money for a charity as I am still deciding which charity to sign up for. Any suggestions I appreciate! Wish me luck!

Dolly Wink Black Eye Liner review

I have been into eyeliners for some time and generally only use gel liners. One of my favourites was ELF eye liner. It came in a small pot with a brush and after much practice lining my eyes, I felt ready to try and use pen eye liners.

Many people on YouTube have rated the Dolly Wink eye liners and when I went to Japan in Nov, I ensured that I went makeup shopping and this eye liner was top of my list.

The packaging is very girly and pink. It definitely appeals to the more girly audiences. I read that the Dolly Wink brand was started by some Japanese model and it probably the girl on the packaging, I am not entirely sure. You can buy these liquid liners in other colours, I believe in brown also. So I bought both one in each other.

Having never tried using a pen style eyeliner, I was nervous about using this as the point of the liner is very fine. However I found the pen very easy and comfortable to hold. You can get really close to your lash line with the fine tip.

These eye liners are waterproof and smudge proof. I have very watery eyes because I wear contact lenses but this eye liner did not smudge or move at all. One test I did before I actually wore it outside, was just draw a line on my hand and then immediately rub it to see if it needed time to dry. No, it did not, it set straightaway and it was pretty fixed that line. This definitely helped me lining my eyes, because I usually blink a lot and with liners, its strained top of my eye lids by then.

Removing this liner is fairly simple. I use just gentle eye makeup remover and that usually removes all my eye shadow and mascara. Then I use warm water on cotton pads and wipe over my lids and lashes. It is the water that helps remove the liner totally. Amazing! Great buy! Love it!

Sana Pore Putty Smooth BB Cream review

I have heard so much about this BB cream through people's blogs and online reviews. On my recent visit to Japan, I deliberately went in search of this BB cream and as a top seller BB cream in Japan, it was not difficult to find.

Many drugstores in Japan sell this BB cream, I came across Sundrug, Cosmos and Matsumoto Kiyoshi. I bought mine from Matsumoto Kiyoshi. I paid 1098 yen and I think it was on special offer. I think this BB cream came in different types, from smooth to concealing and sensitive. I bought this blue one which is smooth and help smooth out your pores.

This BB cream states the following:

• Smooths out visible pores
• Shine- free finish
• SPF15
• Long lasting
• Stretch gel texture to blend with your face shape and skin.

Anyway, I have been using this BB cream for a while. My skin is combination oily at the T zone and in the winter, my face can also become very dry. Before applying this BB cream, I always moisturise and wait a little while since my skin has absorbed the moisturiser.

The texture of this BB cream is very shiny, smooth and not too runny, however it is not as thick as some of the other BB creams out there, for example, the Garnier Miracle BB cream. The Putty Smooth BB cream is very easy to spread across the face. It is very sheer and the the coverage is not bad. I have some freckles and it seems to cover them well. However it does not fully hide away spot, but I feel it does a fair job.

Overall I think this is the best BB cream I have used so far. I love it so much that I have bought a couple of these. Brilliant stuff!

Our Wedding song - At The Beginning

I have a friend who is currently planning her wedding and was talking to her about her plans. She mentioned about playing her wedding music and the number of songs she has. This made me think back to my wedding.

I think most weddings now have the music Canon D, OMG, it's been played too much and I feel bored of hearing it really, hehe! :P Apart from that piece, me and hubby also picked a very non conventional song to play during our vows exchange and signing of the registry. The song is called At The Beginning and sung by Richard Marx and Donna Lewis, aka Anastasia theme song too. We love the lyrics as it reflects our relationship and love for each other! :)

Here is the lyrics to this song.

We were strangers
Starting out on a journey
Never dreaming
What we'd have to go through
Now here we are
And I'm suddenly standing
At the beginning with you

No one told me
I was going to find you
Unexpected
What you did to my heart
When I lost hope
You were there to remind me
This is the start

And...

Life is a road
And I want to keep going
Love is a river
I wanna keep flowing
Life is a road
Now and forever
Wonderful journey

I'll be there
When the world stops turning
I'll be there
When the storm is through
In the end I wanna be standing
At the beginning with you

We were strangers
On a crazy adventure
Never dreaming
How our dreams would come true
(BOTH)
Now here we stand
Unafraid of the future
At the beginning with you

And...

Life is a road
And I want to keep going
Love is a river
I wanna keep flowing
Life is a road
Now and forever
Wonderful journey

I'll be there
When the world stops turning
I'll be there
When the storm is through
In the end I wanna be standing
At the beginning with you

I knew there was somebody somewhere
Like me alone in the dark
Now I know my dream will live on
I've been waiting so long
Nothing's gonna tear us apart

And...

Life is a road
And I want to keep going
Love is a river
I wanna keep flowing
(BOTH)
Life is a road
Now and forever
Wonderful journey

I'll be there
When the world stops turning
I'll be there
When the storm is through
In the end I wanna be standing
At the beginning with you

(BOTH)

Life is a road and I wanna keep going
Love is a river I wanna keep going on....

Starting out on a journey
(BOTH)
Life is a road and I wanna keep going
Love is river I wanna keep flowing
In the end I wanna be standing
At the beginning with you

My Christmas nails

This evening, I got the whole house to myself as hubby is off to his company party and will not be home till the next day. He hates the smell of nail varnish. I usually have to paint my nails in the kitchen or conservatory.

Anyway here are my Christmas nails! I got the dotting kit from Japan, so I was trying it out. The kit is called Dot Artist by Beauty World. I bought it from Matsumoto Kiyoshi. This drugstore is everywhere, almost outside every subway or train station in Tokyo. I cannot remember how much it was but it was probably not that much! The kit comes with 3 nail varnish colours, purple, glitter green and gold. The consistency of the varnish is not thick but required a few coats. The dotting tool was very easy to use, it has a large ball tip and a smaller dot tip on either ends. Definitely worth playing around.

Why I love Japan!

It has been a while since I has blogged and with a busy December, I hope that I try my hardest to find time to blog more and get this blog a bit more active.

I have just come back from Japan with my hubby and although I have been to Japan way back in 2007, this trip proved that Japan is still my favourite country to visit. I absolutely adore Japan!!!

Here is a list of reasons why I love this country!

1. People in Japan are so friendly. We travelled through Japan for a few weeks and everyone we come across, whether it was the train inspectors or cleaner in our hotel, they were really polite. I knew limited Japanese but when approaching people in restaurants, hotels, train stations, not a problem and they were really helpful and always said 'Thank you very much' and give you a little bow.
2. Food is so delicious. Some people think Japanese food is just all about sushi and raw fish. Wrong! Our trip, we came across so many different type of Japanese dishes. Even noodles dishes you will find a large variety to choose from. From the different types of noodles: udon, soba and ramen!
3. Cleanliness. We booked budget hotels 3 star hotels in most places in the cities we visited and were very surprised and impressed on the level of cleanliness in our rooms. Each hotel had body and shampoo liquid soap, hairdryer, tea making facilities, yukatas (Japanese dressing gowns), clean beds and towels.
4. Safe! We thought so safe throughout our travel. We also saw quite a few backpackers and single travellers around. To give you an example how safe it is. We went to Starbucks quite often, sometimes just for a sit down and a drink. Once we walked into Starbucks and there were lots of empty tables with bags and shopping on the seats. Basically people just leave their belongings and go to the toilet or get their coffee and it is completely fine to them, no one touches them.
5. Great customer service. We went through a lot of eateries and shops and I must say, the customer service we experienced was great. I cannot fault it. One example, we went to the 21st Century Contemporary Arts Museum. My hubby wanted to see the exhibit called The Swimming pool. Anyway, to cut a long story short, the exhibit was closed and we were only there for that day as we were leaving Kanazawa. The lady at the ticket counter was so apologetic, I thought she was going to burst out crying in front of me, as I explained that we were only there for that day and it there was any chance just to see it.

I love Japan! I would go back there. One moan I have though, is that I would never go via transfer, the journey just took too long and I was knackered and jetlagged. ()_() Next time, I want to fly direct.

That's it for you.

Big Trip 2012

Oh wow, I haven't blogged in much a long time! No excuses really, I have just been too lazy. A lot of things has happening this year, most of these are all private really, I wouldn't go into it as it is not in the past!

After so many things happened this year but none of it involved much traveling or taking any holidays. So for the last quarter of this year, there will be more leisurely things going on. For example, I have already been to a friend's hen night and a christening. I have two weddings to attend later on this year. On top of this, hubby and I have booked for our holilday this year.

After debating about where to go, those on the list include Hong Kong, Thailand and somewhere in the far east. We settled on taking a 23 day break away on a long haul trip. We knew we wanted to be in a place where we can have fun, go exploring and see totally different things and be out of that the normal life for us.

OK to cut the long story short, we have booked flights to Japan. Yep, we are going to Japan for the second time and we are very excited!

Blog more later! Too busy planning!