delfonics

I recently made an amazing purchase at Delfonics in Shibuya - 2 pouches for less than 3000 yen (about $30 US dollars)! I noticed one of my friends had a small coin purse from this store, and she told me where she got it and such, and I was really surprised at how affordable it was. They had so many different  colors to choose from, but I stuck with monotone colors that I know I can use for a long time. I put my makeup goods in the black one, and my planner and business cards in the white. I guess the black one is big enough to be used as a small clutch. Anyhow, I'm finding these pouches very useful, and I would probably even gift these to someone. What do you all think?

Thanks for the recommendations in my previous post! I truly enjoyed reading your comments :)

Love,

Samantha Mariko

nudes & browns

When I was Pinteresting recently, I cam across an eye makeup tutorial using brown eye shadow and eyeliner. I've been using brown eye shadows for a quite a while now, but that inspired me to change up my makeup routine a bit. I ditched the black liquid eyeliner for a brown pencil liner (slim master liner by Maybelline), and added the Color Ink in BE-1 from Maybelline as well. Both work so well!! The eyeliner is very precise and easy to use, and the eye shadow adds instant shimmer in a subtle way. Browns and nudes are perfect for a daytime look, not too harsh but still prominent.

I also tried to arrange my hair differently... but it's hard when you have blunt-as-hell bangs. Really trying to grow them out but it's taking forever! 

What are your favorite eye makeup products? I would love to read your recommendations!

Love,

Samantha Mariko

saturday

(top and skirt: Forever 21; tights: Target)

I usually make my photos the main attraction for my posts, but today I feel like using my words as the focus of this post. Around noon, I went to the recording studio to finish recording a track that was postponed for quite a while for various reasons, one being my producer was busy with other work for the last couple of months. We also wanted to finish recording a different track first. Since this track is much more complicated in terms of recording, editing and mastering, he wanted to take care of it first, which made sense. 

The song I recorded today is a party tune, very upbeat and fun. I think I wrote the lyrics to this one early last summer and we did some pre-recording soon after, then it went to the wayside because of said reasons. After returning to the studio today for the same track, it was a completely different experience because my producer decided to change the key of the song so it would better suit my voice. This single change made all the difference - it was easier to sing, and I had more freedom to add my personality to the track. We finished surprisingly quick this time, and I remember when we were working on this last summer, it took several sessions to get one pre-recording done. Maybe my singing abilities improved, or that key change just fixed everything. I hope these tracks will be completed soon so I can show you all what I've been working on! 

  

Next week, my producer and I are meeting up to actually make a new track together. He usually makes the demos, then I write the lyrics then record my vocals. I think being able to work on a song from the first step will be a pretty cool experience. 

My Saturday turned out to be a very productive one, but I have to take care of my tax returns tomorrow... not looking forward to that. But it has to be done. I hope you have a weekend well spent! Thanks for taking the time to read <3

Love,

Samantha Mariko

happy wedding

Congratulations to my friend & fellow musician Claudio, who got married last summer. It was truly an honor to be invited to his wedding party on Sunday night. I think the photos tell the rest.

Happy wedding - ご結婚おめでとうございます！

お幸せに！

Love,

Samantha Mariko

leopard girl

(Jacket: vintage; top: Uniqlo; pants: old from Le Ciel Bleu; boots: Target; clutch: Wego)

Photos by Lisa from Paint with Stars

Another cold February afternoon in Tokyo - this time, Roppongi Hills with my photographer friend Lisa. There was surprisingly quite a bit of snow left in the area, which turned out to be really pretty in the photos. 

Here, I am wearing my favorite leopard print jacket I randomly found at a used clothing store called Mode Off, for for only about 2000yen (about $20). And then everything else... black because I like black right now. Is it just me or does my hair look purple to you?? I was planning to dye it a violet red but I guess I might not have to anymore (ha).

Anyways, Lisa started an Instagram project called Portraits of Tokyo, and you guys should check it out! She takes photos of people on the streets of Tokyo that catch her eye, and conducts a brief interview with them. You can follow her @portraitsoftokyo :)

Stay warm everyone!! Hope you enjoyed these pictures!

Love,

Samantha Mariko

japanese fashion on fablia

Hi loves!

I was recently contacted by fablia, a Japanese website that features fashion bloggers from all over Japan, if I would like to be a part of their newly-launched site. I, of course, immediately said yes! 

fablia has a wide variety of fashion bloggers already, and I can't wait to check out some of the other featured blogs. Thank you fablia!

Love,

Samantha Mariko

q-pot cafe

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of meeting up with my friend in Harajuku. We had just met last month through a mutual friend when we were both visiting California, and we hit it off and decided to see each other when we returned to Japan. She introduced me to two different cafes yesterday, but Q-pot Cafe was  just too adorable not to make a blog post of it. 

From the presentation to the quality of the desserts and tea, my experience there overall was great - kind of felt like being in the world of Alice in Wonderland. The  cool thing about Q-pot cafe is, the desserts are a replica of the accessories they sell at Q-pot right across the street. (photography was prohibited in the shop, but it was like being in an art museum). Pretty amazing, if you ask me. I had the rose cupcake with berry tea. We even got chocolate samples right as we were leaving. Aren't they so cute?

Q-pot made me really excited for Valentine's Day - I am a sucker for sweets! Happy (almost) Sweets Day :)

Love,

Samantha Mariko

valentine's day makeup ideas

Because I think most girls like looking pretty on love day, here are some makeup ideas I recommend:

1. Fresh Rose Face Mask - I use this almost every night, and it really moisturizes my face.

2. Fresh Rose Floral Toner - I use this after the Rose mask, and so far it doesn't irritate my skin and it has a lovely, pleasant scent.

3. Sugar Honey Tinted Lip Treatment Sunscreen SPF15 - Absolutely love this lip tint! It acts as both a lip balm and lipstick, and this shade is perfect because it gives off a mature look and goes with almost any kind of makeup.

4. RMK Nail Color EX in P-05  - For when I'm feeling girly.

5. Rimmel Stick Blush in 001 - This cream blush is easy to use and adds a nice, rosy color. I use my finger to to dab some of it on the apples of my cheeks.

6. Make Up For Ever HD Blush in Flamingo Pink - I actually haven't tried this particular blush but I hear good things about it. I just really like this subtle color that doesn't come off too strong.

7. Marc Jacobs Lip Gel in Strange Magic - Isn't this a pretty pink shade? I love the Marc Jacobs lipsticks because they are easy to apply and the colors are fantastic!

Do you have any beauty/ makeup ideas for Valentine's Day? Please share in the comments:)

Love,

Samantha Mariko

perfect italian - japan restaurant week

This Saturday afternoon, my friend Yui and I dined at Kagurazaka Stagione, a fine Italian restaurant, for Japan Restaurant Week. This is our third year going out for Restaurant Week, so I think this will be a yearly tradition for us. Anyways, we enjoyed a delicious 5-course lunch - antipasto, pizza, pasta, fish and dessert with coffee. Everything was so delicious, and the weather was perfect. I couldn't have asked for a better Saturday spent. 

The rest of my weekend was spent recording. Not much I can really except the song I'm working on is turning out to be very time-consuming, only because my producer and I want it to be absolutely perfect. We have other musicians helping us with this, so we need to put all the time, energy and dedication we can to make a great track. 

That was my weekend in a nutshell. Hope you all had a great weekend and wishing you an awesome week ahead!

Love,

Samantha Mariko