Why hello! ♡
I'm sorry that it's been so long since my last post-- I know I said there were many posts you could expect (like my Paris trip, which at this point I think it's too late to write about...), but it's been a fairly hectic semester and I've barely had any time for social medias other than my Insta ><
However, if you follow me on there, you'll likely know that I recently got back from a trip to London! I went there for about a week, and had a really wonderful time ♡ I did a bit of shopping while there (naturally), so I thought it would be fun to do a quick post showing the things that I bought!
I had a few stores in mind that I knew I wanted to visit, however for most of them I didn't have specific items that I wanted to purchase. The one exception however was... Vivienne Westwood!
Vivienne Westwood is a brand that I adore; I'm not the sort of person to spend large amounts of money on accessories, but I really love the brand's jewelry and knew that I wanted to purchase something from the shop when I visited. Naturally, I browsed online prior to my trip, and entered the store already knowing what I wanted:
This bracelet! I already have a necklace and a pair of earrings, so I thought the next reasonable thing to get would be a bracelet~ I don't actually own any bracelets, and I really liked the design of this one (and that it's quite simple for day-to-day wear), so I thought it was the perfect choice!
I love that the charm has a slight curve to it so it fits comfortably on my wrist and doesn't jut out very much~ I know it's a piece I'm going to reach for very often!
The bracelet was by far my largest purchase of the trip; before leaving, I knew I wanted to take a look in Ted Baker for a purse and Jo Malone or Penhaligon's for a perfume, but ultimately I didn't get either of those items due to the cost ^^" But, I'm still really happy with everything I got! So let's get into it~
Only a little while before my trip, I found out that London had a Moomin Shop, so I knew I had to visit! It was such a charming little shop, and I couldn't help but pick up a few items!
I've always wanted a Moomin mug; one of my friends back in middle/highschool had a very large collection of them at home, and I've always thought they were so cute! This one with Moomin in the snow was just so precious (there was another mug that I liked that was pink, but I thought I'd get this one instead to add some colour diversity to my mug collection hehe). I also got a box of Moomin teas! I've seen these teas on the Japanese Moomin site before and been curious about them, so I was happy to see that they had them in the shop! I've already tried the pear and vanilla one, and it was really nice~
Another shop I wanted to visit was Artbox! I went there on my last trip to London, but it was so cute I just couldn't miss out on it~ I didn't want to buy anything very big (since last time I got a massively overpriced Sanrio shirt), but a few small things did catch my eye!
I used to have a big issue with sticker collecting; I would buy them but never use them! However, since I've started keeping a daily positivity journal that I decorate with stickers, I have much more of a use for them, thus I could justify getting these sweets stickers~ I also couldn't resist this little cotton candy bunny memo pad!
I was going to only get those two items of stationary, but I fell in love with this adorable cheeky Piano the Sheep plushie the moment I saw her. I wasn't initially going to get her, but after wandering around the shop for a bit longer I still couldn't stop thinking about her, so I ended up giving in! She wasn't terribly expensive though, so it's okay hehe~
I love Lush, and a large part of my skincare routine is composed of their products, so their Oxford Street shop was one I couldn't pass by! I had run out of a few of my essential skincare products, and rather than ordering them online, I decided to wait for my trip~
The Angels on Bare Skin cleanser is one of my absolute favourites-- I use it every morning! I also use the Imperialis moisturizer in the mornings, it's quite nice and not too heavy (which is a very welcome feature in the humid hot weather here). The Prince of Darkness mask is an Oxford Street exclusive, I believe! It's such a nice face mask; I really wish they would sell it here!
I was so excited to see that they still had the peach bath bomb from their Valentines Day collection! By the time I visited a Lush near me, they were already sold out, so I was worried I wouldn't have the chance to try it ;-; It smells so yummy and peach-like, I can't wait to use it! The little bunny is from their Easter collection-- it's actually a body scrub! It smells really nice and sweet and like coconut, I really like it~
They had released a lot of nice bath bombs for their Easter and Mother's Day collections, but they were quite surprisingly pricy so I ended up not getting anything ^^" I'm still very pleased with the items I got though!
I really love traditional Japanese sweets (broadly called wagashi), and the last time in London I visited a shop called Minamoto Kitchoan that had a lovely selection of beautiful mochi, jellies, dorayaki, and other traditional sweets~ So, of course I had to go back this time to get my fix!
I brought back sakura waffles (which look like two pink biscuits sandwiched together with what looks like white chocolate), the Gozenguri (a candied chestnut covered in chestnut bean paste, mochi, and chestnut sprinkles), and the Oribenishiki (chestnut wrapped in bean paste, covered in a thin dough). I haven't eaten any of these yet, but on my last trip I had the Oribenishiki and it was delicious~ At Minamoto I also got three other sweets, but they had a much shorter shelf life, so we ate them on that day~ I really like Minamoto-- I know they have several locations worldwide, and I really recommend them to any of you who might be interested in traditional Japanese sweets! They have such a subtle sweetness and such harmonious flavours, I really love them ♡
There was one last thing I knew I wanted to buy on my trip: tea!
Specifically, this 'First Romance' tea from the East India company~ This shop is right next to Sketch (which I had the luck of visiting once again on my trip!), and I actually tried it for the first time when I went there for afternoon tea this past summer. I really love this tea and am running low on the satchet I bought on my last trip, so I had to get it again~ It's a black tea fragranced with strawberry, mango, and orange, and it's absolutely delectable!
That's pretty much it for planned purchases/shops I knew I wanted to visit, but there were a few more things I picked up while on my trip~ I don't really buy clothes in-person anymore (since I do most of my clothing shopping on 2nd hand Japanese sites), but I did find a few things!
I like wearing cute and cosy t-shirts when I go to lab or when I'm lounging around home, and Uniqlo shirts are some of my favourites. When I saw they had a collaboration with Meiji chocolate, I couldn't resist! I loved these Apollo chocolates when I was younger, and the t-shirt was such a pretty shade of dusty pink, it's like it was made for me hehe~
I also got this red tartan patterned wool scarf from the Dr. Martens store! I've wanted a red plaid scarf for what feels like a decade now, but it's never been something I've actively looked to buy, if that makes sense. I really liked this scarf when I first saw it though, and decided to get it!
One thing that really amazed me about London was the sheer amount of beautiful bookstores! Unfortunately there aren't all that many bookstores here, so it was nice to see so many, whether they were parts of a big chain, like Waterstones, or small independent-run ones, like Daunt. Books were also a fair bit cheaper than they were here, so I had to get a few!
Just a mix of things I've been wanting to read (If Cats Disappeared From The World is a book I saw first in Paris, but only decided to get now; I've started reading it recently, and am enjoying it so far!) and books that just seemed interesting (like the book of word origins; it's so interesting to read about how words originated and where they came from!) One can never have too many books, eh?~
Lastly, I've been wanting to have a cute apron for a while, and on a quick stop at Cath Kidston, I found the perfect one!
Cath Kidston always has such pretty prints, and this vintage-style blossom one was too perfect to resist ♡ Everything, from the colour of the print, to the little pink ruffle on the skirt, is absolutely adorable! I've been enjoying wearing it when I cook~
And that pretty much concludes everything I bought while in London! Of course, there was lots more sweets and tea and other yummy things purchased for the family, but I can't really consider those "my" purchases so I decided to not show them here. I hope you liked reading about the things I got! I'm really pleased with everything, and look forward to using it all~
Thank you so much for reading~
Bye-bye!
I brought back sakura waffles (which look like two pink biscuits sandwiched together with what looks like white chocolate), the Gozenguri (a candied chestnut covered in chestnut bean paste, mochi, and chestnut sprinkles), and the Oribenishiki (chestnut wrapped in bean paste, covered in a thin dough). I haven't eaten any of these yet, but on my last trip I had the Oribenishiki and it was delicious~ At Minamoto I also got three other sweets, but they had a much shorter shelf life, so we ate them on that day~ I really like Minamoto-- I know they have several locations worldwide, and I really recommend them to any of you who might be interested in traditional Japanese sweets! They have such a subtle sweetness and such harmonious flavours, I really love them ♡
There was one last thing I knew I wanted to buy on my trip: tea!
Specifically, this 'First Romance' tea from the East India company~ This shop is right next to Sketch (which I had the luck of visiting once again on my trip!), and I actually tried it for the first time when I went there for afternoon tea this past summer. I really love this tea and am running low on the satchet I bought on my last trip, so I had to get it again~ It's a black tea fragranced with strawberry, mango, and orange, and it's absolutely delectable!
That's pretty much it for planned purchases/shops I knew I wanted to visit, but there were a few more things I picked up while on my trip~ I don't really buy clothes in-person anymore (since I do most of my clothing shopping on 2nd hand Japanese sites), but I did find a few things!
I like wearing cute and cosy t-shirts when I go to lab or when I'm lounging around home, and Uniqlo shirts are some of my favourites. When I saw they had a collaboration with Meiji chocolate, I couldn't resist! I loved these Apollo chocolates when I was younger, and the t-shirt was such a pretty shade of dusty pink, it's like it was made for me hehe~
I also got this red tartan patterned wool scarf from the Dr. Martens store! I've wanted a red plaid scarf for what feels like a decade now, but it's never been something I've actively looked to buy, if that makes sense. I really liked this scarf when I first saw it though, and decided to get it!
One thing that really amazed me about London was the sheer amount of beautiful bookstores! Unfortunately there aren't all that many bookstores here, so it was nice to see so many, whether they were parts of a big chain, like Waterstones, or small independent-run ones, like Daunt. Books were also a fair bit cheaper than they were here, so I had to get a few!
Just a mix of things I've been wanting to read (If Cats Disappeared From The World is a book I saw first in Paris, but only decided to get now; I've started reading it recently, and am enjoying it so far!) and books that just seemed interesting (like the book of word origins; it's so interesting to read about how words originated and where they came from!) One can never have too many books, eh?~
Lastly, I've been wanting to have a cute apron for a while, and on a quick stop at Cath Kidston, I found the perfect one!
 |
| Featuring some very cute Hello Kitty plasters I found hehe~ |
Cath Kidston always has such pretty prints, and this vintage-style blossom one was too perfect to resist ♡ Everything, from the colour of the print, to the little pink ruffle on the skirt, is absolutely adorable! I've been enjoying wearing it when I cook~
And that pretty much concludes everything I bought while in London! Of course, there was lots more sweets and tea and other yummy things purchased for the family, but I can't really consider those "my" purchases so I decided to not show them here. I hope you liked reading about the things I got! I'm really pleased with everything, and look forward to using it all~
Thank you so much for reading~
Bye-bye!
