♡ March 2019 London Haul ♡

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!

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!

♡ Little Twin Stars Fukubukuro Review | Sanrio Lucky Pack 2019 ♡

Hello sparkly bunnies! 

Firstly-- Happy New Year! I hope 2019 is magical for you all ♡

Although I look forward to the new year each year for many reasons, there's one particular thing that I'm always excited for... the release of fukubukuro!

I imagine that if you're reading this post, you already know what fukubukuro are, but in case you aren't familiar with them, I'll briefly explain.

In Japan, a lot of shops release fukubukuro, or "lucky packs" at the beginning of the year. These lucky packs are usually full of mystery items, and are valued at several times greater than what you pay for the actual lucky pack. I believe this was originally created as a way to get rid of old stock, however in more recent years, shops have started making items particularly for these lucky packs, so you know what you're getting (for example, the Ank Rouge LP I reviewed last year). If you're getting into Jfashion, or want to try out a new brand, I think fukubukuros are a great way to become familiar with their clothing, and instantly acquire a lot of items that you can mix and match!

This year I didn't pick up any clothing lucky packs, however I did see one that I knew I couldn't miss out on... from Sanrio! They had several character themed fukubukuros, and when I saw they had a Little Twin Stars themed one, I knew I couldn't miss out on it ^^ And so today, I'll be sharing what I got in it! (Spoiler: I am a very very happy bunny).

Let's begin!

I should first begin by briefly saying how I ordered this, since I know people will be asking.

I have an account on the Japanese Sanrio site, and as such I get frequent emails from them (such as when they have new items in stock). Near the beginning of December, I got an email saying that they had released their lucky packs! 

However, their lucky packs were only viewable to people who had accounts on their site. So, assuming that they do the same thing in future years, you'll need to have an account if you want to buy a lucky pack! (Their site is in Japanese, naturally, but with the help of Google translate, it's all very straight-forward).

The listings are long gone from the Sanrio site, but from my purchase history, I was able to find the 'stock photo' for it! In case you're ever purchasing one for yourself, and aren't sure what to look for ^^

I ordered the lucky pack directly and just had it sent to Tenso, my forwarding service (I'm not going to go into detail about Tenso, since there are plenty of guides out there for how to use it ^^). Due to the fact that you had to have an account to order the item, I was worried that using a regular shopping service might have some delays, and I didn't want the LP to sell out! I should take this chance to say that when I checked back a few days later, all the lucky packs were sold out, so you'll want to be quick!

The lucky pack was 5,400 yen (about $50 USD) and if I'm not mistaken, claimed to have a value of greater than 15,000 yen (a bit less than $150 USD). I must say, that's quite a nice deal! Lucky packs are generally valued around 3x more than what you pay for it, so this was quite typical. I considered getting one of the other character lucky packs (such as Cinnamoroll, another favourite of mine), but since I hadn't purchased a Sanrio lucky pack before, and all the items were a mystery, I decided to just get Kiki and Lala's fukubukuro~

The lucky packs were set to ship in early January, I believe (which makes sense, since that's when fukubukuros are released in stores). It arrived at the Tenso warehouse on December 29th (surprisingly early!), and after a bit of trouble choosing the shipping option (I wanted cheaper shipping, but it turned out the package was oversized, so I had to choose the more expensive, but thankfully faster, EMS option). My package was shipped to me from Tenso on January 5th, and it arrived on January 9th! (However I had to pick it up from the post office the following day, since the mail arrived when I wasn't home). 

With all the logistics out of the way... let's get into the actual lucky pack!

As all my Sanrio purchases, it arrived in a really cute Sanrio-patterned box ^^ I love that they decorate their boxes-- it instantly lets me know where the package is from!

Inside the box, all the items were held in a very cute plastic bag with a lot of characters on it!

I have no idea what that simplified odd-looking panda (?) at the bottom right is though (or the pink bear at the top, for that matter)... if anyone knows the character, please enlighten me!

From the customs form, I knew that there were ten items inside-- I was already excited!

The first thing I pulled out from the bag was this really cute Kiki, Lala, and boar plushie! I have a suspicion they made this specifically for the lucky pack, since the boar has '2019' written on it, and the tag for the plushie is quite a bit simpler than their usual tags. It's one of my favourite items from the fukubukuro however! They're not the softest/cuddliest of plushies, but I love the colours and design~ And the lavender coloured piglet is just too cute! I need to find a nice place in my room to display this~

The next item was a plush Kiki popsicle charm-- I remember this collection from the summer! It was really cute and juice/fruit themed~ I really like the design of this charm; the colours on it look a bit more warm toned than usual, so it has a very charming 'retro' feel! I also really like the clear star beads sewn on~ This is a fairly firm plushie, since it's filled with some sort of foam rather than usual toy stuffing, and as such feels a bit more like a squishy!

Another Kiki plushie! This is also from a collection a little while back. I can't say the design is my favourite (I'm not much into the sporty aesthetic), but I do like his fluffy pompoms, and the fact that the visor is made of a clear plasticky material! This too, is charm-sized (he's about as tall as my palm). He has a ball-chain at the top; I think it would be cute to hang him from a gym bag or something like that!

And last of the plushies, is this bunny costume Lala! I don't quite remember this plushie online, but I imagine it was from around Easter? I think the fact that she's holding and egg designed as one of the bears that often accompany Kiki and Lala (Pim? Poff? Puff? I have no idea what their names are, but there's also a blue one-- like in the picture below!)



Like the two Kiki plushies, this one also has a ball-chain so you can attach her from your bag (or anywhere else!). When Sanrio releases plushies, they're either full-sized (about 30 cm tall), or this sort of "mascot" size. I do wish I had gotten a larger plushie, but I'm still very happy with the four that I got! And I imagine this way, it was easier for them to include more things in peoples lucky packs ♡

The next item was this little pouch, from the same collection as the cheerleader Kiki plush! It's made of a canvas material with the design printed on, and has a cute tulle pompom on the side~ At the front, the flap opens up to reveal a main storage pocket, and it closes securely with a metal snap (I think that's what they're called?)
At the back is another sort-of pocket-- I believe it's for holding tissues! I imagine this is the sort of thing that's useful to have in your bag for storing makeup you might need during the day, or other small things like that~

The next item is another favourite of mine, although I don't have any use for it at the moment... it's a card holder! If you live in a city that has a metro/public transit system, you can put your card in here, attach the strap to your bag, and just tap it when needed, rather than having to go into your wallet to get it ^^ The strap is attached to a string that's wound up inside the small circular bit near the strap, so it's very convenient!
I love the magical design of this, and though I have absolutely no use for it at the moment, I'll keep it with the hope that someday I'll live somewhere I can use it ;v; I just love the look of it so so much!

A small, but rather useful item: a trinket dish! It's made of melamine, and has a cute, sort of vintage Little Twin Stars design on it~ Perfect for storing jewelry you take on and off frequently! 

Something I can never have enough of... stickers! Honestly I prefer sticker sheets to sticker flakes, but it is nice to have multiples of each design, so I don't mind ^^ I've been journaling more frequently lately, and I like to decorate my pages with cute stickers, so these will be perfect for that purpose!

The next item was a full-sized bath towel! It features a lot of Sanrio characters, including some more obscure ones! I don't know who the strawberry girl reading a book is, but she's very cute~ This is a fairly thin towel, so not the kind I would use on a day-to-day basis, but I imagine it's very useful when traveling, or perhaps to bring along to the pool or beach! 

The last item was this super soft and fluffy lap blanket! Like the towel, it features a lot of different Sanrio characters. The vibrant, limited colour palette gives me a sort of 'vintage sporty' feeling, but I think it's quite cute! One side is soft minky patterned fabric, and the other is ultra fluffy off-white fabric. It's so soft and cuddly, and although it's quite small, and not the sort of colours I'm usually drawn to, I quite like it!

Finally, an image of everything I got together! I'm really really happy with everything I got ♡ I admit, not everything was my taste, and I'm not sure I would have gotten any of the items if they were full-priced in store... but I'm still very pleased with it all! And that's the fun of lucky packs! ♡
I think it's definitely worth more than the price of the lucky pack (even when you factor in shipping to the US from my forwarding service). I wanted to find the items online and give their prices (since the Japanese tags don't write the prices on them) but sadly it seems they were all taken down (I assume they placed all of them in lucky packs?). However, based on my rough estimate/experience with Sanrio prices in the past, everything does add up to about $150 USD!

I'm definitely going to be purchasing more Sanrio fukubukuros in the future-- this was a very very positive experience! I had high hopes for it, and it certainly lived up to my expectations ♡ Sanrio also offered larger lucky packs ($100 for $300 worth of merchandise) for several characters, but I don't know if that's something I could spring for >< However, it would be fun to get lucky packs of several other characters! If they have Cinnamoroll again next year, I think I'll want to get his lucky pack~



I hope you found this review helpful! If you're reading this around the time I post it, it's unfortunately too late now to buy any lucky packs, but I hope you'll get the chance to next year, if you'd like! ♡ Regardless, I hope you enjoyed seeing the things I got ♡ Let me know what your favourite item was!
Thank you so much for reading~
My next post will be another Day in Paris, so stay tuned for that! ♡
Bye-bye~