reflections on 2012

In General

I'm trying to just get things done, so that I can spend more carefree time on the fun things.  I'm also trying not to over-think things.
* do more vegetable cooking (first up, Ars Aromatica's lentil white bean soup)

* Start on the Chinese

Someday

* Learn to make scallion pancakes (Saveur.com recipe)

* figure out how to make those Bretagne-style galettes

I hope I never develop a gluten allergy.  I'm sure I'll survive, but it would be really sad at first.

Old Favorites

I still love Yves Saint Laurent Golden Gloss.  The messy packaging is annoying; gloss collects around the opening of the container.  However, it's an easy, no-fail glamorous gloss that I look great in.  I have #2 Golden Praline, and the gloss and shimmer are just right for evenings when you want to feel fabulous but not over-the-top.  The color is a totally wearable soft rose, and I enjoy the scent, personally.  When I use it up, I'll want another one, but I won't let myself until I use up my ridiculous stash of glosses.

Saying Goodbye To

I love the festive but wearable Fasio Melting Glossy Rouge RD441, but the lasting power is average-to-poor, so I don't think it's worth repurchasing.  I do love the color though, so if I don't find a replacement in a better formulation, perhaps I'll revisit this decision.  For now I'll just layer one of my many sparkly glosses on top of Addiction lipstick in Last Scene.

New Favorites

Hands down, the most amazing makeup release was Shiseido's Camellia Compact, sadly limited edition to celebrate the 140th anniversary of the brand.  A real pity that it was limited edition.  I have not yet been able to mar the pristine surface of this blush/highlighter, but I will, I swear.

I am still in love with Lavshuca Dramatic Memory Rouge lipstick - BE-2 is my default work lipstick.  Don Quixote offers a small discount on certain Lavshuca products, so I will pick up one in red once I use up a few other lipsticks.

I am quite impressed with the eyeshadow palette in the Lavshuca Pure Blossoming Eyes Limited Edition Set.  I got the PK Pink Variation, which is a bit too warm for me, but the texture of the eyeshadows is fantastic!  If they put out a color variation that I like, I may have to get a Star Decoration Eyes.  However, I have too many neglected eyeshadow palettes; I probably should try a different brand.

I love the liquid blush Cream de Cheek released by Majolica Majorca last year.  I haven't bought any of them yet, but I will definitely be picking up the red RD411 at least.  I'm also tempted to buy the new Clear series of Cream Cheek blushes from Canmake, especially the lovely red.

Clothing

This year I spent a good amount of time editing my closet, however, it is far from finished.  Of course, any fun closet should evolve over time, so the concept of "finishing" is a bit inaccurate, but I am not happy with my closet as it currently is.  Wardrobe Oxygen and Ars Aromatica have　really gotten me thinking about the concept of editing my wardrobe.  I particularly like Wardrobe Oxygen's office wear posts.  I am also being motivated by The Minimalist Mom's journey in minimizing her wardrobe.  More and more, I want to look good without putting effort into it, which often means buying clothing that is comfortable, looks good, and is easy to coordinate.  I've thrown out a lot of awkward clothing this year!  It makes me sad to waste money on clothing, but it's necessary to move forward and cull out the items that waste my time.

I've judiciously indulged in this year's massive New Year sales, picking up some necessities and adding 3 pieces to my work wardrobe.  However, I still lack some basics such as a black coat and suit.  I'm also debating whether to buy a new winter scarf - my silk scarf has seen better days.  Perhaps I will hold out until next year.

I'm breaking in some new winter shoes; I do need to add one casual winter shoe option.  I don't know where to find good quality shoes in my size at a reasonable price in Tokyo.

On repairing the wooden sole of your leather shoes (Japanese).
Wow, there's a lot you can do to fix leather shoes!
I want to do this to my leather bag, but it seems a bit riskier in terms of possible color transfer.

Shoe shining

Places to get your shoes polished around Tokyo:

Refine Arms (Marui Yurakucho Shop info)
Refine Arms Yurakucho Shop blog

http://brift-h.com

Boo Clarks Japan

Add Clarks to the list of shoe stores that only carry up to size 25 cm for women in Japan.  The last time I checked, Castaner also only carried up to size 25.  Considering the fact that these companies manufacture larger sizes, I really don't understand why they don't bother importing them to Japan.  They could even do it on demand when there's a request from customers.

DUO Dexter boots: first impressions

My DUO Dexter boots arrived this weekend. They seem sturdy and well-made, although were a little scuffed when I received them.

I was a bit surprised to find that DHL charges a 700 yen handling fee, and also charges sales tax on the customs tax levied by the Japanese govt. on all leather imports. It would have been nice to know this in advance - I was aware of the customs tax, but not the other fees. DHL also has really limited business hours for a delivery company in Japan - they're only open a half day on Sat., and not open at all on Sundays, and they don't have an automated answering service that would allow me to schedule a delivery. Indeed, I have been spoiled by the Japan Post and Japanese delivery companies like Kuroneko Yamato.  It will be hard if I have to leave Japan!

I am a US half size, with a foot that is generally on the wide side, and DUO boots suggested that I go with the bigger European full size, as they don't offer European half-sizes. Now that I have the boots, I feel that the smaller size in the wide width would probably have fit better. It's hard to say of course, but there's really a good bit of extra space in the toe. I'm now in the process of breaking the boots in.  I'll update after I've had a chance to wear them in.

the ridiculous state of shoe sizing

Comparing Lucky Brand and Birkenstock sizing shows that there is a problem: At Lucky Brand, 26 cm = U.S. Women's size 10 = Euro Size 41. i18nguy says Japanese women's 26 cm = U.S. Women's size 10 = Euro Size 42. Zappos says 25.9 cm = U.S. Women's size 10 = Euro Size 40-41. Wikipedia puts 26 cm = U.S. Women's size 9 = Euro size 40-41. I pretty reliably wear a U.S. Women's size 9.5. http://www.tobiasmayer.com/conversion.php

editing my stuff

My closet is certainly crying out for a good weed-out.

But it takes discipline to be able to do this kind of thing.  After months of deliberation, I finally threw out two pairs of uncomfortable shoes.  Shoes!  I threw out shoes!  Even though I live in the land of "larger than 24.5 cm (8.5 U.S.) is for specialty Big-N-Tall retailers, and even 24 cm (8 U. S.) means the cute styles are out," I threw out shoes that are my size!  But it is hard to hide from the fact that a shoe is uncomfortable, and I succumbed to that reality this past weekend.

However, I do have three pairs of uncomfortable shoes which are clinging on thanks to the fact that they are too new/pretty/adorable to throw away.  They know their time is limited though!  The next time I move, I will probably have to throw out two of the pairs.  The third pair (sparkly gunmetal sandals) really is still too pretty to throw out - it is unmatched in my (meager) collection.

As they say, it's all about stopping before you start - don't buy unnecessary things to begin with.

My clothes are in more dire need of a weed-out than my shoes, as they are overflowing my closet.  Right now, I've finally moved some items to the hit list:
* burgundy dress - I used to love this dress so it's hard to get rid of, but I've come to realize that it isn't that flattering.  It exposes the muffin top, y'know?
* indigo skirt - it's a gorgeous soft cotton, but it's just not flattering.* long pink skirt - super flattering, but the material is prone to balling up and the pattern is a rather ugly one.
* over-sized blue fleece jacket that I've never really liked (the fleece is a bit rough) but have held on to for years because it is useful
* a flowing purple top - again, not flattering.

* grey plaid over-sized shirt - again, just not that flattering, although it's a great coverup... argh.  I don't know why it's so hard to throw this thing out, even though I've been thinking about it for a year.
* 2 washable summer hats (got a new one that fits better and is bigger for 240 yen)
* a variety of pantyhose in ugly greys and too dark sheers.

More to come!  Hopefully sooner than later.  Let's talk about bags later.  Yes, later.  I promise.

silver sandals

I ordered 7 shoes from zappos.com, but these shoes at David's Bridal fit the best.

large shoe sizes for ladies in Tokyo

Queen's卑弥呼銀座店
The shoes are not cheap here; expect to pay more than 10,000 (sorry, accidentally wrote 100,000 which is incorrect, thanks lostinube!) on average. But they do have occasional sales.

Ginza Washington
They have a shop specializing in large sizes in Ginza also. Similarly priced to Queen's 卑弥呼, but perhaps a bit better quality.

In addition, 0101 department store (Marui) has a 01 MODEL floor on the 7th floor of the main building specializing in large shoe sizes for ladies. 新宿マルイ本館

materialism: stating the obvious: rule 1 of online shopping

Well, rule 1 perhaps should be "don't spend more than you can afford," but I'm going to start with a rule that occurred to me this morning:

1. Shop for specific items. Don't go browsing; it's ideal to go online with a specific item and a price range in mind already. Browsing through stuff is an easy way to end up with things you don't need and won't use.
It's best if you have a specific product in mind too. For example, go shopping for the Manolo Blahnik Kidskin Low-Heel Halter, Navy in size 8 (I wish! Gorgeous shoe).

I was looking for decants of Bergamote by The Different Company, and ended up on Beauty Habit's Outlet page, a very dangerous page with Jurlique products and other delightful skin care and cosmetics offerings. I collected a cart full of products, and had to run off to work. Later on I'll cull out the unnecessary items and perhaps buy something.

on using money sensibly

I've bought 4 pairs of shoes in the last week.

This is quite an unusual event, in that it's rather difficult to find my shoe size here in Japan. Normally, shoes for women only go as large as 24.5 cm here. However, I've slowly gotten to know the stores that carry larger sizes.

Washington Appropriate (specialty branch of Washington, a Japanese shoe store) in Ginza (6F of the building that Dalloyau sits in). I only learned about this store recently, but the shoes are reasonably stylish and seem to be pretty well made. Probably on the high end of average shoe prices in Japan. Summer and winter sales periods are a good time to shop, as most shoes are on sale for half price. Even then, a pair of shoes is likely to be 10,000 yen. I heard about this shop just in time for the current sale period and in my excitement, I bought 3 pairs :) All of the shoes are quite attractive, but the loveliest pair was too stiff and gave me blisters. I had to take it to the local repair shop to have them stretch it out. Still, one pair of shoes is soft leather and is almost guaranteed to be comfortable. The last pair of shoes will probably have to be stretched and softened too.

Oriental Traffic carries larger sizes at all of their stores apparently. Shimokitazawa has a floor devoted to the larger sizes, which is much less crowded than the ground floor shop. Trendy and inexpensive shoes (many 5,000 yen shoes). Quality is what you would expect from the price, but fun styles. I think all of the shoes are made in China. I've never owned any of their shoes.

O1O1's branch next to MUJI in East Shinjuku (after Kinokuniya and on the way to Isetan) has a store in the basement devoted to Model sizes (I like their term for large sizes!). Styles are quite fashionable, and prices range from 10,000 to 20,000+ easily. Quality is average or above. I have a pair of shoes that have lasted a couple years and are still wearable. They carry a range of brands so I don't know how good the quality is in general.

Queen's 卑弥呼 is the specialty branch of the 卑弥呼 shoe manufacturer, located in Keio Mall on the basement level of the west side of Shinjuku. Styles are fashionable and prices range from 10,000 to 20,000, but the pair of shoes I got from this shop only lasted about a year of regular use. They were quite comfortable in the beginning though.

Tulsa Time in Kichijoji - for the average prices they charge, I didn't think the quality of the shoes was particularly good. Most shoes were in the 7,000 to 15,000 yen range, but of course there are less and more expensive shoes also available. Styles lean towards what is trendy for women in their mid-20s here.

There's a shoe store on the west side of Seibu Shinjuku station - coming from Shinjuku station you go out the west exit, turn right, and walk along that large street for a while before coming to the shop on the left side of the street. Styles lean towards older and less trendy fashions. The store itself feels rather old. I thought quality was so-so, and didn't end up buying anything. Price range was similar to Tulsa Time.

As a bonus, I discovered that my local shoe/bag repair shop carries Castaner sandals! Sadly they were sold out of my size, but I did find some lovely italian sandals in a soft dark brown leather for a mere 4,000. That was my fourth purchase this week, and the very best. Ridiculously cheap, classically stylish, and comfortable shoes. I may just stalk the store for their half-yearly shipments of new stock, as they make spending more money at other places look terribly nonsensical. If you wear size 35 or 37, there's a shop I can tell you about.