on refraining from buying

I'm in the process of killing my lemmings for Maybelline's new Lip Cream Color (Baby Lips Color) and Canmake's new clear type Cream Cheeks. Online reviews seem to agree that the Maybelline Baby Lips Color balms are not all that moisturizing, so despite the stain-like pigmentation of #3 and #4, I think I'll pass, inexpensive and LE though these are. The reviews for the new Canmake colors are good, but similar to the original colors, the lasting power is average. Oddly enough, Canmake's website doesn't mention the 3rd clear type color - Sunset. I think I'll invest in Visee's new cream cheek colors in the nicer tube packaging instead. Both products are quite attractively priced at about 500 yen each; it is very hard to kill these lemmings.

L. L. Bean is in Hibiya! (near Ginza)

But it's "Japan Fit" (sized for the Japanese consumer), so ironically it probably won't fit me very well. I have the same trouble with Eddie Bauer - in Japan they only carry women's Petite sizes, where the sleeves and torso length are a tad too short for me. Ah well. Zara, Gap and Banana Republic fit fine.

Okonomiyaki Hiroki 広島のお好み焼 鉄板焼Hiroki

Okonomiyaki Hiroki 広島のお好み焼 鉄板焼Hiroki is my favorite okonomiyaki place in Tokyo. It's a dive, but the staff are nice and the food is great. Inexpensive too. Small place though, and popular with young people.

Villa Moura Ginza ヴィラモウラ 銀座本店の絶品デザート

Villa Moura Ginza ヴィラモウラ 銀座のデザートは最高！

今日チョコレートプリンを食べました。写真とればよかったな！
サイズは小さかったけど、味は甘すぎない・にがくない・深いチョコレートでした。 ペロッと食べてしまいました。

本店の肉料理・魚料理もおすすめですが、デザートは絶品ですよ。
値段を考えるととてもコスパがいいです。ランチは本当にお得です。
Villa Moura usually does an excellent job with meats and fish in general, but their chicken is particularly fantastic.

For desserts, this is quite possibly the best value in Tokyo.  It is that good.  I've never had a bad dessert here, and they serve things that I wouldn't normally eat.

Aux Bacchanales has fantastic single serving tarts for 200 yen, but they're neck and neck with Villa Moura in terms of the sublime.  Okay, so it's easier to grab a tart to-go from the bakery at Aux Bacchanales, but it's hard to turn away from Villa Moura if I have the chance to go there!

Glossybox photo posted

I updated my post on Glossybox to include a photo of the contents.

The BareMinerals sample is tiny!  But it comes with a little brush.

The Sranrom hand cream in Calm Down is fragrant and emollient; not bad for work as the scent is not overpowering.

All in all, the box is barely worth the cost of the subscription this month, but it's better than last month.

stuff to remember

ON REGRETS “Always be honest” was the elders’ advice to avoid late-in-life remorse. Take advantage of opportunities and embrace new challenges. And travel more when you’re young rather than wait until the children are grown or you are retired.

As Dr. Pillemer summarized the elders’ view, “Travel is so rewarding that it should take precedence over other things younger people spend money on.” Create a bucket list now and start whittling it down.

ON HAPPINESS Almost to a person, the elders viewed happiness as a choice, not the result of how life treats you.

A 75-year-old man said, “You are not responsible for all the things that happen to you, but you are completely in control of your attitude and your reactions to them.” An 84-year-old said, “Adopt a policy of being joyful.”

The 90-year-old daughter of divorced parents who had lived a hardscrabble life said, “I learned to be grateful for what I have, and no longer bemoan what I don’t have or can’t do.”

Even if their lives were nine decades long, the elders saw life as too short to waste on pessimism, boredom and disillusionment.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/10/health/elderly-experts-share-life-advice-in-cornell-project.html?pagewanted=all

Glossybox Japan September box

Last month's Glossybox was quite a disappointment - small samples from brands, some of whom I'd never heard of.

This month's box is a bit more generous - a sample kit of BareMinerals, and more generous samples from a few brands.  Also a perfume sample of DSquared2.  As I love perfume samples, this is fun.  Amazingly, I've never tried BareMinerals either!  The Japanese pricing is off-putting, but I'm happy to finally get a chance to try one of the pioneers of "mineral makeup."

I'll update with comments and pictures when I can.

Happy October First!  The typhoon passed and the weather right now is lovely.  Chance of rain in the evening though.

Update: photo of the contents: