CHOCOLATE INSPIRED MAKEUP LOOK

Last week I met a friend after a long time. We had lunch at a cafe and talked a lot (sorry for my poor English.)
When we separated, she gave me a box of chocolates. It was Toffifee which I've been wanting to eat! It tasted so good just as expected. Thank you, Marion!

When I enjoyed the chocolates while watching movies at home, I came up with an idea for a new post of my (boring) blog.
It's to share my chocolate inspired makeup look (aka my updated cat eye makeup look.)

Reddish brown is my all time favourite colour on my eyes. Brown part of CANMAKE EYE NUANCE IN 32 CHOCOLAT APPLE is my least favourite. And these days I often use CANMAKE BROWN EYELINER which is a cute reddish brown colour (unfortunately, it is a discontinued product.) I don't apply mascara as always even though my eyelashes look very poor...
I apply orange toned blush on my cheeks and add highlighter a little bit.
And I wear RIMMEL LONDON LASTING FINISH LIPSTICK BY KATE IN 48. It's an exquisite brown colour! I wish I could buy it at drugstores in Japan (thanks feelunique website!)


What's your favourite makeup look?


Matsuri
(Thanks for stopping by and reading! I love hearing your comments:) I'm not good at English! When finding mistakes in my English, will you correct them if you don't mind?)

THINGS TO DO ON MY DAY OFF

Hi, all! How have you been?
I'm pretty exhausted from my work! I always think that I would like to take a mental break. So today I'm going to write about what I did for a change of my pace during this summer.

1. NAIL PAINTING
Each day off I tried to have time to nail my fingers. I think nail painting gives the spice to my fashion (as you know I prefer to wear clothes which were based around the colour black.)
Essence Nail Polish and Barry M Nail Paint are my favourites. They have good colour selection and they are inexpensive. When it comes to Japanese brand, I like Sweets-Sweets nail polishes. I was into earth colours (I'm not going to collect anymore.)
However, I feel so sad when I have to remove the polish from my nails. It means ''Ah, my day off is almost over. I have work again from tomorrow!''

2. WEAR LIPSTICK
Lipstick is very important to me. It helps my feeling and fashion tie together.
My current go-to is Rimmel London Lasting Finish Lipstick By Kate in 48. It's my favourite lipstick ever! It's a beautiful dark nude colour what I've been looking for!

3. WEAR PERFUME
I think fragrances are like personalities.
In my early twenties, I really loved very sweet scented perfumes like Fantasy by Britney Spears, Amorito by the Body Shop, Chocolat Matt by Masaki Matsushima and so on. I still like them, but sometimes I think they are for young girls...
About two years ago a friend and I visited 北野異人館 Kitano Ijinkan in 神戸 Kobe, and I got my original perfume at 香りの家 オランダ館 Kaori No Ie Oranda Kan. I answered some questions like 'what kind of music/fashion/colour do you like?', and then perfumers blended perfumes referring to my answers. At that time I felt the scent is to classy for my age, but it's growing on me. I also like Alien by Thierry Mugler. I would like to figure out my signature scent.

4. WATCH FOREIGN MOVIES
I'll write about it some other time!




What do you do for a change of pace?



Matsuri
(Thanks for stopping by and reading! I love hearing your comments:) I'm not good at English! When finding mistakes in my English, will you correct them if you don't mind?)

I KILLED MY MOTHER - XAVIER DOLAN

Xavier Dolan... He is a young talented person as a director, an actor, a writer.

It was 2014 that I saw his works for the first time. I've seen his four works (Heartbeats, Laurence Always, Tom At The Farm and Mommy) so far.

And about two weeks ago I had a chance to watch his first film 'I Killed My Mother' at cinema finally.
Xavier Dolan described that I Killed My Mother as semi-autobiographical. The story is focusing on relationship between Hubert Minel, 16-year-old homosexual highschooler and his single mother.

To be honest, this wasn't a heart-warming story in my opinion. Because their relationship seems like me and my mother. It was something like frustrated, depressed, emptied...

My mother and I often fight over trivial things, ignore each other. It's not that I hate her (and I hope that she doesn't hate me too.) I don't know why our relationship is so complicated.
But some words that Hubert says in the film touched my heart.
'It's crazy. If someone hurt her, I would kill that person. Absolutely.'


Have you ever seen Xavier Dolan's movies? What do you think about his works?


Matsuri
(Thanks for stopping by and reading! I love hearing your comments:) I'm not good at English! When finding mistakes in my English, will you correct them if you don't mind?)

SUMMER BEAUTY ESSENTIALS 2015

SUNSCREEN/SUNBLOCK
Yes, Sunscreen is one of my must have stuff of summer. I'm using Sekkisei Sun Protect as a makeup base almost everyday. I used up the first one so I repurchased. I like the texture of it. It's a gel-type sunscreen. Of course you can use it on your body, too. Incidentally I'm using a milk-type of the same range for body. I'll use up it soon. But I don't know if I'll repurchase or not.

MAKEUP BASE FOR OILY SKIN
I'm suffered from oily and shiny forehead all the time. But Dejavu Control Serum saved my makeup life! It prevents my skin from oily and shiny. I've been repurchasing it for many times so far. But unfortunately the great product is no longer produced now. I have some in stock. And I'll have to look for other product which is similar to Dejavu product.

FACE POWDER
I don't use neither powder nor liquid foundation. I use the only two things- makeup base (includes sunscreen) and face powder. I prefer transparent shade. So I often use Rimmel London Stay Matte Powder or Shiseido Baby Powder. They work very well for oily shiny skin. They keep my skin matte but not cakey.

HIGHLIGHTER
I'm obsessed with highlighter at the moment! I like applying highlighter along the top of cheekbones. Barry M Radiant Rod is a interesting stuff. I apply it directly to my cheekbones and blend with finger tips. Rimmel London Good Glow is also interesting. It gives dewy glow. I recommend that you apply it before face powder.

BRONZER
I don't want to get a suntan, but I want a healthy look. So I use bronzers. I prefer a matte finish to a shimmery finish. But I have a problem...when I want to apply both of bronzer and blush naturally, how should I do?? Please give me some advice!

NON-STICKY LIP GLOSS
I'm a big lipstick fan. But sometimes I feel I want to wear lip gloss. A sticky texture makes me feel dull. Barry M's lip glosses are always my favourites. They give super mirror shine with lovely scents. They have longwearing fomula without sticky.

LIP BALM WITH SPF
I think lip balm is one of skin care and makeup essentials that you can find easily at your local drugstores.
Carmex Ultra Moisturising Lip Balm moisturises my lips really well without sunscreen taste and smell.

SUMMER SCENT PERFUMES
I really enjoyed sweet, delicious scents like chocolate, caramel and vanilla during winter. And now I switched it up with more summery scents. I've been looking for some coconut scent perfumes. At first I tried the Body Shop Coconut Body Mist, but it smells like a wax or a crayon... And finally I found! Comptoir Sud Pacifique Coco Extreme is my ideal summery/coconut scent. I'm going to enjoy the scent this summer.




Are you ready for the summer?

Matsuri
(Thanks for stopping by and reading! I love hearing your comments:) I'm not good at English! When finding mistakes in my English, will you correct them if you don't mind?)

NEW HAIRSTYLE

I didn't put my hair down. I usually put my hair up in a messy bum...


Today I've got my hair cut at beauty salon for the first time in this 15 months.
I've got my hair cut by about 20 centimeters! It became more easier to wash my hair:)
Incidentally, I ask beautician to thin my hair out each time when I go to beauty salon:)



But my hair is still badly damaged. The colour of my hair looks strange!

I don't like to use hair products except for hair shampoo and hair conditioner. But now I think that I need something makes my hair so soft...
Do you have any hair products you recommend me?




Matsuri
(Thanks for stopping by and reading! I love hearing your comments:) I'm not good at English! When finding mistakes in my English, will you correct them if you don't mind?)

UPDATED-CAT EYE

As usual, I like cat eye makeup. About two weeks ago I finally found an ideal colour eyeliner- QUEEN'S KEY × BETTY BOOP WONDERFUL EYELINER IN CARAMEL BROWN. It was purchased by me.
It's devised by four popular reader models of Japanese fashion magazines (honestly I don't know about them well. There are so many reader models in Japanese fashion and beauty magazines world nowadays. I think it's because it's easier for many reader to imitate their fashions and makeup than professional models.)

It's a creamy caramel brown colour, very pigmented and smudge-proof. I also like the kinds of felt-tip eyeliners.
This brown colour suits the colour of my eyes I think. Of course the packaging is pretty. But unfortunately this item is a limited edition. 

I use SLEEK BRONZE BLOCK IN LIGHT as eyeshadows. These colours are matte finished type. You can use the pink part as blush.
By the way I don't apply mascara these days. Because when apply it I feel like I have something like sand in my eyes...


Have you ever tried Queen's Key Eyeliner?
What kinds of eyeliners do you like? 

p.s. Movies, books, fashion... I have a lot of things I want to write on blog!


Matsuri
(Thanks for stopping by and reading! I love hearing your comments:) I'm not good at English! When finding mistakes in my English, will you correct them if you don't mind?)

HANAMI-CHERRY BLOSSOM VIEWING

This time I'm going to write about my hanami experiences of 2015.


Cherry blossom viewing is called 'hanami' in Japanese.
In Kyoto, cherry blossoms come out between late March and April. And there are many good cherry blossom viewing spots around Kyoto City. Temples, shrines...I think you can have both of the sense of the seasons and historical parts of Kyoto at the same time.


On the 30 of March, I met up with Payton who is one of wonderful friends. We met for the first time in about two years! We walked around Kyoto City and visited Yasaka Shrine (Maruyama Park) and Heian Shrine.
And on the 31, I visited Nijo Castle with two wonderful people from workplace.

There are various styles of hanami. I saw many viewers and street stalls. And I also saw many people enjoyed talking, eating and drinking under the cherry blossoms in full bloom.
Of course, some people enjoyed eating and drinking rather than the cherry blossom viewing. We call that attitude 'hana yori dango' in Japanese (dango is sweet rice dumpling.)


By the way, I've been feeling a little down these days... I was transferred to a different post due to personnel changes in April. And now I'm spending a very stressful time...
Ah, I want to go back to the great days off!



Matsuri
(Thanks for stopping by and reading! I love hearing your comments:) I'm not good at English! When finding mistakes in my English, will you correct them if you don't mind?)

タダシクイキ・・・(IN JAPANESE)

正しく生きるという映画を観た。

最初、観賞チケットを買った時にビーフンをもらった。



映画が始まった。

なんだなんだなんなんだ。






映画が終わった。


ものすごい疲労に襲われた。



子どもへの虐待、暴力、窃盗、命を奪う行為、テロ。


こうやって文字化することでさえなんだかしんどく感じてしまうことが、


普段は新聞やニュースで間接的に触れることが、


日本列島のどこかでとか、世界のどこかの国でとか、とにかく自分からはかなり遠く離れたところでの出来事なんだと思い込んでいたことが、


これまで『正しくない』と認識していたことが、まあまあ狭い空間で、まあまあ近いタイミングで起こっていたのだから。



他人事であり、自分はおそらく生涯経験することはないはずだと確信していたつもりなのに、とてつもない生々しさを感じた。




そもそもどうしてこれらのことを、正しくないと認識しているのか。

誰かに教えてもらった記憶は多分ない。

自分から発する言葉のボキャブラリーが増えたことによるものなのか。



誰かの言葉や表情から、悲しみとか怒りを感受する能力が知らない間に身についていたのか。

うん、そういう自分だから、スクリーンの中の、自分が思う正しくないことをしている人たちのことを完全に否定することはできなかった。





とんでもない作品だな。

みなさんも機会があればぜひ。




正しく生きたい。
正しく生きるべきだ。
正しく生きなくてはならない。
正しく生きたくない。
正しく生きれない。
正しく生きる必要はない。
正しく生きてはいけない。



なんだなんだなんなんだ。





ビーフン、いつ食べようかな。






まつり

THE INFINITY DREAMS AWARD

I've been nominated for the Infinity Dreams Award by Becky! Thank you so much, I really enjoyed writing this post (it was a long way, though)!


Rules
1. Thank and follow the person who nominated you.
2. Give 11 facts about yourself.
3. Answer the 11 questions asked to you by your nominator.
4. Nominate 11 bloggers and ask them 11 questions.

---------------------------------
11 Facts About Me

1. The origin of my name is Gion Festival. Gion Festival is one of famous events in Kyoto.

2. I like listening to music. Especially western music. The Smashing Pumpkins, Muse and Dinosaur Jr. are my favourites.

3. I have a drivers license. But I've driven a car only once since I got the license when I was studying at uni.

4. I couldn't ride a bicycle until I was 12 years old.

5. I have a terrible headache. So I carry medicines for the headache when going out.

6. I'm a second hand clothes lover.

7. I don't like to wear white clothes.

8. I can't drink much (it doesn't mean I'm weak at alcohol.)

9. I didn't like English classes when I was studying at junior high school. I couldn't tell the difference between 'p' and 'q'.

10. I've been to Ireland and the UK. When I was 12 years old, my aunt took me to Ireland for trip. It was a great experience, but I didn't know where Ireland is at that time.

11. I'm planning to a long stay in Germany (using working holiday system.)


----------------------------
Answer the 11 Questions Asked To You By Your Nominater

1. What did you dream for when you were a child?
I wanted to be a painter. My grandfather (he passed away when I was a high school student.) He often went travelling to Europe countries with my grandmother. He took a lot of pictures of landscape and then he was drawing while watching the pictures. I liked smell of paints. And his great works made me want to have trip to Europe countries like him.

2. Would you rather be able to read but not write or write but not read?
I think I like to write but not read. I might like to write short sentences like poem.

3. What is one thing you've always to learn?
There are many many things I don't know yet in the world. To learn foreign languages is the most interest things for me. I think to learn foreign languages is one of way of knowing things I don't know.

4. Have you ever had a diary?
When I was an university student, I often wrote a diary on mixi (mixi is one of SNS. It was more popular than facebook at that time in Japan.) A few weeks ago I met up with a friend from university. We read again each diary on mixi and laughed a lot at them!

5. What is the best film you've seen this year so far?
Knocking' On Heaven's Door. It's an old German film (1997?) Two young men (Martin and Rudi) who are the last stage patients get to know each other in a hospital room. They don't want to die in the hospital. Martin talks to Rudi that in heaven, people talk about the ocean. But Rudi has never seen the ocean so far. So Martin decides he wants to get Rudi to the ocean. And they decide to have fun during the last few days they may have to live... It's a simply great film. This is the film with unique story. They combine drama and comedy. The story makes me smile, but it's very deep inside I think. I got the DVD in March and I've already seen it for more five times! I have two different editions: German/English with
German/English subtitles and German/Japanese with German/Japanese subtitles. I'm glad that I caught some German words!

6. If you could only choose one food and drink for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Cheese cake and coffee. Because when I have them, I feel happy and relaxed...

7. What would you perfect working hours look like?
Early shift or late shift... Umm, it's a little hard to choose. When I work early shift I'm able to get free times from evening. And on the other hand, I'm able to sleep well until around 11 a.m. when I work late shift. My work shift and day off aren't regularly:'(

8. Who inspires you?
Of course Alexa Chung! She is my idol. I like the taste in her fashion and makeup look (I'm not wannabe, haha.) To read her book 'It' written in English and German is one of my goals.

9. What do you like to blog about the most?
When I write some posts for my blog, I feel like I'm spending my own time. To write in English is very hard for me but it's really fun to share with many people things I like.

10. Where would you go if you could live in any other country?
Germany!

11. What is the last song you've listened to?
Psycho by Muse. Finally they are back! Incidentally Today by the Smashing Pumpkins is my most favourite song:)


-------------------------------------------
11 Questions For You

1. Do you prefer watching film in cinema or in your room?

2. Tea or coffee?

3. What was (is) your favourite subject at school?

4. What is your favourite way to spend day off?

5. What cheers you up?

6. What is your favourite scent?

7. Do you prefer watching pictures (or films) in colour or in black and white?

8. What was the last picture you took with your phone?

9. Best moment of 2015 so far?

10. What is one thing you can't live without?

11. What do you think about Japanese culture?

I tag everyone who wants to do this TAG!

Matsuri
(Thanks for stopping by and reading! I love hearing your comments:) I'm not good at English! When finding mistakes in my English, will you correct them if you don't mind?)

TODAY'S MAKEUP- CAT EYE

My go-to makeup look is Cat Eye. It's cute and simple, but a little edgy...
I usually don't do eye makeup when I go to work. It was my day off today, so I tried to do cat eye makeup.

Cetaphil Moisturizing Cream works very well on my skin. It makes my skin good condition. http://murtsuriii.blogspot.jp/2015/02/winter-essentials-skincare-routine.html?m=1
I have some liquid foundations but basically I don't use them. I use Garnier Pure Active 2in1 Tinted Spot Roll-On to conceal acne and freckles. And then I use Shiseido Baby Powder as face powder. It's a colourless and it stays matte on my skin for hours. I'll use it summer season, too. (I don't use base makeup products with sunscreen nowadays. I'll have to reconsider about that for spring/summer.)

I finally found a bronzer which suits my skin colour- it's Rimmel Sunshimmer Bronzing Compact Powder in Light Matte. I love the soft matte bronzer and use this almost everyday. On the other hand, Rimmel Sunshimmer 3D Bronzer in 002 Light/Medium is a shimmering bronzer. I use it as highlighter.

Sleek Au Neturel Eyeshadow Palette is useful for daily makeup I think. Each colour is pigmented.
I used Rimmel Scandaleyes Eye Shadow Stick in 003 Bad Girl Bronze for waterline to add a little 'smokey' look.
Canmake Strong Eyes Liner is my favourite brown eyeliner at the moment. I think the brown looks decent with my eyes.
I applied Rimmel Extra 3D Lash Mascara onto my upper lash only two coats. I don't apply mascara onto my lower lash because my lower lash is too poor to apply it!

This time I chose natural colour- Essence Lipstick in 06 Barely There! for my lips because I wanted to focus on my eyes.

(I was going to upload this post on the 8 of March. But I didn't make it on time! I'm going to write about my eyebrow makeup some other time.)

What's your go-to makeup look?


Matsuri

(Thanks for stopping by and reading! I love hearing your comments:) I'm not good at English! When finding mistakes in my English, will you correct them if you don't mind?)

WINTER ESSENTIALS #SKINCARE ROUTINE

My skin condition isn't good these days. I guess I have combination (or sensitive?) skin. It means my cheeks are dry and my t-zone is a little bit oily. Sometimes I have a lot of acne for some reason...

I've used KOSE MOISTURE ESSENCE, SHISEIDO AQUALABEL WHITE AC LOTION, and SHISEIDO AQUALABEL WHITE AC EMULSION for this winter. I think I've following this routine for three or four months.
I'm afraid to say, AQUALABEL line didn't work for my skin. They have a little sticky texture which I don't like so much. And they didn't permeate in my skin... So I thought now is the time I should reconsider my skincare routine.

I've tried 雪肌精 SEKKISEI PURE WHITENING LOTION before. It was good impression. So I thought I want to try the same line's emulsion, too.
I've also wanted to try CETAPHIL line. And I finally found them in Kyoto!

SEKKISEI line is more expensive than CETAPHIL one. First of all, I bought sample pack of 雪肌粋 SEKKISUI. 

I'm looking forward to using them!

How about your skincare routine?


Matsuri
(Thanks for stopping by and reading! I love hearing your comments:) I'm not good at English! When finding mistakes in my English, will you correct them if you don't mind?)

GOETHE-INSTITUT IN KYOTO

On the 6 of February, I went to GOETHE-INSTITUT (VILLA KAMOGAWA) to find some tips for learning German.

In the facility, there is a library. There are a tons of books related to Germany (cookbooks, arts, culture, sightseeing, life style and so on.) Everyone can have access to the library.

And the facility owns many German films including documentary (DVD.) I've ever watched 'Oh, Boy' and 'Lore' so far at cinema in Kyoto. I want to watch other German films. A staff said to me that I can watch them at mini-theatre!


After that I had a coffee and cheese cake at cafe (sorry for the picture of half-eaten cheese cake.) You can bring books from library to the cafe and feel the culture of German cafe. I would like to go to the cafe with friends some time:)



Now I've just started to learn German. First of all, I'm learning German alphabet pronunciation and other pronunciation like [tsch] [ch] [chs]... The next I'm going to learn 'der' 'die' and 'das'. I remember that they made me feel confusing at university student!
Of course I know my English is far from perfect. But I want to learn both of them while having fun and little by little...


What's your favourite German film?


Matsuri
(Thanks for stopping by and reading! I love hearing your comments:) I'm not good at English! When finding mistakes in my English, will you correct them if you don't mind?)

MY GOALS AND RESOLUTIONS FOR 2015

About a month has passed since new year came. I didn't have New Year's holidays, because I worked during the holidays as always. On the 1st and the 2nd of January, it was snowing in Kyoto. It was very hard to get to work.
How was your New Year's holidays?


By the way, this time I would like to write about my goals and resolutions for 2015 (to be honest I'm not good at setting goals):)


KEEP ON LEARNING LANGUAGES
I'm very interested in German nowadays. I took some basic German classes when I was studying at university student. I remember that a teacher (he is Japanese) said that you can pronounce German like reading katakana. But I think it's probably not the way it goes... So I want to learn German from scratch.
Last week I went to bookstore to look for some German textbooks, but I couldn't decide which one to choose. Any good advice?
To eat milka in Germany is one of my dreams in the future:) 

And following the last year, I want to improve my English skills. I have little English vocabulary skills. I want to increase my English vocabulary this year. And I don't have confidence in my English (listening, speaking, on my blog...)
It's necessary for me to have a challenge and not being afraid of making mistakes.


READ BOOKS WRITTEN IN ENGLISH
Actually I'm not good at reading books even though written in Japanese (but I like reading newspaper. It's a custom with me. It's one of ways of knowing and thinking about what's happening in the world.)
I want to try to read books written in English. At least...three or four books. I've already had some books I want to read!


SAVE MONEY
I know I say this every year... But I'm for real! This is the year I really think that I want to save for the future.


STEP OUTSIDE MY COMFORT ZONE
Learning, working, fashion, life style...that's all I can say!


What are your goals and resolutions for 2015?
Matsuri


***
Thank you so much Becky for correcting my English! I took a notes of what you taught me. Tausend Dank!

(I really admire her blog:) http://beckythewallflower.blogspot.jp/?m=1)