Hello, lovelies! ♥

I have been so inactive on this blog - and it's mainly because of university and work. It got be so tired most of the time and I think I am now struggling a bit with health, which is something new, unfortunately.

Recently, I joined an advice group on Facebook and we all started sharing stories about our bad experiences in working in retail, hospitality or just service in general. It made me feel incredibly blessed that I just have to put up with the occasional rude customer, instead of, the dangerous, or, terrible things which some of these poor girls have experienced. It made me reflect and think to what I always say to my mother - no job is easy.

When I got my first part time job/casual job at 18, I really grew as a person. I have always had the biggest amount of respect to those girls or guys who started work at 13, 14, 15 or even 16 years of age. That is something I think a lot of people forget when they walk into a fast food outlet, restaurant or any kind of shop: you are being served by teenagers, yes, who have the reputation of being moody, and it is so very easy to pin any problem you have on them for that reason, but they are still VERY YOUNG. Contrary to popular belief, young people do work and know the hardships of needing to work to achieve something. These kids are in school, working while studying, and here they are, serving your food and earning their own money with their own efforts from a young age. Isn't that something admirable - seeing someone of a young age working to make your food, or, bring your clothes or whatever, and they are probably half your age half the time?

Also, the jobs that people look down upon - do they not realize that they are simply supplying to the demand? A job, no matter how looked down upon, exists because there is a want for it and a need for it. You cannot look down on people for doing that.

I will never, ever understand why it is so hard to be nice to retail or hospitality employees. Why is it so nice to be patient, be kind, and be understanding? From my experience, whenever a customer is rude, it makes me so anxious and it stays in my mind for weeks and weeks. Yes, it sucks when something goes wrong, but things do happen even at the best places. I am sure no one walks into their job, no matter how much they hate it, and have the mindset that they wish for something to go wrong. I believe that if something happens and the service provided is not 100% just that once, you can easily excuse them and still be patient and kind, it is only if something happens several times that it is inexcusable. Of course, there would be exceptions, like if it's a really expensive meal or something.

"Every job is hard", is something I say a lot to my mum. She often compares my job and my Dads job to hers and how ours is a lot easier etc. Of course, I acknowledge she has to put a lot of efforts and work into her job, but, it does not mean we have an easy job. Due to my work ethic, where I put 100% in and literally use my whole body to get everything done quickly, it puts a big physical strain on me which I have started to notice in the past six months with terrible knee pain and back pain. I keep this to myself and not complain, which probably gives the impression that I have no stress or strain on myself. They are different jobs, but jobs nonetheless.

Sometimes, I think, "It must be so good to be celebrity, and have people love you and you can travel a lot, etc."  but that is a little naive to think of me. I think if a job looks easy, it means that they have struggled, made sacrifices, and worked hard to get to that stage. We are all still at that stage. Even if you take Kim Kardashian as an example, she recently went through a horrific robbery that has probably scarred her mental health for life. The huge amount of haters she has reared their ugly heads and said the most awful stuff to her, and people think her job is super easy? Don't think so.

Basically, I think we should treat everyone with respect and patience, as well as, respect anyone's efforts. No matter who it is.

Enjoy life!

Nina

Hello, everyone!

So, this year I will pursuing Japanese even further since I'm going to study it at university, so I thought I'd share a few ways I learn or stay motivated.

Hello, everyone! ♥ How are you?


I'm asking that, because I should really ask myself that more often. 


I'm writing this since one of the biggest parts of my life right now is study, or university. I remember how excited I was and I had imagined how perfect it was going to be and how my life will fall into place. That kind of dramatically changed recently, haha.

You see, sometimes, or well most of the time, it's just not that simple. I look at those people who have achieved success and am envious since they are sure of what they want and how to get it if they haven't gotten it already. I was also jealous of my high school classmates who had their career and schooling sorted and planned, knowing exactly what they wanted to do in the future. Meanwhile, most of the time I felt like:

That's why when I chose my course, without even seriously thinking about it, I had fabricated this illusion of me being on the right track and me being happy, that even if I was second guessing myself, I ignored that feeling and forced myself to stick with it, because it felt like I was doing what everyone wanted me to be doing.

I look at myself last year, and I remember I was so positive and full of energy, and giving that energy to others. But now, the energy and life has been sucked out and it's gotten worse and worse, and I let it until my mum saw how much I changed and asked, is this really what you want to do? During the last holiday break, I actually had an epiphany about what career I wanted to pursue, a year late, I know, haha. That realization kind of fueled me to become more and more upset though, barbecue I felt like I was trapped in this course and I was being useless.

This is kind of depressing to talk about, so let's move on, but I wanted to say that and explain my feelings so that I can justify me telling you this : If you're unhappy with what you're doing, and it's seriously affecting you and changing your outlook on things, then leaving it is much better than staying. It's kind of the same as how people give advice on how it's better to leave a toxic person'/relationship than to stay.

There is always a way out - another path you can take, new steps you can take to achieve what you want. Most of all, there is always people to support you, support your happiness. I didn't tell anyone my feelings, but when my mum noticed, and was the only one to notice, she really helped me to take action and remind me that it's okay if I wanted to leave or change courses, and she is the type of mother who wants their child to go to university and stud, so by her saying that the only thing a parent really wants for their child is happiness, it really helped me, which I'll talk about in another post. 

So, whether it's your mum, dad, sibling, other family members or close friends, talk to someone about your options always when you are having second choices, make a plan, find alternatives. You can do this!

Enjoy life!

Nina

Hello, friends! ♥

I know for sure how difficult it is to easily access fashion from other countries, such as gyaru clothing from Japan. Sometimes, we have to compromise and make do with what we have access to. I think there is always a chance of finding clothes that match the style you want. 

Depending on the style of gyaru you are looking for, you can always find items that fit that style and build a collection from which you can pick from and use to layer on top of one another. Starting from basic clothing items, layering, is a good start.

Looking at some photos for inspiration - it's very easy to build a gyaru style from clothes you would find in any store. I find blacks, whites and pinks to be very common. Again, depending on the type of gyaru you are going for, you would be looking for statement pieces that are quite fitting. Or, if you're looking for the more hime or girly gyaru style, you would be incorporating a lot of lace, frills, flouncy fabric and floral patterns.

I think something important that can help sway your fashion style is accessories. As I said before, you can find some basic clothing pieces and then layer more clothing and choose socks, shoes and jewellery to compliment your outfit and make it complete. I mean false lashes, socks and fake nails are also found here, right? Makeup plays a huge part as well.

This post is a bit of a trainwreck, but I'm writing this post just to say that, if you have a set style in your mind and know the clothes you want for it, you can look for it in stores and begin building your dream wardrobe! Good luck!

Enjoy life!

Nina

Hello, lovelies!

I can't remember the last time I wrote a post like this, but now I know what I want to write! Today, I want to write about not feeling like you're good enough.

So, I recently got back the results from my first Japanese exam, and I didn't too well. It's only a small one but it still made me lose all hope in myself for a little bit. I kind of zone dout because I wasn't too sure how to feel.

You see, I grew having so many characterize me as the smart girl in the class throughout primary school, and when it got to mid high school, and now, university, I feel like I can no longer meet those expectations which is quite burdensome.

In today's society, we have lots of burdens: we need to look good, speak good, have a good education, a good job, communicate well and so much more! How can we possible tick each box and say we are perfect? Exactly, we can't. And that easily leads us to not feeling like we are good enough or meet the standards that are set.

How can there even be standards in a world and society like this, that is so full of diversity and different backgrounds? We are all different - that's a well known fact - and for that reason, there is no use in comparing yourself with anyone else.

Rather than focusing on what you can't do, focus on what you can do and how you can improve, for yourself, not anyone else.

I'm so glad at some point I decided to be healthier and be more responsible, in order to become a better person, for myself. It's a good feeling! Definitely try it out! If you focus your energy that you would spend on criticizing yourself, into improving yourself - you will see a change and will get positive results!

Remember, always surround yourself with people that give support you and bring the best out of you!

I believe in you!

Enjoy life!

Nina

Hello, everyone~

I'm adding another post to my series! This one will give a few ideas as to what to when you find some Asian clothes are too small or the wrong size for you. I don't know about you, but I always have trouble finding gyaru clothing that is long enough to wear.

I am in every mindset to just go to Japan just to personally buy the clothing myself and know for sure it's my size, but that's not that easy. I hope to find a reliable store that will sell gyaru clothing suitable for a girl of over 170cm in height!

Until then, we have to manage with what we have, right?

Wear several layers!

I found that for some short dresses or skirts, it can still work if you slip on a skirt underneath. By having one of two skirts/shorts of a neutral tone- like white, grey or black (but with most clothing, you might need a pink or white one) it might make it easier to quickly add an extra layer underneath your clothing.
You could even put some leggings, shorts or bloomers underneath as well.


Dress too short? Wear it as a top!

Yup, pretty much. Some of taller girls don't have much that we can do about gyaru clothing being too short for our frames - but we can still use it, yes! 

Almost like wearing layers, you can use the dress as a cute top instead and wear it over a skirt or jeans!

Sew on another layer/alter the length

Now for this, I am hopeless at trying to alter the length of my clothing, I'm pretty sure I would make it worse. But if you can, or know some who can, why not alter the length of your clothing through sewing? If not, then maybe a professional can do it, but that would come with a cost,

What is your experience with buying clothes online? What do you do if it's not your size? Do you know any stores that sell Asian clothing that is a good fit for western girls? Let me know!

Enjoy life!

Nina

Hello, friends!

So, recently I have had a huge interest in Korean and Japanese skincare, since it is light years ahead of Western skincare! There skin always looks so perfect for a good reason~

I tried to to write this post in a simple way and break it down as much as I can since this skincare routine is quite extensive. Obviously, I am no skin care expert but I'm trying to learn more and more!

1. Remove Make-up

Well, I guess everyone would know it's important to remove your makeup. You don't want that on your skin all day, and definitely not when you sleep! When you're asleep, your skin repairs itself and you don't want it breathing through makeup that has most likely absorbed dirt throughout the day.

Benefits:

• It'll let your skin breathe and regenerate.
• Your make up absorbs a lot of pollution and dirt - which is what your skin is absorbing the longer it stays on your skin.
• It'll make your pillowcase dirty (or anything else you come in contact with) and it can cause bacteria to grow.

2. Cleansing

I'm sure everyone knows the importance of cleansing the skin as well - it's common in Korean skincare to "double-cleanse" (using oil to remove make up, and then further cleaning the skin with a cleanser) to make sure your skin is free from all makeup and residue. After all, if your skin isn't clean, how will it absorb the products you are about to put on it? It's like feeding a stomach that is already full - and your skin needs food!

Benefits:

• It removes dead skin cells, dirt, dust, makeup residue etc from the skin, allowing it to breathe freely and preventing the dirt from clogging your skin.
• It allows your skin to become a clean canvas for you to apply products onto

Remember to cleanse properly and gently, you don't want to irritate your skin and completely strip it off all it's natural oils!


3: Exfoliate

Exfoliation should be done sometimes, not frequently, as the purpose of exfoliation is to remove the dead skin cells from the surface and promotes blood circulation. 


Benefits:

• Promotes blood circulation.
• Removes dead skin cells, buffering your skin and making it smooth.
• Helps your products to penetrate the skin better.

4. Toning

Toners play an important role in a skin routine as they balance the pH of the skin, making it less prone to oiliness and infection, and prepares it for moisturizing.


Benefits:

• Helps remove the toxins in the skin, detoxifying it.
• It shrinks and tightens pores.
• Reduces acne
• Hydrates and nourishes

Remember to pick a good toner according to your skin tone, an alcohol based toner could dry out your skin!

5. Essence

This is where the skincare routine really get long and meticulous. Also known as lotions, essences help nourish the skin, with it's watery texture that the skin absorbs quickly.

Different essences have different benefits, which is what makes them so great as you can pick and choose according to what your skin needs.


6. Serums

Serums are similar to essences, but the watery content is next to none, allowing it to be a concentrate of active ingredients for your skin.

Benefits:

• Anti-aging effects
• Adds antioxidants to the skin
• Brightens skin

7. Mask

After putting on these products, a mask helps seal the nutrients into your skin.

Benefits: 

• Draws impurities from the skin
• Removes dead skin cells
• Tightens and tones the skin
• Moisturizes the skin
• Brightens the skin

8. Eye Cream

The skin around your eyes is more sensitive and thinner, making it more prone to problems like dullness, fine lines, dark circles and puffiness. An eye cream can target these problems, especially since it's a cream designed specifically for that area.

Benefits: 

• Reduces puffiness
• Reduces dark circles
• Reduces fine lines (putting it on before concealer allows it to go more smoothly)

9. Moisturizer

Everyone knows about moisturizing, right? It keeps your skin hydrated, promotes elasticity, keeps your skin and much more! If you're cleaning and toning your skin, you need to bring back into the skin that was taken away when it was cleansed.

Benefits:

• Increases skin elasticity
• Keeps skin hydrated
• Keeps skin soft
• Anti-aging benefits

Make sure you use the right moisturizer for your skin type!

10. Night Cream

Night creams help to increase the anti-aging benefits of your skin care routine and adds that little bit extra to your routine. After all, at night your skin is regenerating and resting, so it's the perfect time to give it an extra boost.

Benefits:

• Deeply moisturizes
• Anti-aging effects
• Hydrates skin
• Repairs skin

Extras:

Mist

One thing I see commonly used in Korea, is a spray on moisturizing mist that you quickly spray on your face during the day if your skin needs a bit of a pick-me-up.

Suncare

Prevention is better than curing. Always remember to apply sunscreen, even if it feels like you don't need it! Sun rays can be damaging no matter what.

What do you think of the routine?

Has anyone tried Korea/Japanese skin care products or followed through some of the routine before? Any recommendations? How did it go? Let me know, I want to learn more!

Enjoy life!

Nina

Hello, lovelies!

Wow, okay! So! Things got just a bit busy for me these past few weeks, I'm surprised I managed to squeeze some posts in between working and studying! But you know, I stayed positive through it all because I thought to myself, I can't be the only one going through this or has gone through this!

I ended up dropping one of my courses to take a bit of the stress of my shoulders, I feel so bad that I had to come to that decision, but it inspired me to write this post and it was what I felt to be the right decision!

Everyone, please always put your mental and physical well being first! I had gotten stressed in the first couple of weeks and had a breakdown because I was trying to deal with anything on my own. I am quite stubborn, haha.

Always seek out advice with school and anything else that might be causing you unnecessary stress or problems! There is so much support out there for you and many resources to help you cope. There is a very high chance someone has been in the same situation as you!

If it helps, write out a schedule or plan! That way you have something to refer to and follow, developing a routine that you will get used to and cope with! That way you can also see how you can dedicate an adequate amount of time to get everything you need done!

• Set goals and achieve all you need to do bit by bit!
• Plan how you will go about your tasks and where you will fit in the important things!
• Reflect on how you do and try to improve everyday!
• Find support in your classmates, peers or workmates! They will help you and if you work together, you will overcome obstacles together!

Remember if you do small meaningless things, it's harder to find time and room to complete the bigger tasks, but if you do the bigger ones first, the smaller ones will fall into place, as seen in the following video:

Has anything your life caused you stress? How did you cope and find balance? I am always here if you need to talk to someone or need advice!

Enjoy life!

Nina

Hello, friends!

Wow, so the girl, meaning me, went from literally having no life to having so much on her mind. I began university and my Japanese class is so hardcore! I need to do so much extra study to catch up to everyone (which I am procrastinating from, I hate myself sometimes)

I also spend a while trying to find work and it made me realize how hard it is to find work, I found some recently (finally), which got me thinking of everything I could have done before to help my current situation. Those thoughts inspired this little blog post!

1. Be More Confident and Choose Friends Well

I entered high school with the confidence of nothing, and I think once I found the right people to surround myself with it quickly grew. After graduation, you realize who your friends really are since a lot of mine just disappeared or gave up contact over such little things. High school forces you to see a number of people everyday for five days a week, so it's really the best time to be social and grow as a person socially. I was shy from the very start and it was only in the last two years I started to open up and speak out more, which meant I had lost a lot of time to meet and make friends. And when you are thrown into the real world, you need as much support as you can get.

2. Find Work

Following from No.1, I was always thinking that I was in no position to work, I was scared of disappointing people or making a mistake and not good at dealing with strangers. I think if I properly focused on getting myself in check and found some work or experience, I would have made life so much easier for myself. I guess I couldn't help it at the time, but it's just... why did I do that to myself.

Let's be serious, while you are in school where everything is structured and planned out, it's easier for yourself if you find work and build your skills before moving out into the real world against hundreds of other applicants. That's what I would tell my younger self, very, very strongly.

3. Take Study Seriously

I wasn't too lazy when it came to schoolwork and studied well, I just didn't push my limits and tried to build good study habits and skills. After graduation, I didn't do very much over the holidays and didn't maintain what knowledge I had, so when I entered my Japanese class in university, I had to quickly resurrect all I learnt from last year. Comparing the study I have now to what I did last year, high school is so much easier and I had no reason to complaining about the workload last year :')

4. Make the Most of Each Day

Sitting around and being a potato probably is not the best way to spend my youth, it would have been nice, if I was not working or studying, that I would have gone out and did some kind of activity, whether it's volunteering or taking some extra study. Just to be more productive, you know? 

5. Be Healthier and More Active

This probably sounds a little dumb to suggest I wish I was more healthier and active in high school, but if I was, I would have felt better on the inside and maybe the outside. If I learnt more about health and how to take care of myself, I would have had the positive results for a few years now and made more progress now. The earlier you start, the better of course.

These is a little reflection of mine, is there anything you wish you did when you were in school or any part of your life, previously? Of course, don't have too many regrets! Everything you have done before has helped bring you to where you are now :)

Enjoy life!

Nina

Hello, lovelies~

The other day I was watching a few videos and the celebrities were asked about their ideal type, which got me thinking, why is this question so often asked? Do people really have a clear understanding of what they would like in a partner?

Of course, when I think about these things, I think long and hard. I see everywhere how guys and girls alike hate the idea of someone having standards, since things like friend-zoning and all that is created. But, if you are looking for a partner long term, isn't having some preference important?

I'd imagine a lot of people don't consider marriage and kids straight off the bat in a relationship, but if it's something that will be considered, it's more than likely a lifetime commitment. With a commitment like that, you'd want it to be with someone you are compatible with, or who you can work with well, right?

I remember someone saying, or I read it somewhere, that the purpose of our existence is basically to reproduce. That's a bit harsh, haha. I was also thinking about how scarily similar I am to my dad, and how scarily similar my brother is to my mum. It's not always the case the children take after the parents, but it's pretty common that they pick up some things up from the parents. That needs to be considered too, since you'd want the best for children and want them to be the best people, so you'd your partner to have the traits you'd want your children to have. They need to be the best that they can be in this harsh world, after all.


I think standards has gotten such a bad reputation in the recent years that people forget why they exist in the first place, we can't really function in society without a few rules or guidelines. Obviously, it's not good to be unreasonable with what you would like to expect from another person, but if it's meant to be, it'll work out, right?

These are just a few of my thoughts, what are yours? What is your experiences when it comes to standards and their impact?

Enjoy life!

Nina

Hello, everyone! ♥

Today, I will be writing a post, that will most likely end up as several posts, since there is so much to talk about!

The reason I named this series Gaijin Gyaru, is because, I am a Western girl whose style is inspired by Hime-gyaru and Hime-kaji, and trying to achieve this style can be a bit difficult due to availability of clothing, size issues and so on~ And since Gajin Gyaru, or 外人ギャル, means Foreign Girl (or a foreigner who follows the gyaru style) I decided it fit as my title. But this style can be worn by anyone, and I want to help that~



What is Hime-gyaru and Hime-kaji?  Also known as Hime kei. It is one of the more over the top and also one of the most expensive style of dress of all of the categories. The hime style is largely based on the Rococo era. Gyaru of this style wear dresses or skirts in pink or other pastels with lots of lace and bows. Rose patterns, pearls and crown motifs are also very common. Headpieces range from large bow clips with pearls to rose accents, while the hair is either bleached, poofed up in a bouffant at the top and curled or a wig/extensions are worn. The make-up style has even more exaggerated eyes than the typical gyaru. Hime gyaru does not only include clothes, but many girls see it as a way of life and make or buy custom-made decor for their homes. The style blossomed in the early 2000s but has since declined or turned more casual (this version is referred to as hime kajii), even if the old one is still present. Not to be confused with Lolita fashion. (Source: Wikipedia)

The clothes are so pretty ヽ(ｏ`皿′ｏ)ﾉ

But finding stores that have this clothing can be very hard, when shopping in stores with friends I can barely finding anything, and online stores can be very pricey. I don't even know how long I have spent now, searching, and searching online stores that stock clothing that is easily accessible and affordable. I really regret not asking whether I could visit Liz Lisa while I was in Japan in 2013, oh my lord.

Of course, there is still hope! I have found some stores that may help us achieve what we want, although, they all vary.

Storenvy:

Storenvy is a great place to find secondhand or new clothing at a cheaper price! I have bought bags from there before, which are excellent, and I always see a variet yof clothing on there as well. There have been great priced jfashion items, but they were sold out, so I missed out. So it's good to keep checking regularly!

• Spreepicky is very popular for their cute clothes and accesorries, catering to a lot of harajuku styles, cosplay and even lolita. 

• Kawaii Gyaru Shop specifically stocks authentic Liz Lisa clothing, which I adore to look at, since it's too expensive for me to buy yet (but it's still cheaper than the original price). It's also good that this store has been set up since it allows people to get their hands on Liz Lisa clothing without using a shopping service and so on.

• Kawaii Clothing: This is another cute store that stocks a variety of clothing! I see that with a lot of storenvy stores, the products are quite similar, but it's good to explore to get the best price and size!

eBay:

I have found eBay to be a great place to find new or second-hand clothing at a great cost! Sometimes it can be a bit of a hit and miss since new or authentic clothing can still be pricey, and cheaper ones can be short or of lesser quality, so always review what you buy carefully!


Sheinside:

Although Sheinside doesn't specifically cater to a hime style of any kind since they stock clothing that's really a really western kind of style, if you know what I mean? But there are some pieces that you can use to mix and match to create a style you want. My experiences with them have been great previously, and the items I got are really cute!


Here are a few more stores I might suggest looking into even though I haven't bought from them before, yet:

K-StyleMe.Com/Asian iCandy: I found these as a suggestion to shop at for jfashion/kfashion clothing, and I see why. I haven't shopped from them yet, but the clothes are worth checking it out as well.

Yesstyle: I have seen people buy from this store, for example, Bubzbeauty, and the clothes look so cute! I have seen some unique clothing pieces too, and some of the detailing on some of the tops is really cute! I hope to shop from them soon!

Romwe: I have bookmarked a lot of clothes on this site since some are so pretty! I'm pretty sure that this site is American, maybe, like Sheinside, so the clothes might be more chic than floral or jfashion like~ But it's still worth having a look since some items can be paired well with other clothing items to achieve a nice look!

Lalalilo.com: I very much want to try some of the clothing from this site, it all looks so wonderful! I have bookmarked a few dresses I think are really cute and I hope I can review them when I get them soon!

AliExpress.com: I heard that this was the English version of Taobao so I thought it was worth checking out, and there are some items on there that are of gyaru style! Has anyone shopped from it before?

I hope I will be doing more reviews in the future and hunt down some great purchases to share with you all! Do you guys have any other recommendations of stores that stock nice clothing online or anywhere else? Have you purchased anything from the stores above? How was your experience? Let me know!

Enjoy life!

Nina