Time flies lately as I'm keeping busy, and the small amount of free time I have has become so precious. Most of it is spent watching
Friends (I know, still in that phase- I'm in season 6 now, and Chandler and Monica will get engaged soon), but I'm also making time for the gym, even if it's just to squeeze in a quick workout. My main motivation for the gym is the sauna at the end, especially now that the weather has gotten cold.
It literally went from scorching hot and humid to cold, almost overnight. This month has mostly been rainy so far, but October and November are usually quite sunny and crisp in Japan, and I'm looking forward to it. I took out my Nishikawa blanket from storage, and started using it again. I love it! I've also been wearing full pajamas and a hoodie around the house; it's going to be a long winter.
In an unrelated note, I wanted to rave about my shampoo and conditioner from Kiehl's. As I've mentioned before,
I don't use many Japanese beauty products. Not because they're not good- to be fair, Japanese brands are amazing for the most part, but they don't do anything great for my skin and hair- aside from a few things from MUJI, Shu Uemura and Shiseido that I can't live without.
That being said, I spent nearly 4 years in Japan battling with Japanese shampoo and wondering why my hair feels so strange since I got to Japan. I think Japanese shampoos tend to be a lot heavier and moisturizing than what I'm used to, and for that reason, they weigh my hair down, therefore I've had to wash my hair every day, something unusual for me. My Japanese friends are horrified when I tell them in Canada, I wash my hair only every few days, because in Japan, people wash their hair every day. Someone like myself with a thick mane should not be washing their hair every single day, as it's really drying, but I didn't have much of a choice since the Japanese shampoo weighed my hair down so much.
I finally splurged on Kiehl's shampoo and conditioner a few weeks ago, and my hair feels so amazing since then. It feels clean and healthy again, and I don't have to wash it every single day (sorry). While it may be a lot more expensive than what I used to buy at the drugstore, in the end it probably costs the same as it lasts much longer. This is by no means a bashing of Japanese shampoos- I'm sure they're great for some people, but just didn't work for me. Japanese hair and non-Japanese hair have very different textures, so obviously they have different needs. It makes me wonder if Japanese who go abroad also have issues with shampoos in other countries.
Besides obsessing over my hair, I also went to Urth Caffe in Daikanyama, where I sat outside, had a breakfast burrito, a latte then a green tea bubble tea. I'm also having a Belle & Sebastian phase, not sure how it happened, but listening to it makes me emo and happy. I'm mostly listening to
Tigermilk and
The Life Pursuit.
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Owl coin purse I use as headphones case |
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Welcome back, Nishikawa blanket |
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Latte from Urth |
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Keeping warm. |
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Life savers. |
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Loving this design and cause. |