I swear on all that is holy that this is my last Japan post - I'm just trying to ease the pain of withdrawals. I wasn't expecting to do much shopping on this trip - not because there wasn't anything worth buying, but because there were too many things to do infinitely more exciting than shopping. Of course, there were uber cool shops aplenty but they all seemed above me on the hipness scale that every single piece of clothing appeared as though it belonged nowhere else but on the svelte body of Shibuya's heppest cats (cool language alert). Naturally, I did manage to find ways to spend those tasty yen...

Before we left I read a few lists of the most highly recommended Japanese beauty products and landed in Osaka with quite a lengthy list. I didn't get to pick up everything I had on my list but I was mightily impressed with the products I did manage to find. Obviously, you can't go to Japan and not pick up a few sheet masks and these pomegranate and potato moisture masks were One product in particular was astounding: Cure's Natural Aqua Gel was on every list I looked at and every review I found praised this exfoliator as, hands down, the best exfoliating product going. I approached this with a healthy skepticism, partly because you should never buy into beauty hype and partly because it looks like hand sanitiser, but this is the only thing I've ever put on my face and thought "WOW!" Guys, you can literally see the dead skin being buffed away - it's amazing. I have take a solemn oath to never be without this exfoliator again.

I also took the opportunity to pick up some duty-free bits. I took a sample of Estee Lauder's Advanced Nigh Repair with me and the morning after I used it I knew I had to get me some of that magic oil for keeps. MAC's colourful Toyland display lured me over and I decided I needed Red Balloon because, strangely, I was without a fuchsia lipstick. I also replaced my old orange lipstick, which had been with me since my uni days, with Morange, a bright true orange.
Ever since Lisa Eldridge's blog post on Keira Knightley's red carpet look using Chanel's Illusion d'ombre in New Moon, I've been counting down the days tip the release of Chanel's summer collection and stalking countless makeup counters until I made that cream eyeshadow mine. It is beautiful - a glittery pinky brown with a lovely texture and long-lasting formula. Ugh, it's everything...
As Japan is the land of cool trainers, I couldn't leave without finding a fly pair of kicks of my very own. Unfortunately, my size 39 feet must be large and ungainly in Japan because I had to go to four different shops to find these purple-red ombre shoes in my size because 38 seemed to be the largest size everyone carried. But I think you'll agree these street creed machines were worth it.
The most exciting souvenir of the trip was a surprise gift from Buckle, who stood next to me while I admired this little beauty at Miu Miu in Osaka and led me, without my knowing, to the Miu Miu store in Shibuya to pick out a cat print pouch of my very own.
Love is not a strong enough word to describe my feelings about this clutch. It fits exactly what I need and nothing I don't and I want to take it everywhere with me. Sometimes, I just take it out of it's box and stare at it.
Apart from little typical souvenirs and a Totoro pin for my leather jacket, that's everything. But then, that's more than enough, isn't it?