10/31/12

MORE Magazine November 2012


It's time to have a look at the november issue of MORE magazine - the japanese magazine for women in their 20's. By the way, the november issue comes out in late september, not october. At the end of october the december issue comes out, at the end of november the issue for january. (Somehow the picture refused to be turned in any direction. Very odd. Pictures were taken with the Lumix Superzoom, borrowed from my mum.)


I totally adore Japanese fashion. Alas - I couldn't wear most of it. And remember - this is the november issue, when it's also getting colder in Japan. But Japan has a Pacific coast and milder climate. We're in Germany would freeze to death possibly, wearing skirts and mini pants like that.


Battle: Skirt team vs. Pants team! Which team are you? I'm member of Pants team. Would like to wear more skirts...but I'm not brave enough... ;)


How to wear the right jacket for the right body height. Really good idea. Can't remember if a German magazine ever did that.


Outfit coordination lesson! I like the bags...


Cute layout!


Cute hairstyles! Need to try the one with the ribbon.


Oh Good, lipsticks are my drugs! Take this page away...(I just got a MAC lipstick for free as I returned 6 empty MAC cosmetic packages to the MAC counter. It's called "Back to MAC" and is a really great marketing strategy.)


Obviously this season smudged eye lines are en vogue in Japan.

What do you think of Japanese fashion magazines? I bought three other magazines during my visit in Japan - especially two for women in their 30s (as I'll be turning 30 next year). We'll have a look on them soon.

Enjoy Halloween!
Foxy Greetings.

10/30/12

Bo-dhi-licious!


Bo dhi - our newest family member - is super fluffy cute. He likes to chew on everything. And got quite the shock of his young life when my mom found him chewing on some shoes of her. I guess she screamed her head off. Since then he is quite content with chewing on his cuddle toys.

Foxy Greetings.

Golden October










The weekend after coming back from my first Japan trip, I was very eager to use my new camera - a Sony Nex C3. It was beautiful weather and I can't remember the last time we had such an Indian summer. Oh the colors! Especially the warm golden yellow everywhere around me in the forest. Other wanderers with cameras greeted me with a "Searching for good pictures?".

And now,  one week later, it snows and looks like Christmas outside! Everything is white. And it is cold which is why I need to get back to my knit and crochet projects. Will take pictures of that, too.

Foxy Greetings!

10/28/12

Rooftops of Japan








a) detailed ornaments are seen everywhere
b) demon and dragon-shaped closures were meant as protection against fire and destruction
c) the Shogun's palace Nijojo has different types of roof: not only shingles but also straw
d) Heian Shrine in Kyoto was constructed during a time when western influence was everywhere - turrets on shrine roofs cannot be seen anywhere else
e) traditional business house in Kyoto
f) side building of Golden Pavilion
g) another side building of Golden Pavilion

10/22/12

Japan 2012: Number One











I'm back from Japan! It was my sixth stay in Japan and the very first for such a brief time: Not even 6 full days! (We took the plane back to Germany early in the morning of the sixth day.)
And it was my first time in a group as I accompanied customers of my (not-so-new-anymore) employer.

Whew- what a week! On the second day I felt like I've been in Japan already for a week so much did we see. Our schedule was very Japanese-like-tight meaning we didn't have time to take a breath or go for a walk by ourselves for a bit. Shopping opportunities were also very rare.

But still I managed to get my new camera! In pink! Yay.

Mainly, we visited production factories. But as we weren't allowed to take pictures, I can't show you. Those factories were really very fascinating. Chaos and order, perfectly synchronized. ;)

One has to love the Japanese.

Photos (from the top):
1) Shinkansen arriving at Kyoto main station (which has a very magnificient building btw) in the early morning as viewed from my hotel room. The first picture with my new camera.
2) On the way to Kiyomizu dera in Kyoto. School children everywhere!
3) Dragon fountain at Kiyomizu dera. I take this picture everytime I visit. (It was my third time.)
4) School children enjoying ice cream after temple visit. These sailor suits remind me of my teenage years when I loved a certain Manga/ Anime series and desperately wanted a sailor style school uniform myself.
5) Garden at Heian Shrine in Kyoto. I just love Japanese gardens and the ones in Kyoto in particular!
6) Building next to the Golden Pavilion (kinkakuji) in Kyoto with a huge "Bonsai" shaped into a sailing ship. (Our fabulous Japanese guide said it was indeed a Bonsai, which is hard to believe considering the enormous side.)
7) School children (there actually are schools in Japan without an uniform!) with a deer in front of the Todaiji temple in Nara. The deer belong to Nara and roam about the park freely. The tourists love them - but they can be a little tricky when they try to chew through your backpack.
8) Scene at dusk in Nara.
9) View from a hotel room at our hotel in Tokyo.
10) View of the bay of Tokyo when driving over the famous rainbow bridge.

I'm doing this tour again in two weeks - so I'll be back with more pictures.

Foxy Greetings.

10/12/12

Autumn Dew

  by Chisa2010
, a photo by Chisa2010 on Flickr.

Well, I'm off to Japan!
I've already checked in via Internet check in and am now (still) packing. Need to get finished.

Hope you have a great week - I'll be back next weekend and am going to report ASAP.

Foxy greetings.

10/10/12

MORE october 2012 part two


Shoes! Who wouldn't be happy looking at a lot of shoes?! One problem of reading (or even of just looking at a) Japanese fashion magazine is obviously that one isn't able to buy most stuff. Would be too expensive anyway.


I'm more a bag girl anyway. But - alas - the same problem! Most bags are not available in Germany. Can you see the little pictures of how the bags look inside and how much space there is?! Why can't German magazines do that?!


How to make good combinations...


...and how the street style looks like theses days. (This article wants to show how to wear items from last autumn this year.)


And there is also a very nice cosmetics section in the MORE. Before I went to Japan for one year I was a typical German girl, who didn't even bother with make up. After Japan (and some very stylish Chinese and Korean girlfriends) that changed and thanks to Japanese magazines like MORE I actually learned how to do it.


And that's because they give you very detailed tutorials on how to make up your face. But I'm not using liquid make up (only very rarely)...


I'm using MAC studio fix powder foundation. Seems like MAC has a new powder foundation out in Japan (it's an Asian-only-edition) with SPF and whitening function. Yes, Asians don't want to get tan, they want to stay pale and get even whiter if possible. I'm really interested in this (I need SPF.), but it is very expensive.


And this is a tutorial on how to make your eyes look bigger. You can see the newest palettes on the market on the right side: yellow brown; pink brown (whatever this is...) and grey brown. The technique is really easy - basically what they teach for Asian-styled eyes everywhere. I use this technique, too, as I have drooping eye lids.


Than there's a section about popular culture: Japanese stars, new movies, new music, new books. Diets and sports, wellness and lifestyle. This is about a (popular?) stylist: What's in her bag (right side - I always love that); favorite places to eat our, what she eats in one day; her hobby (taking pictures - also about the camera she currently uses) and about her work.

Well, I can read Japanese and enjoy this magazine very much. But even my mother - who is a tailor by the way and very interested in fashion - enjoys looking at this magazine over and over again.

I hope you liked this little look at a Japanese fashion magazine. I'll post about the november issue of MORE very soon.

Foxy greetings.

10/9/12

Anticipation








Somehow I'm always amazed how I can look forward to visiting Japan again and again. Every single time it feels like I'm coming back to something I missed so much it almost hurt. There's this yearning inside me that strives back to Japan every time I have to make a decision where to go. Very strange indeed.

On Saturday I'll fly over again. For only 6 days! Think about flying 12 hours one way and then doing that again 6 days later. I was asked by my colleagues if I would also go if it were only two days. To say the truth: I would go anyways, and if only to spent 24 hours on Japanese ground!

So this time I need to be my professional self. No crying at Narita because I'm back in Japan.
Will be hard.

Do you have this yearning for a certain country?

Foxy Greetings!