My Japanese Toothpaste overview review

So as I mentioned on my Facebook page, I will be writing a short review on the toothpastes I currently use (yes, I use 3 toothpastes). All the toothpastes mentioned below are all "white"

Sunstar Ora2 Stain Clear 130ml

After using this toothpaste for 2 months I have noticed how much whiter my teeth have gotten. It really removes stains. It does a fairly good job cleaning my teeth... but I'm most impressed by it's stain removing power. Don't expect IMMEDIATE results... but you will notice the difference in the long run.

Another advantage is that there are many cool tastes... since I am a huge peach fan... I choose peach leaf mint. It really has a nice peachy mint taste... caution: do not swallow toothpaste! XD

back of Sunstar's Ora2 Stain Clear toothpaste

Lion クリニカ Advantage 130ml

Good for cleaning! Every time I finish using this toothpaste, I can't but notice just how smooth my teeth feel. They have a squeaky clean feeling. This toothpaste claims to get rid of plaque, gets rid of Gingivitis gum disease by killing bacteria and prevents bacteria from forming, and it also prevents the deposition of "tar tar"

This toothpaste has a citrus minty flavour mixed with a slight salty flavour (similar to baking soda toothpaste... minus the baking soda effect). There are small salty crystal pieces contained in this toothpaste... so remember to rinse until you are sure there isn't any of this toothpaste left.

back of Lion's Advantage toothpaste

Lion エチクットBreath Communication/ Etiquette 130ml

This is the perfect toothpaste if you want to get rid of morning breath (for up to 5 hours). I use this toothpaste every time I have a meeting or when I'm going to work because it gets rid of bad breath for hours (the average is about 5 hours).

The mint isn't overpowering but it is very magical, once you spit out toothpaste you can instantly tell your breathe smells good... there isn't a strong mint after taste but the bad breath is all gone! :D

back of Lion's Breath Communication/Etiquette toothpaste

Let me know if you come across any good toothpaste :P

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Dolci Cafe SILKREAM Cafe review

Hey my lovely sugar plums!

I am so sorry for being M.I.A. for such a long time... don't worry, I haven't abandoned this blog... I have just been occupied :( if you miss me, please follow me on my FB where I update every day (after all... writing posts are much quicker than full reviews).

anywayz, here's my review of this place:

Dolci Cafe Silkream Soft Service Ice Cream

How many times do we past by gems only to discover them when we are being told? "ME!" ... I was introduced to Ice Cream place by a friend and it has been one of my favourite ice cream places in Shibuya... errr... in Tokyo ever since. 

The exterior is modest and easy to miss... how I remember this place is that it is right underneath T.G.I. Friday's (Shibuya). It's actually quite embarrassing to say that I pass by this place EVERY week... and dined at T.G.I. Friday's for... 1, 2, 3... err.... many times... but I didn't notice this place AT ALL!

interior of Dolci Cafe

The interior is really nice... I forgot to take a picture, but there are a lot of Moomin decorations placed around the cafe. The interior reminds me of a relaxing western cafe located in the outskirts of town. When I'm in here, I forget I am in the busy parts of Shibuya... it's the perfect place to relax and refresh yourself.

Besides, their main ingredients are from Hokkaido.

menu

They have an incredibly small menu selection... it was either coffee with ice cream or ice cream with difference sauces (e.g. strawberry sauce), drinks, crepes... they do have some pastas... but who wants that? :P (just kidding). We both decided on Cremia with Langue de Chat Cone. It is one of their (or rather, only) signature dishes! 

There is even a drink set (not written on the menu)... if you added ¥300 , you can choose a coffee, orange juice or tea (regular price is ¥500-600).

Their pastas are more reasonably priced.

we watched as our ice creams were being made and prepared

To be honest completely honest, this place is slightly pricey. If you are looking for a quick snack before dinner, I wouldn't recommend you to eat ice cream here. One of the reasons why it is a bit more pricier than most ice cream places is because of the relaxing environment it provides so you can relax.

¥820/ice cream

impressions:

• very creamy
• melts very fast
• very filling
• cone is so tasty!

The Ice Cream was SO GOOD!... it actually reminded me of the Ice Cream I had in Hong Kong at Sweet House Cha Cha.They both taste so similar... but this one melts faster than the one in HK... I don't know why.

After trying the cone, I can tell immediately that this cone was made (and not bought in bulks). It was very crispy (and luckily not warm). It slightly melted in your mouth. It had a crispiness of a waffle cone yet the taste of a sugar cone! (I really liked the cone). It was perfectly paired with the ice cream.

here's our Cremia ice cream!! 

I loved the atmosphere, you can even choose where to sit (during their less busy hours) and each place: Living Room, Dining Room and Terrace are all slightly unique. (I was sitting in the Living Room, if you were wondering). The living room was nice a cozy :).

Address: 東京都渋谷区神南1-19-3 ハイマンテン神南ビル1F

Hours: 11:00am - 9:00pm

Score: 8/10 (really great ice cream but a bit on the pricey side)

Website: http://www.nissei-com.co.jp/silkream/sp/index.jsp

Daiso's Socks Glue review

sock glue from Daiso

Sock Glue.. is it a gimmick or does it really work?

A few years ago (when I was still studying Japanese), my Sensei (or professor) told us about a product called Sock Glue, he explained that in Japan, female students are required to wear knee high socks as part of their uniform, but sometimes and very often... their socks will fall. In order to prevent this from happening, Japanese companies decided to create a product which will glue the socks on their legs so that their socks won't fall (cool product huh?).

Because of this information, I was fascinated about this product to this day. One day, while I was shopping at Daiso, ta-da, I found it! It was only ¥100 so I got it... 

I decided to test it out...  I tried them for my knee high socks and some camisoles (I sometimes find them a bit too revealing). I was excited...

BUT... it didn't exactly work...

firstly, it felt like glue for paper... just as thin and just as watery... 

secondly, you need a lot of it... you literally have to soak the fabric with it or else it wouldn't even stick... the fabric kept absorbing all the glue... so it was difficult to stick it on your skin. 

thirdly, because your skin "moves", this causes the glue to loosen its grip and end up peeling off all together with your fabric (sock/camisole).

unfortunately this was a great idea... but it didn't work at all... absolutely disappointed...

score: 1/10... (I guess it is a good glue for paper...)

classified: GIMMICK
website: no website

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ツバキ ダメージケアウオーター (さらさら) Tsubaki Damage Care Water Review

bottle designed by Mika Ninagawa

To celebrate Tsubaki's 10th Anniversary, they have created a shampoo/conditioner/damage care water set with a Japanese photographer: Mika Ninagawa. The bottles and bag were designed by her. The price was very reasonable: ¥1080 for the whole set! So obviously, I got the set. 

I have not heard of Damage Care water before... I have only heard of hair spray, hair serum and hair oil. So this was definitely an interesting product for me. 

Country: Made in Japan

Brand: Tsubaki (parent company: Shiseido)

Amount: 220mL

instructions and ingredients

To be honest, I was a bit skeptical using this product because it has a strong  Tsubaki shampoo smell... I was afraid there were a lot of chemicals inside... and... I was right... I was a bit surprised as how a product with such a simple name have so many chemicals >___<.

Nonetheless... I still gave this product a try. I tried to avoid my scalp area because I didn't want all these chemicals to sit on my scalp for long periods of time (e.g. 24 hours).

Tsubaki's Damage Care Water has two types: 1. Rustling and 2. Moist. Since I wasn't familiar with Damage Care Waters, I decided to follow the shampoo options which suited my needs... I chose the Volume Touch set (purple coloured). They paired this set with the Rustling Damage Care Water.

instructions:

1. after washing hair, towel dry

• (this product can also be used to dry hair)

1. point spray 5-10 cm from your hair and spray
2. after spraying brush and let hair dry (you may also use a hair dryer)

(other instructions are how to open the product and remove the safety plug)

ingredients, country of origin, amount

impressions:

• strong aroma
• very light
• did not irritate my scalp or skin
• made my hair easier to manage (less tangles)
• literally "repaired" my hair
• only took 1 use to feel and see the effects

I was definitely impressed and surprised with this product! Seriously!! it works!!! Despite the strong scent... I love this! It didn't irritate my scalp and somehow made it easier to dry my hair (even air drying time was significantly less).

score: 9/10

website: http://www.shiseido.co.jp/sw/products/SWFG070410.seam?shohin_pl_c_cd=693202&online_shohin_ctlg_kbn=1 (Japanese)

iRemax Proda Power Bank review

20000mAh Power Box

I'm quite surprised I couldn't find any reviews of this Power Bank anywhere! Anywayz, this will be the first one then :P

I have been using Power Banks for over 4 years, so I think I am quite qualified to do a review... and to determine whether a Power Bank is good or not.

some information at the back of the package

They specifically indicated that this product was Designed in Hong Kong and Made in China.

I would assume that most of you (my loyal readers and friends) would not have heard of this brand or this Power Bank (unless you came to my page through a Search Engine like Yahoo or Google, of course). 

In fact, I have never heard of this brand and because of the bad reputation that Chinese Power Banks have built up, I would never consider buying a Power Bank that is made in China (my other power banks were made in Thailand or Hong Kong).

contents included in package

I was introduced to this brand by my friend. One day, while I was eating with my friends, my Nexus 6 (I blame Marshmallow, Android 6.0.1 for this tragedy) ran out of battery (as in zero). To my luck, I forgot to charge my Power Bank and thus I couldn't use my phone. 

My friend then told me about her Power Bank that she got in China... and that I could use it (everyone at the table started their negative comments and what they heard on the news). But my friend explained that this one was different. 

1. It was designed in Hong Kong, 
2. The Power Bank was Long lasting 
3. It charges phones fast *
4. It did not explode on her, and she has been using it for 3-4 years. 
5. It is apparently famous for those who always have to take pictures on their phones (for work).

*For the 3rd point... just to give you a feel of how fast it charges... (according to Google my Nexus 6 has a 3220mAh battery) it only took 45 mins for my phone's battery to recover to 55%! (my other power banks take at least 2 hours to get to that range). I was amazed!

information about this Power Bank

I quickly asked my friend for the details... but unfortunately, she said she bought it in China, in a store... she didn't even know the brand. so I took her power bank and took pictures of it. I went online and found it (I actually found this quite troublesome... I went online, got their contact details, their "customer service" was not helpful). I later found out that my friend's PowerBank has been discontinued and Proda is the newer range. Long story short, I finally found it on tvc-mall.com. You can also buy it on alibaba.com (as suggested by their representative). I asked them and TVC Mall is their certified seller. (while searching for this product, I learned that there are fake/replicas of this product... so be careful when purchasing.

LCD indicator, it looks like mirror when it is turned off

I was happy when this FINALLY arrived... I was desperate for a Power Bank!!I was quite happy when I got it. The packaging and the product both felt very authentic. The Power Bank was easy to hold. I couldn't wait to use it immediately. (there was 44% of power in the Power Bank). It was a little heavy... (because the battery capacity is so big). The LCD was very clear (see picture below) and it looked like a mirror when it isn't on. I was quite disappointed there was no wall charger included... how do we charge it???

the outlets there are 2 USB output and 1 input

pros:

• easy to grip and hold (fits in your hand so well)
• considerably light (it is 20 000mAh) according to the mailing label = 0.420KG
• easy to fit in purse
• charges my phone fast! (almost as fast as my phone wall charger)
• indicator of percentage left, so I know how much power is remaining in bank
• very cheap and affordable
• large capacity and very sturdy
• 2 usb outlets (you can charge 2 devices at the same time)

cons:

• no wall charger included
• cannot charge and be charged at the same time
• takes a long time to be fully charged (I use a turbo charger and it takes me a whole night to get it fully charged!)
• need to push "power button" to start charging

power button: you can turn on the device, check how much battery is left and turn on/off the light

One of my biggest disappoints is that it cannot charge devices while being charged. This REALLY sucks!! This is supposed to be a new and improved product (it was launched in March 2016) I am absolutely disappointed...

Another one of my disappointments is that I need to press the power button in order for the Power Bank to charge my device... this does not make any sense to me...

bright light

Overall, I am happy with this purchase. 1. It is so cheap! 2. It charges my phone fast. 3. It feels very durable. 

where I bought this Power Bank (product link): www.tvc-mall.com

I will do a review on shopping at www.tvc-mall.com soon

score: 8/10
website: http://www.iremax.hk/index.php?type=detail&channel=product&lang=en&id=3707


also... if you are interested, please check out my personal blog and follow me around Tokyo :)

Japanese version of North American Chocolate bar snacks [review]

Aero, Crispy Crunch and KitKat

Hey Everyone!

I hope you are all great!! I hope you all have been following me on Facebook where I do short reviews and updates! Sometimes certain products are quite hard to write full reviews on, so I would just give a short simple review on my Facebook page.

Aero:

Because of the square-ish shape and larger size, this Japanese version of Aero forced me to bite into the chocolate instead of letting it melt like the North American version. It does maintain it's taste but there is a weird sugary residue left in your mouth after you have indulged the chocolate. But, it did have Aero's special bubbly feeling when it was  partially "melting".

I might be biased, but I prefer the Canadian/North American version because it was smaller and easier to melt in my mouth. It also did not leave a weird sugary residue.

score: 5/10

Crunch:

This was the best out of these 3! There were lots of rice crisps in each piece and they made the chocolate so much more exciting and flavourful. The texture was very "crispy". Since there were more rice crisps, the flavour was more rice "cakey" and less chocolate. Either way, it was tasty!

I prefer the Japanese version to the American/Canadian version because there were a lot more rice bits.

score: 9.5/10

KitKat:

quite disappointed... I see why the Japanese KitKat company is always innovating new Kitkats (e.g. roasted KitKat, Matcha Kitkat, Sake Kitkat... etc.) because their original Kitkat kind of taste bad...

The North American version is SOOOOOOOO much better... compared to the Japanese version, the North American version is filled with a creamy layer of sweet milk chocolate whereas the Japanese original Kitkat has a weird bitter cocoa taste (not dark chocolate kind of cococa...) that makes it taste bad... the lack of milk taste in the chocolate also adds to bad taste (cocoa does not have a strong taste either).

score: 7/10

It was definitely interesting trying these 3 candy bars in Japan. When I found them, I didn't expect them to taste any different from the North American versions... I thought they were the same... however, my tastebuds told me I was wrong. The next time I head back to North America... I am definitely stocking up on Kitkats and Aeros!

website: http://nestle.jp/brand/