Jazz up your style with Paperself!

Whilst I was in London, 80% of the compliments I got there were on my tattoos -not real ones because I have none, but the temp ones from the brand called Paperself. Paperself is one of my favourite brands at the moment. They have paper lashes as well as sticker tattoos, worn by Elizabeth Banks and Jennifer Lawrence in the movie The Hunger Games, Rihanna in "Princess of China' music video and Anne Hathaway at SAG awards 2013. They have collaborated with Shu Uemura and Alexander McQueen as well.

On a chilly rainy day in September, I met the founder Chunwei in London. He is originally from Taiwan, but launched Paperself in London with his wife, where they have been based in. Their sense of design is exceptional and delicate which I love, and somewhat fragile.

Their eyelashes are 100% made out of paper, which means they are very lightweight and pretty comfortable to wear. The lashes are super delicate and well-made, which made me ask Chunwei if a lot of lashes get wasted during the manufacturing process. 'Of course, they are easy to break' he replied.

Can you see how detailed the lashes are? Can you believe these lashes are only £12.50 considering how money and time consuming the manufacturing process must be? And he told me that I can wear one pair 2-3 times if I would take care of them carefully.

I am wearing Peonies in the photos above without mascara. You can make it even more gorgeous with mascara or normal false lashes if you want, but I thought I'd go for a simpler look as I do not have the biggest eyes in the world.

They are very easy to apply, unbelievably lightweight and it feels like I am not wearing anything on my lashes. The only thing you must be careful is that the band is pretty thick that it looks better with a black eyeliner to hide it.

You can customise the lashes as well -cut them in small and stuck them on the face with a bit of glue. Or just like Anne Hathaway did on red carpet, you can stuck them on your nails and apply top coat on. You might think these lashes are for special occasions like weddings and parties, but actually they are perfect for daily use.

The lashes are gorgeous, but for me their tattoos are the star products. I was wearing their tattoos nearly every day in London and I received countless compliments. To be honest, I was counting at the beginning (which was 5 from strangers within a couple of hours) but after a few days I stopped trying because it was literally countless. From a stranger sat next to me in the bus to a sales assistant at a shop, and of course my friends as well, they all asked 'Are they real? They look so cool, where can I get them from?'.

One set has two sheets, and you cut them as you like and stuck them with a wet towel on top to secure them. It only takes a minute or two, so I was choosing which tattoo to wear as if I was picking my necklace and earrings. Its lasting power isn't too bad either, some lasted for 4 days or so without fading.

My favourite design is Constellations as it looks elegant yet not too feminine. They just came out with new designs too that you will definitely find your favourite. Their tattoos have got beautiful gold details that reflect lights in such a subtle yet gorgeous way, and they look even more beautiful on the skin.

I like the idea of wearing a small tattoo around the neck and ear which I am going to try this autumn / winter. Their instagram is full of ideas if you don't know how to rock them. Their products are sold at Selfridges, Le Bon Marché and online. Their website has the best variation of the products.

Integrate Snipe Eyeliner in Shiny Sunset

Integrate Snipe Eyeliner in Shiny Sunset  1,026yen
I have been into orange eye makeup for a while. I always though warm toned eyeshadow such as pink and orange would make my eyes look smaller, especially when a winged eyeliner is not involved. But this eyeliner came along and it completely changed my perception.

I had heard a lot of good things about Integrate Snipe Eyeliner, but I had never tried it because I always missed a chance to get their limited shade which comes out occasionally in addition to their basic shades which I had never been interested in; black and brown.

But this time, I didn't miss out! The shade I got is 'Shiny Sunset' which is a beautiful orange shade with a bit of glitter. Its twist-up packaging makes it easy to use it up.

The pencil is very creamy that it glides on when it touches the skin. It doesn't drag the skin which is always a good thing for an eyeliner.

It goes well with a simple makeup like the photos above, or sometimes I wear some peachy and orangey shades on the crease to emphasise the colours. I LOVE how fresh it looks, which might sound a little weird to say considering the fact we are going towards autumn / winter -but I'm going to wear this look all year round!

I also love that this eyeliner is metallic, it catches the light and adds a bit of gorgeous and sophisticated feel to the look. Imagine if it was matte -it would look kind of boring and tacky in my opinion!

I wonder why they don't launch 10 different shades as a permanent collection...they'd sell well for sure! I cannot wait for them to release another limited shade, they have an amazing sense of colour so whatever they'd release, I will buy.

It was launched a couple of months ago but I still spot it here and there in Tokyo, and also available online.

London and I

I've been asking myself whether I should write about this post or not for more than a month. It's not related to beauty, and it's more personal that none of you may be intreated in. But it could be a post that I only can write now -and this kind of feelings and thoughts might fade away as time goes. So I decided to write this post for myself.

London has got a very special power towards me. I did not speak English at all when I was in high school, that I did not even know what the difference is between 'This is a cat' and 'These are cats'. I thought it would be totally OK and always said to my teachers 'I would never leave Japan anyway, I don't need to be able to speak English'.

That completely changed when I was 17. At that point, my life was complete misery -mysterious hives due to stress from school was attacking my whole body that I was scratching my body 24/7 which kept me awake all night. I always had a stomachache, suffering from depression and wishing to disappear. I had no friends, no dream and no hope.  But suddenly, I was completely drawn to John Galliano and his shows. I think it was one of his Dior show I saw on TV that caught my attention. It taught me the existence of fashion shows, and people behind the runway. I immediately started researching about him, but don't forget it was 2001 when computers were not as useful as they are nowadays. I found out he was from the U.K., and he went to Central Saint Martins in London. Though I wanted to become a makeup artist for fashion shows, I dreamt of studying art at Central Saint Martins.

Though he is a complete stranger, and he would never ever get to know my existence, John saved my life. He gave me hope and dream. I stopped worrying about the school I didn't fit in, and started dreaming about the world I'd never been in. School problems seemed such small things, and it gave me confidence that there could be somewhere I could fit in and be comfortable to be in. I started teaching myself English at home, whilst saving money. I was also into Sid Vicious at that point -coincidentally he is from the U.K. too -because of his sad and fragile life story. Though I wasn't interested in its culture, I felt like I had to go to England. It felt like my duty.

As there was no Twitter, YouTube not Snapchat at that point, I was staring at the live streaming of a security camera of a random university in England for hours and hours, dreaming to be one of those students. My dream grew bigger and bigger, that the only thing I was thinking about was England.

In 2003, I graduated high school. I believe it was the happiest day of my life. My sickness was gone completely, and I started gaining weight in a healthy way. I deleted all my 'friends' phone number in my phone, hid all the school materials in the closet, and finally started living my life, dreaming to go to London to study art and makeup, and become a makeup artist for runways. Well, life isn't that easy.

After my graduation, my father's company went bankrupt. We lost everything. We did not even have money to buy food. The bank kicked us out from our own house and sold it to someone else. My father left my mum and I without money and jobs. That's when I decided to give up on my dream of becoming a makeup artist, nor studying in London.

It's been more than 10 years since then. I recently noticed (yes, just recently) that most of the things I find attractive were British -including music, movies, TV series, books and all sorts. I still think about England 24/7. When I wake up in the morning, I think about England. In the train, I think about Big Ben. During a boring meeting, I am picturing how pretty London looks. I don't know what it is about London that keeps me going every single day, like a warm hand gently pushing my back to move forward.

People often ask me 'why London?'. I do not have an answer. I wonder why it wasn't Paris. Or NY, or whatever. I did not choose London, but London called me. And it's never left my side since when I was 17. I wouldn't go into too much detail about the difference between Japanese and British cultures here because that might cause unnecessary debates as some Japanese people like arguing about 'how toxic it is for Japanese people to be westernised'.

All I can say is that some people enjoy living in Japan, and some people feel uncomfortable living there -and I am one of them. When I am in London, I feel so happy that I can find books I am interested in at the book store around the corner. I love the fact I actually enjoy TV -even the adverts. I love how sales assistants at stores are grumpy sometimes -I love that they do not act like robots like they do in Japan. I love how strangers talk to each other. I love how people do not give a damn about other people, but at the same time they'd give up on their seats when they see elderly people standing near them.

Of course there are things I do not like about London -dirty streets, greasy handles in the bus, lack of air conditioner....and the offender who stole my bag last month. But whatever happens, I still prefer being in England. Just being here makes me happy. I am so pleased and proud of myself for saving up and coming here to see if I really like living here or not, and I came to the conclusion I really do like living here despite some negative facts and inconvenience.

London will always be a big part of my life, keep motivating and giving me hopes towards my future.  It is so sad to leave, but I am sure I will be back soon. Until then, I will cherish every moment of my time in London and keep on going.