I write something on my blog to improve my English skill.
"Affiliate Disclosure: This page contains affiliate links. As Amazon Associate and eBay Partner Network affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases."
How often do you take a bath? You probably know that Japanese people take a bath every night before sleeping. Soaking in a bathtub relieves your tired body, and it makes you relax and sleepy. Because Japanese people know there are so many health benefits of a bath, soaking in a bathtub is the most important time of a day for them.
These are health benefits of a bath.
・increase blood circulation
・relieve suffering from sensitivity to cold temperatures
・heal your tiredness
・relieve arthritis pain
・relieve back pain
・improve skin conditions such as eczema, acne, chapped skin and frostbite
Indeed, when I stay at my parents' home in Japan, I take a bath and use Japanese bath additives (powder / tablet / liquid) every single night. They always stock two to four kinds of them in their bathroom and enjoy choosing one every night.(This is actually typical. Japanese people do this every night.) Regardless of age and sex, using Japanese bath additives is common in Japan. That's why you can find so many kinds of bath products at drugstores, convenience stores and etc. Since I was little, I have tried so many Japanese bath additive products in Japan. Today, I'm going to share with you top 5 most popular bath additive brands in Japan. All products listed below are ones you can find any drugstore in Japan, so if you are planning on visiting Japan, I highly recommend to get these there.
1. Bab (バブ)
Bab is bath tablets made by Kao Corporation, which is one of huge chemical and cosmetic companies in Japan. Bab was first released in 1983 and has been long-selling bath products in Japan. As soon as you soak the tablet in hot water, it starts releasing carbon dioxide which increases blood circulation and relieves your tired body. Because of Bab, effervescent bath additives became very popular in Japan. Bab Forest (バブ 森の香り)
This Bab Forest has relaxing woody scents and has green color.
2. Bath Roman (バスロマン)
Bath Roman is bath powder made by Earth Chemical Corporation. Bath Roman was first released in 1964. I really like Bath Roman because they are so affordable and have so many products I can choose from.
4. Tabino Yado (旅の宿) Tabino Yado is bath powder made by Kracie. I often find these bath powder at my parents' home because some of our relatives send these bath powder as Japanese traditional year-end gifts. These bath powder includes specific hot spring agents, so you can choose your favorite Japanese hot spring every night. :) Tabino Yado Hot Springs Milky Bath Salts (旅の宿 にごり湯シリーズパック 十和田・奥飛騨・霧島・ 信州白骨)
5. Bathclin (バスクリン) Bathclin is bath powder made by Bathclin Corporation. Bathclin was first relased in 1930 and has been long selling product. I sometimes call "bathclin" as a term of general bath powder.
Last Sunday, my husband and I went to Starbucks to have their cold drinks. When I got our orders, I fell in love with these summer cold cups! These were the coolest and cutest cups I've ever seen at Starbucks! I'm going to share new Starbucks summer cold cups with you.
This is a venti cup and has pictures of four pairs of sunglasses.
Starbucks 2015 Summer Venti Cold Cup : Four Pairs of Sunglasses
The grande cup features an electric fan.
Starbucks 2015 Summer Grande Cold Cup : An Electric Fan
The tall cup has a picture of a green and white polka dot flip flop!
Starbucks 2015 Summer Tall Cold Cup : A Polka Dot Flip Flop
I enjoyed having cold drinks with their new summer cups. They also have trenta-sized cups, which I haven't gotten yet, and features a boom box.! I would like to have a trenta-sized drink next time. :))
When I was 15 in Japan, I met a woman who had very beautiful skin. Her skin looked 20's, but her actual age was around 40 at that time. I asked her how she could keep her skin looked so younger. She told me that the most important things to keep your skin healthy was minimizing skin damage while washing your face. Since then, I have been doing as she advised to me, and I am glad that I haven't usually had skin problems such as acne for many years. I would like to thank her. :) Today, I'm going to share with you two important things I learned from her for face washing.
1. Wash your face with plenty of lather.
If you directly put your facial cleanser onto your skin and rubbing, it might irritate your skin. Japanese people believe that washing your face without rubbing is the most gentle way to clean your face, so women in Japan prefer to wash their face with plenty of lather. In this way, you don't have to put facial cleanser on your face directly. I highly recommend using a Japanese foaming net to create fine lather. It's quick and easy to get plenty of lather. With using a facial net, you can foam up with bit of cleansing product, so you don't have to use excess amount of it. Using less amount of cleanser is also gentle to the skin.
2. Rinse thoroughly
If you wash your face with lather, it's much easier to rinse it off. However, you should still take enough time to rinse your face thoroughly. The woman I mentioned above told me that she always rinsed her face at least 50 times at a time. She told me that rinsing your face perfectly was the most important thing to keep your skin healthier. Even when it seems I rinse it good enough, I continue to rinse and try to take enough time for it. As you might know, leaving cleansing product on your skin will irritate your skin until you completely rinse off all cleanser.
These are my favorite Japanese beauty products to wash my face. When I visit Japan, I always purchase these products. If you are planning on visiting Japan, you should check them out. :)
Japanese Foaming Net
I usually purchase it for about 100 yen at Daiso or Muji in Japan. You can use any type of facial cleaning products such as soap and liquid.
Shiseido Perfect Whip Facial Cleansing
I usually purchase it for about 400 yen at drugstores in Japan. You can create very thick lather with it. :) If you use a Japanese foaming net to foam up this product, it's perfect!
As I mentioned in my previous entry, I bought a bunch of organic carrots and cooked the carrot leafy green tops. I shared how to cook deep-fried carrot leaves in that entry. Today, I am going to share with you how to cook savory carrot stem miso paste, which is perfect with rice. I referred this recipe on Cookpad.com, a huge Japanese recipe site. The carrot stems are high in fiber, so you will need a food processor to grind them.
Savory Carrot Stem Miso Paste
Ingredients
2 cups of carrot stems
1 tablespoon of miso
1 tablespoon of mirin
1 egg
1. Process carrot stems until finely-ground in a food processor.
2. Heat the oil in a pan. Saute the carrot stems until well cooked.
3. Add miso and mirin. Stir them.
4. Add egg and stir them until cooked. It should take about 30 seconds.
I have been making Greek iced coffee, Frappe Coffee, for weeks now. Today, I recorded some videos to share how to make it with you in my future video. I will edit them and upload my new video next week. :)
Today, I bought a bunch of organic carrots at my local supermarket. The carrots had leafy green tops, and the tops smelled like crown daisy leaves, which is one of my favorite vegetable. :) That's why I decided to cook them tonight. I searched how to cook them on Cookpad, a huge Japanese recipe site. I made deep-fried carrot leaves and carrot stem miso paste. Actually, they turned out so delicious side dishes. I'm going to share with you how to cook delicious deep-fired carrot leaves today. I referred to this recipe on Cookpad. (Next time, I will share how to cook carrot green stems with you. :))
These are deep-fired carrot leaves which I cooked today. They were so crisply. :)
Delicious Deep-Fried Carrot Leaves
Ingredients
4 cups of carrot leafy green tops
1/3 cup of potato starch
17 years ago, I often listened to this song, MMMBop by Hanson, in Japan. I don't remember why I knew this song and where I listened to it, but I think this song was used in some TV commercials as background music in Japan. A few days ago, I watched their music video on YouTube for my first time, and I was really surprised at how young they were! This song has been so familiar to me for many years, but I didn't know they were so young when this song was released in 1997. Moreover, I didn't know that the members of this band, Hanson, were brothers!
Lyrics
Oh oh oh oh oh Yeah
You have so many relationships in this life Only one or two will last You go through all the pain and strife Then you turn your back and they're gone so fast Oh yeah And they're gone so fast, yeah
Oh So hold on the ones who really care In the end they'll be the only ones there And when you get old and start losing your hair Can you tell me who will still care Can you tell me who will still care? Oh care
[Chorus] Mmmbop, ba duba dop Ba du bop, ba duba dop Ba du bop, ba duba dop Ba du, yeah Mmmbop, ba duba dop Ba du bop, ba du dop Ba du bop, ba du dop Ba du, yeah
Said oh yeah In an mmmbop they're gone Yeah yeah
Plant a seed, plant a flower, plant a rose You can plant any one of those Keep planting to find out which one grows It's a secret no one knows It's a secret no one knows Oh, no one knows
[Chorus]
In an mmmbop they're gone In an mmmbop they're not there In an mmmbop they're gone In an mmmbop they're not there Until you lose your hair Oh But you don't care, yeah
[Chorus]
Can you tell me? oh No you can't 'cause you don't know Can you tell me? oh yeah You say you can but you don't know Can you tell me? oh (Which flower's going to grow?) No you can't 'cause you don't know Can you tell me? (If it's going to be a daisy or a rose?) You say you can but you don't know Can you tell me? oh (Which flower's going to grow?) No you can't 'cause you don't know Can you tell me? You say you can but you don't know You say you can but you don't know You don't know You don't know, oh
Mmmbop, duba Du bop, du Yeah, yeah Mmmbop, duba Du bop, du Oh yeah
[Chorus: x2]
Can u tell me? oh No you can't 'cause you don't know Can you tell me? You say you can but you don't know Say you can but you don't know
Did you know Charcoal has a lot of health benefits? In Japan, charcoal is used many ways. Charcoal has numerous pores which absorb bad odors and chemical. While I was living in Japan, I used Binchotan, which is a traditional charcoal of Japan, to make delicious rice. I put Binchotan, water and rice in my rice cooker. Then, I simply cooked rice. Because charcoals absorb odor from rice and water, you can make truly delicious rice. :) Charcoal is also good for skin and is used as cleansing products. Because charcoal absorbs dirt from pores, you can get very clean skin by using it. When I lived in Japan, I also used some charcoal soap, shampoo and etc. Charcoal beauty products are pretty popular in Japan, and many cosmetic manufactures make those. If you go to drugstores in Japan, you can easily find charcoal soap. :) Today, I searched the most popular charcoal soap in Japan. I'm going to share top 5 most popular Japanese charcoal soaps with you. By the way, I also recommend using Japanese foaming net, which I believe most Japanese women use, to foam up your facial cleansing soap. :)
Last weekend, my husband and I went to the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf to have their Ice Blended Drink during their happy hour. All Ice Blended Drinks have been 1/2 off through 3 to 5 p.m.
The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf Happy Hour!
We wanted to try their Original Mocha Ice Blended Drink to know how different between this and Starbucks Mocha Frappuccino. This drink was very creamy and had less coffee taste than Starbucks one. It was like I was eating delicious mocha ice cream. :)
The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf Original Mocha Ice Blended Drink
While we were relaxing and having the drink there, a small black bird, male Brewer's Blackbird, came flying to our next table. We also enjoyed watching adorable birds there. :)
Since last year, I've often listened to this song, All About That Bass by Meghan Trainor, because some famous YouTubers use this song as background music in their videos. This song is so catchy and lingers in my ears. :)
Lyrics
Because you know I'm all about that bass, 'Bout that bass, no treble I'm all 'bout that bass, 'bout that bass, no treble I'm all 'bout that bass, 'bout that bass, no treble I'm all 'bout that bass, 'bout that bass
Yeah it's pretty clear, I ain't no size two But I can shake it, shake it like I'm supposed to do 'Cause I got that boom boom that all the boys chase All the right junk in all the right places I see the magazines working that Photoshop We know that shit ain't real Come on now, make it stop If you got beauty beauty just raise 'em up 'Cause every inch of you is perfect From the bottom to the top Yeah, my momma she told me don't worry about your size She says, boys they like a little more booty to hold at night You know I won't be no stick-figure, silicone Barbie doll, So, if that's what's you're into Then go ahead and move along
Because you know I'm all about that bass, 'Bout that bass, no treble I'm all 'bout that bass, 'bout that bass, no treble I'm all 'bout that bass, 'bout that bass, no treble I'm all 'bout that bass, 'bout that bass
I'm bringing booty back Go ahead and tell them skinny bitches Hey No, I'm just playing I know you think you're fat, But I'm here to tell you that, Every inch of you is perfect from the bottom to the top Yeah, my momma she told me don't worry about your size She says, boys they like a little more booty to hold at night You know I won't be no stick-figure, silicone Barbie doll,
So, if that's what's you're into Then go ahead and move along
Because you know I'm all about that bass, 'Bout that bass, no treble I'm all 'bout that bass, 'bout that bass, no treble I'm all 'bout that bass, 'bout that bass, no treble I'm all 'bout that bass, 'bout that bass
Because you know I'm all about that bass, 'Bout that bass, no treble I'm all 'bout that bass, 'bout that bass, no treble I'm all 'bout that bass, 'bout that bass, no treble I'm all 'bout that bass, 'bout that bass
Because you know I'm all about that bass, 'Bout that bass, no treble I'm all 'bout that bass, 'bout that bass, no treble I'm all 'bout that bass, 'bout that bass, no treble I'm all 'bout that bass, 'bout that bass
Have you ever tried Japanese hair care products? I lived in Japan for most of my life and tried so many Japanese beauty products there. I used Japanese deep conditioning hair mask once a week in Japan. My dry and frizzy hair improved a lot by using them. Because nearly 99% of population of Japan are Japanese, many Japanese hair care products are perfect for Asians and people who have black hair like me.When I stayed at my parents' home in Japan a year ago, I used Lux deep conditioner, which was at their bath room, for the first time in years. I was very impressed that it really worked. Lux was actually one I used to often use in Japan before moving to U.S., but I completely forgot how great it was until then!
Today, I searched the highly rated Japanese deep conditioning hair mask products on @cosme, a huge Japanese cosmetic review site. These products listed below are so popular in Japan, and indeed, I have used these before and really liked all. :) All of them can be purchased at drugstores in Japan, so if you are planning on visiting Japan, you should check them out there. Anyway, I am going to share top 5 Japanese deep conditioning hair mask products with you. (You might also like my previous entries, The Best Japanese Shampoo & Conditioner & The Best Japanese Hair Dryer)
These days, I have often made frappe coffee, which is a Greek foam-covered iced coffee drink made from instant coffee. It's so creamy and good! I will share how to make it with you on YouTube video weeks later. :)
I think many women have too much makeup than they really need. I am not an exception and admit that I am not able to use up all my makeup before it goes bad. As you might know, some makeup has PAO symbol, the period-after-opening symbol, which identifies the useful lifetime of a cosmetic product after its package has been opened for the first time. If you look at the symbol, you know when you should throw away your makeup.
However, some makeup doesn't have PAO symbol. According to FDA, cosmetics are not required to have an expiration date. A cosmetic product may go bad if you store it the wrong way like if it is unsealed or in a place that is too warm or too moist. Needless to say, you cannot keep your makeup for good even if it doesn't have the PAO symbol. I'm going to share when to throw away expired makeup.
1. When Your Makeup Is Separating
Is your lip gloss gooey? Is your liquid foundation separated? If so, it has definitely gone bad, and you need to toss it now.
2. When Your Makeup Has A Funny Smell
You should smell your makeup once in a while. When your makeup starts smelling different, it's time to throw it away.
3. When Your Makeup Is Discolored
If your makeup color has changed, it's trash. You should get rid of it now.
Makeup Lifespan
Mascara : 3 months
Liquid Eyeliner : 3 months
Facial Moisturizer : 6 months
Liquid Foundation : 6 to 12 months
Lip Balm, Lipsticks and Lip Gloss : 6 to 18 months
