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Monday, February 15, 2010

My Japanese Dollar Store Haul (and some Valentine's Day pics)

So as I mentioned in my post from yesterday, Mr. G and I went out for the day and hit up several Japanese markets to get some things to make ourselves a yummy sushi dinner for Valentine's Day. We went to Marukai/Daiso (the Japanese dollar store--everything's actually $1.98) and also Mitsuwa and a few other places. And you know I hit up the beauty aisles at every store, so I wanted to share with you what I got!
From Marukai/Daiso (the dollar store where everything's $1.98)

My favorite, favorite cotton puffs! They are sooooo soft and sturdy. Love 'em for nail polish, eye makeup remover and toners.


When I first saw this I was like, "What in the heck? It looks like an ear!" and the tagline at the bottom didn't help me to understand it any better: "The Raid Article of the Nail" Huh? I totally giggled at that translation and of course it made me wonder what they were trying to say. But then I looked closer and I saw that on the side of the plastic there is a little metal strip where you can file your nail. How cool! I became totally obsessed with it and I had to have it after that. I hope it works!

And of course I hit up the nail polish section! From left to right: Winmax New York Pedicure Nail Enamel (shade unknown), LA Colors Nail Lacquer in Lemon Ice, Winmax New York Pedicure Nail Enamel (shade unknown).

Let's start with the Winmax shades. I love how the bottles look like guitars! Also, I've been wanting some micro-glitter top coats to put over my purples and reds, so I was really stoked to find such pretty ones at the dollar store. The purple shade is loaded with plum and multi-colored micro-glitter while the red shade is just pure red multi-glitter. Love! As for Lemon Ice, well I have yet to find a yellow that works for me so I'm hoping that this one does the job because it's tinged with just the slightest drop of green. It's super pretty in person and I can't wait to try it. If any of you already own Lemon Ice, let me know what you think of it!

This is an assortment of nail art brushes and it comes with varying sizes (different thicknesses and lengths) of brushes, which I am hoping will finally enable me to achieve a nail art look that doesn't appear to have been done by a 4-year-old. Fingers crossed.

Next, at Marukai Living, which is more of a home furnishings store but has a HUGE beauty department, I snagged a Japanese version of L'Oreal's Scrublet for $4.98:

A lovely reader informed me that she saw scrublet-type tools on a trip to Asia recently, so I am SO glad I remembered to look for these--and found one at Marukai Living-- because I'm really curious how they perform when compared to my beloved Scrublet. Yes, you don't get a bottle of cleanser with it, but I am intrigued by the shape of this one because--as you can see--it's got a little circular end to it that looks like it will be very helpful in getting into tight areas like the sides of your nose. I'll definitely keep you posted on how it performs.

And now I'd like to share with you a few pics of what we ate last night for Valentine's Day! We made sushi after buying our supplies at Mitsuwa, and while I cannot take credit for actually assembling, rolling or cutting these sushi rolls (Mr. G did all of that--he is awesome at making sushi!) I did cook the rice and cut some of the veggies and make the dynamite sauce, and I also cheered him on while he was making the rolls.

Food Stylist: Mr.G

I LOVE how he styled this plate, and I have to say I am quite impressed with his ability to make sushi, complete with sesame seeds and everything. These were tasty and I actually got a stomach ache because I ate them too fast. I couldn't stop myself.

And for dessert, we ran out of time and didn't make it to the Asian bakeries like we had wanted to, so we grabbed some pastries in a little Valentine's Day display at Mitsuwa, and we also got some frozen treats:

Clockwise from the top: Lychee Sorbet, Milk Land cake rolls, Calpis Ice Bars, Vanilla Dessert Waffles

Let me just say that I was so incredibly excited to see Calpis Ice Bars at Mitsuwa, because I am FREAKING OBSESSED with their milk-flavored soft candy:

"Calpis soft candy makes you happy." YES IT DOES!

I'm eating a piece of this yummy candy as I type this, and I am SO happy to report that the Calpis Ice Bars are just as tasty as the soft candies!

About the other desserts: Mr. G is obsessed with lychee-flavored anything so he picked out the sorbet, and OMG those pastries! The white cake rolls are little pieces of heaven, I tell you! The cake is so light and airy, and the filling is like a creamy, cheese-cake type flavor. YUM. Mr. G picked out the Dessert Waffles and they were pretty darn amazing as well. Little fluffy waffles with a whipped-cream flavored filling.

Whew! That's it for my Valentine's Day report. I hope you enjoyed it! Oh, I almost forgot! In case you were wondering what Mr. G got me for Valentine's Day, while I was getting ready yesterday morning, he took my car and got my oil changed and filled my gas tank. That might not be romantic to some of you, but for me, it was the best gift ever. I hate getting my oil changed, and I hate going to the gas station, so having him do BOTH for me was incredibly romantic and thoughtful. :)

As always, I would love to hear your thoughts, and I'll be back later today with another post and responses to your comments. I hope you had a great weekend, and please feel free to share what you did and/or what you got for Valentine's Day in the comments! I'd love to hear all about it!
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20 comments

  1. awwwwwwwghh all that food looks SO GOOD!! You are so lucky that you live near Japanese/Asian markets that have those items.

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  2. That is so sweet! That sushi looks amazing! My bf and I usually can't afford it, so we should probably learn how to make it too! Let me know if Mr. R has any tips!

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  3. I was wondering if you were still going to review that Princessa palette from December 28th's post?

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  4. It sounds like a great day altogether! You're going to laugh when I say this - I have NEVER HAD sushi. It looks yummy though!

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  5. I bought both those Winmax polishes at the Japanese Dollar store too but have been having a hard time applying them. They seem to take forever to dry. Have you run into the same problem?

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  6. Ahh Daiso...I do love the place, b/c it really remind me of Asian market in Vietnam. Hahaha. Well, at my nearby Daiso, the min price is $1.50. I really think it is pretty cool. Um that nail art brush u bought, I also bought them recently. You know what, it is truly disposable like it said. U cannot really reuse them. After one use, it is difficult to remove the nail polish. Also the bristle fell out, and u lose that pointy tips. At first I thought may be I got a good 2-3 times use, but oh well it is worthless.If u find out a better way to reuse them, help me. I still have the rest untouch.

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  7. Wow your sushi looks so professional! Ha ha - I can never get it to look that great. VERY NICE.

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  8. the sushi looks yum yum!! ^^ I need to get that desserts too..hehe.. seems very delicious!! ^^v

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  9. That sushi is drool-worthy! Yum! And so now you are duty-bound to show us how to use that "raid article for the nails." Seriously. LOL!

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  10. K.Lo: Thank you, honey! Yes, I know I'm very lucky to have a great selection of Asian markets in my city, but with the internet, nothing it impossible to get anymore! (But I know, it's so much more fun to browse the aisles yourself, so I'm sorry if you don't have a market nearby in your town!). xo

    PoorCollegeStudent: OMG, it's SO fun to make your own sushi! I love that you can control exactly what *you* want in your rolls (I like extra, extra avocado in my Cali Rolls). Mr. R says the key is to use the bamboo mat when rolling your sushi. I think there are some YT videos of people making sushi and rolling with a bamboo mat, so definitely check that out and let me know if you have any questions! Also, the number one thing to remember is use short-grain rice (my fave is Calrose) and "sushi rice" if you can find it. Long grain rice will be a disaster. lol. :)

    mnvink: Thank you so much for asking about that! I had forgotten about it, and then I remembered and actually wondered if anyone was still curious to see my thoughts on that palette! I'll try to post it this week. :)

    Denise: Thank you for that. :D xoxo

    Nicole: Honey, WHAT is stopping you? Girl, you NEED some tasty sushi in your life. ASAP! You'll love it! :)

    sith_goddess: Oh, thanks for the heads-up about that. I haven't tried these yet but I will definitely post swatches and a review when I do. I'll keep you posted! :)

    ngocupham: Oh man, what a bummer! Thanks so much for taking the time to let me know about those nail art brushes. What a waste! I am so bummed that you can't reuse them--that is just ridiculous, right? I mean, who wants to go out and keep buying more of those? And it's extremely wasteful too. Wow...now I'm scared to even use them! LOL. Thanks SO much for the info, sweetie! :)

    ndoodles: I just told Mr. R what you said and he said, "Please give her a big, huge thank you from me!" :D xo

    Ceecile: Oh, do you have a Mitsuwa near you? Go and get them ASAP before they take down that V-Day display! lol. :)

    jo.frougal: LOL!!! You got it, honey! ;-) xo

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  11. My roommate says he thinks the nail raid thingy says that it's a nail cleaner. Too much kanji for us to read for sure though. XD

    That sushi looks great! Much prettier than mine ever is, and I bet it tastes great too. Your boyfriend is so talented.

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  12. interesting products. Cool. I'm glad you had a lovely Valentine's Day with your hunny.

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  13. I love Lychees, Lychee Sorbet sounds deelish. Yum :)

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  14. Oh you found that scrub thing!! Its a lil diff from the one I saw, I'll have to check it out. I haven't been to Daiso since they raised they're prices. Awaiting your review for the Tresemme dry shampoo..I love my Batiste.

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  15. Hana: WOW, thank you so much for taking the time to have your roomie translate that package! lol. Very interesting... :) Oh and my boyfriend says, "THANK YOU!!" xo

    Susie: Awww, thank you SO much for that! :)

    Mz. More: I'm so glad we're not alone in our "lychee love"! lol! xo

    Lisa: YES! And I found this one at Marukai Living (I wish it was a Daiso though, because it would have been much cheaper!). Did your Daiso have something like this though? I scoured the aisle and couldn't find anything even remotely similar. :( Oh, and I hope you saw my dry shampoo review--it looks like I might be sticking to Batiste after all. :(

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  16. thanks all to you i recently paid a visit to Marukai and I LOVE IT. My new favorite 3 stores!!! That grocery part is a ton of fun, I picked up those dessert waffles and cake rolls YUM! haha and all that candy is soo fun to look at! The living store is so interesting (but very expensive) but i couldn't find the "scrublet" type thing the last time i visited. ): The dollar store is seriously my new favorite store EVER. they have a lot of cool nail stuff and SO many cute containers/organizers that are perfect for nail and makeup collections. Thank you so so much!!! (:

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  17. ever had the calpis drink? so yummy!

    it's labeled as calpico though, american minds... haha.

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  18. Are the cotton puffs like cotton balls/swisspers? If so, I have GOT to find some! I've used Shiseido Facial Cotton but it's too expensive to get all the time!

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  19. Sorry to double-post, I wanted to check the box for "email follow-up comments" and it didn't pop up the first time I posted!
    Are the cotton puffs like cotton balls/swisspers? If so, I have GOT to find some! I've used Shiseido Facial Cotton but it's too expensive to get all the time!

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