2022 Drama Recap

See below for a list of the tv shows I watched and remembered from 2022 (aka the year Covid became endemic):

1. Silent Sea
2. Extraordinary Attorney Woo
3. Old Enough!
4. Singles Inferno (Season 1)
5. Because this is My First Life
6. All of Us are Dead
7. The World of the Married
8. Anatomy of a Scandal
9. Alchemy of Souls (Part 1)
10. Bridgerton (Season 2)
11. Kim’s Convenience (Season 5)
12. Light The Night (Parts 2 & 3)
13. Derry Girls (Season 3)
14. Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life
15. The Empress
16. Royal Feast / 尚食
17. Love like the Galaxy / 星汉灿烂
18. Fighting Youth / 正青春
19. A Dream of Splendor / 梦华录
20. Mom, Don’t Do That! / 媽，別鬧了！
21. House of the Dragon (Season 1)
22. Rings of Power (Season 1)
23. Wednesday (Season 1)
24. Sh**ting Stars

Cosme Nippon Sheet Mask Review (400th post!)

Recently got the Japanese @cosme nippon root vegetables sheet mask (in carrot) to try for free from my sister!

This 10 pack comes in a resealable bag, so it's more eco-friendly, but possibly less hygienic than the usual 1 sheet-mask  per pack...

You're only suppose to leave this sheet mask on for 5 minutes!! Any longer and you might feel get tingly skin.

This face mask delivers serum, but I still applied my night time serum and lotion  afterwards since my room is dry.

I wouldn't repurchase, even though the formula was hydrating, because the mask was too small for my face. For example, the eye holes of this mask touched the corners of my eyes!

There's also no expiration date on the packaging, so I will try to use up this bag ASAP to avoid contaminants.

Shop here for free delivery

Shop here for a lower price

KITAO 1919 Skincare Review

I purchased these Kitao Matcha & Chia skincare products from my local Ulta, because (1) they were on-sale 😅, (2) I wanted to try more Japanese skincare brands, and (3) I needed a new essence and face cream. Learn more about their specific matcha here

Kitao Matcha & Chia Cleansing Cream - A white cream that's applied to dry skin first and then washed off with water. Didn't strip my skin.

Kitao Matcha & Chia Essence Lotion - Clear in colour, smells good, and absorbs quickly.

Kitao Matcha & Chia Facial Cream - Skin changer! I applied this white colour and light scented cream, and woke up with plump and bright skin.

My fave product from this set is the face cream; I already bought a second jar for back-up!

  Main con is the cheap plastic and cardboard packaging. But this may make the product easier to clean and recycle *shrugs*

Learn more about the Kitao brand here

2021 Drama Recap

COVID19 continues to ravage our earth, even with multiple vaccines and boosters. Therefore, I continued to watch tv shows while I work-from-home! 

I've ranked the ones I watched in 2021 below (#1 being my fave!)

1. Alice in Borderland Season 1 -  Mind boggling Japanese drama adapted from a manga. Main characters play games with their lives in order to survive in an alternate realm.
   
2. Sweet Home Season 1 - Loaded with jump scares and frightening monsters, as modern South Korea turns apocalyptic.
3. Royal Nirvana / 鹤唳华亭 and Special/别云间 (2019) - Hella depressing Chinese historical drama that made me weep due to its portrayal of complex relations, e.g. father-son; daughter-father, etc.  
4. The Devil Judge - Dystopian South Korea is full of corruption and only Ji Sung's cheekbones can save 'em!
5. Rebel Princess / 上阳赋 - Zhang Ziyi's first tv drama, enuff said
   
6. Mr. Queen - Hilarious time traveling Korean historical drama with a gender-bending twist. 
7. The Great Season 2 - Historically inaccurate, but hilarious with charismatic cast and colorful costumes.
   
8. Marvelous Women / 当家主母 - Historic Chinese women deliver strong feminist message
   
9. Mine - Korean drama about the scandals and secrets of rich/chaebol family
10. Only Murders in the Building -  Original Hulu show with funny cast and intriguing murder mystery plot
    
11. Brooklyn Nine-Nine Season 8 - Last season of this adorable comedic cop show
12. Steven Universe  Seasons 3-4 - Cartoon involving whimsical characters and a save-the-world plot
    
13. Vincenzo / 빈센조 - I watched it because it's Song Joongki's first drama post-divorce. I kept watching, because of its dramatic and comedic characters, but it was hard to binge, due to some ridiculous plot twists.
    
14. Squid Game - Indebted people play traditional Korean games with their lives for a chance to win money.
15. Hellbound - Very confusing South Korean drama about death prophecies
    
16. Song of Youth / 玉楼春-  Long historical Chinese drama centered on a large family and revenge.
17. Light the Night Season 1 - Taiwanese murder mystery drama on Netflix starring Ruby Lin
    
18. Hospital Playlist Season 1 -  South Korean drama set in modern day (sans COVID19 pandemic) about a groups of doctors who have known each other since medical school and start a band after hours.
    
19. Bridgerton Season 1 - Set in 1800s London, this Gossip Girl-esque drama provides excessive sex scenes and historical inaccuracies. 
20. Court Lady / 骊歌行 - Promising cast and story, but ruined with crazy sub-lots and abrupt editing/scene transitions.
21.  Street Dance of China Season 4 - Some of my fave dancers (e.g. Gumball) didn't make it far, and the winner disappointed me, again!
    

Jump below to see which shows I started, but couldn't finish due to various reasons!

Skincare Spotlight: Sekkisei

I want to spotlight a beauty brand I am currently loving: Sekkisei aka 雪肌精

I first discovered this brand in 2019 when I was traveling with friends in Japan. I bought a couple products to try then, because all the duty free shops were hawking their products.

This Japanese skincare line works for my combination skin type and the products penetrate well into my skin. I  also enjoy its light fragrance. Below are the products I've been using. 

January 2021 Skincare Empties 空瓶

My skincare empties aka 空瓶 from January 2021!

Most of these are Asian skincare products I bought in 2019 when I last traveled abroad 😅 These products took me a year to use, since a little goes a long way and I don't regularly exfoliate 😁

*Not shown are various sheet masks.

Winter Lights

Just had to take a moment to share Japan's Winter Lights Festival.

It has officially moved to the Top 5 on my Bucket List.

You should know now that I have a major, maaaaaajooorrrr crush on Japan and everything Japanese. Just, you know, information for the future...

Image 1: Hiroaki Kaneko

Image 2: Hiroshi Kano

Image 3: Hiroaki Kaneko

Image 4: Giovanni88Ant

Image 5: bunnyojisan

Image 6: Giovanna Calicchio