Hello Seoul!

Hi guys! (^_^*)/

I`m already in Seoul, living in a "kosittel" type cheap one-room hotel and walking around Seoul and shopping everyday! ;D Or more like just spending money like I`m a pro at it, lol omg, it`s so hard to control yoursel! :O Anyway, I`ll do my best to post entries about my trip and hope you`ll enjoy them.

Korea is suuuper hot and quite humid now, everyday is mostly the same temperature, 33C degrees. *hot* To be honset, this makes everything sticky and disgusting, bleh! XD Going to Korea in august is definitely a challenge, but I don`t mind hot weather. I just wish it was a bit more organised and cleaner, maybe I became a bit health/cleanliness obsessed since winter. :P The way koreans walk the streets and drive their cars is complete CHAOS and dangerous too! :O
Anyway, some photos!

I had an 8h stop over in Prague, so I went sightseeing! ^^ It`s BEATIFUL! I walked around the Old Town, climbed up this tower over Charles Bridge and ate a great lunch. ^^

And now Korea! I`ve already visited Korea and have been in Japan 4 times too, so taking photos of streets and stuff is not really interesting for me, so please bear with me as I take and upload pretty random photos... ;D 

First, I went window shopping at AmeApa (we don`t have a store in Poland, boo), lol, typical korean attractions banzai!

Then I had a trip to Daiso (a.k.a. th 100yen/1000won store chain) and bought some useful everyday sute stuff, because my cheap hotel (kosittel) doesn`t provide this. And you can see my healthy oatmeal supplies in the back too. Mmmm, healthy food! :D

Typical korean street.... NOT! : P

Later we went to see a Polish design exhibition (hosted by Korea Foundation) opening with Polish and international friends, the exhibition was fun and it was in Euljiro, so we ended up walking around Myeong-dong at night, which was super fun for me!

Yo man! Old men staring at you = normal in Korea, yuck. :P

Also my camera is old and takes blurry photos, got to get a new one!

Myeong-dong, most popular tourist shopping district I think, has everything, fashion, cosmetics, restaurant, street food and tons of people. All shop staff here speaks japanese, so you can use that if you don`t speak korean (yatta! good for me! XD). Not everybody speaks english, but there`s a good chance they will, as it is a real "tourist" place.

And finally, a brand called FACE SHOP had a chia seeds cosmetic line! I got testers from my sister, who is studying here (and that`s why I`m visiting Korea) and the ads are soooo cute and the cosmetics are really nice! Besides I`m crazy about healthy eating, so I have chia seeds for adding to water and food at home and now I can also use it as skincare? This is so eciting for me!! :DDD

Chia seeds toner, lotion, serum and cream! :D aren`t the small illustrated chia seeds just adorable? :D I really like this line, might buy it!

Today I met a friend and went exploring Gangnam, a really trendy place in Korea, where you have the super crowded metro station area and futher away you can explore those small, lovely fashionable streets full of original brand stores (as in owner is the designer of the things in the store) and middle range brand store (Jill Stuar,t KAte Spade, Agatha, etc.). The streets, buildings and people walking around there are very stylish in the international street fashin way, so original and great! I saw a guy in pink aviator glasses with green mirror lenses and another guy in a super bright neon beannie hat, they both looked soooo cool (but beanie in 33c degrees, are you kidding me?lol)  I went to Garosugil Street in Shinsa and Rodeo Drive in Gangnam! :D (MORE INFO HERE) I am lucky, because my friend Kyunam was born and raised in Gangnam, so he knows every street and will show me more! ^^

Also, if you haven`t heard it already, check out the PSY "Gangnam style" song with it`s hilarious video!!

*dead from too much lol*

Too bad the people on Seoul streets aren`t as trendy as in their music videos and dramas, most people wear TSHIRTS and those rubber SANDALS or SNEAKERS (head + palm). But in Gangnam you can see some really fashinable people, especially after dark! :D

And last but not least, matcha frappucinoooooooo!!!! Whyyyyyy don`t they sell it in Polish StaBa? OMG, everyone loves it :D just order without the whipped cream. :D

I will be here till Aug 28th, so wait for more posts! See you!

Travel blog: Kyoto & fake maiko & hydrangea blossom

Hello!!

I decided to post a travel blog kind of post. :) In 2008~2009 I was actually on a scholarship in Japan for a year, it was an amazing experience! I also got to travel then. And since I was at Osaka University, I went to nearby Kyoto quite often. This day, during hydrangea blooming season, my friend Beth from Poland, was in Kyoto with her friends, so we met up to go and see Kiyomizudera and Koudaiji together. 

Hydrangea (ajisai) in Kyoto.

In Kyoto there is a shop, Studio Shiki, specializing in dressing women up and doing their makeup, so they look like the famous geishas (well, maikos in this case) from Kawaramachi. There are a couple of "plans" to choose from, you can just dress up and have your photo taken or you can go outside and have a stroll or even a professional photoshoot - of course then the price is significantly higher. 

My friends just took photos in the studio, but we met some Japanese ladies walking around Kiyomizudera, and they were asked for photos by everyone (even fake tourist maiko are a big attraction, also for the Japanese, you can see a bunch of school kids asking them for photos too). :)

They told me a random jinx: if you have "fat" ears, it means you will be rich. You can also cheat destiny, by massaging your ears, so they become bigger, and you, by consequence, will become richer. XD

 Later we visited the beautiful Koudaiji temple, located close to Kiyomizudera. It is famous for it`S beautiful pond, best to see in autumn at night, when the momiji leaves are reflected in the water. It looks really beautiful. In summer months, you can enjoy the cool shadows of a bamboo forest they have there too. Overall it is a really lovely temple to visit! One of my favourites. :)

 So, that`s it! Maybe I can post more travel blogs like this, who knows?
That was me, reporting from the past XD That`s how I looked then.

Bye for now! :D

[sister reports!] Report from rainy Seoul, Republic of Korea!

So, my younger sister is spending her summer holidays in Korea right now and I hear she is having a great time everyday! She will be also attending a language course soon, study hard! I thought, a travelling report would be nice and asked her, to send me some photos, and she did! So here comes a current report from Seoul for You! ^^* (I will keep the picture size small, so your computer doesn't die if You have a slower connection, but you can click on each photo and see bigger size! ^^*)

First of all, meet my younger sister, G. She is 2 years younger, but over 10cm taller than me, what gives?? Gimme 5cm, You!!! XD

 

She made friends with a popular blogger in Seoul, Noona, too! Yay! 

Bloggers are just normal, nice people, you know. ;D

Of course going to Korea means buying lots of cosmetics and reporting back to older sis (aka ME) about what interesting things are on display in stores. :)

 

My sister is seriously a nail art master, I'm jelly. 

 

*Grabby hands!*

If you go to Korea you don't even have to think hard about what to bring back as presents, just grab lots of sheet masks and soju and soju related gadgets (like soju bottle shaped earrings) and you're done! Also, Missha Cleansing Oil aka. MY FAVOURITE oil cleanser out there!!! Get it!

NEXT PART: PARTIES AND HAVING FUN & HANGING OUT! :)

My sister went to some party and saw her idols, GD and T.O.P. (or however their names are spelled! XD). She also goes clubbing a lot, I hear, and I would really love to go to our favorite club in Gangnam, club MASS! 

AND ALSO, KOREAN FOOOOOOOOOOOD! :D

 

LOL, I think those 2 photos sum up what foreigners live on while visiting Korea, beer+soju and mayo, ketchup and soy sauce, and other than that it's just grabbing some food in bars and restaurants, since it all so cheap and delicious! ;D

 

Omnomnomnomnom...

Bye bye, rainy Seoul!

So that's the end of the Korea trip report from my younger sister! I hope you enjoyed it and are also having wonderful summer holidays! Unfortunately I can't go anywhere this year, but I did treat myself to one super fun event.... can you tell who I saw from the photo below... ;D (Oh, I loved him so much in high school and I still do, my idol! It was wonderful and I cried. (;_;)ILU)

Of course I went to see GACKT & YFC concert in Warsaw!!!!!!

I wore Tick shoes and fake lashes and all for Mr. Gackt, I hope he noticed me from the stage <333 *weak laugh* I am not joking. I was sending him love-filled looks, but at first I was too intimidated to look Him straight in the eyes, omg, lol! XD Anyway it was WONDERFUL and I am glad I met Elluin there too. :)

PS. I also created a FACEBOOK PAGE for my blog... I don't really know why?? xD But if you like my blog, please do feel free to cliks "I like" on the cosme411 FB page. ^^* Also you can contact me directly thru this page. ^^* Hugs & love.