Sephora by OPI Trend Tips - Snake Sparkle

Knowing that I totally dig nail art, the lovely Eden gave me something new & fun for my birthday~ finally got the chance to try them out!

Sephora by OPI Trend Tips

Trend Tips in "Snake Sparkle" & Sephora by OPI "Worth My Weight"

Love the snake print, it's so sexy!  The Trend Tips are unbelievably sparkly in person too.

Like most adhesive nail strips, these are made of real nail polish.  They're super easy to apply, and they come in a bunch of really awesome designs at $12 per pack.

While the Trend Tip designs are impressive, I was disappointed in the quality.  There was some slight chipping & peeling around the edges on the first day of wear.  After 5 days, there was definitely some noticeable chipping.

They were pretty difficult to remove as well, but I think that was due to the glitter in this particular design.

Overall: 4/5

While I was let down by the quality, the gorgeous designs are a redeeming factor.  Even though they don't last very long, they're perfect for short-term wear on special occasions or days when you just want some extra "wow"!  They really stand out!

Kate Somerville's ExfoliKate Acne Clearing Treatment

The best thing about ordering from Sephora online is receiving free samples!  I love trying new products, and with my last order I received something really amazing that I just had to tell you all about!

Kate Somerville ExfoliKate Acne Clearing Treatment

"Kate's unique blend of anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant ingredients work overtime to fight existing acne and prevent new pimples from forming. Formulated with salicylic acid and active tea tree oil, this product gently exfoliates and aids in cell turnover without over drying or causing irritation" 

This product is amazing!  I can't believe that just leaving it on my skin for 1 minute can have such great results~

It has the strong, invigorating scent of tea tree.  I've heard many people complain about this scent but I actually really like it!  Of course, I'm always partial to scented products.

It has the typical texture of an exfoliator, but it's not meant to be scrubbed & rubbed onto your face.  You're supposed to just gently apply it to your skin, and let it sit there for one minute.  It seems really silly, how could something like that possibly work?  But it DOES.

After rinsing, skin tone is immediately improved.  Pores are tightened and appear smaller.

When I use this in the morning, the treatment seems to control excess sebum throughout the day.  My skin is noticeably less oily on the days when I use this.  It does diminish some bigger zits and blemishes, but I have not been using this long enough to really see any lasting results just yet.  It is a pretty aggressive treatment, and I can only use it a few times a week.

So far, I am really impressed and pleased with the results.  I'm going to keep using it, and I hope to see some more improvement in my skin!

New York Fashion Week February 2012

New York Fashion Week is over~ I had a lot of fun!  Upgraded my Blackberry to an iPhone last week, and boy am I glad I did.  Been playing with it non-stop, and I even documented the past week with Instagram!  Follow me @hachidork for more.

Fashion week memories:

For the first time ever, tripping and falling to the ground while wearing heels.  In front of everyone.  This goes on my list of most mortifying moments of my life.

Almost losing my car keys in the LIRR train tracks.

Going to the Bloglovin' Awards 2012 and seeing some of my favorite bloggers in person.  They're actually real people, not just photographs!

Meeting the wonderful Vantan Tokyo designers and getting the chance to try on & model their new collections.  I've never met such a talented, friendly, and humble group of people before.  I really hope I get the chance to meet and work with them again someday!

Vantan Tokyo Fall 2012

I was lucky enough to attend yesterday's Vantan Tokyo Fall 2012 runway show.  What a great way to kick off my NYFW events!

The show consisted of 4 different collections from 4 different designers.  As I mentioned in my last post, they're all students from the Vantan Design Institute in Japan.  How lucky and exciting for these young designers to be showing at Mercedes Benz Fashion Week in New York!

Here are a few of my favorite looks from the show~

SWANZI

YUYA KUBOHARA

MI-S

CHERYL CHEE

What an awesome show!  Such interesting and unique pieces~ The SWANZI collection was my favorite.  The models were really gorgeous too, I loved the barely-there makeup and strong brows!

Whats really cool is that I got to see all of these pieces in person just an hour after the show, back at Nexus Showroom.  Nexus Showroom is hosting a Japanese Fashion Week and showcasing all of Vantan Tokyo's designs!

Today, I'll have the chance to speak with the designers themselves and learn a little more about their collections!

New York Welcomes Vantan Tokyo

Vantan Design Institute has proudly announced Vantan Tokyo's participation at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York!  This highly competitive design education program attracts students from across Japan with the willingness to start up their own brands & businesses after graduation. 

This weekend's F/W 2012 showcase at Lincoln Center will make Vantan the first and only design school amongst all the institutions in Japan to participate in Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week.  This is big!

Here's a little background about the four designers that will be showing on Saturday~

SWANZI

Born 1984 in Hong Kong, designer Cheung Siu Yan won the grand prize in the 2010 Hong Kong Young Fashion Designers contest.  She is currently working in London as an intern for Vivienne Westwood.

CHERYL CHEE

Cheryl Chee was born in 1984 in Australia, graduated with honors from RMIT University, and worked as an intern for HISUI.

YUYA KUBOHARA

Yuya was born in Japan in 1989, and won second prize in the JFA Fur Design contest in 2010.

MI-S

A student of architecture, Masato Miyata was born in Japan in 1985.  He gained wholesale manufacturing experience at OEM before entering the Vantan Institute in 2008.

Really pumped to begin my experience as an intern at Fashion Week with this show, it's gonna be really great!  Be sure to follow me @hachidork and @nexusshowroomny on Twitter for behind the scenes updates!