What I got in Tokyo - Autumn 2015

TravelTech

Nov 26

I've hit a nice cozy spot where I can't think of anything else I want to buy. I'm just kidding, I can still think of a couple of things haha! I want to update my wardrobe and perhaps pick up a designer purse in the near future. These are not important, however. I'm sure the desire to accumulate unnecessary stuff will die down in a few weeks. Or rather I hope so.

Anyway, I just want to quickly show you what I got in Tokyo last week. As usual I got some art materials from my favorite stores and a few beauty products. I also got a Macbook Air because as I mentioned earlier my old one died on me. :( I'm still sad about that. That computer and I have been through a lot.

Moving on. In Ito-Ya Ginza I got another Bism case, some limited edition Winsor & Newton Paints, a compact water bottle, and the Holbein pan in Opera. I was *this close* to grabbing my dream Sennelier palette but I knew that I want it more than I need it. Hay. Adulting is hard.

I am really loving Bism cases - I got a black brush roll in Osaka and I've been carrying it around since then. This new case is smaller but has more pockets. It should fit some travel brushes, small paraphernalia, a paint box, and an A5 sketch book. It was expensive though, for a case! I got it for 1,500 yen or roughly 700 pesos.

In Loft Shibuya I just got a Midori notebook plus a cover for it. The Midori is also a bit pricey for a notebook but they take fountain pen ink really well. The paper is so smooth too! I like to use my Midoris as journals but this one will be my anything-goes-notebook since it's small. Oh I also picked up a Pilot Frixion pen.

When I saw pictures of the Pigment Tokyo store in Shinagawa, my mind was blown. I knew I had to see it for myself! Pigment sells, well, pigments, glue bases, ink sticks, ink stones brushes, paper, acrylic, and watercolour. It also sells paraphernalia related to nihonga painting and Japanese calligraphy. The store was beautiful! I took a few pics.

Some items can get seriously expensive there but there were also a few reasonably priced products. I got color ink sticks, an ink stone, and a Menso brush. These are for sumi-e calligraphy but I plan to use them for painting. Well, I think they really can be used for painting.

As for skincare, I just picked up a couple of Skilabo cleansers and a facial wash. I'll let you know if these are any good.

I'm bummed out about my dead laptop but I guess it couldn't have died at a better time. It was a nice experience buying from the Apple Store in Shibuya, plus it was cheaper there! I didn't get charged an 8% sales tax because I'm a tourist; all I needed to do was show my passport. I was able to save a sizeable amount so I'm happy na rin even though it was a semi-unexpected expense.

I was undecided about getting a Macbook (the gold of course!) and a Macbook Pro but at the end of the day I know I don't need a lot of power. All I do with my computer is blog, use social media, and sometimes watch things. A more tricked up computer would be wasted on me if I were to be completely honest with myself.

So the Air it was. I got a 13" one this time! I'm loving the bigger screen. I also realised how much I dreaded working on my old, slow Macbook Air so much that it affected my productivity. In its last days I would always need to reboot it and it would lag whenever I edit pictures or open a heavy website. Now it's fast again to work. So yay!