Category: Collaborations

Review – Hibi 10Minutes Aroma

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Today I bring you another wonderful little lifestyle product from Japan, to help transport you to a more relaxed and beautiful world, even if it’s only for ten minutes. This odd liminal time of year can be very stressful, and we’re all looking for ways to start the new year with new habits and new routines. Hibi 10Minutes Aroma can help with that, all while bringing the gentle scents of Japan directly to your home. 

These are a fascinating little product. They may look like standard strike-anywhere matches, but the entire stick is made of tightly compressed incense. You light the head and let it burn down to ash, getting ten minutes of a transportive fragrance that surrounds you.

I chose one of their sample packs, to get a variety of scents before committing to a volume of one or two without knowing what they smelled like. I am glad I did, because the variety here was absolutely lovely. There were some bright, fresh scents like yuzu or lemongrass, some gentle florals like the ylang-ylang, and some deeper woody notes like the sandalwood. I’d highly recommend snagging this pack as well before getting locked into one of the larger 30-stick packs.

The fragrances I have tried so far (lemongrass, yuzu, lavender, sandalwood, and ylang-ylang) have all been absolutely lovely. The main notes are clear and present, but surrounded with a typical sort of “oriental note” familiar incense smell that prevents them from reading as too perfumed or fussy. They’re all very natural and subtle, and don’t spread far so if you live in a home with people who are sensitive to fragrance or don’t enjoy the notes listed, simply closing a door or opening a window for a fresh breeze will likely be enough so that the smell does not bother them. However, I cannot speak to allergies or medical sensitivities, so please keep that in mind.

The packaging on these is very thoughtful as well. It’s sleek and minimal, which makes it excellent to throw into a travel bag or hand out as a small hostess or thank-you gift. The sampler comes with a burn-proof mat you can rest your Hibi match on as it burns. I have used mine multiple times and it’s still absolutely solid and safe. However, you can also put them into any ceramic or burn-proof dish or carefully wiggle them into a small incense holder. Mine are meant for thinner sticks but with some gentle persuasion they can be slotted into the largest opening on most holders. However, they are fragile (more on that below) so you need to be cautious.

Because these are set to a standard timeframe of ten minutes, they’re an excellent way to take a quick focus or meditative break. They remind me somewhat of an antiquated method of time-keeping, relying on incense clocks. I burnt one at a time on several of my lunch breaks during the particularly hectic holiday rush, and it was a lovely way to both escape and ground myself for the afternoon rush.

As I mentioned earlier, the only negative I can find about Hibi 10Minutes Aroma is that since the entire stick is incense, it is a bit more fragile than a regular match would be. If you strike them too hard there is a chance of them snapping. Personally, I find it easier to light the “match” head with an external source like a long-handled candle lighter but if you find yourself without one you can definitely make them work just by being gentle.

You can find Hibi 10Minutes Aroma on their own website, as well as at many smaller local specialty retailers, especially Japanese lifestyle stores or fine home goods shops. If these options are not accessible for you, they are also available on Amazon.

 I purchased this item at a discounted price for honest review purposes. If you have a topically appropriate craft, product, or service you would like me to review, please contact me.This post contains affiliate link(s). If you choose to purchase, I receive a small rebate or commission which goes to the continued maintenance of this site. 

 

Kiyoko Beauty – Shop Feature and Product Reviews

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A while back, I came across Kiyoko Beauty, a Canadian company dedicated to making Japanese and Korean beauty more accessible here in North America (they ship to the US as well!). I gave them a budget and asked for product suggestions to feature, and they were kind enough to work with me to basically double what I was able to get for my budget. It was enormously appreciated, and allowed me to bring a wider range of products to you all.

Before anything else, I would like to thank the staff for being so patient with me. This review has been a very long time in coming, but I’ve been travelling a lot, having some issues with a sick lizard, and wanted to make sure I gave all the products a good long test to make sure my reviews were as thorough as possible.

However, this timing benefits you as my readers, because they’re currently having a huge Black Friday sale, which is on until November 30th. If you’re looking to try any traditional or modern Japanese (or Korean, but I focus on the Japanese here) beauty products, or looking to get some holiday shopping done, this is a fantastic opportunity for you.

I tried a variety of hair and skin care products, and thoroughly enjoyed every single one. I can recommend all of these, with a few case-specific (sensitive skin, colour-treated hair) caveats mentioned in each section.

Oshima Tsubaki Pure Camellia Oil

Tsubaki (camellia) oil has been used in Japan as a miracle multi-use beauty product for centuries. This is pure camellia oil with no additives and it has been so versatile. I've used it on my hair, my nails and cuticles, and my dry legs. It would be great for face too, for someone with drier skin than myself. If you only consider one product from this post, this is the one to go for.
Amino Mason Sakura Limited Edition Hair Kit (Smooth)

I have been on the hunt for a true sakura fragrance and had high hopes for this line. It smells absolutely amazing, but it's almost got more of a fruity and sweet scent than I was looking for. That said, it's a fantastic line, I used up all three of these products (shampoo, conditioner, and hair mask) while I was in California and they made my hair look and feel great and didn't strip my hair colour more than any other shampoo I've used. These may have not hit my "sakura" button but I'm definitely debating buying more!
Moist, Diane Bonheur Orange Flower Shampoo & Treatment

I won't lie, the name of this brand may have been my primary motivator to select these. They were literally calling my name! This line feels luxurious and elevated, from the packaging to the subtle orange bossom fragrance. The products were great, but they definitely did something funky with my hair colour - it's gone from its usual teal to a very natural-looking brown! It's not terrible but I wouldn't really recommend this particular line for colour-treated hair. It's not marketed that way though, so I knew it was a possibility.
Kikumasamune Rice Made+ Cleansing Oil Kikumasamune Japanese Sake Face Cream

I wanted to try some skincare as well and the folks at Kiyoko suggested Kikumasamune. I grabbed a face cream and a cleanser. The oil cleanser is absolutely amazing. It's got a delicious but subtle orange fragrance to it, removes makeup like a dream, and leaves my face feeling soft and smooth. The moisturiser contains sake lees and probiotics, and worked fantastically for me for quite a while, until my dermatitis started acting up (for unrelated reasons). I've had to go back to more specialised products but I'm looking forward to being able to finish it off when my skin settles back down though! However, it absolutely smells like sake so that is something to consider.
Ishizawa Keana Pore Tightening Sheet Masks

These sheet masks are fantastic. I have no idea how they manage to both clear up breakouts and dry oily skin while hydrating the face so well! They have a faint scent of both cucumber and pineapple, which is very invigorating and refreshing, so they're a great pick-me-up to wear while getting ready for a big evening. One thing to note, these masks are not individually packed. The bag has a press-and-seal strip so they do stay moist for a long time, and I appreciate the lack of disposable waste, but I like to toss a sheet mask or two in my carryon bag when I'm spending a whole day travelling and that's not possible with these.
BCL Vecua Honey Sakura hand cream

This is it! This is the sakura scent I've been on the hunt for! It's light, floral, a little herbaceous, and a little powdery. It's also incredibly moisturising and didn't irritate my eczema or dermatitis. If I could buy industrial barrels of this cream, I absolutely would. I cannot say enough good things about it!

Again, I want to give a huge thank you to the team at Kiyoko Beauty. On top of the great products and affordable prices, the service I received was so incredibly helpful and thorough. They helped me work within my budget, and gave me some fantastic suggestions that took my concerns and interests into account. So if you’re looking for some cult favourite products from Japan, I highly suggest you check out Kiyoko Beauty.

 I purchased this item at a discounted price for honest review purposes.This post contains affiliate link(s). If you choose to purchase, I receive a small rebate or commission which goes to the continued maintenance of this site. 

Review – Zen Garden by Island Falls Home

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Have you ever wanted to bring a little bit of Zen mindfulness into your home? Maybe as a way to focus on yourself for a few minutes during a long work day or to decompress after a marathon session of cleaning? Island Falls Home has got you covered.

As some of you already know, I live with anxiety and OCD, and I have a strong suspicion I’m also dealing with ADHD. Anything that helps me calm down and focus is a welcome addition to my life. I have a little bowl of fidget toys on my desk but I wanted something that took a bit more effort, and felt a little more mature. I’d been looking into small desktop-style zen gardens for a while but frankly all the ones I saw felt cheap or tacky. I’ve found ones with sand that was far too large, ones that included ridiculous little tchotchkes like garden gnomes, ones that were all plastic and flimsy-looking, and ones that had absolutely no sense of scale (giant maneki nekos next to a torii gate the size of your thumb…)

But then I found Island Falls Home. They are a small family-owned business based in the UK, and all they do is sand gardens. This sort of focus allows them to source quality pieces and stay on theme with their products, and that attention to detail really shows. They currently offer two zen gardens (the Traditional kit, which I have here, and the Oasis of Calm which is beautiful and looks like a rippling pond) and one sand planetarium.

I knew when I found their products that I wanted to share them with you all, so I reached out to the owners. James was lovely and through our interactions it was clear that he has a true passion for traditional Japanese arts and culture, and you can tell these kits are a labour of love. He was incredibly generous and offered to send me one to check out at my leisure. To save on overhead I arranged to have it sent here to California, and I’ve been testing it out for almost two weeks now, and love it.

The attention to detail is obvious from the moment you receive the kits. The packaging feels elegant and sturdy, and everything is carefully and lovingly organised and protected. From the tissue wrapping to the bow on the tool box to the well-designed insert, no detail has been overlooked here. The presentation would also make these a fantastic gift.

But what really matters is the garden itself, right? Thankfully that attention to detail is continued throughout.

The kit comes with a wide variety of accessories. There are two sakura trees with bark bases to help them stand up properly, a cute little bridge, a torii gate, a lovely little pagoda, and a selection of stones and moss for a touch of nature. My only (very minor) issue is that the pagoda is ceramic and feels very high quality but the bridge and torii are plastic. They’re still very well-made and nicely detailed, but I’d love to see all these pieces in ceramic to add to the luxe feeling of the kit.

There’s also a fantastic assortment of handcrafted bamboo rakes and tools, which allow you to meditatively create infinite designs in the sand. The sand itself is incredibly fine and smooth and clean, and clearly high quality. This is a place where a lot of kits cheap out, and it’s obvious Island Falls Home did not. It’s sourced from a company in Ontario, which as a Canadian is a nice little bonus. I do wish the kit had some sort of storage container for the sand if it needs to be put away for storage, travel, or moving, but a quart-sized food storage bag would work for the time being.

I could take hundreds of photos of the permutations I’ve created with this kit, but I’d rather be a bit concise and focus on this set up I did trying to feature as many items as I could. The end result is cohesive and uncluttered, and allows for a lot of meditative motions. I also don’t want to influence anyone who buys these kits, I’d rather you let your own moods and emotions guide you.

Overall, if you’ve been looking for a desk zen garden, or even if you hadn’t considered one before but now see the appeal, I highly recommend these! You can grab the Traditional Zen Garden kit on Amazon here, or the Oasis of Calm kit here. Prime day is coming up soon, which could be a great time to take advantage of free shipping if you’re considering one of these.

 I received this item from the retailer or manufacturer for honest review purposes.If you have a topically appropriate craft, product, or service you would like me to review, please contact me.This post contains affiliate link(s). If you choose to purchase, I receive a small rebate or commission which goes to the continued maintenance of this site. 

Review – Sakuraco Japanese Candy & Snack Box

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Sakura season is here! There’s no better time than to share with you the Sakuraco snack subscription box. Sakuraco were kind enough to send me this box for free but all opinions are my own. I’d been wanting to try this box for a while now, because the idea of a more traditional snack box really appealed to me. There are several others out there but they tend to focus more on modern junk food and otaku-type theming. Sakuraco stands out by offering a variety of very classic tastes and textures, and working directly with small Japanese businesses that have been producing these products for decades, if not longer. It felt like the perfect fit for a blog focusing on more traditional arts and cultures.

I received the April box, themed all around Sakura Festival. Nearly everything in the box has a sakura flavour, with a few complementary items with apple flavour and a few savoury/spicy items to help balance out the flavour profile of the box. This was a great idea to break things up a bit, as sakura can be a bit cloying on its own.

My first thought is that this box is beautifully presented. The mailing box itself is wrapped in protective packing material but once you remove that the box is beautiful. I intend to keep mine for storage, and this would also make them fantastic for gifting purposes. Once open, the box is inviting and piques your interest with a beautiful art card and a glossy magazine explaining all the products inside. This magazine is beautifully laid-out and photographed, and especially helpful as a lot of the items only have Japanese writing on them.

Once inside, I was amazed at the sheer variety and quantity of products they were able to include in a relatively small box.

I decided to create a little “sample plate” for myself, as I knew I wouldn’t be able to try everything at once. My father also helped me try out a few of the products, which I’m sure was a very arduous task for him 😉 I tried to aim for a variety of products, from sweet jellies to classic mochi to spicy and crunchy crackers. I’m reviewing the box concept as a whole but I thought I’d share my feelings on a few of these items anyway, to give you a better idea of what you might receive should you choose to sign up.

Sakura Jelly – Absolutely beautiful, very refreshing, but very mild in taste. Very soft jelly, and a slightly ephemeral experience due to the light texture and flavour.
Sakura Kuzumochi – Smaller, slightly denser, and a lot more flavourful than the larger pink sakura jelly, and my favourite of the two.
Sakura Daifuku – A delightful little sakura mochi filled with anko paste. Comforting and reliable if you like mochi. I won’t lie, these look a bit like tiny little butt-holes with the way they were folded together, and that just made me love them even more.
Sakura Kanten – A little gummy square, a bit like a french pate de fruits if you’re familiar with those. This one was wrapped in oblaat, which is an edible starch paper. It can be an odd experience if you’ve never had food wrapped in one, because it almost feels like you’re eating plastic, but it melted away quite quickly and the candy itself was delicious.
Sakura Manju – A soft, chewy dough-based manju bun filled with pickled sakura paste. I absolutely loved this one and want to eat twelve more right away!
Ume Arare – We’re reaching the more savoury side of the box now – these crackers are flavoured with salted ume, so there’s still a hint of sweetness, but tempered with sour and salty. These were sharp and unique and very enjoyable.
Chili Arare – A delightfully crunchy little ball with a kick of chili at the end. There were only two of these and frankly I regret giving the second one to my father because I want to eat more of them.

I thoroughly enjoyed everything I ate, and have high hopes for the rest of the items that I haven’t tried yet. It’s clear that every item in this box was selected carefully and thoughtfully. They all fit the theme and balance very well together.

The last item in the box was this absolutely beautiful little ceramic dish. There were three different designs available and I really lucked out and got the one I’d been hoping for! Of course I had to use it right away for my snack sampler!

The only negatives when it come to the Sakuraco subscription box, if I can consider them that, are that since you have no real control over which items you receive, if you have a lot of food allergies or intolerances this might not be ideal. I have a mild dairy allergy but it only causes minor histamine reactions in me, nothing serious or dangerous, so I’m fine if I monitor my consumption, but it definitely did make me stop and think about this. The beautiful little magazine clearly enumerates all potential allergens in every item, but if you have one to a common ingredient (wheat, eggs, milk, soy, etc) then it will definitely impede your enjoyment of this box. However, this is true for any food-based subscription or surprise box, and only you can decide what’s best for you.

The other issue is that one of the items in this box was very delicate and did not survive overseas transport. It’s a shame, because I was very much looking forward to this adorable boat-shaped senbei wafer filled with flavoured crackers. I still ate them all and enjoyed it very much, but the visual appeal of the whole experience was lost, which was a bit of a disappointment.

Pros:

  • Amazing selection of sweet and savoury goods from all over Japan
  • More traditional than a lot of other Japanese snack subscriptions
  • Beautiful packaging
  • Excellent value for the price
  • Fast shipping

Cons:

  • Some items may not transport well (see the poor mangled Senbei Boat)
  • May not be ideal for people with food sensitivities or allergies

In the end, only you can decide whether or not a box like this is worth it for you personally but I can say I wholeheartedly recommend it for any fan of more traditional Japanese flavours and textures! If you’d like to check out Sakuraco for yourself, please consider using my referral link by clicking here. Thank you!

 I received this item from the retailer or manufacturer for honest review purposes.If you have a topically appropriate craft, product, or service you would like me to review, please contact me.This post contains affiliate link(s). If you choose to purchase, I receive a small rebate or commission which goes to the continued maintenance of this site. 

Review – Matcha Set from Tangpin Tea

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Today I am sharing with you this lovely matcha set from Tangpin Tea on Etsy. I have been on the hunt for a more complete matcha set including a whisk and when I saw this one I fell in love with the green drip glaze and reached out to the seller.

This set is comprised of a chawan (茶碗, tea bowl), a chashaku  (茶杓, tea scoop), a chasen (茶筅,  tea whisk), and a naoshi (直し, whisk stand). Essentially, the very basic elements needed to properly prepare a bowl of matcha. For actual tea ceremony there are many more pieces needed, but if what you’re looking for is a pretty, affordable set to make your own comforting bowl of matcha, it’s perfect!

Now, please bear in mind that this review is coming from the perspective of someone who has not studied tea ceremony – I am just someone who enjoys matcha and little soothing rituals!

Appearance-wise, this set appeals to me greatly. As I’ve mentioned, I absolutely loved the glaze – it’s hard to capture in photos but it almost has a cyan-to-celadon gradient to it, it’s got much more depth in person. I also like that it’s subtle, not a huge contrast against the white. It’s also available in a pinkish red and a light brown drip, all on the same white base, but I can’t speak to the depth or variation in those. I only have one other chawan and it’s got a much heavier, almost “earthy” feel to it, whereas this one feels delicate without feeling flimsy or fragile. It feels spring-like! Perfect for looking forward to the upcoming change of seasons.

The chashaku and chasen are quite standard-looking and made of bamboo, but they have a good comfortable feel to them. The whisk is well-made and I don’t anticipate it deforming or losing bits any time soon and there are no signs of splitting or warping on the scoop.

This set is mass-produced, and while it’s certainly not on par with artisan-made individual pieces, I think for the price it’s absolutely lovely! It’s great for everyday use and I wouldn’t feel terrified of using it regularly.

 I purchased this item at a discounted price for honest review purposes.If you have a topically appropriate craft, product, or service you would like me to review, please contact me.