My first trip this year started with Japan. The excitement of visiting Japan never gets old. I got to experience the beautiful and rich Japanese culture, ate so much next level food (I’ve yet to have a bad meal in Japan), and for the cherry on top, I got to share this experience with Jacopo. This was his second trip to Japan but his first to Tokyo (He’s only been to
The knitted top and bottom set from Arje are the comfiest outfit for a traveling. My fuzzy coat was too big to fit into a suitcase so I wore it on the plane.
My love affair with Clé de Peau Beauté dates back to two years ago when I was in Paris getting my makeup done by Mai (@storyofmailife). If you can remember from my Paris fashion week vlogs, we experimented with makeup and tried a ton of different and new looks. But in between all of the glamour and fun, my lack of sleep caught up with me and under-eye bags decided to come out to play. This is when Mai used the Cle de Peau Beauté Concealer on me and it was my “hero” saving me from looking sleep-deprived all week long.
Because of the brand name, I’ve always assumed Clé de Peau Beauté to be a French brand. But Clé de Peau Beauté is actually a Japanese beauty brand (the number one luxury beauty brand in Japan to be exact!). A couple of months ago, they sent me a few beauty products to try and I fell in love with their Vitality-Enhancing Eye Mask Supreme instantly. The half-sheet mask left my skin feeling super hydrated so I put it to the ultimate test, the plane. Will it really keep my eye area hydrated? The answer was yes!
To fight jet-lag and rejuvenate after a 12-hour flight, I used the brand’s Enhancing Eye Contour Cream Supreme to relieve puffiness under my eyes. It comes with a beautiful massage tool, which is basically like a face roller… but for your under-eyes.
We stayed at Aman Tokyo, which is my favorite hotel to stay at in Tokyo because of the stunning views and service. Also, they have my favorite breakfast food like avocado, blueberries, and smoked salmon on top of serving a Japanese breakfast.
I’ve been to Tokyo multiple times but I’ve never been up to the Tokyo Tower. Is it worth it? If you’re not staying at a hotel with the whole Tokyo skyline view, then yes. It’s 333 meters tall (1,092 ft) and has this insane view of the whole city. We ate at the restaurant inside the Tower called Musahi Sky Restaurant 634 and I would honestly skip that part and just do the tour.
On our second day in Tokyo, we spent one morning with Mr. Ishimatsu, the brand’s lead scientist who walked us through why Clé de Peau Beauté products really stand out. Their advanced and relentless research has led to products that actually work. The key ingredient that sets Clé de Peau Beauté products apart is the Illuminating Complex, which includes an extract sourced from golden silk cocoons in Thailand.
I tried their signature product, La Crème , and it did not disappoint. It is super rich and thick so they recommend it to be used before bedtime instantly relieving dryness by the morning time. I woke up to my skin feeling moisturized and firmer. It’s definitely an investment, but honestly I can’t say enough good things about this cream. Warning though: once you try it, you never want to go back. I don’t say this lightly, but it’s definitely a miracle cream.
January in Tokyo is chilly. Not as cold as New York but for this California girl, it’s super cold. So happy I layered up and packed really good coats to keep myself warm. Also, my skin tends to get dry easily but I wore their Radiant Cushion Foundation which has light coverage and kept my skin moisturized throughout the day.
Later that afternoon, we visited TeamLab, a modern art exhibit with countless rooms of interactive light displays. Clé de Peau Beauté’s new spring campaign, A New Year, New Light inspired this visit and it was cool to see how technology and beauty intersected, much as it does for Clé de Peau Beauté. In between all the twinkling lights, I felt hopeful and excited about the new year.
Even if you’ve never been to Tokyo, I think we all know this iconic spot in Shibuya, aka Shibuya Crossing. Every time I’m in Tokyo, I always come to Shibuya because it makes me feel like I’m really in Tokyo. The lights in this intersection turn red all at the same time, in every direction. Traffic stops and pedestrians go crazy (well maybe just me because I was trying to get a shot) from all sides of the intersection. You can also observe this moment from above at the second floor of Starbucks in the Tsutaya building.
Since we were heading to Kyoto the next day on a bullet train, and also because it was Jacopo’s first time in Tokyo, I took him to Don Quijote, which basically is a discount store but this one in Shibuya is the biggest one and has everything from snacks to household items. Dani and I used to go here and stock up on Japanese false lashes, but our mission this day was snacks. We got all kinds of Japanese snacks from ginormous Pocky sticks to dried fish/shrimps/squids for our bullet train to Kyoto.
The train station was only a 5-minute drive from Aman Tokyo and because I was with responsible adults, instead of showing up right on time for our 8am train ride, we got there about 30 minutes before. That gave us plenty of time to lug up our suitcases upstairs to the tracks and find our train. If you didn’t pack any snacks for the train ride, no worries. Every hour or so, there’s a kind gentleman who comes by with his snack cart filled with drinks and snacks. They didn’t have the weird dried squid snacks so I’m happy we went and grabbed those the day before. I’m wearing the Radiant Cushion Foundation and Lip Luminizer in shade Sweet Satin.
When Jacopo and I got to Kyoto, the first thing we did was antique hunting. I really wanted a tea set but the ones I wanted were way too expensive.
Gion is the most famous geisha area and the center of traditional arts. If you have a day to spend there, I highly recommend walking through Gion and visiting the Kinakaku-Ji temple aka The Golden Pavilion. I visited there the last time I was here with Jacopo, so we skipped it this time and instead went to eat some delicious soba. We ended up going to a soba place in Gion called Takehana.
One particularly memorable event was visiting the beauty shrine at the Shimogamo Shrine in Kyoto. In Japanese tradition, to start off the new year, women visit this shrine and draw faces on to wooden plaques (I used my new Lip Luminizer shade Sweet Satin from Clé de Peau Beauté) in order to make a beauty wish for the coming year. After receiving my fortune for the new year, I felt hopeful and was inspired to find the beauty in all the things around me in 2019.
To see some of my favorite spots I visited this time in Japan, watch my latest vlog here:
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The article New Year Trip to Japan with Clé de Peau Beauté was posted by Song of Style.
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