Tuesday 11 September 2012

Liberty prints and Samantha Thavasa Cafe

On our Japan trip, I was happy to discover that Liberty prints continue to be popular in Japan, with several brands featuring the iconic prints.

At Afternoon Tea, a chain of lifestyle stores, I picked up this pair of accessories.

Opening Ceremony in Lumine at Shinjuku station had a lovely display of products by Floret London. See a more comprehensive range here.

I picked up a pair of accessory trays for my dresser.

A Union Jack print handkerchief.

An assortment of handkerchiefs by Intermode, which is stocked in most major department stores.

Outfits from Earth, music & ecology, including a Hello Kitty print camisole top.

Samantha Thavasa stocks an extensive range of Liberty print bags, wallets, pouches and card holders, mostly as part of their Petite Choice range.

Aside from the Liberty collection, another hot seller was the Bambi collection.

While in Tokyo, I had a wonderful time catching up with Yumeko of A Dream of Tokyo. She brought me to the Samantha Thavasa Celebrity Cafe in Solamachi, one of the new malls in Tokyo.

Typical of the brand, the dominant color is pink with the seats covered in the brand's signature print.

The gallery of celebrity spokesmodels include Penelope Cruz and her sister, Ebi-chan, Jessica Michibata and Miranda Kerr.

The cafe serves only desserts (eclairs and frozen yogurt) and drinks. I had a mango eclair while Yumeko had a royal milk tea eclair with a Union Jack motif. Do also check out Yumeko's post on the cafe!

Thanks to Yumeko's blog, I came to learn about Lupicia teas. At the Lucua mall in Umeda, Osaka, I picked up the Kir Royal tea, which is exclusive to Lucua, plus a Yamabudo Oolong tea which has a lovely grape scent. Lupicia also has an outlet in Solamachi.

Thanks for reading!

14 comments:

Yumeko said...

i am loving your liberty haul , in particular the accessories. i didnt realise afternoon tea sold their stuff. i will have to pop in for a look.

i am so glad u started on lupicia tea
it is definetely one of my favourite stores.
i cant wait to hear what you think of the tea you bought.
if u want more , lmk ok!!

Haru said...

Hey Yumeko,
Afternoon Tea has a small selection of hair accessories and purses. You can see it here: http://shop.afternoon-tea.net/item/list/category_id/466/limit/20

The Lupicia teas smell amazing, I'm sure I'll love them!

Anonymous said...

the bambi fur print is cute!

i find the idea of blowing one's nose into a union jack hanky pretty funny lol -stella

Kas said...

All the floral prints are so pretty! The wallets are really gorgeous (looks disapprovingly at my HBG giant wallet).. love the Hello Kitty top :)

memoiselle said...

OMG That Samantha Thavasa Cafe looks so cute! Wish I could go to Japan as often as I want. All the floral prints looks so pretty and girly.. I looove flower prints :)(

Haru said...

Thanks, Kas! The Samantha Thavasa store in Ion may carry the wallets, perhaps you can check it out there.

whitepaperroses said...

i want to go back to Tokyo just for the new samantha cafe!!

bambam said...

hello test!

I posted a comment here yesterday but I didn't see it. not sure if I did something wrong :(

Haru said...

hi Brooke,
I'm afraid I did not receive your earlier comment. Blogger's word verification can be tricky sometimes, so perhaps that's why your comment did not get through.

bambam said...

Oh! It worked this time :D

Anyway, I just wanted to say that I'm a fan of Lupicia tea too! Sadly, we don't have Lupicia store here where I live, but I'm glad I can order from their online store (which many times don't sell the limited edition teas, drat!).

What is the flavor of the Kir Royal tea? Sounds lovely.. :)

P.S. I enjoy your non-beauty related posts (e.g. travel, shop etc.) a lot. Thanks for sharing :)

Haru said...

hi Brooke,
Kir Royal is a fruity tea with notes of champagne and cassis liquer. Glad to hear that you enjoyed the posts!

bambam said...

Haru, that sounds lovely. Thanks for your reply :-)

Isla said...

What are the top 2 bow accessories? Are they cell phone charms?

Haru said...

hi Isla,
Yes, they can be attached to cellphones or to bags.