FASHION: Hello Kitty graces the cover of Elle Taiwan

Hello Kitty's trending on Twitter? Just as good as the day that "El Camino" was a trending topic - it's always a good feeling to be in the know before twitter gets a massive hold on it, but I have to admit I had NO idea why Kitty-chan herself as of big importance.

Well look who made the cover of Elle Taiwan? Some people were commenting on how disturbing this is, but after hearing the Japan Day folks introduce the feminine feline as a Japan's ambassador, this is no disturbing surprise at all. In fact Hello Kitty is such an icon I'm surprised this didn't happen sooner. I mean, she even launched her own makeup line at Sephora earlier this year with a followup of collections launching in both F21 and H&M, so why shouldn't she be on the cover of a fashion mag?

What do you think?

Check out the site where I snagged the photo from and check out the OTHER VERSION of the Elle magazine.  Fashionista.com // Hello Kitty On The Cover Of Elle Taiwan 

La Tenoli 

Hello Kitty at UNIQLO -- Hellosmile Project

Hello Kitty is EVERYWHERE lately! Hello Kitty for Asics. Hello Kitty for Forever 21. Hello Kitty for Uniqlo! 


For the first time in months, I took a look at the new Uniqlo (US) site and I discovered that there's a line of Hello Kitty graphic tees out EXCLUSIVELY at the Flagship store on 5th Ave -- sounds like a shopping trip on Friday to me.

There were two tees in particular that I fell in love with.

The others were a bit too kiddish for me; these are cute but still rock-able at my age. I'm definitely going to check out the FOREVER 21 X HELLO KITTY collection when that comes out on Friday as well. Check out the collection on TokyoFashion's cover post of the Shibuya launch.

By the way, I'm so happy to be posting up on here again.

La Tenoli

Hello Kitty X Dr. Martens Collab Part Dos!

Woke up this morning and saw this tweet:

Which linked to a picture of these with the short caption "Coming out in Spring"

I'm really excited for these because I wasn't able to cop the boots during the winter collab and I'd totally rock the high top with a pair of skinny jeans, no doubt. So I'm going to keep this in my radar and hopefully manage to snag a pair. 

The flats are $110 and the high tops are $125 now available on the Doc Martens website.

Check out the UNIQLO haul post below and SOUP March Fashion Trends. 

Stay tuned for more weekly updates and follow on Facebook ! 

La Tenoli

EVENT: Meet Hello Kitty Designer Yuko Yamaguchi!

A few years ago, I got a chance to meet Hello Kitty herself at Japan Day in Central Park -- There's probably only one other experience that could top that, and that's to meet her mother, Yuko Yamaguchi!

Just a few months ago Hello Kitty released a makeup/beauty line at Sephora (is there anything you can't get with HK's face on it?) Next week MARCH 16th Sephora will be hooking up Hello Kitty fans with a chance to meet Yuko Yamaguchi and have her autograph up to 2 items!

But this isn't just one of those show-up early and get a wristband kind of events - you gotta shell out some mula. No problemo! The first 200 people to spend $35 on Hello Kitty products THAT DAY get a wristband and a guaranteed lifetime experience!

The lucky Sephora store is in downtown's shopping hot spot, SoHo!
555 Broadway, New York, NY (between Prince and Spring) [closest train - N, R]
(212) 625-1309


For more details, check out the events page for the Sephora store here.

Glad I got a chance to share this with you guys! Here's to hoping I can somehow sneak out of work and meet Mama Kitty in the flesh!

La Tenoli

Hello Kitty X Sephora on eBay! ! !

Not sure how late I am with this news, but yesterday while I was doing my daily personal round on Facebook I stumbled upon Sephora's status about their auction online for Hello Kitty beauty products (and I'm not talking 5 year old's lip balm).  The auction, which started yesterday, contains some amazing (and expensive) VIP packages and items which include either a meet-and-greet with the HK creator herself, Yamaguchi Yuko, or an autographed HK beauty item.

Best part is, "100% of proceeds from the auction will benefit the Starlight Children's Foundation, to help children with serious illnesses and their families cope with their challenges." ( They've won me over ~ :3 ) Sephora Hello Kitty Ebay Auction Page

By the way, there's also an entire Hello Kitty Beauty Line coming out!~

Now while it says that the items won't be available online or in stores until the 27th of this month, I've already gone ahead and checked out their HELLO KITTY page and it looks as if some of these items have already hit the shelves and are indeed available for purchase on Sephora.com!

I'm extremely excited about these products and know that at least three of them are definitely on my list!
 For one, the brush set (pictured on the left) is a definite must have, especially for me. Not only am I a huge  HK fan, but I'm in desperate need of some new brushes.
The nail stickers and nail polishes definitely peak my interest and I'd love to grab some before the birthday on the 29th so I can rock these!


While I'm slightly skeptical about the quality, it does look more promising than the Tokidoki line.
Which prompts this question: Do you trust the quality of the beauty products that come from brands like Tokidoki and Sanrio? As cute as the packaging is, after a few in-store tests, I'm not sure I find it justifiable to shell out the money for some of Tokidoki's products. What do you think?

So tenoli lovers, which HK beauty items are you most excited about?
Any takers on the auction?


Stay tuned !~
La Tenoli
(Your fellow HK fanatic)

Vinyls! (and I'm not talking music)

So, I've been thinking that part of my goal for 2011 is going to be to get back into art, but the whole pencil to paper or brush to canvas thing doesn't appeal very much to me at the moment.
I want something a little more creative, new and challenging - vinyl toy customization.

(Check out more of my vinyl art research and ideas on my personal blog - UrbanInspirations)

I think what really got the idea going was the Sanrio vinyl collection over at KidRobot.
In celebration of their half century old feline and her friends, Sanrio did a series of collaborations with different brands over the course of 2010 (Onitsuka Tiger, Doc Martens, McDonalds, Hot Topic... just to name a few).
Here are just two of the Sanrio vinyls available at KidRobot.

Tara McPherson (the artist who designed the HK vinyl on the left) has been an inspiration to me for quite some time now, so just seeing her rendition of kitty-chan really got my creative juices flowing.
I definitely recommend checking out Tara's twitter and official page for more of her art.

I finally picked up a copy of January's SOUP and should be getting the February one within the next week, so stayed tuned for scans, updates, etc!

till next time ! ~ じゃね！
La Tenoli

TENOLI TUESDAY!

お久しぶり！！(ohisashiburi!) It's been awhile huh guys?
I'm sorry for abandoning you all like that - real life's been a drag lately, but I've crawled out of my rut, and I'm ready for more Tenoli Tuesday / Japan NYC action!

And since I owe you guys at least 3 weeks worth of posts, I'm hoping to bombard you all with updates including a guest post by one of my good friends :)

So let's get it going!~

To ease myself back into things I figured I'd share some cool info I found on the net last night.

First off, HELLO KITTY THEME PARK recently opened in Odaiba! :3
Last fall while I was there I got a chance to ride the Hello Kitty ferris wheel, but it wasn't the whole 9 yards and I'd love to go back and experience a land of HK bliss. I wonder if it's just Kitty-chan herself or all her Sanrio pals. For more info from the source click on the link! 

Lights on the ferriswheel - It's kitty-chan's bow!

On the HK ferriswheel!

And the other info hook up comes from twitchfilm.com (can't find my twitter source /sadface ).

Well Satoshi Kon fans looks like our beloved Japanese director made sure to set things up so that production on his last project would continue despite his absence. I'm especially excited about seeing DREAMING MACHINE since Mr. Kon seems to have delved deeper into his dream obsession after PAPRIKA.  Of course I've got a direct link for you all right here!

I'm hoping to find time to film a video for you guys today - no more empty promises! (> o <)/

Till the next update!
Yours truly,

La Tenoli

Maneki Neko! まねき猫が大好きだ！

Kita-Kamakura, Japan 2009

I love Maneki Neko! 
 He's the "The Lucky Cat" or "The Money Cat" (what I most often hear him referred to as).  I've been obsessed with this fat paw-waving kitty for as long as I can remember. Childhood trips into Chinatown (NY) gave my parents plenty of practice in tuning me out. "Look mami, it's the cat again!"  Little did I know then, that most stores and restaurants place this "lucky money cat" in their front windows to bring their businesses good luck and fortune.

But it isn't just this cat that I became obsessed with, because later on in High School when I was exposed to the wonders of Trigun, I fell in love with kuro neko (black cat) who makes appearances sporadically throughout the show. After that, I became the proud owner of the plushie and bobble head (haha - loser!).



So what's the deal Asia? Why all the cats? And it isn't just cats, but human-kitty hybrids. Anyone ever watch/read Loveless? (Who'll fess up?) Even the robotic ears on the Personal Computer Andriods in Chobits resembled kitty ears. Wait aren't we forgetting the most important kitty of them all? - HELLO KITTY!  These Asian kitties are all up in my personal life from "piggy" bank to planner.

"Where should I feed into my obsession Ms. Tenoli?"
Well check a few of these finds out!

Kitty ear headphones at GeekStuff4U.com!
GeekStuff4U is a great website to buy some of the latest and coolest Japanese gadgets. For all those fellow HK fans out there, they even have a special tab for your own shopping enjoyment!

(click on the image to check these out!)

 What about getting your own kitty "piggy" bank?
This little koneko (kitten) paws your money into the box.  You can buy this little fellow on J-list.
They even have a maneki neko "piggy" bank!

All this Asian kitty love is going to empty my pockets! 
しょうがないね。It really can't be helped.  

I mean look at these HK maneki neko version chopsticks I bought while in Japan - hopeless. 

 Hope you all enjoy the rest of July! Till next time!

 - La Tenoli

UGLY BETTY X HELLO KITTY ?!?!

It's officially the hottest day of the summer so far!  I hit the beach today and tanned under 103 degree-weather sun for a little darkening action. The water was surprisingly freezing, but overall refreshing, and the day is only going to get better with some Toy Story 3!
Enough about that though, let's get on with this week's goodies!

*********************

A recent follow on Twitter, @MannyUncanny, tweeted this the other day:

"Keane has a Track thts Half in Japanese. Its rare when my worlds collide like this..wonder how many people knw just how complete my life is."

No better way to describe the feeling I got when I discovered this!

Hello Kitty X Ugly Betty.

This isn't everyday Shanis world here, so where exactly did this feline brace face come from?
Well for one thing, disappointingly she's NOT for sale, and I'm pretty sure she doesn't exist, but imagine if she did?! :3 What a happy Tenoli I would be.
This isn't the only Hello Kitty Collab; check out the other ones on SneakerFreaker.

I owe this amazing discovery to MaterialKillers who I've been following on Tumblr for quite some time now. Although I'm not a fan of every single one of their posts, I really dig some of their sneaker updates and of course occasional Japan oriented posts like this Hello Kitty one!

Speaking of Hello Kitty, beaches, and hot weather, reminds me of the cooler I saw on Thrillist yesterday. Why? Well remember that HK boombox bag I mentioned back a few months ago? Well think of this as a cooler that plays tunes from your Mp3 player but lacks of HK's tenoli face

I'd recommend giving Thrillist a peep-sies before brushing it off.

Since we're on the topic of music, I'll make mention of a post I'll be working on for next Music Monday. One word - "FLASH". If any of you can tell me what that's about, well then you'll know what artist's new album I'll be covering next week! :3

Hope you're all enjoying the summer weather!

La Tenoli