Introducing Donki

Donki, short for Donkihote/Don Quijote (ドンキホテ), is a chain of discount stores in Japan. They sell almost anything and everything, and at lower prices compared to what you'd find in other stores. For some, it's like a paradise squeezed between the floor and ceiling; for others it's a claustrophobic nightmare^^ But me, I love Donki, I went to at least one each and every day I was in Tokyo hehe (♥´౪`♥)

In any case, it's fun to walk around and see what they've got and how they make use of space! Some Donkis even have eateries and salons on certain floors. The Roppongi one even has a (non-functional) rollercoaster on its roof! The largest Donki is the one in Akihabara, which even has a theater. Most Donkis are multiple storey buildings, the floors usually sectioned into the type of goods sold.

This is the Ikebukuro Donki, near the East Exit of the station.

Donki at Shinjuku.

Take the exit leading to Shinjuku ALTA/Lumine EST. Cross the street towards ALTA, continue along the street, past MatsuKiyo, continue down and Donki is somewhere behind. The prices differ at different Donkis! For example EyeLabo lashes were 980yen at the Shibuya and Ikebukuro Donkis, but even more discounted at 798yen in the Shinjuku Donki! I think the Shinjuku Donki is more tourist-friendly? I saw more English signs compared to the other 2 Donkis I went to (but wasn't really paying attention because I know Japanese anyway^^)

They even sell baviphat, a Korean brand whose fronted by FT Island.

Lavshuca sets.

Candy Doll corner ♥

Sadly, model-produced/gyaru brands like Candy Doll, Diamond Beauty, Jewerich, Eyemazing etc are hardly ever discounted anywhere. Donki included.

Pink toilet paper! ♥

Karacon! (Colored contact lenses)

To prevent stealing, all the boxes at the karacon shelves are actually empty, you take the empty box to the counter where they'll get the actual product and you pay on the spot. The same applies to perfumes; empty boxes that you bring to the counter to pay.

Random shelf of rollers and toe separators?

They have household goods on the upper levels.

Donki even sells fake money!

These are fake million yen notes heehee.

Cute monkey-themed items.

Crystal nail seals.

More nail goods.

Pre-made fake nails, they even sell Love Boat ones (non-discounted)

And of course there are snacks too.

All discounted, chocolates, biscuits, chips, candy...etc

Stacked high from floor to ceiling.

And of course, Donki is a false eyelash heaven.

You'll find the most variety of lashes here!

More lashes! There were at least 5 shelves of these in each of the Ikebukuro, Shibuya and Shinjuku Donkis. Seriously, you'll feel the temptation to reach for more when you're amongst these!

Yellow is Donki's color, their shopping bags are a recognizable yellow and so is the store's name on the building. Their mascot is a blue penguin!

The official website: www.donki.com

There you can find a list of all the stores, which they have all over Japan, and even a few in Hawaii. If you're short on time, just go to the Shinjuku branch. It's relatively near the station and is quite large, and is more tourist-friendly.

Plus a lot of department stores have branches in Shinjuku: Takashimaya, Isetan, Mitsukoshi, Lumine (there are 3), Keio, Odakyu, Marui etc. Lots of gyaru/109 brands have branches in ALTA. There's also a national garden in Shinjuku: Shinjuku Gyoen. A shrine too, Hanazono Shinto Shrine. There's an 8-storey Tokyu Hands. Also, the main branch of Kinokuniya, (7 or 8 storeys?) is located in Shinjuku, right beside Isetan. So, lots of stuff to see and do in Shinjuku. Sadly I only had like 4 hours there so I didn't get to see much (´Д` )

Luminous Change by Itabashi Rumi

Perhaps I had been too quick to dismiss the potential of Luminous Change a while back, so here's reintroducing it and more information for all the people interested, as it seems that a lot of people stumble upon this site while searching for Luminous Change ^^

As mentioned before, Luminous Change Eyelashes (ルミナスチェンジ アイラッシュ) are produced by former Egg model and current Edge Style model Itabashi Rumi (板橋瑠美). Instead of the 9 types available as previously mentioned, there are actually 10 because there's a Limited Edition Donki Exclusive type, 00 Glamorous Rich. Here are clearer and bigger pictures of all the types, and I've translated the lash descriptions for ya'll too ♥

01 Natural Exte Eye ♥

(ナチュラルエクステEYE)

Description: Thin, hair-like strands give the feel of natural extensions.

02 Pure Elegant Eye ♥

(ピュアエレガントEYE)

Description: Thin, crossed, long-ended type.

Casually emphasizes the corners of the eyes for an elegant finish.

03 Volume Glamorous Eye ♥

(ボリュームグラマラスEYE)

Description: Modestly emphasizes the lashes in bunches.

Gives natural round eyes that look like voluminous extensions.

04 Cool Beauty Eye ♥

( クールビューティーEYE)

Description: Sharp bunches and thin, crossed strands give cool and pretty eyes.

05 Natural Volume Eye ♥

(ナチュラルボリュームEYE)

Description: Lash volume UP!

Distinct bunches and fine strands give a natural finish.

06 Fluffy Airy Eye ♥

(ふんわりエアリーEYE)

Description: Gives volume to the outer corners of the eyes, for a kind impression.

07 Droopy Feminine Eye ♥

(タレ目フェミニンEYE)

Description: Bunches at the outer corners give volume, making cute droopy eyes.

08 Bright Oval Eye ♥

(ぱっちり縦長EYE)

Description: The volume in the center emphasizes the pupils.

Gives a finish of round eyes.

09 Super-size Eye (Lower Lash) ♥

(デカ盛りEYE (下まつげ))

Description: OK even if you cut them to use as point lashes.

Lower lashes that give you the best big eyes possible.

00 Glamorous Rich Eye ♥

(グラマラスリッチEYE)

Description: The delicate beauty of the flow and cut of the strands, which have been carefully selected, focuses on giving rich and glamorous eyes.

Okay, so while I'm liking the packaging (pretty floral background! ♥) I still think they're a tad mehh and lacking in originality in terms of design, but they're 5 in a pack so quite economical for those who like the designs. (3 in a pack for 00 Glamorous Rich, 798yen at Donki)

Does anyone else think that 03 and 07 look VERY similar? I mean I do notice some minute differences in thickness but other than that?^^ But I do like that kind of design, felt like I should've gotten them! o(>_<)o

Anyway, I admit I only got 00 Glamorous Rich because it was Limited Edition hehe. Sucker for that kind of thing. I wouldn't consider the non-clear lash band types (not my style of designs anyway). 08 looks a tad like Diamond Lash Celeb Eye? 06 like Diamond Lash Girly Eye? 04 like Diamond Lash Rich Eye?

They retail at 1,155yen for a pack of 5. Slightly more expensive than Diamond Lash. More widely available I think? Saw them at MatsuKiyo and other random drugstores, not just Donki.

Tutuanna* & hosiery ♥

The bottom floor of the Tutuanna* Pink Label store in Harajuku's Takeshita Doori.

The top floor is for lingerie and the exterior is entirely pink! The bottom floor houses a cornucopia of hosiery - socks, stockings, leggings, knee socks, footies, leg bands etc! You can't miss this store while strolling down Takeshita Doori!

Totally fell in love with this brand~ ( ´∀` )ﾉ ♥ It has many very wearable, feminine designs and is really affordable. Most items are 3 for 1,050yen unless otherwise stated. The quality is great, and it doesn't hurt that all the items are well-packaged.

Their shopping bag. Cute? (`･ω･´ )☆

I was in a mad rush to buy these on my last day in Tokyo. The first time I went to Takeshita Doori I passed it to go for lunch first, then forgot about going back after lunch T_T And on the last day I had almost no money left, and forgot to ask if I could pay by card as most shops didn't accept cards.

So I only got 6 items - 2 pairs of stockings, 1 pair of footies, 1 pairs of crew socks, 1 pairs of knee socks and a pair of bow leg bands. Tutuanna* is really filled with a lot of wonderful stuff, it's hard to go in and not get anything!

One of the pairs of stockings. In the package it looked black, but it was actually gray (my fault for not checking the labels) but it's actually a pretty color. I love the design! ♥

Footies ♥ I had wanted to get more, but no $$$. There were lots of other pretty designs! Anyway I totally love that these are made of lace and have floral prints ♥ And the front part is padded at the sole, isn't that great? most of the footies I've seen selling in Singapore aren't padded, and cost more than Tutuanna*.

Knee socks and the bow leg bands.

I wanted to get the knee socks in peach too! They were a nice color.

Feeling major regret not getting more legwear from Tutuanna!! All their hosiery and legwear are majorly pretty, packaged well and are very well-made! Prices are nice too. I had a hard time narrowing my picks to just 6. Sadly the website/online store does not stock all the products, the physical shop has soooo much more. The tutuanna* site is http://www.tutuanna.co.jp.

Got footies and leggings/stockings from the SBY Shibuya 109 store. Bought these before Tutuanna, so this was before I knew such pretty footies existed in Tutuanna, thus they're rather plain in comparison (´Д` )

S-leg leggings/stockings, produced by Masuwaka Tsubasa. I totally had no idea she produced legwear too. I have to admit, that I only spotted these because I saw Tsubasa's face plastered on them.

These were 819yen/pair. These were the only designs I saw in the store. The blue check was the last piece, and the stripey one was available in black/blue and black/yellow as well. The one I got was black/pink.

The blue checked stockings.

They're actually really pretty! The clear part is really just holes, because this pair is made from knit or something. So I'm glad they're holes and not an extra layer of nylon because the knit makes it EXTREMELY warm. Even after 2 minutes my legs were heating up. I don't know if I can take it wearing these in such warm weather.

Mehehe, the day after buying S-leg from SBY, I bought the latest issue of PopSister, and saw this ad amongst the front few pages. Hahaha. Apparently there are crew socks and knee socks as well, but I didn't spot any at SBY 109 or SBY Happy Room (´Д` )

S-leg is sold at Shimamura, online, SBY Shibuya 109, SBY Happy Room (Harajuku in Tokyo and OPA in Osaka). Their website is http://s-leg.jp.

Comparing the two brands, I feel that the items from Tutuanna* are more well-made, have nicer designs and are better-priced as well. I liked the packaging more too. S-leg's selling point is probably just Tsubasa's face. But it is relatively new, so we'll just have to wait and see what else they'll come up with (:

Seriously, Singapore does not sell any cute/pretty legwear with quality like these anywhere.