JMusic and then some

As you probably know about my obsessions with Asian music. However, I haven't really touched the JMusic industry as much as the Kmusic. To be honest, up until recently my knowledge was mostly based on Visual Kei and Johnny's Entertainment (I know, it's shameful). I've mostly thought of them as uber manufactured and extremely commercialized materials with no soul (all fluffs no substance), with some exceptions. I mean my god, have you seen them dancing? It's really embarrassing (at least Korean SM Entertainment got that right).

While in the search for something original (or at least with a soul) I've came across boybands like, MONGOL800 and GReeeeN (embrassingly it's all because of dramas like Proposal Daisakusen and Nanase Futatabi). Amazingly talented band MONGOL800 came on the spotlight with little commercial attention (once again they are proving there's still hope for JMusic industry) and GReeeeN came with good lyrics (although I didn't get their fussy mystery concept).

Here are some of the MVs you might like

GReeeeN - Ayumi (their MVs always have a beautiful story)


MONGOL800 - Chiisana Koi no Uta (Fanmade MV based on Proposal Daisakusen)


Hikaru Udata - First Love (the theme song of Majo no Jouken)


Mami Kawada - Portamento

Blushed cheeks

Types of blushes we have. I've put them as thick as possible to show more colors. After putting them on, one must blend them in well to see the actual result.


1. Smashbox Ultimate Beauty Palette - Mauve (didn't have a name)
2. Smashbox Ultimate Beauty Palette - Peachy Pink (didn't have a name)
3. Smashbox Baked Cheek Duo in On The Town
4. Victoria's Secret Blush
5. Benefit Benetint
6. Cover Girl Instant Cheek Bone - Contouring Blush
7. Cover Girl Instant Cheek Bone - Fard Contour
8. Blush (no name): That one was too hard, no matter what we did we couldn't put it on the skin.


My friend's little sister modeling for the blushes

Smashbox Ultimate Beauty Palette

I bought the Smashbox Ultimate Beauty Palette using the leftover balance on the gift certificate. I've been wanting to buy this palette ever since it came on the market. However my excitement ran off as soon as I opened the lid.

All boxed up. It said Ulta Exclusive $59 on the cover sticker (excuse my finger prints)

Eye Shadows

Cheek, Lip, Brow colors w/wax and Eye liners. Plus the mini brushes (you can see we've used some)

The Mini Brushes

Pros:
- It has almost everything you may need to give you a complete look (minus the foundations and primer)
- Eye shadows are fairly pigmented and lasts few hours at least without a primer
- The colors are mostly good for daytime look
- It's very compact
- A cruelty free and environmental friendly brand
- Came with primer sample and Valentine mini lip gloss set (part of the promotion)

Cons:
- The quality is inferior to Smashbox product line. When I opened it, it looked like a set from dollar store (it's made in China). With poorly made palette and smudged up color blocks.
- The box was designed horribly. At first I thought it's a used copy but later on I realized it's the sliding trays that are leaving scratch marks on the inside color blocks
- Eye shadow colors were too light, lack variety and intensity.
- The kit is mostly suitable fair skinned people. Not really for people of colors (medium to dark skin tone).
- For $59, it seemed WAY over priced. $20 should be more than enough for this kit.
- The quality of the brushes weren't great, then again I didn't plan on using those from the beginning.

A great alternative could be: Coastal Scents Makeup Palettes or Sephora Brand Ultimate Blockbuster - Collector's Edition (but it's sold out at Sephora as of now).

Smashbox Cosmetics - Glambox Vol. 3

My friend modeling for the colors (including the bonus fusion soft light). Note: we put the colors as thick as possible to show true colors. The actual colors are a lot lighter when worn or blended in.

For my birthday my friend got me a gift certificate from Smashbox.com, which pretty much made my day. Ever since I’ve got their Try Me Kit from Sephora I became a huge Smashbox fan. After hours of researching, the first thing I’ve bought was the Smashbox GlamboxVol.3 – Beauty on the Go for my friend. Initially priced at $68 ($190 in value) but it was on sale for $49.90, plus free shipping (no taxes) and a bonus Photo Finish Foundation Primer sample (probably the best primer out there). It also came with a full sized Smashbox Natural Glow Fusion Soft Light Cheek Palette as part of their let’s do lunch promotion.

The kit (check out the Penney to guess the size). It said exclusive for Nordstrom on the box (but you can get it at Smashbox site with no tax and free shipping).

Without lids and bonuses

The kit included:
- BIONIC MASCARA in JET BLACK (full size)
- BAKED CHEEK DUO in ON THE TOWN (full size): 10 & 11
- SHADOW & LINER TRIO in HOT DATE (seemed like full size): 7, 8 & 9
- SHADOW & LINER TRIO in GIRLS NIGHT OUT (seemed like full size): 4, 5 & 6
- LIP ENHANCING GLOSS (true color) in HAPPY HOUR (mini size): 1
- LIP ENHANCING GLOSS (true color) in COCKTAIL HOUR (mini size): 3
- LIP ENHANCING GLOSS (true color) in AFTER HOURS (mini size): 2
- TRAVEL ANGLED BLUSH BRUSH
- TRAVEL PRECISION LINER BRUSH
- TRAVEL DEFINER BRUSH
= Natural Glow Fusion Soft Light Cheek Palette – Full size (Let’s do Lunch bonus): 12, 13, 14
= Photo Finish Foundation Primer – Deluxe sample

Fusion Soft Light Palette in Natural Glow

The cheek: The colors were beautiful to look at with light shimmer in it. You can use them individually or combined. Unfortunately they were too light for us. My friend, whose skin tone is wee bit darker than mine, barely show any color.

The shadow/liner trios: they were both nice to look at. Unfortunately again, the color really didn’t look right on our skin tone. It was too light for my friend. It seemed like they weren’t highly pigmented. The Hot Date’s purple eye shadow had lots of shimmer in it (which we liked) but the Girl’s Night Out’s brown shimmy liner really didn’t pop. Overall the colors might be good for people with fair skin tone (make sure you use a good eye primer) but it’s not for us (medium to dark skin tone)

Bionic Mascara: It is clumpy and not the best out there. Not to mention it has alcohol in it. My friend has beautiful long naturally curly lashes, even she had a hard time with it. Like many other volumizing mascaras it’s very gunky and the application can be a messy affair.

Mini Lip Gloss: Those were light in colors, with little bits of shimmers in couple of them (initially we loved them). However after application, the color seemed to disappear in mare 20 minutes.

Brushes: Overall they are relatively well made. I didn’t have high expectations but we’re fairly happy with them. One thing I can’t stand is the flat top liner brush or #9 brush. It makes the applying eyeliner a messy affair for me (they should replace it with #21 brush instead). I liked the angled blush brush (made the contouring easy). The definer brush wasn’t disappointing as well.

Final Verdict: The kit isn’t highly pigmented. Good for people with fair or light skin tone (the blonde woman on the box should be your queue). Don’t buy if you are from people of color.

The similar kit is Bright Lights, Big City Beauty Kit. It has about half of the stuff of Glambox Vol. 3 at a similar price ($48). So you do the math (seriously who’d buy this set over vol. 3?).

Glambox Vol. 4 – Pro Collection ($68) seemed to have better color option for our skin tones and it has #21 brush.

Doushite Kimi wa Suki ni Natte Shimattan darou

I'm kind of obsessed with the song Why Did I Fall For You (acapella version) by DBSK in the past 24 hours. The song ranked number 1 in Oricon chart and DBSK officially is the only non Japanese Asian band to have such honor. However before it's official release the song was leaked on the internet and caused a stir but fortunately for AVEX it still made number 1 in sales record.

Source Wikipedia: On July 22, 2008, TVXQ became the first non-Japanese Asian artist to have three number ones on the weekly Oricon singles chart, when their single " Why Did I Fall In Love With You? (どうして君を好きになってしまったんだろう？) attained number one with weekly sales of 68,000 copies.

Here is the romanization Japanese lyrics with English translation. Here is a pretty fair review. Here is the preview (pop version).

I have to say it is indeed my favorite DBSK song of all time. The tune is catchy at the same time it's something that you will like to listen when stuck in traffic. Personally I prefer the acapella version because it has more heart and less engineered feel. It has two music videos. The drama version kind of looked similar to Proposal Daisakusen or Operation Love minus the happy ending. The girl, actress Fuji Mina is very pretty, but as always Kim JaeJoong seemed prettier.

The Drama Version with English Sub:



The reason I got hooked in this song is because of the Parody By Danielle aka KiSung85 @ Youtube.com



(unfortunately I can identify with the girl in this parody. other than being the DBSK fan aka Cassiopeian I think we both share the same passion for Asian stuff).

Youtube Vs Viacom: We are screwed?

I just stumbled up on to in to this posting .. I won't get into to details but let me tell you, it gives me chills.

Chutir Ghonta OST - Ekdin Chuti Hobe (English Translation)

My first attempt to translate the song Ek Din Chuti Hobe or One Day It Will be Over from the 70s movie Chutir Ghonta or Bell of Ending (or Dismissal). It was popular back in the 70s and now counted as a classic. I guess back in the days they really had crappy cameras therefore the whole video came out really really bad.

Note: Chuti (Pronounce like Chutee) means the end, finishing time or dismissal time (at school or at a work place). This movie focused on the end of the school year.

Ek Din Chutee Hobey (Movie: Chuteer Ghonta) / One Day It Will Be Over (Movie: Bell of Ending)

Ek din chuti hobey / One day it will be over
Onek dure jabo / I will go far away
Neel akashe shobuj ghashe / Under the blue sky and green grass
khushi te harabo / I will get lost happily

Ek din chuti hobey / One day it will be over
Onek dure jabo / I will go far away
Neel akashe shobuj ghashe / Under the blue sky and green grass
khushi te harabo / I will get lost happily

Ek din chuti hobey / One day it will be over
Onek dure jabo / I will go far away
Neel akashe shobuj ghashe / Under the blue sky and green grass
khushi te harabo / I will get lost happily

Ekdin chutee hobey / One day it will be over

Jekhane thakbena kono badhon / Where there will be no holding back
Thakbena niyomer kono shashon / Will be no disciplines or rules
OOh hooo hOO

Jekhane thakbena kono badhon / Where there will be no holding back
Thakbena niyomer kono shashon / Will be no disciplines or rules

Pakhi hoye urhbo / I will fly like a bird
Fool hoye futbo / I will bloom as a flower

Pakhi hoye urhbo / I will fly like a bird
Fool hoye futbo / I will bloom as a flower

Patay patay sheeshir hoye ashicho / I will be the sparkling dew on leaves (actually I didn't get the meaning of ashicho .. Not sure if it's a Bangla word)

Ek din chuti hobey / One day it will be over
Onek dure jabo / I will go far away
Neel akashe shobuj ghashe / Under the blue sky and green grass
khushi te harabo / I will get lost happily


Ek din chuti hobey / One day it will be over

Ojana pothe ochin deshe / To an unknown place via unknown path
Jhorna dhara hoye jabo bheshe / Will flow as a stream (need to check on more accuracy)
Ooh Hoo Ooh

Ojana pothe ochin deshe / To an unknown place via unknown path
Jhorna dhara hoye jabo bheshe / Will flow as a stream

Tara hoye uthbo / I will rise as a star
Megh hoye bhashbo / will float as a cloud

Tara hoye uthbo / I will rise as a star
Megh hoye bhashbo / will float as a cloud

Lukochuri khelar chole / Like playing hide and seek
Lukiye robo / I will hide away

Ek din chuti hobey / One day it will be over
Onek dure jabo / I will go far away
Neel akashe shobuj ghashe / Under the blue sky and green grass
khushi te harabo / I will get lost happily

Oi.. Ek din chuti hobey / One day it will be over
Onek dure jabo / I will go far away
Neel akashe shobuj ghashe / Under the blue sky and green grass
khushi te harabo / I will get lost happily

Ek din chuti hobey / One day it will be over
Onek dure jabo / I will go far away
Neel akashe shobuj ghashe / Under the blue sky and green grass
khushi te harabo / I will get lost happily

She Je Boshe Ache / He is sitting away

She Je Boshe Ache is currently one of the most popular Bangladeshi song out there. Performed by Arnob aka Ornob (Bangla). It was the original song of the natok (Bengali drama) Off Beat starring the members of Black and Joya Ahsan (good song but unwatchable natok). I thought I'd do a translation of it.

Note: She je boshe ache, literally means he is sitting. But it can also be interpreted as he is sitting away, he is just sitting there, he is just sitting. Excuse my amature translations, as I often prefer to preserve the tone than do a literal translat

Ornob - She Je Boshe Ache (Off Beat OST) / Ornob - He is Sitting Away

shey je boshe aachhe eka eka / He is sitting alone
rongeen shopno taar bunte / To weave the thread of colorful dreams
shey je cheye aachhe bhoraa chokhe / He is looking away with teary eyes
jaanalaar phaake megh dhorte / To catch the clouds through the window

...... repeat ..........

taar goon goon moner gaan baatashe ore / The hummed songs of his mind is in the air
kaan paato mone paabe shuntey / If you listen with your heart you will hear it
taar ronger tulir naache megheraa chhote / The clouds dances away by his paint brush
chokh melo jodi paaro bujhte / Open your eyes if you can understand

...... repeat ..........

shey je boshe aachhe eka eka / He is sitting alone
taar shopner kaarkhaana cholche / The mill of his dreams continuing on
aar buro buro megheder dol / And all the gray clouds
brishti namaar taal toolchhe / Getting ready to become pouring rain

...... repeat ..........

shei goon goon moner gaan brishti namaae / That hummed song of the heart brings down the rain
top top photaa pore onekkhon / It falls for a long time
shei brishti bhejaa mone daak diyechhe / That moist heart called out
bhejaa kaak hoye thaak amaar mon / Let my mind be like a soaked bird (note: Bheja kak = literally means wet crow)

...... repeat ..........

(shey je boshe aachhe... ) / He is sitting away ..
(shey je boshe aachhe... ) / He is sitting away ..

...... repeat ..........

Thank you JB of Banglacommunity.com for the lyrics. Translated by Darkeyes.

Original Version by Ornob (Bangla) with new video:



Remix Version by Tahsan (Black) with scenes from Off Beat: