Tag: writing

  • Nepia Nose Celebrity Pocket Tissue (鼻セレブ): A Revelation in Softness

    Nepia Nose Celebrity Pocket Tissue (鼻セレブ): A Revelation in Softness

    As strange as it might be, all that I am about to describe is absolutely honest:

    Never had a tissue paper elicited in me such delight and astonishment as to pause with wide-eyes and exclaim (to my giver), “Wow! What is this? It is so unbelievably soft!” I take a second look, exchanged glances with my (now chuckling) interlocutor, and stared again – at the wrinkled tissue which had just served its purpose in removing the food stains from my mouth, but more:

    I utterly could not believe how a tissue could feel and be that way – it glides instead of scrubs (which was what I was accustomed to in “normal” tissues all my life hitherto), pampering flesh with its gentle touch. “This tissue is different”, and hurried my giver to show me the packaging where it came from.

    This is how it looks:

    Nepia Nose Celebrity Pocket Tissue (鼻セレブ)

    “Ah.. Japanese I see… 可愛い!”

    Apart from the Ringed Seal, pictures of other cute white-fur animals (like the White Rabbit, see video below) adorn and blend well into the matte semi-opaque sleeve to exude a cute, sleek and premium look which – must be said – also feels great to touch!

    The tissues themselves are scentless, 2-ply, and made from 100% fresh pulp (with no fluorescent dyes) which are ideal for delicate skin, leaving its users worry-free about chafing and reddening skin (think: red chapped noses). As to the secret to its otherworldly softness? According to Nepia, special “triple moisturising” ingredient and “plant-delivered squalane” contained in the tissue are key in making it moist and soft by absorbing moisture from the air (a sponge tissue? – amazing).

    So, do the qualities of Nepia’s pocket tissue warrant her name, 鼻セレブ (“Nose Celebrity”)?

    Well it does seem like a relatively popular choice for tissue buyers as evidenced from its rank of 7th in Amazon’s best-seller list of pocket tissues at this time of writing. And as far as I’m concerned, a product worthy is a product worth celebrating, and so it is for Nepia’s 鼻セレブ – highly recommended!

    *Images and Video Source: My Own

    If you like, click and purchase Nepia 鼻セレブ pocket tissues here: https://amzn.to/3Hx2CDU. I may earn a small commission if you do so but at no additional costs to you. Thanks for your support, Cheers! 


  • BiC Japan Clic Gold Ballpoint Pen: Ordinary, not!

    BiC Japan Clic Gold Ballpoint Pen: Ordinary, not!

    I have to admit that my first reception of these pens were like “oh, another hotel pen” – you know those black ballpoint pens (yes, I first received the black version) available on the reception desk often with a cable or string attached for visitors to use (before wide-spread digitalisation) or those found in hotel rooms with a notepad.

    To which my giver retorted, “No, they are not! They are special and made-in-Japan.”

    So I gave it a second look, and concluded still, “nah, it is ordinary”, until I started using it…

    [Admittedly, this is not the first time that seemingly ordinary-looking objects “grew on me” (see The Bag My Friend Gave), and I wonder if there is always an element of hiddenness in the truly beautiful which requires time for the beholder to uncover and see.]

    “The grip and feel of the pen actually feels great” was what I found myself thinking after a couple of days of usage. The smooth veneer of the pen is pleasurable to touch, glide – and swirl (if you’re into it too) – and the grip is comfortable to hold with fingers fitting nicely at the pen’s narrower tip. Clicking the pen also felt good in its firmness and slight pushback, and the tip leaves a fine (it has a 0.5mm ball diameter) unique greyish-black trace that does not smudge easily (which is a plus-point I like).

    In the looks-department, adjectives such as “elegant”, “sleek”, and “classy” begin to replace “ordinary” in my mind’s judgement of the pen, and with it also a realisation of the increased frequency and duration of my glances, admiring its shapeliness and base colour against the gold trimmings and platings. And so it was in the midst of my enjoyment, that it had to happen:

    I lost it.

    Not in misplacing it but (this is rather embarrassing:) in swirling my (only) black “Clic Gold” pen out from my hands into the inaccessible recesses of the underside of immovable furniture, to oblivion. A sure case of tough luck, that is.

    But – yes, but – as luck providence would have it, I needed to wait just a couple more months before receiving more “Clic Gold” pens from my empathetic and generous friend (who came to know of my dismay), and this time receiving back not only the black variation but also obtaining another colour variant: shocking pink (see below)!

    BiC Clic Gold Ballpoint Pen Pink

    Image Source: My Own

    As I surmised and later discovered, the “Clic Gold” range does indeed contain a melange of colours which you can even mix-and-match with (visit here to experiment and see my video below)!

    Image Source: Amazon

    In all, the BiC Clic Gold pens are ballpoint pens suited for everyday usage with an affordable price but more: they remain one of my favourite (if not my favourite) ballpoint pens for its casing-feel, elegant-look, colour-variety, and reliable ink-trace. I highly commend them for personal use and/or gifts! And if anybody ever comments that they’re ordinary “hotel pens”, you can consider responding as such:

    “No, they are not! They are special and made-in-Japan.”

    *Featured Image Source: My Own


    If you like, click and purchase the pens here: https://amzn.to/4jcuWIR. I may earn a small commission if you do so but at no additional costs to you. Thanks for your support, Cheers!