Skoshbox - A taste of Japan at your doorstep!

Are you ready for a virtual taste of Japan? Put on your tastebelts seatbelts!!!

Skoshbox (www.skoshbox.com) is a monthly subscription box, full of hand-picked, authentic, Japanese goodies including candies, chocolates, cookies, savory snacks and accessories. Some of the snacks in a Skoshbox are all time favorites and classics that will transport you to a traditional Japan while the other quirky, novelty snacks will plunge you into a modern, continuously innovative Japan. To make the experience even more fun, there’s also the thrill factor: each month, the contents of a Skoshbox is a surprise! I’m all for suspense, especially if you get to eat it in the end! Any of the items found in the boxes you are about to see can be purchased individually on Skoshbox’s website. 

The first thing you’ll notice is the beautiful packaging. I almost didn’t want to open the boxes but you know, curiosity and hunger got the best of me....

The aqua blue box is the regular sized Skoshbox while the yellow one is a bigger version, called Dekabox. ''Sukoshi'' means ''a little'' while ''dekai'' means ''huge'' in Japanese, hence the names of the boxes :)

The regular sized Skoshbox contains from 8-11 snack samples. October’s Skoshbox contains a total of 9 items and as you can see, the box comes with a very helpful description card, including an ingredient list, in English.

 A closeup of the items inside October's Skoshbox:

Munch time! 

Meiji Torotto Choco-Bites: the moment I placed one in my mouth, I knew we were soul mates! These are like little morsels of fudge brownies with gooey chocolate inside. It says 'doesn't melt, in your hands, even in summer'' in Japanese on the package. Isn't that incredible??

Kimchi Senbei: these mini rice crackers are packed with spicy flavor. I tried a couple and somehow ended up eating the whole package. Go figure!

Ramune Bottle Candy: Ramune is an old school Japanese soda. The original soda tastes similar to 7UP or Sprite and these pill type, tart candies taste just like the carbonated beverage!

Nama-Ume Candy: these hard candies are filled with gooey plum jam. They taste salty and sour, just like umeboshi (Japanese pickled plums). Umeboshi are real good for you.  That's why I quickly ate all three candies ;)

Blueberry Plus Bar: A wafer filled with milky, blueberry cream.  I'm always used to eating chocolate or vanilla filled wafers but this one was surprisingly good!

Chocolate Pie Stick: The name speaks for itself...a flaky crust surrounding a delicious chocolatey center.....how chic too! Not a candy bar, but a pastry bar :)

Kajiri-Cho Soft Candy: This chewy candy is bursting with grape soda flavor! I love grape soda and I love candy so this one is irresistible. You have to try it!

The Dekabox (below) is twice the size of the Skoshbox (above)

and weighs about 1 lb (0.5 kilos!!)

      October’s Dekabox contains 11 snacks plus one accessory item:

Closeup of the contents of October's Dekabox:

Sakupan - Choco Monaka: Monaka is a Japanese traditional wafer and this one comes in the shape of a panda, filled with mousse-y milk and white chocolate. Yum! I'm not a kid anymore but I love fun shaped snacks!

Sono-Manma Peach Gum: They look like normal little gum balls but they are sooo peachy and tasty! Two of the balls are sweet while one is deliciously sour.

KitKat Bake (Cheesecake): Love these! Perfect for sweet tooths. You can bake 'em in the oven for a few seconds but I couldn't wait, so I ate them right away!

Animal Grip Eraser: Looook at the little black kitty. This one goes right on top of my pencil but I don't want to use it because it's too cute!

Ika - Peanut Mix: These are squid senbei (Japanese rice cracker) balls filled with peanuts. I used to eat these when I was little, with my ojii-chan (grandpa) and I still love them. Squid might scare you but trust me, the flavor is very subtle!

Suppasugiru Ume: these are super sour gummy candies. I love sour but if you're not used to it, take baby steps; one piece at a time! It says on the pack that, a bag of this equals your daily vitamin C intake. Enough said! :)

Otona - Zeitaku Chocoball: These are delicious peanuts covered in premium, dark chocolate. A classier, ''adultier'' version of M&Ms. 

Lotte Koala's March - Wata Ame: I used to eat these as a child so they make me very nostalgic!! These are bite-sized, koala shaped cookies, filled with a cotton candy flavored cream. Too cute and addictive! 

As if the contents of the two boxes above aren't enough to feed your appetite, here are more snacks which you can purchase separately at Skoshbox:

Glico Cream Collon: Don't worry, these have absolutely nothing to do with anyone's colon!!! Collon are wafer-like ,flakey pastries filled with a super sweet, vanilla cream. Again, once you start, you can't stop!

Glico Bisco: these are finger licking, buttery biscuits with a creamy filling. 

DIY Choco - Banana Kit: I'll show you the inside of the pack another time. There are little marshmallow type banana candies that you dip into a chocolate sauce and adorable sprinkles! Ah, they come up with the cutest things in Japan! <3

Panda Corn Puffs: I was expecting a usual corn snack flavor but these were something else!! They're tantalizingly salty and sweet at the same time. I almost finished the whole bag until I realized I had to take a picture of them! You can tell how passionately I was holding the bag, as it's all wrinkled up :))

Ciao a tutti! Spero che vi sia piaciuta la degustazione virtuale di tutte le sfiziosità contenute nei Skoshbox. Skoshbox è un servizio in abbonamento che spedisce una volta al mese una scatola di dolciumi divertenti, spuntini deliziosi e anche accessori giapponesi DOC. Ci sono due opzioni: il Skoshbox e il Dekabox (quello più grande) ma si possono anche ordinare i prodotti singolarmente e c'è davvero l'imbarazzo della scelta sul loro sito: www.skoshbox.com

Grazie a Skoshbox, potete avere un assaggio del giappone a casa vostra!

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I’m extremely impressed by the fun selection, quality and variety of the strictly Japanese products offered by Skoshbox. The service is also fantastic. If you love Japan and you love snacks and if your palate just loves exploring new sensations, I can't think of a better Japanese snack subscription box than Skoshbox.

Let’s face it, there are some things that you can only find in Japan and the founders of Skoshbox knew this. That’s why they deserve a huge ''Arigatou gozaimasu'' for creating Skoshbox. Now we can say ''there are some things that you can only find in Japan...and in a Skoshbox!!!'' :)

Sayonara for now ~

Wednesday Addams and Count Dracula

Hi everybody! Did you dress up yesterday for Halloween? Did you eat lots of candy? I sure did (a bit too much!!) If you're following me on Instagram (http://instagram.com/hungrycaramella), you may have noticed a picture of me with this pumpkin choco-lollipop, wearing my Halloween headscarf from 

Miss Cherry Makewell :)

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Ciao a tutti! Vi siete travestiti ieri per Halloween? Avete mangiato dolcetti? Io ne ho mangiati troppi!! Se mi seguite su Instagram (http://instagram.com/hungrycaramella), avrete forse visto le foto di me con questa ciocco-lecca lecca a forma di zucca e la mia fascia Halloween da 

Miss Cherry Makewell :)

Blowing a kiss to my candy corn:

My headscarf has pumpkins and black cats all over while my mother's has Halloween cupcakes! <3

Here's a closeup of my purrrfect headscarf from the lovely Miss Cherry Makewell (http://www.etsy.com/shop/MissCherryMakewell/)
Check out her shop for amazing headscarves/hair accessories!
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La mia fascia per capelli prrrrrrfetta è di Miss Cherry Makewell.
 Date un occhiata al suo negozio fantastico!

 Do you like my spider cupcake?? I wanted to give him a name but couldn't think of anything....what's a good name for him?

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Vi piace il mio ragno cupcake? Volevo dargli un nome ma non mi è venuto in mente niente. Come lo chiameresti?? 

Here we are: Wednesday Addams and Little Count Dracula:

He's terriffying!!!! Yet so charming....Robert Pattinson, move over! ;)

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Un Dracula raccapricciante!!!! E' il mio piccolo Edward Cullen ;))

Kawaii Box Giveaway!

Hi everyone!

Remember my recent post about Kawaii Box (www.kawaiibox.com)? I looked like a greedy little pig in the pictures, but as promised, I'm hosting a Kawaii Box giveaway for you! If you want to have the same reaction that my chihuahua and I have in the picture below, you can enter this giveaway and win your own Kawaii Box, full of fun, Japanese and Korean goodies!

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Ciao a tutti!

Vi ricordate il mio post recente su Kawaii Box (www.kawaiibox.com)? Se volete ottenere la stessa espressione che abbiamo il mio chihuahua ed io in basso, potete partecipare a questo giveaway per vincere una scatola di Kawaii Box, piena zeppa di oggetti divertenti, Giapponese e Koreani! 

Per partecipare a questo giveaway internazionale (quindi aperto a tutti!), entra nel gadget in basso, inserendo la tua e-mail o facendo il log-in tramite Facebook. Questo gadget poi scegliere a caso un vincitore/una vincitrice che verra contatto/a con la notizia kawaii! Il termine ultimo è fra 15 giorni, da oggi. Consiglio: Kawaii Box mi ha rivelato che più gadget scegli, più è alta la possibilità di vincere quindi io vi suggerisco di seguire Kawaii Box su almeno uno dei loro social (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest ecc.). Fatemi sapere se avete partecipato in un commento sotto questo post! Buona e Kawaii Fortuna! 

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To enter this international giveaway, log in the below Rafflecopter gadget by inserting your e-mail address or via your Facebook account. Rafflecopter will draw a random winner who will be contacted with the Kawaii news in 15 days from today! Kawaii box will then be in touch with you for delivery. Tip: Kawaii Box kindly let me know that the more gadgets you choose, the higher is your chance of winning so I recommend following them on at least one of their socials: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Tumblr, Pinterest etc. Let me know if you entered in a comment below this post. Lotsa Good and Kawaii Luck! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

♫ Viva Las Vegas ♫

Last night I watched Viva Las Vegas with Elvis....so with a bit of imagination, I'm leaving for Sin City, Nevada! Can you hear the bongos?? 

♫ Bright lights city gonna set my soul, gonna set my soul on fire! ♫

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Ieri sera ho visto Viva Las Vegas con Elvis....quindi con un po' di 

fantasia sto partendo per Las Vegas! Come on everybody! ;) ♫

This is my ''off to Las Vegas'' pose // Las Vegas, sto arrivandoooooo

Bringing my sweetheart with me

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Porto pure l'amore mio con me

''Hmmmm what'd I say, tell me what'd I say!'' ♫

Finally, there's that neon 'Welcome to Las Vegas' sign!!!

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Eccola, l'insegna ''Bevenuti a Las Vegas'!!!

How cool is this 'Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas'' signboard necklace??

 It's from Dolly Cool 

This is my ''dreaming of Las Vegas'' face:

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Il mio sguardo sognante Las Vegas:

♫ Viva.....Vivaaaaa Las Vegaaaas! ♫

Happy Sunday. Buona domenica a tutti! :)

Kawaii Box Review - September 2015

Being half Japanese, I have an affinity for all things kawaii. It's like a magnetic attraction. What is kawaii?? It means ‘‘cute’’ in Japanese (^__^) You can pretend not to be attracted to them, but kawaii items are irresistible, whether you're half Japanese or not!!! The perfect box to quench your thirst for kawaii is: Kawaii Box!

I’m positive you’ve heard of Kawaii Box or you’re already subscribed to it or that you will subscribe to it. In case you don’t know what I’m talking about (tsk tsk), Kawaii Box is a monthly subscription service that sends subscribers a box of 10-12 handpicked, kawaii, Japanese and Korean items. These boxes are all the rage! They are brimful of kawaii-ness….they’re full of kawaii surprises to be more exact. Yes, because each month, you don’t know what exactly you’ll be receiving but rest assured that it’ll be 100% adorable in the form of stationery, plushies, snacks, accessories and much more! The not knowing what exactly to expect is what makes these boxes so exciting! It's like watching a thriller, but instead of a maniac around the corner, there's a box full of kawaii goods, ready to startle you! 

I’m now going to walk you through the joy and excitement that a Kawaii Box brings. When I received my Kawaii Box, I wanted to rip it open and shower myself with the goodies but for you guys, I had to maintain some self-control:

I'm not acting. This is my genuine reaction upon opening my Kawaii Box ;)

My chihuahua was very curious too!

Ta-da! Here is the contents of Kawaii Box - September 2015 edition 

There is also a card with a list of everything inside the box:

1.) Cute Egg Plush - this chick is sooo soft

2.) Moomin Mini Pouch - super soft and perfect for my coins!

3.) Kawaii Toast Squishy Charm - irresistibly squishy!!!

Just look at these faces! 

4.) Kabaya Fish Gummies - these are good! Fruity (not fishy!!) and chewy

5.) Caplico Mini Ice Cream Candy - crunchy wafer outside and soft chocolate inside..yum yum! It says ''contains calcium'' in Japanese :)

6.) Alpaca Pouch - very spacious...I'll be storing my makeup here 

7.) Cute Animal Birthday Card - one of my Scorpio friends will receive this soon

8.) Neck Stretching Bunny Pen - will use this to write in number 7 ;)

9.) Kawaii Foods Sticker Set - smiley mushroom, smiley broccoli, 

smiley bacon.......need I say more?

10.) Fragrance Beans. Watch out, socks!

11.) DIY Bracelet Kit - kawaii and fun :)

The ice-cream snack was very amusing

.....and tasty!

Essendo metà giapponese, ho una certa affinità verso le cose kawaii...un attrazione magnetica. Credo che quasi tutti -a prescindere dalla nazionalità- siano attratti dal kawaii. Ma cos'è kawaii?? In giapponese, vuol dire ''carino''/''adorabile'' ^_^ Esiste una scatola perfetta per i maniaci del kawaii: il Kawaii Box. Di sicuro avrete sentito parlare di questa compagnia...forse voi fans dell'oriente siete già iscritte al servizio o forse vi iscriverete! Nel caso non abbiate mai sentito parlare (gasp!), Kawaii Box è un servizio in abbonamento che spedisce una volta al mese, una scatola piena zeppa di oggetti, accessori e merendine giapponesi e koreani. 

Come avete visto dalle foto, nella scatola di Settembre, ci sono 11 oggetti kawaii. Uno più divertente dell'altro! Ci sono i charm in peluche, un porta monete, un kit per creare braccialetti, delle gommose a forma di pesce (al gusto di frutta, non di pesce ahah), degli adesivi spiritosi, un biglietto di compleanno, una penna a coniglietto....Mi è piaciuto molto la varietà del contenuto di questo box e la cosa fantastica e che se ti iscrivi, non sai mai cosa esattamente ti arriverà. Saprai solo che la scatola sarà piena di sorprese kawaii! E' un ''suspense'' molto piacevole!! 
Ci sono vari tipi di abbonamenti e la spedizione è gratis in tutto il mondo!
Per maggiori dettagli, potete dare un'occhiata quì: www.kawaiibox.com

Restate sintonizzati sul mio blog per una sorpresina da parte mia e di Kawaii Box! 

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 So there they are. 11 kawaii items! I’m so very pleased with Kawaii Box. I loved the variety of the cute, useful items I received and the service is excellent. There are different subscription plans (for more details, visit: www.kawaiibox.com) and hear ye, hear ye: shipping is free, worldwide! You will also be kindly sent a tracking number to check the status of your box. I checked mine every hour. Can you blame me?? A Kawaii Box is full of surprises and cuteness! Speaking of surprises, stay tuned for a little surprise from Kawaii Box and me! :)

Sayonara!

CLOSED. Firmoo Giveaway: Win a pair of eyeglasses or sunglasses!

Hi everyone! 

I'm sure you've heard of Firmoo, the most popular online eyewear store, that offers a huge selection of super stylish eyeglasses and sunglasses. A while back ago, I reviewed a pair of their sunglasses (if you missed out on the post, it can be read here). As you can see below, the Firmoo sunglasses I'm wearing are gorgeous! I feel like such a diva wearing them. I have to hide from paparazzi in style, you know. Well, enough about me and my celebrity lifestyle woes! 

Today, I'm excited to announce that in collaboration with Firmoo, one of you lucky readers will win one pair of their eyeglasses or sunglasses from their blogger collection! Free shipping included. The cool thing is that if you register on Firmoo, you can also try on the glasses, to see if they suit you, by uploading your picture! Scroll down for this giveaway's rules. All you have to do is give me a million dollars, in cash by COB tonight. Just kidding, obviously ;))

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Buondì a tutti!

Sono sicura che avrete sentito parlare di Firmoo, il più popolare negozio online di ottica. Tempo fa ho postato una recensione (che potete leggere quì) di un paio di occhiali da sole da Firmoo. Come potete vedere, sono bellissimi! Mi sento tanto diva quando mi metto questi occhiali da sole. Sapete, devo pur nascondermi in stile dai paparazzi! Comunque, basta parlare di me e la mia vita da star. 

Oggi sono felicissima di annunciarvi che in collaborazione con Firmoo, uno/una di voi care lettrici e cari lettori, vincerà un paio di occhiali da vista o occhiali da sole Firmoo da questa collezione dedicata ai blogger! Spedizione gratis inclusa. Potete anche provarvi gli occhiali, per vedere come vi stanno, registrandovi sul sito e caricando la vostra foto. Per vincere, dovete solo seguire le instruzioni in basso, inviandomi entro stasera un milione di euro. Sto scherzando ovviamente! :))

Me, wearing my Firmoo sunglasses and feeling so Jackie O:

Here are some of my favorite frames from Firmoo:

Check out all the different shapes and colors at www.firmoo.com

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Ecco alcune delle mie montature preferite di Firmoo:

Per partecipare a questo Giveaway:

1. Se non mi segui già, segui il mio blog, hungrycaramella, su Google Friend Connect, Google Plus e/o Bloglovin
2. Seguimi su Twitter e Instagram (se avete un profilo su questi social)
3. Scegli una montatura Firmoo da quì e lascia un commento sotto questo post, con il link degli occhiali o il modello che vorresti vincere. Lascia anche il tuo indirizzo e-mail per essere contatatto/a.

*La montatura include un paio di lenti standard 1.50. Per un'altra gradazione, la spesa sarà extra. Se volete invece un paio di occhiali da sole, l'aggiunta di lenti scure è gratis!

Questo giveaway ha inizio oggi, Mercoledì, 14/10/15 e terminerà Martedì prossimo, 20/10/15. Il vincitore/la vincitrice verrà scelto tramite random.org e riceverà un e-mail con la buona notizia. Buona fortuna! :)

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To enter this Firmoo Giveaway, please follow the below instructions:

1. Follow my blog, hungrycaramella (if you're not already!) on Google Friend Connect, Google Plus and/or Bloglovin

2. Follow my Twitter and Instagram (if you have an account).

3. Choose a pair of Firmoo frames* from here and leave a comment under this post, pasting the link or indicating the model of the frames you would like to win. Leave your e-mail address too so that you can be contacted 

*Please note that the frames include standard 1.50 index single vision lenses. Upgraded lenses will be charged for an extra fee. If you want sunglasses though, the lenses can be tinted for free! 

This giveaway begins today, Wednesday, 14 October and ends on Tuesday, 20 October. The winner will be chosen via random.org and will receive an e-mail with the happy news! Good luck! :)