Newport Beach Film Festival Outfit

Eric and I were invited to go to the Newport Beach Film Festival. Our friend Mike Chen directed this AWESOME ghost movie, POSSESSION, that scared the cr_p out of me..... Anyway, I wanted an effortless but fashionable look for the event so I paired my nude shirt dress with aqua colored accessories, wind-swept side braid, and soft, romantic makeup; to combat the chilly beach-side evening, a chic leather trench. Perfect for a spring/summer social outting!

(dress- ZARA; coat- CHINA; necklaces- FOREVER21; earrings- NYC STREET VENDOR; scarf- BURBERRY; bag-ARMANI JEANS; shoes- ALDO)

TEA TIME

Or should I say coffee time?

HAZELNUT INFUSED MOCHA LATTE WITH MANGO CREAM BAR AND COFFEE CREAM BAR


Since our nanny is off today and I took care of Monster Mu all by myself, I thought I'd reward myself with some simple but delicious indulgence. This simple afternoon dessert is super yummy and takes no time to whip up. The secret is TRADER JOE's all natural ice cream bars.

TRADER JOE'S MANGO CREAM BAR
Made with and taste like real mangos, but without the stringy pulp. Super refreshing.

TRADER JOE'S COFFEE LATTE CREAM BAR
Rich, creamy, melt in your mouth goodness. Compliments my hazelnut mocha latte superbly.

Go ahead, make a round to your local Trader Joe's. You'll be hooked like I am.

THE OINKSTER

Legend has it that Eagle Rock has THE best SLOW cooked FAST food in Cali. After watching Guy Fieri chow down the entire left side of the menu at THE OINKSTER, I've been DYING to go.... Except WHERE in the world is Eagle Rock??? Chances are, it's right around the corner! Just a bit past Pasadena! Lucky me!


OINKSTER PASTRAMI
CRAZY good. Juicy and full of flavor. The caramelized onions and red cabbage slaw sweeten and balance the rich flavored house cured pastrami. So long to THE HAT!!!

BBQ PULLED PORK SANDWICH
Savory and light, with just the right amount of aromatic house BBQ sauce. Again, the onion and slaw does the trick for me. I would ask for more onion and slaw with less pork next time tho, but if you are a meat lover, it should be fine the way it is.

HOUSE MADE SAUCES
Homemade Ketchup, Chipotle Ketchup and Garlic Aioli. I usually don't eat too much fries, but with the garlic aioli sauce, I finished everything. Definitely have to try the homemade mustard next time.

LIMITED TIME HORCHATA SHAKE
Super sweet, in a good way. Spiced up with a hint of cinnamon. I hope they make it a regular on the menu.

PEANUT BUTTER & JELLY CUPCAKE

Sweet and Savory. Perfectly balanced. Super moist. The frosting is rich and creamy without the usual PB stickiness. 2 thumbs up from me! That says a lot, since I make pretty good cupcakes myself =)

Overall, great place to eat and hangout. Oh, did I mention great service too?

Perfect Skin in 2 min.

So I recently stumbled across a product called BB Cream, short for Blemish Balm Cream. My research showed me that it originated from Germany, developed for peeps after severe burns and/or surgery. But it really got its fame out in Asia, where ppl are crazy about minor plastic surgeries and religious about skin care.

With that said, what exactly is BB Cream? Well, it's basically an all in one product that is MOISTURIZER, SUN SCREEN, MAKE UP BASE, FOUNDATION, AND DAMAGE CARE CREAM. Sounds too good to be true right? Well, it's not. I really thought that BB Cream is just a fancy name for tinted moisturizer/sun screen. But it turned out to provide much more coverage. The best thing is that the coverage is SUPER natural, it makes me look like I have no makeup on, just naturally beautiful skin. The second best thing is that the texture is light but pretty much sweat proof. The tip is to apply it by tapping it onto your face in an upward motion with minimal amounts and then repeat on areas you need more coverage.


So where and which one to get? I went to Takashima Ya in San Gabriel and tried all of their BB Cream samples and found this one that I liked,

NANOCE BB MOIST CREAM

I bought the Natural Ocher color. This is a Japanese made one.

Here's a good Korean brand BB Cream


Lancome's UV EXPERT BB BASE

This is what I REALLY want. I am still waiting for my cousin to bring it in May.

So, this is my new secret to "FAKE" perfect skin in 2 min. Now you know.

Beautiful Eyes

Compare to my puppy eyed friends, I have seriously small eyes. Fortunately, these beady eyes have advantages as well--- they don't show signs of aging as much. After I turned 25, however, I do see some signs of lines/spots creeping up slowly. Good thing I started my eye regimen early. So out of the 20+ eye treatments that I've tried, here are the winning numbers:

Kiehl's Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado

This is by far my favorite everyday eye cream. I use this in the morning and sometimes at night. Just dab a tiny bit with my ring finger and then gently rub between the two ring fingers and let the cream "melt" a little, then just tap around the eyes in an upward motion.

Estee Lauder's Advance Night Repair Eye Recovery Complex

I use this at night, about 3-5 times a week. I started using the sister product for the face first (A MUST HAVE!), fell in love with it and then bought this one. Very light and airy, but moisturizes very well.

Pola Wrinkle Shot

This is my emergency kit. I use it after pulling all nighters and when my eyes are extra tired and need an extra LIFT.

Pola Eye Zone Mask

Another great creation by Pola.

Bremenn Research Labs Hylexin

I alternate between this and Kiehl's during the day. But I don't have enough dark circles to tell if this really works like magic. My cousin swears by it though.

Last little tip to revitalize tired and/or puffy eyes: I keep a natural, alcohol and fragrance free toner in the fridge and drench two cotton pads with the cold toner, then use them as eye masks for 5-10 minutes. Great way to give your eyes a wake up call.

Okay, hope this helps!