Inside my luggage...

(Everything in my luggage)

(jewelery, watch and blackberry)

(hermes scarves)

(Hermes Garden Party)

(Shirts, vest, jacket and Ray Ban)

Just finished packing for my 3 1/2 weeks trip.  As you can see, its all neutrals and all accessories.

I was hoping to pack much lighter but friends told me that the weather in Shanghai is anything but stable: warm one day, chilly the next.  So I need lots of layering pieces that can easily be worn together.  Not to mention burp, drool and barf-proof outfits.  Well, at least everything fit into a small wheeled luggage and my large Garden Party.

Now...something seems missing...oh yeah...shoes and bikinis!  Very very important!!!

ps. sorry I won't be able to post anything during my trip as blogger.com is not accessible from mainland China.

GIRL CRUSH - Liu Wen

We've seen a fair share of asian model on recent seasons of fashion weeks, but Liu Wen is the first Asian to walk the Victoria Secret fashion.  She is now the newest face of Estee Lauder and ranked 10th on the top 50 model list by models.com.

Look at those straight strong brows, wide almond eyes and perfect pout (not to mention her 5' 10 1/2" 110lbs frame)!

Beautiful Shiny Creatures

I love beautiful shiny creatures as costume jewelry.  Unique, mysterious and sometimes dangerous.

Double zebra head cuff - Vintage; Elephant belt - Vintage; Ladybug pendant clock - Kenneth Jay Lane; Snake cuff - Street vendor; Snake ring - Kenneth Jay Lane

OUTFIT DU JOUR - If you let go, I might fall

 

 

Had nothing to wear so I simply threw on my oversized leopard print scarf and secured it with a belt, my Collier de Chien belt nonetheless.  Does it work?  I don't care...as long as my belt doesn't let go.

Scarf - Vintage; Pants - H&M; Purse - Chanel; Belt - Hermes; Boots - Modern Vintage; Cuff - Kenneth Jay Lane

Pop Art

I was going to do a post on my eye makeup using my newly acquired by Terry Crayon Blackstar in Deep Bronze and Ombre Blackstar in Bronze Moon, but ended up with pop art!  Suddenly, I feel like a young asian Warhol!

Ok, I really need to start doing my tax return (and my parents and mother-in-law's) before leaving on vacation this saturday...arrr...can't keep procrastinating...

Strong Brows

(Song Hye-kyo)



(Song Hye-kyo)

(Anastasia Brows in Bloom)

I'm obssessed with brows, mostly due to the lack of it.  Unfortunately, I share a problem faced by many asians: thin and sparse eyebrows.  I remeber starting to shape and fill my them since highschool in hope of creating perfect brows to frame my face.

Now, 15 years later, I am rather pleased with my skills and technique, but there's always room for improvement right?  In my opinion, Korean actress Song Hye Kyo has the perfect shape, arch and fullness.  I have always prefered a fuller brow as it gives illusion of youth and natural beauty.  How did she get the "good" genes???

So out I go and bought Anastasia's Brows in Bloom, a mini quad palette with two shades of brow powder, a wax cream, a highlighter cream and a small brush.  It's compact and includes everything you want and need.  Two shades were available: brunette (mine) or blond.

OUTFIT DU JOUR - Mary-Jane

I don't believe that 5" heels equal to painful shoes.  How many of you have bought flats thinking you can walk all day in them only to find out that even standing for 30mins is a form of torture?  I'll be the first to admit to that!  So let me state that I'm a firm believer in shoe architecture.  With the right design and craftmanship, any shoe should make you looks spectacular and let you dance in them too! 

Now, let's not carry away and think that I'll be doing the Black Swan in them, but you might be surprise to hear that I've worn them to work and didn't have to resort to my emergency shoes!

Sweater - Zara; Skirt - Club Monaco; T-shirt - Club Monaco; Bag - YSL; Shoes - Hermes; Over-the-knee socks - Street vendor

FLASHBACK: Givenchy Fall Couture 09

(Givenchy Fall Couture 2009)

The news are so depressing: natural disaster on top of ongoing war in the middle est on top of corrupted politicians...thank god for Riccardo Tisci for distracting me with some of the best shows in the business. 

His Fall 2009 Couture presentation, which was one of his finest IMO, featured some oh-so-amazing costume jewelry and accessories.  Interestingly, it also had a middle east meets statue of liberty theme. 

Beauty Bargain - by Terry

There are two kinds of mom out there: the stay-at-home, cook babyfood, read bedtime stories type of mom and the try-as-hard-as-I-can to maintain my pre-baby life (I'm the latter).  So at the first sight of spring weather, I pushed my baby in his Quinny bassinette to the core downtown shopping area.  I figure I can kill two birds with one stone, get back into shape and check out the spring collections at my favorite stores! 

Two hours of shopping, browsing and contemplating later, I resisted to buy any clothing/shoes/accessories (it was really hard at Zara - everything from this season is sooooo nice!) until I get back from my trip.  At my last stop, Winners, I was over-the-moon when I saw a complete shelf of by Terry products!!!  For those who are not familiar with this French luxury cosmetic brand,  creator/makeup artist Terry de Gunzburg is also the woman behing YSL's Touche Eclat.  By Terry is most famous for Baume de Rose and Eclat de Teint .

Back to my bargain finds, I picked up two Blackstar liners for $8.99 instead of $34!!!  And the makeup brushes were all $8.99-29.99 instead od $34-151!!!  Thats like 75% off!  Foundation and blush were very tempting too but I was worried about getting the right colour since there's no testers.  Hurry before they're all gone!

DIY Harness Belt

 

It's been a long time since my last DIY and this is an overdue project I had in mind almost two years ago.  The original idea was more provocative, almost S&M, with black leather belt and silver chains.  But given that I'm now a mother of 7 months old baby, I went with a softer interpretation.


Here's what I used:

- 2 identical gold chain necklaces
- 1 brown leather belt (skinny enough so I didn't need extra tools to attach to chain necklaces)

And here's how I did it myself:

- Lay both necklaces flat parallele to each other
- Attach the end of the first necklace to the middle of the belt
- Attach the end of the second necklace to the middle of the belt as closely as possible to first
- Using the two ends of the belt, pass them through the opposite end of both necklaces
- Adjust the lenght of belt on myself
- Braid the ends of leather belt to chain necklace

And voila!  It's best worn with a simple t-shirt or dress to show off the harness belt.

*sorry I don't have step by step pictures as my DIY was spontaneous and I didn't want to undo my belt.

Queen B

(Marie-Claire UK December 2010)

Although Serena van der Woodsen , played by Blake Lively, is the it girl on Gossip Girl, I've been more facinated by the character of Queen B herself, played by Leighton Meester, since the very first season.  Admittedly, I'm addicted to the love to hate attitude (what? I just like to be entertained!).

Off camera, Meester is a classic beauty and has an edgy style.  Marie-Claire UK's December 2010 beauty segment enphasized all her best assets.  I'm especially in love with the black and white photos.  So why isn't she Chanel's new face?  Why Karl?