Vibrant Orange Lips with Giorgio Armani




It was love at first sight. I was wearing Hourglass liquid lipstick in "Muse" when I was walking by the Giorgio Armani's makeup counter. I saw the reflection of my vibrant coral lips achieved by the liquid lipstick, and also saw that my lips could help with a little precision. I've always entertained the idea of having fuller, or at least, more defined lips but felt too unexperienced in lip liners to give it a try. But, I was quite drawn to this orange lip liner shade. I picked it up and began drawing in a careful line on the outer edges of my lips.

The moment the tip of the Giorgio Armani lip liner in shade no. 6 touched my lips, it felt creamy. Most lip liners I've tried were so waxy that they almost pulled and tugged at my lips when drawing them in. But this, this wasn't like that at all. It glided smoothly, yet precisely, without bleeding all across my lips. When I stepped back to see what it all looked like, I was more than happy. The color was beautiful. It complemented so well with the lipstick shade I was wearing, and I know orange is going to be big (as it always is in the warmer months) come Spring and Summer.

But I cut to the chase and now I'm walking around, wearing full-blown orange lips everywhere. This long-lasting, creamy, beautiful orange shade is marvelous both as a lip liner and as a lip color to wear on its own. After I give it a slight shading on my lips, I add a lip balm on top of it (something like the Nuxe reve de miel is perfect), and voila! It's perfect.

Here's me wearing it. It's more vibrant in person, but as it is an Instagram picture, the quality is what it is:



I knew I was in love with this when I recently lost it, and went days on end, looking for it. Today, I found it. And, those long and empty days without this made me realize that this very well might be my favorite orange lip shade! x

Wishlist #4 . Non-beauty Edition




  1. Loeffler Randall bag, Pouchette in white snakeskin
  2. Mr & Mrs Furs army parka
  3. Frends rose gold headphones
  4. Fijifilm Instax Mini film
  5. Warby Parker* (just placed my at-home trial kit!)
  6. Sorel "Joan of Arc"
I know I mentioned how I feel satisfied with what I have, in terms of makeup. But there's been so many fashion/lifestyle things that have been getting to me! These are a few things that I find myself looking at over and over, wishing I had them on me, with me. In fact, the Warby Parker glasses is soon coming true since I placed my at-home trial kit today. You can pick 5 pairs that you'd like to try at home and what they do is send them for free. You have five days to try them out and after you place an order for what you want, you just send them back, again free of charge. Exciting isn't it? Anyway, it's been snowing so much here in NY, I am thinking that I really need some legit snow boots. Uggs classics aren't keeping it up for me anymore. I need really waterproof snow boots. So, I've been thinking of getting a pair by Sorel

Wishlist #3




Some things I want but not necessarily need. I've come to a point where I feel I have enough and that pretty much scares me haha. Either I have too much or I'm growing old. Still yet, here are some things I'd love to try!
  1. Josie Maran "Happy Honey"
  2. Clinique "Take the day off" balm cleanser
  3. Nars Velvet Lip in "Damned"
  4. Laura Mercier mineral foundation
  5. Bobbi Brown blush in "Apricot"
  6. Byredo Parfum "Inflorescence"
Anyone want to recommend any of them? x

Vanity Spotlight #2 . Valentine's Day Edition




Tomorrow is Valentine's Day, so I thought I'd bring out romantic products on the vanity spotlight. Diptyque Eau Duelle is my signature scent. It's this sophisticated vanilla with pepper top note combination that makes it both sexy but also truly feminine and not too heavy. Then I have laid out the Essie Topless & Barefoot as a lovely ladylike shade for Valentine's day. It is clean and feminine and it just looks really pretty! Then for lips I have two shades: one by Giorgio Armani rouge ecstasy in shade no. 103. It is a nudey pink that looks good with a lovely smokey eye. Then a really bright orange-coral shade that I've been loving is the Hourglass in the shade "Muse". This is possibly drying and a bit powdery so make sure you apply it without mistake since it can smudge everywhere. But it definitely is long-lasting and the shade remains that powerful great vibrant coral-orange quite long!



Then I have two cute rings. One is by my favorite jewelry store called Catbird NYC It is the kitten ring. Ever so cute! Then, one by an independent jeweler on Etsy saying "Oui". Lovely aren't they? Then the watch that turn heads all the time, Larsson and Jennings. Good for both men and women :)


Mario Badescu Haul





Watch my haul video here:




Mario Badescu is a skincare brand that I kind of swear by. I haven't tried everything they have, but whatever I did try, I ended up really loving. It's the kind of skincare that is a dream for sensitive skin people. I love that they have labels on their products, targeting certain skin types. I am a combination, oily, and sensitive skin at large. The labels I look for are C, O, S.

This skincare brand is also celeb-certified. And what I love is not only their ever so effective products, but also their affordable prices!

Recently on www.hautelook.com they featured Mario Badescu and so I thought it was time to stock up and try new things. I ran out of moisturizers and I have been out of their toners for awhile. Currently I am using the Pixi Glow Tonic toner, but I have been missing Mario Badescu's toners for awhile. As for moisturizers, I just ran out of my Missha Super Aqua moisturizer, so it was good timing when this Mario Badescu box got delivered to my front porch!

I bought a Acne Control Kit that featured: a large bag filled with, dry cream, dry lotion, dry mask, acne facial cleanser, special cucumber lotion, a small mirror, and bath sponge.

Then on the side I bought their: Seaweed Cleansing Lotion, Special Healing Powder, Hylaronic Eye Cream, Vitamin C, and Aloe Moisturizer.

Watch my haul video here:


What I highly recommend from them:

  • Cucumber Cleansing Lotion (best toner)
  • Vitamin C Serum (this is magic, I swear)
  • Buttermilk Moisturizer (softens and does not clog pores) 

BAG ALERT. Rebecca Minkoff Mini Mac in Plum



This is aka "What's in my Bag" post, showing you what I carry around in my bag. It is an edited version, meaning, I've cleaned my bag a little and decided to feature things that were only beauty related. But this Rebecca Minkoff bag only allows a certain amount anyway. It is my first Rebecca Minkoff bag, and I bought this last Fall actually, and it is only now that I'm featuring it on my blog.

I absolutely love this bag, and in my recent trip to Europe, this was the only bag I carried around and it was the perfect size. Although it is a mini mac quite a lot can fit inside this bag. I loved it for chucking essentials in: like the beauty products that I feature, as well as carrying around my iPhone and travel billets and such. I decided to bring this bag to Europe because as a tourist, you want to be careful of picket-pocketting, and the last time I was in France, I was a victim of picket-pocketing and so I wanted to be extra careful.

I like to wear this cross body, and when I'm walking around, I kept it in the front of my body. The zipper is something I love about this bag, because it zips up so well. There are quite a lot of bags, I have to tell you, that just don't zip up well! You actually need your two hands to zip up, but this bag has such a smooth zipper that when you are in a rush and want to zip up, you can do it easily. Small unnecessary fact you say? Not for me, since zippers are something I always check up in a bag!

And with the functionality of this bag, comes the absolutely beautiful style. This color just makes my heart flutter. In some lights it may look a bit dark, and then in some lights, it looks bright plum. I love it! You may know that I have a huge obsession with plum colored things, and when I bought it last Fall, I knew I'd get a lot of wear with this. It is both chic and feminine at the same time!


So, finally here are some handbag essentials that are really do carry. They aren't just placed this way for the blogpost. These are my current handbag necessities that I took out of this bag for this post.

As a whole, I think all girls carry around a hand cream of some sort in the winter. I have been falling head-over-heels for This Works Deep Sleep Dream Cream lotion for hands and body. I loved it when I first bought it, but decided to give it to my mother to use but when I found she wasn't really using it, I took it back and fell in absolute love! I recently bought another tube of this and it's been loved very much by me! Read here.

Then of course, a lip balm. I featured this balm before but Nuxe Reve de Miel is just a great lip balm for the harshest winters. It has a matte finish, and it is very thick-- almost so thick, it's hard to scoop out of the tube when the weather is cold. But nonetheless, it masks your lips and instantly binds the torn skin on the lips upon application! The small is also lovely. The only downfall is that when you apply this too much, you may end up with residue of the balm on your lips. You want to make sure you are applying it without leaving particles of its content visible on your lips. (Anyone else know what I mean?) Read here.

Then for lip colors, I usually carry two shades. One neutral/nude, and the other, bright. I recently had to go to an interview, and for interviews I always wear this shade by Burberry. It is their lip mist in the shade Copper. Hands down, the best professional lip color, whatever that means. Whenever you want to look proper, read, and professional- go for this one. It always perfects the lips by moistening it, hydrating it, and giving it a color neutral peachy/rosy/pinky nude. The color is just right. Read here.

Then for the bright lip color for a sudden change in look, I have been loving Rimmel Apocalips (Show Off) shade in Big Bang. This is a Marilyn Monroe red, and I love it. But what I really love is the Apocalips formulation in general. Couldn't get better- creamy, moisturizing, and perfectly pigmented. Their lip lacquers are better than the luxe brands that I've tried. Read here.

For face, I always try to carry a face powder around, especially when I want to look my best the whole day. I hate when I see my makeup melt and I have nothing to fix it up! I have been obsessing with the Bourjois Unifying Face Powder. I did a review of this after I brought it from France. This again, is by far, better than most high end brands I've tried. It instantly perfects my makeup anytime during the day. Read here.

Lastly, fragrance. Ah, fragrances! When I was Europe, I was never without this scent. Fresh Hesperides Grapefruit fragrance. I did a whole review of this recently, so you can go read it up here.


Vanity Spotlight #1

Just a few of my favorite things on this beautiful mirror tray: 

larsson and jennings watch, fresh beauty fragrance in hesperides grapefruit, tom ford lipstick in violet fatale, catbird rings, earrings from s.korea, butterlondon nail polish in la moss




Fragrance Alert: FRESH Hesperides Grapefruit


I am a fragrance-philia (a word I made up but hopefully isn't too linguistically incorrect). I discovered this beautiful lovely scent from Fresh called Hesperides Grapefruit and for some strange reason, haven't featured it in a favorites video! It's probably because it's always in my bag, and I forgot about it. But let me just say that I have been enjoying this fragrance ever so much! The problem? It is sold out pretty much everywhere, including their own website.

The sell this fragrance in 3 sizes, and the only one I could find at the time was their rollerball size. After falling head-over-heels for this, I sought to buy the second size, which is a spray version. However, that was all out of stock. The only choice I had was the largest size ($88) and I wasn't too sure I wanted to have that large size. What I would like is the medium sized one, but currently, I can't seem to find it anywhere. I never explored any of the Fresh fragrances, and so was shocked to see how popular this particular one was and understandably so!

The scent is just lovely. It is fresh and so feminine. The grapefruit fragrances I know of are usually a bit musky and masculine, even though it is a fruity scent. Yet, this one is down to the last note, for the ladies. It smells so beautiful and fresh that every time you put it on, you smell like you've just gotten out of the shower. It is a great pick-me-up, and I doubt anyone would find this scent unfavorable because it's just one of those scents that everyone would sniff and say, "wow, that's nice".

I don't recommend the rollerball though. Especially in the winter, when you are wearing scarves and sometimes there a little fluffs of cotton around your neck. Because it's a rollerball, it picks up everything as it is rolling away on your skin and that just isn't a nice thing to see in a perfume bottle-- fuzzes of little things swimming around!

But besides the fact that it is out-of-stock, this has been my go-to-chuck-in-the-bag-always-great-to-put-on kind of fragrance! :)

One Fine Day in Strasbourg, France.




It's the first day of February, and that gave me more of a reason to hurry and post this long-due travel diary of my trip around Europe. The final destination of my two week trip was Strasbourg, France. It was a short trip, just one day but I found that was enough to get a good gist of the place. I absolutely loved everything about Strasbourg, besides maybe a few bits that I'll share as we go along, but overall, every single corner was a little gasp of surprise. It was just so beautiful and picturesque! 

We started from Paris, and drove about five hours to Strasbourg. It was my first time seeing the French countryside, and it was quite beautiful. In the morning, we saw a haze of fog all along the hills. I tried to capture it with my camera, but in real life, it looked much more... well, European. Something you would imagine in French paintings! 


After our long drive, we finally arrived at our destination. We gave up trying to find any parking space in their garages. They were all full. Without much help and translation available in the area, we guessed where we could park and hoped for the best. We were able to get street parking, and luckily, our car wasn't towed after five-six hours touring the place. Just driving around and looking for parking space got us excited because everything was so beautiful! Our first stop was the Strasbourg Notre-Dame. It is the definition of grandeur

What we didn't know about this area was that it is supposedly the capitale de noel. I guess it's the season for people to just flock into Strasbourg because oh goodness, it was PACKED. There were so many people all around the cathedral and Petite France that I was pretty shocked. Also, I was unaware that they would have Christmas markets tented in front of the cathedral. So when we arrived, we were both surprised and disappointed with what we saw. Surprised because the markets were so festive, but disappointed because we couldn't take in the cathedral for what it was because there was too much going on in front of it! But still, it was breathtakingly beautiful. 

As the sun sets, the gothic detailed cathedral became more and more beautiful as it glistened by the sunset. 

The cathedral just could not be captured in a single shot. It is huge and I think it's larger than the notre dame in Paris! Below are pictures of the market. Look how small they are compared to the massiveness of the cathedral. The markets were selling all sorts of things. What was especially best-selling were the vin chauds and the chestnuts.

Of course, I had to get a small cup of their vin chaud and it helped warm up the coldness of the winter day! 

Here are the pictures of the inside of the cathedral: 

It's also lovely how there were so many musicians playing right outside the cathedral and where the open markets were. It helped created that festive Christmas aura, and it really felt like I was truly in Europe! 

Then, from the cathedral we headed to La Petite France. Here you can really see the German influence of Alsace. I especially loved the architecture of the buildings in this area, and the river that runs throughout reflects the beauty of their town. 

I can't say where exactly we went, but we did wander all throughout La Petite France. We didn't eat anything special, and if anything, I don't recommend US tourists to eat at a restaurant. Rather, eat something from the markets because it saves $$$ and I just did not enjoy the meal I had in a restaurant around here and service was horrible as well! Just sip a few vin chauds, eat chestnuts and hotdogs and fill your tummies with these beautiful sights!


Here you can really see the beautiful buildings of Alsace, the particular architecture that we all know of so well. I felt as though I was in some Disney movie, and it felt so surreal: 

We stayed until late evening. The lights really made the night feel so bright, especially since the river reflected so much of that light. We enjoyed our time here so much (besides the food) and it is somewhere I'd definitely want to visit again and again, but next time not during Christmas season. Perhaps when there are less people and when it is warmer. I think if the weather also was sunnier, it would've been extra beautiful! 

Well, that's really all for this post! I hope you guys enjoyed the pictures. Tell me if any of you have been to Strasbourg, and what you loved or didn't love so much. It'll help me plan my trip better next time I go :) x
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