As summer comes, girls care a lot more about shaving and hair removal as we wear sleeveless tops and short, and visit the beach or the pool regularly. I'm sharing 4 ways that I like to used for home shaving. They each have their disadvantages and benefits, so I'm going to be talking about what I like and don't like about each method!
This video is in Cantonese, but tell me if you want English subtitles! They take quite a bit of time to type out.
I have to admit I did go a little overboard with shopping during the month of May. I was stuck in my dorm room almost all of the month as I had finals for school. It also meant that I had lots of time to shop online and procrastinate as much as I can.
The items that I got makes me so happy for the beach/pool season, so I'm sharing them with you! The first English video is on various swimwear and accessories that I got for the beach/pool.
This second video in Cantonese is about all the makeup and skincare products that I got in preparation for this hot and sweaty weather.
Disclaimer: I did use up lots of products and so I needed to replace all the things that I used up. This is by no means bragging. I really just want to share what items I got that I think are perfect for summer. Everything I buy I always do lots of research to make sure I get my money's worth.
Yes. Alexander Mcqueen inspired afternoon tea. When I saw pictures of this tea set floating around the Internet, I immediately knew I had to go try it, mainly because of the design of the set.
This tea set is available through July 10, 2015, at Kensington Hotel. It is in celebration of the Alexander Mcqueen: Savage Beauty exhibition in the Victoria & Albert Museum. When my friend came to London to visit and wanted to have afternoon tea, I jumped to the chance.
Price: £35 (click here for 25% off discount valid through 10/07/2015 on afternoontea.co.uk)
Sandwiches are always my favorite part of afternoon tea. Consists of the classic smoked salmon, cucumber, egg mayonnaise, and lobster filled finger sandwiches. Mmmmmm.
Scones were the perfect size, crispy on the outside and soft in the inside. Just how I like it!
The crabmeat and pea puree concoction was not bad, excited how you'd imagine crabmeat and pea puree to be. The quail egg is dusted with a fine layer of edible gold, so is the little crispy roll which is filled with some kind of jam and foie gras paste? Not a food expert and totally forgot to memorize the menue. Overall very special presentation, but I don't really care the for taste much.
Let me just say, the sweet treats look just irresistible. So cute and dainty. The macaron had heavy almond taste, but dense and chewy texture. I'm not a huge fan of jam filled macarons anyways, so it wasn't very special in my opinion. Both the cake and cookie are decorated by fondant. Again, I've never had good tasting fondant, so these were no exception.
The panna cotta was very good though. It is more on the sour side, so tasted like yogurt. The white chocolate pearl on top also has a strong almond taste which I like. The chocolate muffin tasted more like a cakey/chewy brownie to me. Surprisingly good as it was not too sweet like the other sweet treats were. The butterfly is a dainty piece of milk chocolate. I did take the icing/buttercream off of the muffin. Never a fan of icing to start with.
Would I go back if they did a collaboration for another fashion exhibition? Definitely. Anything limited edition just makes it sound so exclusive and make me want to take the opportunity.
Brush cleansing is an important step to makeup sanitation. Dirty brushes can cause skin to be prone to breakouts. Watch my video to see how I clean my brushes!
Here comes another afternoon tea visit. This time, I visited Bea's of Bloombury, a cute, home-y bakery with multiple locations around London. I've ordered their cakes before and loved them because they were highly customizable. Cake was moist and icing not too sweet.
The afternoon tea here is no exception. Everything is made gluten-free. The price is not too expensive given the quality of food. This is a perfect place if you want afternoon tea with a chill and relaxed environment. Who says you need to dress up fancy and go to a hotel for good afternoon tea?
They are famous for their cupcakes and brownies. Being a chocoholic, I actually liked the blondie way more than the brownies. It is less dense and sweet, which is a good thing when you're having a meal as loaded as a full afternoon tea set.
These are hearty and filling sandwiches. Different from regular finger sandwiches, these come in different kinds of bread. I do really enjoy the traditional finger sandwiches, but these are not bad and feel healthier as they are not loaded with butter/spreads/mayonnaise (fat, fat, and fat).
We weren't able to finish the cupcake, since we were already stuffed and neither my friend nor I were huge cupcake fans, we packed one of them and brought it home.
All in all, this was a good experience, and I would definitely visit again if I get the chance. They do have amazing cakes to order, especially for special occasions and birthdays. I designed 2 cakes for my friends' birthdays, and everyone loved it. Again, highly customizable, and I am planning on going back for future custom-made cakes!
It is so sad to see Elena leave the TVD family (yes, I am a total geek). So I decided to make an inspired makeup/hair/outfit video to celebrate the 6 years of Vampire Diaries.
AND I also found a video of me doing a Nina Dobrev inspired look 4 years ago. FOUR YEARS AGO. Gosh, time flies.
xoxo,
Enjoy!!
P.S. Can someone please tell me where I can get more of KRMA clothing's leather jackets. They're so nice, even my dad is obsessed.
I'm back again with another afternoon tea review. This time, I enjoyed a £60 for 2 deal on champagne tea with my friends for a birthday celebration at the Hotel Cafe Royal. Located in Piccadilly Circus, it is easily accessible and perfect for when you finish shopping at Regent Street. Afternoon tea is served in the Oscar Wilde Lounge, and service is exquisite (it is a 5 star hotel afterall). The interior design is quite Baroque and extravagant, and you really feel like royalty having a drink there.
Amuse Bouche: apple + goat's cheese muffin
Champagne + tea, what more can you ask for?
Large selection of savoury tea sandwiches (around 7 kinds).
You probably want to leave some space for the sweets later, but who are you kidding?
At this point, you're already stuffed. But who can resist such cute and dainty pastries?
At regular price, a "High Society Tea" costs £42, and £55 with champagne (+ service charge). It is not a cheap afternoon tea, but you get what you pay for. If my friend didn't find a good deal for this tea, I would not have been willing to pay for this (I am still a college student).
But all in all, if you are looking for a hearty and high class afternoon tea, Hotel Cafe Royal is not a bad choice.
Many of you know that I went to boarding school in the States for high school, then am currently in London for university. I always get questions about my schooling and I decided to share my experience in this video! Hope you enjoy.
Studying abroad has been life changing, and I encourage everyone to do it. Wherever you decide to go, I'm certain that you will gain something positive from it.
My family loves traveling to Japan for the holidays. This time, I went to Kyoto, Nara, and Ise with my mom and her friends. Totally a ladies' trip! We met up with my mom's Japanese friend there, so we got to experience a lot of local culture and learnt a ton.
Fushimi 伏見
This little town is on the outskirts of Kyoto, and it is also where our hotel was. We didn't need a 5 star extravagant hotel since the time spent in the hotel was minimal. This area is famous for sake making, so we visited quite a few sake breweries.
Teradaya Inn 旅籠 寺田屋
Famous historical site that is converted into an actual inn you can live in. It is a traditional Japanese house, and you can still see sword and bullet scars on the wood when there was armed conflict!
Stream that was used to transport goods from Osaka to Kyoto, also the reason why this area is a wine making area.
Yes, sake soft serve!
Matcha is a special drink that is used to serve guests.
Homemade dinner! Thank you auntie :)
BBQ. Enough said.
I'm such a fail. I have no idea what the restaurant name is. But they have amazing wine and tapas. Sometimes, you don't have to eat Japanese food in Japan. They have good western food too!
Our last night in Fushimi (last night of the trip) consists of multiple orders of bar food. That's right. We went to a bar thinking it was a restaurant, and just ordered like we were ordering tapas. Clams were fresh and steamed with sake; spaghetti sauce with mentaiko sauce is phenomenal; and who knew curry risotto can be so good?
This chewy snack is from Ogurasansou, a popular Japanese souvenir shop filled with all kinds of snacks and sweets. I bought a matcha dorayaki, and I love it so much. Pleasantly surprised by the chewy texture it has because of the mochi that is incorporated. I wish I bought more!
Nara 奈良
We traveled to Nara for a few hours on way to Ise. We went to Todai-ji, the famous temple where deers roam freely around and let you feed.
Ise 伊勢
A famous hot spring and pearl area, Ise is full of history and culture. We stayed at an onsen (hotspring hotel) and learnt the traditional Japanese way of praying at shrines. Due to respect of shrines, I did not take any photos. It is important to me that I respect other cultures while I am in the country. I think it's just basic manners.
Some amazing packed sushi on the train to Ise. Literally best sushi I had in the whole trip. Kyoto is not a seafood area because it is far from the sea, so seafood is usually not served as sashimi, but pickled and prepared in various way. So good.
Kaiseki at the onsen hotel both for dinner and breakfast served in your room.
I just cannot resist.
Some snacks along the street towards Ise Grand Shrine. Mochi balls. Yes.
赤福 Akafuku is a product of Ise that consists of a mochi (pound rice cake) covered in a generous amount of sweet red bean paste. Perfect amount of mochi with red bean paste so it's not too sweet or bland. Only downside is that it is quite messy to eat as you cannot really hold it between your fingers.
We stayed at the Shima Kanko Hotel The Classic on our second night. Another historical building, the hotel used to be a coveted vacation accommodation for the Japanese. Part of the original building has been preserved as an exhibition. The dinner and breakfast at La Mer Classic, the hotel's French restaurant, is pretty good. I can definitely tell that the food is less heavy and oily as most French dishes are, which is probably because of the Japanese influence. Nonetheless, quite good food.
Along the canal near Ise Grand Shrine.
Found a Western style decorated restaurant for lunch around the Ise Shrine street. It's mediocre. Tomato sauce not tomato-y enough, curry is not bad. Pork cutlet is crispy outside and juicy inside.
Summer is coming, and it is the season for traveling! Well, I love traveling all year round anyways :P
xoxo
Safe travels!
