Benetton wool bag - Love or Hate?

Source: United Colors of Benetton

I can't make up my mind about this bag. I've seen it while browsing the Benetton website and on the pictures it looks quite nice. But I'm not sure how this bag will look when it's filled with heavy objects, I can imagine it becoming quite deformed.
Anyway, I don't know if I should hate these bags or love them. They're quite special I think but I'd have to go see one in the store to really judge.

Also what color is prettiest? My favorites are the red, the grey(not pictured here) and the yellow one (combined with something grey...)

my new love - part II : AA interlock mini skirt

As I posted yesterday, I ordered a black mini skirt from AA. I got it in the mail today and I love it already! I was a bit unsure about the fit but it's perfect and the length is exactly as I wanted it to be.


1. AA interlock mini skirt in black, the skirt that I ordered
2. AA Lamé Late Night Mini Skirt...I dunno about the fit of this skirt..if it's the same as the interlock mini skirt I think I'd get it in black. It so nice looking <3 I think it would look great with a oversized white shirt tucked in or unter a nice black top. Hmm so many ideas. I have to try it on the next time I stop by AA.

my new love....tokyo police club <3

Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion

Before, I didn't really see the need for eyeshadow primers. You see, I bought the Smashbox eyeshadow/lip primer before and it did nothing, absolutely nothing, for me- except maybe reduced the redness of my eyes so then the color appears better. But I can achieve that with a little application of my YSL Touche Elcat. Nevertheless, being the beauty addict that I am, the other day I got the Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion after hearing so many rave reviews about it- and now I am a convert.
At first I wasn't sure if I was just having a good eyeshadow day or it was the potion, but after having had 3 good eyeshadow days I am pretty confident that it was the potion. And by "good eyeshadow day" I mean going a whole day (morning till night) with no crease, no smudging and sharp color! Its really quite incredible. I didn't think it was possible. Oh and another point is that it literally glides on and really creates a nice smooth surface for eyeshadow application that really sticks. And no, I did not just copied that from the blurb on Sephora. And since I'm about the most oblivious person around when it comes to the whether a beauty product works game, this product really DOES make a difference! So if you haven't already- I highly recommend it!

Ps. Happy Halloween!

Image Source: Sephora

I WANT!!

I already have a pair of latex-style leggings from H&M, but they only had a 'medium' left and I have to say it doesn't really look the way I want it to. They're a bit too wide and way too long. So I'm really concidering buying another pair, maybe from AA...but they're so damn expensive. The picture I used is from the Zara homepage so I think they will have some in store soon...have to look out for it. If they fit nicely and are cheaper than the AA ones I'm definitely going to get them.

Daisy, the Marc by Marc Jacobs Perfume

I'm not a big perfume lover. I spray perfume maybe 10 times a year, usually for nights out. But like most girls, I can't resist browsing at the ever-interesting perfume bottles and sniff all the new scents. There are so many scents that I like, but because of this, I can't possibly buy all the scents I 'like'. Out of all the scents, there's one scent that has grown on me and I have fond memories of, the Marc Jacobs Eau de Parfum. And I've been meaning to buy a bottle for awhile, but I've been slightly hesistant becaues I wasn't sure if the flowery smell was too strong for me to wear for too long of a time so I never got around to buying it.

I was excited when I saw the new ads of Daisy, the Marc by Marc Jacobs scent, in Teen Vogue. It's got that sweet, non-chalent The first time I smelt it, it smelled like any other perfume out there in the market. But at the encouragement of the Marc salesgirls (who told me not to buy the Marc Jacobs perfume but try Daisy instead,) I sprayed both scents onto perfume paper and brought them home to smell for a day. (The salesgirls also told me that their first shipment at the Hong Kong store soldout in 3 days!)

After smelling both scents at least once an hour, I've decided that on the surface, Daisy smelt only like a light, fruity, flowery scent. But later on, the scent smelt musky and most importantly, of Gardenia, the signature scent of the Marc Jacobs perfume. (Yes, I know I think too much before buying things.) According to the Daisy site, Daisy's notes include strawberry, ruby red grapefruit, violet leaves, gardenia, violet leaves, jasmine petals, musk, vanilla and white woods. Not exactly what I smelt, but close enough. And surprisingly, since I've bought it two weeks ago, I've already used it 4 times. Perhaps the reason I haven't been using much perfume before was that I haven't found my right one yet?

What do you think of Daisy? Isn't the bottle simply adorable? Has anyone smelt it or bought it yet?

Image credit: www.sephora.com

TV Guide's Fashion Team Halloween!!

In the spirit of Halloween, I have added the video from my Guest Hosting duties on TV Guide Channel's Fashion Team. It was a Halloween themed episode and as you'll see from the video, I was dressed in full 18th Century Regalia! I had the best time, as always hanging out with my buddies at TV Guide and they were nothing but kind as they helped me "keep my head above water" through the perils of Semi-Live TV!

Below are the other 3 parts of the episode.

Fashion Taste Before and After Break Up's

Before the Breakup: Drew Barrymore Looks Dowdy

At the Golden Globes in 2006, Drew Barrymore looked frumpy in a see-through green dress, styleless hair and washed-out makeup.

After the Breakup: Drew Barrymore is Smokin'!

Drew split with the Strokes drummer Fabrizio Moretti early in 2007 After 4 1/2 years of dating. When she surfaced in February '07 to promote "Music and Lyrics" she appeared in a slew of great designer gowns, most notably this goddess gown from Donna Karan paired with a Stephen Dweck necklace. Her hair is sleek, and her makeup -- while exaggerated for the red carpet -- gives her a polished, grown-up look.

Before the Breakup: Reese Witherspoon is Demure

She never really looked bad before her breakup, but Reese Witherspoon had gotten into the rut of wearing sweet, vintage styles.

After the Breakup: Reese Witherspoon Shines

Reese Witherspoon's 7-year marriage to actor Ryane Phillippe ended in '06, but her style took on new life. Appearing at the Golden Globes in early '07, Reese Witherspoon wore a look-at-me yellow Nina Ricci dress. Her sexy new banged haircut looked fresh and modern; it was a departure from her usual sweet, girl-next-door image.

Before the Breakup: Cameron Diaz Caz for Premieres

Back in '04, Cameron Diaz dressed down (waaaay down) to promote "Shrek 2."

After the Breakup: Cameron Diaz Glam for Premieres

You have to admire Cameron Diaz for being able to travel the world and do premieres for "Shrek 3" with ex-boyfriend (of almost 4 years) Justin Timberlake. At least the famously casual actress did it in true eat-your-heart-out style with knockout dresses along the tour, including this black Chanel dress.

Bold Nail Varnish

Having been a devotee of the pale pink/whitish nail varnish for most of my nail varnish wearing life (seriously, I have about 5 bottles of pale pink varnish in slightly different shades), recently I've finally jumped onto the bandwagon of bold (darker) colored nail varnish. I am not exactly sure what go me into it....perhaps its because everyone on TV has it and since I watch so much TV it has subconsciously filtered into me and displaced my initial notion that bold nail colors look old and trashy. About time too! I think the trick is to keep nails short and rounded. Long and sharp...now that is trashy.

My first bold color obsession: red. Bright red. Mine is a similar color to this, An Affair in Red Square, from OPI, except mine is called Fishnet Stockings from Essi. I just couldn't find the Essi website. But yes, I randomly bought the bottle and tried it on and I LOVED it. Its just so SHARP and cool! I actually spent a few minutes in the mirror checking out my new nail color afterwards! :)
The next color I wanted to try was Purple. But not electric purple. And not reddish purple. Cause then it'll just look too purple. It was a tough choice, but in the end I settled on this Russian Navy, from OPI, which has a bluish, purplish tinge. This one actually took me a while to get used to (I think I'm still trying to get used to it), but I think once winter comes on full force, it'll fit my wardrobe perfectly.

Incidentally the whole new OPI Russian Collection fits my recent fall/winter mood perfectly. Dark, rich colors of blue, purple and red. Its fabulous. Although I'm not sure about the texture. Maybe its just me, but I find them not to go on as smoothly as my Essi ones.

And lastly, HOW does everyone apply their dark nail varnishes? I am phenomenally bad at application. So I try not to mess up by just applying one layer (no, I'm seriously bad) and for these bold colors, its not too bad since its already so strong. But I can't help that I accidentally apply over the edges and then it just looks like a little kid coloring and going outside the lines. Also, a lot of times, I get streaks. HOW am I suppose to DO this properly??? Please help!

Image Source: OPI

TV Guide Channel's Fashion Team

Friday night, I was asked to co-host TV Guide Channel's Fashion Team show, alongside the beautiful Daphne Brogdon. Fashion Team is a weekly series that takes a look at celebrity fashion and lifestyle trends. On that same night, I was "double-booked" to present the Inspiration Award to Project Runway at the third annual LA Fashion Awards. I called the producers of the Awards to tell them that I might not be able to make it because of this last-minute call to host this show, but they insisted that we would "make it work". Somehow I did! (More on that experience in an upcoming posting!)
The episode I co-hosted debuts tonight on the TV Guide Channel at 7 PM and replays at midnight as well as at 4 PM Monday afternoon (check your local listings). I had so much fun doing it, since the show is about fashion (my forte) and this particular episode was the Halloween Special!! Yes, you will get to see Uncle Nicky in full costume! You will have to watch it to see what I wore. Since the show is "live taped", there is little room for missteps--and I warn you, there were some on my part, but that's the beauty of live TV! It was a joy to have been asked to do this and to work alongside Daphne (who was a dream!) and to return to the TV Guide Channel. Love them!

Guilty Pleasures

Having had a stressful few weeks, I decided to treat myself to a day of guilty pleasures.

1. My top guilty pleasure is sleep. And by that I don't mean the usual 8 hours. I mean sleeping for however long and whenever I want. See, I'm not a morning person. Hence I never feel like waking up in the morning. So this morning (afternoon), I woke up late. And then I went for guilty pleasure number 2......
2. Romance novels. I find the newer novels these days to be much too formulaic and tedious to go through to find a good one. Hence I love reading the old ones that I know are good. The classics never get boring. They are all the same anyway, its just the quality of the writing that differs. Besides, all I'm looking for is a happy ending to escape from the real world. One of my all time favourites is Jill Mansell's, Miranda's Big Mistake. Its super sweet. Mansell is generally pretty good, though I can't say much for her newer books......And while I was reading by the window next to the warm sunlight, I indulged myself some more and rest my eyes whenever I need to.
3. Next on my list is endless hours of mindless TV shows. These days I watch just about anything, Greys Anatomy, Samantha Who, Gossip Girl (love it), ANTM etc. But my ultimate favourite is still the chic lives of the girls on Sex and the City. I can never get bored of them. They are classic!
4. And we must not forget nourishment. Guilty pleasure number four: eating ice cream out of the carton. Then you can really eat as much as you want. And the ultimate pleasure of all? Sleep after you eat. I know that it is highly not recommend it. But succumbing to food coma is just the best thing I can imagine. Even if you cannot sleep for the rest of the night after....
5. But thats ok, because then you can indulge in guilty pleasure number 5: talking on the phone with an old friend and going down memory lane- for hours. 4 hrs and 5 minutes to be exact. There is no path better than memory lane. Now I really want to read all those Christopher Pike books I loved to read when I was 13...... especially Starlight Crystal. Its about this girl who falls in love with this guy but a few days later she had to go on a spaceship that is designed to be a time capsule that observes human evolution over time. And then something goes wrong and there is this huge time warp and....I just remember it being more cool than it sounds now.
6. Staring into space and letting your mind wander...and closing your eyes for a few minutes whenever you like. Especially nice if you have a nice view or a clear sky to stare at.
7. And the last of my guilty pleasures? List making. I love list making. I make lists about everything (observe this blog). And diary writing. It really keeps track of your thoughts and clears your head up. Besides- its awfully entertaining to read a year later....especially if you make interesting lists, like new years resolutions and checklists... I highly recommend it.

And this is my list of guilty pleasures I like to indulge in on my "me" time. What are your guilty pleasures?

Image Source: Amazon.com

Curl Your Lashes

Last year, my routine was just tinted moisturiser and blush (on the days I actually wake up on time). This year, I have officially added eyelash curling as the final step.

If you have read any top beauty secret lists in magazines, then you would remember that curling your lashes is always one of them. Curled lashes are supposed to make your eyes look bigger, make you look more awake -basically, brighten up your whole look. I always took this advice very lightly because it seemed that whenever I curled my lashes and applied mascara, my lashes just became straight after 5 minutes, so what's the point? However recently, I've started curling my lashes at the end of my makeup routine. Surprisingly when I get home after school, my lashes are still curled, and sometimes, people even ask me if I have mascara on.

The point I'm trying to make is, try curling your lashes everyday before leaving the house. It takes less than a minute to do and really livens up your eyes! And at the end of the day, you don't even have to wash it off. Convenient huh? Makes me think we should listen to conventional wisdom more often!

Image credit: www.sephora.com

Where's Andrae?

Here's a great photo of Andrae and I with Galina Sobolev, the designer of Single, a wonderful contemporary line based out of Los Angeles. JLo, as well as other beauties have worn her fabulous silky printed tops and dresses, which are carried at all the high-end department stores, such as Neiman-Marcus. See below for an example of a Single dress. We were at the Los Angeles Fashion Week Single Fashion Show, sponsored by 944 Magazine.

Oh, and did I tell you Andrae is designing for them? So the next time you ask "Where's Andrae?", he's at Single with Galina!!!!!!

L.A. Fashion Awards Celebrates Project Runway

Fashion, Cars, and Making It Work!

This Friday is the Third Annual LA Fashion Awards, presented by Saturn and hosted by E! Daily 10's Debbie Matenopolous. I have attended previous years and have had a lot of fun. In fact, I presented an award last year to my friend, Jen Egan, West Coast director of Gen Art.

It is sort of like the LA version of the CFDA, but more trucker hats, tattoos, and LOTS of jersey little dresses!!! This year, Bravo's little old show, Project Runway will receive the Inspiration Award, and I'll be there to celebrate, congratulate and make fun of my loving producers that worked so tirelessly to make the show so wonderful and for making me cry on tape! (remember that final episode of mine? Trust me my niece and nephew do!)

For those fans of the show, this might be a cool event for you to go to, since there might be some "surprise guests" from the show stopping by and a Season 4 designer , local wunderkid, Rami Kashou, is nominated in the "Moss Adams Fashion Innovator Award" category, amongst others. There will be capsule collections presented on stage throughout the event so it should be like an award show and fashion show--all rolled up into one event!

Click at the image for tickets and info. I hear there are some Balcony Seats still available. See you there! You can also click on the link to go directly to TICKETMASTER.

Vivienne Tam Dresses

I am constantly amazed at my mom's ability to be so up to date with the latest going ons in fashion. Her latest discovery are the trendy dresses at Vivienne Tam. Surprising isn't it? I've always related her style as western with oriental influence and wouldn't exactly call it trendy. So when my mom told me she'd bought me a dress from there, I was like, what?
Luckily for me, the dresses over at Vivienne Tam seems to have gone through a revival and are much trendier than I'd imagined. The dress my mom got me was this one, except mine is black and made of a woolish material. Now to be honest, when I first saw the dress (and identified it as this one in the catalog), I didn't like it very much. It was past my knees and it has the most awkwardly positioned tie thing in the middle. That is not exactly the most flattering cut. But after playing around with it, I've tied it at the waist, such that a little puffy effect is created and is shorter, which is kind of cute with ankle boots!
This of course got me looking into the rest of the catalog and now I am lusting for more Vivienne Tam dresses! They have more simple casual (kind of shift) dresses. I especially love the grey one in the middle. The color is also so nice and wintery without being too black.

And check out those silver Mary Janes! I WANT a pair. They look so perfect in the winter with all these cute short dresses!
For something more sophisticated, there are these more polished creations. The dress on the right is my favourite! The bottom frills gives it just the right touch of girliness to the otherwise sophisticated and simple design.
Something a little more fun, there are these printed dresses. The rich silver brocade dress is so adorable! And as a side note, I really like that look on the far right (sorry about the bad scanning). Its so simple to achieve too. All I need is to go out and get myself a cute printed mini!

Who would've thought that these creations were Vivienne Tam?

Vintage Divas! Nick & Chloe Dao sitting in a Tree...

Check out my BRAVOTV.COM Blog about my recent experience as a moderator for a great event entitled Vintage Roadshow. I had an amazing time hobnobbing with the illustrious panel including Madonna's stylist and Academy Award-nominated costume designer, Arianne Phillips, and Elizabeth Stewart, New York Times West Coast fashion editor. There was even a visit from a surprise Guest!
Check out my best Moderator-meets-Thursten Howell III double breasted jacket with an orange silk hanky look. I was trying to look "vintage", "sassy" as well as serious!

Kate Moss Top Shop AW07 and Christmas Collection

Remember back when the Vogue preview of the Kate Moss Top Shop SS07 collection came out and I was really excited about it? Well, since then I have seen the collection in real life, applauded Photoshop's ability to beautify cheap material and lowered my expectations for the clothes. While I really don't like the idea of Top Shop basically recreating some of Kate's designer wonders from her wardrobe, I can't deny I'm really excited about some of the designs I see.

With this line, you really need to see the clothes in real life before buying anything. The quality is really so-so and the photos you see are really photoshopped (or taken under clever lighting.) For example, this dress in real life? I felt it in real life last week and was surprised by how bad the quality was. The material was coarse and felt cheap.

Another thing I don't completely get about the clothes -some of the tops and dresses are very sheer. Yes I realise you simply have to wear a camisole underneath, but it's hard to find the perfect v-neck camisole to go underneath, preferably made of silk.

When you look through the collections, you would notice that there are sequined T-shirts are an essential part of the collection. The tops aren't bad, but I'm not sure they're worth paying 35pounds (tank on the right) for.

OK, so onto the AW07 and Christmas collection:
When the AW07 collection came out in Aug/Sept, I was disappointed. What's with these preppy clothes? The school girl look is cool up to a point, and pink is certainly past that point.

The one thing I've been eyeing has been this Zig Zag dress. Thankfully I've been too indecisive to buy it, and it just went on sale on topshop.com. Obviously I've bought it now. I love the side where the dress is short and the tie around the neck -gives the dress a unique, stylish twist.

After the disappointing AW07 collection, the new Christmas collection is about to be released. From the photos I've seen so far from topshop.com, Gracia magazine and ID, the Christmas collection looks way more fabulous. There are some really cool, edgy little dresses -perfect for the coming Christmas and New Year parties!

I LOVE this dress, especially the patterned beads that look like a belt! It looks so stylish and pretty in the image. I'm trying not to get too excited though, because the dress could possibly be of bad quality in real life.

This ID image got me excited about this Deco style dress. It's fun, edgy and trendy. I love how the sequined top has a solid fit, and the bottom chiffon skirt bit is soft and flowy.

Here's the Deco dress again on the right. On the left is a dress that looked decent in Gracia magazine but looks kind of cheap on the topshop webstie. I'm still hoping to try it on in real life though. Who knows?

And then there's this pleated mini dress. When topshop describes it as mini, it really does looks supremely mini. it doesn't even go down to Kate's legs in the ID image! But hopefully it won't be that short on me since I'm short anyways. It looks demure on the top, but short and young at the bottom.

The Christmas collection is supposed to hit stores on 25th Oct -that's this Thursday. I can't wait! I only hope Top Shop stocks enough of my size for once. Clothes-shopping-wise, there's nothing more annoying than finding a design you like and the shop doesn't have your size left.

Image credit: www.topshop.com, ID magazine images

Los Angeles Fashion Week

LA Fashion Week Spring 2008: Sweats, more Trucker Hats...and BRADLEY!!!!

You might have not known this, but after NY, after Milan, after London, after Paris....comes Los Angeles Fashion Week. For the last couple of weeks, many fashion shows, parties and events have been occurring throughout Los Angeles. Events held in different venues, such as Mercedes Benz Smashbox Fashion Week and BoxEight, showcased the good--and some bad--of what makes Los Angeles such a unique fashion capital. For a long time, we tried to compare ourselves to other style metropolis' such as the aforementioned cities, but I think we are finally getting slightly more comfortable with our "quirky" skin.

For years now, I have been saying "What is the point of showing jeans and t-shirts and sweat pants with models such as adult porn stars like Jenna Jamison on the runway?". It makes us, Angelenos look tacky and cheap, and you wonder why a lot of industry professionals, at times, did not take "Los Angeles Fashion Week" seriously. For a great article on this, which was featured in Los Angeles Magazine's August edition, click HERE.

There was still a lot of that this season, but there was also some wonderful, true Southern California designers doing their thing. I attended only a handful of these, including Single, a line of brightly printed tops and dresses. I absolutely adore its designer, Galina Sobolev and just found out that my buddy, Andrae Gonzalo is designing for them as well. So you know I had to show up to support! I actually attended with my old friend--and best girl-date, former "Miss Universe" , Brook Lee. She just had a baby 4 months ago and looked wonderful (of course she wore something from my line!)

And last Friday, I went to the debut show of Season 3's Bradley Baumkircher, held at the wonderful Besant Lodge in the Hollywood Hills below Beachwood Canyon. Model Amanda Fields(just about walked every damn show--except this one), came with me, wearing one of my Spring 2008 Duchesse backless dresses, as well as my partner David. It was a wonderfl show,I have to admit. All Bradley. Quirky yet lovely dresses, perfect for that oh-so-chic boutique on Third Street or Abbott Kinney. I met Bradley's mom, who was the nicest woman you'd ever meet, dressed very elegantly I might add. And I also ran into Season 3 designer, Vincent Libretti, who could not have been any nicer, saying something to the effect of "You are a great guy Nick, and it's so good that you come and support..."

This Friday Los Angeles Fashion Week will conclude with the LA Fashion Awards, which will honor Project Runway. I will post info on that next!

The Hills Season 3

Season 3 of The Hills is rumoured to be its last season, (because supposedly, Lauren doesn't want cameras to follow her everywhere anymore.) I don't know how many of you watch the Hills or read enough paprazzi to know drama between the characters, but I'm not going to get into it here. Yes, I know the so-called 'reality' isn't quite reality, but sometimes it's just funny watching how dumb and annoying people can get. Plus even more importantly, their clothes look too fantastic not to watch! It's sort of like watching a 'reality', Lalaland-version of Sex and the City mixed with Gossip Girl.

The first thing that I noticed about Season 3 is that the clothes have become more fabulous than before! In episode 1, Audrina looked amazing in this silver dress, (which is by Alice + Olivia). It's perfect for this summer (short, super short,) and a good choice for a date + clubbing.

Throughout the season, there has been scenes of Lauren and Whitney at the Teen Vogue office. Strangely (uh huh,) they didn't actually do much other than compliment on each other's clothes and reviewing Lauren's feelings about things that had just happened to herself. It's always nice to see the clean, pretty interior of the office of Teen Vogue.

And there are scenes of Heidi and Spencer being annoying together. I swear Heidi's decisions never really make sense to me. And Spencer should really shave everyday.

In Season 3, Heidi has felt the need to flash her new assets every oppurtunity possible. Those dresses are seriously low-cut!

Somehow I feel like I've got a similar personality as Lauren, so I really like watching Lauren's funny expressions and reactions to situations.

We're going to miss Lauren's headbands!

One thing I really liked about the show was the group hanging out at cool hot spots. Everything just looks so chic.

Maybe even more importantly, the girls just talking with themselves. It's so nice to hear sort of normal conversations on TV. It's sort of like watching yourself talk with your friends, except they live together (-so jealous!) And any show that has such a strong friendship element in it is definitely my thing!

And of course I'm going to miss the drama. Real or not, it's just so entertaining!

Thankfully, (unfortunately if you hate them,) the cast will probably still be attending events and be photographed for another while. I can't wait to see them in new, fun party dresses. Here, the girls are at the The Hills' Season 3 premiere party. The FCUK dress Lo's wearing is still available at FCUK stores in a few colours. It's actually affordable so I really have to get myself to a store to try it on!

This is one of my favourite Lauren outfits. LOVE the Alexander Wang dress on her. It's prettier and chicer than most of her plain dresses, but still simple enough to be 'her'.

I read that they're still filming. When is Season 3 going to end? I hope not anytime soon because it's one of the things where I get LA style inspirations from. Anyways, the Hills is still on air so don't forget to tune in!

Image Credits: www.mtv.com, http://fadedyouthblog.com