What's In Her Makeup Bag?

I am thinking of trying out a new series...to find out what favorite / cannot leave home without products my girlfriends carry.

Inside Chai Latte's Gucci makeup bag:

Sephora lip stick

Kabuki brush

Estee Lauder foundation

Elizabeth Arden skin serum

L'Occitane face lotion

Benefit cheek tint

The Balm Hot Mama blush

SmashBox lip gloss

Blistex lip blam

A pretty red enamel flower hair tie

Saturday outfit

Twelfth Street by Cynthia Vincent silk dress, Club Monaco patent belt, Baume et Mercier Capeland watch 

Miu Miu studded ankle strap pumps, Gucci Papillon clutch

Christian Louboutin Astoroid Spike Pumps

These are so sexy and they say stay away from me or I'll make it hurt in the you know what!

The price tag? An out of the world $1,595.

Gigantic Handbags

When designer boutiques go under renovation, they don't use your typical hoarding material. They build giant versions of their iconic products to get your attention! 

Dior Store in Upper East Side in Manhattan.

Maison Louis Vuitton on Champs-Elysees in Paris.

No reno here. Just an enormous Hermes Kelly that you can walk through to discover the history of the bag. Inside Selfridges in London.

NOTW - Nails Inc Buckingham Street

OK, I am cheating this weekend. It's Saturday, I am going out with my girlfriends. To bedazzle the night, I am wearing Nail Inc. in Buckingham Street which is a gorgeous pink base with purple, gold and silver sparkles scattered throughout the clear base. Two coats...eck! Wish me luck when I have to remove all that glitter.

PS. The pretty lace in the background is a Charlotte Ronson makeup bag.

Guest Nail Polish

My girlfriend was over yesterday and I wanted to show off her pretty crackled nails. She used Revlon Nail Enamel in gold and topped it off with black crackle by Avon.

This is the coolest coin purse ever!

Cheap, cheerful, useful and unique find from street vendors in Italy.

NOTW - Dior Psychedelic Orange

Having an orange-y day!

Dior Vernis Extreme Wear Nail Lacquer in No.545 Psychedelic Orange, over the Marc Jacobs Thompson satchel in orange. ;)

Louis Vuitton S/S 2012

As promised, here's a close up of the pretty dress from Louis Vuitton Spring Summer 2012.
I can see myself in it. :)

Q4 Al Centro

Warm atmosphere, yummy food and great company - my good friend 'Chai Latte'. Her blog is under construction but be sure to check it out when it is up and running.

Q4 Al Centro in Hotel L'Hermitage at 780 Richards Street, Vancouver.

Appie - Wild mushroom and pancetta arborio croquette

Entree - Braised beef short rib with polenta and veggies.

Dessert #1 - Tiramisu

Dessert #2 - Napoleon with cherry sauce.

Louis Vuitton Window Display

Louis Vuitton cruise wear for S/S 2012. I'll try to get a better photo another day. The pattern is really pretty on this dress. And I must say, I quite like the sandals.

Is it me or does the base look like a metal Reese's cup?!?!

There is no cherry on top this cupcake...only the Alma in Epi leather!

NOTW - Sephora New Years Red-Solution

Celebrating Chinese New Year 2012 with red on red polish.

Sephora Nail Colour in New Years Red-Solution all over with Hello Kitty Liquid Nail Art in Red Sparkle at the tip.

I love large chandelier ~ Waldorf = Astoria New York

Nobu Los Angeles

Nobu Los Angeles, 903 North La Cienega Blvd.

Nobu style mixed ceviche

yellowtail sashimi with jalapeno

toro tartar with caviar

whitefish sashimi

wagyu beef tacos

seared scallops with wasabi pepper sauce

black cod with miso

Yummy Macarons - Part Two

I couldn't resist and bought a Berry Cheesecake and a bag of dark chocolate to make hot chocolate in addition to the macarons.

I went to Thomas Haas around noon on a Saturday. The place was packed! I wasted no time and went straight to the counter where the pretty little round delicacies are.

They had 12 different varieties that you can buy individually or pre-packaged box of 6. Being the person that I am, I chose to pick my own box of 6. I got cassis, passionfruit, raspberry, mango-coconut, pistachio and kalamansi.

From left to right: kalamansi, pistachio, passionfruit, raspberry, mango-coconut and cassis.

Yummy cassis - you can definitely taste the tart and sweet black current filling; mango-coconut - the mango filling was a little on the sweet side and you can't taste the coconut in the meringue; raspberry - this was so yummy! You can a combination of smooth creamy filling and a jam-like ganache right in the center.

Pistachio - I can smell the roasted pistachio but cannot taste it in the creamy filling; kalamansi - very nice sweet creamy filling with a small piece of kalamansi (Chinese orange) fruit in the center; passionfruit - another really yummy flavour!

Visit them at 2539 West Broadway in Vancouver.

Latest Sephora Haul

Inside the box: Boscia Pore Essential Trio set (can't wait to try and write about it), Boscia Jujube Rejuvenist Amino Body Wash, Benefit Glossytown lip gloss set (love lip gloss sets!), Harajuku compact mirror (perfect size to put in my purse), Chloe mini perfume set (great for traveling), a present for my girlfriend's birthday that is coming up, 500-point perk redemption - Sephora Collection Must Have Eyes set, YSL Toning & Cleansing Micellar Water deluxe sample (online promo - enter 'YSLCLEANSE' to get your own), 100-point perk redemption - Dolce & Gabbana The One mini perfume, three packet samples.

Alexander McQueen Savage Beauty at The Met

I was so lucky to have made it to the Alexander McQueen Savage Beauty Exhibit at The Met in the summer. The exhibition walks you through a series of mind set (I think?) and point of view on life, in the eyes of McQueen. The Alexander McQueen Savage Beauty exhibit was really eye opening. You have to experience it in person to appreciate it. While there, I snapped a few (or 10) photos for my memory bank. Enjoy!

Immediately after the line and upon entering the room, it feels chilly, dark and spooky.

Everything is very dark and the room is extremely crowded...I just make my way to the "The Romantic Mind" section. In here, you will find pieces such as the orgami frockcoat from collections such as Jack the Ripper Stalks His Victims (his graduation collection in 1992) and the bumster pants from the Taxi Driver collection in F/W 1993-1994.

The following room titled "Romantic Gothic and Cabinet of Curiosities" is a name well suited for it. There is a combination of unique objects on shelving of various sizes, videos playing various McQueen runway shows, various McQueen accessories (headdresses, masks, etc), the spin and spray painted dress that Shalom wore and a revolving wood fan skirt, both from the No.13 S/S 1999 show, among many other interesting pieces. As the name implies, everything is this room will spark your curiosity and some will raise eyebrows.

From here, the next room is the "Romantic Nationalism" exhibit which showcases pieces from the Highland Rape collection (F/W 1995-1996), The Girl Who Lived in the Tree (F/W 2008-2009) and the Widows of Culloden (F/W 2006-2007). I especially fancy the red silk satin coat from the The Girl Who Lived in the Tree collection. Every mannequin in this exhibit had a full head to face mask, almost making the would be model or person who wears one mysterious.

The fourth exhibit is titled "Romantic Exoticism". In this long narrow stretch, there are pieces from the It's Only a Game (S/S 2005) such as the football shoulder-padded jumpsuit in Japanese kimono fabric and others that display his mater tailoring craftsmanship and use of fabric from around the world. All displays were showcased in mirrored cabinets. There was also a special presentation in this exhibit. You come upon a giant darkened glass cube. I stood there not sure what to expect of it. I turned my head for a few seconds and heard shattered glass. The cube is like a screen that plays a clip from the S/S 2001 Voss show, where a masked (possibly gased) heavyset woman lies naked on torn fabric with flies surrounding her. It was kind of like a scene from a Saw movie.

A little spooked, I entered the "Romantic Primitivism" exhibition area. Here I saw a whole new use for roadkill and fallen hair sitting on the shower drain (a bit insulting, I know :/). There was the bead and horsehair dress and the hair coat (big black ball of hair from head to toe) from the Eshu (F/W 2000-2001) collection and the very very intricate silk organza, georgette and chiffon "Oyster" dress from Irene (S/S 2003).

It's almost the end...

Towards the end of the exhibit, there is a short hologram film with Kate Moss flowing around in a dress from the 2006 Widows of Culloden show. The actual dress is hung behide a glass display. It was romantic, Princess Grace, whimsical, 70's wedding dress and rich prom girl dress all mixed in together. The detail and amount of layering on this dress made me want to cry. It was so amazing!!!!

The exhibit closes with the "Romantic Naturalism" collection. There is a series of alien-like mannequins wearing the Plato's Atlantis (S/S 2010) collection including the crazy armadillo shoes.