my favorite skincare 2015

I'm a bit obsessed with taking care of my skin and whenever my friends ask me what I use for my skin, I'm a tad embarrassed about the multitude of products I use.  This year I did manage to streamline my routines (day/night) so I thought I would list out my favorite/most used products.

Now before I get into actual products - in order to properly nurture and protect my skin thoroughly - I know I can't simply rely on slathering products on my face.  I still have to eat well, exercise consistently and drink plenty of water.  Sunblock everyday is a must.  And obviously smoking and/or doing drugs will not help the situation.  When I was younger I was able to get away with eating lots of junk food and drinking lots of alcohol without any effect on my face or body, but age is a bitch and it has finally caught up with me.  With that being said, here are my favorite skincare products of 2015.

my after-christmas shopping plan

It's no secret that I love to shop.  Generally, my two favorite shopping days are (i) the day after Thanksgiving and (ii) the day after Christmas.  I know most people despise the crowds and craziness, but (while I have no love for lines), I do enjoy all the decorations, sales and general excitement.

I normally do not really have a "strategy" for Black Friday shopping since that is driven by where I am spending Thanksgiving and what Christmas presents I have left to buy.  Usually I'm about 75% done with Christmas shopping by Thanksgiving since I shop all year long for Christmas.  However, I have developed somewhat of a strategy for the day after Christmas over the last 10 years or so.

What is my strategy?

loving these battery-operated lights for christmas decorating!

Christmas is definitely my favorite holiday of the year!  I love everything about it - the festivities, the decorations, the gift giving, and the general atmosphere of joy and goodwill!

DIY - I created a bouquet of silk flowers and branches that I can move around in the house.

Throughout the years I've tried to add to my collection of Christmas decor - especially at After Christmas sales when holiday decor will be 50-75% off.  This year I couldn't wait and decided to 'splurge' and get some battery-operated led lights so I could add some sparkle around and outside of the house without worrying about the accessibility of outlets and extension cords.  I decided to get some from Amazon - see link - and I absolutely love them!  They were only around $11 (compared to the more expensive, albeit fancier, ones at Anthropologie for $32).

Perfect for adding a bit of sparkle to any centerpiece.

If they go on sale after Christmas, I am totally stocking up!

las vegas - our family's thanksgiving tradition

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!  

As part of an immigrant family, I have childhood memories of us trying to "fit in" and enjoying the traditional Thanksgiving meal - turkey, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, pumpkin pie and the whole kit-n-caboodle.  However as time passed, we all came to the conclusion that we really didn't like turkey all that much.  So, we started doing surf n turf Thanksgivings.  Then in recent years, we got even lazier and developed a new tradition for Thanksgiving - namely, Las Vegas!

best things i ate/did the last couple of weeks (new orleans, peche, wilde wine bar, republique, jessica jones, return to fitness)

(Week of November 9th and Week of November 16th).

Bourbon Street at dusk.

Two weeks ago I went to New Orleans for a friend's 40th birthday party and it was super fun!  I absolutely love New Orleans - for its music, amazing food and cocktails and its general fun-loving spirit.  The standouts for this trip, besides the great company?

favorite tools for applying foundation (beauty blender and sephora stippling brush)

My favorite tool for foundation has consistently been the Beauty Blender.  It provides the most natural, flawless finish for the majority of my foundations.  I've read some reviews where people think it's all hype, but I suspect they are not using the sponge properly.  You have to really wet it through and squeeze out the water multiple times until the sponge becomes quite large and full.  Then you sort of "bounce" it on your face to apply foundation or to blend in other cream products.  (It also helps to de-cake or lighten powder if you accidentally used too heavy a hand in applying product.)  

However, there was one foundation that even the Beauty Blender couldn't get to work for me - the ByTerry Cover Expert - which seemed to just sit on top of my skin in an odd, unflattering way.  But recently I discovered a brush that magically applies this foundation beautifully on my skin - the Sephora small stippling brush (#42).  I had read so many reviews about this brush so I thought I would give it a go during the recent Sephora VIB sale, and boy am I glad I did!  I can finally use the overpriced ByTerry foundation and get a lovely, natural and dewy finish.  

I still love my Beauty Blender and for the most part it still gives me the best results for my other foundations and cc creams, but the Sephora stippling brush is now my go-to brush for the ByTerry foundation and what I use when I'm feeling lazy. 

(Random note - My Hakhuhodo foundation brush is also quite lovely - amazingly soft hairs - but I don't think the price is worth it.  But I just got it and am getting the hang of using it so my opinion might change.)

asian beauty: lip mask review

I had seen these funny lip masks on youtube so I thought I would buy some on my recent trip to Japan.  There were several "flavors" - honey, herb, lemon, fruit, etc.  I decided to try the "honey" one since I love all things honey.  The instructions were all in Japanese but it seemed pretty self-explanatory:

• open package
• peel jelly mask in the shape of big lips off the plastic sheeting and 
• put on clean lips for 5 - 30 minutes

 So how was the lip mask?

best and worst things i did last week (sephora vib sale, jonathan gold's la times event, seven deadly sins, etc.)

(Week of November 2, 2015).

Sadly, these delicious shrimp tacos were not at the Jonathan Gold event...

 Last week started off quite slow.  The "big" event of the week was the Jonathan Gold Los Angeles Times food event on Wednesday in Downtown Los Angeles ... but that turned out to be surprisingly disappointing.  There were only a handful of restaurants and bars, but the variety and amount of food and drink available was quite slim.  In fact, some of the vendors ran out of food hours before the end of the event.  I was hoping to try something new and exciting but alas there were no standouts.  Some general thoughts:

ncla "so rich" cuticle oil - the first cuticle oil that actually works for me

I don't do manicures very often simply because I'm not particularly good at it, and I'm usually too lazy to go to a nail salon.  But as a skincare fanatic, I do want my hands to look nice even in its "natural" state.  I've tried a few cuticle oils and natural oils (e.g., Sally Hansen, Essie, Burt's Bees, Josie Maran argan oil, etc.) and I never really felt they did very much.  It just felt as if I were putting a greasy or oily layer on my fingers with no real results.

But recently, I got the NCLA So Rich Cuticle Oil in a subscription box, and the moment I put it on my cuticles I felt like it was working.  Weird, huh?  I tried it again a week later, and again, I  felt it absorbed into my cuticles and really did moisturize and improve the texture of my cuticles.  Now, I do it once or twice a week before going to bed.  If you are on the market for an effective cuticle oil, check this one out.  Or if you have your own recommendations, let me know!

I'm not sure where it's available but I found it at beauty.com online for $16.  See here.

best things i did/ate last week (halloween fun, boiling crab, daylight savings, etc.)

(Week of October 26th)

I can't believe it's Halloween already!  Soon it will be Thanksgiving, then Christmas, then a whole new year!  Time really does seem to pass more quickly as one gets older...

Since it was the week of Halloween, the best things I did were pretty much related to that holiday.  I don't have kids so Halloween for me means dressing up and partying with friends and touring around our neighborhood to see the amazing decorations that go up every year.  So the best things this week?

current favorite whiskey(s)(2015)

Like every other whiskey lover, I happily jumped on the Japanese Whiskey train a few years ago and have yet to jump off.  My undisputed favorite is the Suntory Japanese Yamazaki Single Malt 18 Year Old.  I find it super easy and satisfying to drink.  There is definitely a cherry note with a full, smooth finish.  I just love it.  But it's expensive and near impossible to buy now.  Even when I was in Japan I couldn't find it, and I was at the Yamazaki Distillery.  So annoying!  (Update - I did manage to find a bottle online but it was almost $400!)

But if you can get your hands on it, you won't regret it.  The first time I had it was at Bar Jackalope (inside Seven Grand Whiskey Bar in downtown Los Angeles) years ago.  I wonder if they still have it....

So, what is my next option that is still readily available?  Redbreast Irish Whiskey 12 Year.  Not as complex and full as the Yamazaki, but there is a certain buttery rich smoothness that I consistently enjoy.

Neither whiskey is peat-y.  I don't like peat-y.  I can't even spell it.

my tips for cleaning makeup brushes and tools

I am very diligent about cleaning my makeup brushes and sponges every week because the thought of touching my face and eyes with germ-infested tools is utterly cringe-worthy.  And let's not even talk about sharing tools - eek!  (If you are dealing with random break-outs, the culprit might be dirty makeup brushes.)

So how do I wash my brushes/sponges?

best things i did/ate last week (jewelry shopping, the martian, petty cash, etc.)

(Week of October 19, 2015).

In the beginning of the week, I was attempting to go through a "detox" which basically means lots of green smoothies and no alcohol until Friday.  Let's just say I was not a happy camper earlier this week, but some things that made it better:

 

best pork chop ever.

japanese exfoliating feet mask

Who doesn't want baby soft feet?  At least that's what I thought when I saw an entire display of feet masks while shopping in a Japanese pharmacy. Since I couldn't read Japanese, I randomly picked one and hoped for the best.  (Note - they also sell similar foot masks in Little Tokyo in Downtown Los Angeles and in Japanese markets and beauty stores on the Westside.)

best things i did/ate last week (week of october 12, 2015)(backhouse, petit trois, sake house, etc.)

(Week of October 12, 2015).
 

Karaage (fried chicken nuggets) at Backhouse.

I didn't have much planned for this week but it still turned out to be a pretty fun, food-filled week. Some highlights...

can't resist cute cat themed makup (paul & joe, too cool for school)

I am sort of on a shopping ban on makeup (at least until the Sephora VIB sale in November) but I couldn't resist getting the new Paul & Joe Limited Edition Cat Lipstick.  It's too cute!  I was literally in a waiting room flipping through magazines when I saw the lipstick in an Allure magazine (I think).  I basically squealed like a crazy person and then when I got home, started searching online.  Apparently it's not available in the U.S. yet so I ordered it from the asos website - see here. 

I just got it but I still can't bear to use it - what if I mess up the cute little cat face??  

I also got a cute "cat" lip gloss from too cool for school while I was in Tokyo.  It's a nice rosy pink color but let's be serious... I didn't buy it for the product...

Yes, packaging totally matters to me.   Especially irresistible cat packaging.  

sake house in koreatown

Sake House in the Chapman Plaza in Koreatown has a great happy hour if you enjoy eating a variety of Korean and Japanese drinking foods, such as sushi rolls, chicken wings, karaage (fried chicken nuggets), etc. with your sake or beer.  The menu is so heavy and voluminous that my friend could barely lift it with her skinny arms.

But what really keeps me coming back is the ramen/rice cake/fish cake mixture in spicy red sauce (below).   Yum!  I literally will crave this stuff.  Weird, huh?  But it has an awesome spicy kick and is incredibly comforting.

My girlfriends and I recently came and ate the following... 

current favorite foundations (2015)

I am a bit of a beauty product junkie so I try a lot of makeup even though I don't wear that much.  Like my mascara hunt, I'm always looking for the perfect foundation/base yet I'm not even sure that really exists.  Many factors can alter how foundation works - your skin type, your hormones, how hydrated you are, the weather, etc.  But after several years of active searching, the following is a list of my current favorites.

First, I should describe my skin type and what I look for in a foundation.

• I have normal/combination skin, with a slightly oily T-zone and I am prone to hormonal breakouts that can leave slight scarring.  I don't really have dark under eye circles but I have slight redness around my nose and mouth.
• I prefer a satiny finish that is semi-matte on my nose but dewy and natural looking everywhere else.  I'm a bit lazy so I'm not good about touching up throughout the day so I look for long-lasting formulas that are not cakey or heavy.

Current favorites (in no particular order):

best things i ate/did last week?

(Week of October 5, 2015)

This week I only ate out a couple of times:

• Firefly for brunch - it was my first time here and apparently brunch was a new thing for them.  Food was generally just ok and service was a bit inconsistent.  The standout were the pretty patio and the french fries!
  
  

  

  Really lovely patio at Firefly

• Korean BBQ at Genwa - I enjoy Genwa because it's super close to my house, service is always good and they give tons of side dishes which you can get refills on.  However, I've noticed the actual meat quality has declined which is disappointing. 
• Offvine in West Hollywood - This local restaurant has been around for a long time and back in the day I loved the desserts there.  It's still located in a charming cottage tucked away near Hollywood and Vine.  However the food wasn't  as good as I remembered - the risotto was really just a rice stew of sorts and the souffle was overdone.  At least the service was still quite good.

So the best thing I ate this last week? 

spa review: larchmont sanctuary spa - best massage!

I literally just had the best massage of my life here and that's saying a lot.  Ever since I was a kid, I carried the majority of my stress and tension in my upper shoulders.  After years as a student, being hunched over books and computers studying and carrying insanely heavy backpacks, and then as an attorney, again being hunched over computers all day - my shoulders were as hard as rocks.  I've had masseuses in the past gasp in shock as they tried to work the knots out of my shoulders and upper back and failed miserably.

It's been a while since I've had a massage since many of them are disappointing.  My most recent massage was probably 4 months ago at Wi Spa in Koreatown, which was pretty good.  But I had read that the Larchmont Sanctuary Spa had changed ownership last year and they were offering lots of specials, etc.  Intrigued and taking a leap of faith, I joined their membership program.  I picked the lowest level which is $90 per month (with a minimum six month commitment) and that gets you 1 massage OR facial and 1 copper tub bath OR a foot treatment.  In addition you get 10% off of other services and other special offers.  Considering the cost of one massage is about $130 anyways, this seemed like a great deal.

the story of my quest to buy art from kinji nakamura-san in kyoto

On a misty afternoon nine years ago, I was on a tour of the Bamboo Forest in Kyoto with my mom when I noticed an old man selling the most lovely postcards of Japanese landscapes.  We veered away from our tour to peruse the postcards.  The old man was very friendly but spoke no English, yet somehow he was able to communicate to us that he was actually the artist and showed us a small original painting and the small calligraphy brush he used to create his work.  I was immediately enamored of his artwork.  Each seemed painstakingly created with the smallest, most gentle brushes of color.  I was also drawn by the joyful spirit of the man who created them.  He seemed sincerely thrilled that we liked his postcards.  He told us his name was Kinji Nakamura.

A picture of our first meeting.

loving my new samantha thavasa deluxe bag (from takayashima in tokyo)

On a rainy day last month I was shopping in the Takayashima Department store in Tokyo (Shinjuku area) and I happened upon the cutest handbags by Samantha Thavasa.  I was not familiar with the brand but a quick google search revealed that it was a popular Japanese brand.  The main collection had  lots of girly pastel bags that were cute but not age-appropriate for me, but then I saw their "deluxe" collection and was immediately sucked in.  

perfect for bingewatching - miss fisher's murder mysteries on netflix

Last year I started running out of things to watch on Netflix and during my desperate search I fortuitously happened upon "Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries".  It is an Australian show set in 1929 and is about a glamorous independent woman who decides to become a lady detective.  If you enjoy classic murder mysteries, witty dialogue and great acting, you'll love this show!  I quickly finished the two seasons that were available last year, and was waiting for the third season with great anticipation.  

Photo Credit: from filmblerg.com

Recently netflix announced it had the third season - yay!  I had wanted to savor the episodes but alas, I couldn't control myself and finished the entire new season in 2 days while sipping on whiskey.  Ahhh - those were 2 glorious days!  Now i must wait again and hope that they do another season of this fantastic show.

Oh, tv gods - please do season 4!  I need to see Phryne and Jack finally get together!  And please don't remake this into an american tv show and butcher it.  that would be tragic. 

Now I'm looking for something to watch again..  Dark Matter was OK (but Firefly it is not)...

making boxed brownie mixes better

I am not particularly good at baking but my brownies are usually a hit at parties.  My super easy secret?  

pig stud earrings from henri bendel

Do you ever have a piece of jewelry that just makes you smile every time you wear it because it's just so darn cute?  

I was at Henri Bendel (in the Beverly Center) last week to pick up a gift and I couldn't resist these pig earrings for myself.  They are too cute!  I think they are on sale now for around $34.

At my age, I do usually invest in fine jewelry and I have a few jewelers that I really trust.  However, it's fun to try out new trends with costume jewelry.  I think Henri Bendel has incredibly well made costume jewelry.  I've had some pieces for years and they haven't tarnished or warped at all.  It's my go-to for fun jewelry, and also for 'travel' jewelry when I don't want to wear my real stuff abroad.

current favorite mascaras: maybelline falsies, lancome grandiose and sisley so intense (summer/fall 2015)

Like many women, I am constantly in search of the perfect mascara since I am not blessed with naturally full and voluminous lashes.  Typically I will have 3 or 4 mascaras in rotation until they are used up or expired.  (Yes, mascaras have expiration dates.  Once I open an mascara, I'll try to toss it or use it up in approximately 3 months.)  Sometimes there will be the dud mascara that I will try to use even if I don't like it in an attempt to not be wasteful.  However, right now, I'm loving every single mascara on rotation so I thought I'd share my thoughts on each of them.  

current tieks collection - still my favorite travel shoes ever!

My love for tieks continues.  They are literally my most comfortable and stylish shoes for travel (as well as for putzing around day to day).  I got my first pair (the yellow ones) over a year ago for a trip to Italy and they worked wonderfully.  Then I got the black ones as a birthday present and I've already worn them to Paris, Berlin, Tokyo and Kyoto - while averaging 9 miles of walking a day!  I couldn't resist and got the pretty metallic ones.  They still haven't traveled with me yet, but that will soon change when I take them with me to New Orleans.

The shoes are comfortable, light and fold up so they take up almost no space in my luggage.  For someone who hates checking in luggage, this is very very important.  They are also durable.  my yellow and black pairs have endured a LOT of walking and they show little sign of wear.

Tieks are not cheap.  Depending on the design, they range from $175 to $295.  However, they are well designed and made with really good leather.  I expect that all my tieks will last a long, long time.  

And I expect I will buy more.  yes, "taupe" tieks - I'm looking at you. 

If you want to read about my experience buying and breaking in my first pair of tieks - go here.

this granola is addictively awesome! (nature's path)

About a month ago, I discovered this Nature's Path Organic Honey Almond Granola with Chia at Target and I've already repurchased!  (This is a lot for me since I only sprinkle granola on my breakfast yogurt or snack on it while binge watching television shows. And on top of that, I was away for two weeks during this last month, so that is about one bag a week!)

It's so delicious and crunchy and oddly addictive.  It's also gluten free and since it never gives me a stomach ache, I am starting to suspect I may have a gluten sensitivity.  But I think I will continue believing otherwise.  It's too difficult to cut out gluten from my diet.  Give up dim sum?  Never!

n/naka - a successful modern take on japanese kaiseki

I had recently returned from a two-week tour of Japanese cuisine in Tokyo and Kyoto, but my Japanese food adventure was not yet over.  Before my trip I was fortunate enough to score a reservation to n/naka - a lovely prix fixe restaurant located in Culver City.  I had seen an episode of Chef's Table on Netflix which showcased the chef of n/naka - Niki Nakayama - and my husband and I were determined to check this place out (and to show a fellow Angeleno our support)!

I was admittedly jetlagged upon arrival, but my excitement for food kept me going.  We were whisked into a modern and sparse room with minimal decor.  It was sort of like being back in Japan again!  

When our friends arrived, we enjoyed some sake that we brought back from Tokyo (corkage - $35) and then the courses began!

introduction

I am a person who loves to eat, drink, travel and shop!  Fortunately, I have been able to indulge in my "hobbies" and "passions" locally and abroad.  Oftentimes, I am asked to share my favorite restaurants, bars, products, etc., and I have discovered that I really enjoy sharing my recommendations about anything and everything.  So this blog is simply that - a sharing of my tips, recommendations and opinions on all that makes me happy (and occasionally, unhappy).  Hence - "random bits and bites".  

I also collaborate with a friend  on a travel blog - travelbits&bites - where we focus more specifically on travel blogs.  There is an abundance of travel information there so please visit that blog if you love to travel!