Fountain of Youth

As I was doing an American Horror Story: Coven marathon and stuffing my chubby face with Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, I noticed something about one of the actresses of the show and it got me wondering...could she be a vampire?! How is she looking that daym fine and ageless after all this time?!

Of course, I am referring to none other than the lovely Angela Bassett. I mean...just look at her!

Ever heard of wrinkles, Angela? Would you be interested in having them any day now?

www.zimbio.com

Fit and feisty at 55. Wow.

www.zimbio.com

Aside from Angela, there are some other Hollywood ladies that must be eating newborns (forget about the placenta---it's all about the newborns!!!) on a regular basis because they are either ageing gracefully or not ageing at all! Move over, Edward Cullen and the rest of the raging hormones crew of Twilight! Here are my two other faves:

Cate Blanchett

Skin care luxury brand, SK-II, did not make a mistake in having Cate on board as its product endorser. She is perpetually flawless! Everyone knows that having porcelain skin is a tough task to maintain so give your 44-year old self a pat on the back, Cate! Good job!

Oh how I adore her Armani lace gown over her glowing skin! She's absolutely radiant!

Diane Lane

I absolutely love, love, love Diane Lane. She has such a youthful vibe to her and even though her face has a little wrinkle here and there, it goes to show that she is embracing her age with great confidence. Oh yea, and she has a rockin' body at the ripe age of 49! Uhm yea, anyone remember her movies such as Unfaithful or Under The Tuscan Sun? Case closed.

Knowing how the Hollywood scene is pretty much synonymous to plastic surgery, I can't really say for sure that these beautiful ladies haven't gone under the knife at all but just looking at them as a whole (face, skin, body), I don't see any evident traces of implants, over-injected lips nor over-Botoxed, frozen smiles. 

Are we really going to find that ever elusive fountain of youth? At this point, I don't think there's ever going to be a plastic surgeon that can give you that natural glow, the glow that'll help you age gracefully. We need to be comfortable in our own skin and we need to respect our bodies. Whatever you feel inside, it emulates through your physicalities. Achieve that glow from within and you'll never have to entrap your poor, unfortunate boyfriend/ husband by shooting him with the deadliest question known to mankind..."Do I look fat in this dress?" Yyyeee--No.

Does this mean we'll need to start eating our green leafy vegetables? Yes, yes we do.

Toodles!

Feel The Heat

We've just set the clocks an hour forward here in California but it feels like summer time is already making an early appearance and we all know what this means--- excess fats and cellulite are dead men walkin' coz we aboutz to show sum skin. Now, I'm the last person to ask about the best way to shed the extra weight or what kind of healthy diet to follow 'coz we all know I'm the junk food monster. I'm probably one of the rare people that you'll ever meet who never feels even a wee bit of guilt after eating 2 huge chocolate chip muffins at 1 in the morning. I have no eating remorse--- I hear diabetes calling my name now. So, no. Don't expect this post to be about chia seeds or kale---you're on your own, kid.

What I do want to share is this random list of spring/summer tips to help you make the most out of the sunny weather. Here we go.

1. Sunscreen - I cannot stress this enough. We all need to wear sunscreen, even if you want to get a little tan. When you're at the beach, make sure to slather on an extra layer and wait for 15 minutes to make sure that the lotion has been completely absorbed. Out of all the other products that I've tried, Neutrogena has both of what I want in a sunscreen--- full sun protection without the typical greasy feel. I use SPF 100+ but there are different levels of SPF that you can choose from. The lower the SPF, the more chance that you'll get your skin tanned (minus the hideous sunburn). Oh, and there's even a body mist version if you're too lazy to use the lotion!

neutrogena.com

If you're just going to be commuting from your home to your office and you need some make-up coverage, a tinted moisturizer or BB cream will do. I hear the best BB creams are from Korea but the more notable tinted moisturizers are conveniently available here in US. Just make sure to get the closest color to match your skin tone and use minimal make-up, unless you want moms to hire you as a clown for their kid's birthday party. Hey I don't judge. A job is a job.

lauramercier.com

2. Water - Duh right? But what a lot of us fail to realize is that while we enjoy sipping our mimosas, mojitos and iced teas by the beach or in the garden, we might actually be forgetting to hydrate properly. And yes, it means we gotta drink the boring stuff. Just plain ol' water. Bottled, tap, spring...it doesn't matter. Just drink enough of it.

fijiwater.com

3. Pedicures- Before you go sashey shante-ing out with your flip flops and sandals, make sure that your feet and toes are well-groomed and presentable. No crusty little piggies, please! You don't have to go to a salon to achieve this, although going to one is undeniably a more relaxing experience. Trim your toenails, make sure you scrub off the dead skin by using any kind of foot scrub with a foot file. To save time, I usually do a quick foot scrub while in the shower since my feet get naturally soaked with warm water. Any foot scrub is fine but the smoothing foot scrub from Bath and Body Works True Blue Spa collection is something you might want to try.

bathandbodyworks.com

4. Dress appropriately- If you're at the beach and dining out on the patio, make it a point to bring a good cover-up. I don't care how casual and care-free the joint is, think of it as common courtesy. Resto's are there for eating not for barfing, and we want to make sure that the food stays in. Do you want to stare at someone's hairy, black forest of a back while you're sinking your teeth on a juicy burger? I think not. Boys, put a shirt on. Girls, don't steal your boyfriend's shirt and bring your own cover-up like this Flora Bella tunic below:

neimanmarcus.com

If you're at the mall or any tight, confined spaces, make sure to cover whatever is necessary to cover. I don't want to accidentally brush against your vajayjay or pimple-infested hiney while I'm at the check-out line at H&M. Mmmmk? Mmmk.

5. Smile- It may sound kinda lame but Spring and Summer are seasons that are meant to help us take a pause and find our center. This is a good time to declutter, reorganize, reconcile, get your shhh together, invite your family and friends to catch up and enjoy each other's company. Go outside and take a breather...well, maybe not when it's like 1 in the afternoon 'coz all you're going to get is a heat stroke.

Take a lesson from Sky, look at his big smile. Check out the photobomber flip flop in the back.

Life is too short---make yourself smile, make others smile. =)

Spring and Summer is coming...are you ready?

Toodles!

Ghesquiere For LV: Debut

So it's finally here--- the fashion world's most anticipated LV show for Fall 2014 has come and gone. It seems to me everyone was so excited for Nicolas Ghesquiere's first step into a new realm in fashion, like seeing off your first born to his first day in school.

Without further ado, here are some of my personal favorites from the collection:

Louis Vuitton Fall 2014

Love the blue suede trimming and leather sleeves!

Nice clean silhouette and the colors are great neutrals...

Nice fall color combination and I love how the belt loops over, casual but chic!

It wouldn't be an LV show without the accessories! Here are my favorites...

This shoe and bag combo is divine!

Cute little Speedy in a nice vintage leather.

Honey, they shrunk the trunks and me likey.

All images from style.com

As you've read in my previous post, I love Ghesquiere. I simply adore him. But I also like to be honest to my readers. Overall, I thought the collection was lukewarm. I felt like there was something missing here, almost like he was playing it safe with this collection---but mind you, these pieces are a great step forward for what Ghesquiere can do for LV. Some of the design elements and details in this collection haven't been seen in an LV show since Marc Jacobs' tenure (and that is a really good thing!) but maybe with so much anticipation building up and having crazy expectations for our wonderboy, anything less would immediately seem mediocre. This definitely isn't one of his best but once he gets over this transitional period, you better make sure you're wearing your padded butt pants 'coz this guy is going to knock all of us off our patent leather heels.

Besides...this isn't his first rodeo, he's only warming up.
Save a horse, ride a cowboy. Yeehaw!

Toodles!

Ghesquiere for LV

This post is rather late considering the fashion world has been abuzz since the power fashion house of LVMH announced last November 2013 on signing in Nicolas Ghesquiere as their new Creative Director for Louis Vuitton. As I admired Marc Jacobs' work for LV for the past 16 years, I must say that pumping in "new blood" like Ghesquiere is rather a refreshing and exciting moment for the luxury brand.

Ghesquiere combines fashion, art and commercialism in such an elegant way that made Balenciaga rise to a different level of ooh-la-la. He isn't safe--- he knows how to explore different silhouettes, shapes, textures and fabrics but I always appreciate designers who keep in mind that people have to actually wear their creations and know where to draw the line between a walking, magnificent piece of art and a drunken peacock on a rampage. 

Okay, apparently I couldn't find an alcoholic peacock so this will have to suffice...

www.wallpixy.com

I didn't really pay too much attention to this genius of a designer until I laid my eyes on his famous "Lego sandals" (picture below, on the right) back in his Fall '07 collection for Balenciaga. Since then, I've been an avid rabid fan in both his shoe and clothing collections!

balenciaga.com

Look what he did for Balenciaga:

Spring 2013

Spring 2010

Fall 2010

And who could ever forget Spring 2008? Glorious pieces from the clothes down to the shoes!

All runway photos from style.com

I think Marc Jacobs would agree when I say that they couldn't have chosen a better successor to the mighty LV throne than Nicolas Ghesquiere.

P.S. Alexander Wang has taken over Ghesquiere's coveted position in Balenciaga and I hear he's doing mighty fine as well. Since I mentioned earlier that this is a late post, I shall be updating you folks with Ghesquiere's first collection for LV soon =)


Toodles!