Crazy Rich Asians movie review *mild spoiler alert*

To say I was anticipating the movie is an underestimation. After reading all three of the delectable books, jumping up high when I heard of the adaptation, announcement of the cast, following Constance Wu's every Instagram move and down to the very last minute of the premiere, I have been waiting and waiting. This not only consolidates the success of Kevin Kwan's genius writing, but is a huge inspiration for Asian writers out there. It is an exciting time to see Asian representation from writing all the way to directing and acting. Anyhow, let's get into it:

Given all the details and subplots in the original book, the movie was well paced. It retained the dramatic opening scene in London, quickly breezed through the news of Nick going back to Singapore and also developed the subplot of Astrid's marriage. I love the humor that was instilled into the movie by Ken and Akwafina.

Some scenes that were not in the movie but still very appropriately dealt with was the majong scene. Though arguable a copycat of "Joy Luck Club" was still appropriate and touching (truth be told I cried). Omg the proposal scene was absolutely different but still very cute.

Let's talk music. My gosh, I loved how they rendered old Shanghai tunes but also mixed it up with a Mandarin version of Coldplay's Yellow- an obvious reference to the ethnographic depiction.

I was not quite happy with how they left Astrid's story the way they did. They spent more time on developing Bernard and Kitty than they could have with Astrid in which I think was an important storyline. I don't even know how they will continue that in the next movie.

But in general I liked the adaptation. It made me laugh, it made me cry, and more importantly, it made me think and reflect on the love God has blessed me with in this life time.

Anything Aesthetic

Plugging my sister's awesome blog called Anything Aesthetics!! quite self explanatory, anything pretty!! fashion, photography, interior designs. She has flair and impeccable taste!! You would love her humor as well!! A picture is worth a thousand words they say?! Go check it out!!! What are you waiting for?????

anythingaesthetic.blogspot.com

Bon appetit!!!

Shatin's Newtown Plaza the new Canton Road?

Not long ago has Shatin's Newtown Plaza opened up a Victoria's Secret beauty store, and now along side with it's novelty Michael Kors shop, I am starting to ruminate: Is Newtown Plaza becoming the new Canton Road? Although the VS store is by no comparison as satisfying as the ones in US, it was however able to create a frenzy on the opening day. With Newtown's growing clientele of international designer brands and high accessibility to Shenzhen, Shatin seems to have bloomed as mainlanders' new amusement park. You're starting to hear more Mandarin being spoken then Cantonese and I can't really blame them, there are fashion and food outlets galore that lure them to linger. This trend has become vividly apparent to me during my visit today.

I started off hunting for a place to satisfy my gastronomic needs, and found this Thai place called Tom Yum Kung Kung crowded with people. So I went over and saw their promotional limited 50 bowls per day Tom Yum Vermicelli with Canadian Crab Leg for only HK$36!! After inquiring if there were any left I was escorted to a table. Given the price you would imagine you're not sitting in a 5star environment but that was okay because the food was great! Note: You do need to know how to read Chinese or at least go with someone who can as the ordering sheets are in Chinese. I ordered a fish cake as an appetizer, the vermicelli and a soda. Which in total came down to a mere $64! Great option for a quick lunch!=)

The fish cake was your typical Thai fish cake accompanied with sweet chili sauce that I did not try so I wouldn't comment. The cake itself however was nice and hot and tasted great.

The vermicelli was thoroughly satisfying. Because of the price I was expecting mediocre food, but the crab leg was a surprising portion, and the tom yum tasted a great mix of spice and lime. Though the crab leg was not filleted with no genuine tools but chopsticks to help open it, it was however considerably hammered open and came with wet-naps. Pretty good for $36!!=)






I then headed to check out the new Michael Kors store. This is only the second Michael Kors shop in Hong Kong after the Peninsula Haute Coutour store. Differing from the Peninsula one, the Shatin one is a lifestyle store, translate: more wallet-friendly. I was trying to look for a tote I saw at the airport duty free but failed. I however, after chatting with one of the friendly and knowledgeable saleswomen, found out that Michael Kors not only designed an Asia limited edition bag called Jetset, but also designed sunglasses that catered to Asian noses. That's very cute Mr. Kors!=)

Forever 21 haul/Spring trends 2013/Kota Kinabalu

This cotton nautical striped one piece is very form hugging and can elongate your legs. Very comfy and perfect for my flight as HK was a bit chilly and Kota Kinabalu was a bit warm, so all I needed was a light coat in HK, and take it off when I landed. It was at a bargain price I recall only HK$99.

This neon pink bikini top was for me to mix and match some printed bottoms, not that it was too flattering on me but it was worth the try for just HK$41. Though you can't see too clearly in this picture, I paired it with a Coach headband scarf and my Ray-Ban aviators. Perfect match =)







This turquoise sheer strapped coverup is perfect for spring and summer times on the beach or with a short white miniskirt. HKD$100. The headband scarf was purchased in Shenzhen XP and the shades at H&M ages ago, but I thought they would still look fab this season on the beach. =)







Although mustard is rumored to be the "it" color this printemp ete, mustard doesn't look good on us Asians, hence I think I'll avoid it. I'll keep going with coral and mint colors as well as pastels. Of course floral patterns, off-shoulders and ruffled cuts will always be my thing.

Gonna shove in a little perfume haul:
Since I have finished my bottle of "Lovely by Sarah Jessica Parker" which I was infatuated with (and also complimented by many guys) but sadly is discontinued...I had to go hunt for new fragrances.

My first purchase was Dolce and Gabbana's Light Blue because not only my sister whom I absolutely trust recommends it but also Hollyannaree the youtube beauty guru did as well. It also has the scent of musk which I was very used to in Lovely and it's supposed to be seductive XP Although it is an eau de toilette, it comes with a body lotion that can prolong the scent. I absolutely love it!=)

Hollyannaree also recommended this Chloe eau de parfum, saying that it smelt soapy and that her boyfriend liked it. The online reviews also raved about it, so I was determined to try smelling it at the major stores in HK, but none of them would let customers smell. So on my Kota Kinabalu trip, at the duty free shop, I smelt it and fell head over heels in love! Only it was a bit too expensive... but I went back to HK and purchased it at a bargain price!=)




Kota Kinabalu was awesome!!=) Although there were hiccup incidents here and there but the company I was with more than made up for that! Shangri-la Rasa Ria Resort is quite nice. Although the room wasn't as spacious as Renessaince or Intercontinental that I've stayed with before, but the delicious food, attentive service, great spa and steady wifi countered that off. The city can be a bit rough but definitely worth the venture. All in all it was a good trip!=)

Until my next post, ciao for now!=)

How to pronounce "Hermes"

I hear a majority of people pronouncing it quite literally "Hermes". Some people who know a little bit of French and think they are smart and shit (me for many years until last year) would probably think it's pronounced "Air-may" because in the French pronunciation rules, initial "h"s are not pronounced, and most ending consonants aren't pronounced either. But that's not right either...

Although "Hermes" is a French brand, the name "Hermes" itself is actually so-called "Frenchified Greek", so the rule that initial "h"s are not pronounced does apply whereas ending consonants aren't pronounced doesn't apply, so the correct pronunciation is actually (drum roll please)... "Air-mez" with the stress at the ending syllable. =)

Youtube Channels I recommend

Sorry for not posting for a while but I've been moving into a new apartment, so have been hectically packing and unpacking, plus CNY also caught up on me. But here's a new post about youtube channels I am subscribed to:

Fashion:

Jenn (clothesencounter/ imjennim)

For starters--witty screen names right? Although her style isn't exactly ready-to-wear, but her range of vocabulary and how she intricately describes every detail is way better than a lot of gurus and to me that's very important. Besides, she very often does quality videos using a DSLR and takes her time with editing, as opposed to hasty iphone vlogging everyday. And the thing that I really appreciate is that she is less commercialized than the other gurus, some gurus like to endorse certain brands or subscription services, but she doesn't do that. Extra points for an awesome edgy personality and beautiful smile! If only I could be like her!!=)

Wendy (wendyslookbook)
You might know her from her 25 ways to wear a scarf video which has gone viral. I adore her personally because her style is a mixture of elegance and effortlessness for petites (like me!). But most importantly, her videos inspire me. Before she was famous she was a banker dreaming to work in fashion, and one day she just went for it with all her heart. I think we are all endowed with that capability to reach our potential, it's a matter of whether we have the ambition it takes, and she inspires me to be ambitious, because after all we only live once. Check out her "Chasing Dreams" and "Italy: A Love Letter" videos, they're my personal favs.

Beauty:

Ingrid (missglamorazzi) (gridmonster)
If you know me you probably know that I'm not really a girl who fusses about makeup although I do invest in skincare. However Ingrid is a girl who despite has been through grief in her life has learnt to be confident and bubbly. She and her boyfriend Luke are adorbs!=) And her videos are quality, DSLR, well edited videos with proper music and intros. Check out her "New York City" vlog montage, so cute!=)

Inspirational:

Soulpancakes
I first found out about this channel from a friend's facebook post and I hit the subscribe button right after the first video "A pep talk from kid president to you". It's a channel with uplifting videos varying from this kid president and a series called "My last days". It's a channel I go to whenever I feel like crap cause it always makes me feel better!=)

TedTalks
I first started subscribing to this platform a couple years ago after watching spoken word poet Sarah Kay "If I should have a daughter". She is very talented, at a remarkably young age. My goal is one day step on that Ted Talk stage and be as eloquent and witty as her!=)
Another good video I saw on TedTalks comes from the author of Eat Pray Love--Elizabeth Gilbert, talking about "Your elusive creative genius". Although I might not be totally convinced on how creativity is as elusive as divinity but I love how she wrapped it up saying "Ole to you nonetheless...just for having the sheer human love of stubbornness to keep showing up."=)

Humor:
I'm not gonna mention the obvious Ellen Degeneres and Jimmy Kimmel people, but here are some underdogs worth a mention:

Wongfuproductions
Ok although they don't have as much subscribers as other Asian American comedians like NigaHiga or Kevjumba, but the Wongfu kids put a lot of time and effort in making every video and as frequent as possible. Phil is usually the guy who comes up with amazing stories like "Take it slow" and "The last", all very original and heart warming and great cinematography. They sometimes come up with some mini series as well which are just as good. Although they do do short vlogs (Wongfu weekends) but it's not tacky and shit. They are so talented they even directed one of Leehom Wang's MV!!=) In short they are funny and heart warming. Me likes XP

Let me know about the channels that you enjoy so I can check them out too! Stay tuned for some more blogging!=) Until then, bye for now!=)

Clinique anti-blemish line and moisture surge review

I've been meaning to do a review on this line for a while but wanted to really wait for the effects to really set in for a couple months. In general, it's a not bad anti-blemish line, I don't know if it's a self-fulfilling prophcey but some of it's products do help prevent and treat pimples, but some not very. But on a fair note my recent sleeping patterns and diet should also be taken into account to my hormonal acne. That having said, this isn't a drugstore line so the price tag can be slightly heftier, bare in mind. Before this I was using Bodyshop's Tea Tree Oil anti-blemish line and the Neutrogena pink grapefruit cleansing foam, with the former being quite effective and the latter not so.

Here's what I've purchased from the line:

• Cleansing foam 125ml for for $195
• Clarifying toner 200ml for $195
• Spot treatment gel 15ml for $150
• Post blemish corrector 0.6g $170
• Anti-blemish concealer 10ml for $170

Okay, so let's start with the products I feel have helped me: the cleansing foam and clarifying toner have really helped me to prevent getting pimples, unclogging pores, cleansing my skin and giving it a very fresh finish to it every time I use it, with me getting about a month and a bit more of clear skin. It has only been recently when that time of the month has came, add in I've been sleeping at later hours and eating too much junk food, that my hormonal acne has started to come back to haunt. But a moderated diet and better sleeping hours should do the trick.

This spot treatment has also been very effective when pimples actually burst and when using this for 1/2 nights the pimple will fade away. It is medicated so do use in moderated dose.

This anti-blemish concealer I purchased later on to substitute my Oxy. To be honest, it's not as healing as Oxy I feel, but it does kind of do the concealing part. I feel that my skin doesn't breathe properly with this product but maybe it's just me. That having said, this is my go-to product because it feels like I'm killing two birds at the same time. Will I repurchase? No. Oxy is way more cost effective.

This post blemish corrector was the first one I purchased out of everything and it is alright, it does eventually with time help fade your acne scars but you really have to give it some time.

And as promised, I'll feature a moisture surge extended thirst relief (50ml for $365) review:
As some of you might already know this is one of Clinique's bestsellers, and I could see why, because like most good moisture gels/serums, it is very hydrating but not oily at all. It is perfect for the dry winter. Be aware though the fortifying hydrator acts differently as it should be used over the extended thirst relief like a mask that lets the latter sink into your skin.



With every purchase, I get very good customer service with professional information, analysis and advice. And most of the times I would get a lot of samples, which also helps me decide whether I get the next product or not. Besides Clinique has a very good VIP points accumulation system, in which with any purchase you can join the system and earn each point with each dollar you spend. With 1000 points in which you would easily accumulate (I accumulated mine in half a year), you can redeem a free make-up service (I redeemed it as well, and they are very professional and patient, making sure you get the best service and customized look) The points can be accumulated for a year from your first purchase. All in all, the whole Clinique experience has been rather satisfying!=) If you don't mind paying a bit extra, I would recommend!=) Let me know if you have anymore questions, I would be happy you help you!=)