Infamous B.B. Cream

Blemish balm, more commonly referred to as B.B. cream is a well-known product in the Asian markets. I've heard about this product previously, but I haven't had the chance to try it until my recent trip to Asia. Now that I have, I'll have to say I'm pretty in love with this product! B.B. cream is suppose to be an all-in-1-product, it acts like a moisturizer, sunscreen, primer, concealer, whitener (Asians love that), foundation - pretty much does it all!

There are different types, some with more or less coverage, some with anti-aging properties, some that are more water based so they have a more sheer feel to them. It is a product based on ointment created in the 1950's by a German dermatologist who used it on her patients after undergoing laser and peel treatments to soothe, protect and conceal redness in the patient's skin. However, today's BB cream has been attributed to origins in Korea with its popularity by Korean actresses using this product and other brands capitalizing on the success.

In Asia, almost every single makeup/beauty brand, even ones used in the U.S. such as Maybelline, Garnier, etc.  B.B cream has recently been introduced to the U.K. markets with a bunch of different brands including Clinique, Estee Lauder, Garnier, Mac, etc. and is thought to be the year's biggest beauty trend. However, the U.S. market has been a little bit slower to welcoming B.B. cream. Sephora recently released Boscia B.B. cream, this is the first in the U.S. It is well reviewed on Sephora and I have heard decent things from a friend of mine as well... so definitely worth trying out, plus Sephora is pretty great at exchanges/returns if you end up not liking a product.

I tested out a multitude of different B.B creams in Asia, but there were so many that it was way overwhelming! Their drugstores are great in Asia - I went to Watsons for most of my drugstore beauty products and then some specialty stores such as Skin Food, Etude, The Face Shop just to check out their products. SaSa and Colourmix were another some other popular beauty stores.  One of my friends had just came back from Taipei so I was lucky to get her input and use her recommendations

One she recommended to me and really liked was the Maybelline B.B. Cream , SPF 26++, it comes in two colors. The bottle says its an 8-IN-1 skin transformer:

•  Brightens skin: visible whitening effect
• Covers imperfections, reduces the appearance of pores, skin redness disappears
• Moisturizes and protects: all day hydration + helps to protect skin from UV rays and free radical

I used the 02 Natural color, since after a month in Asia, I was definitely much tanner and in general I would say I'm not as fair-skinned as the Asians living in Asia. I personally really liked this product a lot! Its definitely replaced my other tinted moisturizer (Laura Mercier) and Nars foundation as my everyday routine. I like the consistency, its very light and it reminds me closely of a water based moisturizer I got in Asia (will review later). I think the coverage is pretty average, not too much or too little... you can always add another layer if you want more coverage. I prefer buildable coverage as opposed to it feeling heavy once you put it on. Although, I had great success with this product as well as a few of my friends, I did have other friends who felt that the color did not fit them.  Most B.B creams either come only in 1 or 2 shades and that doesn't always work with everyone's skin tone.

The best thing about the Maybelline B.B. cream though is the bang for your buck. Definitely one of the cheapest ones out there.  Prices I noticed were cheaper in Thailand and Malaysia, while Taipei and Hong Kong were more expensive. I bought it at a Watsons drugstore in Thailand for about $6 for 18mL(0.5 oz). The Nars foundation is $42 for 1 oz, so I'm saving $30, while the Laura Mercier tinted moisturizer is $42 for 1.5 oz - I could buy 7 bottles of the Maybelline B.B cream for the price of 1. Well of course part of the reason for the low price is the exchange rate of American dollars to Asian currency, but it definitely was one of the cheapest B.B. creams I encountered in the Asian markets.

I also tried the Missha B.B. cream, probably one of the most well-known brands.  I actually just found out they are sold in the U.S. by Korean retailers.  So if you do end up wanting to try it instead of trekking to Asia, definitely check out to see if theres a cosmetic store by you that sells it. I personally did not like the Missha B.B. cream. I felt that it was heavier and the color did not match my skintone.  It made me look very white and ghostly.  The coloring looked like it had a whiteish cast to it, which for is great for some Asians who have paler complexions or want their skin to look that way, but I'm not one of them. I didn't feel like this brand was natural enough for me.  My friend had mentioned that likely the reason that the Missha B.B. cream is thicker consistency and the coloring is lighter is because it originated in Korea, where the temperatures can get cooler and skin tones may be paler as opposed to SE Asia.

Skinfood B.B. cream, I thought was a little too shimmery for me.  There were a few others I tried, but I don't remember them too well now. I decided just to stick with the Maybelline B.B. cream since it was budget friendly and it did its job! I did notice that Bobbi Brown had a new B.B. cream and I would be interested in trying that out... but that was near the end of my trip and I had already collected enough face goodies!

As for an all-in-one product, I'm not sure if I am convinced if it is that for everyone.  For me, as an everyday product, I think its perfectly fine.  I still wear SPF in addition, but thats because I am pretty particular about making sure I have on SPF 50 everyday... I don't use concealer or any other products besides moisturizer with SPF and either foundation/tinted moisturizer so this product works perfectly for me.  If I wanted more coverage and staying power, I think I would definitely use a powder on top of the B.B. cream, but overall I am pretty satisfied with it and I would recommend it! Hope my review helps!

Have you guys tried B.B. cream before? What brands do you like?

info via, photos by me  

Journey of Tips

After moving back to the D.C. metro from the S.F. bay area, I had only one week home to unpack, attend a wedding, and then re-pack for Asia.  We only had 2 nights booked in Hong Kong when we left the U.S. from NYC.  Typically being a pretty detailed planner, I realized the joys of actually planning things as you go and going with the flow.

I traveled for 44 days visiting, over 13 cities, and 8 countries with just a backpack, which fluctuated between 10-13 kg (22-28lbs).  Throughout this journey, I picked up quite a few travel tips that I thought would be helpful for anyone traveling esp with summer travel.

1.  Pack appropriately!!

You know this, you really do, but you don't realize it until you don't have the right clothes.  I would say to always bring:

• Tennis shoes (you never know what kind of outdoor hike, waterfall trek, bumpy bike ride you can encounter) 
• Comfortable sandals (will do a future post on sanuk vs. teva sandals) for all the walking you're gonna be doing, can also be used if you need them for a filthy shower or walking around your bunker
•  A jacket even if its a hot and humid summer (great when you find yourself on a 2AM trek on top of a volcano - yes its COLD up there! or it'll help when you find yourself sleeping in the airport or even a super air-conditioned ferry ride) .. something lightweight, but trust me, you'll be happy you brought it when you need it 
• A hat to shield yourself from the sun whether its basking in the sun all day or out tomb raiding temples
• Bring a daypack to hold all your things as you sight see throughout the day. I used a cross body bag while traveling, but I would say my cousin's daypack was definitely better than my bag. Last but not least, definitely bring a money pouch that you can place underneath your clothes... very helpful for storing extra money, passports & plus you never want to put all your money and valuables in one place, you gotta spread it out!

With this all said, I did bring my favorite outfits although I had to wear them over and over... try to find things you can mix and match easily since space is precious on a trip like this, but with all the photo shoots you're going to do, you of course wanna look good ;) Just don't forget the essentials! & remember, the less you bring, the more you can bring home!

2. To suit case or not?

I wasn't sold on using a backpack initially since I really didn't want to carry a big backpack on my shoulders, but it turned out to be really helpful and I think it helped me build some muscle lugging that heavy thing around... ha! I used a 35L Northface backpack, which was good enough for the trip, you may want to consider something larger if you want to pack more stuff... my cousin carried a 60L backpack. The great thing is when you have to move really quickly and go up stairs, having a backpack is much easier.

Also, don't forget to bring combination locks to lock up your bag when you are traveling, definitely a necessity and if you don't buy those TSA approved locks (but I'm not sure if they work in Asia), make sure you unlock your stuff before you check in your bag or they WILL break your locks (yup, I totally forgot one time :( I would definitely recommend using combination locks over keys...just in case you lose the key and it is ONE more than to carry!

In addition to my backpack, I also brought a large soft travel bag that was helpful for me when we had to check in our backpacks and to keep anything important or valuable. I would also recommend putting in one pair of clothes, contacts/makeup/toothbrush into your carry on, JUST IN CASE your luggage is delayed or lost, which happened to us! We slept in the airport that night so luckily I brought some extra stuff with me, but was definitely extremely relieved when I had a few things while our luggage was on its way

3. MUST USE travel websites

The following travel websites were EXTREMELY helpful on our trip. Considering we did no planning beforehand, we needed good online resources to let us know what the best accommodation for our budget was, places to see, things to do, and how to get from here to there.  These are my favorite resources:

• Tripadvisor - BEST resource for reviews on accommodations, restaurant and attractions
• Airbnb - You can find the best deals on airbnb and hopefully a lovely host like the ones we found that can give you great information, use my link for $25 off your first stay! This is great when you're traveling with more than one person... they're usually very cozy! People either rent our rooms in their own apartments or they rent out their entire apt/home. Otherwise I would use hostelworld.com if you'd rather go that route 
• Couchsurfing - stay on a free couch and meet some cool people (will do another post my own personal experience) if you're brave enough! I would definitely recommend it, but obviously use common sense and chat with your host for a bit ahead of time before you stay there and if you don't feel comfortable, don't stay there
• Flights:  We used skyscanner to get an idea of where the cheapest places to fly were.  It has a great option where you can select 'everywhere' with flexible dates and it'll list the cheapest places to fly from your current location.  I would use it in addition to using sites like kayak.com, farecast.com or hipmunk.com (we found that our flight from NYC to HKG was cheapest on hipmunk so worth a try!) since it isn't all inclusive
• We used jetstar.com, airasia.com or tigerairways.com for low cost air carriers, no frills but gets you to where you need to be!
• Be sure to always pay for checked luggage as if you don't and they force you to check your luggage, it will be a hefty expense! 
• Don't be afraid to check our buses and trains in Asia as well, they're very cheap and if you have the time, another experience to tell! 

 I could go on for days about tons and tons of travel advice, but I think I will leave it at there for now and add more tips as I go into detail about each place I traveled to. Hope this helps!  Travel happy!

Passport Stamp Collector

I had an amazing adventure, backpacking throughout Asia... back now with more perspective about the world, a little heftier from eating so much and endless stories to tell. I'm settling back now so stories and travel tips galore to come! I also picked up quite a few beauty products that need to be reviewed! So excited to try them all :)

Minimalist

So, another segment completed - residency done done and done! It was the best of both worlds - school and work, while living the life in California. I will look back at the year with the utmost fondest memories. Of course, there must be a post grad trip, enjoying your life before the working begins.  I have been dying to go to Asia for the LONGEST time.  My parents told me they would take me after high school, then after college, and then after graduate school.. and it never happened.  I don't blame them, they are busy, hard working people...  but now its time.

I'm traveling to SE Asia with my younger cousin. She's the PERFECT companion, super laid back, go with the flow type of girl... especially since we're suppose to leave for our trip in 1 week with no set plans, still talk of changing dates of our travel and the only thing booked is one ticket to Hong Kong and back.  I'm honestly, usually a detailed planner, but with everything that has been going on in life with ending my residency (presentations, papers), packing up my stuff to move back home, family, my good-byes to all the amazing people I have encountered over this year.. it has been crazy whirlwind.  But all I can do is embrace the spontaneity and the adventure that is to come. Step 1, learn to become a minimalist.... that will lighten the load I have to backpack around Asia.  My travels to come through my blog and tweets! Follow me and my adventures for the next month :)

picture via

INSPIRATION

Thinking about my time ending here in the SF bay area is making me really sad.  I've really 100x fold enjoyed my time here.  I really love all the people, the great food, the beautiful weather (for the most part, except for those days days of rain :) the outdoorsiness of being here. 

The great thing about this area is how smart and talented the people are.  They're are so many tech folks, artsy people, creative and driven people, people who are looking for the next big thing (start-ups mostly). It takes a lot of drive to pursue something on your own, which I admire.  You can't be afraid of failure. It makes me think about what can I do, if all these young professionals can push themselves to create something new.. maybe not necessarily new, but innovative of something that is already present, or doing something for the good of people.  I read this story about Toni Ko, the founder of NYX cosmetics, and I thought wow, she was only in her mid-20s when she created this. Another brand I find inspiring is TOMS shoes, I love how for every shoe you buy, they give a shoe to child in Argentina. 

All I can say is, I feel inspired and I like it.  I'm ready for a change in my life.  Ready to jot down those ideas, and figure out what the next stage in my life is..

pic via

A SO-CAL Adventure

Back in February,  I had a three day weekend, so my cousin and I took a spontaneous trip down to L.A. and the O.C. to visit our friend.  It was such a fun weekend and it was amazing that it was 70 degrees! How, I love California.  It will be so hard to leave once my residency is over :(

 an awesome bike rike!

 

WE LOVE KOGI!

 Practicing our jumping skills as much as we can!

 strolling after the sunset :)

 bodards, delish spring rolls!

 the getty in malibu, so beautiful

 sharing a moment

 shin sen gumi, one of the top ramen places i've been to, SO YUMS!

bakery over-indulgence in 85C... LOVE this place!!!

Geeky Chic

I love Anne Hathaway's large black rimmed glasses!  I think she looks so geek chic!  Most people would not wear these glasses with a pretty embellished dress on the red carpet, but I actually like it! I love it when people embrace their glasses, haha, part of the profession =P

What do you think? LOVE it or HATE it?