Natural light is the greatest thing God ever did for bloggers. I was trying to be less wordy with my posts; no one has the time to read long blog entries. I sort of always knew that, but my natural inclination to blabber on endlessly usually takes over. Blogging is a selfish interest anyway. So this was meant to be "more pictures, less words"... but I failed.

We get a lot of our beauty products from PRs. I'm pretty much a makeup dork, so something like half of my makeup bag is gifted from PRs or family and friends. Actually, I stopped wearing makeup sometime after I started my new (now not-so-new) job. It's probably a sign of the slow, sure downhill stroll into not giving a crap. But after I was snapped in Ming Pao Daily with eye bags down to my knees, I think I need to start again. Let's see what's inside.



It's both sad and gross that I can't really wear mascara; my face is so oily that by the end of the day it's stuck all over my eyes. When I have the sense to powder up and prevent that, I use this Japanese one with a picture of an anime girl on it. You can get it at Sasa. It was introduced to me by this guy I met from the Hong Kong Economic Times who used to date a beauty editor who got the recommendation from the makeup artist that does Fiona Sit's face. We were on a cruise to Japan and he bought me two tubes. Random acts of kindness from almost-strangers is always nice. The Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick bronzer in Copper Diamond is a Christmas present from my mom. I never tan my face so it's useful to have.


Eyeliner is my best friend. Eyeliner is the best friend of every single-eyelid-ed gal who doesn't have Korean parents to buy her surgery. I've used the famous pencils -- MAC, Chanel -- and always end up looking like a fatigued panda, so now I just use $20 twisty eyeliner from Bonjour. The brand is Chameleon and it stays pretty put unless you rub your eyes a lot. Which I have a tendency to do. You can also see the Dior palette I travel with (four brownish eyeshadows, two lippies -- one glittery, one red); my cheapo Maybelline blush; and my Body Shop All In One Face Base 05 creamy cover-up that is the only thing I've found that doesn't really clog the pores too much.


This MAC Fascinating Ruby: 6 Smokey Eyes eyeshadow palette is awesome. It has everything you need for day or night. Most palettes usually contain one or two colours that are never ever touched, but this one doesn't.


Estee Lauder just sent a gangload of stuff to my office, including this eyeshadow. I can't wait till the next time I have an excuse to dress like a trashy hooker with a grunged out 5am eye. And I of course mean that in the best possible way.

Next week, we talk lippy.

Remember the Bulgari Save the Children ring that I coveted a year ago and finally purchased about a month ago? Well here’s the main reason why I bought the ring. Bulgari has come up with a second iteration of what I assume will become their annual Save the Children ring. There’s nothing wrong with this version, if anything it’s classic Bulgari and I’m sure will be another crowd pleaser. However, there’s something about the gothic version that appeals to me so so much more. The only problem with the ring is that it’s easily scratchable and I felt that with the way I bang up my jewellery, it won’t be long before the ring becomes unrecognizable. Of course, much with any new product after the first scratch you stop caring so much.

This second Save the Children ring will set you back HK$3,100 with 20% donated to the charity. Much like last year, photographer Fabrizio Ferri will donate his time and talent to shoot more celebrities wearing the new ring, beginning in July 2010 and continuing throughout 2011. I loved the campaign last year where celebrities such as Sting, Ben Stiller, Willem Dafoe, Terence Howard, Ronaldinho, Jessica Biel, Olivia Wilde, Jason Lewis, Valeria Golino, Isabella Rossellini, and Debra Messing were featured. So do your part for the children and snag yourself a nice ring in the meantime. And if like me, you prefer the first version, I think it's still available at the Bulgari flagship in Central.

Style icon Anna Dello Russo will be coming to town tomorrow and Thursday to meet with Lane Crawford’s VIPs and share styling tips. Fashion Director at Large and Creative Consultant for Vogue Nippon, Anna has an eclectic fashion sense that transforms the most ordinary into the whimsical. Anna is rumoured to have over 4,000 pairs of shoes and us Geeks would die to take a peek into her closet. For those coveting Anna’s style, runway samples pre-selected by her will be available for Lane Crawford customers to pre-order. We ask Anna to tell us her three go-to outfits for the following occasions, and weigh in on her choices.


1. At the supermarket or the gym:
Abercrombie and Fitch.


Since neither of us has really shopped at good ol' A&F since our high school/college days, we were behooved to check out the brand of American classics. And yet... we couldn't imagine the gorgeous, always put-together fashion editor rocking items such as "Perfect Butt Sweatpants" and pseudo sports team tees. Then again, if Kate Lanphear can wear a Princeton sweatshirt to New York Fashion Week and have it be the coolest thing ever... then why not Anna in Abercrombie? Of course, when we mortals wear Abercrombie to the gym, we look like crap. But that's because we're mortals. And anyway, we don't go to the gym.

2. At a wedding or a gala dinner
Head-to-toe runway piece from the current season. For this season, I like Balmain, Dolce&Gabbana, and Emilio Pucci.


What surprised us here was the head-to-toe bit. With her love of statement pieces, outlandish accessories and let's face it, the spotlight, we would've thought she was more of a mix 'n match girl. A little bit 'o googling proved us right. In fact, the only head-to-toe look found was this Balmain... But anyway, like FashionGeek and ShoeGeek, that dress and those shoes really shouldn't be broken up anyway, they're like two peas in a pod.

3. At the beach
Marc Jacobs Bathing Suit


Now for the money question -- does Anna wear a one-piece or two? Or, God forbid, one of those things that can't decide if it's a one piece or a bikini or something the swimsuit pattern-maker dreamed up one night when he had leftover scraps of fabric and a leftover doobie. Since Marc Jacobs doesn't make such asinine garments, and Anna normally doesn't wear very revealing things (well, save for a see-through lace skirt here and there), we're going to go with one-piece, especially since Marc by Marc Jacobs has such wonderfully psychedlically chic pieces. A ruffle here, a polka dot there... the perfect example of restrained, cheeky glamour. We picked these photos because the model has similar hair, so we don't have to replicate that poor photoshop job up there. Your eyeballs are saved, and so is our precious time.

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This is probably on one of those "you know you're Asian when..." lists already, but it still holds true. You know you're Asian when you squeal like a dirty little Lolita upon seeing anything that is sushi-related -- examples: sushi USB drives at the computer mall, sushi phone charms, sushi erasers, sushi slippers, sushi iPhone games, bag lines named Su-Shi, Hello Kitty dolls dressed up as sushi (no photo but I swear I've seen it) and the other way around, sushi dressed up as Hello Kitty...

So I really thought I'd seen it all when it came to strange interpretations of Japan's most famous food. Trust Demeter, the fragrance purveyor who brought us Dirt, Clean Window, Between the Sheets and Holy Water, to create a scent called "Sushi." Demeter's description reads: "Not what you think it would smell like! Demeter's Sushi is the fresh scent of just cooked sticky rice and straight from the seaside seaweed, laced with hints of ginger and lemon essences. Simply delectable... after all, if it smelled like fish, would you wear it?" Other than making me want to hyphenate "just cooked" and "straight from the seaside," that little paragraph also makes me want to test-drive the scent, except that Makeup Alley's reviews are so-so -- most say it errs too much on the side of citrus, missing out on the oceany nori and the spice of the wasabi... but it's still a nice enough smell. And at US$20 for a one-ounce cologne spray, you're in this for the novelty, anyway.

I've never been too big a fan of The Veneta but this updated version has me lusting after it. Is it the colour? Is it the confetti texture? Or maybe it's just me suffering syndromes of shopping withdrawal from the embargo.

I never knew I had such an overwhelming collection of rings until I needed props to test out my new iPhone camera app. And wasn't willing to leave the vicinity of my bed. It came down to either the contents of my bedside jewellery box, or the bewildering stash of snacks I keep within arm's reach, consumed and replenished daily. And yeah, bling porn won out over evidence of my descent into gluttony.

The camera app is Super Camera, by the way. It's free and has lots of options, but Scrub and Natural Sepia are the only selects worth using.

Do you want to know where these are from, by the way? Click on for credits.


1. Clockwise from bottom left... Chunky gold ring and rusty gold three-finger knuckleduster from Bangkok; giant amber cocktail ring from hawker stand, $20 from the super bitchy hawker lady that I hope to re-encounter outside Aji Ichiban/Okashi Land in Causeway; four-finger ring from Maison Martin Margiela.

2. Clockwise from top... Marc by Marc Jacobs coil ring; cosmic-looking ring from Forever 21; necklace (duh) Dior -- one of faves from the honey pie.

3. Left to right... White flower/filigree ring made by our own Chic Infinity, aka FashionGeek, for my birthday; Swarovski crystal heart ring from my daddy; corset ring by Dior; two-finger Bijules seagull ring from Moxsie.

It’s an interesting conundrum that watchmakers are dealt with these days. Time is so ubiquitous that you really don’t need to have a watch to tell time. I used to be a regular watch wearer until I got my iPhone and then since I hold my phone wherever I go, it became easier to just check on the phone than the watch. So now I think of watches as an accessory, a sort of bracelet or bangle with the added function to tell time. I’ve been looking to get some statement watches at a reasonable price and came across Invicta Watches at ShopNBC. Here are a few that I think has potential, particularly the black and rose gold one. Although I'm obviously still in a summer mood as the other colours I've chosen are bright popping happy colours. Hmm what do you think? Which should I get?

Maybe you thought I was crazy, maybe you really couldn't care less... but I knew The Shkirt existed in real life. Yeah, me and Alexander Wang, we really have the same taste.

At La Garconne.

Some of you may know that I like to make jewellery and have an online store under the brand name Chic Infinity. Unfortunately, in recent months, the shop has fallen to the wayside as I’ve been dedicating all my efforts to my full time job and of course, this blog. Well, since I’m officially banned from shopping in a pact that I made with ShoeGeek, I was inspired this weekend to recreate a piece of jewellery that I am coveting, the Vera Wang asymmetric pearl necklace.

I decided to create something similar but not as extravagant as I’d like it to be wearable every day. With weight being a key factor in the making of this necklace, I had to forgo the lovely Japanese glass pearl beads that I normally use and use the inferior plastic beads which are so so much lighter. Three hours and a couple hundred beads later, this is the result. I’m still not quite happy with it and am thinking if I should add another strand of beads to it to tangle it up a bit more but the beauty of DIY is that I can wear what I’ve made for now and add more when I’m bored. Amazingly easy to make and without the US$650 price tag. Perfect for a Geek on a budget.

Between this and the killer Peekaboos... I think I'm falling for Fendi. Who would have ever guessed, considering I have a Fendi tank and skirt sitting in a bag in my closet waiting to go up on the potential new blog/site ShopGeek for us to channel our unwanted warehouse sale finds and other stuff.
Get them here.

In Central, for once!

There’s nothing I love more than to see awesome street style in Hong Kong. Honkies are routinely bashed for not having a sense of identity, for copying Japanese trends or taking on Korean trends. At the end of the day, I don’t necessarily think it’s a bad thing for us to adopt fashion from other cultures as long as you are comfortable with what you are wearing. I can see the hating on the people who are trying too hard and putting on certain outfits to look cool when you can tell they aren't at east. This is not the case with these girls. You can tell they are simply having fun and decided to make a day out of dressing up and matching themselves with the colours of each MTR station. What a great concept! I can totally see this being a great editorial fashion shoot. Thanks to @cloverlau for letting me post these images of her friends and her. Individual station shots after the cut.

We had some regularly scheduled posts for you today, but in light of last night's events, thought it more tasteful to take a day to reflect on things less shallow than blogging about fashion. Like the people and family of people struck by last night's tragedy, to whom we offer our condolences and best wishes from afar, inasmuch as our thoughts can't really mollify anything. There's a million reasons to be angry -- poor judgement, bad aim, inept and rashly made decisions -- but I guess what matters most now is the healing. So may time heal the wounds inflicted last night.

I'm not sure if this is commonly known, but say you have UA miles that are soon to expire, but you don't really have a UA destination that you want to travel to, you can always extend your expiration deadline by shopping on UA Mileage Mall. There are a whole bunch of sites you can shop, but not all of them ship to Hong Kong. Shopbop is one of them, and with their free shipping to Hong Kong with any purchase over US$100, it's a wise place to spend. Since you're really shopping for the sake of shopping, I thought I'd put together a list of cheapie goodies from the sale section, all in or under the US$50 mark. The opening image is a simple tank with back button detailing by Alice and Olivia, US$46.20.

Click in to see more picks...


Like this dagger necklace by Noir, the brand of jewellery often spotted on thy favourite tomboy boho blogs, Fashion Toast and lulu and your mom. And only US$37.50, which for Noir is damn cheap.


I'm obsessed with bustiers, no matter how uncomfortable they are, there is nothing like throwing one on over a white tank or tee to take casual to come-hither. This one from Kettle Black (US$47.50) sort of has an open back as well, making it twice as cool.


Pretty sure none of our readers are going to buy this, but I am mysteriously drawn to this cotton onesie by Haute Hippie for US$43.50. Maybe I am subconsciously reminiscing about my days as a baby, when I didn't have to go to work on Mondays and read endless reams of colour proofs for the upcoming and always ridiculously intense September issue.


More bling, this time courtesy of Fallon Jewelry, US$49.50.


Sick little belt, probably DIY-able if you had the time and motivation... but no one has the time or motivation, especially not if you can pick one up and renew your mileage status all for the dirt-low price of US$32. Thank you, Elegantly Waisted.


It's a miniskirt. It's designed by Erin Wasson for RVCA. It's tiny, hot and priced at only US$37. This should go in the cart no matter what your mileage state-of-mind might be.


Last but not least, this toes the line just a bit at US$50.70 but it's a comfy-glam poufy-shouldered T-shirt mini, Torn by Ronny Kobo. Every girl needs one of those, right?

This is another Bag Lady dedicated to ShoeGeek and no it's not an ode to pandas but rather an add-on to her post about our embargo as I've discovered the perfect complement to the messenger bag she covets for the iPad that she doesn't have. It would also be a good companion to the tan PS1 that she wasn't able to get. Ok this might be a post taunting her more than dedicating to her. Oops.

Get the Temple leather iPad case here.

If you can't break a shopping embargo... divert your cash instead to branded tea sets, like this Chloe-inspired afternoon tea at MO Bar at the Landmark Mandarin Oriental. The meal is created by the famed chef Richard Ekkebus (who calls me "Princess," teehee, I think because he doesn't remember my name) based on flavours and scents in the Chloe fragrance, which include lychee, honey, rose, pink peony, freesia, magnolia and lily of the valley. Scones, pastries, finger sandwiches and pastries are all on the menu, as well as a cupcake buffet, which is sure to slay me, the cupcake whore. Yes, I am not ashamed to admit, I am a cupcake whore -- I will have dirty sex with you in exchange for cupcakes (for red velvet ones, I'll do gosh-darned unspeakable acts). But not finger sandwiches, because they sound like sandwiches filled with fingers, and creep me out.

Alright, it's been a long week. Back to reality and the thesis of this post, the Chloe tea set. It being a tea set, it also comes with... wait for it... tea. Or coffee. And a special Chloe gift set, which I'm sensing will include a trial-sized Chloe fragrance. The set is priced at $190 or $360 for two, and is available between 3-530pm daily until the end of September. For reservations, please call MO Bar on + 852 2132 0077.

It’s Friday and I’m lazy. So am just going to show you Guerlain’s latest make up collection via the power of images. After all, a picture’s worth a thousand words right? So here are several thousands worth.

I feel that I should start a Hello Kitty column dedicated to the random products that she's affiliated with. On my daily trawl of interesting things to bring you, I discovered that Hello Kitty is continuing to dominate the consumer market and the latest is a combination of a beverage (nope, not the wine that she’s not making) and Swarovski crystals (which she’s been fond of in the past). This time, she’s joined forces with Fillico, a company that specialises in making branded water from a spring in Kobe, to bring you bottled water that showcases Swarvoski crystal accents and crown-shaped toppers. The different colour for each bow represents a different trait: yellow for "heartful," pink for "cute," lavender for "sweet," green for "wish," and red for "friendship.” (Is it me or is that ambiguous in a typically Japanese way?) Water doesn’t come cheap though, each bottle retails for US$100. Available here.