is wearing bikini the only way to look cool by the pool?

are you seriously writing about swimwear in september? 

well. parts of the world are swimwear season all year round, parts are just turning summer, hong kong is still boiling hot and most people love traveling to hotter countries in winter. so why not? 

i love summer- i love the water, the beaches the sand and the sun, but there are years i haven't been visiting the pool nor the beach. why? you probably got it right, it's the body issues. 

since i don't know when, beaches and pools are packed with people who wear bikini ONLY. and since it became such a norm, some people might feel like it is a must to wear them. no. don't get me wrong. bikinis are fine. they are beautiful and there is nothing wrong in wearing them. but since we are in the era of people raving about having the "perfect" bikini body, it might feel wrong for some people to wear them with the "wrong" body. 

so what do we do? we go to the beach or pool with bikini on, covering ourselves with a big tee shirt. or we still wear them feeling super uncomfortable inside. or we just simply not go to places like that anymore. but honey, you don't have to do that anymore, you don't have to force yourself in wearing bikini if you don't want to. nowadays, there are tons of beautiful one piece swimsuits out there for you . they are cute, elegant; and when styled right, they can look extremely chic on. 

so today i've put together some really beautiful one piece i've found in different online stores, from more expensive ones to more affordable ones, so everyone could have the chance to wear something they love while enjoying themselves by the pool. 

the transformation

instagram@pu1pui

i started this blog hoping to share my experiences, my thoughts and my interests with the outer world, then i became so concern about the interest of others i got anxious writing; worrying that people will not like what i shared | i got tired. i gave up. i gave up that one little platform that i've created to tell the world who i am. i spent too much time looking outward instead of seeking what's inward, i forgot who i am and what i truly stood up for. 

however i missed. i missed recording my life, sharing my interests and writing down my thoughts. sitting in front of the computer writing is when i get to connect with my heart, feel what i feel and express who i am. 

writing is a beautiful thing. and since i've got to witness my bestie from high school getting into a beautiful marriage few days ago, i figured this would be a beautiful timing to start writing again. 

I've decided to make today a PHONE OFF DAY!

Living in the city I realized that people are spending way too much time indoor than outdoor. And even so they are indoor they hardly connect with people around them anymore as everyone are always too busy with their cellphones. In Findhorn I realized, people around me, even the young ones are never with their cellphones. They would either be reading books, admiring the nature or connecting with friends. And there I learnt to abandon my phone to spend time with myself. The minute I stopped worrying about searching for wifi everywhere I go was a total relief, I now no longer need my phone to keep me company because I know I am my own best company. And I was happy.

Back in hong kong when you are not surrounded by such people and energy, we know we need some extra help to keep ourselves off the phone. So I've decided to make today a phone off day so I can sit down and spend some time with myself.

So what have I done on a phone off day?

I started off by listening to some of my favorite music. Sat down with my eyes close and listened with my heart. It was only when your phone was off where you can listen to songs like this without the interference of any notifications. Had a yummy lunch, read then I head out to my garden for some sun and meditation. I meditate everyday when I was in scotland, but now that I've stopped for a week, I almost forgot how good I feel meditating in nature. I feel complete.

We are too busy dealing with the outside world we forgot about the world inside us. It's important to take some time off everyday to visit that inner world of yours to give it some love and attention. And it's the best to do it with your phone off. If turning your phone off for the entire day is a luxury for you, start with an hour. Sit down and just be with yourself. If you are not a fan of meditation, do something you love! Read your favorite book, listen to your favorite song, watch a movie or even eat some ice cream! Pamper yourself. Your body and soul will thank you for doing this.

Now can you do it? Can you live without your phone?

baking soda magic | does brand matter?

When you don't know what's going to work, use baking soda, well at least that's what I thought. Baking soda are like magic, they work almost on anything, but I especially like it in the beauty department.

To some people, putting baking soda on your face would sound like a terrifying thing to do. I know because up until now, people would still scream when they saw me using them. I've been using baking soda as my exfoliator for almost a year now, and I didn't really feel it up until now. FYI, I have super sensitive skin so they get irritated and red very easily. When I first started out with the baking soda remedy, I was worried because they burnt and leave my face really red. But since everyone were saying how great the result is, I seriously don't want to just give up. But to be honest, for the first half year, except for the fact that my face turned bright red after the exfoliation, nothing magical had happened, at all.

I got tired of the bottle of baking soda sitting in my bathtub, so I went ahead and bought a new box thinking that it will give me a new experience with the whole magical journey. Ended up pretty accurately because it really did gave me a totally different experience. My face didn't burnt nor get red at all after the exfoliation, and they also leave my skin feeling very clean and refresh afterwards.

This whole new experience leave me thinking whether the brand has anything to do with the result.

I was using baking soda from a well known supermarket brand here in Hong Kong. The new one that I bought is from Arm & Hammer which is probably the most common brand of baking soda one would use. Just by feeling the texture, you can tell that the latter one came out finer, which maybe the reason why it is not as harsh on my skin. But except for the texture, they are both 100% baking soda now why would it make such a great different? I don't want to make false assumption but from my experience you know, even the most basic thing can come out impure.

When you go into the supermarket, you will find baking soda selling in various price. I know the effects of branding, but doesn't it make you wonder why some brand can sell their stuff in such a low price? I am not encouraging everyone to buy only the expensive here, but I would definitely be more careful when it comes to products which we will eat or put on our face (which would be absorb into our bloodstream too guys).

Have you ever thought that pure things can also come out impure?

A Green Home Shop - one stop shopping for green lovers

you've got one week, one week to feel the green in Hong Kong in one shop.
thanks to A GREEN HOME SHOP, bringing together international and hong kong based sustainable brands, for us to feel the green shopping concept in hong kong.

when we say green living, we want to cover everything. from the environment, furnitures, homeware, beauty products, the fashion and the food we are going to put in our stomach. A GREEN HOME SHOP covers everything. I am pretty upset by the fact that they are only opening for one week. but it's okay, because after this, we will have all the access to places where we will find things that protect the environment and our health.

I missed out the opening party today, but I will definitely find time to go visit this week. hopefully will be able to join the closing party on the 11th for some yummy desserts.

Where: Fuk Sau Lane (off Third Street), in Sai Ying Pun, Hong Kong

http://agreenhomeshop.com/

hope to see you there xx

my summer wish list | for now...

1. Ikat print booties (pixie market | $694hkd / $89usd) 

we know that the fashion world is going all crazy for prints right now. besides wearing printed accessories or clothing, shoes are also a great option for the input. im very much into wearing all white at the moment, and now a colorful booties will be perfect to give a little spice to your outfit. 

2. Reed Karkoff boxer leather and canvas tote (mytheresa.com | $8570hkd / $835euro)

one word! obsess! beautiful neutral colour. perfect for spring and summer. 

i think this will go really well with my all white bike. lol

3. Physicians Formula organic wear 100% natural origin mascara (iherb.com | $78hkd / $9.55usd)

not a mascara person, but because i've tried and love the eyeshadow palette as well as the eyeliner from physicians formula, i believe this won't fail me. 

4. some nice dairy free ice cream (homemade | photo from thekitchn.com)

who doesn't want ice cream in summer? 

what's your wish list for summer? xx

etsy treasures find - iphone cases

ever since I have been using iphone, searching for beautiful cases has become my habit. 

believe it or not, but I've actually known someone who bought the new iphone 5 just because she couldn't find nice iphone cases for iphone 4 anymore. it's true that people are starting to abandon iphone 4 these days. you can hardly find anything in stores anymore and all you left with are your wear out broken iphone cases. 

well. don't worry because the internet has always got our back. there are tons of places online where you can find one of a kind cases for your phone, whether it is a 4 or a 5. 

when it comes to treasure hunt, etsy is a great place. in case you've never heard of it, I will describe it as a online market place for creative designers. so there you can find excellent unique pieces for creative designers all around the world. 

after long hours of searching, I found this seller named by csera. I thought I want one with crazy aztec pattern, but these have a really raw and subtle feeling to them. and I love how the designer plays with the wood pattern. super cute. 

besides the two that I've purchased, these are 4 other ones that I really like and had struggled whether I should get them during the shopping process. if you do not like my taste, they do offer a lot more different design at their etsy store. 

my thoughts on their cases - amazing qualities. I am kind of surprise by how well-made and sturdy the case felt. with the cost of only around 160hkd (20usd) each, I would definitely call it a bargain. 

links to these iphone cases just in case you are too tired to look

1. wood pattern with coloured lines 

2. mix pattern 

3. native american pattern

4. aztec tribal pattern only at the bottom 

5. white aztec pattern
6. colorful tribal pattern

sorry for my awful description. I really have no idea how to properly describe then. lol.

have a wonderful weekend xoxo

DON'T HATE WHAT YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND

I always think of my dear granny whenever I am sick. I thought of the time when she was sick and how she had suffered. I know she was experiencing so much pain, but I am not her I would never understand. This actually applies to all other situations and people- when you criticise, complain or even hate on something or someone just because you don't agree or understand, remember, you are not them and you would never understand how it's like to be in his/her position. You won't know what they are going through nor what they bear. 

I always said I am one super lucky girl- to be able to get born and grew up in such environment; to have the chance and ability to acknowledge and change situations and problems. Most people spent their life suffering not knowing what the problems are, not to mention about changing anything. I understand there are people out there who did bad and horrible things to hurt others and I am not here to ask you to tolerance or forgive any of their behaviours. I just thought the world has too much hatred already, we do not need more negative emotions when tragedy happens, but more positive love.

  | Gala darling was right- the reaction to tragedy shouldn't be more hatred. 

Peace is when people with different voices respect each other. Life is definitely too short to spend time wasting on hating and complaining.

I MISS MY CHANCE TO LOVE MY DEAR GRANNY, DON'T LET THIS HAPPEN TO YOU OKAY? LOVE WHEN YOU HAVE CHANCE AND OF COURSE I LOVE YOU ALL. XOXO

HEALTH RETREAT IN TAIWAN- THE SPA

If you've watched my video, you would probably have a brief idea of what I did during my taiwan health retreat. as i've said previously, there are too much going on during this trip I couldn't possibly include all information in one post. so I am going to separate them into different categories and today I am going to talk about the spa.

Taiwan was never a place that crosses people’s mind when we talk about retreat. we thought of Thailand or Bali for it’s herbal environment, food, sea breeze or stillness. I feel the same way too until my mom mentioned something about a detox spa in Heart Transformation Center. when detox and spa were put together, it definitely doesn’t sound like something that I want to miss. 

this place is nothing fancy, look more like a health center than a spa I would say, but due to the fact that it was packed with happy staffs, wide varieties of treatments and large amount of Himalaya salt lamps, the décor was not the main concern anymore. the first thing I notice when I walked in was the different types of water available, I never knew that there are so many types of water on earth. Some are added in with negative ions, some are oxygenated, and you can try out different water according to your taste and need. 

Among all the treatments, I got to try out the foot detox spa; the negative ion steam sauna and the lymphatic drainage massage. if I have to recommend one treatment, no doubt it will be the drainage massage. from my past experiences, lymphatic drainage massage had always been a nightmare as it can be really painful. In here, it was super relaxing I get to sleep the first time. most people think that detox and slimming comes with the pain involved, but now I can guarantee to you that it is not necessary. they were using their special type of body oil which I believe were made for detoxing. adding up with the special blended juice that we have to drink afterwards, everyone were all praising about the “detoxing” power of it, which in another way means the power of pushing the shit out of your body if you want me to make it that clear. lol. 

If you are wondering how the other treatments go, my mom and all the aunties love the negative ion sauna. From what they described, it was really refreshing and they all came out blushing and energized. My dad was lucky enough to try out some really interesting stuff. He did the structural alignment and the energy exchange treatment. I cannot tell you how excited he was, he kept talking and talking like a child who just went to Disneyland for the first time. Structural alignment is basically about aligning back your bones and everything back to normal; as for the energy exchange, I couldn’t really tell you what it is because the experience was really vague. My dad was just saying how he felt inflated like hulk. I guess every experience is different; you can always go try it yourself and see what you ended up with. Lol. 

do visit their website for more detail information about the center and other services that they offer. but just in case you can’t read Chinese, I can do some simple introduction here. 

- healthy lunch buffet
- oxygenated bath
- the one and only one scratching machine in taiwan
- mud mask
- different exercise classes (which I will be writing about in upcoming post)
and you can also find lots of different crystal rooms and chambers there which unfortunately I don't know what they are for. 

(photos from their website)

up until now, I would still dream about the massage. my mom is planning to go there every month for the treatments because, yes, they are truly that amazing.

長庚生物科技| 身心靈轉化中心| CGB Heart Transformation Center

台北市松山區民生東路四段54號(明志大樓1樓中庭)

http://www.cgbheart.com/

info@cgbheart.com

what's your best spa experience? xoxo

health retreat to taiwan

OMG!!!! I DID IT! I finally manage to edit a proper video to show you guys. 

I went to taiwan for a health retreat earlier. there are so much to share and I thought maybe I will just upload a video first to give you guys a brief idea of what I did during the trip. 

now who said you can only go to thailand for a health retreat? 

proper post will be uploaded later I promise! 

so what do you think of my first video? please do let me know! xoxo

physicians formular eye booster eyeliner + serum review

I feel like im living in darkness with the gloomy weather all week, but at least it is keeping me at home so I can do some beauty products review.

I am a girl who lives with her black eyeliner, and ever since I've been allergic I am wishing for an eyeliner that won't smudge and turned me into a huge panda when the sun is still shining. I have never heard of physicians formula before I bought this from iherb (excuse my limited exposure to natural products out there), but I am glad that I bought this and I will definitely continue to purchase this until it discontinue. (but please do not let this happen physicians formula, I beg you. lol)

one thing about this eyeliner that I love is how it works and look like those "normal chemically polluted" eyeliner out there in the market, only that it is free from most known irritating ingredients. I tested it with my body and my body is loving it! 

it is also a really black and bold eyeliner which I love because normally for allergen free products they tend to be really soft, and never will the colors came out that vividly. the tip is really thin so if you wanted to create a delicate thin eyeline this is a also one great tool. I always draw my eyes winged so the thin tip is definitely making things a lot more easier for me now. 

and now this is a bonus girl! on the package it claim to be an eye lashes boosting eyeliner which enhance the growth of your lashes. I totally ignore it because I don't think it's possible. I am already more than satisfy to have it non-smudge. I use it everyday as usual, never thought about checking the length of my lashes, then one day, boom! I found out that my lashes are actually stronger and longer! I won't tell you that it can make your lashes grow out like crazy, but it is really making a different on mine. 

black and bold, non-smudge, perfect winged and eyelashes enhancing- what else could you ask for? xoxo

about the girl who is allergic to everything (part 2) - the glam truth

yes I might be allergic to a lot of things, but no, I don't run around bare face and wear only my workout clothes. 

I am a girl, a girl who studied fashion to be exact, I don't think I need to explain to you the importance of beauty and fun and glam in my life. 

living in Hong Kong and being said that my allergies came 6-7 years ago, we didn't have the access to any natural beauty products like we have nowadays. I love makeup and I love dressing up. when I first knew about my allergies I thought I have to give everything up. 

I can tell you what I've gone thru but I think you've probably heard enough in my part one of about the girl who is allergic to everything. (if you haven't read it yet, please feel free to go ahead and read my journey to the "green" side of the world.)  I am not writing this blog to ask for sympathy so writing about how people treated me or insulted me are seriously not the point. 

I wanted to write about beauty products here but before I publish any of my words online, there are something that I need to clarify. I am actually a pretty bad attempt natural beauty blogger because I can't read ingredients. (surprise! lol) the list is so long and the words are so small and packed. I never get to finish it no matter how hard I tried. so it's really important that I tell you beforehand what I share or introduce to you here, regarding of beauty products, may not be 100% natural. I am allergic to too many things that I don't even know the list of them myself. So I couldn't tell you by ingredients of what I am avoiding or tell you what you can expect with products that I used. they won't be too chemically polluted thou I can be sure, but I can't guarantee to you that every single ingredients used for the products are 100% natural. so please please please don't judge if you see me introducing stuff that you think are not natural to you at all. 

so. me being allergic to so many things and not knowing the ingredients, how can I be so calm about what I used is not going to trigger anything bad? to be honest, our body is really complex and interesting. even what we known as natural or organic may not necessary make your body happy. ignore the beauty products and go back to the basic. take me as an example. do you know that I can't eat red apples? yea. you heard it right. the red apples that is suppose to keep the doctors away. I cannot eat them because they make me constipate real bad. lol. so just like what I said, I don't read the ingredients or look at the norms because our body is all unique in its own way.

wonder what I do when I shop for food and beauty products? haha. it may sound really weird but I communicate with my body. yes! my lovely and unique body. there are doctors who believe that our body and organs have specific rhythm when they work. my doctor (who is a certified physiotherapist, chinese doctor and IMT practitioner- I am telling you this because I don't want you to think that I have been cheated by a witch doctor or sth. lol) has taught me to communicate with my body and up till now I still find it really helpful.

I can write more if you are interested. until then. take care and have a fun and relaxing easter holiday! xoxo

oh it's an outfit post! be your own sunshine on gloomy days

if you live in hong kong, you probably knew that yesterday might not be the nicest day. the sky was dark and gloomy, and rain suddenly started pouring in the afternoon. I used to be very much affected by the weather, but yesterday I've decided to turn the situation around by being my own sunshine!

first off, start by wearing bright colours! and guess what? I was wearing a colour bombbb! lol. head to toe, well not exactly to toe because I am wearing some black boots, but you know what I mean. yellow knitted top, bright coloured printed skirt and a bright orange necklace. paired with some black boots and my favourite army green ps11 to balance off the colour because you don't wanna go too over the top crazy with your coloured outfit. so that's that! you are fighting against the bad weather by shining through! 

how do you fight off your gloomy days? xoxo

about the girl who is allergic to everything (part 1)

I feel like I've owe you guys a proper story of my own, one that share with you how I got here, what got me into blogging and who am I to talk. to be honest, even thou I do wanna get people talking and reading (or else I will just be writing in my little notebook at home now), blogging to me is still one very personal matter. every time I read comments like "you are not that pretty, who are you to talk beauty" or "you are not even fashionable to talk fashion" in other people's blog, I feel so upset. because what people are criticising are not just the appearance or knowledge, but one's existence, the being of oneself. 

sometimes we blog not because we wanna teach, it's because we wanna share. I've not known much people like me in my circle, but I know that there are tons of people out there who share similar interests or thoughts with me. and I am here to share with them my love and hate, my interests and beliefs. 

I am one very typical hong kong girl, born and raised here all my life. had lived in canada for a while but if you ask me where I am from, I will say I am from hong kong. I am chinese and this is my hometown. I grew up pretty normally I would say, I can do anything, use anything, eat anything, go anywhere and meet any kind of friends. Nothing bothers me at all except for my stomach. I got constipation and diarrhea lining up for me, and not one day in my life do I feel relieve in my stomach. ignoring it while I grow, it's time to go to college. I went to canada for further education and that is when my story begins. 

back pain out of nowhere, I remember I was standing there at the sidewalk not being able to walk AT ALL. yes, at all. not even one tiny step. I stood at where I stopped and waited for my aunt to carry me back home. it is when something this serious happen that got people into looking at where the problem is. came back to hong kong for some detail examination, no doctors could be able to tell me what the problem is. one western doctor told me to go for chinese doctor because they really can't do anything anymore. 

this comment was why I started bonding with chinese doctors and natural therapists. I went through numerous doctors and treatments I can't even start counting. my skin started breaking out crazily after a while, my face was super red and it was all covered in white tiny dots. this experience changed my life tremendously, I couldn't say I am a pretty girl growing up, but I do get lots of compliment because I love dressing up and I have very fair and pretty skin. I quitted school and spent days hiding at home. the only time I went out was to visit my doctors, but even when I was out, I would covered myself with mask and hat to make sure no one saw me. people called me freak and friends said I've turned ugly. that few years were the worst time of my life. because I care so much of my apperance, I started seeking out different solutions. I went to do allergy test and found out that I was seriously poisoned by things that I ate and beauty products that I've used. At that time, the only thing I ate was pork/chicken, rice and vegetables. looking back, that was not a really bad experience after all! I've lost over 10 pounds, got so skinny and I was really proud because I could wear a lot more clothes than I used to. (hey come on, you have to find something positive to focus on when you are going through times like this right?) after a while, I got more used to where I was and started going back to school. the story goes on, I can eat a lot more stuff now but am still allergic to a lot of things. my skin is still very sensitive but by using only natural products and doing natural treatments, it has been clearing up. 

being in a chinese society and having food allergies like mine are rare. people would never understand, or should I say don't understand now because I do wish to change their thoughts on allergies. I am label as fuzzy by a lot of people they think I am just picky. friends are not willing to go out with me as often as before because my existence limit their choice of what to do and what to eat. having said that, I still feel very blessed by my experience. 

I never cared about my health before all these, I ignore whatever sensation in my body as long as it won't ruin my face. (girls. sigh) now my physical and mental health are my priorities. I do not feel bad for being allergic to so many things, if you are like me, you shouldn't be! we are blessed at how our body communicate with us. our symptoms are so obvious we know what to avoid and how to treat ourselves before something major happens. hidden illnesses are so much scarier I would choose for a million times to have body that communicate this tightly with me. 

my personality changes, I treasured what I have now and would always stopped and appreciate whenever I feel grumpy. I got in touch with different natural therapy and holistic healing methods, I am now my own best friend. I know my flaws, would do anything for further improvement but still love myself for the strengths that I have. to be honest, I am still struggling that's why I said I am not here to teach. but I do hope that my story could be your inspiration or comfort and I will continue to live my life to the fullest even with all my allergies. 

cheer guys. love xoxo

what to do in hong kong

living in a city like hong kong, there are so many things going on often times we miss out on something that's worth mentioning and experiencing. here are a bunch of activities that I find really interesting and I would love to share with all of my friends out there so you won't be missing out.

THE NIGHT MARKET PROJECT is a creative and experimental platform relating to Hong Kong's unique night market culture. starting at sham shui po night market, a group of hong kong creatives and students will exhibit a collection of objects of cultural interest, prototypes and old new design work. I feel like this is going to be an eye opening event to go to. where you will get to meet lots of different talented local artists and designers, to have a taste of their vibe and creative minds. I would definitely go visit if I don't have to host my friend's bachelorette party. if you are interested, please go and share with me your night visit. check out their facebook page for more information.

its not just the matter of hong kong but the world. I am sure a lot of you have heard about EARTH HOUR already but some of you may not know when exactly is that one hour going to be. last year during the lights off period in hong kong, 4.27% electricity consumption had been dropped, saving 146 tonnes of carbon dioxide which require 6348 trees to absorb. small action make great change. if you run a company or you are in a position where you boss would take your advice, please support. 

MARCH 23 at 8:30PM 

off to a more fun and exciting news is the INTERNATIONAL PILLOW FIGHT DAY! we all love to secretly pillow fight when we were young, now you can do it publicly! large number of people gather around chater garden on a saturday afternoon pillow fighting is going to a world wonders scenery to observe. if you have not had enough pillow fights as a kids, release your inner child and fight hard at the international pillow fight day! again, visit their facebook page for more information. 

I love bazaar, any kind of bazaar makes me happy. if you are looking for a place to go on a wonderful sunday afternoon, alone or with your family, this might be something that you are looking for. feel the spring breeze with SPRING BAZAAR AT THE GARDEN MARQUEE. there will be jewelries, crafts, cosmetics, homeware and even bouncy castle for the children. click on their facebook page for more. 

I hope my suggestions help spicen up your days in the city. which event is your favourite? xoxo

my weekly inspiration

every week I long for him- his prediction, his writing and his inspiration. I am not addicted because I care a lot about my weekly horoscope prediction, his words are inspirational to everyone no matter what horoscope you are. 

for all you libra out there, this is what he wants to say to us for the week

"I worked as a hair stylist in Chicago's Gold Coast for 20 years with some of the most gorgeous woman and men in the world," writes sculptor Rich Thomson. "Once I asked a photographer who shot for the big magazines how he picked out the very best models from among all these great-looking people. His response: 'Flaws. Our flaws are what make us interesting, special and exotic. They define us.'" My challenge to you, Libra, is to meditate on how your supposed imperfections and oddities are essential to your unique beauty. It's a perfect moment to celebrate- and make good use of -- your idiosyncrasies.

isn't this the most amazing and beautiful thing to hear? I don't know about you, but from what I know, a lot of people (even the most successful and glamorous people) are suffering from self confidence issue. We walked around the street, or go to public events, thinking everyone is talking about us. We are concern of what other people say, we are concern about how we look. But actually the only person who cares is ourselves. I know I am totally talking to myself, because I am one of the million people out there who need to start loving myself. But now I know, my flaws are what make me a person, and that make me imperfectly perfect. 

you too know you are perfect right? xoxo

DIY your own necklace hanger

It feels like forever since my last post and I can't tell you how much I miss my little platform. Now that I  am back I can finally sit down and finish up all the accumulated posts that I have intended to write.

anyways, this has been done a while ago already so it has been sitting in my room for quite some time. Staring at it every single day makes me so happy because I've wanted something like this for so long. Having that it was made by me makes it even more appealing.

I saw this randomly once I was browsing on the internet. I tried to track back of where the photo is from but I failed. So if you happens to own something like this and you've posted it on the internet. PROPS TO YOU! thank you for inspiring me.

I made mine with a canvas. if you don't like how canvas look on your table or vanity, you can always use a wooden board. anything that is strong enough to stand on it own and for you to screw on the hooks will work.

well. I am not a painter so I've chosen to use photoshop to do my pattern design. If you wish to be more precise and careful with the whole project, I will recommend you to open a file in photoshop with the exact same size of your canvas so you will know how things will look exactly on the canvas. Once you've decided on the pattern, it's time to trace out your design. Paint accordingly. If you want your line to be super straight, tape the edge. Screw on those hooks and you're done! now I am one step closer in finishing decorating my room. 

what do you think of my diy necklace hanger? or let me know how you store your necklace! xoxo

does sugar waxing works?

let me first start off with a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO EVERYONE!!! one more tiny fact about chinese new year is that we celebrate everyone's birthday on the 7th day which is today! with the reason behind as God used 7 days to create the world and men were created on the 7th day. so happy birthday again my friends! 

except for the tiny fact, today I wanna talk about perfect hairless legs. to be honest, I am never a wax person. I love to shave my legs because it's fast and I am usually very lazy in terms of grooming myself. UNTIL. I went to the spa for a proper wax treatment few months ago. my legs felt silky smooth afterwards, no more nasty black dots and bumps, plus all my in grown hair resulted from too much shaving got all pulled out so I can start fresh again. waxing- especially in natural organic salons are not cheap here. I don't wanna go all luxury and spend hundreds of dollars to go waxing every few months. So I researched for some natural methods online and here I found this one about making your own natural hair wax at home that I thought I could give it a try. 

So what's with the question mark at the end of the sentence? I never like sentences ended up with a question mark because it means something is not going right. yeah. something is really not going right in the process. even though I am sure most of you who are into natural home remedies will know about this method, let me quickly go through it again. Basically all you need are sugar, lemon and water (or honey). you mix them all together, boil the mixture until it gets sticky (like how normal hair wax are like) then you are good to go. applied the mixture onto hairy areas, get a cloth, pressed on top and PULL! there you go, hair gone!  yes. my hair did get pulled out, but only limiting to those long ones. looking at my legs right now, I can still see tons of random baby hairs everywhere. even thou I am not bushily hairy, I still want all my hair gone! and this method is not going to do the job. 

another problem with this method is that things get pretty messy. I got the sugar wax everywhere, the mixture gets hard when it cools down so you have to finish everything quick. it's just a disaster. ONE CONCLUSION. it's fun to try it out once to see if it really works, but no I am not going to do it again. people are professional for a reason, I will probably just leave the job to them. 

if you have tried the method and find it a great success. please share with me your experience because I would really want to save the money and have things natural at the same time:( xoxo

a haul post it is- what I got from ASOS

Here comes an official chinese new year greeting to my readers! Happy lunar new year and gung hey fart choi (which means wish you have a prosperous year)! Chinese new year is keeping me really busy so it's almost impossible to do a proper post. Remembered I mentioned about making a video showing you guys how we celebrate cny? I did manage to capture some footage these days and I will continue to do it and hopefully will be able to edit sth nice to show you guys after. This is going to take a while until I can have the video uploaded because cny last for a month here. And my family do have tradition to do sth different each day. So... stay tune! (props for those who can do daily vlog. vlogging is like the most difficult thing to do EVER! So wayy to go if you do vlogs! )

One other small fact about cny- we do have tradition to get new things for the festival. People tend to re-purchase their wardrobe, have their hair groomed right before cny. Normally people would purchase new shoes because we are not allow to buy shoes during the new year. I didn't get to buy any new shoes:( but I do manage to get myself some nice clothes and accessories for the new year. 

I got everything from ASOS. If you live in Hong Kong and you've never purchase anything from ASOS! GO CHECK THEM OUT! They pretty much have sales all year long, and they are in pretty good bargain when things are on sale. PLUS! they deliver fast!!! I ordered mine on monday and they arrived at my door on thursday. crazy speed for the fact that they are shipping from UK. 

off to my haul - everything are linked. so if you do happens to like them, click on the link and add them into your cart! 

1. Bralet with PU trim - i absolutely adore this one. it's really sexy and it gives you a bit of vintage feeling when you paired it accordingly. 

2. Cropped V neck sweatshirt  - great quality. it's really thick and comfy so it will definitely keep you warm during cooler season.

// these are all the garment I've got from ASOS. these two both happens to be short and cropped because im currently really obsess with cropped items. I will definitely pair them with high waisted bottoms for some "vintage" looks. 

3. Metallic belt 

4. Chain bracelet pack

5. Cross pearl torque bangle 

6. Skull bangle

7. Pack of three necklaces

8. Flapper headband

everything under $1300. not what I will called cheap, but they are definitely in good qualities. We do have to treat ourselves with good qualities stuff once in a while right? esp during the new year! 

what do you think about my purchase from ASOS? Spotted anything for yourself? Let me know! xoxo

happy chinese new year! celebrating for a second chance

things are finally getting better and I am back to my old happy self again. so chinese new year is coming up and I am planning to share with you guys about my feeling of having the chance to celebrate CNY in my life. 

what's good about being chinese is to have a festival like chinese new year. I love it because it feels like I am having a second chance to start things all over again. you know sometimes you rush through xmas, and in a blink of the eyes it's new years eve which means it's the time to make new year resolution and have a brand new start. Often times people get discourage for not being able to keep up. But for me, I will just wait for my second new year!

Chinese new year is how we chinese people celebrate the new year! just like how you celebrate yours on the 31st of dec. We will be spending one whole day to clean up the entire house, to get rid of your junks which resemble a brand new clean start for the new year. (oh btw, today is the clean up day! and I am planning to go clean up myself and my room once I am done with this post). We will be decorating the house, bringing in fresh flowers and putting up lucky red banners. We have to prepare red pocket money (which is another yay for unmarried "kids" like me). And just so much more. For those who had experience with CNY, you will know that this is a really fun and loud festival. Anyways, I am getting too excited I got carried away. 

We Chinese might have the excuse to have a second chance to start the new year all over again just in case the first month is not going quite well. But you do too! Every morning is a brand new start anyways. So if things are not going smooth yesterday? Start over again! Celebrate new days just like how you celebrate new year! 

Would you like me to make a video showing you how we celebrate chinese new year? Let me know! 

xoxo

placing summer right in front of our eyes - ZARA SS13 TRF

supporting green living and natural beauty products doesn't make me give up the glam.
ZARA TRF Spring 2013 campaign with Cara Delevingne.
Romantic, flowy, breezy, summer fun, floral and sexy.

my personal favourite? everything. lol

Have you spotted anything to put in your shopping bag?

stay chic and green.

xoxo

xo baking cupcake mix review

Being really short in ingredients, I have to admit that I didn't used the best things here. But hey, there's always another time right?

As a "baker", even thou I really love to spend time on baking, sometimes I just wish to make things a little bit easier with the help of baking kits out from the box. For your information, I am on a gluten free, dairy free and sometimes egg free (depending on the eggs) diet, having the opportunity to enjoy desserts in where I live is pretty much impossible unless I make them myself. I love to experiment with different kinds of gluten free flours, but I just can't get them all, so this is another good thing about gluten free baking mix. You can try out different flour combination without purchasing them all. 

Onto the product- this time I have chosen a gluten free chocolate cupcake kit from xobakingco. What caught my eyes is definitely the packaging. It's fun and colorful, plus those cupcakes on the box look like they are from heaven. Anyways, I got home, grabbed a punch of ingredients from the cabinet and start baking. 

Ingredients of the cupcake mix for your reference 

Cake mix (Pure Cane Sugar, Premium Cassava Flour, Cocoa Powder, Unmodified Potato Starch, Organic Coconut Flour, Baking Powder, Baking Soda, Sea Salt, Xanthan Gum, Organic Vanilla Flavor); 

Frosting Mix (Powdered Sugar (Pure Cane Sugar, Cornstarch), Cocoa Powder, Sea Salt, Organic Vanilla Flavor)

And these are the ingredients I've used

the cupcake mix of course

mazola oil

chocolate rice milk

natural vegetarian free range egg

olive oil spread

water

and that's all I need. I am actually pretty surprise and happy that you don't need to prepare that much ingredients for these cupcakes. (to be honest, these are all the stuff that my friends own at her place that are suitable for baking. If they require more stuff, I will be so sad that I have to cancel my baking afternoon). I've chosen chocolate flavoured rice milk because I want to enrich the chocolate flavour in the cakes. 

The process is really simple, you have all the instruction written very clearly on the box. So if you are not used to baking, I am sure you will be able to follow and make yourself some yummy treats as well. 

I baked mine for exactly 20 mins and let them just sit and cool down in the oven until I want to go and grab one for tasting. 20 mins is just right because they came out super soft and moist. So be sure to check on it to avoid over baking. OH THE TASTE! They're unbelievably delicious! They are soft, rich in taste and sweet. Trust me, if I serve them to you, you will not believe that these are gluten free. They are THAT good! 

Time for some review. Two downside of these cupcakes are first my choice to use olive spread for the frosting. I am off limit to any dairy products so I can't use butter. But stuff like olive spread or any other vegetable spread that came in a plastic container are just margarine. We've heard a lot of bad things about margarine, they are man-made, chemically processed and they can be even worst than butter. So next time if time allows, I will make my own butter or go get some other alternatives. (any recommendations?) 

The second downside of these cupcakes are the amount of sugar they have in the mix. I am not a fan of really sweet desserts, so these cupcakes are a little bit too sweet for me, especially the frosting. Plus if you believe that sugar is bad for you,  then this is not your type of dessert mix. They've used I believe lots of cane sugar, and because they are all mixed up with the flours and everything, you do not have the option to cut down the amount of sugar or replace them with something else. But apart from that, these are the yummiest gluten free cupcakes I've ever tasted so far in Hong Kong. 

Have you been making your own healthy yet super yummy treats? Or have you tried out anything from xobakingco? Share with me and comment below! xoxo

are you drinking good water or bad water?

knowing that your body is made of 70% water, do you ever question the water quality that you consume and wonder if they are "good" to be blend in with your body?

my family is very concern about water quality because we are constantly being told by our practitioner that we need to drink water that is good for us. but how can you tell if you have good water or bad water in your house?
first of all, i think it's crucial to let you know the one factor that affect the "quality" of your water- and that is the pH level. if you are familiar with the whole pH vs health discussion, then you will know what im talking about.
and for those of you who have no idea what im talking about, it's basically about how our body pH level could affect our health. Doctors believe (or even proved) that having acidic body pH could cause us numbers of illnesses. The reason behind is really simple, our blood is known to be slightly alkaline, and our cells and tissues would need an alkaline environment to function properly. So having imbalance body pH level means having an imbalance environment for our body to work. I don't wanna write a really long article about this because i still have a lot more say in this post, so if you are interested in more in depth information, read why is acidic body unhealthy and how does pH affect drinking water by livestrong.

i know you've had enough lecture about acidity and alkalinity. but what's most important is how can we make sure our water has a good pH level. yes. don't worry. today im going to show you a really simple way to correct your water pH.

to make it really scientific, i've bought some pH testing paper so i don't look like im talking out of my butt. (saying stolen from jenn, my current obsession. go check out her youtube channel if you are interested in some awesomeness) anyways. i had came in contact with this method because of Dr. Hew len. He taught us in his book "zero limit" saying that this method is going to energise the water hence bringing us health and wellness. our family started this even with no scientific prove because we believe very much in energy healing plus there is really nth to harm. UNTIL. my mom bought this pH water machine at home (yay. she is THAT over). the salesperson who came to install was trying to test out different water pH to convince that we've made the right choice. just out of pure curiosity, my mom bought over our energised water to have the pH tested. not really surprisingly, the water is perfect and im going to show you once again the amazing result of the energised water.

we all called the energised water "blue water". so as you can see from the photo, the color of the tap water is obviously a lot lighter than those in the blue water. which means blue water is more alkaline compared to tap water. although the colors are a bit off in the package, but i believe tap water is around pH7 and blue water is around pH 8/9. 

well. maybe you will think that pH7 is not bad actually. true. because it's still slightly alkaline and also it is very similar to our blood pH which is 7.5. do we have to go all the way to pH8/9 seriously? the reason why people suggest us to drink slightly more alkaline water is to compensate the fact that we are eating a lot of acidic food nowadays. all those alcohol and meat is going to make our body super acidic so drinking more alkaline water is going to balance things out.

making blue water is really simple. i've had all my friends (who listen) to do this already. and since it's so easy it has turned into a habit. 

what you need is blue bottle. make sure you get the same blue as the one you saw in the photo because baby blue light blue or any other blue is not going to work the same. 

change the bottle top to plastic, preferably blue but it's gonna be slightly more difficult so any dark color will do. boil your water and pour them inside the beautiful blue bottle and put it under the sun. 15 mins is going to work the magic, but you can put it there as long as you want to.

viola! that's it! then you will have some nice alkaline water for you and your family! 

ps. if you live in hk and you wanted to try out this method, i got my bottles from citysuper. these are just random water bottles, if i didn't rmb it wrong, it was some mineral water or sth like that. the taller one is a vodka bottle that my mom got somewhere. so just be creative. if you spot a bottle with the blue, grab it first no matter if it's vodka or some weird drinks! 

share with me your thoughts about good or bad water. and let me know if you've decided to try out this method too!