The Library Cafe, Tsim Tsa Tsui

via Lane Crawford

One of my life goals is to open/invest in a successful cafe. I can just imagine me behind the coffee machine, making people's daily coffee and having a chat to regulars. It's a terribly romantic view of opening and running a business but, nonetheless, it's something I want to do in this life! One of these days!

But until that day comes, I'm happy to roam the streets looking for cafes with good coffee! Cafes are a dime a dozen in Australia. Less so in Hong Kong. So I'm always happy to go on the hunt for interesting cafes when I'm over there.

One particular cafe that is worth mentioning is the Library Cafe, a 26-seater eatery at the very end of Lane Crawford's Shoe Library in Tsim Tsa Tsui. For those who don't know, Lane Crawford is one of the main luxury retail giants in Hong Kong and the shopping (in my case - window shopping) experience is amazing. Why can't David Jones or Myers be more like Lane Crawford?!

Based on looks, the Library Cafe ticks all the right boxes for me. The fact that it's situated inconspicuously within a luxury department store is a definite advantage because not a lot of people know about it. It really makes you feel like you're insulated from the hustle and bustle which makes this a definite getaway from busy Kowloon, Hong Kong.
 
The Agnes. B cafe in Harbour City, which I love by the way, is always packed with people and it's literally impossible to get a seat. It's much different at the Library Cafe. I've walked past plenty of times and there's always ample seating available, so it's a good place for people to recharge before shopping again!

I adore the cafe's decor. It's really homey and welcoming. I have a thing for yellow, as opposed to white lightbulbs. I'm not sure how to explain it but it always feels more welcoming!

Funnily enough, these are plastic knives, forks and spoon. . .

I was there with my brother and we ended up ordering two Tuna Melts ($39 each) and one Rose Latte ($45) for me. I haven't seen Rose Lattes in Sydney so I was really eager to try. We sat on the communal table because the smaller round tables are ridiculously small and only preferable if you're looking to only have coffee. Not to mention that my brother and I have a terrible habit of snagging the biggest tables because we sprawl our food and cutlery all over the place!

The Tuna Melt was, unfortunately, not that good. Tuna melts are one of my most favourite simple lunch items in the world! I loveeeee toasties because tuna + lightly toasted bread + thin slice of melted cheese = my idea of fantastic, bombastic love. Ahah! But this one oozed oil! I'm inclined to think that they put oil in the bread before they toasted the entire thing making the entire outcome way too heavy for my liking.

The Rose Latte also could be better. It tasted mostly of rose and by extension was a little too sweet for my liking. I think Agnes B Cafe does a much better rendition where there is a clearer balance between the taste of coffee and rose. It's also cheaper too.

I've heard others having a better experience with their cakes. Apparently, they're better known for them. I've had their takeaway latte ($40) before and it's actually not bad for what you can get in Hong Kong. So although this visit wasn't the best, I do plan on heading back for their cakes!

The Library Café
Lane Crawford
3 Canton Road, 
Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong

Weekly Musings Pt 5 : On Life and Settling .

via LOVELY 

I think making people choose what they want to do with the rest of their lives at the age of 17 or 18 is a huge ask. At that age, the large majority have spent their days stuck at school learning things that the education system told them they must learn. Your world basically consists of school, parents and friends. 

How much do you really know about the outside world?

My friends who knew what they wanted to do when they were 17 or 18, were all passionate about their chosen area. One friend chose law because her brother had gone on to study it and she liked the prospect of helping people. Another friend loved Economics at school, so he went on to do finance. They were all really disciplined people and they worked diligently towards their goals. Other friends were flexible enough to settle with whatever they got. 

Perhaps unfortunately, I wasn't any of these people. To clarify, I am disciplined and I work diligently towards goals. But those goals aren't necessarily my own. I am reluctant to commit time and effort to something I know that I have no interest in. Sure, family tried to convince me of what career path to take. They went to great lengths to tell me that Career X will allow me to make a lot of money and, by default, happy. Over the years, I've learnt that, that isn't necessarily true. 

Mo money, mo problems. Ya know what I mean...

Maybe it's me.

I subconsciously believe that the grass is always greener on the other side. Even more unfortunate is that I've always been right - the grass is always greener on the other side. I have this terrible habit of not being able to stay at the one place for a very long time. Mentally, I get restless and I have this constant need to be doing things that stimulate my brain.

Routine scares me and I disengage very easily. I like movement, I like seeing things and I like thinking about things. 

I am constantly told that the norm is just the norm - nothing more, nothing less. The norm isn't neccessarily correct, not neccessarily wrong. It all depends on perspective. My perspective is that what I have in front of me doesn't suit me. It doesn't suit my personality, my needs and my goals. 

In my mind, I have a picture of who I think I am, what I need in life and where I want to be. But I don't know how to get there. I honestly don't. I'm half scared that any wrong move I'll be screwed forever. 

Everytime I ask for a sign, I always get one that tells me to keep going with what I'm currently doing. It always tells me that what I do now is the safest option. But safe just doesn't cut it anymore. 

Neither does danger I guess. 

via Illusion of Complexity

I like to think that this is pretty much me in a nutshell.

Which is terrible because it means I'm constantly changing up things and 'change' is a tiring process. So tiring that I'm wondering if it's really worth it at the end of the day!

I am that person who asks 'Why?' when they're being asked to settle. I am that person that goes, 'Why stop here? Why can't we take things one step further?'. People say that I have too much fire but I was never born to sit there and take it. If there's something better, I will say there's a better alternative out there. I guess the bad thing is that most people don't like the challenge.

To be honest, change is a difficult thing. I get that but my inability to deal with incompetency and inadequacy overrides my laziness.

Sometimes I feel like I'm allergic to commitment or settling, but when I'm being reasonable, the truth is I'm not. I'm just not willing to commit or settle to/with something/someone I don't believe in. There are so many possibilities in this world.
 
So the search continues. 

YSL's La Lacquer Couture in No. 28 Bronze Aztec

via thisisvalentine_'s Instagram

I've turned into a massive fan of YSL nail polishes! It's not that they're particularly innovative when it comes to colours, textures or price for that matter, but what I absolutely love about them is that they don't smell horrendous like other nail polishes. 

With other nail polish brands, the smell during and after application is just way too strong for me. I usually sleep with my hands under my pillow and sometimes the first thing I smell when I wake up are my nails on the pillow. I swear I can smell the polish on my nails right up until the day I remove it.

Yes, I am that sensitive to smell. AHAH.

That's not to say that YSL polishes don't smell at all. You will definitely smell it when you're painting your nails but after 24 hours, it's virtually gone. 

I recently bought No. 28 Bronze Aztec which is one of those colours you have to see in person to realise how beautiful it is. It's one of those metallic shades that is a million shades depending on what angle you're looking at my nails. The colour is very close to black but upon closer inspection it's actually a deep olive shade with hints of bronze shimmer. 

Like the rest of YSL's nail polishes, it glides on effortlessly and dries very, very quickly. The finish is always smooth and elegant-looking.

The consistency is perfect so you can get by with one application. With one coat, you'll get a metallic finish with a slight khaki tint.  

I was going for a slightly darker look, so this is with two layers. You can definitely see in this photo that it is somewhat black with some subtle shimmers that the light has caught. I love how the shimmers don't steal the show. You have to look closely or be in the sun to actually notice them. 

From afar, it looks like I'm wearing black matte nail polish. 

I love versatility and illusions, so this is perfect for me. It's more playful than a dark navy or straight up black and different people under different lighting see different things. I just love the whole idea!

This photo was taken four days after I painted my nails and they're still looking pretty good with some minor chipping on my other fingers.

FOLLOW ME ON -

TWITTER

PINTEREST

INSTAGRAM

Shiseido Make Up Tools - Eyelash Curler & Perfect Foundation Brush

I have always maintained that good make up begins with good skin. A good painting is infinitely aided with a good canvas. Because of this, I am eternally on the hunt for products that moisturises and nourishes my skin. You definitely see that reflected in how the majority of this blog is dedicated to skincare as opposed to cosmetics. 

But I guess, I'm starting to realise that the tools we use to apply our make up is just as important. Sure, it may not be news to you, but I've always chosen to blend and apply my foundation with my fingertips! Sometimes, I'll use a paddle foundation brush but I can't say that the finished product looks drastically different. 

I stopped by the Shiseido counter recently to check out their make up tools. I've heard so many rave reviews about their foundation brush ($250HK) and eyelash curler ($130HK) and I ended up purchasing one of each to try. 

I have about five eyelash curlers lying around in my drawers at home! Eyelash curlers seriously never work for me - never, ever! My eyelashes always look bent afterwards and then tend to fall straight back down with mascara. The clamp also isn't flat enough to capture the short lashes so that means if I ever get a curl, it's mostly the middle section.

And don't even get me started on how many times I've accidentally clamped my eyelid.

But this Shiseido eyelash curler is certainly different. The absolute advantage of this curler is that, instead of a roundier clamp which would favour those with already long lashes, this one is much flatter. This makes it wayyyy more easier for me to get all my lashes, including the insanely short ones at the start and the end.

It's also lightweight and has a soft rubber clamp which feels gentle on the lashes.

Can I just say that rave products never seem to work for me? NEVERRRRRRRR and it's so frustrating! When I talk to people and they're going on and on about how Popular Product 'A' is so great and I'm there going 'Yeah errr it didn't work for me'. They literally look at me like, 'What's so great about you that my HG doesn't work for you?'. 

Yeah, my life is complicated.

Anyway, this Shiseido Perfect Foundation Brush deserves each and every rave it gets!

The brush is short-handled, slightly slanted ans has extremely dense bristles. I usually dot foundation mixed with moisturiser onto my face and use the brush to dab it in. I then use it in a swiping motion for a clean finish. 

I do apply a little bit of pressure when dabbing on trouble areas like under the eye. Before I got the brush, my foundation always caked and fell into the fine lines under my eyes. But now, I've noticed that this has happened less thanks to the pressurised dabbing motion.

I'm not an expert with make up brushes but this sure beats my regular paddle foundation brush. For one it doesn't streak and it really helps the foundation to blend seamlessly onto my skin. Without it, if you look close enough, my foundation looks like it's sitting on top of my skin. 

With the brush, my face doesn't look terribly made it. It just looks like my skin but with an evened out skintone and I think that's what you want for a normal day look!

Review: Avene Gentle Toner

Apart from the duty free prices, I love buying beauty items from Hong Kong because you're almost always guaranteed samples and gifts with purchases. If you're lucky and get helped by a really nice  sales assistant, you might be given an amount of samples that is equivalent to the actual full-size product! Using samples is actually quite important to me because I'm not huge on buying an array of full size products that I've never tried before. I need to try before I buy because my skin is so sensitive.
 

I got these Avene Gentle Toner samples on my recent trip to the Avene counter. Thankfully, I've met a wonderful sales assistant who is genuinely concerned about my dry and fragile skin, so she's very generous when it comes to samples.

I've tried a few sample bottles of the toner before and I really liked it. Personally, this is the only toner I can use when my skin is inflamed. It does a very good job of soothing and calming down my irritated skin. It feels refreshing, light and it doesn't leave a sticky sheen across my face. Like most Avene products, it smells like a mixture of very clean soap and baby powder. I find the scent quite pleasant and comforting!

The only negative is that I don't think it's tremendously good at further cleansing your skin before you put on your moisturiser. You don't get that clean feeling you get from most toners and so I don't think non-sensitive skin types will particularly find this product useful.

To me, I think the toner is more of a calming lotion and because of that, I use it on and off. Having said that, I don't think there's any harm in having this toner at home if you do have regular flare ups with your skin. Whenever my skin is up in flames and is parched, this toner really feels like heaven.

FOLLOW ME ON -

TWITTER

PINTEREST

INSTAGRAM

Crystal Jade, Causeway Bay

Another Hong Kong food post!

Crystal Jade is a Michelin star Restaurant with multiple branches throughout Hong Kong. Serving predominately Shanghainese dishes, Crystal Jade is a known for its Sichuan Dan Dan noodles and its array of dumplings. 

I try to visit each time in Hong Kong because I like how clean each dish tastes.

I always like to order a vegetarian appetiser to start off with. This is made from an assortment of vegetables and mushrooms wrapped in fried bean curd sheets.

I love fried bean curd on it's own or wrapped around vegetables. They're so crunchy and I just wish this dish was a main because there wasn't enough to go around!

When I was in Shanghai a few years ago, I hated Xiao Long Bao. I hated them with a passion! GRR! The taste of the pork was way too overpowering and I had to fight the entire dumpling from coming back out of my mouth. To be honest, I don't really eat much meat and by default, I don't like that blatant smell and taste of meat. 

So it's always been a big no-no with Xiao Long Bao. 

But Crystal Jade is known for their dumplings and so there's always a steamer on our table.

Surprisingly, these are really good and it's completely changed my view on Xiao Long Bao. While the taste of pork is definitely still there, the soup is flavoursome enough to minimise that obvious meat smell.

God, so good!

A simple cabbage stir fry.

At home, we usually have at least two different types of vegetables at the dinner table. So when we're out, we always order a nice plate of veggies.

I love their stir fried Shanghai rice cake! The beauty of it is that the rice cakes are cooked just right - tender, soft and yet still chewy!

I just wish there was some consistency with the dish sizes. On some occassions, I get a huge plate of rice cake and on other times, I get a small serve as seen in the photo.

Stir fried Shanghai noodles! Another favourite of mine because the noodles taste udon-like and I love me some udon.

Again, sometimes this can comes out onto our table as a huge serving. And other times, you get a smaller portion which gets snapped up within minutes.

This time I tried a dessert there as well. I chose the lovely Osmanthus cake, which is essentially a cold jelly made from Osmanthus water.

Not a lot of places do these cakes anymore and so they're definitely worth trying at Crystal Jade!

Crystal Jade

Shop B224, Times Square

Causeway Bay, Hong Kong

FOLLOW ME ON -

TWITTER

PINTEREST

INSTAGRAM

Review: YSL's Le Teint Touche Eclat Foundation

For years now, I've been mixing my foundation with YSL's Touche Eclat. I don't actually have a stable foundation and have been living off sample tubes. I always get given a stack of beige-coloured foundation samples with my skincare purchases. I am on the paler side, so I like to mix a little bit of Touche Eclat in it to lighten the shade and to give my face a hint of radiance. 

Awhile ago, I learnt about YSL's Le Teint Touche Eclat foundation ($400HK) which has been inspired by the illuminating effects of the Touche Eclat. I read a few reviews online and found that the comments were generally positive. So I made a mental note to try it out when I was in Hong Kong!

The Le Teint Touche Eclat Foundation is being marketed as a weightless fluid foundation that highlights and contours, giving our face greater dimension. It is free from opaque fillers and helps with evening out skintones.

More simply, the product is not meant to entirely conceal our natural skin colour. Its intention is to even out our skintone by letting it shine through the foundation particles.

Like most girls, I am in love with YSL's packaging. That gold really emphasises that sense of prestige that I associate with the brand. The foundation is housed in a glass pump bottle that I find very convenient for application. It'll be interesting to see when I'm close to finishing the bottle whether I'll have any problems getting any remaining product out of there.

I got matched several times for the foundation - B20, BR20 and B30. The first two shades belong to the paler beige colours. BR20 is a lovely milky beige colour with a hint of pink rose and B30 is a yellowy shade that in actuality, matched my actual face colour the most. However, I ended up purchasing B20 which sits between BR20 and B30. 

B20 is a creamy beige that simply made my face look alive. It gave me that hint of vibrancy that neither BR20 and B30 could deliver. Although B30 is close to my actual skin colour, it made my face look dull and a bit flat. 

The SA that was helping me really wanted me to get BR20 but the colour itself is quite pale despite it having that lovely rosy hue that I like. Pale might be the way to go in Hong Kong because that's the look that most women strive for but it's impractical for Australia where I would turn out looking ghostly.

The foundation is extremely light, fluid and feels like silk on my face. A little bit goes a long way as it spreads easily. I've tried applying this with a brush, sponge applicator and my fingertips, and have found that the latter works the best for me. I like to work the product into my skin with my fingers. I also genuinely believe that this foundation works for all skin types. It's light enough for oily and normal skin types and creamy enough for dry skin.

The first few days I wore this, I kept staring at myself in mirrors. My face looked much more radiant and healthy. I also loved how it didn't feel like a mask on my face. Just about every other foundation that I've tried makes me feel like I'm wearing a veil on my face.

However because the product offers such a dewy finish, it does not do much in terms of coverage. At the most, it covered the minor redness that I have on my eyelids. It did not sufficiently cover my dark eye-circles. By extension, I have found that it's not a long-lasting foundation. I struggle to have the product on my face the entire day. 

FOLLOW ME ON -

TWITTER

PINTEREST

INSTAGRAM