Category Archives: Top Five

Each month I have a list of things I’d like to try, including fashion accessories, beauty products, gel nail design, and etc., This 5 Things to Try This Month category has a collection of my monthly columns on the top five things I’d like to share with you.

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5 Things to Try This Month – February 2020

02/14/2020 Shirley

February is always an exciting month for me. It’s the month of my birthday, February 22. Although I stopped celebrating my birthday a few years ago, I still like the month a lot. After all, what’s not to like about February?

Below are some of the things I am doing in February.

New Nails

I really love my last month’s multi-colored crystals gel nails, but it’s time to switch back to my favorite red. I asked my gel nail artist to put red crystals on my ring fingers. To emphasize the red crystals, we used gold glitters gel polish on background. There is a heart on the index finger and pinky finger. These red gel nails are perfect for my upcoming trip and the special events of this month.

(This is my February 2020 gel nails, with red crystals, mini gold heart, and my recent favorite teardrop crystals.)

Beauty Products

When it comes to taking care of my skin, I was never as diligent as some of my friends who pamper their face with masks on a daily basis. One of my new year resolutions is to take a better care of my skin and use facial masks on weekly basis. Below are some of the facial masks I am using now.

(These are the facial masks I am currently using. My goal is to use them at least once a week.)

New Restaurant

On the past New Year’s Eve, Bellagio hotel opened a new restaurant, The Mayfair Supper Club. The restaurant is a modernized classic American restaurant with entertainment. The CNN Travel has named The Mayfair Supper Club as one of the twenty best new restaurants in the world!

I am going to Las Vegas with friends this month and we will try the new Mayfair Supper Club. I can’t wait to find out more about the restaurant. Click here to read about my dining experience at the Mayfair Supper Club.

(Here is a picture of the Mayfair Supper Club entrance I took during my recent trip to Las Vegas.)

Special Event

As I get older I no longer celebrate my birthdays because it’s just another regular day to me. However, on my birthday this year my best friend is going to get married and have a small wedding reception. I’ve already gotten a perfect new dress for this special day. Since it’s a intimate family-only reception, I will wear a bright pink Alice and Olivia a-line mini dress with my silver glitter spiky Christian Louboutin stilettos. As for the accessories, I still have time to think about what bag to bring and what jewelry to wear.

(This is the dress I bought to attend my friend’s family-only intimate wedding reception.)

Baking

I recently bought a new bread machine. I’ve been following the recipe making French bread and white bread. So far, the result are good. I am excited to try making other kinds of bread, such as brioche, oat bread, and whole wheat bread.

(This is one of my homemade white bread.>

The Cover Image: I was eating at the Mayfair Supper Club restaurant in Bellagio Hotel, Las Vegas. My beautiful friend, Ying, captured this picture while I was touching up my lipsticks in the restroom. I was wearing the Chanel’s matte liquid lipstick and a Self-portrait dress.

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5 Things to Try This Month – January 2020

01/17/2020 Shirley

Just because the holiday season is over, it doesn’t mean we can no longer have a festive mood. In fact, I think the best way to start a new year is to carry on doing fun and new interesting things that involve glitters and red.

Below are some of the things I am doing in January.

New Nails

Back in November, I had my gel nails done in pink glitters with full-on clear crystals. For years, I’ve always had some crystals on my gel nails, but I had never tried full-on crystals on all nails; I though it would be too overwhelming. It turned out that I liked the look of full-on crystals so much that I decide to make this design as the new alternative to my all time favorite red nails.

Below is my new gel nails for January 2020. It has red, blue, purple, pink, and clear crystals over gold glitters. This, for sure, really elevates my festive mood. It’s definitely perfect for the beginning of a great new year!

(Gel nails for January 2020.)

Red Accessory

Although I don’t have red gel nails with crystals for this month, I have the red strappy suede heel with crystals to keep me company. This is my latest addition, bought during the holiday season. I didn’t get to wear it earlier, but it’s definitely perfect for the upcoming Lunar New Years celebration on January 25.

(Giuseppe Zanotti Harmony sandals in red suede and crystals.)

Lipsticks

Chanel recently released a new limited-edition Rouge Allure lipsticks in eight shades (four velvet and four slightly shimmering textures). When I first tried on these new Chanel lipsticks I was in the mall with my friend. The new lipsticks had just arrived to the store for display/testing only. Nothing was available for sale. I was so glad that I found them on the Neiman Marcus web site right after I got home. I’ve ordered them in a couple of shades and can’t wait to get them in the mail this week.

(Picture of the new limited-edition Rouge Allure lipsticks.)

Daily Adventure

For the past holiday season, a friend of mine, who knows I like shoes, gave me a page-a-day shoes gallery calendar. The calendar features one shoe design for each day of Year 2020. I’ve scanned through the first couple of days in January. It’s interesting to see various designs of shoes. I can’t wait to reveal what’s in place for each day.

(The new page-a-day shoes gallery calendar for Year 2020.)

Cooking

We recently bought a new air fryer. I’ve been testing the new electronic appliance by frying pre-seasoned fries and buffalo wings bought from the grocery store. It’s amazing how we can make crispy food without adding any oil. To take the experiment further with healthy ideas, I made chicken drumsticks by adding the Himalayan pink salt, garlic powder and grounded black paper only. The result was unexpectedly delicious.

(My first homemade/seasoned chicken drumsticks cooked with the air fryer.)

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5 Things to Try This Month – December 2019

12/20/2019 Shirley

Year 2019 has been a very eventful year for me. There were some unexpected ups and downs. There were a lot of emotional and frustrating moments, but what matters are that I survived the hardest time in my life and I have my dear family and friends who helped me to get through.

I am not ready for the year to be over, because I want to squeeze in more fun memories. However, I can always look forward to a new start in Year 2020.

Below are some of the things I’d like to do in December.

New Nails

No holiday is complete without festive red nail colors. After a full-on crystal gel nails last month, it’s time to go back to my favorite red glitter gel nails. I like the teardrop crystals I had last month, so I asked my gel nail artist to include it on this month’s gel nails. Instead of using clear crystals on most of my fingers, I have red crystals this time.

New Beauty Product

I can never say “no” when it comes to glittery eye shadow, especially from my favorite makeup brands. Dior’s Holiday 2020 eye shadow has all my favorite eye shadow colors with glitters in one.

Reading Material

I came across the book, “Emotional Intelligence 2.0”, in the bookstore recently. This book reminds me one of the classes I took in my business school. The “Emotional Intelligence 2.0” book will be a perfect reading material while I am on my flight to California this holiday season.

Holiday Tea

I will be visiting my brother in Orange County for the holidays. I’d love to try the holiday formal tea with my family. This will be a great experience for my nieces.

Baking

I’ve been baking pumpkin cranberry bread for the holiday season for many years. It’s one of my specialties. For this year, in additional to making the pumpkin cranberry bread, I’d like to bake pecan-pumpkin cream pie. (Recipe from the Food & Wine magazine.)

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5 Things to Try This Month – November 2019

11/20/2019 Shirley

As we are getting closer to the holiday season, it’s time to think about what dessert I want to make for the Thanksgiving and stock up on glittery makeup for the celebration days.

Below are the things I’d like to try this month.

New Nails

I just got my nails done the past weekend. I was so tempted to do red glitters again, but I decided to hold off on my favorite nail colors until December. I went for full-on crystals with light pink and silver undertones. The result is a different kind of flashy effect than red glitters. I think it’s a great alternative for this month!

(Crystal Gel Nails for November!)

Beauty Event

On the first Saturday of this month, my girlfriend invited us to the Nordstrom beauty event. At the event they showcased the new beauty products and the current makeup trends. We got our makeup done and had a lot of fun shopping for makeup products!

(Lunch after the beauty event!)

New Beauty Product

When it comes to holidays, one of the many good things is that there are plenty of glitters to shop for. For someone who’s obsessed with beauty products that have glitters, it’s the perfect time to shop. Among many new eye shadow palettes I got this month, there’s NARS’ Inferno Eye Shadow Palette (which has ultrafine blends of shimmer, glitter, and pearl reflect light for eye-catching effects).

(NARS Inferno eyeshadow palette!)

New Coffee

Nespresso released its holiday limited-edition coffee. As usual, the holiday coffee is offered in both the Original line and Vertuo line. My favorite pick for the Original line is the Nordic Cloudberry. The aroma of the Cloudberry reminds me of the Summer time. And my favorite pick for the Vertuo line is the Nordic Vanilla Princess Cake. I like the way the Vanilla Princes cake adds a hint of sweetness to the coffee.

(Nespresso Nordic coffee for this holidays!)

Dinner

Taneda Sushi in Kaiseki is a new Japanese restaurant that opened in Spring 2019 in Seattle. There are only nine seats at the sushi bar. A reservation is hard to get. My dear friends made a reservation for us two months ago. We ate there during the second Sunday this month. In my opinion, everything exceeded my expectations. The food was delicious and the services was great! I highly recommend it.

Read about my dining experience at the Taneda Sushi in Kaiseki.

(Watching sushi chef Taneda preparing our food!)

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5 Things to Try This Month – October 2019

10/25/2019 Shirley

There are a couple of things I wanted to do in Summer and didn’t have the chance to do. One of the things was go to the Victoria, BC. I am glad that we still have some sunny days in the Northwest before the cold raining season kicks in.

Below are the things I am doing in October, which includes the afternoon tea at the Fairmont Empress hotel in Victoria.

Afternoon Tea

I enjoy having afternoon tea and I always wanted to try the afternoon tea at the Fairmont Empress hotel in Victoria, BC. I finally had the chance to experience the afternoon tea when I visit Victoria, BC, in the beginning of this month. I love the atmosphere of the lounge where the afternoon tea was at, and all the desserts that came with the afternoon treats.

New Beauty Product

As we are getting close to the holiday seasons, many beauty product brands are launching their holiday products. One of my favorite makeup artists, Pat McGrath, just released her holiday eye shadow products – Blitz Astral Quad. The Blitz Astral Quad comes in three palettes. One of the palettes, Nocturnal Nirvana, has all my favorite eye shadow colors – green, blue, and purple. Of course, this item goes on my “5 Things to Try This Month” list!

New Sequin Dress

Recently I am into full-on sequin dresses. As we are getting close to the holiday season, there’s no better time than now to start shopping for the sequin dresses. My recent addition is the Kooples’ Epaulettes and Pink Sequins short dress. I can’t wait to try it on when I receive it in the next few days.

Freaknight Festival

Freaknight is an annual Halloween related event in Seattle. It’s basically a large party for adults where almost anything goes. A friend of mine has asked me to go with her to this year’s Freaknight. My mission now is to find a costume for myself!

Entertainment Obsession

My recent comedy-drama television series obsession is HBO’s Succession. The show is about a dysfunctional family who owns a global media and hospitality empire, and how they fight for control of the business. I’ve heard that the show is very interesting to watch and I finally started to watch from the very first episode.

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5 Things to Try This Month – May 2019

05/27/2019 Shirley

Among all the exciting things I did and am going to do in May, the highlight was a trip to watch Celine Dion’s final show in Las Vegas with my girlfriends and experiment with new gel nail design.

See below for some of the other things I am doing this month.

Gel Nails

After having fun with the purple glitter gel nails last month, I am still in the mood of experiencing more design and colors before I switch back to my favorite red. My latest gel nail design is brightly colored with sequins. The sequins on each finger are arranged from lighter to darker shades.

Celine Dion Concert

Celine Dion has been performing her show in Caesar Palace Las Vegas since the year 2003. She is ending her Las Vegas show residency in June 2019. Celine Dion is my favorite music artist and I am very happy that I watched her final show in Las Vegas this month.

(An up-and-close picture I took while she was on the stage.)

Beauty Product

Charlotte Tilbury launched a new makeup palette for face and eye. This palette comes with blushes in peachy and pink shades, and contour colors. It can also be used as eye shadows.

Coffee

Nespresso launched a mild and fruity coffee, Esperanza de Colombia. This coffee is part of Nespresso’s Reviving Origins program created to partner with Colombia farmers to improve their infrastructure and agricultural practices.

Reading Material

I came across a new book written by Melinda Gates, “The Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the World”. I’ve always admired both Melinda and Bill Gates and the philanthropic work they do. I am looking forward to read about what Melinda has to say about her personal experience and the inspiring people she encountered in her life.

(The feature picture of this blog post was taken at Caesar Palace, right after I watched Celine Dion’s performance.)

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5 Things to Try This Month – April 2019

04/15/2019 Shirley

When I think of April, the first thing comes to my mind is the image of blossom flowers in various color. The second thing I associate April with is starting of the longer daylight time. I love waking up to the morning light shinning through my window blinds!

Below are five of the things I’d like to do for April.

New Facial Toner

I have a dry combination skin so I need to exfoliate my skin regularly. I recent found a new facial toner which has lactic acid and salicylic acid. The product is supposed to exfoliate, hydrate, and balance the pH of the skin to prepare the skin for the skin regimen. The toner is called Lotion P50 Original “1970” by Biologique Recherche. I just bought a bottle of this toner and can’t wait to use it tonight!

New Gel Nails

If you know me, it would be no surprise to you that I have my gel nails done in glittery red most of time. After having glittery red gel nails (with different design and accessories) for two months, I am forcing myself to switch to something else. For this month, I decided to go with glittery purple and white colors.

Seasonal Mille Crêpes

For the month of April, Lady M is offering a seasonal Mille Crêpes in pistachio flavor. Pistachio is one of my favorite nuts, so I had to try the pistachio mille crêpes. My verdict on trying the pistachio mille crêpes is that I really like it. The pastry cream in the cake is made with pistachio paste and it goes greatl with a cup of my Nespresso coffee.

Michael Bublé Concert

Michael Bublé is one of my favorite music artists. He will perform in the Seattle area this month and I can’t wait to see him. I’ve been thinking about what to wear to Michael Bublé’s concert, and I have it narrowed down to a couple of choices. I probably will wear my blue velvet blazer with a lace dress.

New Marvel Movie

After watching Marvel’s Avengers: The Infinity War last year, I’ve been waiting for the next Avengers: The End Game. The movie release date is April 26. I bought the pre-sale tickets to watch the movie on the night before the release date. I can’t wait to watch it!

(The cover image for this post was taken at the Michael Bublé’s concert.)

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5 Things to Try This Month – March 2019

03/12/2019 Shirley

In February, the Seattle area had more heavy snow days. I can still see small piles of snow in our neighborhood area every day. It’s nice to see the white snow, but I am ready to say “bye” to Winter and look forward Spring!

Below are some of the things I’d like to do while I am anticipating the arrival of Spring.

Beauty Brushes

I have many makeup brushes for applying eye shadow, because I love the colorful products that go on the eyes. However, when it comes to the foundation brush, I only have one flat brush by Chanel (which I purchased a long time ago). This is simply because I rarely use foundation. Recently I bough the Guerlain foundation, but I noticed that when I apply it with my Chanel flat foundation brush, it leaves streaks on my face. So I bought Guerlain’s Lingerie de Peau Foundation Brush (a round 360 degree brush). With this Guerlain foundation brush, my makeup looks smooth, without any streaks. (Click the image below for more information.)

(Guerlain Lingerie de Peau Foundation Brush)

Another brush I bought this month is Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Complexion brush. This brush has two sides: a large flat-top head for a flawless base and a small angled head for concealer under the eyes, and around the nose. (Click the image below for more information.)

These two brushes are so easy to use and help me to achieve a nice, natural makeup look.

Neck Cream

I am in need for a new neck cream. After doing some research across different skincare lines, I decided to try the StriVectin-TL™ Tightening Neck Cream Plus. Over the years of looking down on my phone everyday I noticed my horizontal neck lines are getting more visible. This StriVectin neck cream claims to tighten and smooth out skin. I can’t wait to see if it makes any difference on me. (Click the image below for more information.)

(StriVectin-TL™ Tightening Neck Cream Plus)

New Lip Beauty Product

I am constantly looking for new lip products by my favorite brands. This month Dior is launching a new Addict Stellar Shine Lipstick. This lipstick is sheer and has aloe vera oil to nourish lips. I just ordered a couple of the Dior Addict Stellar Shine Lipstick in several shades and I can’t wait to try them on soon! (Click the image below for more information.)

(Dior Addict Stellar Shine Lipstick)

Enjoy Vintage Wine

I bought a bottle of Long Shadow Winery’s 2006 Saggi vintage wine a few years ago. I didn’t drink it right away because I thought the vintage wine was special and meant to keep around for many years. But I realized that I really don’t need any reason to enjoy it on a regular day, so I finally opened it.
I think the 2006 Saggi tasted much better than the current 2008 Saggi. The 2006 Saggi has the dark cherry aroma and refined tannins taste of the Saggi, but it’s smooth from the first sip to the very last.

(Enjoying 2008 Saggi vintage wine by Long Shadow)

Marvel Movie

I am fan of Marvel’s super hero movies (i.e. Avengers, Captain America, Iron Man, and Thor). Marvel is releasing a new movie this month, Captain Marvel, which is a new character added to the movie franchise. I am looking forward to watching the this movie and see how it will be incorporated in the movie series.

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5 Things to Try This Month – February 2019

02/22/2019 Shirley

February has always been one of my favorite months of the year. Not only is it around the Lunar New Year, it’s also my birthday month. As I get older, birthday has became just a normal day. Although I don’t plan on celebrating it, I want to spend the day with my parents and thank them for giving me the opportunity for being who I am.

Below are some of the things I am doing in February.

New Gel Nail Color

After last month’s pink glittery gel nail I am switching back to my favorite red glitter color. This time I also have gold hearts for the Valentine’s Day!

February 2019_Gel Nails — Red Glitter Gel Nails for February 2019

Seasonal Mille Crepes

I was in California in the beginning of February. One of my favorite dessert places is Lady M. Lady M has seasonal mille crepes flavors which are available in-store only. For January, they offered passion fruit mille crepes. I ordered a whole passion fruit mille crepes by the end of January for February pick-up in store. I picked up the passion fruit mille crepes and enjoyed every bit of it. (Of course, I shared it with my nieces.)

New Hair Dryer

I used to let my hair air dry after I wash it. By skipping the blow drying process, it saved me some time and avoided the potential damage to my hair caused by the hair dryer’s heat. Recently I started to blow dry my hair, but it took me forever to dry my long hair in low heat. I finally got fed-up with the tedious long drying process and bought a Dyson hair dryer. I love how fast the Dyson hair dryer dries my hair while it keeps my hair shiny!

New Hair Shampoo and Conditioner

Ever since I got some highlights to my hair last month, I could tell that my hair is slightly damaged. My hair dresser suggested to me to use a nourishing shampoo and conditioner made in Washington state. I’ve been using it the past few weeks and I love how soft my hair is!

Hello Kitty Café

While I was in California, I visited the Hello Kitty Café in Irvine. The café is smaller than I expected, but they have all sorts of of desserts, including colorful macarons. They even have Hello Kitty sparkling rose.
(picture of the sparkling rose and desserts)

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5 Things to Try This Month – January 2019

01/31/2019 Shirley

Not everyone has to have New Year’s resolutions! I stopped making mine since last year, because life is full of unexpected adventures and there’s never enough time to complete everything I planned to do twelve months ago.

In my opinion, it’s good to have goals for the new year. However, if you put all your focus on chasing your goals (and judge yourself in the year-end based on the list you made last year) instead of living your day-to-day life with occasionally spur-of-the-moment ideas, you’d be missing out a lot!

After all, life is too short to beat yourself up with what you didn’t do in the past.

Even thought I don’t have specific New Year’s resolutions drawn out, there are still things I’d like to do to start Year 2019 off right! See below.

New Lip Beauty Product

Dior recently released a new color for its signature Addict Lip Maximizer. As usual, I had to try their new products in the store. After testing most of their new Lip Maximizer, I bought the Lip Maximizer in Pink/Holographic. I like the plumping and shimmering effect of this product on my lips. It’s like putting on lip gloss without the stickiness on the lip surface.
(Love my new Dior Addict Lip Maximizer)

New Gel Nail Color

I’ve been getting my gel nails done in red for the past three consecutive months, because of the holiday season. For January, I am switching to hot pink with light blue glitters and pearls.

(New gel nail for January 2019)

New Hair style

If you want to make changes to your style for the new year, consider updating your hair style. I’ve been keeping my hair long in my natural dark hair color for many years. To spice up my new year mood, I decided to get a trim with long bangs and add some red color.

To minimize the damage to my hair, my hair stylist suggested me to go with highlight. Without using any bleach on my hair, my red highlight turned out to be dark brown. The result wasn’t as dramatic as I wanted, but I don’t have to touch up the color as often as I used to when I dyed my hair in light shades. I am happy with my new hair style.

(My new hair style)

Opera – Il Trovatore

It has been years since I watched an opera. This January I will be going to the opera, Il Trovatore (by Giuseppe Verdi), in Seattle McCaw Hill, with a friend. The opera is about love (between a lady-in-waiting to the princess and two brothers) and revenge (of a daughter). I’ve been listening to the Il Trovatore Opera recording before the day of the opera, so I can be familiar with the opera music and enjoy as much as I can from the night.

(Picture of the Il Trovatore from Seattle Opera)

Celine Dion’s Vegas Concert

Celine Dion is one of my all-time favorite music artists. She has been singing in Las Vegas for a long time and will end her Las Vegas show permanently after this June. My friends and I want to watch her perform in Las Vegas before June, and we have to purchase the tickets and plan for our trip by the end of this week!

Shirley Style

Category Archives: Top Five

5 Things to Try This Month – February 2020

5 Things to Try This Month – January 2020

5 Things to Try This Month – December 2019

5 Things to Try This Month – November 2019

5 Things to Try This Month – October 2019

5 Things to Try This Month – May 2019

5 Things to Try This Month – April 2019

5 Things to Try This Month – March 2019

5 Things to Try This Month – February 2019

5 Things to Try This Month – January 2019

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