Category Archives: All Posts

Five of My Favorite Places for Brunch in Vegas

02/13/2019 Shirley

I love Las Vegas. When I am in Vegas I often eat breakfast, which is something I don’t normally do at home. Here are five of my favorite places to eat breakfast in Las Vegas.

1. The Mansion at MGM Grand

The Mansion is a semi-secret, very exclusive invitation-only restaurant. I was offered the chance to eat breakfast at The Mansion when I stayed at the Skylofts at MGM Grand. The Mansion was unbelievable!

2. Tableau at Wynn Hotel

Tableau is a fantastic restaurant at the Wynn hotel. The breakfast menu is incredible and I love some of their unique items including White Chocolate and Orange French Toast.

3. Bardot Brasserie

Bardot Brasserie is a French restaurant, by Michael Mina. Bardot Brasserie opens for brunch only on Saturday and Sunday. Among all the amazing food it offers, the French Toast is a must-have. It’s made with brioche bread and vanilla mascarpone, toped with the almond brittle, and orgeat syrup on the side.

4. Zen Kitchen at Waldorf Astoria

Zen Kitchen at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel was an unexpected surprise. One morning when I was at the Mandarin Oriental I wasn’t feeling like going out and so I ate there and I was pleased. The restaurant was casual but elegant and everything on the breakfast menu was great!

5. Bouchon at Venetian

The Bouchon at the Venetian was a bit hard to find, at the fourth floor overlooking the pool area. The restaurant is mostly French inspired but the breakfast items are all fantastic!

Fiave Favorite Breakfast Places in Vegas

All Posts, Beauty, Top Five

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!

All Posts, Beauty

Result of Using Sunday Riley Skin Care Serums for a Month

01/18/2019 Shirley

I love to try new skin care products for fun! I recently got a new set of day and night serums to incorporate into my daily skin care routine. I tested the serums for a month and I’ve already seen the difference they make on my face!

This new skin care adventure started in the beginning of December, when I was out shopping with my friend. We saw the skin care products by Sunday Riley, and my friend pointed out that it’s one of the recent popular beauty products used by many celebrities in Asia.

Out of all the Sunday Riley products on the display in the store, I found the Luna Sleeping Night Oil (blue liquid) the most intriguing. When I massaged a drop of the blue Luna product onto the back of my hand, it changed from blue to clear and my skin felt well hydrated.

The Luna Sleeping Night Oil has retinol, which is supposed to help to reduce the appearance of pores and wrinkles.

I’ve been looking for a serum with retinol and the Luna Sleeping Night Oil seemed like a good candidate to try.

Since I was going to use Sunday Riley’s Luna Sleeping Night Oil, I wanted to try the Good Genes (Sunday Riley’s day serum, which exfoliates the skin and improve its complexion) for daytime.

Result on the First Application

The instructions on the Luna Sleeping Night Oil says that it’s okay to use the Good Genes (day serum) over the Luna (night serum) at night. So I tried both of them on the first night, after I cleaned my face, put on the toner and the SK-II Facial Treatment Essence. Instantly, my skin looked radiant and hydrated. (I was surprised and delighted on how quickly the products worked for me.)

To complete my skin care routine, I put on my favorite La Mer’s moisturizing soft cream.

Result after a Month of Usage

I have several beauty brands of serum I alternated on daily basis, based on my mood. But for my new experiment, I was determined to use the Good Genes (for day) and the Luna (for night) continuously for a month, along with my existing toner, essence, and moisturizer. After 30 days of usage, I already saw that my skin complexion has improved, and my skin feels smooth and hydrated when I get up in the morning (where my skin used to be a little bit dry). The laugh line on the left side of my face seems less visible.

The changes on my skin came gradually over the one month period. My skin was fine to began with, but adding the Good Genes and Luna serums to my existing skin care routine definitely helped. And I really like what I see in the mirror.

To summarize, my experiment on the Sunday Riley’s Good Genes and Luna serums went well. I’d recommend you to try these to see if they work well for you!

I plan to continue to use both Good Genes and Luna serums until I run out of them, then move on to another anti-aging serum for another experiment.

All Posts, Fashion

Sparkling Black Glitter Boots

12/12/2018 Shirley

Sparkling boots have been one of the popular fashion trends since last year. And for this year, many fashion houses continue to incorporate the glitter element into their Fall and Winter 2018 collection.

After the sparkling boots have been in style for many seasons, it’s no surprise to see different designers debut sparkling boots with slight design variations across different seasons. They all look nice, but if you look closely you’d know your preference over one to another.

For me, the most obvious example of two sparkling boots from different designer brands that look similar in some ways is the black glitter boots from Jimmy Choo and the sequins boots from Valentino Garavani.

For Summer and Spring 2018, Jimmy Choo released its Tesler Glittered Fur-Trim boots in black glitter material. The Tesler boot is unique because it has fur pom poms on the back of the ankle, but what attracts me to the Tesler Glittered Fur-Trim boot is its glitter material; a combination of grayish glitters and black velvet. The feel of this Tesler boots surface and its pom poms fur is extremely soft.

(Jimmy Choo Glittered Fur-Trim Boots)

As for Valentino Garavani, it recently released its new Liquid Metallic boots in shimmering sequins. When I spotted this Valentino Liquid Metallic boots in the magazine, I immediately thought about the Jimmy Choo Tesler Glittered Fur-Trim boots. The Jimmy Choo Tesler Glittered Fur-Trim boots has glitter covered heels while the Valentino Garavani Liquid Metallic boots has solid black color heels. (In my opinion, the details on the heels matter a lot!)

Both of these black boots are made in dark sparkling material (glitters vs. sequins) and both have the glamourous sexy look. But I prefer Jimmy Choo’s Tesler Glittered Fur-Trim boots over Valentino Garavani Liquid Metalic boots, because I think the Tesler boots in black glitters seem a bit more classic with a fun twist.

Although the Jimmy Choo’s Tesler Glittered Fur-Trim boots in black glitter material have 4-inch heels, they’re surprisingly comfortable when I wore them (given I haven’t worn them for more than five minutes). The Tesler boots are still sitting in my closet waiting to be broken in. In the meantime, I am just happy that I got the Tesler Glittered Fur-Trim boot for my sparkling boots collection.

All Posts, Beauty, Holidays, Top Five

5 Things to Try This Month – December 2018

12/05/2018 Shirley

I always have mixed feelings about December. It’s the month for joyful celebrations, which I love. But it’s also the end of the year, which could be a bit depressing (because the year went by too fast). Nevertheless, there are still many things I want to do before the year ends.

See below for my list of things to do this month.

Nespresso Holiday Coffee

Each year I look forward to Nespress’ holiday limited-edition coffee and espresso drinks. Last year, Nespresso offered three different holiday coffee flavors: peppermint, banana, and cherry. This year, Nespresso offers several blended coffee with coconut flavor (Exotic Macaron), almond flavor (Paris Madeleine), hazelnut flavor (Paris Praliné).
As always, I love their fancy coffee capsule designs. They add more festival vibes to the holiday season.

(Picture taken with Nespresso’s new Orange Biscuits and holiday coffee capsules. The biscuits are delicious and perfect with Nespresso coffee.)

Enchant Christmas Seattle

Enchant Christmas is a holiday lights festival which began in Vancouver, B.C., Canada a couple of years ago. It’s coming to Seattle’s Safeco Field this holiday season. The festival will have Christmas light maze, ice skating trail, Christmas market, live entertainment, and more. I am looking forward to seeing all the holiday lights!

Sequins for Holidays

One of the fun things about the holiday season is attending celebration events. It’s always fun to look for new outfits and accessories for different occasions. I think something with glitters is the must-have! Click here for more details.

(Saint Laurent Loulou Glitter Bootie in my favorite purple color.)

New Everyday Lipstick

I always bring at least one lipstick (for touch-up) with me when I leave the house. But last week I forgot to bring a lipstick when I met with my friend for lunch. It felt really weird to be out and about without any lip colors on me, so my friend and I went to shop for new lipsticks at the mall. Most of my lipsticks are in fuchsia, pink, and red colors, so I picked a new one which is a more neutral color.

(GIORGIO ARMANI’s Lip Maestro Lip Stain)

New Dietary Supplement

I’ve never though about taking extra dietary supplements as part of my daily regimen. For years, one of my best friends has tried to convince me to take the dietary supplement she likes to improve wellness and skincare. After years of persuasion by my friend, I finally decided to give it a try starting this month. I am looking forward to see if the supplement really works for me.

(BeautyGlo – dietary supplement to increase skin firmness and radiance.)

All Posts, Beauty, Top Five, Travel

5 Things to Try This Month – November 2018

11/25/2018 Shirley

November is a busy month for me. Not only do I have many friends visiting from out of town, I also have several small trips lined up for the month. Below are some of the things I am doing in November.

Pat McGrath Blitztrance Lipsticks

It was just last month that I bought Pat McGrath’s new eyeshadow, Mothership V: Bronze Seduction Palette and Mothership Subversive Metalmorphosis eye shadow. Now, she has released eight new Blitztrance Lipsticks, which are part of her holiday 2018 collection. The new Blitztrance lipsticks are made with glitters and comes in a shiny bullet case. For someone who really likes glitters, it’s really hard for me to resist these new beauty products.

Out of the eight available colors, I bought three – Fuchsia Perfect (bright pink with blue and pink pearl), Cyber Orchid (pink with blue pearl), and Rebel Red (red with copper pink pearl). The Fuchsia Perfect is perfect for everyday wear, including work. Both Cyber Orchid and Rebel Red are ideal for dress-up and a night-out. I will have plenty of chance to use them this holiday season.

Pat McGrath Blitztrance Lipsticks — Pat McGrath’s Holiday Blitztrance Lipsticks

YSL National Makeup Artist Event

Nordstrom hosts many beauty brand’s national makeup artist events throughout the year. Last Saturday I went to the YSL’s beauty event and met YSL’s Director of Makeup Artistry, Dell Ashley. Typically, at such national beauty event, each makeup artist will work on a customer’s makeup (by appointment only) while the national makeup artists will go around and touch up the customer’s makeup and giving tips on how to improve the beauty look. Dell is really good at making intensified eye makeup.

Girls Trip to Palm Springs

My friends and I just got back from our Palm Springs trip. It was a special celebration for my dear friend who’s expecting her first baby. There were a total of eleven girls, which was the largest group I’ve ever traveled with. The four day trip to the Palm Springs was perfect; plenty of time for relaxation, good food, and excellent time with the girls.

2018 Palm Springs Group Picture — 2018 Palm Springs Girls Trip

Nordstrom Holiday Shopping Event

Nordstrom is hosting a holiday shopping event this Sunday. Two good things about most of Nordstrom’s shopping events are that the store will be less crowded (private event) and there will be free champagne (and light refreshment). In my opinion, shopping under champagne “influence” is one of the fun group activities you can do with friends.

Accessories for Del Mar Trip

Some good friends of mine are going to the Del Mar Racing in San Diego in the beginning of December. They have invited me to join them for the weekend trip. This will be my first time going to a horse racing event and visiting Del Mar. I am very excited for the trip and can’t wait to shop for my vacation outfits.
(We will be staying at the Fairmont Grand Del Mar. Picture from the Fairmont web site.)

All Posts, Travel

Richard Clayderman Piano Concert

11/14/2018 Shirley

Richard Clayderman (a famous French pianist) is one of my favorite piano artists. I learned how to play many of his songs when I was a child. And he was the main reason I look forward to go home practice piano each day after school.

I was very glad that Richard Clayderman scheduled one of his piano concerts in Seattle! (This was his first time being to Seattle.)

Richard Clayderman began his concert with some of his signature piano songs. Including Nostalgia, Ballade pour Adeline, A Comme Amour, etc. Growing up I listened to his music all the time. Watching him play in-person was fascinating.

During the concert he also played a lot popular Hollywood movie theme songs, such as Titanic, Star Wars, and etc. He even played two popular Chinese Mandarin songs (from 20 years ago).

Because I grew up listening and playing Richard Clayderman’s piano music, I have some all-time favorite pieces. Unfortunately, he didn’t play the two song that I was really looking forward to hear at the concert. The two songs are Mariage D’Amour and Souvenirs d’enfance.

I haven’t played piano for years, but I can still remember how to play Mariage D’Amour without reading the music note.

As for the Souvenirs d’enfance, there are some bitter and sweet memories associated with practicing this song. There’s a part of the song that I always had difficult time to play smoothly. And whenever my dad hears me playing this song, he’d criticize me and ask me to replay the song. However, I have to admit that Souvenirs d’enfance is a beautiful song. I am very glad that I learned how to play it.

Listening to Richard Clayderman playing his songs brings back a lot of fun childhood memories. I am very grateful that my parents gave me the opportunity to learn how to play piano, so I can appreciate all the beautiful music pieces.

All Posts, Beauty, Fashion, Top Five

5 Things to Try This Month – October 2018

10/25/2018 Shirley

When I think of October, I think about the colorful tree leaves in the Pacific Northwest. Many of the trees that are green in Spring and Summer will slowly turn into different shades of brown, red, and yellow. And as we get close to the end of October, you will see the leaves falling like dripping rain throughout the day.

This beautiful natural scenery reminds me that a year has gone by and it’s time to get ready for a new season. There are many things I am doing this month, including getting new fashion accessories and getting a new bold gel nail color.

See below for my monthly column for October, 5 Things to Try This Month.

Reminiscent Classical Design

Many of the fashion designer houses are reinventing their classic logo and signature designs. I’ve been looking for a small cross body bag in silver. What could be better than a Gucci quilted leather crossbody bag with its signature red and green webbed stripe!

Shirley Style in Rag and Bone Overalls And Gucci Cross Body Bag

Winter Boots

October is the perfect time to update your wardrobe and purchase new boots for Fall. I am really into suede boots this season. Because the rainy season will begin in Seattle, soon, right now it’s the perfect time to break in my new Stuart Weitzman suede boots without worrying about any puddles of water on the ground.

New Gel Nail Color

I love red gel nails so much that I’ve been getting mine done in red two months in a row. For the month of October, I had the urge of being bold and pick a new nail color. I just got it done yesterday in neon orange color with white glitters and crystals. This will be perfect for the Halloween and my upcoming Palm Springs trip.

New Eyeshadow

I love glitter eye shadows. Pat McGrath is one of my favorite makeup artists and she just released some new eye shadow palettes, including her signature Mothership (V: Bronze Seduction Palette). I can’t wait to put them on for my next dinner event.

Piano Concert

Richard Clayderman is one of my favorite piano artists. I learned how to play many of his songs when I was a child. I am looking forward to his concert in Seattle, at the Benaroya Hall. Listening to him playing in-person is one of the items on my bucket list!

Shirley Style Monthly Column – 5 Things to Try This Month – October 2018

All Posts, Travel

First Time Making the Wedding Centerpieces

09/26/2018 Shirley

A month ago my best friend got married. When she planned for her wedding ceremony and reception, she decided to make her own wedding centerpieces.

I’ve never made any centerpieces in my life, not to mention making it on the night before the event! I was a bit skeptical on how we can pull this off, especially when most of us had no idea on how to make the wedding centerpieces.

After six hours of teamwork and following a friend’s creative ideas, we finished what we set out to accomplish. We made eight medium size centerpieces (for the bride and groom, and their family’s tables) and six big round centerpieces (for the guests’ tables) using dozens of roses, peonies, hydrangea, and baby’s breath, all in white color!

(Below is one of the six guest table centerpieces we made. We spray painted the baby’s breath and the hydrangea’s leaves to gold color.)

(Below is a table full of the centerpieces we made.)

(Below is one of the guest tables at the wedding reception. Picture taken by our friend.)

(Below is the table for the bride and groom’s family at the wedding reception. Picture taken by our friend.)

All Posts, Fashion, Top Five

5 Things to Try This Month – September 2018

09/13/2018 Shirley

After a couple of hot weeks in the Northwest, Seattle’s temperature finally cooled down. Although we are reaching the end of the Summer season, there are still things I want to do before the Fall.

Cook for My Mom’s Birthday Celebration

My mom’s birthday is in September. I want to throw her a birthday celebration at home and cook her dinner. I am still trying to decide what to make for the appetizers and cook for the main courses, but for sure I will make a new dish I learned, clams with white wine, tomatoes, and sausage.

New Foundation and Primer

I recently ran out of my foundation and had to look for a new one. I wanted a lightweight texture with hydrating elements. The Nordstrom sales associate suggested that I try Guerlain’s Perfecting Météorites Primer and the Lingerie de Peau’ Fluid Foundation (in the shade of 00N-Porcelaine). The result of using these two products on my face is great; my skin feels hydrated and looks smooth. Since we are moving towards the Fall (when my skin gets much drier), I feel confident that these new beauty products will work well for me.

Peachy Lipsticks

Peachy lip color beauty products are perfect for warm weather! My usual preferred lip makeup products are in pink, fuchsia, and red, but I want to try some peachy colors before the Summer is fully over! My two new peachy lipsticks are Sexy Sienna (luminous matte texture) and Coachella Coral (K.I.S.S.I.N.G lipsticks) by Charlotte Tilbury, one of my favorite makeup artists.

I’ve been using these two new peachy lipsticks everyday. And sometimes I would add the Dior Ultra-gloss (bright pink glittery lip gloss in color 686-Fancy) over them for a glamourous night look!

Summer Water Activity

It has been years since I did a water jet ski. Since we are getting closer to the end of the season, my friends and I want to go water jet ski by the lake.

Gel Nail Color

I usually try to alternate between red gel nail color and something else each month. But this month I decided to get red glitters like last month. When it comes to certain things, I am a creature of habit; as long as there’s red color, glitters and crystals on my nails, I am happy!

(Picture from Salon Lulu.)

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Shirley Style Monthly Column – 5 Things to Try This Month – October 2018

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