Let’s do a special edition of Things I Love…..in NYC. Yup, I’m still in the US and I got back from Toronto and Niagara Falls yesterday night — I’m a bit tired but am feeling lucky that I get to travel loads and visit old friends. On the downside, the weather is cold and dry, so of course I had to nose around for wintry beauty fixes. Here are the American beauty products I’ve come to adore in my stay so far…

+ Desert Essence Jojoba Oil is one of those multi-tasking products that will solve several beauty emergencies in one go (actually, the Dessert Essence website claims it does 15). I tend to forget a couple of things when I pack and this time I didn’t bring along my L’Oreal hair serum.

I read that organic jojoba oil is affordable (USD13-14) and is not too oily for skin and hair. I’ve been using it on my face as a serum (my chin and nose areas were flaking like crazy, but they don’t anymore!) and I comb two small drops over my hair after a shampoo. My verdict: smooth smooth smooth. I will buy two more bottles to stock up and the great thing is they’re small, so they’ll be easy to pack.

Apparently it can be used as eye makeup remover and all-over body lotion. I have to report that a little goes a long way, but if you are too generous with it, your skin/hair will feel very oily.

+ Bliss High Intensity Hand Cream. Juiced up with macadamia and grapeseed oil, this lovely hand salve smells fantastic in a girly, creamy way. It took away the dry skin around my cuticles.

+ Philosophy Bath & Shower Gels. OMG, I could spend all day sniffing these dessert-like body products. My faves so far: Cinnamon Buns, Vanilla Birthday Cake, Fudge Cake and Crème Brulee. I’m considering the small three-in-one sets they have which would be easier to pack in my suitcase. Perhaps it could help quell late-night binge cravings? I’ve read somewhere that our sense of smell determines 70 per cent of what we taste.

+ Tom’s of Maine Wholecare Toothpaste. I’ve never tried natural toothpaste before and so far I’m liking it. It’s not foamy at all and is chock full of peppermint oil which makes my mouth feel so fresh. And yeah, I forgot to pack toothpaste, too.

+ Too Faced Mood Swing Lip Gloss. This is a brand I’ve been very curious about and had fun experimenting with their colours and cosmetic potions. What took my fancy was this lippie that gave a cute pink tinge to my lips — I wonder what mood it indicated? Happy to be shopping? LOL.

That’s all the beauty snooping I’ve done so far. I’m heading to San Francisco so wish me luck on finding more beauty gems on the West Coast. If you have any suggestions, do drop a comment below.

Photo credit: here

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To remedy that, I decided to make an effort with my nails. I think of it as “accessorizing” without baubles.

I tend to frequent Seven Eleven convenient stores quite a bit — to buy magazines, or use their bathroom, or buy stationary, or an onigiri.

And like most multi-purpose chain conbinis, it also has a beauty section. Seven Eleven carries the budget Sekkisei range and DHC products, plus Parado nail polish.

I love the French nail polish because of its flat brush tip — great for creating designs on your nails. I’m far from being expert so I settled on a simple leaf design.

What also caught my eye was the mini nail polish remover.

Just stick your finger into the bottle, twist, and voila, your nails are clean.

This is what it looks on the inside — there is a grey flannel-like cloth that peeks out of an opening, which is soaked with remover.

I found that it worked well, except for leaving a few stubborn sparkles behind. I thought it was a bit tedious to keep twisting my fingers one by one, so I cleaned my other hand with regular nail polish remover just to compare.

And you know what I found? Regular nail polish remover (I used Sally Hansen) just couldn’t effectively remove such heavy sparkled polish, so in the end, I preferred the Parado one. The size is also perfect for when you are travelling as it’s so small and compact.

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Let’s do a quick recap on the difference: green juices are just the juice of greens and fruit.

And green smoothies are vegetables and fruit blended together.

Okay, so here is my honest opinion on the benefits of both for radiant skin and health…

+ Green smoothies have fiber that will help eliminate the toxins. It is a “quick-exit” food or drink (it can be quite a meal!) and since the vegetable cell walls are broken down, your system will digest it easily and transport those nasty toxins that make our skin look sallow and dull or cause acne and skin conditions.

+ Green juices deliver the nutrients immediately to the blood stream because it has no fiber. In this way, your body absorbs all those amazing vitamins and nutrients.

+ Both are an excellent way to incorporate much more fruit and veggies into your diet easily. Who wants to sit around like a gorilla, munching and chewing, all day?!

+ Even if you drink more green juices, you will still be able to eliminate regularly. You can read about it here (just scroll down a bit; this is the blog of a woman who drank green juice for 92 days and still passed solid stools).

+ Some folks prefer juices because it’s not as filling as a smoothie — especially helpful to those who have small stomachs!

+ The slight disadvantage green juices may have over smoothies is if you use a lot of sweet fruit and you have an insulin-related condition, like diabetes. In this case, it’s not advisable to injest so much sugar. But, you can use a lot of lemon or lime to disguise the taste of greens in your juices. I probably wouldn’t advise a veggie and lemon smoothie because it wouldn’t taste very good — not in my book anyway.

+ It’s more expensive to juice, particularly when you use a mechanized juicer because it takes a lot of produce to make one cup. I don’t have fancy equipment in my kitchen, so I make do with blending my veggies and fruit in the blender with water and then I strain the pulp away with a nut milk bag (or if you have a very powerful blender, you can blend without water). So yes, green smoothies make your money’s worth, if you look at it that way.

From personal experience, I drink two green smoothies a day, plus a green juice and my skin has never felt or looked better. I was a pimply teenager and had serious eczema problems. Today, I don’t have to struggle with such skin conditions.

But if you don’t have time for both juicing and making smoothies or your diet just doesn’t have space for it, I would say a green juice in the morning is the better choice for radiant skin. Love the color green, I say!

Note: these are just my personal thoughts and I’m not a licensed medical practitioner.

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We are excited to announce the launch of a new product we are selling in our store: Raffine Perfect One Collagen Cream.

This top-selling cream in Japan is a collagen-infused moisturizer that is also full of nourishing ingredients like hyaluronic acid, royal jelly, vitamin C, chamomile, olive, orange extract, and baker’s yeast.

Treat your skin to a moisture-rich anti-aging cream. The texture is like a gel and doesn’t feel heavy despite its hydration power. Winter is just around the corner, so it’s time to switch to something with more grunt.

By the way, you don’t need a toner or serum if you use this cream. Just wash your face and apply — great for busy women who are too tired to go through multiple steps to give their skin what it needs.

I’ve been using this product for almost two weeks and my skin is lovin’ it.

Buy it here

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+ Fashion magazines, Sweet and Spring, that give adorable freebies like Jill Stuart cosmetic cases and Anna Sui travel wallets. I can’t wait to use them for my upcoming NYC trip.

+ Discovering a bbcream, SINN, that is made in Japan, and what got me even more excited is it’s natural and organic. It’s a bit pricey but I think it’s worth it when you pay more to take care of your skin.

+ It’s officially fall, so out come ultra-chic boots and coats.

+ Making my own vegan kimchi — my neighbourhood has several Korean grocers so finding the ingredients are super easy.

+ Watching Coco Avant Chanel at Roppongi Toho Cinemas. I love Audrey Tautou! She’s not a classic beauty but she exudes a wistful charisma and impeccable confidence. What I liked about the movie was realizing Coco Chanel not only changed the face of fashion for women, but she lived a life liberated from societal norms in a time where women were not meant to be seen or heard. She truly broke conventions of what women should do and wear. Ooo, and I love the latest Chanel No 5 ad, too (the making of the ad is here).

Photo credit: here

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There’s a lovely natural beauty products store, Cosme Kitchen, just outside Daikanyama station. They carry a big range of products that use natural and/or organic ingredients which you know appeals very much to moi.

As the weather is turning colder and drier, I felt like getting something to pamper my skin and my gaze fell on Burt’s Bees Milk & Honey Body Lotion. The scent and texture were divine so I paid for it and made my way home.

If you ask me, I don’t think this concoction smells like milk or honey, but coconut with a bit of lemon and baby powder. The lotion is very liquidy and light but moisturizes well. Even my PJs smell gorgeous the following night after I slather this magical lotion all over.

I’m quite a scrouge when it comes to buying makeup but I definitely spend good money on body products. After a hard day’s work, there is nothing sweeter than engulfing myself in a cocoon of lush fragrance.

By the way, it’s also a recommendation by experts as a way to cut down on binge-eating. If you think that hoovering ice-cream, chocolate, or chips is a way to indulge yourself, why not splurge on yourself in a non-food way?

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Does your skin look sallow and in need of a boost after days of working hard and lacking some zzzs? Well, one way to lift your skin out of the dumps is to drink fresh juice daily. Or as often a busy gal can.

You guys know I’m pretty hardcore with my vegetable juices but I’m going to show you a very basic, yummy recipe that will leave you glowing inside and out.

Store-bought juices just don’t give your skin and body the same amount of essential vitamins and minerals that fresh ones can. Cucumber is chock full of silica which is one of the building blocks of collagen.

It’s a bit of a hassle, but you know, you can’t just wait for beauty to happen — you gotta do something about it.

Recipe:
1 apple
½ carrot
1 small cucumber
1 wedge of lime or lemon
1 cup water
1 spoonful Meiji Amino Collagen

Again, blend everything up and then strain the pulp away from the juice with a fine-mesh strainer or nut milk bag (you can get a smoother juice out of this). Or if you have a juicer, that would make things faster. But, this video proves that you don’t need fancy equipment to make beauty concoctions in your kitchen.

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Do you know grapefruit breaks down the fat in cellulite? What are you waiting for? Get more of it into your body!

Today’s video will show you how to make fresh juice without an expensive juicer. All you need are a blender and a strainer or nut milk bag. I prefer a nut milk bag because it strains out the pulp very well, but most people have a fine-mesh strainer, so you can use that, too.

In this video, I also talk about why store-bought juices are not good for you, which is why I take the trouble to make my own fresh. If you think about it, some things, when made convenient, turn out to be less healthy for you.

Recipe:
½ pink grapefruit
5-6 ice cubes
1 glass water
1 spoonful of Meiji Amino Collagen

Disclaimer: We are not saying that the combination of grapefruit juice and amino collagen will get rid of cellulite or even speed up the process of losing it. This is just a suggestion on how to drink this beauty supplement and it just so happens grapefruit juice is great for eliminating those wobbly bits.

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This is an ode to the avocado. I love avocados and can’t seem to get enough.

One of my fave ways to pump in more fresh avocado (and all those awesome omega fatty acids) into my diet is in a key lime pie flavored smoothie. Indulge your skin and body with fresh ingredients and nutrients. Beauty starts from the inside!

Recipe:
1 glass fresh apple juice
½ avocado
Juice of ½ lime (or a whole one if you like it more citrusy)
1½ or 2 frozen bananas
1 tsp maple syrup (or any sweetener of your choice)
1 tsp vanilla extract or seeds of one vanilla bean
1 spoonful Meiji Amino Collagen

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Another superfood I’ve been dabbling with is hemp. I’ve read many good things about hemp: it’s got a lot of protein, amino acids, omega fatty acids, chlorophyll and more. It’s filling so you don’t get hungry fast after having some, plus it has fiber so it aids digestion and bowel movement.

Though it’s got a hippie reputation, I think anybody can include this nutritious superfood into their diet. You can read about the health benefits of hemp right here.

The way I consume hemp powder is in a rich chocolate banana smoothie. It’s so full of nutrients that I don’t even feel guilty chugging one of these babies every other day.

Instead of reaching for commercial chocolate with tons of refined sugar, you can make a healthy chocolate alternative that will give you that much needed chocolate fix and great for your body.

Recipe:
1 glass nut milk (or any milk you desire)
2 frozen bananas
1 tbs unsweetened dark cocoa powder
1 tbs hemp powder
2 dates
1 spoonful Meiji Amino Collagen

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