Daily Skincare Routine

Hi everyone :)

Today I'm gonna share with you guys about my daily skincare routine. I have acne-prone/combination skin type and it usually gets drier in the winter.

All the products I'm using now are from Laneige. It is a Korean company and its products can be easily found in the states or other asian countries. There is a Laneige store in Hmart in Niles, IL. I believe it is the one closest to where I live. Also, www.yesstyle.com also carries all Laneige products.

Okay, lets get started. I cleanse my face using white plus renew foam cleanser twice a day. I chose foam type because it is convenient and half a pump is enough for one use. After cleansing, I will apply power essential skin refiner light. It is a light version toner. It has a very fresh and comfortable scent. I will then put on some balancing emulsion light, which I use it as moisturizer. It doesn't feel oily at all and it absorbs very fast into your skin. I like its lightweight texture and the feeling of refresh after apply onto your skin. Next I will apply a thin layer of water bank essence on my face. It keeps my skin hydrated for at least 12 hours. In the winter, I will add in this step: apply water bank gel cream. My skin will tend to be drier in the winter and adding moisture is very important to keep my skin hydrated. Lastly, I will apply this water sleeping pack before I go to sleep for deeply moisturizing. This step is not a daily routine, I will say 3 times a week is good. When I put on make up on my face, I will use this deep cleansing oil refresh to remove all my make ups before cleansing step.

Left to right: Deep cleansing oil refresh, white plus renew foam cleanser, power essential skin refiner light, balancing emulsion light, water bank essence, water bank gel cream, water sleeping pack.

So this is my daily skincare routine. I hope you guys enjoy reading this post and I'll update more often :)

Valentine's Day Dessert: Tiramisu

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

Heart-shaped for V-day ♥

For those who are in a relationship, I hope you guys can stay sweet and happy forever. And those who are single, I wish you can find your true valentine very soon :) Don't forget you can also celebrate with family!

I love desserts very much, and that is why I love to bake because it is hard to find a good bakery here in West Lafayette. I always bake my own dessert on holidays because a lot of places raise their price on holidays like Valentine's Day or Christmas Day. And most importantly, the person who eats your bakery will feel special because that is the thing specially made for them.

Last year, I made red velvet macaroons and Derek loved it! It is a very good valentine's day dessert. And this year, I wanna make something I haven't made before, which is Tiramisu. Tiramisu is an Italian dessert and has a meaning of 'pick me up'. I love tiramisu so much. It is one of my favorite cake. It has a mix flavor of coffee and chocolate also some liquor taste. The mascarpone cheese is so smooth and melt instantly in your mouth. I always thought it is very hard to make and the ingredients are hard to find. I found some recipes online and improvised them. Tiramisu is a no bake cheesecake unless you make the lady fingers from scratch.

**This is an eggless tiramisu recipe.

♥ Tiramisu ♥ 

Ingredients:
30 lady fingers (soft and hard)
1 cup espresso
2 tbsp coffee liqueur (optional)
2oz dark chocolate
1 cup whipping cream
1/4 cup sugar
8oz mascarpone cheese
cocoa powder (sprinkle on top)

Happy Valentines Day

1) Mix espresso and coffee liqueur in a bowl. Then soak the hard lady fingers with the espresso mixture.
2) Put the soaked lady fingers as a base in a mold.
3) Melt chocolate with half cup of whipping cream and let it cool.
4) Beat the remaining whipping cream until stiff.
5) Beat sugar, mascarpone cheese and rum. Then fold in whipping cream.
6) Spread 1/3 of chocolate mixture followed by 1/3 of mascarpone cheese mixture in mold.
7) Layer with soft lady fingers and brush espresso mixture on top. Repeat step 6) and 7).
8) Sieve a layer of cocoa powder on top. Serve chill.

Ta-dahh

Winter in The South

Happy Tuesday!

This outfit will be perfect for those who live in mild winter zone like the south part of the states or even some southeast asia countries which is summer all year long. It is also good for spring or fall.

A lightweight snowflake pattern sweater will never go out of style in the winter. To brighten up our look in the winter, I paired it with my favorite color - Tiffany blue chiffon high low skirt. High low skirt is very versatile and can be easily dressed up or down. For accessories, I would prefer dark color in this pairing to highlight the sweater and skirt. So I chose a pair of black loafers with studs (I love gold studs!) and a black cute purse. I think deep purple will go well with this outfit so I picked a purple watch which looks extremely cute with the pairing. The reason I picked up some black and white bangles is because I don't want the outfit to be so colorful as I want to stress out the snowflake sweater and tiffany blue skirt. I love to accessorize so I got this bunny headband. It is extremely cute and show the lively and playful side of you.

Snowflake sweater - Dorothy Perkins

High low skirt - Forever 21

Primrose bag - Kate Spade New York

Watch - Kate Spade New York

Bangles - Kate Spade New York

Headband - Asos

Lunar New Year Celebration

Happy lunar new year everyone!

Today is the first day (Jan 1st) of lunar calendar, we called it 'Chor Yat'. It is one of the most important day for most asians.

All the families get together on chinese new year eve for reunion dinner. The official color for chinese new year is red which means lucky and good fortune for the chinese. So don't be surprise if you see everyone wears red from top to toes. The senior members of the family will give the kids red envelope with cash in it which symbolizes happiness, health and prosperity.

On the first day of new year, families and friends visit each other, get together and celebrate it big. I'm still in college and couldn't go home to celebrate this big holiday. So this year my friends and I had a potluck dinner at my place and almost 35 people showed up. They threw a party after and everyone had fun.

Yee Sang

Foods

More foods and dessert!

Apartment full of people.

Beer pong fun.

Manicure: Pastel Polka

Hi everyone :)

I think spring is my favorite season. I know it's way too early to talk about spring but my nails couldn't wait to get painted in pastel colors!!

Pastel colors are my favorite! Tiffany blue, lavender, coral, lime, baby pink, mint..They are just too pretty. So I painted my nails in 2 of my favorite colors tiffany blue and lavender. I got these 2 colors from The Face Shop at Hmart in Naperville, IL. It was on sales. I got them on Black Friday sales and each color was only $1.50! What a great deal. I want my nails to look even cuter so I tried on the polka dots pattern. I use the end tip of bobby pin to make perfect round dots.

And ta-dah, here's the result :)

Crème Brûlée

Bonjour! Ça va bien?

Who doesn't love dessert? It's kind of hard to find my favorite desserts in this little campus town unless if I go to Chicago. So I always try to bake it myself teehee :P
Baking is one of my favorite things to do at home. As long as I have the ingredients, I can bake anytime even 4 in the morning!

I had crème brûlée couple times and it tastes so good. I always wanted to make it my own and I got the ramekins last month! It was easier than I thought.

**I don't have a torch so I didn't burn the top surface but it's okay. It tastes as good :)

Ingredients (filling):
2 whole eggs
1 egg yolk
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
6 oz milk
6 oz whipping cream

Ingredients (caramel):
1/2 cup sugar
3 oz water

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Beat eggs, sugar and vanilla essence.
3. Heat milk and whipping cream until warm (not boiling), leave it for 5 minutes off stove and pour to egg mixture.
4. Heat sugar and water for 15 minutes or until light brown or caramelize.
5. Pour caramel into 4 small ramekins then pour the egg mixture into each ramekins.
6. Bake it with water bath for 25 minutes.
7. Let it cool completely and keep in fridge for at least 3-4 hours. Serve chill.

Spring in Winter

Hi everyone. How was your Superbowl weekend?

I wanna share this cute pairing that I really like with you guys :)
The weather is very unpredicted in the winter. Well, at least in West Lafayette. It can go down to 15F today and up to 60F tomorrow. This spring in winter outfit can be worn when the weather is warming up little bit.

I have a lot of mustache stuffs. I think it looks really cute in every season. This sequin mustache sweater is a must-have. Burgundy is one of my favorite colors. I bought a pair of burgundy Hollister jeggings couple months ago and that's my most worn jeans so far. I was browsing Zappos webpage and I saw this cute fluffy leopard moccasin. And guess what, they are on sale! This fur moccasin will definitely keep your feet warm in this cold weather. Put on a cute winter-designed pom pom hat to keep your ears warm. The camel color purse is very versatile and the dash of bright pink adds cuteness to it. I chose this purple watch with gold trim because it looks more like a accessory and it matches the colorful thin bangles too. And don't forget your nails too! I think the gold nail polish will look really with this outfit.

Mustache sweater - Delia's
Jeggings - Hollister Co.
Fur moccasin - UGG Australia
Purse - Kate Spade
Watch - Kate Spade
Bangles - Kate Spade
Nail polish - Topshop