The catwalks: Donna Karan and Peter Som SS06
The catwalks: Marc by Marc Jacobs SS06 and Miu Miu FW05
Roberto Cavalli FW05 campaign
Du Juan -In China, she's most famously known as Miss China 2003. To us, she's the beautiful Chinese girl who graced the first ever Chinese Vogue cover along with Gemma Ward. She was only seen on a few catwalks, but she's got great potential and she really is quite exquisite looking. I'm sure we'll be seeing more of her in next season's shows.
Vogue China Sept. cover -Du Juan is on the far left, (next to Gemma)
Vogue Paris Oct. cover -From the same photoshoot with Gemma
On the catwalk in Diane von Furstenburg SS06 -she looks so pretty here!
The first mascara was one by Shiseido Maquillage. I can't remember the exact name of the mascara and the official site is in Japanese so this is just from what the saleslady told us. The mascara had one one of those flat combs and it had a waterproof formula. It was supposedly a light, volume-enhancing mascara, although when pushed further, the saleslady also claimed that it was supposed to legnthen your lashes. She quickly curled my lashes and tried some on my lashes. The result? My lashes sort of clumped together and I looked like I had half the lashes I actaully had. Plus, they looked barely legnthened and only a bit volume-ised. I removed the mascara immediately and moved on.
The second mascara was the Projectionist by Estee Lauder, which I've been meaning to try out for awhile. I had my reservations because it was not available waterproof, but the 'High Definition Volume Mascara' ad looked so tempting so I had to give it a try. The saleslady curled my lashes, put on many coats of mascara base, and then many many coats of the Projectionist. She put on so many coats of mascara that my eyes literally teared up. 
Flowers. I know. How generic. But honestly I've never done this before and really, what females don't like recieving flowers? This is a especially nice gesture if you are living abroad from home, as it makes recieving flowers from you even more special since its THERE. My friend does this every year and her mom still loves it. I am especially loving tulips as its colorful, pretty and refreshing.
Something a bit more personal and sentimental, I love the idea of an album especially made for your mom, its so meaningful! Even a small keychain with a picture of you and your mom would be cute. I can totally imagine my mom using a keychain like this- kind of like when parents keep pictures of their kids in their wallets- now they can have it on their keychain. Shutterfly is just awesome. 
A little more practical, I thought of getting beauty stuff. Since I'll never know what the right eye shadow color (I'm not sure my mom uses eye shadows...) or lipstick is, body lotion and sunscreen is a safe bet that is also very useful. Everyone needs to keep their skin moisturized and protected. My mom is partial to the Lancome Treson collection. And this new Lancome facial sunscreen looks like a good one, I tried the older versions and thought they were quite ok.
And onto the subject of beauty, nail varnishes isn't a bad idea either. You can't go THAT wrong, especially if you go with fairly nuetral pinkish colors that are both subtle and very this spring/summery, like this pink one from OPI called Malaysian Mist. Oh and don't forget to get the base/top coat for a complete set. OPI has this great Start to Finish bottle (left) that is both a base AND a top coat! Even better, get you and your mom a manicure(and/or pedicure) treatment at a salon for a mother and daughter bonding session!
Speaking of bonding, what better way to spend more time together than to watch movies with comedy, romance and a focus on mother-daughter relationships? I especially loved Because I Said So, Diane Keaton and Mandy Moore were sooo great. And if you have more time, then you must go for a marathon with our favourite tv mother and daughter- the Gilmore Girls! There'd be SO much to discuss afterwards too!
But that is not quite my mom, because she doesn't watch these kind of shows. So in the end, I got her earrings. One looking similar to the drop ones above from Sheila Fajl (left), except mine were pearl drops. And another pair of hoops from Ralph by Ralph Lauren similar to the one above (right) also by Ralph by RL. I actually have the exact same pair, and since she's always been saying how it suits her face more, I decided to get her one too!
So that sit for my ideas this year. But really, gift ideas for Mother's day never goes old. So if this is still not quite what you're looking for, check out our last two Mother's Day posts for more inspiration, here and here!
Photo Credits: Amazon.com, Nordstrom, OPI and Shutterfly.
The Anya Hindmarch environmental bag. I love the simple yet cute design of the bag. It almost does not look like an environmental bag! For $10, I really want one, it definitely looks better than a bunch of plastic bags for one thing. But alas, it is currently sold out. Hopefully they will restock soon!
One brand which is doing these tops is Zucca.
These (Zucca) tops are so casual and easy to wear. Just throw them on with jeans or denim shorts.
Another brand which is doing this is Vanessa Bruno. The VB ones are of course, more elegant and feminine and less of the jeans-and-t-shirt look than Zucca's. Love the dress on the right.
I think this is the top that got me into this look. Don't the 'sleeves' look like wings? It's style can be casual or smart -makes it kind of suitable for different looks.
Daryl K's Doctored Dress is more of 'hole-in-the-sleeves' dress. I think the black and orange dress (right) is sort of cool, but I've tried it on and the dress is hard to pull off. (That's when I realised I should stop obsessing over this type of tops.)
Now this Ann Demeulemeester tunic is just simple and cool. It has a very effortless vibe. A similar top is the one on the right by Maria Bonita. It feels younger than the Demeulemeester tunic but just not as chic.
And here is how real life people (as opposed to mannequins) wear these tops. Isn't it so cute? And see what I mean by the sleeves dangling down?
Nicole Richie looking very casual chic in one of these tops and shorts. Loves it!
It's just so simple and understated, with a feminine but elegant bow on the side that doesn't make me look like a little girl. The subtle shiny navy blue color subtly contrasts with my black hair, making it appear even more black, which effectively is the effect I aim for. It's the perfect headband to carry me into fall, since it's so subtle I can probably wear it with everything.
First I apply the oil free tinted moisturiser by Laura Mercier. It's excellent at making one's skin tone look even and it's seriously easy to apply -just use a tiny bit and use your fingers to spread a very thin layer on your face.
Then I apply blush. I usually use MAC's Pinch'O'Peach, which is a pale, orangey, mocha colour. But last Sunday, I just bought a blush named Well Dressed, which is pale pink. It really gives me the natural, prettily-blushed look.
Then I curl my lashes with my underused Shu Uemura eyelash curler. (But I'm way too lazy to apply mascara, or rather, to remove the mascara at the end of the night. Plus mascara makes my whole look feel made-up.)
Lastly, if I'm in a very good mood and have time left before leaving, I apply a teeny tiny bit of this brownish brown eye pencil (MAC's Bountiful Brown) on the outer eyelines (upper and lower eyelines).
It's always nice to know the explanation behind things, but at the end of the day, it's not like we can control our brains and not be stressed just so we don't get breakouts. So my solution is: damage control! I really recommend Origins Spot Remover. It's one of the only over-the-counter acne products that has actually helped calm and minimise my pimples. (When I say it works, I mean it helps. It does not work miralces!) No, I'm not getting paid to promote it! If you have other recommendations, leave it a comment.
