Monday, October 31, 2011

Rethink PInk: Breast Cancer Awareness Month


It's interesting to see how certain causes have taken on branding at such a high level that entire colours have been just given away at a whim. It started with AIDS awareness and the colour red, and then breast-cancer awareness followed suit by claiming the colour pink. Breast-cancer awareness went one better by claiming an entire month to itself, every October. Since today is the last day of Halloween, I thought we'd pay tribute with a little bit of pretty pink from Jason Wu's SS12 collection.

I'm a pink girl (I'm super girly, and not afraid to admit it) so that means that for one month a year, doing what I normally do -- carrying pink stuff wherever I go, and wearing it too -- actually counts as doing something charitable and promoting breast-cancer awareness. Let's not get too technical here, but the gist of it is that when we see pink, we should all be aware that breast cancer attacks women of all ages, and we should do exams and get regular check-ups. I'm feeling my boob right now for lumps. And wearing pink socks. You like that thought, don't you.

Anyway, it's also to promote visibility of the disease to promote support and raise funds. You can donate to the Hong Kong Cancer Fund on their website here, and for everyone who Likes the Cancer Fund Facebook page this month, The Body Shop will donate $5 as well, so definitely do that today. Go social media!

Images: Style.com

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Friday, October 28, 2011

Mani-Fest


Blogging ennui continues. The Geeks are going away next week and will take a week-long break, hopefully that will rejuvenate creativity, spirit and whatnot. I don't even want to READ other blogs, much less write them myself. All I want to do is go to Pottinger Street and figure out ways to DIY a swan's head out of a knee sock for my Bjork swan dress costume tonight (I have the white tutu and feather boa already).

In the meantime, I got totally BUSTED today for stealing Laura's mani-style... on Tuesday I saw her awesome nude+gold accent fingers and by Wednesday, when I was getting my monthly Groupon mani-pedi fix, I got them to do a black-and-gold version... but because they totally rushed and left MILLIONS of air bubbles in the top coat, I decided to camouflage the boo-boos by layering gold glitter to make a galaxy-ish nail look. The glitter doesn't show up well in the photo, sorry!

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Snap Away

So I had a DSLR playdate a couple weeks ago with some foodie tweeple. The goal was to give to pity to my dusty DSLR that was sitting in the closet for close to a year untouched and to celebrate @e_ting’s new squeeze. Of course, it ended up being an excuse to just pig out with laughter and wine. I think I ended up with only one photo. @mochachocolata and @g4gary were much more diligent and I couldn’t even use the excuse that my DSLR it too heavy to bring out coz it was held at my place! A couple days ago, I came across the world’s smallest digital camera and it looked so so cute. Of course, I tried to rationalize it to myself that since it’s small, I’ll take it out but then I recalled the DSLR playdate. Regardless, how adorable is this? For those who care about specs, the camera has an auto focus, uses a 2 MP image sensor that takes still images at 1600 x 1200 resolution and captures video at 30 fps at 640 x 480 resolution. Available at Hammacher Schlemmer

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Thursday, October 27, 2011

SHOErotica: Versace x H&M


From the still-life images, the Versace X H&M footwear looks a little lacklustre, but the campaign shots are fab!

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Bend It



How awesomely kitsch are these lamps that imitate bendy straws? I wish I had the space at home to place this in some corner in my living room. Unfortunately, I have a slight fixation with lighting and already have too many bottle lamps, standing lights etc in the room.

From Maximovich Designs.

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Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Parker? I Didn't Even Know 'er...


Probably the best-known wine critic in the world (hey, he was the first and for many years, the only one I knew of), Robert Parker will be landing in Hong Kong this November, taking in a series of wine-tasting events and dinner organised by Hermitage Wines Singapore, under the umbrella heading "Parker in Asia 2011: Demystifying Robert Parker's Wine Advocate". Along with the man of honour himself will be other key members of the Wine Advocate team, on board to help unveil the logic behind wine-tasting.

Now the question, readers, is this: how much would you pay to meet the world's leading wine luminary and peek inside his brain (or palate, as it were)? On November 9, up to 200 guests can pay US$950 to sit in on a master class and guided blind tasting at AMC.

The same evening, there's an "Up Close and Personal Dinner with Robert Parker" at Petrus at the Island Shangri-La, at which you'll sit at the same table as Parker and join him in tasting 10 world-class wines with a specially created tasting menu. Want in on that? Get your paddle ready to wave -- it's by charity auction only, starting bid US$10,000. Half of the winning bids go to Operation Santa Claus.

"Les Fruits de la Vigne" is the Hermitage's annual signature wine dinner at AMC, bringing together top wine critics, chefs and of course, vino itself. It's hosted by Neal Martin and Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW of Wine Advocate, and runs up a tab of US$1,800 a head.

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Dressed Up

So I was looking at the bottle in the Piper Heidsieck x Jean Paul Gaultier Limited Edition Cross-over collaboration and thinking hmmm it’s just a bottle in netting.. what’s so special about that? Well turns out this is where the press release comes in handy. There are times when you really do need to be told and can’t be shown. The release waxes lyrical about the black latex dress and fishnet design and how the ‘eyeliner black complements the lipstick red perfectly.’ What do you think? Laziness on JPG’s behalf or just lack of inspiration?

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Tuesday, October 25, 2011

The Casetagram Craze


Spotted via Gizmodo this awesome site Casetagram, a service which enables you to create a personalized iPhone case using your Instagram photos. It's a seriously simple interface, which allows you to choose from four layouts and two colours (clear or white). Just log in to your Instagram account and drag 'n drop the photos directly onto the template, or click "random" to have it pick out photos for you. Best part? It's seriously reasonably priced. US$35 including free international shipping? No wonder I immediately logged in and created a couple of samples, one Foxy-themed and another food-themed (God, my life is sad). It's considered cheesy to have a mug emblazoned with your dog's portrait, I know, but for some reason, the chic geometric designs make this ever-so-slightly cooler, no?

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Walk Like a Man

Keen of eye and loud of mouth, hkManStyleGeek tells you what to look out for on the streets. It ain’t always pretty.

John was just walking along after PE class, minding his business when Aaron surprised him from behind and stuck both his hands down the back of his shorts. John was mortified. He turned to Aaron and pleaded for him to stop before he even started. But Aaron liked a little resistance during his conquests. He smirked a bit before tensing his fingertips around the band of John’s briefs. Aaron let out a short but sharp gasp, clinched his eyes shut and waited for the piercing pain to shoot up his ass.

For those who didn’t attend high school in North America, the above scenario is generally known as a Wedgie: The act of one’s underwear being pulled upwards by another person so that it lodges improbably deep into the rectal cavity. Walking normally by the victim is a near impossibility after said act.

It causes pain to the victim and all who witness it.

It’s no coincidence that when girls wear cheap, second-rate wedges on our city streets they walk in the same type of pain as John in the wedgie scenario.

I don’t think I can take much more.

Image: hkManStyleGeek

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Monday, October 24, 2011

Sunday Funday


I'm suffering from something like blogging ennui. A severe case of blogger blues. I hate the internet, I don't want to read any more fashion news, or see any more outfits, or think about retail therapy or designer accessories or fashion icons. But part of starting this blog was making a commitment to put ink to web, five times a week. Do you feel like you need a holiday sometimes? I was supposed to go to Bangkok last weekend, but obviously the flooding made it a bad idea. We were going to book an eleventh-hour visit to Shanghai, but my damn visa expired. So instead, my mini-break was to Cyberport doggie park. It started with a trip to Innside Out for Brunch by Jeffrey's. I don't know who Jeffrey is, but I guess he's the guy who does brunch on Sundays, which is the only time you want to eat at Innside Out. The food is actually good. Love that their "fruit salad" actually comes with a side of fruity tangy sweet salad dressing. We got Eggs Oscar and Beef Brisket Hash. Yes they were yums.


We went to Pacific Coffee for coffee and then to Cyberport, where a playground of doggies awaited. We always put Foxy in the backseat, but she never stays there. Most of the time she sort of straddles the armrest, balancing on it precariously as her back legs dangle helplessly in the air. When we put the car in reverse to park, she somehow finds the oomph to propel herself into the driver's lap.

The lipstick is Nars Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Damned, for anyone who's interested. My lips were dry so I had to layer it with gloss; otherwise that stuff never comes off, it's great.


Why so Chinese-looking, Foxy?


Awwww chow chow in a wheelchair...


Spot the real Foxy.


Sexy Sanuks.


Loving LC's Ksubi sunnies.



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Bag Lady: Charlotte Olympia Pandora Feather Clutch


I am in love. I've been wanting a lucite clutch for ages yet been a bit wishy washy in buying one but when I stumbled upon the Charlotte Olympia Pandora Feather Clutch, my heart skipped a lil beat. At US$995, it's definitely not cheap but just look at how pretty it is! Methinks it's time to do some DIY. Now to find a relatively cheap one to try it out.

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Friday, October 21, 2011

Scare Tactics


Food presentation is normally about making dishes look as pretty as possible -- a flourish of sauce here, a calculated dribble of colour there, an architectural marvel built from meat and potatoes... you get the drift. But all bets are off when Halloween descends upon Hong Kong, a fact that's especially true at Ava restaurant at Hotel Panorama, the newly opened sister restaurant to Azure (that's way, way better). Chef Mike Boyle throws caution to the wind to concoct dishes that are unabashedly gory, a mashup of blood, guts and great ingredients that hopefully taste much better than they look.

We Geeks don't often venture to the dark side but this might be reason enough to! The other reason would be that I've actually already been to Ava, and on regular days the food is pretty good -- awesome Rhug Estate meatiness and truly creative concepts that you wouldn't expect in some random TST hotel. For Halloween, the dishes include "Poor Little Lamb", "The Car Accident", "What's That" and the obligatory "Cemetary", among others. But if you want your dishes a little less bloodied, try the unique Boston lobster appetizer, the wood-smoked melt-in-your-mouth Atlantic salmon or the langoustine with gnocchi -- best gnocchi I've had in Hong Kong. For dessert, get them to make the ice cream table-side, with the aid of liquid nitrogen. Pretty cool stuff, and great lightweight ice cream.

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Tokidoki Barbie



I always thought I didn’t pay much attention to Barbie news but apparently, in the years we’ve been geeking out together, I’ve mentioned Barbie quite a bit, the now defunct Barbie dining experience in Shanghai, the Computer Geek Barbie and the world’s most expensive Barbie complete with her own necklace featuring a one-carat fancy vivid pink diamond alongside three carats of white diamonds. And now I’m here to tell you that I kinda like the latest iteration of Barbie. The tokidoki Barbie that had pink hair and tats. But what I’m more enamored by is her cactus friend, Bastardino. Cute, prinkly and an awesome name. What’s not to love?

Get it at tokidoki

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SHOErotica: Christian Louboutin Big Dorcet Suede Pumps


I've been feeling a bit of that Louboutin backlash lately, but there's nothing like a good pin heel to remind you why you fell in love in the first place. Should you like the look but not the price tag, Zara's got some similar pumps in stock, although I saw a woman teetering in them down the slopey part of Wyndham Street yesterday and it wasn't pretty. She was pretty, the precarious walk -- not so much. But if all you plan to do is stand around and look hot, these are where it's at, n'est-ce pas?

Get them at net a porter.

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Thursday, October 20, 2011

Lace Up

Mention FitFlops and I almost always get a polarizing reaction from people. There are those who judge them fugly, those who think they are uber comfortable but still ugly and those who are just frankly in love with them. Someone on twitter was saying how FitFlops are to summer what Uggs are to winter. Take that statement how you will, I have friends who love Uggs and can’t wait for the cool weather to come but I suspect the original tweeter was in the hater category. Regardless, FitFlops have been doing well and now they’ve decided to tackle the coming winter season with a ‘multi-occasion collection.’ What do you think fellow Geeks?

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Wednesday, October 19, 2011