SCENTS OF SUMMER

Summer is in full swing here in China and a change of season is always the perfect excuse to buy new things...new clothes, new shoes and of course, new perfume! If you're a self-confessed perfume addict like me and constantly looking for the next best-smelling bottle of goodness...it's time to shop!

For summertime, since the heat is on, it's best to leave the musky and heavy scents for the colder seasons. Fresh, light and breezy are best in warm, humid weather.

Here are my summer picks:

CHANEL NO. 5 EAU PREMIERE

Eau de Parfum

http://www.chanel.com

I really love Chanel No. 5’s woody, powdery, floral scent. But I know the original one is not everyone’s cup of tea. Many people claim it smells too old-fashioned. To be honest, I don't agree with that, although, it is definitely a heavy perfume.  So I prefer the lighter version of the fragrance that was released in 2008, Chanel No. 5 Eau Premiere. Eau Premiere still keeps the distinct scent of No.5 with the familiar notes of Ylang-Ylang & Jasmine Absolute, yet is also slightly different with a little more citrus and rose notes in it. It is lighter and fresher but still elegant & sophisticated. Perfect for everyday and even in hot weather! 

VERSACE BRIGHT CRYSTAL

Eau de Toilette

http://www.versace.com

This is my new favorite now! I've basically been using this everyday and it's my go-to scent this summer. Bright Crystal is a fruity floral scent that smells unbelievably posh. That's the best way to describe it. It's very refreshing and light, yet lasts pretty long on the skin. This pleasant scent has fruity top notes of yuzu and pomegranate, floral middle notes of peony, magnolia and lotus, and base notes of musk and amber. Experience its juicy goodness this summer!

DURANCE LOTUS-LAVENDER

Eau de Toilette

http://www.duranceusa.com

I love the scent of lavender so I'm always on the hunt for the perfect lavender fragrance. Durance Lotus-Lavender Eau de Toilette smells amazing and is my latest discovery amongst the many lavender perfumes out there. The mix of lotus and lavender notes creates a sparkling and fresh aroma. The fragrance is described as aromatic, herbaceous, balsamic, rustic, powdery and iridescent. It smells clean, green and wonderful.

LUSH KARMA KREAM 

Hand and Body Lotion

http://www.lushusa.com

I can't believe I just discovered this recently! My mom-in-law introduced me to it when I smelled this amazing scent on her. LUSH Karma Kream is a hand and body lotion that smells like a spicy, citrus dream. The unique scent is made up of the intoxicating fragrances of orange flower, lemongrass and patchouli. It also contains cocoa butter and almond oil to soften and calm skin. When you put this on, you don't need perfume at all! The scent lasts all day yet is light enough to wear in summer. Best of all, all LUSH products are handmade, organic and against animal testing. 

Last but not the least, my latest obsession and on my current wish list...

ARMANI CODE FOR WOMEN

Eau de Parfum

http://www.giorgioarmanibeauty-usa.com

This signature fragrance for women from Giorgio Armani is captivating and just lovely. A blend of Orange blossom, Madagascar vanilla, Sambac jasmine, sandalwood and honey gives this perfume a powerful radiance that cannot be ignored! Super feminine and sensual...in my opinion, this can be worn all year round! A fragrance for all seasons!

SAKURA DREAMS

Spring has finally sprung upon us here in Dalian and the best thing about it is witnessing the amazing array of flowers and foliage suddenly appearing all around you. The city just blooms with greenery and colors as far as the eye can see. It is an ideal time to go hiking at the many city parks or go out of town to the nearby districts like Lushunkou to see the many spring flowers such as sakura, peach blossoms, winter jasmines, azalea, magnolia and butterfly orchids.

I, however, just cannot ignore the powerful beauty of the cherry blossoms, also popularly known as “sakura” from the Japanese. They are simply breathtaking when seen up close and here are some close-up pics I took on a recent trip to Lushunkou District, Dalian.

A WALK INSIDE THE FORBIDDEN GATE

A trip to Beijing just isn't the same without a visit to The Fobidden City - the Chinese Imperial Palace and home to past emperors and their households for almost 500 years, from the Ming Dynasty until the end of the Qing Dynasty. Its massive and amazing presence sits right at the heart and center of Beijing.

The palace complex was built in 1406 until 1420 and consists of 980 buildings. It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987 and has the largest collection of preserved ancient wooden structures in the world.

The throne in the Hall of Preserving Harmony
surrounded by ancient red wooden columns

Many interesting structures and symbols are found all throughout the Forbidden City. The ceremonial ramps at the center of the northern and southern ramp leading up to the terraces feature intricate and elaborate bas-relief carvings. The ramp behind the Hall of Preserving Harmony is carved from a single piece of stone - 16.57 meters long and weighing 200 tons.

The ceremonial ramp and its elaborate
bas-relief carvings

The Hall of Supreme Harmony's rooftop featuring ten
lined up statuettes of animals - the only building
at the time allowed to have this many - a symbol of
supreme status.

Many ridges of the building roofs feature a line of statuettes of various animals including a phoenix and a dragon. Minor buildings only have three to five, but The Hall of Supreme Harmony has ten, a unique feature in the Forbidden City, symbolizing the building as a very important one during Imperial times.

A gilded lion in front of the
Palace of Tranquil Longevity

Walking through this massive complex of Chinese ancient architecture, secrets, ancient stories and symbols was an amazing peep into China's imperial past and its many mysteries....some of which we may never discover from a time gone by.

GOING BRONZE WITH ELLE GIRL

The sight of my pale, white face in the mirror everyday for the last few months was enough for me to start the search for much needed bronzer....and believe me, it is hard to come by in China! This is the land of skin whitening...where umbrellas are used during summer and the skin is safely shielded from the sun as much as possible. But since Spring and Summer are slowly on their way, I really needed to get a much healthier glow.

So, I was smiling from ear to ear when I found my latest discovery...Elle Girl Cosmetics! Elle Girl Cosmetics are sold in Sephora stores all around China. The cute, fancy packaging caught my attention right away. They have a wide range of products from lipsticks, eyeshadows, eyeliners, blush, foundation, powders and my favorite: their multifunctional products. One of them, Balthazar's Favorite Multifunctional Powder, can be used on the eyes as eyeshadow, cheeks as blush and all over the face as a highlighter, illuminator and bronzer. I love the way this powder gives my face a nice bronze sheen that looks really natural and lightly sun-kissed. I mean, what could be better than that?

Elle Girl Balthazar's Favorite Multifunctional Powder 

gives a nice healthy golden glow to the cheeks and face. 

This comes in two shades: brown/bronze shades 

and pink/blush shades. (238rmb) (US$38)

Here are some other products from Elle Girl worth checking out: 

Elle Girl Colorista Eye Shadow Quadro (198rmb) (US$32)

Elle Girl Kiss Kiss Velvet Lipstick comes in many beautiful shades.

(148rmb) (US$24)

http://ellegirl-cosmetics.cn

Available at Sephora stores all over China

JIAOZI CRASH COURSE

Last week, Marc & I had the honor of being invited to our Chinese friends' beautiful home for a dumpling dinner as part of the continuing Chinese New Year week celebrations. Eating dumplings or "jiaozi" in Mandarin (pronounced jiyao-dzuh) is a big tradition of Chinese New Year week, usually eaten during the fifth day in Northern China. Dumplings are said to symbolize wealth because of their shape which looks like the gold ingot from ancient China. They also symbolize bidding farewell to the old and ushering in the new. 

Chopping chives for the dumpling stuffing

I got my first ever course in dumpling making through the expert skills of my Chinese friends, and it was great  fun. Making the stuffing is easy enough which consists of a mixture of ground pork, peeled shrimps, a special Chinese garlic-soy sauce, Chinese powdered seasoning, and chopped chives. But placing the stuffing neatly into the dumpling wrappers and folding them into that famous fan-shape, an almost accordion-like shape was trickier than I thought! 

Learning to properly fold the dumpling

My first few dumplings looked abysmal (as Simon Cowell used to say on American Idol) to say the least! But after watching closely, observing and a little practice...I started to get the hang of it and little by little, my dumplings finally started to take shape. I still don't think I would ever be hired to make dumplings in a restaurant....but for a home-cooked meal, I'd say I didn't do that bad. 

After the dumplings are all set, all that's left is to boil them in a pot while constantly stirring under gently, so they don't stick to the bottom. Adding a little salt to the water separates the dumplings from sticking to each other as well. 

The dumplings all ready to be boiled

I learned a lot in this crash course and hope to make some more "jiaozi" in the future, but for now, I'll just enjoy what I love doing best...eating them! They are just DELICIOUS!!

RINGING IN THE YEAR OF THE SNAKE!

Chinese New Year week just ended a few days ago and welcomed the arrival of the Year of the Snake amidst all the crazy celebration dinners and noisy fireworks that went on daily until the wee hours of the morning. Despite the noise that went on for days, the brightly lit sky and colorful firework displays were beautiful to look at and essential to bring good fortune for the new year.

This has been my first post in more than a month now. I'm blaming this partially on my state of semi-hibernation due to the freezing temperatures over here in Northeast China. Going out and discovering new things just isn't applicable during the winter months here in Dalian, so forgive me, but I will make up for it!

So, what can we look forward to this year according to the Chinese Lunar Calendar? Well, 2013 is the Year of the Water Snake to be precise. People born in 1953 and this year 2013 are Water Snakes, said to be influential, motivated, insightful and highly intellectual. Snakes work well with others but are also often private and reveal their innermost feelings only to those closest to them.

Some predictions say that 2013 will be a year of new discoveries in research and technology. When doing business deals, contracts etc., a little caution and good planning is recommended. With a lot of hard work, achieving one's dreams looks promising this year. This is also a year of looking inside yourself for more direction, knowledge or spirituality.

What are you looking forward to this year? Happy Year of the Snake!

Chinese New Year decorations primarily consist of red and gold
and the fish symbols, which bring good fortune.

Red Lanterns are also favorite decorations

The Hilton Bear all dressed up for Chinese New Year

LA TAVERNA'S HOME MADE ITALIAN

Hope you all had a great holiday season!! This is my first post after the New Year and over the holidays and what better way to start the year than with some good old home made Italian food? I love Italian food and can sincerely eat it every single day of my life. No joke. I really don't need anything else.

On a recent visit to Shanghai and a pleasant walk around the former French Concession, Marc and I bumped into one of the hidden secrets and possibly our greatest discovery in the charming brick-lined street of Fumin lu: a little Italian restaurant called La Taverna. La Taverna boasted real home made style Italian food from the colorful signs outside, the cozy interiors and soft country ambience. Why not, we thought. Let's give it a try!

La Taverna's cozy interiors

Fresh-cut flowers adorn the tables

As we settled down into the cute chairs and smelled the fresh-cut flowers lovingly decorating the tables, we instantly felt comfortable and warm. The menu is extensive and made it really hard to choose. We chose a Bruschetta with tomato and basil to start with which was amazingly delicious. The bread was perfectly crunchy and tomatoes and basil were fresh. Then, I ordered my favorite Spaghetti Bolognese (a bolognese done well is truly incredible) and Marc went for the Risotto Milanese. For a few minutes, we were not talking as we savored the food..it was that good! 

Bruschetta with Tomato and Basil

Spaghetti Bolognese

This is a gem of a place and a great restaurant to take friends or family who are visiting Shanghai...we will definitely be back!

La Taverna

148 Fumin lu near Julu lu

Tel: +8621 64183991

Email: hello@latavernashanghai.com

www.latavernashanghai.com