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Archive for the ‘Vanity’ Category

The Oxygen Bar Experience

16 Aug

As much as I enjoy visiting Las Vegas, I can’t say it’s the healthiest place in the world for a vacation, especially not for me and my lung issues.  With all the excessive walking and continuous consumption of alcohol, food, and the large numbers of smokers, the air quality, especially inside the casinos, might just be the death of me.

As I was panting on the way back to our room from a long day, and regretting the fact that I had not brought a portable oxygen with me, we coincidentally spotted a small nook with colorful bubbly liquid  and a big sign that says “oxygen bar”. I thought to myself, “well, if only that’s real oxygen!” It turns out that the powers that be from above heard me, and it was, in fact, just what I needed, real oxygen.

The place looks just like a real bar. In front of each bar stool  was a small apparatus with several plastic cylinders filled with colored liquids, and a small control panel with a series of dials. The hot, friendly bartender (if you can call her that) explained how the session works. You pay for oxygen based on a fixed period of time— US$10 for 10 minutes or $20 for 20 minutes. Each customer gets a nasal cannula (a thin plastic tube that goes over the ears and has nozzles that fit loosely into each nostril – just like the one I have at home from the hospital). This is attached to the apparatus with the cylinders, each of which contains flavored, aromatheraphy water. Oxygen is fed through the liquid and then into the cannula; you choose which scent or combination of scents you’d like using the dials—choices included scents like eucalyptus, lavender, and lemon.

And so I began breathing. This isn’t something new to me since I do this at home all the time, but I felt like I look rather silly wearing tubes in my nose, in public. In bars, people usually know how to look at each other and carry on a conversation. But those rules don’t seem to apply at an oxygen bar. It feels very unnatural to have a casual conversation with someone when you’re both tethered by the nose to a bubbling machine. Later on, the bartender offered a series of different massages and oils to enhance and heighten the experience.

When my 20-minute sessions ended, I left, tipped and took my disposable nasal cannula as a souvenir. I felt really good and relieved—clear-headed, alert, content—pretty much the opposite of what I would have felt had I just left an ordinary bar. I recommend it to anyone, whether you really need oxygen for health purposes, or if you just need a whiff of fresh air.
 
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iPhone 4 Cases You’ll Love

23 Jul

Gelaskins

Made from 3M premium easy-on, easy-off, scratch-resistant materials, these iPhone 4 Skins are pretty much the best skins on the planet! GelaSkins are removable covers for protecting and customizing your portable devices. They feature stunning, photo-quality graphics ranging from fine art prints to contemporary urban images designed by hundreds of their growing family of artists from around the globe. You can even design your own using the Gelaskin Creator and stand out in the crowd with personalized protection from GelaSkins.

(*) Speck

If you’re a big fan of hard cases for added protection for your iPhone 4 but won’t settle for those cheap-looking ones you’ll find at the mall kiosks, (*) Speck has the sickest and classiest designs you’ll ever find. Their starting line-up includes PixelSkin, Fitted, CandyShell, and the newest PixelSkin HD and Geometric. A few of these iPhone 4 Cases from Speck are already in stock at AT&T retail stores nationwide.

 
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The One Nailpolish Color That Makes Every Girl Happy

16 Jul

It’s summer, and the weekend is almost here! If you’re feeling fab and pretty like me, why not paint your nails in a fun color that makes every girl happy!

 
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How to Rock Black Lipstick

28 Mar

My interest in black lipstick was piqued a few weeks ago when I discovered this picture of Lady Gaga, in which then that I also learned that Lancôme has launched a black lip gloss (Color Fever Gloss in Piha Black, $23) in its spring collection. Other additions to the category include Le Métier de Beauté Lip Metamorphosis in Black Magic ($36) and MAC PRO Lipmix in Black ($11.50).

Black lipstick had infected the wildly gothic creations of several designers. But how—and why—would anyone not slouching down a catwalk wear it?

According to Valerie Steele, director of the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City and co-author of Gothic: Dark Glamour, “This has been a very gothic moment for fashion, and cosmetics are inextricably linked to fashion,” She says that for black lipstick to work, you’ve got to embrace the whole decadent, unhealthy, tubercular look, she says. “You wear black lipstick with floaty black garments,” says Steele. “It can be a very dramatic evening look.”

Right. I’m not exactly sure I can pull it off, but maybe some of you can.

 
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Look like you Splurged on these Ballet Flat Steals

27 Mar

Who says fancy looking shoes have to be expensive? When shopping for cheap ballet flats, I usually opt for fancy details, ornaments, patents and metallic like these ones. Details like these are guaranteed to make you look like a million dollar, for about less than 1o0 bucks.

Here are my top choices

(l-r) Silver with gem details from Calvin Klein and quilted patent with gold button from Anne Klein (No, they’re not related)

Get 20% off on 1 pair, 25% off on 2 pairs, and 30% off on 3 pairs

at the Signature Sale at Lord & Taylor.

 
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Le Blanc

27 Mar

White is the color of the month (at least in my world). Spring might be all about colors and floral patterns, but that’s what makes  anything white stand out even more this season. Here are some random white stuff that I like:

a Chanel flap bag in white patent leather

a pair of white “LO & VE” shirt

a pair of classic white Doc Marten’s boots

a white cocktail dress

a white Hermes, and finally…

my future Porsche 911 GT3 named Sebastien Bellamy!

 
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Balenciaga Medium Paper Bag

18 Mar

I think I just found THE bag that’s perfect for the spring/summer season. It’s casual yet stylish, and most of all… ROOMY! The bag comes in two hues, brown and blue, made of soft leather exterior, and suede interior. The brown is a great basic to have in the closet and can go well with many different outfits, but as any bag aficionado would know, Balenciaga is known for their bright colorful purses, so the blue one might also be a great way to go! This earthy-inspired paper bag looking piece might just be the perfect go-to handbag for all my crap.

 
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Chanel Temporary Skin Art (Limited Edition)

16 Mar

As seen on the Spring 2010 Chanel Runway Show, these temporary ink were created by global creative director Peter Philips designed for the Chanel Paris runway show. A pack has five sheets each (with 55 total designs included) and starting in mid-February they were being sold for $75.00 at Chanel.com

The tattoos feature the iconic double C’s, some lace, rosaries, Karl Lagerfeld chains, and some birds. They retail for $78, and that’s dirt cheap for Chanel, but outrageously expensive for some temporary ink. Hey, I’d rock ‘em, maybe on nights when I’m feeling a little punk rock classy!

 
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Leica M7 Camera Hermès Edition

14 Mar

Leica’s M7 Hermes limited edition camera was released back in November last year where it came in a limited production of 100 units, retailing for a whopping $14,265 per unit. This is the second time both Leica and Hermes Paris have come together. The camera features a metal finish, back finished in silver chrome, matching auto and flash settings with the camera’s leather, and omission of the red Leica logo. I , on the other hand, have the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3 which also uses Leica lenses . You can settle for that if you can’t afford to blow a fortune but wants to get the same outcome. I’d rather save my money for an actual Birkin!

 
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Chanel Baby Animals Ballet Flats

10 Mar

They won’t give you the added inches, but ballerina flats are so adorable I just couldn’t pass them up.

Aren’t these babies cute or what? These Chanel ballerina flats patterned with baby animals give a whole new meaning to animal print.

Being the vertically-challenged girl that I am, I have always been quite reluctant to wear  ballet flats, especially to work. Recently, I’ve come to terms with  the fact that at my age, I am not going to get any taller, and that there will always be heels on occasions where I need a little vertical boost, which isn’t very often anymore.

 
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