What is Happiness

Life is too short to have someone else dictate your life and tell you what you can or can not do. <3

BB Creams - Are they worth it and Do they do the job?

I want to talk about BB creams today.
BB cream is considered popular in Asia but actually the majority of the craze and popular brands are from South Korea.

Three years ago, I would've been tempted to write a history and detailed functions, but I don't think this product needs any introduction anymore. Everyone knows about it - heck, literally every Youtuber gives an obligatory speech about its inception in Germany and that its original purpose was to help patients recover their skin after surgery. The typical BB cream will promise you sun protection, evened out skin tone, brightening, anti-wrinkle, skin whitening, pimple-reducing... flawless skin, if you use it constantly. I don't know about you, but it sounds to me like the product is biting more it can chew. Plus, I'm not sure if we even need all of those properties. At the end of the day, I'm just looking for a good product to cover some acne and give me sun protection.

I knew about these "Blemish Balm" products since a dozen years ago. The list of ingredients a lot of which I didn't know, plus the sheer amount of claims to help the skin worried me. But what's funny, is that I finally started using them (the popular Korean brands) after getting a sample of a Japanese tinted moisturizer - actually it was actually from the famous Shiseido white lucent line. I think it was a tinted cream or something with uv protection. Sun protection is really important to keep your face youthful. Eventually, curiosity got to me (probably cause of the crazy product promises?!) so I began my BB cream journey.

In my collection of these products, the gold bottle Skin79 seems to be what I grab for the most, out of the three top selling BB creams I own. I'm a sucker for good reviews and cute packaging and they fit into both categories.
Here are the three I'm going to discuss:

1. Skin79 Super+ BB cream Triple Function (Gold Label)
2. Skin79 Super+ BB cream Triple Function (Pink Label)
3. The super famous Missha BB cream

In a nutshell, all three bb creams are quite good, but I'm not liking the ashy undertones. When can I find a warm, peachy color? The gray cast from especially the Skin79 ones bother me, too white. But if I had to pick one to use out of the three, I'd pick gold label because it is moisturizing, light, and covers most of my blemishes and discolorations. The Missha one is just like the Skin79 one except that the formula is thicker (better coverage). Also important to note is the Missha bb cream has a strong fragrance. But now I'm looking for a better bb cream (or maybe just go for a typical Western foundation like the ones from MakeupForever or Smashbox).

There's a ton of reviews out there who say Dr. Jart's silver label bb creams are #1, and the consensus is that the majority of Skin Food bb creams are of mediocre quality. Lioele and Hanskin brands both have good reviews. 

Currently, I'm looking into BB creams with light and medium-heavy coverage because my skin tends to  look good one day but not the next day.

A Trip to Vancouver BC

Vancouver, in the summer, is a hill-less Seattle, a palm tree heaven, and plenty of high-rises. 

Locations visited:

• Stanley Park
• Aberdeen Centre
• Yaohan Centre

People are quite stylish here (completely just observation, so don't take my word for it), and we even chanced on a girl getting her photos taken for a fashion blog near one fancy high-rise. In the suburbs, maybe in Surrey or Burnaby, I'm not sure, the neighborhoods are neatly arranged like on a grid and clean. This is a city known for its huge Asian population, namely Chinese people. They don't like you to forget that - One thing you'll notice is the ubiquity of real-estate signs and advertisements at bus stops that are written in Chinese.

At Stanley, there was a pleasant beach atmosphere without the overbearing summery heat that arises typically with Los Angeles and other Southern beaches.First place we went to was the park. At first, I was a bit annoyed that we arrived around noon, which is the least desirable time to go to a park, where the sun is blazing like an angry man. But...

Stanley Park was amazing (today)! The beautiful clear day contributed to my increased liking for this place. Though, not having visiting it for half a decade, I’d definitely forgotten how pretty it is. In essence, this is a children’s park with beaches scattered around the island. And it doesn't hurt that there are vendors selling hot crepes and other foods next to the beaches!

Parking was a pain in the butt. We circled the area like vultures and --- and --- FINALLY. I was physically drained by the time we set foot on the actual park, but I guess it was still worth the effort. But next time, we shall try not to come on a Sunday (but the other days are workdays for people >.< hard to find time). At a dock overlooking Vancouver's beaches and the water, an old man was playing an er-hu. Er-hu is a traditional Chinese instrument that is played sort of like a cello. 

After hitting the beaches, it was time for some shopping and nom nom. Aberdeen, though it has been dubbed the largest Asian mall outside of Asia, it was literally like walking into a ghost town. Few shoppers are actually visiting any of the fashion stores, most people liked to crowd around the giant fountain (sometimes a show is on) in the epicenter or at the food court. I think there's a new Hong Kong street food inspired place now because last time I came, I don't remember seeing it. Well, this HK vendor had the longest line so we got dinner here. I ordered this:

The bubble waffle was otherworldly. The pho-like meal was typical. What differentiated this place from the other restaurants was its ordering sheet - you choose a soup base, toppings, and then if you want to include the bubble waffle, you get a discount for paying together. Smart marketing strategy, take note restauranteurs.
On Sundays, Aberdeen closes at 7pm, so no Daiso shopping today.
Yaohan Centre, which is a short walk away, was our last destination. I guess this place is more known for its Panda Express-like diners (think orange chicken). This food court has pretty sweet bubble tea shops --- they sell Redbean Tofu dessert. Red bean + Tofu = healthyrupppytummy. Called 红豆豆花 in Chinese. I cannot believe I have never had this stuff before! Apparently this is a popular summer treat similar to the Korean Patbingsoo. The texture is slightly thick because of the tofu, and you have to mix it with the red bean (if you don't, the tofu itself will taste bland). Needless to say, the place is a must go to.

Wise Words

Under whatever living environment you are in, do not forget your original self.  

不管在任何环境之下   都不要忘记你最原来的样子

Learn to be patient, to converge. Don't forget the consequences of

要学会忍耐   学会收敛   不要为了逞一时之快

achieving temporary satisfaction

而忘了后果

Gold is always shining 

是金子总会发光

Sand cannot conceal a pearl's smoothness

黄沙掩不住珍珠的光滑

Until one day

等到有一天

when you look back

你回过头来看的时候

you will find that you left behind

你会发现你留下来的

not just the pain and the pleasures

不是只有痛苦和快乐

there are many other things

还有很多其他的东西

- Transcribed and Translated by yours truly

Revived

Lately, I realized I wanted to have a personal blog, but not one that is centered on hair tutorials nor recipes nor something that has to be constantly made to impress. I came across one blog and its simple presentation changed something in me. So, here is "UnderratedGems Style" revived. I'm too lazy to change the title, but I'm thinking of undergoing a blog name change, like "At Dust" or "blahblah something... Diamond Dust". Just because UnderratedGems Style sounds too beauty-centric and tiring to look at. Any ideas are welcome.

What's In My School Bag? (college edition)

What's so nice about college is you don't have to abide by strange school guidelines.

Such as this! Bring a 1" binder to check off the first week of class, you have to get a note from the office if you're one second late to class, shorts can't be short. What else is there? Too many. People look at you weird if you carried your books to school without a bag or ala pretty purse. Though I was such a rebel to bring my own bought planner to school (Ha. I know...), I'm proud to say I was never the girl who would text underneath the table in class.   

Acne Face Maps

I get a lot of acne, at the worst was between ages 12 and 15. That's why Bubbi's self-help video "What Your Acne Tells You" is a favorite of mine to replay whenever I need a bit of insight to where I'm eating/doing wrong. Now that I'm past my puberty years, I still get the occasional bad breakout. Here's what those breakouts mean:

Photo Credits [NoMoreDirtyLooks]

If you are looking to clear up your skin, scroll down and see which of these sources of acne apply to you!

10 Small Habits to Break for Good

Your thoughts become your words

Your words become your actions

Your actions become habit

Your habit becomes character

And your character becomes your destiny

 - Bubzbeauty (adapted from Gandhi)

With that, my personal list of bad habits I need to change. Honestly, I'm like doing at least one of the above right now as I type this.
Typically, these habits get dismissed because they're so trifling to other people. I.e. your friends can't possibly figure out that you're 'afraid of going outdoors alone' if you always tag along with friends/family after dark to hang out. But the one who notices these habits clear as day must be the one to get rid of them. That is yourself.

What are your bad habits that you want to get rid of? 

Guzheng and other musical instruments

I've long envied those who own and can play the Guzheng, a Chinese zither. When I was little, classic TV series like Huan Zhu Ge Ge and Wulong Prince both featured guzheng-playing prominently in their story. When one strums the guzheng, one always makes a beautiful posture. Furthermore, the humming noise played at the end of a song is so unique - a perfect balance between a string instrument like violin and a piano. This facilitated my admiration for these traditional Chinese musical instruments.
Here's some really pretty guzheng music:
(insert song of popular TV drama "Eloquent Ji Xiao Lan")
(using an IPAD guzheng app to play theme song of "Mei Ren Tian Xia")

I'd love to take classes if I get my hands on one. Meanwhile, I found this amazing website GuQu which houses a large collection of free sheet music for popular guzheng songs. I hope some of you who play Guzheng or any traditional instruments find this useful! I might join you once I get that darned guzheng. SoundofAsia which is a traditional Asian instrument seller located in the United States sells their cheapest guzheng for $300 +. Ahhh so pricy...

1 Month Later: Le Body Challenge

That was a month ago. This is now. I'm still very lax about my exercising regime. Although I have cut back on food, and especially strict about not eating after 7pm... not so much on the exercising part of the deal, nor the sleeping. It's been reallly reallly difficult for me but I don't want to give this up either. Here's something to think about and is the biggest motivator for me: why do you think only few people can look so fine in suits and bodycon dresses? why does most people say they're going to get washboard abs...but so few actually do? Most people are lazy and give up halfway. If you're giving up, then you'll forever be stuck in the mindset with all other tough challenges in life, i.e. going to business school, getting As in college. Same mindset for getting fit.

The good news is, seeing this picture makes me even more motivated to divert from my lazy side. Now that I've extended the challenge to 3 months total, I'm giving myself about 60 more days to work out and sleep more, moar and moar. School is about to start, so I'll be using the gym way more often.

Updates/Changes to Plan: