About six months ago, I made a spontaneous and regretful decision to get my hair chemically permed in the Philippines in hopes that I would wake up everyday looking like a Hollywood hipster with sexy wavy bed hair. However, it was nothing short of devastation when I realized I looked more like Carrot Top (minus the red tint) than Mary-Kate Olsen.

The next morning I stood in front of the mirror with a big ball of frizz that I had to call my hair, and died a little bit on the inside. How was I going to correct this? What on earth was I thinking? I’m going to have to buy more hair ties for all the future buns and pony tails I’ll be rocking for the next few years (I thought to myself). Upon returning to the states, I tried everything that I thought could fix my own personal hair death. I sought out hair salons for deep conditioning treatments, over-the-counter Moroccan oil, and even highlights which I thought could create dimension to my Jesse Spano hair style. Needless to say, it all failed.

Fortunately, it was this past week that I was able to experience an effective and relaxing solution called the Long Lasting Treatment, provided by the upscale and notable Beverly Hills hair salon, Yuko. The hair treatment manages to replenish and revive chemically damaged hair through the usage of natural and beneficial ingredients. Completely sulfate-free and full of nutritious oils , the treatment was therapeutic and incredibly hydrating. My dry and damaged hair simply felt like it was going through a hair orgasm!

The Long Lasting Treatment via yuko-usa.com

Continue Reading »

Watching TV With The Red Chinese via HitFix.com

Watching TV With the Red Chinese is an independent film produced by Nataya Anbar and Shimon Dotan that illustrates the difficult and complex process of assimilation into American culture. The movie specifically follows three Chinese students who visit New York to study system science and observe western society, but somehow end up as guinea pigs for a film documentary on foreign perception of American society. In the midst of trying to fit in, the Chinese students find themselves challenged by three elements of western urban culture: street violence, race discrimination, and casual dating.

The film discusses the negative outcomes of social injustice through one of the three Chinese students, Chen, played by Korean Australian actor Leonardo Nam (known for The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants). When Chen encounters a bloody beating from street criminals that causes him to live in paranoia and purchase a gun, his friends are forced into reflection. This movie is basically a crazy mix of foreign frenzy where friends become enemies, lovers become killers, and violence become answers.

The film hits theaters today. Watch the trailer here:

Photographer Mark Bramley spent two days in Tokyo and documented its well-lit city beauty in a video titled, Lost In Tokyo. Bramley manages to capture its unique metropolitan and urban culture through a visual timelapse of busy downtown streets, daily subway commutes and colorful skyscrapers. Although the clip hurrily leads the eye to different scenic moments, its visual story flows rather poetically; creating a sense of peace. If this video does not make you want to purchase a ticket to Tokyo, I don’t know what does!

Watch the beauty unfold below….

Mothers are our everyday superheroes by nature with all the multitasking and constant outpouring of patience for the most ridiculous things in life. A balanced life is already difficult for most single people, but how much more would it be if highly curious, unpredictable, and hyper kids were involved? One could conclude that perhaps moms around the world are born with some type of superpower in order to deal with the challenges of everyday life.

Perhaps this is where the idea for a web series called Supermoms came from. Presented by The Clorox Company and TV producer Jonathan Prince, Supermoms is a live-action and animated web-series that focuses on the binary lives of four women assuming two roles; ordinary suburban mothers and super heroes fighting against their evil enemy Dr. Deconstructo. Supermoms stars Filipino-Dominican American actress Lourdes Benedicto alongside actresses Joey Lauren Adams, Julie Warner, and Brennan Hesser.

The web series is set to air on Jan. 17, 2012 and you can catch it on facebook.com/supermoms.

This may be one of the most affective advertisements known to date. Watch it if you need a good sob.

Thai Life Insurance makes a dramatic and overwhelmingly heart-wrenching advertisement titled,There Is No Perfect Father which makes an effort to teach us about the quality of life. It tells a story about a father’s unconditional love for his daughter despite his imperfections. Furthermore, the clip highlights the struggle of communication between parents and their children. Although many young adults may feel subjected to unusual and seemingly unfortunate circumstances at home, in reality nothing is that unusual in any familial household. We all struggle to find a common thread with our parents in many cases and will continue to do so. But in order to maintain a healthy relationship with each other we must try to understand one thing; parents may be imperfect but their love will remain unconditional and eternal.

That is a perfect way to love, if you ask me.

Shay Mitchell on Seventeen Magazine via Seventeen Magazine

The Pretty Little Liars actress, Shay Mitchell graces the cover of the renowned Seventeen Magazine for the January 2012 Prom Issue. Mitchell, previously featured in our Fall ’10 Issue, models fabulous designs by Jovani whose prom line commonly consists of animal print, loud vivacious colors and bejeweled trims.

Mitchell does a great job in displaying the dresses as fun, youthful and suitable for dance-floor activity; an indirect antithesis to earlier years’ trend of puffy prom dress disasters. ABC Family’s sexy Filipino and Scottish/Irish actress cites her prom photo mantra as “always have fun,” because a smiling face always looks good on camera. With these dresses, young teens everywhere will want to do nothing else but that. At least, that is what Mitchell makes us believe with her very charming and flirtatious photo spread.

Watch out Glee, the Kitchen Musical is on its way to international stardom! Originally introduced to the Singaporean audience, the television musical series which aired throughout Europe and Asia has been renewed for its second season. It will also be embarking on its first international musical tour in 2012 and is in the works for broadcast in the United States.

For those of you who are unaware of the blooming drama, The Kitchen Musical brings a Glee-like approach to story telling; enriched with song and dance with the kitchen as its stage. It contributes a unique insight into the elite culinary world of restaurant business and artistry through its Asian female character Maddie Avilon, a young and rich Le Cordon Bleu post graduate who struggles to find individuality in her father’s upscale restaurant. She and her friends play up to the expectations of young adult life capturing moments of fear, love, romance, confusion and etc.

Here are some of our favorite clips from the show:

Its Youtube fans are steadily growing and prominent TV producer Ben Silverman, popular for US adaptations The Office and Ugly Betty has become involved with its creative production as co-producer. It’s actually quite amazing.

What do you think about The Kitchen Musical? Do you like it better than Glee?

So here it is! The long-awaited (hey, 3 weeks is long in viral video-land) Asian American version of Sh** Girls Say has gone viral and the Youtube clip is pretty on point with its stereotypical casting of Asian American women; Hello-Kitty enthusiasts who love boba, designer hand bags, and animatingly posing for random pictures.

Although it limits the Asian American female persona to only a few social traits, it does its best to provoke a good laugh here and there. Enjoy!

I’ll admit it. I am a consumer of brightening products and trust me I’ve seen and tried them all.

Alright, maybe not all of them but most of the products you can buy at your local oriental market. From Likas whitening soap to Glutothione cream, I have exfoliated, masked, and peeled my face in order to achieve lighter skin. I guess I have my ethnic traditional values to blame. Hundreds of years ago, light skin meant wealth and dark-skin meant working class (i.e. field work and manual labor) for Asians. Somehow the historic notion stuck with Asian culture until this day and unfortunately, several Asian Americans like myself have adapted the same concept. Lately I have been on a mission to truly appreciate my caramel skin and kick the whitening regiments to the curb!

As I was browsing on YouTube to catch up on current documentaries, I found an interesting story on the developing cultural underground movement in Japan where Japanese men and women want to emulate “Black culture,” or “hip-hop lifestyle.”

The rap/hip-hop music videos serve as their main inspiration associating the voluptuous and well-manicured video models as the new “Barbie.” Since their reformation, they schedule weekly appointments at their neighborhoods tanning salons and hold underground hip-hop parties where big hair, vibrant make-up and sexy outfits are a must.

Whether or not anyone believes this movement is joke, untrue or completely racist, it proves to be a brave surge of change to a longstanding traditional beauty standard. At the least, this movement helps women like me feel more comfortable in her own skin and open to the idea of change.

I believe that is amazing in it of itself.

Seven Freedom 2 Express via www.shopsevennow.com

Are you carefree and adventurous or are you classy yet glamorous? Lola, Roxy and Zoie will help you decide!

These three fashion jewelry profiles will cater to your specific fashion needs according to your personality or mood, thanks to the new online accessory online store Seven Freedom 2 Express. Mina Patel and Riya Bhattacharjee created this web boutique to customize shoppers’ personal styles.

Beginning with Lola, the J.Lo inspired accessories swear by glamour, grace and charm while providing pieces that are elegantly structured to attract the sparkly ruby or sapphiric crystal fanatic. Roxy, in its complete opposition to Lola, thrives on the ideals of adventure and sponteity; priding itself in edgy and metallic fashion items such as geometric clutches and rhinestone studded snake watches. Zoie, emulating an easy-going spirit with the wind as her compass, is a line that offers pieces coated in earth, aerial and aquatic hues. Its turqouise gems and oak-spilled belts are a few examples of what would intrigue an “boho-chic” kind of mood.

You can purchase these especially tailored treasures here.