Ladies Who Lunch: Motorino

Motorino in the East Vlllage has a great lunch prix fixe for just $12. The pizza here is Neapolitan and fired up in their wood burning oven. 

LOCATION: Motorino | 349 East 12th Street btw. 1st Ave. & 2nd Ave. | New York, NY 10003 | 212.777.2644
COST: $12 Lunch Prix Fixe
PRIX FIXE LUNCH HOURS: Monday - Friday 11AM - 4PM 
INFO: Lunch Menu

This AmorePacific Color Control Cushion Compact is My Favorite

My aunt from Korea is in New York and through her, I found out about the latest makeup trend in Korea. BB Creams are OVER and now it's all about "air cushion" foundations. Since I have very little impulse control, I went straight to the AmorePacific shop in Soho and picked up their Color Control Cushion Compact. 

As soon as it was applied on me at the shop, I saw the difference right away. It created a lovely flawless finish. It comes with a refill (the compact dries out quickly) and the anti-microbial puff never needs to be washed. With SPF 50, I think I just found my summer foundation. This AmorePacific Color Control Cushion Compact is my favorite.

Black Tea Jelly

So, I have a slight obsession with Curry-Ya, and on a recent visit, I got the coffee jelly and couldn't believe how good it was. I wanted to create my own version using black tea and here is the final result after many failed attempts. My version is mini—of course—and one cup makes four mini cups. A perfect snack or a light dessert.

BLACK TEA JELLY
Makes 1 cup 

INGREDIENTS
1 cup + 2 tablespoons of water
2 teaspoons of black tea (I used Thé du Hammam, a black tea from Le Palais des Thés.)  
1 1/2 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
2 teaspoons sugar
1 1/2 tablespoon condensed milk
1 1/2 tablespoon half & half

DIRECTIONS
1. Sprinkle gelatin over 2 tablespoons of water. Heat 1 cup of water and steep tea for 5 minutes.
2. Strain tea. Add in the gelatin and sugar. Stir until gelatin and sugar completely dissolves.
3. Pour tea mixture into four mini cups. Chill in the refrigerator until set, about 30 minutes to an hour.
4. Combine half & half and condensed milk. Pour a latyer of milk on top of each jelly. Enjoy! 

//Props used: Bitty Bite mini cups and demi spoons from Crate and Barrel.//

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Best of 2: Cleansing Balms

This is a Beauty Edition of Best of. 

I did a ton of searches online to find the best cleansing balm and it came down to two: Emma Hardie Amazing Face and Eve Lom Cleanser. Emma Hardie's products are only sold in the UK, but you can find online shops (such as feelunique.com and beautybay.com) that ship to the US.

I couldn't decide which one to get, so I got both. I tried them out for a few days each.

#2: Emma Hardie Amazing Face Natural Lift and Sculpt Moringa Cleansing Balm
Get a bit of the balm, add in a few drop of water and rub to create a creamy cleaner. Wet the cleansing cloth and wipe off the balm. It smelled great and felt great going on, but after, my skin didn't feel as moisturized as it did with the Eve Lom Cleanser. I have combination skin and it left my cheeks dry.

#1: Eve Lom Cleanser
My skin loves this cleanser. I can get all my makeup off with just a quarter size amount of cleanser and a cleansing cloth. No separate eye remover needed. No need to moisturize my skin after. My skin glows after I'm done washing my face. 

HOWEVER, the cleansing cloths from Emma Hardie are much better than the ones from Eve Lom. I've been using the Eve Lom cleanser with the Emma Hardie cloth. Eve Lom's cloths are just made of muslin, but Emma Hardie's cloths are two-sided with one side, muslin, and the other, micro fiber. The muslin alone was too rough on my skin and I was over-exfoliating so having the micro fiber option is perfect.

Insider Tips on How to Buy Chocolate

Sharing some insider tips on how to buy chocolate from someone who used to work in a chocolate shop.

- To get the freshest chocolate, ask when they were made. An approach is to say something along the lines of "It smells delicious! What have you been making today?" Flatter, instead of just asking what's freshest.
- Not unlike tea, chocolate should be stored in a cool, dark place. The freezer is better than the refrigerator, but an air conditioned room is considered the best.
- Chocolate with nuts exposed, like bark, will stale much quicker than clusters, where the nuts are completely covered in chocolate.
- Don't be shy about asking for recommendations. If you like chocolate and pecans, ask for something in that combination. You may find a new favorite that way.