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.

Best of 3: Financiers

This time around, I went to three bakeries (all on the Upper East Side) and tried their financiers. Financiers (pronounced fee-nahn-see-aye) are small, petit four sized cakes made with brown butter and almonds. The best ones have wonderful crispy exteriors. 

#3: FP Patisserie
Payard/FB Patisserie sells an assortment of financiers in a box for $25. Five different kinds, with the almond financiers being the best ones in the box. Unfortunately not all of them tasted as good (or have that nice, crispy texture on the outside). The box I picked up on Saturday was made earlier in the week so that may have changed the texture to some.

LOCATION: FP Patisserie | 1293 3rd Ave. btw 74th St. & 75th St. | New York, NY  10021 | 212.717.5252

#2: Maison Kayser
Right across the street from FB Patisserie is Maison Kayser. They have a big version of the financier, which come in multiple flavors and the size is about the same as a muffin. At the register, they have the smaller sized ones in cellophane bags ($4.75). These do have the crunchy brown edges, but the cakes overall were too chewy, almost gummy. I think they were made a couple of days before, hence, the extra-chewy texture.

LOCATION: Maison Kayser | 1294 3rd Ave. btw 74th St. & 75th St. | New York, NY  10021 | 212.744.3100

#1: Canelé by Céline
Canelé by Céline also topped our Best of 3: Canelés. Aside from canelés, they make financiers. Freshly made ones with perfectly crisp exteriors, which definitely gave them an edge over the other two. So tasty, especially the pistachio flavored ones. I picked up a sampler box (c/o Canelé by Céline), but they sell an assorted box of 24 financiers for $20.

LOCATION: Canelé by Céline | 315 East 86th Street | New York, NY 10028 | celine@canelebyceline.com

Best of 3: Canelés

After the first time I had a canelé (pronounced can-uh-lay), I had one or two every week for about two months. Now, I've learned to pace myself.

All three below were very good so this was a tough one to rank.

#3: Dominque Ansel Bakery 
Tasted great and the inside was soft and practically pillow-y. These canelés ($3) are not overly sweet either, which I liked. I just wished the outside layer had a bit of crunch, although it had a good chewy crust.

LOCATION: Dominique Ansel Bakery | 189 Spring Street between Thompson & Sullivan St. | New York, NY 10012 | 212.219.2773

#2: Épicerie Boulud
This canelé ($3) is pretty much near perfection. Soft and custard-like on the inside, but chewy with a bit of a crunch on the outside. One tiny, tiny thing. It was slightly on the too sweet side. 

LOCATION: Épicerie Boulud | 1900 Broadway at 64th Street | New York, NY 10023 | 212.595.9606

#1: Canelé by Céline
My favorite. How can they not be when they're miniature? Perfect canelés ($25 for box of 24) in texture inside and out but they're super cute and tiny. Even better, they come in variety of flavors including pistachio, chocolate and rose water. I try to be a little dainty and take two bites instead of one.

One thing though, they can only be purchased online with a minimum of 24. Shipping cost can be saved if you can pick them up in Manhattan.

LOCATION: Canelé by Céline | 315 East 86th Street | New York, NY 10028 | celine@canelebyceline.com

And to show you how small the minis are:

Best of 2: Mille-feuille

Mille-feuille, also known as a Napoleon, is not so easy to find in New York City. I called about six bakeries and I was only able to find two places that had them. So, with that said, this one is a Best of 2, instead of the usual Best of 3.

#2: Mille-feuille from Mille-feuille ($4.75). This is the vanilla, but they also have a chestnut version now. I liked the vanilla better, even though I love chestnuts. The puff pastry is a dark brown and it tasted slightly burnt or maybe they were going for a caramelized take on it. Pastry cream was very good with a distinct vanilla taste. 

LOCATION: Mille-feuille | 552 Laguardia Place btw 3rd St. & Bleecker St. | New York, NY 10012 | 212.533.4698

#1: Ok, so this mille-feuille is not a traditional mille-feuille, but oh boy, is it good! Lady M's Banana Mille-feuille ($8) is made up of chunks of ripe bananas and sponge cake which is surrounded by whipped cream and flaky puff pastry. The slices are huge, but it's so light that you won't be able to stop eating after the first bite. The banana flavor really comes through beautifully. If you're a fan of Magnolia Bakery's Banana Pudding, you're going to LOVE this. I would choose this over that any day.

LOCATION: Lady M Confections | The Plaza Food Hall | 1 West 59th Street | New York, NY 10019 | 646.755.3225

Best of 2012

In May of this year, I wrote my first post. Albeit, it was super short, but it was the start of an adventure; I've loved every minute of it. Starting this blog was the best decision I made this year. I'm so looking forward to the new posts in 2013, hope you are too!

Looking back, I want to share my favorite posts from this year.

- My first tea sandwich post. I was really happy with how the photos turned out, since it was my first photo shoot.

- Discovering and visiting tea shops like Bellocq. The place is pure eye candy.

- A "controversial" post. I'll have to amend that so the cream doesn't always have to go on top of the jam. It's all personal preference.

- Writing about my favorite beauty folks, Jason Ascher at Barneys and Robin Evans. 

- Learning about tea at Harney & Sons and making a beautiful flower arrangement at the FlowerSchool.

- Working with Queenie to create step-by-step recipes, like the Mini Victoria Sponge Cakes.  

- Putting together collages of fun afternoon tea looks, including one by Will, of Bright Bazaar.

- Going on fun and educational guided tours at The Morgan Library and the New-York Historical Society.

- And of course, going out and eating all those afternoon teas!

Thanks all for reading and commenting!