You've Got Mail: a Visit to the Upper West Side

One of my favorite movies to watch come fall is You've Got Mail. New York looks so beautiful in the film, Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan are just the cutest, there's that great opening sequence with The Cranberries playing that can't help but put you in a good mood, and oh yeah, the movie is about books! Okay fine, maybe not about books, but the book industry plays a huge part in the film. In any case, the movie has almost all my favorite things in it--including Mr. Darcy :)

(doesn't this just make you hopeful and ready to take on the day? The Cranberries-- Dream)

The other day, my co-worker and I were chatting and realized that we both love the movie. After a bout of gushing, she told me that I should do a You've Got Mail self-guided tour of the upper west side. I am ashamed to think that I've live in New York for this long and the thought never crossed my mind. Excited and armed with directions to different set locations for the film, I made my way uptown on the 1 to the 86th street stop.

1. Cafe Lalo: 83rd street between Broadway and Amsterdam 

movieland:

Out of all the set locations, I wanted to visit Cafe Lalo the most because it just looks like the perfect cafe, both inside and out. The twinkle/ fairy/ Christmas lights, which can look gaudy in the wrong hands, come across as being utterly charming. For all my expectations, the cafe looked so so similar to the way it did in the movie, I was expecting Tom Hanks to walk in any minute.

in real life:

"She had to be! She had to be!"

Sad to say that I didn't have my copy of Pride & Prejudice with me, nor did NY152 approach my table, but I did enjoy a few hours of reading in the cafe while partaking in their amazing desserts. Watching the scene again, I find it funny that the cafe is so quiet, because in real life it is bustling and busy with the ever present din of its patrons. TIP: they serve their brunch menu everyday until 4pm!

2. Zabar's : on Broadway in between 80th and 81st street

I've heard wonderful, bordering on legendary, things about Zabar's. Just wandering the aisles, I was sorely tempted to buy wedges of cheese, fresh pasta, and about 10 pounds of coffeecake. Everything looked delicious, and it made me wish I didn't so far away from this super duper grocery store.

movieland:

in real life:

"zip, zip." 

3. Starbucks: on the corner of 81st street and Broadway

Yes, by now that novelty of Starbucks has well-worn away, but this Starbiz' involvement in the movie somehow made it seem more magical than the rest of the thousands of locations in NY. 

movieland:

(how amazing does Meg Ryan dress in this movie? this simple & clean white button down <3)

in real ife:

"Tall. Decaf. Cappuccino."

I wanted to visit was Riverside park, where Joe and Kathleen meet near the end of the film (no spoilers for those of you who haven't seen it, lol), and Kathleen's apartment, but I got caught up in two bookstores on my way over than by the time I left the second store, it was already dark. Oops. 

(Went to B&N, and found this section: teen paranormal romance. I don't know what the world is coming to.)

And I didn't want to visit every location for different reasons--the FOX Books exterior isn't located on the upper west side, but rather in Chelsea, and I've heard that the exterior of The Shop Around the Corner is now a dry cleaners and if that isn't the most depressing thing ever then I don't know what is. I'll have to wait another day to visit other locations--and another trip to Lalo! 

 When I was speaking with my co-worker, we both reminisced about logging onto AOL, dial-up connection and all, and the novelty of AIM. And how You've Got Mail is, in many ways, so dated now but when the movie came out (15 years ago in 1998!), it was when connecting with people online was all the newest rage. We got to thinking about if it were possible for something like Joe and Kathleen's online romance could even happen nowadays, when everyone is just so connected and everything is available online. Sadly, we came to the conclusion that it probably wouldn't happen--or that it couldn't happen. The way people communicate has changed, where they are more likely to text or snapchat than email, and having an anonymous internet pen pal is more creepy than unique. And although people message each other all the time on OKCupid and the like, those conversations always happen under the understanding that they are communicating with each other for dating purposes. Ahh, long gone are the days of chat rooms and a/s/l.

Still, I love You've Got Mail and visiting the set locations made me giddy. I love that almost all locations are actually in the upper west side (New York is beautifullll). Now I can't wait to settle in for the night and watch the movie, because really, after all that, how could I not? 

the Low Down: Korean makeup/beauty products & my Holy Grail

Over the past few years it seems to me that Korean/ Asian makeup products have become more known and available in American markets. Undoubtedly this has to do with the hallyu wave and the K-dramas and K-pop groups that feature the flawless, perfect young things all sporting that poreless look achieved by that miracle product: BB cream. Americanized and Europeanized BB creams can now be found in any drugstore or high-end retailer under brands like Flower (Drew Barrymore's line for Walmart) and Dior.

But Asian makeup is so much more than BB cream.* In this post, I'll run down a few of my favorite Korean makeup houses and products therein.

(Makeup houses in Myeongdong, cr. visitkorea.or.kr)

But first, a few notes on the Korean makeup houses/brands. Anyone can tell you that makeup and beauty products are a serious business in Korea, and a single street can have anywhere from 5-10 makeup houses all lined up right next to one another. But Teacher, you ask me, which house/brand is the best? I don't think one house/brand is overall better than another. It basically comes down to packaging, brand loyalty, and standout products. Etude House, arguably, has the cutest packaging. People have their favorite brands and stick to them as to not have to deal with the intimidating task of venturing out and exploring all the other brands out there. And then there are the standout products. What I mean by this is that when you aren't loyal to a single brand, or maybe loyal or several brands, you shop around for the standout products of each house. For instance, I myself tend to stay loyal to a few brands, so I love the face products from TONY MOLY, the nail polishes from ETUDE HOUSE, BB cream from MISSHA, and face masks from OLIVE YOUNG.

For a breakdown of Cosme Road (Cosmetics Road) in Myeongdong, check out the feature on K-Beauty on visitkorea. And without further ado...

(A recent beauty haul courtesy of Erica, Julie, and Andrea)

My Korean Makeup / Beauty Product HG (Holy Grail):

1. Masks: MEDIHEAL Tea Tree Healing Solution Essential Mask

If you're even a tiny bit familiar with Asian beauty products, you've probably seen these somewhere before, or maybe you've even been gifted them by a good friend recently returned from Asia. Basically, these are sheets of cotton in the shape of a face, soaked in all sorts of wonderful face serums. After washing your face, you put the mask on, laugh at how monster-like you appear, and continue to do so for about 20 minutes. After peeling the mask off, pat the residual serum into your skin with clean fingers.

(Erica and I clearly having too much fun)

2. BB cream: MISSHA M Perfect Cover BB Cream (No. 23)

The BB in BB cream stands for Blemish Balm. Word is that BB creams were invented to help cover and treat severe scarring. Thus, BB creams are both makeup and a treatment cream. BB creams these days a packed with all sorts of promises: SPF, anti-wrinkle, whitening, anti-aging, moisturizing, oil control, etc. But the reason why I love BB cream so much is that it has medium coverage that feels weightless, and more importantly, looks like real skin. When I wear BB cream, I feel like my skin can still breathe. The finish isn’t cakey and I don’t need to layer it on think to get the coverage I need.

I had the opportunity to test out several BB creams when I was in Korea, and Missha’s is by far my favorite. A complaint about BB creams is that it only comes in one or two light shades. Missha has 5 shades to pick from—and if you get a shade too light for you, mix it with some foundation—but overall, I feel like Missha’s formula suits me and my body chemistry the best. I do have the Skin79 BB cream that everyone seems to adore, and while the Skin79 one is a good product, I still prefer my Missha BB cream.

One final note on BB creams. A lot of westernized BB creams are now widely available, but on the whole, Asian BB creams are really different from American BB creams. The American versions are more like tinted moisturizers (a la Laura Mercier). And now there’s CC creams popping up in stores where the CC stands for Color Correcting, and supposedly targets different issues than American BB creams. All of this sounds like a headache and I’ll just stick to my Asian BB creams that give me the best of all worlds, thank you very much.

3. Face mask ("Pack" in Korean): TONY MOLY Eggpore Tightening Pack

This pack is the second “step” in a 3 step-eggpore process. Everyone talks about the first step, the blackhead out oil gel, but I’ve found that I like the tightening pack better. I have yet to try the third product, the pore covering balm, but I’ve heard interesting and good things about it. Also, with all these eggpore products come in similar egg-shaped containers that contain plant seeds so that you can reuse the container as a pot to grow your plant in.

This pack is a clay mask that has egg whites and Camilla extracts to deeply cleanse pores. Now, there’s no way to make your pores shrink; there’s only reducing the appearance of them. When you use this pack you do concentrate the product on the skin near your nose (where people tend to have the most visible pores) for 20 minutes until the clay mask dries. Wash away with warm water.

You do feel a “tightening” sensation, but that is due more to the drying mask than your pores actually becoming smaller. Still, I think this is a good mask and I like that it’s a product specifically used to target cleaning the large pores on your face. My skin and pores feel extra squeaky clean after I finish using it.

4. Hand lotion: MISSHA Moist 24 Hand Cream 

(almost gone!)

Hands down my favorite hand cream. It has manuka honey and sunflower extract to nourish and give nutrients to your skin and the formula is really long lasting (maybe not 24 hours though). I really love how the lotion feels on my skin. It has almost a gel-like consistency out of the tube that absorbs quickly and makes my skin feel soft and hydrated without feeling slimy, sticky, or filmy. And it’s scent is exactly how I like lotions to smell: nothing too strong or flower or sweet, but just a subtle scent of freshness that refreshes. When I started to run out of my tubes, I luckily had friends send some over from Korea to replenish my stock!

The next two products from Etude House have been all the rage lately and have a billion reviews online so I won’t go into too much detail.

5. Lipstick: ETUDE HOUSE My Blooming Lips Lipsticks

(love the detail. Shade is OR202)

These lipsticks have great pigmentation and a lovely scent. Although their staying power isn’t super long lasting, they don’t dry out your lips and apply so well because of their super creamy formula. They come in awesome colors in cute packaging.

6. Nail polish: ETUDE HOUSE Ice Cream Nails Nail polish

(in colors: Strawberry and Green apple)

I said that Etude House could quite possibly have the best/cutest packaging of all the makeup houses in Korea, and this just proves that fact. It’s nail polish that looks like ice cream cones. Again, it’s nail polish that looks like ice cream cones. ICE CREAM CONES.Fun colors in great opaque formulas that are good for summer and spring months. But seriously, I like to collect them just for the cuteness factor alone.

And there you have it, my Korean makeup products HG. There are a lot of other products that I enjoy, but haven't quite made it to my HG list yet. As I run through my residual products from Korea, and explore more products, I'll probably do an update sometime later. Also, if anyone has questions on brands or are curious about different products, feel free to ask! :) 

*Obviously, Asian makeup products are not merely comprised of Korean products, but since these are the products I know best, I'm writing about those.

We Meet Again: Hey Sister Seoul Sister

A wonderful consequence of living abroad is the simple fact that you meet people from all over, from so many walks of life. And if you're lucky, you meet those people with whom you just click and become fast and forever friends. I've been fortunate enough to be still be able to call the friends I met in Korea my dear friends even as I've moved back home, but all the distance doesn't allow for all of us to interact in the same way as we did before, obviously.

All that means that when we can reunite, we are bound for the best of times. One of my Seoul sisters, Erica, was recently in town and we picked up right where we left off and got to spend our days doing what we love best, being outdoors and under the sun!

Erica and I playing at Central Park, August 2013

Friendships like ours are just another reason why I am such a proponent of living abroad. Erica is also an advocate of an international lifestyle, and through our experiences, both shared together and retold, our collective understanding of life and humanity and the awesomeness of the world is enriched and compounded and made beautiful. When we were walking around nyc, I asked Erica if she felt weird being in the US (she's Brazilian-Italian and has lived in so many countries), and she responded so simply, saying that the more countries she visits and the more cultures she experiences meaningfully, the more she's able to see what makes us the same rather than different.

                                 

Erica and I on my last night in Seoul, March 2013 

Not to say that we should become one homogenous world, but its that desire to known our neighbors as our neighbors and not as something exotic that we aspire to. Each place has its own history and has something unique to offer to the world, and should be celebrated of course, but I think you can appreciate how a place is different from what you know without seeing it as other.

                                         

With some of our other Seoul sisters, Andrea and Julie, on what has become one of my favorite days in Korea, February 2013

I have so many friends who share my love of travel as our perspectives tend to run along similar lines, but in particular, it was so great to have one of my dearest friends from Seoul around for a few days. Because no matter how many stories you tell to others in order to explain what you've seen or how you lived, they remain mere stories and somethings can't be explained in words. With Erica, there was no need to explain anything because she lived through it with me, and reminded me of the who I was at a specific time of my life. As we swapped stories and memories, she was able to make Seoul come alive for me again in a way that nothing else has. For a few days, it was like I was able to visit Korea again.