Lip Balm Mania #1: Vintage Sister

I first learned about Vintage Sister lip balms from pinkiecharm on YouTube. (She reviews beauty products, and her videos are so much fun!) She's like the official ambassador for Vintage Sister. Anyway, hearing her talking about how great they were made me want them, too.

And they are great! Look how flippin' cute they are!

When it comes to lip balm, nothing beats the convenience of a twist-up stick. But I've always loved jars, tubs, etc. And I am especially a sucker for old-fashioned tins, which is part of the reason why I liked Rosebud Salve so much. I don't know why, I guess it's the cute packaging. And there's something about making a big production out of the task, langorously running my finger over my lips - it's a ritual, a little bit of "me time." (And a true lip balm addict like me always has backup sticks for those times when our hands might be a little grubby.)

There are a ton of great scents available on the site, including many dessert-based, fruit-based, and even drink-based ones. Each balm has a different cute cartoon of a girl on it. And the old-fashioned sliding tins? Love! I feel like Gidget.

Another great thing about these balms is their scent. Soooo yummy! So far I own six of them: Green Apple, Cookies & Cream, Blue Raspberry, Orange Dream, Cherry Cola, and Blueberry Cheesecake (on sale this month!) Each one smells so delicious. Yes, I went a little bit crazy. But you know what's crazier? I can't wait to order more!

But the best thing about these balms is the texture and how they work. Cute packaging and great scent aside, they really moisturize and protect my lips. The balm is creamy and buttery, but without being goopy and squishy. I'm pretty picky about lip balms, and I wouldn't love these if they only looked and smelled pretty, but didn't perform.

(Hey, Miss Blue Raspberry looks a bit like Jane Lane from Daria!)

And the ingredients seem pretty natural, without a lot of synthetic, chemical stuff. Looks like it's petrolatum-free, too, although they don't make a big deal advertising this fact.

So if you're into cute lip balms, you've got to try these.

Ingredients:
Glycine Soja Oil (soybean oil), Cera Alba (Beeswax), Helianthus Annus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Seed Butter, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter) Fruit,Tocopherol Acetate (Vitamin E), Natural Additive (as sweetener), Color, Flavor

Lip Balm - No More Petro-Chemicals?

Something different from Asia-town posts!

My new obsession is lip balm. For years, I've been using and buying the same lip balms over and over, and it was time for a change. My previous lip balms were:

• Vaseline

• regular Chapstick

• Philosophy Kiss Me

• Palmer's Cocoa Butter Swivel Stick

• the Oprah-approved Smith's Rosebud Salve, and Smith's Strawberry Lip Balm.

A pretty boring collection of lip balm, but they worked fine at keeping my lips from becoming chapped.

Lately, people are becoming concerned about petro-chemicals such as petrolatum, mineral oil, and microcrystalline wax, which are by-products of petroleum refining. Some believe that it's potentially harmful. You'll find sources on the internet that say it's toxic, but I think they might be a little alarmist. And they're often trying to sell you some sort of natural product as an alternative.

I'll be honest - I don't know if it's toxic or not. I know that mineral oil is used on babies, and even ingested as a laxative. I know that I've been rubbing Vaseline, 100% petrolatum, on my lips for years. I also know that it's an ingredient in a ton of other lotions and creams. Every single one of my previous lip balms contains some type of petro-chemical. It's an ingredient in Neosporin ointment. It won't be easy to completely eliminate it.

But I do think there is a better argument to avoid petro-chemicals than possible toxicity - they are a non-renewable resource. So it's more eco-friendly to use products that are made from natural materials like beeswax or plant-based materials (e.g., cocoa butter, shea butter, etc.)

So I've decided to make a switch, and phase out my current lip balm collection and replace them with petro-chemical-free balms.

Plus, it's another excuse to go shopping.

Good Stuff at Your Local Asia-town, Part 4

More kitchenware again. And yes, we're still in Asia-town.

Today's item is not Asian-made. It's a French-made glass casserole by Luminarc.



This particular model is called Vitroline. You can use it in the stovetop, oven, microwave, and even the freezer. The best thing about this glass casserole is that it's so clean. There is absolutely no food residue you need to scour off, and no coating to wear out. And it conducts heat really well. Even after you take it off the heat, the liquid bubbles for a good long while.

I guess the French are good at making these stovetop "cocottes," with all the braising they do? I don't know that much about French cooking, but I do like their pots.

So these Luminarc casseroles are fantastic. I've got the 2 liter size, which is a good versatile middle size. The design on mine is the same as the above photo. Although the pot is made in France, the design must be Korean, because it's emblazoned with these delightful bits of Konglish:

You will surely be satisfied with our Herb garden
When you are tired of other products

Unique and fresh life on the table
Would you mind enjoying your meals
with our creative
and special Herb garden cookwares

How friggin' hilarious is that? Real conversation starter, isn't it?

As of now, I've been unable to find these Luminarc casseroles anywhere outside of Korean houseware shops. I'm not sure why these glass stovetop casseroles aren't more available in the U.S. People seem to like the Visions cookware by Corning, and this is the same thing, but costs much less.

If you like the Visions Corning pots, Luminarc also makes clear amber pots, called Amberline:

I paid $36.99 for mine at Chung's Appliance.

Good Stuff at Your Local Asia-town, Part 3

All ladies need a good hair band for face washing. For so long, I've had trouble finding a proper fabric hair band that kept my hair off my face. None of the Goody, Scunci, or Vidal Sassoon hair bands I've ever bought have any grip, so they eventually end up slipping to the back of the my head, letting wisps of my hair spill forth as I'm lathering my face over the sink. So annoying.

So for years, I've used a plastic headband with teeth that hold the hair.

These are effective, but not travel-friendly. And when you're groggy and bleary-eyed in the morning, you can stab yourself in the eye with it.

The solution? The Sofrien hairband.

I'm talking about #3 in this picture. It looks like a simple terrycloth hairband, but there are elastics sewn into the band, so it always stays in place. And the band is wide, so you can tuck in every little wisp of hair around your face. I can even tuck all of my long hair in the back, and it stays put perfectly. It's comfortable, it's durable, and it's easy to pack in your travel or gym bag. A real beauty must-have for me.

(You don't need to buy the Sofrien brand. You can find similar hairband/turbans in most Asian beauty supply or cosmetic shops. But I think the Sofrien is one of the cheapest.)


Where I bought my Sofrien hair band: The Galleria Market at the Koreatown Galleria

Good Stuff at Your Local Asia-town, Part 2

More kitchenware today.

Nobilta food storage containers! They are hand-made, hand-painted stoneware containers with plastic lids with a little hole on top you can open and close, so you can microwave with the lid on. What's unique about the Nobilta is that you can actually cook food in it, instead of merely reheat!

I didn't buy them to cook with them, actually. I bought them because they are so cute and will look pretty on the table. And because they are stoneware, they won't transfer weird molecules and hormones into the food like plastic allegedly does, and now everyone is scared. (So all that Tupperware I've been eating off of the last 20 years has been leaching toxins into my body. Great, thanks for telling me.)

Anyway, I usually avoid microwaving anything if I can help it. Microwaving is fast and convenient, but the food always tastes a little weird - soggy and rubbery in all the wrong ways. But recently I microwaved some leftover dumplings in my new Noblita, and ... wow! The dumplings were nicely warmed as if I'd re-steamed them.

The reason it works so well is because the Noblita is stoneware that gets very hot in the microwave - much like a dutch oven on your stove. And the lid helps seal in the heat. The Nobilta does get hot, though, so you may need oven mitts, but it's worth it.

So the Nobilta is my new favorite thing in the kitchen. I've cooked Korean-style egg custard in it - and after 4 minutes on high, it came out delicious. It normally takes about 20 minutes in a donabe over the stove. Egg custard is a great little side dish or snack, and now I can make it really fast. Happy!

A big Nobilta costs about $8-12, a medium one about $6-8, and a little one about $4-6. Even if you don't cook with it, it's still a pretty and useful container.

Speaking of replacing Tupperware, Glass Lock bears mentioning:

They are glass food storage containers with plastic snap-on lids. They are similar to Lock-n-lock containers which are really popular now in the U.S., and sold everywhere from Target to QVC. But I've only seen the Glass Lock containers in Asian shops. Glass is great because it doesn't stain, retain odors, and you don't have to worry about anything leaching into your food. Also, the silicone seal on these "lock" containers is very airtight. I just love these things.

Koreans do love their many side dishes with the intense flavors and colors, so leave it to them to come up with the best food storage receptacle.