Buys – Great Shades for Asian Faces

We were sooo taken by some of the sexy shades at Safilo’s Spring/Summer 2011 preview not long ago, and had a field day trying them out. The second largest manufacturer of shades worldwide, this Italian company was showing off their latest models for Gucci, Balenciaga, Marc Jacobs, Armani, YSL, Dior….

So many to lust after! But the problem was, most of these are constructed for higher western bridges and sat unceremoniously and fatly on our cheeks. So not sexy. I can already feel them sliding off the sebum on my cheeks on a hot, humid day. So what’s a simplyfab girl to do? We asked no less than Safilo Singapore’s Managing Director Gable Merrick on how to pick the shades for Asian faces.

Our favourite pick - these ab fab cat eye shades!

Gucci GG3146

SimplyFab: Most sunglasses are made for Caucasian noses, and end up sitting flatly on our Asian cheeks. So how do we get a good fit?

Dior Striking 63DSF

Merrick: For a good fit, it is firstly important to acknowledge the shape of your face. Many Asians have higher cheekbones and lower nose bridges---their hunt for the right eyewear can be a frustrating and tiresome experience. It will be good to look out for the following components that will address the common needs of Asian features:

•Less front curvatures

•Narrower distance between the lenses

•Extra long pad arms for the metal models so one can easily adjust the desired distance and height of the nose pads

•Extra high and pronounced nose pads in all plastic models so the frames can sit properly on the bridge and will not slide down or sit on the cheeks.

SimplyFab: What sort of shades is best suited to people with the following Asian face shapes:

Balenciaga 0102

S$620

• Round face

Merrick: Frames should make the face appear longer and thinner. In general, look for frames equal to, or slightly wider than the broadest part of your face. Minimise the curves and add definition with wider frames, soft, angular, rectangular styles or double brow styles.

Max and Co 102/S. S$180 

• Square face

Merrick: This face shape consists of a strong jawline, a broad forehead and wide cheekbones. Reduce the angles with soft, curvy styles that will give the face some definition, such as cat-eye or classic ovals....Think aviators over any square styles.

Marc Jacobs 349/S. S$340

• Slim, narrow face
Merrick: A slim, narrow face means it is longer than it is wide. So the goal for balance is to make your face appear shorter and a little wider. You’ll want fames that have top-to-bottom depth. Best bet is to stay away from the long and narrow rectangular glasses, and select glasses with low triangular shapes and strong horizontal lines. For the best look, flaunt a long face with large square shades or add width to a slender face with oversized round frames.


 

Max Mara

• Heart shaped face

Merrick: For women with heart-shaped faces (a narrow chin and wider forehead), look for frames with rounded upper corners which draw attention away from the forehead; rounded frames to soften features or, to accentuate them, the straight-edged 1980s-reminiscent frames.

Max and Co 105/S. S$180

SimplyFab: What shades should a simply fab girl get to look great for 2011? What are the trends that are best suited for us?

Merrick: A pair of cat-eyed sunglasses! With the warmer weather comes the need to update your sunglasses collection with a new and on-trend style. For Spring 2011, the best accompaniment to a vintage-inspired look is a shape that screams '50s/'60s glamour. Very sophisticated!

Marc by Marc Jacobs 194/S. S$230

SimplyFab: What is the sexiest ‘must-have’ shape for this season?

Merrick: Choose the special and exaggerated designed glasses, super big or round lens are popular. Colorful or translucent frame are the popular choice as they make you look more energetic and lovely this fall winter.

These shades are available from January 2011, at shops like Optical 88 and Capitol Outlets. For a start to a great new year? Get those shades, girls, cos the future looks so bright!

- Ee Waun

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Binge – Noodle Bar, Cocktails and Asian Chic

Ai Mien Bar, which recently opened in Capitol Tower, is a spacious, stylish yet casual Chinese bistro which serves up all manner of Chinese noodles, Chinese tapas and Chinese-inspired cocktails. Open from 8am for breakfast all the way to dinner and afters, its 4,200 square feet of space, soaring 7m-high ceiling and full length windows is stunning.

Of its 130+ menu items, its piece de resistance, Ai Mien Regional Creation ($18.80) is a definite winner. Comprising four small portions of noodles representing the main regional cuisine styles of China, you get noodles with sliced beef in pork ribs soup from the northeast, a piquant egg noodles with wanton in XO sauce from the south, a refreshing, tangy-spicy chilled spinach noodles with shredded chicken and prawns from the east, and noodles with minced pork in Sze Chuan spice sauce from the west. Perfect for those who can’t make up their mind or just thrive on variety!

The noodles were fresh, springy and had a delightfully subtle bite, and the combination of bland, piquant, hot and sour soups certainly excited the palate. All of these four little portions are cooked a la minute when the order comes in – so it’s added work for the chef, but a Good Thing for customers.

I also really liked the Chilled Mien ($18.80), thick, pale, weighty cold noodles – similar to udon though not as thick – served with shredded chicken, crunchy vegetables, plump prawns and quivering opalescent scallops. This was tossed in an absolutely refreshing and unusual tangy peanut sauce. Sounds odd, yes, but it is delicious. Definitely worth noting are the particularly huge, fresh and firm river prawns!

 

Chilled Fresh Milk and Coconut Soft Cake

For dessert, you must leave your diet at the door and sink into a parfait glass of icy Avocado Puree with Aloe Vera and Walnut Ice Cream ($5.80) – moderately rich, toe-curlingly yummy and worth every extra calorie. The Chilled Fresh Milk and Coconut Soft Cake ($3.80) is also ab fab: two oblongs of shivering milky custard, just subtly sweet enough, covered in a fluffy down of desiccated coconut and sesame seeds. Eat it with small pieces of the shiso leaf it is served upon – it’ll surprise you what a lovely combination it makes.

Shooter portions fo their signature cocktails: (from left:) Love Potion No 9,

Endless Love, Love Takes Time, One Night in Beijing

The bar here serves up four signature Asian-inspired cocktails as well as liquor and mixers from lunch time, with a long happy hour offering one-for-one deals from 5pm – 9pm. For sweet and safe, take Love Potion No. 9 – a lovely gin and strawberry puree combination that’s definitely quaffable all evening, campy name notwithstanding. Love Takes Time features gin and a dainty stick of ginseng – I thought I won’t like it, but the bitterness of the herb was very discreet, remaining in the background while the rest of the drink was fresh, lively and my favourite, surprisingly. Endless Love, again while sounding unbearably kitschy, turned out a lovely combination of Chrysanthemum and cognac with a few crunchy sweet wolfberries. Nice! While shooter portions of these are not shown in the menu, Vincent the Ops Manager tells me that you can indeed ask for them and it will be served up at $6 per shot. Ask for all four then, like you see in the picture!

Beef with pine nuts

Accompany your drinks with nibbles from its Asian tapas menu. The Fried Beef Cube with Pine Nuts ($6.80) featured very tender beef sweetly marinated and very enjoyable, and the Deep fried Toast with Prawn Paste and Fish Roe ($5.80) was a delectable combination of textures from the tender soft paste to the crunchy toast and the ‘pop’ of the roe. The Deep-Fried Prawn with Crispy Noodles ($8.80) was pretty with a thin layer of noodles wrapped round firm, fat, succulent river prawns. Tapas are available from 3pm to 11pm.

If you work in the vicinity, make your way there early for lunch as it fills up to the brim. But when the lunch crowd leaves at about 2.30pm, Ai Mien Bar becomes a great place for a mid-afternoon brainstorm sessions because of the space, large tables and cocktails. Plus it's such a convenient and pleasant place to meet for after-work drinks and dinner as things get a little quieter and tranquil here at night. And you know what? The best thing is, you get good food at fair prices.

- Ee Waun

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Boudoir - We always knew this….Asians Sizzle!

That’s what a survey by Mr and Mrs Smith (www.mrandmrssmith.com), leading boutique hotel and risqué retreat experts, revealed recently. We may not be quite as loud with our own PR as others, but it shouldn’t come as a great surprise that we Asians are a pretty hot bunch. After all, the Indians gave the world the Karma Sutra, the Japanese the ‘Pillow Book’ and the Chinese a classic on ‘how to play the jade flute’ (nudge,nudge, wink, wink), together with other tantric tricks. (Pic above: Santa Catarina, Brazil - Ponta dos Ganchos; gorgeous, huh?)

So what did the survey - which queried Asians and Australasians - show? 

41% Asians said there was enough romance in their lives, while only 34% of Australasians shared that sentiment.

For dates, more Asians than Australasians were open to checking into a sexy hotel - 22% of Asians would choose this over a day at the beach or going to see the latest film (yawn!).

Above: Alila Villas Soori in Bali. Nice!!

Asians take their sexy weekends more seriously than Australasians. According to the survey, 45% of Asians had dashed off for a romantic rendezvous four times or more in the past year, while 63% of Australasians had taken only two or less tantric time-outs in that same period.

But Asians are still more conservative when it comes to one-night-stands. 41% of Asians had never had a one-night-stand while 72% of Australasians admitted to hooking up with a stranger.

The most meaningful and romantic gestures experienced by respondents were surprise vacations.

So you see, the world's been duped all along. So sally forth and sizzle!

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