Must-Haves and Must-Wants

Things you never knew you needed for the rest of your life.

• If you don't already have and use one, get yourself some freaking lip balm now! I recommend Vitamin E Lip Care by The Body Shop. I had the driest, most incredibly chapped lips until I found this, my sweet holy grail. Moisturizing, protecting, conditioning. Soft and smooth lips look beautiful on everyone, feels good on anyone you kiss and makes lipsticks look amazing. It's a worthwhile investment. Trust me on this one.

• A pair of massive designer sunglasses that will last forever and look good no matter what. Yes, it's a huge celebrity trend but there are practical reasons to drop $400 on sunglasses from Coach or the like: protecting the fine skin around your eyes from the sun is incredibly important if you don't want premature wrinkling and lines; it helps to shield some of your face from harmful rays and prevents freckling, spotting and pigmentation; decent sunglasses will have real UV protection, as opposed to the crap ones you could buy for $2 in Walmart which may be nothing more than a cheap piece of tinted plastic; and last but not least, you can pop them on for instant coolness on days when you can't be bothered to do more than tie your hair up in a ponytail.
  
• Coral Pink Blush. NO ASIAN GIRL SHOULD BE SEEN IN PUBLIC WITHOUT BLUSH. Or bronzer, whatever. Choose your drug of choice. I picked Maybelline's Dream Matte Mousse line because as nice as it would be to buy some incredibly expensive blush from M.A.C. or Anna Sui or whever, it ultimately doesn't matter (and I'm the blush queen, I would know). If you have oily skin, pick powders. If you have dry skin, pick stains or creams for lasting power, and stains work well on any skin type if you're going to be out dancing in a club all night (although you would probably work up a natural blush anyway so that's pointless really). Basically, blush looks good on anyone. Everyone needs one; few Asian girls are naturally rosy the way our Caucasian counterparts are. Sallow skin is OUT. Creamy, rosy cheeks are in. So get blushing today and everyday. Make it a part of your daily makeup routine!