Acne ? Do you eat heaty fruits ???

Hey guys,

Welcome back to My Little Ville!

I bet most of you will agree with me that summer is the best season for fruit! The benefits that fruit brings us are undeniable as it provides tons of vitamins and minerals that help us detox our body and maintain a healthy skin. However, have you heard that fruit is also divided in 3 types: heaty fruits, neutral fruits and cooling fruits?

In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), the notion of heaty (yang) is opposed to cooling (yin). This yin-yang parallel is commonly seen in many Asian cuisines such as in China, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, etc. to create balance. The balance of yin and yamg in food is one of the main keys to keep the balance in our body, giving us a good health and skin!  

In this particular post, I'll talk about fruit only. You might have heard too many times that eating fruit will give you a dewy glowing skin. The truth? Not always!

To those who have excessive "heat" (yang) energy in the body (ex: highly prone to have acne), eating more cooling fruits will help you balance your body in and out (decrease the appearance of acne) and vice versa. However, if you consume too much heaty fruits, your acne will not go away like what people say but more will appear!

Below is the charts of cooling and heaty fruits that I synthesized to make it clearer for you to see! <3

A. Cooling fruits (yin):

Clockwise from left to right:
1. Mangosteen
2. Grapefruit
3. Cucumber
4. Strawberry
5. Pear
6. Banana
7. Papaya
8. Bitter melon
9. Water chestnut
10. Pineapple
11. Tomato
12. Starfruit

B. Heaty fruits (yang):

Clockwise from left to right:
1. Jackfruit
2. Rambutan
3. Longan
4. Mango
5. Lychee
6. Peach
7. Cherry
8. Milk fruit
9. Japanese Persimmon
10. Durian
11. Plum
12. Sugar apple

I hope you guys find this post helpful. Let me know your opinion and experience with fruit by commenting down below XD. Also, let me know if you're interested in knowing more about other heaty and cooling foods! How fun it is to know that an investment in fruit is also an investment in our body! (y)

Good luck xoxo,

My Little Ville

Summer essential (Part 2) - $5 and under ! ! !

Hi guys,

It's me again! This time I'll show you my next 5 favorite summer purchases of the season. I'm a little too excited about it because all of them are just as low as under $5 so let's just get started now!

(Etude House Easy Brow Pencil - $4.99)

First of all, I want to use the top of the top spot to talk about my "what-I-feel-naked-without" little powerful thing! :"> It's not an exaggeration for me to say that this is one of my best secret to make my face look slimmer and more youthful (There are simple tricks to make your face appear slimmer, let me know if you want a post about that!). But yesssss! Here I'm talking about my sweetie Etude House Easy Brow Pencil!!

I've been using this product for 3 years in a row so trust me, you can't go wrong with it on a daily basis! It can stay on your face pretty long if your skin is not too oily---I only apply it on once a day before going out and it stays there until I got home! The price is really what makes it stand out the most. I usually got it from Vietnam for just nearly $4, but luckily, you can also get one (or more) with a comparable price here!

My everyday shade is Dark Grey. Just because I'm Asian and my hair root is black so this color can make my face look more natural. However, you can choose any of the 4 colors that match you the most (Black, Black Brown, Brown, Dark Grey), totally same quality!

I'll make a separate post on how I do my eyebrows everyday if requested. Otherwise, you can also learn more about it from YouTube 'cause I know many of them have already done great tutorials. However, there are some more tricks that I haven't heard any talked about, which I kinda learned from myself, so feel free to let me know if you're interested in =D. For me, it's a one minute that can totally change my whole face!

(e.l.f Studio Eye Brow Kit - $3) 

Enough talk for the Etude team, moving on to my second best favorite eyebrow kit (yeah I guess you're thinking I'm such an eyebrow-obsessed girl now, so guess what, you're right!) You can easily find an e.l.f Studio Eyebrow Kit for just $3 in drugstores like Walgreens, in Target or on other Internet websites. The color works well for most (it comes with dark brown gel and light brown powder). I like using this one after I lighten my hair to colors such as brown, reddish brown, blonde brown, etc.

However, the reasons why I prefer Etude brow pencil are because they're easier to carry with, faster when applying and matching with my hair root better most the time since my hair grows super fast!!! (Let me know if you want a post for growing hair faster :D) The second thing that I don't like much about this one is its brush. If you're lucky, you'll get a kit with a nice one, otherwise, it's only recommended if you already have your own brush! 

Anyway, plus points for great colors and best price for an eyebrow kit (those downsides are so forgivable)!!!

(NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream - $5.99, buy one get one 50% off)

The runway continues with my sexy loving NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream ladies!!! I'm sure that most of us are too familiar with these popular creamy NYX already! But Ulta is featuring by one get one 50% off is a different story!! So I guess if you get any two (like me), it'll also count as under $5 products for each! I got myself one Antwerp and one Amsterdam (take this one in consideration if you love the gorgeous Ruby Woo from MAC but can't afford $15, note that NYX Amsterdam has a pinker undertone when applying)! Addis Ababa is also another great choice if you love Girl About Town from MAC, so on and so forth ;)

(Panama hat - $4)

Next turn is dedicated to my Panama Hat! I'm pretty sure that many of us have one on the hanger now, but admittedly this is not the style that you usually see in me! Well, let's say I just want to have something irregular in my closet??? Hmm... But yes it's casual chic, easy to carry with because they're smaller than other summer hats, also more importantly, it helps protect my face from exposing to the sun! But most of all, a $4 Panama Hat that I was offered in a street shop is really a deal to go!!! (I'd been looking in Chinatown and Street Fairs in NYC, they all set price from $8 to $10 each). Alternatively, you can get the same one here, price is comparable after adding shipping cost! So yep for me it's really a Win-Win-Win case: great price, sun protector and style transformer! <3

(Baroque Sunglasses - $4)

Don't make you have to wait anymore 'cause I save my best surprise for last!!! My Retro Inspired Baroque Round Sunglasses aka my Baroque Prada-like sunnies have just registered to my collection! I DON'T recommend anyone to get cheap sunglasses just because of the price (!), but let's make an exception for these sexy babes! Why? Because they're different! We all agree that there are certain times we get bored with our regular sunnies, so why don't we just take a break from them and switch to something exotic that we've never tried before?? These also help re-frame your face, so have fun with it! The ones that I own now was from a random jewelry shop in NYC but I got it 50% off to $4.

Don't get me wrong, I had purchased a lot of cheap sunglasses in the past due to my tight budget but finally ended up with a good pair because I no longer want to harm my eyes anymore. However, I don't have money to get these from Prada for nearly $300, not to mention that they don't go with all of my outfits...Yike! So here's an advice for you who are on a budget like mine: get a good pair of sunglasses that match your overall style to protect your eyes from the sun on a daily basis, besides treat yourself with some other lower-quality but freaking-cool ones like something you can occasionally wear or something you can have fun taking pictures with! ;)

The ones that I own now were from a random jewelry shop in NYC but I got it 50% off to $4. However, if you're patient enough, you can get similar ones here, the deal is better even after adding shipping cost! Yay for the research! (y)

Keep calm and Go shopping guys xoxo,
My Little Ville

Summer essentials (Part 1)

Hi guys,

I don't know how you can function in this crazily hot weather but I am definitely not a summer person! However, I still can't live without moisturizer even when the temperature reaches its highest. I know some of us might think that it's not necessary to use them during summer time because we suppose the sun already does the job! Well, in fact, it's still recommended to moisturize our skin daily regardless of the season since moisturizing can help stabilize your skin moisture and soothe skin better.


Currently, I'm pretty happy with two of my favorite purchases of the season! Both of them are limited edition moisturizers from Sephora, however, each features a different function!

(Now $7 - Originally $12)

The first one I got is Philosophy Snow Kisses Body Lotion. Just because it's summer doesn't mean you can't go for something "snowy"! The original price is $12, but luckily, I got it on sale for only $7 (yes, I'm absolutely a sale goer)! It smells fresh just like snow, a perfect choice to calm you down from the heat. It also does leave you a soft and moisturized skin after applying. Non-greasy and long lasting are also some characters that I'd like to describe about this product.

I love Philosophy products because they always offer high quality but sadly, their prices are usually a little too high for my budget! However, Sephora was able to solve my price tag problem when they marked the price of this fancy down to a drugstore price! It's only available online though (I think that's why its price is much cheaper than others of the same collection!). Give it a try and I'm sure you'll love it just as much as I do!

(Now $5 - Original price $16)

Another great product that I'm satisfied with is Sephora Moisturizing Bronzing Body Lotion. The original price is $16 but it's on sale now and is just as low as $5! It might not be the most perfect bronzing lotion if you're looking for something that can transform your skin to an absolutely tan-tan complexion, however, there's no doubt in my mind that its marked-down price is unbeatable! It does absorb quickly, last long but doesn't leave a greasy feeling to your skin or stink like other tanning products. Instead, it gives you a naturally radiant glow and shimmering complexion under the sun! The lotion is nicely scented just as how you like other regular moisturizers. If you don't have an even skin tone like me, this product is your great way to go. (My skin is literally ombré from head to toes because my face is the tannest spot on my body while it lightens downwards---I know it's like magic, right?). 

So yes, this baby is recommended to those whose complexion is from medium to fair. It makes no difference but gives me a shimmering look when I apply it on my arms (because they're already so tan!) but does make a big difference when I apply on lighter skin areas (like how it changes my leg complexion to make my skin tone look more even and match with other parts on my body!)

Here is a picture I took so that you can compare!

(I had to cut the background because it's way too messy!)