Walking along Waikiki Beach, I spotted an ABC Store on almost every other block. The ABC Store is the equivalent of Walgreen’s or CVS, but it carries stuff that island tourists would need, like sandals, kick boards, and swim-gear. Always curious about local bath and beauty products, I scoped out the aisle with Island Soap Company’s Botanical Hand & Body Lotions ($3.75 for 2 oz.). Made with aloe vera and botanical emollients, these non-greasy lotions soothe and hydrate my hands and body. They come in many fragrances, including Mango Coconut Guava, Pikake Jasmine, Plumeria, Coconut, and Passion Fruit. I purchased a bottle each of the Mango-Coconut-Guava and Passion Fruit lotions in the travel sizes-the fragrances for these two lotions smelled the most natural out of the bunch. Their tropical, fruity fragrances remind me of the sweet days and crisp nights of my trip even now that I’m back at home.

My husband, Crystal and I spent a whole day at the Polynesian Cultural Center (www.polynesia.com) located in northern Oahu- it’s a great place for a social studies field trip. We walked through seven villages, each created to showcase the culture of a Polynesian island. We practiced throwing spears, watched extreme tree climbers in action, and tried our hand at Hawaiian bowling. Crystal and I also took a hula lesson, and learned that that the wild hip shaking move is actually not from Hawaii, but from Tahiti. Each dance tells a story- my “dance” was the tale of a California girl visiting Hawaii-she attempts to dance the hula but looks instead as if she’s squatting for the can.
We watched the Rainbows of Paradise water procession where the performers, students from Brigham Young University, showcased the dances of the Polynesian islands. There were the lovely tropical women in their bright costumes with the flowers tucked behind their ears. The men wore grass skirts and performed hip-shaking dances while showing off their ripped muscles and six-packs. If you don’t care about social studies, you can still visit the Polynesian Cultural Center for the hot Asian guys….and girls.

In one of the many demonstrations that we saw, a native performed on the Hawaiian steel guitar and then gave us an insightful history of how Hawaiian music has helped shape American country music. The Hawaiians’ techniques for playing the steel guitar have been picked up by many visiting country musicians who have gone on to Nashville. Who would have thought that country music, perceived as being as all-American as apple pie, owes some of its sounds to the innovations of Asian Pacific Islanders? Visit www.scottysmusic.com/hofplq.htm for a list of some country artists in the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame.

We had a luau dinner buffet with the show of the attendants getting our roast pig from the outdoor grill. The roast pig rocked the meal. After dinner, we watched an amazing live show in the 2,800-seat Pacific Theater. Highlights included more hula girls, men throwing rings of fire at each other, warrior dances, stick dances, all accompanied by lively Polynesian music.

We had a fabulous time.

Only one thing baffled me. While we were riding back to our hotel, I mentioned to Crystal how odd it was that the native performers spoke so affectionately of the missionaries who had taken their land. After all, the missionaries were part of the group that disposed of the original Hawaiian monarchy, imposed their religion onto the natives, and threatened violence in response to resistance. Then Crystal said that she had gone on the Polynesian Cultural Center’s web site before we came, and that the place is actually owned by the church. Ooooooh, I see.

Picture of evening show and roast pig from www.hawaiiactive.com Picture of male dancers from www.polynesia.com

Picture from www.geocities.com/napavalley/9874/

Living along Waikiki Beach, we had endless visitor-friendly dining options. But why jet all the way to Oahu for hamburgers and fries when you can get that stuff back in good ol’ Cali? I was on the prowl for local cuisine, not the tourist-centered affairs with the electric tiki torches and the pretty girls coming to the tables with leis for my neck. I just wanted some no-nonsense, authentic Hawaiian food. My friends and I asked around and ended up at Ono Hawaiian Foods, a mom and pop-run eatery on the side of Honololu away from all the tourists.

It was dinner hour and we had to wait about half-an-hour before we were seated. But watching all the locals stream in and out of the place reassured us that this place was the real deal. When we finally sat down and studied the reasonably-priced menu, we decided to share our food family-style. I savored the slow-roasted kalua pork (or pig, as the locals refer to it)-the meat was juicy and salted to perfection. Sorry Wilbur. I also had some Hawaiian-style beef jerky called pipikaula, obviously well-marinated and way superior to the rubbery beef jerky at the supermarket check-out I’d find back home. I was too busy stuffing myself to care that the chicken long rice soup came lukewarm. The lomi lomi salmon, made from freshly diced tomatoes and raw salmon would have gone well with some tortilla chips, but this ain’t a Mexican restaurant. The only item I felt a bit eh about was the poi-it’s a Barney purple mash made from taro. The poi’s texture was rather pasty, but I still took in a few good spoonfuls of this this nutrient-rich dish. For dessert, I had some haupia, a jiggly cube of coconut gelatin- it’s luscious creaminess wrapped around my tongue and left me wanting more.

I left the restaurant satiated from the authentic Hawaiian dinner and later dreamt of sipping on pina colada, inhaling the sea breeze along the warm, tropical coast, then rolling around on the sand with a tan, broad-chested surfer dude-his name starts with a K- all the while with happy ukulele music playing in the background.

When my husband and I went to Honolulu for a wedding, I took some detailed travel notes which I’m going to expand into blog postings for the remainder of this week…We stayed at the Waikiki Beach Marriott, which gave us a perfect view of the sparkling turquoise ocean, the beach being only a five-minute walk away from our hotel. My neck and back was feeling tight and a bit sore from the plane ride, so I made an appointment at the hotel’s Spa Olakino for a deep tissue massage ($120 for 50 minutes). My massage therapist was a petite lady with such a gentle demeanor that I’d anticipated I’d have to constantly remind her to apply more pressure during the massage. No such thing happened. Applying firm and deliberate pressure, she loosened the tightness in the base of my neck, kneaded out the soreness in my back, and worked on the rest of my body and limbs in a steady, precise motion. As she lay the strength of her hands onto my body, I found myself occasionally quietly moaning in pleasure. I actually felt a few inches taller after the rigorous massage-it was seriously one of the best I’ve ever had. After my therapist left the room, I realized that I’d forgotten her name. I had to go to the front desk and ask- my therapist’s name was Jasmine Shinozawa. I made sure to put in a good word for her. Turns out I didn’t have to- she’s the spa director.

…After my massage, my husband and I walked on over to the crowded beach. He sat on a rented beach chair and read while I stripped down to my bikini and headed straight for the shore where the kids were wading in the water. I sat my butt down and waited for the raging white waves to crash into the shore and hit me so that I would roll over and toss around in the sand. A few waves were so ferociously strong that when they slammed against my body, my legs would get thrown upward so that my butt would be suspended up in the air for a few seconds. Then I’d howl in exhilaration. Good times, good times. When I returned to my husband, he said that the people around him were laughing at me. I said, I don’t care.

Lori Taylor is a makeup artist based in San Jose. She does makeup for weddings, special events, fashion shows, television and theater. She also gives personal consultations and makeup lessons to teach others about skincare and makeup application. Lori did my makeup once for a photo shoot-her technique is gentle and smooth, and she gave me a look that was sophisticated and sexy. As the Art Director for San Jose Magazine, Lori certainly knows how to create an image that is pleasing to the eye. I interviewed Lori and asked about her love for doing makeup and her insights about beauty and makeup looks for the summer.

How long have you been doing makeup?
Lori: I have been doing makeup professionally for a little over a year. I’ve always dabbled with it and decided to become a pro at by taking a course in Madrid Spain and getting certified. I absolutely LOVE what I do.

What do you like the most about being a makeup artist?
Lori: Being able to enhance a woman’s own natural beauty and to help build their confidence. I also love the fantasy makeup that I get to do from time to time—it enables me to let my creativity flow.

What makeup colors or styles are popular this summer?
Lori: For days at the office or anywhere other than the beach, look polished but not overly made up:

Wear bronze-brown eyeliner along your lash lines and top it off with brown gloss mascara. Keep color to the top lid only if you are trying to cover dark circles. Color on both top and bottom lids and lashes creates a more dramatic, but heavy look. Bronze eyeliner is really what’s hot this summer. It defines your style, your attitude and your eyes by how much or how little you use.

Add a bronzer with some shimmer, but be frugal with anything that glitters during the AM hours. You don’t want to look like you got ready in the dark.

A cream blush in a nude, pink or peach shade gives a nice, fresh flush of color. Complement your look with a lipstick in a nude shade.

There isn’t one perfect bronzer that could serve all the different skin tones out there. So what things do women need to think about when they are shopping for a bronzer?
Lori: This is what I recommend—

Fair Skin: Use Honey colored bronzer

Medium tone: Enhance by using a rose-bronze or gold flecked bronzer

Dark tone: Use tawny or amber bronzers, can also shine with a gold flecked bronzer.

When applying bronzer, use an angled bronzer brush- this will help to give even application without harsh lines. Apply in baby-steps, a little at a time building slowing because it’s easier to add on the bronzer than to try to take it away. Apply on top of forehead, temples, top of cheekbones, bridge of nose and tip of chin.

For dry skin choose a cream bronzer as powder will only look chalky on dry skin. For Normal/Combo/Oily skin use pressed or loose powder bronzer.

What’s your advice for summer brides who want to prevent their makeup from smudging or melting off on their wedding day?
Lori: ALWAYS use a primer over moisturizer and before foundation. A primer will provide longevity to the wear of the foundation. After foundation, set it with a translucent powder.

Name 3 cosmetic brands or items you couldn’t live without.
Lori: This is what I like—

Laura Mercier’s Foundation Primer-It’s a lightweight, creamy gel meant to be used prior to foundation, creating an invisible layer that acts as a buffer to outside

Laura Mercier’s Eye Basics (in Wheat)- It’s a perfect canvas for the eye, just as a primer creates a canvas for the face

Clarins’ Instant Smooth-Its magical melting, invisible texture perfectly smoothes the skin by leaving an imperceptible veil over its surface. Wrinkles and fine lines are visually minimized to guarantee a flawless complexion.

When you’re not working and doing makeup, what do you like to do to Indulge Thyself?
Lori: I LOVE having a full body massage, pedicure and manicure!

Visit Lori’s web site, Belleza Makeup Artistry, by clicking here.

Growing up, Norman Rockwell’s art had often caught my eye as they popped out from the covers of the Saturday Evening Post. Rockwell was gifted at capturing the wholesome essence of the American spirit in his pictures of families, military servicemen, everyday people and children. I remember looking at the pictures of rosy-cheeked children with their vibrant expressions of wide-eyed curiosity and feeling like an outsider looking in. I didn’t exactly have a sleigh-riding-kite-flying-aw-jeepers kind of a childhood. Mine was more of a sit still and be quiet or I’d really give you something to be cry about kind of an upbringing. So perhaps Rockwell’s work appealed to me because I saw something in his painted people that I didn’t have. The first Norman Rockwell print I purchased was The Shiner- the painting is of a young girl with a black eye sitting outside the principal’s office. I’d like to think that someone had pushed her around, and she pushed back-hard. Having done something a “good girl” doesn’t usually do, she has a huge triumphant grin on her face. The idea of surviving a fist fight, then patting yourself on the back is an inspiration for me to knuckle up more often (but only for metaphorical fist fighting).
Years ago, I viewed a touring exhibit called Norman Rockwell: Pictures for the American People at the Corcorran Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. I was living away from home at the time-you’d think that being free from the clutches of discipline would make me so happy. But I actually missed the voices of my family, as nagging and redundant as they sometimes were. At the museum store, I bought another Rockwell print titled Freedom from Want-it’s part of Rockwell’s Four Freedoms series. The painting showed a happy family sitting down for what appeared to be a Thanksgiving dinner. The painted faces show the eager anticipation of a hearty meal among loved ones- something I missed at the time and wasn’t wholly aware that I ever even had it until I was away from it.

This is already the second time in a month that my husband and I have eaten dinner at Santa Clara’s Café Amilia, the new American bistro replacing the extinguished Flames coffee house. There are two main dining rooms- the Floral Room and the Music Room. In the Music Room, there’s a stage area for live jazz performances on Friday and Saturday evenings. During our last visit we started with the dungeness crab cakes ($11) – crisp and spicy on the outside with the warm crab on the inside just melting in my mouth. We split a Chef “Cesar’s” Famous Salad ($6 for a half order) made with fresh romaine lettuce and an anchovies dressing-I usually don’t care for anchovies, but this dressing was an exception. For my entrée, I had the signature Amilia steak ($18) which was prepared on a flat iron. My steak came pre-sliced with melted blue cheese butter on top. It sat in a gravy-like sauce from its natural cooking juices and it tasted so tender and juicy, I was too busy relishing each bite to make conversation. But I became chatty again in time for dessert- we had the tiramisu ($7). It was a sizable block of moist cake and rich chocolate cream accompanied by the aroma of rum. And it tasted just grand. Besides the chain diners, there are few American restaurants in Santa Clara, so Cafe Amilia is a diamond in the rough.

Usually when I come across books on skincare, the models in the book are all of European descent. Yet I’ve often wondered if there is a difference between appropriate skincare for European skin and ethnic skin. Fortunately, Jeanine Downie, M.D. and Fran Cook-Bolden, M.D., with award-winning journalist Barbara Nevins Taylor, answered that in their book Beautiful Skin of Color: A Comprehensive Guide to Asian, Olive, and Dark Skin. And according to this detail-oriented book, YES, ethnic skin is different from Caucasian skin, and it’s not just the pigmentation that’s different.

From reading this book, I learned that we ladies of color have skin that is more sensitive, more prone to dark marks or hyperpigmentation left behind by icky zits and cysts. People of Asian, Mediterranean, and Mid-Eastern descent are more prone to getting dark under-eye circles while those of African-American or Caribbean American descent are more likely to get ashy, dry skin. The doctors also refute the myth that people of darker skin are immune to skin cancer- everyone needs sun protection, regardless of their racial background. Just think of any unpleasant skin condition you wouldn’t discuss about on a first date-stretch marks, scars, keloids, acne, melasma, keratosis pilaris (chicken skin), vitiligo (loss of pigment)- and you’ll probably find a section about it in the book. The doctors also gave an abundance of information on a variety of skin treatments, such as chemical peels, laser therapy, liposuction, collagen and wrinkle fillers- sometimes they addressed the appropriateness of certain treatments for women of color. So I guess I won’t be trying dermabrasion or laser skin resurfacing anytime soon- the docs say these procedures can be too rough and may damage my beautiful skin of color.

There is no such thing as the perfect bronzer that would give natural-looking faux tans to everyone. Because we all have different skin tones, a bronzing product that might look real and sexy on my friend with the olive complexion might look totally icky on my fairly light Asian skin tone. So in my quest to find a good bronzer, I tried out more than one product before I found one that was right for me:

Fresh’s Noon Freshface Glow ($36 for 1 oz.)- This liquid cream “bronzer” added a little bit of dewiness to the complexion, but being that I shine easily anyhow, the added dewy affect is unnecessary. The sheer “bronze” did not show up on my face at all, though it added a hint of color to my hands and arms. But I’m looking for a gentle dose of toast for my face and cheeks, not my limbs. Suited for ultra-light skin types, but not for me.

Bare Escentuals‘ Warm Radiance ($18) is a complexion enhancer intended to deliver a healthy golden bronze. I already use Bare Escentual’s mineral makeup and typically dust on some Warmth after I brush on my fairly light mineral foundation. While prepping for a day trip out to the city, I put Warmth aside and dusted on some Warm Radiance instead. I thought I looked okay in my window-less bathroom mirror. But while riding in the car, I checked myself in the mirror again and realized that my face looked like a copper penny with a cheap spray-on tan. These minerals might fare better with a fair-medium complexion.

BeneFit’s 10 ($28) reminds me of a freshly opened box of Neapolitan ice-cream where the blocks of chocolate, strawberry and vanilla ice-cream sit harmoniously next to each other. The powder comprises of a “strawberry” blush and a “chocolate” bronzer….both for my “vanilla” cheeks. I gently sweep the brush over the powder so that the pink powder ends up on one half of the brush while the bronzer ends up on the other half. With the pink side on top and the bronzer on the bottom, I sweep the powder across my cheeks for a bronzing effect with some soft pink highlights. But even without the pink highlights, the bronzer still adds a pleasant, natural honey glow to my pale cheeks. With this stuff on, I look like I’ve just finished a late morning jog along the coastline. I have a winner!

I love literature-I’m not just referring to the snooty “literary” stuff, as I also enjoy sugary chick lit, random genres, and edgy young adult lit. I’ve always liked reflecting on books and short stories, but I don’t actually know too many people who just like to sit down to discuss fiction. Though I was an English major back in school and had sat in on plenty of classroom discussions about all the old-school literary hot shots from Austen to Yeats, I was often cut off by the vocally aggressive students who were so adamant that they knew for sure what Charlotte Bronte was thinking when she chose the color red for the room that housed Rochester’s crazy wife, what was going through Shakespeare’s head when he crafted the great Othello as a murderer, or how simple objects in a story, like a chair or a tea cup, had to symbolize something else rather than just a chair or a tea cup.

Recently, I attended my first book club meeting. I found out about this group on the Internet- they meet every last Saturday of the month at a bakery. The spotlighted book of my first meeting was Jeannette Wall’s The Glass Castle- it’s a fascinating and well-written memoir of a girl who grew up in poverty under negligent parents. Before the discussion began, the moderator had us go around and introduce ourselves. Then she emphasized that we had to be respectful of others’ comments during the discussion. She came prepared with her own list of questions to jump-start the discussion, and then she let the dialogue take off. Lots of stuff came up- people touched on the topic of abused children, the awful parents the author had, the James Frey-like extremities of the story (but I think this story is true), and the kind of person the author is today. The first time I tried to speak, I was immediately cut off by someone else, and the moderator-bless her heart- acknowledged I had something to say after the other person finished and then she gave me the space to share my thoughts. Here are some of my thoughts shared during the meeting:

1. Some people in the group wondered if the author’s purpose in writing this book was just to show how horrible her parents were. But I pointed out that the author never says explicitly “my parents were horrible”- she was quite adept with the “show, don’t tell” method of storytelling. And in spite of the disastrous conditions the author was raised with, she didn’t seem overly resentful towards her parents. So maybe her purpose in writing the memoir was just to share the story of her unconventional upbringing.

2. A good story grabs your emotions. I felt angry near the end of the story when the author, as an adult, learned that her mother had ownership of a piece of land valued at a million dollars. I couldn’t help but to go back to the beginning of the story where the author records one of her earliest childhood memories of watching her starving brother munch on ice cubes.

3. I wonder how the author’s upbringing affected and still affects her relationships. In the book, she wrote about only one friend, Dinitia. Where are the others? We know she had divorced once. Is there some emotional baggage that she has held onto which has kept her back in relationships?

So what if I don’t hold a PhD in Literature- at the meeting, I said what I wanted to say. I didn’t necessarily agree with everyone’s perspectives, but it was still enlightening to listen to others’ interpretation of the book. The meeting, which was an hour-and-a-half, flew by in a heartbeat. I don’t need to go bungee jumping for some recreational stimulation when I can just read a book and then just find some open-minded people to share my thoughts with.