DHC Skincare's First LA Event for Beauty Bloggers

Japanese Beauty Takes on LA

DHC, Japan's No.1 direct skincare brand, hosted its first LA media event last Thursday. Beauty bloggers and buffs from around LA gathered at Culina Restaurant within the Four Seasons Los Angeles in Beverly Hills to learn more about the iconic olive-oil inspired skincare brand. Guests also enjoyed cocktails, wine, and hors d'oeuvers while previewing and testing upcoming product launches as well as getting make-up touch ups by Jordana David and gift bags.
I liked that the product was laid out and each with a description and benefit list, see below. One of the most popular products is the Deep Cleansing Oil, a make up remover that dissolves traces of dirt and makeup. I got to take this cleansing oil home with me and tried it last night on a bare face; I needed to massage it onto a dry face and rinse, which I thought would be difficult to rinse since it is an oil, but it turned out to be easy and left my skin feeling moisturized and smooth. I'm going to try it tonight to remove a full face of make up, and also try the Beauty Lift Serum and Cream. DHC also has a line of beauty products, which were used to touch up my make up at the event, and I'm interested in getting into that make up line as well.

Why Olive Oil?

Benefits

Our entire skincare line was founded on the principles of olive oil. Rich in vitamins and antioxidants, it is a highly effective component in neutralizing damaging free radicals. Olive oil also helps balance your skin's moisture. With its unique ability to mix with water, our olive oil helps moisturize without clogging pores. Oxidized oils cause blackheads and a host of other problems, but because olive oil has a naturally lower oxidation rate than your skin's natural oils, it is a perfect barrier to protect skin from irritants.

Quality

Our signature product, DHC Olive Virgin Oil, is Flor de Aceite�the finest quality, extracted from organic Spanish olives that are handpicked when they are bursting with skin-beneficial nutrients. This superior oil is extracted from the crush before the first cold pressing to preserve its many nutrients. It is then carefully filtered under laboratory conditions in Japan to remove any potential pore-clogging impurities. What emerges is a premium, organic virgin olive oil.

Purity

The standards reflected in the way we obtain our special olive oil are applied to all of our ingredients. Incorporating the very best of science and nature, our products are scrutinized for high-quality, safety and efficacy. DHC's basic skincare products are free of unnecessary fragrances and coloring agents, and are clinically tested for irritancy at our labs in Japan and the United States.

Simplicity

DHC products are simple yet effective, with nothing unnecessary that might harm the delicate balance of healthy skin. Many of our products include olive oil because it continues to be among the best natural ingredients for helping you achieve and maintain radiant, youthful-looking skin.

Ranch Fashion Remixed

Plaid, Denim, Pleats, & Booties

I'm excited that Dee of Swell Beauty and I will be presenting a series of braid hairstyle tutorials soon, and of course, photographed by the amazing Shawna of Bleudog Fotography. See my previous Swell Beauty collaborations here, and photographs of me by Shawna here! For this look in which I wore a half up-half down braid hairstyle; I was going for a more countryside, I live on a ranch-inspired look with a modern twist. I layered a denim button down underneath a plaid vest and tucked into a pleated midi skirt. I always love creating the juxtaposition of contrasting fabrics and textures, for this look in particular, the stiffer denim with soft, chiffon pleats. Shoes were cowboy-inspired booties, and had a red lip for some fancy flare. Details of my outfit:

Denim Button Down, Ralph Lauren
Vest, Old Navy
Skirt, H&M
Booties, Go Jane
Hair, Swell Beauty
Photography, Bleudog Fotography

Zion National Park Emerald Pools Trails

I finally fulfilled dream of visiting and hiking in Zion National Park in Springdale, Utah a couple months ago with my now boyfriend, Scott. We first traveled to Vegas for one night, then onto Zion for a day, then back to Vegas. Since most of the day was spent driving to Zion from Vegas (2.5 hours), grabbing lunch, and the time change, we only had time to do a short hike; so we chose to do the Emerald Pools Hike, which totaled 2.6 miles. We stayed at the Bumbleberry Inn approximately 1 mile from the Zion National Park entrance gate. Since it was the winter season, there weren't any shuttles available to take us into the park, so we drove.

The gate has two lanes for entry, those who are entering the park for the first time and need to purchase a recreational pass ($25 for our car) and the other for those whom have already purchased a pass and are returning. There are weekly, annual, and lifetime passes available, see all of the fees here. Upon receiving our pass, we also received the park newspaper which included a comprehensive hiking map and guide. Scott and I had researched beforehand and decided to do the Emerald Pool Trails since it was at a beginner level and we could enjoy the scenery and know we could easily complete the hike. The newspaper map was a great guide, allowing us to see where we were in relation to the other landmarks and trails within the park; and the park itself was easy to navigate with signs posted.

We had just enough time to complete the hike before sunset; we didn't want to lose light before climbing down from the mountain. Although the Emerald Pools were not as turquoise as some photos have depicted them to be (which I'm guessing the water has more color during the spring/summer months), the overall hike was beautiful and peaceful. Everything that surrounded us, nature in all of its glory was very humbling; it was quite the majestic sight to see water flowing freely off the top of a rock ledge into the Emerald pools, as well as how the light of the sun setting perfectly highlighted the top of the mountain rock range.

Upon leaving the park, Scott and I were starving and it turned out that restaurants closed fairly early (around 8pm/9pm), so we were glad to be able to stumble upon a grocery store to be able to buy microwaveable foods. So note to self if you're planning your visit, also plan for your dining accommodations. 

For our next trip to Zion, we definitely want to camp as well as hike the Narrows, the narrowest section of Zion Canyon and an awe-striking gorge in which hikers walk through the Virgin River.

PolisArt's 'That's the Look' Editorial February 2015

No Ties Mangement model Rachel James has a very beautifully unique and ambiguous look and I was excited to get to style her for a strictly black and white shoot with her back in October, which happened to be published this month in PolisArt Magazine. I played around with various weights of fabric, mixing satin with cotton, leather with fur, or structured with soft; exploring different moods; minimalistic, retro, sultry seductive, and bewitching.

Photographer: Dhrumil Desai
Hair/ Make Up: Alex Tran
Wardrobe Stylist: Amanda Nguyen
Assistant Stylist: Andrew Nguyen
Wardrobe: White House Black Market, Thai Nguyen Collections

16th Colony's Luminary Dress for Goddess of Mystery

A Crochet Lace dress in a seductive desert backdrop

I can't believe it's already March, where has the time gone? I want to share this last look, and I would say it's one of my faves from 16th Colony's Goddess of Mystery shoot I modeled for at the Joshua Tree National Park. My hair seemed to get progressively wilder even though in this look I didn't have twigs and branches protruding out of it; and the make up darker and darker as if the sun set was seducing much more of a mysterious and dark creature out of me. 16th Colony's Luminary dress that I'm wearing was exclusively made for local boutique PRISM, and was the first dress to be made and sold versus the repertoire of ponchos, wraps, and tops that the brand is known for. I must also add that the designer Renee has many exciting surprises coming your way for her Spring/Summer 2015 collection, follow the label on Instagram | Twitter | Facebook, as well as my amazing hair and make up artist Dee on Instagram | Twitter | Facebook!

Photographer: Renee Rogers of Hanger Shortage
Hair/ Make Up: Dee of Swell Beauty
Wardrobe: 16th Colony
Location: Joshua Tree National Park