THE LEFT LANE
Christian Tse's jewels
Advertiser Staff and News Services
They call it "lingerie for the neck and wrists" because Christian Tse's jewelry has the delicacy of a spider's web and the drape of charmeuse. He uses 24- karat gold, platinum, enamel and precious stones to create original designs worn by celebrities such as
Alanis Morisette and Courteney Cox.
Born in Cambodia, Tse began learning his craft at age 12 in his family's factory, which specialized in Asian wedding jewelry. In 1996, he launched his own design firm, creating his signature look inspired by architecture, textiles and sea animals. See Tse's line from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. today through Sunday in trunk shows in the precious jewels salon of Neiman Marcus.
Peanut-butter kisses
As many as 5 percent of people allergic to nuts and seeds said they had a reaction — but not the one they were expecting — after a kiss. Recent research proves that people with hair-trigger allergies can develop a reaction from kissing someone who has recently consumed the allergen.
"For some, it was a huge shock to have this reaction in that setting," said Dr. Suzanne Teuber of the University of California-Davis. Teuber and her colleagues surveyed 379 patients with food allergies, checking whether any of them had experienced an immune response after a kiss. Twenty had. Most of the time, the flare-ups weren't serious — just a bit of swelling or irritation "in the area kissed," but a few experienced wheezing and one — who kissed someone who had eaten a peanut butter sandwich — ended up in the emergency room.
Snappy spray-on face
We've long had spray-on hair products, sun products and fragrance. Make way now for spray-on makeup foundation. No kidding.
Era Face, by Classified Cosmetics, was formulated in 1996 as a way to apply cosmetics to healing skin on post-op cosmetic surgery patients. Now it is marketed as a new way to apply a sheer, smooth coverage. Daryl Hannah is said to be such a fan, she is on the company board. The product is priced at $55 for 2.5 ounces. Powder puff and head wrap are included.
It's available at (866) 372-3223 or www.classifiedcosmetics.com.
Bubble meets Boba
Well, here's a switch: A trend that hit Hawai'i first. The word from California is that "boba bars" are the new, hot thing. Boba being what we call a
bubble drink. In contrast to our custom of buying bubble drinks as take-out, the California phenomenon prefers sleek espresso bar-like cafes with names like Tapioca Express.
Menus run to as many as 150 flavors, mixing and matching "mocha snow" and "hot grass jelly" in sexy cocktail shakers to create the chilled, fruity drinks with the marble-like tapioca balls. "We can go to Jamba Juice and get a smoothie, but this isn't heavy," says Nguyen Le of Irvine, Calif, summing it up.
"It's cool!"
