Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Eat These 3 Fruits for Great Summer Skin

taken from RealAge


Slather on that SPF every chance you get this summer. But for extra sun protection points, eat plenty of these fruits as well: cherries, nectarines, and watermelon.

These juicy treats not only cool your mouth in warm weather but may shield your skin from warm weather, too. Compounds in the fruits may boost your skin's natural resilience against wrinkles and sun damage, according to Allison Tannis, author of Feed Your Skin, Starve Your Wrinkles.

In-Season Skin Savers
What's so special about this trio of fruits? Check out their unique protective benefits.

Cherries: Eat a daily handful and you may enjoy fresher, less puffy skin. It's all thanks to the inflammation-fighting anthocyanins and melatonin in cherries, writes Tannis. Melatonin may boost UV protection and cell growth as well -- two great ways to keep wrinkles at bay. Tart cherries tend to be highest in melatonin. (Find out how tart cherries help fight cancer, too.)


Nectarines: These smooth-skinned sisters of the peach provide a mini-spa's worth of nutrients that may help correct sun damage from the inside out, according to Tannis. They offer skin goodies like lycopene, lutein, niacin, copper, and vitamins A, C, and E. The A, C, and E trio also works to control inflammation and free radical damage in both the watery and the fatty layers of skin. (Add nectarines to dinner with this recipe: Tarragon-Rubbed Salmon with Nectarine Salsa.)


Watermelon: Nibbling on watermelon wedges has the power to refresh your face as much as your palate, thanks to the high water and lycopene content. Lycopene helps protect and preserve connections between skin cells so skin is tighter, smoother, and better able to retain moisture. (Store your watermelon this way to get the most lycopene from it.)

Happy summer^^

Sunday, June 27, 2010

Watching Dream Concert (May 22)

Okay, I feel so lame that I always post a long-gone event T_T
*blame all those assignments that made me crazy*

However, amidst those crazy weeks full of assignments, I still managed to entertain myself by watching concerts XD. Since last year, I always attend Dream Concert (DreamCon) in which many Korean popular singers performing, and also of which the ticket is cheap. Only 5,000 won (~ Rp 50.000). That's just freakin cheap, and me likes cheap things, hehehe... I also watch DreamCon especially to see my favorite K-pop group, Super Junior ^^. This May was their comeback and I really wanted to see them perform 미인아 (Bonamana) live.

Okay, so I went with my friend Atri and met two others at Sangam World Cup Stadium. It was raining, so we had to buy rain coats. I hate rain becoz it makes things look more difficult, but I knew I'd still enjoy the show^^
Me wearing the light blue.

At 7 PM, the show began. The MCs were Ok Taecyeon (2PM), Shin Saekyung (actress from K-drama High Kick), and Kim Heechul (Super Junior). IMO, both male MCs were very attractive but the female MC was still stiff, maybe because that was her first time doing MC.

Left-right: Kim Heechul - Shin Saekyung - Ok Taecyeon

There were 21 artists (solo singers and girl/boy groups) performing, named U-kiss, Rainbow, F.Cuz, Ze:a, f(x), davichi, MBLAQ, CN Blue, B2ST, SHINee, SS501, Rain, T-ara, 4minutes, After School, Kara, Wonder Girls, 2PM, SNSD, Lee Hyori, and Super Junior. They all performed with their own unique characteristics. The cute and energetic SHINee, the calm and mature SS501, the fresh CN Blue (and the only live band XD), the sexy Kara and After School, the cool Lee Hyori who brought a motorbike on the set, and of course the long awaited Wonder Girls and Super Junior! I was very entertained and I hope I can attend the next year's DreamCon.


CN Blue (but only Jungshin and Yonghwa in this picture)

SHINee

SS501

Rain (it seems his appearance was omitted in the televised version) T_T

Super Junior

The closing performance by all artists.

The crowd at the station after the show. Though we were all wet, but we're happy!! ^^

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Seoul Friendship Fair 2010 (9-10 May)

This is a very late post because I'm very busy with my graduation report ^^;

Usually in spring there's a special event called Hi Seoul Festival. But this year, the annual festival was postponed due to the national mourning. Instead, Seoul held an event called Seoul Friendship Fair during 2 days in Seoul Plaza. In there, we could see international traditional cultural performances and take a look at international booths that sold various souvenirs. When I got there at about 1 PM, the venue had already become crowded^^
I saw a lot of traditional dances including the performances from Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia, Japan, Azerbaijan, as well as other participating countries.

The gate. This fair took a whole street for its international food booths. It's very cool how we could walk through the street that's usually passed by cars, isn't it? ^^

 
I took a picture with Haechi, the mascot of Seoul city. Though it's cute, but in the legend Haechi is so fierce and is an ally of justice. Look at the children!^^ They playfully inserted their hands into Haechi's mouth^^

Indonesia's booth. Haha it stood out among the others because the booth used those Balinese ornaments.

Japan's traditional game and people wearing matsuri (festival) costume. Somehow I missed this view, because in Jakarta I often attended Japanese cultural events. Recently in Jakarta, Korean cultural events start to gain more popularity among youths thanks to Kpop and Kdrama.

People enjoying the foods at the gazebo built on a street. It was hot, but the event was so merry that we almost forgot the sunny weather.

Indonesia's food booth. Again the ornament made it stand out^^ 
The booth won the award for the Most Various Foods. Congrats!

The UK booth with lovely ladies wearing unique clothes. In other booths, we could also see the exhibitors wearing their own traditional clothes that are unique and exotic.

This Afghanistan's food was so delicious! No wonder that it became the winner for Best Food award.

Ah, the Friendship Fair was nice and enjoyable...I hope I can visit it again!
Thanks for reading ^_^