Let me paint you a picture. You’re scrolling Instagram. You see Karlie Kloss looking like a literal Renaissance painting. Selena Gomez with skin that glows like she bathes in moonlight and Serums Only Sold in Heaven. Kendall Jenner with the kind of softly smudged eyeliner that makes you whisper “teach me.” And in the comments? One name, over and over again: Hung Vanngo. At this point, I’m convinced the man doesn’t blend makeup—he whispers blessings into the brush. And as someone trying to claw her way out of a makeup rut (hi, it’s me, Kristen), I had to know more about him.
Author: Kristen Grace
Beauty junkie, food obsessed, and constant wanderer.
How to Find Your Undereye Bags and Actually Do Something About Them
Let’s be honest: I don’t wake up looking like a glowy woodland fairy. Most days I wake up looking like I’ve been personally victimized by fluorescent lighting and unresolved trauma. And if you’re reading this, I’m assuming we’re in the same club. Welcome. We have concealer and emotional support water bottles. Now, let’s talk undereye bags. Not the cute “oh I stayed out too late dancing” kind, but the “I haven’t slept properly since 2007 and I might cry at any moment” kind. The kind that no amount of caffeine can fix—but the right technique can. Step 1: Meet Your Bags
📸 That Time I Tried to Become an Egyptologist (But Mostly Took Pictures)
A Royal BC Museum Adventure | July 2017 ✨ The Grand Plan Back in July 2017, I had Big Main Character Energy. I was visiting the Royal British Columbia Museum in Victoria, BC, and I was fully prepared to emerge from the Egyptian exhibit with enough notes to write an academic paper. Maybe even a new career path? Kristen: Amateur Egyptologist. It had a nice ring to it. My intention? My reality? 📷 The Exhibit Was That Good Let me be clear: this wasn’t a failure of willpower — this was a failure of awe. From the moment I stepped into the exhibit, it was dimly
Brands – I Was Promised Alpine Wellness and All I Got Was Glowy Skin: A Deep Dive into Susanne Kaufmann
Let me tell you about a woman who took one look at the high-maintenance chaos of the beauty industry and said, “No thanks, I’ll just be quietly perfect over here in the Austrian Alps.” Her name? Susanne Kaufmann. Her brand? A minimalist-glass-bottle fantasy of spa-level skincare that smells like a luxury resort and works like a lab experiment gone right. It’s the kind of brand you instinctively whisper about, because it feels like shouting in the middle of a hot spring. Let’s get into it. 🏔 From Alpine Grandma to Global Glow-Up Susanne Kaufmann didn’t stumble into beauty from a
How to Look Like You Have Your Life Together (Even If You Used Expired Blush)
Let’s set the scene: it’s Tuesday morning, your under-eye bags are packed for an international flight, and your skin is giving “slept-in makeup, forgot-to-wash-my-face” energy—even though you totally did your full skincare routine (right?). You need to be presentable. Not red carpet. Not even brunch cute. Just… “I woke up like this” but with several steps in between. So here’s how I put together a full face with products ranging from luxury to “I found this in a CVS clearance bin,” and somehow ended up looking sun-kissed and semi-sane. Come on this journey with me. Step 1: The Clean Girl Routine
I Got Drunk on Truffles in Victoria, and Honestly? No Regrets.
I’ve made a lot of questionable decisions in my life. I’ve cut my own bangs. I’ve bought fancy skincare without checking the price tag. I’ve said “you too” to a waiter who told me to enjoy my meal. But this time? This time, I got drunk on truffles. Yes, chocolate truffles. With booze in them. This is not a metaphor. This is not an exaggeration. This is a cautionary tale wrapped in foil and filled with brandy. Enter: Chocolatiere de Victoria, a Dangerously Charming Chocolate Shop There I was, strolling through Victoria, British Columbia—land of tea rooms, mossy rooftops, and quiet streets
Disodium EDTA: The Unsung (But Kind of Suspicious) Hero of Your Skincare Products
Let me introduce you to the skincare ingredient that’s basically the backstage manager of your beauty routine: Disodium EDTA. It’s not glamorous. It doesn’t promise dewy skin or erase your pores with the fury of a thousand airbrushes. But it is in everything. Serums? Check. Face wash? Check. That suspiciously budget-friendly lotion you picked up at Target during a moment of emotional weakness? Double check. And yet… you probably don’t know what it does. That’s OK. I didn’t either. So let’s pull back the curtain and look at this unassuming little ingredient that’s silently holding your products together like the world’s most chemically
This “Castle” Has No Moat but All the Drama: A Visit to Craigdarroch
At the remains of what was once the grand entrance gate to Craigdarroch, I declared—arms spread wide like a low-budget Disney princess: “I’m going to see a castle!” Cue every Canadian, tourist, and possibly the squirrel perched on a nearby cedar going, “Well, technically…” Apparently, the entire population of the Western Hemisphere has been to Europe and now feels personally responsible for reminding others that real castles come with turrets, tapestries, and at least one vengeful ghost. Even the server at the Empress Hotel audibly sighed when I called Craigdarroch a castle. “It’s more of a mansion, really,” he said, dashing my fairytale moment with
The Leafy Legend: Italian Parsley, or That One Herb You Keep Buying and Forgetting About
Let’s talk about Italian parsley. Yes, that frilly imposter’s cooler, flat-leaf cousin. The one you bought once thinking, “Oh I’m gonna cook like Giada De Laurentiis,” only to find it liquefied in your crisper drawer three weeks later. RIP. But this humble little herb deserves a redemption arc. She’s the Florence Pugh of garnishes: delicate, punchy, and slightly underappreciated in her early roles. So today, we’re giving Italian parsley its flowers—metaphorically and culinarily. 🌱 Origin Story: The OG Green Goddess Italian parsley (Petroselinum crispum var. neapolitanum) hails from the Mediterranean, where it’s been thriving since, like, toga times. The Greeks considered
Redemption Is a Rich, Chocolatey Torte: A Love Letter to the Empress Cake
We need to talk about the cake that changed everything. Look. I was ready to call it. The Empress and I? We were done. After my underwhelming tea experience—tepid brews, mediocre scones, and cucumber sandwiches that tasted like leftover tragedy—I’d mentally filed the whole place under “Fool Me Once.” But then this little box of magic walked into my life. Even the Box Had Main Character Energy I’m not even joking. This dessert box was so pretty it practically had its own skincare routine. Creamy vanilla, trimmed in gold, so elegant I briefly wondered if I should cradle it like