April 2009

Searching out new territory, tracking your targets, stalking the prey. Yes, shopping can feel a lot like hunting, even if you’re only on the prowl for an everyday handbag.

And it’s even harder when fertile grounds like small independent boutiques seem to be closing up every day.

Which is why it’s such good news that the tiny MisFortune boutique at Ward Centre just reopened yesterday. It has new owners and new inventory, but the name and the idea are the same.

Only as big as a... Read more »

Lei Chic’s guide to the weekend’s best events.

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The good news: your tax return is (finally!) signed, sealed, and in the mail.

The bad news: there’s no fat IRS refund check coming your way.

So just say no to taxation without intoxication, and head to the... Read more »

Back in high school, your best subjects were daydreaming and doodling – aside from lunch, of course. Sounds like the resume of a Most Unlikely to Succeed ballot winner.

But not in the case of local girl Christy Chung, whose free-form line drawings developed into her ccdoodle collection of tees, tanks and dresses.

The garments themselves couldn’t be simpler – soft cotton, solid colors – but they work as a canvas for her graphic sketches. Each... Read more »

Lots of good things last just a few days. The post-facial glow. The box of Girl Scout cookies. Your paycheck.

And, sadly, your manicure.

But pro surfer Emilia Perry is an expert in making short-lived fun – like riding waves – last longer. She also knows how to make a perfect manicure last for weeks – at the North Shore’s Atlantis Salon, Perry is the only manicurist on the island who does Minx Nails, a new polish alternative that heat bonds a super-thin film of color to your nails.

It comes in the standard reds, pinks and mauves, but you can... Read more »

Lei Chic’s guide to the weekend’s best events.

The Reel Deal
What: Today is the last day to check out offerings from the Hawaii International Film Festival's 12th Annual Spring... Read more »

As a kid, decorating Easter eggs brought out your inner Monet-in-training. You wielded the wax crayon and Paas kit like a pro, turning out multi-hued eggs at every dip.

So you’d be, um, egg-static to find one of Volcano artist Dania Zempel’s eggshell artworks in your basket this Sunday.

With large-sized goose, emu and ostrich eggs as her canvas, Zempel creates intricately filigreed designs that deserve display case treatment. Each shell is drained and bleached before Zempel gets to work with a high-power dentist’s drill. She’ll etch intricate patterns, or cut out lacy... Read more »

A picture can spark a memory from the deepest corner of your mind. Too bad all your photos are stuffed in the deep, dusty corners of your hallway closet.

Take the first step toward walking down memory lane by calling Lisa Detol, a super-organized photo album expert who can swoop in and turn all those boxes of photos and mementos into coffee-table worthy albums.

Whether you have a shoebox full of old photos, or a laptop filled with jpegs, Detol can transform your unorganized heap into a traditional-style or digitally printed photo album or scrapbook. If you’re a DIY type, she can... Read more »

You consider your weekly dose of Us Weekly and InTouch a great real-life reality check – who doesn’t feel better after reading Worst Bikini Bodies and Stars Without Makeup?

But you know those Baby Bump Joy stories –  and their sequels, Bikini Body 5 Weeks After Baby –  are as unreliable as Brangelina breakup rumors.

For the real gossip on motherhood, you’ve gotta go to the ‘net. Blogger Heather Armstrong, author of the hugely popular personal blog Dooce, tells all in her new book “It Sucked And Then I... Read more »

I see London, I see France…

It was an embarrassing taunt in the schoolyard. But you’d be just as ashamed if anyone saw the boring beige undies you’re sporting these days.

Unless you’re wearing lingerie from local girl Lornnie Louie’s collection. A Kaiser grad who’s designed for Calvin Klein in New York, Louie’s collection of silky, feminine intimates has only been available in New York and LA – until now.

Tonight,... Read more »