Listen, I won’t lie. The best part of Lunar New Years is being a single gal because traditionally lucky red envelopes full of money are given to unmarried folks to unmarried folks so pay the fuck up. I’m kidding mostly, if you want to send funds your girl’s way, I won’t object.
What is Lunar New Years anyways? Well it’s like new years based on the lunar calendar and is celebrated heavily in Asia, in Vietnamese it’s called Tết Nguyên Đán, please do not ask me how to pronounce it. New Year’s forever is my all-time fave holiday and an Asian version focused on giving me money and enjoy bomb food with your fam is the best version of it. It also signals a new sign in the Chinese zodiac, with 2022 being the year of the Tiger. It’s believed that people born in the year of the Tiger are brave, competitive, unpredictable, and confident. Some notable famous people born in the year of the Tiger include Marilyn Monroe, Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert Pattinson.
Whatever the new year brings you, surround yourself with luck and good vibes with some of my fave tiger-themed or Lunar New Year picks below.
Sephora. These limited edition kits from Sephora are some of my all-time faves in terms of value and trying new products. This year they’ve come out with a Year of the Tiger Luxe Skincare set ($78 for a $356 value) that includes 12 skincare products and a full-sized Givenchy lipstick. Plus there are some brands, like La Mer and Sulwhasoo, that I normally wouldn’t buy otherwise due to it’s high-price point but a mini? Sign me up.
Gucci. Show off your animal instincts with this gorgeous collection from Gucci. Two main designs, one featuring their classic monogram with block letters spelling out ‘Gucci Tiger’ on canvas or a gorgeous motif of a tiger against a colourful backdrop of greenery and flowers by Vittorio Accornero. Listen, I am a poor girl but let’s pretend for a second I wasn’t. This wool cardigan ($2,850) is my absolute fave from the collection featuring a bold tiger and colourful logo.
Clinique. How cute is this bottle?! For real, I am a sucker for packaging and I love this Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion ($54) packaged in red and gold with a tiger-head shaped lid. The moisturizer is great, perfect for prepping the skin for makeup, but again, LOOK AT THIS BOTTLE.
Starbucks. I am a basic bitch who likes basic bitch things in cute packaging. The entire Lunar New Year collection from Starbucks is so flipping cute, I can’t. From the coin bank to a variety of mugs and travel mugs, everything from this collection is collectable-worthy. It’s only available in Asia, thank god because my wallet would have definitely taken a hit.
QUO Beauty. Leave it to Shoppers to create a gorgeous collection at an accessible price-point. The collection features fun gold and red accessories, such as scrunchies and jewelry, sparkly nail polishes and fun cosmetics. My fave is the glitter lip balm ($10) that is packaged in this recycling red tube with a glitter formula that looks just like candy.
Dyson. I wonder how much I have to talk about a Dyson hair tool before I finally bite the bullet and buy one. Now I would happily take any colour of the Dyson Supersonic ($500) but if I had a choice, I would love the red edition. Red is correlated with luck and fortune in Asian cultures and who doesn’t need a little bit of luck when it comes to trying to achieve no bad hair days?
Burberry. The limited edition collection from Burberry features their new Thomas Burberry monogram with orange-hues and animal print. Again, we’re going to pretend I’m a rich girl (cue Gwen Stefani), my top pick is the Lola bag ($2,790) that features a gorgeous tiger print complemented by gold hardware and a tortoise shell chunky chain strap.
NARS. I am glad we are moving away from large eye-shadow palettes being launched non-stop. While it’s nice to have options, having too many makes it almost impossible to finish up a product not to mention storing a large palette is a pain in the ass. This NARS quad ($68) is a perfect everyday palette and would be so versatile since each colour can be worn on it’s own or combined for a soft glam look.
Dermalogica. I am a multi-masking type of gal and I love the Dermalogica Multivitamin Power Recovery Masque ($82). It’s great for calming my skin when it’s feeling a bit stressed and feeling a bit sensitive. It has a ton of good-for-you ingredients like vitamin A, C, and E plus algae to moisturize and soothe my skin.
Nobis. We love Canadian brands celebrating Asian-Canadians. Not only is my future husband, Simu Lui, their global brand ambassador, but they are also paying homage to Asian culture with their Lunar New Year capsule. Partnering with Fête Chinoise, a Chinese-Canadian cultural platform created by design firm Palettera to develop a special edition print, the limited-edition capsule features two quilted mid-layer jackets and a reversible bucket hat. Plus campaign images are done by Toronto director & photographer Justin Wu.
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