Last week I was invited to the Shade Hotel in Manhattan Beach, CA to check out the new Scion iQ car that will be releasing in the West Coast beginning in October 2011. The Southeast and Gulf States will get them in January 2012 followed by New York and the rest of the East Coast in February 2012. My Japanese and European readers may already know about this car since it has been in your markets for about 2 years already. Since I don’t have a license to drive (I know, I’ll be getting it soon!) I’m reporting as a passenger.

At first look, the car is super cute, almost toy-like but my initial thought was is it safe? The answer is yes, there are 11 airbags in this micro car, more than the industry standard. After knowing about that, I felt safe riding in it. Don’t let the car fool you, the inside is very roomy. Although there are 4 seats, it actually fits 3 people comfortably because the driver’s seat will most likely be pulled all the way back. I’m usually the passenger so I car a lot about the room on that side. There’s lots of room in the passenger side because the air conditioner unit was moved to middle dashboard. That way it creates more room for passenger and back seat passenger, and it’s an asymmetrical passenger seat design so it doesn’t take up visibility of the driver. Scion is all about the sound, the system is tuned to the genre of the music and you can also add a sub woofer.

Scion knows that time is money especially in the youth culture. So the only choice you have to make when purchasing the iQ is the color. No need to try to talk down the price or anything, it’s $15,599 and they sell at pure price (price is set at dealer). Price will increase as you add accessories, there are 25+ accessories available for the iQ. The price is kinda perfect for many first time buyers.

The iQ micro car is actually perfect for the city, especially in NYC because parking spaces are scarce and this car can easily fit into a tight spot since it’s only 10 feet long. I’m not going to go into all the details, if you’re interested in learning more about the Scion iQ check the site here.

Earlier this week I was invited by Miu Miu and Luxottica to Los Angeles for the premiere of “MUTA,” the short film directed by acclaimed Argentinian director Lucrecia Martel and the launch of their Fall 2011 Noir Sunglasses. Tuesday night was the big event at fashion photographer Michel Compte’s private residence in Beverly Hills, which you may recognize from scenes of Entourage. The 1920s mansion on La Collina Drive was transformed by Oscar winning set designer Martin Childs, assisted by Klaus Hausman, into a 40’s meets European Glamour set inspired by Miu Miu’s AW 2011 collection. The intention of the set design was to recreate a cinematic film noir stage which has been abandoned by its actors.

Everywhere I walked I saw famous people including the face of Miu Miu Hailee Steinfeld (looking lovely), Diane Kruger, Emma Roberts, Camilla Belle, China Chow, Marilyn Mansion (can you believe it?!), Kate Mara, Jaime King, Leslie Bibb, Ashley Tisdale, and the list goes on and on. It was a chill atmosphere where everyone just did their thing and there were even a cigarette girl presenting guests with the Miu Miu Noir sunglasses collection to try on and get Polaroid. The 40s shaped shades simply looked good on everyone, slated to release in October.

The most anticipated moment of the evening was the screening of “MUTA,” which was creepy but mesmerizing. The beginning of the short film totally reminded me of The Ring, scary! Throughout the film you don’t see the model’s faces but a turn of their heads you’ll see the Noir tortoiseshell shades with their false eyelashes fluttering in morse-code of clicks and vibrations underscoring this private fantasy world of desire and spiritual escapism. And I’m obsessed with the cross-clasped purses in chestnut fur or suede, they even come to life expectantly with the vibration of cellphones inside! Watch the full short film here.

Such an amazing event, many thanks to Miu Miu and Luxottica for flying me out there for this!

Outfit: Brandy Melville Sweater Top (courtesy of BM), Zara Skirt, Balenciaga Platform Cork Sandals, Miu Miu Clutch

Earlier this month I’ve posted about my first day in LA for the Rise 50 Summit that I attended, here’s a recap of my second day. 20th Century Fox invited me to LA to visit the 20th Century Fox studios for the Rise 50 Summit for the upcoming Rise of the Planet of the Apes movie starring James Franco, Freida Pinto and Caesar (Ape). The one day summit was full of surprises and I got to learn in depth about the new movie which I’m looking forward to watching. Speakers included Fox Filmed Entertainment CEO Tim Rothman, director Rupert Wyatt, producer and former CEO of Fox Entertainment Group Peter Chernins, Academy Award Winner WETA visual effects supervisor Joe Letteri, Chief Marketing Officer of Fox Oren Aviv and President of Mekanism Jason Harris.

Unlike all the Ape films that released prior to this, thanks to the technology developed for Avatar, Caesar was in fact all digitally made by WETA. Andy Serkis, known for his role as Gollum in Lord of the Rings, did the back end of Caesar in a gray spandex suit with motion-capture markers and dots all over his face to capture facial expressions, we got to watch the behind-the-scenes and was blown away. I got all geeked out when Joe Letteri talked about the movie, he was the visual effects supervisor for this upcoming movie and also Avatar, King Kong, Lord of the Rings, X-Men: The Last Stand, Misson: Impossible, and the list goes on. He said there are different departments that specialized solely on hair, nails, eyes, etc, every part is done separately, unbelievable! The emotions that Caesar portrays gives me goosebumps every time I watch the trailer, you know the “look to the right” shot! I give mad props because Caesar looks sooooo real, in my eyes I thought it was a real Ape! BRAVO!

Besides listening to speakers, I also got a mini tour of Fox Studios but due to time constraint it was a short one. Toured the big lot that was used for a lot of movies and TV shows like The Simpsons, Modern Family, Lie To Me, Bones, etc. There were also lots of sculpted trees in forms of Bart Simpson, elephants, horses, castles and all types of other animals, all in which are done by one person! Definitely looking forward to watching this movie which releases on August 5th!

After all the fun at Fox Studios we were escorted back to the W Hollywood Hotel and to my surprise spotted Ice T decked out in white, turns out he was renewing his vows there with his wife Coco…and of course it was for their new reality show haha. Dinner was hosted at the Hollywood Terrace at the hotel, the view was pretty nice and the weather was near perfect. Then party time at Drai’s, they got us cabanas for the night, pretty hot!

In accordance to FTC Guidelines, I am disclosing that I have been compensated by 20th Century Fox as a part of the “Rise 50.” However, all editorial content has been created by me and reflects my personal opinions.