POP Pilates for Beginners

My new obsession! Some of the moves are basic, but omg some are so tough. Definitely can feel the pain (the good pain ah, not the injury type)! I'm on Day 5 today! :D

Come come join in the fun! Thanks Chay for introducing this to me!

POP Pilates for Beginners (28-day plan)

http://www.blogilates.com/blog/2013/06/03/beginners-calendar-for-popsters-just-starting-out/

Review: Essence Soft Touch Eyeshadow in 03 Oh De Prep

Another post on Essence cosmetic products. Seriously, I don't know how this wallet-friendly brand (like super super friendly) manages to churn out great-quality products! I have tried so many products from Essence and most of my experiences has been surprisingly pleasant. 

I'll be in Berlin end of February and I can't wait to get my hands on many many more new Essence products there! 

This post will be about my current favourite cream eyeshadow - Essence Soft Touch Eyeshadow in 03 Oh De Prep. Yes, it has shoved Maybelline Color Tattoo Gel Shadows aside. Personally I think this works better than the Maybelline one. 

I bought this for S$3 at the Essence Private Sale and I don't think it's available in stores any more (Sorry! Do correct me if I'm wrong though!). Let's hope Essence comes out with more cream eyeshadows in future launches! 

As expected, I got the neutral/brown shade (03 Oh De Prep) because I'm a sucker for such shades.

Packaging: The packaging of the Essence Soft Touch Eyeshadow is slightly smaller than the Maybelline Color Tattoo Gel Shadows, however, the container is deeper. Overall, a good product to bring while travelling.

Colour: 03 Oh De Prep is a richly shimmered and metallic taupe-brown shade. When concentrated, the shade is more metallic, and when blended, it is more shimmery. It's not a unique colour, but it's definitely a gorgeous one - especially for those with brown/green eyes.

Swatch taken with normal daylight condition

Swatch taken with camera flash activated

Blended out swatch with normal lighting condition

Blended out swatch with camera flash activated

Pigmentation: Great pigmentation and great colour pay-off! What you see in the pot is what you will get after application. I really am very impressed. There are more expensive brands out there who still can't figure out how to make a well-pigmented cream eyeshadow. Essence, on the other hand, gives you highly pigmented cream eyeshadows with a cheaper price tag. Two thumbs up!

Application: I normally use my middle finger to apply cream eyeshadows. I refrain from using brushes because I don't like how my eyeshadow brushes become slightly damp after application, and also because I think blending out is much easier when using your finger than when using a brush. The Essence Soft Touch Eyeshadow in 03 Oh De Prep is a dream to apply and it blends out easily. Another thing that I like about this is that the colour is very buildable because the cream eyeshadow dries fairly quickly after application. When you apply a second layer, you get a deeper colour effortlessly. No streaks at all! More thumbs up!

Longevity: For those with very oily eyelids (ME ME), I will suggest topping up with a similar shade powder eyeshadow. The first time I used it, the eyeshadow creased on me within a few hours. After a quick dusting of a similar-shade powder eyeshadow, it stayed on really well and creasing was minimal.

Will I buy it again? Yes please! Essence, please launch more cream eyeshadows like this! PLEASE PLEASE!

Hope this review has been useful and informative! Have a great day guys! 

Review: Etude House Oh~ m'Eye Lash Petticoat

Finally back on track! 

This post will be all about my favourite mascara base to date - the Etude House Oh~ m'Eye Lash Petticoat.

I bought it during the Etude House Warehouse Sale last year (for around S$5?) and wow I'm now tempted to repurchase because I'm running out of this tube of amazingness. 

It retails in Etude House stores nationwide for ... a lot of money. I'm sorry, but I don't believe in buying S.Korean skincare/beauty products in stores in Singapore. Prices are jacked up and sometimes you don't get the free samples that you are entitled to. I sound like a spoilt brat. Let me explain myself. When you but skincare/beauty products in S.Korea, they will shower you with lots and lots of free samples, even if you buy only one item! Hence, for a S.Korea skincare/beauty outlet in Singapore, it should stand by this giving-free-samples policy right? CONSISTENCY. But no, I once purchased a huge container of moisturiser (over S$25), and I didn't have a single free sample?! I don't expect free samples from Watsons because hey, it's not in their company policy to give out free samples mah. 

Okay rant over. HAHA. 

Next best place to get this either than during a Warehouse Sale? Qoo10!!

I have two links for the Etude House Oh~ m'Eye Lash Petticoat:

1. http://list.qoo10.sg/item/ETUDE-HOUSE-OH-MY-EYE-LASH-MASCARA/404076737
2. http://list.qoo10.sg/item/SWEET-BOX-OH-MY-EYE-LASH-MASCARA/404220871

Review time!! 

Packaging: Straightforward and fuss-free. The mascara base packaging looks really old but that's a combination of my lighting and ... it being quite old. I paid S$5 for this so I didn't expect a new product. It was manufactured in late 2012 though, so all's good!

The Etude House Oh~ m'Eye Lash Petticoat promises to:

• enhance the volume
• enhance the length of EVERY mascara
• maximize the effect of mascara

Has it delivered on all 3 accounts? Most definitely. 

Ingredients List

I realised the two photos after this is a bit eeky. SORRY GUYS! I assure you that the brush is not that yellow in real life! I don't know what happened with the lighting!

There's a yellow tinge, but not as pigmented as in these photos. Gosh.

Brush design: A standard mascara brush with a firm mascara wand. The bristles are not very condensed, but still condensed enough to separate the lashes. I hate it when bristles are not plastic and very condensed - a clumpy nightmare.

Volumising and Lengthening? Personally, it's more lengthening than volumising with this product. I also like how it doesn't clump the lashes no matter how many coats I apply. Sometimes, I just want to load up on mascara base so that after mascara application, I look like I've fake lashes on. However, the process can be a headache when you use a clumpy mascara base that dries way too quickly. You get thick ugly lashes that are almost impossible to separate. NOT GOOD. The Etude House Oh~ m'Eye Lash Petticoat separates really well no matter how many coats I use!

Defines EVERY lash? I'm so impressed with the Etude House Oh~ m'Eye Lash Petticoat because it honestly really defines every single lash! After one application, I could see all my lashes coated with the white base, even those teeny tiny inner ones! Great, great job.

Works well with mascara? I have used this mascara base with almost all of my favourite mascaras and I promise no placebo effect happened - all my mascaras worked better! They are all already my favourite mascaras, but with this Etude House Oh~ m'Eye Lash Petticoat as a foundation, I see better-looking lashes. Just wow! Oh, one more thing: I love how gradual the drying process is. Some mascara bases dry almost as soon as you apply and you get thick, straight lashes after you apply your mascara. With this, you are able to control the curve of the lashes while applying mascara because it doesn't dry as quickly! LOVE IT.

Will I buy it again? Oh yes, yes, YES! I cannot go a day without the Etude House Oh~ m'Eye Lash Petticoat and it shows because I have run out! Time to get a new one!

Hope this review has been useful! Have a great week ahead guys! :) 

Visuals | January 2014 | Week 1

I'm seriously one of the worst bloggers in the world. I call myself a beauty blogger and yet I don't blog about beauty products often?! TERRIBLE. I'm deeply sorry, my dear readers. PLEASE DON'T ABANDON THIS BLOG. 

To revive this blog, I have a few exciting posts coming up:

• My night skincare routine - this will be complete from makeup removal to downing my last cup of water. YES MAKEUP REMOVAL to show you my SCARRED SKIN. I shall be a warrior who is not afraid of showing the world her scarred face. 
• Get ready with me (Morning Rush Edition) - also another complete post from the moment I wake up to the moment I step out of my door. I know a lot of people do videos for this, but I'm just using photos and words for this! 
• Etude House Oh~ m'Eye Lash Petticoat Review - LOVE
• Etude House Proof 10 Mascara Review - another LOVE
• Essence Soft Touch Eyeshadow in 03 Oh De Prep Review - one of my favourite cream eyeshadows now
• LORAC Pro Palette Review - LOVE LOVE LOVE OMG LOVE

In the meantime, please enjoy some visuals from first week of January 2014. 

One for my tea, and one for my coffee. 

Love these handcreams! Extremely moisturizing and not sticky at all. Get it here for S$5.90 each with free Korea Normal Airmail. 

Chinese New Year decorations at NEX

Chinese New Year decorations at Chinatown

Design on the file that I bought from Taiwan. Glad I bought it because it's pretty and functional, but it's over S$6 so OUCH. 

My new 2014 planner! This was the highlight of my entire week. So pretty and soooooo precious! Spirited Away is one of my favourite movies ever (I've watched it for more than 20-30 times and I'm still not bored of it) and having a Spirited Away planner is AWESOME!

Have a great week ahead guys! Be awesome and amazing! :)

Ramen Bar Suzuki

It's another food-related post! 

My last beauty review was posted in mid-December so I feel a little bit guilty to my loyal readers. I'm just not feeling inspired to write about beauty-related stuff! I have so so so many products to review and I have already taken so so so many photographs but I get writer's block on all these beauty products. WHY BRAIN WHY!! I just feel like I'm not ... qualified enough to be dishing out reviews and tips. 

Ok, I'll meditate and MAKE IT WORK. 

No more of random talk because this post is all about one of the most delicious ramen I've ever tasted and it's from Ramen Bar Suzuki. Seriously, that bowl of ramen was THE BOMB. 

Ramen Bar Suzuki

61 Circular Road #01-01

Singapore 049415

Facebook page

First of all, you get free flow hard-boiled eggs. FREE FLOW!!! For an egg fanatic like me (even though I know I should be wary because having high cholesterol runs in the family), this is the best service a restaurant can give. To add to that, we had free flow cabbage salad and iced tea too! 

Let me dedicate an entire paragraph for the small bowl of cabbage salad. Is it a normal bowl of cabbage salad? DEFINITELY NOT. Ramen Bar Suzuki stores the julienned cabbage (fancy term learned from Youtube food videos hehehehe) in an ice-cold jar and this keeps the cabbage super cold and super fresh. Then you get a choice of 2 dressings - the usual thousand island or a Japanese sesame onion dressing. I mixed the two dressings together and expected a bowl of vomit-tasting stuff, but no, I was pleasantly surprised at how well the two dressings worked together!! I then had another bowl with only the Japanese dressing and it was as marvelous. In total, I had 3 bowls of this. I told Kengyang that I could just eat the cabbages for an entire day! I need to learn how to make this!!! First, I need to get a huge glass jar that will fit the freezer. OKAY DAISO!

I ordered the Spicy Tonkotsu Ramen with Fish Powder (S$15.40++) and it was so delicious and so comforting. I was afraid the addition of fish powder would be too fishy for Kengyang (he ordered the non-spicy version) but it was savoury and palatable for him! YAY!

The flavoured egg was cooked perfectly. The broth was addictive. The citrus pepper paste was strangely up my alley but it's an acquired taste (Kengyang hated the paste haha). The noodles was "Q" enough. The slice of char siu was extremely flavourful and tender. I tell you, I was in ramen heaven lah. I wanted to finish all the soup but my very naggy boyfriend reminded me that nobody needs the extra sodium, so okay loh I listened HAHA.

I will definitely be back for another bowl of ramen, and another, and another, and another..........

Do check it out guys!! Confirm will blow your mind!! :D

Christmas 2013 and New Year 2014

I feel like I'm too late for this post. It's already the fifth day of 2014 and I'm blogging about Christmas 2013 and New Year 2014? I guess it's never too late to thank the angels who landed in my sombre world and made things a little bit more colourful ... and bearable. 

My Christmas was spent in Taiwan with Kengyang and his family. Coincidentally, we also spent Christmas lighting up a lantern at Pingxi. A lantern which was filled with all our hopes and wishes for 2014 and the far future. I found it quite endearing (perhaps on the verge of beguiling? Lighting up a lantern to make our wishes come true seems like a huge marketing ploy for the village) that every one of us made sure the lantern was lit properly and as it floated away, no one spoke - our eyes just followed the floating lantern, and when it was nowhere in sight, all of us automatically continued our chit-chats and bickering. 

My New Year was ... a joke. Actually, more of a I'm-gonna-laugh-at-it-in-the-future kind of a joke and not I'm-so-depressed-I-hate-life kind of a joke. Kengyang and I wanted to countdown to 2014 at Marina, but we figured it's going to be a nightmare due to the crowd. We decided on town but realised the traffic home would be another nightmare. So okay, let's go to a heartland mall! But we made the wrong decision to shake leg at Kengyang's house first because we ended up counting down in his house while watching the countdown celebration programme on the telly. All I can say about that programme is - WLH, why you lipsync your upbeat songs?? 

However, I'm not complaining about my "lacklustre" New Year countdown. At least I got to spend it with the love of my life and his family, and I didn't have to struggle and squeeze while trying to go home. Oh, and I munched on McDonalds while watching the telly. BLISS~

Christmas presents! 

Thank you Kengyang for the electronic toothbrush. I randomly said I needed on and he bought it for me. :') 

Thank you Kenny for the cookies, potpourri and inspirational pencil! Kenny was my secret santa this year! 

Thank you Serene for the accessories, the L'occitane goodies and the loofah!

Thank you Chay for the instant (but from Laos, so very exotic haha) coffee! 

Kenny, I don't think I will ever use this pencil! I'll just tape it on my office table and stare at it whenever I feel drab. 

We had our annual Christmas+New Year party yesterday. A bit late, but it didn't matter since all of us could make it and it was a great gathering! 

Our boxer chef, Wang (#wangcancook) cooked up a storm and wow each dish was DELICIOUS. 

Our Italian-Mediterranean menu

Greek Salad

Pesto Chicken Nuggets

Shakshuka

Ricotta Pasta

Caramelised Apples with Vanilla Ice Cream (not in photo)

Cheers to a great 2014! :) 

2014 Beauty Wants

1. URBAN DECAY Naked3 Palette

2. VIKTOR & ROLF Flowerbomb

3. MAKE UP FOR EVER HD Complexion Starter Kit

4. NARS Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base

5. KAT VON D Lock-It Tattoo Foundation

6. URBAN DECAY Naked Skin Weightless Ultra Definition Liquid Makeup

I really want to try out more high-end liquid foundations. Especially those with full coverage ones! MONEY, FALL FROM THE SKY NOW! 

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OOTD - TDF (to die for) Zara leggings

Sometimes it's so difficult getting ready in the morning. I want to wear something different so that I have material for Instagram but I also want to be comfortable for the long workday ahead. 

I have come to a conclusion that I'm more of a comfort person. I buy a lot of experimental apparels but I always go back to the same few outfits. 

I didn't regret purchasing my new Zara leggings though. They are a dream to wear and I already know I'm going to wear them too much. I actually wanted to buy them a couple of months ago when a few fashion Youtubers raved about them. They were S$39.90 a pair and that's not a cheap price for a pair of leggings so I held back. I kept going back in to Zara to specifically feel the material and one night the obsession escalated and I DREAMT ABOUT THE LEGGINGS. 

So ok lah, I got them. I got 2 pairs. :D They are so comfortable and incredibly slimming. I feel extra confident wearing them because suddenly I have uber flat tummy and my butt area looks painstakingly sculpted (like as if I embarked on a 30-day 200 squats and 2000 crunches regime). 

The above photo is very silly. I'm raving about a pair of BOMBDIGGITY leggings but you can only see a little bit HAHA. But don't worry lah, I'm sure I'll wear this frequently and I promise to have a better photo next time!! 

Outfit summary:

Printed top - Uniqlo (NT590)

Navy leggings - Zara (S$39.90)

Spiked sandals - Cotton On (on sale for S$10)

Mint bag - Taobao 

Touring Taiwan (December 2013) with Chan Brothers - Accommodation

It's only the 3rd day of 2014 and I'm already feeling miserable because of this terrible headache. So I thought to myself, let's blog to distract the excruciating pain? Great idea right?

This post is about all the 5 hotels that I stayed in during my trip to Taiwan. Yes, 7-day-6-night trip and FIVE hotels.

What do I think of the many hotels?

I DON'T LOVE IT. I can't really say I hate it because some of the hotels were really really excellent.

• I have to pack my luggage every single morning. That will be alright if we had a later gathering time. Nope, our morning calls averaged at 645am. My goodness. Also, I'm not the type of person who can throw everything into the luggage and just pray that it will zip up. I need to fold/roll everything and fit them nicely, if not I will feel utterly miserable. So basically, I woke up 1 hour before the morning calls almost every morning and by the time I was on the bus, I was snoring away. 
• I wasn't able to really appreciate the beauty of some hotels We were so excited about our own personal hot-spring in our hotel at Taitung, but since we reached the hotel late, we were only able to soak once/twice and then we just slept because we were so tired. I wished we had two nights in that beautiful hotel! 
• Some hotels were freaking scary. One thing I hate about travelling is staying in a freaky hotel room. I'm born a Catholic and my mom always told me (more like snapped at me LOL) to ignore hotel superstitions. She can do it, BUT I CANNOT. Every single time I opened the door to a new hotel room, I will knock first. It has become a habit. Better safe than sorry right?? Anyway, some freaky stuff happened on the first night at Nantou - I couldn't fall asleep because of a really bad tummyache so I just closed my eyes and I prayed that the pain would go away. Then all of a sudden, I heard water droplets coming out of the tap in the toilet? "Tuk....tuk...tuk...tuk..tuk.." WTF I FREAKED OUT and just froze. I thought I was just imagining it all, so I just brushed it off. But the frequency got quicker and finally it stopped entirely. Then I decided to check what time it was (So stupid seriously). I grabbed my phone and as I pressed the home button, the clock turned from 259am to 3am. WTF. I immediately just turned to kengyang and prayed and PRAYED. So yes, freakish hotel rooms SUCK.

This is the first hotel that we stayed in. Our hotel room was very spacious and looked just like the photo provided on the website. We had a huge window too but lol, our view was the carpark and not Sun Moon Lake. SIAN.

1. Nantou Einhan Resorts

(Source: X)

We spent our second night in Kaohsiung and it was not a luxurious hotel. I"m guessing it's because we were staying in a city, instead of the suburbs, so the hotel rooms naturally were smaller and more cramped.

2. Kaohsiung Metropolitan Hotel 

(Source: X)

My favourite hotel of the lot. We had our own hot spring in the toilet and the room was HUMONGOUS. I really wished we had more nights in this beautiful hotel!

3. Taitung Royal Chihpen Spa

Our hotel room looked exactly like the photo provided on the website. AMAZING HOTEL!

(Source: X)

Our hotel in Hualien was also very comfortable and luxurious. The breakfast buffet was super delicious as well!!

4. Hualien Fullon Hotel

(Source: X)

We spent the last 2 nights in Taipei and I didn't really like the hotel that we stayed in. It was really cramped and the beds were tiny. I refused to sleep on one of the beds because it directly faced a mirror wtf. What kind of a hotel will do that?! It's hotel taboo! (The myth is your soul may get sucked into the mirror when you sleep and there's a possibility that your soul cannot get back into your body). I don't swear by hotel superstitions but it's really better safe than sorry lah. You know may have problem already, then you sleep on it for what right??

This hotel was really really old too and some of our drawers were damaged. BOO.

5. Taipei Fullerton East Hotel (changed from Taipei Imperial Hotel)

(Source: X)

So that's it! All the 5 hotels that I stayed in during my 7-day-6-night trip to Taiwan. I don't think I'll be joining a tour group for my future Taiwan trips. I'd rather stick to one/two hotels and explore each city more in a 7-day period. Or stay in an airbnb house! I love airbnb!!

My next trip will be from 27Feb to 2Mar for a company getaway. The location is still unknown though. The rumour is we're going to a Scandinavia country! YAY!

After that, I'll be going to Japan in August! I haven't really planned anything but I really want to spend summer in Japan! :) It's going to be blistering hot and freaking humid, but aiyoh, what's new when you live in Singapore?

Have a great Friday guys, YAY WEEKEND IS HERE! :)

Happy New Year!!! Resolutions, resolutions...

(Source: X)

Happy New Year dearest blog readers!! :)

2013 passed by so quickly, how did that happen?! 2014 creeped in unexpectedly and I gotta say I'm not ready to face the new year. But then again, no use complaining about days that have already passed, I just got to face the new year as per normal. There are challenges that I expect in 2014 and I'm quite boggled on how I'm going to tackle them all. Things always seem to work out in the end though, so I'M WELCOMING 2014 WITH OPEN ARMS. 

Let's look back at my 2013 resolutions? 

In 2013,

- I'd like to lose another 5kg. This will bring my total weight loss to 12kg.
- I need to go to Japan and Taiwan.
- I need to stop hating myself so much.
- Care less, hurt less (said by the wise boyfriend last night)
- More love for this blog!!

Weight-wise, no, I didn't lose another 5 kg. I didn't gain any too. By the way, I have decided that I'm no longer going to put my weight as a new year's resolution, it's quite pointless to be honest. 

I did go to both Japan and Taiwan. YAY!

"I need to stop hating myself so much." I'm not sure if I really did slow down the self-blame process. I have had a couple of breakdowns and I still remember sobbing out loud and screaming at kengyang on the phone. That was terrible but my lovely boyfriend handled it like a boss. "Like a boss" is a very much overused phrase, but I can't think of anything better so yes, he handled it LIKE A BOSS. It's very difficult to control those negative emotions but I do think I'm a little bit better? 

Caring less and hurting less had always been on my mind for the entire 2013. So yes, this was something that I accomplished. 

"More love for this blog!!" I tried my very best and I wanted to post something new often for my readers! Please tell me if I need to make some improvements etc.!! I tried to change the layout and template of this blog (I'm quite tired of the dark theme), but WALAO BLOGGER IS BEING A BITCH. Every time I edit, it will be indicated as "Changes Saved" but I can't even see the changes?! FML. 

In 2014, I want to...

• Open another savings account, preferably with another bank, and save at least S$15,000 by the end of the year.
• Secure that HDB flat!!
• Go back to Japan during summer. 
• Skype with Kengyang once every 2 days when he's in Shanghai (Feb - Jul 2014)
• Be more calm and collected during clients' training sessions. 
• Care less and hurt less. Give more and love more. 
• Overcome my fear of donating blood. 

Hopefully, I'll be able to fulfill all my resolutions by 31 December 2014! 

Once again, happy 2014 guys. I wish all the best for all of you and I hope you guys like what I've been posting on my blog! THANKS SO MUCH FOR BEING AMAZING READERS! :)