I threw two pairs away. I bought four new pairs.
I'm running out of space.
But aiyah, if buying shoes make me happy, then might as well?
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
Black Box December 2013 Edition
Another Black Box post! The December 2013 box came in just in time! So many of the items included are travel-appropriate!
The best thing about Black Box is you don't need to pay a single cent! Just be quick and participate in the balloting system when it opens every month, and you will be notified instantly if you are eligible for a free Black Box or not! Awesome!
Taiwan's weather is definitely going to be mega drying for my dry hands, so this hand cream is a great addition to the box!
Who doesn't love freebies? :D
Sunday, December 1, 2013
November 2013 in general...
I do not what happened to 2013. Why is the year passing by so quickly?? We are now into December 2013 and I'm quite sure I'll be attending count-down gatherings very soon. Then it'll be 2014, then I'll be turning a quarter of a century years old. Gosh.
Scary how fast you go through the 20s so quickly. Your 20s is like the bullet train period, for most people lah. You graduate, you find your first job, you buy your first house, you get married, you have kids, etc. etc. So many responsibilities to handle in your 20s.
My mind is always about these. Aiyoh. I think that's why I have acne flares so late lah. I'm so stressed about everything!
ANYWAY, I got to recommend the below curry noodles to everyone that I know. It is SO NICE. I went to Chan Brothers to get my Taiwan travel visa done and Kengyang and his parents brought me to this magical place (Hong Lim Complex!) for breakfast.
W.O.W. I don't fancy curry mee very much, especially those with yellow noodles. I detest yellow noodles. But the thick beehoon version was so nice and soooooo smoooooooth. It's quite pricey for hawker food (S$5/S$7) but the S$5 bowl was a mega huge serving and the uncle's generous with his portioning.
TWO THUMBS UP.
Kengyang also brought me to this porridge place at Bukit Merah (Ye Shang Hai Porridge) and it was extremely affordable and very yummers.
Yes, Kengyang's family eats out a lot so they know where the good eats are. Yay for me. HAHA.
Anyway, we paid S$6.20 (!!) for what we ordered. We realised we didn't have meat so we ordered a small portion of duck from the duck rice stall and that plate cost as much as our entire porridge meal (S$6). Haiyoh.
Finally tried the Royal Pudding from Paris Baguette Cafe. This is not cheap at all - S$4.50 for a tiny portion. But the container is cute, can be reused and mom paid for it, so of course must try. I got the Mango Royal Pudding and wow now I know why people are raving about it.
More Yankee Candle for December! My room smells foul whenever there's no ventilation (strange, maybe there's a dead bug somewhere), so burning candles is a life-saving routine.
I was really upset last Monday and overall I wasn't feeling in the mood to do anything. It was the usual PMS mood swing and it was worse than ever. Miss Lirong was so sweet and when I met her to pass her her Taobao purchase, she gave me a stalk of sunflower and a hand-written note to cheer up. :') This girl is very precious.
-Insert random photo here heehee- I like the necklace so yay!
OKAY. We have come to the most important part of November 2013.
I started on this 30 Day Squat Challenge after seeing it on Instagram. Today is Day 12 for me and it's rest day (Thank God). I have been religiously following the routine and I gotta be honest, it hurts, hurts like hell.
However, the results have been quite positive. I did squats everyday + 1-min planks and then my jogging routine every other day, and I have lost some centimetres!!!! So exciting!!
My weight has increased though but I'm quite sure that's the additional muscles' contributions. As of last night, I have lost 1.5cm off each calf, 1.5cm off each thigh, 2cm off my waist and 4cm off my hips. WTF?!?! Got so lihai or not?? That's after 11 days only le!!
I'm so impressed with the results and I'm DEFINITELY going to continue this routine. I must admit though, planks are so much more difficult to do than squats. But yay, centimetres lost = always a good thing! :D
Now, let's face December 2013 bravely! I'm traveling to Taiwan from 20-27 December 2013 (thanks Kengyang's parents!!) and I'm stoked!! :D
Michael Todd True Organics Acne/Oily Skin Regimen
Me and my never-ending quest in finding the correct skincare product for my acne-prone skin. I don't know about any of you but this journey is a tired and strangely exciting one.
So far, my skin has been better. Being back on doxycycline and a gazillion other pills definitely helped the situation, but I'm thinking of cutting out the zinc pills and doxycycline in another 3 months or so because I don't want to suffer from any side effects in the future. Hence, here I am again, browsing the web for the next big acne-crushing skincare product.
To be frank, I'm quite tired. My TBS tea-tree products have been great and they didn't cause any breakouts, which is superb! Hence, I'm going to continue using TBS tea-tree moisturisers because they are mega awesome and they smell amazing. :)
For all the other steps in my skincare routine, I'm planning to switch it up a little. I'm a bit wary of using SKII products (even though a lot of people have been pushing me to use the miraculous SKII products), and so I think I will SKII when I turn 30? LOL I don't know, I may just buy it for myself when the time comes. But definitely not now.
So, I came across Michael Todd True Organics products! The reviews online have so far been mostly positive and I'm stoked to try it out.
They have an Acne/Oily Skin Regimen specially targeted at users with acne-prone skin (ME ME!) and I just placed my order.
The kit is not cheap. I paid US$65.95 in total (plus international shipping). The kit itself costs US$132, but it's now on sale for US$70, and I got a further 20% off using the code "noacne", so I ended up paying US$56 for the entire kit! Thanks GOOGLE!
The products are all organic and contain no water/alcohol/harsh chemicals. I'm quite curious as how this will turn out because the products do not contain chemicals like benzoyl peroxide, which is the first chemical that comes into my mind when it comes to treating acne! Pumped to try the kit out!
The Acne/Oily Skin Regimen consists of:
- CHARCOAL DETOX deep-pore gel cleanser penetrates pores to draw out impurities - 210 ml
- ORGANIC LEMON AHA + DMAE toner - 250 ml
- KAOLIN CLAY detoxifying facial mask cooling and detoxifying treatment - 100 ml (maximum strength)
- ANTIOXIDANT CARROT multivitamin serum - 30 ml (new and improved formula)
- JOJOBA CHARCOAL SCRUB gentle exfoliating facial scrub - 100 ml
They also had a Discovery Kit for Acne/Oily Skin where you get to try out travel-sized products first but I was doing the math in my head and this kit was more "bang for the buck".
For those of you with sensitive acne-prone skin, they have another regimen - Acne/Oily Sensitive Skin Regimen - for you! The kit that I bought may be too harsh/drying on sensitive skin!
And yes, they don't really have a moisturiser included in the kit, so I'll be using my TBS day and night moisturisers with this kit! Can't wait! :)
Update on my skin condition: my right side is TOTALLY clear, but my left side has been acting up (should be menses lah) and I woke up to 6 new pimples. LOL. The good thing is they are drying up really fast! I'm okay with pimples, but I really hate painful ones. Yesterday was not a good day for me. I was extremely sick and I had painful pimples on my skin. NOT NICE AT ALL.
I'm excited to try out the Michael Todd True Organics Acne/Oily Skin Regimen! Faster come faster come!!
Saturday, November 30, 2013
ShopperBoard - Online Shopping Made Easy
Online shopaholics unite!!
Another thing that I really love about ShopperBoard is how organised I can be. Instead of just dumping everything into my profile page, I can organise them under different categories ("boards") and make my life much easier. For example, I need dresses for an upcoming Christmas party, so I'll need to search for one under my saved products, but what if I have saved 200 products?! If I have saved all the dresses under my "Dresses" board, I can just click on that board and I will see all of my saved dresses when I need to buy one!
Of course, you can follow your friends or any users that you think have the same fashion preferences as you. ShopperBoard allows you to save and share products - it's like social media platform for online shopping devotees.
The next alternative will be to follow the stores that you like. I especially like this function because I'm the type of online shopper who tends to stick to certain online shops. I'm open to new brands, but most of the time, I browse the same websites.
Some new users will be wondering, "eh? why all the products not as updated as the website itself?" That's because these stores are updated by ShopperBoard users themselves and not the actual stores! This means that if I added a new product from Nastygal.com and no one has ever added a Nastygal.com product before, a new store for Nastygal.com will be automatically created and future products from the same website will be collated there.
It's quite clever actually. Sometimes while browsing Zara.com, I see new products that have not been shared on ShopperBoard and I have this urge to share them with other users! Once you save a product, it will be visible to ALL users!
Currently, ShopperBoard is working on a function to privatise one's account, so if you are iffy about sharing everything with everyone, there's an ongoing development now to answer your worry!
Let's now start on the exciting part - how to save your products!
There are three ways:
2. Click on your "+Add to Board" button. You should instantly be prompted to choose the image that you want to use.
3. Choose your preferred image, and you will be prompted with the below window. Save the product into one of your existing boards or create a new one instantly! Write your comment (you can ignore this part too if you don't want to comment!) and click "Save to ShopperBoard"
4. You'll be prompted with another window, this time for the details of the product, like its price, etc. If you don't want to add any details, you can just click "Update Details" and it will still be saved.
5. Voilà!! It's now saved in your ShopperBoard account!
Lastly, you can save a product simply by saving what other users have saved.
If I like this parakeet necklace that has already been shared, I just click on it, and click the "Save" button! And it'll be saved straight to my board too!
If you are browsing someone's profile, you can just hover around the item that you like, and you can save it by clicking "Save" too. So many ways to make your shopping more convenient!!
With every online shopping service, you need a "Search" function because you never know when that style urge will kick in. For example, I was really feeling this holographic trend and I simply searched for the term "holographic" and yay all these pretty products came out straight away. Seriously, ShopperBoard makes online shopping SO MUCH easier.
Are you interested to get started already??
Not sure yet?? No problemooo, visit these links if you want more information!
Finally, we have come to the most exciting part - ShopperBoard's Christmas giveaway!! (YAY I LOVE GIVEAWAYS!)
It's very very very simple.
For more information on this, click on the following link: More information on ShopperBoard Christmas Giveaway
Because I'm kiasu, I have done everything, HEEHEE.
Of course, terms and conditions apply, so refer to the blogpost link for more information!
So here's my Christmas Board! Yay!
And if your search "christmas", you can view all the products that users have saved in their Christmas wishlists!
So exciting right!! ShopperBoard not only makes your online shopping life easier, but they also hold contests quite frequently, so if you want to try your luck, like their facebook page!
I applaud you, my dear readers, for making it to the end of this post. I'm sure some of you may have forgotten the front part of this post. No problemo, here's a video for you! :D
Have this post made you a ShopperBoard believer? Join the community and enjoy the online shopping experience with ShopperBoard!
Thanks for reading guys and enjoy your week! :)
Let's not go into details about how amazing and convenient online shopping is, instead let's discuss how tiring the process of online shopping can be when you're a serial online shopper.
- "Oh, I like this. Oh, I like this too!!! So many chio ones!!" - you just keep right-clicking everything that you love from a website and opening them in new tabs. After that, what do you do?
- "Ok need to save this link. Bookmark, bookmark!" - Bookmarking, compiling all the nice things that you love. Then you come back and stare at your bookmarks 2 weeks later, hmmm what are these? PROBLEM: You save/bookmark links, but you don't know how the products look like. If you are a serial online shopper, this is a huge problem because you tend to save A LOT of links.
- "Maybe I should save the photos and links, and compile them in a word document!" - Brilliant idea, but terrible when executing. PROBLEM: Yes, it's a great idea to compile both photos and links together in one place, but wah, how long are you going to take to compile them? Online shoppers like convenience and promptness, compiling everything probably will waste half of your precious weekend.
- "Okay, I'll just leave the tabs and go back to them when I want to buy the items." - Once again great idea, but it ends there. PROBLEM: Having 30 over tabs, and then looking at them one by one to decide which to get (bye bye time). Not to mention how slow your browsing becomes, and how slow the entire system in general becomes.
I have tried everything okay. EVERYTHING. Most of the time, there are 2 common aftermath - I get irritated and I stop OR I forget to buy everything that I find pretty.
Then... I came across this life-saving online service. LIFE-SAVING.
ShopperBoard is a brilliant, brilliant locally initiated service for online shopping users. It's simple to use and it answers the problems that most online shopping enthusiasts face - organising the online products that you fancy in one single location and the ability to choose your saved products at one glance and purchase them when you are ready to. GENIUS.
It's so easy to online shop now!
Looking at my ShopperBoard profile below, it's quite obvious how addictive ShopperBoard can be. When you click on someone's profile, you will instantly be brought to their profile page with all their saved products displayed.
It's not so simple, you know. It's like showing the world your sense of style. I find it extremely satisfying to find online products that I fancy and follow my sense of style. Quite therapeutic because at the end of the day, when I click on my own profile, everything looks consistent. Maybe I have mild OCD. Yikes.
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| (Follow me or browse what I've saved at X) |
Of course, you can follow your friends or any users that you think have the same fashion preferences as you. ShopperBoard allows you to save and share products - it's like social media platform for online shopping devotees.
The next alternative will be to follow the stores that you like. I especially like this function because I'm the type of online shopper who tends to stick to certain online shops. I'm open to new brands, but most of the time, I browse the same websites.
Some new users will be wondering, "eh? why all the products not as updated as the website itself?" That's because these stores are updated by ShopperBoard users themselves and not the actual stores! This means that if I added a new product from Nastygal.com and no one has ever added a Nastygal.com product before, a new store for Nastygal.com will be automatically created and future products from the same website will be collated there.
It's quite clever actually. Sometimes while browsing Zara.com, I see new products that have not been shared on ShopperBoard and I have this urge to share them with other users! Once you save a product, it will be visible to ALL users!
Currently, ShopperBoard is working on a function to privatise one's account, so if you are iffy about sharing everything with everyone, there's an ongoing development now to answer your worry!
Let's now start on the exciting part - how to save your products!
There are three ways:
- Click the "+Add" button at the top right hand corner and copy paste the link, or
- Add the "+Add to Board" button to your bookmarks/favourites bar, and just click it when you are viewing a website of the product that you like.
- Simply save from other users!
Just follow these steps to get started. Super simple. I have the BoardButton added to my laptop, work laptop and work desktop computer. HAHA.
For more information on the BoardButton (different internet service providers, mobile usage, etc), please click on these links: BoardButton Info and BoardButton FAQ
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| (Source: X) |
I realised this is going to be quite a long post. But hey, anything for my fellow online shopping addicts! So grab a tea/coffee/drink of choice and carry on! :D
A step-by-step on how to save your aiyoh-so-chio-i-wanna-buy-next-time items.
1. Find your products. (So pretty right this ASOS skirt???)
A step-by-step on how to save your aiyoh-so-chio-i-wanna-buy-next-time items.
1. Find your products. (So pretty right this ASOS skirt???)
2. Click on your "+Add to Board" button. You should instantly be prompted to choose the image that you want to use.
3. Choose your preferred image, and you will be prompted with the below window. Save the product into one of your existing boards or create a new one instantly! Write your comment (you can ignore this part too if you don't want to comment!) and click "Save to ShopperBoard"
4. You'll be prompted with another window, this time for the details of the product, like its price, etc. If you don't want to add any details, you can just click "Update Details" and it will still be saved.
5. Voilà!! It's now saved in your ShopperBoard account!
Then you realise, hmm, I need to change the Board Title because hey! There are so many types of skirts!
Easy peasy. Just click on that particular board, and edit it straightaway. The pencil tool means that you can edit the text!
For more information on how to edit Board Title, click this link: Board Title FAQ
It's easy to edit the board description too! And if you want to delete a certain board, super easy peasy - "Delete" button!
Another feature that I like about ShopperBoard is how I can follow someone's board. So instead of following the user only, I can follow one of her boards if I find it interesting!
If I like this parakeet necklace that has already been shared, I just click on it, and click the "Save" button! And it'll be saved straight to my board too!
If you are browsing someone's profile, you can just hover around the item that you like, and you can save it by clicking "Save" too. So many ways to make your shopping more convenient!!
With every online shopping service, you need a "Search" function because you never know when that style urge will kick in. For example, I was really feeling this holographic trend and I simply searched for the term "holographic" and yay all these pretty products came out straight away. Seriously, ShopperBoard makes online shopping SO MUCH easier.
Are you interested to get started already??
Not sure yet?? No problemooo, visit these links if you want more information!
Finally, we have come to the most exciting part - ShopperBoard's Christmas giveaway!! (YAY I LOVE GIVEAWAYS!)
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| (Source: ShopperBoard Facebook page) |
- Like ShopperBoard's FB page.
- Like and share the Christmas Giveaway post
- Sign up for your free account (if you haven't)
- Create/Rename a board titled "ShopperBoard Christmas 2013" (without the brackets)
- Save at least 6 products in this board
- Hashtag your items #christmas for everyone to see!
- Additional chance: share you Christmas board on your facebook and tag ShopperBoard and/or Instagram a screenshot of your Christmas board and tag @shopperboard. You must include the sentence, "I want to win everything on my ShopperBoard for Christmas!".
For more information on this, click on the following link: More information on ShopperBoard Christmas Giveaway
Because I'm kiasu, I have done everything, HEEHEE.
Of course, terms and conditions apply, so refer to the blogpost link for more information!
So here's my Christmas Board! Yay!
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| (Browse through all the #christmas products saved by other users by clicking this link) |
I applaud you, my dear readers, for making it to the end of this post. I'm sure some of you may have forgotten the front part of this post. No problemo, here's a video for you! :D
Have this post made you a ShopperBoard believer? Join the community and enjoy the online shopping experience with ShopperBoard!
Thanks for reading guys and enjoy your week! :)
Friday, November 29, 2013
Jtown Cafe (Midpoint Orchard) - Get your Bakmi Ayam fix here!
It was one of those days when you can only be satisfied by a certain meal. For me, I desperately needed Indonesian food. Googling brought me to an Indonesian restaurant at Midpoint Orchard that specialises in Bakmi Ayam (Indonesian Chicken Noodles), so of course I had to go and give it a try!
First of all, I had no idea where Midpoint Orchard was. LOL. It's one of those buildings that never catches your attention when you walk past it!
Initially I was a bit reluctant to bring Kengyang here because he doesn't really fancy overly-salty food, and Indonesian food is, most of the time, overly-salty for a Singaporean palate. But hey, he actually enjoyed the food! I think Jtown Cafe toned down the saltiness a tiny bit, but aiyah still nice!
I ordered the Bakmi Ayam Cabe Ijo (Indonesian Chicken Noodles with Green Chilli). This was so good but so spicy. Halfway through our meal, I could feel some explosive chemical reaction going on in my tummy. HAHA. The serving was humongous and the noodles were spectacular! I think the next time I visit Jtown Cafe, I will just get the normal Bakmi Ayam.
Kengyang ordered the rice version of my dish (Nasi Ayam Cabe Ijo) and I didn't expect him to like it so much! The soup was really good and he said that the spiciness was just nice for him. OK lah, time to bring this guy to Indonesia for more amazing Indonesian food!
We also ordered Batagor (Fried Indonesian Fish Cake) and this was extremely average. The fish cake was way too doughy and the peanut sauce was too thick. But then again, anything fried is nice, so we still polished this up!
Jtown Cafe is a fuss-free, authentic Indonesian restaurant serving some kick-ass Bakmi Ayam! It's definitely a place I want to go to for my Indonesian Chicken Noodle fix!
Anyway, this is super random but I was ordering yesterday and the situation got kinda awkward. I ordered in Bahasa Indonesia, but she replied in English, even though I heard her speak in Bahasa Indonesia a couple of minutes before. HAHA. I was questioning my Bahasa Indonesia accent big time. :S
First of all, I had no idea where Midpoint Orchard was. LOL. It's one of those buildings that never catches your attention when you walk past it!
Initially I was a bit reluctant to bring Kengyang here because he doesn't really fancy overly-salty food, and Indonesian food is, most of the time, overly-salty for a Singaporean palate. But hey, he actually enjoyed the food! I think Jtown Cafe toned down the saltiness a tiny bit, but aiyah still nice!
I ordered the Bakmi Ayam Cabe Ijo (Indonesian Chicken Noodles with Green Chilli). This was so good but so spicy. Halfway through our meal, I could feel some explosive chemical reaction going on in my tummy. HAHA. The serving was humongous and the noodles were spectacular! I think the next time I visit Jtown Cafe, I will just get the normal Bakmi Ayam.
We ordered a couple of side dishes as well (we always over order, mehh). Jtown Cafe served Martabak Manis as well, and homg I miss this dessert so freaking much!! We had the mixed martabak with chocolate and cheese, and it was SO GOOD. Serving's a little small though. I wanted more!
We also ordered Batagor (Fried Indonesian Fish Cake) and this was extremely average. The fish cake was way too doughy and the peanut sauce was too thick. But then again, anything fried is nice, so we still polished this up!
Jtown Cafe is a fuss-free, authentic Indonesian restaurant serving some kick-ass Bakmi Ayam! It's definitely a place I want to go to for my Indonesian Chicken Noodle fix!
Anyway, this is super random but I was ordering yesterday and the situation got kinda awkward. I ordered in Bahasa Indonesia, but she replied in English, even though I heard her speak in Bahasa Indonesia a couple of minutes before. HAHA. I was questioning my Bahasa Indonesia accent big time. :S
Jtown Cafe
#B1-04/05, Midpoint Orchard
220 Orchard Road, Singapore 238852
Open daily from noon to 9pm
Thursday, November 21, 2013
Singsale haul: BH Cosmetics brush sets and palette
So many temptations for shopaholics! My latest craze is Singsale. I have the app on my iPhone and it is disturbing my sleeping routine because I HAVE to browse the sales before I go to bed every night! Such a terrible addiction. Yikes.
Singsale is basically a bargain shopper's paradise. It's a members-only service (free sign-up!) and you'll be able to browse sales from various international brands. New sales start every morning and each sale goes on for typically 2 to 3 days. Singsale hosts almost all kinds of sales - beauty, apparels, household products, etc. If you love convenient online shopping (My BH Cosmetics products purchase was done entirely on my phone. GREAT!), please download the app/visit the website regularly!
Some BH Cosmetics products that I purchase for S$10 each!
Double-Ended Travel Brush Set (original price US$17.95, now on sale on store website for US$9.95)
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| (Source: X) |
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| (Source: X) |
Judy (itsjudytime, itsjudyslife, itsmommyslife) was raving about the BH Malibu Eyeshadow and Blush Palette in a few of her vlogs and I wanted to try the palettes so badly! Malibu has more greens and blues so it's not really up my alley, but the San Fransisco Palette looks great! So I got them!
BH San Fransisco Eyeshadow and Blush Palette (original price US$17.95, now on sale on store website for US$8.95).
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| (Source: X) |
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| (Source: X) |
7 Pieces Travel Essential Brush Set (original price US$18.95, now on sale on store website for US$11.95)
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| (Source: X) |
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| (Source: X) |
Shipping takes some time though, and I had to pay S$8 more for shipping + delivery. But then again, if I ordered from BH Cosmetics website, it would have cost me much more and would take around the same timing to reach me. So, yes, patience is a virtue.
The iPhone app doesn't show you in detail your order's trail. You have to go to the Singsale website and check it under your account! I'm estimating to receive mine maybe by next Monday? *fingers crossed*
So far, shopping on Singsale has been extremely fuss-free! Do try it out you shopaholics! And if you're in Malaysia, no problem, they have Mysale. Australia? Ozsale! New Zealand? NZsale! I think there are more countries, googling time!
Yay can't wait to get my stuff! :D
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