Seoul!

Hi all! We're in Seoul! I'm dead tired, having lots of fun, and so there won't be much updates in the coming days. I'm watching Korean TV now and just saw Lee Min Ho's ad, the one with him in black eyeliner and dancings? So cool! And we kinda were ssssoooooo fan-girl when we saw his poster at Etude House. HAHA! But I forgot my camera, so no photos of the "adventure". > . < Will report as much as I can when possible. See you soon!! :D © Copyright. All rights reserved.

Day 2: Ginza and Yurakucho

I'm such a dedicated blogger! Haha, I'm posting even while on holiday! Anyway, it's a sort of diary for me, and also at night, I really feel the "pain" of being away from my family, so it's good to keep occupied. (I'm strange, I go on solo holiday to take a break from family and spend time thinking about them while on the holiday!! LOL. Oh well, I must admit I'm more of a family person than I care to let on ... haha.) I spent the day with Bittenbefore of Welcome to my everyday ... she's reaaaaaally nice and fun!! I had a great time. Thanks so much, Bittenbefore! I brought my little camera, but I forgot to take pictures! We were just having too much to talk about! She brought me to Ginza Matsumoto Kiyoshi (where I got sensory overload and couldn't decide what to buy) and also Yurakucho, 0101 Marui, where there is an Orbis store. Plus we shopped around looking at bags and stuff. I even bought the Jill Stuart mook that came with an umbrella, which was used immediately tonight because there was a heavy downpour! Here's my haul (sorry for the small pics, can't upload large ones somehow). I won't bother with too much detail information, because I think I bought too much stuff for just one day!! Safe to say there's a bunch of whitening stuff in there. Bittenbefore helped me get samples galore at Orbis! After I left Bittenbefore, I went and bought clothes. :p Bittenbefore also brought me the DHC stuff that we (Pinky and I) ordered. It's alot, I think I'll leave that for later blogging. She also kindly gave me the DHC mags to plan my further DHC hauling haha. Here's a photo of the Whitening Kit and other whitening stuff from Fancl that I bought yesterday (yea I'm getting abit obsessed about whitening). I kind of really like the essence powder! There's even more discount if you buy like 2 or 3 of each item, so I bought duplicates. :D (Happy dance!) Now I need to go strategise my packing (I dread that.) See you tomorrow! Oh my arms ache from carrying all that shopping! © Copyright. All rights reserved.

Day 1: Tokyo

Greetings from Tokyo! I wandered around Shinjuku today, not up to taking the train at all. Shinjuku seems much more busy and rushed to me. Maybe I'm just getting older! The view from my hotel room looks quite nice. I can see Lumine. Rather nice hotel I'm staying in this time, very near Shinjuku Station, just 1 block away! And first time I had early check-in, so I could shower and freshen up before hitting the shops! The hotel provides Polar shower gel, shampoo and conditioner. And Shiseido face wash and shaving cream! I really planned very badly for this trip! I changed too little cash in yen, it's stressing me out to try to spend enough to sign for it on the card! Plus, I also don't know why my baggage is so heavy even before I started shopping. :( Here are few little things I bought today. Had to get some "smelly" Lush fix, and Fancl is cheaper here, so I hauled a bunch of their whitening stuff. The SA said, "Hooh, aaaall whitening neh??!!" Haha. I bought a Perfect Whitening Kit (Limited Edition) that worked out to be quite abit of savings. I forgot to take a pic. Maybe later. Anwyay, I didn't know why but the elusive makeup suddenly seemed unattractive ... but I think I will go back to get some. Actually the makeup at the Changi Airport duty free seemed more attractive. I regret not getting the Chanel glosses (will ask the husband to pick them up for me). Right now, I'm lemming a pink Samantha Tavatha bag I saw this afternoon. Should I buy it? Finally, I'm so dehydrated and dried up! Had to drink up a whole lot of water. I ate miso ramen for lunch and persimmon leaf sushi for dinner, but forgot to take photos. Haha. Ok, see you later! I'm going to have an early night! © Copyright. All rights reserved.

Paul and Joe Haul

Hi, I'm not gone yet. My last post before I board the plane tonight (I know you are BORED of hearing it already haha!) I have internet connection at the hotels I'm putting up in, so I'll probably log in every once in a while. Anyway, today's post is to show you, ok, confess, I'm nuts. LOL. I went and bought P&J stuff BEFORE going to Japan. Turns out it's cheaper to get P&J here, particularly with a 20% discount. Thanks to the heads up from Miracle, I headed to BHG, where there was a 20% discount yesterday at the P&J BHG counter. ^__^ (Btw, Miracle, yes it's S****y at Isetan Scotts! ^_^ ) Items: Protective Fluid Foundation N 20, Moisturizing Foundation Primer 01, Pressed Powder N 02. So, my FAQ is amended. Previously the Takashimaya SA told me the P&J Primer is $63sg and so I wrote that it's cheaper to buy P&J in Japan. Actually, the primer is $53sg and that means it's cheaper to buy P&J here in Singapore, with the current exchange rate. $63sg is the price of the Protective Fluid Foundation N. The SA recommended that I take the Primer in 01 and the Foundation in 20 (instead of 02 and 10 respectively) and showed me a comparison. Primer 01 is a glowy base whereas Primer 02 is yellow based. Foundation 10 is yellowish (matched with 01 primer it'll make me look white). 02 foundation is more pinkish, so matched with Primer 01, it'll give a glowy look, instead of white. Whereas 02 primer + 10 foundation will give me a more matte (ie. yellow-based), less glowy look. Confused yet? I was. It did look better though, I sometimes think these SAs have all these theories just to confuse us. LOL. I also managed to get the often out-of-stock Pressed Powder N in 02. I chose this gift-with-purchase as I wanted to get those skin care samples. Very nice texture and feel to the pouch. And it's so roomy. Included are sample sizes of Moisturising Foundation Primer 03 (was told it's transluscent), Light Cleansing Milk, Moisture Lotion, Moisture Cream and Whitening Emulsion. Here's my "collection" of powders, 2 foundations and 3 pressed powders (I know, I don't need so many hahaa and I'm going to buy more soon!) I don't collect makeup, so I use them all (not at the same time haha) and love them for different reasons, but you know what? I can't tell really, if they are perfect matches. I'm not good at peering at my face and making makeup evaluations. :p Did you notice something? One of the powders is in a "weird" non-makeup container? Haha, I stuck my P&J Creamy Compact Foundation 01 into the free Doraemon box that came with May issue of Biteki and it fit! It fit into the cover though, so Doraemon's bum is always facing me now when the box is closed. LOL! I decided to leave it there. :D Thing is, I only have 1 container/cover for my P&J powders, so I measured and I think I can stick P&J powder into the Lioele container. Is it abit OCD to want proper covers for all the powder refills? They do fine in their well-made plastic containers actually. © Copyright. All rights reserved.

Some Freebies I Got This Week

I was too free last week and started dwelling too much on negative things. It didn't feel good at all (I'm sorry I tortured you guys with some of it in my posts!) Fortunately, I have many things to do now, and feel back to normal. I'll show you some freebies I got this week. A lipstick from Loreal - member gift. A long-lasting lipstick. Colour is quite nice but I don't like lipsticks like this because they are dry and leave a stain after wiping off with just a tissue. From Shiseido, another member gift, I don't know for what, but I went down to collect it. It was supposed to be a shampoo and moisturiser sample, but since I was late, the shampoo had run out and they replaced it with a conditioner. The SA told me it's the last one! LOL. Recently, the hair dresser decided to trim my bangs so that it is "lighter". It is still long but cannot be tucked behind my ear anymore. So, my hair keeps getting in my eyes (annoying when shopping frantically). Wearing hairbands give me a headache and unflattering with my thin hair. I dug out my pins. Plain. Yeps. I feel it's feel comical to be in my 30s, wearing glasses and putting on flowery/too glittery pins on my hair. LOL. After talking so much about it, I'm finally leaving on my trip tomorrow night. I'm really nervous because it's my first time travelling alone! I've never travelled alone before actually. Does it sound strange? Decided to bring my laptop and DSLR. I will stick my DSLR in my handbag. Can you see it? I'm sure it's a not good idea at all. It's not padded and not safe, but I don't want to bring the big camera bag. © Copyright. All rights reserved.

Random Shopping & Makeup Talk

Just for discussion sake, I want to show you my eyes without makeup and without eyecream. And here is yesterday's EOTD, with makeup, using Lunasol's eye palette from the 08 Christmas Coffret & mixed in some of Jill Stuart eye palette. See, I DO put on makeup. I don't understand why people keep telling me to put on makeup! I don't understand what they are asking me to do, wear clown colours?????!!!!??? I do put on makeup, I DO! If I line all around my eyes with black eyeliner like the SAs like to advise me to do, it actually looks too harsh and absolutely fake on me. Thinking back, I think that's what the Japanese Kanebo MA was trying to tell me. Really fed-up. I'm starting to think people say these things to me, only because they don't know what else to say!! By the way, I think my dark eye circles have improved! I've been using Biotherm HYDRA-DETOX BIO-DEFENSIS Yeux and Beaute de Kose ULTIMATION Eye Cream since Dec 08. I bought and will be switching to Shiseido's Bioperformance Eye Contour for a while to try out though. Check out the difference, this was my just-cleaned eye without any eye cream in Dec 08. Photo dated: 24 Dec 08. Did you know you could pre-order stuff online from Changi Airport's Duty Free, then collect the stuff before your flight? Or even keep the stuff at the store, then collect them on your return flight? Personally, I only learnt this yesterday while surfing the net. I found that I could either order stuff from the Changi Airport Malls site or directly from Nuance Watson's site. I'm keen on some products but not sure if I should buy them since I intend to haul stuff on my trip. I do know the husband is travelling in May! I can preorder stuff and get him to pick them up for me. *gleeful* Lastly, I want to show you my new powder. Remember the Paul & Joe SA recommended the wrong colour? I went to P&H counter yesterday and 02 is still not available so I changed it for Pressed Powder N in 04. I've been wanting it since I saw it in Fuz's blog. Isn't it pretty? I tried to adjust the colour to show you the light mauve tinge it has. I haven't used it yet but I think if it suits Fuz, it'll be ok for me, cos I think we have similar colouring, since she uses Legere BB Cream without much problems. Though the P&J SA is quite lousy with her colour-matching, I'd recommend Singaporeans go head for the Isetan Scotts P&J counter if you want an easy-going SA. Look for the SA who works in the afternoon shift, has wavy hair (like it was done with curling irons) and speaks English with a heavy Chinese accent (very heavy, I often can't understand her unless I speak Chinese with her). I shouldn't tell you her name online but email me if you want to know. Otherwise, I actually prefer the Takashimaya Paul & Joe SAs. They are more knowledgeable and better at colour matching. I MUST submit my Takashimaya card application soon! Today, I'm inspired by Fuz and will go search for some hairstyling irons ... © Copyright. All rights reserved.

Reviews: Cleanser, Serum & What I Wore Today

3 reviews today. 1. Lavera Neutral Cleansing Gel I don't like it. It cleans but it doesn't lather and I feel it doesn't have a deep cleansing effect, so my pores feel gunky. I shall leave it for the son to use / for days when I am having hypersensitive reactions. Fortunately I only bought 2 tubes of it at $7sg per piece. 2. Shiseido White Lucent Concentrated Brightening Serum (Sample - small tube next to Lavera Cleanser) I love it. Sometimes I get pimples on my chin during PMS. I used it on my pimple scars and they lightened very quickly. Much faster than even when I use Blanchir. And it's not oily. I don't know the price of the full size bottle, and I have alot of whitening products to try, so I might not buy it yet, but it's likely I'll buy it in future. 3. What I Wore Today (Shopping Outfit) I hated it. Kinda. For various reasons. I tried wearing a jacket (dug out my Abercrombie) instead of a cardigan to hide the spaghetti straps. So, are heels really better than flats? Heels (Btw, someone commented these shoes are serviceable. What are "serviceable" shoes?): Flats: I went with the flats today. My sis-in-law is always in her Prada flats but I bet no one ever tells her to wear heels to be fashionable or to pretty-up a dress? She's really thin though (despite having 2 kids), and much taller than me, over 170cm. Almost as tall as my brother whom she married, whereas I'm only about 167cm. Anyway, those darned flats still hurt so bad, in a fit of grouchiness I threw them out. Maybe the sis-in-law could give me the deals to her fav Prada boutiques. To add insult to injury, something about my face that says, "Criticise me, I feel too good about myself and need to be put down." I was browsing the store and an SA came up to say, "Very nice style, but that jacket is too hot for our weather!" WTF? Sure, I felt hot outside (*snigger*) but in the shopping centre, it wasn't bad at all. I was really pissed. And that dress, kept sliding down and showing my "cleavage", plus bunching up at the torso. I really wasn't happy with it at all. Darned dress. I was kinda sweaty and irritated after a long day, and almost bought this cardigan from Zara. But I thought I shouldn't. So I didn't. (Erm, yes, lol, I've taken to bringing the camera around with me, so I can look at clothes I tried and think about them before I buy them. That's the luxury of having time to think.) © Copyright. All rights reserved.

And Here We Officially Bring the Aunty Saga To A Close!

I just came back from a session with a personal shopper at CK Tang. She's a fashionable lady who works with CK Tang and the service is free for shoppers. I complained to her that I was called "aunty" and told her I need some help. So she helped me pick out some clothes and gave me tips. She said I need to wear lighter colours because I'm fair and have brownish hair and eyes. She also said I also need to wear heels (OUCH! T_T I don't like this tip ... ) and put on more makeup (oh dear, am I really wearing it so light?) Anyway I bought some new clothes in lighter shades. Turns out pastel pink is really a nice shade on me! I was always told pink is too Ah-Lian (kind of like our local version of country bumpkin/red-neck but not quite so comparable) and too aunty for me. Gawsh. Who knew. The main thing is that I came away from is this: As a professional shopper, she chose clothes for me (my body shape) that I would have chosen for myself. The cut and shape of dresses, and tops and the designs, they are all similar! The difference is that she gave me some lighter shades to try. So this brings me to the end of this tiring un-auntifying exercise. Your comments have given me much food for thought and I really appreciate all the tips. I'm taking them with me everytime I look at something and thinking it through before buying. This experience with the personal shopper also gave me confidence that I am doing something right. Jamilla said to go for high-end tai-tai look, I think that's where I'd like to be heading ... LOL. There's only so much jeans and tees that the middle-age spread can take. It also brings to mind something my boss said (she's a super domineering highly smart double Masters from some high-falutin' British universities btw). My boss told me, "Sometimes, people mistake an 'expensive' look for something only an older person can afford, hence they say it's 'aunty'." Ok, I'm not rich but I'm going to have to take this attitude and carry it to the very end. I really can't expect everyone to understand the choices I make but I should make sure I'm comfortable and happy with my choices. Take that, you aunty-callers! We shall return to regular programming with immediate effect. ^__^ WOOT! PS: I'm sure there are still some quite aunty things about me, it's just that I'm learning to accept my choices and ... learn learn learn ... improve as I go along. :D Hopefully one day, I'm just me, with my own style and I accept myself for who I am without fear of criticism and judgement. ^___^!!! © Copyright. All rights reserved.

Fasio Hyper-stay Mascara Deep Trick (Curl Long)

I'm reviewing Fasio's Hyper-stay Mascara Deep Trick (Curl Long) in black. It's the tube on the left of the picture. This is what it produces. Rather long lashes but there are some things I dislike about it. (I'm lazy to take another photo, so I apologise for my rather weird looking eyeball HAHAHA.) I didn't apply any mascara on the bottom lashes yet. Like

• Long lashes
• Comb applicator makes it easy to apply to the bottom lashes

Dislikes

• Very hard to apply without clumping
• Lashes stick together after application and feel stiff
• If I'm not careful, I look like I have little spiders on my eyes
• It's too black for me
• Comb applicator picks up too much mascara and doesn't distribute it along the lashes

The lashes above were produced by applying the leftover mascara after I wiped the wand. Yet it still applied so thickly, I still had to use a cotton bud to remove some clumping. I'm not likely to buy it again. © Copyright. All rights reserved.

How to Jazz Up an Aunty Outfit

Ok, since I am on leave from work and I have time, here's the 2nd dress from the previous day's post, that many commented is dowdy and aging. (I don't normally have so much time LOL, maybe that's why my husband doesn't like me having too much time on my hands, I think too much about too many things ...) Oh by the way, thank you to those who think I'm not big/fat haha, I guess it's a camera thing? My fats are distributed well all over my rather large frame? My bones are quite big even when I was 47-49kg in my twenties, I couldn't fit into small sizes. I had to buy Medium clothes, now I'm a large ... :p gawsh ... I don't think that's small or acceptable in a country of very willowy thin girls. It's quite an expensive European "brand" dress, (I got it cheap though haha, in that aspect I'm truly aunty - I look for bargains). The reason I like it:

• A nice heavy fabric and cut (it's classic and comfortable)
• Doesn't make me look like I'm bulging here and there (hides flaws)
• Formal enough for work
• Correct length at the waist (I have a hard time finding dresses in Singapore because I'm taller and have a longer torso than most Singaporean women)
• stops just above the knee, where my legs are thinnest
• Doesn't bunch up thickly at the waist when I'm sitting down.
• Transits easily from indoor to hot outdoors (it's cool, not warm to wear in our tropical weather. Put on a cardigan at the office where it's quite cold, but outside where it is 29-32 deg C, I wear it as is. Layering is a no-no, it's really hot outside. If I didn't take any public transport, I wouldn't mind layering but I do take a 20-30 minute bus-train ride and walk home from work, and I hate shoving in the crowds and feeling hot and sweaty.)

This is normally how I wear it at work. Plain. With a simple silver chain (not visible ... oh oh) and my Italian half-inch pumps (I need comfy shoes ... aging ... sigh). By the way, I left my hair in view for you to see it, it's a short layered one-length bob with a side part. Anyway, for the reasons stated above, I don't want to throw it out. Besides, it's new (and I've thrown half my wardrobe last night already - I think it's time to start thinking about making things work). Haha. Looking at it in the photo, I do look dowdy ... But sigh, I do have a rather thick waist and thick ankles. Eg. some of you suggested belting stuff, eg. wearing a cardi and belting it, I love those looks but when I tried it, and I created 2 lumps, 1 above the belt, and 1 below the belt. :p Since everyone is so helpful, I'd love to hear tips on how you'd recommend jazzing it up. Keep in mind though, that I don't like plastic accessories, and I'm afraid (really meek) about being too bold ... :p (Sigh haha, hard to teach an old dog new tricks huh?) Keke. Thanks! :D I saw some accessories at Aldo and I thought they might help, before I buy them, tell me what you think?

• EVROODIA
• BIBBER
• TREGNAGO

I promise after this post, I need to take a break from this, I think I worked myself up too much thinking about it and I'm really tired. LOL. And I am toying with the idea of booking a personal shopper at Tangs. I'll let you know how it goes if I do. ^_^ © Copyright. All rights reserved.

Thank Yous, & Lunasol Primer

Thank you so much everyone! I appreciate all your comments from yesterday's post! I'm going to take some time to think about how to incorporate them all into my shopping. Some points are really easy to follow, eg. XXX said find things with waist cut. But others are bit harder, eg. I appreciate some of you told me the clothes are frumpy, but I'm not sure how to choose less frumpy clothes in future. Offhand, perhaps the key is that I really have "old" taste and I need to modify this taste. To do so, I'd have to figure out what is "young" haha. :D Am I right to surmise that "old" is stuff that are dark, long and ill-fitting? I did think my clothes fit quite well ... LOL. Ohoh :p Oh well. Oh dear, and I can't be sure I'll go out and buy less frumpy clothes! lol. What to do? And I can't throw out my whole wardrobe, some of these dresses are new, LOL ... so I got to figure out how to make them less frumpy. Like some of you said jazz it up with trendy shoes and accessories, I'll take these tips and go look for such! ^__^ Haha I hope I don't buy "wrong"/"old" accessories. LOL I love the suggestion to post my clothes for your comments. Maybe I could do this for clothes that I am uncertain about, whether to keep or throw? If you are not bored. ^_^ *Sigh* I miss not having a good girl friend here or even a sister to discuss makeup and clothes with. Or people who give constructive tips... my mum is hopeless, she doesn't care to tell me the why or wherefore ... she just says "nice" or "not nice" and "good for wedding" or "good for work"... and thinks I'm offended when I try to ask her "why?" or "in what way?". I thought I could learn by knowing why or comparing her reasons with my personal views, but she thinks I'm angry. LOL. One key thing is: I don't have a good figure, my stomach and thighs are quite thick. So I can't wear things that are too fitted, or I'd start to look lumpy. The lumps of fat show up. I used to be very trim and abit of an exercise freak, so these days, those lumps make me feel I need to wear clothes that are bit looser so that they don't show? I guess this is wrong? I also have a bad/sway back, so I tend to slouch ... Another very important point is that I keep my hair short. I have a short, layered bob, with no fringe/bangs (I like to keep the hair off my face). I don't feel I can do much with it, because I struggle with the problem of thinning hair, I do go for trichologist treatments but I cannot keep my hair long, it pulls on the hair shaft. The hair is too weak to take chemicals like dye and perms and straighteners. I also have natural waves in my hair, so sometimes, as an Asian people expect I should have a straight curtain of hair and often think I don't comb my hair. LOL. I feel this has the MOST to do with people thinking I am aunty. Fuz has hit the main point, I think, because hair is the most obvious thing on a woman. I can't think of what to do with my hair, except, I did think of getting a WIG! Should I? :D I also don't like bringing attention to myself ... maybe that's another thing ... I don't want to look flashy and loud ... and some "young" things like bold accessories ... are just too "bold" ... I'm not daring enough to wear them ... Anyway, yesterday, I bought some jeans ... I was thinking wearing them, instead of my frumpy lumpy jeans skirt will give me a "lift" keke. :D I was glad when Fuz replied on Twitter that jeans are the way to go to look younger. Here's a pic of my new jeans and a top that I usually wear to work. You can see how frumpy and lumpy my body is, actually, maybe the key is I should go exercise again ... ugh nooo, I actually hate exercising now ... Ok, let's get back to regular programming! Today, I'll tell you about how much I like Lunasol's primer ... Lunasol's primer is called Control Makeup Base and comes in 3 colours: 01 - Moisture: blue tone, not much pigment, a watery thin base 02 - Lighting: pinkish tone, with very fine illuminating glow/shimmer, light pigmented base 03 - Clear: yellow tone, MA told me it's used to counter redness in the skin, quite thick in my view I chose to buy the 02 primer. It leaves a glowy finish, and absorbs well into the skin. As you can see from my fingers after I applied the primer to my face, the primer lightens and brightens the skin. . The glowy finish, seems to deflect imperfections, leaving my skin looking smoother than usual ... but it doesn't have much coverage so I still have to use a light foundation. Overall, I love this primer. On the day I bought it, I went over to look at P&J's. This primer is more glowy compared to P&J but P&J's seems to have more coverage. I haven't used it on my face yet, but I intend to buy it and I'll let you know how it compares to Lunasol's. © Copyright. All rights reserved.

Open Call for Judgement About Auntiness

Thank you all for the birthday wishes and suggestions for Dior lippies. I'll get back to regular broadcast tomorrow. Meanwhile, I'd like to ask you for your objective help with a "problem" I'm trying to confront ... I spent the day pondering, "What makes me an aunty?" I sorted my clothes, tried to critically examine them, my body, hair and posture etc. to figure out why some older women, in their 40s and 50s bother to come up to me and tell me I look aunty or dress aunty. "Aunty" in our local terms means something like an obasan or ajuma. I am quite sure I do not totally look like an aunty nor are all my clothes aunty. Yet I do not know for sure, which part of me, is making these certified aunties/obasan/ajuma themselves come forward to tell me I look aunty. For example, a forty/fifty-something woman, who draws her eyeliner up at her eyelids and wears colourful clothes came forward to compliment me on my what she called "rugged, casual dressing", which to her was "so youthful." I was wearing a blue cardigan over a blue tank top and jeans. In the next breath, she told me I "should wear such things more often", and "not always be so aunty". I was flabbergasted. First, I was dressed that way only because the big bosses, ie. the CE, all the Directors and etc. were away at a retreat and it was casual Friday. I am working in the staffing office for the CE, and I couldn't possibly wear that outfit of jeans and tank tops daily, to staff his meetings and make presentations etc. At one point, I thought I am not frumpy or aunty ... but then I started doubting myself again. I admit, I don't like to bare skin (no tank tops-only and no miniskirts for me) and I don't want to wear colourful rainbow clothes. I also don't want to look like a middle-aged woman trying to recapture her youth in teenie-booper clothing or trendy stuff. I tend to wear dark clothes because I prefer them and I tend to go for quality rather than trends. On weekends, I wear jeans, mary-janes and simple tops. It's a tropical country ... we should dress down when in the heat ... I wear makeup but most people don't notice I'm wearing it, maybe I'm wearing it too light? I tend to think I am I wearing it natural not in-your-face colourful clown-like. So, people who know me in real-life. I am pondering a real question here and am open to hearing objective, constructive criticisms. Is it my clothes? Is it my age? My hair? My shoes? My body shape? What is it that I'm doing that makes me aunty? I don't think it's everything, but there must be something I'm doing wrong. I can't figure it out myself. So, I'm posting some stuff for peeps who don't know me in real life as well, to show you my personal preferences and I'm open to hearing your views. Here are some dresses I like to wear to work with my pumps. I post some of my pumps too (I mostly wear shoes like this). I also like to wear pants with plain tops to work with a cardigan to keep out the chilly aircon. I wear dresses because I find with a good cut, they hide a multitude of my body flaws - having given birth to a child, loving my food and not exercising, I am not slim at all. I also post a photo of what I decided is me in a frumpy skirt and outfit ... So you can give me some criticisms about my body shape. I am going to throw this skirt away! Ok, so I wait to hear your views. I'm really feeling puzzled and cracking my head about how aunty I am ... I need constructive views, on what you feel is the aunty part about me. So I can take some action and make some changes ... I brace myself ... Thanks!! © Copyright. All rights reserved.

Should I Buy More Dior?

I am at home and feeling lost. Not having to go into the office makes me feel like I don't know what to do with myself, even though I have alot of personal errands to do. It's funny how work takes over one's life, even if I don't really love what I do. I hope one day I can write for a living. :D Even though I am supposed to be preparing to go out, I watch tv and an Arirang documentary talks about Hallyu (Korean Wave) in Japan. Many Japanese ladies are learning the Korean language. One lady said Korean men in K-drama have a quality she couldn't find in Japanese men. LOL! Even the Japanese men started watching K-drama and began to study Korean history as a result of their interest in historical K-drama. Anyway, the purpose of this blog post is to ask you to help me decide: As a result of me having my birthday this month I received some offers. Among them is an offer to receive a full-size Dior lipstick with $100sg spending at Dior. Should I go buy some more Dior glosses and check out the Dior mascara or even the Dior powder? Should I? Haha. ^_^; Well, you probably already know I'm not a young twenty-something and I recently celebrated my thirty-something birthday. (Note the SINGLE candle, haha!) Suffice to say, some days I feel like my hair, face and body are falling apart. Haha. I'm actually late coming into make up. I've never put on much because of my very sensitive skin but lately, BB creams and good primers are making it easier for me to make my foray into makeup. I've always been obsessive about skincare though. © Copyright. All rights reserved.

How to Use Tablet/Pill Maks

Does anyone else have a bad habit of needing to shower in the morning and put on your face? I'm compulsive about it, especially if I'm going to be walking about in public. How do you cope with landing at a foreign land early in the morning but not being able to check into the hotel for washing up, until 2-3pm? I'm grappling with this problem now, because I booked a night flight that lands in the morning ... The hotel just replied by email to say there's nowhere for me to shower unless I get an early check in ... T_T So well, yesterday, I used the mask pills I bought from Daiso. When I first posted about it, more than 1 person asked me how to use it. In fact someone mistakenly thought the pills from Daiso came with the liquid for the mask! Sorry to say, it doesn't come with any lotion. You've got to use your own. You know those mask sheets you buy from cosmetic brands? Well, using this is just like using a customised mask sheet. Anyway, I thought maybe not many people know about this, so I think I'll do a How-to-use post. Edit: Some questions started coming in, and it seems this is quite new to alot of people. I'll put in some background. I think using lotions for mask concept started with Kose. Or at least, that's where I first saw the pill mask. Kose markets their Sekkisei Lotion as a multi-tasking beauty product. At their US website, this is what they wrote about Sekkisei Lotion: "For increased effectiveness use with Lotion Mask, 1-2 times a week." Together with Sekkisei Lotion, Kose sells tablet masks for use with the Sekkisei Lotion as a convenient way to use the lotion as a mask. I guess Daiso and other cosmetic brands started to pick up on this. Eg. on Taiwanese TV beauty talk shows, they like to tell you to soak your cotton pads with lotion and place on the forehead, cheeks and chin to function like a quick lotion mask. The tablet/pill mask is just another way of using your lotion as a mask. The basic thing is that your lotion must have a good function, eg. moisturising or whitening, so that putting it on as a mask, increases the effectiveness and intensity of the product. The tablet itself is just as Kose puts it, "A convenient tablet mask that delivers maximum benefits of lotion into skin." Back to the Daiso pill/tablet mask. The package comes with diagrams and instructions. Even if you can't read Japanese, like me, it's easy to follow the diagrams and easy-to-understand pictures. That's what I love about Japanese products. ^_^V My instructions also come with lots of pictures. I used my Lavera toner, because it has a moisturising and firming function. You can use your whitening toner or lotion etc, so that your skin benefits from the essences of the lotion where putting it on as a mask allows the skin to absorb it more for a longer time. I just realised the words on the photo are quite small, so here's a recap: 1. There's a tray ... 2. Pick up a mask tablet ... 3. Put it into the tray ... 4. Pour your lotion in (you got to buy it separately, using your usual moisturizing/whitening toner is fine ...) 5. Once it soaks through and swells, pick up and unfold. Place the mask on your face. Hope this helps ... it also goes to the FAQ. :D © Copyright. All rights reserved.

Ways to Relax and Relieve Tension

Lisa just asked what oils I use for relaxation and de-stressing. I was just thinking about writing something on this. Such a timely question! This post will go into the Beautification FAQ too. Here's what I usually use for relieving tension and destress, (and for tension headaches). These are also supposed help with providing a restful, relaxing sleep. I mixed my own oil for tension, headache, migraine and insomnia, by putting lavender, grapefruit, bergamot and basil essential into the Jojoba carrier oil. Sometimes just stopping to slowly smell the fragrance of the oils brings a calming moment too. Basil Essential Oil - Relieves headaches, stress related allergies, and painful menstruation. Lavender Essential Oil - calms and relaxes, effective for headaches, migraines and insomnia. Bergamot Essential Oil - reduce stress, depression, anxiety, or insomnia Lately, I've been whipping out my Origins Peace of Mind quite often on the public transport. Not only does it give me some calmness, it also chases away smelly public transport stenches. :p It contains nice-smelling Basil, Peppermint, and Eucalyptus. I use The Body Shop's Divine Calm that contains Lavender and Camomile after my evening shower. Coincidentally, as I was writing this I was also watching Dynamic Korea, a programme that shows you stuff about Korea, and a Korean housewife said she cut onions and put them beside the bed to help give a peaceful sleep. Though I love eating onions (haha stinky breath) I think the stinky onions will keep me up instead. Yoga stretches and deep breathing exercises are supposed to help relieve stress too. When you feel the stress/tension coming on, do some deep breathing. Done at the end of the day, it also aids in peaceful sleep. If you don't want to do yoga, just any kind of soft stretching will do. But usually, I let the tension and stress build up so much through the day, that I find none of these help me at all. I think the key is to keep a peaceful mind through the day, and avoid stimulating drinks like coffee. But it's really hard sometimes. I love the smell of coffee, so when I have the urge mid-day, I try to drink decaff instead. It's a struggle to stop drinking coffee in the morning though ... So far, the best thing for me is to get a good whole body deep tissue massage. It guarantees taking away stress, relieves tense muscles and gives a good night's sleep. © Copyright. All rights reserved.

Organising Beauty Stuff & Other Random Things

How do you organise your beauty stuff? Here's a peek at how I organise some of my stuff. (Hmm, I just noticed alot of finger prints on the shiny cases.) I'm kind of a Daiso addict. $2sg stuff from Daiso Singapore is 50cts more expensive than in Japan based on today's exchange rate. Still, it's rather worth while, getting things from Daiso if you look carefully, eg. these baskets. I also don't like stuff staining my shelves/tables, so I get small dishes to put my oils and baskets to put my creams. Oh and recently, I got wash cloths from Daiso. At $2sg per piece, it is feels less wasteful and easier to dump them every 3-4 weeks for a fresh, new one to keep the bacteria away. This week's attempt at gradation nails. I cut my nails short. I can't stand them getting long. Is it abit of an antithesis to painting nails? :D I'm not doing much to prepare for my trip! I wonder why. I don't feel like planning anything at all, but I need to get some money changed and arrange for a phone to use (I don't have roaming on my current handphone number) etc ... © Copyright. All rights reserved.

Partial FAQ, Whitening Lotion & Sweet Scans

Hello, I'm back! I woke late today! Happy holiday and Happy Easter! It's the start of my long break! I'm taking time off from work, staying home to cook, work on my projects, go for massages and treatments etc. Then heading off to Tokyo and Seoul the week after! I really need to find a small desk this week, to squeeze into my small apartment. Working from my bed sucks. First thing after eating some late breakfast today, I worked hard (dedicated blogger! haha!) to quickly put together the FAQ page. I added a link to it at the side bar, so you can find it easily. There were some questions which needed answering fast, so I hurried to put them up, so you can find the answers there. It's not complete yet though, because I couldn't find some questions that were asked in my older posts. I'll continue to work on it, so if you have other questions, or your questions weren't answered, feel free to ask me in my more recent posts, so I can find them. I also added a CBOX so feel free to ask me questions there, but I'm really disorganised in some ways, so bear with me. :D Enough with the words. I was very taken by many things I saw in the April issue of Sweet magazine. I've never been able to dress cute/sweet but I really like cute/sweet stuff. Can someone help me? I can't read Japanese! *whine* Are the Uniqlo stuff limited editions or something, available only in Japan? I want to get them, but if they're available in the Singapore store, I guess I can get them here instead. And is the Samantha Vega bag that looks like a Chanel clone, is it available for sale? I really want these accessories or if I can get look-alikes it'll be fine too. Aren't they sweet? Lately, I'm abit obsessed about getting my whole body to the same skintone, and slathering on lots of body whitening lotion but they are not working! Any good ones to recommend? I'm thinking of hauling Fancl's body whitening lotion. My cousin said, "Just get a tan!" Girl! What a thing to say to someone who hates the sun! Lol. Here's one lotion that I'm using, Roserity White Rose. It contains Tocopherol which is stupposed to help with whitening/brightening? It's not working fast enough. © Copyright. All rights reserved.

Gradation Nails & New Foundation/Primer/Powder Shades

I'm sorry if I'm slow in replying to questions/emails. I'm not able to get online so often as I'm less deskbound these few days and I have tonne of work all piled up. I have to get them cleared so that I can get some much needed rest in the next few weeks. Busy busy busy, but hopefully all will be well soon. So over the weekend, I made this attempt at gradation nails, haha! Please do not laugh, it doesn't look obvious that it's 4 colours, but I'm so pleased with myself. LOL. It includes the glitter polish from Lunasol's 2008 Christmas Coffret. I need something for my dry cuticles. I moisturise my hands often but the cuticles aren't doing well at all despite that. Blanchir has worked so well on my facial skin without much problems. I wasn't very dark to begin with but now my face is noticably brighter and fairer, the dark undertone in my skin is disappearing. I've been using Biotherm's white detox lotion and creams on my neck (cause they make my face to go haywire), and a whitening lotion on my body. So hopefully in time, my entire body will even out and my neck and arms won't be a shade lighter than my face! Unfortunately, it means that all my Legere BB cream (I have been using it exclusively as a base) and Mac NC25 powder are a shade too dark for me now. Last month at a sale, I just bought a new Mac NC25 powder foundation to replace the current one that's almost gone. Called the Mac counter. I haven't used it, so thankfully, they said just bring it down and they'll replace it with a lighter one. Anyway, someone also just got the Lunasol Anniversary base set for me as a present, it is just so worth it. It's in the right colours, I made sure, lol. I can put my Legere aside for now, though I am sad, as it has served me well. I'll talk about it abit more about Lunasol bases after several days of use. I stopped by Paul & Joe counter to take a look at their primers, and I like the original formula with less SPF. It costs $60SG plus, need to check if it's cheaper in Japan. Lunasol's primer seems much more glowy so I'm happy I got it, but I wouldn't mind getting the P&J stuff if it's cheaper in Japan. P&J's new summer Protective Foundation Primer UV doesn't have much colour so seems more like a sunscreen to me. © Copyright. All rights reserved.

Lioele Sun Elastic Pact SPF26

Soooo, today, I had this thought in mind and I couldn't shake it, "I cannot use powder foundation for touchup through the day." Even though I had been doing it previously, once it got into my head, I couldn't help but obey. Since the P&J SA said I could only exchange my P&J Pressed Powder 05 for 02 next week, I had to find something else to use for touching up through the day. And since I had a beauty voucher for Stardust at John Little, I decided I could get something there. The voucher could only be used on its own, without other discounts, so I headed to the Lioele stand and tried all the powders. I wanted something Korean so that if I liked it, I could perhaps get more in S Korea when I'm there. I decided on Lioele Sun Elastic Pact and took my chance with it, crossing my fingers that it wouldn't be overpriced compared to its original price in won. It costs $39SG. With my voucher, it costs much less than the original price of 28,000won (which works out to about $32SG). In fact, on the Lioele website, there's a sale for this item, at 19,600won=$22.50SG). Overall, I don't feel cheated. The powder is fine, lightly perfumed and glitters with light shimmers. A light touch and blending is needed when applied on the face. There is a danger of it looking too cakey if I apply too much, but otherwise, it's a good substitute for until I get my P&J replacement. The packaging is rather bulky but quite cute. Cathy from Blushhh Baby gave me this award! It's my first! I'm so pleased, thank you so much Cathy! Rules: List 7 things or people you are passionate about. List the person that gave you the award. Put the award logo. 7 other bloggers you feel are worthy of this award. 7 things/people passionate (I'd say interested/like rather than passionate ^_^) about: 1. Shopping! ^_^ 2. Travelling 3. Art, crafts, writing, expressing myself creatively 4. Movies, books, k-drama 5. Family 6. Beauty, beautiful things, beautiful world, beautiful people 7. Spas & massages I'd tag ... every beauty blogger who reads this! I think many who I'll tag would have already been tagged. ^_^ And I feel anyone who bothers to blog about beauty deserves this award. © Copyright. All rights reserved.