Saccharine Sweet.

Alexander Wang inspired creepers! :D

2012-01-30T23:56:00.003+08:00

After a really bad experience on eBay, I wanted to stop buying shoes for a while....until I saw these babies on sgselltrade. MYGOSHHH, SHO PRETTY.

It was going for S$23 with meet-up, and it is BRAND NEW. :) Normally if you preorder this, the price will be a ridiculous range of S$40-S$60.

LOVE THEM SO MUCH. CAN'T WAIT TO WEAR THEM JUST LIKE THAT, OR WITH FUNKY SOCKS. :)

Nothing soothes a bad day like a good fabulous pair of shoes. :)

OOTD Featured on The Dernier CRI :)

2012-01-30T12:27:00.002+08:00

The Dernier CRI contacted me on Instagram, asking for my OOTD photo to be featured on the website! :)

Here's the link: http://the-dernier-cri.tumblr.com/post/16736581018/http-fitrina-inamorata-blogspot-com

And here's the link to the tumblr featuring many OOTDs on Instagram: http://the-dernier-cri.tumblr.com/

Haul and Review: essence (eyeliners + nail polish)

2012-01-25T22:52:00.004+08:00

I have heard of essence from so many local beauty bloggers and I cannot wait to get my hands on them! Finally had the chance to stop by Ngee Ann's hugeass Watsons and TADAH the essence booth was there to welcome my arrival. :) Perhaps me pouncing on the booth will be a more appropriate description.

I didn't know what to get, but I heard good things about the eyeliners and nail polishes so I settled on those.

I got myself essence Metallic eye pencil in 01 Black Knight and essence Longlasting eye pencil in 12 I Have a Green.

The first pencil was S$2.80 and the second one was S$3.30. WHAT THE FREAK?! Yes I know, the prices are REALLY cheap. This brand puts all drugstore brands to shame, SERIOUSLY. You may be thinking, bah! maybe the quality is not that good since the price is so meagre. YOU GOT THAT WRONG! The quality is beyond awesome. I AM STOKED AND I WANT TO GET MORE.

01 Black Knight is a unique gunmetal colour with bluish hue.

12 I Have a Green is a bright emerald green!

Swatches with flash.

Look how pigmented they are! I still cannot fathom how such a lowly-priced item can give off such good pigmentation! IMPRESSED.

The metallic eye pencil smudges easily with a light-handed swipe. I guess that's the downfall of this item. The longlasting one certainly is longlasting, as seen in the next few photos...

Even after some intensive rubbing, the product managed to stay put.

I am very impressed with the eyeliners and definitely going to get more colours! So cheap and such good quality. \o/\0/\o/

I also bought their nailpolishes, evidently the brand's most popular item as most of the colours were wiped out already.

I bought 78 blue addicted and limited edition Ballerina Backstage nailpolish in 05 Grand-Plie in Black.

The normal line nailpolishes go for S$2.80 a bottle and the limited edition one was S$3.50 I believe (with twice the amount!).

Swatch of 78 blue addicted - a sheer (buildable) blue polish with a mixture of fine and chunky glitters in a variety of shades of blue.

The problem with this is that the first application is very sheer. This photo was taken after 3 applications. Of course, that wouldn't be a problem because the colour is very buildable.

The glitters are very enticing. I can't wait to apply this soon! :)

Swatch of 05 Grand-Plie in Black.

The photo can't capture the real beauty of this colour. It's a very pretty black polish with fine red glitters! I believe this will look extremely captivating under sunlight! :D

essence has become my favourite drugstore brand already. I'm going to sweep all the eyeliners the next time I'm there!

Red coordination

2012-01-25T01:26:00.002+08:00

Chinese New Year has never been a festive affair for me. It starts with phonecalls to Indo to wish all the maternal relatives Happy Chinese New Year, and then it is me home alone as all others make their rounds. I can't visit my stepdad's family because that will be weird since they all hate me, so I just stay home, be a sloth, and await angbaos. And Chinese New Year ends calmly that way.

I wanted to spend the second day of Chinese New Year with kengyang, mainly because I feel sorry not being prepared enough to visit his family. I'm never a family person, so such an act is terrible uncomfortable, and I told him that and he very sweetly gave me the okay sign and gave me another year to prepare myself (I'm assuming the second part of this sentence *gulp*).

I have no bright red stuff in my closet, and the only festive thing I have was this dark red sweater. Better than nothing. Turned out, kengyang was wearing a dark red cardigan. YAY TO TELEPATHY. Ok that's just not needed but WHO CARES IT'S MY BLOG.

With my new Charles&Keith sandals. Second time wearing them and they hurt a little less now.

We went to IKEA for our lunch! The original plan was to get the LOHEI set (S$9.80), but nobody around us was eating it, so erm, we decided to scrap that idea and just get what we really wanted. :D

Like CHICKEN WINGS AND SMOKED SALMON. :D Yes, no meatballs in IKEA.

Town was less packed (H&M was a bloody market though) and it was much breezier. The hard truth was that the small shops, which usually sell awesome stuff at awesome prices, were all closed due to CNY holidays and so we ended up getting bored.

In the end, we went to Orchard Central to enjoy the view from the roof garden on the 11th storey (or was it 12th?).

Photos, photos, PHOTOS.

Plaza Singapura went all out with the CNY decorations. My eyes almost couldn't take the orange-ness of the entire place. This decor is too much lar.

My outfit of the day!

Shades: H&M

Sweater: H&M

Shorts: Cotton On

Sandals: Charles&Keith

Rings + Necklace: Gmarket and Forever 21

Tomorrow's another holiday for me, thank you MTV! :D Time to take a good rest and get ready for Thursday's CNY celebration in the office! :)

Review: Coastal Scents Camo Quad

2012-01-25T00:43:00.003+08:00

Since smoochiezz show room didn't have my Holy Grail NYX HD Concealer in my colour, I decided to try other concealers. I was desperately needing a new concealer and I decided on Coastal Scents Camo Quad in Medium.

There are 3 colours available, in Colour Corrector, Light and Medium, as seen below:

(Photo credited to http://plustique.blogspot.com/2010/07/camo-quads.html)

To be honest, I didn't have high hopes for this product. It was retailing for S$10 at smoochiezz and so I thought it was going to be like the fake Coastal Scents concealer palette that I got off eBay.

Ingredients list.

The packaging is very compact. Not bulky and not too tiny. It's also flat enough to fit into any reasonably-sized makeup bag. I especially like the back part of the product. The plastic does not feel cheap at all and I think it's durable enough to last me quite a while.

There are 4 customable and blendable cream shades available, from the lightest white to a medium-dark brown.

The white is not useless at all. It's actually a good colour to use on the inner corners of your eyes as a brightener. If you don't like the cream consistency, you can always apply sparkly eyeshadow over it for an instant wake-up oomph to tired eyes.

A distraction: for those who yearn for bigger eyes, the trick to getting them is not just loading on the eyeliner (sometimes too much eyeliner can also hide your eyes). You can make your eyes look bigger by applying pearlescent white/cream colour on the very inner parts of your lids. I usually do it just on the bottom lids. This works because by doing that, you are faking the existence of more "white parts" (no idea what those are called) of your eyes, and this immediately creates larger eyes! :D

OK BACK TO THE CAMO QUAD...

Here are some swatches of all the colours from the Medium quad, first one with flash and second one with normal lighting.

DOES IT WORK?

Yes it does; very well actually. I am pleasantly surprised at how effective this concealer turns out to be. It does its job of concealing excellently and even the toughest and reddest pimple can be covered. Definitely a heavy-duty concealer.

I actually had a very bad skin day yesterday because of too much seafood during reunion dinner. I'm mildly allergic to all seafood except fish, but since it was reunion dinner and the bloody stew was so expensive, I binged on scallops, abalone, oysters and all those sinful things. So I suffered and got bad rashes on my face.

I applied the concealer on my face and I immediately felt better because my face was sufficiently concealed. By that I mean my blemishes and rashes were artificially gone, but my skin still looked natural and not cakey.

I also particularly love the consistency of the cream concealer. It feels like cream, but dries to a powder finish. Rather excellent for days when you want to skip the powder and go for the dewy look.

Overall, this is a surprise find that delivers its promises saliently. Definitely will purchase again! :D

Review: NYX "Stay Matte but not Flat" Powder Foundation

2012-01-22T20:48:00.005+08:00

This NYX "Stay Matte but not Flat" powder foundation is part of the HD Studio Photogenic line, of which its concealer has been highly raved by me! :)

I bought it at Smoochiezz showroom for S$15 - a steal in my opinion, considering that drugstore foundations are at least $20.

I bought it in SMP03 Natural, and I have to say this is the powder foundation in which the shade is closest to my skin colour. HIP HIP HOORAY.

One thing to note, I think Smoochiezz only brought in the first 5 colours. I didn't see the next 5 in the showroom; maybe they were out of stock or something.

Ingredients List

The packaging is quite bulky, but I admit I'm surprised at the amount of product given. I thought I will have a meagre amount of product to use, but to be frank, there is a lot of product!

The sponge given is also of good quality. Not those cheap sponges that some companies include in their products just for the sake of putting them in. This sponge is dense, picks up a reasonable amount of product and transfers beautifully on the skin. The thing I like the most is how when I bend the sponge to reach the nose contours, there are no cracks! Usually sponges given in foundation compacts are of so horrible quality that they start to fall apart after a few uses!

I feel confident about this powder foundation already! :D

The colour is a bit yellow here because of the terrible lighting in my room.

Coverage-wise, it's a really above-average powder foundation with reasonable coverage. No complains about coverage at all because I don't fancy foundations that have FULL coverage; makes me look like a mannequin or botox gone wrong.

What I am really digging is how it delivers its promise beautifully. My skin definitely stayed matte but not powdery. There's still some luminosity coming through, and so instead of looking too made-up, I look more natural. And yes, it does feel like silk on skin!

So far so good! I'm seriously hoping that this does not break me out because I like how it feels on my skin. *PRAYS HARD*

OOTDs for PI Week 3!

2012-01-22T20:37:00.003+08:00

I finally survived a reunion dinner. It has been 8 years since I have been to one, and I'm fortunate enough to come out alive! Must be all the bling from my bandage skirt! :D

Best outfit of the week. I really should get more tight jeans. HEH.

I feel like transformers wearing this. hahahahahahaha.

Trying to be corporate but fail. :P

AND DRESS-DOWN FRIDAYYY. :))

Smoochiezz Haul Once More :D

2012-01-22T20:25:00.002+08:00

Right before F'Friends yesterday, us girls went to Smoochiezz showroom for some beauty products lovin'. Came home with this awesome babies!

China Glaze was 3 for $10! (Selected Items only!), of course I had to grab 3. I also got myself a new concealer as my Holy-Grail NYX HD Concealer was out of stock! :( Since I was running out on powder, I bought NYX HD Studio Powder to try as well! :))

I bought Sneaker Head, Senorita Bonita and Your Touch! Awesome colours at cheap prices. Can't beat that!

And since Chinese New Year is around the corner (tomorrow actually), more money will be collected and YAY TO MORE SHOPPING. :D

Shame shame (Happy Chinese New Year!)

2012-01-22T15:46:00.002+08:00

I find myself no longer doing things that I normally do. Must be all that feelings of jadedness from work. Blogging, very sadly, has become a burden. I must really be quite honest. It has become a product of conflict between passion and responsibilities - what I really like to do and what I really am supposed to do.

I hope this constant fatigue will die down as I familiarise myself with work.

I have listed what I want to blog about by Wednesday though (yes, MTV gave us all an extra day of holidays FUCK YEAH):

More OOTDs
Recent smoochiezz haul
Review of a new foundation
Review of a new concealer
Random work + friends blogposts

YES I WILL NOT BE LAZY!

Wishing everyone a happy Chinese New Year! :)

Review: "Coastal Scents" 15-Colour Concealer Palette

2012-01-15T00:02:00.001+08:00

I succumbed to temptation and ordered a Coastal Scents Concealer Palette off eBay for $20. I think I have just been conned. There is NO WAY this is Coastal Scents Concealer Palette, hence why I used quotation marks for the brand name.

I thought to myself, maybe the quality will be okay even though it's a fake? Let's see...

Looks-wise, they look highly promising.

What surprised me the most was this white shimmer cream, preferably used for highlights above the cheekbones or down your nose bridge. I did not expect this to be in the palette at all!

To be very honest, I wanted to hate it, but I ended up loving this highlight cream. The glitter bits are very finely-milled, not chunky at all. I can already see this is as a staple for events! The pigmentation of this is as seen in the photo, quite remarkable actually. And it glides on the skin very easily. Such a good start to this review!

Here comes the most useless things in this palette... the colour-correcting creams. So for those who are still confused as to why you put coloured concealers (other than your skin colour), here are the reasons why: you apply green-tinted concealer to get rid of redness, for example your very ripe pimple; you apply purple-tinted concealer if you have dull skin, the purple tint inside will cancel out the greyness.

These 2 are practically kids' chalks. The texture is so bloody chalky! I don't see how I want to layer chalk on my face! Terrible product, terrible texture, even more terrible after-feel. It really feels like someone drew on your face. Gosh.

Moving on to the highlight of the palette - the concealers themselves.

After the colour-tinted concealer fiasco, I didn't have much hope for the concealers. However, I was mildly surprised. They are okay concealers that have almost mousse-like texture, and they dry off to a powdery texture. Rather interesting, I must say.

Pigmentation is a disappointment though. If you have serious imperfections on your skin, don't rely on this palette, get some heavy duty concealers instead (liquid concealers are usually more pigmented and give more coverage). I tried on my redness and it was kind of a let-down.

This will be good for those with almost perfect skin, but have sudden imperfections.

The powdery finish is really too surprising!

Moral of the story: buy makeup palettes off eBay with caution. This is definitely NOT a Coastal Scents product.

Week 2 of Internship SURVIVED

2012-01-14T23:22:00.004+08:00

Working has been very much tolerable this week, albeit the few shocks and surprises, but I'll survive them.

The first thing I do when I arrive in the office is to get my breakfast ready. 1 dosage of espresso, 1 dosage of hot chocolate/milo, it's a rather awesome concoction! And then I will get random layer cakes and maybe raisins.

DID YOU NOTICE THIS COOL CUP!

It will change to beige when the liquid inside is hot!! WOOOO :D

Last week we had Kungfu Panda new series screening, and we all had free bento lunches! :)) Love how well my company treats the employees.

It will be shown on Nickelodeon later this month! :) In case you are wondering, no this is not the movie, this is a series!

Past outfits! :)

I'm damn lazy to name all of them, I APOLOGISE. :P

I realised blogging has taken a backseat because of my internship. Weekdays are almost impossible for blogging because of how tired I am when I get home. I will try my best to blog, but I hope you guys understand!! :)

What I'm going to do for 6 months.

2012-01-07T20:55:00.002+08:00

For the next 6 months or so, I won't be in school, but will be in my office cubicle doing what an intern should be doing - everything PERFECTLY.

I don't really care if I'm not supposed to post my workpass or whatever, I'M JUST GOING TO POST, I DON'T CARE. Anyway everything's cool and dandy so WHY NOT?

AND SO, I am going to be a research intern in MTV Asia! :D Actually a research intern for both MTV Asia and Nickelodeon (hence the Patrick photo). It's a really cool place with nice colleagues (till now that is. heh.) and the atmosphere is professional yet laidback. LUBX.

Here's my pass! :D

Our pantry rocks the world's biggest socks. We have everything there! As of now the lollipops have new company in the form of CNY snacks! Instant yam paste included. Siao one. LOOK AT THE INSTANT NOODLES. FREE LUNCH EVERYDAY WEEEEEE.

And we even have this very very nice auntie who is in charge of the pantry. Bananas gone, she will refill with a mountain of bananas (yes, they never run out, NEVER). Don't know how to use coffee machine, just ask her. SERIOUSLY LOVING HER AND THE PANTRYYY.

BUT not all has been smooth-sailing. I have to learn a new software from scratch (research software le, so mother chim.) and I have to love Excel. Taking it one step at a time, but I can't do that next week because my buddy, who taught me everything, is leaving on Tuesday, and that means that I'M DOING EVERYTHING. AH FUCK.

This is what I see 60% of the workweek. Oh dear God. I need a new pair of specs.

I also have to send a lot of emails out every week, and I'm very scared to make mistakes! So I wrote these to remind myself to KEEP CHECKING.

I made 2 mistakes last week: first I attached the wrong file, second I sent to wrong people. oh my gosh damn shame shame, but my supervisor was very nice about it.

My buddy and I have decided to talk over ebuddy because he sits 2 cubicles away from me and quite inconvenient for him to keep coming over when I have questions. So that means, I talk to other bored people on ebuddy too. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

OK SHALL GO FOR A RUN NOW. Sitting down for the next 23 weeks is going to make my butt fit 2 airplane seats nicely. nooooooooo. SHALL MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

Past OOTD

2012-01-07T20:46:00.003+08:00

I wore this outfit to work on Wednesday. Work has been rather ... systematic, so the only creative I get everyday is my outfit. I'm getting an outfit blank every morning though. I just recently cleaned out my closet, and now I have much less clothes (notice I used uncountable words? HAHAHAHAHA), so I don't know what to mix and match and rock anymore. AIYOH, TIME FOR MORE SHOPPING.

Everything on me is thrifted online except the chio shoes, which were from Forever 21!

New shoes! YAY to the NEW YEAR!

2012-01-07T20:36:00.002+08:00

I simply cannot pass up an opportunity on sgflea that screamed 3pairs for $27. HALO? That is like throwing away a good shopping therapy!

So I immediately commented (I was the first to comment, so proud of myself, those bitches after me wanted the same things, but hey SORRY WAS THERE FIRST. WOOTS.) and they were mine the next day! YAY.

The first pair was this Charles & Keith sandals. This pair is just gorgeous. I have worn it once, and even though they fit me well, they hurt a wee bit, so I'm hoping it's just because they were brand new.

I also got a Forever 21 leopard oxfords and a plain pair of Mitju brown ankle boots!

Rather stoked about my new shoes. :D

Can't wait to wear them to office! My office btw allows slippers, THAT IS FREAKING AMAZING. Love MTV! :D

Hiatus for a while

2012-01-06T22:58:00.001+08:00

Sorry for the lack of posts! So many things going against me making a blogpost!

1. Internship has been tough and trying because I need to learn a lot in a sjort period of time. So I barely have to time to sleep, so lagi more no time to blog! :( However I have lots of instagram photos so that will come up soon!

2. I'm now very sick. My supervisor was nice enough to let me off early today because he saw the mountain of tissues that I piled up after sneezing etc. Need to sleep!

3. The internet connection is atrocious. I'm typing this on the Blogger app for my phone, that's how bad it is. I'm going to call Singtel soon to give them a piece of my mind!

I promise a post maybe tomorrow night? Ok, maybe more than a post!! :))

Good night everyone! Have a good weekend!

I CUT MY HAIR YET AGAIN (Disclaimer: Camwhore post) + NEW YEAR OOTD

2012-01-02T17:52:00.003+08:00

So the story goes like this:

I went back to Jakarta and grandma was rather upset with my unkempt hair, so she wanted me to chop a wee bit to freshen up a bit. My auntie recommended a hairdresser and all of us went. It was a SHOCK because the South Korean hairdresser spoke Bahasa Indonesia better than me and the entire salon was filled with other South Koreans chatting away in Korean. So I felt like a stranger in my hometown. Ironic.

She was really an expert. Usually my hair will take more than 20 minutes to cut in Singapore. This amazing lady zoom zoom with her seasoned hands and my hair was done in 9 minutes (I counted because I was in awe). And it was the best cut I have ever gotten since 2008. This is hilarious. My haircut cost me Rp. 100,000 (~S$16). Stupid salons in Singapore just GTFO.

Then again, I am whining away. I'm stuck in Singapore for another good 5 years or so (maybe more, I don't know yet) and I need to depend on Singaporean salons to keep me from not looking like a cavewoman, so I take my complains back.

I'm crazy.

OK GOOD HAIR PHOTOS.

Anyway, I wore fake lashes (FANCY!) to the new year countdown party! Getting more seasoned now so it took me less time now! VEH GOOD. I love makeup so much, but I don't wear fake lashes on a regular basis; I should be hung to death.

And the hair colour is very much appropriate for work (which starts tomorrow. urgh)! HOORAY!

OOTD FOR NEW YEAR COUNTDOWN AT BEER MARKET!

Top: MNG

Jeggings: thrifted from Indo (this is a MARVELOUS pair!)

Wedges: spreehouse (the right sole has sadly detached itself, and I NEED SUPERGLUE TO FIX IT. URGH.)

Accessories: gmarket, h&m, forever21

New Year Haul!

2012-01-02T17:17:00.003+08:00

Finally my first 2012 post! I am super lazy to blog nowadays, PLEASE FORGIVE ME. I have so many posts to blog about! I SWEAR TO BLOG ABOUT THEM BY TONIGHT. Of course, my internet connection will have to cooperate as well.

Going back to the glorious topic of hauling. I cannot NOT shop in Indonesia because that simply doesn't make sense. HEH.

First up, I bought this totally loud sheer leopard-print blouse with leather trims. Can be extremely wild when paired with a leather bottom, or can be super laidback/bohemian when paired with a long black maxi skirt. CAN'T WAIT TO ROCK THIS. :D

Just a simple green blouse for work. I'm trying to inject more colours into my wardrobe. The bf has been complaining of me wearing too much black. OOPS.

Another leather-trimmed item. This was not bought in Indonesia, but from gmarket. I got it on the day I came back so I grouped them all together.

I was really apprehensive about this because I was afraid it's going to be too tight on me (models on gmarket are stick-thin) but it wasn't! YAY TO THAT!

It's a little bit thick though. So I need to wear this strategically, maybe when it's raining really hard in the morning.

Purchases from Rumah Mode Factory Outlet in Bandung. Bandung is full of factory outlets that sell REAL branded goods at up to 80% off. It's crazy how some of the items are still on the racks (in the actual stores, of course) and how they are also sold at Rumah Mode for damn cheap. For example, my sister got her Marc by Marc Jacobs T-shirt for a mere S$10. IT IS CRAZY. No wonder the place is packed with tai-tais and their daughters; no time to go to the actual stores, just go next-door and get them (ya, they are usually located in the residential areas).

Tommy Hillfiger shirt! Original was US$19.90, but I got it for Rp.75,000 (~S$10).

They sell Cotton On too. ROFL. This is from Cotton On and it was less than S$8.

Favourite purchase! MNG top for Rp.99,000 (~S$14).

Just gotta love cheapo shopping! :D

ASOS haul for 2012!

2011-12-31T12:04:00.000+08:00

These are all very fortunately sponsored by my mom. :D

The problem now is WHERE IS MY PACKAGE?! Although the site said "will be delivered by 6th January 2012", but I ordered on 20th December! :(

HURRY HURRY ASOS PACKAGE, COME COME!!

Just me and my fat tummy.

2011-12-31T10:32:00.005+08:00

I meddled with the mio set and I finally got the internet connection to work properly again. At times of desperation, I make a very good technician. This is FACTUAL, because I have fixed my washing machine (desperation: my clothes were inside and the damned machine refuses to open), the television (desperation: LAST EPISODE OF MY FAVOURITE SHOW) and many times the desktop/laptop etc. I surprise myself sometimes with my secret "bangbangshakeshakehithit" recovering abilities.

SO I FINALLY GOT ALL MY PHOTOS UP. STANDING OVATION FOR THAT PLEASE. :)

The trip back to Indonesia was quite satisfying on the tummy. Good food surrounded me and I gorged myself with all the goodness (and got into a food poisoning fiasco as a result =.=)

The moment we arrived at Ieie Bina's house, Mbak Yani (we don't call her a maid, more like a housekeeper. She is awesome and has been with my auntie before I was born.) cooked up a storm and it was FINALLY a taste of home. Almost cried because I'm a dramaqueen but I held back, so that was a moment to be proud of.

My favourite rujak! Nothing like Singapore's because this has MANGOES in it. What is the best food in the world? Mango rujak.

And the best drink in the world will go to this hugeass coconut. I spent more time on this than eating my dinner. Dig dig dig all the awesome sweet flesh. :D

We spent Christmas in the middle of nowhere. Now that's an experience. We had a hell lot of trouble finding this exclusive and secluded resort because EVERYWHERE WAS TEA PLANTATIONS AND THERE WERE NO DIRECTIONS/ROADSIGNS! The road was extremely narrow as well, hence our 22-persons bus had a difficult time travelling. And also, imagine the horror if we were to turn wrongly, reversing the monster bus in such a narrow road WITH STEEP SLOPES will mean we are basically fucked. Hence, the assistant driver had to go down and ask for directions every 2 minutes to just make sure we were in the right direction. AND PHEW, we made it!! With heavy rain some more; drama everywhere we went.

Room Service courtesy to the resort! :)

We had good weather the next day, so that was awesome. If not we will once again stay in the resort and watch City Hunter all day and night.

FAMILY PORTRAITS TIME. :)

Yes I refuse to take pictures with the foul man. Without him, this photo looks EXTREMELY AWESOME. :)

Us cousins minus Darren (he wants to stay home to take care of his father who just had an operation. AWWWW this 7-year-old sho cuteee)

ME AND MY AHLIAN SISTER WHO HAS MODEL LEGS. FML.

Clothing haul next! :D

Back from Indonesia! :)

2011-12-29T13:11:00.002+08:00

I AM BACK.

It has been a fruitful, yet painful at the same time, experience. More will be blogged soon, but what is wrong with blogger?! For the past 2 hours I have been trying to upload photos, but only the above succeeded! O.O

Anyway that's my cousin, Yingying! :)

Away for Christmas!

2011-12-21T11:31:00.001+08:00

I will be in Jakarta till the 27th! :)

Will be back soon enough with photos of food, scenery, hauls, cookie-baking (successful/failure we shall see) and more reviews. :)

HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE! :D

Blogshop review: VANITYdrive

2011-12-17T00:25:00.006+08:00

WE HAVE A NEW CONTENDER IN THE HIGHLY COMPETITIVE INDUSTRY.

Vanitydrive is a new blogshop that brings in apparels that are unique and that will cater to different tastes and wants!

Apparels are also priced affordably. No more "siao, why like that also cost S$35!" scenarios. Their snuggly knit (from their latest collection) is priced at only S$23.50. HOW AFFORDABLE IS THAT?! Some blogshops think that knits should be overpriced and attach ridiculous pricetags on their knits, like S$30 for a freaking simple knitted top. NOT WITH VANITYDRIVE! YAY TO THEM FOR THAT!

Fabulous clothes with commendable quality at good prices. What more can you ask for?

"WE LIVE NOT ACCORDING TO REASON, BUT ACCORDING TO FASHION."

A rather apt tagline, I must admit. For us girls (at least most of us), fashion forms a majority of our lives; not to just look and feel good, but to live.

Vanitydrive is an up and coming blogshop that promises to bring "different styles to suit different girls' needs" and "to make every girl gorgeous".

They have just launched with their third collection "Ho, Ho the Mistletoe!", and its filled with gorgeous lounging sweaters in a variety of colours, reversible special-event-appropriate dresses and a chic and edgy black dress. Though the collection is a tad small compared to other blogshops, but it sure does cater to different girls' needs!

You have the comfy sweaters for girls who want to feel comfortable yet still look good. You have the fitting dresses for girls who need to attend important events. You also have an innovative black dress with asymmetrical hem for them edgy girls!

Certainly, this new collection is comparatively small but addresses every tastebud!

OK, PICTURE TIME! :)

This is my favourite out of this collection. Simple black dress that is brought to a whole new level! Put on a pair of killer heels or statement wedges and you are good to go to impress the crowds wherever you are!

Some items from their previous 2 collections are still available, and I'm loving this cardigan from their second collection! :) They also have it in white! Do check out their website for availability!

Here's their blogshop link: http://vanitydrive.livejournal.com/

The owner was very kind to allow me to choose 2 apparels for myself! :) Since I loved Jaime Knitted Sweater in Blood Red so much, I had to choose it!

I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of the knitting of the cardigan. The material is also super soft and I feel like hugging myself to sleep after wearing it.

Though I must admit, it's a wee bit too thick and warm for the fickle Singapore weather. Certainly not to be worn during sunny days! Good for rainy days or those trips to the movies! Or those horribly cold lecture theatres.

This leather trimmed blazer/cardigan is from Vanitydrive's first ever collection and I must say it's a definite keeper! Even my younger sister has been stealing it from my wardrobe ever since she tried it on when it first came in the mail!

I was quite scared that Leather Trim Shrug in Mustard will not fit me since I'm not that petite-sized. However, it fits perfectly, and no it doesn't fit snug! I don't feel self-conscious wearing it! YAY!

The sleeves are also leather-trimmed at the end. Such killer details are definitely what I look for in my kind of clothes. :)

The leather-trimmed collar is quite a new thing; I had to take a litte more time to get used to it. Maybe it's the cutting, or maybe it's my shoulder shape, or maybe because it's brand new; the leather is still very stiff and so it kind of hurts a little bit when I try to crane my neck upwards. I believe wear and tear will do some good though. :)

They also had it in a deep emerald green colour, but I figure mustard will be more on track with the current trends and mustard also allows better contrast for the leather trimmings!

Do take a look at this new but certainly not boring blogshop!

Website: http://vanitydrive.livejournal.com/

Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/VanityDrive/311408592211597?sk=wall

Vanitydrive is currently having an awesome promotion! You can get a 10% off your entire bill just by doing these simple steps!

Like Vanitydrive's facebook page to be a fan of the page.
Like and share the latest collection's album.
Printscreen the image as it appears in your newsfeed and attach the JPEG image along with the payment notification.
GET 10% OFF YOUR TOTAL PURCHASE! :)

Disclaimer: Jaime Knitted Sweater in Blood Red and Leather Trim Shrug in Mustard were sent to me, courtesy of Vanitydrive, for review purposes.

OOTD (15 December 2011)

2011-12-16T10:44:00.001+08:00

To celebrate the boyfriend's survival of reservist (actually there's nothing to celebrate since it's quite slack. Haha. Just finding all kinds of reasons to commemorate something!) we went to Vivo City for a good Hongkong dinner at Central Restaurant. It was really quite awesome. Good prices some more. The only qualm I had about it was that the mango desert was way too bland :(

We went to chill at Vivo City's rooftop afterwards! The skyline of Sentosa was quite magnificent.

Gonna have as many dates as possible with the boyfriend because after Saturday, I will be gone till 27th. My gosh. :(

Anyway, breakdown of the outfit!

Top: Gmarket
Shorts: H&M
Shoes: Covet @FEP
Bag: H&M
Necklaces: Talisman @FEP
Bangle: H&M
Rings: Thrifted online

OOTD feat H&M ALL OVER :D

2011-12-14T07:58:00.001+08:00

It's 7.55am and I'm already in the bus going to school. I have been helping a senior of mine with her group's FYP production, in terms of makeup lah, what else can I do? Today's the second day and I'm rather excited to go back to my passion again. Yesterday was fun but I did makeup on two guys only, so the GAN JUE not there yet. Haha.

I was fixing myself this morning, randomly pulling out the apparels out of my closet because I woke up late (nothing new there) and when I walke out of the house, I realised I'm all decked in H&M! :)

Sweater: H&M
Shorts: H&M
Shoes: Mimosa (FEP)
Bangle: H&M
Necklaces: Gmarket + Talisman (FEP)

HAVE A GOOD DAY EVERYONE! :D

Noob in the industry

2011-12-13T12:01:00.001+08:00

Selling my unwanted stuff on facebook can be quite addictive. My sister is the real expert in this area. She helped me sell 8 items in under 15 minutes. She's mad good!

Vivi January 2012 issue

2011-12-12T18:36:00.004+08:00

Look at the gorgeous Ayumi Hamasaki gracing the cover once more. This woman knows no sign of ageing, or practically the entire female population of Japan knows nothing about ageing.

I have officially jumped onto the "fake-collar" bandwagon because I don't have a fat neck (unlike the rest of this temple) and so LOVE THEMM.

Mission: buy loads of blazers. LOADS.

Review: ELF 32-piece Eyeshadow Palette (Warm #10601)

2011-12-11T21:00:00.005+08:00

There is no logic behind why a woman needs so many eyeshadow palettes, especially neutral palettes. SIMPLY NO LOGIC.

We don't need them palettes, but we want them palettes, so what to do? Satisfy your desires before you go cuckoo. Wise advice from the ever-rational me.

I shall stop chattering and start the review proper.

I bought the ELF 32-piece Eyeshadow Palette from Smoochiezz Flea for S$15. Yes it is more expensive than the retail price on elf.com, but ohwell, I get it instantly without having to wait for long, dreary shipping. IT IS WORTH THE MONEY, GUYS.

The reason why I bought yet another neutral palette: there is no reason. Or maybe just because I'm obsessed with neutral shades. That is all.

Seriously - the original palette is as striking as this one, but I'm talking about practicality here. I will probably try to be creative twice or thrice a month, popping some colours onto my eyelids and looking all cheerful and artsy. But the other 90% of the time, I wake up late, have barely enough time to mask myself with all the products and then have to zoom out the house before I get TOO late. These occasions call for simple colours that still can give a wee bit energy to your eyes. THAT IS WHY NEUTRAL SHADES ARE GOOD.

Look at these colours!! *spasms*

It comes with a long mirror and a double-ended sponge-tip applicator. The mirror is a pleasant surprise. Big and handy!

I divided the palette into the first 16 on the left, and then the next 16.

Here is a clearer photo of the first 16 GORGEOUS colours.

Swatches for the first 16 colours, under flash.

The next 16 colours. Colours on the bottom row are so suitable to be used as eyeliners! Just dip a wet angled eyeliner brush and apply on lid! :)

Swatches of the next 16 colours, under flash.

Pigmentation: ELF eyeshadows are always a joy to work with. The lighter shades are a little bit less pigmented, but not to the extent that they are horrible. Layering still can give the full-blown effect.

Variety: I'm quite pleasantly surprised that ELF included so many matte shades for this palette. Not only that, the matte shades actually come out quite pigmented! Many cheap palettes include matte shades that BARELY give any colour even when swiped vigorously. This is different, and I must say this is a very, very remarkable feature of the palette. Another plus-point will be the few glittery shades included (actually, this palette only have one). Glittery shades are nightmares because the glitters go everywhere, even into your eyes (ouch) and THAT IS AWFUL. Good going ELF for not including an army of glitter eyeshadows!

Packaging: Not too big, not meagrely small. A good size to carry around in your makeup bag!

What is lacking: The double-ended sponge-tip applicators almost serve no purpose. I use it to clean the palette. Maybe include a sufficiently decent eyeshadow brush the next time? ELF US$1 eyeshadow brushes are extremely decent, so maybe include one of those?

Overall, this is a great palette to add to my neutral palette collection. Next to acquire: URBAN DECAY NAKED 2 PALETTE! (Perhaps a year from now or so...Oh well...)

Review: Dolly Wink Liquid Eyeliner (Limited Edition Design)

2011-12-11T20:32:00.002+08:00

This set retails for S$29.90 at Watsons islandwide. I'm pretty sure most Watsons will have it, but just to be safe, maybe attack the more prominent stores.

This review is for the Dolly Wink Liquid Eyeliner.

I have reviewed the Dolly Wink Volume Mascara; you can read the post here or you can just scroll down to the next post. :)

Apparently this purple dotted design is a limited edition design from Dolly Wink! Quite cute, IMO. Combination of royal purple and turquoise is quite alluring!

It promises "smudge-proof, water, perspiration and sebum resistant" wear and easy removal. I must say, the product keeps to promises quite well!

The brush is VERY VERY VERY fine and thin. This facilitates control during application. However, this posed a certain problem for me.

I like to wear my eyeliner quite thick and so when I'm using this liquid eyeliner, I need to go over the area for quite a few times. Rather troublesome, especially when compared to my trustworthy UD pencil eyeliner that allows me to cover a larger eyelid area in one swipe.

The formulation of this eyeliner is quite runny when JUST applied. What surprised me (in a good way), is how fast it dries. In less than 5 seconds, the just-marked area was dry and after trying to wipe it away, it stayed put. PLUS POINTS.

Another thing that I was quite impressed is how pigmented the product is despite being in a pen form. I have a lot of bad experiences with pen-form eyeliners; they dried up too fast! Usually when I'm done with my eye, and I moved on to the next eye, the brush would be all dry and difficult to work with!

This was a dear to work with! :)

This is how black the eyeliner was. IT IS REALLY REALLY BLACK. HOORAH.

Flakiness: NONE AT ALL. This eyeliner is so crazily tough. Usually after a long day, you will start to get flakes on the lower lid area. With this eyeliner, my lower lid area stayed clean even after 12 hours of wear and NO touch-ups. Truly amazed.

Removal: Super easily removed with a good makeup remover. No pressure needed to remove it also.

There is one negative point though; since the eyeliner dries SO FAST, the moment you start reapplying on a previously applied area, the dried area may be removed by the brush. I don't know how to explain it better, but sometimes that leaves you with unsightly holes and you have specially attend to those areas - MORE TIME CONSUMING.

Holy grail liquid eyeliner? MAYBE not at the moment.

Review: Dolly Wink Volume Mascara in Black

2011-12-11T20:03:00.002+08:00

I have my issues with Japanese mascaras. It all started with my second wand of mascara from Fasio. It was the mascara that made me realise how much more awake one could look using a mascara, and also the mascara that made me realise how tough it was to remove the mascara from my lashes. I literally had to pull my lashes to get those badass out of my lashes. Naturally, I lost quite a few lashes, and I got really scared of using Japanese mascaras.

That was around 6 years ago.

And I have bought Japanese mascaras over this period of 6 years, but I rarely utilised them because the truth hurts: they are a bitch to remove, even with specialised Japanese make-up remover (I SLAP YOU FASIO, YOUR EYE MAKE-UP REMOVER FREAKING SUCKED).

A few months back, Watsons had their members' preview event and of course because of my lovely schoolwork, I had to give it a miss. There was a big hoo-ha about the new Dolly Wink Mascara + Eyeliner set, and so many beauty bloggers were raving about the set! Of course, this calls for a wake-up call. I NEED A NEW WAND OF MASCARA.

This set retails for S$29.90 at Watsons islandwide. It was out of stock a few weeks back at prominent stores like Ngee Ann City branch, but I bought mine this week there and there were a lot of them in stock! SO GO GET THEM NOW! :)

The packaging is just major chio. Japanese cosmetic brands really put a lot of time and effort into their packaging. Everything always look cute or glamorous.

The smaller tube is the eyeliner that came together with the mascara in the set. That will be reviewed in a later post (which will be above this post, and which means if you read from the first post onwards, you have read the review on the eyeliner! HALO TO YOU! :D)

The wand is a strange one. The tapered brush shape at the tip allows for "easy application on the lower lashes, creating generous volume on the lower lid that is key to achieving the dolly look". Yes, that was word-for-word plagiarism from the above description.

Sadly, I have not tried the tapered tip on my lower lashes. I'm quite sure that it will work wonders though, because it worked wonders on the upper lashes!! This mascara made me a Japanese mascara CONVERT.

Let's see how it really works on my lashes! Note: I have curled my lashes using my Shu Uemura Lash Curler.

I apologise for the blur photo above. DAMMIT. But at least you can see how voluminous my lashes has become, and the formulation actually helped to keep the curl. Many mascaras just have weird, runny formulation that WEIGH DOWN the lashes. Boo those mascaras.

Let's take a look from the side!

Yes, I know it is gorgeous.

NOW LOOK AT IT FROM BELOW.

Nope, I don't really have such long lashes. This is the length given after two applications of the mascara. Quite impressed actually. HEH.

SO WHAT DO I THINK OF DOLLY WINK VOLUME MASCARA?

Formulation: It's the magical formulation of being in the middle of runny and dry. If I can use the word semi-molten to describe the formula, I would, but I can't since that will anger all the language hardcore fans out there. I shall leave it as being THE PERFECT FORMULATION which is not too liquid-y, and not too dry. Dry enough to hold the curl, liquid-y enough to prevent "spider lashes" from occuring.

Application: It was a breeze. Sometimes mascara wands have fat centres and those are the culprits for transfer during application - you try to apply as perfectly as possible, then you realise, URGH I have mascara on my eyelids too. The wand body for this mascara is a straight one (I shall refer to it as a boyish shape, compared to others which are more curvey, DO YOU GET IT NOW), and so application is less of a hassle since there's less risk of transferring to the eyelids now.

Longlasting?: YES IT IS. And I swear there is NO FLAKING AT ALL. This mascara is just magical in all levels. I applied it at 10 in the morning, noticed a little little less curl at around 2, and then when I removed it at 8, IT WAS STILL INTACT, NO SMUDGING WHATSOEVER.

Removal: Of course, I had to bitch about the same old thing. It is really quite hard to remove. However, the Biore Makeup Remover that I reviewed a few weeks ago is awesome in removing this! :)

HALO HOLY GRAIL JAPANESE MASCARA! :)

BEAUTYQQ - fast makeup! :)

2011-12-11T13:57:00.001+08:00

SHE APPLIES EYELINER LIKE A BOSS.

And how cute is she? Gotta love her blunders and her Cantonese! :)

Best review of the UD Naked 2 Palette EVER.

2011-12-11T13:47:00.001+08:00

emilynoel83 - always one of my favourite youtube beauty gurus! :)

Smoochiezz Flea at FEP haul!

2011-12-10T11:38:00.003+08:00

Finally got my hands on this eyeliner+mascara set! :) Not from Smoochiezz, but from Watsons, I'm so glad they restocked it! YAY!

More nailpolishes! Really addicted to Essie nailpolishes! Super awesome formula! Got myself some bling from OPI for Christmas also. :D

The new ELF 32 eyeshadow palette in warm colours and a new concealer from NYX! :)

Reviews will be up soon! :)

New shoes + accessories! :)

2011-12-10T11:15:00.002+08:00

These two days have been a soothing journey to calm the soul and to squeeze out all the negativities that have been accumulated during the past semester. Shopping is certainly the solution to all mankind's (womankind's more specifically) problems.

I made two trips to town and I kind of was disappointed at how the PRE-CHRISTMAS SALES have not started. Maybe I was too early?

And what is that snow tent in the square of 313@Somerset. Such a lame idea. When they were closing off the area, the possible attraction looked grand and magnificent. It was completed a few days ago and it was simply just lame. Just one dumb tent, with snow inside. =.=

ANYWAYS,

I bought some new shoes and accessories for Christmas! HOORAH! I bought lots of clothes too but aiyah, they are so difficult to take photos of, so I shall just list what I bought and from where.

SHOES SHOES!

I realise when I'm fixated with a certain design or style, I will keep buying a similar pair, but in different colours. OHWELL.

This pair's from Mimosa at FEP. Originally S$38.90, but I got it for S$19.90. I love the hiking-boots-look-a-like soles and the purple colour is too festive, don't you think? :)

Got this pair from Covet at FEP too for S$9.90. No idea how much it was originally, but it was "up to 70% off" storewide.

Just a head's up for people shopping for shoes in FEP. Be warned that there are many SAME shops with DIFFERENT shoes on sale. I think Level 1@FEP has 3 Covets? And in each Covet, there are different shoes on sale. The above green pair was S$12.90 in another Covet. S$3 is not much, but when you realise you could have gotten it for a lower price, IT BECOMES A BIG DEAL.

Talisman is another shop in FEP that I frequent a lot. They have a huge range of accessories going for "2 for S$10. Buy 2 get 1 free." Technically, I'm getting 3 accessories for S$10, which is of course ever so comforting.

My fascination with owl jewelleries has not subsided and obviously I got myself MORE owl necklaces. :) In case you are wondering, my third pair of necklace is a simple black and gold multi-chain necklace, which is now tangled and I can't be bothered to untangle it now.

Finally bought something from H&M too! :)

I got myself some edgy-looking bangle from H&M for S$7.90. I think accessories are cheaper in Singapore's H&M than Europe's H&M. This same pair is retailing for 6.90euros in Europe! Singapore's H&M has its awesome ways too!

I bought the 2 feather earrings from beadstreet at Cineleisure, for 90cents a pair. THAT'S CRAZY AWESOME PRICE. I wanted to buy feather earrings from Forever21 website and it was at least US$2.80 a pair!

It was a rather fruitful two-day shopping trip! :)

Anyway clothes-wise, I also bought:

Hooded tribal shirt from F21
Denim skinny jeans from F21 (S$19!!)
2 sweaters from H&M that are oh-so-comfy
a sweater from Gmarket (S$9!!)

And that is all! :D

LOVE SHOPPING!

It is possible...

2011-12-09T00:32:00.001+08:00

My goal now is to lose 3-4kg in 2 weeks.

Tough, but doable. Time to hit the gym daily.

DIY open-shoulder denim blouse

2011-12-05T22:58:00.000+08:00

I have seen so many of this blouses that I'm itching to get my hands on some! But of course, I always see designs that I like BUT THEY ARE SO FREAKING EXPENSIVE! And so, I have decided to CUT CUT CUT UP some old denim blouse.

It's really quite unsuccessful, I gotta warn you first. HAHA.

I used an old eyeliner to mark out the line that I was going to cut. Can use makeup remover if I marked wrongly! YAY FOR BRAINWAVE.

Ya, I cut it too sloppily. Terrible.

How it looks on...

Actually not TOOO bad lar, still can pull off. Or 9gag will call it "CLOSE ENOUGH" with that awesome meme. :D

HOLIDAYS ARE HERE. HOORAH! Results will be out 22nd December though. That is worrying. My exams went okay I guess. I'm still worried though, because my expectations for my grades are quite high and I will be very disappointed with myself if I don't achieve them.

Let's just hope for the best! :)

Topshop New Arrivals. LOOK AT THOSE SHOES. DIED

2011-12-05T20:01:00.001+08:00

Vivi December 2011 favorites

2011-12-05T18:28:00.001+08:00

Goals for December 2011:

1) Get blazers of all possible colours

2) Get loafers and oxfords of all possible colours and styles

And then I'll be ready for internship. :D

MAJOR LEMMING: Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette

2011-12-02T09:31:00.002+08:00

Photos are taken from either urbandecay.com or temptalia.com.

WHAT IS THIS BLASPHEMY?! Just when I received my UD Naked 1 Palette with pride (barely 5 months), they came out with a second edition?!

Temptalia did a rundown on how some of the shades are similar to those in the first palette, you can read it here: http://www.temptalia.com/urban-decay-naked-1-vs-naked-2-palette-dupes-comparison-swatches

Although some shades are REALLY highly similar, I feel a massive desire for the product. What is there not to like about a palette that's all about neutrals and everyday wearable colours? EVERYTHING IS TO BE LIKED.

I don't understand why Half Baked is in almost every of their palettes though. HA.

MAJOR LEMMING MAJOR LEMMING. I presume I will have to wait for another half a year to get my hands on it, looking at how 5000 sets have been snatched away, and the first batch is all sold out. OH WELL.

New sandals + New nail colour! (OPI Suzy Skis in the Pyrenees)

2011-11-27T00:06:00.002+08:00

My mom bought new sandals and she hated it (no idea why she bought also). So automatically, the pair of sandals goes to MOI. :)

Do not judge my ugly nails. They look like that after years of reckless walking which led to painful encounters with doors, cabinets, etc. And I hate pedicures because I wear closed-toe shoes very often and when they are rather tight, the nail polish will go everywhere. So irritating.

Anyway, this pair of sandals is love because of the nude straps - elongates your legs! The gold touch a bit ugly though, but aiyah should be alright for everyday-wear.

NEW NAIL COLOUR! :)

It's more of a really dark, deep blue, rather than black. Quite sheer on first application, I needed 3 coats to make it opaque.

The most awesome thing is I GOT IT FOR S$5 ON EBAY. NYAHAHAHAHA. :)

Review: Makeup Forever Aqua Eyes Eyeliner in 0L

2011-11-26T20:56:00.002+08:00

This was purchased together with the mascara, you can read the review for the Smoky Lash mascara here: http://fitrina-inamorata.blogspot.com/2011/11/review-make-up-forever-smoky-lash.html

Anyway, this was also one of the biggest hits of Makeup Forever products (along with the mascara, the HD foundations and the HD blushes, etc) and I remembered I wanted it so bad when I saw it in a Christmas Edition Makeup Forever Eyeliner Set that had all their eyeliners. That set retailed for S$500 in Sephora. Which student in the right mind will buy S$500 worth of eyeliners?!

Disappointment aside, a full year has passed and I managed to get my hands on the sample-size eyeliner in 0L for S$5 on sg-beauty. Call me meagre/poor/cheapo, I'd rather get the sample one first, like it very very much, and then save up to get a full-sized one. Imagine the horror if I pay close to S$40 bucks for an eyeliner that DOES NOT work up to my standards? That will be painful and I will never forgive myself for it.

ANYWAY, coming back to the eyeliner, it was also brand new and in this post I'm going to compare it heavily with Urban Decay 24/7 Eye Pencils in Zero and Perversion.

And if you are lazy to read on and just want to know who's the ultimate winner: Urban Decay hands down. (Though there's one aspect that MUF wins over Urban Decay and you may want to read on to find out what that is, HEHEHE)

Let me start with a few before-and-after photos of myself (ok, my eye) before application of the eyeliner and after application of the eyeliner.

Before - looking horribly dead and soul-less

After - eyeliner really does perk you up, GET ONE GIRLS AND LEARN HOW TO APPLY PROPERLY.

Before

After

Application was quite difficult with this eyeliner. I was so used to the smooth and oil pastel-like texture of UD's eyeliners that I had a problem applying this. The lead is much harder and much more solid. Hence, more pressure is needed when applying the eyeliner on the lids; I even had to resort to pulling my eyelids a wee bit more to allow smooth application. NOT GOOD because pulling your eyelids frequently actually leads to wrinkles. Uh-oh.

Another problem I had also had to do with the too-solid texture. Usually when I apply my UD eyeliners, I like to go over them for more colour pay-off. So I did that with this eyeliner too, but sadly, the hard lead actually stripped off the eyeliner that was already on the lid when I used it to go over the area a second time. So i ended up with weird bald empty patches on that area. UGLY, and I had to apply more and more to cover those patches up. This takes too much time and I'm all for saving time when applying makeup.

Let's do a colour comparison with UD Eyeliners!

Left: Makeup Forever Eyeliner

Centre: UD in Zero

Right: UD in Perversion

Nope, cannot compare at all with Perversion in terms of colour and pigmentation. How can 2 BLACK eyeliners be so different?!

Actually from this photo, you can see that MUF eyeliner is more matte than the UD ones (which glistened under the camera flash). I think that's the reason why the lead is harder.

WATER TEST

All eyeliners passed with flying colours after I put my hand under the running tap water.

After a vigorous rub, all still proved to be quite trustworthy, though MUF eyeliner is showing a little bit more weakness.

After so much negativity, I ought to give this eyeliner some awesome credit for this trait: It stays on like a boss, and do not transfer to the lower lashline AT ALL.

With UD eyeliners, because they are so smooth and soft, they tend to transfer to the lower lashline, causing panda eyes which are unsightly and super eww. With the Makeup Forever Aqua Eyes Eyeliner, the eyeliner actually stayed quite well in its own place. No transferring even after a full day! SO AWESOME.

It's a good sample, but I don't think I will fork out the money to buy the full-sized one. I'm sticking to my Urban Decay babies! :)

Review: Makeup Forever Smoky Lash Mascara

2011-11-26T20:25:00.004+08:00

This mascara has been a huge lemming of mine since months and months ago, ever since all the top Youtube beauty gurus started raving about it.

Very sadly for me though, this mascara is too extravagantly-priced (at almost S$50 for one tube!) and since I'm a poor university student with almost no source of income, such splurges can only wait till I'm working or till I accidentally mother a child with a rich businessman.

Lame humour aside, I finally got my hands on a SAMPLE-SIZED Smoky Lash Mascara and I must admit that purchasing it through sg-beauty for S$5 was the best decision EVER.

This next photo is highly deceiving. No, the sample size is not generously huge. I shall compare it with a household item.

A STAPLER! That's how big the product is. For a sample, I must admit that it's packaged larger than its other buddies. DIOR Mascaras samples are like the tiniest thing ever, even smaller than a perfume vial sample!

So this is BEYOND SATISFACTORY.

The previous owner stated that it was BRAND NEW, and yes it was brand new and I am a happy girl. I expected the mascara to be all dry and eeky inside but no, they are still new and gooey and awesome! A VERY GOOD BUY.

Also, looking at the size of this mofo, I think it will last me close to a full month, with daily usage. BLOODY AWESOME.

The bristles are very very fine, which enables the wand to coat every single lash easily. The other good thing is how the wand is not those plasticky mess that bends and stuff. Very few of such mascaras actually work, and I will very much prefer the traditional stiff mascara wand.

The wand size is quite huge, hence it will be quite difficult for those with small eyes or droopy eyelids to apply. No such problems for me though, so heehee am happy!

They call it the "Extra Black Mascara". That is 100% factual. It almost rivals the black shade of Urban Decay 24/7 Eyeliner in Perversion. Not a good comparison since they are both different cosmetic items, but you get the point!

Pictures to show you how awesome this product is:

STOP COMMENTING ON THE BROWS, I KNOW!

In the above pictures, I applied 2 coats on both eyes without curling the lashes beforehand.

Length: Look at my lashes, how are those not lengthened!! Seriously very impressed with this mascara!

Volume: 2 coats were enough for the volume that I want. I think one more coat will create a huge blunder of clumps, so better stop at 2!

Clumps: As abovementioned, do stop at 2 coats. The formulation of this mascara is highly thick and so the chances of you getting a clumpy mess is quite high. NO TO THOSE NIGHTMARES.

Staying power: I applied this mascara the next day and it survived the ultimate fickle Singapore weather; crazy heat, crazy humidity then crazy rain. Nothing stops this mascara from being LONG-LASTING. And I'm quite surprised that at the end of the day, no flaking was present! MUCH LOVE. :)

Such is a product that makes me want MORE. I'm going to get a full-size one as soon as I get my first month's pay as an intern next year!! :D

NYX Chic Red Lipstick

2011-11-25T23:03:00.002+08:00

A rather reasonably-priced lemming. Such gorgeous bright red colour!!

I shall buy this if smoochiezz has it during one of its fleas! :)

Photo: temptalia.com

Read the rest of the post here: http://www.temptalia.com/nyx-chic-red-round-lipstick-review-photos-swatches (it really looks good on Christine! LOVE THIS SHADE!)

Lemming: Dolly Wink Volume Mascara + Liquid Eyeliner

2011-11-24T00:18:00.001+08:00

I really want this set! It was sold previously during Watsons Member Sale, but obviously I was too preoccupied with the exams to go! :((

Heard from the beauty blogging world that it's already sold out in most of the Watsons in Singapore!

OHMAN. :(

INSTAGRAM Love + OPI Bastille in My Heart

2011-11-23T21:47:00.005+08:00

The power of INSTAGRAM baffles me. I am so addicted that I have been taking random photos of everything at any time of the day. Food, sky, outfit, jewellery. ANYTHING!

This is taken outside my house. OBVIOUSLY IT IS HEAVILY EDITED OKAY. The power of iPhone apps is CRAZYYYY.

More awesome sky. The next one is even better.

BEST PHOTO. Unedited and THIS IS REAL. It was about to rain at 3:38 pm a few days ago and the sky was this black. It was madly bewildering, like as if a massive thunderstorm was coming. And no, it wasn't a thunderstorm. Just a mild drizzle. DID NOT MAKE SENSE AT ALL.

The start of my jogging route!

I have been jogging almost daily since the start of the exam period and that has been awesome to my weight-loss regime. So far this week, I'm down 2.3kg! :) Of course that was coupled with a less than healthy diet (meaning i skipped lunch/dinner because I was too preoccupied with mugging) but I tried to replenish my nutrients with multi-vitamin pills. IT IS ALL GOOD. I'm determined to lose another 4 more kg by the end of this year! :)

And running everyday is terrible at first, but now I'm addicted because after running, I get so much adrenaline pumping and so much endorphins in my system that I can start on mugging right away! SO AWESOME! WIN-WIN SITUATION! :)

New accessories for the awesome week! :)

I'm still waiting for so many things to come! HURRY HURRY!

Exam period is seriously bad for my bank account. I just buy and buy without thinking, or maybe with the thought of "rewarding" myself after conquering 2 chapters. Major =.= but ohwell, if I'm happy, that's fine. SO THOSE ITEMS BETTER COME AWESOME, IF NOT I AM A MAD AND ANGRY WOMAN.

I bought OPI Bastille in My Heart a few weeks ago for S$5 bucks on eBay. Mind-boggling price, I know. It wasn't the colour that I expected it to be so I was quite upset. However I tried it on for this week, AND IT IS QUITE GOOD.

Previous photo was taken by the trusted iPhone. Here are some clearer photos taken by the more trusted G11.

It really is quite an easy colour to pull off, especially if you have short nails. By the way, the red in the photos got a little bit washed out. Maybe add a little bit more maroon to the red?

PLEASE DO NOT APPLY ON LONG NAILS unless you are a rich tai-tai who is over 40 years old. Dark metallic red colours can only look youthful if applied on shorter nails!!

OK BACK TO RUNNING MAN EPISODE 69!! CHOI MIN SOOOO! :D

Review: Biore Hydra-Clear Makeup Remover

2011-11-23T21:13:00.004+08:00

For women who apply makeup on their faces constantly, removing them completely is a daily ritual. Such a habit is extremely crucial for maintaining clear and smooth skin. Wearing traces of makeup to sleep is a huge taboo in the world of MAINTAINING-FLAWLESS-SKIN, and so should be avoided at all costs.

Personally, I had days when I really couldn't be bothered with removing makeup, especially on days when I'm staying overnight at a friend's house for a gathering. I simply could not bring myself to showing the world my OMGWTFTHATISNOTHER no-makeup face. The consequence of that is one that I never want to experience ever again. I had small spots appearing the next day, especially on my t-zone area - the oiliest part of my face. THAT WAS A HORRIBLE EXPERIENCE. Never ever would I want to do that every again!

Hence, I'm constantly on the search for a good, fuss-free makeup remover. In the past, I used to use baby wipes to remove makeup. BAD DECISION because according to Wilson's mom, using baby wipes cannot remove makeup thoroughly; some of it is still inside the pores and baby wipes cannot reach such deep territories!

So she suggested a good oil-based cleanser that should be massaged on the skin (not poured on cotton pad) and then finish the cleansing process by using a good cleanser afterwards. Basically, it's a double-step deep-cleansing process every single night, before bed time.

Terribly inconvenient? Then don't wear makeup. SIMPLE AS THAT.

With that I bring you some awesome good news, I have officially found my HOLY-GRAIL makeup remover, and that's the Biore Hydra-Clear Makeup Remover!

You can easily get this at drugstores nationwide.

This is a water-based product and it promises to remove all traces of makeup (even stubborn waterproof mascaras) and restore your skin to the original, bare condition.

Such promises are too good to be true eh?

Many people will use this product wrongly; they will pour some on a cotton pad and then start wiping off makeup. NOT FOR THIS PRODUCT. What you do is, you just take a sufficient amount, massage on makeup-ed (NEW WORD! DING!) face and then rinse off with water. Simple as that!

AND SO IT IS TIME FOR AN EXPERIMENT! I swatched some eyeliners on my hand, both waterproof and non-waterproof ones and THEY ARE READY FOR SOME HARDCORE MASSAGING.

After massaging in several circular motions, without much pressure, all the eyeliners have dissolved and what's left are just the mixture of the makeup remover and eyeliner pigment.

After a rinse of water, WITH NO PRESSURE ADDED TO WIPE THE JUNK OFF, my hand is clean again. THIS PRODUCT IS FREAKING AMAZING.

When I used it on my face, most of my foundation, eyeshadow and eyeliner dissolve quite easily without much pressure added during the massaging of the product. However, the problem is when I have waterproof mascara on. I have to add quite a bit of pressure before it can start dissolving the mascara pigment. Most of the time, I have to massage my eye area twice to get rid of all the mascara properly, and sometimes it hurts. :(

Fragrance-wise, the Biore Hydra-Clear Makeup Remover has a faint floral scent, not too overpowering.

This is definitely a HOLY GRAIL item for me. I'm going to repurchase and repurchase and repurchase and repurchase and .....

YOU GET WHAT I MEAN! NOW GET ONE AND ENJOY THE MIRACLES EVERY NIGHT! :)

Vivi December 2011

2011-11-22T22:30:00.002+08:00

Can't wait to finally read this!! I have been so bored with studying that I'm doing everything BUT studying, and reading Vivi will be an awesome distraction!!

But then again my guilt will float in and I will end up slaving over whatever subject I'm mugging again. SIAN.

AND WHAT IS THIS POSB CHARGING ME SERVICE CHARGE FOR EVERY WITHDRAWAL THAT I MAKE?!

I went berserk and checked online, apparently it's for a work permit scheme and it's only applicable to FOREIGN WORKERS.

EXCUSEME, how am I a foreign worker?! I'm legitimately a university student and a Permanent Resident some more!! And I don't withdraw money more than 4 times a month what, THEN YOU THIS STUPID BANK CHARGE ME FOR WHAT.

I'm going to call POSB tomorrow and demand an explanation and a full refund. Seriously, if not I will just change bank already! THESE FUCKING RETARDS!

Food photos of the week.

2011-11-17T00:39:00.002+08:00

I feel an obligation to post as many blogposts as possible because of my possible hiatus next week due to the examinations.

Food photographs are always cheered upon, especially if the food looks good in the photos! :)

I miss this simple breakfast so so much. 2 perfectly-cooked soft-boiled eggs with a serving of kaya toast with chunks of melting sinful butter, then wash it all down with a strong dosage of kopi. What else can beat this traditional, but powerful breakfast? Everytime I eat good soft-boiled eggs, I feel like crying. Making good soft-boiled eggs is freaking hard, I FAIL EVERY SINGLE TIME. Hence, I appreciate all the hard work that goes into a soft-boiled egg. Thank you dear Saint of Soft-Boiled Eggs at Yakun.

And then I had Ayam Penyet Ria for dinner. All this while, I have been eating Ayam Penyet at Restoran Surabaya at Lucky Plaza and I still frequent that place for the most authentic and the most delicious ayam penyet. Seriously, if you want good ayam penyet, don't frequent the stalls opened by Malays/Chinese (Malays and Chinese, do not be offended, because the purpose of this sentence is NOT to insult your race, but rather to comment on your inability to cook nice ayam penyet), just frequent an Indonesian stall/restaurant. Nothing can be more authentic than a plate of ayam penyet made with love by an Indonesian. And halo, Restoran Surabaya is really quite awesome. For those oblivious and ignorant, Surabaya is an Indonesian city and it's the birth place of ayam penyet.

OKOK back to Ayam Penyet Ria. This Indonesian eatery (YA IT'S INDONESIAN OKAY) serves the most spicy sambal ever. We ordered the kangkung dish also, and wtf they used the sambal to make the gravy and within two spoonfuls, I can feel chemicals in my tummy churning away. THE SAMBAL IS LETHAL, but it was mother good. YUMYUM.

I cannot wait for another round of this hot awesomeness. Just a word of warning though, please don't eat this too often, your bowels, especially your rectum, will not appreciate it. I had to endure a grueling session in the toilet the morning after I ate this. GOSH, BUT IT WAS ALL WORTH IT.

Cafe Cartel date! Mushroom soup was so-so. It tasted exactly like Knorr instant mushroom soup. =.=

This is the crazy part. I ordered ribs because they were on promotion at a plate for S$11.80++. I didn't expect much because hello, they were having a promotion, surely the portion is going to be damn small? WRONG. I almost felt full when I saw the waiter serve me my ribs.

It took me almost an hour to almost finish it. SO MUCH RIBS SO LITTLE TUMMY SPACE.

It was really good but the taste gets too overpowering after a while. I think I can abstain from ribs for a year now.

HEH. Nothing is better than a good chugga chugga of beer. NOTHING. :D

I want to rob a bank NOW

2011-11-17T00:31:00.001+08:00

Just kill me now. The fact that these are not in my wardrobe is making me suicidal.

Review: NYX 10 Color Eyeshadow Palette in Champagne & Caviar

2011-11-16T23:59:00.002+08:00

I bought this online from sg-beauty for S$10, not very cheap for second-hand NYX makeup, but I was too excited about the neutrality of this palette that I grabbed it and ibanked within 5 minutes.

The first thing that I noticed was the spelling error. I don't suppose Americans spell "palette" as "pallet" right? I googled it, and realised everything is spelled as "pallet", so maybe it's a NYX thing? Spelling nazi in me is raving in this monstrosity of a spelling error, but hey, let's not be too critical here, eh?

I bought the one in Champagne & Caviar, which is a compilation of neutral eyeshadow shades.

I realise I'm gearing towards neutral shades more and more now that I'm all grown-up. What happened to my creative side?! Too frustrating but neutral shades are just too easy to apply and match!

Photo taken under yellow lighting.

Photo taken with flash.

The white eyeshadow (extreme left, bottom row) is as good as being non-existent. I had to rub hard (no sexual connotations please!) for more than 5 times before I could get a decent swatch. The black (extreme right, bottom row) is also not very pleasant to work with. The only good thing I can conjure up is that because it's so not pigmented, I can avoid messing up when I want a little darkness at the corner of the eye. *rolls eyes*

My favourite colour has to be the rich caramel brown shade (extreme right, top row). It's just too enduring with that just-right hint of shimmer. I noticed that this palette, other than the white and black, is banking on shimmers and glitters A LOT. I already can predict myself struggling to clean the glittery mess under my eyes after application. YIKES.

Swatches, taken with flash. LOOK AT THAT IRRITATING WHITE-SHADE. Its saving grace will be that I don't use white a whole lot, or almost never.

Overall, I think this palette is a disappointment. The colours look very subtle and warm and enticing online (I almost wrote appetising wtf. HAHA), and they look as good in real life. HOWEVER once I started swatching them, I know the term "don't judge a book by its cover" is NO JOKE. Some colours are difficult to work with, some are just a simple colour boiling in glittery beach. Nevertheless, I will still use it quite frequently because they are neutral shades (LUCKY I BOUGHT NEUTRAL SHADES), I'm rather fearful of hitting pan on Urban Decay's Naked Palette and this can prove to be a distraction.

Yes, the Naked Palette is so good I'm almost hitting pan for one shade. Me! Hitting pan for an eyeshadow! Can you imagine how ground-breaking this is?! Only possible with the awesomeness of the Naked Palette!

Booboo to this NYX Palette! Nice colours though!

Best of luck everyone! :)

2011-11-12T16:40:00.001+08:00

And so the exam period has arrived.

Cram those chapters, eat up those notes and throw them all out during the exams! GO GO GO everyone!

GPA 5.0 is not everyone's to get but it's not something you can't hope for! :D

(Ya I know, there's no link between the topic of this blogpost and the photo, but I just felt that my hair was veh veh nice in this photo. TEEHEE)

Accessories Haul (Forever 21 & blogshops)

2011-11-12T00:35:00.004+08:00

Getting the haulin' groove back. Exam stress is GAGGING MY SOUL.

Forever 21 Singapore is a bore. Why can't they have nice feather/tassle accessories like those on the USA website! :(

I almost skipped on this necklace, but when I saw the price, I went WOAH and just grabbed it. IT WAS JUST S$2. :D

I saw so many online sites selling these queer earrings, and decided to get one to try it out. How cute is this? The details are magnificent! On days that I wear this, I should pin one side of my hair up! The problem is how do I get it to stay hooked on my ear without it slipping out whenever I move my head? My sister told me adjust the metal wire because maybe my ears are too small. I tried and it didn't work. HMMM.

This costs S$7 by the way.

Some rings from a random blogshop. The seller sold all these for S$8 including shipping. My shopping signal went haywire and I closed the deal within 10 minutes. Fast and satisfying.

BIGGEST PROBLEM EVER: NO MORE MOOLAH. ARGH.

OOTD featuring Aztec-print Cardigan!

2011-11-12T00:18:00.002+08:00

The weather is never an enjoyable topic to talk about in Singapore. Sometimes it gets so hot and humid, you just want to stay in an air-conditioned room all day long; sometimes it gets so rainy and cold, you just want to layer like a bak-chang.

Stupid erratic weather playing with my mind and mood everyday.

Thursday was a cold day after a downpour the night before, hence a cardigan needs to star in the story.

I remember buying this particular cardigan on the day that I arrived back in Singapore from Stockholm. I had to online shop so badly and I just clicked away...

It was a good buy! :D

People asked me if I bought this in some exotic Chinese city or something and asked if the patterns were hand-stitched.

That calls for a celebration! *pops champagne bottle*

I bought this for S$25 from sgselltrade I think.

There are some similar cardigans selling like hot cakes on blogshops but not a lot sell those with vibrant colours. Instead of bright yellow, mint green, fuschia and orange, the cardigan is in grey, maroon, navy and some ugly washed-out colour. Ew, so please don't buy those!!

I wore it together with my Monki tank-dress and Topshop leggings!

YAY TO BRIGHT COLOURS! :)

I am so so so addicted to 9gag, anyone having the same problem? =X

The Wonder Girls are BACKKK! :D

2011-11-07T09:42:00.001+08:00

WHAT IS BETTER TELL ME. OMG. CANNOT WAIT FOR THEIR COMEBACK THIS FRIDAY! :D

OOTD featuring H&M laser-cut shorts.

2011-11-07T00:52:00.002+08:00

Definitely on a roll for the month of November in terms of posting new blogposts.

I bought this pair of shorts in Stockholm's H&M for a mere 100SEK (~S$20). It was previously 250SEK (~S$50) and they only had one pair on sale, the rest was still priced 250SEK. Weird, but YEAH I GOT THE ONE THAT WAS ON SALE. :D

Paired it with my Mango wolf graphic top. It's an old top from the KL trip circa 2009. :D Miss those times man.

Awkward peekture. =/

Sadly, I did not make it to Bedok 85 today. Had a sudden high fever this morning. I'm talking about 39.7 degrees celcius high fever. No idea where that came from because I was healthy the night before! O.o

It's down to 38.1 now. Cannot rest because exams are in 11 days' time! *cries*

Brown Eyed Girls - Cleansing Cream

2011-11-06T21:58:00.002+08:00

The highly emotional Music Video.

The story is about a pair of sisters. The younger sister is blind and she lives with her older sister and her brother-in-law. However, the younger sister falls in love with her brother-in-law. The older sister decided to tolerate it because of her younger sister's disability. But, when she shows up with makeup smeared all over her face to impress her brother-in-law on morning, the older sister cannot take it anymore and drags her into the bathroom to wipe away all the makeup.

The song is sung mainly by Ga-in, because (I think) she is the youngest in the group and the other 3 members are more than 6 years older than her. Hence, in the song, Ga-in sings and the other 3 take turns to reply to her pleas.

Their live performance. I don't understand how their live performance can sound so much like in the album. Such talents. GAWD.

The moral of the story: to KPOP skeptics, try to listen to other genres of Korean songs. Not all songs are techno-autotune-mass-generated songs that can damage your eardrums after 10 times of listening. Some are actually quite beautiful. This song is so melancholic that I always have this sudden urge to burst into tears every time I hear it.

OOTD featuring NETTED (gasp!) top!

2011-11-06T21:40:00.002+08:00

This is the closest I have ever been to revealing my arms. I'm not hating the top, but I hate my fat arms. All the women on my maternal side of the family have elephant-leg-lookalike arms. During my thinnest moment, the arms didn't change at all. =.= EMBRACE EMBRACE.

Anyway, I got the top from scarletroom! :)

This face is only furnished with concealer and HD powder. Love facials luh. Pain, but VERY WORTH IT.

Anyway, if some of you are wondering where I go for miraculous facials, I go to Wilson Ng's mom's beauty shop. Very unfortunately I cannot remember the shop's name, but it's located at Vista Point in Woodlands! :)

I like being happy.

I like to laugh a lot.

I like to burst out laughing LOUD AND CLEAR. Don't really care about other people thinking I'm crazy. Halo, you jealous I happy is it?

DEAR LIFE, PLEASE ALIGN YOURSELF PROPERLY AGAIN SO I CAN SMILE EVERYDAY!

Addicted to Brown Eyed Girls's Cleansing Cream at the moment. It's a song not a beauty product. Shall post videos on that soon!

OOTD featuring new asymmetrical dress!

2011-11-05T23:13:00.004+08:00

I was clicking on the links on ohsofickle's blog and I found this dress by accident on marcharies blogshop. On sale too! It was S$18, if I remember correctly.

It's a beautiful army green colour with come-hither hem. Ok that sounded wrong. I need another adjective that has no sexual connotation. It's a beautiful dress with a unique asymmetrical hem! :)

It has no sleeves, so since I don't like showing off my fat arms, I pair it with my ASOS black tee!

My mirror is VERY dirty. Gosh.

And then all camwhore shots of me me me. Love how the natural lighting make my skin looks SMOOTTTHHH. I swear it's not the makeup because nothing can cover up bad skin naturally.

Aiyoh this long fringe. =.=

I actually went to the salon yesterday, with the intention of dying my hair dark purple. That was an utter failure. More on that next time...

ALSO, I went for facial today and OMFG IT WAS DAMN PAIN. O.o I was really sobbing and almost choked on my own saliva. Whoever invented the blackhead remover tool should be knighted and then shot straight away.

ALSO ALSO, I went to watch 23:59 with the boyfriend on Thursday (his treat, so YAY!) and it was surprisingly scary. Basically, it's just a recap of all the army ghost stories that we keep hearing from our army guys. The build-up was freak awesome. But the ending was gua gua guaaaa. I wanted more but ohwell what can you expect from a horror movie?

I'm going to Bedok 85 tomorrow FOR A FEAST. HOORAH! I shall take peektures! :D

Blog Metamorphosis

2011-11-03T23:07:00.003+08:00

I started this blog two years ago, with the sole purpose of ranting. Sometimes I will do the normal what-happened-today posts, but most of the time I tried to kill whoever ignited my wrath that day by dedicating an entire post for that person.

Then it became more of a photoblog - I grew lazy and just kept posting photos with one-liner descriptions.

Not long after, I got interested in cosmetics and fashion, and my blogposts addressed these two interests more and more frequently.

Now, I post mostly Outfit of the Days (OOTDs), recent hauls, and cosmetic reviews, with the occasional soul-searching posts.

Isn't it quite interesting how your blog "grows up" together with you?

There have been so many occasions which almost pushed me to shutting down my blog. I have people saying I shouldn't be posting OOTDs because I'm not thin and glamourous. I have people saying what's the use of a beauty blog when noone really reads it. I even have people telling me my blog reflects how much less intellectual I have become over the years (Don't ask, I also don't know which idiot and how so). But at the end of the day, pressing the "Delete blog" button proved to be more tough than I expected. Blogging has become a habit.

This brings to another topic, which is completely unrelated.

There's this constant feeling, that I get from people around me, that seems like they are not listening to whatever I'm saying or suggesting because I'm not as capable as others. It may be a mere overthinking on my part, but when you get that constantly from people around you, you know something is not right.

I can be saying something. People will stare blankly and then ignore. And then when another person who is perceived to be extremely credible and competent says the same thing that I said previously, they will exclaim and agree profusely with him/her.

I don't get it. Really.

Do I look stupid? Am I stupid? No I don't think so. It's just that I'm always in the shadows of more capable people and hence I'm supposed to be more of a supporter rather than a leader by standards of social norms.

I understand that sometimes I get very random, and I will make stupid remarks about something unrelated. That is just what I am, hence if you ignore my stupid remarks, I'm fine with it because hey! I'm talking to myself anyway. But I don't get why I get ignored on everything that I say. Maybe not only being ignored, more of judging looks on their faces and then ignorance.

I think too much. I know. That's why I have been seeing a counsellor regularly (used to be once a week, but reduced to once a fortnight now). I'm trying very hard to get the sadness out of me.

Every little hurt that is felt by normal person, I will feel it much more magnified. I take one step forward, I get hurt, I stumble and take three steps backwards.

I sound selfish now but it's a plea. Please help me recover from this illness. I don't expect much, I just want...some sort of assurance. :(

And that is completely unrelated to what's written at the beginning.

I shall end here then. Blogging about my feelings do help once in a while.

The Body Shop White Musk Libertine Collection

2011-10-31T20:42:00.002+08:00

Oh my oh my, I always loved The Body Shop's White Musk range (especially love White Musk Summer) and now they are out to hook more consumers with this Libertine range! The bottles are in pretty dusty rose pink colour and what's not to like about that! I shall try them out at BPP's The Body Shop branch and if all is well and fragrant I shall drag my mom out to get me some WHITE MUSK LIBERTINE!

Kind of excited because it has been a long time since I sprayed dosages of awesomeness on my body. I WANT TO DO THAT AGAIN. :D

The Reasons why INSTEP was beyond AWESOME. (Part 1)

2011-10-31T19:51:00.008+08:00

You know things are getting heated up in the academic section when all you can think of is to go back to INSTEP period, when all you had to worry were travelling-related commitments and the occasional readings.

I still cannot forget how INSTEP changed my life! I really do miss my lepak days in Stockholm and I really miss the snow!

I can't believe 6 months of having fun and travelling were over just like that. Whoever said that "time passes more quickly when you are having fun" cannot be any more apt. There were ups and downs during my Europe travels, but I am so grateful that it actually happened. The next time I'm going back will probably be my honeymoon (gigglegiggle #nervouslaughter), but till then, I will always remember INSTEP as the best choice I have ever made in university life.

Part 2 will be posted soon! I have so many photos that are too memorable to not post! :)

The Aurora by TSO Photography

2011-10-30T16:06:00.001+08:00

The Aurora from TSO Photography on Vimeo.

Simply glorious.

Definitely reminded me of the good-ol-times in Kiruna with the Sweden gang. :)

OOTD featuring new ASOS pants!

2011-10-26T22:34:00.003+08:00

The G11 was whipped out today and maybe I shouldn't be so lazy because this camera really can work wonders in good lighting. It's a bitch to use in dim lighting or indoors at night though. ONly awesome for day shots!

I went to Strictly Pancakes today for some awesome gathering with my lovely uni friends. We now barely have time to go out together because we are officially on different tracks! (Meaning we are either journalists or researchers or creative advertising gurus or public relations pros or directors-to-be, so we are all taking different courses now!)

I love gatherings like these, because although the conversation always revolves around schoolwork and such, but it's an awesome gathering nevertheless! :) YAY! I love such gatherings! More please, my dear uni friends!! :)

I wore my new ASOS pants today! I'm in love with this pair of pants because it's so comfortable! When I stand with my legs closed together, it looks like a midi skirt, but then NO! It's a pair of pants. I can jump around in it all day and still feel comfortable because the leg opening is so HUGE!

I paired it with my overworn H&M horse-print shirt!

AND a myriad of accessories. I guess today is an indulgent day. :)

And my new F21 oxfords. What a comfortable pair of shoes! One thing I did notice and hate though is how fast the sole of the shoes are wearing off. WTF I only wore it twice and I have bits of sole coming off already?!

Ok here's some photos of myself. Couldn't resist taking photos of myself with my G11 again. The light really does work well with this camera!

Why can't it work as well for night-shots!?

I like this shot because my arm looks thin. HAHAHAHAHAHAHHHAHAHAH.

OK holidays are over and back to school and projects tomorrow! ohdearohdearohdearrrr.

Movie review: Footloose (2011)

2011-10-25T13:24:00.003+08:00

A remake of the 1984 musical-drama film, this 2011 rendition is the same story of passionate teenagers fighting for their rights in a strict, law-abiding town, but altered slightly to fit the boundaries of current times.

Here is the trailer for the remake:

I wanted to embed the youtube video for the original Footloose trailer but embedding is not allowed for that video! Here's the link if you guys are interested: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FaaYU-lZ3ac

Craig Brewer directs this remake and the main cast - Kenny Wormald, Julianne Hough, Dennis Quaid, and Andie MacDowell - brought a whole new flavour to this movie, albeit some scenes being to cheesy for my liking.

The story starts with a group of teenagers dancing to "Footloose" - the original soundtrack. Five of them left after a long night of dancing and as they were driving past the bridge, the car crashed into a truck, killing all of them. The tragedy in the small town of Bomont was so sudden that Shaw Moore (played by Dennis Quaid), the reverend of the church in Bomont blamed the City Council and from then on set s curfew for those under 18 and banned dancing and the playing of loud rock music. Bobby Moore, one of the five who died in the accident, was Revered Moore's son.

Three years later, Ren McCormack (played by Kenny Wormald) came to Bomont, from Boston, to live with his uncle's family after his mother died from leukemia. He made friends with Willard Hewitt (played by Miles Teller) and Ren learned from Willard about the law on banned dancing and curfews. After a church session, Ren began to be attracted to Reverend Moore's rebellious daughter, Ariel Moore (played by Julianne Hough) who was then attached to a racer, Chuck Cranston. After a night of illegal dancing, Chuck grew jealous of Ren and hence began taunting him. Reverend Moore distrusted Ren and prohibited Ariel from seeing him, but he realised that Ren was not that bad after all when he stuck by Ariel after she was physically abused by Chuck. At the same time, Ren was also creating a petition against Bomont's law of banned dancing and rock music.

The story ends with the petition being rejected by the council, but with Bomont's High School Senior Prom successfully held at a cotton mill outside of town. Revered Moore realised he could not control the teenagers too tightly and even though the petition was rejected, he allowed the prom to be organised.

Do I like this remake? It's fine but I prefer the original, and for someone who has yet to watch the original and has only seen the trailer of the original movie, that's saying something.

There was a rumour that the role of Ren McCormack was going to be played by Zac Efron, but I'm glad that it was played by Kenny Wormald instead, because Zac Efron looks too pretty to be Ren and Kenny Wormald has that John Travolta vibe which is perfect for the movie. The female lead, Julianne Hough, will be the typical feminists' nightmare. The perfect body, the perfect face, the perfect dancing skills with a tendency for bad boys. Tell me which hard-core feminist will not have an uproar over that? Fluff aside, Julianne Hough really looks too much like Jennifer Aniston!

Both Kenny Wormald and Jennifer Aniston - oops! I meant Julianne Hough - are professional dancers and so I am in no position to question their dancing abilities. I find it quite fresh though that they are incorporating line-dancing with hip-hop and modern jazz all into one!

The movie was predictable and cheesy at some parts, especially with the many close-ups of Ren smirking or smiling away at Ariel. Once or twice is good and impactful, but after that everything turns into humour. I also hated the abrupt ending of the show. I was quite shocked that the movie ended at that point in time because I wanted more dancing! That brings me to another point - I want more dancing scenes!

The highlight of the movie will be the supporting role of Willard Hewitt. Awkward, funny and incredibly cute, this role just left me laughing loudly after his every sentence. If you ask me which dancing scene I liked, that will be the starting scene in which the focus was on the feet of the dancers (though I question the shot whereby a female's crotch was filmed together with the feet). That scene was innovative, apt and fun at the same time!

Overall, I will give this movie two thumbs up for its great, but too few, dancing scenes. Acting-wise, the veterans are killing it all with their superb acting chops. I will watch this movie again solely because of the dancing and not the storyline.

Disclaimer: I was given the change to watch this movie for free, courtesy to omy.sg. This movie premiers on 26th October 2011 in Singapore.

freepeople.com picks (I DIE I DIE I DIE)

2011-10-23T11:07:00.002+08:00

I FOUND THE PERFECT KNIT TOP. I WANT TO BUY IT IN ALL THREE COLOURS. But one piece costs close to US$200. =.= Such a downer. I'm going to hunt for the perfect knit top and if the price is reasonable, I WILL BUY IT IN ALL DIFFERENT COLOURS.

Then you won't see me in other tops anymore, just rotate the differeny colours for different days. WHAT A FUSS-FREE LIFE. Okay I really need to start HUNTING for a cheaper alternative! :D

Major chio.

Still major chio.

STILL STILL MAJOR CHIO.

This cardigan is perfect for Singapore's weather! Short sleeves and all! :)

I just got drawn in by the detailing at the front.

If I were to wear this in Sweden, I will not want to come back to Singapore, because I want to wear it FOREVERRRR.

Sheer crinkle pants. I have this sudden fascination with wide-legged 3/4 pants lately ever since my ASOS one came a few days' ago. So comfortable yet still looking proper. I LIKE!

I zoomed in on this photo, and was just mesmerised by the amount of details that's in this skirt. No wonder everything's so highly priced in the website! Everything's made with care and love!

Sam Edelman ankle boots. I WANT BOTH PAIRS. I will even wear different pairs on each foot just for the fun of it. Nothing beats some sick studdings on a simple pair of ankle boots.

SIGH.

In depression now. Fitrina, Y U NO BORN A RICH SPOILT-BRAT?

Forever 21 picks

2011-10-23T10:34:00.003+08:00

I'm obsessed with fringes, leather and knits nowadays. All three together in an item will be AWESOME. I have yet to find it though. :D

First up is this fringe cardigan. I like it when they put fringes at appropriate places. Like this cardigan, the fringes are at the end of the cardigan, so you will with gusto, especially when there's wind. I HATE IT when they put fringes at weird areas like your chest area or the shoulders. For what? To make your boobs look bigger or to slap yourself in the face when there's wind?

Ponchos are cool too. Just that wearing it in Singapore will mean it's going to smell real bad real soon because of the sweat that it absorbs. Good to look at, bad to wear. AND YES, FRINGES AT THE END. GOOD PONCHO.

Maxi knit cardigan. What a sexy name. Maxi anything in a good cut is especially flattering for bigger girls. So don't go and purchase a small maxi cardigan if you are not that small. Tight maxi thingies only make you look fatter than usual. Well, unless you are stick-thin, I will suggest getting a loose-fit maxi cardigan.

This just intrigued me. The uneven hem is too enticing. The name is Sequined Dress though. Where the sequins? HMM.

Forever 21 has been rocking the jewelry department. It's like their trying to rival Jewel Mint! (In case you didn't know, Jewel Mint is an online jewelry boutique founded by Kate Bosworth and her partner!) Their prices are so much more reasonable than Jewel Mint and I'm thinking that it's a very very strategic move. Good jewelry, good prices, look at the new flock of customers.

Leather tassle necklace. I. DIE. IN. HAPPINESS.

This orange feather necklace is just cute. The colour's very unexpected!

This is one of the pieces that is most reminiscent to those in Jewel Mint. Quirky-looking but with that invisible charming aura that sucks you in immediately. LOVE IT.

Ok I need to work real hard, so that I can get MORE MOOLAH for all these obsessions!

INSTAGRAM Love Love LOVE

2011-10-22T22:17:00.005+08:00

Yes yes I know, my blog is in need of some love.

The mountain of schoolwork I have is hindering me from updating my blog more often! It's quite sad - my life, that is. Routine work has once again taken a turn downhill.

Wake up - School - Meetings - Go home - Complete projects - Sleep - Wake up ...

It has been that way for weeks now. I desperately want 30 November 2011 to come as soon as possible. END OF EXAMS! :D

What has been going on in my life. Nothing much. If you read two paragraphs up, you will realise I don't really have a life right now. My time and sweat are dedicated 100% to my projects. Nightmare. Seriously.

There is one extremely ecstatic news though. I secured a 6-month internship with MTV Asia! I will be their research intern starting January 2012, and I'm having excited and nervous thoughts about it. What if I don't do well? What if I let them question their choice in choosing me? What if I let down my school? What if I get bullied? What if I meet UTT? :D

Anyway, here's some past OOTDs from Instagram! :))

Interview day! Need to be as casual-formal at the same time!

Blouse: H&M

Skirt: ZARA

Belt: Bugis

Shoes: Topshop

The cold cold rainy day which allowed me to wear this leather jacket. THANK YOU MONSOON SEASON!

Jacket: Mango

Shirt: Forever 21

Shorts: H&M

Shoes: New Look

Bag: Topshop

This was a funny OOTD. I was feeling so moody (because of a certain 442) and decided to control my own life and make it colourful again! Hence the mint-green orange and lemon prints socks!

Blouse: Bossini

Leggings: Hongkong

Socks: Topshop

Shoes: Topshop

Earrings: H&M

Rings: Forever 21

The day when I can't be bothered. HAHA.

Shirt: Kuala Lumpur

Skirt: lefties (bought in Madrid for 5 euros!!)

Belt: Forever 21

Bangle: New Look

Shoes: New Look

Some awesome food photos! :D

My favourite salmon-don from Sakae Sushi. The NorthPoint outlet was quite disappointing though. =X

What other breakfast can beat the simple kaya-toast-and-two-soft-boiled-eggs combo? YUM.

I need to try harder in blogging! ARGH.

Maybe I shall bring my camera everywhere next week! :D

ok, updating my 3GS now. Let's hope my iPhone can take iOS5! *fingers crossed*

Forever 21 and Topshop Haul

2011-10-15T13:39:00.003+08:00

I finally finished spending the vouchers that my wonderful friends gifted me for my birthday. I have some moolahs left on the Topshop card though, maybe I'm going to buy some goodies for my bf. :)

I wanted accessories more than apparels because I have too many clothes that I have yet to wear! Such a bad habit to thrift on eBay and gmarket because the packages just keep coming and I don't have the luxury to keep changing outfits in a day!

I'm getting bored of my shoes and I needed new no-heel shoes. Heels are fancy, but they hurt and going to school wearing fancy sky-towering heels is like stabbing myself in the eye with a knife. Bad and unwise decision. Also, who said no-heel shoes cannot be fancy? Those people are just too full of themselves or they are just clueless on how to rock flats.

Ventured into Forever 21 and Topshop, and came out a happy, satisfied girl.

Here are the shoes that I "purchased" (I only paid S$8 in cash, the rest are vouchers).

I was very lucky to have resisted spending the Topshop credits. I wanted to buy this pair 2 weeks ago and it was S$69, but when I went yesterday, it was only S$39! Major hooray!

I just love the subtle tasslehead detail! Some shoes go crazy with the tassels, so much so that they become too whimsical for everyday wear. This one is perfectly subtle! The taupe colour is so pretty too!

I bought this pair of alternative oxfords from Forever 21. I'm just intrigued by the design. Usually oxfords come in the predictable lace-up design, and this is definitely different!

The pointy toe also help make any outfit look more formal!

This pair was S$33 and it is still retailing on the Forever 21 US website for US$24.80.

My bag collection is getting very yawn-worthy as well and I DESPERATELY needed a new school bag.

Bought this from Topshop for S$39, down from S$79! :)

Roomie and spacious enough to insert all my papers and books! :)

It was a good retail therapy. Very much needed because of the amount of stress I'm going through these days. GOOD CALL! A self-pat on the shoulders.

Past LOTDs

2011-10-14T22:19:00.001+08:00

This week has been a rough one. I can only rely on playing dress-up everyday to stay sane.

On other news, Instagram is proving to be a real bad addiction and I am neglecting my G11. Shoot, I did not spend 750bucks to let my camera collect dust! I NEED TO USE IT AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE!

Okay haul post coming up soon!! :D

Diane Von Furstenberg maxidress.

2011-10-14T22:00:00.001+08:00

Such luck that I found this vintage DVF maxidress for only S$25!

Life is good.

ASOS picks once more

2011-10-11T09:37:00.002+08:00

Browsed through the latest collection from ASOS and this time, not so many things caught my eye since most of the items are suited for a country with a temperate climate. Read: fur, fur and more fur. I will have a heat stroke wearing them in Singapore. However, I must say I really miss Sweden, because I can just cover up in luxurious coats and not care about what's underneath.

Here are some of the items that I like.

And this, is just for a dosage of fun. HOW FUN IS THIS TOP! YOU WILL GLISTEN LIKE A PRETTY PINK VAMPIRE, I TELL YOU! :D

Instagram addiction

2011-10-09T14:19:00.003+08:00

It's really just me trying to find another avenue for attention-seeking habits. Instagram is so ADDICTIVE. :)

Went to Ah Loy Thai with ky a few weeks' back, and the food there is NEVER disappointing. I want to try the famous Jane Thai at Orchard Towers soon!

Past outfit of the days:

Knit sweater - Carlings; Shorts - F21; Shoes - ZARA; Rings - gmarket + F21

Inner shirt - gmarket; self-cut vest - H&M; tights - F21; shoes - H&M; rings - diva

Blazer - H&M; tank - lindex; shorts - gmarket; shoes - gmarket; shades - H&M

Shirt - Cheap Monday; tights - cotton on; shoes - new look; earrings - gmarket

Blouse - H&M; Shorts - ASOS; Shoes - new look; necklace - gmarket; rings - gmarket + H&M

shirt - gmarket; shorts - H&M; shoes - new look; necklace, earrings and ring - gmarket

The view from Jeremy's house! Pioneer is so nice! :D

View from Chay's condo. Luxurious to the max.

Thank you ky for this ring! :) I seriously didn't know that he's going to buy this for me! It's from Topshop by the way!

My new House of Harlow inspired necklace from gmarket! :))

Urban Decay Holiday Collection 2011

2011-10-06T23:00:00.002+08:00

MAJOR LEMMING!

Urban Decay Book of Shadows IV.

I have Book of Shadows III, and the colours are gorgeous. The packaging was gimmicky, but it was pretty. :P

This one has 10 new colours and even that iPod thing. SO WEIRD BUT SO COOL.

It contains 16 eyeshadows, one Liquid Eyeliner, Original Primer Potion, and Supercurl Mascara.

Lemming this 24/7 Travel Size Set of 5 in Naked too (on the left)! :)

Can't believe I haven't gotten any of their 24/7 Shadow Pencils. NEED. NEED. NEED.

Dear money, you need to start dropping from the sky!

Review: Seche Vite dry fast top coat

2011-10-06T21:15:00.000+08:00

Another one of the gems that I bought during the smoochiezz flea.

From the website:

Seche Vite™ dry fast top coat is widely acknowledged as the world's finest top coat. Specially formulated to penetrate through nail lacquer to the base coat forming a single solid coating over the nail plate for a much more durable finish. Guaranteed not to yellow while leaving nails silky, stronger and resistant to chipping and peeling.

So it promises 4 nail terrors busters: more durable finish, silky nails, stronger nails and nail polish being resistant to chipping and peeling.

Sometimes when a product promises so many benefits, I go all defensive and will refuse to purchase it. This product however actually DELIVERS. I'm quite impressed actually, and I am on a confused state right now because I want to paint my nails and have it glistening in the shortest amount of time but I also do not want to paint my nails because I will hate to see this product get used up. AH THE AGONY.

Normally, I don't paint my nails that often because:

I cannot sit still for even 5 minutes. The chances of me smudging my newly-painted nails are as high as they can go.
I hate waiting for the nailpolish to dry proper before applying the topcoat. This creates those tiny irritating bubbles on the surface because premature topcoat application will trap the air molecules more! When that happens, I just remove everything. =.=
My topcoat gets all yellow and weird. I DON'T LIKE TO PUT WEIRD THINGS ON MY NAILS.

And so, I avoid painting my nails.

AND THEN IT ALL CHANGED WHEN THIS ARRIVED IN MY WORLD.

Here's how the actual Seche Vite dry fast top coat looks like. It's quite tiny, but you do not need to use a lot of product each time, so I guess it will last quite long.

The one factor that I'm most impressed about is how fast it dries! Usually even with the topcoat applied, your nail may appear dry on the surface, but when you add a little pressure, the nailpolish will budge. However, with this, my nailpolish+topcoat were dry after 30 seconds? And I mean dry DRY, as in no-matter-how-you-rub-also-will-not-budge dry. Major major impressed.

I have the tendency to bite my nails when I'm watching dramas (LOL) so at best, my nailpolish can last me around 2 days without any "injuries" like chipping or peeling. With this applied on, my nails looked perfect for 3 days. In fear of future "injuries", I applied another layer on the 4th day, and my nails ended up lasting for an entire week WITH AN ADEQUATE AMOUNT OF NAIL-BITING. WOAH. :)

Here's a photo of how my thumb look like after the full application. I swear it's at least two times shinier than what is shown; my camera can't really capture it because I don't have studio lighting! :(

I took the above photo moments after application. After meddling with the camera settings and then completing the photo-taking (around 30 seconds), I slid my other thumb over it and it was miraculously dry. WOW.

I bought the Seche Vite dry fast top coat for around S$11-12 during the flea, and I think it's available for purchase on smoochiezz's website! :)

VIVI Japan October 2011 Issue

2011-10-05T17:18:00.006+08:00

Some of my favourite images in the latest issue of VIVI! :)

By the way, I'm so sorry for the lack of posts! Work is overloading and I have to sacrifice some of my blogging time! I promise I will get back to blogging furiously soon! :)

Review: elf High Definition Powder

2011-09-27T15:14:00.000+08:00

I have been lemming for elf High Definition Powder ever since dulcecandy raved about it on one of her videos.

I purchased mine via sg-beauty for a mere S$6. The seller used only a very little amount, so it' almost brand new when I got it! :)

The packaging of the the powder is a love-hate for me. Yes, it looks very sleek with the matte, black cuboid, HOWEVER, this product is extremely bulky. When you fit it in your normal makeup pouch, the pouch will have this unsightly bulge. I have given up trying to bring this out to touch up my foundation. Usually I just apply in the morning before I leave, and no more.

When you open the cuboid, this is what you will get.

I do not understand why companies like to include powder puffs for loose powder. I mean it's a completely useless addition! Especially for this product! The powder is white in colour and although it's really fine in texture, when you dab it on using the puff, you get hideous white patches on your face, which can only be rectified using a brush. Hence, why not just include a brush instead of a puff? Cost of production is much lower with the inclusion of a powder puff, but I'd be very much happier if they included a brush instead!

This is the product's dimension, as compared to an Essie nail polish bottle.

This is how the powder looks like (with flash on).

The texture of this powder is LOVE. It is so finely milled and so soft. Also, it is lightweight! All these lead to an important trait that we look for in all loose powders: it is super blendable! However I read online that the super fine texture can actually be detrimental to the skin because it is small enough to enter the pores and into the blood stream. Hence, I don't recommend frequent usage of this product, although the texure can be quite addictive, especially the moment when you just finished application - the skin is so smooth and so awesome to touch.

I applied it using a powder brush, and a light hand is a must for this product! No need for crazy dipping because a little goes a long long way. I'm actually quite impressed by how long this product keeps my skin from being oily. After 3 hours of application, my skin still feel matte and smooth, with no oily patches.

I will definitely recommend elf High Definition Powder despite the issues that I have with it. It's quite a pleasant product to work with, and if you want to avoid getting the product into your skin, perhaps you should apply this over liquid foundation or BB Cream.

Awesome product (not so awesome packaging) and I'm definitely going to repurchase! :)

Monki is available online! :)

2011-09-25T01:37:00.002+08:00

My 6-month stint in Stockholm blossomed my true love for Monki. For those who didn't know, Monki is a brand under the huge company that brought you H&M. Weekday is also under the same company; that's the brand that brings in all the Cheap Monday goodness.

Monki + Weekday were my sins in Stockholm and to be honest, Monki triumphed over Weekday just by a weeeeee bit.

I miss going in to Monki and spasming at the ridiculously on-sale items and then grabbing everything. I still remember my 2 pairs of wide-legged pants that were on sale for 60SEK (~S$12), with an original pricetag of 400SEK (~S$80). CRAZY OR WHAT.

However, since I'm back in Singapore, I can't rely on Monki's crazy in-store sales anymore.

The website has been up and alive for quite some time, but it's only recently that they implemented online shopping. BUT, I don't think they ship to Singapore though; for that you have to go through Monki Hongkong (which is usually a season behind, bummer).

Here are my favourites from the site! :)

Gotta have these. drools

2011-09-25T01:34:00.002+08:00

Found these from the gmarket shop that I bought my flatform oxfords from. MAJOR DROOLS FOR THESE 2 PAIRS. The awesome thing is that both are under 40 bucks, with shipping included.

I NEED TO MAKE DECISIONS.

My bf said better to get the neon orange Puma inspired pair, so he can buy the original in blue! HAHA.

AH this gmarket is my ultimate bane!

Recess Week's Getting Me Clickin'

2011-09-23T22:31:00.003+08:00

We, NTU sloggers, deserve a break and I'm so thankful that recess week has finally arrived. Although this one-week break does not mean total slothness, it's just a good mental break. You know how you hate travelling to school because there are so many things waiting to be completed? This break promises the same number of things to be completed, but all to be done either at home, or at a friend's house. So exciting! :)

Also, this next thing is definitely worth a paragraph. The mystery shopping disaster that I did in August is actually quite rewarding. After 2 months, they finally contacted me, and I have money going into my bank account. HOORAH. I still think that I don't deserve to be paid, but ohwell I cannot say no to money!

To celebrate the start of recess week, I ordered some stuff from gmarket Singapore. All jewelleries!

This necklace is just cute and it was $2.69. HEH.

House of Harlow inspired necklace for just $6.69! :)

This owl design is extremely common as a necklace, but I have never seen it as earrings before. Grabbed it for $3.69!

Peacock earrings for $4.69! :) I just love the combination of turquoise and burnt orange. I feel all boho-ish already.

Lily had a Forever 21 spree not too long ago, and I grabbed some stuff too!

This necklace was just US$1.50!

I wanted to get to this MAJOR leather skirt (US$15.80), but my size was sold out. That was horrifying news but ohwell, I shall make do with whatever I see on the streets next week when I go for some hardcore shopping.

Recess Week Day 1/10 is over. NOOOOOOOOO. NOW THE DAYS WILL START TO ZOOM PAST. :(

Things I Will Wear If I'm Skinny

2011-09-22T12:47:00.001+08:00

Photos taken from tumblr.com

Wild Fox Couture

2011-09-21T00:09:00.002+08:00

I found another one of those good-to-see-heartpain-to-buy websites! wildfoxcouture.com really quite something. I love how they use the old-school-Grease-feel theme for their photoshoots! Their clothes are heavy-handed on details like sequins, prints, studs and all that jazz, just what I like! :)

Since I'm very much into knits and everything comfortable now, here are my favourites! The prices are steep. That is just plain sad.

foodwishes addiction

2011-09-19T22:58:00.001+08:00

WHY DO I KEEP WATCHING THESE VIDEOS.

Test test

2011-09-19T10:32:00.001+08:00

First post written via iPhone. This Blogger is certainly working hard to please the customers! :)

ASOS why you so evil!

2011-09-17T20:28:00.004+08:00

Review: elf Studio Mineral Infused Face Primer

2011-09-17T13:34:00.002+08:00

Another item that I purchased during the smochiezz flea. I have forgotten the price though; it was somewhere between S$6-S$10.

I was rather excited for this primer because dulcecandy raved about it in one of her videos and I'm a sucker for her words, so I was major happy when I finally got this product!

It promised a "flawless and smooth canvas", and can "combat oily, flaky dryness, enlarged pores and fine lines to result in a natural youthful looking radiance". Also, it will "prepare your skin so makeup goes on evenly for a lasting satin finish".

Am I convert? I'm still trying the product out but based on first impressions, not so.

The bottle itself looks sturdy and wholesome, but the problem is that piece of thick glass surrounding the vial of product. That glass is a THICK glass. So actually, even when the bottle looks larger than the normal primer size, it actually houses less amount of primer. I feel cheated, but what can I do? I paid a reasonably meagre amount for this baby, so I guess I can't expect a huge container of primer, can I?

The actual size of the primer, compared to an O.P.I nail polish bottle.

Another letdown was the bottle pump, although I must say I'm quite pleased that it was a pump - good for hygiene and convenience! The problem rooted from the consistency of the product. This primer is a thick primer, and so sometimes a pump is not a good tool to dispense the product. This is because what the pump pumps out is actually from the middle of the bottle, and when the product runs out from the middle, it will become too thick and it will cling to the sides, meaning that nothing will be pumped out even though there is still so much product left!

(This is similar to Urban Decay Primer Potion problem whereby the scooper is unable to reach to the product wholly - a reason why so many people decapitated the product so as to get the leftovers out.)

And what is with the white container? I can't even see how much product is left! Up till now, I sound like a big whining baby. HAHA.

The primer itself is a thick, clear gel. The consistency is thicker than usual primers, but it blends out beautifully and smoothly. This is extremely good for those with huge pores around the nose area because it does make an even canvass for your foundation!

A tiny amount is needed for the entire face - one full pump is too much. I used a full pump for the first time and that resulted in a nightmare because too much product can actually coagulate and you are left with white strings on your face. Yikes.

So be very stingy with the amount used because a little goes a long, long way.

This primer also has a very queer texture. One that resembles that old Revlon gimmick product: the liquid foundation that turns into powder when applied and blended. This primer feels just like that! It's quite good actually, because you don't feel like you are layering cream after liquid after cream, and hence this reduces to feeling of cakey-ness. Bravo to that!

Whether or not my foundation lasted me longer than usual, that is something I have yet to find out. However, the primer does live up to some of its promises. The first impression was horrid, and I am quite skeptical about the design of the product. But, this primer does have its plus points, and with that cheap pricetag, I guess I have a new primer to turn to now.

Am I a convert now? Maaaaybbbeeee.

Review: elf Studio Complete Coverage Concealer

2011-09-17T13:30:00.000+08:00

I needed a concealer badly because my other concealers were running low and the medicine that I have been taking is too strong for my skin and so I have many surprise break-outs on my face, HENCE I NEED A CONCEALER BADLY!!

I bought elf Studio Complete Coverage Concealer for S$6 at smoochiezz flea and I guess it's a reasonable price, though buying online will cost a mere US$3, add shipping into that and it will not exceed S$5. However, you don't need to wait and you don't have to suffer from the risk of lost mail, and so S$6 is highly reasonable. If you compare it to other concealers in the market, be it drugstore or departmental store, S$6 is TOO CHEAP.

I was contemplating between Light and Medium, and ended up getting Medium because my tan is too persistent.

Medium is a good match for olive-skin tones!

With four different colours, this concealer is perfect for those with uneven skin tones. For example, the skin under my eyes are darker than the rest of the face, and so the lighter shades are able to lighten those areas to make my face look more balanced.

The kit also comes with a tiny concealer brush. The brush feels good and sturdy but I have yet to use it because I do not like applying cream concealer using a brush because of the streaking factor.

Perhaps I will use the brush to apply powder concealers over the cream concealer on days that I want to go light on the face and not pile on liquid foundations or BB Creams.

Swatches in flash.

I'm so sorry if you can't really make out the different shades, but that's good thing right? Means the shades match my skin perfectly! :)

This concealer has a weird texture. The first time I opened it, there were water droplets on the surfaces, and so I had to dry that off. When I start to work my finger into the concealers, I noticed this change in texture, in which the concealer went from being dry and hard to extremely creamy and runny. Metaphorically, it's like eating a boiled egg, and then when you cut through, the runny eggyolk rushes out. So so weird.

However, after around 5 minutes of mixing, the texture became more even and now it's manageable.

The coverage of this concealer is not fantastic but good enough for people with minor blemishes and those who want to cover dark eye rings. The concealer cannot cover a pimple or redness caused by a pimple, which is very annoying because that's what I mostly have on my face right now. It works wonders for my under-eyes though.

Another negative trait is that after the first application of the concealer, all other applications become extremely cakey. There are always moments when you realise that you need more coverage on a spot and hence you top-up your dosages. This concealer is not designed for that. I think it has got to do with the formulation. Every time I apply a second layer, I look like I'm ready to go for a circus act or something, my face looks so cakey! :(

The lasting power of the concealer is also another facepalm moment. If I don't set the concealer with a powder concealer, my impurities will be visible after a mere 2 hours or so! What a letdown!

Conclusion: I thought I will like it because of the perfect colour match and the easy-on-the-wallet price, but it delivers none of its promises. I guess I have to search for another concealer.