pleased

Feeling oh-so-pleased with myself because I've finished making and writing the christmas cards. Also made it from all recycled products, leftover craft materials from past projects (except the white pen).

Been out to town recently to catch up with friends and am appalled at the manners of those from the grandmotherland (Since our mothers did not come from there it can hardly be called 'motherland'....) Was dining at a restaurant eating 'xiaolongbao' and 'zhajiangmein' and a lady rudely shouted across the railings to ask us what we are eating. We were quite taken aback. And I thought such food were like commoners' food in the grandmotherland? She should be familiar with it. So anyway after I replied, still politely, in English of course, she huffed away saying' Oh, so you can't speak the 'national' language (guo yu).' So rude!

I would not be mentioning this if the same thing with another china-accent lady happened! While I was buying some gifts - I put them on the counter first and went off to look at other stuff. When I came back the lady in front of me in the queue was fingering my items... nevermind, I was still okay about that. She just turned to me and also said quite rudely, 'What is this?', holding my stuff! Once again, taken aback. For us we would at least add an excuse me or a shy smile but she talked to me as if I were a lowly creature, in fact, I feel sorry for the SA who have to serve these customers. Anyway I don't know how to explain it in Mandarin and if I spoke English I was sure it would be a waste of my good intentions, so, I just said in my most British accented English, 'Sorry?' and she huffed away and demanded to know what I was buying from the cashier. All in the same week... I really can't believe it. It is a really unpleasant experience to encounter such characters especially when you just want to run your errands and get out of the hullabaloo that is downtown!

I got myself an early christmas present...One thing I love shopping at Tangs is that you can earn points to redeem discounts on items you want to buy. Since I always need to top up my makeup and skincare essentials there and sometimes shoes, it makes sense to get my stuff there. Plus after this haircolor change, I don't seem to suit any of my lipstick shades. So this Chanel lipstick, original price $40... After deducting points its like $10? Such a savvy shopper *pats self on back. The shade is Tasmania and it goes on lightly, such a nice shade, almost coral. More motivated to put on lipstick everyday now. Also bought Tom Robbin's 'Still Life with Woodpecker' at Kinokuniya (hence the necessary trip to downtown.) I'm liking his quotes recently so shall read his works.

odds and ends

Remember those teenage days when you put in all that effort to do something homemade for your bestie's birthday or your 'stead'... scrawling on cards and trawling different shops to get interesting materials... Well, this V-day, being on an extremely tight budget, I D-I-Y something for TheBoyfriend... using this... once again, black Ikea frame. I have bought this some time ago with Architect... long time ago actually, but could not find 3 matchy photos to put in, so it has boring land maps currently. Revamped to something nice, I'd post up the photos afterwards... *suspense!

Was in town last week someone blanjah me ayam penyet, so I took the opportunity to walk around town especially the places I seldom go to like... Far East Plaza. Going back there sure brings back memories of those days where we would haunt the little shops and find interesting scrunchies - yes they were in back then, tonnes of cheap slippers, bikinis, baby tees... Lately it's been quite pricey so I stopped going there to shop, but the afternoon brought a pleasant surprise. I actually found cheap chic stuff that were quite nice.

I like peeptoes and bows on shoes and this brown actually suits my skin tone... and the espadrille wedge heel is nice. Super comfy, not a single blister...and no pain on the toe base which most heels would cause me...amazing. And... it's below 20 bucks, cheap huh? Machiam shopping in Bangkok.

Yes I know I have one bag like this... But this is so furry I had to get it. From BYSI, a small version of Chanel-inspired flap. And it's from TheBoyfriend! Yes, I used his shopping vouchers (christmas gifted) so can say this is the first bag he bought for me...

Some branded top but with the label cut off from 'supermarket' at FEP. It's near 'woodwood', a shop with quirky, one of a kind pieces that I like very much. I've been searching for nude tops with black accents, so very this season for forever so imagine my surprise when I found it on the discount rack, and it's in my size. Doesn't look like much here but it's feminine and floaty! The same shop also stocks a Stella McCartney dress in navy or that dusty pink she always uses... LOVE! But it was over my budget so I restrained myself. Plus, I haven't worn all my dresses yet... LOL.

And lastly, the reason why I went to FEP: To get a cheap swimsuit. Since I don't have any decent ones for swimming... only string ones for suntanning which are a bit hazardous to learn swimming in... and I don't want to buy something expensive... or... fugly. Ta-dah! It's called a maillot... and if you ask me whether it's more decent... it's not... muahahaha. Well, unfortunately I can't FIT (too thin) the tankinis, and none of the boutiques actually sells those fugly swimsuits with the skirt or thick shoulder straps... well, I got this maillot. Nice huh? Got discount one. And I have a penchant for polka dots. I think FEP is quite interesting if you can avoid the made-in-china products and the cheap tees. There are a number of boutiques carrying branded or semi branded stuff, also a lot of made in Korea stuff, some good, some stunning. Those on the 2nd floor (actually I only went to the 2nd floor and the ground floor) are quite posh really. Having exhausted the clothes stores in Raffles City and Ion's quite high end, I think I will go back to haunting FEP.

hair regime

I tried the 'pore minimizer' mask from Faceshop, recommended by Clone (she uses seaweed kind, this one is new), and it does work!!! I feel less oily for at least the next half day after using it at night. As I have more time at home now, I should try to at least maintain an optimal state of skin- and hair- care. My facialist said that my pores are getting smaller after months (years) of her fantastic machine, and using the (expensive) serum of hers does make my skin, silky smooth. No wonder women are willing to pay for such products... While most skincare products have varied results on me - some causing breakouts or skin peeling (eeks!) some not 'cleansing' enough, others just don't work for me to continue buying bottle after bottle.

But thankfully for my mane of hair (which is growing longer), almost all products seem to work quite well - I don't have to buy a plethora that is hardly used. I'm going to leave my hair long enough for a nice perm hopefully in 3 months' time, so must take care of it, now. I never realised how much care long hair needs, especially since I dye it frequently.

Here's my hair care regime:

Shampoo: Tressemme. MsBestFriend loves the serum, I bought the shampoo which was good, and later the conditioner. Rm 19.90 at Jusco, so far not sure if Singapore stocks it.

Spotted these haircurlers at a cheap 'PinkBeauty' shop in AMK. It works very well! Better than those other pink haircurlers which always comes undone. Why are haircurlers always pink?

It's $6.90. I leave it in my dry hair for an hour or so and voila! Natural looking curls. To get nice curls, it's best NOT to wash hair for a couple of days. Butthen, I can't stand it...feel (maybe psychologically) that my scalp is itchy...

Bought the New York streets products from Sephora because they were on sale and I needed a hairspray. The 'liquid shine' turned out gorgeous, it tames those hair that sticks out in weird places like along your hairline and makes it look glossy, and also soft. Yay! Will definitely get another bottle when it finishes.

The hairspray is mild and I must say one of the best I've used. Cape from Japan another good one (only found in Japanese pharmacies.) A lot of people don't like using hairspray but the good point of it is that it keeps the curls and is more natural than wax or clay - too hard and solid looking. This hairspray smells nice too, and this range is the most inexpensive hair product range found in Sephora. And I'm also into the tin-boxes packaging.

I've always liked Redken products, their (red) shampoo is good too though a bit pricey for me. So I splurged on this 'velvet whip' for my hair ends that were looking like chicken backside feathers after trips to sunny places in December. Applied it only before bedtime and had instanteous results. Also found at Pink Beauty (Man I love that place.)

I've never been a girly-girl who applies moisturiser religiously or has to... blow her hair before stepping outta the house, but now that I have time to organize my wardrobe, actually FOLDED ALL my home clothes as well, and keep up a hair-and skin- regime, I must say the results are quite pleasing and fulfilling. TheBoyfriend commented he liked my hair with curls, in fact, when I went to TheChurch with curls, many guys commented they liked it as well! Surprise surprise, I always thought most guys liked rebonded long straight hair, or maybe it's just that curls suits me. I like it too and it isn't too much work for my hair to look tousled and messy, haha. So yes, new look! Best part is that curls make you look good in dresses. I don't know how to explain it but yes, Blake Lively, Leighton Messer, Rachel Bilson all those girls look good in curls and dresses...compared to straight hair.

Now it's just a waiting game of having it grow somewhat longer. Grow grow grow...

green nails

YesIhavegreennails.

Being one of those ladies who scoff at nails in strange colors and prefer to have them done in nudes or pinks, I can say that this is my bravest manicure attempt so far. Well, it's a long story. You know how in Singapore we can't find any decent brands of nail polishes to buy (unless you're in Orchard) and so you can choose to either ruin your nails by the cheap brands or splurge out on those you are not likely to finish. Since I paint my nails so regularly (I'm obsessed with keeping them in nice coverings), I chose the latter. But it's increasingly hard to find nice color tones where you'd want to buy the whole bottle... you know?

So on a spur I decided to try a cheap manicure place. I read that jade green nails are in this Fall so I opted for the closest I can find. Surprisingly, I'm very pleased with the results. My toes are in a very nice shade of nude too! Which goes to show sometimes you just have to try something new. Perhaps a sign of old age, I'm becoming reluctant to. At least for clothes brands, I find the high fashion ones getting pricey and material also not so good, so I'm often spotted caressing the soft cottons at Muji.

I found a cute blog, he writes about his life in the form of exquisitely drawn cat cartoons. It's Miao and wafupafu and I added it to my bloglist. It's something like kartoen.be except it's not so one-tracked. I enjoy looking at the cartoons very much, the inner aesthetician in me appreciates all the concept and hours gone into creating one deceptively simple blogpost.

Hee hee.

Last week, The Boyfriend and I happened to be in town - Ion for a while. It's been said that when you go out with different people, you will notice different things. When I am alone, I always notice (first) the shop's 'architecture', the way the layout and flow is designed, the colors and interesting materials used for interior decor. Strangely, I find myself wondering why each product is placed at each location and would check if the next time I went, it has been rearranged... ... But when I'm out with The Boyfriend, I notice... ... nice food! We walked past this japanese artisanal bread, I believe the name is 'Bread Society', and I was actually looking at the chestnut or hazelnut tarts on left. But what we actually decided upon was the unimpressive-looking lemon danish. We thought it sounded quite unusual and because we just had many sweet things at a wedding reception, we bought one. And... o! o! I'm not really a foodie, I just have high standards for the things I put into my mouth and body... but this danish, o! It's what I can only describe as... heavenly. Truly now I know what a slice of heaven tastes like. Even though we were not hungry, we savored every crisp, tangy, sour, sweet and iced bite of flavor from it. It's only $1.50 too, I'm swearing off mediocre breadtalks bread from now. (I never really like breadtalk, but I always buy because it's so convenient.) Next time I'm at Ion I'd be sure to visit.

September's looks

Here are my cover looks for September. Inspired by those Japanese magazines where you can mix and match some pieces of clothing, I've done the same with a white shirt (Something which I've been longing to buy for the longest time), denim rolled cuff shorts, a purple dress, a nude cardigan which I wanna grab grab grab it, a knitted cardigan, a peachy skirt and some other items. Also, I've kept the color theme to purple, white, nude, pink, denim with red highlights. The best part is all the models are carrying different handbags each day... perhaps I should conside buying less clothes, mixing and matching those already in my wardrobe, and save to buy bags? The shoes are also mostly the same, I don't like to have too many pairs of shoes. And the necklaces, bracelets and rings are also something which I would have in my collection. The best part is some of these stuff are actually affordable, within my price points!

I love playing dress-up. I shall do more when I have time, which is, perhaps tomorrow...

On another note, shall STOP buying tee shirts. To all those people whom I've said, 'please stop me from buying tee-shirts, I've bought 3 in the last 2 weeks. Of course they are gorgeous. But still, I'm not 17 anymore.

Monday

Chasing the Monday Blues away by cheery shoes and da leepard bag.

Bag, Jimmy Choo

Watch, Casio

Bracelet, Aloha Mi Lajki

Ring, H&M

Cardigan, Hunky Dory

Dress, Noir&Blanc

Flats, Minimarket

Tuesday

No meetings today, I can slouch in the office with my shorts and tee. (Yes I am actually allowed to wear that outfit to work.)

Headband, Evita Peroni

Handbag, Dagmar

Ring, Pilgrim

Necklace, Aloha Mi Lajiki

Necklace, Comelia

Bracelet, Pilgrim

Tee, French Connection

Shorts, Esprit EDC

Flats Minimarket

Socks, American Apparel

Wednesday

Mid week snug in a nude cardigan. Won't go wrong with sparkly shoes.

Bag, Dagmar

Ring, H&M

Bracelet, J Dauphin

Necklace, Aloha Mi Lajki

Necklace, Thomas Sabo

Cardigan, Hunky Dory

Top, Hanky Panky

Skirt, H&M

Heels, Giuseppe Zanotti Design

Thursday

It feels nice to have a scarf around my neck.

Scarf, Vintage.

Clutch, Vintage.

Necklace, Comelia

Belt, Twenty8Twelve

Dress, Noir&Blanc

Heels, Gucci.

Friday

Going to explore the new shopping mall. Heard it has nice ice cream parlors!

Headband, Evita Peroni

Scarf, Vintage

Briefcase, Vintage

Bracelet, J Dauphin

Necklace, Comelia

Necklace, Aloha Mi Lajki

Vest, Burfitt

Belt, Twenty8Twelve

Top, Hanky Panky

Shorts, Esprit EDC

Heels, Gucci

Socks, American Apparel

Saturday

First to Church, then dinner with The Boyfriend's family. Hope I don't drip pasta sauce on my new dress.

Handbag, Prada

Bracelet, Vintage

Necklace, Aloha Mi Lajki

Cardigan, Rules by Mary

Minidress, Nakkna

Shorts, Esprit EDC

Heels, Giuseppe Zanotti Design

spirited fashion picks

Hola hola! It's the weekend yay!

This week, having some time at The Office to scour the world of fashion blogs... Spiritedly brings to you... some wearable fashion looks that will easily update your current unglam look.

The semi-boho look so favored by Nicole Richie will never go out of style, just updated. I'm quite a fan of the floral-vintage look but few fashion cloth-makers seem to get it right. So I stick with the Japanese brands like Muji for that look. Upcoming trends include lace print + tie-dye. So imagine a two-toned tie-dye tunic dress paired with lace at the ends, only that the lace is printed on. Also very chic are lace necklaces, those plain tees would go awfully well with them. Or clash with stripey tees. I've seen a couple of lace necklaces in Diva.

The weave belt, or 'plait belt' as Muji calls it, is going to be in style for a long long time. But I dun like the synthetic look so I will opt for one in real leather. And in white, or pale beige. It goes well with 'the boyfriend' shirt and cuffed shorts.

Nicole Richie is pulling off a few fashion trends in this photo. I like the big, white, tee especially with a little pocket on the breast, it is so wearable with jeans, leggings, or leather tights here. This also showcases a black studded vest if you have one. Studded sandals are also hot, Trois + Inch has nice ones which I'm lusting after. For white tees, try Petit Bateau in Takashimaya or Muji again. (I haven't been to the newbies Berushka and New Look!)

Lastly, I like fringed bag, but again, only in suede and not in that cheap leather look. In black or brown, it instantly updates your look and makes any outfit you wear become so much more interesting.

Makeup update: I've been wearing Anna Sui's blush (the bestseller color, recommended by the shop assistant) and it's the best blush I've ever, ever, ever used. I've tried blushers from MAC to Majorca... so... I can say distinctly that this is the best and some might say comparable to NARS... It's in the perfect shade of pink (just ask for the bestseller color la) and love love love it. Also good is Benefit's 'That Gal', but it finishes quickly so I use it sparingly, it gives the whole complexion a peaches-and-cream look. In my third tube already. Faring well and I hope it never finishes is my Shu Uemura lipstick.

flea marts stakeout!

Here's a lineup of the flea marts happening in Singapore, this Saturday.

Was mentioning to Baby over lunch at Toast that me and The Boyfriend will skip over to Salvation Army's thrift store at Changi and visit a few flea marts.

There are flea marts happening almost every Saturday and here's what I've penciled in my scheduler:

1. Flea mart @Minden Road (Dempsey one three o)

2. Tanglin Mall Flea Mart 3pm to 11pm

3. MAAD 11am - 7pm

The usual suspects Tanglin Mall and MAAD has flea marts every 2 weekends or so.

MAAD is at the Red Dot Traffic Museum near Tanjong Pagar. I heard they sell a lot of handmade accessories and stuff.

Tanglin Mall has some nice stuff too, I once bought Lonely Planet guidebooks there as well as makeup, and clothes, bags, everything you could possibly want. You'd have to fight off the (rich) bargaining FIERCE maids though, who wrangle the $1, $2 clothes. I wonder what do they do with them, ship them to Philippines? I once flea-ed there with friends and profited $300 hahaha so it's worth doing it once in a while.

For the first time, a flea mart is happening at Minden Road (Dempsey here I come!)

Here's what to expect.

A fun and hip little flea market selling special stuff.
Coupled with a carnival atmosphere and loads of great food!
HotDogs @ $2! Draft Beer @ $5!

Pre-Loved Clothes & Shoes : Zara, Gap, Mango, Abercrombie, True Religion...
Imported Accessories from Korea & Japan
Pre-Loved Books
Pre-Loved & New - Baby & Kiddy Clothes : Old Navy, PRL, Gap
Imported Baby Dresses
Children's Toys
Gorgeous Bags : Kate Spade, Coach
Hand-made Tote Bags
Pre-Loved & HandPainted Shoes
Premium Shoes & Rare Sneakers from Nike
Limited Edition Tees (Supreme)

Express Mani & Pedi from $8
Princess Mani & Pedi from $5

Free Muffins for the Kids!
Free Face-painting for the Early birds!

bargain hunter

On Saturday before we went to The Church, The Boyfriend and I did some bargain-hunting at the Salvation Army.

They were having a sale and we wanted to browse - I specifically wanted to buy a poster : 'Palmer Tyres', which I saw the other day but hesitated, did not buy it and hence regretted till last Saturday. Thankfully it was still there so I scored a lovely vintage poster, which is in a beautiful glass frame as well. It is now sitting on my floor behind the door until I prop it up on my dresser.

The Boyfriend also bought a fan. A fan, those standing on the floor, looking like a vertical aircon - gray fan. It has a remote control too, I am fascinated by that fact. Because there was a 30% sale, he scored it for $21? Incredible. There were old drawers that we both loved, something that could sit well on the bedside, or as a phone-table. A low table with two drawers, made of good, dark brown wood for $100. After the sale, it's $70! And you can hardly buy good wood, or a good drawer, for that price. Sigh. If we had our own house right now I would buy it in a blink of an eye, and spend the next weekend sandpapering and painting it up.

My poster is mounted in a lovely dappled glass frame, and I bought a old-school 'Green Spot' glass cup they used for those old-school kopi tiams as well ($1!) Total amounting to $13.30 after discount, I think it was a pretty worthwhile trip. The last, I bought two books for... $3. One was Elisabeth Elliot's 'Passion and Purity', and I can't find that book in any bookstores, so to me, that is priceless. The other is a travel book which is a good read and I will sell it away during my end of the year book-sale... so that someone else can enjoy it.

We enjoyed ourselves so much that we are going to visit another Salvation Army Thrift store again this weekend!

On Sunday, we went to the olden Seletar Airport black-and-white. Lovely, lovely place, just enjoyed the slow drive - it was a rainy day, a slow cosy drive up the roads of people's houses, some terraced black-and-white old colonial houses, the others, bungalows, and even huge-ass ones which we wondered who would rent. Some of them are eventually torn down for the Seletar Aerospace hub, which we can see signs of being constructed. I think it really spoils the beauty of the area. For now, it still remains a tranquil, serene place with sounds of nature. I spotted 2 chickens roaming in a backyard, and lots of flora and fauna blooming in the people's yards. Who owns these places? I wondered aloud. We googled it later and found the past rent from the 90s to current times to be about $1.2k, which is quite affordable for your own piece of grass and backyard, but recently the rent trebled, leaving lots of these places empty. It is no longer affordable to us, and the main reason why people want to stay in such an off-the-road place is also because they want it quiet and peaceful. So, the building of the Aerospace centre there would give it a industrial, horrid feel with machinery sounds and all. While I know that advancement ultimately leads to the destruction of our natural habitat for tall, new buildings, I always feel sad when the last open places around my estate become some eaten up by the good of our economy. If only, we can have it all - the beauty of the old school places, and the revenue from our award winning industries. But we can't and I guess the ones with the least monetary value has to go. So now it seems we have to place a premium - PAY a premium for the things we desire to have. But if we were truly rich and able to afford all these, would we still want it, or would we have other 'higher' desires such as a 7-million condo in Balmoral? I have no answers for that, but I find it increasingly difficult to live within our means, here.

flea mart shopaholic

When I was single, I really enjoyed it, the single phase of my life. Too young to fret about being on the shelf, and enough experience with men to know that good things come to those who wait. I had the luxury of sleeping till the sun was high in the sky, took jaunts to wherever I fancied during lazy weekends, like perhaps sipping tek tariks at prata shop whilst reading the Sunday Times, or going to JB on my own - I did that a couple of times, taking the public transport and once, even walked from 'holiday plaza' to 'the store'. It was a 2 hours' walk... and I will never do that again... too old for such nonsense.

But at a certain point in life you would want to share what you've learnt, what your thoughts are, to someone. Someone special, perhaps.

It's not true that women don't really need men the way men need women (like their mothers to feed them, iron their shirts and buy bedsheets and all that).
We both need each other.

==

The Boyfriend and I swore off boring weekend doings like watching a movie and walking around aimlessly in typical retail environments. But also being tired (I have to stand for long hours some days of the week in my job) we are not really keen to sweat it out and hike or bike during the precious weekends we spend together. So on Sunday, after a nice dimsum brunch in Geylang we headed to 'Zouk flea and easy'. It's our first time to the Zouk flea. I missed out on the Night Festival one last month, so I was verrrry excited to take a look, whee! I had such good buys that I couldn't stop laughing to myself. But as I'm having a humongous ulcer on my tongue (for one week and counting, bleah) I could only laugh a fake 'bwahaha...muahaha' to the amusement of The Boyfriend. Scored buys that I've been looking out for, a kitsch beribboned hairband for $10, 3 DVDs for $5 -one of them is my fave movie by Jean Pierre Jeunet 'the city of lost children' which I've been looking all over for and not able to find... ... I yippeed at the sight of the DVD and clutched it along with 2 other good ones. Two typewriter key rings for my ring collection, I got an 'A' for you-know-who and a 'backspace'. They're still available online at 'by invite only'. And while we were walking out, we spotted the prettiest peachy-petal colored, chanel-esque camellia slip-ons! It was the last one and... in my size. Fits perfectly and so comfortable that I immediately wore it while gushing at how pretty it looks. (My feet are picky and they blister often, so my shoes are often comfortable=boring.) Such a fulfilling day!

We also saw many 'ah-siah-kias' selling off their very nice, barely worn clothing. I spotted a powder pink dress with v-neck of sequins, a retro crimson dress with white trimmings which I would gladly buy, men's shoes for $25, even marc jacobs flats and stella mccartney pumps going cheap! Surprisingly there were quite a variety of men's clothes too. I shall stake out clothes next time... Right now, still happy with my current wardrobe selections. The flea had nice club music in a dimmed lighting atmosphere which added to the curious and exciting part of going to it.

I've realised that we're only so much happier anyways when we plan for our purchases, like 'this month I have a belt budget for ... one rope-y belt'...and when we do spot and purchase it, the satisfaction makes you purr for a day (and each time you wear it.)


Typewriter ring collection also available at
http://www.byinviteonly.info/store/new

Interesting clothes from the person who sold me the camellia slip-ons
http://www.lhly.blogspot.com/

psst...

Keeping in the spirit of GSS season, here are some of my beauty secrets. I'm quite fastidious about what I put on my face as it tends to have a mind of its own, so after lots of trial and errors, here are the favorites. Also, as we're so spoilt for choices here with so many brands available, I seldom use a certain product more than once (don't you?) so here are the picks that has also made it through the 'more than once' in my makeup stash... Try try try...

Sato Co Enzyme Q-10 cream.
At the mid-20s, it's good to start treating the face and neck a little better. If not will look super old when you are 50 (compared to your peers.)
Either 1. Eat those collagen pills and drinks or 2. Go for facial to light-zap collagen in or 3. Apply some cream. I used to suntan a lot so I'm fearful of my neck looking wrinkly. Ah, I try to put it once a week nightly... forgot to apply it daily, hee hee...
Oh, only found in Meidi-ya or Isetan pharmacy. And not expensive. I believe less than $30... but always SOLD OUT...
Sephora nail polish. I believe it's only $7. Not one to go for super-ex OPIs or others...since I can go for manicure with those... I like the neon pinks they have which so far I don't see any around. Sally Hansen's good too and so is Rimmel (bought coral, now on my fingers.) I only go for red or nude on my toes... so try to be a bit bright and cheery on the fingers.

Kose face wash. I don't really wanna whiten my face anymore, but this is mild and superly gentle and... makes my face super soft! I am hooked. I wanted to just get the black mask (also very good) and the saleslady recommended this to me. It's new. You won't regret this... trust me! Very gentle on the face. I am buying Kose products from now on.

When Ms Cheerful asked me why my hands are so soft (apart from not washing dishes!) I told her... I have 2 words for you. "Molton Brown". Those with dry hands will find their hands amazingly smooth and soft. My hands are actually okay so I don't need it everyday. I got this at a fashion event... The smell is insane, you will keep smelling your hands like a pervert. Molton Brown hand cream, naranji.

Anna Sui Tinted Moisturiser

With my outdoor shoots getting more frequent, I don't want to put those heavy things like foundation, on my face - makes it look oily and feel there's a layer on my skin. Anna Sui - I believe this is called tinted moisturizer. Has SPF 15 - I know, not enough... The color blends to Asian skin well, and it's really natural and smells nice too! $65 at Tangs (I buy most of my stuff from Tangs.)

Lovely by Sarah Jessica Parker

I don't really buy much perfume, preferring bodyshop blends or unisex scents but once I sniffed this one, I had to get it. Apple martini is the main ingredient. It's light and interestingly, it stays on for hours... which is what every perfume should do. One of her other perfumes, "Twilight" is worth a sniff, too...

Rimmel Pressed Powder with Minerals.

After a tinted moisturizer, if you want to apply other makeup and eyeshadow, you have to pat a light dusting of powder all over your face. This is what I'm currently using, and it's good! And less than $30. (Benefit's pressed powder comes a close second - it promises not to make you look oily... and it delivers!)

Jurlique Facewash

Coming in second, this is a really good facewash also by Jurlique for combination skin types. The smell of lavender and tea tree oil also helps calm down your psyche. A kind friend passed me a sample and ... I loved her for that.

Shu Uemura lipstick

I never really got the hang of using lipstick as... I don't need to accentuate my already thick lips... and lip glosses were my mainstay. However, after being persuaded by saleslady (I have no sales resistance whatsoever therefore fearful of stepping into shopping centre makeup counters) I tried the natural organic lipstick with a very nice shade of pink (At Marina Square, living nature? nature beauty? something like it) I loved it, but it rolled away one day and I'm still peeved at that... (Expensive lor. $45 leh.) Sobs. My newfound find is Shu Uemura's ... this one with just-the-right amount of glitter and gloss. My lips tend to chap so am afraid of lipsticks but with this one, I don't need to apply lipbalm beforehand...amazing! Nice range of colors - I chose one that is almost the same color as my lips and I love love love it. Next month, I will try a happy pink, close to the one that rolled away. At $38, I can afford to buy one every month. I was initially at the Shu counter looking for blusher. ( Haven't found any ideal blusher at all! Please recommend to me...)

Shiseido shampoo, $13 for a small bottle and $20+ for the maxi one.

Smells like orange milk... nice! And effect is similar to Khiels' amino acid shampoo. I like to squeeze lots so... cannot buy too expensive will heartpain. (And funnily, my hair cannot use cheap ones either.) It will just look disastrous. Guys will never understand... I cannot live in 3rd world countries with no mid-range shampoos...I also like RedKen - was recommended to me by a hairstylist, the red one works wonders after disastrous look... the cheapest place to buy is Chinatown 'Ocean', am so glad I work near enough to pop by during lunch. The Korean brand 'Olive' found at John Little's beauty box at PS is also good. I use the serum.

Makeupstore's eyeliner
Eyeliner. They last for ages so haven't tried many. I like MakeupStore's shades of Eyeliners though. Nowadays I use it on brows, haha. Their lip glosses rock too!

Eyeshadow, Makeupstore.

Also lasts for ages. And still as fresh as ever - no funny thing appearing on the surface. I have a dark brown which I use for brows at times when I want to have a more casual look, and to widen eyes... and sometimes for a smoky eyed look.

Mascara, Majorca Majolica.

Cheap and verrrry very good. Recommended by Ms Cheerful. If I had a choice, I wouldn't wear mascara. But this makes me wanna wear it everyday, so it's done its job well!

Benefit's 'That Gal'

My only gripe is that it finishes way too fast! Umm, one month plus?Applied after toner and as a primer, it gives a glowy pinky sheen which makes me look great in photos too. I look yellowish usually... so you can guess where the pink glow is from, now. Most of Benefit's products are really good. I like the tinted moisturiser too!

Anna Sui's Eye Color.
Lastly. These tubes last a long long time and they are very versatile. I like the purples and I just bought a cloud blue one. You can layer the powder eyeshadows on top to create interesting looks. Like a darker purple tube with a powder lavender shade. Purple for eyes always looks nice.


So after not-so-many years of makeuping, here are the best!

Buy buy buy.