Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol

For my birthday celebration this year, BC and I went to watch Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol. It is another action-packed movie with dangerous stunts and starring Tom Cruise as Agent Ethan Hunt.

Honestly, I am not quite impressed with this movie. It was somehow a little bit draggy and possibly overhyped as well. In fact, there were moments in this show that I felt a little bit bored. Perhaps this is a sign that Mission Impossible saga should just end now? But nonetheless, I love the stunts in the show. They really look like IMPOSSIBLE stunts which makes you hold your breath. And even though Tom Cruise is much older, he still looks pretty cool, especially with the hoodie in the poster above. Hahaha.

Have you watched this movie? Like it or ok ok with it?

The Sorcerer and the White Snake

Sorry for the lack of updates on this pathetic cyberspace but I am BACK!! The much awaited break that I am looking forward to is finally here! YEAH YEAH YEAH! One thing I love about my current employer is that the company shut down for Christmas. Even though it is forced leave for us (annual leave will be deducted from our leave balance), I have no issues with it. I do not have to worry that some super passionate co workers sending me email while I am on leave or my boss calling me because she needs certain matters to be resolve. ALL OF US will be on leave. YEAH x1000000!

So anyway, I have not been watching much shows later due to time contraints and all (the little kitten is literally killing me!) so we ended up watching mainly DVDs and Blu-rays at the comfort of our home as and when we have the time. The last DVD we watched is 'The Sorcerer and the White Snake'.

Needless to say, this is a love story between a snake demon and human. I'm sure most of us have heard or seen this show in other versions but what is impressive with this version is the CGI. Usually the CGI in chinese movies sucks. For this show, I would say there is a HUGE improvement in the quality of CGI. Even though we can still tell when it is graphics and when it is not, but as compared to before, it is already much better. Haha.

Coupled with the nice music in the show, it really made the movie much more touching than I thought it would be. I think Jet Li and Eva Huang did a great job acting as the solemn Reverend Fahai and the passionate snake demon Bai Susu respectively. Raymond Lam, on the other hand.... well, let's just say he is just another cast in the show, nothing impressive.

For you readers out there who are like me and mainly prefers to watching Hollywood movies, give this show a try. It is really not bad!

Review of Malacca Celup @ 115 East Coast Rd

This is going to be a review of an extremely lousy place I went with my family yesterday.

We bought Groupon vouchers for adult buffet at Malacca Celup at 115 East Coast Road. It was supposed to be satay-based 'lok lok' (food on stewers). Honestly, me and my sisters bought the vouchers hoping to have an enjoyable dinner with the family but it became the ultimate screw up dinner ever.

Do you know how hard it was for me to speak to someone to make a reservation per the Groupon condition? I called the first day and no one picks up the phone at the shop. I called the second day and still no one answered. Finally I googled for it's website and they indicated to SMS reservation to a certain mobile no. Great! I did it and I only received confirmation of my reservation the next day! Is it really that hard to pick up the bloody phone to confirm a reservation???

More 'surprises' came when we reached the restaurant on the day itself. Apparently, we are not entitled to seafood based on the vouchers we purchased. The voucher cost $10.45, which is 50% off the normal adult buffet. But there was no fine print stating seafood is additional charge. Fine! We proceeded to order seafood combo at $9.90, which comes with 4 skewers of cuttlefish, prawns and some clams (can't remember if there is anymore stuffs). But we waited for an hour and this combo never came. I had to tell the waitress who took the order that I want to cancel this combo since we are already halfway through the meal. Drinks are chargeable as well, even plain water.

Honestly, the food were not exactly fresh. It's basically frozen food like hotdogs, fishballs etc on skewers. And you know you can tell the freshness of ingredients especially crab sticks? The colour is just different and not as white? That's how the crab sticks they were serving looks like, not white and colour does not look fresh. The satay base for steamboat is also bland!

Finally we were done and wanted to go to the cashier to settle the bill. A Malay uncle with moustache came to our table and told us rudely that there would be charges for wastage. Honestly, this is bullshit because the customers in our next table also left with wastage and we did not see any staffs taking the wasted food, weigh them to find out what is the charge. We only saw the waitress clearing the food like clearing rubbish! My dad was do pissed with this uncle'a attitude that he said since we would be charged, he want to take away the food we are charged for. The lady cashier said we cannot do that as this is buffet. We highlighted to her that they did not charge the other customers so why the double standard to charge us. She said because their wastage is 300g and ours is 600g! WTF! This is bullshit double standard. The last straw was when she told us she would not charge us if we don't create a scene!

Superb customer service there.......not only is it a challenge to make a reservation, their attitude is horrible and rude and not to mention there were so many unmentioned terms and conditions!! Their food is not fantastic at all and with such service quality, all I can say to them is 'WELL DONE in screwing up your business'

For all readers out there, DO NOT purchase their groupon vouchers if it is still on sale now. There are many hidden costs that were not mentioned. Without the vouchers, DO NOT waste your money eating lousy food and experiencing lousy service. Trust me when I say you can get even better service at MacDonald's.

Xmas is here @ The Nail Status

Xmas is just coming next month!!! And this time I went The Nail Status to get a soak off and a new set of nails. I only knew I wanted a set in green (no idea why I kept thinking of green nails) and decided to get a set in mint green. I opted for pink and slight silver glitters to get a mild subtle artsy effect and the first thing that Pearllin (the manicurist attending to me then) said was "Wah, you are ready for Xmas!".

I hope all you guys are all looking forward to Xmas because I truly am!!

Hi there!

Sorry for neglecting this space for I was really bogged down with tonnes of work and my health has really been on the decline for the past weeks. Thanks for being so patient with this space all these while!

For most office workers who are always staring at the PC or laptop in office, most, if not all always suffer from tense shoulders and stiff neck. I am no exception as well and my parents nagged at me time and time again to see this sinseh that they have been going. In fact, he was so good that he my mum who used to have frozen shoulder and could not bend her arm backwards no longer have this issue.

The only drawback....... PAIN. It's damn painful because he is not 推拿, he is 捉经, which translate to 'pulling the nerves'. His theory is we suffer from pain and discomfort as our nerves are affected thus reducing smooth blood circulation. So what did I get from a session from him on Sunday???

This.......

I have bruises like this on my thighs, arms and butt. And not only that, I have to watch my food in the meantime with no meat, no cold drinks etc etc..... I hope all these really help. And I will need to go back to the sinseh this Sun as well.......

Terracotta Warriors: The First Emperor and His Legacy

After Hatched breakfast last Saturday, we headed to Asian Civilisation Museum to catch the exhibition of Terracotta Warriors before it ends on 16 October and it was pretty interesting and disappointing at the same time. Interesting that I have never seen the Terracotta Warriors with my own eyes but disappointing as the number of exhibits was really pretty limited. Nevertheless, it was an interesting experience to try to get in touch with the cultured side of mine, haha. But I was really irritated with the Terracotta Warriors app on my iPhone as it doesn't work at all. I gave up after a while since it was really affecting the whole experience.

 This is a replica and not the real thing as it was too fragile to be brought to Singapore

 The General and his soldiers

 The Archer

We saw the fusion of history and modernisation in the following figurines and they are damn cute!

 It has been a long long while since I stepped into a museum and it certainly brought back nostalgic memories of the school excursions I had when I was in primary school. Time really flies........ 

Angry Birds

I am not sure how many of you are fans of Angry Birds and I confess I am not a fan of it. I got bored of the free game which I downloaded in my iPhone, out of curiousity. After playing the game for less than 5 times. I realised it's stupid as it was just nothing much but plain shooting.

So anyway, I know different birds in the games have different 'powers' and the 6 birds in the game are in the pic below.

Which bird is your favourite? Well, check out this comic which depicts the likeability of these 6 birds.

Let's Hatched Hatched Hatched

It has been a LONG LONG while since I last blogged and honestly, I am getting lazy. Not only that, I have night calls almost everyday which is terribly tiring. The little kitten that comes back on weekends is also driving me crazy with it's health issue and his weird toilet habit. Gosh........

In any case, it has also been a long while since I last head down to Hatched for a nice breakfast so I organise a breakfast session with BC, L and S since I have been raving about Hatched on and on to them for a while. This time round, I tried the eggs benedict on smoked salmon (called Smoked Royale) and it's heavenly. I have never tried eggs benedict before and I was actually skeptical about trying it initially as I am not sure if I would like taste of hollandaise sauce and thank goodness it wasn't as sour as I thought it would be!

Nothing beats having a nice breakfast to start the day, especially life in general is already super boring. Just thinking about nothing, having a nice breakfast with your loved one and friends is just wonderful. 

I would really love to try Wild Honey next after seeing all the ravings as well!!

The Nail Status again! :)

Went up to The Nail Status with L to remove my previous set of Gelish nails and to redo a new set! Yes, I know, I am damn vain right? Hahaha. Gelish nails is seriously addictive lah! While choosing the design for the nail art, I fell in love with some polka dots design and told Faye (the manicurist) how I want it simple. And this is the end result!

The Nail Status is having some gelish promotion this month and instead of gelish manicure at $65, it is now $50! On top of that, if you are a member, you are still entitled to 15% off this promo price! Some places will say since this is a promotion, no further discount but not the case for The Nail Status!

L initially decided on getting a set of French Gelish and seeing my polka dots, she decided to do it too! Mine was a dark purple as base with white dots and hers is white base with pink dots!

Nothing much is going on.........

Nothing much has been happening in my boring life thus I am actually soooo free to be blogging away on a hot and humid Saturday afternoon. Work has been the same but accordingly to my boss, there will be some changes to the team so fingers crossed that it will be changes for the better. At the end of the day, I only want to do my work and earn my keep, keep me out of politics!

Anyway, I met up with V last Thursday for dinner and to pass her the LUSH hauls that she spree-ed with me. I suggested Wala Wala at Holland V since I heard so much raves about the band. However, we did not managed to catch the band (???) but had our dinner over a round of beer and caught up over stuffs.

Nothing beats meeting up with a friend and just talking and talking and talking. I feel as we get older, probably because we have lesser energy or more things we need to attend to, we prefer to be lazy to just sit down, eat and talk. Maybe it is just me, I'm not sure.

My philosophy of friendship has always been: I do not need a lot of friends, a few good friends is all I need. Because to me, I rather have good friends whom I can 谈心 and we bother to update each other of our lives and happenings. With limited time on our hands, I do not need to waste time on acquaintances. With this, will I die a miserable old woman?? Haha

張智霖 - 究竟海有幾深(魚躍在花見主題曲)

The show that made me crave for sushi every night!!! But I like this song, goes on and on in my head!


And how is it that Julian Cheung looks like he has never aged????

2nd week of Gelish nails @ The Nail Status

Remember how I mentioned that my 1st set of Gelish nails did not last me 2 weeks and in fact after the 1st week, the edges started to chip? Well, I am now in my 2nd week of Gelish and I am glad to say it is still doing fine! Hahaha. Super happy lah!

If you take a closer look at the edges near the nail bed, you can see that nails are growing out thus there is this puny gap there. But other than that, the design still look as good as new and glossy! Yuppie!!! I am waiting to see if it can pass the 3 weeks mark now. :)

7 things you really don't need to take a photo of

Whenever I go dining with friends, they all knew that they are not supposed to touch a single bit of the food until I have taken all the pictures from every necessary angles. So yes, I know it's weird to take pics of our food but how else do I blog about them? Haha.

This comic is pretty funny and interesting on some of the stuffs we take pics of and yes, I am guilty of No. 2.

Credits: The Oatmeal

Completed: SK II Facial Treatment Essence

I have completed a few bottles of SK II Facial Treatment Essence but this baby warrant a posting in my blog because I previously neglected it and my skin went haywire!!! And when I remembered that I need to put it back into my skincare regime, 2 days was all it took to calm my skin down and restore it back.

It all started when my face started to have small bumps of blackheads and blemishes which was really irritating. You know how it felt when you cleanse your face and it doesn't feels smooth at all? I was really irritated as I exfoliate my face without fail every week. And the blemishes..... man....... it's not even the time of the month and they just kept popping out!!!!

Then I recalled that for one reason or another, I did not incorporate SK II Facial Treatment Essence into my skincare regime for a while (1 - 2 months or so). Please don't ask me why I forgot to use the essence because I am puzzled myself.... Sooooo, I started using it twice a day again, after toner and before moisturiser. Like I blogged previously, my method of application is to pour the essence onto facial pad and pat the essence onto my face gently (in fact, this was the recommended method of application per SK II site as well). And just like how this essence is called 神奇水, my skin really improved within 2 days! The bumps are gone and the blemishes are soothe and almost gone! What can I say? SK II Facial Treatment Essence really works!

I know there are ladies out there who heard of people experiencing breakouts after using the essence. I was one of them and the breakout went on for about 2 weeks. But after that, the breakout stops and my face feels smoother and more glowy. Friends were commenting that my skin improves then! However, if the breakout continue to persist, please stop it immediately. What works for some might not work for you.

The full size Facial Treatment Essence is not cheap, the smallest of 75ml retails at $95 (if I remember correctly). Yes, it is expensive but every drop of the essence is worth the money. :)

Completed: Ettusais Medicated Acne Whitening UV (Oil block)

I have been using Ettusias Medicated Acne Whitening UV (oil block) for the longest time and it is starting to frustrate me that I am unable to complete it after coming to 2 years! Please do not ask me why I took so long to finish it because I am not sure either and I can already see fireworks when nothing came out from the bottle this morning!

Extracted from Ettusais website:

Armed with SPF 24 PA++, this lightweight base blocks out harmful UV rays. At the same time, its anti-bacterial effect treats acne and prevents further breakouts. Best of all, it also helps to lighten acne scars, freckles and uneven skin tone.

You know how most sun blocks are greasy and thick and I really hate it. The good thing about Ettusais Medicated Acne Whitening UV is that it's in liquid form and the texture is light and does not feel greasy. Most importantly, it is suitable for ladies with acne prone skin. Upon application, I do not see an ugly white cast as well. The only reason why I do not intend to re-purchase this again is because SPF24 PA++ is too low, in my opinion. Some people like to think that if we are indoors most of the time, it should be sufficient but I am someone who prefer to be safe than sorry.

For ladies with normal to dry skin, you will be glad to know that Ettusais has this sunblock for you and is called 'dry block' instead. It comes in cream form instead of liquid.

How ready are you to own a pet?

Just last week when me and hub were going to pick up Astro from the fosterer, we went to a gelato store near the pet clinic that the fosterer is working at for some snack since we were early. A pair of teens (which later on we found out to be siblings) came in to order some ice cream and while they sat down to enjoy it, a man (who is supposedly their father) came in, throw a bill from the pet clinic on the table and told them, "Look at the bill, 1000 plus. I am not going to pay this kind of money again for a dog. Few hundred ok, but 1000 plus, can buy a new dog liao! I tell you, this is the last time huh, 1000 plus.......". And as he is leaving, he was still going on and on about the 1000 plus.

I was actually quite mad when I saw the reaction from this man...... obviously his kids were the ones who wanted the dog and not him. In my mind, I was already renacting what I would do if I am his daughter.....

"Dad, when I am sick, you also no need to spend money to bring me to a doc, in case too expensive. You can make a 'new' daughter ok? Your d**k still working and can save money on condom, quite in line with your save money philosophy"

I was just talking to a fellow colleague who had a golden retriever and he told me an incident when his dog was down with high fever. When he brought the dog to a vet at the pet clinic (where I bring my kitties to), the vet told them not to get too attached to the dog and the vet added to them to treat pet as normal pet. His wife was fuming and said 'Then when you have children, can you treat them like normal children???'. I asked him who is this Dr and we realised it was the SAME vet who told the fosterer to tell me not to get too attached to Astro! Seriously, this vet is super no EQ leh. At least if she says she is trying her best but we have to be mentally prepared, we also feel better right?????

Anyway, sorry for digressing but my point is, before you decide to have a pet, you must be prepared to be with them until they are dead. No one is asking you to sell your house etc to pay for your pet's medical bill, but if it is something within your control, you have to be prepared to make that commitment to help the animal. If you exhaust all efforts (within your means, of course) to help this animal and nothing can be done, then it's really God's will that we have to let it go. And the part about not being attached to your pet, BULLSHIT........ This vet is either not an animal lover (then I wonder what the hell is she doing in a pet clinic) or she is plain super no EQ.

Tell me how to not be attached to these cuties when they look like this???

Credits: Love Meow

Johnny English Reborn

Have you been stressed up lately? Are you unhappy and bored? Then you really have to watch Johnny English Reborn movie! Trust me, you will be laughing from the opening scene to the ending scene, it is that funny!

It's the stupid things that Johnny English does in the shows, coupled with all the weird and comical expressions of Rowan Atkinson that made this movie super funny. Just imagine this as a funny James Bond!

My second Gelish experience @ The Nail Status

After my 1st Gelish nails experience 2 weeks plus ago (which was absolutely horrible), I was actually pretty disappointed and had given up hope on doing Gelish again. But I still had to go to any nails place to do a soak off to remove the horrible, non lasting Gelish on me so thought of trying Gelish again. At the beginning, I thought that given I am doing housework on and off, thus it doesn't last. But friends like E and V were telling me that it's highly unlikely since it is supposedly to last and most probably the nail saloon that I went at Holland V is not doing a good job. After reading Zoe Raymond's blog that highly recommend The Nail Status at Far East Plaza, I decided to do my soak off and second try of Gelish there then.

This time round, I had longer nails since I had been keeping them since the last time I had Gelish, thus it might be a good idea to do nails art hor? Hahahaha, damn vain! This is the final result, I really like it!

Now the next test is how long will it last this time. I asked the manicurist what could be the reason that my previous Gelish did not last well on me. She said could be the previous manicurist did not apply the gel properly thus 'sealing' everything. So let's see........ The minimum expectation I have is to at least 3 weeks.

View of Gelish

Remember my posting of my 1st Gelish experience 2 weeks plus back? I'm back here to share my view of this now.

First thing first, the claim that Gelish nails stay on for 3 weeks or so is not applicable for me. Maybe it is just me but I noticed after 1 week, the edges started to peel and are not sticking properly to the nails. This could be due to me doing housework. For those who claims that Gelish last super well on them, they are proper gals who need not do housework at all.

The trouble with Gelish nails is that you have to go back to a nails place to do a soak off to remove it properly. Seriously, this is way too troublesome for me....... It is so much easier if I can just grab my nail polish remover and remove the polish when it starts to chip even though it is only for a week or shorter.

And even if Gelish lasts well on me, with the nails growing out, it look super ugly too!!! Don't believe?? See the pic below?? Can't stand it!!!



The only advantage I can think of for Gelish is the beautiful gloss and shine after weeks but the fact that it doesn't last well on me and hassle of having to go back to a nails palour to do a soak off is quite a turn off.

Will I do a Gelish nails again? Hmm, maybe but I might properly consider again before deciding since there are more push factors then pull factors.

We moves in packs

Just this morning I made an interesting observation. I noticed that humans (not sure if it's ALL, but definitely in Singapore), we usually don't know what is going on but we just moves by following the crowd. I think some years back when some uncle or aunties was queueing up to register for a marathon to get free goodie bag, a news reporter interviewed them and ask them why are they queueing, they replied 'I see everyone queueing, I also join in lor'.

The matter of fact is most of us are just assuming that the people in the crowd knows what is going on and we assume they are going in the same direction or having the same objective as us. Question is: Do they REALLY know?? For example, just last Sat, we attended a wedding. After the service at St Andrew's Cathedral, we had to walk to Raffles Hotel for the banquet reception. And you can hear some people saying 'Just follow the photographer and videographer'. End up, they also did not know which ballroom the banquet is held and had to walk around to find.

Maybe it's the auditor's trait in me that says we need to clarify and found out but again isn't that human nature? We are different from animals because we observe, ask questions, understand and internalize. Most of the time, we get so lazy that we just assume, because we don't have to ask. Assuming things seriously take ZERO effort, haha. And really, no brain cells is activated when we assume stuffs.

So the next time when you wanna queue up or follow something, make sure it's something u know and not just following blindly. Will grow senile wo, haha.

Giorgio Armani Eyes To Kill (#5 Gold Blitz, #08 Champagne)

Thanks to a fellow makeup junkie colleague of mine (I always have makeup junkies colleagues!!! lol) who was in HK for a business trip, she managed to snag 2 Giorgio Armani Eyes to Kill Intense Eyeshadows for me. It was quite an 'along the way' purchase for her as she is a vivid reader of Tracy's Beauty Blogsphere (Tracy, if you are reading this, she LOVES u!!!) and was DYING to get her hands on the liquid foundation from Giorgio Armani thus I quickly ride on it and got her to help me with my purchases as well :)

Again, I have to rely on online swatches to make my decisions on what shades to get and it was not difficult to find pics of them considering the raves that many beauty bloggers went on and on about its lasting power and pigmentation. I have already purchased #4 Pulp Fiction previously, which is a pink, greyish shade so I thought perhaps I should go for something lighter or neutral (again?????) for something that I can wear to work or on it's own. Eventually, I narrowed down to #5 Gold Blitz and #08 Champagne.

Don't you think #08 Champagne looks like a reverse of #4 Pulp Fiction given it has more pink then grey whereas Pulp Fiction has more grey than pink, haha.

I am quite glad that I managed to get Gold Blitz because from joey's space here, apparently there was no close dupes! So it's not just ANOTHER neutral, it is one of its kind as well! (just trying to justify why I am getting neutral colour again......)

Sephora Jumbo Liner 12HR Wear Waterproof

I have to rave about Sephora Jumbo Liner 12HR Wear Waterproof!!! This baby is really amazing.

From Sephora site:
These jumbo pencils create a range of effects, from bold lines and blended effects to thin, defined lines. Resistant to water, heat, and humidity, their creamy, high-pigment formulas apply smoothly. From deep blacks to rich and shimmery shades, each is formulated with exclusive waxes and pigments to assure maximum color intensity that stays put for 12-hours.

I have wanted to get Urban Decay 24/7 Glide On Shadow Pencil for a while but has been put off by it's price tag at $36 (or is it $38? I cannot remember) thus till now, I have not got down to purchasing it yet. And then....... I found Sephora Jumbo Liner 12HR Wear Waterproof, which is very much like Urban Decay's but only at $17! Woohoooo...........

I bought Purple & Copper

Typically, when we pay a lower price tag, quality will somewhat be compromised. Thus, I put this jumbo liner to a test.

As you can see above, the first pic was how the swatches look like when freshly swatched. The colour is intense with slight shimmer. After an hour, I ran it under running water and rubbed slightly, see how the colour stays on!! The shades look only slightly lighter. After 4 hours and a few washes under the water on and off, you can see even though the colours look lighter, it does not fade off completely. One thing to note, NO PRIMER WAS APPLIED BEFORE THE SWATCHES. Without any primer, this quality of colour intensity and staying power is pretty impressive!

I am definitely buying more of this, the colour shades are pretty too!!

Completed: Clinique Moisture Surge moisturiser

I have been a good girl lately and finishing up my stuffs one by one! *pat on the back*. This time round, I have completed another moisturiser, Clinique Moisture Surge!

It is an excellent gel moisturiser for combination and even oily skin given the light light texture of the gel.

In Singapore's hot and humid weather, getting a suitable moisturizer can be tricky for my sensitive and combination skin. It cannot be too rich to cause breakouts and had to provide sufficient moisture and hydration. This is especially when I notice that my skin gets oilier when I do not slap on sufficient SUITABLE moisturizer.

What I like about about Clinique Moisture Surge is the lightweight gel texture, which gets absorbed into my skin immediately after applying it. No oily sheen or sticky feeling. My skin doesn't get oily as quickly as it is hydrated and thus I do not get the tight feeling (and in worse case, itch). No breakouts as well which is like a super thumbs up!!!

For gals with sensitive skin, this moisturizer is also suitable given its soothing properties with aloe vera as 1 of the ingredients. And.... It's fragrance-free.

Would I re-purchase it? Yes, for it's hydration properties but currently no, because I have certain skin concerns I would like to target (like early anti aging, and whitening) but I might just purchase it to rotate with my other moisturizer if needed. :)

Kitten Massage Therapy

Mad cute!

Super mini Inglot haul from KL

Thanks to my sis who went KL over the long weekend cum holiday, she managed to snag some Inglot Freedom system for me! Honestly, it is such a puny haul as my shopping list to her was a bit longer but she told me she was running out of cash, thus can only settle for this mini list.

Freedom System 3 eyeshadow palette with matte 351, shine 06, pearl 402

The pro and con about Inglot freedom system is the SUPER VAST variety of colours and finishes of eyeshadows and blushes. It would be be great to check it out in person but I had to rely on online swatches to make my decisions, which is quite challenging. So I turn to my favourite beauty bloggers, makeup blogette and joey's space to look at the swatches they had before making up my mind. You would be able to see the swatches of these 3 shadows in their blog links. As usual, the boring me went for neutrals again with the exception of shine 06 which is a dirty gold colour.

And I only just realised that it is more worth it to purchase the shine finish which comes in 3.5g when the pearl finish comes in only 2.7g, haha. But honestly, how much difference can 0.8g makes? -_-

The 3 eyeshadow palette cost RM22 and each eyeshadow cost RM28! Freaking expensive when online is only selling for USD4.50 if you are purchasing above 10 colours (of course, we have to factor in shipping cost though). But I guess unless you are flying to the States, KL Inglot at Sunway Pyramid Shopping Mall will be a good place to check out their stuffs in person.

My KL trip in December is more or less confirmed, pending the fixing of the dates. I soooooo CAN'T WAIT to check out Inglot then! Well, I shall end this post with a pic of my Inglot stash :)

Astro

Sorry for the lack of updates on this miserable blog...... I haven't been hauling much (hallelujah!!! lol) and I am still using some of the stuffs which I previously bought so do bear with me to use them for a while longer to give a better review. :)

On a separate note, remember the kitten we rescued last month? We have decided to named him Astro. He is growing well. Getting very active and love to play with Eden, Titus and Simba. His appetite is also monstrous, I can foresee that he will be a second Simba who will be damn greedy, haha. However, despite him growing well, he has a problem, he can't seem to shit regularly, which is bad.

Just like humans, cats have to poo everyday. However, for Astro, he poo only once every 2 days or so, which is pretty bad for a 6 weeks old kitten. This is especially considering that we have not fed him on a full proper diet with dry or wet food (now he is on 80% milk diet). The foster mum told us that she hope this is going to be a passing phase and eventually his system will be clear but from her look of it, she don't seem optimistic. This is especially after feeding him lactose (to make him poo / diarrhoae out all his shit) and all we get is just bits and pieces of poo here and there. She emphasized that if Astro grows up to be suffering from chronic constipation, it will badly affect his quality of life (needs to go to the clinic to 'pump' out his poo, surgery etc) and he will always be feeling bloated and uncomfortable since he cannot pass out the poo. This means, the last resort would be to put him down :(

We can only take 1 step at a time for him and see if his condition improves.......... But it's sad to see such a healthy growing kitten who has no issue with anything suffering from this problem.

Completed stuffs!!!

What did I say about me being a good girl? See what I have completed over these 2 months!!

From left to right: Paul & Joe Refreshing Skin Toner, Clinique Moisture Surge, Lancome Miracle EDP, Clarins Whitening Pure Aqua Lotion, Clarins Gentle Foaming Cleanser

I bought Paul & Joe Refreshing Skin Toner during one of the sale at Takashimaya some time back because my toner then (which I cannot remember) is running low and the cheapo streak in me thought it would be good to get it since it was on sale anyway.

I am not someone particular about toner because I was using it as it was part of the 3-step process that I had been following in my skincare regime. Essentially as long as I do not feel discomfort on my skin after wiping the toner over my face and not cause breakouts, it's a decent toner. Paul & Joe refreshing skin toner was light and as mentioned 'refreshing' and has a light citrusy fragrance. I'm not sure if I will purchase it again but based on the factors that I felt fresh after application and causes no breakouts, it is worth considering.

Clinique's Moisture Surge is no stranger in this blog and you can refer to this post for my review of it.

Lancome Miracle EDP is a popular fragrance among many ladies and I had always been re purchasing it after all these years. This fragrance is an absolute love of mine.

Another toner which I completed is a sample size of Clarins Whitening Pure Aqua Lotion. The only peeve I had was the fragrance. For someone who likes fragrance in skincare, this is abit too strong for me. Other than that, it would definitely be a toner I would repurchase.

Clarins Gentle Foaming Cleanser is my love. I have raved about this baby in this post and I have no doubt about repurchasing this again. (In fact, I already did in the recent Metro sale).

So have you completed any stuffs lately??

My first Gelish experience

I am not someone who does manicure or pedicure often, especially manicure. Somehow, the polishes just does not last well on my fingers (max 3 days and chipping will occur), and this could be due to me doing housework or whatever, I am not sure. I do like going for pedicure as my feet just feels so much cleaner after the pedicure session with all the dead skin and cuticles removed.

I have friends who have been doing gel nails for the longest time and raving about how lasting it is (3 weeks - 1 month) and the shine and gloss is always there! As I went for a session of pedicure at this shop at Holland V (I used to patronise them about once a month), I enquired if they do Gelish as well. They do and I felt it wasn't as cheap as those promotion we always see at $48 or $68 but $80! And it is not inclusive of manicure which is what I would like to get it done given the amount of gross cuticles on my fingers. But I still caved in and thought just give it a try, at least I tried and if I do not like it, just pay $30 for a soak off 3 weeks later.

The whole process of removing my cuticles, shaping and eventually waiting for the gel to set is damn FAST! After applying the gel polish on my fingers and shining the UV light on them for a mere 2-5 mins, it is done! WHAT?????? I kept asking the manicurist if it is really done as I usually had to wait for my polishes to dry for at least 10 - 15 mins! She asked me to touch it for myself and it is dry, not soft and firm like it is REALLY dry. I really like what I am seeing......

The next test would be after removing it, how does my nails look like as I have also heard friends telling me their nails got brittle after doing gel nails, so we shall see. :)

Why I hate calling customer service

I am not sure how many of you feels the same way as I do but I hate hate hate hate to call customer service hotline, especially when it comes to IT issue. The ultimate challenge is always how they can resolve an IT issue over the line, which is absolute crap and I also know the eventual answer is 'Sorry Mdm, but I would need to send our technical guy down to take a look and the earliest date we have in our calender now is 2 weeks later.'

Ok, other than the fact that I know the eventual answer, the whole process of logging a case in their system is super irritating........ Don't believe me???? Check this out. It is sooooooo true!

Working from home

Ever since I joined the current company, I have enjoyed the flexibility of working from home when required and till now I still like it. This is especially true if I have a super early conference call or a late night call the night before.

Then I stumbled upon this cute comic which I find it so funny and true. For you guys who had the flexibility of working from home, do check out this comic and tell me your view. :)

Il Volo - 'O Sole Mio

I heard the name of this group for a while but never got to googling for their music and when I googled, this was the first music video that pop out. I don't know what the song means but it definitely lifted my spirit after a week of shitty work.



I did a search on this group and these guys are young! Piero Barone (17 years old, the one wth glasses), Ignazio Boschetto (16 years old, the plump one), and Gianluca Ginoble (16, hub says he looks like Ricky Martin, lol). I personally like Piero Barone, the glasses scored some points there, haha.

Brush Guard

Even since I start using and experimenting more with makeup, I realised the importance of having good makeup tools and protecting them. From web surfing, I stumbled upon this wonderful item called 'Brush Guard' that can help to keep and protect your brushes, at the same time maintaining their shape and protecting the bristles.

It is available online at their site and they ship internationally for USD3.00 (up to 5 packs), which is pretty ok, given the low USD now.

I purchased the Variety Pack which comes with guards for 1 shadow / liner brush, 2 blush brush, 2 foundation brush and 1 kabuki / powder brush. The guards look pretty small when I took it out from the pack but it is stretchable and not too soft so that it is able to protect the bristles and maintain its shape. I placed it over my brushes and they look like this now!

I seriously think Brush Guard is a very good cheap investment to get to protect your brushes (especially if you are one who invest in GOOD brushes from MAC and Shu Uemura). Before I stumbled upon Brush Guard, I do notice that some of my brushes (from BareMinerals and Sephora) and opening up more, perhaps because there isn't something that can hold the bristles when I am not using them and they are sitting in a cup brush holder.

Do give this a try if you are looking for something to protect your brushes! :)

brotzeit @ Vivocity

With a bunch of closer colleagues in office, we organised a monthly HAPPY HOUR get together whereby we will meet for some some drinks and food. So far we had a few of such get together and it was absolutely fun! We bitch about work, talk about holidays and crap about anything. Definitely a stress reliever!

This month, we got together at brotzeit at Vivocity and I have to say, getting a table at this place is absolute madness on a Friday. Some time back, we tried making a table reservation 1 week in advance and they told us the place is fully booked! Being the kiasu us, we thought since we already had a date for the next happy hour session, perhaps let's just book 1 month in advance and thank goodness, we got a table this time round.

What is interesting about brotzeit is their beers. I am not a beer person and thus not an expert. There is this bitter taste about beer that makes me dislike it but brotzeit was able to cater to people like me who don't really like the bitter taste of beer by mixing it with mango juice, banana juice, coke or sprite! I had their beer mixed with sprite (I think it was called the 'cyclist' as it is a popular drink in Germany whereby people have it after sports, given the low alcohol content), and it was refreshing.

Next up, we had to order food for a bunch of hungry people who just went through hell and back at work! Given we had about 6 people who are eating, we ordered their meat platter that comes with their signature pork knuckle, different type of sausages, deep fried veal and 2 sides (which we opt for their yummy potato wedges and white cabbage).

It was really meat overload but we love the sausages and pork knuckle. Fried veal was a bit too dry for our liking though.

As we sat and chat and bitch about things, we managed to catch the fireworks from Sentosa that goes off at 930am and it was nice........ Nice scenery, nice food and beer and most importantly wonderful people....... What more can I ask for?

Belated hauls posting

My blog has been really boring lately with not much updates and all thus I decided to post a belated haul postings with some of the buys that I made few months back.

Courtesy of 2 of my good pals, I managed to snag Laura Mercier from Taipei and Crabtree & Evelyn stuffs (my pal had some discount for her birthday month). I got the popular oil free foundation primer and tinted moisturiser from Laura Mercier as these 2 products are highly raved in the beauty blogsphere. Have yet to break into it thus no comments from me so far. Will post my comments about it once I started using them.

I love nice scented stuffs, especially from Crabtree & Evelyn and L'Occitane and I have been a fan of their body products for a while. Used to not need to get anything from them because I also received their stuffs as Xmas presents from friends! I love lavender and anything with lavender goes for me so I decided to purchase their Lavender dusting powder as well as Lavender bar soaps. Love them!

Next up is Metro Sale! I never usually head down to Metro during their sale as I have friends who can help me get stuffs or I have no stuffs that I need to get. This time round, it was a rare occasion whereby I have Clarins stuffs that I need to get and I was actually available to head down after work.

What I love about getting Clarins stuffs from Metro is that because I am a Metro Card holder, I get to have direct 10% discount off Clarin's products on normal times and when it comes to Metro sales, it's an attractive 20% direct discount! Lucky for me, Clarins works well on me so it is what I called 'Killing 2 birds with 1 stone', hahahaha.

During the Metro sale, I got my favourite cleanser, Gentle Foaming Cleanser for normal to combination skin, Toning lotion (for combination to oily skin) and White Plus HP Whitening Moisture Day Emulsion.

I have tried Toning lotion years ago so I do not think it should be any problems for me. But the whitening day emulsion is a new try for me since it is new. However, I tested the texture on my hand and it felt ok so I thought why not give it a try, especially when there is 20%? Cheapo me........ BC also got some stuffs from Clarins Men range seeing the 20% discount! Haha.

Another reason why I love Clarins? They are super generous with their samples, which I think is a superb strategy. Most ladies are concerned about committing to a product which might end up not suitable to their skin type. With a sample, not only are they able to try, if it's good, you have a new customer, why not? Check out the samples I have from Clarins over 2 visits from them previously! (Did not managed to get any samples during the Metro sale because it was really crowded!)

Last but not least, I finally got my hands on Chanel Rouge Coco Shine in Boy after my previous posting here! Chanel does not have direct 20% discount since their stuffs are price controlled but we get the 20% off in terms of rebate voucher. So I get to offset this 20% against my Clarins purchases (which already has direct 20% off, yeah!)

The Little One........

After the rescue of the little kitten from the car-park last week, he has been fostered by a 'nanny' (a nurse vet at the vet clinic) on weekends and we will bring him back on Saturday before he is sent back to his nanny on Sun evening. From the way I see, he is a very active boy, the only issue now is that he is still very small and young thus extra care and attention is needed. However, when he whines..... man..... he SURE CAN WHINE! Loud and clear!

So here are some pics of the little guy!

 

Above pics taken on 30 Jul

This week, when I went to pick up the little one, he has grown slightly bigger and stronger!

I'm so happy to see the little kitten so well and thanks is not enough for the vet nurse who agreed to help me take care of him on weekdays. Yes, I paid her but she could have declined but her kind-hearted-ness is all it took to help this kitten. This is why I said that animal lovers in general are super nice people!

Understanding your cologne

After getting my first Jo Malone last week, I started getting curious with their fragrances and was seeing their products online. I saw the terms "top notes", "heart notes" and "base notes". Sounds like some musically stuffs to me which I have completely no idea what they are trying to say.

So I decided to do a Google of it and thanks to NMdaily, I finally understand this fragrance language.

According to the site:-
Top notes: The first impression of a fragrance, which generally last for half an hour.

Heart notes: The scent of a fragrance that emerges just prior to when the top notes dissipate in approximately four to five hours.

Base note: The longest lasting note, which appears close to the departure of the middle notes. The base and middle notes together are the main theme of a fragrance. Base notes bring depth and solidity to a scent.

After reading this, I finally understands why my perfume doesn't smells the same after a few hours, it's due to the different notes. Of course, our body chemistry plays a part as well.

My monthly date at Hatched

Having our breakfast at Hatched on a weekend as became a monthly affair for me and BC. Without fail, once a month, I will suggest for us to have breakfast at Hatched and it will always be full of anticpation as I really like their food!

This month, I am determined to try something new from the menu. I had tried Hitch Me Up (shared with BC) and El Chorizo (which I did not enjoyed the spiciness of the chorizo sausages), and I definitely want to try another dish from the menu with scrambled eggs! Have I mentioned that I love scrambled eggs and Hatched's scrambled eggs are HEAVENLY.......... soft and watery with the right consistency, damn I am drooling just thinking about it...........

BC ordered Usual Suspects (again!) and I opted for Papillote, which is highly recommended. It's smoked salmon folded over scrambled eggs and served over toast, coupled with sauteed potatoes and baked tomato. It is yummy............. I am definitely trying this again!

My super nice Papillote

On a random note, their salt and pepper shakers are really nice!

I have been raving about Hatched to my friends and strongly recommending this place because it is nice and cozy. Location is not quite accessible but then the food is super good, you guys really have to give it a try!

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Finale, finally!)

The Harry Potter saga in my opinion has really been over-stretched. To the extent when I was reading the final book, I felt the storyline was getting a little bit over done and the ending sloppy. This is the reason why I have not been bugging BC to watch the finale of the saga, it was just not exciting anymore and was more of a commercial gimmick because some one signed a contract to write 7 books.

However, I was pleasantly surprised that I actually enjoyed this movie. In fact, the director captured a few scenes very well. So well that I was very touched by it and I know the lady sitting in front of me was also super touched because she was crying buckets and blowing her nose! I know there have been a lot of mixed comments about this show but I am definitely in the 'I ENJOY IT' camp.

Honestly, the last scene of the movie was crap because it was supposed to be 19 years later where they are all adults, married with kids. The only guy who really looked like a father was Draco Malfoy, Harry Potter and his pals all look so wrong because they only looked a few years older than their supposedly children. This scene could seriously be done better with actors or actresses of the real age.

I am someone who prefer to read the book first before watching the movie. Some told me I will lost the true anticipation of watching a show by reading the book before watching the show but to me, it made me understand the show better as I know why certain things happens (because the details were in the book but not shown in the show).

This show might not be a must watch but for those who have been watching Harry Potter, it would make sense to watch it and end this sage, don't you think? :)