Busan : My Wedding in Korea

Nov24

Our Korean wedding was held on 8th October 2016.
It was a beautiful experience and i really like the wedding concerige services in Korea.

The room where i tried my gown few days before the actual day. Because i only arrived a few days before my wedding date , i only have few dresses to choose from so we decided to upgrade the dresses to premium range which just got featured on a wedding show and im the first to wear it ! YAY !

Their make up skill is really..wahhhh …it lasted the whole day and skin still looks dewy and natural. All done with sponges and no brushes even for eyeshadows.

The groom choosing his tuxedo. The service is very bride focus. So the groom one was chop chop and done.

Also before my wedding day , i went to my favourite shopping place Seomyeon to do my nails.

Very shiok. Because i do not need to lift my feet or arm. The lady just press a button and is automated. I rest my arm on a cushioned arm rest and she press a button to lift my arm at a comfortable angle. I just fell asleep there. They also served me some tidbits and drinks and fruits. Shiok.

I cannot remember the name of the place but if im not wrong it is Nail Gallery. Quite big and is 3 storey high because they also do lash extensions etc. But don’t expect cheap price because the service is good.

Plus few mins of foot massage. lol.

My Singapore relatives and parents can for my wedding. So we rented an apartment facing Haeundae beach. 3 bedrooms enough for 9 to 11 pax with big kitchen , rooms , toilets and living room with beach view balcony. All together was only $1000 for a week stay. Drinks , laundry room etc all included so it is very comfortable like living in your own home. The place is really bigggggg…can play catch with my dog there if she is there lol.

And then it was our wedding on 8th Oct.

Our wedding was exceptionally long..took 2 hours and usually Korean weddings only take about 30 mins to an hour at most. We did abit of SG and KR fushion but still keeping the Korean tradition. The only tweak was we added 2 video segments. And he also performed an event for me ( Singing his favourite Yue Liang Dai Biao Wo De Xing song and getting his friends to give me roses one by one ) . Been together for 3 years and this is the first time i received flowers from him..haha our wedding day.

Here are photos taken by my guests.

My father-in-law passed away 15 years ago from heart attack in his sleep. So my father-in-law’s brother took his place during the ceremony.

From today , let’s live happily ever after as Husband and Wife…with alot of naggings , teasing and laughters !

Now need to work hard for our future and have our own mini RJ and mini PL.

Oct19

Im back from Busan. We had a ROM in Singapore for my Singapore relatives and friends and a Korean wedding in Busan, South Korea for the Korean relatives and friends. S
So July to October was 3 busy months for us.

Finally , all are done. I will be back to updating this little humble blog of mine often.

We are now officially husband and wife in Singapore and Korea (still processing our marriage registration).

There are so many things i want to share with everyone..my first milestone in my career , my wedding , Korean food recipes from my mother-in-law , Korean make ups and skincare which i just bought ( reviews !!!! i really bought alot this time and revamped what’s inside my make up pouch ). But before i go on and start bombarding this blog site with all the things i want to share , i need to clear up some work for my clients and also prepare and gathering documents for our Korea marriage registration with Korean embassy in Singapore and also documents for me to apply the spouse visa in Korea.

Here is a video taken by Tommy Fok (my cousin’s husband) from Framewerks ( https://www.facebook.com/Framewerks.Photography/ ) .

The reason why we engaged their service was because we find their videos very unique. Tommy met up with us and note down our story so that he can plan the shoot. Very different from the rest and instead of the usual gate crashing video scenes etc , the focus is more on our story. How we met , how we feel , what difficulties did we face and how we overcame it. Instead of shooting a wedding video , it is more about our story. Something i can show my kids infuture. How their mom and dad met and how they overcame all the cultural and language barriers when they first met. And if we ever face any difficulties in our marriage , this video can serve as a reminder and memories of the good times we had together.

To be honest , after watching this video ( over 20 times ) , it indeed brought us closer. There are somethings he never said to me before but he did infront of this video because he wants those words to encourage me and help me if i face any challenges in life.

Thank you Tommy for this wonderful video.

It is our own Korean drama story video.

Our ROM in HortPark , Singapore.

A tip of you want to do outdoor or garden ROM ceremony like mine. Make sure you got no “feeler” fringe and bring along a portable fan. Wahhhh the weather was really damn hot…i can feel the sweat beads trickle down my back in my cheongsam. And my hair all went flat and fringe was stuck to the side of my face. My make up also melted under the heat. Temperature was 32 degrees. Heng ah..i bought plastic fans as one of the wedding favours. You can see my guests fanning themselves hard with the fans lol. My hubby wore the suit the whole day under the hot weather and he ended up having fever the next day. Don’t know if it is heatstroke or what. His shirt and suit was wet inside because of the heat.

Also , try to diet abit before wedding/video/photoshoots if you want to look good. Mr Shin said i should gain more weight because i looked really pale after i tried to diet 1 month before our video shoot. So i started eating alot 2 weeks before our ROM in Singapore and i looked so much plumper in the videos lol. So i learnt my lesson liao….i went on a no-carbohydrate diet for 2 weeks before my Korean wedding in Oct. I never had rice for 2 weeks. Lol. It works though.

Here is another video : Our Story

Busan : My Husband

Sep15

Here’s what i was busy with for the past 1 month.

Our ROM in SG.

11 Sep 2016.

We are now husband and wife.

In October , we will be registering our marriage in Busan, South Korea and hold our wedding there.

08 Oct 2016 is the day in Korea.

Haha we have 2 wedding dates so we are using the SG date for our anniversary date. Easier to remember also..911.

The ROM in SG is a cozy and small 80 pax ceremony where we only invite our families and closest friends. The buffet banquet will be in Korea instead.

Pardon for the lack of blog updates. Actually i have written a blog post on #Smartlady and #Kbeauty but the blur me saved it as “private” instead of “public”. So this blog post gonna be a loonnng one !

So my bro-in-law came to SG last week. I think he is quite a popular guy haha cos he is very gentle giant , knows how to cook and is capable eligible bachelor..such that my relatives and friends want to match make him. He is still SINGLE.

His arrival also means my #Kbeauty arrival which i ordered online and sent it to our place in Busan.

Here are some new #Kbeauty i bought and i really like them. There are a few more but won’t be reviewing it now because i have not used them yet or not long enough yet.

Atopalm Real Barrier Intense Moisture Cream.

Price KRW 25,600

It is a moisturiser cream and not very “scenty” like other perfumed moisturiser.

My skin feels dry lately because of late nights and also the air con in office is sooo cold and dry that makes my skin feels so dry and tight. So i opted for something more rich. I really like it because is moisturising and compliments with my base make up. My BB cushion sets very well on it. You know , some creams are too rich and the texture is so thick that when you apply your BB cushion , it sort of mixed in and makes the whole look and feel very gluey and gross.

Is it worth buying ? Yes i think it is . It works on my skin type and i hardly experience dry skin these days. It is not very oily also. It is quite a popular brand among the ladies there and my housemate is using this too ! It is in my stock up list !

If you have oily skin and wants to try this brand , you can try the gel version.

COC Brush Set

I was tempted by the pink colour so i carted out. Also i need brushes. My 3CE brushes already so cui. Used them for 4 years already so it is time to change. This set of brushes are very soft and nice. The powder and make up glides on easily during application.

Also , the packaging is compact and travel friendly. Easy to keep in your handbag or luggage. So compact that i can bring the entire set out.

When you open the casing , the whole case fans out like that with the brushes in their place. So all are neat and tidy. You do not need to dig out from your pouches and arrange them one by one.

Comes with mirror that open up by itself also.

When you close it. Just slot the brushes back into their slots and close the casing..Tadahh.

This is a super good buy i tell you. There is a bigger version but i thought i don’t need soo many brushes. So i got this set instead. It was also featured in Korea beauty show – Get It Beauty.

Price KRW 19,800

Comes with 9 brushes – Blusher brush , foundation brush , 2x eye shadow brush , eyebrow brush , concealer brush , eye liner brush , eyelash comb brush, sponge tip.

This set is super worth it and the brush are so soft and compact to keep in the bag or travel.

CNP Laboratory Milk Toning Peel

My MIL bought me 3 sets of CNP Milk Toning Peel. Yes..im a fan of aesthetic brand CNP now. They also have aesthetic clinics in Korea. Cheaper to have aesthetics done in KR.

This peel is SUPER GOOD ! If there are more than 5 stars , i will rate it more than 5.

As you can see, there is one “lobang” already. because i already used it once.

1 set comes with 4 toning peel and 4 toning masks. My mil bought for me 3 sets and it came with a brush.

You are supposed to use it once a week. So , 1 set = 1 month.

I was told that it is better to use it for 12 weeks ( which is 3 months ) so she got for me 3 sets.

This is the brush you use to apply the toning peel and its texture is similar to that of a serum.

It looks complicated with so many things but actually the whole process took 16 minutes in total only.

Open the Milk Toning Peel and use the brush to apply the “serum” onto your entire face ( avoiding eyes area ). You will feel abit of tingling sensation. I felt it and it felt like someone using a small needle to poke my skin. I felt it on my cheeks and forehead only. Guess that’s where most of my dead skins are ..maybe ? It is not painful but just felt some tingling sensation on some parts of the face. Leave it on for 1min or 1.5 minutes before you wash it off with warm water.

After which , pat dry your face with towel and put on the toning mask for 15 minutes. The mask actually helps to soothe the skin after the peel. The effect is really THUMBS UP ! Cannot praise it even more. My skin felt so soft and radiant. I didn’t even wear make up the next day after i used it the night before. Told my colleague that i didn’t put any make up to work today and they were surprised. Because my skin looks radiant and dewy.

I just used it on my husband (Gosh..not used to call him hubby or Yeobo (Korean version) ). He is very tanned because he plays baseball every week ( 2 times a week ) and have uneven skin tone. This peel evens out his skin tone and his skin suddenly looks so clean. This is my favourite skin peel so far and i really like it. Will definitely stock up more.

Price KRW 28,500 per set ( 4 times for a month use ).

Skin Factory Lip Tattoo

Also i finally tried the lip tattoo. Very easy steps.

Just apply on dry lips , wait for it to dry and peel off.

To be honest , it doesn’t really work well on me. The colour isn’t that obvious. And if you really want to buy and try , buy the one that is bright red in colour. I got 2 colours ( Coral and Red ). The coral one is totally waste of $$ because it doesn’t have any effect. The red one is still ok. Can see that my lips at least have “some colour”.
It is definitely not like what was shown in the picture below. My friend tried it and it doesn’t work on her as well.

I don’t think this is good nor does it worth the $ . It doesn’t work.

Same goes to the brow tattoo. Very messy.

Got some more #Kbeauty products but i have yet to open and use them yet. LOL. Will review more i used them.
Just got 2 BBIA cream eye shadown pencils. Can’t wait to use them. Colours look so gorgeous !

#SGAHJUMMA time !

This week , im going to share recipe to cook Korean Soya Sauce Fried Chicken.

Korean Fried Chicken + Beer = Chi-Mac !

Yes , you do not need to queue and spend $$ at Korean Fried Chicken joints. You can do it at home and it is healthier. Good for parties and for kids too because it is not spicy.

My hubby loves it and always ask for more. I cooked it 2 weeks ago. He loves it so much and i have cooked like 3 times since ? lol

Ingredients

Chicken wings and drumlets.

1 bowl of corn flour.

Sauce ingredients

5 table spoons of Korean Soya Sauce

1 table spoon of brown sugar

3 table spoon of white sugar

1 table spoon of sesame oil

1 tea spoon of black pepper

3 table spoons of honey

1 table spoon of Korean Chilli Powder

4 Table spoons of chopped spring onion

1 Table spoon of minced garlic

How to cook ?

Wash and dry the chicken parts. I use fresh chicken instead of frozen ones. It will taste better because you need to fry it twice.

After drying the chicken , coat them with corn flour.

I used air fryer to air fry the corn flour coated chicken parts. You can use a wok of oil to fry if you don’t have an air fryer.

Air fry for about 25 minutes until it is crispy brown.

After air frying all the chicken, leave them aside on a plate.

Mix all the sauce ingredients in a bowl and leave it aside.

Heat up a pan/wok with few spoons of olive oil. Once the pan is heated up , pour the bowl of sauce into the frying pan until it sizzles. Switch from medium to low heat.

Throw in the fried chicken in mix it with the sauce.

Switch off the heat and serve ! Sprinkle some spring onions and sesame seeds to garnish.

Now, here’s your home cooked Korean Soya Sauce Fried Chicken.

Super yummy ! Oppa ate all 22 pieces lol. I only had 4 ????

Also, i just made some Ban Chan ( Korean side dishes ). Will share recipe soon !

Jul3

2 more months to our ROM in SG and 3 more months to our ROM in Korea. Time really flies. Been very busy lately and my meal timing were kinda screwed. Last week was a packed with full of meetings , meeting new people and also preparing for the big day ( final discussion for the ROM in SG ). Everything is sort of settled thanks for recommendations from friends. And also i am addicted to scrolling Taobao right now. Alot of wedding decors and ornaments that are so cheap and nice. Instead of renting , i can buy them at $5 , use them for my ROM and bring home to decorate my place. They even have the cutest guest book at $6.

And i just chanced upon another wedding song which i really like. Was thinking of using this for march-in song and the other song by Huk-Gak to be sung by my bro-in-law’s friend who is our live band.

This is my tentative choice for march-in song .

My MUA was settled. Wendy from Lushlashh will be my make up artist and also having my lashes done at Lushlashh. I really like her work and patience. The lashes she did for me are always so natural. I always go for K-style lashes which was supposed to be “no-make-up-or-lash-extensions look” . There is a vast difference between Kstyle lashes and Jap style lashes. Japanese one are more vavavoom and glamourous looking. But it doesn’t suit me and i don’t like to look too over.

The lashes Wendy did for me are so natural that some people i spoke to asked if they are my real lashes or i had extensions done. They cannot see the difference when they look at me face to face. But from the side view , you can see that it is longer. Im not sure what kind curls i go for because i ask her to replicate the one i did in Korea. She has my details. So if you want the natural looking K-lashes , just tell her you read my blog and wanted the same set as mine. If you are worried that if it will look too natural as if you have nothing on and you think it is “waste of money” ? You don’t need to worry about it because you can see a difference before and after. Btw i also always go for one which make my eyes look like im wearing an eyeliner when i am not. Anyways , she has my history and data. You can tell her that you want the lashes that Peiling did. Lushlashh is located at level 2 of Arcade Shopping Centre at Raffles Place.

Here are some of the lash extensions i have done.

And as for my hair , Joanne at Hair Affairs Chevron House will dye for me . I went to her before my Pre-wedding shoot trip to get my hair dyed to a nice violet red colour. It looks sooo nice and my MIL also said it was a good choice of colour. My readers will get some discounts if you mention my name. Btw , i paid for these services and these are not adverts. If you read my blog long enough , i have stopped doing adverts for 2-3 years and all are based on my persona experiences and reviews. Anyway you have to call to book appointment. She starts work as early as 8am. I went at 8am before and the salon was filled with bankers and tai tais who wake up early to wash and curl their hair to prepare for work at 9am. I don’t think i will do that man. I would rather sleep more. She has been in the line for more than 30 years and her banker clients followed her for more than 20 years.

Here are some hair inspirations i have got. I am tempted to my dye my hair again before my trip to Korea for my wedding.

I don’t know to do RED…

or this colour…

I wanted to do this kind of curls.

But because at that time my hair was badly damaged and i really want to have healthier hair so that i can perm in October in Korea…plus my recent diving trip made my hair worst…soooo….

I went to find Joanne to cut all the bad split ends off and now i have shoulder length hair. Hair ends are healthier now and easier to manage. So now i just need to wait for it to grow, maintain my hair …then hopefully i can perm.

Done with #Kbeauty and now with #SGAHJUMMA

I cooked Carbonara Ramyeon on sat night. Oppa is away for biz trip in Europe and back only next week. I wanted to cook Andong Jjimddak but it will be too much for one person to eat. So , it is Carbonara Ramyeon for tonight.

Korea is an instant food heaven. Alot of instant food and some are claimed to be healthy choice. Well …my bro-in-law never uses the seasoning packs. He used the Korean shrimp sauce, pepper flakes and soya sauce to make his own ramyeon seasoning. Healthier this way because msg in the seasoning packs are not really good for health. This is something i want to learn from him when he comes in Sept.

My kitchen cupboard with instant noodles. Something i don’t really like and only cook if i got no choice or too lazy to go out to buy food.

Here is the recipe. To be honest , it is recommended to use SHIN Rammyeon. But i was too lazy to walk 10 mins out just to buy a packet of ramen so i used whatever is the closest to Shin Ramyeon that i had at home.

1 pack of Hi-Lo low fat milk (200ml).

Mozzarella Cheese.

Boil 400ml of water at high heat. If you do not have a measuring cup , empty the milk from the carton into a cup and use the empty carton to fill with water to measure since the milk carton is 200ml.

Once the water boiled , add in the ramyeon and the seasoning packs for about 3 minutes.

Add the entire pack of 200ml of hi-lo milk. Let it boil for 2 minutes and add a handful of mozzarella cheese. How much cheese you want is up to you. I like cheese and like my noodles to be slightly sticky with cheese so i added ALOT. Stir.

Once done , you can serve it in a bowl.

Easy and shiok ! I paired with seaweed chicken seaweed and Kimchi ! Oh and a cup of cold Yuzu drink.

Hope you enjoyed it. Very simple. Just need 15 minutes and you get Carbonara Ramyeon.

Now that we are living on our own , which means alot of bills and groceries to do. For Oppa, he has been living on his own for years but for me this is the first time i moved out. I paid utilities and bills at my own home but now that i moved out , there are more to pay. Being a financial planner and a financial planner in our house , i am in charge of the utilities and expenses. I record and keep receipts and limit groceries shopping to $50 a week. I have been buying so many things from Korea websites and mart now that i find buying all the necessities in SG are so expensive. When i travel to Korea , i will buy everything there and bring over. Now that we need some things urgently and i went to the supermarkets to buy and got shock at the price. In Korea i can buy 3 good shampoos for $10 and here 1 good one for more than $10. My work schedules are pretty tight. I start my day early and ended my day late which means that i can’t go to local market in the day time and so i depended alot on 24hr supermarkets. You must be wondering why now then i realized that things are expensive in SG. Not that i now then realized , i realized it long ago but just that im not used to buying my daily necessities in SG yet except for food.

#SMARTLADY

Here was what i got from Gmarket.

Yes whatever number of sanitary pads here you see is just 10,900won which is about SGD 13.

If you have used Korean pads before you will know the difference. Some of my friends even asked me to buy a carton for them and ship to SG for them when im in Korea. They are made of cotton and really damn comfy. Better than those nylon netting ones that are commonly used.

I think these 2 “towers” of pads can last me 2 years i guess. Some people said im getting to “ahjumma” ..because i cooked , i cleaned my own house and i do grocery shopping. Those who said that are mostly singles. Married women i met and know and are working mums or wives like me do not agree that we are “ahjumma” just because we are more careful with how we spend and just because we clean the house and not hiring a maid to do so and go to the markets to do grocery shopping. This is our responsibility as a wife. Even though we are working and we can afford to spend doesn’t mean we have to spend what we have. Cash is still KING. We are not stingy ..we are careful with our monies and how we handle them. I handle the monies at home. Oppa is a saver but im a super saver so im the one in charge. I planned our saving plans , insurances and monthly expenses. He can see an increase in his savings after i did his planning.

Also i want to add that i really pei fu those working mums. Some of them can work and take care of the house for years. I just started for 2 months and im quite drained. I reached home after 8pm everyday because of appointments . Once i reached home , i will clean the house abit and do the laundry before i shower and sleep. And i wake up at 745am everyday to make breakfast before i prepare for work. Tired ?..yes..but i will not complain…

Now im learning to cook more dishes and more healthier choices. Diet and life style is what caused alot of young people these days to fall sick or diagnosed with illnesses. Some of my clients are so young and already diagnosed with illnesses. Some are young parents. When i met them and did planning for them i also felt very heart pain.

Take a break if you need to. Health is everything.

Alot of joys this week also..some of my friends and clients gave birth. And i feel excited planning for the little ones. I dont know when but we are thinking of trying for kids maybe next year.

Times flies…it is 430pm now and i need to pack my bag for my team trip to Kukup in JB.

Have a good weekend !

May25

ROM venue – Checked. Finally found a place small enough and nice to accommodate 40 pax !

One thing off the list but soooo many more to go. I can’t wait for his PR application after our wedding so that we can get a house and start our little cozy family nest.

It’s been almost a month since my trip and photoshoot in Korea.

Quite a number of people asked me to help them to liase and refer to my bf’s friend. She is currently helping foreigners to liase with studios in Busan. She speaks good English and is my fiance’s long time childhood friend in Busan. So we do refer people to her and she will be there to accompany the bride and groom and help in translations. She speaks French , English and Korean. Someone we trust and know so some of my friends felt more comfortable that everything will be settle properly.

Here’s what happened on my photoshoot day.

I didnt get to try the dresses in SG unlike the studios here in SG. Where you try dresses over here , bring to the Korea studio and take the photos. I think that is why they are very expensive and range up to 6k 0r 7k for the shoot. Because you are paying for services on both sides. It is cheaper to liase directly with studios there. Trust me you save REALLY ALOT up to 50% or 60%.

So here’s what happens when i arrive in the studio.

I was lead to the make up room where the make up artist do my make up. I like the Korean bridal make up style because the make up enhances your features and i went out with the make up after my shoot. Because it is so natural and in the photos , look like you have really flawless skin and machiam you never put on any make up.

I was told by the assistant that on that day , i will be the princess. All i have to do is just to relax , smile and take pretty pictures.

Really felt like princess. The assistant insisted on helping me to wear my shoes. If i am thirsty , they will pour water for me. And also hold my dresses , shoes etc when we go up and down the studio ( studio has 5 storey and each storey has different themes ).

When the make up artist was working on my face , a lady brought me some brochures and ipad to choose the type of look and gown i want. I got to choose 4 white gowns.

After which i was lead to the changing room that was just meant for me where a helper will be there to help me dress up and the make up artist to touch up whatever after i wore the dress. She will check for my size and bring the dress that fits my size. But for some studios they pin the back of the dress. But lucky for mine , i had sizes to choose.

Here’s me all dressed up for my first white dress and waiting for the make up artist to finish up the final touches for my hair.

And then me and my 2nd dress.

I chose alot of laces and tulles.

One of the mermaid dress which i picked for my shoot. Super nice dress. I love the off shoulder laces.

I was given a booklet to choose the hair and make up style i want. You can mix and match.
eg Hair from one of the pic and eye make up from another

But i had done my own research and samples search. So i showed her the look i want and she replicated it.

Here’s one of the photos we took.

We were given 3 CDs with 1800++ photos and we are supposed to choose 50 of them for editing.

LOL so any photos and we haven’t even screen through every single one yet.

Hopefully to do so before mid June to send in for editing and printing. I think it maybe because of the Hanbok shoes LOL i looked like im floating leh…for hanbok , we have to wear a special traditional Korean shoes.

Uploaded a couple of new photos on my instag too !

And nowadays , i am searching for our march in songs and video songs. Im doing my videos with Framewerks.

And im doing a little bit different in Korean style.

Ahh im choosing a Korean march-in song for our SG ROM and an English song for our Korean ROM.

Sometimes when i go to wedding dinner in SG , a couple of wedding couples used Korean songs for their videos or march in. And Oppa and i realized that some songs had lyrics about break ups , love one who died or a bad quarrel. The tune may sound nice or romantic but the lyrics are abit off. So if you are keen in using a Korean song , try to find one that are meant for weddings or have lyrics about being in love. You can go to youtube to check for the songs you want with English lyrics to double confirm.

Here’s 2 of my shortlisted songs for march-in.

During weddings in Korea, there is someone who sing a Wedding Congratulatory song.
And i decided to go for this one. My brother-in-law’s friend will sing this song for us on our wedding in Korea.

To be continued…

Busan : My Family and Wedding in Korea

May15

After i touched down in Busan , the first thing i did was to go for a yummy BBQ lunch and had Korean Beef ( Han-u 한우 ) . You can read about Han-u HERE. That is the reason why you see different prices for different kind of beef sometimes. There are imported beef and local beef. Go for local beef if you want some chewiness and tenderness.

After which , we went to the Hanbok house at Gwanganli for fitting. Need to choose for my pre-wedd shoot and actual wedding day. The lady is a friend of my MIL and she recommended colours that suit my skintone , face and also pink and bright colours are often chosen for young brides. Different colours have different meanings.

So i finally chose 1 set to be custom made for my actual wedding day lunch and rented 2 for the photoshoot.

This trip was quite a busy week so we do not have much time to go sightseeing . Im in the saving mode now so this trip i didn’t shop except to stock up on my skincare and buy masks as gifts for my colleagues , clients and relatives. Now i only buy things i need. Managed to stock up some beauty products and the Laneige lipsticks worn by Song Hye Kyo in Descendents of the Sun drama. It was OOS almost everywhere and so difficult to find lor. Finally found the last stick in one of the Aritaums opposite our place and also renewed my Aritaum VIP card so i can enjoy the 10% off. A new beauty shop just opened and having an event ( storewide 15% off ) so i managed to get Pony effect (by popular Korean make up guru – Korean version of Michelle Phan ) eye shadow because my canmake one cracked cos i stupidly put in my hand carry cabin and i think all the knocks during turbulence causes it to crack into several pieces 😦

Laneige 2 tone lipsticks in #11 Juicy Pop. I already used it for 2 weeks that’s why you see a “curve” from the side.

I like how the yellow part actually helps to “highlight” and “brightens” up my lips.

Price KRW 25,000. I bought at KRW 22,500 because of Aritaum VIP member 10% discount.

Review- Easy to apply and moisturized my lips.

Verdict – MUST BUY !

My bro went with us this trip to have his pre-wedd photos taken too. Yes you can save up to 60% if you just liase directly with Korea side. My bro’s friend paid $5K ++ through a studio here in SG to have his pre-wedd shoot taken in Korea studio excluding air ticket , hotel etc . I was quite surprised it is so expensive because my bro’s air ticket + studio shoot + his shopping and food expenses + hotel rooms for 11 days in Korea = $5K and got $200 change some more. I will recommend Toyoko Inn Hotel in Seomyeon if you are looking for an affordable accommodation in Busan. It is about $70 per night for 2 pax including breakfast for 2. Located conveniently right infront of the shopping street. Cafe street is opposite the hotel. Not a very big room but they have everything you need. They have several branches ( Haeundae , Busan station and Seomyeon ). Because i will be too busy to bring my bro and his gf around so i arranged their stay there. MRT station is just 2 mins walk , Lotte department store is also walking distance etc. Recommended this place to my friends and they like this place.

Club FIX is also nearby so if you are done with clubbing , still can walk back. Don’t ask me how is the club there. By 10 pm my body already automatically going into sleep mode. Old already.

Day 2 was spent whole day at my brother’s pre- wedd shoot and helping him with translation. Oppa is there with my bro with the translation whereas im in the make up and dressing room with my bro’s gf helping her with translation between her and the make up artist and dressing assistant. It is good to have someone who can speaks English with you else can be frustrated because photographer may not understand what you saying and you also don’t understand what the photographer want you to do.

After which we cabbed down to Shinsaegae in Haeundae for dinner and Oppa bought me my birthday present.

Gentle Monster sunglass ! Been wanting to get one since i saw it on some K-celebs. Their sunglasses are all so pretty and tempting to get everything off the shelf (of cos not !) haha. My sunglass broke into 2 and it was time to get one. Cheaper to get it here in Korea.

He was stoning there lol.

I developed a new hobby during this trip.

Gardening and floral arrangement. I spent like hours going from one florist to another.

Flowers there are so soft and pretty. It looks so not real. I thought i was faked flower but they are real. Petals are so soft and moist like tissue-paper.

Their roses bloom until so pretty. Dry flower bouquets are so pretty too. Dry until so not real also.

They looked so not real but they are real and soft flowers.

Im intending to go for floral arrangement classes the next trip. Arrangements are very unique there. Very pastel and french-ish which i like. I bought a pot of flowers for my MIL to thank her for whipping up such good dishes for my bro and his gf at home.

This was from one of my favourite flower shop in Busan. Creative floral arrangements and styles. I love going to flower shop cafes because it is so therapeutic . Felt so relax with all the pretty flowers around. The cafe smells good too. Flowers looks so fresh and pretty. Some can even be used to decorate on cakes and eat lor.

Besides floral arrangement , im also into interiors. Our new place will be ready in 2018 which is near the baseball stadium. I can hang around for 2 hours in this furniture shop. The stuff are affordable. They are surprisingly so pretty and cheap ! Oppa and i were saying that if we have a house in SG , we will buy from Korea and ship to SG instead. There are alot of furniture and wares for different themes ( nautical , french garden , minimalist etc ) . So prettty !

And guess who i saw ?

Alot of eye candies ! LOL .

To be continued….nursing a bad throat now..

Busan : My Wedding in Korea

May11

Im back from Busan !

Busy bee preparing for the wedding , pre-wedd shoots and more.

Received all the unedited pictures and now is shortlisting the pictures for editing and submit to the photographer.

Massive update on my instagram account because i just got back on Sunday and haven’t got time to blog yet. Need to settle some work stuff before i find some spare time. Some new brands and MUST BUY lists to recommend too !

Have a good mid week and hopefully i can blog by this weekend 🙂

Night night !

Busan : My Wedding in Korea

Apr14

Well , in 6 months’ time. I will be known as Mrs Shin and “Hyung-su-nim” or “Ahjumma” in Korea.

“Hyung-su-nim” is like chinese equivalent of “da sao”. His friends who are younger than me ( irregardless if they are older than me) will call me that. And for married woman , must call Ahjumma liao. It is our local equivalent of “auntie”. Lol.

Hmm abit not used to it because his bro used to call me by name but now he called me “Hyung-su-nim”. I used to be served last at the table because i am the youngest but now i am served right after my hubby-to-be before anyone else who is younger than him. This is part of the table manners.

Hmm abit not used to it because everyone is very polite to me and being treated with respect. But this happens when im with people who are younger than him. Whereas if im with his hyungs ( older brother ) , they will call me “jae su ssi” which means younger brother’s wife and i will call them oppa. Hehe and they still dote on me.

Many people asked me “so what is life going to be like marrying a Korean ?”

1) Housework and Cooking – Alot or should i say ALL Singaporeans i know asked me ” So does he expects you to cook and do house work ? “.

To be honest , yes he did. But i told him i will do over the weekend. Because i am working and my appointments end at 9pm sometimes. Housework is easy for me because i do my own housework at home but for cooking , i am still learning to cook chinese food. I find it easier to cook Korean dishes than local dishes. So most of the time i will cook Korean food at home. Not all but i know about 10 dishes only. So why does he expect me to learn how to cook and do housework ? Because in Korea , it is not common to have maids like we do in Singapore. Most women became stay home mum after having babies and the man will be the one bringing the bread home. Women look after their children and the house. The man will be the one outside working. I guess that is one of the reason why family bondings are very strong in Korea. But in Singapore , i don’t think it is possible for one person to work only because our standard of living is very high. Whereas in Korea, education and health care are very cheap due to government subsidies. IV drips cost only $3 so you can imagine how cheap.

2) Will you move to Korea ? – No , our aim is to bring up our children here so they can learn 3 languages – English , Chinese and Korean. So that will be at least 25 years. To be honest if i were to retire , i will retire in Korea. If i have the $ , i will dream to buy a house at a countryside to enjoy the nature and retire peacefully. Being a financial planner , i plan up retirement planning for my clients and figures needed can be quite shocking if you want to retire at a comfortable and simple pace. So yup , at last the next 25-30 years here and then retire in Korea.

3) Korean husbands are MCP – Hmm..sometimes but i find it more like they think it is their responsibility to look after their family and wife. So it makes them look like they want to have alot of control. I am actually quite touched to know that my hubby felt that it is his responsibility to provide for his future family and to work hard so that he can earn enough for me to stop working.

4) Fierce mother-in-law – Maybe it is the way drama portrays Korean mil . But not all are like that. My friends’ mil are very nice to her even though she is a Singaporean. My mil is also very kind and nice. She had 2 sons and always wanted a daughter. So she treats me really well and she is quite open and not conservative. If she is very conservative , i don’t she will even approve this marriage.

If you have a Korean bf/fiance , always remember to have a good relationship with his mother.

Here’s about it…anything else you want to ask or know ? Let me see if i can help to answer that.

Some dos and don’ts here :

Do not act like a spoilt brat. Don’t expect to ORDER your bf/fiance to serve you this and that. Learn to wash your own dishes/cups after use because most household do not have maids or helpers.

Do not SMOKE infront of them. Girls smoking is still a taboo in Korea. That’s why when you go out to the streets , you will see some people hiding along the dark alleys to smoke. Ya , the girls have to “hide” to smoke. Not common to see girls smoking opening on the streets like what you see in SG.

Do not wear too revealing clothes that shows off your shoulders/cleavages or skirts that are sooo short . They are pretty conservative. Wear tights if you are wearing short skirts. I wore tube tops when i went holidaying in Korea back in 2012 and it attracted alot of stares from locals.

Learn to address her properly and always remember to serve her food or “kiap” food for her.

Hook your arms around hers when you walk around or go shopping with her. Girls there lock their arms together if they are very close friends. And you can go to jimjibang with her. Now i know why some girls there have really smooth skin. I ever met a 75 year old grandma and her skin ( hands and legs ) are sooo smooth..they are even smoother than mine !

Learn to aegyo abit. And if she wants to buy you something , let her buy. If you feel paiseh and want to reject , just reject once and if she insisted , just let her buy. After that say thank you in Korean and aegyo abit. They will be very happy that you like her gifts.

Whip up some dishes for HER SON. At least Korean dishes so that she knows are you are trying and learning despite being a foreigner.

Most importantly , LEARN KOREAN and the CULTURE. Bo bian , this one really have to .Not just learn basic table manners sentences but really LEARN to speak and understand. No need to be too fluent. They will find it cute and they can understand you. To be honest , my written , reading and listening is good and much better than my speaking because no one speaks to me here. Now my hub to be is learning Chinese and English , so i speak Chinese and English to him. Nobody converse with me in Korean over here leh. His Busan accent is very strong sometimes i also cannot catch what he says. Haha but when i watched Korean drama or variety shows, i can understand.

As for the culture , ask your bf/fiance to explain to you. Try to visit during their new year or thanks giving. That is when you really can get to experience their traditional cultures , food and meet his relatives.

When his mother is busy doing housework or cooking, try to ask and offer your help. Don’t sit there and do nothing. I think this is quite basic common sense because even in SG , if your SG mother in law is busy , you will also offer your help instead of sitting there and do nothing or watch tv right ? Unless she insist that you do not need to help , then you can do your own things guilt free. I think this is basic manners when you go people house EVERYWHERE YOU GO no matter whether is it Korea , Singapore or anywhere else.

Try not to drink until drunk. Heng i don’t drink and i cannot drink. Does not give a good impression.

Here are somethings and tips i can think of. If i can think of anymore then i will add on next time.

Wedding prep 101 –

Face care is very important. Damn scared got one ugly zit or whataever.

Wah now i put on masks almost twice a day on weekends (Mask sheets and a overnight cream mask) and everynight on weekdays.

Need to find time for new hair colour.

Going with my bro and his fiancee to Busan together this trip. Helped them to arrange their photoshoots there and booked their hotel stay. You can actually check in any time at a nice motel or this hotel. Not expensive. I booked for them 3 days 2 night for KRW 132,000 which works about $150 for 3 days 2 night ( double room ) with breakfast provided.

They have a few branches. The one i booked for them is at Seo-myeon right opposite a shopping mall and the shopping street. If not you can book the one at Haeundae or the one next to Busan Station.

http://www.toyoko-inn.com/e_hotel/00221/

Drafting half way on the “Smart Lady” post…maybe will publish the post tomorrow.

Mar22

Wedding preparation !

The outfits !

So , im going for my cheongsam fitting tomorrow and my hanbok and wedding dresses fitting in Korea in April. Oppa is now in Korea settling with the hotel and studios. He took these pictures of hanboks and sent to my kakaotalk.

Love the one in yellow and purple. I was thinking of having the yellow top/purple bottom or white top/purple bottom.

Have to go in April to take my measurements to custom made one.

Whereas my dear Mr Shin got his suit from Suit Supply at Ion. I LOVE THE SUITS THERE. Actually i love all the clothes there. I just got to know about this brand when i went to Europe to join him for 1 month to accompany him during his business trip. Hehe he is going again this year and infact everywhere.

The pants were abit loose and long even though for his 1.86m height. Some alterations needs to be done. Suit supply has their inhouse tailor so the uncle came to measure , did some pin ups and we paid in full so he will be going for next fitting this weekend !

I love Suit Supply styles. Very European Trendy. So if you are looking for suits , shirts , pants or men clothings , be sure to come here !

Im going for my Cheongsam fitting this week ! Can’t wait. If it is good , will recommend to you all !

I also can’t wait to try it on !

Nowadays my friends talked about this APRIL SKIN cushion. They asked me how was it .

I bought one but after using once ( 2 months ago ) , i stopped using it and it is now rotting on my make up table.

I am quite disappointed with it. It is not as “hydrating” and also quite matte.

When i first received it , it has this strange “white crescent shape” along one of the sides. The whole sponge doesn’t seem to be filled or soaked with the BB cream.

Coverage is average and makes my skin looks greyish white.

I am quite disappointed with this actually. I rather stick with my all time favourite HERA UV Mist Cushion.

Speaking of which , i need to start topping up. Using the last refill now !
So happy that i got some new Sulwhasoo skincare and Omma’s friend who sells HERA in Busan gave me 20% discount with alot of samples ! HEHE ! *beams

So is it worth the hype for April Skin ? In my opinion , No.

Now that i am going for my pre wedding shoot in April , im preparing my skin and taking extra care like avoiding the sun because the weather is soooo hot these days.

Now that i am turing 30 this year. There are so much thoughts in my mind. So many things i want to do and may want to take a break from. Maybe not now but later. I am quite busy these days with work and meeting new people.

What’s life turing 30 and also becoming somebody’s wife soon in October ?

Besides having more responsibility , i also start to prefer a little bit more privacy. Which is the reason why i seldom blog about my love life here and also i set my instagram to private mode. My love life is great ! Like any other newly weds or couples , we are striving hard to work for our future and to build our future together. Thinking of starting a family etc. As for Agneselle , there are people managing it for me but im thinking of a restructuring and we may clear some new stocks to start new restructuring. So look out for SALE prices for unlaunched designs.

To be honest , im glad i started AE when i was young which was about 10 years ago. This is something i know i can’t and will not start if im in the 30s. Because at 30 and going to be a newly wed, there are alot of responsibility. Whether is it financially or just life on its own. Which is one of the reason why i am not really active on social media like instagram. I set up a snap chat account but left it dormant. I can’t even remember my Dayre password. I only update my instagram when i encounter or had something nice instead of using it for marketing purposes which i do for Agneselle last time.

Being with my fiance for 2.5 years thought me many things and life lessons.
Money is not everything. Health , passion and sincerity is.

I used to take pictures of food and selfies everywhere i go. Such that i realized i didnt appreciate the “real thing” at all and i just go for a nice picture. No more climbing on chairs to take a good shot of the “instagram worthy” food and waiting for it to turn cold , no more standing behind a “beautiful” backdrop just to take an #OOTD shoot to wait for people to like your photos and comment positive things of things you don’t really wear , no more taking sooo many pictures of places i go or visited just to show the world where am i , no more carrying clothes on a big bag pack just to take pictures of the #OOTD shots when i go for holiday travels.

It is now about appreciating what i have now. Appreciate and enjoy the taste of the food when it was served on the table , taking an #OOTD shot because i feel confident , taking picture sof places i go and visited for memory purposes , holding my fiance’s hand when we travel , have a small talk and picnic or drinks when we go for holiday travels.

I cleared and unfollowed some people i used to follow on instagram because i want to see “real things”. Still clearing out some when i have the time.

Stay to live real and learn to appreciate.

Mar2

Cheongsam – checked. I custom made at one tailor shop in town which will be ready by April 🙂
I did a red one and will try to take a picture here. The tailor is very friendly and her works are good. Can recommend over here.

Hanbok – appointment made and will be done in april in Busan.

I just managed to search for some wedding videos. They are so nicely done in Korea.

Here’s a video of the hotel we are going to . Usually the brides will sit on the chair and everyone will come and take photo with her. The old uncle on the stage is the Justice of Peace reading the vows.

And here’s one that does for international customers in Seoul which i think will be abit expensive because it targets foreigners. I don’t know why but the pricing and packages for most studios (targeted foreigners) are more expensive than for locals. Some charged in Korean won but some charge in USD because some wants you to transfer deposit over first. The package price my friend asked and the one i asked are different pricing.

I quite like the video done by this studio in Seoul. If you are interested and have the budget can check it out.

Flying to Busan in late April with my brother and his fiancee. We will be shooting at 2 different studios and these studios are facing a nice cliff and sea. So we can get great outdoor shoots too. Weather will be just nice. Not too cold and not too hot.

Hehe..im also getting new skin care products. I didn’t really review alot of products for the past few months because i haven’t been getting new ones yet. Im trying to start using anti-aging products already. Will do a review in April after Oppa bring them back from his March trip to Busan. I will getting new Sulwhasoo serum and also serums from Hera’s Signoria range.

Many people emailed me and asked me for places to stay in Seoul and Busan.

For Seoul , i will recommend these places because it is in the shopping district at Myeongdong and also walking distance to the MRT. Super convenient.

a) Ibis Hotel

b) Namsan Guest House

c) Prince Hotel

They are right smack at the shopping area and just separated by a traffic light or underpass. I only stay at these hotels or guest house lah.

For Busan , i will recommend Lotte Hotel located conveniently in the shopping district at Seomyeon ( if you have the spare $$ ) or Toyoko-inn Hotel at Seomyeon. These 2 hotels are located conveniently in the shopping district. Toyoko-Inn is right beside our apartment lol. And opposite our apartment is a shopping mall and the Seomyeon shopping street.

If not , you can just check into any motels. Cheap and good. About $80 per night for a room for 2. You may think that motels are sleazy places but not all are like that. As long as you don’t go to the ones in the red light district. Because some motels are stop over motels for locals who are traveling from city to city especially during festive seasons. My mil’s motel is a stop over motel for locals who are going to Gimhae airport to catch a morning or late night flight and tourists who arrived late at night and need a place to sleep before they take a morning flight or KTX to the next city or to the airport. Her motel is located beside the mrt and 15 mins from airport.

As long as you dont go to one near the red light can liao. Their motels are quite nicely decorated with themes , own jacuzzi in the room and also 2 high speed internet computers. Even my Korean teacher also recommended that because sometimes she also travel to other city to visit relatives and she just book into a motel.

Hope these information helps for those who asked about places to stay in Busan and Seoul !