Dec3

#Smartlady #SGAhjumma #KBS

The latest Kdrama made me laugh and teared. Not sure if you have watched Legend of the Blue Sea but Lee Minho is sooo suave in this drama. Jun Ji-hyun still look the same as she was in My Sassy Girl back in 2000.

This OST is one of my favourite so far after the DOTS drama.

2016 was an eventful year.
Firstly we have Song Joong Ki to give a romantic start and Park Bo Gum to spice up the summer and now Lee Min Ho to end the year with a bang. Wahh ! Drama year 2016. This year is one with the few of the best dramas.

Met up with the KBS girls 2 weeks ago . #KBS stands for Korean Boyfriends and Spouses. It is made up of a group of Singaporean wives with Korean husbands/fiances. The group is slowly expanding and we are having our first Xmas party in 3 weeks’ time. Every gathering is full of exciting and interesting topics. Im so glad to learn from the girls and also to share from my part. Glad to know that we are always giving each other support whether in SG or KR.

1.5 months after my wedding in Korean liao but there are alot of people asking me how is my married life. And any difference ?

Well , i will say it just got busier and also more responsibility. Being a working wife is not easy and i really 佩服 those who did it for many years. Holding 2 positions both outside and at home is not an easy task.

My day start quite early. 730am wake up to prepare breakfast and shower to prep for work , keep the laundry and set the washing machine timer for the next batch of laundry. Back at home in the evening ( if i have no evening appt ) to cook , wash up , mop and vacuum the floor. I think the whole thing ended about 930pm before i can take a break. Then i turn in at 12am after finishing up some work. Saturday morning was spent making brunch before i go for my Korean class and back home to cook dinner or go for appt. On Sunday , it is “toilet washing” day and another round of mass vacuum and mopping and grocery shopping.

So that sums up what i do at home when i don’t have any appointments , prospecting or at roadshows and on weekends.

Last week , i cooked Japchae for my hubby’s softball team’s bbq night. Took me 3 hours to prep and cook because our wok is too small so i have to do in batches. Woke up at 6am to prepare it before i go for appointment with my client and then to Korean class at 1pm. Then back home again in the afternoon to recook again to heat up. To cook a large tray is alot of work esp for Japchae. Easy to cook but alot of work to do. Alot of cutting , alot of frying and mixing.

Click HERE for the Jap Chae receipe i shared back in August.

I also made some kimchi. This kimchi was fermented for 3 weeks.

Im glad it tasted good because hubby secretly “kope” a bowl of Jap chae and kimchi. He knows i will nag at him if i find him eating away after i cooked. No wonder keeps getting lesser and lesser and i have to cook more again.

And also , i received this question alot ” Do you control the finances in the family ? Did Ryunjae give you ALL his salary ?”.

Well , many asked me this question was because it is a Korean culture where the husband gives all his salary to his wife. The wife is the one who manages the finance in the family. And she will give her husband some allowance (either monthly/weekly/daily). Kinda opposite from the traditional chinese culture and modern culture these days.

Firstly , im not a Korean so my thinking is abit different. Thus we tweak it abit. I think that he is old enough and a mature man who can handle his own finances. Plus he is not someone who spends on alcohol , branded stuff , shopping or even gadgets. To be honest , he spends most of his time at home to watch baseball matches. So i guess one thing that cost $$ every month is probably mobile data. Because he is forever using his phone to watch baseball matches/news/political news/webtoons.

But also being his financial adviser , i get him to open 2 accounts. 1 for saving and 1 for expenses. So every month first day , he will do a standing instruction to transfer a fix amount into the expenses account. That account pay for his food , transport and leisure activities. Whereas premiums for the insurances and saving plans which he signed with me and also rental of our place will be deducted from his saving account instead. Our grocery shopping also come from that expenses account.

He trusted me and he knows im a saver and i am better at investing and saving money to help him to manage his wealth. He gave me his ATM card since i manage the finances and he just have his credit card for emergency use.

This method is very useful. The saving rate increases too. Of cos there are some other tips i shared with him and my clients too.

Talking about saving money , it is time for #Smartlady topic.

Most of my clients are families, ladies or young couples or newly weds. And most of the ladies have problem with savings because they shop alot online. Online shopping can be very sinful and addictive. Because i was a victim also. So now i limit myself as in not how much i can cart out each time but when can i shop.

I shop only in June and year end Nov/Dec. Reason is because there will be alot of sales everywhere and somehow the nicest designs are out during summer or spring which is more suitable for SG’s weather. I shop more in Taobao recently. Most of my buys are less than SGD30 except for the coats which cost about SGD50. And i only buy when i need something and i mean i really need it. I buy things but i don’t spend money anyhow.

Yup , so i actually went on a “shopping drought” from Jan to May and June to October. The only thing i bought was skincare in between because i CANNOT live without my daily skincare routine. But i don’t anyhow buy lah. I make sure im left with half a month supply before i buy a new bottle. And also before i buy , i will ask for samples to test out and see if is suitable for my skin before i buy the full product.

I have the habit of putting everything into cart but never cart out. Because some of the items in the cart i know that i added them in on impulse lol..so i wont check out. Only when i need an item ( eg my bag tore recently ) so i bo bian have to buy one.

A client of mine has problem saving because she spend about $2k a month on clothes online so she decided to do up a saving plan with me. It is not easy to ask someone to “quit” one thing totally but i encouraged her to slowly cut down bit by bit. It worked. She see her savings increases and it gave her the courage to make more effort to save more besides saving in a saving plan. It is all about discipline. Save it at somewhere you don’t see it. Out of sight , out of mind and you will not think of spending.

If you want to shop and buy clothes without spending alot of moolah, you can try Taobao. I got some work wear for 2017. Well , i have only 5-7 sets of work clothes and have been wearing same thing for the past 8 months. Some of them started furring because i wear them at least twice a week. It is always that same ribbed top with culottes/skirts or the simple black dress. Time for a change lol. You know you need it when your male client asked why you always wear same clothes to meet him. Just kidding lol. But he really did said that.

Here are some work clothes which i got at less than RMB35 (SGD7) and the quality was really a surprise.

The skirt cost only RMB29 which is approx SGD 6.

Back pic of pencil skirt at RMB 29 (SGD 6)

Bag to store my documents/files/ipad for work – RMB 33 (SGD 6.50)

Stripe skirt (got the black and white one) for RMB 25 (SGD 5).

Here’s what i got at less than RMB 99 (SGD 20)

RMB 99 (SGD 20)

RMB 89 (SGD 18). Getting this for a wedding dinner.

Got the silver pair at RMB 88 (SGD 18). Because i have to walk alot during roadshows or at work , my feet sweat alot and i have to change my shoes every 3 months. So i won’t really spend alot on shoes. Probably a $20-$30 pair which can last me for 3 months at least.

Got this work dress at RMB 99 (SGD 20). Saw some shops in FEP selling this at $229 and heng ah i found this on Taobao when i was swiping taobao app before i sleep.

Travelling to Korea in winter and need a winter coat. So i got this at RMB 198 (SGD 40) .

Seriously , this coat is really damn thick. Inside has quilted paddings and really good quality. This shop sell coats that are supplied to Korea.

I am very taken back by the quality of the Taobao stuff i got. I got all the above for SGD 145 only and shipping was RMB 105 (SGD 20 partly because of the heavy coat and shoe box). So add up to $165. Shipping per item is an average of SGD $2.00 only. These stuff will last me for next 1 year.

Lol…i think im quite kiam..i wont cart out anything more than RMB 200 (SGD 40) for coats and RMB 100 (SGD 20) for dresses/skirts/tops.

Go for SALES , Go for CHEAPER alternatives and CONTROL your spending.

Sometimes i will ask my clients to go home and open their wardrobe, ask them what are they going to do to those that they don’t intend to wear anymore and how many times have they worn per piece in their wardrobe ? How many pieces were bought and ended up sitting there in the wardrobe doing nothing ? How many pieces of clothes (don’t count number of bags of clothes but count the number of pieces !) did they donate off to salvation army or throw away during CNY spring cleaning ?

You can buy clothes that you like. But THINK and CONTROL before you buy. Do you really need it ? Is it on impulse ? How long will you wear ? Save for bigger things in life. Save for your future.

What is your dream ? Do you have one ?

I have mine and let me share with you.

My hubby and i are saving for our house. We are waiting for his PR application and we want to have a house of our own. We want to have kids and give them good education and life. That is why we are both working really hard at work and giving our best. He works hard for his company and i work hard , take care and protect all my clients. I protect my clients as in not “protective” adviser who scared other people poach my clients. I believe my sincerity is one thing that won them over and i will help them in anything even anything outside the finance scope which is why my clients trusted me and we are like friends. I treat them as friends and not just clients. And we all do our best for our friends.

Do you have a dream or a goal ? Save and work hards towards your goal or dream and im sure you will achieve it !

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.

Nov14

#Smartlady

This week was an eventful week. I had a day surgery and scopes done for my stomach and colon , my client who was pregnant was hospitalized due to appendix infection and due for surgery, a friend was diagnosed with an illness , a friend’s dad suddenly fainted and was pronounced brain dead and a friend’s toddler had cancer.

Since i started this insurance and finance profession early last year , most of my clients…i would say about 2 out of 5 have medical issues. My clients are between 1yo to 40yo (youngest is newborn). Hence some of them have issues getting life insurances and i have to fight for their cases so that they can have the optimal insurance coverage.

My surgery and day ward cost about $4000+ (all claimable by Integrated Shield Plan with my Private Insurer) and i have not included the post surgery follow up.

I should have went to see the doctor in August but because of my work and wedding preps , i dragged on and somehow it worsened. So i decided to make the call and get my doctor appointment fixed and tell myself i have to go no matter what. Took a day off and just go. I went to the hospital alone. Surgery took 45 mins and everything went fine.

If you feel something is not right , go for medical check and if you have not done the check for many years , go for it. Also , if you have not gotten your Private Insurer hospital plan done up , better go for it. If you have not done up your life insurance or beef it up , go for it. Don’t take the risk alone. Diverse the risk to your insurer.

A friend of mine did not go for the plan and the other had partial coverage and only went for the main plan with Prudential (paid by medisave only). They were both diagnosed with conditions and because of the size of the hospital bill , they procrastinated and did not want to go ahead further with the checks and their response to me was “just wait and see first how is it”. The concern of the bill size came before their health.

Some felt that they spend that $700 a year on hospital plan or $2k on a life insurance but if he only claim $4000 from hospital plan , it is “bo hua” ( Not worthy ). And if no claim made , even more “bo hua”. It is not about value worthy but to have financial safety net because your life is more valuable and time with your love ones are more precious.

Insurance is not about “profiting” from an illness that drains our body energy, drains your bank account , takes time away and burden your family. Frankly speaking nobody likes or wants to make a claim. No insurance agents are happy to that their client is making a claim. Not because they are lazy to process the claim or they find it troublesome. But because sometimes friendship are forged and nobody will feel happy to know that their friend is sick.

Not all insurance agents are salesman-ish. There are good and reliable ones who are really passionate in helping people to do planning with integrity and sincerity. Give those you meet a chance , if you are not convinced with them , then don’t meet the 2nd time. You may not know you will meet a good and proper advisor or maybe even made a good friend who will change your life. Give yourself options and give others a chance. If you are in financial trouble because of an illness, your family can only help that much , your friends will only visit you in the hospital with flowers and fruits and only your private insurer can solve your problem and buy time for your to spend with your family.

So here is something i want to share : Don’t take TIME for granted. Don’t procrastinate. Don’t wait for things to happen and it will be too late.

These words are not just from me who is an financial consultant or your next door insurance agent but from a normal human being just like you who is also somebody’s wife, somebody’s daughter and somebody’s friend.

Go for your medical checks if you need to and have to , don’t wait. Mai tu liao !

Also another update , went for review and i have to go for a fortnightly therapy which costs $600 every 2 weeks till im cleared from condition. Fortunately , all claimable from insurance. Even you don’t have financial issues , don’t work just to pay for your hospital expenses. Don’t wait till something happen and then go and get it then it is too late. This kind of things happened to some of my clients. Speak to someone if you have to and if you have no one to turn to and want to ask me questions, feel free to email me anytime peonykissblog@gmail.com .

Speaking of health issues , my hubs and i are planning for children probably next year. Going for gynae check ups first.

Anything i should look out for ? Care to share ? Can email me peonykissblog@gmail.com.

Thank you !

Nov1

I noticed my skin looks more translucent and radiant lately. I actually changed my entire skincare products because the previous sets finished already and so i got new ones in October. Got new toners (Mamonde) , serums (Nature Republic and CNP) , ampoules ( CNP ) , emulsions (Mamonde) , moisturisers (Nature Republic and Real Barrier) and essences (Hanskin).

Here are some of the few i just got recently and started using. The rest are still nicely kept in my stock up corner lol,

Hanskin Hyaluron Skin Essence.

Price : KRW 30,000 (but i got it at 50%off for KRW 15,000 during Watsons storewide sales).

Texture : Feels abit like liquid serum. Not very watery and easy to glide and absorbed into the skin.

This feels really good and easy to apply. I really like this because of the texture and how easy it is to glide onto the skin. It is very moisturising and smells good too. After applying it and absorption , i can see that my skin looks more hydrated and radiant.

It is very hard to find Hanskin stuff. I got this at Watsons though.

Nature Republic Shea Butter Steam Cream

Price : KRW 30,000 ( But i bought it during Korea Sale Fiesta at 50% off KRW 15,000 )

Texture : Feels like the soya bean pudding ( ya , i know right , what a description ! ). This is actually a popular product because of the moisturizing effect. It comes in 3 different types : Fresh , Moist and Ultra. I got the Moist one.

It promises 48hrs of hydration. I use this as a night cream/sleeping pack because it is very moisturising. Will be too moisturising to be used a moisturiser. It really hydrates my skin overnight when i sleep in air conditioned room. I really love this. It also hydrates my skin when i was in Korea during autumn.

I think this bottom can be used very long. Because of our humid weather , i do not need to apply that much.

I bought this as wedding favours for my Korean wedding too.

After 2 weeks of use , still got so much left. If you are looking for something hydrating and affordable , this is one product you should get.

CNP Invisible Peeling Cleansing Gel.

Price : KRW 18,000 ( Got it at a discount during Korea Sale Fiesta too ! )

Texture : Watery Gel like and easy to foam up. I like the smell of the foam. Smells like those aesthetic clinic used cleansers. It is not very drying also. It promises to remove dead skin cells also. My skin looks brighter and clearer these days. So not sure if this is the product or the one below and all above that is contributing to it.

Nature Republic Ginseng Royal Silk Watery Cream

Price : KRW 66,000

Somehow i feel that this maybe the one ? I use this as night cream because it is quite oily and rich despite being a “watery cream”. It is very hydrating and i like the smell. Feels very luxurious also. But ..the bottle is very big and chunky. Super mafan to open the cap. I apply abit only because it is abit oily. I would recommend this as a day moisturiser. Because

Transparent gel like “watery cream” with gold flakes.

I apply this on alternate days and find improvement in my skin tone.

I bought the serum too. Review later !

Nature Republic Aloe Vera Cooling Eye Serum

Price : KRW 10,900

Not much of a cooling effect as it stated but quite moisturising.

Texture : Abit sticky.

Ehh.. this one not really a MUST BUY product. Unless you are looking for eye gel at the moment , this can be one of your choices.

I use that to gently massage my eyebags . I usually keep all the emptied tubes and just use the rollers to massage my eyebags.

That’s all for today ! Lots more to review after i opened and used them for a week !

Review : My Favourite BB Cushions

Oct31

#Kbeauty Time !

Back from Korea for 2 weeks already but i have yet to sort out my cosmetics and skincare. So i decided to spend my Sat morning to pack and sort them.

I used to hoard and buy alot of Korean cosmetics when i first got to know and try them. I don’t know but maybe that time i am curious and want to try as many and also i seldom travel to Korea so i thought i should buy more at once and stock up since they are much cheaper there ( 30-50% cheaper to buy in Korea than SG ). But since now i go there twice a year , i don’t hoard or stock up that much already. They update their product range every season and there are always new products and new colours. I used to stock up alot of one thing and when there are new colours or new products launched, i regretted getting many of one kind because i need to use finish before i change. If not very waste money leh.

But there is one thing that i will really stock up no matter what …..guess what ?
BB Cushions !

I use them everyday and i touch up maybe once or twice a day especially after meals. So one refill can last me only 1 to 1.5 months. And there are different kinds of cushions for different days and depends on my skin condition on that day.

I just sorted them in a tiny box and also according to the expiry. All cushions in this box were bought this year and expires till end of 2019. You can find the expiry and manufacturing date at the back of the cushion.

The different brands im using now :

From left to right..

Age 20’s Essence Cover Pack 3 X ( no 21)

Hera UV Mist Cushion Ultra Moisture ( no 21 )

Pony Effect Everlasting Cushion (Ivory)

Laneige Whitening BB Cushion (No 13)

Iope Moisture Cushion (No 21)

Leaders Insolution Cushion (No 21)

Pony Effect Everlasting Cushion in Ivory

Usually i use this on days when im wearing bright red lipsticks. Because this cushion makes my skin looks really fair which compliments with my red lipsticks. Also it will make your skin looks alittle “oily”.

Reviewed here before : https://peonykiss.com/tag/pony-effect/

Age 20’s Essence Cover Pact 3X in No 21.

This is a new cushion my MIL bought for me. It is a 3 in 1 kind of cushion which include sunscreen , skincare (essences) and bb cream. I was told that this is the IN thing among youngsters now so my MIL ordered a box of cushions + refills + serums + liptints for me. I have not done a review yet and shall do one for this one.

The one below is a new one. The one im currently using and kept in my bag looks already cui because i have been using it for 2 weeks already. I really like it ! It is really moisturising. I can feel the moisturising essence on my skin when i pat it on my cheeks. My skin doesn’t feel dry nor does this cushion cakes. Lasting power is good because if i were to top up , i will look every fairer. Unlike a cushion , it is a abit pact like.

Price : Not sure how much it costs since it was my MIL who bought for me.

Coverage : 8/10

Dewiness : 8/10

Moisturizing effect : 9/10

Lasting : 8/10

This is suitable for daily use for all skin types.

This is the pact which im using now. There is a dent on the left side was because i thought it was “spongy” so i pressed very hard with my fingers and it kinda “cracked”. The red and white ones are essences from what i know. It is not powdery not creamy. It is like a balm. Feels good and smells good also. I have been using this for 2 weeks already ! I used it in Korea to when the weather was abit cold and windy. My skin still felt moisturised and the coverage on my skin doesn’t crack from dryness either.

Really nice ! you should get one to try !

Hera UV Mist Cushion Ultra Moisture in No 21

One of my Holy Grail . This cushion is super moisturising and suits when you travel to cold country. I use this one days when i have really dry skin. But i don’t really use this one very hot days because it will make my face look very “glossy” when i perspire.
I had done the reviews for this couple of times already.

One word review this time : BUY!

Reviewed here before : https://peonykiss.com/2014/12/04/10588/

Laneige Whitening BB Cushion in No 13.

I have not done a review for this too.

To be honest , i am a little disappointed with this. I bought it because of the cute cover and was curious about it since i saw the advert everywhere. It is very drying and though i bought it a shade lighter ( no 13) than my usual shade which was no 21 , it doesn’t really ‘whiten”. I will use this probably when days are very hot because it is quite matte actually. It oxidizes pretty fast also.

Price : KRW 26,000 after 20% discount off ARITAUM

Coverage : 7/10

Dewiness : 5/10

Moisturizing effect : 5/10

Lasting : 6/10

Leaders Insolution BB Cushion No 21.

Will review about this next week. Have yet to open ! Need to use at least 2 to 3 times before reviewing. Will compare with Hera’s Ultra Moisture cushion in next review.

Iope Moisture Cushion in No 21.

Will review about this next week. Have yet to open ! Need to use at least 2 to 3 times before reviewing. Will compare with Hera’s Ultra Moisture cushion in next review.

To be honest , i am tempted to try out the Semi-permanent make up BB cover procedure at Lee Na Young Aesthetics Clinic which is a new Korean aesthetics clinic in SG but it is quite pricey. Heard the aestheticians and director/doctor is a Korean lady and quite pretty. Abit tempted to go for it because seems interesting and convenient that i do not need to put on any bb cushion after going through this treatment. The bb cushion is temporarily inked to your skin just like eye brow embroidery. But the pricing hor…hmmm….read that the results will last about 4-6 months.

It is 12 am now. Need to go for a good sleep and prepare for tomorrow’s challenge !
Review more again ! Ahhh im still waiting for the photos taken on my actual wedding day in Busan.

The studio said need 1 month ….. ok lah..if they do swee swee for me then 1 month of wait is worth it.

Before i say good night…

Something to let you dream of tonight.

Tonkatsu + Kimbap rice + Fried Dumplings for KRW 7000 only !

At this in Haeundae Busan. Cannot remember where already. It was a random Ahjumma restaurant selling Kimbaps , Ramyeons and Tonkatsu…was tempted by the picture menu on the wall and we walked in to order this.

So shiok lor !

Busan : My Family in Korea

Oct24

After uploading the videos , i received several encouragements and good wishes from my readers and clients.

Thank you all for the support and kind words. I was happy to know that some of my readers felt so happy for me that they teared. Some followed me since they were 19 or 20 during their JC/Uni days till now. They have seen me going through many ups and downs in life and happy to know that i am happy now. Thank you all so much for the love 🙂 *Hugs*

Here are some snippets of our ROM in SG taken by my photographer friend Clarence Aw ( http://www.clarenceaw.com/ ) whom i engaged his service for that day.

Bought children Hanboks for my niece and nephews who were my flower girl and boy that day. Bought the Hanboks in Korea and had my brother-in-law to handcarry it to SG when he attended our ROM. It was 2 weeks before Chu Seok ( Thanksgiving Day ) when i ordered the Hanboks online so they were going at 50% off ! Quality was surprising very good and really satisfied with it. Esp the skirting for the flower girl. There are embossed floral patterns and made of silk.

Weather was very hot. My fringe all already stuck to my face and hair flat and cui already.

The baby breath flower ring was inspired by a Korean florist. I followed the florist on Instagram and i always “stalk” her instag to see the beautiful flowers and bouquets she made. Maybe it is the weather issue , the baby breaths in Korea are much more bigger and “denser” . The ribbon tie to it is Ferragamo inspired. Saw it on the instag and i forwarded to my wedding venue stylist to do something similar.

My guest reception table. I bought all the styling and decors for only SGD 80 from taobao including the huge LOVE signage with light bulbs.

This is very funny….he made the chair looked very very small. Whereas i fitted in nicely.

Thank you my dear friends for their help ( Elaine and girls ) for the help. Without them , i would have to do everything myself. I didn’t have bridesmaids for my wedding in SG and KR. LOL Mr Shin says no need only until the day because he doesn’t want to have the gate crash. He doesn’t want to “work” or “exercise” under the hot weather. You can watch from our Pre-wedding video. One thing he doesn’t like about SG is that …it is summer all year round. Lol. The only thing that motivates him to go under the hot sun in SG is BASEBALL practice nia.

Love the packaging from Framewerks for our Pre-wedding videos.

Our precious thumbdrive. Which Tommy rushed to edit and passed it to us at the airport before our flight 🙂
Thank you Tommy from Framewerks for the hardwork and we really love the videos !

You know , the thing i missed about Korea is not just the food or the skincare. But the food !

I just must have my favourite Andong Jjimdak whenever im in Korea. This huge plate..REALLY HUGE PLATE cost only KRW 30,000. Looks small on the picture because i was using my phone to take pictures and the angles. I cannot describe how bigger it was here.

Bong Chu Jjimdak restaurant is my favourite !

My mother-in-law cooked alot of my favourite and delicious food at home. Including my favourite Korean BBQ !

We even had it at home. I like this cozy home. The new apartment is going to be ready in 2018 so my brother-in-law rented a place for 2 years first while waiting for the new apartment.

Pork Bellies !

And my brother-in-law is really good at bbq-ing.

My mother-in-law’s 3 year old kimchi. I got a shocked to know that there is a 5 year old kimchi in the kimchi fridge too. Yes kimchi that she made 3-5 years ago. OH MAN…it tastes sooo good. The older the kimchi , the better it taste.

An earthquake happened when we were bbq-ing. Our dog was barking suddenly and then the news came that there was an earthquake. We couldn’t feel it though.

View from the window beside my bed. Ahhh sun , sea and mountain…. ~~~

This was taken after Typhoon Chiba.

Speaking of which , this is the first time i experienced a Typhoon. It was really scary. The sound of the wind was so loud , the rattling windows beside my bed. I was so afraid that the window will break and the glass will shatter and scratch my face lor . I couldn’t sleep the whole night because the windows kept shaking and made alot of banging sound. The Typhoon happened 3 days before my wedding. And my wedding was at Haeundae Beach which is the affected area.

We taped the windows to prevent it from breaking. A sudden gust of strong wind during the typhoon could have broken it or cracked into pieces.

News of the damage all over the news.
I also received alot of calls, messages and even emails from my relatives , friends and even my readers asking me to report my safety because they are worried. I was really touched by their concerns esp my readers. Im sorry if i cannot reply to everything fast on time because my phone was flooded with incoming calls and messages.

Typhoon started the night before and ended next day 12pm. Suddenly at 12pm , it is the “peak” of the typhoon. Where suddenly the rainfall was very very heavy and the wind was really really strong. Then suddenly once that was over, the sky suddenly just turned clear and sunny and everything was back to normal. Like really sudden. I was surprised also.

This was taken on the afternoon after the typhoon. Infront of my wedding venue. The Busan International Film Festival Village was destroyed and torn by the typhoon , tiles were overturned and wooden stuff and debris all over the beach. Alot of cleaners were picking up the pieces. Even after my wedding day , they were still clearing the beach and the hotels around.

This is the area and buildings you saw on the internet where the water gushed in to the buildings and swept away the cars. This was taken 2 hours after the typhoon.

Hehe Oppa and my brother-in-law always bring me out for nice food !

We had steam pork bellies ( Su Yuk ) at Oppa’s friend’s restaurant. Very very nice. Even my relatives and my brother went there to eat again and again.

This is his restaurant.

부산 해운대구 해운대해변로265번길 11-2 .

The restaurant is beside the BMW showroom along the main stretch at Haeundae. You won’t miss the BMW. So it will be easy to find.

I also had Si Chuan food at Busan University Street.

You must be wondering like..what the..go all the way to Korea to have Si-Chuan food ?
This one tasted really authentic. Same as the one i had in China 2 years ago.

Mapo Tofu

The Mala Xiang Guo is really nice. The wohei flavour was very strong also.
Super nice and i was pestering to go back for more hahaha. There is only one Si Chuan restaurant that sits 10 pax in Busan University Street. If you are nearby you should try.

Add is at 부산 금정구 수림로61번길 49 장성하우스 부산 금정구 장전동 155-16 .

Tel : 010-7474-8385 ( Owner of restaurant is Korean who speaks really fluent chinese ).

Steak from a kiosk in Seomyeon. 7900 won for a pax.

Tonkatsu + Kimbap .

Gosh this is soo sinful.

On the day we “climb” or walked up the mountain to my father-in-law’s , grandfather and grandmother-in-law’s graves.

That’s my MIL with her pet chihuahua Bomi.

After paying respect at the graves , we drove back to Busan and stopped by Changwon which was on the way to have this very famous beef patty. We wanted to go to the famous cold noodle restaurant at Jinju instead but the queue was so long and we have to wait for 1.5 hrs. So we decided to drive upwards and head to Changwon to have this instead.

OMG it is soo good please. Soo good that i didn’t talk and just eat and eat. It was cooked using fire and charcoal or wood.
So there is a very strong “fire” taste. Really very nice.

This is super duper nice.

I miss the food in Korea !

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 !

Aug17

This is one questions which many people has been asking me since beginning of the year.

Am i still continuing AE and any launches ?

I am going to take a break from AE at the moment. It is still running. There are part-timers handling the orders twice a week so no worries that nobody is processing your orders (twice a week).

So now , im doing a big clearance sale. Just added new items into the store and there will be 2-3 more to be added in.
All items are priced $5 – $10. If you wonder im bringing those $5 quality clothes to sell ? Nope …it is the usual fabric that we have been using and just that now is a big clearance sale.

I have discussed with Oppa and also myself whether i should announce to my readers/customers about what am i going to do with Agneselle.com and i think i should since many of them have been supporting me since i started it at 19/20 years old. Gosh can you believe it ?? when i was 20 years old ?? and i am 30 now ??? It is my baby and i would say i spent my youth in it. All started from loving shopping and love selling things.

Anyway will go into that further when i talk about #smartlady.

Shop your heart out now at http://www.agneselle.com .

$50 for 10 pieces ? Yes you can now shop at http://www.agneselle.com 🙂

Aug15

This post was in draft for almost 2 weeks. There are some personal things i want to share after much procrastination.

This post gonna be longggg since it was in draft for 2 weeks !

Something light-hearted to start first…

#KBS

Last week , i finally met up with almost everyone in the #KBS group which i created almost a month ago. KBS stands for Korean Boyfriends and Spouses. The group is made up of Singapore ladies with Korean fiances and spouses.

We had tze char at Melben and after that , we all go to Koryo mart to do our Korean grocery shopping. It was really nice to meet everyone and we shared alot of our experiences. Good to have support in Sg and in Korea. Alot of information we can share and help each other like applying for long term passes in Korea, registering marriage or child’s birth in Korea and SG etc.

We are planning for another pot luck gathering soon and this time with our other Korean halves. If you have a Korean spouse or getting married soon (engaged already) and want to join this support group , you can send me an email at peonykissblog@gmail.com . Glad to hear that everyone is happy to have this support group and people who are in the same situation and marriages.

#SGahjumma

Hehe i tried new dishes over the weekend. This is the first time i made Korean Japchae and Spicy Pork Ribs (Yang Nyeom Galbi). I was quite surprised by my own cooking this time round. So delicious and i cannot believe i cooked it too.

Alot of work for Japchae. Quite tiring to cook this. Alot of plates to wash too.

Here’s how you can cook Japchae :

Ingredients :

Korean thin potato noodles , shitake mushrooms , black fungus, carrots, yellow/red capsicum, onions, eggs, spinach, salt, sesame oil, black pepper, soya sauce.

1) Soak and wash mushrooms and black fungus in water. Slice them into thin pieces and squeeze out the water . Fry in pan with olive oil , add pinch of salt and black pepper.
Put into a big bowl and leave it aside.

2) Cut and sliced carrots and capsicums into thin strips. Fry in pan with olive oil and add pinch of salt. Put all into the big bowl together with mushrooms and fungus. Leave it aside.

3) Crack and beat 3 eggs. Fry it into a large round omelette. Cut into thin strips and put in a separate bowl
Do not mix in with 1) and 2) ingredients. Leave it aside.

4) Boil spinach for a minute. Take out and squeeze all water out. Slice into 3 or 5 cm sizes. Put in a small bowl and season with sesame oil and soya sauce. Leave it aside for awhile.

5) Cut onions into thin slices and fry with olive oil in a pan. Add a pinch of salt. Once the onions become translucent, pour it into the big bowl with ingredients from 1) and 2).

6) Boil the Korean potato starch noodle in hot water and once cooked, take out and wash under cold water and drain away the water. Use scissors to cut the noodles cos they are very very long.

Put the noodles in a frying pan and fry with olive oil. Add 5 table spoons of Korean soya sauce and sesame oil. Add 2 tea spoons of black pepper. Fry and mix to change colour of noodle to brown. Add abit of water so frying will be easier. How much soya sauce and sesame oil to add depends on the noodle portion you are cooking.

After frying the noodles, put into the big bowl with ingredients 1) 2) 5). Wear plastic hand gloves and mix the ingredients with the noodles. Add in the seasoned spinach into the big bowl and mix them together. Add some more soya sauce and sesame oil and black pepper. Lastly add in the thinly sliced eggs and mix everything tog with hand. Add sesame seeds.

Ready to serve on plate and add the last drizzle of sesame seeds.

Now you know what i mean by alot of work and plates/bowls to wash for Japchae. Cut , fry , mix and you repeat for every single ingredient. The more ingredients you add , the more work to be done. I didn’t add in any thinly sliced pork belly or beef because i don’t want my Japchae to be too oily (oil from pork bellies). So you can choose to add in the meat or not it is up to you.

Super yummy. Double work for me because Oppa said it is so nice and i cooked the other half packet of potato noodles. He ate the entire pack of noodles. haha 1 pack can serve about 4 pax.

Yang Nyeom Galbi (Korean Spicy Pork Ribs)

I cooked this too with the Japchae. Really multi tasking. One hand was mixing and the other hand was flipping the pork ribs in the pan.

How to cook Yang Nyeom Galbi (Korean Spicy Pork Ribs)

Ingredients : Prime Pork Ribs , Korean red pepper paste , Korean chilli powder , 1 green chilli , minced garlic , chopped onions , sesame oil , soya sauce , pepper , sugar (brown sugar/honey/white sugar …in my case i used brown sugar).

Well , you need a big round bowl to mix these sauces with the ribs. So get it ready !

In the big bowl , add 4 table spoons of red pepper paste , 1 table spoon chilli powder , 2 table spoon of minced garlic , half onion chopped into minced pieces , 2 table spoon of soya sauce , 2 table spoon of brown sugar, 2 table spoon of sesame oil and 1 tea spoon of black pepper. Mix all these sauces together.

2) Wash the pork ribs and squeeze out the water. Then put into the big bowl of sauces and mixed the pork ribs with the sauces in the bowl. Just keep mixing until the pork ribs are all red. Wear a plastic hand glove and mix it with your hand. It is easier and can mix better this way and so that the prime ribs can be well seasoned. Leave it aside for 20-30 minutes before you start cooking it.

3) Add olive oil in a pork of frying pan or pot. Pour the entire bowl of well marinated pork ribs and the sauces from the bowl into the pot. Fry on high heat before switching to medium heat. Add abit of water and leave it to cook and stir and flip the ribs so that it will not get burnt on one side.

Once done , serve on a plate or the Korean earthen ware. I heat up the earthen pot first before transferring the well cooked pork ribs from the frying pan/pot into the earthen pot. The pot keeps the sauce and the meat hot and warm. The meat can be abit tough and hard if it gets cold.

If you don’t have the earthen ware , you can just serve on a plate.

Cut the green chilli into thin slices and garnish the ribs together with sesame seeds. Some people add the green chilli when they mix the sauces in step 1) but i don’t really like to eat green chilli so i didnt add in from step 1.

The pork ribs looks difficult to cook but actually it is the easiest compared to Japchae ! Just mix all the sauces together with the pork ribs and cook.

Korean soya sauce and Korean sesame oil are commonly used so if you are interested in cooking your own Korean dishes, these are the must haves in your kitchen. They are not that expensive. about $3.60 for big bottle of soya sauce and $3.90 for a small sesame oil. I bought a tin of $14.90 sesame oil (in medium size tin packaging) since i cook often.

#Kbeauty

Here are 2 of new additions into my daily skin care routine which was mentioned in the previous post. I realized i have not reviewed them yet.

It actually took me awhile before i decided to try this brand. I read reviews online and to be honest i don’t trust alot of beauty reviews or i just read their reviews with a pinch of salt because most beauty reviews are paid to do so. And it is hard to determine a product is good or not just by trying it on the back of your hand only for the first time and once. I actually went to try the tester bottles many times before i decided to buy and try. And at most if it didn’t work , just use and apply on my neck lor. CNP products are not that cheap even though they can be found in drugstores like Olive and Young (Korea), Guardians and Watsons ( in SG ). But im glad these 2 products works for me and worth the buy for me.

CNP Invisible Peeling Booster

It promises to remove dead skin cells and boost skin radiance/brightening within a week. It is to apply before toner. You don’t actually see “dead skin cells” coming off like using a peeling gel. So don’t expect to see “beads” or “rolled up” whitish stuff when you apply. Does it boost skin radiance ? The difference is not alot but i can see my skin is slightly more radiant after using it for a week.

I really like this alot. There is no need to rinse off after applying. This is the first thing i apply after my shower before i proceed with toner. It is very expensive in SG. But in Korea, Lotte mall is having 20% discount and this is only KRW 24,000 now. It is about SGD49 if you were to buy in Guardian.

I also got the Propolis Energy Ampule. I usually apply this before my sheet masking. I alternate this with Hera hydration ampule.

I feel that CNP Laboratory is like Leaders Insolution brand. They are products from aesthetic doctors and dermatologists in Korea. I really like these products and so i actually carted out a peeling gel and the serum also from CNP from Lotte.com ! Can’t wait for my bro-in-law to bring them from Korea for me this Sept ! He is coming to SG yay ! I wonder where to bring him around and activities to do. He takes really good care of me and i want to be a good host when he comes too.

Will review the peeling gel and other serums once i started using them for at least 2 weeks and if it is good !

Gonna continue the #Smartlady draft . Some personal things and experiences to share and hope it helps girls out there. And new review on the lip tattoo i used.