Apr17

Finally i managed to get the Etude House Nymph Aura Volumer from my recent trip. I have been wanting to get this since beginning of last year but it discontinued in SG.

This primer helps to give a really dewy skin look. A short cut to dewy skin look. Instead of mixing your foundation with moisturizer , mist or facial oil , this gives you an instant dewy look. Not recommended to use this alone unless you want to look like as if you just finished a 2.4km run (without make up of course) or someone with super oily face.

This is to be used with a foundation or BB Cushion. It is not expensive. You can get it at KRW 14,900 .

I signed up for an Aritaum membership card using Oppa’s brother’s mobile no. I can’t seem to sign up with a Singapore mobile number but i managed to sign up with a Korean mobile number. With the membership , i can get to enjoy 10% discount off all purchases from Arituam , Innisfree , Etude house etc etc and cash rebate which later i can use the cash to discount from my purchases.

This is a short cut to create a “mul-gwang” aka watery/dewy face make up look.

I really love this because it helps my make up to main the dewy look even though the weather was cold and dry.

Here’s a picture of the back of my hand with no make up , moisturizer or anything. Just dry looking back hand lol.

Without Nymph Aura Volumer

Let’s try without the volumer. I applied the Hera Vital Lifting Foundation with a sponge on the left side.

This foundation is not very matte and it does create a sheer dewy look too. I don’t like to apply thick layer of foundation so here’s abit to show you the difference without the volumer and with the volumer. If you want to cover your flaws or pigments , you have to apply more of the foundation.

With Nymph Aura Volumer

Firstly , i apply a drop of the Volumer on the right side of the back of my hand.

Texture is like a balm. What i like about it is that it actually helps to keep my skin moist because of its balm-like texture and my make up doesn’t “crack” or become “cakey” in the cold, windy and dry season. It also helps to keep my base make up together.

I spread the volumer across my face with my finger tips.

After the volumer , i apply the Hera Vital Lifting Foundation foundation on top of the volumer with a sponge.

You can also mix the Volumer with foundation together and then spread across your face.

The website says the ratio should be : 1 volumer : 3 foundation.

But on normal days , i use BB cushion where the BB cream are set in the cushion and i can’t mix it together like how you can mix it with foundation. So i go through the steps below where i apply the Volumer first then my BB cushion on top. Because the BB cushion sponge may absorb abit of the volumer , so for this case my ratio was 1:1. I applied one coat of Volumer and 1 coat of BB Cushion.

Here it is..looks more dewy and healthy looking.

And here’s the difference. The picture on the right looks dark because of the shawdow. Ignore the shadow and just focus on the difference in the “dewiness” . If you want a more dewy look , just apply more volumer.

Managed to find a picture on my mobile. The day when i was still sick and on the way to the baseball game.

I applied the volumer because i will be sitting in the stadium , out in the cold for 4 hours. I applied the volumer and Hera UV Mist Ultra Moisture Cushion No 21. Looks dewy and healthy right.

Nymph Aura from Etude House comes in 2 types – One with Pearl shimmer and one without.

Im using the one without the shimmer (No.3)

There is a stick version but i don’t like that. Very hard to apply to the whole face but that one is good if you want to use it as a highlighter for your under eye , cheeks and T zone only.

This is something you should get for a short cut and secret to dewy skin look !

Busan : Shop Eat Sleep

Apr13

Another update on my trip to my boyfriend’s hometown in Busan , South Korea.

Every morning , i woke up to the view of Seomyeon shopping and medical street.

The other side is the view of mountains. The air was so fresh and the breeze was abit chilly though cos it was end of Winter and it was really cold. Freezing at 8 degrees and sleeping on heated bed every night. As you can see the trees were bare from the winter chill.

So in the previous post , i blogged about shopping at Seomyeon shopping and medical street.

How to get there ?
Take the MRT and stop at Seomyeon station and when you come out from the gantry , you will be greeted with lotsa fashion shops and beauty shops like Innisfree , VDL , Clio Professional , It’s skin , Etude house , The face shop , Nature republic , Espoir , Holika Holika , Aritaum etc etc. Whatever brands you can think of that are Korean. The salesgirls in the clothing shops are not very friendly to foreigners. So it will be good if you can speak abit of Korean. And if you can speak and understand Korean , they will also be very aggressive in pushing their sales. Oppa and i spoke in English abit and the salesgirl wasn’t that friendly and i was not allowed to try the top. When we switched to speaking in Korean , the attitude changed. Suddenly become friendly.

You will see staircases at the sides , go up and and it is the street level filled with more beauty and fashion shops. The shops at street level are bigger but scattered everywhere. So it will be troublesome for you to compare prices, colours , sizes or whatever you need to compare and hesitate about. If you shop underground , the beauty shops are side by side or just opposite each other. So it is easy to move around the different brands and get everything one shot. There are more fashion shops underground than at street level.

We went on a trip to Oppa’s University with his mother. Yup , we were greeted with this beautiful beach/view which is just right in front of his faculty block. I was told this is the place where campus couples usually go on quiet dates and students have picnic here in summer.

Imagine sitting here and reading your school notes. Weather was pretty good that afternoon before it suddenly turned soooo cold at night. Checked the weather forecast and it was supposed to be cooling (18-23 degrees celsius ) instead of cold and windy. So I brought bandage and skater skirts , dresses , stockings and high waisted pants to be paired with crop knit tops but i ended up have to buy a new top and new pair of jeans because it was too cold. To be in fashion or keep myself warm ? I prefer to be more practical and that was to keep myself warm. So i borrowed the puffer coat from Oppa’s mother. I only brought a trench coat , denim crop jacket and a biker rider jacket.

This is a great place for photoshoot. Found lotsa secret places for photoshoot and if only it was summer , i could have done my shoots here.

I got my top from TOP 10 and jeans from one of the shops at Seomyeon underground shopping strip for only KRW 29,000. There are alot shops selling ripped jeans in Seomyeon. I wanted to get more but i don’t wear jeans in SG and it will be waste of money to buy all the colours i want to even though they are so pretty and chic ! So , i only got one pair. Im wearing size M . Their sizing are reallly small. I even wear size 28 for some Korean jeans.

The view was beautiful and noon sun was great before the weather turns cold late afternoon.

After visiting his University , Oppa’s mother drove us to Gamcheon Cultural Village.

It is like Italy’s Cinque Terre where you see colourful houses on the mountains and cliffs overlooking the sea.

Gamcheon Cultural Village is just like Korea’s own version of Cinque Terre.

Over here , you can get to enjoy cool and breezy view. And also learn more about Korean’s way of living back in the 1960s and when it is still not a developed country.

There are alot of phototaking points where you can go up to the roof tops to take picture and enjoy the view. If you are hungry , you can grab abite at the cafes or road side stalls selling hotdogs , spicy rice cakes and grab a cup of coffee if you feel cold.

Roof top on one of the cafes where you can write love notes and pin it on the railings.

Everyone was queuing up to take picture with this statue. I was on of those who queued for it too lol.

It ain’t scary as you think it is to sit here and take a picture with this little guy !

Oppa’s mother was feeling abit tired and cold after the long drive and walk . So we stopped by one of the cafes to have a coffee. There are alot of French themed cafes here. I realized that alot of Korean cafes are very French themed. Eg. the interior designs and music they played in the cafes.

You can buy sovenirs in the cafes but i think they are too expensive and over priced.

After Gamcheon Cultural Village , we went to Nampo-dong shopping street.

How to get there ?

Nampodong Station (Busan Subway Line 1) .

You can put Gamcheon Cultural Village , Nampo-dong shopping street and famous Jalgachi fish market all in one day. Because Gamcheon Cultural Village is just 10 minutes drive away from Nampo-dong and Jalgachi fish market is just next to Nampo-doing shopping street. So you can have lunch at Gamcheon Cultural Village or light snacks there , shop at Nampo-dong and then dinner at Jalgachi fish market. Also a super huge Lotte Departmental Store is located at Nampo-dong. You can do all of them in a day.

Oppa wanted eat Ho-ddok ( which is a kind of pastry ). So we queued for the famous one. There is a street in Nampo-dong which was lined up with alot of Tarot cards reading stalls and street food stalls. You know those you see in K-dramas. Where they had street food in a plastic sheet covered stalls.

Lotte Department Store Gwangbok is just next to Nampo-dong shopping street. Nearest MRT is Nampodong station , Exit 10.

The world’s largest indoor musical water fountain and the rooftop park, which is the largest in Korea and it offers a great view of the entire city of Busan.

Fyi , Lotte and Shinsaegae departmental stores close at 8pm. So you need to plan your shopping. Street shops don’t close that early and usually before 11 pm.

Street food galore. Street food can fill your tummies and there is no need to go to restaurants or cafes. So many things to eat and so many varieties of local food at Nampo-dong street. You can also visit Busan Tower located at Nampo-dong.

After the street food street is the shopping stretch.

Somewhere along this shopping belt in Gwangbok-dong , you can see an escalator and it leads you to Busan Tower. I have been there 2 years ago so i didn’t go this time. It is the Busan’s version of Seoul Tower. Kinda similar.

How to get to Gwang-bok dong ?

Take MRT to Nampodong station , Exit 1.

So in fact , you can drop off at Nampo-dong station and shop at Lotte , Gwangbok-dong and Nampo-dong shopping stretch. These 3 places are connected. So connected that you don’t know if you are at Nampo-dong or Gwangbok-dong lol.

And after that you can walk to Jalgachi market from Nampo-dong for dinner and go back to your hotel via Jalgachi station.

Difference between Nampo-dong/Gwangbok-dong and Seomyeon shopping stretch is that in Nampo-dong/Gwangbok-dong you can find more bigger brand names like MLB , New balance , Adidas boutiques etc and the shops are bigger whereas in Seomyeon , you can find more local designers and smaller fashion shops. Of cos , the ones in Seomyeon are cheaper than Nampo-dong/Gwangbok-dong. But for beauty brands , all outlets sell same things lah.

We walked further in to Gwangbok-dong.

We ordered Woo-Jing-Or-Tuee Kim ( Squid tempura ) , Korean pancake and Spicy Rice Cake ( Ddok-bokk-i )

Sooo nice !

Korean pancake with spring onion.

Shop and eat . Shop and eat. Because the street food carts were all lined up infront of the fashion shops.
It turned windy and cold so suddenly (8 degrees and im feeling so cold in my outfit ) ,. so the only comfort was to keep eating and drinking the free flow of Oh-Muk (fish cake) soup to keep my body warm. Busan is famous for their Oh-Muk ( Fish cake ) . You should buy them home or eat at the road side stall.

We were standing at the stall eating the street food for dinner and i don’t wanna leave because i felt so warm eating and drinking the hot soup.

Street food are very cheap. We ate so much and spent less than KRW 10,000

Jalgachi Fish Market at night.

So cold lor…i cannot take the cold and just want to go to the nearest Lotteria for a cup of hot coffee.

So we just rushed through a small stretch of Jalgachi fish market , walked back to Nampodong for final dose of Oh-Muk Soup before we head back to our home in Seomyeon via Nampodong station.

I bought alot of beauty products and make up when i shopped at Seomyeon which is just opposite our house. Last post , i blogged about the A.H.C (Korean professional skincare line) which was widely used in aesthetic clinics.
This post , gonna blog about a new serum i bought from Iope and a Leaders Vitamin C serum Oppa’s mother bought for me.

I heard about this brand called Leaders before but i don’t have the chance to try it because it is sooo hard to find. You can buy their masks in SG but not their serums , creams or cleansers etc.

This brand was created by dermatologists from Seoul University.

I tried this serum and i love it . Easily absorbed and after applying the serum , i can apply my emulsion , moisturiser and creams without worrying that it will make my skin oily. It comes with capsule beads which contains high concentration of Vit C. I have been using this for a week already ! I saw that there is a slight improvement in my skin tone. With this Vitamin C serum and other products im using , i think it makes my skin tone looks better and brighter. This is not easily available online and Oppa’s mother bought from the HOME SHOPPING TV program. Lol. That is her favourite TV channel. I tried to find it in Gmarket but it is not available.

Iope Moistgen Serum Skin Hydration.

I tried the samples before i bought this full size bottle. Some times you must be thick skin abit and ask for samples before you buy the full size bottles. I always ask for samples to try first so that im sure the product suits my skin condition before i spend money and buy. If im not wrong it is about KRW 49,900. Lol. I threw away the boxes and can’t remember the price.

What i like about this is that it is not oily and easily absorbed. Im currently using this and Hera’s Waterin Serum. I switched Hera’s Waterin Serum to night because the texture is more sticky than Iope’s. I find it easier to apply make up if i used the Iope one. Hera’s Waterin Serum is good and really hydrating too.

I had my Eyelashes done at Seomyeon eyelash extension studio.

I walked around Seomyeon and all the eyelash extension shops there are having promotion of KRW 30,000 which is approx SGD 35 only. I did it 3 weeks ago and the eyelashes are still very dense till today and i am happy with the results. Usually the ones i did in SG all dropped off within 2 weeks. But the one i did in Korea are still going on strong and dense even at the 3rd week. I took pictures with my HP but i have problem transferring them to the lap top to post it here. Once i have resolved this problem , i will post a picture for you all to see.

The shop i went to was called Magic Face. They do not have any website. I just chanced upon it and read from naver blogs and reviews from other Koreans. You can go to any beauty shops in Seomyeon to ask for the price and usually outside the shop , they will hang a banner or poster if there are any promotions. Seriously you should get it done in Korea instead if you are there for holiday because it is so cheap ! I had eyelash permed and extensions done for total of KRW 50,000 ! I checked with my Korean girlfriends. For eyelash extensions , usually it is only KRW 30,000 even in places like Seoul . It should not be more than KRW 50,000.

Mar12

Can’t wait for my Korea trip next week ! But i still gotta work even though im overseas and wifi accessibility is very important for me. So every time when i go to Korea, i will rent the Wifi egg from SK or KT telecom. Well , if i remember correctly , SK doesn’t cover whole of Korea. Only certain cities and you may experience weak signals in some cities. So incase you are renting the Wifi egg, check for the coverage in the cities that you are going to before you rent it. You can see Sroaming , KT or SK websites for information. Click HERE for KT’s Olleh wibro estimated pricing and coverage.

So before going to Korea, i will jot down my shopping list and also pack my luggage at least 1 week before my trip.

I ever blogged about it HERE .

I have not been blogging much about Korean skincare or cosmetics for the past 6 months. That was because i have stocked up enough and still using them. The products im using now (95% are from HERA are working well on my skin so im still using them ). I have blogged about them before. I have some new products which im buying. I was given some samples and i love it so much that i have to buy the full size.

Alot of people have been asking me about Hera and other Korean beauty brands and i realized that when i review them , i usually review all together and group them under the tag “Korean Make Up” or sometimes i forgot to tag. I will try to review each product one by one and tag them under the individual brands instead so that it is easier for anyone to refer to . YAY ? You can see individual brand tags at the side bar now. But because of memory size constraint , some pictures cannot be viewed. And some requested for me to redo a blogpost. I will do a summary of the basic HERA products im currently using when i have the time maybe this sunday morning.

Now it comes to packing my luggage.

I prefer to travel light. Especially im going to stock up a year supply of skincare products from Korea.

Well , heres what i packed for my upcoming trip !

When traveling during cold season like spring , autumn or winter , we need thick jackets, thermal wears , boots etc. They can be very heavy and you definitely want to travel light if you plan to shop ALOT.

Good thing about traveling in Spring , Autumn and Winter is that there is nothing much to buy and if you are traveling to Korea, you probably can only buy tonnes of skincare ! LOL can save money ! I only changed SGD600 to KRW for this trip lol.

I love those kind of thermal wears which you can easily buy from any Korean boutiques for KRA 14,000 t0 KRW 25,000. I got some of them during season sales at KRW 9,900 !!

Not only do they keep you warm and are light weight, they do make you look good too. I realized Korean fashion styles are either very very tight clothings or very very baggy clothings. There is no in between. I love their skinny jeans because they are super tight and nice. But the sizing super small. I wear their size 28 even though im a ZARA size 34. I was like WTF ! IM FAT but chey….it’s their sizing issues not mine.

Here are some that i bought during season sale or in Spring/Autumn (picture below) , i just pair them with stockings and booties or boots thats all. They are durable and im still keeping them even after 2 years. You can hand wash them so there is no need to spend on laundry services. You can mix and match them with skirts , stockings or pants. When wearing skirt , i tuck it in.

If you travel often and prefer to travel during cold seasons and you happen to visit Korea, then you should stock up trendy basic pieces from there (like the ones i got below ) because they are so cheap. Even angora knits and fleece leather leggings are priced at KRW 19,000 – KRW 30,000 only. Don’t expect to wear them in SG. I tried it before…IT WAS SOO BAD AND HOT TO DEATH. I ended up with heat rashes. These pieces will look good with booties , walker heels or peep toe boots.

I don’t know if it is their photoshop skill , but the model’s body is too perfect.

Leggings. It is a chore to layer and layer of pants or thick and heavy jeans. That’s why i prefer to wear leatherette leggings. Fashionable and also there are some that comes with fleece inner layers to keep you warm while still looking good and fashionable. Hehe..i have a total of 6 pairs. 2 normal ones without any fleece for spring , 2 pairs with thin layer of fleece for Autumn and 2 pairs with thick furry fleece for winter for sub-zero degrees. They are light weight, easy to pack and i bought them at only KRW 9,900 except for the winter ones at KRW 13,900 probably because of the thicker fleece layers. I can roll them and put in my handbag. Save space. I do not need to put on so many layer of pants when the weather turns cold because the fleece inner layer is enough to keep me warm.

Fleece layer to keep you warm

Trench coat. Their fabric seems much lighter than the ones i got from Zara and yet still keep me warm.

Trench coats are cheap if you buy them off season. I got this wool trench coat for only KRW 49,000. They kept me warm during my work trips and holidays. Cheap, nice and light. One problem is sizing. Their clothes are mostly FREE size..they are either too big or fits me nicely. Only the jeans are too small for me.

So if you are running out of clothing for cold season , just pack 2 sets over and get the rest there instead.

Shoes and hats.

Just buy from there. More variety , cheaper and nicer. Especially their sneakers and sport shoes. I love their range of sport shoes and sneakers. Sadly , i don’t really wear them out often so i don’t buy them.

Feb11

K-beauty time !

Ehh.. you know nowadays the weather is sooo shiok. Windy and sunny. Feels just like spring except that you can’t see any cherry blossoms.

My skin is very sensitive to weather changes. When i travel to somewhere cold or windy , my skin turns abit dry. And when im take MRT , my hands also feels dry that was why i always carry a tube of hand cream wherever i go.

Last year , i was in Europe for 5 weeks. Oppa was attached to Europe for few months and he bought me a ticket so i can go over and join him. The weather was very dry and cold. So i have to smack on lotsa hydrating sleeping packs or ampoules before i sleep.

But you know , SG’s weather is not that jialat. Just a little windy latey. So i bought a new moisturiser cream. Yes , most of my moisturiser are gels which is lighter in texture. Creams are slightly thicker.

I got the Primera Watery Cream Alphine Berry which is under Amore Pacific. Primera is one of their brands.

I was thinking of getting the Hera Waterfall Cream instead but i never tried that samples before. I always try at least 3 packets of samples per product before i decide whether to buy the full bottle or not. These products are not cheap. They are about SGD 60-150 and super waste money if i bought it and it doesn’t work or suit my skin type.

I tried this sample packs before i decided to purchase the big bottle. It is not very thick and oily which i find it very suitable for SG’s weather.

Very easy to glide on. It leaves my skin moisturized and i really like it alot.

Feb9

K-beauty time again !

I was reallly really busy with all the rushing of CNY orders , photoshoots and after CNY designs since Dec and so i couldnt blog much here and talk more about beauty care and make up. I just got new moisturizer cream ( that isnt oily ) and soft peel gel too which i want to recommend but i find it very good. Also , some Korean food recipes !

These were logged on my schedule book but i just need to find a time to write it properly.

Last week , i went to Yoona’s ( my make up artist for Agneselle’s photoshoot ) house for eye lash extension. Yes , she is a Korean and she attended make up schools in Korea. And she knows how to do eye lash extension.
BEST PART is that….I experienced no itching and after 1 week , only 1 tiny lash dropped off. The rest are still intact. I was kinda curious and amazed that i experienced no itching. Cos i experienced itching along the lash lines when i had it done at some Japanese eyelash salons. After she told me why it itches. And for her technique , the glue doesn’t come in contact or stick onto the skin so it wont itch. She took 3 hours to painstakingly stick single lash by single lash onto my eyelash. Was quite amazed by her patience and detailing. Most detailed MUA i ever met and also the most hygenic one.

Saw her make up room at her house where her bridal customers go for trial make up. I had a good sleep for 3 hours and woke up with super beautiful eyelashes. Already 1 week and they are still as luscious as the first day. But unfortunately , she doesn’t do eyelash extensions anymore and only do for her friends/relatives now.

YAY ! Let’s see and maybe i wanna top up before my trip to Korea end of March. Lol.

And my skin was super bling bling and radiant from the laser toning done at Aeon Aesthetics and Medical Clinic which i will blog about in the next post. My Olympus camera was down and lately , i have to go out taking pictures with my Galaxy S4 😦 .

On Sunday , i went to Parc Oasis Condo for BBQ with Oppa’s baseball.

I can imagine going out with them and eating endless food from lunch time to dinner time.

That always happens and everyone is sooo nice and giving me best part of the dishes.

Highlight of the BBQ was not just several styrofoam boxes full of pork belly and more pork.

But this time , one of Oppa’s senior works in seafood trading/distributing company and we got 3 styrofoam boxes of lobsters, king crabs , mussels , scallops , crayfishes for only $300++ ! Best of all , the meat was sooooo juicy and huge ! I cut open a lobster and wanna take picture of the FAT , THICK and JUICY meat but…my hands are dirty…LOL. Suddenly i felt that the seafood/crabs/lobsters in a bag kind are super over priced and not worth it. I went to one last year and i had 1 crab and lobster and a bag of prawns for $360++ and i couldnt find much meat in the shells lor..I still must cook ramen when i went back home lor..cos not full enough. Going to Jumbo is definitely more worth it lor..can eat one full meal with many dishes and crabs.

My mum asked me to order for a BBQ. LOL..i have to ask my Oppa to help me with it.

Side dishes which goes well with the pork bellies – KIM CHI.

One of the Oppa supplies Kimchi to supermarkets and restaurants and he is the one who provided the kimchis for all events lol.

Kimchi and Lettuce goes well with the pork. Wrap them together and nom nom everything in your mouth !

Alot of drinking too and drinking game.

Cartons of beers and sojus and more sojus. Everyone went home drunk and i have to support and hold my 1.86m giant back home. Fortunately i was not crushed by his weight. LOL. Gosh and he forgot how he got home.

My giant below was drinking so happily. Lol. Thanks dear for being able to walk even though you are drunk. If not i may need to get 6-8 men to carry you back home.

I was eating non stop since 1.30pm to 7pm. Just popping food in the mouth. The only time i stopped was to talk lol. Super fat after that. Shucks i need to go for exercise soon !

Everyone is so friendly , nice and soo caring. Not the MCP Koreans you thought they are.

I had the last photoshoot for the month of Feb today. And next monday will be a busy month for me again because i need to rush alot of things before my VERY IMPORTANT trip to Korea.

Look out for my next blogpost for K-beauty. Some good products which i bought and i really liked it !

Jan31

Alot of good food this week but i was soo swarmed with work and appointments that i have no time to go down to the gym or classes 😦 And im gonna have 2 photoshoots this coming week . Going to be super shagged out. Well , this stress and busy schedule made me shed 2 kg off the scale lol.

We had dinner at Sum Kee Food at Telok Blangah which is walking distance from Oppa’s office. It is a Zi-char stall. The food was really nice and cheap. I love the salted egg chicken the most. Soo yummmy !

Lol ..the pics were all veryyy blur as usual..guess who was the one who took this pics ? ( not me hahaha ) .

Love this place because of the food and away from the crowd. The place is always full house in the evenings. So we always go after 7.30pm. The staff are very friendly and super attentive. Food was great too !

And on friday evening , met up with my Korean make up artist and her good looking Singapore hubby and also my Oppa. We had dinner at Woojung..no pictures because i was too hungry and can’t wait to eat. Super sumptuous meal with 10 strips of Pork belly , one big hot pot and cold noodles , 2 beers and 1 soju. It was a really great catch up because we share some similarities which is international relationship/marriage (Singapore + Korean).

Oppa told me that this coming trip to Busan in March , he will discuss about marriage with his family. So this trip is a big thing. I was very nervous..abit scared..if his mother agrees , it means we have to start planning. I learnt something new about Korean marriage when i talked to Yoona and Oppa that day. Some men only propose on the day of marriage during the wedding ceromony , some only a week or days before. Unlike in SG , couples get engaged 1-3 years before their ROM/wedding banquet.

In SG , couples take years to prepare and save up . Partly because alot of money is involved and everything in SG is soo freaking expensive. Buying a house and wedding need alot of cash. And after that , still need to save up again to start a family. OMG SG is too stressful. That was why some of my friends don’t want to have babies. Because of money. After buying a house and wedding , they need to save up for another 2-3 years before they start a family.

Whereas in Korea , most of my friends got married within 6 months after proposal. One of my friend was proposed to in Dec and she is now preparing for her wedding in Spring. All done in less than 4 months ?! At first i thought it was shot gun. But it was not lol. Another friend proposed to his wife on wedding day. But before that , the couples did talk about marriage together. Some of them asked me how come in SG , we can get engaged now and marry only 2-3 years later. In SG , most people buy house , get engaged , wait for house to come then ROM and have wedding banquet. Some ROM now but banquet come a year or few months later because of financing issue.

The reason why im feeling abit nervous is because i am a foreigner. Some families prefer their children to marry someone of the same nationality. But the society is slowly opening up. But still…nervous lah. After all the shit that happened in my life before , i hope this one is smooth sailing and i can settle down happily.

It was an interesting talk with Yoona and her hubby. She is very meticulous and careful. My readers who engaged her services were very happy. She takes pride in her work. Not into fame or instagram followers. Just concentrate and into her work which is creating beautiful make up which gained her many customers. I observed and felt this way. I am very happy with her service.

I did my research before i searched and confirmed which make up artist is suitable for me. I am careful about not using those who are into fame and those super bitchy and gossipy kind who goes around telling their clients about my personal life or work. Some did the make-ups or looks the way and what they want other people to see (by posting of their social media platforms) instead of what their clients want. I tried trial make-up sessions with some make up artists and i felt that they are like that. They don’t accept suggestions and don’t listen to what kind of look i want. In this case , they should hire or find a model to be part of their “desired” portfolio or their trial to create the look they want. Don’t use your clients as your guinea pigs. Because your bride is getting married on THAT day. If she doesn’t good in the make up look you want for portfolio , she can’t turn back time and redo it again. As for me , i only have the photoshoot on that particular day. I can’t retake again if it doesnt look good. It will waste my time and money.

Anyway , the meal was soo fantastic. We had a good 3 hours chat and can’t wait for the next meet up again !

I was kinda busy looking out for any tops which i can layer for my trip to Korea in March. But i ended up buying them from gmarket instead. It is cheaper and can keep me warm without layering too much.

Love this maxi dress to death . It is an upcoming piece from http://www.agneselle.com and i have been wearing it many times this week. This goes well for CNY because of the vibrant cobalt colour and white flowers.

I realized i haven’t blogged about this.

I made Korean Ginseng Chicken Soup (Samgaetang) last week for Oppa and his Hyung ( housemate who is older ). Hyung means elder brother in Korean.

The colour was supposed to be abit milky colour but i added some herbs so the colour looks abit like Chinese soup.

I did not stuff the rice into the chicken. Instead i have it separately. Oppa also don’t like it when the rice is inside.

Super easy and just need 2 hours of boiling after you throw everything into the pot.

Well , Oppa’s kitchen is super sparse. Because everyone in the house doesn’t cook except for Korean instant noodles. Even their rice are those instant ones. So sad..i don’t know is it because they have no time or don’t know how to cook. So most of the time , i do the cooking there. There is only 1 pot and 1 frying pan. The pot was too small for the chicken so i used the frying pan instead.

All you need is

1) Whole kampong chicken with the feet and head removed. Remove the innards. I remove the fats around the bum and other unwanted fats so that my soup is not too oily.

2) 1 whole big onion cut into half. Dont buy the small purple onions. Get those with orange skin ones that are big.

3) Korean ginseng. The Korean ginseng i have is very expensive and bitter. I usually use it to make tea so i bought the cheaper Chinese ones that comes with a packet of herbs which i used for this soup.

4) 10 cloves of garlic

5) 12 big red dates ( you definitely need at least 10 of them for a whole chicken to make the soup sweeter ). Big dates…not small one hor..You can buy from Fairprice. One big pack about SGD 3.65

6) 10 Korean chest nut. (with all the shells and husk removed ). In Korea, the men are the ones who remove the shells and husk. Because it requires alot of strength and work. I have problem removing it because it was so hard so Oppa helped to do it. Very hard to find this chest nut. I got it from Isetan supermarket at Orchard. My teacher said that some Fairprice Finest do sell (near the fruits/grapes section ) but i can’t find it there. Luckily , i chanced upon the chestnuts at Isetan Orchard supermarket. And i found it at wet markets too….sian..bought it quite expensive at Isetan.

7) Throw all ingredients from point 1 to point 6 into the pot. Boil with water for 30 minutes and then switch to medium-low heat for 90 minutes. Total 2 hours to boil.

8) It is ready to serve ! Before serving , add abit of salt and chopped spring onions.

9) Prepare a saucer with sea salt and black pepper mixed together. When you eat , dip the chicken in the sat+pepper. It taste very yummy ! You know when you go to restaurant , they always serve samgaetang with a powdery dip ? Yup it is just salt + black pepper.

Very easy right ? Just prepare all the ingredients , throw in and wait for 2 hours only.

You can try and see if it is nice !

Going to sleep soon. 2 shoots this week.

Skin looks good lately and here is a selfie !

Just BB cushion , eyeliner and lipstick !

Good night !

Nov29

This week was a a crazy week with back to back meetings and work going on.

I thought the week will be kinda “empty” with only my photoshoots, visit to Aeon Clinic and Korean class.
But ended up with more appointments and have to rush from places to places.

Here are some upcoming pieces.

I love this neoprene tube top to death. It comes in Red , Black and White. LOVE the red one the most !

And a keyhole top in dark navy !

Love today’s make up look. The natural make up look done by Yoona Han.

Went for a casual shipping industry event with D as his partner.

Kinda in love with rompers lately and i have been wearing rompers for the past 4 days !

This is an upcoming piece and i love the ruffle sides.

My mom’s OOTD photo taking skill improved alot lol. Quite nice this picture.

Was really happy my Tulle skirts finally arrived because we tried to find matching inner linings with the tulle. The tulles are soft and not rough at all. Love the 3 shades. They just compliment each other ! Tied them up together to look like a bouquet.

D and i are hooked to the Korean drama Pinocchio.

This actor Kim Young Kwang is soooo hot that im gonna melt lol.

I remembered me and 2 other friends were searching for his hmm topless photos while drinking coffee at Coffee Bean 313 Somerset. And we sent to the group chat at hours like 3pm during weekday. You know 3pm is the most sian time at work. Either food coma after lunch or you had a busy 6 hours morning and you still have 3 hours to go before knocking off and also it is the most tiring part of the day. I remembered how his pictures perked everyone in the chatting room and went very chatty and AWAKE after that. Lol Char , Eileen if you are reading this..do you remember ? Lol. Sounds like a pervert but remember having his picture on my home screen and the password pattern was set in a way that it went around his body lol. Ok..that was almost a year back ok..i was single that time. Now i have a bf…no more Kim Young Kwang home screen.

He looks sooo much like Lee Seung Gi when he smiles. So tall so charming..I like “gorilla” style kind of guy. Tall , big , beefy , sporty and tanned. I dont know why but my friends called it “gorilla” style. Cos they are tall and looks big sized.

The story line was really great. I love SBS dramas compared to MBC. Now we are also watching the new drama “Misaeng” on TVN .

Lee Jong Suk is not my kind of guy. Tall but too thin and too fair. Maybe just not suitable for my age. Too young.

These are the 2 lead actors in the drama Pinocchio

Left – Lee Jong Suk

Right – Kim Young Kwang

Which one do you prefer if you have to choose ?

My internet was down for 4 days. Starhub is really….im speechless..no words to describe.

No wifi from the kitchen onwards and always down. Last few days was down and i had no internet connection for 4 days. Ended up using phone tethering and exceeded my data. Because i need wifi to work ? Went to cafes like starbucks but the wifi there was too slow that i cannot load pictures or even load long emails. So sian.

SMRT was fined for repetitive breakdowns. Why not fine Telcos too ? Tooo many breakdowns this year. From mobile phones to internet. I was thinking of switching to Singtel. I always have to go to D’s house to use the wifi whenever Starhub was down at home or office. Now he is moving to a condo at Telok Blangah. So far from Bishan..what if my internet down again ? 😦

Just received a batch of samples for CNY. Cant wait for Dec and Jan collections ! Lotsa jumpsuits and new designs coming up ! Stay tune !

And some skin care tips to intro in a few days’ time. I have no internet access for 4 days and now i have access to the internet at D’s house , i have so much blogging assignments to do 😦

Be back here again 🙂

Nov1

I guess most ladies know about this brand 3 Concept Eyes ( 3CE ) which is a Korean make up brand founded by Style Nanda.

I bought and started my first 3CE product back in late 2012. My first buy was a lipstick.

And as time goes by , my collection grew to 10++ bottles of nail polishes , brush set , blushers , concealers , highlighters , face glow , eye cream shadows , lipsticks , lipglosses , eye shadows and more. Basically , i had the basic make up products from 3CE. The nail polishes are free when i order them from the website.

I remembered queuing for half an hour just to pay for the products at its flagship outlet in Hongdae.

What i like about 3CE is the very “M.A.C-ish” kind of packaging and impression. The colours are bold and alot of variety. They keep coming up with new colours just like any other Korean brands. Koreans like to play around with lipstick colours so you can find a huge range of lipstick colours when you shop at Korean beauty brands.

Here is part of my humble collection of products from 3CE. The rest such as the nail polishes , foundations and concealers were kept in a pouch because i seldom use or don’t use them anymore.

After using most of the basic 3CE make up products , i have to say that their lipsticks , shimmer sticks and lipglosses are worth buying because they are good.

I find their blushers so so only and their waterfall concealer is moisturizing but i was kinda shocked to see a “clear liquid” and the concealer oozed out of the concealer tube when i squeezed it. The clear liquid was kinda oily. The concealer doesn’t really cover up my eye rings. The Banila and Co and Nature republic ones cover better. The face glow was abit too creamy and oily that i felt my face is kinda oily after applying it. So i stopped using their concealers , face glow and foundation. I am currently using their face shimmer stick and lipsticks only.

The brushes are ok except for the blusher brush which can’t really “sweep” up the powder from the blusher.

If you would like to try products from 3CE , i will suggest that you start from their lipsticks first.

Oppa just got me some Mizon lipglosses. I haven’t get to use them yet and will review it soon ! Im still faithful to my Tony Moly Spring Orange lipstick and i am into my 4th stock within 1.5 year already !

Have a good weekend !

Aug22

When people heard that i have aesthetics such as laser toning , BBL and jawline botox done , their first reaction will be like ” You are still young , why do you have to do all these ? “

In my opinion , it is never too early to start. If i didn’t start early , i wouldn’t have such good complexion at all. My mother “forced” me to cleanse my face every day since i was in Secondary school. She will buy drug store brands like Biore and Shokubutsu for me and i started since young. When i was 16 , she bough a set from Lancome for me. Lancome used to have a skincare line for young girls like me back then and i think they discontinued this range after awhile. Then i moved on to other brands like Biotherm etc before i settled for Hera since last year. Well , i think that starting to cleanse and take good care of my skin since young is a good start but the only thing i regretted was how i loved tanning during my Junior college and University days. I used to think freckles are cute and now i just want to get rid of them.

Good genes play apart to in the good complexion. But as i grew older , my skin needs more help. When i apply my daily skin care , i don’t just slap them on my face and rub it in. Instead , i took sometime to massage the serum and lotions so that they are well absorbed into my skin. As we grew older , our skin start to lose abit of its elasticity and that is when lines start to appear. Nobody wants the skin on their face to look like a goose neck all saggy and loose right.

Though i am only 28 this year and my skin hasn’t reach that stage yet ( probably because of good family genes and skin care routine ) , i already started to apply and go for anti-aging and firming skincare and aesthetic procedures. I don’t want to wait for the skin to lose all its elasticity then i do something about it and by the time it will be tooooo late !

So last week , i had Aeon Diamond Lifting done at Aeon Medical and Aesthetics Clinic. This is my first lifting aesthetic procedure and i am soo in love with this. Really. My skin looks tighter and laugh line slightly reduced and my skin texture and radiance improved after one session. Even when i frown , the lines on my forehead are not that obvious. I still can see the lines but they are slightly reduced. Dr Kim told me that several sessions are required to achieve the optimal effect. Different people has different skin conditions, problems and time to achieve the optimal effect so you may want to consult the doctor before going for any procedures. Of cos you need to be abit discipline in maintaining it. You cannot expect to go for laser toning and then the next day go under the sun and get tanned again. In this way , you will never achieve radiant and fairer skin.

Too young to start on face lifting care ? No , i don’t think so. I am in my late 20s and i should start earlier.

Before i was lead to the medical treatment room to cleanse the make up off my face , i was really hungry and Clara served a Korean snack and orange juice. I always get to try new Korean snacks at Aeon and they are so delicious.

After cleansing , i was lead to the laser treatment room where Dr Kim is ready to do the Aeon Diamond Lift.

What is Aeon Diamond Lift ?

(warning : technical and medical jargon following!)

The “Diamond Lift” applicator provides a non-invasive skin tightening treatment, safe for all skin types, for the face, neck and hard to reach body areas. The applicator utilizes the proven (MP)² technology combining Multi-Polar RF and Pulsed Magnetic Fields. Providing no pain, no downtime or discomfort, the applicators unique electrode placement can treat around the eyes, along the jowls and other smaller body parts to smooth skin, wrinkles and fine lines

The Diamond Lift has 4 (MP)² synthesizers for face, neck and arms and each synthesizer simultaneously emits both RF and Pulsed Magnetic Fields. The energy rotates between any 2 synthesizers in an organized matrix, which homogeneously raises the temperature over the entire treatment area and creates a highly efficient woven dense energy matrix that penetrates deep into the different skin layers for maximum efficacy.

The synergy between Pulsed Magnetic Field and RF in the Diamond Lift machine significantly increases collagen and elastic fiber production in the dermis and it helps to improve the dermal blood circulation and the supply of nutrients and oxygen, and thus enhances the function of skin cells. These biological effects result in improved tone, texture and appearance of the skin, and a more defined facial contour.

Sounds very “cheem” and “medical” but it is good to know about the procedures before you go for any.

So in short , your skin texture and facial contour will improve.

A layer of glycerin gel was spread on my face before the procedure begins.

The gel warms up after time unlike when you go for IPL or BBL where the gel cools your skin. Heat is needed and generated for this Diamond Lift treatment.

Dr Kim checked on the temperature before we start.

The whole procedure took about 20mins. There is no downtime , no pain and no discomfort. If the applicator gets too hot , i will inform Dr Kim and he will lower the temperature abit.

Jina , the clinic manager will check on the temperature so Dr Kim knows when to increase or decrease the temperature. The hotter it gets , the better the results.

Because of the heat , my skin turns abit pinkish red. It is not painful. It is like when you press on your arm for too long , you will have red patches on the other hand and it goes away after awhile.That is when post Diamond Lift treatment comes into play to clear off the redness.

I had Diamond lift done on my forehead , cheeks and under eye area.

Diamond lift and post Diamond Lift treatment took about 30 minutes in total. There is no pain and no discomfort at all. It just feels like i just went to hot stone facial massage. The pinkish redness subsides within 15 minutes after i applied moisturiser. So you can put on make up and head back to work right after the treatment.

And here was my outfit of the day in an upcoming brushstrokes peplum top.

I love this procedure alot because it firms up my skin and improved my skin texture !
No , i didn’t cut my fringe. It is a clip-on fringe.

If you are interested in the AEON Diamond Lift Treatment, you can visit the clinic and asked about the treatment that I had done.

Aeon Medical and Aesthetics Center

Dr Michael Kim 김지효

FIRST and ONLY Korean Medical Aesthetic Clinic in Singapore with a Korea-licensed Korean medical doctor.

9 Scotts Road #06-02 , Scotts Medical Center @ Pacific Plaza S228210 .

Tel : 67332002 / 67332004

http://www.aeonmedical.com.sg

***

On a side note , Agneselle.com is launching today !

Previews are up on Agneselle’s facebook page !

http://www.agneselle.com

Aug16

Because i was feeling abit tired lately and i caught a cold, my skin became dry . It always happens when i caught a bad cold. I don’t know why too. And as you know i love dewy looking skin. So i now tried to put on mask pack twice a day after my daily skincare routine. I can feel how dry my skin become when i applied my UV mist cushion or foundation. It just doesn’t have the shine like it used to. So lately , i have been putting on the 물광 ( “Mul-guang” which means Dewy look like water. “Mul” is water and “Guang” is radiance or glow ) make up look. So that the skin looks dewy.

This is the back of my palm without any foundation.

I mix my foundation with moisturizer at the ratio of 1:1. If you want your skin to look more dewy , you can apply more.

I mixed it with a plastic spatula ( the one that comes with Laneige Water Sleeping Pack ). I didn’t throw these away. I keep them so i can mix my foundation with highlighter or moisturuizer.

Also , i spray some facial mist on the mixture before i apply the foundation (mixed with moisturiser and facial mist ) on my face with a sponge.

And i blend the foundation on my skin. Skin looks naturally dewy especially when reflected under light. I don’t like to put too much moisturizer because i don’t want my face to look too unnatural or looks like i have oily face. But if you want it to be more dewy , just top up more moisturizer and spray the facial mist on your face after blending.

I seldom use this method because i don’t have dry skin but i caught a cold and feeling really tired and my skin looks dry because of that. Usually i just apply my magic starter and BB cushion. And also because Hera’s waterin moisturizer is very expensive.

I went out with Eunjin and Miran last night for to Tanjong Pagar for Korean chicken and walking around China town. Both are Korean beauty therapists/aestheticians and they introduced me a product from Etude house that gives the natural 물광 ( Mul Guang) which i shall review after i got the product. It was a good chat with them learning about beauty tips and we exchanged our beauty tips. It is good to get more tips from these 2 beauty and skin care expert. And i have to share an awesome sunblock tomorrow too which i am so in love with right now.

Have a good weekend everyone !