Auspicious colours to wear in the Year of the Snake

Hello everybody ! In case you guys are superstitious like me, here's a chart with all the auspicious colours for the various zodiac sign. If you haven't know, our auspicious colours change every year so it largely depends on your zodiac sign and how it is affected by the lunar year.

So I am a Dragon and my lucky colours would be preferably Red followed by Orange, and then Grey. Looks like I am in deep shit because so far all the clothes I have bought are like White, Leopard print, Navy Gold and Flora. Does that call for a shopping spree ? Or maybe it is a sign. I have been trying to practice The Secret lately, asking for more money (obviously la !) and according to the book I am supposed to visualise, believe and act as though I have already received my wish. So meaning I must act as if I already got alot of money right ?

But anyways, got auspicious means there will also be inauspicious right. So here's the 2013 inauspicious colours that you guys die die must avoid.

Strictly no White and Green for me then ! But my new door colour is Green and I do have a few new White dresses. Oh wells. Keep for 2014 maybe ? Or at least until the Chinese New Year is over haha. Ban dan much ah. 

So there you go. Your auspicious and inauspicious colours for the year of Snake. May you guys win all the mahjong games you play and ban luck all the way this Chinese New Year !

AHG APPROVAL

Anyways, came home to such wonderful news. Our AHG is finally approved after 3 freaking months. We were given a $15,000 grant based on our combined income at the point of application. Okay la its not alot compared to many others who have gotten The max amount $30,000 but it is better than nothing right ? Fortunately at the point of application I was not working so the grant is higher.

Hair Grooming : iKon

About 2 weeks back, Mom and I went to iKon to do some finishing touches to our hair.

Our must-have breakfast whenever we need to stay full for a long time

Colour setting in

I told Mel that I wanted to have the same hair colour as the boyfriend so that I have complete the whole gentle Korean look. Can also conveniently act yi ge couple couple with the boyfriend right. But in the end, Mel chose something along ash brown cause he said the colour might turn out too lian for me. Gotta trust the professional man.

That's Mom in her new purple bob.

Lunch was at Sushi Express, AGAIN. Mom never fails to have Sushi Express everytime we are in Cityhall. I had my favorite usual, salmon don and seaweed salad. Oh by the way, this is the same sushi bar the boyfriend and I frequent several times when we went Taiwan 3 years back.

Here you go, my new hair for you. You might notice that it is significantly shorter than before and yes I sibeh heartpain the two inches of hair that got cut off cause my hair always take forever to grow. But whattheheck they were dry anyways due to my extreme blow drying bad habit so ya hair will grow again la.

Youtube

Here's a little shoutout for my friend Brenda. Everyone should follow her YouTube channel cause imho, she gives the best reviews ever. For me, I totally love her reviews cause we have almost the same type of skin so whatever works for her, should work for me as well.

Another of my favourite Youtube star, Jen. Jen gives the best make up tutorials which I personally find it very easy to replicate. Jen also does review videos where she shares with us her nice and naughty lists, as well as swatches from makeups to nail polishes.

Apart from stalking beauty gurus, I have a liking for cooking videos as well ! I totally enjoy watching chefs whipping up delicious looking gourmet but I never got my ass down to trying it out myself. I would love to cook though, if I can be excused from all the washing after that. One of my most favourite cooking channels is CookingWithDog.

If you guys have any channels to recommend, do feel free to leave a comment below and let me know. I am open to all types of videos so keep the comments coming in (:

Event : Senka X Ma Chérie

My first event for the year twenty thirteen. The event hosted 3 brandings of Shiseido subsidiaries - Senka, Majolica Majorca and Ma Chérie. Each brand were conducted in the sequence of how and what girls should do in their daily beauty routine. Skincare first, followed by makeup and then haircare. Invited Faith along this time since it has been some time we last met and I still have not passed her her little gifts from my Hong Kong trip. Speaking of which, Yucui's soda is still with me >.<

Us, after removing our makeup with Senka's Perfect Gel




All the girls at the event (photo ripped from QiuQiu's twitter)


Photo with QiuQiu


Photo with QiuQiu



I have really short chin, hais ):

What does your acne tells you ?

Zone 1 & 2: Digestive System — Eat less processed or junk food, reduce the amount of fat in your diet, step up water intake and opt for cooling things like cucumbers.

Zone 3: Liver — Cut out the alcohol, greasy food and dairy. This is the zone where food allergies also show up first, so take a look at your ingredients. Besides all this, do 30 minutes of light exercise every day and get adequate sleep so your liver can rest.

Zone 4 & 5: Kidneys — Anything around the eyes (including dark circles) point to dehydration. Drink up!

Zone 6: Heart — Check your blood pressure (mine was slightly high) and Vitamin B levels. Decrease the intake of spicy or pungent food, cut down on meat and get more fresh air. Besides this, look into ways to lower cholesterol, like replacing “bad fats” with “good fats” such as Omegas 3 and 6 found in nuts, avocados, fish and flax seed. Also, since this area is chock-full of dilated pores, check that your makeup is not past its expiry date or is skin-clogging.

Zone 7 & 8: Kidneys — Again, drink up! And cut down on aerated drinks, coffee and alcohol as these will cause further dehydration.

Zone 9 & 10: Respiratory system — Do you smoke? Have allergies? This is your problem area for both. If neither of these is the issue, don’t let your body overheat, eat more cooling foods, cut down on sugar and get more fresh air. Also keep the body more alkaline by avoiding foods that make the body acidic (meat, dairy, alcohol, caffeine, sugar) and adding more alkalizing foods like green veggies and wheatgrass juice. Another thing that most of forget – dirty cell phones and pillow cases are two of the top acne culprits and this area is what they affect the most!

Zone 11 & 12: Hormones — This is the signature zone for stress and hormonal changes. And while both are sometimes unavoidable, you can decrease their effect by getting adequate sleep, drinking enough water, eating leafy veggies and keeping skin scrupulously clean.

Zone 13: Stomach — Step up the fibre intake, reduce the toxin overload and drink herbal teas to help with digestion.14: Illness — Zits here can be a sign that your body is fighting bacteria to avoid illness. Give it a break, take a yoga class, take a nap, take time to breathe deeply, drink plenty of water and know that everything always works out !

Zone 14: Illness — Zits here can be a sign that your body is fighting bacteria to avoid illness. Give it a break, take a yoga class, take a nap, take time to breathe deeply, drink plenty of water and know that everything always works out !

So the next time you break out or notice dark under-eye circles, look at the face map. Your skin is probably trying to communicate on behalf of the internal organs. However do remember that, as with all medical issues, it is always best to see your doctor or dermotologist for a proper prognosis. This is just a general guide to head you off in the right investigative direction – just becuase you break out between the brows doesn’t always mean you have a bad liver !

Tak Po HongKong Dimsum

Dimsum with the Mom at Tak Po yesterday morning. Used to love their dimsum much better and even felt that they were comparable to Swee Choon but yesterday's spread was really disappointing. The rice rolls and prawn dumpling's skin were kind of tasteless. Service was also pretty bad; waitresses were kind of avoiding eye contact with us and the kind chefs actually have to get them to come over and collect our order chits. But anyways, here's what we ordered.

Ham Sui Gao & Fried Prawn Beancurd Roll


Check out the char siew filling in the Ham Sui Gao


Prawn Dumpling & Scallop Seaweed Dumpling


Closeup of the only thing that is still of the same standard as before


Prawn rice rolls



42 Smith Street
Singapore 058954
Tel : 6226 3683
Did a little CNY shopping thereafter. Could not find anything from F21 nor H&M but I managed to find this sequin peplum top from New Look. On a second look, it seems a tad too dressy for CNY right ?

What do you guys think ? Yay or nay ?

Had Pizza Hut for dinner. There's this 1-for-1 special and we ordered Hawaiian Crispy Thin Pizza, Fish & Chips and Chicken Riblets.

One of our must-order at Pizza Hut


Till then ♥

My skincare routine

I was asked by a few readers to share my skincare routine. I am quite skeptical about sharing it because #1, I do not have perfect skin and #2, I do not wish to get anyone into trouble with my routine but since the demand is pretty high, I guess I will just do it anyway. My skincare routine usually changes every few months or so, depending on what I found or what was new or recommended. When I was still a teenager, I don't have any major skin problems. I would probably only have one or two pimples during the time of the month, that's all. So back then, my main concern was just to cleanse well, maintain the complexion and I swore by Clinique's basic 3-Step System for the longest time.

Cleanser. Toner. Moisturiser.

Then I stepped into my early twenties and my skin changed drastically. It became extremely dull and dry and my pores got so huge I can see them even at a distance without my specs. I even had the worst huge and red cystic acne all over my cheeks and forehead. I don’t know if it is hormonal, or it is because I no longer spend the same amount of time to take care of myself and my skin. College was hectic and we all know that sleep and beauty goes hand in hand. You go imagine the toll it took on my skin. With that, I had never really recovered or had acne free skin. The most I could achieve was probably a few months of clear skin and the nightmare repeats again.

I actually gone through a treatment at an aesthetic clinic last February and it worked wonders for me. You can read about it here. But anyways, the entire treatment is kind of expensive for me right now so I had to look for an alternative. So if you guys know of any affordable products or dermatologist that worked for you and your acne problems, do share with me your acne story. I don't want to live under the masking of my concealers for the rest of my life.

So onto my routine. Products will be introduced in sequence of application.

Together with my Clarisonic Mia, I alternate between Hada Labo's AHA/BHA and Super Hyaluronic Acid Hydrating facial wash. Hada Labo is affordable and you can easily purchase it off the shelves at your local drgustores. Both facial wash foams up really well and I like them because they are mild and does not sting my eyes.

From left to right - Kose Sekkisei Lotion, Senka Whitening Lotion, Organic Bulgarian Rose Water, SK-II Facial Treatment Essence and Uriage Thermal Water. What I do normally is I will mist my face with the Thermal Water, let it absorb into my skin, and then use either the Kose, Senka or Rose Water, followed by the FTE.

Hada Labo Arbutin Whitening Milk.

From left to right - Rojukiss Pore Tightening Source, SK-II Cellumination Essence EX, SK-II Whitening Spots Specialist, L'oreal Youth Code Eye Essence.

From left to right - Sophie Monk Strawberry Nose Mask. Laneige Water Sleeping Pack EX. Sheet mask of various brands. I am also using the Collagen Eye Masks from Gmarket which is not in the picture.

Last but not least, I also apply sunblock wherever I go. Pardon the falises haha. I lost my lash box so I just stuck them on the first thing I see. Biore Bright Face Milk has been my sunblock for years and I swear by it. I dislike sunblocks that make the skin oily and sticky after application and this is awesome cause it does not stick at all ! It leaves a very matt touch and it does not oil out as well.

I guess that's about it for my daily skin care and hope it helps to answer some of the questions you guys have in mind. If there is anything you see which like me to review, let me know.

Before you leave this space, do share with me your skincare routine too ! ♥

24th Birthday Part 2 & 3

Finally got down to blog about my 24th birthday part 2. To read about my birthday part 1, you can do so here. Can't believe I will be in my mid twenties in another 10 months' time. It's now time to update my Currently Interested In column on the right with botox, botox and more botox !

Anyways, I had a mini celebration with the boyfriend's clique on one of the Sundays. Wenya suggested we have Ssikkek Korean BBQ since it's been some time we last dined there. For those who still have not tried Ssikkek, you should totally go try it. They are like one of the cheapest authentic Korean BBQ you can find in town ! For slightly above S$20, you get a huge variety of marinated meats, seafood and side dishes buffet style. The thought of it makes me hungry already. I'm like drooling while typing this post.

The boyfriend, XX and HY


Dale, Ken, WenYa and Gary


Ice cream is chargeable but it's too good to be missed anyway

275 Thomson Road
Novena Ville, #01-01/02
Tel: 6254 8123

In early December, I had my final belated celebration with my UOL girls. Nothing much though, just a short get together (plus lotsa gossips) over brunch at Blackbird Cafe.

The boyfriend's omelette something I forgot


The rest of us ordered Eggs Benny with different sides. Mine's portobello mushroom

6 Handy Road
The Luxe, #01-01A
Tel: 9185 8116


Thank you girls for the ang bao ! Just in time for my Baobao (:


What we wore for the day. Spot my S$25 Calvin Klein gladiator sandals. Dirt cheap !