My Make-up Secrets

Hey Guys,

What's up !! Hope you had a great week. My week has been super tiring yet interesting. Maybe I am taking up too much... Full time job, part time studies in fashion designing, part time blogger, full time mummy for Denver and squeezing time to think of new designs... Not forgetting the frequent checking of all available social medias!! OMG, I am exhausted.. Having said that, I am really enjoying my classes. No complaints, no complaints...
With this super tight schedule, I managed to take some time-off during lunch for the most relaxing "retail-therapy". When it comes to make-up and skin-care, you know what is the tip? Buy little but buy often.. Never buy everything at one go, can you imagine when everything finishes at the same time?? You are going to burn a big hole in your pocket. @-@

Here you are, my little purchases..

miniature perfumes are for decorations only.. haha

Introducing my find, Yves Saint Laurent "Top Secret" Lip & Contour shaper.

Selling at 55SGD

No surprise, it comes with the easy applicator

I have really super dry lips. For those who know me you must know that I love peeling my lips, especially when I am nervous. Tried this just once and I can feel instant results!!
Sick of the fine lines you see after applying your matte lipstick, try this! It is supposed to plumps lips and redefines the lip contour, offering comfort, definition and radiance. Sugar extract from beech wood capable of boosting glycosaminoglycan production, to restore balance to lip volume from the inside and produce visible plumping.

Use it as a primer or even on its own. The salesperson told me it's good for cold weather too! Have I mentioned that it smells amazing!! I love it, so try it! ;)

Nextup, my all time favorite under-eye concealer

Selling at 42SGD

I am using the "Ginger" tone

If I can only choose 1 makeup, that will be my concealer. Right, I say that after doing my eyebrow embroidery ;p
My dark circles and puffiness are quite bad, doesn't help with the sinus problem though. Tried many brands like: Mac, Shu Uemura, Anna Sui, Bobbi Brown, etc. I would say Anna Sui is not too bad, but it's not convenient to buy this in Singapore. After trying NARS, am addicted to it. This is my 5th tube! It's creamy, good coverage yet not too thick so it doesn't look cakey. Good texture, not dry and you don't have to worry seeing those fine lines ;)

NARS radiant creamy concealer is a multi-action formula that instantly obscures imperfections, blur lines and wrinkles, hides dark circles and signs of fatigue, hydrating and luxuriously smooth ! x

 Final recommendation, am sure you have heard about it. The famous meteorites balls !!

Love this to the max! Smells good, looks good and it gives you an natural radiant looking skin. I dislike using foundation, powder or liquid. I have been using loose powder or bronzer for my daily makeup, tried many brands and always find myself going back to this. If you have never try this before, make sure you put it in your next month's purchase list !

“The most beautiful makeup of a woman is passion. But cosmetics are easier to buy.”
― Yves Saint-Laurent

Hope you like my recommendations. ;) Any good products to share with me? Leave a comment!

Some updates on my school. First 2 modules on textile printing and basic apparel design. Did textile printing during my school days so there is nothing new about this. Basic apparel design class really gets my adrenaline running. From research on any pictures I like, to sketches, to illustrations and the ultimate technical flats drawings, all these sound so cool to me!! Can't wait to share with you my drawings after 9weeks !! woot woot...
Really wanted to blog about my trip to India, hope I have time to do it soon.

Till the next one, keep me in your mind !! xoxo..

Oh, and here's a picture of my beloved Denver and his new toy !!

We name the new toy "Big Eyes" @-@

Have a nice weekend !!

Reflections and Resolutions

HAPPY 2014 READERS !!

This is my first post of 2014 so I would like to share with you my reflection of 2013 and resolution for 2014. Blogging is really a good way to get your voice heard, especially for someone like me with not a lot of friends. Seriously I very much prefer animals to humans. ;p

2013 was kind of a tiring year for me, specially work related. I took up a new role in the same Bank due to the merger of 2 departments. A role more impressive and with more visibility, which also means more stress. I put in lots of effort on this new challenge wanting to show my capabilities and also get out of the old role which doesn't bring me any credits. I have to admit that I was feeling proud of my new role, each time I met up with friends whom I have not seen for a long time and even during new introductions. However all these eat into the time I spend with my love ones and also resulted in me being less tolerant to them - where I am already quite bad in this as a person. Hehe... The start of getting a hang on a new role actually makes me think about what I really want to do in life. If you already have the answer, good for you!! If not, hey there is nothing to be shameful about, you only decide on your husband after dating a few assholes right. Sometimes even the final decision might be wrong since we are always changing. Like they say, the only constant thing is change.

For those who know me, I complain a lot - about work, relationship, friends and life. However I am still grateful complaining about nitty gritty things in life, getting upset over the irrelevant things in life is actually a blessing in disguise. Having the time and energy to brood over small little things actually means that the big things are going well and smooth. I am always feeling blessed and grateful for having such a wonderful mom, amazingly cute dog and tolerant bf ;)
So if you are upset over your colleague not lunching with you or your child getting lower grades than his peers, trust me, you have no problems in life !!

My new year resolution for 2014 will be to live it with little or no expectations. No expectations = no disappointments. Every good things coming to me will be even better in the form of surprises. Well this is not easy especially for those with high expectations in life but try it, step by step and you are going to be a lot happier and more appreciative of what you've got !

“Blessed is he who expects nothing, for he shall never be disappointed.”
― Alexander Pope

2014 will be a year of giving for me, at least I will try harder. ;) By giving, you'll appreciate more. I have recently signed up with Willing Hearts, volunteering in the collection and delivery of food to the needy in Singapore. Being a volunteer not only help those in needs, it rewards you both physically and mentally. Willing Hearts is a 100% volunteer-run, non-profit organization set up to help provide for the needy in Singapore, regardless of race or creed. Do your part !

I will be starting my part-time certificate in Fashion Design tomorrow!! YIPPIE !! Signed up for a 6months certificate course from drawings to basic apparels construction with NAFA !! OMG, you can't imagine my excitement, first time in my life I will be sitting in a classroom learning what I love! Meeting new friends having the same interest and I really hope to find some good friends here. No more economics, mathematics, accounting.... It's about fashion now, can't wait for it.

I was telling my mom, "hey I might be better than you after". Yeah right, after 6months comparing to her 30years of experience... haha. I hope one day the mother and daughter can create their own fashion line!! Then again, no expectations, this is my dream ! 

If your dream doesn't scare you, it's not big enough!

Here's to a better 2014 !! Lots of love and happiness..

Most important thing in life is to be happy. Giving is happiness. Having the ability to give is already a blessing. Hope I will have better posts coming up for Year2014. Leave me comments to tell me what you would like to hear and how I can improve. Don't be shy lah ;)

Stay happy always my readers and remember being able to complain about small little things show that you have actually no problems in life !

Hey and where are your travel destinations for 2014 ? Before I embark on any trip this year, my aim is to write about all my favorite places so far... So stay tuned... ;)

Yours, 

xoxo....

Festive Sharing and the B Day

Hey Guys,

(Warning: Take your time on this long post since the next time you see me is going to be in 2014. Post on love, food, fashion and the truth! Have fun!)

Festive season is coming to an end soon and how are you feeling right now! For me it's kind of a hate and love feeling, reluctant to let go of the year end holiday mood and stress-free days yet excited to enter 2014 with my list of resolutions and determination to make them happen. Also I can't wait to get rid of this super guilty feeling and start eating clean again. Had enough of me making excuses for myself in front of the food and after hating myself for not having enough determination to conquer each meal. Hey but that's life right, letting go once in a while and indulge in your favorite delicacies!! As long as everything gets back to being in control, who cares ;) For those who knows me, December is also my Birthday month. Which means MORE food!

I spent my Christmas eve being with my dearest in life - Mom and Denver. I always make it a point to stay home when he is not in Singapore so I can compensate for the time spent with bf and friends.
So this year my Christmas gift to Denver is a Durian tart instead of the usual toys which he has more than enough. Durian is his favorite fruit, he goes crazy the moment he sniffs it. I do believe that dogs are like human, spoiling them once in a while just makes the life more interesting. Having said that, I do maintain a very strict diet for Denver ;)

Got my Snowy Durian Ice Cream Tart from SuperDog Kitchen. It is human-friendly too! Seriously, self-made dog food is always healthier than your day to day human food.

Consists of: D-24 durian, strawberries, greek yoghurt, lactose-free milk, butter, honey, eggs, garbanzo bean flour and wheat-free & gluten-free all purpose flour.

Oh, Lemon mint stars is a gift to help freshens up Denver's breath. How sweet is that!

Needless to say, he LOVES it

On Christmas day, I got a date with with one of my close girlfriend from France at OSO Ristorante. Italian restaurant with a cosy alfresco area and amazing food! We took the 4 course Christmas menu at $98++. Since I was already half-drunk after a bottle of wine and glass of champagne, have forgotten to take a picture of the menu so I do not have the exact name of the dishes. ;p Here you are..

One of my favorite cheese - Burrata

Mad love for this Ravioli - there is an egg yolk right in the middle

Lobster

Chestnut and mascarpone cream if I remember correctly

The happy girls

Food was really good especially the ravioli, OSO is definitely a restaurant worth your try! Prices are on the higher side though but just good for a special occasion. I especially love their "200 Gr. roasted beef tenderloin filleto with sabayon asparagus and shaved truffle" which is on the a la carte menu.
We had a great dinner and decided to continue to Screening Room for the unfinished gossips.

We usually go out in a group and were both happy to share some intimate moments together. Ended Christmas with 2 drunk girls and plenty of gossips. When was the last time you met up with your girlfriends, especially for working mums? It is good to maintain the friendship by meeting up often even with your busy personal life or family commitments. Afterall, friends are one of the key aspects in life!

As you know my bf returned from France on the 26th, just in time for my birthday. For the past years, he usually comes back after new year so I am really happy that we can spend my birthday together ;) His return certainly doesn't help with the calories when he brought back all what I am missing.

Miam Miam !!

What is your favorite snack or dessert from France? Chocolate, Madeleine or Macaron? I love Madeleine with a cup of coffee for breakfast. Saucisson and rillettes are my favorite appetizers from France, I can finish a loaf of bread with them! He was not able to bring back rillettes due to long hours of flight. ;( As you can see from the picture, saucisson is a variety of thick, dry cured sausage that originates in France. Typically made of pork, or a mixture of pork and other meats, saucisson are a type of charcuterie similar to salami or summer sausage. They actually taste like our chinese sausage "Lap Cheong".

As always, what I usually do during the day of my birthday is to get a new hairdo. This year I decided to try the salon all the top bloggers are raving on, Salon Vim.  Booked an appointment with one of the directors, Gary Chew. He is nice, friendly and sociable. 

Transformation in progress

Despite the rave created by all top bloggers, I was disappointed with the results. Not that the results is bad, it's just not as amazing as what you would have expect. Overall I did straightening to the first half of my hair followed by curls on the bottom half and 1 color only to complete the look. To be fair, the service was good until the coloring of my hair when I felt my scalp burning after they applied the dye on it. This is not the first time I do coloring to my hair and I have bleached my hair several times before. I did not tell them about the burning sensation though, thinking that I can hold on for only 30mins. After the wash, I was told that my bottom part of the hair is not able to absorb the color because I have previously dyed black before and now I have a lighter upper head compared to the lower part. It didn't look ugly but just that it did not turned out to be what I wanted. They told me that I could book another appointment 2 weeks later to do highlights to the lower part of the hair to make it look even. Duh! My curls do look great the point I walked out of the salon after the professionals blowing dry them. I have paid $50 more to become a member so I could enjoy the 15% off + 20% since it's my birthday month, all in all $550 damage to my wallet. In order to not waste my $50, I am going to return for my highlights. Having said these, I do like my new look after it's done but my curls didn't quite last till the 3rd day. Maybe it's because I did not blow dry like how I was taught to do but overall it is not as great as what I imagined. Well, some things you just got to experience it to know it.
Now here's my OOTD and new hairdo for the birthday dinner date with him.

Top-Stradivarius, Skirt-ASOS, Shoes-Charles&Keith

He brought me to Fullerton Water BoatHouse for dinner ;) Our first time there.

I actually missed it until he says look below your menu.. LOL !!

Food porn time again!

Appetizer - Duck confit, salad, green beans, shallots, cherry tomatoes, walnut oil - Mine

Appetizer - Provencal fish stew with shellfish, fresh fish of the day - His

Main - Red snapper pan seared, melted cabbage, sweet corn, merguez sausage and harissa salsa - Mine

Main - Rib eye, Dauphinoise potatoes, buttered vegetables and bone marrow in a red wine sauce - His

For dessert, my birthday cake ;)

Please make me the next TOTO winner!! hehe

For the gift, check it out on my instagram account - engellpeh .. ;)
Happy for all the arrangements he made. Feeling blessed!

Not ending the post yet, hahaha.. You have Italian and French food, how can we forget about my roots and the most beloved Chinese food ! Invited mom to dinner on Saturday to thank her for giving birth to such an amazing daughter. ;)

Quote from all moms in the world "Don't go to those expensive restaurants, it's a waste of money! Let's just eat nearby"

Don't judge by the picture cause I was feeling the fullest for this meal. Finished the entire bowl of rice! Love you so much MOM. ;)

Hope you guys enjoyed this super long post! See you in 2014!
Have you thought about your new year resolutions yet? If not, why not try to complete those which you have missed for the past years ;)

Wishing you and your family a very HAPPY NEW YEAR! To a year full of amazing great surprises and many many happy returns. Great health and plenty of joy and laughter. Bundle of love among your families and friends!

With love, xoxo
(Do give comments on my posts if you liked them) ;)