Now, before I'd start, I would first like to clarify all doubts and place any tension at ease, that I am NOT against plastic surgery. I mean everyone has the fundamental right to decide how they should look, unless you are piously telling me that we should be thankful for whatever looks we are born with and that we should respect our parents for that. I'm not gonna even go there, but one has got to admit it that everyone WANTS to look beautiful. Although, well, beauty is a subjective issue and beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder...

But surely, beauty does boost one's self-esteem isn't it?

It's quite simple to comprehend this theory. Just imagine you are wearing your own favourite piece of dress, or that you managed to tangle yourself out of those bad hair days, or you had sufficient undisturbed sleep throughout the whole night hence waking up happy and refreshed.

Don't all these make you well, feel.. HAPPY AND CONFIDENT? Even if it lasts only for a day...?

Now, before you make an ASS of U and ME (A-S-S-U-M-E) , I would also like to disclaim that I have not undergone any plastic surgery before, be it minor ones such as double eyelid surgery (although I wish I had the $ and courage to!).

So, let's start.

Cosmetics are not permanent, unless you head for cosmetics surgeries, which then would be branded with all sorts of negative connotations like "Fake", "Plastic", "Unnatural" etc... 

Plus, there are detrimental effects of plastic surgeries for post-surgeries as well as in the future. You heard of bleeding, wounding, losing one of your senses and even DEATH (!!!). You heard that it might backfire, reverting to its original form and worse still, reverting to a look worse than the original form. You have known of people having saggy skin, wrinkles, fine lines, droopy eyelids, nose fillers making the nose look weird (some sort like MJ - No offence though), botox leaving bulldog face and skin... Not to mention those ladies (or men!) who are obsessed with plastic surgeries... 

Take a look at these pictures! 

Plastic surgeries GONE WAAAAYYYY TOO WRONG!!!
GASP!!! 

Extracted these pictures from Google images.

What's your take? I do think that they look SOOO much better before undergoing the knife...I meant KNIVES. These are seriously plastic surgeries gone wrong!

Closer to our hearts would be celeb local bloggers...

Local celebs...

For me, if plastic surgeries are deemed to be beneficial in your life in one way or another, then well, good for you. But if your surgeries gone wrong and you are overly obsessed with them, it's a BIG NONO for me. If your plastic surgery (perhaps your first attempt - hence not labelling you as obsessed) gone wrong, I guess you are just pure unlucky. Either that, you have not done enough research and homework before embarking on this life-changing event.

It is the intention of those who have undergone surgeries to beautify themselves. They may be less appealing than before (that's why they want to beautify themselves right?) but depending on how you judge, as mentioned, I do think that some should have never gone for plastic surgery. Spent a bomb (maybe sponsored?) and yet turned out disastrous. Imagine the double blow, or blows amplified when others slam you?

Plus, it's really difficult to be a human being sometime. While you can please some people, you will never be able to please everyone.

Denying getting a plastic surgery done, you get named as fake, liar what not and with the sudden surge of photos flooding of Before and After pictures, just like the above.
Putting on a brave front, admitting that you have tweaked your looks here and there, you still get criticised as fake....

SIGH. Ohwells.

My discontent
The areas which I ain't contented most would be my single eyelids. I think getting a double eyelid surgery done is not a big hoohaa. What's the big deal anyway? Would people judge you differently if you smack on those double eyelid sticker tapes? Or falsies? Eyelash extensions (a chill ran down my spine when I recall the recent terrible experience I had)?

The second dissatisfactory area which tops my chart would be my under bite. (Read here if you have no idea) I developed this under bite problem ever since I was young and I remember not treating it earlier when my cousin, who is now one of the top-notch dentist in Singapore, advised me that I actually have to undergo a jaw surgery. I would think it is now called chin augmentation? So yes a decade plus passed and here I am lamenting on my stupid under bite. :(

Whether one has to undergo a jaw surgery would depend on how serious the under bite is. Invisaligns and braces might be able to solve the problem if it's a minor under bite. The severity is best judged by a professional dentist. Since my cousin's advice was rendered to me a million years ago, I guess undergoing a jaw surgery is now a must. :(

Under bite is when your jaw is protruding out...

No photoshop (because I don't know how to use?!), no extra effects whatsoever. Just a simple raw picture taken after work.

I think I still look acceptable la, except for the dark circles...And I look the same as my 100% bare face.

Don't believe? Look at the picture below.

Pardon me for the different picture resolution. The former was taken with my digital cam while the latter was a self-shot taken with the iPhone front camera (poor reso). 

Not much of a difference in looks right? Maybe an oilier t-zone? LOL.

Remember, specs always comes in handy for a disguise :D And I think I can still easily pull of as a JC student... Okay fine, to be fair, an undergrad at least! :P The cleaner auntie told me that initially she'd though I was only 18 to 19 years old... I knew she was only pulling my leg... Because I almost fell off my seat... Laughing hard... Geddit? Pulling my leg causing me to fall off my seat? :P

I used to be afraid of heading out without any make up on and I still do. I guess that's the detrimental effects after you start using make up. But I'm slowly letting the fears go and keeping to minimal makeup during days which I'm not heading out. They say natural beauty is the real beauty, which I must agree of course.

So, what's your take? Are you for or against plastic surgeries? Are you contented with your looks? Are you afraid of letting others view you without any make up on?

Share your thoughts here! :D

Thanks for reading! <3

Now, before I'd start, I would first like to clarify all doubts and place any tension at ease, that I am NOT against plastic surgery. I mean everyone has the fundamental right to decide how they should look, unless you are piously telling me that we should be thankful for whatever looks we are born with and that we should respect our parents for that. I'm not gonna even go there, but one has got to admit it that everyone WANTS to look beautiful. Although, well, beauty is a subjective issue and beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder...

But surely, beauty does boost one's self-esteem isn't it?

It's quite simple to comprehend this theory. Just imagine you are wearing your own favourite piece of dress, or that you managed to tangle yourself out of those bad hair days, or you had sufficient undisturbed sleep throughout the whole night hence waking up happy and refreshed.

Don't all these make you well, feel.. HAPPY AND CONFIDENT? Even if it lasts only for a day...?

Now, before you make an ASS of U and ME (A-S-S-U-M-E) , I would also like to disclaim that I have not undergo any plastic surgery before, be it minor ones such as double eyelid surgery (although I wish I had the $ and courage to!).

So, let's start.

Cosmetics are not permanent, unless you head for cosmetics surgeries, which then would be branded with all sorts of negative connotations like "Fake", "Plastic", "Unnatural" etc... 

Plus, there are detrimental effects of plastic surgeries for post-surgeries as well as in the future. You heard of bleeding, wounding, losing one of your senses and even DEATH (!!!). You heard that it might backfire, reverting to its original form and worse still, reverting to a look worse than the original form. You have known of people having saggy skin, wrinkles, fine lines, droopy eyelids, nose fillers making the nose look weird (some sort like MJ - No offence though), botox leaving bulldog face and skin... Not to mention those ladies (or men!) who are obsessed with plastic surgeries... 

Take a look at these pictures! 

Plastic surgeries GONE WAAAAYYYY TOO WRONG!!!
GASP!!!

While single eyelids or some call it mono lids look extremely sexy on hot Korean guys, most ladies yearn for double eyelids when they have single eyelids. Ladies like me :(

My single eyelids were due to inheritance from my parents, of which, my dad had his double eyelids magically appearing and perpetually remaining as they are now when he reached 30. LOL, surprising I know!

So anyway, without double eyelids, eyes with single eyelids look dull, sleepy and well... Ugly, to me. 

It is magical that I have the capability to create the double eyelids when I put on falsies! :) Thus, most of the times when I'm out to play, I'm always using them :)

I have settled for no eye makeup recently on days which I just head to work and back home, partly because of time management as well as the hassles. So on those days, I'm always in disguise with my specs. Note how specs divert attention to details on your eyes as they sort of 'hide' them. 

And wearing falsies with specs over is not recommendable and quite impossible without hurting you eyes/eyelids because the they clashes with the specs. Just like how the eyelash extensions did. Extremely uncomfortable and painful! :(

I used to wear double eyelid tapes for a while but stopped ever since. I was using the usual nude/white coloured ones but realised that they are actually quite obvious. Or perhaps I was thinking too much and afraid that others might discover them - which I think it's rather embarrassing. I've seen ladies with double eyelid tapes as well and well, not really a fan of that sight. :(

Recently, I'd chanced upon this new double eyelid tapes WHICH COME IN BLACK!!!

This reminds me of how I'd used to colour my white double eyelid tapes with my eyeliner but ended up with a huge mess because the colour runs. 

Now, they come in black as they are! Extremely excited to know of this and heh, I'd just ordered 2 trial sets for the narrow and shaped style ones (20 each) online from GMarket :)

Talk about overspending...! =x

Here are some pictures to satisfy your curiosity! :D

Will update this space again one I get hold of them! <3

Notice how cool is it to stick on falsies on?! But I'm a little skeptical because I'm afraid that it might fall off any minute. Doesn't seem very securely glued. Will try and see how! :D

Narrow style

Shaped style

Not sure who will buy these wide style ones but it looks very comical to me. Kinda reminds me of the La Pi Xiao Xing's eyebrows? LOL?!

Hope you guys are as excited as me! :D

It is the dream of most ladies to possess fair porcelain skin and to win the title of 'Snow White'. Even if that is not your desire, taking good care of your skin is very important, especially to prevent pigmentation, dull looking uneven skin and skin diseases. 

I'm sure by now everyone would understand the detriments that the sun rays have on our skin, especially on this tiny sunny island. 

Hence, applying sunblock is always a MUST no matter when and where you are and regardless of whether it is day or night. 

I must admit that I belong to the nonchalant bo chup group who don't bother applying sunblock but I will make this a habit of mine now. 

Heliocare sunblock pills work exactly the same as your sunblock lotions, just that they are in the oral form. 

And I think the best method to test the effectiveness is to head out to the sun! 

Went cycling a month back under the hot blazing sun. Came back a shade darker but not that obvious. The obvious ones were the tan lines I had on my shoulders because I guess that's where the surface area for the sunrays to effect is the greatest?

I took the Heliocare pills before heading out to play and if I'd recalled correctly, I took 2 pills. 

BUT I STILL CAME BACK WITH A TAN.

There is no need to apply sunblock lotion again if you'd consumed the pills, otherwise it would defeat the purpose, right? These oral pills are meant to block out the sun effects, just like how sun block lotions do and they present to be more convenient and avoids the hassle of applying lotions which leave you feeling sticky all over. 

Yes, convenient. But NO, NOT EFFECTIVE.

I came back with horrid tan lines and I popped another Heliocare pills (4hrs after sun exposure for the 3rd pill) hoping and praying hard that the tan lines would subside. 

Of course, they aren't miracle pills. 

Few days later, the tan lines were still there... :(:(:(

I had previously consumed these pills before but I wasn't in the best position to judge on its effects because there were no sun exposure, but this time, the results were obvious. And it's rather pricey too - approx S$75 sold at some convenience stores (I remembere

My conclusion, stick to the usual sun block lotions and good if you can get one that is really effective and non-sticky. Comment if you have any to intro! :)

Will thank you lots for that :D

Overall rating :

I'm elated to receive my first subscription of Vanity Trove parcel! :) <3

Was given many useful beauty products which felt that my $25 was waaaayy more worth it than Bellabox (Read my post here)
Vanity Trove definitely won me over.

The only thing is that the waiting time was quite long, compared to BB due to a delay in one of the merchant's late delivery. 
But they did promise to deliver before Aug, which they did - on the 29th. 

August box includes :

• The Scottish Fine Soaps Au Lait Bath & Shower Gel
• Marjolica Marjorca Eye Reset Gel
• Biore Aqua Jelly Makeup Remover
• OxyPad
• Morilins Eye Therapy Mask – Firming and Revitalizing
• Sampar Poreless Magic Peel
• Sampar Equalizing Foam Peel
• Sampar Glamour Shot
• Origins Plantscription Anti-aging Eye Cream
• Skin 79 Super BB Cream
• Neutrogena Mulberry Foaming Scrub
• BRAND’S InnerShine Prune Plus Essence
• BRAND’S InnerShine Berry Essence with Grape Seed Extract
• Erabelle EyeBrow Design Voucher

Not really a fan of eyebrow shaping, so I gave the voucher by Erabelle to my sista :D 

Will update on the products' reviews! Can't wait to try! :D <3

Kindly pardon my freckles, moles and disgusting dark circles :(

Tried the nose pack last night before I turned in. Bought these some time back. 

Honestly, I do prefer the Biore Pore Pack which I have been a fan of for many years. Itching to try on new products, hence I bought these bean nose packs.

Comparing them to the usual Biore pore packs, this skin food ones are not as 'sticky'. They do not have a sticky back on the black smooth surface shown, unlike the Biore ones which stick onto your fingers before you can even stick them onto your nose! 

But comparing the effectiveness, I do think the Biore pore pack does a better job. If you would like to achieve the sense of elation and satisfaction, you may also get the Black coloured Biore pore pack. From the contrasting colours of black pore pack and white heads, you can then see how many parasitic whiteheads have been residing in your pores and on your nose. Designed to remove both white heads and black heads, using the white coloured ones do allow you to view the black heads too! :D

And yes, there's a bean smell when using this bean nose pack. HAHA :D

To share the steps of using nose packs :

1. Please exfoliate before sticking them on. This is to open up your pores for greater effectiveness. 
2. You are then required to wet your nose a little before you can stick them out, especially for this Skinfood nose pack, since there is no sticky element, you need to wet your nose even more so that they can stick better on your nose.
   
3. Leave it on for 15 to 20 mins and then remove.
4. Apply toner to close up your pores. 
5. Moisturise :)

For me, I do get itchy on my nose after using pore pack on certain attempts, regardless of the brand used. And for this time, using the Skinfood black bean nose pack did itched my nose :(

Overall rating :

Had lunch at Paradise Inn because my colleague had a voucher for it. Min $60 spending with $20 off :)

These were what we'd ordered. 

Seafood fried rice 

Coffee pork ribs 

Fried kailan 

Beef fried hor fun 

Fried prawn rolls with salted egg! YUMMY! :D 

Rosemary, Chrysanthemum and Lavender flavoured tea, but not my cup of tea LOL 
Since I'm not a foodie, I do not source for high-end expensive food. I just included this food category under my blog to share reviews with you guys. I do not especially hunt for good food. :)

But in any case, Paradise Inn's too expensive for me. I would settle down for a simple meal that keeps me full anytime. A simple plate of chicken rice would win me over. I'd like to have a 1-meal-settle-it-all kind of food, unless I'm sharing with others, ala carte is not my preference. 

Of all the food above, I really like the fried prawn rolls with salted egg! Well, that's because I love salted eggs, though I won't like selling them, LOL?

Another highlight is the fish roe that's mixed in the fried rice. See those little orange dots? Yes, that's the one. Not sure about you, but this is my first encounter :)

Oh yes, the coffee pork ribs were quite good too! It has a mixture of sweet coffee taste. :)

Overall rating : 

Hello! Just to share with you some of the masks I've got on hand... Some were bought, given by my sister and freebies from shops!

Some are expired... =x 

I know I know, I'd better throw them away before I forget and use them. Then that would be the end of my face...! :(

As you can see, I'm quite a huge fan of My Beauty Diary and bought many boxes when they first came out 4 years ago...! 

Heh, enjoy...! :D

"There are no ugly women, only lazy women".

I'm sure you have came across this quote and whether we believe it to be true or not, it's another separate issues altogether. 

Nevertheless, it's definitely apt to use in this current topic.

Beautifying oneself has topped the priority list of many women and hence, the use of make up. But did you know, this could actually backfire, causing you more problems with your skin and beauty if you don't remove your make up properly? 

You should ALWAYS remove your make up at the end of the day no matter how tired you are. Lazy is a reason that should not even exist. Even more so, after a looonnngggggg day. Imagine the amount of dirt/perspiration/icky stuffs that your skin has encountered with, mixed with the make up you have. UGH.

Let me share what kind of make up removers I use :)

Loreal Make Up Remover Cleansing Milk


Yes, as per the description, this cleansing milk is really gentle on the skin. 

Pour your desired amount and your 2 fingers and then massage it into your skin, just like how you moisturise your skin and wash your face. But for this, I massage it in a circular motion so that all the dirt are removed from the pores. After that, take a piece or two cotton pad and wipe the milk off. If you would like to be really clean, repeat the whole process twice, till you see no remnants of your make up on the cotton pad. 

I do use this for my eye make up remover as well when the cyber colours eye make up remover is out of reach. But I don't use this to remove mascara, if I do wear it, because it tends to get a little messy. 

So yes, since it's suitable for all skin types, you need not hunt for those specially made for a particular skin type :)
Plus, it's easily within reach as it's sold in all convenient stores. :)

You don't need counter-brand products to get top results. That's what I really believe. Don't be fooled by the marketing gimmicks :)

Cyber Colours Eye Make Up Remover


I was first introduced to this product by my mom because she raved about it. And subsequently, hers became mine. LOL. 

I then got a bigger bottle for myself. I'm not sure if it's sold in convenient stores but you will be able to get hold of it if you patronise SASA. :)

It's oil-based and I understand that some ladies are not really keen on oil-based make up remover because of the hassle and messiness. 

You are also required to shake vigorously for the oil and liquid below the mix before using!

But I've gotta rave on this. 

It really helps to remove whatever eye make up you have on your eyes - yes even mascara. 

The trick is to avoid getting the oil into your eyes. For me, because I'll only use it for the removal of eyeliner and mascara on m lower lash, it's quite easy for me. I don't use mascara for my upper lash because I always use falsies and there is no need for mascara because I don't bother curling my own non-existent lashes. So I don't even have to waste time applying mascara on them. It's not very obvious when I wear the falsies if I don't curl my own eyelashes. The 2 different level of eyelashes is only obvious if you look into my eye up close. But, why would you even do that? Unless well, you are infatuated with me? *blush*

Jokes aside and well, stop puking you. Keep that cringe of yours. 

To use this product, take a cotton bud and damp it with the liquid. 1 side for each eye. And then just proceed to remove the make up on your eyes. You can apply in a rolling manner but try to be as gentle as you can (although I must admit that I'm not) since the skins on your eyelids are the thinnest. You wouldn't want to cause much distress to these delicate areas :)

After that, proceed to wash your face. 

I'll personally stand by these 2 make up removers, especially the L'Oreal one because it has been serving me well for the past few years! Plus it's quite affordable as well, approx $14? ;)

Hope this entry helped you in one way or another! Thanks for reading! :D <3

Heh, remember my beauty hauls bought online recently? Yes, I've also ordered the Kose Supreme Sekkisei skin care products which I have been wanting to try them for a goood long time but haven't done so because they are so expensive! And I mean those over the counters, full sized bottles.. If you have to get the whole skin care products and I'm talking about those basic ones (Cleanser, Toner and Moisturiser), it's definitely gonna cost a bomb! 

So my advice to you ladies is, if you are itching to try out new products, try and get trial sets first. Two advantages to this is that, one, trying out means you ain't sure if the products are suitable for you and your skin. This goes out especially to those who have sensitive or acne prone skin. Don't torture your skin by trying out new products which are not prescribed by dermatologists. Your skin requires extra care and special ingredients that some of the products sold off shelves might not contain. Learn to understand your skin first before purchasing any products. Second thing is that, if you decide that these products are not for you, for whatever reasons, unsuitable skin type, non-effective, too oily/sticky/drying whatsoever, at least you don't feel like you've wasted bag full of money! :)

The trial set I've received costs approx $26 which includes the cleansing cream (make up remover). lotion, moisturiser and revitalising cream. 

I've not tried the make up remover yet but it's really quite misleading that it actually meant to serve as a make up remover. I noted that the full-sized bottles do state that it is a make up remover at the back of the tube but for the trial version, it does not. -.- 

So anyway, moving on to the next product - Lotion.

Before I'd start, if you are new to Kose products, you will need to understand that they have branded themselves as catering to different types of skin care specifically but not clearly on their products. You will have to either seek assistance from the salesperson or google to find out more (like what I did). There are 2 types to their skin care products - I and II. 

Products stating I at the end of the product name caters to skin types belonging to the 'normal - oily' category whilst II caters to those with dry skin. As I fall under the 'combination' skin type, I'd chosen I. 

After understanding them, you will then need to understand the interchangeable terms such as lotion/toner, lotion/cream/moisturiser etc. The former is actually more extensive than the latter, as you can see that for Kose products, there are both moisturiser and cream together.

When I was first introduced to skin care products, these terms really confused me, especially lotion and toner because lotion has been a loose term to mean moisturiser (e.g. body lotion). So we tend to misinterpret these terms. 

But not to worry, when in doubt, ASK. When in doubt, CHECK and DOUBLE CHECK. This way, you won't go wrong :)

Lotion/Toner

I'd prefer this lotion over the SK II one because firstly, it's not as stinky and secondly, it doesn't cause my cotton pad to fray, leaving lots of cotton frays on my face here and there. I know, I should also get new cotton pads soon, the ones from Watson house brand really suck and if there is a stark contrast between these 2 lotions from 2 different brands, it is actually quite obvious which is 'better', right? ;)

The Sekkisei Supreme Refining Lotion is actually very light in texture and contains a cooling effect when patted over your face. 
On the issue of method of applying lotions/toners, for me, the trick is to always adhere to the instructions given. If it clearly states to pat over your face, then do it. Or another method is that it requires you to swipe it across your face using cotton pads, then do it as well. But do remember to always swipe it upwards and outwards to prevent sagging of the skin. For this Sekkisei Supreme Refining Lotion, it requires the user to pat it over the face using a cotton pad. You may also use your fingers to apply lotions/toners if the instructions say so, for example, the SK II lotion requires you to swipe it across your face using your fingers. 

I think the overall absorption is quite fast as well. My face feels cool and fresh after padding the lotion into my skin. :)

Will recommend this product if you are looking for a fast absorption lotion with whitening effects. :)

Moisturiser

Here comes the next step - moisturising after toning. 

This is a must, especially you have dry skin. An essential step to take since we are constantly in an erratic climate/air-con places. 

I like this moisturiser because it feel light and fresh as well when applied. It's not oily/sticky too and is more diluted compared to the cream. I'll use my 2 fingers to swipe it across my face upwards and outwards :) No cotton pads needed. 

The only thing which I loathe is the small opening of the 2 bottles (lotion and moisturiser). It's quite difficult to get the liquid out of the tiny hole shown below. I would prefer a spray-type over bottle caps anytime.

Cream


As the name suggests, this product would be 'richer' in ingredients and much more heavier in texture and weight compared to the moisturiser. 

It may seem like an additional step to take compared to the usual 3-step basic skincare regime, but I'm quite sure that proper and adequate moisturising is essential. More so if you do not consume adequate fluids. 

This too gives a sense of tingling cool feel when applied onto the skin. Dab 3 to 4 spots on your face on the left and right cheeks, forehead and chin if you'd like. Then slowly massage it into your skin upwards and outwards. 

***

Overall rating for Kose Sekkisei Supreme products : 4/5
As for the whitening effects, no changes take place within such short period of time so patience is a virtue. I will update this space again on the effects :)

Thank you for reading! <3

Had dinner at Madam Saigon Millenia Walk yesterday. 

Bf and I were disappointed, really. 

We didn't order much because we were still feeling full from our late lunch (Toastbox @ MBS). Plus, the small bites were about the same or more expensive than the main course which we thought, wasn't really value for money.  

This order was a HUGE MISTAKE! We'd though the spring rolls would be fried but goodness...! We loathed this spring roll because it's filled with loads of bean sprouts, disgusting peppermint leaves (I think?) and the skin somewhat similar to soon kueh, is quite hard, dry, stiff and difficult to chew. 

Sauce for the spring rolls. Tasted like the sweet sauce for chee chong fun.  

Bf's sliced beef and meat ball noodles :)
I'm not a really a fan of beef  and definitely not for meat balls. 

My chicken noodles. Wanted something light on the stomach :) 

Interesting cover caps for the condiments :)
Both noodles are not value for money. They tasted just like any other normal noodles which you can get it at a cheaper price at food courts/hawkers/coffeeshops. 

But I shall not complain about the price since the restaurant was located at Millenia Walk and well, it's a restaurant. 

Nevertheless, I won't recommend anyone to patronise Madam Saigon and I doubt I will eat there ever again :(

Overall rating :