Vera is still not coming. She likes her mum’s tummy.

When a baby is going to be born, the family gets awfully excited.

Baby Vera (my niece), is expected to be due on the 27th of July. If you are counting, she is late.

Very late.

I would ever so often ask my sister - five times a day in fact - the big question of, “Do you feel like giving birth soon?”. And the answer will always be, “No”.

So, the entire family sits and wait.

And wait…

And wait……..

Patiently for my sister to scream that she is in pain, and our entire family will be switched to panic mood.

My sister has already gotten her hospital bag packed, my bro-in-law has already been flown into Singapore, my parents have already purchased Vera’s gold (in Chinese customs, buying gold trinklets for baby is good luck), and I have already written Vera’s “welcome to the world” card. Even the big sister, Gwyneth, has already prepared her “hello baby” speech.

So Vera, what are you waiting for?

Tick-tock, tick-tock.

White on Black

Photos by Reuter. Sourced from telegraph UK. Click here to see the rest of the gallery.

Juicy Couture Peacock Earrings

I love this pair of earrings very much.

It is a 14k gold karat plated, adorned with rhinestones and pearl, exotic peacock chandelier by Juicy Couture, purchased from the local store. The bird features intricate gold wired work, and spots a movable tail that will sway with the wind.

I just love the wire work! To be honest, the earrings when looked from afar resembles beautiful chandelier earrings, that is adorned by an Indian princess - which is something I’ve always liked to collect since I was in middle school. Yet, when looked up close, is… a peacock!

My Home

No matter where I go, Singapore, will always be my home.

Other countries have natural resources, we make it up with close family ties and community spirit.

Take a look at these snippets of Singapore, captured by photographers for the “My Home” photography competition hosted by URA.

A common sight to see grandpas sitting at the void deck playing chess for leisure. They will sit and play whilst sitting their cup of tea, for hours.

How sweet can that be, the same bird line as the one that I shot. It is a rarity to see an open field dedicated to the fading hobby of bird singing.

Swimming classes - a norm in Singapore. I remembered being thrown into the 1.8m pool at the tender age of 11.

Singapore is known for its high rise public housing. We hang our clothes on bamboo poles, placed outside our windows.

It is difficult to capture children, much less capture children in action.

Vivo city is a place for shopping, and a place for kids to waddle in the pool on the roof.

Gone are the good ol’ days where kids play in sand playgrounds. Kids play in foam playgrounds that are supposedly safer.

Who doesn’t love dumplings? The art of making dumplings is becoming a lost tradition. My grandma makes them annually for her children and their families.

And I love this photo…

Simply because, it is nostalgic. Old barber shops are being phased out. I’ve never really cut my hair at one, but I always love how the barbers carry out their jobs using the old razors and scissors.

*NB: All the photographs were not taken by me. They are obtained from the URA website. If you are the owner of the photograph, and you wish to have the photograph taken down, please contact me.

Shu Uemura makeover

I was invited to attend the Shu Uemura’ s official opening at Ion on Saturday. Oh, what fun I had!

For the event, I wore a sweet blue Forever 21 top which had simple pleats at the edge and a row of satin buttons behind (I like!), white Miss Selfridge skinny jeans, my 4-inch Nine West heels, and my beloved 2.55.

I attended the function with one of my besties, Wenbing. We got there 10 minutes before the occassion, and were one of the first lucky 15 attendees to receive a free express make-over by the Shu Uemura team.

Because the Shu Uemura boutique is really petite, it was quite uncomfortable to squeeze with 130 other attendees; we decided to take a quick bite at Ginza Bairin, before heading back to the shop for our make-over. I had chicken cutlet with Japanese curry. Looks delicious don’t you think?

My cutlet lunch + Before make-over.

There after, we spend the next 1 plus hour exploring Ion. What a HUGE place this is. I felt like I was in American Mall all over again, except that this is walkable. But, Ion has a lot of escalators, and that made exploring the mall very complicated. I shall blog about the shops another time, when I do get to explore Ion again, sometime this week.

My aching feet. I really need to get it padded.

At 1430, we promptly returned back to the Shu Uemura boutique for our mini make-over.

Wenbing getting her make-over.

For the make-over, the make-up artist used materials solely from the shop’s newly launched autumn collection. I had bright turqoise eyeliner painted all over my eye lid, and peach tone blusher.

When I first opened my eyes to look at myself, I got a pleasant shock. I felt like a bird. A pretty bird.

Wenbing and I after the make-over. Because I have slightly hidden eyelids, you can’t really see the turqoise eyeliner unless I blink.

As a thank you gesture, Shu Uemura gave us samples of their cleansing oil and a bottle of their lotion. I also got a cute handphone charm for buying their products. I had to get the turqoise eyeliner - it was loud, but cute. I also bought their highlighter (colour 31).

6 hours after my makeover. The turqoise eyeliner is still in place!

BS - Burt’s Bees Lip Shimmer

I have been a huge fan of Burt’s Bees. It saved my lip’s life. I have own and tested all - peppermint, honey, life guards’ choice, pomegranate (my love) - but two of their tube lip balms.

Just recently, I discovered the beauty of their lip shimmer.

Lip shimmer comes in a variety of colour. You can wear a colour on its own, or mix it up to give you the desired shade.

For work, I need to look fresh. So as a daily routine, I emphasize a lot on my eyes. The medium eye shadow coverage and thick black liner tends to cast my lips in a paler shade than it usually is. To brighten the colour of the lips and to perk up the look, I apply a spot of red (I use Rhubarb) and soften this deep red with a dash of light shimmer (I use Champagne).

I really like the result. A soft buttery pink that compliments the eyes. Best of all, it is au natural!

PS: We have Burt’s Bees in Singapore!!!! Lots of kisses to Sephora.

PPS: Shall upload my pictures of my girly outing with Bing soon enough…

Edun

One of the few things that I gained from my University education in Canada and in my last course of studies locally, was being eco-friendly.

Being pampered by convenience in Singapore - where you use a lot of plastic bags for take outs, grocery shopping, fashion shopping - I truly believe that we need to teach our younger generation the importance of being and going green.

I believe that if recycling bins were made accessible and bins emptied out regularly, and our people follow the simple rule of throwing waste into the appropriate bins, we can be a very spectacular clean and green Nation indeed.

I know this can’t be changed over night, but with long term education, the generation will be changed.

Well, why don’t we start with a little eco-friendly shopping!

Gorgeous outfits from Edun, a eco-clothes line by U2’s Bono and wife. I just love the luxe touch. Visit their shop here.

Vera is still not coming…

If you have noticed, there has been a Vera tracker on my blog.

According to the widget, Vera is suppose to be born really soon. But, there is no sign that she wants to come out anytime soon!!!

Waiting patiently for the moment that our entire family will scramble to the hospital - Grandpa, grandma, the daddy, the mummy, gwyneth, the maid, and me in tow.

Meanwhile, I’ll just endure G’s non-stop screaming in my ears, the night bickering over nonsensical things like her story books, and the frequent punches that she gives me aongside of her trying to steal my glasses (or breaking them).

Swine Invasion!

Piggies with an attitude to match.

Photos taken by Eric Cheng, source from www.telegraph.co.uk. To view the site, click here.

BS: When to throw your cosmetics away

Healthy skin radiates no matter how light you are made up. Make-up should be used when they are fresh. Applying make-up that has been kept for too long is like applying germs -which would likely irritate the skin.

Germs will breed easily in moist make-up; thus liquids or cream based items will spoil more easily than powder cosmetics.

Mineral based make-up should be used as soon as possible, as it contains no preservative. Best to throw it away at 6 months.

Besides that, here is the low down guideline of when to throw what:

The eyes

Mascara: 3 to 6 months, or if it’s dried up
Eye shadow (pressed): 2 years
Eye shadow (cream): 12 to 18 months
Eye liner (stick): 2 years
Eye liner (cream): 3 to 6 months

The face

Foundation (compact): 12 to 18 months
Foundation (cream, liquid): 12 months.
Concealer (cream): 12 to 18 months
Concealer (powder): 18 months

The cheek

Blusher (powder): 2 years
Blusher (cream): 12 to 18 months

The lips

Lip gloss: 18 months to 2 years
Lip balm: 18 months to 2 years
Lipstick: 2 years
Lip liner: 2 years