Gwyneth turns 3!

My oldest niece turns 3 today.

The photo is totally ripped from my sister’s facebook for I forgot to snap any photos!

Happy Birthday Gwyneth!

It feels like yesterday when I visited her at the nursery.

3 years on, she is as cute as she can be.

Many many happy days to come little one!

OH! Open House.

In between shopping at malls and being busy with work, I sneak out from time to time to chill at artsy events.

The latest was OH! OpenHouse @ Marine Parade.

I missed the first OpenHouse @ Mount Sophia, so I really had to get a spot at the second OH! event. Even if it means… reaching 1 hour earlier and to be told that the tickets would only be sold 15 minutes before the first tour start.

DANG.

But it didn’t stop me from hovering around the ticketing booth 15 minutes before that said time.

Thank goodness I did just that. Look at the queue 5 minutes into the sale of tickets! (It was twice as long as this. The queue snaked into the library.)

I was in the other queue, ticket in hand; eagerly waiting for my tour guide.

To prepare myself, I made sure I wore walking shoes and very comfortable clothes.

What i wore: CK inspired Topshop tank, Pleather pants, Ferragamo shoes, Korean leather bag, and CC earrings.

So, what is OpenHouse?

It is all about turning people’s home - or for that matter, common space - into an art gallery for a weekend or two.

Breaking the gated barrier, you get to interact with the homeowners and artists.

Here are some of the art works.

The tv is watching you.

Getting out of the wall.

I really liked the kitty.

There was this one series of art that weaves fiction into reality.

Do you know that Singapore had Dolphins once upon a time?

Really… this is a piece of dolphin bone picked from Marine Parade’s beach.

These are the dolphin boys.

Are you fooled yet?

I was, for a good 5 minutes. These old archived photos looked so realistic! I should have known better given that this is an art exhibition.

Moving on, art is not confined on canvas.

Which world is the right world?

My favourite art work though, has got to be this.

I’ve no idea why, but I started laughing the moment I saw it. It sums up how I feel sometimes.

Chanel Ombres Perlees de Chanel

It was love at first sight.

Inspired by Coco Chanel’s love for pearls.

I first spotted it in the Her World magazine - talk about propaganda - and I knew I had to have it.

It was unfortunate that shortly after reading the article, I left the said magazine in the car and totally forgot about the palette for a week! I got too carried away celebrating my birthday.

The palette was launched 3 days after I read the article. And within 4 days, it was sold out at the counters. You do the math.

A frantic call to the boutiques and one lucky phone call to a kind SA later, revealed that the Chanel boutique at Centrepoint released it later than the rest of the Chanel boutique. So hello to my new palette!

What a pretty mosaic cast onto the palette. Who knew that windows could make such interesting prints.

Ditch the plan on being frugal with my make-up money stash and dish out $91 to bring this baby home.

What I love about this palette is that it is all the colours are so user friendly; unlike the past mixed palettes that I’ve purchased - I am able to use only 75% of the colours as the 25% are either too loud, too pigmented or they do not match my skin tone.

The sheen is an added bonus. It makes application very easy.

A close up of the colours on the palette. The left most colour is more yellow-cream than white-pink.

They were very thoughtful to have added two mini stick applicators.

I’ve yet to break into this palette, so I won’t do a swatch. But you can easily google search for it online. This eye shadow palette has received lots of positive review and is one of the most photographed colour this season.

Centrepoint still carries the stock, but they are running dangerously low. Grab yours before they run out!

My birthday presents

This birthday, I’m extremely blessed by my family.

My sister got me the “Marry Me” Lanvin perfume on my wish list.

I wore the scent on my birthday.

I’ve got to say that this scent is really unique. A powerful concoction of flora fantasy.

In the first one hour, the scent was a tad bit overpowering. It smelled like my familiar mix of Chloe and Lanvin’s eclat d’arpege, yet different. It sure was sweet and not shy of making a strong statement.

For the next few hours till lunch time, there was a strong sharp note that I couldn’t quite decipher what it was. (A Google search revealed that this sharp note is a blend of bitter orange and peach. How intriguing.)

This sharp note soon trickled into whiffs of Magnolia by mid-afternoon. But by evening time, the mysterious scent evolved into a sticky sweet blend of red roses with an undertone of musk.

I’m impressed with the staying power of this perfume. Two spritz is all it takes to last you till dinner time. I’m thinking that it’ll go well with the Parisian winter.

And what did my parents get me?

I haven’t received birthday presents from my parents for many years. They usually treat me to a sumptuous dinner in replacement and I’ve always enjoyed it tremendously.

This year, my dad decided to get me a diamond eternity band. He also gave my sister an identical pair as an advance for her birthday.

The eternity band is so versatile and easy to pair with. It dazzles up all the gem stone rings that I’ve purchased over the years. I now want a stack of eternity bands!

And you probably know what I got for myself - the eye catching red Chanel bag that I posted on my birthday. On top of that, I got myself a beauty treat to pamper the delicate skin. Say no to ageing!

It’s also red.

The famed SKII treatment essence special pack.

Have a great week ahead!

Thanks for all the birthday greetings!

Thank you everyone for all the birthday greetings! It sure has been a great start to being a year old wiser. =)

I had a blast on my birthday. But it sure was a hectic start to being older one day after my birthday. And I’ve had little time to blog till now. I’ll respond to the comments over the weekend. Sorry to keep you waiting!

Meanwhile…

January is definitely my favourite month.

I really love it that it’s my birthday month. It’s the one excuse I can use to do things that I want without feeling much guilt.

Well not that much, till my bills come that is.

I’ve done tons of make-up Christmas shopping. Not only stores are having post-Christmas sales; I get to enjoy birthday discounts and privileges. I’ve done my fair share of monetary contribution to Paragon’s maintenance fund.

I’ve also pigged out at all my favourite food haunt. Hooray to sashimi overdose at Sushi Tei. More fried mushrooms from New York New York, pretty please. Need all the energy to shop till I drop.

This year’s birthday month was made special by all the special exhibits. Yes to Valentino’s retrospect exhibit and Pompeii’s. Oh and OpenHouse.

So cheers to a fantastic year ahead!

Happy happy birthday!

Last year, I bought myself a red wallet on chain to celebrate my birthday. Seen here.

I have used it only once; on that birthday. I lug my 2.55 far too much!

This year, I upgraded to a red classic in medium size. One down from my wish list!

It’s the famed classic’09 in lambskin which a lot of women clamoured for.

Bold in a red lipstick hue. It adds a pop of colour to my outfit.

Bought it second hand, simply because the recent addition of Chanel handbags are less hardy than those made 2 years ago.

Have a great day ahead!

Valentino

He is truly a legend and a visionary.

For $9, I got to see the best of his works.

Remarkable.

The first piece that caught my eye, was this flora motif silk dress. It is as relevant today as it was in 1966.

On the same note, Jacqueline Kennedy’s wedding gown was completed with the same simplicity and chicness.

Due to Jacqueline’s highly publicised wedding, Valentino became an overnight hit with the international media.

A women dressed in black and white is for me a sort of sign, a writing, a calligraphy - Valentino.

Now, I was swooning over this gown worn by Julia Roberts.

Call it the chase for the perfect silhouette. The back of Julia’s dress draw’s one attention to the arch of the back. That’s really sexy.

With the same designer instinct to bring out the best in women, this yellow dress worn by Cate Blanchett tugged the heart-strings of many.

Speaking about colour. Red is Valentino’s signature.

Stunning.

The detailing is impeccable.

Likewise for this thoroughly embellished black-and-white dress.

I did say impeccable right? Can you imagine painstakingly stitching every single bead onto this dress?

It would probably take me 5 years to get this right. Or maybe a lifetime?

Gorgeous, gorgeous.

Moving on deeper into the gallery.

Valentino was truly a man before his time.

This was made in 1961? It’s so Old Hollywood glamour.

And this little black dress? 1961.

Seriously this man deserves the praises he is given.

And what better way to end the gallery with my favourite dress. This was made in 1959. Can you believe that?

Happy birthday from Lancaster

Birthday months are fun.

Special offers and privileges make shopping tempting.

My supplies were running low, so I took a day off work and got myself some fabulous goodies from Lancaster.

From left, Lancaster’s latest product - DNA intense. Skin therapy moisturiser, anti-ageing eye cream.

I was more excited with the gifts with purchase though. They were really really generous!

From left: Aqua milk body lotion, skin therapy SPF - full bottle! Wrinkle Lab concentrate - full bottle too! Softening cleansing foam.

From left: Samples of skin therapy eye cream, night gel, 365 elixir, flash masks.

Lancaster has got to be one of the most generous beauty brand there is in the market.

They were throwing in a full tube of Skin Therapy day shield with purchase of DNA intense and a moisturiser. I got the Skin Therapy moisturiser.

Concurrent with this promotion, with purchase of $180, you get a full tube of Aquamilk lotion and samples for free. I switched the bag for the cleansing foam. The last time I switched the bag for something else, I got a half sized cleansing milk - it’s one of the best cleansing milk I’ve used.

Top up the purchase to $250, and you get a full sized wrinkle lab serum.

As luck turns out, Metro has a 20% off for members during their birthday months. Adding my $50 voucher from Lancaster, I basically bought everything at half price.

If only Laneige would do the same!

PS: The wrinkle-lab serum promotion ends on the 13 Jan.

Wishing on a new wishlist.

It’s 11 11, on 11th January , 2011…

A new year, a new start, and..

A new wish list!

With the currency exchange going a little haywire in 2010, it was a fruitful year for my wish list.

Red B bag - checked. Red CC - will post! I also got my Classic timeless pearls - will post too!

In the year 2011… My wish list has gotten a little diverse.

What’s on yours?

BS: Serums that I love

From my New Year resolution, you probably figured out that I’m a beauty junkie. To be exact, I splurge on beauty products. Serums, moisturiser, cleansers, toner… You name it. Blame it on having a bad bout of acne breakout in my teenage days; it started my quest to eradicate those reddish pimples.

In my previous beauty post, I introduced you ladies to some serums that I love. I’m adding two more to that list.

Lancome’s Genefique is no stranger to Singapore’s beauty scene. It was first introduced in mid 2009, backed up by tons of advertising.

It took me one year before I was swayed to buy a bottle of it; and I purchased my first in Taiwan no less. Hooray to duty free.

I’ve been using this daily since June 2009, and I’ve got to say, my skin developed a glow after a while. Unlike most women who have tried this product, the effect wasn’t instant for me. it took about 2 weeks before I saw a significant improvement.

To test if it did add value to my face routine, I experimented by removing it from my daily care routine for a week. Sure enough, I noticed a difference. So, I stuck it back into my daily routine and I won’t be without it.

Now this other serum that I love is Sothys’ Clarte and Confort serum concentrate.

What it does is that it soothes the redness of the face and tries to strengthen weak capillaries. The beautician at the Sothys’ clinic told me that women often care about the fairness of their face, but neglect to protect weaken capillaries.

Sometimes, these weaken capillaries might break after our skin is being probed and prepped countless of time. Once broken, only surgery can remove the redness - it would take years for it to subside by itself.

Sadly, my capillaries are weak, so I rely on this to help flush away the patch of redness that I suffer from. I have to be honest to say that I can’t stop relying on it - my face would be flushed without it - but it appears that with time my skin is starting to require a heavier dosage of the serum.

The bad news is… this is being discontinued and so my hunt for the next serum to reduce red patches begins once more.