The elves and the shoemaker

Remember my confession on trying to read more in March 2011? My fairy God mother must have been listening to all my confessions or she has been reading my blog.

Two days ago, I waltzed into Kinokuniya to get the book One Day and found myself spending more time at the fashion section.

Sitting quietly on the tables was the latest book by Camilla Morton’s book. After romancing Lacroix’s whimsical dresses, she makes you fall in love with Blahnik’s tastefully designed shoes. I didn’t even know she has launched a new book!

These fashion designers sure know how to draw for pages after pages were brilliantly coloured illustrations.

Drool… Just drool…

Now I just can’t wait for her next collaboration with Diane von Furstenberg.

Urban Decay Primer Potion

I’m always game to experiment new beauty products to satisfy my beauty fixes.

Another must-have make-up item in my cosmetic pouch is Urban Decay’s Eden eyeshadow primer potion.

For about a year, I’ve countered my oily eye-lids with Smashbox’s Photo Finish Lid Primer. It did help to hold my eye make-up till noon and prevented creasing. Unfortunately, given Singapore’s tropical and humid weather, my eyeshadow always runs by evening time.

Late last year, I pondered if I should purchase Smashbox or I should give Urban Decay a try. After reading a long list of reviews on Urban Decay versus Smashbox, I thought “Heck, let’s just give Urban Decay a shot.”

I purchased Eden - the eyeshadow primer created for oily eyelids.

Pure genius I have to say.

Eden is slightly oily in texture and takes some time to apply. It is best to apply generously over the lids and smoothen the texture evenly. I do like the tilted wand - it makes application that much friendlier. After application, I like to add an eyeshadow base and a dash of colour. Amazingly, the colour stays on till mid-day and requires an optional touch-up for a night out, whilst the eyeshadow base holds on till nightfall.

Retailing for just over $30, it helps my eyeshadow go the distance. And for that I’m grateful.

Urban Decay Primer Potion can be purchased from Sephora. It comes in 3 different formula. Original, Sin and Eden. I personally have not tried original as the SA told me that Eden is better for people with oily lids. Sin is a little shimmery.

The tale of the sleeping beauty

I admit that I’ve been getting too engrossed in shopping for my wardrobe of late.

So I decided to balance it out by indulging my nerdy side in a book spree.

My favourite bookshop has got to be Kinokuniya. Besides having the occasional delicious GWP for their Japanese mooks and magazines - remember the Paul & Joe mook - Kinokuniya is smart enough to stock up on odd books for its readers.

Well, I can’t say that I did suppress my fashion side during the hour at the bookshop.

Guess what I found on the shelves?

Christian LaCroix’s and the tale of sleeping beauty.

I couldn’t flip through the book for it was shrink-wrapped. But given that it was the last copy on the shelves I decided to take a leap of faith and purchased it. Hooray for the 20% off.

When I got home, I gingerly unwrapped the plastic.

Into page 10, I still couldn’t figure out which part was written / illustrated by LaCroix or Morton. I, however, was rather amused with the unique illustration. It’s like Picasso mixed with fashion. Or Alice in Wonderland gone arty. The illustrations contrasted beautifully with the haunting rendition of the original classic.

Due to copyright issues, I can’t reveal to you all the artworks in the book. But I shall leave you with just this one to let you have a taste of the whimsical drawings.

Incredible, you say?

Christian LaCroix’s the tale of the sleeping beauty can be purchased exclusively at Kinokuniya.

The King’s Speech

I was invited to watch the premier of the King’s Speech early this week.

It lives up to its name and all the rave reviews.

I’ve never done well when it comes to history. I’m also never a biggie on historical films. Some how, it just bores me to tears. But I dare say that the King’s Speech is really awesome. I have to add a disclaimer though. This show is not for young children. It would be a little too tough for them to truly appreciate.

The scriptwriter and the director made this simple plot so engaging and touching, it was sheer talent. Given the lack of written records, it definitely took much creativity and effort to churn a simple piece of history into a blockbuster hit.

In a nutshell, the show is about a man’s perseverance in overcoming his speech defects. After seeking treatment from countless of certified speech therapists to no success, his wife knocked on the door of an unsuccessful actor (unbeknown to them) to seek unorthodox treatment methods.

It is without a doubt that the show deserved to be the #1 movie in UK for 3 weeks in a role.

The casting was also superb.

Colin Firth’s depiction of George VI was so genuine and so believable in the movie. His frustration in stammering was so natural, you really can’t help but sympathise with the character. You could feel his anguish, his pain, his long-term suffering.

I was equally impressed with Helena Bonham Carter’s acting. She’s famous for choosing queer roles to act - think Sweeney Tod and Alice in Wonderland. But posed with a serious role, she carries herself pretty darn well. A google search on her reveals that she’s Tim Burton’s partner. By golly! That makes perfect sense.

Now that’s one down from my must-watch list. Next up, I need to catch the Black Swan.

Boeing Boeing

If you have yet to watch Boeing Boeing, you better do before September 4th.

If it’s not for the love of wanting a good laugh - from start to finish, mind you - do it for the eye candy on set.

Adrian Pang’s delivery of Bernard takes the show to a whole new level. It’s the added swagger and smirk that makes the role shine.

And who doesn’t like a girl in uniform? These girls are really hot! Even though I’m pretty sure that their legs were sprayed with Sally Hansen’s leg makeup, they had gorgeous slim legs that go on forever! My favourite character has got to be the kawaii japanese air stewardess played by Emma Yong. Her dramatic antics scores a 120 out of 100 on my score chart.

What makes this show so hilarious is that these 3 ladies present the three different air stewardess to a tee. Chermaine Ang does Miss Cathay Pacific with death stares and spurts of Cantonese phrases. Wendy Kweh hits it home with a heavily Singlish accented speech. And my favourite japanese air stewardess, Emma Yong, breathes so much live and cuteness into her character that you would be left wondering if she did watch too much anime when researching on her role.

The other 2 characters - Robert (played by Daniel York) and Minah (played by Siti Khalijah) also added much flavour to the performance. York added a little more drama into the orginal role, matching Pang’s energetic portrayal of Bernard. I have to say I also loved Khalijah’s take on Minah. I kept repeating the line “it’s not easy you know” for a few hours after the show. It was hilarious.

I was happy that I had chosen an extremely good seat - 11th row centre seats! From where I was seated, I could see all the expressions so clearly!

Long live the theatre in Singapore!

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

If you have been thinking about going vegetarian for a while, but never took the leap of faith… Watch this show and you might just decide to jump onto the wagon.

You will not look at a piece of meat in the same light. Ever again.

Powerfully written and cleverly directed, this is definitely not a show for the faint-hearted. With every minute that ticks by, you will be kept at the edge of your seat - cringing.

I felt sick 30 minutes into the movie. But it was so good, I just had to stay to watch.

Who is the killer? Who is so brutal and cruel?

I just had to know. I just… had to.

It’s a twisted story of a family with dark secrets to hide. And you, would want to know that dark secret.

One of the member has killed the precious Harriet Vanger, and Henrik Vanger - CEO of the Vanger corporation wants to know who did it. It must be one of the family members - they are thirsty to gain control of the Vanger’s assets.

But… who?

Sounds a little like cluedo doesn’t it? Check you are it.

Morbid, horrifying and bloody - all at once - creates a very strange odd concoction of a story.

Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Xing Wang Cafe

Singapore is a unique country. What I love best about Singapore? The food.

After going for a nice walk at the reservoir with my nieces, we headed to Xing Wang cafe at Yishun for our lunch.

After burning under the hot sun for one hour, nothing beats drinking a nice cold cup of lychee tea - well… except drinking green apple - but this cup of lychee tea is really delicious. =D

Another specialty of most Hong Kong cafes is their french toast with honey and butter.

However, topping that, is the never ending list of finger-linking pork chop dishes.

Vote for your favourite!

#1. Tomato-pork baked rice.

#2. Curry flavoured pork noodles.

#3. Black pepper pork chop with fries.

Say… Yum!

Laneige Perfect Renew Dual Touch Eyes Cream

I hate fine lines. It exposes my age and creases my eye make up.

I wish there was some means to BANISH them to planet Pluto.

So I’ve been on a hunt for good eye creams. For… a very long time.

One of my favourite eye cream of all time, is Laneige’s perfect renew dual touch eyes cream. What a mouth full of words.

This eye cream prides on a total 24 hour care, with 2 mini tubs of eye cream - one for the day and the other for the night. It comes with a spatula for you to scoop the cream out with ease. Its function include anti-wrinkle care and UV protection.

Day cream…

I’m not so much of a fan of the day cream as I am of the night cream. The day cream is slightly thick and requires to be ‘warmed’ up before a smooth application. Being always pressed for time, this is not something I look forward to as I need to spend a little longer for the cream to set on the lower lid before I’m able to apply my concealer.

However, I am appreciative that it has an SPF component to it, so I don’t have to slather sun screen on the eye area which might leave bumpy residue over time.

Night cream…

Alright, I’m a huge fan of this cream, as it delivers what it promises. The lower lids appear fuller and the wrinkles are not as visible as it was before. The dark circles are also lightened, and my eyes feel refreshed.

It amazes me how well it works on days where I have had only 6 hours worth of sleep. I go to sleep with reddish lower lids and wake up with refreshed lids.

Price…

The eye cream is slightly pricey (unfortunately I can’t remember how much, but I do remember going… “wow” in my head), but it’s worth the price, as it works.

Rating… 4.5 / 5

I heart my GFFs.

I know this bunch of GFFs for a decade and we are planning on a formal 10 year anniversary celebration this year. I’m so excited!

How much do I love these gals? Pretty much, so much so that we celebrate each others’ birthdays, and we make it a point to meet up once every three months to chill and chat - we are really busy people with very different time schedules…

The other day, we met up to celebrate Bing’s birthday.

She was very happy indeed..

Ganny and I.

I love sushi. I really do love sushi. I love my sushi raw!!!! My mouth is watering just looking at this…

Or.. scallop anyone?

The birthday girl and I.

Ganny and Limin.

On Bing’s request, we had our supper at Max Brenner. Awesome chocolate! I would like to try their super duper chocolate shake one day.

Instead, we decided to share this delicious banana waffle with hazelnut chocolate.

And this heavenly waffle with ice-cream.

Chocolate makes my day… Mmm….

Sex and the City 2

Bring on the bling, the girls and the New York spirit.

Whilst I embraced the show at the beginning and laughed at all the funny scenes in between, I couldn’t help but feel that the show could have a more intriguing plot. 1 hour into the show and I felt that the show was more of dazzle-me-colour-oh-pretty-dresses than plot-material-worthy.

Also, I felt that the show didn’t give a fair portrayal of the Middle East culture… which made me feel a little uncomfortable - the exact same feeling when I watched Kaiji.

But… thank goodness the pretty clothes saved the day.

Here are some snap shots of the outfits that I totally love. Delicious!

What’s there not to love about this outfit. Simple yet stunning. Heart the Louboutins.

Credits: www.theinsider.com

An interesting take on exotic outfits to suit the Middle East’s climate.

Credits: www.filmofilia.com

Ah now these are outfits that I would love to wear! Love the Goddess look that Charlotte is pulling off.

Credits: www.theglobeandmail.com

You know how most ladies would obsessed with Carrie’s array of clothes and wished that they were her? I admit that her outfits are indeed tempting… But, I kinda like Samantha’s character. She’s the one in the show that makes me laugh uncontrollably because her mannerism is just so out of this world!

All the glitz. But you can’t beat having a dog as accessory. After all, Miss Hilton started the trend.

Credits: www.filmofilia.com

I always wondered why giangatic earrings were on sale. I can never pull them off to save my life. But she rocks it so well you wish you owed one of those.

Credits: www.filmofilia.com

Have a great week ladies!