forever 21

Was ordering lunch from Loo’s Hainanese Curry Rice this afternoon, and the boss uncle suddenly turned to me and said, ‘小妹，你在读书还是做工？’

‘做工。’

‘你好像很年轻，还是只是看起来？’

‘只是看起来！’ I was rather amused.

It’s rather curious really. Throughout primary and secondary school, people used to tell me that I looked mature. But after I left junior college and went on to university,  people kept telling me I looked young. Now that I’ve joined the working world, I still get that from time to time.

What’s my secret to staying young? I wish I knew! :P

you learn something new every day

Decided to go for threading after work today. After I got a drink from Starbucks, I walked to my usual place, this small Indian beauty salon near Clementi MRT, when I passed this shop selling DVDs. They had a TV blasting a very familiar song. I stopped for a moment to listen, then decided to hurry on.

Suddenly, before I could stop myself, I turned back and returned to the shop. Approached one of the salesmen inside and asked him what song was playing. In response, he immediately gestured to a colleague, who then handed me a DVD box set. I asked the first salesmen if he knew the exact song that was playing, and he flipped the box over and pointed to one of the songs listed on the back.

I looked, and it was……

skincare from laneige

Had been using products  from shu uemura for my skincare routine for the second half of 2011. So when 2012 rolled around, I decided to try something different. Looked at the various cosmetic brands available in the mall near my home, and finally settled on Laneige. The beauty advisor at the Laneige counter suggested that I get three basic products: toner, essence and moisturizer.

After using the Laneige products for about half a year, I think I can give a quick review.

Toner: Power Essential Skin Refiner (Light) (left). This is refreshing on the skin and has a nice light scent.

Essence: Power Water Bank Essence (right). According to the Laneige website, it is a ’24-hour long-lasting moisture essence that contains mineral water for skin regeneration and Water Pump System for moisture circulation to safeguard skin moisture and hold it in to leave the skin moisturized and smooth’.  Felt and smelt like any normal moisturizer though. Anyway, this product was the first to run out and I did not repurchase. Used just the toner and moisturizer and saw no discernible difference in my skin.

Moisturizer:  Power Water Bank Gel Cream (left). Glides on smoothly and smells good as well. But I didn’t like that it came in a jar instead of say, a pump dispenser as it is less hygienic. Anyway,  whenever I used this moisturizer, my face would start to feel a bit oily again after a couple of hours. Poor oil control.

In conclusion, I think I would only repurchase the toner again. :P

by a couple of tones

Just realized that my skin is now slightly darker by a couple of tones.

!!!!!!!!!

Gotta restart applying sunblock religiously every day……

on threading

I have been been threading my eyebrows and upper lip since 2006.

Two Fridays ago (4 November), I went to get them done at my usual place, this small Indian beauty salon near Clementi MRT. My threader had hands so cool that they were almost cold. When I told her so, she immediately cupped my cheeks with both hands. Eeeks!

My dear Dr S Tan once told me that the more you thread, the less painful it is. But in my experience, that has never been the case! Every time I get threaded, it is always as painful as it ever was! And I never fail to end up tearing!!!

Which naturally begs the question of why I still do it. Maybe that’s the masochistic side of me acting.

completely random

A few days ago I was standing at my workstation when my colleague YL suddenly exclaimed, ‘你好白!’  and asked me if I had been using whitening lotion.

Naturally I went ???!!! and replied that it was probably the (fluorescent) lighting.

But for what it’s worth, I have been using shu uemura’s puRENovate range of products, which consists of toner, pore minimizer and moisturizer, for the past half year or so. I like their nice light scent. Most notably, the moisturizer absorbs into the skin and leaves behind a powdery residue, which took a little getting used to in the beginning.

raising an eyebrow

Last Friday my colleague L came over to talk to me. She stood pretty close, and all of a sudden she asked, ‘Your eyebrows, real or fake?’

And I was like !!!!!!, ‘Got fake eyebrows one meh?!’

‘You draw one or what? Very dark, I like!’

‘No lar! Real one!’

‘Very dark, I like!

And I ran my finger through both brows to prove that they were real. Lol!

the end

Finally used up all my RMK blush today!

the right way

My hair was extremely obedient the past couple of days.

I parted my hair on the right and it stayed surprisingly flat, with no awkward puffing up as it usually does!

fairly pleased

Bobbi Brown has opened a new store at a mall near my place (I think it’s its first outlet in the heartlands), so after work today I went to look at their foundations.

The SA tested a bit of foundation on the back of my right hand, then I asked if I could try another one half a shade lighter. She looked at me and said, ‘Your face is very fair compared to your hand,’ before proceeding to apply a bit of the second foundation on my left jawline.

Her comment was a bit odd as I’ve always considered my hand fairer, nevertheless now I know at least one person thinks my face is fairer, which makes me fairly pleased. :D

(For the record, Bobbi Brown foundation comes in 20 shades, and I am the fifth lightest, 2.5 Warm Sand. :) )

hitting the pan

This morning while dressing for work I accidentally knocked my RMK blush to the floor.

Picked it up, opened it and realized that a tiny bit of blush had broke off from the centre, exposing the bottom of the container.

I felt a strange sense of elatedness as I realized that my RMK blush had finally hit the pan after 2.5 years of usage!

to the left to the left

My hair has been parted in the centre for the longest time ever, but recently I discovered that I could move my parting to the left, and my hair would still stay nice and flat.

However, when I tried moving my parting to the right, my hair puffed out disobediently and refused to be tamed. :P

blush

Mum uses L’Oreal blush daily and uses up one every few months or so.

blush

Ages ago, in early September 2008, I somehow had $25 worth of Isetan vouchers. Since I had recently developed some interest in makeup then, I decided to use the vouchers to purchase a blush.

So off I went to Isetan Scotts. Walked around the beauty hall and was dazzled by the amazing array of products on display. Went round and round and round the various counters cos I wasn’t sure where to start looking.

Then the beauty advisor (who looked a couple of years younger than me) at RMK smiled at me, so I stopped to look at their blushes. Spotted some brown blushes amongst the pinks and peaches, so I asked her if those would look weird when applied to the face.

She replied that it would not, and that brown blushes were ‘suitable for darker skinned girls like you’.

!!!!!!

Darker skinned girls like ME!!!!!!

I was stunned speechless for a very long moment.

But then I thought: 童言无忌，童言无忌。

In the end I tried a few blushes, before settling on a peach one.

It cost $36, so I had to pay an additional $11.

That was the first blush I ever bought, and I still use it today. :D