Ion Orchard

I went to school to hand in my report today but the prof was out so I just left it outside the door. I'm praying he finds it safely!!!

Then I went to the new shopping mall, Ion Orchard! (Built by the construction company I was doing a project on the other time. Pah.)

We had lunch at Ginza Bairin! Katsudon and Katsu curry rice! The miso soup had extra stuff inside which was quite yummy. The pork cutlets are really good and thick! But I still think that those at Tonkichi are better and crispier. :D
I washed it down with a Rum and Raisin milkshake from Patiscream. $7.90, kind of pricy. Not worth the calories either, imo.

Then we bought macarons from Bakerzin! They're having a promotion now and one macaron is slightly less than a dollar each. I got lemon, coffee and hazelnut. The coffee's the best with a firmer shell and strong coffee taste. The lemon shells were way too crumbly.
Recently I got around to eating the instant beef noodles I brought back from Taiwan. They are absolutely fantabulous!!! I'm drooling just thinking about them!!! SO SO GOOD. So cheap too! About SGD$2.50 per pack of 5? I want a whole carton sent back to me! -drools-

Life is catching up with me. My room is excessively messy and school starts in about 10 days? Clean-up time!

Taipei, Taiwan: Day 2

Dress-down!


Our hotel was located in the heart of Ximending so it was really good for exploring the streets! You can walk from any direction and find good shopping!
TW told us to have 排骨麵 (pork chop noodles?) at the basement of 萬年大厦 so we did! The pickles are really nice and the pork chop is so crispy and perfect!
We spotted Rain's beauty shop - Nature Republic. It's kind of like Skinfood or Face Shop.
Mister Donut makes the most awesome donuts ever! Pon de Lion is so cute! My favourite are the chocolate mochi rings. :D

We met TW outside 頂呱呱 and we set off for Wufenpu!

Not many pictures there, but believe me, we bought a whole tonne of stuff. Cos it's a huge wholesale place and things are generally cheaper there. Downside is, usually you don't get to try it on. Then again, once you've shopped at Wufenpu and you go to the other shops at Ximending, you won't feel like shopping cos the other shops mark-up the clothes quite a bit.

Traffic is scary though. The roads are so narrow but there'll be motorcycles and bikes whizzing past. Sometimes you see huge wholesale vans squeezing their way through the tiny roads, which is seriously quite dangerous. We're literally an inch away from the truck and sometimes it'll make a turn which moves it closer to us. Imagine getting your foot run over by it! :O

At night, we went to Raohe Night Market.
Me and TW!


They sell this meatbun that Raohe Night Market is specifically famous for. Nice and flaky! They roll up the bun real fast.

Funny UV hats that my mom has always wanted but look so horrible!!! :P

Other food, like candied haw and fried prawns etc.


Tired out at the MRT.

On our way back at Ximending, we saw this guy by the roadside displaying his squirrels.
Fiona:
1st day = NT$20,000.
2nd day = -NT$500.
(^^)V

TW's mom was very nice and bought us takopachi and a sweet bun. The takopachi is really nice and different from the ones in Singapore, they mix in wasabi too!

So that was the 2nd day! I've done 6 pages of my PA report; 10 more pages to go! Till tomorrow!

Taipei, Taiwan: Day 1

I'm BACK!!!
It was 8 days of fun... We went to lots of places and bought so much stuff, packing was a chore... And of course our suitcases were too heavy so we ended up having to re-pack at the airport but that was ok cos our plane was delayed...

Thank God there wasn't a typhoon! And we were lucky cos it didn't rain the entire time we got there, except on the last day when we had to manouevre our loot (1 huge suitcase each plus 2 or 3 more heavy heavy bags) in the heavy rain... But it was an experience!!! (^^)V
Our very first dinner at 頂呱呱! The sweet potato fries are really good! Then when I returned to Singapore, my parents told me there was a report on how they change the oil infrequently so it's more acidic than normal oil. -_-U Oh wells. It tastes great!!
All the Payeasy stuff I bought!!! :O I collected it from 7-11 and the counter staff were so shocked!

Stuff I bought from Watson's. I bought like 3 bottles of Mentholatum UV Tinted Milk cos you can't get it in Singapore! It's good!


Our hotel room!

So that was the first night! Will update again tomorrow! I haven't fully unpacked yet, I'm still dealing with the whole bunch of stuff I bought. :O Even after I'd unpacked lots (to put on the dining table to show my family), my sister took a look at the remaining contents of my suitcase and was properly shocked cos it was like I hadn't unpacked at all. HAHA!

I have to write my internship report too; it's due in 2 days! :O Ok ciao!

Taiwan!

I'm going to Taiwan tomorrow with my dearest shorty friend (^^)V so I won't be blogging the entire week till next Sunday!

It's typhoon season and they just issued a warning today... I'm praying my plane doesn't hit turbulence cos I'm super scared of it.

Here's to 8 days of shopping and eating! :D

Review: My Beauty Diary 我的美麗日記 sheet masks

Today's only Monday, but I have only 3 more days left at work... because I'm taking leave tomorrow as well! Went to the doctor today... apparently I have to go to a specialist for my gastric problems, but I'll only get an appointment 3 months later. Still, 2 days' leave! Woots!

Here's a review of the 我的美麗日記 Beauty Diary sheet masks TW gave me a while ago! I'm looking forward to buying boxes of them back! From left: Pearl mask, aloe mask, natto mask.

These masks are really great, and the fabric is thin and soft which makes it adhere well to the skin.

Pearl Mask(whitening)
This has a very strong powdery kind of fragrance, but it smells quite pleasant to me. Really gives a whitening/brightening effect which is noticeable after I remove the mask. Not as moisturizing as the Aloe mask though.

Rating: 9/10 (- cos of the strong scent and not enough moisture)

Aloe Mask(hydrating)
This one has a faint pleasant scent and is very very moisturizing and soothing! It contains hyaluronic acid as well and really helps soothe the skin after exfoliation. Seriously good for dry skin. I love this! It's even better than Neutrogena's Deep Hydrating Mask! No whitening effects but it doesn't claim to whiten, so that's ok.

Rating: 10/10

Natto Mask(firming, anti-aging)
This one doesn't smell like Natto at all (thank God!) and actually smells quite nice, in a florally sort of way. It's more moisturising than Pearl, but less than Aloe. I quite like this! It firms the skin a bit as well. No whitening effects.

Rating: 9.5/10


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Ok I'm so tired I'm going to bed. I've managed to order my Payeasy stuff over the weekend, but forgot about my friend's and then when I was in so much pain suddenly she smsed me to ask me to help her order and I really don't feel like it right now, especially since it takes me so long with my Internet connection.

I'm supposed to go celebrate my friend's 21st tomorrow... I hope I'll be able to make it. Won't be eating anything even if I go though. :(

Tomorrow will be a better day! Nights!

1 more week...

Short update:

I'm down with a mild case of food poisoning and a fever. No work today and tomorrow = no money. Sadness!

Worst thing is, we have a planned family Kbox outing and dinner tomorrow... so I can't not go can I? I still have to practise my violin and my piano dip pieces... Stressed!

And my Internet is so slow, I need to order my BeautyMaker and Niu-er Bio Beauty stuff from Payeasy to collect in Taiwan but the website refuses to load! Maybe I'll bring my laptop to work on Monday... (Seriously, everyone has a computer to use at work except me. Doesn't it suck?)

Hope tomorrow will be a better day!

Review: Sukin Organic Skincare

I am extremely happy today cos I managed to plan my timetable with my ideal timeslots! Yayness!!! So here's a review today! (I have loads of stuff on my review list, just that I don't have the time to blog!)

Sukin organic skincare is from Australia and it's really affordable! I've been using the facial cleanser for a month, the rest for like 2 weeks and they're totally great! All their stuff comes in amber bottles and have a use-by date of 6 months which seems quite annoying at first, but you'll definitely use it all up by then! All the products do not contain SLS or fragrances (though they're scented with essential oils).

Sukin Foaming Facial Cleanser
This comes in a 125 ml bottle. (There's a promotion at Watson's now, 2 for $18 which is so cheap!) It's a clear gel which smells really good (like a mix of tangerine and mandarin essential oil) and contains good stuff like aloe vera, chamomile, rosehip oil, vitamin C and evening primrose oil, among other things.

It doesn't use SLS (which I find harsh and drying) and uses coco-betaine instead, which is vegetable-based. People not used to it will find it foams differently, but it still foams into a gentle lather and I love it! (My skin clinic's facial wash is also coco-betaine based, so I'm used to it.) I find this cleanser an inexpensive alternative to my skin doctor's cleaner, which costs about $43 for 250ml. It's great for cleansing oily skin without leaving it dry or tight. It's probably good for all skin types, since it's so gentle. I'd buy this again and again!

Rating: 10/10

Sukin Antioxidant Eye Serum
This comes in a 35 ml tube which is crazily huge. Like all Sukin products, it has a use-by period of 6 months, so who can apply 35 ml of product to their eye area in that short period of time? Ridiculous. I got this in a bundle with the facial moisturizer for $29.90, so the price is great.

This has no scent and is a white, sticky gel-cream which doesn't seem to absorb into the skin that well, cos it'll leave white residue around the eyes if you apply too much. And I have a tendency to apply loads of it cos there's just so much of it! So usually I use it at night. It's also a wee bit too sticky for day use. It definitely moisturises the eye area and reduces fine lines, but doesn't do much for dark circles.

Rating: 8/10

Sukin Facial Moisturiser
This comes in a 125 ml bottle, but mine's the travel version. It's a light creamy lotion that smells just like the facial cleanser. It contains ingredients like aloe vera, glycerin, sesame oil, avocado oil, jojoba oil, cocoa butter, rosehip oil, shea butter, wheatgerm oil and other essential oils which I think are to add fragrance. All those oils (especially sesame oil) made me really wary but they're actually non-comedogenic so it's fine.

It suits oily skin cos it moisturises well without leaving a greasy sheen. It felt a bit heavy at first (cos I was used to using Simple's Oil Balancing Moisturiser which was really light), but it's actually very manageable - I can slather loads onto my face without feeling suffocated. And while it doesn't control oil, it doesn't make my skin more oily either, so I love it!

Rating: 10/10

Conclusion: Sukin is a great brand and I'll definitely repurchase the cleanser and moisturiser. I'm so looking forward to trying more of their products!

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Ok, I'll be off to practise my violin now - going off to play the piano in the evening. The adrenaline of planning my timetable is gone and I'm kind of sad cos I didn't manage to go runnng this week. Long tiring weekend, here I come...