September 2013 Bellabox

Hello!

I have been so swamped with work that this post is 2 weeks late!
This will be a really short post, imma show you lovelies what I got in my September Bellabox 🙂

This month’s theme is Pink Me Up! So the box and insides are just pink pink pink!

Let’s take a look inside shall we 🙂

1) La Clinica Gly C Refine Micro Dermabrasion Facial Exfoliating Scrub, 10ml

La Clinica Gly C Refine Micro Dermabrasion Facial Exfoliating Scrub

Wow that’s a long name. Hahaha. Said to be a “home skincare remedy for smoother and softer skin“! I’ll let y’all know how it is once I give it a shot!

RRP: 100ml/ $59

2) Recoliv Beauty Collagen

Recoliv Beauty Collagen

Mmmm collagen! Who doesn’t love collagen? Plus this has red grapes extract and I’m a grape lover so I’m sold!
It said to be “pleasant tasting” as well so I can’t wait! I think I’ll bring one to work tomorrow…

RRP: Box of 30 / $75

3) Wish Formula Jjoyy Bubble Peeling Pad

Wish Formula Jjoyy Bubble Peeling Pad

A peeling pad that “helps to eliminate dead skin cells and smooth out fine lines and wrinkles to reveal a much healthier and luminous radiance”.
Maybe I’ll pass this to my mum and see if it helps her with her lines 🙂

RRP: 1-pack / $6.50

4) Dr. G Total Active Dual BB Cream SPF50+ PA+++, 5ml

Dr. G Total Active Dual BB Cream SPF50+ PA+++

BB Cream with sun protection! Woot woot.
Though…. I don’t use BB cream as it’s mostly oil based and I don’t want clogged pores… but this apparently has a hydrating essence! So I will try this as soon as my current makeup base runs out.

RRP: 50ml / $55

5) Vaseline Healthy White Perfect 10, 25ml

Vaseline Healthy White Perfect 10

I love Vaseline!! This is said to address skin concerns such as dark spots, fine lines and uneven skin tone. Yup, sharing the love with my mum as well 🙂

RRP: 200ml/$7.95 ; 350ml/$11.80

6) Enavose Invisible Sunbrella UV Mist SPF45, 10ml

Enavose Invisible Sunbrella UV Mist SPF45

This is definitely useful in sunny Singapore! I neeeeeed all protections from the sun cuz I already have many freckles… booo…

RRP: 30ml / $39.90

7) Dr Morita EGF Platinum Mask

Dr Morita EGF Platinum Mask

Another mask! Said to help with elasticity, firmness and smoothness of bothered skin.

RRP: Box of 10 / $15.90

8) Dr Morita Eye Mask (bonus item)

Dr Morita Eye Mask

I definitely need this after my “production week”. So this is timely!

I know I said a short post… hahah. But I couldn’t just leave those pictures without saying a thing or 2. So there you have it.

Oh, remember I said I signed this up cuz of the free gift box? I finally got it! Here’s my choice:

I’m a happy happy girl. I have used the elastic bands and I love them! They don’t pull my hair as much 🙂

Alrighty, nighty night peeps. I’m off to bed!

XOXO
♥ Cres

Irodori Japanese Ala-Carte Buffet

Last night, the boyfriend booked a place for us at Irodori! It’s a japanese buffet that I have been wanting to try a looooong time. I heard that it’s not easy to make a reservation so I’m surprised when he told me on Thursday that we’ll be dining there on Saturday!

Colors, colors everywhere!

Stepping in, almost all seats are taken. No wonder you gotta make a reservation before going, looking at their reservation list – it’s full house!

So I’ve read about reviews about how unfriendly their staff were but they looked rather pleasant to me! Most of them were all smiles 🙂

Let the feasting begin!

These 2 dishes are not on the menu, but you can only have 1 serving per pax…

This…is a palette cleanser I believe.  But it tastes soooooo good! The tofu was sooooooo silky smoooooth! Love it!

Grilled Mentai Prawns

This was absolutely delightful as well! Fresh succulent prawns with the delicious mentai sauce. Yummmm!

And the rest of the food we ordered… we ordered repeatedly for some… hahah.
Not gonna do a commentary on every dish, so just enjoy the pictures!!

Enoki Shitake Butter Yaki

Mixed Tempura

Chawan Mushi

Irodori Maki

Shake Sashimi

California Maki

Shisamo

Yakitori

Chicken Katsu

Tonkatsu

Spider Te-maki

Cold tofu

Tebasaki

Zaru Soba with Inari sushi in the background

Kanistick Bacon Maki

Croquette

Age Gyoza

Buta Enoki Maki

Beef Enoki Maki

Futo Maki with California Maki

And there were a few others that I didn’t photograph…

Overall, for $35++ ($41.20 billed), there was quite a variety to choose from. For sashimi lovers, just order sashimi at your free will, and it’s all worth it already. Plus the sashimi is really fresh! And they are not stingy with the proportion served.

An interesting thing about this place is that when you place an order, they will ask you how many pieces of that item you’d like – that’s pretty smart! And there should be less wastage with this system 🙂

Waiting time in between orders varies. Sometimes it comes really promptly, but sometimes we’d have to wait for quite a while….

Will I go back another time? Yup, I sure will. I’m thinking of bringing my parents along the next time.

Have you been to Irodori? How do you like it?

Till next time!

P.S. if you notice, I didn’t watermark my photos this time around. My photos have been going wonky and all rotated for my past few posts, so I’m a lil annoyed by that cuz I don’t know the cause or how to fix it! Baaaah…

XOXO
♥ Cres

NOTD – piCture pOlish Hope, Swatched

Happy Friday!!!!

Today, I share with you a beautiful Australian indie polish – Hope!
From piCture pOlish’s site:

Hope was created with Be from Vernis en Folie 

Inspiration:  The impending birth of her little girl in 2013 (she has now arrived)

Hope is a dark teal green/blue jelly holo (scattered) with a subtle smattering of cobalt glitter designed to come alive with a little shake of the bottle.

It’s a beauty all right!
When I first got it, I thought it was blue! But when I put on the first layer last night,  I then realised it’s a beautiful dark green/teal shade.
Let’s look at the pictures!

All pretty in the bottle ♡

Close up bottle shot! Look at that glitter!!

Outdoors

Indoors with flash

You can see the green in this!

Ahhh. Isn’t it gorgeous!
Wait, now for the macros! (I got myself a macro lens! ^-^)

Well that HK Girl Topcoat was sooooooo shiny! So I could hardly find an angle without catching a reflection! Hahaha. Oh but I still love that wonderful topcoat ♡

Here’s another:

#cressays:
Hope is a beautiful teal polish packed with glitter!
Formula was really smooth!
This is 2 coats, 2 coats brings out the rich deep teal shade with full opacity.
Dry time was amazing! By the time I finished painting the first layer of my right hand, the one on my left is already dry and I could proceed with my 2nd layer of painting!
Love it really! I need more of theeeeese!

Have you tried any piCture pOlish polishes? What do you think of them? Any recommendations? Let me know 🙂

Smile! The weekend is here 🙂

XOXO
♥ Cres

Foodie time with le mummy ♡

Goooooooood morning/afternoon/evening (depending on where you are and what time you’re reading this) 🙂

So I took the day off yesterday and spent some time with my mum. We went in search for foooooood.

First up, Bear Bites @ *SCAPE

This hails from Taiwan, famous in one of its night markets, and it’s now in Singapore!
I first saw this on a local paper when they first started out. And the pictures were just too cute!
I tried to bug the boyfriend to go with me but he wasn’t interested, at all. Boo.
Then, on Tuesday night, a food show on Channel 8 recommended it and that is how I convinced my mum to go with me.

The first thing you see right outside is these signs:

We ordered 1 set to share.
We went with the Chicken + Oat bun + Mushroom sauce meal (I.e. fries and a bottle of green tea) – $8 (the sauce was $0.20).

Pawprint!

#cressays:
It’s like eating “kong ba pao” (a type of bun with braised pork – picture of it later) but with fried chicken. That was the idea that inspired this actually – the fusion of Western and Asian.
The bun was really soft! But the chicken was….not really well marinated. I munched on a part that was tasteless and one part was marinated… so that could be improved I suppose 🙂
As for the fries, I’m not a fan cuz it’s all soggy.
Overall it was a nice experience! But am not sure if I’ll go back there anytime soon.
Oh and this is the “kong ba pao” I was referring to…

This was dinner tonight!
Usually it’s without the roman lettuce but I like to add some in mine to make it crunchy and it helps with the taste 🙂

Back to yesterday….

Next stop – dessert!
We headed to Taiwan Xiao Chi at Centrepoint.
Again, the food show the night before featured their dessert – one of my all time fav Taiwanese dessert – sweet potato and yam chewy balls 蕃薯和芋圆 (not sure how to describe it…)

White - Yam; Orange - Sweet Potato

Pretty disappointed on first looks

But, boy were we disappointed…
1) out of 3 base choices, there was only 1 left (warm grass jelly) as the cold options were “out of stock”
2) the “warm” grass jelly is cold on the inside… so…that’s not really warm now is it…
3) I wanted to get this “mango and coconut noodle ” dessert – sounds interesting no? BUT, the coconut noodles was (again) out of stock

So we got this instead…

Which was like chicken floss, some egg and cauliflower with some chilli flakes wrapped around with instant prata (those frozen one you can get in supermarkets).
Nope, not impressed.

#cressays:
The dessert was alright…. nothing fantastic, nothing like the one advertised on TV….
I much prefer the one at Blackball. That IS da bomb. I need to go back there and get one soon…
And well, you should know how I feel about the other one…

In the evening, we went to have some hor fun!

This is yummy! A lil salty, but it was gooooooood. So at least our day ended well!

So there it was, my foodie day with le mummy. It’s nice spending time with her after a hectic period at work 🙂

Oh, and happy mid autumn festival!
★中秋节快乐!★
Here is what I bought for my mum…

And this is what she made! Shanghai yam mooncakes!

Look at the moon tonight! It’s exceptionally round and bright 🙂

So what did you do today?
What’s your latest food adventure?
Would you give the Bear Bites a try?

Till next time!

XOXO
♥ Cres

NOTD – Liquid Sky Lacquer Iris Illusion (Final! Part 4 of 4)

Hello!!!

Finally, the final swatch from Carolyn’s package – it is….. *drumroll* the beautiful thermal Iris Illusion!

Spotlight on Iris Illusion

Let’s take a look at some bottle shots…

This looks seemingly pensive no?

Iris Illusion is a beautiful thermal polish that changes from a dusty periwinkle blue when warm to a gorgeous purple when cold!
And did I mention there’s a holo quality to it? Yes! It’s a scattered holo beauty! And that holo sparkles right and bright especially in the cold purple state!!

It’s hot here in Singapore, we have sun almost all year round. So I’ve been seeing mostly blue of this polish. But, when I’m in the office, and it’s all cold, the purple shines! This is the only time I am thankful of the strong AC in the office. Haha.

Now the swatches (and hopefully my photos don’t go all wonky again…)

Indoors

Outdoors

With flash

You can almost see the various transition states in this last picture here. Almost.

And some extra photos to see the purple goodness!

Dipping my fingers in ice cold water and the purple appears in an instant!

Purple with flash!

And here I made a collage of the transition…

#cressays:
This is my first thermal polish! And I love it! The polish itself was a little thick but I believe I read somewhere that this is a norm for thermal polishes because of the pigments and stuff. But application wasn’t a problem.
This is 3 coats, topped with 1 coat of HK Girl topcoat.
Dry time was a little longer. Took me about 15 mins for the surface to be more or less dry.
But the outcome was well worth it. It’s just so damn beautiful! ♡

Remember with thermals, you should always store in a cool place. Definitely not under direct light and heat.

This can be purchased at Mei Mei Signatures when restocked (currently out of stock).
Check this out along with other beauties at Liquid Sky Lacquer.

And this marks the end of my Liquid Sky Lacquer swatchathon. A big thank you once again to Carolyn, the talent behind Liquid Sky Lacquer for sending me these beauties for review. I hope to review your other pretties too! ^-^

So, have you tried any thermals? Which are your favorites?

Till next time!

XOXO
♥ Cres

NOTD – Liquid Sky Lacquer Pure Luxury (Part 3 of 4)

Hello hello!

Today I bring to you, Pure Luxury a warm gold holo.

Bottle shot of Pure Luxury

    

I thought this looked rather magnificent 😉

Pretty rainbow!

    

Blurred for more rainbow goodness ★

The blurred closeup shot somehow reminds me of the shiny part of an oyster shell! Whaddya think? 

And now, the swatches!

    

With flash

    

    

Look at that! Beautiful no?
I’ll hafta be truthful, when I first painted it, I was thinking…that isn’t gold. It’s more like…sand, taupe even.
But then I finished and looked at it this morning, yup, definitely gold.

#cressays:
Pure Luxury is just pure luxurious!
Application, like her other holos, is a breeze. I used 3 coats for this swatch.
Dry time takes about 10 minutes.
I topped mine with Glisten&Glow HK Girl Topcoat and it dried almost instantly. Both on surface and inside.
The holo just shines in this one. Under strong light the beautiful holo stands right out; but even under natural light, the holo still shines from within!
And I’d say this is perfect for work or even an interview cuz it’s subtle enough.

Love holo? And gold?
Check it out on Mei Mei Signatures.
Check this out and her other colors (also her latest Halloween Collection!) on Carolyn’s Liquid Sky Lacquer site.
Also, follow Carolyn on Instagram for more updates!

So what do you of this color? 🙂

Till next time!

XOXO
♥ Cres

NOTD – Liquid Sky Lacquer Shanel’s Cyan, Swatched (Part 2 of 4)

It’s Monday again here in Singapore!
I apologise for the lack of posts. The past week was hectic for me at work. I end work at around midnight on average and even had to go back during weekends. So I am exhausted….

But here I am again, bringing you another beautiful color from Carolyn at Liquid Sky Lacquer – Shanel’s Cyan.

Every bottle from Carolyn is carefully placed in a bag like such:

And now… the bottle shots…

And the close-ups… (spot the rainbow!)

Under natural sunlight, beautiful teal/cyan color ♥

Blurred rainbow goodness!

Just look at that!

Cyan – the in between of blue and green. It’s a beautiful shade, and it’s been one of my recent favorite shades (teals/mints/cyan – you get the idea)
Then…. holo is added to the mix. How can I not love it??!

Let’s swatch it already!

Outdoors

With flash

Indoors with natural light

Oh just look at that!
My mum complimented this color this morning before I left for work!

#cressays:
2 coats was enough for sub-opacity – meaning it looks opaque, but i still spot VNL (visible nail line) at certain angles…
And hence, I did 3 coats. Only then did the full potential shiiiiiine! The color was brought out to its maximum and so was the holo!
Dry time was normal, was still a little tacky after about 7 mins or so but I topped it off with HK Girl top coat by Glisten&Glow and the surface dried instantly! Annnnnd, it helped the holo shine even more!

Well, if you love holo, you love teal/cyan shades, you need to get Shanel’s Cyan!!

It’s available at Mei Mei Signatures (free local shipping; ships internationally) and of course on Carolyn’s Liquid Sky Lacquer site.
The topcoat is also available on both Mei Mei Signatures and Glisten and Glow.

Have you tried Shanel’s Cyan and/or HK Girl Topcoat? What are your thoughts? Let me know!

Till next time!

XOXO
♥ Cres