inuovi Warehouse Relocation Sale…

For those of you in Singapore, this should have you sitting up in your seats – inuovi is relocating its warehouse, and will be selling off its stocks at discounts of 70-90%, with a gift for purchases above SGD$50. Sounds pretty good to me!

(click on the image for larger size)

The only caveat here is that it’s only on weekdays, so it may be difficult for some to get there (including yours truly!). Anyone want to do proxy shopping for me? LOL…the sale starts tomorrow, so better start planning your timetables! :D

Wood Would – brings back childhood memories…

If you’ve ever gone into the Cathay complex in Singapore, you may have come across this little store called Wood Would on the third floor that looks like a typical kitschy shop at first glance. I just happened to be led in one day thanks to Erin who was compelled to have a look inside, and I’ll be the first to admit looks can be deceiving in this case!

When you first enter the store, the first thing that strikes you is that the shop is like a tribute to your childhood – there are masses of toys as well as old Enid Blyton hardcover books on display. Wood Would sells a whole range of toys, knickknacks and a selection of wedding or baby-themed albums and journals for personalisation.

The real jewels though, are in the selection of stationery available – not your standard notebooks, journals and stickers, but a gorgeous selection of postcards that come disguised as books. They also have a wide range of thematic stickers and labels available, and knowing my penchant for pretty stationery, how was I supposed to resist buying something? (Ironic, isn’t it? Erin dragged me in wanting to look at stuff, but I ended up buying something instead…)

My pick was this book of French general labels and stickers, which cost me SGD$20. Now, before you gasp and think the price was insane, this book contains 200 labels and stickers, and I get the quality I paid for – good quality smooth paper that won’t bleed or rip easily…and some seriously drool-worthy designs.

This is just a random sampler of a few pages in the book…now I dare you to tell me they don’t look awesome. Just a look at the detail on the borders of the stickers/ labels says it all. I would have loved these as a child (although probably wouldn’t have appreciated it as much as now, having to buy them with my own money!), but then again, we’re all little kids at heart right?

So far, I’ve only been able to bring myself to use a page of stickers…but with a number of birthdays and special occasions coming up, I’m sure I’ll have plenty of opportunity to use them up… ;)


Wood Would
#03-03 The Cathay,
2 Handy Road,
Singapore
Tel: +65 6836 2434

Much ado about Muar… :D

Hey ladies! How was your weekend? I’m back at work but still feeling the effects of my weekend roadtrip up to Muar for a family reunion and to celebrate my maternal grandma’s birthday. To say it was gastronomic ecstasy all the way up and back would still be an understatement… :D

This is the absolutely-must-visit street in Muar – Jalan Haji Abu, which also known as Muar’s Hunger Street…all the food you’d ever want to try in Muar is either along this street or just nearby.

Still a bit early for durian, but who cares if you know where to go and who to buy from? :D

Dinner was spent nomming my way down Hunger Street…wantan mee (loved the homemade springy noodles), pork satay (melted in my mouth), otak-otak (possibly the best I’ve tried) and o chien/ oysters (wins hands down for the best I’ve tried…ever!). And this is just PART of the food we tried in Muar... :O

The rest of the world gets Coffeebean, but Muar’s a little different…they get Elephant Bean! I’d be pretty curious as to how they came up with the name though, if you get what I mean… :p

I stayed at Muar Trader’s Hotel, which was decent enough in terms of amenities, but a word of warning for those heading there – don’t expect the same kind of facilities or standards as another Trader’s Hotel! Probably ok by small town standards la…

The view from the window at night was gorgeous though…it’s situated right next to the Muar River, which explains the bridge lights on the left side…

How was everyone else’s weekend? :D

Of post-CNY thoughts…

Well well…CNY has finally come and gone – how did you all fare this year? :D As for me, the festivities started off for me the weekend before CNY and continued right through into the Rabbit year! Since it’s a Friday anyway, I thought I’d just share some random thoughts and memorable moments from the past 15 (well, technically 21 for me!) days…

Every year, my dad loves to make us dress in traditional Chinese garb and take a family photo, which he then uses as his CNY greeting to family and friends. This year, since I’d already worn the same outfit twice, I got a new cheongsam (yes, it’s purple… :p) to wear for the photo. The dress itself was a bargain – cost me S$49 from the Native Country outlet in Novena.

I love this shot – a cousin caught this as we were trying to do a family ‘camho’ shot…mind you, dad was trying to take the photo with his iPhone! LOL…

The result wasn’t too bad right? Hehe…still needs a bit of honing though to get the photo balanced!

I’m very thankful that I still have grandparents alive, especially my paternal grandma. She seems to get tinier every year, and at a grand age of 91, you’d better believe she can still whup your a**at mah-jong! In this case, she’s got iPhone skills…how many 91-yr olds do you know that can negotiate Fruit Ninja? :D My granny rocks yo!

First day of CNY with granny and my (finally NO LONGER unemployed) brother. Before you ask, yes it’s the same cheongsam – and I finally had a chance to put my Marena supportwear to the test. I’ll go into Marena in a separate post, but in a nutshell I was pretty pleased with the results (and getting compliments from the rest of the family didn’t hurt any either…)

Rinnah and myself purposely invited ourselves over to Xin’s house during CNY to collect angpow since she promised us ‘cute cute bunny packet’…*giggles*

Come to think of it, I actually managed to meet up with quite a few of the girls over CNY – besides our pre-CNY ‘lohei’ lunch, I also managed to haul Connie over from KLCC to Pavilion to have dinner with Tine and myself (and squeeze in some shopping as well!)

Oh, and as far as new items for CNY go, I’m in love with this particular new acquisition…

*squeal of happiness*…I’d been hankering for a new camera for the longest time – it had been a close fight between the Canon S95 and the Panasonic Lumix LX5, but after trying out Tine’s camera (she had picked up the same model some time earlier) the Lumix won!

Caught some fireworks that were going off behind my aunt’s house in Seremban with the new camera – I'd only bought the camera the day before and hadn’t had the chance to learn how to use it yet, so simply used the presets…still, I think they didn’t turn out too badly.

This is my favourite gift over the CNY period – a Sportscraft Jeanie Minibag in my favourite colour…absolutely LOVE it!! :D Thank you thank you girl…you know who you are! *wink*

Oh, and on a side note I got some further happy news over CNY...the renovations at my Ara Hills apartment have finally been completed, and furniture’s been moved in! :)

This is a sneak peek at the living/dining area, but you get the idea…the brown box at the back is the TV which still needs to be mounted, but otherwise I’m most happy with the result. Now if only I could figure out where the heck I’m going to be based in the next year so I can finally move in… >.<

Chap Goh Mei passed without much fuss yesterday. And before you ask, no I didn’t throw any oranges into the river/ pond/ stream/ waterway…because everyone I mentioned it to in Singapore told me it was illegal (ie. considered littering!) Besides, I have a long-standing joke with some friends that what you throw in will indicate how desperate you are…

First year, throw orange…
Second year no result, throw grapefruit…
Third year no result, throw pomelo…
Fourth year no result, throw honeydew…
…and if fifth year STILL no result, heck, throw watermelon! :D


And that’s all she wrote, folks! How was your CNY? :D Collected/ handed out lots of angpows? Stuffed yourself silly on CNY goodies? Come on, share your stories!

Clinique Chubby Stick in Super Strawberry – who you calling chubby?

During my younger days, I was definitely known as the ‘chubby kid’…well, I’m still definitely no waif now, but hey, the word ‘chubby’ used to be synonymous with ‘cute’ (ie. the baby’s so cute and chubby!) or was it just me? LOL…

So when Clinique came out with their Chubby Stick, the first thing I had to wonder was whether it would hold true to the ‘cute n chubby’ description…well let’s see, shall we?

Description:
Clinique’s Chubby Stick Moisturizing Lip Colour Balm is a pleasantly plump and playful nourishing lip balm that’s packed with ‘do-gooders’ to keep lips luscious and irresistibly soft. When applied, the Chubby Stick provides a sheer hint of colour that glides on effortlessly, leaving behind a natural blush of colour and sheen. Infused with Shea Butter, Mango Seed Butter and Jojoba Seed Oil, the Chubby Stick delivers a surge of moisture in a sleek stick leaving lips soft, supple and soothed.

The Verdict:
At first glance, the Chubby Stick looks like an oversized crayon with a silver cap and ‘twisty’ base. The shade I was sent was Super Strawberry, which comes across as a deep pink shade – once swatched however, what you end up with is a sheer reddish pink with a hint of shine. I layered it on twice in the picture above, hence you see a darker hue compared to when applied on my lips.

This is what one layer of Super Strawberry looks like on me after letting it settle for 10 minutes or so – the colour actually fades a bit into a sweet MLBB (my lips but better) rosy sheen which I think I’m falling in love with. The formula of the balm itself feels lovely on my lips, and I like that it’s not sticky and yet moisturising enough without feeling oily.

Moisture-wise, I can’t find anything bad to say about it…at all. Really! Between this and the Lip Smoothie, I still prefer the Lip Smoothie (which I now have three shades of!) because it gives me a nice glossy pout, but on the moisture factor both products stack up on the same level. That said, I wouldn’t mind trying out the Grapefruit and Berry Burst variants of the Chubby Stick either! :D

I can tell you though, that one Chubby Stick will really last you quite some time - I’ve been using this almost daily for over 3 weeks with multiple applications, and have only JUST started twisting the base to push up the balm (by the way, the balm can be twisted both up and down, so no worries if you’ve accidentally twisted too much!). There’s a good inch of balm in the tube, so this will definitely keep me going for a good 6 months at least. At RM50 per tube, it’s quite affordable too for the value you get out of it.

So, is the Chubby Stick really ‘cute n chubby’? Well, yes and more…it packs a punch in the ‘moisturised pout’ department and heck, I’m not beyond being called ‘cute’ when I wear it! *Marilyn Monroe pout mode on*


Clinique’s Chubby Stick Moisturizing Lip Colour Balm is currently available at Clinique counters nationwide and online at RM50 (SRP), and is available in eight shades.


Rating: 4.5 / 5
Value: $$$

Paul Frank Lip Smacker® Collection…

I’m back! And on Valentine’s Day no less…the year 2011 didn’t get off to a very good start for me, and most of January was unfortunately spent trying to wrestle my life back into some semblance of order. Anyway, all that’s been more or less settled now, and as of Chinese New Year, I’m most determined that the Year of the Rabbit’s gonna bring good luck! :D

Anyhow, that brings me back to this little snippet of news from the little red dot down south – anyone recognise the monkey? LOL…

Of course, it’s the logo for Paul Frank – and they’ve tied up with Lip Smacker® to come up with a Paul Frank Lip Smacker® range of flavours and designs. Have I mentioned how much I enjoy Lip Smacker®’s collaborations? First they came up with the whole range of soft-drink flavoured balms (my lips just went tingly with the likes of Coca Cola, Fanta and Sprite!) and now these most adorable lip products! :D

First up is the Paul Frank Lip Smacker® Balm (SG$4.90 each) which comes in 4 flavours – Julius’, Strawberry Banana, Clancy’s Cotton Candy and Mika’s Sweet Cream (the last one sounds wrong, doesn’t it?)

If you’re more of a pot kind of gal, Paul Frank Lip Smacker® Gloss Pot (SG$7.90 each) is probably more up your alley with 3 flavours – Clancy’s Cotton Candy, Chachi’s Fried Ice Cream and Julius’ Strawberry Banana.

Two types of liquid glosses are also available, the first of which is Paul Frank Lip Smacker® Liquid Gloss (SG$5.90) that’s available in 4 flavours – Julius’, Strawberry Banana, Clancy’s Cotton Candy, Chachi’s Fried Ice Cream and Worry Bear’s Honey Sweet. Good for those who want a slick, sweet pout!

If you prefer the liquidy gloss feel, go for the Paul Frank Lip Smacker® Flip Juicees (SG$6.90) which come in 2 flavours – Julius’ Coconut Cream and Sheree’s Sweet Sugar Berry. I’ve been told the coconut one is rather strong, so unless you REALLY like coconut, I’d have my reservations about this one.

I did find this one adorable though – anyone want a Paul Frank Lip Smacker® Key Chain Set (SG$9.90 each)? I’d seriously just buy this to get the Paul Frank keychain…and give the lip balms away! :D There’s an option of either a Paul Frank or Bunny Girl keychain set, which comes with two lip balms each.

There’s only two variants from the US range that we haven’t got, which are the Paul Frank Lip Smacker® Trios Balms (above) and the Paul Frank Lip Smacker® Biggy Balms (not pictured) which are stamped with Paul Frank characters.

At any rate, the prices for the range in Singapore are surprisingly competitive, and perhaps in some cases even slightly cheaper than the US prices so this particular collection bears a closer look. There’s nothing over SG$9.90 so at the very least, your pocket can heave a sigh of relief – and it’s Paul Frank after all… :)

As for me, I decided to pick out a couple of the potted lip glosses to try out – Julius’ Strawberry Banana on the left just because the combination sounded delish to me, and Chachi’s Fried Ice Cream because, well, how can you resist a Chihuahua in a sombrero…and aren’t you the least bit curious what fried ice cream lipgloss tastes like? LOL…

The Paul Frank Lip Smacker® collection is currently available at selected Watsons and Guardian outlets throughout Singapore (they will usually be housed in a standee similar to the first picture in this post).