A casual Sunday outing

Feeling great today!!
This photo was taken before going out for shopping.

What I'm wearing today:
Beige top by Zara
Black printed pants from Zara
Loewe Amazona bag




Ended up buying lots and lots of skincare from Clarins...




And went to Popular to get myself these 2 books -
1. 大口吃遍首尔甜点最幸福
2. NLP速读术

Oh, by the way I've finished reading "The Most Important Graph in the World" and is now reading "这样吃，一定瘦” by 王勇明. Hopefully will continue with this reading habit!!


Sigma Beauty Mrs. Bunny Essential Kit

 

This is my newly bought Mrs. Bunny Essential Kit (brush set) by SIGMA BEAUTY.  

I bought it at RM333 nett from Luxola.com, a Singapore based retail outlet. Luxola is offering free shipping by DHL to Malaysia for purchases above RM100. I'm glad to have bought from Luxola because if not, it would have cost me USD120 + min. USD20 shipping fees which may end up RM420 or more!!! Imagine the cost saving I've gained.

 

This essential kit consists of 12 brushes for the face and eyes which include:

 

E05 - Eye Liner: Create smooth and even lines. Use with gel or liquid liners.

E30 - Pencil: Soften and smoke out lines. Soften pencil liners along the top and bottom lash lines, add shadow to line the eyes, or use to highlight inner corner of eyes.

E40 - Tapered Blending: Soft blended crease. Using just the tips to apply color, sweep back and forth through the crease for a diffused and blended finish.

E55 - Eye Shading: Even application of color. Place color across the whole lid for an even and strong application of product.

E60 - Large Shader: Uniformly cover the whole lid with product. Apply cream shadow base or cream shadow for quick and even coverage.

E65 - Small Angle: Create precise lining. Moves fluidly and easily across the upper and lower lash lines. Use with gel, cream or powder liners.

E70 - Medium Angled Shading: Soft application of color. Use for brow highlighting or to blend the crease.

F30 - Large Powder: Even powder application. Uniform blending of powder products onto the face and body.

F40 - Large Angled Contour: Subtle cheek application. Use the angle to softly contour the cheekbone. Can also be used to apply blush.

F50 - Duo Fibre: Creates an airbrush effect onto the skin. Can be used with powder, liquid or cream products.

F60 - Foundation: Smooth foundation application. Apply liquid or cream products such as foundation and primer.

F70 - Concealer: Conceal small areas. Conceal the hardest to reach areas such as around the nose and eyes. 

Wow!! Definitely it looks professional and do one really need so many brushes? You must be thinking that I'm very good in makeup. No. In fact, I'm only a beginner and I doubt if I will ever use up all.

Then, why am I still purchasing this kit even though I'm not using all?!
Of course other than the more you buy the better bargain you get, brushes from Sigma Beauty are relatively cheap compared to brands like Bobbi Brown or Shu Uemura which costs around RM100 per brush!!! With RM333 I can only buy 3 brushes from Bobbi Brown but now I'm getting 12!!


Even a travel brush set like the image above (Caviar & Oyster Collection Travel Brush Set by Bobbi Brown) costs RM380. It comes with 6 mini brushes and a hard cover. I've compared prices from Shu Uemura and they are offering something similar too. 

 

This Sigma Beauty brush set comes with a Cup Holder for you to hold the brushes and is handy for travelling. The only down side is Luxola doesn't have the black color. The light blue is cool but gets dirty easily.

Today's fashion

Shopping with sister today at Pavilion KL. X'mas decoration is up already and the silly two trying very hard to do a selca with the decoration. Yes, trying very hard to fit the decorations into the picture. (^_−)−☆

What I'm wearing today:
Black long-sleeve shirt by H&M
Blue jeans by Levi's
Brown leather belt by Massimo Dutti
Black boots by Aldo (not captured in the picture though)
Balenciaga giant rose gold city in anthracite

忽然想学韩语

学了多年的日语好久没用，已大部分给忘记了。但简单的还会读一些、说一些，至少去到日本也不怕。

现在却心血来潮想要学韩语的说。
不是因为韩流所以想跟着学，也不是要看、听得懂韩剧（虽然有常在看，但都有附上翻译）。

我想是自从我从韩国回来以后，发现韩国人的英语真的很不行。觉得韩国人蛮artistic，如果想要学习更多，就得看得懂韩语才行。如果有生意来往，懂得韩语就会更方便。又因为忽然有些很好听的韩语歌，我也想跟着唱。就忽然间很想学了。

这首歌是我在韩国逛一间店的时候店内所播放的，一听就爱上。当我很想有个冲动想问店员这首歌的歌手是谁的时候，忽然灵光一闪，就想到了。全因我对声音的辨识能力超强！回国以后就立刻给我找到了！！

The Most Important Graph in the World

Yes I'm reading this recently. Although I haven't finished reading (because I don't normally read), it's really a good book worth reading and recommending.

Tony Buzan is the guru of mind mapping and this book teaches us how to improve our memories and be more creative and successful in what we are doing. To the contrary of what we used to think, memory with proper training improves over time. If you want to find out more, go read it!

As I have said before I don't like to read and good book that appeals to me is hard to come by. Many times I started with first few pages and the book was eventually left somewhere untouched. It simply doesn't have the "element" to attract me to continue reading. Is it a lame excuse? But I prefer reading educational or inspirational books like this rather than story books or fictions. Nothing wrong with fiction but just my individual preference.

The last time I read a good and eye-opening book is "The World is Flat" by Thomas Friedman. Haha! The one and only. Do let me know if you come across good inspirational book like this. I would like to do more reading. Just a little bit more persistence though...

Long time...

 

It has been a rather long time since I last updated this blog of mine...

The reason/excuse being - lazy+busy...

 

Yes I've made the decision. The decision which I'd been pondering over and over. Let's hope that with the new challenge I'll be happier...

 

On a separate note, just want to share my latest style, for my memory, while I'm still considered "young".

  

I'm wearing:

Printed peplum top in black from Zara

Tight jeans in black from H&M

Pumps from Pedro

Loewe Amazona bag in Gold/Mink (my latest fave collection~)

 

 

Crossroad

我那新上任的boss有一天在聊天的时候跟我说，你这个年龄应该已经很清楚自己要什么。
是吗？

我本来以为这是我要的，但两年以后又觉得这好像不是我要的。这是我个人问题吗？
就像她说的，都什么年龄了，活到这么大还犹豫不决，还不知道自己想要什么。
别人看来会觉得这个人很有问题。
是吗？

我忽然觉得那么拼是为什么，为钱吗？
好像也赚不很多。但不为钱吗？
好像也说不出个所以然来。
只觉得别人都在看，自己成功与否。

忽然觉得好累，不想再拼了，好像不值得。
可是别人都在拼啊？！也不是只有自己在辛苦。
如果现在放弃，好像两年的累积下来的功夫都白费了。

可是好想暂时什么都不想，将一切抛开，
好好认真对待自己，你说好吗？

这样的十字路口，只有我一个人有这样的问题吗？

Taeyeon唱的电视剧主题曲

我很懒惰写blog, 只是喜欢写beauty和音乐。所以喜欢在这里分享我喜欢的。我知道未必合别人口味。可是没关系，就算没有读者我也乐在其中。
最近一直百听不厌少女时代团长兼主唱的TaeYeon所唱的OST。
尤其是最新的这首《疯狂地想着你》，真是唱到心坎里头去了。
如果有看The King 2 Hearts更有共鸣。



接下来就是这首《贝多芬病毒》主题曲 - Can You Hear Me


还要推荐的就是《Athena》主题曲～I Love You
可惜没有现场版

2012 Birthday Dinner

This year we had my birthday dinner at El Fresco Italian restaurant @ Empire shopping mall, Subang.

We ordered our fave pasta and a grilled salmon which we picked from the Jaya grocery wet market ourselves.

An ordinary but nice and happy dinner ~ thanks to hubby!!

让人鸡皮疙瘩的声音

在FB看到朋友分享了这首歌的MV, 而且还写道: "powerful voice", 引起了我想要听的欲望。怎知一听之下。。。

开场的时候还好，中规中矩，还算是一把好声音。直到听到chorus部分，竟然像变了另一把声音似的，让我起了goose bumps...

到底是怎么回事呢？
自己听听看吧。。。

我喜欢live version，比较可以考验实力。


来一首慢歌又怎样，更可以听得出一个人的唱功。


听后感：音域很阔，再一次证明了韩国人很会唱。听了Ailee，李佳薇请靠边站。音乐无分国际，所以我是对人，不看国籍。 我喜欢这种powerful voice，而不是呐喊或刺耳的尖叫。

Styles to steal

My fave Japanese model ~ Mori Erika and her fashion sense ~ love it!
Pictures I "stole" from her blog~~












Love her boots and her Chanel sling bag especially~
Overall she looks simple yet impressive~~

Love the jacket and the pleated skirt.

Don't dare to try short skirt like this as it might look too young on me~

She pulls if off well without looking girly~

I love this look ~ she looks feminine and elegant
Especially love the pink Balenciaga ~~ so itchy to get one!!

Life of a Brand Manager in Abbott

Today while entering multiple entries for coming appointments & meetings, couldn't help but to snap pictures of my monthly schedule.

This is my Janurary schedule. I've entered only for meetings & appointments, not to mention time to properly sit down and do my work.

My February schedule is even worse. Again, these are just meetings, appointments & training. I've not even included a long, long "To Do" list.

And my March schedule is filling up already by now. More to come...

So, basically I work averagely from 9am to 12am, Monday - Friday. Yes you are right. I bring work back to home and my laptop is on until I'm ready to sleep at 12am. That also explains why I hate and unwilling to work on Sat or Sun, although there are times when I need to.

This is a typical lifestyle of a marketing personnel in Abbott. There is no work-life balance in our dictionary. My colleague who has joined for less than a year asked me, "how long could he sustain?". Ya, I started asking myself the same question from time to time....

下雨天

这是一首2008年的歌，却是我在2012年第一次听到。
而且是第一次听就爱上了。
虽然不会特别钟情像Lara般娇滴滴的声音，可是这一次她诠释得很好。
旋律一听就喜欢。还以为是新歌，怎么一回家找一找才惊觉是4年前的歌。
南拳妈妈的音乐有带丁点周杰伦的味道。。。

不可错过的new fave

最近蛮喜欢一个女子组合 ~ T-ara。虽然不是新组合，也蛮有知名度，却是最近才发现她们的歌蛮合我胃口。韩国歌手厉害的地方就是能跳能唱。而我也是看了她们的舞蹈觉得新异、很棒！

这首是我看了而对T-ara改观的舞曲。很喜欢她们的shuffling dance和80年代feel。
Lovey Dovey



Cry Cry ~ sexy dance moves


Roly Poly ~ Japanese version but equally good as 韩文原曲!
又是另一首80年代feel 的舞曲~ 正!!


We were in love - 很surprised她们也可以唱像连续剧主题曲般的歌曲

重温N年前喜爱的歌曲

星期日的下午， 重温以前喜爱的日文歌曲，有回到从前的感觉。
随着韩曲的流行，已渐渐把日曲给忘了。
如今重温，还很喜欢。

Kou Shibasaki ~ Tsuki no Shizuku
她的声音虽属普通，这首歌却很好听。


Ayaka ~ 三日月
她的powerful voice不用置疑。

Starbucks 2012 Planner

Finally got my Starbucks 2012 Planner after days of collecting reward points!!! Throughout these days I even posted a complain (among others) on Starbucks Malaysia facebook page for not updating double reward points fast enough.

I remember I missed my chance last year or the year before but the design of the planner was better that year (and that probably explained the high demand).

By the way, this 2012 planner is worth RM88 according to Starbucks. If you prefer to purchase, you can get it immediately at this price.

Home-cooked Food Catering

Due to tired of dining out everyday which always end up eating the same thing, we decided to start the new year with food catering. It also saves us travelling & waiting time.

This is the result of hubby's hard work - researching in forums looking for recommendations from forumers (can you believe the power of internet or social networking nowadays?!). So the forumers highly suggested this Kong family who only delivers to none other than USJ area. The Kong family stays in USJ 14 themselves.

According to the forumers, if you are not a big eater, a one-person serving is good enough for 2. Moreover we tend to eat less at night. It costs us RM170 per month for weekdays only. We have to pick it up everyday from their house between 4.30pm to 9.00pm. This is because they don't send to apartments or condos.

Today is the second day and so far, we find the food not bad indeed!! As I've done food catering before since young in Ipoh, I've never had good impression as either I didn't quite like the dishes they served or the taste wasn't that good. So we are quite relieved that the food is not too oily and taste good as well.
 

This is today's dishes, meant for one person. But two of us habis semua without rice!!

It's 2012!!!

Yay it's 2012!!! Am I supposed to be excited & happy?
Tomorrow's gonna be 1st day at work... it's a brand new year with again, CHANGE!!

2012, change of company structure, change of GM, change of immediate superior,  change of sales team structure, and luckily, the brands that I manage don't change much. One brand less to manage, in fact. Let's hope for a better change!

I don't make resolutions every year. Do not know why, perhaps I'm less of a planner. If I'm not a planner, what am I? My ex-boss told me he isn't a planner too but a non-planner may not be a bad marketing people. I hope not.

So for 2012, for a change, let's see what I want to accomplish this year...

1) Go Japan with a BF in Mar/Apr
Chellene approached me for this trip, earlier planned to be in Dec 2011 but I proposed to put off to Mar/Apr since it's a sakura season that time and warmer. I hope this will come true as Mar/Apr is usually a busy month. But which month is not busy for me?! So I'll have to plan ahead my work and go for my holidays no matter what.

2) To conceive
Have been telling myself and everyone that I want to conceive this year. Haha! Why this year? Simply because machine is getting older and rusted.... But can only start planning after come back from my Japan trip. Too many changes especially in job in 2011 so I hope this year things will be more steady and smoother to make time for myself.

3) To be less busy at work & spend more quality time at home (more of a wish)
Again, as mentioned above, have been too engaged & dedicated to work that I've no time for family planning and trip last year. So this year I want to have work-life balance. To have more quality time at home also means to have time for reading books, exercising, doing favourite past-time, etc.

4) Cut down on spending
Spending habit has been getting crazier & crazier. My credit card statement balance is exponentially increasing and never seem to come down. I'm a bit concerned that with this bad habit I'll have to have more money for retirement. So, it's time for wise spending. But it's hard for me to make that change I know. Any tips?

So, looks like it's all about CHANGE!!
So I'm sharing and dedicating this song to EVERYBODY who wants to CHANGE for the better...



and this song for those who like Kpop -- Change by Hyun_A (from 4 minute) featuring Jun Hyung (from Beast)

絢香 おかえり

很开心Ayaka终于回归了~
2009年因病而退出歌坛，还以为这么棒的一位歌手就此“消失”了，好可惜的说。

2012年终于回归，并将在二月推出个人专辑。好期待~
新专辑收录的一首歌 ~ The Beginning


另一首好歌 ~


之前最最喜欢的Ayaka的歌是《Blue Days》。到现在还是很很喜欢。

Craving for Mille Crepe

Have been longing to eat Mille Crepe ever since I saw people posted about this French dessert quite some time ago.

Although I didn't know how it tasted like, the appearance of the cake especially the multiple thin layers attracted me. I can tell it's not easy to make and that might be the reason there aren't many places selling this type of cake.

After some research, the best so far based on reviews from the netizens is Nadeje Cafe in Malacca. The nearest will be Humble Beginnings (only available online and they are selling whole cake only) and Food Foundry, PJ. Some said that the chef from Nadeje left and founded his own online cake business, hence Humble Beginnings.

However, I only wanted to try a slice and so I had a date with my sister, who happened to have tried their Mille Crepe before at Food Foundry, Section 17, PJ.

The outlook of this restaurant is not as nice as shown in this picture though. Perhaps my sis found the art on the wall interesting and took a snap of it.

This is not Mille Crepe, instead, it's Almond Tiramisu. We loved it too!!

Vanilla Mille Crepe ~ simply yummilicious~

Not to forget to pair it with Cappuccino.

Address: BG-8, Happy Mansion,

               Jalan 17/13, Petaling Jaya.

Business Hours: Mon - Sun: 11am - 10pm