Cranial Aromacology!

I've got a new shampoo I like (though I'm about to finish it cos I got a small bottle)...well, actually I only start liking now despite having used it for awhile...and it's L'Occitane Aromacologie Repairing Shampoo and Conditioner. Thing is, I bought it expecting it to smell super nice but I was a wee bit disappointed that it's got a rather faint smell that's similar to the Johnson Baby classic shampoo (the yellow one). You see, I'm all about smell cos whatever shampoo and shower stuff I use gotta smell divine so this one's a bit of a let down in terms of smell, especially when it's called the Aromacologie range.

Well the smell didn't measure up to my exacting standard but the performance sure does! The shampoo lathers really well to give a very moisturizing wash that leaves hair soft and relatively untangled even without the conditioner which is really great. The conditioner's light but enough to keep your hair tangle-free and because the shampoo keeps my hair quite moisturized, I only need to apply the conditioner to the ends of my hair. It doesn't over-coat hair like the usual Japanese pharmacy mass brands which I really hate, so your hair gets very light and very soft!

And now, I've slowly grown to actually like the scent. Not the ideal nice girlie floral type that I love but it's good enough. The only thing I hate about it is that the conditioner is of a smaller size. The shampoo comes in 250ml but the conditioner 200ml. I have issue with that cos I tend to use more conditioner and I dunno why they have a difference of 50ml...I'm fine if it's the other way round though. Will I buy it again? Yes, I think so! I got a small mini bottle to try and I'm definitely getting the bigger ones now.

Best of 7Up!

Fido Dido eat your heart out! 7Up has just got the best ad ever in China to promote its lucky draw which has got pretty high chance of winning! This ad is brilliant and very hilarious...I love it!!! Now that's something I'm gonna remember! Here's something great to relieve a bit of your Monday-titis...

Notable Quotable

"It was probably a few days before we were saying things like, “I think I’m in love with you.” Now, we say it to each other every night before we go to sleep, and we say it at the end of every telephone conversation, and we write it at the end of every e-mail. Every time you think, I love you, I really believe you have to say it. If you think about holding their hand or kissing them, you do it. I do it all the time."

--Tom Ford ( on his long time boyfriend Richard Bucklety)

Super Nature

I had a very spontaneous shopping frenzy trip to the organic shop, Super Nature, at Orchard Boulevard during lunch last week. HL told me about Super Nature by Club21 and I found that they've got my all time favorite organic brand Balance Me there and I made a very quick beeline down to check it out like literally immediately...took a cab from work and flew down)...

It's tucked in a very secluded corner in Orchard and not the most accessible cos it's at the ground floor of an old condo called Park House which is at the cross junction at Orchard Boulevard and Tomlinson Road.

It's got two sections, one for food and the other for everything else including organic dish washing liquid and toiletries and cosmetics.

They stock a pretty comprehensive range of organic face and body products from the more common brands like Burt's Bee to the more niche ones like Balance Me. Once upon a time, I had to buy my Balance Me either from the UK or from this little clothes boutique from Palais Renaissance called Puce Boutique (which also stock 3 of my favorite labels, Twenty8twelve, Erin Fetherston and Jasmine di Milo). And at Puce, the mark up is freaking ridiculous cos for a bottle of body oil that's about £19, I had to pay $90 sgd!! It's outrageous! And for a £12.26 body wash, Puce was selling at an exorbitant rip-off price of $45 sgd! Since Puce closed down last year (ohhh and you wonder why?! you don't say!), I had to rely on friends shuttling back and forth UK to get my hands on Balance Me cos last checked, they don't ship international...garr...


So when I found out that Super Nature has been selling Balance Me, I rushed down and I came back with a big bag of stuff....my Project Chinese Jew down the drain...but hey, it's not just about toiletries cos I also got food and homeopathic stuff too...

What's in this baggie:

• Balance Me Rose Otto Body Wash
• Balance Me Shampoo
• Balance Me Conditioner
• Balance Me Super Body Oil (the best I've tried!)
• Figs n Rouge Rambling Rose Lip Balm
• Duchy Herbals Detox Tincture
• Boiron Silicea homeo tablets for Fatigue
• Boiron Kali Phosphoricum for tension headache
• Pukka Rose Water (as face mist)
• Bach Rescue Remedy Pastilles 
• Organic Quinoa (full of protein)
• Mitoku Japanese Rice Cakes 
• Bear Yoyos Organic fruity candy (pure fruit actually) 

Yes, quite a bit to lug back but good thing is that Club21 member gets a 5% off, so my membership actually comes in handy cos now with Super Nature, Club21 isn't just about big ticketed items like a brand new hand bag or something...

Okay, will blog about the loot in a different post, but if you're after some good quality organic face and body products, do check out Super Nature cos they really have quite a good selection!

Photog Faux Pas

I made a major boo boo 2 nights ago while taking the bus....and it was embarrassing....

On my way home, I saw this school girl in the bus and there's something off about her. Then I realized, oh, it's actually a dude! A small sized one and he's wearing some kind of school uniform. White shirt with those puberty cream puff training bra underneath (you can see okay, cos it's a white on white with scalloped lace), green short skirt and trainers completed with a super kawaii canvas tote with cutesy trinkets dangling around it. He's also got some hair clip on too and he's reading a book. I actually examined him quite a bit (he couldn't really see me looking cos he's busy reading anyway) and it's soooo damn obvious it's a man cos he's got very masculine arms with veiny large hands, angular jaws and even a tinge of 5 o'clock shadow and it's without a doubt he's a dude.

I was texting Scotty about it and I wanted Scotty to see the kawaii Japanese school porn wannabe cross-dresser, so I figure I could take a secret snap shot since he's too engrossed in his book with his ear phones on anyway.

So I put my Blackberry to camera mode only to make the biggest boo-freaking-boo of my photographic attempt!! And I learn the biggest lesson of sneaky photography....

Lesson #1 of "How to take a sneaky shot of someone":
ALWAYS, yes, ALWAYS turn the flash light OFF!

Yes, I freaking forgot to turn the flash off and when I see the flash about to light up, I panicked and quickly stuff the phone in my bag but then you could still see the little bit of light coming out cos I wasn't swift enough and BAM! Mr Jap School Porn wannabe looked up with a murderous stares that probably translated to "You fucking c@#t! I'm so gonna mop the floor with your fucking face!" And he didn't let go of the I-wanna-fucking-kill-you glare until so much later...he stared so hard that it looked as if his eyeballs were about to flip all the way to the back of his head....and I had to pretend nothing's wrong and when I finally got off the bus....I breathed a sigh of relief!

So you've learned from me! So try this at home...no, don't try this AT ALL!

Diana diana diana, I would die for you....

Ohhhh excitement! I went to collect my first two rolls of 120 film I shot on my shocking pink Diana F+ last Saturday and the photos I've got aren't too shabby at all! I was almost expecting it to be shitty cos Mr Bunny said most people would take at least 2 to 3 rolls to get the pictures right and get a good feel of how to use the Diana F+ but well, I'm proud to say that I'm very very happy with the results and even Mr Bunny said he's surprised that I've got quite a lot of nice shots! Most first timer couldn't do that and I'm a natural, said Mr Bunny! *blush* Yes, not much modesty telling you guys I know but hey, I'm really happy with the pictures! So just let me boast a bit! Okay, not like they're super fantastic but it's pretty decent for the debut rolls...

Anyway, I've selected some of my favorite shots.....taken from my recent trip to Thailand and back home in Hong Kong.....I love all its nice vintage feel with grainy yet high color saturation.....I'm so sick and tired of the usual high res, high def digital pictures and it's getting boring and there, DianaF+ gives a very good and fun  artsy alternative to the ubiquitous perfectly crystal clear shots

I love how it's focused on the groin area and off focus on the rest...lol

This is my 2nd favorite, it's got a very slight vignetting 

Diana F+ does best in bright sunlight, I'm gonna try using the color filter flash next time in the dark

My 3rd favorite...it's a golden boy somewhere in the Wat Arun. Mr Bunny likes this best from the thailand collection

Attempting double exposure

Slight vignetting on the top...

Dad painting the poles in the garden...sorry about the thinning hair..but I love this photo

Saving the best for last, this is my all time favorite and Mr Bunny's all time favorite from this lot cos this is the classic text book Diana F+ photo according to Mr Bunny the pro......Nice subtle vignetting at the bottom and I added a bit of tinted flash for that ring light effect...This is my mom and my feline brother Momo...erm if you're wondering why there's white stuff on my mom's face, it's some beauty mask thing...

Can't wait to take more photos! And with my Diana F+ mini too! I'm so excited!

Hellraiser & Bride of Frankenstein

Remember how the Hellraiser look? Yeah that freakoid with needles all over his face? This dude...

Yup, this freakoid that somehow reminds me of the Metallica song "Enter Sandman" despite it'll probably be more apt to call him "Nailman"....Anyways, I kinda subjected myself to the Hellraiser treatment, though not on the face, cos 2 nights ago, I went for some full-on acupuncture. 

I've had acupuncture before and it was on my hand and fingers cos I was having problems with left pinky finger from playing the cello. It's child's play in the dictum of acupuncture cos I merely had 4 needles on my hand and nothing else...but this time, I'm fixing some hormones issue (women's problem) and boy, I had some seriously full-on acupuncture that would probably make Hellraiser proud....I had 17 needles in all. 4 on my head on the skull (the most Hellraiser), 9 on my stomach which looked all super bloated, and then 2 on each leg, so a total of 4 on my legs....

1, 2, 3, 4....

I'm sure this would turn Hellraiser on...it's almost like a piece of art....

Thing is, it doesn't hurt more than just a light prick but I got very very very nervous cos I do have super high pain threshold...tattoo? no problem, Brazilian waxing? feels like a scratch, plucking out all 4 wisdom teeth at one go? Done that and no sweat! But acupuncture freaks the living daylight out of me cos high pain threshold I do have but what I can't deal is seeing the freaking needles stuck in my flesh...things like IV drip needle stuck in my vein doesn't hurt but the idea of foreign object lodged in my body makes my knees weak!

So when I saw the bunches of needle from my peripheral vision, I was hyperventilating to the point I was actually trembling cos that's a real "freak out" feeling....and I was literally scared stiff and didn't dare to even really breathe or flinch a muscle and the TCM doctor had to come and remind me to breathe and he was flinging my arms around saying "It's okay, you can move! Don't have to be so stiff!" 

I also refuse to get the mild current pass the needles for stimulation cos I'm already so freaked out and twitching feeling from needles is the last thing I need. I told him I'll do it the next time cos this is a bit like a rehearsal. So deep breathing I did and I got a bit more relax after. Only that when Ah Meow came in, I tried sooo hard not to laugh when she said "OMG, look at that bride of Frankenstein!" 

So how does that feel after? I dunno...okay I guess but I feel kinda bloated and full after so it's good for not eating and would definitely curb my voracious appetite...and the next morning, not sure if it's psychological or not, I actually felt quite light....we'll see...I'll be back for more on Saturday...it's gonna be twice a week now for about 6 weeks....wish me luck....