Hongkong Part 1: Rugby Seven's

Just got back from Hongkong a few days ago, I apologize for the delay in this post. Hongkong really doesn't suit me. First, I got immediate food poisoning (more about that in the next post), then I came down with the most nasty cold bug ever! I don't even remember the last time I got a fever, let alone one with a temperature of almost 39 degrees. Still coughing with colorful phlegm, but I guess that is a little too TMI. Too bad, said it! Hehe.

Anyway this blog will be dedicated to my first experience of the Rugby seven's games. For those who don't know what it is, all you need to know is that it is a major party event, usually frequented by bankers (who sponsor the event), and is referred to commonly as "the three days of halloween". 

Pretty much, just an excuse to get drunk.

The tickets are very coveted, and don't come cheap. For a three day pass, it is usually close to 300 bucks, and a day pass is usually around 100-160. This is one of those events you need to pull every string you have in the banking field in order to secure tickets. Of course you are asking, how did I get tickets? 

Because I have a magic genie called A. She told me to refer to her as A instead of her full name, which is coincidentally her club name she uses when we were in college (hurhur, funny story, that one). 

She managed to pull a gazillion strings to get us tickets, and hence we get to fly to HK for three days of debauchery. 

Or one. 

Okay, I confess. I only went to the Saturday games, but really that is the most happening day. On Friday, people are still rolling in from all parts of the world, and on Sunday, people are still drunk from Sunday, so the people there are not much fun. :D

So here's a personal experience of the games!

When we were waiting to collect our bags, the pillars around us are covered with posters of the rugby seven's. Awesome!

We were going to go to Prive for a night of fun so I decided on my black and white dress. To which, A exclaimed, OMG I have a similar dress I can wear! And it turned out to be a completely non-similar silvery grey dress. ... ... Oh, A. 

 The night scene at Lan Kwai Fong, where all the happening clubs are. Super crowded, super bright.

 The famous goose stall right smack in the middle of the area.

Two things to keep note:
1) Cab drivers will fleece you during this weekend. They will. Don't expect to get a cab ride after clubbing for less than twice the amount. Or you could be like us and wait and wait and wait until some kind soul or some horny uncle decided to take us.

2) Prive is like a Singapore club, filled with mostly Singaporeans. So, if you are looking to party among non-Singaporeans, DO NOT go there.

Anyway, back to the games. We got back to the hotel room around 1am on Friday night, and went to bed around 2am.

On Saturday morning, the alarm ruthlessly woke us up at 7am. We half-heartedly tried to get ready, but it was SUCH a struggle.

Why do we have to wake up so early, you say? Because by 9am, the south stand, which is the ONLY stand with people decked in costumes, and the ONLY stand where you can consume alcohol, will be full and the average wait time to get into the south stand after that is up to 4 hours. So, prepare to wake up early. And start drinking at 9am.

Our friends decided to go as ABBA. It's pretty cool, I have to say. It took the whole of 10 minutes for the guys to start complaining about how itchy their wig is, how girls can stand to wear dresses all the time, but it was worth it.

We decided to recycle our halloween costumes and just go as school girls again. I SWEAR that this year is the last year imma wear this costume. There, you have it in writing. It's not my fault that these costumes are soooooo comfortable (relative to my past costumes). AND you can wear comfy sneakers with it!

 Uncle Sam and the statue of Liberty. Cute.

The pope and his cardinals. It was quite spectacular seeing the whole bunch of them.

 This is my favorite, the heartbreaker angels. A bunch of guys wearing some funny white skirts, with wings glued to their bare back! Dedication!

 Us securing a spot to sit at, the lakers guy giving us the stare down......

 The USPS and construction workers. As you can tell, the only activity people are engaged in was drinking beer, not the activity on the fields. Although the england scotland match was a popular one with loads of vulgarities all round.

 The bunch of lakers guys A and I sat next to. They were super nice and we get our supply of free beers from them, and also the ted guy on the other side. I love being a girl! :)

 My second favorite costumes! Legos! They are cuter with the head piece on, because they are just grumpy white men underneath. Hehe.

 This guy decided to forgo his costume and just spray painted one. Classy.

 There was a pack of belligerent guys dressed up as dominos. Cute.

 Cam whore time!

 And more!

 And spotted rubber ducky in the toilet. I wonder how she pees......

 We got a picture with the pope!

 And Angry birds!

 More Cam whor-ing.

 Angry nuns. Nice.

And our parting shot, all three of us beer happy. :)

Would I do it again? Nope.

Am I glad I did it? Hell yes!

Stay tuned for my next post about food in HK!

xoxo,

Keira

9 most essential makeup items

Hello everyone!

Keira is away in Hong Kong watching the famous Rugby Sevens tournament, so it's now my turn to entertain you guys with some makeup talk!

Today, I wanna make a list of my 9 must have makeup items, so in other words, if you are just starting to explore the world of makeup, then these are the 9 items that I think you have to get. Let me start by saying that I am no beauty guru or expert, I am merely someone who has invested a lot of time into researching and trying out different makeup items. I started wearing makeup at 16, and over the years I have tried countless brands of beauty products from the high end lines to drugstore items. I also spend an average of 3 nights a week reading beauty blogs and watching makeup Youtube channels. My biggest dream is going to cosmetology school one day (hopefully next year). What I would like out of these posts is to give a summary of what I have tried, tested and learned over the years so you girls can save some time and money. (I also promise I will eventually get down to writing about my favorite youtube beauty gurus, there are some really awesome people out there sharing their skills with us.)

Ok on to the topic,

1) 

Face primer. Cosmetic companies claim that face primers first and foremost protects your face from the makeup that you are going to slather on it, in other words, it acts as a "shield". As a scientist, I cannot help but doubt that claim, shield chemicals with another chemical doesn't sound very plausible to me, but I still think that primers are important for your foundation to glide on better and stay put longer. My personal favorite is this Paul and Joe's face primer in neutral shade 02, it contains pearl powder which diffuses the imperfections on your face, creating an illusion of porcelain skin.

2)

 Foundation  Foundation is of course the next most important item in your makeup bag. If you follow the fashion week events happening all over the world now, you will notice that a common makeup trend on the runway is a clean canvas, and the only way you can make it happen is with a good foundation.Foundation shade is very important. If this is your virgin foundation experience, then I urge you to go to M.A.C cosmetics and get matched with one of their foundation shades, they have (to my knowledge) the widest range of foundation colors in the industry. Otherwise, I love Bobbi brown's Natural Finish Long Lasting Foundation with SPF 15. It gives my face the most natural dewy glow!

3)

Next up is a good eyebrow pencil. Your eyebrow frames your face, it is important you have good brows. Till today, I have yet to find my dream eyebrow pencil, so let me know if you know of any awesome brow product. 

4.) 

I am sure looking at the sheer number of Eyeliner products I have that this is my number one must have. If you are a beginner in makeup, I suggest you start with an eyebrow pencil first because those are the easiest to apply. Use smudge proof and waterproof ones, my favorites are Urban Decay 24/7 eye pencil in Zero which has great pigmentation, decent staying power and one of the least smudgy eye pencils out there (eye pencils smudge no matter what you do). Otherwise, I use Dollywink liquid eyeliner in blackest black for everyday makeup, and M.A.C's fluidline in Blacktrack (a gel liner) when I want something for glam up. On a side note, I personally think liquid eyeliners are more waterproof then gel liner, so liquid liners will be my number choice for daily usage. 

5)

I know, I know that putting on makeup is already troublesome enough, adding an eyeshadow primer step just makes you want to give up, but! I think that applying eyeshadow primers are an absolute necessity. It prevents your eyeshadow colors from smudging, allowing your eye makeup to last all day. It also increases the vibrancy of your eye shadow color, making cheap eyeshadows look like they are from some high end line. Trust me, it does make a difference, give Urban Decay's Eyeshadow Primer Potion a chance. 

6)

A good neutral eyeshadow palette. A good neutral eyeshadow palette will allow you to add color to your face and accentuate your eyes without looking overbearing. A lot of girls when they start playing around with makeup, they tend to gravitate towards super bright colors with electric blue, these are nononos if you are just starting out. A good neutral palette to me will be like Urban decay's insane famous Naked Palettes, or if you would like to go for a cheaper drugstore version, then I recommend NYC's trio eyeshadow in Barely There. 

7)

Mascaras! I have already done my share raving about mascaras previously, I won't say anymore except that my favorite mascara has to be Dior's Diorshow mascaras. These days, I am cheapskate, I use Maybelline, very good for the price too. :)

8)

Blushers are important in that they help to brighten your complexion, and bring color back to your face. Pink blush colors make you look younger, while peachy colors are better for Asian complexion. Therefore my favorite is NARS Orgasm, which upon wearing makes you look like you just...ahem....

 9)

I like many people is guilty of skipping the lipstick part quite often. The truth is, lipstick completes the look, or can transform a look. If you are just starting out, look for a lipstick that matches your natural lip color, but better. I call a lipstick shade like that My Lips But Better Lipstick, there are perfect for lipstick noobies, for days when you have no idea what color to wear, or when you just want to add that extra bit of color to your face. My MLBBL is Dior Addict Lipstick in Tokyo, a coral pink color that applies sheer but is build-able. 

Ok, that's all folks. I hope this entry is not boring, and you enjoyed reading it. Before I go, I just want to add a little side note. I started wedding preparations (I am getting married in February next year).... with a pair of shoes!!!!! (Typical Nicole :P) 

Just a little sneak preview to my gorgeous rose gold python heels. I hope you guys love it as much as I do. Thanks for reading and have a great weekend ahead! 

xoxo, 

Nicole. 

Flavor of the week... Keira

We wanted to start a series of blog entries titled "Flavor of the week"! This was inspired by our fashion-savvy friends who I would like to showcase.

The idea is to visit the closet of a different friend each time, and showcase their fashion sense and their 5 favorite looks. We hope that in this way, we could bring more ideas to you guys on how to break out of the mold and dress in different styles. Also, different women (and men) have different body types, and let's face it, we all have our favorite cut of dresses based on what looks flattering on our body type. Hopefully, you can gain some inspiration and well, inject more style and color in your lives!

So I decided to start the ball rolling with me. I had Wenqi and Li'er over with the respective jobs of photographer and coolie, and we had a blast shooting at my place last Saturday.

I find it extremely trying to be the hair-stylist, make-up artist, stylist and model all at the same time! I have to admit, towards the end, I started caring less and less. Hehe.

Li'er, after arranging the props, would be surfing youtube videos on my TV screen to play upbeat music and sad korean pop.

We only shot for three hours, and I was incapacitated the whole evening after......

BUT! I was super happy we did it. It was really quite an experience. I never knew that models had it so tough! Despite W's direction, I felt like a block of wood, and everything I did was stiff and looked super awkward (and I'm not saying in the kind of high-fashion awkward way). We collapsed in laughter many many times because they were laughing at me. Oh well. I think I need to pay more attention to Tyra Banks from now onwards......

I guess it is a learning curve, and I hope to improve on the techniques as we go along, and it would be great if you would stay with us along the way! *beams*

So, my fashion sense and my 5 favorite looks.

I'm 1.65m and 50kg, so kinda on the slightly taller side and I'm happy with my body shape, except I wish my hips were smaller. I have a shorter torso and longer legs, hence, I tend to like sundresses with a high waistline and poofy skirt since it's more flattering.

I really like black dresses, so 90% of my closet are different shades of black. Hehe. I hate pants because it is too hot in Singapore and super uncomfy!

In recent years, I've been trying to branch out into colors. I've made quite a bit of progress but not as much as I like.

Generally, I like loose dresses for comfort. I didn't mind tight dresses in my younger days, but as you grow up, comfort becomes more and more important. Hence, my tight dresses are designated for clubbing. Also, mostly black.

Look #1: Casual date

This is one of my favorite sundresses (from forever 21), and I like it because it's comfy but sassy at the same time. I'm not a big fan of florals but I felt that the black neutralizes the floral print on this one. I usually like to wear this girly dress with black pumps (Scholl) and with my bangs up or bangs down with a loose braid. Red lipstick is a must with this dress because I think it gives off a bit of a retro vibe. Red lipstick with floral dresses almost always work. 

Look #2, Drinks at a bar

I like to wear this cobalt blue number from this Italian brand (Millenia Walk) when I go for dinner and drinks.  I hate wearing tight fitting dresses to dinner, because you have to 1) suck in your tummy 2) not eat too much, of which both I'm not good at. I like dresses like this which is kinda sexy and fun but not toooo tight. I usually pair it with a nice shiny bag (Chanel) and shiny heels if I'm out to impress (Pazillion).

I really like shiny accessories!

L. lugging the couch into my room and trying to use my bathrobe to give a "lush feel". Heehee.

Look #3: Work

Generally for work, it's a no-fuss event, so I like to wear simple black dresses. In order to add a little bit of spunk, I like to pair with big eye-catching necklaces so it gives a little bit of focus to an otherwise boring outfit. Also, I like to wear flats to work because I have to climb up a slope to get to my building. Sigh. But I try to wear nice ballet flats or nice sandals!

Dress: Cotton On
Necklace: Good goods (love their accessories... @ Millenia Walk)
Shoes: Tory Burch

Look #4: Nice dinner

 For a nice dinner, I like to wear a more elegant dress, which is kinda form-fitting but not body-hugging (for reasons stated earlier). For this dress, in order to show the details on the collar, I tied my hair in a bun for a more elegant look, and pair it with simple earrings (nothing dangling) and a chunky ring. I left the neck bare because I think it will compete with the dress design.

Dress: Bysi
Earrings: Chanel
Ring: Good goods
Bag: Chanel

Look #5: Church, brunch

For brunch or church, I like to wear a more conservative dress. I like this dress because it is high waist, and it looks decent and classy. I usually wear my hair in a braid and wear red lipstick to give the outfit a little more oomph and a vintage air. And finish the look with crystal studs.

Dress: Nordstrom
Heels: Pazzilion
Earrings: Nordstrom
Bag: Burberry

Look #6 Clubbing

Okay I did say 5 looks, but better more than less right? :D

Usually for clubbing, I wear the boring little black dress, but somehow, maybe because of the influence of a certain L., I fell in love with this animal print. In order to make sure I don't look like a cheap hooker, I tie my hair up in a high ponytail, did away with any accessories, and pair it with subtle pumps.

Nicole really likes the second picture because it is a candid shot of me, so I am putting it up.

Dress: Forever 21
Pumps: DSW
Earrings: Nordstrom.

And finally to wrap it all up, my dear Wenqi and Li'er gets rewarded with......

Chips and beer. Thanks so much girls, wouldn't have done it without you two. :)

xoxo,
Keira