Stain Remover and Stain Repellant for Branded Bags

Meltonian All Purpose Cleaner and Conditioner - 7.5oz

• Highly raved for ability to remove color transfers
• Preferred choice of CHANEL, HERMES and TOD'S fans

Apple Garde Rain & Stain Repellent - 5.5 oz

• Protects all smooth leathers, Suede and Nubuck leathers, and fabrics, against stains such as body oil, grease or perspiration
• Acts as a barrier against stains and makes future cleaning easier

I bought the above leather care kit for $59 inclusive of delivery from www.lovingyourbags.com. My colleague recommended it to me when I told him about my stained branded leather bag and non-branded leather purse.

There was this colour transfer on my Burberry bag and I tried all sorts of ways(even nail polish remover) and cannot seem to remove it. I bought this to try as my colleague said that it works on his leather possessions. It turns out that it  just brightens the skin of the Burberry bag but the stain is still there but perhaps lighter by a teeny weeny bit. Anyway, since it cannot work on my Burberry bag so I thought why not give my newer LV bag a clean up too. It ended up brightening the leather skin of the monogram surface BUT it created spots on my handle! There were tiny blue spots and lines after I used the cleaner and conditioner. I was so affected! Sigh...it cannot be undone so I shall send both bag to the boutiques to get a professional clean up =( which will cost $100 for each and there is no guarantee that the stain will be removed. I will do it when I remember I guess because now I am not really affected by the stains already.

Regardless, I used the stain repellent on both bags generously too since I already bought them. Hopefully, like the name of the product, it will really repel future stains!

Chunky Watch In Style

Chunky watches are so nice! I have two that looks like the above which are chronograph with metallic strap. I think such style makes one looks chic and sophisticated. It is definitely a plus point on making first impression too! People will assess you in the first ten seconds and they will think that you are an organized person. Given that handphones are necessities now, many do not wear watches anymore but it can be a piece of beautiful accessory.

My Skincare Routine: SK II and Estee Lauder

SK II Facial Treatment Essence
This 'miracle water' is suppose to prevent ageing and keeps your skin supple. My best friend asked me when I bought SK II products, 'Don't you think you are too young to use their product? Isn't it for the older women? Next time, when you aged and you will find no products suitable for your face because you let your face got use to these 'stronger' products, it won't be effective on you when you aged next time.'
I do not agree with her and I have checked with the counter about my suitability. Basically, this is a really good moisturizing product that keeps my skin soft and supple. The moisturizing effect is especially obvious when I used it after a night out partying and drinking alcohol which dehydrates our body. It also visibly reduces my spots caused from recent pimple out break. I do not think that it has firming effect. I always believe that the skin should be kept moisturized at all times to prevent wrinkles from surfacing. When your skin is dry, creases on skin occur easily.
I had sunken areas, like two tear tracks down my cheeks after drastic weight loss from last year. They are not exactly wrinkles but my mom commented that it was due to the drastic lost of weight that my baby fat on my cheeks suddenly disappeared and so it look sunken. It could also be because of the lack of certain nutrients that period when I almost ate nothing everyday. Anyway, using this miracle water made them disappear after a month of usage. Sometimes when I am too tired from work or late night outings again, one tear drain or tear track will appear on my cheek and I apply the essence generously. It is very light just like water and you need to pat your skin to let it absorb before it evaporates away.

SK II  Facial Treatment Clear Lotion
It is a toner. It contains AHA which is quite common in most toner. You do not apply them near eye areas due to the AHA content. It leaves my skin clean and conditioned before I put everything on my face before sleep. Sometimes I will just skipped it if I find that my skin is really fresh and clean from the facial wash. I do not find this necessary. But since it came with the essence, I will put it when I remember.

Estee Lauder Youth Infusing Hydrationist
It is simply a very expensive moisturizer. Maximum moisture lotion it claims. I use it after toner, treatment essence and then this. Previously, I used Olay facial moisturizer lotion which I bought in Hong Kong at very cheap price. It was very light on skin, good effect, cheap and smells nice too. Due to convenience of being near Sephora one day, I just bought it. I have always been using this brand's product on and off  ever since my mom taught me about skincare. Estee Lauder's cream product is too rich so I opt for lotion instead. I had past experience of using their cream product and it was too rich that I have oil buds near my under eye. I do agree that it gives a maximum moisturizing effect. Just one pump and I spread it across my whole face, I find it sufficient. For olay, I need to use quite a bit to feel moisturize but because it is light so I do not mind. For this Hydrationist, it is light too but I find it slightly stickier than the Olay one which I do not even feel sticky at all. I hate this sticky feeling especially from some serum products because eventually after awhile my skin looks and feels oily. Hydrationist does not make me look oily.  It cost my $92 which is quite expensive for a moisturizer.

Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Eye
I bought the gel version as I am not suitable to use cream form. This is to prevent first sign of ageing and it also claims to reduce visible past damage near eye areas. My concern is to prevent lines from forming. Recently I notice visible lines near my eyes perhaps due to contact lens wearing process when I need to pull my skin there. So I bought this to see whether those newly form tiny lines could be reduced but to no avail.
Initially, I felt this warm feeling around my eye area when I applied it so it gives me the feeling that it is effective and in fact it moisturizes my eye area very well. Gradually, I find that it is not effective anymore and I tend to put generously now. It cost me $86. It is a very small bottle hahaha but our eye area is the most susceptible and easiest to form creases and wrinkles so I am willing to spend a lot on eye creams. Sometimes after putting this for awhile before sleep, I still find my eye area quite dry. My best friend bought the same product but cream form and she also commented that it is not effective after awhile. Maybe it is really hard to counter natural ageing because the elasticity of your skin will eventually deteriorate and there is limited external ways we can prevent it from happening.

So the above are the products I used for skincare before I go to sleep everyday. If I drank a lot of alcohol that night, I will drink a lot of water and skip this skincare routine and opt for a pull over mask before I go to sleep. This recovery work is important otherwise you will find yourself age so much or quickly.

Alfresco Gusto Bistro at Ion Orchard

Orchard Road's largest Italian restaurant with an outdoor setting. Surprisingly, it is opened by a Korean family (waiter told us). Their service is good!

The food we had was thin crust Beef Bolognese pizza and Marinara spaghetti. The cheese on our pizza is generous...yum. It was so much better than my recent thin crust pizza at the Pizza House near MBS, beside Marina Bay Towers which was more expensive. Pizzas and pastas range from $22 to $28. They serve risotto as well and desserts which I was too full to try. We asked them to make the pizza spicy and when served I realized they put a lot of tabasco sauce and chili padi on the beef before they covered the top with cheese. It was good =D

I saw that their tiramisu is priced at $12. The most expensive tiramisu dessert that I had was $15 from an Italian restaurant beside Fullerton Bay Hotel. I am stating this because I know that tiramisu has low cost price and anyone can just make tiramisu because the recipe is very simple and the ingredients are easily available at any supermarkets. hmm...good profit margin...but my sweet tooth always cannot resist sweet temptations.

Weight Gain vs Weight Loss

I am 162cm and I was 43Kg in February and 46Kg now. I am glad for the weight gain because friends and family commented that I look better now. I look healthier and more rosy. The down side is that I do not look good in photographs, not that I am a narcissist who always take pictures with my phone everywhere I go. Maybe I should start to have this habit so that I can pour over my 'beauty' when I become an AH MA and I can show it to my grandchildren hahaha.

I was 48-49Kg last year. The reason for the drastic weight loss was because I had a nasty break up with a bastard who I loved very much despite his many shortcomings. Another reason was due to the start of my first career. My work is very fun but demanding on my physical body and mentally too. At the end of the work day, when I was not pre-occupied with work anymore, my mind drifted to my breakup and that bastard which left me with no appetite and I went to sleep without dinner almost everyday.

Losing weight can be quite addictive and tiny gain of weight makes you so conscious and you decided to skip dinner for a week again even after I moved on emotionally from the break up. One good thing about losing weight is that every morning you do not have to decide what to wear to work because you look good in every single piece of clothes or dress =D. I also feel good when I hear comments like I was SO thin and slim. Even if the comments were to mean that I was too thin for liking or looking good, I was still happy with such comments. I was plump in my JC days and during my first year in university so when I lost weight in the later days of my university life, I vowed never to become plump or fat again. I was once 55Kg and I found it hard to pick or buy clothes. My thighs were rubbing against each other then. I even joked with my friends and mom that I was constantly in fear that the friction between my thighs will result in a fire someday.

I also think I have body dysmorphic disorder which is a mental disorder of constantly thinking that part of my body is too fat but in actual fact, everyone keeps telling me that I look fine. I think most girls have some degree of this mental illness hahaha girls being girls, burdened by the social pressure to look slim and pretty.

My utmost concern ever since I started losing weight in university days till now is that my boobs are always the first to lose weight and the last place is always my thighs. Yes, I look skinny on top and heavy below. My cup size shrank so much and I was not big to begin with =(. It is so weird, I thought that my reduced calories intake and my physical demands during work should slim my tummy, thighs and arms first. It turns out that not taking in calories and fat plus walking around a lot during work actually make my boobs shrink first!

I had a discussion with a close colleague who also have this problem and she suggested that I eat soya beancurd everyday. I heard of this during my puberty stage in secondary school. I love soya bean products and I will actually drink soya bean milk or eat soya beancurd at least twice per week but it does not have an effect on me. I dismissed it as a myth when my colleague suggested this. She then cited a real life example, a common friend of ours, who she said eats soya beancurd every single day non-stop for the past year and now she is a C! I think I should be more determined and try this method too!

Here is a picture of me (when I was 43 kg) and my best friend who just relocated to Korea. I miss her!

Here is another picture of me recently when my weight is maintained at 46 kg.

Like I said earlier, gaining this 3 kg made me look bad in photos. There goes my V-shape face contour. Whatever...I should be glad that I am healthy and a lot happier with life now =)