[Review] Audrey Christian - PUSH UP Breast, Neck & Tummy Cream

I was given the opportunity to review Audrey Christian's new product - PUSH UP Breast, Neck & Tummy cream by CozyCot. Trust me, it wasn't a smooth ordeal for CozyCot, and I truly appreciate the effort made by them in order to let me have this review.

Initially, I expected a trial sample (maybe a small tube) to be provided for review but when I opened the parcel, I was surprised to see an actual size of the product delivered!

That would be an introduction brochure on Audrey Christian's PUSH UP series and the Breast, Neck & Tummy Cream beautifully packed in the parcel for me.

What this cream does is to stimulate your skin to regenerate and product new tissue and cells. By doing so, it fights off scars, wrinkles and firms the sagging skins on all parts of your body, such as neck, chest and tummy. If you are pregnant, you can even use this cream to prevent stretch marks during your pregnancy.

Audrey Christian's Breast, Neck & Tummy cream is not simply for use in stretch mark prevention. It is also used to firm sagging skins on other parts of your body, not just breast, neck or tummy. And so, in the few weeks I have tried the cream, I first used it on my neck, as I was told.

There are lines on your neck, everyone does. However, this cream will NOT make those necklines disappear! What I did find out was that everytime I used the cream on my neck (I used it twice a day - morning and night), I will feel my neck tightened after a while. The skin on my neck used to be slightly bouncy before I used the cream but after a few weeks, I do feel my skin on the neck area more firm now. It was a pity it couldn't be shown or visible on a photo, else I'm sure to put it up here. I can't be absolutely sure if the product is working as intended, but I do see slight difference upon using it.

I believe actively using this cream stimulates our body to produce collagen, which is very important when it comes to body firming.

I will also like to emphasise the fact that I have sensitive skin (pretty sensitive I would say), yet I have no allergic reaction to this cream, though I found Perfum being used as one of its ingredients. So yes, this cream, as far as I experienced, can be used on people with sensitive skin. For the benefit of people who is concerned over the ingredients used in this cream, here it is:

Ingredients
Aqua, Kigelia africana (Sausage Tree) Fruit Extract, Ricinus communis (Castor Oil Plant) Seed Oil, Prunus armeniaca (Apricot) Kernel Oil, Polyglyceryl-3 Methylglucose Distearate, Glycerin, Isopropyl Palmitate, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Simmondsia chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Cyclopentasiloxane, Dimethiconol, Glyceryl Polymethacrylate, Rahnella/Soy Protein Ferment, Propylene Glycol, Peg-8, Palmitoyl Oligopeptide, Carbomer, Cetearyl Alcohol, Aminomethyl Propanol, Perfum, Methylisothiazolinone, Phenethyl Alcohol, Ppg-2-Methyl Ether.

My experience in using this cream has been quite pleasant and I will really like to try on other areas of my body. It will really be a waste to just test it on the neck since I was given such a hefty size of a product to review, which probably can only show visible result to a certain extend. I read up on the brochure sent to me along with the cream that it is able to reduce cellulite as well so I will most likely going to try using it on my thighs where my cellulite dominates, though mine's not so serious. Perhaps that may show visible results (I certainly hope so! Yeah to no cellulite!).

I will give myself some time (maybe a month or so) to try the cream on my thigh to see if there will be improvement to it. Afterwhich, I will update the results back here, good or bad.

 

The Coastal Settlement - Vintage Dining

The Coastal Settlement is a restaurant situated not in the heart of the city, neither it being situated at an accessible area. Meet The Coastal Settlement, a casual dining restaurant and cafe located in the midst of Mother Nature.

I was told of this place by my friend who literally dragged all of us to this restaurant, vowed to try its food out. It was not easy finding this place as it is located deep within. Alas, we found our way there. Parking lots outside the restaurant was really limited, hence, it is highly recommended for everyone to park their cars at the nearest open, though a little walking may be necessary.

The Coastal Settlement is pretty well-hidden among the greenery, giving us an ambience of being surrounded in nature. We were lucky to make a reservation before we reached but weren't lucky enough to get an indoor seating. So...we had to settle for outdoor for our dinner (We became dinner for the mozzies as well).

When we first sat down, its menu really caught our eyes.

Look pretty worn out ya? It's meant this way! The Coastal Settlement is decorated in the setting of vintage so its menu can't be to specky neat either. I do really love how they decorate the entire place, filled with vintage merchandise and products. Here's a little tour of the restaurant.

Now that we are done touring the place, let's move on to FOOD!

Dishes at The Coastal Settlement don't come cheap, so, you cannot expect a dish to cost you less than 10 bucks. For side dishes, they go at a minimum of $10 and main dishes at minimum price of $15. However, you can ensure they are well-charged. Why? Because their portions are all so HUGE when served!

Calamari - Ordered when a service crew told us we might need to wait for at least 30 minutes before our food could be served. They taste awfully delicious!

 

Hotdog Sandwich - Kids size. They are in NO WAY served with a portion meant for kids! We were so glad we ordered just 1 set for our 2 kids to share and not ordered separately!

 

Bangers and Mash - There is a choice to select the sausages a customer wants, between beef, pork and chicken.

 

Fish and Chips - Ordered by yours truly. Like I mentioned, portion was too huge and I nearly raised my flag finishing everything~~~

 

Roast Chicken - Delicious just like others but refrain from ordering this if you hate picking the meat from the bones.

 

Beehoon Soup - This restaurant does serve Asian cuisine as well. For one, my friend ordered this and we nearly laugh our hearts out when we saw what was used to contain the food. Super vintage!

We had a wonderful evening and dinner with such great delicious food though we did in fact became 'dinner' to the mozzies. Like I said, this may not be a restaurant everyone expects to be in the heart of the city, it is indeed located at an area deep in the heart of nature.

It's a good dining experience, even for once so do try it out! Delicious food, finger food and ambience, I will definitely go back again :)

Address:
200 Netheravon Road
Singapore 508529

Tel: 6475 0200

Opening Hours:
Tuesday - Sunday
10.30am till 12 midnight (Last order at 9.45pm)
Closed on Monday (Except PH and eve of PH)

 

My 1st Snow Experience ~ Seoul

It's always been my wish to be experience snow, regardless where it may be, and I finally got my chance in my favourite city, Seoul!

It was really a beautiful scene...when snow 1st fell onto me.

The moment it started snowing, I began to go really silly and snapped tons of pictures, with snow in them. I may never experience snow again...after all, I waited 30yrs+ to be able to experience once, so, why care about be silly? ^.^v

My beloved colleague helped me took few shots of me when snow came and I really love those shots! I looked truly joyful in those photos!

It didn't occur to me to ever make a snowball then when it had been on my wishlist like forever. Until my colleague deliberately went to a pushcart and gathered all the snow to make a snowball. Holding a snowball, one that was indeed made from snow was amazing.

The snowball felt just like a hardened piece of blended ice. I was so worried I would have crushed it if I held it too tight.

Last but not the least, we took a group photo in midst of snow (heard it was the heaviest snow throughout the entire winter in Seoul) before we ended our day.

Below are some pictures I took which I really like due to the snow effect.

Snow on the tree leaves. Its not everyday you see such scene where the trees are covered in white.

Busy streets of Gangnam. Was walking from COEX back to my hotel when I discovered this view to be pretty photogenic and decided to snap it down. It was also after-work hours already, hence for the heavy traffic.

Look at the pile of snow! I really couldn't resist shooting this! The snow was so thick.....and dirty!

So what's my thought about snow? As much as I like snow, experienced snow for the 1st time, like the snow effect, I will rather not experience it ever again. Why? Because snow did me some bad. I fell down twice because what snow brought right after the beautiful scenery wasn't good to the people afterall. I also slipped countless times prior to those falls. Snow is also very dirty after some time due to mud, petrol oil and etc. It might be pretty the moment it snow, but after witnessing how dirty it was after a night and how it affected people who need to walk among the snow, it may be a good idea not to let those dirty business affect us.

Snow...nice to see, nice to touch, but not nice to walk upon.

 

[Taipei] Shoes Haul

I am on a strict shop ban now (self-inflict) but the urge to shop's really killing me...slowly. Yeah, call me a die-hard shopaholic! Don't get the wrong idea, I don't mean a shopaholic who goes for luxury products, but more for the interest.

Right now, I do have the urge to shop for shoes even though have dozen pairs of shoes stuffed ipwithin my shoe cabinet. alright, perhaps more than just a dozen...and since I couldn't get hold of any new pairs now, I guess I can only drool over my most recent shoe haul from Taipei. I think back then, It was a serious overkill on my shoe buys.

Most people who know me knows I have a serious infatuation on skulls. Thankfully, I found 2 pairs of skull shoes to my liking when browsing around the night markets!

1st pair ~ Beige skull flats. The skull pin was coated in gold with gemstones in it. Cost me less than 18 bucks. :)

2nd pair ~ Grey skull wedges. Just like the beige flats, it is coated in gold with gemstones in it. Cost less than 18 bucks too.

I really love this pair of loafers cos this is by far the only pair of loafers with heels that I found. When wearing this pair of loafers, it really gives an elegant feel ^^. Once again, it is less than 18 bucks!

I don't think anyone's gonna believe me but this pair only cost me less than NT100 which is less than 5 bucks! I have yet to wear this out but am looking for the right outfit to match with it!

Bought this flats at less than 10 bucks. Though it doesn't look exceptionally pretty, it is ultra comfy. :)

This is my 2nd pair of shoes that is so bright in colours. It gives a dainty feel to my outfit and almost matchable with any sorts of smart casual look! Not sure if you can believe it but it's less than 15 bucks, hehehehe!

Blogging about these shoes really makes me all the more eager to shop for a new pair of shoes to add to my shoe collection. But I know I can't buy anything until I manage to settle an issue on hand. I will looking forward to an indulgence of splurging thereafter! :D

 

2013 New Year Resolutions....Not?

I know it’s a bit late for New Year Resolutions but honestly, I don’t intend to have a full list of it this year. In fact, there’s just a few things I will like to strike it off my To-Do list this year.

- Accompany mum out of SG for a holiday
- Bring my girl to Disneyland
- Change to Android phone (hopefully?)
- A Getaway for just Dear and me

It’s not gonna be easy since some of them had already been on my To-Do list since 2 years ago. I am pretty bent on accompanying my mum out of the country this year and she’s also quite agreeable on that, though I can’t be sure she can bear being apart from her grand-daughter for those few days, hah! This is a plan I am not planning to postpone any longer and hopefully, I can strike it off my To-Do list for this year.

Bringing my girl to Disneyland was my plan since her 3rd year birthday but we were really afraid she’s too young to truly enjoy the trip and the rides in Disneyland, not to mention she may possibly not be able to sit in most rides due to insufficient height limit. Not so sure if this year is also possible but it will be on my list until the day I can get her to Disneyland for vacation.

Android phone was what I planned to change from iPhone last year but I really didn’t know what I was thinking that made me stick to iPhone(5). Therefore, I hope I can successfully change to Android phone this year….maybe S4 or Note 3? HAHAHAHA!!

Yesterday, I had a sudden thought that it was more than year ago when Dear and me last went overseas together for vacation, even though it was half vacation, half work-trip for me. I hope I can go for a short trip with him again this year, even if it’s going to be a day or 2 only.

Again, it is a question mark for me whether I can strike these off my To-Do list this year. I sincerely hope to do that, or at least, clear 1 or 2 away…

Oh, and I realized this’ my first post of 2013, hehe!

DIY iPhone 5 Jelly Cases - Exclusively Mine!

Do you often come across those bling iPhone casing selling from shops, online stores or even Taobao? I'm sure you did. I'm also sure that you knew those bling/crystals are mostly, if not, entirely encased with hard iPhone casing. Well, I could have simply bought those casings for my iPhone 5 but there's a problem...I HATE Hard Casings!

I always love jelly casings ever since I wore one on my old iPhone 3GS. The glossy surface and rubberised material somehow make me feel that my phone is secured even at the edges, not to mention the odds of getting my phone scratched by the casing itself will be minimised to the smallest. So...I came up with the idea of DIY-ing my own bling casing for my iPhone 5, with jelly case of course!

That set my determination and purchases of the materials from Taobao. Afterall, where else can I buy materials at the lowest cost other than Taobao? In fact, I got rather greedy and bought far too many casings with tons of rhinestones (blings) to work on them! Gosh, will I even need so many casings in the first place!?

My first attempt was a white iPhone case with Melody.

I really love this Melody whom looked so studious! It was my first attempt hence, I didn't dare to put too many pearls and rhinestones for fret of overkill. However, after a day of consideration, I still decided to add on more...

Tada! More 'bling-ing', right?' Maybe to you, it still isn't bling enough but trust me, going for a first attempt on this made me feel skeptical to add more. And with that, my first DIY iPhone bling casing was completed!

Unfortunately, I was unable to enjoy my first bling casing due to an ultimate joke...The casing was NOT iPhone 5 casing! I was trying to fit this casing into my iPhone 5 when I discovered I wasn't able to fit the casing in! Stunned for at least 3 seconds, I came to my senses and knew it was the wrong casing (iPhone 4S). How sotong can I be????? DIY finished already then found out I used wrong casing...truly a WTF circumstance. In the end, I realised my seller packed this casing wrongly in my order (packed a iPhone 4S casing in a iPhone 5 casing box). I only tried 2 out of 3 to ensure they fit but lady luck just wanted to play a trick on me and purposely had the wrong one be the one I never tried on. Sad, ironic and comical as it can be, I didn't want to let this casing go to waste and gifted it to my BFF instead since she's still using iPhone 4S. Am so glad she loves it though!

With that to be gifted to my BFF, I was back to square one with no bling casing of my own again. Determined to DIY a true bling casing for myself, I started on my 2nd attempt...this time, on my existing neon pink jelly case with another design.

This was how my casing looked like when I just started on it.

Big and beautiful piece of ornament it is ya? It wasn't easy getting it to dry if I continued with other areas and so, I gave it a rest for a day to let the glue beneath the ornament dry. I continued on the very next day and was hell bent on finishing it.

Such determination did yield results. I completed my DIY within 2.5 hours!

Not bad ya? I know such design might have already been available at stores so it is not uncommon. However, having such design on a jelly case is definitely a first! And Exclusively MINE!

Also brought proud DIY bling casing out for Christmas gathering and took a beautiful shot of it at a boutique while waiting for my BFF.

I am getting the hang of DIY-ing the casings, especially since I can have the best of both worlds in terms of blings on jelly cases. Am gonna DIY more on the rest of the casings so I can rotate using them from time to time!

Oh wait, before I forgot, I also re-ordered the studious Melody since I really like it but am gonna stick it to a baby pink jelly case this round!

 

Nail Foils - Nail Art Stickers

I'll be VERY honest...I had been neglecting my nails for the longest time ever since I got hold of my iPad and engrossed in my dramas, online shopping and whatsoever. However, although I am not so avid in DIY-ing nailart anymore (I swear, I still do it but the frequency isn't gonna be as high as before now), I now adopt a faster method to still have nailart on my nails - Nail Foils!

Hehe, this set of nail foils were bought in Ximending, Taipei when I last went there for business trip. I like it for the tribal design it has and fact that there is NO WAY I could have done that myself on my nails! What's more, this set of nail foils glow in the dark!

How pretty they look on my nails! The more I look at them, the more they seem to be a real paint job! I'll face the truth. Though I can do nailart, such in-depth and elaborated design is one I definitely cannot do it, not with my current skillset, haha!

Shot taken further from the camera. Doesn't really look like nail foils, ya?

Also took my nails under broad daylight. I'm loving it and gonna get more of the foils soon!

Goodbye, my friend...

Went to a funeral wake earlier today to pay my respect to my dear colleague whom had been working with me for more than 2 years.

It was not easy standing in front of him, covered up in the box and said my goodbyes to him that night. I controlled my tears to refrain them from dropping but they finally gave way after I had a talk with his mother.

That day, that place, many familiar faces were present although it wasn't an ideal venue for us to be reunited, at least not under this circumstance. However, it is a comfort for his family to know that he has so many friends who care for him out there.

I missed him..it was just few months back when we went to Korea together for work..and now he's gone. He's really gone, and this time, he won't be back. No matter how much I, or we, miss him, we need to believe that he is now in good hands. He had move on, journeying ahead of us.

Rest in peace my dear friend. We shall meet again, when our time is up, at the place you are watching over us.

New Hair Color!

I had been so sick and tired of my messy hair, I finally decided to do something about it before I fly off to Korea (Yes, I'm going to Korea once again).

While I was at the salon, the urge to change my hair colour just kept building on me. After much consideration and given the fact that I'd once again gotten my hair shorter, I made up my mind to turn into a redhead woman...

Honestly, it must be like eons ago since I last gotten my hair red but with my goldilock hair of many years, I guessed it's time for a change.

There, a self-portrait of me right after the cut and colour. Many colleagues and friends commented this hair colour suits me better than the brown-ish gold colour, not to mention my daring attempt of cutting my hair really short from behind (bob-style). This colour and hairstlye are mostly like gonna be with me for a considerable amount of time. :D

[Taipei] SOPHiCA - A Sweet Place for Sweethearts

For someone who had been to Taipei for a few times, it was a shock to me when one of my colleagues brought us some goodies from Taipei. Due to their captivating packagings, I made a promise to myself that I would patronise the shop should I step into Taipei again. And so I did! The reason I was so bent on patronising was because...they look like this:

Yes, in the form of syringes! But not to worry, they are not medicine syrups. The liquid in the syringe is in fact candy syrup jelly which is totally edible! Not only that, they have a fair varieties of products which are totally weird, odd and ridiculous, yet intriguing!

Did you find some items on the shelves look very out of place? Frankly, they are! To think condom boxes, TCM pills, syringes, sanitary pads, first-aid plasters are placed all over the shelves. However, they are rightfully shelved and not to mention, the most hot-selling products of the shop! Please do not freak out, they are not exactly real stuff. When I said they aren't real, I meant they only look real from the packaging. What's inside the packagings in all of them are mostly chocolates.

Now, a close-up to see just how convincing the packagings are.

Interesting concept, isn't it? My colleagues and I spent really a long in there, lost in the huge varieties they have in store for the consumers. If you are not the type to buy exotic-looking products for your friends, this shop does sell chocolate in the right packaging...I mean, in normal way of packaging, hehe. Honestly speaking, the chocolates taste really yummy, so don't assume they may taste just average due to their out-of-ordinary packaging.

Feels like giving this shop a try? Like I mentioned in my blog title, SOPHiCA is its shop name.

Looking at those products, I'd never expect to see its shop looking like that. Standing at its store front, I swore the first thought that came into my mind was, 'Is this an accessory shop?'

If you are interested to go to this SOPHiCA, it is located in Ximending. This district is a famous shopping district, not to mention wide-spread with many small alleys, thus, watch out for this street name within Ximending:

Writing post like this really aggravates my urge to gobble some chocolate down my throat...

 

Coach Wristlet from Aussie

Well, quite embarrassing to say, I have never owned a wristlet among my many bag hauls. I also didn't know what crazy thought I had gotten myself into that drove me into borrowing my colleague's hands to buy me a Coach wristlet from Aussie. Hah, a damn truthful confession from a shopaholic alright...

Not that Coach is a favourite brand of mine, but when my colleague told me he was going to a Coach outlet in Aussie, my shopaholic six sense decided to act ahead of everything! Next thing I knew, I was looking for various designs of wristlets I wanted him to look out for me -_-

Though I did not manage to get the wristlet I wished for, I did manage to get my colleague to help me buy this little sweetie, my first wristlet at the price of USD75.

I'm afraid, now that I got the hang of carrying a wristlet around, this may just not be my one and only wristlet in days to come....:P

A New Me

Yesterday I wore a tube top of a freaking daring colour which I usually will NEVER wear, to work. However, apart from the daring colour, what really shocked me was the way I looked after I snapped this camwhore shot...

My whole body is more toned now with less fats on my waist and arms! Not only that, my face looks less chubby now. And..l really think I look pretty nice with this tube top. :D

Most of my friends knew that I have been applying low-calorie intake in my eating habits since April. Although I did not intend to have major weight loss, I wanted to slim down eventually with the new eating habit (not so new now!). Just so you know, low-calorie diet does not make you lose weight fast compared to low-carb diet, but gradually. During the 1st 3 months, I'd seen drops in my weight of up to 3kg and I felt so ecstatic! Most who saw me could see I'd shedd a fair share of weight. However, my aim was to lose 7kg in 8 months with this diet.

Now, 6 months later, my weight did not drop any further apart from the 3kg I lost. The funny thing is, everyone who sees me now think I've lost more than 3kg. I'm still watching my eating habit with low-calorie intake but the weight itself just won't go down. How funny to hear comments from others who commented I look like I've lost like 5kg! After some talks with my friend, she deduced I must have lost my fats instead of weight and gotten rid of water retention within my body (I had quite serious water retention issue). From the way it seems, I am toning my body rather than slimming down. Well, I guess it's true. :D

I do not reckon I'll ever stop this diet (I'm not even considering it as a diet) as it has already become part of my eating lifestyle. It may be a torture at times to calculate calories during meals but at least I do not need to compromise any type of food so long I ate them sparingly and wisely. I certainly hope to see further drop in terms of my weight but if not, at least I know I am keeping my body toned with body fats away from myself.

Speaking of which, this afternoon's lunch was such an overkill, I'm not so sure I won't get some weights back. However, it was our colleague's birthday so 1 day of indulgence should be alright yeah? Gotta make sure I do not over-indulge in future!

At this point of time, I'm pleased with progress of my 'weight loss' and I still hope I can reach my ideal weight sometime soon (No hurry!).

iPhone 5 - It's finally here, and Mine!

27th September 2012 - This day marked the end of my iPhone 3GS' 3 years companionship and the welcome of the new iPhone, 32GB iPhone 5! To my friends who kept nagging me to change my phone, yes, I finally upgraded my iPhone!

Well, the market's not lying around with lots of varieties for iPhone 5 cases, thus, I gotta settled for a plain red jelly case for now...

Noticed I'd bought the white iPhone 5? Not me at all yeah? It was upon much consideration that I finally decided to get white afterall. It was written in a performance test that for iPhone 5, black scratches and see scratches much easier than white this time, not like its predecessors. I would really hate seeing scratch marks on my phone so I had to forsake my favourite colour for white.

I also remembered what I blogged previously in 'iOS vs Android Phone' when I said Note 2 was my next choice of phone. Unfortunately, I thought it through and decided AppStore is still the pulling factor for me being under Apple's side. If only Play Store can get its number of apps comparative up to match with AppStore! I know it's soon, but sadly, it's truly time to change my phone now. :(

No matter how others are ranting how sucky iPhone 5 is, it is no doubt a much better upgrade for me since I wasn't in iPhone 4 era and didn't experience the new features in iPhone 4. I'm gonna hold on to it and hopefully, by the time I'm prepared to replace a new phone again, Android would have been on par (in terms of apps) with iOS.