[Sydney] - Vivid Sydney 2013

We hopped on a plane to Sydney not too long ago. We didn't time it but was lucky that our trip coincided with "Vivid Sydney", a stunning festival of light, music and ideas! There were light installations, projects and performances around the city. 

It was lovely strolling around and checking them out in the cool autumn weather. What I appreciated was that that a lot of the installations were interactive. So you could see both kids and adults having fun with them. And of course, the highlight was when the facade Sydney Opera House became illuminated like a giant canvas with moving images. We were so thrilled to witness that from the comfort of our harbour-facing hotel room. 

This is the Customs House with 3D mapped projections that are controlled by a participant and accompanied by music.

Really cool animation projected on a building facade that had me stop in my tracks for a while. 

Vivid Sydney opened the day following our arrival so we felt welcomed in a big way!

SK-II Cellumination Trial (Part 3)

Hello! Here's a little update on my SK-II Cellumination Essence Ex trial. It's been 3 weeks since I started it. The exciting news is, I do feel that my skin is clearer (which means less make up when I head out) and less dull! I also like the smooth feeling I get when I cleanse my face. Less rough or uneven surface. 

I guess diligence does pay off. There are no short-cuts unfortunately. I've been applying the products twice daily and also remembering the right way to apply them. Always in the upwards direction. I find the SK-II website helpful if you are looking for simple application guides. 

Looking forward to doing my skin test next week when I end my 4-week trial, and comparing the results to my first skin test. Stay tuned!

Yoriko Youda

Loving these beautiful works by Yoriko Youda, involving colours, characters from Hiragana and matching objects. Admire the creativity and wit behind them.

This "sa" for Sakura is my favourite!

SK-II CELLUMINATION TRIAL (Part 2)

It's been a week since I started the SK-II Cellumination Essence Ex trial (see my first post here). Visually, I can't really tell if there are any marked differences. But I must say, I'm enjoying pampering my skin and giving it a treat. I'm looking forward to witnessing that promised "radiance" soon!

Honestly, I'm a cleanse, tone and moisturise kinda person. I dislike spending a long time in the bathroom or in front of the dressing table. With this trial, I find that there's really not that much additional "work" I got to do.

Also, I've always feared the sticky feeling when one piles on lots of products on the face, be it skincare or make-up. It's like the skin can't breathe! I'm glad to report though that the 3 new additional products I am using in this trial-- Cellumination Essence EX, Cellumination Mask-in Lotion, Cellumination Day Surge UV-- are not thick and they glide on the skin easily. Here's a little reminder for all of us: if you apply too little, it's as if you're not applying at all. So make sure you are using the right amount, be sufficiently generous.

 

One pump of the Cellumination Essence EX

That's all for now. More updates next week!

Pom Pom Making

I sometimes wander along the aisles of craft stores looking at the balls of attractive yarns in all sorts of colours and wished I could knit or crochet. Well, I can't. 

Recently, I found the perfect excuse to spend my money on 2 balls of yarn. I was going to make pom poms! I've been wanting to make pom poms for the sheer fun of it for the looooongest time but never got down to it. There was always another more urgent project/something I had to do for the shop etc. But I put my foot down this time and reminded myself that I needed to remember what it was like to craft for fun. For my own enjoyment. 

There are loads of tutorials you can find online on how to make pom poms. I went along with this one. Minimal fuss, minimal materials.

It's really simple and in ten minutes, I had my first handmade pom pom! If you want a fluffier pom pom, you can give it a brush to make it furry.

Speaking of pom poms, if you are old enough (like me), you may remember the craze back then of wearing ankle socks that came with a little pom pom attached at the back. Do you? :)

SK-II Cellumination Trial (part 1)

Hello there! I just got back from a little trip to Sydney. Yes, that means we'll have a Sydney series of posts coming right! I love traveling (duh, as if you didn't already know) but I've always been concerned about the dryness on board the flights and difference in temperature between Singapore and where I am traveling to.

SK-II has kindly invited me to take part in their 4-week Cellumination Essence Ex trial and I thought it's such perfect timing!  I'm certainly looking forward to having my skin back to "normal" again and on top of that, experience the promise of brilliant translucent aura skin! 

I just went to have my skin tested at the SK-II counter yesterday and the results weren’t too bad. Guess my daily usage of the Treatment Essence is working (justifies the money spent)! Of course, there are still areas to work on. And besides, even if one is happy with one’s skin, it needs to be maintained.  So on top of the Treatment Essence, during these 4 weeks, my regime will include 3 products from the SK-II Cellumination range which I’ve not tried:

Cellumination Essence EX

Cellumination Mask-in Lotion

Cellumination Day Surge UV

Today’s the first day of my trial and I’ll be updating you with my progress in a few posts in the next couple of weeks. Stick around!

[Taipei] - Simple Market

I've reserved my Sunday in Taipei for Simple Market which happens from 1-7pm and have been looking forward to it. It is housed between a couple of old shophouses. 

Since the stalls were still in the process of set up when we arrived, we decided to check out Good Cho's which is a cafe, lifestyle shop and ice cream parlour. It is housed in one of the shophouses. I spent a while browsing the items in the shop-- zakka, local tea, organic produce-- lots to spend your cash on. I left with an indie CD, a cute roll of washi tape, a postcard and some local snacks. 

We headed to the cafe next. It was obvious that bagels (which came in different flavours) were the hot items on the menu because people were loading them onto their trays. We ordered it for our sit down lunch and I enjoyed it. If we had a lighter breakfast, I would have tried their plate of the day, which looked really healthy too.

With our stomachs filled, we were ready to check out the stalls in the market. There weren't that many but it was still nice. There were 2 sections. One part was local farmers produce and the other handmade items. Also there was a little drizzle the afternoon we were there, we had fun nevertheless!

http://tw.streetvoice.com/users/SimpleMarket/