Two-for-One

Don't get me wrong. I'm not talking about my block but the famous...
6241-0-241... Canadian Pizza, Two for One!

Anyhow. Ordered pizza for dinner a few days back and they were giving out free Churros. It came hot and fresh with the pizzas. The pizzas were pretty good and so were the wings.

When I finally tried the Churros, I was sadly disappointed. I wasn't a huge fan of Churros but I like the concept of it. So when I knew it was coming free, I was excited. Knowing it will be free but worried it won't be good.

True enough. It was disappointing. It was nothing like what I had in Seattle. Nor was it anything like what I had at Sarnies. Don't try cause I don't think it's worth the effort. But, to each our own. You can try and let me know what you think. Cheers!

A bad scare~

I think I posted on Facebook a few days back that my personal phone was down and recovered the next day.

So here's the story.

I was at a seminar when my phone prompted me to update it. Since there was WiFi, I decided to update it there and then lest I forget it when I get home.

It took about 25mins or so for the entire update to complete. And I mean, downloading and rebooting after application. But here's the catch...

...

After updating my phone, I was greeted with a blank white screen after I slide the wallpaper off. Initially, I thought it was only a lag. But it didn't recover after 5mins. Then when I slide it off again, it was the same. Again and again. Shock and in a panic, I took another hour or so to reboot and try all ways to recover it but still failed.

So, I used my iPad, which was also connected to the net to search for solutions and at the same time, connected the Mi service chat. Did I mention that I'm using XiaoMi? Yes, Mi4i. So, the lady at the service chat, whose name I'd forgotten told me to get to a PC, connect my phone and fastboot it. And she sent me a set of detailed instructions, which I'll get to in a minute. So, I told her that I don't have any PC around me at the moment and will try her method when I get home. Before ending off, she warned me that data might be wiped in the process. I mean. If the phone can be recovered, I guess data being wiped is just a little price to pay.

Worried although irritated, I didn't know if i would be able to revive the phone before meeting my friends for dinner and drinks that night. Managed to contact my friend via Facebook messenger which functions on my iPad as well. Smart right? Hahahaha. But seriously, who remembers numbers at this age right? Except my parents and my own mobile numbers, I doubt I remember any one else's.

Anyhow, when I got home, I started fumbling with the set of detailed instructions given by the service chat lady - which by the way was quite outdated. As the screenshots featured were of an older version of the fastboot application. There were many more buttons on this new application that the screenshots didn't have. Even though that manual was rather detailed, I had to figure my way out around the on my own. After which, there was no effect on my phone. I still saw the same white screen after the wallpaper. Yes, potentially I might have already wiped my data but I didn't recover my phone.

Angry and with dampened spirits, I didn't meet my friends for dinner nor drinks cause there was simply no mood. Found the designated service centre in Singapore and decided to visit that place first thing the next morning.

When I arrived at the service centre, I patiently waited for me turn. If was probably a quick 10mins wait. Then when it was my turn, I explained the situation to the friendly guy at the counter. Literally showing him what I meant. So he smiled and asked, "this happened when you updated your phone ya? So what's your lock type?"

I couldn't really understand what he meant so after few clarifications, I realised he wanted to know if my phone lock was pattern or numeric and if numeric, he would like to know the combination. And so I told him. And the magic happened. Hahahaha. He started keying in the password on that white screen, assuming where the numerics are and wala! The screen came alive! After all that fuss, the only issue was one thing. And simple at that - the theme I was using was not compatible with the latest update. So by changing the theme, everything became normal again! It took less than a minute for me to get my phone back. Was actually a little mad at the lady that told me to fastboot my phone and prepare for the loss of data because it was not the problem at all. Sigh.

Yeah. So that was the bad scare. Hahahaha. Probably wasted a few minutes of your time but yeah. Don't trust those service chats! Hahahaha. Go XiaoMi!

"Back to office" pains

In a retail line, there is no such thing as weekends, public holidays and occasionally off and leave days. Why? Because the stores are open for the public to shop on all days.

That said, when I started as a retail staff, I have gotten used to and resigned to fate of not having any of such luxuries.

However, after I got transferred to the HQ, work days start to get more routine. In general, you will get weekends off BUT you will need to be on standby. Especially when you have a company phone. People from stores may call you anytime. Or even email you at odd hours expecting a reply.

That said, I have always disliked people contacting me for non-urgent stuff when I've clearly indicated an out of office email stating that I will be on leave and the date I shall return. Yet, there will be those who ignores those email and disturb your calm peace on leave.

But that has been improving lately. The locals especially have been "educating" the Japs by intentionally ignoring their non-urgent mails or calls. So its a work in progress. Improving but slowly.

What I hate about going on leave is what I have to deal with when I'm back. The 3-figure unread emails, and a ton of routine to complete. This is precisely why people feel like shit the night before they return to work. It's the last day  of sanity. The last day of peace. And all hell breaks loose after 8 hours of sleep (or less).

These days. I try to take leaves one day at a time, just extending my weekend by one day. Yet, I will still come back to office with a total of 250 emails unread. For a person that makes it a point to clear all unread emails each day, its a bloody eyesore. On the phone where the figures in the red dot keeps increasing. And on the laptop outlook where the bold subjects are scroll-endless and the blue figure beside the "Inbox" keeps updating and increasing. It pisses the hell out of me. Damn it! Even just an additional day off.

This year, I had to take more leave days because of my classes and exams. It's already draining to have to study and work together. But its even more so when you finally complete your papers, yet return to office to find that work has been piled up and you need to work later than usual to clear it.

Sorry. It's all rants this time. Really drained. Will write a more positive post soon ya?

Review: Essential CC Oil & Night Care Milk

I've always experienced dry hair. While many of you may know that heat styling, perming, and dyeing - all that chemicals - can damage and dry out your hair, you may not be aware that our environmental factors and our everyday habits can affect the health of our hair.

This review today is about a bottle of golden magic and another bottle of white goodness.

Left: Essential CC Oil. Right: Essential Night Care Milk

So what does CC stand for? Cuticle Oil. Yes, our hair has cuticles too. And we're often exposed to things that causes damaged cuticles like below.

Extracted from: Garuda Hair

The golden bottle of magic I was talking about targets the 5 main stresses we face almost daily with Cuticle Coat Protection that leaves hair smooth & tangle free all day. It also contains Hair Supplement Oil, which is similar to hair’s natural oil.

1. Blow-drying process of blow-drying removes moisture from the hair, both outside and inside the hair - leaving hair dry, brittle and susceptible for further damage 
2. Combing through wet hair causes great hair damage as the hair follicle is at is most fragile state. Likewise, the friction caused by coming through dry hair can form hair knots which makes hair prone to unnecessary breakage.
3. Split Ends are often caused when the ends of your hair are the oldest and driest parts. When the protective hair cuticle is destroyed at the end of the hair, the hair splits into two or more parts.
4. Hair Breakage happens besides daily heat styling, blow drying and brushing, other seemingly harmless actions like tying your hair into a tight ponytail or twirling your hair with your fingers exert excessive stress on your hair, resulting in hair breakage 
5. Dryness of hair is often due to sun exposure, wind or even air-conditioning can result in hair dryness. The hair cuticle that protects the hair is weakened and is unable to retain moisture within the cuticles of the hair 

These 5 hair stresses are further elaborate by The Evil Hair Stress Brothers.

Enough words, now for the actual review. I like how the prodct smelled because it is not too strong that overpowers whichever perfume you're wearing. And, I guess my hair loves it too. See how easily managed it gets after application.

Another thing I love about this product is how light it is, it does not cause your hair to look all greasy and wet for the entire day. It is quickly absorbed that even after application, you don't feel oily on your palms even.

You should:

1. Use on towel-dried or damp hair
2. Pump an appropriate amount onto palm
3. Spread and apply evenly onto hair, concentrating on mid-length to the tip of hair
4. Do not rinse off
5. Enjoy your easily manageable hair for the rest of your day!

Before you leave, there's one more item that I would like to share - the Essential Night Care Milk.
This product protects your hair from pillow friction by leaving a protective coat around each hair
strand and prevent misaligned cuticles when hair rubs against the pillowcase, leaving
hair more manageable the next morning.

You know how you go to sleep with your hair straight and nice but wake up in the morning with a lion's mane? These are usually caused by Pillow Friction where you toss and turn at night, there is friction between your hair and the pillow, causing the cuticles to be misaligned and thereby causes frizz. Although washing our hair solves this issue, it introduces another - blow-drying our hair - which is one of the 5 stresses mentioned earlier.

So, technically, Night Care Milk is like step 1 for each night while you follow up with the CC oil as Step 2 every morning. Frankly, I couldn't see much difference for me when using this Night Care Oil. I usually sleep and wake up in the same position. Meaning to say, I very seldom move around in bed. Apologies, each morning is too much of a rush to take any photos Sorry~! Anyhow, if you're one of those that wakes up with a lion's mane every morning, please give this product a go and let me know how is it working out for you. Basically, all there is to do each night is to apply it before bed.

If you're interested in either of these products, they each retail for SGD 11.90 at most leading supermarkets, personal care stores and western pharmacies or departmental stores.

Lastly, something for your entertainment.

Do check out Essential's Facebook Page and try out the Essential’s Mane Hero Facebook game to combat the 5 evil Hair Stress Brothers and Pesky Pillow King and win attractive weekly prizes! All you have to do is to catch the bottles of CC Oil and Night Care Oil. Good luck~!

After almost 24years, this is my first

First time taking Malaysia Airlines to the other side of Malaysia - East Malaysia. Yes, I'm here at Kota Kinabalu. No, I'm not here for a holiday. Sad but true. Workaholic much. Hahaha. For a very long time, I've not taken any flights longer than an hour since I'm mostly travelling between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur only.

Actually, after the many aircraft accidents last year, our company came up with a list of acceptable airlines based on the airline safety ratings, highest being 7. 

• Anything above 4 is alright but of course, the lowest cost option should be chosen which mostly left us with Jetstar. Not that I'm complaining. Besides the small delay in flight departures, flights with Jetstar have been pleasant thus far. 
• Anything rated 4 is up to supervisor's approval. Malaysia Airlines is rated 4. And Scoot too.  
• Anything below 4 should be avoided unless there's absolutely no choice. In my case, from Singapore to Kota Kinabalu, the only direct flight - AirAsia - falls under this category.

From Singapore to Kota Kinabalu is approximately 2hours and 30mins flight time. But there's only one direct flight from Singapore to Kota Kinabalu each day and its offered by AirAsia around 2-3pm each day. How can I get such luxury working from the noon right? Hahaha. So, my boss actually helped me look for flights and basically decided the flight for me and told me to book it. Hence came my first first time, taking Malaysian Airlines. Like I said, the only direct flight from Singapore to Kota Kinabalu is AirAsia and because I took Malaysia Airlines, here comes my second first time - Transit in KL alone.

I usually fly direct and the only time I transited was on an exchange to Seattle where I had to stopover at Tokyo Narita. Besides that, I've got no experience of transits at all. Of course we're not talking about the trains we take daily! Hahaha. Anyhow, I'm not sure if all transit flights would "directly relay" your luggage from flight 1 to flight 2. I think this only happens if the stopover is short right? Oh well, if I'm wrong, correct me but I was pretty glad that I didn't need to find myself lost and I had extra time on my hands to do a little duty free shopping~

Before I go on, I just had to say this. If there's a direct flight, I would only need 2hr30mins right?
But because I had to arrive in KK at a specific time, I had to transit, and so I was up since 0330am. Yes, you didn't read wrong, I wrote AM. I had to catch an 0640am plane to KL for the transit. And the domestic flight from KL to KK is at 0905am. I will only arrive at KK at 1150 based on the itinerary. That's a total of 5hrs away from home. Twice the amount of time I would need if I was taking direct. So yes, I've been awake for almost 8hrs having just arrived in KK and haven't done anything yet (except a little shopping at KLIA) earlier.

Frankly I started this post on the plane and I couldn't get my PC to connect to the internet at the hotel and that's why you only see it now. Guess its too wordy and all so please allow me to end off with some pictures of KK.

Review: A lady's essential - Kotex Luxe

We'll always have to prepare this whenever Aunty Mary's in town. Hahaha. Yes, our one and only, Aunty (Bloody) Mary visits regularly and almost punctually every month. And when she does, we always need to prepare PADS for her arrival. Hahaha.

Guys, if you're shy, move along and read something else. Cause I am talking about PADS - Sanitary Pads. In fact, KOTEX LUXE.

I've always been a Kotex user. Maybe because of the influence of my mum initially but trust me. Being the rebellious me, I've tried many other brands and I am always coming back to Kotex. I first got the Kotex Luxe (randomly) because it was packed in a tin can. I've long thrown away the container but I know that was the first thing that attracted me. And that, it was easy for me to bring overseas because of the slim packaging.

They have a few sizes. By sizes, I mean the length.

My favourite is the 28cm because you can use it anytime.

Because of SampleStore, I've got the opportunity to try both the Overnight (32cm) and the Regular (24cm). If you're using the Kotex LUXE Overnight pads, you will never have to worry about staining your beds ever again. It is "the pad that will help you realise that overnight period leakage is never your fault”.

It is really long so, so avoid wearing a V-back or low-back panty. Otherwise, you will not be able to wear the pad properly. That said, precisely because it is very long, you do not have to worry about spillage and staining at all. Sleep however you want to, move as much as you like. Wake up the next morning feeling refreshed. There is no need to feel constrained while you sleep. Some of us are so conscious that we restrict our movements when we sleep and wake up the next morning with an aching back or neck. With the Kotex Luxe Overnight pads, you do not have to worry.

There are 3 things that I absolutely love of the Kotex Luxe Pads.

1. Small wings gives you more mobility. Why do I say this? I cannot understand why some of the pads' wings are so big and long. I really hate it because (maybe I am petite) it can never wrap around your panty right. Are any of you facing this issue? Or is it just me? How will it help to prevent spillage if it doesn't wrap around well? Hmm... Anyhow, thumbs up for Kotex for keeping their wings at the right size.

2. Ultra Comfort Cover keeps you dry and keeps rashes away. I know it sounds weird but yes, we do get rashes if the material doesn't keep us dry. What I like about Kotex is that the pads will not stick to you. Many other pads that I've tried have some Dry technology but all of them crumble under the Singapore weather. So far that I've tried and known, only the Kotex Luxe pads are 'surviving'.

3. Pretty Pads. Have you seen pads that are so colourful and pretty? Awesome or what? No one knows that this colourful thing you're holding is a pad. Okay, maybe after this post, they might. Hahahaha. 

If I haven't given you enough reasons to part with your money, try out the samples provided by Sample Store. Alternatively, you can also request a free sample direct from Kotex. Let me know what you think.

Okay. I've written 2 reviews in a day. Let me rest before I come back with the 3rd. Maybe tomorrow or Sat ya? Hahaha.

The haze in Singapore is so bad today that I cancelled my appointments. Not only that, I heard from colleagues that the Japs who are working today are actually wearing N95s in the office. Yes, they are wearing it inside an air-conditioned office whilst working. It is that bad! Well, we just had to be located in a low building with direct access to the streets. So whenever someone opens the door to receive delivery or head out to just use the toilet, haze will get into the office. Sad right? So yes, I foresee myself doing the same thing tomorrow. Sigh.

The news has reported that primary and secondary schools will be closed tomorrow. I wish they would just rule it across the entire country. Hahaha. Well, a girl can dream.
Good night people.

Drink more water, 
Eat more fruits, 
Don't forget your N95s. 


Cheers.

Review: Bioré Aqua Jelly Makeup Remover

This is my second review on Bioré's make-up removers. Hahaha. Anyhow, I don't put makeup often - as some of you might already be aware. However, it is a necessity for all to put on sunblock. And sometimes, sunblock will have the tendency to lock your pores so you should always cleanse your face with make-up remover to remove the impurities.

Think of it as a double cleansing every night when you get home.

Step 1: 

Clean your hands. Never (try your best not to) touch your face with your bare hands.

Step 2: 

Steal some cleansing oil from your mum, sister or girlfriend and massage it on your face in circular motions and rinse it with water
Sometimes, you will 'emulsify' the cleansing oil with a little bit of water and massaging it before rinsing it off entirely

Step 3: 

Follow up with your regular gel/ foam cleanser and rinsing it off entirely.

Step 4:

Finish off with your everyday toner and moisturisers.

Right, back to the main topic.
Sunblock is the main reason why I indulge myself in various makeup remover/ cleansing oils. I've always been a fan of cleansing oils because they do so much for me yet they do not dry out my skin. Hooray!

So this one fine day, I've decided to "experience a whole new world of make-up removal with the new Bioré Aqua Jelly Makeup Remover". Those were the exact words on the advert but I kid you not, it feels damn good.

Click to  visit Biore Singapore's Facebook if you're interested in getting a sample.

How to use?

1. Clean your hands and ensure they are dry
2. Pump few (2-3 pumps) onto your hands and spread them evenly over your face and eyes.
3. Gently massage over to dissolve makeup, and
4. Rinse thoroughly with water

The product cautions you to remove your contacts before use and to close your eyes during cleansing. Like any other liquid products it has the tendency to go places you don't want it to. So, do be careful as it might still sting your eyes if it gets in.

While it has similar effects as cleansing oils, it feels lightweight and gentle. There's also a hint of floral fragrance to it. Usually, I'm all for fragrance-free but this is so nice that I really wouldn't mind having it. Hahaha. Makes you feel like a spa/ facial experience when using it.

It will be difficult to judge on the removal effectiveness on sunblock. So, I've specially donned myself on some Mascara - Waterproof Mascara - to test how well this works and I'm pretty amazed at it.

I should have captioned it, 'Before' and 'After'.
I don't know what came over me. Hahaha.

 So 'with' is the waterproof mascara that I was talking about and 'without' is it being removed by the wonderful Bioré Aqua Jelly Makeup Remover. I'm really impressed with this because:

• Very lightweight
• Leaves my skin feeling refreshed - and my spirits too (probably because of the scent... Hahaha)
• Awesome cleansing ability at how it removes all that waterproof mascara

I think it was difficult to judge after just a few uses but the product boasts to nourish and hydrate your skin with a dewy moistured finish as it contains 40% more moisturing essence. I have to agree that it feels like the make-up came off very easily without needing to put in extra strength whilst cleansing.

Did I not mention that you do not need any facial cotton pad or tissue for this? Save yourself some money and save the environment yo. Hahaha. Go to any leading supermarkets, personal care stores and western pharmacies or departmental stores and grab yours today at a mere $24.90.

Have fun~!