Skin part 2

Dress: FCUK (Similar here)

Not pregnant. Just a shift dress.

Ring: Vintage (Similar here) | Bag: Prada (Similar here)

Shoes: Koumi Koumi

Sunglasses: Coach (Similar here)

Told you I love snakeskin right?

Seriously, this whole growing old thing sucks butt big time. Another awesome perk of aging has been the fact that my skin is now prone to rashes. Because I'm lame, I break into rashes when it's hot (which is all the fricking time since I live in the tropics) or when I'm stressed (which is almost all the fricking time because I'm easily stressed. My legs are covered in scars because I tend to scratch a lot and not realise until it's too late.

I thought that perhaps I had eczema, so I decided to try using some organic body wash which smelled super nice but was really expensive (and didn't do much to be honest). I'm now back to non-soap body wash like shokubutsu which smells really nice and isn't so expensive, and is really easy to find at most grocery stores and pharmacies.

ohmagerd you smell good

But I try to moisturise at night using Aveeno lotion which is super thick and gloopy (that's how you know it means business)

Eczema therapy because I've self-diagnosed a mild case of eczema

And I'm mad liberal with the H-cort which is basically hydrocortisone cream that you get from the doctor when you have skin inflammations and bites (I'm prone to the worst sandfly bites because my skin is a joke)

You got an itchy you need to scratchy? Use this.

Anyway, this is what I consider the holy grail of care for sensitive rash prone skin. I hope you found this helpful! Thanks for reading!

Skin

Shirt: Uniqlo (Similar here)

Skirt: Altuzarra for Target

Sunglasses: Coach (Similar here)

Shoes: Nine West (Similar here) | Bag: Prada (Similar here)

Bangles: ASOS (Similar here) | Rings: Vintage (Similar here, here, here)

Necklace: Vintage (Similar here) | Earrings: Vintage (Similar here)

One thing I love more than snakeskin is my own skin. Well, I kind of hate it as well. At the age of 24 (even though now I am 21 but whatevs), I came down with what is known as adult female acne. Basically, I had mega zits along my jaw and on my cheeks that made me a pizza face and not in the delicious yummy way. After spending a ton on facials and products, all with limited success, I finally went to see a dermatologist - Dr Phay Ken-Lin from Specialist Skin Clinic. Dr Phay is a wonderful dermatologist and I would totally recommend going to her for all your skincare needs. She's really warm and thorough, and as a mature lady, looks super great, so you know she knows what she's talking about.

Adult female acne typically attacks women who didn't suffer from excessive acne woes during puberty and usually around the age of 25 - 30 (I think). Dr Phay said they weren't sure of its exact cause but speculated that it could be due to the fact that women were having babies later. It was a while back but I still shudder at the thought, I was so upset because that was the age where I was going out a lot and meeting a lot of people working as a door bitch, so I was really self-conscious. I remember calling an ex up and saying, "hey did you curse me?". Yup. Acne mad me mental.

I went on a course of Roaccutane for about a year, which serves to turn your face into a prune (but also not letting the acne have any ammunition for explosions) so it was then that I discovered the wonders of Cetaphil face wash and Dalacin (a topical acne solution). After one year, I was cured of my acne and stopped Roaccutane but I still use Cetaphil (which you can buy at the pharmacies) and Dalacin (which you need a prescription for). 

Anyway, just wanted to share this story with you because acne sucks and skin is precious. And because Dr Phay is the bombdiggity. Thanks for reading!

Gong xi fa cai!

Dress: Far East Plaza (Similar here)

Shoes: ASOS (Similar here)

Bag: Banana Republic (Similar here)

Sunglasses: ASOS (Similar here) | Necklace: Bysi (Similar here)

Happy Chinese New Year!

While I may not be the most traditional person, I decided to bust out the red to get in line with the season, usher in all that good luck and prosperity and all that jazz. 

This CNY was the first year I went visiting without my cousin Nom who has left for the states to meet chicks study. I thought it would be really dull without him because I usually make him entertain me like the monkey boy that he is, but surprisingly, I had a nice time chatting with the relatives and friends so this must mean that I've grown up or something. Or actual me has been abducted by aliens replacing it with a non-social retard version of me. I like it. 

For my dear sister and cousins who have escaped the hot hot heat of Singapore, I am now going to list down the highlights of my 3 days of visiting, feel free to skip this part if you can't be bothered to read about family members trying to make each other jealous. 

The Reunion of Awesome

Steamboat was so last century. We had popiah and kueh pai tee. I like kueh pai tee because it's like you're using little edible bowls and it's delicious. However, as the 3 witches of central Singapore (momster and the 2 aunts) the bridge troll (the husband of one of the aunts) and the perfect fairy princess (ME obviously) meet on a weekly basis, it didn't feel like a reunion. We talked about the usual topics - food, cancer and who is dying. Very auspicious.

CNY Day One

We visited my fake cousin's place. For some reason, my mother allowed us to believe that we were related to these people for the first 15 years of my life. Imagine how crushed I felt when I realised that Daryl, my cool cousin was not actually my cousin at all. The betrayal! Anyway, he's married now so that means he gives me cool angpow and I giggle at how old he is. Bonus: Daryl and Val (his wife) have a dog called Poopie and he got along well with Nacho. 

Yummy delicious Peranakan lunch at the extended relatives house meant that I stuffed my face with buah keluak, hepiao soup, chap chye, more kueh paitee, keropok and wonderful tropical fruit that you probably can't find in San Francisco or LA so basically Asia wins and some people should move back.

Tea time was different this year with us visiting mom's friend's place in Farrer Road instead of Siglap because the mother of the friend had passed away and they sold the house. How this was more awesome: I hung out in a room with aircon so I did not just totally melt the way I had in previous years. 

I went for dinner to the boo's aunt's place where there was a selection of Malay catered delights. But I basically went to town on her bak kwa, pineapple tarts, kueh bangkit and love letters. 

Oh yeah, also, I GOT A TON OF ANGPOWS because I'm single and I took all of Nom's so basically I'm a baller now. 

CNY Day Two

We visited aunty Irene, my primary school math and science tutor who deserves an award for not completely losing her shit because tutoring me is probably the most exhausting experience in the world. She deserves a giant red packet for her efforts. But instead, we gave her some oranges then drank her soup, ate her seaweed snacks and raided her fridge for drinks. As is the custom. 

We went to the godsister Wendy's place for lunch where we ate her super famous Char (that's the name of the store) charsiew that was so fatty it made momster look like a supermodel. There was some other food there but I clearly only registered the charsiew so that's how good it was. 

I brought Nacho to our friend Angie's place at night and while there, he got sexy with Angie's dogs, Charlie and Dewie, who are both male. So my dog is gay and that's cool because I'm all for free love. Then I ate more kueh paitee (seems like this is the food trend) and Godiva chocolates. 

Rounding up

So basically, there was a lot of eating. Thanks for reading!

Fuch-woah

Top: Prada (Similar here)

Skirt: Smooch the Label

Bag: Gracious Aires (Similar here)

Earrings: Vintage (Similar here) | Sunglasses: Karen Walker

Ring: Lovisa (Similar here) | Shoes: Strutt (Similar here)

Holy cowbells. We've nearly reached Chinese New Year. I'm definitely not ready to consume all that bak kwa... No wait, that's a lie. Lim Chee Guan please OMNOMNOM.

Customarily, we wear bright colours like red or orange or pink because it's auspicious. Thankfully I'm over my emo-goth days, I remember one year, I wore leather-look jeans (wah so cool hor??) and an ombre shimmery purple top and my mother looked at me and exclaimed, 'you're wearing that??' so obviously it totally set my mind to wearing it and all the extended relatives were all, 'ohhh Alex so grown up, wah like rocker'... Although this might really all be in my head. It's hard to tell. Anyway, I might bust out this bright fuchsia pink skirt again because my goodness it is festive and bright. I no longer feel like torturing my mother with my sartorial choices - this is because I am legit mature. Now bring me that bak kwa.

Thanks for reading, and, no, I will not share my bak kwa so don't bother asking. 

Mullet life

Dress: Far East Plaza (Similar here)

Belt: Old (Similar here)

Sunglasses: Karen Walker

Bag: Gracious Aires (Similar here)

Ring: Twentyeight Lane | Earrings: Old (Similar here)

Shoes: Pedder Red (Similar-ish here)

I love these Pedder Red heels - Much like a mullet, it's all business in the front and party at the back. 

Often, I find it amazing that I've ended up working in the highly regulated financial industry. My job isn't really sexy or glamorous even though I suppose if I wanted to swan around the place like Elizabeth freaking Taylor, I totally could. Until I get fired. 

When I was in primary school, I obviously thought I'd grow up and be Miss Universe. I still feel that I am quite skilled in the art of tiara-wearing and hand waving but unfortunately my resting bitch face and general lack of height (among other things) would have automatically disqualified me. In secondary school, my passion for drama kicked in and I was sure that by the age of 20, I'd have won my first 'best actress' Oscar and be Singapore's top export. MOVIE STAR LEH NO JOKE.  I heard that the mighty USB was conceived in Singapore by a Singaporean. And even then I'd totally trump that.

But alas, youthful dreams don't always come true. I'm not complaining about my job because it lets me eat food but I guess I'm a squidge further away from dream Alex than I thought I would be. In order to bring some spice to my otherwise rather mundane life (Not even one paparazzo lying wait in my garbage can!), I try to mix things up with my clothes, and introduce quirky elements to my work clothes. Because I am business on the outside but party on the inside. 

Thanks for reading, my fellow party people.

Yogasmic

Dress: Phillip Lim (here for a similar top and here for a similar skirt)

Sunglasses: Karen Walker

Bag: Gracious Aires (Similar here)

Earrings: Old (Similar here)

Bracelet: Quintessential (Similar here)

Shoes: River Island (Similar here)

I love this dress because it makes my butt look more perky and curvy than it actually is. I have the Chinese girl butt - flat! While I'm totally for accepting one's flaws and loving whatever shape I've been given, a part of me really wants to have a kick-ass toned body. So lately, I've been on a bit of a health kick. My company's HR department introduced me to a free one week trial at Pure Yoga so I've been considering doing that more regularly. 

What I like about Pure Yoga

1. The studios are quite spacious and quite clean looking
2. The staff seem really friendly and quite attentive - the guy helping me book in for free classes is really on the ball (Hi Jaymee!)
3. Once class has started, latecomers won't get to come in so practice is less distracting
4. They have outlets in Raffles City (not too far from work) and Orchard road (not too far from home) 
5. Their yoga teachers are really good (well, the 3 I am familiar with now are - Jacqueline, Rene and Kristin!) 
6. They have hot and non-hot yoga options because I honestly don't always want to melt
7. They have 45 minute lunchtime sessions which mean I can still grab a quick lunch to go

What is giving me pause about joining

1. Like most gyms, membership is expensive. It's currently priced at $166 a month if I sign up for 6 months or $130 a month if I sign up for a year for unlimited classes. I think that might include a corporate discount though. Plus I hate paying to exercise.
2. My time is scarce. Because I'm so important. :)
3. They only have 16 showers which means there's a queue to shower after each class (and I can't not shower because I'm a sweaty mess) 
4. Then you have to queue to use the hair dryer, and that takes time since us women have lots of hair to dry. 
5. What about cardio? 

Anyway, these are kind of the thoughts in my head. And it's nice to get it out there. Even though this was probably super boring for you to read. Thanks for reading! 

Not a supermodel

T-shirt: Uniqlo (Similar here)

Culottes: Vintage (Similar here)

Bag: Gift from Wendy (Similar here) | Shoes: Aldo (Similar here)

Sunglasses: Ray Ban | Necklace: Mango (Similar here)

Ring: Gift from Manman (Similar here)

My love affair with the white t-shirt started when I started reading fashion magazines - I'd see leggy supermodels wearing their white tees paired with some distressed jeans and I thought, 'hey that seems easy'. I was sorely disappointed. My body proportions are not like those of a supermodel (GASP WHAT A SHOCK) so I kinda just looked like a stumpy little Giordano salesgirl.

This is not me.

I've given up the dream of the white tee and jeans combo (plus it is just too hot to wear jeans most days) but I'll take that leather jacket, Giselle. GIMME.

Thanks for reading!

Hair, there and everywhere

Dress: Chicnova

Bag: Hong Kong (Similar here)

Sunglasses: Karen Walker

Ring: Gift (Similar here)

Earrings: Vintage (Similar here)

Shoes: Nelly (Similar here)

I am useless at styling my hair, I can only do three hair styles: regular ponytail, side ponytail, and no ponytail. But I am pretty intense about hair preservation and care so I think I can share some of my experts tips so that you can have the shiny bouncy hair that I hope to have one day.

1. So I'm using Kerastase shampoo and conditioner but I honestly can't say that it's made much of a difference to the state of my hair since I started using it. The only change so far is that it's made me a lot more poor. I can't say more expensive is always better so don't be a sucker for branding like me.

2. I am a sweaty human being so I wash and blow dry my hair daily. In order to make it calm the eff down from all that washing and blowing, I smooth a bit of Moroccanoil treatment in my hair before I blow it dry. Mousie introduced it to me and it is AWESOME to the power of 100. It's also much better than the olive oil the momster used to put in my hair when I was a kid which made me look like I dipped my head in tar. I'm not sure if she thought I was some kind of pasta dish.

3. Once a week, I like to use a deep cleansing shampoo to reduce oily build up. I use Redken scalp relief oil detox because it give me that squee-squee clean feeling. I detest that oily hair smell. All you end of day train takers will know what I'm talking about.

4. To ensure the tips of my hair still retain softness even after I've done the deep cleaning shampoo, I use Schwarzkopf one minute hair conditioning mask. It smells really nice and makes my hair super soft. It's a shame it's so hard to pronounce. When I was telling my colleagues about it, I ended up having to spell it out because I sounded like I bit my tongue. By the way, spelling it is also really difficult. Couldn't they just name the company 'shiny bouncy hair' or something??? Schwaarrrrkkkooppfff, think of the people!!

I love you guys

Schwaaaaarrrzzzzkoooopfff

Hokay, so those are my hair care thingymajiggys for you to consider. Thanks for reading!