Presidential

Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii! I've taken quite the hiatus from posting because I've lost my photographer, but I met up with dear Samson who I forced to take some photos of me and I gotta say, I LOVE HIS WORK. Not just because it's of me. Check out his stuff at www.7braidstrong.com or follow him on insta @7braidstrong.

So okay, so much has happened and I've really missed writing so this may come out kind of long and rambly.

I was watching the U.S. elections like a hawk, I pretty much devoured any liberal leaning news (yes, I like my opinions to be validated by like-minded news - totally biased!) so as you can expect, I was disappointed when HRC wasn't elected.  I had hoped the U.S. would elect its first female president, and also because the civil rights causes that HRC champions are near and dear to my heart - Women's rights, equality for the LGBTQ community, and rocking pantsuits. Like come on, GO HILLARY! I actually teared up quite a during the 3 days post-election but life goes on!

Over here in Singapore, our parliament just passed a bill to amend our constitution with regard to our presidential election to propose racial representation. It seems a little forced to me, considering we're a meritocracy but I do believe in fairness and equality for all. And since I think our President tends to be a symbolic figurehead, k whatever. However, I can't wait to see the bill evolve into ensuring women are also equally represented. How about it eh?? WOOO GO CRAZY ANGRY FEMINIST!! Maybe I could be Singapore's first female president. VOTE FOR ME! My slogan will be "I'm with her (because she has pizza)".

So speaking about potential jobs for me... My dear friend Char suggested I start a vlog to talk about stuff I'm good at - like cleaning, being insane about dogs and being a strange dingbat. How fun would that be? Me droning on endlessly about cleaning products and how difficult it is balancing having a dog and being Singapore's first female president... SMASH HIT BABY. Unfortunately I don't think it's likely to happen since I'm bad with technology and I don't think anyone I know can bear following me around and videotaping me for long stretches of time without going batshit cray. But one can dream I suppose.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I put that line in between because I'm now totally jumping to a new thought because it's kind of past my bedtime (10pm, yes I am a baby) and I'm feeling like there are a few things I have to just talk about.

1. I had an epiphany today and I think it's super valid and important - We women may all be one half mermaid - the top half! Slap on some shell bras and be your best half mermaid self my sexy lady friends.

2. If your name was Frank, would you use the phrase "I'm gonna be Frank with you" before dropping some truth, and would you smirk each time?

3. I am supposing in this scenario that you, like me, say 'excuse me' to the people around you when you sneeze. When you're alone, let's say in a room by yourself, maybe your dog is there. And you sneeze. Do you say "excuse me?" Asking for a friend.

4. Have you ever trolled a scammer? I had my first experience doing so. And it felt great after the fact. Apparently there are these scams going on where you get some call from "UPS" or "DHL" or some delivery company and they ask you to maybe transfer money or give them your kidney or something. So what happened was I receive a call from what appeared to be a local number, I answered and one of those automated voices come on and say something about a package and press 1 to be transferred to an operator. So I press 1 thinking "hmmm maybe I bought something I don't remember?" and some dude answers in crisp China style mandarin. He says a bunch of words and I say "I can't speak Chinese, can you please put me through to an English speaking operator" to which he responds "No" and hangs up. I was like WHAT KIND OF SERVICE IS THIS??? I wanted to call back and yell! Then it dawned on me. How annoying, what a waste of excitement over the fact that I might have been the recipient of some drunk online shopping I may have forgotten buying (it happens).

5. Did you know that I have magic words? I wrote this post on 2 July and it was dedicated to my sister who was pregnant. She had told me she was due between then and 10 July. And guess what? Less than 24 hours later, she went into labour and gave birth to a super cutie. I'm not saying I'm amazing or anything, but I may have the power to induce labour. I should most definitely be President of something.

Okay, thanks for reading, if you've made it all the way here, congratulations and what's wrong with you? Love yewwwww.

Kid

Dress: Just Taylor (Similar here)

Bag: Gracious Aires (Similar here)

Shoes: Nelly (Similar here)

Sunglasses: Karen Walker

Ring: Jessica Buurman

First off, sorry for the ultra bad quality of the photos. This is what happens when you leave the camera in the air-conditioned room overnight and immediately start taking photos. The reason why I'm still sharing them is because I'm a warts and all kind of blogging person (but not moles, I remove those because YUCK). Also I'm too lazy to retake. Anyhoodle....

I really like this dress, I bought it ages ago but the material has maintained its shape and held up quite well. Much like this dress, I also hope to hold up well and maintain my shape. But that's proven to be quite an uphill battle because as I've mentioned before, age just isn't on my side. (AGE, YOU BASTARD!!!) 

Someone once told me that sunblock is the only proven successful anti-aging product (besides a time machine or delusion I guess) so obviously I've gone all out to block that sun the best I can. Some good methods include: 

1. Don't leave the house

2. Wear a Hazmat suit 

3. Destroy the sun 

But sunblock seems to be the best option and I've got a new sunblock to recommend! I've told you before that I use Biotherm for my face and Sunplay for my body but I've recently decided to try out a new sunblock by Cetaphil Daylong.

Liposomal just sounds sciency

While Sunplay states that it's SPF 80++ or even 130++, I tend to be a little skeptical, mostly because so many established and famous brands hover around the SPF 30 to SPF 50 kind of levels. It's as if Sunplay just said 'hey we're SPF whatever's-higher-than-the-other-guys'. So I selected this one which is called Cetaphil Daylong Kids SPF 50. I chose this not because there wasn't an adult option and not because I imagine myself to be young and sprightly but rather because it comes in a larger bottle so I just felt more inclined towards it. Also, if it's good for sensitive baby skin, it should be good for me, right?

I like it so far with all its claims of goodness on the box (non-comedogenic, fragrance-free, water-resistant, dermatologically tested, paraben-free, oil-free, non-sticky) and I've found it to be less sticky than Sunplay. Another plus, I like the squeezy nozzle pump which controls the amount of sunblock I use more effectively than the aerosol spray. 

So I hope that I'll suddenly see my skin becoming more like that of a child's (untarnished by the sun) but so far I'm happy with this product and would recommend it. I bought mine from Watsons in Raffles City, but I don't think all the outlets carry it though so I'd call and check before heading down if you're intending to get it from your nearest Watsons.

Thanks for reading!

An ode to the fatherland

Shirt: ASOS (Similar here)

Skirt: P & Co (Similar here)

Shoes: Vincci (Similar here)

Clutch: Gift from CC from Sportsgirl

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

Ring: Gift from Cyn from V&A (Similar here) | Bangles: Old (Similar here and here)

It was purely by coincidence that I put on a combination of things from some of my favourite Malaysian brands, Vincci and P&C. I also really like Nichii in case you were wondering. And I credit my awesome colleagues for introducing these brands to me. These Malaysian brands are great because the quality is actually really decent while the price isn't high and because you know I'm a bargain-loving aunty, that combination is basically like a drug to me.

This outfit made me think of my dear daddy long legs who has resided in China for the longest time but is actually a Malaysian citizen. He came from Ipoh, a small little mining town, and while he's unfortunately not passed on any skills of making super delicious Ipoh kway teow, nor any tips on mining, he has made a huge impact in my life by teaching me three very important things:

1. Be kind to people - This one is so tough because sometimes people can be mean.
2. Have faith that things will work out fine - He faced some big time hardships, and while disheartened, has never seemed to lose faith.
3. Never stop dreaming - My dad is a dreamer, he's always running from one crazy idea to the next and while sometimes it drives me abso-fricking-lutely mental, it's also kind of awesome to know that my dad sees the world with wide-eyed wonder even though he's 70!!!

Anyway, this is just a short post to my dad, who probably can't read this since blogger is banned in China. Dad, I'm thinking about you, and even though we've had our tough times, I'm glad you're around and being the big kid that you are. Love you dad.

Thanks for reading everybaadddddy!

Some kind of hate

Dress: Asos

Bag: Y-3 (Similar here)

Necklace: Twentyeight Lane (Similar here)

Shoes: Vincci (Similar here)

That was a bit of a misleading subject header because the truth is, I some kind of love my shoes. Aren't they just RAD?? But the reason for the title is because my baby cousin Moo, who is actually not a baby but a fully grown married adult, is currently plugging her newly produced movie "Some Kind of Hate" on the movie screening circuit. I wanted to give her a shout out and also check if she's keeping up with my blog. I'm sneaky like that.

But yes, my moozy is a Hollywood producer y'all. And I'm just sitting here blogging. :)

Thanks for reading, and please go check out her movie because she worked very hard to bring it to fruition.