Review of Pure Tincture Organic Facial Service - sukispa Balancing Cosmeceutical Facial

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You are not just what you eat, you are also what you apply. Amongst the huge variety of skincare brands, I always have a soft spot for natural/organic brands due to the better health benefits that tag along.
In Singapore, organic facial salons are still quite a niche of its own. One popular and better-known organic facial place is Pure Tincture Organic Beauty. Their facials are tailored to different skin types and have been regularly featured in local magazines since 2011.

Review of Bespoke Box April '16

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I am sure many of you are familiar with the concept of monthly beauty subscription boxes like the now-defunct Bella Box; or fashion boxes curated by blogshops such as the Her Velvet Vase Moodbox. 

What about a box targeted for your PMS? 

This is the first time I come across something like that, and I am thrilled to say the least. I have very bad PMS almost every month alongside excruciating cramps, so I welcome anything that can make me feel better.

Imagine my delight when Bespoke Box sent me their April 2016 box - and so timely it arrived a few days before my next period! :)

London Fun Things To Do (Special Exclusive: Best Spots for your #OOTD shots!)

  

London is a piece of what heaven seems like. It's got everything for everyone - from arts & culture to food & shopping, world history to amazing scenery... There is no reason not to pay the glorious city a visit (except for the strong sterling pound)! 

Sharing with you guys some of the must-visit places and some tips while travelling in London. Of course, since my country offers no opportunities for me to showcase winter OOTD, I'm gonna do so here as well! And you can reference the best locations we used for my OOTD photos.

MY TRAVEL NOTES

I am not the type who follows any sort of routine or itineraries, so I did not plan a proper tour itinerary for this London trip. Below are some not-really-organised travel notes which I actually referred to while in London for 8 days. If you find it useful for you, click to enlarge & save images. Alternatively, if you prefer a printable copy, you can download HERE.

Out of the 8 days in London, we used 2 days for road trips to Bath, Stonehenge, Winsor Castle, Stratford Upon Avon, Cotswold, Warwick Castle. I used Evans Evans Tours. You can find out more about the tours HERE. I highly recommend them if you are not driving or you prefer to have experienced guides to bring you around; or if you're like us, who simply prefer fuss-free organised tours to bring us around so we can rest and relax our minds/doze off on coaches! These London tour companies are really organised and their tour guides are super punctual & efficient with very clear & precise verbal instructions. Listening to Londoners speak Queen's English is a bliss! (Trust me, when you return to Singapore, you will feel slightly embarassed at our Singlish. No offence, haha!)

Outside Windsor Castle

Stonehenge: Travel 2 hours from London to view stones, why not?

Roman Bath House, Bath.

Shakespeare Birth Place, Stratford Upon Avon. For the literature buffs, as well as for Mr & Mrs LKY supporters.

As for bus tours, the two major operators are The Big Bus Tour and The Original Bus Tour. We opted for the latter. There are positives and negatives of our experience, so I can't exactly recommend them to you. You might be better off taking the tube (London Underground) or travel by foot. Choose a centralised location for your stay in London, it helps! We had our first AirBnB experience and stayed 7 minutes walk away from Oxford Circus tube station. THAT really saved us quite a bit on transport, bearing in mind for a week, we each spent SGD80 on tube alone (and we stayed in the heart of central London)!

Being on the top deck of a tour bus in deep winter is quite the exhilarating experience! You get an overview of the city in a couple of hours, but that's probably the only perks of signing up a bus tour.

A Delightful Experience at D'Light Adara Spa! - Review of Payot Solution Techni Liss

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Heard of the Parisian beauty brand, Payot? I believe you are one of the many women who have, especially if you for go regular facials. Payot, with a history of over 100 years, is one of the oldest & most trusty brands that quality beauty salons use for their facials. 

Boss of D'Light Adara (left) with Mr Rodrique Chastenet de Grey, Export Director of Payot Paris.

Recently, I had the honour to be invited for a facial by a beauty spa, endorsed by the current Regional Director of Payot in France himself. (Yes, out of so many Payot authorised beauty salons in the world, the Export Regional Director of Payot actually flew to Singapore and paid a visit to this beauty spa!) And this beauty spa I am reviewing today is none other than D'Light Adara Spa!

D'Light Adara Spa is situated in the recluse of Hougang Street 21, away from the hustle & bustle of the city. As I first stepped into the spa, I was cordially greeted by the lady boss, Ms Doris Lee and her friendly female staff. One of spa's selling points is female privacy, hence, no males are allowed to enter the grounds. I felt at ease & comfortable knowing that I am in good hands, and my privacy won't be compromised.

Lounge area 

The first step of the facial experience entails a quick assessment of my current skin health and completing a form to help the facial therapist understand my needs better. 

Upon removal of my makeup, Shirley, my facial therapist, immediately analyzed my skin as combination skin type and followed by recommending me one of Payot's signature salon treatments - Solution Techni Liss.

Quoted from Payot's official website:

"Solution Techni Liss is an  ultra- smoothing protocol that consists of a relaxation prelude to release muscle tension and eliminate fatigue.
It is followed by a high concentration of AHA peels to " makeover " and refine skin texture.
A specific modeling, the 42-Movement massage, stimulates muscles and skin to tone and stimulate your body.
A rebalancing smoothing mask with hyaluronic acid completes the task and restores the pH of the skin after peeling while smoothing and filling wrinkles."

BEFORE FACIAL

Unedited shot of my face with zero makeup - horrible spots, acne scars and dull complexion.

Review of Swisse Hair Skin Nails and Swisse Argan Face Oil

 

"Beauty comes from within." Cliche as it sounds, it's true.

Hang on a sec, I am not advocating the importance of inner beauty; of course that's important but we shall leave that for another day.

I do believe that if a person really wants to look good, besides the products he/she slaps on the skin, it is pertinent that he/she reviews the stuff he/she puts into his/her mouth. "Garbage in, garbage out" couldn't be more apt here.

When we are in our early twenties, we probably don't give too much thought about what goes into our body, much less to say faithfully ingest a good health/beauty supplement. Now that I have hit my big 3, I am more receptive when people recommend me good health supplements. 

 Swisse Hair Skin Nails+

My hubby is an avid traveller due to his work nature, and he has a special interest in health products. When he first bought me this Swisse Hair Skin Nails+ from Australia about 5 months ago, I was still quite skeptical if it suits me. After reading the ingredients list, I find that it seems no harm giving it a try.

Click to enlarge ingredient list

After trying Swisse Hair Skin Nails+ for a couple of months (1 pill per day), I started seeing the brand's advertisements airing on my local TV. Quite happy to see that Singapore has imported this from the Down Under! Swisse Singapore engaged our local celebrity, Rebecca Lim, to endorse this supplement.

Seeing Rebecca as their ambassador puts my heart at ease - I felt like I could trust her. Haha!

Review of Franciscan Crab Restaurant @ Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco

As some of my frequent blog visitors know, I went on several overseas trips in Summer (June/July '15). Some of which were my husband's work trips that I merely tagged along, on his airline employee benefits. I visited San Francisco for a period of 4 days as part of a flight pattern that connects to Seoul.

I did not have the time (or energy) to venture too far out in San Francisco, mainly due to shortage of time and that I fell ill that few days. With the limited time I had, I hopped around the city and one area that gave me the fondest memory was at Fisherman's Wharf. I visited Fisherman's Wharf/Pier 39 and discovered a restaurant that I really love.

Franciscan Crab Restaurant 

Pier 43 1/2 Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco

CA 94133, United States

 

Entrance of the ship-like restaurant. Seats are located upstairs.

Night view (stock image)

I did not prepare for this trip nor did I do any prior homework on what to eat/what to do/where to sight-see. I just walked to wherever I felt like back then and allowed San Francisco to surprise me (which it did, in many ways, both positive & negative). So one pleasant experience that I want to share with you is the dining adventure we had at Franciscan Crab Restaurant.

Looking at this menu item, I was sold!

Did Marilyn Monroe and other famous celebs of yesteryear actually graced this restaurant? WOW.

Interior is decked in red and white - exudes a cosy yet classy feel.

Hubby took photos of this image right out of a magazine.

The restaurant seems to look more vibrant at night.

Daytime's laid-back atmosphere... of course it has to since it resides near the sea!

Strategically located at the wharf along the bay area of San Francisco, with a ship theme, Franciscan Crab Restaurant serves a huge variety of seafood - fresh, huge and juicy!

Their star focus is mainly on crabs, but the other seafood types are just as tantalizing. Check out the menu below...

Click for FULL menu!

Since we are Asians, a single food portion in most western countries is more than enough for both of us. Plus the fact we already had brunch (and my hubby doesn't like seafood. Boo.), this is probably like a late lunch for me alone... so we just placed an order for double shrimp & double crab on iron skillet.

Yes, I finished all these by myself!

It's a shame we couldn't order more but if I could, I'd have ordered all these as well....

Faithy's Travel Look Book + Tips on How to Look Fabulous When On a Vacation

Hello Faithy Lovelies!
As you know, I have just arrived home from my long summer holiday. I was blessed to be able to visit quite a few cool cities over a month's time - Santorini, Athens, Mykonos, Seoul, San Francisco, Munich and Salzburg.

I hope to have time to do a travelogue series and pen down my travel journey at these fabulous cities, one by one. For now, I'd like to first show you my travel lookbook + a glimpse of the places I covered this month alone, before I end my post by sharing with you some tips on looking good while overseas.

Marienplatz, Munich.

Hongdae, Seoul.

Fira, Santorini.

Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco.

Oia, Santorini

Mykonos, Greece.

Acropolis, Athens.

Hotel Porto, Mykonos

Some random hotel in Mykonos

McArthur Glen Designer Outlet, outskirts of Athens.

Home Plus, Sindorim, Seoul.

Parc 55 Hotel, San Francisco.

 

A luxury nail experience at Branché

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Last week, I was cordially invited to try the manicure service of a Japanese hair & nail salon, newly opened in Singapore in March 2015. Branché enjoys popularity in Japan and has several branches all over the country.

Branché Team of award-winning stylists and other staff

Conveniently located near City Hall MRT station, Branché opened its first salon at the revamped Capitol Building, Capitol Piazza. Capitol Piazza has not officially opened yet, hence when I visited, the mall is quiet without much shoppers.

As its name suggests, this salon has two services namely hair services and nail services. What sets them apart from other local salons is, the stylists and nailists (yes they call themself nailists, not manicurists nor nail techicians) are all native Japanese and uses Japanese techniques and the best Japan's quality products and technology. There is another name for Branché nail section - Caplus Nail. They are separate entities back in Japan, but here in Singapore they share the same huge space in Capitol Piazza.

Upon reaching Branché, the friendly receptionist, Ms Nazrah, exchanged greetings with me and introduced me to the nailist, Safori. A hospitable Nazrah then verbally introduced me to their drinks menu, out of which I chose a cup of matcha latte - it is the best matcha latte I have ever had in Singapore! (The best I have tasted prior to this was in Tokyo.) You'd be thrilled to know that they won't hesitate to pour you a glass of champagne or make you great teas such as TWG teas or Japanese tea. You'll be spoiled for choice!

What impressed me the most was the handwritten card by Safori! I love little personal touches like that! (Sidenote: halfway through the manicure, Nazrah checked in again to see if I need to change to another warm cup of matcha latte. I politely declined since I won't bear to pour away the unfinished cup!)


The cosy nail room was spilt into two sections - one for manicure and the other for pedicure. Manicure can also be done in the hair salon main area while hair services are being performed. I will show you guys photos of the main salon in another post next month.

Branché prides itself as a up-market salon that utilises the best technology from Japan. I couldn't agree more when I saw the gadget below...

Check out the pen-like metal gadget on the top right! Guess what is that use for?

Close up look of the gadget

Branché has a nail service called "Repair". They do not literally repair your nails per se, but what they can do is, they avoid damage to nails by opting NOT to file them down but to use this equipment to remove the previous gel nails of the customer. This is a simple, quick and painless process...and best thing of this is, "no nails would be harmed"! I have to admit that when I first heard the faint drilling sounds it emits, my heart went thumping...as the pen tip touched my nail bed, I felt slightly "electrocuted". Of course I wasn't, but I was just imagining the worst in my head as I was kind of scared. Safori chatted with me while drilling my nail surface away, and strangely, that calms me down and I forgot my initial nervousness immediately. Haha!

Have a look at these high quality nail products offered by the salon.

Rajunina products were jointly developed by a Kyoto University professor and Branché. They were said to be very effective.

The only UV/LED lamp for nails that I feel is totally clean, non-sticky from previous customers' use; and doesn't hurt my sensitive nail beds

Professional Safori prepping to serve me my best manicure experience ever!

She's really skilled and despite our slight language barrier, she delivers exactly what I want!

Do you know that Branché offers real diamonds? Yes, you heard right. They can stick on real diamonds as part of your nail art. But in my featured manicure, no diamonds, only Swarovski crystals (those of good shiny quality ones)

TA-DAH! Pretty beach theme gel nails done! Safori calls it The Mermaid style.

Can you see the shell inlay?