The Weight Loss Entry
Posted by ilyana | Filed under Bodycare, Food & Nosh
Aah so this is the entry everyone and their overweight uncles with beer bellies have been waiting for: How Ilyana Lost 25kg Without Losing Her Soul. Weight loss isn’t exactly rocket science but losing 25kg kinda makes me an unofficial expert in the field of calorie restriction so read this carefully and throw your Atkins Diet guidebooks in the bin cos weight loss tips like these don’t usually come for free.
Oh and because I don’t believe in going to extreme lengths for weight loss i.e starvation, this entry will be filled with yummeh food photos I illegally took at Carousel (photos aren’t allowed but they obviously don’t know who they’re dealing with, tsk) YES. A DIET ENTRY…WITH FOOD PHOTOS. I know, I know..I amaze myself sometimes.
I’ve always maintained a healthy weight since young, I don’t have skinny genes - I’m sorry it’s just not possible; I have boobs, an ass and I love my sushi too much to give it up for teeny tiny clothes. Everyone is probably going to expect some dramatic sob fest on the reasons behind my sudden 25kg weight gain but the answer is as easy and blunt as this: School sucks. I was really stressed up during my last year of school, we had our final project to complete and as I struggled with the many stipulated project deadlines, I turned to food for solace during the many long nights I had to stay awake to complete the project.
By the end of the final deadline, I was seriously overweight and I was living in grey sweats and giant sized tees…not a pretty sight. The worst thing was it didn’t register in my head that I had put on massive amounts of weight even though my thighs had grown to the size of a baby elephant, I was sadly living in denial until I asked my then-boyfriend, “Baby, do you think I’m fat?” and he couldn’t answer the question HAHAHHA SSSSHHHHHIIITTT.
When I first started out on a diet, I was really hard on myself. I was doing the Special K cereal thing where I ate a bowl of cereal for breakfast, a small meal for lunch and another bowl of cereal for dinner. I did that for two weeks straight and I’m still amazed that I actually had the determination to eat nothing but cereal *shudders* I lost a kilo after two weeks but I felt miserable despite the weight loss and told myself there was no way in heck I was gonna live on cereal for the rest of my life which brings me to the REAL dieting portion of this entry. The following “rules” are just an accumulation of what I’ve been doing so far, they work really well for me and hopefully they’ll do the same for you.
Rule 1: Eat breakfast for god’s sake!
I’m not saying you should be eating eggs benedict for breakfast every single day because it’s not quite healthy but not eating breakfast at all is much worse. They’ve been saying that breakfast is the most important meal for centuries now and with good reason, it kicks start your metabolism and gives you the energy you need to kick start the day bla bla bla you know this guys, you’ve heard it so many times before so EAT BREAKFAST, IT IS GOOD FOR CHU. Er if you’re curious about what I always have for breakfast…I usually have a traditional chinese breakfast back when I was still working: chee cheong fun minus the black sauce or 2 steamed chicken buns/baos.
Rule 2: Don’t go overboard with the salads.
Everyone assumes they should be eating a lot of salads when they’re on a diet, there really is nothing wrong with salads or vegetables but just don’t expect to eat a plain salad and fill full the rest of the day. You. will. die. It’s not healthy to be living on vegetables alone raw or not, you should always have some protein mixed in to make it a complete meal. I’m not fond of salads but I thought I should write a little paragraph about this because I know people who think they can live on vegetables alone…and they’re not vegetarians so that’s just crossing the line between trying to eat healthy and starving.
Rule 3: Focus on what you CAN eat and stock up on the soba.
If I could pick a certain type of food that would be the key to my weight loss, it would be the humble soba noodle. All of you should know by now I’m absolutely fanatical about Japanese food and I realized with great haste after my disastrous 2 week cereal diet that restricting myself to a certain type of food was just not my thing. Not all food is made equal but most of them are good for you, you just have to pick the ones you like and shut the supermarket down by buying an entire year’s supply like what I did with the soba.
I LOVE SOBA. I still find it remarkable that something so easy to put together (boil the noodles, drain and eat it with the dipping sauce) would taste so…GLORIOUS. All that buckwheat fills you up real fast and keeps you full until the next meal. There are other ways to serve soba too, my eternal goddess Nigella has a yummy soba salad recipe up on the internets.
Rule 4: Raw fish makes white rice less evil.
Ok white rice isn’t really evil but when you pair it with rich, oily dishes and deep fried stuff, it just gets ugly. The thing about us Asians is that we LOVE rice as much as we love our grandmothers and I’m not saying you should stop eating rice altogether and in a perfect world, I would be pairing rice with healthy dishes like steamed vegetables, oven-baked chicken etc but pfft who has the time?! If you do, then good on ye girlfriend but I am now a full-time uni student and that leaves me with barely enough time to make a sandwich. The solution: JAPANESE FOOD.
The Japanese eat a lot of rice but they pair it with raw fish slices and if the dish is cooked at all, it’s usually sauteed or broiled lightly with soy/teriyaki sauce. I don’t eat rice very often but when I do, it’s usually when I’m eating Japanese food or when my dear mother decides to cook something that doesn’t have a bucket full of coconut milk.
Rule 4: Drink lots of tea!
LOL I didn’t have a photo of the tea I drank in the restaurant so this photo of the amazing green tea mousse cake I had would just have to suffice. I’m not going to elaborate on the benefits of tea (I don’t want to start sounding like an infomercial kthx) so BREW IT. DRINK IT. LOVE IT.
Rule 5: A little chocolate won’t harm you.
The more you deprive yourself of a certain food, the more you’d want to gorge on it so whatever your diet vice is, chocolate, gummy bears, ice cream, whatever - you can eat them all but in MODERATE amounts people. Ideally, you should aim for one cheat meal at the end of each week. You can eat whatever you want during a cheat meal because you deserve it!
Rule 6: Stop hating yourself.
If you’re not overweight, chances are you’re fine the way you are. Nobody’s perfect and everyone was born with different bodies so it really gets to me when my friends who are impossibly skinny whine and complain about how “fat” they are. They don’t eat (except the occasional plate of vegetables) and resort to extreme means in order to lose weight. They’re on a constant crash diet and it gets to a point where they are so steeped in delusion that they actually THINK they’re eating healthy. The best thing is after all that starving, they haven’t lost a single pound >_>
It’s okay if you want to drop a few pounds and cultivate better eating habits but DON’T GET OBSESSIVE. I’m sorry but losing 5 pounds will not drastically change your life and make you a rockstar with the boys (or the girls, whatever catches your fancy) as much as you think it will. I know, I’ve been there, dropped 55lbs and lived to tell u guys that STARVING DOES NOT WORK PEOPLE. This self-hate has got to stop! Recognize that you are amazing in your own way and learn to love your body because IT’S THE ONLY ONE YOU’VE GOT.
Ok I hope that’s answered some of your questions on how I lost weight, it’s the best diet in the world I think lol. Oh and as for exercise - I have a Wii Fit and I used to exercise for half an hour every morning…until I got lazy erk. I make sure I walk a lot though, window shopping is the best form of exercise 8D
Remember to love thyself and eat the damn cake. I’d be happy to answer any diet-related questions, just ask in the comments! ;D
Oh and this entry is going to be littered with grammatical errors I’m sure and I’m too exhausted to check for them (plus this entry is so overdue!!) so I’m going to apologise in advance.
ANDDD BEFORE I FORGET I RUN A BEAUTY BLOG: Make-up for my Carousel lunch was kept really basic because I had a pretty strong lipcolor on lol (OCC lip tar in Indashio, LOVE LOVE LOVE OMFG), did a lil’ flick trick with the eyeliner and La Femme’s Nectar Peach blush ;D
LIFE UPDATE: Uni just started a couple of days ago, this is my third week in Melbourne and everything’s going crazy fast! I’m thinking of taking Japanese as my second major but I’ll see how that goes. We had our first class today and I got my ass kicked a couple of times during the character writing session LOL oh but what fun! I’ll write more about Melbourne in my next entry, I hope everyone’s doing fine. I’m slowly catching up on all your past entries so expect comments by this week!
Tags: diet & health, nosh: Carousel
Guilty.
Posted by ilyana | Filed under Announcements
Oh man I’m actually halfway done with that weightloss entry I promised you guys but due to unforeseen circumstances (i.e PACKING BEING A HARDCORE MASSIVE BITCH, spending my last few days in Singapore with my family etc) I won’t be able to complete it until after I move to Australia.
The past couple of days have been really hard for me emotionally…I’m flying off to foreign lands and leaving some very special people behind. If you’ve read my entries, you know I’ve got a very carefree, optimistic, YEAH BRING IT ON BITCHEZ attitude but urgh I cannot stop tearing every time I think about my family and friends.
This is the part that hurts the most I guess; people I’d never thought would want to send me off at the airport are calling me up and asking me for my flight details, relatives wishing me luck while secretly pushing money into my palms - I’m just…stunned and feeling incredibly blessed that aah, I’ve made some really good friends in life.
This blog has served as a creative outlet/inventory of my great shopping trips (lol) for me and I would like to thank all of you, my subscribers, the beauty bloggers I’ve made friends with and my stalkers/lurkers (c’mon don’t be shy, I love you guys too!) for reading tea noir. It’s been a great year and I hope it keeps getting better.
I’m currently behind everyone’s entries, I haven’t got the chance to read ANY entry on my google reader (I just logged in 10 mins ago and the unread entry count is at 673 entries, I am not kidding you) and I feel guilty because I honestly haven’t got the time to read anyone’s blogs at the moment. I will catch up with everyone’s entries as soon as I get internet in my new apartment so don’t worry lol I’ll eventually read everything and write nice, lengthy comments.
I’m flying off tonight and will probably only get my internet connection set up within the next 2 weeks if all goes well. Til then, I’ll be on hiatus….I don’t even think I’d be able to update twitter either erk, I’ll see what I can do! Take care and be safe everyone, be back soon <3333
p.s Aaron, LK and Nadz: I LOVE YOU GUYS SO MUCH, DON’T EVER CHANGE OK.
Tags: Announcements
RIP Alexander McQueen
Posted by ilyana | Filed under Fashion, Shoe Porn
Watch the video of one of fashion’s most memorable moments here. I remember showing this video to a group of friends and sadly, they weren’t impressed by your ideas which is why I’m proud to say I’ve dumped all of them in the fashion gutter and have never looked back since.
Alexander McQueen
16 March 1969 – 11 February 2010
You were pure genius, RIP.
img credit: synaes @ flickr, onsugar.
Tags: fashion: Alexander McQueen
tea noir’s 1st birthday/anniversary: MY MAKE-UP STASH
Posted by ilyana | Filed under Make-Up & Beauty
SUPER IMAGE HEAVY FANTASTICAL MAKE-UP ENTRY AHEAD.
So today I finally packed 90% of my make-up into little bubblewrapped, oddly-shaped bundles but before that, I thought it would be fun to photograph my whole stash to see just how much crap I’ve accumulated over the years and zomg wtf if you thought the shoes post was epic….
This picture in itself is a self-proclaimation that I am a true MAC whore. I have 17 MAC eyeshadows…how. on. earth. did I manage to collect 17 EYESHADOWS?!?! This is crazy lol! I had no idea I had THAT many.
1st row (starting with the dark purple shade) L to R: Nocturnelle, Flashtrack, Carbon
2nd row: Idol Eyes, Smoke & Diamonds, Tilt, Talent Pool
3rd row: Swimming, Mink & Sable, Fiction (omg my first eyeshadow ever! sadly discontinued), Club
4th row: Shroom (this is a really good highlighter!), Woodwinked, Amber Lights, Twinks
My mineral eyeshadows from MAC. L to R: Brightside/Gallery Gal, Ether (such a beautiful pool of blues and teal) and er forgot the name of this one.
My pathetic collection of palettes lol, I don’t know why but palettes don’t appeal to me much as opposed to single eyeshadow pots >_>
L to R: Mac Authentics Face Palette (I got this on sale for $25 and have never used it because I’ve dreamt about bringing this when I travel to some far flung place in Europe with a lover…but that ain’t happening anytime soon so..) and the Majolica Majorca Trick On Palette in GR750.
MAC pigments! As you can see I like my neutrals and greens a lot lol. L to R: Kitschmas, Blonde’s Gold (love love loveeee), Goldstroke, Copperized (gorgeous color, this one- a dirty olive green with a slight brown tone), Antique Green and Teal.
Misc pigments from assorted brands and samples I got from Catherine! Oh and a mini MAC Melon pigment too.
My eyeshadow bases. L to R: MAC paintpot in Delft, MAC paintpot in Rubenesque and Shu Uemura Cream eyeshadow in Suou. I’m no longer a paintpot fan, they’re great in the first month or so and then they just dry up on you -__-
Evidently, I’m really really into lipsticks lol. MAC lipsticks L to R: Myself, Sweetie, O, Lightly Ripe, Mellow Mood (fave to-go lipstick!), Cosmo (awesome dark pink shade <3)
NYX lipsticks, some of them were given to me by Mel. I’ve done a swatch post on some of the old ones I bought, you can read about them here.
1st row L to R: Topaz, Perfect, Doll, Indian Pink
2nd row L to R: Aphrodite, B52, Thalia
And er more lippies lol? My high-end lipsticks with an odd Rimmel one - L to R: Shu Uemura Rouge Unlimited BG942, Rimmel London lipstick (can’t remember the name sorry), YSL Rouge Volupté in Pink Fetish, YSL Rouge Volupté in Tender Peach, Dior Addict High Shine in Beige-a-porter, Dior Addict High Color in Charmed Pink.
My OCC lip tars and my really small collection of lipglosses. I wish I could love lipgloss as much as the next girl but I really like my lips to be kinda creamy-matte as opposed to super shiny. Liptars are supremely awesome though, they’re very creamy - almost like a thickened liquid lipstick.
L to R: OCC liptar in Pageant, OCC liptar in Grandma, OCC liptar in Indashio, MAC lipglass in Liquer, MAC x Hello Kitty lipglass in She Loves Candy, MAC lipglass in Glamour For All, MAC Dazzleglass in Rags to Riches, MAC Dazzleglass in ….I cannot for the life of me remember.
Cheeks! I’m usually too lazy to contour my cheekbones but when I do I like using my MAC mineralize skinfinish in Shooting Star. It is a bronzey, gold veined dream and it deserves a lot more love from me but sry2say I’m just not bothered to contour lol. I mean I usually spend a lot of time on my eyes so by the time I’m done with the eye make-up, I’m running late lol so I can’t afford to slowly buff in a bronzer into the skin, apply blush, highlight etc.
1st row L to R: MAC MSF in Shooting Star, MAC highlight powder in Mellow Rave (I know it says highlight but it’s really more of a bronzer for me, really like this one too - beautiful mid-toned reddish brown), MAC blush in Trace Gold.
2nd row L to R: MAC Grand Duos blush in Moon River (still can’t get over how pretty this is), MAC mineralize blush in Merrily (hate this so much, I cannot remember why I bought it -_-)
Aah you guys can finally see my fave blush of all time - Nectar Peach by La Femme Cosmetics. This is a no frills matte peach shade and honestly it looks kinda meh in the pan but it is just exquisite on my skin.
L to R: La Femme blush in Nectar Peach, NARS Sin (I recommended this pinky-berry shade to Cat and she is loving it so far ;D), NARS Angelika
Everyday Mineral blushes from back when I was totally into mineral make-up.
First row L to R: Once & Again, Time Share
2nd row L to R: Snuggle (I find myself reaching for this one a lot), Theme Park (A damn good NARS Orgasm dupe)
Foundation and concealers. I generally use the same stuff because they work well for me so I don’t hoard foundation etc like some people do (wish I could say the same about eyeshadows and lipsticks rofl)
L to R: MAC Mineralize Satinfinish SPF 15 foundation, Dr Jart Black Detox Healing BB Cream (I like using this one when I’m in a hurry), MAC Studio Fix Powder + Foundation, Bobbi Brown Bobbi Brown Corrector in Peach, MAC Studio Finish SPF 35 concealer, MAC Prep + Prime Face Protect SPF 50 (this primer is awesome!)
Sorry I missed out on a couple of product names, I have no way of checking them since they’re all mostly wrapped up and ready to fly. You guys should have seen me pack my make-up lol, I was just shaking my head in disbelief as I took everything out from the multi-tiered plastic boxes I keep my make-up in. I never imagined it to be THIS epic but well, I know of people who have a ton more than I do! I got to admit though it’s a good sizeable collection that would last me centuries lol. I still have a couple more I didn’t show here, basically some stuff I recently got so I’ll be featuring that in another entry.
Yesterday was tea noir’s first birthday/anniversary! Omg it’s been a crazy year! I wanted to post this entry yesterday actually but er I kinda fell asleep halfway. I’ve just been really, really tired lately - packing is owning my soul this week and I cannot wait to be done with it =_=
A lil shout-out to Sue/jademasquerade: Thank you for the lunch treat yesterday! I wish we could have met sooner but I had so much fun nonetheless. I’m sorry I was a total klutz wtf, what a way to impress someone lol ._. Hope to see you in Melbourne soon! <333
Andddd a little site update: I finally installed the wordpress plugin that allows me to reply directly to comments as tested out in the comments at the bottom here. I always, always reply back to comments but this just makes it prettier to look at haha so check back to read my replies to your comments ;D
Tags: beauty: everyday minerals, beauty: NARS, beauty: shu uemura, beauty: yves saint laurent, Bobbi Brown, dior cosmetics, MAC, MAC: pigments, stash
New MAC stuff and my secret treasure trove of shoes.
Posted by ilyana | Filed under Make-Up & Beauty, Shoe Porn
The MAC All Ages, All Races, All Sexes Collection is finally out in Singapore! I’ve been waiting for this collection for a month now and I was so scared they were only going to release it here after I move to Melbourne but thankfully someone up there in the MAC offices RECOGNIZED they would be losing a major customer i.e me soon so they finally had the displays set up for me to make my last purchases before I say sayonara.
The collection wasn’t really much of a big deal to me but OMG the lipstuff are must-haves imo! I originally intended to get only the MAC lustre lipstick in Myself from the collection but ended up buying the Glamour For All lipglass as well because it was surprisingly so pretty in the tube >_>
I think Myself is going to be an instant sell-out. I’m not fond of the lustre lipsticks (I think they lack pigmentation) but this is such a great mauve-pink nude color so I was willing to ignore the lacklustre formula lol *_*
I think Glamour For All and Myself should be bought in a set because they look so good on your lips together! One reason why I bought Glamour For All was so that I could counteract Myself’s icky formulation with a nicely pigmented nude lipglass. The gloss itself is a very milky light pink with beige undertones ;D
Lip swatch! Erk honestly I think lip swatches are scary because like whoa where did the rest of my face go lol? Anyway, this is Myself and Glamour for All worn together on the lips. I think they make an amazing nude lip combo!
Non-MAC but still awesome purchase: the MUFE HD Powder!! WITHOUT A DOUBT, MY FAVE PURCHASE OF THE MONTH! Omg this is such an amazing loose powder, it makes your skin feel like silk and sets your make-up perfectly! I actually wanted to get the MAC Prep + Prime powder because it was $20 cheaper but I compared both textures side by side on my hand and i’m sry2say MUFE wins. The Prep + Prime powder feels like any loose powder but the MUFE is like godly, epic and all that. I’ll do an in-depth review once I’ve actually used this for a longer period of time but omg love love love loveeee.
So packing’s been kinda slowwwww, I took out all my shoes from their secret hiding space yesterday and FMLLLLLLLLL I HAVE SO MANY LOL. Ok not really but WTF, this is crazy - I can’t possibly bring them all. Urghhh my heart is in shambles now as I try to decide what pairs to bring and what pairs to go back into hiding ;__;
Omg my fave pair of heels. They’re from MANGO and I got them on sale for $80? They are so fricking cute, I like the very Moschino bow. They’ve got a pale wooden 4.5″ heel to match the white and they’re really really comfortable, I swear on Carine Roitfeld. SO bringing this.
My pretend Louboutins! Christian Louboutin sells a pair of heels exactly like this one but I think it was phased out a couple of seasons ago. Whatever. Classics don’t ever die. These are from GUESS and again, they were on sale for $40 I think? They’re about half a size too big tho but I don’t really care lol. 4″ heel, patent black finishing, classic cut = MUST BUY OR LIVE A LIFE FILLED WITH ENDLESS REGRET.
Lol oh the days when Melissas were all the rage~ I’m not too fond of this pair, I only bought it because it was $15 (they used to cost maybe $70? can’t remember) but I do like how they designed the arch, it’s kinda sexy.
ZARA pumps! I actually forgot I even had these LOL. I love the woodsy color and the round toe. There’s nothing sexier than a round toe!
EEK MY NINE WEST WEDGES <3 <3 <3 They're a blatant rip-off the Yves Saint Laurent ones I talked about and omg they’re the highest pair of shoes I’ve ever bought with the treated cork wedge heel coming in at just under 5″.
I LOVEEEEE the whole unfinished distressed marker look, this is ART people!
My spaceman heels! My pretend Nicholas Kirkwoods lol minus the funky sloping platform heel! Again, they’re from MANGO with a heel height of 4.75″ - I think MANGO makes the BEST heels ever, they’re so comfy! /o/ Unfortunately last season’s shoes were horrendous so I didn’t get a pair during their recent sale.
It may look bulky at the front but the crazy pointy heel makes it really streamlined actually.
The prettiest shoes I’ve ever bought…..sad to say tho they hurt like a bitch! They look so fricking beautiful on and I feel like I own the world for a good half hour before I turn mortal again and start wincing in pain. This pair’s from Zara, a Givenchy knock-off from 3-4 seasons ago. I suspect I’m only going to wear this out when a) I’m doing an event with virtually no walking around involved and all I have to do is sit and look pretty b) I get a boyfriend with a car.
I have a couple more pairs of heels not shown in this entry because a) I’ve already featured them here b) when I saw my other shoes…I died a little inside, WHAT WAS I THINKING WHEN I BOUGHT THEM O.M.G?!
Btw Alia, if you’re reading this - do you want that pair of red wedges I showed you a couple of months back? They don’t fit me anymore and since I’m the best cousin you’ll ever have™ (Nadz doesn’t count because she doesn’t have an epic shoe collection like I do), you get first dibs.
Ok gotta get back to packing, catch you all soon!
first img credit: mac cosmetics
Tags: mac: all ages all races all sexes, shoes: heels, shoes: wedges, yves saint laurent
Chocolate works in mysterious ways.
Posted by ilyana | Filed under Fashion, Food & Nosh, Make-Up & Beauty
So on Monday, I finally met Yumi for a pancakes and pasta brunch date - we were both from the same design school but never really knew of each other’s existence till she found me via tea noir and twitter. Coincidentally, we’re both going to be stuck in Melbourne for the next couple of years so I thought- ah what the heck, let’s quit being the cool, mysterious arty design bitchez we already are for a day and get to know each other lol!
Yumi’s half Japanese and prior to our date, she was trudging in the snowy mountains of Fukuoka, bravely battling the high winds to shop for the kitschy cute and weird Japan is known for. She told me she got me a couple of stuff which is incredibly sweet considering we’ve never officially met lol. I mean I could have easily been an unmarried 40 year-old man with a make-up fetish posing as a girl who writes beauty entries to lure other girls in but Yumi fearlessly decided that she was going to meet me despite the odds - you’re fierce, girl, just fierce.
LOL OK JUST SO WE’RE CLEAR: I am NOT a 40 year-old man posing as a girl mmkay. Anyway look at what Yumi got me:
HOLY. MOTHER. OF. OSAKA. When she handed me the bag (isn’t it the cutest plastic bag EVER?) I was like O__O dayumm, that’s like the whole of Japan in there rofl. She got me so many things from food to chocolate lip balm omg, thank you so much sweets!
She got me a bottle of her favourite leave-in hair treatment. I have no idea what brand this is but let me tell you girls, this is the SHIT right here. The treatment has a watery gel-like consistency and has the most amazing scent similar to that of sun-ripened fleshy peaches growing in the valleys of Persia. My life feels a little more complete now that my hair smells like peaches rofl XD Btw I am loving the engrish on the bottle - “Even turns high damaged hair from coloring and perm into moist, manageable, and shiny beautiful hair just by ‘Sa~tto’ applying it” HAHA WHUTTTT.
Yes, yes getting to the food bit now. ROYCE Fruit Bar Chocolate is a Hokkaido-exclusive, you can’t get it anywhere else except Hokkaido. Yumi’s mom received a box of ten from a friend and she gave me a piece to try. I don’t know about you guys but this feels as epic as someone giving birth to 10 beautiful babies and giving one of them away for the greater good. LOL WHERE AM I GETTING ALL THESE RIDICULOUS ANALOGIES FROM?
I have to be honest here: I’ve never been fond of mixing fruit with chocolate so being the skeptic I am, I was really expecting the usual: pieces of fruit stuck in a bar of milk chocolate (mehhh) but what lies beneath the deceiving milky pink packaging is perhaps THE best fruit-based chocolate I have ever tasted.
It’s mainly made of puffy cereal with pieces of mango, banana and assorted berries lodged in between the minute gaps and covered with a light berry-flavoured WHITE CHOCOLATE. You guys have no idea how obsessed I am with white chocolate - I know it’s not really chocolate but who cares.
ROYCE, please accept my sincere apologies, I will never doubt your supreme chocolatey powers for as long as I live. I will tell the stories of your chocolates to my children and they will then pass on these stories to their own children, thereby continuing your chocolate legacy forever. God, I’m so high on sugar right now (I just ate 2 donuts), someone save me before I start rambling incoherently >_>
Milk-flavoured candy + keepsake tin can = happiness. It’s a magic formula!~
WHOO HOO JAPANESE CURRY! And at only 178kcal per serving, how can something so good be….diet-friendly?!! BRB MOVING TO JAPAN NOWS TTYL.
OMG another pack of royal milk tea kit kat!! T__T I’m hiding this one in my room to prevent chocolate thieves, I am not going to let this out of my sight.
Kellogg’s Cocoa Rice Krispies lip balm…I have no words - I’m completely out of adjectives to describe how awesome this is. It smells and tastes like chocolate, I’m awfully tempted to just eat the damn thing.
Yumi hooked me up with a copy of egg magazine which focuses on the gyaru fashion culture in Japan.
Japanese make-up tutorials are epic, they’re really detailed and give you step-by-step instructions on how to recreate a certain look. I think this page shows you how to apply different falsies, so fascinating lol.
Oh and Yumi, here’s proof that I have a cat LOL. He sleeps in the weirdest positions ever. Thank you so much for the Japan-in-a-bag treat lol, I LOVE EVERYTHING and er thanks to your filtering/packing horror stories lol, I’ve started to pack and I totally agree with you when you said..
PACKING IS A BEECH. OMFG YOU GUYS. My pretty glitter-flecked knits…my gold brocade skirt..my houndstooth sweater..my warm cosy layering basics…my sexy forest green dress my mother must never see T__T I think I’m going to have a serious clothing meltdown soon urghhh.
I’m going to take photos of my make-up collection before I start wrapping them up in bubble-wrap, that should be interesting lol. The MAC All Ages, All Races, All Sexes Collection is finally out in Singapore, I bought a couple of things from the collection yesterday so you girls can expect that in my next entry ;D
Tags: food: chocolate, japan, life, nosh: japanese food
Green tea tiramisu I would sell my Guccis for.
Posted by ilyana | Filed under Food & Nosh
I’m really not much of a baking person, I’m not one to fret over precise measurements of different types of flour, yeasts etc and I’m completely not bothered with the large-scale clean up that comes after the cake has been served. I love cooking because you’re allowed a sense of control when it comes to recipes, you can play around with the ingredients because there really is no need for accuracy (which is why most of my recipes don’t really have accurate measurements)
I like my food cooked fast and my desserts fuss-free. If I wanted anything fancier, I’d just eat out at a restaurant you know? My green tea tiramisu is something I’m very proud of- it’s a no-bake dessert, has everything i’ve ever dreamed (the only thing it lacks is a hot date to share it with but I guess my BFF Dejiki would suffice for now XD)
The only thing hard about it is probably the 5 hours you need to wait for it to chill. Aah that’s another reason why I’m not such fan of baking; I’m severely lacking in the patience department (something I have in common with 70% of the male population) I just can’t sit and fiddle in front of the oven waiting for the damn cake to rise.. I honestly admire and applaud you homebakers, how do you guys do it??
Mascarpone cheese has this perfect thick, whipped consistency right out of the container - don’t you think it looks heavenly already?
Purists would probably scoff at the idea of having a non-espresso, kahlua based tiramisu but I love my green tea and I don’t care for opinions made by old men who drink coffee in their sweats and catch flies all day (that’s how I’d imagine tiramisu purists to look like) Green tea tiramisu isn’t something new and the basic essentials of making a tiramisu still remain; I’m using lady fingers like all tiramisu recipes - italian sugar-coated sponge biscuits with a slight hint of vanilla.
You need to steep the lady fingers in a cup of matcha green tea and arrange them to make a base for your tiramisu. Try not to go overboard with the steeping like I did lol or the tiramisu would be overly moist…which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Smooth over the first layer of mascarpone..remember we are not aiming for perfection here people. If I was aiming for perfection, I would have opened a patisserie a long time ago selling slices of tiramisu at an inflated price of $9.99 ;D
Green Tea Tiramisu
3 egg yolks
1/4 cup white sugar
1.5 tsp vanilla extract
300g mascarpone cheese
1 packet lady finger biscuits
the best matcha powder you can buy
200ml hot water
1. Beat the egg yolks with the sugar and the vanilla essence until it turns a light yellow.
2. Fold in the mascarpone cheese and mix till smooth (it’s best to leave it out of the fridge for a bit so you don’t have to beat the heck out of a solid chunk of cheese.)
3. Make your green tea with the hot water and lightly soak the lady fingers in the tea.
4. Arrange the biscuits in the dish to make a base for the tiramisu.
5. Cover the biscuits with half of the mascarpone mixture and dust some matcha powder on it.
6. Repeat steps 3-5 until you get a duo layer tiramisu!
7. Cover with cling wrap and chill it in the fridge for 5 hours at least (no cheating guys, I’m watching you.)
The BFF LOVES this tiramisu and only eats it when I make it - he also happens to be the pickiest eater I know so it makes me feel almost godly whenever I give him a slice LOL. If you have any questions pertaining to the recipe, ask me in the comments!
Work’s finally overrrr!! I really should start packing for my move but unfortunately, my mind seems to be more interested in making lunch/dinner dates with my friends haha! I haven’t got the slightest clue on how I’m going to pack all my make-up and shoes x_x I thinking of wrapping everything (make-up, I mean) in bubble wrap and packing them in a box to be checked in as “Fragile”. Anyone have any better ideas?
Tags: nosh: desserts, recipes
Making a mockery of Chanel and other things.
Posted by ilyana | Filed under Fashion
YAY it’s couture season! I can once again bitch talk about fashion! Christian Dior haute couture was such a mess, I think Galliano has been in a design rut the past couple of seasons so I didn’t really have high hopes for Dior. The set was god-awful and the first few looks were something Vivienne Westwood would have designed so I’m not going to bother going into details because there are other more disastrous things to talk about..like Chanel haute couture.
Ok I know everyone thinks I’m a hardcore Chanel fan, there’s some truth in that but WHAT. THE. FLYING. IS. THIS?!?!?!?! Already I’m getting visions of the matrons in Enid Blyton books wearing this pastel nightmare; even Mary Poppins won’t be caught dead in this crap.
The shapes are completely unflattering (The second last pink long dress/skirt combo looks like a baju kurung gone bad wth), the hair is a shotgun marriage between Minnie Mouse and the girls of Harajuku and omg wtf don’t get me started on the shoes. Karl has clearly made aluminium foil cool again, just look at that suit in the last photo. It’s either made of foil or someone dropped a vat of mercury onto a Dolce & Gabbana suit and tried to pass it off as a Chanel. Stefano, we have a problem.
I’m almost sorry you guys had to take a look at the absurdity Chanel presented us with so I’m going to cleanse your eyes with some of my favourite shots from the Hermès S/S 2010 campaign photos featuring model du jour, Karlie Kloss. She’s Aaron’s fave so I know he’s going to appreciate this lol.
OMG STUNNING, KARLIE FOREVER!! I love love love the art direction, there’s nothing cliche about it- it’s just a nice minimalist and modern Hermès approach to fairy tales! The campaign’s shot by Paolo Roversi who happens to be my fave so perhaps I’m being a little biased here lol but I’m sure you guys trust my judgement no? Noone should think they can design a tacky collection using the good name of Coco Chanel and think I’m going to let it slide just because it’s ~CHANEL~ you know? (OK OK I WILL STOP BITCHING ABOUT CHANEL ALREADY..but omg did you NOT see those hideous shoes lol?)
Short life update: Tomorrow’s my last day of work, holy brie! Everything is moving so fast this week, I’ve been rushing out this last project which has been on my end for months now so I can’t wait to finish it and hand it over to my boss. Every minute of my time at work has been spent slaving over that particular project, it’s been really strenuous staring at the same thing for hours, days at a time so when I come home all I want to do is just catch up with some friends and faint on my bed! So I’m going to apologise again if I haven’t been commenting as much as I should - I honestly don’t have the time this week!
img credit: style.com & TFS
Tags: fashion: CHANEL, fashion: Hermès, models: karlie kloss
Long overdue: Secret Santa Gift Swap!
Posted by ilyana | Filed under Make-Up & Beauty
I meant to write this post earlier but due unforeseen circumstances i.e my amazing family surprising me with a farewell party/bbq over the weekend, I probably won’t have been lucid enough to write a few sentences, let alone a full length blog post lol; we were unanimously high on an extremely potent mix of charred chicken wings, spicy marinated calamari and bottled milk tea. All of us slept at 4am that night/morning (!!) so I was really in no shape to blog.
Last Christmas I took part in a Secret Santa gift exchange organized by the sexy Pam! Mel and I were partnered up (in secret of course) so we had no idea we were each other’s Secret Santa! We only had a few days to shop for each other before mailing it to ensure the package arrived before Christmas! Mel didn’t have enough time to shop for me so she sent me another package after Christmas and I just received it this week so that explains why this entry has been waaay overdue lol!
Here’s what she sent me in the first package: masks from The Face Shop, something hot from MAC, samples from Laura Mercier etc, NYX Lipstick in B52 and Hello Kitty pocky & candy!!
She got me the MAC Prep and Prime Face Protect SPF 50!! This primer allows a smoother application of make-up by filling in your pores, fine lines and has spf in it too which is brilliant! I’ll do a review once I start using this baby.
I was SO excited to see the Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Lip Tars in the second package she sent! I have heard about how great and how pigmented they are but never got the chance to try them until now. Mel sent me three lip tars in all the colors I wanted omg, thank you so much! The color you see here is the lip tar in Grandma. HAHAHA it looks and sounds like a really safe, foolproof shade but just a dot on your lips is enough for a full blown coral lip k, don’t underestimate your dear old gramps!
Pageant is an almost porn star pink, it’s actually very similar to my YSL Pink Fetish lipstick but with a touch more fuschia in it.
And the shade I’m really really excited about: Indashio. This is not your momma’s lipstick…unless she has a thing for fierce poppin’ coral-reds. I can’t wait to try this one out! It’s time to stop doing the sickly pale lip and bust out that red lipstick!
Mel sent me two other NYX lipsticks: Aphrodite (a frosty lilac shade) and Perfect (a brownish-nude). I am happy to announce that I have enough lipsticks at my disposal to run my own dysfunctional bridal make-up company, can’t say I’m complaining ;D
SWATCHESSSSS YESSSS REJOICE FOR I BRING U MIGHTY SWATCHES. Left to Right: OCC Lip Tar in Indashio (look at how it gleams in the light omg), NYX lipstick in Aphrodite, NYX lipstick in Perfect.
I stupidly forgot to swatch the first NYX lipstick in B52 Mel sent me so that will go in another post I guess :/ I didn’t swatch the rest of the OCC lip tars because my hands got really sticky trying to swatch Indashio because I, too, forgot the universal rule of “Less is More.” Anyway, unlike Indashio, the swatches of the Pageant and Grandma are widely available on the internetz, like on Temptalia for instance!
MORE KRYOLAN STUFF! I’m so lucky omg. Kryolan Aqua Pearlshades in Anthracite and Gold. They’re cream color eyeshadows and they are made of awesome.
Top: Anthracite, Bottom: Gold. I think Anthracite is nothing short of spectacular *_* I have searched far and beyond the realm of the living for a nice smokey foolproof gray and have found nothing I was willing spend my money on but all is good now since I’ve got Anthracite yay! I can forsee Gold being used often as a highlight in the inner corner of my eyes whoo hoo!
Thank you so much Mel! I hope you’re loving the package I sent you as much as I’m loving yours <333
Sorry about my brief absence everyone! This is my last week at work so everything’s just been extremely hectic for me which is why I am WAY behind on everyone’s entries but I do promise I’ll try to do all my commenting by tomorrow. It sucks having full internet access at work but no time to do anything else except work -_- It’s just frustrating! It’s going to end soon anyway and then I can focus on blogging full-time woot!
Tags: beauty: KRYOLAN, beauty: OOC, beauty: yves saint laurent, NYX cosmetics, swap
green tea is the way to my ♥
Posted by ilyana | Filed under Food & Nosh
Remember that rad bunch of Japanese chocolates I got the last time? I’ve been going through each pack of chocolate slowly like a little ant savouring each bite of sugar like it’s his last meal.
I thought it would be a good game plan to make the chocolate last me forever but like how fairy tales don’t entirely exist in real life, this saccharine fantasy I had slowly melted in a pool of nothingness when I discovered one morning that someone or something stole the Royal Milk Tea Kit Kat I had carefully hidden beneath my mother’s bags of preserved fruit (don’t ask) and I was left feeling like a bitter old widow >_>
ANYWAYYYY, I thought I’d share some photos of this green tea chocolate from Meiji since I’m still unwell and not feeling my usual fierce self to blog about anything beauty-related. I’ve been reduced to a sniffing, coughing red-eyed monster wrapped up in blankies ;_;
Oh man, what a beautiful sight. Mini chocolate bars individually wrapped up in gold foil. Look at how they shimmer in the light!
NAKED CHOC BAR! If you haven’t noticed, Meiji changed their brand identity/logo some time back. I think it’s a great improvement from their previous logo, it’s modern with all the cute lil curves and yet it doesn’t take you away from what their brand represents: good everyday chocolate. I should stop now before I bore you guys with more design details lol, I can go on forever if I’m not careful.
Encased in the tiny bar of milk chocolate is a layer of epic green tea filling. Nobody does green tea chocolate better than the Japanese I can tell you that! The slight bitterness of the green tea balances out the sweetness of the milk chocolate perfectly and that is exactly the stuff I dream about you know? perfect green tea chocolate, a cup of turkish apple tea, a good book to read and hot Japanese men throwing themselves on the ground which I tread upon HAHAHA. A girl can dream.
Oh and if you look to your right, I have a new link section just for food blogs I love to read. One of them, pretty pretty yum yum, just celebrated its first blog birthday! I love pretty pretty yum yum, Amy blogs about some of the cutest food items from Japan everrrr and I love it whenever I get to read about some obscure kit kat flavour, I’m such a sucker for kitschy cute things ^_^; You know what Amy? I’m dedicating this Meiji chocolate entry to pretty pretty yum yum! Congratulations on your blog’s one year birthday/anniversary ♥
p.s that’s essie’s Mint Candy Apple on my nails. I’d like to think it’s an appropriate color for this entry lol ;D
Tags: food: chocolate, japan
