Morning starts without us.
On the wall above our pillow the window’s reflection
holds itself in place like a dream’s placard;
remaking even the wind out there, cut from the first ice on
the hills,
into a decorative impulse:
its branch and leaf shadows not shining but all the same
shaking out light.

Waking is finding ache-
shaped bones, flesh weighed with sleep,
in the dent of warmth we have pressed into our mattress;
picturing with still closed eyes the suburb’s damp-bright
streets
after last night’s rain:
torn clouds and more light on asphalt
than we could find in the sky.

Sleeping in:
hours spent like holes in our pockets, thrown out
to find our way into that field which is not there
in the wall behind us – the window’s idea of itself
all a matter of light –
now printing across our faces as we sit up
into a second chance.

—

Sometimes, filtering through the many, many poems I have to read for my Poetry module in university, I find that one poem that holds no pretense, no fluffy abstractions and describes with amazing succinctness, a fragment of our everyday. Sleeping in is exactly what I intend to do this weekend before my essay deadlines unfold and collapse upon themselves like dominos. Tea noir will be back soon with some great news to share ;D

p.s If you’ve missed my pretty pictures, you can follow me on Instagram at @ilyana x

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I don’t often blog about skincare because it’s one of those things you have to try out for a couple of months – almost comparable to being on casual dates – and if it works for you, it’s a keeper and if it doesn’t, well, shit.

My skin has been retrograding towards the bratty, pimply sort that reigned in my 18-year-old rockstar phase. It’s frustrating trying to deal with spots at my age when everyone tells you acne should stop when you’re in your early 20s or you’re probably doing something wrong. Lies. I just happen to have overactive hormones that enjoy attacking my chin every month, that’s all. It sucks but I know people have it far worse than a few zits on the chin so I really should be thankful. I have gone through a ton of products to get to the current line-up you see here and I’m pretty happy with it – I think it’s almost perfect, it just needs that one amazing, to die for product that erases zits and the angry mark they leave behind in 24 hours. We can all dream

1. Naruko Tea Tree Oil Out Acne Cleanser – Nadz’s been telling me all sorts of great things about the Naruko skincare line and she bought me a bottle of tea tree serum to try, swearing it would absorb instantly into the skin, your skin will be matte all day, miracles will happen etc. I can tell you there were no miracles, only break-outs. It’s stupefying because everyone seems to rave about the damn serum but my skin just hated it – that’s how picky it is. Anyway, one of my readers, Shafah, works in Taiwan (where Naruko’s from) and she got me their blackhead remover to try. Now, that’s a product I like. I don’t have blackheads but I like using as a t-zone mask and mm, what a scent.

Not willing to give up on Naruko, I picked up this cleanser before I left. I’ve been using it for about two months now and hrm I don’t know..it’s clay-based and has the same beautiful scent as the blackhead remover but I’m starting to think it might be a little too drying for my skin? I like it too much to throw it away though so I use it on nights when I feel my skin’s gone cray cray with its oil production. Also works well as a mask too LOL.

2. Sukin Cream Cleanser – HOLY GRAILLLLLL. It all started with my roommate actually. My skin was a little dry one night so I asked her if I could use her cleanser instead. She’s a bit of an Estee Lauder maniac and her mom recently got her this tube of EL’s cream cleanser for dry skin. Oh my god. I never knew something so heavenly existed. It’s got plenty of squalane in it so you’re supposed to tissue it off instead of washing your face – which I did – and I woke up with nice, plumped up skin.

That same morning I had a skincare breakthrough: why haven’t I considered cream cleansers before? My skincare routines were always caught up in the cyclical remove oil, remove remaining grime and kill all spots. Maybe I really was doing it wrong – I was just stripping my skin of everything else and perhaps, if I focused on skincare that was gentle to the skin, things would get better. It did.

I didn’t want to spend so much money on the Estee Lauder cleanser and I reckoned it was going to be too rich for everyday use anyway so I bought this $10 alternative. Sukin’s an Australian skincare brand and they’re known for their paraben and sulphate-free products. I’m pretty sure you can find it in Singapore’s Watsons? I’ll get back to you on that.

The cleanser’s made from a blend of rosehip, jojoba and avocado oil with some cocoa and shea butter in it so if you have really sensitive skin (or are acne prone!), this is going to be so good for your face. You can choose to wash it off or remove it with cotton wool/tissue so I usually wash it all off in the morning but sometimes when I feel my skin needs some moisturizin’, I tissue it off. Scent-wise, Estee wins but the Sukin cleanser’s scent is a nice homely orange-vanilla. It’s just hard to win against a cleanser that smells like the petals of a hundred flowers went into each bottle LOL. But hey, at $10 – Sukin, I adore you.

3. Jurlique Calendula Cream – This is tons better than the Naruko serum imo. It’s a bit scary out of its pretty tube packaging: a very thick yellow cream that smells like plastic. But you’re only supposed to use a tiny amount, warm it with your fingers and press it into your skin. Hey presto, it absorbs instantly, soothes the skin and has such a nice matte finish. The perfect moisturiser for day. Calendula is also good for acne too, I hear. This picture also reminds me I’m running low and need to buy a new tube stat. For the first time in my life, I will be repurchasing something other than pimple cream – you know it’s good.

4. Dermalogica Gentle Cream Exfoliant – A trial tube I purchased from eBay, it’s a 15 minute mask that actually does what it says on the tube. Will be investing in a full-sized tube when I run out.

5. Jurlique Herbal Recovery Night Cream – If you think night creams are heavy, very emollient and the recipe for a potential break-out – this stellar product from Jurlique breaks that stereotype. I can never stick to moisturizers because all the previous ones I’ve tried never seem to sink into the skin but srsly, JURLIQUE CHANGES EVERYTHING. Bad news is it’s slightly expensive but worth every damn penny. That scent, that lightness – perfection.

6. Jurlique Rosewater Balancing Mist – I really have to credit my best girl, Amy, for introducing Jurlique to me. I never took notice of the brand until she gifted me the Calendula cream, this toning mist and a truckload of other Jurlique samples for Christmas. My skin has never looked better. The rosewater balancing mist is probably the best rose-scented item ever, after Paul Smith’s Rose, and I am OBSESSED with it. So obsessed, I already have another back-up next to it LOL

7. Alba Botanica Papaya Enzyme Mask – This works like the Dermalogica Gentle Cream Exfoliant except you’re only meant to leave it on for 5 minutes. I can’t decide which one works better though: I think the Dermalogica one is good for clearing zits while this papaya mask seems better at refining and clearing pores. This mask has a sticky gel texture to it so I only use it in the shower.

8. Epiduo gel and Clean & Clear Persa Gel 10 % – Holy grail zit busters. Epiduo gel is prescription-only so you have to see a doctor before you can get it. Unfortunately, it isn’t available in Singapore when I checked in February so boo ;( Epiduo’s pretty intense and it will make you peel like crazy but the results are well worth it! The Persa gel works really well too, without the peeling side-effect, and I’m using it so I can slowly wean off my dependency on the epiduo gel.

9. Shu Uemura Skin Purifier: still the best make-up remover ever since its conception ;p You can read a more comprehensive and comparative review here.

Not pictured: Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant (review here) – it was in the shower so I forgot to take a photo of it lol. My love for it is still going strong!

Also, remember my holy grail Neutrogena scrub? I had to stop scrubbing my face with it because I now use the Clarisonic Mia when cleansing so I’m not allowed to use scrubs with particles in it sigh. Such a shame really, it’s one of Neutrogena’s best products and I would recommend it to anyone who suffers from hormonal acne, or acne in general.

Good god, this entry is way too long and look, you’ve read it all! Thank you so much for reading it all/tried to read it all but tl;dr halfway through LOL. It’s nice to be back here, rambling about my favourite things and with everyone of you as a willing audience..k this is beginning to sound like an obituary piece. It’s just been a hard month for me so far: they say the last year of uni is always the hardest and ugh, every bit of it is true. Still, I will never give up this space – it reminds me that yes, I am capable of creating beautiful things, words or pictures, and I take comfort in that somewhere in the world, you share the same dreams as I do.

This entry is for Sarah Karenina who suggested I share my skincare routine with you guys in my previous entry. Thanks for reading, Sarah! x

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President dress in Hot Pink – courtesy of MAIA, Gold belt – ZARA, Pearl and enamel necklace – Mom’s, Bag – Louis Vuitton x Sofia Coppola ‘SC’ Bag, 200 denier tights – ASOS, Amaaazing Jil Sander knock-off Heels – Tony Bianco.

I had these photos taken on the last week of my holiday in Singapore, I’d insisted these photos to be taken really early – I think it was a Tuesday – because I wanted to get it out of the way before I began my last food frenzy before my flight on Sunday. I was brought to 3 buffets in the same week and I can tell you truthfully that I would need a bottle of talcum powder and some powerful zip tugging to get into that pink dress.

The MAIA President dress was sent to me as a surprise – I had no idea they were giving me something else other than the two pieces I was allowed to pick, aren’t they just lovely? Thank you so much, Diana and the other girls behind MAIA! I have a lot of pinks in my make-up bag but not in my wardrobe since I much prefer the darker colours of fall. But thankfully, the President dress is a lot more wearable than most acid coloured clothing simply because of its black top. I’ve paired it with jewelry and a bag, both in a dark brownish red hue that complements the hot pink without having to do so much. If pink is not your thing, the dress also comes in the most incredible ink colour.

The Louis Vuitton x Sofia Coppola ‘SC’ bag was actually my mother’s birthday gift from my dad and of course, it is no coincidence that suddenly, my ultimate dream bag becomes my mother’s LOL. My mother wanted a classic LV bag without the monogram which was perfect because there could be no other bag but the Coppola for her (and me). We searched for it in Paris and Singapore but everything was gone to my mom’s utter disappointment. A secret phone call to my resourceful and well-connected LV maniac best friend and one week later the bag was hidden in plain sight in my mother’s room where she took 10 excruciating minutes to notice there was a huge ass LV paper bag on her bed. My dad took a video of this and I wish I could put it up here – it’s the funniest thing!

This bag is so effortless, so beautiful yet so casual that I can take it with me anywhere; for dinners with the family and coffee with friends. Another funny story is when my mom went shopping at Chanel, she left her Coppola bag at the counter and another customer lifted it up thinking it was a Chanel LOL. She almost died of embarrassment when my dad said, “I’m sorry, this is my wife’s bag.” We tried really hard not to laugh.

I also have a special attachment to the necklace I’m wearing in this entry. Again, it’s mom’s and it’s been with her for more than a decade now. It is seriously a work of art – I put on a simple top, pants and add this stunning art deco necklace and instantly I’m all dressed up, which is exactly what I did when I was in Kuala Lumpur. I believe in minimalist dressing when on vacation (save the luggage space for all your shopping!!) but I always take an incredible piece of jewelry with me to anchor the look. I had to give the necklace back to my mother before I flew back to Melbourne so I feel extremely gutted every time I look at these pictures. Sigh, they just don’t make jewelry like this anymore.

Face:
Rimmel Lasting Finish 25 hour Foundation in 103 True Ivory
MAC Studio Finish Concealer in NC20

Cheeks:
TOPSHOP Cream Blush in Pinch

Eyes:
KATE Quick Eyeliner S in Black
MAC Browset in Girl Boy
Majolica Majorca Lash Expander Neo

Lips:
Burberry Lip Cover in Brick Red

After years of playing around with make-up, I finally mastered the perfect winged eyeliner omg. It’s not all about steady hands; the eyeliner you use also plays a big part as well. It’s really about figuring out what you’re most comfortable with: I like KATE’s Quick Eyeliner S in Black, it’s works literally like a pen. Uncap and you’re ready to draw on a crisp line. Doesn’t smudge, lasts forever and so cheap – it is, to me, the holy grail liquid eyeliner. A lot of people love their gel eyeliners, e.g. MAC Fluidline, but I don’t know, my hands can’t work with a reed thin eyeliner brush lol.

I have Catherine to thank for my red lips, she sent me a Burberry lipstick sampler for Christmas and the shade I’m wearing is no. 19 Brick Red which a gorgeous deep brownish red. I have become SO obsessed with the Burberry lipstick line and bought one right before I left but that’s a story for another day..

Thank you Dejiki for the beautiful photos and my mother’s LV LOL. My other best friend, Aaron, just graduated yesterday and he’s leaving for a 3 week trip in Europe tomorrow so I got that summertime sadness right now Congrats bb, take care and please buy me all the beauty crap you can get from the French pharmacies!

I’m slowly getting back to the swing of things here, school has been so exhausting but I’ll try to whine less and write more. Hope everyone’s had a good weekend!

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I am very, very lucky to be able to experience an entirely different world in Australia and then come back home to relive my old life for a split second. Yes, it’s hard to leave things behind, I’ve said this many times, but today it dawned on me literally 20 minutes ago as I stared at my ceiling light – a moment which compelled me to write this entry immediately – this unbearable feeling that intensifies as my flight back looms closer? It’s the fear of being left behind. It’s ironic since I’m the one leaving but when one leaves, the space one occupies in a person’s heart diminishes with time and slowly they get used to being without you. It sounds like I’m elegantly describing what a break-up is to most people but it happens to all friendships and every tie forged with another person. I know my friends love me dearly but we are in different stages of our lives now; most of them are working, some of them are struggling students like me and we’re all experiencing different things. It is childish to think things would stay the same, even I know I’ve changed in some ways. But in my white dreamscape, it was nice to be in some place impervious to change even for a little while.

I should probably create a new “EMO SHIZ” tag, for things like this.

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I arrive in Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, a little after 1pm. Barely 30 minutes in the country and I find myself telling white lies in the most Malaysian accent I can muster. My prepaid number I purchase comes with a regular-sized SIM card which won’t fit into my iPhone and the special SIM card cutter the call centre is supposed to have mysteriously disappears (IKR, A SIM CARD CUTTER?? – Malaysia memang boleh srsly) so I comb the entire mall to find a phone shop with one. I eventually do but the guy at the counter gives me the stink “YOU MUST BE SINGAPOREAN” eye and asks for 5 bucks to get my card cut. U MAD BRO? 5 bucks for a service that’s supposed to be free? Sorry pal, you’re not touching my shopping fund. So I tell him a half lie. For 10 minutes, I become a tired, hungry girl who’d arrived after a 5 hour drive from Penang. When the man softens and does it for free, I feel the beginnings of guilt pricking my tummy but I remind myself, my maternal grandfather was originally from Penang so I COULD’VE been born there right? Right.

I’m having a hard time writing this entry because I don’t know where to start; so many memories were made and I’ve been to KL countless of times but this trip was just beautiful. It’s bad enough I’m in Australia most of the year but it is utterly dreadful when one of your best friends doesn’t even live in Singapore. Aaron and I start the day at our fave Japanese place, then we head to his design school to grab his grad tickets (AWW MY BABY’S GRADUATING ;__;) and mindlessly walk in the Kuala Lumpur rain to the bus stop. He stops at the most random spot next to the main road, I look around, and there is no bus stop sign (or seats lol).

“Hey where’s the bus stop?”
“This IS the bus stop.”
“Dudeeee.”

I think I love KL a little bit more now LOL. I whip out my iPod on the bus and we sing to all our BFF songs, including Gaga’s U&I and mp3 rips of Adele’s Royal Albert Hall concert which is tons more dramatic than her regular album version – guaranteed to heighten any BFF lip synching experience. We get to the KLCC mall and start filtering through the remnants of the Zara sale while peppering our speech with lines from our video du jour, Shit Fashion Girls Say II:

“Omg I’m convinced Daphne Guinness and Karl Lagerfeld are secretly the same person.”
“She kept calling it Net-a-PORTERRRRRR.”
“I’m really into statement necklaces.”
“I’m such a WHALEEEEEEE!”
“Fashion turbans! But I’m not trying to be political.” – what a reference to me tharrr lol.

We grab dinner at Ben’s, this spectacular restaurant in KLCC bedecked in monochromatic greys and black with visually welcoming pops of yellow. I AM IN LOVE WITH THIS PLACE OMFG. The food is incredible and a main dish only sets you back SGD$12 (!). SINGAPORE Y U NO HAVE?! Aaron and I can’t stop thinking about their wild mushroom spaghettini with mascarpone and truffle oil (!!), I should probably mention the other dishes I tried but I shan’t because everyone needs to trust the crazed foodie in me and order this damn pasta. It is SO totes amaze I shall say this with not the slightest bit of shame: I ordered it again the next day when I met up with Brian, my Malaysian friend from my university (see happy, satisfied smiles in last photo). You guys know I cook a lot of pasta and I tend to avoid ordering something I know I can cook well but this pasta dish makes me want to shake, cry and beg the head chef for the recipe lmao, it is THAT good.

Thanks to Brian and Aaron’s other BFF, Cheawen, I was pretty much driven around the whole of KL – thank you so much for your hospitality, guys! Don’t worry, I won’t be coming back so soon so your petrol tanks are safe 8D And to my bff who worries that he doesn’t spend enough time with me, we’ve only met 3 times in 4 years but that’s why we’re special. Magic can’t be measured.

All photos in this entry were taken with my iPhone via Instagram (follow me at @ilyana) and IncrediBooth.

Ben’s
Suria KLCC
Lot 140 First Floor
50088 Kuala Lumpur
Phone: +6 03 2163 1655
Opening Hours: 10:00am – 11:00pm daily

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Archeologist cardigan in Grey – courtesy of MAIA, ‘Dress’ – tailored (read below), Gold belt – thrifted @ Lost & Found, Melbourne, Gold cocktail ring – ASOS, Blue glass ring – Sunday Art Market @ St Kilda, Melbourne, Bag – Chanel, 200 denier tights – ASOS, Platform heels – Forever 21 (previously seen here).

Putting up outfit shots on t-n isn’t feasible for me because there really isn’t anyone I can ask to take photos of me except for my best friend but he lives in Singapore and I’m in Melbourne most of the year so I’ve taken to putting up my looks on Instagram instead (add me on Instagram: @ilyana ) But when MAIA emailed me and asked if they could send me some pieces from their first collection, there were no apologies, no excuses – a style post had to be written.

The Archeologist cardigan I was sent is no ordinary cardigan. I’ll be honest: when I first spotted it on the MAIA website, I only picked it because I needed a new cardi stat, the Archeologist was a quirky option (name and all) and that was it. What you don’t really see in their photos is that each cardigan has secret air pockets hidden at the bottom (see first photo) to trap the wind, allowing the billowy fabric to float and whirl every time you move; it’s a cape disguised as a cardigan (it’s even made with a bit of spandex in it ;p) Genius! Easily my favourite pick from the collection.

Each clothing piece you purchase has a tag with a pretty sweet handwritten note with an inspirational quote from the MAIA girls. “In order to be irreplaceable, one has to always be different” – I’d like to think I am lol!

I also picked up their Zoologist scarf whose name is strangely fitting; it’s a blend of two very abstract leopard and grunge prints doused in a dusty gradient of rose and pink. I think it is this feminine hue that makes it very wearable and I hate that I haven’t gotten the chance to wear it yet. It’s made of the softest poly satin, a godsend in our crap weather. Ready for more secrets? If you observe the scarf carefully, you’d notice these 6 black loop holes emerging from one of its edges..

Those loops are meant to be fixed onto these buttons you see on my President dress (I LOVE THESE NAMES LOL). I believe most of their pieces have this element in them, meaning the scarves were designed to be worn in synchronisation with the rest of the collection. Naturally, you can wear the scarf on its own but you can tell immediately a lot of thought has gone into the design process of this entire collection which is why I hesitate to call MAIA your run-of-the-mill “blogshop”.

Their prices are on the more expensive side and I think it’s fair because their clothes aren’t the sort of basics you buy and throw after two years – they have little secrets embedded in them and they’re designed to be statement pieces that are meant to add a little somethin’ somethin’ to your own style. If you want to check out MAIA‘s clothes in person (which I highly recommend you do!), they are stocked at OVA.

Thank you Diana and the other girls behind MAIA for sending me these pieces! Diana actually won my last giveaway too, I gave her free Lush products and now she’s giving me free clothes – good karma also exists, people! Don’t forget to join MAIA‘s mailing list and get 15% off your order ;D Full disclosure: I wasn’t paid for this post kthx!

Of course, I have my own style secrets too. The dress that I’m wearing in this style post? You see, technically it isn’t a dress. No one believes me when I tell them but it’s actually the top bit of my baju kurung – has your mind been blown yet LOL? This is probably the only baju kurung I bothered bringing over to Melbourne and I thought it was a bit sad I could only wear it once a year because it’s so god damn beautiful. It’s made of this sheer blue floral chiffon with gold lining so it’s got this duochrome effect I’m crazy about. I broke the baju out of its traditional realm and I’ve been wearing it out paired with the perfect gold belt, andddd INSTANT CHIC SHIFT DRESS TYVM. This, ladies, is how you ‘recycle’ your baju kurung without looking like a skank.

The gold cocktail ring is a recent purchase from ASOS to add to my dizzying ring collection and honestly I wasn’t expecting it to be this huge obnoxious thing (online photos, they lie) but I actually like it this way. My other bff, Aaron, and I have been jokingly calling it my future wedding ring – whether it’s really a joke or not, I can’t tell you that yet ;p

And my Chanel bag finally makes its debut on the blog with its own almost gratuitous shot. I suppose perfection doesn’t need to be explained.

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I had lunch in Chako, a Japanese restaurant tucked away in an area in Singapore I don’t venture to unless absolutely necessary. Getting to the restaurant was slightly cumbersome. Finding it was much, much easier. In an old mall littered with used car rental offices and dentists, it didn’t take long to find Chako. Just a white wash of walls and a small sign that bore its name – so achingly minimal but such is the way of the Japanese. And when you step past its faux rice paper sliding door and into the restaurant, you’d first notice how startlingly small – no, crazy tiny it is.

The entire restaurant is decorated in typical Japanese fashion: creepy lucky nekocat with extra long whiskers stares at you from the entrance, old paintings line the walls and a 2012 Mount Fuji calender is a visual tease to anyone hapless enough to have never gone (ME!). Sitting at the back of the cashier is a small Yakult fridge – the ones you can still find at old provision stores – with not one bottle of the colourful fermented milk that reigned in my adolescence. Instead, Fridge-san is filled with old bottles of sake. Old Japanese tunes are playing in the background, distracting us from the cacophony in the adjoining kitchen. I thought it was unfortunate a restaurant like this would be so inaccessible but having dined there now I realised it all made sense. For three hours, I was in Japan – where else would I be?

Let’s talk about the food. Chako is family-owned so they specialise in homecooked Japanese food. The head cook is a Japanese aunty who married a Malay sailor back in the day so Muslims, everything from the sauces to the softbroiled unagi served in Chako is made from scratch and is halal. The only thing is they serve sake to cater to the many Japanese expats who live in the area. It’s recommended that you shoot them an email regarding reservations and preordering your food before coming down because the restaurant can only take about 15+ people and that’s it. Here’s another catch: be prepared to wait for your food for this no-nonsense obasan only cooks the minute you arrive. How long did I have to wait for my preordered meal set? 2 hours. Not even kidding.

I didn’t mind the wait because I knew about it prior to my lunch and I was there with a bunch of great friends so we were entertaining ourselves with small talk in between sips of Chako’s homemade roasted barley tea. Diana ordered the Beef Sukiyaki, layers upon layers of enoki + shitake mushrooms, vegetables, thinly-sliced beef in this heavenly broth that all of us kept stealing to eat with our rice. I had the Unatamaju set – softbroiled unagi on the fluffiest bed of egg and rice. It’s $23, definitely not the cheapest unagi bowl in the country but damn, expensive unagi tastes extraordinary. So extraordinary, 4 of us ordered the same thing lol. My cousin, Nadz, hates unagi but after forcing a spoon down her throat, I think she might just like it a lil bit more now ;p Nadz had the Gyutamaju, sliced beef and egg in soy over rice which she loved. I had a bite of hers and the beef was so tender – I’d liken it to a truncated beef sukiyaki in a bowl actually – I’m ordering this next time! We also shared the Ikabata Yaki, stir-fried squid in butter and garlic, holy batman amazing. Every set comes with a small bowl of soft cold tofu, clam miso soup and pickles too.

Chako is so good at what it does, it’s put me in this permanent Japanese food mood; I am endlessly thinking about everything I ate since Sunday and I’d go there more often if I wasn’t living off a student allowance D: The food there is definitely not everyday cheap but where else can you take a 3 hour trip to Tokyo for under $30?

I’d like to wish all my Chinese readers across the globe a very stellar Lunar New Year! GET THOSE ANGBAOS, PEOPLE! x

Chako
Tel: 6776 3919
134 West Coast Way
Hong Leong Garden Shopping Centre
Mon – Fri: 12:15pm – 2:30pm, 6:30pm – 10:30pm
Sat – Sun: 6:30pm – 10:30pm

P.S: They have excellent customer service btw, they don’t open during lunch hours on Sunday but Diana did her superwoman thing and got them to open for us. A+, ‘mainstream’ sushi joints you could never.

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The past two weeks have been hectic for me so I’m sorry I MIAed on you guys. My baby brother got his O’s this month, proving that he is certainly much brighter than my 16-year-old self – especially in the Math department. He seeks a future in aviation so fingers crossed I might be able to travel for free in 10 years or so. CONGRATS LIL’ BRO, I’m so proud!

I had a gay friend, K, who flew in this week to meet his Singapore-based boyfriend and ladies, we have a problem. It took an expensive brunch (which my friend paid for *COUGH TAKE NOTE STRAIGHT MEN*) and a hilarious debate between the three of us and his other uh, rather conservative – that’s all I’m saying – friend about the “hazards” of having half naked A&F models gracing the Singapore store but I am convinced that all the nice guys are gay.

SIGH. I know I’m overgeneralizing here but honestly, I have never met a gay person I didn’t like. K has told me many stories about the assholes he’d dated but I’ve been lucky so far: all the gays I’ve befriended are warm, extremely well-mannered and so bloody nice. This is a serious epidemic ladies – there are plenty of amazing guys out there, they’re just not interested in us D8

My friend, Nad, tells me it takes a special kind of man to understand the modern Muslim woman – he has to have a wealth of knowledge of Islam, sufficient enough to guide his family, while being liberal in his views on religion, current affairs and just how much we want that clutch from Yves Saint Laurent. This man has to find some way to balance these sometimes conflicting ideals while tolerating my warped sense of humor. Does such a man exist? I’ve made some crass assumptions about men and I will continue believing in them until I cross paths with a guy who pisses me off because I was wrong, he’s right and in that moment of bewilderment, I will become the girl who traced the outlines of her lips and colored it with songs of his heartbeat – minus the dragon tattoos.

Oh yes on the A&F debate – obviously, I am all for some man candy while K’s said conservative friend (SHE’S NOT EVEN MY FRIEND JSYK) found the show of man flesh to be repulsive and “disrespectful to our society”. Bitch please, do you know how rare it is to find men in Singapore with abs (and hot faces LET’S BE REAL) of that calibre??

Photos were taken with my father’s Nikon 35mm f/2.0 lens I stole with no shred of remorse. Unfortunately, they stopped making this particular model some time ago but if you’re interested, Nikon makes a stellar 35mm f/1.4 lens I think. I’ve been wanting to check out Antoinette for a while now but don’t let the photos fool you – I never got to It was completely packed so my friends and I headed to TWG instead. TWG’s matcha raspberry cheesecake took my disappointment away, such an amazing cake!

p.s yes, this is one hell of a random entry. I’m talking about gay men in one paragraph and the ideal Muslim man in the next WHAT THE FORK. My best friend’s words of wisdom: “Every man has his own burden to bear”.

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I think Japanese shrooms tend to get overlooked here in Singapore since it’s readily available all year, you can find it anywhere, and a packet is just under a dollar (if you know where to look). Most people tend to go for the meatier, more expensive field or portobello variety which I’m also obsessed with and I’m lucky to be living in Australia where these shrooms cost half the price they get sold for in Singapore. The bad? The ‘specialty’ Japanese shrooms are expensive and should be avoided when you’ve spent half your allowance on things best left hidden away from the mothership LOL. Every time I fly home I make sure I eat my fill of Japanese shrooms until I can’t stand the sight of them anymore.

I like the idea of having Japanese food for New Year’s because it makes me feel like I’m one with my people HAHAHAHA RIGHT! The Japanese have this ritual of eating certain foods during New Year’s and while I’m not entirely sure whether they actually eat soba then but what the heck let’s pretend they do! I hope you guys like this recipe, it’s simple and clean eating – what the Japanese do best.

Tsuyu is essentially the dipping sauce that comes with your soba noodles and you can get it at any supermarket with a Japanese food aisle. Muslims might have some trouble finding a bottle without mirin or sake in it so here’s a recipe I always follow. Just replace the mirin with a little white grape or apple juice and add less sugar since juice is inherently packed with fructose ;p And because we’re already eating the soba noodles with the exact same tsuyu we’ve made/bought, I’ve added a couple of twists for the tsuyu simmering sauce so everything doesn’t end up tasting the same

Tsuyu Simmered Shimeji Mushrooms with Cha Soba

Ingredients
Chilled tsuyu
Cha soba (or normal soba if you prefer)
1 packet shimeji mushrooms (enoki works great too!)
A squeeze of lime juice
1 tablespoon soy sauce
Shredded seaweed

1. Cook the soba according to the instructions on the packet. Drain the pot when done and if you like your soba chilled, plunge the soba in ice cold water. Drain again and put it in the fridge until ready to eat.

2. Pour some tsuyu into a pot and throw in some shredded seaweed, lime juice and soy sauce.

3. When the tsuyu reaches a light boil, it’s time to dump in your shrooms!

4. Let it simmer for about 5-10 minutes or until all the shrooms are cooked.

5. Drain the mushrooms but don’t throw away the simmering sauce! You can pour it in a bottle, chill it and voila – dipping sauce for your next soba meal!

6. Get your soba out of the fridge, pile your shrooms on the noodles, garnish with more seaweed and roasted sesame seeds! Pour the rest of your chilled tsuyu in a small bowl and you’re all set! ME GUSTAAAAAAA

Happy 2012, everyone! Thank you for reading this tiny speck of space on the web, it means so much to me! I was thinking of changing my layout but I remembered how torturous it was for me to recreate all my graphics last year so I’m scrapping that idea LOL. I did, however, change the typefaces for my entry titles and headings so everything looks more streamlined now – that counts right? 8D I also just renewed my web hosting for another 3 years so I guess tea noir’s not going anywhere. Here’s to a beautiful and fulfilling year for everyone!

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I haven’t written about beauty in such a long time. You guys can probably see a pattern emerging here: in Australia, I rattle on about food and how much school sucks. But put me on the plane home and I start writing about girly superficiality because (almost) everything is cheap when you’re paying in SGD$ – *snaps fingers* Then whoa! Ilyana becomes interesting again! 8D

I’ve had this Topshop blush in Pinch for a while now – my cousin, Nadz, gave it to me for my birthday half a year ago – but I stupidly forgot to pack it into my luggage when I was due back in Australia so it’s been unopened and hidden in my drawer ever since. But every make-up sob story has a happy ending: I’ve rediscovered it, torn open the chic box packaging, and smacked it onto my face. Literally.

I made the mistake of thinking the blush would glide on my face like a NARS Multiple and that I’d be able to blend it out easily. ’twas a no go. This is why one should read the instructions on the back of the box: DOT ON CHEEKS AND BLEND (see 4th image). What did I do my first time? Swirled two fingers in acid pink, confidently swiped the blush onto my cheeks and shrieked in horror when I realised that was it – the blush was nearly set. Cue panicky smacking into skin to blend the streaks into something that resembled radiant pink nothingness (if that makes sense at all).

It took forever and sore cheeks but I managed to fix my blonde mistake and..omg such perfection. It is the prettiest dolly pink I’ve found and because it’s cream, it gives you the best fake glow ever lol! It doesn’t have shimmer in it but it does give your skin a slight sheen. Since it was a gift, I’m not too sure about the price but I know the TOPSHOP make-up range is very affordable so it’s definitely below $20? It’s beautiful, it’s cheap but as I’ve highlighted, you can’t just swipe and go – dot it on your cheeks and blend it quickly because this baby sets almost immediately. And once it sets, it will take some brute force on your part to get this blended properly. It takes some time to get it right but when you do – AMAZINGGGG.

Oh yes – that picture of me? I’ve fallen down the dark path of Photobooth photos HAHA! I just cannot be bothered anymore :/ I wish I had someone who could take photos of my FOTDs and stuff but sadly, this girl rait here is FOREVER ALONE T_T Every girl has that paradoxical ‘no make-up’ make-up look right? This is mine.

Face:
MAC Studio Fix in NC25
MAC Studio Finish Concealer in NC20

Cheeks:
TOPSHOP Cream Blush in Pinch

Eyes:
Paul & Joe Eyegloss in 05 Murmur
MAC Browset in Girl Boy
Maybelline Full n Soft Mascara

Lips:
Lush Lipbalm in Whipstick (MY FAVE – tastes like chocolate omg!)

What’s your favourite pink blush? Let me know in the comments x

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