Few things make me happier than salted caramel and chicken rice. Chicken rice, while very ubiquitous in Singapore, is something that I find very hard to make well. Salted caramel, that beautifully French combination that oscillates between savory and sweet? Not so much molecular gastronomy as adding salt to caramelised sugar and cream. Making something with salted caramel has been on my cards since I met one of my readers turned amazing friend, Sher Reen (miss you hon!), for coffee last year where we debated over who and who sold the best salted caramel cupcakes in Melbourne. That debate naturally turned into a web quest for the best salted caramel cupcakes recipe that we found and oohed over.
Still, I didn’t have an inclination to try the recipe out for myself. I may have become more enthusiastic about baking these past few months but I draw the line at cupcakes. They’re too much work for one lazy person and their nature as “perfectly portioned” treats (nobody stops at one, nobody!) makes them the best ill-disguised waistline trolls since donuts.
This salted caramel loaf takes the bitch out of making itty bitty cupcakes yet retains all of that luscious flavour. I was tempted to make a cupcake frosting for my loaf but went for the glaze instead since it’ll last longer and any remains would make an amazing spread over slices of toast. Also, frosting makes me do very bad things that I wouldn’t care to repeat post-sugar rehab. This recipe was based on a combination of two recipes: my matcha tea loaf recipe (no matcha and replaces the white sugar with the brown variant) and The Truffle Honey’s salted caramel bundt cake (the glaze).
Salted Caramel Sugar Loaf
Recipe adapted from Spoonful & The Truffle HoneyIngredients
Brown Sugar Loaf
1⁄2 cup (1 stick or 113g) unsalted butter, softened, plus more for pan
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pan
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 cup sour cream, room temperature (or yoghurt if you’re out of sour cream)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extractSalted Caramel Glaze
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 stick of butter
1/4 cup whipping cream* (Not really an accurate measurement since I kinda eyeballed this, the trick is not to add too much or you’ll end up with syrupy sauce instead of a glaze so be careful when adding the cream!)
Sea salt
1. Preheat oven to 350 F/180 C.
2. Butter a loaf pan. Line with a piece of parchment paper that covers bottom and long sides (leave some poking up from the pan to facilitate lifting the loaf out later). Butter the parchment paper.
3. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Put the butter and sugar into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Reduce speed to medium. Mix in eggs, one at a time. Mix in flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with sour cream. Add vanilla, and mix 1 minute.
4. Pour into loaf pan and bake until a cake tester inserted into center comes out clean, 50 to 55 minutes. Let cool in pan on a wire cooking rack for a few minutes. Lift cake out by the parchment handles and allow to cool completely on rack.
For the caramel glaze:
1. Pour the sugar into a medium sized sauce pan and heat on the stove over medium-low heat, allowing the sugar to melt, whisking often. This will take forever. Just kidding – it’ll take about 5-7 minutes.
2. When the sugar becomes slightly sticky and golden brown in color, add the butter and whisk quickly and constantly. Once the butter and sugar are well combined, which will take about 5 minutes, remove this mixture from the heat.
3. Add the cream to the pot with the caramel and stir well until the caramel is thick and creamy. Pour the glaze into a bowl and set aside to cool a bit.
4. Pour the caramel glaze over the cake (the glaze can still be warm when you do this, but it shouldn’t be burning hot), and sprinkle with sea salt.
A cautionary tale for like-minded finger-dipping taste testers such as myself: Do not attempt to dip your finger into the caramelizing sugar! Even though it doesn’t look like it, trust my blistered forefinger that it is pretty damn askldjsakdlj hot.
Sorry you haven’t seen an entry from me in over a month, guys! There comes a few moments in a semester when assignments are timed to be submitted in the same week. It is a sly and terrible thing to do to university students but such is life. Happy Eid by the way!! I’m a little sad Ramadhan’s over but oh my gosh yes food, hello! Before I say goodbye, here’s some extra delicious reading material from the New York Times: How Caramel Developed a Taste For Salt. Don’t say this blog ain’t educational.
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I was cleaning out my laptop and found these photos I took last year that never made it on the blog for reasons I can no longer remember. I have a hunch I wasn’t particularly excited when I first saw them, which would explain why they’ve been squirreled away in a folder I named “Mehhh” in my photo archives. Now that I’ve exposed my very inventive folder naming system to the world, we can put that to rest and talk about my renewed interest in these photos. I can’t really put my finger on why I like them again, maybe photos can be likened to wine: leave them alone somewhere dark for months and rediscovering them gives you a high so intense you see their hidden potential. My other flimsy theoretical take on this is that somewhere in that 12 month hibernation period, my tastes have altered slightly.
Taste is chemistry: it is conditional on a blend of the obvious – like your mood or food allergies (if you can’t eat peanuts, then it is certain Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups aren’t your favourite afternoon snack) – and also things that seem ridiculous: how early you got to work that day or whether you wore the right sort of underwear. And in my private universe of brain cells that dictate taste, I would imagine all these random variables accumulating, steadily tinkering with just how much I liked or disliked this and that.
Changes in taste can happen slowly: I don’t have the same enthusiasm about eating satay like most Malays do. It’s what I’m famous for. I have, at many a family barbeque, been treated to cousins sneakily pushing sticks of satay into my plate just to see my face contorting itself into this. Something happened earlier this year though – it was my last weekend in Singapore and dad suggested we hit this morning market in Malaysia for breakfast. I knew that was code for I WANT SATAYYYY! – meh – but I relented anyway since 1) we were already heading to my fave restaurant for dinner 2) I am a legit daddy’s girl, admittedly the worst sort. 20 minutes after placing our order, the sticks of dread were served and maybe it was the charcoal heat, the grease, my family’s happy nomming faces or the bitterness of having to leave them again for school but I found myself reaching for a satay stick, and another, and ano..damn it, I suppose I like satay now .__.
But unlike my Sataygate of 2012, changes in taste can also be in a constant flux. One day, you can hate undercuts and love it the next day when you see it on someone who can pull it off really well but only to dislike it a little when your best friend tells you NO. Disclaimer: I am not this person. Another strange taste-related event is that I’m also beginning to like people I once couldn’t stand? ‘Like’ might possibly be too charitable a word but I’ve become more patient when in close proximity with these people. I don’t feel like killing them half the time which is certainly an improvement. I think my brain cells must be all wonky from the cold. Or maybe I’ve just grown up a little.
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I’m a huge fan of Jurlique and when they emailed me 2 months ago asking if I would be interested in a blog partnership with them, I was in dizzying euphoria: “OH MY GOD JURLIQUE EMAILED ME THIS MORN. JURLIQUE ASKJLADJS, WHAT DO I SAY??”, I texted to two of my friends. It took a lot to quell my excitement: a cup of coffee only heightened it and I spent the next hour with the jitterbug in my legs. Still, when the jitters wore off, the excitement never waned until the point at which I looked at my clock and remembered I had a tutorial starting in half an hour. Ah, university – always the one thing that puts me back in my place.
I’ve been incorporating Jurlique products into my skincare routine since the start of the year and one of my favourite must-haves from the company is their Rosewater Balancing Mist. It softens the skin, imparts that special ritualistic feel when you spritz it on and for about 5 seconds, you get to breathe in soft clouds of rose – who wouldn’t like that? I love smelling the roses (lulz) and I love smelling like the roses – when I went on a no holds barred Jurlique spree at the airport, I thought it was a little unusual that Jurlique didn’t have a Rose range considering how popular their mist was. I would’ve been all over it like the bees. And what must have been a thousand roses blended carefully in the lab later, Jurlique has finally launched their Rose Moisture Plus range with two new products, the Moisturising Cleanser and Moisturising Cream, added to their extensive skincare line.
Jurlique kindly sent me the entire range to try out and guys, if you can only afford one item from the line I would recommend getting this Rose Moisture Plus cleanser. It is beautiful, just beautiful. I’ve been cheating on my Sukin cleanser in the mornings with this and I don’t feel the least bit guilty. I still love my Sukin cleanser but washing my face with pillows of rose foam makes my 7am starts a pinch more bearable. I was alarmed by the addition of pumice in the cleanser’s formula when I was reading the ingredients list….pumice as in the stone? Isn’t that abrasive? Surprisingly no, the pumice is so micro-fine I didn’t feel anything while cleansing my face. It’s formulated to combat dryness but isn’t too generous with the moisture stockpile either: my combination skin is perfectly balanced and it’s happy with the green tea, lavender, rosemary and other plant extracts it’s been fed with.
The Rose Moisture Plus Moisturising Cream has a thicker consistency than most creams; if you’re familiar with Jurlique’s Calendula Cream (review here), the texture’s similar! And as with all Jurlique creams, you are meant to warm only a small amount with your fingers and press it gently into the skin. I don’t know how the company does it but the moisturisers they make sink into the skin almost immediately, leaving none of that awful forehead polish (yep, we’ve all been there). It’s winter here so I like applying this cream on dry spots I get on my face and also on days when I feel my skin needs to take a break from all chemicals it’s usually subjected to. My only gripe is that I wished it came with SPF because I already have a night cream (also by Jurlique btw) that I adore too much so I’d much prefer using the Moisturising Cream in the day.
Again, the Rosewater Balancing Mist needs no further introduction. But obviously Jurlique wasn’t going to sit back and let it be part of their new Rose line without some extra zing: the new mist is reformulated with botanical extracts of willow, sweet violet, black elder flower (wow lol) and a whole list of ingredients that only a botanist would be able to recognise. Yes, the Rosewater Balancing Mist has always been amazing but Jurlique, you’ve brought me down to my knees – the Rose Moisture Plus range is small but impressive with three products designed to hydrate and soothe the skin. Now all the company needs to do is come up with a rose perfume and I would be set for life – what would it take for you to recreate that amazing scent into an eau de parfum, Jurlique? I can help you pick out the roses x
LE GIVEAWAY: To celebrate the launch of their new range, Jurlique is giving away several sets of their Rose Moisture Plus products. However, the giveaway was originally open to US residents only but Jurlique has generously agreed to open their giveaway to my readers in Australia. Thank you Connie for making this possible!
All you have to do to enter is to like Jurlique’s Facebook page using the pink form in my right sidebar. Following them on Twitter is optional but it would be lovely if you could ;D This giveaway is open to anyone living in Australia who are at least 18 years of age. One entry per person please and winners will be notified by Jurlique via email. Contest ends Friday, 27th July 2012. Good luck, everyone! 
Happy Ramadhan to all my Muslim readers!
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I had my first birthday party when I turned 20. It was and will forever be the last party I throw for myself. It wasn’t a disaster per se – ok, yes it was. Normally, one would expect the birthday girl to have her day to herself, leaving all the cooking and decorating to the caterers and selected minions, oops I mean, close friends who have volunteered themselves to offer free labour in the name of her birthday. Except lifestyles of the rich and famous don’t happen outside the Hamptons and certainly, not in my house. *ADVERTORIAL* My party’s decorating services was sponsored by Ilyana’s Party Favours and the food was cooked on site by Ilyana & La Familia. Or in other words, I did just about everything.
I cooked, I cleaned, I wanted to do too many things. And on the morning of the party I became aware, when two of my friends who were supposed to help me out were running late, that the only way I could get things done was to do it myself. I was a dumb, wildly ambitious perfectionist. I was still cooking the takoyaki half an hour before the party started and I was so tired I wanted everyone to go home when they’ve only just arrived LOL. I think I was a horrid host because I couldn’t mingle with my friends as much as I wanted to since I was exhausted and all I could think about was replenishing the fast disappearing takoyaki platter. So if you were unfortunate enough to turn up to that mess of a party, I apologise for being the worst host in history…but at least you can’t complain about the food right? Because it definitely was fantastic, feast your eyes on these vintage pictures from my ~archives~: Pic 1, Pic 2 and Pic 3. Also LULZ at my old photography omg, I’VE COME A LONG WAY!
4 years later and I guess I still have parties on my birthday but they’ve evolved into private brunch dates with people I love. I know I say this every year but it’s sad not being able to celebrate it with my family. But living overseas also rewards you with a new family: a group of friends in the same sticky situation you’re in. And if you’re very very lucky, family from your home base might just take a flight out to visit too. Here’s some photos from my birthday brunch at MART and in order of appearance, meet my shiny, happy people: Brian, Amy, Kyun and Ili. Kyun and my cousin, Ili, were holidaying in Melbourne and it was lovely having family around – thank you for the tea set bbs!
And to Brian & Amy: I love you both so much, thank you, thank you, thank you.
FINALLY managed to crack open my Burberry lipstick too, expensive lipsticks are best reserved for special days yes? A review on that is coming soon!
p.s: sorry I haven’t blogged in a while, I had another cousin fly in and stay with me for 10 days after Ili left lol so this blog didn’t stand a chance against all the shopping and feasting we did. Fatin, if you’re reading this – congratulations on your convocation and I hate to admit it but I’ve started to miss your company!
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GROAAAANNN. I did it. I heeded the siren calls of my oven, made a mess in my kitchen and despite wanting to stab something every time I spotted a new renegade flour spot on the table, I have to confess I want to do it all over again. Fine, you got me: it is pretty damn satisfying getting a beautifully risen loaf out of the oven, smoothing nutella over the first slice and welcoming it in your tummy.
Apart from having a room door strategically located in front of the oven (BAKECEPTION thoughts being planted in my subconscious everyday smh), there was one other catalyst that spurred me to embrace the rolling pin: a forgotten canister of matcha buried behind my tea collection. Drinking matcha in the morning used to be quite the breakfast ritual for me but this year I’ve ditched the green tea for its more hipster cousin, the spicy chai HAHA! Soy milk chai lattes are amazing btw, especially made with this soy milk I found in the super last week. I used to love soy milk as a kid but got sick of its cloying sweetness….a bit much coming from a girl with a terrible bubble tea fixation LOL. Anyway, that soy milk I’m drinking now has a thicker consistency and is sweetened with barley and pear juice. It’s even got kombu in it 
Really good stuff, I hope you guys can find it in Singapore!
Having tea with a slice of cake is a better mood lifter than drinking tea by itself (tho drinking tea alone is better for skinny jeans but I have since moved on to chinos so fork that) so I wanted to bake something that was slightly crumbly and light. I found this matcha tea cake on Spoonful and almost every ingredient in the recipe I had in the pantry so ++ points for frugality! Except I didn’t have baking soda and had to lug back half a kilo’s worth because that was the smallest size they had .____. Half a kilo……when I only needed one teaspoon GDI. Yes, I did think of breaking the packet open and stealing a teaspoon’s worth but ultimately, I am a god-fearing Muslim! (yes, really). Also this means I should bake more to get my money’s worth, oui?
A few changes I made to Spoonful’s recipe: again, like my truffles, I used Splenda instead of white sugar and instead of setting aside 1/3 of the batter to mix with the matcha, I increased this and used half the batter instead for a stronger tea flavour. You know I love my green tea so I upped the matcha measurements by er..a lot. I didn’t take any precise measurements but I was very generous: I just heaped it on and stirred until it became a shade of green I liked HAHAHA 8D Also if it’s your first time doing a marble cake like me, don’t worry about the marbling so much. My marbling didn’t turn out as pretty as Spoonful’s but I suppose one gets better with practice? Otherwise, temporarily shut the perfectionist in the laundry room and repeat to self, “AS LONG AS CAN SEE, CAN LIAO” (translated in standard English for readers outside Singapore: as long as you can see it, it’s good to go).
Matcha Tea Scented Loaf
adapted from SpoonfulIngredients
1⁄2 cup (1 stick or 113g) unsalted butter, softened, plus more for pan
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pan
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar or 1/2 cup Splenda
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 cup sour cream, room temperature
1.5 teaspoons matcha powder or more, if you’re matcha-obsessed like me
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1. Preheat oven to 350 F/180 C.
2. Butter a loaf pan. Line with a piece of parchment paper that covers bottom and long sides (leave some poking up from the pan to facilitate lifting the loaf out later). Butter the parchment paper.
3. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Put the butter and sugar into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Reduce speed to medium. Mix in eggs, one at a time. Mix in flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with sour cream. Add vanilla, and mix 1 minute.
4. Portion out 1/2 of the batter into a small bowl. Mix in matcha powder, stirring well to combine.
5. Spread 1/4 of the plain batter into prepared pan. Use a small offset spatula to ensure an even, flat layer. Dollop with 1/4 of matcha batter and use a spatula to gently spread the matcha layer on the top of the other. Spread another fourth of the plain batter on top, followed by another fourth of the matcha batter. Repeat one more time so that the final layer is the rest of the matcha batter. Run a thin knife through batter to marbleize. Run spatula over top to ensure the batter is flat in the end.
6. Bake until a cake tester inserted into center comes out clean, 50 to 55 minutes. Let cool in pan on a wire cooking rack for a few minutes. Lift cake out by the parchment handles and allow to cool completely on rack.
K no more food entries until I write a beauty one LOL, thanks for reading guys! x
p.s I almost died taking that second photo (I had to stand on a very high chair), so please appreciate it more now that you know my neck nearly got snapped in half. WE MUST DIE FOR ART, or I should really get a damn tripod.
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When I saw this recipe on Bakerella the night before my final essay was due, making these truffles went straight up the list of Things To Do When I Get My Life Back. I am that person who enjoys eating cake batter more than the actual cake itself (well, sometimes) so I say with no exaggeration that this IS the recipe I’ve been waiting for all my life. I also noticed that all my dessert recipes on this blog, including this one, have strictly no baking involved and I wonder if it makes you think if I really am against baking rofl. Well, I don’t hate baking per se; I just hate the inevitable mess: the fine rain of flour/sugar/cocoa powder on the table, cleaning the baking sheets crusted with butter and washing the damn mixer and all its attachments – no, thank you, I’m happier buying my cakes and cookies from real bakers, knowing that somewhere out there, someone’s kitchen is being dirtied and it ain’t mine TROLOLOL. What I love about this recipe is that cleaning up merely involves eating whatever’s left in the bowl – genius.
I didn’t have enough chocolate on hand to coat these truffles completely but I’m thankful I didn’t because I only had milk chocolate so drizzling it lightly on these rolled balls of cookie dough was sweet enough. If you intend to coat the truffle entirely in chocolate, I would suggest using dark chocolate instead. Oh yes, I also used Splenda in place of the white sugar, my feeble attempt to shave off a few calories from this bowl of MOTHER OF GOD goodness. So if you want to use Splenda or EQUAL, cut only the white sugar measurements in half.
Bakerella’s truffles are elaborate versions of what I have here, with little ice cream sticks in them so check out her site if you want to make her version ;D The recipe she uses is from a book called..wait for it..The Cookie Dough Lover’s Cookbook OMG SHAKING AND CRYING AT ITS INGENUITY! The author is the blogger behind my newly-discovered food read of the week: Love and Olive Oil. I don’t know her but I think I’m in love. Anyone who has the artistry to make an egg-free, safe to eat chocolate chip cookie dough and then turning it into an entire cookbook deserves all the love in the world. Thank you Lindsay, thank you.
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles
adapted from The Cookie Dough Lover’s Cookbook & BakerellaIngredients
1/2 cup (1 stick or 113g) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup granulated white sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips + some chips for drizzling
1. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugars with an electric mixer until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes). I didn’t have a mixer so I used my poor hand and whisk instead. Be prepared for aching hands and make sure you have some patience. Everything clumped together in the whisk so I had to clean it each time with a spoon. A wee bit irksome but it’s k, the results are well worth it.
2. Mix in milk and vanilla.
3. Add flour and salt and mix on low until combined.
4. Stir in chocolate chips.
5. Chill dough in refrigerator for about 30 minutes until firm enough to roll or scoop into 1-inch balls. Place rolled balls on a wax paper lined baking sheet (I just sprinkled parchment paper with some flour) and place in the freezer for at least 15 minutes.
6. Heat some chips in a bowl in short bursts of 30 seconds in the microwave, stirring each time. Drizzle over the rolled balls and place in the fridge to firm up.
I think this recipe makes about 25-30 truffles, depending on how big you make them. My roommate and I polished off 10 last night while watching movies wtf. I passed some to my girl Amy and she is equally enamoured: “OMG DUDE THESE ARE SO GOOD!”. I have about 10 left and roomie’s gone off to get some vanilla ice cream now…yep, we’re going to do just that ;p
P.S HOW PRECIOUS ARE MY TEASPOON AND CAKE FORK?! They’re from Daiso :3
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Sleeping In
by Lisa Gorton.
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 have been getting the same dreams lately; I wake up in an empty apartment, I walk out and everything is blanketed in snow. I walk for a bit, look back and discover I don’t leave any footsteps. It’s more beautiful than eerie but I’m only saying this because I always wake up before anything creepier happens. This is the last week of my holiday in Singapore and it’s this period that I become an emotional mess; my brain becomes muddled between missing home and missing Melbourne. Today, for example, when I had a really shitty watered down iced coffee that I paid 5 bucks for and all I could think of, apart from stabbing the barista and getting my money back, was my daily $3 cappuccino at Melbourne’s League of Honest Coffee. Then I did a little lingerie shopping at H&M, fantastic bras for only $20? No really, even I was skeptical until I tried them on and HOT DAYUMMMM Singapore, you are forgiven. And as if God didn’t believe finding cute bras was redeeming enough, Dad asked me tonight what I wanted for dinner and he drove to our favourite restaurant, despite having tons of work to do, to get me my chicken rice. I bawled in the toilet when he left.
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.
