BFF Style with Olympus Pen Workshop! (Camera Give-Away)

If you don't already know, I've always been a huge huge fan of Olympus cameras, and I have been using Olympus for the past 5 years! My first Olympus camera (the E-P1) had me falling in love with the brand, and ever since then, I have been a staunch supporter of Olympus and its Micro4/3 system, using the Electronic PEN series all the way til date with my E-PL5 :)

I'm so delighted to announce that I'm now one of Olympus' PEN ambassadors, together with my two girlfriends who are also toting Olympus cameras (thanks to my persistent encouragement haha many of my friends now own Olympus cameras too!), and we are proud to share the love for Olympus and show you what an Olympus can do!

A few weeks ago, Evonne and I held a workshop for our fans and followers to share more about the newest addition to the PEN series, the Olympus E-PL7, as well as our own personal tips and tricks on styling, makeup and photography: It was a super fun session!!

We invited 15 of our readers and their BFFs, and it was a really nice and cozy session!

And of course, styling with TheVelvetDolls apparel is a must!

One of the fun things about the E-PL7 is that it's not just a good camera, it's also extremely stylish. With the Olympus' My PEN, My Style online personalisation service, you can customise the camera with different coloured camera skins, dress it up with various fashionable camera straps and even accessorise with a trendy-looking camera bag! And this is made really easy with Olympus' My PEN, My Style online customisation service!

Big black cameras are definitely out now, we ladies need our cameras just as good-looking as they function!

I also invited my dear model Chanel down to be our demo model, and Evonne demonstrated a few different looks on Chanel with various lip colors, courtesy of MAC ;)

Here's Chanel looking gorgeous in TheVelvetDolls's Aztec Jacket and Katy Trumpet Dress!

I even did a short makeup demo on how to draw eyebrows with MAC's new Fluidline for brows :)

Thanks for entrusting me with your brows, Gina!! 

I think many of the ladies were interested to know how to take a good OOTD/selfie, which was one of the topics we shared a lot about! Hehe. It's all about the lens too, because the Olympus E-PL7 has got interchangeable lenses which can be swapped for different purposes, depending on what you want to shoot!

My top pick for selfies is definitely the 17mm F1.8! This is the lens that is by default my to-go camera lens, not just for selfies, because it's so very versatile and yet takes super good quality photos!   The PEN Customisation - My PEN, My Style lets you pick and choose the lens that fits with your photography style. Whether you like to take selfies, OOTDs or food shots, Olympus range of lens will take your next shot to the next level.

Most importantly, let's not forget the best function ever invented for cameras: WIFI with the touch of a button that allows you to transfer your photos instantly from camera to smart phone! It's super easy connect to your smartphone via the Olympus Image Share application with a quick scan of the QR code.

The Wi-Fi function lets you to transfer photos from the camera to your smartphone and allows you to operate the camera from your phone, so you can use your phone like a remote shutter!

Now you know my little secret to all my photos on social media.. Photos from my PEN E-PL7 are just way higher quality than smartphone camera photos!

 

Hopefully all the ladies who attended the workshop had tons of fun and left happy with newfound knowledge!

Thank you so much for coming down for the workshop, ladies!!

A group shot all together :D

All the participants left with super awesome goodie bags too, lucky ladies!

Here's the exciting news.. I'm giving away one Olympus PEN E-PL7 Customised camera (skin and strap of reader’s choice) from My PEN, My Style. 

Here's how to take part in the contest/give-away!

1. Take a creative selfie or OOTD shot 

2. Post your selfie/OOTD on Instagram and describe to us what would be the PEN E-PL7 of your choice. Visit the My PEN, My Style page to find out about the various customisation options! Eg. My ideal customised PEN E-PL7 will be a white camera body with fiery red camera skin and a matching polka dot neck strap 

3. Hashtag #OlympusPEN #MyPENMyStyle 

Results will be announced on my blog on 25 July, so stay tuned!!

Review: Cure Natural Aqua Gel + Give-away!

you know that a product is good, when ZERO advertising dollars have been spent on it to date, and it's been ranked #1 best selling skincare product on popular Japanese beauty website COSME! one bottle of this magic flies off the shelves in Japan, every TWELVE seconds!!

if you've not heard of Cure Natural Aqua Gel already, you're definitely missing out on one of my favorite exfoliating products of all time! (REAL ONE, I NEVER BLUFF) i've been using Cure Natural Aqua Gel for the past year, and i love it!

Cure Natural Aqua Gel is so highly raved, due to it's amazing ability to remove dead skin cells gently and effectively to help in skin renewal for softer, smoother and brighter skin! it is made of 90% water (revitalized hydrogen water), and natural plant extracts from aloe vera, gingko and rosemary. Cure Natural Aqua Gel also doesn't contain any preservatives, fragrance, artificial coloring and alcohol!

what i love about Cure Natural Aqua Gel is that it doesn't have any of those harsh exfoliating beads that feel so abrasive and rough on the skin, but yet does its job to slough off those dead skin cells miraculously!! 

all it takes is a couple of pumps of Cure Natural Aqua Gel to be gently massaged for 30 seconds (do this after cleansing and drying well!) to instantly see brighter and smoother skin! and because it's so gentle, you can even use it daily!

look at how the liquidy consistency of the gel transforms into little white bits after being gently massaged into the skin D: this is actually the revitalized hydrogen water reacting to the unwanted protein (which is our rough/dead skin cells), causing it to bind together and solidify into white particles that's easily rinsed off! it's super shiok to feel all the white rubbery bits forming as you massage your face! :D once you rinse off all these white particles, your face will feel satisfyingly clean and smooth! 

Cure Natural Aqua Gel costs $42 for a 250g pump bottle (retails at Watsons!) which is really reasonable for such a generous-sized product. in fact, i couldn't even finish using my bottle of Cure within a year (it has a 1 year use-by date due to its natural ingredients that are preservative-free!) but the cool thing about Cure is that other than using it on your face, you can use it on other body parts too, like your neck, elbows or knees! :D i love love love Cure Natural Aqua Gel, and you ought to give it a try too!

you may also have noticed the little tube of Cure Water Treatment Skin Cream in the picture above: this cream is an exclusive product that isn't for sale! Cure Water Treatment Skin Cream is actually a popular lightweight moisturiser that the manufacturer, TOYO Life Service, specially produced in consideration of its staff who suffer from dry hands from dealing with cardboard boxes daily! i've tried it as well and it has a watery texture that's easily absorbed, leaving my skin feeling instantly hydrated, and less dry/wrinkly!

so, to celebrate Cure's 10th year anniversary, you now get a chance to win a set of the best-selling Cure Natural Aqua Gel, together with Cure Water Treatment Skin Cream!!! :D

ONE set is up for grabs, and here's how to win! :)

1. Like Cure's Facebook page here!
2. Leave a comment on this blog post (remember to fill the email address, cos comments won't be privatized!)

give-away ends on 16th July, midnight! :D only open to local (Singapore) addresses!

***

P.S. CURE is also giving out 600 tubes of the Water Treatment Skin Cream to the public! All you have to do is purchase a bottle of CURE Natural Aqua Gel, and email enquiry@japalang.sg your particulars (name, mailing address, contact no.) and proof of purchase (receipt!) by 23rd July 2012 for a chance to win! Winners will be announced weekly on their facebook page.

Foodie Dates at Tonkatsu Ma Masion & Sukiya + L'occitane Give-away!

life is so awesome when you have friends, family and love.

 i really think one of the greatest pleasures in life is sharing good company over good food! though it's definitely not good for my diet, hehe. it really can't be helped, i love to eat too much :X

 went out for a dinner date with my girls the other day, which was right after i got my hair done at Salon Vim! we had initially planned on going to Antoinette or Wild Honey at Mandarin Gallery, but Antoinette was too crowded, and after some of the girls arrived earlier to queue at Wild Honey, we were told they had to give away our table because a couple of us were not there yet. #angryface
and it wasn't even a weekend night! 

not the best service i feel. so we decided to go somewhere else for our meal instead, and we ended up at  Tonkatsu by Ma Maison, also at Mandarin Gallery! Wild Honey called us up while we were queuing for Tonkatsu by Ma Maison to inform us that they had seats available for us already, but we rejected it on principle. HAHA :P

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Tonkatsu by Ma Maison 
333A Orchard Road 
#02-35/36 Mandarin Gallery 
Tel: +65 6733 4541 
Mon to Fri: 11am–3pm, 5pm–10pm 
Sat, Sun and PH: 11am–10pm


***

if you want to have Tonkatsu, this is the place to go. because just about every single item on the menu is..... *drum rolls* Tonkatsu. LOLOL. there's almost nothing else on the menu, except slight variations like chicken/prawn and others like katsu don. this place is seriously Pork Cutlet Heaven!

on the other side of the table: Wendy, Fel and Joyce! :D

on my side, Nancy, Debs and me :D

we all ordered one Tonkatsu each except for Nancy who went for the Katsu Don. some of the other girls had the mixed set too which has Ebi Tempura in it! and this is the three girls showing no mercy to the pickled radish appetizer. i mean, it's only radish! need to be so paparazzi or not! hahaha. they so funny.

and this is my super awesome Negi Miso Rosu Katsu set. 

every set comes with refillable cabbage, rice and miso soup!!!! MAD AWESOME. and the miso soup is the BEST i've ever tasted! i had 4 bowls of it :X there's pork and radish in it and it's so so so yummy. for the rice, you can choose from either white rice, or a healthier multi-grain rice.

my pork cutlet was deep fried to a crispy crunchy batter finish, but the pork was still soft and juicy! tasted wonderful with the miso sauce! though it was a tad salty, but i'm a sodium junkie :D i spammed sesame dressing on my cabbage salad as well, and finished the entire mountain of it! NOM NOM.

happy with my food! as you can see, the portion is quite huge for being re-fillable too. i couldn't finish my cutlet, but i had extra servings of cabbage and miso soup!

variety of condiments available! i didn't try any of those, except for the sesame dressing. love it!

the compulsory group shot! :D love catching up with these girls over a good meal. we have to meet more often! thanks to Wendy for organizing this one ❤❤❤

we ended off with dessert at Coffee Club nearby! their mudpie is delish and feeds many people. love it! poor Wendy and Nancy ordered the wrong thing and got hot coffee instead of iced ones :X hahahaha. sad max! let's plan the next outing again soon! 

***

and just last Saturday, i was really craving for some meat, so i asked YZ to go to Sukiya with me! :D

actually, i asked the girls before our dinner date if they wanted to go Sukiya. HAHA. but they said no :( so, i finally got my sukiyaki craving satisfied with YZ instead! :D :D :D so happy!!! the queue was rather long, and we had to wait around 15-20 minutes. but it was worth it! :D

***

Suki-Ya

6 Raffles Boulevard, #02-138FG, 

Center Stage Marina Square, Singapore 

Tel: +65 6337 9969 

Mon–Fri: 11.30am – 10.30pm Sat–Sun: 11.30am – 11pm

***

my handsome boyfriend :X

i love love love Sukiya because they have not just free-flow meat, but also a pretty decent selection of steamboat ingredients! though i usually concentrate on the meat :D

we always start off with six plates of meat, haha. two each of chicken, beef and pork :X and then we order extra from there depending on our preference for the day!

veggies and mushrooms for the soup!

you must must must dip your meat in the raw egg. beat it thoroughly first!

we had Sukiyaki and Shabu Shabu soup base! Kimchi soup base is also available.

this cheese ball thingy is way awesome. can i find it at NTUC or something??

and the ice cream didn't use to be free-flow, but i think it is now!!! :D it's not super good quality, but it's decent soft serve and i love mine with cornflakes!

the two of us finished 10 plates of meat and we were soooo stuffed!!! i had difficulty walking after the meal :X but i love meat!!! *carnivore* cannot resist. SO GOOD! i wanna eat again soon! :D the two of us really love to eat :D it's a good thing that we're both more health-conscious now! YZ's been exercising regularly as well and he jogs 10km a day! insane or what!

we went for a run together last week, and covered 8KM! siao. i was like dying and dragging my feet through out and had to take walk breaks, but it was like a no-brainer for YZ =.= he said he wanted to fall asleep cos it was so boring to run with me FML.

still, it's a HUGE achievement for me! :D but i am too lazy to run so far on my regular jogs la. trying to do at least 4KM, 4 times a week :D so far, i've been keeping up quite well! at least some of the calories i've been taking in like crazy have been burnt off.

***


my outfit for Sunday! Dazzle Sequin Cropped Top in Black, with the Pastel Candy Jeans in Salmon and Cambridge Satchel in Burgundy. i love the sequined top and how edgy it looks!

and here's a preview of my awesome new hair. you can't really see the pink streaks from the front, haha. will blog with more photos soon! Salon Vim's having their 30% off GSS promo for Cut+Color+Highlight so you should take the opportunity to get your hair pampered now!

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lastly, i've got a GIVE-AWAY to do! :D

thanks to L'occitane, i'll be giving away THREE of this super lovely gift set consisting of the Pivoine Flora Shower Gel 75ml, Pivoine Flora Hand Cream 10ml, Pivoine Flora Eau de Toilette 5ml and Beauty Pouch! they are really cute miniature sized products, handy for travel, and they come in a matching pouch as well. pink and girly and oh-so-pretty!

do check out my blog post on the Pivoine Delicate range here to find out more about these products!

to win one of these sets, just leave a comment on this blog post, saying I WANT! :D do remember to fill in the email address so that i'm able to contact you! (don't type your email addy into the comment box, because it won't be privatized!)

give-away ends on 23th June, midnight! :D only open to local (Singapore) addresses!

Review: Lancome Hypnose Doll Eyes (Give-away!) + More Cambridge Satchel Love

 

"The new Hypnôse Doll Eyes takes its inspiration from every young girl's dream to reinvent a fringe of separated, thick, long, 'nylon' shine lashes: true doll lashes! The new Hypnôse Doll Eyes mascara lengthens, curls, volumises and separates for the ultimate wide-eye look."

got to try the mascara at home for myself too, and i gotta say i looove the flowery rose scent of the product! :D the conical shape of the brush makes it really easy to reach even the inner/outer corners of your eyes, and the effect is so natural, but opens up your eyes dramatically at the same time, for that wide-eyed doll look! :D it doesn't clump easily unlike some other mascaras, and i really like the end result.

my verdict: this is a product that really delivers what it promises! 

Lancôme even came up with a Facebook app for you to fiddle with and create your very own doll avatar by uploading a photo of your face, and it's super fun to play with!!! :D :D :D my doll looks very generic though. haha! can't really tell that it's me, huh?

and now for my favorite part, GIVE-AWAY!!!

that's right, Lancôme will be sponsoring THREE sets of products worth $140 for give-away!

each set includes the following:

1 Ombre Absolue Impact 3D palette (shade may differ) worth $90

1 Hypnose Doll Eyes Mascara – Deluxe size worth $50

what the eyeshadow palette looks like! check out Mag from Makeupstash's review on this palette here!

it's too simple, all you need to do is do the following:

1. Go to Lancome's Facebook app here, create your very own doll avatar!

2. Upload your doll avatar with the caption "I want to be a doll!" and tag Lancome Singapore!
(you have to "Like" Lancome's Facebook page first! some readers have mentioned that the photo can't be uploaded directly to Lancome's wall so please tag the picture instead!)

3. Comment on this entry with a link to your photo on Facebook!

give-away ends on 29th March, midnight! :D only open to local (Singapore) addresses!

YOU GUYS ARE LIKE HOW LUCKY CAN! i also want to win the awesome give-away!!! if noone takes part, i am going to upload and share my doll avatar so i can win the give-away for myself. HAHA.

what are you waiting foooor! head on to the Hypnose Doll Eyes app now to go make your own doll avatar! it's really fun!! i'd love to see what all your dolls look like too!

good luck!!! :D

***

and so i decided to bring out the Cambridge Satchel in Yellow 14" for some fresh air yesterday, and thanks to all the votes of confidence from friends on Twitter and Instagram, i stepped out courageously looking like this:

 awesome possum lilac floral blazer i scored from F21 sale, for only 35 buckeroos!!! :D mad love the prints on it! and i thought that the pale lilac would look smashing with the yellow Cambridge Satchel, teehee. didn't turn out too bad, i think?

love the dash of color the yellow Cambridge Satchel adds to the outfit!!! mucho loves.

i think you peeps are gonna be so sick of seeing and reading about the Cambridge Satchel real soon, i'm probably gonna carry the Cambridge Satchels out for the next few weeks until i exhaust all outfit and color combination possibilities and maybe get sick of it. LOL. bear with me, okay?! and yes, i think i am gonna end up keeping TWO for myself!!! haha. justifying that if i keep the Burgundy 14"(limited edition some more!) and Yellow 13"(simply cannot resist the gorgeous happy yellow shade), they are in different sizes and look totally different so it's okay :D 

anyway, YZ and I are doing a 7-day Neera Detox diet, and today's the 4th day!!! uh huh, 7 friggin' days of non-food. because YZ's doing a catalogue photoshoot for Giant and he wants to look skinnier lololol y'know "ai sui mai mia" (want good-looking don't want life) so we are both doing it together, since i want to cut down on my food intake and lose some weight as well! 

sounds like a torture, but it isn't that bad cos i get full on the drink pretty okay, but after 4 days of this drink, even a bowl of plain soup sounds appetizing to me. okay, shall peservere on til next Tuesday! :D CAN'T WAIT. woohoo!!! say no to fats!

meanwhile, have a fabulous weekend folks! remember to take part in the give-away to win the fabulous prizes! :D