Central Europe: Summary and Video (Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, France, Belgium)

Merry Christmas, peeps!

I can't wait to share with you my lousy 15 minute edited-using-cellphone video. I really need a good camcorder. This video has been blocked by YouTube many times due to song copyright and I edited it like more than 3 times already. Some more the crappy app is so not user-friendly and has reduced the quality. 15 minutes seems lengthy but I tried my best to squeeze 2 weeks into one video clip. The rest will be deleted sadly due to lack of memory.

 Here's the video, enjoy!

It's so Christmasy. Love the winter wonderland feel omg!

Review: Maybelline Color Sensational in Red Porcelain

Disclaimer: This is not sponsored or requested but based on my personal review.

I never ever dare to wear hot red lipstick but my dad triggered by saying I would look hot if I had a red lippie lol. So I decided to purchase Maybelline Color Sensational from Watson's just before my Europe trip. I absolutely fell in love with red although nude suits me more. Red gives you the romantic elegance yet mature look.

The code is RP41 Red Porcelain

Review: Kotex Fresh Liner

Woohoo!

Kimberly-Clark sent me another Kotex sample to and it's been stored in my closet for a few months already. Time to write my pending reviews. Few months ago I received Kotex Luxe and wrote a review about it and this time its Kotex Fresh Liner. The difference between pads and pantyliner is pad is used during our period while the latter is used after our period or anytime when there's discharge.

Thank you, Kotex!

Dream Trip to Macau: Winners Announcement

Hello my dear loyal readers!!!

I can't believe my eyes when I checked my email. Referring to my previous entry, I am now celebrating hubby's birthday in Europe. It's already 12am here in Paris and I intended to sleep earlier coz I'll be touring the city of romance tomorrow but I was over excited! My excitement for Paris has gone all of a sudden and this is weird. Now I'm more eager for Macau coz I've been working so hard on the previous post entitled Dream Trip to Macau. Arggghhh!

Congratulations also to the other 2 winners Melvin Paul and Gollumpus.

Big big thank you to Nuffnang and Macau Government Tourist Office!!!

Review: Maybelline Magnum Volum' Express Waterproof Mascara

Disclaimer: This is not sponsored or requested but based on my personal review.

I bought my Maybeline Magnum Volum' Express alongside with their red lipstick coz you know being a girl I couldn't resist makeup. I'm always fond of Maybelline's collection of mascara because they are waterproof and last throughout the day.

 Bright yellow makes it easy for clumsy me to find deep within my makeup treasures.

What's in my travel makeup bag

Hi pretty!

I ain't a female travel blogger if I don't post what's in my makeup pouch right? So what I usually bring to travel are BB Cream, blusher, eyeliner, browliner, eyeshadow, mascara and lipstick. If you are going to somewhere humid you need a loose powder to set your makeup and blotting paper to soak up oil. For dry cold weather I suggest you bring a good moisturizer like my Biore face milk. I love using drugstore makeup coz they are not only cheap but also works really well and your heart won't ache so much when they get lost.

Make up pouch: Estée Lauder

Makeup base: Bioré UV Bright Face Milk

Blue eyeshadow palette: Avon True Color Eyeshadow Quad in Steel Blues

Brown eyeshadow palette: Silkygirl Duo Eyeshadow in Mocha Latte

Blusher: Silkygirl Shimmer Duo Blusher in Blushing Pink

Brow palette: Maybelline Eye Studio Brow Definist in Brown 02

Lipstick: Maybelline Color Sensational in Red Porcelain RP41

Foundation: Laneige BB Cushion in True Beige 13

Concealer: Maybelline Pure Mineral Healthy Natural 01

Mascara: Maybelline Magnum Volum' Express

Blackliner: Elianto StayOn Eyeliner Pen i Black 01

Brownliner: Makemania Data in Deep Brown

Whiteliner: Elianto Celestial 2 in 1 Eyeliner in Snow White

Halloween 2014 at Soju Room

Hey peeps!

Happy belated Halloween! Last week hubby and I were invited to watch his colleagues' Zumba performance at Soju Room. In Malaysia, we never really celebrate Halloween like going around trick or treating and stuff. Usually we would just hangout at clubs.

I wasn't bothered to put on bloody makeup and proper costume coz hubby informed me this event like 5 hours beforehand. Anyway with those bunny ears walking along the streets, the public already gave me the nasty look.

Canon PhotoMarathon Malaysia 2014 - Penang

OMG! We were so looking forward for Canon PhotoMarathon in Penang this year. The last time this event held in Penang was in 2010 that's like 4 effing years similar to World Cup, Olympics and many other major sport events. This year was held at Gurney Paragon on November 18th (Saturday).

Dream Trip to Macau

Hello loyal readers and fellow bloggers...

Tai ka hou? (How is everybody?)

As an amateur travel blogger, you can't imagine how ecstatic I am when I saw the announcement of Macau Your Way to An Experience of A Lifetime! Kam ngam geh! literally means what a coincidence in Cantonese because I've been longing for a trip like forever. The last trip I had was at our neighbouring country more than 6 months ago so it's about time. It is exceptionally rare to encounter a contest where blogging is associated with tourism. The best part is it is an all-expense paid trip! All thanks to Nuffnang and Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO), they help making dreams become reality.

Macau, I am so looking forward to see you!

Review: SJ4000 Waterproof HD Action Camera

Disclaimer: This is not sponsored or requested but based on my personal review.

Hello again, fellow readers!
I'm sure you have seen a lot of amazing and adventurous selfies and action-packed videos of people sitting at the edge of the Grand Canyon, jumping off a cliff into the ocean, swimming with the turtles, paragliding off snow-caped mountains, bungee jumping off Macau Tower, skydiving at New Zealand and many more. don't just look at your screen with envy. Now you can own a ridiculously cheaper and very very similar version of GoPro, SJ4000 by SJCAM.

Today I will be reviewing SJ4000 Waterproof HD Action Camera. Forgive me I am no tech savvy when it comes to this kind of review so I can just share what I experience about this product. You can find a lot of comparison online between SJ4000 and GoPro Hero 3. The distinct price difference makes a very good argument for the video quality. GoPro accessories works for SJ4000 as well.

What to wear during winter?

It's autumn now and soon we would have to embrace the chilly winter in December. Though gloomy skies may let us down, winter has always been associated with festivity. Lot's of celebration going on like Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year always gets me in the mood. However for tropical inhabitants like me, summer is all year round hence winter is very much appealing. I have experienced spring in South Korea, summer in my own country as well as its neighbours, summer-autumn transit in Japan (the worst season ever due to the typhoon) and autumn in Taiwan. I am so looking forward for a magical winter trip.

So here's briefly the essentials for a winter trip. It looks incomplete because I have tons of sweaters, undies, more boots, scarves and socks unable to fit in the picture.

Review: Nutox Serum Concentrate Part II

Hey there, beautiful!

As promised, Nutox Oxyfusion sent me a full bottle of Nutox Serum Concentrate with BNest Collagen & Oxyfusion. You may read my review as a "lab rat" here.

 Thank you for sending the package!

Recipe: Stir fried beef kuey teow

Type: Mains
Servings: 2
Category: Halal, Non-vegan

Ingredients
150g sliced beef
250g flat rice noodles
2 garlic cloves
3 slices ginger
100g chopped green onion
150g bean sprouts
2 eggs
1 tablespoon chilli paste
cooking oil
salt & pepper

Marinade:
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon oyster sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon water
1/2 tablespoon cornstarch

Kuey teow sauce:
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
3 tablespoons water

Preparation
1. Mix the marinade ingredients and marinate the thinly sliced beef for half an hour.
2. Prepare flat rice noodles (kuey teow) as per instruction on packaging.
3. After half an hour, fry beef about 2 - 4 minutes on high heat depending how cooked you prefer and set aside.
4. Heat oil again and fry garlic, ginger and green onion till fragrant on medium heat.
5. Pour in the kuey teow noodles, bean sprouts, kuey teow sauce and chilli paste.
6. Continue mixing for about 2 minutes.
7. Stir in the eggs by the side of the pan and fry for two minutes then combine all.
8. Stir in the fried beef and add salt and pepper to taste.
9. Now you are ready to serve!

Note: I replaced bean sprouts with enoki mushroom and shredded carrots and green onions with sweet onions because they weren't available in my fridge.

Review: KURSHEUEL Lambskin Leather Winter Gloves

Hello my lovely readers!

Today I will be reviewing Kursheuel 9 color Women lady Italian Lambskin Leather winter warm Gloves KU125. A big thank you to Kursheuel for sending me these warm winter gloves for my upcoming trip. 

UPDATE 2016: Kursheuel have changed their brand name to Matsu Gloves.

Review: Kotex Luxe

Hello again, lovelies!

Today I will be reviewing about Kotex Luxe Ultrathin sanitary pad. Most of you will be like ewww... but don't worry I won't be showing anything disgusting here. Kotex Malaysia sent me sample packs of Kotex Luxe. It is their new and improved product so I'm very happy to receive them.

There are two types of samples sent by Kotex Malaysia; Kotex Luxe Ultrathin pad (24cm) and Kotex Luxe Ultrathin pad (32cm). I love their chic black packaging.

Review: FreshKon Contact Lens

Disclaimer: This is not sponsored or requested but based on my personal review.

Hey there, peeps!

I will be reviewing FreshKon Colors Fusion contact lens. I just stocked up my colour lens so decided to write a review. This time I bought 3 pairs because of the buy 2 free 1 promo and total cost only RM100. I purchased Warm Hazel from the Dazzlers series while Glittering Blue and Gleaming Green are from the Sparklers series. I actually prefer the Dazzler series coz they look more natural and outstanding but my optometrist told me the green and blue ones were out of stock.

Online Shopping: Summer Affaire

Disclaimer: This is not sponsored or requested but based on my personal review.

Hello again my dearies,

Just a month before I went on my summer getaway to Koh Lipe, Thailand I found a link to an online swimwear store from a Facebook link. This came at a good timing. Long ago I used to hate Facebook ads because they seemed so annoying but recent pop ups showed ads that are related to me and I find them useful. I guess Facebook has become smarter and smarter.

Online Shopping: PhatCulture

Disclaimer: This is not sponsored or requested but based on my personal review.

Dear loyal readers,

Today I will be doing a review on one of my favourite online store. I got to know about Phatculture from bloggers who mentioned about their ootd especially on Instagram. what I like about them is free shipping and free return. Besides that, you get good quality materials and cutting edge design for an affordable price. My first order was on 13th November 2013. Online vouchers redeemed are usually a discount of RM10 from your total amount. Do check out from time to time on their Facebook page and Instagram (@phatculture) for offers.

Review: Nutox Serum Concentrate Part I

Dear readers,

Today I will be doing a review on Nutox's Serum Concentrate. Nutox sent me an email with an attached form requesting to do a 14-day beauty regime with their serum concentrate. I immediately agree to try out since I am open to all products. My skin is not prone to sensitivity so I can easily try out any products without hesitation. My skin type is combination. When it is dry, it can be very flaky and wrinkly especially at my laughing lines. When it is oily huge acne will appear and it gets worse approaching the time of the month. Day1 of my Nutox Serum Concentrate application was 12th September 2014 so 25th September 2014  is the last day. Let's see how's the results.

Koh Lipe: Day 3 & 4

Good morning lovelies!

 

It's Day 3 at Koh Lipe which was the final full day we have. Day 2 was a blast and the snorkeling session was just a warm up. I would normally combine second last day and last day together coz there's nothing much on the last day but traveling home. I attached my video clip again at the end of this entry for you to enjoy. My heart was reluctant to get out of paradise.

Koh Lipe: Day 2

Good morning, paradise!

It is now day 2 and we are ready for island hopping. But first let's have a hearty breakfast. We had a nice sleep on last night because the night was so cold. Tonight is different because I suffered till I had to wake up. I had a severe sunburn till my whole body was heaty and felt like my skin was burning. I did apply lots of sunscreen with SPF50 but idk it did not work.Check out my entry on Day 1 for more information about our journey.

While waiting for breakfast, you can relax at the beautiful well maintained garden. Be sure to check out Mali Resort coz this is the best resort for me after visiting other resorts around the island. There are other 5 star resorts in this island that offers even more spacious suites and facilities but they are too pricey compared to Mali.

Koh Lipe: Day 1

Hello summer!

After a long trip to Japan last year on September 2013, I have been staying at home ever since. Then hubby decided to bring me to Koh Lipe, the Maldives of Thailand (a.k.a. Dog Island...I'll explain later) on May this year! I was so stoked.

Bikini set from Summer Affaire and aviator shades from Phatculture.

Of relaxing in the summer sun, just letting off steam. Oh, the sky will be blue, and you guys will be there too. When I finally do what frozen things do in summer!
                                                                                                                                ~Olaf~

Japan: What to buy and eat in Japan?

Hi there! This entry will be picture heavy as I have uploaded most of my food and purchases in Japan. Kansai area (Osaka, Kyoto etc) is famous for street food like okonomiyaki, takoyaki, yakitori and many others. I was on a budget so I did not try luxurious food like kaiseiki, kobe beef, wagyu beef, fugu (pufferfish) and many more.

I also did not enter into any discount store like 100 Yen Shop or Daiso coz it is very common at my homeland however you should coz who knows they have more special things that you can't find in our local Daiso. Hence without further a do here are some of the recommended stuff I have eaten and bought in Japan.

Update: I received alot of inquiries regarding where to buy Kracie Popin' Cookin' in Malaysia. Do scroll down and read more to find out where and the price.

Okonomiyaki
Osaka is the birth place for this cuisine so you definitely wouldn't wanna miss out. Okonomiyaki is a savoury pancake that consists of batter, egg, vege and meat/seafood. It is usually topped with otafuku/okonomiyaki sauce, aonori flakes (seaweed), bonito flakes (smoked tuna), mayonnaise and beni shoga (pickled ginger). Okonomiyaki types tend to differ according to region like in Tokyo is smaller than the ones in Kansai.

Japan: Universal Studios Japan (USJ)

Other than Disneyland I'm sure you have heard of Universal Studios. There are 4 Universal Studios around the world; Florida (USA), Los Angeles (USA), Osaka (Japan) and latest one in Singapore. I have explained a little about the theme park in my overview post. It is very easy to get there just take JR on the Osaka loop line (counterclockwise) and interchange at Nishi-kujo station to Sakurajima line and get down at Universal City station. Normal admission rate is ¥6,980 for the 1 day while the 2-day pass costs ¥10,871. Children and senior citizens have lesser rate so do check out here.

We went during Halloween so you will see Trick or Treat theme everywhere. The Starlight Parade was replaced by zombies which was kinda disappointing for us. Instead of parading or dancing (well they did a dance for only 5 minutes) there were just about 5 - 8 fully costumed zombies chasing everyone.

Train to Universal City is so cute!

As you walk out from the station you will see this. Mostly fast food restaurants and cafes.

Japan: How to ride a train in Japan?

Hello once again. It's been a while since I blogged about my Japan trip. The last post was tough to write because I had to research all over again to get the facts right. Prices and entrance fees might increase from time to time because I noticed there has been an increase of  ¥10 - ¥20 as compared to 2013.

But now I am going to provide a simple guide on how to ride a train in Japan. Unfortunately, I am unable to teach you how to read the signs and name of places. I decided to write this post to help you travelers because I myself faced trouble when getting on a train in Japan. I come from a place where there are no trains or subways so I wasn't familiar and easily get confused. Just look at the lines and dots below to get the idea. It is a map of Japan Rail (JR) for Kansai region.

I have never been to Tokyo so I don't know how their railway system works but hubby told me its almost as complicated as this and has a loop line as well. I am also unable to teach you on how to ride a shinkansen because I have no experience on that but my husband does when he was in Tokyo.

Japan: Where to go in Japan?

Kansai is the southern region of Honshu island in Japan. It includes prefectures of Mie, Nara, Wakayama, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyogo and Shiga which is why the main airport in Osaka is called Kansai International Airport. I will be covering Osaka, Kyoto and Hyogo because I only traveled to these prefectures.

Map of cities I have covered in the region.

I stayed in Japan for merely 3 weeks in September 2013 so I cannot say that I have lived like the locals. You have to stay here for a couple of years to really experience Japan like a local. One word of advise is do not visit Japan in September because the typhoon was horrible. During that time, news about more radiation leakage also caused quite a stir. So why did I stay there for a longer time than most tourists do? It's because I followed my husband on a business trip.

Therefore I won't blog with the usual format like Day1, Day2 and so on but will write on an overview like this post, a guide on riding JR, places I have visited according to cities and of course food and shopping. All budget and costs listed in this blog will be my personal expenses because the company my husband works for only pays for their employees. Also take note that most hotels and hostels in Japan count by head so accommodation was all on me.

My Wedding Series: Wedding Day

OK so the big day has come. As a child I have always dream of having a fairytale princess wedding where I would ride into the ballroom on a pumpkin carriage by white horses. That's possible as rentals are available but as we matured money comes into our mind. I know this is a once in a lifetime moment but even a simple wedding can be memorable. But I did dress up like a princess with a Tiffany blue sparkling ball gown and princess jasmine type of dark blue long tailed dress. And I emphasized that I wanted a crown lol.

So here's a summary of preparations we did for our wedding.
* Note that this is a Chinese wedding and its not really traditional.

1. Book a venue at least 6 months before to secure your preferred place.
2. Come out with guest list after you succeeded booking a venue.
3. Book photographer and videographer 3-4 months before event.
4. Send out wedding invites 2 months before event.
5. Choose dress with bridal house 1 month before event.
6. Wedding car rental 2 weeks before event.
7. Confirm guest list 2 weeks before event and print any necessary plans such as table arrangement etc.
8. Pick up dress and other deco 1 week before event.
9. Pick up car and decorate 1 or 2 days before event.

And so we held our wedding on 2nd March 2013 at Sea Palace Restaurant.  Had no idea why we chose that day. Maybe coz it's an auspicious day for Chinese as it was still within Chinese New Year lunar month. We wanted around 10-11th April because 11th April was our first date and 10th April was our ROM.

Total we spent about RM30k for a simple wedding that includes prewedding photoshoot, restaurant, car rental, photographer, videographer etc. Here's roughly the agenda of our wedding day.