Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Here's the new iPhone

iPhone yeah

Trying to blog fr iPhone

Sent from my iPhone

Monday, December 21, 2009

Food around the world


the bibimbab we had in Berlin. the restaurant is called IXTHYS



Just came back from Berlin, interesting trip. Most so, I felt that globalisation is just around us. S has a phobia in German food. Why do you need so much potatoes and meat in your diet? can’t some simple cabbage be added to the meal? (which I kindly pointed out that there’s Kale on sale in X’mas market)
Anyway, this trip consist of eating in a:

Vietnamese restaurant - i had a pho and vietnamese filter coffee
Korean Christian restaurant - the best bibimbab ever!
Russian market store - the borsch was just so good


 the currywurst with bread



and of course, currywurst, various sausages, crepes,maroon etc which you just need to have in German.

Usually when I travel, i like to have some kind of ethnic cuisine. I love how generic food melted into a foreign culture. I went to a Chinese restaurant once in Italy, the waiters loved me for the fact I spoke Chinese. And I had fun eating some kind of Italian Chinese food. I still remember that i kept thinking the Chinese food was not right, when local Italian was walking in all the time.



My home made Kimchi



I love going to vietnamese restaurant in France, Korean in Germany, Chinese in London. Cantonese cuisine in Taiwan, French in Australia. You are not looking for authenicity in these places, but a kind of hyberdisation and a type of globalisation in the food. You are trying to look for the local elements in foreign food. You are trying how a dish is recreate using local ingredients. Always, how vegetables and meat are used fasinate me. My friends don’t understand why I walked into an Argentinian restaurant in Frankfurt, but hey.. Argentinian food can be just that little different, i had a brazilian lemonade there!

I just cooked some fusion cuisine yet again. Hot pot with korean kimchi (made at home), and Sichuan Chilli soup base. oh yummy....

Lancome Spring collection - Crayon lippies?




The new collection from Lancome. The new 2010 Spring collection is called The Rose

ooo.. lovely.

I saw this article from a magazine from Hong Kong, and started really curious about it. Lancome is something i’m a bit into recently. Their quality is great, suits my skin and generally, other than the colour and packaging is too conservative. I cannot pick any fault of it. And you can find it all around the world (which is important as a frequent traveller)

What is interesting about this collection is that they’re launching a ‘Crayon’ lippes (C in the pic/bottom right) that’s very hmmm...

The colour of the lip gloss (A in the photo/top left) also reminds me of some of the dior lippies colour.



More pics from the collection



This is the 1956 design by lancome which this year’s collection got their inspiration on.

A very rare preview by Evie.

(all credits go to Me magazine, Hong Kong)

Saturday, December 19, 2009

The haul and the love(S)

X’mas x’mas x’mas..we love x’mas and it is time to gift.

Thanks so much to Jamilla for her X;mas card. This year, rather than putting all cards received aside (coz I never send cards... shame!) I duly displayed them. Unfortunately cats thought it is a knock the card game and every hour I am on my hands and knees to pick up the cards from the floor..

Anyway, I thought to those who are reading, you’ll notice I haven’t show any haul pictures for a long time.. so in a haul special.. I’ll show you some of my haul recently, nothing exciting and to say thank you all ladies who did swap, Secret Santa with me.

A super large disclaimer: because my cats love any kind of sticker that comes from the package, they have mess up which is which and therefore swaps are grouped into whatever cat find it first (and hide it last). Forgive me. I am Slave No.2 to cats (No.1 S title goes to S)




This is a collective haul from Uniqlo (and where i met miss_Waterlily at a japanese restaurant after this shopping)
My bro works in Uniqlo and it was family week, so I went in and snap as many clothing for myself and S.
I bought all essential items, Heat tech (they’re sooo goood.. soogood that it is unbelievable)
a premium down jacket from +J collection
a cashmere jumper from +J
a few tights.
cardigansn and jeans for S





This comes from Tammy from not a rich girl. She’s my secret santa and sent me some goodies. OMG! ELF blushes!!!! and face shop (never tried them before)








more goodies from Tammy (and some random samples I received from other packages)






more goodies from Tammy (oh benefit oh benefit, how can you be so pretty?) (Sing along with oh! x’mas tree)






Masks sheet that was consumed nearly as soon as it arrived at my door (oh yes those cellar tapes as well by cats)





My high end swaps/wins
Top right: a Dior blush swap with Jennifer (love you sweetheart. I’ll send you some survival package when you’re in Copenhagen)
Top middle: a little present from Yumeko (that came along with the handbag organiser)
Botton left: the Dior blush that I win from Jamilla’s giveaway. i should really put this under the x’mas tree but unfortunately the tree is destroyed every 5 sec.







Been approached to do a review for SKIN MD. and some samples. I’ll do a giveaway once I’m fully settled from my daily life chaos
and bottom left, is something I bought from cosmetic-candy blogsale (think is the black pore cleanser)







I found my natural shade!
Middle: lavshuca 070 two way compact. A bit drying but perfect shade colour. (that’s how I know I’m now a NC35)

Right: shu uemura brozne base control. I plan to use this to mix for the right shade with my existing foundation




Left: Shu Urmura UV Primer, again a swap from Jennifer
right: a Japanese primer from japan. Privacy

So that’s all from me.

I’ll try to post a review on a few of these items within this week. Been busy trying to setup 2 business at the same time. and fiddling with all these website design..

oh well. once it’s done you’ll have a look :)

and Finally

Merry x’mas to all girls! hope you have a lovely x’mas

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

calling for people who want to spree imomoko

hi girls

ok one off special. Just wondering if any girls who are in UK or Europe want to join a mail spree in Imomoko.

Imomoko is having a 15%off with all products on their site and I have 1 item that I want to haul (Just used up my concealer and want to try Kevin beautymaker)

but.. despite the cost of the kevin beautymaker concealer only cost 7GBP after the discount, the shipping is killing me.

So.. since the shipping is only 15.99 USD and it is for any order (no limitation as I understand) I am looking to anyone who wants to join a spree together.

This is how I think we can work it out:

  1. email me at kanonlin@gmail.com on which items you want, deadline 19th Dec
  2. I will email you back on the shipping price depending on how many girls join. If 4 girls including myself is buying, then the shipping cost is 15.99 divided by 4
  3. I will invoice you with paypal and you can pay me
  4. put in order with imomoko
  5. once it arrived in UK, i’ll send it out to you by local post. Again, I’ll only take the cost of local post and ask for paypal payment.
  6. Any girls in Europe are welcome to join since we’re free from custom tax anyway
Here you go. One -off special

Monday, December 14, 2009

Back from Berlin (short post)




(photo taken in Postdam, Germany, in freezing cold weather. -7’c )




just to say I’m back

tonnes of post to do, esp those x’mas special

just to quickly say a big thank you to Kay (Bihada Diaries) on organising secret santa. I had fun picking up goodies for others and on the receiving end as well

I have a very big bag of goodies that I got from blog sale..

and also i realised.

I am a NC35 now. Cosmetic Candy.. I’m joining you. pass me your foundation and we’ll share haha




Saturday, December 5, 2009

Packing for a long trip - Make up (part 2)

I am doing this Part 2 post together with my trip to Berlin. I know what I need to pack and been playing with all my foundation to make sure the best is taken with me and since Ryanair is the most horrible airline in the world, I’m carrying just cabin luggage for 4 days.. including clothing for a very snowy weather (how do I do it? I don’t know)


What to bring for Make up :




If possible, bring all of your point makeup please. That’s if really possible. The reason is there’s no way you can hit a pan with point makeup only if you wear it every day. Do you wear the same eye colour/blush everyday? not me. i alternate from smokey eyes to natural eyes, blue eyes to sparkly eyes. From orange blush to super pink blush, and rosy to peach etc. I only hit pan with 1 blush and that’s gransenbon (totally love you granesebon)

So bring all them your point makeup and that’s your reason not to spend on replacing your makeup when you are away with the same colour thing. Those saved pennies add up and will be well used in the future.

Here’s my recommendation:




Foundation




bring compact / two way

liquid foundation x 2 (bring something moisturising and some with high coverage)


powder (only if you are already using powder to finish off your makeup)


Eye-Palette




1 natural and 1 smokey, also at least 4 different sparkling colour
you can re-create with a palette of 4 colours and mix with the sparkling/outrageous colour you brought.
that’s very easy to create a new look

Eye makeup



2 tube of mascara (one for long lashes, one for volume)
eye-liner





Blush:



4 different blush in the following: rosy, pink, peach, contouring




Lips:




it is up to you. I think maximum is around 6 colours. I don’t really use lipsticks so they’re all gloss

Tools:



bring everything with you. Tools is so important that is not easy to replace

so there you go.

I’m off to Berlin for the next few days. Hope to update you with photos...

Friday, December 4, 2009

Packing for a long trip - Checking in and Skincare (Part 1)

So a few days ago, Jennifer ping me on iM to ask me more tips on how to pack for her trip to Denmark. Being the one in UK, and travel a lot seems to be the right person to ask.

Last trip that i travelled for 6 months was back in 2007, when i went back to HK and around E.Asia for my fieldwork. I packed my life away and don’t own half of the makeup now. Then it was my 1.5 month trip in Hong Kong in 2009, for various travelling again, this time, I picked quite a lot with me.

So.. jennifer.. rather than writing a 1000 words message for you on IM, decide to do a post. I think Jamilla might be able to offer a few help here as she travels a lot as well.

One thing to bear in mind is that you prioritise what you bring, i think makeup/skincase is roughly 3rd most important thing to stuff inside the suitcase if that’ all you bring. Nowadays, airlines have a stricter policy and when they say 23kg, it meant it!

The way to bring more within the limit is to bring 2 bags on board (if your airport/airline allows). This includes a cabin size luggage, and another a backpack, or a supersize hangbag. If you know you are slightly overweight (27kg) and the check in counter asks you to unload, your cabin size luggage/backpack will come in handy.

HONG KONG EXPERIENCE:




if you are boarding in Hong Kong and want to maximise the luggage you bring, this is how i do it.

Check-in Luggage:
put all extremely important items in luggage and go to a travel agent and buy an airport express ticket (if it is 1-way, it is only $70 instead of $100). This will allow you to check in 24 hours before flight.

Then put less important items (the stuff you think your mommy will help you to send over to you if you are overweight) into cabin luggage

With your supersize hangbag, only put your flight essentials (passport, doc etc) and do not load anything else.

Check in at the counter with your luggage and super size hangbag at the airport express checkin first (this is to make sure you guarantee a seat) if you need to unload due to overweight at this point, you can unload items into your supersize hangbag.
(the reason why you do not show your cabin size luggage is that you’ll be told off, their instructions say to eye-scan any additional luggage that the passenger brings into the cabin. If they spot you with 2 luggage at the airport check-in counter, they will say you are not allowed to bring both)

If you do not need to unload many things, your cabin size luggage and your supersize hangbag should allow you more room to fit anything you want to bring. (P.S. that’s why you check in early, then go home and pack again)

Then board with your cabin size luggage and supersize hangbag.

If you do not board at the airport express, but directly in the airport, you risk being overweight and cannot do anything about it. At least if you check -in first, you know what you still want to bring and have time to pack a package to yourself.

generally at the security gate, they allow a supersize hangbag plus cabin luggage. The reason why is people sometimes shop as much as a supersize hangbag at duty-free. So technically they cannot say you cannot bring an extra bag. There’s no policy of how many bags you can bring except by the airlines themselves

if you bring in this way, you should be able to bring : check in- luggage 23 kg, cabin luggage 10kg, supersize hangbag 10kg (if you can carry all)

Back to the post:

Lets do it in 2 categories:

  1. SKIN CARE
Venturing to the unknown place, you don’t know what it is like. Dry? super dry? cold? etc
My advice is bring what you know works with you best there then when they are not suitable, buy local products.
Also, my advice is to buy European brand (i.e. Lancome, Clarins, olay, neutrogena) if you want to buy before you travel to save cost. They are multi-national company, and usually their skin care line is available around the world. Therefore, it is safe to assume these skincare products will suit wherever you go to by guessing.

I totally recommend you bring these with you, the rest I didn’t mention (such as Toner) can be bought when you arrive there


Make Up Cleanser - yes. Hong kong has a better collection than in Europe. Bring a oil base cleanser (get the 450 ml Shu Uemura oil cleanser from Sasa, they’re the cheapest in the world)


Cotton - European drug-store cotton is the hardest thing you’ll ever tried. If you remember how Chinese (maindland chinese) cotton feels like, they are exactly the same except never improve during the time


Paper soak up mask - not those like Beuaty Diary, but those you pour the toner/essence. This is cheaper than bringing mask and you can buy the toner that suits the climate for face mask rescue


Moisturiser - bring your favourite (in J’s case, bring a winter one, I’d say a cream based moisturiser) and you know for the 1st month, at least you know something you use before


Lip balm - I always bring vaseline lip petroleum (my fav though is Rose Petal exclusively Uk only). When you are in really dry weather or just need a bit of lippy, it is great. Light and extremely useful

Eye cream - again bring your HG and think about it later

I’ll talk about what to bring with make up in the next post





Tuesday, December 1, 2009

What's on your x'mas list?

I have been a bit down recently. One of my employer (well I work for multiple ppl) gave me 12 hours before work asking if I can cut my pay 1/2 to work with her. So Immediately said no and goodbye my cupcake job. (but I can still deliciously cupcake at home. I learnt all the skills) How cheeky can someone do that?

So instead of bitching about that stupid woman (the cupcake Co is called Faircake, just in case you want to send her hate mails) I decide to make good use of 2 months worth of holiday and write a bit on a PhD and do some lemming over a lot of things :)

This is just a post dedicated for X’mas.. for self-indulgence

1. Samsung ST 500/ ST 550






look at this baby, do you know why I want it? because there’s a twin LCD, a LCD in the front so that you know how you look like.
Isn’t this clever?
This is just the camera every blogger needs for your FOTD
This is costing around 170 on amazon, but 130 in Hong Kong.

2.



Shu Uemura Liquid fondation in SPF 10






Keen to try again!
think this is a rather thick foundation which I used in May for the wedding
Must get it in the right shade this time

  1. iLap


this is a laptop holder for the comfort of your head, wrist and back design especially for macbook
It’ll help with the overheat issue for macbook alumniumn and hopefully it’ll solve my wrist pain when i use the touchpad

4. iPhone 3GS





do I even need to explain why i want this? just because it is cool
I am using a N95 8GB which is cool and very very useful in many ways, still i want something classy hehe
the problem is I am saving myself with a super cheap monthly rental from my mobile company (so cheap you won’t believe) and more than 1 company phones.
Iphone is rather difficult to unlock and since I’m travelling very soon again, unsure if I should really get this.

5. Pet’s costume





dao dao might hate me but I’m sure Mui Chu will allow me
I want to dress them up for x’mas to busk around ...
do you think people will throw stones at them or give me a few more bucks to dress them up as Hello Kitty?

What is your x’mas gift list then??


LinkWithin

Blog Widget by LinkWithin