Bath and Body Works, in Singapore

Sindhu and I decided to hit the new Bath and Body Works in Marina Bay Sands last week just to check it out and even though I was under strict orders from my mother not to purchase anything, well, SHE'S NOT THE BOSS OF ME! 

Libby suggested that I do a short review, so here goes.  Bath and Body Works in the United States is relatively affordable and I was worried that the markup was going to be astronomical.  We were pleasantly surprised to find out that while for some products (pocketbac hand sanitisers, I'm looking at you), the markup was steep, for others, it was comparable to Victoria's Secret in that three big items (moisturiser, body spray, body wash) would run you about $48.  And the smaller body sprays and room sprays were about $10.  Not too bad, I guess.

So, I got:

1)  Buttercream Mint Candle - This candle smells like a less minty, more buttery version of Yankee Candle's Nostalgic Snow which absolutely kills me because Nostalgic Snow is limited edition and I have no idea if I will ever see it again.  Buttercream Mint satisfies my craving and it is such a beautiful, decorative green colour.

2)  Winter Cafe Candle (basically repackaged Espresso Bar) - You know how Starbucks is my second home?  This candle makes it smell like Starbucks in my room.  Dark roast coffee, with a touch of nutty sweetness and vanilla foam.  I play soft hipster music as I burn it and I feel like there's a barrista brewing away in the corner.  What's not to love?

3)  Forever Red Eau De Parfum - Okay.  I really wasn't going to buy a perfume.  I really, really wasn't.  But I read the scent description on this and... well, how can you say no to vanilla and rum?  I tried it and swooned - it's like cake soaked with heady, dark alcohol and I keep sniffing my wrist all day.  

4, 5 and 6)  I've tried the Bath and Body Works moisturisers already and I think they are just a little less rich in formulation than the Victoria's Secret ones but more complex-smelling.  So, swings and roundabouts.  I got two scents I've tried before - Sweet Pea (sweet, very slightly, pleaseantly floral) and Twilight Woods (sweet and musky, like ripe fruit and sandalwood) and Midnight Pomegranate (mostly just a clean, fruity amplified pomengrante scent).

That's pretty much it.  I'd say it was pretty restrained... for me.  Sid got a beautifully deep-scented blackberry and vanilla sugar scrub and a couple of sprays.  

We'll be back!  Till then, I had an awesome evening laughing over products with Sindhu in French accents (don't ask) and then, stuffing our faces with bak chor mee.  It doesn't get better than that.

Bromance

A couple of weeks ago, Rebecca bought a secondhand 5D.  It's huge and heavy and takes amazing pictures with beautiful colour and so I figured that I should probably start working on trying to use slightly better gear at times as well.  

Over Chinese New Year weekend, my brother lent me the 60D that he hardly ever uses so that I could try to get used to it and see how I like it.  The whole of my Chinese family came over for the holidays and I had tons of fun snapping photos of the family and trying to get used to the camera's (rather finicky) controls.

I thought I'd do a layman's review at some point, but ultimately, I think it takes great photos too!  The first ones I'm sharing are from when my brother, HS, spontaneously decided to shave my cousin, Yen's goatee.

They were having a conversation about shaving while we shopped for toiletries in Mustafa and HS, an ardent advocate for luxury shaves, offered to give my cousin one on our balcony.  I don't know what possessed Yen to say yes, but I really enjoyed taking pictures of them giggling through what turned out to be an oddly tender, masculine moment.  

After nearly slitting Yen's throat, HS switched from a straight razor to a safety razor and we all stood around, watching with bated breath as Yen laughed and squirmed through foamy clouds of soap while occasionally grabbing HS's shirt in panic.

We only get to see our Malaysian cousins once or twice a year, but each time we do, some crazy shenanigans always go down. Hopefully next time, I'm around to document them as well.

PS Yen was really pleased with the results and said it was one of the closest shaves he'd ever had.  Pun intended, I imagine.

Gratitude list: Impromptu

So I haven't been writing weekly gratitude lists for a while, not because I don't have anything to give thanks for but because there are so many things that they often turn into entire posts unto themselves. 

I'll still do the lists when I can though, like this impromptu one on a ten minute break from work. 

1) Bird farting rainbows necklace.

My friend Becky gave me this necklace over a year ago (in fact she sent it to me in the mail while I was in the UK) and I just love it.  I don't wear it very often because I'm a klutz and I want to avoid fraying the ribbons, but every time I do, I get a ton of excited compliments.  

How could you look at this and not feel happy?

2)  Crystal deodorant 

I know this is a slightly odd (and possibly awkward) choice but Amanda introduced me to this deodorant at Sasa the other day and I really love it.  For about $4, you get a stick of something that looks like a mineral rock and has no scent whatsoever.  I apply it with a little bit of water and although it does allow you to sweat, I have had absolutely no odour problems, even when I'm exercising.

The fact that it doesn't clash with my perfume and that I no longer have to contend with oddly murky cucumber or lemon scents works well for me right now.  It prickles a little on broken skin, but apart from that, I definitely plan to repurchase this.  Avoid dropping it on the floor though, if you get it, I hear it shatters into sharp little smithereens.

(I cannot attest to its pharmaceutical safety or whatever.  I'm pretty sure anything that claims to neutralise the bacteria on your skin is going to raise some alarms somewhere, but aerosols are no better, so.)

3)  My Filofax and sticky notes from Daiso

It is ridiculous how much I love my Filofax.  I think I've finally found an organiser format that really works for me and since it's stationery related, I plan to go on and on about it in a separate post at some point. 

For now, I just thought I'd share these sweet post its that I bought at Daiso earlier today.  At 400 stickies for $2, you can't go far wrong, even if the glue is not 3M worthy.  I love how the blue and pink complement the violet faux leather and I can see myself using them to decorate diary entries as well. 

And now, back to work.  There is no rest for the wicked, and I haven't been behaving.

Aesop

Last week, after a swim at Amanda's place, I realised I'd forgotten to bring my moisturiser.  In her usual generous fashion, Amanda let me use her favourite moisturiser, Aesop's Geranium Leaf.  The smell absolutely sold me - deep blend of something fresh, herbal and slightly minty.  People had recommended Aesop to me before, but I didn't know that it was available locally.

Later on, we decided to run out to the Aesop store in Ngee Ann City to do some serious toiletry shopping.  The three things I spend a lot of money on in life are coffee, toiletries and stationery.  I don't wear makeup, branded clothes or shoes and last paid for an expensive purse four years ago, so I spend the bulk of my money on slightly more temporary vices that I use every day.

Aesop has a beautiful corner in Ngee Ann City where they will offer you mint tea and massage samples into your arms.  The products aren't cheap, but they feel so rich and luxurious that I couldn't resist.  

I normally like only two types of smells - fruity smells and dessert smells.  The Aesop scents, however, are reminiscent of the complex bouquet that you get in a spa.  When I close my eyes, I feel like I'm lying on a table waiting for a hot compress to be smoothed over my back.  

And so, I succumbed.

I got the Preen set, which came with four products that I saved over $30 on in all.  The pouch is made of a soft, felted type of material that will look quite dapper in my suitcase, should I travel.

Each Aesop set is blessed with a bird mascot and is put in a printed canvas drawstring bag which can double nicely as a slipper or underwear bag for travelling.

Inside, the lotions come wrapped in soft canvas.

The set came with a Resurrection hand cream and hand wash.  The Resurrection scent is replete with mandarin rind that smells more earthy and grounded than the floaty citrus of its pulp, rosemary and cedar.  The combination is like baked, herbed oranges and it is positively decadent on the hands.  Sometimes, I use it on my feet before I sleep as well.  Amanda got the same hand cream and we spent several bimbotic minutes every day grinning like idiots and nourishing our hands together.  

Since I have no need for such a giant bottle of handwash, I'm using it as a concentrated shower gel, and it works well.

There are also the Geranium Leaf moisturiser I loved so much and a matching body cleanser.

Separately, I got a calming shampoo that breathes cammomile and sage for my problematically dry scalp.  Because I've been swimming a lot and using shampoo away from home, I can't quite tell how well it works yet, but if it turns out to be a miracle product, I'll let you know.

The shop lady plied me with free samples to last me a little while.

You may also have noticed that the packaging is full of quotes and sayings.  That was the last thing that excited me - everything from the boxes, ribbons in the pouches and the walls in the shop is lined with poetry, with insight, with special, thoughtful words that would make for great gifts to loved ones. 

I kept turning up messages as I opened my box.  There was even a poem hidden on the inside of the cardboard where a more excited person may have missed it.  By some miracle, it seemed to speak to me.

I know it probably makes the brand seem more aware and meditative than it actually is, but it works.  It's a gimmick, but once in a while, there are gimmicks worth paying for.

Stuff and things

One of the cool things about being in the United States was that I got to buy random things that we don't easily get back home like this cute variation on a typical American composition notebook.

I also managed to get to a Bath and Body Works.  It's going to sound odd if I say this was a lifelong dream for me, but it was, a little bit.  I adore bath products and even though I've had The Body Shop, L'Occitane and Lush within reach before, I never managed to get in spitting distance of Bath and Body Works.

Some of the things I bought for myself and for friends.  The little hand sanitisers make cute gifts, I think.  Hand sanitiser in Singapore smells like Dettol or something similarly anti-bacterial.  I'm using the Coconut Grove flavour myself, and it's a vast improvement.

I haven't actually tried the moisturiser properly yet, but in the shop it felt similar to some of the Victoria's Secret lotions - moderately creamy and deliciously scented.

After some thought, I also splurged on a Vera Bradley wallet in the pattern Indigo Pop.  I've always wondered what it would be like to own something from Vera Bradley (I'm shallow like that) and I love this wallet because it has an entire compartment for your Smartphone.  That really got me.

I used to try jamming my phone into all my other wallets and they would either get uncomfortably distorted or worn out.  Now I can just grab this and go, and it still looks cute.

The Grandluxe diary is my planner this year and it wasn't from the States but I thought it looked pretty there anyway.  I like the fact that the spiral is so tiny and flat in the middle that it doesn't interfere with my southpaw handwriting.

Finally, there are these candles, which are not from America either, weirdly enough.  Before I even knew that I was going to San Francisco, my colleague Vanessa and I decided to buy some Bath and Body Works candles online, just to try them out.  We'd both been using Yankee Candles and wanted to see how the Slatkin and Co. variety compared.

I'm happy to report that I LOVE them.  They burn really evenly and quickly, thanks to the three wicks (Yankee Candles sometimes tunnel, unless they're of the two-wick variety) and the smells are as delicious as they sound.  Vanessa got Winter and Marshmallow Fireside and she loves them too.  If you're looking to order online, now's a good time since all the holiday flavours are out. 

Well, off to spend the rest of the evening knitting to the smell of mint and chocolate.  Don't judge!

Fixed features: Gratitude list

I'm not sure who reads this blog, but if you're one of the (like, five) people who stop by, I hope it entertains you.  Audience or no, I'm the kind of person who tries to go all out on projects that are dear to me.  

I've recently been contemplating making the blog more interesting and consistent (at least for me) by adding a couple of fixed features that run at regular intervals.  I think it's comforting to visit a well-loved blog on a certain day and know that there will probably be something up.  

While I do this on an ad hoc basis in my journal and on the blog, I thought it would be productive and meaningful to have a weekly (every Monday where possible) gratitude list about three simple little things that I am happy for, or that have brought me joy this week.  

Some books recommend that if you are going through a struggle or a loss, it is important to step back at the end of every day, put aside the anger, and name anything at all that you are grateful for even if they are as small as short queues or finding a parking space.  Some experts even say this is the key to constant happiness.  

People judge these kinds of lists, as if it is shallow and vapid for some to find comfort in something as simple as a piece of clothing or pretty ornament.  I don't agree though.  These are the things that get lost in the hubbub of life.  And I think, often, it is the little things in life that keep you going when all the big things are hard and insurmountable.  

There is no shame in that.

This week I am grateful for:

1)  My favourite scent in the form of a mobile hand cream!  L'Occitane's Cherry Blossom scent is really delicate and nuanced, and unlike the flat, sweet floral fragrances you sometimes get, there is something so beguiling about this one that it has become a constant repurchase.

  
2)  Fun, arty bokeh that I made myself!  A couple nights ago I was enjoying a mocha after work and I spontaneously used Starbucks napkins to make a lens hood with a little shape cut out in. 

I made a bit of a mistake with rotating the focus, so in some places you see hearts, in others, lilypads, but I think that's easily rectified and I was delighted to learn that I could do it to begin with!

3)  My body.  That sounds... inappropriate.  But after pole class today, even though I was still bottom of the class, struggling to do things other girls mastered with ease, I felt grateful.  Grateful that I'm young and have the energy to try and laugh and do and fail. 

I don't look after my body enough.  I don't feed it particularly well or exercise it nearly enough and it still does things for me.  It keeps me on my feet for four to six hours a day, ferries me places, allows me to be present and affectionate and alive. 

And it occurred to me today that I should stop bashing it (huge gut, short stature) and appreciate it for the privileges it allows me. 

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I hope you enjoyed this post - I'm thinking of also doing a monthly variation of random moments.  Could be a real party.