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.

My brother's camera

I'm guessing that right now, a review is pretty pointless.  The Canon 60D has been around for awhile and everyone knows it's a great camera.  But seriously guys, it's a great camera.

I took it out for brunch with Rebecca where she decided to test her 5D and we made fools of ourselves scrambling around in the cafe to get the best light.  It was so worth it though.  With a Tamron 17-50 f/2.8 tacked onto it, the 60D gives beautiful colour and clarity and in natural light, a lovely organic tone to photos that I don't seem to get with Big (unless I'm doing something wrong with the white balance).  I also like that the ISO comes in much smaller increments and can be pushed higher without too much consequence, and that the aperture can be controlled by a separate wheel from the shutter speed.

Not so fond of: the slightly finicky ISO function, the fact that the screen doesn't flip out and the difficulty that I seem to have with the sensitive button-and-wheel system on the back of the camera.  The Tamron's auto-focusing is also a little slow, so I spent a lot of time squinting through the crosshairs and trying to manual focus on quickly moving objects.  All in though, I really like it and I hope my brother can be persuaded to loan it out more often!

Rebecca's 5D with its Canon EF 28-70 f/2.8 takes incredible pictures.  The light and colour on these is clean and bright and the bokeh is deliciously warm and creamy.  It is ridiculously heavy though; the lens is as big as her head!

In between taking pictures, we managed to eat the broccoli that we had been yearning after for so long.  Public service announcement: it's as good as I remember. 

We had the salmon and greek yoghurt, a zucchini salad and an extra helping of broccoli.  The desserts looked amazing so we also shared a chocolate passionfruit cake and a slice of pear and amaretto loaf, which is better than it sounds.

And, of course, coffee. 

Stuffed, we finally stumbled out onto the street and started walking towards the train station.  Rebecca kindly but reluctantly modelled for me along the way.  She complains that I frequently get pictures of her in unglamorous poses (I do) when she's crouching on the floor or schlepping along in her slippers, so I made an effort this time to make it look a little more Lonely Planet and a little less lonely pariah.

I know, right?

Overjoyed (and a notebook geek out) aka cheaper than a Moleskine

Happy National Day, Singapore!

I've written about the random stack of empty notebooks that I own before, none of which were actually purchased by me.  A couple of them were Moleskines from my mother's events; there was a Moleskine-alike that has brilliant paper but that probably won't work as a journal because every single page is perforated (why!), and a Leuchtturm 1917.  

Since then, I've done some swapping and given some notebooks away.  (I can never resist a notebook-junkie friend asking to try something.)  I've also come down to the last ten or so pages in the Zequenz I'm currently using as a diary and although I love what I've done with it, I loathe the ridiculously translucent paper.  I decided to actively buy several notebooks that I've always wanted to try and have them all side by side so that I can review them and find my favourite once and for all. 

This desire was aggravated by the fact that the local stationery blogger, Wandrrlust, pointed me in the direction of Overjoyed, a stationery shop in Golden Wall Centre that apparently happens to be the only supplier for Clairefontaine in Singapore.  I have been dying to get my hands on some Clairefontaine paper to try and I thought it was a distant possibility if I ever visited Europe again.  Imagine my delight to find that it's available in my own backyard!

I've pared the stash down to five notebooks that all seem to meet most of the criteria I have and none of the notebooks that I bought are more expensive than a Moleskine in a shop like, say, Popular or Kinokuniya.  So.

I'm going to do a general overview before I get to writing in each notebook in turn.

First, a note about Overjoyed (Facebook here).

If you are a paper geek in any way, shape or form, please, please come here.

It's more an art store than a stationery shop and there are loads of paints, brushes, easels and wood pieces for people looking to do art projects.  Makes sense since it's located right next to the Lasalle College of the Arts.

When it comes to notebooks on the other hand, it has a formidable supply.  For one, they are the only shop that gets notebooks that come directly from the Clairefontaine supplier in Europe, which means that they carry Rhodia, Quo Vadis and the elusive Clairefontaine itself.

(Sidenote: I'm a little fuzzy on where the company stands right now, but I believe that Exaclair, the parent company for Clairefontaine, currently owns Rhodia and Quo Vadis and as such, there are Rhodia notebooks with Clairefontaine paper in them.  The Quo Vadis Habana is supposed to contain the same stuff.  It gets confusing when you realise that there are still Rhodias for sale with Rhodia paper in them (I can't tell if this is just another name for Exaclair paper or an entirely different product), but it's supposed to be very good as well.)



At any rate, the sheer range of paper in Overjoyed is impressive - there is a whole range of Clairefontaine paper that runs from pulpy-looking recycled sheets in the Zapbooks to the smooth as silk 90gsm fountain pen friendly stock it is so famous for and then all the way up to a 120 - 140gsm art block range.  I also saw Monologue notebooks and a whole bunch of Strathmore products.

The staff weren't overly friendly at first and eyed me suspiciously as I went around reverently handling things but when I started asking about where they got the paper from and about various bindings, they relaxed and we had a nerdy chat about the stock.  They're fairly knowledgeable and very concerned about the display and quality of the products, which is excellent news for notebook lovers.

I decided to get a range of things (a couple were presents) and for myself, I kept two notebooks, both by Clairefontaine and filled with Clairefontaine paper.  

My current stash, from top to bottom (all lined):

1)  Paperblanks Parabole Ultra Wrap Gutenberg Bible design (way bigger than A5)
2)  Clairefontaine A5 Spiral Bound
3)  Clairefontaine Jasmyn
4)  Leuchtturm 1917
5)  Moleskine

(Does it bother you that the band on the Leuchtturm is twisted?  I've just noticed it and now it's driving me nuts.)

I gave one Clairefontaine A5 Spiral Bound to my friend JM because I thought she would enjoy the paper and I gave a Rhodia Webnotebook (with Clairefontaine paper) away to my friend David.

A quick word about the stupidly-named Webbie: when I gave it to David, he unwrapped it straightaway and we fell to testing the famous paper.  I wrote with a fountain pen on the first page and there was absolutely no showthrough, which means, hurrah for markers!  The binding is not perfectly flat but I think it is flat enough and the paper is very pleasing even though drying time is a little longer.  For $16.90, I think it is a wonderous alternative to the Mole and will make a perfect regular use notebook.

Here is where the books stand at present, if I'm comparing like with like.

The Clairefontaine Jasmyn is my favourite.  I love everything about it from the vivid pattern to the wraparound cover, held in place with two magnets.  At $24.90, it is very pricey and I probably wouldn't buy too many of them but given that they are about $15 cheaper than Moles in Singapore and the pure quality of the product, I think you get what you pay for.

This is going to be my next journal and I already see myself loving everything from the lines to the beautiful little touch of the metal tag on the bookmark.

It lies flat with a bit of coaxing and even though the lines don't run all the way to the edge of the page, I don't mind because my words tend to fall off the edge and this will stop them.

This is the other Clairefontaine I bought, a simple A5 spiral bound (in my understanding they're constantly coming out with new cover patterns) and I had to give one to Jia Min to try.  The paper is a beautiful smooth 90gsm fountain pen friendly white that feels glossy and cool to the touch and for all that, it costs $6.90.  Yes.  $6-freaking-90.  I could buy a whole stack of these for all kinds of nonsense at the same price that Azone or Ugrade sells them.

To compare the two:

Both books contain the fountain pen friendly 90gsm, but the Jasmyn has the more sophisticated ivory paper and the line distribution is more to my liking.  Ultimately though, for the price, I don't think you can discount the spiral bound.

One other good thing about the Jasmyn though, is that the wraparound design means that the book won't flap open and things are less likely to fall out.  As a test, I randomly stuffed the book with thick index cards in the photo above and you can see that although the pages buckle a bit, the wraparound cover is built to be able to hold some expansion, which means that you can paste things in it!  Perfect journalling material in my opinion.

The next comparison is between the Paperblank and the Jasmyn.  I've resisted trying a Paperblank for the longest time because something about the binding and design really throws me.  Recently however, I saw a couple of videos about the high quality control of the binding and paper making process and thought that maybe it was time to give one a shot.

You can get these in Kinokuniya which is having a delightful 20 per cent sale till this Sunday (run!).

I'm both unimpressed and pleasantly surprised.  First, that the covers are absolutely stunning is undeniable.  Some of the books have metal clasps and intricate gilded covers and pages.  The Gutenberg Bible design above has the most beautifully notched spine.  The binding also suggests that the book will eventually lie acceptably flat, so okay.

This is the most pricey brand that I paid for though (still cheaper than a Moleskine!  Argh Moleskine, are you listening?) and while the paper is thick and durable, the line spacing irritates me (not in a scientific way or anything, just gut feel) and it is quite a bit more toothy than Clairefontaine.

(Clairefontaine left, Paperblanks, right)

So maybe again, not something I would purchase on a regular basis, but they will make absolutely delicious presents.  I can just see someone receiving one and feeling like they have a beautifully made, vintage-look book to write special things in.  Good work, Paperblanks. 

Now the final comparison - the ubiquitous, love-hate Moleskine and the Leuchtturm 1917.  A disclaimer: I don't think I can truly judge both books until I've used them for extended periods of time in close proximity, but this is a first impression.

Again, I was surprised here.  I expected to like the Leuchtturm a lot more.  I expected to feel like the Mole was cheap and shitty and that I would never want to look one in the face again, but what can I say?  Old habits die hard.

The inside front covers are quite similar but I prefer the Moleskine font and warmer colour.

The Leuchtturm has contents pages!  Which I imagine would be quite impressive for some people except that I have no clue what I would do with them.

Here's where the real difference lies for me.  Yes, the Moley paper is cheaper and possibly quite crappy.  But I don't write with a fountain pen so I'm not sure it will matter.  I like the colouring of the Moleskine paper better and contrary to popular opinion, I even like the obtrusive colour of the lines.

I love the fact that the Leuchtturm's 80gsm pages are numbered, but I hate that date thing on the top of the page.  Where do you get off telling me where to write the date, huh Leuchtturm?  Especially since it's right smack in the middle and I don't write the date on every page?  It looks so ugly and it completely throws the alignment of the page off, especially if you like to write left-aligned.  And why the random two languages here but three on the contents page?!  Why?! 

Ahem.  On that... impassioned note, I'll leave off here.  Ultimately, without having used any of these for a long time, I suspect that my favourite will be the Jasmyn, with the Rhodia possibly coming a close second and the Moleskine acting as a comfortable, old shoes type standard fallback. 

I'll probably have a better idea in a few months at which point, I'll do an update.  It's all a bit of a muddle right now, but there is one thing I am coming down firmly on the side of, and that is Overjoyed. 

My first visit definitely wasn't the last.
______________________

Overjoyed is located at 89 Short Street, Singapore, Singapore 188216

Mon - Fri: 10:00 am - 7:00 pm

Sat: 10:00 am - 2:00 pm

Phone: 6333 9776

Test drive, long lens

Again, a layman review more than anything else.

This long lens is one of the more basic ones out there and I imagine that anyone stumbling upon this will be worrying about whether they should even get one in the first place, so I'll talk a bit about why I'd even want to shoot with such glass as well.

I first started thinking about something with more zoom when I realised that the concert range that I got with the kit lens was pants.  The Canon EF-S 55 - 250mm seemed like something within a price range that would allow for experimentation and at just below 400grams, it promised to be quite serviceable indeed.

I took it out for a walk on the beach a couple of weekends ago and quickly came to realise that rather than just zooming in more or even adjusting to work with a new lens, shooting with telephoto zoom requires learning a new kind of thinking altogether. 

In the beginning, I struggled with it a little bit but I quickly started to recognise, and relish, the advantages that come with such equipment.

To start with, here are some nonsense test photos to demonstrate range:

At the widest angle possible, without any cropping whatsoever.

At the 250mm end, without any cropping.  You can see how I've honed in on the little sailboat in the picture above.  That's quite a lot of range I wasn't getting before!  The lens isn't particularly sharp on the longest end, but it's acceptable for me.  If you crop the photo, you can even read the words on the ship's sail.

In terms of following moving objects:

This second one is a... shall we say... 15 per cent crop of a plane photo on full zoom.  Again, sharpness is compromised, but you can clearly see it's an SIA plane and the word "Airlines" spelt out on the side.  Given that the plane was taking off at full speed and I was attempting to track it through the viewfinder, I'd say I'm pretty pleased with the performance of this baby.

So first of all, the things I don't like about a zoom lens.

Even with its plastic construction and narrow body, the 250 started to weigh quite a bit around the neck.  The muzzle sags and bobs in quite a cumbersome way.  And the length of the barrel also means that I'm left feeling like it's going to bang into things and I am extra paranoid when walking around in crowds.

I'm not fond of the difficulty with focusing on the long end.  At such close range, every little movement is amplified and the slightest shrug of a shoulder or twitch of a hand escalates into focus sliding completely off the face or even out of shot.  For very distant subjects, focus will be particularly miserable because there isn't a single eye (or detail for that matter) to latch onto.

And of course, at the end of the spectrum, the amount of light via aperture is nonsense (f/6.5 at the highest).

That said, here are all the reasons why these arguments don't matter to me anyway:

1)  That little bit of extra zoom can be key even for slightly hard to reach places.  (I would never have been able to grab that first picture of the kite stuck in the tree without it.)

2)  There are so many situations (concerts, museums, the zoo) where I get stuck behind a velvet rope or mosh pit barricade and this glass is perfect for that.

3)  Most important for me though, is that when you are as green and meek as I am, it's very difficult to sneak shots of people without them realising it or without feeling self-conscious.  Suddenly, in public places I can take pictures of scenes of life and without disturbing the subjects at all - the photography equivalent of watching random strangers through reflective sunglasses.

Case in point:

I was probably about fifty metres away, watching this adorable little boy splash in and out of the waves.  In good lighting, you can easily dial down the shutter speed to get good pictures of motion and water as well; I love that the surf is about to crash into him.

That jet of water, frozen in time, is a perfectly sufficient standard of sharpness for me.

I love people watching and watching people take their children to the beach for the first time is adorable.  (That background blurriness is not so bad either, yes?)  I got to observe everything quietly and unobtrusively (some of the parents even waved at me), and sitting patiently in the sand, I could take my time waiting for the perfect moments.

There was something beautifully peaceful about watching life go on around me and trying to freeze bits in my own special way, without having to close in on the people involved. 

Looking through a longer lens also lets you pick out special details that would've otherwise gone unnoticed.

It was a special afternoon for me.  More and more I'm starting to appreciate the solitude photography allows.  No one bothers the person who remains hidden behind a camera and the world is yours to build within a frame of your own choosing.

At about six, I got up to go home and then realised that I wasn't far away from the wakeboarding pool.  I ended up sitting with a tree root up my butt for half an hour, really pushing myself and gripping the 250 till my wrist cramped up.  Capturing movement with such a narrow field of view is really challenging for me and I ended up with more than a few blurred out duds or unsightly grimaces.

I worked on getting picturesque sprays of water and waiting for the wakeboarders to lean just the right way and as the sun started setting, I managed to get some shots that I really enjoyed.

The guy in the last two shots was particularly exciting to photograph.  A pity he was also the fastest.

In short, if you are looking for a cheap telephoto, the 55 - 250mm is absolutely something to consider.  I can see it working very well in all kinds of distance-causing situations and since no one is likely to shoot dark, indoor shots on the 250 end anyway, lighting is a very minor problem.

More than anything though, I've found a lens that will grant me many meandering, golden afternoons of watching life unfold, even if it's from far away.

Test drive: Canon EF 35mm lens

I'm not equipped to do pro-style reviews (there are plenty of those available online) so I'll just give my layman version of how it works for me and how I liked it. 

When I bought my 35mm f/2 lens, I knew that it was special.  The 50mm changed my life and a prime lens with greater range but just as much light sounded like it was going to be perfect.  The man in the shop put it on my camera and said, "Why not start using it right away?  You're going to love it."

And I do.  

I took it out for brunch with some friends the other day and have been using it as my standard day-to-day lens since.  

First, the things I'm not so fond of.  This complaint is a wee one, but it's heavier than the 50mm because it's made of metal.  It also doesn't stop all the way up to f/1.8 but in most cases, that's just me being nitpicky.

The zipping sound of the autofocus is rather startling though.  Someone online compared it to the drone of a wasp and I'm inclined to agree.  I still jump when the lens hunts and consequently, some of my photos are a little blurry.  The lens is clearest on centre focus and even though it's a wide-angled prime, it's still not the best idea to focus and recompose.  

Again though, those are niggling details.  There is so much to love.

I took it for brunch at a place called Kith in Park Mall.  Not the best service, but the food was pretty good.

We decided what to eat as we lined up.  The lens is pretty clear and suits my purposes wonderfully.

I had the big breakfast right at the top, but Winnie's prawn pasta was too pretty to pass up a picture of.  The really impressive dish though, were the tomatoes.  I'll eat tomatoes in sauces and purees and sundried but I am repulsed by anything that is even a hair shy of fully cooked.  People have been offering me cherry tomatoes over the years, trying to convince me that they're sweet ("Like grapes!").  Um.  No.

These grilled beasts however.  Oh my.  They were soft and hot and pulpy in precisely the right way and drizzled liberally with herbs and sea salt.  I actually ordered an extra helping on the side and I never do that. 

While the depth of field is really pleasing on close up shots, here is where the 35mm really shines.  Look at how many people you can pack in!  The first shot was taken from just across the table and the second one was from about two metres away.  At this distance, the 50 1.8 would just cough and give up and it was a massive struggle to try to get a full-length picture of anyone.

I'm so pleased with this range - that's what makes it such a neat little everyday lens. 

Of course, nothing is as much fun as instant pictures!  I was really excited by Winnie's Instax camera - it is so exciting and convenient to be able to print shots right away!

I took pictures of this neat little Vespa on the way to pole that day.  Again, I didn't have to stand too far away.

And finally, here are some pictures where I pushed the lens almost to its limit.

 
Amanda is forcing me to write a post about these rice balls, so I thought I would incorporate them here because damned if I'm going to do an entire post about rice.

These riceballs come from a shop in Novena Square 2 called QQ.  Nina first introduced me to them and I fell in love with them.  You go in, choose a healthy glutinous rice and they wrap it around any five meat or vegetable fillings that you choose.  If you're in a rush or don't want to think too hard, they're tasty, pretty nutritious and are a really good meal in an instant.

I made the mistake of introducing them to Amanda some time ago and since then, she's developed a love-hate relationship with them.  She can't decide if she keeps going back because she's impressed by the gimmick and because I make them look so tempting or because she genuinely likes them.

So, each time she suggests going to QQ, I cringe because I know she will squeal once we get into the shop, dither for five minutes at the back of the queue about whether she really wants one, browbeat the man into giving her six or seven shreds of ingredients instead of five, then hold the finished product up to her face, enjoying its warmth while contemplating whether she actually enjoys eating it.

So, Amanda, for what it's worth, YOU DO.  Now stop making me engage in hour long discussions about the merits of QQ each week!

At any rate, they're good for testing equipment.  Hah.

This is the lens at f/2.8 which is the highest I would push it if I wanted a sharp image.  The colour and light are great and look at that delicious depth-of-field.  I tried the same picture on f/2 and it was a little softer.  The DOF though was noticeably shallow, so it's not great if you want a lot of detail.  Still.  Amazing lens, no?

(That's Amanda's riceball from yesterday - purple rice mixed with red rice.)

And here, again on f/2.8 is mine.  You have to be very careful at close range with what you want to stay sharp.  But hey, that's par for the course with any other close range prime.

My fillings of choice in mixed grains - corn, carrots, seaweed, a very crunchy burdock and spicy chicken floss.  Amanda never fails to let me know that she takes issue with my combo. 

I don't care.  It was delicious.  And on the whole, when I think about my awesome little snub-nosed ranger, I am well pleased.