Baby Chronicles #2

I am 25 weeks + 4 days pregnant today.

This photo was taken at 25 weeks last Friday, the day I officially became an Australian citizen. Again this is from hubby's facebook page.

I rarely weigh myself at home and rely more on how my clothes fit rather than the weighing scale, but for the purpose of chronicling stuff. Here are all my OB weigh ins:

Pre-pregnancy weight : 47 kg (estimate)
19 February 2013 (12 weeks + 4 days) : 48.7 kg
18 March 2013 (16 weeks + 3 days) : 49.1 kg
16 April 2013 (20 weeks + 4 days) : 52.8 kg
14 May 2013 (24 weeks + 4 days) : 54.9 kg

We were on an 11-night cruise between 23 March and 3 April which would explain the 3.7kg weight gain between 16 and 20 weeks. I overindulged on the food and had multiple snacks every day. I don't think my tummy was ever empty on that cruise ship, and I barely did any exercise while on that ship.

To make things worse, I seem to have developed a sweet tooth. My breakfast of choice is peanut butter with sugar sandwich, and I am currently craving chocolate mud cake. Of course, I still love pork - fatty pork belly cooked the Filo way.

I'm afraid my poor baby's taste buds will not be inclined to like broccoli and other veggies if I keep this up. So in an effort to eat more veg, here's what I had for lunch yesterday:

It's not the healthiest of salads with the dressing and the croutons, but it's a start. Eating veg is a hard ask for someone who dreams of Filipino feasts, lechon and halo-halo, but wakes up right before she gets to eat them. With the back pain, the soreness and the frustrating dreams, it's no wonder I crave comfort food.

Read more ...

Tag: The Basics

I am compelled to blog, yet I am usually at a loss at what topic to discuss. I found this tag from Reese Atomic and I found the questions interesting yet easy enough to answer...

1. Tell us about your favourite jeans
My current favourite pair is not technically jeans, but a pair of houndstooth print jeggings from Uniqlo as worn in the photo on my Baby Chronicles #1 post. It's not maternity wear but it's got an elastic waist to accommodate my ever expanding belly.

2. What is your most-worn lip colour?
Guerlain Chamade Rouge Automatic Lipstick -- It's a bright warm pink, but not too bright so it's perfectly wearable for work.

3. Who are the YouTubers whose videos you learn the most from?
Lisa Eldridge -- I could watch her all day!

4. How do you store your makeup?
Mostly in 3 Keji drawer sets from Officeworks. Above pic was taken back when I only had 2 drawers.

5. How often, and how, do you wash your makeup brushes?
I have a huge brush collection, so I do a big batch every 3-4 weeks.

6. What's your favourite red, nude and baby pink nail colour?
I go about the year with unpainted talons, but for two weeks in the summer, I sport painted nails and my favourite is a metallic bronzey taupe from SportsGirl.

7. Do you make any beauty treatments at home?
I'm hoping that when I finish my last bottle of cleansing oil, I'll get around to making my own DIY cleansing oil at least.

8. What is your most-made meal at home?
I don't cook much, but probably my favourite Filipino dish sinigang -- pork and vegetables in tamarind soup.

9. Best multi-purpose products?
I don't have a lot of multi-purpose products to compare it to, but Josie Maran's Argan Oil is a decent moisturiser, hair and nail product.

10. Tell us about the bag you carry most often.
Celine boogie bag. With its short handles and heavy leather make, it's not the most practical bag I own, but I love how understated it is and that I can cram quite a few things in it -- laptop, phone, wallet, makeup, snacks, scarf, etc. Plus, I being 6 months pregnant, I won't be using this bag for much longer so I want to make the most of it while I still can.

Read more ...

Tesutti Our Fave Top in Retro Print

Just a quick post to say I haven't abandoned sewing. I just haven't gotten around to photographing and blogging about it. A couple of months ago I spent a weekend quickly and haphazardly sewing maternity clothes. One of those makes was this Tesutti's free pattern for a very loose, flowy top.

Apologies for the low-res quality. I stole this photo from my husband's Facebook (he took this photo from our favourite lookout down south called Sublime Point).

The pattern is super easy and quick to sew. I probably spent more time taping and cutting the paper pattern. I drastically narrowed and shortened the pattern despite my plan of wearing it during maternity. The width is fine, but I think it's a bit short. I was too lazy to sew a binding or stabilise the neck so the neckline's been growing a bit, but I can live with that. All seams were sewn on a serger while the hem and neckline were folded over once and sewn with a zigzag stitch on my regular machine.

The next time I make this (soon I think) there will be a few more inches to the hem and the neckline will be stabilised.

I'm so happy it's the make from this print, as I was so over the print soon after I bought it. I have another retro print I want to get rid off and I have a long way to go before there's room for new fabric in my fabric stash, but at least that's a bit of progress.

Fabric: Lightweight viscose knit from Lincraft c. 2008
Pattern: Our Fave Top from Tesutti
Date made: March 2013
Notions: none
Time to complete: 2 hours (mostly spent getting the paper pattern ready)
First worn: Sunday, 28 May 2013, on the drive back from an overnight trip to Geroa
Wear again? Definitely, especially with my growing belly.

Read more ...

Baby Chronicles #1

I am 24 weeks pregnant today.

I have finally decided to blog about this incredible experience. I've wanted to write about this for a while, but I felt self-conscious and also didn't know where to begin, but I'm hoping it'll get easier with time. I think the memories I will be preserving far outweigh my worries.

I'm not the most patient person and I always say I have low EQ -- based on the ad with the toddlers and the marshmallows (I can't be bothered to explain this, but there'll be a few who will get this reference). The first few months being pregnant meant living from doctor visit to doctor visit for the ultrasound to confirm that there was a baby in my growing belly. Whenever I managed to stay awake, I devoured pregnancy books and shopped online for maternity dresses that I wouldn't wear until the last trimester -- most of which I returned as they were horribly made.

Having friends P and E over for a two-week visit has proved to be a good distraction from the pregnancy. Our trips to Kiama and Blue Mountains meant lots of walking (yay, exercise!), fresh air and happy conversations. All of which can only be good for the baby, right? When they leave, I'll sadly be back to counting down the days until my due date.

Of course, I still work full-time, and the getting ready for work and the travel time is extremely tiring for me. Sitting at my desk for long periods and forgetting to stretch or have a sip of water aren't helping either. But there's a little thing inside me that's literally kicking me to get myself together and so far the kicking has been both exciting and amusing.

Read more ...

April Empties & Chuckers

Empties

1. Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula SPF 15 Body Lotion - Thick, slightly greasy but effective at keeping my usually parched skin moisturised throughout the day -- lasts pretty much until my next shower. I have less less greasy options in my stash, but I may re-purchase for its SPF content.
2. Hada Labo Super Hyaluronic Acid Moisturising Milk - A basic moisturiser that worked well on its own until the weather became colder, or perhaps my skin became more dry/dehydrated. Layered over Hada Labo Super Hyaluronic Acid Serum, it worked brilliantly again. I will probably repurchase once I clear the other moisturisers in my queue -- I still have Hada Labo moisturisers from the Retinol and Whitening ranges.
3. Soap & Glory Make Yourself Youthful Rejuvenating Face Serum - I quite liked the fragrance of this, but felt it was rather tingly to slightly burning on my cheeks so it was relegated as neck serum. I don't think it did much for my main neck concern (dark folds, not wrinkles), so I definitely won't be repurchasing this.
4. My Beauty Diary Arbutin Whitening Mask - A couple of years ago on a trip to Kuala Lumpur, I acquired a few whitening products after getting a quite sunburn. But it didn't take long for my facial skin to go back to normal even without any whitening products. I don't think this one is effective at all, but I've just been trying to use all these sheet masks before winter as they are too cold for winter use.
5. Bio-Oil - Greasy, but effective enough on my growing belly that it doesn't get itchy throughout the day, so I recently bought the biggest size available.
6. Simple Hydrating Light Moisturiser - Boring moisturiser that I used on my arms and legs just to quickly be done with it.
7. Simple Cleansing Facial Wipes - I'm not a fan of wipes, because I feel they're too scratchy for my skin, and wiping my skin gently but thoroughly takes longer than using and washing off an oil-based cleanser. I have another packet to go, but I won't be repurchasing any facial wipes after that.
8. Tatcha Supple Moisture Rich Silk Cream - Ugh, I guess I was another victim of PR-fuelled blog raves. Sure it moisturised fine, but also made my skin burn a bit. Another one relegated as a neck cream after a few uses on my face.
9. Skin Doctors Powerbrasion Intensive Micro-Dermabrasion Crystals - Too abrasive. Used some on my knees and elbows just to finish it. I will not be purchasing any physical exfoliants in the future.
10. SK-II Facial Treatment Essence - I used to swear by this in my late twenties, back when I lived in Singapore. I'm not sure if it's my age or the different climate, but it so doesn't do anything for me anymore.
11. Tatcha Polished Deep Rice Enzyme Powder Samples sample x 4 - The rice enzyme powders were the best of the Tatcha sampler set that I purchased. Leaves my skin clean and smooth, but not screaming for mouisturiser. But I think it's overpriced and I'm not willing to shell out the exorbitant shipping fee.
12. Estée Lauder Re-Nutriv Ultimate Lift Age-Correcting Serum sample x 4 - Fancy pants serum that makes my skin sparkle, literally. I do not understand why it's got so much shimmer! I don't particularly think it did a lot on my face, though 4 sachets lasted a couple of weeks of daily night time use. Made me look like a disco ball after layering other unguents on top.
13. Estée Lauder Time Zone Line And Wrinkle Reducing Creme SPF 15 sample x 3 - Used 1 sachet per day on my face, neck and decolletage, I'm not in a position to judge its efficacy. But I know at least I won't be purchasing this, as I was unimpressed.
14. Estée Lauder Resilience Lift Night Creme - Used a couple of nights on my neck, and I don;t it's for me.
15. Konjac French Red Clay Sponge Puff - I did enjoy using this with a foaming cleanser, but now that the weatehr's getting colder, I'm easing off the foam and using creamier cleansers. I might try a creamy cleanser with the other Konjac sponge in my stash.
16. Garnier Fructis Fortifying Shampoo - A freebie shampoo that I shared with hubby. I'm not too fussed with shampoos, as long as my conditioner works fine. We have so many bottles of freebie shampoos, it will take a while before I buy some.
17. Shampoo Samples - Um, yeah. We have a bunch of hotel shampoos that I want to get rid of as well.

Chuckers

1. Too Faced 3-Way Lash Lining Tool - The three-pronged liner works really well, but the formula smudges on me. Still, this wouldn't have been a chucker if I hadn't accidentally pulled the prongs off and wasn't unable to put them back in.
2. Revlon Age Defying Precise Wrinkle Eraser - Got this ages ago from the bargain bin, but never used it. Might be the scent. Might be the fact that it doesn't do anything on my hand so I never bother to put it on my face. Anyway, the liquid has separated, rendering it useless.
3. Biore Pore Unclogging Scrub - Not enough beads for a physical exfoliant. Not even foamy or pleasant enough to use as a body product.
4. Simple Eye Make-Up Remover - Does not work at all for any sort of makeup. Tap water might be better than this.
5. Mario Badescu Oil Free Moisturiser SPF 30 - So many minutes of my morning rush wasted trying to open this thing. I give up.

Read more ...

April Haul aka "Oh dear! Priceline's having 40% off cosmetics sale!"

My last haul post was rather premature for April. Just when I've contained the shopaholic beast in me, Priceline lures it back out with 40% off cosmetics, and I've had to make room for 12 new items...

• Rimmel ScandalEyes in Taupe and Nude - Viviana Does Makeup, my current favourite blogger/vlogger, highly recommends these. She is entertaining and so believable (even when she reviews PR samples) that I'm re-watching her videos with pen and paper in hand. The Nude shade will replace the Makeup Forever Concealer Pencil that isn't creamy enough for my waterline. The Taupe shade will hopefully be a quick, fool-proof makeup-on-the-train staple.

• L'Oreal Shine Caresse Gloss Stain in Juliet - This line is reputedly similar to the pricier YSL Glossy Stains, which I've been eyeing for a while as they are a constant favourite at Drivel Over Frivol whose reviews are so amazingly detailed and well-written. I'll save my money for now and try one from the L'Oreal line before I dive into the YSLs.

• Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains in Sweetheart, Honey, Romantic, Smitten, Charm, Rendezvous, Crush (in order of purchase) - I passed up on these when they were first released with a buy-one-get-one-free promo at Priceline last year, because I thought they were your run of the mill lip balms in stick form, and I was already very happy with my Lip Butters. I only found out recently that they actually stain the lips, and as such are longer lasting than the Revlon Lip Butters. I am seriously in love with these, and contemplating getting more I originally only bought one but ended up with seven after a coupe of trips back with my mates.

• Australis HD Blush in Screen Siren - There seems to be a gap in my blush wardrobe for a peachier blush and this was the only peachy blush I found in Priceline. Well, there was an Essence blush that seemed peachy but they did not have a tester so I couldn't be sure.

• Maybelline Master Precise Liquid Eyeliner - Argh! I'm stashing again! This is an awesome product that I have been using more frequently, and my Priceline mate had a few in her basket and so I wound up with one in my basket as well. Oh well it should be replaced every few months anyway, right?

I did my best to stay away from foundations, powders and eyeshadows. I still have foundations bottles and powder jars/compacts to work, and I dislike having so much beige stuff. It's not as fun as going through drawers of colour. With eyeshadows, I went on palette hoarding mode last Christmas, and I'm still reeling from having to buy a new set of drawers to house them all. So I think I'm all set foundation and eyeshadow-wise.

On a happy note, my friend happily took a few items off of my hands, er, stash. I'm not a huge fan of gloss, so I passed on to her a box of brand new glosses from Tarte (from the Carried Away set), Clarins, Bourjois, Sephora, etc. I also had some Revlon half-lipsticks -- the other halves previously transferred into palettes for my supposed pro-kit. I can't remember how many items in total I passed on but possibly close to thirty, if not more. So that kinda eases off the guilt of this haul -- at least someone will get some use out of the items that may otherwise go to waste -- I would've just swatched them once and forgotten about them.

Read more ...

March Empties and Chuckers

Empties

1. Shiseido Super Corrective Serum - I am no longer as impressed as I used to be with this serum. I still have one more backup, but I won't be repurchasing after that.
2. Shiseido Revital Cleansing Foam (sample) - A good foaming cleanser that does not leave skin feeling dry, but not good enough to entice me to purchase the full-size version.
3. Tatcha Pure One Step Camellia Cleansing Oil (sample) - Overrated and overpriced, I'm sticking to the cheaper Hada Labo Olive Oil Cleanser.
4. Trilogy Certified Organic Rosehip Oil - I used this so intermittently that I don't know if it was effective on dark spots and scars. It felt very greasy when I apply this at night, but my skin didn't feel moisturised enough by morning.
5. Trilogy Cream Cleanser - Very greasy, hard to rinse off, and does seem to clean my face even when used with my Clarisonic.
6. Hada Labo Super Hyaluronic Acid Moisturising Lotion - I love this. I transferred this to a pump bottle for ease of use. It's more a toner/softener, and not so much a moisturiser. I use it with a cotton pad, and it feels refreshing, yet moisturising. I have a couple more Hada Labo lotions to finish up, but I'm sure I'll repurchase this eventually.
7. Skin Doctors Supermoist 24hr Hydrating Face Moisturiser - I don't get this. It wasn't moisturising enough and it's got shimmers moisturisers. And I really dislike the jar packaging.
8. Garnier Clean Sensitive Gentle Eye Makeup Remover - For some reason, I didn't enjoy this bottle as much as the previous one. But I am enjoying the new bottle I'm using. I would repurchase, but only when I'm running out. Note that I use a non-waterproof mascara, I don't think this will work on waterproof mascara.
9. Clinique Moisture Surge Face Spray - It was ok, but I prefer the Hada Labo Hydrating Mist Spray. I do like the reusable spray bottle.
10. Cover Girl Natureluxe Water Resistant Mascara - My HG mascara (along with a similar Max Factor and Face of Australia one) -- doesn't smudge, holds a curl, natural-looking thickness and length, super easy to remove. I need to use up all my other mascaras so I can purchase more of this.
11. Escada EDP sample - I really liked this one. It's not an unusual scent though and I am still looking for my HG signature scent.
12. Escada Into The Blue EDP sample - Nice and summery. Again not so unusual that I would purchase a full-size bottle.
13. Jessica Simpson Fancy Love EDP sample - Not bad, but it's a celebrity scent.
14. Body Crystal Botanica Crystal Roll-On Deodorant - Not as good as an actual crystal alum.
15. Daiso Detergent For Puff & Sponge - This is quite good for cleaning brushes, though a little bit harsh. I'm using a stash of freebie shampoos to clean my brushes at the moment, but I may need more of this as those don't seem to thoroughly clean my brushes

Chuckers

1. Lily Loves Pearl Hydrating Botanical Toner - Nicely packaged, but smells like gin & tonic and quite harsh on my skin.
2. Ginvera Marvel Gel Emollient & Exfoliating Gel - This was really good on my 20s skin, but doesn't seem to work with my 30s skin. Plus it's old, very old.
3. Lee Stafford Dry Shampoo - I find dry shampoos more trouble than shampooing my hair everyday. Plus I can't stand the super strong scent.

Read more ...

January-February Empties

Empties:

1. Lux Shea Exfoliating Scrub - Love the sweet scent, but it's not as exfoliating as using a mitt with a regular body wash.
2. Alchemy Unscented Very Gentle Shampoo - Gentle, yes, but didn't do much for my scalp. I'd rather have a scented shampoo.
3. Aveeno Ultra Calming Foaming Cleanser - It didn't feel like it cleansed my face enough. I think it's foam thing, so I'm never buying foaming cleansers ever again.
4. Hada Labo Olive Oil Cleansing Oil - Love this one, I already have a backup. But I will try DIY oil cleansers once I empty the backup.
5. Neutrogena Sensitive Skin Moisturizer - Not quite moisturising enough for my face. Used this up as body lotion.
6. Sukin Hydrating Mist Toner - This stung and I did not like the scent. Managed to use it up on my neck.
7. Sukin Cream Cleanser - This didn't cleanse my skin well even when used with a Clarisonic and it left my skin greasy. Used it up as body wash. 
8. Shiseido Revital Moisturizer - An ok moisturiser, and for a high-end brand a more luxurious scent would have been nice.
9. Peter Thomas Roth Instant Mineral SPF 30 - The product is nice enough for retouching throughout the day, but the brush is really scratchy, so I decanted it into a powder sifter. 
10. Face of Australia SPF 30+ Tinted Moisturiser - I really liked this -- the coverage was nice and delivered enough moisture (except in winter), but not too greasy. But I'm not sure if it has enough UVA protection. 
11. Hada Labo Super Hyaluronic Moisturizing Milk (travel size) - I quite like this, and I-m still working through my full-size bottle, but I do feel like there are better moisturisers out there.
12. Tatcha Radiant Deep Brightening Serum (sample size) - I feel like I got sucked into the hype.  This didn't deliver for me.
13. Tatcha Rice Enzyme Powder (sachet samples) - It's good, but not worth the expensive price tag for me.
14. Mario Badescu Oil-Free Moisturizer SPF 30 (sample size) - It was a nice, non-greasy moisturiser with sunscreen, but I think I prefer a physical sunscreen (if I can get one that isn't thick, greasy, drying).
15. Dermalogica sachet samples - I really like the Super Rich Repair and MultiVitamin Power Recovery Masque, so I may get those once I run out of my stack of samples. For some reason, the Gentle Cream Exfoliant didn't working so well for me, but will give that another try.
16. Face Shop sachet samples - Not enough sample to give a good verdict, but initial impression was meh, so I'm not even gonna bother trying them again.
17. Paco Rabanne Lady Million EDP sample - I can't remember how this smelled, must not be that good that I forgot, but must be not so bad that I finished it. Anyway, I'm just trying to use up all the samples I have, so long as I do not find them disgusting.

Chuckers:

1. Sanctum Body Soothe Lotion - I tried to finish this, but I just couldn't stand the horrible scent and the fact that it hardly moisturised my skin. I'm better off not using this at all.
2. Face of Australia Eye Primer - Makes eyeshadow last even less, than eyeshadow used on its own. 

Read more ...

January-April Hauls and Hiatus Update

In a massive fit of FOMO (Fear of Missing Out), I bought these two sets at the tail-end of December 2012. But they only arrived in January. The Stila Snow Angel Palette Set was discounted and reasonably priced on beautybay.com, but the Tarte's Carried Away Collector's Set was a ridiculously overpriced purchase from eBay. I regretted purchasing them when I received a staggering credit card bill in January, but time heals all wounds and now that I've paid that off and managed to stuff my purchases into an additional set of acrylic Keji drawers, I've been mostly content.

I say mostly, since February brought these items to my doorstep, and as a brush hoarder, I was pretty pleased with these Real Techniques brushes. Though I haven't had the guts to wear the Revlon True Red ColorBurst Lipstick out yet, I've enjoyed playing around with it at home. Oh, and looks like I forgot to include Maybelline's Bad to the Bronze 24 Hour Color Tattoo Eyeshadow, a welcome addition to my jam-packed eyeshadow drawer.

But apart from a Clarisonic Brush head in April, I have not purchased anything else beauty/makeup-wise, and I'm hoping to resist most temptations until the next holiday season. Yup, I plan to skip this year's IMATS as well. I think I'm better off spending the $50 for IMATS ticket on an actual beauty prod. But I'm almost positive that I'll cave when the Black Friday/Cyber Monday weekend rolls around.

I will allow myself skincare purchases once I use up my current stash. I've been diligently using up a lot of facial stuff that didn't work for my face as body - facial wash as body wash and facial moisturiser as body lotion. I'm also throwing out things that really don't work - lotions that are not hydrating enough, I may as well have not slapped any on or potions/lotions that smell horrible to me.

I have just about covered every hiatus excuse in the book, but here's a new one for me - I'm 4 months pregnant!

Read more ...

November-December Hauls

... the months I got into beauty products again... the months I shopped online with reckless abandon...

Don't let the November pic fool you, a lot of the December items were ordered in a mad frenzy in November.

November Haul

1. theBalm Balm Jovi Palette
2. theBalm Bahama Mama 
3. Bourjois Little Round Pot Blush in 15 Rose Eclat
4. Bourjois Delice De Soleil Bronzer in 14 Olive/Tanned (GWP)
5. Bourjois So Laque Nail Polish in 27 Beige Glamour (GWP)

December Haul

1. Sephora In The Glow Blush, Bronzer & Luminizer Sampler
2. Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette
3. Lorac Pro Palette
4. theBalm 'Nude 'Tude Palette
5. Laura Mercier Artist's Eye Palette
6. Laura Mercier Tightline Cake Liner in Black Ebony
7. Too Faced 3-Way Lash Lining Tool
8. Ellis Faas Skin Veil in #S04 Medium
9. Essence Lipstick in All About Cupcake
10. Taft Full On Styling Powder
11. Garnier Oli Free BB Cream in Medium - returned 

1. Tatcha Sampler Set - Cleansing Oil, Rice Enzyme Powders, Serum, Moisturiser and Blotting Papers
2. Oxy 10 Extra Strength Vanishing Cream
3. Avene Cicalfate Restorative Skin Cream
4. Missha M Perfect Cover BB Cream SPF 42 in No. 31 plus toner and serum samples
5. Revlon Age Defying Spa Face Illuminator in Bare Light
6. Maybelline Color Tattoo in Bad to the Bronze
7. Sigma F88 Flat Angled Kabuki Brush

Read more ...