Lush Dream Cream

Body creams, lotions, body butters, moisturizers. Some people struggle to keep up with the mundane task of slapping on those creams after a bath. For me, it's absolutely essential and I'd feel really uncomfortable without my body moisturizer.

I discovered Lush's Cream Cream on my trip to Japan and I'm currently on my second tub!

Description:

Our number one, best-selling product of all time, Dream Cream contains every ingredient nature makes for soothing sore skin. One of our proudest product achievements ever, we love this body lotion because it makes people happy. It transforms suffering bodies into states of peace with our calming blend of oat milk, lavender and chamomile to care for irritations, reduce redness, and banish blotches. Olive oil and cocoa butter are perfectly suited and incredibly effective for dry or chapped skin, and especially gentle for even the most sensitive types. Do your skin a favor, treat it right with Dream Cream.

Price

I bought this in Japan and I think it was around S$24 (240g)? I'm sure it will cost a lot more in Singapore, that's why I bought a backup after my first 2 uses in Japan.

Texture

Quite creamy but not thick, and it sinks into the skin about a minute or two without leaving a greasy layer.

Scent:

Herbally lavender scent. I can't say that it's the nicest smell in the world, but I definitely got used to it, and I think I even grew to like the light lavender scent.

Packaging

I love Lush's packaging. Even though it's not the most hygienic to have products in a tub like this, I really don't mind. I actually like dipping my fingers into tubs compared to pumping products out of a dispenser. That's for body products of course, for anything that comes in direct contact with my face, a pump please.

What I like:

• It absorbs easily, but it's still moisturizing enough.
• That fact that Lush uses a ton of natural ingredients! I have quite sensitive skin and it's just good to know that you're not putting on a layer of unhealthy chemicals on your skin every single night. I mean, I'm sure they use some sort of chemicals to prolong the shelve life of their products or whatever, but at least (I like to think) it's more natural than other some other moisturizers you get at the drugstore.

What can be improved:

Other than the price, i think I'm really happy with the Dream Cream! Nothing much to complain about really. 

It took me about 3months to finish an entire tub with daily usage and I'm currently halfway through my second tub:( Honestly, Dream Cream performs better compared to say Johnson and Johnson, but I get so much more product with Johnson and Johnson and it's a baby friendly brand! I might just go back to J&J after I finish Dream Cream, but if I have unlimited spending power, Dream Cream all the way.

The Providore at Mandarin Gallery

The Providore at Mandarin Gallery is brought to you by the people behind Jones the Grocer. I was there a few weeks ago with kx, su and rose for dessert.

I love the interior decor, which is both rustic and chic at the same time. We ordered a few desserts to share since we had quite a heavy dinner.

Mixed berry gelato ($5.50). Super light and refreshing, great for a sweltering afternoon or after a heavy meal. It's extremely addictive, with a good balance of sour and sweet, and I find myself reaching for it constantly.

Salted butter caramel gelato ($5.50). The person who came up with the idea of mixing butter with salted caramel is genius. Salted caramel is something that I can never resist, and I think this definitely made it to one of my top 3 salted caramel ice cream.

Strawberry shortcake ($8.50). Unfortunately, this looks better than it tastes. It's on the dry side, and I personally feel that the cake wasn't spongey enough.

Lemon meringue cake ($8-$9), can't remember the exact price. This was rather disappointing as well. It had quite a dry texture, just like the strawberry shortcake, and it tasted like raw lemon. 

With my girls! Mann, how I wish we were all still in school :(

I've only been to Providore on weekday nights and I think it's a really great spot to chill since there aren't many customers around. Will definitely return for their gelato ice cream! 

333A Orchard Road

Mandarin Gallery, #02-05

Singapore 238897 

Hours: Daily 9am - 11pm

Topshop Lip Bullet in Heartbeat

I'm such a sucker for new lip products. Ever since I bought the Soap & Glory's Gloss Stick (which left a really good impression), I've been wanting to test out more lip crayon type product to see how they fare. Topshop recently brought out their new range of lipsticks (packaged like a lip crayon), and I was immediately drawn to a bright coral colour - Heartbeat.

Description from website:

Richly pigmented self-sharpening precision lipstick with a satiny finish. Twist up format for precise application

Price:
$19

Texture:

Smooth and glossy, but it leaves a layer of film on the lips.

Scent:

No detectable scent

Packaging:
The lip bullet is housed in a twist up stick. As usual, Topshop's makeup packaging is always so simple and chic. One problem I had with the lip bullet is that the product has a tendency to melt and the colour will migrate down the white tip. It's not a very big issue though.

Swatch:

Topshop's lip bullet in Heartbeat is described as a peachy pink colour on their website. On my lips, the peachy tone doesn't really stand out. It's quite a bright colour, but it can be toned down by wearing just a light layer.

What I like:

• The lip bullet is just as pigmented as a lipstick. I was expecting more of a sheer colour, so I was pleasantly surprised by the colour payoff.
• Heartbeat is quite a bright colour and it leaves a nice pinkish stain even after a few hours of wear.

What can be improved:

• I much prefer the texture of Soap & Glory's Gloss Stick. Topshop's lip bullet leaves an 'oily' film on my lips, and application can sometimes be quite patchy.
• The lip bullet is not drying, but it tends to sink into the dry lines on my lips.

To be honest, the lip bullet feels very similar to a regular lipstick, the only difference is the packaging. I have to say that I'm slightly disappointed by the lip bullet. At $19, I think it's a tad overpriced for what it does. I could easily get a lipstick from Revlon that is better quality. Nonetheless, it is a pretty colour, so I'll probably continue wearing it. 

Symmetry at Jalan Kubor

Last Sunday, we popped by Symmetry at Jalan Kubor to try out their brunch! I haven't got the time to properly blog about it because I was so tired and busy last week. Thankfully I've nothing on today, so I'm just chilling at home, giving myself a good break.

Symmetry has quite an understated facade and their signboard is super tiny. Without prior research, I imagine it will be quite hard to locate the place. Thank god for the internet.

We were there at about 12pm and we managed to get a table at the alfresco area within 5min. The indoor area has a quirky indie vibe, but it's pretty small and dark (hence the lack of photos). The alfresco area is a lot brighter, and is a more suitable setting for brunch in my opinion!

Symmetry uses free-range eggs in their dishes! I supposed that explains why their prices are slightly higher than your average cafes.

For mains, I ordered the truffle eggs mushroom ($21). I FREAKING LOVE THIS. If you're a fan of truffle fries, TRY THIS. Just imagine moist scramble eggs and mushrooms soaked in truffle oil. I agree that it's slightly overpriced because the portion is not huge and I don't really care for the toast and the hashbrown, but to me, it's so worth it. I'll definitely go back for more.

Because I choped the truffle eggs and mushrooms, Raymond had to order the eggs benedict ($20), which wasn't too bad too! I'm not sure if it's just a placebo effect, but the egg yolk did feel slightly different than the normal eggs. It's of a brighter orange colour, and the yolk itself was much thicker than conventional egg yolk. I'm not a fan of the muffins below the eggs, as it soaked up all my egg yolk:(

I also ordered the affogato ($6). It was my first time trying an affogato. Heard kx talk about it before, and it sounded quite interesting! If I'm not wrong, it's just a shot of expresso with vanilla ice cream. This is pretty intense for someone who doesn't take coffee on a daily basis, but I think it's worth a try!

Raymond's green tea latte ($5/6) was okay I guess,. Compared to my affogato, it's really nothing too impressive, so we'll probably give it a miss next time we visit.

If you're tired of visiting the same old bugis street and orchard road, perhaps venture into Jalan Kubor and the rows of shophouses there! We saw quite a few quirky lil establishments and picture-worthy spots! 

Symmetry

9 Jalan Kubor #01-01 S(199206)

Singapore 199206

Tel: 62919901

The Sushi Bar at Far East Plaza

Every time I tell my friends about The Sushi Bar, the conversation will go something like this.

Me: 'Eh, y'all should go try The Sushi Bar at Far East Plaza, it's damn shiok'
Friend: 'Oh, ok, what's the name of the place?'
Me: 'The Sushi Bar!'
Friend: 'Huh? yarh I know, what's the name of the shop?'
Me: 'It's called THE SUSHI BAR'

Thanks to Rose's recommendation, we checked out The Sushi Bar 2 weeks ago. Yeah, I was so busy, i totally forgot to blog about this. Please try to reserve a seat because the queue during dinner time was freaking long.

The Sushi Bar is tucked at a little corner on Level 3 of Far East Plaza. If you've no idea what's good, just take a look at their daily special (lol or google for reviews)!

The Sushi Bar is quite minimalistic. No flamboyant decoration, everything is just really utilitarian. Which is a good thing! That means you're not paying for some needless piece of furniture.

Hotate Salmon Aburi Roll ($18)
Hotate (Scallop), salmon, avocado
We ordered this because they ran out of the soft shell crab salmon aburi roll! The scallop was really soft and jelly-like. It's nice, but I don't think I'll order it again because it's not that special.

Salmon Aburi Roll ($13.90)
Salmon, crabmeat and avocado
This reminded me of Koh Grill & Sushi's crappy maki. It has the same kind of seared taste and smell. I really wanted to order another serving after we finished the plate, but I thought I should just have enough to keep me wanting more lol.

Tofu Cheesecake ($4.50)
I think there is no better name for this dish.
It has the same silky soft texture of a tofu, the cheese was quite light and not overly creamy. I LOVE the crumbs. Even though it's just simple digestive biscuit, I think it blended in really nicely with the cheesecake! This is one of the hot items, so just remember to order this together with the mains (chope it first)!

Overall, I think it's a MUST-TRYand the prices are really reasonable (cheaper than Koh Grill & Sushi Bar)! Needless to say, I'll be back :)

The Sushi Bar
14 Scotts Road
Far East Plaza, #03-89
Tel: 9653 6464

Operating Hours: 
Mon-Sat: 1200-2130

Sleek True Colour Lipstick in Coral Reef

Even though summer is over (not true: it's summer all year round in Singapore!) and we're going into fall, I'm still pretty much obsessed with corals. 

Sleek has quite an extensive collection of lipsticks. Initially I was looking at getting Papaya Punch, which is an orangey coral, but I passed it up because it has a matte formula. I picked up Coral Reef in the end, a bold pinkish coral with a sheen formula.

From Sleek's website:

Get high impact lips with True Colour Lipstick in a gorgeous matte and sheen finishes in a variety of shades that are highly pigmented, and conditioning to keep lips soft and supple. Enriched with vitamin E helping to hydrate and protect the lips. Comfortable to wear and glides on with ease this is the must have to awaken your makeup look.

Price:

$13.50 at Shopping-district.net

Texture:

Feels slightly waxy and thick, not the best formula is my opinion.

Scent:

It has a very subtle cheap plastic smell, but it's hardly noticeable.

Packaging:

The casing has a matte texture (similar to NARS packaging), and the lipstick itself is super tiny! It's slightly smaller than the normal lipstick size, but I think it has roughly the same amount of product.

Swatch:
Coral reef is a bright coral pink colour with a slight sheen.

What I like:

• Highly pigmented. 1-2 layers is all you need for a full coverage.
• Long lasting. The lipstick adheres very well to the lips and I would say the lasting power is roughly 2-3hours. 

What can be improved:

• Feels a tad drying after the gloss wears off.
• The formula is quite thick and waxy, which reminds me of those brand-less cheap lipsticks we used to buy in primary school for dance performances. 
• Application can sometimes be patchy, and I'll need to use my finger to smooth it out.

Overall, I'm really happy with the colour I picked, but the texture of the lipstick is a deal-breaker for me. I would prefer something that's creamier and more balmy in texture.