Strawberry Jelly Hearts // Strawberry Jelly Cheesecake Recipe!

This Valentine's, I made a tray of Strawberry Jelly Hearts/Strawberry Jelly Cheesecake for R and his family! It was my first time making a cake for him all by myself, so I wanted something easy and non-bake (cos I don't have an oven). While the recipe is easy to follow, it actually took up more time than expected (2hours just to make the crust and cheese layers!), so be prepared for that!

Now let's go into the recipe!

I'll link the original recipe right here! I've added a few items and modified some of the measurements and ingredients, otherwise, it is still quite similar to the original list.

For the crust -
300g digestive biscuits
150g melted butter

1 ziplock bag

1 pestle (those heavy herb grinder that your grandma uses)

note: If you prefer a thinner crust, use

200g digestive biscuits
100g melted butter

For the cheesecake layer -
450g cream cheese (placed in room temperature for 2 hours to soften)
1 & 1/2 tablespoons gelatin powder
1 cup boiling/hot water
Slightly less than 2/3 cups of sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
About 10 to 12 strawberries

For the jelly layer -
Tortally Jelly (Strawberry flavour)
1 cup hot water
1 cup cold water

Step 1: Cut your strawberries into heart shapes! Remember to buy bigger strawberries, if not your hearts will sink into the cheesecake and the heart shapes won't be so obvious.

Step 2: Place 300g of digestive biscuits into the ziplock bag. Lock it well, make sure that you let out all the air inside the bag. Now, just whack your pestle hard and start breaking down your biscuits into crumbly pieces.

Step 3: Prepare 150g of butter, clingwrap your bowl to prevent the butter from splattering all over and pop it in the microwave for about 20-30secs. While waiting, use the leftover butter to grease your pan.

Step 4: Mix the melted butter together with your biscuit crumbs. Proceed to spread the mixture evenly onto your pan, try to flatten it and leave as little empty air space as possible. Then, leave it in the refrigerator to cool!

Step 5: Measure out 1 & 1/2 tablespoons of gelatin powder and dissolve it in 1 cup of hot/boiling water. Then, put it aside and let it cool.

Step 6: Now mix 450g of cream cheese together with the 2/3 cup of sugar. This is the tiring part. If you have a whisk, USE IT! It will save you alot of time. I didn't have a whisk, so I had to use a normal spoon to mix it in, and that took me about 20min.

The end product should look rather smooth and fluffy like this!

Step 7: Pour in your cooled gelatine and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract to the cream cheese mixture. Stir/whisk well. Now at this point, the mixture is going to be VERY WATERY. Do not panic. The cheese will set well.

Step 8: Pour the mixture onto the crust

Step 9: Add in your strawberries!

Step 10: Refrigerate your pan and just let it chill for 4 hours or overnight (that's what I did).

Step 11: For the jelly mixutre, I used the Tortally strawberry jelly and just mix the powder with 1 cup of hot water until all the powder dissolved, then add in another cup of cold water.

Step 12: Make sure the jelly mixture is cooled (to about room temperature), and pour the mixture over your cream cheese.

Step 13: Chill the cake for 4 hours (or overnight) and VOILA! A light and refreshing dessert, suitable for any occasion!

I think this recipe is quite foolproof. Even if you make a bit of mistake here and there (e.g not adding enough gelatine, crust too buttery, jelly too soft), the end product will still be yummy.  Highly recommended for beginners! 

Cafe Hop: Anthesis cafe & The Audacious Cakery

Cafe hopped to new places!! 

Well, these places are not exactly super new, but who has the time to keep up with all the different cafes sprouting up across the island?! Instead of going to our favourite cafes like Symmetry and Wimbly Lu, I wanted to go somewhere a little different to celebrate R's birthday. Did a bit of research and decided on Anthesis and The Audacious Cakery (or any other cafes at Everton Park).

Anthesis is located along Robertson Quay, with the popular brunch places like Kith cafe and Toby's Estate. I made a reservation for our date, but it wasn't particularly crowded, so I guess it's pretty safe to walk in if you decide to make a last minute visit.

The interior decor has a modern industrial touch, reminiscent of The Providore.

Both of us ordered the Truffled Eggs Benny (S$18). The eggs were perfection. You can't go wrong with runny egg yolks with a touch of truffle oil. The bacon was a little hard and salty, but I think it goes well with the eggs. I'm not a fan of the sausage though. It was mediocre at best and a little too salty for my preference.

Prices on the menu includes GST and we were quite surprised to find that they don't have service charge. The entire meal completed with great customer service and a delightful ambience only cost us S$36. I think that's pretty good price for a brunch along Robertson Quay.

Next, we went all the way to Everton Park. I've always wanted to explore Everton Park, but we're usually too lazy and unadventurous lol. 

Everton Park is actually quite an old estate. The cafes in the area are all under HDB blocks, kinda like how you would expect to find mama shops. This guide to Everton Park is quite useful if you're keen on exploring the area! We wanted to visit Nylon cafe initially, but we didn't manage to find it, so we decided to try out The Audacious Cakery.

We ordered Smores Cupcake (S$4), Lemon Meringue Tart (S$5.80) and Cappuccino (S$5.50).

The Smores Cupcake was a tad too sweet for my liking. But I really like how fluffy the marshmallow was.

Girls will love this Lemon Meringue Tart! It's really sour and refreshing and I recommend having it together with something sweet to balance out the taste buds. It's one of the best lemon meringue tarts I've tried! Highly recommended, unless you're not a fan of zingy desserts!

Lastly, we had a Cappuccino that was made from Chye Seng Huat's coffee beans. The cappuccino was quite fragrant, but we felt that it was a little diluted. If you're a coffee lover, definitely go straight to Chye Seng Huat or Papa Palheta to get your fix!

And so, we conquered 2 new cafes in 1 day! 

• Anthesis Cafe
• 86 Robertson Quay #01-01
• Singapore, Singapore 238245
• 6737 9873

The Audacious Cakery
Website: http://theaudaciouscakery.com

Blk 2 Everton Park #01-61

• Singapore, Singapore 081002

6223 3047

Maybelline Color Tattoo in Bad to the Bronze

I've been using Maybelline Color Tattoo in Bad to the Bronze as my everyday eye color recently. It's a fuss-free product, and I think a lot of busy OLs will enjoy the quick and easy application! Here's a short review!

Description: 

Dare to wear our longest-lasting shadow. Our ink technology creates super-saturated color. Cream gel smoothes on for vibrant color that does not fade.

• Ink technology creates 24HR wear shadow for our most intense, long-lasting color saturation  

• Cream formula glides on without creasing and keeps color vibrant

• Ophthalmologist-tested.  Safe for sensitive eyes and contact lens wearers

Price:

I got it at a sale for just S$8! I think the usual price is S$16?

Texture:

Creamy and smooth texture which dries down quickly.

Scent:

No scent.

Packaging:
The color tattoos are housed in a glass jar with a screw on lid. The jar feels really substantial, but I think it's a bit too bulky for my taste.

Swatch:

Bad to the Bronze is a chocolate bronze color with a metallic finish. It's gorgeous as an everyday color. However, on my eyelids, the pigment doesn't really stand out because I have sightly darker eyelids #dark circles. I need to apply 2 layers of the eyeshadow in order for the color to show up.

What I like:

• Highly pigmented eye color. Therefore, a little goes a long way. Even though I have to apply 2 layers of the product of my lids, I still think it will take me forever to use up the entire pot.
• Fuss-free application. No tools required-I just need to dip my finger into the pot and apply the color directly to my eyelids. What's amazing is that the color naturally looks darker at my crease area, so it looks as though I actually made the effort to apply a crease color when all I did was to slap on the color tattoo.
• Good lasting power. I can't attest for the 24hr claim, but for daily office wear, it's more than enough.

What can be improved:

• Color. Personally, I would prefer Bad to the Bronze to be slightly warmer, I think that will make it stand out more on my skin tone.
• Packaging. It will be better if they could condense the product into a smaller jar, so that it's travel friendly and easier to store!
• Price point? I personally wouldn't have bought the product at it's full price. S$16 is quite pricey for just one eyeshadow color.

Overall, I really like how effortless it is to apply it in the morning. We could all do with extra 5min of sleep am I not right? I don't think I'll be purchasing more colors from the current range since there are only a few neutral shades, unless they come up with something similar to Stila's Kitten!

Chanel Vitalumiere Satin Smoothing Fluid Makeup

I was looking for a decent Christmas gift for my mum and decided to pick up Chanel Vitalumiere Satin Smoothing Fluid Makeup. It's one of the more popular natural-looking foundation that promises to give user a nice healthy glow. The MUA included some samples of the foundation, so I thought, why not give it a test!

Description:

Source of youth and light. This fluid foundation revives tired, dull complexions. 
Its fluid texture, containing moisturisers*, ensures maximum comfort for the skin. 
Presented in a pump-action bottle, VITALUMIÈRE fluid delivers the ideal amount for a single application. 
Your complexion appears visibly rested, its vitality and luminosity are restored. 
The light texture of VITALUMIÈRE fluid gives a slightly satin finish, for a radiant, natural, youthful-looking makeup. 
* Moisturises by impregnating the upper layers of the epidermis

Any product that claims to give a radiant dewy glow gets my attention immediately.

Price:

S$82

Texture:

Lightweight, very fluid.

Scent:

A light flowery scent.

Packaging:

The Vitalumiere Satin Smoothing Fluid is packaged in a glass bottle with a pump. Simple and classy.





Swatch:
As the foundation is very fluid and liquidy. It's easy to make a mess if you're not careful.

With Chanel Vitalumiere Satin Smoothing Fluid Makeup

With Chanel Vitalumiere Satin Smoothing Fluid Makeup & loose powder

With 1 layer of foundation

As you can tell, the Vitalumiere Satin Smoothing Fluid is definitely a sheer foundation. You can layer it up for a medium coverage and I personally think that it still looks pretty natural.

What I like:

• The illuminated, glowing finish. Some foundations (e.g. Rimmel Wake Me Up) use glitter particles to create the dewy/glowing effect. The Vitalumiere Satin Smoothing Fluid gives a nice radiant glow without chunks of glitter.
• Light texture and natural finish. Feels good and looks like real skin.

What can be improved:

• Lasting power. Without any loose powder, I find that the foundation can only stay looking fresh and perfect for about 3-4 hours. After the 4-hour mark, I started to notice the foundation melting away and some unevenness here and there. To counter that problem, a light dusting of loose powder really helps to set the foundation and make it last a full day. However, that takes away some of the lovely glow, so if I wanted a foundation with a dewy finish and good lasting powder, I'll reach for my Shu Uemura Face Architect Illuminating Moisture Fluid Foundation.

Chanel Vitalumiere Satin Smoothing Fluid Makeup is definitely a sheer-medium coverage foundation. It looks natural and provides a really beautiful ethereal glow that's not too much. I still prefer a higher coverage foundation, just because it's more versatile (I can choose to sheer it out with some moisturizer). The Vitalumiere Satin Smoothing Fluid is not the kind of product where I will pay for myself, but I will definitely be more than happy to receive it as a gift!

Shiseido Lacquer Rouge in RD413 Sanguine

My first post of 2014! 

Annnndddd, it's another lip product review!!

I know, I have way too many lip products. This particular one is just a small sample given to me by my aunt. I love lip lacquers and this is a bright coral-red, which is one of my favourite colour to wear. 

Description on website: 

Inspired by Japanese Laquerware, one coat provides intense color and deep luster. This rich liquid lipstick leaves lips as smooth as lacquer. Applicator fits closely against the lips for a comfortable, even application that does not bleed. Lacquer Rouge improves dry, rough or peeling lips with continued use, leaving them smooth and deeply moisturized. Contains Super Hydro-Wrap Vitalizing DE

Price:

The full size (6ml) lacquer rouge retails at $43 in Singapore.

Texture:

Extremely lightweight. I would say that it's even more lightweight and comfortable on the lips than the Rimmel lip lacquers. This is also more translucent and 'jelly-like' compared to Rimmel's.

Scent:

There's just a very very mild floral scent, almost undetectable.

Packaging:

My sample lip lacquer is packaged in a small little plastic bottle. It has a doe-foot applicator with a slightly pointed wand for a more precise application.

Here's how the actual product looks like

Swatch:

Sanguine is a bright coral-red. 

Buildable coverage-1 layer on the left, 2 layers on the right

Before and after blotting with a piece of tissue. The actual colour is slightly brighter than the lip swatches. 

What I like:

• Super moisturizing. Remember the Soap & Glory SEXY MOTHER PUCKER™ GLOSS STICK that I love? Well, on the lips, Shiseido's lacquer rouge feels very similar to the gloss stick. It's really hydrating and balmy, but not sticky at all.
• Comfortable. It adheres very well to the lips, but it doesn't feel like it's just sitting on top of your lips.
• Sheer to heavy coverage. It's extremely versatile. I can wear it as a sheer gloss, or layer on for a full on pigmented red lips.
• Long lasting. The wear time is comparable to other bright/red lippies that I own (roughly 2-3hours). However,  Rimmel's Big Bang is still the most long lasting red that I've ever tried.

What can be improved:
I really can't think of anything I do not like about the lip lacquer. I mean, for the price, it has got to be this good.

Shiseido's lacquer rouge definitely beats Rimmel's apocolips/show-off and tops my list for the lip lacquer category. Compared to Rimmel's, Shiseido is more hydrating, more lightweight and it feels more comfortable on the lips. It's not as intensely pigmented as Rimmel's, but I much prefer this kind of translucent, but buildable finish for everyday wear. That being said, Rimmel's lip lacquer is still a really good lip product at about a fraction of the price of Shiseido's.