Dear Dayre,
This tiny pudding fell sick and got all of us very worried πππ She's usually very active and perky, but she was sneezing away and looking all sorry and sad with watery eyes and nasal discharge!
I'm so scared she gets seriously ill due to complications.. Because she's so so small, she's also very weak and fragile. So scary!
Well thank goodness I brought her to the vet yesterday morning and she seems to be so much better after taking medication for her viral infection!
Chewy's getting well!
I was really very worried about her! πΏ So scared to see another pet fall sick…
Thankfully she's much better now so I hope she makes a full recovery soon!
The vet examined Chewy and told us something scary.. Because Chewy is such a small sized-dog, it seems that her skull hasn't formed fully yet and there is still a hole in the top of her skull that exposes her brain tissue π³π³π³ OMG.. So we need to be extra careful with her, because even a knock to her furry round head could be fatal π¦
So so relieved when she started resuming her active and energetic behavior. She was so sick that she was just lying around and not wanting to play or respond to us!
Now she's all back to her happy pill self. Stay healthy, Chewy!
Can't bear to see another pet become sick really πΏ
I posted a lot of videos of her scampering around on Snapchat yesterday! She's such a cutie.
Look at this minute furry thing go π I'm keeping Scruffy when we let Chewy out to play, because the other day Scruffy got too excited and tripped over Chewy, who yelped and limped for half a day!!
Tsk!
After hearing from the vet about her fragile skull condition, I really don't dare to have Scruffy out and accidentally injuring Chewy π π»
π
Random thoughts on blogging & social media
In other news, this week has been busy with meetings with my blog managers (ππ»ππ» @yeomabel @ahmantha), clients, partners and some upcoming campaigns/engagements!
Which is pretty exciting for myself because I've been feeling a little sian with the whole blogging thing.
Well it's not like I stopped loving to share.. But I feel like things are so different compared to a few years ago.
For instance, I think less people read blogs now and no one gives a shit about my own personal happenings.
It's also partially an "instant gratification" thing. You see, people hardly comment on my blog nowadays so there is no feedback for me on whether or not the stuff that I'm writing about actually appeal to readers.
Now, more people are shifting to mobile platforms and keeping track of updates on Instagram and Dayre instead.
Blogs seem a lot more cumbersome and harder to access, and at the same time, it's way easier to update on IG/Dayre as opposed to writing on the blog.
I've lost some motivation to blog frequently, and at the same time I'm devoting more time to Dayre when I microblog. It's tough to pay attention to both at the same time!
Blogging has also become a less personal platform for me because… It feels like public domain and sharing stuff that's too personal doesn't feel comfortable anymore.
Actually, Dayre is probably the same. Look at how many Dayre posts turned viral online! But it somehow feels… More like a personal sanctuary π
I felt a little bittersweet because I was scrolling through my blog and looking at the archives.. I blogged roughly a hundred over posts a year until in recent years… I only have like 30++ over blog posts from 2015!
Used to share a lot of random shit like where I went for dinner, what I bought online, the last book I read, all kinds of nonsense. Now I think I'm doing more of that on Dayre I guess so it's not all gone.
I've been trying to do more informational style posts on my blog like travel posts, beauty stuff or events etc, but travel posts are actually very time consuming because I try to share as much as I think is possible for the readers who are looking for information!
It's tiring but at the same time I want to keep my memories alive so penning the posts really makes me feel happy.
I also felt slightly more motivated when I was talking to @tippytapp and she mentioned that my travel posts were very informational and she was reading up on some of my Japan posts.
And then I happened to be reading @soapz's blog as well and she linked back to one of my HK posts where she got some food recommendations from! Quite touched to know all these π³
Thanks, you guys! πΏ It's really great to know that my blog posts are actually doing some good in the blogosphere!
I don't want to become just another pretty face on IG with nice OOTDs, hipster shots and of no value at all.
Also anyway I'm not even skinny or pretty enough to ι θΈει₯ π
No offence to all the pretty influencers.. I love looking at them OOTDs in my feed too, but it is becoming a little two-dimensional. I'm not talking about ALL the pretty girls okay?! There are many with great personalities and are truly engaging and funny! Just some of them π
There's also this new breed emerging on social media, aka people who want to become influencers, and love to attend events for the prestige of it, as well as to enjoy all the perks like free products, free food, free services and what not.
Some of them will pro-actively email in to companies asking to be invited or to be sponsored, geez. It's fine if you truly feel that you have value for the brand, but seriously I throw a rock on orchard road also will heng heng hit one "influencer" lor.
Not to say that I'm very dua pai, but I HATE it when people try to suck up to me at events. Some people will act very friendly with you at events, specially come and say hi or find an opportunity to speak to you or take a photo together.
Which is totally ok if they are nice and sincere people.
But seriously don't come and act friendly with me when you don't even follow me on social media (which is sort of like you know a polite form of respecting fellow "influencers") because it is so fake.
*bitch please* πππ
I'm definitely not unfriendly to new people, but I'm sure you will be able to feel it too when someone is just being fake.
So I'm thankful that I have already made great friends in the blogosphere like @evonnz @melissackoh @shiberty and many more really genuinely nice people that I will actually spend time with outside of events and stuff.
I'm also very fed up when I see "influencers" (this is most apparent on Instagram) who buy followers and likes, to beef up their stats so that they look oh-so-popular.
θε¨θΎθΎθ¦θ¦δΈδΈͺδΈδΈͺfollowerζ ’ζ ’δΈ, Walao eh!!!!
Still remember that time there was The Great Instagram Purge and you could see followers drop drastically by thousands and thousands of followers. Some people dropped from 10k to 2k, lol. Some from 20k to 3k.
Best part? Followers magically appeared again the next morning #realonenot
A lot of PR companies never check their list properly and so they end up inviting these so-called very popular influencers but end up seeing no mileage or returns from them at all. Because their followers all fake, duh.
Ok I feel better after ranting πππ
Actually I just wanted to say that I want to be a better, more hardworking blogger with more substance, that's all.
New blog look!
I decided to refresh my blog look so it looks cleaner, easier to read and more professional!
And I'm really liking the new look. Hope it'll give me more initiative to write more on my blog!
There are actually a couple of new posts up on the blog: my KATE eyeliner review, Japan Osaka posts, and more coming up π
Although I guess it'll never be back to those livejournal days, but I want to take ownership of my own space again instead of taking it for granted.
My new mobile blog layout is pretty awesome too, I think it's easier on the eyes as well! ππ»
Like I mentioned briefly in a previous post, I really dislike it when people who self-promote themselves shamelessly.
Where got people blow their own trumpet one! For instance calling yourself a "mid-tier blogger" or whatever. This kind of thing is not for yourself to say, come on.
I feel paiseh to even call myself a "blogger" or "influencer". If people ask me what I do, I tell them I run an online boutique.
New jeans from Topshop
Moving on to happy things this week!!
Topshop sent me a pair of jeans and I was so impressed because the jeans fit me perfectly!!! Remember how I was complaining about my problem with jeans and my pear-shaped woes?
This pair of Jamie jeans actually look pretty decent on me πππ
And there's a new Topshop campaign going on where you get a free stick-on badge with any denim purchase!
Topshop sent me these super cute stick-ons together with the jeans. So nice! Can't decide where to put them!! On my butt? π
The jeans are slightly high-waisted which really helps to balance out my big hips!
Thanks Topshop!! My new favorite pair of jeans!
Dinner at Kko Kko Nara π
Had dinner a few nights ago with my loves and our ah laos!!! @evonnz @trishaliang
Korean food, no less π We went to Kko Kko Nara at Tanjong Pagar!
Three hungry men.
Their garlic soy wings (non-spicy one) are really yummy!
A tad pricey cuz the small portion is like $20 for 7 pieces? Think getting the large one is more worth it! $30 for 12 or something like that.
The leek Korean pancake was very good as well! π I love leek, some people hate it haha. It wasn't too oily and I loved the taste of this!
And of course ARMY STEW! I like that you can have either pork, spam or hotdog in your stew. Chose the pork and got chunks of fatty pork belly which I think is more worth it than spam or hotdog (processed food).
There's also glass noodles inside and we added ramen! π Much fat hahaha
And and watermelon soju!!! That was carbonated and had chunks of watermelon in it so I liked it. But YZ thought it tasted like cough syrup π
Total bill came up to about $33 per pax! Mmmm… Quite okay because we had a lot of food and they were all yummy! Plus the soju of course.
Got my face zhng-ed at Nu.Reflections
Ok, what else have I been up to.. @evonnz and I paid a visit to my favourite Dr Ivan Tan at Nu.Reflections!
Now I've mentioned Nu.Reflections a couple of times, I have been going to Dr Ivan for like three over years or more! He's actually introduced to me by my SIL who works in pharmaceutical sales, and because Dr Ivan and his wife love to sing, we always go KTV together π
One fine day during KTV I was complaining to Dr Ivan about my uneven eyes (because I did an eye corrective op when I was 8 years old, see, I started the plastic surgery trend) and he gave me his professional scrutiny and said "Aiya! Don't need do your eyes lah! You come I help you do fillers for your nose confirm look better straight away."
So after giving it some thought and also consulting my SIL who highly recommends Dr Ivan, I finally visited Dr Ivan at Nu.Reflections!
And ever since then, I've been going back to Dr Ivan every once in a while because he is the best aesthetic doctor that I've experienced!
I was a paying customer some more ok but of course Dr Ivan gave me discount π
Plastic surgery is really common nowadays, especially among the influencers/bloggers. I personally feel that going under the knife is quite drastic and requires a lot of research as well as mental preparation as well as a desire to really change your looks.
There's also higher risk involved in doing plastic surgery, and I'm not prepared to face those complications or possible post-surgical problems!
But I'm open to less invasive procedures, and I've tried fillers and Botox both before.
So back to Dr Ivan, he's the most meticulous doctor I've experienced, and he has a very keen eye for aesthetics. When you go to him for consultation, he'll tell you what he thinks can be improved for a more aesthetically pleasing look, and he doesn't hard sell.
More importantly, you'll be super pleased with the results because they will look so natural but at the same time somehow magically improve your appearance!
I think θ¦ζfillersθΏζ―botoxε°±ζ―θ¦εΎθͺηΆηζ ·ε. You don't want an overly sharp nose or super pointy chin because it's so unnatural and not nice?! I don't know why some girls like that chin-so-sharp-it-can-kill look.
You want people to think you θͺηΆηΎ π
Randomly, some people think I did my chin cos it's quite sharp. My chin is actually au natural la π
If it weren't, I would probably make it smaller cos it's quite meaty πππ Until one time got one blog hater come and leave a comment on my blog saying that I look like a witch.
I've never really talked about my fillers before cuz a lot of my readers are quite young and I didn't want to influence the younger ones to consider aesthetic enhancements so early.
But now I'm approaching 30 and I think some of my readers are also around my age now θ―₯ζ―ζΆεδΏε »δΊ π
Before/After Nose Fillers
Here, for comparison. Before and after nose fillers done by Dr Ivan! This is like some time ago. I've gotten fillers in my nose done maybe like once a year? And it really helps to define my nose because I have a bit of a hooked nose and very flat nose bridge!
I always tell Dr Tan don't overdo it cos I'm scared of looking weird but he knows best π
Nose fillers will improve your entire facial proportions as well, I think it's one of the best yet subtle form of aesthetic improvement!
This photo can see right? My nose had a slight bump and was super flat at the eyebrow area. Now it looks a lot more defined and ζ£! Dr Ivan keeps admiring his good work on my nose whenever I see him π
Say hello to Dr Ivan ππ»
I've introduced quite a lot of people to Dr Ivan and so far everyone loves their results, including @evonnz!
I think it's because of aging.. My face is becoming saggier as you lose the fats in your face as well as collagen. It's good cos your face will become thinner, but I've always had a problem with the left side of my face being saggier than the right side, it really bothers me!
So I asked Dr Ivan what I could do to improve that.
Dunno if you can see what I mean. This is my left profile (I hardly post left profile photos) which looks older and more tired than… My right side profile
Which looks more lifted and less saggy.
Oh please also admire my nose bridge because I never used to have one and now I do πππ Always jokingly tell my sisters that I have the nicest nose πππ Cos it's fake HAHAHA. All of us inherited my dad's nose instead of mummy's nice nose!!!
This time, I finally took the plunge and did fillers on my cheek area to fill in some volume and to make my cheek "apples" balanced and less sunken!
Dr Ivan put a lot more filler in my left side to balance it with my right side. He hardly touched the right side of my face. This is why I say Dr Ivan really knows what he's doing!
He's more concerned about facial symmetry and a pleasing outcome than using more product mileage so as to charge you more.
This is the filler used for my cheek. It's different from the one @evonnz used on her undereye area!
Juvederm Voluma is the harder filler suitable for cheek area, and it will also last longer. Fillers are not permanent, and most will dissolve in 6-12 months (depending on where it's injected and other factors!)
Dr Ivan is also incredibly skilled, so it doesn't hurt!! It's like… 1/10. Like an ant bite? Haha
Can you tell that my eye looks slightly lifted, and my entire cheek is fuller and less saggy? It's extremely subtle but I can see a difference in the mirror straight away!
Dr Ivan also used Botox to tighten up the muscles at my jaw line as well so it's also less saggy and more defined.
As you can see my dark undereye rings are still very obvious without makeup. I haven't yet done anything about my dark eye rings.. But I can live with it for now, haha.
I really feel that my left profile is less saggy now!! So happy πππ
Anyway if you're thinking of doing aesthetic works on your face: like Botox, fillers, laser treatment and all that.. Look for Dr Ivan at Nu.Reflections! They're located at Regency House that's near Somerset/Doby Ghaut area!
Tell Dr Ivan you're my loyal reader (Hahahahahaa) and I'm sure he'll give you a good price ππ»
Nu.Reflections
123 Penang Road,
Office tower #05-13
Regency House
Singapore 238465
Off for choir rehearsal now! Be back in abit ππ»
I'll be flying off next week!
Really excited about two upcoming short trips that's happening end of next week, still finalizing the details but I should be flying off to HK (again!) from 18-22 March and then Manila from 23-24!
Can't wait to go back to HK … For the food πππ And of course expect more travel posts too!
I'm going to Manila afterwards for a really short trip, specially for an event. So looking forward ππ»ππ»ππ»
Wedding dinner time with η½ε η!