Summerlong

I was sifting through my computer and found these photos from one year ago. It was part of my first ever portrait-focused "photo shoot" with a DSLR while I was living it up in HK for a month.

Although the weather was insanely hot - worse than Singapore weather - I still had fun shooting this at our school bus stop. The greenery was lush and the cement added a nice contrast. I'm thinking of doing more of this if I can! I think the photos turned out rather well, heh. Also I had fun doing this zine-like spread with the pictures. Hee.

Here's presenting the Summerlong shoot from 2013...

Hong Kong Eats: Dim Sum Bar Review and Pictures

I'm baaaack with lots of food pictures and foodie recommendations. I'm breaking up my posts so I won't spam you with pictures and texts; each Hong Kong Eats post will be a review on a particular place I've been to. I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I have had writing them (and eating all the food).

My first encounter with dim sum in HK happened at Dim Sum Bar. I went to the one located at Gateway Arcade of Harbour City, which is near the Tsim Sha Tsui MTR station.  If you want to get there, you'll have to enter from the outside, so it can get a tad confusing if you're not familiar with the place.

No. 1 on my list (and collage) to try is the Char Siew Bao 叉烧包 (BBQ pork-filled bun). They do it with a modern twist like Tim Ho Wan; instead of having the bun skin all soft, white and tasteless, this bun is crispy on the outside and a little sweet. I really love how the crispy texture of the outside complements the BBQ pork filling, which is salty and flavourful. Can't ever get sick of this dish!

Roaming the streets of Hong Kong

I have been such a lazy lump since I came to HK that it's a miracle this post is right here, staring you in the face... But it is! Finally caught a break between eating, shopping and school to edit photos and write this out. I'm currently on a month-long summer school programme at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK). It's located in the New Territories and the school itself is in some small backwater area with rocky geography and bendy curves that make riding the internal shuttle bus feel like a rollercoaster experience. The campus is beautifully decked with lush greenery and some water features. It feels like something out of a Chinese painting at times.

We fondly dubbed this the infinity pond, the cousin of MBS' infinity pool. It's a beautiful small pond that's on the way out towards the bus stop. A very scenic and touristy spot for photos - I'm planning on taking some there for a shoot soon.

My Week on Instagram: 3 - 9 June 2013

5 June 2013

Decided to flex my crafty muscles today and did a couple of crafts, including this Tokidoki envelope and these Aki Kondo bookmarks! I'll be blogging about how to make this with a Canon PIXMA printer, so stay tuned!

My Week on Instagram: 27 May - 2 June 2013

27 May 2013

Today I uploaded a deluge of photos from my travels in Europe. They were taken mostly with my Fujifilm X10.

At Vevey, Switzerland

Exchange in Switzerland Part 5

Well, I'm finally back with the final instalment of my student exchange in Switzerland. I came back to Singapore in January but never quite wrapped up that series as I've been so caught up with other things. The picture above is a shot of my apartment in Lausanne, which is part of the Cedres residence. I still carry fond and funny memories of life there. It was pretty cool to live with a couple of people my age instead of my parents!

"Paris Burning"

Paris Burning

I write words to speak to you;

I know not how or who else

I can tell this to:

of the fragments that make you

and undo your vision, too.

The shrapnel in my eyes,

ears, nose and hands -

The order I was shot

I forget, and yet,

reflecting,

it blazes before me again.

I decode them here;

I deconstruct

into abstractions

to get to the heart.

Exchange in Switzerland Part 4

Time for the least serious part of my exchange posts thus far! ;)

How to be a Domestic Goddess (wannabe)

In Switzerland, I started learning how to cook and make my own meals every day. My most successful dishes to date: ABC Soup (first picture) and beef stew (second last picture). Those are my tried and tested favourites of all the recipes I've tried so far. I let my apartment mates try those two dishes, and they loved them too. Means a lot to an amateur like me! Look out for my future travel series posts - maybe one of them will be about food, where I'll teach you how to whip up some dishes like these; they're pretty easy!

Exchange in Switzerland Part 3

CERN

As I promised in Part II, here are pictures of CERN. CERN is the world famous nuclear research facility that houses the fastest particle accelerator, called the Large Hadron Collider. I was so chuffed when my PhD student ex-flatmate (he moved out, yeah) invited me to a tour by his church member, a nuclear scientist, who worked in CERN. It was actually part of a church activity, and the nuclear scientist gave a lecture (in Chinese) about the relation between particle physics and God. That was quite interesting.

After our little tour through an exhibition and the lecture that was given by the scientist, we headed to the dome at CERN, which held another exhibition.

Exchange in Switzerland Part 2

Continuing from where I left off in Part I of my exchange experiences (an ongoing series until January 2013, when I return to Singapore), more pictures and descriptions of my travels!

Apart from the beautiful sights I saw in Lausanne from the previous post, I also visited the part of Lake Geneva that is located near to where I live. It's such a beautiful and peaceful place.

Vevey was another lovely town in Switzerland that I visited. It's small, quaint, and has the absolutely loveliest sunset I've seen in a long while.

Exchange in Switzerland Part 1

Hello dear readers! Many of you have been asking why this blog hasn't been updated in the longest while and have told me that you've missed my presence in the blogsphere. That made me go "aww" quite a bit :) So I sincerely apologise for being absent for about a month or so without much explanation. Those who follow me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram (@cherchezbeaute) would probably be aware of the fact that I'm currently in Switzerland on a student exchange that will last for about 4 months. Here's Part I of a lengthy and picture-heavy travelogue with pictures (all taken with Xanthe) of what happened from then 'til now...

Burt's Bees Honey Lip Balm Review and Pictures

We've come to the second part of the My Beauty and Skincare Travel Essentials series. My first post was on the La Roche-Posay Anthelios XL SPF 50+ Fluide Extreme, which is my HG sunscreen. Today's post will be on the Burt's Bees Honey Lip Balm, my HG lip balm and go-to travel essential to prevent chapped lips!

My Beauty and Skincare Travel Essentials Series

Part II: Lip balm - Burt's Bees Honey Lip Balm

Watsons (Taman Maluri Jusco) Haul

And today, I proudly present my haul from F.O.S. (at Viva) and Watsons and Daiso (at the Taman Maluri Jusco)! Just like yesterday's haul, I have no idea why today's haul isn't that fantastic - I just didn't like most of the things I saw. Am hoping that tomorrow will be different. I still have to hit Times Square and Sungei Wang before I head back to Singapore, so I'm crossing my fingers on being able to get better hauls in the next few days. Full haul post and more pictures after the jump!

Watsons (Suria KLCC) Haul

Just a quick haul post to show you what I bought from Watsons at Suria KLCC today. Pardon the grainy quality and bad lighting of the photos; it was really late at night. Full haul post and more pictures after the jump!

La Roche-Posay Anthelios XL SPF 50+ Fluide Extreme Review and Pictures

As some of you may know, I'm currently overseas on a short summer holiday. Having a good WiFi connection here is a godsend, and I'll be able to continue blogging daily. Since I'm travelling, I decided to do a series of travel related posts about my beauty and skincare travel essentials which I've brought on this trip. In every post of this series, I will feature one travel essential that is currently in my bag, with some general tips on how to use it well and some things to avoid. At the end of the series, I will do a summary post with pictures of the entire line-up and links to all the individual review posts - remember to check back often for updates!

My Beauty and Skincare Travel Essentials Series

Part I: Sunscreen - La Roche-Posay Anthelios XL SPF 50+ Fluide Extreme

Before moving on to the review, just a word on sunscreen first*:

Ever thought that the higher the SPF (sun protection factor), the better the sun protection offered? Think again. It's a myth that has been capitalised on by many sunscreen brands that advertise sky-high SPFs to tempt the consumer who doesn't know any better. Find out why after the jump!

Best of Switzerland 2011 - Photos and Travelogue

Hi dear readers, I'm sure most of you have noticed by now that my blog has recently gotten an upgrade! Okay, sort of. I've reworked the design and layout so it looks more vibrant and interesting, and the feedback has been very positive so far. The picture of the white butterfly in a patch of lavender was taken by me when I went on a short 3 week language immersion trip to Switzerland. That was the first time I'd 1) been to Switzerland 2) seen a lavender patch, so this picture really takes me back to those happy memories!

I've mentioned before that I'm going to be in Switzerland from this September to next January. In case you're curious about the kinds of photos and updates you'll see when I'm there, I'd like to share a few photos of Switzerland with you today. Consider it my way of giving you a glimpse of my photographer side. I'm a pretty avid photographer, but honestly, I barely survive on a point-and-shoot (all photos below are taken with a Canon IXUS 120IS). Am probably going to invest in a better camera soon, before I head for Switzerland again, so get ready for even nicer pictures!

Scenery, Landscape and Buildings

Fribourg, Switzerland

I stayed in Fribourg for 3 weeks and learnt a lot about this quaint little city. Some beautiful sights in Fribourg that I saw, including the famous Cathédrale Saint-Nicolas (pictured below).

The pictures below were taken at Schwarzsee, a village in Fribourg. We went on a day-trip to Lac Noir (translated from French as "The Black Lake") and took a cable up the Swiss Alps and walked for a good 4 hours, admiring the view. The lake was so still and clear that you could see the reflections of the mountains in it - a truly beautiful sight!

More pictures and descriptions of Swiss scenery, food and animals after the jump!

Malaysia Haul Part II

Wow this is really backdated. I found it in my drafts and figured I should just post it anyway.

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So, Part I's done and now for the mega haul in Part II of my Malaysian shopathon. (Shopathon. I like that word.)

I went to Berjaya Times Square in December 2011 and had a whopping haul of Bloop de Paris, Elianto, Etude House, Sasatinnie and Sally Hansen nail polishes.

Bloop de Paris is an interesting brand I've heard of, but never got the chance to try. By some coincidence, I saw this counter of Bloop de Paris nail polishes going for 9.90 RM each, with 50% off the 2nd bottle. I got 6 shades:

From left: H525, H174, H138, H140, H202, H201

Here are pictures of 5 of them - enlarge them to see the pretty glitters and shades after the jump!

Malaysia haul Part I

Greetings all from Malaysia! Sorry for the lack of updates - I've been shopping, eating and resting well for 2 days and almost don't want to do anything but that. However, I thought of all of you and decided to share the spoils. Let's check the damage done thus far... after the jump!