japan – TheJessicat

The Sunday Times XIV: Sights, sounds, adventures & eats! My week in a flash ♥

December 23, 2012 by thejessicat

Writing this from my lovely lil Penang island as we speak.

The past week has been almost entirely focused on family, friends and almost all my loved ones!

Let's take a ride in the car

This week saw an emotional roadtrip for me as it marked the last time I'll ever drive my good ol' faithful white Perodua Kelisa which ferried me everywhere throughout all my years as a college kid & a university undergraduate.

Yup, six years with my lil one.

It's now time for a change to something more powerful, stylish & cutting edge… one that befits me better

I present to you, my new precious, big baby, the Ford Fiesta Hatchback Sports Edition in Red.

Full story up soon! A shoot is in progress

What else is new? My hair.

Thanks to the amazing team at A Cut Above, I had another unique technology done to my hair – called the relaxer rebonding process. It's not straightening, nor relaxing, nor rebonding. It's.. a combination of all three!

Winnie dearest and I catching up over some snipsnips!

Before and after! I'm loving the results! Professional & well-done

*full story soon!

While I was getting my hair done, Konzy bought some cakes from Just Heavenly for us to share

(Honestly I think he hates me and has evil intentions to fatten me up LOL!) I kid.

Left: Cappucino Cupcake | Right: Death by Chocolate

I personally didn't like the Cappucino Cupcake, especially hated the icing on top.

But for people who love eating cream or icing, that's your treat right there

Death by Chocolate, on the other hand, was more my cup of tea.

It was rich with dark chocolate mousse with a velvety layer of melted chocolate engulfing it whole

Oh geez, I wouldn't mind having ten more of this! FULLY RECOMMENDED

Triple Expresso Brownie

It had the perfect texture, chunky and fudgy but it wasn't as moist or as warm as I had expected it to be.

The taste, on the other hand, was great – coffee and the walnuts were a good combo!

Lunch at La Bodega @ Bangsar Shopping Centre :

Smoked Salmon with Baba Ghanouj sandwich for me & Chicken Bocadillo sandwich for him

I loved mine. Healthy meals are always my first option, and this proved to be quite a good choice!

His was a little to bland and dry. Only tasted a lot better after layers of tabasco sauce

Random photo in my new, sweet, sweet ride

A world phenomenon of an American TV series – Gossip Girl – has finally come to an end.

Initially I was totally against watching something that was titled 'Gossip Girl', thinking that it would be some pretentious girly girl drama show. But I was wrong. Watching it got me hooked since 2010!

After six years/seasons of this, fans never wished this day would come.

SPOILER ALERT : IF YOU HAVEN'T WATCHED THE CONCLUSION – FINAL EPISODE YET,

SCROLL SWIFTLY PAST THIS SECTION OF THE POST

I was so happy that my favorite on-screen couple, Chuck Bass & Blair Waldorf got married!

All's well, ends well.

When I got back to Penang, my weekends included spending time with old friends, new friends and more friends, left, right, and center.

First up, my high school Class of 2006 reunion gathering at Suffolk House.

We all had to wear 'name tags' lest we forget how each other used to look like. Who is this girl?

I haven't heard this name in a long, long, time.

I'll be dedicating a full blog post special for this! A major 'then VS now' photos

You'd be amazed what six years can do to a girl. We all looked somewhat different than we were since the moment we took our final walk out of the iron gates of our high school premises.

Off to Golden Screen Cinemas @ Gurney Plaza to watch The Hobbit

Overall, I thought it was a good movie, despite falling asleep in the first quarter LOL.

It had many witty punchlines and good ol' humour. Plus, having watched all the Lord of the Rings movies as a kid, I would certainly not give the prequel of it all a miss!

I also had a dose of my usual Milkshake Factory obsession.

Tried the new Rio Coconut Shake for the first time with Ferrero Rocher in it.

It was absolutely delightful! The shaker recommended this to me and since I was a fan of coconut drinks, I thought, "Hey, why not?" Glad I decided upon it.

The chunky chocolate bits from the Ferrero Rocher blended in fresh, pure coconut water was a sip of heaven.

FULLY RECOMMENDED!!

When dusk descended, it was time to let our hair down and party like the rockstar Penang-ites we are.

Buddy Minny introduced SOHO Gastro Pub @ Precinct 10 to me!

I'm still a loyal & a frequent at MOIS No 1 Upper Penang Road – my pick amongst the pool of Penang clubs!

But since SOHO was quite a new one and a fairly crazy place to party at, I thought I'd join in

Ready for some party photos? I always look forward to my Penang homecoming!

Don't mind us, we were semi bonkers by the end of the night.

Lin Chong aka crazy dragon, Minny & I

My babe Minny and I

All of us! We go a long way back… think, 2008?

Flanked by Jon & Kon

Drunk-selcas with my childhood pal, Jon!

With Thean Sim It's been too long, girl!

And Lionel.. again!

Theresa from our college days

More of us at the table!

My date for the night Konzy & I

After the night was over, we trudged out into the patio to take a breather or two before finally deciding to go straight on to breakfast at 4AM. Why so late, you ask?

Well, it is morning after all. Very, very early in the morning

This was the only photo I took during breakfast. Was I really that smashed?

Breakfast was Chiow Lin Steamboat Restaurant at Abu Siti Lane, Georgetown.

We had a private room to ourselves (with the Empire State building framed up LOL) and the steamboat was served with an authentic Zhong Qing soup, which, to me, was unsurpassable by any other steamboat outlets I've dined in.

Being out of touch from Penang for several years, I can only trust my Penang buddies to bring me to the best places nowadays! Thanks ya'll! xoxo

Massive seafood by the seaside dinner with the family at Hai Boey Seafood Restaurant @ Gertak Sanggul

Amongst the hoards of flags, I caught sight of something fairly interesting.

HAHAHAHAH. Smart.

The flag of Germany & the flag of Japan hung next to each other on the ceiling?

Now everybody knows your political stance! I see what you did there… but don't worry. People who don't know their world history will Nazi it. (Get it? Get it?)

Mom & I. One of the few photos I have of the night. Thanks for the photo, dad!

Caught Life of Pi in cinemas with the family!

I loved every bit of the movie. It was so personal, eye-opening, reflective and deep! I felt very inspired and had a better perspective at life and its many meanings upon leaving the cinema.

If you're tired of the same ol' Hollywood drama, this movie offers a good alternative.

It made me appreciate the gift of life so much better. Go watch it!

Decorated the interior of my new car a lil bit.

Recognize this lil red octopus? Once upon a time, it meant the world to me.

And it still does. Some things never change. I guess I'm just sentimental like that

Thanks for the gift Glad you recognized it on my Instagram haha!

Life is always full of surprises. Isn't it always?

But never run away from your past, it made you who you are today. In some strange way or another, all the memories of my past were beautiful, and I've never regretted a single thing I've done.. ever.

Neither should you.

Much love,

Jessicat

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The Sunday Times is a weekly series; published every Sunday night to recap the highlights of my week, capture what piques my interest and to briefly highlight my recommendations for to-go and to-eat places!

Some of the photos in this edition are posted instantly on my Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr & Facebook

Do follow to get instant updates and pretty photos of the sights & sounds all around me!

Make-up logic : EXPLAINED! Japanese cosmetics brand K-Palette – now available in Malaysia

August 6, 2012 by thejessicat

As a little girl, I used to watch my mom apply her make-up before she goes to work in the morning.

I would wonder why she needed any make-up at all, since she always looked beautiful enough to me.

And then I went through something called growing up.

That's when I finally understood.

Make-up? Errrr…….really?

The wonders of make up; I soon realized that daily make-up isn't for you to look like a circus talent, but to enhance our natural beauty and bring out the best of our features.

That being said, it's always important to learn the right techniques so we ladies know how to groom ourselves the right way and achieve the look we want, lest you end up in a disaster like the photo above.

Noriko Imura and I

Thus, I was delighted to be invited to a make-up demonstration by professional make-up artist Noriko Imura from Japanese make-up brand K-Palette.

They have spread their wings out of Japan & launched itself in Malaysia recently.

K-Palette's range of products

I made my way to SaSa in Bangsar Shopping Center on a Friday morning to learn something new.

We were given a brief introduction about what today's session is going to be about and was introduced to K-Palette's official Japanese make-up artist Noriko Imura.

She began by welcoming us and asking us a few simple questions about our own make-up regime.

Without further ado, she started her make-up demonstration and tutorial with K-Palette's products.

After cleansing, toning & moisturizing, the 1st step of cosmetics is always the make-up base

Using a base make-up helps you set in the make-up that you will be applying for a longer lasting finish.

The next step is K-Palette's Kumo concealer

After choosing the right shade for your skin, it is important to conceal your dark eye-bags & imperfections.

This concealer contains Vitamin C, whitening ingredients & chamomile extracts.

Noriko applied the concealer under the eyes in a triangular shape & blended it smoothly

She also taught us how to blend it outwards & where to apply the concealer to brighten up

our faces for a more radiant look.

The 3rd step is face powder.

Using face powder ensures a matt finish, oil absorption and also helps the make-up to set in.

The next stage of make-up is to fill in your eyebrows.

Noriko shows us the correct place where the arches of our eyebrows should be

Haha! This is always my weakness. I tend to spend a longer time on my eyebrows just 'cause I haven't really mastered the skill of perfecting my eyebrows yet.

So I paid extra, solid attention! 😛

She used the dual ended K-Palette's Lasting 2-way Eyebrow pencil

First, was to fill in the gaps of our eyebrows & shape it according to its natural contour

Then she used the pointier end to define the arches and the ends of the eyebrows

Her final step to the eyebrows is to use the eyebrow mascara

(Now, that's a first for me!)

It's just like a normal mascara, actually.

She used it to brush & thicken the eyebrows for a sleeker, neat look

We were also taught different ways of filling in our eyebrows to achieve different looks.

Noriko sketched the eye and the eyebrows while explaining where the arch is supposed to be placed

Thicker & more rounded eyebrows will present a younger, more 'kawaii' (cute) look, where as the thinner & more arched eyebrows will give a more sexy, mature & gorgeous appeal.

She also showed us another eyebrow pencil which comes in different shades

(not available in Malaysia yet!)

After defining the eyebrows, it's time to work on our peepers! The eyes itself.

They say our eyes are the windows to our soul. So.. we'd better make it look pretty damn appealing!

She used K-Palette's Real Lasting Eyeliner (1 Day Tattoo)

This is Japan's top selling liquid eyeliner by the way!

I use a lot of eyeliner – have been an avid eye-liner user since I was 15 years old!

If you didn't know, I used to be a scene/punk kid of some sort. That explains the heavy eyeliner LOL

Anyway, Noriko explained that thicker eyeliner used in the middle of our eyes gives a more 'kawaii' look while thin strokes of the eyeliner exudes a more mature and refined look.

She winged out the ends for a more elongated shape & a sexier appeal

See how it gives the eyes more depth and expression? 🙂

Apart from the liquid type, there is also another version of the 1-day Tattoo eyeliner – the pencil type.

The final step to eye-make up, is most definitely the eyelashes.

Who doesn't love thick, long & dramatic lashes that flutters gently everytime you blink?

Curl your lashes before applying mascara

Noriko used K-Palette's 1-Day Lash Perm mascara in black

Just two coats and we're done!

I just love the curved shape of the mascara.

Makes application so much easier! 😀

Before and After! See the slight difference after Noriko's demonstration of light/everyday make-up?

It really is easy 🙂

There is no such thing as ugly women, only lazy ones!

So ladies, no harm in unleashing that beauty of yours every once in a while 😀

Best part is, K-Palette's whole make-up rage is waterproof!

After the demonstration, we were given some free time to explore and play with K-Palette's make up.

I took the chance to experiment with their products and used their concealer, eyebrow pencil, eyeliner & mascara.

Here's the result!

What do you think? 🙂 I enjoyed using their products for the 1st time!

LOL when I was applying the liquid eyeliner, the girls around me and even the Japanese crew members were astonished and praised me for how I applied it so quickly and deftly on my eyelids.

I didn't quite expect so much reaction!

8 years of everyday liquid eyeliner usage gives you THAT MUCH practice, I suppose

Here's another before and after photo.

Michelle and I coincidentally happened to take a self-shot before we had any make-up on, so I just decided to snap another one after we slapped on some make up.

Nice? 😀 Their products are really easy to use too!

Thank you for a lovely time, K-Palette & Sasa!

I was truly honoured to have learnt some professional make-up tips directly from a professional make-up artist like Noriko Imura herself.

It was difficult trying to comprehend her articulating herself in fluent Japanese; luckily we had a translator that morning!

The very next night out, I decided to be cheeky & play around with the brand new K-Palette cosmetics I have.

My mates and I headed out for some partying at Vertigo KL and here's my look for the night.

I tried to replicate the 'kawaii' Japanese doe-eye look

Clearly, I do not go well with this image. So unbecoming of me LOL!

But it was so much fun experimenting with K-Palette's make up!! 🙂

Also, If you love eye-make up as much as I do, you should totally check out K-Palette's Amazing Eyes contest on Facebook where you only need to upload photos of your beautiful made-up eyes (of any brand and any look!) and win!

You can also try out K-Palette's range of cosmetics and get your own at any SaSa outlets nationwide

OR… PARTICIPATE IN MY GIVEAWAY!

I have Japan's best-selling K-Palette Real Lasting 1-Day Tattoo Eyeliner to reward 3 lucky readers

Here's what to do to win it –

1) Share this on your Facebook wall and RT it on Twitter

2) LIKE K-Palette's official Facebook page here

2) Leave a comment below completing this slogan :

"I deserve/really want the eyeliner because….."

3) Wait for the announcement of winners!

GOOD LUCK DEARIES!!

Much love,

TheJessicat

Holidaying around the world with cheap travel packages! Mayflower is back with great promos for MATTA Fair 2 – 5 September @ The Mall, KL

September 3, 2010 by thejessicat

Aaahhh!! So yesterday I came across some flyers about the MATTA Fair and was stoked looking at all the affordable prices!

I even put it up on Facebook and Twitter and gosh, you guys responded very well 😀

Looks like lotsa people in the hauz are yearning for a holiday just the way I do too.

Here are some pictures from my last holiday which I miss so much!

Looking all touristy in the middle of a busy street!

LOL with a map summore

And here am I in some ancient Rome lookalike place! 😀

So yes, I wanna go on a holiday again really baddddd! MATTA Fair officially begins today and I can't wait to get my hands on those good deals before anyone else takes it all up! Because I'm kiasu like that P 😛

And guess what? I found some awesome promos on Mayflower Tour's flyers and Imma share them all with you! Their Free & Easy tours covers ALL 7 continents like OMG 😀

Okay so.. where do we go first?

Since I'll be heading over to Melbourne next year, here's the deets on Ozzie which I've found.

So cheap!! 704 bucks for a 4 day tour zomg 😀

So what's next?

This one really sparked my attention though

Holidaying in Paris for about a thousand grand ONLY 😀

*thumbs up*

Hmm oh! Like some of my friends, if you're planning to travel the European countries for some sight-seeing, or to ride a strange creature, say… a llama, or experience snow…

or if you wanna hook up with a hot European dude like my Norweigian friend above, then European countries is the way to go! 😛

Here, Imma share some with yall

Super worth your bottom dollar right?

Don't say I didn't tell yall 😀

Oooh and and, since I'll be also heading to the UK to visit the bestie Joyce somewhere in the 3rd quarter of next year, here are some of the packages which I found really worth the money!

Yup, this is the one I've been talking about on Facebook. London for roughly 800 bucks! Where else can you get that on your own!? 😀

And do I hear Hawaiiiiii babeh!!? 😀

Fabulous for honeymoons. The prices are really rock-bottom. Melikes.

There are just so much more countries available for tour by Mayflower, but I can't possibly show you EVERYTHING lest my blogpost be lagging up your computer! So, you know where to go.. the MATTA Fair is gonna be held at The Mall, KL (opposite PWTC) from today till Sunday at 10am – 9pm.

Don't miss out, okay? 😀 You wouldn't wanna see your potential vacations flying out your window!

Good thing we've got Mayflower Tour the holiday and travel specialist to kautim all our holidays for us

Oh and before I forget, lemme share with you a few more.. closer to home ones!

I'm honestly sick and fed up of the same TWO people telling me "Ohh don't go! Dangerous riots!" over and over again each time I mention that I wanna go to Thailand. I declined different groups of friends THREE TIMES to tour Bangkok and Phuket because of this -__-

And everyone went without me, enjoyed themselves and came back with great memories 🙁 🙁

But thanks to Mayflower, I can take their words, stick it up where the sun doesn't shine and go ANYWAY 😀 😀

No worries! Thailand's political situation is very stable (and peaceful) now. So hey ho, let's go!

I wanna go also!!!!! 🙁 🙁

Very tempting lor! I think imma go tomorrow and buy the Bangkok one already.

Amongst all the holiday destination deemed islands in Malaysia, (I think we have 7 if I ain't wrong) Pangkor Island is the nearest to me!

Yup yup, it's located in Perak so it's only a 2 hour drive from our capital, KL City

Most likely, Best Western Marina Island Resort is gonna be my crib for

3 days and 2 nights sometime next month 🙂 🙂

Can't wait to check out that place and share it all with yall!

You can head to Mayflower's booth during the MATTA Fair and check out their promos of only RM78 per person (twin sharing) inclusive of breakfast yo

It looks so gorgeous from the pictures already, I wonder how it's really like inside! 😀

Well, I shall find out soon

Gosh. All this holiday talk is making me itching to purchase some already for this year-end and also next year! 🙂 Why, I've some travel packages in mind already *grins* I hope you have yours too.

Where? Mayflower's booth at The Mall, KL (opposite PWTC)

When? 2nd September – 5th September 2010

Time? 10am – 9pm

Looks like my T-Rex is all up and ready to go on a holiday already!!

Down boy 😀 😀 We'll get our bags packing soon, I promise! 😀

The Sunday Times XIV: Sights, sounds, adventures & eats! My week in a flash ♥

Make-up logic : EXPLAINED! Japanese cosmetics brand K-Palette – now available in Malaysia

Holidaying around the world with cheap travel packages! Mayflower is back with great promos for MATTA Fair 2 – 5 September @ The Mall, KL

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