The first time I shot with Jipaban was last December for their December Editor’s Pick. It was a special shoot because it was a Power Blogger Editor’s Pick and we had special guests from Parenting blog OurEverydayThings on set at the shoot! Mommy Leonny came with her three little darlings in tow.

Baby Brie is a sweetheart. We had so much fun playing with her because she is such a well-behaved and darling girl. Not only was Mommy Leonny featured in December’s Editor’s Pick. Baby Brie was photographed alongside her two other elder siblings in the Jipaban Gift pick! It was a shoot full of laughs and smiles because they are all naturals in front of the camera.

For the women’s section, Mommy Leonny and I were featured in various outfits! And we had access to all of Jipaban’s awesome accessories and clothes because we shot in their warehouse. Everyone loves to be surrounded by gorgeous loads of clothes, shoes, bags and accessories!

December was also a special month because I was featured on their banner for Christmas!

And now less than a month later, I’m featured on their Chinese New Year banner too!

The shoot for the Chinese New Year lookbook happened over last weekend. It was again one full of shoes, bags, accessories and lovely new clothes for the upcoming Chinese New Year festivities. Although it was a long shoot, I had sooo much fun shooting with new models: beautiful Sam, the face of Jipaban Clara and a guy model, James!

We shot on location at a house that was all perfectly set up for Chinese New Year. Because you can see the full lookbook on the Jipaban website here, I’m going to show you some of my favourite unreleased shots with Sam! We spent so much time together at the shoot together, she almost feels like a sister to me now. I posted a photo of us together and some people commented that we even looked alike!

And as a testament to how close we’ve become… Awwww.

The final episode of Olay Project 360 is going to air next week! Yay! But before I share with you the highlights of the fun-filled night of the Olay pampering session and give you the link for the last episode of the challenge, you’ll have to watch episode 5 of the Olay Project 360 where the girls and I underwent one of the challenges which could only be described as a dream. If you’ve already watched it, watch it again to refresh your memory.

When 8 girls are unleashed into the warehouse of Love Bonito and get free reign over their clothes and accessories, there’s nothing but fun chaos! Haha! But we had specific tips to keep in mind for this challenge and there was no better person to give out advice but fashion expert Viola, co-founder of Love Bonito.

Watch the video and see which outfit you thought brought out the luminance of our skin best. I loved my outfit sooo much and wish I could have taken it home!

Colourful butterfly ring: Forever 21
Oval silver ring: NYC
Single wing ring: Hong Kong
Double star ring: Forever 21
Rosette ring: Mini Bits

But specifically, my obsession has been with knuckle duster rings. I love how they effortlessly decorate more than just a finger on your hand. With one ring, you’ve practically dressed up your arm. And yes, the bigger the better. The bling-er the best.

Unfortunately, I havent seen too many of these delicious knuckle duster arm candies here on our local shores, but I could really just be looking in all the wrong places. So when I saw a whole bunch of them at Forever 21, I had to stop myself from buying the whole shelf.

Flower cluster knuckle duster ring: Forever 21
Leopard knuckle duster ring: River Island
Gecko knuckle duster ring: Forever 21
Four star knuckle duster ring: Forever 21

A natural in front of the camera, it thus comes as no surprise to see her looking so relaxed and elegantly beautiful as the face of the latest H&M’s Spring 2011 Bohemian Deluxe campaign.

Styled by Robert Rydberg and photographed by Daniel Jackson, the photos are the epitome of a saccharine Spring. Full of soft, flowy fabrics printed with florals, these fresh and flirty fabrics are perfect for our humid weather. Get here in Singapore already H&M!

When I was younger, I remember sneaking into mom’s closet to try on her dresses, shoes and then swiping a couple of her prettiest jewelry before parading in front of the mirror. Even now, I sometimes borrow her chunky vintage jewelry because going through her stash opens up more options for me. Admit it, who hasnt once borrowed a sister’s or friend’s outfit because you needed it. It’s always fun to play dress up, even more fun when the outfits arent yours. Your fashion options are limitless when you have another wardrobe to look through.

So when the wardrobe you pick from consists of an amazingly wide variety of well known international designer evening wear labels like Jovani and Faviana, you can rest assured any outfit you pick will be incredibly stunning. On top of that, there is no worry about someone else donning the exact same outfit at your event because of the closet’s exclusivity! After you pick your outfit, selecting accessories to match and complete your outfit can seem like a daunting task. Here’s me fretting over what jewelry and bag to get to bring out this best of this outfit. Lol.

Well, bag all your dress up worries and shelve them because with personalised service and a wide array of evening and cocktail dresses, evening bags and jewelry, Dress Sense is set to fulfill all your fashion fantasies through it’s revolutionary buy or rent concept.

The buy or rent concept is truly ingenious. Like any retail store, you can always opt to buy any of the items you see on the shelves. Brand new items go for the full retail price while the sale prices of rented out items will automatically be marked down. If you’re buying a pre-loved piece, you know you’ll get a great deal for an excellent dress!

Now here comes the fun part with renting. If you think bleeding your wallet dry buying a to-die-for dress that you’ll only ever wear once doesnt make economical sense, then rent and borrow it! Rental prices of outfits are a fraction of the original sale price, and because you rent an outfit for something way less than the original buy price, that gives you the option of wearing a different outfit to every single event. This unique, guilt free shopping concept ensures you can rent a brand new outfit, complete with jewelry and evening bags, without busting the bank every single time. Thanks to Dress Sense‘s huge collection of cocktail and evening gowns, wearing that ONE little black dress to all your events is a thing of the past.

I’ve had the opportunity to go down to Dress Sense‘s boutique at Raffles City, #03-29A to rent dresses on two separate occasions, both for photoshoots. I swear, picking one dress out of the so many stunning ones was difficult, and I had to change in and out of at least 5 dresses I grabbed from the racks. Haha. But for the first shoot, I eventually settled on Faviana’s Greek goddess inspired gold dress that Jennifer Lopez had previously worn. Talk about invoking Hollywood glamour right here in Singapore!

The owners took great pains to lovingly source and import trendy, wearable designer gowns that cater to girls of all shapes and sizes, of all whims and fantasies. For whatever occasion you might need to dress up and impress, Dress Sense will make you look like a princess and feel like a queen. With attentive staff and everything you need to get a complete outfit under one roof, I always feel as though it’s a private shopping experience each time I step into the store.

Having then been a previous customer of Dress Sense, I was honoured when they nominated me as one of the contestants for their Blog Ambassador Search. Starting 12th January up until 18th February, there will be a voting contest among the three ambassador nominees on the Dress Sense Facebook page. You, yes you reading this, get to decide who you want to see as the Dress Sense 2010/2011 Blog Ambassador and be one of the lucky three voters to win an $80 Dress Sense shopping voucher that will help you fuel your dress up desires.

This is how you vote:
1. Click “Like” on Dress Sense’s Facebook page
2. Click on the Ambassador Search photo album and click ‘like’ on my collage!

And you’re done! You’re one step closer to landing yourself that $80 Dress Sense shopping voucher, and one step away to being all glammed up. Also, helping me win the title of Dress Sense Blog Ambassador would mean more gorgeous dresses for you to ogle on my blog!

So are you ready for some glamour? Vote for me now and roll out the red carpet. Dress Sense will dress you like a queen without you having to spend like one.

It’s time to bring out your best dresses because it’s party time! Other than laying my hands on all the new make up, the best thing I find about the end of the year is the parties you get to attend. With parties come the perfect excuse to get dressed up to the nines. So go on, pull out your most glamourous dress, deck yourself out in your most brilliant make up and you’re all set to paint the town red.

The only problem I find with having so many parties to attend is repetition of clothes. You definitely dont want to be stuck with the same outfits for all your events. At the same time, blowing the month’s budget is definitely out of the question. So what do you do? Well, I turn to the shop that manufactures its own quality clothes inspired by designer fashion houses at a fraction of the actual price.

Fashion moguls would agree that the little black dress is one of the fashion staples. Without a doubt, monoxious would agree wholeheartledly on the choice of colour too. Thus, this Armani Exchange inspired dress with a cross front is a stunning piece to get if you dont already have a little black dress to turn to.

For SGD 29, this body contouring and sillhouette defining dress is set to be your best go-to dress for any occasion. In fact, it was set in the style of Victoria Beckham and I naturally had to take a photo with the Miss Earth girls from UK while wearing it. Haha.

If your days are filled with high teas and shopping sprees, AngelicoBeBe’s full length jumpsuit is my new favourite thing to wear. Soft to the touch and comfortable to live in, this ASOS’s inspired Open Back Jumpsuit is of super quality because it’s self-manufactured.

Married with a gathered waist and plunging v-neckline flowing seamlessly to a pair of straight cut pants, the cutting at the back gives an illusion of a slim and defined waist and in my opinion, shows just the right amount of skin. The full-length jumpsuit fits perfectly and gives you a slim and long silhouette. Instead of paying close to £ 70 for the original, AngelicoBeBe’s lovingly manufactured one goes for a mere SGD 34. Much too little to pay for quality like this.

If I’m getting ready for a night out on the town with my girls, I pick AngelicoBeBe’s self-manufactured little black dress with corset detail. Inspired by Guess and Victoria’s Secret, this sexy little number is the perfect outfit for a first date or a night of letting your hair loose in a club. Steal this look for SGD 28 from their website or get the dress in 2 colours for SGD 52!

I’m not entirely big about designer clothing because I am a beauty blogger. But when stylish designer fashion clothing is brought to you and made easily available at such affordable prices, online shopping is much too tempting! I’ll say it definitely pays to look good and AngelicoBeBe can help you achieve that with their original, self-manufactured items. Because they offer quality stunning pieces at reasonable prices, it’s no wonder that their items are always disappear in an instant!

This December, AngelicoBeBe is giving away a Coach wristlet to help complete your outfit. Every dress you buy entitles you one chance to win and you definitely want to get as many chances as you can before the lucky draw ends on the 31st December. So, to get your hands on their fabulous clothing for your next Christmas party AND land yourself a brand new Coach wristlet, head on down to their AngelicoBeBe’s store and happy shopping!

So today is all about showing you all how much we appreciate all of your efforts in Sneaker Sunday! All of the photos showcasing the different types of sneakers have been submitted to us and are credited to the owner’s they’re linked to.

Knock yourself out by taking a look at all the different types of sneaker posts and if you would like to take part in Sneaker Sunday, just email your link to either Violet or myself.

Click the photos to have a look at these awesome blogs.

BGDino

Sylvia

Jessica

Super Kawaii Mama

Pure Girl Blue

The Fashionate Traveller

So what have all of you got planned this Sneaker Sunday? If you havent gotten your pair of sneakers, go get one now! Everyone’s got different types of sneakers that they like and I want to see yours.

Puma was having a promotion with Foursquare just last month. As long as you checked in at either of their Puma outlets with a soccer tip, you got yourself a free pair of shoe laces! I picked out this pretty blue pair of laces and decided they were too pretty to go onto my shoes. I wanted to show case them in another way.

Inspiration struck me and I figured some other things I could do with the laces include:
- using them as a hair/head band
- tying it around the neck as a choker

Using them as a bracelet is another good option, but instead of just tying them around your wrists, let’s make a proper bracelet with them laces. The laces I used here are brand new ones, but if you’re going to reuse one from an old pair of sneakers, it might be a good idea to wash those laces before you start anything.

Step 1: Put the two laces together and fold them in equal halves. Tie a knot to secure the top.

You should have 4 laces to work with.

Step 2: Start with the right most lace and weave the lace over the lace next to it. Go under the next one and again, over until you reach the end.

Step 3: When you reach the end, use the same lace to go under the first lace before weaving over and under again. Remember, the key is to alternate the pattern of going over and under each lace.

Keep the laces woven tightly together and you’ll be able to see the zig-zag pattern on your bracelet when you keep weaving.

Step 4: When you run out of lace space, simply tie a knot to finish off your lace bracelet!

Your bracelet will make a perfect accessory to wear on Sneaker Sundays with your favourite pair of sneakers. But if you need a pair of sneakers to match your bracelet, Violet has the perfect solution on how you can customise your own pair!

Welcome back to Sneaker Sunday.

It’s good to be back.

Now, THIS is the sale that most girls would die for. Panties go for USD$3.99 while bras are reduced by almost half price. Everything on sale is put into pink bins only differentiated by their sizes, and girls dig through it pulling out items like hungry vultures.

Because it’s a Monday afternoon, this crowd is mild compared to the one we first encountered on a weekend.

In fact, all the shelves are neatly packed and nothing is strewn on the floor. Haha.

After my virgin experience digging through the buckets of adorable underwear and bras and discovering treasures, it was hard not to walk out of there feeling like a million bucks. The red/pink bags are absolutely cute too! It’s probably hard for guys to wrap their minds around how much money women will spend on inner wear that no one else can see, but I say a cute underwear and good bra will serve to keep your spirits up in all situations.

Lingerie is not all that Victoria’s Secret stocks. Beauty products also make up a good part of their product range. The Secret Garden collection is one of their more famous ranges, and they too were on sale! I got mini bottles of fragranced hand sanitizers from the Secret Garden range, some lip glosses, lip palettes and body mists from the Dream Angels collection alongside some really cute undies which I obviously will not show.

Even though I am such a big fan of VS, I only just found out they have a standalone Victoria’s Secret PINK store that caters specially to their PINK range! This particular range targets younger girls with their collegiate collection in vibrant colours. Graphic tees, hoodies, underwear and lounge wear emblazoned with the signature PINK logos can all be found in this range.

PINK by Victoria’s Secret is located at the junction of Broadway and Prince Street.

Victoria’s Secret stores, on the other hand, are located at:
Broadway (SOHO)
591-593 Broadway
New York, NY 10012

Fifth Avenue
115 5th Ave
New York, NY 10003

South Street Seaport
19 Fulton Street
New York, NY 10038

86th St – Upper East Side
165 E 86th St
New York, NY 10028

This 4 storey store looked decent on the outside, but little did I know it held exciting and yummylicious things on the inside.

Step through the front doors and a half naked dude is the first thing that greets you. Oh hello. Sorry, you say there was a girl? Oh yes! According to my pictures, there was a girl. And she’s actually pretty cute. But I’m not exactly interested in girls. Let’s get back to the guy. He’s half naked. And has a good body to match that nakedness. Even the two “bouncers” are pretty delish. Mmm….

The interior of the shop is dark akin to a club, and the music is bound to set some heads nodding and feet tapping. You browse the wide range of adorable clothes and browse the good-looking boys, sadly wishing it was them you’d cart home. Alas, the store is where the boys will stay and it’s the plush clothing that you take home.

It is a little hard to want to leave this haven full of delicious goodies thanks to its seductive atmosphere; I swear the boys have nothing to do with it. I wish we could show you photos of what it was like to be inside the shop. But, one, they didnt allow photography inside. Two, it was hard to take any photos because Michelle and I were both busy gawking. How is it possible they managed to find so many good-looking people all housed in the SAME building?! Even the dressing rooms were incredibly sexy. Soft orange lighting and music playing, it was hard not to want to cam-whore inside.

Tank tops go for about USD24 while bottoms, both jeans and skirts, start from USD50 and go anywhere up to USD70. Pretty pricey if you ask me. But everything about this store is delectable and I walked out of there with two skirts. They were too cute! Yes yes, I was so busy shopping that I missed Sneaker Sunday this week. But Violet and I are planning to do something exciting next week once I get back.

So anyway, back to my shopping. I bought one skirt from Abercrombie exactly like that of the girl in the group photo. If I wore the exact same getup as her, do you think I could fit in and get a job there? Hahaha.

Abercrombie & Fitch
720 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10019