Modern Renaissance Palette by Anastasia

I know this post is possibly late to the party, but better late than never right? Besides, I am not a fan of the new Subculture Palette from Anastasia (who's with me?) 

But THIS. This M.R. Palette - I lovelovelove.

Everything about the Modern Renaissance Palette is just Gorgeous with a capital 'G'. I adore the Millennial Pink packaging, the rich colours in the palette and that most of the shades are warm-toned. I have become a massive fan of warm tone eyeshadow shades cos I find that they really complement the brown tones in my eyes. The eyeshadows are extremely blendable and smooth like butterrrr.

The only 'con' I can think about this palette is that there tends to be quite a bit of kick-back from placing your brush to the eyeshadow. You just have to be really careful and lightly tap it with your fluffy brush. A little goes a long way with these shadows. Also, if you're not a fan of highly-pigmented shadows, then this palette is not the one for you.

Other than that, I have adored using this palette in my everyday makeup routine thus far. My fav shades in the palette are definitely Tempera, Buon Fresco, Vermeer, Warm Taupe and Red Ochre. <3

L-R: Tempera, Golden Ochre, Vermeer, Buon Fresco, Antique Bronze, Love Letter, Cyprus Umber

L-R: Raw Sienna, Burnt Orange, Primavera, Red Ochre, Venetian Red, Warm Taupe, Realgar

Have you tried the Modern Renaissance Palette out yourself? Share with me your fav shades!

Xo,
Amelia

A Weekend Trip to Johor Bahru

If you are living in Singapore, you most probably have made a weekend/day trip to our neighbouring country across the bridge. With the exchange rate being ~3MYR to 1SGD~, it's hard not to resist heading in for some cheap food, cheap shopping and cheap massage.

If you were one of them in the zombie apocalypse queues during the May Day weekend, I FEEL YOUR PAIN. The queue was terrible. We took almost 4.5 hrs just to get through customs into JB and had to wait to check into our hotel as well (decided to stay one night). We stayed at Grand Bluewave Hotel and they decided to upgrade us because I wasn't too happy that we were made to wait for so long just for the room.

The first night was spent bringing the JB virgin aka my bf, around City Square mall and catching Guardians of the Galaxy which i thoroughly enjoyed! We had dinner at Hiang Kee and ordered 5 dishes in total, which was obviously too much food for 2 people. The bill came up to $10/pax and I almost forgot how cheap food is in JB. It's kind of magical lol.

Restoran Hiang Kee / Siang Kee

Jalan Keris, Taman Sri Tebrau, 80050 Johor Bahru

Hours // 1130am - 2am

We went cafe hopping the next day and the first stop was at Flowers in the Window. It's a really pretty cafe that is obviously as its name suggests, adorned with flowers. I would suggest to take a seat upstairs so that you can entertain yourself by spying on the baristas downstairs working their magic. I take great pleasure in watching my coffee being prepped. 

 Go for their Pan Fried Salmon with Cous-cous Superfood Salad and their Cauliflower Super Breakfast that comes with a hearty portion of roasted cauliflowers, scrambled eggs, turkey ham, spinach and grilled brie. Delish! We also ordered the Watermelon Juice that came with actual watermelon cubes, basil, lime and EDIBLE FLOWERS. So hipster, I know - but you can't say you don't love having actual flowers in your dish because they look too pretty to resist.

Flowers in the Window

9 Jalan Dhoby, Bandar Johor Bahru, 80000 JB

Hours // 10am - 9pm; Everyday

Hopped over to Bev C Cafe thereafter for a refreshing milk on espresso cubes drink which I've been wanting to try. We also shared a chocolate tart which didn't sit well on my palette somehow. Otherwise, it was a nice cafe to sit and chill the day away. They also sell apparels on the first level for those of you who are interested.

Bev C

54 Jalan Tan Hiok Nee, Bandar Johor Bahru, 80000 JB

Hours // Sun - Thu 12pm - 8pm ; Fri - Sat 12pm - 10pm

JB is a great place for Singaporeans to head to if you can tolerate the queue clearing the customs. You can choose to either drive in or take a bus in. I would suggest to head in on a weekday morning so that you do not have to squeeze in with a large crowd of people. Definitely go cafe hopping and Zi Char just because it is great value for your money. For massage, I would highly recommend JB Thai Spa because it is cheap and good.

Till the next JB getaway!

Xo,
Amelia

Best Moments in New Zealand

There are so many wonderful moments I've had in New Zealand so I thought I'll start of by just sharing with you in this blogpost, some of my Best Moments in the land of Kiwi (:

// AUCKLAND //

You'll probably find this one familiar as I've raved about it before. You can read it over HERE.

Hands down, one of the best fish sliders I've ever laid my hands (or tastebuds) on.

// HAMILTON //

We went to check out the glow-worm cave which was a signature Must-Go spot but what created a deeper impression in my memory was the Aranui limestone cave that we ventured into. It's basically a limestone cave that has been formed thousands of years ago. It was better than the glow-worm cave in my opinion because it was actually bright and you are allowed to Take Photos inside!

After the caves, we took a short hike up to the Waitomo Walkway Viewing Point and you will get a really nice view from up there. We were lucky cos the sunshine was so brilliant that day and we managed to get some nice photos as well.

How can you visit New Zealand and miss out on the Hobbiton tour? Lord of the Ring fans will be thrilled with this one. All I can really say is - it's all in the details. I love love love learning about behind-the-scenes and how much and work and detail that went into everything!

I thought this was interesting as I've never seen a mud pool in my entire life. We went searching for thermal hot springs and chanced upon this mud pool at a juncture. Possibly the coolest thing I've seen in a while.

// TAUPO //

This small town is one of my favourite stays in New Zealand. We stayed a short drive away from the town center where we caught a movie, had the best fish soup and gazed upon the most amazing view of the lake. The whole town circles around this lake and it's just the most stunning thing ever during sunset. We also stayed in the loveliest Airbnb and the host was super nice and friendly.

Despite bad weather conditions, we braced ourselves and attempted to hike up Tongariro but had to turn back in the end because, honestly, there was too much fog and there wasn't even a point to hike anymore and the rain was starting to come down fast and hard. Not the most ideal, but we made up for it by making time to visit the Huka Falls which turned out to be a spectacular surprise. I've never seen water so blue in my life and it was literally like a scene straight out of Pocahontas. 

// MARLBOROUGH //

We got to visit the famous Cloudy Bay vineyard and took a tour around it. Didn't get to cycle around the vineyard and pick grapes because they didn't cater for it (this is possible at some other vineyards!) but we did have the tasting menu for just $10! What a steal. AND it was for 2 pax. We couldn't exactly drink that much since it was like early in the day and we had to drive for quite a while on the roads so a tasting menu served its purpose for us.

// KAIKOURA //

Stopped by Kaikoura and OMG, i'm not even kidding you, I had the BEST seafood meal I've ever had in a really long time. We ordered their crayfish (Kaikoura literally means to eat Crayfish), mussels and a giant bowl of clam chowder. We were super hungry that day so we chowed down everything and the moment we left the table, the seagulls attacked the leftovers. Sadly, there weren't any leftovers for them really. The seafood was so fresh and brilliant.

// CHRISTCHURCH // 

You have to take a stroll in Christchurch's Botanic Gardens because it is beautiful. I took away the best souvenir of the trip there (I think buying necklaces from specific countries that I go to is becoming a thing). I know I keep saying that there's nothing much to see or do in Christchurch but they serve up some really good food. Think triple-fried potatoes and duck confit pasta. Yum

// TEKAPO //

Tekapo doesn't really need much introduction since it's literally famous and everyone knows that this is the spot to go to to take all your wedding photos haha. (or propose to your future fiancé) The lake is gorgeous. Choose a lake-facing hotel and you can wake up to lake views every single morning. Or learn how to skip rocks at the lake like how we did. I managed to skip mine twice!

// WANAKA //

We had some time to kill whilst on our drive to Queenstown so I decided to drive us to a Lavender farm. Little did I know that there were Alpacas in the farm! It wasn't exactly the right season so most of the Lavender flowers weren't in bloom but the Alpacas were enough to keep me entertained alright.  I think we possibly spent half an hour there trying to get them to look at us, what retards!

// QUEENSTOWN //

The place where all the adventure happens! And also not forgetting that gorgeous lake view. Doesn't that look splendid?

I know everyone says to go to Ferg Burger and why not, considering the fact that they are opened till 5am and resume business at 6am. LOL. Yes, try the Ferg Burger (tbh, the bun wasn't my favourite), try Ferg Gelato and try Ferg Bakery. Do me a favour when you're at it, and try the MINCE & CHEESE PIE. Omg, I can't care less if this is a less than appealing photo but the matter of fact is that I'm sharing this sliver of inside foodie secret with you. You can thank me later.

Also, checked something off my bucket list by going SKYDIVING! One of the BEST EXPERIENCES I've ever had and I've saved it so long just to do it in New Zealand. I mean, really, look at that gorgeous view you're jumping into from the plane. It is breathtaking! The skies were exceptionally blue that day and I'm so glad we managed to do it! You can read about my experience HERE, or watch the vlog HERE (:

// MILFORD SOUND //

I didn't think the cruise trip out to sea was fantastic, but seriously, I can't expect much out of a cruise can I? We spotted some seals! but no dolphins unfortunately. Got attacked by a horde of sandflies though! You have been warned. Milford Sound is FULL of sandflies so it's best to cover up and apply insect repellant.

What was more amazing was the drive from Te Anau to Milford Sound. We managed to spot some fantastic views and got to interact with some wildlife Keas! They are a large species of the parrot family and are extremely inquisitive creatures. One of them decided to jump onto our car and we also got to interact with some whilst waiting for the Homer Tunnel crossing.

// PUKAKI //

Another gorgeous lake on a beautiful day. Sadly, we got to see this on a bus back to Christchurch cos something really bad happened but this was like the cherry on top! At least we got to see the lake and definitely going back to that Salmon farm the next time I make it back to New Zealand.

New Zealand, I have much love for you.

Xo,

Amelia

Wedding Invitations Calligraphy

What better way to send out your wedding invites than to have them hand-written for your guests in fancy Calligraphy? I think that it adds a really nice personal touch to any wedding invite and it's most likely that your guests are bound to hang onto that invite for longer instead of losing it in the bin when the wedding rounds around the corner.

I loveeee writing! I think that it is extremely therapeutic and you are constantly striving to make your words look better than the last. This was my first time trying to make use of solid pigment Gold ink and it took a while for me to figure out how to make the ink flow properly out of the nib but once you've got it figured out, it's like a major sense of accomplishment!

The Finetec gold ink looks SO PRETTY on the envelopes and definitely adds a good amount of Pizzaz to your words. Highly recommend it! You can get them at Straits Art Co.

TIP // Always draw lines to ensure that your words are uniform and map out the spacing of the words in your head before you put nib to paper. 

...and how cooooool is this gold ink wax seal??

I snapped a sample copy of the invite so that I never have to open my own envelope haha

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Contact me at [email protected] or simply leave a comment here if you would like Calligraphy services for your wedding invites / seating placards as well (:

Xo,

Amelia