First trip of 2014 : 泰国

 I was blessed late last year with a free hotel stay in Bangkok prior to making any work/travelling plans for 2014, so when I got the hotel voucher for 4 days I rang Daniel up and told him, "Let's go BKK! Hotel and air tickets on me!" And tadah...I spent my first overseas trip of 2014 with Daniel last week. 

Just a few shots of our lovely one bedroom suite at Chatrium Residence which was beyond comfortable and cosy. Very spacious for us to lounge around too.

Where Daniel spent most of his time. Guys just like to watch TV in hotel rooms ah? I don't get it. At home no TV meh????

Kitchenette which was completely untouched

Hotel pool!

Hotel from the outside. 

30 baht well spent :D

The famous chatuchak coconut ice cream! Had the yummy chicken noodles too!

Daniel's best friend for the trip. Everyday also "Thai iced milk tea please kup"!!!

Went back to wash up and changed to go out for dinner @ Thonglor!

Wanted him to try the food at my friend's restaurant! I love the food there albeit the slightly steeper prices in comparison to BKK standard prices. 

Awesome duck and mango spring roll, mentaiko scallop pasta, sake jelly and truffled parma ham pizza!

The restaurant is called Mellow @ Thonglor for those who are interested!

Went to grab a drink, and here's my cocktail named "melt my heart". How cheesy hahah.

MORNING SELFIES :p

Hotel breakfast which was kickass!

Helper of the day heheh TQ!

WAY TOO CUTE!!!!!!! *_*

VS angel wannabe hehehe.

So happened our 3rd day there was 13th Jan, the Bangkok Shutdown hence we decided to stay in the hotel to swim!

Do y'all like this crochet monokini??? Might manufacture it into an upcoming Juicesea piece! Love the crochet details in real life!

Dress coming up on TJM soon!

Soi 38 midnight goodness!

Angelyn just got back from Sweden and she was flying down to BKK on my last day so decided to meet her for brunch! Can't believe the first place I'm meeting her after 1 year is in BKK!

He and his thai iced milk tea AGAIN!

  <3

The trip would have been better if not for the inconvenience caused by the shutdown. However, still very happy to revisit BKK together with Daniel since the last time we went tgt was 3 or 4 years ago?

As usual, questions regarding BKK won't be answered.

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On a separate note, I just wna share with you girls my new nail and waxing sponsor, Charme, which I absolute love!

Not just because it's my sponsor, but because their nail art is UNBELIEVABLY GOOD!

Here are the past 2 designs I did with them so far!

Especially like the marble base! So freaking natural looking and just an amazing work overall! Very detailed!

 And my latest one : TARTAN NAILS! I'm crazy over tartan prints now and I'm just super happy when I saw the final result. IT'S SUPER PRETTY AND CHIC! Perfect for CNY but not too cheena-ish, if you get what I mean? 

The staff are just extremely talented and careful when doing my nails!

So basically that's how the shop is like. Clean and cosy, just the way I like it! Super enjoy pedi there also cos they scrub and moisturize my feet like a princess!

And here's the room where I did my brazilian wax! I have a super low pain tolerance level for bwax so I was very scared when I entered the room but the staff, Stephanie just kept talking to me to keep me distracted from the pain! :D And before I know it, the session was over!

 Go get your CNY nails done at Charme! Really love how clean, careful, detailed and professional they are!

Call them in advance to book appointment cos they are quite busy before CNY period!

Charme

Far East Plaza

#04-105

Tel : 6733 6958

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Heading to HK next week with my bbgs and I'm so excited. But gonna work through my weekend to put up a launch before I fly off! Hope everyone's been good X 

XX

Sophia

Instagram and Twitter : @sophiachong

Outfits

Just a casual outfit I put together to wear my new sneakers. Such a steal, how I love end year sale! Might bring this new pair of babies to HK with me!

An effortlessly chic outfit for lunch with Frans and errand day! Thick woolen tribal sweater from Ninthstore. Will be talking about it again soon!

Finally wore my strapped heels out after buying them for a year. Didn't wear it out previously cos Daniel told me it looks very aunty-ish, BUT whuttttt, it doesn't at all! What was I thinking listening to guys' opinion on female shoes hahaha.

Chilling at Donna's new shop, Select Store at 74 Sultan Gate!

Love the Supreme cap and arm loose tank top. It's actually for guys but whatevs, makes it hotter on a girl ^^

What I typically wear on days I don't wna dress up/just running errands/no mood to take ootds. I'll just slip on a maxi, or some shorts with loose t-shirt or tank top and sandals! Spent the day shopping for wintery accessories for my HK trip!

Not much of an outfit here but just showing you guys my glasses! L o v e it. 

Probably gonna be my school look when my classes illegitimately start.

Lemme know how y'all feel about this post and if I should post more of such outfit posts (:

XX

Sophia

Instagram and Twitter : @sophiachong

MUST TRY RESTAURANTS : SHANGHAI REN JIA & DONNA CARMELA

Attended the first Sunday service of 2014 yesterday with a few of my friends then headed down to try this unpretentious Shanghainese restaurant tucked in an inconspicuous corner of Ang Mo Kio! Haven't eaten such good and affordable chinese food in a long time!

Pork rib noodle : 4/5

Steamed xiao long bao : 4/5

Springroll : 5/5!!!

It's the nicest springrolls I have ever eaten and I love it!!! There's a bit of soup/gravy inside which makes it mouth-watering. I don't know how they can make such a boring common dish so divine.

Fried xiao long bao : 3.5/5!

Every dish was generally good, but I really liked the spring roll and xlb! The pork ribs were very savory too!

The bill came down to $105 for 7 people, so it's really worth it.

MUST TRY IF YOU LOVE CHINESE FOOD/LIVE AROUND AMK!

Shanghai Renjia

Blk 151 Ang Mo Kio Ave 5

#01-3046

Tel : 63686927

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Last week on NYE, Daniel and I went to Greenwood Avenue for our "last dinner of the year" before going to our friend's place for countdown. We went to one of Daniel's favorite italian restaurant, Donna Carmela. It's only my second time there but both times impressed me. 

This pasta may look normal but it's truffle pasta and it's cooked close to perfection! I'd give it a  8/10!

It's pretty reasonably priced considering it's truffled. $24 if i'm not wrong!

White wine to go along!

At our friend's place for countdown party!

Donna Carmela

2 Greenwood Avenue

Hillcrest Park

Tel : 68846884

The Bad Days Don't Define You.

It's a bit long but you probably wanna read this.

"There will be days when it’s hard.

There will be days when it seems impossible.

There will be days when it is.

There will be days when you’re stressed, or you’re tired, or you didn’t sleep well the night before, or you got into a fight with your best friend, or with your boyfriend, or with your parents, or you saw your bank account statement, or your boss yelled at you, or your client canceled the account, or you didn’t meet numbers, or you locked yourself out of your apartment, or your roommate used the last of the toilet paper, or your cat peed on your coat, or you missed the express train that pulled out of the station right as you got there, or you tripped and fell on the street, or you spilled hot coffee down your shirt, or you lost your debit card, or you got a really bad tangle in your hair, or you lost a contact lens, or you got a blister, or you found out your ex was dating somebody new, or plans fell through. There will be days when everything happened. There will be days when nothing happened. There will be days when it’s because it’s Wednesday. There will be days when it’s because it’s not.

There will be days when everything and nothing is the straw that breaks your back, and you want to cave. Sometimes, you begin to. Sometimes, you do even though you don’t want to, not really. There will be days when giving in, when relenting, when giving up seems so easy and so obvious, and it will be so painful when you do it. There will be days when you feel weaker by the second, and more useless, and more hopeless, and lost and alone and confused and scared.

There will always be these days. There will be a lot of them. There will be more than you will be able to count.

But there will always be tomorrow, too.

And there will always be right now.

And you can always forgive yourself, right now, and take a deep breath, right now, and move on. Right now. Right in this moment. It’s not easy, but worthwhile things often aren’t. And you will have to learn to forgive yourself, even when you slip up—especially when you do—because the extra shame incurred in starting from scratch will only tie you down. After all, you are only human, and humans sometimes falter. And really, that’s okay. If you thought you were anything more, if you still thought you were superhuman, you’d still be chasing invincibility to rock bottom.

You are not useless. You are not hopeless. And no matter how scared you are, you will never be alone. And deep down, somewhere, in the part of you that decided the good days and your happiness and your health were all worth fighting for, you know that, too. Hold onto that knowledge. It will see you through the worst.

Because those bad days will always happen, but it’s in this moment, right here and now, that you can realize that no matter how many days you have, they do not mean you’ve lost the days you’ve won. And there will be more days to win, whatever winning means to you. Being clean, being sober, being recovered. Just not being depressed and overwhelmed and overwhelmingly sad. Whatever it is. If it’s all of the above, if it’s none.

This too shall pass, and you will not be less of a person for it. Bad days cannot take away who you are.

There as many days to win as there are tomorrows. Days that you can win. Days that you will win.

Because these days—the bad ones—do not define you. Not unless you let them. You are defined by the days that you decide define you.

And you can be defined by the days you win."

- Thought Catalog

3D EYEBROW @ AMY BEAUTY LINK INTERNATIONAL {PART 1}

So recently I've gotten a new set of brows. A lot of people like it but most importantly, I LOVE IT!!!

Before I start, I just wanna clear up some confusion.

The previous time I did my brow embroidery was at #1 salon located at Bishan, and it was done by Amy. I no longer go there anymore and am now doing 3D eyebrow at a new place called Amy Beauty Link International located at Far East Plaza. They are 2 different shops!

A little about Amy Beauty Link International before I get started on my brows.

This is how the shop front looks like. Do not be deceived by its old exterior but instead think of it this way : they have been around for about 11 years and most definitely very experienced and professional. Before I started on my 3D shaping, they explained to me the difference between 3D brows and embroidery and why 3D is better. Also, they laid me down on a comfortable bed to trim my brows and drew them to show me how it should look after the entire process. I was very picky so I had them re-draw a couple of times but they didn't seem impatient at all. I like how I don't feel pressured to just accept the brows they drew (: 

Many celebrities and a couple of bloggers actually go to Amy Beauty too. Not forgetting MANY magazine cut outs all over their front desk (:

You can see how popular they are! Even Zoe Tay(!!!) went there, hahaha I can haz same brows as Zoe Tay!

Here are pictures of my 3D brows!

BEFORE FILLING MY BROWS WITH EYEBROW PENCIL

If you look carefully, there's an illusion of hair strokes instead of just coloring. 

That's the difference between embroidery and 3D. Embroidery is simply coloring and darkening the brows whereas 3D creates illusion of strokes of hair making it look more natural. It doesn't look like tattoo or like I just smack a tin of ink on my brows. You can choose how dark/light you want it to be also. Totally awesome! 

AFTER FILLING MY BROWS WITH MINIMAL EYEBROW PENCIL

I don't fill in my brows much after I got them done (the 3D way) cos it's already pretty dark before make up. It's like a quick 15 seconds affair filling them in now (: In fact, I go out pretty often even without my brows drawn cos there's really not much diff before and after filling them. 

If you realize, my brows are slightly arched. It's on purpose cos I don't like it the overly straight korean brows so I asked for arched brows. It's more feminine imo.

Amy (the boss) also gave me some gel to apply on my brows for it to peel evenly during the first week. You can purchase these at the shop!

I'll be going back in 2 weeks' time to touch up so it's a bit darker. My dad will also be doing 3D brows there and I'm so excited to see the results! Very sure they will do a good job. 

Doing 3D brows is really one of the best decisions I've made in 2013. YAY TO EVEN NICER BROWS. 

I used to get comments like "why your eyebrow so sparse" when I was younger, and now I get so many good feedback that I have very nice brows so THANK YOU AMY BEAUTY LINK INTERNATIONAL <3 Lots of love for you!!! I have also started do my eyelash extensions there but I lost the photos I took previously so I'll blog about it when I go do again!

I'm sure many of you girls are itching to do your brows now so here are some awesome discounts I've gotten for my readers!

3D EYEBROW

U.P $450

My readers pay : $398 (with a complimentary touch up)

EYELASH EXTENSION

Single lashes : $90 - $150

3 lashes to 1 : $80 - $120

My readers get 10% off

EYEBROW EMBROIDERY

One full session : $198

Touch up : $30

Quote my name when booking appointment to enjoy the discounts for 3D embroidery and eyelash extensions! I highly recommend you to do 3D! Pain level is 2/10, and it only started getting slightly painful when the whole process was ending. Definitely bearable! GO BOOK YOUR APPOINTMENT NOW! Have nice brows for 2014 ;)

AMY BEAUTY LINK INTERNATIONAL
Far East Plaza
#05-72/73
Tel : 67382180

XX

Sophia

Instagram and Twitter : @sophiachong

2014 resolution and f**k it list!

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!

It's the second day of 2014 and I'm already feeling positive energy!

New year's resolution???

1. Exercise more

I should really start for fitness and for my own health's sake, also because Daniel got me running shoes and I really shouldn't waste them hahaha.

2. Go to church more frequently

I just gotta get over my "not a morning person" thing.

3. Read tons of books

Previously I had very little time to do more leisure things cos of school and TJM but things are going for a slight change this year so I'll have more time for myself. BOOKS COME TO MAMA.

4. Eat healthy aka less salt

My salt intake is pretty damn cray especially with my fries and edamame. It's really unhealthy and it's high time I cut down.

5. Travel more!! DUH.

6. Party hard but lesser

Quality over quantity if yknow what I mean. 

7. Better skin, lesser make up

People deck up more make up as they get older but I kinda wna do otherwise? Maybe cos I started using make up at a relatively young age so I'm kinda over it already? I mean I still wna doll up and look good but at the same time I'm kinda liking the "minimal" look now more. Besides, my complexion has been improving for the past 6 months so I wna try to achieve better skin and cut down on make up (: Don't worry I'll still do make up tutorials!

8. Let down my pride when I need to

I'm someone with a lot of pride for a girl and it's hard for me to say sorry unless I'm blatantly wrong, WHICH IS REALLY BAD. Not so much with friends, but more with Daniel. It's damn hard for me to swallow my pride to say sorry, so imma work on that from now on!

9. Work harder and earn more money

I've got big plans for JUICESEA in 2014 so let's hope they materialize. 

10. Stay grounded

I think these are reminders we should give ourselves from time to time. I don't want fame/money or anything along the line to get on me so here's another year of staying grounded and real. There's a fine line between working hard for something and crossing the line to achieve something (:

Well, as positive and exciting new year resolutions can sound, more often than not they are hard to achieve. 

So here's a list of 

"2014 f**k it list" 

1. The fake and negative friends

I think I've lived and mingled long enough to differentiate between real friends and "destructive friends". And I'm pretty much done telling myself, "deep down they are nice, they just got a little flaw here and there" or "I may have heard lots of shit about them but they might just be false after all, and I won't believe till it happens to me personally". WELL SCREW THAT. Because when it happens to me, I might get hurt and take a long time to heal. And my friends are gonna tell me, "I told you so. You didn't wna listen.". EVERYONE is nice, but if the person chooses not to do anything to earn your trust and respect, don't give something so precious away so easily either. And for negative or destructive friends? Nah-ah, life is too short (and complex enough) to let another unworthy person to come and jeopardize or sadden it. 

2.  Drugs and ciggs

Never touched it and don't ever want to. 2014, I'm still gonna be firm on my stand. Why start on something out of curiosity when you know it's gonna bring you more harm than happiness? You know one day you're gonna regret it, just one fine day. And curiosity kills the cat. Plus I can buy more ice cream and donuts with those money.

3. Sleeping late

I'm such a victim on this. I sleep at 5 am every night (morning rather) and wake up at 2pm. IT'S SO FREAKING UNHEALTHY. And I really love waking up early, it's such a great feeling. So f**k late nights, I'm gonna try sleeping early and waking up early now. Anyone wants to help? 

Ok I think that's all on my list now. 

Gonna blog about my eyebrows next, please don't kill me I know it's overdue :/

Lastly, wishing you girls a happy 2014! Let me know what's on your "F**k it list" :D

http://ask.fm/sophiachong

XX

Sophia

Instagram and Twitter : @sophiachong