First Vlog!

Super random video I did because I liked the makeup I had on then! Now that I look back at it... I think I preferred it then haha. But I think it's probably just because I'm not used to it and I would want to try and re-create it someday. Not exactly the same, but maybe trying to play with pink and brown hues, rather than my usual makeup.

I've always been content with my current makeup style and I never felt a need to change it; simply because I figured that even if I find something else that I think looks ok, I would still use my normal makeup unless I find something BETTER. And I'm just quite lazy; never bothered with mascara, foundation, contouring etc. My logic is just that if I wear this much makeup now, what about 30 years later? O.o

Anyway you might realise that the video is formed of 3 segments. Stupid buggy Photobooth. And I also tried to insert text (just to try it out and not because I actually had anything to say haha) but I couldn't figure out how to control it ):

And omg I never realised how weird my face looks from some angles! :'( In photos I always give my left profile because that's where my fringe parting is. Now from other angles I look all sorts of weird. Meh.



Random pictures from Sunday, when I finally got round to cleaning Hamlet's cage!

No she never falls out. Wendy and Qiuting were at my house just now freaking out when Hamlet started trying to climb out, but I said she always stops at a certain point because she's just not brave enough.

And sure enough they totally started laughing because Hamlet is the epitome of "wah he/she damn action" - acting as if she vair brave and daring but when it comes to it, she won't make the leap haha.
(If you think I'm being ridiculous; I have had hamsters who did dare to climb out if the cage is left open!)


Meekly settling back in her cage to crack open sunflower seeds.


Fatass has to grip my finger to flip herself over.




Haha tried to time her release with clicking the camera, but it was impossible ): she's still super fast if she wants to!


Study Break #1: Maggi. I have this habit of putting an ice cube into my maggi to cool it down!
There was once the ice cube did this weird crackling sound and split into two, the force of which actually caused half the ice cube to hit me in the face! I swear!


Study Break #2: Putting tape over the un-taped markers (about half). And yes, since putting on the tape I can't tell by looking which tip is the fat one and which tip is the slim one haha.

Ok I never made it to Study Break #3.

Random amusement:

Omg so awesome. I want. So good for passing stuff from upstairs too! Just let it slide down!




HAHAHAHAHA. HELLO KITTY FER YOU?

I'm actually done with 4 of my 5 exams! (: The last one is on Wednesday; it is MCQ and you can bring in a cheatsheet (double-sided A4 paper with as much info as you can put on it) and it is a Science module, meaning I can S/U it (the grade won't be counted in the calculation of my CAP). So... :D

P.S. You might have noticed that I added a Google Followers widget to my sidebar! I noticed that despite not having put it up before this, I already had Followers on it! No idea how they managed to do it, so just thought I'd facilitate it for those with Google accounts (:

P.P.S. I had intended my first proper video to be a makeup tutorial but... like I said the above one was spontaneous haha. And my video-assembling abilities are still fail.

Blur or not?

Attended an event the other day for BRAND'S! I'm sure all of you know of their famous chicken essence!





Could you have guessed that the BLUR OR NOT Facebook page was about alertness?

BRAND'S told us about a really cool experiment they designed to test alertness of normal Singaporeans:

1. A male and female act as tourist couple and ask a passerby to take a photo of them.
2. The passerby takes the photo and shows it to the couple. The male asks him/her if they could take it again, and during this time the female actress is swopped.
3. A total of 3 girls were used, and they all look very different! Short hair vs long hair, white clothes vs coloured etc.
4. A whopping 7 out of 10 passersby, did not notice the swop!

Hahahaha omg like how fail is that? But I'd have to say if it were me I might not take note of the change either! Are we all really that oblivious?


The video can be found at the BLUR OR NOT Facebook page; go see! Super amusing!
*One of the passersby is also this cute aunty that chides the male for tricking her haha.


A magician performed some tricks and next there were games to test how alert and sharp we are!


Plus food ~




The BRAND'S ambassador, Wang Lee Hom! (Honestly I think he has a very old-man name, but lots of girls swoon over him - see below)


Gosh when he appeared in the video my entire row went like "Oooh!" (also because Qiuting is very loud). Embarrassing max haha.


I actually really like the taste of their normal chicken essence!


Woohoo we got a few boxes from playing/winning the games; it's great timing for me because it's my exams now! I've been taking them religiously while studying and especially right before my paper.


We're all happy because we got BRAND'S!

3 pictures ripped from Jiaqi:



Haha!


Rozz was the emcee at the event!


There's a contest on now at the BLUR OR NOT Facebook page! Go test your alertness now, and you can also post up funny moments by you or your friends!

Essentials

Thought I'd just share some of the products I use and think are good! Of course I use a range of other makeup and skincare items, but I haven't established concrete favourite brands for those while the below are all items I would seek to replace!



Clinique Clarifying Lotion
This pretty much works as a toner, and I like how my skin feels clean afterwards but not dry.

Nail Varnish Remover, Topshop
This nail polish remover is awesome! It comes in circular, pre-soaked pads - they smell good and are oily, meaning your nails and skin don't feel so wrought out afterwards.
It's not that cheap for nail polish remover ($6) though!

Vaseline
It is the best moisturizer to me because that's all it does - moisturizes. It is pure petroleum jelly so there are no other artificial additives that usually tend to irritate my skin.



The Body Shop concealer stick
Good coverage, and it doesn't leave my skin feeling dry because it has an in-built moisturizer.

Sally Hansen Hard as Nails
I like Sally Hansen's range of clear, fortifying nail polishes. My nails are really weak so I like applying their nail polish as it is supposed to keep it strong and protected. They have a huge range, going from super tough diamond-like protection to normal, etc.

Sephora Nano
This is a Kohl pencil eyeliner, it glides on well and doesn't smudge easily!
It is a fairly short stick however, so I recommend buying 2 at a shot (it's around $9). Also, note that you have to buy the Sephora pencil sharpener; normal ones won't fit.

Nexcare Pimple Patch
This is damn good for drying up specific pimples!


Here's another photo to show what I'm talking about!

Here you can see The Body Shop concealer (it's an old one, so this is it used down to the end). The middle, lighter-coloured circle is the in-built moisturizer I mentioned earlier on!

Furthermore, The Body Shop does not test on animals. I've always known that and I'm sure all of you do, but I never really thought about it that much (meaning I didn't make specific effort to buy from them instead of other brands) until Cleo magazine highlighted it recently.

It kind of stuck with me so I did a little research on animal testing...

I was originally planning to blog some pictures to hopefully emotionally blackmail all of you to follow suit, but the images were so horrifying that I couldn't bear to.

I know a certain amount of animal testing is necessary, but these should be done in conditions that are as humane as possible. Consider this - most product testings have in goal to find out how much of a product is needed for severe pain or distress to occur. This means that ultimately, animals are tested to see how much of the product is needed for them to die.

Substances are dripped in their eyes, injected into them, applied, inhaled... this is a 24/7 torture. It is tantamount to non-stop beatings - as soon as an animal shows some kind of coping with the pain or the start of healing, it means that this dose is acceptable and must be increased to see the limit.

None of these animals even have the possibility of the end of their suffering and adoption into a loving home. They are maintained purely for testing purposes, and will be used throughout their lifespan.

Some are bred for this purpose alone, others recruited from animal shelters.
Imagine being abandoned, possibly abused/neglected beforehand, ending up at a shelter with a tiny chance of happiness through adoption. Then you are sent for animal testing instead.

Did you know that beagles are especially popular for animal testing due to their good nature and hence easy handling?



I'm sitting here crying as I write this. But ultimately I feel so guilty because I don't go out and actually do something about all this, because I'm selfish, I'm lazy, I tell myself I don't know where to start...

But firstly, here are some brands that do not test on animals, and there are actually so many!

Bobbi Brown
Clarins
Clinique
Crabtree & Evelyn
Dermologica
E.L.F Cosmetics
Estee Lauder
Everyday Minerals
La Mer
L'Occitane
MAC Cosmetics
OPI
Orly
Revlon
Stila
Too-Faced
Urban Decay

So we CAN make a choice, animal-testing brands aren't just obscure ones you don't really want to use.

Brands to avoid:
Anything under Johnson & Johnson (Acuvue, Clean & Clear, Neutrogena, etc...)
Anything under L'Oreal (Lancome, Garnier, Maybelline, Biotherm, Khiel's, Shu Uemura etc...)
Dove
SK-II
Shiseido
Sunsilk

Sadly L'Oreal is the world's largest cosmetics conglomerate, and has been pushing to be able to continue animal testing. The European Union has moved to try and phase out cosmetics-testing entirely, with countries such as the UK and Belgium having already banned it.

Singapore as usual, takes an extremely lax attitude with regards to animal welfare, perpetually prioritizing economic development over anything else.

As consumers, we can opt for ethical brands. You can check PETA's database for safe brands/brands to avoid: http://www.peta.org/living/beauty-and-personal-care/companies/default.aspx
(I think searching by product type is easier)
(Makeup is under "colour cosmetics")

When you're looking at buying cosmetics, and thinking, Oh this has nicer packaging, this one is "cooler", this one is a little cheaper... think of the crazy pain and torture the thousands of animals are going through so that you can buy something a little prettier, something to show your friends.

Lots of brands are phasing animal testing out. The major obstacles are the two big companies I mentioned above, and they are highly identifiable. It's not hard to avoid, and it's not hard to try and make a difference.

P.S. Omg I just checked the list and Vaseline is a brand to avoid ): I completely retract my recommendation! I will go find something better and will share when I do!

Snore.

Got some retarded 7-11 stamp collecting sheet the other day, where if I collect 10 stamps in total I get a free Paddington bear toy! I wound up with 8 stamps at one shot haha.

Alaric: "Wait, how much did you actually spend?"
Sophie: "$14. He gave me way more than I'm supposed to get; it's every $5 spent = 1 stamp. That's because I'm a girl."

Alaric: "Oh yeah? So why was he looking at me then?"
Sophie: "That's because he's thinking how lucky you are to have such an awesome girlfriend and how you should buy me stuff all the time and piggyback me everywhere. He feels sorry for me, so the only thing he can do is give me more stamps in his capacity as a 7-11 employee."
Sophie: "Except he said all of these in Mandarin. Or very bad English."

Alaric: "He didn't say anything."
Sophie: "He was saying it in his head."
Alaric: "I don't like these internal narratives. They're always about you."

(Ok end of bohliao snippet of conversation).


Useless but semi-cute octopusxpig thing that some girl in the US made Alaric send to her.




The 3 books I carry around right now: Samantha Thavasa notebook (for notes), My Little Pony notebook (planner) and a book for my Sociology of Inequalities module.


I made tabs for all my modules in my planner! They're all bent now ):


Don't recall ever showing you guys how my planner looks like, so here it is.
Timetable on the inner front cover (inner back cover has a map of NUS); if you think I look busy just remember that all my 4 tutorials are only alternate week.
On the right, random scribbles with modules codes, module names and module exam dates.
Matric number blanked out; no idea if anyone can do something with it but... safety first!


Samantha Thavasa notebook filled with boring non-girly, non-frivolous stuff. So that's my handwriting in fairly normal conditions (meaning non hurried, exam essays would be something like this too - at least in the beginning).
I think self-made notes are quite good for summarising things and giving you something quick to read/re-cap before exams, but they shouldn't be just regurgitations of the lectures or you're wasting time!

So yes I've been listening to the sweet, dulcet tones of my professors in webcast lectures...

Ganbatte!

So last Saturday I was at Park Royal Hotel for the Nuffnang Japan fundraiser!


My Hello Kitty lunchbox, which held all our money! Shared a stall with Qiuting doing manicures (I was slowly allowed to do up to base colour coats haha) and we raised quite a bit! We only got marginally beaten by Jessica (Shiberty) and her cupcakes!




Brought some of my own nail polishes too, and those are the 2 cupcakes I bought from Jessica (they were her last!).










Did leopard-print nails for myself!

Pictures from Qiuting's blog:

SO SAD )': they spelt my name as Sophia at first. Sob sob 21 years of people mis-spelling my name... if it's not Sophia it'll be Willcoq.

Haha and "Qiuting & Sophia" sounds like Qiuting is some spoilt girl who brought along her maid to do the dirty work no?
(Like I've seen some blogshop owners bring along maids to do the ironing/folding at shoots...)


Leopard-print nails Qiuting did for her friend! So envious of people with nice nails.




LOL @ Qiuting's photoshopping... you can't get more abnormally doe-eyed than that.





Pictures from Jessica; her booth is directly opposite ours!

That's me hard at work ok. Probably doing... the clear base coat hahaha.


And me eating one of Jessica's cupcakes! I bought 2 to share with Qiuting, so that's me staring very intently at it deciding how much of it I can leave her without looking damn piggy but still getting to eat as much of it as possible...