Being 24

I've been employed for over a year now. I finished my 4 years of university in May last year & began work a few months later. I bought insurance. Started taking over bills. Began thinking about things like investments, housing, loans... basically the future. So officially, I've technically become an "adult". Doing "adult" things. Being of an "adult" age.

When you were a kid all these terms (bills, work, insurance) were like... WOAH. You're all big & grown up! You've made it! You've finished being a child, being a preteen, being a teenager... Turning 21... was still meh. You JUST hit the "official" legal "adult" age. 22... ok you're a year wiser than before. No big deal. 24... oh shit, you can no longer consider yourself on the edge of adulthood. You're now closer to being in the mid-twenties than you are to that long-awaited big 21.

And so it hits you. You're now that freaking ADULT kids like you used to imagine the lives of. From being a kid yourself, you're now at the age where you can be trusted to look after other kids. As a kid you'd see the responsibilities & expectations of an adult & suddenly... you're that adult.

But somehow... I don't feel a day older than I did last year. Or the year before. Or the year before before. The digits of my age increase, but I feel the same. I feel like I'm in exactly the same spot. Nothing's really changed. I sit around & wait for that "adult-ness" to happen to me. But what defines it really? Is it finishing school? Is it starting work? Is it getting married? Is it having children?

People around me have done a variety of those things at varying ages. Are they more/less "adult" than me? What makes an adult? Is it just the number? Is it the things we do, or the way we think? Other than my age, what am I?

Willocq Time

Omggg these pictures from... dare I say it... 2012 are SO overdue!

I was having a little dilemma because in my entire history of blogging (like... 8 years), I've never intentionally skipped blogging about something because it happened too long ago. I mean firstly I never faced such an issue till the last 1+ year & secondly, I just... find it unnatural to bury my pictures somewhere. But I know some people do that, so I thought maybe I should just give up on these, right?

NO.

I will blog all these pictures if it's the last thing I do! *whatsapp bicep emoticon*

Ok I don't want that to be the last thing I do, an old lady in a hospital bed with a Retina 4D Holographic Touchscreen Motion Sensor Whatever Else Macbook Deity, but you get my drift.

So yes anyhow.

I was leaving Munich that night to Paris, where I was to meet the rest of my Willocq troupe for Christmas! My half-sister lives in Paris, but goes to her countryside home on weekends & holidays (very common for city dwellers cause having a house - not an apartment - in the city centre is too expensive). So we were spending Christmas at the countryside home!

But first up, I had to take an overnight train (which was like, 10 hours long) from Munich!

These are sleeper trains, with beds & a washing area.

Here's the view from my upper deck bunk! 

I took the liberty of claiming the top bunk since I got there first.

I had a major concern for this City Night Line train: SAFETY

It's not like a plane, where it's "public". On trains you are in individual cabins.

YOU DON'T KNOW WHO WILL BE IN YOUR CABIN.

The cheapest ticket is for the 6-sleeper bunk.

Great for friends, but terribly frightening travelling alone.

You have no idea who the other 5 in your bunk may be! Scariest part - the bunks lock from inside. And, no one can open them from outside. Even the train attendants. 

That's the only way to prevent thefts I guess?

I'd say that for travelling I'm already pretty adventurous/game for most things. I'm not the average Singaporean that won't stay budget, won't go out after dark, won't eat street food blah blah. But this scared me. I mean... worst case scenario... you're the only girl in a room with 5 other guys. Wtf.

I do know of one or two friends who travelled in this 6-person cabin before & it went perfectly fine (cabin wasn't even full) but you never know. So despite the rather large price difference, I got the 2-person cabin (cost 120 Euros I think).

Soooo in the end... my cabin partner was a sweet old lady hahaha.

She was probably even more concerned than me! What if she gets a cabin with a young hooligan blasting music & throwing down potato chip bags from the top bunk? Lolol.

Luckily she gets sweet, ol' me :D

The area opposite to put bags (see the blue netting) but no way I can heave my suitcase up there.

The doors open to reveal a sink area!

Anyhow, it was a very uneventful & actually very comfortable train ride to Paris.

I slept well (I mean you get an actual BED instead of a seat) & would definitely consider it for any future trips! A flight might be shorter, but getting to/fro the airport can be mega inconvenient.

Sleeping through the night to your destination is not too bad too!

So I arrived in Paris & was earlier than the rest of my family members!

Dropped my suitcase off at my sister's place then went down to Champs Elysées myself.

Look at this grand entrance! Can you guess where it leads to?

Yep because you can't have topless boys all year round.

Famous for their desserts! At this Ladurée on Champs Elysées you can sit down & have a meal (rather than just buying sweet treats over the counter) but there's usually a long queue.

Met up with the family & after a 2-hour drive we were at the countryside home!

This was my first time seeing a Facebook Games Gift Card & it made me super excited because... I sometimes buy things (yes I spend REAL money on fake virtual money) in online games.

Damn, "I spend real money on fake virtual money" should be in my bio somewhere.

Also my first time ever seeing a car actually roll downhill on its own O.O

This is unheard of in Singapore because firstly I think the car needs to be a manual drive one (also super rare in Singapore), secondly the owner needs to have forgotten to engage the handbrake.

Anyway that day was all about Christmas grocery shopping!

Christmas with my French side of the family is still pretty traditional. And overall getting groceries in France is a little different because people still go to the individual artisans. The bakery for bread, the butcher's for meat, the fishmonger for seafood & so on. So it can be quite a task LOL.

A form of log cakes! You usually have to order these in advance & the popular bakeries may require advance notice of a few weeks. And on collection days there's a long queue snaking outside!

NUTELLA COOKBOOK

Quite common now, but again, first time seeing it 2 years ago.

Got oysters for Christmas, which were opened by hand by my dad & sister's boyfriend!

(half)ASIAN TAKING SELFIE.

Reaction to my flip-out screen -> "what is this contraption" - imagine in French

Also quite common to get flowers to decorate tables & all that.

Orchids!

And also the biggest dog I've ever seen in my life!

Huge Great Dane! Its head is literally bigger than mine wtf.

Ok next update should be Christmas itself. 

Following that would be visiting Vivaleng in Norway & then I'm finally done for 2012! *confetti*

ONLY Aesthetics x O Medical Clinic

Dropped by O Medical Clinic the other day with Yutaki to try some of their aesthetic treatments!

O Medical Clinic (under the ONLY Group) is conveniently located at Wheelock Place:

501 Orchard Road

#05-09A Wheelock Place

Tel: 62354434

Yutaki & I tried different treatments by the way!

I did a facial peel + hair removal, while he did a face-slimming treatment + teeth whitening.

These few pictures below look like stock photos but they were actually taken by Yutaki with my DSLR!

I think the treatment Yutaki did may be the one on the poster I'm holding, which we took pictures with simply because it was cute lol.

If it looks like we were waiting around a lot, it was because we were waiting for the skin test on me to be completed! You see, I've never done these sorts of facial treatments before. I've only ever gone for 2 facials ever in my life, both of which I basically hated. I have pretty sensitive & dry skin that tends to sting whenever I apply most over-the-counter products as those usually contain tons of additives & whitening stuff & whatever else. Which is why I usually stick to pretty mild products & avoid doing anything much to my skin & this definitely includes facials.

I've been lucky to be blessed with clear skin for 22 years of my life, until 2013 last year when suddenly I developed skin problems. I've mentioned it a bit on my Ask.fm but didn't blog about it as I was/am currently still waiting for my skin to completely recover from this strange bout.

For the first time in my life I had to see a skin doctor & get antibiotics. For those of you who know (which I found out only when this started), skin takes forever to recover. The antibiotics course for skin easily runs for at least 3 months. Long story short, my skin is much better now & is slowly going back to what it used to be. However it terms of the facial treatments I had 2 main issues:

1) My skin is sensitive to begin with

2) The antibiotics I'm on increases my sensitivity to pigmentation

I was originally recommended to try their new Luminosity Laser Treatment. When I spoke to the doctor however about the antibiotics I'm on, he did recognise that it may mean I have a higher chance of getting pigmentation (exposure to laser rays). A small chance, but still. And in his opinion, he felt I shouldn't do the treatment at all until I'm done with the antibiotics.

I was kind of stuck... I mean I DID want to try facial treatments to see if it would help my skin, but I was afraid of taking the gamble. And also the pain. LOL.

So we decided to do a little test patch behind my ear (where the skin is more sensitive)!

In the end the skin behind my ear didn't react at all, so I thought I could take the gamble.

At the end of the skin test (about 20 minutes) however, the O Medical Clinic consultants actually recommended I try their Flawless Peel Facial instead which 1) is not painful & 2) does not involve lasers. Which settles my concerns about pigmentation!

I was instantly sold upon hearing that it's not painful lolol.

And to my surprise, I was also told that it involves NO downtime at all. I always thought facial peels were really harsh & all chemical-y & all but in the end it sounded pretty mild!

So finally here are the 2 treatments I did:

Flawless Peel Facial

SHR Hair Removal (underarm + Brazilian)

Here is the treatment room! I love how it looks so clean & calm.

Useful to have a sink + mirror so that you can clean off your makeup as well as reapply it after your session! Yes, you can apply makeup right after! Really no downtime!

So here's my face after removing my concealer (still got my eyeliner).

As you can see, I've got some red marks. This is the pigmentation I was referring to earlier on, as a result of my medicine. The good news is that my dermatologist said this is temporary & that the marks will fade after a few months of stopping medication.

The Flawless Facial Peel was thus the best choice for me as it:

1) is suitable for hyper pigmentation

2) helps acne problems

At the same time it also helps combat oily skin + wrinkles but *ahem* I choose to believe I don't quite have lines yet lolol.

Mandelic acid in the solution has anti-bacterial properties designed to target acne & oily skin problems, while the alpha hydroxyl acid pairing with ultrasonic peeling system helps to brighten skin & lighten dark spots! The treatment will also remove dead cells & promote production of new cells.

The whole treatment is actually really fuss-free. The consultant applies the solution, then special lamps & eventually a gel are applied afterwards to cool & calm the skin.

I fell asleep. Lol.

It was that comfortable! And pain level... NONE.

There was a slight stinging when the solution was first applied, but it was even less than when I previously tried some big-name beauty products from reputable brands.

Overall I was really pleased with how my fears of facials were totally appeased.

Also changed into tube dress for my SHR Hair Removal!

SHR Hair Removal is actually different from IPL!

IPL involves firing one intense shot while SHR fires a multiple of milder shots. 

For this reason SHR is considered safer & less painful than other hair removal techniques.

I've personally done virtually everything there is for hair removal. Shaving, creams, waxing, IPL... 

I did waxing for 2-3 years & it is without doubt painful. Bearable, but painful.

I recently started on IPL which is much less painful than waxing, but still involves a small pricking sensation each time the laser is applied. Pain level for IPL is maybe... 2/10? Waxing is... 6/10?

SHR is... 0/10. Literally. Completely painless.

Anyhow I did SHR for both Brazilian & underarm. I've however done IPL for Brazilian before, so I can't say for sure where the results come from as I've less hair to begin with.

For my underarms however, it was my first time doing anything other than shaving.

So the other day in the shower I was thinking to myself it was probably time to shave.

I mean I don't have a fixed timetable. I just roughly know it's time.

But then I checked &... no hair.

So I tried to recall when was the last time I shaved.

And then I realised... I couldn't remember.

AWESOME!

Thank you SHR! Painless & effective!

Also took back this face mask for hydration! It's meant for post-laser treatments, but it's good for me since I have dry skin. The MCM ONLY mask is oil-free, non-sticky & ideal for sensitive skin.

I tried it one night later & it's really very hydrating!

As for the effects of the Flawless Facial Peel, I did notice my skin being a little drier the 1 or 2 days following the treatment but I simply spammed moisturiser & it was fine after that. I would say the full effects of the treatment are more visible about 5 to 7 days later, when the skin is more... rejuvenated?

My skin felt smoother & looked much less patchy when I applied makeup. 

Even my boyfriend remarked that my skin looked better!

So glad that the O Medical Clinic consultants recommended the facial peel treatment to me! That's what I liked the most about the clinic - that the consultants are very professional & do not simply aim to promote one treatment over another instead of what's best for your skin. While I was personally struggling with trying the laser treatment or not, all the staff (doctor + consultant) repeatedly told me to err on the side of caution & postpone the treatment entirely. And when I thought I should just go ahead & try it anyway, they recommended another treatment they thought would be more suitable for my case.

During the entire treatment my consultant explained step-by-step what she was doing as well as what she would be doing next, which was very reassuring. I was never left hanging wondering how long I would be lying there, whether I can open my eyes & so on. The consultant informs you every time before touching your face so you don't ever get startled (your eyes are closed). 

Once again, I liked the professionalism & it helped me feel much better about my first time.

ONLY Aesthetics has actually been recommended many times in various press reviews such as Mother & Baby, NYLON, female & Urban. You can take a look at their websites here:

www.onlyaesthetics.sg

www.onlyclinic.com

And FYI, current SHR Hair Removal promotion!

You can also find the ONLY Aesthetics Facebook page here:

www.facebook.com/ONLYaesthetics