2012 has now begun. Oh, and by the way, Happy New Year to all of you!

Chinese New Year is just around the corner. And to all celebrating, this means... NEW CLOTHES!

Last year, I blogged about the history of the cheongsam and a couple of dresses I wore for the celebrations. This year, a few girlfriends and I went boutique hopping around our local stores to shop for Chinese New Year.

Gotta say it was a pretty good 'hunt' and we all bought something from some of the stores.

Our first stop was at I-Style in Serusop, and some of you might remember that I blogged about this store some time ago. We spend about an hour and a half at this store trying on a lot of stuff - clothes, hairbands and jewelry.

Check out the pics I took below.

It was a pretty fruitful haul for me. So, for those who are looking to get some new duds for the upcoming Chinese New Year, I recommend for you to check out I-Style. 

For its location, check out my previous post and scroll right to the bottom.

We checked out a couple more stores that night, but I wasn't able to take pictures of the clothes there. I did manage to snap a few shots and upload them to my Instagr.am, so you can check those out below.

If you're looking for perfectly tailored and excellent material clothes, you definitely should drop by UrbanChic. 

However, I warn you. Most of the clothes I loved here has over $100 price tags. I actually don't mind spending that much money on a really good quality dress, but since I was on a budget, decided to give this a miss.

But I definitely will be back if I'm looking for a snazzy dress for a big function.

A much more affordable boutique than UrbanChic and quite large in space too. D'Brandon also stocks footwear, accessories and men's clothing. Although I didn't find something I really liked here, my friends did.

We ended our night of shopping at Lau Di Fang (The Old Place) at Gadong Central. This halal restaurant serves Chinese food, but the most interesting thing about this restaurant is its decor.

It's designed like a kopitiam of the past, with vintage items here and there. You'll also find old pictures of Brunei and the Royal Family hanging on the walls. Very nice place with good food.

So, that's it for this night of shopping. We'll probably go on one last shopping outing for Chinese New Year, probably to Gadong as I plan to drop in to Deseo's new Gadong branch.

Til next time, Xing Nien Quai Le to all who are celebrating! 

MERRY CHRISTMAS, people!

The Christmas wishes are a few days too late at this point. But after going through the Christmas weekend, I felt how quiet this festive season is this time around. More so than usual, in my opinion.

I think most of us are pretty used to quiet Christmas in Brunei, but sometimes it's nice to feel the Christmas atmosphere.

As some of you know, I recently went for a trip to Malaysia. And in Kuala Lumpur, all the shopping malls are decked out in Christmas decors. 

Streets were lit up, huge Christmas trees as centrepieces, the city was beautiful.

So, I thought I'd share some of my pictures of Christmas in Kuala Lumpur. Enjoy!

I did a little research on this exhibition, because you gotta admit, 147 life-size bear statues standing together is a pretty amazing sight.

The United Buddy Bears is Eva Herlitz's idea-put-into-action to promote international peace and harmony, as well as raise funds for charities. Each bear is made of fibre glass and is painted to represent a country in the world.

The United Buddy Bears' motto is 'We have to get to know each other better' and Malaysia is the 23rd country the bears have visited.

I don't know whether there is a Brunei bear, and 147 bear statues are a little too many for me to search through. Not to mention, the crowd!

Beautiful, right? It's great to go out of the country once in awhile during festivities. 

Well, that's all the photos I want to show you guys. As for the United Buddy Bears, they will be on display until 15th February 2012. So, if you are going to KL within the next couple of months, make sure not to miss Pavilion out!

Merry Christmas, all. <3

Hola peeps!

Earlier this month, I got an email from PerfumeStore.sg wishing me a Merry Christmas and that in spirit of the season, they're giving away a free perfume to selected bloggers. 

They named 5 well-known perfumes and told me I could pick any one of them. My first reaction was ,'Are you for real?'

This signals a little research on PerfumeStore.sg.

PerfumeStore.sg claims to be Singapore's largest online perfume retailer and has over 90 brands of perfume on its website. It was launched in 2008 and has grown pretty well-known in Singapore and other countries.

On their website, they also made it clear that all perfumes are brand originals and do not sell fakes or expired products.

One of the first things I check is whether they have a Business Registration number. 

I also checked out their Facebook page, and saw that they have 11,588 fans. I even saw a couple of Bruneians asking whether they ship to Brunei.

Ok, it seemed legit. So, after a couple of days, I emailed them back with my choice of perfume. They responded quickly and told me that my perfume will be despatched immediately.

And true enough, later that day, I received a confirmation email from PerfumeStore.sg informing that the perfume has been despatched via SingPost and that it should arrive between 3 to 10 working days. They also gave me the tracking number of the package.

I went off to Malaysia the day after, for a vacation so I didn't get a chance to track the package. I came back to Brunei just last week, and saw that the package collection card from the Mail Processing Centre waiting for me.

It took merely 4 working days for the perfume to arrive. I was pleasantly surprised. :)

Tada! My Salvatore Ferragamo Incanto Dream (Golden Edition) is in my hands. :)  

But before celebrating, checked its authencity. Ok, box seem to be made of good material, despite the little damage it sustained. Bubbles disappeared when bottle is shaken. The straw inside has big air bubbles, which means it hasn't been sprayed before or decanted.

Ok, all tests passed! Woohooo! 

Scent-wise, it's a very nice blend of fruits and florals, which is my preferred scent for daytime. The perfume contains notes of pineapple, blackcurrant, mango and red apple, blended with peony, freesia and warm sandalwood.

The scent is pretty strong on the first spray, but quiets away to this fresh and fruity fragrance. Not quite a light scent, since it lasted quite a long time on me.

PerfumeStore.sg also sent me a little spray bottle of another perfume.

The Nina Ricci L'Elixir definitely has a stronger scent. First whiff of it was like, 'Woah!' but mellows down to sort of a huskier scent. The fragrance has an edge though, more seductive than the Incanto Dream.

Lol, I'm not a good perfume describer, but trying the best I can to articulate what I think I smell.

Anyway, HUGE thanks to PerfumeStore.sg for these two delicious scents! And MERRY CHRISTMAS to you too!

Check out their Facebook and online store if you are looking to get perfumes at lower than counter prices. They have a bunch of perfumes that are on Christmas sale right now, with a free gift for every purchase.

Oh, and did I mention that shipping to anywhere in the world is only SGD11.00? 

So, you better take this opportunity now before stock runs out! 

Toodles! xoxo

The British Fashion Awards 2011, the Oscar's equivalent in fashion, had just taken place last Monday, and had dominated all fashion-related news feed on the Internet.

After seeing just a few pictures of the event, I felt it was such a pity the show was not shown on Astro's channels as I would have LOVED to watch the amazing gowns, styles and designers walk down the red carpet.

But thank God for the Internet. I caught up with the highlights of the event and am ready to give you a rundown.

The British Fashion Awards was established since 1989 and has celebrated British designers, creatives and models for their contributions to the international fashion scene for the past twenty years.

Awards that are given out each year include Designer of The Year, Red Carpet, Emerging Talent, Designer Brand, Outstanding Achievement in Fashion and British Style, amongst others.

The spotlight, on Monday night, was on three people who each walked away with the night's biggest awards :- Sarah Burton, Alexa Chung and Victoria Beckham.

Sarah Burton is most well-known as the new creative director at the helm of Alexander McQueen and as the woman behind the most celebrated dress of 2011, Kate Middleton's unforgettable wedding dress.

So, it was no surprise that she bagged the Designer of the Year Award at the British Fashion Awards. 

Victoria Beckham is no stranger to us, but she was more known to us as a former Spice Girl, not a fashion designer.

She has always appeared in the media, dressed to the nines and perfectly chic. But being fashionable and being a fashion designer are two different things.

When she released her first dress collection back in 2008, fashion critics mocked her designs and viewed it as another attempt to just be famous. Despite this, Victoria continued designing and at last year's New York Fashion Week, Anna Wintour, the notorious chief editor of American Vogue, said, "Do not underestimate her."

So it meant so much to Victoria when she won the Designer Brand of the Year at the British Fashion Awards. So much that she accepted her award in tears. 

Alexa Chung's name is not very familiar to me, but after browsing through a gallery of outfits she has worn, I realize she is someone I SHOULD know about.

Alexa is a model turned TV presenter of Chinese British descent. Her personal style is applauded by influential people in fashion, like Anna Wintour and Karl Lagerfeld. She frequently appears in many best dressed lists and is regularly pictured in Elle, Vogue and Harper's Bazaar.

And do you know the Mulberry Alexa satchel bag? Yes, that's right. It's named after her.

Not only did she win the British Style Award for 2011, she also won it last year. And this award, amongst the rest given out that night, is the only one done by public voting.

Another item creating a buzz that night were the shoes that Samantha Cameron (also known as Sam Cam) wore to the British Fashion Awards 2011.

Sam Cam is the wife of the United Kingdom's Prime Minister, David Cameron. She is also the British Fashion Council's special ambassador, and was on stage to hand the Designer of the Year award to Sarah Burton.

These classic glamour heels, aptly named Dorothy, are from the collection of, British accessory designer label, Charlotte Olympia.

The shoe brand launched in 2007 with design philosophy based on classic lines, elegance and the glamour of old. Fans of the shoe label include Sarah Jessica Parker, Keira Knightly, Beyonce and Katy Perry.

And the British Fashion Awards 2011 deemed that Charlotte Olympia should be given the Accessory Designer of the Year.

What a night for fashion it must have been! I think that the styles seen must be much more high-street than celebrity red carpet events.

And I gotta say that I am now a fan of Victoria Beckham designs, which resonates the same chic vibe as the designer herself does. Posh Spice is definitely one fashion designer to look out for.

Hope you enjoyed this post. And go ahead and google the British Fashion Awards 2011 to look at more pictures!

Laters!

The British Fashion Awards is held annually in the United Kingdom to present awards to those who have made outstanding contributions to British clothing design during the year. 

Alexander McQueen and John Galliano has won the most number of Designer of the Year awards, 4 each, with 1997's award being a joint award between the two designers.

About 5 months ago, I have featured a certain lady whose passion for fashion  translated itself into an online boutique.

A lady who not only displays ready-made clothes on the shopping side, but also made-to-wear clothes which pretty much makes sure your order fits you the way you want it to fit.

To refresh your memory, click here to read Na Forrer's feature or you can check out the following pictures of part of her collection.

Ms Na Forrer called me out one evening to talk about an event she's planning.

Over our glasses of hot chocolate, she told me that she's planning of holding an afternoon party where her collection, and the other brands the boutique carries, will be put on display.

Cupcakes, drinks and other refreshments will be served so visitors can leisurely spend their time browsing through Na Forrer's collection. 

Other items that will be available at Thrift Fashion Party are branded jeans, handbags and accessories like floral hairbands. There'll also be some old magazines like J-17 and Smash Hits.

Man, that brings back some old memories. I remember buying smash Hits to get posters of Backstreet Boys, N'Sync and Westlife. Lol, those were the days.

Some of the stuff I'm looking forward to check out are the Zara TRF's tees that will be available at the Thrift Fashion Party. Especially when Na Forrer told me that all items at the Fashion Party will all be priced at B$30 AT MOST.

That's right. You'll find nothing over B$30 at Na Forrer's Thrift Fashion Party! 

However, Na Forrer won't be hosting this Fashion Party alone. She is also accompanied by DesireSuicide Piercing, who offers a number of types of piercings.

Ms Desire ventured into the piercing business during her 8 years study and work in the medical line, when one of her friends asked her to do a piercing. She's been active for about a year now, and can do many types of piercings. 

I myself have several piercings. Nothing too extreme though, mostly on my left ear. From her, I learnt that the piercings I have are the Helix and Lobes. 

Yeah, I know, not very impressive. I also learnt about the Monroe and the Madonna piercings. Very appropriate names, me thinks. :)

Weirdly enough, Ms Desire herself has no piercings. This surprised me quite a bit. "Not even ear piercings??", I asked. Nope, not even ear piercings. 

Anyway, at the Thrift Fashion Party, you can find out more about her services and get free consultations if you are interested in getting a piercing. DesireSuicide only uses surgical stainless steel for studs, all sterilized on the spot, and prices include all studs or barbells used.

I think the Thrift Fashion Party is a great idea, where you don't just go over and just shop. You can hang out, browse through clothes, have some cupcakes and talk to other people who are also interested in fashion.

So, if you're free on Sunday 4th December, drop by Kg Delima Satu between 1pm and 6pm for a taste of fashion. And don't forget to use your Sunday's best. :)

See you there!

Na-Forrer Online Boutique is one of the first online shopping websites in Brunei, that was launched back in May 2010. 

Email : na.forrer@gmail.com

Visit Na-Forrer's website.

Like them on Facebook.

Follow them on Twitter.

DesireSuicide Piercing has performed piercings for customers since a year ago, offering piercings for the ears, brow, belly, tongue and others.

Email : suicidepiercing@yahoo.com

Add them on Facebook.