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2015

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Staycation at Lloyd's Inn

Posted on Saturday, December 26, 2015

Can't believe the last (and only) time Justin and I ever had a staycation was about 4 years ago when we first got together! I think one key thing that I have in mind when picking a hotel is how unique the rooms are and, oh, the fact that I was also working during the day doing the Christmas shoot for The Ordinary Co and Lloyd's Inn, so we figured we may as well fully utilise the room at night!







I think the photos speak for themselves how bright and inspiring the hotel rooms were. Justin and I were staying in the Big Sky Room which goes at around S$250.00++ a night, but they have plenty of other room types at different price ranges. It was cozy and surprisingly quiet at night - it felt like we were far, far away from the city (but Somerset was a 5-10 minute walk away)!

I wish I had the time to try out the dipping pool, but rainy December days was mostly a no no. To maximize our time in the room, we ordered in mexican via Food Panda (just cause) and had a relaxing bubble bath under the open skies! All in all we really enjoyed ourselves!

If you would like to win your very own 2D1N stay at Lloyd's Inn, head over to TOC's Facebook page here, Like & Share our Christmas album by 1st Jan 2016 and leave a comment on why a stay would be the perfect gift! You can also head over to @lloydsinn or @theordinaryco's Instagram pages to find out how to increase your chances of winning! All the best!

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Part 1 - Inside Fontainbleau

Posted on Wednesday, December 16, 2015



Château de Fontainebleau is the place to go to if you want to avoid and endless stream of tourists walking into your photos, haha. It really felt like we had the entire chateau to ourselves to roam as we pleased. Personally the interior are very similar to Versailles, but of course to me, chateaus are all about the gardens, which I will share with you in another post!

If you are a first timer in Paris and are looking at a short day trip, by all means Versailles is definitely much larger and well maintained stop to go to, but if you've been there, done that and are looking for something less crowded and more chill but still a great photo op, then try Fontainebleau!

Protip: Avoid the cafes inside the chateau unless starving to death (we had crepes and sandwiches, or according to Justin: "craps" and "sadwiches", hahaha.)

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FRANÇOIS NARS + STEVEN KLEIN

Posted on Sunday, December 6, 2015


It finally felt like Christmas receiving this surprise goodie box from NARS featuring their collaboration with iconic fashion photographer, Steven Klein! The selection was all kind so fascinating and provocative, so let me break it down for you:

Dead of Summer Dual Intensity Eyeshadow Palette, S$85.00

Off the deep end.

I stared at the packaging a lot before opening it and was really pleased by the four earthy tones upon opening up. I usually work with these colours being eyeshadow shy (thanks, single eyelid). The palette comes in four wet/dry Dual-Intensity Eyeshadows which are kind of luminescent, so definitely appropriate for a simple smokey holiday look that has just a bit of shine.

Bonus, the palette also comes with a mini Larger Than Life Eyeliner in black that fits snugly inside the box, whee!

Single Eyeshadow in STUD, S$40.00

I feel like it's always so decadent to have just a single eyeshadow colour. This one is a soft pewter bronze that is all kinds of shiny and festive, but love that it doesn't scream over the top glitter. I actually think it would work well with my Dead of Summer Palette above. Hmm...

Limited Edition Killer Shine Lipstick in REDEMPTION, $40.00


This one's a kinda mesmerising metallic pink champagne shade. I love lipsticks in nudey colours so this one is just that with a hint of shimmer. Update this post once I use it with how the swatch looks!

Limited Edition Killer Shine Lip Gloss, S$40.00


Hey, I think this will be a regular in my make up bag. These days I am more of a lipstick girl because of how the colour shows up better in photos, so I really appreciate how this fully-loaded gloss has extra high shine and super saturated shades to rival lipstick, without feeling too heavy for daily wear. Also, I have a lot of dry-lip syndrome so none of that throughout the day. Hoorah!

Colours featured:
FAST LIFE (an iridescent dusty rose), and
SPECIAL FORCE (a wild shade of strawberry)

Nail Polish in NIGHT CREATURE, S$32.00

Super high shine lacquer in a shade of metallic iris-purple. It looks almost holographic and pretty daring. I almost never wear anything other than matte colours so this should be interesting hmm..


Personally I am thinking of purchasing the A Woman's Face Nude Lip Set as well, also from the this series collection because I'm seriously into lipliners (undefined lips is a curse). This set consists of a nude lippie, lip liner and lip pencil all in one. Ahhh. December. You make my wallet so thin.

The FRANÇOIS NARS + STEVEN KLEIN collection is now available at the NARS counter in Tangs! Pop down to grab a piece of this Limited Edition collection because everything feels so Christmas-appropriate.

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Part 1: Food in Paris (the Affordable)

Posted on Saturday, November 21, 2015

This food guide is not for you if you are looking for not necessarily the cheapest, but perhaps the more value eats in Paris. Justin always does a lot of research on what to eat when we're overseas to avoid falling accidentally into the tourist traps, so I've arranged a list of restaurants according to price (from lowest to highest) for your viewing pleasure!

1. Le Bouillon Chartier

If you try to search for "food in Paris", Le Bouillon Chartier will probably pop up as one of the results. It is quite the institution for food as while it serves the very atypical French brasserie-style fare, it stands out because it's so cheap.


Oh, and the inside of the restaurant is enormous and very old school Paris.  
There were plenty of Parisians and families so this place is legit for both tourists and locals.



Things to note: we went at an odd hour but there still was a line outside the place. We got seated quickly almost instantly as there was just two of us as I believe the line moves very quickly due to efficient service and the restaurant being large. However, you should still be prepared to wait. Perks - the restaurant opens all throughout the day till midnight, so if you can't find anywhere that's open, Le Bouillon Chartier probably is.

Le Bouillon Chartier
7 Rue du Faubourg Montmartre
75009 Paris, France
Near: Galleries Lafayette

2. Frenchie to Go

If you're looking for a roadside cafe in Paris that is a little modern and not so typically the ideal of a French cafe, there's Frenchie To Go. According to Justin, it's very highly rated (he always does his research before we go somewhere to eat). For 14.00€, this isn't the cheapest sandwich in town, but Justin says it was amazing and damn, I can appreciate some good looking meat (even though I couldn't eat it). Tip: please do not buy the drink I bought here - it's way overpriced at 6.00€ when it sells at 4.00€ in the supermarkets. But overall, pretty chill and hipster place to be if you've already seen Paris lots.

Frenchie To Go
9 Rue Du Nil
75002 Paris, France
Near: Jardin des Tuileries

3. Autour Du Saumon

We were in the area and looking for somewhere to eat, hence somewhat stumbling upon this cosy, brightly lit restaurant that Justin said it was very highly rated on Tripadvisor (the app tells you where to eat nearby, wherever you are!)


If you haven't guessed from the photos, Autour Du Saumon specialises in salmon done all ways. Tartare-d, poached, carppacio-ed, you name it. They even had a platter in which they had every style on it in small portions so you could try them all. I kind of regretted ordering two tartare, but hey, I had a craving.

Mains range from 19.00-29.00€. The salmon is really fresh since Norway is kind of nearer to Paris than it is to Singapore. Service was excellent - one waiter running the whole place, but he never missed a hand wave to call him over, and helped us rush our meal as we had a baking class to go for.

A very non-touristy option if you feel like all that heavy French food is getting to you, this is truly was a huge breath of fresh air to have something "lighter" on the palate. Definitely hope to go back if I ever return to Paris!

Autour Du Saumon
57 Rue Cler
75007 Paris, France
Near: The Eiffel Tower

4. Cafe Marly

 One of the few tourist traps we intentionally went to. We picked Cafe Marly as its clearly one of those restaurants that you go to more for the view than for the food. We ate the Croque-Madame but I would say I've had better and cheaper croque-madame's around Paris. Come here for a coffee or drinks in between your sight-seeing and maybe for that photo-op / instagram moment but skip the food. I drank that orange juice like I would never drink another because the weather was 30 degrees out. In Paris. Yowch.

Cafe Marly
93 Rue de Rivoli
75001 Paris, France
Near: The Louvre (of course)

5. Au Petit Sud Ouest



We like to cheers our food before we eat keke.

I was supposed to eat at Au Petit Sud Ouest for my birthday since there is nothing I wanted more than a giant plate full of Foie Gras, and full of foie it was! I personally preferred the Foie Gras with caramelised apples over the one with truffle sauce (both 23.50€ each). If you skip the appetisers, Au Petit Sud Ouest is quite affordable with the Duck Confit starting around 18.00€ and goin up to 25.50€ depending on your sides. Their Goose Confit is pretty unique as well as most brasseries in Paris choose just to serve duck only, but then again Au Petit Sud Ouest is very highly rated as they specialist in all things fowl. Reservations are recommended, which you can do easily on their website :)

Au Petit Sud Ouest
46 Avenue de la Bourdonnais
75007 Paris, France
Near: The Eiffel Tower