[Movie Review] ParaNorman Preview Screening

Paranorman - 4/5 popcorns

Thanks to omy.sg, I got the invites to catch this show that I was waiting for quite a little while. I guess I am a real movie junkie afterall. Especially cartoons or animated movies. 

Before they played the movie, a short clip was shown to explain how these characters were built in the process of making this movie epic! The production team made over thousands of faces to express the expressions of each character  - #weirdwin. Incredible work I must say, and if you have caught the show Coraline previously, you will probably have a tiny taste of what it is like to watch this is 3D. 

I won't want to be a movie poo-per, but there were these few scenes that I could remember...

Norman's Uncle: "I want you to swear!"

Norman:  " Like the F word? " *innocent voice*

Norman's Uncle: "No, I want you to promise me"

Its a great movie, for both adults and their young. I think these days, movie producer are inputing comedic effects which kids would not have any idea or have yet to have the ability to grasp the "joke" or sarcasm behind the directed lines, while parents or even adults like myself would laugh at and understand what the intended line was for! So that keeps us away from feeling bored or that feel "distanced" from the storyline.

Overall, I feel that the graphics of the movie, if wasn't explained how the puppets were being created, I wouldn't have felt that it was a WOW production, but I have to say, the storyline, the built-up, the comedic inputs in between definitely created a "lighter-blue" Monday for all of us. I need to admit that I got shocked at one part of the movie when the rat ran down the stairs at his uncle's home. Apart from that, watching this show on the 7th Lunar Month was pretty light hearted, so no worries if you're afraid your kids are going to have nightmares (:

I believe the moral of the story was along the line of bullying issues and staying true to who we are and not change just because of someone or somethings that sees us different. 

Paranorman starts screening on 30th August 2012 (Thursday)

Now, here's some tips if you want to book for your entire family on a weekend, and it can get a little pricey, and you're running out of time. Follow these simple steps. (:

1) Go to insing.com

2) Click Movies

3) Select the movie, followed by the show times under Golden Village & watch out for the magic ($$)

Hurry go book today before the tickets run out! 

Hope you guys enjoyed it as much as I did (:

xx

Andrea

[Product Review] Acnes Medicated Skincare

Safety Seal! I think this is really important, cause it does ensures that no one takes it, open it and smell it or even squeeze any amount out of it before they decide on purchasing the item

Just this amount of wash was required for my face.. and I think, in comparison with the public at large, I'm using quite a lot of it already!

The most important thing of a facial wash for Combi-Oily skincare series is that they cannot foam. And Kudos to ACNES Medicated Skincare, cause they didn't foam up no matter how hard I tried.

How it felt?

Well, I usually do double cleansing whenever I wear my makeup out of the house. So the other day, after coming home from a long day outside, I cleansed my face with my trusty ZA Oil Cleanser (Makeup Remover) and I tried this Acnes Medicated Skincare facial wash. 

Upon application, lathering of the product was easy peasy as soon as it got into contact with the water. It had a nice menthol smell to it, very herbal. It had more or less a medication smell to it, which was kind of psychological reassuring I guess to consumers who purchase it? The product is really mild, not aggressive. I have to say, many Singaporeans actually misinterpret the fact that they have Oily Skin just because the sebum surfaces during mid-day. The thing is, most of us have dry outer skin and because of that, our skin feels that there isn't sufficient oil enough to protect us from the dirt and grime! Therefore it continuously produce these "oil" (or more often that not known as sebum). 

What we really need, to counter those terrible pimple is definitely something like Acnes Medicated Skincare Facial Wash. Why? Simple, it counters the problem of the pimples and it doesn't leave your skin feeling dry like most other facial product which are labelled as for oily skin does. 

How it felt? 

Along with the facial wash, I also had the privilege of trying on the Medicated Sealing Jell. This one, I must really give a lot of thumbs up! It worked SO SO SO well for me! I would usually get pimples, or like small bumps around the forehead and really terrible pimple for that month of the day. And this product came really handy. It only took me just 2 application to bring the swell down! The redness was almost pale upon my 2nd application. It gave me a lot of confidence definitely! It is like a Midnight Miracle, or Killer for the pimple & bumps! 

Ok, but what it really does is that it helps to unblock your clogged up pores from bad cleansing or over-moisturising and help prevent them from other evil bacteria that forms your pimple or bumps eventually. It would take me a little longer before I could judge that effectiveness. But really, especially when you have those pimple, with the pus, this is the magic! 

All of the products can be bought at your local drugstore as well as selected departmental stores and supermarkets.

xx
Andrea

[Pets Cafe Review] Urban Pooch

Bring your Pet out today! 

It has been something that I really wanted to do, after I left my job previously to bring my dogs out for a day and let them enjoy themselves rather than cooped up in the apartment the whole day. So I decided to bring both of them out, of course with the help of Lion! (: 

Before selecting the place that we wanted to visit, I had a few choices on hand, we were contemplating between the Doggiestyle cafe @ nex or k9 Kulture Cafe @ Turf Road and of course, the one that I'm going to introduce to you guys - Urban Pooch @ Balestier

*Parking could be a tiny bit concern as there are pretty limited lots over there, but overall, a great place to hang out with your doggies!

What your dogs will be having..

What you will be having..

My two poochies smelling around for their "friends" who have visited before

The artwork at the cafe was also available for purchases

I brought along my own treats, so that, when I need my dog's attention, I get them. Food distracts them like mad!

Introducing Ah Pui (aka Ray Ray). Perhaps like others you may wonder why he has this name, or how could I bear to give this name to him, but it is who he really is in nature. Ah Pui (Fatty) is a very greedy dog and just by the rustling sounds of plastic bags sends his feet running towards you and trying to sniff if you have any treats for him. Usually, he's the first to finish up any food that you give him! He does have quite a bit of temperaments as well.

the Westie who was at the other side of the cafe, the.. boarding house.

I ordered Lamb meatballs for my dogs

Minced pork with mixed vegetables for them as well.

While waiting for our meals, we had a few friends who came along

I was recommended to give the Iced Honey Apple drink a try when I made an order for the Honey Lemon. I guess, its a tad too sweet for me? Overall it just tasted like syrup + honey. I give this a 7/10 still.

Soup of the Day: Cream of Mushroom (Nope, it isn't campbells). I would say this is a must have at the cafe for a human. I give it a 7/10

Chicken Cutlet with Garlic Sauce. I would give this a 6.5/10 because, as a garlic lover myself, I think that the garlic slices should be roasted instead of looking so pale. Advice if they are reading up on this article, that they should use butter to caramelize the garlic before adding the chopped garlic. That would bring out the garlic taste more that just starch and garlic separated.

This wasn't on the menu, but was recommended by the staff. I give this a 5/10. Not to our liking as the pork was overcooked and the meat was so tough that when we put our knives through it, it took us forever, I guess a SAW would do the trick. But.. overall it just tasted like normal barbeque sauce with grilled pork. Sorry, the whole hype that was introduced to us about it being Korean-ish just.. made us felt very cheated.

Enjoying the East Coast Park Views

Last but not least, introducing Miko, he is the one who always like to climb to the front seat, regardless if there is anyone there. I usually call him by the name of "monster" or even "ko's baby!". Monster because he had destroyed quite a lot of items at home already.. So, don't stereotype and think that all shih tzus are the same, cause this one has some kind of character and attitude, I guess he has the mentality of a 3 years old, and that pretty much is good enough for me.

Urban Pooch

530 Balestier Road #01-07,
Monville Mansion,
Singapore 329857

Tues to Sun : 1000am to 1000pm

Tel : 62525046

 
Till then

xx

Andrea

[Beauty Review] Mentholatum Lip Pure Lip Balm & Lip Gel

Mentholatum Lip Pure

Lip Balm Fragrance Free & Lip Gel Honey Lemon

1. Do you suffer from dry lips, or scale-lish lips that look like this?
2. Or, do you suffer from having to reapply lipstick countless of time and it still doesn't look smooth and give off the sticky thick feeling despite how great the brand was raved?
3. Are your lips dull in colour and moisture that when you touch it, you can feel the flakiness?

Hello you there, so recently I received these two tubes of goodness from Mentholatum with regards to their new product launches! They are the Lip Balm & Lip Gel Honey Lemon

Well, Look no further! 

Introducing Mentholatum new product range an All Natural Lip-luscious Moisturizing Goodness! Lip Pure contains no preservatives and colorants. It is made from 100% food grade natural ingredients and it is safe even for people with sensitive lips!

Formulated with a gentle beeswax formulation, you are on your way to soft, supple and healthy lips with Lip Pure as it is suitable even for very sensitive skin. Beeswax has emollient, soothing and softening properties and helps the skin to retain moisture as it provides a soft, flexible coating that is water resistant.

Mentholatum Lip Pure comes in 3 variants: Orange, Fragrance Free and Honey Lemon (Lip Gel).

 

Giving the product a sniff sniff!

How it feels like:

For the lip balm, I only started by using it at night, before I sleep, it is one of the advices given by Larry Yeo, Makeup Artist on the Shiseido Red Lips event that I went to previously. It is especially useful for people who always like to bite or use their tongue to moisturise their lips. Please stop doing that, cause I have been doing that for a while, and my lips are getting drier with each passing day!

So, upon application, the lip balm gives a lightweight, velvety feeling, not too oily, but just right with the right gloss. I guess you can use it to set as a base for your lips (if they have many fine lines and cracked) before you apply your lipstick, so that it stays longer!

As for the Lip Gel, what I really like, wasn't exactly the texture but the smell was so sweet! So honey-li-cious! You just can't resist. I let Lion had a try of the gloss this morning and he too said the smell was totally awesome! Its like having honey on your lips all the time! Imagine when you kiss your partner, they will forget about the stickiness from the gel (which doesn't apply in this case) and just say "eh why your lips so sweet!" 

Girls, take that as a compliment. It isn't too overpowering or pungent at all! 

 
If you ask me to choose between the two...

My Choice? The Honey Lemon!

Go down to the nearest Watsons, Guardian, Fairprice and all major supermarket and department stores today to grab yours! Its only $7.90!! (:

And, yes, I had my hair done in a darker shade and with a combination of Balayage & Ombre Highlights. I'm so falling in love me my Magenta ends. If you're wondering where I had them done, its at Salon Vim @ 313 by John!

Till then

xx

Andrea