My Travelling Bag

Here is my trusty, ever-so-faithful bag that I use as my handbag when I travel.  This bag obviously is no designer bag, but I think it is representable and clearly serves it purpose.  It is from Charles & Keith and I got it for less than $50, but boy is it so durable - probably due to the fact that it is pure vinyl (though it has a nice, soft lining inside with lots of pockets! Who doesn't love pockets in bags!).   It is big, has many compartments, strong, stain-resistant, dent-resistant, big enough to fit even the bulkiest laptop together with my ipad, iphone, blackberry and all my make-up, wallet, umbrella, my neighbor's dog and all the other junk I carry - basically everything except the kitchen sink.   I have spilled a whole cup of latte in it in Bali (don't ask why I put a full cup of coffee in my bag through an x-ray machine - that's even beyond me :p), I have spilled a whole glass of red wine on it on a flight to India (more like pour on it), I have kicked it under the airplane seat more times than I can remember, dumped it on a dirty floor in Vietnam, and took it all through my journey in Laos.  This bag has gone everywhere with me, has seen the world as I see it, but I have to say, it has not seen better days. It is still as pretty and as shiny as when I first got it.

Well, when you travel as much as I do, you have to have bag that is big enough to fit everything, reliable and fuss-free that you can just dump everything inside and don't have to worry when you happen to mistreat it. The last thing you want is to be seen with an all-beatened-up bag, full of stains and falling apart on you.  Most importantly, the bag has to serve its purpose as a representable and dignified accessory even when you're caught on your most aweful, jet-lagged, haggered, no make-up, right-out-of-the-flight day!

Cheers !!

On A Budget

A lot of my friends say that they can't dress-up because they don't have the budget for it.  Well, I don't think it is true.  You can still look stylish wearing fairly inexpensive stuff.  Even high-street clothes can look like it is high fashion.  All you have to do is pull it together and have confidence.  Yes, that's true.  Shoulders back, tummy in, chin up.  There you go.  You're there!

In this picture: I bought the dress at a shop at the basement of Far East Plaza on Scotts Rd. for $25 (this is not even a high-street brand!).  The necklace is from Forever 21, $13.  Shoes are Charles & Keith, 4 inch platform pumps, for $39.90.  The whole outfit ensemble is less than $80, but personality and confidence is 110% :D

Rural Fashionista

You don't have to live in a big city to be stylish, or to have style. 

Take my cousin, Nuniek Kusumawati, for example.  She leaves in a rural city in Indonesia but she does have a quirky sense of style.  She is quite stylish (and she loves pink!) and has a girly yet tomboy look which I think is quite cute! Check these pics out!

Love Thy Make-Up Artist

How good a make-up artist is can make or break your look.  And if the artist does not like you, you can end up looking like crap.  And, complete trust between you and your make-up artist is shown when he/she crimps your eyelashes, when that eyelash curler comes right to your nose and hits your lashes.  All you can do is keep still and pray that he/she does not yank off your lashes or crimp your eyelid.  I notice that during that time there is dead silence and I tell you, if a pin were to drop at that moment, chances are you may end up with no lashes. 

OK, enough horror stories :P.  Look at me, I have encountered so many make-up artists, I am still alive with no accidents (knock on wood), and yes, always looking beautiful and radiant!  Just love how they can just cover-up all my sun spots and make me look like I just had a facelift :D.

Here are a few make-up artists that has touched my life (and face, of course!) and made me look like a million bucks!  Thank you ladies for making me look like I am flawless!



With May Ng for an event in KL



With Michelle Cabrera in Manila

With Rizawati from Make Up Forever Singapore for that no-make-up-make-up look :)