Jukebox #82 네 생각 ♥︎

So I haven't actually shared or talked about music for some time now. Well, I'm a creature of habit, I like listening to the same songs over and over again. This one particular song has been stuck in my head for the past few weeks... John Park's 네 생각!

I first heard this song while watching, "I Can See Your Voice" and the duet performance... It seriously blew me away!

After watching this performance, I liked the lyrics and tune so I went to find out what song it was. I haven't stopped listening to it since.

Honestly, prior to this performance, I don't think I've paid much attention to John Park. But listening to him sing live, he does have really good vocals. I normally don't like a singer or pay attention to them without checking out their live performances first. And as mentioned before, I really like singers or idols who have good vocal capability. If I'm not wrong, he went quite far on American Idol as well.

He seems pretty funny on variety programs too, maybe I should start paying more attention to John Park!

Etude House: Play Color Eyes - In The Cafe ♥︎

How about a cup of coffee?

You can look perfect and ready for a cafe date with this lovely 10 shades eyeshadow palette!

Etude House
Play Color Eyes
In The Cafe

I'm back with another makeup review! It's been awhile since I've written anything makeup related. Been more active on Dayre but there's nothing like blogging properly over here. Without further ado, let's go right into this makeup review!

I got this palette when my friends went to Korea. It was a new release at that time and not available in Singapore. So, all the more I should get it right?

This is a 10 color eye shadow like coffee roasting comes in various texture for different expression of the eyes for different occasions.

Thoughts

I initially wasn't going to get the palette but after getting it, I don't think there was a moment when I've regretted getting it. The only reason that kept me in a dilemma was that I already had the three Naked palettes and I wondered if I would need another neutral palette.

However, I found myself picking this palette up more than the other palettes I have. Compared to the Naked palettes, the size is much more makeup bag friendly and there’s a wide range of looks I can accomplish with this palette that suits my personal preference - the natural and yet sparkly kind of look. 

The palette comes with 10 shades and it costs about ₩23,000 (estimated around SGD $27 to $28). Which really isn't too bad! It's also compact and really portable which is definitely a plus point. It fits into my makeup pouch so I can really bring it out for any occasion! I can't imagine carrying a Naked palette out, I would be so worried I would drop it and the shadows just crumble. It'll be the ultimate makeup lover's nightmare. 

Another selling point, well for me at least, was the pretty names! Etude House manages to give their products interesting and fun names, sometimes even delicious names. Below are the swatches of the shadows as well as the names.

The palette offers a good mix of matte, shimmer as well as sheer ones. I personally think that Etude House has rather pigmented shadows. I didn't need to press hard or rub hard to get a decent amount of product, as per most Etude House shadows.

So far I have tried various combinations and the shadows seem to go well with each other! That's another reason why I like it, it's very versatile. I can do a simple natural look and I can also do a glam look. The two shimmery brown shades actually look very well together and the few times I've used them, people have complimented the look.

Verdict

This palette is indeed a good buy and definitely worth considering. The pros of the product is of it's size and of course being able to do many different looks with it. It makes the spending worth it because you can do many looks with it. The colour pay off is good too. I'm not sure if they still have these in stores but if they do, I highly recommend it!

Jukebox #81 Cheer Up ♥︎

So I've been away for quite some time. Have had a lot of things to write recently so had to put blogging aside for awhile. If you've been a regular reader here, really like to THANK YOU for your support! 👏🏻

It's been some weeks since I released the voting and this song received the lowest votes. Rather surprising. Without further ado, here are my thoughts on Twice's Cheer Up.

Initially, I didn't like this song. My sister's a huge fan of Twice and she kept singing it, even setting it as her alarm tone. After some time, I guess the song grew on me. I do think that the Twice's members are pretty talented too. I mean to have gone through the whole process of a live program, there's no way to hide. Too bad Somi didn't make it into Twice.

As you know, I prefer groups that can sing and if every member can sing, even better. I think that's how Twice is. They showcased their talents during the live show so everyone is like clearly aware of what they're capable of. Smart move, JYP. I don't think anyone will doubt Twice's talent, ever.

And I do think that JYP is making his mark bigger in the entertainment industry and I'd like to believe that people in JYP are generally nicer and somehow the vibe is different from other companies. I think that Twice has a chance of making it big. So really, good job to JYP on this one.

Jukebox #80 Fly ♥︎

As much as I’ll try to write a song review post every week, I can’t promise that it’ll be regular because of the ever-changing schedule at work. I’ll continue to try my best though to review songs that are not so popular or otherwise songs that are new releases.

Anyway, let’s get on with this week’s song review! This week, we have none other than Jessica’s Fly!

I previously put out a poll on Twitter and this song won the poll a few weeks in a row. It must really be popular huh. I mean it is Jessica’s solo debut song since she left Girls’ Generation so definitely people would have been anticipating her comeback.

What I think attracted people, and I think this factor attracts a lot of attention, is that her debut showcased a very confident personality. Usually, if you’re confident or appear confident, it does just make people want to watch it or pay more attention to it. I think that could be why her solo debut was this successful.

Not only that, the song was really Jessica’s style. I mean I’m not sure if that’s the kind of music she likes and wants to produce but the concept of Fly totally suited her image. The girly, ice princess, fashionable and stylish image.

Somehow I feel that there was some improvement in her vocals. Her voice, compared to the other Girls’ Generation members is on the sweeter side and maybe while she’s singing along with them, their voices just overpowers hears. Though it’s distinct enough for it to be noticed. When she’s singing solo, her voice just stands out more probably due to the fact the song is catered solely to her singing style and voice so it just sounds great.

I’m excited to see what other songs Jessica would be showing us in the future. I do believe it’s worth it to check out!

Drama Queen: Bring It On Ghost ;1st Impression ︎♥︎

So I seem to have quite a lot of free time on hand. Especially since I’ve been on leave for quite a few days last week and the week before. So here I'm bringing to you another drama first impression!

I'll be discussing TvN’s drama Bring It On Ghost 싸우자 귀신아.

I wasn't going to watch this drama because of course there are ghosts in this drama and they do look freakishly scary and real despite it being CG. But I completed catching up with Doctors and had nothing to watch so I just started on it. Besides my sister highly recommended it.

Note: This post will contain spoilers so if you have not watched the drama, you may not want to continue reading.

Characters

We are introduced to the main character Park Bong Pal, played by Taecyeon. He's a university student that can see ghosts. So he works as a ghost catcher to earn extra money. I was a bit doubtful about Taecyeon’s acting but it has definitely improved since Dream High. Plus the tough character of Bong Pal actually suits him well. Considering 2PM is known to be a beastly group.

Then there's our female lead, Kim Hyun Ji, played by Kim So Hyun. She's a wandering ghost and she's trying to figure out how to cross to the other side (pretty similar to Oh My Ghostess). She doesn't remember anything from her past (once again similarl to Oh My Ghostess) and that left her wandering around for 5 years. She ends up working with Bong Pal, eliminating ghosts together. Needless to say, she falls for Bong Pal and begins the love line.

Another important character would be Joo Hye Sung, played by Kwon Yool. He’s a professor in Bong Pal’s university and he’s also a vet. He's the guy with the black smoke or evil spirit attached to his body (similar to Oh My Ghostess). Basically I don't know what his real deal is yet but he ain't someone good. To think someone that handsome can be so evil too. Aside from that, the puppies featured in the drama are just too cute!

Plot

There are quite a few striking similarities between this drama and Oh My Ghostess, which was also a TvN drama. Surprisingly they do not have similar directors or screenwriters, maybe they have the same editors or just because it’s on TvN so they made it similar.

The drama is based on a 2007 webtoon written by Im In Seu. So basically in every episode, there’s a case they will kind of solve. If I’m not wrong it’s similar to Ghost Whisperer, where she helps the dead cross over. So in this drama, the ghost either crosses over, disappearing with white smoke, or get destroyed, red smoke.

Basically, Hyun Ji is a ghost that doesn't remember her past but suddenly gets a glimpse of it after fighting with Bong Pal and accidentally kissing him. So she follows him around hoping to find out more about her past and then ends up fighting off ghosts together with him. Needless to say, ultimately sparks do fly between the two and they end up together as a human and ghost couple. Most viewers are suspicious of Hyun Ji's existence though. She's an opaque and humanlike ghost unlike the other ghosts that are kind of translucent and they glow.

As per all Korean dramas, nothing ever goes on smoothly. We find out about the evil professor and also get to see snippets of Hyun Ji's past. I like how they developed it in such a way where viewers slowly discover how evil the professor is. Through each scene we get to see the real professor and find out what he's up to. I really hope that they get rid of him in the end.

Currently I can’t say how the drama will end. Just 10 episodes into the show so all that I can say is that it seems quite predictable and yet they’re not revealing much to us. I predict that, of course, the bad guy will get his just desserts and as for the good guys, I hope Bong Pal maybe finds some closure. If all else fails, then maybe they’ll just have an ending similar to Oh My Ghostess, which isn’t too bad either.

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Stay tuned for the full review when this drama ends. In the meantime, don't forget to catch this drama!

Jukebox #79 Monster ♥︎

So I haven't been writing Jukebox posts in awhile. Many apologies. Shall try to get back on track with these posts.

Without further ado, this week we have EXO's Monster.

For some reason I like this song! I mean it's high unlikely that I wouldn't like an EXO song right. Initially when I heard Lucky One, I had the feeling I might not like Monster since I didn't really fancy that song. However, when I heard Monster, I immediately liked it. 

It should be considered rare as I'm more of a ballad person but some songs do slip through the gap, like Monster. I'm not sure what genre this song belongs to, electronic dance music? Or just dance music? Anyhow, it's just energetic and not something I would usually listen to. Nonetheless, it'll probably be good for studying or waking up. 

When I first saw the concept photos, it reminded me on SHINee. I think they had a similar concept when the nose rings and stuff like that. Now that I think about it, this song does have a SHINee feel to it too. Wouldn't be a surprise since they're in the same company and SM is quite the trend leader in terms of style, concept, etc. 

Just saw a few days ago that the repackaged album will be released soon. Wonder what kind of song and concept they'll be showing us next! 

Do take a listen to Monster and stay tuned for more Jukebox song reviews in the weeks to come! 

Drama Queen: W ;1st Impression ♥︎

Finally starting on a new drama after the hype from DOTS. So, I started watching W yesterday and wow, it’s taken me on a roller coaster ride with just 6 episodes. If I’m not wrong, this must also be the most talked about drama currently in Korea, ranking beating other dramas that are airing now.

I’m not sure how coherent this post is going to be as I’m writing this just a day after watching 6 episodes and I didn’t have any time to organise my thoughts. Whatever it is, if you’re a drama fan, like me, I’m sure you’ll be able to understand every part of this post.

It might turn into a post with a lot of words, do be warned.

Note: This post will contain spoilers so if you have not watched the drama, you may not want to continue reading.

Characters

We are firstly introduced to Kang Chul, played by Lee Jong Suk and initially the introduction is a little confusing but it slowly plays out as the drama develops. I guess if you read up beforehand, you would find out that Kang Chul is a character in a webtoon, titled W. He had a very complicated past but ended up being successful and rich.

Then we are introduced to Oh Yeon Joo, played by Han Hyo Joo. She’s the daughter of the W webtoon artist and somehow her life gets intertwined with Kang Chul’s when she gets dragged into the drama. Mysteriously. She continuously gets dragged into the webtoon world as the webtoon takes on a life of its own and writes itself.

Then there’s Oh Seong Mo, Kim Eui Sang, the webtoon artist. He’s the one that started everything, obviously. He knew that Kang Chul was becoming real and had been trying to kill off the character but to no avail.

Plot

For 6 episodes, I would say the drama is proceeding quite quickly and that’s something I prefer. I like fast moving dramas that cover all the points. Initially when I first started on the drama, I totally didn’t know what to expect. I knew roughly what it was about but oh boy, had I known it would be this exciting, I would have started on it later.

I like how it was carefully planned how the transitions to the different worlds would be like. They didn’t leave viewers with many questions so that shows that they covered their bases. Good job.

It got a little confusing in episode 5 when the webtoon world started to get a little messed up. I get that it functions like the real world only that the parts with Kang Chul will be published because he’s the main character but somehow the other characters too act on their own and have a mind of their own. Like how Yoon So Hee got Oh Yeon Joo into trouble with the police. So that part was a little confusing. The kiss in episode 5 was a little strange as well but maybe that could be a result of the subs; lost in translation.

I like how it ended with a creepy cliffhanger in episode 6, forcing viewers to wait 2 weeks before the next episode because of the Rio Olympics. Anyway, why did it say it was creepy... the faceless character appeared in the real world. According to the webtoon artist, the faceless character was just created to make Kang Chul have a difficult childhood. But maybe, it’s not just Kang Chul that’s coming to life. I guess that would really increase the intensity and excitement of the drama. As if it’s not exciting enough.

What I predict would happen in the upcoming episodes would be that the faceless character would come out and threaten Kang Chul and Oh Yeon Joo’s life. Since the webtoon artist already hinted that Oh Yeon Joo became the female lead of the webtoon, I expect that her life will be exciting.

I’m curious to see what will happen to Kang Chul and Oh Yeon Joo and how the writers will plan the ending. I hope it won’t be a sad ending. Kang Chul already seems to have fallen for Oh Yeon Joo and Oh Yeon Joo already liked Kang Chul from the beginning so I really hope they’ll develop this love line properly.

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Hope everyone will catch this drama. I totally can't wait to find out what will happen next!

Etude House: Berry Delicious Fantastic Colour Eyes ♥︎

When I first saw this series from Etude House, I knew I would getting at least a few of the products. This product isn't a part of the haul post I wrote earlier as I got it later on.

Etude House
Berry Delicious Fantastic Colour Eyes
Strawberry Fondue

I wasn't intending on getting this product because of course the price wasn't favourable. On my birthday while I was just walking around, I saw this product sitting on the sale shelf of a Etude House store. I checked the price and it was I think around SGD $9. Although the sales lady mentioned that the birthday discount did not apply to discounted items, somehow after keying everything in, it further discounted this product. So in the end I got it for about SGD $6, which is ridiculously cheap.

You gotta love birthday discounts ♥

This product is no longer available, here's what the website says about it:

This is a 6 color eye shadow palette that comes in trendy colors and various textures for fantastic expression of the eyes for different occasions.

Thoughts

I really love the shades! 😍 Although I really don't like pink, I think pink eyeshadow colours are quite versatile and they look pretty good on tanner skin tones.

The names for this palette is just the cutest! Actually most of Etude House eyeshadows have very cute names. Sucker for pretty packaging and cute names! 

Here are the swatches of the 6 shades! I think they're all super pretty! I think my favourite shades would be Fresh Strawberry and Hazelnut Chocolate. 

The swatches above was just one swipe with my finger so they are pretty pigmented. That's quite expected of Etude House eyeshadows, especially their matte shadows. They're pretty easy to blend as well which again came as a surprise considering Etude House is classified as a drugstore brand or roadshop brand.

Sadly, there was one part of this product that I didn't really like. That would be the shade "Dip Dip!". It's the only shade that turned out to be a disappointment. Although it's a dark brown shade, it doesn't really appear dark brown. It's more towards the glittery side so I wasn't too impressed as I felt being the darkest colour in the palette, it was intended for it to be a shading shade.

I've also quite mixed feelings about the shade Hazelnut Chocolate. In the pan it appears more pinkish and when swatched too but somehow when applied on the eyes, it comes out more brown. So the first time using it, the whole look turned out different from what I imagined it to be. I’ll just have to be careful when using this shade.

Verdict

I would say this palette is pretty. I mean the strawberry packaging and strawberry shades, who can resist? But honestly, if it weren’t for the discount, I wouldn’t have gotten it either.

I wouldn’t say I’m a fan of all the shades but they’re not too bad like I mentioned above, Etude House is considered a drugstore brand so I would say they’re doing quite well with these eyeshadows.

I would recommend this palette if you’re a fan of Etude House products or use eyeshadows often otherwise you could get other products like maybe their single shadows, those probably would have a better colour payoff.

WanderLiews 2016 [1]: Manchester ♥︎

Holidays are great fun! Especially when it's your first time flying solo! So here is a new travel series WanderLiews where you can read all about my latest traveling adventurers!

It’s probably going to take me a long time to write what I did on my trip this year but I’ll try to complete writing it before my next holiday. By the time you get to read this, a few weeks has gone by or even another month has gone by. So without further ado, let’s begin my recap of my great adventure 2016.

Singapore - Manchester - Vienna - Salzburg - Budapest - Manchester – Singapore

For those people who know me well would probably know what a horrible flyer I am. I have motion sickness so I’m terribly sensitive to motion and thus riding in moving vehicles requires me to take some medication. The worst part is, in all my life I’ve never flown alone, this would be the first time.

So my flight was to take off early in the morning. I arrived at the airport with my parents and just waiting to board the flight made me nervous already. Thankfully I was feeling quite sleepy so I was looking forward to boarding the flight and catching up on some rest.

The first challenge I faced after leaving my parents was looking for a water cooler. I had to take my medicine and I didn’t have any water with me. The only available water cooler was situated in the priority seats section and so I carefully entered with the permission of the ground staff. I needed to take the medicine 30 minutes before whatever journey so I had to take it quickly. After awhile, they opened the gates for boarding. I wasn’t in the priority seating but the nice air steward allowed me to board.

The next challenge I faced would be getting my hand luggage up into the overheard compartment. It was a newer and bigger plane so they had compartments that were higher than usual. Oh boy, I had such a difficult time getting my luggage up there. There weren’t any flight crewmembers nearby so I thought I’d just do it myself. Obviously, the luggage was too heavy for me. Thankfully, the lady behind me offered her help and we put up the luggage together. I did ask for help for the second flight, realizing how heavy my hand luggage actually was.

Seems like I’ve faced quite a few challenges during my solo flight to Manchester but it’s not over yet. There’s this portion of air space that had pretty bad turbulence. The turbulence lasted for quite some time, from 30 minutes to maybe an hour. Thankfully it wasn’t too bad so I managed to sleep through most of it.

Most of you would probably be bored by now. This serves as like a dairy entry for me so I’m recording even the most boring part down. Bear with me for a little while longer.

Once the plane arrived in Amsterdam, I started to get worried again. I was worried I would miss the next flight plus research have shown that the Schipol Airport in big. The details are fuzzy but I do remember clearing customs quite quickly and finding the next boarding gate pretty quickly. Finally had some time to catch my breath and use my phone.

Of course, the classic shot of the plane. Was updating my parents, best friend and sister in Manchester (who was still sleeping at this point) of my whereabouts.

The second plane was much smaller than the first plane. In my opinion smaller planes are less stable and move more during take off and landing. I did not like the feeling. By this time, I was feeling rather sleepy due to the time difference and so with another motion sickness tablet, I managed to sleep during this flight. I don’t recall facing any challenges and considering it was a shorter flight, the plane didn’t ascend too high.

I arrived in Manchester about 10 in the morning UK time, totally feeling relieved I survived the 16 hour journey alone. 棒棒我真棒! While walking to the customs, I faced my next challenge. While filling out the immigration card, I realised I didn’t ask my sister for her address. So I desperately tried to connect to some wifi but no, there wasn’t any signal. Then all of a sudden I remembered a friend gave me his address and he stayed in the same block as my sister so PHEW I wrote that address down instead, then feeling very clever afterward.

Finally moving on to the more interesting part of the day!

My sister was waiting for me at the arrival hall and she laughed at me when I exited, mostly because I was struggling with them luggage. It's hard to pull or drag two at the same time, okay.

We headed to her place via Uber. Uber, seriously making life easy for us. We arrived at her apartment in about 30 to 40 minutes? It was a pretty interesting ride, looking and admiring all the different kinds of houses and just soaking in the different country feels.

I managed to take a quick shower, wash up before we headed out for some late lunch and shopping! I arrived just before lunch but it was like almost bed time back home. So I figured the only way to help me to stay awake would be to do some shopping. Let's hit the drugstores!

Since it was Good Friday, there weren't many bus services available, rather there weren't many of those magic buses available. Magic buses are literally those buses with a wizard on it, they charge a flat rate of £1.50 to travel anywhere. If I'm not wrong.

Back to the topic! We walked all the way while my sister gave like a quick tour of the place. We stopped by parts of my sister's school.

This is some part of her school. I took it for the pretty yellow flowers across the street. I think they're daffodils?

Of course, had to stop for a touristy shot as well. Nothing like taking photos like tourists. We had to wait for the other people to finish taking a photo first before I awkwardly walked over to stand.

According to my sister, the weather was considered pretty good. It was raining or something like that the day before. It's no surprise that the weather in the UK isn't always bright and sunny.

When we finally got to Moose Cafe, it was full so we had to wait for awhile. What did we do? Primark! Just went window shopping a bit. I think we headed back before the time they gave us and thankfully someone left at the same time, so we got a table.

I had Eggs Benedict and Caramel Macchiato. I was worried the coffee would be bitter like how it was in Boston but thankfully it tasted so good! It had like whipped cream on the top so it had this creamy taste to it and at same time it still had the fragrant coffee smell and taste. I don't know how to explain it, it was just really good. Even the Eggs Benedict was delicious. It was really a good first meal!

During lunch, the tiredness slowly sunk in. It was bed time or rather past bedtime back home so if it weren't for the coffee and the excitement of going shopping, I would've probably not lasted the afternoon.

We headed to drugstores, Superdrug and Boots and I got some things. Then went around the town area. I don't remember we shopped at Primark on the first day. I think it was on the second day.

For dinner we went to a Chinese restaurant. I didn't managed or rather remember to take photos but we had some chicken and salted egg tofu which was rather unique tasting.

By night time I was feeling even more cold, we dropped off the shopping before heading out again with a scarf. The winds were really no joke! I didn't expect it to be so cold. Nonetheless it was refreshing. Hehe.

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That's it for the first day of our great adventure! Check back again for day 2 and more! Day 1 and 2 shouldn't be that interesting (plus was preoccupied with worrying about other stuff) but wait till we get to Vienna, Salzburg and Budapest! Oh boy, the adventure  really begins!

Jukebox #78 Interview ♥︎

Finally getting to write about this song. This song has been stuck in my head since I heard it. I've been singing it for weeks now.

This week, we have Eric Nam's Interview!

I've always liked his voice. By now, it's no surprise that I'm easily fascinated by people who can sing well. I had to include a video of him singing this song live just to prove my point.

I first noticed Eric Nam when my sister talked about him. I think he was on some program she was watching and then later on he moved on to becoming the host of Arirang's After School Club. That's when I really bothered to get to know more about him. I like how he sounds speaking English and to me, although he was new to hosting, he did a pretty good job. He quickly became known amongst international Korean fans.

I think his debut song was Ooh ooh and then it was already quite impressive. I remember thinking that he must have been a good host because he's made many friends and a few of them appeared in his MV. Then I started losing touch with ASC and Kpop but came to be interested in Eric Nam again when he was casted on WGM.

He seriously has awesome manners. I remembered thinking to myself that whoever ends up with him is really fortunate because he really knows how to treat a girl and is known in the industry for his good manners. Manners is a big deal to Koreans so if they acknowledge it means it must be superb.

I better stop myself before this goes into a full on spazz post on Eric Nam. Do check out his song Interview and take some time to appreciate his soothing vocals.

Drama Discussion: Descendants of the Sun ♥︎

Finally *drum rolls* after weeks of writing and editing, I've completed this drama review! Been juggling writing this along with various reports for work so it's taken me awhile to get it out. So without further ado, here are my overall thoughts on the hit drama Descendants of the Sun! With this review, I'll be finally saying goodbye to this drama...

If you have not read my first impression post, you may do so here. I highly recommend reading it before continuing on with this post as I will not repeat some information. This post will probably contain more words than photos, though I will try my best to insert some (Song Joong Ki) photos to make reading more enjoyable.

Note: This post will contain A LOT of spoilers so if you have not watched the drama, you may not wish to continue reading.

Firstly, I have no idea where or how to begin writing this overall review. That’s probably why I’ve been putting it off until now. A lot has happened in this drama and I’m sure those who’ve watched it would agree. I honestly think that someone should give this screenwriter an award. Although there are some flaws in the storyline, like every drama would have, on the whole I think the storyline is quite unique for a Korean drama.

Characters

Previously I’ve introduced and discussed some of the characters already so I won’t into so much detail. I shall just write my concluding thoughts on each of the characters. Hopefully it’ll make sense. It probably makes more sense in my head.

Firstly there’s Yoo Si Jin played by Song Joong Ki. I wrote that I was unsure of his character at the start. I was mostly questioning in sincerity because it seemed too good to be true. Like falling in love at first sight and everything. Right up till the end, that sense of perfectness doesn’t go away. Captain Yoo is definitely someone that doesn’t exist in real life. He’s the perfect boyfriend except that his job is really dangerous. Plus, he seems to be able to do everything. He isn't just a special force soldier... he’s superman. I still agree that Song Joong Ki is the best choice for this role of Captain Yoo. I can’t see any other actor playing this role and being successful at it.

Then there’s Kang Mo Yeon played by Song Hye Gyo. She’s probably the person people are envious of right now for acting alongside Song Joong Ki (and a lot of other hot actors). I think she did a pretty good job portraying the role though I must say the drunken scene was very awkward. Although I don’t feel like Kang Mo Yeon is the typical damsel in distress kind of character, in the end it did turn out to be that way, as they had to make Captain Yoo look like the hero. At least she isn’t weak.

The supporting couple is probably really popular right now too. Jin Goo and Kim Ji Won probably shot to fame for playing Seo Dae Young and Yoon Myeong Ju. Although they have a 12-year age gap, it’s probably not noticeable as Kim Ji Won did a pretty good job playing Myeong Ju. I’m glad that their complicated love line ended up with a happily ever after and that Seo Dae Young didn’t have to keep running away from her. On the whole, I felt that the tension between the couple was well planned. I could feel the build up from the beginning of the drama till the end.

Of course I’ll have to mention Onew, Lee Jin Ki. He played Lee Chi Hoon. Oh boy, I thought his acting was good at the beginning but it got even better. When he was heartbroken, I felt the heartbreak along with him. For a rookie actor, his crying scenes were really something. It probably wouldn’t have been easy to gather the emotions and portray it correctly but I think he did a pretty good job. It was very believable. And when he started smiling again, it could make fans heart melt. Oh yes! I liked the cute little relationship he had with the boy ‘Blackie’. Once again, they probably could do a good job developing the characters and scene because it was pre-filmed.

Lastly, we have to give it up for the supporting cast as well. It was revealed during the special episode that most of the children and teen actors were from Greece and didn’t have much experience. I think they helped make the show more realistic. Really have to give it up for Argus (played by David McInnis) as well. I think although at some points his acting was a little awkward, nonetheless he still played an important role as our bad guy. Despite the awkwardness, he really felt like a bad guy and as a viewer, I really disliked him. Hahaha.

Plot

Based on my first impression post, I think my prediction was somewhat on point. I felt that they were building up and pre-empting the viewers for something bigger to come, the peak of the drama as some would call it. Although the bad guys were introduced, their scenes were mostly touch-and-go without actually having much resolution to their conflict, indicating that there’s more to come. Prior to that, there were exciting and thrilling scenes too but they all seemed to be interlinked, slowly adding information leading us to the big finale.

In episode 12, we see finally get to see what happens between Argus and Yoo Si Jin. Aside from the love story aspect, the other exciting scenes had a hint of Argus that made everyone wonder when Yoo Si Jin would finally take him out. It was pretty obvious as Yoo Si Jin gave Argus many chances to escape, which in real life that totally would not be the case. That scene where Yoo Si Jin finally takes care of Argus really kept me at the edge of my seat.

Once the bad guy was taken care of, they would have to, of course, settle the love lines. But before that we get a glimpse of the relationship between Yoo Si Jin and the North Korean soldier whose name escapes me. Sorry. Later on it’ll be revealed that this relationship (friendship) is very crucial for the last episode. I really liked how they switched between light and heavy scenes during episode 13 and 14. One second they’re all decked out in black on a rooftop waiting to take a sniper hit, the next they’re being goofy in the hospital room, then they switch to another serious scene with Yoon Myeong Ju and Seo Dae Young. Definitely a perk of filming a drama beforehand as they can spend more time editing and pay more attention to how things flow.

The last two episodes were something as well! Although a part of me was expecting the story to flow this way, I didn’t expect that it would really happen and how it would turn out. I predicted that if they wanted to kill a character it would be Seo Dae Young as most Korean dramas had their second male lead suffering that fate. Little did I expect that both Yoo Si Jin and Seo Dae Young would die! I seriously couldn’t hold back my tears while watching this episode. Normally I would be able to just control and get through with watching the episode but this time round I had to reach for those tissues.

The Ending

When I say ending, I mean the entire whole last episode! Honestly, after that second last episode, I didn’t know what to think of expect from the last episode. After killing off the two male leads, it seriously couldn’t get any worse than that. But of course, I was hoping they wouldn’t really kill them and since they weren’t able to find the bodies, there was a chance that they might be hiding somewhere. (When you’ve watched enough dramas it’s hard to accept what they give you and always explore with other options, if you get what I mean.)

Of course, my suspicions were confirmed when Big Boss’ voice is heard over the walkie-talkie. Then all of a sudden all the Line messages to Yoo Si Jin is read. At that point in time, my mind was totally blown. I was happy but mind totally blown. I remember that there were many questions in my head. The questions were mostly about how he was alive and if he was alive, why did he not contact anyone for a year. Not only that, how did he get data connection in the dessert or how did he even get his phone after being captured? Samsung is probably a super strong phone. Super obvious product placements throughout the drama, like how could we possibly not notice.

The next question mark that pops up would be how Yoo Si Jin and Seo Dae Young got rescued. This is the part that I was talking about before, how their North Korean soldier friend would be important. They didn’t give any details but through a flashback we suddenly see this North Korean soldier coming to their rescue and suddenly he becomes everyone’s best friend. Hahaha. They don’t add any more details though. I guess at that point we were all too happy that they didn’t die to have thought of all the technicalities anyway 😂

Overall, I liked how the drama ended. It ended on a light note with everyone happy, alive and getting their happily-ever-after. Although it is very cliché and expected, I couldn’t have asked for a different ending. I liked the scenes that the two couples got – Yoo Si Jin and Kang Mo Yeon at the shipwreck beach, Seo Dae Young and Yoon Myeong Ju at the army camp. It wrapped up their relationships nicely and I have to make special mention of Song Joong Ki’s white shirt. It’s a really nice shirt. Plus rolled up sleeves. And his voice... I really like that low deep voice 😍

Finally, I shall end of with the quote of the drama, “방법이 없진 않죠”.

Jukebox #77 I Just Wanna Dance ♥︎

The weekends come and go by so quickly! I barely have time to sit down and complete a jukebox song review post in one sitting. Before I get carried away with a longwinded introduction, let's jump right into the post.

This week we have Tiffany's I Just Wanna Dance from her first solo album.

When I first heard that Tiffany would be making her solo debut, I wondered what kind of song she would come out with. Of course I expected no less than Taeyeon, considering how successful Taeyeon's solo debut was. At the same time, I didn't think she would do something like Taeyeon as Tiffany isn't known for her vocals like Taeyeon is, although I must say, she has improved quite a bit.

I did expect maybe she would do either something cute or sexy. Then again, there aren't many other concepts that are available anyway. It's quite a challenge to dance and sing at the same time but I think Tiffany managed that quite well. Of course, I'm sure they make use of background vocals but then again there are those fans that would make MR videos to see who is lip syncing so it's not really possible to get away with it.

Jukebox #76 Loser ♥︎

Apologies for the backlog of Jukebox Song Review posts. Haven't been able to find time to complete them but fret not! I will complete writing them and catch up hopefully by this week. 

For the 76th Jukebox post, we have Big Bang's Loser from their 4th Single Album and 1st from their Made series! It's also their first song released after a three year absence. 

Honestly, I've never been a fan of Big Bang. For some strange reason I just don't fancy their songs other than Taeyang's songs. So although I'm able to sing Fantastic Baby, I don't actually have any of their songs in my iTunes library, Loser is the first Big Bang song to make it.

I first heard Loser while watching Fantastic Duo, the first and second episode when Taeyang was on. I liked the tuned and the beat. Although it's not the usual song that would be classified as my style, somehow I took a liking to this song. Anyway, I'm not really sure what genre this song would be classified under. I guess songs with a strong beat does appeal to me too.

I guess Big Bang's style leans more towards a hip hop style that is more westernised so that could be why I don't fancy most of their songs. I prefer ballads and pop songs but then again it's very subjective. I do know that Big Bang is a group liked by people who aren't mainstream Kpop fans. I would think it's because of their westernised sound and also because G Dragon (and TOP). Lol.

That brings me to the end of this weekend's post! Do stay tuned for next week's post and I hope to catch up quickly so I can review all the new summer songs that are coming out came out.

Jukebox #75 넌 is 뭔들 ♥︎

I know I’ve stopped writing for a week or so as I have been rather caught up with work commitments. Not to worry! I’ll ensure that the song reviews are posted on the dates it was originally supposed to be published on, meaning I’ll just have to edit the dates on the posts. That means I’ll be editing the dates so as not to mess up the sequence.

This week we have Mamamoo’s 넌 is 뭔들!

When I first heard the song, I didn’t like it. I wasn’t sure why my sister said it was nice. I only went to check out Mamamoo just because Solar was on WGM with Eric Nam, and I like Eric Nam. Lol. As the weeks went by, I found myself liking Solar’s carefree personality and went to listen to the song again. From then on, I haven’t stopped singing this song. I have no idea what made me like it after listening to it the second time but I suspect it’s their vocals.

For some reason, I have this theory that girl groups with 4 members tend to be more successful then others, like Sistar, Miss A, Girls Day etc. It’s just a personal theory that probably isn’t true anyway. After thorough analysis, I really liked how Mamamoo sounded together. Their vocals really match well. I think I’ve mentioned this in another song review post previously that things like this they really bother me. I don’t think anyone else scrutinises vocals as much as I do.

It’s not really the vocals that I’ve come to like but also the dance to this song. For some reason I like the choreography and how they planned the performance. There was this particular performance where they all wore superhero tees and there’s this part of the song that they have a short pause. During this short pause all the members did a superhero pose. It was so cute! And really clever!

Oh, I managed to find that performance! I shall leave you with the video!

Jukebox #74 다른 남자 말고 너 ♥︎

Seriously, how fast does time fly? It felt like I’ve just written last week’s song review and here I am writing another one.

This week we have Miss A’s 다른 남자 말고 너 Only You.

So far in the Kpop industry, there have been a lot of songs titled ‘Only You’ or ‘Only U’. It’s probably a nice sounding title that is also in English. In my song library alone, I’ve four songs with this title. They’re by Super Junior, TaeTiSeo, 2PM and of course this one by Miss A. I’m sure there are more groups with a song with this title. This is just a random fact I realised while I was searching through my song library.

When it comes to Miss A, I haven’t disliked any of their promotional songs except maybe Touch. With my favourite being I Don’t Need A Man and Goodbye Baby. I would think of them as quite a successful girl group (supporting my theory that girl groups with four members generally do well). Compared to other JYP groups, I think Miss A rose to popularity quite quickly. People would think it’s because of Suzy but I can’t say it’s not either. Suzy is really quite popular with her dramas and various CF.

Even in this song, Suzy has quite a lot of lines. I would say she sang three-quarters of the song while Min, Jia and Fei shared the remaining one-quarter. This song didn’t have a rap part so it reduced the ‘screen time’ for Jia actually. Quite disappointing. Though I really liked the beat and song on the whole. It could have been quite cool if a rap part was included in the song somehow.

But anyway, prior to or during this comeback, there were many rumours regarding the group that they weren’t on good terms. People were speculating that the three members were leaving Suzy out of various activities like birthday parties and they would just hang out without her. Of course, people mostly stood on Suzy’s side but others pointed out that it could be that Suzy doesn’t have time or doesn’t want to hang out with them anymore because she’s more popular. I guess we will never know what really went down but now we aren’t sure about the future of Miss A since Jia ended her contract with JYP.

Whatever it is, I hope that Miss A will still be able to promote as a four-member group even with Jia in a different company. It’ll be rather interesting to see how that’ll work out and I’m sure a team like that would be in the spotlight.

Without further ado, I’ll leave you to listen to this song and check Miss A out! Who knows this might be their last album together.

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Next week's song review will be a special one as the song received the higher vote for three weeks in a row. There'll be a new poll on Twitter with two new songs next week, do keep a lookout for it!

Chanel: La Solution 10 ♥︎

I recently had the chance to try out a new product as a collaboration with Female Magazine. It’s none other than Chanel’s La Solution 10! It’s a cream for sensitive skin and when I first heard of the product I was on a holiday in the UK. Due to the cold and dry climate, my skin was in quite a horrible state with dry patches and itchy red spots or white heads all around my face.

Before I talk about how has the product worked for me, let’s first talk about the product. Here’s a description of the product as written on the packaging:

Soothing and de-stressing restorative moisturizer for sensitive skin. Defense against pollution.

The name La Solution 10 came about because there are 10 ingredients in this product. These ingredients include:

Water | Vegetal Squalane | Soft Powder | Glycerin | Silver Needle Tea Extract | Shea Butter Extract | Emollent | Emulsifier | Humectant | Preservative

Thoughts

Initially when I read up on the product, I thought it would be more like a lotion but the texture is more similar to a cream. Although it’s a cream, it’s pretty easily to spread over my face. I don’t have to pump out a lot to cover my whole face. There isn’t a scent to the product, there is a faint scent but it isn’t very strong like some lotions I’ve used previously. For friends with sensitive skin, I really recommend using products without scents as something the chemicals in the scents may cause reactions.

The product comes in a bottle with a pump top, which honestly I prefer compared to a tub, as it’s so much more hygienic! Also, with a pump it’s easier to control how much product you want to use, reducing wastage. Especially with sensitive skin, it’s safer to have a pump to minimize contact with bacteria and dust.

So, I’ve been using this product since mid April and at first I thought the cream didn’t help. I’d still have pimples and some redness around my nose. Then I realised something one day at work when I was standing out in the sun, my skin no longer had those itchy red spots that would appear when the weather changed. Those spots looked like little insect bites or rashes and they really itched. If I accidentally went to scratch it, the skin will tear and it’ll become an ugly scab.

Also, the skin doesn’t peel around my nose area as often anymore. Previously, my skin would get dry rather easily even when I apply lotion. When I apply any base makeup, the dry flaky skin shows up clearly. It does not look pretty at all. So far with the La Solution 10, although it doesn’t feel moisturising like the lotions I’ve been using, it does provide enough moisture for my skin to not flake.

Verdict

As this product is for sensitive skin, I would really for the friends in this group to give this product a shot. I react to change in the weather or climate and sometimes dust. My symptoms for sensitive skin include:

• Redness around nose and cheek area
• Dry patches, flaky skin around nose
• Itchy red spots and white heads on cheeks

If you can identify with these symptoms and they occur because of pollution, stress, climatic changes, you may wish to try this product out!

Jukebox #73 반말송 ♥︎

Seriously! The weekends come and go so quickly! It feels like before I can complete a blog post the weekend comes and I’ve to write another song review again! Not to worry, I enjoy recommending and talking about various Korean pop songs! Some of which are (or were) quite underrated and deserve more love.

Let’s get right into this week’s review!

We have none other than, the Banmal Song by CNBlue's Yonghwa.

It’s actually written by Yonghwa for the popular virtual reality program We Got Married. So whenever the Banmal Song is mentioned, one would automatically think of Girls’ Generation’s Seohyun as well. They worked on the lyrics together and did a video recording during We Got Married as part of a mission. Maybe it's more successful because the lyrics are genuine and real feelings went into producing this song. Things done with some TLC usually turns out better right? ☺

I think the song was quite successful that’s why they chose to release it as a single. If I’m not wrong, many people did covers for this song. It shouldn’t be s surprise though since the YongSeo couple did have many fans. They even performed it together during a concert. I'm not sure which concert it was but they do sound together, don't they?

I think that Yonghwa’s and Seohyun’s voices are quite compatible. That’s quite an important factor in singing with someone as well. That’s why some Korean groups just sound better than others. Some groups have voices that stick out like sore thumbs when they sing in unison. This is probably the choir background speaking. It used to bother me if a voice sticks out thus I really appreciate if a group sounds good when they sing together.

I guess you can classify this song as “my style” again. It’s a somewhat acoustic song that can be spilt into parts or have a harmony. Somehow I prefer songs that someone can harmonise to although I’m not someone who is able to listen to a song and harmonise right away (despite my choir background). I liked this song so much I went to learn the harmony part. Hehe. Not sure who I’m going to sing it with though. Hahaha.

Alrighty! I better stop myself and let you guys listen to this song!

Jukebox #72 Someday ♥︎

I haven’t been very good with introductions. I’ve written so many weekend Jukebox Song Reviews by now, I’ve run out of cool things to say at the beginning of posts. Maybe it’s also a good idea that we jump right into the post anyway! Let’s do that!

This week, we have a rather old song. It’s IU’s Someday from the Dream High OST.

Dream High was actually released in 2011. I can’t believe it’s been 5 years already! I still can remember watching Dream High on TV with my sisters and debating which male lead we liked. Of course, there was the Taecyeon team and the Kim Soohyun team. At that time I was in the Taecyeon team. I liked Taecyeon from 2PM anyways. Hehe.

Prior to Dream High, I don’t think I liked IU very much. I didn’t have a particular reason but I just didn’t like her. Through Dream High, I was quite impressed with her acting and grew to like her a little. However, the dating scandal with Eunhyuk happened shortly after but I guess since I still listen to her songs, I don’t dislike her that much.

Anyway, it must have been strange for IU to work on Dream High considering JYP was in it and she was rejected from JYP previously. If she had made her debut with JYP, I think he would have made quite a lot of money considering she is quite popular now. If I’m not wrong, JYP wrote this song Someday and it does suit IU’s vocals pretty well.

For those who have yet to watch Dream High, I suggest you do! It’s a pretty good drama staring Suzy, Taecyeon, Kim Soohyun, IU, Wooyoung, etc. Plus, they have a pretty good soundtrack as well!

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That's all I have for this week's Song Review! There'll be more exciting Song Reviews coming up in the following weeks so do come back and check them out.

UK Drugstore Haul ♥︎

Compared to others, I would think that my hauls are generally quite small. Getting more than three items is pretty much considered a haul already. I don't really get a lot of stuff at one time but with all the little purchases, it does add up. Teehee.

I got all these products from two different drugstores, Boots and Superdrug. Personally, I feel like Superdrug has more options, plus my sister is a member at Superdrug so it made more sense to shop there. Then again, if it weren't for the membership, both Boots and Superdrug has quite regular sales. Sales like '3 for the price of 2' or something like that. I can't remember the exact terms they use. It doesn't matter how they call it, sale is sale!

Let's jump right into what I got! 😊

I realised I bought products for the face, probably because I already have enough items for eyes and lips 😝

• L'oreal Le Blush 163 Nectarine
• L'oreal Glam Bronze Mono 00 Blonde Sun

I got these items on the first day I was in Manchester. Yes, we went shopping on the first day. My sister brought me to a really big Boots outlet in the Manchester town and we got these items along with the Rimmel foundation which I will talk about next.

Decided to put these two items together because I got them together. If I'm not wrong I got them using the '2+1' sale. I can't really remember what they meant, probably it meant getting the cheapest item for free. My sister got a gloss to make it three items.

I knew I had to get the blush after seeing it on one of Zoella's videos (Boots Haul, if I'm not wrong). It's a peachy pink shade that surprisingly really suits my skin tone very well. I wore it on the second day in Manchester and it looked really quite fabulous 😍

I got the bronzer because, well, ever since I've added contouring into my daily makeup routine, it doesn't feel the same without it. I really like this bronzer for it's matte finish and it does look quite natural. The Korean contouring is usually on the natural and faint side compared to the western contouring. (Probably will do a post on my bronzers in the near future too)

The bronzer was a little bit troublesome though. I didn't check it when I got it, just took it and went to pay. When I got back and opened it, the powder was everywhere. It was cracked! I didn't drop it or do anything to it. So I brought it back to Boots the next day and did an exchange. The sales lady didn't look too happy but she did the exchange for me nonetheless 😊 It was a good experience though, experience of shopping overseas.

• Rimmel Match Perfection 200 Soft Beige

Once again I saw this product on one of Zoella's video and personally I don't have any liquid foundations. I've always used BB Creams or cushion foundations. Thought I'd give it a shot since Rimmel isn't too expensive.

Aside from the funky scent, I think it's pretty good! It has pretty good (medium to full) coverage which I really fancy.

It's of a pretty thick texture, more creamy than liquid, and because of that, I prefer using a brush to apply it. Using my fingers would make it feel thick and the application will not be as even as compared to a brush.

So far, I'm pretty pleased with this foundation! Although at times it does feel a little thick, after patting it down with my hands and applying powder, it does feel better. The only downside is that it has SPF20... I wouldn't wear this on a day when I've to be outdoors. The sun here is crazyyyy.

Also, I quite like that they have a large range of shades. I'm in the middle and actually towards the lighter side. I thought I'd be a Sand or something but I'm still in the Beige range. I'm not that tan. Yippee!

An extra interesting point, I used to think the testers at drugstores in SG were badly maintained until I shopped overseas, I realised, all the testers are badly maintain 😣  I guess it's not easy to keep an eye on all the testing counters.

• Real Techniques Expert Face Brush 

This is a new brush I got that I absolutely love! I first saw this on one of Weylie's videos and it really did a good job blending out her foundation. I first saw it on the first day at Superdrug but didn't get until we returned from our holiday. It retailed for £8 which converts to about $16. In the end I got it because it costs more in Singapore so I thought, why not. Plus I'd totally regret it when I came back.

So far I've been using this brush to apply the Rimmel foundation above and it really does do a good job! Unlike applying the product using sponge or fingers, I think using a brush like this would apply liquid foundations more evenly. I like how it doesn't absorb the foundation thus providing a pretty good coverage, making it seem that I have good complexion.

• Maybelline Baby Skin Cool Rose

I wasn't intending on getting this product but there was the 3 for 2 offer for Maybelline products.... I've heard that the blue tube one, Pore Eraser, is pretty good but since they have that in Singapore, I decided against it. Since sometimes I feel like I look quite sleepy, I got the Instant Fatigue Blur one. The colour is similar to my Etude House Face Blur one but the texture is more watery than that. It does make my skin look brighter and thus livelier?

It actually appears a little pinkish but after applying in on the face, it's no longer visible. So far I have been using this product in small amounts but I'll probably need to apply more to see how it works. Will definitely update you guys then.

• Maybelline Instant Anti-Age The Eraser Eye Nude

Wow, that's a really long name. This product is highly raved about! This is the product that I was planning to get as they don't have it in Singapore (some people have said to have seen it in town now). On the first day in Manchester when we went to the drugstore, the Maybelline section didn't have this product at all. I was totally disappointed! I thought it was sold out and left the shop totally heartbroken.

Thankfully when we returned from our travels, it was fully restocked! Maybe this is a new packaging or something but it doesn't matter, I was happy to get my hands on it!

When I first tried it out in Manchester, I kept twisting it but the product wouldn't come out. I gave up and decided to wait until I got back to use it. As seen in the swatch above, it looks rather light but it isn't too bad after blending it out as it doubles up as a highlighter as well.

I like using it for my dark circles because of the brightening effects, it really makes it less obvious. Plus, it doesn't feel sticky or thick which most concealers feel like after you put them on. I also use this to highlight my forehead and my nose bridge. Definitely recommend this product 👍🏻

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In fact, my hauls are quite mini compared to other people. I really just buy what I (think I) need so that I don't overspend and end up with things that I won't use. Nonetheless, if you're there to shop and are more adventurous with makeup products, I'm sure there are a lot of more products that you can get and try out. It's really nice to have a drugstore. Watsons doesn't count as a drugstore because their prices are quite high since all the products are imported.

That brings me to this end of this rather long UK Drugstore Haul post! It took me a few days to type this whole post out. Of course, I was distracted in between... Anyway, hope this post was useful for those who are traveling to the UK ☺