Vanity Journey - Facial laser with DRx

In my life, I guess the hardest battle that I've to deal with currently, is probably the battle against acne scarring. Why is the journey to good flawless skin such a treacherous one? #firstworldproblems indeed.

I've been going to DRx for my skin problems and I love them & their products because they help to minimize black/white heads and reduce the frequency & size of my pimples if they do occur. One major problem I have with recurring pimples is that they often leave a red mark after they're gone & they would be there for the longest time :( 

So in this post, I will talk about a treatment that I've been going for since 2011. I've gone for about 7 sessions & these laser treatments have dramatically improved my skin condition. This post will be an image heavy post & lots of unglam ugly pictures so please do not judge! 

I've gone for 2 different types of laser, one invasive ( can't remember the name of the laser) but it was to target deeper scars and leave bloody marks all over and it was extremely painful! I went for two sessions of that and then decided to stop because I really couldn't bear the pain and the downtime.

But it helped to improve the appearance of deeper scars!

For the second type of laser, it is call the CO2 fractional laser. It is done for the overall resurfacing of the skin and it is usually quite painful at the upper lip area and the area around the eye.

So this is the condition of my skin before my laser. The main bout of the scars and large pores are at the sides of my cheek and scars on my nose as well 

Before the treatment, I would have to apply a layer of numb cream on my face and let it settle and take effect for about an hour. Normally I would ask the nurse to apply a thick layer as I have very low tolerance for pain!

I do not have pictures of the during but you can easily google it on YouTube. 

This is on the night of the laser treatment. As you can see, the skin will turn a little red after the treatment and it's normal. I regretted telling the doctor not to increase the power of the laser. I shouldn't be so chicken if I had wanted to see greater effects in this session. I NEED to have more courage for my next session. 

The face was actually burning because I had just showered and it was really painful :( 

After the laser treatment, for the next few days, you will be required to put a layer of hylauronic moisturizer (HM) on your face. The purpose of of HM is to moisturize the face while encouraging new cell growth. I dislike this, because it makes my face super oily and I can't lie on sides while I sleep. The feeling is just "eww". 

Day 2 of healing. Not much of a difference except that the face is slightly less red and the 'tiny dots" on the face are starting to turn brownish.

Day 3 of healing. In the last picture,you can see that the scabs have turned brown and are ready to fall off to reveal the new skin! My forehead is less red than the other areas as the doctor had used a lower power for that area as there is not scars on the area.

Normally on day 3, my face will start to itch and I would usually use a facial mist to calm the area and reduce itching!

Day 4. Not much difference from day 3. But skin becomes brownish due to the tiny dots.

Day 5. Scabs have mostly fallen. Skin remains pinkish.

Did a comparison collage between before laser treatment and 5 days after laser treatment. How wonderful is the treatment! I'm really addicted to CO2 treatment as I can see the effects after 1 session. 

But the only thing is, I would need to reduce the interval between each treatments to see better effects. The last time I did this was in March and I had delayed the treatment for 7 months before doing it again October. However, te period of downtime was what had caused the delay as I can't take a week leave so often. 

Day 6. Scabs have mostly fallen & new skin is revealed. Acne scars are much shallower except for some stubborn scars near the nose area and cheek area. But otherwise, I'm really happy with the effects of this treatment.

The date with Hana - Little Pancakes

The boyf and I enjoy going to Thomson area for meals as there are many cafes and ice-cream shops along the stretch. One of my favourite cafe at Thomson area has got to be Little Pancakes because of my love for pancakes. 

As the name suggest, their pancake is way smaller than the normal pancake and their pancakes are really fluffy and soft, the way I like it. 

Little Pancakes 

200 Upper Thomson Road #01-04

Thomson Imperial Court 

S574424

The pancakes are also really affordable ranging from $8 to about $14. Our bill normally comes up to about $30 including 2 drinks.

A while ago during the September holidays, my niece came over to our place to stay for a week. We decided to bring her back to Little Pancakes and she had enjoyed the pancakes here when we brought her here a while ago back. 

She was so excited about having pancakes again and wanted to take pictures with the decals on the wall of the shop. 

And here are some of the pictures the smartypants took. 

Here's the usual that I will order, Blueberry Pancakes and it comes with either a scoop of vanilla ice-cream or cream cheese. I chose Vanilla ice-cream of course. 

And Hana's S'mores. I think she enjoyed the oreos more than the marsmallow. The marsmallow was pretty 'gelat' after just having one. 

As you can tell, we really enjoyed our pancakes! 

On a Weekday Date - Drips Bakery Cafe

If you think a weekend date is your antidote for a long week of work,  try a weekday date!

I had the opportunity to have a weekday date with the boyf and I really loved it! 

The boy was on leave that whole week and I had some time off in the afternoon from work hence the boyf decided to bring me out on a weekday date!

We went to this bakery called the Drips Bakery Cafe.

Drips Bakery Cafe
82 Tiong Poh Road, #01-05
(S)160082

It is situated around Tiong Bahru Road and located in the midst of some really colonial-looking houses. Really a nice place to explore if you have the time. I saw Plain Vanilla Bakery and some other interesting cafes that I think are worth giving it a try!

Anyways back to Drips, as you can see from the picture, they specialize in tarts and their tarts are really pretty tasty!

Besides fruit tarts, they do have a wide variety of other tarts as well, like creme brulee and chocolate tarts.

The inside of the cafe. Besides regular tables and chairs, they have sofas and tables too. I think its good for studying or having informal small group meetings and not forgetting casual catch-ups with friends as well. 

I ordered a blackberry/raspberry fruit tart (about $8) and a pot of earl grey tea to share. 

The boyf ordered a blackberry almond fruit tart (about $8 too).

We loved the blackberry/raspberry fruit tart as the crust was super nice. But we didn't really enjoy the blackberry almond fruit tart. The blackberry almond fruit tart was a little too soft and I thought it tasted really weird.

and our #ootd! Made the boyf do it as well and he is a much better poser than me! 

And a couple pic of us, on a weekday date! *weeeeee

GRUB!

More feasting took place a couple of weekends back and we tried out more new places.

The first that we tried was the highly raved Grub situated inside Bishan Park.

GRUB
510, Ang Mo Kio Ave 1 
(Bishan Park 1)
Singapore 569983

We have been wanting to drop by GRUB for a really long time, but were quite deterred by the long queues that would form even before its opening.

We finally decided to give this place a chance on a Sunday morning and were pleasantly surprised that the queue was not very long. We didn't even have to wait at all for a seat. However, the waitress gave us a seat at a corner, directly in front of the ventilation fan and it was really hot! We were seated outdoor plus directly in front of the ventilation fan, just imagine the heat I had to withstand :(

As my stomach was not feeling really well, I did not want to have any fried food, so I ordered the Portobello Mushroom set, which I instantaneously regretted when I saw the waitress bringing it to me. 

It wasn't because it didn't taste nice, but I felt that the portion was too small. Doesn't look like I can get full from eating it. 

The portobello mushroom was nice, and juicy, but I didn't like the rocket salad that came with it. The taste was just too overpowering. Can't really remember the price, but I think it cost about $12 for this?

The boyf ordered one of their signature dish, the Fish Burger. Something that I would definitely order if I weren't sick. The boyf loves egg so much that he ordered another fried egg to go along with his fish burger. 

I tasted a bit of his fish burger, but I found it over-rated. The fish was really tender but, it wasn't as flavourful as I thought it would be. 

Here's the boyf really enjoying his food.

The total cost came up to be about $50 plus including 2 drinks which I thought was pretty reasonable. 

We didn't order the Churros because I'm not a fan of it as I cannot stand the cinnamon smell. But a colleague told me that their Churros does not have a cinnamon smell, so maybe I'll try it when I visit GRUB again!

After the food, we explored Bishan Park a bit since I've never ever been there before. I like where GRUB is located at because that place is just so quiet, calm and serene. 

A good place to take a little stroll to exercise off the calories from the food! 

Trust or Honesty?

It is not uncommon to hear people say that trust is the most important element in a relationship. And I agree. Trust is the building foundation of any relationships. Because of the trust your partner has for you, he/she handed over to you something that is so important to him/her; her/his heart, her/his life and his/her happiness. And he/she does this, because your partner trust that you will take good care of all these that have been handed over to you. He/she trusts that you will honor and value the sanctity of the relationship.

Unfortunately, many a times, this trust has been abused, and has been taken advantaged of by people who on one hand, says that trust is so very important, yet on the other hand takes trust so lightly. So in my humble opinion, I think that what is more important in relationship is not trust, but honesty. Without honesty, trust is just an empty shell. Doesn't this sound like the familiar childhood story, 'The Boy Who Cried Wolf' that we have heard so many times when we were younger? The rationale is the same. People just don't trust you again once they have caught you lie before. Maybe they will one day, but the scar will always be there, the insecurity will always be there. 

When trust is broken, don't blame it on others. Blame it on yourself. Because, once upon a time, your partner trusted you so much, yet you chose to be dishonest. You gave him/her the opportunity to distrust you. 

When you have broken the trust, don't expect trust to be be re-established overnight. It is not as easy as that. Just think of a friend whom you have caught him lie before, would you be able to trust him/her again? Or would you think that everything that he's saying is just another brag, just another lie, just another bullsh* story he/she is trying to come up with. If trust in a friendship when broken, is so difficult to be re-established, how long do you think you need to re-establish trust in a relationship when your partner had previously given you the 100% trust that he/she thought deserved. 

If you are complaining about mending this relationship that is without trust, look back and always ask yourself, what happened to the trust? Don't complain, because your partner whom you have been dishonest to, is probably living a life worse off than you. And he/she didn't deserve that. Not only must he/she try to mend the relationship, he/she must learn to trust again, and he/she needs to recover from the episode. 

When you're trying to mend the relationship, all talk but no action equates to nonsense. Be patient. Give time. Give your reassurances. Don't hide when there's nothing to hide. Be open. And most importantly, don't lie. 

Wimbly Lu

So after my very persistent requests to the boyf to bring me to Wimbly Lu, the boyf finally gave in to me and brought me there last Saturday. Have been wanting to go there for the longest time, because they serve CHOCOLATES, and very good ones (according to reviews). 

We arrived there at about 845pm and were shocked to see the queue. Reviews didn't mention anything about having to queue! But it was alright, because that would also mean that we are gonna get really good chocolate desserts! So we joined in the queue and got our table about 20 minutes later. Not sure if Wimbly Lu takes in reservations but no harm calling and give it a try! :) 

Wimbly Lu

15 Jalan Riang 

S358987

Tel: 6289 1489

I like the interior of the cafe. It is dimly lit, pretty decorations around and very cosy. And you get to see the yummy desserts on display as well!

For myself, I ordered the Rootbeer chocolate cake and boy, I did not regret my choice a single bit. It was an interesting combination, root beer and chocolate. You could taste a tinge of rootbeer which was not too overpowering. And the cake, was super moist! 

The boyf had initially wanted to order Lemon Meringue but it was sold out already. So he ordered the molten lava chocolate cake instead, which was nice! I could already smell the chocolate taste when the waitress brought it out on our table. 

After the dessert, we took a long stroll back to our car, hand in hand. Simple pleasures in life which I treasure very much. 

Talking about which, Wimbly Lu is very inaccessible because it is hidden inside the rows of landed property. So it would be good if you drive there, but parking legally is also another issue. 

But if I'm not wrong, the nearest MRT station would be Lorong Chuan. 

Overall, the experience at Wimbly Lu was a really pleasant one, even though we had to wait. I will definitely want to go back there again to try the other different desserts (will still order rootbeer chocolate cake again) like Eton mess, and flourless chocolate cake! 

Please go there if you haven't!