Sweater Weather

On the eve of Christmas eve, there was a rare day that was surprisingly chilly. Temperatures dipped till a cool 24 degrees and I felt myself feeling rather cold even at home. It was perfect.

I quickly seized the chance to wear something Winter-ish. I miss dressing up for Winter. Okay, maybe not so much. The layering looks fun & stylish, but it really is a hassle when you're trying on clothes to buy, or feeling the cold in your bones. Nevertheless, having a bit of cooler temperature on our sunny island is always a good respite.

This time, one year ago, I was freezing my ass off in London. It was cold! No matter what I wore, it was still painfully cold. Plus, it drizzles a lot in London too... so... :/ :/ Hahaha. Despite it all, it's still one of my favourite cities in the world with the extraordinary charm it holds.

Top: Lace & Ebony Joycie Knitted Top (Maroon)
Bottom: Lace & Ebony upcoming Leather Pencil Skirt
Shoes: Boots from Madrid

Bag: Longchamp

I am wearing a Lace & Ebony Joycie Knitted Top in Maroon, paired with an upcoming pencil leather skirt which I am swooning about. You know how I'm always keeping versatile items in my wardrobe? Yes, this leather skirt, is really versatile to me. So happy to have found it! :)

If you like the skirt, you'll be happy to know that we're bringing it in, in Sizes S & M, next week to Lace & Ebony! We're gearing up for the Chinese New Year collections weekly too, with my (labour of love) new batch of manufactured items that I'm introducing for CNY! Dresses galore! *inserts heart-shaped eyes*

I am stressed and toiling over laboriously over my manufactured pieces cos these really are my babies, and a push for Lace & Ebony to the frontiers of Fashion. So throw in your support okay? :)

Flash sale is now on too, till the 30th of December!!

It's only about 3 more days till the end of the year, and a lot of reflections on 2013 will definitely be coming up everywhere. It's also time for me to slow down and reflect on 2013, to make 2014 an even better year! *positive thinking mode ON*

(Follow me on Dayre for more personal daily thoughts, musing, pictures (plenty, I promise). I won't be posting a lot of personal & daily happenings on this blog. Leaving it only for Fashion, Food & Advertorials. Join me on Dayre & Instagram for more!)

xx

You'll find me on the other side

I am, always the girl in flats.

I don't feel comfortable in heels, not that I can't walk properly, it's just that the gruelling pain kills me after I wear it on and walk for hours. I don't drive nor cab as often as others might, so I walk, a lot. Heels make me feel more confident, sexy, but after an hour or so, you'll see that smile hiding a painful truth I'm feeling from my feet. How many of you feel the way I do?

I reserve my heels for shoots and special occasions, oh, and my event jobs too. But I foresee a lot more "special occasions" this month!! :P

There's so much I love about a simple ensemble. I wore out recently while having a hectic day running around. The comfortable Rainer Lace Cropped Top (Cream) is an essential I've always wanted to add to my wardrobe. I love cropped tops paired with my many high-waisted bottoms, and also glad to find the perfect neoprene midi skirt that's coming up in the next collection. It's such a lovely combination that gives you much comfort without compromising on the style.

P.S. Also loving the color edit in this series. Nothing better than to chance upon a brilliant edit by just randomly switching things up and playing around with Photoshop. Practice makes perfect, perhaps!

Lace & Ebony is celebrating our 2nd Birthday (YAY my baby is slowly growing up!), and we've a truckloads of surprises installed for you this weekend! Our birthday collections are going to be smashing, I promise! ;) 

I'll share more pictures from one of my favourite lookbook soon! The colors are just so amazing in this one! Actually every lookbook done with Fiona is amazing, except the one when I was really sick + chased out of my ideal location and had to settle, hehe.

Ohohoh, please also find me on Dayre for more on-the-go updates. I think I've found the perfect compromise. This blog for fashion & food updates, Dayre for more personal ramblings, rants, and pictures. Add me up on 'angelamaryann' okay? ;)

xx

Blue who?

Belinde Floral Skorts Romper by Lace & Ebony

Covered heels from Madrid

I have a growing collection of rompers and I can't stop adding more to my collection each time I see one! It's so easy to throw on and get out of the house. Especially when there are days when you just don't know what to wear, my rompers always saves the day. I love the subtle details of the Belinde Floral Skorts Romper, hiding shorts beneath the skater skirt facade. Ingenious! It makes it a lot less inconvenient than wearing a dress too. I've made this vibrant blue florals my choice for this romper (also because I've kept another dress of the same fabric, in Black, also from Lace & Ebony, hehe)!

I hope you're having a much better week than I am! :) It's only Tuesday and I'm feeling beat when my week is sooo occupied. Don't get my wrong, I love being busy, but I wish my body would keep up. I'm praying for the best so I can get more rest to conquer my days better.

I'm updating a lot more on Dayre. Join me & add me over at angelamaryann! I share a lot more personal details there, so if you're interested to read more, join me over at the new (and very fun) micro-blogging platform! ;)

x

Take it a step at a time

Starting off this post with the banner of the new collection on Lace & Ebony! ;)

I would really love to bring in a mix of more edgy clothes because I'm absolutely in love with the minimalist styling of the pieces and the kind of clean & raw image they exude. Edgy does not include young punk teen's or XMM's (xiao mei mei) dressing. I see a lot of that around and no, I really don't want to go there! *cringes* I just haven't found a good supplier of that range of clothes that are reasonably priced + an audience who would appreciate the trendsetting clothes. I hope to grow a little more of that style while retaining the femininity you currently see on the website. Sometimes the feminine clothes are really well-made & luxurious looking that I can't quite resist!! HEH :x

I can't wait for the festive period, honestly!
Dresses, indulging myself, pigging out *throws confetti*

Anyway, I know the upkeep of my blog can get quite slow and I don't update as often as I should *guilty*. I don't have a dedicated photographer who captures my daily life. My only "photographer" also multi-tasks many other roles in my life: Boyfriend, lover, soulmate, and has his own life too. I don't have a proper camera on hand (the pretty pictures you see are from G's DSLR which is a pain to lug around), but I am hoping to get one soon. Soooo... yup! Might get better & more interesting over time if I have more advertorials, outfit shots, time to go on more dates, heehee.

I'm so much more on Instagram, and now, the new micro-blogging app: Dayre! You can search for my user: angelamaryann ;) It's quite an interesting platform which I'm sure many will hop onto because it is SO MUCH MORE CONVENIENT! Add me up!

xx

Pristine

The weekends came early for me last week. I got to spend a good Friday date out with G, and had some very delicious and affordable french food (Y) (will blog about it again!). Simple things makes me happy and it feels like as I get older, the things that makes me the happiest, become simpler and simpler. I guess age does help you to suss out the unnecessary things in life.

My OOTD for the day is the Heidi Embroidery dress from the most recent Lace & Ebony collections. I loveee the silhouette of this dress. The neckline is especially flattering and it fits me perfectly! I kept the one in White because I felt love lighter colors on most days. The intricate embroidery work done on the dress really makes this dress a steal. 

Lace & Ebony has a range 'quality assured' dresses which standards are a notch above the usual ones you seen around. These are made with good fabrics, with neat stitchings and some might come with embellishments or unique features like the Heidi Embroidery dress above! Look out for the 'quality assured' tag on our product page if you would like to know what you're paying for: 一分钱一分货! :D

Etude House: &Rose Makeup Collection

Advertorial

I'm extremely grateful to be able to review one of my favourite make-up / skincare brands ever - Etude House! It's a huge privilege and I'm secretly very excited because I have been an ardent fan of their BB cream, foundations & masks. Besides being one of the better & affordable brands around, their packaging is always soooo pretty! It's cute & girly and wins hearts everywhere I'm sure! :P

Today, I'm going to share with you two of Etude House's newest products - 'Rosy Tint Lips' & '&Rose Flowering Nails' (Yes, there's a & before the Rose! (: ) I loveee lip products because they are a simple touch to make you look complete. Without lipstick, I can look pale very easily and I don't come off as healthy in pictures. Picture taken below is me with make-up but nothing on my lips! PALE RIGHT!

Super super excited to try on the whole range! The colors look really good and I've always wanted to try bolder colors like, Orange & Burgundy! Not my usual lip colors.

The full range of shades available! From Red to Orange, Fuchsia, Pink and Beige

A poorly done swatch of the colors, hehe

So... here's a better illustration of the colors + a description for you!

I've chosen 3 colors to swatch on my own lips to show you the colors better!

The colors are #2 Sunny Flower, #5 Baby Peony, and #8 After Blossom

The first color I tried on was #5 Baby Peony! It is such a lovely pink I couldn't resist!!

There's a sponge applicator and I didn't quite fancy the sponges because you have to make sure your lips are really clean before application which makes reapplication after mealtimes not so convenient. BUT... With these lip tints, you hardly need much reapplication!!

I AM IN LOVE WITH THE PINK!! It's really girly & pretty!

The lip tint goes on really creamy to form a velvety texture on your lips. I'm quite surprised that a lip tint would come in a cream texture but this is a good thing. No more sticky feeling! This goes on like second skin on your lips, truly! I prefer lip tints & lipsticks to lip glosses because I don't like how sticky glosses can be, and how hair easily sticks on your lips with glosses, but no such problem now, hehe.

Removed the first color thoroughly and on to the next - #2 Sunny Flower

It's a gorgeous vibrant orange color. A crazy popular color with Koreans and I've long wanted to try it on myself. Here's my chance! ;)

The color goes on really well! I've always thought that it'll fare better with girls with fairer skins, but I thought it didn't look too bad on me, right? Hahaha! I really love how pigmented these tints are, and like I've mentioned, minimal reapplication is needed. Unless you really licked it off your lips during mealtimes, or wiped it all off vigourously.

The last color I've picked to try, and also the boldest/darkest color - #8 After Blossom

It didn't go on as dark as I expected it to, but it still gave me a feminine and slightly sultry look. I can see myself pairing it with darker colored clothes and it'll make it work so well together (:

I absolutely adore the whole range of lip tints and I'm not just saying it because I'm sponsored. I truly am a fan of lip products and these are one of the best ones I've tried with an extremely affordable price tag! The colors are varied nicely and it's well pigmented, providing you with a good color for your lips. I love how it isn't sheer like how some lip tints are. This gives you a true color while adhering to your lips like second skin! <3

(P.S. You can also apply this as a cheek tint! Dispense a small amount on your finger and very gently dot on your cheeks, blending it quickly with your fingers!)

The next product to feature would be the &Rose Flowering Nails:
Watery Rose (left), Velvet Rose (right)

Watery Rose Set comes in 2 colors (Rosy Blossom [L], Dewy Rose [R] + 1 White lace nail sticker sheet.
You can create a gradient nail easily without it creasing!

Velvet Rose set comes in 2 colors too! Rose Garden (L), After Blossom (R) + 1 Black lace nail sticket sheet

Hydrated Silica formulated in the base naturally removes the glossiness of the nail color and leaves it velvety matt on nails. You need not layer it on top of a base coat or finish off with a top coat to let the velvety texture show!

I've personally haven't had the time to sit down to paint my nails because of the huge workload over the week (L&E flash sales/collection launches which call for massive manual workload), but here are some inspirations from Etude House to get you started on your nails!! I can't wait to try ;)

I've hope you enjoyed this Beauty review from Etude House's new collection very kindly sponsored by Cozycot (Thank you so much, Ying Xiu!!) and sorry for the incessant postings of my face hahaha!

The lip tints are a must-buy, I love them so much I've really been wearing it a lot when I'm out these days! Lots of thumbs up for these ;) Collection is already available in stores!

xx

Tim Ho Wan (Singapore)

Warning: Do not read on if it's really late at night and you're hungry! :P

I've recently been to Tim Ho Wan at Toa Payoh with G & my family (: My parents very generously brought my grandparents and my extended family along too for a treat! Toa Payoh is a little more far out for us, but the only reason why we went there was because the queues weren't as insane. We reached at about 3/4pm and there was no queue! That totally wouldn't be the case if we were at Plaza Singapura instead, where the queue almost never ends.

I had a really light lunch (1 roti prata), so I was starving and anticipating this meal a lot! The last time I had Tim Ho Wan was in HK and we queued for hours because finally having a taste of this. Of course the queues there were better because we didn't have to physically stand in line. We could do our own things while waiting. We were pleasantly surprised that this is the first time we didn't have to queue for it at all! :D

Enjoy the food diary and please pardon if the pictures seem substandard because the food kept coming so quickly, and we had really limited space on the table to put everything nicely. We were too eager to sink our teeth into the delectable food anyway! :D

MUST HAVE! The famous famous pork buns of Tim Ho Wan. Please don't ever step out without getting a bite of these!

Another MUST HAVE! Steamed cake that's oh so good! :D

Verdict: I LOVE IT!

Honestly, when we had it in HK, we walked out only with praises for the Pork bun because queuing for hours to try a 1 Michelin starred restaurant, we expected more. Our experience in Singapore was much more pleasant because 1) we didn't have to face the long queues, 2) we dropped our standards and the fact that it's a 1 Michelin starred restaurant. Having expectations kill everything, so, we enjoyed the food as it kept coming and savouring the piping hot dimsum. I think the prices here are slightly higher, but that's to be expected with everything that comes into Singapore. #sadfact

So drop all expectations, and savour every bit of the HK goodness brought here to our homeland! I would really recommend going at odd hours because sitting around queuing for food... I think we've got more precious things on our hands to do!! (:



Lace & Ebony is also proud to be an affiliate of MBC Korean Music Wave!
Get your tickets with us and receive a $10 shopping voucher which will come in great for the coming festive season! To qualify, purchase your tickets via the link provided below! ;)

MBC KOREAN MUSIC WAVE 2013

xx