Her – Deardyan

Sephora Haul!

May 5, 2016 Dyan

So if you read me on twitter, u know i was really excited about the Sephora Black Card Sale. Then if you follow me on snapchat (@deardyan), you probably have seen me going to Sephora, buying stuff and all. I didn’t go crazy although i didn’t really follow the list i had. I really wanted to just get 3 items only but end up with so much more. Lol

Here’s what i got and the prices i’ve listed is before the 20% off. If you have the Sephora Black Card, go over to Sephora and spend all your money there! lol. 20% storewide for all brands. You can also buy it online but there are limited brands available.

So here’s what i got! Anyway, this is just a haul post. Not an in-depth review post cos i lazy to do reviews. I just want to poison you guys to go spend at Sephora. Tu je. hahahah

Benefit Pore-fessional Primer – S$54.00
My favourite Primer! i love how this feels on my skin upon applying and it does not make me feel suffocated. I’ve purchased this repeatedly and the SA recommended me this set cos it’s the same price as the Pore-Fessional tube itself.

Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair, 30ml – S$114.00
I’ve recently changed my skincare to Estee Lauder and love it, even though i broke out a bit cos my skin was purging out the bad stuff and all but the breaking out has stopped so i’m pretty sure it’s not because it’s not suitable for my skin. I love how my skin feels in the morning just by using the Idealist Pore Refinisher serum and i’ve read so many good things about this iconic serum so i just had to try it. It is definitely pricey so grabbing it at 20% is definitely worth it! I wish they had the 50ml one instock cos that would be much more worth it but the SA told me they ran out of it this morning. Urghh.

BECCA x Jaclyn Hill Shimmering Skin Perfector in Champagne Pop – S$58.00
I love watching Jaclyn Vlogs and when this 1st came out, i was contemplating if i should but it cos i’m scared it’ll make me look like a disco ball cos of all the shimmers and all. But i love this at the 1st swatch. It’s so so smooth and it’s not white/silver so it’s not too bright and the glitters are super fine so it reflects light nicely without making me look like a disco ball.

So those top three were actually in my list to buy. But of course when you go Sephora, your list all ke laut and you end up swatching or trying other stuff so i got these as well.

NARS Blusher in Amour – S$50.00
Always in my to-buy list. I love NARS blushers. Only the Matte ones cos the glittery ones are too glittery tak ingat dunia. Amour is such a nice colour, a medium pink that i’ve not had in my collection so far.

This is the closest i can get to the actual colour! LOVE!

MAC Select Moisturecover – S$32.00
I need to replace my undereye concelaer cos the Giorgio Armani one that i’ve been using is finishing soon. Yaaaaayyy! Finally! So anyway, the MAC Beauty Advisor told me that MAC is pulling out of Sephora so this would be the last 20% off you’ll ever get from MAC so if you need to stock up MAC stuff, do it now!

Percy & Reed Blow Dry Makeover Spray – S$26.00
I’ve not tried this before but i’ve been using the Hairspray and i like it. I hope i like this as well! I always style my hair with the Babyliss Big Hair thing and while i love how fluffy my hair is after the blow session, i wish it’ll stay as fabulous even longer and the current humid weather is not helping. I really really hope this would help! And i’ve not not blogged on my new hair! Soon soon. But if you follow me on Instagram, you’ve probably seen it already it’s practically old news. Haha

Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara – S$35.00
Amboi nama kau. controversial abis girl. I’m hard to please when it comes to Mascaras and my holy grail mascara has always been L’oreal Voluminous Mascara.
But it’s hard to find it in SG cos it seems like they no longer bring it in locally and i use to buy it from Drugstore / Amazon. I’m on my last tube ( i always buy a few so i don’t have to keep buying it) so i thought it’s the best time to try and see if this lives up to the hype. So far i like the tube packaging! So nice & sturdy! But packaging lawa pun tak guna kalau the actual product hampeh. So we’ll see!

Urban Decay All Nighter Makeup Setting Spray, 30ml – S$22.00
I picked up this Travel Size Setting Spray cos it’ll be convenient to bring for my travels or even on days i know i’ll be out the whole day. To be honest i picked this up while waiting at the cashier counter. Padahal i’m expecting the full size of the Urban Decay De-Slick Setting Spray in the mail very soon tapi tetap mentel nak beli cos i wanna see if there’s any difference. So Sephora is really jahat to put all these travel size stuff at the cashier payment line. .Dangerous. Lol

So that’s my total haul for today! Total damage: S$312.00
The total bill was originally S$391.00 but i save S$78.20 (yaaaaay!!)

If you’re considering to go to the Sephora Sale, please go! It’ll run till this Sunday, 8 May 2016. I went in the morning, at 10.30am and there were not much crowd. Payment counter was pretty fast. I waited less than 10 mins. But expect a huge line on weekends afternoon especially.

Go lah buy something. I’m sure you can find something. Lol

I have another Haul post coming up. Morphe brushes!
I’ve been on a spending spree lately, it’s worrying. Hahaha.

Her, Him, Relationships, The Husband & Wife

and so we’re 3!

October 15, 2014October 15, 2014 Dyan

and we’re three today! Although i kept thinking it’s only been 2 years.
How did 3 years pass by so fast?

We did not plan anything for this year although we pretty much go for short trips on each Anniversary, this year is an exception because my husband is a pregnancy nazi. He is not ok with me taking flights during the pregnancy although i’m having a pretty normal pregnancy and i see pregnant women travelling for work & holidays all the time! I had to beg him to let me take a flight to KL this November because it’s less than an hour and it’s so close to home.

Yesterday, we were watching some Cooking/Travel Show and they were showing Tom Yam Goong at Krabi and i asked him if it’s okie if we go to Krabi for a short while on my birthday weekend (which is next week hahahahha) because i wanna eat that Tom Yam Goong at Ao Nang.

He gave me a death stare so i assumed that’s a no. I told him i was craving for Tom Yam Goong and he told me to cook it myself. Pffft.

They say pregnant women get everything they want. So not true!

and then i thought maybe we should go to Carousel and pig out but selfish me think it’s not worth it because i cannot eat Sashimi and Oysters and who the hell go to Carousel and not force-feed themselves with Sashimi & Oysters? Definitely not me! I think i’ll either be so sad i can’t eat sashimi & oysters when i’m there or i’ll just try my luck and eat them, and then get salmonella. Hahahahaha

So, it’ll be a stay home anniversary for us with him catching up on Suits on the ipad and me playing Frozen game on my iphone. How interesting. Lol

Her, Reflections

Bliss. Blessed. Thankful?

September 25, 2014September 25, 2014 Dyan

Was having a conversation with a friend yesterday and she commented on how blessed i must have felt now that my life is almost complete.
But no, i’ve never felt i’m blessed. Not that i’m ungrateful with the many good things that has been happening. I just feel that it’s not a word i’ll use on myself.

Thankful, maybe.
I’m thankful with what i have now. Thankful with what Allah has planned out for me.

Blessed is too big a word to describe me.

Growing up, i didn’t have much. I grew up with five other younger siblings. Being the eldest, i learned i have to share whatever i have. Sacrifice certain things in life just so my younger siblings can have a piece of the cake as well. We were not born with a silver spoon. Never had a birthday party exclusively done for me. Actually i really can’t remember if there was ever a birthday cake when i was young. But i was contented because i have sisters to play with and brothers to bully. Even if i always have to share my food with them.

Education-wise, i was never book-smart. I’ve always considered myself more street-smart than book-smart. Either way, there’s really nothing wrong. I wasn’t exactly interested in school so even though i managed to scrape through exams now & then, it was never my intention to further my studies. That and also because i know my parents would probably have to sell their souls to put me through endless tuition classes and with five other younger siblings, that is quite impossible.

But i know i’m always thinking out of the box hence the decision to set up The Card Maison at 23.
It wasn’t easy though. I had zero marketing knowledge. I was also not much of a risk taker. But i had ideas. Plenty of it. I’m always thinking of how to make money. It would be fair to say i was quite money-driven since young. Executing those ideas weren’t easy though but i was contented with having few orders each month. I was excited when i met my 1st client, i still remember where we met and how they looked like. I didn’t have much contacts in the wedding industry then. I was scared to network and stayed in my comfort zone for a very long time. But i learnt as i grow.
Fact: i will never refer myself as a CEO of The Card Maison or a Managing Director or any of that fancy titles. When people ask me what i do, i’ll them i run a home-based business. Because really that’s what i do. I run a business from home. Until i have an office of my own and manage staff of my own, i’ll never call myself a CEO.

Relationship-wise, i grew up having so many ex-boyfriends. Some that i have loved & lost. Some that i wish never did appear in my life.
Really, i was a train-wreck in relationships. I was needy & clingy and my life revolved around the men i love and then i met H, who i was in a relationship with for 5 years, had two girlfriends behind my back, got engaged with one and got married with the other one after that and all the time, i was left clueless. For all the shits i put up, being with him, it really did made me wake up for good. After that relationship with H, i was no longer a needy girlfriend. I couldn’t give a damn if my partner go MIA the entire day. I couldn’t care less. I became a tough cookie. Too tough that subsequently, i broke off my engagement with an ex-fiance, less than a year before the wedding, because i realized i didn’t care that much for him. I didn’t really love him. I couldn’t see myself with him in years to come. It came as a shock to everybody but it was the best decision i’ve made for that relationship. Today, i still think i wouldn’t be able to love him like he loved me. He was in fact one of the nicest partner i had. But i didn’t love him. I stayed with him because’s nice and faithful, unlike H. It was only after that, i met Rusly. It was a whirlwind romance. We fought a lot during the initial period because of our strong characters. But i love this man a lot. I also think i met Rusly at the right time. At that time, i was no longer needy. We wouldn’t have lasted, if he had met me earlier. So yes, my husband may not be better than yours, but i’m contented. I’m thankful i have him.

Life after marriage was surprisingly smooth. Yes we got our flat before the wedding and all but we had problem conceiving. We all know how hard it was for me to conceive. The many times i broke down and cry in the toilet because i refuse to let Rusly know how dissapointed i was. The time when i was told my tubes are blocked and that day on the hospital bed, i cried alone at night cos i’ll never have the chance to conceive naturally again cos both tubes were gone. I never did tell anybody i cried so hard at the hospital because i figured if i put up a brave front, then everybody won’t feel they’re treading on thin ice. But i was heartbroken. I felt like it was the greatest test from Him. But i was thankful to have survived the surgery. Thankful to know that IVF can help me & Rusly to conceive and so thankful when we finally got pregnant.

So yes, i wouldn’t exactly say i’m blessed cos nothing comes easy for me. So for all the good things He gave me, i’m thankful.
But i’m also always cautiously happy because i know, He can take it all back from me in a split second.

Her, The Husband & Wife

shawal

July 22, 2014July 22, 2014 Dyan

Less than a week to Raya! Been so busy i barely did any DIY projects this year.
If you remember, last year i was so hands on with the DIY projects.
Semangat gila. Maklum lah orang baru je jadi stay-at-home-wife. Terus jadi domestic.

And then this year, the workload for Card Maison got so much heavier (which is a good thing lah) that i don’t have time to do anything else. But my cookie jars are still in good shape so will be reusing them. Bought my cushion covers from Taobao instead of sewing my own. Simple ones that would look nice all year round.

Oh speaking of Taobao, i also ordered a dainty teacup set and a cake stand because they were cheaper than in SG.
Ok lah the teacup set not so cheap after the shipping and all. Afterall i chose express shipping instead of sea shipping. Hahahaha but it’s cheaper than SG price, really. I know i promised to do up an entry on how to buy from Taobao, Maybe soon lah k. When i’m not so lazy.

Tea

Nyehhhh… pretty pretty tea cup set. Now i just need scones.

Continue reading “shawal” →

DIY Project, Her

Wishy-Washi

May 5, 2014May 5, 2014 Dyan

So i got something new last week!

Got my washi tapes in the mail and started on the 1st thing on my list.
Continue reading “Wishy-Washi” →

Friendship, Her, Special Events

blind dates

March 17, 2014 Dyan

So last friday, a few of us bloggers met up for dinner. I’ve met some of them previously. Either at Farhana’s wedding or because they were Card Maison’s clients but i love it that we all hit it off so so well!
You know i sometimes get a little scared of meeting a group of girls for the 1st time because you just don’t know what to expect lah. Especially if we all come from different backgrounds. Be it school or employment. It’s really hard to know if there’s gonna be awkward moments.

We talk mostly on weddings, vendors, shitty vendors, shitty brides, shitty makcik2 kepo. hahahahhaa
Marriage, home renovations & pregnancy. We also talked about pusat and makcik sembunyi bawah katil. ahahaha
That was a private joke and you just have to be there to fully understand the joke.
We also watched Farhana’s wedding video!

Not sure if you can recognize all of them but here’s who’s who.

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Her, Special Events

nocturnal

February 26, 2014February 26, 2014 Dyan

Last monday, i had the chance to go watch Yuna live at Esplanade for her Nocturnal Tour.
That woman is ah-maaaaazzzzziiiiinng!

That sultry voice and the band that accompanied her was superb. You know i almost cried when she sang some of her songs. Lol. There was just so much sincerity in the lyrics, you can’t help feeling like that song was made for you.

I love the Esplanade halls but hate the seats.

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Friendship, Her

The Wives Night Out

January 27, 2014 Dyan

After lotsa ranting, whine-ing, giggling and sharing over our whatsapp group chat, we’ve decided to level up and arrange for a date.
Since we are all residing at the west side, we decided on Jcube and Manhattan Fish Market it is!

It wasn’t the 1st time meeting up with Rina & Ain because coincidentally, both were previous clients of The Card Maison and you know i just realized that yesterday!

Over a seafood platter, we talked and cracked jokes at really i don’t know what. As ex-btbs, we gushed over Bonito Bob and Elly Weddings pasal zaman kita dorang takde. Macam lah kita kahwin zaman 80an.
We also gasped at the quotations of some vendors, sambil mengucap dan bersyukur we don’t have to pay for that. Hahahaha

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Her, IVF Journey, The Husband & Wife, Trying To Conceive

in a week.

January 16, 2014May 8, 2014 Dyan

Done with the hectic week from the last expo!
It was so tiring! Mainly because i had to wake up early on weekends and my booth was very near to the stage and it was so loud, i got very irritated most of the time.

But i got to meet a lot of people. Some recognised me as the girl with that blog on the budget wedding! Hahahaha
That was hilarious!

Last Tuesday, husband took leave and we went to NUH for our appointment with Prof PC Wong.
It was a short meeting, we asked what we wanted to ask about IVF and honestly, i don’t know what else to ask because i read so much about IVF already! I did ask him about the possibility of OHSS and he mentioned my drug protocol will be lower cos of my AMH Level and he don’t want me to suffer from OHSS. All is good and now we are waiting for my Feb cycle to start before i go take my 1st medication and start with the IVF Cycle in March. Prof PC Wong told us there would be an in-house IVF seminar 1st week of March but we would be out of town and had to miss that seminar. Pretty bummed about it because it would definitely give us a good insight on the entire procedure. We will have another session end feb with a Psychologist to help us prepare mentally for IVF. I picked up some brochures on Gonal -F injection pens.. The one that we’ll be using for the IVF and i’m done psyching myself that it would be ok! Saw the short needles and i figured it would be ok! Nurse told me the drugs are in pure form (hence the hefty price tag) so when injected, you feel less pain or no pain at all. I keep telling myself “I can do this. If others can do this, so can i. If i can’t do this, then i’m not prepared for childbirth because that would be even more painful!” I swear i’m the worst motivator ever.

On another note, we finally decided where to go for the CNY Weekend. Bandung again, this time with friends.
While they can’t wait to shop, i can’t wait to eat good food!
I kind of have lost the novelty of shopping in Singapore / overseas, unless it’s online shopping at specific plus size sites.
In fact, i have 4 shipments of clothes coming in from different sites. So the thought of shopping at Bandung doesn’t really excite me that much actually. Actually come to think of it, i really should just do up another entry on Plus Size clothes before this entry gets too long!

Her, Le Familia, The Husband & Wife, The Travel Bug, Trying To Conceive, Uncategorized

two thousand thirteen

December 31, 2013 Dyan

this is 2013 in retrospect. Awesome stuff happens in 2013 without me realising it.
I don’t really keep track of everything i’ve done in 2013 but these are the things that stood out to me.

The Card Maison made it’s first debut at the Wedding Expo in 2013.
It was an awesome experience. Tired but very rewarding.

Continue reading “two thousand thirteen” →