Mia's Review: Nature Republic Super Origin CC Cream

I've actually started out on this CC cream at almost the same time as my Maybelline Watergel BB cream back then, but I was so into the watergel bb that I've totally neglected this product! So after using up my entire tube of the watergel bb cream, I've finally started using this cc cream on a daily basis for more than a week now and I guess it's now a much better time for me to do a proper review on it! 

If anyone is interested, you can click HERE to go to my Maybelline Watergel BB cream review. :)

If you're still unfamiliar with the term CC cream (which I don't think you should since I've heard they've already moved on to DD or EE creams? Yikes!), it stands for Colour Control or Colour Change... etc. It's created in Korea (as opposed to BB cream which originated in Germany) and as the name goes, it actually serves more to even out skin tone than to cover and conceal blemishes. Oh well, we will get to that later on. 

Nature Republic has 3 types of CC Cream in this Super Origin collection, namely: Brightening (SPF25, PA++), Colour Change (SPF30, PA++), and Tinted (SPF30, PA++). After doing some research on my own, it seems like Brightening serves more as a primer than an actual CC cream, so I was left with 2 out of the 3 choices. Out of novelty (of seeing the white cream changing into tinted colour due to bursting of the colour capsules) sake, I've decided to try out Colour Change. 

I've forgotten how much it retails in SG stores, but you definitely can get them much cheaper at qoo10 or gmarket. 

It comes in a pump head tube as shown, which IMO, feels more hygienic as compared to a squeeze tube. However, makes it a little more tricky to control the amount of product you get from each pump as compared to a squeeze tube. I usually use 3/4 pump for my entire face.

Here's a hand test to see how it blends out. As you can see the cream is white in colour and relatively creamy and thick, which gradually turns orange-beige upon rubbing (and bursting the colour capsules within) and then gradually evens out with your skin tone and blends into the skin. I didn't complete the blending hence the obvious streaks of orange-beige on the back of my hand where the product was dispensed. 

I'll say the product is relatively thick and isn't as spreadable if compared to the previous product I've reviewed, the watergel bb cream. And due to the nature of this product, rubbing is required to burst the colour capsules to get the white cream to change its colour to suit our skin tone, so patting the product to minimise tugging on our skin will not work. Some suggested of rubbing it out on the back of our hand to change its colour first before patting in on our face. But sorry to say, nope that won't work as well. By the time the product changes colour, it is already on the brink of setting and it's impossible to even it out on our face by mere patting. Plus, imagine the high wastage of product by rubbing most of the product (and setting it) onto the back of our hand instead of the intended area, our face. Nevertheless, just keep reminding yourself to go light with the blending (no furious rubbing no matter how rushed you are in the morning, babes) hand and you shall be fine. :) You don't really need the force of Xena the Warrior Princess to blend it into your skin, really.

And here's the back of my same hand, with the product fully blended in. The white cream changes colour to fit my skin tone perfectly, and pretty quickly too. No worries of it leaving any unsightly white cast on your face every rushing mornings. 

I hate to say this, but the eyeliner test was pretty much a flop because I couldn't get the cream to change colour just by patting. So by the time I managed to pat-rub it to change into my skin tone, most of the eyeliner has been rubbed off hence it appears as if it has been concealed. 

In terms of coverage, this cc cream doesn't do much. As it's so with most cc creams (i assume), it only serves to even out the skin tone and make your skin looks (overall) flawless, if you know what I'm saying. It doesn't help to conceal any specific spots or flaws, at all. 

On to the blotter test, and comparing with both the previous control of Skinfood Aloe Sun BB and the reviewed Maybeline Watergel BB, we can see that Nature Republic's CC cream has performed on par with the watergel bb cream, with a significant amount of oil surfacing in 30 minutes. Unlike SF bb, which the surface has dried up, the cc cream remains relatively moist, almost like how it was when it just got dispensed from the pump head. 

Overall, I feel that the Nature Republic CC Cream gives a finish that is in between matte and dewy. It definitely is not as matted as the watergel bb, but is not too dewy for me either. It gives off a really nice, flawless and natural look to the skin. Coverage wise, is pretty much a 'flop' for it isn't really meant to conceal. It gives almost no coverage to spots and blemishes, so a concealer is a must. I find that my skin does oil up pretty fast when on this cc cream (as compared to watergel bb) so the oil control is pretty mediocre as well, although it didn't break me out at all. But I'll prefer to attribute it to the product being really light and mild. 

I find it especially frustrating to have the product reverting back to white (somehow) and leaves an unsightly patch of oily white film on my glasses and at two spots on the sides of my nose where by glasses were sitting on. Pretty embarrassing to have anyone seeing it whenever I remove my glasses to clean the lenses.

Nevertheless, I still find this a pretty decent product and is worth trying for ladies with relatively blemish-free skin and is facing uneven skin tone issues. 

Till then,

Mia

Mia's Review: Bear Bites @ Scape

I've long heard about this Xiong Zhang Bao (Bear Paw Burger) ever since they first came to Singapore but somehow I just never got the chance to go try them out. If I'm not wrong there's another of bear paw burger cafes in Singapore by now and I managed to persuade R and YS over to the one at Scape after our TreeTop Walk. QL decided to walk out on us after KTV that day, BOO! :(

I was expecting a really cute cafe or something, given that they are selling such cute looking burger, and was rather disappointed to find it as more of a "takeout stall" with added chairs and tables for patrons to sit down and eat (if they wanted to). Moreover, they're located in the open air area and without any proper shelter, so don't think of dropping by to 'dine in' on a rainy day. 

Ordering is simple. First, choose your meat (Karaage Chicken or Fish Fillet). Then, choose your pau flavour (Milk, Curry, Brown sugar, Yam, Oat, Squid ink and Strawberry) , then choose your sauce (Mushroom, Golden cheese, Black pepper, Tartar, Sweet and sour Thai, and Honey mustard) and decide if you want to make it a meal to get fries and drinks too.

 R and I both got curry (yellowish pau) while YS got milk (white pau). Aren't they all so friggin cute!

 Mine is Karaage Chicken Curry Pau with Golden Cheese sauce.

Taste wise, it's definitely decent. The chicken is still relatively crispy despite being drenched generously in the cheese sauce (however I can't be sure how crispy it will be if you do takeout and eat them an hour later) and is mildly flavourful. The pau is dense yet soft, and comfortably warm when served. However, I doubt the choice of pau flavour will affect the general taste of the burger much, for there's hardly any taste to it. It really just affect the colour and comes with a slight scent of the flavour.
Overall, I think my choice of cheese sauce was a good pick for it really adds on to the flavour of the burger.

And for the fries, I was pleasantly surprised to find them pretty good! Was told by a colleague to skip their fries as they're soggy and yucky when she tried them out with her friends. But I reckon they're just unlucky or we've lady luck shining on us. Their fries are definitely served hot and crispy, with a generous dash of salt to flavour. Do avoid upgrading them to cheese fries because that's what makes them soggy. :)

For more information, visit their FB page HERE

Till then,
Mia

Mia's Update: HSBC Treetop Walk

After my successful persuasion of YS into going to the treetop walk with me, we both embarked on the 'let's bug R to bring us there' mission and finally succeeded after a few weeks of bugging and also very naturally roped QL into the outing. Yay, it's the usual KTV outing group heading into nature this time round. 

We gathered on a Saturday morning at Marymount station and headed to The Roti Prata House located at the shophouses opposite Thomson Plaza for breakfast. The best crispy prata indeed, with some good curry for dips. 

After dropping by the washroom at Thomson Plaza, we continued our way for 2 bus stops to reach our "starting point" of the day.

Venus Drive, which basically leads into SICC. The sign states that we shouldn't walk on SICC's road due to safety reasons, but this route along the road is actually a shorter route to the treetop walk, cutting the time by about 30 minutes for each direction. And that's 1 hour saved in total. However, apart from getting into the ways of possibly speeding cars, you also gotta battle the hot sun beating down on you as there's absolutely NO SHADE along the road, unlike the normal trail.

Like so. xp

 And so we battled the scorching sun for about a good 30 to 45 minutes until we found an opening along the bushes that separates the trail from the road.

 There's no worries about being lost and unable to find your way to the treetop walk, obviously. There are such signboards planted all along the trail.

And so, we walked on.

And we've finally walked 2.7km from our starting point at Venus Drive.

 And what else but to carry on walking? :)

Finally, we came to a resting point. But obviously didn't bother to take any rests. We only had the treetop walk in mind. No resting until we're up there, mates!

And the road condition got slightly less comfortable after the pavilion. I was wearing loafers and YS was in slippers! It was just like walking on those foot reflexology pathway throughout. T.T

 And it's merely 0.1km away from the treetop walk! :)

And look who's out to greet us?

Finally, the last stretch...

 Down the long flight of stairs..

 Even though it clearly states it's a one-way only. There were still a handful of people coming in from the other end.

And we finally reached! The HSBC TreeTop walk!

 

The bridge does shake a little as you walk. But there's nothing to be worried about. 

Because you seriously couldn't care much for the shaking when such awesome view and cooling breeze awaits you. :)

We were up there for a while, chatting up some travellers who came in the opposite direction of the bridge (didn't know how they did that because it's supposed to be a one-way route), and enjoying the scenic view and breeze until the increasing jostling and 'excuse me' from those coming up from behind us (one even had a trolley in tow, like what?!) finally got us moving on. If not, I think I can easily stand here for like, an hour or so? :)

And obviously after climbing down a long flight of stairs before we got to the treetop walk, it's now payback time. We gotta climb all the way back up....

Enjoy a while of flat ground...

And then, back down again. Hey, it's hilly, okay? xp

And look who's out to greet us on our walk out. A group of overgrown ants. HA HA HA!

A random note, got a little excited upon seeing this Tempines Hut. :)

We started our walk in at 11 plus am after our prata brunch (yes, a little late and hence the torturous heat) and by the time we left, it was 1 plus, almost 2pm. So yup, I guess taking the "short cut" does cut the walking time by quite a substantial bit, but that's only if you are only interested in getting to the TreeTop Walk and spending that 10 to 15 minutes up there?

So my take on this is, take the trail and enjoy the 4 hours walk thoroughly. Gather your close friends, arm yourself with a good camera (or even your mobile phone, but forget about instagramming or facebooking because... NO SIGNAL!) and go ahead and enjoy that 4 hours of your time spent with nothing else but the people you love and the peacefulness of nature.

Till then,
Mia

Mia's Review: Bibigo

This is an extremely backdated review one of my favourite cuisine. Yup, sometime last year (yes, last year. so do not expect any price listed for this review), I met up with PQ and P for some bibimbab at bibigo!

 

Iced Yuzu Soda

 When we were there, there was a set menu promo that comes with a (limited) choice of main and a drink. I couldn't quite remember, but because we got 2 sets (or hit a certain expenditure), we got a complimentary dessert as well, which was so good I can still remember the taste of it in my mouth till now. No joke!

 My main course for the day - Kimchi Fried Rice, which obviously came with a fried egg, sides, and beansprout soup.

The fried rice is slightly sticky and gooey, being drenched with the yumminess of kimchi flavour. Hasn't tasted much of kimchi fried rice to know how it should taste like, perhaps the authentic ones are meant to be sticky and slightly soft. But for my personal taste buds, I would have preferred a tougher, 'dry yet oily' standard kind of Chinese fried rice. If you know what I mean. :)
Nevertheless, in terms of taste, for a kimchi fanatic like me, there's nothing I can complain about.
But for the sides (other than kimchi, duh!) and soup, there's really nothing worth discussing about.

Here is P's beef (something) bibimbab, which looked and smelled really yummy too!

PQ's Seafood Pajeon (Korean Pancake)

Had a taste of it because she couldn't finish it all by herself. Sad to say that I didn't like it at all and the reason is obvious. They were way too generous with the spring onions! There was hardly any flour batter in this pancake, it's almost all spring onions with bits of shrimps and squids in it. So if you're a die hard fan of spring onions, go for it. If not, do consider giving this a miss.

And the love of my life (at bibigo) - Sweet Potato Matang

Basically, it's something like honeyed (or caramelised, or malt candied) sweet potato. I know it sounds meh, but first bite into this common looking dessert and my eyes simply lit up! It was so good! The sweet potato was soft, yet not mushy, and generously coated in the sugary goodness of honey/malt candy/caramel and then topped up with some crispy rice crackers.
Just plain awesome. :)

For more information, visit Bibigo's FB HERE

Till then,
Mia