Summer Series by Shopdiygalore

Wardrobe: Shopdiygalore

Hair and Makeup: Pearlyn Law

Model: Rachel Wong

By: Fiona Sng

Today, I'm here to share with you one of my favourite lookbooks ever for Shopdiygalore shot a few months back. I know I tend refer to quite a number of lookbooks as my favourite... but if they aren't then I wouldn't be sharing them here! Nat puts in a lot of time and effort to churn a single lookbook out, and ensure that it brings out the look and mood she was going for. She's a fantastic person to work with because she never rushes the shoot, and she allows all of us to exercise our own creativity. I believe Rachel needs no introduction... She is a dear to work with, and needless to say, extremely gorgeous! She's also really easy to photograph! And, my dear friend/ makeup artist/ twin/ sister/ teammate/ partner in crime Pearlyn Law who is ever so talented. Don't you just love the entire look she has given Rachel? I thought it was really well done and it brought out a different look in Rach which was.... refreshing and captivating. Do check out her site to learn more of the services she provides! She does makeup for blogshops as well as wedding (:

Contrary to its title "Summer Series", I gave it a darker feel and I love how it turned out. I've taken a liking for moody and edgy photos and more often than not, this isn't required/ desired for blogshop photography so I get really happy when we get to execute something like this!

I can't believe October is here already... 2013 is coming to an end soon and it's crazy. I don't think I've accomplished enough to call it an end yet but it's been a real wonderful year. Right, I'll save the year end speech for December. There're just so much more to do before this year ends, and I have so many series of couple shoots to share with all of you guys and I can't wait already!

Also, I'll be hosting a couple shoot giveaway with Pearlyn so keep your eyes peeled! More details on the blog and Facebook soon!

xx

Ashincans x Sassy Dream

Wardrobe: Ashincans and Sassydream
Models: Che Shi jia and Eunice Annabel
By: Fiona Sng

Just one of my old favourite lookbooks at one of my favourite shoot locations ever with my favourite model, Eunice Annabel, before she got so busy with filming that I hardly see her now. I hope we get to work together again really soon cause she is a real joy to be with. <3 It was also a real pleasure to have finally met Shijia for a shoot after so long. (: I love how good they look together.

Thinking back, it's been about 15 months since Smittenpixels Photography started out in the blogshop industry and through this one year, I've met all sorts of people from all walks of life and I'd say most of them whom I've met are really wonderful people who taught me a great deal and moulded me into who I am today. It's hard maintaining a real friendship out of work because we are all really busy with our own commitments and the only time we get to meet up are through photoshoots but still, there are a special few whom I can call as friends and I love them to death. People who are really genuine and kind and work together with me to grow our brandings together. Through this year, I've also got incredibly and disgustingly tanned and challenged myself so much to keep improving to create better images and in the midst of it all... be a better person despite the environment.

I've been really lucky to have been able to be a part of this industry, to a point in time I was told I was the most commonly used photographer. It was good while it lasted, but it's time for me to move on to bigger things. To move out of my comfort zone, and work towards what I've always wanted to do. I'm not stopping shoots for blogshops of course, but it's time for me to focus on other aspects of photography and to grow. Yes, to grow. I've been too comfortable for too long that I feel that I'm becoming stagnant. September has been a good wake up call for me to rethink my directions. The future freaks me out no doubt, but I know for sure that my passion and hard work will carry me through. 

I give thanks for everything good that has happened to keep me rooted, to remind me that hard work does pay off and to never forget to be real.

xx

Advertorial: Simplicity Nails by Trina

You can never imagine my joy when Trina, from Simplicity Nails, contacted me for nail services. You may have already seen my nail picture on my instagram, but if you haven't, here's the craftholic nail design that I saw online and showed Trina telling her that I want the same set of nails and she did it for me, just exactly how I had wanted it! 

If you know me in real life, you probably would know how much I love to ATTEMPT to do my nails myself. Keyword: Attempt. Which I always fail miserably. And having to purchase the different colors of nail polishes to achieve a certain design has caused my mom's drawer to be piled up with so many bottles of polishes that I've barely used more than thrice. This year, I gave up and I started to go out to get my nails done and I tried my first gelish nails! They lasted well, and I fell in love with gelish since then. Being a photographer (and a tomboy), normal manicures do not last me for more than 5 days, which is depressing. So gelish seems like the perfect solution for someone like me! Then, I got my gelish nails removed in BKK and oh god... the horror. They literally scraped my nails off, and my nails have been damaged since then. My nails tend to peel itself and I can feel them getting thinner and thinner. ):

When Trina saw how bad my nails were, she asked me about the services I've gotten and my experience with them and then she assured me that my nails would recover and the same would never happen now that I'm in her safe hands (pun intended). She showed me the products she used and gave a brief explanation about them being reputable and of good quality, even though I honestly am not familiar with these nail products and their brands but I'm very sure nail art junkies would be. What Trina did for me is also gelish so you can only imagine my joy when my ten nails were fully painted and ready! :D It's as if seeing each character coming to life. Both Trina and my favourite is the giraffe! ^_^

As with every advertorial, I think people think that because it is sponsored, therefore we are paid to say good stuffs but I can tell you truthfully that the experience with Trina was really great, we had a lot to talk about and it was really nice that we could relate a lot to each other. She is also extremely patient and her room is gorgeous! I should have snapped a picture of it but I forgot to. She dedicated an entire room to provide her services.

The good news is that, Trina's rates are really affordable and her home-based nail salon is located in the West! So good for all you Westies staying near her! Below is her price list which I think everyone would be interested in:

Classic Services

Express Manicure $12

Express Pedicure $18

(Shape & Applying of Nail Varnish)

Classic Manicure $20

Classic Pedicure $30

(Moisturing Soak(Pedi), Shape, Cleaning of cuticles, Removal of dead skin(Pedi), Scrub(Pedi), Apply of Nail Varnish)

Gel Manicure $35

Gel Pedicure $45

(Shape, Cleaning of cuticles(DRY METHOD), Applying of Gel Polish, Removal of dead skin(Pedi), Scrub(Pedi))

Extension Services

Acrylic Tip Extension $78

(Cuticle care, Clear half tip extension, Acrylic overlay, Gel topcoat)

Acrylic Sculpture Extension $88

(Cuticle care, Acrylic extension using nail form, Gel topcoat)

Additional Services (for extension)

Glitter Inlay $10

Gel Polish over Extension $15

Head on over to her Facebook here to see more of her works or you can simply follow her on Instagram (@simplicitynails) as she updates frequently! (: I've already planned my next few designs and I can't wait to visit her again to get new nails done when this set eventually wears out. It's been 2 weeks plus and my nails are in perfect tip top condition still (: Trust me you will love your experience with her! 

Go book an appointment with her now or simply ring her up to enquire more about her services! Cheers to pretty nails from now on. 

xx

You're the closest to heaven I'll ever be

I'm a little late (maybe more than just a little) for about 3 months, but it's better late than never. This is the second trip that the boy and I had embarked on since we got together. Genting is a place.... I was trying to avoid all these years because it encapsulated so much memories for me and I wasn't sure I was ready to step foot back into this place. I've been here countless times, with so many different groups of people as I was growing up and with someone who once held an important place in my heart.

But as far as I can remember, I've been here almost every year with my parents since I was 4. Not only do I know this place like the back of my hand, this place held a sort of significance because I feel that it watched me grow up.


A day before we set off, I rushed down to purchase my new handy camera Fujifilm X100s! It costs a bomb... but really the images are so stunning. They will speak for themselves. All photos here are taken with it. I'm glad I didn't settle for any other cameras despite the x100s being a little bulky for a compact still.

Look at my cutie pie! All excited while going up the mountains :D

The view from our room



Our couple watches. I love it to death, I love how manly it looks/feels and that it's automatic.

You might have already known/ noticed my crazy love for beanies and head gears and I'm on the mission to collect them all. It is therefore mandatory that I bring them out to play whenever possible! :D Couldn't make the boy wear it for more than ten mins. I love Genting because it is possibly the nearest cold place that is near to Singapore, and it is also ridiculously cheap and easy to travel there. The best part was that the boy and I went over when haze shrouded Singapore. Lucky us we had really much fresher air and we got to escape the heat.









Funny though, that despite having been to Genting for so many times, I've never been to the Lavender Farm. So it was pretty delightful that I have somewhere new for me to explore a bit. Our first destination was the farm area after having checked in to the hotel.



I wish I could put into words just how happy I am in the cold.

You can't see here but my crazy boyfriend was in shorts and slippers all the way. Most of the time he doesn't even have his jacket on. On the contrary, I look like a christmas tree. But nehhhh whatever, it's on rare occasions like this that I get to dress up and be happy.







We visited the strawberry farm too and had the cheap thrill of secretly plucking some strawberries because we were too late and passed the opening hours to pluck them.

After which, we paid the temple a visit and prayed for ourselves and our loved ones. It's a customary act for us both now, that we pay a visit to temples that we come across. I'm not bounded by any religion at the moment... but I wouldn't call myself a freethinker just yet. I used to attend church since I was 11, but it's been a long while since I last went back.







Then D bought me chocolates! :D We roamed all around in the cold and then he brought me for a really scrumptious tze char dinner which we ordered a whole hell lot and stuffed ourselves silly.



When night fell, I dragged D out to do one of my favourite things ever- smoking in the cold and just enjoying each other's company. When it got a little unbearable, we went all the way back to the older buildings to play in the arcade before retreating back to our room to call it a night.


Day 2

We set out to play the outdoor theme park! It's my favourite place to go to, and despite having played all the rides there so many times. I love itttttttttttt. It may just be the cold weather but my love for roller-coasters is... incomparable. I made the boy sit on it with me over and over.



So cute... Wanna pinch you!



I don't know if anyone of you ever remember these old Genting mascots... They were so well loved back then but I hardly see them around now. This is Allie the Elephant!

After we were done with the rides, I dragged the dog off to the Dinosaur land where we could enjoy the view of Genting. We went all around snapping pictures and being amazed with the new X100s .

I know he is really skinny... I know.

And!!! The best part is eating Baskin Robbins in the cold! :D Basically, I love anything to do with the cold. The outdoor theme park also has the best tea eggs ever. They are cheap, and so so so fragrant! The nice aunty even shells the eggs for you so we could eat with ease and I think I had about 8 eggs in 2 days? /: I can't remember but yes that's how much I love tea eggs. The stall is located right next to the escalator, somewhat beside the Cyclone.



Hehe. I made him sit on the Carousel with me too. ^_^ I think I saw the staff there chuckle to herself when she saw me happily skipping to the ride.





Well, another mandatory thing to do in Genting is to sit at Starbucks and attempt to use its lousy wifi that has almost never worked for me. Nights at Starbucks in Genting always end really late for me because I'm reluctant to return to the room. I would rather sit there and idle my time away than sleeping. Eventually we returned home on a Sunday evening, all recharged and ready for the new week ahead and we know that we have so much more to look forward to.

__________________________________________

I've been really trying my best to keep up with this space such that the photos here are up to date but I'd need a bit more time to clear whatever backlogs I have. Also, I've been trying to keep to my promise of updating this space more regularly with more insights into my personal life instead of just purely work related posts.

Last night, the boy tells me it's the 76th consecutive day that we are seeing each other. That is considerably remarkable considering that we almost stay on different ends of Singapore. Last night was also the 14th consecutive night that we have slept together. He makes the effort to travel all the way down to see me, even on nights when I'm swamped with work and I can't even keep him company. I am beyond blessed. I've never believed in a couple having to see each other every single day, but it is the case for us now. However, I do not see that as a necessity, I see that as a privilege each day we go on without having to break the streak and knowing that whatever unpleasant things we are experiencing at work wouldn't matter when we get to see each other at night.

Beebs, I will stay by your side these few days to tide you through this ordeal and I promise that everything will be okay in the end. I won't leave your side. So fear not, because I promise you that when you wake tomorrow I'll be with you. It has always been you taking care of me, now it's time for me to assume the responsibility of taking care of you. Be brave, it will be over before you know it.

I love you.

xx