My adventures with the Pi

For the longest time ever since the raspberry pi landed in my hands, I’ve been wanting to program it to take over the world stream my media across the network. But like all risk-averse nerds, I wanted to start from scratch, from the basic.

In a way, I was a little disappointed because installing the vanilla flavour of Linux for the pi (Wheezy) was really as easy as 1-2-3. Download and unpack the image. Download and unpack the image writer. Flash the SD card with the image writer, stick it in the pi and let it boot up. The only issue I had was my old TV. By default the signals sent via HDMI was not strong enough for the TV to receive any signals. I modified the config file and used the default values to boost the TV signals and voila! Never had a black screen with scrolling text look so sweet.

Next thing on my agenda was to force the pi to bypass the login screen and boot straight to the Desktop so this lazy bugger does not need to hit startx at command line. I could have done it so easily with the pre-loaded raspi-config file but decided I must mess with the bash-profile file and successfully in corrupting the startup files This is what I absolutely adore with scripting and messing around because all I needed to do was just reimage the SD card with Wheezy, overwrite the config file with my TV signals settings and off I went.

For most of the Saturday, I decided to mess with different parameters and overclocking options. I got sufficiently worried (and bored at that stage)with the heat generated from the overclocking. The entire idea of having the pi was meant to be my media server across the network. With a 10m LAN cable snaking across the lounge, I managed to browse a few other sites and decided getting it to work on the LAN was really an out-of-the-box option.

So, today, in a very uneventful 30m, I managed to get raspbmc working on my pi. It’s really as easy as downloading and unpacking it. Then, letting it boot while I did my nails, planned on makeup for the next day, came back to do further configuration.

I’ve been very impressed with this little board so far because of how much I’m able to do. I’ve managed to view files of SO MANY different formats (from USB so far) from the pi. The next item to research on? A wifi dongle. Because I wasn’t keen on having a LAN cable snaking across the lounge, wifi is the only solution. Because raspbian is not your regular Windows supporting many plug and play devices, I’ve to be extremely careful which wifi dongle to burn my cash on. Research needs to go all the way down to chipsets because certain chipsets are proven to work straight out of the box but not so well with the rest.

It’s been a very fun ride with the pi so far. A few other things I’d like to do:

1. Get another SD card to be used as my test/development environment so I don’t mess up an image that’s already working well.

2. Wifi- as discussed above

3. XBMC remote control app on my phone so I don’t have to use the mouse each time I need to configure the app.

4. Powered USB hub for more USB options. Why not?

In the next post, I promise to share my adventures with Sunday Riley.in the mean time, I need to fix up dual boot on my 7-year old Dell. Why?

Why not?

Where Petite might be JUST right!

One day, out of nowhere, my bag buddy buzzed me.

“I’ve been meaning to ask. PST or GST?!”

Good thing I’m a bagaholic because I sure as hell know she’s not referring to Goods and Services Tax. She’s referring to the iconic Chanel Petite Shopping Tote and its larger counterpart, Grand Shopping Tote. There have been countless debates on this and let me share with you my thoughts.

First, perhaps, let me show you what I think of the already-capacious PST. I have a navy blue caviar with silver hardware Petite Shopping Tote acquired a few years ago in one of Chanel’s summer collections. It is rather odd that such a colour is selected for summer but that’s another debate for another day.

For the past 3 days last week, I’ve been on the run commuting from home to the city for some rather intensive training. My days were long and hard. I leave home at 7am and I am not back until it’s dark (I know, that’s not saying much given it’s already autumn here). So, I needed something lightweight that could hold all the necessities and yet hardy enough to withstand the forecast of wet and gloomy days. It also needs to keep  my hands free if I needed to be standing on public transport.

It’s really no surprise that the PST was selected. The leather is caviar, calf skin and it is extremely durable. When I first purchased it, it was understandably stiff and hard. Over the years of gentle and loving use, it has softened beautifully and is absolutely pliable. The other beauty to the PST is that it does not sag. This is how much I have managed to pack into my PST. On some days, it’s like a game of Tetris!

1. Big fat purse (perhaps a review one of these days is fair)

2. iPad

3. RMK compact powder & Chanel Pink Explosion blush (don’t ask why they happen to be there) and myriad of lipsticks and lipglosses. Don’t ask.

4. Tiny water bottle. Good for only a couple of small sips but enough for when I just needed that sip.

5. Hello Kitty umbrella (THANKS TINE!) It’s my most favouritest umbrella like EVAR in the whole freaking world because it’s small and it’s HELLO KITTY!You should never dream of commuting in Melbourne without an umbrella despite a sunny forecast. Melbourne weather changes just.like.that.

6. Notebook, pen, small jewelry pouch, tissue holder, wet wipes, zip lock baggie of cottonbud/tampon/hair tie/hair pins, tiny bag of medicines and handcream

7. Car keys with memory stick and flash light

8. Mickey Mouse card holder (really, it’s myki – software development joke)

9. Ear phones and battery pack.

You can see that the PST itself is able to hold almost my entire life minus the kitchen sink. Let’s be honest, how many of us really do need the kitchen sink when we’re on the run?

Potential PST owners will be pleased to know too that due to the shape of and size of the bag, it does not sag despite the amount of items packed in.

So, on my 5’3″ and size 8 (AUS), size 2/4 (US) frame, it hangs on my shoulder just right and my arm hangs over the bag very comfortably.

I will admit that I do not have a GST but I have had a great opportunity to play with one while I was assisting my sibling in procuring one when Chanel had not yet established a boutique in Perth. She, a much smaller human, decided to go with a GST and when it was hung on her, I thought she could most probably fit herself into the bag.

You probably could tell from my train of thoughts that I am trying to steer you towards the PST for multitude reasons.

1. Price. A smaller bag, hence a smaller price. Easy peasy. One can argue that you only need to pay a little bit more for a much bigger bag. I’ve always fallen trap into it in the past but I think I’ve learnt my lesson. Do you really need that big a bag? Would you be better off saving those extra few hundred dollars towards another bag? Or shoes? Or scarf?

2. Your back will thank you. Having a bigger bag really means you’re tempted to stuff it to the brim thinking I-might-need-this-in-an-alien-attack. Look, there could be life form out there but I’d like to think aliens are more intelligent than to bother with us silly humans who are so set on self-destruction. But, that’s just me.

3. It hangs just right. I’ve spoken of how my arms fall over the bag comfortably and unfortunately, it’s not the case with the GST. Because of how wide the base is, I found my arm flopped over the top of the bag in the most awkward manner. Again, it’s just me and my frame. It could look perfectly gorgeous on someone who’s a lot taller than me.

4. No saggy bottom. The bane of most bag-lovers. The Louis Vuitton Speedy is notorious for it. So notorious that bases have been developed just to curb this. As mentioned earlier, because of its small size, there’s barely any saggy bottom to this. However, I’ve seen SO many saggy bottoms in GSTs.

At the end of this, it feels like I’m writing a very haphazard business case in convincing you to go for the PST. But, bags, like perfume, fashion and makeup, is a very personal thing. I’m sharing what’s worked extremely well for me in the hopes you’ll make the right decision to pick the perfect bag for you.

A New Home for us

There’s a buzz in the air. A buzz of a new home!

If you’re into social media and mobile platforms, you would have read that Google and Facebook have been in discussions for a new Facebook Home. When downloaded and installed (only on mobile platforms i.e. mobile phones on the Android platform), you will have a brand new home screen with a focus on Facebook.

I’ve never personally seen it in action though I have read enough about it from a UI/UX perspective. Not enough to know of its internal workings to make an intelligent decision currently but enough to form some opinions.

But, what irked me is how absolutely SMUG certain Apple fanbois can be that this is an Android-only app. The smugness is stifling. And the need to convince an Android user that Apple is superior is bordering pathetic. Thankfully, I have enough of brain cells (despite the alcohol intake) to make my own decisions.

I have absolutely no doubt that the new Facebook Home is most likely to be mining personal data and either Google and/or Facebook are making a massive profit from it. Absolutely no doubt at all.

At the same time, I’m glad I’m an Android user because I have the OPTION. The option to install it if I want to. Or remove it. The key word being option. I detest Apple’s arrogance in making the decision for me simply assuming I’m incapable of making the decision for myself. If I was an Apple user, the decision has been made for me.

Growing up in a culture where conformity is celebrated and doing well in exams means memorising and regurgitating keywords, being an Apple user is stifling to me. I’m not saying this is for everyone, neither am I saying all Apple users are dumb. I’m saying you can’t call yourself a technophile if you’re completely blind to one particular platform’s faults.

Credit has to be given where credit is due and I will always laud Apple’s ability in creating a market and a need that was never there before. The iPad. As much of an open source advocate that I am, I cannot fault the iPad. At the point of writing, I will not consider an Android tablet simply because the apps are not up-to-par. A tablet on its own is far from impressive. The apps maketh a tablet – that’s my mantra.

So, no, I am not completely blind to the faults of Android nor Apple because I like to make informed decisions like this. I guess I just needed to get this off my chest because of some smugness I encountered.

Now that I’ve ranted all I want to, it’s time for me to hunt for the HDMI cable and load up on my rPi! I’ve managed to turn it into a torrent box (cough!). It was my choice because how little processing power it will consume. I’ve sort of managed to get it to stream media across the network via wired LAN. Next up – wireless LAN and beg/borrow/steal a wireless dongle and to get the driver working!

PSA: Shopbop is having a sale and being in the Southern Hemisphere means I get to pick up some “new” stuff to update my winter wardrobe. I picked this up yesterday and I’m happy as a clam!

Voting with my feet

Local retailers here in Australia have over and over again cried foul over their balance sheets because tech-savvy consumers have found a way to shop for identical products at a lower price online. I’ve long been an advocate for online shopping. My money is mine to do as I wish.

Having said that, I’ve also often given in to the temptation of a pretty lipstick because I simply MUST have it there and then. Despite paying a premium price, I console myself that I’m supporting the local income and I walk away with a pretty item and a spring in my step. However, from now on, I might have to put a stop to these impulse purchases.

I was recently talked into picking up some Tom Ford eye shadow brushes to start a new eye brush set. I did some research online and after some in-depth discussion spanning across many timezones, I’ve decided on 3 brushes – eyeshadow brush, blender brush and smoky eye brush. 2 of these retail for $70 each and there’s one other which goes for $100 at David Jones.

Before making the plunge, I thought it was only fair to have a play of these brushes. After all, we’re talking about $240 for 3 items. Tom Ford, like La Mer really is priced like gold. I’ve always had fantastic service at Tom Ford in David Jones and I never hesitate to purchase anything despite the massive markup in Australian prices. This is one of the brands I’ve been pretty loyal to. However, what happened on Saturday really put me off Tom Ford in David Jones for good.

I do understand that David Jones is the only place I can purchase Tom Ford so in a sense, the sales staff might be having this sense of entitlement that is downright disgusting. His initial reluctance to show me the brushes (stating he had none) to dragging them out from the drawer to complete disinterest in helping me pick the 3 brushes I indicated I would like to have a look at. Driving in in the morning, I was pretty much set on purchasing the brushes. But, right there and then?

Nope.

The final nail in the coffin was when I thanked him for showing me the brushes and he shoved them back into the container, slamming that into the drawer and pushing it shut with a huff. All this without a single acknowledgement or offer to write down the details of the items to me. I understand sales staff are humans too and they’re entitled to bad days. But, you’re in the sales industry and you’re representing a luxury image – Tom Ford! Have some pride, for crying out loud. Keep your bad day to yourself and have a drink over lunch if you must. Never, ever dish your bad day out to your potential customer.

I was prepared to count my hard-earned pennies to pay that exorbitant amount because I really wanted those brushes. I walked away fuming and immediately sent IMs all the way across the continents to Santa Barbara detailing the items I’d like to purchase. Whadya know? Neiman Marcus is having a sale! So what else did I pick up?

The 3 brushes with a lot of savings – yay me! And, this:

A tweed dress in wool by Theory for less than $120. A shift dress I foresee myself wearing with a shirt underneath, belting it and adding a blazer for work. The combinations are endless!

So while I was seething with rage at the sort of service I received from Tom Ford, in a way, I’m glad. At least I’m happy with my purchases and I’m happy to put a strong currency at work. David Jones and Myer can continue to cry foul that the internet has finally levelled the playing field of shopping. For me? I’m voting with my feet, sitting back and watching them cry foul because they’ve done this to themselves.

PS- Now go annoy Tine to tell you what she bought with me!

ghd Air Blew My Mind Away

Literally.

And I really, really mean literally.

If you know me or have seen my mug with my hair attached (yes, I usually have a full head of hair attached to the moon mug), you’ll know that I’ve recently decided to grow my hair out again. After years of graduated bob cuts and various bob cuts (did I ever mention how patient my hair stylist, Jacky is each time I whinge about growing my hair out? This  man really is something), I decided to give this long hair thing a go. I can’t remember the last time my hair touched my shoulders. In a way, it’s a blessed relief. Summer of 2012-2013 has been unbearably warm. With the shoulder length hair, I’m free to twirl it up in a bun or twist it into a chic French braid or if all else fails, a high and sleek pony tail.

Having long hair also means a lot of maintenance. I have resorted to blow drying my hair each time I wash it. And I wash my hair everyday. So, yes, do the math. It’s 15-20 minutes daily of drying my hair on my trusty Vidal Sassoon. Because of the amount of time taken, I usually leave my hair to air dry for about half an hour (or the time taken to sip a glass of wine) before I attack it with a round brush and a blast of hot air. At the end of 15 minutes, I’m usually pretty satisfied with the results. I do end up with rather Simba-like hair because of the frizziness and how everything just poofs out for some reason. And I would walk out of the bathroom with achy arms and wrist.

For those who know me, I’ve been wearing a wrist guard every now and then because I’ve been diagnosed with carpal tunnel. Using a heavy hair dryer everyday seems to exacerbate it and I was close to tearing my hair out in frustration (pun completely and totally intended). Failure to blow dry my hair really means my hair flicks out in every direction imaginable because of its natural waviness. Its thickness also means it takes forever to dry.

After hmm-ing and haw-ing and reading up on the ghd Air, I decided to  bite the bullet and just buy it.

I first got to experience this at Oscar Oscar Chadstone when Jacky would style and dry my hair with this nifty little thing. I always walk out of the salon feeling like a gazillion bucks but I’d always thought because Jacky’s just insanely good at what he does.

So, today when the parcel landed at my feet, I decided to give the ghd Air the most stringent test. I would blow dry it from towel-dried hair (i.e. sort of dripping wet) to bone dry.

Boy, was I in for a treat! Not only is it light as air (ahem!) compared to my VS, it is also ergonomically-designed. I could hold it very comfortably with either my left or right hand. I suppose the marketing team weren’t really kidding when they named it “Air” because it didn’t feel like my arms or wrists were weighed down at the end of the session. I liked that the handle or grip was very slim and it gave a very comfortable grip. I have rather small hands with skinny fingers and they don’t exactly fit well into the pre-cut finger moulds of the VS.

There’s also a tiny little hook at the end of the handle which allows me to hook this onto the bathroom cabinet where I can reach for it easily. It might not seem like a big deal but I like to organise things just the way I want them to and I see no reason to purchase a hair dryer holder just to hold it if it hadn’t come with a hook. Neither do I want to stow it away because it is an item I utilise everyday. It does not make sense for me to tug it out and plug it in each time I want to use it. So, in terms of usability, this is on a tie with the VS!

The hair dryer itself comes with 2 fan speeds, 2 heat settings, cool shot (to set the style) as well as a button for cold air. With my VS, there are 2 heat settings with a cold air button. The downside to this is that you will have to manually hold the cold air button down to get the blast of cold air going. Needless to say, this does not bode well for my RSI-ed wrist.

As with most hair dryers, it comes with 2 nozzles. A smaller one for short-haired folks and a longer one for those with longer locks.

But, really, with all that, did it do what it’s meant to do? Believe it or not, the icing on the cake was that the ghd Air dried my hair in 5 minutes! FIVE MINUTES! As opposed to 15 to 20 in the past! You won’t believe how ecstatic I was. It’s not even enough time to finish half a glass of wine.

But wait, there’s more! No frizziness! I won’t go to the extent of saying it’s silky smooth but I’m saying the frizziness has been but down by about 80%!

So, is it well worth it? Definitely! If blowing dry your hair is the bane of your life, you need this. Being the logical person, I’ll lay it out in bullet points for you.

Pros:

• Light-weight and ergonomically-designed
• Multiple heat, fan and cool settings
• Cuts down frizziness
• Extremely quick in drying

Cons:

• Pricey – It retails for AUD$199 and I decided to hop on to HQ Hair to get mine shipped over from the UK saving me $80. Voltage is the same, so I’m not worried. I’ll be switching the plugs myself to an Australian one and getting an electrician friend to certify its safety (I’ll buy him a beer!) – letting me get away with not using an adapter. 

While I may not walk out of my bathroom feeling like the gazillion bucks I usually do after a session at Oscar Oscar, I would say I’m happy enough with the results to tell you that this nifty little thing will be travelling with me wherever I go to. It is a fantastic investment to my bathroom and given how often I would be using this, I don’t see an issue with plonking some hard-earned cash on this to make my life a lot easier.

PS-While sipping my wine, I can’t help but run my fingers through my hair maniacally. It’s so. smooth!

All images screencapped shamelessly from the ghd website because I can’t take good pictures to save my life!

What’s Up, Dawg?

Happy Monday!

Mondays are nothing to be happy about but hey, let’s set the tone right, wipe last week’s horrors from our minds and start afresh.

It’s been a while since I last blogged and cliche as it is, life got in the way. In bullet points of what’s happened, in no particular sorting order:

• Pushed a major release of my design into Production. It’s the first major project I undertook having stepped into this role. It was a mad raving success and I was over the moon with joy. There’s something highly-satisfying to see what you’ve crafted come to light. I received tons of emails from regular users, from managers, from crews on the road, from my CIO and from the CEO thanking me for the work. These emails are archived away properly to be read when days are particularly bad. Just a small reminder that I’m not as crap at what I’m doing that I sometimes think I am. 
• I lost some weight – stress from the above project. That also sent me over the moon but that also created a host of health issues as well. I’m trying to eat healthily and create some form of balance to my life. I’ve cut my caffeine intake down to once a day and no more than 1 glass of wine every night. Anything more the reflux kicks in and I’d be bowled over in pain. The stress from the project above also triggered a massive case of reflux and migraines recently.
• Brisk walking almost daily. Coco the fuzz butt is almost a year old. In doggy age, she’s an adult. In Labrador age, she’s a puppy with boundless energy which needs to be worked off. We brisk walk a minimum of 3km every evening after work and this has helped me sleep better. And it’s better for Coco because she no longer goes into a mental hyper state when we’re indoors. She lies down quietly if I need to watch tv or catch up on reading.
• Discovered a whole host of fascinating courses on iTunes U. I am extremely late to the party, I know. I was wasting brain cells away on Reddit one day and someone posted a link to this Harvard Computer Science lecture free to the public. David Malan is a young professor at Harvard who teaches an introductory course to Computer Science. Each lecture I attend from the comfort of my couch, I was blown away by how engaging he is. He gives very relevant and real world problem sets to his students. He made it clear that Computer Science is not a bunch of nerds hunched over terminals coding away.  Computer Science is all about solving a problem in the most efficient and elegant way. I’ve always known that or even suspected that but to have someone who’s an expert in the field articulate that, it’s somewhat comforting. I highly-recommend you check his lectures out. You might have absolutely no experience in programming or coding. You might not even know how the internals of a computer work but trust me, the lessons he imparts are very relevant. If you’re not an Apple user, don’t worry, they’re all up on YouTube. Attending the lectures virtually was like a walk down memory lane for me. Remembering the struggles with memory allocation in OS, the multiple data structures, the many ways of sorting and searching. Which I must say has led me to where I am now. ( I sometimes do QA on codes for another team for the fun of it because I love the challenge and I love pushing myself to learn something new.)
• Oh and shopping! Gosh. The shopping.

1. The biggest purchase was a new car. We were running around on a single vehicle after one of them was sent to the car yard to be compacted and compressed. I’ve also long wanted to get a car for tax purposes. I had a teensy-weensy salary review and that nudged me right into the next tax bracket. It really means my take home pay was a lot less because I was getting taxed so much more for a tiny bit of increase. To offset that and to make it a lot less painful, I signed up for novated leasing and picked a car I’ve always wanted. Something non-fancy – a United Grey Golf which comes with all the fun bells and whistles. Park Assist (I literally sat on my hands and let the car reverse itself into a tight spot), diesel for better mileage given the type of driving I do, automatic (of course!). I’ve loved every moment of it because of its Turbo. I love how it picks up and just zooms off with ease but most of all, I’m loving how much I’m saving in terms of taxes. Win all round!

2. A fuschia dress for the much-anticipated KBBW! If you’re familiar with the Zarita by DVF, yep, that’s what I picked up. I could shimmy into it just nicely with the recent weight-loss but I do need some help with some Spanx. I’m hoping to keep the flab off to still be able to shimmy nicely into this dress. I’m loving the dress to death and am already conjuring up multiple ways of wearing this to. I’ve wanted this dress for as long as I could remember and made too late a pounce when it came on ShopBop. Served me right for dithering. After some much needed advice and fantastic service from Net-a-Porter in the US, I got this shipped over from New York. My one fear was that I couldn’t fit into it.

3. Makeup. I dabbled into some spring collection thanks to some very accomodating friends and stocked up on some staples.

4. But none of that was as exciting as a stash of accessories I bought yesterday The Mors scarf ring is something I’ve always wanted to add to my scarf ring collection. It’s amazing how a patch of silk can really transform an outfit. With the Mors scarf ring, I’m able to wear my scarves in a brand new way. While I was there, I also saw a wide array of the H belt kits! I’ve wanted one for as long as I could remember and finally decided it’s time I add that to accessorise my dresses. I was a little disappointed the sizes were a little big but as luck would have it, staff were kind enough to punch holes in the belts and with the reversible colour, it’s like I have 2 belts in 1! I decided on a muted gold H buckle to contrast my black and other deep-coloured dresses. I think this belt would go well on jeans as well and I can’t wait to put the ensemble together! Finally, the Kelly Dog bracelet in black chamonix with gold hardware. With stupidly-tiny wrists, I have to be extra careful how I stack my arm candy. I can’t go beyond a thick bracelet and a watch, for example. Again, I can’t wait to put all of this together! My outfits are very much boring old black, grey, navy but sometimes with a splash of coral but most of the time, I rely on my accessories to add a pop of colour and to pull it all together.

Pictures of the ensemble to come soon – once I get some form of balance back in my life. Meanwhile, I’m going to work on celebrating Coco’s 1st birthday in a couple of weeks’ time and an extra long Labour Day weekend to recover and recuperate.

Have a good Monday, everyone!

Late to the party – The Maestro “Foundation”

This will be a no-picture post because this is penned in a hurry and is really meant to capture my thoughts before they’re lost into the evil vortex dubbed WORK!

I initially had my doubts on the highly-touted Giorgio Armani Maestro foundation. When I first played with it, I tried it on my hand as you normally would. That’s when I reeled back in horror with a dramatic gasp.

IT.SANK.INTO.THE.LINES.

Every single line and dry patch on my hand was emphasized. That’s most certainly not what you’re looking for in a foundation.

It most definitely didn’t help too that the sales assistant requested for my contact details and my driver’s license when I requested for a measly sample. (David Jones Doncaster Giorgio Armani counter to avoid, if you must know. Both Myer and DJ in the CBD have the loveliest SAs and I can’t recommend them enough) I stalked out of DJ huffily because I’m not about to part with my date of birth, address, driver’s license number (primary form of ID here) for a tiny pot of makeup. I value my private information way too much.

However, just last week when I happened to be in the city, I decided hell, why not, give it another go. This time, I was taught to apply a little bit of moisturiser to my hand prior to testing the foundation.

Whadya know? No sinking into the terrible lines!

I was still skeptical so again, I requested for a small pot to try. I was plied with other types of foundation samples because in the SA’s words,”No woman should buy a foundation based on ONE type. That’s travesty!”

When I next applied the foundation (Can’t use my regular fingers to just slowly “massage” it in. I had to use light feathery strokes to dab it all over the face) after my regular morning routine, I found that it sat nicely on my skin. After a little while, it sort of melted into my skin giving it a very nice my skin but better finish.

It was like the heavens opened up and the angels started singing. It all made sense! I don’t know about you but my face is definitely more hydrated than my hands. Hence, it’s only natural that the foundation sank into my hands and not my mug especially since it’s well-hydrated from my arsenal of oils, serums and moisturisers!

This foundation is definitely the sheerest I’ve ever encountered. It offers almost no coverage. All it does is evens your skin out a little. If you have almost blemish-free skin, this might be for you. The caveat is that you need to moisturise the daylights out of your skin prior to application. Any hint of dryness is exacerbated. But, if you have almost blemish-free skin, what are you doing buying a foundation?

Will I be purchasing? Maybe. If I’m bored enough and really just want to buy something. If I can get a mule to bring this in from US at$60, I might. I’m just unwilling to be ripped off by Myer or DJ charging me AUD$90 for this. I can’t harp this enough: AUD is stronger than USD.

Having tried this on my skin and having satisfied my curiosity, I really can’t think of a reason why I’d want this. For starters, I don’t have almost blemish-free skin. For another, it’s overhyped and anything overhyped needs to be taken down a peg or two.

For now, I’m sticking with my favourites – Bourjous Healthy Mix Serum and Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk for summer. For the harsh winter cold, I slap on RMK and another Bourjois one that’s completely slipped my mind. The evil vortex of work has kicked in.