Bastard Customers and Salesperson POV / Finding My Own Drive - Work Experience Part 2

Hey guys!

It has been two weeks since I have worked for Forte and I have been enjoying every single minute of it (although I admit, it really sucks when you do zero sales for the whole week).

Ever since I stepped foot into the company, I have been learning new things every single day, under the watchful eye of each and everyone of my seniors, especially my dear trainer who has become like a second mother to me (haha). All of them are really wise and experienced, giving sound advice, encouragement and guidance whenever I needed it, and never once complained that I was a burden (which I felt like every time I got help).

I have become surprisingly comfortable with the people there despite most of them being in their 20s/30s. The closer ones are definitely from the team I was put under, especially Sing Xuan, Yi En and Ronnie. All of them treat me like a friend and not just a younger inexperienced colleague. Sing Xuan would never fail to check up on me every single day, sending me texts and buying me food. No one else has ever done that for me before, so I am extremely touched. Soon Yong is also one of them, he becomes my temporary trainer whenever SX is not around. (It's really interesting to see his dual personality in work and casual situations. Very good training style as well.)

The work environment is simply amazing. Where in other places you would find a typical drab and serious one (or so from what I have heard), One Organisation has a really vibrant and enthusiastic vibe which reminds me a lot of ACJC. Everyone is willing to care and share, and the work hard play hard mentality is really prominent here as well. Of course, it is not all about fun and games, there are expectations to meet and targets to hit which arent easy at all, so everyone pushes themselves really hard whenever on field. However, when it comes to partying, boy do we party. It gets PRETTY wild.




Anyway, thats just a tiny peek at my work life. Now, getting on to the main point I wanted to drive at today, which is HOW CUSTOMERS TREAT AND SHOULD TREAT SALES PEOPLE.

I have come to realise why so many people keep telling others that everyone should work in sales at least once, and here is why: If you don't, you will never understand what we go through and as a result, treat them as less than human.

Even if I have only worked as a sales person for two weeks, the number of FUCKED UP customers I have met so far is enough to drive anyone up the wall.



A few examples to illustrate my point:

(control) A normal customer - no no no I dont need / no thanks no thanks / bu yong la bu yong la

A friendly customer - Answers your questions politely and remain friendly with you, eg. oh I already have that / well yeah actually I have no intention to change coz I dont need it currently / thank you / you have a great day too

The know-it-all cutomer  - Compares all the telcom markets in Singapore from Singtel to Starhub to M1 to MyRepublic and gives you a thousand and one reasons why they should buy from our competitors, eg. wah you know Starhub offers this and this and this so Singtel really cannot compete one / MyRepublic offers up to 1GB speed you know and its so cheap! You Singtel people yadda yadda yadda

The arrogant customer (similar to know it all but yet different) - Thinks that she knows the market of telecomm services so much better than we do, eg. 'You guys are selling to the wrong market! Why sell the product to people who already have it? This is Singapore. And you guys are at the wrong place, look at the nudity that is being portrayed on the screen!' 

The guailan customer - They purposely come up with some wisecrack in order to counter your pitch and think they are extremely hillarious. eg. oh sorry I got no home la / I dont like SingTel (her husband later told me that they are using it while stalking off) / oh Starhub Starhub (when I ask whether they are using SingTel or Starhub) / !@#$%^&* (some foreign language that I dont understand that I am very sure are pretty insulting remarks since they are accompanied with a guffaw) 

The Rude Customer - Those customers who are annoyed by us (I understand) and treat us like dogs (I dont understand), eg. 'I already told you Im not interested. How many times do I have to tell you, HUH? Your colleague already approach me just now. I AM NOT INTERESTED'

Most of these people obviously are completely ignorant of the fact that we sales people are actually human beings with feelings too. We are working so hard to earn our commission, and we are always extremely polite, so I really dont see why we dont deserve any respect.

Does it really take much to just reject our approach nicely? Of course we may be slightly persistent, we were trained to do so, but if we see that you are really disinterested, we would leave you alone. 

Just imagine people talked to you the same way. How would you feel? I would personally feel like breaking the person's dick, but because all of us have an image to upkeep so as to not ruin the rest of the company's reputation, we exercise amazing self-control and suck up whatever shit thrown at us. 

To the younger kids - I understand you guys are not at the age to understand what we are going through. Just wait till a few years later when you find a job, you guys are gonna get the exact same bullshit that we are currently getting. Hopefully you learn something out of it. 

To the arrogant bitches - You think you know everything? okay, you can go talk to SingTel's CEO and direct ALL your complaints and suggestions to him. We are just agents, we cant really help you much. 

To the uncles and aunties - You guys are old, I shall close one eye.

So please guys, whenever you meet a sales person next time, just be friendly. Even if they are persistent, just firmly say no but give them a smile. It makes a huge difference than being rude. However, it is also a good learning process when facing rejection and these kinds of customers so often, because my people skills (and tolerance level) have gone up a lot more since I first started, learning how to deal with different kinds of people every day.

So this week will be my third week in the company, I am hoping to gun down my promotion ASAP and help Ronnie promote to team manager by end of March. But first, I have to get my basics right first or I would never progress (like SY said sternly).

 Jaden taught me something really meaningful (and TBH I was really surprised at his wisdom because he didnt seem like the type to ask me that kinda thing), which was to find my own reason why I want to promote. If I dont have my own reason and just feel like promoting based on what people tell me, I would never find the drive to do well myself. It resonated with me quite a bit, because I didnt have any particular reason of wanting to promote except to help SX and Ronnie with their own promotions.

I realised that I am more inclined to work hard for other people than to help myself, so Jaden suggested that I might be wanting to train and guide other people, so I could use that as a motivation.

I hope I will talk to Allison more this week, so that I can gain more insight from her (not that I havent been gaining enough from my seniors already, but of course its always good to learn more).

Are we really happy? - Work Experience part 1

I just posted up a status on Facebook which said 'New life goal: be a millionare by the time im 35'.

It's unbelieveable, the amount of skepticism that I get when I make that statement. People dont even need to tell me what they are thinking, I already know it. They are all thinking the same thing: That is practically impossible. You? Millionare? We are just slaves for the system, how far do you really think we can go?

But really, just how many people actually believe that they are going to succeed in life?



Before elaborating on my point any further, just gonna share my current work experience which has taught me so much and led me to wanna blog about the topic. (There are going to be 3-4 parts to this, there is too much to write about)

I got kinda tired of my old (still on) job, which is as slack as heck, and wanted to find a new job so that I can gain much more experience. I went to google job searches and happened to find a position of management trainee that a company called Forte Organisation was hiring. The job sounded pretty okay to me, and I honestly wasnt expecting much out of it because of the not-too-good experience at my previous job, so then decided to sign up for it.

Heck, it was the best decision I ever made.

Immediately within two hours when I submitted my resume, I got a call from the company asking for an interview the next day. Imagine the level of efficiency that the company has. Unbelieveable. Then on the day of the interview, I met the lady who has made the largest impact on me in my life so far since the first week I started work: My [temporary] boss, Allison.

The first impression I had of her was: wow, she is so gorgeous and so YOUNG. How the heck did she get up there so fast, and look barely older than my seniors?

During the interview, she kept emphasising on how young I was, and knowing that I didnt know what I really signed myself up for, she started explaining the job scope to me from the start. My heart started to sink when I heard what the job really consisted of. From doing sales, progressing on to training, then finally managing your own company, my first reaction was like 'holy shit, what the fuck did I get myself into?'

Allison then continued to ask if I was planning to continue to the university, which I said yes to (of course I have to get a basic degree), then proceeded to explain that she didnt think that it would be worth it to invest in me because I wasnt going to be staying for very long. I totally understood her POV, any employer would have thought the same way. Besides, I had absolutely ZERO experience in sales and business management, and comparing to my colleagues who were graduates and working people, I wasnt exactly the best person to hire for the company.

When I was already expecting a 'Thank you very much it was so nice meeting you bye bye', she suddenly dropped an offer, which was to put me on probation for 2 weeks to see if I was really worth investing in. I initially didnt know what the heck she was talking about, and when she said 'so I would see you tomorrow at 8 down here' I went 'um whut' (she was speaking a little fast and I was also bombarded with a lot of information which I was a slow in absorbing)

So basically I was offered the most gorgeous of an opportunity for an 18 year old: work amongst people much more experienced than you, of all different age groups and who were very, very good at what they do - closing sales. At that point of time, it didnt really matter whether Allison wanted to keep me or not at the end of two weeks, all I needed was the experience and to learn as much as possible along the way.

So then began my journey in Forte Organisation.




Stay tuned for part 2, this would definitely be a series that I would finish documenting.

Mid-Jan already..... (?!) - Career Options, Life Decisions

Just a short update....

I cant believe it is mid-Jan already, WHERE THE FUCK DID THE FIRST HALF GO?

lol anyway, I have been really into educating myself lately with books, videos and work to prepare myself for the real world. 

The more I read into business and entrepreneurship the more colourful and exciting it gets.

I told Miss Leong I was reconsidering my career options as 'it' was too difficult. I think she thought that I meant business, but what I really meant was fashion marketing and design. The past month has really opened my eyes up to many new possibilities regarding my future, and quite frankly, I think the fashion business now is wayy too saturated for my liking. Every girl out there thinks they have what it takes to succeed, and they are probably right because they TRY. (unlike me who hasnt done anything yet)

The thing that I realised about successful entrepreneurs is that they come up with things that have never been thought of before, ie. virtually no competition there. The only people they are competing with is themselves. This is the road that I believe I want to take 10 years down the road, not struggling to stay afloat with probably 100,000 other blogshops trying to make it big. 

Ecommerce is reaching a stagnating point despite its ever-growing revenue, and it is time to find the gaps and opportunities that I can seize now in order to ensure long term success.

Right now, I have so many ideas that I want to bring to life, but I have virtually no resources nor knowledge, which is why getting into the business course for me is so important. 

I just had a sudden revelation today as to how important technology is going to be in the next few decades, which lead me to suddenly want to pursue a major in information systems or electrical/computer engineering. Crazy I know, not to mention my disinterest in it for the past 18 years (that was dedicated to pursuing the arts). However, I now think that getting myself equipped with technological know-how will be extremely useful in the years to come. 

Im even reconsidering what school I want to get into. Initially it was NTU (and still is dont get me wrong, especially if its the business course), but NUS offers double majors which is really appealing to me. Specialising in only one degree would be too drying for me, and quite frankly wouldnt get me anywhere in the real world. Business, engineering, sociology, communications, information systems..... they are all very closely interrelated, despite how so many people want to enclose them in boxes. 

Decisions, decisions.....

 All of these might sound really nerdy but hey you would find it really insightful as well once you read into it. I for one started on this out of curiosity and also perhaps due to an overdose of the 'high' life. Too much indulgence is not really a good thing. Another factor is that I have met people who are so fucking intelligent and talented and basically have everything in the world and that got my competitive spirit up a great deal.

On a side note, I have decided to pick up journal writing again (the dear diary shit) because this blog is getting really public. Some things are just not meant to be shared with others and it wouldnt reflect very well of me either. Well, a journal is a good thing I guess, it improves my writing skills and also allows me to deeper reflect on my experiences. 

I will still be updating my blog, but it'll be on more superficial stuff like outings or some great insight that I have gained and want to share with everyone to make the world a better place (lol).

So what have you all been up to lately? Those who have school, all the best to you! Those who are working, lets go hang sometime yeah? ;) till then~

Siloso Beach Party 2013 and It's Adventures (update)

This Siloso Beach Party was the virgin clubbing experience for the other two and the first party countdown together for all of us. Veronica was supposed to join us but couldnt at the last minute due to personal reasons :( (MISS U RONNIE) However, the show must go on, so we went ahead with the party.

There were a HELL LOT of strange experiences that I went through there (not all unpleasant though) that I will elaborate upon later in the post, but first things first........ the journey to the party.

I actually won two free passes to the countdown but I had already purchased the tickets much earlier on, so I had three tickets to sell. Surprisingly, there were tons of people who still wanted the tickets. Once I placed adverts on the various social media, my phone started getting bombarded with orders. Cutting the long story short, I managed to sell them for $160 altogether, which aint too bad.

The girls and I then made our way to the venue......

Camwhoring on the train.

We reached the place at about 6 plus which was FREAKING early considering the countdown was at about 11 something, but that was due to ticketing issues and buyer related matters. We entertained ourselves instead by walking around the venue to see what was available.

It was really a waste for only one of the five stages (the main one) to be filled, im sure the organisers put in a lot of effort setting up all of them.

When we entered, we saw a temporary tattoo booth and since it was going to be new year, we thought we might as well just YOLO and get one. This is the one that I decided to get: 

Bad Girl

Since I had already lost half of my dignity dressing in this manner, might as well just lose a little more.

Besides, I have always wanted to feel a little badass so this probably satisfied that craving. 

Yee Hwa's rose tattoo.

It actually cost 10 dollars to do hers but the shopkeepers were nice enough to let her do it at 5!

Same story for Yue Ning. Sigh, such nice people.

(but they are really smart, doing such a lucrative business there...) 

We then headed toward the main stage...
The beach was about 1.2km long and we three walked back and forth about 5-6 times. Lotsa workout there.

The entrance to the main stage! 

Girls on stilts! The costumes are gorgeous 

The glow sticks we got from doing a survey. We each got a different primary colour, I got yellow.

(which happened to match my outfit) 

The resolution board!

 And my personal resolution :)

Having a lot of fun in the bubbles!

Each ticketholder was entitled to a free drink, either a Carlsberg or a coke.

Guess who got the coke? (it isnt me) 

Yue Ning and I doing the love shot <3 

...... and Yee Hwa nonchalantly sipping her coke 

Since it was relatively early and hardly anybody was at the dance floor, we went to lepak by the chairs near the food booths.

 The glowsticks lighted up!

We only hit the dancefloor at about 9pm. At that time, DJ Funky T took over and he pumped up the atmosphere by leaps and bounds.

 My hands blocking LOL

It was tiring to jump around all night so we went to the couches at the wavehouse to conserve our energy before the countdown before going back at 11.40.

ITS TAKING ME HIGHER 

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2014!!!!!!!!!

Treated to a fireworks display! ^.^

Okay, so the weird experiences happened AFTER the countdown.

Firstly, everyone was happily jumping and dancing to the music, slightly high on alcohol. People all around wished us Happy New Year and we reciprocated.

For some reason, quite a number people in front were trying to leave the dancefloor after the countdown, one of them who happened to be a drunk ang moh. He grabbed my waist and pressed me against the red-haired dude behind me (who wished me happy new year and who looked a bit like Noah Yap lol) then screamed: ARE YOU TWO TOGETHER? We both shook our heads vigorously but he completely ignored us and said: KISS HER KISS HER. NO KISS HIM KISS HIM. 

I was at a loss of what to do and didnt want to give in to his request, but his snaky hands were already sliding down my waist and was gonna reach some inappropriate area so I quickly gave the dude a smack on the cheek. Well I guess its ok because its only the cheek. But I was wearing red lipstick and left a huge mark on his face and was so fucking embarrassed after that, made even worse with his friends teasing him. 

AND IT WAS MY FIRST TIME KISSING A GUY (albeit not on the mouth)

The red-haired guy apologised to me after that and I apologised to him as well. But we made acquaintances after that and when he went forward nearer to the stage he beckoned me and the girls to join him and his friends. Which was nice. And he was sweet.

Then an even WEIRDER incident happened after that. (note: all this happened in a little less than 1 and a half hours) I was already quite interested with making acquaintances with the red-haired guy, but all of a sudden a tall and cute dude came up to me and said 'Hey there, nice to meet you. Is it your first time here?'

Then somehow he managed to whisk me into this long conversation and in the process snaked his hands around me, my shoulders and then my waist. I kinda knew what was happening but I didnt stop it because I wanted to see what would happen next. It was really flattering and pretty exhilarating, and it totally helped that he had a handsome face and perfect-teeth smile. (Furthermore, he was topless. Which made it all the more distracting) For the record he was only two years older than I was so yeah. No age gap thing going on there.

His smooth way of talking and the fact that he knew EXACTLY what to say and how to act already SCREAMED 'PLAYER' in my face. He shared with me a bit of information of himself and I realised that not only was he a good looking player, but also extremely (like, really) intelligent. What kind of guy was he? I was really fascinated. If it were anyone else I wouldnt have been as ready to accept the invitation but then I decided to play along into his game.

He later managed to convince me to get drinks with him and I did, but not before making arrangements with the other two to meet at 2 (in case I got drugged). He paid for my drinks (rich) and played five-ten with me in order to get me to drink and get drunk. Thank goodness I managed to play on par and we drank equally if not I would have to down 4 cups of idkwhatthefuckismixedintothecoke drink. It was nice of him to ask for more coke to lower the strength of the alcohol tho.

I said to him during the game: 'Don't you think I should be at least a bit suspicious of you?'

Then he looked at me and replied with: 'Do I look like the kind who would do anything?'

When I told him it was precisely the fact that he didnt look like the type that I should be extra careful, but he brushed it off and said I was too guarded. 

Later on, he held my hand and brought me to meet his friends, who were a darn hillarious bunch of people. One friend's first greeting to him was 'Eh...... FUCK YOU CHEE BAI 2014 GO AND DIE LA' and I wanted to burst out laughing because that was such a typical bro greeting. 

I observed the girls who were with his friends and they all look wasted. One of his friends offered ice (to sober up apparently) to all the girls. One of the girls took the ice, inspected it closely and flung it away, all done in an absoultely drunk manner. The guy holding her glanced at me and I glanced back at him, and we both knew what happened and giggled. But her behaviour got me thinking: how could she act like that? No matter how drunk you are, it aint a pretty sight to show your boyfriend, or anyone for that matter.

I had a suspicion that all these girls were also picked up at the dancefloor just like I was but maybe they were the dude's friends as well. Who knows.

One thing that I noticed, he was extremely protective of me the whole time, with his arm around me and made sure that no drunk people came near me. Very nice of him, but the player signs were made even more obvious.

Later, I made my way with him to the dancefloor with his friends, then things got rather....... steamy. He stood behind me and put his hands around my waist and then somehow we were grinding against each other. I could feel his body pressed against mine and it was so foreign. I had always dreamed of having a guy embracing me like that but it was nothing compared to the real thing. I let my body relax and leaned against him and he put his mouth at my neck and continued bumping to the music.

He played with my hair and slipped both of his hands into mine. The only problem was that the stupid light stick I was carrying was blocking the way. He then proceeded to very sensually undo the ribbon of the light stick, made a necklace out if it and put it around his friends neck (HAHA) then proceeded to slip his hands into mine again. 

It'll be a lie if I said I didnt have any clue what to do. I went with my gut here, my scorpio instincts were on fire. (Not gonna elaborate any further on this and its gonna be up to your imagination) We stayed that way for a long time, and it was really comfortable. The only point where I uncomfortable was when he slid his hands down my waist near down there where it was EXTREMELY ticklish and inappropriate. I was a bit afraid and wanted to laugh at the same time (the irony) but it would have totally destroyed the atmosphere so I motioned him to get his hands up. He responded by turning me around and gave me a full on hug (while still dancing).

[Of course, that action wasnt because his feelings grew, but because he didnt want me to see what he was texting. I kept looking at his phone and watch discreetly when I could because I had to keep track of the time.] 

He wanted me to stay throughout the night with him and tried to convince me to do so. Initially I wanted to stay but since the other two were depending on me and my parents for a ride home, I decided against it. I told him (at 2 o clock sharp, i think he was surprised that I kept the time so well without a watch nor phone) that I needed to find the other two. He volunteered to follow me to the place and so we made our way to the lockers where the girls were waiting.

Halfway through the walk, he asked: 'Why leave so early? didnt you enjoy the music? (I think thats what he said, I couldnt hear properly)' then I told him I enjoyed the music a lot. He responded with a laugh and a baffled look. Then all of a sudden he acted alpha male with me and took my chin very gently but firmly and stared into my eyes and said,'would you stay?'

His eyes were so serious that I gave a slight giggle while looking at the floor, stunned and not knowing what to say. I had NO IDEA that he wanted to kiss me until he did it. Thank GOD not on my lips (right beside it instead), or I would have lost my first kiss to a player.

However, I didnt react to it even though I liked it. I had to stay firm, otherwise who knows what other stuff might happen. And no matter how much I enjoyed myself I couldnt go that far with a one-time fling. He sensed that I wasnt into it since I didnt budge at all, and my face remained stone-cold. I think he was disappointed, but said, 'alright I will walk you there' and started holding my hand again. I felt really bad but no way was he gonna have me there. Itll just be like 'oh yay I scored another one' kinda thing, you know?

He asked for my number and left me with his, asked me for one last time whether there was any possibility that I was going back to the dance floor, then left to go find his friends. 

To the guy if you ever read this (although I dont think you will): I had an amazing time with you, and thank you so much for giving me such a wonderful memory. Sorry for being so socially awkward and not being able to have a proper conversation because I have no idea what to say, and also for being so suspicious half the time. And please dont mind me rejecting some of your advances, its only for the best. 

For a guy who has everything in the world [ie. good looks, brains, money, slick personality. Yes he proved that he had all of these things in a short two hours] and could get any girl he wants, he is the type a girl should stay the furthest away from.

He reminds me a lot of this guy

I'm starting to see why players choose to act the way they do.

That momentary kick of pleasure that you get with the other person gets you so high, and whats even better is that you wont have to have any feelings attached. Once you are done, its on to the next one.

Why choose to bother with falling in love when all it brings is pain and suffering? Being a player is so much easier.

I will no longer bother with things like love and romance anymore for now, and just choose to enjoy company as it is. Until the day.......

But it isnt now.

Anyway, even though he said he would message me again, I highly doubt he would because well, itll be unfair for me to stereotype him but I guess all players are the same. At the very least, I got to have such an experience with one and thankfully, no harm came to me, and I had a lot of fun. Definitely a great way to begin my 2014. :)

That being said, I later found out that I ruined the first two hours for YN and YH because they were so damn worried about me and tried to find me. (oops) Thanks for the love guys, I feel it!!

So how did you guys spend your New Year's Eve?

Happy New Year 2014 everybody! <3










Update:

Saw him again at Mink. Cant believe it........ I think im starting to grow fond of him even though we only met twice.

but no. both of us were with other people that night, and apparently those from that school still have a really strong discrimination against those from mine. I knew he was a player and after that night he probably thought I was one too. only in it for one thing, doesnt matter who it is.

Im starting to wonder if its really worth it to play around like that. Of course, clubbing has its many benefits like meeting new friends and getting high but ultimately, it isnt the kind of atmosphere that I want to be surrounded in.

Yesterday's experience was probably enough for me for the rest of the year, still not feeling so good from all the alcohol.

wtf am i doing with my life. -.-

Holy Grail - Personal Must Haves and Best of 2013

2013 is almost coming to an end. I cant say that it is a pity, and yet it has been one of the most fulfilling and enjoyable years of my life. Through all the ups and the downs, I have learnt a lot and have come very far both physically and mentally.

That being said, I thought that I would do a personal recommendations post to share the things that I loved in the year. From materialistic things to other more mentally stimulating items, these things have helped me throughout the year.

So without further ado, lets begin! :D



Beauty

Best Eyeliner: Hypersharp Liner - Maybelline

I have tried a number of eyeliners before and none delivers as much as Maybelline's Hypersharp liner. It has such a fine pointed tip that it makes extremely precise wing points. However you do have to spend a little more effort if you wanna draw thick lines.



Best White Eye pencil: NYX white eyeliner pencil

The one I tried using before was the Maybelline one and even though I love the brand the particular product was absolutely atrocious. As in really. It could not glide over my eyelids nor waterline and just simply broke off when I applied more pressure to get the colour out. Horrible.

NYX's white eyeliner on the other hand was so smooth and creamy when applied and the colour payoff was really good and opaque as well, making it a dream to use.



Favourite Lipstick: MAC Matte Lipstick in Russian Red

As you all have realised by now, red is my go-to lip colour for every occasion. Many people are really afraid of the colour because they think they will look like a clown, but I think it brings just the right amount of colour to my face. Pinks make my teeth and skin look extra yellow while beiges and browns make me look like a granny. The only other colour that I use would be deep plum shades, and only the super dark ones.

Out of all the red lipsticks that I have tried, my favourite will always be my MAC lipstick. Not because it is my only high-end lipstick, but because of the perfect shade of blue red that makes my teeth look slightly whiter and also because of its matte finish. The colour also matches most of my clothes.

However, it might have a competitor next year because I do wanna try out Revlon's Really Red matte lipstick which they brought back recently, and it is more of a neutral red rather than a blue toned one. Hmm, maybe...




Favourite nail polish: Model's Own nail polish in Southern Lights

I saw this nail polish quite early on in the year but only decided to get it for prom as it was really pricey and heck, it was the best decision I have ever made. I have used the nail polish since then every single day. It is really sparkly and glittery and the pale bluish undertone of the polish gives it a really ethereal presence.

The colour reminded me of the aurora borealis / australias, and I later on found out that its name was derived from the phenomenon.

Oh one more thing, the nail polish lasts for a really long time. As in really. I put on three coats of it and 2 and a half weeks later it is still super perfect looking with no chips whatsoever.


Favourite Brand: NYX

The products are high quality and value for money. Nuff said.





Fashion

Favourite trend: Midi Skirts

To be a little more specific, the full-skirted version as opposed to the figure hugging one. The figure hugging one is great as well though, but it tends to emphasize the hips which can be really unflattering.

Ala Miss Dita <3

I am probably one of the rare few girls in Singapore who are OBSESSED with midi skirts. It hits around below the knee (tea length) which IMO is the perfect skirt length for every single woman out there.

I have many friends who shy away from this trend as they either think it doesn't fall properly or looks frumpy. Well yeah, that may be the case, only if it isnt done right. I think the rule of thumb for midis are that it should sinch the tiniest part of your waist before it flares out. It doesnt matter where the skirt hits below your knee, the vibes that the midi gives always remains the same: classy, ladylike and sophisticated, something that was highly emphasized in the former part of the 1900s.

Which brings me to my next point...........



Favourite Fashion Era: Mash of 1930s to 1950s

Sure, each decade had different silhouettes and styles, but one thing thats for sure, clothes of this era have a key focus - style with class, elegance and a hint of sensuality.

Slinky bias cut evening dresses of the 1930s, emphasises the natural curve of a woman.

My personal favourite silhouette.

I think this is around the late 1940s where skirts began to be a little fuller. However the structured shoulder remained. 

50s models. It may not be a pin-up photoshoot per se but the poses are similar! 

Sexy fun and playful.

Most-used bags: 

The Editor's Market - Fluoro panel clutch

I remember shopping with Nicole and seeing this clutch and went: OMFG I HAVE TO GET IT. I contemplated about getting this for a really long time as it cost 50 dollars which to me was a really big splurge. However now that it is in my wardrobe, I have been using it ever so frequently.

It is the perfect statement piece for all my evening outfits, and it stands out especially well against my favourite outfit colour schemes, ie. black white and blue. Just admire its majesty from the picture above.

Vintage Satchel Bag from Bugis

Okay, this is not really the one I got but since I was too lazy to take pictures....

I didnt wanna get a brown satchel because I dont like the colour at all, but since it was the closest to black (which I wanted) and at only 33 bucks, it was a steal. I have brought it everywhere with me, from school to work to the recent China trip. In fact, I have used it so much that the strap is now broken (oops). I'm trying to get my dad to fix it for me.

I love how the bag is much bigger than my other two satchels and that the colour is neutral enough to match most of my outfits.

White vintage bag from princessess.com.sg 

Yup this bag

I got this bag this year and it is absolutely gorgeous. I didnt even know that I would be using it that much because its white (not really the best neutral as it stands out much more than the other neutrals) but surprisingly, it suited many of my summer outfits and I got even more wear out of this than my satchel.

Social Media
We all can't live without it.



Favourite Youtuber: clothesencounters

Cute, sexy, intelligent, articulate and well spoken. All her videos are very well put together and unlike most other beauty/fashion gurus on youtube, she doesnt sound air-headed and has good exposure to the world around her.

Favourite Instagrammer: @collarious

Featuring my fellow classmate Wei Min! Even though there are many instagrammers who post beautiful pictures, I like the fact that her instagram in particular not only contains really abstract pictures but also very relatable to my age group.


Favourite Blogger: Ladyironchef

I guess I don't need to explain any further, everyone knows who he is. The photos he takes are of really high quality, has really good PR skills and best of all, behaves really classily.

Favourite blogshop model: Andrea Chong (special mention - Valerie Wang)

The thing that attracted me to Andrea was her impeccable taste when it comes to styling clothes. It is on par with famous international bloggers. Feminine and tasteful, she is definitely a blogger to look out for. Her super bubbly personality is a plus point. (I really do not get the hate she receives on The F Word..... what, you guys jealous of her?)

I think you guys can already see the trend in the kind of people I look up to. Valerie is an ultra talented girl majoring in art and can play the clarinet really well. She has an amazing body and an exotic face too. The whole package.

Bloggers like these two should be getting a whole lot more attention.







Music

Best song: Blurred Lines - Robert Thicke

Sure, this song might have had a lot of criticism for being sexist, but the beat is so freaking catchy and never fails to get me moving right along to it.

Favourite song [contemporary]: Wherever You Are - One Ok Rock

Heart-wrenching, beautiful melodies fused with touching words. Absolutely perfect. This would be the song I would dedicate to my loved one, whoever he is in the future.



Favourite song [classical]: Rhapsody in E flat minor - Dohnanyi

Close fight between Muriel's Chopin Nocturne in B major (which was my jam last year) and Ying Yin's piece, but this won in the end. It is dark, stormy and passionate, just the kind of thing im into.


Best live performance: Who Wants to Live Forever - Adam Lambert and Queen at Kiev

Nerd Stuff - Stationery, Books

Favourite notebook: Typo A4 Spinout Notebooks

Typo notebooks have the funkiest prints which make them really fun to write in. I used typo notebooks to write my notes in for all my subjects throughout JC 2. I also like the perforated sides of the pages which makes it easy to tear them out.


Favourite Pen: Exam Pen from China

Everyone who borrowed it raved about how good it was. Really. China pens are THE BOMB please everyone do go to China and lug boxes of stationery because they are so freaking cheap and awesome and even the ones with cute prints are really good in quality ok end of spazz

Favourite Highlighters: Mildliners (special mention - cheapo highlighters)

I think every student loves their mildliners. They are not in-your-face like florescent highlighters, the colours are soft pretty and dainty which makes all highlighted words so pleasurable to look at. A little pricey but worth every cent.

Special mention: You know those cheapo highlighters with black and silver pinstripe designs on them? I am actually obsessed with them since they get the job done really well and are inexpensive.

Best Book: The Why Axis by Uri Gneezy and John List

Even though this book is essentially non-fiction, maybe even documentary-like, the writers wrote the book by recounting their experiences in a manner of a novel, making the book really entertaining to read. Furthermore, it explains very well how economics and social circumstances are inextricably bound, when everyone else thought that they are two separate matters altogether. An amazing read.

Favourite Book: The Business of Fashion

My love for non-fiction books doesn't end there, I have one more to recommend on this list. The Business of Fashion is basically a textbook on how to run your own fashion business (well duh). The explanations are simple and clear cut but very detailed, just the way a textbook should be. (I hate it when writers try to fool us with all their mambo jumbo and cant drive their point clearly across)









So, this is my holy grail of 2013, whats yours? :)