Strawberrynet.com

I stock up on basics from Strawberrynet and that includes gifts for family and friends. This is my all-time favorite site and I am an avid fan/buyer. Free Shipping, Free gift-wrapping, Free gifts (first-timers and occasionally) and best of all, discounts on branded toiletries all year round! The highlight for me has to be the salon sized items at prices the salon pays, not the customer. I check the site regularly for seasonal or limited edition items.

* Decleor's Salon sized 1000ml Body Moisturizer $136 on Strawberrynet.com.

For example, my latest purchase is 2 tubes of Decleor's Brightening Cleansing Foam. Came gift-wrapped even though I didn't opt for it.

Tagged at $25.50, usual price $47. On top of that I get a 1% discount for purchasing 2 items, 5% discount for this 9th purchase, 12% loyalty discount, so I only pay $20.90 a bottle. Free CK lip gloss for shopping on the improved site and free compact for being a loyal customer. The price would have been $16 a tube if I maximized all discounts and purchased in bulk.

If you are buying in bulk as I usually do once every few years, there is a wholesale faq on the site where you can put in an order. Please reference my blog site so I get a discount to offset future purchases, same goes for clicking on my Strawberrynet banners to go shopping on the site. Every little bit counts, thanks soo much!

Crystal Jade Noodles

The food standards seem to have slipped since Crystal Jade's massive expansion the last few years. But thankfully, their noodles are still as delicious as ever. These one dish meals of wanton, dumplings or brisket noodles are the best examples of Cantonese cooking, turning mundane street food into something I wouldn't mind eating everyday.

Homemade Pastel Soaps

I was trying to add pretty pastel colours to my CP soap and ruined half the batch in an ugly yellow/green colour. So this is the other half that turned out right. The cream batch looks like nougat with soap chunks within.

Pink - Floral 

Green - Wintergreen

Yellow - Lemon Mint

Cream - Eucalyptus 

Some homemade templates and craft paper to package the soaps for Christmas.

Hermes Fine Jewellery

This is Hermes couture jewellery, an equestrian themed 14 piece collection that is custom made upon order and each piece will be customized to suit it's owner. My favorite is the fouet diamond Whip necklace, USD$ 880,000. 

The Centaure collection is just as elegantly beautiful, prices start from USD$ 20,000.

The house of Hermes has been making fine jewellery for years, the most recognizable design is probably chaine d'Ancre. Commonly seen on older folks.

Most of our generation would be familiar with Hermes leather bracelets with gold or silver hardware like this collier de chien bracelet. I so want one of these in black leather and yellow gold hardware.

Just as I soo absolutely want an armful of these enamel bracelets, can you believe it starts from $700 a piece.

Vitamin E

Apart from ingesting vitamins that are good for our body, I like to burst a few vitamin E capsules into my moisturizer to power up its effects. You can buy vitamin E range of skincare (The BodyShop, St Ives) or just add it into the products you are already using. I get the soft gel capsules from GNC but I saw Watsons selling bottles of vitamin E, think that is for external application only but you can try. 

Ah Hoi's Kitchen

Poolside place at Traders Hotel with the most delicious chilli crab. I was at Tanglin mall today and dropped in for lunch. Starting with double boiled soup.

I ordered the $10.90 set lunch that was a bit of a disappointment as the a-la-carte items are really good. 

So I ordered my favorites off the menu, paper wrapped chicken and chilli crab. The paper wrapped chicken is wrapped in pandan leaves, absolutely yummy.

I wouldn't have ordered the chilli crab if the mantou wasn't available. It's got this sweet crispiness that goes well with the spicy crab.

June's Bellabox

I am excited to receive this month's upgraded Bellabox featuring 8 items, all of which I can use.

Biotherm's BB cream and body milk
Shu Uemura Cleansing Oil
Ralph Lauren perfume
Lancome's Genifique and Blanc Expert face creams
Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Serum and Calendula Toner

Kiehl's calendula toner is really cute and comes with real plants inside the bottle, smells pleasantly floral even though it says Herbal.

HMV Haul

I made my way to the new HMV store at Marina Square only to find the selection of music has decreased to accommodate the increased selection of movies, video games, books, t-shirts and stereos. I was looking for J. Cole's CD only to find out it's sold out, are you restocking soon? There are 2 shelves of Rock/Pop CDs but only 1 shelf labelled Dance that holds all other genres. Isn't HMV supposed to be a music store. Anyway, Star Wars cartoons are turning into a limited edition print as seasons 1 and 2 are not available anymore so I had to grab season 3 real quick. This one was not shown on tv or cable.

Tori-Q Yakitori

Japanese satay with juicy bits of meat in a sweet teriyaki sauce. Although there are no seats at Tori-Q, I get a bento when I can and a stick of that chicken yakitori whenever I pass by. It's really sticky so pack some wet wipes when you go out. But, really worth it. Better than most Japanese restaurants I have been too.

Malay satay is mostly minced meat on a stick, but, the stall at Gluttons Bay @ Esplanade makes these juicy plump morsels of meat on a stick. Similar to yakitori but seasoned with malay spices.

French Milling

When you grate a block of soap and reform it through the hot process, it's called Milling. If you mill the same batch of soap 2 more times or once more under steel rollers, it's called French Milling. The end result is a 17th century luxury good; denser, creamier and more fragrant bar of soap. 

I like to use this method on homemade soaps even though it is more tedious. Mainly because this process breaks down the caustic lye making the soap gentler and safer for home use.

This batch here is Lemon Mint. When I run out of essential oils, I put in medicated oil or wintergreen. It's all for external application anyway.

Bottega Veneta Fine Jewellery

Bottega Veneta fine jewellery is best described as avant garde, incorporating unusual materials like wood and seashells with black gold and oxidised silver.

The latest 2012 collection stars ruthenium-plated silver or what they refer to as the Black Collection. Gorgeous matte black Victorian style statement pieces.

From previous experience trying to obtain these raw opulent pieces, I know it will be sold out before the year ends. Don't know why. Maybe its the polished craftsmanship.

Or maybe the casual, relaxed intrecciato weave appeals to everybody.

L'occitane

L'occitane (pronounced lox-sea-tan) the French country brand with a cult following. If you don't mind paying a premium for artisanal products made from salt of the earth local farms in Provence, France. 

There are the permanent collections, my absolute favorite being Verbana although most would argue Lavender is the signature collection. Then there are seasonal collections that appear in limited quantities each year. For my birthday, I received a Honey mask or masque reconfort du miel that is Fabulous! The fragrant scent of honey and jasmine fills the room once I open the container. It's even runny and golden yellow like honey. Meant to soothe stressed skin and provide moisture, my skin was smooth and happily placated after use. This summer's seasonal item is Pivoine Delicate or Peony. 

My bottle of Eau d'Azur, the scent of Provence. Another one of their seasonal collections, I got this bottle in 2007 on my way home from work. I just love anything with Bergamot in it.

Surprise Chocolates

Zalora sent me a little surprise of chocolates. Aaww...soo sweet.

Francfranc

Francfranc is the newest furniture store at Vivocity, similar to Ikea but totally Japanese. While Muji sells plain brand-less Japanese style furniture, Francfranc sells European influenced Japanese furniture and accessories. 

There is a separate section for traditional Japanese home decor and a separate section for Disney's Mickey Mouse items. The rest are just modern quirky furniture and lots of acrylic/crystal accessories.

I got this letter opener with a giant crystal diamond on top.

Some gold-plated bookmarks that double as pen holders.

And this too adorable Mickey Mouse tea set with a mirror finish. Really looking forward to teatime with this.

2012 seems like a big party year for London. First the queen's diamond jubilee and now the Summer Olympics.

Walked by Marks & Spencer to find my favorite teacakes wearing the Union Jack.

Home24.sg

I am going to dub 2012 GSS as the season of online shopping.

Home24.sg sells everything you could possibly need for a home with free delivery within Singapore, so you don't have to worry about moving bulky furniture on your own. They didn't even bother to pack my item into a delivery box. They just stuck a sticker on it to deliver.

There is a $20 discount (minimum $50 purchase) when you subscribe to their newsletter which I did, and used it to purchase a Nordicware beehive pan. Remember this item from my 2011 Christmas wishlist. 

The pan is bigger than I thought it would be, hoping it can fit into my oven.

On the same day, my beeswax candles from PollenArts also arrived. The seller isn't kidding, you can smell the honey wafting out of the box. For a moment there, I thought it was my beehive pan.