i was majorly down in the dumps this whole week, and it all came to a head on friday night. as meltdowns go, friday night is an excellent time to have one -- you simply wake up next morning and it's the weekend! thank goodness!
paragon
marlon and i had planned to spend all day on orchard road to go to the salon and get a few things done before leaving for new york (squee!) this coming week. marlon had a horrible mishap two weeks ago at our regular salon in novena, where he'd been getting his hair cut for the past three years -- the inept junior stylist snipped his ear! understandably, he completely blew his top and threatened never to come back again (of course, damay ako). so i decided to book us at action salon in paragon after reading about it in cleo.
being in paragon, we just had to have lunch at one of our favorite places: ps cafe, where the clientele is extremely white and the food is fantastic. like many fantastic things in singapore, though, it costs an arm and a leg (for a light lunch), so we consider it a treat that should be reserved for just once in a while.
which is the same category i would put action salon. the service was absolutely great -- i love my swingy new cut (no bangs! for the first time in years!) and my new hair colour, which is a deep mahogany that i swear makes my complexion look even fairer. and the pedi was actually closer to a foot spa than a basic pedi. but man, full service -- and good service -- in singapore will really cost you. marlon said he actually felt faint after seeing the bill for our afternoon of pampering, which included two haircuts, two colour jobs, an express hair treatment and a pedicure.
oh, i forgot -- in the ten minutes we had before the salon appointment, i had just enough time to buy a pair of ballet flats by stella mccartney for adidas. (a brand that i love but don't actually own -- until now.) perfect walking shoes for new york! and they were 30% off!
takashimaya
still reeling from the salon bill, hubby and i crossed the road from paragon to takashimaya on slightly wobbly legs, assuaging our salon guilt with numerous compliments on each other's new hairdo. once we were inside taka, i breathed a sigh of relief -- time to put away the cash and use my beloved takashimaya vouchers! i love using vouchers, it's like getting stuff for free.
i still had nearly $200 dollars worth of vouchers that marlon racked up at work, so i used them to buy essentials like skin-tone bras from wacoal (after being horrified by the dreaded four-breasted phenomenon caused by the ill-fitting bras at triumph) and lovely new powder foundation at bobbi brown (my reward for hitting the 10-pound weight loss mark!).
naturally, after being pampered by the impressively trained counter girl at bobbi brown, i ended up not just with foundation but an undereye concealer, a blemish stick and a bobbi brown club membership for a minimum purchase of $150! gaaah. it was the six free makeup lessons that hooked me. i had to top up my vouchers with cash, but never mind! i shall be poor yet flawless!
ion orchard
we ended up checking out the new mall on orchard (oh no! let's spend saturday checking out the trendy new mall on orchard! let's go to three malls in one afternoon! help, i'm turning local! ), this overwhelming glass behemoth called ion.
ion photo from time out singapore
as you can see, it's quite pretty. i actually regret not bringing my camera, but i'm pretty sure i'll be back. one of the things i liked about the place was that though there was quite a horde of mallgoers, i never felt that the mall was crowded.
that and BERSHKA! omg. one of my favorite european high street stores has come to singapore. marlon has recently been fully converted to the cult of uniqlo, so we went to the spanking new uniqlo store to pay obeisance (and get him a new shirt and sandals). to end the day, we had the yummiest crispy black pepper duck at the fancy food court at ion (called food opera, for some bizarre reason). winner, ang sarap niya.
marlon packed me off in a taxi with the day's purchases, and he went off to his boys' night out at clarke quay. and now i'm home.
at home with my new hair, new foundation and new ballet flats
after this entire exercise, i was truly amazed at how basics like bras and foundation (notice how i omit the concealer and blemish stick) can feel like luhos when in fact they are just basics! it is so hard to find just the right ones, scoring a perfectly fitting bra and barely-there foundation can feel like such a huge triumph.
and it boggles the mind sometimes when you realize how much you can spend in a single day in singapore. i am equally amazed at how much you can spend simply attempting to feel like a human being again after a long bout of illness and a stressful week at work.
with these epiphanies, i end my litany of consumerism. good night.
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