Of Enhancements and Injections

I haven't penned my thoughts down for awhile now. More often than not, if there isn't anything I particularly feel strongly about, I would refrain from blogging pictures of food that I have consumed or events I have attended. Too predictable. 

That being said, I often get asked about aesthetics and plastic surgery or the treatments that I do for my face. So i thought it quite an appropriate time to share about my experience with Trinity Medical Centre (Marine Parade). Prior to having my treatments done at Trinity, I had also done my fillers at other clinics locally and overseas. So i have had a fair share of experiences before finally settling on one clinic.

How you choose your clinic to begin with is essential in eventually determining how happy you end up with the results. And it is always a long term relationship that has to be built, how comfortable you are with the facilities, the products being used as well as the doctors in question.

I have been very fortunate to have met Dr. Lim and Dr. Kan who not only understand the structure of my face and bones but also continue to advance their knowledge and skill sets by traveling for conferences and seminars. I have also reached a point where when I step into Trinity and Dr. Lim tells me - today you don't have to do anything, your face is fine. I would rather such a doctor, instead of one that oversells to make the extra buck.

I have also taken a liking and familiarity to Restylane for my fillers and Dysport for my jaw areas and also for some areas around my eyes. Dysport is often seen as the competitor to Botox, and works on the format of relaxing muscles to decrease wrinkles or shrink the general area in question. You can google Botox vs Dysport and read more about it and check out http://www.restylane.com/singapore/ for more info!

Dr. Kan and Dr Lim had done fillers for me at my cheek and tear trough areas with Restylane. The effect is natural and it lasted longer than I expected. The injection was comfortable and I am very happy with the overall results.

To me, subtlety and natural are the keywords. Whatever that I do to my face, are done as enhancements that are very hardly noticeable. But more to define the shape of my face and reduce wrinkles.

I also do my Carbon Laser Peel to improve my complexion, to reduce pore size and smoothen my skin. And I love how it always makes my face feel super super clean and less oily after.
  
So all in all, the choice of clinic is crucial and the doctors are even more so important. One piece of advice would to also do your research on the products being used. It doesn't necessarily mean that the cheapest or the most expensive are the best. 

I recently just topped up my Dysport for my jaw area and after 3 weeks when it settles in, I always get comments of how my face is small or that i lost weight. =D I know it's going to last me for at least 6 months. However, according to Dr Lim, individual results may vary depends on the person eating habits (i.e like to eat chewing gum or munch on food) or whether she has teeth grinding in sleep (Bruxism). So if you are keen to have sharper features, my advice is always about minor enhancements for that very subtle differences and not drastic ones for the kill and if unsure, always do your research or speak to the doctors about it.
​
I was shocked when I was prepping this post and did a comparison with my pictures. I would like to be as accurate on sharing that this is the results of 2 major things:

1. Exercise and working out 
2. My treatments with Restylane and Dysport over the 1 year duration 

As I have always said, and will repeatedly say that trust in the doctor is key and patience to achieve what you want to. Your face alters itself with each treatment so I always like to space it out, do a little, and never over do it. And of course with the guidance and advice of my doctors.

Time for me to sign off now! Will update again pretty soon, but for now, if anyone wants to ask me anything, shoot away and as best as I can, I would love to help! =)

Hello I'm back & with a new chin! =)

I'm finally back! It's been a long while, I even had trouble accessing my own blog...
So much has happened since February, aside from the fact that I am now officially 30. The Party Invaders happened, 2 Bangkok trips with them, 1 trip to ASOT in KL and it's already the middle of the year. I also have a new chin that I absolutely adore, new cheeks and a slightly altered nose! I'm so happy to be back blogging plus there's so much to catch up on.

Before I even go on to share my experience I do believe that the general perception of aesthetics, enhancement to facial features, plastic surgery and what not has altered tremendously in the recent 3-5 years. Along with the technology being way more advanced, doctors being highly skilled, it has become acceptable as a way of life. My brothers aren't the biggest fans of my enthusiasm of facial enhancement or plastic surgery, with daily doses of jeers at me but at the end of day, here's my thoughts in one sentence:

Pretty, also die in the end. Not pretty also die in the end. Might as well be pretty right?

 =P That being said, I feel that as per all things in life it's about balance and not going overboard. No, such things aren't addictive, to me its all about enhancement. To continue to better ourselves to what we would view as perfection.

After my 5 surgeries to my eyes in Seoul in January, it has been a long journey of 6 months, and finally my eyes have settled down pretty nicely and I'm really pleased I went to do it. I SEE THINGS CLEARER NOW. =)

So anyhow, just last week I decided that I needed a chin. Each time I smile in pictures, I realize that I don't seem to have a chin. So there I was doing a bit of research and reading into the pros and cons of fillers, botox, etc. I have been doing botox for my jawline for almost 1.5 years already, so it has been about maintaining it. And it has really altered my face shape tremendously. The only set back is 3 weeks after the jabs, I can't eat sotong which I love.

And in case you were wondering, it doesn't hurt. It looks scary since there are needles poking into your face, but there's this amazing invention called the numbing cream! And the fillers that I used- Juvederm has this new pain relieving ingredient called, lidocaine so there is really hardly any pain at all. 

I know its max. camwhore vibes but I had to wait for the numbing cream to take effect, and there wasn't much to do except read magazines, have that nice cup of tea they served me, eat some biscuits or camwhore. So i chose to do the selfies.

I'm the sort of person where I am just who I am, what you see is what you get. So I have no qualms sharing what I do in my life, or to my face. But I would understand that some people aren't so open about such things, so what I loved about Prive Clinic is how they are very careful about respecting each individual's privacy.

There are little cosy consultation rooms with artwork like Romero Britto. Ok I'm not trying to be atas or anything but it shows that there is appreciation of the finer things in life and I quite like how it made me feel as I was sitting there.

Prive Clinic

As I've mentioned above, I have never done fillers before, so to have something foreign as such being injected in your face, I had concerns and worries. But of course everything was crystal clearly explained to me and Doctor Karen Soh was A M A Z I N G. I love it that she's a female doctor, and somehow she totally understood that I wanted to just enhance my existing features rather than look completely different.

So how it works-- I went through a round of consultation where Kathleen, the Marketing Manager was thorough with all my queries and gave very sound advice. She's a real sweetheart, and I couldn't have felt more safe knowing I was already in good hands.
That was when I decided I wanted to have my face contours more defined. So I ended up choosing to go with my chin, cheeks, and my usual jawline botox.

So after prepping all the juverderm and botox and laying out the needles, I was ready and cho excited! I guess the difference between my eye surgeries in Korea and this, is that this was going to be pretty damn instant.

After the numbing cream took effect, I was brought to a room where they laid out all the needles and had me lie down on this chair similar to what you get at the dentist. And the chair could be elevated. I was quite amused, since I am short by nature, I was like WOW!

Doctor Soh worked on my cheeks first, and she was very gentle yet firm when she used her thumbs to mould it into shape. It didn't hurt if some of you are wondering. Just felt a bit uncomfortable, but nothing more.

I know I looked like I was going to cry but I really wasn't. After each injection, it was also very clearly explained to me what I was being injected with and constantly asked by Doctor Soh, Kathleen and the nurse how I was feeling.

Then Doctor Soh suggested to add just a prick for my nose above my bridge and at the tip. Just to give it the tiniest touches to perfection. The prick on my nose was the only thing that caused me to jump and let out a little squeal. And if you notice, you can see the injection marks on my cheeks. But they went away after one day!

Finally my chin! OK this picture I really look like I'm sleeping and dreaming. But that's how it works. Chin up chin up! Anyway to add on, I am super maximum happy like crazy about my chin and even in my post review consultation with Doctor Soh, she loves it too!

It brings to me now to just talk a little about my views on plastic surgery, fillers, Botox and what used to be very taboo topics in our society. We have become a world where our views and appreciation of beauty and perfection has altered with time, age and generations. To me, there is nothing wrong that what we view as beauty are smaller nostrils, higher nose bridges, bigger eyes and sharper chins. But in all things, never go overboard, that's all.

Society has not been kind to the girls that have embraced this notion of beauty and perfection, thus resulting in so many situations where such procedures are hidden from the public, friends or family. For the people that know me and love me, they will know that I would never hide what I choose to do. Maybe its my nature, but sharing my experiences, to me is part of living life, hopefully inspiring, maybe bringing some comfort somewhere to someone going through the same hopes.

We no longer live in the days of Antoni Gaudi where for 12 years till his death, he worked on the design, architecture and every possible detail of the Sagrada Familia building. And it was never completed. But till to today, it remains to be one of the most talked about and visited destination in Barcelona. He is also respected by artistes living or deceased across generations.

Details of a portion of the Sagrada Famalia by Gaudi - Picture from Google

I have a point to this by the way. In case some of you might be wondering. Times have changed. Today, if you are a starving artist. You are a starving artist. Then, you were embracing true art with that dedication, passion and commitment laced with poverty and everything else that came with it.

Likewise, the notion of pretty today has changed. To me, it is about enhancement, about achieving today's view of perfection. We should be embracing what our fast paced society can offer in terms of technological and medical advancements.

If a filler like Juvederm is able to incorporate a pain relieving formulation that is not only FDA approved under the US food Drug and Administration but also lasts for a year, I am a very happy and satisfied customer. =)

I took the after picture just 2 days after the injectons. And I need to give a special shout out to the peeps at Prive, only because their after service care is top notch. They not only called everyday to check on me, they also sent me smses to ask how I was doing. I bruised a little at my chin so I was a bit worried initially, but they were just absolute angels about the whole thing. And after 5 days my bruising was completely gone.

I went back for my review about 1.5 weeks after and everything went so smoothly. Not because of anything, (since the fillers and Botox were about $3,600) but simply because of the awesome customer service and how my experience at Prive was unforgettable, I had to blog about it.

Ok seriously, its because I am lazy and if people ask me about the whole fillers and Botox experience, I can say- go read my blog! =D =D 

Ok final words for this post. Life has been great. I haven't even begun to introduce you guys to The Party Invaders and how they have changed my life, to this boy I have grown to love and the overseas craziness in the past few months.

But I am going to put in a tremendous amount of effort to blog more frequently. For myself really. To remember the moments in my life, the phrases I went through, the people I have grown to love and love and the parties that keep me going and going.

So for now, peace out. Love, laugh, sing, dance, eat and embrace the today- always xx

My Virgin Seoul Experience

As part of a huge ass plan to kick start 2013 and to make massive changes before i hit the big 30, i had made the decision to take a 3 week long leave in January, starting out with a trip to Seoul to do my eyes. I also brought my mum along, her Christmas present from me.

We flew on the 2nd January, and all that concerned me wasn't the surgery but the blistering cold. My Korean friend had already been giving me updates on the snow and the MINUS 15 DEGREES cold. So with completely mixed feelings, excitable for new eyes, to see snow for the first time and fear of pretty much everything else unknown, i was off to Seoul.

Mum and me

And finally at 29 years of age, i see the first spot of snow upon landing! =)

This was taken from my S3 in a moving taxi!! 

It takes 1.5 hours to get to the city from the airport, and we ended up lost because i have a preference to stay in small boutique hotels, and the one i chose to book is quite difficult to locate. PLUS we had an uncle for a taxi driver who was really sweet but old and didn't know how to use his GPS!

We stayed at Hotel The Designers, located at the Gangnam-gu area. It was really reasonable at less than SGD$150 a night. Plus every single room is designed differently. I also loved it that there was a coffee place at the hotel, for my daily needs of caffeine intake.

Mum outside the hotel

I have to add a line or two here about coffee cafes/ places in Seoul. It's EVERYWHERE! You think Singapore has many, wait till you go to Seoul! And it's cheaper and the coffee is WAY better. I believe its the beans. And the fact that there is so much effort put into ensuring that every single cup of coffee is made right. RESPECT!

Which also brings me on to my Korean friend, Hyujin. He is really an angel. I met him once prior in Singapore through my brother, and he ended up being a more than amazing host to us in Seoul. He owns a chain of coffee cafes under the KONA brand in Seoul- a total of 11 cafes, with one of it co-owned with super pops K-pop band, Super Junior. We managed to do a visit there during this trip.

They also have plans this year to expand to do KONA PREMIUM with some of the best coffee beans worldwide. More a lifestyle coffee cafe.

Some of the Super Junior stuff at the cafe

Mum, Hyujin and me outside KONA BEANS

Me, Hyujin and Mum inside KONA BEANS

So when we first arrived, we got lost. Or rather our taxi driver couldn't find the hotel. We ended up stopping to ask over 10 Koreans, of which many were hopelessly unhelpful. In the end, we dropped off at Burger King, in MINUS 15 DEGREES and had to call Hyujin who came to our rescue.

He not only rushed in 15 mins to meet us via train, he also lugged both our luggages to our hotel for us, down 3 blocks. This my friends, is a huge feat considering the weather, the snow, the weight of our luggages. And indeed a kind soul with a huge heart.

It is very seldom in life we meet such people. I always like to ponder a bit more when it comes to such things. Give it a little more thought and indulge in tiny doses of appreciation. Don't you think we wander through lives constantly in a rush, we often forget to be grateful?

I saw this as part of the decor in a store called A BRAND in Myeong Dong. And it was an entire wall of polaroid post-its. And this caught my eye.

DO EVERYTHING WITHOUT BITCHING x

We whine so much about everything that we are dissatisfied with in life. The smallest discomfort and Singaporeans are the first to complain. It seems like its in our blood. Why don't we do EVERYTHING WITHOUT BITCHING?

So finally I was in Seoul. Having my first BULGOGI meal, and it became one of my favorite meals for the entire trip. I forget the name of the restaurant. But it was insanely YUMS for the TUMS! It was also a mini introduction to all the small side dishes plus the fact that in winter, Koreans drink CHILLED soup not hot soup. Hyujin was sharing with us that it stems from the history of how in the past, there was no such thing as refrigerators, so winter was perfect to have naturally chilled food.

Korean Beef BULGOGI style

I was too greedy and hungry to take more pictures of the meal. So the one above was the only picture.

Finally, there I was in Seoul, on the 2nd day of the new year, 2013 and in the heated comforts of my hotel room. The fear started to creep up on me. And the reality of my plastic surgery the next day.

I had been major gungho about doing it and my ultimate goal being double eyelids, i was fearless! PRETTY EYES baby! So the fear of the pain or the actual going under the knife never hit me till I was in Seoul. My consultation was scheduled for the next day at 2PM, and the surgery right after at 3PM. And i had to start starving myself from the morning with not even a drop of water from 9AM.

So when we found this tiny porridge place the next morning and my mum was happily digging in, it was sadness-ville for me. It looked so yummy and in the weather, it was the perfect breakfast meal.

Crab porridge with kim chi, seaweed and cold soup

Mum tucking into the meal

It was then time to hit the plastic surgery clinic. It is a 15 storey building. And the clinic is called BK Plastic Surgery Hospital. http://english.bkhospital.com/

I was very fortunate as Hyujin had already made all the arrangements for me. The clinic was completely efficient and thorough. I went through 3 rounds of consultation with Dr. Kim himself and a consultant before realizing that I had droopy eyes and I have been blinking with my forehead for all of my life.

Pre surgery in the robes

And by right, i had to have my gel-lish nails removed, they need to see the color of your nails throughout the surgery, to make sure you don't suddenly stop breathing and die. (I'm exaggerating). But because my nails are so pretty, i couldn't bear to have them removed, i had the option of removing the 2nd toe nail on each foot. So that was what I was doing in the picture.

Anyway, instead of just a double eye lid cut. This was what was recommended to me for the best results and BIG EYES:

1. Cut open muscles above eyes
2. Cut inner
3. Cut outer
4. Remove eye bags
5. Cut double eyelids

There are obviously exact medical terms but I'm just simplifying everything. OK to cut the long story short, 1.5 hours later, i was in the operating theatre and i was terrified. Going to be put under local anesthesia and they gave me heads up that I would be told to open my eyes in the middle of the surgery so they could ensure that the cuts were even. It sounds madly scary. TRUST ME IT IS.

I was woken up 20 minutes towards the end of my surgery and it was hell. I was told to open my eyes, and straining so hard to open them, all i saw were the stark bright lights. Then i felt it- the needles in my eye. I can't even begin to describe the pain.

My relationship with pain has always been pretty amicable. At times, almost friendly. I have 18 tattoos on me, and I've enjoyed the journeys of each of them. But this pain, I will never ever want to experience again in the duration of my life. For the sake of beauty.

Don't judge me. We all choose to do what we want to do in life, it's my own choice. It might go down to some level of superficiality, but, so what? It's my eyes, my pain, my experience.

My surgery took 2 hours. And i took an hour to finally be able to be awake enough to get up. It's funny, all i remember after is a blur but one thing that was crystal clear was me drinking grape juice mum bought for me. I was so thirsty.

I initially had the intention to blog the whole surgery experience and healing with pictures. But I really looked horrible and I'm still swelling now as I blog about it, plus the fact that my brothers forbid me to even leave the house without my sunnies.

So moving on from the plastic surgery, i had to take extra care, ice packs, ointments and pills. I felt like i was punched by 10 people in my eyes. It didn't hurt post surgery, just felt really bruised. One other thing is sleeping almost sitting up- to ensure that the my eyes are always above my heart, for blood flow. This helps with preventing massive swelling and helps with the healing process.

You know how everyone says that when you are in Seoul, you can walk around post surgery with your bandages. I did. Then with sunglasses.

I was pretty upset i lost my appetite right after my surgery, but thank goodness i got it back when the anesthesia wore off at midnight, and i was walloping pumpkin porridge and pork with rice in the comforts of the hotel room.

Korean strawberries

And I also had Korean strawberries everyday, they are one of the nicest things to eat in this world! It's really A CLASS ABOVE THE REST. We ended up buying home and hand carrying so much strawberries back.

Checking out at the food market- all the STRAWBERRIES!

We also went to check out Myeong Dong, The Galleria, and we walked the streets of Garosugil. Both mum and me loved Garosugil the most, lined with small stores and amazingly pretty cafes, it reminds me much of Omotesando in Tokyo.

Blueberry Cheesecake and Earl Grey Cake at Coco Bruni

Coco Bruni along Garosugil

Mummy

The Lego Electricity Box

The Galleria

Giant Snow Globe- i think we can do one for Zouk's Christmas 2013!

Beef tofu soup at The Galleria Food hall

Grilled FIsh at The Galleria Food Hall

The Butcher at The Galleria

The food hall at The Galleria is quite something. Mum went a bit ape shit. We walked through the meats, the butcher, the pasties, the bread, the cookies, it was INSANE!

Of course we continued eating and eating, and it was AWESOME. How can anyone be anorexic?? I don't get it!! It's a pleasure to be able to enjoy eating! Here's food spam pictures of some of the meals we had!!

Grilled octopus in some super spicy sauce. We were recommended this small eatery in one of the tiny lanes in Garosugil. It took us 10 people and a kind old man to finally get to this!

The whole table of food and brown rice to go along. YUMS FOR THE TUMS!

Kim Chi noodles with Tempura and Cold noodles- It was SGD$10!! At DOOTA in Dong Dae Mun

Octopus and Oxtail Soup

Oxtail Soup at this eatery very near our hotel

Korean dumplings at this max famous noodle place at MYEONG DONG

Dumpling noodles at the famous noodle shop at MYEONG DONG. It is way yummier than it looks!

Seaweed roll with octopus

Seaweed roll with Octopus close up.

Hyujin and the Seaweed rolls

So these seaweed rolls is a popular snack in Myeong Dong. And you eat it with the octopus and the soup. It's just something you have to try, like roti prata for us in Singapore I guess. We ate the dumplings, the noodles and then the seaweed rolls. I ate because i was greedy, not because i was hungry!

Myeong Dong was quite an experience, it's one of the main shopping areas in Seoul. You walk down all these roads where cars can't drive by. It's filled with people. And we did quite a few tourist shots. It was good fun, and we also popped into a cat cafe after seeing the garfield mascot promoting it!

Mum and Garfield! Kawaiii!

The Myeong Dong Theatre- tourist shot

I made mum pose HAHA AGAIN!

At Myeong Dong Cross Roads!

At the Cat Cafe- left shortly after because Hyujin is allergic!!

SEE the Seoul Tower behind!!

Tired of posing, so many shots!

Now, i have to share this life changing experience- PANCAKES. Celeste said i had to try these pancakes. BUTTERFINGER PANCAKES. I mean seriously, how good can a pancake taste? i did a bit of googling, and mum and me went to check it out. We had to wait for 20 mins before getting our table.

And true to what Celeste said, the pancakes are OUT OF THIS WORLD. So was the chicken and I mean they damn hell know how to make a pancake!! I have been having cravings since i got back.

Even CNN Travel talked about it 2 years back!! http://travel.cnn.com/seoul/eat/butterfinger-pancakes

We debated on whether to get 2 glasses or a pitcher of FRESH OJ. Mum decided the pitcher was more worth it at SGD$13 vs. $8 per glass.

Blueberry Pancakes with Banana compote and butter that wasn't really butter. INSANELY GOOD

The strip fried chicken with oatmeal sauce, mashed potato, cheese sticks and biscuit. It was ALL CRAZILY GOOD. Mum kept going on about how good the biscuit was. It's like the one that Popeyes serves, but the Popeyes one is really shit after you have this one.

If anyone goes to Seoul, you MUST GO TO BUTTERFINGER PANCAKES. It will change your life. Forever.

Every city has its charms, its beauties and the tiny things that make it different from any other part of the world.

Latte from Zoo Coffee

Keith Haring lights at DOOTA, Dong Dae Mun

Mum and me outside DOOTA. The mall closes at 430AM.

Small Korean boy posing for me at Kona Beans

Amidst all the amazing food, the shopping, the lights of Seoul, the buzz of the city, i had a meal that literally almost killed me.

Abalone Ginseng Chicken Soup

This post is really long so I'm going to try to keep the story really short. When in Korea, you have to eat Ginseng Chicken soup. So we did. Hyujin took us to this 24 hour place and the soup was so good. We also had wild mushroom porridge.

10 minutes into the meal, my throat closed up. My nose blocked up completely. I felt an internal itch rising up my throat and i started swelling. My face and my palms. I had a food allergy attack.

I started itching so badly, Hyujin drove me to his parent's pharmacy about 15 mins away. I took an anti histamine and it didn't work. At that point in time, i was completely itching like a mother fucking fool. I had to go to the toilet, strip and scratch like crazy. But what was worse was the fact that I couldn't breathe.

I hardly remember any of that 30 mins. Just that i was going to die. I was admitted to the ER at a military hospital. Put on drip for 2 hours with 2 massive anti allergy jabs. And throughout it all, my mum was taking pictures of me, whatsapping my brothers, while i was a shivering mess. -.-

My name in Korean in black

The form filled up at the hospital

I left the hospital after almost 3 hours on drip, feeling so grateful for my mum being there and for Hyujin.

When we were leaving the hospital, this old woman came up to Hyujin, asking for a ride to the train station. She was probably in her 70s. We found out later she was on government assistance and had come to the hospital for stomach ulcer pains. Hyujin not only drove her home, he even stopped by a convenience store to buy her food. He took her up all the way to her door step.

He didn't know this lady, he didn't have to send her all the way home or buy her food. We don't have to be kind to the people that need our help, but if we are, it is only because of the goodness of our hearts. I don't think I could express anymore how good a guy he is. And it really is my blessing to have made a friend like him.

This blog post has taken me 4 hours to put together, and I have some final touches to add. My mum being the food lover and amazing chef she is, insisted that we go to the wholesale market. Wanting to buy back Korean beef, strawberries, Kim chi, etc. So Hyujin took us. I wasn't particularly interested. I just love to eat, while my mum cooks up storms every day. So i took ONE PICTURE. Of this expensive fish. It's freaking more than SGD $100 for one strip of fish.

We also did some minor sight seeing. Hyujin was really kind to drive us to see this traditional Korean house and the president hang out- like the Istana i guess.

They keep kim chi in these pots

On my final day in Seoul, i had to remove my upper lid stitches, so it was back to the clinic. IT WAS HELL. =( =( the pain is..... i never ever want to go through it.


On a lighter note, we had a really good final meal with Hujin. We had grilled intestines, stomach, heart and beef. And I am still amazed at their suction system. All their grill restaurants have this thing that sucks the air from the grill so you never leave the restaurant stinky.

The suction thingee

Kim Chi Fried Rice with Tripe- one of my favorite dishes from the entire trip

I love Seoul for all its uncouthness, the tastes and diversity of its food and the unnatural beauty wandering the streets. It's such rawness that gives it soul.  I also found true friendship, and spent bonding time with my mum. I have new eyelids and bigger eyes, though its now still healing, and most importantly, i got to stay in a military hospital!

Special shout out and big love to Hyujin for going out of the way to take care of us and taking us to have such good food. Forever grateful. 

Till we meet again, Seoul. xx

View blog