Singapore Arts, Beauty and Inspirations Male Blogger

An impromptu visit to Singapore Art Museum the other day since I was poke hunting nearby to check out what was currently on exhibit.

It definitely was refreshing and enlightening to find out that 'From Night to Light' actually highlights the rehabilitative journey the inmates had embarked through the involvement in art. They are guided by artist mentors who assisted them in the exploration of different mediums as well as themes revolving around 'home', 'hope' and 'transformation'.   

Some concepts I definitely find rather creative and inspiring as well. (Note that all works are really great but I only select a couple to blog about.)

Using the chess set as well as the 4 chess pieces as a metaphor, 'Making The Right Move' illustrates the artist's reflection on his life as one wrong move in the game of chess could cause one to lose the entire game.  

'Passages Beyond' made use of windows as a metaphor as well, representing the countless opportunities that would await him upon his release from incarceration. 

Apart from using metaphors, most (if not all) the works here uses vibrant colours to depict 'leaving the past behind', 'bright future ahead' as well as the 'journey towards the light'. It was really amazing to indirectly experience the emotions of these inmates that were being portrayed through their artworks.  

Beside paintings, there were also many beautifully made ceramics as well. It was difficult to read those descriptions due to their placement but for all I know, they too contained those similar emotions welled up within each of them.

Anyway, end of post till I could dig out some time to visit other themed exhibits that would interest and inspire me! 

I was contemplating if I should blog this up since I have attended Coffee:Nowhere's tasting/educational session some time back. (I found out about the event and RSVPed through Facebook. Yes, I definitely still have been eating (a lot) but refrained from flooding my blog and Instagram with food related posts.

The first thing that came to mind was do I pronounce it as Coffee: Now here OR No where??

Now here would be the right one.

Anyway, in the 2013, the first flagship outlet was opened in Johor Bahru. They opened a couple of more outlets around Singapore as well as participated in countless championships which revolve around coffee. They even have coffee cupping sessions available which you might want to check out via their facebook page.  

Service charge would be waived off since customers could place their orders online using their mobile devices. Pardon my dirty phone screen since I wasn't expecting my prints was so obvious! Coffee beverages were definitely their speciality but non-caffeine drinkers would be pleased with other selections of drinks as well.  

Truffle Fries are definitely everywhere. Coffee:Nowhere's version have cheese which easily fell off these crisp shoestring fries. 

The Pizza Now:Here (smoked duck and lychee pizza) was an interesting combination which was light on the palate. Pizza base was thin and crisp, smoked duck wasn't too overpowering, leaving a subtle smoky aroma. The small slices of juicy lychees added 'moisture', just like pineapples on a Hawaiian pizza.

Chicky Chicks was a plate of mildly spicy mid wings, coated with a thick layer of super crispy batter. A crunch sound could easily be heard as I bite into one. Thankfully I managed to try a piece during the second round since it was rapidly wiped out before I could even take a photo of them during the first. 

Brunch Now:Here comprises of bacon, ham, scrambled eggs, toasts, sautéed mushrooms, sausage as well as salad. An all day breakfast menu would definitely be comforting to some.

Chilli Crab Pasta was quite a hit since generous portion of crab meat was seen piling on top of the tomato based thin-noodle pasta. Using the sauce to garnish the edges of the plate might come across as messy to me though.

(Note: Did not try much since crustacean is an allergen)

The Salted Egg Yolk Burger would perhaps need more sauce as I could not exactly savour the taste. (The piece I tried might be too small or lacked the sauce.) 

The Specialty Coffee Pau was definitely a HIT as well! I could tell since only one was left on the plate in matter of seconds before I could take a photo. It was the size of a siew mai and I tried half which was enough to impress me. The paste was almost like 'tau sar' or 'lian yong' consistency with mild coffee taste while the little bun was crisp just like a deep fried donut. The yellow slice on top was cheese by the way.

Anyway, there will be a generous 20% discount for all A-La-Carte items when you enter this coupon code 'BLOG137' when checkout www.coffeenowhere.com/order.

(Minimum order of $10, expire on 30/9/16)

The first interpretation that came to mind when I first came across of the word Imaginarium would be the combination of the words Imagination and Aquarium. The gallery space probably houses creative installations of artists' imagination, constructed and showcased in tangible forms.

It was rather deterring that the first exhibit that greeted me was a locked room of isomalt sugar created by Chef Janice Wong whom is a well known pastry chef in Singapore. Perhaps not the best shot to be taken from outside due to reflections. Just too bad I couldn't get a closer view of her creations.

My friend and I probably spent at least 20 minutes in the above space, re-experiencing the joy of being youthful/kiddy once again. 

White clean space casts by shadows of overhanging sponge-like fishes and jellyfish looking sea monsters. There were even little islands of hand sewn coral reefs and huge cushion whales which I refused to get up once I laid on them. Everything in there was just so soft and cushiony that I wanted to enter my La-la land form there Zzzz....

Maybe due to time constraint and us getting a bit tired since we headed over to Imaginarium from the other building where the other exhibit Odyssey was held. I felt Odyssey was still better in terms of layout as the exhibits were not all over the place and they were nicely spaced out. Was that why my previous blog post on Odyssey was much more detailed? Perhaps I just could not find any useful data online to blog about this exhibit?

''The sea, once it cast its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever.''

                                                                                                                    - Jacques Cousteau

So much for scanning through the Instagram's explore button which led me to notice a couple of beautifully taken pictures in Singapore Art Museum. Both exhibitions 'Odyssey' and 'Imagiarium' run concurrently in Singapore Art Museum, but in different buildings.

As usual, the highlights were the same usual paintings and art installations that the mainstream social media enthusiast would flood Instagram with. Society is all about attention grabbing and social media worthy I supposed. I know it is a sad thing for those 'others' being neglected, therefore the more I should find a reason to share their beauty as well.

Thankfully the crowd wasn't awfully packed that day at all, since it is a museum after all. People who visited that day as I noticed were mostly families with young children or people like me who do not want to spend too much on entertainment activities on a weekend.  

Ever since Homer's epic poem The Odyssey told the story of warrior Odysseus' ten-year journey home from Troy. Basically Odyssey meant any epic journey and all the art installations simply revolves around journey, travel and water bodies as the mode of travel.

Travelling and going on a journey has always been mysterious to me since I would never know what to expect throughout the journey. The spirit of exploration and discovery could be detected in all these art installations and probably similar abyss of thoughts must be something that intrigue these artists.

Luckily I looked like I had a slight sunburn that day (the redness on my face) since I had undergone Venus Viva Nano Fractional Treatment at Chrysalis Medical Aesthetics about an hour before. At least I could still post photos of myself with these inspirational arts...

P.s/ HDB Life and the picture below it is not part of Odyssey's exhibit.

It is rather obvious that my face was a aftermath of an acne outbreak during my puberty stage and it remained a warzone throughout my polytechnic days. Just imagine how a ruptured minefield would be like.

Unlike girls/ladies who could cake their face with powder and makeup without getting judged, male victims like me could only let-it-be or occasionally apply a teeny weeny amount of BB cream. I guess with Venus Viva Nano Fractional Treatment available, we guys need not worry about not able to revive back our youthful skin we once had.   

After a cup of warm tea and a consultation with Dr Ho who explained to me about Venus Viva Nano Fractional Treatment which I was obviously oblivious to. It is a safe and non-invasive treatment in which Radio Frequency (RF) technology is used to generate heat to initiate skin change, rebuilding collagen and fibroblast stimulation.

3 to 4 treatments are required for best results.

Below are some things Venus Viva Nano Fractional Treatment could achieve:

-Decrease visible pores for even skin textures

-Reduce signs of aging for a fresher, more youthful look

-Even out textural irregularities for refined looking skin

-Reduce acne scars for a clearer and healthier complexion

-Diminish deep lines and folds for younger looking skin

-Correct necklace lines to lessen the signs of aging

-Diminish and tighten lax skin for a more firm decollete

Since I have nothing to hide about unglamness and clear and unfiltered pictures are needed in order to justify that Venus Viva Nano Fractional Treatment really could lighten my acne scars. The whole process of my treatment is also documented step by step, picture by picture. I was hoping my experience might be useful for those who intend to undergo this treatment.

A basic cleanse is done before the treatment to remove any form of makeup.

The intensity of Venus Viva Nano Fractional Treatment is by percentage (%) and mine was 80%. Dr Ho explained that any higher than that might leave pigmentation on our skin. My pain threshold level is high since I often do facial treatments that involves painful extractions. I even requested not applying numbing cream throughout the whole process which lasted about half an hour. The most painful and tear-triggering part would probably be the area below my eyes and along my jawline closest to the ears. 

As you can see from the pictures, after Dr Ho has adjusted the percentage based on my skin condition (which is quite severe), he started working the machine on my face. Minor scarring requires one round while the deeper one required at least 2 to 3 rounds.

After the treatment has ended, I could instantly feel my skin tightened, restricting my facial expressions temporarily. That explains my stony look below with Dr Ho.  

Here is a photo with the team at Chrysalis Medical Aesthetics. Thankfully I looked like I had a pretty bad sunburn after the treatment and not anything worst or I would have to cancel my museum visit with my friend that day.

After treatment analysis:

Day 0 (on that day itself) - I rinsed my face with water only, not even daring to use any form of facial

                                           products. Face was quite sensitive and slightly reddish like having mild

                                           sunburn. That night I used a hydration mask.

Day 1 -  Dr Ho advice to put sunblock and tons of moisturiser. I stayed at home the entire day to let

              my skin rest.

Day 2 -  I was contemplating to even step out of my house to go to work. My face was redder than

              the previous 2 days. The sections where my face had undergone treatment was pretty

              obvious due to the redness. I started using facial foam, only lightly tapping on face. 

              Accidentally applied Vitamin C which was not supposed to that morning. (No acidic 

              substance to be applied.) Towards the evening, the area beside my eyebrow had a few lumps

              of swelling cysts. They went away after 2 days. At this point, need to bath with cool water

             and any attempt to squeeze white heads would cause bleeding. 

Day 3 - Skin still reddish and could feel a 'crust' forming on certain parts on my face. The crust wasn't

             formed on areas that undergone 2 - 3 layers of treatment.

Day 4 - The textured dots was rather obvious on my face now and the 2 - 3 layers has started to form

             crusts as well.

Day 5 - Redness was gone. Skin start to dry up and started shedding like sand. (Below picture)

Day 6 - More shedding occurs on various areas. Started using scrub and gently rub against my face to

             remove dead skin.

Day 7 and 8 - Face remained slightly pink

Day 9 - Back to normal with visible improvement on skin.

I went back for a review almost 2 weeks after the treatment. My scars definitely have lightened slightly after a single session of Venus Viva Nano Fractional Treatment. Slight improvement might not seems much but for someone with bad acne scars, even a slightest improvement would mean a great deal to him/her. 

(Note that at least 3-4 sessions are minimally needed.)

My friend Shermaine also went for the similar treatment. Feel free to check out her post here! 

Thank you Janjee from Brand Cellar for the invite and Dr Ho, director of Chrysalis Medical Aesthetics for the treatment!

Chrysalis Medical Aesthetics

AMK Hub: 6481 1806

Bedok Mall: 6384 0552

Pacific Plaza: 6694 6522

enquiries@ChrysalisAesthetics.com.sg

http://chrysalisaesthetics.com.sg/