At First Wink

Can you forget traumatic events?

2022-09-24T00:51:00.000+02:00

Today, I read an article in the newspaper in which a professor, who is specialized in memory and legal psychology, said that victims of sexual abuse tend to pretend to have memory loss (in other words, lie about it), because the experience is too painful to talk about it. From personal experience, I can tell you that recalling the horrific memory, can call out a flood of emotions (fear, guilt, horror, disgust, anger, self-hate, etc.) that makes the brain unable to function normally. When it was necessary for me to forget about it and act normally in order to survive, I did not remember anything until I got in a safe enough place to recall it. For example, if your life is in the hands of the camp leader and he sexually abused you, it is possible for you to forget about the experience during the whole month there. Especially in the situation, when you have no means to reach the outside world (confiscated mobile phones) and your basic needs like food, sleep, and the people around you, can be taken from you in an instant. For your survival, it is best to forget about it and go with the flow, be nice to the camp leader (remembering everything stands in the way of that). After camp, you either got threatened so much, you became too broken from it, or you don't want your parents to feel bad for sending you there, that you will never talk about it, or completely opposite, when you go back to your warm home, you will finally feel safe enough to speak up, so the memory comes back. I have seen with my own eyes how people around me got memory loss or even distorted the reality and made me the villain, just to be able to live without the guilt of not saving me and be able to keep on believing in the safe fantasy world that they created in their mind.

The professor also thinks that repressed memories and dissociative amnesia don't exist. He explained that repressed memories cannot be scientifically proven even if they exist, but the majority of specialists and experts don't think it exists, so it doesn't. However, I do believe it is possible to have dissociative amnesia. The brain acts in strange ways, whenever your life is at stake. Just like with Stockholm syndrome, when you are held hostage by bank robbers or kidnappers, your life depends on them, so it is best to like them and for them to like you back. If they care enough about you, they will keep feeding you and not kill you. So, you conveniently forget about how you got beaten to pulp by them or you do remember it, but you take away all the emotions and reframe the memory, blame yourself and justify and minimize his actions (It was just this once, normally, he is good to me, I did act annoying, etc.). Another example would be, when you get in a dangerous situation, most people think they would fight or flee, but it is also possible, to freeze or cooperate, whichever increases your chances of survival. The brain does this unconsciously and in a split second. While it is possible for a bunny to freeze and play dead and escape from the mouth of a lion, when the lion relaxes his jaw, thinking that the bunny is dead and unable to fight back, for human beings, freezing, especially in the current developed society and not when there were still dinosaurs walking around, actually does not increase your chances of survival. Still, the brain decides it for you, doing the danger analysis based on previous experiences, which is different for every person.

Not too long ago, I also read an article about a woman with DID (dissociative identity disorder) in Taiwan, who is married and her husband allows her other alter to freely date with other people. A man, who she was dating since early this year, thought it would be interesting to sleep with the other alter too, even though she is the married one and doesn't like him in that way. Afterwards, she went to the police and in court, he admitted guilt. Since it is self diagnosis, it is difficult to prove that she actually has DID. At the moment, there are not that many people diagnosed with DID in the whole world. It is so rare that most people don't think that it is real. I think that it is possible after continuous abuse, while they are still a child and the brain is still growing. Seeing all the cruelty uncovered in the world, I think that there are many undiagnosed cases. Because there are so little cases to study, it is still an under-developed field. But just because it is rare, I don't think it is okay to just say that it doesn't exist. It is really easy to just say that they are acting, but the people close to people with DID can clearly spot the differences between the alters. I think doctors must have had several patients that don't react to anesthesia, as one alter got it and the other didn't, or patients who has perfect sight the one day and bad sight the other day (some alters need glasses, some don't), and just told themselves that they were just lying. This under-reporting is not helping people with DID.

Drama review: Dreaming back to the Qing dynasty

2022-06-17T03:19:00.003+02:00

Dreaming back to the Qing dynasty is a Chinese drama with 40 episodes about a modern woman going back in time, trying to survive and find love in the royal palace. Although the story sometimes doesn't make sense (such as the time travel mechanism, why the female lead always puts herself in danger all by herself, and how everyone falls in love with her), it is beautifully filmed, the acting is great, and the use of different camera angles was done well.

I generally don't like stories in which the female lead always needs to be rescued, but she has her smart moments like magically becoming skilled in medicinal herbs and wood work. I am actually more intrigued by her evil step sister. She has a traumatizing past and she grew up not knowing unconditional love. Most evil people in TV series and movies are portrayed as an one dimensional villain, who just do evil things for no reason. There is a lot of time spend on carving out the reasons how she became the person she is now and why she does the things she does. It is also not just told and explained, but slowly shown in small details like the self harm that she does to get love and attention, as she may have learned that that is the only way. Although everyone treated her badly while growing up, her step-mom or any of the maids may have treated her wounds, when she fell, or gave her a bowl of warm soup, when she was sick. She used tricks to force the man she loves to marry her, as she thinks that there is nothing lovable about her and that there is no other way. She also didn't know that the 14th prince loved her, as she has never experienced love, so she doesn't recognize it even it if it is right in front of her nose. I was impressed by how smart she was, standing her ground and well-respected by a group of princes. Maybe, it is because I experienced similar things, but I understand her very well. When you grow up in an unsafe environment, you learn to read every possible verbal and non-verbal sign, such as a change in the eyes, the tone of voice, the smallest wrinkle in the forehead, and how the footsteps sound like (angry, nervous, happy?). You become skilled in human psychology for your survival, as you need to be the person that the other person wants you to be and predict what their next possible step is and to manipulate people to act in your favor, as they normally never do.

The way the step sister avoided death was not done very well, as the shift of being angry for the death of innocent people and wanting her dead to finding out about her being pregnant and letting her live, was a bit abrupt. I also never felt that the female lead and the step sister resolved the issues between them. They don't have to suddenly become besties or anything, but it was a bit one-sided. As resolving that hatred was actually the main reason she went back in time (extra bonus was getting a handsome husband), they could have at least said something like, "I understand your motives, but the hurt done to each other is too much to still be good sisters. After getting to know you better, I realised that revenge and trying to judge you by counting all the bad things you have done, while forgetting about the good things, is not what I need, all I want is that you can become a good person from now on and finally find your own happiness." In reality, I don't know if people can really change for the better like that, as I have given people way too many second chances, but I like how the chain of violence is broken and that even the next generation is taught that you don't respond to violence with more violence.

I really needed to overlook some scenes (How did the 13th prince know when he would die and how was he still able to bury the last pot, before that happens? Also, it is impossible to find the pots without good descriptions and assuming that the scenery didn't change at all during those hundreds of years), but I stayed for the well planned schemes and the romance (minus the almost stalker like behavior of the 4th prince and the cheesy marriage proposal at the end).

Unboxing and review: Jo malone discovery kit with the new Wild Swimming collection

2022-05-06T04:36:00.005+02:00

Review of the scents from the Jo Malone Wild Swimming collection:

Salty Amber

It has the distinct manly aftershave scent, but with a hint of refreshing, salty sea water. Sometimes, there are tiny notes of plants and flowers

Crystal Campion

It is a very flowery scent with sweet hints of black current. It has fresh, grassy notes and a warm, not really noticeable, amber end note.

Aqua lemon

Out of the three scents, I like this one the most, as I don't like too flowery or heavy fragrances. It has a light, but noticeable, main mandarin peel scent, hints of refreshing lemon petitgrain, and a light woody end note. I don't know if it is because I am Chinese and I am no stranger to dried mandarin peels, but it brings out a very comfortable and homey feeling.

Forest Moss (not included in the sampler kit)

Review of the sample bottles:

English Oak and Hazelnut (already reviewed before)

Wood Sage & Sea Salt

It starts out as a nice and sweet, almost sugary, scent and ends with woody notes and hints of seasalt, toning down the sweetness. Even as someone that doesn't like heavy and manly cologne scents, the sweet and refreshing notes made me like it and understand why this is a bestseller.

Blackberry & Bay

It has a refreshing, grassy, green scent with tiny sour notes from the blackberry, but also, a clean and soapy scent, which I love.

Review: buying from the Ochama app

2022-03-09T21:20:00.005+01:00

After my first visit to the pick-up point of Ochama in Rotterdam, I already made multiple purchases in the Ochama app. Although personally picking my order up through a touch screen was an interesting and new experience, the location of the pick-up store is a bit too far from the city center and from where I live. So, I had my groceries delivered for a flat fee of €4. If you order something before 16:00, it will be delivered on the next day. They deliver on every day of the week, except on Sundays. The fresh and frozen products however can only be picked up from the Ochama pick-up points. Ochama doesn't do the delivery themselves, but use the delivery companies, UPS and Dynalogic. You will get an email from them with the time window in which they expect to deliver the parcel.

The membership to Ochama is free for 1 year, but there will be a yearly fee of €10 after that ends. You always get 10% off on your purchases, which will be given back to you in points. The points can be spend from 100 points onwards and in multiples of 100. To earn the membership fee back, you have to spend at least €100 in the Ochama app per year.

Why I buy from the Ochama app

In the app, you can find a selection of supermarket products and G'woon, supermarket house brand, products. If you normally buy them, it is nice to always get a 10% discount. For me, I am the most interested in the categories: "Wereldkeuken" and "Oriental supermarket". I hope more products will be continously added to them. I like trying new products, in particular snacks and ramen. I also saw that they have the strawberry cheesecake from Conditorei Coppenrath & Wiese in the freezer section. It would be nice if there were more cakes and pastries from this brand.

Regularly, Ochama also has nice limited time discounts and special deals. Not always do they highlight them on the main page, so you often come across them, while you browse through the products.

Underneath, you can find a selection of the deals that I found on the Ochama app:

Lay's superchips natural 200g €0.10 (retail price:€1.55)

Spa Duo drinks €0.10 (retail price: €1.70-1.80), bottle refund of €0.25 included

Unox Smac 250g €1.85 (1+1 deal)

Pocky sticks €0.99 (retail price: €1.99)

Yakult drinks (50% off)

Nice choice crisp bread bean €0.99 (retail price: €2.60)

These are the YouTube shorts I made about Ochama.

Review: 7 Jo Malone scents

2022-03-04T12:08:00.003+01:00

If you are subscribed to my YouTube channel, you might have already seen the Jo Malone products that I shared in the Shorts section. Today, I will review everything mentioned in there.

English Oak & Hazelnut cologne

It smells like a woody, very classic, manly aftershave scent.

Orange bitters cologne

At first, it smells like orange peel, starting with the fresh orange zest and ending with a heavier bitter end note like the white part of the orange peel. In between, you can smell tiny hints of sweet mandarin and prune. It lingers as a warm and woody scent with a little bit of sweet orange.

Cypress & Grapevine cologne intense

It smells like aftershave, but with a slight refreshing, green end note.

Myrrh & Tonka cologne intense

It has a distinct herbal scent, which might not be everyone's favorite, and a tiny hint of a vanilla end note that takes off the sharp edges of the myrrh.

Tuberose Angelica body creme

It starts off with a fresh, green Angelica scent and develops into a strong flowery Tuberose scent that reminds me of jasmin tea. It has a slight woody end note, which makes the scent more balanced. The cream is watery and it spreads out and gets absorbed easily. It leaves a velvety, non-sticky layer on the skin.

Lime Basil and Mandarin exfoliating shower gel

It has a strong basil scent, which blends nicely with the lime and mandarin peel scents. I really like fresh citrus scents, so it is one of my favorites. It reminds me a bit of the L' Occitane Verbena scent. There are some exfoliating particles floating in the shower gel.

English pear and Freesia body and hand wash

In the beginning, it smells like a sweet and juicy pear, which is refreshing and clean. It has a slight powdery, green, and flowery end note. It is my favorite scent out of all the scents from Jo Malone. Both shower gels have a strong lingering scent that last long on the skin, after taking a shower.

Opening of the Ochama pick-up store in Rotterdam

2022-01-11T05:30:00.008+01:00

On Monday 10 January, the Ochama pick-up store in Rotterdam (Vierhavenssstraat 29) opened their doors for customers. After downloading the Ochama app on my mobile phone, I ordered a couple of instant noodles of the brands Ottogi and Mama to try out. You can have a same day pick-up, if you place your order before 11:00. As soon as you receive a notification that the order has arrived at the pick-up point and the unique QR-code of your order, you can go get your items, even before the selected pick-up time. I ordered in the morning and the order arrived around 13:30-14:00, about one hour earlier than expected. I think the ordered items get transferred together from the warehouse to the pick-up point at around noon. So, it is not like the earlier you order, the earlier you get your things. Someone who placed an order an hour later than me, actually got his order faster (5 minutes earlier, but still). It is like a last in, first out thing, where the items that get in the truck first gets unloaded and processed last. If you order something on the Ochama app the day before, you can have the pick-up time in the morning.

When I got to the Ochama pick-up store, I was greeted by an employee at the door and he guided me through the whole process. First, you open the Ochama app on your mobile phone, click on the QR-code button at the bottom right, touch the touch screen at one of the pick-up points to activate it, place the QR-code in front of the black-rimmed white rectangle on the wall, your order will show up on the touch screen and you need to press on the collect button. After a short wait, your ordered items will show up in front of you in a big plastic bin, that rolled there on the conveyor belt. You can freely grab one of the paper bags to carry your items in or place the items in your own bags and crates. I suddenly realize that I don't know how the big plastic bin that is emptied goes back away, so that the next customer can collect their order. The employee probably did that for me, after I left.

As I was one of the first 1000 customers, I received a sturdy canvas Ochama goodie bag containing a small bottle of Lipton green tea, a Pukka tea box, an Ochama X candle, a Tony Chocolonely chocolate bar (caramel sea salt flavor), a can of Unox green pea soup, and a carton of vegan Yogho! Yogho! Strawberry yogurt drink.

Lidl Italiamo Sicilia style cheesecake - lemon and chocolate

2021-12-06T01:42:00.002+01:00

Some time ago, I bought the Lidl Italiamo Sicilia style cheesecake in the flavors: lemon and chocolate. They were a bit expensive, but they are a welcome treat after a long day at work or a bad day in general. I thought I would have liked the lemon flavor the most, but the chocolate flavor left me wanting for more. Sadly, it is a limited time product in the Lidl supermarket, so I have to wait until they return during the Italian week with lots of other Italian products.

The Lidl Italiamo Sicilia style cheesecake with the lemon flavor has a crumbled biscuit crust on the bottom, a lemon flavored cheesecake, and a sprinkle of buttery cookie crumbs with a hint of cinnamon on top.

The Lidl Italiamo Sicilia style cheesecake with the chocolate flavor has a crumbled chocolate biscuit crust on the bottom, a vanilla flavored cheesecake, and a thick, soft chocolate layer on top. The chocolate has a good blend of dark and milk chocolate. You can taste the richness of the dark chocolate, but also the sweet and milky tones of the milk chocolate.

Another reason why I bought them, besides that they looked delicious, is that they come in glass jars with a reusable plastic lid. I like making desserts and I hate it when they sometimes absorb the smell of other food in the fridge. Recently, I did some test running of possible Christmas desserts and the chocolate mousse mini cakes that I made in the glass jars turned out nicely. The plastic lids have a little extra room on top, so it didn't matter when I filled the jars a bit more to the brim.

essie nail polishes with a Winter Wonderland theme

2021-12-02T00:57:00.002+01:00

Because of the cold winter weather, I have been wearing my essie nail polishes with a Winter Wonderland theme more often: 252 - maximillian strasse her, 310 - truth or flare, and 301- jazzy jubilant. When I bought these nail polishes, I intended to create a pretty, gradient winter themed nail art with them. But I never got to it, so I just wore them on my nails normally. The essie nail polishes have a wide brush and a slightly curved tip, which made application an easy job. The scent is slightly sweet and it doesn't bother me that much. I don't know if it is because they are from a long time ago, but the first and second layer of nail polish was uneven and clumpy. However, the third layer seemed to magically have fixed it all.

Essie 252 - maximillian strasse her is a light green nail polish with a grey tone in it. It looked like an icy blue-grey in the bottle, but on the nails, the color looks warmer and greener.

Essie 310 - truth or flare is a beautiful, warm toned, light blue nail polish. I like how the warm tone makes my hands look better.

Essie 301 - jazzy jubilant is a glitter top coat nail polish with large silver and metallic blue glitters, and tiny gold glitters. I like wearing it over bare nails too. It adds some sparkle to mundane, daily life.

Veluwse rookworst from the Albert Heijn supermarket

2021-11-30T00:53:00.002+01:00

A few weeks ago, I happened to find the Veluwse rookworst (translation: traditional Dutch smoked sausage from the Veluwe region in the Netherlands) on sale at the Albert Heijn supermarket for only €1. I think they had too much left and it was a few days before expiration date. I have never tried it before, but for that price, I didn't mind buying one of each kind, the coarse and the fine smoked sausage, to find out if I like them. I shortly boiled them in a pot with off the boil hot water and afterwards, I cut them in slices. The fine smoked sausage has a smooth filling and a crispy skin. It wasn't too salty and the smoked flavor wasn't too strong. The coarse smoked sausage was the same, except that the filling has chunks of fat in it. It reminded me a bit of the cured, sweet sausages from Hong Kong. Because of the fat, the smoked sausage was also more juicy and soft. I can't say that I like one over the other, both each have their merits. So, just buy both like I did. They are great to serve on a cured meat and cheese platter or as tapas too. This week, I saw that they are 10% off at the Albert Heijn supermarket. It is not as big of a discount I got, but the smoked sausages are worth paying a premium price for.

Review: Château Labiotte wine lipsticks - Cablis Coral and Noir Pink

2021-11-26T01:08:00.003+01:00

In the Tony Moly store in Hong Kong, I had to buy a couple of things to qualify for the gifts with purchase and besides the Tony Moly Liptone Get it tint lip tint trio, I also bought two Château Labiotte wine lipsticks in the colors: Cablis Coral and Noir Pink. I was actually looking at the liquid lipsticks of this brand, but the sales lady convinced me to buy the lipsticks instead, as the colors are more vivid and longlasting. I quite like the sponge at the tip to smudge the lip color out at the outer edges or the whole lip. So, I picked out two colors that I would certainly like, an orange toned coral and a warm pink. I normally don't wear lipsticks often, but when I do, I like to bite into a tissue after application to prevent the lipstick from getting on my teeth and to tone the bright color down. These lipsticks have this build in. I can just apply a little in the middle of my lips and smudge it outwards. It's even convenient for on the go.

The Château Labiotte wine lipsticks have a beautiful wine bottle like appearance. The red metallic cap at the top hide the sponge tip. Somehow one cap closes tighter than the other one. It could be that it got damaged during the flight back home. This also explains the slightly damaged lipstick bullet of the Noir Pink lipstick. The lipstick bullet comes out and returns easily by twisting the top part of the lipstick. I didn't expect this in the store, but I really love how the two colors look on my lips. Strangely, the Cablis Coral didn't melt (they call them melting lipsticks) as beautifully as the Noir Pink. I do like the two colors the best all smudged out. The lipsticks also have a sweet, fruity scent.

Cakes from the Coop supermarket

2021-11-19T21:17:00.002+01:00

Fall and winter weather really calls for hot cups of coffee and tea and in the Netherlands, we like to have a cookie or a piece of cake on the side. I think we are one of the rare countries, where you can, generally speaking, receive a complimentary cookie with any order of coffee and tea. We are also among the top countries that consume the most sweets. During one of my visits to the Coop supermarket, I happened to see some cakes on sale and I bought three to try out.

The first one is from the fresh bakery section and it is called the Monchou kersenvlaai. Vlaai is a traditional flat pie from the South of the Netherlands. This one has a Monchou cream cheese - whipped cream filling, topped with fresh cherries (be careful for possible pits!). It isn't too sweet and it looks really handmade and rustic. The crust is pretty thick and the filling is really creamy.

From the freezer section, I got two frozen products from Conditorei Coppenrath & Wiese; the peach melba cream torte and the French style apple tart. I expected the apple tart to be heavily butter and cinnamon flavored like the Dutch apple tarts, but the apple pieces were slightly sour and not as softened. I didn't really like it, but maybe, I didn't prepare it correctly, as the crust wouldn't get crunchy either. I also forgot to take pictures of it, after baking.

The Peach melba cream torte on the other hand, was really tasty. I didn't expect the peach cream to have so much flavor. The sour raspberry puree on top and between the layers of cake cut through the sweetness.

Review: TONYMOLY Liptone get it tint mini trio - 01 Soft trio

2021-11-16T23:58:00.004+01:00

I bought the TONYMOLY Liptone get it tint mini trio - 01 Soft trio at a TONYMOLY shop in Hong Kong a few years ago. There was a freebies promotion going on with a purchase over a certain amount, so I bought some more products, which will be revealed on my blog soon (hopefully). This mini lip tint set contains three bottles (4g) of the colors: Pink Ming, Play Orange, and Clear Coral. I really like lip tints and switching things up and trying out new things, so I can't resist getting these kinds of sample kits. When I like a color and the product, I can buy the full-size afterwards.

The TONYMOLY Liptone get it tint mini trio - 01 Soft trio has a nice, small size that fits in the palm of your hand. You can take off the sturdy rectangular cap or pull one of the mini lip tints out, while the rest stays put. The glass bottles look very beautiful and it reminds me a bit of nail polish bottles. Although the bottles are small, the cap and applicator are easy to use. The refreshing apple scent is really pleasant too. The lip tint isn't very drying and the colors are pigmented. After letting it dry on the lips, the color stays put for a long time.

Pink Ming has a light pink color that still looks quite warm. Clear Coral is a slightly sheer, orange-red lip color, while Play Orange is deep red lip color with a hint of orange.

De Bijenkorf online barista masterclass

2021-10-29T23:19:00.006+02:00

Last time, I had an online tofu making class and I loved it so much that I signed up for an online barista masterclass organized by the department store, de Bijenkorf. The barista made two drinks: a cappuccino and a latte. He showed us how to make milk foam and he told us that you are supposed to let it sit for a short while after making it and let the coffee cool down a little bit before adding the milk foam. Lastly, a representative from Monin coffee syrups talked a bit about their products. He revealed that the top 3 syrups were caramel, vanilla, and hazelnut (in order of rank). I was surprised to hear that caramel is the all-time favorite of the Dutch consumers and even the popularity of vanilla and hazelnut combined were not as much as the top 1. Personally, I like the hazelnut the most, as I had a Heavenly hazel (name of a drink) addiction from the Douwe Egberts cafe at the university during my college years.

Before the masterclass, I received a box of goodies that I could use during the masterclass. It contained a large bag of de Bijenkorf coffee beans (750g), a handmade dark chocolate bar with a cute bees print, two Blond Amsterdam cups with black and white print (worth €6.95 each), and a premium Monin coffee syrups set. The barista masterclass was quite nice, even though I didn't have a fully automatic coffee machine at home. I do have a milk foam machine and the tiny bottles of syrups that I received have delicious flavors (French vanilla, Salted caramel, and Chocolate cookie) that I cannot wait to try out.

Ramyeon and tteokbokki (aka rabokki)

2021-10-23T00:25:00.003+02:00

Another thing I wanted to try in Seoul, Korea, was the wide pot with ramyeon and tteokbokki that I often see in Korean TV drama series and TV entertainment shows. After some shopping in Myeong-dong, I happened to spot a restaurant that served it, so I quickly went in to try it out. I ordered a rabokki with Korean ramyeon (instant noodles), glass noodles, tteokbokki (long rice cakes), eomuk (fish cakes), and cheese. You need to boil everything yourself on your own table, but when they saw us struggling, the restaurant employees helped us out every now and then. For instance, we put the fried mandu (dumplings) and fried kimbap (seaweed rice rolls) in there a bit too soon and the cheese a bit too late. Cold water was free of charge (you will need it with all the spiciness) and the chopsticks could be found in drawers under the table. After finishing everything, they took the pot and made kimchi fried rice in it with some of the leftover soup.

Underneath, you can find a video of how we tried to make the ramyeon and tteokbokki (aka rabokki) ourselves.

Isaac toast - famous street toast chain in Seoul, Korea

2021-10-22T23:51:00.003+02:00

During my short trip to Seoul, I really wanted to see what the hype is all about of Isaac toast. Close to my hotel, I found an Isaac toast open street shop and there wasn't a long waiting line. I ordered the shrimp mvp toast, while the others got the bulgogi mvp toast for breakfast. I didn't think mine was that tasty, as the shrimp patty was rather bland and not that exciting. However, the others thought that their bulgogi mvp toast tasted good. The large toast with thick slices of white bread, chicken or shrimp patty, ham, cheddar cheese, corn omelet, hash brown, shredded cabbage, chili sauce, mustard sauce, and bulgogi sauce, was quite nice to have for breakfast, as it was warm and filling. The price was reasonable too. I still don't get the long waiting lines of tourists that I keep seeing everywhere in Seoul, but maybe, the quality differs depending on the branch and I did wait a bit before I ate it, so it might not taste as good, after getting cold. It is a pity I didn't get to try their drinks. Their top 3 drinks are: strawberry juice, kiwi juice, and apple mango juice. It sounds quite good.

Underneath, you can see a short clip of how they made our toast.

This is the menu that they had at the Isaac toast shop that I went to.

Myeong-dong in Seoul, Korea

2021-10-20T03:07:00.004+02:00

Myeong-dong is a famous shopping district in Seoul, Korea, where you can find many fashion, cosmetics, accessories, and k-pop merchandise shops. You can easily spend a whole day in there without getting bored for a minute. During the evening, a large variety of street food stalls will open in the middle of the shopping streets. Although I hate overcrowded places and avoid it as much as I can, it is really something that you need to see and experience in person. During the current pandemic, it is probably not as crowded as how it used to be. There is a certain charm to being part of a big crowd, who are enjoying themselves, shopping till they drop, and feasting on delicious food. But the advantage is that it no longer takes hours to move from one point to another and hopefully, the waiting lines for the popular restaurants wouldn't be as long during dinner time too.

In the video underneath, you can see some highlights of my first visit to Myeong-dong.

Xiaomi launch event: Xiaomi 11T series - cinemagic

2021-10-17T00:45:00.002+02:00

On 15 October, I attended the Xiaomi launch event of the Xiaomi 11T series in Breda. On that same day, those mobile phones would go on sale in the Netherlands at 15:00 and we toasted on that moment with glasses of champagne. A group of 25 lucky people was invited to meet Kriss Kross Amsterdam and we got a short presentation about how they use video for their music. They talked about the importance of music videos and how views and shares can increase their follower base and income. They also showed their good and not so good videos. Afterwards, they stayed for lunch and the reception with drinks and snacks. I was impressed how they made sure to personally connect with everyone at the venue, to take pictures together, and they also handed out their merchandise, such as t-shirts, hoodies, and jackets. They took fan service to the next level.

What left an impression the most was the cool cinemagic camera functions of the Xiaomi 11T phone that makes it possible to dramatically zoom in on a person, to make the surroundings move fast or freeze, while the main character moves normally, the night-time time lapse, and the parallel world function (a horizontal mirror like the cool reflection in water pictures).

At the end of the presentation, little pieces of paper were placed in a glass vase and 8 Xiaomi 11T phones were the prices that could be pulled. Since 6 or 7 people didn't show up, there were still several phones without an owner. During the first round, I pulled a miss and during the next round, I didn't get to pull anything, as the leftover papers were not enough to go around, it stopped at the person right next to me. So, basically, my odds were 8/25 (32%) and the next round, it was 2/6 or 2/7 (28-33%), but I still didn't win anything. I was a little bit disappointed, but it was a fun day. I got a reason to go out of the house, take a train for the first time in over a year, taste the new strawberry acai refresha from the Starbucks at the train station, and visit a beautiful venue in the outskirts of the city of Breda that was an half hour bus ride from Breda Central train station (almost thought we were kidnapped for the Squid game :D). The place was large enough to test drive the Xiaomi electric scooters and somebody even joked about crossing the border to Belgium with it, as he saw the road signs to Belgium already. We were also pampered with unlimited drinks (water, soda, beer, wine, and champagne), snacks (sweet and savory), and a warm meal with pulled pork (or chicken?) buns, chicken skewers with peanut sauce and colorful Indonesian shrimp crackers, and traditional Southern Netherlands sausage buns. Although I lost at the lucky draw, I left the event with a goodiebag with a Xiaomi gadget and a flower bouquet.

Review: Aritaum style pop pudding tint - polka pink

2021-10-14T00:30:00.001+02:00

I hadn't had much experience with Aritaum makeup products yet, but the advertisements looked so amazing that I bought several items online, without seeing and testing them in person. I really liked the Aritaum wannabe cushion tints (the first makeup item I tried from this brand), so my expectations were high. One of the items I bought was the Aritaum style pop pudding tint in the color polka pink. Originally, I ordered the coral shade, but something must have went wrong during packing of the order. I normally avoid light pink lip shades, as they just don't look good on me, and I tend to lean to warmer colors. But this time, it wasn't that bad, as it is a warm-toned, light pink color. I also like how easy it is to apply it on the lips evenly and the sweet apple juice scent is very refreshing. For a lip tint, it is really moisturizing. However, the lip color isn't really long-lasting, as it is a light color that fades easily. So, regular touch-ups is necessary. The bottle is similar to a (glass?) nail polish bottle and a bit bulky and heavy to carry around. But I did use the Aritaum style pop pudding tint a lot, on the go as well. It is a really safe color that can be worn anywhere and it adds a pop of color to my tired face.

Review: It's skin babyface candy glow tint bar - 04 rose candy

2021-10-13T01:58:00.002+02:00

In the previous review of several makeup products in the It's skin babyface collection, I left out the It's skin babyface candy glow tint bar. I discovered this after scrolling through some of my past Gmarket haul pictures. I couldn't find it in my room either (Did it roll under my bed or closets? Or did it get lost during one of my travels?). Luckily, I already took the pictures back then, before using it. It is a habit I started since blogging. I also take pictures before I eat anything too. I don't know if that's a good thing, since the other people at the table often nag at me for letting the food go cold. But thanks to that, I still have some pictures to show you. It is double lucky, as it also didn't disappear in the big external hard disk crash.

The It's skin babyface candy glow tint bar - 04 rose candy has a long and thin, pen like shape and a lipstick bullet with a waterdrop like surface. It applies similar to a lipstick and personally, I don't really like using a lipstick on my dry lips. That's one of the reasons, why I didn't know it was missing all this time. The color is also brighter pink than I thought. But what I do like about it, is that it stains the lips very beautifully like a lip tint. It is one of the rare cases that it looks better, when the lipstick wears off. I barely do any touch-ups in the toilet, so it is a big plus to me.

Review: Urban Outfitters WIP nail polish - purple beaded and halo

2021-10-11T22:56:00.002+02:00

During one of my trips to Amsterdam many years ago, I paid a visit to the Urban Outfitters store at the Kalverstraat, as it was an "only in Amsterdam" store. Because it is rare for me to go there, I always look for stores and restaurants that I cannot find in my home city, Rotterdam. I kind of like the style of this fashion brand, as it is casual and comfortable. There are lots of my favorite hoodies, loose fit t-shirts, checkered shirts, and sweat pants. Currently, an Urban Outfitters store is located at the Koopgoot in Rotterdam. I have went in for a quick glance, close after their opening, and it looked very clean and organized.

To get back on topic, I discovered that they had their own brand nail polishes at the cash registers and I picked out two to try out. They have been collecting dust in my room for a long time, but I am back to blogging again. The nail polishes have a beautiful, cube shape, glass bottle and a long cap. The beaded nail polish has a metallic cap and the normal nail polishes have a black rubber cap, which has somewhat melted during the years and became sticky. They were €8 per bottle (15 ml), but I bought it during a 2 for €14 (I think?) promotion. It is a bit expensive, but the bottles are bigger than normal nail polishes. The brush is narrow, similar to those of Sasa nail polishes that I own. You need about three strokes per nail, but the advantage is that you can apply it with precision.

Urban Outfitters WIP nail polish - halo is a sheer nail polish with a pink, pearly shine. I used about 3 to 4 layers to get the result in the picture. I have many of these kind of nail polishes and I often wear one layer on my nails to give them a glossy shine without being too much.

Urban Outfitters WIP nail polish - purple beaded is a special effect nail polish, which looks like a bunch of tiny confetti on the nails. There are tiny white and purple beads in a clear base. I like how it doesn't feel rough to the touch like the sand nails, which were hot around the same time. They also look very interesting from afar.

Staycation at the citizenM hotel in Rotterdam

2021-10-09T01:17:00.002+02:00

CitizenM is a 4-star hotel with modern and compact rooms, right across the street from the famous Markthal (a large covered market with eateries and food stalls) and the iconic cubic houses. There is a self check-in and check-out at a beautifully decorated lobby area with multiple touchscreens and they only accept electronic payments, so no cash. If you don't know how to operate it, there is always someone around to help you out.

I stayed in a king room with a large bed, an ensuite bathroom with a rainshower, and a big window with a nice view. The room isn't really big, but every inch is efficiently utilized. There is a wide desk, perfect to use as a work or dinner table. There is enough closet space, a safe for valuables, and a sink placed outside the bathroom. It is funny to see how the bathroom has neon mood lighting. The wide and comfy bed was right next to the window, but it wasn't that cold. The drawer under the bed is large enough to store cabin luggage. I also like the funny comments printed on the pillows, the hairdryer bag, and other places; the tablet that controls the lighting, the curtains, and the TV; the media library; and the stylish decorations in the room. However, this room also doesn't have a mini fridge, an electric kettle, and a toothbrush and toothpaste.

The location is also quite good, as a couple of touristic spots, shopping streets, a large supermarket at the basement of the Markthal, an open market at every Tuesday and Saturday, and a public library with a Starbucks cafe are all at walking distance. The room rate is a bit more expensive than the previous easyHotel.

Staycation at easyHotel in Rotterdam City Center

2021-10-08T23:47:00.003+02:00

During the pandemic, many people had a staycation in their own city or country. Since we couldn't really take an airplane and go somewhere far like we normally do, we tried to find beauty and relaxation in our surroundings. I think I have never walked around as much through the streets of my city, while avoiding crowded public transport, as now and I have seen almost every tree, plant, and flower. While working from home, it is more difficult to relax or to have a clear boundary between work and life. That's why some people have a staycation at a hotel for a few days. You can have a change of scenery, get a fresh surge of ideas, and get more work done, away from the people at home and the pending chores. Or the total opposite, people can leave their work behind, get away from social media, turn off their notifications, and just relax. It is also a way to support the hotels, as there are less tourists now.

I have picked out two hotels in Rotterdam and I will first start with the most affordable one, the easyHotel. This hotel is located in the middle of Rotterdam, with a busy shopping street a few steps away. Its location is great, as there is a large Albert Heijn supermarket, three famous fast food places (McDonalds, Burger King, and KFC), many fashion and beauty stores (such as H&M, Primark, Douglas, ICI Paris XL, and Zara), and a big electronics store with multiple floors (Mediamarkt) in the direct vicinity. The metro stop, Beurs, is really closeby and the metro can directly take you to and from the Rotterdam Central train station.

I stayed in the twin room with airconditioning and heating, free WiFi, and an ensuite, glass-walled bathroom. The room was clean and it is really a no frills hotel, as there was no mini fridge, an electric kettle, toothbrush and toothpaste, hairdryer, and pen and paper. I do like that there is a red cubicle stool and a small desk in between the beds. I didn't use the flatscreen tv that is hung against the wall, as I brought my own laptop. It was the first time, I used a hair, hand, and body wash in one, but in essence, all of them is soap, so it is probably okay. If you only need a bed and a hot shower, your basic needs are met. However, there is some noise, as you can sometimes hear the room guests next door and pick up bits of the nightlife outside (music and talking people). This can differ per room, as the twin room with the window facing the trees had less to no noice, while the double room at the other side had more.

The next hotel, which is also a good place to have a staycation in, is the citizenM hotel.

Food delivery from Kiiro - Japanese curry house

2021-10-08T00:43:00.002+02:00

When I heard that a Japanese curry restaurant opened in Rotterdam, I really wanted to try it out. I had 2 of the pork katsu curry (€10.75) and 2 of the chicken fillet katsu curry (€10.50) delivered to my house. When it arrived, I saw that the curry sauce and the rice with the pre-cut fried food were packaged in separate bowls. I was surprised by how warm the curry sauce was and that the fried food were still a bit crispy. We shared some pieces of the fried food and I liked the fried chicken fillet more, as the fried pork was a bit dry. The curry sauce was really similar to the Japanese curry that I tried in Japan, but a bit milder and somewhat watered down. Maybe, they did this to appeal to the local Dutch customers, who are not that used to spicy food and unfamiliar herbs and seasonings. The sauce was also a bit thicker than what I am used to, but they might have made it this way for delivery and it is probably not like this in the restaurant. The amount of food was quite filling for me and the curry sauce was just enough to taste it in every bite. We received some complementary pickled cucumber and ginger with our order.

Pork katsu curry

Chicken fillet katsu curry

Although I wish the flavors could be a bit stronger, I think the restaurant should do whatever it takes to be successful. Seeing that they opened more stores in Rotterdam, their strategy is working. The more people get exposed to the unusual flavors and food from Asia, the more diverse the restaurant scene in Rotterdam will be. Not too long ago, most of us here didn't even know what sushi, pokébowl, pho, bibimbap, bubble tea, bubble waffle, Korean BBQ, and Korean fried chicken taste like.

Review: It's skin babyface aqua gel tint and mini love eyeshadow

2021-10-07T01:23:00.001+02:00

From the It's skin babyface collection, I bought two eyeshadows and two lip tints. I already got them a long time ago, but I haven't shown them on my blog yet.

It's skin babyface mini love eyeshadow 09 - Lovely girls and 15 - Twilight

When I received them I was surprised by how small and light they were. The eyeshadows were supposed to be removed from the plastic packaging and placed in a small eyeshadow palette with room for 6 eyeshadows. But I would still prefer to keep them like this, as the cute angel drawing on top is too cute to throw away. The two colors that I picked out were 09 - Lovely girls (a light pink eyeshadow with mainly gold shimmers) and 15 - Twilight (a purple eyeshadow with mainly pink shimmers). I like to use the light pink for spring days and the purple for dinners at night. The eyeshadows are light and buildable and they stay put on the eyelids quite well. However, the tiny shimmers do tend to go everywhere.

It's skin babyface aqua gel tint 01 - cherry and 02 - strawberry

There are three colors and I was tempted to get the orange lip tint as well, but I already had too many orange lip products, so I passed on that for once. The two colors that I got were: 01 - cherry (a deep red) and 02 - strawberry (a normal red). I wore the 02 - strawberry the most, as it looks quite natural. The 01 - cherry is a very vampy red and more suitable for special occasions. At first, I didn't really like it as it used to form a film on my lips and it would wear off very patchy. After some time, the formula became more liquid and it looked better. What I liked about this the most, is that my dry lips were not dried out by it like with most lip tints. They feel very nice on my lips and the scents are really fruity.

Taking an online tofu making class

2021-10-06T01:05:00.001+02:00

Besides taking online beauty masterclasses and attending online press presentations, I also took an online cooking class recently. I am fully into lifelong learning, as I feel that you are never done learning and you never know it all. After joining a contest, I won a Korean cooking class of my choice. The various kimchi dishes and the homemade tofu making classes looked the most interesting. Eventually, I went for the tofu making, as I saw that it only required soy beans, seasalt, and vinegar. There were some unforeseen problems, such as not properly locking the blender into the machine (making it leak all over the place), not having a tofu mold (I had to use a colander and cut the tofu out with a heart-shaped cookie cutter), and not having a sour enough vinegar (I had to add more spoons than the original recipe, while not knowing if it would work). I also wish she could have sent me the written instructions beforehand or at least, pause after every step. Like pour the soybeans in the blender, pause, blend the soybeans until they are fully dissolved, pause, etc. During the class, I had to listen to the instructions and copy her actions immediately. When I failed one step, I couldn't catch up, and I also had to keep listening to the next steps.

Also, I didn't know beforehand that it was supposed to be a one-on-one personal live class. I expected a teacher and many students, who are allowed to close their camera and mute their voice if they want to. I feel really bad about it, as the female teacher couldn't check up on my progress with the recipe and chat with me like she normally does during the waiting times. I am also scared that she might think I was some kind of creep. During a recent online beauty masterclass, the beauty expert asked us to at least open our camera to say hello and introduce ourselves to the group for a minute at the beginning. It was then that I realised that it might come off as rude and creepy to people, when they can't see or hear you during a zoom meeting with strangers. But I don't have many nice experiences with how strangers react to my nystagmus, so I feel a bit shy and reluctant about it. It shouldn't be this way, but after getting hurt repeatedly, I don't really feel like putting myself out there for people to hurt.

Eventually, the end result looked okay. The tofu was a bit more crumbly and ricotta like than the usual store-bought tofu that I eat, but the soy bean flavor was nice and the soy sauce based dipping sauce tasted good with it. It was fun trying to make tofu myself at home. Because I felt like it might fall apart, I pan-fried some tofu pieces for the next day. It was quite tasty in my kimchi soup.