Singapore and Penang Haul of Winter 2011: Burst of Colors N Sparkles

If you read this Christmas post, you might know that I went for a week trip to Singapore last December, and - o mi gosh - I went totally crazy, I bought soooo many things! This is an extra long haul post with many pictures, so I hope you'll enjoy seeing what I bought and don't get bored.

Usually I'm a frugal shopper, but I have this weakness to spend more during overseas trips. It's like the "Come on! This is a vacation, baby! Be merry! Shop! It's only once in a while!" type of feeling, you know. Luckily, December IS my scheduled twice-a-year shopping times, and though I spent more than usual, it's still within the budget.

I did buy a lot at Forever21 stores, at Ion and also at Sommerset. Both are on Orchard Road. The funny thing is, I don't usually like to buy anything from F21 in Indonesia, because I think their merchandise quality is not good, they look cheap and break easily, especially the clothing. But I love their accessories! Gold accessory is all the rage now, after years of white gold and silver trend, and I'm more than happy to jump on the wagon! And I got these lovelies, I don't remember the exact price of each, but I think even the most expensive piece cost me less than SGD 20. Or SGD 15? I forgot.

These beautiful gold butterfly earrings with long tassel-like chains; and the gold flower ones.

These very eye-catching pairs.

Look how long they are! Definitely statement earrings. I don't think I can get away by wearing them for work, though.

I also got this choker-like pearl necklace with bejewelled bow at the front. It's just gorgeous and looks more expensive than it really is.

And this bow-tie rose gold necklace.

This one is just fabulous and will add an oomph to any black or white outfit.

I usually don't go for this kind of necklace with dangling charms, but this one I like for the red flower. So Chinese! And as an Indonesian Chinese, I've learned to embraced my ethnicity and highlight it instead of trying to hide it or blend into the crowd. Afterall, it's diversity that makes the world such a beautiful, un-boring place! AND God loves diversity. If not, why would He created so many different plants, colors, flowers, trees, animals, skin color, eye color, etc. etc. ...

This one is so small and dainty, but the black flower gives an edge to it.

And then I went also to Chinatown and got some pretty stuff there as well. And best of all, they're cheap! I think everything I got cost me about SGD 10 each, or even less.

I got these two lovely charm bracelets with these colorful chamrs. I like bracelets with this kind of clasp because it's so much easier to put on compared to lobster clasp.

The bracelet is heavy and the charms are three dimentional, I was like: " How come their price is so cheap?"

With these colors, it goes with any outfit!

In Chinatown, I got these kimono-style, China-pattern night gowns. They're made of shiny satiny fabric with pretty colors and lovely birds and peonies pattern on them, and the material is very cool next to your skin. Love these! I want to look good and feel good in bed, even if I only sleep with a blanket, a pillow, a bolster, and my favorite doll!

And of course, I got my favorite Hello Kitty necklace! No woman, no girl is too old to have Hello Kitty accessories!

The pendant is actually a tiny watch, which you can open like a locket. So cute!

And how do you like these heavily-charmed charm bracelets?

I just love how the charms dangle nicely and daintily from my wrist. It even has a little watch dangling from the chain. Totally love it, I got two of them.

I also got these pretty, cute earrings with colorful rhinestones.

Closer look.

This pair I love very much because they remind me of similar ones I got from the Philippines which I lost some time ago.

And these rhinestoned necklace in similar styles but different colors, with matching stud earrings. I bought all these accessories at Chinatown, but actually the labels said they're made in Korea, as you can see here.

And then, I went to Bugis Junction and got these finds.

This beautiful, old-fashioned, vintage-style Camay necklace. It reminds me of the pendant my Mom wore on her wedding day! Of course, Mom's is real vintage of real gold, while this one is only a retro-style. But it's lovely, isnt't it!

At Bugis, I went to a darling store called Accesorize and got all these mother-of-pearl earrings of many beautiful, pearluscent colors. And best of all, they were on sale for about SGD 3-5 each!

And these adorable cherry-shaped earrings in blue and mettalic.

This four-leaf clover necklace I got at BHG Department Store at Bugis Junction for about SGD 35. It's a bit pricey compared to my other finds - the most expensive buy of the day actually - but I fell in love with it on the first sight, and I reckoned that since I got everything else on such cheap prices, it's OK to splurge on this one. The lady seller said the four-leaf clover will bring me luck and I hope she's right!

This one I got from Hang Ten for about SGD 18. A bit pricey as well, though it was already a discounted price, but I love it so much I just had to have it. And I have to say, up till now, I have no regret in buying it! It's so pretty and sparkly and beautify even just the simplest outfit.

And then on Orchard Road, I jumped from one lothing store to another and bought several dresses and tops at H&M, Isetan, and Takashimaya. I didn't take pictures of all of them, because some I already wore and were still in the piles to be laundered. But you get the idea that I've finished my portion of fashion shopping haul for the first semesster of 2012 already! No more shopping until July 2012!

Aaaaaaaaand this is my favorite find in Singapore! This is a sweater that I found at UniQlo at Orchard. It's made of fleece material, and as soft as a baby blanket. I touched the material and decided on the spot that I had to have it! It's about SGD 40-something and totally worth the price, very snug and warm. Perfect for freezing office! Also the pattern is so holiday-festive and winter-like, I love it!
Actually, I saw something similar worn by my favorite YouTube gal, April, in her winter favorite video, and thought it was very cute. But not until I touched the super soft material I really fell hard for it. The only downside is, the sweater is so warm, I cannot wear it in not-very-cold temp. But it's rainy season here in Indonesia, and the temperature drops down significantly, the AC in the office is much colder than usual. So, it's really a good buy.

BUT, strangely, it's much cheaper in Bangkok than in Singapore. I know, because a colleague saw me wearing it and wanted one, and she got a similar one in Bangkok for a significantly cheaper price. Ouch! But it's OK, because I'm very much in love with this sweater.

I also got three of these sweet keychains from a souvenir shop. It can be opened like a locket with little watches inside, so they're really cute.

The first one is this pink butterfly.

And this bear and rose lockets.

I collect fridge magnets, and I'm a happy girl who loves to smile and laugh. So when I saw these three cheerful sun-face magnets at the souvenir shops, I automatically grabbed all three of them. Cute!

Lastly, before heading home I did some shopping at Changi Airport duty free shops.

I bought a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon wine, because it's much cheaper to buy wine in Singapore than in Indonesia.

And I spent a small fortune at The Cocoa Tree, buying these dark chocolate Lindt and my favorite Belgium dark chocolate, Core D'or. They're branded chocolates and rather expensive, but I justified on purchasing them as a special Christmas treat for myself after a good year.

Yup, I don't know why I'd rather spend on high-quality, expensive chocolates than on pricey clothes. Sometimes I consider myself as cheap - I love the thrift stores and sales and bargain hunting - , but sometimes I think myself as extravagant especially when spending money on books, eating out, traveling and chocolates!

And last but not least, I bought my favorite Singaporean magazine, Her World, to read while waiting for my flight. I don't usually purchase any women magazine, so it's really a special treat for me. But I have to say, I don't really like this edition that I bought. I had seen better editions of Singapore Her World!

And that's the end of my Singapore haul. I bought several face masks at Watsons, but I already used all of them and forgot to take pictures.

Now, let's jump to my Penang haul when I went to Malaysia for New Year. I didn't buy much, because there weren't much to buy at Georgetown. Thank goodness!

I bought three pair of these earrings (I forgot to take picture of the third pair). They are flashy and whimsical and fun. If my Mom saw them she would have scolded me, saying they looked childish and cheap (they WERE cheap!), but I wanted them to parade around on super casual daytime. Besides, I love to experiment with colors and accessories, I don't care if I make fashion mistakes once in a while, because, well, because it's simply fun! Notice that the backside was of colorful sparkly paints that peek through from the front side.

I especially love the butterfly ones. They look so pretty with my dark hair as a background as you can see from this Penang post here.

And I got these earrings at a random accessory store at the mall there.

I meant to buy some My Beauty Diary masks at Watsons, but they came in a box of 10, and I prefer to try one of each instead of buying a whole box of the same variety. Hence I refrained from buying them, though I really really really REALLY want to try this famous mask. I love facial masks, and many girls on YouTube and beauty blogs have been raving about MBD masks.

I know, I'm such a dork, but I just love stickers. I got these when I went to a 7 Eleven store to buy mineral water. They're puffed up stickers, so they're really cute!

Closer look. Cute mushroom family?

And what's this? A happy cloud family? Hahaha! I just love stickers, they make me smile...

And this perfect animal world where lion lives peacefully side by side with rabbits and lambs! *laughs* I'm lucky that things that make me happy are just small, cute, cheap things, not diamonds or branded goods. Or else, I'll be a happy but totally broke gal! >_<

And that's the end of my collective Singapore and Penang haul post, Friends! So many things! No more shopping until mid 2012! At least I hope so, haha!

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