If you've been following me on Instagram or Facebook, you'll probably know that I'm now on a #30DaysChallenge as part of the campaign for Global Wellness Day that's happening on 11 June. How I came about this is because, well, I am one of the organisers for Global Wellness Day and it is something that I wanted to do after talking to Tomoka, the director of ESPA, last December. This year, we reconnected after I sent her my proposal for Global Wellness Day and voila, this is now what it is.

With the slogan “One day can change your whole life,” Global Wellness Day (GWD) is celebrated on the second Saturday of June every year as an international day dedicated to living well. First introduced in 2012 by Belgin Aksoy, owner of Turkey’s only destination spa and herself a cancer survivor, with the mind to promote good physical and mental health to the public by providing complimentary, educational and experiential wellness activities. By 2015, GWD had the support of more than 600 properties in 73 countries for the year’s event, and this year, 85 countries are now onboard.

#ISAYYES to #GlobalWellnessDaySG! Be like Richard Branson and @belnua! Say yes to healthier living. Take the first step! #30dayschallange starts in May! Check out www.globalwellnessday.sg and join us @sauceink this June 11th at #ResortWorldSentosa for a full day of exciting events! Need more information? Email us at hello@globalwellnessday.sg. #style #stylemagazine #sgevent #womensday #womenpower #sgwomen #sauceinkinsider #sauceinsider #saucewomen #social #Singapore #sgcommunity #GlobalWellnessDay

A photo posted by Global Wellness Day Singapore (@globalwellnessdaysg) on Apr 30, 2016 at 5:21am PDT

Global Wellness Day is an entirely not-for-profit day, a social project created by volunteers dedicated to living well. The purpose of Global Wellness Day is to ask the question, even if for just one day, “How can I live a healthier and better life?”, to direct the thoughts of both individuals and society towards “living well” and to raise awareness.

In Singapore, this will be the first year SAUCEink, together with SUGO and Resorts World Sentosa, has organised Global Wellness Day to be held at RWS Equarius Hotel. With over 70 booths booked till date, attendees can expect to get exposed to individuals and organisations from the wellness related industries will be present to share and educate the public on the importance on being well physically and mentally.

This is not restricted to just wellness industries but also food, lifestyle, retail and many more. This year’s lineup include sponsors and partners such as Strala Yoga, KFIT, Beyond Pictures, ANJE, PRINCESSA, Euforia, Hottest500, Eat Play Surf, Pilates BodyTree, Fabulous Aesthetics, Paramedics Aesthetics, Scryp, Look Good Feel Great Always, and many more. With more potential partners coming in, you can expect a day full of fun while at the same time, gaining more insights as to how one can maintain their wellness.

To find out more about Global Wellness Day Singapore on June 11, 2016, visit www.globalwellnessday.sg. Hope to see you there!

Was invited down to the launch of "Starker Volt" which is an initiative started by Starker Music to promote local musicians and talents. Every Monday, it is where local musicians take the stage and showcase their talents and perhaps get spotted by producers!

The evening was opened by local celebrity, Edmund Chen, who is the spokesperson for Starker Volt.

The ambience of the place is really relaxing as the pub overlooks a small field located at Zhongshan Park (near Balestier). I can already imagine chilling after work here with friends, sipping beer and eating chips while enjoying acoustic performances by our local boys and girls.

The opening speech was followed by great music from local bands as well as Edmund Chen hammering the tap into a barrel of Starker Beer together with the boss of Starker himself.

SAUCEink team with Edmund Chen

It was great meeting with Edmund Chen and getting to know him as a person, not just as someone whom I've seen on TV growing up. I also met Anthony Png, my ex-vocal coach back when he was still with Lee Wei Song School of Music. Yes...I'm starting to tell my age.

Do note that there are live performances everyday at Starker Pub, just that the VOLT programme is only on Mondays. Do lend our local musicians your ears and time!

Starker Pub
1 Jalan Rajah
#01-03 Zhongshan Park
Singapore 329133

When Sabrina and I were thinking of how to celebrate Mothers' Day this year for the company, we didn't want to do something typical where it's obviously a commercial gimmick where we ply you with marketing messages to buy a particular gift for your mother.

Being daughters, we recognise that there is a special bond that we have with our mothers and when we were younger, we were often compared to our mothers. Does the line, "Ooh...you're looking more and more like your mum!" sound familiar to you?

This year, let us be the judge of that join our fun Mother-Daughter Look Alike Contest! We'll let the public vote and then the pairs who get into the Top 10 will get a special photoshoot with my friend Ashley Low of Ashley Low Photography.

Moreover, the winners will get a makeover as well as a family portrait with Ashley. The runner-ups will still be pampered with an awesome Anti-oxidant facial with TOUCHE Elite!

Join us and be part of this fun contest while celebrating the women we love! To register, visit www.sauceink.com/mothersday2016. Do note that you will need to sign up as a member of SAUCEink to complete the registration but registration is completely free!

Together with wellness coach, Chong Su Lee, and consultant, Natalie Turner, I've organised a luncheon entitled "Effortless Beauty On The Inside Out". During this workshop, we'll touch on the following:

• What to eat to get better skin
• How to portion size according to your lifestyle
• New technologies in skincare
• Proper skincare regime
• Demonstration on 2 volunteers

Attendees will get the chance to see this make-up essential to say 'bye bye' to wrinkles and eye bags!

To add, all attendees will stand the chance to win a D'Arts Jewellery box which is handmade from chicken eggs! Each unique box is worth $80 and is a piece of art on its own.

The ticket price is to cover the cost of lunch and we're not making any profits from this but we're just sharing our knowledge to like-minded ladies. After all, it is a journey to look good and feel great!

To register, click here: http://www.eventbrite.com/e/effortless-beauty-from-the-inside-out-tickets-22978324788?aff=melfann

Are you curious to learn about the body's detoxification process? Find out how what we consume and how our lifestyles affect the way our bodies get rid of toxins. Also, learn about the recent popular detox and cleansing programmes to understand what really works and what doesn't.

Come and join us for this webinar on Wed, 23 Mar at 8pm to hear from our wellness coach, Chong Su Lee of Look Good Feel Great Always, to learn about how the body's natural detoxification process and how our modern lifestyles and food habits are affecting this. Register below! https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/6801776114998311940

Ever wondered why aging occurs and how it happens on a cellular level? Want to know how you can prolong the aging process through cutting edge technology in skincare?

Come join us in this webinar on Wed, 16 Mar at 8pm as we share with you the science behind aging and how you can slow it down so that you remain beautiful and younger, longer.

Register today at: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/190339029921911044

I was invited last week to a Beauty themed event at Palais Renaissance meant for bloggers and one of the places that hosted us was Privé Clinic. Privé is one of Singapore's trusted medical aesthetic clinics and was founded by Dr. Karen Soh.

I was lucky to be chosen as the model for the live demonstration to get either a nose or a chin filler by Dr Chua, Aesthetics Doctor of Privé Vitale Clinic. If you're interested to get a filler, a single treatment would normally cost S$963 (incl. GST).

Walking in for the prep, I saw the chair and it was slightly intimidating but the nurses and Dr Chua helped to make me feel comfortable. I had a consultation with Dr Chua on whether to do the nose or chin filler. We had a bit of a difficulty with this because he said that my face was quite proportionate so there really isn't a very pressing need for a filler. However, the filler on my nose bridge would make my nose seem thinner/smaller while a chin filler may help make my face look slimmer. I naturally went for the chin filler as I want to look like a lost 1 kg!

Dr Chua prepping to do the chin filler

Before the demonstration, I was led to a smaller room to take some 'before' photos and also given some numbing cream on my chin. While waiting for the numbing cream to take effect, Dr Chua then explained why fillers are gaining popularity over plastic surgery (mainly due to the fact that it is less invasive and people like how it isn't permanent nor damages any muscles). He introduced 2 types of fillers used - Hyaluronic Acid (HA) and Radiesse.

Why do people do fillers? Besides wrinkles, some people look as if they have double chins when it actually is a shorter recessed chin and this is where fillers can be used to elongate the chin while making the face more proportionate. Asians also tend to have a very low nose bridge and fillers can also be used to make the nose bridge a lot more defined so that the face looks sharper.

I'm sure that most of you ladies would've heard of Hyaluronic Acid as it's the current popular ingredient in most moisturisers and facial masks. Why it is so popular is because HA occurs naturally in the body and it attracts water molecules of up to 1,000 times it's size and weight. That is why it goes into your moisturisers and facial masks because it naturally boosts your skin's moisture levels. As a filler, the body does not reject it and if the patient does not like the results, the doctor is able to remove it easily. The other filler used is Radiesse, which is made of synthetic calcium hydroxyapatite, a similar compound that can be found in bones and teeth. As such, it's slightly harder than HA and harder to remove if the patient isn't happy with the results. Nonetheless, unlike most other fillers, Radiesse expands upon injection and stimulates collagen production. Thus, a lot of people who get Radiesse filler will see drastically smoother skin (bye bye wrinkles) and a lot of people love it as the effect lasts for about a year. Do note that this filler is not recommended for the lips as it may cause lumps.

Pop goes the needle

For this demonstration, Dr Chua used a syringe of Radiesse. Although I can't stand needles, I was not nervous about the procedure because I knew that I was under expert hands. In order to make me feel more comfortable, Dr Chua even used a cold compress to further ensure that my chin was numb and that the procedure would be painless.

Nevertheless, I could still feel the needle going into my chin and the filler being injected inside. Dr Chua made 3 injections and he pressed my chin to mould it to the place where he wanted it to go. It felt a little strange because it felt a little bit like play-doh in my chin and there was a bit of swelling (natural since there was an injection). There was a bit of bleeding from the 3 insertion points but that stopped when the nurse applied anti-bacterial cream on them.

They told me not to smile for the photos so that's why I look sombre in the 'After' photo. But...I've got a new chin! And don't you agree that my face looks slimmer? Everyone else at the event commented that they could immediately see the difference and that my face looks slimmer!

With Dr Chua of Privé Vitale Clinic

I'm really thankful to Dr Chua and the nurses at Privé for making me feel comfortable and for doing such a great job on my chin! Not to mention the cool swag that every one of us received after the session. I did not experience any bruising (this happens with some patients) and as for aftercare, I just needed to be very careful not to lean my chin on anything as well as not to purse my lips or pout as I do get a lot of dimpling on my chin whenever I do that.

Goodies from the event

It has been a week and my chin feels almost natural, with only a very small lump at the bottom of my chin which isn't visibly noticeable and I only notice it when I touch it. I'm very impressed with the follow up service of Privé when I received text messages from them asking about my chin 2 days after the procedure. When I told them that there was a bit of swelling, they even asked me to take photos to send to them via WhatsApp so that Dr Chua could look and evaluate! Talk about combining service with technology! Now...would they be interested in listing on SWAG Guide? Hahaha.

Privé also has other aesthetic treatments such as facials and Elite Eyes (bye bye eye bags), which I will be going back o Privé for. I'm quite excited to tell you, dear readers, that you can get 10% discount when you quote "Blogger Melissa" for any of their aesthetic treatments. This discount is valid from now till 30 March 2016!

Book your appointment today at:

Prive Aesthetics
390 Orchard Road
#03-02
Singapore 238871
Tel: +65 6737 0755
Website: http://www.priveaesthetics.com

Do you cringe on THAT certain day especially when flowers cost 5 times its usual prices and couples are on the streets, shoving their status in your face?

You're not alone.

Join me and other like-minded folks for an evening of fun and games where we take the mickey out of Valentines' Day and do the world some good by donating our exes' stuff to charity. Give your "Worst Date" story and the best one will win a prize!

Programme:
7.00pm     Registration starts
7.30pm    Networking dinner commences
8.00pm    Speed hating game
9.00pm    Cocktail Mixing Demonstration
10.00pm    Worst Date Contest Finals

Entrance fee starts from $40 and includes dinner plus 1 drink.     

Media Partner:

HAACH has invited Master Lam Cheung, founder of Hong Kong Permanent Soft Stitch Make-up Artist Association, to Singapore for an exclusive workshop on your perfect eyebrows for your facial features as well as how it will affect even your luck and fortune!

Topics to be covered are:

• The Perfect Pair - importance of matching Brow trends and shape with your face type
• Learn how your brow shape could affect your luck and personality
• How your eyebrows can improve your looks and overall features
• Shaping the Perfect Brow - for your facial features, eye shape, age and career
• Understand the art of eyebrow embroidery - including picking the right colour and technique
• Live demonstration of eyebrow embroidery

Below is an example of Master Lam's work:

Event details
Dates: 9 & 10th January 2016 (choose 1 day)
Time: 2 - 5pm
Registration fee: $28

To register for FREE, all you have to do is purchase ANY trial treatment from HAACH as listed on Pásshen!

Master Lam at a previous workshop

About Master Lam
Founder of Hong Kong (H.K.) Permanent Soft Stitch Make-up Artist Association, Master Lam Cheung is renowned for his expertise and fortitude - constantly bringing innovation to the world of beauty and make-up. Since founding of HKPA in 1998, apart from conducting several eyebrow embroidery workshops in HK island-wide, Master Lam Cheung has brought the art of Permanent Soft Stitch Make-up to Germany, Korea, Thailand, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia and has ventured into the Chinese and European markets too.

Look at the wall of ear buds!! Was invited to Happy Plug's launch in Singapore held at the luxury boutique hotel Klapsons and what was immediately noticeable about this Swedish brand is the simplistic but yet fashionable way of packaging simple ear buds.

The candy colours scream out to you and you just want to hold the box containing the ear buds and wonder why nobody else thought of packaging earphones or ear buds this way. If monotone bright colours aren't your thing, they also have the more 'wild' versions:

I love how they have the full matching set for your phone, tablet as well as ear piece! As you can see, Happy Plugs are positioned as a fashion accessories brand rather than pure electronics. It's quite funny that the brand started when the founder, Andreas Vurul, spray painted his girlfriend's plain white ear buds pink. I hope for the girlfriend's sake that she's now the wife or she's cashing in on this some how. Hahah!

I managed to get a pair of Happy Plugs ear buds and I can't wait to try them out for sound. But as Happy Plug's tagline goes..."What is your colour?" I shall wait until I feel orangey to try them on.

Happy Plugs definitely wins hands down for best packaging. Look at how cute their cables are packed! Mind you, it may look short but each cable is 2m long. I don't think you can tell from the lighting but this series comes from their latest metallic range and I love it!

However, the main event was the real launch of the brand's latest flagship products – Sound Piece and Sound Piece Mini.

The brand story and the launch of the latest flagship products was presented by Hermine Bonde, Global Sales Director of Happy Plugs. She explained how the Sound Piece and Sound Piece Mini have grills that could be changed to suit either your mood or to blend in with your interior decoration.

Marble top

Hot pink

Leopard prints anyone?

Gold!

The various grills that you can purchase separately

I love the idea of changing the grills to suit your decor because that is a problem with a lot of electronic equipment. They either come in white/black/grey but your furniture in your home/room comes in a lot more shades than that.

Sound Piece Mini with the Rose Gold grill

Lime Green limited edition grill on the Sound Piece in another room

Luxury boutique hotel klapsons was aptly chosen as the launch venue as all 17 rooms in the hotel, each uniquely designed, have been outfitted with a set of Happy Plugs Sound Piece Mini speaker for guests to enjoy as part of the tailor-made klapsons’ experience. Just like each room at klapsons is uniquely designed, each Happy Plugs Sound Piece Mini’s front grill is customised to match the room’s interior style.

Besides the look of the Sound Piece, it has to be good as an actual speaker, right? Check out the short video that I took with the Sound Piece Mini playing Adele in the outside jacuzzi (yup, klapsons as an outdoor one in their executive suite).

I was impressed by the quality and I love how compact it is! I was sold and I really bought a mini for myself. I can't wait to get it next week and I also am getting the rose gold grill so that I'll have a classy piece to match my room's decor! It's my Christmas present to myself.

The Happy Plugs Sound Piece ($329) and Sound Piece Mini ($139) are now available through the Atlas e-store and selected resellers island-wide. For more information, visit www.soundpiece.sg