[Contest] I love being a blogger

Over the course of my life, i have embraced a number of hobbies: modelling, piano, dance, art..just to name a few. But none of them changed my life or brought me into satisfaction as the act of blogging. In almost too many ways to count, it has truly changed me and the way i live my life. 

 In fact so much so that it has become a hobby and i regularly talked to my friends about it- My blog is a compilation of Beauty, Food, Fashion and Lifestyle. 

This blogging route has opened up many path of opportunities for me. 
Recently, i have just joined CNOS3(Cineleisure Next Online Sensation) and though i only got a finalist medal but what most important to me was, i have gained a lot of experiences and made friendships too. 
Whether be it through comments, email and social media, you will be surprised at how quickly you meet people online. And by meeting people, i mean legitimately form relationships that seek to serve one another. The blogging community is friendly and encouraging.

Blogging helps to provide opportunity for new life habits such as being an ambassador by representing brands/products, movie invites, food tasting session, attending concert, getting sponsored and look book collaboration.

Blogging not only changes my life, it also changes the life of a reader. And, because blogs are free for the audience and open to the public, on many levels, it is an act of giving. It is a selfless act of service to invest your time, energy and worldview into a piece of writing and then offer it free to anybody who wants to read. 
Others will find inspiration in your writing...people start to notice you, start to leave comments on your post and that's really a wonderful feeling.

Blogging introduces myself to the world. It causes me to articulate the life that i live and the world behind the situations that i make- Over the time, i have revealed myself more and more to the outside world and i'm happy that people enjoy reading my blog.

I love to recommend something that i have found enjoyable or beneficial- whether is a nice cafe/restaurant or good beauty products. The fullest of joy is not experienced until you have shared the joy with others. 

A blog provides an opportunity to do that very thing. It provides a platform to share the joy i have experienced and recommend good things i have discovered to others. 

Remember, you don't need a blog just for free perks/money/gain more followers. 
The change in your blog will cause in your life is enough. 

Wanna win an IPAD Mini or 12 months blogging contract? 

TIN is currently launching the 'Blog and Win' Contest. 
{This blogging contest is open up for ALL bloggers in Singapore}
Stand a chance to win attractive prices and to be groomed as a celebrity blogger. So what are you waiting for? Come and share with them your story on why you love being a blogger and how has blogging changed your life! :)

Like the Influencer Network Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/TheiNetwork.

Otherwise, you can join them on board at http://www.influencersg.com/join.html {No registration fee} and explore your dreams of becoming a popular and influential blogger in Singapore. 

Be proactive and take the first step to the many opportunities ahead!

Thanks for reading~

Cineleisure's Next Online Sensation 3// Challenge 3 - Local Heroes

'Life-fulfilling work is never about money- when you feel the true passion for something, you instinctively find ways to nurture it'

I am studying accounting and I am passionate about fashion. 
 I am currently in the process of opening an online shop that features female apparels and accessories.
My favourite fashion designer is Victoria Beckham. I began reading up books on business and entrepreneurship written by successful businessmen. I read a lot of fashion magazines and did lots of research to keep myself updated of the fashion trend. 

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Cineleisure's Next Online Sensation 3- The local heroes was taking place at Cathay Cineielsure Orchard Basement on Saturday, 5th April 2014. 
In this challenge, we were allocated into groups of 3 and my groups mates were Luna and Clinton. 
There were a total of 10 groups and each group was given a Yono FlashPay of $300 to purchase items from the mall tenants (only at Cathay Cineleisure Orchard) such as fashion accessories, fashion items and footwear. 
We were all put to test the entrepreneurship and marketing edge- setting the price of the items and coming out with our own marketing strategies. 

Everyone's favourite! Introducing you.....the Nets Flash Pay Card!

Flash pay card is a new generation contact-less, multi-purpose stored value cash card that can be used for a huge variety. With Yono Flash Pay, you only need one for just about everything. Tap it for your train and bus rides, and for everything else from shopping, dining out, entertainment to leisure activities and whats' more, Yono FlashPay gives you perks and privileges.  

Simply just TAP and GO!

No more bulky wallets!

Quick payments- No need to handle with changes!

Enjoy special deals- PROMOTION!

1pm-3pm: Purchase of selected items and set-up store

As you can see we were only given 2 hours to shop and set up our mini booth which isn't really enough for us because by then when we started decorating our booth, 30 minutes was wasted and we were only left with 1 hour 30mins to finish up our shopping spree. 
However, my group did managed to get everything we wanted given with the short time limit because we had our discussion earlier on so basically we just head to the respective outlet and purchase them.
(Shops we visited were FEMMEX and BEADSTREET// Items bought: Snapbacks, belt, bangles, phone accessories, earrings, necklace and nail polish)

Mini-booth set up

3pm-6pm: Local Heroes Sales Begins!

With everyone selling exactly the same thing, it's quite hard to sell the items so in that case, developing a marketing strategy is vital. Without one, your efforts to attract customers are likely to be haphazard and inefficient. The focus of our strategy was to make sure that our products meet the customer needs. To achieve this, we actually came out with a flexible strategy.

We gave up the idea of selling clothes and focus more on accessories instead. Why accessories? The world of fashion is not limited to clothing only. It includes end number of items. To me, fashion accessories is very important. Clothing may make up the majority of an outfit but accessories are more significant than you may think. Most of us would have those times when we don't feel like putting too much into our attire for the day but don't want to appear sloppy and plain jane-ish. This is when accessories come to our rescue. Let's take a really basic outfit as an example- a colorful statement necklace match with a black tank top and a pair of dark denim jeans. Accessories further emphasize your style, taste and preferences. They help you to make the best of each and every item you own. 
Thanks to accessories, we can create a flowing wave of style from head to toe. 

Pricing Strategy:  It's important to find out what your competitors offer and what they charge. It's probably unwise to set your prices too much higher or lower without a good reason. If you price it too low, you will just be throwing away the profit. But if you price it too high, you will lose customers unless you can offer them something they can't get elsewhere. 
We bought most of our accessories at a very low cost and we had our price range set in between $2-15. (Try to sell off your items at cheap prices from the start, it's a great way to make a sizable profit)

6pm-6.30pm: Conclusion of Sales and Presentation of proceeds to SPCA

At the end of the event, our sales proceed was about $100+.
Overall, a total of $1832 was raised// All sales proceeds were donated to SPCA! :)
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 Through Local Heroes, I was exposed to life skills and techniques. 
It was indeed a great start-up and experience for me. 
Thank you for having me, Cathay Cineleisure Orchard. 
Nevertheless, it was also my first time setting up a booth, i had a lot of fun times with my team mates as well as the other contestants. Pretty proud of my efforts that I'm able to help the animals in SPCA. 
You know you don't have to feel upset that you didn't raise a huge amount. To the less fortunate, even a small amount means a lot to them. In other words, what I'm trying to say is, it doesn't matter how much you have raised. What matter is helping others make you happier- Do good, Feel good. 
If there's a chance in taking part in such event again, I wouldn't mind going for it! :)  

{Some tips that may help to guide you along as a flea market vendor}
  An attractive display- Does not necessarily mean that it should be very organized, professional or having an expensive display. In my opinion, it depends on your strategy too. Don't scare away customers- You need to balance your seller's personality between passive and aggressive because if you tend to be too pushy, you could drive your customers away. 
Know your customer needs, Set your price reasonably, Join the social media wagon and free advertising.
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Hope you guys enjoy reading! :)
Itsgonnagetsensational!

Cineleisure's Next Online Sensation 3// Challenge 4- King & Queen of #

Hi guys! Are you one of those folks that love to take selfies? Wanna boost your popularity? Wish to have a larger-than-life-poster ad of yourself featured at Cathay Cineleisure Orchard? 

(Here's your CHANCE to shine!)

Cathay's Mall is having an on-going social media campaign: SELFIE-OF-THE-MONTH

Stop doubting, dwelling and start sending in submissions right NOW! 

ONLY ONE LUCKY SUPPORTER WILL STAND A CHANCE TO WIN

This is a golden opportunity- Nothing is more expensive than a missed opportunity and when opportunity presents itself, don't allow fear to keep you from grabbing from it!

 WHO KNOWS YOU MAY JUST BE THE ONE THAT GOT SELECTED? :)

Not to worry! Simply follow a few steps and you are on your way there! :)

Step1

LIKE Cathay Lifestyle on FACEBOOK

STEP2

Follow @CathayLifestyle on INSTAGRAM

STEP3

Snap a selfie!

(With different sort of angles and expressions, and pick the BEST!)

STEP4

After you have picked your best photo, edit your picture nicely.

Recommended apps: VSCOCAM

STEP5

Go to> INSTAGRAM

POST a selfie of yourself 

IMPORTANT//{MUST}- Tag @CathayLifestyle in your entries and Hashtag #CathayLifestyle and #Heartsj_Selfies!

STEP6

Once you have completed, click 'SHARE' and you are done! :)

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Hurry and Join me now! 
Take as many shot as you like & Hashtag away~ 
Good luck! :)
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Hope you guys enjoy reading and stay tune for the next update!
'Itsgonnagetsensational' :)

Cineleisure's Next Online Sensation 3- Challenge2// The NomNom Challenge

Cineleisure's Next Online Sensation 3- The NomNom Challenge was taking place at Charlie Brown Cafe on Saturday, 29March2014. 

We were allocated in groups of 3 and my team mates were Regine and Celine. Regine as the chef, Celine the camera person and I, the videographer. The creation of the selected signature dessert- Snooby's Strawberry Pancakes was demonstrated by the chef from Charlie Brown and our main objective was to recreate it. 

My experience of the challenge was rather nerve-racking- given that my role was a videographer. Why's that so? First of all, I'm not a tech-savy person and beside i was given a Semi-DSLR and i have no knowledge how to use the camera. 
On the day itself,  I was extremely nervous that i could hardly think and communicate. But what began as mild sense of uneasiness ahead of the challenge was when i had to start filming. During that moment, the camera that i was given had not enough memory and, I had to quickly switched and filmed by using mine instead. 
So glad that i brought along my camera with me as a backup. 
Some parts were a little bit shaky because my hands kept on shaking as i was panicking. 
Overall, the challenge was fun yet tiring. The time limit of 3mins push us to our limit in it's challenge.
I felt it was too crowded and pushy. The space given to us was very limited. 
The instructions that were given to us was clear enough for us to understand.

Although our score wasn't that pleasant but we did our best.

I have learnt a lot from our challenge judge- MissTamChiak. 
(Thank you for your guidance :D)

Best Shot

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Quick Tips on Food Preparation
{I LIKE PANCAKES, WHO DOESN'T?}
1) Pour the batter// Don't over mix the batter- Leave a few lumps because if you over mix the batter, the pancakes will become tough and not tender.
2) To get the right size of nice and round cakes
3) Cook the pancake for approximately 30-40 seconds. Use a palette knife to lift the pancake carefully to look at the underside to check if it is golden-brown before turning over. Cook the other side for approximately 30-40 seconds and transfer to a serving plate.
4) Hot pancakes are the best! :) 

I'm not a professional photographer. 
I don't own a DSLR.  I am currently using Fujifilm Finepix F660EXR and that's enough for me. 
Sometimes, i do also take photos by using IPHONE/SAMSUNGS4.
It's okay that you don't have an expensive camera- not everyone can afford it and they are usually bigger, heavier, harder to clean(When changing lens) and can be more complicated to operate.
GOOD PHOTOGRAPHY does not mean you have to get a good quality of camera. What matters is to know the basic on how to handle digital camera and any photograph you capture will be great.
Tips on Photography
1) Lighting is very important in good photography. Best is to use nature light. 
2) Choose the right mode. 
3) Use simple backgrounds.
4) Focus on the point of interest- try to make the main focus of your dish on something interesting.
5) Angle- Instead of shooting an object in 45degrees, try an interesting angle. Try looking down to the object, or looking up. Pick an angle that shows maximum color and minimum shadow. To make objects look longer or taller, a low angle may help. You may also want to make the object look smaller or make it look like you're hovering over; to get the effect you should put the camera above the object. An uncommon angle makes a more interesting shot.  Take multiple shots of different angles and pick the best shot later.

Tips on Presentation/Styling
1) Don't over plate the food- limit the serving
2) Keep it simple
3) Less is more- Use less food, less elements
4) Careful garnishing- When garnishing the plate, it is easy to get carried away. Use the principle of 'Less is more'. Use garnishing sparingly. The main focus of your composition should be the food and garnishing should support the food not the other way. 
5) Be careful not to over-saturate the colours in your food or your food will look un-natural and unappealing- The key is to make it look appetizing! Watch your reds and greens and any colour casts that may be reflecting on your food. You want the person viewing the photo to start to salivate just looking at it right? :)
6) Use plain coloured dishes as not to distract the food- White is my favourite for dishes.

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Hope you guys enjoy reading and stay tune for the next update!
'IT'SGONNAGETSENSATIONAL' :)