Celeste Elle, Author at MoneyDigest.sg

New gyms and fitness studios to visit because new year, new fitspos

It’s not that appealing to shuffle around a treadmill at home or watch the same online workout regimens and follow them repeatedly every single day.

Joining a gym or fitness studio would provide you with additional equipment and a wider range of classes, as well as a sense of belonging. We frequently draw energy from those around us, which might motivate us to work more. I mean, you don’t want the lady or gentleman next to you being swifter than you, do you?

If you’re ready to start, we’re prepared to show you the way. Here are some new gyms and fitness studios to visit because new year, new fitspos.

Axiom

Location: 18A Lorong Mambong, Singapore 277678 (Next To OCBC, Level 2 & 3)

Axiom prides itself on being much more than a boutique fitness center. They are a group of high-achieving folks who are passionate about having a good time. The indoor cycling sessions via Rhythm and Road are designed for cardio training like you’ve never experienced before. Their lessons focus on RPMs, Resistance, Power, and Distance without sacrificing dexterity development through choreography, and are well-curated with soundtracks by their experienced teachers to take you through diverse riding experiences.

Revolution

Locations: Cecil, Bugis, Orchard, and Tanjong Pagar

Revolution was founded as a means of bringing spin to the public by making lessons inclusive, pleasant, and exciting for individuals of all ages. They’ve expanded to Orchard and Tanjong Pagar in less than a year after their launch, making them our sunny island’s fastest-growing spin sensation. All you need is a water bottle, sportswear, and a pair of socks to get started. At no extra charge, workout towels, bath towels, shower facilities, and lockers will be provided. Just turn up and have fun!

BE. Pilates

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Location: 14C Keong Saik Road (Level 3), Singapore 089121

BE. Pilates is a studio that specializes in the mat, reformer, and Cadillac-based training using the Pilates Academy International (PAI) curriculum. Are you new to Pilates? The Reformer, Stability Chair, and Cadillac are all multipurpose equipment that may be utilized to push your body and give training variations based on your needs. You might also want to try Mat Pilates. It emphasizes the Pilates method’s basics, such as using body weight to produce resistance and emphasizing precise implementation, posture, and coordination.

XYCO Studio

Location: 22 Martin Road, #02-02, Singapore 239058

Come ride with XYCO Studio in the heart of Robertson Quay, where furry pets are welcome! While the team strives to make each exercise pleasurable and attainable to everybody, they are also dedicated to making mass indoor cycling fun and inclusive irrespective of your level of fitness or past riding experience. Each Rhythm 50 and Method 50 ride is tailored to customized playlists created by their team of trainers to boost the mental state and develop the body. Try it for a great workout routine and have a seriously good time while you’re at it.

Warrior Studios

Location: 10B Lorong Telok, Singapore 049023

Warrior Studios believes that each of us has the capacity to awaken and aid others in significant aspects. It’s all about releasing our self-centered anxieties to gain the ultimate fulfillment of all. With wooden accents and Balinese-inspired design, their cozy studio has a pleasant and down-to-earth feel. The practicing area for yoga, core, or HITT is well-equipped and welcoming, providing a relaxing and tranquil environment to help you reach your greatest potential.

Aurora Spin Studio

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Location: South Beach Quarter, 36 Beach Rd, #02-01/02-02, Singapore 189766

Aurora, with its Infinity Room and Experience Room, is a dual-studio concept that offers world-class amenities and innovation to complement your exercise. Prepare to be wowed by complex light sources, dazzling mirror technology, and state-of-the-art audio system as you enter their unique, multi-sensory studios with heart-pumping music you will adore. If you’re new to spinning, Aurora Fundamentals takes you back to the roots, emphasizing perfect form and strong spin practices. There’s a class for everyone!

Bodyfit Training (BFT)

Locations: Various sites including Outram, Kovan, and Tampines

BFT has blended scientifically proven fat-burning and muscle-building training techniques into a range of 50-minute training programs led by highly qualified trainers in an energetic group setting. The tried-and-true elite, high-performance group classes are geared to yield positive results regardless of your fitness level. It claims to be as close to private coaching minus the hefty price tag. If you want variety in your workout routine, find a site and visit them soon.

Trapeze Rec. Club (TRC)

Location: 27 Tanjong Pagar Road, Singapore 088450

TRC is an integrative health center designed for a generation looking for discovery, harmony, and interaction. The club has a cafe, sauna, yoga studio, gymnasium, reflexology lounge, and leisure areas. They also have an in-house mental wellness specialist for those who require the service. It portrays itself as a one-stop-shop for all things fitness. Here’s your chance to review the aspects of your health thoroughly in one place, cutting down on time spent traveling between places and making your wellness selections a whole lot smoother.

Popsicle Rhythmic Cycling

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Locations: Joo Chiat and UE Square

Popsicle is all about striking the balance between challenging yourself and providing a safe and enjoyable environment for the community. This isn’t just another ride. It’s a 45-minute indoor rhythmic cycling session that will leave you craving extra after the session ends. The team is all about riding together as a tribe, setting a higher bar, and accomplishing your peak performance. To assist you in attaining your fitness objectives, their studios offer both digital and in-house membership programs.

Books to add to your to-read list as recommended by CEOs like that of PayPal’s

It’s about that time of the year where we review our 2021 resolutions and set new ones for 2022. Did you manage to keep up with your to-read list?

It’s wonderful if you have been and we have more books for you to consider. Well, technically not us but from the CEOs like that of PayPal’s. Here are some of their favorite reads we think you would love to get your hands on.

#1: On the Shortness of Life: Life Is Long if You Know How to Use It by Seneca

Recommended by: Alexi Robichaux, CEO and Co-founder of BetterUp

The Stoic writings of the philosopher Seneca provide significant advice to many via his fluency, clarity, and ageless brilliance. This book offers valuable insights into the significance of reason, morality, and the beauty of humanity.

#2: Something Deeply Hidden: Quantum Worlds and the Emergence of Spacetime by Sean Carroll

Recommended by: Dan Schulman, CEO of PayPal

Something Deeply Hidden demonstrates how confronting quantum physics’ fundamental problem completely alters our understanding of space and time. Carroll, risking his good name with this bold but sensible book, claims that all we have to do is acknowledge that there is more than one of us in the cosmos. Yes, we know it sounds absurd.

This means that multiple copies of you are created every second. According to the Many Worlds Theory of quantum behavior, whenever a quantum event occurs, a world splits off with all of it remaining the same, except that the quantum event did not occur in that other world. Carroll takes on the key arguments to this strange revelation one by one, in his distinctive clarity, until his claim is unmistakably proved.

#3: Speed & Scale: An Action Plan for Solving Our Climate Crisis Now by John Doerr

Recommended by: Tim Murphy, CEO of Branch Basics

Speed & Scale offers an unparalleled global strategy supported by a powerful instrument called Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) to reduce greenhouse gas emissions before it becomes too late. OKRs have escalated concepts into outcomes that have transformed the world, and they are used by Google and hundreds of entrepreneurs worldwide. Doerr specifies the quantifiable OKRs we need to cut emissions and reach net zero by 2050 using an engineer’s accuracy.

This book serves as a springboard for individuals who are prepared to act right now, and it is aimed at leaders from all walks of life. We can still achieve net-zero if we have a clear initiative, the most up-to-date data, and growing climate activism support. But, as Doerr points out, there is no time to squander any longer.

#4: The Long Game: How to Be a Long-Term Thinker in a Short-Term World by Dorie Clark

Recommended by: Lindsay Kaplan, Co-founder of Chief

Individuals nowadays are overworked, stressed, and often behind schedule. CEOs who aim for financial results frequently struggle to understand the strategic investments required for long-term success. Can we ever escape from the loop and live the exciting, fulfilling lives that we all desire?

Dorie Clark, a Duke University professor, pushes us to do the little things over time to attain our goals. She urges us to be willing to stick with them even when they seem futile, difficult, or uninteresting. In her book The Long Game, Clark offers her experiences, as well as distinct theories and concepts, to explain how you may delve into the same 24 hours that everyone has – but utilize them in more effective ways to break free from the frenzied day-to-day regimen and revolutionize your present and future.

#5: Drop the Ball: Achieving More by Doing Less by Tiffany Dufu

Recommended by: DeNora Getachew, CEO of DoSomething.org

Women are starting families at the same time they are reaching middle management in the workplace. As their duties at work and home grow, they don’t have the extra time or energy to focus on the things that will help them succeed.

Dufu describes how she came to rethink standards, reduce her to-do pile, and genuinely enlist the help of others in this book, allowing her to prosper at work and establish richer, stronger bonds at home. She encourages other women to embrace flaws and to lower their self-expectations to concentrate on what they sincerely value, dedicate the energy required to accomplish their true goals, and establish the satisfying lifestyle they all seek.

#6: Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It by Chris Voss with Tahl Raz

Recommended by: Joe Spector, CEO of Dutch & Co-founder of Hims & Hers

This book brings you behind the scenes of high-stakes conversations and into the mind of an ex-FBI lead international kidnapping negotiator, showing the techniques that enabled him and his teammates to save lives. Voss outlines counterintuitive methods and strategies that you can adopt to be much more convincing in both your career and private life in this handy book.

Purchasing a car, negotiating a wage, saving for a house, and conversing with your spouse are all examples of talks you should be geared for in life. Let this read take your sensitivity and emotional intelligence to an elevated dimension, giving you competitiveness in every conversation to come.

5 Top-rated luxury perfumes under $100 for ladies

We know that purchasing a fragrance is usually a very personal decision and there is no such thing as a correct perfume. This is because what may resonate with one person may not necessarily appeal to another. But having an idea of how a lady in your life is like can help you choose a suitable scent that will stick around for a long time to come.

Consider these 5 top-rated luxury perfumes under $100 you can get for her this festive season.

#1: Bright Crystal Eau De Toilette by VERSACE

Price: from S$32

An alluring and sensual scent that epitomizes what it means to be a Versace woman. This fragrance is suited for glamorous ladies who are confident in their beauty and femininity. It is a revitalizing concoction of cooled yuzu and pomegranate combined with comforting peony, magnolia, and lotus flower, sweetened with musk and amber undertones.

#2: Signature Eau De Parfum by CHLOÉ

Price: from S$38

This light, airy floral perfume is reminiscent of an exquisite powdery rose. The scent is stylish, inviting, and completely captivating. Freshness is embodied in the base notes of freesia, lychee, and pink peony. Rose, magnolia flower, and lily of the valley can be found at the core of the fragrance while amber, honey, and cedarwood come together to create an end product of luxurious sophistication.

#3: Daisy Love Eau So Sweet Eau De Toilette by MARC JACOBS FRAGRANCE

Price: from S$58

Daisy Love Eau So Sweet Eau De Toilette embodies the addicting and captivating essence of Daisy Love with a delightful crispness. This enchanting scent provides a tantalizing mood that lives up to its name. A subtle musk and faint flowery airiness will envelop you in the richness of the instant while sparkling white raspberries will aid in unveiling your dazzling charisma.

#4: Miss Dior Blooming Bouquet Eau De Toilette by DIOR

Price: from S$75

Miss Dior Blooming Bouquet Roller-Pearl is a gem for fuss-free fragrance touch-ups or quick perfuming. Designed with no wastage in mind, the glass bead tip provides the ideal quantity of scent whenever you apply it. This product pays homage to Christian Dior’s infamous floral obsession. The gentleness of a peony and Damascus rose is complemented by white musks and a citrusy Calabrian bergamot essence. Makes a great gift for a charming Miss Dior who can appreciate a springtime floral note.

#5: Oud Wood Eau De Parfum by TOM FORD BEAUTY

Price: from S$99

Last but not least, we have this remarkable artisan-crafted aroma with traditional woods and Tom Ford’s signature oud. Oud Wood Eau De Parfum has one of the most uncommon, valuable, and premium ingredients in a perfumer’s arsenal. Enjoy a smoky composition of exotic oud wood, sandalwood, and vetiver and feel the touch of warmth and sensuality provided by amber and tonka bean in this genius creation.

13 “Oraegage” to visit the next time you hit the streets of Seoul

Taking advantage of the vaccinated travel lane (VTL) scheme that started on 15 November to travel to South Korea soon? You must be researching what to do in Seoul.

If you don’t already know, Seoul is a metropolis that is always evolving. In the pursuit of urbanization, low-rise buildings and old infrastructures have been bulldozed, skyscrapers have sprung up everywhere, and historic lanes have been substituted with straighter routes. The Seoul you’ve seen a few years back could have been very different by now.

But still, some businesses have existed for a long time in the fresher, wealthier districts south of the Han River, which are more renowned for high-end restaurants and upscale shops with designer items. These are the spots filled with years of meaningful memories right around the corner of Seoul’s flashy complexes.

That is why before you urgently book a train to Busan or a flight out to Jeju, you will want to visit these newly added “Oraegage” or “Historical Stores” in Seoul’s southeastern areas.

Worthy of its title

Image Credits: Seoul Metropolitan Government

Stores with a heritage of over 30 years in the Seoul area, have been passed down for two or more generations, and where experts and craftsmen practice their specialty are accorded the status by the city government. Since 2017, about 100 over spots have received the worthy label.

Here are the recent “Oraegage” or “Historical Stores” added this time:

Guro District: Jinsun Audio
Dongjak District: Apple House
Songpa District: Myungga Tteokjip
Gangnam District: Manna Dang, Manna Snack, Motungijip, Sangsindang, and Gembros
Seocho District: Doosung Paper, Seowoo Confectionery, Ewha Myeong Joo, Hill String, and Dongyang Korea Oriental Instruments

The metropolitan area has grouped the 13 locations into 4 themes and offers 4 itineraries in which travelers can visit the stores associated with each concept.

#1: Rediscovery of Market

Image Credits: Seoul Metropolitan Government

This tour takes you to shops in a market and a mall in an old apartment block that has retained its attractiveness for decades.

You will be visiting Manna Snack, a snack bar at Eunma Shopping Center that has been selling noodles and spicy rice cakes since 1990. You will also stop by Myeongga Tteokjip, which started in 1980 and is famous for its fist-sized glutinous rice cakes with red bean paste at Saemaul Market in the Songpa District of Jamsil area.

#2: Rediscovery of Walking

Image Credits: Seoul Metropolitan Government

If you book this package, you will be in the compounds of Bangbaesai-gil and Naebang. Enter Ewha Myeong Joo, a hanbok store that has been retailing Korean traditional apparel since 1978 and has seen many foreigners as its customers. It is located in Seorae Village, which is recognized as a French enclave consisting of stylish restaurants and boutiques.

You will also make stops at Apple House, a snack shop that started in 1986 serving spicy fried dumplings, and Seowoo Confectionery, which has been operating since 1980, selling cookies consisting of overcooked rice crust with garlic.

#3: Rediscovery of Emotions

Image Credits: Seoul Metropolitan Government

Connect with your artistic side via this tour. Jinsun Audio in Guro District is recommendable for individuals who like the rich and detailed tone of vinyl recordings. You can also get your hands on some valuable handmade turntables from the store, which first opened in 1988.

Thereafter, head to Ationery, a stationery and office equipment business established by Doosung Paper in 1982 that sells high-quality paper products. Hill String, which has been selling Western instruments since 1967, and Dong Korea Oriental Instruments, which has been producing and retailing traditional Korean instruments since 1991, are among the stores you will see too.

#4: Rediscovery of Gangnam

Image Credits: mangoplate.com

On this journey, the locals will show you diverse views of Gangnam Station and Garosu-gil in Sinsa-dong. The journey begins at Motungijib, a little snack business just around the bend from Gangnam Station that has been serving spicy fish cake rice rolls wrapped in seaweed since 1988.

You will also get to witness for yourself Sangsindang, a business that has been creating stamps and seals since 1977; Gembros, a jewelry store that started in 1984; and Mannadang, a place that has been selling Korean traditional sweets since 1963.

We heard that there is more information on these rediscovery-themed travel packages at Tripadvisor so do an online search over there if you’re curious! Have a safe trip.

Some considerations to note before purchasing a luxury bag

The choice to spend lavishly on a luxury bag can be loaded with lots of pre-considerations.

Whether you’re spending a fortune for the first time or are unsure if luxury bags are a worthy investment, there’s no disputing that these thoughts are a notch up from your regular handbag purchase. That’s why you will want to ensure the bag you buy has all of the features that make it deserving of that big swipe.

Here are some considerations to note before purchasing a luxury bag to guarantee that you get the most out of your purchase.

Think about practicality

An excellent luxury bag must be able to justify its hefty price. We’re referring to how it should be both stylish and practical. It ought to be large enough to store everything you need, but not so bulky that it obstructs your style and overall stance.

Chain straps that may be worn on the shoulder or across the body offer a bit of glamor to the look. Card slots, side pockets, and magnetic clasp are thoughtful details that allow quick access to regularly used belongings. Most importantly, it should go with almost any ensemble in your closet and can be worn at practically any function.

Pay attention to the color, design, and material

Image Credits: designerbagsblog.com

People typically believe that they should only invest in bags with classic designs and timeless colors. However, if you enjoy flashy, eccentric, or elaborate patterns, go ahead and invest in one that meets that criteria and that you will adore using.

Another point to consider is its material. Exotic skins and premium leathers are highly treasured not simply due to their rarity, but also because they require professional expertise to handle and construct. Lambskin is a famous leather for luxury bags because of its weight, fine-grain texture, and ultra-soft touch. You will be in for an ultimate treat if you can get one with an aniline finish.

Decide on your possession period and research its potential resale value

Although everyone’s tastes vary, you should have a broad notion of how current or timeless a luxury bag is. Of course, our likes and inclinations vary with age and we may rethink our opinions, but it’s alright to purchase a trendy bag with the goal of reselling it later.

If you intend to purchase a bag and carry it until it falls apart, you’re unlikely to consider reselling it. However, if you’re searching for a contemporary piece to sell after a few seasons, you need to be more mindful of how you maintain it. Dustbags are included in every transaction for a specific purpose! Try doing some research on the prospective resale value before buying would be a smart step most would recommend you to take.