One expensive hobbies that many Singaporeans partake in is collecting luxury watches. Due to the changing times, counterfeit or fake watches are becoming harder to spot. Collectors need to be very careful.
Consider these warning signs before purchasing a new watch:
#1: DOES IT HAVE A DOCUMENTATION?
Similar to purchasing an appliance, you must ensure that it comes with a warranty and an authenticity certificate (i.e., with a serial number). If you are acquiring it from a private collector, research the history of its ownership. Nonetheless, your safest bet is to buy the watch directly from the brand’s authorized store.
#2: DOES IT HAVE SPELLING ERRORS?
As obvious as this might sound, some fake items have spelling errors. Words such as “Professional” on Omega watches are commonly spelled with a single “s”. That is a red flag right there! Be wary of low quality pictures where the spelling is ambiguous too.
Image Credits: pixabay.com
#3: IS IT TOO LIGHT?
Counterfeit watches are typically lighter than the original watches due to the cheaper materials used in its production. For instance, authentic gold Rolex watches are heavier than the fake ones. The weight of real gold is greater than the base metal used in the fakes.
#4: IS IT TOO LOUD?
Did you know that you can tell the movement of a watch based on its sound? Most fine quality watches have extremely smooth mechanisms, which means that these are engineered to function at an exceedingly low volume. You should not be able to hear a ticking sound unless the watch is put closer to your ear.
#5: DOES IT HAVE THE RIGHT ENGRAVING?
Some luxury brands use distinct engravings to make their products difficult to copy. Rolex uses laser-etched crowns in their sapphire crystals. While, Omega engraves a symbol in the case-back of its watches. Keep a vigilant eye on these specific markers.
Image Credits: pixabay.com
It is better to be safe than sorry! Equip yourself with these tips or ask a professional for quality assessment.
As a tea enthusiast who enjoys a daily sip of milk tea, you must devise a plan to satisfy your addiction without harming your budget. Here are just some tips that you can apply:
#1: KNOW WHERE TO PURCHASE
Bubble milk tea originated in Taiwan, whereby the “bubble” refers to the fizz it creates after shaking. As a point of comparison, I focused on the basic pearl milk tea. The cheapest Pearl Milk Tea product in Singapore is offered by Woobbee (for S$2.90). It is made of black tea and black pearls. Drop by one of Woobbee’s three outlets namely: Tanjong Pagar Plaza, Shaw Tower, and Chinatown Point. Second to this is Gong Cha. Its Pearl Milk Tea costs about S$3.20.
#2: HUNT FOR THE CHEAPEST DEALS
Singapore is blessed with a variety of websites offering huge coupons, vouchers, or deals. One of these websites is Deals Singapore. Deals Singapore offers discounted deals getaways, watches, food, beauty products, and lifestyle services. For S$5, you can grab two Partea drinks for the price of one. The voucher includes two Brown Sugar Pearl Milk Tea with fresh milk. You may purchase a couple of these vouchers and review it afterwards. What’s more? You may resell the voucher too.
#3: MAKE YOUR OWN MILK TEA
You can either purchase an instant milk tea mix and add some ice or make your own Hong Kong-style milk tea. Fairprice Online sells the Gold Kili 3 in 1 Instant Milk Tea, which includes 30 packets for S$4.20. You may also purchase the Super 3 in 1 Instant Milk Tea, which includes 25 packets for S$4.95.
On the other hand, Hong Kong-style milk tea involves three ingredients: a cup of water, a can of condensed milk, and 2 tablespoons of black tea leaves. Start by combining the tea leaves and water in a pan over medium heat. Bring this to a low boil and let it simmer for 3 minutes. Turn off the heat and put the condensed milk. Return to boil and let it simmer for another 3 minutes. Strain the mixture and serve.
Image Credits: thespruceeats.com
MODERATION IS THE KEY
I, for one, am addicted to milk tea. However, many experts suggest that you should not start the day with a cup of milk tea.
According to Shilpa Arora, a Macrobiotic Health Coach, “Tea has potent antioxidants catechins and epicatechins, but adding milk cuts down the amount of these antioxidants making this otherwise healthy drink a source of inflammation and acidity. Also, adding sugar makes it even worse.”
Since milk can make the tea acidic, it is recommended to indulge with moderation!
With a wide array of makeup products available on the market, it is hard to know what you actually need. Whether you are new to the cosmetics scene or ready to start a new kit, here are some of the essential products that you need to invest on.
THE ESSENTIAL PRODUCTS
1. Foundation
Foundation covers the imperfections of your skin. When choosing the right foundation, you must match the color with your neck and chest. Then, understand your skin type to decide between a powder or a liquid formula. People with dry skin can greatly benefit from liquid foundation or hydrating powder. People with oily skin can will look best with matte foundation or powder products.
2. Blush
The blush’s primary function is to give you a subtle glow or a healthy-looking skin. A hue that generally flatters every complexion is a rose blush containing hints of brown. Apply the blush correctly by smiling and locating the apples of your cheeks. If you are using a powder foundation, it is recommended to use a powder blush. If you are using a liquid foundation, stick with a cream blush.
3. Eye-shadow
Using an eye-shadow palette in a strategic manner can transform your entire look to suit your outfit. Experiment with the range of colors and types (i.e., matte or shimmer). Nude tones such as taupe and brown are universally flattering. While, muted purple and gray tones such as mauve and plum are classically beautiful.
4. Lips
Image Credits: pixabay.com
One of the most sought-after cosmetic products is the lipstick! Red and nude hues enhances your natural shade of pucker. Personally, I prefer Mac’s Russian Red and Twig shades. Selecting a sheer tone of lip product will minimize the chances of a mismatch as your natural pout will shin through.
THE THRIFTY MIX & MATCH
COMBO #1 (TOTAL: S$84.90)
A. Eyes/Cheeks/Lips/Face – Hydrate, Illuminate, and Glow Kit by Tarte (S$65)
This kit includes a highlighter palette that can double as your eye-shadow, a lip balm for a subtle color, and a setting mist for a 12-hour coverage.
A. Eyes/Cheeks/Lips – Nudies All Over Face by Nudestix (S$45)
A great tip to help you save money is to splurge on a product that can be used for more than one purpose. This versatile product even includes a brush and a mirror. My favorite shades include “In The Nude” and “Naughty N’ Spice”.
With the first phase of the Open Electricity Market (OEM) rolled-out on 1st November, households with postal codes that begin from 58 – 78 now have the opportunity to switch electricity providers. This means that you can now choose plans from electricity retailers like iSwitch instead of getting your power supply from SP Group alone, very much like choosing a mobile phone plan.
However, with the many retailers that debuted with the launch of OEM, it may be very confusing to select the right plan for your household. To make things simpler for consumers, iSwitch will be promoting the two most popular price plans – Fixed Price Plan and Discount Off Regulated Tariff (DOT).
Fixed Price Plan – Paying a fixed rate for electricity throughout your contract term with your selected retailer.
DOT – Enjoying a fixed discount off the existing tariff during your contract term.
Why Choose iSwitch?
iSwitch offers a seamless switching process, and for those who wishes to switch to iSwitch, the application process can be easily done online. Simply select the plan of your choice, fill up all information needed in the application process and the iSwitch team will do the rest. This online sign up takes less than 2 minutes to complete!
iSwitch prides themselves in excellent customer service where they have a dedicated team for consumers to contact them through email, hotline and Facebook for those that happen to face any issues during application. Customer service is an important core in their business so you can set your mind at ease knowing you have a trusted retailer to rely on.
For those of you who wish to be play a part in environmental sustainability, this is for you! iSwitch is committed in carbon footprint reduction. Consumers who sign up through its website can proudly claim to use Green Certified Electricity at no additional cost. If you are wondering how they do that, iSwitch programme, ‘iSwitch2Green’, monitors your energy usage and calculates the amount of carbon emissions your household is responsible for. After doing so, they would then buy Carbon credits issued by United Nations certified projects on your behalf. In addition, iSwitch also goes green by offering only paperless billing where consumers are notified every month via email. For those who are keen to sign up with an environmentally friendly retailer that promotes green certified energy, iSwitch is one of the few to consider.
iSwitch Fixed/DOT Price Plans
iSwitch offers a comprehensive range of price plans with flexible contract periods, and if you are intending to make the switch, here are some price plans which may interest you:
Super Saver Discount (24 Months)
Enjoy 21% discount on your regulated tariff with the Super Saver Discount plan. This discount is limited to a 24 Months contract. Here is an example of how much you would save if you selected this option over a 24 Months period:
iPromo – iPad (36 Months)
iPromo – iPad is a time limited plan by iSwitch. The 1st 500 sign ups in Zone 1,2,3 and 4 get a complimentary iPad and 5% (exc. GST) Discount Off Regulated Tariff! If you have been eyeing for an iPad, you should consider this unique and time limited plan! As of now, the plan is still available for sign ups, so fastest fingers first!
‘Chope’ The Rate (24 Months)
A Fixed Rate plan offers a lower rate of $0.1720/kWh (exc. GST) / $0.18404/kWh (inc. GST) for 24 Months.
All plans that iSwitch offers require a 1-month bill equivalent security deposit. iSwitch absorbs transmission loss and also absorbs carbon tax!
For those who sign up with iSwitch online, your plan also comes with a free green certified electricity at no cost, a free air-condition servicing and a free AIA Personal Accident Protection plan. Those who make payment through POSB Everyday Card would also get a 1% rebate.
Multiple Payment Options
Payment for your iSwitch plans can be easily made with the multiple payment options they offer such as AXS kiosks, credit or debit cards, or even GIRO, whichever suit your needs.
To easily track your usage and bills, iSwitch allows its consumers to log in personally into their iSwitch accounts or the iSwitch Mobile App to check them on the go.
iSwitch Rewards
Besides enjoying cost savings from your plan, iSwitch also have a point rewards system where you can earn points to receive rebates on your bill. Some examples where you can earn points would be selecting GIRO as a payment method which would let you earn 25 points (equivalent to $2.50) or renewing your plan (100 points or $10). Referring a friend will instantly earn you SGD 50 rebate off your electricity bill (limited to the first 500 referrals).
iSwitch ‘Switch & Win’ Campaign
In conjunction with the nationwide roll-out of OEM, iSwitch has launched a campaign for those who sign up with iSwitch would stand a chance to walk away with 1 year of free electricity. For those who think this is only for those in Zone 1, do not be disheartened as ‘Switch & Win’ would be selecting a winner from all 4 zones, that means there would be 4 winners! All sign-ups made between 1st November 2018 to 30th June 2019 will automatically be in the running to qualify for this promotion, so switch and win today!
For more information about ‘Switch & Win’ campaign, click here.
iSwitch, Your Electricity Retailer
iSwitch aims to place their consumers in the forefront, by providing as many lifestyle perks as they can like those in their price plans. For those who are intending to change to an electricity retailer but do not have an opportunity to due to the different zones, do keep iSwitch in mind as they would not disappoint with its deals and savings. And for those who falls under Zone 1 and wish to join iSwitch now, you may head over to their website to check out the savings, promotions and plans that they are currently offering!
It came as a surprise to many when a barely known tech company introduced the world’s first foldable phone. The future of smartphone is upon us as Royole Corporation launched FlexPai in Beijing. Royale Corporation is a relatively new company, which was founded by Stanford engineering graduates in 2012. It will go down in history as the company who conquered the “foldable phone” race ahead from Samsung and Huawei.
For the digital savvy Singaporeans who are interested in acquiring their own FlexPai, here are its specifications. FlexPai boasts its “virtually unbreakable and extremely durable screen”, which can be bent for over 200,000 times. This smartphone can be folded like a paper or a wallet to display various small screens: in the front, back, and spine. While it is folded, you can receive incoming calls or take photos from front and back screens. The spine is where the notifications will show. Its 7.8-inch display resembles a tablet when fully unfolded.
You may be wondering if it can take some Instagrammable shots. To tell you frankly, it has two cameras with 20 and 16 megapixels. You can bend it to capture objects and subjects at unique angles. Other features include having a microSD slot, a fingerprint reader, a Snapdragon 8-series chip, and a USB-C port. Furthermore, it is running on an Android 9.0 based Water OS.
See this latest handset in action as you watch the following demo.
As with many first models, this pioneer handset is far from being perfect. Royole needs to address some glitches. For instance, it should offer a sleek design which does not have visible fold marks when straightened out. There should be seamless switch between front and back displays. Furthermore, it is a bulky device that is about 50% heavier than Note 9 and the iPhone XS Max.
Nonetheless, Royole’s foldable product encourages other tech companies to provide different experiences to the Millennial consumers. While consumers in China can purchase a consumer edition FlexPai today, global consumers can pre-order the developer version online. The 6 GB model with 128 GB storage is available to consumers for $1,588 (about S$2182), while the 8 GB model with 256 GB costs $1,759 (about S$2417). These devices are expected to be shipped by December.
With all these information in mind, I am excited to see the foldable products that well-known tech companies will launch soon (e.g., Samsung Galaxy F).
