3 Budget-Friendly Hen Party Ideas

A hen party is a bride’s last hurrah before she ties the knot. Thus, it needs to be a special. Surprise your beloved bridal squad with these creative hen party ideas.

LET THE SWAPPING BEGIN

As fashionistas, your friends may be interested to throw a “Wardrobe Swapping Night”. Start by choosing a venue by volunteering your own flat or your fellow bridesmaid’s. After setting a venue, give the guests an ample amount of time to raid their closets. Ensure that everyone will bring clothing articles or accessories of good condition. Encourage each bridesmaid to share a story behind each item before starting the swap. Stories and negotiations will get better over a few drinks.

Image Credits: pixabay.com

Not only will you free up some space in your closet, but you will be able to pass your stylish item to a friend that has been eyeing it for ages!

EXPLORE THE GREAT OUTDOORS

For adventurous brides who choose to navigate their lives on the active lane, you may explore the country’s great outdoors! A weekend spent trekking, camping, and cycling is equally frugal and fantastic. Isn’t it amazing to let your hair down and not worry about how you will look for a few days?

Image Credits: nparks.gov.sg

Enjoy dressing down and connecting with Mother Nature by visiting the Southern Ridges and the East Coast Park. The former is one of Singapore’s best walking trails, which covers Mt. Faber, Kent Ridge, Hort, and Telok Blangah Hill parks. It spans through 10 kilometers of lush forest and canopy walkways. While, the latter is the perfect place to have a picnic with friends. Do not forget to bring water, sunscreen, and a hat. See the website of National Parks for more details.

TAKE THE TRADITIONAL ROUTE

One of the things that I look forward to experience as a child was having my friends over at my house. Relive your treasured youthful memories by having an adult sleepover. Suitable for a small group of people, having a sleepover entails an intimate hen party experience. What’s more? You will be able to have proper chats while drinking your favorite booze.

Once your venue is set (e.g., the bride’s flat), encourage everyone to bring their share of treats and drinks. Have a supply of indoor games ready as well. Do not forget the classic Twister, Scrabble, and Truth or Dare. You may also put a twist to these classic games by putting the groom’s face all over the cards or other cheeky hints. Have your Netflix account ready as well!

Image Credits: pixabay.com

Lastly, you may hire a person that offers home nail services. Cindy of Tenth Nail provides nail services at your own convenience. Her rates start at S$25 exclusive of the transportation and parking fees. Please book (by calling +65 9004 4605) at least three days in advance to secure her for your hen party.

Sources: 1 & 2

Read More...

Free Mobile Games To Spice Up Your Life

Entertainment does not have to come with an excessive price tag! You see, there are hundreds or even thousands of mobile games available for Android and iOS. A lot of these games are available for absolutely nothing.

Whether a game is ad-supported or fueled on a “freemium” model (i.e., offering the basic services for free and the advanced features at a premium), the following games will surely make your commute less boring. What are you waiting for? Spice up your life with these free apps:

FOR THE ADRENALINE JUNKIE

Need a dose of speed in your life? Look no further as you download Gameloft’s Asphalt series. People who enjoy racing games will be impressed by the Asphalt 8 and 9. Asphalt 8: Airborne was released in 2013 and Asphalt 9: Legends was released this year. These two installations involve dramatic chases and slow-motion collisions. The former involves cars that can perform outrageous aerial stunts in realistic tracks. While, the latter travels around the world to answer why you are legendary.

Personally speaking, I prefer Asphalt 8 as you can play with it offline. Both Android and iOS users can download these games for free!

FOR THE STRANGER THINGS ADDICT

Whether you are an avid fan of Netflix’s Stranger Things or not, you will enjoy the nostalgic vibe that the Stranger Things mobile game radiate. The game starts inside the Hawkins Lab whereby Chief Hopper sets out to find the missing children. Each character has a specific set of skills, which he or she can use to unlock a certain chapter of the game. Controls are simple as you can just tap to walk or interact (e.g., punch). When you are tired with tapping, you can drag your finger across the screen to move your character. You need to figure out how to defeat each enemy without dying!

It its essence, you are diving into an adventure game involving combat and puzzle solving. Best of all? It is completely free! It exists without ads and in-app purchases.

FOR THE MAKEOVER ENTHUSIAST

I, for one, can spend countless commuting time on home design games. I love building things from the ground up. Finding a game that puts a twist on interior design such as incorporating puzzles will impress me to the core! Fortunately, a friend of mine recommended that I download the “Matchington Mansion”. It is a no-cost puzzle game released by Firecraft Studios for both Android and iOS platforms.

The story starts with receiving a life-changing news. The player will inherit a massive mansion! The catch is, it is outdated and neglected. You are now on a mission to use your creativity and wits to decorate the house. Complete a series of puzzles to accomplish each task (e.g., revamping your bed). You may also visit your neighbors to unlock furniture and wall decoration options that are not readily available to you.

FOR THE ONE WHO LOVES MMORPG

MMORPG is short for Massively Multiplayer Online Role-playing Game. It combines role-playing video games with an option to interact with a vast number of players within a virtual world. Majority of the popular MMORPGs focus on traditional fantasy themes, often comparable to the in-game universe of Dungeons & Dragons. Some examples of globally popular MMORPGs include World of Warcraft, Star Wars: The Old Republic, and Ragnarok. For the sake of this list, I am going to put a spotlight on the latter.

Ragnarok is back! It is mobile form, Ragnarok continues the adventure that you left behind 15 years ago. Southeast Asian fans can play the Ragnarok Mobile: Eternal Love game on Android or iOS devices for free.

The game is a faithful recreation of the original online game with most of its contents remaining intact such as the character’s jobs, costumes, and guild PvP. Players can access a wide varity of job classes including the brand new Blacksmith class. Furthermore, you may fight against other players in guild PvP to take advantage of the game’s real-time combat feature.

Please note that its attractive 3D world is relatively new. Launching last month, there is still a long way to improve!

Sources: 1 & 2

Read More...

Tips To Maximise Your Savings At Giant

Giant often comes across as the supermarket that provides the best value for money in Singapore. With daily promotions, exclusive giveaways for its members and the highest discount for Seniors Citizens, Giant’s customers undoubtedly get the best bang for their buck. We are letting you in on the best tips to maximise your savings when shopping at Singapore’s best value supermarket!

The first order of business is to join the Giant Super Savers Club (GSSC) for free and receive instant rewards! Members gain first-hand access to promotion news before everyone else does! Enjoy member exclusive discounts on selected items and earn points in exchange for exciting deals! Do you know that members previously received a free pair of movie tickets just by spending $52 in a single receipt? How awesome was that!

Be rewarded for bringing a senior citizen in your household out for grocery shopping. Every Tuesday, Singapore Citizens or Permanent Residents aged above 60 years enjoy 3% off their purchases storewide! Giant offers the BEST Senior Citizen deal in town because there is no limit on the total amount of purchase. Another incredible tip is that Seniors can double down on their savings by earning TapForMore points when they tap their Passion Cards.

Do you know that you can try standout products at amazing prices in Giant? Look out for items marked “Top Picks” as these have been specially selected by Giant for customers to enjoy high-quality premium products. Go ahead and try because there is a 7-day money-back-guarantee if customers are not satisfied with the product!

Don’t forget to check out Giant’s Dare To Compare since it guarantees the best prices for shoppers. For these products, feel assured that you will ALWAYS be paying the lowest possible price at Giant! That is because Giant will double the difference if it fails to deliver on this promise.

Even if you are buying promotion items, do not assume that you cannot earn bonus points! Simply tap your Passion Cards to earn 1 TapforMore point for every $1 spent at Giant. Since 150 TapForMore Points = $1 off, getting doubly rewarded means even more savings for Giant’s customers.

The final measure to maximise your savings would be to pay with the UOB Delight Card to earn up to 8% cash rebate. UOB Delight Card holders enjoy a further 10% discount for over 4000 products under Giant Housebrand & Giant Top Picks. They also receive complimentary home delivery with a minimum of $150 spend at Giant Hypermarkets. In this way, you can save the transport cost (more savings!) and never have to worry about carrying these heavy groceries home. A must-have credit card if you are tasked with getting the groceries from Giant in your household!

Promotional deals are updated on Giant’s website at 2359hrs daily. Always be sure to take advantage of the crazy promotions rolled out by Giant. Don’t say bojio.

Read More...

Samsung’s Most Expensive Flop

Considered as one of the biggest product failures of all time, Samsung Galaxy Note7 floats on the same boat as Apple Lisa (1983) and Ford Pinto (1971). It started off as a promising product with special features such as iris scanner, improved S-pen, expanded internal storage, and 5.70-inch touchscreen display. It was supposed to be Samsung’s answer to its rival Apple’s iPhone 7.

It quickly became a fiery disaster when a number of Note7 devices either emitted smoke or caught on fire. These reported cases resulted to injuries and property damage. In October 2016, Singapore Airlines announced that passengers were not allowed to bring their Note7 device on both carry-on and checked-in baggage due to fire hazard. Other international airlines (e.g., Virgin Australia and Air Berlin) followed suit.

Having massive companies ban the device only highlighted its cautionary tale. Samsung needed to clean up their act! They started replacing the first batch with a “less combustible” substitutes. However, that did not work too!

Samsung learned its lesson – the hard way. Recalling the Note7 was so costly that operating profit for the company fell 30 percent to about US$4.57 billion. Needless to say, Note7 wiped out 13.5% of its market share or about US$17 billion off the company’s market value.

THE ROOT OF THE PROBLEM

Samsung conducted an in-depth study to investigate the downfall of Note7. Seven hundred dedicated staff were accompanied by three laboratories: UL, Exponent, and TUV Rheinland. These people tested 30,000 batteries and 200,000 devices before coming to its conclusions.

Firstly, there was a manufacturing defect in the corner of the batteries. A particular flaw made the electrodes prone to bending. This could lead to a short-circuit in the battery itself. It was responsible for some of the reported fires. This was the problem in the first batch of batteries, which Samsung reported that it would replace.

Secondly, it started switching production from one battery manufacturer to another. There may be some welding problems that occurred.

Lastly, some of the issues were possibly tied to the lack of insulation tape. These insulation tapes should have been shipped standard on the hardware, but were not.

THE ESSENCE OF THE STORY

This setback illustrates how complex it is to create a smartphone. The problem came down to a short-circuit flaw and to an ambitious pursuit to take a share from Samsung’s primary competitor.

Image Credits: pixabay.com

We learned that success takes time. It is important to carefully inspect every aspect of product development before setting a launch date. Otherwise, you will feel pressured to meet the deadlines and to rush through the vital steps. Same goes for other areas of your career.

Sources: 1,2,3,4, & 5

Read More...

How To Spot A Counterfeit Designer Bag

Aside from owning luxury watches, one expensive hobbies that many Singaporeans partake in is collecting designer bags. Times have changed and fake designer bags are becoming harder to spot.

Consider these warning signs before purchasing a new bag:

DOES THE HISTORY CHECK OUT?

The first step to filtering out a counterfeit bag from a real one is to do your research. Familiarize yourself with the brand and the specific product that you want to purchase. If possible, inspect the overall craftsmanship of the product in person. Look at the hardware, material, shape, logo, and stitching. Go to the online forums to learn more about the specific history of a product.

For instance, Chanel stopped gold plating their hardware beyond 2009. This information is crucial. If you are interested to purchase a 2007 flap bag with gold hardware then, it should be plated.

IS IT MADE OF PREMIUM LEATHER?

No matter how much you try…you cannot fake leather! Leather items have a distinct smell and texture. If it smells like chemicals or glue, skip it. Premium leather should feel like it is soft yet dry.

How about for leather straps or handles? After a few weeks of wearing the bag, you may notice a slight discoloration of the straps or handles. This is normal. Fake leather handles will remain unchanged and shiny!

Image Credits: pixabay.com

Do not forget to study the cut of the leather too. Gucci bags will have the same cut of leather, especially around the interior zippered pocket.

DOES THE STITCHING SEEM UNEVEN OR SLANTED?

Sloppy stitching has no place in the luxury book. Notice how your new bag is stitched. Uneven, frayed, or slanted stitching is a sign of a poorly made item. It can potentially be a counterfeit!

You see, brands are known for owning specific stitching codes. These codes are key indicators of the product’s authenticity. For instance, Hermès’ famous stitches are handmade by craftsmen (or piqures sellier).

IS IT TOO LIGHT?

Notice the weight of the product. Quality hardware are typically made of metals such as gold and brass, which will not tarnish over a period of time. These metals are heavier than the metals found in the fake items. Furthermore, they do not show any imperfections.

It is important to note that counterfeit products are getting more sophisticated nowadays. Since some of them are using real metals, weight should not be your only determining factor.

Image Credits: pixabay.com

If you are not comfortable with distinguishing a real bag from a fake one then, you may seek help from professional sources. Interestingly, there are companies that offer authentication services through a photograph that you will send.

Sources: 1 & 2

Read More...