Origins of the Oolong Tea

The oolong tea (sometimes called ‘blue tea’) is a semi-oxidized kind of tea which is considered complex due to the fact that it is semi-oxidized. It falls in a category between non-oxidized green tea and fully oxidized black tea. Oxidation levels vary from 10% to 70%.

There are various stories that have spread about how the origins of this tea began. One of them started with a Wu.

A man named Wu Liang (probably no relations to me or The Liang) often picked tea leaves to boil and make tea. On an ordinary day, as he was returning home from one of his tea-picking sessions, what did he see but a deer. Discarding his tea leaves to one side, he shot and killed the deer. Satisfied with his impromptu successful hunt, he brought the deer home, forgetting about his tea leaves.

A day later, he remembered his tea leaves and went to retrieve them. While they were still intact, the leaves had begun to  oxidize, and the leaves had turned a greenish-brown. Nevertheless, Wu Liang brought them back and boiled them as per normal. To his surprise (and probably utter delight), the tea tasted better than usual, with a unique aroma and flavour. Sharing it with his friends and neighbours, he called it the Wu-long cha, after himself. The name slowly trickled down from Wu-liang, to Wu-long, and finally the now-common Oolong tea.

Surprising how some of the greatest inventions could have come not from planned ideas but from mistakes and accidents.

What, no Oolong tea mask?

Etude House

by FariWu

Cute. Whimsical. Endearing. That is the feeling you may get as you step into either of 2 Etude House outlets in Singapore. Allow yourself to indulge in your girlish fantasies in the midst of pink and such impossibly girly deco that sets this brand apart from other Korean beauty brands.

Originally from Korea, Etude House made a blast when they finally hit Singapore. Currently with 2 flaship stores (one in Plaza Singapura and the other at the underpass at ION Orchard), they lure in their patrons with marketing gimmicks.

It began with a visit from Korean actor Lee Min-Ho. Lee, of popular Korean drama Boys Over Flowers, is the celebrity spokesperson for Etude House. He was on a promotional tour and stopped over in Singapore for a day before continuing on to Malaysia. While originally slated to appear at the Plaza Singapura outlet, the session was cancelled due to overwhelming crowds and security reasons. Free gifts in the form of files with the actor on it were given out instead to appease the crowd.

Another marketing gimmick that Etude has employed involves providing doorgifts to those who enter the shop, as well as free gifts with purchase. Doorgifts included a box of cotton pads, a facial mask or a poster of Lee. Fluffy pens of assorted colours could also be redeemed with any purchase.

It was evident which colours of pens were the most popular. Pink and purple were often snapped up almost immediately, followed by blue. Yellow and green pens completed the variety of colours. All the pens write in black though. Free doorgifts were available almost everyday, though the outlets were more crowded on weekends and during rush hour peak periods.

Despite the prices being higher in Singapore compared to Korea, one must remember that shipping costs would have been factored in should one wish to buy straight from Korea. Also, with stores open in Singapore, one is able to see, touch, smell, test, and swatch the products at one’s own comfort, with Etude girls on standby ready to help. Though some are unable to speak much English, they are comfortable conversing in Mandarin.

Reviews:

The nail polish remover emitted a strawberry scent when applied.

Nail polish remover: The nail polish remover emitted a strawberry scent when applied. The scent lingers on fingertips till the next day. Etude, any ideas of a  perfume of the same scent coming up soon?

The pens come in a variety of colours, including the popular pink and purple.

Sleeping Mask: The sleeping mask comes in 3 different varieties. The pink one moisturizes and firms the skin while the blue one is for brightening and the green one is for oil control and pore tightening. It is slightly difficult the first time as the instructions are not available in English. However, it is actually quite straightforward. Simply apply the mask after moisturizer, and leave it to do it’s work. It is a white mask, but will dry clear. By next morning, there will not be a greasy feeling but do wash your face first thing in the morning. I find that leaving it on for less than 9 hours does not give your face much moisture.

o2 White Mask Sheet: When applied, the mask gives off a slight tingly feeling which fades after awhile. Skin is smoother and fairer after use, quite worth the money… if only they actually sold it.

Pen: The pen writes in black. Full stop. Fun to use as the official pen for signing attendance and getting your guy friends to use it to sign their names.

Etude House Plaza Singapura is located at #B1-26 while Etude House ION Orchard is located at #B2-54, along the Orchard underpass that links ION to Tangs.

HEH. I THINK I’M VERY GOOD AT LIFESTYLE WRITING. Must start preparing for Web News Production. Hope The Wong, The Ang, and The Low can also join me. Too bad The Goh is graduating soon.

Bedtime Rituals

I have a bedtime ritual that I (almost) strictly adhere to.

Oh, who am I kidding. Like as if I follow rules and stuff.

But there’s a couple of things that I do like to do to ensure a nice good sleep.

1) Removal of makeup. Always. And that needs:

a) Makeup remover.

I used to never bother with makeup remover. “Cleanser already enough what. That’s why it’s called CLEANser.”

Now I realize that even though my foundation and mascara usually looks like they’ve disappeared by the end of the day, in reality there’s still traces left behind. And that’s what makeup remover is for.

If you want eye makeup remover, invest in a good one. Clarins is ridiculously expensive in Singapore compared to other brands, but worth it. No pain, and no rubbing at all.

b) Toner.

After cleanser, the next step (that I always skip) is toner. But it’s exceedingly gratifying to see the dirt on the toner. It just cleans out whatever the makeup remover and cleanser fails to remove. Best is when I forget to use a makeup remover. The toner-filled cotton bud will be PHOAR! Damn  dirty. Sometimes got sparkles also. A common complaint I always hear from people is that toner is drying for the skin, and I used to testify to that too. In reality, the skin’s too dry cause there’s not enough moisturizer applied to it. So dry skin + toner = even drier skin disaster. And that leads us to:

2) Moisturizer. Nuff said.

3) Body lotion.

Also used to skip body lotion, even though I sleep in an air-conned room. That’s because I’m lazy. And that I don’t like how greasy most lotions are. Then I discovered The Ark.

HAHA no I didn’t discover The Ark. But I discovered a fantastic lotion that smells great, isn’t greasy (previous lotions I tried had great reviews but still sucked) and is so freaking cheap.

Johnson’s baby bedtime lotion!

I didn’t buy it last time cause I thought cheap sure no good one lah. But it works! I like!

Donna Karan’s Cashmere Mist also not bad. At first I didn’t like the smell, but after awhile it grew on me. I use it sparingly though. Not cheap at all. Not like Johnson’s, that one can use like no tomorrow.

4) Perfume.

Huh what the hell? Who wear perfume to sleep one? Who wears short shorts? I WEAR SHORT SHORTS!

Sorreh. But it’s so funny. Who wears perfume at night? I wear! The Body Shop’s Love… Etc is my favourite before I go to sleep. Dunno why, just wear for fun. Smell nice what? Just to drift off peacefully… to dreamland I mean, not to heaven.

5) Eye mask.

Also not used frequently, but just if and when I need that perk-me-up. Once, in the morning, I had too little sleep and couldn’t open my eyes. So I put this over my head for about half an hour and my eyes were perfectly fine after that. Nice!

6) A good book.

Like I always say, ‘the bimbo bimbo kind of book’! It’s always nice to destress and get away from it all. But must be a good book. I hate reading about those girls who are so emotionally-ruled at every turn, and can’t even think logically.

But if there’s no book available, there’s always magazines.

Especially the ones with your face in it yet again.

Again, I don’t remember writing that. *shrugs*

Think that’s about it. So what’s your bedtime ritual?