Terrible makeup

I was just watching the last episode of Emergency Couple (starring Song Ji Hyo from Running Man)the other day. This is a Korean drama about a couple who got married young and divorced after a year of marriage, only to get back together again after medical school. 

 

I hardly watch romantic comedies, not because I don't like them but because it's not easy to find one where you understand its 'sense of humor'. For me, the sense of humor in this show was partly the manga/manhwa-like element, particularly the makeup used:

 

Han Ah Reum (Clara), intern

What is this makeup? Hair is too yellow for her, lips too orange for her. She's not the only one in the show that looks like a clown, though:

 

 

(Left) Lee Young Ae (Chun Min Hee), (Centre) Park Sang Hyuk (Im Hyun Sung)

They are a newlywed couple on the team who start off lovey-dovey and end up considering divorce. She is another monkey with hair too red for her and lips too thin for the color. A nerdy geek wearing dark red lipstick to work?!

 

The real victim of this terrible makeup is SJH:

 

Oh Jin Hee (Song Ji Hyo), intern

Would you entrust your life (or your loved ones) to a lifeless doctor in the Emergency Room? Well, maybe in real life we don't have a choice, but at least we don't need to see this in a drama? Do I see sparse eyebrows here?

 



Time for a brow tattoo.

The worst part is having puffy eyebags and dark eye circles in your early twenties showing up on your wedding day:

 

That's enough ranting about the set. Unfortunately the focus (for me) was not the comedy but the overall plot in general, especially the relationship between family - husband and wife, father and son, daughter-in-law and mother-in-law. How the main characters, couple doctors Changmin (Choi Jin Hyuk) and Jin Hee (SJH) overcome their own limitations and the bias of society to finally be together again. Actually the supporting characters also have very good individual 'stories' in the show and sometimes I even look forward to the development of these supporting characters, especially the coworkers in the Emergency Department and its chiefs, Shim Ji Hye and 'the Devil'.

 

Most characters in this show are in their mid twenties to mid thirties, I guess that's why I can relate to them and like the storyline so much. And that's why the makeup seems so hilarious! I don't see anyone in their thirties looking so ridiculous! As a matter of fact, this show is so popular that there's even a remake in Bahasa, if I remember correctly, sans ridiculous makeup.

Good Deals at Daiso

I love to browse Daiso. It's a treasure trove of all kinds of value finds - from the utilitarian (think cheap toothbrushes and cooler bags) to the slightly offbeat (portable ashtrays and massage rollers), it's easy to keep adding to the shopping basket if you are not careful.

I got myself this packet of plasters yesterday as I was having a blister on my finger.

It claims to be elastic and waterproof, quite different from the usual types of plasters that I have that tend to be soaked wet when I wash my hands and becomes difficult to heal. As it was just a blister, I didn't bother to add iodine solution or other antiseptic, so I wonder if that was why it took such a long time to heal?

Anyway, I tried it today and here are d results

It seems that my plaster has some wetness after washing my hands with it. But it is elastic enough so water did not seep into the cotton gauze, sometimes it feels almost like a second skin. At $2, I find it even better than Hansaplast. Quite effective for a $2 product.

And I also got a pair of swimming goggles from Daiso. No indication on the packaging if it's for male or female, but judging from the size, it seems to be more for ladies even though it's adjustable (sorry guys!). It's quite hard to find a pair of goggles for less than $5, so I think this was also a good buy. Normally I would also buy toothbrushes and dental products here but recently many branches seemed to have scaled down their dental section. Other Daiso good deals (I find) are winter accessories, picnic and handyman gear, among many others. I rarely buy Daiso snacks though.

All in all, an eventful trip to Daiso yesterday. Of course at this low price, most people can't expect much for the quality (or even quantity). After all, you get what you pay for, right (一分钱一分货)? I remember I once bought a packet of incense cones that smelled really fragrant at the store, so I thought, no harm trying it for only $2. But when I tried it out at home, the scent was too strong and also gave out a strange aroma that threatened to choke and made me feel giddy. I had to stop burning it at once and dispose immediately. Nonetheless, it is still possible to find some value buys at Daiso as long as we keep a cautious and open mind.

One Cent Movement

Just stumbled upon this website, I think it's a very good idea. Round up your online purchases to the nearest dollar and donate the change to charity. Thumbs up!

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Proper Product Disposal and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

I was clearing out my wardrobe this morning when I remembered it's time to change the moisture absorbers. You see, in a hot and humid climate like this we'll need moisture absorbers to keep mold from forming on our household fixtures. Moisture absorbers come in many different kinds - packet, container and set. 

Packet is the type used to hold silica gel (I seldom use it because I don't find them very effective) and set is the bigger ones that resemble household appliances and is used for overall removal of humidity in open spaces. What I'm talking about today is the container sized ones used in closed spaces like wardrobes, drawers or cabinets. This is the one I last used for my wardrobe:

Thirsty Hippo

Even though it's really hot and humid here, we use these things only in certain areas of our house because we realised that mold grows (consistently) only in these spots and not for most other areas. It's probably not very obvious, but if you look closer there is some liquid in this container. It looks like water, but if you observe carefully it's probably some chemical solution in water. The problem is, I have no idea how to dispose of this solution and this container. You only get this solution after you open the package and start using it. No instructions on the package on how to dispose this whole thing.

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The whole container is covered with just a thin, blank non-woven fabric and a plastic top. No disposal instructions on label or engraved anywhere on this whole thing.

This is a photo of my new moisture absorber, Kiwi Fresh. A new, unused and unopened package will have some little white styrofoam-like beads as shown above in place of the liquid. So only after you tear open the lining at the top then the liquid will start to form over the length of usage. As seen here, there are also no instructions on how to dispose it after usage.

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Two different brands, same practice. No disposal instructions anywhere on the product. I've used another brand, Thirsty Camel and it too does not have disposal instructions. I have a hard time deciding on how to dispose every time we finished using them (which is like, every 3-6 months). It's not as if only a few drops of water is collected; it's quite a significant amount- in fact half of this container. 

You see, I'm sure some people would say I'm fussing over a small issue. But what if somebody told you your tap water or local water supply contains possible hazardous chemicals like this? Will you still allow your children to drink it? Or even bathe in it?

Actually the problem goes beyond personal. You might say, just flush the liquid down the toilet bowl - that way nobody will consume it. Yes, perhaps nobody in this country will consume this. But how will we know outside of it? Will it affect our local waste handling processes? 

I have tried contacting RB about this, but till date no response from them.

The best solution I found was this over at instructables.com by fellow Singaporean Wauter. It's quite useful but seems a little dangerous and (too be honest) way too many steps. I don't think we normal laymen can actually carry these out on our own.

Actually whether the stuff is hazardous material or not, I think it's the responsibility of every manufacturer of household chemicals to insert disposal instructions (of both content and packaging) on the labels.

I think this is an often overlooked but critical issue because these moisture absorbers can in fact also be found in dollar discount stores like Daiso, where almost anyone (including children) has access to them. Most of the time these manufacturers just indicate "Ingredients: Calcium Chloride" on them, but the fact is, not everyone knows what this calcium chloride is. It is also a pity to have to dispose the packaging because we have no idea what to do with the stuff inside. To be realistic, there is only so many containers we consumers can reuse. 

I noticed that companies and governments hardly touch on the issue of corporate social responsibility. Nowadays there is so much production going on, companies are making so many things but nobody is talking about disposing what they made. There is a lot of hype about it in schools and universities but that's what it is - NATO (no action, talk only).

I believe that's the problem - and even more so for end-product items like plastics, household chemicals, consumer electronics and the like. That's because end-users like us come from a variety of backgrounds and not all will know how to dispose items that manufacturers made. Things like unused cooking oil that has exceeded its expiry date, used batteries and bulbs and used crayons all contribute to this list.

Nowadays manufacturers are making plastics faster than bacteria multiplies. Every few months we buy a new bottle of Johnson's shampoo- no, not a recyclable packet, but a bottle. Because they don't sell the shampoo in recyclable packets, only bottles. So every month we think of what to do with an empty shampoo bottle. After a year, it'll be 12 empty shampoo bottles (and the dispensers too, don't forget) and after two years, it'll be 24 empty shampoo bottles. What do you do with so many used shampoo bottles and dispensers, Johnson & Johnson? 

(Updated 10/05/2015 p/s: when I went to the drugstore at Chinatown a few days ago, I saw recyclable packets of J&J shampoo manufactured last year.)

   

What makes the whole issue worse is that governments are not willing to do anything about these, despite knowing the environmental effects of consumer waste. And manufacturers like J& J and Apple earn so much per year from contributing to this waste they ought to at least give back in the same way- by 'cleaning up the mess' they made, or at least reducing it. There are children in other parts of the world picking from rubbish sites, and big companies like these are contributing to it. Shouldn't they at least take some of the blame?

Ok, I think that's enough ranting for the day. By now it should be obvious, I can't accept the fact that companies can get away with not taking responsibility for their own wastes. But I don't think I'm the only one against this.

a nice holiday weekend

There are 4 rest days for the public this National Day season - Hari Raya Puasa (Thur), National Day (Fri), Sat and Sun. A long weekend! Perfect for some rest.

Wife biscuit (老婆饼) for tea time

I had some Wife Biscuit that I got from Crystal Jade bakery for afternoon tea. The Wife biscuit is a Chinese traditional pastry with a sweet filling. This one tastes like honeymelon paste. Not too sweet and really quite good.

A half-eaten wife biscuit

Too bad I only managed to take this picture while I was munching away.

I realise I like to drink green tea. It's a pity I can't have too much because it's supposed to be slightly 'cooling' in nature. But it is perfect for the hot and humid climate here.