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A Superpower Halloween

I know I know... I said on Twitter that I wasn't going to go as Catwoman this Halloween because I had a feeling it'd be like last year's "Black Swan" - the Over-Done Costume of the Year.

Well, I have to claw my way out of this one. I just couldn't resist in the end! Because I am in utter adoration of Anne Hathaway's Selina Kyle aka Catwoman in Christopher Nolan's "Dark Knight Rises" (pure genius that man is). 

My catty ensemble was actually very last minute and kind of by accident. I had bought another costume, something quirky and glow-in-the dark; unfortunately too large for me. Then, being very busy during that period of time I put off the whole costume thing until.... that very Halloween Saturday. 

I only had one short afternoon to put something together!

In my heart, Selina Kyle's feline allure beckoned persistently. My friends were going as superheroes, so in my head it made sense if I went along with it too. Armed with black tights and a black leotard I already had in my wardrobe, I went hunting for the accessories to add onto my criminal/crime-fighting suit. I bought them all from Far East Plaza. I love one-stop shopping. Catwoman may have nine lives but her time is precious.

The final result is my own take on the character, largely inspired by Hathaway's version. As she says in the movie, "I'm adaptable". (Full body latex definitely not too great in tropical Singapore!)

  Yes the rumors are true.
I'm happily living in Italy with my Bruce Wayne, having afternoon teas together at alfresco cafes
Sometimes when we have our arguments he makes me want to kill him (and I can do so in a second), but with a handsome face like that how could I bear to rip his head off?
   

Cats have a cheeky side too

 

   

I met up with my fellow ass-kicking girlfriends, Wonder Woman, Spider Woman and Black Widow!

 Issue #1  Chaos in the Club

Magicians Siegfried and Roy come down from Las Vegas with their tiger

Hot red indians throng the battleground

Gotham City are you ready for us?

Bane x Catwoman x Batman

When everything's over, can we all make peace and eat some candy?

  
Cutest I saw that night!

Hope all of you had a fun Halloween as well  Love.

A Weekend to Stomp Out Cancer

This coming Saturday & Sunday is gonna be a very exciting time, where we all can play a part in spreading cancer awareness and raising research funds for the National Cancer Center, while having some ballin' good fun!

This is pretty serious actually. Everyone seems to know someone who was lost to cancer. Each year, more than 10,000 people in Singapore are diagnosed with the disease. The total figure snowballs, so think about how many tens or hundred thousands of people are living and suffering at this very moment. And imagine how many more around the world. 

First & foremost, let me say that I believe (and witnessed) in the complete healing of cancer by the miraculous grace of Christ Jesus (those are amazing testimonies for another time!) Nonetheless, I know many of us hope to see a cure to be found soon.

Without hope, for a quest, a love, a future - existence becomes meaningless. But while there is life, there is always hope. And we should never give up on this precious gift of life!

Run For Hope 2012 is an annual charity event organised by Four Seasons Hotel Singapore, Regent Singapore and the National Cancer Centre Singapore (NCCS) to raise much-needed funds for cancer research.

 www.runforhopesingapore.org

10,000 people have signed up to participate in this charity 3.5km or 10km run along the Marina Bay / Kallang River!

Except for the occasional jogs (usually after a bout of pigging out and the horror that comes with thinking that my arms are getting a bit jiggly), I'm not really an avid runner.

BUT,

I was more than happy to lend my voice to a special charity recording in support of Run For Hope and the NCC Research Fund.

Lean On You (The Race) is a catchy, uplifting song that grows on you the more you listen to it. 40 of us in total sang for this!  

 

The few hours I spent in the studio, was straight out of a new Singapore Idol episode. With that much raw talent packed into the small place, I swear the room was about to spontaneously combust. Majority of the singers were experienced professionals, while in comparison to their soaring 10-octave vocals, I think I was more like a professional croaking toad. 

"Where's the analog? No analog? But we need analog, like in KTV! How to sing now? Dammit. "

A super cool surprise to meet one of my favorite local singer-songwriters - Shimona Kee!
I was so honored to sing alongside this talented woman!

Her uncle is a friend of my parents and passed them her CD. That's how I discovered this gem of a jazzy, accoustic album, which I love making my perfect morning soundtrack. 

It made my day when Shimona, knowing I was a tad anxious about my delivery, told me encouragingly, "You're actually not bad and you have a sweet singing voice, you just need some vocal training!" Maybe I'll sign up with her when I have the time one day

    The happy batch I was grouped in. Met many cool people, cute kids and old acquaintances. 

The other half of the 40? I only saw in the video

The people behind Lean on You have shown great earnestness and a sense of dedicated purpose to the cancer cause, especially actor Jerry Hoh (in front wearing glases), my friend who spearheaded this project. 

I, we all, sang our hearts out. Touched a little, no? ^.^

We hope the song will remind you that you can help make a difference in the lives of those affected by cancer, and those who might fall victim in the future. 

Registration for Run For Hope has closed, but you can show your support for the families and runners by making a donation!

Show a little love here

This Saturday, head over to the SMU Green in town for In Her Shoes, another charity event in conjunction with the NCCS. Lots of activities, performances & games await!

 

The story behind In Her Shoes is particularly moving. It was started by Simon Wong, who lost his wife Peikie to the disease several years ago. 

I was originally roped in to help make an appearance at the event as well, but at that time I had plans to be overseas unfortunately.

With so much heart and passionate effort by everyone organizing and contributing to this cause, it's worth it to do your bit!

God bless and happy weekend.

x

   Asia’s First Renoma Café Gallery 

Renoma – most of you probably know this French fashion brand for it’s stylish underwear range… 

… but did you also know there is a long and celebrated history behind the label?

The Story of Renoma

Started in the sixties by Monsieur Maurice Renoma at Rue de la Pompe, Paris, their forward, avant-garde designs were embraced by trendsetters in the fashion world.

They introduced many items into France for the first time −  Indian handkerchiefs, American shirts, Penny loafers, English student caps, boxer shorts, the Lenin velvet suit.

Renoma was responsible for dressing and styling a multitude of famous rockstars back then. Renoma was considered the main force in the yé-yé movement in Paris and subsequently grew popular in Japan too.

 

A dazzling troupe of the famous and beautiful would gather in the Renoma Paris boutique, which was the first to play ambient music. The likes of Elton John, Pele, Dali and Brigitte Bardot were often seen there.

Progressively, Renoma has since then expanded into women’s apparel, underwear, fragrance, and leather goods.

   

  

What next then? Why, F&B of course!

Most recently, Maurice Renoma translated his love of the creative arts and his passion for photography into a furniture and accessory line, that is showcased at The Renoma Gallery Café in Paris.

  

The Renoma Café Gallery is not just a restaurant, it is a hub of social activity --  part art gallery, part boutique, part dining establishment. It’s a chic, non-touristy (why didn't I know about this earlier!) spot in Paris, hosting photography expositions several times a year, such as those for Jimi Hendrix, The Rolling Stones, and James Dean.

So impressed were some visitors, they decided to bring this cool concept to Asia.

Renoma Café Gallery is now open in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia!

 

I was at the grand opening party on 24^th October, for an evening of high-octane fun with the glitterati of KL city.

Here are some highlights of the night:

With Natalia, Miss Malaysia finalist

Flying in specially from Paris... stylist-designer-photographer Maurice Renoma

He may be getting on in age, but that night and on another afternoon when I met Mr. Renoma, his dress sense and fashion detailing was sharper than most men I've seen; the spirit he possesses is still decidedly young and spunky!

Left: Erik Ong, my pal & also my work representative in Malaysia, founder of Erik Talent Management.
Center: The flamboyant celebrity Chef Wan. My dad is a fan of his shows and was excited to know I met him! 

On my right: Michael and Ronald From Moet Hennessy Diego Malaysia

Meet the owners: Linda Chen and Daniel Chiang. The couple who were so inspired to bring the art-form bistro to Malaysia. 

 
Dennis Lau, celebrity violist, electrifies the crowd

Look ma, the Eiffel Tower! A brilliant sand art performance

... and of course the night would not be complete without a sexy fashion show

'

Told ya it was sexy

I got my caricature done, what do you think?

  
Looks like the real person? Prettier, uglier, weirder? ;P

Food, drinks, fashion, art, music

Located in the heart of KL city, Renoma Café Gallery exudes a cozy, urban atmosphere where ample artwork is displayed everywhere.

The feeling it gives is of a hip and creative space in a contemporary setting, an “artsy” spot with industrial style décor mixed with digitally printed neo-classical leather lounge chairs. The quirky, raw sensuality balances the calm and relaxing ambience.

Of course, there is the Champ Galerie – a shopping and gallery area to satisfy the discerning shopper.

 

I had the chance to dine at Renoma Café Gallery on a lazy afternoon.

High ceilings and full length glass windows to allow plenty of natural sunlight in in the day. I must say it’s one of the nicer, more sophisticated hang-out spots in KL, compared to the usual restaurants in the malls!  At night, a live DJ spins music.

The heart of the menu is French, innovatively infused with American and Asian touches. I enjoyed my very delicious * personalized*meal!

(clockwise from top left): RCG smoothie, Croque Madame, my very own chocolate molten lava cake, escargots.

Foi Gras 

French Onion Soup

Le Café Gourmand
This dessert dish is the latest trend amongst Parisians, comprising of a long espresso, with “petit fours” of Macaroonn, Mango Millefeuile, Éclair, and Croquignole (double baked biscuits)!

Play darts!

Catch up with friends, organize a business lunch, or enjoy a romantic dinner… this is the place for smart executives, cool artists and fun people to gather in a chic, casual setting.

Plus needless to say, prices won’t hurt as much as the Parisian outlet!  :P

 

  

Renoma Café Gallery, KL

Lot 510, Jalan Bukit Bintang,

55100 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-2143-9919

http://www.facebook.com/renomacafegallery

 

Retail Therapy

Interesting prints... flirty details... fresh colors.
Add a little fun into your wardrobe this week with the new arrivals at www.lexilyla.com !

 

Instead of carrying all this clutter to go shopping..

    Cash, credit cards, coupons, membership rewards... baggage

Wouldn’t it be great if all you really need is…

 

Last week, I noticed tweets and pictures started showing up on social media about a pop-up event at Shaw Lido, and I saw this interesting video where passerbys with smart phones were in for a big surprise….

Those who tapped their phones won tons of instant prizes –  like free movie tickets, IMAX tickets and MovieBites Combo! Lucky them!

So apparently, it’s that easy with DBS One.Tap.

The future is here.

A VIRTUAL MOBILE PHONE CREDIT CARD!

Harnessing Near Field Communications (NFC) technology that links a device with a reader, we can now use NFC-enabled mobile phones to simply

Tap and Pay

We can also save offers, redeem coupons and download tickets instantly on our phone simply by tapping, without the need for keeping messy, loose scraps of paper (sigh, God knows I’m always losing mine...)

This easy and convenient service is accepted at 30,000 spots island-wide!

Some of the popular merchants you can use DBS One.Tap at include:

And much, much more.

Learn more about this exciting system:

Very cool. It's like a complete wallet – with payment, ticketing, loyalty, booking and couponing all combined within one application.

 

DBS One.Tap makes our modern lifestyle truly mobile!

I believe that in a small tech-orientated country such as Singapore, the introduction of such a service is bound to flourish and will become part of our everyday lives soon.

 

The whole project is a collaboration between DBS, MasterCard, StarHub and EZ Link, to provide customers a secure way of payment through the digital wallet app called “SmartWallet”

 

Sign up for DBS One.Tap here 

I can’t wait to get mine activated! What about you?  :)

The Real Spooks of the World

It's Halloween! Instead of just fooling around trick-or-treatin, why not educate yourselves on the true, evil powers of darkness around us?

Ever heard of the Illuminati, Free Masons, Knights Templar, Skull & Bones etc.? Wondered why banking empires have so much power, and what links they have to wars? Did you know the real reasons for the Holocaust are not just Hitler's doing? 

This is a shocking, but thoroughly researched, in depth video on the true history behind world events and the "wicked rich" as mentioned in the biblical book of James. A New World Order is coming. You'll never look at news the same way again. It's a wake up call to open our eyes and see the truth of what is going on. 

They should be teaching this for history class in schools instead!
 

We are in the end times; to fight the enemy, we have to be aware of who and what we're up against. Be prepared. Do further research if you must (the end credits of the video has some good suggestions). 

Don't be fooled by the media, brain-washing music and politicians too easily - there is a battle raging for your hearts and minds, so that one day you will readily accept the Anti-Christ as "saviour" in the New World Order. 

Many will probably dismiss this as crazy/religious/conspiracy talk, but as the creator of the video says, "I'm just trying to help you!"

Above all remember, "perfect love casts out fear". In these troubled end of days, we really need to know God personally and accept His unconditional love. He is waiting for His beloved children to come back to Him. There is no greater time than now to live for Him and His purposes. Then you'll realize, like I have come to, that there is no need to be afraid because we can rest in His amazing love. He is our Rock, His peace and grace will guide us.

If you don't know where to start, pick up a bible and start reading the New Testament, or try attending a church. Or if you're desperate, you can email me.

Rather than halloween, we can celebrate a HOLY-WIN instead

       5 EXCLUSIVE LEXI LYLA x KISSJANE INVITES TO GIVE AWAY

I can't describe how excited I am that my online boutique is now going to have a physical presence! Albeit a small one, but baby steps first

I'd like to invite 5 lucky fashionistas to attend the launch party of our first retail space in collaboration with 18 other local brands at KissJane, Vivocity. 

*HOW TO WIN YOUR INVITATION* 

Tell us why you love Lexi Lyla?

Email to : admin@lexilyla.com
Subject : I Wanna Shop Party with LL

Banyan Tree Ungasan, Bali

Out of the 7 or 8 (?) places so far I've stayed at in the popular island getaway of Bali, this is one of my favorites so far

Perched way up high on the cliffs of Bali’s southernmost peninsula, the gorgeous Banyan Tree Ungasan boosts panoramic views of the Indian Ocean. Coupled with it's signature opulent Asian-theme, luxury finishings and first class service, it made for a lush and magical retreat for my friends and I.

The cherry on top was our cliffside residence for that week... the stunning 2-bedroom "Cliff Edge Ocean View Sanctuary Villa". 

Be lulled by the gentle sea breeze and awake to the sound of breaking waves.

I spent my days watching the sunrise early at dawn, lazing on the cabana the whole day till sunset - with that spectacular view and excellent infinity pool, it was hard to resist.

All I did? Eating, reading, swimming, playing with friends, meditating, breathing in the ocean and watching the clouds go by. Will never forget those peaceful, refreshing times. Soul at ease.

 

Spanning over 565sqm with an outdoor jet pool, a 12 meter by 4 meter swimming pool, marble bathroom with sunken baths and an outdoor Balinese balé, this villa is treasured for its generous space, privacy and magnificent views of the Indian Ocean.

No make-up, just woken-up, absolutely still dazed & dreaming.

Phil! Is there such a thing as the Water Buddha? ;P

The master bedroom opens out directly into the pool. Super heavenly

If you want have the sudden urge to dip at 2a.m., just jump out of bed and jump in!

A glimpse into the rest of the sprawling villa.

The lobby.

"Flower bath? Can I jump in?"

Some interesting cultural sights await you if you venture outside.

Sunset. x

BANYAN TREE UNGASAN
TEL +62 361 300 7000
E-MAIL ungasan@banyantree.com
FAX +62 361 300 7777

http://www.banyantree.com/en/bali_ungasan/

 

Retrolicious 2012

Who else loves music from the 80s?

I am quite the fan of the feel-good classics that ruled my Wednesday nights at Zouk's Mambo Jambo during those heady, carefree teenage days.

Last year, I happily bopped and sang along to the likes of The Human League, Belinda Carlisle and Bananarama. This year, I arrived late  (just got back from a Bintan media trip), but was just in the nick of time to catch Tiffany and Alphaville. 

My friend David Tien, the resident Date Doctor on Class 95FM, brought me backstage where I met up with Jean Danker, Glenn Ong and got to talk to Tiffany! If you're going "Tiffany,who?", or even worse, "Tiffany from SNSD?"  then you, little one, must still be in school. Time to educate yourself on some great pop music history!

 

Hit 80s pop sensation Tiffany who just turned 41.

My favorite Tiffany songs from back then :

 

 *glassy-eyed, nostalgic, dizzy smile* 

 

 
I don't know why, but all her albums throughout her career were on display backstage.
It was her birthday so perhaps they wanted to do something special for her.

Side track a little.... I thought one of Tiffany's album reminded me very much of another teeny bopper pop star's....

Agree?

Last year I was at the other end, the air-conditioned VIP section in the Fort Canning building.
This year it was nice to get a view from the other extreme private end.

Massive 6000-strong karaoke session singing along to Alphaville's "Big in Japan" and "Forever Young"!

Their femme fatale guitarist gives an electrifying, head-banging rock out performance.

Class 95 djs in famous 80s personas

It's a pity I missed Wang Chung and Howard Jones. But it was still a fun night...

... that ended with coffee Patron shots in delicious chocolate cups!

Wonder which new (or should I say old?) acts Retrolicious will bring in next year?