Electronics: M1 Apple MacBook Pro

Oh man. Remember how I wrote that my employer decided to buy me a new device for work? Well, it’s here! I’m typing on it right now. It’s much lighter than my previous MBP and it is much faster, as one would expect. It took a couple of hours to set up but actually, now that I think of it, setting up and transferring thousands of files in a couple of hours really isn’t too bad.

Opening applications or starting it up hasn’t been as lightning fast as I was expecting given what I saw of it online, but its speed did shock me when I put my laptop into clamshell mode and my external monitors did not even blink. I thought it meant the laptop didn’t work properly in clamshell mode, but actually it had already switched modes!

I should have expected the silver version when it arrived – duh, that’s what I ordered. But the colour still surprised me a little because this is the first silver MBP I’ve seen of Apple’s new lineup. All of the device reviews or model devices I’ve seen have been grey. Now that I’ve got the silver version, I do quite like it but I think the grey actually looks more sophisticated.

I thought I’d hate the touch bar because I just didn’t see the point in it. However, within 10mins of using it I fell in love. It’s so much faster to use than moving the mouse around to click the right buttons, and being someone who uses hotkeys like nobody’s business it’s exactly what I didn’t know I needed haha. The only downside is that I sometimes end up clicking buttons on it by mistake when I’m going for the delete key.

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Fitness: Chloe Ting Resistance Bands – Initial Review

If you’re lurking here from Discord, or even if you aren’t, I have a small surprise… look what arrived in the mail today!!

That’s right. I got a set of Chloe Ting resistance bands. I haven’t yet used them so this is more of an unboxing/initial impressions review. But first thing’s first: isn’t the packaging simply adorable? I love that it’s recyclable but I’m probably going to keep the box for storage because it’s so cute.

Once you open the box you are greeted with a colourful background with Chloe’s signature words of encouragement. You also receive 3 individually packaged bands along with a cute cloth bag, and a card with with care instructions etc.

The bands are made of thick but soft material, they stretch well and also look beautiful. Look at those gorgeous pastel colours. The different colours represent different levels of resistance.

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How I Protect My Eyes From Digital Eye Strain

Hi there. Do you spend a lot of time staring at a screen? Your eyes are straining, but not looking at a digital monitor is not an option? You want to protect your eyes from Computer Vision Syndrome as much as possible, especially now that we’re all quarantined at home? Then this one is for you.

It’s been over a year since I’ve taken these steps and they have been very effective for me, so I wanted to share these in case it can help you too.

I have always had 20/20 vision. However, my previous occupations required staring a laptop for 9hrs+ per day, and eventually I realised that towards the end of the day, my vision would be going blurry, my eyes would be dry and I’d have regular headaches etc. It would be okay the next day after I’d had a good night’s rest, but the same thing would happen the next evening.

I became frightened when I was driving home one day and realised that even the pedestrian countdown timer that I once saw with full clarity had become so blurry I could barely make out the numbers anymore.

I suddenly recalled the time we were purchasing a new pair of glasses for my sister in China, and the salesperson had asked if she wanted a pair that filtered out blue light from screens. That’s when it clicked that all the blue light coming through all these screens were probably doing a number on my body and my eyesight.

So I did some research, and found this pair of glasses on Amazon that supposedly filtered out 50% of harmful blue light. They were inexpensive and I figured I’d give them a try.

It’s been over a year since I started wearing them and my verdict is this: These. Are. Amazing.

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Beauty: Current Faves

Believe it or not, the above two photos were taken within minutes from one another and both in the same room, and neither were taken with the lights on. Ah, the magic of sitting by the window vs not haha.

Today was a day where I felt a rare burst of productivity and energy when I woke up and I liked the way my skin looked after having done my 5-step Korean skincare routine (okay so it’s more like 5-7 steps depending on when you do it) so I decided to put on some make-up. And take this opportunity to write about a few of my favourite products.

In these pictures I am wearing:

– No Poreblem Primer (part of the Korean skincare routine)
– Billion Dollar Brows Mad About Brows eyebrow liner*
– Lord & Berry Line/Shade eyeliner in Dark Black*
– Annayake 24hr Nude Moisturizing Veil in Clair (kinda like BB Cream – it’s very lightweight, comes out dark but then magically matches your skin tone once on)*
– Physicians Formula Bronze Booster (apparently discontinued – similar)*
– Shu Uemura Rouge Unlimited Supreme Matte lipstick in shade 342
– Mac Mineralize Blush in Warm Soul
– Blinc Mascara
Items marked * were gifted to me back when I worked in the industry (yep, they’re old. I probably shouldn’t be using them but I like them and don’t want to waste them) and to be honest, I never knew the value of these until now. Oh my gosh some of them are PRICEY O_O

But we’re not here to talk about all of those. We are here to talk about these three beauties:

The last 3 on my list; I absolutely adore these and I’ll tell you why.

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