First, it was Xanadu. Then suddenly, the duet.

She looks just as I’d remembered her from the warm, summer nights more than 30 years ago – Sandy Olsen from Grease (1978).

Her sweet innocence and demeanor was so captivating. If there’s such a thing as a “girl-crush”, I had that.

I wanted so much to tell her “You’re the one that I want and I honestly love you.”

But then, there was Sam. (“And please Mr please… If you love me let me know…” I found myself singing along)

30 years on…I never imagined that I would ever get to see her again…live in concert singing all my favourite songs.

And you know what’s amazing about her? She’s not gonna give into it, even though she’s weathered some of the worst storms of life. And she sings of nothing but love, grace and gratitude.

Oliver Newton-John, or ONJ as my colleagues at GOLD90FM would say, I’m hopelessly devoted to you…

When English writer Charlotte Bronte first wrote the novel Jane Eyre back in 1847, she displayed ahead of her time such a forward understanding of the word passion that she personified it through the person of Jane. Throughout the book, Charlotte gave such lucid descriptions of how Jane’s indomitable spirit fuelled and fired her stubborn individualism, zest for life, and exuberant personality.

But was she popular? Of course not!

Jane was different, period.

She was different because of her high and lofty views on love and morality. And because she stuck to her ‘moral guns’ (so to speak), she had to learn to stomach scorn and endure the relentless taunting from those around. Her stoical acceptance of suffering was remarkable. And she grew into the woman that she was through these painful life lessons.

Even her own aunt hated her to the core and was jealous of this very passion she had for life. In fact, she derived some sick pleasure at watching Jane suffer in the hands of her own tyrannical son who senselessly oppressed and tortured her. Even years after, poor Aunt Reed was still clinging onto that hatred and bitterness and they gnawed at her soul as she languished unto death.

By the end of the novel, even though Jane was alone and friendless, she had abundant life. She not only inherited a hefty fortune of 20,000 pounds from her beloved Uncle John, but also married the man whom she loved and who loved her as much as himself.

What would Jane look like today?

Would you be able to recognize her from across a crowded room?

How would she behave and what would she say… to you?

I’ve come to realise our response to life and its challenges is all that really matters. Truth is, caustic remarks are passed all the time and are more often than not reflections of deep-rooted insecurities. Our life experiences either leave us bitter or better.

I choose the latter.

What do they have in common?

Well, the way I see it, they’re both highly successful individuals who have given their lives to giving hope to others. And they’ll both be at the Singapore Sun Festival 2010 to share their secrets to success.

Li Cunxin was indeed Mao’s last dancer. Born into utter poverty in Mao’s communist China, he was selected to train in Madame Mao’s Beijing Dance Academy at the age of 11. And after 7 years of harsh training regime at the academy, he emerged one of the best dancers in the world.  

Photograph used with permission from Mr Li Cunxin

Li’s journey from humble beginnings and catapult to international stardom in ballet was nothing short of  passion, determination, perseverance, discipline, resilience, courage and hard work; of maximising opportunities in life and turning dreams into reality. It’s also a demonstration of the importance of family and love.

Using this same blueprint for success, he made a successful transition from dancing to the world of finance in Australia years later.

People who have read Li’s book or heard Li’s story are always deeply touched and motivated.

I know I am.

Photographs used with permission from Mr Li Cunxin

From one inspirational speaker to another, Vikas Malkani was another person who knew exactly what he wanted out of life and how to get it. Just 10 minutes into the conversation and suddenly I had a whole new way of looking at life.

Photograph used with permission from Mr Vikas Malkani

Vikas is a firm believer that you are the author of your own life story and believes that every person has a right to be happy and successful. That happiness is success.  And that it’s possible to to achieve success without struggles.

A football player is a case in point. He spends hours out in the field running up an down trying to defend the ball, trying to score a goal. Is he struggling? Nope. He’s enjoying it!

Vikas was in his late twenties when he started searching for true happiness. Happiness that would last. Happiness that isn’t dependent on circumstances. That’s when he discovered that happiness is a state of mind.

And the good news is… we could all be happy.

Imagine a company of say 100 people, everyone could be happy and successful and what would a company like that look like? Heaven…

When I was small and christmas trees were tall
we used to love while others used to play
Don’t ask me why, but time has passed us by,
some one else moved in from far away

Now we are tall and christmas trees are small
And you don’t ask the time of day
But you and I, our love will never die
but guess we’ll cry come first of may…I know it’s not Christmas yet, but being on the world’s largest Giant Observation Wheel sure brought back bittersweet memories about my childhood. Bitter because those days are gone forever; sweet because of what those memories represent. I’ve always loved merry-go-rounds, carousels and “fairies” wheels (or so I thought). I would imagine literally hundreds of little fairies working really hard at turning the gigantic wheel. It was much later (all thanks to my teachers at school who corrected my spelling but stymied the healthy development of my childhood imagination) that I realised the truth about the “fairies wheel” – that it’s spelled as ferris wheel and it’s certainly not the work of Tinker Bell and her friends.

When you’re young, you’ll be easily impressed with anything that seemed a whole lot bigger than yourself. Now that I’m older and wiser, I’ve come to realise that absolutely no ferris wheel can compare with the Singapore Flyer, the world’s largest Giant Observation Wheel that makes 28 rotations in a single day. Made up of a total of 28 capsules, the Singapore Flyer stands at a towering 165 metres (the height of a 42 storey building) above the city and 150 metres in diameter – about the length of 87 Singaporean men who are 1.72m in height and lying head-to-toe. Each of the 16-ton capsules is uv-protected for optimum comfort and safety, comes fully air-conditioned and can accommodate up to 28 people. So, exactly how long did it take for this S$240 million structure to be put together? Answer: more than 1 million manhours.

Last Saturday, I had the privilege of feeling on top of the world in one of the Moet and Chandon Champagne capsules. For a good 30 minutes, time stood still while I took in all the sights and sounds of Singapore’s dynamic cityscape. It was magic. I was a little girl all over again, running from one corner of the capsule to the next and taking pictures of the different landmarks of Singapore and naming the different buildings and skyscrapers, some old while others, new.

The most amazing thing was that for a person who had been suffering from motion-sickness and a fear of flying for quite a number of years, I never felt safer onboard the Singapore  Flyer! There was no experience of jerky lateral movements or vertigo. In fact, it was like watching television in the comfort of my living room. The wheel design, based on an extensive study of the dynamic wind load data and precision wind engineering must have ensured that.

Being onboard The Singapore Flyer is truly a moving experience at every turn. If you haven’t been on the Singapore Flyer and would like to soon, tune in to My Favourite Things on Evening Drive 5-8pm, with me, Lynette Tan and win your chance to up, up and away into the gloriously bejewelled nightskies.

The lesson learnt (take note, all brides-to-be): plan to do your nails way in advance or at least a week before your wedding… Or is it?

Jamie Yip, business owner, of Polished and I had a good laugh when I was recounting this whole incident to her. Her  immediate response, so candid and confident, “No need lah! Just come in the day before will do!”

Polished uses this new product which is a kind of soft gel that applies on like nail polish but dries in two minutes under special ultra violet rays. Yup! Two minutes and that’s all it takes. (Suggestion: You could do this during your lunch hour, it won’t take two minutes!)

Over the weekend, I had the luxury and privilege of trying on this soft gel product and I’m convinced that it works. I didn’t have to tip-toe neither did I have to be extra careful that my toes didn’t knock into each other. I was able to put on my covered shoes immediately after it was done. No blotches. No smudges. And it comes in 48 very pretty colours and I chose Red Roses.

What stood out for me about the experience at Polished was that when you first enter the shop. The technician takes great pains to explain the hygiene code that they abide by religiously. I say religiously because they’ve actually made them commandments - ”Thou shall not share” and “Thou shall sterilise”.

Thou shall not share finger nor foot file.  In fact, thou shall not share cuticle-pusher-and-under-nail-cleaner dual tool, nor cuticle nippers. All tools which come into contact with the skin are new sets and individually packaged and sealed for your safety and hygiene. Opened in front of you only when you want to use it.

When talking about sterilising. I’m talking superheated steam heat and pressure that kill microbes on medical instruments used for surgical, dental and veterinary procedures. I’m talking autoclaves used by dentists, doctors and surgeons and nightly, 30 sets of tools are placed inside the autoclave and once the process is applied to the instruments, no bacteria or contaminants remain. So if there’s one thing you can count on at Polished is that they really mean business when it comes to cleanliness and hygiene. Of course, services are complete with the niceties of foot  scrub, massage, and even a special paraffin wrap to ensure that your skin is supple and you feel pampered. That’s why Polished is the Best in Beauty winner 2010.

They are second to none.

Try them for yourself. Tune in to Evening Drive with me Lynette. Monday to Friday 5 to 8pm and win vouchers worth over $100 from Polished when you take part in a simple call-in contest on My Favourite Things.

Being in an all girl school has its pressures. Especially when you know that all your other well-to-do classmates are going to dress up to the nines. There was a compelling need to match up. So there I was in my then little black dress, wearing heels, a little black handbag and make-up. Lipstick in pastel pink to be precise and that was it.

And it’s interesting that most girls would start with the lipstick.

But I have since progressed to be an avid collector of make-up of every kind. Eye shadows, eyeliners, blushes, concealers, foundations, mascaras, different shades of lipsticks,  lip balms. You name it, I’ve got it.

Ancient Mesopotamian women were possibly the first women to invent and wear lipstick. They crushed semi precious jewels and used them to decorate their lips. Cleopatra had her lipstick made from crushed carmine beetles, which gave a deep red pigment, and ants for a base. Weird.

Lipstick has come a long way since and in 16th century England, it started to gain popularity during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, who made piercing red lips and bright white faces a fashion statement. By that time, thankfully, lipstick was made from an edible blend of beeswax and red stains from plants. Only upperclass women and male actors wore makeup.

Interestingly, did you know that in 1770 a British law was proposed to the Parliament that a marriage should be annulled if the woman wore cosmetics before her wedding day? In fact, When Queen Victoria took the throne in 1837, she banished lipstick and deemed that it was brazen and uncouth to wear makeup. Then of course the whole evolution of lipstick wouldn’t be complete without reports being published in the 1850s warning women of the dangers of using lead and vermillion in cosmetics applied to the face. Then as a solution to those problems reported, at the end of the 19th century, a French cosmetic company, began to manufacture lipstick. The first lipstick was invented in 1884 by perfumers in Paris, France.

This week on My Favourite Things, my special guest is Liza Haron, National Trainer from the professional make-up company Make Up Forever and they’ll be launching their super-sexy, red, hot Moulin Rouge lipstick on 1-7 October at Sephora at Ion Orchard.

So want to learn makeup tips from the professionals?

Tune in to Evening Drive Mondays to Fridays 5 to 8pm only on Symphony 92.4fm to win makeover vouchers from Make Up Forever.

Well, the number 12 is also reason enough for a good bottle of Clos Du Mesnil 1995 and a hearty dollop of good cheer for Ms Ice Tan, founder and designer of By Ice, a local fashion couture that will be 12 this 25th September. And to mark this special occasion, Ice has decided to share the joy of her success with all you fashionistas out there on My Favourite Things!

I first trundled into her store by chance while window shopping at Parkway Parade and for a good ten years, never saw any reason why I should stop doing so! In fact, By Ice is the only local fashion couture I’ve been faithfully patronising all this time simply because the clothes she makes really fit the singaporean female form! Seriously, I’m a confessed pragmatist when it comes to buying things. I’d rather go back to the same bakuteh shop if I know for sure that I can derive the same level of oomph with the same amount of dollars! That’s what By Ice promises each and every season: consistency, consistency, consistency! And over these years, I’ve admittedly amassed quite a collection of clothes from By Ice. One of my personal favourites and is one of Ice’s bestsellers is this black chiffon dress that comes complete with lining and can be worn in multiple ways.

Ice is evidently quite an avid experimenter. She has to be. With increasing competition from cheaper, mass-produced imports, and increasing scores of couture wannabes out there, she has to fiddle with new design ideas, explore unconventional textural combinations, and scour for interesting colours and prints in order to make her dresses something you’d love to own! In fact, what you get at By Ice is purposefully created to accentuate your curves the right way, highlight your best features, and bring out the best in you!

With a name like Ice, this self-styled, self-made local designer could have easily been mistaken to be a icy-cold character who’s aloof and self-absorbed. That, however, is far from the truth. In fact, what really stands out is the fact of her honesty, candidness and an apparent lack of snob although she’s every good reason to be. Having trained for a few years at Anteprima and studied at the famous Parsons School of Design New York, and with two successful By Ice outlets under her belt, this woman is as clear as the light of day and humble as a churchmouse.

So what inspires her designs? Her answer is as simple as it is reassuring: every design stems from her personal experiences in life. She would never put out a single item in her stores at Bugis Junction and Parkway Parade that she wouldn’t be proud of wearing and completely comfortable in.

Want to be a part of the 12th anniversary celebrations of By Ice? Join me on Evening Drive from 5 to 8 pm only on Symphony 92.4fm.

While buffet meals avail to us many choices, they often leave us none the wiser. Attention to quality tends to get smothered by sheer quantity. Besides, how much can we eat before the law of diminishing marginal utility sets in? And that’s something Chihuly Lounge successfully avoids with their latest high tea repertoire that packs a punch but goes easy on your waist. But can a set meal really give you more ooomph and value-for-money than a buffet? I was there to find out.

But first let me introduce you to the man behind the scenes: Executive Chef of Ritz Carlton Millenia Singapore, Mr Arnaud Thulliez. He’s the man who’s behind the novel idea of an exquisite 8-course repertoire that has just been launched recently at Chihuly’s. So really, what’s the intention behind a set menu for high-tea when almost everybody else does it buffet style? The keywords here are ”simple and fundamental”. In  fact, throughout my interview with him, I noticed him using the word “true” several times, underscoring his personal convictions about how important it was to ensure fundamentals and integrity in his every culinary endeavour. Here was a man who truly understood what it really means to go back to the basics and the urgent need for it in modern dining.

A lot more was revealed about Chef Arnaud’s culinary approach when I asked him for his opinion on celebrity Chefs who have made it big through cooking programmes. I could sense a polite reservation in his response. That said, he’s anything but a culinary prude. A puritan perhaps, but certainly not a prude.

My visit to this dining enclave started off with a ritzy welcome by an entourage of staff and a tall glass of refreshing passion fruit concoction. Being surrounded by such hospitality, I felt instantly at home. That, however, didn’t quell my curiosity about what’s in the drink that gave it a kick like no other. Chef Arnaud was obviously unwilling to tell me more, smiling sheepishly, and comfortable in his settee. His reticence reminded me of the espionage movies I’ve watched before: “If I tell you, I would’ve to kill you.” Ok. I probed no further, and just enjoyed the drink.

After an elaborate tea ceremony as part of the whole experience, I was served a handsome chunk of Salmon Coulibiac all neatly wrapped in a meticulous layer of crisp puff pastry. Embedded in the centre was a gelatinous blanket of glutinous rice and fresh baby spinach, creating a perfect balance of taste and texture that was completely new to me but really yummy. What stood out for me most was the fact of Chef Arnaud’s ingenuity in putting east and west together, creating a culinary showpiece that symbolised a multi-cultural exchange that welcomed and allowed for respective distinctiveness. Ode also to the delicious sauce gribiche that made the finishing touch good to great!

What followed next was a gold circular tea set stand that was itself as impressive as the delicious morsels sitting in it. In fact, everything looked so good that I was actually unwilling to sink my teeth into any of them! For this course, there was a good variety of items, including the savoury and sweet. There were open and closed sandwiches, smoked chicken and chestnut salad in Laugen Roll, macaroon pistachio, strawberry puffs that looked like tiny hamburgers, and berries with bora-bora vanilla cream.

For me, my favourite had to be the raisin scones. I do admit that I have a weakness for scones and having tried quite a few here in Singapore and Australia, I must say that Chihuly Lounge really serves very good scones in comparison! Well-buttered, perfectly baked and of the right-size, the scones had the right amount of fluff that complemented the richness of the cluttered cream straight out of Devonshire and the rich fruity flavour of the strawberry jam.

“This cream is not your average whipped cream that you find elsewhere,” says Chef Arnuad with a hint of puritanical pride, “we specially import this straight from Devonshire”.

And as I was thoroughly enjoying the bite-sized delights, Chef Arnaud proudly shared with me his philosophy of this 8-course repertoire and the good services at Chihuly’s: nothing’s mass-produced, everything’s personalised right down to the chinaware with goldleaf borders on which these afternoon treats were served. I was really impressed. After all, at a good price of $39 per guest, what you can get out of this whole experience beats handsdown the huge amounts you would have to pay elsewhere for food that’s often the usual same-old, same-old.

Speaking of which, did you know that the fine china shaped in an ice-cream cone and secured by a gold-plated bracket is also a special customisation done only for Chihuly Lounge and straight out of France? The tangy and refreshing raspberry sorbet which it contains is also something you wouldn’t want to miss. Dig deeper and you’ll find that right at the bottom, you’ll get a wonderful smattering of rose jelly and lychees, giving this awesome sorbet an excellent degree of bite!

The grand finale could have qualified as a complete treat in itself. For this last course, Chihuly Lounge serves a dazzling range of tea cakes, cookies, kuey lapis, and four types of praline, all lavishly displayed in a customised pass-around trolley that seemed more antiquarian than the Singer sewing machine table I have at home. Here at Chihuly’s, they really know how to pamper you with all the niceties right down to the jot. It was a really sweet end to an afternoon of great food and relaxation.

In a city where everything runs like clockwork, it’s great to know there are places like Chihuly Lounge where you can slow down, enjoy a good read and not have to make executive decisions about which high-tea buffet package to get.

Find out more on what Chihuly Lounge has to offer and stand a chance to win cash vouchers on My Favourite Things every weekday. Tune in to Evening Drive from 5 to 8 pm only on Symphony 92.4fm.

It was about 8 years ago when I first chanced upon Charlotte Atelier which was then renamed to what it is today. The real draw for me then was their concept of a ring centerpiece that was interchangeable.

Complete with a chunky stainless steel body of an impressive size, this ring is really quite a stunner. What’s really great is the huge range of attachments that you can buy to create your own customised rings. A word of caution, though, Ms Florence Neo – Director of Charlotte Ehinger-Schwarz 1876 – will not be responsible for your addiction! That, interestingly, is the way she began her entrepreneurial journey with this flagship store. From personal obsessison to public sales, Florence has been in this for more than 10 years now, a fact she’s totally unpretentious about.

In fact, Charlotte has been doing so well that this husband-and-wife team is now into their third outlet at the Marina Bay Sands. My personal favourite – the outlet at Suntec City – still draws the regular jewellery junkies and many fresh faces who’d like something unusual to add to their collection of gems and designer precious metals. Just the right place to be, I must say, because Charlotte’s got everything to suit every taste – from the privately conservative to the expressively flamboyant!

The multiple attachments are really easy to fix. You just need the tool (which you can get with the ring), a nifty set of fingers and a good eye for the right combination of colours, texture, theme, and voila! A totally stunning ring in seconds! The following is a picture of how a typical changeable ring looks, stripped down to its individual parts:

So, you can imagine how much fun it is to be able to go out with a different look each time, to match different outfits and moods, and create quite a conversation during your watercooler breaks!

Along with their change of name or perhaps more in spite of it, Charlotte’s expanded their product offering to include the black and white ceramic rings and other premium jewellery. So don’t be fooled by the blog title and go away thinking that Charlotte’s only about rings. In fact, they’ve got beautiful pendant pieces, lustrous Tahitian Pearls in every setting imaginable, and unique items like the Niessing Ring (tension rings), the crinkled gold jewellery and the famous Gabrielle diamonds with 105 facets and in twelve unique shapes! What you see here are only four different ones, taken without a proper studio setting, tripods, extravagant floodlights, and the works (i.e. the photos mayn’t do these topgrade gems justice!).

The Niessing Ring is also a stroke of genius. Not requiring the use of a claw or adhesive agents, the ring possesses enough tension to keep the stone in place, allowing for a full view of the gem. That way, you can appreciate the clarity and brilliance of the stone without visual hindrance. The technology behind the Niessing Ring also allows for movement of the set stone, adding yet another dimension to aesthetics and such creative ring design as seen in the Runway, the Abacus, and the Acrobat below.

Florence tells me that the patented crinkled gold jewellery was also a simple idea that had gained artistic prominence in the world of premium jewellery. Like Isaac Newton who discovered the law of gravity in a falling apple, so did this crinkled masterpiece come from an idea as simple as a crushed piece of paper. How amazing is that?

Well, having the opportunity to interview Florence was really a dream come true. How many of us really know about the lives of those whose shopfronts we see day in and out. If not for My Favourite Things, I would’ve been happily satisfied with the jewellery but not know the person behind this entrepreneurial success.

Anyway, what’s a girl to do when she gets to try on such fine jewellery for free? She tries them, and takes a whole lot of photographs in them!

So, want to hear more about how to choose and take care of your jewellery? Join me on Evening Drive from 5 to 8 pm only on Symphony 92.4fm.