* Show Tunes I’ve watched Wicked [the musical] twice – once on Broadway in New York early this year, and most recently, on West End in London. While I enjoyed the company of my girls in London more than my companions in New York, I did love the atmosphere and the theatre in New York more. Plus, when I walked out of the theatre in New York, it started snowing! How romantic. I’m listening to the songs again, and you can take a listen to two of my favourites: What Is This Feeling; No Good Deed.

* Zara My heart beats faster, my palms starts feeling clammy, I feel a grin creeping up on my facial shores – only happens when the realisation that I am in close proximity to a Zara store and its Fall Winter Collection is in! Best thing Spain ever came up with, even their fideua doesn’t come close. Here’s how breathtaking it is:

* myspringfling’s first manufactured dress The lovely ladies at myspringfling finally rolled out the design of their first manufactured item: an effortless, timeless white dress that will take you from beaches to brunches and I love it. A scalloped hem and a gorgeous boat-neckline that shows off your collarbone, I’d put myself on myspringfling’s mailing list if I were you! ;o)

*thedramadiaries.com’s birthday! thedramadiaries.com turns one in a week! [thedramadiaries though, has been around for a whopping five years - my early archives though, are quite toe-curling and not in a pleasant way. Blame teenage angst and depression] Will there be a giveaway? Yes there will! Lots of super cute, lovingly handpicked stuff to demonstrate my undying love for you. ;o)

Eid Eid is in less than a week, and whilst I’m looking forward to seeing the new additions to the family [my cousins are constantly procreating], I’d actually rather have Ramadan go on forever than to have to bother with relatives asking me when I’m getting hitched. Anybody knows a cute boy you can fix me up with? I’ll name out firstborn after you. Heh. And well, I’m not exactly fond of my extended family anyway. If I had it my way, I’d exist in a little bubble of my family, plus a select few cousins and aunts and uncles. Unfortunately, I don’t have it my way.

* Paloma Faith is badass. Her tragically romantic voice, her theatrical songs, and her wicked sense of style. Gaga can suck on it. The only problem with Paloma is that she resides in London. And you know as well as I do London ain’t got nothin’ on NYC. I mean, c’mon, Paloma even sings about New York.

What’s on your Love List?

And then, there are other fresh-faced ones who you know will make it big if they stick to their guns, and one of them is Sage Dakota. The redhead hottie speaks to thedramadiaries about modelling, music and other maniacal mayhem.

Tell thedramadiaries readers about yourself.
I’m Canadian based in Singapore, I moved here in 2007, then to the US in 2009, and now I am back!

How did you get the idea of becoming a model? What happened?
The idea of modeling never really came to me, I was kind of just raised into the industry because my mother is a Hair & Makeup artist. When I was younger I went to set with her a few times and the photographers wanted to use me in some of the shots, which lead to my mom getting me an agent, and I had my first big-time commercial for Nutella when I was 11, which is still airing today!

Do you enjoy being in front of the camera? Why?
Yes, I enjoy being in front of the camera cause I can play up different emotions! I’ve always been into fashion and trying different looks, in fact for my grade 6 graduation I had my hair made into a bow (before Lady Gaga, Thanks Mom!) and I wore a vintage black dress.

How has it been working in Singapore so far?
I’m not officially with an agency here right now, but I am working with a local agency that my agent in Toronto, Chantale Nadeau, put me in connection with. The modeling industry in Singapore has many international models, so yes, I have met models here that are from Russia, Brazil, Australia, and Canada.

How cool is it that your mom is a hair & makeup artist?
Very cool! My mom had to teach me at an early age how to wind back lipsticks, because my Mom would get to set only to realize that I had gotten into her makeup kit, according to her… many lipsticks were squished!

If God was a DJ, what music would he play?
Anything but Justin Bieber. Hopefully Local Natives, MGMT, City & Colour, and a bit of Ke$ha, because such talent that’s gone into lyrics like, “I like your beard” needs to be heard.

Tell us about your style, and where you like to shop?
If a store is open, and there’s clothes inside, that’s where I like to shop. But seriously, yes I like to shop, it’s inherited. Some local places I like to shop include: Far East Plaza, Topshop, Wisma Atria, anywhere in Ion, and Breakfast at Tiffany’s at Tanglin Mall (shh… don’t tell my father).

Tell us a secret talent.
I can fold my hand against my wrist. And a not-so-hidden talent is that I am an aspiring singer.

What pisses you off?
I adore my parents, but their lectures get a bit annoying and repetitive.

If you could be invited to one person’s birthday party, whose would it be?
I know she is a bit overkill in the media right now, but Lady Gaga, she’s so crazy (in a good way) it would have to be a good party!

You’ve lived in Canada, the US and Singapore, and you’re barely sixteen! What are you looking forward to most now?
Yeah, I get around ;). I’ve been very lucky to travel and see as much as I have (thanks Dad for working so hard!) I’m looking forward to the endless possibilities that travelling and life experiences have opened my eyes to.

Good luck, Sagey! Go out there and take over the world – and when you do, tell ‘em all you were on thedramadiaries first! ;o)

photos by Richard Dubois & Andrea Claire

If you have no clue what ‘facial’ my friends are referring to, switch off Safe Search on Google Images and look for it. Um, it’s also NSFW, fyi.

Where I had my “most incredible facial ever”? At Renaza Wellness Lifestyle Lab, a cosy new spa smack in bustling Orchard Road at Orchard Central. Just when you thought Orchard Central was a redundant building on the shopping street [I mean, seriously? The range of shops there is awful and the only things worth walking over for are the fast food. And I don't even eat fast food anymore!], you now have a reason to walk over whilst carrying your bags from Forever 21 at 313.

I had the luxury of sampling one of Renaza’s brands, Repechage’s Four-Layer Facial, herald as The Best Facial of the Century by Cosmopolitan UK. The facial features layer, upon layer of fresh seaweed slopped onto your facial shores!

As yummy is seaweed when devoured, it also has top notch properties when it comes to skin salvaging, amongst which, seaweed has anti-aging properties, provides protection against UV radiation, moisturises and it treats acne. Who’d have thunk?

I have a secret obsession with snails – I want to keep one as a pet cos I think they’re crazy cute. So when the people at Renaza told me they carry a cream called ELICINA, which is made from the secretion of snails, I was horrified!

Thankfully, no snails were harmed in the process, so I could breathe again.

A Chilean invention, ELICINA was first made in the very home of Dr Bascuñán and his wife and took South America by storm. And the story behind it’s disccovery?

Dr Bascuñán’s family was in the business of exporting snails to Europe to be sold as food. Working at a farm entailed suffering from occasional cuts and abrasions as they needed to handle tools and nails while making cages to keep the snails. Over time, the Bascuñán family noticed that the more they handled the snails, the faster their wounds seemed to heal. This led to an investigation, which Dr Bascuñán’s oldest son took to task. Working with the University of Chile’s medical school, he discovered that snail secretion contained Allantoin (a cellular regenerator) in a natural state.

The snail secretion used is the very same one the snail harnesses to quickly regenerate its own shell and body whenever it is damaged, and ELICINA can be used to combat various things including: the treatment of scars and kelloids, acne and stretch marks. While admittedly, I have yet to use ELICINA, I’m quite excited cos’ it just goes to show how awesome snails are. All I need to find out is how feasible it is to keep a snail as a pet.

The Repechage Four-Layer Facial is available for both dry and oily combination skin types for $250 & $280 respectively at Renaza Wellness and Lifestyle Lab Orchard Central, #02-13 T: 6884 4993

Sweet mother of god. SO freakin’ hot.

Some friends buy shoes together, others sit down and dish about boys. Andrea – my sista from another mista – and I, spill secrets on how to blow like a pro.

Here’s the thing – you waltz into a salon, get a spiffy cut and look fabulous but you can never get that exact same blow-out. Hair and makeup genius Andrea Claire teaches the Beauty Idiot [i.e.: Me] how to blow dry my own hair! And trust me – it’s not as easy as it sounds. Like anything new, it’s hard to wrap your lips around it, but once you get the hang of it, it’ll come easy. ;o)

And the best part – we’re making our video blogs a regular thing, so get excited. We’ll spill more secrets, go behind-the-scenes and put ourselves into ridiculous situations only Faz & Andrea are quite capable of. Tell us what you think and what else you want us to suss out!

Lulu Guinness phone cover, awesome Minx Nails & my baby.

To say that I’ve received devastating news over the past couple of days would be my exaggerating, so let’s just say I’ve been disappointed and received a reality check out of it. My world didn’t fall apart, I didn’t want to bury myself under the covers and cry until I didn’t have any tears left and I didn’t want to devour all the chocolate I can lay my hands on.

But my heart did do quite the perilous plunge; down through the tiers of air and atmosphere, towards the unforgiving ground.

Like clockwork, I stash the whispers of incessant whimsy at the back of my head, at the inner-most corner of my frail, frail corazon. Comb through wisps of poetic memory. Take back memories of candlelight, conversation, cafes, cigarettes, and card games. Stand with skinned knees, and flick the dirt free with my fingertips.

I need to feel complete again. I need to live and not merely exist; in a way that makes all the air whistle away from my lungs, and my heart inflate from the ecstasy of the risk, of the days finally fitting into my dreams, of being alive. And I can tell you all the times I’ve had my heart swell up to infinite proportions of delirium are times when I’m in a foreign land, scribbling away in my travel journal, and occasionally looking up to soak in the world around me. I want to bottle up that feeling.

Sometimes I think I am ravenous for change, but for everything that I’ve been brave enough to do, sometimes I don’t think I’m deserving of the change I want to make. Other times; other times I think all I need is something to believe in.

And just because, here’s something to listen to:Vanessa Fernandez – Half of My Heart

Unfortunately – or fortunately, when I hear anything from Florence & The Machine, there are so many places that I’m reminded of because I listen to them over and over again. Whether it’s waiting for my ride back to Ghent from Bruges whilst in Belgium, or darting through a flower market in Amsterdam, or even getting a work out at the gym, Florence & The Machine is something I can listen to no matter what mood I’m in, and gives me good tingly chills every time I listen.

Here are photos taken by Alex Lake during the filming of one of my favourite songs, Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up):

Check out Eiko Ishizawa