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Channel: Monoxious

All About The Chest, ’bout The Chest

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I can’t believe it’s about four months since my surgery with Banobagi. For those of you who have sent well wishes through comments, emails and Instagram, thank you so much. I really appreciate the concern.

The picture below was taken around three months after the surgery. It’s hard to describe but I still behave like I have a flat chest. I’d be amazed at how good I look in bikinis or low-cut tops all while forgetting that I have to buy clothes with a little more give in the chest area now.

Was it worth it?
A million times yes. For years I wondered if I would miraculously start growing boobs. I’ve been waiting for them since puberty and when I look in the mirror now, I’m staring at a body that I’ve dreamed of for the longest time. I consider it a milestone in my life and it’s one of the best decisions I’ve made.

Didn’t you say it hurt?
It did. I won’t deny that there was pain involved and it lasted about a month for me. I would wake up hugging my boobs cause it felt really sore. I am also still coming to terms with the fact that I voluntarily put my body under distress.

Describe the pain of going through breast augmentation (Mastotomy).
For a detailed account of my pain, you can go to my earlier post where I described it when it was still fresh in my head. I remember a lot of discomfort when moving around. Anything which involved my upper body required extra effort and caused me plenty of grief. I couldn’t lift my arms and this didn’t just involved carrying things. Putting on clothes was a challenge and I usually end up wearing sleeveless dresses that I could just pull from the bottom up. As my implants were placed under the muscle (sub-muscular), it took a longer time to heal but it was a decision that Dr. Ban Jae-Sang and I agreed on as I had very little breast tissue to work with so sub-muscular implants would look much more natural.

What are the details of your surgery again?
I went for 260cc cohesive gel implants which are teardrop-shaped. The incision is transaxillary (from the armpits) and goes under the muscle. I wanted natural looking breasts and I went from an A-cup to about a C-cup. It sounds huge but it’s actually pretty comfortable for my frame as you can tell from the photo above. Remember how big the cup size is, is dependent on your rib cage measurements as well. (Check out /r/aBraThatFits for more information.)

Are there scars?
Of course! My scars are still red and very visible. I avoid lifting my arms in public because of that. They are about 6cm long but I would say that they are healing along very nicely although it will still take a while for them to be less obvious. The scar cream that was prescribed by the doctor from Banobagi really helped.

How long did it take to heal?
My scars took only a few days to heal and according to the nurses at Banobagi (after my first post-surgery check-up), it was healing along nicely. My stitches were removed after seven days. My breasts implants were bolted on my chest and they were really horrible and fake-looking. If i hadn’t read up on it, I would be really upset and thought that my breasts were gonna look like this forever. The body takes time to heal, skin and muscles will take time to stretch as well.

For the first two weeks, my implants looked like they were making my breasts point forward and they sat really high. However, I saw the improvement after the second week as it began to ease into my body. I could see the side rounded out like real boobs would and the side profile of my breasts looked like it was sloping instead of having a sudden roundness.

The pain took around four weeks to completely go away. Every single bump and step was a toll on my chest. I had to hug it to keep them from moving around and causing pain. I was advised not to wear a bra (just pasties) so that gravity would work its magic and make my implants fall and look more natural. I wear bras now but I am still staying away from underwired ones so that I can improve its appearance further.

They don’t feel like real breasts yet and I was told by a friend of mine who underwent breast augmentation too that it would take up to a year for them to feel really soft. I’ll keep everyone updated!

What advice would you have for those who are considering breast augmentation?
Do it for yourself and not because it is an idea that is imposed on you. It is your body.

Do your own research and make sure that you go to a reputable doctor like Banobagi. Read up on the reviews and experiences of those who have gone through procedures which you are considering.

Never settle for less. Breast implants are going to be inside you forever so please do not settle for a cheaper and dodgier option. You never know if you’re putting your own health at risk. You might end up spending more if complications arises.

Let me know if there are any questions you’d like me to answer! I’ll set up a similar Q&A style post for liposuction if anyone is interested!

If anyone has questions specific to Banobagi, you can also direct your queries to my consultant, Claire from Banobagi! She’s super nice and speaks perfect English. Drop her an email at en3banobagi@gmail.com. 


Monoxious Picks: Don’t Sweat The Small Things

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I have a small confession to make; ever since I bought a pair of dressy sweatpants from Korea, I’ve been obsessed with them. What’s not to love about them? They’re easy to put on and are really comfortable. Plus, they have pockets!

Pair them up with a some wedge sneakers for a sporty chic look or even a pair of heels to jazz it up a little. Here are a pick of my favourite sweat pants!

  1. True Religion Banded Sweatpants, US$158
  2. Monrow Track Sweatpants, US$135
  3. Monrow Perforated Faux Leather Sweatpants, US$203
  4. Rag & Bone/Jean Leyton Long Rise Sweatpants, US$220
  5. T By Alexander Wang Shiny Bonded Fleece Pants, US$235
  6. Helmut Lang Tera Print Sweatpants , US$265
  7. Norma Kamali Kamali Kulture Core Go Jog Pants, US$88
  8. Atm Anthony Thomas Melillo Knit Track Pants, US$476
  9. Sundry Classic Sweatpants, US$94
  10. Theory Warm Up Sypress Sweatpants, US$95

What’s your go-to piece of clothing when you’re too lazy to dress up but still want to look stylist? Let us know in the comments box below! 

Beauty Essentials: GlamPalm Hair Straightener

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If you’ve been following the blog all these years, some of you might remember that I chopped off my waist-length locks back in 2010. Trust me when I say that I’ve been trying to grow it back but it becomes really unmanageable when it grows past the chin.

My hair would start acting out at that length, and curling at the ends. Blow-drying it doesn’t really help as the humidity would usually make my hair frizz by midday (if I’m lucky).

I was gifted the GlamPalm Hair Straightener by Hairloom as I’ve been complaining about my unruly hair and am I glad I did. Prior to using GlamPalm, I own about three other hair straighteners and I have the usual complaints about them – they take too long to heat up, snag my hair while straightening or just plain doesn’t work.

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I honestly hate having to style my hair in the morning cause honestly, we could all use that five minutes of extra snooze. But the GlamPalm made it so easy for me to style my hair.

It comes with two hair clips that allows me to section my hair, and it has a pretty good grip so it’ll work well for those with thick hair too. The comb works really great in untangling the strands before I run my flat iron over it. Most of the time, I have to run my hair over with the flat iron several times before it straightens completely but I only need to do it once with the GlamPalm; cutting down my styling time and reducing heat damage to my hair as well.

Here’s to attempt number 234,263 at growing out my hair and I’m pretty confident that I’ll make it this time.

The GlamPalm Hair Straightener is available at Hairloom for a special price of $250 instead of $265! For those who are interested in knowing how you can learn to style your hair with the GlamPalm, I have a little something in store for you in March! Stay tuned.

30 (give or take) Days After

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It’s finally time for the next milestone of the journey! So far, all you have been treated to are the pictures of my heavily swollen face – suffice to say that they are probably not the best candidates to show you the results of my surgery. During the post-surgery consultation with Banobagi, Dr. Oh advised that it would take a month for the final results to surface, and 3 months for the results to be permanent. The wait felt like an excruciatingly slow revelation of a present, or perhaps a gradual unravelling of an intricate plot – I had no idea what to expect and each day brought about a new change. The first steps towards my new face began with the visit to Banobagi a week after the surgery. The purpose of staying in Seoul a week longer was not just for recovery or leisure, it is also to ensure that you receive all the post-operation care and support that Banobagi offers.

Most of the incision sites were in my mouth, but there were also two extremely discreet cuts made around the front of my ears in order to access the cheekbones. They were hardly noticeable when fresh, and completely invisible now (no one I’ve asked to look for them could find where they are!). This is in no small parts thanks to the care I’ve received at the hands of Banobagi – they have provided everything I’ve needed. I was handed a bag containing peroxide, cotton swabs and scar gel in order to clean my incisions in the days leading up to my (absolutely painless) stitch removal. I do not remember any anaesthesia being used and I still did not feel a thing.

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With Claire, our consultant and translator, who somehow manages to look impossibly gorgeous and fresh while I lumber about like a cave troll early in the morning.

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Dr. Oh meticulously examined my face and declared that everything was going as expected. He also took the time to answer all my questions (somehow I had a never-ending flurry of them) and assured me that all was well. This was very different from what I’ve read about other people’s experiences online – the most frequent complain I’ve encountered was people criticising the lack of aftercare at their respective clinics. At Banobagi, there was no end to the amount of follow-up they provided. They even observed pictures of me before and after the surgery (taken professionally at their studio!) to consider all aspects of the result.

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They also had various instruments to aid in the process of healing – I’m not clear as to the exact science behind this machine, but it promises to relieve fatigue and improve skin renewal by increasing the amount of oxygen within the capsule.

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There was also this machine that felt a little bit like a sauna – steam gently comes through the gaps between slabs of wood and warms the capsule to a nice, cozy temperature. I am almost ashamed to admit that I completely dozed off during the 30 or so minutes I was inside. It felt like a supremely luxurious spa experience more than anything else!

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If I had felt doubt at any point in my journey, one look at this cardboard standee was enough to allay any doubts that I wasn’t in the most capable hands in the entire country.

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We also encountered a lot of Chinese tourists at the centre – it seemed to be the top choice for a lot of people travelling for surgery, and Banobagi had a few in-house Chinese consultants as well. We later found out that their popularity is because Banobagi has been recognised for outstanding contribution to their field by no other than Xi Jinping (!!!!). If I had any other residual doubts, they were completely eradicated.

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I had to fly back to London shortly after the surgery, so there are gaps of a week or so between the pictures. Even in that short amount of time, the progress was rather astounding. I felt normal and not at all like a swollen beast, and none of my housemates even noticed that something was off. This was precisely what I had asked for – I wanted a slightly improved version of myself, instead of a giant, noticeable difference. I wanted to look different, but only enough for people to puzzle over what has changed. The most frequent question I got was whether I lost weight, or changed my makeup because I now looked softer and younger. Success!

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Taken just a couple of days apart: the scars in front of my ears are completely invisible and my jawline has shrunk slightly as well!

I even felt human enough to start taking pictures again… Despite having to deal with an itchy compression headwear every night and not being able to chew on hard food still, I was really excited at what is beginning to emerge. Now that 3 months has already rolled around, I can’t wait to post pictures of the final results! Stay tuned. x

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Read more about our experience here:
Part one

Part two

Part three

Part four

Part five

Part six

Monoxious Picks: Fashion Week Uniform

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It’s that time of the year again! As London Fashion Week rolls around, we find ourselves dreaming about what we would wear.

 

Singapore fashion blog monoxious

  1. Helmut Lang Draped Front Leather Jacket, US$1,125
  2. Sophie Hulme Large Drawstring Bucket Bag, US$995
  3. Stuart Weitzman Hijack Stretch Boots, US$655
  4. Rag & Bone Wide Brim Beach Hat, US$195
  5. Carolina Amato Short Leather Gloves, US$45
  6. Grey Ant Notizia Sunglasses, US$360
  7. DKNY x Cara Delevingne Coated Moto Pants, US$213
  8. Zero Gravity Besties iPhone 6 Case, US$24
  9. Alexander Wang Logo Barcode Sweatshirt, US$650
  10. Maison Martin Margiela ID Bracelet, US$495

What would you be wearing and which are the shows you are looking forward to?

 

Outfit Post: Bare Shoulders + Glam Palm x Hairloom Workshop

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My hair colour is finally washed out enough to see the blue clearly and I’m really loving it. I think I keep gravitating towards blue cause it’s really flattering for my skin tone.

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The awesome 20-something degree weather in Singapore didn’t last long which warrants some off-shoulder goodness. Gotta love the Laurie top from eightslate.

Top /eightslate• Pants /Dorothy Perkins•Shoes /Ann Demeulemeester •Necklace /Cheap Monday • Hair/Hairloom

Glam Girl Workshop
On the subject of having nice hair, I am inviting 5 readers (and their plus ones) to a special workshop held by Hairloom and Glam Palm on 6th March. You’ll learn how to create different hairstyles with the help of the hair stylists from Hairloom and get make-up tricks by celebrity makeup artist, Larry Yeo. Every one will get an attractive door gift from Hairloom and WarehouseSG. Plus, a lucky reader and her plus one will each be walking away with a Glam Palm worth $250!

Date: 6th March (Friday)
Time: 7-8pm
Venue: Hairloom 100 Beach Road, Shaw Towers, Singapore 189702

 

To join, simply comment on this Instagram post and tell me why you wanna attend the workshop, tag your friend in the comment and follow @instahairloom and @glampalmsg! Contest closes 27th Feb, 10pm (Singapore time)!

Monoxious Picks: All I want for Christmas is…

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Well, that was a little lie. These are not exactly all I want for Christmas, but they certainly are a step in the right direction! Christmas always comes as a headache for me – after 20 odd years of not celebrating Christmas with my family, I am suddenly thrown into a frenzy when I was invited to spend the holidays with my partner’s family last year. The bigger headache was not thinking about what to get for them, but rather suggesting what others could get for me. Naturally, there are other things to take into consideration (i.e. budget), but I went overboard creating an ultimate wish list of sorts! Here are the things I want for an utterly indulgent Christmas (mouseover for details):

  1. Sophie Hulme Bow Mini Envelope Bag, US$565.00
  2. Helmut Lang Sonar Wool Jacket, US$395.00
  3. Alexander Wang Soft Pelican Satchel, US$895.00
  4. PLUIE Antler Barrette, US$126.00
  5. Kate Spade Skinny Bow Bracelet, US$78.00
  6. 3.1 Phillip Lim Pashli Medium Satchel, US$895.00
  7. Alexander Wang Runway Key Clutch, US$350.00
  8. Alexander Wang Lovisa Pumps, US$495.00
  9. Saint Laurent Classic Preppy Round Sunglasses, US$310.00
  10. Carolina Amato Shearling Cuff Leather Gloves, US$135.00

Hopefully this can also serve to help those who are puzzling over what to get! Other Christmas gift ideas are more than welcome – what’s on your list this year? I’m so enamoured by the Sophie Hulme bow bag that it might actually go on my real wishlist. x

Meet Leyden

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Have you ever gotten an item and subsequently wondered how you managed to survive without it in the first place? Few possessions have made it to this list for me – there is my iPhone, personal cloud storage device…and then there’s Leyden.

As with Aide de Camp‘s entire range of camera bags, Leyden is pure functionality jammed packed into an attractive exterior. Of all the camera bags I have carried throughout my years shooting there hasn’t been any contemporary nearly comparable in style nor quality.

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My lenses and camera body are well and truly safe thanks to the dual layers of protection Aide de Camp provides in their bags. Removable camera inserts make it possible for this bag to suit my every need – regardless of whether I’m carrying a compact 40mm lens or a 70-200! My usual gear is incredibly bulky (Canon 5DMkIII with 85mm f/1.2) and up until Leyden, I have never found a suitable way of discretely porting it around. The protection and discretion are truly invaluable assets when I’m out travelling!

There are compartments for just about everything. Clearly lots of thought has went behind the creation of this bag because I have never compartmentalised my items more efficiently than I have with Leyden! Passport, SD/CF cards, flash, passport, phone…everything has their designated place in this bag. Take out the inserts and you will still be left with a multitude of pockets and zippered compartments, and best of all, a padded shoulder strap that makes carrying even the heaviest of things a breeze. It’s small wonder why I’ve hardly been using anything else… I honestly think Leyden has curbed my desire to buy myself a graduation bag because I simply don’t see this level of thought and detail even in luxury brands these days.

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Every photography enthusiast I have shown this bag to were so impressed by it that we wondered why Aide de Camp hasn’t taken the world by storm…yet. I have no doubts that they will make their way to everyone’s Christmas list! 😉 I certainly want another one… (it’s Valencia, hint hint). I’m sure this would make an incredible gift for anyone who wants something gorgeous and functional to house their camera gear in! Aide de Camp will well and truly live up to its name of being your most invaluable assistant!

Shop Aide de Camp bags


The Next Stage

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Here it is! Finally talking about the next step of our experiences with plastic surgery and Banobagi. Remember how I promised in the previous post there would be funny pictures? Well, here they are in all their brutally honest hilarity – I can laugh at them now along with everyone else, but it was hard not to feel sorry for yourself when you felt like crap and looked like you had the most severe case of mumps known to medicine.

I remember thinking in the haze of post-surgery anaesthesia that everything would only get better from here. After all, my face felt like they were distended to their maximum capacity and couldn’t possible get any larger. Note to self: apparently swelling reaches its critical peak one to two days post operation. Note to self 2: it can and it will get bigger.

The good news is that it truly will get better from this point onwards. The bad news is that it would not be a very enjoyable ride until then. I was icing my face fanatically, hoping that it would have an impact on the rate of swelling (or deswelling, to be specific). Two ice packs come with the compliments of Banobagi, an extremely thoughtful gesture on their part since the ice packs take turn chilling in the fridge. Sleep for the first few days largely revolved around ice pack changing times. Fortunately this task was made easier with the presence of a large fridge in the kitchen area of the guest house.

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Upon arrival to the guest house, Banobagi has also thoughtfully provided us with instant porridges and soy milk. I have been unable to ingest anything besides water for the past 48 hours, so soy milk almost feel like a complete meal in exchange. Porridge was completely beyond my capabilities at this point and my only sustenance was a steady supply of soy milk and banana milk which I purchased from a convenience store right around the corner. I do believe that the other guests who did not have jaw surgery were provided with meals (which looked and smelled absolutely scrumptious). It sounds more miserable than I actually felt. My appetite was somewhat dampened and I did not really feel hungry very often.

Blood had also somehow collected under my eyes, giving the impression of rather severe eye bags. These went away after a couple of days though and did not affect me all that much. I think the most uncomfortable aspect of the whole recovery process was that I was not able to brush my teeth. I had to use antiseptic mouth washes provided by the clinic and was warned against using toothpaste until all the internal sutures have been removed.

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The days passed by rather quickly. I spent my entire stay there catching up on TV series and movies, and generally just dicking about online. Short walks interspersed this routine and helped keep cabin fever at bay.

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Banobagi is located in the Gangnam district of Seoul, and there wasn’t really much to do at night. I didn’t feel up to shopping and cafe hopping (the two major Korean pastimes, it seems) so I just wandered around the neighbourhood. I felt incredibly safe, and as mentioned no one gives you a second look even if you were all bandaged up like me. The highlight of my nightly walks is always this veterinary practice/boarding house. I just stood outside and stared at all the cute dogs like a creep.

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My favourite one in particular was this dog which always seemed so friendly and relaxed! Anyone knows what breed this may be? I thought it might have been a beagle cross but I’m not too sure. Whatever it is, it is adorable.

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Day 5 was when I was promised there would be a big change. The recovery brochure assured me that the swelling would decrease immensely once the bandages have been removed. I hadn’t even realised how tight they were until I was removing them – it was rather painstaking since they were incredibly sticky, and yanking at it really irritated the sutures in front of my ears. The removal process worked exponentially better after I have soaked the bandages in oil-based makeup remover. I believe coconut oil or even olive oil would work as well.

The bandages constricted the fluids to my face and the swelling went away incredibly quickly now that it was able to drain downwards. I found that sleeping with my head elevated really aided in the process as well.

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Now that the both of us felt better, we moved out of the guest house and checked into a hotel in the heart of Myongdong! A large part of the recovery process was really in the mind and I really felt leaps and bounds better now that I was able to get outside and do things. With a pair of sunglasses and a face mask, I could almost pass as normal (albeit with passing resemblance to Michael Jackson). I have went without washing my hair for six days now, way too long in the summer heat. You can see from the picture on the left how grotty it looked. It felt even worse. (I think my mum would have an aneurism if she found out how long I went without a wash.) I was planning to find a hair salon for the sake of convenience, but having found none with a reasonable price I took the task upon myself. Here it is looking much cleaner on the right. The right side of my face remained much more swollen and I kind of looked as if I had a stroke.

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I was finally able to ingest semi-solid food at this point as well! We treated ourselves to ginseng chicken porridge but some parts of it still remained too hard for me to eat. Smoothie King proved to be a godsend! It was rather agonising because I wish I had sampled all the street food when I still could.

Find out how it went in week 2 in the next post! I could already see a difference then, and would love to know what you think about it!

 

Read more about our experience here:
Part one

Part two

Part three

Part four

Monoxious Picks: Winter Uniform

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With the frigid weather underway, here’s what we prefer to be wrapped up in!

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From left to right:

  1. Veronica Beard Moto Blazer with Varsity Dickey, US$795
  2. Helmut Lang Stretch Leather Pants, US$920
  3. Theory Larissa II Luxe Top, US$215
  4. Carolina Amato Short Leather Gloves, US$45
  5. Kate Spade New York Embossed Alligator Metro Watch, US$175
  6. Alexander McQueen Aviator Sunglasses, US$375
  7. Marc by Marc Jacobs Don’t Panic Sweater, US$368
  8. Jeffrey Campbell Shearling Lined Boots, US$290
  9. Eugenia Kim Mimi Fur Hat, US$225
  10. Alexander Wang Brenda Chain Bag, US$715

What will you be dressed in this winter? Let us know in the comments box below! 





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