The first
Nuffnang Asia Pacific Blog Awards (NAPBAS) was nothing short of fun, glitz and glamour.
A fortnight ago I was scrambling around the house, trying to put my attires together for
#NAPBAS (for twitter sake), hoping that they would all fit into my tiny suitcase. I knew I needed a bigger baggage, but I didn't want to appear too "wannabe" if I'd brought along the bigger luggage, so I just decided to forgo some hair tools and accessories instead.
Sis was very kind to help me with my nails for this biannual event. Or more like me bugging her every night to help me paint my nails. Heh.
Who would have known that by the following morning, shortly after a nap, I was waiting outside the NuffnangSG office with one of the smallest travel case? ;) It doesn't help that I was also one of the shortest traveller, since almost most of the female bloggers showed up in platforms, wedges and boots!
In any case, we left in two coaches, and
blogger Jessica(shiberty) had made and brought her cupcakes for other bloggers. How sweet and thoughtful! Lydia was passing them around; they look ready for the festive season!
I had planned on sleeping throughout my ride since I did not have a travelling buddy, but as it turns out,
Charlene came too! :) Made friends with pretty
Ivy and you cannot imagine how 3-8 and gossipy us four girls became. While the others were resting, we were chatting non-stop. We had a great chat though.
Upon arrival at
Putrajaya Marriott Hotel, there was no time to laze around. The Singapore team were behind schedule and a few of the bloggers were whisked away to style their hair immediately. I won my chance on a Twitter contest by
Hair Salon number76, along with two other bloggers which I didn't get to meet. :/
That's when I met
Yina for the first time. ^^ She busied herself updating on social media platforms and chatting up her hairstylist while I observe all the very talented hairstylists do their hair magic. All of them paid a lot of attention to the bloggers' needs and are very professional with their work.
My phone reception was crappy so I could only try to make small talk and just, err, gawk at the other pretty people in the room. I was feeling shitty coz' I was in my specs with no make up, and in casual dress + flip flops. D:
Things lightened up when I met
Lenne, one of the spunkiest and most capable Mass Comm junior I've ever met and we hit it off immediately (or so I hope). She is also one of the finalist for
Best Fashion Blog.
Next to Lenne is
Jane Chuck, wickedly (and by wicked I mean she's super goddamn) beautiful blogger from the Philippines. I didn't know her name but I found it somehow.... *stalker mode*
Moving on... because I didn't have any hairstyle in mind before getting my hair done, I just left it to Mr. Yoshitaka Inao, Director of number76 to help me style my hair.
How I wish they can open an outlet in Singapore so I can visit them. Always super envious of bloggers
Audrey and
Cheesie for their gorgeous locks. :(
After my hair was done, I went back to an empty lobby. There were nobody in sight, and I had no room mate nor any room to check in to. :/
I was in a bit of a frenzy because erm, the event starts in an hour and I was still looking shabby, lugging my baggage around. Later, I found out that two other bloggers
Michellefei and Jasmine had issues with their room too. Special thanks to
Manager Calvin Jayatillaka (the ONLY polite and kind staff personnel I met during our stay there), who arranged for us three to get ready in the gym room in the basement.
If I had more time, I would totally have a massage in the spa just outside the shower rooms!!!
Tadah~ And that's how it became our temporary makeup room. We left the rest of our stuff at the concierge.
By then, the lobby was still rather empty and I thought we were early. In fact, registration had already begun and cocktail served at the main ballroom. / kuakua
Nevertheless, I was reunited with the girls at the entrance!!! Walao, both of them look smokin' hot please, and Charlene is ONLY SIXTEEN wtf it this. Hahaha.
This is also the time to...
... take a picture with the winner of
Most Influential Blog and
Region's Best Blog,
Xiaxue.
She's really petite in person, looks splendid and just loves the way she presents herself throughout the night. Also super adore the dress she wore for the event. According to Michelle, it costs nearly S$300. D:
I really wanted to take pictures with Cheesie and Audrey too but didn't get around to doing it. :/
Anyway, I signed the guest board after registration.
All of us hung out outside the ballroom and here are some photos from that night:
Somebody first caught my eye with what she wore and her very very cool hair. She's
Liz from Lizosauraus, one of the finalists for Most Original Blog Design. She had gone the extra mile to tailor-made her suit to match her blog design, how creative!
Lydia looking great in her gold bodycon dress.
With
Qiu Qiu.
That's
Rachel and
Xue Ling, both SYTs!
And yay! A picture with Ashley and Jane. For some odd reason I was made to stand in the middle and looking awkward coz' I'm ugly and so short standing next to them. :'(
One close-up shot of the hair done by
number76. Thank you so much!!! :) I did move the hairstyle around a bit to make me feel more comfortable. Bought the necklace the day before to match the dress.
I actually bought a dress from ASOS but it didn't reach me in time. :( According to Momster, she said it came the day I left. FML.
With
Silver and
Nadia, both looking vvvvv sexy! Would never get sick talking and partying with them. :)
I am suddenly reminded of some x years ago during Singapore Idol and being Silver's fangirl. :D
Miss Universe Singapore 2011,
Valerie, is strikingly beautiful and very eloquent. Note how I am already in my 3" heels, yet how much she had to lower herself to take a picture with me... #iamforevershort
One more with Nuffie Jayne(left) and the other girls~
The doors finally opened at half past eight.
Boss Ming and Timothy Tiah opened the gala event with their speeches.
In between dishes, the blog awards were given out and there were also special performances arranged. I am drawn to the LED stage backdrop where the finalists were presented on screen.
Here are the list of winners from NAPBAS:
A big
congratulations to all winnners! :)
I enjoyed the dinner very much, we had:
Mediterranean Seafood Terrine with Wasabi Tobiko Dressing on Crispy Lettuce as Appetizer,
followed by
Puree of Split Pea Soup with Herb Twist (yums!),
then
Grape Sorbet with Fresh Mint (sour and all melted so I skipped this),
chose
Pan-fried Dory Fillet with Spicy Peach Sauce served with lasagna potatoes and garden green vegetables as my main,
had
Tiramisu in Chocolate Cup with strawberry and vanilla sauce for dessert, and finally tea and cookies to complete the meal. I'm a glutton!
Oh! I shared a table with
Peggy, Yina,
Ben and
Randy. Our table was half empty the whole night! We would have wanted more company.
One of the sexy performances for the night were a group of pole dancers on stage, twisting and twirling dangerously on the pole onstage.
Miss Universe Singapore runner-up,
Michelle Ang, also came by our table.
One last photo with the girls at the table before rushing off to check into my room. There was an after-party at Zouk KL and the bus would leave in 30 minutes, and I needed to change/freshen up so I had to hurry.
Hastily re-did my hair, changed into a comfier dress and the rest was history. Found this photo from
Nuffnang Flickr (you can find your pictures there):
Charlene,
Jean, Lenne, Ivy,
Stella and red patchy me wtf.
That was only first half of the night. I spent the second half with another group of female bloggers on the dancefloor. <3
Lastly, I want to thank
Nuffnang Singapore for giving me the opportunity to be part of THE event in the region's blogosphere and having met so many awesome bloggers. :D Looking forward to the next NAPBAS and hoping that by then, I'll still be part of this family.
I <3 Nuffnang!
