I really didn’t know what to make of singer-songwriter Haikaa Yamamoto when I first read about her diverse cultural background. Her pictures are not telling but she is a Japanese descendant born in Brazil and has studied in both US and Japan. And what really enthralled me was when I heard her performing “Work of Art”, a lovely number she composed with her songwriting partner, Mercuri, and sung in 19 languages to celebrate the appreciation of diversity. Other than English, some of the other languages include Arabic, French, Greek, Hebrew, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Turkish, and even some very obscure tongues such as Guarani M’ Bya. It’s got a very catchy tune and when performed in the different languages, the song brings such a soulful dimension to the idea of global connectivity! You just have to hear it for yourself!

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When I was younger, I remember taking an air-conditioned bus with my mom to Orchard Road during the year-end festive period just to view the Christmas lightings. Because the bus we took was a loop service, we just enjoyed the view from within without having to alight. We probably did this together for three years – once, with my little nephew and another time with my grandmother, who was visiting from China. After that, Christmas lightings in Orchard were well, just lightings without any special significance to me.

Did the statue of liberty get shipped from New York to Singapore? But wait…this statue can move, plus she’s holding a Kiehl’s Lip Balm #1 no less! So what’s this life size “statue” doing in the middle of Orchard Road? Well, she was part of the prop to the Kiehl’s 160th anniversary celebration at the ION Glass House yesterday. Good thing the weather was merciful and she was basking very well in the mild sunlight for a couple of hours without melting away.

Crabtree & Evelyn has just launched their new floral fragrance collection. On top of the Iris collection which I covered last September, the other fragrances are Lily, Lavender and Rosewater. And apart from Eau de Toilette you see here, body care and home fragrance products are also available.