Valen’s Vanity Square

The season of Christmas is definitely a season of spending! Even if you don’t have a special person to give a Christmas gift to, you may well find yourself participating in the shopping rush, all simply because it’s too hard to resist the temptations of Christmas promotions and offers!

For those who are expecting a year end bonus, spending dollars on Christmas shopping is not too big a deal for them. Gals are anxiously waiting to get their hands on their favorite designer handbags or shoes, while guys are all ready to charm their girlfriend with the most dazzling gifts.

Guys, why not charm your girlfriend with Diamond & Platinum festive collections this year?

Give her the shiniest star from the night sky…

From left: RM1,238, RM1,188, RM638

Let her know that she is truly elegant…

From left: RM688, RM688, RM688, RM268

However, not all of us receive a bonus. I’m not working; I don’t even get a salary.

So, how are we going to find the money to shop this Christmas? Write more paid posts? I don’t mind doing that, hehe. Or try your luck with online casino? Haha! That’s not for me. I never have luck in gambling or even casual betting!

Well, a better way is to list out the number of gifts you need to buy, allocate a budget, and spend within your means. That way, you don’t have to worry about burning a hole in your pocket bigger than you could ever repair!

For more jewelry gift ideas, check out DiamondnPlatinum.com.

It’s getting closer to Christmas! And if you are still wondering what great beauty gifts to get for your family, friends or yourself, hey, pick up a copy or two of women’s magazine from the newsstands, you’ll see tons of ads and features of gift ideas to help you decide.

Let’s take a look at a few (out of more than 100!) of the wonderful cosmetic promotions available this season, which are featured in December’s issue of the Chinese magazine CitaBella.

Don’t want to spend more than RM100?

The Body Shop Tropical Shower Time Treat (RM55)

The Body Shop Pompously Strawberry Set (RM75)

Bobbi Brown Tube Tints Set (RM95)

L’Occitane Discovery Set (RM99)

Clarins Lip Allure (RM110)

Don’t mind paying more than RM100, but not too much!

Left: M.A.C. Royal Assets: 3 Pink Lips (RM115)
Right: M.A.C. Royal Assets: 6 Warm Eyes (RM158)

Clinique Makeup Set (RM160)

L’Occitane Roses Collection (RM169)

Estee Lauder Pure Color Lipstick Collection (RM195)

(All prices are as quoted in the magazine)

Very interesting deals, right? I personally like to get my hands on the Clinique makeup set, but I didn’t see it being displayed in Parkson @Gurney Plaza during my shopping trip last week.

Anyway, if you want to check out more about the special promotions, just get a copy of CitaBella quick!

I must confess that I bought something else besides Estee Lauder’s products during my beauty shopping spree last week.

It’s Clinique’s Superbalanced Makeup foundation. I already had this in mind for quite some time. It is priced at RM100, but I only paid RM60 because I had a RM40 voucher to use. Otherwise I would not have bought it, hehe.

• The great equalizer for combination skin.
• Provides moisture and absorbs oil where needed.
• Minimizes appearance of fine lines.
• Helps protect skin from environmental damage.
• Contains anti-irritants and antioxidants.
• Water resistant. Non-acnegenic and oil-free.
• Ophthalmologist tested.
• Can be worn in the immediate eye area.

I have used it a couple of times already and I really like it. It’s easy to apply over the whole face because the fluid doesn’t dry up easily. It provides a good coverage for skin that doesn’t have too much of blemishes and marks, creating an even and natural look to the face.

May be it’s just me, it seems that my face also exudes a healthier glow after putting on the foundation, hehe.

This is the best fluid foundation I’ve used so far. After the foundation, I just have to lightly puff on some loose powder, curl up my eyelashes with a mascara, slide on a lip gloss for a juicy lip, and I’m all ready to go!

Next weekend I will be attending the wedding reception of a high school classmate. And I’m sure I will be bumping into many old friends during the evening. Some of whom I might have not seen for more than 5 years!

You know, when attending occasions like this, all girls would want to look their best, right? So am I! Hehe. Besides taking good care of my complexion over these 2 weeks, I need to do something to my body! A fabulous evening dress needs a fabulous body. But mine is not anywhere near fabulous, that’s why I have to start , say, losing a bit of weight, or tone up my butterfly arms. Haha!

I don’t know much about losing weight. I haven’t tried any weight loss program or controlled my food intake coz I love to eat! But I read a book by Dr Peter J D’Adamo a couple of years ago, which says that if you eat right for your blood type, you could achieve the ideal body weight and stay healthy.

According to Dr D’Adamo, your blood type reflects how your body absorbs nutrients and handles stress, and how well your body’s immune system works. And depending on your blood type, there are specific foods that can benefit or harm your body, make you lose or gain weight.

Meaning, you can lose weight without having to stop eating, as long as you are eating right for your blood type! So, may be I could try the method and see if it would help me shed off juuuust a little bit of pounds in 2 weeks’ time.

A summary of what encourage weight gain and weight loss for the different blood types.

Blood type A (that’s me!)
Gain: meat, dairy foods, kidney beans, too much of wheat
Loss: vegetable oils, soya foods, vegetables, pineapple

Blood type B
Gain: sweetcorn, lentils, peanuts, sesame seeds, buckwheat, wheat
Loss: green vegetables, meat, liver, eggs

Blood type O
Gain: wheat gluten, sweetcorn, kidney beans, lentils, cabbage, Brussel sprouts, cauliflower
Loss: seafood, iodized salt, liver, red meat, spinach, broccoli

Blood type AB
Gain: red meat, kidney beans, seeds, sweetcorn, buckwheat, wheat
Loss: tofu, seafood, green vegetables, dairy products, alkaline fruits, pineapple

Looks like I need to increase my vegetable intake this week, and drink soy milk rather than coffee or tea. Need to cut down on meat and dairy products like milk and stuffs made of butter (cakes, pastries, cookies). Jeez, that would be so painful…

Oh well, the information is just for our own reference. No harm trying for a short period of time. If you find it works, then you would probably like to stick to it.

(Even if it works for me, I don’t intend to stick to the plan forever… coz I can’t live without good food! Hahaha!)

To learn more about Dr D’Adamo, go here.