Valen’s Vanity Square

More than 2 months ago I blogged about L’Oreal Paris Bare Naturale Gentle Mineral Makeup, SPF19 sunscreen. Finally it’s here in Malaysia!

A couple of days ago I saw it in Guardian pharmacy (or Watson?) in Gurney Plaza, but not in the smaller outlets. Its price is around RM65.90 (or RM56.90? Man, I’m getting really forgetful these days). They are 4 or 5 shades to choose from.

Although I’m quite tempted to buy one to try, I don’t think I will buy it now coz I just bought a compact powder from Elianto recently. Furthermore, I would like to read some local reviews about this product first before I try.

If you have been always keen to try mineral make-up, then you probably should check it out at the major Guardian or Watson outlets one of these days.

There won’t be a spacious front yard in our new house. That’s a pity because it would be really nice to set up table and chairs outside the house, where we could enjoy our breakfast or afternoon tea during the weekends.

Who knows, may be next time when we are rich enough to be able to move into a semi-detached house (possible, hehe), I would place a set of teak furniture in my garden. It will make an excellent corner to entertain family and close friends.

The furnitures can be as simple as this:

Or more comfortable and ‘tropical’ with striking red cushions like this:

Love these teak furnitures, but they just have to wait…

Well, to be optimistic, although we don’t have a nice garden outside the house, there is an indoor courtyard where we can build a mini ‘contemporary-style’ waterfall and put some water plants in it. That will still be very cool, huh?

I have not been back to hometown for more than a month. The last time I went back, my new house was almost complete. I suppose by now the construction is finished, and all we need to do is to wait for the Certificate of Fitness for Occupation (CF). I hope we will get the CF soon, so that we could give the house a proper interior ‘makeover’ as soon as possible.

This time, I will pay more attention to small details, like choosing faucets with nice designs for the sinks in the kitchen and bathrooms.

I like faucets with chrome finish. And instead one of those that needs to turn the knob, I will go for one that uses lever handle that you can push it up, down, left or right, so that even when my hands are greasy, I can easily push the handle with my elbow (I just hate the feeling of touching the faucet with oily hands).

Some nice faucets I saw online…

For the bathroom

American Standard “Hampton”

This one comes with porcelain lever handles, very classic looking.

Kohler “Devonshire”

I like this simple yet sleek design.

For the kitchen

Delta Faucet “Waterfall”

This even comes with a soap dispenser and a side spray!

Danze “Parma”

When the wok or pot is too big or heavy to be turned around, having a ‘movable’ spout makes dish washing so much easier.

When I said wish list, it’s a list of objects of desire that I know I’ll never have the chance to own them in my life, coz they are simply too big a price to pay for. That’s why it’s also a list of things I wished they could come from someone else as a birthday present, Valentine’s day present, wedding anniversary present… whatever. As long as it is free, hehe.

I figure I should jot them down in the blog so that I will never forget the things that I’ve once desired, be it a fashion or gadget item. I won’t necessarily have to own them though.

So, the first on my list is a bag from Bottega Veneta. I always like their intricately braided leather totes, such as the one below. Its inside looks spacious too, good for people like me who love stuff the bag with lots of things.

Bottega Veneta Triangle Intrecciato Bag

• Brown triangle shaped intrecciato leather tote with threaded drawstring detail.
• Braided handles at the top threaded through brass eyelets, a detachable long strap, fully lined and has internal pockets.

For this one, I know I can get something similar, but non-leather, at affordable price in shopping malls (the real one costs more than 2,000 USD!). May be that would help partially fulfil this wish list of mine. Hahaha!

I’m not much of a hat collector. I have a couple of sport caps and a cloche hat (I call mine a fisherman’s hat :P) that looks almost like the one below, except that it is not from Helen Kaminski, of course.

Quinn from Helen Kaminski

My hats serve a functional purpose – that is to protect my head and hair, acting as a sun shade when I’m out walking under the hot sun. For some, hats are used to hide the lack of hair, hehe.

Actually, hat is the most noticeable fashion item anyone can wear. Matching the right hat with the outfit, you immediately grab attention. I personally always take more than two glances at gals who wear a smart looking cap (like those shown below), coupled with a pair of good jeans AND BOOTS. I think they just look totally handsome.

Cotton Mod Cap; Aperture by Goorin Brothers

Grifter by Goorin Brothers; Cotton Army Cadet Cap by Kangol

This is the style I really like!

Marcie by Christine A Moore

Of course, choosing a hat is not as easy as choosing a dull-colored grill cover for your charbroil grill, haha! You need to think about the style you want to portray, to which outfits it would match, the color, the prints… so many things to take into consideration! At the end of the day, you want to cover you head with a piece that makes you feel confident about the way you look and stand out charmingly amongst the rest (wearing a hat can somehow makes you look taller, too).

All hats are from HatsintheBelfry.

Most women today work and travel the road to financial security on their own. With financial independence, women are able to take care of themselves, and sometimes of their family members too.

Insurance is part of financial planning. Women must make sure they are adequately protected by at least a life insurance, which actually helps to save for retirement or fund your children’s education or other long-term goals.

In case you die, you’ll leave with a peace of mind knowing that the cash provided to your family from the insurance will help pay for funeral costs and expenses at the time of death, as well as mortgage and ongoing household expenses.

How much coverage you need depends on your lifestyle and several other factors. Consult your insurance advisor to work out a figure for you. Then get more than one life insurance quote for comparison.

Also, don’t forget to ask if a critical illness policy can be included into the life insurance. With critical illness policy coverage, a lump sum of money would be paid in the event of either diagnosis of one of the specific critical illnesses or death. That will help lift off some monetary burden due to long-term medical treatment expenses.

Are you shaping up to get ready for bikinis, hot pants and strapless tops this summer? No matter what weight loss or slimming plan you are engaged in at the moment, there are 9 basic yet important steps that will determine how hot you will become at the end of your summer slimming plan.

Diet
1. Eat your breakfast, lunch and dinner at regular times. Skipping meals but munching on snacks in between will only unconsciously accumulate calories.

2. Drink plenty of water to help maintain your body’s normal metabolism. But be careful with sugar-loaded drinks. You don’t want to spoil the whole weight loss plan, do you?

3. One tends to crave for cold drinks during a hot day. But watch out, it may cause a certain degree of fluid retention.

Exercise
4. Besides aerobic exercise, try to do more stretching exercise as it helps to sculpt a better body figure, too.

5. You don’t have to spend hours exercising, but do it EVERYDAY for about 10-15 minutes.

6. Even if you are not exercising, try keep yourself active, like climb the stairs, or simply walk more.

Lifestyle
7. Establish a regular sleep schedule. Getting sufficient sleep is important for maintaining normal body metabolism and keeping hormones in balance.

8. Be happy. Learn to eliminate negative emotions and feelings, which will only cause hormone imbalance. And one tends to eat more when she is in a negative mood, right?

9. Praise yourself. Encourage yourself and appreciate the results you see, no matter how small a weight you lost. This will keep you motivated and move forward.

Wishing you a good shape this summer!

I did get my Biotherm products after all, hehe. But instead of Jusco, I bought them from Parkson sale.

Items I bought are:

1. Anti-rides Line Peel Gentle Polishing Refinisher (as mentioned in my previous post)

2. Line Peel Crystalescent Night Renewing Care Cream

A night time renewal cream that combines the soothing, regenerating action of CRYSTALESCENT technology with the effectiveness of GINGKO BILOBA, an ingredient known for activating epidermal micro-circulation. Wake up to ‘brand new’ skin every morning.

3. Aquasource Non Stop Oligo-thermal Gel Intense Moisturization

High level moisturization for skin. Its unique formula, enriched with a Hydra Non-Stop complex, is a genuine water reservoir for the skin. Active spa ingredients based on trace elements and Pure Extract of Thermal Plankton (the equivalent of 5,000 litres of spa water concentrated into one jar) revitalize the skin and improve its quality. The gel is also enriched in vitamin E to effectively promote cell regeneration.

4. Aquasource Levres Moisturising Balm Protective Lip Care Shiny Effect SPF 8

An intensely moisturizing balm for smoother, irresistible lips! A genuine lip care, Aquasource Lèvrees is a delicate pink balm with a luscious, fruity scent of peach. Perfectly moisturized, lips are smoother and better protected.

And the free samples I’ve got from this purchase:
1. Hydra-Detox Intense clarifying purifying cleanser (5 ml)
2. Biosource Clarifying Cleansing Gel (50 ml)
3. Biosource Clarifying Lotion (30 ml)
4. White Detox BIO-A[2] whitening moisturizing cream (5 ml + 15 ml)
5. White Detox Botanic[A]lyzer corrective make-up base (5 ml)
6. White Detox Botanic[A]lyzer stubborn spot intense shooter (2 ml)
7. White Detox Botanic[A]lyzer whitening concentrate (5 ml)
8. Celluli Laser Biofibrine (20 ml) (Yeah, just what I need for getting rids of the cellulites on my thighs!)

Plus, a blue-colored (plastic-ky) tote!

And a RM50 Parkson voucher!

Jeez, shopping is fun…. and I’d better clear up my dressing table for the new comers!

Nobody can deny the fact that women today are increasingly more IT savvy and gadget know-how. Well, I’m not a gadget know-how gal, but I do take interest in digital multimedia products and trends, from the latest models of mobile phones, to chic laptops and slim digital cameras (but don’t ask me what a CAT6 or fiber mode cabling is coz I have no clue at all!). The only problem is – I can’t manage to pay for them.

Cute USB flash drives also attract my attention. I MIGHT afford to buy one or two of these cute little ones (don’t think they are cheap though).

[USB flash drives photos from Mimobot. To see more cute USB flash drives, go to their website.]