Valen’s Vanity Square

Highly functional.

Sleek and lavish in style.

You let me experience what luxury is all about.

One look at you makes me want to touch you and feel you. While you may feel cold at first touch, but as my hands glide across your smooth and spotless body, I know you’ll make my best companion ever… in the kitchen.

Hey, what do you think I’m blabbering about here? Of course it’s one of the Blanco sinks!

Choosing a sink that looks great and is highly functional is important for a woman, right? After all, that’s the place where we’re going to wash the dishes for the rest of our life, haha!

I’m going back to KL next week, and I will see how my sister has progressed in her weight loss ‘challenge’.

For many of us who have just that few extra pounds to shed off, we can rely on diet and exercise AND determination to achieve our weight loss goal. For truly overweight or obese individuals, professional medical advice and special weight-loss medication is often required. One example is Alli, which is the only FDA approved weight-loss product available without needing a prescription in USA.

Weight-loss medications usually act by blocking the absorption of fat in the foods you eat. As a result, there are ‘excess’ fat (ends up in the intestines) to be removed from the body, which leads to some common treatment effects, such as gas with oily spotting, loose stools, and more frequent stools that may be hard to control. In short - stained underwear.

Well, if a person is determined to lose weight, I suppose he has to endure this and learn to manage them. I’m sure these embarrassing moments can be minimized as long as doctors’ instructions are followed closely. It’s really up to one’s own willpower to stick to stringent lifestyle-changing steps if he wants to achieve a healthy weight.

If self-discipline is an issue, then, I don’t know, may be one could start reading reviews online to search for the next best weight loss pills or supplements that suit his or her lifestyle’ and level of determination?

I’ve never used cosmetics from Red Earth although this brand has been in the market for rather a long time. In fact, I don’t see many Red Earth outlets around, even in KL.

However, things have changed. Rest assured that we can feel more of Red Earth’s presence from now onwards, following its recent partnership with beauty retailer SASA to market its products.

As a start, enjoy a little summer luxury with their latest Spring/Summer Collection – Summer Splash 2008 - that features shades of pink, gold, champagne and bronze.

The collection includes an Eye Kit and a Face Kit, both comes with a trendy gold case that can be also used as a clutch. How cool is that?

Eye kit - For sparkling summer eyes!
Kit contains:

• One Mineral Infused Eye Primer
• One Pure Mineral Eye shadow
• Two Pearly Cream Eye shadows
• Choose Malibu Beauty for pretty, girlie hues or Sunset Paradise to make eyes in gold

Face kit - Let the sun go to your head and get cheeky!
Kit contains:

• Two Vitamin E enriched Illuminating Cream Blush
• A short-handled Foundation Brush for on-the-go touch ups.
• Choose Miss Sunshine for a flirty flush to get you noticed, or Summer Romance for a softer glow.

I haven’t dropped by Sasa to check out the price myself. From what I read on the newspaper, each kit costs RM84 - a rather affordable price I would say. Why not check it out at your nearest Sasa outlet yourself?

I like boots. I used to wear black ankle boots with matching pants or jeans to work. Since I am not working currently, my pair of boots has been kept in the shoe cabinet, collecting dust. Haha!

I also like how knee high boots are worn with tight jeans, or short or long skirt. But I find it quite impossible to wear one of those here due to our hot and humid weather. As for thigh high boots, I can never imagine myself in those, haha!

Boot designs I prefer are something simple, with zipper, not higher than 3 inches, and please, not pointed at the toes.

Although this may not look fashionable at all, but I believe it will be the most comfortable knee high boots. It would be nice to wear this to a winter vacation in Europe, hehe.

I like this design, but the heel is too high for me and the shoe front too pointed.

While Nancy Sinatara sang “These boots are made for walking…”, I’m not sure if I can stand (not walk) for one hour in these…

Red ankle boot with open heel and cut out

Pointed stiletto knee high boot

Heeled ankle boot

Heeled Ankle Cowgirl Boot - this one looks cool though!

Do you think you have the skills and endurance to walk in the boots shown above?

I’ve been thinking of replacing my HP iPAQ PDA phone with a ‘normal’ mobile phone that is slimmer and less bulky, and is able to download ring tones, send picture messages, produce clear photo images, browse the internet, and to manage personal information like appointments and reminders. Of course, the look and feel of the mobile phone must be aesthetically astounding, too.

That’s why I’m putting Nokia 8800 Sapphire Arte into my wish list, coz I know it’s not something I can afford at the moment (or EVER). Its retail price is RM5,990 when released last month! Don’t think there is a big difference in its price right now.

Why is Nokia 8800 Sapphire so cool?
Key features:

• Tactile surface cloaked in leather cover with sapphire navigation key.
• Tap-for-time to display time and missed events by double-tapping the phone surface below the display.
• Turn-to-mute to gracefully silence incoming calls and alarms by a simple turn of phone, screen-side down.
• Ambient light sensor adjusts the brightness of the screen according to its surrounding to provide vibrant display of light and contrast.
• Living wallpapers specially designed to match the design of the phone, and provide a truly unique decoration.

Dimensions

• Length: 109 mm
• Width: 45.6 mm
• Thickness: 14.6 mm

Personal information management

• Calendar, to-do list, and notes
• Phonebook of up to 2000 contacts
• World Clock
• Calculator
• Translator

I suppose I’ll just let this timeless, elegantly designed mobile phone remain in my wish list. In real life, I think I better stick to one that costs RM599.

You’ve probably heard too much about Paris Hilton - her songs, her fashion sense, her perfume, her boyfriends, her wild and crazy party life and, errr, her Chihuahua named Tinkerbell.

Now, have you ever heard of Hilton Head? No, I’m not talking about Paris Hilton’s head.

I just got to know about this today – Hilton Head, or Hilton Head Island, is actually one of South Carolina’s most beautiful barrier islands, making it a rather popular vacation destination.

Whatever you have in plans - be it a family vacation, a romantic getaway, or even a dream wedding ceremony - the island seems to be a wonderful option besides other famous islands worldwide.

Be very financially well prepared though, Hilton Head rentals for a 1-week stay can cost you a bomb. The cheapest price for a 2-room apartment or villa may range from USD700 to USD1,050 a week. But they surely look nice, for example like this one:

Lagoon Villa at Hilton Head Island
* 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, sleeps 6 persons
* 3-minute walk to the beach
* Scenic lagoon view - cool!
* Wireless high-speed internet access - super cool!

While you and I can never afford to have a holiday at Hilton Head, it is definitely not an issue for Paris Hilton if she wants to spend months or years there (which I doubt)!

I love colorful palettes, be it blusher or eyeshadow. But these palettes (below) are just too pretty to be used!

Clinique Fresh Bloom All Over

YSL Palette Pop (RM188)

Laneige Snow Bloom

The Body Shop Blushing Daisy (RM79)

Dior Flower Blossom (RM169)

I have tried skincare products from quite a number of cosmetic brands in the past two years. Some worked very well on my skin where I could see obvious changes – such as Cellnique that solved my whitehead problems and Kose that brightened up my complexion. On the other hand, some showed only slight improvement (e.g. Estee Lauder) and some almost no effect (e.g. SK-II).

While a company can use performance management software to assess the performance of its workforce and business, we don’t have tools or devices at home to evaluate the effect of a particular skin care product on our skin, except through observation with our own eyes. (Unless we are living in a skin research laboratory where there are machines to measure even the smallest pores.)

For me, there are a few things that decide if a product suits my skin, is effective, and makes me want to use it again.

What I see and how I feel about the product at first ‘encounter’
Is it oily or sticky? Does it smell nice? Does my skin feel softer? Is my face glowing with a natural radiant after one application? For instance, products that cause skin to become greasy after just a few hours are definitely not for me.

The effects after using for a couple of weeks
If my pores appeared slightly smaller, fine lines somewhat lesser, skin complexion a little brighter but didn’t get oilier or drier after 2 weeks of use, it is very likely that the product will work for me.

The effects after using for 3 months
If significant changes are observed, e.g. reduced pore size, brighter and softer complexion, not triggering whiteheads or acne, and I like its smell, color, packaging, ease of use …, then I am most likely to replenish the product after finishing the first bottle. (Well, price may also play a role depending on my financial status, hehe.)

How about you? How do you measure your skincare products’ effectiveness? How do you decide if you want to continue using a skincare brand?

Air-conditioned room, big screen LCD, DVD player, surround sound system with a subwoofer that shakes even the roof of your neighbors – yes, these are what a home theater is made of. Make yourself a bowl of popcorn, switch off the light and get cozy up on the couch, and hey, don’t you feel like you’re watching a movie in a mini cinema?

However, you still feel that something is missing that makes this almost-perfect entertainment experience, err, not so perfect.

Has it ever come across your mind that, perhaps, it’s the lighting factor? Noticed how wall sconces (light fixtures) in cinemas subtly emanate soft lighting in the dark, creating a soothing ambience for your movie-watching pleasure?

Right, that’s it. That’s the missing factor – home theater lighting.

You can now create the perfect movie-watching experience by installing some wall sconces in your home theater room. They can be as simple and plain as this:

Or, a slightly more artistic one such as this mosaic wall sconce:

Why not have some fun with quirky lightings, such as this popcorn wall sconce? It would make every thing so ‘cinema-ish’, haha!

With all that, I bet your house (or rather your home theater room) would become the next hot spot in the neighborhood.