Valen’s Vanity Square

Let me talk a little bit about pets instead of vanity stuffs today.

I used to have a pet rabbit and hubby a couple of dogs and cats. Of course, all of them died many years ago. Now hubby and I have in mind what our next pet will be – a Rottweiler. That, of course, will only happen after we have settled down comfortably in our new house.

We know that keeping a dog is not easy, as we will need to learn a lot about the nature and behavior of the canine. First of all, we need learn to ‘communicate’ with him in order to train him to become an obedient, faithful and loving companion. We obviously will need some help and support from animal trainers and pet owners alike.

Naturally, for all new pet owners, it will be beneficial to join pet social networks. Such networks are available online too, for example, Zootoo.com, a online pet community for pet lovers to meet, share and help each other to help their pets! Whether it’s about training your rottweiler to behave, ‘potty training’ your cat, finding the best pet products and services (e.g. food, toy, day care center) or solutions for animal health issues, this online pet social network is the perfect platform to discuss and get advice from those with similar experience.

What makes Zootoo.com a great online pet community, in my opinion, is that from time to time, they have different promotions and activities to help pet shelters and rescue groups around the country, making donations annually to a deserving and community-supported shelter. These efforts are very important in the endeavor of preventing animal abuse.

Join Zootoo’s army of pet lovers and help save animals!

A pet owner has a huge responsibility to take care of the health and wellbeing of his or her pet. They are just like human beings, when they are well taken care of and feel loved by their owner, they are very happy animals and can bring lots of joy into our lives.

I went for my first PAID facial session at New York Skin Solutions on Monday.

I had the same beautician did my facial. Actually she will be the one attending to all my facial sessions. I think this system is better, as she will be able to monitor the progression of my skin condition.

This time I had Intensive Collagen Treatment, which mainly targets the inner layer of skin cells. It aims to help restore healthy skin cells and rectify problems like acne marks and emerging pigmentation problem from within. She was quite thorough in the extraction process this time. Kind of painful~~~

The result of this session wasn’t as obvious as the last one, but I could see that my complexion exudes a healthy, natural glow now. How nice if I can keep on doing facials even when I am 60, haha!

You know, in the US they have health insurance called Medicare for the seniors, and also medicare supplement policy to pay for health care bills not covered by Medicare. I wonder if our country will eventually develop some beauty care policies (as part of a health care plan) for senior women. Hey, I also want to look good when I’m old, okay? ;P

I’m on my way to addiction.

Not drug addiction, of course! I’m getting increasingly hooked to PC games; that’s what I’m trying to say.

Didn’t realize playing PC games can be so fun, challenging, mind boggling, as well as time consuming! I know this ‘discovery’ came about rather late (considering my age, :P), but late better than never, right?

I understand what’s hot nowadays is actually playstation 3, but I’m not that ‘advanced’ a player yet (too old, may be?), so will just stick to PC games for the time being.

While there are some super duper cool games that I’ve played before, naturally there are some super boring ones – too straight forward a story plot, nothing else to do but to look for hidden objects. Not sure if I should mention the name of the game here…

Currently I’m playing The Mystery of the Crystal Portal, a cool one!

Nicole Rankwist and her archaeologist father were very close so when he went missing, Nicole knew she had to find him. What she couldn’t know was that the search would take her all around the world and reveal a secret so huge that it threatened the very course of human history.

Join Nicole as she explores the world, and solves puzzles from ancient Guatemalan ruins to quaint Swiss villages and back to her home in New York all in search of her missing father…

May be I will tell more about it once I finished the game. Do you play PC games?

Aging! Aging! I’m aging!!!

I just saw two long strands of white hair on my head!!! Got them pulled out already…. but I’m sure they will grow back again.

Oh, this is dreadful! :(  Jeez, I think I need to get my hair dyed into one of those brown or red shades. You know, so that to make any remaining white hair - if any, I’m sure there is - less obvious.

But can’t do that until I get my second assignment pay check. When is my check gonna come???

Do you agree that packaging is one of the very essential factors besides quality that make a particular brand popular? Stylish and luxurious packaging is undeniably an enticing factor to prompt consumers to purchase. After all, who wouldn’t want to be recognized as ‘sophisticated’, ‘stylish’ or ‘tasteful’?

How would you look at a man that uses a Shaeffer or Waterman pen, versus one that uses Papermate pens? Not that Papermate pens are not good or whatever. They are good quality pens that are economical to use, very practical and lasting. (In fact, I still use Papermate ballpens now and then.) But you can’t deny that superior product packaging can make a lot of difference to the sales of a brand.

It’s the same with beauty products. Be it a blusher, an eye color, a lipstick or perfume, if they are contained in lovely, charming bottles and jars, you may already feel more beautiful by just looking at them, even before you start applying.

Don’t agree? Look at this range of beauty items from Jill Stuart…

Some of the cosmetics from Jill Stuart….

Mirror, mirror in my hands, I’m sure I will be the fairest of them all….

There must be some magical potion in these bottles. I would no longer need a fairy godmother’s wand to turn me into a princess…

Won’t you feel ‘princessy’ by just holding them in your hands? I would be like living in a fairy tale if I have these gorgeous stuffs on my dressing table! Haha!

Went for a body massage yesterday at the Puteri Ledang Traditional Foot Reflexology and Body Massage @Gurney Plaza, level 4. It has been ages since I had my last full body massage. I think it was almost a year ago!

The massage center is simply a massage center; nothing fancy like what spa centers have. Its built-up area is actually quite small, with some shelves for window displaying their very own home spa products, and a small waiting area at the corner. There are only two rooms for body massage, a ‘bathroom’ for washing, and a room with several seats for foot reflexology. The massage rooms are very small, with a bed and just enough space for the masseuse to walk around.

Hubby and I both chose the 1-hour full body oil massage on the back. The massage costs RM70 per person. It is considered slightly at the expensive side by hubby’s standard. But after the massage session, hubby was satisfied with the skills of his masseuse because he could feel all the tension and aches on his shoulders and back diminished. Before this he kept complaining about how difficult it was to find a good (and cheap) massage therapist here.

I was happy with the massage session, too. My masseuse was indeed one strong girl despite her petite figure. You see, I like to be pressed hard and feel the pain going deep into and through the muscles. That really helped to relief the shoulder ache and back body ache that had been nagging me for a while.

I think we will go back again for our next massage session, hopefully sometime next month. Instead of 1 hour, we probably will go for a 90-minute session at RM90.

Discovered something funny when I was in the shopping mall during the weekend – even mannequins have different bust size!!

I noticed the difference between mannequins from two fashion boutiques. One apparently displays mannequins that have A cups, the other seems to prefer C- or D-cups mannequins, haha!

Anyway, for real women like us, I mean human beings, no matter what bust size we have, we will need to wear bra for support and protection and, ahem, give ‘them’ a lift.

Bustiers are also good for supporting our breasts and creating a slender body shape. As a bustier extends down to the waist or hips and fits tightly to the torso, it creates a structure that slims the waist while supports and enhances the bust. While bustiers have been worn by women for centuries as undergarment, nowadays pretty lingerie can also be worn as outerwear.

Check out these bustiers from LingerieDiva.com. Aren’t they beautiful and sexy?

Bustier range from Lingerie Diva. From sweet to wild and sexy; to go with bridal wear, or simply to prepare the mood for a hot date.

You definitely should drop by Lingerie Diva, not only to check out the bustiers and lingerie wear. They have hot, sexy party fashion too!

Think computer games are meant for guys only? I bet you will change your mind once you started playing one or two. I myself have been addicted to PC games recently, I tell you, hehe.

I’m not referring to those war games or terrorist games that involve lots of shooting and killing (urrgh!). There are games meant for good, pretty and, perhaps, adventurous ladies like us.

If you like girly games with cute animated characters, then you should try time-management games like Posh Boutique and Sally’s Spa. These will give you a taste of running your own fashion or spa empires, haha!

For those who are detective-minded (like me, ahem) and prefer to squeeze a cup or two of brain juice, I strongly recommend hidden object games Women’s Murder Club – Death in Scarlet and Hidden Secrets – The Nightmare. Their plots and mini games are not as direct and simple as others that I have tried (such as the Lost Cases of Sherlock Holmes). In fact, some of them are very challenging until I got stuck and had to seek help from online game guide.

You can try look up for these games on Yahoo! games section. There are free trial versions that you can download onto your computer, but you only have 1 hour of playtime. If you like the games, then you probably can consider purchasing those games, either online or from any of the computer games store. But make sure your computer has all the compatible specs and sufficient disk space and ram to run the games.

I currently have three (or four?) games stored in my laptop. I hope it is still capable of taking in two or three games before I figure out how to backup those game files for future replay.

It’s result time!

In short, I’m very satisfied with the result after the facial. Pores were visually smaller, lines less obvious, the whole face was glowing, my forehead looked especially smooth. I noticed that my skin was firmer and slightly uplifted (an effect of the collagen?). Some might say that this is nothing to be amazed about; skin will naturally look better after a facial, right? But, honestly, I have never seen such significant before-and-after difference with facials at LD. Not that I can remember anymore!

Now, I know I’m going to sound very stupid. Despite reading all the negative comments about NYSS online - how they ‘harassed’ people into signing up their programs and the tactics they used to close deals - I signed up for a package of 10 sessions!

(Ya, ya, I know, I have to eat my own words now. *Chomp, chomp, chomp*)

The course comprises mainly of Intensive Collagen Treatment and Intensive Repairing Treatment (5 times each), topping up with ultrasound treatment and mineral mask treatment. Based on the printed price list, the original total price was RM5,400. I was given a discount (is this part of their selling gimmick, too?) and the whole package now cost me RM3,000.

You see, I didn’t just simply sign up, okay. I did because:

1) It is my intention to get a replacement for LD coz I no longer see effective results from their facials and products.

2) The result I experienced with NYSS looked promising. The instant post-facial improvement I saw didn’t just diminish the following day. In fact, the effect lasted for several days.

3) And very importantly, I can pay by installment with HSBC credit card 1-year installment plan. I wouldn’t have signed up if I had to pay them one shot.

Are they being pushy? I don’t know how pushy the staffs in NYSS can be, since I signed up so easily, haha! But I can tell you - they are all just the same, be it NYSS and LD. I suppose it is a standard protocol for the beauticians to start ’selling’ as soon as the customer lies down on the bed. But because I had been such a long-time customer with LD, they didn’t really bother to waste time pushing their promotions to me.

So, if you are a person who like to hop around different beauty salons for free stuffs, no harm getting a free or discounted facial at NYSS, as long as you are confident that you can say ‘no’ at the end of the day.

For those who are seriously looking for effective treatment to their skin problems, no harm trying as well. Just be prepared that, in case you are happy with what you see at the end of the first treatment, you will be tempted to sign up a program.

In short, it’s the customer that decides to buy or not buy their products or services. And always remember, there’s no such thing as FREE in this world.