Valen’s Vanity Square

Tonight will be my youngest sister’s first wedding dinner. I said ‘first’ because there will be another dinner tomorrow, held in Seremban. Not to mention that there is actually a third one in Penang.

The other wanted-to-lose-weight sister can’t wait to wear her cleavage-revealing purple dress tonight, haha! She is even hiring a friend, who is a professional make-up artist, to come and do her make-up and hair for her. Good for her, at least she is happy with what she has now, and no longer contemplating whether to buy Phentermine or not.

As for me, I will handle my own make-up, and won’t be revealing so much of cleavage tonight! Haha! Everything will be simple, from my hair, to my face, dress and shoes. I’m just playing a supportive role tonight, so I’d better stay off the spot light!

Gotta get ready for tonight’s event now! But first, help my mom to wash the front yard.

Another site to buy things online to introduce to you all – Orovo.com.

I have heard of orovo before, thought it was mainly selling weight loss products. But when I visited their website earlier today (I call this ‘internet window shopping’, haha!), I was surprised to find that inventories include health supplements and skincare products! Yoohoo!

Their health supplements are based on natural extracts from plant source such as garlic, alfalfa, soy isoflavones and flaxseed, which are generally known to help to promote optimal health.

As for their skincare products, they have products catered to acne problems, as well as featuring a series of anti-aging formula (Renuvie range and Epuri Everyday range).

If you are interested in their products, perhaps you could search for reviews of their products on the Internet to find out if they are worth purchasing.

If you are a regular online shopper, you’ve probably known that you can buy literally any item through the Internet these days. You can also inquire about credit card promotions, ask for a life insurance or car insurance quote, or book for cleaning services online!

I myself have purchased books online several times. One of my favorite online bookstores is Acmamall.com. While previously it only sells books, magazines, DVDs and gifts, it now has started a new section….. the Beauty Section!! Yoohoo!

They are going to have promotions from 1-7 October for a lot of skincare and cosmetic products and fragrances, offering a 26% discount. I’m not sure if the discounted price tags are truly ‘discounted price tags’ though.

(You see, I am so outdated with the beauty industry these days. May be it’s time to pick up again… :P)

Anyway, below are what I found to be very attractive offers for some of the SKII products. May be SKII fans will know whether those are honestly discounted price.

SKII Facial Treatment Cleanser (120g/4oz)
RRP: RM 223.60 (Discount 26%)
Offer Price: RM 165.46
Save: RM 58.14

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SK II Facial Treatment Essence (75ml/2.5oz)
RRP: RM 382.70 (Discount 26%)
Offer Price: RM 283.20
Save: RM 99.50

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SK II Advanced Signs Treatment (80g/2.7oz)
RRP: RM 681.55 (Discount 26%)
Offer Price: RM 504.35
Save: RM 177.20

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SKII Skin Rebooster Set: Skin Rebooster 75g+ 3x Facial Whitening Mask (4pcs)
RRP: RM 425.70 (Discount 26%)
Offer Price: RM 315.02
Save: RM 110.68

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SKII Travel Set: Cleansing Oil + Cleanser + Clear Lotion + Facial Treatment Essence + Brighter + UV Essence (6pcs+1bag)
RRP: RM 238.65 (Discount 26%)
Offer Price: RM 176.60
Save: RM 62.05

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Other products from top-selling brands that are on sale include Bobbi Brown, Anna Sui, Biotherm, Estee Lauder, Christian Dior, Clinique, Dermalogica, Lancome, etc. So better start checking out the site if you have a long shopping list!

P.S. Beauty section of Acmamall.com is available in these countries – Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Australia, NZ, HK, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.

P.P.S If I’m not mistaken, the delivery of beauty product purchases are F-R-E-E!

My sister finally managed to get a lavender-colored dress and a beige-colored blouse to be worn during my youngest sister’s wedding banquets. And she does look good in both.

This just tells one thing - even if you are carrying slightly extra pounds, you can still look good as long as you know how to dress up yourself, cover the flaws, accentuate the beautiful part of your body, and BE CONFIDENT!

Come to think of it, as long as you are healthy and every year you pass your health exam with flying colors, there is no need to lose that extra 2-4 kg, is there? But of course, if that little extra weight is causing you some health problems or making you uncomfortable in whatever you do, then perhaps it is a good idea to lose weight.

As you know, diet pills have flooded the weight loss market ferociously. So, before you decided to pop in any diet pills, remember to do a thorough research. You might want to find out answers to these few questions:

• How to choose the ‘right’ diet pills that are safe and effective?
• What are the ‘best’ and ‘worst’ diet pills around, and what makes them so?
• Are there any warnings given out on certain types or brands of diet pills (because you certainly want to avoid using them)?
• What are people saying about the diet pills they used?
• Are the diet pills worth the money that you are paying for?

However, you need to know that besides diet pills, there are other ways to lose weight healthily, such as following a well-balanced diet plan and regular exercise routine. If you want to learn more, feel free to check out the weight loss resources I’ve listed in the sidebar.

My sister finally managed to buy a dress to wear during my youngest sister’s wedding dinner – with some help from my mom, my youngest sister and myself, of course!

We accompanied her to One Utama this evening to be her ‘fashion advisor’. At last she found a lavender-colored V-neck dress to go with, perhaps, a pair of black leggings or panty hose, which she has to shop for tomorrow.

I had not been window shopping in One Utama for at least half a year, and I was really excited when I saw there are more boutiques and eateries running now. One will never get bored with this place even if it’s just window shopping and eating! Haha!

I sounded like a shallow woman, huh? It’s as if my life is all about shopping and ‘beautifying’ myself, haha! Well, I’m just an ordinary woman. I do what most women like to do. You can talk to me about fashion trend, cosmetics and gossips, but don’t ask me what’s the difference between an unlocked phone and a locked cell phone because I won’t know.

But this woman can’t afford to buy Derma Genesis products because she just saw the price in Watson – day cream costs RM55, night cream RM59, and essence RM79!! Eeeeeks!

Hubby’s friend came to our new house last Sunday to help us drill holes for curtain rails because he has all the required tools.

When he saw the number of unpacked boxes we have, he couldn’t believe that we managed to have so many things moved from Penang to KL in one day. Well, thanks again to the professional moving company we hired!

Transportation and logistic jobs today are becoming more professional and highly in demand. You can even get samples of logistics resumes online to help you submit your job application for logistic jobs! Looks like I don’t have to worry about not being able to get a job anymore, huh? But I think I’m too slow a worker to be accepted into their ‘fast-moving’ industry, haha!

Saw L’Oreal’s latest product - Derma Genesis - on display last week. And that ticked off my ‘experimental’ desire (more like shopping desire actually). Anything that claims to be able to restore the youth of my skin, I will certainly buy into it, haha!

The two ‘magical’ ingredients in Derma Genesis are Pro-Xylane and Hyaluronic acid. Pro-Xylane is a naturally-derived, bio-degradable anti-aging molecule that creates an optimal environment for cellular growth, thus promoting creation of new cells, while hyaluronic acid is a well-known moisturizing agent.

The full Derma Genesis Cellular-Youth Creating Skincare series comprises 5 main products:

• Foam wash - Gently exfoliates and removes skin irregularities
• Day cream (with or without SPF15) - Re-plumps, tightens and illuminates
• Intensive night cream - Re-news, tightens and relaxes
• Essence concentrate - Intense smoothing action for a radiant glow
• Eye contour cream - Anti-fine lines and anti-dark circles

See, I want to look as good as Penelope Cruz. But I have to wait, gotta finish my L’Oreal anti-wrinkle cream first!

My youngest sister’s wedding will be held next week. My other younger sister, who started her weight loss program months ago in hope to slim down in time to slip in a dazzling evening dress, has not been able to achieve her ideal weight and shape. She is quite frustrated now as she has not managed to buy a dress for that occasion!

I won’t say that her weight loss program failed. She has actually lost quite a few kilograms, such that even a friend who sees her almost every day noticed the changes.

May be there is still something that she needs to add into her weight loss program to enhance the effect, perhaps to exercise more frequently and more intensively. That’s why we will go hiking in a reserved forest park tomorrow morning!

So, is losing weight so difficult, especially if you have a lot to lose and want to lose it fast? Definitely YES, if you don’t have:

• A proper and proven weight loss program to follow
• The perseverance and self-control ability to stick to the program

You may have tried more than one weight loss program, be it diet pills, meal-replacement nutritional drinks or body slimming treatment, you may find still find yourself overweight few months down the road if you continue to eat the wrong foods and at the wrong time, or forget to do your exercise.

And, very important, you don’t want to get into another weight loss scam. In fact, there is a website that talks about how to avoid weight loss scams (like some quick weight loss Hollywood diets), as well as reviews several fat loss products that have been well received with good testimonials. Probably my sister should take a look at it and then revise her own weight loss program.

You can read more about weight loss programs at this website.

When I was in New York Skin Solutions the other day, after I finished my facial, my newly assigned beauty consultant asked me if I could spare some time with her so that she could check my skin (since this was my first visit to the Midvalley branch).

Well, she didn’t really examine my skin, but was trying to sell me another treatment course, when my current one was not even completed. She recommended their most popular, effective, and certainly EXPENSIVE treatment so that I could see even better results in pore size reduction.

How expensive?

It costs RM980 PER TREATMENT! Imagine how much one full course of 10 treatments would cost. It’s a lethal bomb in the wallet!

If she thought that I was some rich man’s wife, then she’s super duper wrong, haha! As much as I want my skin to look perfect, I don’t commit to expenses that I cannot afford. She must be cursing silently in her heart when I told her that I am jobless at the moment and would not consider purchasing additional courses until I get a job.

But what I didn’t tell her is that, I actually don’t intend to get a job, haha!

After 2 years of working from home, I don’t think I can adapt to the normal working lifestyle in KL anymore, where I have to wake up early, commute to work every day and get myself stuck in massive traffic jams! I won’t even know what to write in my job descriptions column (e.g. a housewife + blogger + freelance medical writer who didn’t get much business?) if I were to send out a resume now, haha!

Well, if I win the first prize lottery this weekend, may be there’s a chance I would sign up that insanely-priced facial treatment package to become one insane vain pot, haha!