Valen’s Vanity Square

My sister just came back from a working trip in UK, and that means…. present-receiving time!!

I got this small bottle of fragrance - Estee Lauder’s Pleasures Exotic.

A sparkling blend of exotic fruits and flowers, with a seductive fusion of Mango Passion Fruit Cocktail, juicy Citrus Fruits and watery Lychee combined with Island Bamboo Flowers, Orange blossom and dewy Bougainvillea Vine.

I love floral type of fragrance, that’s why I love the Pleasures perfume series. So now I have two fragrances from Estee Lauder; the other one is Pleasures Intense. I hope I would be able to, sooner or later, collect the other two - Pleasures (original) and Pleasures Delight.

I came across some articles in the newspaper about caring for the elderly population at home. While this topic has nothing to do with beauty or vanity, I think it is worthwhile to share the information in brief here. Understanding the needs of an elderly will help you take better care of them at home.

(For those who are applying for healthcare jobs, perhaps these information may help you during your interview? ;))

Common health problems of the elderly:

• Eating problem - tooth loss, saliva production decreases, reduce in digestive function
• Sleeping problem - difficult to fall asleep, wake up often during the night
• Circulatory problem - blood circulation slows down, often leads to postural hypotension (a form of low blood pressure that occurs after a change in body position, typically when a person stands up from either a seated or lying position)
• Bone problems - decreased bone mineral density as one ages increases the risk of bone fracture, particular after a fall
• Others - dry skin, deterioration in vision, poor memory

Tips to eating well for the elderly:

• Eat small but frequent meals. Healthy snacks between meals also help to increase their nutrition intake.
• Replace animal protein source with proteins from soy-bean products and various types of nuts.
  Eat 2 servings of fruits daily.
• Limit fat intake, including desserts such as cake.
• Use natural ingredients to add flavors to cooking, instead of salt, MSG, and soy sauce.
• Avoid spicy food.
• Drink more water during the day and less after dinner, so that sleep will not be interrupted by frequent toilet breaks.
• Take multivitamins and minerals supplement to overcome nutrition deficiencies, since elderly people do not eat as much as they used to.

Hope this info sharing helps.

The mentioning of Kose Sekkisei toner in my previous post somehow ‘inspired’ me to write this one - a short list of sun-protection and whitening products that I have used and would like to recommend to everyone. Those that I don’t like will not be mentioned, that’s why this list is so short.

I don’t intend to have a snowy white complexion, but I strongly advise the daily use of sun protection and regular whitening products to maintain a healthy looking and glowing skin.

Olay White Radiance day lotion with SPF24 - Protecting the skin from the damage of the sun light and whitening the skin at the same time. Very wallet-friendly and does it job so well! I could really see a difference after using it for some time.

Garnier Light with SPF15 - Gentle to the skin,pleasant smell of lemon essence. More for sun protection, suitable for daily use if whitening is not your primary goal.

Kose Sekkisei Lotion - the greatest whitening toner of all! Well, at least to me. Hydrating, softening, clarifying, calming, whitening… everything I need in a bottle!

Biotherm White Detox Botanic[A]lyzer Corrective Make-up Base with SPF25 - I bought the white colored make-up base that provides instant whitening effect. However, I found out that the purple colored corrective base (one of the freebies I got from my purchase of Biotherm products) suits my skin color better. It gives an instant correcting effect by diminishing the ‘yellowness’ of my skin. I use either of these to brighten up my complexion (after day moisturizer) daily. The make-up base smells nice, too.

(Note: Start with just a tiny squeeze of the make-up base, and gradually add on if necessary. The whitening effect is drastic if you apply too much of it. You won’t want to look as if you just painted a thin layer of white paint on your face, hahaha!)

Shiseido Ultimate Sun Protection Lotion for Face and Body, SPF50, PA+++ - Last but not least, this lotion that I have just recently bought is a ‘big’ investment worth spending. If you are going outdoor and want good sun protection from top to toe minus the sticky feeling and typical smell of sunscreen lotion, this is a good one!

My youngest sister is flying off to Japan this Friday. I wished I have some old textbooks to sell off.

Haha! You must be wondering what has my sister going to Japan got to do with textbooks, right?

You see, my sister got married last year and had a mini honeymoon (so she said) to Phuket Island. But this time, this is the R-E-A-L honeymoon - Tokyo and Hokkaido!!! Japan is famous for so many things - intricate and delectable cuisines, the freshest seafood, fashion and beauty items, etc. Simply put, just prepare to spend money!

At this time, I just wished that I have some old textbooks so that I could sell them off, get some money and ask my sister to do shopping in Japan on my behalf, haha! Well, I’m not interested in wacky things such as anime contact lens or curry-flavored soda drinks (yes, they have that in Japan!), I just want to get skincare stuffs that may be significantly cheaper in Japan, or not available locally.

For example, Kose Sekkisei Toner is one of the whitening products that I love so much, but it is too expensive for me at this point of time (I guess its price is close to RM200 now). I suppose it will be worth getting if its half the local price.

Anyway, I have no textbooks to sell, so I’d better quit this ‘long-distance’ shopping idea. Haha!

I am sort of on a weight loss plan currently (I’m not taking diet pills though), and when I weighed myself a week ago, I was surprised to see that I was almost 2 kg lighter than before! However, when I stepped onto the weighing scale this morning, I was almost back to my previous weight, hahaha!

This tells me that there must be something that I had done right earlier to lose weight, but unfortunately the results were screwed due to things I did or didn’t do enough last week.

Things done right:

• Eat according to my body type (read more about this on my weight loss blog); keep away from junk food and unhealthy snacks, including beverages and desserts.
• I don’t exercise during week days, but a 45 to 60 minute walk outdoor is a must every Sunday.
• Keep moving around in the house - doing housework, walking up and down the stairs, cooking, etc.

Things didn’t do well last week:

• I think I ate more than usual last week , and, errrr, indulged in chocolates that I bought from Langkawi.
• Missed my Sunday walking session a week ago as it rained the whole morning.
• Had not been moving around much at home, was glued to my desk top most of the time.
• Had constipation.

So, losing weight is just like some sort of karma thing; do things the right way and you will see the results you desire and receive happiness. Or else, be prepared to pay for the consequences! Haha!

I know I have to live on a tight budget these days and shouldn’t be shopping unnecessarily, but this won’t stop me from trying and testing beauty products. LOL! Of course, I only buy skincare items that I truly need.

For example, I recently bought H20+ Marine Toner from the online shopping mall Acmamall.com, as my bottle of Simple Soothing Facial Toner is going to be empty soon. I have never tried H20+ skincare products, but I have seen their outlets in department stores and the name sounds so, umm, ‘refreshing’? Haha! So I decided to give it a try, and for your information, it is less than a hundred bucks, okay?

While this is not my first time shopping with Acmamall, it is my first time buying from their beauty department. Previously I have purchased from them book titles that were not available in local bookstores.

As for beauty products, go take a look and you will be amazed by the product range Acmamall carries. They are all popular ‘branded’ skincare items, make-up products and fragrances - from Anna Sui to Bobbi Brown, Biotherm, Clarins, Estee Lauder, Hillary Duff, Kanebo, Kate Moss, L’Occitane, Lancome, Origins, Shu Uemura, Sisley, Shiseido, SK II, Vivienne Westwood, etc.

There seems to be discounts for their beauty products all the time. Previously there was also a free delivery promotion. Currently, they are having a 3% cash dollar rebate on all beauty products. Whether the discounted price is far more cheaper than the usual retail price, I’m not sure. However, I do find out that the price of Shiseido’s Ultimate Sun Protection Lotion in Acmamall is RM25 cheaper than what I paid for at Shiseido’s store in Jaya Jusco@MidValley.

So, if you are too busy to shop for your skincare products or cosmetics in department stores, shopping online with Acmamall seems to be a convenient way to get the things you need, and have them delivered right to your doorsteps. However, if you need your items urgently, don’t expect to receive your goods in 2 or 3 days’ time. I received mine one week later, which was not too bad. Anyway, the delivery dates are always indicated next to the product details, so you can decide whether to order and wait, or head out to the shopping mall instead.

Also, you would first want to compare the products’ online price at Acmamall and their usual retail price to make sure you are enjoying savings by buying online. Hey, nowadays every cent counts, right?