Valen’s Vanity Square

Speaking of shopping vouchers, actually there is another way to receive discounts when shopping or dining without having to wait for the pointd to accummulate in your shopping outlet membership cards.

A faster way is to find website that offers shopping coupon codes, such as the red envelope coupons. Websites like this one makes shopping not only more convenient, but also allows you to choose the type of discounts you want.

Whether you want to save 20% off your entire purchase, or enjoy free shipping for your orders, the choice is versatile. Furthermore, there are a variety of items to suit different occasions. Be it birthday gifts, wedding gifts, jewelry for your gf, or leather watch for your DH, or even personalized beer mugs!

Gals, you should check out Red Envelope’s Gifts For Her section! The items there are elegantly designed, simple yet tasteful. For example, doesn’t this cherry blossoms candle look totally sweet?

Don’t you just love shopping vouchers or rebate vouchers? I had a couple that will expire in a few days’ time, and that’s why I had to quickly utilize them yesterday. :p

Bought a pair of Hush Puppies sandals that cost 2xx, but paid 50 bucks less, thanks to the birthday voucher. Then found a pair of beige colored East India loose casual pants at Metro Jaya, also paid 50 bucks less.

I still have a total of 130 bucks worth of vouchers from JJ and MJ, but since their expiry date is still few months down the road, I will keep them untouched for the time being.

Although I really like that Xixili black satin sexy lingerie I saw in JJ, but I figured I might need something different several months later, hehe, something looser and bigger for my body to fit in. That is, if everything goes well and successful…

Life is leading me to experience unusual events… My world, or basically my life might change very soon. And I’m about to complete the fourth decade of my life in just two days’ time!

Oh my god, it’s so late! I better get going, as I intend to do some clothes shopping later (since hubby has to work overtime today).

Feels like ages since I last shopped for clothes. But the problem with me is, even I shop three days a week, I may still end up with zero blouse or dress in my shopping bag. You see, it is difficult to for me to find THE right dress or blouse, coz I hardly fall in love with clothes at first sight, haha!

Sometimes, I don’t even know what I want, hehe. Just go with the flow - and the mood!

For me, choosing one out of the many Marcus scrubs would be much easier and faster than choosing clothes from the racks in Isetan or MetroJaya, hehe.

Actually the problem does not limit to just clothes, it’s the same with shoes! I don’t have the energy and patience to try on every shoes that I see on the rack. I normally would just walk past the shoe racks, do a quick browse. If there is one, I will put on to ‘feel’ the shoes. Not comfortable? Fine, bye bye shoes. Let’s move on.

I can walk into Vincci and come out in less than 5 minutes because none of the shoes catch my eyes.

But I do hope I will be in better luck today, so that I can spot some nice clothes, try on and feel good about them, and then make them mine.

The ‘feel’ of Christmas has started attacking every shopping mall! I love it!

And this also means a great time for cosmetics and skincare brands to start promoting their special Christmas gift sets, just like the one I bought from Clarins yesterday - a full-size bottle of Double Serum Generation 6 that comes together with travel size tubes of extra firming day cream, night cream and neck cream.

I started to use Clarins’ Shaping Facial Lift Lipo-Drain Serum and Extra Firming Tightening Lift Botanical Serum earlier this year, and I quite like these products. Although I didn’t see drastic effects, but once I stopped using them, then I could see the the difference they had made.

Oh, and I also like their UV Plus High Protection Day screen with SPF 40 (tinted version). Although it has a relatively high SPF, it is light, not greasy, and easy to apply. It’s slightly tinted, so may not be able to provide a good coverage and even out the skin tone effectively on its own, especially if you have blemishes and marks on the face. But it does give my now less problematic skin a healthy glow when I use it without putting on compact powder.

I wonder if I will eventually end up using cosmetics from Clarins as well. Haha! Although I’m not looking at how to make eyelashes grow with their mascara, I reckon I will some day try out their foundations and blushers and lip glosses.

I think I will wait till next year, coz I have just spent too much on their products recently!

It’s getting harder to find time to sit down and read, even just magazines, for a stretch of several hours without interruption or distraction.

And when I did have one hour to spend on ONE lifestyle magazine last weekend, only I realised that there have been so many new skincare and beauty products launched in the market - and I have missed all of them! Duh!

I mean, if I were to buy them all, I need several steel drums to deliver them back home.

You see, I have not been seriously shopping for beauty items these days; my shopping goal has been mainly to replenish finished products. Have not got the enthusiasm to test new products, gosh, I don;t even know what’s hot at the cosmetic counters now!

Just recently I was at Singapore’s Changi International Airport, in one of the duty-free shops. Whoa! I was bewildered by the choices of products available, especially keen to get one of those travelling make-up kit. But at the end, I bought a bottle of fragrance instead - Signature from Coach, since I had been eying on it for some time. And that’s the only ‘expensive’ stuff I bought in the recent months!

As for those make-up kits and cute bottles of O.P.I. colours, hmmm, I shall get them during my future trips to Singapore.

What a tired day! Physically, that is. Mentally, I felt so much relaxed after the de-stress shopping session, haha!

Well, this time I didn’t buy me clothes or handbags or shoes, but books! Yeah, I’ve overfed my material desires already, it’s time to start nurture the good side of my soul and my intellectual mind, hehe.

I did quickly browse through the ladies department, but nothing special caught my eye. Interestingly, the section with the most people shopping in seemed to be the children section. It’s the sales season again, so many parents are taking this opportunity to get all the necessities for their children. From clothes to toys and bottles and prams.

I hope all moms will not forget about themselves, coz moms need to look good to! It’s important for moms to keep up to date with the latest fashion trends, what’s in and what’s out, and even jewelry fashion trends for moms.

Moms don’t have to stop looking good once they have kids. They have contributed so much to the family and children, so they surely deserve a wardrobe of decent looking attire, trendy handbags, favorite shoes, chic jewelry, etc. Right?

It’s Friday night and I’m so exhausted after a week’s work. It’s really a horrible Friday for me, as I had to complete some work and could only leave the office at around 7 pm. Hubby called me a few times and I had to cut him short and quickly get back to work.

I’m just so glad that tomorrow’s Saturday and I can stay in bed till much later!

So far, I am helping my Singapore counterpart to manage her work. MY part of the work has not really started yet. But soon, next month, I will be caught into unstoppable work tornadoes, just like her, if not worse. If I’m already working till 7 now, I can’t imagine how office hours will be like for me in the coming months!

Besides writing, I may also have to deal with document management and other daily office administrative tasks, as well as establish network with the medical professionals. Well, one word says it all - STRESS!

Perhaps I should practice what this girl said in a body shampoo radio commercial - everyday is about rushing to work, rushing for deadline, rushing to finish lunch, rushing home after work, rush, rush, rush… but at the end of the day, I am satisfied because I enjoy my time with XXXX (a brand of body shampoo), and XXX understands me the best.

So, may be I should adjust my mindset… stress yesterday, stress today, and even more stress to come week after week, but at the end of the day, I find relief because I have Crabtree and Evelyn’s lemon-scented body scrub, its foot scrub that reminds me of refreshing air from the ocean, and lavendar-scented body lotion to soothe my body and ease my soul before I go to bed, yada yada yada…. Haha!

Speaking of Crabtree & Evelyn, there’s now a promotion going on in its outlet in MidValley Mega Mall - buy up to RM280, discount RM100; buy up to RM480, discount RM220! If you like C&E’s products, don’t miss this opportunity! I just spent over 200 plus yesterday. And I received a FREE kitty cat cosmetic pouch and a gift pack that contains travel-size lavender bath & shower gel, lavender body lotion, rosewater bath& shower gel and rosewater body lotion. It’s an awesome deal!!

Suddenly I remembered that there is one very important thing that I have to buy this month (since paycheck is already out) - a water heater! for my bathroom.

And I promised I will be the one who fork out the money for the purchase and installation. That means, less money for me to do shopping this month… :{

Then, I also remembered about the plan to replace curtains with shutters (blinds) for the glass doors. Was thinking of something like plantation shutters, also known as California shutters. But have not checked out the price yet.

I like the classic look of shutters. And in the long run, they are actually more economical than curtains. These days curtains are not cheap, and you need a few sets to change. And I hate changing curtains!

Yes, one may have to wipe the shutters often, but at least you don’t have to remove the whole thing to do that.

Oh man, this means that I have some serious budget planning to do before I can start my shopping spree this weekend.

Felt backache and muscle sores when I woke up in the middle of the night. And that was due to too much of walking during shopping. Haha!

Shopping for CNY will ‘officially’ end today. Yesterday was my last round of shopping; from today onwards it will be spring cleaning time!

I have gotten all the things on my to-buy list, except for a pair of shoes. It’s okay, I’m fine by wearing old heels, as long as they go with what I wear. I did buy something that was not on my long shopping list, hehe.

A black night lingerie with matching undies.

Oh well, it’s not some super sexy lingerie. The sales girl in the shop actually recommended me an all see-through sexy lingerie. If I were looking for a wedding lingerie, I might consider that. But I no longer need that today, since I have been married for 10 years.

(Actually, if everything can be seen with the lingerie on, I might as well not put anything on. Haha!)