Valen’s Vanity Square

If one can get a custom tailored health insurance plan in 3 easy steps at North Carolina health insurance website, is it possible for me to get rid of the fat around my waist or clear the zits on my face in 3 easy steps???

Actually there are, but I’m not doing it.

For healthy and beautiful skin:
1. Sleep early and sleep for 8 hours – I’m typing this at 1 am…
2. Drink lots of water and eat lots of fresh fruits and vegetables – ummm…
3. Apply Cellnique Pro Sebum Gel – can’t because has just finished up the last drop in the bottle last month!

To lose fat and shape up:
1. Jog or walk 3 times a week – errrr, no time?
2. Do sit ups and stretching exercise before going to bed – too sleepy by the time I switch off my laptop.
3. Sit fewer hours working on the computer – not what I’m likely to do these days.

So, that explains why I’m suffering…

Just 2 weeks ago I thought my skin had improved a lot with the pores became finer and fine line reduced, and that now I just needed to work on getting rid of the fat and shape up a bit. But over the past week, zits started to pop out here and there on my face!

First I had one on the left side of my nose. Some appearred on my forehead, and some on my chin. Today I have one red bump on the right side of my nose.

What happened? My hormones went hay-wired or what? Is it a pre-menstruation thing? But I didn’t have this problem previously.

Or is it because I have been house-hopping? You know, sleeping on a bed that is not mine, using pillows and blankets that are not mine. When you are not using your own things, you can’t be sure they are as clean as they should be.

Jeez, I don’t want to have two problems to deal with - fat and acne!

I have a terrible vision: A growing body + a face full of zits = “Are you pregnant?” !!! Please, not that question again!!!!

…A man who needs to clean up the dishes after dinner, clear the garbage, and hear his wife rants about her day – after he comes home from work exhausted?

…Or a woman who has to cope with her freelance writing assignment, blogging, cooking chores, laundry and internet marketing activity while trying her best to look good – all in one day?

Hahaha! Yeah, that’s my husband – the man, and me – the woman.

We are indeed a very busy couple. I think soon we will have to start taking energy pills! It is very likely that we are moving back to our hometown in two months’ time. Imaging all the energy we need in order to juggle between packing our stuffs and carrying our daily chores at the same time…

Speaking of moving house, I’d better finish up some of my beauty products as soon as I can. Don’t want to bring back too many bottles because we are not even sure if our new house will be ready for us to move in!

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!

Last month I wrote that I would like my next mobile phone to be a sweet pink one.

I did some research, browsing mobile phones and price tags at different vendors. Saw some of the pink-colored models I had in mind initially, but figured that either they don’t really look nice or are simply ‘too pink’ for me, hehe.

Okay, the simple truth is: I’m so over the age to hold a pink-colored mobile phone…. (This truth was revealed to me by my dear husband. Hmmph!)

Okay, no pink mobile phone for me. Fine. I’ll get other colors then. Perhaps purple, may be brown, or… how about green?

So, again, I went visiting vendors, collecting product leaflets and reading up mobile phone reviews. You see, buying a mobile phone or even computer is not as simple as buying usb flash drives. One needs to do a lot of research to make sure the money is well invested. Right?

So, now I have shorted-listed several potential ones from Sony Ericsson.

K850i
Released last December, this mobile phone comes with a 5-Megapixel camera! That’s as good as a digital camera. Imagine, I no longer need to carry my digital camera everywhere I go just in case I need to take a couple of photos over dinner. And I can instantly post the photos onto my blog even. The price, however, is out of my initial budget - RM1,499. And the design is, hmm, quite boxy. Well, we shall see, we shall see.

K770i
Released a month before K850i, this one comes only with a 3-Megapixel camera. It definitely can’t compete against K850i in terms of photo quality, but overall it received a good review, and it looks so much gorgeous too, isn’t it? There are three colors to choose from - brown, purple and beige. If I remember correctly, it is slimmer than K850i, nice to hold and suitable for ladies. The price quoted to me was RM999, still slightly higher than my original budget of RM700. Not sure if the price would drop further in 2 months’ time.

T650i
This one looks really cool, huh? 3-Megapixel camera with autofocus and flash, plus all the basic functions, including 3G capabilities. Its price should be around RM1,000-1,100.

I also have other options that are well below RM1,000, but they come with only 2-Megapixel camera and may not offer good photo-taking capabilities.

K610i
Not too old a model, released last September. The price should be around RM700-800.

K550i
A 1-year old model, looks nice, no 3G functions though. Priced at RM699 (or lower) - this fits very well into my budget, but usability wise, not so impressive.

Tough choice to make, yeah? Oh well, I still have time to contemplate over the choices available, since I’m still waiting for my pay checks.

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!