Benefit Powder Pop! Palette

This posting is about my impulsive purchase recently from Strawberrynet.com. I found out about this website from a few friends and also some literature that I had come across. It is a website that sells skincare, haircare, perfume and also cosmetics. This is a Hong Kong based website and it ships FREE WORLDWIDE for most items. If you are a loyal customer, your discount on items increases with the number of times you purchase from them. My package came in about 5 - 7 days from the time I ordered it.

I recently purchased the Benefit Powder Pop! Palette from them as it was only retailing at USD15 and it had 3 shades of the Benefit Powder, namely Dandelion (a brightening face powder), Hoola (a bronzing face powder) and Dallas (an outdoor glow for an indoor gal face powder). But when the item finally arrived, it was much smaller in size than I thought. Each square that you see in the picture only measures about 3 cm x 3 cm. It also comes with a miniature version of the actual brush but since it was so small, I wanted to try using my normal face brushes. Alas, the square is so small that my other brushes simply cannot fit in it to pick up the powder! Hahahaha. So I guess I'll have to settle for using the small tinny bitty brush!

Angsana Bintan

This posting is about a trip I made to Bintan, Indonesia in November 2008 with my two girlfriends. It's a little bit outdated in that sense, but I really liked the place so thought I should blog about it. There are no flights from Malaysia to Bintan, so you would have to get yourself to Singapore, then leave for Bintan via ferry from there. The ferry ride only takes approximately 40 minutes from Singapore to Bintan.

My friends and I decided to stay at Angsana Bintan. It's not one of those hotels where rooms are in chalet form but the rooms are nice enough. Even with triple sharing, there was ample space to move around.

View from hotel room and picture of room from different view

View of hotel and entrance of Angsana Spa

The beach strip along Angsana is clean and the waters are crystal clear. I'm not someone who normally likes swimming in the ocean but I would gladly do so at this place. :) I'm afraid I didn't take any pictures so you're gonna have to take my word for it! :)

If you are a spa enthusiast, you will be able to pamper yourself at the Angsana Spa. The ambience was lovely and the therapists are friendly and helpful. When you decide on any specific treatment, you also have the option to choose to have it done either in an outdoor environment, i.e. in a sort of pagola type of area or indoors where there is air condition. I did not have a massage but did have a foot massage, pedicure and paraffin wax treatment for both feet.


I only have one complaint based on my experience. The therapist was trying to detach our (my friend and I) skin from our feet!!! I have never had paraffin wax treatment and was always apprehensive because, I mean, it's hot wax!!! So anyway, the therapists started with my friend and she was grimacing in pain as they asked her to put her whole feet into the tub filled with the hot wax. In the end, she just could not do it, and the therapist used a brush to brush the wax onto her feet. It was still agonising! Needless to say, I looked on in horror as I knew it was my turn next.

When it came to my turn, the wax was still HOT HOT HOT!! I thought they were mad for asking me to try to soak my whole feet in the tub! I refused and they started brushing the wax onto my feet. I swore that I would never try it again. It was just SO NOT WORTH it for the price I was paying. Hahaha.


However, on a side note, I thought I would brave it again at my usual nail salon. And what do I find?? No PAIN!! The wax was just warm and the effect after was really good. It effectively seals in the moisture in your feet. So that's how I know they were trying to kill us in Bintan!!


Back to Bintan...the only downside for Angsana is that there is only one restaurant in the resort. You could opt to have dinner on the beach but that would be a special arrangement for which you would have to fork out extra. There is supposed to be another Pantai Grill & Bar but for some reason, we did not have any meals there, nor do I remember ever seeing it.

Angsana Bintan is located right next to Banyan Tree Resort & Spa Bintan. The two hotels share the same beach but you would pay an arm and a leg to stay at Banyan Tree. And if you are a guest of Angsana, you can dine at any of the restaurants in Banyan Tree and they would just charge the bill to your room in Angsana. But you will not be allowed to use the facilities at Banyan Tree.

I don't remember doing much else but I do remember that the price of the room was reasonable and it would be a nice place to go again, maybe with my hubby the next time. :)

Thai Aromatherapy Massage

Massage is one of my favorite words of all time..Hahaha. When I was working, I used to have a massage once every week to de-stress and get all the knots out of my aching back. Since I stopped working, I feel guilty whenever I go for massages since I'm not supposed to have any stress! But I feel that massages are good to improve your blood circulation so that's my excuse now to go.

My favorite place to go for a massage is Touches de Siam located on the 2nd Floor of Centrepoint, Bandar Utama. This is my favorite only because the masseuse there has incredible massage skills and will loosen any knot you might have! I've been going to her for some years now. Previously, the centre only carried out aromatherapy massages for women, but they have now extended the service to men as well. Now my hubby can experience the fantastic massage I've always told him about. :)

The centre also offers foot massages, half body massages, traditional thai massages, thai herbal therapy massages and sports massages. For full price list and range of services, please click here.

Touches de Siam is part of the Thai Odyssey group which has branches everywhere. It's flagship outlet is located in Tropicana Golf and Country Resort with 6,000 sq ft of space, but is currently undergoing renovations. Read more about the Group here.

Touches de Siam's contact details as follows:

S13, 2nd Floor, Centrepoint Bandar Utama, 47800 Petaling Jaya.

Telephone Number : 03 - 7710 7866

Masseuse's Name : Nim

Enjoy!

UNOS

UNOS is an alternative "communication and service delivery platform designed to provide a comprehensive communication experience for mobile users". I came across UNOS probably about one year ago when my hubby decided he was gonna be a UNOS reseller just for fun. :) It's actually a great platform and offers voice calls, calls to foreign countries at a much cheaper rate and S-Mails service (where you can sms other UNOS users for free and have access via push emails) amongst other services. In simple form, it's basically a pre-paid phone card which allows you to do more than just make calls.

UNOS program allows you to make calls directly to foreign countries at low rates, for e.g. RM0.25/min to China Mobile or landlines compared to Maxis which charges RM4/min at reduced rate!. If you have a landline at the foreign country you are in, you are able to forward all your calls from your Malaysian number to the landline via UNOS at a highly reduced rate on roaming charges. Find out rates for IDD calls from UNOS here. You are also able to perform conference calls and carry out Buddy calls where you choose the caller's number and the recipient's number. So basically you can make calls for anyone anywhere!

The only setback is that currently, the UNOS program can only be installed on a selected brand of phones and selected models. For full details on which phones are compatible with UNOS, please click here.

It is very easy to install UNOS on your phone. Either go to the UNOS website at www.myunos.com and click on 'Get UNOS Now' or if you know another reseller of UNOS prepaid cards, get them to send you a link to download the program into your phone. After that, you need to buy the pre-paid amounts which comes in denominations of RM 10, RM20 and RM50. After installation of the UNOS program, you will be able to see a similar view on your phone screen:

Email me at kim8mis@gmail.com if you are interested in getting UNOS installed into your phone or buying pre-paid amounts. :)

Serenity Gemz

I am very excited to be introducing my new blog shop named Serenity Gemz. My aim is to find and offer uniquely handcrafted items of jewelry which is not currently available in Malaysia. As a start, Serenity Gemz currently offers a line of jewelry from Foxy Originals, a fun and unique brand from Canada.

Foxy Originals jewelry are all handmade with lead-free pewter, then dipped in 14 kt gold, sterling silver or bronze. The items are well made, solid and comes in so many designs, you wouldn't even know where to start. Some of my favorite pieces are as follows:

Medina Necklace

Holly Earrings

At the moment, I am only stocking Foxy Originals. However, from time to time, I endeavor to look for other unique jewelry lovingly handcrafted by different designers to be added on to my blog shop. You may either click on the logo picture above or the link under 'Shopaholic's Haven' at my sidebar to get to the blog shop.

Happy Shopping!

Home Safety

Have any of you ever even thought of what would happen if your house caught on fire with your most precious possessions burnt up and lost to you forever? Well, my family and I did not have to wonder as that is exactly what happened to us in 2006. My childhood home had been destroyed. All was lost and although only the upper floor was technically on fire, the ground floor was also totally destroyed by all the water and debris that was caused from extinguishing the fire upstairs.

Now, I am a strong advocate of home content insurance and having some sort of fire protection kit in the house. Ensure that your home content insurance is updated to reflect current inflation rates as whatever you insured your home for say, 10 years ago, might not be enough to cover even 50% of what you may lose today.

Also, please consider having fire extinguishers or fire blankets in your house. My husband and I do sell the following and if anyone is interested, kindly call 012 987 8099 or email me at kim8mis@gmail.com.

From left to right, the prices are as follows :

9 kg - RM 120 , 3 kg - RM 75 , 1 kg - RM55

There is also the 6 kg one which is not pictured here and it is priced at RM100.

The 1 kg one is suitable for keeping in your car boot.

The above is a Home Protector Kit which consists of a Fire Blanket (measuring 4' x 4') , a 1 kg Fire Extinguisher and 1 battery operated smoke alarm. This kit sells for RM 188 for a total value of RM 225.

The Fire Blanket and Smoke Alarms can be sold separately at RM 85 each.

Please do not compromise on home safety because you never know when it will happen to you.

33rd Bon Odori

Last Saturday, on 18th July 2009, the 33rd Bon Odori was held in Panasonic Sports Complex in Shah Alam. I have always wanted to attend Bon Odori even while in high school, although for some reason, I never made it to one. Co-incidentally, a friend of mine thought it would be a good event to capture some nice photos and eat some authentic Japanese food, so off we went.

Gates to the event opened at 5 p.m. and we arrived at about 4.45 p.m. and was allowed to park in an enclosed parking area ( I think it was the business grounds of Panasonic Malaysia) right next to the sports complex. As we entered the sports complex, I remarked "Is that it??". Suffice to say, I was deeply disappointed that hardly any decorations or attempt to make the complex a little more 'Japanese' was made. Only 4 rows of lanterns hung atop the centre field with a stage right in the middle.

After the initial disappointment, we proceeded to the food stalls and before the crowds came, we were able to survey what was on offer. The food stalls were mainly by Japanese restaurants such as Sushi King. Also, Jusco was selling some tidbits in one stall. I thought I was going to get a taste of authentic Japanese cooking. Oh well, we did have some Snow Mango (which is Mango flavored ice, really soft ice) which was quite nice. The other food was just so so.

Later, we made our way to the bleachers to get a seat so that we could watch the drum performance that was supposed to start at 7 p.m. I was disappointed again because there less than 10 drums and the 'performance' went on for maybe 3-5 minutes. Later, when the Japanese girls on the stage started to do a Japanese dance, I was surprised as a big majority of the crowd had gathered around the stage and starting dancing as well. That was the only nice part for me, seeing people participate. Sad, really. Hahahaha.