Raina had been sleeping well through the night, in her cot, every night ever since she was about 2 weeks old. It was blissful. I never had sleepless night.

I mean, just look at this.

Tutu skirt, tiara, socks, upside down sunnies and my lilac loofah glove,
worn with her pajama.

Ayra thinks this look is princessy. She’s currently obsessed with anything princess and ballerina (ever since watching Angelina Ballerina on Disney Junior). She just love to twirl in her tutu skirt and demand to wear one every day at home. Like, seriously, EVERY DAY. Layankan saja.

Tidur pun nak pakai tutu skirt.

Whoever gave this Princess Lego set for Ayra’s 1st birthday,
thank you so much! She LOVES it!

I know exactly what theme to choose for her 3rd birthday, which is end of this year (if we’re planning to throw her a party lah). Speaking of which, I still haven’t decided when and where to celebrate Raina’s 1st birthday party. Yikes! Buat kecil-kecil jer laa kan…

**********

Saw this deal on Milkadeal and I just have to share it with you guys – 3 (yes, THREE) iPhone 3G/3Gs casings (breathe type protective shield) for only RM59! There are 8 cute colors to choose from – pink, purple, red, orange, yellow, white, black, royal blue and powder blue. Boleh tukar-tukar matching dengan baju.

If the deal was for iPhone 4, dah lama aku beli (bought this handmade leather vest in black for my husband’s iPhone by the way).

That’s what the SK-II skin consultation was all about, besides getting to know more about your skin. I went for the skin consultation at SK-II counter in Isetan, The Gardens with my sister the other day. (Invited my friends as well but since it was on a weekday, none could make it)

That was actually my second time having skin consultation at SK-II. But this time around, they analyzed whether my skin has the 5 dimensions that makes skin crystal clear. The 5 dimensions are Texture Refinement, Firmness Power, Wrinkle Resilience, Spots Control and Radiance Enhancement. Here’s what the 5 dimensions are all about:

Texture Refinement – finer texture, more moisture, less oiliness, less visible pores.
Firmness Power - more energized, firmer contour/curves, more lifting impression on eye & mouth corners, less visible nasolabial fold (laugh lines).
Wrinkle Resilience - less fine lines, less dynamic line with expression, less static lines/wrinkles, less connected lines.
Spots Control – less brown spots, lighter brown patches, better tone evenness, reverse stubborn spots.
Radiance Enhancement – more translucency, more radiance, more glow from within, less yellowish & dullness.

As usual, the beauty consultant scanned a few areas of my skin…

Moments later, out came the result. I only have 2 dimensions of a crystal clear skin – Texture Refinement with 70% and Spots Control with 83%! The rest were average la – in the 60% range.

And here are the products recommended for my skin’s needs:
Facial Treatment Essence, Cellumination Essence and Skin Signature.

Testing some of SK-II products on my hand

I managed to try these products that day.

The beauty consultant was really helpful. She explained each and every product that was tested on me, and gave some useful tips including the correct ways to apply the products. I also made her list down the prices for all SK-II products for my reference. Senang nak kira budget nanti! ;p

The white jar in the above pic is Facial Treatment Gentle Cleansing Gel which helps to remove (light) makeup. I love the gel texture! If I’m not mistaken, it suits combination to dry skin. The Facial Treatment Cleansing Oil is for removing heavier makeup. I feel like giving one of these a try one day! (that is, when my current makeup remover is finished).

Research shows, it’s better to apply beauty lotion with a cotton pad
rather than using your hands because it applies more evenly.
If you have dry hands, all the moisture goodness will be absorbed
into your hands instead of your skin.

My sister at the other part of the counter, having her skin analyzed.
It was her first time having skin consultation at SK-II and she thinks it was helpful too!

We were given this 7-day SK-II Pitera Miracle Kit, which as you can see, includes Facial Treatment Gentle Cleanser, Facial Treatment Clear Lotion, Facial Treatment Essence (Miracle Water) and 1 piece of Facial Treatment Mask. These are the most basic and essential SK-II products.

I have been wanting to try SK-II mask for ages! Tapi bila dah dapat, sayang nak guna. Hee! The mask is equivalent to 30ml of the Treatment Essence. It is so concentrated and enriched with Pitera which deeply hydrates the skin. I’ve tried the other 3 products and my favorite of all is the Gentle Cleanser! Seriously, it’s one of the best cleansers I’ve ever used. I even tweeted about it some days ago.

I was told by the beauty consultant that they have changed the formulation which is gentler to skin (previously it was Facial Treatment Cleanser). I could totally feel and see the difference right away. My skin felt soft and clean right after cleansing – no tightness at all. And I love the thick and creamy texture which foams up nicely. I now spend a few extra minutes in front of the mirror, admiring my freshly cleansed skin! ;p I can foresee myself purchasing the full size pretty soon!

Anyway, one of the products that I was a little bit skeptical when the beauty consultant explained to me was the Facial Treatment Clear Lotion (toner). She said that SK-II doesn’t have facial scrub and that the Facial Treatment Clear Lotion helps to remove dead skin cells so you don’t really need to scrub. I was like, “oh okay” but I wasn’t really convinced. I mean, it’s totally normal for beauty consultants to say so many wonderful things about all of their products because that’s how they attract customers to purchase, no?

But oh me, oh my.
Little that I know it was going to be one of my favorite products!

You know how rough your skin feels, especially around your nose area if you haven’t scrubbed your face in weeks? Macam berkerak, if you know what I mean. Kadang-kadang nampak hidung macam berbulu putih (white heads I guess?). I was VERY surprised of how soft and smooth my skin felt, especially the skin around my nose, after just 5 days! No more “kerak”! The beauty consultant was right. Seriously, my skin felt like it had just been scrubbed (which I haven’t – in weeks, if not months). I never knew a toner could do that! *loves* Definitely a great product, especially for those who are lazy busy that you can’t be bothered/always forgetting to scrub (like me).

Some of the reviewers in Makeupalley.com even said the same thing (highlighted in yellow):

Anyway… 7 days have passed and I couldn’t be happier with my skin! I’m in love with SK-II now. I really am. I’m slowly switching to SK-II products. The price is rather steep but ahh… it’s a good investment. After a week of using the trial kit and loving the result, I decided to purchase SK-II Skin Signature Cream (moisturizer). Apparently, it’s another of their best seller besides the Facial Treatment Essence. Of course the reviews on Makeupalley.com helped a lot! I just knew I had to get it after reading that two men – aged 35 and 56 – have poreless, bright and smooth skin after using it!

I also bought the the 75ml Facial Treatment Essence which comes with a trial size toner and 1 piece of mask (yay, I have 2 masks now!). Or also known as the Pitera Essence Set (retails RM199).

The Facial Treatment Essence will help to improve the 5 dimensions of crystal clear skin. It is proven that the “Miracle Water” makes your skin feels more elastic, reduces the appearance of fine lines, makes your skin look translucent, reduces hyperpigmentation, brightens skin tone and removes dull skin skin.

Got a sample of Cellumination Deep Surge,
which helps to balance skin tone from within.

If you’re thinking of trying out SK-II product, you too can come down to their counters for a free skin consultation. You can find the list of SK-II counters in Malaysia and their phone numbers on this page. I would recommend purchasing the trial kit for first-timers!

Now that I’m an SK-II user, I am even more confident to bare my skin now. Just little or sometimes no makeup when I’m out and about. Let’s be kind to our skin and use less makeup, ladies! And remember the pledge to bare your skin for a day! You can check out who else have been baring their skin (besides yours truly) here: https://www.sk-ii.com.my/en/products/in-the-spotlight.aspx.

Just thinking about it makes my heart leaps. The mall is probably the only place I don’t mind being all alone by myself. I don’t care if I have to wait for hours for someone if I’m in a mall. As long as I’m surrounded with shops, I’d be the happiest!

There’s a reason why shopping is called “retail therapy” – because really guys, shopping is therapeutic *smirks at my husband*. The sight of the things your heart desires and the satisfaction when it finally becomes yours… there’s nothing like it! *hugs my Alma*

At La Valle outlet in Paris – one of my best shopping moments.

I believe all women love shopping. Even my 90-year-old grandma loves shopping! I remember a couple of years ago when she was in KL, we took her to Jusco and she shopped a lot! She bought food, sofa pillows, kitchen towels, flower vase, slippers, some clothes and other knickknacks. I’ve never seen her shopped like that before. She said, “Sedap membeli ni” in her Pahang slang. LOL. Now I know where my shopaholic-ness came from.

But yeah, I do admit, going on a shopping splurge can cause damages to your wallet. Which is why I have this secret little shopping fantasy. I often fantasized about being the 10,000th shopper in a mall and someone at the entrance would go like, “Congratulations! You’re the 10,000th shopper today and you just won yourself RM10,000 shopping spree!”.

You also qualify if you’re a Celcom Broadband or Instanet user.
Here’s how:-

Celcom Broadband:

• Purchase additional data volume (1GB@RM15, 5GB@RM50)
• Send 20 SMS (15 sen/SMS) in a day using your Broadband
• Upgrade your package (eg. Celcom Broadband Lite to Basic, Basic to Lite, Advance to Pro)

Instanet:

• Subscribe to any of Instanet Daily (RM5), Instanet Weekly (RM18) or Instanet Monthly (RM50)

There will be 5 daily winners chosen EVERY DAY from 15th August till 30th November 2011, so your chance to win those RM5,000 shopping vouchers is even greater! Find out more at www.xpax.com.my/talkathon. You can also check the list of daily winners there.

In case you’re wondering where you can use the vouchers, some of the participating merchants includes Topshop (Penang & Klang Valley only), Forever 21 (Penang & Klang Valley only), Parkson, i-Study (Apple authorized reseller – Klang Valley only), IKEA, Cold Storage, Mercato, Giant, Econsave, Guardian, Celcom Blue Cube, etc.

Keep on talking and who knows you could be going on a shop-a-thon soon!

Image googled

Shopping for free without draining your wallet – that’s every shopaholic’s dream!

To be honest, I only know a couple of brands that make really comfy shoes for babies and toddlers. Sure, there are a lot of really cute shoes especially for girls, but only a few are actually comfy and easy to walk in. If there’s one thing I’ve learned about baby shoes, it’s: don’t skimp on one! It’s crucial to look for quality and comfort because proper foot development starts from the very first day when a baby is born. I’ve had some experience buying adorable shoes for my little girl but they hurt her feet! She went all, “Ouch ouch!” when she walked in them. Those poor little feet! End up tak pakai.

Anyway, Trudy & Teddy had just released their leather footwear for babies and toddlers. It’s probably the only local brand that makes comfy shoes for little ones. And they are cuteness!

For girls

For boys

(More designs here).

Ayra got a pair of this black beauty. I love the contrasting scalloped detail!

All Trudy & Teddy shoes are made of genuine calf leather that provides ultimate softness and promotes flexibility without cramping the feet. The material is highly breathable too and contains hair cells which apparently allows the foot to respire so that the feet stay hygiene and dry at all times.

The insole is cushion-padded and so soft.
I can imagine how comfy walking in it!

Ayra, modelling her new shoes.
Her socks and plaid skirt are also from Trudy & Teddy! *loves*

You know your little one’s shoes are comfy when she can walk, jump and run around with ease! Choosing the right size is also important. You can determine your child’s shoe size by measuring her foot from the tip of toe to the heel, and there should be a little gap between the tip of toes and the front part of shoe, that’s just about the size of your child’s thumb.

Trudy & Teddy shoes are available in size 1 to 7, which is from newborn up to 4 years. You can check out this page for their size chart.

Speaking of Zara, I just found out that you can buy Zara online now at www.zara.com. They don’t ship to Malaysia tho, but you can always use HopShopGo. I don’t think I’d buy anything from the women’s clothing line because after converting and calculating, it’s better to buy from the stores here, unless if they’re not available. Like for example, my orange blouse (as pictured above). Here it’s RM199; online is slightly cheaper – 59.90 USD (about RM179) but after shipping and whatnot, jadi lagi mahal.

Baby girl (3-36 months)

Girls (2-14 years)