All About Eyeliners

Yup, that's my messy dressing table where I do my make-up and put my nightly moisturizer before I go to sleep. Also, where I dump store my accessories. Yes, I admit - I am a messy person. :p

For this post, I will touch on nothing but eyeliners. Why? Because I found a solution to lasting and smear-free eyeliner! *woots* I have been searching high and low for years for a solution, I kid you not. My make-up skills in general is not too bad - but before the day/night/outing ends, I almost always will end up looking like a raccoon because my eyeliner will smear even if I use water-proof ones. Frustrating ok!!!

Initially, I used Kohl liner and this will smear the worst - I don't even understand why! Gotta say this is the easiest to apply though, very good for first timers. Now, tips for beginners, draw the line as close as you can to your lashes for a more natural look. If you want to be more dramatic, you can opt to line your lower lid from out to inner corner of your eyes. Only line halfway through - use your pupils as indication. Then the other half, you can use white eyeshadow to line it (Please make sure it is a very fine line ok! Tips: Use cotton bud).

Yes, I use Silky Girl - cheap and good.

Then, I tried using liquid liner. Confirm this type wont smear - but I didn't quite like it because the effect is not 'soft' enough. It looks rather edgy and rugged. Plus, my eyes will itch and bengkak every time I uses liquid liner. But then again, maybe because mine was a fake which I bought from the pasar malam.

Yup, my liquid liner is a MAC.

I bought it for RM10 at a pasar malam. Causes severe itch

Frustrated, I was asking my colleague what liner she uses, she said try using gel liner. I know the famous one is Bobbi Brown's - but it is very expensive! Yes to educate those who don't know, usually gel liner comes in a very small glass container not because the manufacturer is kiam, but apparently gel liner dries up very fast so no point in producing a big bottle. So off I went to buy Maybelline's Lasting Drama Water-Proof Gel Liner for RM20+ (now it is retailing for almost RM30+).

The amazing kit

And voila! It works!!! The gel liner still smears at the end of the day but it is not obvious. To me this is already an achievement!! Also, this time around instead of using black, I chose a brown color. More suitable for day make-up. :)

I am very very happy - the liner is still where its suppose to be

even AFTER a spa session! Fantastico!

Am extremely happy with my findings. Looks like I shall be sticking to this liner for a long long time. :D

Love;

Mrs Lee

Review : Eve De Beaute @ The Strand

I've used up my voucher from Milkadeal for a spa experience in Eve de Beaute located in The Strand, Kota Damansara. The deal is for RM36 (originally RM168) for a Jacuzzi Spa + Full Body Scrub + Hot Stone Massage + Aromatherapy Full Body Massage for 90 minutes. Fantastic offer, yes? I save 78%!!

Excitedly, Bear and I went to the place – and the first impression was that the place looks like your typical shop-house. There is no ambiance whatsoever and the place is brightly lit up (spas are usually dim with soothing background music). Unfortunately for us, there was an on-going renovation next door and it was so darn noisy!!! Plus, the music played was those cheesy karaoke minus ones – e.g. Unchanged Melody, Smoke Gets in Your Eyes etc. So, basically the first impression was thrown out the window. From their website, it looked so warm and cozy! Kena con.

Then, I was scouting around for the masseurs; usually the good ones are Indonesians, Thais, or those Sabahans/Sarawakians. Lo and behold, the girls are from China (I think) instead and they spoke Mandarin (I don’t understand Mandarin). Granted, they did try speaking in Cantonese and English to accommodate us bananas.

The therapy started with me and Bear separated for the Body Scrub and Jacuzzi because it’s their policy I guess (strange). The massage rooms looked like surgical/dental wards. The changing was the most uncomfortable moment I have ever experience in a spa before (worse than Baliayu Spa Sanctuary). Firstly, you are given G-strings to wear … I don’t know about you but I find it very uncomfortable. Other spas usually use disposable panties. Heck, I don't even know which part to cover up!! Then as you are turning from laying back to front, you have to adjust everything yourself – the masseur wont help you to cover your body, leaving you expose naked (except for the G-string). So, you have to take the towel and cover yourself up. It was really an uncomfortable and to some extent a humiliating experience.

The scrub was ok for me, nothing to shout about. It smells like those cheap perfume/talcum powder though – which I didn’t like. Usually scrubs would smell sweet like cinnamon, lemongrass etc. Then you help yourself to the Jacuzzi. The masseur offered to pour in a bottle of Lavender perfume for relaxing for additional RM15. I politely declined because to me it looks like those where you can purchase from Watsons or Guardian for much less than RM15. The Jacuzzi was typical – just that the tub lights up in green, blue, red, pink, yellow and again and again. Coupled with the renovation noise, cheesy ‘ambiance’ music, and the lala lights … you don’t feel relaxed at all.

Thereafter, you climb out of the tub by yourself and wipe yourself down (no shower despite your body being covered by bubble bath soap -.-“!!!). By the time I was done, Bear was ushered into the same room and the massage started. Bear told me his Jacuzzi experience was bad because the water was too hot. In his words “his telur nearly masak”.

The ‘hot stone massage’ was a rip off! I have tried my first ever hot stone massage in Tru Spa and it was pretty good. At Eve de Beaute, the masseur places the hot stones along your back (standard process) and then uses the stone to rub your back, neck, and shoulder. Normal hot stone massages are waaaayyyy more elaborate than that! What happened is that, they combined the hot stone massage + aromatherapy massage.

Moving on, the aromatherapy massage was HELL for me. So bloody painful despite me saying, showing signs of pain, teared, and clenching my fist. But no … she continued going on and on and on. Urgh~

In general, this was the WORST spa that I have ever been. I don’t know if there are any more worst than this. Thank God I only paid RM36.

Disclaimer: This is only an independent opinion.

Ambiance : 0*
Service : 0*
Value-for-Money : 1*

Love;
Mrs Lee

Dummies Guide to Rearing a Fish

Actually, it didn't take long for me to decide to rear a fish. Unlike how I got my Maxy Boy. Well, to me fishes are ... fishes. Plus I only got this one for RM2.00 so kalau mati also I won't feel bersalah. In other words, it was purely impulse buying. (SPCA won't put me in jail want, right?)

I've decided to go for a Siamese Fighting Fish aka Betta Splenders (scientific name). I remembered when I was much younger, me, my brothers, and cousins used to have one each as pets. At that time, it was the 'in' thing for children to have ... on second thought, maybe we were just simple kampung boys/girls from Seremban. :)

If I recall correctly, mine was a green color one, my brother was a blue one, and my cousin's was a red one. We reared the fishes until they were quite big which eventually died of old age (I hope). Thereafter, we've never rear any more fishes. Except for my Dad with his unending quest for goldfishes and Arowanas - which all end up inevitably dying. Prematurely. heh~

For first-timers, I would recommend to rear this breed because it is very very low maintenance and it is hardy. In other words, it won't die easily la. :p

Step 1:

You need the following ingredients basic items first:

(i) A tank with ample space

(ii) Anti-chlorine drops

(iii) Fish food

And of course, a fish!

Step 2:

Now you are good to go! Wash the aquarium thoroughly first. Make sure there are no leftover soap in the tank. Filled it up with water. For a tank my size, you need to put 10 drops of the anti-chlorine because apparently fish will die in chlorine water (for the benefit of those dungu ones like me .. tap water is chlorinated). Lastly, release the fish gently into the aquarium.

That's all! Simple ya! :) All in all my entire purchase cost RM25 only! Also with an aquarium this small and no dangling stuff (like wires, oxygen, filter etc), it is very easy to clean and change the water.

On the first night, I overfed. The tank ended up looking very dirty like this -.-":

Then, the fish started making funny air bubbles. I thought he was suffocating/drowning either from the:

(i) Over-dosage of food; or

(ii) Water is too chlorinated

So I googled and found out that my fish is a male (long-tail are males, short-tail are females) and he is making BUBBLE NEST! To make the bubbles, the fish takes up air in its mouth, coats it with saliva, and spits out the bubbles which sticks together on the surface of the water. He is ready to mate! Interesting huh? No wonder, he is so protective about me approaching close to the aquarium.

Nest? Spawn? Mate? Babies???

Do you think this is a sign??????

Love;

Mrs Lee

Randomness

Today is the most randomness Saturday that I've ever experienced. Let me break it down in chronological order for you:

Woke up at 8:15am for a 9:30am exam in Universiti Malaya ("UM"). In my blur~ness and stressful mind, I banged grazed along the side of my car at my condo's carpark. -.-" Best part is that, I was actually driving straight! In other words, I drove straight into a wall. *memalukan* This will cost time and loads of money to respray back. Aih ~

And then, I thought I was early for the exam .. mana tau along Jalan Universiti there was an accident and I was stuck for a good 15 minutes. -.-" To make matters worse, when I turned into UM, there was an on-going carnival there, so traffic was congested. Yes you heard me right. Inside UM. *cha tou* And you would've guessed, parking was a nightmare. To cut long story short, I arrived at the exam hall ngam-ngam in time to start my paper. *celaka betul*

After the exam, I met up with Bear and my parents for a simple and quick lunch in a coffee shop in Old Town and then off we zoomed to Eve de Beaute in Kota Damansara for a cheap spa treatment - got that cheap from MilkaDeal. heh~

Thereafter, since I've been craving for scones for the past few weeks, we dropped by Teapot Cafe in SS2 and it was mad crowded so we've decided to tapau 6 pieces of scones back. *nyum*

Along the way back as I was munching on the scones in the car (yes I couldn't wait until we've reached home), I suddenly had this brilliant idea of rearing a fish out of the blue. *random* So off we detoured and bought a fighting fish!

His name is Bluey the fish ... no brainer on that. :p

And then sums up my random Saturday.

Oh... may be heading to Sunway Pyramid after this to buy a new pair of sunnies!

Love;

Mrs Lee

Our Education System Needs to be Revamped!

Its been awhile since I've been damn tu lan about the academic system in Malaysia - in particular the examination. I was a student for a total of 17 years (inclusive of Primary, Secondary, A-Levels, and Uni).

What contributed further to the tu lan~ness is that after 3 years of working, we are required to take a professional exam. All together there are 3 papers to pass (with the last paper only having 10% of passing rate).

I am currently on my study break and will be sitting for the Paper 1 exam this Saturday tomorrow. What pisses me off is that the passing mark is 80%. Yes, you heard me right ... It is 80 freaking percent!!! 0_o". The materials which were given to us are all hard facts - meaning we must memorize word for word. The best part is that, we were warned told by our facilitator that the examiner's sole purpose is to confuse, confuse, and confuse us.

My question now is : Is this exam relevant to our day-to-day job? To some extent, yes it is. But to memorize word-for-word? That's crazy!

And here my friends are classic examples on how screw up our education system is:

Point 1 : Why the need to memorize theories?

Most importantly, education must be relevant to the students. Because when you come out to work, it is important to be able to apply what you have studied. What's the point of memorizing and regurgitating back into the exam papers? Honestly, after every exam I don't even remember what I have studied - because what I have 'studied aka memorized' was solely for passing the exam.

Point 2: Ridiculous passing mark of 80%.

Why would people set a passing mark so ridiculously high? What is the purpose of this??? I have always been an advocate of Australian and US education system rather than British because it balances out the academic and assignment portion. To me again the most important thing is application. Applying what you have study - and that is the true meaning of understanding.

Point 3: Examiners are sadist.

Need I say more? Their sole purpose of existence is to make sure you fail.

Sigh .. I hate our education/British system!

Too academic driven and irrelevant!

Helloo.. we are not breeding Professors here ok. *urgh~*

Alright, enough of rambling and back to studying.

Love;

Mrs Lee

Review : Tru Spa

When I was engaged to Bear back in 2009, he surprised me with a package from Tru Spa worth RM4,000. Yes, he is sweet knowing how much I love spas. :) I have been doing my waxing, pedicure and manicure, body scrub, and massages here. Let me summaries what I think about Tru Spa.

Pro:

1. One-Stop Center

2. The therapists are generally friendly

Cons:

(1) Impossible to Get An Appointment:

Appointment is only open for 2 weeks in advance - that also you have to FIGHT for a place. No joke! I have been told to call before 10am, THAT also doesn't guarantee a place! It was so frustrating I told them that it is impossible to finish up my credit which expires by next year. And I don't care!!! They better not cancel my credits without me fully using it. No. Effing. Way! Even if you do get a place (by some miraculous intervention), Tru Spa has a tendency to SCREW UP your appointments! What the hell right?

(2) Ambiance:

Nothing to shout about. The premise is small, so don't expect much.

(3) Treatments are So-So:

Again nothing to shout about here. Not over-the-top.

(4) Pricing is from Average to the High Side:

Now the thing with Tru Spa is that all of their treatments are individually priced; i.e. massage is RM150, body scrub is RM90 etc etc. So if you were to average out the pricing, it is more or less the same as those spa packages which are being offered by other spa centers. If that is the case, wouldn't you opt for those spa centers (like Khareyana Spa) which offers top-notch service and fantastic massages instead? I definitely would.

Honestly, I can't wait for the package to be over so I can say good riddance to Tru Spa. Really a pain in the neck. Sometimes, while waiting for my turn, I see the marketing/sales team lie push for sales, I just feel like telling the potential customers to walk away and not be conned.

For me, the number one pain of all is the appointment issue - which is the most fundamental. How come Tru Spa cannot manage it properly?

Ambiance : 2*

Service : 1*

Value-for-Money : 1*

Problem now is that I need to source for a place where I can do waxing periodically. Any suggestions?

Love;

Mrs Lee

Review : Khareyana Spa

Since I've got my bonus last week and the husband was away outstation, I've decided to pamper myself. Basically to have my "me time". I've heard about Khareyana Spa but never got around to trying them because the perception that I had was that they are way too expensive.

Khareyana Spa is located in Petaling Jaya near Assunta Hospital. The place from outside looks a bit dingy to be honest. But since the reviews has been so good, I've decided to give it a try.

Open the door ... step into heaven

The minute I stepped into the spa, I was immediately transported to Bali. I kid you not! The smell of lemongrass filled the air. When you step in, the Indonesian girls will promptly change you into slippers and usher you into the waiting area where the spa menu is handed over to you.

Do you believe me now? The ambiance is fantastic!

In front of you are actually the massage rooms

The receptionist will take time to patiently explain to you each treatment and what's best for you. I selected the 150 minutes of Balinese Sensual Range for RM265 net. The spa covers body scrub, 90 minutes of aromatherapy massage, and herbal bath.

I was then taken to another lounge area where I was asked to choose the scrub - I chose Cinnamon and Coconut, suitable for dry skin. Not to mention, it smell awesome too. :)

Vast range of nice-smelling products

Thereafter, you are taken to your massage room. You need to walk through the koi pond on pebble steps into the room. And I went 'wow!!!!' - the room uses a lot of natural lightings. Despite the location being right smack in the center of PJ, you hardly hear any traffic noises as it is drowned by nice music and running water.

Firstly, the masseur is fantastic! She is so gentle and alert. There is this point where I kept sneezing and she immediately turn off the air-cond. Talk about first class service!

The treatment starts with a warm towel soaked in lemongrass being pressed on the pressure points for relaxation. Then the body scrub starts. I love the scrub so much I actually fell asleep! Then, I had to shower to remove all the residues. Did I mention that the shampoo and soap provided was from Martha Tilaar? Awesome!

Shower area

After scrubbing leaving my skin silky smooth, the massage started and this was the best ever massage I had! I don't know how to describe it but there was something different that the masseur did which other spas don't offer. Her movement and pressing on the correct points is spot on! I really really loved it. Didn't regret taking a 90-minute long massage.

What did I tell you about natural light?

After massaging, I was asked to soak myself in the herbal bath "berendam" for 20 minutes. it was so good laying down in the bubble bath with warm water. *shiok~ness* It was so romantic I wished my hubby was there with me.

Sensual yes?

When the treatment is over, you will be served ginger tea and watermelon. The ginger tea is the most sedap one I've ever tasted! To my surprise, I don't think the pricing is all that expensive as other places are charging about RM300+ for similar spa packages.

Ambiance : 5*

Service : 5*

Value-for-Money : 5*

Looks like I found my 'home spa' already. Will definitely make Khareyana Spa my regular spa for days to come. And they also offer pregnancy massage which is fantastic!

Oh.. for bride-to-be, you may try their Ken Dedes treatment aka vaginal smoking. Leaves you feeling fresh and smelling erm.. fragrant. *sniff* *sniff*

Love;

Mrs Lee