On a Hiatus

I'm off to New Zealand tomorrow yo!

8:30 am flight ... reaching Christchurch at 10:00pm

-____-"

*shall not think about the excruciating 10 hours flight on Air Asia*

Till Then,

X0X0

Review : Top Passion @ Tropicana City Mall

I've had the intention to do hair relaxing for the longest time ever because I am too lazy to blow-dry my hair after every wash. A good few years back I did rebonding before and didn't quite like the outcome because I find it too flat and it doesn't give volume. Now the difference between a relaxing and a rebonding is that relaxing gives a more natural look as compared to the latter. Also, for relaxing the hairstylist will only use the ironing-thong very sparingly to avoid having your locks looking limp and lifeless.

I called up randomly on hair salons around the area where I stayed asking for a price comparison, and finally I settled for Top Passion. Truth be told, I have never had a proper stylist before, previously my hair was done by students in A Cut Above and of course needless to say the outcome was not exactly great (depending on your luck on which student you are assigned to). Thereafter, consistently I have been getting my hair cut and dyed with a self-thought hairdresser Aunty who operates from a house in Taman Petaling. Yes .. al cheapo me. :p

Top Passion is currently running on a promotion for relaxing, for my hair length (i.e. above shoulders), relaxing + treatment + hairstyling is priced at RM268/=. In my onion, it is quite reasonable as my hair was tended to by a senior hairstylist and her assistant.

Before the transformation.

My hairstylist for the day was Sharkee Kong. I like her because I find her quite nice to talk to but yet not too over-chatty to the point of annoyance. She also does not hard sell on products and services. Her assistance (didn't get her name) is a Filipino from Manila. Initially, I found her quite LCLY (read: Lan Si Lan Yeong aka face black) but after awhile we kinda warmed up to each other. Reality is Miss Filipino is not LCLY, just that she speaks English only and the staff there usually converse in Cantonese/Mandarin, so I guess it is normal if she feels out of place. Well, once I started engaging in an English conversation with her, she was alright. Lesson learnt : Don't judge a book by its cover. :)

The Relaxing Process ...

Miss F took me for a quick hair rinse to wash away all the impurities. Thereafter she applied the "relaxer chemical" (don't know what it's called) on my hair. Then it was wrapped up with cling wrap and was baked using the UFO-looking machine. A quick rinse then a "neutralizer" was applied on my hair. Once all the chemical part was done with, my hair was dried and Sharkee used some kind of a brush-thong (imagine those thick brushes that people use to brush a horse's mane) and straightened my hair. Occasionally, she also uses the ironing-thong but very sparingly.

Thereafter, she proceeded to style my hair. Initially, I wanted to maintain my boring side-parting fringe, however Sharkee suggested that I try going with bangs for a change. Unsure, I just left it to her expert hands and gotta say I am glad I took the plunge and I loved it!!! (pictures at the end of the post)

And voila that's it, the whole relaxing process was done. To my surprise, the process in itself was rather quick. It took about slightly more than 1 1/2 hours. If I recall correctly for rebonding, I sat on that damn chair for almost 3-4 hours!!

Halfway through, Sharkee poisoned me asked if I wanted to dye my hair as well because since I took the relaxing package, it would be counted as an add-on i.e. RM150/=. She left me to consider the offer of which I accepted which means more moolah flew out ... T_T

The Dying Dyeing + Scalp Treatment + Hair Treatment Process ...

Just before my hair treatment, Sharkee brought over the color chart and ran through with me. I told her I would prefer something more professional since I work in a financial institution. She chose a brown-based color for me. Again, I trusted her judgement.

After coloring my hair, she came back and inspected and recolor again. I asked her why the need to do so, she replied that she is trying to tone down the color because after a few wash, the dye would discolor leaving a very light brown (could possibly turned out to be lala). I admire her for her professionalism.

While I was waiting for the color to set-in, she asked if I would like to have a scalp treatment. Reason being that I applied so many chemical on my scalp, it could be damaging. Again this is optional and is an additional RM30/=. Initially, I didn't want to because I still have a hair treatment which was part of the package. Then, as I waited my scalp began to tingle and itch a little (I guess due to the chemical reaction) so I opted to do the scalp treatment as well scared will have a massive outbreak on my head with oozing pus.

And I didn't regret it one bit! The scalp treatment was awesomeness! Highly recommend! Miss F washed my hair, then she applied drops of that treatment and started to massage my head, hairline, forehead, and neck. Whatever thingy that she used was fantastic! It is soooo cooling (think menthol). Then, she placed warm towel under my neck and another one wrapped around my hairline. She left me there for 10minutes (naturally I slept off). So relaxing!!!! I love the hot (warm towels) and cold (menthol thingy on my scalp) combination. 10 minutes after, she washed off the scalp treatment and proceeded to do a hair treatment for me.

All in all, I loved the experience and would recommend Top Passion to others simply because:

- Reasonable pricing.

- Professional.

- Courteous hairstylist.

- No hard-selling.

- It made my hair looked G.R.E.A.T!!

Tips: Do not wash your hair for 2 days after the treatment.

And here is my after picture. I think that I look good (self-praise)! Love the hairstyle and the hair color. I think it suits me very well. And most importantly, my hair and scalp looks healthy- it is soooo soft to touch! Smells good too. :)

Ambiance : 4*

Service : 5*

Value-for-Money : 5*

Love;

Mrs Lee

Review : Jari Spa @ Solaris Dutamas

Disclaimer : All pictures taken from Dealmates and Jari Spa.

A friend of mine sold two vouchers to me at RM100 from Dealmates for a spa session in Jari Spa located in Solaris Dutamas. There have another outlet in Wangsa Maju. It is a 150-minute Royal Top-to-Toe Treatment for RM99 per person (valued at RM419). How to say no to this kind of further discounted deals right?

Without much expectation because of my previous not-so-good experience from a spa purchase from another discount site and unfavorable review from ParisB, I made an appointment with Bear for our session last weekend. Contrary to the review, I was pleasantly surprised that the spa was pretty good and decent, the staff and masseurs (from Indonesia) was courteous, and the ambiance was up-to-mark; at least for the price that you pay. In my opinion even without the vouchers, the existing pricing of Jari Spa is really reasonable.

From the outside, the premise looks like your average shoplot – nothing fantastic. However, once you entered in, the calming essence of lemongrass and soft Balinese music transport you straight to Bali. Amazing… it brings total relaxation to you immediately. The friendly staff at the counter changed our slippers and escorted us into the waiting area. The area is decorated with oversized sofa chairs with leg stool and is really plush. We waited about 10 minutes for the masseurs to prepare before we were being promptly ushered into the treatment room. We were asked if we wanted to substitute the facial for additional massage time of which we rejected (should’ve went with the additional massage it was so darn good!).

Balinese Massage (60 minutes).
I was asked to change into a disposal panties (Thank God not Gs) whereas Bear was asked to wear boxers. Personally, I feel that spas should provide boxers for men because I reckon that it will be more comfortable. Thereafter, you are asked to soak your feet in warm water with flower petals before your massage.

All I’ve got to say about the massage was that it exceeded my expectation by leaps and bounds! The masseur took her time, made sure that I was not in pain, and kept asking if I was cold. I dare say that the massage comes close to that of Khareyana Spa. I dozed off not too long into the massage. My only complaint is that the session was too short. :(

Body Scrub (30 minutes).
The scrub was not too bad – just that I don’t quite like the smell. It smells like those cheap strawberry soap you can buy in sundry shops. After the exfoliation, your body is left feeling baby smooth.

Body Mask (20 minutes).
Prior to applying the whitening mask, the masseur warned us that it will be cold and I am thankful for that because I can’t stand coldness! And it was really cold! Brr~! I was truly appreciative for her when she switched off the fan and quickly covered my body with two layers of towel. Excellent service!

Private Jacuzzi (10 minutes).
Once the mask is dried off, we were asked to soak in the warm Jacuzzi. I loved it, however Bear would prefer if the water pulsation to be a tad stronger. I on the other hand am just happy just soaking in the tub. Thereafter, we showered and changed into our clothes.

Facial (30 minutes).
Again during the facial, I promptly fell asleep. The cleansing, scrub, and mask was so relaxing! I don’t know what products that they used but I didn’t quite like the sticky feeling thereafter. Anyway, I am thankful that I don’t have much skin problems and I would suggest for those with sensitive skin to skip this part and opt for the time extension of massage instead. Just my two cents’ worth.

After 150 minutes (that’s 2 ½ hours) of pampering, the masseur was so considerate she even asked if I needed a hairdryer to dry my hair. Really proactive! We were then served ginger tea (the best I had so far in a spa) and was asked to fill up the feedback form. Needless to say, I gave them really high ratings. I highly recommend Jari Spa.

I will definitely head back to Jari Spa because:
- Amazing Customer Service
- The Massage was Awesome
- Very Reasonable Pricing
- Near my Office (so I can sneak off for a quick massage)

Word of caution: Parking in Solaris Dutamas is confusing and can be a pain. To access to Jari Spa, I suggest that you proceed to Basement B6 and look for I16. Take the lift up to LG. You should be able to see the spa from across the road. It is located on the first floor.

Ambiance : 4*
Service : 5*
Value-for-Money : 5*

Love;
Mrs Lee

Bruxism

Sounds like some kinky sex position right? Sorry to disappoint but unfortunately it is not. Bruxism is a condition whereby you unconsciously grind your teeth and it usually occurs when you are asleep. I kinda knew that I had this problem way back in 2002 when my girlfriend told me that I grind my teeth rather loud when I sleep. I just dismissed her and thought nothing much about it because I felt that it was nothing unusual. That is, until I was married.

Bear recently told me that I have been grinding my teeth pretty badly, so much so that he sometimes don’t have a choice but the jolt me up from my sleep to prevent further damage from the grinding. And apparently, I grind pretty loud too. I honestly don’t understand where I developed this strange habit from … which ultimately led me to Google more about this condition.

Bruxism is a habit (a bad one) and is a type of sleep disorder. In the long-run, Bruxism causes tooth breakage (in extreme cases) and occasionally headaches, jaw-pain, and stiff shoulders. There is no known cure and it is advisable to visit the dentist (*gulp*) and he would most likely recommend to wear a mouth-guard when you are sleeping to minimize further damages to your teeth

What causes Bruxism?

1) Sleep disorder
I don’t think I have a problem with sleep. I can sleep throughout the night until mid-day. And I don’t snore. However, I do notice sometimes when I wake up, I do experience backache and shoulder ache. So don’t know if you consider that a sleep disorder. *shrug*

2) Lifestyle factor
And I quote “The use of psychoactive substances (e.g. tobacco, alcohol etc) increases arousal (?!) which leads to problems falling asleep, staying asleep, and daytime sleepiness hence Bruxism is significant higher in these individuals.”

Let’s do a checklist on my addiction towards psychoactive substances:
Tobacco – No
Alcohol – Occasional
Caffeine – Yes! Yes! YES!!
Medication for sleep/depression – No

3) Stress, Anxiety, and Psychological
Sometimes I do encounter stress especially from work due to some idiots whose sole purpose of existence in this world is to get on your nerves. I’ve noticed recently that whenever I am angry at this particular person, I tend to clench my teeth. Probably my Bruxism condition arose from these occasions. But other than that, I think I handle stress pretty well.

So yeah … looks like I am a Bruxist. For more information, you may read from here.

Love;
Mrs Lee

Review : TVB Series - Yes Sir! Sorry Sir!

Disclaimer: All pictures and video is from TVB.

This series is pretty funny – I would say that it is purely an entertainment kind of a series for you to kick back and relax after a long day at work. Itis not an exciting drama series whereby you would stay up late until 5:30am to watch 10 episodes back to back like what I did for Wax and Wane. If you want to know more about the series, you may drop by their official site.

The Cast:

Moses Chan Ho (Lo Yiu Wah aka”Lo Sir”) role was really funny especially the first few episodes where he deliberately catches his students’ wrongdoing much like our disciplinary teachers back in school. However, after awhile he gets a bit irritating as his character goes over the top, almost like Jim Carey in his comedies. Particularly find the transition of being a school teacher to an undercover cop rather amusing. I've always liked Moses Chan actually because I find him quite versatile as an actor. Plus point, he loves his coffee as much as I do. Yes, I am biased like that.

Tavia Yeung Yi (Ho Miu Suet aka “Miss Ho”) character was so-so. This series is one of those few that her character kind of faded into the background compared to her co-female star. She plays a very nice teacher who has a passion for Band 3 students (Note: Band 3 schools designated for rebellious students). Again, she is pretty in this series.

Linda Chung Ka Yan (Khoo Ka Lam aka “Miss Koo ‘Cool’”) character was awesome!!! Linda Chung played Miss Koo’s character so well it was a 5-star performance! She managed to start of as a cool person, to falling in love, to being needy and vulnerable, to being a strong character. Linda Chung improved so tremendously as an actress. In this series, she really outshines Tavia Yeung. Hands down! She is someone to look out for in this series. Seriously!

Ron Ng Cheuk Hei (Inspector Ching Man Lik aka “Ching Sir”) character was pretty bad in my opinion. As much as I love Ron Ng, I think his character is so-so. Probably he was only playing a supporting role so yeah... I don’t have much comment actually. Still think he is cute. :p

Excerpts worth mentioning:

(may contain spoilers)

As you go along, the love story becomes a bit complicated - Miss Khoo genuinely loves Lo Sir but Lo Sir loves Miss Ho. Simultaneously, Ching Sir also likes Miss Ho. Confuse yet?

Don't fret, the story gets more interesting towards the middle of the series where it is less childish with the school kids and gets more mature with the involvement of Chun Hing and the infiltration of drugs into the school.

I like the part where Lo Sir found out the Miss Khoo’s brother-in-law is the triad leader and he courted her in the pretense of getting close to her brother-in-law. Again, it shows a softening of Miss Khoo’s character from hard and steely to soft and vulnerable.

The twist where Miss Khoo’s sister, Ceci is actually involved in the illegitimate business of her husband. Ceci didn’t have a choice. She did it out of love for her husband.

When Miss Ho accidentally read Lo Sir’s log report revealing that he is actually an undercover cop and harbored feelings for her instead of Miss Khoo. Miss Ho ended up being the so-called “third party”.

The scene when Miss Khoo found out that Lo Sir was cheating on her. She forgave him despite it all. Subsequently, she found out that Lo Sir has been using her and didn’t love her at all. She was devastated and the emotions that she portrayed were very convincing and you could actually feel her pain of being betrayed.

The Ending:

(may contain spoilers)

It sucked!! That’s all I can say. I don’t like ending which don’t have an ending!!! It’s like reading a book without a conclusion. Crap!

Lo Sir didn’t end up with Miss Ho... or did he? I don’t know because there is no ending.

Miss Khoo suddenly ends up with this neighbor (played by Kenneth Ma)... or did she? I don’t know because there is no ending.

Ching Sir suddenly found this random girl at the physiotherapy centre and ended up with her. Like wth? 0_o”

Conclusion:

It was an okay series. No brainer and no ending. As usual, I shall end my post with the theme song.

Love;

Mrs Lee

Invasion of the (Angry) Birds

Yup .. unfortunately I've been bitten by the angry bug and has been inflicted by the bird flu. Aiihh..

FYI for those fanatics like me, you can find loads of them in Tropicana City Mall. Price ranging from RM15.00 to RM80.00. As much as I love them, I won't spend more than RM30.00 on a plush toy. Yeah .. I am kiamsap like that. :p

So far my collection at home comprises of all the birds except for the Boomerang one. That is the toughest to find and the most expensive one.

So much so that my bear also turned into a giant yellow bird *cue Sesame Street song*.

The birds even invaded my office! Really good de-stresser to throw at bosses colleagues ala angry birds style.

Watcha looking at biatch? There's even one in my car!! Hopefully can scare off road bullies. Hehehe...

Love;

Mrs Lee

Review : Tang House of Fishball @ Seapark PJ

I've heard of this place numerous times and never got to try them because I don't fancy anything fishy so when my colleagues suggested to try this place I wasn't too keen.

Anyway, their fish ball contains no preservative and boric acid. The place is quite comfortable and is not too crowded. To be safe, I ordered normal beehun soup with fish ball and fish cake. Gotta say that I was brave for trying knowing that I loath fish. Hehe ...

Took a bite and to my surprise there is no fishy taste at all! I actually enjoyed it! Truth be told, that damn plain beehun soup was FANTASTIC!! I don't even know how to describe it but it is memang sangat sedap!!! Put aside the taste, the portion is actually quite small and the pricing is rather steep.

We ordered a side dish of some fu chok roll with chee cheong fun. And it was really really nice!! Actually, their fish stuff is really good! The meat is 'smooth'. Can't believe that I am saying this knowing that I despise fish.

Couldn't resist but to order their Hainanese Tea. THE BEST I'VE EVER TASTED!!! HANDS DOWN!!!!! Highly recommended!

Caution : No doubt the place serves awesome food, you have to take note that the pricing isn't exactly cheap ya.

Ambiance : 4*

Service : 5*

Value-for-Money : 2*

Love;

Mrs Lee

Plastic Surgery

Pretty or not?

For those who don't know, her name is Angelababy (she gave herself that name don't ask me why). She recently shot to stardom in her modelling career due to her good looks and beautiful figure. And she is not Korean or Japanese, she is a Hongkie. She is almost perfect in her outer-beauty. Everyone thinks that she is blessed to be born with such good genes. Natural beauty? Do you really think that a person can be born with extraordinary looks such as hers?

Think again.

Let's do a further case study on some of the stars and celebrities that we know. As you go along, you will notice that I only took Chinese celebs as comparison because I am an Asian Chinese so it is easier and more obvious to pin-point the "fixes".

Case 1 : Elaine Kwong Yeuk Lam.

I first saw her in E.U and I thought she is really cute and pretty with her big doe-like eyes. Then, as I was reading through the tabloids on TVB artists, there were talks that she actually went through plastic surgery. And this is her before and after surgery photos:

Case 2 : Tavia Yeung Yi.

Everyone knows that she is the up and coming big star of TVB. And she is very very pretty in my opinion. Recently, there were hu-ha that she did her nose. I don't understand why she wants to fix her face .. what is wrong with her nose?? Existingly she has very nice nose bridge, high enough to put most people to shame and envy.

Case 3 : Dawn Yang.

Close to our shores, we have the famous pretty Dawn Yang from Singapore. Of course, she vehemently denied of doing any plastic whatsoever. But pictures and findings from others proof otherwise. You be the judge.

The purpose of this post is not to condemn those who had done plastic surgery, rather I would like to understand why people do it? Whilst some of these girls like Tavia Yeung is not perfect, she is already very beautiful. Why the need to be perfect? I think plastic surgery is addictive because you will always find flaws with your appearance. No one is perfect and in the quest of perfection, people turn to surgery.

The next question is : Will I turn to plastic surgery assuming that money is no issue and there is no risk?

I would probably go for liposuction and a tummy-tuck because I have gained tremendous weight. Probably do something about my height too.

For my face .. I wouldn't change anything except to straighten my teeth and probably do something about my eyebags. And the picture below is me purely without makeup.

With the aid of professional makeup and photography, I think I don't look too bad. :) Not to say that I am praising myself, but there are others who looks far worse than me. Even some of the stars *cough**angelababy*cough* looked worse than me before plastic surgery. Patient guys, I will reveal the before plastic picture of Angelababy to you at the end of this post.

Genesis 1:27 " So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created Him; male and female He created them."

Joke aside, I don't think I will change anything about my appearance. Because I am already naturally blessed with good and fair skin, big brown eyes, and not too bad looks even without makeup. For that, I am extremely thankful to God. :)

Still remember the hot babe, Angelababy? Let me refresh your memory a bit.

And this is a side-to-side comparison of Angelababy before and after surgery.

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So tell me... do I still need plastic surgery?

I rest my case.

Made in the Image of God;

Mrs Lee