Karen Millen launched their flagship store at Pavilion recently and I was there with Miss G to check out their latest Autumn/Winter 2010 Collection.

I went in a gorgeous Karen Millen floral top! ♥

Miss G was in a classic grey Karen Millen dress looking fabulous!

Karen Millen started in the UK in the early 80's and can now be found around the world. It is targeted at young or the young at heart urbanista, successful carreer woman between 20-55. It has a very fun, chic and bold sophisticated style that can transform you into that stylista you've always wanted to be.

The Autumn/Winter 2010 Collection includes Dark Romance, Perfectly Tailored, Ice Maiden and Crystal Light. This season finds inspiration from screen sirens, military, scuba and sports.

But as much as I really wanted to be excited about this season's collection that was brought into Malaysia, it failed to woo me. If you have been into a Karen Millen store in England, it's always exciting and exuberant, the colours and prints just attracts you. Somehow the pieces that were brought in here were dull, safe colours that didn't really entice me into getting anything. Gosh it even translates blandly onto photos. *A famous photographer who was covering the show agreed with me on this one..*

I'm also baffled by the fact that KM Malaysia does not carry size 6! I figured it would make perfect sense for them to bring in 6 as Asians generally have a slightly smaller built. Actually not even Singapore has 6. The only country in the Asian region that carries 6 is Hong Kong. Now what if Hong Kong runs out of a 6 in the style I want? Well looks like I would have to go all the way back to England! Talk about being a bother..

If you're looking for something in either black/white or nudes check out the collection brought in by Karen Millen Malaysia. It's still beautiful with fantastic details!

Great detail on the silk halter

My fave ♥

Hot pink sexy bandeau cut dress!

Lurv the colour and the style!

The bright satin gladiators makes the neutral sequined dress stand out even more

Lurv this too!

The rare frill print!

Lurv the style!

Key Pieces that looks great on the models.. :P

More in store

I noticed they have brought in a bit more accessories this season. I quite fancy the selection of shoes & bags.

Lurving the lace collection!

Animal prints are in!

Beaded accessories

I wonder how the Spring/Summer 2011 selection will be like.. Guess we'll just have to wait and see. Hopefully it'll be as awakeningly beautiful as Spring and sunny & bright as Summer!

Messing about on the runway.. *lol*

*Miss G behind the lense*

Check out the rest of Karen Millen's Autumn/Winter 2010 Collection at www.karenmillen.com/.

I always look forward to Christmas. Who doesn't right.. But the one thing I lurv about it all are the cakes and desserts!! No surprise there, it's me we're talking about here. Lol! Given, that choices are not as much as Christmas in England but I've found quite a few yummy things here too..

Coffee Bean has managed to get me hooked on their Chocolate Virginia Brownie and Classic Log Cake!! *drooling endlessly*

Chocolate Virginia Brownie - RM8.90

Brownie filled with raspberry jam and pistachio nuts.

The waving Santa is ineadible so don't nibble.. *winks*

I haven't had this type of brownie in a long while.. Dense, rich, chewy & IntensE!! I'm totally in lurv with it. The chocolate is heavy, the chopped pistachios generous and the light spread of raspberry jam broke the monotony of the chocolate to enable you to have the whole piece to yourself and more. I had this 4 times in the past week!!

You have to try this!!

I super ♥ this brownie!!

*Tip: Wait about 5-10 minutes before eating to let it soften a lil.

Classic Log Cake - RM10.90

Get a log of this! A whirl of dark chocolate mousse encased in a light vanilla Swiss roll coated in rich mocha ganache.

Everything about this log was so smooth! The mousse is light with a heavy chocolate taste. The mocha ganache is wonderfully rich! Lovely!!

You have to try this too!! ^^

Either drop by your nearest Coffee Bean or find out what other cakes they have especially for Xmas here.

Guessing I'm gonna hunt down more Xmas yummies for you.. You got that right!! And totally gonna enjoy it. :)

*Note: I can't remember the exact price, so let me know if I got them wrong. :)

It's encouraging to know that big corporations are doing they're part in raising awareness towards breast cancer. Over the period of the breast cancer awareness month in October, KAO Malaysia Sdn Bhd (KAO Malaysia) helped raise greater awareness among Malaysian women about the importance of breast cancer prevention. Their first ever ‘Think Pink Love Life’, a one-month campaign was launched with the objectives of raising funds to subsidise breast cancer treatments as well as educating women about breast cancer prevention was a success.

As part of the campaign, KAO Malaysia pledged to contribute 1% from its sales of selected pink packaging products under the Biore, Liese, Laurier and Magiclean brands to PRIDE Foundation (PRIDE). After a month’s campaign KAO has managed to raise a total of RM40,000 which was presented by CEO of KAO Malaysia, Mr Taki Hiroaki to the Chairman of PRIDE Foundation, Datin Azrene Abdullah at a special ceremony on 24/11/10. The contribution will be used to help subsidise the cost of breast cancer treatment and other expenses to deserving patients.

Mr Taki Hiroaki giving his speech

Mr Taki Hiroaki (Right) presenting a cheque to Datin Azreene Abdullah, Chairman of PRIDE

Throughout October KAO Malaysia produced and distributed specially designed Breast Self Examination (BSE) cards to educate women on how to perform breast self-examination, the importance of early detection as well as early prevention of the disease.

At the event, PRIDE also invited a breast cancer survivor to share her experience with the audience. She survived the illness because of early detection and advises all Malaysian women to go for regular check-ups and perfrom self-examination because prevention is better than cure. The heartfelt story from this brave Pink Fighter was really inspiring!

L to R- Ranbir Kaur (Breast Cancer Survivor), Dr Azlina Firzah Abdul Aziz (PRIDE), Datin Azrene Abdullah, Mr Taki Hiroaki

KAO Malaysia has also successfully organised various environmentally friendly activities as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility - river cleaning and helping abandoned children and those affected during the Tsunami in 2004. Recently Kao Japan, through it ASCIENCE participated in the Smile Asia Project with the Asia Pacific Cultural Centre of Unesco (ACCU) to promote literacy amongst women across Asia.

Pretty sure we'll be hearing loads more from KAO Malaysia! Congratulations on a successful campaign!

To find out more about KAO Malaysia go to www.kao.com/my/

A few weeks ago I was given a voucher from Hair Atelier Jaya One entitling me to do any type of hair treatment worth a certain amount. Realising that it was going to expire 30/11/10, I called up the Jaya One branch last week to make an apointment. Asking to make an apopintment for Tuesday 30/11, the guy who answered the phone said they are closed on Tuesdays. So I explained to him about my voucher that expires on Tuesday 30/11 and asked if it would be possible for me to come on Wednesday, since it's only the day after expiration. He said it was ok. I asked again to make sure. He confirmed I could still use it on Wednesday 1/12/10.

Hair Atelier Jaya One 1/12/10

When I got there I told the person at the counter that I had an appointment at 12 and handed over my voucher. I was shown to my seat and a towel was put on my shoulders prepping me for a wash when the Creative Stylist came over to inform me that I could not use my voucher as it had expired. I explained to him the phone conversation when I made my appointment and he said he will ask the manager.

A few minutes later a woman came over and told me again that my voucher had expired and I could not use it. According to her it was company policy not to accept expired vouchers and offered me another voucher worth RM50 which could be used for treatments as well. (My expired voucher was worth a lot more than RM50). At this point of time I was already getting agitated. I explained to her my phone conversation. Her defense was  the guy who answered the phone was the shampoo boy and he did not know anything. How lame is that?!? In a addition to that she told me that I should have known better than to leave it til the last minute to use the voucher and that I should have come earlier. Imagine that!! She tried to put the blame on me for not coming earlier. I told her I was busy working and it was next to impossible for me to make it in November. Trying very hard not to break into curse words, I told her I took the afternoon off work, came all the way from Ampang by LRT and cab to get to Jaya One thinking that I could still use my voucher as per phone conversation. I asked her that if the boy didn't know anything then why was he put to answer the phone?? If he didn't know what was going on why didn't he ask some one who did before confirming with me?? The employee is the agent of the company and therefore represents it. I obviously kicked a fuss as it was a waste of my time, effort and money going all the way to PJ to get hair treatment done. My travel expenses was RM20, which I could have put to better use!

If they didn't accept expired vouchers they should have made it clear to me during the phone conversation, upon which I would not have bothered going. At this time, the woman said she will call the manager to ask again. A few minutes later she came back and said they will accept the voucher and do the treatment for me just this time. *I should've known better than to go through with it!!*

After the shampoo boy washed my hair which was not properly done as my scalp still felt unclean, the Creative Stylist started with the moisturising treatment with my hair. The question that came next appalled me! He asked if I permed my hair?? Now, if you're a true professional you should already be able tell whether my curls are natural or permed. He failed to tell the difference!! He then asked how do I usually style me hair. I responded that I usually just blow dry it out as it is much easier to handle.

Upon finishing the treament and having the cream like mix in my hair washed out, he asked if I wanted to leave my naturally curly hair as it is. I told him I would like to blow dry curl. He said that he will try a "New Style" of blow drying my hair. He will blow dry straight on top and leave my bottom curls. I told me it will not work as my hair is really frizzy. He did not listen and  proceeded with his "New Style". I sat there knowing how my hair would turn out like *They just don't listen to customers do they?!*

Rightly so, after the Creative Stylist was done styling my hair, it looked utterly frizzily crap!! I was just so pissed off, I tied up my hair and got up to leave. Before I left, he had the cheek to give me his card and that RM50 voucher the woman offered me earlier. I walked out of Hair Atelier Jaya One looking like a hideous frizz ball with itchy scalp!!! One of the worst yet coming from a so-called professional!!

Does this look moisturised to you??

Notice how my left side is frizzily straight..

This made my curls looked sad & lifeless!

Notice how my right side has a frizzily straight top and curls at the ends..

It's amazing how both sides look like they don't belong to the same head!

Here's what I don't get, if you don't know how to handle curly hair then make it clear to the customer. My hair wasn't even moisturised after the so-called moisturising treatment. It still looked dry, and hardly any softer than my usual home treatment that I do. My hair looks a whole lot better with me styling it myself than what he did to it.

I'm not only appalled by the service but even more with the moisturising treatment that did not do anything much to my hair. And the so-called "new style" of blow drying my hair was just pure rubbish!!

Comparisons

Blow Dry Straight

Here's how my hair looks like after getting a wash & blow from my stylist, who has over 20 years experience with all things hair.

Notice how shiny, smooth and lustrous my locks look.

Blow Dry Curl

This curl look was done by Rave from Kimarie at Sungei Wang.

Beautiful smooth curls!

 

On both occasions no "moisturising treatment" was done, just the usual wash with shampoo & conditioner, and yet my hair looked fabulous walking out of the salon, which should be the case. The results are the same every single time I go to my stylist or Rave!

Now tell me how is it that I managed to look like a hideous frizz ball coming out of Hair Atelier Jaya One? They put themselves out to be professionals and hair experts. But I strongly beg to differ!!

Give the Gift of Joy

Xmas with The Body Shop (TBS) is guaranteed to  be FUN!! I was at the Xmas preview last week and the promotions are awesome. I was spoilt for choice. It didn't help that the atmosphere was just so festive, it made me wanna shop more *sigh.. if only my credit card was unlimited..*

The much anticipated Xmas limited editions are back! The yummy Cranberry Joy, Spiced Vanilla *reminds me of cake!! lurv it to bits!* and Jolly Orange all come in gifts sets or individual pieces if you fancy them for yourself or a mix-and-match gifts sets. Gift sets starts from RM25 onwards and there are loads to choose from.

Fruity Lip Balm Lollies are adorable! - RM90

Spiced Vanilla, Jolly Orange & Cranberry Joy *LE!*

Shower, Scrub & Moisture Collection - RM129 only!!

This set is a must have!

Cranberry Joy *oh joy!* - LE!! RM22-RM99

Dreams Unlimited

Gift Box containing EDP 50ml, Shower Gel 200ml + Body Lotion 200ml - RM 215

*A Perfect Reason To Buy This: You can get the Parfum Bottle ENGRAVED!!*

Gifts Under RM50

Passion Fruit & Dewberry Shower Gels - RM45

Various Gift Sets from RM30, RM50 and RM189

Essential Oils & Diffuser

Animal Soap Gift - RM33

Yes it's soap not those gummi bear candy, so make sure the lil ones don't happily start biting on it.. lol

Japanese Cherry Blossom Shower & Moisture Set - RM36

Pink & Chic, perfect for your girlfriends..

To look super gorgeous for the holidays, you just have to check out The Joy of Sparkle, the Winter Trend for 2010 with TBS. There are two palletes with beautiful rich colours that will enhance your gorgeousness even more.

Eye Palette: Midnight -RM89

Eye Palette : Twilight -RM89

L-R: Eye Palette, Liquid Eyeliner in Starlight, Love Gloss - RM39, The Sparkler Automizer - RM99, Sparkle Nail Colour, Glitter Pot - RM39.90

Star Dust Glitter Pot: Gold & Pink RM39.90 each

Mini makeover by Azza! - Winner of TBS Make Up Competition 2010

Azza used Star Dust Glitter Pot in Gold and Midnight Eye Palette

I'm ready for a party!! My glittery gold eyes rock thanx to Azza!! :)

After some self-indulgent shopping, yummy food and too many candy canes later..

With Nicole being fed full with Candy Cane

*sugar high* :p

With Jennifer ^^

Azza :)

With Zul, 1st runner up for TBS Make-Up Competition 2010 :)

Fatin & Fatin! Lol!

First time I've taken a photo with someone of the same name.. Cool yaww!!

In the midst of all the joy, TBS always supports Community Fair Trade. After 23 years, TBS ensure that suppliers are justly rewarded for their skill and expertise by paying a fair price by cutting out the middle man. This allows producers to build their livelihoods and introduce educational and health benefits to their communites. TBS has also started introducing bottles made from 100% recycled plastic bottles and is using more recycled content in its gift-packaging as wells as continuing to source paper from FSC-certified forest.

You know Christmas won't be complete without The Body Shop. So get yourself off that chair and head to your nearest outlet. Mine would be KLCC.. *winks*

If you wanna make a shopping list first, go to www.thebodyshop.com.my/

Oh and check out Azza's & Zul's creative works at TBS Make-Up Competition 2010 here. :)