SHOPPING HAULS AND ECONOMICS

Shopping has got to be one of my favourite things to do, even if I don't buy anything. Just trying on pretty things, affordability and cash flow notwithstanding, makes me all smiley inside... :D Of course, when I DO get something, that fuzziness is magnified, followed inevitably by a pinch/pang/slap/stab of guilt. Following that logic, it's then natural for me to go crazy whenever I visit Malaysia, because in that scenario, the original stab becomes downgraded a few levels, sometimes to the point of being negligible. YAY exchange rates! Also, when I say crazy, I MEAN CRAZY. I'mt not just talking about buying more expensive items. I'm talking about extra facial cleansers, toners, creams, necessities, GROCERIES. Because why not? Obviously, this is also contingent on my parents having driven up north with enough boot space for said craziness. This time around, I also bought a bunch of clothing apart from the above that I am 99% sure you don't want to see ^^

yes, it is an instagram filter, becasuse WHY NOT?

This is already considered tame, okay. 2 pairs of shoes, 3 crop tops, a dress and a skirt. We didn't have much time to shop this trip, so these were only from 2 stores. The shoes were RM120 for 2 (~SGD23 each) from Carlo Rino and everything else other than the skirt was RM19.90 (~SGD7.40) from Kitschen. The skirt was RM30 (~SGD11.15), I think, also from Kitschen. LOOK AT THE BRACKETED NUMBERS. DO THE NUMBERS NOT MAKE YOU HAPPY?? THEY MAKE ME SO HAPPY. SO, SOOOO VERY HAPPY. -insert mildly creepy smiley face here-

Conclusion? Shopping good. Shopping in Malaysia, very goooood.

BUT, there's always a downside, as with anything. I have lots of family in Malaysia, so the relatively weak position of the ringgit doesn't make me all that happy. As someone who (attempted) to study economics (to debatable success), I do understand the negative implications of some of the economic goings-on in the country. Logically, and economically, the decreasing real value of the ringgit >>> decreasing purchasing power >>> aniticipated inflation >>> increased costs of production >>> and increase in prices not matched by an increase in output/labour productivity that is potentially long-term >>> cost-push inflation. And no, I did not consult my econs notes, so if there's an error... OOPS. But still, Ms Chong, I hope you're proud of me. My brain hasn't completely wasted away yet. So.. Yeah... Even as I'm happy about it, I'm concerned, though I'm not sure what good that'll do. At least I'm aware right? And now, so are you, if you weren't already. Yay! Always look on the bright side of life~~ But pay attention to the dark bits too so you don't fall in a hole and die. Yup. LIFE LESSON, RIGHT THERE.

cute foam tiger cat thing to end on a good note!
IT EVEN HAS FISHIES.

Hope everyone's year has been going well so far. If not, go MAKE IT GREAT. Yeah!

Signing off with sunshine, sparkles and sakura petals,
Andrea ^^

OMBRE HAIR @ Number 76

So.... FIRST HAIR APPOINTMENT OF 2015! ;D Can't call it a haircut, since nothing actually got cut, haha. Anyhoo, I decided to get my hair coloured a really long time ago, and I really wanted to do an ombre dye job. I figured it was adventurous as I could get that I would be: a. Comfortable b. Not locked out of the house XD I also wanted to go to a better, more reputable salon because my hair has always been pretty dry (my grandma alternates between calling it grass and a lion's mane) and I really wanted the ombre to be done properly. What I didn't want was a dip dye, where you could see the line of colour going straight across. I also didn't want to kill my hair and turn it from grass to dead grass, so bleaching was not an option. The options I did consider were several Japanese salons that seemed to do lots of colours and ombres and dip dyes and all sorts of funky things. Their customer reviews also seemed really good, praising the quality of their services, etc, etc. Unfortunately, they were also pretty pricey. Then, one fine day, Andrea had an idea! DING! My father is Malaysian (as is the rest of his family), and because of school, I hadn't seen that side of the family in a year or more. Since I was going to visit them anyway, I figured I could find a good salon in KL and get my hair done there. The exchange rate is about SGD1 to RM2.65 now, which is greatly favour of Singaporeans.

Anyway, I decided to try out Cheesie's salon, Number 76. Several of my friends and I follow her blog/insta and her hair always looks sooooo good. And healthy. DESPITE the happy rainbow that has adorned her head and instagram feed. So when my family drove up to celebrate the new year, I had my mum make an appointment. It was between the Midvalley and Bangsar branches, and eventually I had an appointment with Shaun from the Bangsar 2 branch for a consult/perm/colour. I arrived early and immediately liked the decor. It was warm (lots of wood and red brick), and had pretty and well placed vintage elements.

the cosy reception area

green tea + a caramel biscuit ;D

Anyway, I got into a really cushy chair with my mum next to me. I showed him pics of what I wanted, and he showed me what I could get without bleach. Turns out, I would only be getting my hair coloured, cause my damaged ends wouldn't be able to handle the perm, according to Shaun. It would be RM280! Which is pretty much dollar to dollar what I would've paid in Singapore. So off we go!

Step 1: colour the ends

crazy witch hair

heat for 10 min

Step 2: colour the rest

After that, the one and only thing I was "sold" was a treatment that was on sale for RM158, to help the colour last. I got that too, and it felt really nice ^^ All in all I'm pretty happy, except that I wish the top was a little lighter! It's really dark brown to hide my white hairs (T^T) but it pretty much looks black, sigh. That and no perm... I think ombre looks best with curls though, guess I'll have to be a little more hardworking and do them myself? The ends came out super nice and obvious and gradient-like though, YAY.

temp curls
CAN'T WAIT FOR MY PERM!!!

Service wise, they're pretty awesome too, really taking care of you. They let me know what they were doing and how long I had to wait at each stage, and were overall super polite. Every time the guy applying the dye tugged on the tangled mess that is my hair, he would smile apologetically and say sorry (pretty much all my fault, though). They also had ear protectors during the dyeing process and eye protectors (for makeup?) during the washing stage. So meticulous... And he was also very careful not to get the chemicals on my skin, which I was extra thankful for, because I have pretty sensitive skin. When it did touch my neck, he RAN to get a wet towel to wipe it off like his life depended on it. So yeah, I well taken care of o(>v<)o AND NO STINKY SALON SMELL. ME LIKEY.

look at the mini shower cap ear protector thingy!

All in all, love this salon, prolly gonna get my hair done there as much as I can(: YAY FOR PRETTY HAIRRRRRRRRR~ Hope everyone's having a great 2015 already!

 

Signing off with sunshine, sparkles and sakura petals,
Andrea \o/