QPX Brazilian Hair Removal

I've been coming across this previously-unheard-of-to-me procedure that seems to be trending lately when it comes to personal grooming. Specifically in the area of hair removal. I'm not a very hairy person to begin with, but don't y'all start hatin' on me yet as I personally can't quite decide whether that's a blessing or what (remember my flat hair?). With that said, hair does grow in the usual bodily areas, albeit thin and fine. The most annoying thing is I seemed to get stricken by a couple recent cases of ingrown hair via shaving and it was seriously becoming a pain in the you-know-where. Literally. So I need to get a procedure done and address this relatively hairy matter pronto.


The procedure in question is called QPX Brazilian Hair Removal. When this procedure came up on my radar, backed by countless testimonials of being a PAINLESS Brazilian, I was totally game to try it out. Do those people really seriously mean painless? How painless is painless, given that everyone has different tolerances towards pain? I was determined to find out for myself so let's get right to it and make an appointment then! Especially before who knows when the next breakout or inflammation is going to flare up again. Better nip the hair in the bud quick, so to speak. Heh!


The place where I got this QPX hair removal was at ONLY Aesthetics, where they also offer a range of other face and body treatments. I couldn't help but got tempted to get a facial using Mario Badescu products here next time. My buddy, Jonathan, raved about this brand before while we were in NY. He - along with Eva Longoria, Jennifer Aniston, Gwyneth Paltrow, Charlize Theron and a long long list of other Hollywood celebs - is a huuuuge fan of this brand. I've personally never used it before, even though Jonathan kept encouraging me to use Mario Badescu products. So perhaps next time I'll try it out. But for now, on with the mission to remove hair!!!


*Nervous, nervous* Truth be told, I did IPL before in this area (hair removal around the vajajay, if you're still uninitiated at this point, hello???). Even with a couple of Tylenols beforehand and topical anaesthesia, I was wriggling and wincing throughout the entire procedure, making the doctor uncomfortable at the same time. But that was how it felt like! Highly uncomfortable and painful. :( And I did IPL hair removal twice, not without shedding a few tears during either. I guess my pain threshold wasn't quite as high as I thought it was. Sigh.


Sporting cool shades aka protective googles. If only I'd worn black that day, then I'd totally fit into The Matrix. :p Or maybe I should've worn leopard print with gold chains dangling off my neck, then I could be in a hiphop music video groovin' with Mario Badescu-lovin' Tinseltowners. Kekeke~


Here's the machine that's gonna zap my hair follicles. It's warming up and getting ready to meet my privates. You, uhm, ready to see my privates?

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.


Uhm... I don't think so, peeps. And don't bother zooming into this pic either ah!!! :x

You didn't think I was really going to expose my vajajay, did you? Hahaha. Yo, this is a family-friendly blog and I plan to keep it that way, thankyouverymuch. :P But to give you an idea: firstly gel was slathered on the region, followed by an icepack to provide numbness and then the laser kissed me with an electric zap.

*twiddling thumbs and casting a blank stare towards the ceiling while the friendly therapist did her job*

She was very professional so it was not awkward at the slightest. Besides, I wasn't the first customer to do a QPX Brazilian and surely wouldn't be the last so she'd probably seen all shapes, colors and sizes before. I was just a small blip (or zap) in her career, I'm sure. ;)


All done in less than 15 minutes. And the pain was..... zero. Unbelievable. There was a slight prickling sensation in one or two very small areas (readily dismissible), but the rest was effectively numbed by the icepack. The icepack itself was hardly uncomfortable.You know when a procedure is unbearably painful, even a minute can feel like an eternity. But this has gotta be the breeziest (heh!) 15 minutes I've ever spent. It went by so quickly that I had to ask, "That's it?" when it was over.

*RELIEVED + MIGHTY IMPRESSED*


*Whoa* TRULY PAINLESS HAIR REMOVAL EXISTS!!! Haaaaallleeeelujah sweet baby Jesus! Alright, it's inappropriate of me to put a revered religious figure in this context. But I must do it again, coz OH-MAH-LORD this QPX procedure to remove the hair "down there" is completely painless. PAINLESS! Why had I not discovered this earlier???


*HIGHLY RECOMMENDED*

Yups, QPX is the way to go from now on for me. Wherever there's bodily hair (eg. legs, underarms), it can be zapped away painlessly using QPX procedure and close-to-permanent results can be seen after a few sessions [results vary by individuals, of course]. I am totally a fan now! :)  I have already raved about QPX hair removal to my gal pals and encouraged them to give it a shot (oh brother, what's with me and all my puns today?! I guess the side effect of getting QPX hair removal is it makes me funny, hahaha - and I'm laughing coz I didn't experience any pain, tra-lala-lala-la).

This procedure took place painlessly at ONLY Aesthetics. They are currently running a promo so if you hurry, you can still take advantage of this hairless goodness. Believe you me, this procedure is totally worth it. The latest ongoing promotion at ONLY Aesthetics is as such:

• Underarms or Upper Lips SG$140.80
• Brazillian SG$646.80
• Full Brazillian SG$756.80
• Half Legs SG$968.00

This is a package for 2 years; treatments will be carried out in alternate months for the first year, followed by maintenance during the 2nd year. To be entitled to this promo price, you have to sign up together with a friend OR select a minimum of 2 body parts. It may sound like a lot of money and/or a long time to commit to, but it's actually not. The thing with hair removal is that it takes several sessions for hair to be completely gone so it makes sense to opt for a package of multiple sessions and zap those hair follicles for good, ya know?

Uhm, if you do the math... let's say for Brazillian in my case, we round up the figure to $650. Divide that by 6 (alternate months in the 1st year), it's >$110 per session BEFORE you even calculate the maintenance for 2nd year. So if you go for a total of 12 times in the span of 2 years, that works out to only >$55 per session. :0 Wahhhhhhhhh!!! That's a bargain, if you ask me. Damnit, I paid more than that for my first session alone so signing up for a package definitely makes more economical sense.

Get in touch with ONLY Aesthetics (tel: 6314 4434) and make your appointment asap. Promo ends 30 July 2011, so please please please act fast. Don't miss out on this great offer!!!


I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS! For realz.

✎ Question for readers: What's your pain threshold?

[Giveaway] Bling Bear!

Edit: Winners have been announced!

My Bling Bear has been attracting a lot of attention lately. :p It's BIG. It's BLING BLING. Uhm, what the heck is a Bling Bear you ask? Why, it's my new iPhone4 cover! (I call it the Bling Bear, because... that's what it is. Hahaha!)



People first saw me carrying it at the Singapore Blog Awards 2011. And then everywhere I go after that, everyone's been fondling it, snapping pictures of it for kicks and uploading them onto their Facebook walls. LOL! :P


Is it cute or what?


It covers the iPhone4 front and back.


Just so you know, this is no ordinary Bling Bear. It has gotten a lot of media attention when Faye Wong (我的女神！) was photographed using it. And you know what a trendsetter she is. ^^ This Bling Bear is f-f-f-famous~~~


The front bear is brown.


The back bear is pink.

What d'ya think of my Bling Bear? It's sooooooo friggin' cute and 夸张 right??? :) :) :) I love love love love it. Yeah, it's chunky and I'm raining crystals everywhere I go coz the individual bits get loose but that's easily fixed with a dab of glue. It's so flashy and blingy, I lurrrv it. ;P The size of my Bling Bear is a statement! My new iPhone4 cover is a conversation piece! Everyone's been asking me where I got it from so I have GOOD NEWS for my blog readers.

I am giving away TWO Bling Bears!!!

Why, since I just won the Adonis Best Beauty Blog award at the SBA2011, I'm taking this opportunity to welcome new readers who just got to know my blog from the event as well as say thanks for your readership. I'm just so happy about receiving the award that I want to give something special back to my blog readers! :) :) :) Plus my mom saw the Bling Bear and immediately wants me to get her one, so I thought why not give a couple away to my readers too?

It's super duper easy to join this giveaway. The two Bling Bears in this giveaway are brand new, valued at USD$128 each. I know this iPhone4 cover is super girly, but boys are more than welcome to join too. Just imagine the look of adoration in the eyes of your girlfriend/wife/significant other when you give her a Bling Bear. OMIGOD~~~ you're *so* gonna get laid, dude! ;p Spring into action NOWWWWW.



Ways to participate in this giveaway and win the Bling Bear:

1. Like http://www.facebook.com/MBxMB
2. Follow me on Twitter and tweet: I want my #BlingBear from @moonberry http://bit.ly/oV3Dvm

I will be picking one winner each from FB and Twitter. :) You can also leave a comment on this blog post to help me keep track of all the participants.

Giveaway period ends 15 August 2011 at noon (Singapore time). You can tweet as many times as you want, each tweet counts as one entry. Anyone can join as I am willing to mail the prize anywhere. I will contact the winners via FB and Twitter to obtain mailing addresses. The Bling Bear is for iPhone4 only.


Oops, gotta go.... my phone's ringing. Moshi, moshi?


Kekekekeke~ }:p

Good luck! I'm still pretty high on getting the award and plan to share even more goodies on this blog (I'm working on it), so check back or subscribe. YIPPETY!!! *happiness* :) :) :)

Spreading the joy = multiplying happiness = DAMN-IT-FEELS-SO-FUCKING-GOOD!
Otay, I gotta get back to my wuvydovey phone convo with Lee Hom. ;p

Singapore Blog Awards 2011

I WON!!!!!!! I WON!!!!!!!!!!

I am the winner of the Adonis Best Beauty Blog Award at the 2011 Singapore Blog Awards!!! :D :D :D Is this fanfucktastic news or whuat!!??? :D :D :D Results were announced on 23rd July at Shanghai Dolly.

I am super duper ultra psyched to win this award, particularly for being so blessed to have this experience in the first place. The relatively short journey from being nominated, to undergoing the wonderful treatments offered by Adonis, to getting to know my co-finalists as well as the omy.sg staff + producers, to actually being on stage receiving the award... it's been an amazing ride! I'm kinda pinching myself to make sure that this is not just all a dream. I mean, really? ME? I got an award? Seriously? :o Waaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh *screaming excitedly + doing somersaults + busting out the happy dance + juggling fluffy rainbow balls + throwing confetti in the air* :) :) :) I am so very honored.


Outside Shanghai Dolly where the event was held.


Ooooh, who's that girl? Oh right, it's me on stage receiving my award. :p By the way I don't have a clear picture of me on stage during this grand moment, so if any of you reading this has it, please pretty please will you send me a hi-res copy? TIA!


WIth the other four winners of the sponsored category - Darren, Elaine and Kevin.


On stage for press photo.


All the Singapore Blog Awards 2011 blog winners. Blogging FTW!!!!! (Literally.)


The other ten winners in the main category each got this metal trophy plus a free trip to Melbourne. Hur hur hur, I was fondling the trophy - just because. :p


Ahhh, next came the media interviews.


Bla bla, bla bla, bla bla... (as usual I hope I didn't say anything stupid).


One interview down, ANOTHER one to go. Acckkkkk!!!


I felt so self-conscious, knowing that there was a big camera lingering there. It wasn't even the first time I got interviewed on video, but still... -___-" I know, I know, I need to snap out of it and just be natural. I'm kinda beginning to like the camera actually. You know, maybe when I start liking it then I won't be so intimidated by it. :p



I want to give a big thank you to Adonis for this generous opportunity. The treatments which I experienced at Adonis were all wonderful. I especially enjoyed the Chakra treatment very much and plan to use my prize voucher to go for more Chakra-healing sessions. The LED Light Facial treatment was really cool too, I liked it and look forward to having it again a couple more times. As for the Sparkling Peel, I definitely will need it when my skin starts looking sallow and dull. The instant brightening effect of the peel is amazing!

The omy.sg team has been great throughout this entire journey. Thank you so much, Alvin and Janet, plus all the producers and cameramen 摄影大哥们 whom I've met while being an Adonis Beauty Blog finalist. It's really a pleasure getting to know all of you and I look forward to seeing + collaborating with you again at other omy.sg events down the road. :)

To all my co-finalists in the Adonis Best Beauty Blog category: It's been so nice meeting you all. I read your blogs too, ya know and follow your product reviews, view your makeup tutorial videos, etc. I know we'll run into one another again in future events and I look forward to that. Girl Power!!!!!! ^^

Last but not least...

YOU. YES, YOU!

I want to thank YOU for following and reading my blog. Especially if you had taken the time to cast your vote and tweeted about it. Ooohhh, I thank you soooo much. I truly appreciate your readership and wanna express my sincerest gratitude for your uhm, attention span and interest. :p As you may or may not know, I don't write exclusively on beauty and my blog is not a beauty blog, so I am delighted that my Adonis blog entries have been deemed as informative (hopefully, entertaining too) to my readers. Next time when you happen to see me in person, please don't be a stranger - come by, introduce yourself and say hello. :)

To see all the photos from this event, head on over to my Facebook page. Leave comments or tag yourselves if you like (I made a boo boo previously and no one was able to tag the photos, but that's been fixed now). I will update my FB page with links to the video interviews when they're posted online. :D

SINGAPORE BLOG AWARDS 2011..... *WOOT WOOT*!!!

Hong Kong Super Shopper Fashion Reveal!

Following up on the Hong Kong Super Shopper contest which I wrote about not long ago (jog your memory here) in which I promised to reveal the final fashion creation which my team and I came up with... As mentioned, our team consists of Jeanine and Amy, the entrepreneurial duo behind Oh! Poupée, and myself. Our fashion story is a runway-inspired dress which we revised and added embellishments to by hand. In spite of the time crunch, we managed to pull it off. Here it is~ tadaaahhh!


Our fashion look was inspired by Mong Kok being one of Hong Kong's vibrant districts, hence the bright punchy color of the dress. Uhm... I don't know how to put this in a politically-correct fashion (heh!) but let's just say, you can find many high-end designer knock-offs 'inspired items' at Ladies Market - one of Mong Kok's main attractions. Btw, I've featured the original designer dress here several months ago. I'll give you a hint, it's by one of my fave fashion designers. ;)


The accessory details. The floral 'handbag' and arm corsage were a nod to the wholesale flower market there. This motif was also carried through on the shoes, which we adorned with crystals and flower petals. It's not pictured here, but Jeanine also wore a belt with a peacock design to hint at the bird garden in Mong Kok.


And then came the presentation of our fashion creation to the judges. The judging was held at the Hong Kong Tourism Board office in Singapore. I got to meet the Regional Director of HKTB, Mr. David Leung. As well as Associate Editor at omy.sg, Miss Lee Kuan Fung and Singaporean fashion designer Mr. Keith Png (he dressed Zhang Ziyi with his original creations!). Uh huh, need I say what a serious contest this was?


Hooked up with a microphone as the presentation was to be recorded on video.


Here's the three of us trying to win the judges over with our fashion creation. ;)


We were the first team out of six to present. Uhm... look at the judges' faces. They were totally impressed by us or what? Hahahaha... I kid, I kid. Frankly, all the other teams were really strong and I personally enjoyed their presentations too.


View from the front.


View from the back. Oh, there were also flowers in the hair but forgot to take a picture of that.


My pretty team-mates and I. They were such darlings to work with, very friendly and personable. Even though we just met during this contest, it wasn't awkward at all working together with them. There's no doubt that with their exceptional sense of style, their online clothing store will be a huge success. :D Jia-you, girls!!!!!!!


Snapped a shot with some of the other contestants/bloggers.


Here's another fashion look inspired by the district of Causeway Bay, modeled by Rachel.

To see all teams' fashion creations, head on over to the Hong Kong Super Shopper minisite.



And while you're there, VOTE FOR YOUR FAVORITE TEAM to stand a chance to win a 3D2N Hong Kong trip! Ahhh, a free vacation is sweeeeeet. And lookie lookie, I've made it easy for you to pick the winning team - just click the area which I've already marked with a big bright red star. Click it and cross your fingers that you'll be the lucky one to go on a free trip to Hong Kong. Hur hur hur! }:)

✎ Question for readers: If When you win, how do you plan to spend the 3 days + 2 nights in Hong Kong?

Bridesmaids

The most recent wedding I attended was my BFF's wedding in May 2011 and incidentally, the movie Bridesmaids was released around the same week States-side. Initially I had wanted to watch it with my girls at the time but everyone was pretty tied up. I myself also had my hands full creating floral arrangements for my BFF's special day, so I gave the movie a miss. Fast forward two months later, I got invited to the movie screening in Singapore and I managed to catch this flick in the end. :) Yay.



Since I've been in the wedding industry for quite a number of years in-between my design + advertising gigs, I am generally VERY interested in wedding movies. I have a habit of always checking out all the wedding details in movies like this, or if there's a wedding scene in other movies. I actually pay extra attention to how the event is styled, what color scheme is used, what the flowers are, how the decor is put together, what the overall visual effect looks like, etc. Can't help it. :p *geek* Hahaha!



Without giving anything away so that you can go and watch the film for yourself, Bridesmaids is sorta a cross between Hangover and SATC. It's a chick flick and you know when it comes to weddings, there will always be drama boiling over - which is basically the premise of the movie. I thought parts of it was funny (crude humor) and all in all it was an entertaining movie.



If memory serves correctly, I've been a bridesmaid thrice. The first time was maybe around 11 years old at my uncle's wedding; I think my role was more of a flower girl actually. The second time was for my friend Cathy's wedding in Anaheim, LA in 1992. Gosh, I remember my dress at the time was hot pink (like in the movie poster you see above). It had an unflattering hemline and mega pouffy sleeves. BIIIIIIIGGGG pouffy sleeves. :0 Well, ya know... bridal fashion back in the late 80s - early 90s wasn't exactly hip. You don't say the bridesmaid's dresses from that era are hideous, what about the bridal gowns!!!???? Poor brides back then didn't have too many chic sartorial choices either. But hey, what's old will be new again - you just wait, next time your great-granddaughter will think your momma's wedding gown is super stylo! ;) Damn, maybe I should've kept that pouffy hot pink number after all.

The third (and last) time I wore yet another bridesmaid's dress was at my gf Tina's wedding in 2004. This bridesmaid's dress is so much more fitted and elegant. ^^ Here are some pics from that wedding:



Oh, and I did her wedding flowers! :) :) :) So the dress I wore was nice but I wasn't flashing a broad smile in any of the photos because I wore braces at the time. It was a fun wedding though and I still remember it fondly today. After that, my bridesmaid career came to a screeching halt, hahaha! I enjoy being part of the bridal party but I gotta say there's a lot less stress being a wedding guest instead. Thing is, there are differing expectations of the role of a bridesmaid in a US wedding vs. Asian wedding. (I gather that there are different duties when you're a bridesmaid in Singapore.) In the US, being a bridesmaid is more than showing support to a close friend, wearing a fancy dress and being an 'accessory' in wedding photos.

More than that, a bridesmaid and/or maid-of-honor serves a practical purpose. During the hectic time of planning a wedding, she is a confidant, advice giver, doer of menial tasks, errand runner and more. A bride should have at least one bridesmaid (preferably the maid-of-honor) who is reliable, cheerfully helpful, organized, and who lives close to the bride.

A bridesmaid's duties might include:

• helping the bride shop for her dress and bridesmaids’ dresses.
• when asked, giving advice on decorations, favors, music, and more.
• helping the maid of honor to plan a bridal shower, and, if appropriate, chipping in for the costs of food, decorations, or venue.
• helping to plan a bachelorette party (this the bridesmaids may pay for or split the cost with the other attendees).
• helping the bride dress (and stay calm) before the ceremony.
• providing moral support at all times.
• telling others where the couple is registered and other details, such as when they will return from their honeymoon, where to send gifts, and any name changes.
• being useful at the wedding reception. The couple may ask you to help direct guests to the guestbook, assist with a special moment, make sure that vendors have arrived, or do crisis management. You might also want to stick around after the reception and make sure things are cleaned up and wedding presents secured.
• being social. Be sure to talk to as many guests as you can, making them feel warmly welcomed. If there's a dance floor, help get the party going!
• consider throwing (or helping to pitch in for) a day-after brunch. These events are great to help the couple catch up with out-of-town guests, and have a more relaxed environment to socialize in.

There is a considerable expense involved in being a bridesmaid too, including cost of apparel, travel and hotel room for the ceremony, hosting a party, as well as a shower gift and a wedding gift.via Bridesmaids are generally expected to pay for their own wedding-day ensemble (shoes and jewelry included). If you think the cost is going to be an issue, voice your concerns to the bride. Hopefully she'll choose a dress that's reasonably priced, or consider letting you choose your own. She may give you some color/style requirements (i.e., black and ankle length), and then each of you would choose something that suits your standards. That way, you decide how much to spend.via

You know, when I was a bridesmaid for those three weddings, I didn't know any of this stuff. There are so many social etiquettes and naturally, cultural nuances revolving around this particular subject matter that I was totally unschooled in + unprepared for. I only picked it up through listening to the rants of my gal pals (and wedding clients... ahem, *bridezillaaasssss*) over the years. And of course gradually as more and more online bridal portals started appearing and weddings get fancier, I began to have references.

The stressful part of being in a bridal party usually comes down to agreeing with your fellow bridesmaids. Most of the time you've never met the other girls before, but for this one momentous occasion which takes months of planning, all the bridesmaids must agree on certain decisions. These decisions are not easy to come by sometimes, because everyone is excited for the bride and has ideas they want to contribute - from the wacky to the over-the-top lavish ideas, which unfortunately not all the bridesmaids can agree on right away. In addition to the bridesmaids' involvement, throw in the mother/mother-in-law and other female relatives wanting to have a say in the matter too..... Boy, oh boy. That's why weddings are fertile ground for drama and lots of emotional roller-coaster.

But of course, everything usually turns out well during the day itself, everyone is having a jolly good time celebrating and the married couple will live happily ever after. ;) Else, there's always cocktail hour and the open bar during reception to get sloshed. Heh! j/k.

✎ Question for readers: Have you ever been a bridesmaid?