i call it art

Change Up!

2011-10-05T20:00:00.000+08:00

The wonderful omy.sg team got us into yet another free movie viewing.

To be honest, if it wasn't cos I got the tix free, I probably wouldn't have spent time/ money going to watch the show.

Why? Because it sounds like another version of Freaky Friday. And Boy And Girl. And all other change body movies.

But I'm glad I did go watch.
Cos it was actually entertaining.

There wasn't a cliche moment in the show t'all. The lines were funny, the story with a wunnerful meaningful ending.
I'm a sucker for sappy endings. Happy! I meant happy!

And Olivia Wilde was hooootttttt...!!
Cue lace white thong scene.

What? You thought I'd put the lace thong scene image here? Go watch lah!

It also got me thinking.
If I could change bodies with a person for a day... WHO would I be?

I came up with A List:
1) Angelina Jolie
2) A man. Any man. So I can finally understand exactly how their minds could only think of sex all day long.
3) I take it back. A good looking man would be good. So I can appreciate hot bods on men more.
4) A cat.

Maybe you'll start your own list after watching Change Up. ;)

Audi Fashion Festival - Francis Cheong

2011-05-23T19:08:00.001+08:00

I was graciously given a chance to attend the annual Singapore Audi Fashion Festival last week.

It was one of those things where one month before you go "please please God by some amazing part-the-red-sea miracle let me have a chance to go to that shallow event which contributes absolutely zero to my IQ level but I wanna go anyway".

It's a checklist right? Attend Malaysia International Fashion Week one year. Singapore Audi Festival the next. Next thing you know, Mercedes Benz Fashion Week New York baby.

The simple ambitions of a bimbo.

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Francis Cheong is a local Singapore gowns designer. Similar to the likes of Carven Ong, Alvin Tay and Beatrice Looi in KL.

But Singaporeans seem to have a high regard for Francis' designs. The mention of his name immediately retrieves the same response. "His gowns are nice."

How refreshing. No matter how nice Malaysian fashion designs are, I have never heard of any designer unanimously receiving a chop of approval from every Malaysian.

Needless to say, I had high expectations watching the show.

First half photos.

I don't know about you but to me... it was...
simply disappointing.

The designs were so completely 'been there done that'. I was trying my very best to describe the designs in my head in a creative fashionista way.

Example: Long blue chiffon satin mix gown with a sleek halter neck with encrusted jewels embracing the bodice.
Truth: Typical off the shelf blue shiny gown with cheap large brooch in front.

Example ha. Not actual description of any of the dresses.

But then halfway through, some local actresses strutted their stuff.

I presumed she's a local actress as I'm not sure who she is. She doesn't look like a runway model (and I mean that in the nicest way possible), and people were cheering when she came out. Sorry, all I got.

Then... 1, then 2, then 3 completely different class designs came on.
And *then* the show began.

The finale was a dress with peacock feathers shooting out of each shoulder.
Sorry. No enuff photos.

Final line up photos.

And special appearance by Christy Chung. And Francis Cheong himself.

It wasn't Alexander McQueen. But it was tres-interesting-chic nonetheless.

So... Anyone wanna hold a prayer rally for me to head to New York next year?

Pics from omy.sg

April Beauty Review

2011-04-21T23:40:00.000+08:00

Once in a while I remind myself that this blog started out with the intention on focusing on beauty/ makeup.

Ok, I know I'm not very good at remaining focused. Which is probably why I'll never make it as the 'top beauty blogger', or the top blogger, full stop.

I just don't find it interesting to stay focused on one topic!
Life is more than just beauty. Or makeup. Or art. It's a mix of everything and anything.

But I digress. The point is... I tried out some of these products in the last few months. And here's what I think of 'em.

Cellnique's Body Shower Gel

It was quite a puzzle for me to receive this in the mail from Cellnique. I mean, I like their products and all, but how different can shower gel be from another brand?

Nevertheless, I tried, hoping for some miraculous selling point for me to mention here to convince you to spend a whopping RM60 on a really not-so-large bottle of shower gel.

After months of trying, sorry Cellnique, but nope. Nada. No selling point.

Sasa's Cyber Colours Aqua Based Pudding Foundation

I had high hopes for this foundation.

To be fair, it did meet most of my expectations.
Lightweight, smooth (amazingly smooth!!), not thick at all, and good coverage.

But it still clogged my combination skin's pores some. Not too much, but still some. So I will give it an 8/10.

Great for dry/ combination skins though. My skin is just too oily!

Sasa's Methode Swiss Thermal Oxygen Overnight Mask

I love this, because it's easy to use. It's just like a moisturiser. Slap on and go. Or rather, sleep.

The thermal beads.

I slapped this on my face, neck, arms and armpits.
Yes, you read right.

Armpits are so forgotten, it's sad. Especially those who just slather on deos and forget about them, and then they turn blackish and ugly. Ugh.

I will write a post one day on caring for your armpits. In the meantime, just remember to clean them properly end of the day, and moisturise them too!

Back to this product.

It didn't clog pores. It has no smell. It went on smooth and clear. You wake up the next day feeling normal, no heaviness. But there is a slight smoothing effect on the skin.

The product brochure says two weeks of usage you'll see a BIG diff. But my gripe is... it doesn't say how often? Every night for two weeks? Or once a week? What?

The instructions are pretty sucky. So I recommend just using it once every two days max, just in case it's two heavy on the pores.

Ok. My beauty duty is done. My guilty conscience has been pacified.
For another 6 months.
JUST KIDDING.

I promise I'll try to update more. Per previous post, I need to get my writing mojo back.
Toodles!

Max Brenner's dream

2011-04-21T23:12:00.001+08:00

I went to Haji Lane today.

I sat at a little French cafe. Had a not-so-little French dinner. Listened to the chef speak fluent French. And swayed to non-stop French music for 3 hours.

One of the little pleasures in life.

I recalled Max Brenner's introduction in his chocolate menu. On how he started out dreaming about writing a book, but along the way made chocolate instead.

I guess I have a similar dream.
I don't want to write a book though. I don't like goals that take too long to achieve.
I want to write articles. Poems. Tweets. Facebook statuses.
Short paragraphs and stories that impact people's lives in 30 minutes or 30 seconds.

But on the way, I'm making money doing something completely different instead.

One can always dream.
Yet another little pleasure of life.

I doubt my longing will stop. I jump from location to location, searching for a dream life that may never exist. But unless I try, how do I know it's an achieveless dream?

One can always dream.

The Tale of Soong Ai Ling

2011-02-13T00:37:00.001+08:00

Once upon a time there was this little girl with dimples. She grew up looking like pretty much like any other girl. She learnt how to put on a little makeup and put on pretty dresses. And immediately transformed her pretty but average face into a glamorous photogenic siren.

Her name is Soong Ai Ling.

Pic from Talent Factory.

Before I was exposed to the entertainment industry, I pretty much knew of no Malaysian celebrity. Even Amber Chia was a vague name in the distance. I remembered interviewing a candidate during my retail headhunting days and she turned to me and stage whispered "That's Amber Chia!" and I was like, who?

Fast forward one year later I'm suddenly throwned into this whole shingdig and I got to know maybe not all the names, but at least more than "Who's Amber Chia?"

Soong Ai Ling is another name I probably should have known.

When this person I knew started going to her nail parlour in Bangsar Village, she was raving to me about Soong Ai Ling and how she's a friend to her now, and that she does great work on nails. I won't bore you with the details of my "Who is Soong Ai Ling?" conversation.

I started going to the shop when it moved to the Victorian looking outlet on the 1st floor. I loved the ambiance and service, and my nails looked prettier after than the other nail places I've done in One Utama and The Curve outlets.

Pic from femmething.com

Chic Nail Spa soon became a regular manicure place for me.

I stared at Ai Ling with curiousity from the moment I met her. Since that girl raved about her SO much, I wondered exactly how famous was this chick. She seemed pretty normal, running around doing nails like any of her staff. She would just jump in and do your nails if she felt like it. Shaping and painting and engrossed in every moment of it.

I later gathered the courage to ask if I could do an interview with her, and post it up on VenusBuzz. Long story short: I did the interview. Photog took some awesome shots. Photog never came back with photos. Couldn't run story as no photos.

It was dead embarrassing to look at her in the face after. I thought about asking her for some of her photos so I could publish the story. The thought of doing that was even more embarrassing.

So I never ran the article. Ai Ling got pissed off. Till today she refuses to talk to me.

I don't blame her really. I would be pissed off if I were in her position too.

But I was still determined to write something about her. Since Venus is a thing of the past, I would rather write a colloquial article about what I really think of her.

Xavier and Ai Ling during his interview with her. Pic from xaviermah.com.

It was hard interviewing Ai Ling. With all the other people I've spoken to, I managed to get a glimpse of something that wasn't a rehearsed answer, but a part of who the person really is.

Ai Ling is a veteran. She had done so many of these interviews, she knew exactly what to say, how to say, when to say.

I was completely uninspired to write anything about her for the longest time. There wasn't anything different that I could focus on that other's had written about her already.

Then one day as she was doing my manicure. She took one look at my stumpy manicured fingers and said "I LOVE my job SO MUCH."

In that one statement I finally understood her passion.

She doesn't plan for tomorrow. But once she sets her mind to do something, she does it, and she does it well.

She didn't have a lot of cash reserves to start her business. But she is goal focused. And she loved it. She loved the art of nail painting. She loved dishing out quality work. She was willing to get down and dirty to do that work herself. She let go of her glamorous perception people had of her, and mostly her perception of herself, to achieve one main thing: Running a successful business.

She said in a tone I now recognised as her prideful humbleness, "Many people in the industry wouldn't be able to do what I did. I let go of my image. My business is what matters. That's my baby."

Pic from http://freshlybrewedideas.blogspot.com/2009/04/blog-post.html. You can check out this happy customer's experience of Chic Nail Spa too.

She suffered for her work. She always did. But the business took more out of her. There were months when she first opened in Bangsar Village that she couldn't afford to pay the rent. She didn't just shape and paint nails. She also called her customers constantly to get them to remind them to pay her shop a visit.

Imagine a high profile Malaysian celebrity, who is used to people kowtow-ing to her, begging her to attend events, having to beg nobodies to come to her shop, so she could make ends meet.

Knowing what I know about the perception Malaysian celebrities have of themselves, it was a humbling image to imagine.

It didn't break her. It made her stronger. Her business seems now successful. She no longer needs to paint nails. She no longer needs to call people to return. They come back themselves.

She still greets her regulars. Most of which are the rich if not so famous. She never gives a discount. Her work sells itself.
Her pride has returned. It never left, really.

So imagine my surprise to hear of the rumours of some high flying businessman who paid RM10,000 to have sex with her.

Those rumours spread far and wide enough to even reach Ai Ling's own ears. She brushed them off. I'm unsure if she realises just how much people speculate about it.

I only heard of the rumours after I knew her for about a year. My colleague whispered them to me furiously, claiming it's her father's good businessman friend, but I could only raise my eyebrows in wondering disbelief.

The one thing I've learnt through my dealings with Ai Ling is her pride and her focusness on her goals. On one hand, for the sake of paying her bills, she may just have done so to take the money. But on the other, much bigger and heavier hand... Its just RM10,000! Even if someone were to come to me, a normal nobody, and ask me to have sex with him for RM50,000 I'd probably spit in his face. I can't imagine her being able to throw her much-bigger-than-my pride aside to spread her legs to a hamsup old and gross businessman who just wants to be able to go around telling people he managed to lay The Soong Ai Ling.

Pic from picturesof.net

So my vote is no, she didn't do it.

I don't blame the businessman for trying to create these rumours though. When I first met Ai Ling I thought she looked pretty normal. But as time went on I realised it was her personality, her confident sexiness that made her so much more appealing.

Every time she brushed her fingers through her hair, when her shirt falls over her shoulder, or when her skirt slides up her thigh as she lifts her leg to make it easier for her to stroke the nail colours on... every bit of her oozes sex appeal.

Ai Ling on HerWorld Dec 2007 issue.

Her fashion sense follows her airy personality. Lightweight clothes that flow around her body. She doesn't care about brands. So long she likes the outfit, she'll pay for it, be it RM20 or RM2,000.

As for her lovelife? She's currently dating this cute guy with a great bod. I don't know who he is or what he does, but if you want to check them out, just head to her new luxury outlet at Bangsar Village 2nd floor. They are both there all the time.

The little glamorous photogenic siren later became a successful businesswoman who knew how to fight for what she wanted in life. Her life wasn't always a fairytale, and who will know whether she lives happily ever after or not? The most important thing is her happily now. And that was good enough for her.

No Strings Attached

2011-02-12T22:26:00.000+08:00

There are times in your life when you realise you could do something more worthwhile. Like save someone's life. Invent something that will save the environment. Plant some trees. Or some jizz like that.

Or you could attend the premiere of No Strings Attached and enjoy a night of chick flick entertainment instead.

I liked No Strings Attached. But then again, I am The Utmost Chick Flick lover and a Helpless Romantic at heart. Kill me now before the embarrassment does me in first.

I don't like people knowing I'm a diehard romantic. I like being a bitch dammit.
I'm that cold hearted bitch who refuses to let any guy get the better of her!

*cries non-stop at every remotely romantic moment of No Strings Attached*

Favorite part of the show. Flowers are overrated.

But despite me being The Utmost Chick Flick lover and a Helpless Romantic at heart, I hate lame shows. No Strings Attached may not be the most enthralling show around, but it is worth 1 1/2 hours of your time aww- and ahh-ing.

Drag your boyfriend to bring you to watch the show. Now.

Free iPhone Fashion apps

2011-01-03T22:42:00.002+08:00

I've switched. From black to white. From BlackBerry to iPhone.

I still love the functionality of the BlackBerry. iPhone is SO hard to use. But the one thing I love, more than anything, is the ease of the iPhone to let me browse through fashion apps.

So this is me, the fashion wannabe technodungu, sharing on a few of my fav iPhone fashion apps. All of the free ones that is. Cos I'm Asian and we're cheapskate like that.

I'm addicted to the PopSugar iPhone app. More specifically, the FabSugar section.

FabSugar talks about fashion. BellaSugar about beauty.
And the love for fashion > beauty is the main reason why I can never stay true to being a pure beauty blogger. How utterly boring.

PopSugar's ease of sharing of articles on Twitter and Facebook is a huge plus. Not to mention the interesting topics and gorgeous pics.

My rating: 4.5/5

From fanpop.com

Trend Tracker is an absolutely awesome one stop fashion centre. It shares news, trend spots, and has a list of designers ranges and vids for you to browse through.

My biggest gripe: Unable to post on Twitter or Facebook.
You can only favorite the articles, or email it to someone.
FAIL. Someone on Trend Tracker change this NOW.

My rating: 3.5/5

CHIC.TV Models is another awesome app. The pictures and news clippings are wonderful. But the sharing function is terrible!

It allows you to Facebook and Twitter, but the tag line is "Checking out _______________ on CHIC.TV Model's iPhone app!"
When posted on Twitter, no link is available. Just that stupid tagline above.
When you post the link on FB, it doesn't even link! It just shows the URL, no pic (BOO!), AND you're unable to click on the link.

And what's probably worst than the above, is that they don't even allow you to save the photos onto your iPhone.

Dumb dumb dumb.

My rating: 2.5/5

From thesartorialist.com

The other apps that are worth downloading just because they are free:

The Sartorialist - Gorgeous pics, but no content at all. Sharable only on FB.

F Network - Only runway videos that are shown on Fashion TV. Only playable with WiFi available. Non sharing friendly.

D&G - The news feed is mainly their twitter feed. The rest of the content is their range and shows. Only addictive if you're a die hard D&G fan. Also non-sharing friendly, but then again, not like there's anything interesting to share.

Fast_ck's Flickr

Fashion Grub - Now this app is a brilliant concept. If done well, it would trump Trend Tracker anytime. It's supposed to link to Fashion Blogs, Brands, Designers, Magazines, Media, Models etc.

When you click on Blogs for example, it shows the fashion blogs like Fashion Toast, Bryan Boy etc. However, when you click on the blog name, it only shows the first few lines of the blog postings. NO PICTURES. When you click on a posting, it then brings u to the website itself with that particular posting.

I mean really, if we wanted to see the website, we would rather just go straight to the URL and quickly browse through all the content, rather than click on article by article.

If the format was iPhone friendly, where we only need to swipe swipe, then it would be a proper iPhone app.

And of course, its not sharable.

And then of course, there's Rouge and Style.com, both of which are so meh, its not really worth describing in detail.

My fashion app wish: Fashion Toast should have one with all her pics. Like Sartorialist. Then I could drool over her pics all day long.

Rumi Neely of FashionToast.com

Do let me know if there are any other download worthy fashion apps!

Note: Pics above are random fashion pics not necessarily in relation to the apps mentioned. Click on pics to see original URL.

Jay Park and Birdy

2010-12-06T21:40:00.000+08:00

I went to Jay Park's Meet and Greet session last Saturday.

When X asked me whether I wanted to go, my first question was "Who?"
"The famous K Pop guy!"
"Erm... Ok sure." Because I remembered friend S likes K Pop and figured I could bring her.

Then conversation between me and S.
"Hey S, do you wanna go to the press con for this K Pop guy that's coming this weekend? I forgot his name but..."
"Eeeeeeeeeeee! Ahhhhhhhhhh! Omg it's Jay Park!! I loooovvvvveeeeee yoooouuuuuu...!!!"
*pause for two breaths over Whatsapp*
"Not that I didn't love you before. I just love you MORE now."
"Wait, you ARE talking about Jay Park right??"
"0_o Erm ya... That's the one. I recognized the name when you mentioned it."

So apparently this guy is big in the K Pop scene right. He's an American born Korean and was part of this group called 2PM blah blah blah.
You can read it up yourself on Wikipedia.

JP and his manager chillin' just before the media all came in.

The important thing is this: He's nice.
So nice I felt bad for being bored during his media con that I didn't even realize X (the MC) was asking me to ask him a question till he repeated my name twice.
I started up and looked blankly and in semi panic at X and Jay Park. S tried to save me by shoving the questions the 8TVNiteLive hosts had prepared to ask him, but I was so panicky I didn't even notice what she was doing.

X: "You don't have anything to ask, Erin??" *repeated three times*
Me: *blanked out* *pause* *continues blanking out*
JP, taking pity on me, said "Haha. That's a good question huh?"

That broke the ice enough for me to get my senses back and ask the first lamest question I had in my mind. "Are you planning on coming back to Malaysia to do a full blown concert?"

I mean like DUH. I *hate* it whenever media ask that question to performing artists. Even if they *never* plan on coming back, they *have* to say yes right? Geez.

But yet again, he was nice enough to answer my question with enthusiasm and detail.

Faraway shot of his performance. It was too scary being near the screaming fans.

So yes. I'm a convicted Jay Park fan. Just cos he's so darn nice.
It'll take a lot more for me to become a K Pop fan though.

A video of him answering a couple of X's questions for those of you who want to hear his super Asian-American voice.

Also on Saturday, I went to watch "Birdy" the stage play at KLPac.
Christopher Ling is the director of the show, and I tell you, after watching a couple of his shows I have to say I loooooovvvvvveeeeeee his work!

The shows are *always* dark and tell another story behind what you see.
Its not hard to understand la but it makes me feel smart to watch his shows and realize I can decipher what's actually happening between the lines. *smug*

And two of the actors happen to be my favorite Malaysian stage actors. Micheal Chen and Jon Chew. Why? Because I know them. Biasness is totally allowed.
And they are actually great actors too lah.

Jon's part didn't even have much lines. Most of the time he was acting as a crazy person. I don't know how his legs could stand being in his crazy position for so long throughout the show. Absolutely riveting.

The simple synopsis is: Two great friends. One angry buff totally straight dude. One small sized boy who's in love with birds.
Not your typical storyline. Nothing about the show was typical at all.

The show is going on until 12 December 2010.

Why you should watch it:
Because Malaysians really need to experience more things than shopping malls and cinemas.
Because the Malaysian censorship board has not inserted their tentacles into the performing arts scene yet. Use your imagination on the scenes and dialogues.
Because Birdy is actually a great play with fantastic reviews.
Because there's this neverseenbeforeinMalaysia scene that I can't even talk about without cringing because it involves my straight friend bah!
Because its only RM38, RM25 for students.

Bervin, Shannon, and the cast of Birdy.

K Pop and Malaysian stage plays. Multi-cultural is the way to go yo.

AXPR and SaSa Awards

2010-11-09T20:27:00.000+08:00

I have a backlog of posts I've been meaning to write.

Firstly on Xavier Mah.

If you've been following my blog since the beginning of all time, you would've heard of this name more than a few times.

If you're an event whore for the past year or so, you would've heard of this name.

If you follow Amber Chia's happenings closely, you would've known he recently partnered with Amber to form Amber and Xavier's Public Relations, a.k.a. AX PR, true to their wannabe glamorous selves. :p

Xavier, Tan Sri Dato Koh Tsu Koon, and Amber

Xavier and I go way back when, at the very start of my blogging, and him at the very start of his career with A Cut Above.

I remember meeting him at the reception of the Malaysian Hair Awards. He was stressed out and didn't have the time to be extremely friendly. No one was more surprised than me when he extended an invite for me to attend the ACA Anniversary party at Mid Valley, which was the first of many tumpang glam events I've gone to.

Our friendship very quickly developed from there. And although I'm no longer in the glam glam scene, and despite the many catfights I've had with him, I'm really glad today that he also never gave up on my friendship with him.

Despite all the rumours you may have heard about X, the only thing you gotta know about Xavier is this. He knows how to get media coverage.

Get him to be the PR guy for your event, and wow at the media turnout.

Other PR companies may claim to be more reputable and well established, but I have yet to encounter a firm that didn't need to have a strong brand backing them up to create the media hype.

Before Xavier joined A Cut Above, Winne Loo managed to create the name by doing strong PR herself. Once X joined her, ACA's branding shot through the roof.

Amber saw his potential after getting him to organize a couple of events and hence... the Malaysian version of Armani Exchange was formed. Haha.

Seriously though, X may be a friend. And A may be one of the few celebs I actually respect. But I wouldn't be saying this if I didn't truly believe they would do the best they can to run your event.

AXPR will be based in Mid Valley. For further enquiries, please head on to their website, or call +603 22987200.

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Also missing in my updates is SaSa's Colours and Fragrance Awards that happened a couple of months back.
Yes I know. *sheepish*

The event was simple yet grand and lovely. I like those kinda events ya know? Where its simple enough to be enjoyed quietly, yet glamorous enough to make you pretend like you're some bigshot VIP who gets to walk within the red lines, rather than look from the outside.

The following are some of my fav photos provided by SaSa. I so want a nice cam!!

Xandria Ooi, the MC of the event, preparing her notes. I really love how she looks in this photo. Her squarish jaw (which must be the bane of her existence) isn't obvious here and she looks doe-eyed and sweet.

The beautiful not-overly-annoyingly-pink setting.

Victoria Poh, the new marketeer for SaSa. She looks so blur and funny here! She's been doing a wonderous job I have to say. In a short time she managed to build up blogger relations SaSa badly needed long ago but never did.

The cutesy ambassador for this year's SaSa's fragrances. You might have seen her adowable face peeking at you from the SaSa windows some time or other.

The celebrity judges that judged which fragrances were this year's winners.

SaSa still has a long way to go before they learn how to connect within the social media sphere strongly. But hey, better than a company that doesn't bother trying kan? :)

Once I have the time, I might do another giveaway for some SaSa products. Giveaways are long overdue, but someone needs to find time for this pathetic ex-MUA.

Mega blue mind

2010-11-05T08:36:00.000+08:00

Oh lookie. One whole month of silence.

HELLOOOOOOO. *Hello hello hello*
ANYBODY HERE??? *Here here here*

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I went to watch the premier of Megamind the other day. In Singapore's Cathay Cinema. Oh yes, did I mention I'm now working in Singapore?

It was awesome. So awesome I painted my nails blue for the occasion.

Yeah right. I painted it blue a week earlier la k. Dedicated manicure for a cartoon? Really?

I loved it because it wasn't the typical good guy bad guy show. It wasn't the bad is always bad, good always good. But yet it still had an element of traditional good conquers all. Well, sorta good. And that there's always good in everyone. Which is something I've always believed in.

How do you explain how mass murderers can come to have a conscience when in jail bla bla bla those kinda stories?

But the truth is, I'm just a naive idealistic idiot who wants to believe there's good in everybody just because it makes me feel happier.

Anyway. I digress. Point is, watch Megamind. Cos the PR company who gave me the invites asked me to say so.

Fine. Plus I really liked it too.

Easiest makeup to do. Paint whole face blue. Ta da!

Of course, here I cheated and used a blue mask instead.

whimsical moments

2010-09-30T22:37:00.000+08:00

Its time for a People Post.

But I don't have the 'feel' to write about Soong Ai Ling yet. And I want to write about this awesome chick I know but due to me being based in a different country now its HARD to get photos of her from her (she has limited access to internet see).

So just a quick blog plug. A new one added to my list of "Arty Loves".

I Wrote This For You

The whimsically wonderful words make me feel like weeping sometimes. And motivated me to continue emo-ing in my own (hopefully) whimsical quotes on Twitter.

My favorite quote from #IWTFY so far (the Twitter though, not the website):

"If we kiss, it will end the world. And I've ended the world before. No one survived. Least of all me."

Miracles come in moments. Be ready and willing. ♥♥♥ - Boubouteatime

I can relate. Can you.

Glamourous Beauty

2010-09-19T01:01:00.005+08:00

Edited: Estee Lauder also played a part in NYFW!

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The beauty industry is no unfamiliar face to glamour.

Maybelline New York, as the official makeup for New York Fashion Week (again), recently completed the bi-annual show for 2011's Spring/ Summer collections. I can't wait for the HD fashion show videos to be out on YouTube!

Designers they did the makeup for included BCBG Max Azria, Michael Angel, Alexander Berardi , Vivienne Tam , Z Spoke by Zac Posen , DKNY, Trias, Custo Barcelona, Carlos Miele, and L.A.M.B.

I've pretty much retired from being an MUA now (I only do it if there's good money involved). But what I would give to be involved in New York Fashion Week.

For you MUAs and makeup enthusiasts, here's a video update by MSN Today on the upcoming looks and trends based on NY Fashion Week's looks by Maybelline.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

The concluding look? Strong eyebrows and funky coloured lips.

I super less than 3! Love! Heart!
I'm already planning a way to wear this look to work without getting fired or embarassingly screamed at to wash my face.

Estee Lauder was also involved in NYFW - sponsoring Derek Lam's Spring/ Summer 2011 collection.

Their Creative Makeup Director Tom Pecheux lead a team of 14 makeup artists who did their magic on 30 models.

Locally, Estee Lauder Malaysia recently sent their Model Search winners to Australia for their makeup shoot.

They went one step further and collaborated with 8TV to feature the models' adventure on a special screening this 23 September at 9:30pm.

Teaser vid provided by Estee Lauder.

Yes, their English isn't so good. But you have to applaud EL for making every effort possible to create positive publicity for their newfound models. It makes the competition one of the few in the Malaysian market actually worth trying out for.

I still stick to my previous comment about the boringness of model searches. The rest of the kecik miau companies should just stop doing it so the few giants like Estee Lauder's search can come up with even better contestants.

Start thinking quality, Malaysians.

Don't forget to tune in!

Note: Pics/ videos provided by the respective brands.

the black and the red

2010-09-10T15:06:00.000+08:00

I love love. I love the red symbolic heart. The idea of romance. The beautiful wave of emotion that sweeps me along, making me feel most powerful, yet most vulnerable.

Big Red Heart by Paul Tokarski, featured on fineartamerica.com

"Love is a many splendid thing. It lifts us up to where we belong. All we need is love." - Moulin Rouge

Endless Love by Alfred Gockel, featured on allposters.com

“To be your friend was all I ever wanted; to be your lover was all I ever dreamed.”

Leonid Afremov afremov.com

"The worst thing is holding on to someone who doesn’t want to be held on to."

Art Vince Colleta, featured on http://ismarkevaniermentallyill.blogspot.com/

I hate loving love. I hate the weakness it creates. The desire for something so impossibly pure and beautiful to exist in this cruel cruel world.

So what would you have.
Love.
Or no love.
Hate.
Or no hate.

an emotion he saw

the black and the red

he wondered which it was

then he cared no more

for the black entered his being

and the red entered his soul

they roared in his veins

till he could give no more

and then he felt nothing

he saw nothing

he was nothing

the black and the red

the heart and the heart

the love and the love

the hate and the hate

Blockbuster, Mascaras and Aishwarya's Hair Care

2010-09-09T04:39:00.001+08:00

Some beauty care updates.

-----------------------------------

Estee Lauder

Estee Lauder's Blockbuster Set is back!

When I first decided to start being a MUA part time, this set saved my life by giving me all the essential items with a superbly cost effective price tag.

I feel my original set is better in quality actually, but I would still recommend noob MUAs or anyone interested in owning a proper makeup set (plus makeup box) to get this.

-----------------------------------

Maybelline

added another new spokesperson to their long list of beautiful women.

Shu-Pei Qin

Since her catwalk debut in September 2007, Shu-Pei has become a fixture on fashion’s most exclusive runways. She has walked for top designers including Prada, Miu Miu, Alexander McQueen, Chanel, and Louis Vuitton.

Her favorite Maybelline product?
The Volume Express Cat Eyes Hyper Curl.

Speaking of which, I've tried and found it to be absolutely awesome in terms of application ease and lengthening effects. BUT. Smudges easily and badly. And comes with a completely eye-soring Hello Kitty! packaging. Ugh.

I did also finally try the latest Magnum Volum Express. Its alright. It does the job of lengthening and volumising, but not extremely wow. The fat brush is also difficult to maneuver. BUT. Its totally smudge proof. For Maybelline, that's quite a feat.

-----------------------------------

L'Oreal

Tried and tested their Renewal Lash Serum to almost the last drop. Found that it worked for me in the first few weeks and did grow my lashes a couple of mm's longer, but didn't grow any thicker for me.

Others who have tried it have all shown varying results, but in conclusion, for less than RM50, its worth getting, even if to condition your lashes daily from usage of mascara.

You've probably seen the Aishwarya Rai L'Oreal Total 5 Repair hair commercial where she stomps into the picture deliberately swinging her hair from left to right in conjunction with her butt movements.

Its actually not too bad. Soft and smooth results.
Except that I don't really advocate using organic or non-saloon professional hair products.

If you're not as picky and find drugstore hair care to work well for you, you might wanna try this range the next time you visit Watsons/ Guardian/ Caring.

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Note: Click on pictures to view source.

Namewee and Racism

2010-08-30T00:42:00.001+08:00

UPDATE:
I just read this note on FB. It really makes me doubly sad at the current state of our country's racism.

---------------------------------------

I'm sure most of you would have heard of Namewee's newest song.

As with all of his songs, its written from hate and anger, and designed to create an uproar.

In case you haven't heard it, let me enlighten you.

Video entitled "F*CK Racism Malaysia". Song entitled "NAH!!"

Video Script (in English translation)

[Namewee]
Ehh... Recently I've been busy with my album, so I haven't had to time to write new songs to f*ck people over. But today, I saw a newspaper article. Someone asked us to go back to China, that news.
[short clip from Chinese TV news broadcast talking about the school principal that asked Chinese to return to China]

[Namewee]
After I saw that, I became really "hot" (angry), right?
Mood more and more "hot" (angry), right?
Really feel like writing a song, but the 'feel' hasn't arrived yet. Sometimes, I really need the 'feel'. A bit of 'kick'. 'Kick', ah 'kick'. Ah, 'kick', come. Ah.
(repeats 'kick' a few more times)
Yeah, come on.
Ya, the 'feel' is here!

[song starts]
This song, I write for all haters of Chinese. (*uncertain of exact translation)
F*ck racism.
F*ck you.
Yeah.

[chorus]
Nah. Siti Inshah. Nah, sucks banana.
Nah KPM nah. Nah, kurang ajar.
Nah. Siti Inshah. Nah, sucks banana.
Nah KPM nah nah. Diam diam lah.

[Verse 1]
Ada satu orang cacat namanya Siti.
Tapi Siti Inshah bukan Siti Nurhariza.
Dia surah orang Cina semua balik Cina.
Dia tolong promote kapal terbang Air Asia.
Ei guru besar, you otak sudah rosak.
You tak baca? Siapa buat Malaysia kaya?
Oh! buku sejarah takde tulis lah.
Tapi ada Internet mah.
You tengok you porn saja har?
Haha! Siapa kasi dia jadi guru besar?
Haha! Siapa ajar dia mulut macam lampa?
Haha! Siapa cakap semua orang mesti puasa?
KPM har? Atau tourism Malaysia?
Wa pun ada kawan baik orang Melayu.
Wa pun suka minum sirap bandung.
Tapi sekarang we mahu cakap dengan you.
Wa orang pendatang?
You betul PengKONGKAM lah!

[chorus] x 2

END

Other news you might be interested in.
Utusan Malaysia states that Najib is instigating investigations on Namewee for his racist video.
Namewee cans video, challenges Puteri to debate.
Namewee wrote a press release stating his upset at being thought of as racist, as that was the complete opposite of his intention.

Police report of Siti Insyak's racist public statement.

Taken from zonbebas.com

Now, I don't really agree with everything Namewee does. To begin with, the amount of swear words and ugly graphics already don't suit my taste.

But it does cause me to scratch my head when investigations are underway for his racist views. So I thought I'd write down the lyrics to see if there are any actual racist comments in the song.

And after reading the above multiple times, the only mildly racist statement I can see is "You tak baca? Siapa buat Malaysia kaya?"

I'd say there would be an element of truth in that statement, as it was the Chinese who first started running businesses in all the major cities in Malaysia. But to say we solely "buat Malaysia kaya" I feel is a little unfair as its all teamwork. Everyone has a part to play in making Malaysia today.

If Malaysia were run purely by Chinese, I don't think I'd like it very much. Look at Singapore and how kiasu kiasi they are. I really didn't like the atmosphere and environment when I was working there, and felt Malaysia was neighbourly heaven comparatively.

I feel my Malay friends are a lot more loving, neighbourly, helpful, and accepting. I learn a lot from them, and I wish some racist anti-Malay Chinese would see that too.

Malaysia is Malaysia because of all of us. I'm proud to be Chinese, but I am also happy to be in a multi-cultural land. I don't see a problem with differentiating to people that I'm Malaysian Chinese (I don't want us to turn into Indonesia and lose our Chinese names and heritage!), but I do think there's a problem when the law discriminates against that.

In the end, the only problem I see with Malaysia is the Malay-biased and Islamic law that binds the way the government is run. Personally, I feel no government should be run attached to a religious law. I'm Christian, and I wouldn't want to live in the Phillipines where they run the country based on Christian Biblical laws.

Religion is personal. Rules without relationship to God leads to rebellion. Freedom of choice is a God-given right, and I find it appalling that humans found a way to control other humans to not have that right.

ANYWAY. Coming back to Namewee.
Do you really think he should be jailed for racism?
I don't think so.

Pic from thenutgraph.com

His videos and music could be toned down, I suppose, but then again that wouldn't make him who he is. Lets all face it, he became famous partly because of his swearing.

I've met him only once before. We talked for like, 20 sentences (with me saying 18 of the 20 sentences), so I can't say I managed to get to know him really well. He's not exactly the friendliest person around.
(Also, he's super short! Looking at his vids, I always thought he was quite tall and stocky, but when I met him wearing my 2 1/2" heels I towered over him so much I had to lean down to speak to him. It was a weird feeling.)

His English is non-existent, so I needed to speak to him in my horrible Mandarin. And his producer (the person who really writes the songs and music) was the one who did more PR than him.

My gauge of him is that he's a small town samseng fella who just found a way to speak his mind in his own gifted way.

Guys like that are funny around their friends, but aren't comfortable in the muack muack scene.

He also probably didn't have many Malay friends growing up, which would probably attain to his Negarakuku video. But after being in the entertainment scene for a while, that would definitely change. Which is probably why his latest song does show respect for his Malay friends, as compared to that notorious earlier song.

Being Chinese, I can tell you that so many of my Chinese friends say exactly all he said in his videos. Just that none of us would admit it to our Malay friends.

I do admire his honesty. But I also long for peace and harmony.

So I'll say this.
Getting everything out in the open is good. It forces us to deal with all the hidden underlying issues the races have with each other.

What makes it BAD is when people are immature and don't try to put themselves in the others' shoes and criticize and condemn others' way of living.
Instead of talking about it, dealing with it, we shout, point fingers at each other to prove who's more racist!
"UMNO is more racist than Namewee lah! Go arrest them first!"
"Namewee is *toot*! Dares to insult Malays like that! Arrest him!"

It is that very immaturity that causes war. Unhappiness. Constant dissatisfaction.

We each have a part to play. So why don't we stop focusing on the bad, and just remember how much we love each other's good?

We all have friends of different races right?
Why is it you can sit and talk to them, care for them, and say they are your friends, but when you are talking to people of your own race, you generalise and speak the worst of a different race?

Pic from ajinbgagah.blogspot.com

"Chinese are so materialistic. No way they'll help you unless you can do something for them in return. Watch your back when you get into business with them."
"Malays are so dumb. We need to tell them something 1 million times and they still get it wrong."
"Indians will argue on everything. They'll never say they are wrong."

I am Chinese. I like to think I help out my friends whenever I can, without expecting anything in return. I have plenty of Chinese friends who are like that too.

I have wonderful Malay friends. Some run their own business successfully, and work excellently. They never judge me, and always are there for me whenever I need them.

I have great Indian friends. They are gorgeous, make me laugh and were friends to me when my Chinese friends weren't.

And even with everyone I know having similar experiences with their other-race friends, STILL the dislike continues.

So is Namewee the problem? Or are we ourselves the problem?

The Wrongful Bruises

2010-08-29T09:55:00.000+08:00

I am addicted to "Love the Way You Lie".

A song about love, hate and physical abuse.
Have you ever been a victim of abuse?

Not the full lyrics. Extracts of the song I find most haunting...

[Rihanna]

Just gonna stand there and watch me burn
Well that's all right because I like the way it hurts
Just gonna stand there and hear me cry
Well that's all right because I love the way you lie
I love the way you lie

[Eminem]
And I love it, "wait, where you goin'?"
"I'm leavin' you," "no you ain't come back"
We're runnin' right back, here we go again
So insane, cause when it's goin' good it's goin' great
I'm superman with the wind at his back, she's Lois Lane
But when it's bad it's awful, I feel so ashamed I snap
Whose that dude? I don't even know his name
I laid hands on her
I'll never stoop so low again
I guess I don't know my own strength

You ever love somebody so much you can barely breathe
When you with em you meet and neither one of you even know what hit em
You swore you'd never hit em, never do nothin' to hurt em
Now you're in each other's face spewin' venom in your words when you spit em
You push pull each other's hair
Scratch claw hit em throw em down pin em
So lost in the moments when you're in em
It's the rage that's the culprit, controls you both
So they say it's best to go your separate ways

But you promised her next time you'll show restraint
You don't get another chance
Life is no Nintendo game, but you lied again

Now I know we said things, did things, that we didn't mean
And we fall back into the same patterns, same routine
But your temper's just as bad as mine is, you're the same as me
When it comes to love you're just as blinded
Baby please come back, it wasn't you, baby it was me
Maybe our relationship isn't as crazy as it seems
Maybe that's what happens when a tornado meets a volcano
All I know is I love you too much to walk away though
Come inside, pick up the bags off the sidewalk
Don't you hear sincerity in my voice when I talk?
Told you this is my fault, look me in the eyeball
Next time I'm pissed I'll aim my fist at the drywall
Next time there won't be no next time
I apologize even though I know it's lies
I'm tired of the games I just want her back
I know I'm a liar if she ever tries to f**kin' leave again
I'ma tie her to the bed and set this house on fire

Pic from rnbmusicblog.com

Contrary to what most people seem to think, it wasn't Rihanna who wrote the song about Chris Brown. It was Eminem who wrote the song with his and Rihanna's experience in mind, and asked her to collaborate with him.

Pic from nubiangraphics.com

While I was watching the music video over and over again, I read Public Secrets by Nora Roberts. The main character, a beautiful girl named Emma chose a husband she thought was as gentle and loving as her father.

He was anything but.

I cried till I couldn't cry anymore, and stayed up till 7am, finishing the book and taking out excerpts from the book to post in a note on Facebook. (Please help 'like', 'comment' or 'share' the note to spread the word).

If you feel as strongly about Violence Against Women, do consider volunteering at the Pixel Project, an online based community that is dedicated to raising global awareness against Violence Against Women.

http://twitter.com/PixelProject

http://www.thepixelproject.net/

No person should have to fear going home.

At the Beauty & Grooming Workshop

2010-08-23T02:01:00.000+08:00

Networking is important. It gets you job calls out of the blue. Like last last Friday, when I was asked by the owner of S2 Slimming, Stella, to speak on behalf of her brand at Amber Chia and Dato Anna Lim's Beauty and Grooming Workshop on Saturday.

Friday. Saturday. No next.

I was given less than 24 hours to prepare, and due to my already prearranged schedule I only started my research at midnight and slept at 3am and spoke the next day at noon and 3pm.

It went well. At least, I think it did. Stella hugged me after. And the rest of the speakers came to speak to me after. I'm beginning to realise that Malaysians are a sucker for talent. Not saying I have any *cough*.

I told my friend William who hooked me up with the job after, that I was glad for the job. Not just for the money, but most importantly because I had fun. And realised I had forgotten how I love public speaking.

Slimming is also the last thing anyone would think to ask me to talk about, as I'm not exactly a size zero. You can guess the fun my friends all made of me once they found out.
On top of that, I was a person who totally did not believe in slimming centres. I thought of all of them as con jobs, and one of my personal goals in life was to convince people that they were wasting their money by even *thinking* of joining one.

But Stella surprised me with the facts of S2.
She believes in going 'Back to Basics'. In going natural.
S2 doesn't use latest technology machines that create immediate effects but don't last.
They release the toxins and excess fat from your body by using traditional massaging methods.

As part of my talk, I spoke of how my sister-in-law, who's a Malay, uses traditional Malay massages to restore her figure after every pregnancy.
The masssages are brutal, and hurt. Really hurt. After which, cloths are wrapped tightly around the body for an entire month.
But at the end of that suffering, your body turns into a "what you've given birth before?!?" state. Daphne Iking uses this technique apparently, and look at how hot her bod is.

Stella doesn't use this Malay technique of massaging though. What she did do was learn massaging techniques across the globe, and brought back her knowledge to create her own S2 slimming massage method.
And... her treatments have effects that actually last.

Have I convinced you yet? Heck, I convinced myself so much, I signed up for it. *grin*

Check out their website www.s2slimming.com.my for more information.

Coming back to the talk, other than my teeny tiny segment, the main speakers included Kee Hua Chee and Benjamin Toong, who strutted in 5" heels for all the girls to see.

Kee Hua Chee in his usual strange getup. He has like, 3 or 4 of these suits, in different colours. The guy on the shirt and pants is supposed to be him.

Close up on his jewellery and self-portrait bag.

And check out Benjamin doing his strut with Amber.

I thought the course was pretty interesting in that they got in people from the Malaysian entertainment industry itself such as Ben Ibrahim, Daphne Iking, beauty queens Levi Li and Dato Anna herself, Kee Hua Chee etc to speak at the conference.

If you're interested to attend and learn a little more on beauty and grooming, check out www.beautyfashionstudio.info/

I know I've been talking about Amber Chia non-stop for the past few blogposts. I promise you this is the last. It just so happens she launched her academy only two days after her beauty and grooming workshop. Hence the onslaught of info.

The next few posts I'll talk a little more about makeup related information. Till then!

The Manly or Not-So-Manly Man

2010-08-22T02:13:00.000+08:00

On internationally interesting celebrity news...

Gerard Butler is now the new face of L'Oreal Men Expert Range.

Helloooo Butler.

I am excited with this news simply because...
1) Pretty boys advocating skincare is boring.
2) Gerard Butler is no pretty boy.
3) Gerard Butler is hot stuff.

When asked on his new endorsement, Butler states, "I’m excited to be working with L’Oréal Paris. I have always liked the quality and innovation of their products."

Haha. Right. You sound really excited.

I suspect Butler's more the type to not use much skincare at all. But who cares, really? Marketing is about convincing the consumer that to be the person they wanna be they gotta use their products.

See? Not exactly smooth perfect skin. But that just adds to the manly appeal.

Pic from gordonandthewhale.com

Think Old Spice's awesome commercial.

So you know what you gotta do don't ya? Buy L'Oreal's Men Expert Range. And Old Spice. This is not an advert.

My Insights on Amber Chia

2010-08-17T12:48:00.001+08:00

One of Malaysia's biggest stars/ known celebrities is undoubtedly Amber Chia.

Many hate the idea of her being so well known. Many argue that she has cheapened her worth by accepting every other job on the market, thus causing her sellability to be low amongst the big guns.

And it does seem to be the case doesn't it? Everywhere you walk and turn, its unavoidable to see her face plastered across posters that would be advertising anything from printers to skincare to blogshops.

But what bugged me a little, was despite the obvious hate most of the public seemed to have towards her, when I spoke to a few of her counterparts, most seem to have nothing but respect towards her.

I'm talking about 'celebs' (I try to not to use that word and I don't consider most in Malaysia to be that really but its just easier to get the message across) and business owners, people whom have a respectable reputation, who actually know her, hang out with her.

They don't agree with her marketing tactics 100%, but they also admit that its undeniable it worked for her. Whereas many in Malaysia would maybe have heard of Daphne Iking, maybe have heard of Carmen Soo, maybe have heard of Harith Iskandar... every Malaysian I know has heard of Amber Chia.

All of them do not deny that Amber is hardworking, dedicated, and passionate to succeed. She may not be the brightest individual around, but she's someone who's determined to make it big, and takes up whatever opportunity she can get to achieve her goals. Which is why she ends up taking every single job she's offered, and attends almost every single event she's invited to.

When I spoke to her over lunch last week at the Amber Chia and Dato Anna Lim Grooming Workshop (next blog update), I decided to put aside all my previous biasness and study her as I would with any individual I had just met.

My close friends all know that I'm someone who analyses people from the moment I set eyes on them; throughout my conversation with them. It takes me less than 5 minutes to analyse most individuals, though of course a longer, deeper conversation helps fill in the gaps. I won't tell you I think I'm always right, but lets just say I trust my own instincts more than anyone elses, and it hasn't failed me so far.

So in Amber's case, what I saw was very simply... A typical semi-helpless female who has just enough smarts and determination to make it big. But who isn't good with paperwork, legalities, administration etc., and always hands it over to someone who can do it for her.
She's a very trusting individual who is blur enough to put up with almost any annoying characteristic, so long the person is her friend who's nice to her (seen from her interactions with some people whom I would never be able to stand).

I know so many chicks (and several dudes come to think of it) around me who are exactly like that.
Its just that they aren't a public figure who's every action is scrutinized and criticized by the public eye.

Her relationship with her husband Adrian Wong is a typical example.
When Amber got married, articles either stated that he's her talent manager, or he's a business owner. I haven't really followed the news but here's the real situation.

Pic from amberchia.com

He's a business owner with a legal background (studied law and practised for a few years but deicded to come out to run his own business instead). When he and Amber first started dating (about two years ago) Amber immediately chucked all negotiations of her contracts to him.It was easy for her, and she was lucky enough to have a boyfriend who wasn't out to con her. He would definitely have been able to get away with it, since she really didn't care much for paperwork and details.

And since she didn't want any publicity on her relationship with him, every time he went to events with her she introduced him as her manager. Since whenever they wanted to negotiate contracts she'd pass the phone to him anyway, it seemed like the perfect cover up story.

He still continues to help her negotiate her contracts. The Ford Supermodel fiasco? The husband was in the picture, but she decided to just trust that friend, and not get into too much paperwork, as per her personality.

So is he her manager? Yes and no la. You decide.
Is she dumb? Yes and no too.

Yes, she doesn't care about details. She delegates that responsibility out if she can. But I don't think that makes her stupid. I have friends exactly like that, and it annoys the hell outta me if the person expects me to handle it all for them. But she gets either her boyfriend/ husband to do it for her, or pays someone to do it.
I've also met people who are seriously stupid and from my conversation with her, I don't lump her in that category.

Why do I think that? Take her English for example. Yes, its still atrocious. Yes, its annoying. But she always confidently puts together a sentence without halting at ALL. Listen to her speak in public and cringe, but know what I mean. Something I find quite amazing for her level of English. She has no trouble catching on to what I say, which is also quite surprising as many Chinese speaking people I know need me to speak in simpler English or throw in Mandarin to make the conversation easier to undertand. I deliberately threw in some mid level vocabs through our conversation but she had no problem catching on at all.

As for rumours of her being a slut, I don't think she is one either. Before Adrian, she was with her ex-boyfriend for 10 years. They broke up in 2006 and she got together with her now husband in 2008. And knowing girls like her, she's not the strong type who would go around cheating on her boyfriend. She's more like one of those girls that are terrified their guy will dump them.

What I do think she is is one of those annoying girly girls who can't drive a car properly and hopes someone does everything for her.

She herself admits, one of the reasons why she adores her husband is that he's capable, and does almost everything she can't do.

Computer technical problem? He helps fix it. Car broke down? He comes to the rescue. All forms of documentation? He helps handle.

Someone send me an Adrian Wong.

So there you have it. My personal analysis of who Amber Chia really is.

I don't claim to know her very well. I certainly don't see her as a friend, and I have no intention of even acknowledging her presence at the next event I'll see her at as I don't assume she'll remember who I am even though we've met at countless events and dealt with one another and also spent a whole day working together (yes, the selective memory of a celeb).

Look at how thin she is. Even at 7 months and 3 weeks preggers. Sigh. Do you know she eats a LOT? One of those naturally skinny girls. For that, we should really hate her.

What I only intended, was to give my personal and (I hope) fair analysis. Not a starstruck one, just because she was nice to me at an event, nor a hate filled one just because she showed her dumbness at another.

I figure every person deserves as much.

Note: In case you missed it (which I don't know how you could have really) the above is of my own opinion and is in no way an official representation of Amber Chia and co.

Amber Chia Academy Launch

2010-08-11T13:20:00.001+08:00

Amber Chia launched her new modelling academy yesterday at her office at Jaya One. Partnering together with Benjamin Toong, catwalk guru, and Desmond Yoi, makeup artist.

Dato Jimmy Choo and Mama G (Gillian Hung) were the VIPs of the event.

The modelling industry is still pretty junior in Malaysia. Many girls aspire to be models, but there aren't many proper training grounds for them to learn the skills they need to be international models.

Sedaya College once tried to create a modelling course. I think it lasted for a year before it was shut down. Probably due to the lack of profitability, or the lack of skilled teachers to administer the course.

Amber Chia isn't a very 'sweet-smelling' name in the industry, and I myself have on many occasions shown my verbal unhappiness with her character and conduct.

Last week though, I was given an opportunity to have a sit down chat with her, which changed my perspective of her. I'll share this with you later, as this post is meant to focus on the Academy.

Since the announcement has been made on their Facebook page, more than 40 students have signed up for this course.

During the press conference, Amber and Benjamin revealed that the top 3 models of the courses will be sent to New York, to Amber's modelling agency there, where they would possibly be modelling for events such as New York Fashion Week!

Amber or no Amber, that by itself is a great opportunity for any aspiring model.

Modelling course fees range from RM1,688 to RM3,888. Makeup course prices start from RM699.

"Wanna be on top?" :D

For more information, please call 03-7960 8010, or email academy@amberchia.com or visit www.amberchia.com/academy

Hello there.

2010-08-05T02:22:00.000+08:00

Oh look ma. I have a blog.

To apease you art lovers, here are two my fav Boubouteatime pics of the week.

Sailors. Sneakers. Jackets.

2010-07-13T15:58:00.000+08:00

Since fashion is a topic long since not mentioned, here's a quick update on what's already hot, but not yet impacted Malaysian shores.

Sailor inspired fashion.

Dark navy lined with white. Vertical and horizontal stripes. Double breasted jackets/ shirts/ dresses. Wide pleated skirts.

If you're not willing to spill the dough, shop for: A navy wide pleated skirt. Find a plain white top in your closet and pair it up, and accessorize with retro plastic or vintage gold jewellery.

Then there's the dress with sneakers look.

Prada

Elle

H&M

And fitted, short jackets are out. Go loose and baggy instead.

Throw the loose jacket over your dress with sneakers combo for insta chic.

To skimp: Raid your mother's closet for those old loose jackets with shoulder pads, and if you can't afford YSL sneakers, settle for a dressy pair of Sketchers instead.

Note: Click on pictures to view source.

Poor treatment of local acts at Usher

2010-07-09T14:35:00.001+08:00

I received this email in my inbox today. A request to publish this information so a complaint can be done about the running of Usher's concert.

I would prefer it if this information was posted onto another site, and I link to it, as I don't really see "i call it art" as being a newscaster blog. But since this info was only just emailed to all the media, it probably won't be released till a few weeks later (if ever).

And since I wasn't actually there, I can't add in any of my own comments, so I just copied and pasted the entire press release for your reading. (My summary at the bottom in case you're lazy to read the entire thing).

The Plight of Local Opening Acts at a recent International Concert

As normal practice for any international concerts organized in Malaysia, local Malaysian artists would be given the opportunity to showcase their talents as opening acts. This is a great initiative by the Malaysian government body PUSPAL to provide a platform for local talents to perform in front of a big international audience. In fact, some artists are even recommended to concert organizers by the government to perform for these concerts.

While this initiative is highly commendable, the execution of the matter is a separate issue as it rests on the hands of the individual concert organizer. The way in which our local singers were being treated especially at Wednesday’s Usher concert organized by Galaxy Group calls for immediate attention. Below are some important incidents that need to be highlighted which were based on personal experience, interviews and feedback from various people including friends, media and the audience.

Refusal of Rehearsal Time

The only rehearsal time promised and scheduled at 5pm by the organizer was not given in any way to the singers despite them arriving earlier at 4pm. IZ, Alif and Mizz Nina were made to wait until around 7.30pm only to be notified that each of them will be given only 5 minutes to do sound checks and microphone testing. Every singer would by large take longer than a mere 5 minutes to complete proper sound/audio checks, considering their rhythm, melody and vocals. It can be more complicated if there was more than one artist performing, though we won’t go into the technical details of a sound check here. But cramming every important detail that requires checking in such a short period of time will no doubt result in poor sound quality that the audience will eventually hear and endure.

This ‘5 minutes’ was also the only time dancers from each team could really have a feel of the stage, (i.e. the surface of a stage floor is important to know in order to execute certain dance moves, and for safety purposes), estimating the amount of space allocated on stage to coordinate their dance choreography what with all the different unique sets being placed around for Usher’s upcoming performance. Without the proper rehearsal, dancers had to spontaneously readjust their movements and styles according to the availability of space around them, risking looking awkward during their actual performances and jeopardizing their image as professional dancers.

Empty Seats, Empty Audiences

After the sound check has ended at about 7.45pm (5 minutes each singer), the first performer IZ and his dancers were instructed to run back to the changing room, located quite a far distance away from the stage, change into their performing gear, hurry back to the stage and perform immediately; all these to be done in just 5 minutes! During IZ’s performances, there was very little or no audience present within the stadium. Why? Could it be because of the prior heavy rain that’s causing the fans to run late? It was later discovered that fans were in fact ready and waiting outside the stadium. But what were they waiting for?

Audiences waiting outside were not allowed to come into the stadium by the organizing staff even when the first opening act has taken place. This was later clarified by friends, audiences, fans and members of the media queuing outside who could only hear IZ’s singing from outside the stadium, well throughout his second song ‘Jauh’ and followed by Alif Satar’s solo act. Alif’s performance was also entirely missed by the audience, especially when he only performed one song. Almost no one had a glimpse of their actual performances on stage, i.e. IZ’s dramatic intro into his first song ‘A.L.O.N.E’ using a customized avant-garde costume and a head mask along with the whole dance routines.

MSNbuzz even tweeted “Oh my gosh are they skipping the opening acts Mizz Nina and Iz because the Queen is here! Usher is out now!”, never realizing that Mizz Nina’s and IZ’s performances were well over and done with a little too soon. This was tweeted at about 9.15pm.

The only artist who received somewhat of leverage was Mizz Nina who came in as the third opening act. By this time, audiences were already allowed into the stadium albeit at a slow pace. Halfway through her performance, the number of people had developed into a small crowd here and there. These crowds were clearly enjoying and jumping to Mizz Nina’s latest hit ‘What You Waiting For?’ Audio was just average and there was simply no effort by the organizer for any great stage lighting, even for Mizz Nina. Or is it that no time was made? Still white lights were the only ‘lighting effects’ that memory could recall.

Mizz Nina’s whole performance lasted until about 8.10pm. Between 8.10pm and 9.15pm (when Usher made his appearance), wasn’t there ample time enough for these opening acts to happen, instead of rushing them at 7.40pm with no one to watch as stated before? There was no running activity on stage during this time after all. It was made clear by more than one of the organizing staff that the opening acts needed to finish before the royal family (referring to Terengganu’s Royal Family) arrives, hence the need to rush. One could not help but to speculate what this means and the relevance of this fact. Let’s hope it wasn’t because the organizer thought our local acts are in any way undeserving.

The most, if not the only memorable performance at the end of the night was of course Usher’s. Everything from audio to lighting to smoke machine, to electric fans and to everything else imaginable was great. The fans were screaming and everyone was on their feet dancing to Usher’s beats in spite of the disrespectful security officers flashing their torch lights at the eyes of standing audiences, ordering them to sit down even at the VIP area. This is hardly a courteous and respectable way by the organizer to control a crowd made of VIPs and renowned guests who paid so much money to enjoy a good time.

While Usher had the pleasure to introduce his dancers /team on stage one by one and to be acknowledged by the entire populace, unfortunately the same could not be said for the opening acts. Not many would remember the names of Mizz Nina’s dancers or perhaps her clothes sponsors. Same goes with IZ’s dancers, sponsors and everyone else who had put a lot of effort in making their opening acts a success, from wardrobe to make-up to styling to pre-concert publicity and performing. They could not be memorable because they were not given the right chance by the organizer to be seen or heard and ultimately to be recognized by the audience. This is a sad and unfortunate dilemma when too much emphasis and priority is given to an international act and it’s our local ones who are made to suffer. And for what? For trying to do their part in the Malaysian music industry?

Addressing the above issues is one thing but taking a course of action is another. It is highly recommended for PUSPAL and the Malaysian government to form a regulatory committee that can look into the feedback of such singers and performers in Malaysia in order to get a clearer insight and understanding on this issue and employ a code of conduct and certain guidelines that these organizers are required to abide by.

If the above examples are considered as standard practice by concert organizers in the way they treat our local talents, their licenses should be revoked or suspended. No form of explanation or excuses should be tolerated when international acts are being glorified at the expense of Malaysia’s own local talents. This is especially imperative at a time when western entertainers are more and more recognizing Malaysia as an important performing venue in Asia.

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In summary, the local artists who were supposed to open the Usher concert were given crap treatment.

They were told there's a sound check and rehearsal time at 5pm. They waited till 7:30pm and then were told they only had 5 minutes to rehearse.

Once rehearsal was done, the performers were given 5 minutes to run back to the tent to change and run back to the stage for the first performance.

The first and second performance (performed by IZ and Alif Satar) was performed to an empty stadium because the organizers HAD NOT GIVEN ENTRY to the audience yet.

Alif Satar

Mizz Nina (third performance) was performed to a small audience as the organizers had just given entry to the audience during her performance.

Mizz Nina

How loud can you Boo?

Will you forgive me?

2010-07-01T15:32:00.002+08:00

The Gay Pride is an annual event created by a gay, for gays, to show pride in their sexual orientation.

Every year, together with the gays and lesbians, there are a bunch of straight supporters who join in the fun, and... an equally large number of church-going protesters who make it a point to make signboards to inform the gays that they are all going to hell.

This year, some people decided to do something different.

Read this post, and one of the volunteer's blog as well.

I say.
Its about friggin' time.

To the gays.

I'm sorry.

I'm sorry, for the times I thought you were now doomed, because you're gay.
I'm sorry, for the times I didn't know what to say, because I felt you were different.
I'm sorry, for my fellow church mates, who felt awkward standing near you.
I'm sorry, for the leaders, who felt the need to preach to you.
I'm sorry, for the perception that being gay is a worse sin than stealing, lying, cheating, sleeping around, and sex before marriage.
I'm sorry, for the straight Christian males, who made fun of you.
I'm sorry, for the suppressed disgusted looks you often had to endure.
I'm sorry, for the judgment you've received from sinners themselves.

I'm sorry.

I'm sorry.
I'm sorry.

I'm sorry.