Be yourself in Blend

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It’s time you guys take on a different look with Scandinavia’s fashion label Blend.

Blend is for the young and spirited, for guys who want to stand out in the crowd and yet look cool without going overboard.

Rooted in denim, Blend’s Autumn-Winter 2009 Collection features four design themes – Free and Easy, Daring Spirit, Classic Cool and Modern.

Free and Easy is all about bringing the great outdoors to the streets, matching the old with the new, wearing a well-worn tee over clothes designed in graphic patched appliqués and bold colors. This collection is about being vintage yet new.

Daring Spirit is described as a “colorful, freakish happy line of clothing designed for the optimistic rebel”. Hot pinks and mauve add fun to the colorful, “plastic-fantastic” graphics. Fabrics used are mostly dark and heavy.

Classic Cool comes in colors of cool black, jet gloss and dark drama. It is ultimately urban.

Modern carries an English accent, tailor-made with a rugged twist, woolen
trousers with faint windowpane checks, edgy prints, big cable-knit jumpers. Coats and blazers are given sleek lines and contemporary silhouettes in shades of brown, black, greys, deep purples and greens.

Blend is available at Robinsons, The Gardens.

Some green potion

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Robinsons recently launched it exclusive range of lifestyle products it called Green Potion, which uses mainly natural ingredients, also depicted in its brand logo featuring leaves, flowers and seeds.

The product has a selection of 100% pure essential oils, multi-purpose spray, diffuser, herbal inhaler, ceramic stones and electric burners.

There are 10 types of essential oils, which come in 5ml packaging – Rose, Grape Fruit, Lavender, Peppermint, Refreshing, Energy, Balancing, Pine Essential, Rejuvenate and Relaxation. These oils are recommended to be used with the burners, in your bath or sauna, for inhalation or steaming and even mixed into your shampoo, conditioner or moisturizer.

The Multi-purpose Spray comes in a convenient carry-all 50ml plastic bottle as well as the 120ml plastic bottle. Ten aromatic scents are available – rose, orchid, lily, honey, jasmine, hydrangea, bud and leaves, magnolia, lavender and ginger flower.

Besides using it as a body spray, the Multi-purpose Spray can be used on your linens, artificial flowers and potpourri as well as a room freshener.

Green Potion’s 100ml bottle Diffuser & Reeds boasts a unique tear-drop shaped packaging, reminiscent of perfume bottles of old. It is safe used as a body spray as it does not have filters or enhancers added to it.  

If you suffer from headaches and nausea, the Herbal inhaler packaged in a small bottle will help alleviate your discomfort. The inhaler is made from 100% natural herbs.

One last item from Green Potion is the Electric Ceramic Burner and ceramic stones, use for burning aromatherapy oils with water.

Green Potion products are exclusively available at Robinsons, The Gardens.

Reworking the classics

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Jessica looks stunning this season. Its old classics have been given a new boost of energy by combining versatility with femininity.

Jessica’s Fall Holiday Collection is all about setting the mood for fashion buffs. Colors are rich and glamorous with cobalt blue, purple, magenta and shades of charcoal like grey, metal grey and mélange grey complementing each other.

Decorative elements used on many of this season’s designs give the collection a sense of luxury. Floral prints have been redefined in geometric and graphical form while ribbon appliqués, subtle beading details and oversized bows are just some of the interesting “extras” added to this season’s collection.

The decorative elements found in this season’s garments, such as the sequin-embroidered check flannel dress and multi-color hand-stitched embroidery tunic, gives the collection a sense of luxury.

Meanwhile, Jessica’s Little Black Dress group features a selection of cocktail dresses that range from simple trapeze minis to elaborate embroidered evening pieces.

Jessica is available at Robinsons, The Gardens.

New look for Pull and Bear

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Pull and Bear Fall-Winter 2009/10 collection highlights the world of aviation and the military look through a campaign called The Real Flight.

Pull and Bear Malaysia celebrated the arrival of this season’s collection with an intimate showcase of the new look to its media friends at its boutique in 1 Utama Shopping Centre recently.

I was pleasantly surprised by the obvious change in Pull and Bear designs for this season, moving away from its classic offerings to bring forth designs that are fresh and more “today”.

As the models sashayed their way onto the catwalk many heads turned, admiring the leather jackets worn by the models over casual Ts and cotton shirts paired with washed-out denims.

Blue, white, gray and earth tones dominate the guys’ collection while the women selections are upped a bit with splashes of reds and even metallic silver and browns. This season’s looks range from country grunge to gothic princess to updated old school century to bohemian classics.

For the women there are six different looks – AviatorLook, Vintage-Military, 80s, Dark Princess, Country-grunge and Street-sport.

The guys have been given two extra looks – Military, Century, Vicius, Bohemian, Forest, Tech-denim, Sicko-denim, University and Hip-hop.

Accessories from both men and women’s department accentuate Pull and Bear’s Fall-Winter 2009/10 collection. There are a lot to choose from – military hats, trainers, oversized hats and scarves, thick socks and mountain boots, biker boots and denim boots.

Pull and Bear has two outlets in the Klang Valley – 1 Utama Shopping Centre and The Pavilion.

Coast Collection

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Coast has come out with some amazing designs for its Autumn/Winter 2009 Collection.

Featured here are my favourites from the season's collection. You will notice how black dominates in my selection as I believe no woman can go wrong in a black number.

The selections in grays and one in red make an interesting change when you want to have something different.

To complement the look Coast suggests you mix and match with its collection of accessories such as its luxurious clutch bags and statement jewelry.

Coast is available exclusively at Robinsons, The Gardens Mall as well as Coast standalone boutiques at Pavilion and Bangsar Village II, Kuala Lumpur.

Clean it well

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Clinelle UV Defence Range is the latest UV care products to be launched by Clinelle Professional Care, whose products are formulated in France, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

The UV Defence Range is available in two shades - SPF28 White and SPF20 Tinted. Each 50ml tube is priced at RM62.80.

SPF20 Tinted.

These beauty products have natural botanical extracts enriched with Red Alga, Vitamin C, E and B5, Cornflower and Ginkgo extracts. These ingredients contain anti-oxidant and restructuring properties that protect and moisturize. The addition of sweet orange and lemon peel essential oils in the products leaves skin purified, refreshed and energized.

The non-greasy quality of the cream provides UV protection for all skin types, including sensitive skin. It is formulated to give indoor and outdoor UV protection to the skin.

SPF28 White.

Clinelle is distributed by Esthetics International Group (EIG), which has been in the health, skincare, cosmetics as well as wellness and the beauty industry for about 20 years. Its regional offices are in Hong Kong and Thailand with its headquarters being in Kuala Lumpur

 
 

Maximum style

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Homegrown fashion label Lee Ann Maxima recently launched its Fall/Holiday 2009 collection at its flagship store in Jaya One, Petaling Jaya. The latest selections feature three collections – Connections, Transform and Extraordinary.

“Easy, functional and practical” these are the key factors in all the designs from
these three collections.

While Connections uses mainly treated cotton and light flannel, Transform uses
twill, pure silk, silk cotton mix and herringbone texture. Extraordinary meanwhile highlights designs in pure silk, chiffon, taffeta and georgette.

The color palette for this season is a mix of everything, from black, white and grey to cherry red and aubergine purple to bold colors like topaz, ruby, golden yellow, amethyst and even turquoise.

Besides the outlet at Jaya One (Petaling Jaya, Selangor), Lee Ann Maxima also has outlets at Brooke Drive (Sibu, Sarawak), Kelawei (Penang), Melaka Raya (Melaka), Boulevard Commercial Centre (Miri, Sarawak) and upcoming soon in Alor Setar, The Curve.

Sparkling new

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Aesos Lai talks and talks and talks. He talks endlessly as he markets his ShineWell product to shoppers who flood the Sunday flea market at Amcorp Mall in Petaling Jaya.

Tirelessly he coaxes every passerby to let him clean their jewelry for free!

"One item per customer. Free," he grins.

Aesos gives a demonstration on how to use ShineWell.

Once he has win their confidence, they will trust him their jewelry - gold necklaces, crystal bangles, silver rings and chains, expensive and not-so-expensive watches. But don't worry, her returns them to the shoppers AFTER
he has made their jewelries shine and sparkle like new.

That's the beauty of this product, ShineWell or what Aesos and his team call "magic cleaning powder". It revives your jewelries like the first day you bought them from the shop, or even better.

One of Aesos' team members winning a shopper's attention to the product.

You only need three easy steps to get your jewelries sparkling new again: soak, stir and rinse. Just add half teaspoon of ShineWell cleaning powder to half a glass of tap water. Stir the powder before you soak the jewelry inside. Stir the jewelry in the cleaner to remove dirt from it.

After the estimated time, take the jewelry out from the bowl of cleaner and place it in the bowl containing tap water until it is clean. Finally, wipe the jewelry with dry cloth. You can also run the jewelry under tap water to clean it.

Unlike certain accessory cleaners, ShineWell cleans jewelry made of any type of material. It cleans gold, diamonds, jade, precious stones and silver. But ShineWell can even clean your watches, spectacles, costume jewelries and even metal ornaments. You can say it's a 1-In-All cleaner.

The end products - all shiny and new again!

There's a money back guarantee when you buy ShineWell, which is formulated in Germany. But I have seen it work and there are no hidden tricks here.

Aesos places several bowls on the table, each containing plain water and the diluted cleaner. He then dips every item into the respective bowls, soaking each item between five and eight minutes before removing them and wiping them to a shine.

"ShineWell is biodegradable, environmental friendly, non-toxic and non-abrasive, non-corrosive and kills 99.9% germs," says Aesos.

The cleaner is available in different sizes and prices. I bought the RM5 pack, which is the smallest, to try out.

Aesos and gang can be found at the Amcorp Mall weekend flea market or you can contact Aesos Lai at 012 2188338.

Going urban

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I was at a shopping mall in Petaling Jaya the other day when I caught a fashion show featuring urban wear in progress. So I stopped by for a sneak peek to see if it was something I could feature in this blog.

My iPhone was the only available camera as I had left my reliable Canon PowerShot A650IS, which I use for simple fashion shoots, at home.

Shoppers having a field day at the branded wear sale.

I ended up with very few shots, not because my iPhone couldn't do the job but because the selections featured weren't all that great. I can understand that it was probably just a small event catering to the shoppers mainly but to have the half-baked models sloshing about on the "runway" with half-beaten soiled shoes complementing a dress is seriously "distasteful" unless of course that is part of the fashion theme?

These are designer labels, not made in China says the emcee.

That aside, the showcase did attract some shoppers who happened to be at the event venue shopping for designer labels clothes at slashed prices.

Some shoppers were heard whispering to each other: "Genuine designer labels ah?" after looking at the prices of the branded (DKNY, MNG, GAP, Calvin Klien, Billabong, etc) items. Items were going for less than RM100 a piece. Out of nowhere the emcee's voice boomed across the hall: "These are real designer labels. Not made in China okay?". I guess the two ladies weren't really whispering...

Some of the prettier selections of urban wear featured at the fashion show.

With urban wear being all the rage since last year, I won't be surprised the shoppers actually made a grab for some of the items that were showcased. They were pretty low-priced.

I'm a little curious though. Urban wear has been in the market for years now, even before 2004. What makes it such a big thing in 2008/2009? Anyone knows the answer?

But, I am all for writer Chris Kendall's comment in an article he wrote in mensflair.com: "...everything that is old comes around again."

Don't you agree?

Safe and trendy

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This post would be the last I’m featuring on Dorothy Perkins Autumn Winter 2009 Collection.

The selection of black coloured outfits would be my favourites from the label’s latest collection.

My all-black selection from DP AW2009 Collection.

The first outfit – skinny jeans matched with leather jacket is just my kintd of hing! Well, I don’t ride a motorbike but I’d wear that anytime when traveling.

If I’m looking for something smart and casual for the office then the second outfit would be my choice on a day when I have to do a lot of running around at work.

And, when I need to chill out with my girlfriends at the dance club, the third outfit will do the trick. Match these outfits with the right shoes and I’ll look a killer!!!

Naughty, colourful handbags and purses from DP AW2009 Collection.

As for handbags and purses Dorothy Perkins has gone into something bright and metallic and gold. These bags look cute but you have to be a wee bit careful when matching them with your clothes. Use them to accentuate your look. Don’t do overkill, please.