rinnah's consumer views|a straight talking, tell-it-as-it-is consumer lifestyle blog

Take. It. All. Off. Down. There.

That can only mean one thing. A Brazilian wax.

Getting yourself waxed has always been a ‘you gotta try it at least once in your lifetime’ kinda thing to me. But yet, I had no gumption to do it until recently. Never let it be said to my future grandchildren that grandma was too scared to try a Brazilian wax! Also, if those Victoria’s Secret Angels can do it, so can I. Heh.

So one fine day in November, I took myself to WAXXX, a new-ish waxing salon located in Aman Suria. Two things I like about WAXXX’s location : 1) they are relatively near to where I stay and 2) it’s easy to find parking on a weekend.

Stepping into WAXXX is like stepping into a different world. They certainly are different from your normal waxing salon as they have a trendy and stylish designer vibe going on.

After registering, I put myself into the very capable hands of Kelly, co-owner of WAXXX, for my Hollywood (all off) experience (MYR 116.00).

The Hollywood at WAXXX is done using full premium hard wax and they are very professional about it. Instead of scissors (dangerous! could poke your eye out. Haha), WAXXX uses clippers to trim down hair and you get to take home the attachment comb used on you. It’s a nice personalized touch, in my opinion. Also, your therapist will be masked and gloved at all times and there is a strict No Double Dipping policy in place.

Together with my waxing, I also tried out the Depilar treatment (MYR 44.50 per treatment) which is said to inhibit hair growth. WAXXX is the first and only salon in Malaysia currently offering this. The two step treatment is applied to your skin immediately after the waxing is done and it felt very cooling and comfortable.

The whole process was certainly quicker and more painless than I thought it would be. Kelly was very thorough and professional about it, so much so that I didn’t feel inhibited about the experience (except that now come to think of it, it’s a bit funny to be chatting about all sorts of things while someone looks at your privates. LOL).

I was prepared for it but didn’t experience any itching or ingrown hairs a few days after my waxing so that was awesome as well. (I’m not sure if that was due to the Depilar treatment?) In fact, I don’t know why I made such a big deal out of it before!

I plan to go back to WAXXX and get my armpits done when I’m next back in Malaysia. I should think with a full round of Depilar treatment (around 12 – 24 treatments) I can dispense with shaving or waxing for the rest of my life. Imagine the freedom to raise your arms!

If you’d like to experience WAXXX’s excellent services for yourself, first time customers can quote this code “RINNAH50” while making your appointment and get a 50% discount on one body part valued above MYR30.00. This promo code is valid until end February 2012.

Do check out WAXXX’s Facebook page here as well.

WAXXX
J-G-17, Jalan PJU1/43
Aman Suria, Petaling Jaya
47301 Selangor, Malaysia

Tel : +60 3-7880 5588
Website : http://www.waxxx.me

Read other blogger reviews here :
Connie
Sam (a guy’s take on the Manzilian)

Note : I received this service compliments of the salon for review purposes. This does not affect my review in any way and do refer to my disclosure policy for further details.

I’ve previously written about my good experiences with Shu Uemura’s Brow Atelier here. I whole-heartedly endorse them as the saviours of my uneven brows since 2009 and still do, but a recent experience at the Mid Valley Megamall standalone outlet means that I won’t be going back there (adding on to my blacklist together with the Pavilion standalone outlet).

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As far as I’ve been patronizing Shu Uemura, I’ve always had my brows done as a walk-in customer. However, when I dropped by the Mid Valley Megamall outlet last month, I was curtly told by one of the consultants there (don’t know if she was the store supervisor or not, but she was behind the cashier counter) that if I wanted to get my brows done, I should make an appointment in advance and they were not entertaining walk-ins. And this was even though there was only one other customer undergoing the very same service at the time.

Naturally when faced with unhelpful customer service, I always walk away.

It was a different story at my regular Shu Uemura outlet at 1Utama just one week later. I was warmly greeted by the consultant who attended to me very nicely and made me happy by giving me perfect brows. Not one mention was made about the need for an ‘appointment’ first before she would attend to me.

So ladies wanting to try out Shu Uemura’s Brow Atelier services, I will only recommend the standalone outlets at 1Utama and Empire Shopping Gallery for their good customer service.

Recently, I was feeling sorely in need of a massage session. I had aches and kinks in my head, neck and back that insisted on making itself known to me in various stages of ache-y discomfort. Not being on home turf, I looked around for a decent spa in Singapore that wouldn’t cost me a bomb. Enter Lark : The Spa Atelier.

Image credit to Lark : The Spa Atelier

What really sold me on choosing Lark Spa was their cutesy website, with all their literary references. There’s even a monthly literary inspired beauty treat – how cute is that? So I booked my appointment for the weekend and off I went.

It’s actually quite easy to get to Lark Spa (another reason why I chose it) from the Novena MRT. Just take Exit B which will take you to the underpass and get you on the right side of the road. From there, it’s just a short 10 minute walk to Hotel Royal, which is where Lark Spa is located.

I have to note that Hotel Royal is not exactly the poshest hotel ever. At the most I would give it a three star rating and even that is really pushing it, based on the ‘old’ feel of the hotel and the lobby/reception area. It reminds me a bit of the Federal Hotel back home in Kuala Lumpur. Also, in the short time I was there, I only saw Chinese nationals staying there, so I would reckon the mainstay of the hotel’s business depends on group tour package bookings.

Hotel atmosphere aside, Lark Spa is located in a teeny nook just off the lobby. Look for the stairs that leads up to the first floor and you’ll find Lark Spa next to it. Lark Spa is essentially a one-therapist operation as they only have one treatment room and a shower room for the hydrotherapy treatment (no toilet though – you’ll have to go outside if you need to use the facilities). So, in other words, it’s tiny and just a little bit cramped for my liking.

Check-in is quick and there’s a simple questionnaire to fill up on the usual – your skin condition and any current products you’re using. If you’re opting for the hydrotherapy treatment, the therapist will discuss with you which types of essential oils will be added to the bath for you. In my case, I was looking for relaxation so I had a blend of lavender, juniper and camomile.

You’re then taken to the treatment room so you can shed your clothes and don a bathrobe before shuffling across the narrow corridor to the shower room. I spent some of my hydrotherapy time wondering how on earth did they manage to get the bathtub in there – it’s that tiny and cramped.

The hydrotherapy basically consists of a shower heater contraption looking thingy that pumps air into the bathtub, forming bubbles that ‘massage’ your body as you sit/lie in the bathtub. There’s a chart hanging on the wall too that shows you the six optimum positions you might want to attempt in order to get the best returns from your hydrotherapy treatment. I personally found that lying on my side and alternating sides seemed to provide the best overall ‘reach’ to allow the bubbles to do its work. The closest description I can think of to describe how this hydrotherapy feels is to imagine yourself in a river with a fairly strong current flowing all around, buffeting your body. Or imagine having a dozen kids surround you and punching you with their tiny fists – you can feel the punch, but it won’t leave a mark.

After 25 minutes of hydrotherapy, I was ready for my full body massage. The therapist used lavender oil for me again, and I pretty much liked her touch. It was firm without being painful and I thoroughly enjoyed my 90 minutes of bliss. The treatment bed is heated for your comfort and I would have fallen asleep if not to the ambient noise – I could hear traffic passing by from the road outside and also whenever my therapist moved around (although bless her, she did try her very best to minimise the disturbances). I also like that the therapist will use hot towels to rub you down each time she finishes off a particular body part or area – I then have less of that oily feeling to deal with later.

Finally, I had a nice cup of tea to finish off my Lark Spa experience, which is apparently part of their Tea Atelier experience. Like the monthly beauty treats, they have limited edition teas to promote each month.

So, the big money question is, will I return to Lark Spa? I might return for the hydrotherapy and have definitely earmarked the massage as a favorite. I may not make it my regular place though and if you’re not comfortable with the ambience/surroundings you might want to give it a pass. A final thing to note – if you don’t speak Mandarin or are not fluent in it like I am, you may encounter some difficulty in communicating with the therapist.

Lark : The Spa Atelier
36 Newton Road
#01-03 Hotel Royal
Singapore 307964

Website : http://lark-spa.com/

Note : My visit to Lark Spa was using a Groupon deal for 25 minutes of Hydrotherapy and 90 minutes of full body massage.

I’m not really a spa junkie – in fact, I seldom visit spas for facials and such except for massages occasionally. However, I was pretty impressed by the reviews of my fellow bloggers Paris B and Connie that I decided to try out Energy Day Spa.

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I chose to go to the branch at Great Eastern Mall on Jalan Ampang, even though the branch at Mont Kiara is nearer my home. Parking is easy to find and cheap too as it only costs MYR 1 per entry on weekends.

Energy Day Spa is located on the top floor of the mall, at a quiet corner but it’s easy to find. Because I had asked for the first appointment of the day, there were no other customers around when I arrived.

I was asked to fill up a simple registration form that just asked some basic questions about my skin (nothing about my current skincare regime) and there was no analysis done by the reception or facialist. Hmm. Whether this is good or bad, I can’t really say. On the one hand, it’s very relaxed, almost laissez faire but on the other hand, as I have uber sensitive skin, it did concern me quite a bit that no analysis or investigation was done before the facial.

I was then taken to the ladies changing room to put on disposable underwear and a huge unisex robe before being sent to ‘cook’ yourself in the steam room for 10 minutes. I did feel that the steam room was rather hot and decided to opt out after a few minutes before I got uncomfortable. So back to the changing room it was again to take a quick reviving shower before lounging about for a bit at their ladies only lounge area.

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Now, somehow I was expecting my facial session to be a great deal more relaxing – most times I usually doze off for a minute or two (or more) during my facials and massages. That didn’t happen this time around.

It wasn’t the ambience of the room, because it was nice and dark and quiet. The bed was comfortable too. But I just didn’t fall asleep. Maybe it was too early in the morning for me to doze. Haha.

But I think, most of it had to do with the awfully painful extraction of blackheads/whiteheads done on my nose. When I protested that it hurt, the facialist just dismissed it with a casual, “Your nose is too congested” and carried on like there was no tomorrow. You can bet it hurt because the extraction was so ‘vigorous’ that it left red marks – specific indentations, to be exact – which lasted for the whole day and well into the night (almost 12 hours!), which just goes to show the amount of pressure and force the facialist used. So that was a very big no factor in my opinion.

Leaving that aside, I do like that they are not pushy at Energy. They are so laid back about their sales that I had to go back out to the reception counter and ask for a list of what other treatments and massages they offered. It was almost as if they didn’t care for repeat sales from first-time visitors. If you would like to know more about their services before you go, you can find it at their website here.

What I really liked about this facial was that I walked out with wonderfully glowy skin. It was such a difference from the me that walked in that my mother actually commented on it (red nose aside) and recommended that I should keep on going back to Energy Day Spa.

Would I go back? As long as they keep the extraction bit to the bare minimum, I would definitely go back.

Yes factors : City central location, nice ambience, not pushy with sales, facial shows immediate effect
No factors : No consultation/analysis done for first-time customers prior to facial, painful extraction

Read other blogger reviews here :
Connie
Paris B

Note : I used a Dealmates group deal for a customized facial, neck & shoulder massage and steam bath. The Refreshing Facial – Hydrating that they performed for me normally costs MYR 150.00 alone.

I’m not sure how different the service is for those using a group deal compared to the full fledged service, but here is the only difference I noticed – you are only served with the red date tea after your facial. Blog reviews I read mentioned the tea before and after facials/massages.

I am never banking with Citibank Malaysia ever again. EVER.

I have always had the opinion and expectation that the services of the financial industry are in a way lesser than their counterparts in say, the hotel and tourism industry or the food & beverage industry. I try to be a good customer and stay within the guidelines set out by the banks. However, this recent incident with Citibank Malaysia shows that they consider themselves to be almighty and that their customers are worth nothing to them.

I have been banking with Citibank Malaysia since 2007. First with a savings account and then in 2009, a credit card.

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For reasons only known to themselves, Citibank decides to terminate their existing Citibank Shell Silver Visa (the one above which I have) and forcibly upgrade all of their customers to a Citibank Shell Gold Visa.

I did not request for this upgrade. I was perfectly happy using my existing credit card.

The first inkling I had about this was when a customer service personnel called to ask if I had received my new upgraded credit card. I told her that I had not requested for any upgrade nor had I received any card (I assumed this was one of those things where the bank increases your credit limit and upgrades your card at the same time). She explained about the forced upgrade due to the termination of the Silver card program and the changeover to the Gold card program. I was not keen on this but she assured me that all of my auto-payments would be seamlessly transferred over to the new card. The termination of the Silver card program would take place beginning 30 June 2011.

Doesn’t seem like much problems, right? Here’s where the fun begins.

I repeated again during that same call that I had not received any new credit card. The customer service personnel did some checking and told me that the card had been sent to my address in Cheras. Immediately, I told her that that was not the correct address as I had moved to Kota Damansara in June 2010 and I had also informed Citibank of my change in address back then. Being concerned that the new credit card had been sent to the wrong address where it could be used for fraud, I told the customer service personnel to cancel that card and re-issue a new one using my Kota Damansara address.

Two weeks passed and still no new card was sent to me in Kota Damansara.

I received another call from a different customer service personnel, a guy this time, asking me why I had not yet activated my new credit card. I repeated the story of what had happened previously and he said he would look into the matter.

Fast forward another two weeks. Having received my existing credit card statement, I went to Citibank over the weekend to make my usual payment via my savings account. The existing credit card had been delinked from the savings account, thus I could not make any payment transfer.

So, today I made a call to Citibank’s customer hotline.

I explained the situation to the customer service representative in detail again, stressing that I had not received the new upgraded credit card and that I had asked for it to be re-issued to me at my existing address in Kota Damansara. I was informed that the old/existing credit card had been routinely terminated on 30 June 2011 and there was nothing shown in their system about any new credit card being issued. Apparently my earlier conversation with the first customer service personnel was recorded as ‘customer does not believe the call is genuinely from Citibank’ and the conversation with the second customer service personnel was not recorded at all. There was nothing recorded about the fact that I repeatedly stressed to the personnel who had called earlier on the wrong address and my request for the card to be reissued to my new address. And since the deadline for the termination and upgrade was on 30 June 2011, there was nothing else Citibank would do about this matter. Apparently, if I want to continue to be a Citibank customer, I need to reapply all over again for the credit card as a new customer. So, all the previous years with Citibank are not regarded as customer loyalty?

From my customer’s point of view :
1. I did not ask for this upgraded credit card.
2. I agreed to the upgraded credit card since I have auto-payments billed to the card and I do not want any disruptions to occur.
3. I informed the bank on my change in address way back in June/July 2010. It is not my problem that your system data is not updated and that you have sent the new credit card to the old address.
4. When I was told that the card was sent to the old address, I informed not one, but two different personnel that the address is wrong and for the card to be reissued to the new address.
5. Since I have already informed the bank of the mistake that has happened, I expect the bank to rectify this without further inconveniencing their customer.

Citibank, your customer service personnel (I will not name names since all of your staff seem to be trained along the same lines) are the most self-righteous I have ever met. Every single one of them insincerely parroted the line, “Miss, I am so sorry for your experience, BUT (insert reason why it is not Citibank’s fault this incident has occurred)…” They did not even listen to what I was trying to tell them about the chronology of events above. Instead, they kept on interrupting me with the same parroted line above.

Frustrated, I asked each one of them what they are going to do to rectify this matter. All gave the same canned response that nothing can be done already since the deadline for the forced upgrade has passed. None of them were interested in helping me solve this matter. They only wanted to make sure that they recorded this incident as ‘not my (Citibank’s) fault’.

The end result of 6 different phone calls with 4 different staff are :
1. Citibank did not update their system data when I changed my address in June/July 2010 as my primary address is still shown to be the Cheras address.
2. Citibank already issued the notification on the Silver card termination on multiple occasions (in February 2011, May 2011 and the new credit card in June 2011) to the wrong address.
3. Since the termination deadline expired on 30 June 2011, there is nothing else they can do in the system to reissue the credit card.
4. If I want to continue using Citibank, I will need to reapply all over again for a new credit card and undergo the normal waiting and approval process.

Note that nowhere during all the multiple calls with Citibank’s staff did they offer to update my address even after I told them repeatedly it is the wrong address as I no longer live in Cheras.

How’s that for customer service?

Needless to say, I will be closing my accounts with Citibank Malaysia at the earliest possible date I can return to Malaysia and do so. I’d rather have the inconvenience of switching around all my auto-billing than to continue with this bank that does not do anything for me.

I’ll take my business elsewhere – where hopefully it will be appreciated better and with less hassle.

Earlier this month I was invited to check out Apronbay, which touts itself as the first beauty boutique with an air travel concept in Malaysia. Intriguing, yes? I thought so too.

The whole idea behind Apronbay was dreamed up by Ashley Loong and her friend – a beauty salon with an exciting, fresh concept and superior customer service. I particularly like their travel themed concept with different destinations. It’s kinda like ‘Now everyone can go places even while you’re getting your brows or other parts done’. Teehee.

This is a super heavy picture intensive post, so if you want to know more, keep on reading after the jump! Read the rest of this entry »

I was browsing around the Web with nothing much in mind when I stumbled upon a blog post from All Lacquered Up about a revolutionary new manicure product that promises 14 days of flawlessness and high gloss shine.

I don’t know about you, but I do love my manicures when I get them done for special occasions. The only thing that bugs me is that they only look good for say, the first 3 – 4 days. After that, hatch marks and wear start showing and eventually after a week the gloss and shine fades to a dull matte color. All that money for nothing!

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So naturally, my interest was really pricked when I read about the new CND Shellac Hybrid Nail Color that promises to look just as salon perfect after 14 days. Are they sure or not? Can the product live up to their claims? If the real thing is anything like the photos on All Lacquered Up, I’m definitely sold on this product!

The only thing is, I don’t know of any nail salon in Malaysia that carries CND products. Do you? Do share if you know cos I really want to try this out!

I’ll have to admit that I was late to cotton on to the magic of transformation that a simple brow shaping can give your face. In fact, I think I only started taking my brow shape seriously after twenty-something. Heh. Mainly, my disregard to this area of my face was due to the fact that I simply didn’t know how to shape my brows well and partly because my mother was always reminding (nagging!) me not to over-tweeze my brows. So why bother, I used to think.

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However, ever since I’ve discovered Shu Uemura’s Brow Atelier (a fancy name for their brow shaping services) I’ve never looked back. In about 10 – 15 minutes, any consultant at Shu Uemura’s counter can transform your shaggy, unkempt, overgrown brows into beautifully shaped and trimmed brows that frame your eyes and enhance your facial outlook. And you do know that the saying goes that “Eyes are the windows to the soul”, right?

Here’s a quick rundown on what happens when you get your brows done at Shu Uemura. (Note : There is no standard shaping technique overall as I’ve noticed that the items and technique used vary from consultant to consultant.) Usually, the consultant attending to you will :

~ Clean the equipment (blade, scissors, tweezer) using a cotton pad and make-up remover and wipe dry with tissue.
~ Assist you to remove any makeup residue if you have drawn or shaded in your brows.
~ Clip up your fringe (depending on your hairstyle).
~ Tweeze off most of the visible brow hairs that are growing out of the brow area.
~ Use a blade to shave off brow hairs into the desired brow shape.
~ Use a spoolie and scissors to trim longer brow hairs to achieve a neat look.
~ Repeat as necessary until you get perfect brows.

I’m not sure since I only get my brows done at the standalone outlets at either 1Utama or MidValley Megamall, but I would presume that the regular Shu counters at major department stores would also provide the same service.

Shu Uemura Brow Atelier
Available at all Shu Uemura outlets.
Cost : MYR30 for a total reshape or MYR20 for maintenance.

However, if you feel brave enough to go it alone and shape your brows yourself, Connie of Skindeco has a really good step-by-step guide here. Syen of So Loverly also has a mini discussion on whether to pluck, shave, thread or wax your brows into shape here.

Read other blogger reviews here :
Connie
Paris B

Note : As a consumer, my goal (and I think everyone else’s goal is too!) is to get the best value out of my hard-earned money. So occasionally I will blog about tips and tricks about being a smart consumer that I myself have personally used. This is one of them.

In this day and age of technology, it seems that almost everyone has a mobile phone. Even school going kids have mobile phones – my 9 year old nephew has one too! Besides the convenience of being able to be in touch with others all the time, there is also the cost involved in owning a mobile phone. However, this money saving tip will only work if you have a postpaid plan like I do.

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My family has been using Maxis as our line provider for as long as we have been using mobile phones, and that’s a pretty long time. We used to have different plans under different providers, both postpaid and prepaid, but it made so much more sense to group the family lines under one service provider for convenience and cost-saving.

Recently, I made a discovery that not many people might take the time and trouble to do so. I had been checking out the data rates and plans available through Maxis as I had upgraded my mobile phone to one that had 3G capabilities. Halfway through my surfing though, I noticed that Maxis had recently rolled out a new family line package which was significantly cheaper than the current plan we were on. Now, as existing customers, we hadn’t received any notice that this new rates were available and thus were continuing to pay the older, higher rates. Being the thrifty Chinese that I am, of course I wanted the better rates! =)

So, I made a quick phone call to Maxis to see if there was any way that I could switch my family plan from the old one to the new one. As it turns out, I could do so, and it only took that phone call and 3 working days for the change to be effected. When I next checked the phone bill, there was a savings of MYR40.00 overall (not full savings, considering that the rate change happened in mid-billing cycle). I don’t know about you, but that bit of money adds up to quite a bit over say, 1 year = MYR480.00.

So, it pays off to keep in touch with your mobile provider’s latest rate plans. Have you checked your mobile rate plan lately?