I truly didn’t imagine that a random conversation on Twitter with Paris B would become the epic event (in Beetrice’s words) that was My Women Stuff Readers Choice Awards.

There are more pictures of the event, so keep on reading after the jump!

There was coffee and cake to fuel us on caffeine and sugar. (See more pictures on Coffee Chemistry Cafe’s Facebook photo album here.)

(Yummy-licious cupcakes from Just Heavenly.)

(Choc and cheese cake also from Just Heavenly.)

Paris B giving a short speech just before the moment of truth when the results of your votes were unveiled. While some categories had runaway winners, some categories had us all surprised at the outcome. Did your favorite win? For a rundown of the categories and winners, click here.

There was fun, games and laughter. Lots of laughter, especially at one ‘epic’ moment during the lucky draws. I’m sure the gentleman involved would like to keep that moment a secret, yes? Lucky draw prizes were sponsored by Dior, Clinique, Lace Petals, Poise and Apronbay. Games prizes were sponsored by Clinique and Apronbay.

(Best dressed nominees strut their stuff. From left to right : Dom, Erin and Lee.)

There were plenty of memorable photos taken left, right and center (and I’m kicking myself for not taking more shots). When you’re with bloggers, especially beauty bloggers who love to camwhore, how can there not be photos galore?

Yay for these lovely ladies, the committee who contributed time and effort to the awards.

(From left to right : PinkElle, Beetrice, Dom, Paris B, Connie, Rinnah, Xin and Lyn. Missing from the photo are Juan, Yani and our official photographer Chai aka Mr PrettyBeautiful.)

Now, as with every red carpet event (or in our case red lipstick event) there were gift bags filled with goodies galore!

(Goodies sponsored by [in no particular order] Sweet Contemplation Accessories, Himalaya Herbals, Pantene, Ah Yuan Soap, Hada Labo, Kiehl’s, L’Oreal, Esmeria Organics, Revlon, Vichy, Garnier, Olay, Estee Lauder, Maybelline, Poise, Lace Petals, Apronbay)

I can’t wait to try out some of the stuff from the goodie bag and review it here.

We loved our Sweet Contemplation Accessories necklaces so much we put ‘em on right away!

(From left to right : Rinnah, Beetrice and Dom.)

The MWS Awards were so awesome that we’re already asking Paris B when the next awards will be even though this one just ended. Talk about pre-planning, right?

So if you weren’t able to make it this year let’s hope there’ll be another awards event next year (hopefully bigger and better) and we’ll see you there!

Read more about the MWS Awards with these lovely bloggers :
Paris B
Juan
Xin
Lyn
Beetrice
Dom
Connie

Picture credits for this blogpost are either my own or taken by Paris B or Chai.

As the picture says, you can get deals on cosmetics and fragrances from Lancome, Biotherm, Shu Uemura, Ralph Lauren, Giorgio Armani, Cacharel, Guy Laroche and Diesel.

I’ve never missed a sale since I found out about it two years back, and if you shop carefully, there are likely bargains to be found especially if you know the usual recommended retail price. It is interesting to note though that prices at these ‘warehouse/clearance’ sales have been steadily increasing and while still cheaper than the average over-the-counter price, it is no longer a steal by any means. Still, as the savvy shopper who can suss out a good deal from an average deal, you’ll be fine.

Happy shopping!

Description : Does your long, fine hair turn greasy quickly: become dull and flat – losing its shine and energy? To revive your hair’s shine, L’Oréal has created Nutri-Gloss Light shampoo with Pearl Protein+ Citrus. It helps free the hair fibres of deposits and removes impurities. After shampooing, hair feels beautifully cleansed, looks healthy and is light to the touch. Nourished and smoothed, the surface of the hair captures and better reflects the light for a mirror shine, cashmere touch… weightless feel!

Packaging : 200ml or 400ml

Recommended Retail Price : MYR 12.90 or MYR 22.90

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My review :

I seem to have been ‘infected’ by the SoLoverly gals what with my new found interest in shampoos, conditioners and hair masks. It must be the way they keep on talking about ‘happy, bouncy, shiny hair’. Whatever it is they’re using, I want that happy shiny hair too!

Anyways, my previous shampoo of choice (which is still in my growing shampoo arsenal) was Kerastase Dermo-Calm for sensitive scalps as recommended by my former stylist and I liked it well enough to use it on its own (little or no conditioner needed because it leaves my hair reasonably soft and tangle-free). As I’ve also found out by much trial and error, my scalp demands that I alternate my shampoo/conditioner combinations every few days or else it rebels like a teenager – in extremes of either dandruff that’s so bad you’d think it was snowing, or a sudden over-production of oil that leaves me looking like something the cat dragged in.

As luck would have it, I was going through an oily scalp phase where I’d wash my hair daily but still feel rather oily-ish by the end of the day. I was also dropping hair by the hand/strand-ful! Each time I ran my fingers through my hair I’d be sure to come away with a strand or two in between my fingers which is not something that happens often to me. My Kerastase Dermo-Calm held the fort capably when I had dry hair and mild dandruff, but it was no match against the oilies. I needed something stronger and clarifying (a term I learned from reading Kahani’s posts).

Since Kahani touted the clarifying properties of L’Oreal Nutri-Gloss Light Shampoo (hereinafter referred to as NG Light shampoo) as being able to strip away the grease yet gentle enough for everyday use, I grabbed me a bottle when I saw it on offer in Giant Hypermarket – retailing for MYR 9.99 (200ml) on offer. Reading beauty blogs are both good and bad for you, no?

Anyway, the million dollar question here is “Does NG Light shampoo do everything it promises to deliver?”

I’d say “Yes it does!”.

Firstly, they weren’t kidding when they say it really cleans. This is the first shampoo I’ve used that cleans so well, you practically feel as though every strand of your hair is squeaky clean after and I achieved this feel without having to go a second round as I would normally do with any other shampoo to cleanse. It also adds a little bit of noticeable volume to my hair even though I don’t blow dry my hair because my roots are no longer weighed down and greasy. Nice!

I’m not sure how the matching conditioner works with this shampoo, but when paired up with my new favorite Clairol Herbal Essences Hello Hydration conditioner, this combination leaves me with clean yet soft and tangle-free hair. And there’s one more thing that I haven’t mentioned yet. Shine! Yes, this shampoo gives me shiny hair and brings out the color of my previously done highlights in a way that even my L’Oreal Elseve Color shampoo didn’t. But that’s not the end of my raves yet. When I matched using NG Light shampoo with the hair mask from the same Nutri-Gloss range (again, thanks to the persuasive powers of Kahani’s reviews), I achieved close to 90% salon-like hair WITHOUT blow-drying! Just wash, mask, comb and air dry, which is my normal haircare routine anyway.

Yep, I am so converted to using the L’Oreal Nutri-Gloss range now. That’s the good stuff. Now, on to some not so good stuff.

I’m not one of those females who’s into scented stuff so the smell of this shampoo took some getting used to. This shampoo has a light and citrusy scent that should please citrus lovers well enough but got me wondering what it reminded me of until one day while rinsing off my hair in the shower I realized it smells like Sugus or Fruitella (a chewy, sticky sweet). That made me have second thoughts about the smell but for the sake of gorgeous locks, I shall persevere and er, try not to think about it too much. Heh. Do take a moment to check out the smell of the shampoo if scents bug you.

I also found that my hair did not take kindly to me using this shampoo everyday as I noticed my hair heading towards dry territory until I started using it exclusively with the Nutri-Gloss hair mask, which balances the shampoo to perfection. Double shampooing is a no-no for me too. So, I prefer not to use this daily despite the “light” claims and need to alternate it with my Kerastase DermoCalm every 2 – 3 days or so.

Since I’ve found the perfect balance of products to use to keep my hair happy and gorgeous, you can bet I won’t be straying from this for a long, long time. (Or at least until my scalp/hair rebels again.)

Yes factors : Cleans the oilies really well, shine intensifying properties
No factors : Can be a tad drying for daily use (depends on individual user), smell takes some getting used to

Read other blogger reviews here :
Kahani & Syen
Kahani (hair mask from the same range)
Paris B

Tagline / Description : I’m deliciously hydrating. Give your dry hair a drink with my moisturizing conditioner. I say you can never get too much of a good thing. So say “hello” to a deep dousing of lush hydration with my rich formula fused with moisturizers, orchids & coconut milk. Drink up and replenish your hair’s much needed moisture. It’s time to be reunited with manageable, silky, smooth hair.

Packaging : 160ml or 300ml

Recommended Retail Price : MYR 9.90 (160ml) or MYR 16.90 (300ml)

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My review :

Hello Hydration indeed! This Clairol conditioner has got to be my new Holy Grail (HG) conditioner for hair and it was a rather surprising find at that.

I’d finished up my trusty L’Oreal Elseve Smooth-Intense conditioner last week and was in the market for a replacement conditioner. Not that L’Oreal didn’t work well for my hair. It was doing fine, but it tended to make my hair feel just a bit limp and heavy around the 3rd wash. So I made myself what I like to call a Real Deal. I’d pick up a new conditioner but if it didn’t work out I’d go back to my L’Oreal and promise not to stray. Well, at least not until that bottle ran out! Heh.

Now the problem with reading many beauty blogs is that I end up with a very long list of “maybe” products. As in, ‘Maybe I should try this since it worked so well for so-and-so’. So off I went to the nearest pharmacy on a mission. How then did I end up with this conditioner? I blame it on reading way too many of the SoLoverly gals’ posts on shampoos and conditioners and hair masks. Did you know that I’ve never used a hair mask before? Shock, gasp, horror. Such ill-treatment I’ve given my locks but yet they don’t give me much problems. Fingers crossed that is.

So there I was in my local Guardian, walking up and down the haircare aisle, trying to figure out which brand of conditioner I’d eventually settle on. The array of choices was slightly overwhelming, not to mention that I kept on remembering various different blogposts about different brands and treatments. I was actually holding on to another brand of conditioner when I saw Clairol Herbal Essences and my mind went, ‘Oh, Kahani raved about Long Term Relationship!’ Interest piqued, it wasn’t too long before I was sniffing away between Break’s Over (anti-breakage formula) and Hello Hydration (hydration/moisturizing formula). To tell the truth, I preferred the lavender smell of Break’s Over, but the knowledge that my poor hair needed hydration won out. (I also caved and got myself a tub of hair mask from Sunsilk but that’s another story for another day.) It was the pretty light blue color and the bottle shape that won me over. Honest!

After all that yarn-spinning above, how does Clairol Herbal Essences Hello Hydration conditioner (hereafter referred to as HH conditioner) fare in my opinion? Excellently well.

Firstly, the texture of HH conditioner is creamier and thicker than what I’m used to and you can really feel the difference when applying it. You only need to use a minimal amount of conditioner (unlike a previous experience I had with Pantene anti-hairfall conditioner where I had to use up to a tablespoonful of product before my hair felt sufficiently conditioned). The moment I started to rinse my hair, I had the thought that it felt exactly as if I’d just done a salon treatment from the way that my hair slipped through my fingers. As Kahani so eloquently puts it – ‘It feels like watered silk’. I even think that the HH conditioner could be used like a hair mask because of its slightly thicker texture.

Even though my hair isn’t all that long (currently it ends just slightly below my shoulder and it takes an awfully long time to grow out) already the ends are drying up and starting to misbehave when I let them be. So it was such a glorious feel to run my fingers through my hair and think, ‘Whee! So smooth!’ And now I have perfect tangle-free hair that is so soft to touch. Yes, I am definitely sold on this product and would repurchase in a heartbeat.

The only minor flaw in my happiness is that I’m not really a big fan of the scent. It’s supposed to be a combination of orchid and coconut milk and while it’s not exactly overpowering or anything, it’s just not me! Now if only they would tone down the scent just a little bit I’ll be a happy kitty. But I’m sure it’ll grow on me in time. I hope. Would it also be too much to ask for if I wanted it to make my hair super shiny as well?

Yes factors : Leaves hair soft, smooth and tangle-free, minimal amount of product needed each time, reasonably economical drugstore product
No factors : Scent may not be pleasing to all

Read other blogger reviews here :
Beetrice (Break’s Over – same brand, different range)
Eisse J (Color Me Shiny – same brand, different range)
Kahani (Long Term Relationship – same brand, different range)
Pretty Beautiful (Long Term Relationship hair mask – same brand, different range)

When I’d first heard of this warehouse sales, my first thought was that of dismay as it was a 1 day only sale. I had a scheduling conflict in terms of an exam scheduled for that very day at 10:00am, which happened to be the time that the warehouse sales began. I figured that all the good stuff would be snapped up before I could even possibly hope to get there. Luckily, I was proven wrong.

After insanely rushing through my exam in record time (I wonder what the results will be like?) I drove over to the Parkroyal Hotel, which was where the warehouse sales was being held. Saw a number of people evidently leaving the sales with plastic bags of stuff, and my heart sank. The lack of any queue as I headed up to the first floor was even more discouraging! Apparently the organizers only opened the doors every 20 – 30 minutes or so, and I arrived with perfect timing to get in without even having to wait. Yay!

My colleague was a bit disappointed because she’d asked me to get her Ralph Lauren Romance perfume, but there was only Ralph Lauren Rocks available then. The Biotherm stocks rapidly dwindled too, but there was plenty of Lancome skincare around. Pity that my favorite Lancome mascara was not available in black, but only in odd party/funky colors. Still, I got my hands on some Lancome lipsticks and grabbed a couple of Lancome skincare items for mom and myself, plus a Biotherm moisturiser.

It was a far better set-up than the previous warehouse sale I’d attended just a week earlier and I was pretty happy with what I got. Definitely one of the warehouse sales to put on my list for next time!