Shopping

My Experience with shopping online from overseas retailers for delivery to Malaysia : A definitive guide

December 21, 2018 Paris B 31 Comments

There is one question I am asked a lot when I talk about products or brands that are not readily available locally here in Malaysia. It is this – “Did you buy it online?” and usually the follow up questions will be “Is it safe? Did you get taxed?”

I have also noticed that many otherwise seasoned shoppers balk at shopping at overseas websites. They’d rather wait for it to be available locally, buy from a local website despite a mark up in price, or use a personal shopper/reseller, to save on the perceived hassle, or perhaps get instant gratification.

Nothing wrong with that, except when I’m told by these same people that they find it hard to shop online from overseas, because they’re afraid! Well, there’s no need to be!

shopping online for delivery to malaysia - a guide

I was a little slow off the starting blocks with online shopping back in the day. Then, many websites did not ship to Malaysia, and it was very frustrating. Today, most do, with the odd exception.

I have become quite an avid online shopper. But I am very careful with what I buy and where I buy it from. And because I get so many questions, I thought it would be helpful to share my experiences and tips for a more painless shopping experience 🙂

I started writing this, thinking it would be quick and easy, only to realize after a spell that it was a lot bigger than it looks LOL! 😀 So, suffice to say, settle right in with a cup of your favourite beverage and maybe some sustenance. Even take a few days if you like 😛

YOUR SAY: Will your beauty shopping habits change now that prices of goods are expected to be lowered?

June 8, 2018 Paris B 37 Comments

In Malaysia, we have just done something that few other countries have done – we will be abolishing GST (Goods and Services Tax). GST was introduced here back in April 2015. In 3 short (but long) years, it had contributed to a rather shocking rate of price increases of goods locally. Granted, not all of it is due to the GST – many other factors were at play. But GST was an easy and visible target.

With the new Government in place, GST has since been rated to 0% and it is expected to be abolished when Parliament sits in July.

Leaving aside my personal views on GST, I noticed quite quickly that for the most part, prices of goods were reduced by a factor of 1.06. In some cases, these reductions were quite significant. I was browsing on Ikea online, and immediately thanked my lucky stars for not dropping by earlier LOL!

I was also at The Body Shop within a few days of the announcement that GST was being removed, and I noticed that prices of products had been adjusted. So yes, they are lower than before. I also spotted similar price adjustments at various stores like Bobbi Brown. In fact, I just received an email from Sephora urging me to take advantage of the lower prices – tempting!

But I was also wondering if the reduction in prices at present might push you into shopping more than you did before? I asked this on Twitter, and the answers surprised me.

Fulfilling Wanderlust : Some practical Japan travel tips for Tokyo and Kyoto

April 16, 2018 Paris B 24 Comments

Ohayo Gozaimasu peeps!

Wow, 2 weeks has just flown by for me, and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time away. It isn’t something I think you want to hear, is it? LOL! But seriously, I have enjoyed my time away from the blog and social media, and it’s been refreshing to mind, body and soul.

I did share and update my going-ons on Instagram, and I thank you for joining me and for telling me you enjoyed the content. I did have some major adventures while on holiday, so it made for interesting stories to tell LOL!

For those of you who’ve preferred to stay off social media and have no idea where I was, I was away in Japan. It was a trip I decided to go on with a friend, rather spontaneously early this year, and one I learned quite a lot from.

While I kept my travel tales to Instagram and shared a lot of them during an Instalive chat on the weekend, I did receive many questions. It turns out that so many of you are planning to visit Japan at some point or another, who had a lot of questions, so, I thought I’d share here some practical tips on travelling in and around Japan – Tokyo and Kyoto – based on my personal experience.

Japan has changed a lot since my first visit, pre-tsunami in 2009. I even had to apply for a tourist visa back then!

If you have more tips to share, please do chip in, and if you have questions, ask. If I can’t help you, someone else will be able to! 🙂 This isn’t a travel diary, so don’t worry. I’m not going to bore you with the details 😛 It’ll just be some basic, practical things you might want to think about before and during your trip.

Give also the gift of play to refugee children this gift-giving season with The Body Shop Play for Peace gift sets

December 18, 2017 Paris B 6 Comments

One of the companies which releases the biggest, most varied selection of Christmas gift sets is The Body Shop. They have quite literally something for every budget, and what’s nice is that they attach a cause to the gifting process. Last year, it was about saving the animals.

This year, in view of what’s been happening around the world, their focus is on our next generation – the children.

This year, with every seasonal gift you buy from The Body Shop, TBS will donate to the International Alert’s Peace Play Project. The Peace Play Project helps Syrian refugee children in Lebanon heal through therapeutic play, and perhaps, just for a few minutes, forget the horrors of war and strife that they’ve lived through, through daily play.

Proceeds from the sale of each gift will go towards funding the Peace Play Project for a year, and you can read more about this initiative here. This is an international initiative, and since you’d be buying a gift anyway, it is a good time to give towards a noble cause as well. The Peace Play Project initiative aside, what I’ve found more interesting about The Body Shop’s gift sets this year, is their packaging.

Shopping

The fun and previews happen on Instagram @parisbmws