Lifestyle Archives - Page 24 of 27

KENS Apothecary re-opens in Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur – Where it all began!

April 21, 2013 Paris B 22 Comments

I rarely talk about shops opening here and there but I wanted to share this one, because I’d been waiting for this store to re-open in the city for so long.

Ken’s Apothecary opened in Bangsar, KL sometime back in 2000. Their store used to be along the row of shops facing where Bangsar Village 2 now stands and I remember then, reading about it in the newspaper.

Anyway, I was young and impressionable and for some reason, I was drawn to the article. It might have been the name – Ken’s Apothecary – because really, how many of us actually hear the word “apothecary” bandied about these days? It was old world and I liked that. Unlike apothecaries, which are essentially pharmacies, this one had a very narrow niche with a focus on niche and luxury fragrances and brands. I was introduced in the newspaper article to the likes of Annick Goutal, T. LeClerc and Laura Mercier, to name just a few brands that was carried in store. Brands whose names were alien to me at that point.

Someday, I told myself, I’d visit this store which I had built up in my head to be an Aladdin’s cave of wonders. I did, a couple of years later.

Your Say: Do you have a hairy problem or is it just in your head? Do you use hair removal products?

April 12, 2013 Paris B 61 Comments

I came across an interesting article on BritishBeautyBlogger this week. Essentially, it was a lot to do with the power of marketing, sales strategy and how suggestible women can be when it comes to personal beauty and the idea of beauty.

In a nutshell, in order to sell hair removal products to women in China, Veet’s campaign was to plant the seed of doubt in the minds of Chinese women that body hair made them somehow less attractive than someone with smooth hairless skin. I’m no marketeer but I could see the point in it.

If no one was going to buy a product, create a demand for it. Isn’t that what successful marketing is about? Granted, a lot of this was aimed at a person’s self-esteem and you know how it is when you have to sell something to women. Tell them what will make them look better/thinner/more attractive and you pretty much have their attention. The China market is huge, I’m not surprised why Veet did what they did.

Yet, I’m not here about Veet. I actually am a little more curious about hair removal products and whether you use them. You can probably tell by the dearth of mentions of hair removal products, epilators and the like, that its not a subject matter close to my heart 🙂

Tip: Know when you need a break and 3 more tips for dealing with stress

April 2, 2013 Paris B 63 Comments

I don’t like whinging and whining (Ok, I do it a lot but I’m trying to curb the habit) but sometimes in life, we get stressed up to our eyeballs and we feel like our heads are about to explode. You don’t get that? Ah just me then 😛 Please tell me I’m not alone.

It could be a combination of various factors – work, life, relationships, family etc. I was experiencing a combination of factors and it had gotten so bad I was having trouble sleeping. When I did sleep, it wasn’t a restful sleep and I’d wake up feeling more tired than when I went to bed. I knew then that I had reached my breaking point. I wasn’t being productive in anything I did and it felt like everything was spiralling out of control. I could throw my hands up and crawl into a hole and never come out again, or I could take a break.

The thing about taking a break is this. It doesn’t have to be a holiday. All you need, is a break from your routine to remind yourself that YOU and your wellbeing are just as important as everything else. In fact, I’d highly recommend taking a work day off. Knowing you do not have to go to work when everyone else does lifts your spirits already 😀

I’d like to just share some tips I have because I just recovered from a very highly stressed period when I just felt highly strung all the time, and when nothing I did seemed to be productive at all. If you have your tips to share, please do. We can all benefit from learning from each other 🙂

Your Say: Will you shop for luxury or designer goods from parallel importers? Or do you prefer to buy from official sources?

March 31, 2013 Paris B 45 Comments

parallel imports designer goods

If there is one thing I’ve noticed in recent times is a proliferation of designer or luxury goods on the streets of KL. It has only really taken off in the past 3 years or so and it is quite gratifying because this means, we are now on the map for most designers to enter the market and that’s excellent for us.

Yet, I personally don’t attribute this sudden fashion consciousness (or wealth, if you look at it that way) to a sudden awakening of fashion (and wealth) in Malaysians. I attribute it primarily to the options now available to most to source their luxury or designer goods, for a smaller pricetag than what is sold in store locally. Yes, I say the increase in the number of women toting Longchamp le Pliages, Monogram LVs and Coach is due to the parallel importers, blogshops, and online stores that have made it more affordable to own something designer. It isn’t a bad thing, necessarily. I think its a great feeling to pick up that first luxury or designer item but does it matter to you where that item comes from?

I have seen a number of shops proclaiming themselves to be specialist luxury bag stores, or stores that carry a small selection of brands as parallel importers, or even online stores that sell designer goods at a hefty discount off the retail price. I’m curious if anyone has bought anything from these stores, parallel importers or online stores; or if you have ever entertained the thought? “Parallel Importers” are supposed to be stores that bring in authentic goods without going through the local distributor or the owner.

I tell stories on Instagram @parisbmws