Beauty Review | FIRMA MediSpa

Tucked away in the inconspicuous buildings of Duddell Street, Central is FIRMA, a new facility that follows the trend of medispas emerging around the Asia Pacific.

Medi Spa (n.) - combining advanced and sophisticated medical research based beauty procedures with the appeal of a luxury spa environment. 

Dry skin is the number one skin complaint in these pesky winter months, and there's nothing quite like a facial to inject some moisture back into your skin. Speaking of cold weather pet peeves, any motivation that you've mustered up over the summer to hit the gym whittles back down to zero. Good new is, we can still cheat your way to slip into that unforgiving party dress with a little 'body contouring'. So on my first visit to FIRMA, I went with a double-threat pamper package:

• For the face: HydraFacial a refreshing and effective hydrating facial treatment
• For the body: Vasershape (a UV ray induced slimming treatment) and the LPG Lipomassage (a 100% natural treatment that uses motorised rollers to eliminate stubborn fat deposits).

(Originally I had only planned to try the Hydrafacial and Lipomassage treatments, but based on the rave reviews of the receptionists regarding their experiences with Vasershape and a sneaky special price offer, there was no harm in adding it to the roster. Perfect for some pre-New Years indulgence)

PR and Marketing | My pick for best advertising idea in 2012

In review of this past year, one of the best marketing ideas that I have come across has to be TNT's unconventional advertising campaign to launch it's high-definition television channel in Belgium. It involved a two-fold strategy that took place in real time as well as via an online video that generated over 30 million hits. The performance took place on a 'quiet square' in Flemish town where a large button was inconspicuously placed waiting for an unsuspecting passerby to exercise their curiosity. When pressed, an entire procession of dramatic events unfolded in rapid fire speed, which covering all the major television genres. The beauty of this promotional tactic was that it was an out-of-the-ordinary experience that where people couldn't help but literally stop in their tracks and take notice. Additionally, it successfully retained this attention through it's ambiguity. It left the spectators both offline and online guessing on the intent the commotion till the very end where a giant rolled out banner revealed its true purpose. This was a marketing stunt that required an extensive amount of choreography and actors but the result is a creative celebratory reminder of the value of television in adding color to our lives through dramatic moments that we are rarely exposed to in our daily lives.

The FaceFacts Intern Chronicles | Dogs doing market research?

10:00am After brewing the day's first, and by no means the last, cup of coffee, I was assigned my first capsule project: researching opportunities to promote the Face Facts Grad School.

The Grad School was set up to address the needs of various groups:

• graduates struggling to find jobs due to lack of work experience
• undergraduates looking for on-the-side learning within the real working world
• anyone curious about working in market research

After talking to my fellow interns at the FF HQ, along with other recent grads during my time in University, it would seem that many students often don't realise the importance of work experience until they've graduated. While we can debate over whether a Masters degree gives students 'an edge' to secure a guaranteed high-ranking job straight out the bat (and I am not suggesting this will always be a bum deal for all graduates) many employer testimonials would contest that, at the end of the day, work experience is the name of the game. And to add further fodder to the fire, a recent careers talk I attended presented a series of scary statistics indicating how a staggering 2/3rds of employers wouldn't even consider hiring someone without any prior work experience.

The FaceFacts Intern Chronicles | Welcome to the Party

9:00am Arrived coffee in hand ready to kick off my 9 to 5 working day with a buzz. I was allocated a desk and laptop at the spacious and well decorated Marketing office and promptly introduced to my colleagues, two Yorkshire born and bred interns. We bonded rather quickly over a hilarious tale of the would-be intern who vanished on her first day of work using some sorry excuse for 'getting her lunch' and just never coming back. Guess some people just can't handle the pressure of a part-time internship.. sarcasm very much implied.

Set up my 'professional' social media accounts, then commenced work on the first item on the day's agenda - cold calling professionals to clarify address details for posting FF business info. As graduates with virtually no telesales experience, this was a daunting task. Some of the listed contacts were managers of mega corporations, such as Virgin, EMI Music and McDonalds! (the latter of which I reaped my first and only sour experience of the day, good thing I haven't eaten there in over 3 years now - and maybe they sensed that.).

The FaceFacts Intern Chronicles | Interview Tips

In third year, it's easy to get caught up in the rapture and miss out on opportunities when you're busy focusing on your dissertation and cramming in all those late nights of stress relieving frolicking. Then again, I didn't want to graduate and have nothing but a piece of paper to show for it. So at the start of the term, I applied for several part-time positions at various places around Leeds. Following a brief stint working as a bartender for Tiger Tiger, I decided that relevant work experience (not to mention, a good nights sleep) is definately more important than getting a (not so sizable) paycheck. So when I heard back from a local market research agency I had applied to called Face Facts Research (after weeks of radio silence causing me to assume that I had once again been unlucky in my plight), I was ecstatic to hear that I had landed an interview. It was about the second greatest piece of news I had received on my birthday. Face Facts provides their own detailed post on how to ace an internship interview but here are some of my own tips to add for aspiring interns facing the daunting interview stage:

Miscellaneous Musings | A&F bringing the heat to HK

Hunky shirtless men take to the tops of Hong Kong’s iconic trams waving to the stunned civilians on the streets below. It’s certainly an unconventional sight in this conservative asian region. America’s house of prep Abercrombie has come to Hong Kong.

Rumour has it that the once all-the-rage Abercrombie brand has been seeing great losses in sales over in America.

Today’s teens are underwhelmed by the half-naked models and blaring, dimly lit stores. And they’re less inclined to wear Abercrombie’s uniformof denim and graphic T-shirts.

- South China Morning Post, Nude Awakening by Sapna Maheswari, Aug 27, 2012 

Hence, a strategic move to Asia, which has yet to experience the brands risque promotional direction. 

While many would argue that it is vacuous objectification in it’s shallowest form, you do have to admire their PR campaign. The irony of it all - selling clothes via half naked bodies. Genius. An idea that now cannot be replicated by other brands without being slated as ‘copycats’ of their predecessor.

Miscellaneous Musings | Sugar babies and Cyberpimps

So once again I've picked up a copy of  the Leeds Student paper for a quick news fix while having lunch and stumbled across an article about a pretty controversial topic: Sugar dating. No it has nothing to do with sweets or desserts but refers to a special kind of 'mutually beneficial relationship'. If you've heard of the term sugar daddy before, you'd probably have an idea but for those that don't..

Sugar daddy: A rich older man who lavishes gifts on a young woman in return for her company or sexual favors. taken from http://dictionary.reference.com

'Sugar dating' is not a relatively new thing, it's been around for a while actually - pushed to the back pages of magazines under 'Escort Services', for instance. However, the LS article centers on a new site SeekingArrangement.com that Leeds Uni students and other University students have been using. News media covering the topic points to the problem of student debt as a prime motive for students entering these kinds of relationships. Though something tells me that this isn't the full story. On the other hand, there are those that argue that this is just a form of disguised prostitution.

Beauty Buzz | Color Bug Hair

Recently stumbled across mentions of this new intriguing product called Color Bug by australian hairdresser Kevin Murphy. Playing on the trend of ombre and bright hair a la Katy Perry, the Color Bug functions as 'makeup for hair'. Meaning temporary vivid color that comes off after a wash. While there's already hair chalking that aims to give temporary hair color for girls who don't want to take the plunge into a full-on permanent dye job, Color Bug is a lot more professional and from the looks of it, more outstanding.

Haven't seen anything else like it in the market yet so I was definately keen to share this with anyone and everyone.

http://the-milk-club.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/color-bug.html

http://deluminators.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/pink-hair.html

So far the product comes in 3 colors, but I suspect that KM will be releasing more. In fact, I expect more hair stylists to start launching their own imitations. Can't wait to try out the effects of using it, and it will definitely be perfect for the summer.

Beauty Buzz | Glossybox

Recently got introduced to a very exciting concept by one of my housemates. Joining the trend of subscription based purchases of products, Harrods has launched one of their own for beauty product miniatures from quality brands. For only 10 pounds a month, you get to receive a box of 5 luxury product miniatures.

image from elevatormusik.com

Brands featured in this initiative include Illamasqua, L'oreal, Stila and YSL. The full list can be viewed here on the main site.

Personally I tend to scrimp on high end beauty products since I fear buyer's remorse with a passion and don't want to end up spending a fortune on a product that does nothing for me. So something like GlossyBox is a great solution to my dilemma. Plus, it also pushes me to take more notice of and have more exposure to new brands in high-end beauty. If I'm going to work in the professional skincare field in the future, this kind of opportunity will only benefit me. Hence, I've signed up (I mean if you think about it, 10 pounds a month for 5 luxury beauty items is a good deal!) and when I receive that first box through the mail, I'll do a little review on the service and products I receive for this blog to give anyone interested a better idea of what to expect. 

For now, have a look on the site and covet all the past items they've packed into previous months GlossyBoxes. And for anyone currently using this service, I want to know your opinions, so don't be shy to share any thoughts in the comments or message me even! Anyway, hopefully I've put GlossyBox on the radar for some of you beauty lovers, and don't we all love getting goodies through the post?

Fashion | DVF A/W'12

Diane von Furstenberg Winter 2012 featured a combination of creative prints and vibrant colours. The collection included alluring wrapped dresses,chain and jigsaw print,elegant coats and pencil skirts. On the accessories front, there were long leather gloves and clutch bags to polish off the final look. Diane formed an enthralling display by pairing bright hues together. Plum + lime, chartreuse + fuchsia, red + azure, all married together with wide leather belts.

Fashion | H&M 2012 Concious Collection

Hitting stores in just two weeks time, H&M furthers their 'Green Fashion' initiative by releasing the second year installment of their eco-friendly Conscious line, focusing on sustainable sourcing and organic materials such as organic cotton and hemp as well as recycled polyester. And to top it off, they're making Eco Fashion 'Glamorous'.

This year the fashion retailer are including Red Carpet inspired formal attire along with the standard green-themed tees and sundresses. Speaking of Red Carpet, celebrities have been promoting the line on the sly without you even noticing!  For example, you might have recognized the blue short suit set on Amanda Seyfried quite recently.  Michelle Williams has also been snapped wearing a custom H&M gown that will be featured as separates in the collection. I've selected a couple of looks that have impressed me (see above) but the full lookbook can be seen via TeenVogue. The collection launches in stores on April 12th but is limited to 100 stores, worldwide. So for the mean time, have fun plotting your speed-shopping raid strategy and I'll see you in the queue!

Fashion | Guestblog for StyleBlogUK: Edit Your Wardrobe

Keeping a well cordinated wardrobe should be a priority for anyone serious about fashion. Every fashion piece needs to be treated with respect. The toss on the floor and forget about it method may be convienient but it won't be doing you any favours. So with winter finally left behind and summer in sight, its prime time to do a bit of spring cleaning. Here are some tips to maintain a well-kept curated wardrobe: 

 1) Categorize Take all your clothes out and divide them into seperate piles depending on color, type of clothing, occasion etc. Whatever works for you.

 2) Its a general rule that jackets and coats should be hung on sturdy hangers, jeans and blouses should be folded and shoes/socks should be kept in pairs. 

3) Find out which clothes aren't being used. Here's a useful way of finding out which clothes you actually wear and which ones you don't. Turn your coat hangers the other way around. If you take a piece, place the hanger back to its correct position. Then in a few months time, review which hangers remain facing as they originally were and consider letting go of them.

 4) Make an effort to iron blouses and dresses. Creases can make an otherwise sophisticated piece look cheap. If you are short on time, here's a handy tip: Put a hanger holding your garment on the doorknob while you take a shower, the steam will naturally decrease the wrinkles. 

 5) remove Dust. Once in a while, it doesn't have to be too often but it would certainly help, hoover the bottom of your wardrobe to keep dust from collecting. Otherwise, you could always invest in a lint roller. 

 6) Don't discard your shoe boxes. Take a picture of your individual shoes and stick them on the outside of the boxes to identify them. This will not only store your shoes well but also eliminates the hassle of rooting through all the boxes to find one specific pair! (Personal experience talking)

7) Maximise your closet space by investing in those IKEA hanging or pull out storage containers. They can truly make a difference to a small closet. 

 8) Color code. Buy cheap stickers and stick them on the side of the hangers to make categorization easier and to keep you from putting them in the wrong area after taking them out. 

 9) Familiarize yourself with your inventory. Keep a list inside your door of all the clothes you have to make life easier when it comes to reminding you of what you have and what you're missing. 

Hope these ideas have helped. If you have any other tips you'd like to share, feel free to leave them in the comments section. 

• view original post on: http://stylebloguk.wordpress.com/2012/03/21/edit-your-closet/

Miscellaneous Musings | Have you heard of Chen Man?

http://www.chenmaner.com/

Fashion | Enter the Shanghai Tang Mansion

Fashion | When Fashion meets Infographics

As we know, Fashion Week is a hectic time and given the multitude of shows and blogs reporting on them, it gets hard to keep up (not to mention it happens in 4 different countries). Sure, we can read Vogue articles or daily Tweets to keep up with the individual shows, but how do we get a clear and concise overview of an entire week's worth of designer shows?

Using the concept of the infographic, a social media tool that presents complex statistics in simple visual form, Editd is a site that finally helps accumulate and analyse data for any given Fashion Week.

For example, here is London Fashion Week broken down:

As you can see, a brief overview is given at the top of the page which is followed on by section after section of graphs that chart popular trends, designers, looks and tweets from the Front Row.

Editd does not only focus on Fashion Week though, they do infographics charting fashion through a particular season or the whole year.

Aside from producing infographics, the site also offers a number of services and platforms for fashion companies to engage with. In short, it's kind of like a full-fashion Facebook Insights.

Even if you're not a retailer, brand or supplier of fashion, Editd is a clear indicator of how social media analytics has become integrated into the Fashion sphere and therefore is a platform we should take notice of.

SS

Fashion | Project by Miss Selfridge

via missselfridge.com

Miss Selfridge has released a follow-up to their capsule collection Project #1, with the new and improved Project #2, consisting of 22 pieces designed by the assistant buyers for the fashion house. The inspiration behind the collection is 90's retro fashion which includes eclectic prints, neon and the infamous Elizabeth Hurley safety pin dress. The line coincides with many of this season's new trends such as the sheer maxi skirt, bra tops and denim. In person, the garments are stunning and well tailored. My favourite pieces were the studded denim jacket and the two layer dress.

Fashion blogger Olivia Pervis models the collection

Fashion | Late Night Shopping at Harvey Nicks

Went to the Harvey Nichols Leeds Student Event last night at Victoria Quarter with fellow blogger @Lily_Delamode/@simply-life and fashion designer Kamilla Yau. Doubling as the Leeds RAG Fashion Show Wrap party, perks included free entry, late-night shopping with 10% beauty brands (which a shop assistant informed me is something rare for Harvey Nicks), a goody bag of purchases over 50 pounds, which wasn't hard to achieve if we pooled our receipts together.

I've been hesitant about the sheer skirt trend but eventually succumbed to buying one off missguided and was pleased I did! Suppose it's one of those things you can't wear just anywhere but it fit this particular occasion well. Score.

The night was spent browsing through all the gorgeous new season additions and sipping free pomegranate cider. Oh here's a useful tip for you ladies (or gents even): go shopping with a fashion student, or better yet, a fashion design graduate! They are able to spot the tiniest details that often gets missed by the untrained eye and makes all the difference from a good buy and buyer's remorse.

In the end we spent our $ on the beauty counters: I bagged two items that have been highly recommended by youtube gurus and friends alike (The Shu Uemura UV mousse base and the bareMinerals powder) I can't wait to try them out. Kamilla bought some glitter effect nailpolish from under-rated brand 'butter'. The pigmentation of glitter nail polishes tends to come out quite weak when painted on but these polishes actually had great strong color with only one coat. It's convincing enough to make me consider nabbing some up for myself.

Combining our collective haul, we qualified for that free goody bag which contained samples from Dermalogica, an invite to the next fashion event hosted by Harvey Nichols and a pack of mini 'ohso' chocolate - healthy chocolate (could it be??) that contains probiotics that are found in yoghurt to aid digestion and general well-being. Never heard of this brand before but my god, good-for-you chocolate that tastes good as well?  I need to find company HG and demand a lifetime supply! Plus, look how adorable the packaging is!

Miscellaneous Musings | China's Consumerist Cool

'Conspicuous consumption may be an American invention, but it has been perfected in China'

Lately I've been engrossed in Annie Wang's People Republic of Desire. Though I was initially thrown off by the hot pink cover, reminiscent of a sickly teen novel, and I was convinced it would simply be a Chinese rendition of 'Sex and the City'. But by giving this deceptive book a try, I was sold after reading the first few pages.

The Peoples Republic of Desire, rather than being a trashy chick lit, is really a study of women living in new China. It highlights the repercussions of Westernization and materialism of modern China, thus painting a disturbing portrait of China's 'elite'. Told through the eyes of four young women that belong in this bracket of society, Annie Wang's novel is more so a critique of this lifestyle. The book is filled with coffee-house discussions of once taboo subjects in Chinese culture: pornography, sexuality, extra marital affairs. These discussions depict a world where English and a white boyfriend are seen as trendy, where name-dropping and flashy spending has become commonplace and where McDonalds is seen as a quasi status symbol. Ultimately, these girls live in a world where connections and assets weigh more than the individual.

Having lived in Hong Kong for the majority of my life, I could relate alot to the characters and the observations made in this book. As a university student studying in the UK, I have come realize just how privileged my childhood had been. I have grown up around pristine shopping malls, expensive restaurants and brand names. University is a somewhat humbling experience, seeing as I now have to earn my own keep, manage spending and forego designer goods. Now on the outside looking in, I see just how misguided Hong Kong society actually is. I take this as a big step of growing up, when you can finally see things for what they truly are.

Fashion | Prada S/S 2012 Campaign

Photographer: Steven Meisel

Sugary pastels, Swiss lace, and tons of feminine pleating and car-print silks merged with hot-rod iconography in leather appliquéd skirts and shoes with 3-D spurs flaming from the heels.

I'm really impressed with this Spring/Summer's Prada campaign. Mixing retro rock'nroll with vintage tailoring and a pastel color palette, this look exudes a timeless elegance that Prada is well known for, whilst still remaining modern. The video advert is equally as visually stunning and well composed as the stills.


Here are some of my favourite pieces from the collection:

Miscellaneous Musings | New spin on the traditional CV

As the hunt for jobs gets increasingly more competitive, job-seekers all over the world are trying to employ creative ways to present themselves and make their CV stand out from the crowd. With recent advancements in technology, people have gradually looked towards digital resources and services to address this need: from the traditional favourite Linkedin, to infographics (vizualize.me) and virtual portfolios (Issuu). Recently, I've come to find out about another way to visually present your digital CV, through video documentation. This is the concept behind Meet the Real Me, a UK based company that aims to enhance the job application process by adding personality to one's CV. In a way, the creators are aiming to create a career-specific Youtube.

How it works

At Meet The Real Me, you can see and hear every candidate present their professional and academic experiences in their own words, in their own style, with confidence and enthusiasm. So from now on, don’t just rely on grades or qualifications as a way to screen application numbers, bring personality back into recruitment!

I recently read an article by The Guardian denouncing University degree classification as inaccurate and unreflective of a student's true ability. Which is why part of me does see the merit in online video CVs. Registration is fairly straightforward and soon enough, you're given the opportunity to record yourself on webcam there and them. To make the process fair, all candidates are required to complete the same structured three question interview, recording their answers using a webcam from home or office.

The site also promotes online video recruitment campaigns for employers for the purpose of

reducing costly face-to-face interviews for both you and the candidate.

Interestingly, the company has also branched out to the Education sector:

We have partnered with over 28 universities and colleges across the UK who are integrating our video interviews into their employability programmes during the 2012 academic year.

Looking through a number of videos that existing users have currently uploaded, I can definitely see the appeal of the idea. Who wants to read boring bullet-pointed Word documents when you could see the person face-to-face explaining why they are best suited for the job in their own voice? At the same time, as I click through person after person, I begin to realize how answers seem to overlap with each other as people answer the same questions. The site is still in its early stages of development, and perhaps through more recognition and user sign-ups, I hope to see more creative and innovative uses of the video format to engage potential employers.


What do you guys think of this particular form of digital recruitment? Would you hire someone who sent you a video CV?

Fashion | Mischa

HK accessory brand MISCHA specializes in clutches and totes that incorporate Japanese obi fabric and print to create stunning and timeless pieces. Here are a selection of my favorite items from owner Michelle Lai's collection.