When I wanted to get a bunch of rubber stamps made for the new office, I ran in to a bit of a panic. When you don’t need them, you see signs for rubber stamps everywhere. When you are really looking for them, you can never find them anywhere at all!

Eventually, I had them made at a shop advertising rubber stamps but it was a stationery shop and I later learnt that they subbed it out to an external source to make their rubber stamps.

After a few more trial and errors, I found that you can get rubber stamps made for about half the price at the direct source in Pudu. If you do to where all the printers are, just hit up any store that makes rubber stamps there and you get it practically at cost from about RM3 upwards. To get it at other shops, it costs about RM6 minimum. So now you know!

The Pudu live fish market is near the Pudu wet market along Jalan Yew. There is a row of shops selling nothing but fish in pails, basins and aquariums and pet supplies too.

I was quite taken aback at how cruel or poorly handled the fish were by the workers. If I were a fish, I’d be seriously traumatized at the way they were scooped out of the basins and thrown back in, the way they were kept in plastic bags of water waiting for a new owner and although they were cheap, between a few sen to RM1 for some of the smaller more common fish, there were also some expensive arowana being sold.

I don’t have an aquarium and fish aren’t my pets of choice but I felt so sorry for those fish I saw – they might be cheaper than buying from a pet store, but I wonder if the inhumane treatment is worth it. That said, I don’t know if pet stores treat their fish any better! Perhaps its all done behind closed doors so I wouldn’t know anyway. But if you want to get some cheap fish, try the Pudu fish market – there are loads of people buying.

Its that time of year again for everything red and gold and gaudy and properous looking. Hunt down your vases for your pussy willows and Plum trees or fakes one with the bright pink plastic plum blossoms.

Its the Chinese New Year!

I love decorating the house for Chinese New Year – the brighter and redder the better. Never mind that everything clashes Some of the places I shop at for CNY decorations are in Chinatown, Petaling Street Kuala Lumpur.

Sure, the prices are jacked up but it still works out cheaper than buying at the stalls at the malls. Also, I find you get a better selection. Sometimes, some of the malls bring in artisans from China so you can get some nice Chinese stuff that we don’t usually get here at normal times, like red paper cuttings and calligraphic writings.

However, to save money, this year I’m reusing last year’s decorations. I might pick up a bamboo or two to place in the house. Last year’s lucky bamboo did not survive – I guess it wasn’t very lucky

Have you started your CNY shopping yet?

Stila Seasonal Eye Shadow Trio – # 01 Warm ( Shimmer Shadows )

Stila Brilliant Cool Palette: ( 2x Eyeshadow 1x Cheek Color )

Stila Petite Coffret ( 1x Seasonal Eye Shadow Trio 1x Lip Color 1x Jewel Box )

Stila Kitten Eye Shadow with Suede Pouch Bag ( Unboxed )

The best thing of course is that these Stila sets are available at a great discount off the original prices .

I’m quite tempted by the Stila Warm Eyeshadow Trio and the Stila Kitten eyeshadow with the pouch. I really like Stila Kitten which is a shimmery champagne colour with pink tones. It can truly make me look awake and is so easy to apply, I can see why Kitten is Stila’s best selling eyeshadow color!

Remember, there’s always Free Shipping + Free Gift Wrapping on all cosmetic and skincare items at StrawberryNET.com!

Kanebo’s new line Coffret D’or is now available in Malaysia. I had a chance to play with the testers and wrote an overview of the line.

If you’d like to buy Coffret D’or makeup, here’s where you can find it:-

• Kanebo International counters in departmental stores
• Kanebo International Salons in Starhill Gallery, Bangsar and Gurney Plaza Penang

Prices are reasonable and similar to T’estimo makeup prices – RM120 for eyeshadow palettes and RM86 for lipsticks.

When I last checked, only the testers were available as the stock was not yet fully in. It should be slowly being stocked up throughout the country soon. Look out for it!

You are in Malaysia and you have heard of the wonderful skincare of Kanebo Impress. You want to know where you can find Kanebo Impress skin care in Malaysia.

Well, the answer is:

• Isetan Kanebo counters – The Gardens, KLCC and Lot 10
• Kanebo International Salons – Bangsar, Starhill Gallery, Gurney Plaza

At present, the Kanebo Impress Skincare is not yet found at all Kanebo counters but only at the places mentioned above. You can read my on going reviews of this excellent skin care brand at My Women Stuff.

Now you know where to find Kanebo Impress, maybe its time for you to give this a try! You won’t regret it I’m sure.

Pussy Willows represent spring because that’s when the silky shoots put forth, but also represent the inflow of money (because of its Cantonese pronunciation of the name so I’m told) and so most Chinese homes will have some stalks of pussy willows.

I found some affordable pussy willows at Ikea, to my surprise. They retail for RM16 for a bunch of 12 stalks. In the city when I checked flower wholesalers, they were going for RM20 for a bunch of 10 stalks. So I guess Ikea does have its uses too!

I also recalled that they cost upwards of RM500 each! So, suffice to say, I wasn’t about to explore the luxury jeans section any time soon. I wasn’t sure however, if I ever saw Seven for all Mankind anywhere else.

That is until I was walking around in The Gardens at Midvalley Megamall.

While walking around the upper levels of The Gardens, I chanced upon a store called Bread and Butter.

The store looked like a jeans boutique in that it was filled with racks and racks of jeans. A quick glance at the side of the entrance revealed the brands they carry – Seven for all Mankind, 575 Denim, Denim for Immortality, Evisu, True Religion number amongst the luxury jeans brands carried.

So now you know where to go for your luxury jeans fix. Me? I’m still swanking around in my cheapy denims I might walk into the store some day, if only to try out a pair or two. I know that once you get on the slippery slope of luxury jeans there’s no turning back – so I’m resisting the slippery slope for now.

I was introduced to Adambeauty.com by a friend in Hong Kong. Adambeauty is a Hong Kong based company with an online presence, that stocks many brands of Japanese beauty products.

The range of Japanese cosmetics sold on Adambeauty is wide with many brands being “Japan only” brands. These include Sony CP, Lavshuca and Majolica Majorca to name a few. These are fast turning into cult brands among the beauty afficionados simply, I feel, because they are so hard to come by. Therefore, being able to own a piece of makeup from any one of these exclusive Japanese brands is an achievement in itself.

But with a site like Adambeauty, anyone anywhere in the world now has access to these hard to find Japanese brands. I think that’s awesome.

Personally, I haven’t shopped on the site so I am unable to comment on the service provided. However, I have read of many people who have purchased from them and are happy with their purchases. My friend in Hong Kong deals directly with the people in charge so I suppose that makes it quite a different ball game altogether.

The site’s navigation isn’t easy as most of it is in Chinese which makes it difficult for those who cannot read Chinese. However, there are lots of pictures and enough for you to go by to select your products. The prices are stated in Hong Kong Dollars but if you click to purchase an item, you will be directed to the shopping cart which lists prices in HKD, RMB and USD.

For all international purchasers (outside of Hong Kong, China and Macau), the currency of choice will be USD. The price of the product in USD includes the shipping and handling costs but a US$2 fee will be tacked onto each order for registered post which allows for tracking. It does mean that the product price might be higher than if you purchased it yourself (or got a friend to help you purchase it) from Japan. But I think its a small price to pay to get something brag-worthy eh?

Also, for all international purchasers, they only accept payment by Paypal. Again, with Paypal available in many countries now, I don’t think this should be a problem.

I think it would help Adambeauty if they got their site redesigned a little. At the present moment, it looks amateurish and messy and makes it very hard for buyers to find what they want, unless they are already familiar with the product. Giving it some order and having someone write copy for their site in proper English would definitely help their business I’m sure. But if you have been dying to try something like Majolica Majorca (their eyeshadows get tons of raves but I’m allergic to them!) then try Adambeauty if you can’t get it anywhere else. Each eyeshadow retails for US$6.50. I’m not sure if that’s a lot more expensive than anything found in Japan but if you really want it and have no access to it, I think the price is alright.

Ships Internationally: Yes
Accepts Paypal : Yes

I made my enquiries of Kanebo and I append here an excerpt of an email reply I received from Kanebo regarding the sale of Lunasol.

Perhaps I should give you a bit of background info on LUNASOL. It’s the makeup brand under our new concept counter, called SAKURA COUNTER. Sakura Counter is composed of 2 colors – PINK, as Sakura flower, and BROWN, as Sakura trunk. Besides, Sakura Counter also carries the new Skincare brand, called IMPRESS. Sakura Counter is exclusively for Isetan at this moment. That’s why it’s only available at Lot 10. However, Sakura Counter will also be available at Mid Valley from End September onwards when Isetan opens their new outlet at Garden City, Mid Valley.

So, it looks as if Kanebo Lunasol will only be available at Isetan for now. There is no indication of it being sold at Isetan KLCC though. I wonder why…

As an aside, I have tried the new Impress skincare and I am, in a word, Impress-ed! A review will be coming up soon on My Women Stuff.