Category ∝ Beauty
Last week, I was invited to Marie France Bodyline’s blogger event- Woman behind Women. It was an exclusive event for bloggers to have a Q&A session with Amy Quek, Chief Operating Officer of Marie France Bodyline. I went there in hopes of clearing some myths that are circling around slimming centers.
For those who are not familiar with Marie France Bodyline, they are the market leader when it comes to body slimming and treatments in beauty enhancement. The branding has always been strong, with famous celebrity ambassadors and a worldwide franchise. Miss Amy is very gracious and charismatic, she represented the brand well by giving well thought answers to all the questions asked.
Emcee : What are your thoughts on aging?
Amy : As we age, our metabolism rate will reduce. Marie France gets to the base of this problem, which happens from having a sedentary lifestyle, bad diet and not exercising. Our technology help to increase your metabolic rate, wake up your body and promote detoxing in your body with our machines which are perfectly safe.
Emcee : Where did Marie France source their solutions for slimming technology from?
Amy : Back in the 80s, society were getting more affluent and we realized that the people need the right advice when it comes to their lifestyle. Right advice in terms of nutrition planning, exercise and keeping a youthful look. Since then we have over 20 centers in Malaysia. Over 25 years, we have invested alot of resources in the latest technology and counseling as well. We have a philosophy of 3 ideals – Innovative - we are constantly seeking new technologies. Cheerleaders - we have consultants and therapists to cheer our customers and guide them, encourage them to come for their treatment. Client’s compliance - the clients have to know why they are here for, we share their expectations and we encourage them to be realistic with their goals.
Emcee : What are the changes that are occurring when it comes to slimming trends?
Amy : Customers are more demanding, they want faster results. Hence our search for new technology. However, the fundamental core is still the same, all women want to look beautiful and feel more confident.
Emcee : Recently, Marie France has been involved with a movement to help single mothers, could you tell us a little bit about that?
Amy : We believe in sharing our prosperity and contributing back to society. We chanced upon the Single Mothers’ Association in Malaysia and we want to give hope to the single mothers and their life. We embarked on a journey with to to help them back on their feet, to get their appointments back in career. They lack the confidence and confidence is a huge part to life. We want to help restore that.
Emcee : There are many people who are afraid of the high price when it comes to slimming packages. Also, the pricing for the same package may be different across different branches. Can you help shed the light on this issue?
Amy : Back in September last year, we started a Price Transparency program. For people who are concerned about being short changed they can just come in to any branch and find out about the price. The price is the same across every branch. As a market leader, we are proud to say that we are the first to do it. We have been very satisfied with the results so far, customers know that what they pay is what they are getting. The pressure on price is off and now customers only have to worry about coming for the treatments and looking forward to looking good very soon.
Emcee : Thank you for clarifying that. There are also women that are worried about the package that they signed up for are going to get more add ons, hence slimming their wallet even more over time.
Amy : We do an analysis for customers who walked in. We go though your goals and expectations. All packages are transparent, systematic and catered towards the weight lost that you are aiming for. Consultations and analysis are free, you can try the services before you commit to anything. There are no fear at all, no worries.
Amy on Marie France Bodyline’s Philosophy
The first philosophy – Being Innovative
We are constantly searching for the latest technology. Our latest technology, Acoustic Radial Therapy ART uses high-energy rhythmic pulses to penetrate into the skin to target the connective tissues and fat layers. Then a vacuum therapy will exert a suction force that stretches and squeezes the targeted tissues to break the grid structure of fat cell chambers beneath the skin. It’s a complete fat reduction, inch loss and combined with the vacuum therapy, it can help you build collagen back again. It’s 30 minutes per session and you can see inch loss after just 3 sessions.
All our machines and equipment are FDA approved and endorsed by WHO. Other hospitals are using the same machines to treat obesity. All the machine is doing is stimulating the body to work like it used to when we were young. In the end, our body is the one doing the work- burning the fat producing collagen again.
The second philosophy – Cheerleaders
We ensure that our clients enjoy their journey with us. We spend alot of resources in training our consultants on how to answer calls, serve our clients, doing treatments and apart form sending them to training sessions, we do mystery shopping on our own branches to ensure that the team is in shape.
The third philosophy – Client’s Compliance
You can definitely feel a difference after one treatment, but it is not magic. It takes months and days to expel the fat away. Therefore the consultants plays a very important role in managing the client’s expectations. We have a nutritionist that gives advice to our clients and we even teach our customers what to look for in nutrition labels when they are shopping for food.
I asked some questions that have been plaguing me for a long time about slimming centers. I love to go prepared during an interview.
Haze : It is often believed that diet and exercise are the key to a slim and youthful figure. And there has been speculations that slimming centers charge a hefty price for their treatments, but still place an important priority on diet and exercise. In fact, most of our perceptions is that the success of the treatments often depend on the individuals’ diet and exercise. How effective are the treatments if they require diet and exercise in order to be successful?
Amy : Diet and exercise plays an important role in achieving your goals. I would say that it is a combination of all three that guarantees the success of the client’s objective. They need to improve their diet, exercise and show up for treatments if they want to achieve their goals. And this is why Client’s Compliance is very important.
Haze : The idea of a beautiful woman is a subjective one. For some, being fit with lean muscles is the idea of a beautiful woman. As we all know, muscle weights more than fat and if the quantitative measure of slimming success is weight, would your customers be advised from doing weight training?
Amy : I personally don’t believe that being pencil thin is beautiful. We want to promote a healthier lifestyle and we want women to be healthy. Our goals are a healthier you.
Haze : In the future, would you encourage your children to come for a slimming package in Marie France?
Amy : Usually, women who come to Marie France have confidence issues. If my children have confidence issues in the future, why not? It is not a weight loss program but they will be going for a spots reduction program. There is nothing harmful about that and I would definitely encourage them to go for it in the future if they have confidence issue.
Reiko also asked good questions that day.
Reiko : There are some slimming centers that keep prolonging the spots reduction program. They add on and on and it became never ending. The customer have to continue going for treatment and paying for it. Is Marie France packages like that as well?
Amy : When you come in for a consultation, we give you the expectations of your goal and how realistic it is. Consumers have to know what they want and discuss with the consultants. The consultants will then advice you, but in the end you are the one making the decision so you have to know what you want.
Reiko : There are also rumors going on that after someone finishes a slimming program, they will gain back double the weight after that.
Amy : That doesn’t happen in Marie France, the nutritionist help you to maintain your weight in the future. The results are there, but with the nutritionist’s advice you need to have the compliance to follow through. We don’t enforce a yo-yo diet or crash diet as the results never last for long.
Then I got curious and asked another question.
Haze : In Marie France, do customer return after they complete a treatment? What are the statistics like in terms of the number of women who manage to upkeep their body after completing a treatment? Let’s say out of 10 women who have completed the treatment, how many of them are still having the same body after 3 years?
Amy : Customers do return after they complete a treatment, but never for the same kind of package. They may have completed a spot reduction for their tummy, the second time they are back they are looking for spot reduction in other body parts instead. It’s a new goal. I do not have the statistics at hand but majority of our customers are able to have the same body after completing the treatment.
I am still waiting for the statistics.. Haha..
Amy’s advice to women :
For weddings :
Don’t do things last minute. Work backwards one year, if you have the intention to lose weight before your wedding make sure you have one year dedicated to do that.
For everyone :
Don’t start when problems appear. Prevention is always better. Other than slimming programs, we also have a nutritionist on hand to guide you and we have Maintenance Programs to assist you.
For young ladies :
Apart from promoting metabolic rate, we have a Body Shaping Program as well. We can target specific areas they they want to get rid off. Our machines can analyse your BMI and body fat percentage. A perfectly slim lady may not be slim as a result of their sedentary lifestyle. We have a cellulite check analysis for that purpose and can target those areas. We have different kind of treatments for various audiences.
Photos are from the Marie France Bodyline center in KLCC. What are your thoughts on slimming? Did Amy address to your doubts on slimming treatments and centers?
Erin and I went for the Blogger’s event for the private first view of Senka, Ma Cherie and ZA in Shiseido’s main office. We were greeting by darling cupcakes and tea desserts while the lady was presenting the mega line up to us.
Japan’s Ma Cherie is a collection of hair care products that claims to give volume to flat hair, do some extensive repair and tame dry and unruly hair. It’s a common promise that all hair care brands declare but I find that the Hair Oil really does wonders to my hair.
The product is a lightweight hairstyling produced called Perfect Shower 60ml RM39.90, it comes in 3 types - Smooth for straight hair, Moist for adding moisture and Wave for curls. I tried it and it smells wonderful. It’s a new kind of hairstyling product that conditions your hair to look healthier, not the kind that sets it in place.
The packaging are still in Japanese, but now all these in the local stores they will all be in our local languages.
The Hair Oil RM39.90 is a lightweight leave in conditioner that repair and protects hair from styling tools’ heat. I used it and it tamed my curls immediately! The photo on the right is taken right after I used the product. Do you know that it is good to apply a conditioner similar to this just before curling your hair to reduce the damage of heat? Some products can even make your curls last longer and add a shine to the curls as well.
ZA is commonly found in pharmacies and their young lineup of models in their ads have targeted the young teenagers in Malaysia well. I always browse the makeup in pharmacies and owned a few ZA products myself. I think all of us have one or two when we were young.
The new ZA Killer Volume Mascara is a waterproof, clump free and smudge free formula that is also resistant to tears. The swatch is in the photo above, it dries fast and stay glossy black. I am currently using this everytime I makeup. The trouble with mascara is when you apply the second coat, the new coat clumps on to the previous dry coat. So for overlaying many coats, the formula needs to be relatively slow drying. But not that slow until it destroys your eye makeup when you blink. This mascara does just the trick. It dries right after I am done with 3 coats. Wee.
As for the Perfect Fit 2 Way Foundation in the lower right photo above, it claims to last up to 8 hours and gives a pore-less, smooth finish to your face. The sponge provided contain plant fibers that is gentle to skin.
The 3 eyeshadow palettes are all friendly swatches that is easy to mix and match for any occasion. I believe the pink palette will be the tricky one to use due to its darkest shade in plum red.
That’s the swatches for the eyeshadow palettes.
The Perfect Fit Concealer offers natural coverage for dark circles, spots, freckles and blemishes. As you can see above, the formula is non-cakey, non-drying which means it is slightly sticky. Something like Perfect Concealer or the Benefit’s Erase Paste. For formulae like this, make sure you have loose powder ready to set in the concealer. It will appear to be slightly glossy if you forget to do this.
Senka is a truly Japanese skincare brand that promotes safe and trustworthy products developed with advanced technology. The famous top selling cleanser in Japan, Perfect Whip Rm19.90 whips up a good bubbly foam that leaves your skin fresh and smooth after cleansing.
Their lightest makeup remover formula is the Perfect Gel RM 19.90, which promises a gentle cleansing solution for light makeup.
Perfect Watery Oil RM 49.90 is a makeup remover that works even with wet hands. It works wonderfully on mascara.
If you are looking for a makeup remover and cleanser all in one, try the Perfect Liquid RM 39.90.
A second facial wash after using this is not necessary. However, for a faster solution when it comes to blackheads, waterproof mascara and eyeliners, go for the Perfect Oil RM 39.90.
Erin was raving about their UV Protection Gel, the 27 pa is really lightweight and not sticky at all. It smooths evenly without any unsightly white patches.
These lotions are made from whitening essence. They contain vitamin c to brighten your skin tone and boast of a 96% satisfaction in Japanese consumers. They are both priced at RM 39.90 each. Don’t worry about the japanese words in the products, local pharmacies now hold these brands in local languages.
Ok beauty blogger signing off, artist signing back on. phew.
Recently, I blogged about Modbox and 3 lucky readers got the december edition for free. I have received mine too and wanna show you guys how it looks like.
The box is sturdy and undamaged upon receiving it. After opening it, the beauty of the packaging impresses me. Everything is well thought of. All the products lay in red crepe paper and then wrapped with a soft white translucent paper. A modbox sticker holds it in place and there’s a santa’s hat on the green christmas ribbon.
Very beautiful.
I have start using the products and fell lin love with juice beauty acid peel. I have started acid peel this year, to combat aging. One must prevent! Acid peel basically is a light acid that removes the first layer of your skin, epidermis layer. The stronger the peel, the redder the skin afterwards and the stronger the peeling. You can do peels like a few times in a year depending on how you wanna treat your skin. Alot of celebrities use this and its awesome!
Some people do it very frequently for the first few tries to get rid of wrinkles, spots, acnes scars etc. For me, its my 2nd time this year. My first time was with a proper acid peel that made my skin peel like snake. Really itchy for a week. It took 3 weeks of application for my skin to start peeling.
The Juice Beauty acid peel works fast and works wonders. After a few applications, my skin are noticeably clearer even before it start peeling. I will continue using after new year, now I need my good complexion!
I wanna get more Juice Beauty products for review! Let yall know soon!
It’s no secret that I love jewelry and accessories. I used to wear a huge selection of them everytime I go for classes in university. But since I have graduated, I stopped that habit mainly because they are so expensive for me to own. I think it’s my destiny to have my own jewelry brand one day. When I grow up. 
And so that was what I told Tammy, and to my delight she invited me to Suen Jewelry‘s high tea party in Bangsar. Cupcakes greeted us on the table. It was a wonderful afternoon for high tea.
The lovely ladies that were there (clockwise) : Reiko, Povy, Rabiatul and Kat Leong from Suen
Suen Jewelry is a boutique in Bangsar, with a collection of jewelry brands which they import from all around the world. All these brands are very established and comes with stunning pieces that is designed to blow your mind away. Suen have their own collection as well in limited edition, which I think is quite achievable when their factory is just next to them. Convenient.
Suen Jewelry stretches along three stores in Jalan Maarof, Bangsar. The setting of the boutique is not so much of a regular “sit down and look at jewelry” boutique. It’s vast, with sofas and lavishly decorated tables scattered around the space. There’s a grand piano as well. Really breathtaking. Pieces of jewelry and interior pieces decorated the place. There are display cases which showcases the jewelry in it’s best light.
The setting is done with one objective in mind, customer service. Everyone is treated with poise, dignity, like a royalty but most of all, you will feel rich and very glamorous. Take the food for example, they are all the best selection. Even the door gift that they gave us, the sweets were imported and our USB thumb drive is metallic, the most expensive and beautiful thumb drive I now own.
Open for bookings for proposal parties, engagements and events.. this is a very clever way of driving in customers and guests when you are situated in a Bangsar area where there is no walk in customers. Valet is of course, well prepared and provided.
Lalique is one of the first brands that we were introduced to. The brand is created by René Jules Lalique during the 1880s in France. His designs are mostly Art Nouveau, think Alfons Mucha and whiplash curves. They are famous for his glass sculptures with a matte vs glossy finish. If you take a look at the panther, you could tell that the body is matte finished, but the spots are glossy.
The finishing is more apparent in the apple, the leaves are glossy where else the fruit itself is matte. This play of contrast between finishing gives the sculpture dimensions and enchants the beholder’s eye in discovering more hidden delights within the design. The purple vase is from Daum.
Daum’s crystals are well known. Established since 1878, they specialize in translucent and vibrant colored glass/crystal sculptures. I especially love the blue pendant, it is actually very affordable in 3 digits. Very beautiful and I am sure you will feel like a different woman altogether when you wear this.
Hodel Jewelry is a Swiss brand famous for their pearl designs. These are the extravagant pieces a woman with stature could hope to own. A bodyguard might be a good idea as well.
Soon to be married couples would find the Love Diamond collection a delight. Suen, the founder of Suen Jewelry used to be involved in The Carat Club with her ex-husband and Love Diamond was hatched from The Carat Club. We have the luck and honour to meet Suen in person and I was personally blown away by her.
In my life, I have only met 2 women who have this aura about them.. the silent powerful lady. At first glance, you would already be like “Wow, she’s got class and she’s capable.” Everything a woman should be and I vowed silently that I want to be like them when I grow up. If you are interested in this, you might want to check out finishing schools and social etiquette of this sort.
Designs(clockwise) : inner engraved hearts ring, hammered ring, a strip of diamond band on the rings that can be rotated, a mix of gold for the love eternally ring
Anyway, back to Love Diamonds.. the reason why I said its perfect for couples is cuz of one reason. The stones might not have crazy carat counts, but the cut of the stone is what makes the diamond sparkle so brilliantly. And that is the most important thing for a woman, Kat told us. And the low carat count is friendly for the husband as well. 
Of course, if you want a bigger stone… they can do that too.
Mr. Samuel from Italy presented the Le Rêve collection to us. The pendant above can be separated or snapped together to be one pendant. You could engrave a message on the plate behind the snake. The collection that was introduced to us that day was the 12 Chinese Zodiac collection.
Reiko is so dazzling with the dragon necklace. The entire necklace is adorned with red rubies, however there is still room for the necklace to flex and fit around your neck. The workmanship shines when you touch the surface which is surprisingly smooth despite the amount of stones and carvings on it.
I am wearing the squirrel rings. Is love animal rings! LOVE.
That’s OhFishie with the elephant ring. So adorable!!!! CikLilyPutih paired this elephant ring wiht the snake ring, causing a fight on the fingers! So creative.
Do check them out aight.
SUEN Jewellers
No.119, Jalan Maarof,
Jalan Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur.
Tel : 603-2284 8618
Fax : 603-2284 8663
I must say this is the best manicure I have done. I did it for Fresh one night when I was itching to do some manicure. And her request was nyan cat manicure. That’s like the most challenging thing one can do. Such a small space for such detail. But the effort was worth it.
Btw, I always use normal acrylic paint for the art on my manicure. I am thinking if I should start offering my manicure as a service. I lack the basic skills to prep nails though, you know the buffing shaping soaking cutting cuticles. But I do love to create tiny art on nails. It’s so fun.
Slightly emo I can’t draw on my own nails. Tsk.
Braces progess
Hehe, its my first time showing you my braces progress at the time of this beauty review. I used to have a cash register chin, now almost fixed with braces. My lower set of teeth have moved in considerably. It’s been half a year into braces and I am pleased with the results so far. I am currently going to Taman Megah’s Klinik Pergigian Low. It’s the same one that Vinn goes to. The orthodontist is an old lady. I shall delve into more details only when its over. 
Talika black launches with a testimonial session
Recently, I was invited to the Talika Black launch and I head there together with Erin. Sina from Hong Kong was already presenting Talika Black to the other bloggers when we reached. They had previously selected a group of 5 bloggers to test the Talika Black mascara prior to the event. This mascara have a lash growth stimulant on one side, and a regular black mascara on the other side.
Wendy giving her testimonial on the product
I had reviewed Talika Lipocils which is a the lash growth stimulant and it actually works. I’ve tried it, and my lashes were black, strong and longer. During the testimonial, it was no surprise when each blogger gave raving reviews of Talika Black. The testimonials was supported by before and after photos projected in the LCD. I spotted a Talika tub and fell in love with Chenelle’s amazing pants during the testimonials.
Halfway through the testimonial, she was searching the floors for beads she thought had fallen. Nothing fell but it sure is worrying when you have so much fragile detail on your apparel.
Sharon, Alicia, Cindy(Assistant Product Manager of Talika), Sina and Wendy
All the 5 bloggers who participated in the product test received a pack of goodies from Talika. To my surprise, 3 other bloggers that day use the same camera that I do, Sony Nex f3. Rebecca, Chenelle and Karen were all using the female friendly camera which has a 180 degrees flip screen.
Erin’s before and after Talika Black
After the testimonials, we get to try the mascara ourselves. Erin did a very good job lengthening her lashes. I pretty much expected the results but I have to say, I am impressed with how phenomenal it is.
My before and after Talika Black
My attempt was good as well but I had trouble removing the initial makeup I had on me.
Battle of the lashes
We were provided with a eyelash curler heater and the Talika Black for this job. It turns out that this was a race to see who can get the best lashes in 10-15 mins. Fatin and Jess won hands down with their skills. Having naturally long lashes coupled with Talika’s mascara is a big big win. I made a mental note to continue putting the Talika Lipocils that I have.
Top: Karen, Chenelle, Bottom: Erin and Alicia
All these youngling bloggers are so hot nowadays, I miss my youth. T_T Gotta appreciate youth when you have it! Check out the Talika Lash Conditioning Cleanser which retails at RM110. It is the original famed lash extension which protects, strengthen and extend your lashes.
Erin and I
Thats the Talika Lipocils on top and the Black in the bottom shot. If you are looking for a mascara + lash lengthening effect look no further. Their mascara is abit wet and you’ve gotta give them room and time to dry. But once it is dry, it is awesome. However the lash lengthening concoction is definitely less in the Black, retailing for RM 142. If you are looking for just lash extension, get the Lipocil which retails at Rm 185.
Cindy says :
There are some differences in the ingredients being use for Lipocils and Lipocils Expert however both products has the same ingredients that works on the lengthening effect. The differences between these two products are the curling and darkening benefit which can only be delivered with the use of Lipocils Expert. Lipocils & Black does not contain the following ingredients which are found in Lipocils Expert:
- Coleus forskohlii: responsible for eyelash darkening
- Polymers & Silk proteins: improves the shine and increases curling effect.
However, the above has been replaced by the mascara which are formulated to gives instant curling and very dark effect.
Group shot!
Tammy fools around on the swing while we wait for our surprise lunch to be served. It was a well planned event and we had a great time.
Our food was good, company was fun and had a great talk with the girls. If you haven’t try Talika yet, try it at your nearest Sephora outlet. I wish I have the Talika Eyebrow Lipocilsfor my poor non-existent brows. Aside from Sephora, Talika is also available at: Parkson Pavilion, KLCC, Bandar Utama & Gurney Plaza (Penang), Isetan KLCC & Bandar Utama and Metrojaya Mid Valley.
Congratulations Geraldine Voo, Michelle Thong and Lim Hui Teng in getting your free Modbox!
