Tuesday, November 20, 2012 :: Tuesday Update
An update on Tokyo Bust Express:
TBE has been quick in tracking down customers through my blog and have successfully managed to track down those who have left slightly more detailed accounts of their experience at the outlets. The company have moved quickly to act upon these customers who have provided a point of contact and resolve the issues through apologies and compensation. They have also been monitoring my blog closely to further identify customers as soon as possible. I implore all to be fair to TBE as well as they have always placed emphasis on customer service. The quick move to contact customers says much about the company's responsiveness and how much they value their customers.
Secondly, to clarify my previous blogpost, the permission given to me to remove the TBE promotion for my readers was a goodwill gesture extended to me by TBE.
Last of all, I was informed that the response was really good and many had a great experience at TBE. Although many have not stepped forward to share the great experience they had, I am really thankful to those who have taken time to email me about their positive experience and understood that some incidences are isolated cases so it is not fair that the negative feedback puts the company in a bad light.
Nonetheless,
I am extremely happy that many have satisfactory results upon visiting TBE
because I understand how small improvements to our body can be a huge boost to
a woman's self esteem :*)
I am glad that I
have been of help and cheers to greater self confidence!
*
For the upcoming collection on VGY, I experimented purple eyeshadow on my lids using a new quad eyeshadow from ZA as seen below. Did the same makeup on my model, Kennie as well and she loved it! ;)
Used the one on the left – purple palette.
Thank you ZA for the lovely eyeshadow! :)
First time trying out hook on chain earrings and they are so comfortable to wear!
On the side note, my black roots are showing and John has repeatedly asked me to get my lazy ass down to Salon Vim haha. SO, I will be heading down this week for a new hair color! No more procrastination!
Hook On Chain Earring from Burglary
I found this white rabbit earring really edgy looking! Haven’t found a chance to wear them out but I will soon! ;)
I seemed to have a newfound obsession with unicorns – after the pink unicorn I won from Legoland haha.
Chosen a pair of gorgeous unicorn earrings as well and they looked extremely classy.
All earrings featured above are from Burglary.
I will be launching a new collection on VainGloriousYou this week so stay tuned! Lastly, I am extremely thankful for all the support I received from my readers! I may not reply all the comments but I do read every single one of them. Thank you so much for staying and growing with me :*)
This week will be a better one! :)
With Love,Tricia
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Friday, November 16, 2012 :: Salon Vim Appreciation Dinner x Roland Seafood Restaurant
This may come as a shock or disbelief to most but I have always been paying for all my hair services done at Salon Vim for as long as I first visited them. Although John is my boyfriend, rules still apply in a company and I pay for my own hair at the same price which you do :) Bet most of you don’t know that?
It was only last month when I came to know that Salon Vim will be sponsoring me alongside all other bloggers contracted under Gushcloud. So I went for my first sponsored trip last month and I will be blogging about what I did later in the post.
Having been with Salon Vim for 2.5 years now, I am extremely grateful for this sponsorship opportunity, so THANK YOU! It is an incredible feeling to be blessed with such opportunities :*)
Being part of the huge Salon Vim family, I was invited to the appreciation dinner which was held in mid Oct at one of the famous chilli crab restaurant in Singapore – Roland Seafood located in Marine Parade. It has become a familiar place to me as I have been holding one too many dinners at this restaurant.
There are many more bloggers who were unable to turn up. It was not easy organizing an event with a huge number of bloggers who mostly have commitments like their jobs etc. I remember late nights where John cracked his head over choosing a date where most could make it down for the dinner. I found it funny how choosing a date can be so easy yet so hard at the same time haha.
Photo credit to Meiting
The restaurant’s signature dishes were all served to us and it was such a sumptuous dinner!
If you head to the restaurant, please place an order for the dish below. The fried mini squids is the star of the dish and my favourite! I even asked if there were any pre-packed squids which I can buy home to munch on – super delicious it was.
Boneless fish dish where the meat has been removed from the fish and served atop. This is John’s favourite dish and our friends who frequent this restaurant (for their Bachelor Night) loved this dish as well.
Most of us loved this dish! The prawns are extremely succulent and the dark gravy is really sweet and savoury!
Asparagus with mini shrooms haha. I really like this healthy dish as it is pretty light and refreshing on the flavouring. I would always order this dish!
Roland’s famous chilli crab!
Salted yam and egg crab – I very much prefer this over the chilli crab. Personal preference as I like the saltiness of this dish.
John and I will ALWAYS order this dish when we are there haha.
With Ling & Yina :)
PS: Can’t wait to see you girls on 3 Dec! I loveeeeee steamboat dinners!
With Gary, the boss of Salon Vim and Colette :)
Gary and Shine :)
If I am not wrong, Shine is acting in a latest Ch 8 Drama “It takes two”.
It should be on air now at 9pm so catch her on tv!
The super super shy Melody :)
John with 3 beauties
Ling, Yina and Sophie :)
With the lovely Meiting whom is one of the pioneer bloggers in Salon Vim :)
Justin, the heir to Roland Seafood Restaurant and our dear friend :)
Thank you for hosting this dinner and being such a wonderful host!
Justin even offered us karaoke after the dinner!
Roland Seafood Restaurant
Block 89 Marine Parade Central
#06-750
Singapore 440089
Tel: 64408205
x
Prior to this dinner, I had my hair done at Salon Vim by dearest John. Wanted to go even lighter instead of the usual browns so John added in some ash greens to mattify the brown and bring it a tone lighter.
My roots just after 1 month. My hair grows out really fast.
Many thought that my hair is super thick but really, look at my scalp, I do not have much hair follicles and years of eating MSG-laden foods led to excessive loss of hair during my younger years. This condition was much worse when I first met John in the salon. I was literally balding :’(
He told me to trust him and give him time to make me love my hair again. And so I did and I have never visited any other salons. The impression of super thick hair is due to healthy shiny locks and the right color/hairstyle combination so it all falls into place together making my hair go from zero to wow. Through many years with John, I came to understand that haircut is really important as well. If the haircut is cut following your head shape, it will complement your entire look.
I used to find faults with my haircuts everytime despite hopping from one hairstylist to another - I just could not find one who makes me happy with the haircut/hairstyle.
But after the first visit to John, I was extremely happy with my hair for the first time and I have stayed till now :*)
Photo taken by Meiting who was at the salon at the same time!
I fell in love with the Redken treatment after doing it the first time 1.5 months ago so I asked for it again. It gave me sleek silky hair which looks really good in curls!
After the treatment, I did not want to have my hair curled as I want my tresses to rest for a night and bask in the after-treatment. My hair smelled so good and fluffy soft!
Products I use at home. Of all shampoos, I love Loreal’s Vitamino Color shampoo and Absolut Repair (with Lactic Acid). I have been using these 2 products for as long as I can remember and my hair condition greatly improved with the right home care products used. I use my shampoos/leave-in interchangeably weekly so my hair can absorb all the good nutrients from different products!
Photo taken from my instagram @vaingloriousyou
This photo was taken after my hair color faded and sets in. How much I adore this matt brown color!
Mention my name “Tricia” or “VainGloriousYou” to get 10% off all hair services.
You can also text/call/whatsapp John at 85229336 to book an appointment.
Remember to book in advance as it is pretty hard to go in as a walk-in with John.
Even I have to book 2 weeks in advance! :(
Salon Vim by Chez Vous
313 Somerset Orchard Road
#04-07/08/09
Tel: 68847757 / 68847767
Happy Friday and be kind to one another! It will all come back to you in more than ways you ever know! :)
Tricia
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Wednesday, November 14, 2012 :: Legoland
Before I start off with a long pictorial post, I wish to address the concerns regarding my previous entry on Tokyo Bust Express. I am taking time to explain now as it was rather biting to read feedback regarding my lack of accountability despite the amount of complaints made to me (via the blogpost) by readers who have experienced bad service at Tokyo Bust Express. No one is in a even better position to understand the extent of negative feedback I received from my readers and I have actually been working with my manager, Sheena, at Gushcloud to rectify the issues which my readers have experienced with Tokyo Bust Express.
Everytime I received a negative feedback regarding Tokyo Bust Express, I will discuss it with Sheena who will then communicate with Tokyo Bust Express on the complaints. It had came to a point where I have been given the green light to take down the promotion stated under the Tokyo Bust Express entry from my blog – a solution which Gushcloud have proposed to protect my readers.
However, I do not like to remove things already posted on my social media platforms. What would it say about my credibility as a blogger? I asked for a better solution which was for Tokyo Bust Express to work on providing better service to all their customers (not only towards my readers) for their long-term good and also permission for me to put up a personal post to account to all my readers. It had been 1.5 weeks now since I had asked for the latter – I am definitely not someone who would shrink from responsibilities.
It took me some time to put this personal post up as I was awaiting for action from Tokyo Bust Express on all the negative feedback. However, none of you listed your name/contact and the only way I could monitor if any measures/improvements were done by Tokyo Bust Express is through new feedback from my readers and messages passed down to me through my manager after the discussion with the company involved. For those who had emailed me, thank you so much for leaving a point of contact for me to take action.
I am extremely thankful for the unbiased comment posted by a kind reader who mentioned that despite reading all the negative reviews on Tokyo Bust Express, she had a different experience upon mentioning she was a reader of my blog. I would confidently say the “different experience” was attributed to the days and days of communication between Gushcloud and Tokyo Bust Express to rectify all the complaints/issues that my readers experienced.
I am extremely apologetic towards all my readers (and my friends) who had a bad experience with Tokyo Bust Express. But I hope that this incident is a lesson to Tokyo Bust Express and all the other beauty salons out there. As much as I understand driving sales is a huge part of their business, it will do no good to the company if the salespersons come across as pushy and rude – especially when a blogger has been engaged to help raise awareness of the company/brand. On my end, I have already notified and questioned the company of their sales tactics and service towards customers especially my readers. The following preventive/reformative actions which will be carried out by the company is not within my control, as it delves into something even bigger and deeper which is the management of the organization as a whole.
So I hope for your understanding of the extent which I can help you, my readers.
No one would understand how hurtful it was to receive all the negative comments and this issue was constantly on my mind, even as I was supposed to be enjoying a holiday out of Singapore. My readers are important to me and I understand some of you have grew with me since I first started. I take it upon myself that this incident had happened to my readers due to my recommendation as it has never happened before and it will not have happened if I had done a thorough research of the company prior to taking up the advertorial.
The unbiased comment posted by a reader gave closure and relief to me and I sincerely hope that the company has learnt its lesson. Feel free to email me at vaingloriousyou@gmail.com if you have a bad experience with Tokyo Bust Express even after reading this post and I will try my best to help in any way I can. I cannot promise that the company will do something for you in return but at least, you can do a part in stepping forward and helping the company to improve so our fellow ladies who visit them in future will have a better experience.
I would like to say again, please manage your expectations towards such beauty salons as such are non-invasive procedures and individual results may vary. No doubt this is an advertorial for Tokyo Bust Express but my results and experience with them were good despite only a single session therefore, I am recommending it to all of you. I hereby apologize once again if you had a bad experience with them and please, please feel free to email me if you would like me to help in any way.
*
Thankful that I brought my bulky camera to Legoland, a newly opened Lego-theme theme park in Nusajaya Malaysia as some of you have asked for a review for this place. We went in by car and it was an approximate 20-30 minutes drive from JB.
Just a reminder to slap on a good amount of sunblock as there are not much shade around and you know nowadays when the sun shines on your skin, it bites through with a stinging feel. Imagine having that feeling for as long as you are in Legoland – I am sure you will come out looking like a baked lobster.
Outfit: Maeve black tube corset, Sephora floral shorts both from VGY
Just next to the Legoland entrance, there is the Legoland hotel which works are still ongoing.
It will not be ready until 2014 :(
We were shocked to see this sign when we were paying for the tickets haha.
True enough, it rained for a good 20 minutes when we were there but we took the time to rest our tired legs.
(Hmm..who’s the fairest of them all..)
Come to think of it, our huge group of friends (of about 16 pax) always poked fun at each other’s turning 30’s look, bulging tummies, beer bellies and in all, how much we have all changed since the secondary school days. Of course, none of us are spared haha but it was all in good fun.
There are Lego exhibitions everywhere and when walking through them, we felt like giants.
I find it a tad ridiculous for these exhibitions to be placed outdoor as these Lego plastic bricks will definitely come under the strong weather conditions. Just how long can it last? How do they maintain the small plastic bricks? They can’t be changing the structures every 6 months, can they?
The twin towers behind us looked really majestic and tall but they are pretty small in real life.
Some of the structures have a bustling life of their own with moving ships, moving buses etc.
It is pretty interesting and amazing how Lego bricks can build such structures!
I forgot who I heard this news from but these structures are hand-built from scratch and the master responsible for building each structure (say a bus or a human or a building) is paid from $5 per piece. Correct me if I am wrong?
Singapore’s Merlion, Fullerton hotel (at the back) and a glimpse of our SBS Transit bus haha.
Can you see our Maybank building at the back?
There wasn’t much to do as the park is still undergoing renovation works and not all rides and attractions are ready :(
So we spent our time…playing funfair games and let me tell you now, DON’T waste your monies on their games because they have made the games almost IMPOSSIBLE to win. We spent alot of monies on this basketball game here just to realize the shape of the ring is in a small oval – 100% impossible for the basketball to go through. John was a basketball player in the past and he couldn’t even get the ball into the ring despite shooting perfectly!
To top it off, they make sure the game is designed in a way that makes you keep trying and trying. If you don’t spend at least SGD$30 or more on a game, it is impossible to get a prize (discounting luck). For this fishing game below, to get the prize you want, just keep accumulating your points. And to accumulate your points, of course, you need to pay for more games –.-“
Someone tell me how did they even come up with that…
But anyway, I saw someone carrying a huge unicorn and I wanted it badly. So we finally found the booth with the unicorn as prizes and the rest was classic. God knows how much we spent there but I only got a small small pink unicorn and my friend got the huge one (after spending..approx $60+ if I’m not wrong).
Finally we saw something adults like us could play haha – a rollercoaster.
Oh, did you see the news that people were stuck on highest point of this rollercoaster ride last week and had to bear sun and rain while waiting for help to come? Haha whatttt is going on, Malaysia!
The entrance of this grey castle leads to a long queue for this ride.
The queue took us only about 15-20 minutes ;)
We used to be adrenaline seeking dare devils who will never say no to any rides that promise to throw us high up or hang us upside down in the air. I don’t know if this happens because of age but we have this tiny bit of fear in us while queuing for this not-so-scary-at-all ride :/
So we girls went home each with a prize. You don’t know how hard our boyfriends had to play to win these back – it was earned with money and sweat hahaha.
Say hi to my tiny pink unicorn.
My review for this place is only 2 out of 5 at this moment of time.
It is absolutely not worth the SGD$70 paid for the tickets with so many renovations still ongoing.
There were alot of empty land yet to be filled up and I seriously don’t understand how could there be a $70 entrance fee for such little attractions. Maybe you would like to consider going there in year 2014 instead and just bear with Universal Studios Singapore at this moment? :)
Tricia
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