Author

Carol RHM

in Beauty & Fashion, OOTD

Fashion: Trium Card Celebrates 1st Anniversary + Nichii’s New Collection

October 19, 2015

Kuala Lumpur is definitely a shopping a city. I remember telling my husband a few months ago how it’s always a problem for me to close my wallet due to all the shopping and membership cards I acquired since moving here last year. Almost every brand or store has a membership card, all promising rewards. The more you shop, the more you get out of it.

Sounds awesome, doesn’t it? You actually get more value for your money in the end. šŸ˜‰

One of these membership privilege providers is the Trium Card which handles three of theĀ most popular and affordable retail brands I’ve seen in KL (They have stores every-effing-where!) Ā ā€“Ā Nichii, Kitschen,Ā andĀ Dressing Paula.Ā The Trium Card loyalty programme was actually launched last year and what I like about it is that ā€“ it’s not really a card so it doesn’t physically take up space in my wallet.

****Photo****

What I Wore: Star Wars Long Sleeved shirt from Uniqlo,Ā Black pencil skirt from Zara, Lace-up flats from H&M, Black leather handbag from Manfield.

No, really. It’s a digital version ofĀ a shopping privilege/membership card that you can access through your smartphone. Every time you shop at Nichii, Kitschen, and Dressing Paula, you get a point for every ringgit you spend. Once you accumulate 500 points, you get a 50 ringgit voucher for your next shopping trip.

I must admit that sometimes, I forget that I am a member of one store as there’s just so many cards to remember! Having just one card to cover these three fashion brands, makes transactions easier. Plus, I can use the points I accumulated in my Trium Cars to either one of these three brands.

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in Beauty & Fashion, Hair, Video

Beauty + Video: Care and Styling for Naturally Curly Hair

October 14, 2015

I get asked about my hair a lot. So I figured I’ll just put everything in one video. Are the curls real? How do I style it? Did I ever consider straightening it?

Spoiler alert: I actually did. Once. And I’ll never do it again because I’ve grown to love my hair so much despite all the pressure shampoo commercials in Asia put on people like me! Haha! Also, have you guys seen how popular curling wands are nowadays? šŸ˜‰

Most people with curly hair find themselves struggling with how to style it. I went through this when I was young and for a long while, I thought I have bad hair! Turns out, all I had to do was get to my curls better!

So without further ado, Allow me to share with you my current favourite products for my hair and all the ways I style and care for my mane!

Enjoy! šŸ™‚

More later!

Love,

Carol

Almost Diplomatic - carolific - Diplomatā€™s Wife - Wedding - Wedding Planning - Affordable - Alvin Malasig
in Diplomatic Incidents, How-Tos, Personal Musings

Marriage: How we got our dream wedding without breaking the bank

October 12, 2015
18 Comments
Almost Diplomatic - carolific - Diplomatā€™s Wife - Wedding - Wedding Planning - Affordable - Alvin Malasig

Everyone at my wedding! (Well, almost! Francis, our photographer, was obviously taking the shot)

FourĀ things: Lots of research, careful planning, friends and family who love us dearly, and a teeny tiny bit of luck

When my husband proposed on February 2013, weĀ got into planning our wedding right away. We had a theme, a budget in mind, and 8 months to get everything in place. Sounds like a challenge, doesn’t it? But truth be told, wedding planning isn’t as bad and excruciating as some people might think. It was actually a breeze for the both of us. (I didn’t turn into a bridezilla at any point in the planning and even on the wedding day!)

Almost Diplomatic - carolific - Diplomatā€™s Wife - Wedding - Wedding Planning - Affordable - Alvin Malasig

Nope. No bridezilla! Although I did cry on our wedding day ā€“ a lot.

With a husband who gets a kick out of planning along with friends and family who were ever so supportive, we got what we always wanted. A very classy (if I may say so myself) and intimate wedding with just our closest family and friends where we were able to talk, laugh, and mingle with everyone which made everything just oh-so special.

Plus, we were also able to go on a honeymoon in Singapore and Bali within the wedding budget! How much did everything cost? Php 250,000 (Conversion rates: MYR1=Php11.04, EUR1=Php51.92, USD1=Php45.69)! Which is basically unheard of inĀ the Manila wedding circuit these days.

**In case you’re looking into having your honeymoon in the Philippines, you can check out this post by Honeymoon Backpackers!**

Almost Diplomatic - carolific - Diplomatā€™s Wife - Wedding - Wedding Planning - Affordable - Sofitel

In fact, someoneĀ who writes for a wedding magazine found out aboutĀ our wedding, saw the photos, and was eager to write about it for a feature on intimate weddings. However, when I told him how we did everything by ourselves and how muchĀ money we savedĀ by not going through planners and all the people in the wedding business, he told me he couldn’t write about it anymore. Why? Because the magazine will lose advertisers. šŸ˜›

So I won’t go into detail about everything as this is not a timely wedding guide anymore since it was two years ago. But I hope what you read here will be great advice to anyone who’s in the planning stage! šŸ™‚

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Almost Diplomatic - carolific - Diplomatā€™s Wife - Travel - Paris - Hotel Home Moderne Paris - Antique Book Market
in Europe

Travel: Arrival in Paris + Hotel Home Moderne, Paris (Review) + Antique Book Market

October 7, 2015

After a short stay in Amsterdam, we took the Thalys to Paris. It was a pleasant journey that took a little over 3 hours.

Thankfully, we took the train on that particular day as just a few days later, a gunman boarded the same train and planned to shoot innocent passengers as the train sped through Belgium! Good thing there were 3 men ā€“ 2 Americans and a French national who stopped him! It’s still a running joke that if it were Alvin and me on that train, God knows what would have happened. :)) But I digress.

Getting there

We arrived atĀ Garre du Nord station where we were able take the Metro to where our hotel was.

Almost Diplomatic - carolific - Diplomatā€™s Wife - Travel - Paris - Hotel Home Moderne Paris - Antique Book Market

We were lugging around big suitcases and one thing I should tell you is that Paris Metro stations are not that conducive for people with humungous trolleys with them.

I knew this already and I know I should have packed less but we were staying in Europe for 3 effing weeks! I’m not the backpacker type of traveller either ā€“ I need my hair products and I will never sacrifice my clothing choices. So I pulled and huffed my way to the other side of Garre du Nord.

Alvin tried to help me but I was too proud. I did let a couple of French guys help me carry my suitcase up a fewĀ flights of stairs in two separate incidents. For two good reasons ā€“ 1, my suitcase was indeed heavy and 2, I just want show AlvinĀ that I still got ‘it’. šŸ˜› Whoever started the rumour that the French are snobs, I really have no idea whom you’ve met. The last time I was in Paris in 2013 and on this recent visit as well, I’ve only met kind and helpful Parisians!

We got off atĀ Plaisance where the hotel was a good 10-minute walk from. It’s not too far, to be honest. But with heavy luggage, it did feel like forever.

Location

Almost Diplomatic - carolific - Diplomatā€™s Wife - Travel - Paris - Hotel Home Moderne Paris - Antique Book Market

Hotel Home Moderne is located in the 15th arrondissement so it’s not tooĀ near the city centre and all the attractions. However, with the Paris Metro line, everything in the city and its outskirts are always easily accessible.

Almost Diplomatic - carolific - Diplomatā€™s Wife - Travel - Paris - Hotel Home Moderne Paris - Antique Book Market

It’s more of a residential area where there are quaint cafĆ©s and small restaurants. If you want to see actual Parisians (even in the summer!), I suggest you stay here. You also get the feel of actually ‘living’ in Paris because of the neighbourhood.

It’s a tourist-friendly area but not touristy ā€“ you get what I’m saying? There’s an abundance of small grocery stores which also makes everything easier.

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in Beauty & Fashion, Skincare, Video

Beauty + Video: Guerisson 9-Complex Horse Oil Cream + Unboxing, Real vs Fake, First Impressions

October 3, 2015

I’m on a roll with videos this week! šŸ˜€ I have so much backlog that I’m trying to post as much content as I could before the husband comes home from another work trip! šŸ˜‰

Today’s video is about the much-raved about Guerisson 9-Complex Horse Oil Cream!

But before you start giving me violent reactions, let me just put this out there: I am an animal lover! I was told that Guerisson uses horse oil from Germany which is extracted only from the base of the horse’s main and that these beautiful creatures are not harmed in any way for beauty! So we’re all good!

So here’s an unboxing video where I’ll be going through the features of the packaging. This should be helpful to people who are looking into getting this product as there are a lot of fakes out there! Enjoy! :-*

More later!

Love,

Carol

in Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Denmark, France, Geneva, Leavesden, London, Malmƶ, Paris, Sweden, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Travel, United Kingdom, Versailles, Volendam

Beauty + Fashion [VIDEO]: The humungous (affordable) Europe haul

October 1, 2015

Hi everyone! Finally publishing this requested video which takes over 20 minutes. Crazy long, I know! But there’s just so much stuff to show you! So this is the video where I prove to you guys that shopping in Europe can be VERYĀ affordable. šŸ™‚ While I do have family there who heavily subsidised our trip and spoiled the hell out of us while we were there, the stuff I actually paid for didn’t leave my wallet in a sorry state. I missed Europe and all the things I can get there but I am proud to say that as always, I kept my head and didn’t go wild. Whew! (Always a struggle though if you’re into beauty products and clothes!)

Also, as a disclaimer, I didn’t include everything and even had to cut off a lot of parts just to keep it this short! I kept the most interesting bits, though. The home stuff, I’ll probably talk about them in another entry.

You can check the list of products I mentioned after the video if you don’t want to go through the whole ordeal. šŸ˜‰ I also put them in order so you can easily forward through the video if you’re only interested in a few products!

A friend of mine who saw this video first before I uploaded it also asked why I didn’t get anything from Sephora during the trip. Answer: Because of the low Ringgit, everything is cheaper in Malaysia at the moment! So it would have been a disservice to my wallet and shopping skills if I shopped for makeup there that’s readily available in KL. šŸ˜€

Also, I was able to keep my hands off the Charlotte Tillbury and Tom Ford lipsticks that I wanted with the logic that if I pass on them now and just buy them when I have more savings, then, I will be able to buy more stuff in Boots! Haha! Crazy, I know. I’ve been taking extra freelance work lately asĀ I’ve beenĀ savingĀ up forĀ the high end stuff that I want for my next trip ā€“ which may be coming sooner than I thought! šŸ˜‰

Enjoy!

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in Diplomatic Incidents, Events

Food: Best of the Philippines! Try Our Food in KLCC till Friday!

September 30, 2015

Filipino food is seriously underrated. Despite living in Malaysia where food is an actual tourist attraction, I have to admit that there are times when I still miss what we have at home.

From our world-famous mangoes, crab paste (which I tend to mix with everything), and down to my favourite Tinola (chicken soup with ginger and chilli leaves), there’s just something about our food that will make you want more.Ā Ours isĀ the next type of foodĀ you should be trying before it even becomes too mainstream. šŸ˜‰

In fact, if Malaysians have their staple breakfast food called Nasi Lemak, we Filipinos are proud of ourĀ -Silog meals! Which I should talk about on a different post so as not to veer off the topic for this one. But if you ever find yourself in Laguna Restaurant in KL or Merienda de Eva in Damansara, order yourself aĀ Tapsilog and thank me later.

If you’re currently in Kuala Lumpur, please do drop by the Food and Hotel Malaysia 2015 expo and visitĀ us! The Philippine Pavilion is located atĀ Hall 1, booth 1111.

We have mangoes, chili sauces and dips (which left my Malaysian friends wanting more and wondering why they are not available here!),Ā sweets like polvoron, and as well as healthy juices and cooking aids ā€“ calamansi juice and coconut vinegar, anyone?

Side note: That coconut vinegar makes an awesome chip-dip!

Business owners and food importers are also welcome to ask for details on how you can bring our products here in Malaysia.

Our booth will be in KLCC till this Friday, the 2nd of October. See you there!

xx,

Carol

in Beauty & Fashion, Fashion Tips

Fashion: Charles & Keith re-opens in MidValley with a new concept store

September 27, 2015

MyĀ love for classy shoes and bags is of common knowledge among my friends and most of the time, it’s often hard to resist the temptation once you find yourself a style that you really want.

Charles & Keith has often been my saviour during times when my craving/need for a new pair of shoes or bags gets a bit too much as their productsĀ are always easy on the pocket without sacrificing style and durability!

I’ve been a fan of theirs back in Manila when I was still working as a journalist, wearing their shoes to coverages and stuffing everything that I need for a long work day in their bags. Now,Ā here in Malaysia as a Diplomat’s wife, I often wear Charles & KeithĀ shoes and use their bags to diplomatic receptions and events. I often get compliments for them as well!

Oh, and did I mention that their stuff lasts for years? Yay for value for money, right?

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in Beauty & Fashion

Beauty: Haircare meets sustainability with Davines

September 24, 2015

Hello, my loves. Allow me to take a quick break from all the travel posts and share with you bits and pieces from an event I attended a few days ago.

I went to the autumn/winter preview for Italian hair care and styling brand Davines andĀ I totally had a blast seeing what’s going to be ‘in’ for the latter part of 2015 and learning more about their products.

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