I’ve tasted rock candy from Sticky, Sweet Enchantment and perhaps 1 or 2 other establishments. But I recently had the opportunity to step into the LollyTalk store at Plaza Singapura (#B2-20) and tasted their rock candy offerings.
In this picture above, I have 3 packets of candy for a giveaway – I’ve picked the Limited Edition Minions Mix, the Rainbow Mix, and the Monster Mix. They cost S$4.30 per 70g packet.
What sets LollyTalk apart from the other brands has to be their ‘Acquired Taste’ rock candy.
I tasted Chili Lime and Spicy Mango. The former was too spicy for my liking, but I liked the Spicy Mango so I got a pack to take home. Plum Guava is their bestseller, and there’s also Menthol Grape, Menthol Honey Lemon and Honey Lemon.
This selection costs S$4.90 for 50g.
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I’m not too optimistic about the viability of the rock candy business in Singapore. I think it’s a tad too competitive, with so many brands. So for the mass market, one has to stand out with unique flavors that just keep customers coming back for more. (Best if they are hard to replicate)
Then, to make the business sustainable, one has to get a strong foothold in the corporate gifts and wedding favors business.
We are turning out to be a nation of sugar lovers, aren’t we? Laoban beancurd craze, doughnut craze, cupcake craze, rock candy craze, honeycomb with frozen yoghurt craze. What’s next?
I don’t quite understand what the fuss about fro-yo is all about, but I do appreciate the taste and creativity that’s gone into making the rock candies. Want to win a pack? Pop by my facebook page on Saturday. This one’s gonna be an international giveaway. :)
I was in Jakarta over the weekend on a sponsored trip, and I took my new Maku Store backpack with me. It has pretty floral side panels, is lightweight (great for budget travel!) and once again, has an ‘expandable’ feature. :D
When fully extended, the straps on the front of the backpack allow extra height for last minute shopping! I bought lots of snacks in Jakarta and this backpack gave me the extra room for my chips so none were squashed!
This is a great backpack for school and even for the office (there’s a laptop compartment within). Also, the three compartments in front are great for everything from umbrellas (yes, I brought one with me to Jakarta), tissue, your phone, etc.
The usual price for this backpack is S$69.90 but if you show that you are a fan of my facebook page (and Maku Store Singapore’s), then you only have to pay slightly over S$59 (after 15% discount). *Check in-store for T&Cs*
I won a contest on social media platform, migme, and got to fly to Jakarta to meet Indonesian celebrity, Tarra Budiman. Apparently, he’s very popular in Indonesia and can be considered a household name. I’ve never even heard of him before this trip, but I found him to be really friendly and funny. Tarra speaks good English though I don’t speak a word of Bahasa, so filming this episode entirely in Bahasa was a tad challenging as I had no idea what the chef was saying. Thankfully, I’ve made sushi once before…
It’s really interesting how the end of 2014 has been for me. I’ve already done a ‘cooking video’ with local blogger extraordinaires Xiaxue (Wendy Cheng) and Dr Leslie Tay (check out the blogpost here), and now this video is with Indonesian celebrity, Tarra Budiman! I take it as a sign that more food videos are in store for me. LOL.
I’m very particular about the way my food looks, so I didn’t make 8 pieces (as had been done in the demo) and served up just 4 bigger pieces with the ends chopped off. We also had to spell out the word ‘migme’ on our dish, so I wrote it in mayonaise on a piece of seaweed instead. The squeeze bottle wasn’t cooperative so the writing turned out wonky.
Three pieces of sushi, after Tarra ate one for judging:
I didn’t have the guts to tell the chef that the reason his sushi didn’t get clean ‘cuts’ is because he didn’t clean his knife with a wet cloth in-between slices. I definitely struggled with mine too, as the cloths were all dry. So there you go… sushi-making tip from me to you!
In this picture above, the chef is the dude in the red uniform, the guy next to him is the Indonesian winner of a migme contest (he happens to be a bricklayer), Tarra is in the blue shirt, and there I am making sushi under those bright lights.
In the end, I won the sushi-making contest as the sushi I made was judged to be of a more consistent height and all, but Tarra gave both of us contestants a cap each from his own brand ‘Shining Bright’!
Looking back, it IS kinda crazy to fly 1.5hours to Jakarta, take a 1 hour cab ride to my hotel, and another car journey of 2.5hours in horrible traffic to get to the Japanese restaurant for this sushi-making experience! The filming lasted a really long time as it is generally ‘rubber time’ in Indonesia, and people do not exactly turn up on time (maybe due to traffic) and nobody is in a rush to do anything.
By the time I got to my hotel and was ready for bed, it was about 2am Singapore time. (@_@)
But I did meet some great folks from migme: @reynachan from the migme Indonesia team was awesome (thank you for going snack shopping with me!), Tarra was not intimidating though he’s a big shot in Indonesia, and lotsa thanks to everyone who took me around for food (I wish I remember names better). :)
More on the flight, hotel and taxi-hiring experience in a bit. Stay tuned. :)
If you’re traveling back from Indonesia, ensure you have 150,000 rupiah set aside to pay the airport departure tax! I paid mine at the check-in counter for AirAsia, and the sticker was pasted onto my boarding pass (I did web check-in).
Things to note at Soekarno-Hatta Airport:
1) Don’t get to your boarding gate too early – the waiting area is huge but the air-conditioning doesn’t seem to be working well, so it’s really warm in there.
2) There is a water dispenser near one of the coffee machines at the waiting area – if you have a water bottle with you, time to fill it up!
3) If you have a lot of time before your flight departs, you can head to level 2 where there’s a massage centre – a 30 minute massage costs Rp90,000. [Likewise, don’t head to the boarding gate if you still have a lot of time to kill]
4) The airport WIFI is spotty at best, so don’t count on getting much work done at the airport while waiting. Best if you read a book or take a nap.
5) The nasi ayam penyet at Laras Resto isn’t the best. I get better ayam penyet in Singapore. I’ll give that a miss the next time I’m at that airport.
6) If your flight has just landed at the airport, don’t head out of the airport to flag down a cab if you are traveling alone and are unsure about which cab companies are the safer ones to travel with. Just walk to the “public transport” counter within the Arrival Hall and request for a cab from Blue Bird Group. You’ll be quoted a high price upfront (e.g. Rp 350,000) but just insist that you’re alone and have no need for a big cab, and you can get one at Rp 220,000 (like I did).
7) The bubble tea store serves pretty decent beverages. I bought a grass jelly milk tea and enjoyed it. Best to have a cold drink in hand before stepping out of the airport and into Jakarta’s hot weather!
8) My cab ride to Sari Pan Pacific Jakarta took an hour on a Friday morning while the ride to the airport on Saturday morning took considerably less time. Still, ensure you schedule enough time for your taxi journeys so you won’t miss your flight due to Jakarta’s unpredictable traffic and sometimes really horrible traffic jams.
I stayed at Sari Pan Pacific Jakarta over the weekend and was amazed at how security is pretty tight at the hotels and malls. Apart from the metal detector everyone has to walk through outside my hotel, they also have the handheld devices to scan your bags, sniffer dogs and more guards at the gate who will check the taxi’s boot and also the underside of the vehicles!
Have you ever thought about how much our local security officers are being paid to guard our homes and offices? I recently had the opportunity of finding out what their job and salary is like…
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If you’re offered the option of working full-time six days a week in Singapore, and you’re only going to be drawing a salary of S$800 – S$900 a month, would you take the job?
Your answer might be an outright “no”, like mine was. But this is a reality for over 30,000 security officers in Singapore. How does one survive on an S$800 monthly salary? The truth is, we can’t. And therefore these officers work up to 12 hours a day to get overtime pay.
So that’s 12 hours a day, 6 days a week. And their jobs are not as simple as just sitting behind a desk and staring at CCTV monitors.
When I enter buildings, the security officer is the person who gives me a pass in exchange for ID. And when I need directions, whether I’m in a mall or trying to get to one, I ask the security officer. And at the airport, they are the ones who decide what I can or cannot bring with me.
But beyond that, what do they really do?
What Does A Security Officer Really Do?
Before he retired, my Dad was a security supervisor in one of our major hospitals. And it was quite a stressful job. Sometimes, there would be ministers coming for their checkups, other times scuffles between anxious relatives of patients and hospital staff, and the occasional unreasonable person who lost a bag or phone and demands that Security finds it, like that doctor who brought $10,000 in cash and placed it in a bag in the locker room and has it go missing. (Why bring that much money to work anyway?!)
In general, security officers screen the people and vehicles seeking entry into a property, they patrol and prevent thefts, checks for leaks and signs of fire or smoke, prevent unauthorized entry, check that the security system is working and not tampered with, manage vehicle parking allocation, check lighting is working, operate gates / doors / barriers, do traffic control, maintain access records, and escort visitors, among other things based on the company they work for.
I had the opportunity to speak to a condominium’s security supervisor about what his job really entails, and what job hazards come with it.
It seems that residents staying in that condominium expect much more from him and his team than what is stated in his job description. In cases of encroachment, e.g. if someone’s bicycle is left in what another resident thinks is his space, then a security officer will be called in, when it should come under the condo’s management’s jurisdiction.
To make matters worse, security officers have been accused of taking bribes and damaging property. Some (crazy, maybe?) resident has accused officers of accepting a bribe and damaging his/her car, without any incriminating evidence.
I can only imagine how upsetting it would be if I’m working 12-hour shifts just to earn a decent wage to support my family, and doing my work as best I can, and yet be wrongly accused of damaging property when I would never do something like that.
Too Little Pay, Too Much Work
Security officers are definitely not paid as much as they deserve.
As it is common for service buyers such as condominium and building managing agents to choose the cheapest quote, security agencies compete on price and depress wages as a result.
Security agencies should think of ways to make the jobs of security officers easier, safer and smarter. For example, instead of making the officer walk throughout the premises five times a night, why not install motion-sensor CCTVs that the officer can monitor?
Service buyers who choose the security agency shouldn’t look at security officers as an expense and choose the cheapest, but learn how to best-source based on quality, experience and good service level, for example.
The good news is that things are about to change. The Progressive Wage Model (PWM) for the security industry was launched in October this year, seeing a good number of security agencies jumping on the bandwagon, but for the laggards, they have up still September 2016 to implement PWM within their company.
According to NTUC’s Zainal Sapari, “PWM would ensure there will be a baseline for wage-setting when security firms bid for contracts. The model will also offer a career path for security officers where the salary earned will commensurate with level of responsibility, productivity and training received”.
In its efforts to protect low wage workers, the Labour Movement has established that security agencies who do not comply with the requirements may not have their licences renewed. While it may sound harsh, but for the benefit of the workers, I am glad that something is being done at least to protect them.
Security officers can expect to earn more as they undergo training and greater opportunities for advancement to Senior Security Officer (min. S$1300), Security Supervisor (min. S$1500), Senior Security Supervisor (min. S$1700) and eventually Chief Security Supervisor.
Also, let us also stop taking these security officers for granted. It’s a tough job. Most of them are on their feet much of the day, not all have the luxury of working in an air-conditioned environment, most don’t have a proper pantry to rest their feet and get a much-needed coffee break, and many are thrown challenges daily by demanding “customers”.
If there is a security officer whom you meet daily but have never really spoken to or thanked for a good job done, why not speak with him or her today, or even take it one step further and give the person a thank-you note or a cup of coffee? You know you’ll love it if you’re in his/her shoes. :)
I’ve interviewed many people for this blog – from celebrities to millionaires and young entrepreneurs. So why not bloggers too? :D I had many questions for Miss Lemonade, a Singaporean blogger who blogs mainly about plastic surgery – what a niche! I wanted to know if she thinks Dawn Yang had plastic surgery (she confirmed my suspicions!), how sponsorships work, how she makes money from her blog, and so much more!
But first… here’s how we met…
I got to know Emmeline, a.k.a Miss Lemonade, at a spa’s launch event. The only reason I kept in touch with her was because she made a great first impression on me. ‘Glam’ would be my description of her outfit that day, and she looked very pretty sitting there in the waiting area. I did not expect her to be so friendly. So I ‘liked’ her facebook page and was kept updated about her plastic surgery adventures, or what she calls ‘beauty trips’.
Emmeline helped open my eyes (pun intended!) to the world of plastic surgery, why it’s so addictive, why some people kill themselves after the surgery, and what many people don’t know about before signing up for their first surgery.
[All pictures in this blogpost are courtesy of Miss Lemonade]
Procedures that Emmeline has done:
1) Fat graft (from leg to cheek, to get rid of the ‘sunken cheek’ look)
2) Botox on her jawline
3) Dimple creation
4) Double eyelid surgeries (3 times in total) The first two in Thailand failed, but the final one in Korea was a success
5) Nosejob (2 times) – Using silicon in Thailand and cartilage from her ear in Korea
6) Liposuction (thigh) in Korea
“The success of your surgery depends on Luck and whether you can find the right doctor. But even a good doctor can have fail jobs too.” – Emmeline
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1) First up, share with us how your blog name, Miss Lemonade, came about.
I used to love drinking lemonade. And when I couldn’t think of a good blog name, I settled for Miss Lemonade.
2) Why did you sell your LV bag to pay for surgery?
I bought that first LV bag with my bonus from work. I had been thinking about getting eyelid surgery for years but never took the next step because I didn’t have the money. One day, I thought that I just had to start somewhere, so I sold the bag, and booked that appointment.
Now, I book my air ticket in advance, and every month, I’ll convert some of my pay to the required currency (where my surgery will happen). No more procrastination.
3) How do sponsorships work for you? Do you get paid too?
This year alone, I’ve received about 20K in sponsored surgeries.
I don’t get paid for writing the blogposts but I earn commissions for referrals from my blog. Yes, there’s no way of tracking whether the hospitals pay me the right amount of commissions but I have a full-time job so this is a nice side income.
4) Why is plastic surgery so addictive?
First you change your nose. Then you think about changing your eyes to match your new nose. And then you feel something is still ‘missing’, and you go about changing that nose again or another facial feature. And this ends up becoming an addiction.
Your mindset must be right. Be responsible to yourself: know what you are doing and why you need to do this. Is it necessary? Will it improve anything?
5) Do you feel the same inside, despite the multiple surgeries?
I’m still me. But my character has changed for the better. I am happier, more confident and if I had stayed as the previous ‘me’, I would not have grown. In the past, I used to be fearful of even asking strangers for directions.
I had to take that first step. I can fail but I must not give up.
6) Any horror stories to share regarding plastic surgery?
For my first eyelid surgery, I read reviews on a forum which said that a particular Thai doctor was good. I went to Thailand, located the clinic, and found it to be rundown and dirty-looking. But I decided to just give the doctor a chance based on the positive reviews.
The doctor did not listen to me, for one. And I felt a sharp pain in the middle of the surgery (maybe the anesthetic had worn off). My whole face swelled up and my eyes looked scary. After two years, my eyelids still looked as if they had just been ‘cut’.
But it was my first time going for plastic surgery. I had no prior experience and just popped into that clinic based on reviews.
The bandage can only be removed after 7 days so you cannot wash your face. You can’t wash your hair too unless it is done in a salon. If water gets in, you risk getting an infection. Yes, the skin under the bandage will itch so you’ll have to scratch gently.
7) Is that bad experience the reason why you are blogging about plastic surgery now?
Yes. There is very little information on forums. Those with experience don’t share much, so I’m helping those with zero knowledge get the information they require before going for their first surgery.
8) Will you go for more surgeries? What if you strike the lottery now and suddenly have a lot of spare cash?
I won’t do more surgeries. The money will be put to better use for my kid’s education.
I’ll still need the maintenance work such as fat grafting though. As we age, we lose facial fat.
9) Which surgery was most memorable for you?
After my first nosejob, I teared in front of the doctor. Before that, I had no nose bridge, my nostrils were very wide, and I didn’t expect much change after the surgery. But my looks definitely started to change after I got my new nose.
10) Any advice for people going for their first beauty trip?
If you are below the age of 23, it is likely that you still do not know exactly what you want. Many bloggers go for plastic surgery and many girls want to go with this ‘trend’. However, they don’t know if they can deal with the outcome.
“Don’t go in with a lot of expectations or you’ll feel disappointed. You won’t emerge as another person! Plastic surgery is just for enhancement!” – Emmeline
Many ladies go for plastic surgery because of what their friends have experienced, or due to influences from the media and from watching amazing transformations in TV programs. What they do not know is that these TV programs show the ‘before and after’ but not the 9 months in-between! When your face starts swelling beyond recognition, you just might be unable to accept it. A girl in Korea committed suicide because of this reason!
[Grace: Thus Emmeline shows all the gruesome pictures and candidly shares about which procedures are painful]
Dealing with the downtime is not easy. Most people don’t know what to expect and when your face is swollen, you will start asking “What am I doing to myself?!” It is really not about the surgery or the recovery… it is about the downtime. Can you accept it?
You’ll be looking weird for six months to a year. Can you accept what other people are saying or thinking as they look at you?
Most people think that the swelling will last for only 2 weeks. But there will be micro swelling for six months to a year, before you get your ‘final look’. My nose is a bit slanted now because of the micro swelling. But I will not blame the doctor. I’ll give it the time it needs, and see the final result before I make any judgments.
So go to a few clinics and talk to the doctors. If you feel good about the clinic and service, then proceed with the surgery. Don’t blame the bloggers if something goes awry – what worked well for them may not work well for you.
In Korea, depending on which hospital you select, there is usually a 1 to 2 year warranty period for the procedures. So you can return to fix anything that doesn’t look right.
One of my readers became really gorgeous after her nose job but went and removed the silicon after because though she looked more beautiful, people could tell that her nose had been surgically enhanced. If you want a natural-looking, no-trace-of-surgery look, don’t go for plastic surgery. It’s not going to happen.
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Thank you for sharing, Emmeline! :D I now feel very lucky that I was born with double eyelids and dimples. I definitely will not be able to cope with the post-surgery downtime. You are one brave lady! Thanks for educating us all about what going for plastic surgery really entails. Most bloggers don’t tell us about the bloody, gruesome bits, and only post the glam, masked parts. So your honesty is very much appreciated! :)
If the question “When did you start blogging?” is the question I get asked most frequently, then “Do you regret quitting your job?” comes as a close second. [To read the blogpost about why I quit, click here] When people ask me this question, I give them that face which is supposed to mean “Are you nuts?!” And I recently started answering the question by saying “Yes! I regret not firing my boss earlier!” :D
I think most people have no idea what it is like to be a full-time blogger, and since work is all they know about, they think that I must be seriously regretting my decision to quit back in 2011.
Even though it seems absurd to me to give this question serious thought, I think I may have some different answers on this cold and rainy morning.
It’s 9:55am and I’ve showered, and put some meat and seafood out to thaw so I can cook myself some breakfast brunch in a bit. It’s still raining outside. And I know some people have had to brave the rain to get to work this morning. (I hope you guys brought umbrellas!)
The thought of “How I wish I can stay in bed instead of going to work” never crossed my mind, though I bet it was thought by many people this morning as they dragged themselves out of bed. I can most definitely get back into bed right now and sleep till noon, if I want to.
That’s the power of having choice.
Back in my ‘office days’, if there was a course my manager said I had to attend, I had to attend it, no two ways about it. Now, if there’s an event I don’t want to go to, I simply turn it down and go back to whatever I was doing (maybe even watching ‘MasterChef’ on YouTube).
And in my blogpost about why I quit my job, I once wrote that “I’ve lived almost a quarter of a century. But I can’t say that I’ve left anything worthwhile behind that would last more than a day should I kick the bucket anytime soon. And that is just too sad for me to contemplate living with.”
I wanted to leave a lasting legacy. And I believe I now have it nailed. My book! Woohoo! And the best part is Diana is from the United States. My book is going places – even though I’ve never been to USA!
So, back to that question – “Do I Regret Quitting My S$114,000 Job?”
Yes and No.
I do not miss the job. And I’ll be lying if I say I don’t miss the money. It was good.
But life is better now. Without quitting, I would not have been able to accomplish so many things and grow as a person.
Turning to full-time blogging is immensely scary. I didn’t have the support of anyone – not my family, and most certainly not my boyfriend. My mom, for one, loves “iron rice bowl” jobs and my decision to NOT become an MOE teacher was something she could not comprehend. This is why, ladies and gentlemen, if you purchase a copy of my book, you will not see a page that states “This book is dedicated to my loving boyfriend and supportive family… blah blah blah” because that would be pure bullshit, and I don’t tolerate bullshit.
Many people don’t know this, but right after I quit my job, I didn’t want to look for another job. I was going to rely on my savings while I worked on my blog. At the same time, I went to people’s homes to be a tutor to their children. At least one of the mothers got a shock when she spotted me on TV after I had quit teaching her child.
And the only reason why my mother didn’t give me an ultimatum to either “get a job or get out of my house”? I consistently gave her the same amount of household allowance, not one penny less.
I’m glad I stuck to my decision.
I’ve had the opportunity to do things I never even knew I could do: win a blog award, coach another person to win a blog award, dine with Ministers and MPs, write a book, be featured at the Singapore Writers Festival, get on TV, get on radio 3 times, interview awesome people like Peter Buffett, film a video with Dr Leslie Tay and Xiaxue (both bloggers I look up to), and so much more.
In fact, when I recently accepted an overseas assignment and to travel on my own, I thought about what I would regret not having done if the plane crashed and I perished…
“i have took a look at your website and found out that you are personal brand and image strategist.
a brief introduction of myself:
My name is Tan H– C—. I am the author of the upcoming book:’wealth without worries, how to make more money by doing less’. My publisher has recommended that i contact you for research for this book to boost the asian content. i need 20 minutes. I’m on the publisher’s deadline and would need to set something up within the next 10 days
if you’re open to this, please reply and i will call you back to set up the interview. please find attached media kit where you can review more information.”
How can this email be improved upon?
Have a greeting, and include the addressee’s name, e.g. “Dear Grace” would be nice for a start. :P
Ensure there are no (or few) grammatical errors – you’re an aspiring author for goodness’ sake! “I have taken a look at your website” / “I have visited your website” is more appropriate, as compared to “i have took a look at your website”. And for the record, mine’s not a website.
Make sure you are clear about the person’s occupation – I am not a “personal brand and image strategist”. I am a blogger! I will consider becoming an image strategist if I decide to stop blogging. Though I’ll first have to find out what an image strategist does. Ha!
Please don’t start your email with the first word being an un-capitalized ‘i’ – “i have took a look at your website” is an ‘immediate fail’.
Your book title should similarly include capital letters, unless you are not very confident about this book. Mine’s ‘Blogging For A Living’, what’s yours? ;)
Don’t copy-and-paste a line that your publisher has provided you with, in this case “My publisher has recommended that i contact you for research for this book to boost the asian content” -> Having attended Gerry Robert’s preview class, I know you are his student just from this line alone. And your media kit confirmed it. Your publisher does not know me, and I know that fact. So your saying this is pretty lame.
“i need 20 minutes.” as a sentence is just rude. Try “Would you be so kind as to spare me 20 minutes out of your busy schedule?”
I actually like the book title – it’s catchy, doesn’t reveal too much, and entices one to find out more. So share a bit about what this book is really about, and tell me how you think I can contribute to its success.
Oh Gerry, Gerry, I wonder what it is you teach your students. After all, your class is not cheap. It’s a sweet five figure sum. I hope you include a module about email-crafting because some students definitely need it. Even if it’s of the copy-and-paste variety, if it’s well-crafted, I sure wouldn’t mind saying ‘yes’ to this interview.
I managed to tick off one of the items on my bucket list: Work in F&B! I was invited to Grand Park City Hall (a 5-star hotel), given staff uniforms, and within 3 hours, I had the opportunity of working in F&B, housekeeping, and making a cameo at Reception as a HOST. :D
The hotel has a HOST program in which staff are trained to work in these 3 roles and get significantly higher pay than the other staff who are trained and work only in 1 role.
HOSTs get a fast track up the Progressive Wage Model, NOT by working longer hours, but by working smarter, being more productive and having more skills to contribute to various departments which are facing backlogs
They are empowered to earn more than the minimum salary per job title and they can ‘climb’ up the career ladder based on their capabilities and effort.
The HOST program re-designs traditional roles to enhance employee skills and workforce flexibility through multi-skilling. So during peak periods, the HOST is fluid and skilled enough to be transferred to other sections which may be short of staff. This helps Park Hotel manage the manpower shortage faced in the hospitality industry.
I left the hotel with newfound respect for hotel staff after that learning journey.
I entered the hotel in my sparkly gold dress and Hello Kitty shoes, and had to change into black uniforms for each role. HR also found me some black covered shoes. I was even given a nametag; which signaled that things were getting serious.
First up, my stint in the F&B department…
1) F&B
Thankfully, there were no actual customers at that time as lunch hour had passed. So it was just a role-play. I had two pretend customers, and all they ordered was juice.
As luck would have it, the kitchen had a sudden flood of orders from hotel guests who wanted food sent up to them. So the juice for these two customers took an exceedingly long time to be prepared.
I eventually spotted the lady casting anxious yet amused glances in my direction.
What I learnt:
1) Don’t offer freebies – I was more than happy to offer my guests some dessert to make up for the long wait. I must have truly felt at home. LOL.
2) Let a supervisor / manager appease angry guests – If guests are really upset, let a manager handle the situation. Usually, in the face of ‘authority’, guests are easily appeased.
3) Repeat the order before walking away from the table.
*Guess what, after this learning journey, I found myself at Xin Wang Hongkong Cafe at Plaza Singapura around 5.45pm on a weekday when there weren’t many diners yet. Our order was taken by a lady who looked like a manager, because of the outfit she was wearing. I took the trouble of repeating the order for our table of three for her. And she still managed to get it wrong, and sent us an item we didn’t order. *facepalm* On top of that, our food took really long to be served, considering there were few customers at that time, and we were nearly late for our movie. Ordinarily, I would not have hesitated about sending feedback to the company. But this time, I let it slide. It truly is tough working in F&B. On top of being on your feet all the time, you have to be careful not to spill anything or drop and break anything. Customers tend to be hungry and grouchy and if you get their orders wrong, some might give you a tongue-lashing.
Having experienced the shortest of stints in F&B, I thank staff sincerely when my food is served, and not just for demonstrating good manners. I thank those who bring me to a table, and especially those who serve the food and drink. As wait staff, it’s definitely encouraging to be appreciated by those you are serving. So, complain less, praise more, and be a better customer, ok? :D
2) Housekeeping
I was truly privileged to be taught by Jun Jie, who loves his work!
First you have to load up the heavy trolley with fresh bedlinen and all, then roll the trolley out to the rooms. In the room, you have to strip the bed, and then give it fresh bedlinen as if you have OCD (the lines on the duvet cover have to be parallel to the sides of the bed, everything must look straight and crisp, etc).
And the pillows must be placed in such a fashion that the openings on the pillowcases must be facing each other (in the center of the bed) and not outwards. And don’t even get me started on the bedsheet – at the four corners of the bed, it must be folded and tucked it precisely, with that nice straight line at the corner:
At least Park Hotel has installed an Ezy-maid system under the mattress which makes a house-keeper’s work easier, smarter and safer. The Ezy-maid helps to lift the heavy mattress up, so your hands are free to tuck the covers in properly.
On top of replenishing the toiletries, and cleaning the toilet bowl, bath tub, etc, room attendants have to leave the bathroom DRY. What this means is you wipe down everything.
I was happy to let the bath tub dry on its own after giving it a scrub-down, but nooooo… I had to dry it with a towel so there’ll be no water stains after.
1) Details, details, details! Some guests are extremely particular about how the room looks, so every corner of the bedsheet must be tucked it neatly, the bathroom must be dry, and there must not be any funky smells in the room!
2) Don’t wait around for things to happen. While the Ezy-Maid system is automatically raising the bed to a more back-friendly level, do something else, like removing pillowcases, etc.
3) Work smart – make sure your trolley has all the correct bedlinen you require. If you have to rush back to the pantry to retrieve a missing bedsheet, you are definitely not going to turn around this room in good time.
I felt so tired after ‘refreshing’ this room (I didn’t have the chance to vacuum the carpet because we were running short of time) that I told everyone present I will not mess up hotel beds anymore. I’ll probably just sleep on the cover from now on. It’s so much work for room attendants, who are also assessed based on time taken to refresh a room!
I didn’t get to do much at front desk besides listening to a quick introduction of their duties. When the phone rang, I didn’t dare to answer it as who knows what the guest on the other end of the line could want, right? I let the professionals do the job. :D
It’s not easy working at Reception either. A lady walked up to us with a huge frown on her face, and asked to call one of the rooms. It seems that her friend was late for an appointment with her, and she could not get in touch with the person.
I was told that people who walk up to the counter to request to phone a particular guest must have their particulars verified or recorded, because guests should not be disturbed unnecessarily, especially if this guest in question is a celebrity.
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Lots of thanks to the patient and ever-smiley Jun Jie for showing me the ropes, and Amrit for teaching me how to be a good HOST :)
Do fill out a compliment card for these two the next time you visit Grand Park City Hall. It’ll help tremendously in their careers! :) And don’t be surprised too if you find that the front desk staff who assisted with your check-in yesterday, is the one serving you in the restaurant today, and cleaning your room after you leave the hotel tomorrow! You may have just met a multi-skilled HOST! :D
Let the HOST team share more with you in the video below:
After blogging about this particular Chocoolate x Disney Tsum Tsum launch, I FINALLY got my hands on the winning sweatshirt and socks today! It wasn’t easy though. I had thought that the outlet at Orchard Gateway would attract fewer fans of this launch so I arrived at the store before 11am this morning.
I got a shock when I found that a queue had formed outside – even before the store was open for business! And then my worst nightmare happened. The first batch of people ahead of me (maybe 12 of them) were let into the store. And when it was my turn, the sweatshirt had been SOLD OUT! Like, what the hell, Chocoolate folks? Did you guys bring in just 3 pieces of this adorable sweatshirt or what?! I ended up just buying the socks (sold at S$19.90 for 2 pairs). How sad. Waking up early and rushing there only to end up buying socks, of all things! Still, it was probably the final pair of socks that I snatched up. LOL.
I wasn’t hopeful, but I thought the outlet at Bugis might still have the sweatshirt so I took the train there.
Thankfully… I found the final piece in XS size. Those in S size had been sold out and only a few pieces of those in M size remained. Probably sold out by now too! And yes, the early bird catches the worm. After all, this is Singapore where being kiasu is something even kids are good at so… *shrugs*
In case you are wondering, the sweatshirt costs S$119. If you are a member, or can quickly befriend someone in the queue who is a member, you get 10% off your purchase, like I did. :D
*If you like this design, the shoes cost S$129, but are pretty heavy.
*The adorable mickey / minnie backpack costs S$119, but I wouldn’t have the guts to carry them around ‘cos I’m not 12 years old. LOL.
I have been invited by friends to attend BNI meetings at a handful of chapters in Singapore. So far, most of them meet at (what is to a blogger) ‘unearthly’ hours, basically 7.30am. I have only been to one that meets in the evening, but I didn’t quite like the vibes I was getting from members there, hence I won’t be returning. But after a few hits and misses here and there, I’ve been learning how to make the most out of each meeting I attend, bearing in mind that I have sacrificed sleep and done what most bloggers do not usually do, if at all.
For the uninitiated, BNI stands for Business Network International. In a nutshell, each “chapter” or group has members from different occupations (you cannot join a particular chapter if someone from the same occupation is already a member there). They meet on on a regular basis and refer business to each other. As a visitor, you get the opportunity to share about your business and you just might get some new clients if you are lucky. Most of the time, you have to pay a ‘networking fee’ which will cover your meal there (around the range of S$10 to S$20). To join a BNI chapter, annual membership is over S$600 and there’s a registration fee too. And you’ll also have to pay for meals.
As a visitor, you pay for the opportunity to network, and you’ll also have to wake up early and make your way to the venue, therefore you should grab the opportunity to make the most out of your time there.
So here are my 5 tips for anyone who visits a BNI meeting and wants it to be a fruitful session. If you have any tips to share, please drop me an email and I’ll credit you in my next post. :)
#1: Prepare what you want to say and do before you attend any meeting
As the saying goes, ‘if you fail to plan, you plan to fail’. I have attended meetings without thinking about how I will introduce myself in the 30 or 60 seconds given to each visitor at each meeting. It is valuable airtime that can either give people a great lasting impression of you, or make you un-memorable like the rest in the room.
I had my pitch ready today, and it turned out pretty well as I’d timed myself to perfection at home.
If the bell goes after your 30 or 60 seconds is up, and you are still trying to get some final words in, you simply sound desperate (for business). So make sure you keep it short and sweet, and though I’m saying this again, timed to perfection.
And since you are speaking about YOUR own business, and not anyone else’s, you should be able to share WITHOUT referring to notes, your iPad or your phone. It’s just a 60 second introduction at most so MEMORIZE it by heart and have eye contact with your audience instead of reading off a screen.
#2: Get to the venue early & make yourself comfortable
There is nothing more scary than having to speak before a group of strangers. And it is worse if you are feeling cold and hungry, having not had breakfast.
Breakfast is usually served after the meeting ends, so head to the venue early, and grab a cup of coffee or milo, and give yourself time to settle in.
Make a few new friends among the early birds too! Then you’ll feel like you are speaking to friends when giving that introduction, instead of a scary bunch of strangers.
#3: The space where you are seated at is prime advertising space
This is what I did today: I brought a book stand (S$2 from Daiso) and a browsing copy of my book ‘Blogging For A Living’. Also, I had a box of namecards ready for anyone to just grab a card, even if I am not at my seat:
When I was away from the table, and actually in the pantry getting my milo fix, someone came over to look for the lady whose face is on the cover of the book, ME! :D
It is near impossible to miss seeing my book when you walk into the meeting room, so people know an author is in the room. And they will be more likely to pay attention to my introduction. :)
I collect namecards but I also throw many of them away every year. Most people have plain-looking, even cheap, namecards. I make sure mine stand out from the rest.
It has my face on it. It has my contact details behind, including the title of my book and my blog URL.
And as about 99% of recipients have told me, my namecard is “SO CUTE!” How can you throw away a card that looks so adorable? You just can’t, unless you are heartless. Haha! :P And yes, people at BNI have kept my card and called me months after I first met them. Cool or cool?
#5: Make them an offer they cannot resist
So today I offered people who bought my book an advertising slot on my blog for FREE. Not everyone bought a copy, but I knew not everyone will anyway.
My book is an awesome read (as I have been told) and it is also the most amazing ‘business card’ for me. Read it and you will know why I do what I do and even how I do it.
I gave book buyers an advertising slot for free – usually advertisers pay hundreds of dollars for one. But it gives me an opportunity to follow up with these people.
And if they like what they read in the book, and what the ad brings them, I might get more future business.
And to me, there is no loss at all from giving out free ad space. Plus, I earn a good sum from the sales of the book. I get an “author’s discount” from my publisher. So it’s a win-win situation for me.
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I hope you have enjoyed this blogpost. I’ve shared tips from my own experience attending quite a number of BNI chapter meetings, so you can make your next visit pretty awesome. Feel free to share the link to this post with your friends (social media sharing buttons below).
Let me know if you have any tips to add on to this post. I’ll be most happy to hear from you. :D
I bet you have heard about blogging Queen, Xiaxue, almost getting into a legal tussle with a slimming centre because she had blogged about how their gua sha (scraping) and ba guan (cupping) treatments were painful and ultimately did not result in any significant weight loss for her.
I was told that the founders of that particular slimming company are, supposedly, ex-clients of Absolute Slimming, and had set up shop and tried to replicate what they experienced during their slimming treatments there.
Without prior knowledge of acupoints and how they work, just randomly sticking suction cups onto your clients will not result in weight loss, as it’s just ultimately guesswork. Perhaps, if you cover your client’s body entirely in ba guan cups, you might get lucky and hit the right spots. But like Xiaxue mentioned, your client will look like a “tentacle” due to the many round bruises.
I had the opportunity to speak with Irene Chye, founder of Absolute Slimming, to find out why customers have almost nothing but praise for the business she founded in 2002 and has been managing since, what she thinks about clients or staff setting up businesses to rival hers, and why her treatments work when similar-looking ones have failed.
1) How did you get started with using gua sha and ba guan to help people achieve weight loss?
About 12 years ago, when I was still a housewife, single, and raising three kids, I became interested in the idea of TCM-based slimming. After learning the basics of acupoints from a friend in China, I experimented with using gua sha and cupping as a way to help people lose weight with no rebound. It was a lot of trial-and-error, but over time my knowledge of acupoints improved, and so did my customers’ results. Also, there are certain foods that cannot be consumed while the treatment is ongoing – and it took many years for me to identify them.
Over the course of one month, our cupping and gua sha treatments will speed up your metabolism, reduce your appetite and tone your problem areas, helping you to lose 4 to 6 kg in the process. During this one month, our customers will be required to follow a flexible diet plan which varies from individual to individual. Once we have stabilized the increase in your metabolism, you should be able to resume your normal diet after treatment without any rebound.
2) One thing that amazes me about your business is how you clearly state the prices for your treatments on your website. Why do you do this?
Before setting up this company, I actually went into a previous slimming business with a partner, and that business failed after about a year. There were some practices I did not agree with, so I ensured it did not happen again in Absolute Slimming.
My business partner at that time was happy to offer clients who looked like they are rich more expensive packages and fewer discounts. Similarly, my clients have shared with me that they have been to slimming centres with treatments that do not work, but the consultants will tell them that it’s all “stubborn fat” and that they have to upgrade their package to one of a higher price, and eventually they will find that those do not work too.
At Absolute Slimming, our policy is that we will never sell you treatments you don’t need. For example, most people require eight treatments over one month because that’s what it takes to ensure their weight loss does not rebound in the future. Anything more than that is just unnecessary. And for underweight customers who come to us looking to get rid of a specific problem area, we recommend only six treatments.
I’ve been told that I’m too honest to be a businesswoman, but I believe that as long as we conduct our business fairly, everything else will fall into place.
3) How long do these ba guan bruises usually last and why did Xiaxue’s last an usually long time?
The bruises usually fade in about two hours. The gua sha done on Xiaxue was too vigorous and therefore those reddish marks quickly appeared after the ba guan was done.
Also, I use a special homemade cream for the ba guan. It is my own concoction so it is unlikely you can find a similar one elsewhere. Sure, you can buy these little ba guan cups online, but not this cream.
4) Having had clients who learn about what you do and set up businesses to rival yours, have you become less open to teaching your staff about what you know? Does this also mean you have to serve all clients yourself?
My business has expanded from being home-based to this current outlet in Holland Road Shopping Centre. Scaling up means that I need to teach my staff everything I know and have them serve clients alongside me. When I first found out about my ex-clients replicating my life work, I took it pretty badly. Because I had little formal education and I’m not an aggressive business person by nature, it just seemed like the odds were stacked against me. It took me a while to accept that as long as I was good at what I do, there will always be competition around the corner, and I’ve learnt not to take it personally. And even though there is competition, I must not hold back from providing quality training to my slimming therapists!
Moreover, in the last 12 years, I have refined my slimming technique to the point that my success rate is 99%, with no rebound. I am so confident about my results that I offer a money back guarantee – if you follow my program strictly but still do not lose weight, you will be eligible for our refund policy. I’ve been in business for over a decade and till today, only one customer has ever asked for a refund.
And because my satisfied clients often refer their friends to me, I am happy to give them a token of appreciation in the form of complimentary heat treatments (priced at S$90 each).
5) This gua sha & ba guan treatment has to go alongside a strict no-carbohydrates diet. What do YOU eat on a daily basis?
There are some people who are very lucky – no matter what they eat and how much they eat, they do not gain weight. Not me. Just like how milk causes some people to get diarrhoea, and how seafood causes some people to break out in rashes, rice causes extreme weight gain in some cases. It all depends on what type of food your body is sensitive to.
Unfortunately, my body is extremely sensitive to rice. Eating rice causes me to put on weight so I don’t eat very much of it – just the occasional fried rice meal and that is it.
For breakfast, I’ll have wholemeal bread, with perhaps some peanut butter. Lunch involves some vegetables and meat (I tell my clients to take two servings of vegetables and one serving of meat) and I eat almost the same thing for dinner.
I have a weakness for chocolates, biscuits and I love the green tea kitkats! :D But of course, I tell my clients that they must not eat these while on the program.
6) Give us an idea of what your clients can (or cannot) eat while undergoing treatment at Absolute Slimming.
Our diet plans are extremely flexible, even though some may consider it to be somewhat plain. During the 1 month of treatment, our clients are required to completely eliminate carbs from their diet, unless it is non-processed carbs we’re talking about (for example, wholemeal breads). Vegetables are great, except for a few with very high sugar content. Most fruits are fine, but it’s important to remember that because they have different caloric content, we prescribe different fruits to different customers based on their needs. We do not have a standardized diet plan as everyone’s physiologies are simply different.
Some additional tips:
Make sure that you only eat till you are 70% full for lunch and dinner. Our treatments help to shrink your appetite, and it is important that you avoid ‘over-expanding’ your stomach during treatment.
Buy a weighing scale. The progress you make will serve as motivation for you.
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Irene offered to let me try this program and I passed on the opportunity to my guest writer, Kirbie instead. She’s preparing for her upcoming ROM ceremony and will be a more obedient client for Irene. (I have a weakness for chocolate too)
Here’s Kirbie, before her first session at Absolute Slimming:
Also, this allows me to give an objective take on whether Kirbie looks like she has lost some weight. If I’m on this diet, I might try to convince myself that my clothes feel looser even when they are not, simply because I would have gone through all the diet-related sacrifices.
Thus, my next post on Absolute Slimming will be a guest article from Kirbie. Stay tuned! :D
Vogue Japan’s December 2014 issue is one of the priciest magazines I’ve bought this year, at S$15.20 from Kinokuniya. This particular issue comes with a free COACH notepad.
I’d love if the notepad is a little bigger, though this one is great for small purses. And in a striking bright pink, each note will be impossible to miss.
Get 10% discount if you’re a Kinokuniya member! :) Not a fan of magazines? Well, you can purchase ‘Blogging For A Living’ too. Hahaha!
I’m more a fan of backpacks than handbags but I could not resist this particular one in a pretty shade of lilac! It comes with a detachable sling too, and is available in 3 colors at Maku Store Singapore (#03-20 Bugis Junction).
If you’re thinking of getting a present for a female friend or family member, head on down to Maku Store where you can get 15% off just by showing staff that you are a fan of my facebook page and theirs. (*Check in-store for T&Cs)
When I first saw an ad on Facebook regarding the new Hello Kitty x Moleskine notebooks, I knew I had to get one. Or two.
I purchased the limited edition large notebooks which come with 240 plain pages and 3 bookmarks each.
These notebooks cost S$41… EACH! I got mine from hipvan.com with S$10 discount for signing up for their newsletter, and free delivery. Though it is stated on the site that it’ll take 2-3 weeks for the items to be delivered, I received my package the very next day. Amazing!
You can also purchase Moleskines from bookstores like Kinokuniya. Kino currently has 20% discount for members from 10th to 25th Dec 2014. So hurry and get your favorite Moleskines today! You’ll probably pay just S$32.80 for these Hello Kitty Moleskines!
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Why pay over 30 or 40 dollars for a notebook?
Well, that’s a question I’m still trying to answer myself. :P
I love the designs. It’s just like how people pay a little more for an Apple product, when there are way cheaper made-in-China alternatives. Get what I mean?
And I do try to get them only when there’s a discount. Ha! I guess this means I should head to Kino again soon. A blogger can never have too many notebooks.
In case you received the impression that Maku Store Singapore caters only to the ladies, here’s an item just for the guys. And I’m doing a giveaway, which you’ll find at the end of this blogpost! :D In the picture above is a long wallet from Maku Store, with over 9 card slots for all your credit cards, and a zipped compartment for coins, plus two SIM card slots.
If you cannot wait to get your hands on a Maku Store Singapore wallet, head down to Maku Store (Bugis Junction #03-20) today and enjoy 20% discount off all men’s wallets! (details on their facebook page)
{ Giveaway }
One winner will receive this wallet (worth S$49.90) in a gold Maku Store Singapore gift box. Just complete these 3 simple steps:
I’ve never really addressed this issue of why I conduct blogging workshops and coaching sessions. Perhaps not even in my book ‘Blogging For A Living’.
In the image above, you see a testimonial written by my coachee for today, Angel Lim, a financial adviser from the firm Zurich.
She is many years my senior (but doesn’t look a day older than me) and is an MDRT qualifier in her field of work.
I am constantly impressed by the people who pay good money to attend my workshops. My workshops are not ‘bloody expensive’ but neither are they ‘dirt cheap’ because I really value my time.
Back to the workshops. I conduct them because they were what I DESIRED when I first started out blogging. And ESPECIALLY when I decided to blog for a living.
If people like Xiaxue held seminars at that time to teach me how to make my blog a success, I would have paid upwards of S$2,000, at the very least.
I didn’t get that luxury of learning from amazing bloggers, so I had to pick up everything the hard way, through trial and error. And oh, I did make some horrendous mistakes. Ha!
So my workshops really help people get started. You really cannot come up with excuses during the workshop. Angel had to put together her blog and ‘About’ page today while I watched like a hawk. Her excuse of having no photos in her new laptop did not sit well with me. I told her to just log into facebook and retrieve a photo. So she did. Her old blog had not a single photo of her – actually, not a single photo of anything.
The session was supposed to be for 2 hours, but it stretched till about 15 minutes more. And even then, she felt she wanted more. :D But sorry, I’m actually intraverted – though I’m good with people, I actually prefer to be alone. I love to coach and train groups, but it really drains my energy. So 2 hours is just nice for me.
What Angel got out of this session was a blog she could start working on immediately. We got her ‘About’ page together, her niche figured out, she learnt how to monetize the blog with ads and the part about generating traffic nailed. Plus, I also gave her a roadmap of what sort of blogposts she should be uploading next. She’ll likely not run out of ideas for the next 3 months at least.
Also, I linked her up with my publisher, illustrator friend, and photographer pal, and she is well on her way to publishing her first book. (Though she has the manuscript sitting on the backburner for God-knows-how-long already)
I see my job as helping people get onto the right track and setting those wheels in motion. Yes, they will have to keep those wheels turning and stay focused and motivated. But in any case, I am just an email or Whatsapp message away.
If you want to know the real reason for why I conduct workshops… yes, the money is good, but I am really doing for people now what I wish I had in the past.
And yes, if you are the sort who loves to procrastinate, you should definitely come and meet me. I’ll kick your ass, and you’ll still thank me for it after. :D
Cooking oil commercials usually involve a kitchen, something sizzling on the stove, a happy family sitting down for dinner, etc. And of course, food. Lots of food.
In the TVC production by HuatFilms, Michelle spouts lines in Korean, Tagalog, Taiwanese Mandarin, Russian and English. I don’t understand Korean, Tagalog or Russian, but I think she really sounded Taiwanese. :D
And in this black-and-white TVC, she’s not even in a kitchen. She’s dressed like she’s going to the Star Awards.
Interesting. Very interesting indeed.
If Leticia’s the one in the TVC, I think the majority of Filipino maids in Singapore will be buying OKI Oil using their employers’ money. Ha!
And OK, if I ever do go shopping for cooking oil, I’ll be sure to get a bottle of OKI.
I have a confession to make. I’ve been in the “holiday mood” since the start of December (or earlier). LOL! So while various brands have been sending me awesome products to review, I simply didn’t feel like reviewing them till it got dangerously close to the end of the month. That’s one of the drawbacks of being your own boss, I guess. :D
In any case, I have tried and tested these products from Cornell, Julie’s, SK-II and Pantene. And I have to say that I really wouldn’t mind getting them as Christmas presents, if I don’t already own them. Here goes…
It’s one of those fancy-schmancy kitchen scales ‘cos of its touch screen capabilities. Ha! But since it has Hello Kitty on it, it is awesome. And to be really honest with you, the only fault I could find with this scale is that the ON/OFF button and the TARE button are almost inseparable, so when you are hitting “TARE”, you might accidentally switch off the entire device if your fingers are not skinny enough. The Pros: it is just too cool (a Hello Kitty fan cannot ask for more), it weighs ingredients up to 5kg, and it’s easy to clean.
Also, now you know that one of those Twelve Cupcakes creations weighs about 60g. Yummy they are, but each is easily packed with over 200 calories (based on my online research) so watch out for that waistline. <- A reminder to myself. *I love the Chocolate Chocolate ones. The Strawberry Vanilla is too artificial-tasting for my liking.
Price of Weighing Scale: S$29.90 at all major electronics stores. The usual price is S$39.90 but it’s on promotion now due to the celebration of Hello Kitty’s 40th Anniversary! Price of Cupcakes: 3 for S$9.
I love Julie’s biscuits, especially the Rich Tea Oat ones. And now, they have just become more awesome with a collaboration with Hershey’s. I was gifted with 4 products from their new range. Because I’ve been ill with a bad cold, my boyfriend became the (happy) lab rat for these cookies. His favorite: Chocolate Fudge Cookies (S$3.90). (I would pick those too, even without tasting them)
Get a box of Julie’s Hershey’s cookies at your nearest supermarket! :)
3) SK-II Facial Treatment Milk
I attended SK-II’s Festive Party last weekend and was given a number of goodies. Among them is the Facial Treatment Milk, which I’ve never heard of before.
The Facial Treatment Milk smells nicer than the Facial Treatment Essence. The consistency reminds me of the Cellumination Essence. It feels just a little bit sticky after application, but leave it on overnight and it’ll get absorbed into your skin by the time you wake up.
4) Pantene BB Creme for Hair & Hair Strength Tonic
Both these products can be left on your hair without the need for a rinse, so it’s really convenient for busy folks who still want great hair.
I don’t know why they named it BB creme for hair, beyond the fact that it makes people go “Wait a minute… BB creme for HAIR?!” I use this product to tame frizz and I suppose it does add a little shine though my hair is short now so I can’t tell if it will also de-tangle hair, prevent split ends, etc. If you have long hair, you should give it a try.
As for the Hair Strength Tonic, well, it smells good and it supposedly “makes hair stronger for up to 98% less hair fall”. I’m definitely going to keep using this as the application is easy and like I said, it smells good. Even if it doesn’t give me 98% less hair fall, I’ll take it as perfume for my hair. :D
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Christmas is just around the corner, so… in case I don’t have another blogpost up before Christmas Day, I’d like to wish you a Merry Christmas now! :D And if you are still shopping for presents, hopefully this blogpost is of help. :)
So we are ending the year with a bang in the blogosphere, with this really quite stunning exposé about Gushcloud. Read it on Xiaxue’s blog here.
I pity the bloggers who will not be getting a good night’s sleep tonight, if they manage to get any sleep at all.
I’m not terribly interested in Gushcloud’s finances and what they ‘reportedly’ earn, but fees charged for blog banners and IG ads are intriguing to me. Also, the point about blogger integrity where ads are concerned.
Xiaxue only took offence with bloggers who mask ads as personal serendipitous discoveries. Now, how about bloggers who are not entirely honest in that ad because they are paid to say or do certain things?
{ Are There Any 100% Honest Bloggers? }
Sure, there will always be bloggers calling out other bloggers over a perceived lack of blogging ethics. But are there successful bloggers who are perfectly ethical, withhold no facts from their readers, and put out nothing but the truth? My instinct tells me there are none. My experience confirms it.
(Without naming anyone) I was once involved in a cooking video with 2 very prominent bloggers in Singapore. I’d won the video opportunity in a blogging contest, and so I wasn’t paid to be part of the video but I jumped at the chance of meeting 2 bloggers I admire.
Cooking took over an hour. Probably an hour and a half. But the trouble was that the advertiser was promoting home-cooked meals within 30 minutes, and serving up a sumptuous 3-dishes-and-1-soup in that short time-frame.
When the video was released for public consumption, the 2 bloggers had to do social media shoutouts about the video. And I was rather taken aback by how BOTH of them stated that the entire meal was prepared “in just 30 minutes”. Nothing could be further from the truth. Even with 3 bloggers, we took over an hour. No one person could put those same dishes together in 30 minutes without having 8 arms and 4 stoves, and a lot of practice.
However, both bloggers did state that it’s a sponsored post. And as 3 of us do not usually make videos together, any (smart) viewer should be able to tell that one must take it all in with a pinch of salt.
Ultimately, it was a pretty harmless ad. Even if a viewer decided to buy all 4 advertised items, it would add up to less than S$10.
Like Xiaxue mentioned in her blogpost about Slim Couture (“I’d rather forgo thousands of dollars than risk my readers blaming me for making them lose shitloads of money because they trusted me and when (sic) to pay for something I vouched for.”), there is greater pressure on bloggers to speak only the truth when their fans have a lot to lose if they buy into the ad.
{ “Advertorial”: To State Or Not To State }
Many bloggers insist on stating whether a blogpost is an advertorial or not, and on social media, whether a post is sponsored or not.
To me, it makes no sense to include these labels because I write my opinion pieces and sponsored posts the same way. I used to label the posts. I once reviewed a Casio camera that gave me some, well, crappy pictures, and I uploaded those too. The sponsor wanted a photo removed so I took it down and made a note in the same blogpost.
I don’t want readers to think that posts labeled as “Advertorial” are nothing but paid ads. Anyway, I do paid interviews sometimes, and it really looks silly to label an interview as being a “Paid” one. So yes, while I’m saying there are no 100% honest (successful) bloggers, I’m saying I’m not 100% honest either. If I believe there is value for my readers in that article written, I see no need to label it as an ‘Advertorial’ even if I was paid to write it.
Now, if you’ve read Xiaxue’s post about Gushcloud, you can ask yourself this: If you were paid S$300 to upload just ONE instagram post and tell your followers about this free trial, with the only catch being that you cannot state it is a paid post so you have to say you heard about it from a friend, would you take the money and upload the post? Think about it: no one is handing over any money (it is a free trial), and you make S$300 in the time taken to upload one photo (which is what? 15 seconds?) – Would You Do It? ;)
Blogs are not biblical texts (and even Bibles were written by people), so be discerning as a reader and judge for yourself whether a blogger is credible or not. If he/she raves about a product, but you and other readers buy the product and realize it is a lousy one, then leave that blog page and don’t go back. If the blogger offers you both the pros and cons of each product, you know you can trust this person a little bit more.
Ultimately, you must know what you are following each blogger for. If it’s just to look at pretty pictures, gain an insight into a blogger’s glitzy life, or if it is ‘cos the blogposts bring some joy into your life, then don’t be too harsh on the blogger if it is revealed that he/she has not been 100% honest in small ads that don’t put a dent in other people’s finances.
Sometimes, people do unthinkable things for the sake of money. And almost every time, bills need to be paid. Ultimately, (most) bloggers have no intention to cause harm to their readers.
Image may be NSFW.
