Since I permed my hair in February this year, I found that the hair ends have become really dry and looks awfully damaged at times when I don’t apply enough hair serum. Also, I found that I tend to lose a lot of hair, especially so when washing. Also, my scalp tends to get oily very fast.

So I decided to do something about it by enquiring what kind of shampoo I should use to improve the condition of my hair.

I asked several salons before going back to the one that I got my perm done and was given some complicated dual diagnosis of what could be the problem with my scalp. It was a good thing I didn’t take the diagnosis too seriously from them because it seemed like a big problem I was having.

When I asked the lady at the salon where I usually get my hair done, I was simply recommended the Shiseido Fuente shampoo to fix the problems. It’s rather costly though, at about RM62 for a 300ml bottle. So what I did was to purchase the salon refill pack which comes in 1,000ml at RM120. It works out much cheaper to buy the refill pack.

This is the 300ml bottle of shampoo

This is the salon refill pack of 1,000ml

The product description is as follows:

Usage of this shampoo will release your hair with a new-found freedom in volume, thickness and fluidity. As your scalp is pampered with cleansing, an added sheen of protection is given to your hair.

• Very mild but leaves hair feeling soft and refreshed

• The reaction of hair with Amino Acid induction provides a conditioning effect. Hair becomes stronger yet silkier, less static and no longer prone to breakage and dropping

• Menthol boosting agent leaves one feeling invigorated

• Floral green fragrance

• Effective formulation of Arnica Montana and Zanthoxylum Piper fruit extract for scalp promotes hair growth and helps regain hair’s natural black

The lady at the salon gave me wonderful advise on how to use the shampoo effectively. I was told to apply a small amount directly on the scalp area and clean thoroughly. I may rinse it off with water and apply another small amount to wash a second time, both times to concentrate on the scalp.

For conditioner, I was recommended to use another range from Shiseido as well, which is more suited for permed hair, the Shiseido Program Solution Hair Mask CW. A 200ml tube costs RM68.

The product description is as follows:

• Restore hair damaged from coloring and perm and enhance hair suppleness

• Wavy hair becomes lighter and bouncier

It’s actually a hair mask, but can be used as a conditioner and for best effects, I leave it in for 2 minutes before rinsing off. The amount I was suggested to use is just the size of a 20 cents coin, to be applied only at the hair ends.

Now comes the reviews of both the Shiseido Fuente shampoo and Shiseido Program Solution Hair Mask.

I’ve only got good things to say about both the shampoo and hair mask as they really do the job that they are described to do in their respective product descriptions.

What I was most impressed with is that I saw results very quickly, and the results are great. I wash my hair on alternate days, so it’s not even a daily use shampoo for me. In fact, the results were already noticeable after the second time I used the shampoo and hair mask, and in that sparing amount recommended.

Although the products are pricey, I believe it does go a long way since I don’t use too much of them and most importantly, they truly work to restore healthier looking hair. Now my waves are soft and shiny compared to the dry and sparse condition they were in. I don’t even use my curl booster anymore because I like how soft and naturally the curls fall.

The ends of the hair look so much healthier now and I can even see the shine. The curls seem very natural too. I guess the results I’ve gotten is mostly the work of the hair mask. Shampoo wise, I guess it did help with the hair fall control as I noticed that I am not losing as much hair as before. But on the oily scalp area, it still hasn’t done much for me. Maybe it’s because I am out a lot and so my hair tends to get dirty faster.

I’m just happy enough to have found products that can help improve the health and look of my hair. Doesn’t matter if I have to do more frequent washing, but I still maintain an alternate day washing regime as I was told that washing hair on a daily basis is not really recommended.

If you are looking for good hair care products, I would definitely recommend this brand and if this range suits your hair type and condition, I would say it’s worth the price to pay. You may not want to use it over a long term, you can always use a bottle to get your hair back on track and make sure you manage well after that.

Truly no regrets and a big thumbs up for Shiseido’s hair products!

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Shiseido Fuente shampoo and Program Solution hair mask are simply great!

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I’ve always been a pro-online shopper, and I’ve extended it from merely physical item shopping to financial services too. I do banking online whenever I can skip going to the banks and even get my car and life insurance quotes online if I can do so, provided they are not more expensive.

Last year I purchased my car insurance online and found it to be a pleasant experience. I also used the services of MyEG to renew my road tax and had it delivered to my door step for a mere additional RM10. All was easy and convenient. Until this year.

When I tried renewing my road tax the same way this year via MyEG, firstly I wasn’t sure if the system captured my transaction at all after I tried submitting twice. Since nothing was delivered to me after waiting for 2 days, I knew the transaction didn’t go through.

So I did it once again and this time an error message appeared to say that my road tax cannot be renewed via MyEG services and I had to contact the company. Instead of doing that, I thought for speed sake I’d just have my car grant taken from the bank and have my road tax renewed at the post office.

At the post office, we were told that it can’t be done because MyEG did not update my previous year’s road tax details into the system. Having this problem, we thought maybe going direct to JPJ would help. Even at the JPJ office, they said they can’t do anything because the latest information about my road tax was not there.

It was a real inconvenience that we had to go back to the MyEG office and get them to update the details which should have been their duty to have it done a year ago! Anyway, they got it updated. But we still couldn’t get it renewed right away because they had some system problem and we were told to wait for an hour or so.

When the system was up again, we were told the road tax can’t be renewed for a 1 year period and can only be done for the 6-month period because the 1-year system was still down. Isn’t that extremely strange??

So without a choice, we just had it done for 6 months first. I will not want to use MyEG Services again once the 6-month period is up. I’ll just go through the conventional way of getting it done right the first time. Such a waste of time using their online service which is supposed to help you save time!

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• My opinion on IKEA’s office furniture

Most of us shop at IKEA at one point or another, whether it’s to buy furniture pieces or small items like tea light candles, plastic bag holders or even bed sheet sets. Have you tried IKEA’s office furniture?

Well I have and I have to say they are quite nice and durable. Years ago when I was put in charge of setting up a new office, I was tasked to get all our office desks and storage solution from IKEA. I started by looking through all the office furniture they had and lucky for me the staff of IKEA are quite friendly, so I had a lot of help from one particular staff who asked me exactly what I wanted and suggested pieces to meet my needs.

Now years later I’m still shopping there for my home office. My latest purchase was a swivel chair. The model is VERNER and at the time I bought it, it was going for RM299, and I had a choice of either a black one or a white version.

I bought this chair just a couple months back, maybe 3 or 4 months ago. Now, the chair is selling at RM339. Must be quite a popular one. And I’m not surprised that it is because it is very comfortable. One thing I would like improved is the reclining state as it doesn’t recline much. But this being a work chair, I guess it’s best to sit upright anyway.

You can check out the details of this chair here.

So far I’ve had good experiences with IKEA’s office furniture collection. So if you are looking for a working table or chair, whether for your own home or office use, you can consider IKEA’s range. Not too bad and I think the prices are not too exorbitant for the quality they offer.

IKEA is having their sales right now, so if you are looking, hop on over and see if you can get a good bargain or two.

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• Good first impression with AEON Bukit Tinggi Shopping Centre

I was in Bukit Tinggi in Klang today and dropped by at AEON Bukit Tinggi Shopping Centre for lunch. It’s my first time there and I must say I’m impressed. It’s a really huge mall with ample parking space. There are both outdoor and indoor parking spaces and I didn’t have any trouble looking for a spot at peak lunch hour on a weekend.

When I stepped into AEON Bukit Tinggi, my first thought was “Wow, it’s roomy in here!”. The aisles in shops and even around the shopping centre are really spacious. The shops are big too, so I guess that’s why they can afford to give you more space to browse around.

I actually didn’t spend much time walking around to check out all the tenants in AEON Bukit Tinggi Shopping Centre. I headed to Black Canyon restaurant for lunch, and then headed to the game centre inside Jusco for my son to play for a while. Then we left for home.

But during the short period of time that we walked from one place to another, I recall seeing plenty of eateries, and at least they are somewhat different shops from the usual ones found in malls back in PJ and even in downtown KL.

Since the mall is so huge, I think there are many exciting retail options there. If I have more time in the area next time, I won’t hesitate to go check it out further. But it’s not a place I’ll purposely drive to shop in because it’s really far from where I live. The drive there was really a long one for a lazy person like me! Haha.

Have you visited? Do tell what you think of it.

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• Review of The Zun Express at Mid Valley

If you enjoy nutritious and clear soups, one place that I would like to recommend is The Zun Express at Mid Valley. The Zun Express is part of the Eu Yan Sang group and they are located right next to Eu Yan Sang shop on the lower ground floor of The Gardens, Mid Valley.

The restaurant is always packed with people and just once after we tried it, we’ve also been consistently going there to eat most of the time when we are in Mid Valley.

The reason is that the attraction for us are the soups. They are various nutritious soups offered at very reasonable prices, between RM8 to RM12 per portion and it is good for at least 2 persons to share if not 3. When you order the soup, you will also be given a portion of rice and this is how I actually like to have it. Just plain soup with rice will make a very satisfying meal for me.

Other than the soups, they also offer a variety of noodles. So far I’ve tried several of the noodle dishes but my favourite there is still their Hokkien noodle. If you take a look around, most patrons tend to order a portion of the Hokkien noodle to share if not as an a la carte main course for themselves. It’s definitely one of the better ones you can find in a shopping mall.

As the foods served there are presented in a rather clear and simple manner, it somewhat gives me the impression of healthy home-cooked meals. Whether or not there’s MSG in there, I don’t know but it just seems like pretty healthy cooking since I don’t see excessive oils being used and the taste is not overly tasty. Whether real or imagined, at least when eating there we psychologically feel we’re not in need of things like Lipovox to burn off the fats even after downing an entire bowl of noodles.

If you aren’t weight-watchers, after your hearty meal there, you may want to treat yourself to some desserts. They have some simple ones like gwai ling kao, honey dew sago, mango pudding, etc. We’ve ordered them before but I’ve not tried any as I’m not a sweet-tooth person. But I did see some nods of approvals from those who slurped every spoonful of it. Even my son enjoyed the mango pudding and honey dew sago.

As for drinks, our favourite is their Rooibos tea. We’ve always ordered the same thing each time. It comes in a pot and it can be refilled so it’s good to share it if everybody agrees to a good and hot pot of tea.

In summary, I would recommend The Zun Express as the food are not only satisfactory to us, the prices are also rather reasonable. If you are a member of Eu Yan Sang, just present the card and you will get a 10% discount.

I’ve also read reviews of a similar chain restaurant in the heart of KL called The Zun Kitchenette where they offer more varieties of food and is also under the same umbrella of the Eu Yan Sang group. Perhaps I will try that place out if I’m in the area.

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