Illuminati calls

To those who don't know, Disney is said to be linked to the Illuminati and there are several facts pointing towards it based on my "side research" that I have been doing since 2 years ago. Although I must admit, my research has stalled for a very long time now due to my busy schedule. Anyway, to write about the Illuminati  and mind control will probably take forever and deserves many posts on its own so I shall just leave you guys with some tongue-in-cheek pictures of Disney :)

Mickey mouse has long been associated with Illuminati. So is Lady Gaga. Notice anything familiar in this pic?

DOHA ROUND: Should there be room for tailoring policies??

As some of you may know, the Doha Round is said to be destined to fail. This was the revolving theme during my International Trade Policy class last semester and I just thought I'd share with you guys a paper I wrote about the Doha Round and policy space. This may be useful to some of you who need to do research in regards to the DDR but it may seem like a whole lot of  unfamiliar and complicated jargon to some. You may want to skip this post if it's irrelevant to you :) Also, I am no expert but this was one of the my most researched piece and it got me good marks so it shouldn't be that bad....

INTRODUCTION

The first multilateral negotiation since WTO’s formation was the Doha Development Round (DDR), which was launched during the 4th WTO Ministerial Conference in Doha, Qatar in November 2001 (Senona, 2009).  Days where developing nations took a back seat and allow bigger powers like United States (US) and European Union (EU) drive negotiations and set the agenda were long over (Steger, 2007). As the majority of WTO members are developing nations, an ambitious and comprehensive work programme titled the Doha Development Agenda was established during the DDR, with development being the centre of the round more than trade liberalization (Huang, 2008; Senona, 2009). The DDR stresses on special interests and needs of developing countries which revolve around agriculture, market access for non-agriculture products, trade in services, WTO rules such as dispute settlement, intellectual property rights and issues regarding implementation (Huang, 2008). The DDR was scheduled to conclude in January 2005 but unfortunately, deadlines were missed with negotiations still underway and results were considered elusive (Deb & Al Amin, 2011; Senona, 2009). The main problem in DDR is the inability to meet all expectations according to everyone’s satisfaction and because it covers a wide development agenda in a single undertaking, its failure will generally damage the global economy (Das, 2008; Senona, 2009). The purpose of this paper analyses certain issues in the DDR in regards to Ha-Joon Chang’s arguments of policy space while looking into agriculture and non-agriculture market access negotiations. In addition, this paper also examines issues in the DDR like the Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) agreement and their impact on social welfare in developing nations.

The Doha Development Round in light of policy space arguments

            Although WTO promotes trade liberalisation and greater market access through removal of barriers to trade, it is not entirely beneficial for developing countries.  Opening trade will automatically improve welfare through producing goods and services according to comparative advantage inside the free market economy but at the expense of developing nations (Senona, 2009).  This form of opening up trade is what Friedman (2000) describes as “The Golden Straightjacket Rule”, where a country must adopt golden rules of eliminating tariffs, removing restrictions on foreign investments, increasing exports, shrinking state bureaucracy, opening banking and telecommunications sector among many. The “golden” rules however, work to grow economies but narrows their economic policies and political power with almost no room for tailoring (Friedman, 2000).  Since WTO came into play, there are apparent benefits from trade liberalisation, such as globalisation of supply chains, increase in intra-firm and intra-industry trade volumes and rise in foreign direct investments (Hoekman & Nicita, 2010).

However, Chang (2007) argues that “the golden straightjacket” theory is a fallacy because trade liberalisation encouraged by developed countries, does not benefit developing countries. Shafaeddin (2010) agrees that while developed countries would gain considerable market access to goods from developing countries, particularly manufactured goods, developing countries would lose its opportunity to diversify the export structure of its economies and develop their industries. He adds that developing countries do gain some market access to products they have no comparative advantage in, but this is at the expense of their long run development. Therefore, necessary policy space should be allowed to protect certain industries and gradually allow liberalization once the industry reaches maturity (Shafaeddin, 2010). The DDR calls for the development of policy space that allows developing countries to apply policy measures, such as protection of SMEs and infant industries, diversifying products without international competition and addressing infrastructure deficiencies and supply constraints to take advantage of market access opportunities (Senona, 2009). In addition, Chang (2007) points out the hypocrisy from developed countries because history shows that developed their country from practicing protectionism.  Senona (2009) agrees this is a well-documented fact where advance countries have used protectionism to industrialize. Thus, WTO rules should allow for developing countries to follow suit. The following looks into policy space issues in agriculture and non-agriculture negotiations in the DDR.

Agriculture policies and the Doha Round

            Agriculture is one of the most highly protected areas of international trade, and should remain that way, at least for developing nations. Unlike other parts of international trade, agriculture is still defined by tariffs, quotas, subsidies and other types of government protection and only account for 8% of world trade (Beierle, 2002; Das, 2008; Bawuah-Edusei, 2006). Trade liberalisation not only affects major farm exporting countries like Brazil, Argentina and Thailand but also the poorer ones like Mauritius and Caribbean states which are dependent on limited commodities like sugar, rice or cotton and mainly protected by OECD countries through quotas (Messerlin, 2005). In the DDR, developed nations are seeking to achieve agricultural liberalisation for greater market access while rising developing powers are looking for agriculture trade policies that promote economic development and food security (Beierle, 2002). Specifically, the DDR is pushing for certain levels of tariff reduction in agriculture but ultimately, the effects will be determined on the extent of exemptions invoked by members (Hoekman & Nicita, 2010). For instance, during negotiations in July 2006, Emerging Market Economies (EMEs) like Brazil, China and India sought exemptions for farm tariff cuts but was criticised by US that they were trying to dodge legitimate trade liberalisation (Das, 2008).

From the US perspective however, as a major exporter of agriculture products, US farm groups realised that global reform of farm policies and reduced barriers for agriculture products could bring substantial benefits to the agriculture sector (Jabara, 2005). On that, US have raised concerns in the DDR about the July 2004 Framework because developing countries will be eligible for flexibility in regards to food security and other concerns (Jabara, 2005). This led US to propose different bands of tariff cuts for developing and developed countries to meet expectations of their agriculture producers for greater market access (Jabara, 2005).  Messerlin (2005) supports by saying negotiations should not revolve around food security, effects of higher priced products and special safeguard for agriculture issues as liberalisation have huge benefits for both developed and developing nations. Diaz-Bonilla, Robinson, Thomas, & Yanoma (2002) state that developing countries could also benefit from agriculture liberalization as it plays to their comparative advantage, with benefits for exports, economy and rural employment. For instance, countries like China and India which comparative advantage is in labour-intensive products could export these products and import land-intensive agriculture products from countries like US that are equipped with modern technology which lowers cost (Lin, 2000; The Economist, 2010).

While both parties have made relevant justifications, there is still an obvious mismatch in objectives with the developed seeking market access and the developing wanting more policy space and this led to many years of unresolved negotiations in the DDR.  However, when we look into history, big powers like US and EU has shown a long history of domestic agriculture and textiles protection (Beierle, 2002; Das, 2008). Hence, it seems unreasonable for developed nations to pressure developing nations into liberalizing their agriculture sector as they themselves have been practising protectionism in agriculture. For instance, EU provides export subsidies under their agriculture support policies and although they have reduced support in 2008 from rising agriculture products globally, these subsidies re-emerged again in 2009 and are expected to be on the rise (Hoekman & Nicita, 2010).

Meanwhile, US have also been protecting their agriculture industry through domestic reforms like the 1996 Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act and the 2002 Farm Security and Rural Investment Act which provides subsidies for farmers (Messerlin, 2005). For example, their cotton industry was protected through subsidies which led to high paid farmers that eventually contribute to overproduction and low cost exports thus driving down world cotton prices (Bawuah-Edusei, 2006). As a result, other cotton producing countries like Africa were unsatisfied, as this made cotton prices drop in their country due to competition. This led to these issues being raised during DDR negotiations. Unfortunately, US were reported to deliberately engineer the collapse of the cotton issue during the July 2008 Mini-Ministerial meetings (South Centre, 2008). Every time African and non-African cotton producing countries brought up the cotton issue; they were told that discussions were running in parallel in an attempt to limit negotiations (South Centre, 2008). Having said that, since bigger powers like US and EU were also using domestic protectionism in agriculture; it seems fair that smaller ones should do the same. However, trade liberalisation should not be ignored completely, as what Chang (2007) suggested, the playing field should be tilted and there should be a combination of domestic policies amidst open trade.

Non-agriculture “Infant Industry” policies and the Doha Round

            As more developing countries starts to manufacture their own products and establish new industries ranging from textiles to automotive to even airlines, non-agriculture issues became prevalent in the DDR. This is related to Chang’s (2007), “infant industry” argument where he says it is critical for developing countries to protect its new industries before being able to compete with foreign rivals. He pointed out that developed countries like Japan, United Kingdom, EU and US adopted this approach in their early stages of development through subsidies, tariffs, patents, and so on. This preservation of policy space is what developing countries are trying to fight for in the DDR through infant industry protection and maintaining duties in sensitive sectors (Das, 2008).

In the DDR, there were evident irregularities between proposals made by the developing countries during Non-agriculture Market Access negotiations and the Doha Text contents, which disadvantage industrialization of developing countries, especially those in initial industrialization stages (Das, 2008; Shafaeddin, 2010). For example, the DDR tries to implement the Swiss formula tariff cut which does not take into account the differences between developed and developing nations (Akyüz, Milberg, & Wade, 2006).  Such irregularities give an impression that there was never an intention for a development-oriented round and in fact, developed nations turned it into a ‘market access’ round (Shafaeddin, 2010). This is evident when US and EU pushed for an ‘anti-concentration’ clause during the 2008 Mini-ministerial which discourages countries from using permitted flexibilities to protect entire sectors (South Centre, 2008). Developing countries led by Brazil, China, India, Argentina, South Africa, Venezuela and others rejected this as protecting certain industries from imports is crucial and an anti-concentration clause would severely limit the already constrained flexibility they have now (South Centre, 2008). The EMEs have made it clear that they are unwilling to abruptly lower their trade barriers as they fear these barriers will wipe out their newly established industrial sectors (Das, 2008).

            Furthermore, in a research done by Zahrnt (2009) on WTO delegates and employees, it is confirmed that economic policy space places a greater importance on developing countries as opposed to developed countries. For instance, accepting WTO disciplines will limit a country’s economic policy in areas such as fostering infant industries as it is not allowed under the Trade Related Investment Measures (TRIMs) (Shafaeddin, 2010; Zahrnt, 2009). Although infant industry protection is essential to ensure new industries become competitive progressively, there are some criticisms about it. Zahrnt (2009) mentions in terms of implementation, some governments lack ability to identify suitable companies that could increase competition via low cost and reap high profits. Zahrnt adds that governments are also unable to convincingly commit to end the protection. This is in line with Chang’s (2007) comment that some governments can safeguard infant industries too much, like overprotective parents. However, as what Chang also brought up, having overprotective parents is still better than having no parents at all. This is apparent when developing countries were growing much faster back when they used allegedly “bad” trade and industrial policies in the 1960-80s, as opposed to so-called “good” neo-liberal policies in the following two decades (Chang, 2003).

Evidently, when Brazil adopted the “Washington Consensus” in the 1980s and implemented trade liberalisation, market access and privatisation of state-owned enterprises, it did not achieve high rate of economical growth nor substantially improve their inheritance of asset and income as well as poverty levels which it was supposed to do (Amann & Baer, 2002). However, this does not suggest that developing nations should have high tariffs for every sector indefinitely, but instead, have the option to use tariffs selectively when required for industrial upgrading (Akyuz, Milberg & Wade, 2006). This is consistent with Chang (2003) argument that some space should be allowed alongside WTO rules to permit some form of infant industry protections via tariffs, subsidies and more.

The Doha Development Round in light of social welfare arguments

            While negotiations in the DDR by developing countries seem driven towards development of their economy, other crucial issues are at hand such as the improving their peoples welfare with better medical and food aids. Chang (2007) has argued that free trade policies are not beneficial for the poorer countries. He says that besides allowing developing countries to protect via subsidies and stricter regulations on foreign investment, there should be less stringent Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) so they can “borrow” technology from richer countries. These “borrowed” technology could be used contribute to welfare of their society in areas of combating life-threatening illnesses such as HIV/AIDS.  The following looks into the TRIPs agreement and poverty issues in developing countries.

TRIPs and The Doha Round

            As mentioned earlier, TRIMs agreement disallows developing countries to support infant industries but in contrast, TRIPs agreement protects IPR which benefits developed countries by protecting their infant industries with new technologies for over 20 years (Shafaeddin, 2010). This obvious double standard is apparent when a US representative said IPR protection is important to drive technological change and incentives on IPRs are important else it will delay or shrink their technological progress (Shafaeddin, 2010). As a result, developing countries were given 10 years to comply with the TRIPs agreement which many were reluctant (Barbosa, 2007). Fortunately, the Doha Ministerial declaration 2005, attempted to rectify the imbalanced “pro-rich” TRIPs agreement by offering a higher level of protection for developing countries in obtaining vital medicine to protect public health (Huang, 2008). This includes obtaining new rights, overriding medicine patents for severe public health threats such as AIDS and protection of traditional knowledge and medication (Beierle, 2002; Huang, 2008). For instance, TRIPs Agreement will enable countries with zero or insufficient manufacturing capabilities to import generic versions of patented pharmaceuticals (Yu, 2008).

Although this appears to be beneficial, this ‘special arrangement’ comes with a hidden term. It only applies to affected countries and those part of a regional trade agreement, which is practically limited to Sub-Saharan Africa countries (Yu, 2008). These African countries have been actively participating in negotiations because the conclusion of TRIPs is particularly crucial as it will save millions of lives suffering from AIDS, Malaria and other diseases in their country (Bawuah-Edusei, 2006). However, they are not the only ones affected and it seems unjust to other developing countries also affected by same life-threatening diseases. For instance, Arab countries that were less active during negotiations were not successful in receiving flexibilities and incorporating them into their national policies (El-Said, 2010). Meanwhile, bigger voices like Brazil led an alliance of South Africa, India, the World Health Organization and several universal NGOs to confront multinational pharmaceutical companies lobbies, and won support to interpret TRIPs as prioritizing public health over economic interest (Barbosa, 2007).

Therefore, Yu (2008) suggests that BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), should collaborate with other developing countries to promote access to essential drugs in the less developed world due to their larger voice. Each one would benefit in some way from a less stringent IP protection. For instance, India would be able to produce generic drugs at a lower price without patent fees thus making it affordable to their citizens. Brazil would benefit from compulsory licensing of much needed HIV/AIDS medication and China can reduce counterfeiting and piracy issues that tend to happen when goods become expensive from high IP protection (Agarwal & Wu, 2004; Hoekman & Kostecki, 2009; Yu, 2008). Nonetheless, there is much difficulty for developing countries in obtaining some flexibility for complying with IP protection. Ironically, US itself was an importer of technology back in early 1800s but they seem to be going against their very own policies now, much to their benefit (El-Said, 2008). There is no doubt that protection of IP rights should be allowed for encouraging continuous technological growth and innovation. However, some flexibility should be allowed especially for developing countries to access these technologies and medications for the benefit of their citizens welfare, at least till they are capable enough to afford such patent fees.

Poverty Issue and the Doha Round

            Lastly, poverty is a critical widespread issue among developing countries especially the least developed ones. Although it seems there is no direct relation between poverty and international trade, the truth is, trade liberalization may heighten inequality, poverty and long term unemployment (Zahrnt, 2009). The results from increased demand for high-skilled labour, which raise wages but concurrently increases unemployment of low-skilled labour which also increases income gap between poor and rich.  (Zahrnt, 2009). Ghana for example, whose majority of employment comes from agricultural sectors, was observed that rise in employment from trade liberalisation under their Economic Reform Program, was not equally distributed across sectors causing high poverty incidence in the agriculture sector (Bawuah-Edusei, 2006; Ocran & Adjasi, 2009. Though there are domestic government policies to support the poor, most are funded partly through tariffs (Zahrnt, 2009). Therefore by removing tariffs, governments also lose part of their finances to help the poor. Lofgren & Richards (2003) emphasised importance for these countries to maintain their domestic policies as the capacity to provide sufficient food supply through imports or domestic production is linked to government policies.

In the DDR, developed nations have promised to support the developing economies, especially low-income ones and was believed to help realize the Millennium Development Goals, particularly on eradicating global poverty in half by 2015 (Das, 2008; Bawuah-Edusei, 2006). However, nobody can end hunger for others by simply providing food aid as hunger ultimately results from economic and political constitutions that traps people in poverty (Lappe et al. 1998). To illustrate, during the Cold War, US provided aid to Soviet Union to alleviate poverty and free them from “communist threat”. Instead, what eventually emerged was promotion of free trade which created new markets for industrial exports and agriculture goods, plus thousands of jobs for the Americans (Lappé, Collins, Rosset, & Esparza, 2000).

Therefore, Bawuah-Edusei (2006) suggests that countries facing poverty, must actively participate in the DDR to strengthen the required competitive capacities, improve transportation infrastructure and include regulatory frameworks and domestic policies to prevent being poorer off when other developing countries start overtaking them from increased market access. This is essential in addition to aid from developed countries, as some domestic policies are needed for governments to ensure continuous improvement of society welfare from their end.

CONCLUSION

            Although Friedman’s “Golden Straightjacket” should be donned to improve economies and gain greater market access, there should be room for tailoring to suit the different “sizes” of different nations. Like humans, every country come in different sizes, shape and most importantly, different needs. The needs of developed nations revolve around increased market access while the developing nations emphasizes on growing economies and developing new industries. On that basis, the developed and developing should not be wearing the same “outfit”. However, this does not propose removing trade liberalisation entirely as countries do gain from trading based on comparative advantage. The best solution here would be adopting the Bretton Woods compromise or global governance approach instead of “the Golden Straightjacket” as it allows more flexibility for policy space to be introduced. The DDR is currently the best platform to fight for much needed policy space. As examined here, some protection of agricultural products, certain infant industries and less stringent IPRs could all play to the benefit of developing countries as they slowly reach maturity. In addition, allowing some policy space provides society welfare gains through easier access to patented drugs and also aid for poverty. In a nutshell, having policy space within trade liberalisation is essential for developing nations and the developed countries should understand this since they became industrial using the same protectionist methods. As what Chang (2007) has said, “The secret of success lay in a mix of protection and open trade, government regulations and free-ish market”.  

Beauty Tips: Strictly for the lazy and poor

----WARNING: SUPER LONG POST AHEAD-----

I am sure you have read many many blogs/magazines/websites that give out beauty tips to the women in the world out there. In fact, I was just browsing a copy of Cleo that I bought today and saw all the amazing make-up tips and product recommendations. However, another thing I noticed is that, every single make-up or skincare product recommended also comes with a price. A price that not everyone can afford, especially for poor students like myself (by the way, I have just regained my student status recently having just quit my job to further my studies).

Ok, so back to the topic, so during my college/university days I have started using make-up almost every single time I step out of the house. In fact, when I got my first job, make-up is a necessity to work else my manager will come running at us and lecturing (read scolding us like kids) that in this line (read customer service) we have to be well groomed and presentable yadda yadda yadda...Note that she comes to work wearing a wig, false eyelashes and 1000 layers of make-up every single day. Well here are two things I am not.

1) I am not the type who would splurge on expensive make-up (trust me I have had my days when I forked out RM80 for an eyeliner just cause it is MAC but I am way past that stage) because I am not rich, and I don't earn much, and I try not to rely much on my parents money hence the need to be frugal all the time.

2) I am not as hardworking as those girls who spend so much time in the morning to do make-up etc, and have like 100 make-up/skincare products at home in which 3/4 of it will probably be underused anyway.

But that does not mean that I do not care for my looks/skin at all. I have discovered a few "shortcuts" to look good and also to save money at the same time! However, I am also no expert in these things and I am just sharing what I feel works for me :) I know experts like Michelle Phan will probably shake their head at my "techniques" and "routines" but well, I am not them and this regime has worked for me for the past few years so yeah. Please take discretion when reading this. Thank you!

For "proper" beauty tips and regime you may want to refer here: http://www.michellephan.com/



Else, if you're as lazy as I am, or as cost concious as I am, then this is for you :)


Do note that it is recommended to pick up these tips only if you have some sort of good looks or good skin. If you are too ugly for your own good, you may want to use some full-blown make-up to cover up your flaws then #sorry.



1) First up, for your skin: ZA Instant Brightener




A couple weeks ago I have discovered this baby! I was looking for a cheaper moisturizer (I was using Olay) and while walking through the aisle of Guardian, this caught my attention. Curious, I started reading the pamphlet that was placed next to the product, apparently this moisturizer can brighten up your skin and the results shown on the pamphlet was quite apparent. Conveniently, there was a sales girl who came over and explained the benefit of this bottle of goodness. I can't remember what exactly she said but I remember her clearly saying this "In simple terms, this is for the lazy woman". I was sold. And true enough, after I tried using this, I realised I don't even need foundation or BB cream anymore! I just put this on, dab some concealer to hide my eyebags and I am good to go =) My skin really lit up after putting on this moisturizer. I love multi-functional products! Non-time consuming and only costs me RM20 something. Best part is, you also save on make-up remover cause you only have to remove make-up on your eye area (if you put eye make-up) instead of your whole face.



Sidetrack: Before using this, I was using BB cream from Elianto, which was actually pretty good too. Except that at the end of the day, it is also acts as a foundation hence it may clog up your skin as well. Hence, with this ZA instant brightener, I really feel like I am giving my skin enough air to breathe. Otherwise, on days when you need to look good or more made up, I would prefer going for BB cream rather than foundation as it looks more natural and also have healing properties : read here.




2) Elianto Sheer Loose Powder

This pot here is another very important ingredient in make-up 101. Many ladies do not realise the benefit of putting loose powder. Lucky for me, a few years ago I was a model for this make-up/hair/fashion competition and they piled alot of loose powder on my face. I realised that my skin look much smoother and the make up last much more longer with loose powder. Hence, after the competition I got myself a pot of loose powder from Elianto (cost me less than RM20 if I am not mistaken). Another apparent benefit of this loose powder is that you will look better in photos (tried and tested by myself!) because of the tiny specs of sparkle it contains, when the camera captures light on your face, you will look very radiant and glowy. To those who don't know what a loose powder is, it is meant to be put on after wearing foundation/BBcream. However, I have discovered that I can use this with the ZA Instant brightener as well. So yeah, to futher brighten up your look with the brigtener, just add a thin layer of loose powder and you will look as though you have flawless skin =)


3) The "MAGIC STICK" a.k.a Concealer


This is another magic tool especially for ladies who have bad dark eye rings and eyebags like I do. It is always good to invest in a good concealer (This one here is from Maybelline and costs RM19.90 only and can last you for a couple of years!). Seriously, if you do not have any major skin problems, I don't see a need of using foundation. You just need this "magic stick" handy so whenever you have a pimple, you just need to apply this on affected area + a layer of loose powder and it is good enough to hide your flaws. In my case of bad dark eye circles, I use the ZA brightener + this concealer under my eyes when I go out. You don't even need to apply much, a small dab can instantly cover all your eyebags and dark circles. I have been using this since college so I know it really works! The problem is, it is always sold out at pharmacies, you may want to check out Guardian Mid Valley as this outlet seem to stock up pretty well.





4) To scrub or to cleanse?




Okay, I am quite shy to admit this and I usually get shot down by girls (and sometimes even guys) when they find out that I do not cleanse my face everyday *gasp*. The reason is because I am damn lazy and also my previous jobs were so time consuming that I rather sleep longer than cleanse my face (excuses, I know). Hence, I usually my cleanser last a LOOOOONG time because it doesn't run out so fast thanks to my (irregular) cleansing habit. I guess I have to thank God for my good skin *phew*. Therefore, instead of spending money on a bottle of cleanser that I barely use, I got myself a facial scrub (I needed one because I read somewhere that you should exfoliate your skin at least once a week and also cause scrubbing my face gives me more joy than cleansing cause I can actually feel my skin being exfoliated wtf #weirdo). So anyway, this was the cheapest and most effective scrub I found. After using this baby, my skin feels extra clean, like super mega duper clean ok!, and the micro beads are really micro so you will not feel like you are hurting your skin. In fact, it actually feels like a cleanser (I actually tried the cleanser version of this because it came with a free sample, and really don't feel much difference hence, I can tell you to just use this baby and forget about the cleanser all together). So yup, there you go, this scrub is mild enough to be used 2-3 times a week and yet it makes your skin feels extra clean after every use, so clean that many times I contemplated on using it on my body too o.0


Now, let's move on to EYES.


5) The Gel Eyeliner


For years I have been trying various types of eyeliner, from various types to various brands. I must say, the best I have used so far is GEL EYELINER. And the current one I am using is from Silkygirl and it is oh-so-wonderful! See below.



Silkygirl Double Intense Eyeliner in black, RM23.90 only and you can get it at any pharmacies. The packaging is pretty unique too, it opens up to 3 compartments (as seen in right pic), one is the tub of gel, one is the brush and another is the brush holder/tub cover. Pretty smart. Alot of misconception about gel liners is that it is harder to apply, in fact, I once thought so too, until I used this. It is actually easier to apply compared to liquid eyeliner! Funny but true, it gives you more control and precision and the flat brush allows you to apply nearer to the eye. Of course, there are probably better eyeliner brands out there from famous brands like MAC, Bobbi Brown etc but based on my own experience of using an RM80 MAC eyeliner a couple years ago, I felt it doesn't differ much from a Silkygirl brand. In fact, sometimes I feel that pharmacies brands like In2It or Silkygirl is better, plus it is way more affordable. Hence, I have not bought any branded eyeliner since then.



6) Cheap Eyeshadows

Okay, truth to be told, there is a diffrence between expensive shadows and the cheap ones. The expensive ones like Bobbi Brown sticks to your eyes for hours and the colour does stay longer, however, if you are not one who use eyeshadow at least 3 times a week, I do not see a point in purchasing expensive eyeshadow because you are most likely going to waste it away as eyeshadows will crack and expire after a certain amount of time. For people like me whom only use eyeshadows only during special events (ie: wedding dinners, company annual dinner, prom etc), it is best to just purchase from pharmacies or Elianto. I love Elianto because they have alot of colours and it only costs RM5! It is also best to stick to basic colours that is easy to match like beige, grey & brown. If you have some funky party to attend and need to play around with colours, do go for Elianto, the bright pink and black shadow in the picture above are both from Elianto at RM5. Also, you may want to explore Guardian warehouse sales for eyeshadows (which I will explain more on this later on).


7) Vaseline for Lipcare

Another important part of your face is your lips. My mother has always told me that lipstick is the most important cosmetic item a girl should have. In fact, my first cosmetic was a lipstick which I barely used because I was still a teenager and did not know how to appreciate lipsticks. At that time it was all about eyeshadows in sparkly shades of pink and purple. Ew! Anyway, I have learnt to appreciate lipsticks and lipgloss over the years because it does change your whole look immediately, plus it keeps your lips moist and kissable mhmm. Especially, if you have dry lips like myself. Most women who work/study in air-conditioned places suffer from dry lips and it is very very important to keep your lips protected. Having said that, it also means that you will be using alot of lip balm etc. I used to use lip balm from The Body Shop which is not too expensive but because of my extensive usage, it finishes up too fast than I would like them to! Then one day I discovered: VASELINE!




As scary as the name sounds (read: Petroleum Jelly) it is actually not harmful, in fact it is beneficial to your skin. There was this one time when my office got so cold my lips and the side of the lips started cracking. It was painful and that was the time I started using Vaseline extensively on my lips. At some point, I got worried that the cracks won't go away so I thought of seeking a professional. I went to a pharmacist and guess what she prescibed? VASELINE. I still remember asking her, "Only Vaseline? Do you have any other medication?". She said "no" with such conviction. Haha. I ended up using Vaseline religiously and now my cracked lips are gone! So it really works, and yes, it can be used on the lips too, you won't die from it -___-


Vaseline® Petroleum Jelly serves two functions: First it helps keep the outside world out - it protects skin from the effects of weather and exposure. Second, it acts like a sealant to help keep the inside world in - it forms an occlusive barrier to the natural water loss of our skin. So skin that is dry and chapped is protected from drying elements, enabling skin-softening moisture to build up naturally from inside the skin itself.

- Source here


p/s: I am not paid by Vaseline to write this.



So my point here is that, you can actually use Vaseline as a lipcare product rather than paying for lipbalms etc. Vaseline only cost you a few ringgits and last waaaaaay longer than your average lipbalm. If you are wondering whether I have used other lipcare products, the answer is obviously YES, that's why I can tell you that Vaseline works the same way (if not better) than others. Above is a picture of all the lipbalm products that I have tried - from tube, to stick, to pot to transparent lipstick. I have tried them all.



8) Scarlet Lips

Ok, this is probably one of my favourite buys! I have always wanted a red lipstick but I did not dare to spend a good amount of $ on it because 1) what if I end up not daring to wear it out? I might end up wasting my money and 2) what if the colours turns out ugly, once again wasted $$$. So one day in Daiso, I saw this range of lipsticks and the colour looked pretty good. Since, it only costs RM5 I decided to give it a try. Worst come to worst, I'll just waste RM5 away right? Turns out, the colour looks amazing and the texture is quite creamy! Since then, I am a sucker for red lips. It INSTANTLY brightens up a dull outfit and if you are lazy to put on make up for a date, just apply this red lipstick and your make-up will be transformed from boring to WOW. You don't even need to apply much eye make-up. Just a thin eye-liner and some concealer to hide your eye bags is enough when using red lipstick. So yup, cost-effective and easy! When I am in a rush, red lipstick usually does the trick cause I don't have to apply much make-up elsewhere ;) *oops, the secret is out of the bag now*


9) Maybelline "Colour changing" lip balm

Okay, they have a name for this but I kinda forgot what it is called. This is another quick fix and costs only RM9.90. It adds a tint of pink/red on your lips after applying this lip balm so it helps add colour to your pale lips. I carry this in my purse (because it adds colour + acts as a lip balm). Win-win situation! But don't expect it to be as red as a lipstick though. I use this to touch up my lips when I am out.

10) Haircare - using serum instead of conditioner

Okay, most girls I know would normally use various haircare products on a daily basis, ie: shampoo, conditioner and serum. In fact, I used to be one of those girls who shampoo and condition (and sometimes apply serum) everyday! Then one day, I got home from work so late I decided to skip shampoo-ing, and the next day, my hair did not feel as bad as I imagined it to be. In fact, the natural oils from my hair made it shinier and helps to hold my hair when I tie or clip it up. Since then, I stopped shampoo-ing every day, I still do wash almost everyday, I would say I wash my hair 4-5 times a week. This not only is actually good for your hair because it doesn't dry up your hair from washing and blow-drying (read more here), it can also extend your usage of a bottle of shampoo hence leading to more savings! Even New York Times think so!
Also, extra tip for you, please do not shampoo the ends if you have long hair, but only the roots of your hair because the ends are already dry enough!

Anyway, another thing I started doing is to condition my hair lesser and instead, invest in a proper hair serum (I use Loreal as seen in the picture, have yet to try Pantene which was a gift from Taiwan). I actually stop purchasing conditioner recently because it is quite expensive and use up quickly! Anyway, all you do is wash it off in the shower anyway. Instead, I apply serum on my ends everyday. However, do note that this may differ with different hair textures, and also if you coloured or perm your hair, you may want to continue using conditioner.

11) Bars v.s Gels

When it comes to body wash, I honestly do not think that shower gels are worth it! Mainly cause they somehow don't make my body any cleaner than bar soaps. The only body washes/gels I used are those gifted from friends or got as a free gifts. Other than that, I just stick to bar soaps because it is more cost effective. Furthermore, you normally get 4 bars in a pack (thanks to Dettol who started all these Buy 3 Free 1 promotions). However, if you are rich (in which you should not be reading this entry on how to save money), you may want to indulge in a nice body wash from Body Shop, Loccitane or what not just because you can, since it does make one "feel good". It's all in the mind......it's all in the mind....


12) Nails! My favourite part!

To those who know me personally, you will probably realise that I looooveeeee painting my nails. I have only been to a proper manicure ONCE in my life and I have been doing all my nails myself since high school. At one point, I got so good at drawing flowers and designs, I started doing it for my mom as well. So anyway, the best nail polish I have tried so far goes to Elianto both in the cost and quality department. It definately last longer than pasar malam or other cheap nail polishes but the quality, after trying out OPI and Sephora testers, is safe to say that it is as good as them! The problem with my nails is that they chip freaking easily. I always chip my nails within ONE DAY after applying, but so far Elianto manage to last the longest. Sometimes it doesn't chip till after 2 days. Even when I tried OPI it chipped after one day =( So, you can save RM54 by buying polishes from Elianto (RM5) instead of OPI (RM59). Though, I would love to have a bottle of OPI myself to test it out for real someday...Oh, and I know some of you would buy from pasar malam etc (as you can see in the pic, those that are not from Elianto or Faceshop are from pasar malam/random cheap brands), but really, instead of paying RM2 for a random cheap brand, just pay RM3 extra for Elianto, it does not dry up as quick, you can do with ONE coat (although for best results do two), and does not smell funky unlike those pasar malam brands! So, thats my tip for purchasing nail polishes.



13) The Secret Ingredient: Nail Polish Thinner

Now, this here is your secret to long lasting nail polish. A nail thinner. I would recommend to get one that is of better quality and specially for nails (instead of those that you use for thinning paint). Mine here is from this brand called Mavala which is made in Switzerland so it is pretty good. I dont think it costs more than RM20, if I am not mistaken and can be found in pharmacies. Just add a drop or two in polishes that is thickening up and shake it abit, then you're good to go! That is how you extend the lifespan of your nail polish ;)

14) Shop at Guardian warehouse sales

Yes, this is how you stretch your ringgit, by shopping at warehouse sales. Although, I must admit, MOST of the stuff they sell there are crap and you need to be vigilant in checking the expiry dates but from my experience, Guardian have the best warehouse sales when it comes to cosmetics. However, as mentioned, you must check the expiry date as some products maybe close to expiry date. Judging from experience, most Silkygirl products are worth buying in warehouse sales because they still have a long way to go before expiring. Just to help you gauge easier, anything that is more than a year from expiring is worth buying. I usually buy make-up stuff that I am not usually willing to pay for at full price (ie: blue eyeliner, bronzer etc). All items in pics above were sourced from Guardian warehouse sales (click here for info on warehouse sales)

15) Use your free samples!

This may be a no brainer to some but yeah, use those free samples you got from hypermarkets or roadshows etc. You'll be surprised how much you can save from surviving on samples. Yes, it sounds kind of cheap but everytime I see people giving out sample's, I would take it! Hah. Why say no to freebies right? Also, look out for Buy 1 FREE 1 deals that usually comes when you purchase shampoos etc.

So, that ends my uber long post on how to save money and look good at the same time! I hope it gave you some insights and like I said earlier, this may only apply to the lazy and the poor :) But still, hope you had fun reading cause I sure had fun writing this!

Till then!

Chatime: What drives its success?

I am pretty sure most of you have heard this buzz going around with this newly opened chain of franchises called Chatime. To those who have not, well shame on you because you have obviously been living under a rock! Anyway, Chatime's core product is their none other than thier Bubble Tea which originated all the way from Taiwan (apparently the country said to have the best bubble tea on earth).

The brand started in 2008 and goes about its tagline: Good Tea Good Time. In just a few short years, it has gained its presence not only in Taiwan but in China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Australia and lately Malaysia.

Now, take a look at this picture.......


This was the queue of people waiting for their "Chatime" drinks on a Sunday afternoon @ The Gardens Mall. Word has it that the crowd is similar on weekday lunch times as well. [Side note: Upon ordering & paying for your drink at the counter, you get a receipt with a waiting number on it (like in banks) and you wait for your number to be called to collect your drink]. When I was there, I had to wait 30 numbers for my bubble tea! Now is this madness or what?!


So, what drives this booming success of the Chatime brand? In a short span of 3 months this name that is currently available at 7 locations in KL/PJ & Penang (click for location) is well known among us..especially the youths.


The answer is simple.



The power of WORD OF MOUTH and SOCIAL MEDIA.



Word of mouth and social media comes hand in hand. If you like something, you post it on Facebook, tweet about it, blog about it..and then someone comments on your post, or retweet it or share that blog entry on Facebook, Twitter or on their own blog...and the whole process repeats itself over and over again. The more people commenting, posting & tweeting about something, the more hype it creates. And the fact that you see your friends checking into Chatime on Foursquare so freaking often instills some form of curiosity towards the brand as well...Then you start asking people who actually have been there, and they'll tell you how awesome it is..then you start developing strong urges to try it because if everyone is talking about it, it should be good right? Well, that is quite right. Positive word of mouth is the best way to promote your brand, apart from it being the most cost effective way as well. This is the very same reason why many companies are jumping on the social media bandwagon these days and the best part is, it actually works!

The franchise owners of Chatime Gardens personally making drinks for their customers on a busy Sunday afternoon.

Here's a little pointer to all new brands out there, if you want to get your brand noticed, all you need is a simple mathematical equation:

FACEBOOK + TWITTER + FOURSQUARE + BLOGGERS = WORD OF MOUTH

Ok fine, that wasn't math but you get my drift!

Oh, of course you got to make sure that your product/service is actually good to begin with because you DO NOT want an inverse reaction to happen (Read: Negative W-O-M) which will probably spread faster than wildfire in the social media world (ie: the Steven Corner boycott case). Look at Steven's Corner (OUG branch) now, it can never get back to it's former glory days...despite how good the food is.

Anyway, back to the story....

Top 5 recommenders - I have yet to try all of the flavours yet but I am definately planning to visit Chatime many many more times to come! Blogging about it is making me crave for it already :(



Here's 2 of the 4 types of drinks I tried so far. On the left is the Roasted Milk Tea with pearls and on the right is the Brown Rice Green Tea. These two are the best I've tried so far =) Despite their funky names (and God knows what ingredients, though i suspect there must be coccaine in it) it is pretty awesome. I have definately became a Bubble Tea convert thanks to them. Planning to get my hands on the Passion Fruit QQ and Strawberry Pudding next!


Till then!

Purchase Decision Making - By Gender

Understanding the differences between men & women purchase behaviour, an example.

Click here: Source

Work Culture Around the World

To those who have been working in the corporate world, especially MNCs, you would probably know that every country have their own work culture and in order for your work to go smoothly, you need to have a good understanding of your foreign counterparts. I myself have been working for an MNC for some time now and I have learnt that it is so true that people on the other side of the world do work differently than us Malaysians...


Here's are some observations and personal experiences I gathered about my clients/counterparts I worked with.....


Hong Kong
This was the first international client I worked with and the thing about Hongkees are...well actually they are not that different than us, most of them work late nights just like we do over here but one thing they have that we dont is the "Hong kong accent" and the fancy names....Seriously, some of them have the funniest names ever! I am not going to mention names here but some more common examples are names like Apple or Pinky...you can start imagining the less common names now :D

India
Okay, the thing about my company is we work with Indians (from India) alot. The thing about Indians (apart from their Indian accent which needs some time to get used to) is their English grammar. Now, although most of them are familiar and can speak English fluently, English taught in schools is slightly different in India. Sometimes words they use just make you go "what the heck is he trying to say?!" For example: this is a high decibel project. Huh? The project has...sounds? No, the person is just trying to say that this is a high priority project. Another VERY COMMON word that Indians use is "the same". They love that word alot. Here's how you use the word "the same" in Indian context.

I have made some revisions in the proposal. Please find the same attached.

OR

Are you going to send the document? Would expect the same soon.

Yup, if you see someone using "the same" like above, he/she is most likely from India. Please expect the same when you converse with them...

Africa
I was one of the few "lucky" people who get to work with Africans from Africa itself. One major disadvantage is the time difference which is 4 hours. Now, time differences of 4-6 hours is the worst kind of time difference to have. This is because the only time you can properly talk to them is most likely going to be after (Malaysian) work hours, around 6-7pm. I've had a hard time trying to get hold of my African counterparts..for starters, they may not be most technologically advance country. In my case, my counterpart did not have a call conferencing line and we always get problems dialling their direct line. So most of the time, we call their mobile. #sidetrack To those who don't know, most Africans actually own a mobile phone, and they actually put them to more use, because they can use their mobile phone credit to purchase things! Including bus tickets and what not...Fun fact! #sidetrack end.

Anyway, back to their work culture, besides not having sufficient technology, they are also very laidback in a sense that they do not reply your emails in a timely manner, you can't call them because the phone line is shitty and they are always offline on their IM. Hence, the biggest challenge is to get hold of them....the second challenge after getting hold of them...is understanding their accent. So good luck to you! I'm so glad the project is over...

Japanese
Now now, most people know this already. Japs are the most hardworking people in the world! They have mass exercise sessions before they start work in the office and they work all through the night. MAD! If you have Japanese clients, be prepared to receive emails in the middle of the night. On top of that, they love emailling in a row...which means, they send one mail after another requesting for this and that. To make matters worst, they expect an instant reply, if you do not reply them after an hour, they will send you another mail to remind you....and another one few hours later....if they still do not hear from you, they will call your phone and bug you. Best part is, they cannot really speak proper English so good luck trying to understand what they are trying to tell you. Last but not least, Japs pay extreme attention to detail, so if you missed out a comma in your document or made a typo that is not supposed to be there...you WILL get an email asking you to fix that. But there is something good about the Japs though, they always give you alot of time in your projects..in fact sometimes, they give TOO much time and they plan things WAY too early which makes it hard for you to plan your resources so in advance (as opposed to Malaysian culture). Oh one more thing! Despite all the bugging and correcting your work, they are actually very very polite when they talk to you or write to you. They always end with a Thank You and finding more than one Thank You in an email from them is nothing out of the ordinary...


Koreans
Fellow neighbours of the Japs. They are hardworking too, but not as extreme as the Japs. Just like the Japs, they can't really speak proper English but the difference between Koreans and Japs are...they try too hard to use BOMBASTIC words in their communication, so bombastic that we cannot even figure out what they are trying to imply. True story. We concluded that they probably google translated those Korean words into English that when put in a sentence made no sense at all. Oh, although Koreans also love to bug others all the time with emails and calls just like the Japs, the difference is they are not as polite as their neighbours!

China
Might as well cover another Asian country since we are on a roll here. Once again, communication breakdown. It is really hard to understand their English..actually it is quite hard to understand their Mandarin too. I don't have much to say about them except that they love to RUSH you like mad and they sound quite rude as well but then again, could be a communication problem. What they love to do is get you to do this and that in a short period of time but when you need them to confirm something or get something done, they take their own sweet time. Talk about hypocracy.

USA
The good thing about USA is the people are very professional & they reply emails in a timely manner. Well of course there is that 12 hour time difference but contrary to popular belief, that time difference is a good thing (unless you need to talk to them). In terms of writing emails, you never have to rush to write to them because when it is day time here, they are asleep and vice versa. So what you do is, before you leave work you write them a mail, and when you reach office the next morning, you get all your mails replied! And best part is, you don't have to rush to reply the email because they will be sleeping anyway so you can take your own sweet time & gives you sufficient time to check on whatever info you need before replying back to them...Not sure about you, but that sounds like a pretty good deal to me! :)

Australia
Now I have nothing much to say about them except that if you are looking for a laidback lifestyle..that's the place you should aim to work at! At 5.30pm on the dot, the whole Australian working world dissapears and it is impossible to get hold of them...so make sure you get the time differences right otherwise it is really hard to get them! The logic here is that, if they are 3 hours ahead of you, and they leave at 5.30pm sharp, you only have up to 2.30pm Malaysian time to get hold of them. Anything after 2.30pm, you will have to wait the next day. Don't forget to account lost time on Friday happy hours when everyone hits the bar at 3pm!


So there you go! If you understand your foreign counterparts well enough then you will find out the "secret ways" of dealing with them ;) I have already given you some tips that you can't find in business textbooks but you can thank me later on in life when you finally realise how true these tips are!

Till then,

Goodnight.