Recession behaviour

(also my first iPhone post!)

   

First day of the Body Shop warehouse sale at Suntec. Why do I keep forgetting lunch time is the absolute worst time to engage in such things?

Seasoned aunties in full gear (track shoes and backpacks) are streaming out with plain bags tightly secured with plastic fasteners. Two such specimens sit crosslegged against a railing beside me. They begin unloading their wares — jar after jar, bottle after bottle of lotions in all sorts of exotic fragrances, colours and consistencies. Then they pack them back in swift efficient movements into their backpacks.

The queue moved quickly. By the time I got in I was fully aware of the other snaking queue that led to the cashiers. No way I’m leaving now though. My hunter-gatherer instincts had already kicked in. I NEEDED to consume.

I had already noticed while queuing that the cashiers were quick to move the lines. There was a Caucasian man who looked like he had been clearing hundreds of bulky purchases for hours. But a quick swig of water was all he allowed himself to indulge in before signalling the next person over.

I like to think I start conservatively and slowly at sales. I take my time to access the overall space (one main room with tables lining three walls), the key zones where things are located (fragrances, body care, hair then makeup and specials in the centre) and other elements that may affect the hunt/harvest (prices do not reflect the usual prices). Call it my smart sale shopper technique. If you start out rationally, you’ll be less likely to lose your head and fall into buying traps.

1 hour and $135 later, I’m not sure if my technique is any good at all.

The first thing I put into my bag was a limited editiom ginger soufflé body cream for $12.90. Next up was the aloe vera body butter and bergamot lotion. Obviously I can’t get enough of body moisturisers.

The next thing I put in my bag was tea tree oil toner and concealer for $9.90 each. Two things I felt addressed my recent predicament of acne flare-ups.

After that though, I let myself slip into Emotional Acquisition mode. I started to look at things for their physical or emotional appeal- like that pretty makeup pouch (cos it was such a me print), a shimmery eye palette (cos I could give it to a colleague), a pedicure kit (cos right now I hate my feet) and two gift sets (cos I can give them away as Xmas gifts).

Looking back, I just felt compelled to get something because of all that time and effort I had already spent queuing to get in. 

Whether my loot is going to be worth the while is something only time will tell. But I can already feel that tiny tinge of sickness spreading slowly through the back of my mind. You know, that affliction that brings down the best of shoppers ever so often. That thing called guilt.

Not to pour cold water….

But this is what great lighting, strategic cropping and genius photographic set-up can achieve.

The illusion that a plastic crate and 4 chair legs, put together by anyone apart from designers from Made or the editorial team of some Home Interior publication, would be able to STAND, much less become a charming nightstand like above.

I mean, shit, this hybrid stool, looks absolutely gorgeous. But I wouldn’t start selling it as a ‘Budget Living’ idea the way Poppy Talk did. I seriously doubt anyone who can afford the time, patience and effort to put something like that together would be doing it because he or she was budget-conscious!

And then there’s the other thing about a lot of these really cool interior ideas. They’re styled oh-so-prettily, they could very easily fool you into thinking that that’s how it’d really look like IN A REAL HOME.

Case-in-point, another D-I-Y hybrid idea featured in the same Poppy Talk post.

Oh darlings, I’d love to love this idea. Believe me.

But this is showroom (and editorial) living, not reality, where things like humidity and clothing pile ups exist.

2 X $2 wonders

You gotta be careful with shops like Daiso. It’s easy to get carried away and bring home things you don’t really need because, heck, they’re only 2 bucks! Before you know it, you’re leaving the checkout counter with a bill of $46 and you have to deal with questions from your mother, like what in the world is that wooden penis-shaped contraption with wheels supposed to be (er, a roller massager duh!).

Having learnt that lesson, I resisted my usual impulses and left the shop with my wallet just $4 slimmer for 2 adorable danglies.

The price of budget travel

All for stripping of frills.

Times are tough for airline operators. Increasing competition, rising fuel costs, environmental groups on their backs… But since I don’t hold any shares in aviation companies nor do I have family members who fly the skies, I’m just over the moon now.

I took my first budget flight last month to Bali and in true cheapo form, am happy to announce that I’m a convert. All this despite enduring a 2 hour delay on the flight back and the agony, paranoia and ridicule I had to put up with from friends and family before my trip when I announced that I’d booked with Lion Air.

“Lion Air!” cried K’s mother, who, if ever there was a risk tolerance index for life, would fit at the lowest rungs of ultra-conservatism. “Aiyoh, please don’t be stupid!”

To be fair, her reaction isn’t all unfounded fear. Being an Indonesian budget airline, Lion Air’s safety standards share the same negative association as all other Indonesian carriers. After all, 41 of their carriers (including Lion Air) continue to be banned by the EU. Only two other countries – Congo and Guinea – have managed to top them on the boycott list.

One friend sniggered, “Hey, don’t bother buying the return. It’ll be a one-way trip…”

Even after I explained that at SGD$10 a ticket (with fuel and taxes, it came up to SGD$200), we would be saving at least SGD$200 per person than if we had gotten a Garuda or a ValueAir, most people remained skeptical.

So understandably, I started getting spooked too. It got so bad I had a nightmare that a flying pterodactyl was hunting me down (fortunately, our 6.05am flight departure necessitated waking up before the killer swoop). K tried to be brave. But I could tell as his grip on my hand grew tighter and tighter during take-off that the naysaying had gotten to him too.

Fortunately, three hours and a sheepish hot dog meal later, we arrived in Bali intact. Our survival made us feel proudly adventurous in the same way backpackers do when they recount their stories. We were henceforth Real Travellers of the World who would flaunt our risk-taking, sun-burnt noses at coddled losers who forked $1000 on their SQ seats. “You spent what? That’s the cost of two and a half days in our villa!”

As for the not-so-great parts about flying budget – limited flight schedules, baggage restrictions and no-refund policies – it’s always a give-and-take isn’t it? While nothing replaces the peace-of-mind and inflight comforts established national carriers offer especially on long-haul flights, what’s waking up a little earlier to fly on a new plane even if it doesn’t come with blankets (bring a cardigan), the latest Harry Potter movie (bring the book) and free flow wine (decreased air pressure + alcohol gives you a headache anyway)?

Being in the shadows of giants isn’t always bad. As one lengendary car rental institution once posed, “We’re only no. 2. So why go with us?” Their answer? “We try harder.” Now that’s music to this value-hungry customer’s ears.

Heartland after my own heart

District 10-ners may have their snob schools and clubs and the Easties their gatronomic delights, but the one thing that hasn’t changed and that I love so much about my old estate heartland of Ang Mo Kio is the truly serendipitous finds you can find in those little HDB shops.

It makes me think that like relationships, the sweetest deals in life can sometimes appear most unexpectedly. Who knew that till this date I could still score 5 brand new looks for only $5 each!

The last time I found something this good was almost 10 years back in a run-down, techno-blaring ah lian store near Bugis street. It was a floral cropped cardigan I still use today. The damage? $2!!!….Factor in the sort of inflation we’re suffering today and it’s probably almost equivalent to $5.

Without a doubt, nothing’s more satisfying than looking like a million bucks for a fraction.

You like my style?

One of the first things that catch my eye whenever I flip through a fashion magazine is the collage section. These style mood boards – Trend Report, Style Advisor, Fashion Guide, or whatever the magazine on hand chooses to call it – titallate and tempt with to-the-minute clothings and oh-so-desirable accessories, all captured in a wondrously articulated Look.

How I enjoy those simple spreads of objects d’Envy. They cut to the root of the matter by letting the products speak for themselves. They also show that with good taste and coordination, 1 + 1 + 1 can often make a Style 10.

Which is why I whittled away almost an hour when I first landed at Polyvore.com. It has an interactive editor that lets you pick and match different clothes, accessories and backgrounds to create and share your very own style sets.

It felt like my growing up years of playing with paper dolls again – sans the 2-dimensional barbies with their lollipop heads, blue hair and anime faces. (Anyone out there knows where I can find those old school gems anymore??) And boy am I proud of my first creation here. Doncha love those silver booties?!

Not another black dress with a twist

I was in two minds about buying this multi-tiered shift along with the fuschia Chloe Sevigny during Chinese New Year. First of all, at $46, it was a lot pricer than the usual This Fashion find. And I never wore anything more than double-tiered before without looking bloated. But after wearing the dress out twice to an avalanche of compliments, I thought it deserved a special post despite my initial doubts during its acquisition. Cos to-date, this is the most interesting and possibly the best purchase I’ve ever made in my 8 or more years of shopping at This Fashion!

Now I’m not shy about saying that with a fine eye and enough style, you can transform a bargain basement find into a brilliant ensemble. And with this dress I’m happy to say even the less savvy among us can rise above the mindless copycat cuts of This Fashion’s usual offerings and achieve a look that has personality and sophistication.

Carmen Electra does it with Marc Jacobs.