Eid Mubarak | Discount Diva

Salam,

I hope it's not too late to wish all Muslims Eid Mubarak!
I hope you had fun sharing great moments with family and your closed ones.

I have always been a believer that NOT all things Expensive are Good and NOT all things Good are Expensive. I believe to look & feel good on a joyous celebration such as the recent Raya Aidiladha one need not spend extravagantly.

I am proud to call myself a Bargain/Discount Diva.
I usually put a limit to the amount of money I'm willing to spend on certain items. For me, a Blouse/Top/Shirt should be LESS than RM100, unless of course if it is made of high grade material i.e. Silk, Batik Crepe and the likes.

Why? Simply because I've been in trading business since young and frankly I know how much it costs to make a top. Heh. I'm calculative like that. And being trained as an accountant makes me more frugal. I am shrewd and picky when it comes to spending. However when I do find a good bargain with equally great product, I'll be sure to purchase at least 2 or 3 pieces in different colors. That's where my shopaholic side kicks in ^__^

Being frugal doesn't mean that I look frumpy and that I'm a cheapskate. I do spend lavishly at times, mostly during a special occasion or to reward myself after a job-well-done (will discuss on this topic in my posts later). But most of the time, I prefer the thrill of hunting for a great bargain.

When I do find a marked down, on sale, stock clearance items or the last chance clothes, I'll be sure to check all of the following:-

1) Material - must be reasonably thick and strong. Not the cheapo easy to break type of material
2) Design - must not be TOO outdated. I prefer to stick to the classic-evergreen design, much safer
3) Cutting / Color - must flaunt and hide certain features of mine. Unfortunately, everything looks good in a super-skinny-tall model (mannequin too!) but not everything looks good on us.*sigh*
4) No defects / discoloration - very important!!!

So here's some of the items I scored during my recent shopping adventure....

For Raya Aidiladha, I found this really beautiful ready to wear cotton baju kurung with flower embroidery all over. Am so happy with my purchase and received a lot of compliments too! Weee!!!

Cotton Baju Kurung with flower embroidery,
RM80 Kompleks PKNS, Shah Alam

Dorothy Perkins floral chiffon top at 50% off. Yeap, half off! ^_________________^

Chiffon Jungle Leaves Printed Top
RM75 after 50% discount, Dorothy Perkins Pavilion KL

I've been eyeing the shawls from DreamCloud by Natasha Hudson for awhile now and pounced on 2 lovely shawls during their Raya Sale :))

Luna Breeze in Mustard & Peach Mustard
Before RM85, Raya Haji promo RM35 only!
from DreamCloud by Natasha Hudson

Luna Jade Shawl in Green Leopard print
Before RM90, on sale for RM55
from DreamCloud by Natasha Hudson

Now that's my kind of shopping spree :)
However, bargain-hunting shopping requires patience and it is an impromptu shopping habit. So you'll never know what you'll buy next and sometimes this may hurt your wallet a bit. -___-

Also, do be careful with the word SALE, especially those that shows you the before price on the tag and gives you crazy deals like 70% discount. Cause sometimes what some retailers do is that they will increase the price on the price tag than konon-konon give a 50%-70% to you. I've seen this happened before by notable retailers & departmental stores.

So, who said it is expensive to look beautiful? What's your shopping style and are you a Discount Diva too like me?

Guess Who's Back from Outerspace?!

 Did you miss me? 

Awwww..... :)

Well, I'm back after a year long sabbatical from my blog.

And a lot have changed since then. 

I have a new image now *beaming with pride*

I have a new job now.

I have a new freelance job now (yes, 1 job aint enough to support my shopping~!)

I changed my pen name to Lily Liyana. 

Cause I found out a lot of people can't pronounce 'Mariella' well. Including my parents! (Hi Abah~!). Plus nothing wrong with my real name anyway, cuma tak glamour sangat je.

I added 'LocoLola' behind my blog name. Cause I'm a 'loco' girl who just can't stop shopping. 

Yeap, that part of me has never improved. Only worsen. *sigh*

I'm addicted to Instagram now. Add me: liyanalalala

So, let's do a bit of catch up yeah?

(^___^)

Till then....

Love,

Lily Liyana

Product Review: SimplySiti Clear Solution Charcoal Cleanser

Happy Tuesday!

To be honest, (yes, this time I am NOT lying *peace*) I wanted to blog about a month ago but decided not to cause of my recent not-so-great-skin condition.

My event - HALFEST was quite different to the other event we organise. During HALFEST we invited local celebrities to grace our event in order to build up the hype and attract more people to our event. We invited local celebrities such as Vanidah Imran (my favourite!), Aaron Aziz (ehem,ehem), legendary Sheila Majid, Awie, M.Nasir, Francessca Peters, Ziana Zain and many more.

So, one of these famous people was Dato' Siti Nurhaliza and boy, was I in awe with her. She's so pretty, I must say she's really slim in real life and on top of that; very, very friendly. I fell in love with her instantly. I wasn't really a fan before, but now I'm goo-goo-ga-ga-ing over her!

Man, I'm easily drowned in all the power of charisma and fame. I know right, SUCKER! T__T

Bedazzled...I gave in and finally bought my first SimplySiti product. I know right, HOPELESS SUCKER!! T____T

Source

To be safe, I bought the SimplySiti Clear Solution Charcoal Cleanser. I thought hey, a cleanser wouldn't do as much harm as a moisturiser/lotion/cream etc. right?

Nope. I was WRONG!

In my defense I'm not trying to bring Siti Nurhaliza's products down. After all she is one of our valued exhibitor. I believe her products have made a lot of ladies happy. (I know, triple SUCKER!!! Can't help it...she's really nice O.O and I like her, OK!)

But unfortunately for me, it didn't really do its job. Maybe I am allergic to charcoal, kan? 
*cricket sounds*


(Sejak bila pun entahlah. God woman! Stop making stupid excuses. Honest review...you promised honest review to your readers!)

Ok, yeah...the SimplySiti Charcoal Cleanser gave me these! (warning: gross picture ahead)

I really want to love it. So badly that I tried and...I was really forcing myself to believe that the Siti Nurhaliza cleanser didn't gave me these bumps. But, who am I kidding. My daily beauty regime is the same and the only thing which was different was the cleanser.

Muka excited tak boleh blah!

*Sigh*

I'm sorry Siti Nurhaliza *puppy eyes* I guess, we were not meant to be together....
(ok, drama giler!)

And FYI, those bumps are ridiculously hard to get rid off. I'm back to my good 'ol Hada Labo beauty regime and those bumps are still there! Heaven sake it's been a month already. Pfftt.....

So, have you tried any of SimplySiti's product?
Do share *winks*

Till then, good luck & stay flawless...

xoxo,

Mariella Liyana

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Sharing is Caring: My New Elliptical

You know you've gained pounds and pounds of kgs when the people closest to you has to whisper it in your ear (cause you're in denial) that you  look ermm well, different in a bad way. o_O

*sigh*

Yes, I am in denial, no scratch that....I am NOT in denial. I acknowledged the fact that I have...well, 'changed'. But I kept telling myself that "I can always go back to my original size anytime. Hmph!". And I forgot to include age factor into the whole equation. Hah!

Yes, it's true...the 'wiser' you get, the harder it is for you to shed those love handles. In fact, I'm sad to report that it takes you double, no triple the effort if YOUR MARRIED!!!! Aaahh...the downside of being happy. Sheesshhh...

So, for my 2nd year Wedding Anniversary. Instead of asking for my typical presents i.e. handbags, shoes, vacation; (things that I wouldn't spend my money on hence makeup is not in the list), I made up my mind that I wanted an Elliptical machine as my anniversary present.

Oh, and I also got this White Toshiba notebook <3 Thanks, sayang :)

On the other hand.

*Sobs* Sobs *
Goodbye, my Lambskin Chanel...T__T
AHAHAHAHAHAHA....as if!!! (=.=')


But I'm pretty proud of myself. At least, this time...I placed necessity above wants :)
And, I sure as hell can tell you it ain't easy for me. It was like having a civil war...Liyana vs Liyana T_T

So, about two weeks ago...my Elliptical or some may call it a Cross Trainer, arrived! Weeeeee~!

(Baby talk) I'm so gonna love you, yes I do. I'm so gonna ride you everyday.
And use you and abuse you...muahahaha!

Ok, I dunno why this picture is senget

I was so excited I called Nas (my husband) to tell him that the Elliptical has arrived. And guess what was his response to me; "Oh ok, that's good. So bila nak start?". *Gasp* Do I hear a mockery?? Is that a challenge? Grrrrr....that IS a challenge???!!!

I say, "Bring it on sayang..."*squinting my eyes and blows off my fringe*
I'm so gonna win.
(Yes, as you can see...I AM a bit of a kiasu!)


Why am I telling you this?
Cause I'm a big believer that beauty also comes from within.

Sure you have the look, the brain, the superb make up and hairstyle...but you're not complete untill you truly have the 'BODY' and the right attitude to go with it, no?
I mean, who you're kidding...everybody tries their best to be perfect, right?
And that includes yours truly.

However, I will still hold on dearly to my mantra...
"Gemuk boleh kurus, tapi kalau cun tetap cun. So read between the line honey, hmph~!"
*Raise eyebrow*

Muahahahahahahahahaha....I know, I'm mean!

So, on and off I will write an update on how everything is going with my workout etc etc.
Hopefully, a few months down the road...I can look back at today's entry and smile cause by then I'l be donning a super-HOT bodyyyy! yeah!

Amen.

Till then, good luck & stay flawless...

xoxo,

Mariella Liyana

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I Know, I Owe You LOADS!

Hi there,

How was your weekend?
Mine was super busy with a number of weddings to attend. Thanks to the super-famous date to get hitched -  11.11.11 ! Some even waited till 11.11pm. Yeap, that's right...11pm at night. Poor Tok Kadi ;)

A lot of things happened to me for the past 3 months.
If you notice, I would go missing in action for 3 months and this year I went MIA twice!
I tried my best to blog religiously, however due to my work overload (from my day-job), I'm not proud to admit that I waved the white flag of defeat!

If you have been following me at my other blog; Mariellasays you'd notice that I made a post inviting readers to a trade fair - the Malaysia International Halal Showcase (MIHAS) organised annually by my company. You can read more on MIHAS here. 

This year, my CEO moved the game up a notch and we organised the inaugural Halal expo for consumers called HALFEST. You can read more here. What does this mean? I have a back-to-back gigantic event to organise and managing advertising & promotions as well as the public relations aspect was super-duper crazy!

We spent 1 year to prepare and organise MIHAS successfully, now two mega events in a year!!!! I better be looking forward to an enormous increment and a nice big-fat cheque as my bonus this year! Hell yeah...I know I deserve it!

So, ladies....
Forgive me. *bats eyelashes*

Source

Please....
Pretty please with Chanel lipstick on top?
No? You sure?

Ahhh...I knew it, no one can resist a good Chanel lipstick

*hugs & kisses*



Till then, good luck & stay flawless...

xoxo,

Mariella Liyana

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