Female Essentials

Tweet One of the downside of moving to a new country is losing your sense of security when it comes to female essentials. To be more specific, I mean "essentials" like the usual salon you visit where the hairdresser knows your style (whether you are the adventurous type or the kind where you get a similar cut over 10 years). Another regular thing I miss back home is the overly great service of my manicurist / pedicurist. If ever you are in Manila, do look for CANS (California Nails) where they have a vast list of nail and waxing service. They do great french tips, which I usually opt for. Service is great. Quality is good. I try to get my usual girl who does my nails without having to ask what shade I want, since I visit her once every 2 weeks. Now that I am in Malaysia, I did a trial in different nail salons. After months of staying here, I found a good one which I frequent. The place i called "Strip" which is located in Bangsar. Prices are higher than back home, but I was able to get the quality I missed. Enough said.

For months now I have not gone back home. I thought I could take a trip and go visit family, as well as my regular hair salon. The dilemma was since I am not going back home... where do I go for my haircut?

After reading several blog and chat sites (Malaysian inputs), I was able to narrow down the search. With a little bit more research -- like asking friends and interviewing even my friend's friends, I was satisfied with my data gathering. Last week, I headed off to Peek-a-Boo in TTDI. It took some time to look for the place, but I did get there... which explains why I now sport a new style : fringe cut!

I walked in that Friday afternoon without an appointment. And they were nice enough to accommodate. I looked for a specific guy called Shawn, whose popularity spans across chat sites as well as friends' recommendations. He was a nice guy. And talented. Despite all that expertise though, I was quite shocked with my cut. My new bangs gave me a different look. I always wanted to try fringe cut. Now I have it. Now I have to live with it. It took me at least 1 day to get over the shock. My husband didn't recognize me initially when he peeked into the Starbucks glass window as he searched for me at the rendezvous point. That definitely says a lot about my cut.

Surprisingly, for that nice salon plus good service, and famous hairstylist, it didn't cost as much as I thought it would. I paid RM65- for the cut.

Moving from beauty essentials to your body essential, let's talk about massages. This is one of the things I truly enjoy. With all the stress surrounding our lifestyle, one must take a break from time to time. I tried a couple of places as well -- from body massages to foot therapy massages. I enjoy Aromatherapy the most, since I go for light massages. The nice thing about Malaysia is that it is NOT short of these places. Massages can be found in many places. Low end to high end. RM36 all the way to RM200++ it just depends where you go. They even offer "pre paid" plans like Manila where you purchase in advance and get a discount. I once got a massage package from YogaZone (yes, the place where I practice my yoga). The service is quite ok and the price is affordable. I have yet to discover other places and find my "regular".

For friends who came from the other side of the world (USA/ Europe), they view Malaysia's vast services as simply heavenly. Compared to the prices there, one can enjoy at a higher frequency, as well as enjoy higher quality of service at a lower price. It's funny because I remember a fellow expat friend telling me that back in UK, she had to "DIY" (do it yourself) facials since hr experience was after spending a fortune she didn't get the service she expected. She resorted to just doing it herself and save some money at the same time. "DIY" is not so common for Asians (or maybe for people like me, ha ha). I mean it's fun once in a while. But when the work piles up and I have free time, I would rather pay someone to do it for me. That way I get to enjoy what I worked hard for.

Overall, for femmes who have already or will move out here to Malaysia -- do not fret. You will surely find the service you need. You just gotta know where to look!