The Temples in Johor I've seen recently

Time during Chinese new year is reserved for visiting temples

Shi Ba Luo Han temple, Semerah

Da Bou Gong temple, Samchun

Chong Long Gong temple, Segenting

All temples are located near Batu Pahat. There's so many people there around Chinese new year. It's hot, humid and everyone is burning incense. So, if you want to experience pure Chinese temple culture, go for it. But if you're a peace-seeking person, skip now and return in 2 weeks after the Chinese new year festivities are over (or just look at my photos).

[My MALAYSIA page][My BATU PAHAT page][All photos by MKL, 2009]

Misa Promotion Ends Tomorrow!

Just wanted to let you all know that the Misa polish promotion ends this Friday. So be sure to get your orders in before tomorrow, Friday January 30th, because they won't be accepting any more orders after that date.

If you've emailed them and haven't heard back, I would give them a call just to make sure they got your order.


And, to top it all off, I just found this super cool video some beautiful girl on YouTube made! I'm sitting here going, "Awwwweeeee!!!" I love it! I hope she doesn't mind me posting it!

Jennifer Aniston to Pose for Playboy?

Don't get too excited yet!

The National Enquirer claims that Jennifer Aniston was offered upwards of $10 million dollars to pose for Hugh Hefner's Playboy magazine. Word is she turned it down.

Hugh was hoping Jen would climb onboard after seeing the almost nude (except for a necktie) shots of her in GQ recently.

[WENN]

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Jessica Burciaga is February 2009 Playmate of the Month

25-year-old Jessica Burciaga is the Playmate of the Month in the February 2009 issue of Playboy magazine.

Jessica broke into show business after graduating from high school, beginning with extra parts in TV shows and music videos. While enrolled in junior college and sports broadcasting school in Huntington Beach, she worked at a Hooters restaurant in Anaheim. Her break came with a photoshoot for the now-defunct Stuff in August 2005. Since then, she has been featured in Maxim and has been on the cover of Modified Mag, Performance Auto & Sound, Latino Future, and Open Your Eyes.

Currently a spokesmodel for Hot Import Nights and 2007 Miss Copa Swimwear, Burciaga can also be seen at the Playboy Club in Las Vegas.

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Russell Brand Sleeps with 90 Women a Month!

It's no wonder that Russell Brand sleeps with a gazillion women.

But it is a wonder that so many sleep with him despite his reputation.

Brand was recently asked exactly how many women he ensnares during any given amount of time. He nonchalantly replied, "Work out how many days and, here's a simple rule, triple it!"

Just think of as many STD's as you can off the top of your head - and triple it..


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Is Lindsay Lohan Anorexic?

Lindsay Lohan was seen in recent photographs looking exceptionally thin.

Lohan, who admitted in 2006 that she had battled with bulimia, is feared to have resurrected an eating disorder.

However, her rep is denying that the actress is suffering from any medical condition.

She said, “Lindsay is aware that she’s lost some weight due to stress, but we recently did a photo shoot and she ate two full meals.”

Now that's convincing. Someone give that woman a raise.

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Pamela Anderson Drunk [Photos]

Pamela Anderson loves her cocktails despite having Hep-C, which promotes the proliferation of hepatitis C virus in human liver cells.

And she claims she's not a dumb blonde.

Pam partied it up last weekend in Atlanta, where she danced and, of course, drank the night away at Primal.




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OPI Valentine's Day Collection 2009 : 90210 By OPI

Edit: LOL sorry about the typo- I'm pretty sure that it's about Beverly Hills, not Chicago... Oops!

OPI's Valentine's Day release this year is a set of three polishes based on the new 90210 series. Another collection I have mixed feelings about.


Sweet As Annie-Thing! A light red with gold shimmer. Pretty, yes, but not the best red with gold shimmer I've ever seen.


Queen Of West Web-erly. Medium metallic red-purple shimmer. This is very sheer, it needs 3-4 coats to get rid of the "visible nail line". Not a bad color, but it doesn't stand out to me at all.


Pretty & Privileged. Rich red shimmer with pretty flakes. This is my favorite from the collection. I'm not really a red person, as anyone who's read this blog for five minutes can tell you, but this is sort of unique. The color is rather bland, but when you look up close at it, there are flakes in it! Little weird-shaped shimmer flakes. Like a very toned-down Nfu Oh Shiny Opal type of flake. I haven't seen that from OPI before, and I'm happy to see it make a debut. It's very, very subtle in this polish but it's definitely there.


Just like with South Beach, I'll admit that I know absolutely nothing about the new 90210 series. I've never seen a single episode, don't know a single character's name (but I'm guessing Annie is one of them!), I don't even know when it's on, and I don't really ever plan to. So, I have no idea how these colors relate to 90210. I'm assuming they each represent a character, but I could be wrong. How do the colors tie in to the show? Do they even? Like I said, I have no idea.

I'm not particularly wowed by any of these shades. I will say that they are all very appropriate for Valentine's Day, and will no doubt be popular with a lot of ladies. I have already heard stories of these selling out. So, if you love them, more power to you.


I'm really not all that excited about anything in this collection. Not that there's anything inherently wrong with any of the shades... Lots of people love red shimmers. It's just that we've seen these all before. Previous Valentine's Day releases from OPI have been much more unique. For example, the E-Romance Collection, which had two reds- one of which was a duochrome and one amazing glitter topcoat. Or, the Red Like Roses Collection which had an extremely unique metallic red, a romantic red and a beautiful shimmer topcoat. This collection needs a coordinating specialty topcoat!

Formula-wise, these were decent. Sweet As Annie-Thing! was the easiest to apply, perfect texture and everything. Pretty & Privileged gave me a little bit of trouble- it has Three-Free Syndrome: it's runny and thick at the same time. Not an issue if you're expecting it, but can give you a little difficulty if you're not. Queen Of West Web-Erly, however, was the problem child. It's both sheer and watery, which is a tricky combination. It needs 3 or 4 coats for opacity, but if you try to do too many coats too fast, it pools around the edges and near your cuticles. Other than the textural issues, there was no bubbling and the drying time was good.


Overall, nice for Valentine's Day or if you're a big 90210 fan but not as cool as OPI's previous Valentine's Day releases. It's missing the signature OPI coordinating glitter topcoat!

Chinese new year is here! 恭喜发财!

Happy Chinese new year! That's what I wish to all Chinese people and that's what I've been hearing all the time lately. I barely have time to go online, because we're going visiting relatives every day, going to some temples, meeting with friends and late in the evening playing majong until the early morning. Everyone is so excited and happy.

I learned many new things about Chinese culture during these days:

1 The reunion dinner: It's 1 day before the New year. Every sister and their boyfriends or husbands came. We all wore something red and eat the famous 'steam boat'. It was fun.
2 Visiting the relatives: This part is interesting, because you see how important are family ties in Chinese culture. You get to know so many people, distant cousins, uncles, who come from various places just to go and visit grandma. First day of visiting everyone must gather at the oldest living relative's house, in this case grandma's house.
3 Chinese new year songs: You hear them everywhere! They have a catchy melody.
4 Oranges: Everytime you come to somebodie's house, bring 2 oranges, it's a custom. If not you're in trouble.
5 Tings that bring good luck: Hong bao (money in red packages), red colour, touching a particoular fish, oranges... many many things.
6 Mahjong (Ma jiang): Chinese people love to play it during Chinese new year, they like to gamble as well, but luckily just for small amounts of money.
7 Eating extensively: Food is abundant. I think I will gain some weight! :)

So, I will be full of impressions during this Chinese new year. It is a unique experience for me and I will update you all on the things ahead. We're just half way thru. Chinese new year is celabrated 15 days!

[My MALAYSIA page][My BATU PAHAT page][Photos by MKL, 2009]

Janet Jackson Weight Gain [Photos]

Janet Jackson canceled her Rockwitchu tour back in October saying it was due to a medical condition. But now she has indefinitely canceled the last leg of the tour claiming the economy has forced her to do so.

I don't buy any of it. I think it has to do with her breakup with Jermaine Dupri, and quite possibly the fact that she's getting fat again.


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Jessica Simpson Fills Out Her Mom Jeans

Jessica Simpson wore a black tank top, thick belt and high waisted jeans.

Not too flattering on her these days!


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Random Zoya Swatches (Warning: Very Picture Heavy.)

These are for the lovely Phyrra, but since I know that a lot of you are planning on doing the Zoya Polish Exchange, I thought I'd post them on here :)

If I had to pick favorites, these are my favorite Zoya polishes (in the order they appear on the website, for handy browsing!):

Gaia
Sparkle Gloss
Snowsicle
Angella
Glimmer
Shimmer
Pasha
Vegas Freeze
Zara
Malia
Venus
Areetha
Kylie2
Manhattan Mixer
Creamy
OC Cooler
Gabrielle
Ginger
Lianne
Sienna
Annie
Elke
Soho Punch
Kiki
Whitney
Audrina
Jinx
Richelle
Colette
Shivon
Kaufda
Beyonnce
Anastasia
Pru
Kalista
Evangeline
Ivy
Jade
Delilah
Jacy
Colby
Mikka
Rihana
Blair
Sloane
Kierra
Rea
Lael
Roxy
Ki
Hope
Yasmeen
Tangy
Irene
Suvi
Southbeach Ice
Yummy
Jo
Kotori
Tart
Indigo
Trixie
Harley
Freja
Angelina
Casey
Raven

Most of those I've posted on here at some time or another, use the search function to find past swatches. Here are a bunch of swatches I'm pretty sure I haven't posted:

Beyonnce. Duochrome.

Blyss

Paris

Ginger

Eve

Evangeline

Delilah (View full size!)

Aria

Angella

Gabrielle

Harmonie

Ivy

Jade (View Full Size!)

Lindsay
Lillith

Kiki

Kaufda



Juno. Slight duochrome.

Sienna. (Incredibly stunning.)

Pasha

Milla


Marry / Marry J (Bottle says Marry, website lists it is Marry J)

Roxy

Venus

Tama

Vegas Freeze

*whew* That's a lot of swatches!

Now go forth, be conquered.....

Misa Living On The Fast Lane Collection, Spring 2009

Ooh, I just got the latest collection from Misa, Living On The Fast Lane, and I am so excited! Check it out!



Dirty Sexy Money. Some sort of dusty green-turquoise creme. I have no idea how to describe this color other than freakin' sweet. Dirty Sexy Money is totally unique- I don't own a single color like this. I can't even think of a color to compare it to- maybe if you mixed some green and grey into China Glaze For Audrey? Who knows. I'm in love. Dirty Sexy Money also has a retro kind of look to it, and it really kinda does look like dirty money.


On The Edge. Stunning dark blue creme. Indoors, it's quite a bit darker and more subdued looking, but outside in the sunlight the color really pops. It's bold and dramatic. What's not to love?


Push Upon It. Rich, pigmented berry creme. This color breaks my camera! I can't seem to get a good picture of it. It's like the picture, but darker, deeper, more purple and not as glowy looking. It's close to Zoya Moxie, they have a similar 'feel' to them. I will try to figure out how to get a more accurate shot of this.


Right Here Now, No More Later. Bright sky-blue creme. WHOA. Bright! The picture speaks for itself- this color really stands out. It's cheerful.


Speed Of Life. Orange creme. Orange!! I love orange!! This is a lighter orange, not too deep like a true pumpkin orange would be, but it's not neon, either. It has a soft look to it, like Halloween candy or orange sherbet. Truly beautiful.



Stop Rewinding, Just Fast Forward. Bright coral-red creme. I've been seeing a lot of this color lately. It's like some of the other colors in this collection: Bright, but not neon. It dries shiny. Very rich, very punchy, great spring and summer pedicure color. I imagine that this color would look good on any skintone.

Overall, I'm super-excited about this collection. I have two new favorites, Dirty Sexy Money and Speed Of Life. The creme formula really makes these colors stand out. With all the shimmer I've been wearing lately, these are quite a refreshing change. There's just something about cremes in bright colors that makes your nails look perfect. I love them.

Sure, not all of the colors are completely unique- I could probably find a couple duplicates for On The Edge, Push Upon It and Stop Rewinding Just Fast Forward, but that doesn't make them any less beautiful. I really like how this spring collection is not your stereotypical spring collection. No pastels, no pink! I dig it. Spring collections are my least favorite, and this one is a sigh of relief for me. It was fun to swatch, unlike swatching 24857 shades of pastel pink and red.

The formula is perfect. No issues at all. Smooth like butter. These also, oddly enough, dried much faster than most of my other Misa polishes. I don't know if it's because of the pigment of these particular shades, or if it's the creme formula or what, but I like it. Fast drying polishes are an absolute must for me, I don't have the patience to deal with polishes that never dry even with quick-dry topcoat and drops *cough*CND*cough*.

If you are a fan of blue or green, you need to check out Dirty Sexy Money. You will either love it or hate it. I love it. Like I said, it's totally unique, one of a kind, can't think of a single polish to match it.

One final observation: These smooth, glassy, perfect creme finish nails are just screaming KONAD ME!!!! KONAD ME NOW!!!!!!!