Hurry 2012…here’s SALE time!

xoxo

Melissa Jane

Merry Christmas 2011~

My dear friend Chang Yi wished me, this Christmas, that “happiness will definitely find its way to you, someone filled with love and passion, this festive season”. I think his prophecy has come true. thank you!!! :))

***

Follow your heart this Christmas – you’ll find the greatest joy, and the most beautiful love.

You look in my eyes
And I get emotional inside
I know it’s crazy
But you still can touch my heart
And after all this time
You’d think that I
I wouldn’t feel the same
But time hasn’t done nothing
And nothing’s changed

[Chorus:]
I still believe
Someday you and me
We’ll find ourselves in love again
I had a dream
Someday you and me
We’ll find ourselves in love again

Each day of my life
I’m filled with all the joy I could find
You know that I
I’m not the desperate type
If there’s one spark of hope
Left in my grasp
I’ll hold it with both hands
It’s worth the risk of burning
To have a second chance
No, no, no, no, no, no I need you baby
I still believe that we can be together
No, no, no
If we believe that true love never has to end
Then we must know that we will love again.
[Chorus]

[chorus]
I still believe (ooh baby I do) someday you and me (just give me one more try) in love again. I had a dream (I miss your love) someday you and me.. We’ll find ourselves in love again…

Pantone Fashion Color Report for Spring 2012

WOMENSWEAR COLORS

Provocative Tangerine Tango, an enticing juicy orange, is a vivacious and appealing refresher to enliven anyone’s outlook this spring.

Providing a jolt of energy, Solar Power radiates warmth and cheer.

Fanciful Bellflower, a distinct ornamental purple, exudes uniqueness and creativity.

Scintillating and sexy, Cabaret is a sensual and intense rosy-red – an excellent choice for summer clothing and cosmetics.

Sodalite Blue, a classic maritime hue, brings order and calmness to mind. Like an anchor to a ship, this dependable shade works with every color in the palette.

Cockatoo, a tactile blue-green, is sure to make your spirits soar. This unusual hue adds a whimsical touch to the palette and will make a statement this spring.

Margarita, a piquant yellow-green, lifts spirits with its refreshing and stimulating glow.

Reminiscent of a blossoming garden on an early spring morning, fragrant Sweet Lilac evokes the fresh scents of summer. This delicate pinkish lilac adds a touch of romance to any wardrobe.

Natural, versatile neutrals add practicality to this season’s brights. Driftwood, an adaptable blend of beige and gray with a slightly weathered feel, and Starfish, a perfect warm summer neutral, complement all colors featured in this season’s top 10.

For an ultra-bold look this spring, try mixingBellflower with Tangerine Tango and Cabaret.

Combine Margarita with Sweet Lilac and Cockatoo for a subtle alternative, or Margarita with Sweet Lilac and Driftwood for a more practical variation.

Solar Power is best juxtaposed with Sodalite Blue, and for a safer bet, add a natural neutral like Starfish to the mix.

Adapted from fashiontrendsetter.com

CIFF Spring/Summer 2012 Fashion & Color Trends

New Edge

In New Edge, we represent a strong desire for modern shapes that we would like to be pure yet sensual. This modern outlook offers a radically simple, minimal aestheticis found appealing once again, updating an idea of classicism and timelessness. Between a search for original purity and the redefinition of shapes, we identify the contours of a new frame of reference. Highly stylized, shapes and lines are defiantly structured or erased to leave room for a comfortable ergonomy with generous, enveloping, air-conditioned fullness. We draw strengh from the desert, a fascination for expanses without borders and opt for timeless eroded denim and sediment-like fabric effects.

Women’s wear trends

Men’s wear trends

Technicolour Summer

This is a call for pure relaxation, cheerfulness and vacationing : a joyous escape from everyday life. Take up the colors of summer and the codes of seductiveness and give them a joyful spin, without fear of being over the top. We play Summer clichés «to the hilt» between jet-set opulence sultry seduction and impetuous glamour of the Happy Hour. Or opt for a California cool, coloring the preppy look with show-off humor, and playing with beachwear and American casualwear to concoct a smart relaxed look. Summer once again has a mythical attraction !

Womenswear Trends

Menswear Trends

Soft Alternative

Start dreaming of a more gentle connection with time, of a return to a more authentic existence. Between pragmatic realism – a better quality of life, sustainable and local consumption – and fantasized idealism – the dream of a simple and fair life, of authentic values … Enchanted authentics offers a continuation of the slow movement, but has a more elaborate and richer artisanal edge. It is a celebration of generosity, gentleness, richness and consistency and a desire to rediscover a refined, long-forgotten savoir-faire and seek graceful sensuality with old-fashioned charm. Compose a refreshing romanticism, without naiveté. Like a wistful collector, list the outfits of forgotten trades and crafts or prefer endearing and dainted touches for an enchanting bucolic mood.

Womenswear Trends

Menswear Trends

Urban Jungle

A sign of the times, Urban Jungle reflects the need for a strong, daring, imposing, confident attitude to better integrate and confront the intense, everyday life of the city. Effervescence, high performance, hectic rhythms and survival of the fittest …To evolve everyday in urban environments which slowly mutate into urban jungles, we take inspiration from the fantastic, primitive forest: intense and wild, it symbolizes a thirst for survival and revives a dynamic, energizing primal force. Prints mimic and explore a rich Equatorial wildlife in luxurious camouflages or take inspiration and graphic strength from indigenous traditions.

Womenswear Trends

Menswear Trends

***

Adapted from fashiontrendsetter.com

Colour of My Life – Tangerine Tango!

It’s nearly Christmas now – it’s time to Tango!?

Pantone has announced the colour of the year for 2012 and the future is looking bright. Tangerine Tango (that’s Pantone number 7625C for the designers out there) is a punchy mix of orange, coral, and red—making it an extremely versatile shade for all skin tones. And, considering that Sephora and Pantone are rumoured to be working on a Tangerine Tango–inspired makeup collection for March 2012, it’s a good thing this chosen colour is so multifaceted.

Fashion has always had a huge influence on the colour Pantone selects. You saw bright-orange lips on many Spring 2012 runways, including Jason Wu and Jeremy Laing. Pantone’s fashion colour report for 2012 had Tangerine Tango at the top of its list, selected by designers such as Tommy Hilfiger, Nanette Lepore, Elie Tahari, and Charlotte Ronson. The reddish-orange colour was also likely chosen for many of the same reasons why Mimosa (a golden yellow) was the pick for 2009—it’s full of energy and optimism, ideal at a time when things can seem a little uncertain.

Ready to embrace tangerine? Here’s some of the best lip, cheek, and nail colours to match Pantone’s picks—they are sure to brighten your day and add a pop of colour to your beauty routine <3

Jason Wu Spring 2012

This perfect shade of orange adds a little punch to your pout.
Make Up For Ever Rouge Artist Intense lipstick “#40” ($19, sephora.com)

Your cheeks will do a dance with this coral-orange stain.

Benefit Cha Cha Tint cheek and lip stain ($36, murale.ca)

Orange you excited to get a manicure in this vibrant shade?

OPI nail polish “On the Same Paige” ($11, opi.com)

Add a little orange to your eyes, lips, or cheeks—this cream base is as versatile as Tangerine Tango.

Make Up For Ever Aqua Cream “#10” ($22, sephora.com)

It may look red, but this lipstick has a very flattering orange tint.

Yves Saint Laurent Rouge Pur Couture “13 Le Orange” ($38 at Holt Renfrew)

fashionmagazine.com

xoxo

Melissa Jane

Wrap it up this Christmas with gorgeous holiday outfits‏!

As Good as Gold!

ADV: CLEAR with Nutrium10~!

MORE THAN 60% OF THE WORLD SUFFERS FROM DANDRUFF AND OTHER SCALP PROBLEMS!

Unilever launches a breakthrough technology in scalp care – Nutrium10.

One of the world’s largest networks of dermatologists, The International Academy of Cosmetic Dermatology (IACD) has identified Nutrium10 as the scalp care technology that will lead the paradigm shift in scalp care management.

Unlike other anti-dandruff shampoos that are wash-away solutions, the new Clear with Nutrium 10 treats the root cause. It not only infuses the scalp with nutrients three layers deep # but also helps to rebalance cell proliferation processes to restore the scalp to its healthy condition.

Introducing the Clear Ice Cool Menthol Shampoo Series and Clear Anti-hair Fall Shampoo Series~

Female Clear Ice Cool Menthol (80ml) – $9.40 for 350ml, $14.30 for 700ml

Product Description: With cooling menthol. For all scalp and hair types. Refreshes and revives scalp and hair with an invigorating burst of menthol freshness

Review: Indeed, the smell is refreshing and “minty”, giving you plenty of reasons to be awake and invigorated after the shower!  It was also fast and easy to lather and overall the shampoo gave my hair a soft, smooth finishing touch. I would prefer a more floral or fruity scent post-shower, but I guess mint does the trick sometimes too!

Female Clear Anti Hairfall (80ml) – $9.40 for 350ml, $14.30 for 700ml

Product Description: With Hair Lock Technology. For weakened scalp and hair. Strengthens from the root to tip and increases hair’s defense against hairfall* and breakage.

Review: I don’t suffer from hair fall problems, but after using it for about 3-4 times when I almost finished the bottle, I noticed that I lost fewer strands of hair. Girls who have long hair usually find themselves losing a lot of hair because of its heavy weight. When that happens you need to take extra care of your scalp and keep it healthy and nourish it with nutrients and minerals.

This new scalp care formula, Nutrium 10, approaches scalp defence in three revolutionary steps:

•Builds the scalp’s natural defence to fight against dandruff-­causing factors

•Penetrates three layers deep into the scalp to repair the scalp’s natural barrier

•Eliminates and clears dandruff from the scalp surface

Nutrium10 for women offers a vitamins and minerals-­infused moisturisation wash to boost stronger hair growth. This enrichment of the scalp gives women the total three scalp effects she desires – no dandruff, no dryness, and no itch.

Clear Men Cool Sport Menthol – $10.30 for 350ml, $15.70 for 700ml

With active menthol. For all scalp and hair types. Ultimate Anti-dandruff refreshment.

Review: Got my brother to try it, he said it was “not bad” with a masculine smell and he even “feels sexy” after the shower. Cool huh!

Clear Men Anti Hair-Fall – $10.30 for 350ml, $15.70 for 700ml

With Pro-strength Ginseng Technology. For weakened hair fiber. Strengthen your hair and defend against hair loss.

Review: “Not much difference because I don’t even drop any hair, but I pretty much like the smell. :)” – my brother’s verdict!

The CLEAR range is available from May 1 at leading pharmacies and supermarkets.

Here’s your chance to try out 7 different types of new CLEAR Shampoo with Nutrium 10. The CLEAR Shampoo sample will be up for redemption at www.thesamplestore.sg from 1st December onwards.

You can find the following available for sampling:

Female Clear Smooth & Manageable
Female Clear Complete SoN Care 2in1
Female Clear Dry Scalp & Itch Control
Female Clear Anti Hairfall
Female Clear Ice Cool Menthol
Male Clear Cool Sports Menthol
Male Clear Anti Hair Fall

Also, submit your individual shampoo review to http://www.thesamplestore.sg for any of the 7 types of shampoos available for above sample redemption.
The 3 best reviews will walk away with a Clear product hamper worth $50! The contest ends on 31st Dec 2011, and winners will be announced on thesamplestore.sg Facebook’s Page at
http://www.facebook.com/thesamplestore.sg!

 

Be beautiful and confident with CLEAR <3!

xoxo,

Melissa Jane

Why You’re Not Married

You want to get married. It’s taken a while to admit it. Saying it out loud — even in your mind — feels kind of desperate, kind of unfeminist, kind of definitely not you, or at least not any you that you recognize. Because you’re hardly like those girls on TLC saying yes to the dress and you would never compete for a man like those poor actress-wannabes on The Bachelor.

You’ve never dreamt of an aqua-blue ring box.

Then, something happened. Another birthday, maybe. A breakup. Your brother’s wedding. His wife-elect asked you to be a bridesmaid, and suddenly there you were, wondering how in hell you came to be 36-years-old, walking down the aisle wearing something halfway decent from J. Crew that you could totally repurpose with a cute pair of boots and a jean jacket. You started to hate the bride — she was so effing happy — and for the first time ever you began to have feelings about the fact that you’re not married. You never really cared that much before. But suddenly (it was so sudden) you found yourself wondering… Deep, deep breath… Why you’re not married.

Well, I know why.

How? It basically comes down to this: I’ve been married three times. Yes, three. To a very nice MBA at 19; a very nice minister’s son at 32 (and pregnant); and at 40, to a very nice liar and cheater who was just like my dad, if my dad had gone to Harvard instead of doing multiple stints in federal prison.

I was, for some reason, born knowing how to get married. Growing up in foster care is a big part of it. The need for security made me look for very specific traits in the men I dated — traits it turns out lead to marriage a surprisingly high percentage of the time. Without really trying to, I’ve become a sort of jailhouse lawyer of relationships — someone who’s had to do so much work on her own case that I can now help you with yours.

But I won’t lie. The problem is not men, it’s you. Sure, there are lame men out there, but they’re not really standing in your way. Because the fact is — if whatever you’re doing right now was going to get you married, you’d already have a ring on it. So without further ado, let’s look at the top six reasons why you’re not married.

1. You’re a Bitch.
Here’s what I mean by bitch. I mean you’re angry. You probably don’t think you’re angry. You think you’re super smart, or if you’ve been to a lot of therapy, that you’re setting boundaries. But the truth is you’re pissed. At your mom. At the military-industrial complex. At Sarah Palin. And it’s scaring men off.

The deal is: most men just want to marry someone who is nice to them. I am the mother of a 13-year-old boy, which is like living with the single-cell protozoa version of a husband. Here’s what my son wants out of life: macaroni and cheese, a video game, and Kim Kardashian. Have you ever seen Kim Kardashian angry? I didn’t think so. You’ve seen Kim Kardashian smile, wiggle, and make a sex tape. Female anger terrifies men. I know it seems unfair that you have to work around a man’s fear and insecurity in order to get married — but actually, it’s perfect, since working around a man’s fear and insecurity is big part of what you’ll be doing as a wife.

2. You’re Shallow.
When it comes to choosing a husband, only one thing really, truly matters: character. So it stands to reason that a man’s character should be at the top of the list of things you are looking for, right? But if you’re not married, I already know it isn’t. Because if you were looking for a man of character, you would have found one by now. Men of character are, by definition, willing to commit.

Instead, you are looking for someone tall. Or rich. Or someone who knows what an Eames chair is. Unfortunately, this is not the thinking of a wife. This is the thinking of a teenaged girl. And men of character do not want to marry teenaged girls. Because teenage girls are never happy. And they never feel like cooking, either.

3. You’re a Slut.
Hooking up with some guy in a hot tub on a rooftop is fine for the ladies of Jersey Shore — but they’re not trying to get married. You are. Which means, unfortunately, that if you’re having sex outside committed relationships, you will have to stop. Why? Because past a certain age, casual sex is like recreational heroin — it doesn’t stay recreational for long.

That’s due in part to this thing called oxytocin — a bonding hormone that is released when a woman a) nurses her baby and b) has an orgasm — that will totally mess up your casual-sex game. It’s why you can be f**k-buddying with some dude who isn’t even all that great and the next thing you know, you’re totally strung out on him. And you have no idea how it happened. Oxytocin, that’s how it happened. And since nature can’t discriminate between marriage material and Charlie Sheen, you’re going to have to start being way more selective than you are right now.

4. You’re a Liar.
It usually goes something like this: you meet a guy who is cute and likes you, but he’s not really available for a relationship. He has some condition that absolutely precludes his availability, like he’s married, or he gets around town on a skateboard. Or maybe he just comes right out and says something cryptic and open to interpretation like, “I’m not really available for a relationship right now.”

You know if you tell him the truth — that you’re ready for marriage — he will stop calling. Usually that day. And you don’t want that. So you just tell him how perfect this is because you only want to have sex for fun! You love having fun sex! And you don’t want to get in a relationship at all! You swear!
About ten minutes later, the oxytocin kicks in. You start wanting more. But you don’t tell him that. That’s your secret — just between you and 22,000 of your closest girlfriends. Instead, you hang around, having sex with him, waiting for him to figure out that he can’t live without you. I have news: he will never “figure” this out. He already knows he can live without you just fine. And so do you. Or you wouldn’t be lying to him in the first place.

5. You’re Selfish.
If you’re not married, chances are you think a lot about you. You think about your thighs, your outfits, your naso-labial folds. You think about your career, or if you don’t have one, you think about doing yoga teacher training. Sometimes you think about how marrying a wealthy guy — or at least a guy with a really, really good job — would solve all your problems.

Howevs, a good wife, even a halfway decent one, does not spend most of her day thinking about herself. She has too much s**t to do, especially after having kids. This is why you see a lot of celebrity women getting husbands after they adopt. The kids put the woman on notice: Bitch, hello! It’s not all about you anymore! After a year or two of thinking about someone other than herself, suddenly, Brad Pitt or Harrison Ford comes along and decides to significantly other her. Which is also to say — if what you really want is a baby, go get you one. Your husband will be along shortly. Motherhood has a way of weeding out the lotharios.

6. You’re Not Good Enough.
Oh, I don’t think that. You do. I can tell because you’re not looking for a partner who is your equal. No, you want someone better than you are: better looking, better family, better job.

Here is what you need to know: You are enough right this minute. Period. Not understanding this is a major obstacle to getting married, since women who don’t know their own worth make terrible wives. Why? You can fake it for a while, but ultimately you won’t love your spouse any better than you love yourself. Smart men know this.

I see this at my son’s artsy, progressive school. Of 183 kids, maybe six have moms who are as cute as you’re trying to be. They’re attractive, sure. They’re just not objects. Their husbands (wisely) chose them for their character, not their cup size.

Alright, so that’s the bad news. The good news is that I believe every woman who wants to can find a great partner. You’re just going to need to get rid of the idea that marriage will make you happy. It won’t. Once the initial high wears off, you’ll just be you, except with twice as much laundry.

Because ultimately, marriage is not about getting something — it’s about giving it. Strangely, men understand this more than we do. Probably because for them marriage involves sacrificing their most treasured possession — a free-agent penis — and for us, it’s the culmination of a princess fantasy so universal, it built Disneyland.

The bottom line is that marriage is just a long-term opportunity to practice loving someone even when they don’t deserve it. Because most of the time, your messy, farting, macaroni-and-cheese eating man will not be doing what you want him to. But as you give him love anyway — because you have made up your mind to transform yourself into a person who is practicing being kind, deep, virtuous, truthful, giving, and most of all, accepting of your own dear self — you will find that you will experience the very thing you wanted all along:

Love.

Tracy McMillan is a TV writer whose credits include Mad Men and The United States of Tara. Her memoir I Love You and I’m Leaving You Anyway is now available in paperback from Harper Collins/It Books. She lives in Los Angeles with her 13-year-old son. Follow her on Twitter.

***

I can’t resist not sharing this – oh well, you have to agree Tracy’s simply saying it in your face the true, harsh facts. And, very pricelessly, how guys really think when you are behaving like a slut/liar/bitch etc. Time to get real and yet you just won’t settle for second best? Cross your fingers and smile for candid camera.

Bruno Mars – It will Rain.

If you ever leave me baby,
Leave some morphine at my door
‘Cause it would take a whole lot of medication
To realize what we used to have,
We don’t have it anymore.

There’s no religion that could save me
No matter how long my knees are on the floor
So keep in mind all the sacrifices I’m makin’
Will keep you by my side
Will keep you from walkin’ out the door.

Cause there’ll be no sunlight
If I lose you, baby
There’ll be no clear skies
If I lose you, baby
Just like the clouds
My eyes will do the same, if you walk away
Everyday it will rain, rain, rain…

I’ll never be your mother’s favorite
Your daddy can’t even look me in the eye
Oooh if I was in their shoes, I’d be doing the same thing
Sayin there goes my little girl
Walkin’ with that troublesome guy

But they’re just afraid of something they can’t understand
Oooh well little darlin’ watch me change their minds
Yeah for you I’ll try I’ll try I’ll try I’ll try
I’ll pick up these broken pieces ’til I’m bleeding
If that’ll make you mine

Cause there’ll be no sunlight
If I lose you, baby
There’ll be no clear skies
If I lose you, baby
Just like the clouds
My eyes will do the same if you walk away
Everyday it will rain, rain, rain…

Don’t just say, goodbye
Don’t just say, goodbye
I’ll pick up these broken pieces ’til I’m bleeding
If that’ll make it right

Cause there’ll be no sunlight
If I lose you, baby
There’ll be no clear skies
If I lose you, baby
Just like the clouds
My eyes will do the same if you walk away
Everyday it will rain, rain, rain…