tonight is for you

4th December 2016

Today, I met with one of your students. He was a volunteer at a program the company I'm working for. It did not occur to me that he was your student until I asked, from where he was.

One of the kids we were taking care of blurted out that he appeared on a radio program at International Islamic University Malaysia, (IIUM). 

Me: Oh are you studying there?

Him: Yes

Me: What course?

Him: Architecture

And all of the sudden, a flashback to where I met you on the bus on the way to Singapore, on my very first solo trip, just strike of, running through my mind.

Me: Oh, I met with one of your seniors *told him your name* I met him when I was alone, travelling to Singapore.

Him: Oh yes, he was my lecturer. He's now in...

Me: Yes, in the UK doing Masters. He's really great

Him: Yup. He is. He's one of the best student in Architecture and he's really well known

An I just uttered, "Yup, I bet he is" while recollecting picturesque fragment heavily circulating my mind at that moment. 

You drawings, your murals, your poems. Your pantun. The way you articulate your words. The sketches you had in your notebook. The way you bring yourself. The classic old songs you listen to. The movie you watched in the bus that made me looked for it as soon as I got back from the trip. The stories you told me during our break at Yong Peng rest area. Your favourite building, still in construction at that time. Which is finally completed when I had another visit to Singapore the year after.

And then I remembered the LinkdIn request you sent me a couple of weeks back. Thank you for reminding me of you. 

Although it was a brief meet, it was more than memorable. It was heartfelt, it was inspiring, and it was up-lifting. Thank you for showing that being able to feel is not a terrible thing. But to channel the feel into artworks was even more fulfilling. I hope our connection does not end here and we will meet again when He says we are ready. 

#metaloci

not happy

Most people say change is good. Well, not for this it didn't. I have been receiving emails from Luxola that they will reveal their 'new look' in February. I had suspected that Sephora bought over Luxola and will take over its business sooner or later. So I was not surprised by it.

Today, I set myself to embrace the change and expect a lot more brands to come onboard. My first thought seeing the website is that it looks sleek (not like Luxola didn't but it has a nice feel). I immediately clicked on 'Brands', 'Z', and 'Zoeva', thinking I would make a purchase for the pencil brush I've been longing for. 

Woah, woah, woah.

What did I just see?

The brush is RM65?! It was only RM39 before! 

Disbelieving what I saw, I refreshed the page. My mind was running while I convince myself that what I saw was just a blur.

Click again.

RM65. My eyes are correct after all. NOOOOOOOO!!!!

Almost 50% increased in price! For the love of make-up, I swear Luxola has been my go to place for Zoeva brushes and other make up items that are not available in Malaysia. The prices were all affordable and I had a seamless and smooth experience purchasing from them, not to mention the multiple sales and promotions they had every now and then.

After Sephora had taken over, prices are RM30 - RM50 more. Besides that, I checked other countries they are available online around the region and I found out that different countries have different brands onboard. For example, Australia's Sephora has Kat Von D, Anastasia Beverly Hills and those more well known brands. Sephora Singapore has NYX under it. While Malaysian Sephora don't have those brands! At least we have NYX in-store. I hope with all the increased price and so-called price-alignment will prove its justice. 

I also just wish that Sephora will have offers like what Luxola did before or it will just lose another loyal customer. I have BeautyBay and Asos if I need to. Plus I just remembered Watsons are available online too. Oh wait, and all the Instagram accounts shipping in items not available here. I'll settle for that now.

Sigh. Such a disappointing start for Sephora Malaysia this month. Let's hope for the best now.

Now, back to the brush. Should I get it or not? :(

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UPDATE (4 February 2016):

I just checked Sephora Malaysia's website and my brush is priced at RM45! Most of the products have slightly increased but not as insanely as the time they took over. Phewwwww *wipes sweats* I'm good with just a slight increase. Kay, I'm gonna make some purchases now hehe